Supreme Court Of India Dismisses PIL Seeking Steps To Stop Religious Conversions
New Age Islam News Bureau
06 September 2023
Representative Image
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India
·
Supreme
Court Seeks Status Report On Student Slap Case Investigation, Issues Notice To
UP Govt
·
Supreme
Court protects four members of Editors Guild against coercive action in two
FIRs lodged in Manipur
·
Indian
Envoy To UN, Ruchira Kamboj, Accuses China Of Impeding The 'Blacklisting' Of
Pakistan-Based Terror Outfits
·
A Five-Judge
Bench Headed By Chief Justice DY Chandrachud Reserved The Verdict On Batch Of
Pleas Challenging Abrogation Of Article 370 After A Marathon 16-Day Hearing
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Mideast
·
Kurdish-Led
Forces ‘End Military Operations’ In East Syria
·
Fighting
between rival US-backed groups in Syria could undermine war against Daesh
·
Papua New
Guinea opens Israel embassy in West Jerusalem
·
Ministerial
meeting heralds warmer relations between Greece and Turkey
·
Israel
kill two Palestinians, destroys even more of Nur Shams camp
·
Jordan
shoots down drug-laden drone from Syria in ninth incident this year
·
Palestine
refugees focus of discussion between Arab League, UNRWA chiefs’
·
Roman-era
swords, likely Jewish rebel booty, unearthed in Israel
------
Arab World
·
Heritage
Commission Scheme Opens World Of Archaeology For Young Saudis
·
Ministry
of Hajj, Afia International Company Sign MoU to Boost Services for Visitors to
Two Holy Mosques
·
Saudi
Arabia extends 1 million bpd oil output cut through December
·
Raisi:
Enhanced Iran And Saudi Ties Would Block Foreign Interference In The Region
------
Africa
·
Terrorists
kill seven, abduct 12 others in fresh Katsina attack
·
Benin
Republic Police Detain Editor Of Nigeria’s FIJ And Label Him ‘Jihadist’, Demand
800,000CFA Bribe
·
Moroccans
rally against killing of two jet skiers by Algerian coastguard
·
After accusing
agency of misapplication of N81bn, Reps panel bars journalists from covering
sitting
------
Pakistan
·
Pakistan
seeks Iran’s help to overcome medicine shortage
·
Militant
wanted in attacks on Hazara community arrested
·
Pervaiz
Elahi released only to be rearrested
·
Defence
Day: How valiant armed forces defended their motherland
·
US
monitoring Imran Khan’s case closely: State Dept
------
South Asia
·
UN
Allocates $125M For 14 Global Humanitarian Crises, Including Afghanistan
·
Over 2
thousand Afghan migrants return home from Iran and Pakistan
·
UN food
agency reduces rations for 2 million Afghans due to funding shortage
·
Gas supply
to remain halted for 4hrs tomorrow in parts of North Dhaka
----
Southeast Asia
·
Muhyiddin’s
Political ‘Fatwa’ Issued Against Pakatan Candidate Influenced By PAS, Says PH
Secretary-General
·
Indonesia
Warns Against ‘Destructive Rivalry’ In Asia
·
Cops
receives croc attack report in Melaka
·
Arrest
warrant issued for ex-Pattaya mayor IttipolKhunpluem
·
'Leave it
to my investigating officers': MACC chief
·
Zahid’s
discharge couched in ‘cogent’ reasons: AGC
------
North America
·
Canadian
Man Accused Of Running Over And Killing A Muslim Family Pleads Not Guilty
·
Muslim
leaders keep close watch as Nathaniel Veltman murder trial begins
·
CAIR-SFBA
Welcomes Recognition of American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month by the
Cities of Albany, Pleasanton
·
CAIR
Condemns Racist Assault Targeting Family in Portland, Oregon
·
Burning
Man attendees burn time together, form a bond while stranded during rough
weather
·
US envoy
in Chad to spotlight Sudan atrocities she calls ‘reminiscent’ of Darfur 2004
------
Europe
·
UK To Ban Russia’s
Wagner Group As ‘Terrorist’ Organization: Reports
·
Germany
refuses extradition of Albanian drug trafficker over concerns about prisons' conditions
in UK
·
France
rejects Assange asylum request
·
Ukraine
used cluster munitions against civilians – Human Rights Watch
·
Riots
erupt in EU country after Quran-burning protest
·
Schoolchildren
in Russia to be trained on Kalashnikovs and propaganda – UK intelligence
Compiled by
New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/supreme-court-religious-conversions/d/130617
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Supreme Court Of India Dismisses PIL
Seeking Steps To Stop Religious Conversions
Representative Image
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September 06, 2023
New Delhi, PTI
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused
to entertain a petition seeking a direction to the Centre to take steps to curb
fraudulent religious conversions in the country.
“Why should the court enter into this
thicket? How can the court issue a writ of mandamus to the government,” said a
bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and justices J.B. Pardiwala and
Manoj Misra.
The lawyer, appearing for
Karnataka-based PIL petitioner Jerome Anto, said Hindus and minors are being
targeted and they are being converted "fraudulently".
“If there is a live challenge and
someone is prosecuted then we can entertain,” the bench said while dismissing
the PIL.
“What kind of PIL is this? PIL has
become a tool and everyone is coming up with petitions like these,” it said.
On being argued where the petitioner
should go with this kind of grievance, the bench said, “We are not in advisory
jurisdiction. (The plea is) Dismissed”.
Source: thehindu.com
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https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sc-dismisses-pil-seeking-steps-to-stop-religious-conversions/article67276343.ece
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Restoration Of Full Diplomatic Ties:
Saudi Arabia And Iran Exchange Ambassadors After Rapprochement
China
brokered a rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran, leading to a resumption of
full diplomatic relations in March [File: Handout via Al Jazeera]
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5 Sep 2023
Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Iran has
arrived in the country, and his counterpart has landed in Saudi, cementing a restoration
of ties between the Gulf rivals after a seven-year rupture.
Last March, China brokered a
rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran, leading to a resumption of full
diplomatic relations.
Riyadh and Tehran severed ties in 2016
after Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked during protests over
Riyadh’s execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
Saudi Arabia’s leadership recognises the
“importance of strengthening ties, increasing engagement … and taking the
[relationship] to broader horizons”, Ambassador Abdullah Alanazi said upon his
arrival in Tehran on Tuesday to take up his duties, according to a Saudi
Foreign Ministry statement.
Also on Tuesday, Iran’s ambassador to
Saudi Arabia, AlirezaEnayati, arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh where he was received
by foreign ministry officials and embassy staff, according to Iran’s official
IRNA news agency.
Alanazi was formerly Saudi Arabia’s
ambassador to Oman, while Enyati was previously Iran’s Kuwait envoy.
Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran resumed
operations last month. In June, Iran marked the reopening of its embassy in
Riyadh with a flag-raising ceremony.
Last month Iran’s top diplomat, Foreign
Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, preached unity and dialogue during his first
visit to Saudi Arabia since the surprise rapprochement was announced, saying
bilateral ties were “progressing in the right direction”.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have backed
opposing sides in conflict zones across the Middle East for years.
Since the March deal, Saudi Arabia has
restored ties with Iranian ally Syria and ramped up a push for peace in Yemen,
where it has for years led a military coalition against the Iran-allied Houthi
forces.
Source: aljazeera.com
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the full text of the original
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/5/saudi-and-iran-exchange-ambassadors-after-rapprochement
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Saudi Reforms Are Softening Islam’s Role,
But Critics Warn The Kingdom Will Still Take A Hard Line Against Dissent
Saudi Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman. AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, pool, File
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September 5, 2023
The crown prince of Saudi Arabia,
Mohammed bin Salman, or “MBS,” is bringing a new vision of a “moderate,
balanced” Saudi Islam by minimizing the role of Saudi religious institutions
once seen as critical to the monarchy.
For decades, Saudi kings provided
support to religious scholars and institutions that advocated an austere form
of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism. The kingdom enforced strict codes of
morality, placing restrictions on the rights of women and religious minorities,
among others.
Under MBS, women have been allowed to
drive; co-educational classrooms, movie theaters and all-night concerts in the
desert – in which men and women dance together – are a new normal.
Scholars Yasmine Farouk and Nathan J.
Brown call the diminishing role of Wahhabi religious scholars within Saudi
domestic and international policy nothing short of a “revolution” in Saudi
affairs.
MBS acknowledges that these reforms risk
infuriating certain constituents or could even provoke retaliation. As a
scholar who studies interpretations of Islamic law to justify or contest
militancy, I’ve followed these reforms closely.
In the past, Saudis who challenged the
authority of Wahhabis have provoked unrest. When King Fahd, who ruled between
1982-2005, rejected the advice of his Wahhabi scholars and allowed the U.S.
military to station weapons and female service members on Saudi soil, several
of them supported a violent insurrection against him.
MBS seems unconcerned with such challenges.
In an interview broadcast widely throughout the kingdom, MBS chastised Wahhabi
scholars, accusing some of falsifying Islamic doctrines. He then detained a
major Wahhabi scholar from whom he once sought counsel, charging him with
crimes against the monarchy. MBS defended these actions, claiming, “We are
returning to what we were before. A country of moderate Islam that is open to
all religions, traditions and people around the globe.”
Negotiating Wahhabism
This proclaimed return of “moderate
Islam” echoes the reforms of MBS’s grandfather, King Abdulaziz, founder of the
modern Saudi kingdom. This vision rejects policies toward Wahhabi Islam favored
by his uncles, King Faisal and King Khalid.
Between 1925 and 1932, Abdulaziz
suppressed Wahhabi scholars and militants who had demanded that he uphold their
version of “pure Islam” and not open the kingdom to trade and development. He
did the opposite and asserted the supremacy of the monarchy.
The booming Saudi oil economy developed
by Abdulaziz required his son, King Faisal, who ruled from 1964 to 1975, to
reconsider the monarchy’s relationship with Wahhabism. Unlike Abdulaziz, Faisal
believed Wahhabis would help him save the kingdom.
Saudis who felt left behind in the
emerging Saudi oil economy had found an inspirational symbol of liberation in
Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who helped overthrow the Egyptian
monarchy in 1952 and implemented plans to redistribute Egyptian wealth.
Faisal encouraged Wahhabi scholars to
work with politically driven Islamists to reject the revolutionary politics of
Abdel Nasser’s Egypt and craft a new vision of Islam for Saudi youth.
Faisal permitted Wahhabi scholars to
reform Saudi educational institutions with their conservative Islamic
curriculum. Abroad, Faisal’s scholars presented Wahhabism as an authentic
Islamic alternative to the Cold War ideologies of the U.S. and USSR. Wealthy
Saudis, these Wahhabi scholars argued, had a religious duty to promote
Wahhabism across the globe.
Resisting Wahhabism
Faisal’s reforms met with success. King
Khalid, who followed Faisal, continued to favor Wahhabi scholars, particularly
while responding to two major challenges in 1979.
A group of Saudi students, who believed
Faisal’s and Khalid’s reforms to be illegitimate, seized the Grand Mosque in
Mecca, Islam’s most sacred site, for two weeks in 1979. An attack on the Grand
Mosque was viewed as an attack on the monarchy itself, which claims the mantle
of “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.”
A black and white photograph showing
smoke rising above the minarets of a mosque with other buildings in the
background.
The seizure came to a violent end with
combined action by French and Saudi military forces. Afterward, Khalid agreed
to elevate religious officials who affirmed the Islamic credentials of the
monarchy.
Also in 1979, other Saudi youth traveled
to join the resistance against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. One such
Saudi who answered the call that year was Osama bin Laden, who would establish
al-Qaida in 1988.
Bin Laden’s and al-Qaida’s grievances
against the monarchy emerged following King Fahd’s acceptance of an increased
deployment of U.S. soldiers to Saudi soil following Iraqi leader Saddam
Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Bin Ladin proclaimed the presence of
American infidels in Saudi Arabia to be a defilement of Islamic holy lands, an
“affront” to Islamic sensibilities, and demanded the destruction of the
monarchy. Al-Qaida launched anti-Saudi insurgent campaigns lasting through
2010.
Not all conservative Islamist leaders
called for violence. As historian Madawi Al-Rasheed notes, many Saudi scholars
framed themselves as reformers who sought to correct Fahd’s departures from
“authentic” Islam and restore Faisal’s vision.
When MBS speaks of a “moderate Islam” he
is not just condemning the violence of al-Qaida. He’s abandoning the monarchy’s
accommodations of the Wahhabi establishment. He blames some Wahhabi scholars
for the violence that the monarchy faced in 1979 and again in the the 1990s and
2000s.
He has worked quickly to erase those
accommodations and, like his grandfather, affirm the supremacy of the monarchy.
A ‘moderate Wahhabism’ for Saudi
society?
Many of these revolutionary changes
occurred amid the 2016 unveiling of “Saudi Vision 2030,” a plan for complete
Saudi political, economic, educational and cultural transformation. MBS
believes that this will meet the demands of Saudis under the age of 30 – who
number more than 60% of the kingdom’s population.
The religious curriculum shaped by King
Faisal is gone, replaced with a “Saudi first” education, which removes Ibn abd
al-Wahhab, the founder of Wahhabism, from textbooks and emphasizes Saudi
patriotism over a Wahhabi Islamic religious identity. Saudi Arabia has
announced it will no longer fund mosques and Wahhabi educational institutions
in other countries.
