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Islamic World News ( 6 Oct 2022, NewAgeIslam.Com)

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“So-Called Minorities” Face No Danger And Hindutva Organisations Will Continue To Reach Out To Them To Assuage Their Fears: Mohan Bhagwat

New Age Islam News Bureau

06 October 2022

 

RSS Chief  Mohan Bhagwat

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• Social Media Storm, Lies From India Fuelled Hindu-Muslim Unrest In Central England

• Anti-Muslim Attitudes Widespread, 29% Suggest Restricting Practice Of Islam In Germany: Expert Council on Integration and Migration Study

• Selangor Sultan: Rights Of Non-Muslims Must Be Considered In Religious Decisions

• Sana'a Govt.: Yemen Ready For War If Saudi Arabia Continues To Violate Sovereignty

India

• Amit Shah Halts Speech For 'Azaan' At Mosque In J&K, Draws Huge Cheers, Applause

• Islamic Federation of Tamil Nadu under scanner of Central agencies

• RSS’ Muslim Wing For Uniform Civil Code In Karnataka

• No talks with Pakistan; Modi govt won't tolerate terrorism, says Amit Shah

• Three families made J&K 'terrorist spot' we made it 'tourist spot': Amit Shah

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Europe

• Germany Repatriates 12 Citizens From Syrian Extremist Camp

• Turkish, Swedish Delegations Gather For Talks On Terrorists Extradition

• Mosque in Germany suffers Islamophobic attack

• Türkiye and Denmark reach final stage of strategic energy sector cooperation

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Southeast Asia

• Sultan Nazrin: Increase awareness to make Malaysia Islamic finance arbitration hub

• Free from syndicates, but broke Malaysian victims still stranded overseas

• Scramble to stop snap polls won’t work, says source

• Najib never issued cheques to himself, bank manager tells court

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Mideast

• Yemen To Target Saudi, UAE Oil Facilities If People’s Demands Not Met: Ansarullah Official

• 35 journalists arrested in Iran amid protests: CPJ

• Israel’s former PM Netanyahu released from hospital

• Palestinian shot dead by Israeli army in West Bank: Ministry

• Iran judiciary launches investigation into death of teenage girl during protests

• Iran summons UK ambassador over intrusive statements

• Turkey summons Sweden envoy over TV satire ‘insulting’ Erdogan amid tense ties

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Arab World

• Dozens of Muqtada al-Sadr Supporters Break Into Baghdad TV Channel HQ

• Saudi football fan treks from Jeddah to Doha for World Cup

• Lebanese lawmaker demands frozen assets in bank deposit

• Sheikh Ahmad Reappointed As Kuwait’s Prime Minister

• Israeli ministers to meet on Lebanon maritime deal, but approval pending

• Yemen Warns Foreign Investors In Saudi Arabia, UAE To Leave As Truce Ends

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South Asia

• Deputy Prime Minister: Islamic Emirate Committed to Improving Education

• Blast hits Kabul mosque in vicinity of interior ministry, killing 4

• No One Including Taliban Was Expecting Flee Of Ghani That Resulted In The Failure Of Peace Talks: US

• ‘StopHazaraGenocide’ Twitter Campaign Surpasses 4 Million Tweets

• Family of US citizen missing in Afghanistan claims he is in Taliban custody: Report

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Pakistan

• Pakistan Government Issues Nationwide Alert Amid Heightened Risk Of Terror Attacks By TTP

• Speakers At A Seminar Ask Muslims To Follow Prophet’s Lifestyle

• Federal Minister Challenges Jurisdiction Of ‘Hate Speech’ FIRs Registered Against Him

• Pakistan a 1% republic, says former finance minister Miftah Ismail

• Political disputes must be resolved in parliament, IHC chief justice says

• Focus on long-term Pak-US defence partnership: Lloyd Austin

• Centre fears TTP attacks amid stalemate in talks

• IHC orders opening of roads near Lal Masjid

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Africa

• Uganda’s President Fires Son From Military Over Threat On Twitter To Invade Kenya

• WHO issues warning on Indian cough syrup linked to 66 Gambian child deaths

• Trapped UN aid workers safely exit Ethiopia’s Tigray region

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North America

• US Envoy Condemns Houthi Threats, Vows Continued Defence Support For Gulf Allies

• Iranian-American, 85, held in Tehran on spying charges for six years arrives in Oman

• Turkish institute launches face-to-face language courses in Mexico

• US ‘concerned’ by collapse of truce in Yemen; uncertain whether Iran is to blame

• US operation using helicopters in Syria kills one: State TV

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL:   https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/minorities-hindutva-bhagwat-/d/128119

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“So-Called Minorities” Face No Danger And Hindutva Organisations Will Continue To Reach Out To Them To Assuage Their Fears: Mohan Bhagwat

 

RSS Chief  Mohan Bhagwat

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Oct 6, 2022

NAGPUR: The “so-called minorities” face no danger and Hindutva organisations will continue to reach out to them to assuage their fears, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said in his first public statement on the Sangh’s attempt to extend its outreach after his meeting with several clerics and visit to a mosque and a madrasa in Delhi this September. “There is scare-mongering among so-called minorities that there is a danger to them because Hindus are organised. This has not happened in the past nor will it happen in future. This is neither the nature of Sangh nor of Hindus,” he said at a Vijaya Dashami event to mark the RSS foundation day.

“With some such worries among the so-called minorities, some gentlemen have been meeting us. They have had meetings with Sangh office-bearers and this will continue,” he said in his hour-long address in which he covered a range of topics, notably women’s empowerment, “Hindu Rashtra”, education, casteism, and the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Bhagwat stressed the need for a comprehensive population policy applicable to all social groups equally, which should ensure India’s ethnic profile remains undisturbed. Flagging the issue of demographic “imbalance”, he said it “can lead to creation of new nations”. “Even India suffered 75 years ago,” he said, alluding to the Partition.

“In the 21st century, three new countries came into existence — East Timor, South Sudan and Kosovo. These were results of population imbalance. Apart from differences in birth rates, conversion by force and lure, and cross-border infiltration were the reasons for ther creation.”

The RSS chief underscored the Sangh’s use of the word “Hindu”. “The concept of Hindu Rashtra is being discussed all over. Many agree with the concept, but are opposed to the word ‘Hindu’ and prefer to use other words. We don’t have any issue with that. For the clarity of concept, we will keep emphasising the word Hindu for ourselves,” he said.

Referring to the beheading of a tailor in Rajasthan’s Udaipur and a pharmacist in Maharashtra’s Amravati for alleged insults to the Prophet, Bhagwat said a section of the minority community condemned the crimes, but more people from the religious group should have done it.

He emphasised the use of one’s mother tongue, saying: “English language is not important for building a career.” Bhagwat also batted for women’s equality at the function, where mountaineer Santosh Yadav was the first woman to be invited for the RSS foundation day event as its chief guest. “We have had Anusuyabai Kale and Princess Amrit Kaur at RSS functions. During the Emergency a lady was invited for an event at Akola.” Kale was Nagpur MP in the second Lok Sabha, while Kaur was a freedom fighter and member of the Constituent Assembly.

Source: Times Of India

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original story:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/rss-will-continue-its-outreach-to-muslims-mohan-bhagwat/articleshow/94668470.cms

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Social Media Storm, Lies From India Fuelled Hindu-Muslim Unrest In Central England

 

 

04 October, 2022

Rumour had it that a Muslim girl had been kidnapped and a Hindu temple had sent masked thugs into combat. Add in local fury over an India-Pakistan cricket match, and Hindu and Muslim men were soon fighting on the streets of central England.

It was a social media storm - mostly cooked up a continent away - that materialized in real life in Leicester, where police made almost 50 arrests and a community was left in tatters.

“It is a powerful illustration of how hashtag dynamics on Twitter can use dubious inflammatory claims to ... escalate tensions on the ground,” said a spokesperson at fact-checking site Logically, which analyzed the posts’ veracity.

Experts say most of the incendiary tweets, rumors and lies came from India, showing the power of unchecked social media to spread disinformation and stir unrest a full continent away.

“I’ve seen quite a selection of the social media stuff which is very, very, very distorting now and some of it just completely lying about what had been happening between different communities,” Peter Soulsby, Leicester’s mayor, told BBC radio.

Rob Nixon, who runs Leicestershire Police, concurred, telling the BBC that misinformation on social media had played a “huge role” in last month’s unrest.

To counter some of these claims, police took to social media themselves, saying they had fully investigated reports of three men approaching a teenaged girl in an attempted kidnap, and found no truth whatsoever to the online story.

“We urge you to only share information on social media you know to be true,” they said.

Fact-checkers also found no truth to claims that gangs of masked thugs were bussed into Leicester.

Many of the misleading posts alleging that Hindus and Hindu sites were being attacked came from India, analysis showed.

Some 80 percent of tweets with geographic coordinates, or geo-tagged information, were connected to India, Logically said.

“The ratio of tweets geo-tagged to the UK versus those geo-tagged to India was remarkably high for what, ostensibly, was a domestic incident,” a spokesperson told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“The involvement of high-profile figures in India setting the discourse was a key element.”

BBC Monitoring said that more than half of the 200,000 tweets it investigated came from accounts geo-tagged to India, with hashtags such as #Leicester, #HindusUnderAttack and #HindusUnderattackinUK.

Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.

‘Horrific’ hashtags

The fact-checks confirmed what several Leicester residents had suspected for years: online disinformation and abuse aimed at religious minorities came increasingly from users in India, and platforms were doing little or nothing to check it.

“The events in Leicester did not happen out of the blue,” said Keval Bharadia at the South Asia Solidarity Group, a British community non-profit.

“Friends and family have been sending fake news and misinformation for years. It is a never-ending stream of propaganda from troll armies,” he said.

A spokesman for India’s ministry of home affairs did not respond to a request for comment.

The Indian High Commission in London, in a statement, said it “strongly” condemned the violence against the Indian community in Leicester, and the vandalism of “premises and symbols of Hindu religion.”

Some commentators and rights groups say India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has a hand in the social-media warfare that targets religious and ethnic minorities.

The BJP swept into power in India in 2014 and won by an even bigger margin in 2019, its victories in part credited to its savvy tech cell and social-media prowess, fueled by thousands of supporters it calls digital “yodhas” or warriors.

BJP’s tech cell, as well as government appointed cyber volunteers, often abuse religious minorities and spread disinformation about them on social media, rights groups say.

In a recent report, Dalit rights group Equality Labs said “nationalistic, Islamophobic, and casteist disinformation” was spreading among expatriate Indians via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and thousands of Whatsapp and Telegram chat groups.

“Hindu nationalism is one of the largest disinformation networks in the global South Asian diaspora, with bigoted and often terrifying attacks against caste and religious minorities,” said Thenmozhi Soundararajan of Equality Labs.

“Just think about the horrific hashtags that are now normal,” said Soundararajan, citing “presstitute” - a derogatory term for journalists - and “lovejihad,” an Islamophobic conspiracy theory popular in India.

“Narratives spread on WhatsApp have led to offline violence,” she added.

Mute witness

While expatriates have long absorbed content from India, and commented on events, disinformation has mushroomed with the rise of social media platforms, said Pratik Sinha, co-founder of Indian fact checking site AltNews.

“We are so polarized now, and this is particularly true of non-resident Indians who can’t check the reality on the ground,” he said.

“A lot of hate speech and misinformation, particularly in regional languages, goes unchecked on social media platforms.”

Much of the noise emanates from Meta, formerly Facebook, which in 2019 commissioned an independent assessment of its role in spreading hate speech and incitement to violence on its platforms in India, following criticism by civil society groups.

But Meta has since said it would not release the full report, only saying that it had “significantly increased” its content moderation workforce and language support for India.

Twitter - which has about 24 million users in India - has asked an Indian court to overturn some government orders to remove posts which Delhi said spread misinformation.

Last month, in a rare rebuke, India’s Supreme Court said television was the “chief medium of hate speech” and asked why the government was “standing by as a mute witness.”

The government has not responded to the charge.

Meanwhile, hate speech and disinformation on social media platforms goes largely unchecked in one of their largest markets, said Sinha.

“Misinformation leads to radicalization, no matter where you are,” he said. “We are already seeing the consequences on the ground.”

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/features/2022/10/04/How-tweets-lies-from-India-fueled-Hindu-Muslim-unrest-in-central-England

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Anti-Muslim Attitudes Widespread, 29% Suggest Restricting Practice Of Islam In Germany: Expert Council on Integration and Migration Study

 

Photo: aa.com

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05.10.2022

BERLIN

Anti-Muslim attitudes are widespread in Germany, according to a recent study conducted by the Expert Council on Integration and Migration (SVR).

