To Attract Indians, Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan To Celebrate Spring Festival ‘Jashan-e-Baharan’
New Age Islam
News Bureau
22 January 2022
Jashan-e-Baharan
Festival 2021, Pakistan
-----
• Pakistan
Aiding Chinese Repression Of Uyghurs In Xinjiang: Canada-Based Think Tank
Report
• Samsung
Removes Ad In Singapore Showing Muslim Mother And Drag Queen Son After Online
Backlash
• European Union
Re-Establishes Presence In Afghanistan For Humanitarian Purposes
• Muslim Leader
Builds CAN Secretariat; Christian Association Of Nigeria Calls Nigerians To
Embrace Religious Harmony And Live In Peace
India
• AIMMM Writes
To Ambani Over ‘Hate Campaigns’ Against Muslims On News 18
• Eye On Polls: BJP
Trying To Win Support Of Muslim Women Beneficiaries Of Government Schemes In UP
• Texas Attack
Again Exposes Pakistan Ties With Global Terror: India
• Lucknow Man
Summoned Over Clubhouse Group That Targeted Muslim Women, Joining Probe Today: Delhi
Police
• 2021 watershed
year for armed forces in J&K and Ladakh: Army Commander
• Block 35 more
Pakistan-based YouTube channels: Information and Broadcasting ministry
--------
Pakistan
• ATC convicts
Sialkot citizen for justifying lynching of Priyantha Kumara
• Only Vaccinated
People To Be Allowed To Offer Prayers At Mosques Of Pakistan
• More suspects
held as CIA joins Lahore blast probe
• Govt,
opposition spar in NA over growth claim
• Gen Bajwa
visits Peshawar Corps HQ; briefed on security situation
• 10 Pakistanis
serving different sentences in Indian jails, SHC told
• Pakistan beefs
up security in capital after deadly Lahore blast
--------
Southeast Asia
• Anyone Can
Challenge Constitutionality Of Laws Enacted In Malaysia
• Indonesia
jails 'Catholic brother' for molesting boys
• Ah Long victim
in fear as RM300 loan swells to RM45,000
• Malaysia: The
Absence Of Political Checks And Balances
• Former
Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad admitted to hospital
--------
South Asia
• Rights Groups,
Victims Call UN To Ban Bangladesh Paramilitary Force RAB
• Taliban root
cause of Afghanistan's troubles; people face most difficult scenario in
country's history: Expert
• US has no
specified schedule for recognition of Taliban: Special envoy
• IEA delegation
led by Amir Khan Motaqi to visit Norway
-------
Africa
• Muslim Leader
Builds CAN Secretariat; Christian Association Of Nigeria Calls Nigerians To
Embrace Religious Harmony And Live In Peace
• 'Trade with
Allah' ... The Mufti of Tunisia calls on citizens to donate in favour of the
State
• Sudanese hold
‘day for martyrs’ after anti-coup protest deaths
• At least 11
migrants drown off Tunisia in shipwreck
• US army
confirms Russian mercenaries in Mali
• Sudanese
judges, US denounce deadly crackdowns on protests
--------
North America
• US Commits To
Helping Saudi Arabia, Gulf Partners Defend Against Threats From Yemen
• UN chief
sharply denounces Saudi coalition strikes in Yemen
• US slaps
sanctions on Hezbollah-linked men, companies for second time this week
• Turkiye
exemplary country to follow, says El Salvadoran president
• Turkish
Aerospace, El Salvador sign MoU on space, satellite systems
--------
Arab World
• Gulf Arab
Embrace Of Jewish Minority Reflected In Bahrain Cemetery-Restoration Project
• Islamic State
Fighters Overran Entire Army Outpost In Iraq’s Diyala, Killing 11 Soldiers
• Islamic State
stages Syria prison break, kills 11 soldiers in Iraq
• Kurdish forces
kill 16 ISIS members in Syria prison clashes: Monitor
• UAE has
‘legal’ right to self-defense against Houthi terrorist acts: Gargash
• More than 70
dead in fighting after Syria jail attack
--------
Mideast
• 2008 Gaza
War's Effects Continue To Resonate For Palestinian Resistance: Expert
• Iran Rejects
UNGA’s Resolution on Holocaust
• Iran Condemns
Deadly Blast in Pakistan
• Iran nuclear
talks ‘on right track': EU official
• Iran embassy
responds to Pakistani newspaper's false claims about developments in Yemen, UAE
• Over 100
killed in airstrike on Yemen prison
• Russian
Diplomat Underlines “Very Useful” Meeting with Iran’s Top Negotiator in Vienna
--------
Europe
• Iran Holding
Talks With Russia To Expand Its Sole Nuclear Power Plant
• How A Muslim Dating
App Made UK Man’s Search For A Wife Go Viral
• UN Security
Council Slams Houthi’s ‘Heinous Terrorist Attacks’ On Abu Dhabi
• UK’s Prince
William to visit UAE next month
• Concerned over
'grave situation' in Afghanistan, Norway set to host talks with Taliban
• 'Turkiye-EU
economic relations a very important cornerstone in ties'
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
--------
To Attract Indians, Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan To Celebrate Spring Festival ‘Jashan-e-Baharan’
Jashan-e-Baharan
Festival 2021, Pakistan
-----
Jan 22, 2022
AMRITSAR: In
order to attract devotees from India to Gurdwaras Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur,
the Pakistani government has decided to celebrate ‘Jashan-e-Baharan’ (Basant),
marking the arrival of the spring season.