Saudi religious police, once tasked with
upholding public morality, saw their powers curtailed. They no longer have
powers of investigation or arrest. They cannot punish behaviors deemed morally
inappropriate.
Critics remain unimpressed, noting that
demoting religious officials does not diminish the violence of the Saudi state.
Religious police continue their online surveillance of social media. In 2018,
Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist, was killed following his calls for a
continued voice for Islamist reformers in Saudi Arabia. Al-Rasheed argues that
the images of a new Saudi society conceal suppression of Saudi reformers. Some
observers note that a growing Saudi “surveillance state,” with capacities to
peek into the private lives of Saudis, underwrites these reforms.
As Peter Mandaville, a scholar of
international affairs, observes, the “moderate Islam” offered by MBS is
complicated. On the one hand, it characterizes a new tolerant Saudi Arabian
Islam. Yet, inside the kingdom, Mandaville argues that the “moderate Islam” of
MBS demands that Saudi youth – as good Muslims – will submit to the authority
of the monarchy over the kingdom’s affairs.
Some observers believe this might not be
enough. Mohammad Fadel, a professor of Islamic legal history, argues that the
current configuration of the Saudi monarchy is incompatible with “the kind of
independent thought the crown prince is calling for in matters of religion.”
Saudi society will flourish, he adds, “when Prince Mohammed recognizes the
right of Muslims to rule themselves politically.”
With these reforms to Wahhabism, MBS
hopes to secure the loyalty of a generation of young Saudis. As Saudi history
would indicate, however, such a bargain requires constant renegotiation and
renewal.
Source: theconversation.com
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https://theconversation.com/saudi-reforms-are-softening-islams-role-but-critics-warn-the-kingdom-will-still-take-a-hard-line-against-dissent-210537
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53 Members Of Burkina Security Forces
Killed In Suspected Jihadist Attack
FILE:
Burkina Faso army officers patrol near a French armoured vehicle parked in
Kaya, on November 20, 2021. Picture: Olympia de Maismont / AFP
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September 5, 2023
Fifty-three members of the security
forces have been killed in an attack by suspected jihadists in northern Burkina
Faso, the army said on Tuesday.
Seventeen soldiers and 36 civilian
volunteers for the army died on Monday while repelling an "attack,"
the army general staff said in a statement.
The unit had been deployed in the town
of Koumbri in Yatenga province to help the resettlement of residents forced out
of the area by jihadists more than two years ago, it said.
About 30 members of the security forces
were injured, the army added.
It said that several attackers had been
"neutralised" in a counter-operation and their combat equipment
destroyed.
Operations are still under way in the
area, it said.
Burkina Faso saw two military coups last
year, triggered -- as in neighbouring Mali and Niger -- by anger at failures to
stem a jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives.
Since 2015, more than 16,000 civilians,
troops and police have died in jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso, according to a
count by an NGO monitor called the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data
Project (ACLED).
More than 5,000 have died since the
start of this year.
More than two million people have also
been displaced within Burkina Faso, making it one of the worst internal
displacement crises in Africa.
On June 26, three attacks killed 31
soldiers and 40 auxiliaries in Centre-North province.
In August, two attacks in Centre-East
province killed five police and around 20 others.
The authorities, for their part, say
more than 65 jihadists were "neutralised" between August 7 and
September 1.
The country's strongman is Captain
Ibrahim Traore, who took power in September 2022 at the age of just 34, making
him the world's youngest leader outside of royalty.
He has promised a return to democracy with
presidential elections by July 2024
Relations between the junta and France
broke down after the takeover, prompting French forces that had been helping
the under-equipped Burkinabe army to quit the country in January.
Traore last week held talks with a
Russian delegation on development and military cooperation.
On Monday, his foreign minister, Olivia
Rouamba, held talks in Tehran with President Ebrahim Raissi in which she said
she hoped for "stronger bilateral cooperation" with Iran.
Many of the casualties among the
security sources are Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP) --
civilians who are given two weeks' military training and work alongside the
army, typically carrying out surveillance, information-gathering or escort
duties.
Source: africanews.com
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https://www.africanews.com/2023/09/05/53-members-of-burkina-security-forces-killed-in-suspected-jihadist-attack/
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Bushra Bibi Meets Her Husband Imran Khan
In Attock Jail
Pakistan's
former Prime Minister, Imran Khan (R) along with his wife Bushra Bibi (C) signs
surety bonds for bail in various cases, at a registrar office in the High
court, in Lahore on July 17, 2023. — AFP
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Shakeel Anjum
September 06, 202
ISLAMABAD: Bushra Bibi, the wife of
former prime minister Imran Khan, met her husband in the Attock Jail on
Tuesday. Bushra Bibi remained with Imran Khan for over one hour and shared
legal issues and cases in courts. Bushra Bibi, later, left the jail for home
without talking to reporters.
Earlier, Bushra Bibi was stopped at a
police checkpoint in the vicinity of the prison at around 2:30 p.m. Following a
brief standoff with police authorities, Bushra was allowed to enter the jail to
meet her husband. Bushra was accompanied by the legal team outside the Attock
Jail but the lawyers were stopped at the check-post. The lawyers’ team included
Umair Niazi and Shiraz Ahmad Ranjha. Bushra Bibi was allowed to enter the jail
at around 3:30 pm.
Source: thenews.com.pk
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https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1107215-bushra-bibi-meets-imran-in-attock-jail
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India
Supreme Court Seeks Status Report On
Student Slap Case Investigation, Issues Notice To UP Govt
By Press Trust Of India
6th September, 2023
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed
the Muzaffarnagar Superintendent of Police to submit a status report on the
investigation in the case of a student being allegedly slapped by his
classmates on the instructions of his teacher.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and
Pankaj Mithal asked the SP to inform it about measures taken to protect the
student and his parents.
The top court also issued notice to the
Uttar Pradesh government and sought its reply by September 25.
The apex court was hearing a PIL filed
by Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, seeking speedy
investigation in the student slapping case.
The Muzaffarnagar Police had booked the
teacher accused of making communal comments and ordering her students to slap a
Muslim classmate for not doing his homework.
The school was also served a notice by
the state education department in connection with the matter.
The teacher, Tripta Tyagi, was booked a
day after a video showed her asking her students to slap the Class 2 boy in
Khubbapur village and also making a communal remark.
Source: republicworld.com
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https://www.republicworld.com/india-news/general-news/up-sc-seeks-status-report-on-investigation-issues-notice-to-state-govt-in-student-slap-case-articleshow.html
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Supreme Court protects four members of
Editors Guild against coercive action in two FIRs lodged in Manipur
PTI New Delhi, 06.09.23
The Supreme Court on Wednesday protected
four members of the Editors Guild of India against any coercive action till
Monday in connection with two FIRs lodged against them in the state for
offences, including promoting enmity between two communities.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y
Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra also sought response of
the state government on the plea filed by the Editors Guild and fixed the
matter on September 11. Earlier, the top court agreed to hear the plea during
the day itself.
On September 4, Manipur Chief Minister N
Biren Singh had said that a police case has been filed on the basis of a
complaint against the president and three members of the Editors Guild of India
and accused them of trying to "provoke clashes" in the state.
A second FIR was also registered against
the four members of the Guild, with additional charge of defamation.
The Guild, in a report published on
Saturday, had slammed the internet ban in the state as being detrimental to
media reportage, criticised what it termed as one-sided reporting by some media
outlets and claimed there were indications that the state leadership "had
turned partisan" during the conflict period.
Source: telegraphindia.com
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https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/supreme-court-protects-four-members-of-editors-guild-against-coercive-action-in-two-firs-lodged-in-manipur/cid/1964234
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Indian Envoy To UN, Ruchira
Kamboj,Accuses China Of Impeding The 'Blacklisting' Of Pakistan-Based Terror
Outfits
06th September 2023
By PTI
UNITED NATIONS: India has told the UN
Security Council that blocking evidence-based proposals for blacklisting
globally sanctioned terrorists without giving justifications is uncalled for
and "smacks of doublespeak" — a thinly-veiled reference to China and
Pakistan.
"The working methods of the UNSC
Sanctions Committees continue to dent the credibility of the UN Security
Council," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira
Kamboj said here on Tuesday.
Speaking in the Security Council's open
debate on Working Methods, Kamboj said "genuine, evidence-based listing
proposals for globally sanctioned terrorists to be blocked without giving any
due justification is uncalled for and smacks of doublespeak when it comes to
Council's commitment in tackling the challenge of terrorism."
She stressed that the working methods of
Sanctions Committees must emphasise transparency, and objectivity in listing
and delisting and should not be based on political considerations.
Kamboj's remarks were a veiled reference
to China and its all-weather friend Pakistan. Beijing has repeatedly placed
holds and blocks on bids by India and its allies to list Pakistan-based
terrorists.
The latest example came in June this year
when China blocked a proposal by India and the US under the 1267 Al Qaeda
Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council to designate Lashkar-e-Taiba
terrorist Sajid Mir, wanted for his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist
attacks, as a global terrorist.
Kamboj highlighted that India, an
eight-term elected member of the UNSC, has some key concerns about the need to
improve the working methods of the Security Council.
"What we need is a Security Council
that better reflects the geographical and developmental diversity of the United
Nations today. A Security Council where voices of developing countries and
unrepresented regions, including Africa, Latin America and the vast majority of
Asia and Pacific, find their due place at this horseshoe table," she said.
India, the world's most populous nation,
underscored that an expansion of the Council in both categories of membership
is absolutely essential. "This is the only way to bring the Council's
composition and decision-making dynamics in line with contemporary
geo-political realities," Kamboj said.
She added that the international
community can no longer hide behind the smokescreen of the Inter-Governmental
Negotiations (IGN) in the General Assembly and continue to pay lip service by
continuing to deliver statements in a process that has no time frame, no text
and no defined goal to achieve.
"If countries are truly interested
in making the Council more accountable and more credible, we call on them to
come out openly and support a clear pathway to achieve this reform in a
time-bound manner, through the only established process in the UN, which is by
engaging in negotiations based on text and not through speaking at each other,
or past each other, as we have done for the last three decades," she said.
Kamboj underlined that as the threats to
international peace and security evolve, so must this Council. "We ask
those blocking progress on this vital issue to heed the calls for genuine
reform, and contribute to making this Council truly fit for purpose for the
21st century."
She noted that merely fixing the working
methods of the Security Council will never be good enough to rectify its
fundamental flaw, its lack of representative character. "To continue to
deny member states of the Global South a voice and role in Council's
decision-making only lowers the Council's credibility," she said.
Another area of concern highlighted by
India was that the selection of chairs of subsidiary bodies and distribution of
penholderships must be made through a process that is open, transparent, based
on exhaustive consultations, and with a more integrated perspective.
"The consensus of E-10 on chairs of
subsidiary bodies to be assumed by the E-10 themselves must be honoured by the
P5. For the P5 to decide, even in the 21st century, as to what roles should go
eventually to the E-10, reflects a continuation of the mindset of the post-1945
era: to the victors belong the spoils. This is simply unacceptable," she
said.
The Security Council has five permanent
members — the United States, China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom —
collectively known as the P5.
The ten elected members of the Security
Council are commonly referred to as the E10.
She also pointed to the obsoleteness and
irrelevance of some UNSC agenda items, asserting that there are items on the
agenda of the Security Council on which discussions have not taken place since
the UN's creation. "There is a case for beginning a discussion into the
review of items on the list of matters of which the Council is seized," she
said.
Source: newindianexpress.com
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https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2023/sep/06/indian-envoy-to-un-accuses-china-of-impeding-the-blacklisting-of-pakistan-based-terror-outfits-2612225.html
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A five-judge bench headed by Chief
Justice DY Chandrachud reserved the verdict on batch of pleas challenging
abrogation of Article 370 after a marathon 16-day hearing
Tribune News Service
By Satya Prakash, New Delhi, September
5, 2023
After 16 days of marathon arguments, a
five-judge Bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on Tuesday reserved its
verdict on petitions challenging the nullification of Article 370 and
bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories – Jammu and Kashmir;
and Ladakh.
The Bench – which also included Justice
SK Kaul, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai and Justice Surya Kant – would
decide if the changes made on August 5 and August 6, 2019 that ended the
special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir – were
constitutionally valid or not.
At the close of arguments, the Bench
said if any party to the case wanted to file a brief written submission/note,
they could do it in the next three days.
On the concluding day, the Bench on
Tuesday heard rejoinder arguments from senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Gopal
Subramanium, Rajeev Dhavan, Zaffar Shah, Dushyant Dave, Gopal Sankaranarayan
and others.
The petitioners have mainly challenged
the abrogation of Article 370 on the ground that it was a political decision
which lacked constitutional backing as the procedure provided for in the
Constitution, particularly the requirement of recommendation of J&K
Constituent Assembly, for abrogation of the provision was not followed.
As the J&K Constituent Assembly
ceased to exist in 1957, Article 370 became permanent, Sibal argued.
On behalf of the Centre and some
intervenors, Attorney General R Venkataramani, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta,
senior advocates Harish Salve, Rakesh Dwivedi, V Giri and others defended the
abrogation of Article 370 terming it a historic move that demolished the
barriers in constitutional and emotional integration of Jammu and Kashmir with
the rest of India.
