Tablighi Jamaat: Supreme Court Asks Centre to Help 36 Foreigners Return Home, After They Were Exonerated Of All Charges
New
Age Islam News Bureau
21
December 2020
Supreme Court asks Centre to help 36 foreigners
return home
-----
•
Zero-Energy Ayodhya Mosque to Convey a Message on Climate Change
•
I'm Democratically Elected, Army Works Under Me: Imran Khan Responds To
Opposition's Puppet Jibe
•
Hundreds of Children Stood Trial for ‘Insulting’ Erdogan Over Six Years: Report
•
Govt Probes Religious Status of Malaysian, Illi Najwa Saddique, Who Married Indian
Hockey Captain, Manpreet Singh Pawar
•
Imam Busted over Spreading Propaganda against Security Forces
•
More Syria Sanctions In Pipeline Under US Caesar Act, US Envoy To Syria Says
•
ISIS-Linked Tunisian Terrorists Behead Shepherd near Algeria Border
India
•
Tablighi Jamaat: Supreme Court Asks Centre to Help 36 Foreigners Return Home, After
They Were Exonerated Of All Charges
•
Zero-Energy Ayodhya Mosque to Convey a Message on Climate Change
•
Bound For Their Homes, Tablighis Talk Of Waiting Children, Fight For Justice
•
Fearing 'Love Jihad' Allegations, Interfaith Couple Flees UP, Seeks Protection
in Delhi
•
Amid 'Love Jihad' Row, Himachal Pradesh Implements Act against 'Forced
Conversions'
•
Probe finds Pakistan claims on UN vehicle firing to be false: India
•
Shots fired at Pak drone near Punjab border. 11 Pak-made grenades seized
--------
Pakistan
•
I'm Democratically Elected, Army Works Under Me: Imran Khan Responds To
Opposition's Puppet Jibe
•
Pakistani PM Denies Reports of Israel Talks, Muslim Cleric Supports Ties
•
Imran Khan Warns India against ‘False Flag’ Attacks In Kashmir
•
Opposition didn’t ask army chief to overthrow govt: Ahsan
•
Pakistan asks UN to probe Indian attack on observers
•
Process Of Vaccine Approval In Pakistan To Be Expedited
•
Govt ready to sit with PDM to solve issues: Chaudhry Sarwar
•
UAE royals arrive in Chagai for hunting Houbara bustards
--------
Mideast
•
Hundreds of Children Stood Trial for ‘Insulting’ Erdogan Over Six Years: Report
•
Senior Arab Analyst: Israel Begging Biden to Strike Deal with Iran
•
Parliament Condemns EU’s Anti-Iran Resolution
•
Turkey sentences Kurdish ex-MP Guven to 22 years in jail
•
Iran parliament rejects bill to ban military commanders from running for
president
•
Iran news agency calls for investigating Austrian envoy for traveling across
country
•
Book claims slain Iranian IRGC Commander Soleimani ordered killing of Yemen’s
Saleh
--------
Southeast
Asia
•
Govt Probes Religious Status of Malaysian, Illi Najwa Saddique, Who Married Indian
Hockey Captain, Manpreet Singh Pawar
•
Citing ‘hedonism’, Putrajaya-linked missionary group wants plus-size pageant
shut down
•
Apologise for unethical remarks, demolishing temple, Hindus tell Kedah MB
--------
South
Asia
•
Imam Busted over Spreading Propaganda against Security Forces
•
27 Taliban Killed in Helmand, Kandahar: MoD
•
Women, children killed as car bomb targets Afghan lawmaker in Kabul
•
Officials Defuse 9 Mines in Kandahar, Saving Lives
•
Abdullah Heads to Tajikistan on Afghan Peace
--------
Arab
World
•
More Syria Sanctions In Pipeline Under US Caesar Act, US Envoy To Syria Says
•
Riyadh Agreement implementation in Yemen a step toward peace, stability:
Bahrain FM
•
Saudi Arabia, UAE used Israeli spyware to hack phones of three dozen journalists:
Report
•
Iraq's top Shia leaders condemn rocket attack on US embassy, call for state of
emergency
•
73 US trucks loaded with military, logistic equipment in Syria’s Hasakah: SANA
•
At least 3 Katyusha rockets target US embassy in Iraq’s Green Zone
--------
Africa
•
ISIS-Linked Tunisian Terrorists Behead Shepherd near Algeria Border
•
Three people killed, five injured in Ethiopia explosion
•
Somalia accuses Kenya of arming local militia to attack its forces amid rising
tensions
--------
North
America
•
US Prepared To 'React' If Iran Tries To Avenge Qassem Soleimani Killing: Top
General
•
US warship to help ongoing troop withdrawal from Somalia
•
Dignity of Iranian nation infuriates US deep state
--------
Europe
•
Germany, Finland to Repatriate Women, Children Nationals from Syria
•
Germany brings home 3 women, 12 kids from camps in Syria
•
EU complicit in Saudi-UAE genocide in Yemen: Parliament member
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/tablighi-jamaat-supreme-court-asks/d/123832
--------
Tablighi
Jamaat: Supreme Court Asks Centre to Help 36 Foreigners Return Home, After They
Were Exonerated Of All Charges
Dec
21, 2020
Supreme Court asks Centre to help 36 foreigners
return home
-----
The
Supreme Court has asked the Central government to assist 36 foreigners in going
back to their countries after they were exonerated of all charges of flouting
Covid-19-related guidelines by participating in the Tablighi Jamaat
congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area.
A
bench, led by Justice AM Khanwilkar, took note of applications made by the
foreigners during a hearing on Friday and asked a government-appointed nodal
officer to facilitate their return.
Senior
advocate Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for the 36 foreign nationals from 14
countries, had put forth their pleas, pointing out that all these applicants
were grateful to the top court for expediting their trial before a subordinate
court.
When
Guruswamy sought the intervention of the bench for the smooth departure of
these foreigners, the court said that it would implore the nodal officer to
process this request.
“They
may make representation to the nodal officer for facilitating their return to
home country which may be processed appropriately and in accordance with law,”
said the bench, which also included Justices BR Gavai and Krishna Murari.
The
court, however, added that the direction to the nodal officer was independent
of any decision to be taken by Delhi Police to challenge the acquittal.
Solicitor
general Tushar Mehta assured the bench that in case any foreign national who
has been exonerated has any difficulty in travelling back, their lawyers may
get in touch with his office for assistance.
The
court also placed on record its appreciation for Mehta after senior advocate
Salman Khurshid, representing some of the foreigners, commended the SG for
rendering all possible help.
On
December 15, a Delhi court had dropped all charges against the 36 foreign
nationals, citing lack of incriminating evidence. The trial court said that the
prosecution failed to prove the presence of any of the accused inside the
headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat between March 12 and April 1, when the
alleged violations took place.
Previously,
the cases against eight other foreign nationals were closed after they paid the
Rs 10,000 penalty.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/tablighi-jamaat-supreme-court-asks-centre-to-help-36-foreigners-return-home/story-uU0kjS9PThkgEZ9aT03XOP.html
--------
Zero-Energy
Ayodhya Mosque to Convey a Message on Climate Change
Dec
20, 2020
The complex would come up on five acres of land
allotted to the board following the November 2019 order of the Supreme Court in
the Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid case. (Special Arrangement)
-----
The
Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board (UPSCWB) has unveiled the blueprint of
the mosque along with other buildings which will be constructed on the
five-acre land, allotted by the Uttar Pradesh government in Dhannipur village
of Ayodhya. If the proposed maps get the required approval from the Faizabad
Panchayat district board, work on the site will start immediately, officials
have said.
Here’s
everything you need to know about the plan and design of the mosque:
1.
The plan and design were showcased during an interaction with the professor SM
Akhtar, who is the consultant architect for the mosque complex project. Retired
JNU professor Pushpesh Pant, who is the curator of the museum, along with
Mumbai-based philanthropist Mohammad Shoib also took part in the event
virtually.
2.
The rectangular layout of the complex in Dhannipur village also includes a
speciality hospital, community kitchen and a museum housed in a multi-storey
vertical structure. These will be metres away from the mosque and a century-old
Sufi shrine will be in between.
3.
The mosque will be spherical in shape and will be able to accommodate 2,000 Namazis
or worshippers at a time and will be four times bigger than the Babri Masjid.
The 300-bed hospital complex will be six times the size of the mosque. It will
be built on 3,500 square metres of land while the hospital and other facilities
will straddle an area of 24,150 square metres.
4.
The building will be zero-energy to convey a message on climate change. All
power demands in the mosque will be met with the help of solar panels and there
will be no electricity connection
5.
A green patch will be developed and saplings will be procured from all over the
world, including Amazon rainforest, places where the bushfire took place in
Australia and other geographical locations in India.
6.
The community kitchen and museum have been curated by Pant.
7.
There will be no grand celebration for the foundation stone laying ceremony of
the mosque.
8.
There is no detailed plan to collect contributions for the project. Two
separate bank accounts have been created to collect money for the construction
– the first for the mosque and the second, for other structures.
9.
The name of the mosque has been not agreed upon but it has been decided that it
will not be named after Babar or any other king, emperor or ruler, according to
the board.
10.
The structure is expected to be ready in two years.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/5-acre-land-zero-energy-structure-mosque-in-ayodhya-s-dhannipur-village/story-FJAVndgFZaMraRF5wxHptN.html
--------
I'm
Democratically Elected, Army Works Under Me: Imran Khan Responds To Opposition's
Puppet Jibe
December
19, 2020
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. (Photo: AP)
-----
Taking
on the Opposition over its "puppet" prime minister jibe, Pakistan
Prime Minister Imran Khan has asserted that the Pakistani Army is a state
institution and that it works under him.
The
Opposition in Pakistan for long has been attacking Imran Khan alleging that the
country's military establishment interferes in its politics and elections.
Pakistan
Democratic Movement (PDM), a 11-party opposition alliance, has been holding
massive rallies since its inception in September to seek Imran Khan's ouster
and press the military to stop interfering in politics.
The
PDM has been accusing the Pakistan Army of installing "puppet" Prime
Minister Khan through a manipulated election in 2018.
The
Army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 70 plus years of
existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in the matters of security
and foreign policy. However, the military has denied meddling in the country's
politics. Khan also denies that the army helped him win the election in 2018.
In
a report, PTI said, "According to the 'Lahore Declaration' signed by the
Opposition parties on Monday, the military establishment had stolen the
people's mandate in the 2018 election and imposed a 'hybrid and inefficient'
government on the masses."
It
was this attack that Imran Khan was reportedly responding to during an
interview to SAMAA TV on Friday. In it, the Pakistan PM said the Pakistan Army
is a state institution, which works under him.
On
Opposition's claims that his government wouldn't hold if the military did not
support it, Imran Khan said reportedly said he is the country's democratically
elected prime minister and so the institutions back him.
Pakistan
Muslim League-Nawaz supremo and three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
has been repeatedly blaming Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and spy agency ISI
chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed of meddling in Pakistan's political affairs.
Sharif
was ousted from power in 2017 by the Supreme Court on corruption charges. He is
currently out on bail, has been living in London since November last year after
he was allowed by the courts and the government to go there for a period of
eight weeks for medical treatment. But he did not come back, while his lawyers
told the court that he was still recovering.
Khan
said the Opposition does not want to hold talks with the government and is
instead pressuring the Army to send a democratic government packing. This can
be called treason, he said.
https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/pakisatn-pm-imran-khan-army-relations-nawaz-sharif-1751221-2020-12-19
--------
Hundreds
of Children Stood Trial for ‘Insulting’ Erdogan Over Six Years: Report
Jennifer
Bell
20
December 2020
Figures
have shown 903 minors – including 264 children aged between 12 and 14 – stood
trial for “insulting” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over a six-year
period.
The
Justice Ministry statistics revealed that a total of 128,872 probes were
launched over six years for insulting the president, and prosecutors have
evaluated 36,066 complaints and launched criminal cases for 11,371 of them, in
just 2019 alone.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
According
to Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code, “insulting” the president can result
in a prison sentence of between one and four years. If the act is committed
overtly, a one-sixth increase of the sentence is applied.
The
figures showed 903 minors between the ages of 12 and 17 stood trial over the
said charges over six years.
Justice
Ministry statistics showed that criminal cases were launched for 27,717 of the
128,872 probes in six years, and in 31,109 cases, prosecutors decided to not
lodge charges.
A
total of 9,556 individuals have been convicted, usually for social media posts,
and 2,676 people were handed prison sentences, out of which seven are children,
including one between the ages of 12 and 14. Some 4,325 individuals were
acquitted.
A
total of 234 foreigners and eight legal entities were sued and nine foreigners
were handed prison terms.