While expressing
concern over the significant decline in the number of devotees visiting
Kartarpur Sahib everyday post reopening of the corridor, chief executive
officer (CEO) of its project management unit (PMU), Muhammad Latif, said on
Friday that they would celebrate ‘Jashan-e-Baharan’ or the Spring fest,
celebrated by Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus alike, at Kartarpur Corridor in
February.
Stating that
only 73 devotees arrived at the Kartarpur Corridor on Friday from India, Latif
said since the reopening, only 200-plus devotees have been arriving every day
on an average.
The CEO
attributed rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus behind the
decline in the number of devotees.
Claiming that
they had never returned any Indian devotee in case they were not carrying a
negative RT PCR report, the CEO said they themselves conduct free of cost Rapid
RT PCR test at the border to adhere to the Covid guidelines. “Besides we also
don’t want devotees to be bereft of fulfilling their religious aspirations
despite reaching so close to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib,” said Latif.
He claimed that
PMU had made arrangements of facilitating 5,000 devotees a day. “Various Indian
organisations want to visit in jathas of more than 500 devotees but it seems
that Indian authorities are only allowing 200-plus devotees per day,” he
opined.
Inaugurated on
November 9, 2019, the Kartarpur Corridor was temporarily closed on March 16,
2020, as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The
newly constructed corridor enables Indian devotees to travel about 4.5 km
inside Pakistan to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib where Sikh’s first
master, Guru Nanak Dev, had spent around 18 years till his death.
On October 2,
2020, the Pakistani government announced to unilaterally open the Kartarpur
Corridor but India denied to reciprocate the gesture. On November 17, 2021,
India reopened its side of the Kartarpur Corridor for the daylong pilgrimage.
The CEO said despite
economic stagnation, the Pakistani government is spending a huge amount on the
maintenance of the Kartarpur Corridor, for which it has specially created a
separate department.
“We have over
1,000 dedicated staff, including security personnel, which costs us anything
between 5 to 6 crore in Pakistani rupees per month,” said the CEO.
Source: Times Of
India
Please click the
following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Pakistan Aiding
Chinese Repression Of Uyghurs In Xinjiang: Canada-Based Think Tank Report
(Representative image/File)
-----
Jan 22, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan has never shied away from denouncing other nations for atrocities
against Muslim communities however the country itself has remained noncommittal
on the issue of violation of Uyghur human rights in Xinjiang.
China's economic
rise and growing presence in Pakistan due to its investment specifically in the
China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has given Beijing an unprecedented
scope to take off 'Transnational Repression' in the country including violation
of human rights and persecution of Uyghur minorities in Xinjiang region,
reported Canada-based think tank International Forum for Rights and Security
(IFFRAS).
Chinese
authorities had included Pakistan on the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
(XAR) list of 26 blacklisted countries.
The blacklisting
means those with contacts with anyone or visited or have family ties or any
communication in these blacklisted countries are not to be trusted and will
remain under the radar of XAR authorities, reported the think tank.
Notably, for
years Pakistani nationals and Uyghurs have forged marriages as there has been
trans-border commerce involved between the two nations across the Karakoram
Highway.
In one of the
incidents in Pakistan, Sikandar Hayat and Ghulam Durrani were separated from
their wives who happen to be Uyghurs. The wives were detained in XAR by the
Chinese authorities while they were visiting there.
