Right-Wing and Populist Politicians in Europe Welcome Ukrainian Refugees - But Not Muslim Ones
New Age Islam News Bureau
08 March 2022
A young refugee coming
from Ukraine sits on a woman's lap after arriving in Bucharest on 4 March 2022
(AFP)
------
• PM Imran Urges Swift Prosecution to Prevent Attacks
like Peshawar
• Taliban Threatening Provincial Media in Afghanistan,
Says Rights Group
• Syria: Latest Israeli Aggression Directly
Coordinated With Daesh Terrorist Attack
• PAS Practices Islam, Does Not Exploit It for
Politics, Nur Jazlan Told
Europe
• Ukraine crisis jeopardizes Middle East's Black Sea
wheat supply
• Turkish, Moldovan presidents discuss Russia's attack
on Ukraine
• Taliban school attack survivor becomes Oxford Union
president
• Former UK PM Tony Blair admits he 'may have been
wrong' over Iraq invasion
--------
Pakistan
• Ulema to Play Key Role in Discouraging Fake News,
Promoting Islamic Moral Values of Tolerance: President Alvi
• Persecution of Muslims in India Proven Two-Nation
Theory True: President Alvi
• Imran Khan's Warning To Opposition on ‘No Trust’: Ready
for What I Will Do?
--------
South
Asia
• Taliban critic released after being detained for two
days
• Afghans believe nations falling victim to US
policies
• EU Welcomes Schools, Universities Resumption for
Afghan Girls
• China asks for urgent release of Afghanistan’s
reserves
• IOM: close to 20 million people above 18 are
unemployed in Afghanistan
• Nearly 400 Civilians Killed In Afghanistan under Taliban
Rule: UN
--------
Arab
World
• Mixed reactions over Al-Azhar Imam's call to end war
in Ukraine
• Arab-Israeli party rallies to get students out of
Ukraine
• Russia recruiting Syrians to fight in Ukraine:
Report
• Hezbollah Supporters Attack Protester Chanting:
‘Free Beirut, Iran Out’
• World Defense Show: Saudi Arabia, Lockheed to
localize missile parts manufacturing
• UAE and Austria Sign MoU on Hydrogen Production
Technology: WAM
• UAE sends 30 tonnes of emergency medical and relief
aid to war-hit Ukraine
-------
Southeast
Asia
• Perlis council seeks court order to safeguard
children’s Islamic faith
• Wife of senior Abu Sayyaf Group leader arrested in Philippines:
Official
• Indonesian Police Probe Suspected Smugglers’ Role in
Rohingya Arrival
• Indonesia recovers bodies of eight murdered
technicians
--------
Mideast
• Iran Says Won’t Let ‘Foreign Factors’ Hurt Its
Interests in Nuclear Talks
• Israel says it downed 2 Iranian drones in other
countries
• Iran seeks ‘details’ of Russian demands on nuclear
deal
• Iran asks for clarification from Russia on US
‘guarantee’
• Yemeni Minister: US behind Siege of Yemen; No
Humanity Seen From West
• Israel exploits world’s double standards for its own
benefit: Palestinian Foreign Ministry
--------
North
America
• US Intelligence Uncovers Plot by Iran’s Quds Force
to Assassinate John Bolton: Report
• Muslim groups ask feds to intervene on behalf of
Egyptian refugees in Vancouver
• Biden administration to announce sanctions waivers
for Syrian Kurds, Sunni opposition-held areas
• Blinken, Israel's Lapid discuss Ukraine-Russia
diplomacy, Iran nuclear talks
--------
India
• BJP MLA's Remarks against Muslims Lead to Opposition
Walkout In Bihar Assembly
• Two Muslim Men, Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Azam
Beaten Up, Religious Slurs Hurled At Them in Gurugram
• Student Accuses Hijab-Clad Girls of Issuing Threat
in Mangaluru
• Few more terror modules active in Assam: CM
• Committed to provide humanitarian aid to
Afghanistan, says India at UN
--------
Africa
• Nigeria: Islamic Finance - Sanusi Preaches Religious
Tolerance, Hails Non-Muslims Promoting Non-Interest Banking
• 2 UN peacekeepers killed in Mali explosion
• UN adviser calls for ending blockade over Libya oil
fields
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/right-wing-europe-ukrainian-refugees-muslim/d/126529
--------
Right-Wing and Populist Politicians in Europe Welcome
Ukrainian Refugees - But Not Muslim Ones
A young refugee coming
from Ukraine sits on a woman's lap after arriving in Bucharest on 4 March 2022
(AFP)
------
By Rayhan Uddin
7 March 2022
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine presses on and
devastates innumerable lives in the process, over 1.7 million refugees have now
fled to neighbouring countries.
While most Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60 have
stayed behind to defend the country, women and children have headed to
congested border crossings to seek asylum abroad.
The UN’s high commissioner for refugees called the
situation the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World
War.
Several European countries have welcomed those
fleeing, including over one million in Poland, 180, 00 in Hungary, 128,000 in
Slovakia, 83,000 in Moldova, and 79,000 in Romania.
Right-wing and populist politicians in Europe have
used this opportunity to draw a distinction between Ukrainian refugees and
those from elsewhere - namely the Middle East and Muslim countries.
'These people are Europeans'
Spanish congressman and leader of the right-wing Vox
party Santiago Abascal said that his country should welcome Ukrainian refugees,
but not Muslims.
“Anyone can tell the difference between them [Ukranian
refugees] and the invasion of young military-aged men of Muslim origin who have
launched themselves against European borders in an attempt to destabilise and
colonise it,” he told parliament last week.
Some 6,000 refugees are due to arrive in Spain, the
country's minister of inclusion, social security and migration confirmed.
Meanwhile, in Bulgaria, President Rumen Radev fed into
racist stereotypes about refugees from outside of Europe being linked to
terrorism and criminality.
“These are not the refugees we are used to… these
people are Europeans,” he told journalists, referring to Ukrainians.
“These people are intelligent, they are educated
people... This is not the refugee wave we have been used to, people we were not
sure about their identity, people with unclear pasts, who could have been even
terrorists."
“In other words,” he added, "there is not a
single European country now that is afraid of the current wave of refugees.”
Syrian journalist Okba Mohammad said the statement
"mixes racism and Islamophobia,” as quoted in the Associated Press.
'Not a remote part of Africa'
In Greece, ruling party MP Dimitris Kairidis said
during a live TV broadcast that “to sit and be slaughtered in the heart of
Europe… and if you want to say it cynically, here we are not talking about a
massacre in a remote part of Africa with non-religious people, but - to put it
quite cynically, I know it sounds politically unorthodox, but unfortunately
that also counts - Christians, whites, Europeans, who are from us, come from
us".
Elsewhere, Danish Conservative politician Marcus Knuth
tweeted a picture of a document showing the number of third-country nationals
(TCNs) stranded in Ukraine, with the figures for Iraq, Syria, Iran, and
Afghanistan circled.
“We will, of course, help all Ukrainians. But we say
no to inviting 2,300 Afghans and Syrians, etc. with asylum in Ukraine as well
as potentially up to +10,000 more from the Middle East,” he said.
Denmark has caused a stir after Ukrainian refugees
were excluded from its controversial jewellery law that was used against Syrian
refugees, among others, and through which valuables were seized from those
fleeing conflict.
The tone and rhetoric around the war in Ukraine have
been widely criticised, with accusations of discrimination and double
standards. Several media outlets were blasted for airing racist tropes, often
using comparisons between 'civilised' Ukrainians and those fleeing wars in the
Middle East.
On Saturday, Palestinian supermodel Bella Hadid shared
an Instagram post demanding the same level of backlash against Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine when it comes to Muslims suffering around the world -
including in Palestine and China.
Last week, a Turkish footballer refused to wear an
anti-war t-shirt condemning Russia's invasion, citing a lack of solidarity with
victims of war in the Middle East.
Source: Middle East Eye
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/russia-ukraine-war-right-wing-welcome-refugees-not-muslims
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PM Imran Urges Swift Prosecution To Prevent Attacks
Like Peshawar
Prime Minister Imran Khan
chairs a meeting of the Apex Committee on National Action Plan in Islamabad on
Monday. — PID
------
Iftikhar A. Khan
March 8, 2022
ISLAMABAD: The government has zero tolerance for
terrorism, Prime Minister Imran Khan declared on Monday, calling for swift
prosecution of terrorists “to set an example”.
Chairing a meeting of the apex committee on the
National Action Plan (NAP) in the federal capital, the prime minister
emphasised that a multi-pronged approach and vigorous implementation of NAP
were required to thwart the threat of terrorism.
The meeting was attended by Chief of the Army Staff
Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, chief ministers of all the provinces, National Security
Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf, federal ministers Fawad Chaudhry, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed
and Asad Umar, chief secretaries, inspectors general of the police, and senior
civil and military officers.
The committee strongly condemned last week’s Peshawar
attack and offered condolences for the martyrs. In the devastating gun and bomb
attack, 57 Shia men lost their lives and 194 others sustained injuries inside
the Koocha Risaldar mosque shortly before Friday prayers in Peshawar’s old city
neighbourhood. The death toll later rose to 62 with the demise of five of the
10 critically injured victims.
During the NAP meeting, the prime minister stressed
the need for proactive measures to tackle such incidents in future. He noted
that the elements trying to destabilise the country would never succeed, as the
entire nation was united to defeat the menace of terrorism.
The public, he said, had realised that these elements
were trying to create disharmony based on sectarianism and hate speech, and
made it clear that the state would never allow them to succeed.
The NAP’s apex committee stressed the need for
strengthening the National Counter Terrorism Authority’s (Nacta) role to
coordinate measures required to combat terrorism and capacity building of
counterterrorism departments.
The meeting noted that provinces needed to allocate
more resources for conducting effective investigations by adopting scientific
techniques and setting up modern forensic labs. The need to accord a conclusive
end to terrorism cases in courts of law was emphasised.
Secretary Interior Division Yusuf Naseem Khokhar
presented a detailed briefing on the implementation status of NAP, including
measures taken to choke terror financing, countering violent extremism,
investigation and prosecution of terrorism cases, intolerance towards
militancy, capacity building of law enforcement agencies, regulation and
registration of seminaries, the merger of erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal
Area, reforms in the criminal justice system, eliminating sectarian terrorism,
curbing smuggling, narco-traffic and human trafficking, the reconciliation
process in Balochistan and issues related to refugees.
The meeting was briefed that most action points had
been satisfactorily implemented; however, support from provincial governments
is required for inter-provincial issues.
Terrorist group identified
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on
Monday disclosed that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police had identified a “big
terrorist group” and were set to get hold of it.
The disclosure came two days after the minister
announced that all three suspects involved in the explosion at a Shia mosque in
the Peshawar’s Koocha Risaldar area had been identified.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Mr Ahmed
said certain foreign forces were hatching conspiracies to destabilise Pakistan.
The minister also announced three local holidays
starting from March 22 to 24 in light of the upcoming meeting of the Organisation
of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers scheduled to be held
in the federal capital.
He said foreign ministers from important Islamic
countries would attend the event. A “historic” military parade would take place
on March 23 in which a squadron of 25 multirole J-10C combat planes would take
part in the fly-past, he said.
Mr Ahmed said Prime Minister Imran Khan gave the
country an independent foreign policy. “He has put across a message to
imperialist forces that out territory will not be used for terrorist attacks,”
he remarked.
Pakistan was moving towards a “more neutral foreign
policy” under Mr Khan’s leadership, he said, adding that the country should aim
to organise itself further on matters of foreign relations.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1678853/pm-imran-urges-swift-prosecution-to-prevent-attacks-like-peshawar
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Taliban Threatening Provincial Media In Afghanistan,
Says Rights Group
Representative Image
-----
8 March, 2022
New York [US], March 8 (ANI): The Taliban authorities
have carried out far-reaching censorship and violence against Afghan media in
district and provincial centres, drastically limiting critical reporting in
Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday.
The New York-based group said the situation facing
journalists outside Kabul appears much worse than inside the capital,
particularly for women.
According to HRW, journalists in the provinces have
described Taliban members threatening, detaining, and beating them and their
colleagues who were trying to report the news. Many journalists have felt
compelled to self-censor and report only Taliban statements and official
events. Women journalists have faced the most intense repression.
“Taliban harassment and attacks on journalists outside
major urban areas have largely gone unreported, causing media outlets in
outlying provinces to self-censor or close altogether,” said Fereshta Abbasi,
Afghanistan researcher at HRW. “In many provinces, the Taliban have virtually
eliminated reporting on a wide range of issues and have driven women
journalists out of the profession.”