The arguments were centered around, the
Instrument of Accession (IoA), Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly, Article
370, Article 367, Article 368, the Centre’s August 5, 2019 decision to abrogate
Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, which split the erstwhile
state into two union territories, imposition of Governor’s rule in Jammu and
Kashmir on June 20, 2018, followed by imposition of President’s rule in the
erstwhile state on December 19, 2018 and its extension on July 3, 2019.
During the hearing, the Bench said once
the Instrument of Accession (IoA) signed by Maharaja Hari Singh in 1948 got
subsumed in a post-Constitution document indicating transfer of power, the IoA
can’t act as a fetter on Parliament’s powers.
On August 31, the Centre told the
Supreme Court that it’s ready for elections in Jammu and Kashmir anytime and
now it’s for the Election Commission to take a call.
“The Central Government is ready for
elections anytime now. Till date updating of the voters’ list was going on…
which is substantially over. Some part is remaining that the Election
Commission is doing,” the Solicitor General had said.
However, on restoration of statehood of
Jammu and Kashmir, Mehta had said it’s progressing to become a state. He,
however, refused to give a definite time frame, saying “We’re dealing with an
extremely extraordinary situation.”
Emphasising that the overall situation
has improved, the Centre had said that compared to 2018, terror attacks were
down by 45% and Infiltration was reduced by 90% while tourism was showing signs
of revival.
“In 2018, organised bandhs were 52- they
are nil now… The terrorist initiated instances are reduced by 45.2%. I'm
comparing the 2018 situation with the 2023 situation. Infiltration reduced by
90.2%... Law and order events… stone pelting etc. reduced by 97.2%... Security
persons’ casualty is reduced by 65.9%. These are factors agencies would take
into consideration,” Mehta had submitted.
Source: tribuneindia.com
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Mideast
Kurdish-led forces ‘end military
operations’ in east Syria
AFP
September 06, 2023
Beirut: US-backed, Kurdish-led forces in
Syria declared the “end of military operations” in the country’s east Wednesday
after days of clashes with local Arab tribes left at least 90 people dead.
The violence started when the
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on August 27 detained the Arab chief
Ahmad Al-Khabil, who headed the affiliated DeirEzzor Military Council.
SDF spokesman Farhad Shami told AFP on
Wednesday that “military operations in Dhiban have ended,” although SDF forces
were still searching districts of the town for remaining enemy fighters.
“Neighbourhoods are being searched for
armed groups coming from the western bank of the Euphrates,” Shami added.
The clashes had rocked
Kurdish-controlled areas of DeirEzzor province, killing mostly fighters but
also nine civilians, said the war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Control of the province is split between
the SDF to the east of the Euphrates river and Iran-backed Syrian government
forces and their proxies to the west.
The violence had pitted the SDF against
loyalists of Khabil, who is also known as Abu Khawla, and local Arab fighters.
But the tribes are divided in their
loyalties, added the Britain-based Observatory, which has a vast network of
sources inside Syria.
Arab-majority DeirEzzor, a resource-rich
region which borders Iraq, is bisected by the Euphrates and is home to dozens
of tribal communities.
Some of their fighters joined the SDF in
its battle to uproot the Daesh group that ended the jihadists’ self-declared
caliphate in Syria.
In northern Syria on Monday,
Turkiye-backed fighters who said they were from Arab tribes attacked SDF
positions in support of local fighters in DeirEzzor.
The SDF has denied any dispute with Arab
tribes in the region, saying the clashes have mostly involved “elements of the
regime and some beneficiaries” of Khabil, whom they accuse of drug trafficking,
mismanagement and communicating with Damascus.
The US embassy in Syria, which is based
outside the country, had Sunday said that senior US officials had met with
Kurdish-led forces and community leaders in eastern Syria to discuss the need
for de-escalation.
Kurdish authorities control areas in
north and northeast Syria through local civilian and military councils in an
effort to stave off Arab discontent.
Syria’s civil war broke out in 2011 with
the government’s repression of peaceful protests. The conflict has killed more
than 500,000 people and displaced millions.
Source: arabnews.com
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Fighting between rival US-backed groups
in Syria could undermine war against Daesh
AP
September 06, 2023
BEIRUT: The weeklong clashes between
rival US-backed militias in eastern Syria, where hundreds of American troops
are deployed, point to dangerous seams in the coalition that has kept a lid on
the defeated Daesh group for years. That could be an opportunity for the
radical group to reemerge.
The violence also points to rising
tensions between Kurds who dominate the region and the mainly Arab population,
opening the door for Syrian President Bashar Assad and his allies, Russia and
Iran, to try to make inroads in an oil-rich territory where they seek to drive
out US troops and restore Damascus’ rule.
Eastern Syria has largely been off the
world’s radar, particularly in the United States. But the US has had some 900
troops stationed there alongside an unknown number of contractors ever since
the defeat of the Daesh group in 2019. The troops, who first arrived eight
years ago, work alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces, an umbrella group of
militias dominated by Kurdish fighters.
At the same time, a US-supported
Kurdish-led administration has governed parts of northern Syria and most of
Syria east of the Euphrates River, including key oil fields, with government
forces and Iranian-backed militias positioned just across the river on the
western bank. The region’s Arabs have roles in both the SDF and the
administration but have long resented the Kurdish control.
The clashes involve the Syrian
Democratic Forces and an allied faction, the Arab-led DeirEzzor Military
Council. The trigger was the Aug. 27 arrest by the SDF of the council’s
commander Ahmad Khbeil, better known as Abu Khawla. The SDF accused Khbeil of
criminal activity, corruption and of opening up contacts with the Damascus
government and Iranian-backed militias.
Fighting broke out between the SDF and
Khbeil’s loyalists, who were then joined by hundreds of Arab tribesmen in
battles that spread and left tribesmen in control of several villages outside
the city of DeirEzzor. At least 90 people have been killed and dozens wounded.
Kurdish leaders accuse Iranian-backed
militias and the Syrian government of fomenting the violence. Speaking to The
Associated Press, SDF spokesman Farhad Shami denied local Arab fighters joined
the clashes, saying it was fighters loyal to Damascus who crossed the river.
“Iran and Assad regime want to depict
this unrest as a result of an ethnic conflict between Arabs and Kurds,” Elham
Ahmad, the leader of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the
SDF, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Their ultimate aim, she said, was
to force US troops to leave.
But some warn the violence reflects
local Arab resentment of Kurdish domination. Opposition activists said contacts
were underway with tribal leaders to reach a cease-fire.
“This is an unprecedented escalation
between SDF and DeirEzzor residents,” says Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based
activist who heads the DeirEzzor 24 media outlet, which covers news in the
region.
“This is an indication of the bad policy
implemented by the SDF and wrong calculations by the Americans,” said Abu
Layla. He said the solution could be to name a replacement for Khbeil and give
Arabs more influence in local councils.
If the fighting endures, it could deepen
Kurdish-Arab rifts. That could open the door for Daesh remnants to attempt a
comeback.
The US military has called for an end to
the fighting, warning that “distractions (from opposing Daesh) create
instability and increase the risk of Daesh resurgence.”
Over the weekend, a meeting was held
among SDF figures, tribal leaders and US officials, including Maj. Gen. Joel
Vowell, the commander of Operation Inherent Resolve, which oversees US military
operations against Daesh, the US Embassy announced. It said they agreed on the
“importance of addressing the grievances of residents” in DeirEzzor, avoiding
civilian deaths and the need for de-escalation as soon as possible.
The SDF pushed ahead in their offensive
over the weekend, capturing two villages and surrounding the main Arab
tribesmen’s stronghold in Diban. SDF chief commander Mazloum Abdi told a local
news agency that the US-led coalition helped with aerial support during the
offensive, but the US military did not confirm or deny when contacted by The
Associated Press.
Daesh once controlled large parts of
Iraq and Syria but was defeated after a long, grueling war led by the US and
allies including the SDF. The radical group lost its last sliver of land in
eastern Syria in 2019, but its fugitive cells hiding in the region have
continued low-level attacks, killing dozens over the years.
Myles B. Caggins III, senior fellow at
the New Lines Institute, said the clashes “present an opportunity for Daesh
cells that nest in the Euphrates River Valley to emerge.”
The violence also could give an
opportunity for Damascus and Iran, pushing their demands for the Americans to
leave.
The commander of the pro-government
Baqir Brigade militia, Khaled Al-Hassan, told an Iranian media outlet that the
violence “is a new uprising by Syrians against the American occupation and its
militias,” referring to the SDF.
During a recent visit to Iran, Syrian
Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad warned that “American occupation forces should
withdraw ... before they are forced to do so.”
In mid-July, dozens of Arab tribesmen
and members of the pro-government National Defense Forces held a rally in
DeirEzzor province that was attended by a Russian general.
“The end of American forces will be at
the hands of Arab tribesmen who stand behind the Syrian army,” an NDF commander
said during the ceremony.
In March, a suspected Iranian-linked
drone attack hit a US base, killing a contractor and wounding another, along
with five American troops. American warplanes responded with airstrikes on
sites used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. President Joe
Biden said the US would respond “forcefully” to protect its personnel.
“Iran, Russia, and the Syrian regime
have a shared interest in the departure of US forces from Syria,” according to
a report released last month by The Institute for the Study of War, a
Washington think tank.
Crucial for Tehran, Iran has had a land
corridor of allies linking it to the Mediterranean Sea ever since Syrian forces
and Iranian-backed militias captured areas along the border with Iraq from
Daesh in 2017.
Last week’s clashes came after Lebanese
and Arab media outlets reflecting Iran’s point of view claimed that the
Americans intended to sever that link by capturing the strategic border town of
Boukamal.
The coalition’s commanding general, US
Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane denied the reports. “The coalition is not preparing
for military operations to cut off anybody except Daesh,” he said.
But Iran and its allies say any attempt
to close the Iraq-Syria border is a red line.
“I see that closing the gate between
Damascus and Baghdad as a declaration of war,” said Syrian political analyst
Bassam Abu Abdullah, whose comments usually reflect the government’s point of
view.
Source: arabnews.com
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Papua New Guinea opens Israel embassy in
West Jerusalem
5 Sep 2023
Papua New Guinea has opened its embassy
to Israel in West Jerusalem, becoming only the fifth country with a full
diplomatic mission in a city whose status is one of the most sensitive issues
in the Middle East.
The Pacific nation’s mission joins
embassies from the United States, Kosovo, Guatemala and Honduras in West
Jerusalem, while most countries maintain their diplomatic representation in the
coastal city of Tel Aviv, Israel’s main economic hub.
While Israel considers Jerusalem its
indivisible capital and wants all embassies based there, most of the world does
not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the entire city, believing its status
should be resolved in negotiations.
Palestinian leadership has wanted the
capital of their own independent state in occupied East Jerusalem, which Israel
captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move never recognised
internationally.
Israel has continued to build illegal
settlements in East Jerusalem, as well as the occupied West Bank.
Israel will pay for the embassy, located
in a high-rise opposite Jerusalem’s biggest mall, for the first two years,
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape was quoted in the Papua New Guinea
Post-Courier newspaper.
Marape also pledged support at the
United Nations for Israel, whose leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
attended the embassy ceremony in a reprieve from stalled regional peacemaking
and clouded ties with Washington.
“Many nations choose not to open their
embassies in Jerusalem, but we have made a conscious choice,” Marape said at
the embassy’s inauguration ceremony.
“For us to call ourselves Christian,
paying respect to God will not be complete without recognising that Jerusalem
is the universal capital of the people and the nation of Israel,” Marape said.
Wassel Abu Youssef, an official with the
umbrella Palestine Liberation Organisation, said Israel was “looking for any
country – even if that country can only be seen under a microscope – so it can
claim there are countries opening embassies in Jerusalem”.
Papua New Guinea, which occupies the
eastern half of the West Pacific Island of New Guinea, has an economy based on
agriculture and mining. Its bilateral trade with Israel is worth just $1m a
year, according to Israeli authorities.
Netanyahu said the new embassy would
make it easier to develop agriculture, health, water and technology projects. “This
will not only enable us to cherish the past but also seize the future,” he said
at the ceremony.
Source: aljazeera.com
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-----
Ministerial meeting heralds warmer
relations between Greece and Turkey
5 Sep 2023
The foreign ministers of Greece and
Turkey have agreed to revive high-level contacts between their countries and
seek “new approaches” to problems as part of an effort to improve ties between
the two NATO neighbours, who have been at loggerheads over a string of
decades-old disputes.
Discussions between Greece’s
GiorgosGerapetritis and Turkey’s HakanFidan on Tuesday were held in a
relatively friendly climate triggered by Greece sending assistance to Turkey
following a devastating earthquake earlier this year and Turkey offering
condolences after a deadly train accident in Greece.
“We have entered a new and positive
period in our relations with Greece,” Fidan told journalists at the end of
their talks. “We reiterated our belief that our problems will be resolved
through a constructive dialogue between the two neighbours and allies.”
The meeting came as Ankara, in the
throes of an economic downturn, is seeking a reset of its often-troubled
relations with Western nations. It follows a rare meeting between President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the
sidelines of a NATO summit in Lithuania in July.
According to a “roadmap” unveiled by the
two ministers, Mitsotakis and Erdogan would meet again on the sidelines of the
United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 18, followed by a
meeting of high-level officials in October.
The sides would also hold talks on a
series of confidence-building measures and revive a stalled high-level
cooperation council meeting.
“We don’t have our heads in the clouds.
We know that the distances that developed with the passage of time and the
passions passed on from generation to generation cannot be erased with one
stroke,” Gerapetritis said.