Subsequently,
Hayat's son who went to support his mother in XAR was not able to meet his
father for two years.
Furthermore,
Durrani's wife continues to be in detention since 2017.
In a
particularly heinous episode exposing Islamabad's insensitivity and involvement
in China's "repression," the Pakistani security forces deported 14
Uyghur Islamic students suspected of being terrorists by China.
After being
turned over to China, the authorities mercilessly killed all of the students at
the border.
The
international community has been quite vocal about the treatment of Uyghur
Muslims in Xinjiang and recently, French Parliament slammed China's
"genocide" of its Uyghur Muslim people on Thursday, in a resolution
that could sour relations between Paris and Beijing only two weeks before the
Winter Olympics.
The resolution
also urges the French government to protect the ethnic minority in the Xinjiang
region and take "the necessary measures within the international community
and in its foreign policy towards the People's Republic of China".
Approximately 60
Uyghurs were deported or imprisoned by Pakistani security forces till 2014.
Following the unrest in Urumchi, a huge number of Uyghurs attempted to exit
China via Pakistan to Turkey.
The Uyghurs were
apprehended by Pakistani officials on their route to Turkey and deported. In
one example, five innocent Uyghurs were deported to China from Baluchistan in
2010, despite the fact that they had no ties to any terror groups.
Source: Times Of
India
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following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Samsung Removes
Ad In Singapore Showing Muslim Mother And Drag Queen Son After Online Backlash
A still from the deleted
Samsung advert. Samsung/WakeUpSingapore
----
20 Jan 2022
SINGAPORE, Jan
20 — An advertisement meant to tug at viewers’ heartstrings while promoting
Samsung’s latest wearable products backfired after it drew public backlash for
its portrayal of a Muslim mother expressing support for her drag queen son.
The company has
since taken down the online video, saying that it was aware of feedback that it
“may be perceived as insensitive and offensive to some members of our local
community”.
“We acknowledge
that we have fallen short in this instance, and have since removed the content
from all public platforms,” it said in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Jan 19).
The
advertisement in question was part of Samsung’s “Listen to Your Heart” series
aimed at promoting its noise-cancelling earbuds and smart watch that features a
heart rate monitor.
Participants
featured in the campaign would listen to a message from a loved one through the
earbuds while their heart rate was monitored by the smart watch.
One of the
participating pairs was a Muslim mother and her drag queen son, who thanked his
mother for her unwavering support.
The scene
sparked outrage online, with people angered by its insensitivity to the Muslim
community.
Some online
users were also riled by what they felt was an attempt to normalise and push
LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer) ideology into a largely
conservative Muslim community.
Homosexuality
remains a sensitive topic in Singapore, despite increasing calls for more
acceptance of the LGBTQ community here.
In its post,
Samsung added that it “believes that innovation and growth are driven by
diversity and inclusivity”.
“We will
certainly be more mindful and thorough in considering all perspectives and
viewpoints for our future marketing campaigns.”
— TODAY
Source: Malay
Mail
Please click the
following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
European Union
Re-Establishes Presence In Afghanistan For Humanitarian Purposes
(Representative
image/Reuters)
-----
January 22, 2022
KABUL: The
European Union said on Friday it was re-establishing a physical presence in
Afghanistan for humanitarian purposes, but stressed it was not formally
recognising the Taliban-led administration.
It was the first
such announcement by a Western power since the 27-nation EU and many
governments withdrew staff and diplomats from Afghanistan as Kabul fell to the
hardline Taliban last August.
“The EU has
started to re-establish a minimal presence of international EU Delegation staff
to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and monitor the humanitarian
situation,” said European Commission foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano.
A Taliban
foreign ministry spokesman had earlier said in a Tweet that its officials had
reached an understanding with the EU, which had “officially opened its embassy
with a permanent presence in Kabul & practically commenced operations”. The
EU spokesperson stopped short of saying the mission had been formally re-opened.
“Our minimal
presence in Kabul must not in any way be seen as recognition. This has also
been clearly communicated to the de facto authorities,” he said.
Also on Friday,
the Norwegian foreign ministry said it had invited Taliban representatives to
Oslo on Jan 23 for talks with representatives of the international community
and Afghan civil society members.