Nearly 48% of respondents said they believe “Islam is not compatible with the German society,” while 29% suggested restricting practice of Islam in the country.

“Negative attitudes towards Islam are widespread in all groups examined – people with and without a migration background,” the researchers said in their report.

Nearly 44% of Germans surveyed argued that Muslim organizations should be monitored by the state’s security agencies, while only 16% opposed such a move.

Anti-Islamic attitudes were slightly more common among migrants who arrived in Germany from non-Muslim countries. People who had social contacts with Muslims, however, were less inclined to hold anti-Islamic attitudes, according to the report.

The SVR’s study also analyzed anti-Semitic attitudes in Germany and concluded that anti-Semitism was widespread both among Germans and migrant communities in the country.

“Negative attitudes towards people of the Muslim and Jewish faiths are divisive and undermine social cohesion. However, attitudes of this kind are not only held by people without a migration background, but also by people with a history of migration,” the report said.

The SVR called for stronger action to counter anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic attitudes in all population groups, by promoting intercultural contacts and anti-discrimination work.

Among other things, religious communities need to be more closely involved, interfaith dialogue and related forms of interaction can also contribute to reducing prejudice, the group said.

A country of over 84 million people, Germany has the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France. It is home to around 4.7 million Muslims, according to the official figures.

The country has witnessed growing racism and Islamophobia in recent years, fueled by the propaganda of far-right groups and parties, which have exploited the refugee crisis and attempted to stoke fear of immigrants.

German authorities registered at least 662 Islamophobic hate crimes in 2021. More than 46 mosques were attacked between January and December last year, and at least 17 people suffered injuries due to the anti-Muslim violence.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original story:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/anti-muslim-attitudes-widespread-in-germany-study/2703573

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Selangor Sultan: Rights Of Non-Muslims Must Be Considered In Religious Decisions

 

Photo: The Star

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06 Oct 2022

PETALING JAYA: Any muzakarah (religious discussion of an issue) decision must take into account the rights and interests of non-Muslims, as legally guaranteed under the Federal Constitution, says Selangor Ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.

Sultan Sharafuddin emphasised that Malaysia is a multiracial country and that the teachings of Islam that showed mercy to all, including those of different faiths, must always be highlighted.

The Selangor Sultan, who is also the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs (MKI) chairman, said the MKI muzakarah committee played a very important role and function in the Muslim community in Malaysia and is a tower of legal reference at the national and international levels.

However, since each state had its own fatwa committee, there is bound to be conflicts between state fatwas and muzakarah decisions at the national level as well as between one state and another.

"This conflict and non-uniformity creates confusion and problems for the Muslim community and has implications for the economic development of the country.

"Therefore, one of the important functions and tasks of the MKI muzakarah committee is to coordinate the issuing of laws and fatwas for the states in Malaysia.

"This legal ruling by the muzakarah committee is a collective ijtihad (ijtihad jama'i) of all the muftis of the states assisted by experts in certain fields," said Sultan Sharafuddin in his speech during the 121st MKI muzakarah committee meeting at Masjid Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, Shah Alam, Selangor on Wednesday (Oct 6).

Sultan Sharafuddin added that the coordination and standardisation of fatwas by the muzakarah committee do not touch or affect the authority of the Sultan and Rulers in the states as the Head of Religion, as stated by Regulation 9 (1) of the MKI Regulations 2022.

According to procedure, the decisions and views of the muzakarah committee would be informed to the MKI, which was chaired by Sultan Sharafuddin.

The decisions and views would then be submitted together with its recommendations to the Council of Rulers before they were adopted by the state fatwa committee and applied in the state government gazette.

"Any statement regarding the decision made by the MKI muzakarah committee can only be made by the muzakarah chairman.

"No other party including the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) or the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) can make the statement.

"This is important to ensure that muzakarah decisions at the national level and fatwas at the state level are not influenced by elements of party politics," said Sultan Sharafuddin.

He added that Jakim only acts as the secretariat of the MKI muzakarah committee.

Sultan Sharafuddin also advised muftis to refrain from religious disputes in the public space, especially if the issue had been decided on together in the muzakarah space.

The Sultan added that disputes between muftis and religious experts should not become a public spectacle, as it will only lower their authorities.

"Appropriately, the differences of opinion of these scholars should only be discussed in the muzakarah and are not brought out of the muzakarah court," said Sultan Sharafuddin.

He also decreed the muzakarah committee to draft rules and manners for differences of opinion between the committee members, adding that there also needs to be civility in differing opinions.

Recently, a top hotel in Petaling Jaya had come under fire after placing a "non-halal" sign on one of its lifts, which it used to transport non-halal items.

Lawyer and social activist Siti Kassim had first posted a picture of the non-halal lift on social media and questioned the rationale behind it.

The hotel said it was part of the halal certification requirements by local authorities and that they had since changed the signage on the lift.

Source: The Star

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original story:

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/10/06/selangor-sultan-rights-of-non-muslims-must-be-considered-in-religious-decisions

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Sana'a Govt.: Yemen Ready For War If Saudi Arabia Continues To Violate Sovereignty

 

Photo: Press TV

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06 October 2022

Yusef Mawry

The war drums are beating again in the Yemeni capital after a UN-brokered ceasefire ended on Sunday.

For people who have suffered for eight years from the Saudi bombings and inhumane blockade, the expiration of the ceasefire comes as bad news for many. This is particularly true for college students concerned about their futures after graduation.

With the ceasefire expiring, the Yemenis are bracing for what could be a resumption of Saudi aerial bombardment accompanied by a heavily concentrated siege from land, air, and sea. However, Ansarullah's Spokesperson says the movement is prepared to break the siege and liberate the country from all foreign presence.

Yemen’s armed forces have put oil companies working in Saudi Arabia and UAE on alert. It warns that these facilities could be targeted if Saudi Arabia and its allies fail to commit and carry out a ceasefire.

Army spokesman Yahya Saree says Yemeni people have the right to use their own resources, including oil. Saree also called for the immediate removal of the Saudi-led blockade. He said that as long as aggressors fail to agree to a comprehensive and sustainable truce, Yemeni forces will push back.

Political analyst Sameer al-Masani believes hitting these oil-rich countries where it hurts is perhaps the only way to end the war.

The UN Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg is urging both sides to refrain from any provocations that can lead to all-out war so that a political agreement can be reached. However, Tofeak al-Himyari from Yemen's Ministry of Information believes all efforts to reach a peaceful solution have failed.

Although aerial warfare has not commenced, fighting on the ground has reignited in a number of battlefronts between Saudi mercenaries and Yemeni fighters who are vowing to make Saudi Arabia pay a hefty price for their aggression on Yemen.

Source: Press TV

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original story:

https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/10/06/690461/Yemen-sovereignty-Saudi-Arabia-UN-brokered-ceasefire--

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 India

 Amit Shah Halts Speech For 'Azaan' At Mosque In J&K, Draws Huge Cheers, Applause

06 OCT 2022

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on a three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, halted his speech for azaan (a prayer call) from a nearby mosque in Baramulla. Shah was addressing a public rally on Wednesday

When the home minister heard the 'azaan' from the mosque, he asked if anything was going on in the mosque.

After confirming with people, he took a brief pause before restarting the speech with permission from the audience. His gesture attracted huge applause and people cheered for him.

In the same rally, Shah ruled out holding talks with Pakistan and vowed to wipe out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir.

He asked whether terrorism has ever benefited anyone as the menace has claimed 42,000 lives since the 1990s in Jammu and Kashmir.

“Those who ruled for 70 years are saying talk to Pakistan. Why should we talk to Pakistan? We will not talk. We will talk to the people of Baramulla, we will talk to the people of Kashmir,” Amit Shah said.

Prior to this chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation in the Union territory, officials said.

Source: Outlook India

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.outlookindia.com/national/amit-shah-pauses-j-k-rally-for-azaan-at-mosque-news-227866

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Islamic Federation of Tamil Nadu under scanner of Central agencies

5th October 2022

Chennai: The Central intelligence agencies have upped the ante on a newly floated Islamic outfit, the Islamic Federation of Tamil Nadu, which was launched at Coimbatore on October 1.

The outfit which has representatives drawn from the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of the banned Popular Front of India, the Islamic Law Research Council and a few other like-minded organization has M. Rahmatullah as the interim coordinator.

The organization which is registered as an NGO has five objectives that include, making education facilities available to all, recovery of properties that belonged to the Wakf board and are illegally occupied, arbitration and mediation centres for Muslims who face issues in marriage, creating of a bank that provides loans without interest and a law university.

While Rahmathulla has categorically denied any connection with the Popular Front of India (PFI) and that the intelligence agencies are part of the WhatsApp group of the organization, sources in the agencies told IANS that they have kept a tab on the new movement.

It may be noted that Coimbatore has been the hub of Islamic terror movements with 58 people being killed in a series of bomb explosions on February 14, 1998.

The serial bomb blast was aimed at the then Deputy Prime Minister of the country, L K Advani. Several Islamic leaders including Abdul Nasser Madani and S A Basha of Al Umma were arrested and remanded in prison after the blasts.

Sources in the central agencies told IANS that even if the new organization has no connection with PFI or other banned outfits, the organization would definitely be under the scanner of the central agencies.

Source: Siasat Daily

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.siasat.com/islamic-federation-of-tamil-nadu-under-scanner-of-central-agencies-2428124/

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RSS’ Muslim wing for Uniform Civil code in Karnataka

06th October 2022

BENGALURU: The much discussed Uniform Civil Code, which has the backing of pro-Hindu groups, has got support from Muslim leaders affiliated with the RSS wing ‘Bharat First’ and Rashtriya Muslim Manch. The development comes after many BJP-ruled states and pro-Hindu groups started pitching for the UCC. ‘Bharat First’ Karnataka chapter was launched in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Speaking to TNIE after its launch, Iqbal Ahmed, All-India co-convener, Bharat First, and long-time associate of RSS said, “There is a majoritarian government. Simply raising objections to Uniform Civic Code will create unnecessary problems. It is all about ‘One Nation’ and ‘One Law’.

Source: New Indian Express

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2022/oct/06/rss-muslim-wing-for-uniform-civil-code-in-karnataka-2505247.html

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No talks with Pakistan; Modi govt won't tolerate terrorism, says Amit Shah

Oct 5, 2022

BARAMULLA: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday ruled out holding any dialogue with Pakistan and asserted that the Modi government will wipe out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir and make it the most peaceful place in the country.

Addressing a rally here, Shah asked whether terrorism has ever benefited anyone as the menace has claimed 42,000 lives since the 1990s in J and K.

He also blamed the families of the Abdullahs (National Conference), Muftis (PDP) and Nehru-Gandhi (Congress) for the alleged underdevelopment of Jammu and Kashmir as they ruled the erstwhile state most of the time since the country's independence in 1947.

“Some people say we should talk to Pakistan. Why should we talk to Pakistan? We will not talk. We will talk to the people of Baramulla, we will talk to the people of Kashmir,” Shah said.

He said the Modi government does not tolerate terrorism and it wants to end and wipe it out.

“We want to make Jammu and Kashmir the most peaceful place in the country,” he said.

Shah said some people often talk about Pakistan but he wanted to know how many villages in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) have electricity connections.

“We have ensured, in the last three years, that all villages in Kashmir have electricity connection,” he added.

Coming down heavily on three political families for the second consecutive day, even taking their names, the home minister alleged that their rules were full of misgovernance, corruption and lack of development.

Source: Times Of India

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/no-talks-with-pakistan-modi-govt-wont-tolerate-terrorism-says-amit-shah/articleshow/94660474.cms

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Three families made J&K 'terrorist spot' we made it 'tourist spot': Amit Shah

Oct 5, 2022

SRINAGAR: Taking a dig at that the previous governments who governed Jammu and Kashmir in the past, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday said that the Valley was ran by three families who had made Kashmir a 'terrorist spot' while Modiji has made it a 'tourist hotspot'.

Shah was addressing a large public rally in Baramulla town, his first public meeting in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370, where he started his speech with a glowing tribute to the son of the soil, Maqbool Sherwani who was martyred fighting the tribal invaders in 1947.

Shah interrupted his speech when he heard the 'Azan' (Call for Namaz) coming from a local mosque. He restarted his speech after the Azan was over.

He said before his visit to J&K, former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti had asked him through a tweet comment that he should give an account of what he has done for J&K.

