New Age Islam News Bureau
26 September 2022
Initiative to remove
misgivings about Islam among non-muslims underway in Mumbai masjids
-----
• Scaled Replica of Al-Qaeda Leader’s Hideout on
Display in CIA Museum
• Mufti of Al-Quds: Israeli Settlers’ Incursions into
Al-Aqsa Mosque Aimed At Altering Its Status Quo
• Taliban Denies Threat of Terrorism Still Exists In
Afghanistan
• Türkiye, Saudi Arabia Discuss Bilateral Relations
India
• Odisha: Muslim Man, Kahinoor Islam, Heads Durga Puja
for Over Three Decades
• Welcome RSS attempt at reconciliation with Muslim
community
• PFI Used Abu Dhabi Restaurant as Hub for Hawala
Deals: ED
• 55 Afghan Sikhs, Hindus reach Delhi by special
flight
--------
North
America
• US Revokes Taliban Ruled Afghanistan's Designation
As Major Non-NATO Ally
• Donald Trump Alleges He Threatened Taliban Leader
with Satellite Images Of His House: Report
--------
Mideast
• Hamas: Al-Aqsa Mosque Being Subjected To Most
Dangerous Attacks in History
• Iran’s Guards launch artillery attack on ‘terrorist’
bases in Iraq: Report
• At least 35 killed in Iran protests: State media
toll
• Terror group PKK seeking to exploit Iranian protests
for own self-interest, warns expert
• 30 Palestinian prisoners go on hunger strike against
Israeli policy
• Israel forces Palestinian to tear down his house in
al-Quds, displacing entire family
--------
South
Asia
• UN Security Council to Discuss Situation of
Afghanistan Tomorrow
• Taliban’s Program for Beggars in Afghan Capital
Rounds Up Thousands
• Sikh refugees evacuated from Afghanistan to India
recall Taliban horror
• Bangladesh ferry accident kills 24, dozens missing
--------
Arab
World
• Lebanon migrant shipwreck death toll rises to 94
• Germany’s Scholz visits Saudi Arabia on hunt for
energy partnerships
• Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shells
bases of 'anti-Iran groups' in northern Iraq amid unrest
• Lebanon’s Grand Mufti appeals for unity in meeting
with Sunni MPs ahead of presidential election
--------
Pakistan
• Pakistan Government Leaders’ Leaked Audio Clips
Raise Security Concern In The Country
• Shehbaz Sharif-led govt wants to resume trade ties
with India: Imran Khan
• Balochistan PA Adopts Motion for Repeal of
Transgender Law
• 6 Pakistan Army officials martyred in Harnai
helicopter crash: ISPR
• Alvi draws ire from senators for assuming role of
‘broker’
• Ashrafi sues Punjab govt on sacking MUB chairman
--------
Africa
• UN Chief Calls for ‘Civilian-Led Political
Transition' In Sudan
• Zamfara Killings: Islamic Group Hails Nigerian Media
• 5 Western countries call for holding elections in
Libya
• Militant attack kills four in Burkina Faso
--------
Europe
• EU Says Iran Protest Crackdown ‘Unjustifiable,
Unacceptable’
• Attackers hurl Molotov cocktail at Iranian Embassy
in Athens: Greek media
• Police clash with anti-Iranian regime protesters in
London and Paris
• Iran summons British ambassador over London-based
channels’ role in instigating riots
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Don’t Trust Malay-Muslim Parties That Ignore
Corruption, Says Anwar
• Zahid warns BN of ‘enemies under the blanket’
• RIP unity unicorn, killed by racially-inclined
politics
• State units to control political donations proposed
in new bill
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/prophet-eid-milad-masjid-misgivings/d/128039
--------
‘Prophet for All Campaign’: Ahead of Eid-e-Milad
Mumbai Masjids Initiative To Enlighten Non-Muslims On The Prophet’s Teachings,
And Removing Misgivings About Islam
Initiative to remove
misgivings about Islam among non-muslims underway in Mumbai masjids
-----
Quaid Najmi (IANS) | Mumbai
September 26, 2022
Barely a fortnight before Prophet Mohammad’s birthday
on October 9 celebrated worldwide as Eid-e-Milad, several Muslim groups in
Mumbai have united for a unique initiative to enlighten non-Muslims on the
Prophet’s teaching and preaching and remove misgivings about Islam.
Titled ‘Prophet For All Campaign’, the initiative will
see the participation of various masjids, madrassas, Muslim-run schools or
colleges, NGOs, social and cultural organisations and other entities.
“This is not intended to be an evangelical exercise.
We are only keen to carry the Prophet’s message of love, peace and brotherhood
to all our non-Muslim brethren – Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains,
Buddhists, etc – for a better understanding of Islam and its followers,” the
Campaign torchbearer Adv. Yusuf Abrahani, who is also the Islam Gymkhana
President, told IANS.
Besides the Prophet’s message for humanity, it will
also dwell on environment, conserving water, compassion for the poor,
destitutes, orphans, workers or women along with certain activities conducted
specially for non-Muslim audiences, he added.
President of the Association of Muslim Professionals
(AMP), Aamir Edresy said that there are around 500 registered masjids in
Mumbai, nearly 400 schools and 20 colleges run by various Muslim trusts who are
also being roped into the Campaign.
“We are sending appeals through the students to their
families to participate in the campaign, invite at least five locals or
neighbours to their homes for a meal on Oct. 9, and try to convey the Prophet’s
message, with similar pleas even on social media,” Edresy informed IANS.
The PFAC will put up banners of the Prophet’s teaching
which have universal appeal at major railway stations, bus stands, outside
mosques or other public places, to make the maximum number of masses aware, on
October 8.
On October 9, a special amushaira’ shall be held at
the Islam Gymkhana featuring non-Muslim poets who have written on the Prophet
with the audience comprising invitees from different communities, added
Abrahani.
Explaining the principle behind the PFAC, the duo said
that in recent times, certain misconceptions about Islam and Muslims have been
created which have caused immense distress to the law-abiding and peaceful
minority community in the country.
The PFAC hopes to dispel such wrong notions among the
masses, make them aware of the true beauty of Islam, its philosophy of
universal peace, brotherhood, love and concern for all people irrespective of
their faith, etc, they said.
Abrahani recalled how many Muslims had fought for
India’s Freedom, many had contributed in different ways to Mahatma Gandhi’s
struggle for Independence, and Muslims have always remained at the forefront of
various wars to protect their Motherland.
“Even during the recent Coronavirus pandemic for two
years, hundreds of mosques in Mumbai and other parts of the state, besides
individuals took care of lakhs of ordinary folks, threw the doors open for the
migrants, the poor and needy, with meals, and a safe place to rest and
refresha,” added Edresy.
The next goal is to have regular meal services for the
deprived sections of society in all mosques, like the Sikh community, all
mosques to remain open round-the-clock for people without any restrictions,
offering other social-cultural services to the nearby communities,
competitions, health initiatives, and more, as the budgets of the masjid trusts
would permit.
Other members like Saeed Khan, Wamir Idrisi, Farooq
Syed have urged Muslims to visit orphanages, destitute homes, old age
institutions, blind persons or even hospitals on October 9 to distribute food,
fruits or items of daily necessities to the needy, as propounded by the
Prophet.
“On the Prophet’s birthday, various organisations,
NGOs, mosques, and others hope to offer celebratory meals to around 300,000
non-Muslims across Mumbai. We shall continue this campaign on a long-term
basis,” said Abrahani.
Meanwhile, starting the main PFAC activities, groups
of mediapersons (non-Muslim), IAS-IPS officers, police personnel, lawyers,
civic workers, politicians, film celebs, cricketers, industrialists, and
leading social personalities shall be invited in batches at a series of events
culminating with the Prophet’s birthday.
The PFAC organisers are hopeful that this will help
curb the venom spewed against Islam and its followers in India by a miniscule
number of amisguided individuals’ and help strengthen the existing bonds of
Muslims with all other communities.
(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)
Source: The Statesman
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Scaled Replica of Al-Qaeda Leader’s Hideout on Display
in CIA Museum
A model of the house where
a precision counterterrorism operation killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri
is displayed at the refurbished museum at the Central Intelligence Agency
headquarters building in Langley, Virginia, on Saturday, 24 September 2022.
Source: AAP / AP
----
By Saqalain Eqbal
25 Sep 2022
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) displayed the
replica of Ayman al-Zawahiri’s hideout in the CIA museum, which was used to
plan the US drone operation that killed the Al-Qaeda supremo last month.
Inside the CIA’s Virginia headquarters is the
organization’s museum, which has a scale replica of the five-story house with
white walls and three partially covered balconies where the al-Qaeda chief was
killed.
The museum is only open to guests and staff of the
agency; it is not open to the public. As part of a larger initiative to
highlight the agency’s history and accomplishments, the CIA reportedly
permitted journalists to tour the museum, which had recently been renovated in
time for the CIA’s 75th anniversary.
Nearly a year after the US withdrew from Afghanistan,
concluding a two-decade conflict in which the CIA played a key part;
Al-Zawahiri was killed using the unique scale model of his residence in Kabul.
Two Hellfire missiles launched from a CIA drone killed
the al-Qaeda leader while causing very little damage elsewhere to prevent
non-combatant fatalities.
The group has not yet been successful in finding Ayman
al-Zawahiri’s body according to a Taliban official, after stating that the
group did not have the knowledge of the al-Qaeda chief’s stay in Kabul.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.khaama.com/scaled-replica-of-al-qaeda-leaders-hideout-on-display-in-cia-museum-76586/
--------
Mufti of al-Quds: Israeli Settlers’ Incursions into
Al-Aqsa Mosque Aimed at Altering Its Status Quo
Photo: Fars Today
----
25 September 2022
The Grand Mufti of al-Quds Sheikh Muhammad Hussein has
warned against the increasing break-ins by Israeli settlers into the al-Aqsa
Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds, saying they are an attempt
to change the status quo of the holy Palestinian site.
Speaking to the Voice of Palestine radio on Sunday,
the senior cleric said the mosque is a pure Islamic holy site that is the sole
right of Muslims, and that Israeli settlers have no right to pray or perform
rituals there, Palestine’s Wafa official news agency reported.
He further called on the Muslim world to intervene to
stop the ongoing incursions by Israeli soldiers and settlers on al-Aqsa Mosque,
which he says have turned into systematic violations aimed at changing the
status quo of the holy site.