On February 2, 2022, the Taliban spokesperson,
Zabihullah Mujahid, told a meeting of the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee,
a media advocacy group, that journalists should consider “national interests, Islamic
values, and national unity” before publishing.
Mujahid said that a new media commission would be
established to address any problems, and that the authorities would enforce the
former government’s media law. He also said without elaborating that “women can
work freely in the media by observing Islamic and national principles.”
But journalists throughout Afghanistan have said that
the Taliban severely restrict their work in violation of the Afghan media law
and international human rights standards on freedom of expression and the
media. An estimated 80 per cent of women journalists across Afghanistan have
lost their jobs or left the profession since the Taliban takeover in August
2021, and hundreds of media outlets have closed.
Many of the journalists said that Taliban intelligence
officials regularly meet with media organizations to tell them what to publish
and to warn them not to contradict Taliban policies or to report on acts of
violence by Taliban officials, according to HRW.
“We all fear for our safety,” a reporter in Baghlan
said. “If something happens to a journalist, there is no institution or system
to support them, or to seek justice. There is no support for the media workers
in Afghanistan right now.”
Many journalists said they or their colleagues had
been beaten for trying to report on anti-Taliban protests, arbitrary detention,
rising food prices, and other subjects that cast Taliban officials in a bad
light. In some provinces, Taliban officials told all women journalists to stop
working.
“Getting the news from Afghanistan’s rural areas has
never been easy, but the Taliban’s repression of the media in the provinces is
dangerous both for the journalists and the people whose lives are harmed by
unreported abuses,” Abbasi said. “Governments should press the Taliban to end
to all attacks on the media, whether in Kabul or the countryside.” (ANI)
Source: The Print
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Syria: Latest Israeli Aggression Directly Coordinated
With Daesh Terrorist Attack
Photo:
ansarollah.com/archives
------
08 March 2022
The Syrian Foreign Ministry says the latest Israeli
airstrikes on several sites near the capital Damascus and a Daesh terrorist
attack on an army bus in the Palmyra desert in central Syria illustrate clear
and direct coordination between the two acts of aggression.
“It was not a coincidence that the Israeli enemy’s
latest aggression on residential neighborhoods in the suburbs of Damascus in
the early hours of March 7 took place only hours after the Daesh terrorist
group committed a crime which claimed the lives of a number of brave Syrian
Arab Army soldiers,” the ministry said in a statement.
It argued that the co-occurrence of the two criminal
acts demonstrated close and direct coordination between them.
The Syrian foreign ministry went on to say that the
Damascus government has warned about the repercussions of Israel’s repeated
attacks on the Syrian soil, which have killed dozens of people, inflicted heavy
losses on the country’s infrastructure, and instilled fear in the civilian
population, particularly women and children.
The statement also called on the United Nations and
the UN Security Council to fulfill their responsibilities and avoid double
standards in responding to such “seriously risky actions.”
Syria’s official news agency SANA, citing an unnamed
military official, reported that Israeli jets struck several sites near
Damascus at around 5 a.m. local time (0300 GMT) on Monday, killing two
civilians and causing material damage.
The official said most of the incoming missiles were
intercepted by Syrian air defenses.
The incident took place only a day after at least 13
Syrian army personnel were killed and several others injured in an attack by
the Daesh Takfiri terrorists on their bus as they were traveling in the central
province of Homs.
The incident took place in the desert region of the
city of Palmyra in the countryside of Homs.
“At nearly 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, a military
bus was targeted by a terrorist attack with various types of weapons in Palmyra
countryside of al-Badiyah, east of the Third Station,” SANA reported, citing
military sources.
Israel frequently targets military positions inside
Syria, especially those of the resistance movement Hezbollah which has played a
key role in helping the Syrian army in its fight against foreign-backed
terrorists.
The Tel Aviv regime mostly keeps quiet about its
attacks on Syrian territories which many regard as a knee-jerk reaction to the
Syrian government’s increasing success in confronting terrorism.
Israel has been a key supporter of terrorist groups
that have opposed the government of President Bashar al-Assad since the
foreign-backed militancy erupted in Syria in March 2011.
Source: Press TV
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original story:
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PAS Practices Islam, Does Not Exploit It for Politics,
Nur Jazlan Told
Ahmad Nawfal Mahfodz
(left) has refuted the claim by Nur Jazlan Mohamed that PAS relies on religious
rhetoric to win over voters.
-----
Faiz Zainudin
March 8, 2022
SRI GADING: A PAS leader has hit back at Umno’s Nur
Jazlan Mohamed for saying the party’s religious rhetoric will not work in
Johor, telling him that Islam was meant to be practised, and not exploited for
politics.
Johor PAS Youth chief Ahmad Nawfal Mahfodz denied that
his party relied on religious rhetoric to win over voters, citing how no one
from PAS had talked about hudud law throughout the campaign for the state
elections.
“It’s still something we fight for, but it’s not
something we use to win votes,” he told FMT. “My concern is that some might
create that perception. But we’re not riding on (Islam), instead we practise
it.”
Nawfal also dismissed Nur Jazlan’s claim that PAS was
not capable of talking about economics and education, saying the party
comprised many professionals in various fields.
“PAS has various experts, it’s just that they
(opposition parties) don’t know. So it’s not true that PAS doesn’t have any
ideas when it comes to education or the economy,” he said.
Previously, Nur Jazlan, the Johor Umno deputy chief,
said PAS was bereft of ideas and only talked about polygamy and promoting
“ridiculous practices” like saying husbands can beat their wives “lightly”,
among others.
He said the more PAS talked about religion, the better
it would be for Barisan Nasional in the Johor elections.
Nawfal is in a four-cornered fight for the Parit Yaani
seat, which Amanah’s Aminolhuda Hassan won in 2018 with a majority of 4,834
votes.
With the Chinese community making up 41% of the voters
in Parit Yaani in 2018, Aminolhuda will be seeking to defend the seat from
Nawfal, BN’s Najib Samuri and Pejuang’s Ridhauddin Mohd Tahir.
Nawfal had also contested for the Pagoh parliamentary
seat in 2018 where he lost to Perikatan Nasional chairman Muhyiddin Yassin.
He claimed that following BN’s defeat in GE14, it was
PAS that helped Umno rebuild its “fallen fortress” in Johor through its
Muafakat Nasional alliance.
However, he said, PAS now knew where Umno was weak in
Johor and where it stood a better chance of snatching seats from the BN
lynchpin.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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original story:
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Europe
Ukraine crisis jeopardizes Middle East's Black Sea wheat supply
07 March ,2022
Wheat importers face a threat to delivering
politically sensitive bread supplies across the Middle East and North Africa
(MENA) after Russia's invasion of Ukraine closed off access to the lower priced
Black Sea grain they depend on.
The ensuing conflict has halted shipping from
Ukraine's ports, while financial sanctions have put payments for purchases of
Russian wheat in doubt, traders and bankers say, adding another to the risk for
governments in the MENA region already struggling with import costs, economic
crises or conflict.
“Everyone is looking for other markets as it's
becoming increasingly impossible to buy stocks from Ukraine or Russia,” a
Middle Eastern commodities banker said, citing disruption to shipping,
escalating sanctions and rising insurance premiums.
“The market is not expecting Ukrainian and Russian
exports to resume until the fighting ends,” one trader said.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
Soaring global prices and possible export restrictions
make switching to alternative origins costly, while options for expanding local
production in the MENA region are limited by water scarcity and rising input
costs.
While Gulf countries are protected by fiscal
surpluses, other MENA countries, including Egypt and Lebanon, “remain some of
the most vulnerable globally, given the dependence on wheat imports and high
household spending on food”, Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi
Commercial Bank, said.
Egypt, often the world's largest importer, bought 80
percent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine last year, traders said.
But since Russia's invasion of Ukraine its state
grains buyer has cancelled two tenders due to a lack of offers and high prices,
while two cargoes are stuck at Ukrainian ports.
Egyptian officials say wheat reserves and the upcoming
local harvest are enough to provide subsidised bread for around nine months.
But they are already expecting to pay up to an additional $950 million in the
current budget due to higher prices and could see an erosion of strategic
reserves.
Egypt's commercial bread market could be at greater
risk due to lower stocks, traders said. Prices of local wheat and flour have
risen 23 percent and 44 percent respectively since the Russian invasion began,
Ezzat Aziz of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce said.
Algeria, another major buyer, says it has enough grain
reserves to last until the end of the year but is readmitting French wheat
imports, suspended after a row over France's colonial role in the North African
country.
‘Hunger’
Russia and Ukraine account for about 29 percent of
global wheat exports. But with their supplies in doubt, Chicago wheat futures
rose to a 14-year high on Monday.
“Importers will have to pay on average 40 percent more
for wheat than before the invasion,” a second trader said.
And while Algeria, Libya and oil producers in the Gulf
may find higher wheat import costs offset by rising hydrocarbon revenues, other
governments have no such cushion.
In Lebanon, which is suffering one of the worst
economic crises in modern history, wheat reserves stood at just one month as
Russia invaded Ukraine.
In Tunisia, reduced bread stocks, rationing of flour
in shops and problems docking wheat imports have raised doubts about official
claims that there is enough supply to last until the summer.
Meanwhile, Morocco is set to hike grain imports after
its worst drought in decades.
In Syria, whose economy has suffered from years of
conflict, a source familiar with the matter said the government could lean on
reserves but acknowledged that costs would increase.
Poverty and humanitarian needs are deepening.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Turkish, Moldovan presidents discuss Russia's attack
on Ukraine
Mumin Altas
07.03.2022
In a Monday phone call, Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu discussed the latest
developments in Russia's attack on Ukraine.
The two leaders also evaluated humanitarian aid and
evacuation issues in Ukraine, the Turkish Communications Directorate said in a
statement.
Out of the 1.7 million people who have fled the war in
Ukraine, some 83,000 went to neighboring Moldova, according to the UN Refugee
Agency.
Erdogan also stressed that the meeting of Ukrainian
and Russian foreign ministers, set to be held on Thursday on the eve of the
Antalya Diplomacy Forum, with the participation of Turkish Foreign Minister
Mevlut Cavusoglu, will help to cross an important threshold on the road to
peace.
The Antalya Diplomacy Forum will be held on March
11-13 in Turkiye's southern resort city of Antalya.
Since Russia began its war against Ukraine on Feb. 24,
it has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow,
and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Taliban school attack survivor becomes Oxford Union
president
March 07, 2022
LONDON: A Pakistani student who fled to Britain after
surviving a Taliban school shooting has become president of the Oxford Union,
the famed university debating club that helped launch the careers of countless
world leaders.
Ahmad Nawaz, 21, arrived in Britain aged 14 after his
brother was killed in the attack. Since taking the reins of the union, he has
said he wants to make it appeal more to marginalized groups such as ethnic
minorities and disabled students.
He told The Times that he cried with joy at the news
of his election, adding: “It’s been the most emotional ride I’ve had in a long,
long time.”
Nawaz was hit in the arm by bullets when the Taliban
stormed his school in the city of Peshawar in northwest Pakistan. Almost 150
children and teachers were killed.
The Taliban shot injured survivors and set the school
ablaze. Pretending to be among the dead, Nawaz survived the attack only to
spend weeks recovering in a hospital in Peshawar.
His arm needed urgent surgery to be saved, so he was
sent to Britain’s second-biggest city Birmingham for emergency treatment.
He earned a place at Oxford University in 2020, having
arrived in Britain in 2014. He has spoken at major events alongside Nobel
prize-winners and world leaders, and has delivered talks in the UK on extremism
and its risks.
But Nawaz is not the first Pakistani president of the
Oxford Union. Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister who was assassinated in
2007, led the debating group in 1977, becoming the first Asian woman to hold
the title.
Nawaz reads philosophy and theology at Lady Margaret
Hall, the same college that was attended by Malala Yousafzai, who also suffered
at the hands of the Taliban in her famous story from a school bus attack to an
Oxford education.
Nawaz’s rise is just as remarkable, with the student
achieving an A grade at English GCSE, a secondary school qualification in
Britain, despite arriving with limited English less than three years before he
sat for the exams.
“I was determined and when I came to Oxford I was
quite ambitious but I never thought I would get involved with the union,” he
said. “This shows there are no limits, whatever your background.”