"Mehboobaji see with eyes wide open and also Farooq Sahib, see what we have done and what you had done.

"In your rule, there were 87 Assembly members, six Parliament members and three families.

"Modiji took democracy to Panchayat, block and district levels. Today there are more than 30,000 public representatives in these institutions", he asserted.

He questioned both Mehbooba Mufti and Farooq Abdullah about the investments they had brought into J&K during their rule.

"In 70 years since 1947, Just Rs 15,000 crore worth investment came to J&K and from 2019 till date, Rs 56,000 crore worth investments has come which will give employment to five lakh locals.

"You people made Kashmir a 'terrorist spot' while Modiji has made Kashmir a 'tourist spot'.

"Till October this year, 22 lakh tourists came here. You gave stones and guns in the hands of the local youth and Modiji gave them laptops and mobile phones," he said.

He asked the people whether terrorism has ever helped anybody in the World.

"42000 people died in militancy related incidents in J&K, but no son of any leader died during this period. It was always the poor man who had to carry the heaviest weight in the World -- the dead body of his son", Shah said.

He said till 2014, J&K had just four medical colleges and now there are nine in J&K.

"Gujjars, Bakarwals and Paharis could not get any reservation till Article 370 was here. Modiji removed Article 370 and now Gujjars, Bakarwals and Paharis will get reservations.

"Modiji formed the Sharma commission and through the recommendations of this commission, our Gujjar, Bakarwal and Pahari brothers and sisters will now get reservations.

"Some people say we must talk to Pakistan, but we say we must talk to the people of J&K. Those who advocate talks with Pakistan should go and see PoK and find out how many villages have electricity there.

Source: Times Of India

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/three-families-made-jk-terrorist-spot-we-made-it-tourist-spot-amit-shah/articleshow/94659673.cms

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Europe

 

Germany repatriates 12 citizens from Syrian extremist camp

06 October, 2022

Germany on Wednesday said it had resolved “almost all known cases” of its citizens stuck in Syrian extremist camps, after announcing the repatriation of 12 people.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock released a statement announcing that seven children and four women returned to Germany on Wednesday night from the Roj camp in northeastern Syria.

A teenage boy who had been taken to Syria aged 11 was also part of the group.

“I am relieved that this action has allowed us to close almost all the known cases,” Baerbock said.

“I am especially relieved because the children are not responsible for their parents’ fateful choices,” she added, deeming it impossible to leave them “without a future in the camps of northeast Syria.”

The German foreign ministry said the women and the teenager will have to “answer for their acts” and were detained upon their arrival in the country.

It added that there was only one instance where an agreed repatriation had not been carried out yet, and that the mothers did not wish to return in the other cases.

The ministry said six operations have led to 76 minors and 26 women being repatriated from northeastern Syria to Germany to date.

The return of relatives of captured or killed extremist fighters from Syria and Iraq has been a thorny issue for European countries since the fall of ISIS’ so-called “caliphate” in 2019.

The debate on welcoming back citizens from extremist prison camps has been particularly heated in France.

The government previously opted for returns on a case-by-case basis, a policy denounced by the prisoners’ relatives, before carrying out a first major repatriation earlier this year.

French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti on Wednesday said a total of 77 minors had been repatriated in seven operations from the Rojava camp in northeastern Syria.

Another six had returned to France from Iraq, he added.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2022/10/06/Germany-repatriates-12-citizens-from-Syrian-extremist-camp

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Turkish, Swedish delegations gather for talks on terrorists extradition

Ismet Karakas 

05.10.2022

The technical talks between Turkish and Swedish delegations on the extradition of terrorists under the NATO agreement kicked off Wednesday.

The Turkish side is being led by Kasim Cicek, the director general of Foreign Relations and European Union at the Justice Ministry.

The two-day talks are being held in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Last week, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said: "We expect Sweden and Finland to extradite FETO and PKK (terror group) members to Türkiye within the scope of the NATO agreement.”

Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO in June, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine.

However, Türkiye, a member of NATO for over 70 years, voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.

A trilateral memorandum at the NATO summit signed among the countries in June stipulates that Finland and Sweden will not provide support to the YPG/PYD, the PKK's Syrian offshoot, or to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) – the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Türkiye.

Finland and Sweden also agreed to address Türkiye's pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkish-swedish-delegations-gather-for-talks-on-terrorists-extradition/2703007

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Mosque in Germany suffers Islamophobic attack

Mesut Zeyrek

05.10.2022

COLOGNE, Germany

A mosque in Germany was subjected to an Islamophobic attack.

Last Saturday, Islamophobic slurs and derogatory words about Prophet Muhammad were written on the wall of the mosque affiliated with the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) in the western city of Offenbach.

In a statement, police urged eyewitnesses to identify the perpetrators, adding that an investigation has been launched on the attack.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/mosque-in-germany-suffers-islamophobic-attack/2703111

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Türkiye and Denmark reach final stage of strategic energy sector cooperation

Ebru Sengul Cevrioglu  

05.10.2022

COPENHAGEN, Denmark

Türkiye and Denmark have entered into the third and final stage of an energy cooperation agreement to improve trade ties and climate cooperation, an energy advisor at the Centre for Global Cooperation of the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) said Tuesday.

Speaking during a study visit of Turkish officials and entrepreneurs to Denmark as part of the BEST For Energy (Boosting Effective and Sustainable Transformation for Energy) project, Susana Paardekooper, the program manager for the Strategic Sector Cooperation with Türkiye, said the application process for the third phase of the program for the next four years had been opened.

The program, which was initiated in 2017, aims to support the long-term development of the energy system from a regulatory perspective in Türkiye through both government-to-government and business-to-business development.

The program has allowed for cooperation on district heating and cooling, primarily from the legislation point of view in the past, she explained.

A heating act in Denmark in place since the early 80s was a starting point in which the most useful legislative elements were considered for better heat planning. These were then debated for application in the Turkish context with a particular focus on the development of geothermal energy for district heating, a resource that is plentiful in Türkiye.

Paardekooper explained that the third phase incorporates the application process, methods of supporting project development, and financing for different district heating energy projects.

“A geothermal and heat law is somewhere in the legislative process that may hopefully materialize. We are working with the (Turkish) ministry (of industry and technology) to see how we can also support secondary legislation with the explicit purpose of developing district energy," she said.

"We are quite optimistic that in this third phase it will be possible to round it off and come to a kind of consolidation and conclusion of what we have done and open the pathways for future cooperation," Paardekooper said, adding that although the program needs to end at the third phase, the idea is to move on for further commercial and climate cooperation.

Study visit to Denmark

A study visit this week of Turkish clean energy companies and government officials to Denmark, as part of the BEST For Energy Project, is seeing the exploration of opportunities for new bilateral partnerships in clean energy and technologies.

The delegation consists of 20 representatives from clean energy companies and institutions in Türkiye, officials from the Izmir Development Agency (IZKA), the Association of Energy Industrialists and Businessmen (ENSIA), Turkish Offshore Wind Energy Association and the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and Izenerji.

The European Commission, within the scope of the Competitive Sectors Program of Türkiye's Ministry of Industry and Technology, supports the BEST For Energy Project.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/turkiye-and-denmark-reach-final-stage-of-strategic-energy-sector-cooperation/2703173

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Southeast Asia

 

Sultan Nazrin: Increase awareness to make Malaysia Islamic finance arbitration hub

By Zahratulhayat Mat Arif

October 6, 2022

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia could become the preferred Islamic finance arbitration hub if efforts to increase awareness of the dispute resolution mechanism were made, Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah said.

Sultan Nazrin said it was good to see dispute resolution mechanisms evolving from conventional mechanisms, particularly from conventional arbitration to Islamic arbitration.

"As a leading centre for Islamic finance, Malaysia should continue to focus on this area of dispute resolution within the general framework of Islam," he said.

"The Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) would do well to gather a pool of experts in this area to become the preferred hub in Asia, specialising in Islamic finance arbitration, as well as in disputes within halal industries."

Sultan Nazrin said this during his keynote address at the AIAC's Asia Alternative Dispute Resolution Week 2022 here today.

Sultan Nazrin said two challenges should be highlighted in this regard, which are the low uptake of Islamic arbitration and lack of awareness.

"Despite Malaysia having a comprehensive and up-to-date legal framework for Islamic arbitration in place through the AIAC, arbitration of Islamic finance disputes is not a popular option.

"Rather, litigation is still preferred. One reason for this, according to the ICC Task Force on Financial Institutions and International Arbitration in its 2018 report, is that Islamic financial institutions are reluctant to have their disputes decided by arbitrators in accordance with shariah because of the greater uncertainty of the outcome."

Sultan Nazrin added that a lack of awareness of the various products and services that deliver Islamic forms of arbitration could be another reason for the limited uptake.

"So, increasing understanding of Islamic arbitration and its benefits among stakeholders is another important task.

"Islamic arbitration provides a unique path to amicable dispute resolution for businesses in this space. By providing a confidential means of settling disputes and maintaining the mutual goodwill of the parties, it helps to promote more stable business relationships."

He added that a distinctive feature of Islamic arbitration is the need for an additional layer of consultation with either the Shariah Council or a shariah expert.

"According to Rule 29 of the i-Arbitration Rules 2021, the Shariah Council has a maximum of 90 days to make its ruling. After this, the arbitrator may decide on the issue on their own. This pre-arbitration tier increases the time taken to resolve any case.

"To address this issue, steps could be taken to train those with specialisation in shariah, fiqh (jurisprudence) and muamalat (finance) as Islamic arbitrators.

"This would enable disputes to be resolved without the need to involve a Shariah Council or an expert," he said, adding that this would make Islamic arbitration more attractive and "easier" than litigation.

To enable this, Sultan Nazrin added that incentives and career paths must be formulated so that shariah graduates could pursue a career as an Islamic arbitrator.

"In other words, talent and human resources should be developed in the field of Islamic arbitration."

Source: NST

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2022/10/837769/sultan-nazrin-increase-awareness-make-malaysia-islamic-finance

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Free from syndicates, but broke Malaysian victims still stranded overseas

Zeanaaima Mohd Yusof, Yasmin Abdul Latif and Chia Wan Rou

October 6, 2022

SEPANG: A number of Malaysian job scam victims remain stranded in foreign countries despite escaping from syndicates in Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar as they have been slapped with fines they cannot pay for immigration offences.

Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) secretary-general Hishamuddin Hashim said these victims had to pay compounds for “overstaying” despite having nothing but the clothes on their backs.

He said this was why MHO and Malaysia Community Crime Care (MCCC) president Musa Hassan had agreed to set up the “Selamatkan Rakyat Malaysia” humanitarian fund to help bring back these stranded scam victims.

Hishamuddin said the families of some victims could afford the compounds but there were those who could not.

He said most of the victims who had been rescued had no money and could not afford a place to stay or food.

“When the victims are rescued, they are placed in a police station but they are not allowed to stay there for long, just a day or two. Then they need to be moved to a hotel for their safety, but they don’t have money.

“Once they are safe, they are taken to the immigration authorities who will then calculate how long they have overstayed in that country. If they entered the country illegally, they would also be slapped with a fine,” he said.

He said MHO had asked Putrajaya to provide funds for logistical matters to bring the Malaysians home but there had been little progress.

“The government (should) provide funds. This is a different situation compared to those who overstay (in another country on purpose). These are trafficking victims.”

Meanwhile, Musa, who is also a former inspector-general of police, said MHO and MCCC had to launch the “Selamatkan Rakyat Malaysia” fund to help the victims.

“As a person who runs an NGO, I’ve never asked for money from anyone, not even the government. But we want to help people who have been victimised, so we had to set up the fund,” he told FMT.

“The money can also help those working in Malaysian embassies in certain countries as they also lack the funds (to help save the victims).”

Source: Free Malaysia Today

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/10/06/free-from-syndicates-but-broke-malaysian-victims-still-stranded-overseas/

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Scramble to stop snap polls won’t work, says source

October 6, 2022

PETALING JAYA: Last-ditch efforts to prevent the next general election (GE15) from being called this year are unlikely to succeed, says a high-level Umno source.

These efforts, among others, include letters from Perikatan Nasional (PN) ministers to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, as confirmed by Bersatu vice-president Radzi Jidin.

This is on top of growing calls from Pakatan Harapan and PN leaders, as well as civil society organisations asking for GE15 to be held at a later date, citing the monsoon season, the economic situation, the effects of the pandemic and year-end festivities.

“There are ministers who are seeking audiences with the palace in a bid to prevent the polls from happening this year.