There
has been a dramatic uptick in the number of cases filed for “insulting” the
president during Erdogan’s tenure.
The
Constitutional Court in 2016 rejected the proposal to annul the 299th Article,
saying that it’s necessary for “the protection of the public order and a
democratic society.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/20/Hundreds-of-children-stood-trial-for-insulting-Erdo-an-over-six-years-report
--------
Govt
Probes Religious Status of Malaysian, Illi Najwa Saddique, Who Married Indian
Hockey Captain, Manpreet Singh Pawar
December
20, 2020
KOTA
BHARU: The government has asked a Malaysian woman, Illi Najwa Saddique, who is
married to Indian hockey captain Manpreet Singh Pawar, to come forward and
explain their religious status.
Deputy
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Ahmad Marzuk
Shaary said the government was very sensitive about the matter and the woman
would be summoned as soon as she returned home.
He
said so far the ministry was still waiting for the official decision from the
Johor Islamic Religious Department on the religious status of the woman.
“We
understand that she is from Johor. According to preliminary information we
obtained, she is still a Muslim and so far the government has not received an
application from her to marry abroad.
“In
fact, from what I have read on social media sites, it was also said that the
woman is still a Muslim and the man is said to have converted to Islam at the
end of last year.
“But
we will wait for confirmation when she returns,” he said after distributing aid
to fishermen and farmers here today.
Commenting
further, Marzuk said the government had not received any application from the
woman to leave Islam.
“Currently,
we are thinking positively that the woman is still a Muslim but the customs she
went through there contradict our religion. If she is still a Muslim, then she
must repent,” he said.
Earlier,
the media reported that Indian hockey captain Manpreet Singh Pawar wed his
Malaysian lover, Illi Najwa Saddique, in Mithapur, near Jalandhar, Punjab.
Manpreet,
28, wore a Punjabi wedding suit complete with turban, while Illi Najwa was
attired in a Punjabi wedding dress when they exchanged vows. This raised
questions among netizens about the woman’s religious status.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/12/20/govt-probes-religious-status-of-malaysian-who-married-indian-hockey-star/
--------
Imam
Busted over Spreading Propaganda against Security Forces
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
19
Dec 2020
Amrullah
Saleh, the first vice president, said that in a mosque in the fourth district,
the imam was spreading propaganda against the security forces in imitation of
ISIS and the Taliban.
Saleh
added, that the man was being instructed from far distances, and was being
summoned today under a security pact to end his misdeeds and misleads.
Saleh
said the insults and humiliation of the security and defense forces were
intolerable and that they needed all our political, cultural, religious, and
social support.
According
to Saleh, wrong conspiracies against the country’s security forces is a crime
under the law and will be investigated.
According
to the Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs, most of the mosques in the
country are outside the ministry’s administration, so people do not know how
much propaganda is being spread in these mosques against the government and
security forces.
He
also said that two terrorists who had come to Kabul to plant magnetic mines and
were previously involved in such acts had been detained by security forces.
According
to the first vice president, one of these individuals claims that his family
has been taken hostage by the Taliban and forced him to carry out such acts.
https://www.khaama.com/imam-busted-over-spreading-propaganda-against-security-forces-8796544/
--------
More
Syria sanctions in pipeline under US Caesar Act, US envoy to Syria says
Emina
Osmandzikovic
20
December 2020
US
objectives in Syria are to end the near decade-long conflict, diffuse tensions,
and secure a political solution that will pave the way for remaining foreign
forces to leave the country, a senior US diplomat told Al Arabiya English.
The
official also said that sanctions placed on Syria have been effective, and
there are more sanctions in the pipeline.
Seen
as the pathway out of conflict in Syria, the Caesar Act has been effective
since mid-2020 when the US slapped sanctions on Syria that aim to put economic
pressure on the Syrian government, including President Bashar al-Assad.
Thirty-nine entities that conduct business with the regime, including Russian,
Iranian and other regional counterparts, have also been subject to sanctions.
“The
Caesar Act has been very effective in pressuring the Assad regime and its
enablers,” said Joel Rayburn, US Special Envoy for Syria in the US State
Department, in an interview with Al Arabiya English.
“And
yes, you can expect more severe Caesar Act sanctions in the future,” he said.
Since
June 2020, the Syrian economy has reached a new low following the imposition of
additional sanctions on the Assad regime and its major supporters in the Middle
East region. The crisis in neighboring Lebanon has also dealt a heavy blow to
Syria as the countries’ economies are inextricably linked.
Unlike
previous sanctions, the Caesar Act implements the most wide-ranging set of
measures against the Syrian government to date and brings under its
jurisdiction third-country actors who engage in such activities, including the
cross-border business networks that are crucial to the regime’s survival,
according to the Brookings Institution.
The
objective of the ‘summer of Caesar,’ as it is popularly known in the US State
Department, has been to minimize the military support and the illicit funding
pathways between the Assad regime and its largest supporters in the region,
including Hezbollah and the Iranian regime.
The
imposition of sanctions will continue indefinitely until all parties accede to
the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2254, which expresses support
for a Syrian-led political process, calling for a ceasefire and a political
settlement to the current crisis.
“We
expect [sanctions] to continue on a regular basis. And inside the US
government, we have a whole machinery now that is built to impose these
sanctions on a routine basis and to continue to uncover the sources of support
that the Assad regime uses,” he said.
Prior
to the Caesar Act, the Syrian regime had avoided the US Treasury’s blacklist by
funneling money through Lebanon’s banking system, which Iran uses to funnel money
to the Assad regime.
“We
[have] been able to stop some of that,” Rayburn said, pointing to the fact that
the collapse of the Lebanese financial sector has made it hard for anyone, not
just the Assad regime, to get foreign currency out of Beirut’s financial
sector.
Regardless,
while Lebanese banks hole up foreign currency in the country, fuel and funds
have continued to flow from Lebanon to Syria. Where authorities in Lebanon have
said they will crack down on the issue, trucks are still seen crossing the
border.
“We
are watching [the smuggling issue] very closely. And we have very robust
sanctions authorities that we can use when we uncover that kind of activity.
So, people should beware,” Rayburn added.
ISIS
attacks increase
ISIS
attacks in Syria and its neighboring countries have increased significantly in
2020, with the group aiming to retake territory and resources, according to the
Middle East Institute. The drawdown of US forces from Syria and Iraq has left
significant security gaps, and there is a threat they will be filled by ISIS or
its regional affiliates.
“It
is going to require continued military pressure, law enforcement pressure, and
local political pressure to make sure that ISIS or other groups similar to it,
al-Qaeda in Syria, for example, cannot take advantage of, let’s say, unstable
conditions on the ground to try to make a comeback,” Rayburn said.
“We
have been very fortunate that the US government has maintained support for our
local security partners, the Syrian Democratic Forces and others in Syria, the
Iraqi security forces and the [Kurdish] Peshmerga in Iraq, in order to keep
that pressure on Daesh,” he added.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/20/Syria-crisis-More-Syria-sanctions-in-pipeline-under-US-Caesar-Act-US-envoy-to-Syria-says
--------
ISIS-linked
Tunisian terrorists behead shepherd near Algeria border
20
December 2020
Terrorist
militants kidnapped and beheaded a young shepherd in mountains in Tunisia near
the border with Algeria on Sunday, security sources and residents said.
Troops
found the body of Okba Dhouibi after he had been seized by militants, the
sources said.
Prime
Minister Hichem Mechichi said that act would not go unpunished.
Tunisian
forces are carrying out operations in the Kasserine and Saloum mountain range
to flush out Ajned Kilafha militants allied to ISIS.
Militants
linked to Al Qaeda and ISIS groups has been sheltering for years in the
desolate, hilly terrain along a stretch of the border with Algeria and
sometimes clash with security forces there, but the threat is regarded as
having been contained.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/north-africa/2020/12/20/ISIS-linked-Tunisian-terrorists-behead-shepherd-near-Algeria-border
--------
India
Bound
For Their Homes, Tablighis Talk Of Waiting Children, Fight For Justice
By
Sourav Roy Barman
December
20, 2020
On
the surface, the Tablighi Jamaat members appear content — looking forward to
going home and meeting their loved ones. But a gentle prodding brings forth the
anguish, of spending nearly a year in a foreign land, while facing public
vilification, accusations of spreading a pandemic, and a long court trial,
before finally being exonerated.
“My
mother suffered two brain strokes while I was stuck in India. My old father and
wife had to take care of her,” says Jahedul Islam, 32, from Bangladesh. When he
contacted the Bangladesh Embassy, he says, they told him their enquiries
regarding his status were being stonewalled. “I get a sense that the Bangladesh
government is miffed with the way we have been treated.”
However,
Islam hastily adds, he is not complaining. “Eta kintu abhijog na, apnake khali
situation ta bolchilam (I am not complaining, I am just narrating the situation
to you)… But I am happy that truth has prevailed,” Islam, who runs a steel
workshop in Munshiganj district, says.
On
December 15, a Delhi court acquitted the last of the 36 foreign Tablighi Jamaat
nationals, including Islam, charged with violating Covid guidelines when
attending a gathering in the Capital in March. Of the 952 foreigners charged,
44 had chosen to stand trial rather than take a plea bargain, and eight had
been acquitted earlier.
Acquitting
the 36, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Arun Kumar Garg pulled up the police and
said “the prosecution has even failed to prove the disobedience of any of the
directions” issued by the authorities.
Islam,
a father of three, arrived in India on January 20. He was at the Tablighi
Markaz in Delhi for a congregation till March 5, before moving to Mewat, the
founding place of the Islamic spiritual movement. He was detained and kept in
two different quarantine centres run by the Delhi government for over two
months.
“At
the Narela temporary detention facility, they locked us from outside, while
providing what we needed, like food, medicines. At another place, we were kept
in rooms that turned into furnaces during the summer, but at least we could
move around,” he recalls.
While
on May 9 the Delhi government ordered the release of the Indian Tablighi
members from quarantine centres, it directed that the foreigners be taken into
police custody. On May 28, the Delhi High Court released them, allowing them to
be shifted to alternative accommodations.
Irfan,
39, an Australian national, was picked up along with his wife from a friend’s place
in the Batla House area, where they had been staying since March 22. They were
at the Markaz for a couple of hours. The couple’s three-year-old son has been
back home in Brisbane all this while.
A
mechanical engineer who left India in 2004, Irfan says, “My wife and I had
registered our names while entering the Markaz building, and I guess that is
where the police got our names and contacts from. We had come to visit Delhi,
and Markaz was part of our itinerary. But we did not spend even a night there.”
Irfan
and his wife were in detention for 62 days before getting bail. “The government
school where we were kept was filthy and we cleaned it ourselves. I could not
even grasp what was happening with me,” he says. They told their son, who
studies in Class 3, that they were stuck due to the lockdown. “How else do you
convince a child?” Irfan says.
A
business development manager with a firm in Brisbane, he is worried about
retaining his job given his long absence.
Afuaan,
52, the owner of an advertising firm based in Indonesia’s Sumatra that designs
outdoor campaigns, says while the court verdict has left him “largely happy”, a
part of his heart would always be sad at leaving India, “a land where I learnt
everything about life”. Afuaan fears he may not be able to return as the Centre
has blacklisted his visa along with that of the 959 others.
“My
wife and my staffers tried keeping the business afloat. But we have suffered
huge losses… But you see, we are taught not to complain or be bitter,” he adds,
smiling.
Abdullah
Ramadhan, 23, is from a village near Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, where he
teaches Islamic scriptures and assists the family in farming. Explaining why he
chose to fight rather than take a plea bargain, Ramadhan says, “It is simple.
We firmly believed that the charges against us were wrong and unfair.”
Senior
advocate Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi, who led the legal defence of the Tablighis, says
the court verdict “reflects the capacity, independence and competence of the
Indian lower judiciary”, and is not worried about the police appealing against
the order. “I hope the verdict will have a good impact across the globe as the
case involved citizens from so many countries.”
On
Friday, the petitioners told the Supreme Court that since they had paid bail
bonds of six months (Rs 10,000 each), they should be allowed to leave. The
hearing was held on a petition filed by them in June claiming denial of rights
and challenging their blacklisting.
“We
told the Supreme Court that 36 Indian nationals would stand guarantee that the
foreigners will return if the law requires them to. The Court asked us to
approach a nodal officer (of the Delhi Police) and the Solicitor General to get
their passports and facilitate their return. The lookout circulars against them
also need to be revoked and they need exit visas as their normal visas have
been cancelled,” a Tablighi Jamaat functionary said.
The
complex web of legal intricacies means Islam still has no answer when his
five-year-old son asks on the phone that single question: “Abbu tumi kobe ashba
(Father, when will you return)?”