Nawaz said the union is “one of the biggest free
speech platforms in the world,” adding: “When I was a child I had heard of the
Oxford Union. I just wanted to step into this institution, rubbing shoulders
with those from Eton, Harrow and Westminster.”
He said: “We’re going to work to make institutional
change, to make more people from disadvantaged backgrounds feel comfortable and
get involved, rather than just feel like it belongs to public school kids.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2037701/world
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Former UK PM Tony Blair admits he 'may have been
wrong' over Iraq invasion
07 March 2022
Former British prime minister Tony Blair has admitted
that he “may have been wrong” about the decision to invade Iraq and
Afghanistan.
Speaking in BBC Radio 4's The Archbishop Interviews
series on Sunday, Blair defended his decision to intervene in the Middle East
alongside former US president George Bush.
“People often say over Iraq or Afghanistan that I took
the wrong decision but you've got to do what you think is right,” the former
premier said, defending a decision that many consider indefensible.
“Whether you are right or not is another matter. In
those really big decisions you don't know what all the different component
elements are, and you've got to follow, in the end, your own instinct,” he
added.
The 68-year-old former Labour Party leader who has
been blasted for his role in horrendous war crimes committed in war-torn
countries – Iraq and Afghanistan – by the British military forces, said
although the decision “may have been wrong,” he had to do “what I thought was
the right thing.”
Despite his controversial decision in ordering British
troop deployments in foreign wars, Blair was appointed a Knight Companion of
the Most Noble Order of the Garter -- the oldest and most senior British Order
of Chivalry – by the country’s Queen Elizabeth II.
An online petition to strip him of his knighthood
gathered more than one million signatures.
Source: Press TV
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Pakistan
Ulema to Play Key Role in Discouraging Fake News,
Promoting Islamic Moral Values of Tolerance: President Alvi
March 8, 2022
Zubair Qureshi
President Dr Arif Alvi has called upon Ulema to play
their role to discourage the phenomenon of fake news and promote Islamic moral
values including tolerance among the people to create peace and harmony in the
society. The president, addressing the Paigham-e-Pakistan Ulema and Mashaikh
Conference held by Pakistan Ulema Council, said the fake news harmed the Muslim
societies and cited the destruction of Iraq in name of the weapons of mass
destruction. President urges Ulema’s role to discourage fake news, promote tolerance
said the incidents like Peshawar and Sialkot were part
of a conspiracy to fan sectarianism in the country.
He said there was no room for mob justice in Islam and
that the tendency had been promoted by the social media as the youth
interpreted the words of their leaders keeping in view their own biases.
President Alvi advised the Ulema to highlight the
importance of human rights instead of indulging in petty differences.
In his address, Minister for Religious Affairs and
Interfaith Harmony Pir Nurul Haq Qadri said the anti-state elements were poised
to destabilize the country by taking advantage of any negligence on our part.
He said the incidents like Peshawar and Sialkot were
part of a conspiracy to destabilize Pakistan like Iraq; however, he resolved
that the Ulema would stand united to safeguard Pakistan.
He said after the Constitution of Pakistan, the
Paigham-e-Pakistan was an important document signed by around 7,000 Ulema from
all schools of thought.
Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Religious
Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Allama Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi said it was need of
the hour for the Ulema to stand with the state against extremism and terrorism.
He said the Ulema from all schools of thought
unanimously condemned the attack on a mosque in Peshawar and urged them to
create an environment of unity.
Source: Pak Observer
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Persecution Of Muslims In India Proven Two-Nation
Theory True: President Alvi
On Mar 8, 2022
ISLAMABAD
– President Arif Alvi has said
that given the current hate campaign , unleashed in India against Muslims, the
Two-Nation Theory of founding father Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah has
proved to be true.
The president was speaking after he launched a logo in
connection with the diamond jubilee celebrations of Pakistan here on Monday.
He stressed for apprising the young generation about
the very contours of the Two-Nation Theory. He said Pakistan was carved out
through a democratic struggle, but regretted that certain areas that had to be
part of Pakistan were deliberately given to India.
President Arif Alvi expressed satisfaction that
Pakistan is heading in the right direction and gaining economic stability.
Earlier, Minister for Information and Broadcasting
Chaudhary Fawad Hussain said a comprehensive plan has been prepared to
celebrate the 75th anniversary of creation of Pakistan in a befitting manner.
Source: Nation Pakistan
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Imran Khan's warning to opposition on ‘no trust’:
Ready for what I will do?
Mar 07, 2022
Amid a major upheaval amid Pakistan opposition parties
trying to pull off a no-confidence motion against Pakistan PM Imran Khan,
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have
asked their lawmakers to cancel their foreign visits, if any, Dawn reported.
According to reports, PML-N and PPP are ready to file
a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan in the assembly, but the numbers are
not adding up as even after all combinations, Imran Khan's coalition has a lead
of 17 votes in the assembly.
Here's where the number stands
According to Daily Jasrat, the ruling coalition has a
total of 179 members, while the opposition claims to have the support of 24 members
of the ruling party, which reduces PTI's strength to 155. But they have the
clear support of seven members of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), five members
of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), five members of Balochistan Awami
Party, three members of Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), two independent
members, one member each by Jamhoori Watan Party and All Pakistan Muslim
League.
No foreign visit
PPP’s information secretary Shazia Marri in a
statement on Sunday said chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had asked the party
lawmakers to “ensure their presence in Islamabad”, cancel their foreign visits,
if any, and “refrain” from undertaking even any official foreign tour. Bilawal
is of the opinion that there is no need to wait for 100% guarantee of no-trust
move's success, Dawn said.
In a separate statement, PML-N information secretary
Marriyum Aurangzeb confirmed that the party leadership had issued directives to
its members of the assembly to stay in Islamabad.
Ready for what I will do? Imran Khan's warning
Confident that the no-trust motion against him will
not be successful, Imran Khan has issued a warning to PPP and PML-N asking
whether they are ready for the consequence that they will have to face once
their no-confidence motion fails.
Source: Hindustan Times
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South
Asia
Taliban critic released after being detained for two
days
8 March, 2022
Kabul [Afghanistan], March 8 (ANI): Sayed Baqir
Mohseni, a political analyst and critic of the Taliban, who was detained by the
group two days ago has been released, local media citing the sources reported.
According to local media, Mohseni’s relatives claimed
that he has been released from the Taliban intelligence agency’s custody.
Mohseni disappeared on Friday. However, Taliban security has not yet commented
on the incident.
As soon as the news of Sayed’s disappearance went out,
a number of social media users have called for the release of Mohseni, a
university professor and critic of the Taliban. They called him the voice of
Afghanistan.
Source: The Print
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://theprint.in/world/taliban-critic-released-after-being-detained-for-two-days/863110/
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Afghans
believe nations falling victim to US policies
07
March 2022
When
it comes to NATO’s support and American leadership, we have better ask Afghans.
They have the experience of twenty years of western forces’ presence in their
country. Afghans had counted on western powers at the beginning but what the US
and its allies really bought for Afghanistan?
Sayed
Baqer kazimi was an advisor to the former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani. He
believes Ghani’s government easily collapsed because he trusted the US and
relied on NATO forces.
Some
Afghan experts also blame crises in Ukraine on the US, saying nations are
falling victim to the US policies of creating war and terror.
After
twenty years of invasion, the US and its allies hastily abandoned Afghanistan
in mid-August last year. Today the country is dealing with the world’s worst
humanitarian crisis.
Source:
Press TV
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EU
Welcomes Schools, Universities Resumption for Afghan Girls
07
Mar 2022
European
Union’s special representative for Afghanistan Tomas Niklasson has expressed
hope about the ongoing humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and called it
positive.
Tomas
Niklasson has said that reopening schools and universities for Afghan girls are
good news and a positive step for the future of Afghanistan.
Meanwhile,
the special representative urges the de facto authorities in Kabul to make
efforts for gaining internal legitimization.
“De
facto authorities in Kabul have allowed girls and boys in Afghanistan to get
educated and have reopened schools and universities for them. There are hopes
about the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan to get better.” Niklasson said.
This
comes as universities for both boys and girls have been reopened and high
schools for girls are also expected to reopen in March-end across Afghanistan.
Co-education in universities has ended and girls and boys are segregated over
time.
Source:
Khaama Press
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of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/eu-welcomes-schools-universities-resumption-for-afghan-girls-67576/
--------
China
asks for urgent release of Afghanistan’s reserves
08
Mar 2022
China’s
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the United States has left Afghanistan
irresponsibly and asked that country to unfreeze the country’s $7 billion
urgently.
Speaking
at a press conference on Monday, March 7, 2022, Wang Yi attacked the US for
withdrawing irresponsibly from Afghanistan, abandoning the Afghan people in a
humanitarian crisis, and causing immense security challenges to the region.
The
foreign minister acknowledged that they are working in cooperation with
regional countries to expedite the process of humanitarian assistance delivery to
the vulnerable Afghan people.
Meanwhile,
Yi added that China is preparing for the third conference of foreign ministers
of the region that will address Afghanistan’s situation.
China
is holding a conference in Afghanistan wherein foreign ministers of Pakistan,
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan are invited. The Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan will also be taking part and will hold a trilateral meeting with
China and Pakistan at the sideline of the conference that takes place in March
end.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/china-asks-for-urgent-release-of-afghanistans-reserves-54754786/
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IOM:
close to 20 million people above 18 are unemployed in Afghanistan
07
Mar 2022
International
Organization of Migration has published its Baseline Mobility Assessment Round
14 conducted in November-December 2021.
The
assessment views that lack of education and economic opportunities have
resulted in many IDP children having to do hard work.
Conducted
in 401 districts of 34 provinces of Afghanistan, the assessment indicates that
nearly 20 million people above 18 are unemployed whereas, over 10 million
Afghan people do not visit health facilities.
“$471
average debt has been accumulated by families, 57% of the Afghan population are
in need of drinking water, 7,993 Afghan settlements did not receive any
humanitarian assistance during six months, 3% of Afghan population have at
least one vulnerability or disability, and over 2 million Afghan children do
not go to school.” Elucidates the assessment paper.
Meanwhile,
the assessment shows that nearly 6 million people are still internally
displaced in Afghanistan while over 4.5 million people have fled out of
Afghanistan.
Source:
Khaama Press
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of the original story:
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Nearly
400 civilians killed in Afghanistan under Taliban rule: UN
7
Mar 2022
A
new United Nations report has said nearly 400 civilians have been killed in
attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, more than 80 percent by a
group affiliated with ISIL (ISIS).
It
is the first major human rights report since the Taliban seized power from the
former US-backed government in August, triggering concerns in the West about a
broader rollback of rights for women, journalists and others.
It
covers the period from August 2021 to the end of February and said that 397
civilians were killed mostly in a series of attacks by the Islamic State in
Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K) group.
More
than 50 people with suspected ties to the armed group had been killed in the
same period, it said, with some tortured and beheaded and left by the roadside.
“The
human rights situation for many Afghans is of profound concern,” said Michelle
Bachelet, High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a speech introducing the
report to the top rights body in Geneva on Monday.
“Several
suicide and non-suicide attacks were perpetrated by ISKP against Shia Muslims,
mostly from the Hazara ethnic group,” she added.
ISKP,
which first appeared in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014, is thought to have
spread in the wake of the Taliban takeover and has been blamed for several
attacks in recent months, including one at Kabul airport last August.
Women’s
rights
In
the same speech, Bachelet said that Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers had curtailed
women’s rights and freedoms. She called for women to be allowed to “fully
participate” in public life.
Bachelet
also referred to “a number of disturbing cases of enforced disappearances” of
activists and protesters and expressed concern about restrictions on freedom of
expression.
“I
remain concerned by the progressive erosion of civic space,” she said.
Under
their previous rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban barred women and girls from
education. They have said they have since changed that policy.
The
Geneva-based Rights Council is set to appoint a special rapporteur on
Afghanistan to probe alleged violations by the Taliban and others at the end of
its current month-long session.
‘Devastating’
crisis
Moreover,
Bachelet said the country was facing “a devastating humanitarian and economic
crisis” that hampering the Afghan people’s economic, social and cultural
rights.
“More
than half the population now suffer extreme levels of hunger. An increase in
child labour, child marriage and the sale of children has been observed,”
Bachelet noted.
According
to the UN, nearly nine million Afghans are at risk of famine.
The
foreign aid that once propped up the country has been slow to return in the
wake of US sanctions.