“Of course, people are also trying to pile on the pressure on Ismail to dissuade him from seeking a dissolution of Parliament,” said the source, alluding to various media statements.

But the source said Ismail, who will be granted an audience by the King this evening for a pre-Cabinet meeting briefing, will not budge.

“Umno members have very high expectations that Ismail will seek a dissolution of Parliament so that we can have GE15 this year.

“I don’t believe that Ismail will want to let them down.”

The source said this was especially the case after Tuesday’s Umno gathering which was attended by Umno’s top brass and leaders from all 191 divisions.

Source: Free Malaysia Today

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/10/06/scramble-to-stop-snap-polls-wont-work-says-source/

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Najib never issued cheques to himself, bank manager tells court

Ho Kit Yen

October 5, 2022

KUALA LUMPUR: A bank officer told the High Court hearing Najib Razak’s 1MDB trial that the former prime minister did not make any cash withdrawal from his AmBank accounts.

AmBank’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch manager R Uma Devi confirmed this during cross-examination by defence counsel Shafee Abdullah.

“Do you agree that for someone like him, cash would be more convenient since it is typical for Malaysians to use cash when spending?” Shafee asked.

In response, Uma Devi said it was up to the account holder whether to use cheques or withdraw cash.

She also confirmed that all cheques issued by Najib from his accounts were made out in favour of organisations and political parties.

Uma Devi added that the former prime minister had not issued cheques from his AmBank accounts to himself.

The hearing continues before justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah on Thursday when former AmBank managing director Cheah Tek Kuang will continue his testimony.

Source: Free Malaysia Today

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/10/05/najib-never-issued-cheques-to-himself-bank-manager-tells-court/

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Mideast

 

Yemen to target Saudi, UAE oil facilities if people’s demands not met: Ansarullah official

06 October 2022

A senior member of Yemen’s popular Ansarullah resistance movement says the country’s armed forces will target oil facilities deep inside Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in case the Yemeni people’s rights are not fulfilled.

Speaking at an interview with Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television network on Wednesday, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of Ansarullah’s political bureau, said Yemeni people have rightful demands, warning that Yemen’s army forces “have the ability to target Saudi Arabia and UAE’s oil installations if those demands are not met."

Earlier in the day, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree also warned the foreign companies with operations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to immediately leave the two Persian Gulf countries as the six-month UN-brokered truce ended without any further extension.

In a post on his Twitter account, Saree renewed the warning for the foreign firms stationed in the two aggressor countries to move their operations to other "less risky" countries in order to prevent "further losses."

“You must transfer your investment from an aggressor country to a less risky one in order to prevent further losses. Examples of such countries include the #UAE and #Saudi Arabia,” he wrote.

Earlier, Sare’e had said the warning will stay in place “as long as the American-Saudi aggression countries are not committed to a truce that gives the Yemeni people the right to exploit their oil wealth in favor of the salary of the Yemeni state employees.”

The initial two-month ceasefire, the first since 2016, began on April 2 and was renewed twice.

In a statement, United Nations Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg called on all Yemeni sides to refrain from acts of provocation as negotiations are continuing, after an October 2 deadline for extending the UN-brokered truce expired.

Saudi-led coalition strikes Yemen's Hudaydah port

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition has carried out fresh airstrikes in Yemen’s western coastal province of Hudaydah, military sources say.

According to Yemen’s Arabic-language al-Masirah television network, Saudi reconnaissance drones entered the skies of the port city on Thursday and targeted the Hays district several times.

The Saudi-led collation’s missiles have also continued pounding different parts of Hudaydah over the past 24 hours, it added.  

Saudi Arabia launched the devastating war on Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with its Arab allies and with arms and logistics support from the US and other Western states.

The objective was to reinstall the Riyadh-friendly regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and crush the popular Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of a functional government in Yemen.

Source: Press TV

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/10/06/690456/Yemen-Ansarullah-target-Saudi-Arabia-UAE-oil-facilities-Yemeni-people-demands-rights-Yahya-Saree

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35 journalists arrested in Iran amid protests: CPJ

Mohammed Rajwa

05.10.2022

TEHRAN, Iran

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said 35 journalists have been arrested in Iran amid protests over the death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody.

“At least 35 journalists have been arrested since the start of the #IranProtests; there is only one known release so far,” CPJ said on Twitter.

The New York-based organization said the number of detained journalists is based on their own sources inside Iran.

“Details of those arrested are sparse amid an internet blackout and major disruptions to phone & social media networks,” it said.

The CPJ said Nilufer Hamdi, a correspondent for Tehran-based Daily Sharq newspaper, was among those detained by Iranian authorities.

Hamdi was among the first journalists to report about Mahsa Amini’s hospitalization before her death, according to the CPJ.

Amini died on Sept. 16 in mysterious circumstances after being detained by the morality police in Tehran.

While authorities maintain that she died of cardiac arrest, her family claims she was beaten in police custody, which has fueled angry protests across Iran in recent days and drawn condemnation from across the world, including the UK.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/35-journalists-arrested-in-iran-amid-protests-cpj/2703220

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Israel’s former PM Netanyahu released from hospital

06 October, 2022

Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking a return to power in elections next month, left hospital Thursday following a night of observation after feeling ill while fasting for Yom Kippur.

Netanyahu “was released from the Shaare Zedek medical center after the results of all the tests he underwent were totally normal,” a statement from the ex-premier’s office said.

“Netanyahu is back to full activity and already getting ready for his morning walk.”

On Wednesday evening, Netanyahu, who turns 73 this month, “felt unwell” while taking part in prayers at a Jerusalem synagogue for Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, his office said, noting he had been fasting.

Israel’s November 1 election will be its fifth vote in less than four years.

It could oust the centrist Yair Lapid and see the return of the hawkish Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving premier, who is on trial over corruption charges which he denies.

Lapid was the architect of a motley alliance that ended Netanyahu’s record 12 consecutive years in power in 2021.

The latest opinion polls put Netanyahu’s Likud party in front and set to take more than 30 seats in the 120-member Knesset, or parliament, at the ballot.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2022/10/06/Israel-s-former-PM-Netanyahu-released-from-hospital

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Palestinian shot dead by Israeli army in West Bank: Ministry

05 October, 2022

A Palestinian was shot dead and at least two others injured Wednesday by Israeli forces during an operation near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Alaa Zaghal, 21 “died of a bullet wound to the head fired by the occupation (Israeli) army,” a statement read.

The Israeli army confirmed that an operation in the village of Deir al-Hatab was ongoing.

Local residents told AFP that the army had surrounded a house inside the village, which lies east of Nablus.

The violence was the latest to hit the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, an area that has seen near daily clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen since an escalation that began in March.

Nablus has increasingly become a target for Israeli operations following the emergence of a new armed faction, a loose coalition of fighters called “The Lions Den.”

The arrest of one of the group’s members by the Palestinian Authority security forces last month sparked clashes in the city between security forces and local militants, killing one.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six Day War of 1967.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2022/10/05/Palestinian-shot-dead-by-Israeli-army-in-West-Bank-Ministry

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Iran judiciary launches investigation into death of teenage girl during protests

05 October, 2022

Iran’s judiciary has opened an investigation into the death of a teenage girl, who was reportedly killed during protests over the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

A wave of unrest has rocked Iran since Amini died on September 16 after her arrest by the morality police in Tehran for allegedly failing to observe the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code for women.

The street violence has led to the deaths of dozens of people - mostly protesters but also members of the security forces.

“A case has been filed in the criminal court to investigate the cause of Nika Shakrami’s death,” Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency late Tuesday.

“An order to investigate the case has been issued and necessary measures are being taken in this regard,” he added.

Earlier, the prosecutor said 400 protesters were released from prison “on condition of not repeating their actions.”

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2022/10/05/Iran-judiciary-launches-investigation-into-death-of-teenage-girl

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Iran summons UK ambassador over intrusive statements

October 06, 2022

ANKARA (AA) - Iran summoned UK Ambassador to Tehran Simon Shercliff on Wednesday to protest Britain’s statements regarding the unrest that started after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, in police custody last month.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that the UK is "interfering in Iran's internal affairs by issuing meddlesome and provocative comments.”

Iran accused the UK of "siding with terrorist organizations against the Iranian government.”

According to the ministry’s statement, Tehran will "consider possible responses to the actions of the United Kingdom.”

Mahsa Amini died on Sept. 16 in mysterious circumstances after being detained and taken to the headquarters of the "morality police" in Tehran.

While authorities maintain that she died of cardiac arrest, her family claims she was beaten in police custody, which has fueled angry protests across Iran in recent days and drawn condemnation from across the world, including the UK.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/iran-summons-uk-ambassador-over-intrusive-statements/2702946

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Turkey summons Sweden envoy over TV satire ‘insulting’ Erdogan amid tense ties

06 October 2022

Turkey has summoned Swedish Ambassador Staffan Herrstrom over “insulting content” about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan aired on Swedish public service television, as relations between the two sides remain tense over Stockholm’s bid to join NATO.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday called in the Swedish diplomat to lodge a formal complaint over an “unacceptable” broadcast on Swedish television (SVT) that included “impertinent and ugly expression and images” about Erdogan and Turkey, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson downplayed the importance of the satirical TV show, saying she did not think it would harm Sweden’s chances to join NATO.

“I think what is important for Turkey is, of course, that we live up to the agreement that we have made,” the premier told a news conference.

The weekly TV satire “Swedish News” mocked the Turkish president over alleged human rights abuses.

Finland and Sweden scrambled to become NATO members in May in the wake of Russia's war in Ukraine.

In June, NATO formally invited Stockholm and Helsinki to join the US-led military alliance, in a historic expansion of the bloc.

The pair’s accession needs the approval of all NATO members. So far, 28 of the current 30 member states’ parliaments have approved the application, but Turkey has raised objectives and is seeking concessions.

Turkey wants the extradition of individuals that it regards as terrorists as a condition to approve Sweden and Finland’s bids to join NATO.

Erdogan on Saturday once again repeated his threat to block their application until they kept the promises they made to Ankara.

The Turkish president has numerously said the two countries have turned into havens for Kurdish militants, specifically highlighting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and for promoting “terrorism.”

Source: Press TV

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/10/06/690460/Turkey-Sweden-Erdogan-Staffan-Herrstrom-Magdalena-Andersson-television-SVT-NATO-

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Arab World

 

Dozens of Muqtada al-Sadr supporters break into Baghdad TV channel HQ

05 October, 2022

Dozens of supporters of Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr broke into the building of the Baghdad-based al-Rabiaa TV channel on Tuesday night, over allegations the channel had insulted al-Sadr’s former militia.

Al-Sadr is a populist cleric who emerged as a symbol of resistance against the US occupation of Iraq after the 2003 invasion.

He formed the Mahdi Army militia that he eventually disbanded and renamed it Saraya Salam — the Peace Brigades.

His supporters allege that al-Rabiaa insulted the Mahdi Army militia during a recent talk show.

Security forces and anti-riot police were deployed to the channel’s office after the mob broke in.

Videos shared by the channel showed its equipment and furniture destroyed, while al-Sadr followers were shouting pro-Mahdi Army slogans.

Al-Rabiaa is an Iraqi TV channel that was founded in 2021.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2022/10/05/Dozens-of-Muqtada-al-Sadr-supporters-break-into-Baghdad-TV-channel-HQ

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Saudi football fan treks from Jeddah to Doha for World Cup

06 October, 2022

The idea hit Abdullah Alsulmi earlier this year, while he was watching a television show in which a senior Qatari official promised an “exceptional” experience at the upcoming World Cup.

His excitement building, the 33-year-old Saudi recalls thinking: “I will go to Doha no matter what, even if I have to walk!”

It was an unlikely beginning to what has become an audacious adventure dismissed by some of Alsulmi’s own relatives as “crazy:” A two-month, 1,600-kilometer (1,000-mile) solo trek from his native Jeddah to the Qatari capital.

Alsulmi says the journey, faithfully documented for his thousands of Snapchat followers, is meant to highlight regional enthusiasm for the first World Cup in the Middle East –- which Saudi officials have pitched as a milestone “for all Arabs.”

“We want to support the World Cup,” Alsulmi told AFP one day last week as he sheltered from the midday sun near roadside shrubs in the town of al-Khasrah, 340 kilometers southwest of Riyadh.

Wearing a wide-brim hat and a backpack to which he’d affixed Saudi and Qatari flags, he said: “I consider myself like a Qatari who is very interested in this World Cup and its success.”