The remarks came after Israeli settlers once again
intruded into the compound earlier in the day in their latest act of
provocation against the sacred site.
Scores of Israeli settlers, escorted by military
forces, broke into the compound through the Moroccan Gate on Sunday and
provocatively performed rituals and Talmudic prayers.
Hundreds of settlers were also reported to perform
rituals in the Al-Buraq Wall plaza, which overlooks the mosque from the west.
The incident took place amid calls by Israeli settler
organizations to hold mass break-ins into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound ahead of
the Jewish holidays on September 29.
Such mass settler break-ins almost always take place
at the behest of Tel Aviv-backed temple groups and under the auspices of the
Israeli police in al-Quds.
‘Settlers plan to implement Jewish rituals at al-Aqsa’
Meanwhile, the preacher of al-Aqsa Mosque and former
Grand Mufti of al-Quds, Sheikh Ekrima Sa'id Sabri, has warned that the most
dangerous threat that is facing the holy site nowadays is the intensive
break-ins that are carried out by extremist settlers.
“The plan to use the shofar (trumpet) in al-Aqsa
Mosque’s courtyards means imposing the Jewish religion on al-Aqsa Mosque and
performing rituals of non-Muslims, and this also means imposing a new fait
accompli at the mosque and controlling it gradually,” the cleric, who is
currently heading the Higher Islamic Council in al-Quds, said on Saturday.
He said al-Quds turns into a military zone on every
Jewish religious or national occasion.
Sabri also denounced the Israeli authority for
insisting on banishing Muslim worshipers from al-Aqsa Mosque, saying it is an
“illegal and uncivilized policy” that violates Muslims’ freedom of religion.
The al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which sits just above the
Western Wall plaza, houses both the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Israeli regime enables the Jewish visitation of
al-Aqsa despite the fact that an agreement signed between Israel and the
Jordanian government in the wake of Israel’s occupation of East al-Quds in 1967
prohibits non-Muslim worship at the compound.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Taliban Denies Threat of Terrorism Still Exists In Afghanistan
Representative Image
----
24 September, 2022
Kabul [Afghanistan], September 24 (ANI): Responding to
concerns expressed by countries at the 77th UNGA session over the terrorism
threat still emanating from Afghanistan, the Taliban said that the allegations
were baseless.
“These concerns, based on incorrect information and
sources, are being brought up as the relevant parties are yet to hand over the
seat of Afghanistan at the United Nations to its rightful legal and political
owners, the Afghan government,” read a statement from Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Some countries, including the United States and
Pakistan, expressed concerns at the 77th session of UNGA that the threat of
terrorism still exists in Afghanistan.
The Taliban further stated that if the group will be
considered the legal and political owners of the Afghan government, it will
open an opportunity to share ground realities of Afghanistan with the region
directly and world countries and address any concerns.
“The Islamic Emirate once again rejects such
assertions and reiterates its position to the world: the territory of
Afghanistan will not be used against any other country, nor does any armed
group currently have a presence in Afghanistan. Rather than raising
unsubstantiated concerns and allegations, the world should engage positively
with the Islamic Emirate by sharing their views and concerns directly, and not
through the media or public statements,” added the statement.
The Taliban launched an offensive against the
democratically elected Afghan government last year after the Biden
administration announced the end of its military presence in Afghanistan.
On August 15, 2021, the Taliban swept into Kabul
without encountering any resistance and gained complete control over the Afghan
capital. Later in September, the Taliban declared a complete victory in
Afghanistan and formed an interim government, which hasn’t yet been officially
recognized by any country.
Since its ascent to power in Kabul, the Islamic group
imposed policies severely restricting basic rights–particularly those of women
and girls.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Taliban
dismissed all women from leadership posts in the civil service and prohibited
girls in most provinces from attending secondary school.
Taliban decrees prohibit women from travelling unless
accompanied by a male relative and require women’s faces to be covered in
public–including women TV newscasters.
The Taliban have also censored, limited critical
reporting, and beaten journalists. Taliban forces have carried out revenge
killings and enforced disappearances of former government officials and
security force personnel. They have summarily executed people deemed affiliated
with the Islamic State.
Armed groups linked to the Afghan branch of the
Islamic State have carried out bombings targeting ethnic Hazaras, Afghan Shias,
Sufis, and others, killing and injuring hundreds. (ANI)
Source: The Print
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://theprint.in/world/taliban-denies-threat-of-terrorism-still-exists-in-afghanistan/1141711/
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Türkiye, Saudi Arabia Discuss Bilateral Relations
Photo: aa.com
-----
Ayşe Böcüoğlu Bodur
25.09.2022
Türkiye and Saudi Arabia discussed relations between
the two countries, sources said Saturday.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a meeting with
Turkish Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati at the Al-Salam Palace in the Saudi
Arabian province of Jeddah, according to the source who requested anonymity due
to restrictions on speaking to the media.
Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin was also
present at the meeting, which was confirmed by Türkiye’s Finance Ministry
sources.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Saudi
Arabia in April, where relations were recently re-established as the crown
prince had come to Türkiye in June.
Opportunities for the development and diversification
of mutual trade between the two countries, facilitating trade and overcoming
challenges, increase communication in the public sector along with the private
sector to explore investment opportunities and transform them into concrete
partnerships in various fields had constituted the main topics of the meeting
between Erdogan and Salman.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/turkiye-saudi-arabia-discuss-bilateral-relations/2694005
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India
Odisha: Muslim Man, Kahinoor Islam, Heads Durga Puja
for Over Three Decades
26th September 2022
By Sukanta Sahu
BARIPADA: Love
and compassion for people can transcend the boundaries of faith and establish
communal harmony without even seeking to establish it. Kahinoor Islam proves it
with his deeds.
This 74-year-old Muslim resident has been the sole
reason Tentulidinga village under Gangraj gram Panchayat has its own Durga Puja
celebration today.
Back in 1986, upon seeing women of the village travel
to Baripada town just to take part in Durga Puja, he came up with the idea of
starting the festival in their own village. Why can’t we hold our own puja, he
asked? When he shared his suggestions with villagers, they agreed to his proposal
and with funds collected from locals, the Tentulidinga Durga Puja Committee was
established. Since then Kahinoor is discharging the responsibility of committee
head with around 500 members.
“It is only because of villagers’ support and
encouragement that I’m able to keep the committee running and have been
successfully conducting the Durga Puja festival for the past 37 years,” said
Kahinoor adding that he was only 34 when he took charge of the committee. His
two daughters Taha Parveen and Joha lend financial support in running the
committee. Taha is an executive with a
US-based company in Pune while younger sister Joha is an Economics
postgraduate. Both are proud of what their father has been doing with such devotion
for the last 37 years.
The best part of the celebration at Tentulidinga is
people from different walks of life, despite belonging from other communities,
provide financial support to the committee to facilitate its smooth running.
“The devotion in Kahinoor’s heart for the puja towers
over elaborate decoration, lights and pandal,” said Paritosh Nanda, who as a
priest, has been attending to the puja duties of the committee for the past 21
years.
Source: New Indian Express
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Welcome RSS attempt at reconciliation with Muslim
community
26th September 2022
The first-ever visit of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to a
mosque and a madrasa last week suggests a sincere purpose beyond reproach. In
the past, he had made conciliatory remarks saying Hindutva without Muslims has
no meaning. In the context of the Gyanvapi controversy, he had said, ‘you can’t
go looking for a Shivling under every mosque’. But his maiden visit to Islamic
institutions took the outreach to the next level. It cemented a late
realisation that the entire Muslim community cannot be vilified for radical
acts of a few and that national integration would be incomplete without
representation of all sections of the population. He said as much at a meeting
he had with five prominent Muslim intellectuals last month—former Lt Governor
Najeeb Jung, former CEC S Y Quraishi, former vice chancellor Zameer Uddin Shah,
former MP Shahid Siddiqui and businessman Saeed Shervani.
While politicians like Owaisi dissed it, calling the
intellectuals rootless elite, the fact that they set up a talks table ought to
be applauded. How else can knotty problems be addressed in a democracy? At the
meeting, Bhagwat accepted their anguish at labelling all Indian Muslims as Pakistanis
or jihadis. Likewise, he said calling all Hindus kafirs (interpreted by
radicals as enemies of Islam) was not fair either. Bhagwat also articulated the
perceived insensitivity from the other side to the cow, considered holy by
Hindus. He had no patience for hotheads spitting venom like those in the
controversial Dharm Sansads. Bhagwat was also emphatic that the Sangh was
committed to respecting the supremacy of the Constitution.
The Sangh began grappling with the Muslim question at
least since the early 1990s, as it realised that Muslims could not be wished
away because of the sheer size of their population. The Muslim Rashtriya Manch
was floated to platform nationalists within the community. But instead of
approaching integration the way Gandhiji did, the Sangh first worked on
unlocking Hindu majoritarian power. A few months ago, at Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s bidding, the BJP started reaching out to the poor Pasmanda
Muslims to add to its vote bank.
Source: New Indian Express
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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PFI used Abu Dhabi restaurant as hub for hawala deals:
ED
Sep 26, 2022
NEW DELHI: The Popular Front of India (PFI) has
thousands of active members in Gulf countries where it has raised substantial
funds and is sending them to India through hawala transactions, the Enforcement
Directorate has said. This is contrary to the claims made by PFI that most of
the Rs 120 crore it had received came through petty cash donations in India.
The agency has said its probe has revealed that the
Thejas newspaper acted as the front’s mouthpiece both in India and the Gulf,
where the outfit had raised funds and misled authorities back in India by
creating fake donation receipts.
PFI officebearers, many of whom have been in
detention, used Abu Dhabi’s Darbar restaurant as the den for all hawala
transactions and their illegal transfer to India, ED has said. Abdul Razak BP,
arrested earlier in the money laundering case against PFI, was involved in
carrying out the money laundering activities of PFI and related entities
through Darbar restaurant. He received proceeds of crime from his brother who
was managing Darbar restaurant in Abu Dhabi, the ED has said.
Another company owned by Razak — Tamar India Spices
Pvt Ltd — was also used to launder proceeds of crime. “Shafeeque Payeth worked
for two years in Gulf Thejas Daily as a business development manager till 2018.
Gulf Thejas Daily is the arm of Thejas Newspaper which is published by
Intermedia Publishing Ltd in which Abdul Razak BP was one of the directors at
that time,” the ED has said in its remand note against Payeth who was arrested
on Thursday in Kerala.