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/bound-for-their-homes-tablighis-talk-of-waiting-children-fight-for-justice-7111774/
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Fearing
'Love Jihad' Allegations, Interfaith Couple Flees UP, Seeks Protection in Delhi
21
December, 2020
New
Delhi: An interfaith couple who fled from Uttar Pradesh’s Shajahanpur in late
November, fearing that they would be harassed by their families and the police
for choosing a partner from another religion, applied for the registration of
their marriage under the Special Marriage Act after the Delhi government said
in court that the couple would be provided with a safe house and police
security, if required.
Shameem
(25) and Simran (21) had petitioned the Delhi high court on December 16,
seeking protection from their families as well as the Uttar Pradesh police,
Indian Express reported. The couple also asked the court to say that should the
UP police register a case, they would not be taken out of the Delhi high court’s
jurisdiction without prior permission.
The
court did not allow this plea, saying it was based on speculation. Justice Anu
Malhotra said on Wednesday that the prayers “are in the realm of speculation”
and “no such orders in relation thereto can be granted presently”, according to
the Indian Express.
The
couple fled Shahjahanpur in November because Simran’s parents were forcing her
to marry someone else. “The new law [UP’s ‘anti-conversion’ ordinance] is a
problem for interfaith couples. That was one of the reasons we left
Shahjahanpur,” Shameem told Indian Express. “Agar wahan se karte, toh love
jihad keh dete (if we had married there, they would have called it love jihad)…
even if I wasn’t being forced into marriage, they would have said that because
I am with a Muslim boy. In UP, they do this deliberately to trap the man,”
Simran added.
On
arriving in Delhi, the two contacted an NGO that helped them file their legal
plea. The couple said they plan to get married under the Special Marriage Act,
without either of them converting religions.
Shameem
and Simran’s fears regarding how their relationship would be viewed in Uttar
Pradesh are not unwarranted.
In
recent months, BJP-run states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh
have revealed plans to enact laws to counter “love jihad” – a term coined by
Sangh parivar outfits to describe an imaginary Muslim conspiracy to convert
unsuspecting Hindu women to Islam.
Uttar
Pradesh, which has a significant Muslim population, has been first to pass an
ordinance or an executive order to tackle
‘love jihad’. According to the ordinance, a marriage will be declared
null and void if a woman converts into a religion solely for marriage. Those
wishing to change their religion after their wedding would need to apply to the
district magistrate a month in advance.
The
state’s cabinet approved the ordinance even though on November 11, the
Allahabad high court denounced a judgment by a single-judge bench that chief
minister Yogi Adityanath had openly cited as proof that his crusade against
‘love jihad’ had merit.
As
several experts and analysts have pointed out, the law is framed in vague
language and appears to be intended for the harassment of interfaith couples,
rather than serious worries about ‘forced conversion’. According to The Hindu,
as many as 11 FIRs have already been filed under the new law, and at least 34
people arrested.
https://thewire.in/communalism/fearing-love-jihad-allegations-interfaith-couple-flees-up-seeks-protection-in-delhi
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Amid
'Love Jihad' Row, Himachal Pradesh Implements Act Against 'Forced Conversions'
20
December 2020
A
more stringent law against conversion by force, inducement or through marriages
solemnised for the “sole purpose” of adopting a new religion, with a provision
of up to seven years in jail for violators, has come into force in BJP-ruled
Himachal Pradesh, over a year after it was passed by the state assembly.
The
Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2019 was notified by the state home
department on Friday. It replaces a 2006 law that has been repealed by the
assembly.
The
development comes in the backdrop of the Uttar Pradesh government notifying an
ordinance last month against forcible or fraudulent religious conversion that
provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and a maximum fine of Rs 50,000
under different categories.
Several
other BJP-ruled states are mulling such laws which party leaders say are aimed
at fighting ''love jihad'', a term used by them for the alleged tricking of
Hindu women into converting to Islam for marriage.
The
bill was passed in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on August 30 last year and had
received the governor's assent. However, it took over 15 months for the home
department to issue the notification for its implementation.
There
is a provision of stringent punishment of up to seven years in jail in the Act
as compared to the three years under the old Himachal Pradesh Freedom of
Religion Act, 2006, which was on similar lines.
The
Act prohibits conversion by misrepresentation, force, undue influence,
coercion, inducement, marriage or any fraudulent means.
Any
marriage for the sole purpose of conversion will also be declared null and void
under Section 5 of the Act.
Asked
about the delay in notifying the law, Law Minister Suresh Bhardwaj told PTI
that the home department had to lay down rules for the proper procedure to be
adopted for implementing the Act, so the delay in issuance of the notification
could be because of that.
The
home department is being additionally looked after by Chief Minister Jai Ram
Thakur.
When
contacted, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Manoj Kumar said he was on leave
for about a month and the in-charge officer will be able to answer the query.
As
per the Act, anyone seeking to convert will need to give a month's notice to
the district magistrate, stating that the person is converting on his/her own.
The provision figured in the 2006 law as well and was challenged in court.
The
priest who performs a conversion ceremony will also give a month's notice in
advance. Those reconverting to their “parent religion” are exempted from this
provision.
According
to the new Act, if Dalits, women or minors were made to convert, the jail term
will be between two-seven years.
Section
10 of the Act states that no person or organisation violating the provisions
will be allowed to accept any donation or contribution of any kind from within
or outside the country.
The
Opposition had supported the Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill,
2019, in the state Assembly and the
legislation was passed unanimously with a voice vote.
Explaining
the objective and reason behind the legislation, the government had said in the
Assembly that it was being introduced as the society had undergone many changes
since the enactment of the previous bill due to which stringent and effective
legislation was required to check forced religious conversions, which are
"on the rise" in the state.
https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-as-bjp-states-mull-love-jihad-laws-himachal-pradesh-implements-act-against-forced-conversion/367850
--------
Probe
finds Pakistan claims on UN vehicle firing to be false: India
Dec
20, 2020
NEW
DELHI: India slammed Pakistan on Sunday for claiming that Indian forces had
fired at a UN vehicle in POK as it asked Islamabad to probe its own lapses in
ensuring security for UN personnel instead of making baseless and fabricated
allegations. Pakistan had earlier said it had taken up the “reprehensible”
attack on UNMOGIP observers by India with the UN.
The
government responded with a statement saying that allegations by Pakistan
regarding Indian forces targeting a UN vehicle on December 18 had been
investigated in detail and found to be factually incorrect and false. “Our
forward troops were aware of the visit of UN military observers in the area and
did not conduct any firing as alleged,” said MEA spokesperson Anurag
Srivastava.
Instead
of repeating baseless and fabricated allegations against India to cover up its
own failure in ensuring the safety and security of UN personnel in territory
under its control, said the official. India has conveyed its findings and views
on these misrepresentations to the Pakistani side, he added. Pakistan has
sought a “transparent” investigation into the incident by UN. Pakistan’s
permanent representative to the UN stated that “deliberate targeting” of the UN
observers and their vehicle appeared to be a “new coercive and reckless ploy”
by India to hinder UNMOGIP’s work.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pakistans-allegations-on-attacks-by-indian-troops-on-un-vehicle-found-false-following-probe-india/articleshow/79827398.cms
--------
Shots
fired at Pak drone near Punjab border. 11 Pak-made grenades seized
Shishir
Gupta
Dec
21, 2020
Security
forces have seized 11 hand grenades suspected to have been dropped by a drone
flying in from across the Pakistan border into Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, a
senior police officer said on Monday. The grenades are suspected to have been
made by an ordnance factory in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi.
The
consignment of Arges Type HG-84 series grenades, packed in a plastic box, is
the eight instance of seizure of firearms and grenades smuggled into the
country for terrorists from across the border in the last 15 months, a senior
Punjab Police officer said.
The
Arges HG-84 is an anti-personnel fragmentation grenade designed to inflict
massive damage against soft targets within its blast radius, spraying shrapnel
out to a distance of 30 meters at speed. The Arges grenade, manufactured by an
Austrian firm, have been used in major attacks in India – including the 2008
Mumbai strike, the 1993 Mumbai blasts and the 2001 Parliament attack. The Wah
Cantonment Ordnance factory in Rawalpindi earlier had a franchise to
manufacture the high-explosive grenades.
The
seizure comes weeks after an alert by intelligence agencies that cautioned
security personnel about Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence’s moves to
acquire upgraded versions of drones from China that can carry large quantities
of firearms in every sortie.
The
first instance of ISI-backed terror groups using drones to smuggle weapons in
Punjab was on 19 August 2019 when security personnel spotted a large quadcopter
dropping a weapon consignment of 10 kg including AK 47 rifles, MP9 rifle,
pistols and fake Indian currency. This drone, however, ran out of battery on
its way back and fell within Indian territory.
Counter-terror
officials in Delhi said Pakistani terror groups and the ISI could have been
using drones for arms trafficking for much longer.
“Lately,
the drones have been getting bigger and more powerful, triggering concerns that
these could not only be used to carry larger quantities of arms but also rain
explosives at security camps in border areas,” an official said.
This
improves the capacity of the ISI to supply weapons for Khalistani terror groups
as well as its groups in Jammu and Kashmir.
Police
teams found the packet with 11 grenades during a search on Sunday morning.
Border
Security Force personnel at the Chakri border outpost in Gurdaspur sector had
spotted a drone entering Indian territory shortly before Saturday midnight. The
soldiers, and later Punjab police officers also, fired at the drone but
couldn’t bring it down. They also alerted Punjab Police who also tried to bring
down the drone.
The
packet was found near Dhussi bandh in Salach village of Gurdaspur’s Dorangla
area. A senior police officer said the box of grenades had been attached with a
wooden frame and lowered from the drone to the ground from a nylon rope.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/shots-fired-at-pak-drone-near-punjab-border-11-pak-made-grenades-seized/story-dvnqrMuarrlFlBDgr89UTK.html
--------
Pakistan
Pakistani
PM Denies Reports Of Israel Talks, Muslim Cleric Supports Ties
By
TOVAH LAZAROFF
DECEMBER
20, 2020
Pakistan’s
Prime Minister Imran Khan has denied reports of behind-the-scenes efforts to
establish ties between his country and Israel.
Separately,
a Pakistani cleric and politician Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani reportedly said
that he supported relations with Israel.
Khan
rejected reports about the possibility of formal relations with Israel on
Friday in an interview with Samaa TV published on Friday, the substance of
which was published in the Saudi Arabian-based Arab News.
He
responded directly to a charge by Noor Dahri, the founder of British
think-tank, Islamic Theology of Counter-Terrorism, who claimed that an adviser
to the prime minister had visited Israel at the end of November.
Dahri,
who has been attacked on social media following his statements on Twitter and
to the Israeli media, including The Jerusalem Post about the trip, has been
very specific about the details.
“It
was a morning of the last week of Nov... at around 8 a.m., a British Airways
flight BA0165 flew from London Heathrow airport to Tel Aviv. The person, who booked
business class, travelled from Pak[istan],” he tweeted.
The
Foreign Ministry has denied any knowledge of such a trip.
Dahri
said that the adviser met with Israeli officials and that Saudi Arabia was
pressuring Pakistan to normalize relations with Israel by way of weaning it
away from the Turkish-Iranian axis.
According
to Arab News, Khan said that his country would not recognize Israel until the
conflict with the Palestinians was resolved. He questioned why anyone would go
to Israel, given that there are no ties between the countries.
Arab
News reported that Khan said, “This is absolutely fake news,”
On
Sunday Dahri posted on his twitter page information about a speech in Pashto
that he said Sherani delivered on Saturday.
“Sherani
a prominent religious figure, a Central Leader of JUI-F @juipakofficial and
Ex-Chairman of the Pakistan Ideology Council says he supports Israel’s
recognition. He says in Pashto, Israel’s recognition is an international
issue.”
Israel
in the last four months has ratified normalization deals with the United Arab
Emirates and Bahrain. Sudan, Morocco and Bhutan have also announced the
normalization of relations with Israel.
Speculation
is high that other deals with Muslim and Arab countries could be forthcoming,
such as with Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan and Indonesia.
Israel
has a long history of covert ties with Pakistan and has tried on a number of
occasions to establish diplomatic relations with Pakistan.
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/pakistani-pm-denies-reports-of-israel-talks-muslim-cleric-supports-ties-652734
--------
Imran
Khan Warns India against ‘False Flag’ Attacks In Kashmir
Posted
by Nilavro Ghosh
Dec
21, 2020
Pakistan’s
military was on high alert in Kashmir on Monday as its Prime Minister warned
India against carrying out any “false flag” operations in the disputed region
after a UN vehicle in the Pakistan-held part came under attack.
Pakistan
blamed Friday’s attack on India, implying it was aimed at embarrassing
Islamabad and harming relations with the international community. The two UN
observers in the vehicle escaped unharmed.