“But we have the disposition and the
will to invest in candour and mutual understanding so as to seek common ground,
break with established opinions and, where there are disagreements, at least
not have them lead to crises,” he continued.
Greece and Turkey are at odds over
territorial claims in the Aegean Sea, energy exploration rights in the eastern
Mediterranean and the division of Cyprus, among other issues.
“We evaluated our problems concerning
the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean in a comprehensive manner,” Fidan
said. “We agreed on bringing new approaches to the solution of the problems.”
Relations have remained tense between
the two NATO allies after they nearly came to blows two years ago.
The Greek and Turkish navies shadowed
each other in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean for a whole summer after
Turkey sent a survey ship to look for undersea oil and gas in waters Greece
claims as its jurisdiction under international law.
Turkey has accused Greece of deploying
troops on Aegean islands close to the Turkish coast in violation of treaties.
Greece says it needs to defend the islands against a potential attack from
Turkey, noting Turkey has a sizeable military force on the western Turkish
coast.
Turkish officials said continued
militarisation of the islands could lead to Turkey questioning their ownership
while Erdogan went as far as to threaten to send missiles to Athens.
Last year, Erdogan had pledged never to
talk to Mitsotakis, furious at the Greek leader, who during a visit to the
United States, called on Washington not to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.
But relations between the two countries
improved when Greece became one of the first to send rescue workers to Turkey
after devastating earthquakes in February killed 50,000 people.
Source: aljazeera.com
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------
Israel kill two Palestinians, destroys
even more of Nur Shams camp
By Al Jazeera Staff
5 Sep 2023
Tulkarem, occupied West Bank – Israeli
forces have killed a young Palestinian man and seriously injured another during
a large raid on a refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank city of
Tulkarem, damaging infrastructure in the camp.
Another Palestinian was killed hours
later on Tuesday, after allegedly opening fire at Israeli soldiers in an
illegal Jewish settlement in the West Bank.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health
announced that the man killed in Tulkarem was 21-year-old AyedSamih Khaled Abu
Harb, noting he was shot in the head. A funeral procession was held for him at
11am.
Israeli forces, with armoured tractors,
stormed the overcrowded Nur Shams refugee camp from several fronts at dawn,
inciting armed resistance from Palestinian fighters.
They bulldozed the road leading to the
camp, which is minutes from Tulkarem city, and destroyed a number of homes and
shops, as well as infrastructure, before withdrawing three hours later.
‘They destroyed everything’
Taha al-Irani, head of the camp’s
popular committee, spoke to Al Jazeera from the camp on Tuesday about the level
of destruction and the shock of Abu Harb being killed and another man injured.
Nur shams camp tulkarem raid
Residents of the Nur Shams refugee camp
tend to the destruction on September 5, 2023 [Ayman Nobani/Al Jazeera]
“I want to assure you that the martyr
[Ayed], was just standing at his front door when he was killed, and the man in
critical condition is a taxi driver who was headed to work,” al-Irani, 50,
said.
“It’s total destruction in the camp …
The main road tying the camp to other cities – to Tulkarem, Nablus, Ramallah –
was partially destroyed.”
Nur Shams refugee camp, established in
1952, is one of the two camps in Tulkarem and was built to house Palestinian
refugees from the Haifa area following the 1948 Nakba, or ethnic cleansing of
Palestine by Zionist militias.
Mohammad Abu Talal, a 39-year-old
supermarket owner, told Al Jazeera: “The army entered with bulldozers and
tractors. They destroyed the shop, they destroyed everything.”
In a statement, the Tulkarem Directorate
of Education announced that schools would be suspended on Tuesday.
233 Palestinians killed this year
Later on Tuesday, in the Jordan Valley,
Israeli forces said they killed a Palestinian who had opened fire towards a
shopping mall in an illegal settlement near Route 90, the main highway in the
region.
The Palestinian was named by the
Palestinian Health Ministry as 17-year-old Mohammed Zubaidat.
Zubaidat reportedly injured an Israeli
soldier before he was killed.
With the death of Abu Harb and Zubaidat,
the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army since the beginning of
this year has risen to 233.
The Israeli army said it arrested 21
Palestinian “wanted suspects” overnight on Tuesday alone. The total number of
Palestinians held in various forms of Israeli detention is in the thousands.
Nur shams camp tulkarem raid
Israeli forces destroyed infrastructure
during the raid on September 5, 2023 [Ayman Nobani/Al Jazeera]
The Israeli army has been militarily
occupying the West Bank, where some three million Palestinians live, for 56
years.
Over the past two years, Palestinian
armed resistance has reorganised and risen in prominence, particularly in the
north of the occupied West Bank. In response, Israel has been attempting to
crush this resistance through near-daily raids on Palestinian cities, villages
and refugee camps that almost always result in casualties.
Nur Shams was targeted in another recent
large-scale Israeli raid on July 24, during which at least 13 Palestinians were
injured, including four with live ammunition and nine by shrapnel. Israeli
forces also damaged infrastructure badly during that raid, forcing the
Palestinian Authority to dedicate a portion of its budget to the camp’s
reconstruction.
“Thank God that we haven’t put out
tenders for reconstruction of roads and infrastructure [after the earlier
raids] yet,” said al-Irani.
On August 5, the Israeli army raided the
camp and shot 18-year-old Mahmoud Abu Sa’an in the head at point-blank range,
killing him, the Health Ministry said. Abu Sa’an had just graduated from high
school.
“If the Israeli thinks that he can
achieve security and peace through his oppression and these crimes that he
carries out, he is delusional. This would not come unless Palestinians are given
their rights, to live in dignity in their state,” said al-Irani.
Reporting by Ayman Nobani in Nur Shams
refugee camp.
Source: aljazeera.com
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Jordan shoots down drug-laden drone from
Syria in ninth incident this year
5 Sep 2023
Jordan’s armed forces have brought down
a drone laden with drugs from Syria for the ninth time this year, according to
a military statement.
A drone carrying crystal meth was
intercepted after flying across the border from Syria, the statement released
on Monday said.
“The border guard forces, in coordination
with the narcotics control department and the military security services,
monitored an attempt by an unmanned drone to illegally cross the border from
Syrian territory to Jordanian territory, and it was shot down inside Jordanian
territory,” the statement said.
Last month, the Jordanian army shot down
three drones carrying narcotics from Syria that had crossed over the porous,
375km (233-mile) border the countries share.
War-torn Syria has become a hub for the
multibillion-dollar drugs trade, and Jordan is a main transit route to the
oil-rich Gulf states for a Syrian-made amphetamine known as Captagon, Western
anti-narcotics officials say.
President Bashar al-Assad’s promise to
crack down on drug trafficking paved the way for Syria’s re-entry into the Arab
League in May after it had been ostracised for 12 years.
Source: aljazeera.com
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Palestine refugees focus of discussion
between Arab League, UNRWA chiefs’
ARAB NEWS
September 06, 2023
LONDON: The plight of Palestinian
refugees was the focus of discussions on Tuesday between the chiefs of the Arab
League and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
The Arab League’s Secretary-General
Ahmed AboulGheit met with the UNRWA’s Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini
at the headquarters of the Arab League, where they also discussed the financial
challenges facing the agency.
AboulGheit expressed his support for the
UNRWA’s mission and urged donor countries to not reduce their funding
commitments to the agency.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister SamehShoukry
also met Lazzarini during his visit to Cairo. They discussed the UNRWA’s work
in assisting Palestinian refugees in countries across the region.
The meeting comes as the UN announced on
Tuesday that it was releasing $125 million from its emergency relief fund to
boost underfunded humanitarian operations in 14 countries around the world,
saying needs are skyrocketing.
The UN Central Emergency Relief Fund
said it would also provide $6 million to the Palestinian territories.
The meeting comes as Israeli troops
killed a Palestinian militant during an army raid in the West Bank on Tuesday,
Palestinian health officials said. Elsewhere in the occupied territory an armed
teenage Palestinian opened fire on Israeli soldiers, wounding one before being
shot and killed.
with AP
Source: arabnews.com
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Roman-era swords, likely Jewish rebel
booty, unearthed in Israel
REUTERS
September 06, 2023
JERUSALEM: Four 1,900-year-old swords,
complete with wooden and leather scabbards, have been discovered in a remote
cave in an Israeli desert, leading archaeologists to believe they were the
booty of Jews who rose up against Roman rule.
The fashioning of three of the blades
recalls Roman “spatha” swords, and the fourth has a ring-pommel handle
consistent with the period, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said. The
rare find included a shafted Roman “pilum” spear.
The desert location, overlooking the
Dead Sea, was a hideout for Jewish rebels against the Romans, who controlled
what was then Judea between the first century BC and second century AD.
A coin from the time of the Bar Kokhba
revolt of 132-135 AD was found at the entrance to the cave.
“The hiding of the swords and the pilum
in deep cracks in the isolated cave ... hints that the weapons were taken as
booty from Roman soldiers or from the battlefield,” IAA archaeologist Eitan
Klein said in a statement.
“Obviously, the rebels did not want to
be caught by the Roman authorities carrying these weapons.”
Source: arabnews.com
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Arab World
Heritage Commission Scheme Opens World
Of Archaeology For Young Saudis
September 05, 2023
MAKKAH: Saudi Arabia’s Heritage
Commission in Abha recently concluded the Little Explorer initiative — a
national scheme designed to inspire the next generation’s curiosity and interest
in the region’s heritage and archaeological discoveries.
The program, which is being held around
Saudi Arabia, aims to educate children in antiquities and explore the history
of the Kingdom and its civilizations in a fun and informative manner.
The Heritage Commission told Arab News
that the Little Explorer initiative was launched by Prince Badr bin Abdullah,
minister of culture and chairman of the Heritage Commission’s board of
directors, in March 2022.
The scheme targets young children and
youth in all regions of the Kingdom, to prepare a generation that understands
the importance of heritage and involve them in archaeological excavations.
Source: arabnews.com
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Ministry of Hajj, Afia International
Company Sign MoU to Boost Services for Visitors to Two Holy Mosques
05 Sep, 2023
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah signed
yesterday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Afia International Company,
an affiliate of Savola Group, entailing cooperation to improve the services
offered to the visitors to the two holy mosques through the training and
localization of the workforce, providing consultative services, conducting
studies in the professional and training fields, to keep abreast of the labor
market needs, in line with Saudi Vision 2030.
This MoU is part of the ministry's efforts to
establish partnerships with relevant entities in the service of the visitors to
the mosques and identify enablers that may contribute to improving their
experience. It aims to activate the role of such strategic partnerships through
field visits organized by qualified staff and carry out training programs for
ministry employees.
Furthermore, the MoU focuses on participating
in activities envisaging employment, cooperative training, exhibitions and
conferences organized by Afia, as well as on sharing information, expertise,
consultation and data, and coordinating participation in scientific, cultural
and research, which contributes to improving visitors' experience and the
quality of services provided at the two holy mosques.
Source: alriyadhdaily.com
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Saudi Arabia extends 1 million bpd oil
output cut through December
September 05, 2023
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will extend its
voluntary oil production cut of 1 million barrels per day until the end of the
year, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday quoting an official source in
the Energy Ministry.
The cut which first took effect in July
will continue “for another three months until the end of December 2023,” the
report said.
With the new decision, Saudi Arabia’s
oil output for October, November, and December will be approximately 9 million
barrels per day.
The SPA report quoted the source as
saying that the decision will be reviewed monthly to consider “deepening the
cut or increasing production.”
The source also noted that this cut is
in addition to the voluntary cut previously announced by the Kingdom in April
2023, which extends until the end of December 2024.
The report said this additional
voluntary cut aims to reinforce the precautionary efforts made by the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, called OPEC+,
to support the stability of oil markets.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2367851/business-economy
-----
Raisi: Enhanced Iran and Saudi ties
would block foreign interference in the region
September 05, 2023
TEHRAN — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
said that Iran and Saudi Arabia are two influential countries in the region and
the Islamic world. While praising the Kingdom’s remarkable role in the region
and the Islamic world, Raisi emphasized that the enhanced Iran-Saudi relations
would curtail the scope of foreign interference in the region.
Raisi’s statements came during his audience
with the Iranian Ambassador-designate to Saudi Arabia AlirezaEnayati on the
occasion of his departure for Riyadh to assume his duties, Iran’s Tasnim News
Agency reported on Monday.
Raisi called for the further promotion
of ties between Tehran and Riyadh. “Collaboration between Iran and Saudi
Arabia, as well as increased regional cooperation at bilateral and multilateral
levels, particularly on issues concerning the Islamic world, will enhance the
standing of regional countries,” he said.
In a historic agreement, brokered by
China in Beijing on March 10, 2023, Saudi Arabia and Iran decided to resume
diplomatic relations between the two countries and reopen their diplomatic
missions after a hiatus of seven years.
Source: saudigazette.com.sa
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/635533/SAUDI-ARABIA/Raisi-Enhanced-Iran-and-Saudi-ties-would-block-foreign-interference-in-the-region
-----
Africa
Terrorists kill seven, abduct 12 others
in fresh Katsina attack
Mohammed Babangida
September 5, 2023
Seven people were killed while several
others were wounded when terrorists attacked Doka community of Sabuwa Local
Government of Katsina State on Tuesday.
A source said about 12 residents of the
community were abducted while cattle and other domestic animals were rustled.