Sun and scorpions

Alsulmi has experience with extended treks in Canada and Australia, where he used to live, yet those pale in comparison to the rigors of traversing the Arabian Peninsula.

He typically sets out at sunrise and walks until 10:00 a.m. or 10:30 a.m., but then the heat forces him to break for a few hours before resuming in the afternoon and continuing until sundown.

Occasionally he walks at night to maintain his goal of around 35 kilometers per day.

To keep his load light, Alsulmi subsists on food he can buy at petrol stations, often chicken and rice, while showering and washing his clothes at mosques.

His social media posts capture details of life on the trail, from the mundane to the menacing: His nightly search for a spot to sleep, and the time he eyed a scorpion dozing dangerously close to his tent.

He also records conversations with Saudis he meets along the way, many of whom offer snacks and juice to keep him going.

“There are moments of ups and downs, but when I meet people and hear these sweet words –- ‘We will follow you on your account and support you’ –- this encourages me to finish,” he said.

Straying from the main roads as often as he can, he says he has been rewarded with a taste of the varied scenery on offer in the Kingdom -- something he didn’t fully appreciate before.

“Walking from Jeddah to Doha, every 100 kilometers is different. I mean, the first 100 kilometers there are sand dunes, then mountains, and then comes empty land, then farms,” he said.

“I am going through all terrains in one country in two months. This is a beautiful thing.”

A ‘simple’ sport

Alsulmi hopes that by posting about his experience, he can inspire other Saudis to consider trekking through their homeland.

“When I do this, I want to convey to people that hiking and walking is a beautiful sport, even if the weather is difficult here in Saudi Arabia, even if the terrain is difficult. We can do it,” he said.

“It is a sport for simple people. You only need a bag and a few simple things, and a tent and nature.”

If all goes according to plan, Alsulmi will arrive in Doha in time for Saudi Arabia’s opening showdown against Argentina on November 22.

It will be a moment of divided loyalty, since Argentina is his favorite team.

Four days later, he has a ticket for the Green Falcons’ match against Poland.

His hopes are high for a Saudi squad that has now qualified for six World Cups but advanced to the knockout stage just once, during its 1994 debut.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2022/10/06/Saudi-football-fan-treks-from-Jeddah-to-Doha-for-World-Cup

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Lebanese lawmaker demands frozen assets in bank deposit

Idiris Okuduci  

05.10.2022

BEIRUT

A Lebanese lawmaker on Wednesday entered a private bank in the capital Beirut to demand a portion of her deposit, according to local media.

Bank officials, however, denied the demands of Cynthia Zarazir to withdraw $8,500 of her funds that she said she needed for surgery, reported the Al Jadeed TV channel.

As Zarazir continued to negotiate with bank officials, many others whose accounts had similarly been frozen gathered in front of the branch in support of the member of parliament representing Beirut.

At least eight attempts -- including some armed -- at storming banks were reported in Lebanon last month during which depositors managed to recover some of their frozen funds.

The incidents have pushed banks to close their doors for several days to protest the holdups.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/lebanese-lawmaker-demands-frozen-assets-in-bank-deposit/2703274

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Sheikh Ahmad reappointed as Kuwait’s prime minister

Ibrahim al-Khazen 

05.10.2022

Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was reappointed on Wednesday as Kuwait’s prime minister, according to the state news agency KUNA.

Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah issued a decree tasking Sheikh Ahmad of forming a new government, KUNA said.

On Sunday, the crown prince accepted the resignation of the government led by Sheikh Ahmad after two months of its formation.

On July 24, Sheikh Ahmad was appointed as prime minister four months after the resignation of the previous government amid severe disputes with lawmakers.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/sheikh-ahmad-reappointed-as-kuwait-s-prime-minister/2703259

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Israeli ministers to meet on Lebanon maritime deal, but approval pending

October 06, 2022

JERUSALEM: Israel’s top cabinet ministers on Thursday will discuss a prospective US-mediated border demarcation deal with Lebanon addressing a disputed Mediterranean gas field, but were unlikely to take a final vote, Israeli officials said.

The draft deal, which has not been made public, has had a mostly warm preliminary reception by the Israeli and Lebanese governments. But there has also been domestic opposition in both countries, which are technically at war.

Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll said Israel’s security cabinet would meet at 4 p.m. (1300 GMT) to discuss the draft.

“The main points of the deal, and the matters we support, will be presented to it,” Roll told Ynet TV, adding that a discussion in the full cabinet, and a parliamentary review at an as-yet undecided level of the Knesset assembly, would follow.

With centrist Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid serving in a caretaker capacity ahead of a Nov. 1 election, the political opposition has demanded Knesset ratification for the deal.

Lapid’s main rival, conservative ex-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, argues that the deal could surrender Israeli maritime rights and benefit the enemy Lebanese Hezbollah movement. The Lapid government insists Israel’s security will be safeguarded.

Beirut, meanwhile, has balked at Lapid’s assertion that Israel will be paid partial royalties from future Lebanese exploration in the Qana gas prospect. A Lebanese ex-negotiator and some opposition lawmakers have argued that the proposed border demarcation skews too far north, thus favoring Israel.

Israeli security cabinet minister Hili Tropper said Thursday’s forum would receive Lebanese caveats and revision requests through US mediator Amos Hochstein.

“We will discuss them, and if they are significant, I am convinced that we will not accept this deal,” Tropper told Ynet.

Asked if the deal might go through before Israel’s election — a likely boon for Lapid’s campaign — Tropper said: “I can’t answer that. Our goal is to get it done as quickly as possible.”

Source: Arab News

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2176181/middle-east

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Yemen Warns Foreign Investors In Saudi Arabia, UAE To Leave As Truce Ends

05 October 2022

The Yemeni army has warned the foreign companies with operations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to immediately leave the two Persian Gulf countries as the six-month UN-brokered truce ended without any further extension.

In a Twitter post early on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Yemeni armed forces urged the foreign firms stationed in the two "aggressor" countries who are involved in the devastating war in Yemen to move their operations to other "less risky" countries in order to prevent "further losses".

“You must transfer your investment from an aggressor country to a less risky one in order to prevent further losses. Examples of such countries include the #UAE and #Saudi Arabia,” Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e wrote.

Earlier, Sare’e had warned oil companies operating in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to pack up and leave as the warring sides in Yemen failed to reach an agreement to extend the UN-brokered truce.

The initial two-month ceasefire, the first since 2016, began on April 2 and was renewed twice.

“As long as the American-Saudi aggression countries are not committed to a truce that gives the Yemeni people the right to exploit their oil wealth in favor of the salary of the Yemeni state employees, the armed forces give oil companies operating in the UAE and Saudi Arabia an opportunity to organize their situation and leave,” he tweeted on Sunday evening, adding “forewarned is forearmed.”

“If the Saudi and Emirati coalition continue to deprive our Yemeni people [of] access to their resources, our military forces can, with God's help, deprive them of their resources,” the Yemeni military spokesman added.

In a statement, United Nations Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg called on all Yemeni sides to refrain from acts of provocation as negotiations are continuing, after an October 2 deadline for extending the UN-brokered truce expired.

Grundberg said efforts to extend and expand the ceasefire for a further six months had not been successful.

“The UN special envoy regrets that an agreement has not been reached today, as an extended and expanded truce would provide additional critical benefits to the population,” the statement read.

“I urge (the warring parties) to fulfill their obligation to the Yemeni people to pursue every avenue for peace,” the Swedish diplomat was quoted as saying.

Yemen’s popular Ansarullah resistance movement said in a statement on Saturday that the ceasefire was at “a dead end.”

“Over the past six months, we haven't seen any serious willingness to address humanitarian issues as a top priority,” the statement said, denouncing the Saudi-led coalition of failing to agree measures to “alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people.”

Saudi Arabia launched the devastating war on Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with its Arab allies and with arms and logistics support from the US and other Western states.

The objective was to reinstall the Riyadh-friendly regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and crush the popular Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of a functional government in Yemen.

Source: Press TV

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/10/05/690428/Yemen-warns-foreign-investors-in-Saudi-Arabia,-UAE-to-leave-as-UN-backed-truce-ends-without-extension

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South Asia

 

Deputy Prime Minister: Islamic Emirate Committed to Improving Education

By Mohammad Farshad Daryosh

October 6, 2022

At an event for World Teachers' Day, 2nd Deputy Prime Minister Hanafi said that the acting government is committed to the improvement of quality and quantity in the education sector.

Mullah Abdul Salam Hanafi criticized the freezing of Afghanistan's foreign assets and said that more than 800,000 government employees' salaries have been paid from the national budget.

"More than 800,000 government employees have been paid from our national budget,"said Mullah Abdul Salam Hanafi, 2nd Deputy PM.

According to the Ministry of Education statistics, more than 247,000 teachers are teaching right now.

The head of the Quality Management of Human Resources at the Ministry of Education said 20,000 vacancies have been created for teachers across the country.

"We have 247,000 teachers and we are responsible for their spiritual advancement and paying their salaries." said Mawlawi Abdulkhaliq Sadiq, Head of Quality Management of Human Resources of the Ministry of Education.

"In the current conditions, if we are under pressure, the reason is that we did not work as much as needed in the education sector," said Shaikh Nurulhaq Anwari, head of the Administrative Office.

Meanwhile, some teachers called on the Islamic Emirate to create facilities for girls to learn.

"We hope that schools will open for girls and educational facilities will be created for all of our citizens to get an education," said Mohammad Asif, principal of Habibia high school.

"Women are half of society and they have a basic role in the education of the new generation,"said Abdul Ghafar, a teacher.

At the event, the acting minister of education did not participate but said in a message that education is the only way for progress.

Source: Tolo News

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-180160

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Blast hits Kabul mosque in vicinity of interior ministry, killing 4

OCTOBER 5, 2022

KABUL (Reuters) -An explosion hit a mosque in Afghanistan’s capital near the heavily fortified interior ministry compound on Wednesday, killing four people and wounding 25, a ministry spokesman said.

The government did not immediately say what caused the blast in Kabul, where Islamist militants have carried out a number of attacks in recent months.

“The mosque was used by visitors and sometimes by interior ministry employees,” said interior ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor, who confirmed the casualty toll.

Italian NGO aid group Emergency, which runs a hospital in Kabul, said on Twitter that it had received 20 patients from the blast, two of whom were dead on arrival.

The interior ministry compound is in a secure area next to Kabul international airport.

The ruling Taliban have said they have secured the country since taking over in 2021 after a two-decade insurgency. But although widespread fighting has ended, a series of blasts have hit urban centres in recent months.

Source: Reuters

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.reuters.com/article/afghanistan-blast/blast-hits-kabul-mosque-in-vicinity-of-interior-ministry-killing-4-idUSKBN2R014Z?rpc=401&

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No one including Taliban was expecting flee of Ghani that resulted in the failure of peace talks: US

05 Oct 2022

The United States of America, as one of the parties in the US-Taliban agreement signed in Doha, still believes that the main reason for the failure of the intra-Afghan peace negotiations in Doha was the flee of Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, the former president of Afghanistan.

The Afghan peace process failed as Ghani, who was representing one side of the talks in the Doha Inra-Afghan negotiations fled and left the country which no one including the Taliban was expecting it, said Karen Decker, the newly appointed Charge d’Affaires for the US Embassy for Afghanistan in an on-the-record roundtable with the Afghan media representatives on Wednesday.

According to the Ms Decker, the United States under no condition is willing to get engaged militarily in Afghanistan, but will continue its diplomatic and political efforts to help the situation.

This is a reality, we have to get engaged with the Taliban, Decker said.

The US Department of State and USAID are jointly working from Doha in Qatar with a focus on humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people, she said.

This comes as the United States of America and mostly all other countries closed their embassies and diplomatic missions in Afghanistan as the Taliban forces took the control of Afghanistan last year.

The Taliban’s administration has not yet been recognized by any countries of the world, however, there are few countries that are directly into engagements with the Taliban.

China, Russia, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan are the countries that have close ties with the Taliban, but none o them have yet indicated any signs of recognizing the Taliban’s government.

Regional and international players are putting efforts together to force Taliban in formation of an inclusive government to bring diversity in its administration and distribute power among other active political, ethnic and religious groups.

Despite the Taliban’s presence throughout Afghanistan, the group does not have the total control on parts of Panjshir, Nuristan and Baghlan provinces as different armed groups under the name of National Resistance Forces (NRF) are attacking Taliban forces using a guerrilla war methodology.