Source:
Al Jazeera
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/7/un-400-civilians-killed-in-afghanistan-under-taliban-rule
--------
Arab
World
Mixed
reactions over Al-Azhar Imam's call to end war in Ukraine
March
7, 2022
A
call by the Grand Imam of Egypt's Al-Azhar, one of the highest seats of Sunni
Islamic learning, Dr. Ahmed El-Tayyeb, to end the war in Ukraine has received
mixed reactions from social media users.
"We
are witnessing Ukrainian civilians leave their homes in quest of safety and
security, which is a true test of our humanity," El-Tayyeb said in a
statement on Facebook and Twitter.
"I
call on the international community to increase humanitarian aid to Ukraine and
exert further efforts to end the war," he added.
While
some social media users welcomed the posts, others criticised him for not
condemning the persecution of vulnerable Muslims around the world.
"What
about the Uyghurs, the Rohingya and the Muslims of India? Or did they come to
us from the moon, and we are not related to them by brotherhood of religion?
Isn't it better that we stand up to the Hindus who terrified Muslim women
before we look into the matter of the Christian Ukrainian women?" one social
media user said.
Source:
Middle East Monitor
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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Arab-Israeli
party rallies to get students out of Ukraine
Afif
Abu Much
March
7, 2022
Just
hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his troops to attack
Ukraine’s cities on Feb. 24, Ra’am and the Southern Branch of the Islamic
Movement opened a joint emergency situation room to oversee the extraction of
Israeli Arab students. According to estimates, there are between 2,000 and
2,500 Israeli Arab students in Ukraine, most of them studying medicine. They
decided to study overseas due to the difficulty in getting accepted to Israeli
universities because of a limited number of places, particularly in the
faculties of medicine.
As
part of the operation, which was led by Ra’am, a number of pick-up points were
created along the borders of countries neighboring Ukraine, including Poland,
Romania and Moldova. Arab students were told to get to these points, where
there would be party representatives and volunteers to provide them with
transportation, lodging, food and drink. They would also be provided with an
internet connection so that they could call worried family members back home
and allay their fears. Finally, they would also arrange flights back to Israel
for anyone who wanted that.
Ra’am’s
rescue efforts were led by Knesset member Iman Khatib-Yassin and the party’s
Director-General Ibrahim Hijazi. The party’s leader, Mansour Abbas, maintained
constant contact with the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the embassy in Ukraine
to coordinate with everyone working on the issue. The goal was to be totally
synchronized at any given moment so that the operation would be as successful
as possible.
The
results were quick in coming. Within just two days, on Feb. 26 Ra’am announced
that they were able to ensure the exit of hundreds of students from Ukraine,
with an emphasis on Odessa, Dnipro and Kharkiv. Party representatives waited
for them at the Moldova border crossing to provide them with lodgings in hotels
and basic needs. Similar operations took place on Ukraine’s borders with
Romania and Poland to help students arriving there. The students were then
taken to the Romanian city of Iasi, from where they would be flown to Israel.
Knesset member Khatib-Yassin managed contacts with the Foreign Ministry to
ensure that there were flights from Romania to Israel. Then, on March 1, she
waited at Ben Gurion Airport to greet the arriving students. Ra’am also
provided these services to Arab students from other countries, such as Morocco,
Lebanon, Tunisia and Jordan, and who came to the party’s meeting points across
the Ukrainian border.
This
complex logistical operation required numerous volunteers and party activists
to get it off the ground. One of these was Dr. Julliette Shomali of Shfaram,
who studied in Moldova. She did not hesitate to fly to Poland so that she could
meet the students arriving there, help them with whatever they needed and
volunteer her experience as someone who studied overseas.
She
told Al-Monitor, “I was in touch with Knesset member Khatib-Yassin’s office and
decided to travel there to volunteer. I spent four days on the Polish border.
When I saw that there was a shortage of hotel rooms, I contacted
representatives of the Franciscan church, which immediately rose to the
challenge. They offered the students rides in their cars and provided them with
lodging in the church’s monastery. On Sunday, The first day, I coordinated the
arrival of 25 students; the second day, for another 30 students; and later, an
additional six students. Some of the students were from East Jerusalem, and the
Palestinian consulate in Poland joined in to help them. The Palestinian
consulate in Poland helped with students from East Jerusalem.”
Also
volunteering in Ra’am’s initiative was paramedic Fuad Issa from Kafr Qassem, a
member of the European Emergency Committee, which acts during natural
disasters. With experience in emergency situations, he worked in Ra’am’s
situation room in Israel to help extract the students. He told Al-Monitor, “I
decided to volunteer even though I am not a member of Ra’am or the Islamic
Movement, because it is a humanitarian emergency. We were in charge of
synchronizing transportation for the students to the various border crossings,
which meant administering a complicated logistical operation long distance. We
were in touch with the students, their families in Israel, the Israeli Foreign
Ministry, hotels and the Franciscan church to coordinate all the different
components of the operation. I will say that I heard some horrific stories. One
student spent three nights in a metro station before we were able to locate
him, bring him to the border and fly him to Israel. Students who arrived at the
border in organized rides came from a variety of countries, but we focused
first and foremost on helping Arab students from Israel.”
As
if all of this is not enough, on March 5, Ra’am released a letter that it
received from the Romanian Ministry of Education, with a preliminary agreement
to enable students who fled Ukraine to continue their studies in various
Romanian universities recognized by Israel.
There
is no doubt that Ra’am wanted the upper hand in its competition with the Arab
Joint List party over the Arab vote when it comes to the issue of Israeli Arab students
in Ukraine. It wanted to show the Arab sector that being part of the coalition
has diplomatic advantages as well. So, while Knesset members from the Joint
list like Ayman Odeh and Ahmad Tibi left posts on Facebook for Arab students
about how to contact the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Ra’am created a network that
provided students with help on the ground.
Source:
Al Monitor
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/03/arab-israeli-party-rallies-get-students-out-ukraine
--------
Russia
recruiting Syrians to fight in Ukraine: Report
07
March ,2022
Russia
is recruiting Syrians skilled in urban combat to fight in Ukraine as Moscow’s
invasion expands deeper into Ukrainian cities, US officials told the Wall
Street Journal.
“Russia,
which has been operating inside Syria since 2015, has in recent days been
recruiting fighters from there, hoping their expertise in urban combat can help
take Kyiv and deal a devastating blow to the Ukraine government,” the WSJ cited
four US officials as saying.
One
official said that Syrian fighters are already in Russia preparing to enter
Ukraine.
A
Syrian outlet based in Deir Ezzor says Russia has offered volunteers between
$200 and $300 “to go to Ukraine and operate as guards” for six months at a
time.
The
WSJ report comes three days after Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged that
Ukrainian forces were using human shields, and that “foreign mercenaries” from
the Middle East were fighting Russian troops on the ground.
“The
fact that we are fighting specifically against neo-Nazis is shown by the very
course of hostilities. Nationalist and neo-Nazi formations, and among them
there are foreign mercenaries, including those from the Middle East, are hiding
behind civilians as a human shield,” Putin said.
As
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters the 12th day, international government
official and intelligence reports say that Moscow’s military operations are
behind schedule having faced unexpected resistance from Kyiv’s forces.
Ukraine’s
authorities have early on opened its doors for any international volunteers who
are willing to fight in the country.
Foreign
Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CNN on Sunday that there are some 20,000 foreign
fighters joining Ukraine’s efforts to repel the Russian invasion, mostly from
Europe.
So
far, the conflict has led to dozens of civilian casualties. The UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Monday that it recorded 406
killed and 801 injured, estimating that the real figures are “considerably
higher.”
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Hezbollah
Supporters Attack Protester Chanting: ‘Free Beirut, Iran Out’
07
March, 2022
Hezbollah
supporters beat a Lebanese man on Monday after he was seen chanting “Free
Beirut, Iran out” and smashed a poster of slain Iranian commander Qassem
Soleimani.
The
Beirut International and Arab Book Fair is currently being held in the Lebanese
capital, once hailed as a beacon of freedom of expression.
A
large poster of Soleimani was seen at the Iran stand at the book fair alongside
books and other pictures of him and Iranian leaders.
Heading
to the poster of Soleimani, the man protesting began trying to take it down
before another man confronted him.
The
protester kept chanting “Free Beirut, Iran out,” as he was attacked by a group
of men saying, “we will show you what freedom is like.”
The
book fair is run by former Lebanese PM Fouad Siniora’s sister, Salwa Sanioura
Baasiri.
Hezbollah
has been one of the main factors Lebanon has become isolated from the Arab
world. Its control over state institutions and other facets of the country has
also become an issue.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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World
Defense Show: Saudi Arabia, Lockheed to localize missile parts manufacturing
07
March ,2022
Saudi
Arabia’s General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) on Monday signed an
agreement at the Riyadh World Defense Show to localize manufacturing of missile
interceptor launchers and missile interceptor canisters.
The
deal comes as part of the Kingdom’s strategy of localizing more than 50 percent
of defense manufacturing by 2030.
Terminal
High Altitude Area Defense missile systems, or THAAD, is produced by Lockheed
Martin to protect against short and medium range missiles.
In
2017, Saudi Arabia “expressed its intent to procure more than US $28 billion”
in defense technology, for which Lockheed says is working in partnership to
“align with Vision 2030” in a statement.
A
Lockheed spokesperson, in a statement to Al Arabiya English, said that the
latest move comes in recognition of Saudi Arabia’s industrial base and the
growth opportunity it provides.
The
US-based aerospace company said they “look forward to helping SMEs become part
of the supply chain for key defense systems that the Kingdom is procuring.”
They
also said that the new agreement seeks to create jobs for “highly skilled Saudi
engineers.”
A
GAMI spokesperson was not immediately available for comment, but Gasem
al-Maimani, GAMI Deputy Governor, said in a media statement that “these two
localization projects, are in further service of this promising sector’s
national priorities.”
“Air
domain defense readiness is expected to be greatly enhanced,” he added in the
statement.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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UAE
and Austria sign MoU on hydrogen production technology: WAM
07
March ,2022
The
United Arab Emirates and Austria signed a memorandum of understanding to
cooperate on advancing hydrogen production capacity in the UAE, Emirati state
news agency WAM said on Monday.
“The
MoU aims ... to contribute to enhancing UAE’s position as a global pioneer
producer in the energy sector,” Emirati Industry and Advanced Technology
Minister Sultan al-Jaber said in a statement.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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UAE
sends 30 tonnes of emergency medical and relief aid to war-hit Ukraine
07
March ,2022
The
United Arab Emirates sent on Monday an aircraft carrying 30 tonnes of emergency
health aid and medical supplies, as part of its emergency relief efforts to
assist the needy civilians in Ukraine, according to Emirates News Agency (WAM).
This
came in response to the international humanitarian appeal to support displaced
Ukrainians and refugees in neighboring countries. There are more than 1.2
million refugees so far.
The
aircraft landed in Lublin, Poland, and the medical and relief aid were handed
over to the Ukrainian authorities in Poland to be transported to Ukraine.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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Southeast
Asia
Perlis
council seeks court order to safeguard children’s Islamic faith
March
8, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: A Perlis religious agency has sought to intervene in Loh Siew Hong’s
divorce petition to maintain her children’s Islamic faith.
The
Perlis Islamic religious and Malay customs council (MAIPs) has applied to the
Kuala Lumpur High Court to allow it to provide Islamic education to Loh’s
14-year-old twin daughters and 10-year-old son.
The
High Court recently granted the single mother full custody of her children.
In
a statement, MAIPs’ lawyer, Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar, said the council had locus
standi in the application because the father converted them to Islam in Perlis.
“We
stress that this application is in no way denying Loh’s rights over her
children. We hope that no parties will try to stoke religious hate or racist
sentiments over this,” he said.
In
addition to Islamic education, he said, MAIPs intended to provide financial
support for the children through zakat (tithes) and other forms of aid to be
given directly to Loh.
He
said the council also planned to guide Loh on how to bring up her children in a
conducive environment according to Islamic law (syarak).
Zainul
said the children appeared to be interested in carrying on as Muslims in their
daily lives, including praying, and noted that one of them was reported to be
keen on becoming a syarie lawyer.
“MAIPs
is not meddling or interfering with any party in the divorce of Loh Siew Hong
and Muhammad Nagahswaran Muniandy. The council just wants to care for their
(the children’s) well-being,” he said.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Wife
of senior Abu Sayyaf Group leader arrested in Philippines: Official
March
07, 2022
MANILA:
The wife of one of the leaders of the Abu Sayyaf Group described as a “would-be
bomber” has been arrested in the Philippines, authorities announced on Monday,
in the latest string of operations to weaken the militant organization in Sulu
province.