“I
am making absolutely clear to the (international) community that if India was
to be reckless enough to conduct a false flag operation against Pakistan, it
would confront a strong national Pakistani resolve & be given a befitting
response at all levels of the threat. Make no mistake,” Prime Minister Imran
Khan tweeted Sunday.
Pakistan
says the attack on the UN vehicle was deliberate, as such vehicles are clearly
marked and “recognizable even from long distances.”
The
UN confirmed the attack and said it was being investigated.
India
has not commented on the attack or responded to Khan’s tweets.
The
two nuclear-armed nations are bitter rivals which have fought three wars since
gaining independence from British rule in 1947, two of them over the Himalayan
region of Kashmir. The territory is split between Indian and Pakistani control,
and both claim it in its entirety.
The
two sides often exchange fire across the heavily-guarded Line of Control in
Kashmir. Each accuses the other of routinely violating a 2003 cease-fire.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/imran-khan-warns-india-against-false-flag-attacks-in-kashmir/story-FjvQ42YCZTpaEWIiJ7UlgP.html
--------
Pakistan
asks UN to probe Indian attack on observers
Syed
Irfan Raza
21
Dec 2020
ISLAMABAD:
With yet another Kashmiri woman falling victim to unrelenting ceasefire
violations by Indian troops only a day after they targeted a vehicle of the UN
Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC),
Pakistan has taken up the reprehensible attack on the UNMOGIP with the UN,
urging it to initiate a transparent investigation into the incident.
As
the situation along the LoC continued to deteriorate, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative
to the UN in a letter addressed to the UN Secretary General (UNSG) and the
president of the UN Security Council requested them to forcefully condemn the
attack on UNMOGIP members and ask India to respect 2003 ceasefire
understanding, while Prime Minister Imran Khan warned the world community that
in case of any false-flag operation, India would be given a befitting response
at all levels of the threat.
Also,
a senior Indian diplomat was summoned to Foreign Office to register Pakistan’s
strong protest over ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along
the LoC, resulting in serious injuries to an innocent civilian on Saturday,
according to a FO statement issued here on Sunday. Sagheera, 25-year-old
daughter of Mohammad Haneef, sustained serious injuries when Akhori village in
the Rakhchikri sector of the LoC faced indiscriminate and unprovoked firing
from Indian troops.
PM
Khan in a series of tweets on Sunday said that India’s deliberate firing on the
UNMOGIP vehicle despite clear UN markings and flying blue UN flag showed
India’s total disregard for all international norms of acceptable state
behaviour and respect for international law and United Nations.
Pakistan
strongly condemned this rogue behaviour, he said. “I want to again warn the
world community, as India’s internal problems mount, especially economic
recession, growing farmers protests and mishandling of COVID 19, the Modi
government will divert from the internal mess by conducting a false flag
operation against Pakistan. I am making absolutely clear to the int community
that if India was to be reckless enough to conduct a false flag operation
against Pakistan, it would confront a strong national Pakistani resolve and be
given a befitting response at all levels of the threat. Make no mistake.”
The
PM said already, in 2020 alone, there have been 3,000 Indian ceasefire
violations along the LoC and Working Boundary, by unprovoked firing
deliberately targeting civilians — resulting in 276 casualties, of which 68
were children and 92 were women.
Highlighting
the atrocities and crimes committed by Indian occupying forces against the
innocent Kashmiris, particularly since August 2019, Pakistan has already been
drawing world’s attention to India’s ultimate plan is to change the demography
of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir from a Muslim-majority area into
a Hindu-majority territory.
In
a letter to the UN secretary general and UNSC president, Pakistan’s permanent
representative to the UN stated that deliberate targeting of the UN Observers
and their vehicle appeared to be a new coercive and reckless ploy by India to
hinder UNMOGIP’s work, and facilitate another Indian military misadventure
against Pakistan.
The
letter said Pakistan had credible information that the RSS-BJP government was
planning to stage a ‘false flag’ attack to divert attention from its domestic
difficulties, and create justification for another misadventure against
Pakistan. If that were to happen, Pakistan would exercise its right to
self-defence, the letter made it clear.
The
permanent representative requested the UN to forcefully condemn the Indian
attack on the UNMOGIP members and call on India to observe the 2003 ceasefire
understanding. The UN must respond positively and urgently to repeated calls by
Pakistan to strengthen UNMOGIP and improve its ability to observe and report on
ceasefire violations, the letter contended.
Pakistan
also reminded the UN that the illegal and inhuman military siege and
communications lockdown in the occupied territory had lasted over 500 days,
with India’s ultimate plan being able to turn the IIOJK from a Muslim-majority
area into a Hindu-majority territory.
According
to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, Pakistan has taken up the
reprehensible attack by India on the UNMOGIP Observers and their vehicle along
the Line of Control (LoC) with the United Nations, urging it to initiate a
transparent investigation into the incident.
The
Foreign Office (FO) condemned the deplorable targeting of innocent civilians by
the Indian occupation forces, underscoring that such senseless acts were in
clear violation of the 2003 ceasefire understanding, and were also against all
established humanitarian norms and professional military conduct. The egregious
violations of international law reflected consistent Indian attempts to
escalate the situation along the LoC and were a threat to regional peace and
security, the FO statement added.
By
raising tensions along the LoC and the WB, India could not divert attention
from the grave human rights situation in the IIOJK, it said.
The
Indian side was once again called upon to investigate incidents of deliberate
ceasefire violations and maintain peace along the LoC and the WB. India was
also asked to allow the UNMOGIP to play its mandated role as per the UNSC
Resolutions.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1596965
--------
Process
of vaccine approval in Pakistan to be expedited
Ikram
Junaidi
21
Dec 2020
ISLAMABAD:
With 15,000 of the 18,000 volunteers administered the Chinese Covid-19 vaccine,
its clinical trial is expected to wind up within the current month and
preparations to commence trial of another vaccine will begin.
University
of Health Sciences Vice Chancellor and Scientific Task Force on Covid-19 member
Dr Javed Akram told Dawn that 15,000 people — 80 per cent of the total
volunteers — had been vaccinated and hoped that the trial would end in
December.
The
vaccine is under trial in 19 countries which will acquire it on priority.
In
Pakistan, clinical trial of the Chinese vaccine began in September with the
initial sample size of 10,000 volunteers. However, later the number was
enhanced to 18,000.
The
vaccine is Ribonucleic Acid based and will generate antibodies against the
spikes as a result of which the virus will not be able to attach itself to the
lungs.
“Though
some of the volunteers who were administered Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine were
hospitalised, not a single incident has occurred with the Chinese vaccine in
Pakistan. Once the trial is completed, the process of vaccine registration will
start. We will not waste a single minute as the country is losing almost 100
precious lives daily,” he said.
Replying
to a question, Dr Akram said though trials of three more vaccines were in the
pipeline, he hoped one of them would start in January 2021.
“It
is Australian, insect-based, vaccine and arrangements are being made to get
approval from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) and National
Bioethics Committee (NBC),” he said.
It
is worth mentioning that NBC was established on the recommendation of the now
defunct Pakistan Medical Research Council in 2004 to deal with issues relating
to bioethics.
The
sample size of the insect-based vaccine will be 13,000 volunteers.
“The
Australian vaccine will be similar to the Chinese one as it also works on spikes
and will be injected. However, it will be prepared in bodies of flies, which is
why it is called insect-based vaccine,” Dr Akram said while replying to a
question.
He
said the virus would stop spreading once 75pc people were vaccinated across the
country and was hopeful that a large quantity of the vaccine would become
available in the second quarter of next year.
“By
that time, not only will the vaccine be available in the international market,
Pakistan will also get it free through Covax,” he said.
“We
are part of Covax by Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI),
therefore free vaccine will be available for 20pc of our population,” Dr Akram
said, adding that “we will also get the Chinese vaccine being prepared in
collaboration with a Canadian partner”.
Meanwhile,
data released by the National Command and Operation Centre showed that 80
deaths and 2,615 new cases were reported on Sunday, with 272 ventilators in use
across the country.
In
Multan, 46 per cent of the vents allocated for Covid-19 patients were occupied,
44pc in Islamabad, 33pc in Lahore and 26pc in Peshawar.
Data
related to oxygen beds showed that 58pc of them were in use in Peshawar, 41pc
in Abbottabad, 40pc in Rawalpindi and 38pc in Multan. According to data,
40,553 active cases were reported across the country on Sunday.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1596963/process-of-vaccine-approval-in-pakistan-to-be-expedited
--------
Govt
ready to sit with PDM to solve issues: Chaudhry Sarwar
21
Dec 2020
LAHORE:
Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar has hinted at holding talks with the
opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and hopes the political
situation will improve next month.
“Inflation
and unemployment are the real issues of the masses and we are ready to sit with
the opposition for resolving these issues on priority,” he said while talking
to the media at the final match of a polo championship here on Sunday.
Responding
to a question, he said that for solving the crises faced by the country both
the government and the opposition would have to come to the negotiating table.
He
told a questioner that he could not understand if the PDM would tender
resignations from the assemblies or hold the proposed long march.
He
said it seemed that the opposition parties lacked unanimity of views on
tendering resignations however, he hoped, the political scene would improve
next month as the opposition would understand the importance of talks.
He
said the government was ready to sit with the opposition to discuss all
problems.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1596942/govt-ready-to-sit-with-pdm-to-solve-issues-chaudhry-sarwar
--------
UAE
royals arrive in Chagai for hunting Houbara bustards
Ali
Raza Rind
21
Dec 2020
CHAGAI:
Eleven members of the royal family of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday
arrived in Chagai district for hunting Houbara bustards.
According
to official sources, the royal hunters who arrived at Dalbandin Airport in a
special plane were led by Sheikh Sultan Bin Tehnoon Bin Mohammad Al Nahyan.
Salar Khan Sanjrani, younger brother of Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani,
accompanied the royal delegation.
The
sources said the UAE hunters had arrived in Chagai for the first time as
earlier they had been allotted hunting areas in Nokkundi, Taftan and Saindak.
The
royal hunters were received by civil and military officials at the airport.
Later, they moved to their camp in the Kachanawar area by road amid tight
security.
The
UAE delegation comprises Sheikh Sultan Bin Tehnoon Al-Nahyan, Arif Mohammad,
Mohammad Ismail, Mohammad Matar Obaid Dalmouk, Mohammad Saeed Shuwain, Eid
Jauaan Mohammad Al-Shamsi, Rashed Nayel Rasheed, Abdullah Awadh Saeed, Abdul
Sattar, Ali Musabeh Mishar, Saeed Abdullah Ahmed and Tanveer Zia Dar.
The
sources said the delegation, which was equipped with hunting instruments and
falcons, would stay in the area for one week.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1596974/uae-royals-arrive-in-chagai-for-hunting-houbara-bustards
--------
Mideast
Senior
Arab Analyst: Israel Begging Biden to Strike Deal with Iran
2020-December-20
“The
Iron Dome could not protect you! You fear the Iranian missiles and are now
begging Biden and the Europeans to enter new nuclear talks with Iran with this
precondition that Iran should not have precision-striking and long-range
missiles," Atwan said, addressing Israeli officials, and added, "They
want a 30-year-long agreement, that is to say they want to add another 15 years
to the current agreement and extend it until 2035.”
“Iran
has made astonishing progress in area of the missile power and Israel says that
it has Iron Dome against it but the Iron Dome has failed and Israel wants to
sell them to the Arab states,” he added, noting that Tel Aviv knows the missile
shield is of no use against Iranian missiles.
Atwan
also referred to Turkey’s greed to purchase missile defence systems, and said
Ankara has understood that the US missiles are not efficient and therefore has
demanded to buy the Russian S-400 defence shield.
Iranian
officials have in the past few years repeated opposition to talks on defense
and missile issues, reiterating that the country's power components are not for
compromise.
Commander
of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami
underlined that enemies can never stop Iran's progress and development in
defense fields or coax the country into negotiations about them.
"We
will never stop increasing the defense capabilities and we will not retreat
because it is among our redlines and therefore, the issue of defense
capabilities is not negotiable, modifiable, stoppable and controllable,"
General Salami said, addressing a ceremony in Tehran in November 2019.
Asked
if Iran would agree to take part in missile talks under the pressures and US
sanctions, he said, "This will never happen."
General
Salami downplayed military threats against Iran, and said, "We ensure the
Iranian nation that the talent and capacity of the Iranian Armed Forces and the
IRGC are so high that they will confront any enemy, no matter how big, and
therefore, the nation should rest assured and live in tranquility because we
are capable of defeating any enemy."
He
also warned the enemies against approaching Iran’s borders, saying that with
the rapid development of the Iranian missile systems, there is no longer any
safe zone for hostile aircraft carriers within or out of Iran’s territorial
waters.