Those killed include six men and a woman
while those wounded, most of whom are men, are currently receiving treatment at
the Federal Teaching Hospital in Katsina.
Sabuwa is one of the most insecure areas
in Katsina as terrorists and other outlaws roam freely and attack communities
at will. Aside other areas in Katsina, Sabuwa shares shares boundaries with
Kaduna State.
“Doka was one of the few communities
considered impenetrable before today’s attack,” a source who is from the
community said. He asked for anonymity for security reasons.
“They (terrorists) made several attempts
to attack the community before today; that was why they came in large numbers.”
He said the terrorists, who stormed the
community, spent about three hours – from 12:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. before they
left with the abductees.
“The terrorists parked their motorcycles
about a kilometre from the community and walked to avoid catching the attention
of the vigilante members stationed in the area,” the source said. The source
claimed security agents didn’t respond to distress calls by residents.
Ghost towns
Our source said several villages in the
area are becoming ghost communities due to the incessant attacks by the terrorists.
Communities from Funtua, Dandume,
Faskari and Sabuwa areas around the area are the worse hits in terms of
terrorists’ activities, he said through phone.
“It’s not easy for our people. Life has
become difficult because we can’t even go to the farm or patronise local
markets and these are the only things we know how to do,” the source, a local
business man, added.
The police spokesperson in the state,
AbubakarSadik confirmed the attack to reporters in Katsina but didn’t give
details.
He said six people were killed while
five were injured and added that fresh security measures have been taken to
avert further attacks and rescue the abducted persons.
The central and southern parts of
Katsina have been witnessing series of terrorist activities for over a decade.
The attack in Doka happened a few days
after the killing of a commercial vehicle driver and abduction of about four
passengers on Sheme – Yankara road under Faskari area in the state.
Source: premiumtimesng.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/nwest/619749-terrorists-kill-seven-abduct-12-others-in-fresh-katsina-attack.html
------
Benin Republic Police Detain Editor Of
Nigeria’s FIJ And Label Him ‘Jihadist’, Demand 800,000CFA Bribe
September 6, 2023
The police in Benin Republic, an
adjoining country to Nigeria, have detained the Editor of the Foundation for
Investigative Journalism (FIJ), DamilolaAyeni.
Ayeni was accused by the authorities in
the West African country of being a jihadist.
According to FIJ, they are demanding a
bribe of 800,000 CFA to free Ayeni, whose arrest last week became public
knowledge only early on Tuesday.
The newspaper reported that Ayeni was in
the Republic of Benin for the second leg of fieldwork on a Nigeria-Benin
environmental journalism report when the Beninese authorities arrested him.
A man who identified himself as the
‘Commissioner of the Central Police Station of Parakou in Benin’ subsequently
reached out to FIJ, announcing that Ayeni was being held at Commissariat
Central, Parakou Police Station.
In a message sent via WhatsApp number
+22946066050, with profile name ‘AgnissoLounko’, the man reportedly said:
“Hello sir, I am the Commissioner of the Central Police Station of Parakou in
Benin. Do you know Mr. Damilola of Nigerian nationality?
“He is arrested in Penjari [sic] Park in
northern Benin for jihadist [sic]. He would [sic] be presented to the
prosecutor and sent to prison. He risks 10 to 20 years in prison. What do you
think of his situation, sir?”
The man told FIJ that he was “the
Central Commissioner of Parakou in Benin,” adding “Jihadist case in Benin is
complicated, what do you think of his current situation?”
When he was asked to give options from
which a decision could be made, he replied: “I ask you to send a lawyer for his
defense, I will ask the OPJ (Judicial Police Officer) to listen to him again
before presenting him to the CRIET Prosecutor in Porto-Novo. Thank you.”
When the news organisation asked, “How
did a Nigerian journalist become a jihadist in Benin? Did you find a gun,
sword, knife, grenade, bomb or any other arm or ammunition on him?” Lounko
replied with: “Do you want his release? If so, reconsider your reaction or send
a lawyer to defend him.
“We are all human beings, and I also
have relatives in Nigeria. Send 800,000 CFA to my number allowing me to see my
colleagues again and the released [sic].”
FIJ’s contacts in Benin Republic said
800,000 CFA is the equivalent of N1.2 million.
“We are in the fight against the
jihadists,” Lounko reportedly said, insisting on being paid 800,000 CFA.
Apart from being FIJ’s editor, Ayeni is
also an environmental expert and activist.
He was on the longlist for the 2023
edition of the One World Media Awards’ International Journalist of the Year
category. He was also shortlisted for the environment category of the 2021
Thomson Foundation Young Journalists (FPA) Award.
Source: saharareporters.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://saharareporters.com/2023/09/06/benin-republic-police-detain-editor-nigerias-fij-and-label-him-jihadist-demand-800000cfa
------
Moroccans rally against killing of two
jet skiers by Algerian coastguard
September 5, 2023
Dozens of Moroccans on Monday gathered
outside the parliament in Rabat to denounce "the crime committed by the
Algerian state" after two holidaymakers jet skiing in Morocco were shot
dead by the Algerian coastguard on Friday.
The holiday makers were alleged to have
strayed across the maritime border between the two Mediterranean countries.
Algeria said Sunday its security forces
had opened after the group of jet skiers ignored warning shots and refused to
comply with orders to stop. "During a security patrol inside our
territorial waters, a coastguard unit intercepted on Tuesday at 7:47 pm (18:47
GMT), three jet skis that clandestinely entered our territorial waters," a
defence ministry press release said.
HichamMellioui, member of the Moroccan
League for Citizenship and Human Rights at the rally in Rabat on Monday called
on the "Moroccan government to take a very firm stance in the face of
these crimes". "Whether through declarations, through possible
actions before international bodies, to challenge them (Algeria), at least in
the media, with official statements, with diplomatic acts" Mellioui said.
Another member ThamiBelmaalam said
Moroccan and international associations will be filing applications with the
international courts tomorrow. "A letter will be sent to the UN
Secretary-General for the same reason."
Legal action -
Lawyers for two men shot dead in the
incident plan to file a complaint in France. One was French-Moroccan and the
other held a residence permit in France.
Reports from Morocco said
French-Moroccan tourist Bilal Kissi, 29, and his Moroccan cousin
AbdelaliMechouar, 40, were killed.
A third man, SmailSnabe, was wounded and
detained in Algeria, according to media reports in Morocco on Friday. Kissi's
brother Mohamed, who had also been in the group, said they got lost and ran out
of fuel after leaving the Moroccan resort of Saidia, near the border with
Algeria.
He said he managed to leave the area
after the incident and was picked up by the Moroccan navy. Bilal Kissi's body
was recovered on Saidia beach on the Moroccan side of the border.
Saidia is a popular Moroccan summer
resort known for its long beach and water sports. Kissi was buried on Thursday
in BniDrar village near Oujda, in the presence of dozens of relatives.
Sunday's statement from the defence
ministry was the first official reaction from Algeria to Tuesday's incident. In
Morocco, the prosecutor's office in the city of Oujda has opened an
investigation, a judicial source told the official Moroccan news agency MAP on
Friday.
The family of the two tourists killed
are to launch a legal action in France, their lawyers announced on Sunday.
Hakim Chergui, who is acting for the
families of the victims, said the legal action would be submitted on Monday or
Tuesday.
They are accusing the Algerian
authorities of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, the hijacking of
a vessel and failure to assist a person in danger.
Source: africanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.africanews.com/2023/09/05/moroccans-rally-against-killing-of-two-jet-skiers-by-algerian-coastguard/
------
After accusing agency of misapplication
of N81bn, Reps panel bars journalists from covering sitting
September 5, 2023
The House of Representatives ad hoc
committee investigating the utilisation of ecological funds released to the
National Agency for Great Green Wall (NAGGW), on Tuesday barred journalists
from covering its sitting.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports
that the committee, chaired by Rep. IsmailaDabo on 31 August, accused the
agency of spending N81. 2 billion to plant 21 million trees in 11 states.
The Director General, NAGGW, Yusuf
Bukar, was expected to respond to the claim by the committee during Tuesday’s
sitting.
However, journalists who turned up to
cover the hearing were told to move out of the hall by the Clerk of the
committee, EdemBassey.
Mr Bassey said the chairman of the
committee had directed that the investigative hearing was not for media
coverage.
“The first sitting you covered, I wrote
a letter to you, and to the best of my knowledge this committee did not write
letter asking for another coverage. So that addresses the issue.
“You know how we work in this place, I
am supposed to either communicate to you or the chairman, that has not been
done and why it is not done, I was not briefed to do so,” he added.
According to him, the committee has the
right to regulate its sitting just as the House does, adding that for now, “we
do not need media coverage.”
Source: premiumtimesng.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/619746-after-accusing-agency-of-misapplication-of-n81bn-reps-panel-bars-journalists-from-covering-sitting.html
------
South Asia
UN allocates $125M for 14 global
humanitarian crises, including Afghanistan
Fidel Rahmati
September 6, 2023
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has reduced
rations for an additional two million Afghans this month. The agency’s country
director has raised concerns about an impending “catastrophic” winter if
funding is depleted, leaving remote communities with insufficient food
supplies.
Amidst increasing concern over declining
aid for Afghanistan, the reduction in rations occurs. The UN humanitarian
response plan for the country is currently only a quarter funded despite a
budget reduction due to funding challenges.
The WFP’s food and cash assistance
funding is projected to be depleted by the end of October. As a result, the
agency has progressively reduced aid throughout the year, impacting assistance
to 10 million Afghan individuals.
Limited resources have hindered the
allocation of food to winter-isolated regions. Without additional funding, the
WFP warns that 90% of remote vulnerable areas will face food shortages, while
even accessible areas will lack supplies during harsh weather conditions.
“That is the catastrophe that we have to
avert,” WFP Afghanistan Country Director Hsiao-Wei Lee told Reuters.
Approximately 75% of Afghanistan’s
population requires humanitarian assistance following decades of conflict,
overseen by the internationally isolated Taliban administration after the
withdrawal of US-backed foreign forces in 2021. The traditional development aid
that once sustained government finances
has been reduced, while the administration faces sanctions and frozen overseas
central bank assets.
The Taliban administration’s
restrictions on women, barring them from working with humanitarian agencies,
hinder formal recognition and deter donors. Many donors are shifting focus to
other crises due to these restrictions.
“What I do in my engagements with them
is remind them that at the end of the day, we must focus on those most in
need,” Lee said of donors cited by Reuters.
“The cost of inaction is ultimately
borne and paid for by the most vulnerable and poor mothers and children.”
Three million individuals receive
essential food assistance, which could cease after October. The World Food
Programme (WFP) requires $1 billion in funding to continue distributing food
aid and executing projects until March.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.khaama.com/un-allocates-125m-for-14-global-humanitarian-crises-including-afghanistan/
-----
Over 2 thousand Afghan migrants return
home from Iran and Pakistan
September 6, 2023
The Ministry of Refugees and
Repatriation of Afghanistan has announced the return of 2,289 Afghan migrants
from Iran and an additional 23 migrants from Pakistan to the country.
The ministry said on Wednesday on its
social media platform that 23 Afghan refugees after being released from
Pakistani prisons, returned to Afghanistan via the Torkham border crossing two
days ago.
Whether these refugees were deported or
entered the country voluntarily is still unclear.
According to the ministry’s statement,
returning migrants have been referred to the International Organization for
Migration’s office to receive food and non-food assistance.
This comes as the expulsion and return
of Afghan migrants from Iran and Pakistan have risen.
Previously, the Ministry of Refugees and
Repatriation had reported that approximately 50,000 Afghan migrants had
returned from Iran in the past month.
Amid a dire humanitarian crisis in
Afghanistan, driven by the resurgence of the Taliban, many refugees seek safety
in neighbouring countries. These Afghan nationals flee their homeland due to
economic hardship, unemployment, security threats, and persecution.
Despite their perilous journey, their
arrival in neighbouring nations does not always bring relief. Instead, they
often face daunting challenges, including deportation, detention, mistreatment,
and abuse.
This situation underscores the urgent
need for international efforts to address the plight of Afghan refugees and
ensure their safety and well-being as they seek refuge in foreign countries.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.khaama.com/over-2-thousand-afghan-migrants-return-home-from-iran-and-pakistan/
-------
UN food agency reduces rations for 2
million Afghans due to funding shortage
September 5, 2023
Fidel Rahmati
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has
reduced rations for an additional two million Afghans this month. The agency’s
country director has raised concerns about an impending “catastrophic” winter
if funding is depleted, leaving remote communities with insufficient food
supplies.
Amidst increasing concern over declining
aid for Afghanistan, the reduction in rations occurs. The UN humanitarian
response plan for the country is currently only a quarter funded despite a
budget reduction due to funding challenges.
The WFP’s food and cash assistance
funding is projected to be depleted by the end of October. As a result, the
agency has progressively reduced aid throughout the year, impacting assistance
to 10 million Afghan individuals.
Limited resources have hindered the
allocation of food to winter-isolated regions. Without additional funding, the
WFP warns that 90% of remote vulnerable areas will face food shortages, while
even accessible areas will lack supplies during harsh weather conditions.
“That is the catastrophe that we have to
avert,” WFP Afghanistan Country Director Hsiao-Wei Lee told Reuters.
Approximately 75% of Afghanistan’s
population requires humanitarian assistance following decades of conflict,
overseen by the internationally isolated Taliban administration after the
withdrawal of US-backed foreign forces in 2021. The traditional development aid
that once sustained government finances
has been reduced, while the administration faces sanctions and frozen overseas
central bank assets.