Nursitta
Mahalli Malud, also known as Kirsita Ismael, is the second wife of Mudzrimar
“Mundi” Sawadjaan, authorities said. Sawadjaan, a notorious ASG leader and bomb
maker, helped plan the bloody 2019 Sulu cathedral attack, which left dozens
dead, and other suicide bombings in the island province.
Malud
was arrested on Saturday, in possession of bomb-making components, in the
provincial capital Jolo during a joint operation by the military and police.
“The
said suspect was confirmed as the second wife of well-known Abu Sayyaf
sub-leader and bomb maker Mundi Sawadjaan,” the Joint Task Force Sulu said in a
statement.
Officials
added that Malud was Sawadjaan’s finance officer and responsible for procuring
items to make improvised explosive devices.
“As
the group of Mundi Sawadjaan dwindled, they have become desperate and at the
same time reckless,” JTF Sulu commander, Brig. Gen. Ignatius Patrimonio, said.
“Now
that all his companions have been arrested one after another, his capability to
conduct a possible attack has weakened,” he added.
The
latest arrest came after authorities foiled a bombing attempt in Patikul town,
located about 27 kilometers from Jolo, after receiving a tip-off from local
residents.
Philippine
authorities arrested Mundi’s other wife, Fatima Nasser Anilhusra-Sawadjaan, in
February last year.
Sawadjaan’s
youngest brother Al-Al, was killed in June, while his other brothers were
killed in military operations conducted in previous years.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2037936/world
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Indonesian
Police Probe Suspected Smugglers’ Role in Rohingya Arrival
2022-03-07
Indonesian
authorities are investigating the possible role of a people smuggling ring in
the weekend arrival of 114 Rohingya in the Aceh region after 25 days at sea, a
police spokesman said Monday.
Villagers
in coastal Bireuen regency saw the group of 58 men, 21 women and 35 children
disembark from a rickety wooden boat and helped them find shelter in the early
hours of Sunday, police and officials said.
The
Rohingya were later moved to a neighborhood mosque, where they were given food
and underwent medical checkups and tests.
“We
are investigating [possible people smuggling] and are still collecting
information from witnesses and evidence,” said Senior Commissioner Winardy, a
spokesman for Aceh police.
The
group was the second to arrive in this area since Dec. 27 when local fishermen
rescued 120 Rohingya, including 51 children, off North Aceh after their boat’s
engine failed.
The
Bireuen administration has provided food for this latest group of Rohingya,
while locals set up a kitchen at the mosque where the Rohingya were staying,
said a local community leader, Muslim A. Majid. He said the Rohingya were
spotted by locals who were looking for crabs near the beach.
“When
we found them, they had got off the boat and were sitting in the quiet part of
the beach,” he told BenarNews.
Winardy,
the police spokesman, said the Rohingya spent more than three weeks at sea with
little food.
“We
found that 74 of them had UNHCR cards, and 30 people had [COVID-19] vaccine
cards,” he said, referring to the United Nations refugee agency.
A
spokeswoman for UNHCR, Mitra Suryono, said it was not immediately clear where
the Rohingya were traveling from or where they were headed.
“Right
now, our focus is their health. They have undergone COVID tests and will have a
period of quarantine,” she said.
As
with previous arrivals, “there were some who already had cards issued by the
UNHCR in Bangladesh, because they had previously fled there and were registered
as refugees there,” she said.
Since
Burmese security forces launched a brutal crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state
against the Rohingya in 2017, refugees have paid traffickers to transport them
to Thailand and Malaysia. The Rohingya hope to find work away from Myanmar or
crowded refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh.
Since
the 2017 crackdown, about 740,000 Rohingya who fled Myanmar settled in camps in
and around Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, now home to about 1 million of the
refugees. Over the years, groups of Rohingya have packed into boats and sailed
off in search of asylum in other countries, but have often been refused entry.
A
young refugee in the batch of new arrivals said he had left his mother behind
at a refugee camp in Bangladesh and followed his uncle to start a new life,
preferably in a majority-Muslim country such as Indonesia or Malaysia.
“We
left Bangladesh because the Rohingya situation at the camp is not good, it’s
getting very bad at the moment,” 11-year-old Omar Faruk told an AFP journalist
on Sunday in English, adding that his group had been at sea for 25 days.
“We
left Bangladesh to this country to make a beautiful future ... I have no
father, only one uncle and my mum is still in Bangladesh,” he said. “I came
here because I want to improve my education.”
Muzakkar
A. Gani, the chief of Bireuen regency, said he hoped that the Rohingya would be
transferred to the city of Lhokseumawe in North Aceh regency under the
supervision of the International Organization for Migration and UNHCR.
“The
temporary shelter in Bireuen is not secure enough and there are concerns that
the refugees will flee,” Muzakar told reporters.
At
least 36 of the 120 Rohingya who arrived in December have fled their
Lhokseumawe camp, prompting concerns that a human trafficking ring had smuggled
them out of Indonesia, Muzakar said.
Source:
Benar News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/indonesian/more-rohingya-land-in-aceh-03072022112208.html
--------
Indonesia
recovers bodies of eight murdered technicians
March
08, 2022
By
Katharina R. Lestari
Authorities
in Indonesia have recovered the bodies of eight technicians killed by armed
separatists in a remote and mountainous district in restive Papua province
after having to wait five days due to bad weather.
All
eight were working for an agency making improvements to a transceiver station
in Beoga in Puncak district when they were attacked and shot on March 2.
The
West Papua National Liberation Army and the Free Papua Movement (TPNPB-OPM)
admitted responsibility for the shootings. According to the group’s spokesman,
the workers paid the price for entering an area which the rebels had previously
declared a no-go zone for civilians.
Papua
police spokesman Senior Commissioner Ahmad Mustofa Kamal said the bodies were
recovered on March 7 by police and military personnel in four helicopters.
He
said the bodies were later flown to their hometowns in the district and
elsewhere in Indonesia to be handed over to their families.
“We
also held a memorial service to honor the eight workers who heroically lost
their lives trying to better develop Papua,” he said.
Senior
Commissioner Muhammad Firman, who headed the recovery team, said the recovery
of the bodies had to be delayed several times due to bad weather. He said the
victims could only be reached by air.
Meanwhile,
Jaleswari Pramodhawardani, deputy head of politics, law, security and human
rights at the Presidential Staff Office, called on law enforcement officers “to
take strict, thorough and proportional legal action against the perpetrators.”
She
said there were at least seven attacks by armed separatists in the province in
January and February that left 13 dead and five injured.
Amnesty
International Indonesia denounced the recent shootings and other attacks
against civilians in the province.
“Killings
committed by anyone can never be justified and are clearly an insult against
the fundamental principles of human rights,” said Usman Hamid, the rights
group’s executive director.
Source:
UCA News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/indonesia-recovers-bodies-of-eight-murdered-technicians/96384
--------
Mideast
Iran
says won’t let ‘foreign factors’ hurt its interests in nuclear talks
07
March ,2022
Iran
will not allow any “foreign factor” to harm its interests in ongoing nuclear
negotiations between Tehran and world powers in Vienna, Iran’s top diplomat
said on Monday, after new Russian demands cast doubt on the revival of the 2015
nuclear deal.
“While
standing up for our red lines, we will not allow any foreign factor to affect
Iran’s national interests in the Vienna talks,” Iran’s official IRNA news
agency quoted Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as saying.
The
Vienna talks appeared even more complicated over the weakened after Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow wanted written guarantees from
the US that Russia’s economic and military cooperation with Iran would not be
harmed by Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine
after the 2015 deal is revived.
Russia
is a participant in ongoing negotiations in Vienna aimed at restoring the deal,
along with Iran, China, Britain, France and Germany. The US is participating
indirectly in the talks due to Tehran’s refusal to negotiate directly with
Washington.
Iran’s
foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday Tehran was waiting to hear more about
Russia’s demands through diplomatic channels, indicating Lavrov’s comments were
made without prior coordination with Iran.
Iran
sees Russia as a strategic ally. Tehran has refrained from condemning Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine and instead blamed the West – especially the US – for the
conflict. Iranian state media’s coverage of the conflict has also been heavily
pro-Russian.
US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday sanctions imposed on Russia
over its invasion of Ukraine “have nothing to do with the Iran nuclear deal and
the prospects of getting back into that agreement.”
“These
things are totally different and are just not in any way linked together, so I
think that’s irrelevant,” Blinken said on CBS talk show “Face the Nation.”
Ali
Shamkhani, Iran’s top security chief, said on Monday it “remains unclear”
whether a deal will be reached in Vienna, blaming the US.
“Prospect
of a deal in #ViennaTalks remains unclear due to Washington’s delay in making
political decisions,” he wrote on Twitter.
The
Vienna talks, which began in April 2021, aim to bring Iran back into compliance
with the deal and facilitate a US return to the agreement. The deal offered
Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
Washington
withdrew from the deal in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, reimposing
sweeping economic sanctions on Tehran. Iran responded by breaching many of the
deal’s restrictions, including a 3.67 percent cap on the purity to which it
could enrich uranium.
Tehran,
which insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, has since
started enriching uranium up to as high as 60 percent purity – a big step
closer to the 90 percent required for weapons-grade material.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Israel
says it downed 2 Iranian drones in other countries
07
March ,2022
The
Israeli military said Monday that it used sophisticated F-35 stealth fighters
to shoot down two Iranian drones in third countries a year ago, providing
details about the incidents, which had been under military censorship.
A
military official who briefed reporters on the March 2021 events declined to
say where the drones were intercepted or whether those countries gave
permission for the use of their airspace.
The
official, who spoke on condition of anonymity according to regulations, said
the drones were launched from Iran and were bound for Israel.
“The
UAVs were intercepted in regional airspace in coordination with neighboring
countries before they could enter Israeli skies,” the military said in a
statement, using an acronym for unmanned aerial vehicles.
Israel
says Iran and its allies in the region are actively developing and testing
long-range drones that can transfer ammunition, collect intelligence and carry
out attacks. It says the drones shot down last March were carrying handguns and
explosives bound for the West Bank and Gaza.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
seeks ‘details’ of Russian demands on nuclear deal
07
March ,2022
Iran
said Monday it was awaiting “details” on Russia’s demands for US guarantees
that could potentially delay reaching an agreement in talks aiming to restore
Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Russia’s
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that Moscow wants written
guarantees from Washington that Western sanctions imposed on it over the
Ukraine conflict will not affect its economic and military cooperation with
Tehran, ahead of any conclusion of a revived Iran nuclear deal.
US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday dismissed these demands as
“irrelevant”. Sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine “have nothing to
do with the Iran nuclear deal”, he said on CBS talk show “Face the Nation.”
Iranian
foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Monday “we have also seen and
heard Mr Lavrov’s remarks in the media.”
“We
are waiting to hear the details of that through diplomatic channels,” he added,
during his weekly news conference.
“Iran’s
peaceful nuclear cooperation should not be affected or restricted by any
sanctions, including Iran’s peaceful nuclear cooperation with Russia, China and
other countries,” he said.
Russia,
which was slapped with wide-ranging economic sanctions by the US and the EU
following its invasion of Ukraine, is party to ongoing talks in Vienna aimed at
reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, along with Britain, China, France and Germany.
The United States is participating indirectly.
The
2015 agreement gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear
program, but the US unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018 under then-president
Donald Trump who reimposed heavy economic sanctions on Tehran.
That
prompted Iran to begin rolling back on its own commitments.
The
Vienna talks aim to return the US to the nuclear deal and lift sanctions on
Iran, while Tehran would in turn return to full compliance with its
commitments.
As
with the original agreement, Moscow is expected to play a key role in the
implementation of any fresh deal with Tehran, for example by receiving
shipments of enriched uranium from Iran.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
asks for clarification from Russia on US ‘guarantee’
07.03.2022
TEHRAN,
Iran
Iran
said Monday it has asked for clarification from Moscow over Russian demands for
a “written guarantee” from the US regarding its cooperation with Tehran.
Foreign
Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said he has heard Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov's comments about guarantees from Washington that its cooperation
with Tehran will not be hindered by sanctions imposed on Moscow over the
Russian war in Ukraine.
He
said Russia's approach in the Vienna nuclear talks has been “constructive”, and
its concerns in the wake of Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis are
“understandable”.
Moscow
has sought a “written guarantee” from the US that the sanctions imposed on it
by the US-led NATO military coalition would not hamper its cooperation with
Iran.