Payeth, who is the founding member of the PFI since
2007, was given the responsibility of collecting funds from Qatar. Abdul Razak
used his personal network in Abu Dhabi and allegedly converted Darbar
restaurant as the money laundering centre, according to ED.
The kingpin of all the major fund collections and
hawala dealings in the Gulf was, however, Ashraf MK, who was member of the PFI
Kerala state executive council and also served as the PFI president of
Ernakulam. Ashraf is also an accused in the Professor Joseph hand chopping case
of 2010. The ED probe reveals that he was also involved in the funding of PFI
as well as related entities and was the owner of Darbar restaurant in Abu Dhabi
which served as a money laundering front of PFI, the agency has claimed.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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55 Afghan Sikhs, Hindus reach Delhi by special flight
Sep 26, 2022
NEW DELHI: Sunday marked a poignant moment in the
story of the exodus of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus from their country to India as a
special flight brought the last big lot of the remaining members of the
communities in Afghanistan to Delhi.As 55 men, women and children landed in
Delhi, the number of those from the Sikh community remaining in Afghanistan
number just a little over 40 with most of them staying back to protect and care
for the "Guru Granth Sahib" amid the ongoing impasse with the Taliban
regime which has refused to allow the religious scriptures to be taken out
citing them to be the heritage of Afghanistan.
The evacuation of distressed Afghan Sikhs carried out
by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandak Committee in coordination with social
organisation Indian World Forum and the Indian government saw the special
flight on Sunday bring to Delhi 38 adults, 14 children and three infants.
Kirpal Singh (28), who made a living from his small
shop selling daily need items in Kabul, arrived with his wife and three
children, the youngest Iknoor Singh just one and half years old. The fear of
attacks cast a shadow over families like his own in Kabul, Kirpal said, as he
recalled the attack on one of thr most prominent gurdwaras in June. "My
father used to serve in the gurdwara. He came to India earlier but I shudder to
think what would have happened if he would have been present in the gurdwara
when the attack happened. I am happy that I have found safety for my family in
India," he said. Kirpal said he could never think of sending his children
to school in Kabul but now he hopes to give them an education for a better
life.
Puneet Chandhok from IWF said while this is the last
big lot of families to arrive, still 43 Sikhs remain in Afghanistan and nine
e-visa applications are pending for issuance with the government of India. Most
of them are people who have stayed back to care for the religious scriptures and
are likely to leave only if the Taliban regime will allow them to take with
them the Guru Granth Sahib to India
Chandhok shared that four copies of the religious
scriptures are in Afghanistan. He sought urgent measures from the Indian
government to help break the impasse so that the Taliban regime allows the
scriptures to be brought to India.
TOI had reported earlier this month that a group of
Afghan Sikhs who were to leave for India on September 11 were stopped from
taking the Guru Granth Sahib along with them as the religious scriptures were
cited to be the heritage of Afghanistan.
The move drew strong condemnation from Amritsar-based
Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee president Harjinder Singh Dhami who called
the Taliban government's decision a "direct interference in the religious
affairs of Sikhs".
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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North
America
US revokes Taliban ruled Afghanistan's designation as
major non-NATO ally
September 24, 2022
Over a year after the Taliban overthrew the
democratically elected government in Kabul, the United States has rescinded the
designation of Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally.
The United States named Afghanistan a major non-NATO
ally in July 2012, which paved the way for the two sides to maintain economic
and defence ties. It also helped Kabul with defence and security-related aid
and equipment.
"By the authority vested in me as President by
the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including
section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2321k)
(the "Act"), I hereby terminate the designation of Afghanistan as a
Major Non-NATO Ally of the United States for the purposes of the Act and the
Arms Export Control Act," US President Joe Biden said in a presidential
order.
In July, Biden notified the US Congress of his intent
to rescind the designation of Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally.
"In accordance with section 517 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2321k), I am providing notice of
my intent to rescind the designation of Afghanistan as a Major Non-NATO
Ally," Biden said in an earlier letter.
The Taliban launched an offensive against the
democratically elected Afghan government last year after the Biden
administration announced the end of its military presence in Afghanistan.
On August 15, 2021, the Taliban swept into Kabul
without encountering any resistance and gained full control over the Afghan
capital. Later in September, the Taliban declared a complete victory in
Afghanistan and formed an interim government, which hasn't yet been officially
recognized by any country.
Since its ascent to power in Kabul, the Islamic group
imposed policies severely restricting basic rights--particularly those of women
and girls.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Taliban
dismissed all women from leadership posts in the civil service and prohibited
girls in most provinces from attending secondary school. Taliban decrees
prohibit women from travelling unless accompanied by a male relative and
require women's faces to be covered in public--including women TV newscasters.
The Taliban have also carried out censorship, limited
critical reporting, and beaten journalists. Taliban forces have carried out
revenge killings and enforced disappearances of former government officials and
security force personnel. They have summarily executed people deemed affiliated
with the Islamic State.
Source: Business Standard
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Donald Trump Alleges He Threatened Taliban Leader With
Satellite Images Of His House: Report
September 24, 2022
Donald Trump recently claimed that during his
negotiations with the Taliban as the President of the United States he
threatened to "obliterate" the co-founder of the Terrorist group if
he stepped out of line. In an interview with Fox News earlier this week, Mr
Trump stated that he gave Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar a satellite
image of his home as a veiled warning amid talks with the terrorist group.
"I sent him a picture of his house," the
former US President insisted of Abdul Ghani Baradar, who is now the deputy
prime minister after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan.
"He said, 'But why do you send me a picture of my
house?' I said, 'You'll have to figure that one out,'" Mr Trump claimed.
"I said, 'If you do anything - from that point on
we didn't loose one soldier - we're going to hit you harder than any country
has ever been hit.' He said, 'I understand, your Excellency,'" he
continued.
Further, during the interview, Mr Trump also noted how
he had wanted to get out of Afghanistan and had been the one to whittle the
American presence "down to a very few soldiers". "We would have
had a very similar schedule, but I would have taken the military out
last," he insisted, adding he would also have not allowed $85 billion
worth of "the best military equipment in the world" to be "left
behind".
Mr Trump also went on to say that US President Joe
Biden's "horrible withdrawal" led to 13 service members getting blown
up in horrifying scenes of chaos at Kabul airport in August last year. "We
lost 13 soldiers, and we also had a large number of soldiers horribly wounded -
no legs, no arms, their face blown to smithereens," he said.
He even insisted that a "lot of bad people"
were also able to flee Afghanistan in the mass of people cramming into jets
unchecked in the rush to flee. "A lot of bad people got on those
airplanes. Bad people - terrorists," Mr Trump claimed.
Source: ND TV
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Mideast
Hamas: Al-Aqsa Mosque being subjected to most
dangerous attacks in history
26 SEPTEMBER 2022
Al-Aqsa Mosque is suffering the “most dangerous”
attacks in its history since the Jewish occupation of Jerusalem began,
Palestinian group Hamas said Sunday.
Hamas spokesman Abdullatif al-Kanu said in a statement
that the resistance forces will never forsake their responsibilities towards
al-Aqsa.
Emphasizing that the mosque has been subjected to the
most dangerous and wide-ranging attacks since the Jewish occupation, he said
that the raids of Jewish settlers are a new attempt to make the Muslim holy
site Jewish.
He urged Palestinians to gather and stand guard at
al-Aqsa to counter the Jewish raids.
He added that Israel will be responsible for what
happens in the mosque.
Hazem Qasem, another Hamas spokesman, told Anadolu
Agency that the raid on al-Aqsa during the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah is
against international norms and rules. It provoked the feelings of the Arab and
Islamic world, he added.
"Israel is waging a systematic war against holy
places by targeting the identity of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque. The attitude
of the resistance forces on this issue will be shaped according to Israel's
actions,” he said.
Israeli authorities have allowed incursions by Jewish
settlers at the mosque compound since 2003, despite repeated objections and
warnings by Palestinian religious authorities as the visits provoke Muslim
worshippers.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for
Muslims. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two
Jewish temples in ancient times.
Source: Yenisafak
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Iran’s Guards launch artillery attack on ‘terrorist’
bases in Iraq: Report
24 September, 2022
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards launched an artillery
attack on anti-Iranian militant bases in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq on
Saturday, Iranian state television reported.
“Headquarters of anti-Iranian terrorists” based in
northern Iraq were targeted by the Guards, state TV said, in reference to
Kurdish groups based there.
Iran has blamed the armed Iranian Kurdish dissidents
of involvement in ongoing unrest in the country, particularly in the northwest
where most of Iran's up to 10 million Kurds live.
“These operations... will continue in order to ensure
viable border security, punish criminal terrorists and hold officials (of the Kurdish
Regional Government) accountable toward international regulations and their
legal duties,” the Guards said in a televised statement.
Iranian officials have often called on the KRG to curb
the activities of Iranian Kurdish groups in the area. They also say Israeli
agents are based in the region, which is denied by KRG.
Source: Al Arabiya
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At least 35 killed in Iran protests: State media toll
24 September, 2022
At least 35 have been killed in more than a week of
protests that erupted in Iran after the death of a young woman in police
custody, state media reported.
“The number of people who died in recent riots in the
country has risen to 35 people,” the Borna news agency, which is affiliated to
the sports ministry, said late Friday, citing state television.
The official toll had previously stood at 17 dead,
including five security personnel.
Demonstrators have taken to the streets of major
cities across Iran, including Tehran, for eight straight nights since the death
of Mahsa Amini.
The 22-year-old Kurdish woman was pronounced dead
three days after her arrest in the Iranian capital for wearing the hijab
headscarf in an “improper” way.
Thousands of people marched through Tehran during a
pro-hijab rally Friday, paying tribute to security forces who have moved to
quell a week of protests by what media called “conspirators.”
Demonstrations in support of the security forces also
took place in several cities across the country including Ahvaz, Isfahan, Qom
and Tabriz.
Amini died after spending three days in a coma after
her arrest by Iran’s morality police, a unit responsible for enforcing the
Islamic Republic’s strict dress code for women.
Activists said she suffered a blow to the head in
custody but this has not been confirmed by the Iranian authorities, who have
opened an investigation.
On Friday night, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said
Amini had not been beaten.