Source: Khaama Press

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.khaama.com/no-one-including-taliban-was-expecting-flee-of-ghani-that-resulted-in-the-failure-of-peace-talks-us/

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‘StopHazaraGenocide’ Twitter Campaign Surpasses 4 Million Tweets

By Saqalain Eqbal

05 Oct 2022

In just a few days, the Twitter campaign against the alleged systematic killing, “genocide” of the Hazara ethnic group in Afghanistan, has received more than 4 million tweets and is still going strong.

The total number of tweets using the hashtag “#StopHazaraGenocide” surpassed 4 million a few hours ago, and it has been tweeted more than 1.18 million times in the last 24 hours alone.

After a terrorist attack on the Kaaj education center in the west of Kabul, the Afghan capital, resulted in the deaths of over 54 students, mostly girls, the hashtag campaign quickly gained prominence on Twitter and soon became a hot trend.

The issue of the systematic killing of Hazaras has been brought up again by this deadly attack on Hazara children, and in the past five days, it has also dominated domestic media coverage.

Genocide is defined as an act in which a person or group deliberately targets a group of people for physical destruction because they belong to a specific race, religion, or ethnicity.

The fact that the Hazara community in Afghanistan has fallen victim to major organized terrorist attacks, the Kaaj tragedy to hit the community at the latest, manifests the systematic attacks and genocide against the ethnic minority.

Source: Khaama Press

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.khaama.com/stophazaragenocide-twitter-campaign-surpasses-4-million-tweets-23454/

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Family of US citizen missing in Afghanistan claims he is in Taliban custody: Report

6 October, 2022

Kabul [Afghanistan], October 6 (ANI): An Afghan-American national, who had travelled to Afghanistan for working purpose, has been missing for the past eight weeks, media reports said citing his family member.

Mahmood Shah Habibi, the former Afghan Aviation Authority Chief had recently travelled to Afghanistan is missing since August 10, Khaama Press reported.

“He has been working as an advisor with a telecom company in Shash-Darak of Kabul for the last 3 years and he did not have any issues being in Afghanistan after the fall of the country in the hands of Taliban”, Ahmad Shah said, Habibi’s brother told Khaama Press.

“Not only Habibi, but 29 other employees of the same company were also arrested on the same day, many of whom were later released”, Ahmad Shah said.

According to the media outlet, the US side confirmed that they are aware of its citizens being detained in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan continues to face an increase in bomb attacks.

At least four people were killed and 25 others were wounded in a blast in the Kabul mosque, the latest in the series of targeted explosions in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

The blast reportedly took place at a mosque of the Taliban’s Interior Ministry, TOLOnews reported. A Taliban spokesperson said that an investigation is underway and further details will be shared soon, the agency added.

“After a bomb attack in a mosque at the Interior Ministry, EMERGENCY NGO Surgical Centre has received 20 patients – 2 were already dead on arrival,” Kabul’s Emergency Hospital tweeted.

The hospital said this is the 2nd mass casualty the hospital has handled in recent days, and the 23rd of the year so far.

On Saturday, dozens of women from the minority Hazara community protested in Kabul against the terror attack at the Kaaj Educational Centre. The women protestors dressed in black chanted slogans against the genocide of minorities and demanded their rights, Pajhwok Afghan News reported.

Source: The Print

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://theprint.in/world/family-of-us-citizen-missing-in-afghanistan-claims-he-is-in-taliban-custody-report/1156071/

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Pakistan

 

Pakistan government issues nationwide alert amid heightened risk of terror attacks by TTP

Sajjad Hussain 

06.10.22

The Pakistan government has issued a nationwide alert to authorities to maintain "extreme vigilance" amid a heightened risk of terrorist attacks by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) after peace talks with the dreaded terror group have stalled, a media report said on Thursday.

The federal government said it had learnt that the TTP high command met recently in Paktika, Afghanistan, to discuss the deadlock in peace talks and the fate of the negotiations with the Pakistani government after the killing of TTP commanders Omar Khalid Khorasani and Aftab Parkay.

The letter urged all authorities in four provinces to heighten security and exercise enhanced vigilance to avoid any untoward incident, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement, instructing forces that targeted search and strike missions be carried out wherever militant activity is reported.

In a letter circulated last month, the Ministry of Interior warned that more than year-long peace negotiations between the TTP and the government of Pakistan had come to a standstill , which has led to unease within the TTP's ranks, the Dawn newspaper reported.

It noted that the TTP accuses the Pakistani government of failing to fulfil its main demand the reversal of the merger of former Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as continuing to detain TTP members while a truce was still being negotiated.

The letter was addressed to the home and chief secretaries of the four provinces as well as the Islamabad chief commissioner, the report said.

The ministry warned that the terror group or its splinter factions might also seek to escalate terrorist activities in the coming days to avenge the killing of their commanders and to show strength in case there is no further progress in peace negotiations.

The notice said the TTP top brass, fearing a complete breakdown of the talks, decided to move their families to secure places as they feared Pakistani security forces would launch a kinetic operation in case of failure of talks.

Some of the militants' families may be moved to Karachi and its adjoining areas, the notice warned.

The interior ministry also took grave notice of reports that TTP mil itants are attempting to mig rate to North and South Waziris tan from Afghanistan to set up camp for future attacks. It desc r ibed reports of the arrival of TTP militants in areas neighbouring the Pak-Afghan border as well as deeper within Khyber Pakhtun khwa as a worrisome phenomenon .

It said that known militant commanders based in Waziristan Abu Yaha, Molvi Munawar and Matoob Ali Jan alias Sailab have been in contact with the TTP high command in Afghanistan for further directions regarding moving to the area to intensify terrorist activities.

The government also highlighted the risk of TTP sub-groups defecting to the militant Islamic State (ISKP) or joining hands with the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group to resume terrorist activities.

The interior ministry said targeted strike operations might be launched in areas where militants' presence is reported and that law enforcement officials should ensure heightened security measures in their respective jurisdictions to avoid any untoward incident, according to the Dawn report.

Pakistan last year launched talks with TTP with the facilitation of an interim Afghan government but no headway has been made.

In 2012, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai was attacked by TTP. She suffered bullet injuries and was admitted to the Military Hospital (CMH) Peshawar and then taken to London for further treatment. The TTP claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that Yousafzai was a "Western-minded girl".

Source: Telegraph India

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/pakistan-government-issues-nationwide-alert-amid-heightened-risk-of-terror-attacks-by-tehreek-i-taliban-pakistan/cid/1890432

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Speakers At A Seminar Ask Muslims To Follow Prophet’s Lifestyle

October 06, 2022

Islamabad : Speakers at a seminar stressed the need of character building in the light of teachings of Holy Prophet (PBUH), stating that Allah Almighty has declared the life of the Holy Prophet as an example for Muslims.

They were addressing a seminar held at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) on the theme of ‘Building personality in the light of Prophet Muhammad SAWW.’

Seerat-ul-Nabi Chair, Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) has decided to hold seminars on various topics on account of Rabi-ul-Awwal, the month of blessings.

Prof. Fateh Muhammad Malik presided over the event while the Chairman, Council of Islamic Ideology, Dr. Qibla Ayaz was the special guest.

Sahibzada Sajdul Rehman Head, Seerat Chair, and senior advisor PMU, Mohammad Rafiq Tahir, hosted the event.

Apart from faculty members, scholars of Islamic University and students of Kahuta Law College also attended the ceremony.

In his address, Dr. Qibla Ayaz said that the Prophet Muhammad PBUH continued to work for the welfare of humanity, and this is still needed today.

He brought the young people with him and taught them to establish justice.

He said that the trend of these kinds of events is emerging in Allama Iqbal Open University through Sirat-ul-Nabi Chair, which is commendable.

Allama Sahibzada Syed Arshad Saeed Kazmi, while giving a lecture on the topic of character building in the light of Prophet Muhammad SAWW, said that Allah Almighty has declared the life of the Holy Prophet as an example for Muslims.

He said that the religion of Islam revolves around the Holy Prophet and his life is a practical interpretation of the Holy Quran.

Saeed Kazmi narrated in detail various incidents of justice and fairness, trustworthiness, honesty, and good behaviour of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).

He added that the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) educated and trained the people of Jahiliyyah and taught them such principles of life that immediately their condition changed completely.

Sahibzada Sajdul Rehman said that to celebrate the month of Rabi-ul-Awwal with full religious energy, Seerat Chair has organized seminars on various topics, the first seminar of this series was presented today.

He thanked the print and electronic media for covering the event and said that with the support of the media, this event will be spread across the country.

Source: The News

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/997527-speakers-ask-muslims-to-follow-prophet-s-lifestyle

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Federal Minister Challenges Jurisdiction Of ‘Hate Speech’ FIRs Registered Against Him

Malik Asad

October 6, 2022

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister Mian Javed Latif of PML-N on Wed­ne­sday filed a petition before the Islam­abad High Court (IHC) challenging the FIRs registered against him at various police stations in Punjab.

Mr Latif said the FIRs had been registered in Punjab over his utterances during a TV programme broadcast from Islamabad and contended that such cases could not be registered anywhere other than the federal capital since the incident had taken place there.

He further said that it was the exclusive domain of the Pakistan Elect­ronic Media Regulatory Authority to take action if his utterances were indecent and offensive. He requested the court to declare these FIRs as illegal.

The FIRs against the minister were lodged under Section 9 (punishment for acts intended or likely to stir up sectarian hatred) and 11X-3 (responsibility for creating civil commotion).

In one FIR, the complainant said he came across a press conference addressed by Mr Latif on Sept 14 (broadcast by TV) during which he hurled “disturbing accusations” at PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the name of religion.

Mr Latif had accused Mr Khan of “attacking the basic principles of Islam” by supporting the Ahmadiyya community during his tenure as prime minister.

Source: Dawn

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.dawn.com/news/1713720

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Pakistan a 1% republic, says former finance minister Miftah Ismail

Oct 5, 2022

NEW DELHI: Former fina­nce minister Miftah Ismail has termed Pakistan a “1% republic” that offers no upward social mobility to an overwhelming majority of its citizens, according to a report in Dawn.

“The 1% elite controls this country,” said Ismail who held the portfolio for six months. He claimed that while US billionaires Bill Gates and St­­eve Jobs "came from not­hing and yet built a fortune by dint of their talent", almost all the rich Pakistanis are beneficiaries of "generational wealth".

"When the economy heats up, it is the lower-and middle-income groups that face the brunt as companies lay off employees," the former minister noted.

“(The last government) distributed Rs. 580 billion among the richest 1% Pakis­tanis under the Temporary Econo­mic Refinance Faci­li­­ty. The government gave the loans to import machinery, however, the elites also ordered consumables for themselves and their families from abroad, thus inflating the import bill. The government itself is borrowing at 15% but the rich people got money at 1% only,” he said, adding that liquidity injection increased imports of machinery and widened the current account deficit be­­­cause local business groups produced goods for domestic consumption only.

Without naming anyone, Ismail said a conglomerate req­uested his support for setting up a 500,000-tonne factory of polypropylene while he was finance minister. They dema­nded a 20% duty protection for 20 years because "the corporation couldn’t compete agai­nst its Chinese counterparts", said Ismail.

He also criticised the auto sector for its inward-looking approach that’s been draining foreign exchange on imports for decades without generating any dollar earnings through exports, reported Dawn.

Financial crisis

Ismail, who has been replaced by Ishaq Dar, was the fifth finance minister to be take the seat in less than four years as Pakistan's economy has witnessed persistent turbulence while its current account deficit has widened starkly and rising inflation has put pressure on both families and businesses.

Ismail has said the government headed by PM Shehbaz Sharif was suffering because of the economic policies taken by the erstwhile Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) regime led by ousted PM Imran Khan.

IMF bailout

Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) late July following months of deeply unpopular belt-tightening by the government, which took power in April and has effectively eliminated fuel and power subsidies and introduced new measures to broaden the tax base.

The new government has slashed a raft of subsidies to meet the demands of global financial institutions but risks the wrath of an electorate already struggling under the weight of double-digit inflation. Pakistan had hoped for a quick revival of the bailout, but the IMF has so far not released the much-needed installment.

Source: Times Of India

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pakistan-a-1-republic-says-former-finance-minister-miftah-ismail/articleshow/94666794.cms
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Political disputes must be resolved in parliament, IHC chief justice says

Tahir Naseer

October 6, 2022

Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Thursday observed that the matter pertaining to the acceptance of resignations of a few National Assembly members — belonging to the PTI — was a political dispute while observing that the “place to resolve such disputes is parliament”.

The IHC chief justice issued these remarks while hearing a petition filed by the PTI on Wednesday against National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf accepting only 11 of their resignations instead of those of all 123 party members of the lower house of parliament.