In
remarks on Friday that have stirred up a hornet’s nest and fueled speculation
that Moscow could withdraw from the marathon talks, Lavrov said Russia wants a
written guarantee that its trade and military cooperation with Iran would not
be forestalled by recent sanctions.
“We
want an answer - a very clear answer - we need a guarantee that these sanctions
will not in any way touch the regime of trade, economic and investment
relations which is laid down in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA),” Lavrov said.
Under
the 2015 nuclear deal, he noted, Russia and China – Tehran’s two
all-weather-allies – would be permitted to help Iran develop its civilian
nuclear program in line with non-proliferation guidelines.
Khatibzadeh
said they have asked for the clarification and are looking to hear the details
from Moscow through diplomatic channels.
"It
is clear that the Vienna talks are moving in the right direction,” the
spokesman said. “Iran's peaceful nuclear cooperation should not be limited or
affected by any sanctions, including Iran's cooperation with China, Russia and
other countries."
On
Sunday, Sayed Mohammad Marandi, a media adviser to Iran’s negotiating team in
Vienna, also said that Iran was “waiting for clarification from Moscow about
their demands from the US”.
It
comes as the talks, which have been underway since April last year, are close
to an agreement between Tehran and Washington, which would roll back Iran’s
nuclear activities in return for relief from harsh sanctions.
Russia’s
substitute
Experts
believe that once sanctions are eased, Iran will be in a position to sell its
vast reserves of oil and gas to Europe, replacing Russia as the main supplier.
That will reduce Europe’s overwhelming dependence on Russian energy.
Although
Western countries have not yet imposed direct sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas
sector, there is a speculation that if Iran steps in as Russia’s substitute,
the sanctions would move ahead swiftly.
That,
many believe, is causing jitters in Moscow.
Last
month, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Iran is ready to supply natural gas
to the world, including Europe.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Yemeni
minister: US behind siege of Yemen; no humanity seen from West
08
March 2022
Yemen’s
information minister says the United States is responsible for the crippling
blockade on Yemen and slammed Western powers’ response to the suffering of
Muslim nations for lacking humanity.
Speaking
to al-Masirah TV channel, Dhaifallah al-Shami stressed that the policy of
starving the Yemenis and besieging them will fail as they will not sit idly by.
“The
siege of the Yemeni nation is an entirely American decision. Today, the Yemeni
nation warns all the arrogant powers that it is moving towards its great
options,” he said.
“Our
nation does not accept to die of starvation and siege. It has many options to
defeat the siege.”
Shami
further emphasized that the Yemenis are “steadfast and patient,” and that it is
not possible to kill them by confiscating ships carrying oil derivatives to the
Arab country.
“The
humanity that the Western societies talk about only exists in their own
societies. Muslim nations do not see their humanity and do not hear its voice,”
he added.
A
military coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched the war on Yemen in March 2015.
In addition, Riyadh has also imposed an inhumane siege on the country, cutting
off the Yemeni population’s access to the outside world via land, air, and sea.
The
blockade includes the closure of the port of Hudaydah, which is a lifeline for
millions of Yemenis.
The
invading forces have also seized ships carrying critically needed petroleum
products and prevented them from entering the port, causing a fuel shortage
that has knocked out generators and water pumps in hospitals and disrupted aid
supplies across Yemen.
On
Monday, several Yemeni cities and provinces, including the capital Sana’a,
witnessed mass protests in condemnation of the siege. The rallies were
codenamed “blockade of fuel is an American decision, Yemen Storm operation is
our choice.”
Meanwhile,
Yemen’s Supreme Political Council reiterated its commitment to the will of the
Yemeni nation in the face of the enemy.
“The
current stage requires us to unite and firmly stand against the options that
the enemy wants to impose on us using the dirty tools of hunger and
intimidation,” it said in a statement.
“The
enemy’s pressure will not deter us from taking action to end this injustice. We
must also pay more attention to the elements of power that our people have at
their disposal,” the statement added.
Backed
by the US and major European powers, the Saudis waged the war with the
objective of reinstalling the former Riyadh-friendly regime in Yemen and
crushing the Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state
affairs in the absence of an effective government in Yemen.
The
war has stopped well shy of all of its goals, despite killing tens of thousands
of Yemenis and turning entire Yemen into the scene of the world’s worst
humanitarian crisis.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/03/08/678181/US-behind-siege-Yemen-no-humanity-seen-West
--------
Israel
exploits world’s double standards for its own benefit: Palestinian Foreign
Ministry
07
March 2022
The
Palestinian Foreign Ministry says the “double standards” adopted by the
international community in dealing with global issues have emboldened the
Israeli regime to keep committing crimes against the Palestinians.
In
a statement on Monday, the ministry said Israel persists in “stealing the
Palestinian land” and violates the “signed agreements, the international law,
the UN resolutions.”
The
ministry also denounced the killing of Yamen Nafez Jafal, 16, at the hands of
Israeli forces. Palestinian sources said Jafal was injured by Israeli forces
when they stormed the village of Abu Dis in East al-Quds on Sunday. Israeli
troops barred an ambulance from reaching the injured as he was bleeding. The
sources said Jafal was pronounced dead after he was taken to hospital.
The
Tel Aviv regime has been criticized for its extensive use of lethal force
against and extrajudicial killing of the Palestinians who do not pose an
immediate threat to the occupation forces or to the Israeli settlers.
Earlier
in the day, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the killing of
Jafal as a “full-fledged war crime.”
The
foreign ministry also stated that Israel is exploiting the current global
circumstances “in the most horrific way” in order to expand its settlements and
force the displacement of Palestinians “in a bid to abolish the Palestinian
presence in al-Quds and all areas classified as ‘Area C’ in the West Bank.”
Area
C, which is under full Israeli control, makes up more than 60 percent of the
entire occupied West Bank, and would form a significant part of a future
Palestine state.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/03/07/678155/Intl--community-double-standards-cover-Israel-crimes
--------
North
America
US
intelligence uncovers plot by Iran’s Quds Force to assassinate John Bolton:
Report
07
March ,2022
The
US has uncovered a plot by Iran to kill one of the national security advisors
to former President Donald Trump, a US official was cited as saying in an
article published Monday.
According
to the plot, which the Washington Examiner reported, at least two Iranian
nationals from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards’ - Quds Force (IRGC-QF) were
looking to recruit an assassin on US soil to kill former national security
advisor John Bolton.
The
Quds Force is the branch that controls Iranian militias and proxies outside of
its borders.
Bolton
celebrated the drone strike ordered by Trump in 2020, which wiped out then-Quds
Force commander Qassem Soleimani. The former was no longer Trump’s national
security advisor at the time of the strike.
“The
source tells the Washington Examiner that the department possesses indictable
evidence against the Iranians but that Biden administration officials are
resisting publicly indicting the men for fear that it could derail their drive
for a nuclear deal with Iran, currently nearing completion in negotiations in
Vienna, Austria,” the report cited a Justice Department official as saying.
Asked
about the plot, a Justice Department spokesperson told Al Arabiya English: “As
a matter of Department policy, we do not confirm or deny non-public law
enforcement activity. In every case, the Department’s decision whether to
charge would be made based on the facts and law and in accordance with the
principles of federal prosecution.”
Since
taking office, one of US President Joe Biden’s foreign policy priorities has
been to re-enter the Iran nuclear deal that Trump withdrew from.
The
report also cited the Justice Department source as saying that members of the
US intelligence community, the FBI and prosecutors are “frustrated and angry”
with the Biden administration for not issuing any indictments “and suspect
political foot-dragging.”
Bolton
was reportedly asked to sign an agreement that prevented him from disclosing
intelligence on the threats against him.
The
Washington Examiner reported that US officials became aware of the plot to kill
Bolton “earlier this year or late in 2021.”
As
a result, Bolton was given a full-time Secret Service detail alongside other
FBI “assets.”
Current
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned Iran against targeting any
former or present US officials during remarks made in January.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Muslim
groups ask feds to intervene on behalf of Egyptian refugees in Vancouver
LAURA
OSMAN
07.03.2022
Dozens
of Muslim Canadian organizations are urging the prime minister, public safety
minister and president of the Canada Border Services Agency to intervene on
behalf of Egyptian refugee claimants in Vancouver.
The
Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council says Abdelrahman Elmady’s refugee claim
was denied in Vancouver after the CBSA characterized him as a “security
threat,” because of ties to the Freedom and Justice Party in his home country.
The
council says he was deemed a security risk because of the party’s connection to
the Muslim Brotherhood, though neither group are listed as terrorist entities
in Canada.
Elmady
was among millions of Egyptians who took to the streets in the 2011 uprising
known as the Arab Spring to protest against the country’s then-president, Hosni
Mubarak, and demand democracy.
The
Freedom and Justice Party came to power following the 2012 elections, a year
after Mubarak’s resignation.
In
2013, Egypt’s army chief seized power in a military coup against the elected
Freedom and Justice Party’s government.
Since
then, the government has arrested thousands of the party’s members and Muslim
Brotherhood supporters after labelling them as “terrorists” in a campaign that
Amnesty International called a “ruthless bid to crush dissent.”
Elmady
said the campaign against his party forced him to flee Egypt for Saudi Arabia
before he eventually landed in Canada in 2017.
“I
am now facing deportation by the CBSA to Egypt where I will be persecuted,”
Elmady said in a written statement Monday, adding that he is not the only one
at risk.
The
council, which serves as a lobby group in partnership with other Canadian
Muslim associations, says at least four other families are facing a similar
fate in Vancouver because of ties to the party.
Between
2015 and 2021, Canada received more than 3,900 refugee claims from Egypt and
accepted about 3,100 of them, according to data from the Immigration and
Refugee Board.
The
council issued an open letter to government officials alleging the
recommendations of the Vancouver CBSA officers are based in individual bias and
Islamophobia, and are not consistent with the agency’s decisions elsewhere in
the country.
The
letter is signed by 12 national and 28 regional organizations. They call for
immediate relief for those whose claims have been denied and for officials to
issue pre-emptive instructions to CBSA officials in Vancouver to allow similar
claims for protection to proceed.
“I
think we can’t unlink this to years, decades really, of biases against Muslims
and Muslim organizations as well as Muslim governments,” Sarah Mushtaq, the
council’s spokeswoman, said Monday.
Source:
The Globe And Mail
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Biden
administration to announce sanctions waivers for Syrian Kurds, Sunni
opposition-held areas
Amberin
Zaman
March
7, 2022
The
Biden administration is expected to announce this week that Kurdish and opposition-controlled
areas in Syria are to be exempt from sanctions against the regime of Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad, according to several sources familiar with the
decision speaking not for attribution to Al-Monitor.
The
exemptions from the Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act will be formally
relayed by Ethan Goodrich, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Near
Eastern affairs who covers the Syria dossier, the sources said. The Office of
Foreign Assets Control waiver on all sanctions for the areas outside the Syrian
regime’s control will not cover oil and gas, the sources added.
Idlib,
the northwest region controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Sunni militant
group that is on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations, is not
included in the waiver. Nor is Afrin, the Kurdish majority enclave that was
invaded and occupied by Turkish forces in January 2018.
Goldrich
was in Ankara today briefing his Turkish counterpart, Selcuk Unal, before
traveling to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He is then
expected to proceed to northeast Syria where he is due to meet with Mazlum
Kobane, the commander in chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and Ilham
Ahmed, the executive president of the Syrian Democratic Council, a top political
body.
The
waiver has reportedly been in the works since last summer but held up by
Treasury department bureaucracy.
The
State Department did not respond to Al-Monitor’s request for comment.
Kobane
has been pushing for the exemption ever since the Caesar Act was introduced in
2019 against Assad and a slew of other individuals and entities implicated in
war crimes against the Syrian people.
Kobane
stressed in a November 2021 interview with Al-Monitor that widespread poverty
and a lack of job opportunities compounded by the country’s worst drought in
seven decades is creating a fertile breeding ground for IS recruitment.
His
fears were vindicated when the jihadis staged a daring prison break in January
in the region’s largest facility for IS detainees. The battle in and around
al-Sinaa prison in the city of Hasakah raged for six days and left more than
200 people dead.
Turkey’s
continued attacks from the air and on the ground are adding to instability.
The
immediate purpose of the waiver is economic relief. “Everything else is
secondary,” said one of the sources familiar with the decision.
For
the fiscal year 2022, the State Department has requested $125 million in
economic and stabilization aid for Syria. It remains unclear whether this
amount will be increased.