“Given
the successful mounting of ballistic missiles on (IRGC) speedboats, the enemy’s
aircraft carriers will no longer be safe in any spot,” General Salami said.
“This
is a pleasant fact for the Muslim World and us, and a painful one for the
enemies,” he added.
Noting
that the enemy’s sanctions have stimulated the stage of development in the
Islamic Republic’s defense sector, the IRGC chief said, “We currently possess
precision-guided missiles; only experts can understand the difficulty of
turning ballistic missiles into precision-guided ones.”
Major
General Salami said such evolutions have made Iran the biggest missile power in
the region.
Also,
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei blasted
the world powers which oppose Iran's missile power, and stressed once again
that Tehran would not allow others to intrude in its missile and defense
programs.
"This
issue is none of your (enemies') business. You (the enemies) want the Iranian
nation not to have missiles and other defensive possibilities so that you bully
it," Ayatollah Khamenei said in Tehran in February 2018.
He
underlined that production and modernization of all the tools and equipment
needed by the country today and tomorrow should be prioritized, and said,
"Without even a single moment of doubt, the country should move towards
anything that it needs to defend itself even if the world opposes."
"Of
course, we have placed a religious ban on things like nuclear bombs and WMDs
but we powerfully pursue any (other) thing that we need," Ayatollah
Khamenei said.
"We
are aware of the enemies' open and secret threats, words and plots but we
stress without any moment of doubt that the Islamic Republic which relies on
people will become more powerful day by day," he added.
Ayatollah
Khamenei also recited a sentence by the late founder of the Islamic Revolution,
Imam Khomeini, and said, "The US can do no damn thing."
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13990930000962/Senir-Arab-Analys-Israel-Begging-Biden-Srike-Deal-wih-Iran
--------
Parliament
Condemns EU’s Anti-Iran Resolution
2020-December-20
“The
European Parliament, which has issued a resolution to oppose the execution and
to protect criminals against the national security of our country, is the same
body that has remained silent on the cowardly assassination of an innocent
Iranian scientist, and always supported terrorists from the terrorist Monafeqin
(Hypocrites as Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization members are called in Iran) with
the blood of 17,000 defenseless Iranian citizens on their hands to separatist
groups, hosted the leaders of terrorist groups in the European parliament, and
permitted the free activity of terrorist groups in the European countries,
specially in the European Parliament,” the statement said.
It
also referred to the European countries’ collaboration with the US in
preventing the Iranian patients’ access to needed medicine under sanctions, and
said, “The manufacturers and sellers of the WMDs to the dictator Saddam which
killed thousands of young Iranian people, are not qualified to defend human
rights.
The
statement also blasted the European states’ silence on the massacre of people
in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and called on the Iranian government to provide the
names of European officials who support the terrorists for reciprocal moves.
In
relevant remarks earlier this week, Secretary of Iran's High Council for Human
Rights Ali Baqeri Kani blasted the European states' efforts to deny Iranian
children's access to medicine, and said that the Europeans are now accused of
killing dozens of sick Iranian children and are not qualified to claim advocacy
for human rights.
"Those
who prevent innocent children from gaining access to medicine are also not
authorized to speak out even about animal rights," Baqeri Kani said while
referring to the European Parliament's resolution on the situation of human
rights in Iran.
He
criticized the EP's recent resolution on the human rights situation in Iran,
and said that most of the European officials have played and continue to play
an effective role in violating the rights of the Iranian people, including the
right to live, the right to have access to health facilities, the right to
education, the right to employment, and the right to development, by imposing
illegal and oppressive sanctions on them.
Also,
on Saturday, Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy
Commission in a statement strongly condemned the recent anti-Iranian resolution
issued by the European Parliament.
"The
European Parliament that today issues a resolution against the execution and
protection of criminals against the national security of our country is the
same institution that not only did not react in the face of the cowardly
assassination of innocent Iranian scientists but on the contrary always
supported, sheltered terrorists, including MKO," the Iranian Parliament's
National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said in its statement.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13990930000628/Parliamen-Cndemns-EU%E2%80%99s-Ani-Iran-Reslin
--------
Turkey
sentences Kurdish ex-MP Guven to 22 years in jail
21
December 2020
A
Turkish court on Monday sentenced a former lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish
Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) to more than 22 years in jail on terror-related
charges.
Leyla
Guven, who was stripped of her parliamentary immunity in June, was convicted by
a court in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir of membership of a terror group
and disseminating terror propaganda for outlawed Kurdish militants, an AFP
reporter said.
Guven
launched a hunger strike in 2018 in a bid to end jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah
Ocalan's isolation.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/21/Turkey-sentences-Kurdish-ex-MP-Guven-to-22-years-in-jail-
--------
Iran
parliament rejects bill to ban military commanders from running for president
Yaghoub
Fazeli
20
December 2020
Iran’s
parliament voted on Sunday with an overwhelming majority against a proposal to
ban military personnel from running for president, amid speculation that
several former and current military commanders intend to run in next year’s
presidential election.
Iranian
lawmakers rejected the proposal with 207 votes against, 25 in favor, and five
abstentions, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Opposing
the proposal, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a former Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander and potential presidential
candidate, said members of the armed forces could run for election after resigning
from their military posts.
Iran
is due to hold presidential elections in June 2021, with several former and
current military officials said to eye the presidency.
Running
for election is the “right” of military personnel, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei,
spokesman for the Guardian Council, the body that vets all nominations, said on
Saturday.
Military
personnel who intend to run for election must first cut ties with their
military institutions, Kadkhodaei added.
IRGC
commander Hossein Dehghan, who is also a military adviser to Iran’s supreme
leader, has officially announced he will run in next year’s elections.
Other
potential candidates with military backgrounds and ties to the IRGC include
former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, head of the Mostazafan Foundation Parviz
Fattah, former IRGC chief Mohsen Rezaei, and IRGC commander Saeed Mohammad,
according to Iranian media.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/20/Iran-military-Iran-parliament-rejects-bill-to-ban-military-commanders-from-running-for-president
--------
Iran
news agency calls for investigating Austrian envoy for traveling across country
20
December 2020
An
Iranian news agency has urged the country’s authorities to investigate the
Austrian ambassador to Tehran for traveling across Iran, saying he could be
collecting intelligence during his trips.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Ambassador
Stefan Scholz “has taken business trips to 25 Iranian provinces so far and none
of them have been done for the purpose of sightseeing or pleasure,” Iran’s Mehr
news agency said in a piece published on Saturday.
Mehr
claimed Scholz met with Iranian businessman during his trips and “obtained an
accurate estimate of the capacities, problems, and shortcomings of each
province.”
Since
Washington’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, Western
intelligence services have been trying to gather information on the impact of
sanctions on the Iranian economy, as well as the methods used by Iran to
circumvent sanctions, Mehr claimed.
“One
cannot ignore the hypothesis that these trips can be used to assess the impact
of sanctions on Iran’s economy,” Mehr said, adding that the Iranian authorities
should investigate “the unusual travels” of Scholz.
Scholz
had said in an interview with a Tehran-based media outlet in October that he
has so far visited 25 out of 31 Iranian provinces.
“They
were all business trips. We draw up plans to establish a link between those
working in the private sectors of Iran and Austria and to boost cultural
cooperation,” Scholz said.
In
May, an Iranian newspaper accused Germany’s former envoy to Tehran of being a
“Zionist spy” after Berlin branded the Lebanese Iran-backed Hezbollah a “Shia
terrorist organization.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/20/Iran-news-agency-calls-for-investigating-Austrian-envoy-for-traveling-across-country
--------
Book
claims slain Iranian IRGC Commander Soleimani ordered killing of Yemen’s Saleh
20
December 2020
Slain
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander Qassem Soleimani had
ordered the killing of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, according to
a recently published book on Soleimani.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
book, titled “The Shadow Commander; Soleimani, the US, and Iran’s Global
Ambitions,” is a biography of Soleimani by US-based Iranian journalist Arash
Azizi.
In
the book, Azizi wrote that Soleimani directly ordered the killing of Yemen’s
slain ex-president Saleh, who was killed in 2017 by the Iran-backed Houthi
militia after he turned against it.
“Two
members of the Quds Force involved in setting Iran’s Yemen policy told me this
separately. Additionally, a source in the Houthi leadership said this was a request
from Soleimani, which had been agreed to by the Houthis themselves,” Azizi said
in an interview on his book with Beirut-based think tank the Malcolm H. Kerr
Carnegie Middle East Center.
“The
circumstances described by them led me to believe the information was credible.
It also sat right with what I knew about Soleimani and his decision-making
style,” Azizi added.
Soleimani,
who headed the Quds Force, the overseas arms IRGC, was killed in a US airstrike
at Baghdad’s international airport on January 3. He was considered the second
most powerful figure in the Iranian regime after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/20/Book-claims-slain-Iranian-IRGC-Commander-Soleimani-ordered-killing-of-Yemen-s-Saleh
--------
Southeast
Asia
Citing
‘hedonism’, Putrajaya-linked missionary group wants plus-size pageant shut down
19
Dec 2020
BY
DANIAL DZULKIFLY
KUALA
LUMPUR, Dec 19 — Putrajaya-linked Muslim evangelical foundation Yayasan Dakwah
Islamiah Malaysia (Yadim) has said today that it is urging Putrajaya to cancel
the Miss/Mrs Plus World Malaysia 2020 pageant scheduled next month.
In
a statement today, its chairman Nasruddin Hassan from Islamist party PAS
claimed that the event which will see participants from all ethno-religious
backgrounds, and not just Muslims, is “hedonistic” and allegedly “exploiting
women”.
“Apart
from that, the concept of organising such a programme has never been allowed by
any religion, especially Islam, because such programmes are more exploitative
to women and akin to nourishing to a hedonistic culture by civilisations that
have long been extinct,’’ Nasruddin claimed, but did not elaborate on his
remark.
Nasruddin
also said that local authorities worldwide would not have endorsed such programs,
in a bid to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, a supposed precedent that Malaysia
should also uphold.
Despite
his claim, the pageant’s Grand Final Gala Night which will be held in Zenith
Hotel in Putrajaya on January 2 has said that it will abide by Covid-19
standard operating procedures with limited seats, and is being held in the
Federal Territory that is currently under recovery movement control order.
Nasruddin
also said that allowing the event would also send a wrong signal that the
Perikatan Nasional government under the leadership of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
is perceived to endorse activities that does not contribute to society’s moral
development said Nasruddin.
“Hosting
such programmes basically gives the wrong signal to the people, as if the
government under the leadership of prime minister today approves of them,’’
said Nasruddin.
He
then said that Yadim will send an official protest memo to the organisers and
the local authorities this Monday.
On
its Facebook page, the pageant describes itself as a “platform for promoting
body positivity, healthy lifestyle, and women empowerment”.
Winners
of the pageant will go on to compete and represent Malaysia in the
international Miss Plus World Finals 2020-2021, originally planned to be held
in the United States.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/12/19/citing-hedonism-putrajaya-linked-missionary-group-wants-plus-size-pageant-s/1933450
--------
Apologise
for unethical remarks, demolishing temple, Hindus tell Kedah MB
Minderjeet
Kaur
December
21, 2020
KUALA
LUMPUR: A coalition of Malaysian NGOs is demanding that Kedah Menteri Besar
Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor apologise to the Hindu community over the demolition of
a temple in Kedah.
Malaysia
Hindu Unity Association president V Kandasamy said they also wanted an
assurance that the demolished Raja Muniswarar Temple in Taman Bersatu, Kuala
Kedah, will be relocated to a new site agreed upon by the temple management and
local leaders.
“The
menteri besar must apologise for the unethical remarks he made against Indians
and Chinese following the temple demolition issue,” he told a press conference
in Brickfields here.
Kandasamy
said they were also appealing to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Kedah Sultan to
take appropriate action against Sanusi, who is from PAS, to ensure such actions
against Hindus or any other Malaysians are not repeated by him or any other
leaders.
He
said this was in line with the first principle of Rukun Negara which reads
“Belief in God.”
After
the demolition of the shrine in Kuala Kedah, Sanusi had accused MIC and DAP of
behaving like they were “drunk on toddy”.
Kandasamy
said the temple demolition had angered and “hurt the feelings” of Hindu
community, not only in Kedah but nationwide.
“As
for the menteri besar, he should have consulted the temple authorities and
local leaders to avoid religiously sensitive demolitions by local authorities,”
he said.
He
said the action showed that Sanusi “was least respectful of the sentiments of
Hindus.” He said most of the temples were built before independence and, due to
that, should be handled delicately.
He
proposed that Putrajaya set up a non-Muslim Religious Affairs Department under
the Prime Minister’s Department to address such issues.