PTI lawyer Senator Ali Zafar appeared in court today.

In their fresh plea before the high court, the PTI members argued that after the change of their government through a “foreign conspiracy”, the leadership took a policy decision to protest against the party’s ouster from office.

“To seek a fresh mandate from… people, the party decided to get all its elected members resigned en bloc from the National Assem­bly,” the petition said.

The party is of the view that the speaker was under obligation to accept the resignations of all 123 MNAs who had quit the lower house of parliament to protest the ouster of their party’s government “through a conspiracy”.

Taking up the plea for a hearing, Justice Minallah said the court could not issue directives to the NA speaker, adding that people trust their representatives and send them to parliament.

He addressed the PTI counsel, saying: “You must hold a dialogue with other political parties to resolve such disputes.”

Barrister Zafar contended that the speaker did not fulfil his constitutional duty.

He told the court that 123 MNAs tendered their resignations on the condition that all lawmakers would quit the parliament en masse.

“If the resignations of all MNA haven’t been accepted then our condition stands unmet,” he said.

Justice Minallah asked the PTI counsel to rethink their strategy and then file an affidavit with the court.

He said the members were accepting that their resignations were “genuine”.

However, the PTI counsel insisted that the resignations were genuine yet conditional.

The IHC chief justice observed that members whose resignations hadn’t been accepted must rejoin the parliament, saying “ the parliament has been greatly disrespected, hence democracy should not be made a joke.“

He said the court shouldn’t be used for “political point scoring”.

“Go and fight your political battle outside the court,” Justice Minallah told the PTI counsel.

The petition

The petition filed by the 10 lawmakers on Wednes­day stated: “The speaker of the National Assembly vide decision dated July 28, 2022 without any due [inquiry] nor any verification from the petitioners, treated the letters from the petitioners as “resignation”, final and binding” and forwarded these to the ECP who de-notified 11 members on the next date.

The petition stated that these lawmakers “acted upon the directions of the party and for the political objective only of arriving at an agreement with the opposition parties for holding of fresh elections… the resignations was subject to all the 123 members of the National Assembly belonging to PTI resigning and being de-seated jointly and as a whole.”

According to the petition, the resignations were “conditional upon and subject to all the 123 members, who had sent letters of resignation being de-seated as a whole and jointly.”

The petition said that the speaker was under obligation to verify the resignation to ascertain whether these were “voluntary and genuine and whether the same was intended to act as a resignation” alleging that the speaker had, in connivance with government functionaries, unilaterally approved these resignations.

“Hence, the impugned orders accepting the resignations of the petitioners and de-seating [them] and ordering holding of elections are all contrary to the Constitution and illegal and liable to be set aside,” the petition went on to say.

The PTI lawmakers insisted that their “letters were not resignations… the petitioners were not willing to proceed with the resignation which is not final and binding but conditional.”

Source: Dawn

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.dawn.com/news/1713746/political-disputes-must-be-resolved-in-parliament-ihc-chief-justice-says

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Focus on long-term Pak-US defence partnership: Lloyd Austin

Anwar Iqbal

October 6, 2022

WASHINGTON: US Defe­nce Secretary Lloyd J. Austin said on Wednesday that his talks with visiting Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa focused on the long-standing partnership between the two defence establishments and on areas of mutual interest.

Underlining the importance of this partnership in a tweet he posted on his official site, Secretary Austin noted that this year marks the 75th anniversary of relations between the United States and Pakistan.

In a separate statement, his office said that on Oct 4, Secretary Austin hosted Gen Bajwa at the Pentagon during the 75th anniversary of relations between the United States and Pakistan.

“This long-standing partnership continues today with discussions focused on opportunities to address key mutual defence interests,” the Pentagon said.

ISPR says Gen Bajwa, defence secretary discussed cooperation in various fields

The military’s media department, ISPR, also highlighted this point in its statement, saying that the two leaders also discussed the “regional security situation and bilateral cooperation in various fields”.

Additional points in the ISPR statement included the need for continued assistance from Pakistan’s global partner for the rehabilitation of flood victims in Pakistan and enhancing trade and economic ties between the two allies.

“Both sides had convergence on major international issues, including Afghan­istan,” and also on the “need for cooperation to avoid humanitarian crisis and improving peace and stability in the region”.

Diplomatic sources in Washington, however, say that the talks with US officials focused on renewing the strong defence partnership that once existed between the two allies.

Diplomatic observers view this effort against the backdrop of a recent announcement by the US State Depar­tment that it has asked Cong­ress to release $450 million for the sustenance of Pakis­tan’s fleet of F-16 aircraft.

After the announcement, the US rejected India’s criticism that those planes would be used against New Delhi.

“Pakistan’s programme bolsters its capability to deal with terrorist threats emanating from Pakistan or from the region. It’s in no one’s interests that those threats be able to go forward with impunity,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week.

Source: Dawn

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.dawn.com/news/1713675/focus-on-long-term-pak-us-defence-partnership-lloyd-austin

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Centre fears TTP attacks amid stalemate in talks

Mohammad Asghar

October 6, 2022

RAWALPINDI: Responding to a heightened risk of terrorist attacks by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Ministry of Interior has issued a nationwide alert asking for ‘extreme vigilance’, instructing that targeted search and strike missions be carried out wherever militant activity is reported.

The missive was addressed to the home and chief secretaries of the four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, as well as the Islamabad chief commissioner. It urged all authorities to heighten security and exercise enhanced vigilance to avoid any untoward incident.

In a letter circulated last month, the Ministry of Interior warned that more than year-long peace negotiations between the TTP and the government of Pakistan “had come to a standstill”, which has led to unease within the TTP’s ranks.

It noted that the TTP accuses the Pakistani government of failing to fulfil its main demand — the reversal of the merger of former Fata with KP — as well as continuing to detain TTP members while a truce was still being negotiated.

Provinces asked to carry out ‘search and strike’ in areas where militant activity is reported

The ministry warned that the group or its splinter factions might also seek to escalate terrorist activities in the coming days to avenge the killing of their commanders and to show strength in case there is no further progress in peace negotiations.

The federal government said it had learnt that the TTP high command met recently in Paktika, Afghanistan, to discuss the deadlock in peace talks and the fate of the negotiations with the Pakistani government after the killing of TTP commanders Omer Khalid Khorasani and Aftab Parkay.

The notice said the TTP top brass, fearing a complete breakdown of the talks, decided to move their families to secure places as they feared Pakistani security forces would launch a kinetic operation in case of failure of talks. Some of the militants’ families may be moved to Karachi and its adjoining areas, the notice warned.

The interior ministry also took grave notice of reports that TTP mil­itants are attempting to mig­rate to North and South Waziris­tan from Afghanistan to set up camp for future attacks. It desc­r­ibed reports of the arrival of TTP militants in areas neighbouring the Pak-Afghan border as well as deeper within Khyber Pakhtun­khwa as “a worrisome phenomenon”.

It said that known militant commanders based in Waziristan — Abu Yaha, Molvi Munawar and Matoob Ali Jan alias Sailab — have been in contact with the TTP high command in Afghanistan for further directions regarding moving to the area to intensify terrorist activities.

The government also highlighted the risk of TTP sub-groups defecting to the militant Islamic State (ISKP) or joining hands with the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group to resume terrorist activities.

Source: Dawn

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.dawn.com/news/1713697/centre-fears-ttp-attacks-amid-stalemate-in-talks

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IHC orders opening of roads near Lal Masjid

Bakhtawar Mian | Malik Asad

October 6, 2022

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to provide relief to the residents of the surrounding areas, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed the deputy commissioner to open Masjid Road and Municipal Road for traffic which had been closed by the capital administration owing to security concerns.

The order to open the roads came in response to a petition filed by the citizens of the area who had to use alternative routes to reach workplaces and schools.

Justice Mohsin Kayani who was hearing the plea had summoned the deputy commissioner last month to explain the reasons for permanently closing the road in front of the Regional Directorate of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Masjid Road.

As he appeared before the high court on Wednesday, Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon apprised the bench of the reasons behind closing the roads.

Justice Kayani says issues should be resolved through dialogue and not by blocking main roads

He said since the students of Lal Masjid seminary would frequently protest on this road, the district administration decided to close this route to avert such demonstrations.

At this, Justice Kayani said that instead of making the lives of common citizens difficult by closing the main roads, the administration should resolve such issues through dialogue. On every other road, protests take place, so will the administration shut down all the roads in the capital, he asked.

It is pertinent to note that about 200 people, including teenagers and minors and some gunmen, under the leadership of former khateeb of Lal Masjid Maulana Abdul Aziz occupied the worship place last month. The police had cordoned off Lal Masjid with a well-equipped contingent and barbed wire while the cleric along with the gathering was inside.

Khayaban-i-Suhrwardi

A lawyer present at the hearing also complained about the closure of Khayaban-i-Suhrwardi by a state institution. A government official responded that the road was currently closed due to construction work.

The IHC judge also said that the road was opened through an order of the said court a few years ago and asked the lawyer to get his facts straight.

A road in G-9 sector that had been closed to traffic due to apparent security reasons was cleared for traffic in a voluntary move by the intelligence agency.

According to a resident of the area, road blockades had spelled misery for people residing in the areas. The biggest problem was faced by students and professionals who had to take detours to reach their destination, causing them distress. The IHC’s decision has put an end to our difficulties, the resident told Dawn.

“This blockade had troubled us for more than four years. It cost us time and money because we had to take longer routes to get to the school,” said Rashid, a student who lives in G-6/4.

Source: Dawn

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.dawn.com/news/1713690/ihc-orders-opening-of-roads-near-lal-masjid

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Africa

 

Uganda’s president fires son from military over threat on Twitter to invade Kenya

Godfrey Olukya  

05.10.2022

KAMPALA, Uganda

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni fired his son as commander of the country’s land forces after he threatened on Twitter to seize neighboring Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

The Ugandan government also distanced itself from the spate of tweets posted Monday by Lt. General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, with the Foreign Ministry issuing a statement Tuesday stressing that the government and people of Uganda treasure the country’s strong bilateral relations with Kenya based on the two nations’ “shared history, common values, mutual respect, trust and the desire to build a unified East African Community.”

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has noted the debate on social media in respect to the relationship between Uganda and Kenya. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to clarify that the government of the Republic of Uganda does not conduct its foreign policy and other official business through social media,” it added.

In the unprovoked tweets, Kainerugaba claimed his army could seize Nairobi in a very short time.

“It wouldn’t take us, my army and me, 2 weeks to capture Nairobi,” he said.

Kainerugaba, dubbed “the tweeting general” of Uganda, has made controversial remarks on Twitter in the past.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/uganda-s-president-fires-son-from-military-over-threat-on-twitter-to-invade-kenya/2702753

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WHO issues warning on Indian cough syrup linked to 66 Gambian child deaths

06 October, 2022

The World Health Organization has warned that a deadly batch of cough mixture connected to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia may have been distributed to other countries.

The agency on Wednesday placed a medical product alert on cough and cold syrups made by India’s Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd., which have been potentially linked to acute kidney injuries and 66 deaths among children in the tiny West African nation, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a media briefing.

Four contaminated Maiden products were found in a laboratory analysis to contain “unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol,” the WHO said. Tedros added that the global health body is conducting further investigations with the company and Indian regulators, while recommending countries remove the treatments from circulation.

Calls to the drugmaker’s corporate office in New Delhi weren’t answered and the company, along with India’s medical regulator -- the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization -- didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

The deaths shine a spotlight on India’s $42 billion drugmaking industry, which has been heavily promoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “pharmacy of the world.

India supplies many of the cheap, generic drugs sold in American pharmacies and hundreds of countries globally. But treatments produced in the South Asian nation have been the source of multiple manufacturing scandals in recent years, including the export of tainted heart pills.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/10/06/WHO-issues-warning-on-Indian-cough-syrup-linked-to-66-Gambian-child-deaths

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Trapped UN aid workers safely exit Ethiopia’s Tigray region

Hassan Isilow  

05.10.2022

UN humanitarian workers, who had been trapped in Ethiopia’s Tigray region due to ongoing conflict, have safely exited the region, a top UN official said.

“So relieved that humanitarian colleagues were able to rotate safely out of #Tigray, #Ethiopia, today after several weeks of suspension,’’ UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths wrote on Twitter late Tuesday.

He said it is encouraging news and hopes further movements will go on smoothly.

According to reports, the Tigray region has been cut off from the outside world, with no communication, electricity, or financial services. Movement between Tigray and other regions has also been largely impossible.