“Reports from oversight bodies were received,
witnesses were interviewed, videos were reviewed, forensic opinions were
obtained and it was found that there had been no beating,” Vahidi was quoted as
saying by Iranian media.
The minister indicated said the government was
investigating the cause of Amini’s death, adding “we must wait for the final
opinion of the medical examiner, which takes time.”
Source: Al Arabiya
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Terror group PKK seeking to exploit Iranian protests
for own self-interest, warns expert
Dilara Hamit
26.09.2022
The terrorist group PKK and its Iranian affiliates are
trying to take advantage of nine days of protests following the Sept. 16
killing of a young woman in police custody, said a Turkish expert on the ongoing
protests.
Cagatay Balci, a PhD from the Ankara-based National
Defense University, told Anadolu Agency that although the protests started
independently of the armed groups, these groups soon sought to steer this
process, and the IKPD, PJAK – an Iranian terror group affiliated with the
terrorist PKK – and Komele groups began to get involved in demonstrations
concentrated in Kurdish-majority cities.
Referring to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, he
said: "Of course, the most important reason for this advantage for Kurdish
armed groups is that (Amini) was born in Saqqez, in Iran's Kurdish region, and
her death was seen as an attack on Kurdish identity in Iran, or discrimination
against Kurdish society, or subconscious discrimination. It triggered the experience
of exclusion, and they began to use the very clear expression of this
consciousness that evolved in Kurdish armed groups.”
He also stated that this was presented and perceived
as a women's liberation movement, particularly abroad, and said armed groups in
Iran dominated by Kurds, like the IKPD, tried to mobilize it around Kurdish
identity, whereas Komele and the PJAK see themselves as taking part in a
women's liberation movement alongside Kurdish identity, adding that seeing the
protests as a women's rights movement also generates a favorable environment.
Türkiye, the US, and Iran have all designated the
Iranian-based PJAK as a terrorist group.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against
Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and
EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including
women, children, and infants.
"Furthermore, given the ideology, it got from the
(terrorist group) PKK, for many years the PJAK has been presenting its actions
as campaigning for women's rights. In reality, many political fronts were
founded for this goal, as were women's armed wing organizations. During these
rallies, I believe the PJAK was successful in both safeguarding Kurdish
identity and combining the themes and arguments of the women's liberation
movement," he said.
No major upheaval expected
"I don't believe the protests will escalate into
a major rebellion in Iran's Kurdish territories, as happened in 1979 (the year
of the country’s revolution overthrowing the shah). Of course, the ultimate
goal of these groups is to incite a rebellion and insurgency, but this can’t
happen due to Iran's security measures," Balci explained.
He said the security measures will not allow these
groups potentially escalate the protests into an uprising, but added that the
groups will simply try to deepen the protests as much as possible, intensify
them, and make them as massive as possible.
"But we will see how successful this can be
within days because Iran has already begun to implement tough measures,"
he added.
Attack on Iran's Embassy in Athens
Early Sunday, attackers threw Molotov cocktails at the
Iranian Embassy in Athens, reportedly causing no significant damage. Balci said
that looking at Greece's relations with terror groups, the terrorist group PKK
might have organized the attack.
"In recent days, the Lavrion camp, in particular,
has become increasingly prominent,” said Balci, referring to a camp in Greece
that Türkiye has charged became a terrorist headquarters and training ground.
“This camp is home to many terrorist groups,
particularly those operating against Türkiye. This brings up the fact that
these groups are very active in Greece. This incident may have been carried out
by the PKK; sure, this is a normal process; we're talking about a process that
every state that protects terrorist groups would face at some point.”
Turkish officials have long warned that any country
that harbors or protects terrorist groups will eventually find itself targeted
by those same groups.
Protests in Iran erupted on Sept. 17 following the
funeral of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who died after being detained by the
morality police in the capital Tehran for allegedly wearing her hijab head
covering improperly.
Authorities have sought to pin blame on her death on a
heart attack, but her family and many others in Iran have rejected the claim,
saying she was the victim of police brutality. Authorities have promised a
thorough investigation of Amini's death.
Her death has triggered a wave of angry protests in
Iran over the past week, with protesters calling for justice and
accountability.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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30 Palestinian prisoners go on hunger strike against
Israeli policy
25 September 2022
Thirty Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli
jails have gone on an open-ended hunger strike against their administrative
detention.
The official Palestinian Wafa news agency reported on
Sunday that the prisoners said in a statement that their collective detention
amounted to 200 years, according to Samidoun, the Palestinian Prisoner
Solidarity Network.
“Hundreds of years, during which the occupation
prevented us from embracing our families or seeing our children as they were
born or growing up. We never celebrated their birthdays, we did not accompany
them on their first school day,” the statement said.
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are currently being
held under the administrative detention policy. Israel’s administrative
detention is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charge. The Israeli regime
keeps the detainees without charge for up to six months; a period which can be
extended indefinitely.
There are reportedly more than 7,000 Palestinians held
in Israeli jails. Human rights organizations say Israel violates all the rights
and freedoms granted to prisoners by the Geneva Convention.
The Palestinian prisoners are kept under deplorable
conditions lacking proper hygienic standards. They have also been subjected to
systematic torture, harassment, and repression.
The United Nations and the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC), as well as many human rights group have frequently
expressed serious concern about health condition of the prisoners on hunger
strike.
Source: Press TV
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/09/25/689841/Palestinian-prisoners-hunger-strike
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Israel forces Palestinian to tear down his house in
al-Quds, displacing entire family
25 September 2022
Israeli authorities have forced a Palestinian man to
demolish his house in occupied East al-Quds, displacing all eight members of
his family.
The Palestinian Information Center, citing local
sources, reported on Sunday that Fareed Jaber was left with no choice but to
totally knock down his house in the vicinity of the Bab al-Asbat entrance of
the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City to avoid paying for heavy
demolition costs and fines to the municipality.
Jaber had received a demolition notice from the
Israeli municipality under the pretext that his house was built without a
permit.
He was given the choice of either tearing down the
house at his own expense or having the demolition carried out by Israeli
authorities, which would have required him to pay large fines for the
operation.
A family of eight was rendered homeless as a result of
the Israeli move.
Israel routinely demolishes Palestinian houses in the
occupied West Bank and East al-Quds, claiming the structures have been built
without the so-called permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. They also
sometimes order Palestinian owners to demolish their own houses or pay the
demolition costs.
Israel has already occupied thousands of dunums of
Palestinian agricultural land to construct and expand new illegal settler units
in various areas in the West Bank.
The Tel Aviv regime also plans to force out
Palestinian families from neighborhoods in East al-Quds in an attempt to
replace them with settlers.
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 al-Quds.
All Israeli settlements are illegal under
international law. The United Nations Security Council has condemned Israel’s
settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.
Source: Press TV
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South
Asia
UN Security Council to Discuss Situation of
Afghanistan Tomorrow
By Saqalain Eqbal
26 Sep 2022
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) stated that
it will convene to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
The UNSC session on Afghanistan is scheduled to take
place on Tuesday, September 27, according to an announcement from the United
Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
The meeting will be briefed by Markus Potzel, the
acting head of UNAMA and the Deputy Special Representative of the UN
Secretary-General.
Naseer Ahmad Faiq, the Afghanistan Permanent Mission’s
Chargé d’Affaires, previously announced that he will not be speaking at the
77th meeting of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 77).
The Afghan representative at the UN did, however,
confirm that he is scheduled to participate and make a statement regarding the
situation in Afghanistan at the UN Security Council meeting on September 27.
Representative Faiq also wrote on his Twitter handle
that the UNSC’s session on Tuesday, 27th of September will be focused on the
situation in Afghanistan, where he will be voicing the people’s concerns and
demands.
Source: Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/un-security-council-to-discuss-situation-of-afghanistan-tomorrow-67445/
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Taliban’s Program for Beggars in Afghan Capital Rounds
Up Thousands
By Saqalain Eqbal
25 Sep 2022
Following an order from the Taliban supreme leader,
over 8,000 beggars have been rounded up from the streets of Kabul, the capital
of Afghanistan, Taliban authorities said.
The Taliban government’s Deputy Prime Minister for
Economic Affairs, on Sunday, September 25, stated that 8,444 beggars, including
5,779 women, had been rounded up from various areas around Kabul.
Only 1,750 of these women have been identified as
“deserving,” according to the statement, and the remaining women are
“professional” beggars.
The Taliban Deputy Prime Minister for Economic
Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who also chairs the “Beggar Collection
Committee”, stated that out of the 718 men who were collected as beggars, 236
were found to be “deserving” and the remaining 482 were determined to be
professional beggars.
There are more than 1947 children among the beggars
collected, 1079 of whom are identified as deserving and 41 of them are orphans,
according to information provided by the Taliban government.
According to the announcement, orphaned beggar
children have been transferred to the educational facilities under the Ministry
of Labor and Social Affairs after undergoing biometric registration.
The orphaned children are said to receive education in
these facilities in addition to sustenance and shelter.
The Taliban government says that hundreds of
individuals have already benefited from the cash assistance program that the
Afghan Red Crescent Society has begun to provide to deserving beggars. However,
the fate of the “professional” beggars remains uncertain.
Source: Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/talibans-program-for-beggars-in-afghan-capital-rounds-up-thousands-43738/
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Sikh refugees evacuated from Afghanistan to India
recall Taliban horror
Sep 26, 2022
An evacuation flight carrying people from the Sikh
minority in Afghanistan -- who are fleeing the Taliban rule -- arrived in India
Sunday. Upon arrival, one of them expressed happiness for having fled the
country, which plunged into a crisis after the Taliban returned to power last
year, overthrowing the Ashraf Ghani-led government.
Talking to news agency ANI, Baljeet Singh spoke of the
conditions in the country, and said he had been imprisoned by the Taliban for
four months. "The condition is not very well in Afghanistan. I was
imprisoned for four months. The Taliban have cheated us, they cut our hair in
prison. I am thankful and happy to return to India," he said.
Fifty-five Afghan Sikhs arrived in a special flight
which landed at Delhi airport Sunday, as a part of the government's efforts to
evacuate the distressed minorities in the Taliban-led nation. The flight was
organised by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandak Committee, Amritsar, in
coordination with the Indian World Forum and the Centre to evacuate these
Afghan minorities, said ANI.
Another refugee thanked the government for providing
urgent e-visas and safely evacuating them.
"We would like to thank the Indian government to
give us urgent visas and help us to reach India. Many of us still have families
left behind as around 30-35 people are left stranded in Afghanistan,"
Sukhbeer Singh Khalsa said.