Previously,
Rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) had slammed Sanusi for his
“heavy-handed” and “unacceptable” defence of the demolition.
Three
weeks ago, the Alor Setar City Council demolished the temple, which is said to
be over 50 years old.
Sanusi
then said places of worship must be built with permission from the local government,
adding that MIC should be banned if it incites people to break the law.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/12/21/apologise-for-unethical-remarks-demolishing-temple-hindus-tell-kedah-mb/
--------
South
Asia
27
Taliban Killed in Helmand, Kandahar: MoD
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
21
Dec 2020
At
least 15 Taliban were killed in Nawa, Gerish and Nad Ali districts of Helmand
province, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
According
to MoD, the Taliban fighters were killed in a reciprocal attack, and a large
number of their weapons and ammunition were also destroyed during the
operations.
This
comes as the Ministry of Defense, tweeted on Monday, that 12 Taliban were
killed in a clash between security forces and Taliban fighters in Kandahar.
The
Taliban attack was rebuffed by the Afghan national security forces in the
Zherai district of Kandahar province.
Taliban
fighters had gathered in the Pushmul area of Jiri district and Dand district of
Kandahar province aimed to plan attacks on the government’s security and
defense checkpoints, MoD stated.
During
the skirmish, 12 Taliban were reported killed and 4 others wounded, and their
weapons and ammunition have been destroyed.
On
the other hand, 9 IEDs placed by the Taliban in the Maiwand District of
Kandahar were discovered and safely defused, before these mines could result in
heavy civilian casualties, Mod tweeted.
Kandahar
and Helmand are the most insecure provinces in the country, where Taliban
attacks in various districts of the province have increased over the past two
months and amid peace negotiations in Doha.
https://www.khaama.com/27-taliban-killed-in-helmand-kandahar-mod-656577/
--------
Women,
children killed as car bomb targets Afghan lawmaker in Kabul
20
December 2020
A
car bomb attack has claimed the lives of at least nine Afghan people and
injured many others in Kabul, in the latest of a series of deadly attacks to
rock the Afghan capital.
Afghan
authorities said the blast took place in the west of Kabul early on Sunday,
which led to the death of at least nine civilians, including women and
children, with more than 20 others injured.
Television
footage showed at least two cars on fire, with plumes of thick black smoke
billowing into the sky.
Afghanistan’s
Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian blamed "terrorists" for the
attack in a statement and said the explosion had also targeted the vehicle of
Khan Mohammad Wardak, a member of parliament from Kabul.
The
lawmaker has reportedly survived the attack and is among those injured.
“The
terrorists today carried out a terror attack in PD5 of Kabul city. Children,
women and elderly people are among those wounded. Homes around the area have
been severely damaged. Unfortunately, eight of our compatriots were martyred
and 15 more wounded, including Khan Mohammad Wardak, a member of parliament.
These numbers might change,” Arian said in the statement.
Interior
Minister Massoud Andarabi later confirmed the spokesman’s report, saying nine
people had lost their lives and 20 more had been wounded in the explosion in
Kabul.
It
is unclear whether the explosive was planted in a car parked on the lawmaker's
route or if a vehicle with the bomb was being driven by a bomber, Andarabi
added.
Separate
bombings were also reported on Sunday in the provinces of Logar, Nangarhar,
Helmand and Badakhshan, in which a number of civilians and security forces were
killed and injured.
No
group or individual has so far claimed responsibility for the blasts.
The
Daesh terrorist group, which has claimed responsibility for some of the recent
attacks in Kabul, killed dozens of people, mostly students, in an attack on two
education centers in the capital last month.
The
group also fired on Saturday five rockets at Bagram Airfield, a major US
airbase north of Kabul, but there were no casualties.
Afghanistan
has recently witnessed a wave of deadly attacks, despite the ongoing peace
talks between the Taliban militant group and the government.
On
Friday, an explosion hit a religious gathering in the eastern Afghan province
of Ghazni, leaving at least 15 children dead and 20 others injured. There was
no claim of responsibility, but a provincial police spokesman described the
Ghazni blast as a Taliban attack.
The
Afghan Interior Ministry in a statement said that the Taliban had killed 487
civilians and injured 1,049 others by carrying out 35 bombing attacks and 507
blasts across the country over the past three months.
The
latest violence comes as the Taliban and the Afghan government, the two sides
involved in the Afghan peace process, are taking a break until January 5, after
reaching a preliminary agreement this month.
The
preliminary deal is the first written agreement between the two warring sides
since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
The
intra-Afghan negotiations had been set to take place in March, but were
repeatedly delayed over a prisoner exchange made as part of a deal between the
Taliban and the United States.
Under
that deal, signed in February, the Taliban agreed to halt their attacks on
international forces in return for the US military's phased withdrawal from
Afghanistan and the prisoner exchange with Kabul.
Afghanistan
has been gripped by insecurity since the US and its allies invaded the country
as part of Washington's so-called war on terror in 2001. Many parts of the
country remain plagued by militancy despite the presence of foreign troops.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/20/641120/Afghanistan-car-bomb-attack-Kabul
--------
Officials
Defuse 9 Mines in Kandahar, Saving Lives
By
Mohammad Arif Sheva
21
Dec 2020
KANDAHAR,
Afghanistan – The Afghan National Army (ANA) defused at least nine Improvised
Explosive Devices (IEDs), said the Ministry of Defense in a statement Monday,
after discovering the explosives in Kandahar province.
According
to the statement, the Taliban planted the bombs in Maiwand district of Kandahar
province, targeting innocent civilians.
“9
#IEDs which were placed by #Taliban on public roads in Maiwand district of
Kandahar province to kill innocent people, were discovered and defused by #ANA,
yesterday,” said the MoD in a tweet. “Lives of tens of civilians were saved as
a result.”
Meanwhile,
in a separate statement, officials said a public road in Maiwant district of
Kandahar is reconstructed, exclaiming the “Taliban destroy infrastructures of
#AFG; ANA build them!”
“A
road in Maiwand district of Kandahar province which had been destroyed by
Taliban and created problems for the residents of the district, was
reconstructed by #ANA last night,” said the
MoD in a tweet.
https://www.khaama.com/officials-defuse-9-mines-in-kandahar-saving-lives-34534/
--------
Abdullah
Heads to Tajikistan on Afghan Peace
By
Mohammad Arif Sheva
21
Dec 2020
KABUL,
Afghanistan – Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR)
Abdullah Abdullah heads a high-level delegation to Tajikistan Monday on Afghan
peace and bilateral ties, his office said in a statement.
According
to the statement, he will met with Tajikistan president, foreign minister and
other high-profile leaders in the country.
“During
his two-days official visit, he will meet excellencies the President, Prime
Minister, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Foreign Minister & other
dignitaries,” the statement read.
During
his trip, Abdullah is due to meet Tajikistan leaders in order to “exchange
views” and discuss status quo of the Afghan peace, as well as regional support
and bilateral ties.
“In
his meetings with the leadership of Tajikistan he will exchange views &
discuss the #AfghanPeaceProcess, regional support & bilateral relations,”
the statement added. “Tajikistan is a close ally & friend of AFG & the
Chairman of HCNR looking forward for a successful visit.”
Previously,
Abdullah have wrapped several regional trips, including Pakistan, Iran, India
and Uzbekistan, where he discussed peace process and role of regional
countries.
https://www.khaama.com/abdullah-heads-to-tajikistan-on-afghan-peace-34534/
--------
Arab
World
Riyadh
Agreement implementation in Yemen a step toward peace, stability: Bahrain FM
Jennifer
Bell,
19
December 2020
Bahrain’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed on Saturday the implementation of the
Riyadh Agreement by Yemeni parties.
A
ministry statement said it was “an important step to strengthen and unify
Yemeni efforts to confront the Iran-supported Houthi militias,” according to a
foreign ministry statement.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
statement said the agreement would “achieve the aspirations of the brotherly
Yemeni people for security, peace and stability.” Bahrain also commended the
“sincere efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” who initiated the talks.
After
stalling in August when the southern-separatist movement, the Southern
Transitional Council, suspended their participation, the Riyadh Agreement was
finalized this month.
Saudi
Arabia welcomed the government formation in Yemen as part of the agreement that
established a power-sharing structure between the Southern Transitional Council
and the Yemeni government, consisting of 24 ministers from both groups,
according to SPA.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Bahrain
thanked Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abzulaziz and Saudi Arabia’s Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their “concern and interest in the security,
stability, and prosperity of brotherly Yemen.”
The
statement continued: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hails the formation of a
government of political competencies that includes all Yemen’s social
components to put an end to military arrangements, appreciating the Yemeni
parties’ keenness on the supreme interests of the Republic of Yemen and their
endeavors to unify efforts to restore Yemeni legitimacy and achieve peace and
stability in all parts of brotherly Yemen.
Saudi
Arabia introduced the Riyadh Agreement in November 2019 to try to end the
dispute in the country’s south that emerged in 2017.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/12/19/Riyadh-Agreement-implementation-in-Yemen-a-step-toward-peace-stability-Bahrain-FM
--------
Saudi
Arabia, UAE used Israeli spyware to hack phones of three dozen journalists:
Report
21
December 2020
A
report says operatives linked to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
hacked the phones of dozens of Qatar-based Al Jazeera journalists using an
Israeli spyware.
Researchers
at Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto said it found that in July and
August, at least four operatives used Israeli firm NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware
to hack 36 personal phones of journalists, executives, anchors and producers.
According
to the report, one of the four Pegasus operators, which acted on behalf of the
Saudi government, hacked 18 phones, while another operator which is believed to
have acted on behalf of the UAE, spied on 15 phones.
"The
zero-click techniques used against Al Jazeera staff were sophisticated,
difficult to detect, and largely focused on the personal devices of
reporters," the report said.
The
hacking campaign was discovered after a well-known investigative journalist for
Al Jazeera's Arabic network, Tamer Almisshal who thought his phone had been
compromised allowed the Citizen Lab to monitor his iPhone.
The
researchers found that in July, his phone — without his knowledge — had visited
a website used to infect a target with the Pegasus spyware.
The
Citizen Lab also said that the personal phone of Rania Dridi, a London-based
presenter for Qatar’s Al Araby network, had been hacked six times with spyware
between October 2019 and July 2020.
Dridi
told the Guardian she had been shocked by the discovery, and announced her plan
to take legal action against the UAE.
“I
don’t know how to explain my feeling. It messes with your mind. Everything,
your private life, it’s not private any more. It wasn’t [just] for a month, it
was for a year, and they have everything: the phone calls, the pictures,
videos, they can turn the microphone on,” she said, adding “It makes you feel
insecure.”
The
reports of the hacking campaign against the journalists come as Saudi Arabia
and the UAE have called for the closure of Al Jazeera over concerns of its
critical coverage after the onset of the diplomatic crisis with Qatar in 2017.
In
June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE severed diplomatic and
trade relations with Qatar and imposed an air, land and sea embargo on the
energy-rich state.
The
Saudi-led quartet accused Doha of supporting terrorism, presented it with a
list of demands that included shutting down Al Jazeera, and gave it an
ultimatum to comply with them or face consequences.
Qatar,
however, denied terrorism charges and refused to meet the conditions laid out
by the boycotting bloc, stressing that the country would not abandon its
independent foreign policy.
Earlier
this year, the Citizen Lab said in a report that Ben Hubbard, a New York Times
reporter who has written a book about Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,
had been targeted with Pegasus spyware linked to Saudi Arabia in 2018.
In
2019, the Citizen Lab found that the same software, which enables customers to
remotely exploit and monitor devices, was used to spy on Saudi dissent
journalist Jamal Khashoggi's inner circle before he was killed at the Saudi
consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/21/641179/Saudi-UAE-spied-Al-Jazeera-journalists-Israel-spyware
--------
Iraq's
top Shia leaders condemn rocket attack on US embassy, call for state of
emergency
21
December 2020
Influential
Shia leaders of Iraq have separately condemned the rocket attack against the US
embassy in Baghdad, calling on the Iraqi government to protect diplomatic
missions against such “uncontrolled” attacks by “outlaw” groups.
In
a tweet on Sunday night, Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said he is “ready to
cooperate” with the Iraqi government in protecting civilians and diplomatic
missions.
"No
one has the right to use weapons outside the jurisdiction of the state,” the
top cleric said.
Anyone
who does so is either “a terrorist or outside of the Sharia [Islamic law] and
the law,” he added, condemning the rocket attack against the US embassy in the
heavily fortified Green Zone of Baghdad earlier in the day.
He
said those who launch such attacks are putting the civilians in danger “under
the pretext of resisting the occupation.”
The
rockets, which were fired late on Sunday, landed close to the US diplomatic
mission, causing sirens blaring within the compound without any casualties
apart from some material damage.