The Taliban administration’s
restrictions on women, barring them from working with humanitarian agencies,
hinder formal recognition and deter donors. Many donors are shifting focus to
other crises due to these restrictions.
“What I do in my engagements with them
is remind them that at the end of the day, we must focus on those most in
need,” Lee said of donors cited by Reuters.
“The cost of inaction is ultimately
borne and paid for by the most vulnerable and poor mothers and children.”
Three million individuals receive
essential food assistance, which could cease after October. The World Food
Programme (WFP) requires $1 billion in funding to continue distributing food
aid and executing projects until March.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.khaama.com/un-food-agency-reduces-rations-for-2-million-afghans-due-to-funding-shortage/
------
Gas supply to remain halted for 4hrs
tomorrow in parts of North Dhaka
Sep 6, 2023
Gas supply will remain suspended for
four hours tomorrow in different areas of North Dhaka city for emergency line
relocation works in the Sonargaon-Janapath Rail Crossing area.
According to an emergency public notice
of the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited, the gas supply
will remain suspended for all types of consumers in Uttarkhan, Dakshinkhan and
Uttara sectors-6, 8 from 10:00am to 2:00pm tomorrow.
Regretting the temporary inconvenience
to be caused to its customers, the Tatas Gas also said the consumers in the
adjoining areas may experience low gas pressure during the period.
Source: thedailystar.net
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/environment-minister-catches-dengue-3412461
------
Southeast Asia
Muhyiddin’s Political ‘Fatwa’ Issued
Against PakatanCandidate Influenced By PAS, Says PH Secretary-General
06 Sep 2023
JOHOR BARU, Sept 6 ― The move by Bersatu
president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to issue a political “fatwa” against
PakatanHarapan (PH) candidate SuhaizatKaiat in the Pulai parliamentary
by-election is a result of influence from PAS.
PH secretary-general Datuk Seri
Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said this was not surprising because the approach
used by PAS, led by its president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, has the potential
to influence its allies and make them follow suit.
“I am not surprised at all (by the ‘fatwa’)
because the party that Muhyiddin is currently aligned with is PAS. PAS, during
the time of the late YusofRawa, UstazFadzil Noor, Haron Din, Datuk Yahya
Othman, was different... these were individuals who upheld their political
ethics.
“But under Abdul Hadi Awang now... power
is everything. The party’s strength is now measured by the number of seats they
win. Even in the campaign here, Hadi still emphasised the same thing, that
winning in Pulai would mean toppling the unity government.
“The equation makes no sense but is
still being played up. After being friends for a long time (Muhyiddin and PAS),
certain approaches and habits have now been adopted by Bersatu as well. This is
something very unfortunate.”
He told reporters this after the
CeramahPerpaduanPulai in Taman Dahlia here last night in response to
Muhyiddin’s reported remarks that it was “haram (forbidden) to vote for
Suhaizan.”
Also present were Amanah president Datuk
Seri Mohamad Sabu, Perak MenteriBesar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad, Kedah
BarisanNasional chairman Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and Suhaizan.
In the meantime, Saifuddin Nasution, who
is also Home Minister, urged Muhyiddin not to repeat such an action but to use
a positive and healthy approach while campaigning.
Pulai is one of two by-elections called
in Johor following the death of Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, who was also the
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, on July 23, the other being the
SimpangJeram state seat.
Polling for both seats is on September
9. ― Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/09/06/muhyiddins-political-fatwa-issued-against-pakatan-candidate-influenced-by-pas-says-saifuddin-nasution/89322
------
Indonesia warns against ‘destructive
rivalry’ in Asia
6 Sep, 2023
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has
stressed the need for unity within ASEAN, saying that the Southeast Asian
economic bloc must maintain good ties for the sake of regional stability.
Speaking at the group’s summit in
Jakarta on Wednesday, President Widodo called on member states to “work in
concert to achieve a fair and mutually beneficial cooperation,” urging against
feuds and strife between neighbors.
“ASEAN has agreed to not be a proxy to
any powers. Don’t turn our ship into a battleground for rivalry that is
destructive,” he said, comparing the international body to a vessel at sea.
“We, as leaders, have to ensure this ship keeps moving and sailing and we must
become its captain to achieve peace, stability, and prosperity together.”
Indonesia rubbishes Pentagon’s ‘joint
statement’ on China and RussiaREAD MORE: Indonesia rubbishes Pentagon’s ‘joint
statement’ on China and Russia
The Indonesian president called for a
“long-term tactical strategy,” saying ASEAN members should devise a plan for
cooperation that is “relevant and meets people's expectations.”
Widodo’s comments come soon after
Jakarta’s defense chief, PrabowoSubianto, visited the US capital for talks with
his American counterpart. During the trip, the Pentagon issued a “joint press
statement,” which was attributed to Subianto and critical of both Russia and
China. Subianto, however, later distanced himself from the missive and insisted
that Indonesia seeks good relations with both countries.
“There is no joint statement and no
press conference. What is important for me to underline is that our
relationship with China is very good. We respect each other, we already have
mutual understanding. I conveyed that in the US,” Subianto said. “We are close
friends with China, we respect America, and we seek friendship with Russia.”
The US and Russia have been locked in a
standoff over Ukraine since Moscow launched its military operation in February
2022. At the same time, tensions continue between Washington and Beijing over
issues ranging from trade to Taiwan.
The defense minister also discussed
plans to visit both Beijing and Moscow in the coming months, further
underscoring Indonesia’s friendlier stance toward the two powers.
Founded at the height of the Cold War,
the ASEAN bloc is made up of 10 member states and encompasses some 600 million
people. The organization places a major focus on economic development, but also
maintains a network of alliances and partnerships to foster diplomacy in the
region.
ASEAN members will meet again later this
week for their East Asia summit, which will be attended by top officials from
Russia, China, India, Japan and the United States.
Source: rt.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.rt.com/news/582446-indonesia-asean-destructive-rivalry/
------
Cops receives croc attack report in
Melaka
RSN MURALI
06 Sep 2023
ALOR GAJAH: A crocodile attack report at
Sungai Timun jetty in Lubok China here has been made with the police.
In the incident on Friday (Sept 1),
65-year-old woman NurkaisaAusad was injured after fighting a saltwater
crocodile, which tried to drag her into the river.
Alor Gajah OCPD Supt Arshad Abu said the
report was lodged by the victim’s 24-year-old son at Lubok China police station
here on Monday (Sept 4).
He said the case would be referred to
the Melaka Wildlife and National Park.
Supt Arshad said the victim sustained
injuries on her right ankle. She also injured her head when she hit the hull of
her boat while fighting the reptile.
She is currently being treated at
TuankuJa'afar Hospital in Seremban, Negri Sembilan, he added.
It was reported that Nurkaisa was
collecting prawns along Sungai Timun with a group of fishermen.
As she was ascending from her boat at
the jetty, a crocodile suddenly bit her and tried to drag her into the water.
She fought back fiercely and saved
herself.
Sungai Timun is a tributary of Sungai
Linggi, which is a habitat for saltwater crocodiles - a threatened wildlife
species and is fully protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act
716).
A total of 164 observations of these
crocodiles were recorded in a study conducted in 2020 with the largest species
observed measuring 5m long and the smallest was 1m long.
Source: thestar.com.my
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/09/06/cops-receives-croc-attack-report-in-melaka
------
Arrest warrant issued for ex-Pattaya mayor
IttipolKhunpluem
06 Sep 2023
BANGKOK (The Nation/Asia News Network):
The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases on Tuesday (Sept
5) issued an arrest warrant for IttipolKhunpluem, former Culture Minister and
former mayor of Pattaya City, after he failed to report to the prosecutor
following a court summons on Monday (Sept 4).
Ittipol is accused of abuse of power for
issuing an illegal construction permit to Bali Hai Co Ltd to build a luxury
condominium at the base of PhraTamnak Mountain in Pattaya City, Chonburi
province in 2008 during his tenure as mayor of Pattaya City.
On Aug 3, 2023, the Office of the
Attorney General resolved to file charges against Ittipol and 9 others for
taking part in the issuance of the permit and ordered them to report to the
prosecutors on Sept 4.
The nine others are
PhichetUthaiwatthananont, WitthayaSirinworachai, YattiphongIntharat,
EkaphongBoonchai, WutthisakRermkijjakarn, AphichartPhanpheut,
SutheeThabnonghee, ChanontKerdyuu, and ChaiwatJaengsawang.
After Ittipol, the former Culture
Minister in the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration from 2019 to 2023, failed to
show up on Monday, the court decided to issue arrest warrants against him and
some of his alleged accomplices who also failed to show, as it was believed
they would flee.
Born to a prominent political family in
Chonburi, Ittipol, 49, served as the Mayor of Pattaya City from 2008 to 2016.
His late father, Somchai, better known as KamnanPoh, was a local politician who
was dubbed the “Godfather of Chonburi” due to his high influence in the eastern
province.
Source: thestar.com.my
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2023/09/06/arrest-warrant-issued-for-ex-pattaya-mayor-ittipol-khunpluem
------
'Leave it to my investigating officers':
MACC chief
September 6, 2023
SEPANG: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption
Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki will leave it to his
officers to further investigate allegations of corruption linked to
YayasanAkalbudi (YAB) funds.
"I will leave it to my
investigating officers to investigate this."
He said this after launching the
National Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Research Conference here,
today.
The High Court had, on Monday, granted
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi a discharge not
amounting to acquittal (DNAA) of 12 criminal breach of trust charges, eight
counts of bribery and 27 for money laundering, involving scores of millions of
ringgit belonging to YAB.
He was accused of committing the
offences between March 28, 2016 and April 11, 2018.
Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah
released Zahid, 70, after Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk MohdDusuki Mokhtar had
told the court that the Attorney-General's Chambers (A-GC) had made the
decision to stop the case based on new evidence raised by the defence in their
representation letters.
These included allegations of
politically motivated prosecution against Zahid and the royal commission of
inquiry into former A-G Tan Sri Tommy Thomas's memoir, 'My Story: Justice in
The Wilderness'.
Presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence
Sequerah said the A-G had the authority to initiate and withdraw charges at any
time before a judgement is rendered.
Speaking to reporters after the
discharge, Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister thanked
his supporters and said his fight was not yet over.
Source: nst.com.my
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Zahid’s discharge couched in ‘cogent’
reasons: AGC
05 Sep 2023
PETALING JAYA – The Attorney-General’s
Chambers (AGC) has responded to criticism against its decision to not proceed
with charges against Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in the
YayasanAkalbudi (YAB) corruption case.
“Based on media reports that the AGC’s
act to withdraw the charges against Zahid is immoral, the department would like
to stress that the decision was made based on reasons accepted by the court.
“When making the decision, the
honourable judge stated that the reasons given by the prosecution were cogent,”
the AGC said in a brief statement this evening.
Yesterday, the high court granted a
discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) on all 47 of Zahid’s corruption,
criminal breach of trust and money laundering charges.
The court granted the DNAA sought by
deputy public prosecutor Datuk MohdDusuki Mokhtar.
When a court grants a DNAA, it means
that the accused is discharged from the current charges without being acquitted
of them.
The case is temporarily put on hold or
suspended, but the prosecution has the option to refile the charges or
reinstate the case at a later time if new evidence or circumstances warrant it.
The prosecution in the Umno president’s
corruption trial applied for a DNAA, while the defence team led by Datuk
HisyamTeh argued for a full acquittal on all charges.
Earlier today, former prime minister Tan
Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had said that the episode was “immoral” and one that left
a “black mark” in the country’s judicial history, which could affect investors’
confidence. – The Vibes, September 5, 2023
Source: thevibes.com
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North America
Canadian man accused of running over and
killing a Muslim family pleads not guilty
September 06, 2023
WINDSOR, Ontario: A Canadian man accused
of deliberately running over and killing four members of a Muslim family in
London, Ontario pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, as jury selection for his trial
started.
Nathaniel Veltman is accused of
deliberately hitting the Afzaal family members with his truck as they were out
for a walk on the evening of June 6, 2021. He has been charged with four counts
of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
Standing next to the accused as the
court registrar read the charges, defense lawyer Christopher Hicks entered not
guilty pleas on Veltman’s behalf.
Veltman, who wore a long-sleeve white
shirt and black pants in court, was sitting quietly between his defense lawyers
Hicks and Peter Ketcheson during the jury selection process.
Jury selection was set to continue on
Wednesday for the trial that is expected to last 12 weeks.
Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance
ruled last year that a change of venue is warranted in the case, moving the
trial from London to Windsor, Ontario.
The reasons for that decision, as well
as the evidence and arguments presented in court, cannot be disclosed due to a
publication ban.
Salman Afzaal, 46, his 44-year-old wife
Madiha Salman, their 15-year-old daughter Yumnah and her 74-year-old grandmother,
Talat Afzaal, were killed in the attack. The couple’s 9-year-old son was also
seriously hurt but survived.
Pomerance said the prosecution is
alleging that Veltman, who was 20 at the time of his arrest, was motivated by
extremist right-wing views associated with white supremacy when he
intentionally drove his truck over a curb to strike the Muslim family members.
None of the allegations has been proven
in court.
The attack on the Afzaal family sent
waves of shock, grief and fear across Canada and spurred ongoing calls for
measures to combat Islamophobia in the country.