On July 14, a total of 21 Afghan Sikhs, including an
infant, were evacuated from Kabul to New Delhi on Kam Air, the largest private
Afghan airline.
About 700 Hindus and Sikhs were reported to be in
Afghanistan in 2020, but a large number of them left the country following the
Taliban's takeover on August 15, 2021.
There has been a reported rise in a series of attacks
on the Sikhs since the Taliban took over Afghanistan.
Source: Hindustan Times
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Bangladesh ferry accident kills 24, dozens missing
Sep 25, 2022
DHAKA: At least 24 people were killed and around the
same number were missing on Sunday after an overcrowded boat carrying Hindu
pilgrims capsized on a river in Bangladesh, police said.
"Firefighters and divers are searching for more
bodies," local police official Shafiqul Islam told AFP, confirming that 24
deaths had been confirmed so far, most of them women and children.
The boat was packed with up to 50 pilgrims, police
said.
They were travelling to a centuries-old temple when
the vessel suddenly tipped over and sank in the middle of the Karotoa river
near the town of Boda in northern Bangladesh.
Another police officer said up to 25 people were still
missing.
Local media said at least 10 people had been rescued
and sent to hospital.
Mobile phone footage aired by TV station Channel 24
showed the overcrowded boat suddenly flip over, spilling the passengers into
the muddy brown river.
Dozens of people watching from the shore around 20
metres (yards) away started shouting and screaming. The weather was calm at the
time.
Thousands of Hindus in Muslim-majority Bangladesh
visit the Bodeshwari Temple every year.
Sunday marked the start of Durga Puja, the biggest
Hindu festival in Bangladesh -- and also eastern India -- drawing large crowds
at the temple.
The incident was the latest in a string of similar tragedies
in the low-lying delta country which is criss-crossed by rivers.
Experts in the South Asian nation of 170 million
people blame poor maintenance, lax safety standards at shipyards and
overcrowding.
Last December more than 40 people perished when a packed
three-storey ferry caught fire in the south of the country.
The blaze broke out early in the morning when most of
the passengers were sleeping near the rural town of Jhakakathi, 250 kilometres
(160 miles) south of the capital Dhaka.
A ferry sank in Dhaka in June last year after a
collision with another vessel, killing at least 32 people.
Source: Times Of India
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Arab
World
Lebanon migrant shipwreck death toll rises to 94
24 September, 2022
The death toll from a migrant boat that sank off the
Syrian coast after sailing from Lebanon earlier this week has risen to 94,
after more bodies were recovered from Syria's Baniyas coast on the
Mediterranean, Syrian state TV said on Saturday.
It is the deadliest such voyage yet from Lebanon,
where mounting economic desperation has led many to board often rickety and
overcrowded boats in the hope of reaching Europe.
Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees, called it a “heart-wrenching tragedy.”
At least 20 people rescued were recovering in
hospitals in Syria, some in a serious condition, according to the United
Nations.
Lebanon, a country which hosts more than a million
refugees from Syria's civil war, has since 2019 been mired in a financial
crisis branded by the World Bank as one of the worst in modern times.
It has become a launchpad for illegal migration, with
its own citizens joining Syrian and Palestinian refugees clamoring to leave.
More than 450,000 Palestinians are registered in
Lebanon with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
As many as 150 people were on board the small boat
that sank off the Syrian port of Tartus, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of
Tripoli in Lebanon, from where the migrants set sail.
Those on board were mostly Lebanese and Syrians and
Palestinians, and included both children and the elderly, the UN said.
“No one gets on these death boats lightly,” UNRWA
chief Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement. “People are taking this perilous
decisions, risking their lives in search of dignity.”
Lazzarini said more must be done “to offer a better
future and address a sense of hopelessness in Lebanon and across the region,
including among Palestine refugees.”
Since 2020, Lebanon has seen a spike in the number of
migrants using its shores to attempt the perilous crossing in jam-packed boats
to reach Europe.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Germany’s Scholz visits Saudi Arabia on hunt for
energy partnerships
24 September, 2022
Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Saudi
Arabia’s Jeddah on Saturday as part of a two-day visit to the Gulf region.
Scholz, accompanied by a sizeable industry delegation,
was received at Jeddah airport on the Red Sea coast by Mecca region’s governor
Prince Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud.
Afterward, he went to Al Salam Royal Palace to meet
with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The German chancellor hopes to agree new energy partnerships
with the oil- and gas-rich Gulf states, following the loss of supplies from
Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.
Saudi Arabia’s importance as a fossil fuels exporter
and regional power means a “solid working relationship” is needed with the
Crown Prince, a government source told AFP.
Berlin wants to extend cooperation on new technologies
such as green hydrogen produced using renewable energy, which Germany could
import in vast quantities from the Gulf states, said government sources.
Source: Al Arabiya
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https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2022/09/24/Germany-s-Scholz-arrives-in-Saudi-Arabia-s-Jeddah
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Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shells bases
of 'anti-Iran groups' in northern Iraq amid unrest
Syed Zafar Mehdi
24.09.2022
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said
Saturday it had carried out an artillery attack on terrorist group headquarters
in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.
In a statement on Saturday, the IRGC said its ground
forces targeted the positions of Komala, an armed rebel group, accusing it of
smuggling weapons into Iran.
The guard said the attack was carried out after the
"arrival of terrorist teams and a large cache of weapons" in
northeast Iran to "sow unrest.”
It comes amid nationwide protests in the wake of the
death of a 22-year-old Iranian woman in police custody last week.
Mahsa Amini, an ethnic Kurd, belonged to a section of
Iran with a large Kurdish population where protests have grown louder over the
past week.
The IRGC statement said the attacks would continue,
calling on locals to refrain from approaching the "headquarters and
centers of anti-Iranian terrorist groups.”
Media reports in Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government
confirmed heavy artillery shelling on the outskirts of the capital province of Erbil,
near the villages of Barbazin and Saqr.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or
damage to property.
Iran has long accused rebel groups based in northern
Iraq of carrying out destabilizing activities in the border region, where the
majority of Iranian Kurds live.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Lebanon’s Grand Mufti appeals for unity in meeting
with Sunni MPs ahead of presidential election
September 25, 2022
BEIRUT:
Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian warned on Saturday that
Lebanon has become a failed state.
“We are rapidly moving toward no state at all, and the
Arabs and the world will soon start ignoring Lebanon’s existence because of
political mismanagement at all levels,” he said.
“We need to elect a new president and the MPs are
responsible for electing him or creating a presidential vacuum.”
Derian had invited Sunni MPs for a meeting at Dar Al-Fatwa
to discuss possible candidates.
All but three of 27 Sunni MPs from different political
currents attended the meeting, including one MP affiliated with Hezbollah, in
addition to reformist and independent MPs.
Two reformist MPs, Ibrahim Mneimneh and Halima
Al-Qaaqour, and independent MP Osama Saad did not attend.
A source in Dar Al-Fatwa said that the meeting was
aimed at uniting the Sunni bloc in parliament to allow it to have a meaningful
say in the presidential elections.
The bloc also aims stop any attempts to tamper with
the Taif Agreement and undermine its provisions regarding Lebanon’s
constitution, the source said.
The meeting focused on efforts to preserve national
unity, and respect constitutional deadlines on the election of a new president and
the formation of a government capable of implementing financial, monetary and
legislative reforms, including an economic recovery plan.
During the meeting, Derian said that the survival of
nations and states depends on the effectiveness of their constitutional
institutions.
The president is the protector of the constitution,
and the Christian president in Lebanon is a symbol of coexistence on which the
Lebanese system is based, he said.
Arabs “recognize and appreciate the Lebanese
experience” because the Lebanese president is the only Christian president in
the Arab world, Derian added.
He urged MPs to encourage respect for the president’s
position, and help him assume his role at home and abroad.
Derian also said the new president must preserve the
principles of the Taif Agreement, the constitution, coexistence, and Lebanon’s
national, Arab and international legitimacy.
If these matters are neglected, Lebanon will be unable
to maintain order, stability and its national entity, he added.
Derian highlighted the need to put an end to made-up
sectarian, divisive clashes over powers and return to the constitutional
principle of separating powers but maintaining cooperation between them.
He called for the election of a president
characterized by the personal and political qualities of a public businessman
who would be ethically responsible for the mission with which he is tasked.
The new president must have wisdom, national
responsibility and integrity, as well as the ability to be inclusive of all
Lebanese, and to use his powers to help the country out of this crisis and
prevent it from reaching total collapse, he said.
Derian reiterated: “Either we elect a president with
these qualities, or we see the regime and the state fall before our eyes.”
He also appealed for respect for the prime minister
and help for the PM-designate with his mission.
“This is a joint responsibility that rests with
everyone. We are looking forward to forming a government as soon as possible,
perhaps in the next few days,” said Derain, adding that Lebanon needed a
government with full powers — and not a
caretaker government — in these harsh
and difficult circumstances.
Derian said Lebanon can survive only if consensus is
reached. There is no salvation without unity, away from tension, sectarian
strife and incitement, he added.
Lebanon needed a president “who is not part of the
problem or the cause of it.”
In a statement issued after the meeting, those present
stressed the principles advocated by Dar Al-Fatwa, especially in terms of committing
to the Taif Agreement, Lebanon’s Arab identity and national unity.
They also condemned the abuses that had harmed and
were still harming the foundations of national reconciliation and coexistence.
The Sunni MPs stressed the need to end Lebanon’s suffering
under mismanagement and rampant corruption.
“Saving Lebanon requires recognizing the mistakes that
were made, holding the perpetrators accountable, whoever they are, and
sincerely cooperating with the different Lebanese and Arab parties and the
international community to restore Lebanon’s identity and stature,” they said.
The Sunni MPs said that they will work with fellow MPs
to elect a new president on the specified constitutional date.
They said that the new president “needs to abide by
the constitution and be loyal to the people of Lebanon and their interests.”
The statement added that Lebanon’s enemy was and still
is the Israeli army, which continued to occupy parts of the Lebanese
territories.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2169136/middle-east
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Pakistan
Pakistan government leaders’ leaked audio clips raise
security concern in the country
SEPTEMBER 25, 2022
Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif, several ministers and
PML-N leaders are heard talking about Finance Minister Miftah Ismail in some of
the purported audio clips
More purported audio clips featuring leaders of
Pakistan’s government surfaced on Sunday, raising questions about the security
of high-profile places and the meetings held there.