Following
the attack, the Iraqi military said in a statement that an "outlaw
group" had fired rockets at Baghdad's Green Zone, Reuters reported.
The
rockets hit a residential complex inside the Green Zone, damaging buildings and
cars, but causing no casualties, the statement added.
In
his tweet, Muqtada al-Sadr also advised the US embassy to avoid responding to
the rocket attack, but leave the matter to Iraq, as Iraq “is the sovereign, not
you.”
Sadr
condemned American influence in Iraq, urging the Iraqi parliament to negotiate
with the US embassy in order to put an end to its "occupation, control and
interference in Iraqi affairs” in a way that preserves Iraq's security.
Kata’ib
Hezbollah condemns ‘uncontrolled, random attack’
Qais
al-Khazali, the other influential Shia cleric and leader of Kata’ib Hezbollah
resistance group, denied any responsibility on the side of the Iraqi resistance
for the attack on the embassy in Baghdad.
Khazali
said in a tweet, "The decision of Iraqi Resistance Coordination Commission
is not to target the US embassy in the first place."
"It
is our right to liberate our country and avenge our martyrs, but we specify the
time to respond and it is not far away,” he added.
Kata’ib
Hezbollah also said in a statement the rockets attack on the US embassy in
Baghdad is an "uncontrolled" act, calling on the government to take
the necessary steps to arrest the perpetrators.
"We
condemn the indiscriminate attack against the US embassy, as it poses a threat
to civilian lives," the group said, calling on "the United States to
suspend the military activities in the area for the residents’ safety."
The
US Embassy has been targeted several times this year, amid heightened
anti-American sentiments in the Arab country in the aftermath of the US
assassination of Iran’s anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem
Soleimani, and the deputy head of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units, Abu Mahdi
al-Muhandis, in Baghdad on January 3.
The
US has drawn down staff members at the embassy this month before the first
anniversary of the assassination. US officials said the decision stemmed from
concerns about a possible retaliatory strike.
In
September, Washington warned Iraq that it would close its embassy in Baghdad if
the government failed to take decisive action to end rocket and other attacks
on American and allied interests in the country.
When
the US announced the intention to withdraw troops from the country in November,
a group of influential resistance groups announced a ceasefire to allow the
process to take place safely.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/21/641170/Iraq-shia-groups-muqtada-sadr-khazali-kataib
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73
US trucks loaded with military, logistic equipment in Syria’s Hasakah: SANA
20
December 2020
Another
convoy consisting of 73 US Army vehicles loaded with weapons, military
equipment and logistic reinforcement has arrived in Syria’s oil-rich
northeastern province of Hasakah from Iraq, Syria’s official news agency
reports.
According
to SANA, citing local sources, the military convoy, tightly guarded by six
vehicles affiliated with the militants of the so-called US-backed Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF) arrived in an illegal base operated by US occupation
forces inside Khrab al-Jir military airport on Sunday.
The
convoy entered the Syrian territories from northern Iraq through the illegal
al-Walid border crossing earlier in the day, SANA said, adding that the
vehicles came to shore up American forces' illegitimate presence in Syria's
al-Jazeera region.
The
report stressed that the reinforcements were meant to guarantee the continued
stealing of the Syrian oil and underground wealth by the American forces in the
region with the help of their allied SDF militant group.
The
SDF, which is believed to be pillaging Syria’s oil and mineral resources, is an
alliance of militant groups operating against Damascus and is in control of
areas in northern and eastern Syria, particularly the al-Jazira region of
Hasakah province.
During
the past several months, American forces have brought thousands of trucks laden
with weapons and military and logistical equipment to Hasakah province through
illegal border crossings from northern Iraq.
The
US, in collusion with the SDF, controls most of the oil fields in al-Jazira
region of the province.
The
US Defense Department, Pentagon, alleges that the move aims to “protect” the
fields and facilities from possible attacks by the Daesh terrorist group, but
US President Donald Trump has said Washington seeks economic interests in
controlling the oil fields.
Damascus,
which has not authorized the presence of the US military in its territory, says
Washington is plundering the country’s oil and in early August, it condemned an
oil agreement signed between the SDF and an American company.
The
Syrian government said at the time the so-called contract was null and void
with no legal effect.
Syria
produced around 380,000 barrels of oil per day before the conflict erupted in
2011.
Raids
and arrests of Syrian civilians by the militants continue in the SDF-controlled
areas in Hasakah and Dayr al-Zawr provinces. The Syrian residents accuse the
US-sponsored militants of stealing crude oil and refusing to spend money on
service sectors.
New
clash among Turkish-backed militants reported in Hasakah
Separately
on Sunday, a renewed infighting broke out among militants supported by Turkey
in Syria’s occupied city of Ras al-Ain in Hasakah, leading to the injury of a
number of the mercenaries, SANA reported.
It
added that clashes erupted following a dispute on sharing goods that were
looted from the properties of the local people.
Turkish-backed
militants were deployed to northern Syria last October after Turkish military
forces launched a long-threatened cross-border invasion in an alleged attempt
to push the Kurdish militants away from border areas.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/20/641137/Syria-US-convoy-logistic-reinforcements-Hasakah-oil-Turkey-SDF
--------
At
least 3 Katyusha rockets target US embassy in Iraq’s Green Zone
Ismaeel
Naar
20
December 2020
At
least three Katyusha rockets have targeted the US embassy in Iraq’s Green Zone
area, according to Al Arabiya’s correspondent.
Security
sources said the rockets were intercepted by the US embassy’s anti-missile
defense systems and that they fell within the Green Zone Area.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“Iraqi
security forces are currently searching for the missile launchers that were
used in the vicinity of the US embassy in Baghdad,” Al Arabiya’s correspondent
in Baghdad Majid Hamid reported.
A
security cordon has been imposed in the vicinity of the US embassy in Baghdad
following the attack, the corresponded added.
The
Iraqi military said that an "outlaw group" fired rocketsat Baghdad's
heavily fortified Green Zone on Sunday.
The
rockets hit a residential complex inside the Green Zone,damaging buildings and
cars but causing no casualties, a military statement said.
The
US Embassy in Baghdad confirmed in a statement that rockets targeting the Green
Zone resulted in the engagement of the embassy’s defensive systems.
“There
was some minor damage on the Embassy compound but no injuries or casualties. We
have received reports of damage to residential areas near the US Embassy and
possibly some injuries to innocent Iraqi civilians,” the statement read.
“As
we have said many times, these sorts of attacks on diplomatic facilities are a
violation of international law and are a direct assault on the sovereignty of
the Iraqi government. We call on all Iraqi political and governmental leaders
to take steps to prevent such attacks and hold accountable those responsible,”
the embassy added.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/20/At-least-3-Katyusha-rockets-target-US-embassy-in-Iraq-s-Green-Zone
--------
Africa
Three
people killed, five injured in Ethiopia explosion
20
December 2020
Three
people died after an abandoned bomb exploded in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa
on Sunday, a state news agency reported.
The
incident happened in the Lideta area near the center of the capital, Ethiopia
News Agency reported, adding the explosion killed three homeless people and
injured five others.
The
explosion occurred amid a six-week conflict in northern Tigray region between
federal forces and the deposed regional government, but there was no indication
it was linked to that.
“An
investigation regarding the explosion is now going on and the public will be
informed once the investigation is completed,” the agency reported.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/12/20/Three-people-killed-five-injured-in-Ethiopia-explosion
--------
Somalia
accuses Kenya of arming local militia to attack its forces amid rising tensions
20
December 2020
Somalia
has accused Kenya of arming local militiamen on the border to attack its
security forces as tension rises between the two African neighbors.
Somalia’s
Ministry of Information said in a Twitter message on Saturday that Kenya was
providing weaponry to local militia in its border region of Mandera.
The
ministry said that Somalia “is closely monitoring the military mobilization”
which can “undermine general security of the Horn of Africa region.”
Kenya
has yet to comment on the allegations.
The
alleged mobilization comes after Mogadishu cut diplomatic ties with Nairobi
this week over Kenya’s decision to open a consulate in the breakaway region of
Somaliland.
Mogadishu,
which regards Somaliland as an integral part of the country, accused Nairobi of
“recurring” interference in its political affairs.
It
ordered Kenyan diplomats to leave Mogadishu and called back its diplomats from
Nairobi on Tuesday.
Somaliland
declared independence in 1991 following a civil war.
Experts
warn that the latest dispute could undermine cooperation in the fight against
the al-Shabaab militant group in Somalia.
Kenya
has deployed 3,600 troops to an African Union peacekeeping force to fight the
terrorists.
Somalia
and Kenya have also been engaged in a long-running territorial dispute over a
stretch of the Indian Ocean claimed by both nations.
The
region is believed to hold valuable deposits of oil and gas.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/20/641119/Somalia-Kenya-tensions-Somaliland-military-mobilization
--------
North
America
US
prepared to 'react' if Iran tries to avenge Qassem Soleimani killing: Top
General
21
December 2020
Washington
is "prepared to react" if Tehran launches an attack to mark the first
anniversary of the killing of powerful Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, the
head of US forces in the Middle East warned Sunday.
"We
are prepared to defend ourselves, our friends and partners in the region, and
we're prepared to react if necessary," General Kenneth McKenzie, who heads
the US Central Command (Centcom), told journalists.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
He
was touring the region weeks before the anniversary of the January 3, 2020
killing of Soleimani by a US drone strike near the Baghdad airport.
"My
assessment is we are in a very good position and we'll be prepared for anything
the Iranians or their proxies acting for them might choose to do,"
McKenzie, a four-star marine general, told a small group of journalists in a
telephone interview from an undisclosed location in the region.
The
Centcom commander said he had recently visited Baghdad, where he met with the
head of the anti-jihadist coalition, American General Paul Calvert, as well as
the Iraqi army chief of staff, General Abdul Amir Yarallah.
McKenzie
said he had also gone to Syria to meet with American forces deployed in the
small southern base at Al-Tanf, near the border with Jordan and Iraq.
In
an apparent sign of US military leaders' concerns about Iranian intentions
after Soleimani's killing, McKenzie's current tour was not announced in
advance.
Similarly,
last week's visits by General Mark Milley, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs
of Staff, to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and
Afghanistan were kept secret until he had left the region.
"I
talk to my commanders about it every day and I think we will be ready,"
McKenzie said.
Even
as the US Army continues troop withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan ordered by
President Donald Trump -- with a goal of drawing down to 2,500 in each country
by January 15 -- the Pentagon has substantially reinforced its posture around
Iraq to dissuade Iran from launching any attack.
The
aircraft carrier USS Nimitz has been patrolling Gulf waters since late
November, and two American B-52 bombers recently overflew the region in a
demonstration of strength clearly aimed at Iran and its allies.
Still,
a volley of rockets exploded Sunday near the US embassy in Baghdad, causing
material damage but no casualties, according to Iraqi security forces.
It
was the third attack on American military and diplomatic installations there
since an indefinite truce was agreed with pro-Iranian groups in October.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/21/US-prepared-to-react-if-Iran-tries-to-avenge-Qassem-Soleimani-killing-Top-General
--------
US
warship to help ongoing troop withdrawal from Somalia
20
December 2020
A
US warship and an aircraft have launched an operation to withdraw American
forces out of Somalia, the Pentagon declared this week as it carries out a
Defense Department order to transfer hundreds of troops to other locations.
The
USS Hershel "Woody" Williams, an expeditionary sea base that normally
carries a contingent of crisis-response Marines, along with an AC-130W Stinger
II warplane are supporting the troop movement, the US military announced in a
statement as cited in a Friday report by the Washington-based Stars &
Stripes newspaper.
Citing
security concerns, however, US Africa Command (AFRICOM), declined to elaborate
on Friday about how many soldiers have so far been moved or when the withdrawal
will be completed.
AFRICOM
did state that roughly 700 troops will be repositioned to neighboring countries
to conduct cross-border operations against the Somali-based al-Shabab
militants.
While
AFRICOM did not identify the countries, Djibouti and Kenya are likely
destinations given that the US maintains military bases in both nations.
A
limited troop presence will remain on the ground in Somalia while some forces
also could be reassigned to other regions or to the United States, the command
added.
Joint
Task Force – Quartz, which AFRICOM formed to oversee the mission, dubbed
Operation Octave Quartz, said the AC-130W Stinger II is able to provide close
air support and air interdiction.
“Close
air support missions include troops in contact, convoy escort and point air
defense,” the task force declared in a statement.
The
task force, led by Air Force Maj. Gen. Dagvin Anderson, will reposition forces
“in a deliberate, conditions-based manner,” AFRICOM further noted in the
statement.
The
USS Hershel “Woody” Williams, which is assigned to AFRICOM and is based out of
Souda Bay in Crete, is a relatively new asset in Europe, according to the
report.