Governments
globally have been grappling with how to avoid formally recognising the
Taliban, which swept to power on Aug 15 as foreign forces withdrew, while
working to stem a growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
Many countries
have ramped up humanitarian aid — aimed at urgent needs and largely bypassing
government channels — as most development aid to the country has been cut off
and strict restrictions placed on the banking sector due to sanctions against
members of the militant group.
The EU on
Tuesday announced it was launching projects worth 268.3 million euros, mostly
to be channelled through United Nations agencies focused on health, education
and displaced people.
Source: Dawn
Please click the
following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1670830/eu-re-establishes-presence-in-afghanistan
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Muslim Leader
Builds CAN Secretariat; Christian Association Of Nigeria Calls Nigerians To
Embrace Religious Harmony And Live In Peace
CAN President, Rev. Olasupo
Ayokunle
-----
22 January 2022
The President,
Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev Olasupo Ayokunle, has called on Nigerians
to embrace religious harmony and live in peace.
Ayokunle said
this at the inauguration of a secretariat built for CAN in the Irewole Local
Government Area of Osun State by the Balogun Musulumi of Ikire, Mr Bola
Oyebamiji.
The CAN president,
who expressed delight that Oyebamiji, a Muslim, who currently serves as the
Osun State Commissioner for Finance, had taught every member of society a
lesson on religious tolerance, also stressed that Nigerians should show love to
people of other faiths.
He said, “Bola
Oyebamiji is someone my family has been very close to for the past 20 years and
he has always been like this. He is a very good and tolerant man to everybody,
no matter your religion.
“I have always
known him to be a partaker in the work of God, be it in the church or mosque. I
must say this is laudable; this is what we have been preaching – harmonious
relationship between all religions. It is exactly what God wants.
“This is the
only way we can achieve true peace in our nation. It is nice to know that the
sponsor of this project for CAN Irewole is a devout Muslim. This gladdens my
heart so much.”
Oyebamiji, while
speaking in a statement signed by his aide, Kingsley Omoyeni, in Osogbo on
Friday, said he embarked on the project because he believed in service to
humanity.
Source: Punchng
Please click the
following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://punchng.com/muslim-leader-builds-secretariat-for-can-ayokunle-excited/
--------
India
AIMMM writes to
Ambani over ‘hate campaigns’ against Muslims on News 18
21st January
2022
New Delhi: All
India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM) in an open letter addressed to the
Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Mukesh Ambani, on Thursday,
raised its concerns over debates on the Reliance owned News 18, around the
Hindu-Muslim binary.
In the letter,
AIMMM president, Navaid Hamid stated that the debate shows which are full of
false and misleading narratives are aimed to create an atmosphere of hatred
against Muslims.
“These are not
normal debates with political, cultural, or social connotations but sadly are
blended in poisonous anti-Muslim agenda,” the letter states.
Stating that
“patriotic Indians” who have a sincere desire for a peaceful co-existence of
different communities in “our nation” would never support such campaigns, the
letter mentioned that News18 India is running a debate show ‘Desh Nahi Jhukne
Denge’, that crosses all “limits of impartial journalism violating journalistic
ethics and are full of distortions, prejudices, hatred and ill will against the
Muslim community”.
Highlighting the
results of such a campaign, Mushawarat mentioned that unless some corrective
steps are taken, the consequence will lead to a major communal flare-up.
Anti-Muslim
campaigns
In the last few
years, many anti-Muslim campaigns have taken place in the name of debates.
After the outbreak of the pandemic, under the pretext of criticizing Tablighi
Jamat, several media outlets spread hatred against Muslims.
Source: Siasat
Daily
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following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Eye on Polls:
BJP trying to win support of Muslim women beneficiaries of government schemes
in UP
22nd January
2022
NEW DELHI: In an
attempt to make inroads into the minority vote bank in poll-bound Uttar
Pradesh, the BJP is trying to win the support of Muslim women.
The saffron
party is reaching out to Muslim women who benefitted from the Narendra Modi's
government welfare schemes along with decision to ban the practice of instant
triple talaq.
Muslims
constitute little less than 20 per cent of Uttar Pradesh's total population
while other minorities form around 1 per cent of the state's population.
Muslims play a
decisive role in many Assembly seats in the state. The BJP Minority Morcha has
identified 40 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh having 60-70 per cent minority
population and 100 Assembly seats having 30 per cent minority population in the
state.
BJP Minority
Morcha national media in-charge, Syed Yasir Jilani, told IANS that Muslim women
who benefitted from the welfare schemes of the Modi government are coming out
in support of the BJP and the Prime Minister.