Sanctions
experts note that there is a precedent for the carving out of a region from a
broader sanctions program as witnessed in Sudan. With the 2006 Darfur Peace and
Accountability Act and the accompanying executive order, the United States imposed
restrictions on Sudan but carved out Southern Sudan from the sanctions,
allowing energy transactions with Southern Sudan "provided that the
activities or transactions do not involve any property or interests in property
of the government of Sudan," recalls Edoardo Saravalle, a sanctions law
expert at Columbia University Law School in New York.
“The
more common scenario is the opposite, where a separatist region is sanctioned
while the country is not, as is occurring now in Ukraine with the [breakaway
republics in Donbas],” Saravalle told Al-Monitor.
Oil
and natural gas were likely excluded from the current waiver because of the
legal headaches that would ensue. A foretaste of this came when, caving to
pressure from Congress, Trump reversed his decision to withdraw an estimated
900 US Special Operation Forces from northeast Syria in the wake of Turkey’s
October 2019 invasion. Trump said they were staying to "secure the
oil."
In
April 2020, Trump issued a waiver for an obscure private US oil company, Delta
Crescent, to operate in northeast Syria. The Syrian government accused the
United States of “stealing” its oil. Most of Syria’s oil wealth is located in
Kurdish-controlled areas.
The
Biden administration did not extend Delta Crescent’s waiver when it came up for
renewal on April 30 last year. Administration officials say they are not in
Syria “for the oil” but to combat remnants of the Islamic State (IS).
Saravalle
predicts that the private sector “will continue to be very cautious when
dealing with anything Syria-related, even with an exemption for one region, and
will avoid doing anything that could implicate it in violating the overall
sanctions program.”
More
likely, Saravalle added, “Such an exemption could help improve the delivery of
humanitarian assistance and diminish the economic toll in areas outside the
Syrian government's control.”
The
Treasury Department did not respond to Al-Monitor’s request for comment.
Nadine
Maenza, chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) who
has traveled to northeast Syria numerous times, is among the earliest advocates
of the exemption. “US sanctions were always meant to punish Assad, not the
[Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria] (AANES). USCIRF often
recommends sanctions to punish governments for religious freedom violations; we
recommended this to reward them for positive conditions,” she told Al-Monitor.
Maenza
added, “This would also further pressure the Assad regime’s economy by drawing
businesses to the northeast. The AANES is now at the point where it will either
become an aid economy that needs constant support or a commerce economy that
can become self-sustaining. With 80% of the oil in Syria, fertile ground and
businesses ready to invest, there is great potential for economic growth if the
United States changes its policy to give the AANES this boost.”
But
political calculations are also in play. The decision to include some of the
Turkish-occupied areas were thrown in mainly as a sweetener to Turkey. Turkish
officials are unhappy that Afrin and Idlib are not covered by the waiver, as
these are the areas that would stand to benefit the most. They continue to
harbor suspicions that the main purpose is to further cement Syrian Kurdish
independence from Damascus, the sources briefing Al-Monitor said.
The
distrust dates back to 2014 when the United States decided to partner with the
Syrian Kurds in the fight against IS. Turkey insists that the SDF and its
components are mere extensions of the PKK and uses this as justification for
its repeated offensives against the northeast. The claim has some merit since
many of the SDF’s top leaders, Kobane included, held senior positions within
the PKK before moving to Syria at the start of the uprising in 2011.
Turkey’s
other claim — that the SDF poses an existential threat — does not. Kobane has
repeatedly stressed that he wants peaceful, neighborly relations with Ankara,
and his forces have rarely if ever initiated aggressive action against Turkish
forces. Kurdish attacks against the Turkish-occupied areas are carried out by
armed groups thought to be directly under the PKK’s control.
The
hope is that the waiver may eventually lure Turkish companies to invest in the
northeast This, in turn, may help reignite talks between Ankara and the
imprisoned PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan. It’s a long shot.
The
talks were supposed to result in an end to the PKK’s armed insurgency and
greater rights for Turkey’s long-repressed Kurds, with a positive knock on
effects for their Syrian brethren. The talks were abruptly shelved in 2015.
The
Kurds’ refusal to team up with the Syrian opposition in the fight against Assad
is cited as a reason for Ankara’s volte face. Erdogan’s own political ambitions
is another. But the overriding factor was the Turkish military’s growing alarm
at the emergence of a second Kurdish statelet across its borders.
Source:
Al Monitor
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Blinken,
Israel's Lapid discuss Ukraine-Russia diplomacy, Iran nuclear talks
07
March ,2022
US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met
in the Latvian capital of Riga on Monday to discuss Israel's diplomatic
initiative to end Russia's war with Ukraine.
The
pair would also discuss the talks in Vienna on a possible return to the 2015
nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, Lapid said in remarks at the start
of the meeting with reporters present.
The
meeting comes after Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett held surprise talks with
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week at Ukraine's request.
“Israel
is a partner in the global effort to make sure and clarify that this war must
be stopped,” Lapid said. “The way to stop the war is to negotiate.”
Blinken
said the US appreciated any efforts of its allies “to see if there’s any
opening to end the war,” and insisted that any solution must ensure the
independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Russia
calls its campaign a “special military operation” to disarm Ukraine and remove
leaders it describes as neo-Nazis. Ukraine and its Western allies have said
Russia's actions were a transparent pretext for an invasion to conquer a nation
of 44 million people.
Lapid
said his meeting with Blinken comes at a time “when the world order is
changing,” referring to both the war in Ukraine and the nuclear talks.
Russia
said on Saturday that Western sanctions imposed over Ukraine had become a
stumbling block for an Iran deal.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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India
BJP
MLA's Remarks Against Muslims Lead To Opposition Walkout In Bihar Assembly
07th
March 2022
PATNA:
The Bihar Assembly on Monday witnessed repeated clashes between MLAs of the
BJP, which is part of the ruling NDA in the state, and the opposition over
issues relating to the Muslim community.
The
question hour saw BJP MLAs on their feet demanding fencing of ‘Shamshan Ghats'
(cremation grounds) on government expenses, provoked by an RJD legislator
raising the issue of ‘Qabristan' (burial grounds).
RJD
MLA Shamim Ahmad had said delay in fencing of burial grounds often left these
vulnerable to mischief from anti-social elements, and requested that
legislators be allowed to facilitate the work from their local area development
funds.
Minister
Bijendra Kumar Yadav rose to reply on behalf of the government and submitted
that district-level committees headed by respective collectors were in place to
identify “sensitive” burial grounds.
He,
however, said so far the government has not considered the option of allowing
legislators to get the job done through their respective funds.
The
House plunged into turmoil as some BJP MLAs rose in their seats, demanding that
the government also similarly undertake fencing of the ‘Shamshan Ghats' and
temples.
"This
is the type of communalism for which the BJP is known. Raking up ‘shamshan',
Pakistan at the drop of the hat," rued RJD MLA Nehaluddin outside the
House later.
Haribhushan
Thakur Bachaul, the BJP MLA who was recently in news for suggesting that
Muslims should be stripped of voting rights if they refused to sing ‘Vande
Mataram', told reporters "we raised the issue of ‘Shamshan' and Mandir
because these to need to be secure. We will continue doing so."
Post-lunch,
the House got down to debate on the second supplementary budget, but chaos
followed again after BJP MLA Kumar Shailendra used an “unparliamentary” word
for Muslims.
Opposition
MLAs trooped into the well raising slogans in protest.
Former
chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is with the ruling NDA, said it was indeed
objectionable to use disparaging words about a community.
Parliamentary
Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary concurred and urged Speaker Vijay Kumar
Sinha that the remark be expunged from the proceedings of the House.
The
Speaker said suitable action will be taken in the matter, though the opposition
remained dissatisfied and staged a walkout.
Source:
New Indian Express
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Two
Muslim Men, Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Azam Beaten Up, Religious Slurs Hurled At
Them in Gurugram
Mar
7, 2022
GURUGRAM:
Two Muslim men were allegedly thrashed and religious slurs were hurled at them
by two men who fled after snatching their mobile phones, police said here on
Monday.
Police
identified the victims as Bihar native Abdur Rehman and his friend Mohammad
Azam and said that the assailants talked of feeding them pigs and forced one of
them to eat some white powder.
The
alleged incident took place near Ramada Hotel in sector 45 here where they had
briefly stopped while going to Chakkarpur on their motorcycle after collecting
some donations for a madrasa.
Assistant
Commissioner of Police (Sadar) Aman Yadav said after the incident a case was
registered at the Sector 40 police station and the police were also able to
identify one of the accused as Amit.
ACP
Yadav said the police are conducting raids to nab the accused.
He
said the victims alleged that as they stopped near the hotel, a man came in his
car and asked them as to what were they doing there.
As
they told him that they had just stopped on the way back to their home, he
called some other man and the two began abusing and thrashing them, making
religious slurs, Yadav said.
One
of the assailants took out some white powder from his car and put it in Azam's
mouth, the ACP said, adding they fled the scene after snatching their mobile
phones and the motorcycle.
Source:
Times Of India
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Student
accuses hijab-clad girls of issuing threat in Mangaluru
Mar
08, 2022
By
Sharan Poovanna
A
third-year student of Dayananda Pai P Satisha Pai Government College in
Karnataka’s Mangaluru has filed a complaint against seven hijab-wearing
students accusing them of threatening her during an altercation between those
students and the college authorities.
The
complaint, filed on March 4 by Kavana Kumari Shetty, a third-year B.Com
student, comes a day after a Muslim student filed a complaint against at least
15 ABVP workers (also students) who had allegedly verbally abused the
complainant and even called her “terrorist” as well as used derogatory language
against her religion.
On
March 3, college authorities denied permission to the hijab-clad girls to sit
for the internal exams based on the Karnataka high court’s interim order and
asked them to leave the college premises. The same students returned the
following day, around noon, and crowded near the college gates, Shetty said in
her complaint.
“They
started abusing the complainant, who was walking out of the college,” according
to the First Information Report (FIR).
“Yesterday
you told the authorities and did not allow us to write the exams, when you are
on the road, we will take care of you, is this college your father’s and do we
not pay fees and threaten the complainant,” according to the FIR.
The
police has refused to comment on the matter.
Meanwhile,
colleges in several parts of Karnataka are holding special classes to make up
for the lost time due to the hijab controversy.
“The
college is holding special classes so that we can complete the syllabus before
the preparatory exams,” said one second-year pre-university student at MGM
College, requesting not to be named. Preparatory exams begin after March 20.
He
said that the college had completed around 80% of the syllabus and special
classes had begun on Monday to finish the remainder of the syllabus for the
academic year.
Several
colleges in Karnataka have extended holidays or declared study leave to steer
clear of any protests by hijab-wearing students, who are not allowed into
classes with their headscarves.
“Except
for the six girls who went to court, the others are coming to college. There
were online classes earlier for Covid and after that due to the controversy.
Most of the syllabus is complete since exams are approaching,” Rudre Gowda, the
principal of Government Girls Pre-University College in Udupi told HT on
Monday.
He
added that a few more students from other places were still not back to classes
for various reasons.
Source:
Hindustan Times
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Few
more terror modules active in Assam: CM
Mar
7, 2022
GUWAHATI:
A day after five members of a Bangladesh-based radical Islamic group were
arrested in lower Assam’s Barpeta district, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma
on Sunday said “a few more such modules are active in the state and police are
working against such activities”.
Sarma
told the media, “Assam police have been able to unearth a big module working in
the state. It was a big success for the Assam police. As per our information, a
few more modules are active in the state. We had formed a special wing of Assam
police to work on the information about the presence of jihadi activists and
fundamentalists. We have developed sources at different levels. The information
that came to light during the interrogation of the arrested accused has
indicated a bad sign for the future of the state.”
The
arrested members of the group Ansar al Islam, which is known to be the
Bangladesh chapter of al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), have been
identified as Saiful Islam alias Harun Rashid alias Mohammed Suman of Narayanganj
district in Bangladesh, Khairul Islam, Badshah Suleiman Khan and Noushad Ali of
Kalgachia in Barpeta district and Taimur Rahman Khan of Howly.
Barpeta
superintendent of police Amitabh Sinha told TOI that all the accused have been
remanded in police custody for eight days.
DGP
Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said, “Saiful, after entering India, has been
indoctrinating youths, belonging to a particular community in different parts
of Assam, with jihadi and religious fundamentalism and has already spread its
roots in the state,” he added.