The
Pentagon announced in October that the vessel would support AFRICOM missions,
as well as those in Europe as needed.
The
784-foot-long ship features a four-spot flight deck that helicopters can use.
There is also living space for a crew complement of about 250.
The
development came after a Defense Department Inspector General released a report
last month saying that AFRICOM has seen “a definitive shift” in recent months
of al-Shabab's focus to attack US interests in the region.
AFRICOM
had previously stated that it believes al-Shabab is the most “dangerous,
capable, and imminent threat” on the continent, the report noted.
The
militant group has operated for more than a decade and aims to topple the
US-sponsored government in the country. American forces also conduct frequent
airstrikes against militant targets, which are expected to continue even as US
troops withdraw.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/20/641102/US-military-AFRICOM-Somalia-troop-withdrawal-
--------
Dignity
of Iranian nation infuriates US deep state
20
December 2020
By
John Steppling
The
question of sanctions is in the broadest sense an interesting and kind of huge
topic. The United States has increasingly over the last 60 years I guess, 70
years, but certainly, over the last 30 some years, has used, employed sanctions
as a kind of primary weapon against its "enemies" - the people that
choose to define as enemies, anybody who is at all independent is going to be
viewed as an enemy.
And
the US has felt over this 30 years very comfortable enacting sanctions, and they've
been pretty much satisfied with the results and they don't have to engage in
boots on the ground as they say. They don't have to do a lot of things they
would do in conventional warfare, or even in certain kinds of occupation.
It's
the sort of 21st century soft power or something. But, the effectiveness of
sanctions always rests on a sort of global community and a kind of compliance
with things and this is what I always find at the heart of any of these
questions about Iran, and its relationship to the US, to Israel, to China,
Russia, the EU.
At
what point did the "global community", did the UN and Security
Council, did the World Economic Forum, did Davos, did the Trilateral Commission
did all the... you know, at what point
was it agreed upon that Iran was going to be the villain of the moment? They
were going to be defined as a pariah state. They had done nothing to earn this
definition, description, and yet that's what happened.
And
so the entire JCPOA always seems very strange to me because nobody asks if you
praise it back. Why this question was in play at all? So, you look at all the
countries that the US has enacted sanctions against Cuba, you know, an embargo
and sanctions on Cuba, Venezuela is on and on and on. The through-line to all
of this can be seen as what is good for Western business interests for Western
capital.
But
the problem now is that some of these dynamics are changing. The US is no
longer an economic superpower, it's economically in a rather precarious and
vulnerable position, actually. But the sanctions began in 1945, they began with
Woodrow Wilson, and as part of the League of Nations notion that he had as a
way to enforce peace. I mean it was laughable from the beginning.
But
anyway and there had been broad sanctions and there had been sort of, you know,
very targeted sanctions that only focus on certain things there have been arms
embargoes and all manner of sanctions. But, uh, they invariably hurt. The most
vulnerable people in the country being sanctioned, that's one thing. They don't
interrupt the ruling class anywhere. Global ruling class tends to, you know,
fraternize with each other and doesn't much care about what the rest of the
people in their country are doing or can't have or are suffering from or
whatever it might be.
But
back to the point that that the US power has eroded, to some degree, is true.
And, yet you know the US also remains a military superpower, and it's part of
why defense spending keeps getting ratcheted up further and further and further
and further.
There's
enough weapons to destroy the planet 1000 times over. There were enough weapons
70 years ago to destroy the planet 1000 times over. It's a big business,
though. It's a very profitable business.
So,
you look at the Iranian situation in relationship to, you know, China and
Russia, and other trading partners in the Pacific Rim, even in Europe to some
degree, though, the EU is being been bullied by the US.
So
when [Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali] Khamenei says, you
know “neutralize the sanctions.” I mean I think this is a reasonably wise thing
to say. Because the people who are issuing sanctions are capricious. One
doesn't know why they're doing well. I mean, one can guess why they're doing
things, but the reasons are not logical and not rational.
So
one has to look at ways to turn them into something other than entirely
destructive and you have to work, with your friends in the world. Iran has to
work with its partners in the world to find ways to do that neutralizing. They
can't do it alone. You can't neutralize sanctions alone. I mean ever all of
this is about international relationships.
I'm
sort of jumping all around but I keep returning to the reason that Iran looms
as such an irritant to the ideologues in Washington. Why all the neo-cons and
the people from the Cato Institute and the Brookings Institute and you know all
of these think tanks in a way, everybody hates Iran? And part of it is the
absolute independence they have they have shown, and incredible resiliency and
they've been targeted openly acknowledged as being targeted by Israel, which is
the same as being targeted by the United States for sort of mythic crimes,
nobody ever specifically comes up with any evidence of anything Iran did.
It's
actually pretty funny at a certain point, and it’s like a win-win Westerner or
Israeli apologists talk about the Palestinians. You always want to ask what do
you expect these people to do? What do you expect people who are occupied in
prison, shut down, or sanctioned? How do you expect that country to behave?
That's
the issue with sanctions. On one level, does the United States, do people like
Mike Pompeo and Joe Biden, all of these people expect Iran to roll over and
piddle on themselves like a little puppy or something and say, oh gosh I hope
you like us now. I mean it's an absurdity, but the US is paternalistic. They
treat everybody as inferior. They condescend to everybody, and they are
completely unaware of the effect this has.
But
things are shifting and their power, their economic power has eroded the
effectiveness of their economic policies and threats. It is not nearly what it
was even 10 or 15 years ago, I mean, since 2008 I guess we're in a strange
situation, and I read a statistic this morning about the COVID lockdowns because
this is a great depression in the US. Over 60% of small businesses in the
United States are going to go under. Sixty percent of small businesses will
die. That's a gutting of a nation.
What
are the plans? Nobody seems to want to talk about this. And they're hurtling
into this abyss, and we're going to see something very drastic happening in the
United States this year and it may be people heard it off to FEMA camps or, who
knows because of the homelessness and food insecurity, the desperation, and
probably increasing medical problems, psychological problems. This is all. This
bill is coming due for the US, and I don't think they have a plan for it.
So,
whenever I see US politicians wagging their fingers and threatening nations
like Iran, I think boy, this is something you very well may not be able to do
much longer and the hypocrisy, of course, is stunning. So, yeah, I mean Iran, I
think has earned global respect because of the dignity with which they have
responded to all of these provocations, you know, the assassination of
Soleimani, the nuclear scientist.
They've
been remarkably dignified and I think that probably infuriates the United
States even more. But, I think in the corridors of power in Washington, there
is a sense that Iranian policy has not worked, is not working, has not worked,
and probably as it stands, will not work. So, what they decided to do once
Biden takes office will be interesting, I don't know, but it'll be interesting.
John
Steppling is an American author and political commentator. He is based in
Norway. He recorded this article for Press TV website.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/20/641160/Dignity-of-Iranian-nation-infuriates-US-deep-state
--------
Europe
Germany,
Finland to repatriate women, children nationals from Syria
20
December 2020
Germany
and Finland said Sunday they had repatriated 23 of their nationals, women and
children, from Syria, some of whom were under criminal investigation for
allegedly belonging to ISIS.
“I
am very relieved that we were able to repatriate another 12 children and three
mothers from camps in northeastern Syria yesterday,” German Foreign Minister
Heiko Maas said in a statement.
Maas
said the repatriations were “humanitarian cases, primarily orphans and children
who were ill -- cases in which a repatriation was deemed particularly necessary
and urgent.”
He
added that it is not legally possible to repatriate children without their
mothers.
For
its part, the Finnish foreign ministry said that it had brought home six
children and two adult mothers.
“Under
the constitution, Finnish public authorities are obligated to safeguard the
basic rights of the Finnish children interned in the camps insofar as this is
possible,” it said.
“The
basic rights of the children interned in the al-Hol camps can be safeguarded
only by repatriating them to Finland”.
According
to Helsinki, more than 9,000 foreign women and children, two-thirds of them
children, are still being held in the al-Hol and Roj camps in northeastern
Syria, housing suspected ISIS family members and sympathizers.
Many
European nations have resisted repatriating their nationals from the camps,
because of the security risks, it said.
According
to German media reports, the three repatriated German women are aged between 21
and 38 and the children are aged between two and 12.
The
group resided in a refugee camp under Kurdish control.
The
three women were “ wives of extremists ” of ISIS and “are in very poor health,”
a spokesman for the Kurdish administration’s foreign relations office, Kamal
Akif, told AFP.
One
of the German women was detained on arrival in Frankfurt, a statement by the
anti-terrorist prosecutors’ office said.
As
well as allegedly belonging to ISIS, the woman, identified as Leonora M. and
aged 21, is suspected of using a young Yazidi woman as a slave.
Her
husband was a member of ISIS’s “secret services”, the prosecutor said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/20/Germany-Finland-to-repatriate-women-children-nationals-from-Syria-
--------
Germany
brings home 3 women, 12 kids from camps in Syria
20
December 2020
Germany
has organized the return of three women and 12 children from camps in
northeastern Syria for humanitarian reasons.
Foreign
Minister Heiko Maas on Sunday did not further identify the women or children, who
were flown back to Germany on Saturday.
However,
the German weekly Bild am Sonntag reported that all three women had left
Germany in recent years to join the extremist ISIS group in Syria. The paper
identified the women as Merve A., Yasmin A. and Leonora M.
Also
Sunday, Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office said a German citizen by the name
of Leonora M. had been arrested upon her arrival at Frankfurt airport. It said
she is accused of membership in the foreign terrorist group Islamic State and
allegedly committed crimes against humanity.
Maas
said he was “very relieved” about the return of the 12 children and three of
their mothers.
“These
are humanitarian cases, especially orphans and children with illnesses – cases
in which the departure was urgently needed,” Maas said.
“This
good news just before Christmas makes us confident that we will be able to
organize the return of further cases as well,” he said adding that the
government would advocate the return of others in coming weeks and months.
Maas
said the return was organized in cooperation with Finland, which brought home
six children and two women.
Hundreds
of Europeans – many of them young women – left the continent in the last couple
of years to join ISIS and fight in Syria and Iraq. Several died, others were
arrested and detained by Turkish, Kurdish or Iraqi authorities who have been
eager to deport them and their children back to Europe.
European
governments, however, have been reluctant to take back the often radicalized
ISIS supporters and sentiment is running high across Europe against the
returnees.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/12/20/Syria-crisis-Germany-brings-home-3-women-12-kids-from-camps-in-Syria
--------
EU
complicit in Saudi-UAE genocide in Yemen: Parliament member
20
December 2020
A
member of the European Parliament has censured Europe’s double standards on
human rights, saying the EU is complicit in crimes and atrocities perpetrated
by the Saudi-led coalition against Yemen.
Mick
Wallace, an independent Irish member of the European Parliament, made the
remarks in a tweet as he took to task the EU for its selective approach to
human rights violations and for failing to fulfill its duty to address the
humanitarian crisis in war-torn Yemen.
“EU
gives prizes to opposition in Belarus because it borders Russia,” Wallace wrote
in his tweet. “We love human rights when we can kick China and Iran but can't
get debate in Parliament on Yemen because we're complicit in Saudi-UAE Genocide
that's killed hundreds of thousands, and millions starving.”
EU
gives prizes to opposition in #Belarus because it borders #Russia - we love
#HumanRights when we can kick #China + #Iran - but can't get debate in
Parliament on #Yemen because we're complicit in #Saudi #UAE Genocide that's
killed hundreds of thousands, and millions starving...
pic.twitter.com/Ow2xYBMiO2
—
Mick Wallace (@wallacemick) December 19, 2020
The
US and European countries are major suppliers of weapons in the Saudi-led
aggression against Yemen.
Saudi
Arabia and a number of its regional allies, chief among them the United Arab
Emirates, launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing
the government of Riyadh-allied former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to
power and crushing the popular Houthi movement.
The
United Nations has highlighted the need for a ceasefire in Yemen and warned
that the Saudi-led aggression has claimed tens of thousands of lives in the
impoverished Arab country over the last six years.
The
war has also taken a heavy toll on Yemen's infrastructure, destroying
hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are in
dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme
levels of hunger.
Children
are among the most vulnerable victims of the Saudi war on Yemen, but the issue
has barely drawn any international response.The UN children's agency warned in
late June that the shortage of humanitarian assistance amid the coronavirus
pandemic threatened to push more children in Yemen to the brink of starvation.
The
Houthi Ansarullah movement, backed by armed forces, has been defending Yemen
against the Saudi-led alliance, preventing the aggressors from fulfilling the
objectives of the atrocious war.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/20/641113/European-Parliament-Mick-Wallace-complicit-Saudi-led-coalition
--------
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