"After
seeing the overwhelming support of Muslim women for Prime Minister Modi, we
have decided to reaching out to these women. We are preparing a list of Muslim
women beneficiaries to reach out to the families seeking support for the BJP
ahead of the Assembly polls," Jilani said.
Jilani, who is
helping the local unit in Sambhal district along with other party leaders from
the national capital, claimed that Muslim women are listing a series of
government initiatives which have benefitted them.
"Muslim
women are defying their male family members and supporting Prime Minister Modi
and the BJP. They are saying that their family benefitted from PM Awas Yojna,
PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, which provided free ration, Ujjwala Yojana and
other beneficiary schemes of the Centre. These women are openly supporting
Modi. They are also thanking the Prime Minister for banning instant triple
talaq," Jilani claimed.
Source: New
Indian Express
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following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Texas attack
again exposes Pakistan ties with global terror: India
Jan 22, 2022
NEW DELHI: The
Texas synagogue attack has again exposed Pakistan’s links with international
terrorism, the government said Friday while calling for an unambiguous,
undivided, effective and collective response to the global threat from
international terrorism network. Without naming Pakistan, foreign secretary
Harsh Shringla, while underlining the threat from terrorism, said the recent
incident in Texas had again demonstrated that “the international network of
terror, with its epicenter in India’s neighbourhood, was very much active and
had long lasting implications”.
He was speaking
at an event on potential for cooperation between India and Europe in
Indo-Pacific where he welcomed German frigate Bayern, which is making a port
call to Mumbai, and called for more intense engagement between India and Europe
to address challenges like sustainable development, environmental protection
and climate change. Shringla said these issues can only be addressed through
collaborative effort that promotes linkages and not “economic dependencies and
debt traps” in an apparent dig at China.
“India believes
that our common prosperity and security require us to evolve, through dialogue,
a common rules-based order for the region. Such an order must respect the
sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as equality of all nations. Such
an order should enable all countries to use common spaces on sea and in the
air, engage in unimpeded commerce, and peacefully settle disputes in accordance
with international law,” said Shringla. He added India’s record of respecting
and accepting the ITLOS (International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea) verdict
on the delimitation of its maritime boundaries with its neighbours – Bangladesh
and Myanmar - spoke for itself.
Source: Times Of
India
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following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Lucknow man
summoned over Clubhouse group that targeted Muslim women, joining probe today:
Delhi Police
by Mahender
Singh Manral
January 22, 2022
The Delhi Police
Cyber Cell has summoned an 18-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow to join
the investigation after it was found that he had allegedly created a group on
the Clubhouse app, where several users allegedly made derogatory remarks
against Muslim women.
On Saturday,
Delhi Police said they have identified the ID of user – Bismillah as Rahul
Kapoor, a graduate student, whose father is working as an accountant in Army
Public school, Lucknow Cantt. “He was traced and during questioning, he
disclosed that he was asked by Sallos to create an audio chat room in
Clubhouse. He created a chat room and handed over the moderator key to Sallos.
We have seized his mobile phone and served him a notice. He is joining the
investigation in Delhi on Saturday evening,” a senior police officer said.
Police teams
have been sent to four states to question others in connection with the case,
said sources.
The discussion
was recorded and shared online, prompting the Delhi Commission for Women to
write to the police seeking action.
A senior police
officer from the cyber cell said: “A team went to Kapoor’s house late last
night. He used a fake ID on the app and created the group where he and 4-5
others made vulgar and lewd comments against Muslim women.”
Cyber cell
officials said they have sent notices to the US-based company seeking details
of the users/organisers of the group, and to Google Play Store to “keep a
check” on such apps. An FIR under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity between
different groups on the ground of religion), 295A (deliberate and malicious
acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its
religion) and 354 A (sexual harassment) has been registered in the matter.
As reported by
The Indian Express, the Delhi Police had earlier identified 4-5 suspects as the
‘main speakers’ in the group. Acting on a separate complaint about the same
group, the Mumbai Police crime branch has arrested three persons — Akash Suyal
(19), Jaishnav Kakkar (21) and Yash Parashar (22) from Haryana.
Source: Indian Express
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2021 watershed
year for armed forces in J&K and Ladakh: Army Commander
Jan 22, 2022
UDHAMPUR
(J&K): A top army officer on Saturday called 2021 a “watershed year” for
the armed forces on Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir and Line of
Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
He said the
troops displayed boldness in standing up to the “aggressive designs” in the two
Union Territories.