Last month, the UN suspended aid delivery to Tigray as fighting resumed.

The war between the Ethiopian government forces and Tigray rebels erupted in November 2020 after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) attacked federal army bases stationed across Tigray, including in the regional capital of Mekele.

Griffiths appealed to the Ethiopian government and the TPLF rebels to resume negotiations, saying: “Dialogue is the only way to end this deadly conflict.’’

He also appealed to the conflicting parties to protect all civilians, and ensure the safety and security of humanitarian staff and their safe access to people in need.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/trapped-un-aid-workers-safely-exit-ethiopia-s-tigray-region/2703256
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North America

 

US Envoy Condemns Houthi Threats, Vows Continued Defence Support For Gulf Allies

05 October, 2022

US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking on Wednesday called on the Iran-backed Houthis to show more flexibility over an extended and expanded truce deal proposed by the United Nations to build on a previous pact that expired on Sunday.

An initial truce first agreed in April had brought the longest stretch of relative calm in the seven-year-old conflict between the Arab Coalition and the Houthis.

Lenderking said in a news briefing that the Houthis, de facto authorities in North Yemen, had “imposed maximalist and impossible demands” over a proposed mechanism to pay public sector wages, but that he was confident agreement could be reached if the group showed flexibility.

A member of the Houthi negotiating committee had in a Twitter post criticized the proposed payment scheme for not including members of police, security and military forces.

UN-led negotiations and US diplomacy “continue unabated”, Lenderking said, adding that key elements of the initial truce were still holding -- relatively low violence, fuel shipments to Hodeidah port and continuity of commercial flights from the capital Sanaa, both held by the Houthis.

UN envoy Hans Grundberg had told Reuters the two sides failed to renew the truce because they were still far away on proposals to pay civil service wages, increase fuel shipments, add air flights and open roads.

“I’m confident...that we can get there if the Houthis move away from the very high demands that they have levied,” Lenderking said.

He also criticized recent Houthi statements threatening commercial shipping and oil companies and said the United States would continue to help its Gulf partners defend themselves.

The truce has seen a halt to major military operations between the warring sides in Yemen, including coalition air strikes and Houthi cross-border drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2022/10/05/US-envoys-condemns-Houthi-threats-vows-continued-defense-support-for-Gulf-allies
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Iranian-American, 85, held in Tehran on spying charges for six years arrives in Oman

05 October, 2022

Baquer Namazi, an 85-year-old Iranian American who was jailed in Iran on spying charges that the United States called baseless, arrived in Muscat on Wednesday after Iran allowed him to leave for medical treatment, an Omani government office said on Twitter.

Earlier, a lawyer for the Namazi family, Jared Genser, said Namazi was on his way to Muscat “after more than 6.5 years of illegal detention in Iran,” referring to the time Namazi was jailed as well as when he was out of prison but effectively barred from leaving Iran.

“After a brief transit, he will travel on to Abu Dhabi and then undergo a carotid endarterectomy at the Cleveland Clinic (there) to clear out a severe blockage to his left internal carotid artery (ICA), which puts him at very high risk for a stroke,” Genser added in a statement.

His departure from Iran was first reported by Iran’s state media, publishing a video showing him boarding a private plane accompanied by a man in Omani national dress, but it did not say where he was headed.

The video showed him struggling to climb the stairs to board the plane, on which the light blue insignia of the Royal Air Force of Oman could be seen.

Namazi, a former official with the UN children’s agency UNICEF, holds US and Iranian citizenship and was one of four Iranian Americans, including his son Siamak, detained in Iran in recent years or barred from leaving the country.

Namazi was convicted in 2016 of “collaboration with a hostile government” and jailed for 10 years. Iranian authorities released him on medical grounds in 2018 and closed his case in 2020, commuting his sentence to time served.

However, they had effectively barred him from leaving until Saturday, when the United Nations said he would be allowed to leave for medical treatment.

His son Siamak, 51, who was also convicted of “collaboration with a hostile government” in 2016, was released from Tehran’s Evin prison Saturday on a one-week, renewable furlough after nearly seven years in detention.

The US government has described the charges against both as baseless.

In the statement released by the family’s lawyer, Babak Namazi, Baquer Namazi’s son, voiced gratitude for his father’s departure from Iran but sorrow at his brother Siamak’s inability to leave the country.

“While getting my father out of Iran is incredibly important, today is also bittersweet. My brother Siamak as well as Americans Emad (Shargi) and Morad Tahbaz remain detained in Iran and our nightmare will not be over until our entire family (and) the other Americans are reunited with their families,” he said.

The other US citizens detained in Iran include environmentalist Tahbaz, 67, who also has British nationality, and businessman Shargi, 58.

“Today is a good day for the Namazi family, but the work is far from over. We now need the United States and Iran to act expeditiously to reach an agreement that will finally bring all of the American hostages home,” Genser, the family’s lawyer, said, adding that Baquer Namazi will immediately go to the hospital upon his arrival in Abu Dhabi.

It was not immediately clear why Iran had allowed Baquer Namazi to leave the country and Siamak Namazi to be furloughed from prison.

Iranian Americans, whose US citizenship is not recognized by Tehran, are often pawns between the two nations, now at odds over whether to revive a fraying 2015 pact under which Iran limited its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

Source: Al Arabiya

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2022/10/05/Iranian-American-85-held-in-Tehran-on-spying-charges-for-six-years-arrives-in-Oman

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Turkish institute launches face-to-face language courses in Mexico

Muhammed Emin Canik  

05.10.2022

The Yunus Emre Institute (YEE) on Wednesday began offering face-to-face Turkish language courses in Mexico city, Türkiye's ambassador to the Latin American country announced.

The nonprofit organization, which seeks to spread the Turkish language and culture worldwide, has become a bearer of culture, according to Ilhan Kemal Tug, who was speaking at a ceremony in the Mexican capital marking the courses' launch.

Cultural interaction between Türkiye and Mexico will henceforth continue to deepen in cinema, music, literature, and other areas, Tug underlined, expressing his pleasure at the opening of the institute's Turkish cultural center in the Mexican capital.

Also attending the event, the Yunus Emre Institute's Mexico coordinator, Salih Gultekin, said there was a great interest in the Turkish language and that this demand needed to be satisfied.

Gultekin highlighted that the institute would strengthen the bridges of friendship between Türkiye and Mexico and that the face-to-face courses would be a great step towards intercultural solidarity.

About 2,500 Mexican students are currently enrolled in the Yunus Emre Institute's online Turkish language lessons.

One prospective student at the center, Fernando Aguilar, expressed his eagerness to learn Turkish as soon as possible, pointing to his interest in Turkish history and the etymological diversity of the Turkish language.

Police officer Francisco Javier Mendoza, who became a Muslim eight years ago after a visit to Türkiye, said he was fascinated by Turkish culture and would like to visit the country again soon.

Carolina Hernandez, one of the institute's online students, said her interest in Turkish cinema and literature were among the main reasons that prompted her to learn Turkish.

The institute's namesake, Yunus Emre, is a Turkish folk poet and Sufi who lived in Anatolia from the mid-13th century to the first quarter of the 14th century.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/turkish-institute-launches-face-to-face-language-courses-in-mexico/2703241

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US ‘concerned’ by collapse of truce in Yemen; uncertain whether Iran is to blame

RAY HANANIA

October 05, 2022

CHICAGO: Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy for Yemen, described the failure to renew the truce with the Houthis, which expired on Oct. 2, as “concerning” but refused to speculate about whether Iran had played a role in preventing an extension.

Speaking during a briefing attended by Arab News on Wednesday, Lenderking said the Houthis made “last-minute” demands that meant they were “essentially backtracking from commitments they had made earlier in the process.”

Asked whether the regime in Iran, which backs the Houthis, might be responsible for this, Lenderking said: “We don’t know.” Tehran supported the UN-backed, two-month truce when it was agreed on April 2, he said, and also when it was renewed without issue on June 2 and Aug. 2.

He attributed the failure this month to agree a third extension to “maximalist and impossible demands” made by Houthi negotiators regarding the payment of salaries to their “military and security personnel.”

Until the truce is renewed, the threat of a resumption of major violence will remain, Lenderking said, and without a return to a “more positive approach,” Iran’s involvement in the process will continue to be viewed as being “quite negative.”

“It remains in our national interest to help our Gulf partners defend themselves from any external aggression and we would do so in the case of aggression coming from Yemen,” Lenderking said.

“The president and the secretary (of state) have been clear that the United States will continue to support our Gulf partners and their legitimate defense needs, in order to meet existing and emerging threats. And that includes the cross-border attacks from Yemen and elsewhere against targets inside Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

“After all, there are more than 120,000 US citizens living and working in the countries of the Gulf region. I know that the president and the secretary have no higher objective than ensuring the security of Americans wherever they live abroad.”

Lenderking reiterated that the door remains open to the resumption of peace talks, which he said would bring benefits to the Houthis and all the people of Yemen, but condemned recent threats by the militia.

“Houthi rhetoric that threatened commercial shipping and oil companies, this is completely unacceptable,” he added.

The envoy said the Biden administration had, with support in Congress, approved the “future transfer” of defensive weaponry to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, including “additional Patriot missiles to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, to the UAE.”

He added: “These munitions have played a key role in defending both countries from cross-border UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone) and missile attacks originating from Yemen.

“Let me stress the key point here: We, and the international community, are calling for restraint from all parties. At this particularly sensitive time when there is no truce officially on the books that has been agreed and welcomed and adhered to by the parties, we must insist that there be maximum restraint exerted by all sides.”

The truce agreed in April resulted in many benefits for the people of Yemen, Lenderking said, including: A dramatic reduction of about 60 percent in civilian casualties; more than 25,000 Yemeni citizens were able to travel abroad on commercial flights for the first time since 2016; and a five-fold increase in the amount of fuel shipments passing through Hodeidah Port compared with the previous year, which helped to reduce fuel prices.

The ceasefire also allowed humanitarian organizations to operate more easily in the country.

“We are extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Yemen,” Lenderking said, as he warned that the needs of civilians “are great and the funding is not adequate.”

He continued: “The US has contributed $5 billion over the course of the conflict; $1 billion to humanitarian coffers this very year.”

The US will continue to designate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization until a final peace agreement is reached, Lenderking said.

“We are also relying on commitments that the Saudis and the Yemeni government have made to maintain the terms of the truce,” he added.

“So, indeed, let’s look at what commitments the Houthis are willing to make. Pull down the maximalist demands. Get back into the productive conversation that has taken place during the last six months on reaching an expanded truce and driving towards the durable ceasefire and the Yemeni-to-Yemeni political process that we all want to see.”

In an effort to view the latest developments in as positive a light as possible in the circumstances, Lenderking said: “We do see that key elements of the truce continue to hold and that intensive, UN-led negotiations and US diplomacy continue unabated.

“When I talk about key elements of the truce holding, let me be clear what I mean. I mean there is still relatively low levels of violence in the country. Fuel ships continue to off-load into the Hodeidah Port. There will be more continuity in civilian, commercial flights from Sanaa airport. These particular elements of the truce have been extremely effective and have delivered tangible results to the Yemeni people over the last six months.

“In our view, there is a stark choice that lies ahead: On the one hand, there is a return to war, which will bring nothing but casualties and destruction on Yemen and will bring further confusion as to where this conflict is headed.”

If a renewal of the ceasefire can be agreed, however, “there is the opportunity to not only extend but expand the truce. That is, to bring more positive elements of the truce, the likes of which would include flights, as I have mentioned. There have been ongoing and very energetic discussions with numerous countries on additional flight destinations.

“We would anticipate the processing of fuel into Hodeidah would be streamlined even further. We expect to be able to reach agreement on salary payments. This has been a core demand of both parties: To have the ability to pay Yemeni civil servants who have not been paid for many years: teachers, nurses, civil servants — to provide salaries for them.

“These are the kind of benefits that stand in the balance should the parties, particularly the Houthis, choose the path of peace. It is a very clear choice, as viewed by the international community and as viewed by the United States.”

Source: Arab News

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2175766/middle-east

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US operation using helicopters in Syria kills one: State TV

October 06, 2022

BEIRUT: A US airborne operation involving multiple helicopters in Syria’s northeastern Hassakeh province has killed one person, Syrian state TV reported Thursday.

“US occupation forces carried out a landing operation using several helicopters in... the southern countryside of Qamishli and killed one person,” Syrian TV said, without elaborating.

Source: Arab News

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2176221/middle-east

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