The City of London dedicated a garden to
the Afzaal family.
Source: arabnews.com
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Muslim leaders keep close watch as
Nathaniel Veltman murder trial begins
Sep 05, 2023
WINDSOR – Leaders of Ontario’s Muslim
community say they will be closely watching a multiple-murder and terrorism trial
underway in Windsor amid calls to deter violence against their community.
“This moment must be a catalyst for
change so that all of us, in this country, feel safe just doing ordinary things
in our communities,” Aasiyah Khan, interim COO of the National Council of
Canadian Muslims, told reporters outside the Superior Court of Justice building
Monday morning.
Inside, the selection of jurors was just
beginning for a trial expected to last three months before Justice Renee
Pomerance. Nathaniel Veltman, 22, is charged with four counts of first-degree
murder and one of attempted murder in an act that federal and provincial
prosecutors are also pursuing as a terrorist offence.
Four members of a London family — Salman
Afzaal, 46, his mother Talat Afzaal, 74, his wife Madiha Salman, 44, and their
daughter Yumnah, 15, were killed when they were struck by a hit-and-run pickup
truck on Hyde Park Road in northwest London on June 6, 2021. A fifth family
member, a then-nine-year-old boy, suffered serious injuries.
The Crown, applying rarely used
anti-terrorism legislation, alleges Veltman deliberately targeted the family,
out for a stroll, simply for being Muslim.
“A senseless act of hatred, violence and
terrorism abruptly ended the lives of four precious individuals from one
family, representing three generations, in a single blow,” said Abd
AlfatahTwakkal, chair of the London Council of Imams.
“Our hope is that a clear message of
deterrence will be made to anyone who feels that such acts of murder — through
hatred and anything that lead to them — are in any way, shape or form
acceptable,” he said outside the downtown Windsor court. “They are not and
never will be.”
A publication ban covers a judge’s
reasons for moving the trial to Windsor. Two London courtrooms have been made
available for people there to observe the proceedings a two-hour drive away.
Khan pointed to the trial’s start on a
morning when many Ontario parents were walking their children to classes on the
first day of a new school year.
“Two years ago, one London family was
doing what so many families across Canada were doing, relieving lockdown stress
by simply going for a walk,” she said. “The difference is, that family did not
come home.
“They were robbed of the right to just
be normal and do what everyone else is doing. And that is the ultimate
injustice and tragedy in this case, that a hateful individual would try to
terrorize an entire community for the unremarkable act of just being,” said
Khan.
The Crown must still prove its case to
the jury. Some are seeing this trial as a test of Canada’s terrorism laws.
Khan and Imam Twakkal said the Muslim
community has been heartened by the general population’s response to the
horrific tragedy. Both London and Windsor boast large and thriving Muslim
populations.
“Our community has been shown much love,
respect and support coming from the vast majority of people, and we will
forever be grateful for that,” said Twakkal.
The “egregious and unspeakable act,” the
Imam added, was “an attack on all of us.”
Source: canoe.com
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CAIR-SFBA Welcomes Recognition of American
Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month by the Cities of Albany, Pleasanton
Ismail Allison
September 5, 2023
(SANTA CLARA, CA, 9/5/23) – The San Francisco Bay Area office
of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the nation’s largest
Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the recognition
of American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month by
the cities of Albany and Pleasanton, Calif.
For the eighth consecutive year,
California designated August as American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness
Month. The cities of Albany and Pleasanton will commemorate this designation
with proclamation presentations at their city council meetings this evening.
The ceremonies will take place during the first few minutes of each
meeting.
In a statement, CAIR-SFBA Executive
Director Zahra Billoo said:
“CAIR-SFBA deeply appreciates the
continued recognition of the diverse and invaluable achievements of American
Muslims, whose dedication and contributions continue to shape the cities of
Albany and Pleasanton, California, and the nation. These proclamations help to
highlight our shared values and humanity and are a welcome acknowledgment.”
CAIR-SFBA is an office of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim
civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to protect civil
liberties, empower American Muslims and build coalitions that promote justice
and mutual understanding.
Source: cair.com
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CAIR Condemns Racist Assault Targeting
Family in Portland, Oregon
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 9/5/2023) – The
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil
rights and advocacy organization, today condemned an alleged racist assault
targeting a Portland, Ore., business owner and his family.
Police in Portland released a photo of
the man suspected of spitting on and physically assaulting a business owner and
his family in August. The man reportedly yelled racial slurs at the family.
Portland police are asking anyone with information that could lead to an arrest
to contact them. Police are currently investigating the incident as a hate
crime.
“No one should have to experience
disgusting, hateful attacks like this one,” said CAIR National Communications
Manager Ismail Allison. “We stand in solidarity with the family and thank law
enforcement for taking this disturbing incident seriously and investigating it
as a hate crime.”
He said CAIR and the American Muslim
community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, systemic
anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and all other
forms of bigotry.
CAIR Condemns Marches by Neo-Nazi Groups
in Florida
CAIR-Ohio Condemns Distribution of White
Supremacist Antisemitic Flyers in Cincinnati
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil
rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American
Muslims.
La misión de CAIR esproteger las
libertadesciviles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y
empoderar a losmusulmanesenlosEstadosUnidos.
Source: cair.com
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Burning Man attendees burn time
together, form a bond while stranded during rough weather
Sep. 5, 2023
BLACK ROCK DESERT, Nev. – Cutter Ray
Palacios, a first-time Burning Man attendee, describes how fellow “burners”
fostered a sense of community while being stranded at the Nevada festival by
floodwaters.
Monsoon rains Friday and over the
weekend caused flash flooding at the annual Burning Man Festival, turning the
usually dry, desert setting into a muddy mess that prevented tens of thousands
from leaving the festival grounds.
Despite this, many festival attendees
made the most of the mess.
According to Palacios, attendees spent
the time telling stories, playing music and card games, spending time in art
installations known as “art cars” and watching the sun rise together.
He also noted how some people shared
food, water and other resources with one another, particularly as the remote
location of the festival and the road closures caused by floodwater prevented
attendees from leaving or receiving much outside help.
While floodwaters may have temporarily
disconnected attendees from the world outside the festival, they helped create
a closeness among the attendees as they bonded over such a unique weather
experience.
“Burning Man’s all about community and
talking with one another, and we continued to do that through the rain,” he
said.
On Monday, festival attendees were
allowed to leave by the grounds starting at noon, but muddy roads prevented
vehicles from leaving until 2 p.m.
At least one death has been confirmed at
Burning Man during the flooding rains on Friday. The Pershing County Sheriff’s
Office said they are investigating the death reported during the rain event to
see whether it was related to the severe weather.
Source: nypost.com
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US envoy in Chad to spotlight Sudan
atrocities she calls ‘reminiscent’ of Darfur 2004
September 06, 2023
N’DJAMENA: The United States envoy to
the United Nations arrived in Chad on Wednesday to meet Sudanese refugees who
have fled ethnic and sexual violence in Darfur, which she described as
“reminiscent” of atrocities 20 years ago that Washington declared a genocide.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who is a member
of President Joe Biden’s cabinet, is due to visit Chad’s border with Darfur in
western Sudan to highlight the worsening conflict and growing humanitarian
crisis.
War broke out in Sudan on April 15 —
four years after former President Omar Al-Bashir was ousted by a popular
uprising. Tensions between the army (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces
(RSF), which jointly staged a coup in 2021, erupted into fighting over a plan
to transition to civilian rule.
“We certainly have reached a level of
serious atrocities being committed and it is very reminiscent of what we saw
happening in 2004 that led to the genocide determination,” said
Thomas-Greenfield before arriving in Chad.
“We’re hearing from women who are being
brutally gang raped over and over again, villages being raided, there are
aerial photos showing mass graves. Signs are there,” she said.
In the early 2000s the UN estimates some
300,000 people were killed in Darfur when “Janjaweed” militias — from which the
RSF formed — helped the army crush a rebellion by mainly non-Arab groups.
Sudanese leaders are wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide
and crimes against humanity.
“Once again, Darfur is descending into
an abyss without mercy or hope,” UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said in a
statement. “Civilians have been trapped, targeted, raped and murdered. It is
unlawful and it is outrageous.”
Thomas-Greenfield first visited Chad’s
border with Darfur in 2004 as a senior State Department official — the same
year Washington described the violence there as a genocide.
“I went before the genocide was
declared, but saw all of the evidence that a genocide was happening,” she said.
“I had witnessed that before, having gone into the refugee camps in Goma
(Democratic Republic of Congo) after Rwanda and seeing the tortured look on
people’s faces, the terror on their faces.”
A genocide was committed in Rwanda in
1994 when ruling Hutu majority extremists killed more than 800,000 minority
Tutsis and Hutu moderates in 100 days.
’RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK’
The United Nations says that since the
start of the Sudan war in April some 380,000 refugees — mostly women and
children — have fled to Chad. Hundreds of thousands more have escaped to
Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has
appealed for $1 billion to help provide aid and protection to more than 1.8
million people who are expected to flee Sudan this year. Nearly 7.1 million
people are displaced inside the country, according to the International
Organization for Migration.
Griffiths said that those inside Sudan
who had managed to escape the violence now face starvation.
“More than 60 percent of people in West
Darfur are highly food insecure, as is over half the population in East and
South Darfur,” Griffiths said. “We’re in a race against the clock.”
In recent weeks the United Nations has
been able to deliver aid into West Darfur from Chad and has aid trucks ready to
reach other parts of the region, but said “unrelenting clashes” were stopping
them from reaching the people in need.
“Darfur’s people are caught in a state
of near total deprivation. Our message is urgent: Stop the fighting and let us
through,” Griffiths said.
In Sudan the UN says half the country’s
49 million people need help and has appealed for $2.6 billion — so far, it has
secured only 26 percent of this amount. Washington is the top donor, followed
by the European Commission, Germany and Canada.
The fighting throughout Sudan has caused
a “humanitarian catastrophe,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the
Security Council last week in a report seen by Reuters.
“The growing ethnic mobilization and the
increase in ethnically motivated attacks could spark a full blown civil war,
with potentially an even more devastating impact on the Sudanese people, the
region and beyond,” Guterres wrote.
Source: arabnews.com
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------
Europe
UK to ban Russia’s Wagner Group as
‘terrorist’ organization: reports
September 06, 2023
LONDON: Britain is to ban Russian
mercenary outfit the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization, media reports
said on Tuesday, quoting Home Secretary SuellaBraverman.
The UK was set to make the Wagner Group
a “proscribed” organization under anti-terror laws, putting it on a par with
Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, a report in the Daily Mail said.
“Wagner is a violent and destructive
organization which has acted as a military tool of Vladimir Putin’s Russia
overseas,” the newspaper quoted Braverman as saying.
“While Putin’s regime decides what to do
with the monster it created, Wagner’s continuing destabilising activities only
continue to serve the Kremlin’s political goals.”
Under the Terrorism Act 2000 the home
secretary has the power to proscribe an organization if they believe it is
involved in terrorism.
A proscription order makes it a criminal
offense to support the group.
“They are terrorists, plain and simple —
and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law,” a BBC report added,
quoting the minister.
“Wagner has been involved in looting,
torture and barbarous murders,” Braverman added in the Daily Mail.
The group’s operations in Ukraine, the
Middle East and Africa “are a threat to global security,” she said.
“That is why we are proscribing this
terrorist organization and continuing to aid Ukraine wherever we can in its
fight against Russia.”
Draft measures to ban the Wagner Group
under the act will be laid in Parliament on Wednesday, the reports said.
In July, Britain announced sanctions
against 13 individuals and businesses it said had links to the Russian group in
Africa, accusing it of crimes there including killings and torture.
The people and entities targeted — which
are no longer able to deal with UK citizens, companies and banks, and have any
UK assets frozen — were allegedly involved in Wagner’s activities in Mali,
Central African Republic (CAR) and Sudan.
They included the purported head of
Wagner in Mali, Ivan AleksandrovitchMaslov; its chief in CAR,
VitaliiViktorovitchPerfilev; and the group’s operations head there, Konstantin
AleksandrovitchPikalov.
Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, who
died last month in a plane crash, had already been sanctioned by Britain
alongside several of his key commanders who had participated in Russia’s war in
Ukraine.
Prigozhin — a Kremlin confidant turned
“traitor” — died two months after ordering his troops to topple Russia’s
military leadership.
Source: arabnews.com
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Germany refuses extradition of Albanian
drug trafficker over concerns about prisons' conditions in UK
06 September 2023
A high court in Germany has refused to
extradite an Albanian “drug trafficker” to the UK because of concerns about
non-standard conditions across the UK prisons.
A lawyer who represented the Albanian
man in court, Jan-Carl Janssen, told Germany's professional judicial journal
Legal Tribune Online (LTO) on Tuesday that the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court
in south-west Germany made its decision earlier this year, but it has only
recently been made public.
“The court decided that the extradition
of the Albanian to Britain was ‘currently inadmissible’. Without British
guarantees, extradition is not possible in view of the state of the British
prison system. There are no legal remedies against this,” a translation of the
German court report said.
The Albanian man in the case had lived
in the UK and was accused of drug trafficking and money laundering by British
officials. However, he had come to Germany to visit his fiancée who lived there
and was seriously ill. Upon arrival, German police arrested him based on a red
notice from Interpol and he ended up in extradition custody.
Janssen opposed his client’s extradition
on the grounds that the conditions in the UK prisons did not comply with
minimum standards under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and
Britain’s prisons were subject to chronic overcrowding, staff shortages, and
violence among inmates.