One of the clips involved a conversation among several
senior leaders of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the
high-security PM House.
Interior minister Rana Sanullah, defence minister
Khawaja Asif, law minister Azam Tarar, and minister for economic affairs Ayaz
Sadiq can be heard talking about the fate of Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and
the resignations of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers from the National
Assembly.
Another audio clip is purportedly about a conversation
between PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
about Finance Minister Ismail.
Ms. Maryam who is the daughter of former three-time
premier Nawaz Sharif wields a lot of influence in the government and is
critical of Mr. Ismail.
“He (Ismail) doesn’t take responsibility […] says
strange things on TV which people make fun of him for […] he doesn’t know what
he is doing,” she is heard saying in the clip.
“He clearly cut corners,” the voice said to be PM
Shehbaz is heard as saying.
“Uncle, he doesn’t know what he is doing,” Ms. Maryam
says, as she wishes for the return of PML-N stalwart Ishaq Dar, who has been
tipped to come back next week to take charge of the Finance Ministry.
Another clips involves conversation about imports from
India
The two clips followed another a day earlier involving
PM Shehbaz and the unidentified official who is talking about Ms. Maryam’s wish
that her son-in-law should be allowed to import some machinery from India.
The government has not said anything about the leaked
clips but the opposition PTI has already taken the issue to the social media
domain and lambasted the government. Fawad Chaudhry, former information
minister of PTI, shared the over two-minute-long audio clip said to be a
conversation between PM Shehbaz and the official, alleging the ruling party was
more interested in safeguarding family affairs.
Talking about the leaking of conversation from the PM
Office, he said that the data was offered up for sale on the dark web, showing
the state of the country’s cybersecurity.
“This is a failure of our intelligence agencies,
especially the [Pakistan’s] Intelligence Bureau (IB). Obviously, apart from
political issues, important discussions on security and foreign issues are now
in everyone’s hands,” he said.
Shireen Mazari, former human rights Minister in the
PTI government, said one of the alleged audios showed the laying down of
groundwork for Mr. Dar’s return.
“The leaked audios certainly reveal the influence of
convict Nawaz Sharif and his convict-on-bail daughter in the running of this
imported government itself a cabal of crooks,” she said.
She went on to say that the “real issue” was who
bugged the PMO or the Prime Minister House in the first place.
Source: The Hindu
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Shehbaz Sharif-led govt wants to resume trade ties
with India: Imran Khan
Sep 25, 2022
PESHAWAR: Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan
said on Sunday that his government had snapped trade ties with India after New
Delhi revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 and claimed that
the Shehbaz Sharif-led government wanted to resume it.
Addressing a rally in Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
69-year-old Khan also said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Vice President
Maryam Nawaz was "incapable of telling the truth" as he once again
accused her of keeping nepotism above national interests.
"Maryam wants to import power plant machinery
from India for her son-in-law," he said, while referring to a audio leak
in which Prime Minister Sharif is allegedly being told that Maryam's son-in-law
wants to import a power plant from India.
"Our government had stopped trade with India
because it…ended the special status of Kashmir," Khan said, adding that
the present “imported rulers” wanted to resume trade relations with India at
the cost of Pakistan's integrity and solidarity.
In recent weeks, several business chambers have urged
the government to import essential items like onion and tomato from India for
the sake of consumers in the wake of soaring prices of the vegetables following
the devastating floods in the country.
Relations between India and Pakistan have often been
strained over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
However, the ties between the two countries nosedived
after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special
status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two Union
Territories on August 5, 2019.
India's decision evoked strong reactions from
Pakistan, which downgraded diplomatic ties and expelled the Indian envoy. Trade
ties between Pakistan and India have largely been frozen since then.
Famous for using cricket terminologies in his speeches
in relevance to his politicking, the cricketer-turned-politician said this time
he would take three wickets with one ball in his struggle for attaining real
independence. He claimed the entire nation was standing behind his struggle for
real independence.
"The government should not miscalculate the
nation's resolve to get rid of these imported rulers,” he said.
"We are ready for the final showdown and an
announcement for the final call for agitation would be made in a couple of
days,” he added.
Source: Times Of India
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Balochistan PA adopts motion for repeal of transgender
law
Saleem Shahid
September 26, 2022
QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly has adopted a
resolution unanimously calling upon the provincial government to plead with
Islamabad to declare the Transgender Act of 2018 null and void in deference to
the religious parties.
The resolution was moved by Asghar Ali Tareen, a JUI-F
member. The session, held on Saturday night, was presided over by Deputy
Speaker Sardar Babar Khan Musakhail.
The resolution termed the Transgender Person
(Protection of Rights Act) against recommendations of the Council of Islamic
Ideology (CII).
The council had termed the act against Islamic
injunctions, a member said.
“Ulema belonging to all schools of thought have not
only condemned the controversial law as against the Sharia but also termed it a
move to promote homosexuality,” the resolution said.
Article 277 of the Constitution stipulates that no
anti-Sharia law can be made, the resolution added.
Malik Sikander Khan, the opposition leader in the
provincial assembly, deplored the transgender act and termed it against
traditions.
He said the Constitution was the best protector of the
rights of transgender persons.
“They not only enjoy fundamental rights but are also
entitled to a share in family property,” Malik Sikander added.
No law can be made against Islamic values and before
introducing any law, it is imperative for the legislature to send the draft to
the CII for its opinion, the MPA observed.
“But unfortunately the government did not follow this
procedure.”
He described the transgender act as an attack on
Sharia and expressed apprehensions the law would “open the floodgates to
homosexuality”.
“The nation will never accept such un-Islamic laws and
all such attempts will be foiled with full force.”
Asghar Tareen, the resolution’s mover, termed the law
a conspiracy against Islam. “This act was adopted in haste at a time when
legislators were preparing for the (2018) general election,” he recalled.
The Council of Islamic Ideology had not recommended
passage of the bill, he said, calling upon the government to repeal “this
heinous law forthwith”.
Shakeela Naved Dehwar of the Balochistan National
Party-Mengal, however, saw nothing objectionable in the transgender act,
arguing there was no provision for change of gender in the law.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1712034
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6 Pakistan Army officials martyred in Harnai
helicopter crash: ISPR
Naveed Siddiqui
September 26, 2022
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on
Monday that six Pakistan Army officials, including two majors, were martyred
after a helicopter crashed during a flying mission near Khost in Harnai,
Balochistan.
“All six personnel on board, including two pilots,
have embraced shahadat,” the military’s media affairs wing said, adding that
the incident occurred late last night.
The martyred officials were identified as:
39-year-old Major Khurram Shahzad (pilot), a resident
of Attock. He was married with one daughter.
30-year-old Major Muhammad Muneeb Afzal (pilot), a
resident of Rawalpindi. He was married with two sons.
44-year-old Subedar Abdul Wahid, a resident of
Sabirabad village in Karak. He was married with four children, including three
sons and a daughter.
27-year-old Sepoy Muhamad Imran, a resident of Makhdoompur
in Khanewal. He was married with two daughters and a son.
30-year-old Naik Jalil, a resident of village Bhutta,
Lohara, Teh Kharian in Gujrat district. He was married with two sons.
35-year-old Sepoy Shoaib, a resident of village
Khatarphatti PO Syeeda Teh Jhand in Attock district. He was married with one
son.
The ISPR has yet to release details about the cause of
the crash which comes more than a month after a similar incident occurred in
Balochistan.
On August 1, a Pakistan Army helicopter with six
people on board, including Commander 12 Corps Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali,
lost contact with the air traffic control in Balochistan’s Lasbela district.
A day later, the wreckage of the helicopter was found
near Musa Goth, with all personnel on board embracing martyrdom. According to
the ISPR, the accident occurred due to bad weather.
‘Too many crashes’
Reacting to the news of the latest crash, Prime
Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that he was deeply grieved. He prayed for the
deceased and their family members, adding that the entire nation shared the
grief of the bereaved.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said he was deeply
saddened to hear of the incident, terming it to be “tragic”.
PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry said helicopter flying was
getting dangerous, adding that this required “engineering evaluation”.
“Too many crashes […] rest in peace bravehearts. All
were too young to die,” he said.
Climate Minister Sherry Rehman offered her condolences
over the lives lost in the crash. She also prayed for the families of the
martyred officials.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo
expressed deep grief and sorrow over the helicopter crash. In a statement, he
said the entire nation paid rich tribute to those who sacrificed their lives
while performing their duties.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1712054/6-pakistan-army-officials-martyred-in-harnai-helicopter-crash-ispr
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Alvi draws ire from senators for assuming role of
‘broker’
Syed Irfan Raza
September 26, 2022
ISLAMABAD: PML-N and PPP senators on Sunday criticised
President Arif Alvi for his remarks about army chief’s appointment, with the
former blaming him for toeing his party chairman’s line and the latter accusing
him of assuming an unconstitutional role of a ‘broker’.
PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui said: “President Alvi’s
suggestion to conditionalise appointment of the army chief with consensus among
all political parties was absurd. Instead of toeing Imran Khan’s line, the
president should uphold the constitution as it is he who has taken oath to
protect and implement it.”
He made it clear that the executive has the authority
to appoint the army chief in all democratic countries.
“Neither any controversy arose in the past, nor any
opposition demanded its inclusion in the consultation process for the purpose.”
PPP Senator Mian Raza Rabbani said the president
should stop trying to create ‘political space’ for himself as this was in
violation of the Constitution of 1973. “He is not an honest broker, therefore,
not acceptable to the political stakeholders for a political dialogue. He
(president) cannot be part of an institutional dialogue because of mala fide
references sent by him against judges of the superior judiciary,” the
ex-chairman of senate added.
Under the constitutional framework, according to him,
the president has no such role nor will the parliament allow him to toy with
the Constitution.
Source: Dawn
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of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1712036/alvi-draws-ire-from-senators-for-assuming-role-of-broker
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Ashrafi sues Punjab govt on sacking MUB chairman
September 25, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Special Representative for
Interfaith Harmony and Middle East Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi on
Sunday informed that he had filed a petition in Lahore Haigh Court challenging
his removal as Muttahida Ulema Board (MUB) chairman.
In an exclusive talk with APP, he said the termination
of his services as the MUB chairman was against the law as he was appointed the
board’s chairman on February 19, 2019 and reassigned the portfolio on March 31,
2022.