General
Officer-Commanding-in-Chief, northern command, Lt Gen YK Joshi said there has
been a reduction in terrorist-related incidents and stone pelting activities in
Jammu and Kashmir.
“There has been
a reduction in terrorist related incidents, stone pelting activities and
protests as a result of tireless efforts of the security forces and the people
of J&K,” Joshi said, addressing the northern command investiture ceremony
at its headquarters here in J&K.
Earlier in the
ceremony, he presented GOC-in-C's appreciation to 40 units and GOC-in-C's
‘Certificates of Appreciation' to 26 units for their overall 'outstanding' and
'distinguished' performance in the command theatre.
The GOC-in-C's
Appreciation were given for performance of units in Operation Meghdoot,
Operation Rakshak, Operation Northern Borders, and other operations in the
command.
The GOC-in-C's
Certificates of Appreciation were given for performance of units in Operation
Snow Leopard, which was launched after China refused to move back and restore
status quo ante in eastern Ladakh.
“The ceremony
was a solemn occasion to appreciate and recognise the professionalism in
operational roles performed by the units during their tenure in northern
Command,” a defence spokesman said.
Source: Times Of
India
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Block 35 more
Pakistan-based YouTube channels: Information and Broadcasting ministry
Jan 22, 2022
NEW DELHI: The
Union ministry of Information and Broadcasting said on Friday it has issued
orders to block 35 more YouTube channels, two websites, Twitter and Instagram
accounts each, and one Facebook account, all originating in Pakistan, for
spreading anti-India content in a “coordinated manner over digital media”.
The fake,
anti-India content contained references to Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir,
India’s foreign relations with other countries, including fake information
about the demise of former Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and
content seeking to undermine the elections in five poll-bound states. The
I&B ministry said the channels also propagated toxic, separatist content,
which have “the potential to incite its audience into commission of crimes
adversely affecting public order in India”.
The January 20
order comes exactly one month after the ministry invoked, for the first time,
the emergency clause of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and
Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, to block 20 YouTube channels and two
websites on December 20, last year. Union I&B secretary Apurva Chandra
referred to the pernicious content as a “war of misinformation against India”
and said the blocking orders followed fresh intelligence inputs about YouTube
accounts operating from Pakistan.
Some of the
YouTube channels, Chandra said, have a total subscriber base of over 1.2 crore
and the anti-India content they have disseminated had over 130 crore views.
He said orders
to block the social media accounts and websites were issued after Indian
intelligence agencies, which were closely monitoring these accounts and
websites flagged them to the I&B ministry for immediate action.
“While the
ministry is alive to finding and blocking such kind of content, we also call
upon people to flag such content when they see it. It is also the
responsibility of intermediaries to create systems where such kind of fake and
toxic content is automatically flagged,” Chandra said.
Source: Times Of
India
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Pakistan
ATC convicts
Sialkot citizen for justifying lynching of Priyantha Kumara
January 21, 2022
An
Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Friday sentences a Sialkot citizen, identified as
Muhammad Adnan, for justifying the brutal lynching of Sri Lankan citizen
Diyawadanage Don Nandasri Priyantha, soon after the incident.
It is pertinent
to note that the foreign worker, commonly known as Priyantha Kumara, was
brutally lynched in Sialkot over spurious blasphemy allegations late last year.
According to
case details, police had filed a report against Adnan on the complaint of Sub
Inspector Mubarak Ali two days after the brutal murder of Priyantha Kumara.
The First
Information Report (FIR) said that Adnan had uploaded a video on YouTube in
which he supported the actons of those involved in the lynching of the Sri
Lankan citizen.
Police had subsequently
arrested Adnan and produced him in ATC Gujranwala.
During the
hearing of the case, the accused had admitted to the charges framed against
him, on which the court sentenced him to one-year imprisonment and a penalty of
Rs10,000.
Source: Pakistan
Today
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following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Only vaccinated
people to be allowed to offer prayers at mosques of Pakistan
January 22, 2022
Amid a surge in
the novel coronavirus cases during the fifth wave of virus fuelled by the
Omicron variant, the National Command and Operation Centre of Pakistan has
issued fresh standard operating procedures for mosques and worship places
across the country.
Under the SOPs
issued on Friday, only vaccinated individuals are allowed to offer prayer at
mosques or worship places while wearing face masks has been declared mandatory.