Some of the prisons in His Majesty's
Prison Service (HMPS) have been in use since the Victorian era in the 19th
century and the rat-infested cells are partially too small, too dark, and badly
ventilated, Janssen wrote to court.
In response, the German court demanded
safety guarantees from the British side that minimum standards would be met in
accordance with the ECHR.
The British side was also asked to
inform the German court that in which prison the Albanian was due to be
detained and what his conditions of detention would be like at the prison.
Britain’s education minister warns
hundreds more school buildings in England might be crumbling and unsafe for
students.
British authorities initially replied to
the court's request. However, they refused to respond to further inquiries from
the same German court which had not been convinced about the inmate’s safety.
The Albanian man is not wanted for
offences committed in Germany and eventually, after the expiration of the
second deadline the German court decided that as it did not receive the
assurances it asked for from the UK authorities, the man would not be
extradited. He is currently free again.
The decision not to extradite the drug
trafficker to the UK has been described as a “severe rebuke” and “an
embarrassment for the UK” by a member of the Law Society.
“This is an embarrassment for the UK.
There have been similar court decisions before under the European arrest
warrant framework, but in relation to member states whose records on prisons
and human rights the UK would not wish to compare itself with,” said Jonathan
Goldsmith, a Law Society member.
In the meantime, the cash-strapped
Conservative government in Britain claims to be spending more than what is
needed to provide safe and secure prison facilities in the country.
A spokeswoman for the UK Justice
Ministry told the Guardian newspaper, "This government is doing more than
ever before to provide safe and secure prisons that rehabilitate offenders, reduce
crime, and protect the public."
"We are continuing to drive forward
the delivery of 20,000 additional modern prison places and our £100 million
($126 million) investment in tough security measures," she added.
Last year, the Independent newspaper
reported about inmates kept in a “crumbling, overcrowded, vermin-infested
prison” in south London, telling judiciary inspectors that they had been forced
to go for days – and sometimes weeks – without time in the open air.
One group of prisoners at HM Prison Wandsworth
were described as walking “blinking into the sunlight” after spending more than
a week indoors, officials found during an unannounced inspection in September.
The experience appears widespread in the
Victorian-era prison – with nearly three-quarters of inmates surveyed during
the inspection saying they had been locked in their cells for more than 22
hours on weekdays in the run-up to the inspectors’ visit, rising to 91 percent
during weekends.
With some prisoners complaining of
spending as little as 45 minutes out of their cell on some days, HM
Inspectorate of Prisons warned “there were not enough staff to make sure
prisoners received even the most basic regime”.
According to inspectors, this left
inmates forced to choose between exercising, having a shower, and using the
electronic kiosks through which they are able to access vital services and
information, including ordering food, requesting health appointments, and
joining rehabilitation programs.
The 170-year-old facility in Wandsworth
is one of the most overcrowded prisons in England and Wales, inspectors said –
with nearly three-quarters of the 1,364 prisoners in September doubling up in
cells designed for one.
Since the last inspection in 2018, the
prison has seen nine inmates take their own lives, and the rate of self-harm
had doubled in the 12 months prior to the visit.
And, despite efforts to control vermin
by prison officials, there was still a major problem with rats and mice,
inspectors warned, adding that about half of the inmates surveyed reported
normally not having enough clean clothing and sheets for the week.
As thousands of children return to the
classrooms in the UK after the summer break, it
Violent assaults at Wandsworth prison
had increased in the 12-month period leading to the inspection, with assaults
on prison guards much higher than in similar facilities.
“The inpatient mental health unit, due
to be refurbished, was not a fit place to care for seriously unwell patients,”
HMP’s chief inspector, Charlie Taylor, warned, adding: “The infrastructure of
the jail needed a lot of work: cells and landings were often tatty, some of the
showers were awful and outside areas were strewn with rubbish.”
Taylor warned “the prison, education
staff and, in particular, Home Office staff, were not doing enough to support”
foreign inmates, who comprised around 45 percent of the prison’s population.
Home Office staff had “inexplicably” absented themselves from the prison for
more than a year, the report said.
With London's HMP Wandsworth serving
Westminster Magistrate’s Court – where all European arrest warrant extradition
hearings in England and Wales are heard – some 37 inmates were being held under
immigration powers beyond the end of their sentence.
Noting that the prisoners at HMP
Wandsworth should have been held instead in immigration removal centers or in
the community, the report warned of a “growing backlog” of prisoners seeking
asylum who were still waiting for their cases to be assessed, adding:
“Detainees spent far too long in the prison with their cases unresolved.”
“[P]risoners were lucky if they got a phone
call,” the prison inspectors' report revealed.
It said the education block of the
prison had been unused since March 2020, adding that “most of the very limited”
education provision for the “desperately bored” prisoners at Wandsworth came in
the form of work packs offered to them.
Taylor suggested paying attention to
developing longer-term plans for HMP, addressing issues related to the
prisoners’ health, safety, and well-being, as well as their access to work and
education, warning that they had to deal with the consequences of their
inaction.
He particularly cited the need to
overcome the shortcomings of the HMP system to keep foreign inmates safe and
secure at its deadly, dirty, old, and dilapidated facilities.
“Leaders in this crumbling, overcrowded,
vermin-infested prison will need considerable ongoing support from the prison
service, notably with the recruitment and retention of staff, improving the
infrastructure of the jail and making sure that external agencies such as the
Home Office and the education provider pull their weight," he concluded.
Source: presstv.ir
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France rejects Assange asylum request
5 Sep, 2023
A Paris court on Tuesday rejected a
motion to grant asylum to Julian Assange, submitted earlier this year by the
Robin des Lois association on behalf of the jailed journalist.
French law requires “the presence of the
individual applicant on the national territory or of the European Union” in
order to file an asylum application, and the circumstances of Assange’s
imprisonment “do not allow an exception” to the rule, said the court in the
commune of Creteil.
Robin des Lois had requested that France
allow Assange’s asylum application from the maximum-security Belmarsh prison in
London, where the WikiLeaks founder has been held since 2019. The nonprofit
argued that asylum rules were contrary to several international conventions and
the preamble to the French constitution.
Emmanuel Ludot, who represented Robin
des Lois, told AFP that the association does not plan to appeal. He urged
French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti, who previously worked as Assange’s
lawyer, to “at last take the matter into his own hands.”
Assange, 52, has been behind bars since
April 2019, when Ecuador revoked his asylum – reportedly at the request of the
US – and turned him over to the British police. The WikiLeaks publisher had
sought sanctuary at the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012, arguing the US was
preparing to have him arrested on a manufactured pretext.
Following his arrest, the US government
unsealed an indictment charging him with Espionage Act violations, over the
2010 publication of classified military and State Department documents. The UK
has since approved his extradition to the US, which is still pending appeal. If
extradited and convicted, Assange faces up to 175 years behind bars.
Last month, the US ambassador to
Australia, Caroline Kennedy, hinted at the possibility of a plea agreement,
which could see Assange – a native of Australia – agreeing to plead guilty to
lesser charges in return for being permitted to return home to serve any
remaining prison time.
Assange has insisted that he violated no
laws, American or otherwise, and that his publication of the documents provided
by a US military whistleblower was legitimate journalism protected by the US
Constitution.
Source: rt.com
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the full text of the original
https://www.rt.com/news/582439-france-asylum-assange-wikileaks/
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Ukraine used cluster munitions against
civilians – Human Rights Watch
5 Sep, 2023
The Ukrainian military used cluster
munitions to shell the city of Izyum and caused civilian deaths, Human Rights
Watch said on Tuesday. The attack happened months before the US provided Kiev
with additional cluster shells, overruling the objections of many NATO members.
“We figured this out after the Russians
left and our investigators went there to look into the war crimes and
atrocities that were committed – and they saw remnants of cluster munitions
everywhere,” HRW’s Mary Wareham told RIA Novosti. “After finding out the
direction from which the fire came, they established that they had been used by
Ukrainian forces.”
The 2022 annual Cluster Munition Monitor
report, published by HRW this week, notes that the group had first reported on
the attack in July, but that the Ukrainian Defense Ministry officially denied
ever using such munitions in or around Izyum.
The city commands a key strategic
position in Kharkov Region and was held by Russian forces between May 2022 and
late September, when they withdrew due to a Ukrainian attack further north. In
addition to the attacks documented by HRW investigators, the Ukrainian military
had used cluster munitions against the area throughout 2022, the report noted,
citing the UN’s Independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine.
Wareham pointed out that HRW had
detailed testimonies about civilians who were killed or wounded by cluster
bombs.
A HRW report from January also included
information about the Ukrainian use of cluster munitions, as well as the
targeting of Izyum by ‘Butterfly’anti-personnel mines, which killed 11
civilians and wounded around 50, including five children. HRW said that the
Russian military informed the civilians about the danger of the mines, citing
testimonials from around 100 local residents.
“Cluster munitions are abhorrent weapons
that are globally banned because they cause both immediate and long-term
civilian harm and suffering,” Wareham said while announcing the annual report.
“It’s unconscionable that civilians are still dying from cluster munition
attacks 15 years after these weapons were outlawed.”
Ukraine, Russia, and the US are not
party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), which has sought to ban
this type of ordnance, citing its toll on civilians. Earlier this year,
Washington rejected objections from several NATO allies who are party to the
CMM and sent Kiev 155mm artillery shells loaded with dual-purpose improved
conventional munitions (DPICM).
Some US outlets have reported that the
Pentagon receives detailed reports from Ukraine about when and where its DPICM
ordnance is used. Russia has documented multiple instances of their use against
civilians in Donetsk.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/russia/582435-hrw-ukraine-cluster-civilians/
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Riots erupt in EU country after
Quran-burning protest
5 Sep, 2023
Swedish police said they were pelted
with rocks and dozens of cars were set alight as violent clashes continued in
the coastal city of Malmo on Monday, a day after the latest Quran-burning
incident sparked angry protests in the country.
“I understand that a public gathering
like this arouses strong emotions,” senior police officer Petra Stenkula said
at a Monday news conference. “But we cannot tolerate disturbances and violent
expressions like those we saw on Sunday afternoon.”
The riots began when Iraqi refugee
Salwan Momika set a copy of the Quran on fire in Malmo’s predominantly
immigrant Rosengardneighborhood, an area that has seen similar flashpoints in
the recent past. At least 15 people were arrested during the initial incident,
police said.
Early on Monday, a crowd of mostly
Muslim youths angered by the desecration of the holy text set fire to debris
and car tires in Rosengard, local media outlet DN reported. Some of those in
the crowd also reportedly threw scooters and bicycles at police, while several
cars were also burned in an underground parking garage in what police described
as a “violent riot.”
“Regardless of the reason behind these
riots, the car fires, the harassment, violence against police officers, …
regardless of the reason, I think that all Swedes find this completely
unacceptable,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Krisersson told reporters on Monday.
Momika, a prominent anti-Islam activist
who resides in the Swedish capital of Stockholm, has destroyed copies of the
Quran in a series of protests recently. Police in the EU country have permitted
the acts under its freedom of speech laws but have also stated that their move
to allow the demonstration does not amount to an endorsement of Momika’s
actions.
The spate of Quran-burning incidents in
Sweden, as well as similar planned protests in its Nordic neighbor, Norway,
have led to angry protests in several Muslim-majority countries.
Muslim leaders have called on Swedish
lawmakers to implement measures to prevent further demonstrations seen as
anti-Islam. While Stockholm says that it has no plans to reintroduce blasphemy
laws, which were dropped in the 1970s, its government has said that it is
investigating methods to reject protest permits for incidents that may lead to
national security concerns.
Source: rt.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.rt.com/news/582408-sweden-quran-burning-riots-malmo/
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Schoolchildren in Russia to be trained
on Kalashnikovs and propaganda – UK intelligence
6 SEPTEMBER 2023
New sections related to military
training, the Kremlin's vision of history and propaganda about the previous
years of the war and the so-called "special military operation"
against Ukraine [as Russian propaganda calls the war against Ukraine – ed.]
have been added to the curriculum in Russian schools.
Details: Analysts noted that this year,
Russian schoolchildren started school with an updated curriculum, which
contains more elements of military training and much information about the
so-called "special military operation" [as Russian propaganda calls
it – ed.]. Russian President Vladimir Putin personally conducted a lesson for
30 students on the first day of term.
The Russian parliament approved the
amended curriculum last year.
The history exam now includes
"Crimean reunification with Russia" [Russia’s unlawful annexation of
Crimea in 2014] and the "Special Military Operation" against Ukraine.
The subject "Basics of Life
Safety" for secondary school students includes a section on basic military
training, which covers the basics of working with a Kalashnikov rifle, hand
grenades, drones and first aid under tactical conditions.
Only the latest news, only the facts,
only the truth. Follow Ukrainska Pravda on Twitter!
"Pupils may also be visited by
Ukraine veterans," the UK MoD added.
Quote: "The new curriculum serves
three objectives: to indoctrinate students with the Kremlin rationale for the
‘Special Military Operation’, instil students with a martial mindset, and
reduce training timelines for onwards mobilisation and deployment. The
introduction of UAV operations indicates their evolving importance on the
battlefield and the lessons learnt about these systems directly from the
conflict in Ukraine."
Source: pravda.com.ua
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/09/6/7418634/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/supreme-court-religious-conversions/d/130617