Ashrafi who is also the chairman of Pakistan Ulema
Council, said as per law, the board’s chairman could not be removed till the
completion of his constitutional term.
He said the Auqaf Department had illegally terminated
his services as the MUB chairman on September 19, through a notification.
He further said the notification of new appointment
also did not mention the logical reasons of this abrupt change in the religious
organization.
He said the court had sought justification from a
provincial law officer that under which law the new appointment of the MUB
chairman was made.
The prime minister’s special aide said the MUB was a
religious body and it must not be used for political purposes.
He said throughout his tenure as chairman, the board
was kept away from politics and the misuse of blasphemy laws were discouraged
at all levels of the society.
He said during his tenure, not a single case of
blasphemy law was registered on fictitious grounds against any individual or
group.
Shedding light on the board’s performance, he said it
achieved many a milestone for the provision of intersect and interfaith harmony
under his supervision during the last two and half years. It was not only
acclaimed at the national level but also acknowledged internationally for
handling the sensitive issues pertaining to blasphemy laws, he added.
Source: Pakistan Today
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https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/09/25/ashrafi-sues-punjab-govt-on-sacking-mub-chairman/
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Africa
UN chief calls for ‘civilian-led political transition'
in Sudan
Mohammad Tareq
24.09.2022
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said
Sudan is in need of a "civilian-led political transition" in order to
realize the aspirations of the Sudanese people.
Guterres made the remarks during his meeting with the
head of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council, Gen. Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, late
Friday in New York on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General
Assembly, according to his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
"The Secretary-General expressed serious concern
about the continuing political crisis in Sudan, as well as the rapidly
deteriorating security, economic and humanitarian situations," Dujarric
said.
He said the UN chief "emphasized the urgent need
for an inclusive political agreement that restores the civilian-led political
transition," in order to realize stability, peace, and economic prosperity
in Sudan.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Zamfara killings: Islamic group hails Nigerian media
September 26, 2022
By Don Silas
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has lauded the Nigerian
media for properly reporting the killing of Muslims in Zamfara by bandits last
Friday.
MURIC also hit out at the Christian Association of
Nigeria (CAN) for reportedly claiming that it was only Christians that are
being killed in Nigeria.
MURIC disclosed this in a statement on Sunday by its
director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
Recall that at least 15 persons were reportedly killed
when terrorists opened fire at worshipers last Friday during Jummat prayers in
the North West of Zamfara State, northwest Nigeria.
DAILY POST learnt that the incident occurred in Ruwan
Jema town in Bukkuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara when the peaceful
worshipers were observing their prayers.
“Terrorists invaded the Friday prayer mosque in Ruwan
Jema town in Bukkuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara State Friday, 23rd
September, 2022, killing fifteen and injuring forty-eight Muslim worshippers.
The armed men hid their guns inside their clothes and pretended to be
worshippers opened fire on innocent worshippers after entering the mosque.
“The Nigerian press really went to town with stories
of the Zamfara killings and most media houses identified the victims as
Muslims. This is quite laudable.
“The Media Monitoring Unit of MURIC reported the use
of the following captions in different media houses to describe the Zamfara
killings. Even some foreign media like Voice of America and Reuters were not
left out of the fair reportage, We salute them all.
“Both Christians and Muslims deserve fair
representation in media reports. This will promote peaceful coexistence among
the different faiths.
“The manner of reporting the Zamfara killings thus
revealed the fact that it was Muslims that were killed and injured last Friday.
We, therefore, wonder how the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) arrived at
its conclusion that only Christians were being killed in Nigeria and it tried to
sell such a dangerous idea to the West, knowing it to be false,” it said.
Source: Daily Post Nigeria
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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https://dailypost.ng/2022/09/26/zamfara-killings-islamic-group-hails-nigerian-media/
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5 Western countries call for holding elections in
Libya
Mohammad Tareq
24.09.2022
The United States and four European countries have reiterated
support to hold inclusive presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya
"in the shortest time possible."
This came in a joint statement issued by the
representatives of the US, UK, France, Italy and Germany in Libya following
their closed meeting in New York on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN
General Assembly in New York.
The representatives of the five countries
"expressed their support for Special Representative of the
Secretary-General Abdoulaye Bathily as he takes up his mandate to advance
political stability and reconciliation among Libyans."
They underlined the importance of having a
"transparent management of oil revenues and agreeing on a unified
executive with a mandate focused on preparing for elections."
The five countries also strongly rejected "any
use of violence and reiterated their support for full implementation of the
October 23, 2020 cease-fire agreement" between Libya’s warring rivals.
Oil-rich Libya has remained in turmoil since 2011 when
longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted after four decades in power.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/5-western-countries-call-for-holding-elections-in-libya/2693693
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Militant attack kills four in Burkina Faso
September 25, 2022
OUAGADOUGOU: At least two soldiers and two civilian
auxiliaries died in a “terrorist” attack on a patrol in eastern Burkina Faso,
the army said Sunday.
A military unit and VDP volunteer auxiliaries were
ambushed on Saturday between Sakoani and Sampieri in Tapoa province, bordering
Niger and Benin, an army statement said.
“The fighting unfortunately cost the lives of two
soldiers and two VDP,” it added.
However, a security source said the death toll was
four soldiers and two volunteers.
A VDP official confirmed two dead from the volunteer
ranks with “some still missing.”
Another security source said the militants also
suffered losses, without giving a figure for the dead.
Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba seized power in a
January coup, ousting Burkina’s elected leader and promising to rein in the
militants.
But the violence has raged on in neighboring countries
stoked by insurgents affiliated to Al-Qaeda and Daesh. Thousands have died and
some two million been displaced by the fighting in landlocked Burkina since
2015.
Separately, Damiba defended his military takeover,
though he acknowledged it was “perhaps reprehensible” and inconsistent with the
UN’s values.
Damiba said the overthrow of the democratically
elected president was “necessary and indispensable.”
“It was, above all, an issue of survival for our
nation,” he said. That’s even if it was “perhaps reprehensible in terms of the
principles held dear by the United Nations and the international community as a
whole.”
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2169391/world
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Europe
EU says Iran protest crackdown ‘unjustifiable,
unacceptable’
25 September, 2022
The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said
Sunday that Iran's crackdown on protests is “unjustifiable” and “unacceptable”,
as Tehran vowed no leniency against the unrest gripping the country.
A wave of protests has rocked Iran since the death of
22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran's morality police.
At least 41 people have died, mostly protesters but
including members of the Islamic republic's security forces, according to an
official toll, although human rights groups say the real figure is higher.
In a statement on behalf of the EU, Borrell said: “For
the European Union and its member states, the widespread and disproportionate
use of force against nonviolent protestors is unjustifiable and unacceptable”.
Moves “to severely restrict internet access by the
relevant Iranian authorities and to block instant messaging platforms is a
further cause for concern, as it blatantly violates freedom of expression”, he
added.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Attackers hurl Molotov cocktail at Iranian Embassy in
Athens: Greek media
Dilara Hamit
25.09.2022
Unidentified attackers threw a Molotov cocktail at the
Iranian Embassy in Athens early Sunday, Greek media reported.
According to daily Kathimerini, the Greek police said
two hooded people on a motorcycle hurled the Molotov cocktail at the embassy
while passing by the building.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Police clash with anti-Iranian regime protesters in
London and Paris
September 26, 2022
PARIS: Police clashed with demonstrators trying to
reach Iran’s embassies in London and Paris on Sunday.
French police used tear gas and employed anti-riot
tactics to prevent hundreds of people protesting in the capital from marching
on Tehran’s diplomatic mission, AFP reporters and eyewitnesses said.
In London, police said they made 12 arrests and five
officers were “seriously injured” as demonstrators tried to break through
barriers protecting Iran’s UK embassy.
The protesters in Paris had gathered for the second
day running to express outrage at the death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest
by Iran’s morality police — and to show solidarity with the protests that have
erupted in Iran, at a cost of at least 41 lives.
Similar rallies in support of Iranian women have
occurred around the world.
The demonstration had began peacefully at Trocadero
Square in the center of the French capital. Some protesters chanted “Death to
the Islamic Republic” and slogans against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei.
But police in full anti-riot armor, backed by a line
of vans, blocked the path of the protesters as they sought to approach the
Iranian embassy a short distance away.
Police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters.
In a statement, Paris police said that “on several
occasions groups tried to break through the roadblock set up near the Iranian
embassy. The police used... tear gas to repel them.”
They said about 4,000 people had gathered for the
demonstration. One person was arrested for “outrage and rebellion” and one
officer was slightly hurt, said police.
The use of tear gas angered activists already upset by
President Emmanuel Macron’s talks and public handshake with Iranian President
Ebrahim Raisi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last week.
“Police used tear gas to disperse Iranian protesters
in Paris in an effort to protect the Islamic Republic embassy,” tweeted the
US-based Iranian women’s rights activist Masih Alinejad.
“Meanwhile, @EmmanuelMacron shook hands with the
murderous president of Iran.”
Protesters also repeated the viral Persian chants used
by protesters inside Iran such as “zan, zendegi, azadi!” (woman, life,
freedom!) and also its Kurdish equivalent “jin, jiyan, azadi!” Amini, also
known as Jhina Amini, was Kurdish.
“In view of what is happening, we Iranians are fully
mobilized,” said Nina, a Paris-based French Iranian who asked that her last
name was not given. “We must react given that we are far from our homeland, our
country.
“It’s really time we all come together so we can
really speak up so the whole world can really hear our voice,” she added.
Similarly tense scenes took place in London, where
images posted on social media showed protesters seeking to break through police
security barriers outside the Iranian embassy there.
London’s Metropolitan Police said “masonry, bottles
and other projectiles were thrown and a number of officers were injured. At
least five are in hospital with injuries including broken bones.”
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2169456/world
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Iran summons British ambassador over London-based
channels’ role in instigating riots
25 September 2022
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned Britain’s
ambassador to Tehran to express Tehran’s protest over hostile attempts by
London-base Persian-language television channels to further instigate deadly
riots that have erupted in several Iranian cities over the death of a young
woman, who died at the hospital a few days after collapsing at a police station
in the capital Tehran.
“In response to the hostile atmosphere being created
by the London-based Farsi-language media outlets against the Islamic Republic
of Iran, the UK ambassador [Simon Shercliff] was summoned by the foreign
ministry’s Director General for Western Europe,” the ministry announced in a statement
released on Sunday.