Source:
Times Of India
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Committed
to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, says India at UN
March
8, 2022
India
said on Monday that it will continue to coordinate with
"stakeholders" towards enabling expeditious provision of much needed
humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people, days after New Delhi sent
shipments of wheat to Afghanistan.
"India’s
approach to Afghanistan has always been guided by its historical friendship
with its peopleWe remain steadfast in our commitment to provide humanitarian
assistance to the people of Afghanistan," India’s Permanent Representative
to the UN, Geneva Ambassador Indramani Pandey said.
Pandey
was speaking at the interactive dialogue with UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights Michelle Bachelet on her report on strengthening promotion and
protection of human rights in Afghanistan during the 49th Session of the Human
Rights Council.
He
said that in this endeavour, India has already supplied 4000MT of wheat, half a
million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin, 13 tonnes of essential
lifesaving medicines and winter clothing for the Afghan people. These
consignments were handed over to the UN specialised agencies the World Health
Organisation and the World Food Programme.
"As
Afghanistan’s largest regional development partner, India would continue to
coordinate with other stakeholders to work towards enabling expeditious
provision of much needed humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people,” he
said.
Last
week, India had sent the second shipment of 2,000 metric tonnes of wheat to
Afghanistan via Pakistani land route as part of its humanitarian aid to Afghan
people who have been reeling under food shortage.
India
despatched the first consignment of 2,500 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan
through the Pakistani land route on February 22 and it reached the Afghan city
of Jalalabad on February 26. Fifty trucks carried the consignment.
India
had sent a proposal to Pakistan on October 7 seeking the transit facility to
send 50,000 tonnes of wheat to the people of Afghanistan via Pakistan and it
received a positive response from Islamabad on November 24. Following the
Pakistani response, both sides were in touch to finalise the modalities for the
transportation of the shipments.
Pandey
said that as a contiguous neighbour and a long-standing partner of Afghanistan,
recent developments in the war-torn country, particularly the deteriorating
humanitarian and human rights situation continues to be a matter of concern.
"India
also shares concerns of the international community on issues related to
providing immediate humanitarian assistance; ensuring formation of a truly
inclusive and representative government; combating terrorism and drug
trafficking and preserving the rights of women, children and minorities,"
Pandey said.
Bachelet
said that the Afghan people face a “devastating humanitarian and economic
crisis” that severely impacts their enjoyment of the full range of economic,
social and cultural rights. More than half the population now suffer extreme
levels of hunger. An increase in child labour, child marriage and the sale of
children has been observed.
"Following
the Taliban's takeover, international sanctions that previously applied to the
Taliban effectively became sanctions on the country's de facto governing
authorities. The resulting liquidity crisis contributed to a full-scale
economic crash.
"In
addition, non-humanitarian aid to the country on which almost every essential
state function had been dependent prior to the Taliban take-over was suspended.
The Security Council's adoption in December of Resolution 2615, to exempt
humanitarian transactions is a welcome first step to enable work that could
save millions of lives,” she said.
She
also noted that while the decline in hostilities has seen a sharp decrease in
civilian casualties, the human rights situation for many Afghans is of profound
concern. From August 15, 2021 to February 15, 2022, the UN Assistance Mission
in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and her office documented at least 1,153 civilian
casualties, including 397 deaths.
Several
suicide and non-suicide attacks were perpetrated by Islamic State Khorasan
Province (ISKP) against Shia Muslims, mostly from the Hazara ethnic group.
"I
also note a clear pattern of more than 50 extra-judicial killings of
individuals suspected to be linked to the ISKP extremist group, including cases
of beheadings in Nangarhar province with bodies left in public places,” she
said.
She
said she will be urging the de facto authorities to recognise and respect
Afghanistan’s State obligations to protect human rights as they implement their
own approaches to measures of governance in the country.
Source:
India Today
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Africa
Nigeria:
Islamic Finance - Sanusi Preaches Religious Tolerance, Hails Non-Muslims
Promoting Non-Interest Banking
7
MARCH 2022
By
Medinat Kanabe
Mr
Alaro said the United Kingdom is the leading promoter of Islamic banking
globally and that the head of Islamic finance at the World Bank is a Nigerian
Christian, Abayomi Alawode.
The
14th Emir of Kano and former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lamido
Sanusi, has preached religious tolerance among Nigerians, even as he canvassed
support for Islamic finance, otherwise known as non-interest finance.
Mr
Sanusi, who spoke on Sunday in Lagos as the special guest of honour at the 5th
national discourse organised by The Companion, an association of Muslim
businessmen and professionals.
The
discourse, which was themed; "Islamic Finance Experiment in Nigeria:
Gains, Challenges and Prospects," had as keynote speaker, a professor of
Islamic Law at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), AbdulRazzaq Alaro.
Mr
Sanusi, who traced the history of Islamic finance services in Nigeria and the
opposition to it by some individuals and religious leaders, commended some
non-Muslims for their support, encouragement and what he described as their
workable suggestions on how the CBN, under his watch, navigated through the
challenging moment.
He
advised Muslims to always keep their non-Muslim friends, saying reacting to
criticisms based on religious perception and that taking individuals' opinions
to represent the opinion of a people or their religion, cannot be justified.
Islamic
finance birth in Nigeria
Narrating
the journey of Islamic Finance in the country, Mr Sanusi said when he attended
the meeting of the Islamic financial services board in Geneva as the CBN
governor, many had accused him of attempting to Islamise the country.
"...
But those criticising us then never knew that it was actually my predecessor,
Charles Soludo, who applied to the board that Nigeria should be a member.
However, it was at the end of his tenure that we were admitted. So shortly
after he left we were invited to the meeting and that coincided with my
assumption of office," Mr Sanusi said.
He
said many Nigerians saw the merit of the non-interest finance system but were
blinded by religious sentiments.
Mr
Sanusi, however, commended those he described as patriots, saying despite their
religious faith, they contributed significantly to how certain relevant issues
were resolved at the policymaking level.
He
said; "For instance, people were complaining about sharia in some clauses
and I said we could remove sharia. I said in the entire Qur'an sharia is
mentioned only once. So everywhere sharia is mentioned in the policy documents,
we changed it to Islamic legal jurisdiction. And a Christian also helped to
coin the Financial Regulators Advisory Council of Experts (FRACE) to avoid the
use of sharia."
He
said it was the former acting governor of CBN, Sarah Alade, who helped to coin
FRACE, to escape the religious sentiments.
"Meanwhile,
when we were at the National Assembly, one of the critics was a female
representative from Anambra State. She stood up and pointed fingers at me. But
when she finished speaking, I told her that the Islamic Development Bank had
given the finance ministry a loan for agriculture and three states including
Anambra would benefit. So I told them it is not about Muslims or Christians but
about individuals," he added.
Meanwhile,
Mr Sanusi said as of the time he was being quizzed at the National Assembly, 40
per cent of the shareholders that had bought JAIZ Bank's shares were not
Muslims.
JAIZ
Bank is Nigeria's first non-interest bank in the country.
"So
if you choose to respond to an attack coming from someone who claims to be
speaking for Christianity and then you speak from an Islamic position, you will
divide the country," Mr Sanusi said.
Meanwhile,
in his lecture, Mr Alaro said the United Kingdom is the leading promoter of
Islamic banking globally and the head of Islamic finance at the World Bank is a
Nigerian Christian, Abayomi Alawode.
He
described Islamic finance as a form of charity, saying; "Islamic finance
is interest-free but not profit-free."
Islamic
finance's gains
Mr
Alaro said Islamic finance has deepened the financial system in Nigeria by providing
alternative investment and financing outlets to many households in the banking,
insurance and capital market segments.
"This
is evidenced by the growing demand for, and ever-increasing customer base of
Islamic financial services in the country. From just one and only non-interest
financial institution in 2012, the industry has grown in only one decade to
four licensed full-fledged non-interest banks; a window of a conventional bank;
and three microfinance banks, among others," he said.
Mr
Alaro, who is also a member of CBN's FRACE said corporate entities, as well as
the Nigerian government, have also benefited from Islamic banking.
Challenges
Mr
Alaro, however, said the market share of the Islamic finance industry is still
very low, when compared to the conventional market.
He
spoke about other challenges including lack of adequate liquidity management
instruments in the Nigerian Market, dearth of innovative but yet
shariah-compliant products, poor skilled human capital resources; poor Islamic
finance literacy, and what he termed jurisdictional gaps in Islamic
finance-related disputes.
Recommendations
On
what he would recommend to Nigeria, Mr Alaro said since Islamic finance
institutions are by law barred from accessing funds meant for haram products and
activities, such as alcohol, gambling or betting, pornography, among others,
appropriate measures should be taken to attract more investment into the
sector, including government patronage, where necessary.
"The
need for increased capital for the Islamic finance industry in Nigeria cannot
be overemphasised. It is only natural that funds meant for religious activities
such as the annual hajj must be deposited exclusively with the non-interest
financial institutions," he said.
Still,
on recommendations, the don said regulators and operators of Islamic finance
institutions, through their CSR projects, should support universities and
academic centres to facilitate capacity building for the industry through the
endowment of professorial chairs, the establishment of specialised academic
departments and introduction of short and long term professional programmes in
Islamic finance.
He
also advised that non-interest financial institutions in Nigeria should invest
heavily in financial technologies, otherwise called Fintech, noting that it is
where the future of banking services lies.
He
recommended that CBN should collaborate with the National Judicial Institute on
the imperative of training the country's judges on the intricacies of Islamic
finance.
"In
Feb 2022, the Nigerian Copyright Commission reached an agreement with the
National Judicial Institute on the training of judges on intellectual property
law," he said.
The
guest lecturer also commended Bayero University, Kano (BUK) for introducing
courses in Islamic finance, urging other universities in Nigeria to follow
suit.
Source:
All Africa
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://allafrica.com/stories/202203070748.html
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2
UN peacekeepers killed in Mali explosion
James
Tasamba
07.03.2022
KIGALI,
Rwanda
Two
UN peacekeepers died and four others were injured Monday in Mali when their
logistics convoy hit an improvised explosive device, a UN official said.
The
incident occurred north of the Mopti region, according to Olivier Salgado,
spokesperson for the peacekeeping mission known as MINUSMA.
“This
morning, a logistics convoy of UN MINUSMA hit an improvised explosive device
north of Mopti. According to preliminary assessment, the explosion caused the
death of two peacekeepers, four others were injured,” he said in a tweet.
MINUSMA
maintains more than 13,000 troops in the north and center of Mali to contain
growing violence.
Since
2012, Mali has been battling violence orchestrated by militants in northern and
central Mali targeting both soldiers and civilians.
Last
week, 27 Malian soldiers were killed and 33 wounded following an attack by
insurgents on a security post in the Mopti region.
Last
month, European leaders announced the withdrawal of their forces deployed in
Mali as part of a counter-terrorism mission, citing obstructions by Mali
transitional authorities.
Senior
al-Qaeda leader killed
Meanwhile,
the French army announced on Monday that it had killed a senior member of
al-Qaeda in Mali.
In
a statement, the French forces said Algerian Yahia Djouadi, who goes by the
alias Abu Ammar al-Jazairi, was killed in an overnight operation conducted on
Feb. 25 by the Barkhane force, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the
city of Timbuktu.
Noting
that Djouadi had been instrumental in al-Qaeda's expansion and terrorism in
West Africa, it said his death would weaken and isolate the group, which calls
itself al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/2-un-peacekeepers-killed-in-mali-explosion/2526786
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UN
adviser calls for ending blockade over Libya oil fields
Walid
Abdullah
07.03.2022
TRIPOLI,
Libya
UN
Special Adviser on Libya, Stephanie Williams, on Monday called for lifting the
closure of oil fields and resumption of all civilian flights in the Arab
country.
“I
am following with concern reports of closure of oil fields and suspension of
some civilian flights,” Williams said on Twitter.
“Freedom
of movement around the country is a basic right and all civilian flights should
be resumed,” she stressed.
On
Sunday, the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) declared a state of force
majeure in two oil fields, including El Sharara, the country’s largest, after
militants closed the crude pumping valves at the export ports.
Libya
is witnessing a deep political rift as the Tobruk-based parliament on Thursday
gave confidence to a new government headed by former Interior Minister Fathi
Bashagha while Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh insists on continuing with his post and
duties as Prime Minister.
The
Dbeibeh government warned that it would consider any attempt to storm its
headquarters as an "attack against the government.”
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/right-wing-europe-ukrainian-refugees-muslim/d/126529