It added that a strongly-worded note of protest was
lodged to the British diplomat over London’s hosting the media, which have
fiercely sought in recent days to provoke violent protests and incite riots
against the Iranian government and the public.
The statement went on to stress that such bids amount
to interference in Iran’s internal affairs and violate the country’s national
sovereignty.
For his part, the British ambassador said that he will
immediately convey the matter to the officials of his respective country.
Norwegian Ambassador to Tehran Sigvald Hauge was also
summoned to explain the “interventionist stance” of the Scandinavian country's
President of the Storting (the supreme legislature) Masud Gharahkhani on Iran's
domestic affairs.
'Decisively and assertively'
Moreover, Iran’s interior minister has called upon the
country’s judiciary officials to deal with those leading and spearheading
desecration of Islamic sanctities and acts of vandalism swiftly, decisively and
assertively.
Ahmad Vahidi made the remarks on Sunday as he visited
the Iranian security personnel, who have been injured in stabbing assaults,
car-ramming attacks or pelted with rocks, during the recent protests.
Protests have broken out in several Iranian cities
over the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini,a young Iranian woman who died at
hospital a few days after collapsing at a police station in the capital Tehran,
where she and a group of others were receiving educational training on dress
code rules.
Despite Iranian officials’ clarification on
circumstances surrounding Amini’s death, violent street protests have led to
attacks on security officers and acts of vandalism against public property and
sanctities.
Speaking on Friday, Vahidi said the riots that have
followed Amini's death, had nothing to do with the tragic event, stating that
the issue was being exploited by rabble-rousers to instigate chaos and wreak
havoc across the country.
Last week, Iranian police released CCTV footage, which
shows Amini collapsing in the police station.
Source: Press TV
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Southeast
Asia
Don’t trust Malay-Muslim parties that ignore
corruption, says Anwar
September 25, 2022
BATU KAWAN: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has urged
Malaysians not to place their trust in political parties that are Malay and
Muslim in name, but not in practise when dealing with poverty, corruption, and
environmental degradation.
In a thinly veiled dig at Umno and PAS, Anwar said
that such parties tend to create a system that fosters income equality, which
breeds corruption. He said this manifests in acts that destroy the environment,
causing people to suffer.
“Hills are being levelled under the name of Malay and
Islam, and we say Allahuakbar (Allah is great),” said Anwar, who is PKR
president, when addressing 1,000 party members at the Wanita PKR assembly here
today.
He condemned those who “only take care of the
spiritual (side) and pray five times a day while donning a hijab” but who
condone all sorts of greed, the levelling of hills, and the theft of timber.
He said PKR is different from the Malay-Muslim
parties.
While defending the position of the Malay rulers,
national language, and the status of Malays and Islam, the party also gives
attention to all races when dealing with poverty, he said.
“That is the difference between us (PKR) and them. We
make no apologies, and we will remain committed to championing the cause of all
Malaysians, irrespective of their race or
religion.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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Zahid warns BN of ‘enemies under the blanket’
September 25, 2022
PETALING JAYA: Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has
warned his party that it is surrounded by “enemies under a blanket”, following
an open declaration by Perikatan National that Barisan Nasional is their main
enemy.
Zahid said Cabinet members from BN were exposed to the
risk of sabotage as long as the Cabinet continued to include Bersatu, which is
led by Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also PN chairman.
“With Muhyiddin’s announcement that BN is PN’s number
one enemy, the Cabinet should realise an enemy surrounds them and as long as
they defend this Cabinet together with Bersatu they are at risk of sabotage,”
he said.
The current Cabinet is headed by prime minister Ismail
Sabri Yaakob, who is an Umno vice-president. His government is a coalition that
includes BN, Perikatan Nasional comprising Bersatu and PAS, and other parties.
Zahid said Bersatu was founded to team up with Pakatan
Harapan to eliminate BN, and especially Umno. But after failing to do so, the
party had changed its tactics to attack BN in an effort to block the rise of
some Umno leaders.
“Fortunately, most of the BN leadership are able to
see Bersatu’s scheme although there is no denying that there are also a few who
are being deceived,” Zahid said.
“Also, isn’t it odd that Muhyiddin said Umno is the
number one enemy and not PH, despite him saying that PH’s fight was not the
same as the Malay-Muslim and Malaysian struggle?” he said in a Facebook post.
Zahid also said it was likely that the only party who
were confused by Muhyiddin’s statement was the top leadership of PAS.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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RIP unity unicorn, killed by racially-inclined
politics
September 26, 2022
A sense of unity among Malaysians has been elusive in
recent years, with the experience of genuine unifying national moments
increasingly rare.
Sports gave us many such moments in the past. Unity
was especially apparent in team sports, seen both in the makeup of the teams
doing battle and spectators urging them on from the stands.
Malaysia’s football, hockey and badminton teams gave
us many memorable moments between the 1960s and the early 1990s.
Who could ever forget the hockey World Cup squad of
1975, the football team qualifying for the Moscow Olympics in 1980, and
badminton heroes bringing home the Thomas Cup 30 years ago in 1992? Sadly, I
struggle to remember anything more recent than those.
National schools, universities and colleges of that
era formed the backbone of that unity, as reflected both in their teaching and
student populations.
These days, however, sports and educational
institutions have themselves become breeding grounds for racial and religious
tensions and intolerance, joining the political arena, the business community
and workplaces as venues of divisive racial politicking.
Unity appears to be like the mythical unicorn,
something so highly desirable, but which seems to have vanished completely from
our national conscience.
Malaysians of different ethnicities and religions have
retreated into their respective communes, with communities co-existing in
tenuous relationships.
The blame for this unfortunate state of affairs must
fall squarely on our leaders, most of whom secured their positions in
government along racial and religious lines and have gone on to govern by
perpetrating “divide-and-rule” policies.
The latest, no doubt, has been the reaction which
followed the KL Mufti’s edict telling Muslims that Islam prohibited them from
extending their condolences to non-Muslims using that ubiquitous phrase, “rest
in peace.”
That advice was immediately defended by the religious
affairs minister without consideration as to what impact it would have on
national unity.
Many similar instances of intolerance have cropped up
over the years. There is no need to list them here. Suffice to say that they
arise because those in authority invariably respond only in a way that
resonates with their base.
The reality is that modern Malaysia is shorn of
statesmen. There is no one with any ability or desire to rise above partisan
politics and offer himself as leader of all Malaysians, irrespective of race,
colour or creed.
Instead, we have political parties and leaders more
interested in preserving their positions of power.
Umno was once the bulwark that held Malaysia together;
nowadays it cannot even find a leader to hold the party together, with the rift
between president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob
widening with each passing day.
The two have been at loggerheads as to when the 15th
general election should be called, with Ismail doggedly resisting Zahid’s push
for early polls.
Ismail is likely to continue holding out, having told
the party’s supreme council that pollsters’ forecasts point towards a hung
parliament. The prime minister can now also claim that a majority in his
cabinet opposes holding the elections before year end, repelling relentless
pressure from Zahid’s faction to hold one immediately.
Despite his “Keluarga Malaysia” slogan, Ismail will
struggle to position himself as leader of all Malaysians. He cannot even claim
to be leader of Umno.
On top of that, neither MCA nor MIC can guarantee him
enough support from the Chinese and Indian communities to ensure that Barisan
Nasional sweeps to power, as it used to do almost effortlessly prior to 2008.
Neither is Ismail assured of support from his present
governing coalition partners post GE 15.
With multi-cornered fights expected for Malay votes,
tensions are already brewing between Umno and Muhyiddin Yassin’s Bersatu as
well as Hadi Awang’s PAS. Both Bersatu and PAS are expected to wage war with
Umno in the lead up to the elections.
Whether scars from those battles will heal
sufficiently, allowing them to govern jointly again, remains to be seen.
Another scenario may see Ismail cozying up to a more
unlikely ally in Loke Siew Fook’s DAP.
That alliance will undoubtedly face resistance from
both sides. Umno has a long-standing “No Anwar, No DAP” policy hurdle which
Ismail will need to overcome. It seems that a similar internal conflict is
simmering within DAP at the prospect.
As it stands, Umno will have to massively over-achieve
to improve on the 38 seats it currently holds in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat.
Even if it secures sizeable support from the 56 seats on offer in East
Malaysia, Umno faces an almighty struggle to ensure that BN collects at least
112 seats for control of the lower house.
Although currently boasting 90 seats, enough to make
PKR president Anwar Ibrahim a candidate for prime minister, the opposition
Pakatan Harapan coalition is still caught in a tight spot.
Once thought capable of uniting Malaysia, Anwar’s
allure has waned considerably within the coalition and even in his party.
Recent events also mean former prime ministers Dr
Mahathir Mohamed and Muhyiddin can no longer expect widespread support from
Malay voters let alone the rest of the electorate.
With existing coalitions expected to fall short of the
required majority and given multiple internal conflicts, leaders of the posses
of elected members of parliament will once again resort to horse-trading to
secure enough support to form the next government.
That means Malaysians can expect behind-the-scenes
shenanigans among political parties, unlikely pacts and possibly even
undesirable partnerships.
More memoranda of understanding are likely to follow.
Some will be willingly disclosed to the public while others may be locked away
only to see the light of day as and when disputes arise.
That is the cloak and dagger world of 21st century
Malaysian politics.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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State units to control political donations proposed in
new bill
September 25, 2022
PETALING JAYA: An agency to control political
donations in every state has been proposed as one of the planks in a new law on
political financing being drafted by the government.
Law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said today: “We
no longer want this money to be kept or hidden in certain places because money
donated to certain parties (must) go through a fund that is administered by a
responsible party.”
Speaking to reporters in Lundu, Sarawak, he said an
agency to regulate political donations was among the measures proposed for
inclusion in the bill drafted by the national centre for governance, integrity
and anti-corruption.
The proposal was in a draft submitted to the Cabinet
but it was decided that all states must also establish their own centres, he
said, Bernama reported.
“I have asked my officers and those from the
Attorney-General’s Chambers to implement this according to the stipulated
timeline,” he said.
He said he was confident that the political financing
bill would get the support of MPs from the government and opposition blocs when
it is tabled in November.
Yesterday, Wan Junaidi said the views of all MP would
be sought at a meeting in Parliament House on Sept 28 to obtain feedback on the
draft bill.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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