The worshippers
will be required to maintain a social distancing of at least six feet and
mosques have been asked to remove mats and carpets from their premises.
The NCOC has
also advised elderly and comorbid persons to prefer offering prayer at home and
maintain minimal attendance for the prayer.
The SOPs also
recommended use of hand sanitiser frequently and organising prayer in open
spaces or ensure proper ventilation to contain the spread of the contagious
disease.
It also asked
the mosque-goers to prefer performing ablution at home and recommended short
sermons for Friday prayer.
Meanwhile,
Pakistan has registered 7,678 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, up from
6,808, the second-highest daily toll, since the pandemic started in 2020,
official figures showed Friday morning.
With the new
infections, the overall cases have moved past 1.35 million. Meanwhile, as many
as 59,343 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, and the positivity ratio
shot up to 12.93%.
The deaths from
coronavirus also went up to 23 in the last 24 hours from five a day earlier,
taking the overall death toll to 29,065, official figures showed.
The cases are on
the rise, but top officials have refused to impose a lockdown, saying that the
country’s economy could not bear the burden of another.
According to the
National Command and Operation Centre, the number of active cases rose to over
57,000 while 961 patients were in critical care.
Source: ABNA24
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More suspects
held as CIA joins Lahore blast probe
Asif Chaudhry
January 22, 2022
LAHORE: Law
enforcement agencies (LEAs) launched search operations across Lahore and picked
up some suspects over their alleged involvement in Thursday’s bomb blast in
Anarkali market.
Raids were
carried out by joint teams of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of police
and other LEAs on the basis of intelligence reports about the movement of the
facilitators/handlers of the terrorist attack.
An official
privy to the development told Dawn that the law enforcers received a tip-off
about the presence of suspects in areas adjacent to Anarkali and other parts of
the city. He said the law enforcers got some important leads through call
record data and footage from CCTV cameras installed in the bazaar and the roads
leading to it as well as other areas.
Geo-fencing and
other such methods helped security officials in spotting the key suspect who
was believed to have planted the explosives at Paan Mandi in Anarkali. The
official, however, refused to confirm any breakthrough, saying it would be
premature to disclose anything as investigations were under way.
Meanwhile, Mayo
Hospital discharged 20 people injured in the blast whereas eight victims were
still under treatment.
Of the eight
injured people under treatment, only one was critical, said Medical
Superintendent Dr Iftikhar Ahmad while speaking to Dawn. The remaining seven
could be discharged from hospital within a couple of days, he hoped.
Earlier on
Thursday night, the official source said, a CTD team had picked up two suspects
from Mayo Hospital and shifted them to an undisclosed location for
interrogation. Both were released shortly afterwards when it transpired they
were members of a religio-political party.
The official
said the LEAs were analysing a lot of CCTV footage gathered from the Safe City
Authority, which could play a critical role in getting their hands on the
terrorists behind the blast.
To a question,
he remarked there was a strong possibility the newly formed Baloch Nationalist
Army was behind the blast, as the two groups that merged to create this new
organisation had used timed-devices for their attacks previously.
Separately,
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Rao Sardar Ali Khan has also tasked the Crime
Investigation Agency (CIA) with handling the blast case besides the CTD.
On Friday, the
CIA chief held a meeting after examining the Paan Mandi crime scene and dispatched
teams to inspect the roads that could have been used by the prime suspect to
escape.
Source: Dawn
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Govt, opposition
spar in NA over growth claim
Amir Wasim
January 22, 2022
ISLAMABAD: The
opposition challenged in the National Assembly on Friday the government’s claim
regarding improvement in economic indicators and achieving a 5.37 per cent
growth rate, besides seeking an investigation into the ongoing campaign in
support of the presidential system.
The lower house
of parliament witnessed ruckus on a couple of occasions when the opposition
tried to interrupt speeches by ministers.
Ahsan Iqbal of
the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar,
during heated exchange of arguments, passed some personal and taunting remarks
against each other, raising the temperature.
Speaking on a
point of order, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi first lashed out at the
PML-N for allegedly influencing the judiciary through the affidavit of ex-chief
judge of Gilgit-Baltistan Rana Shamim and video and audio leaks of the judges
and then started recounting the economic “achievements” of the Pakistan
Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government, claiming that through tough decisions, the
government had succeeded in stabilising the economy.
“We took very
difficult decisions in two years and swallowed a bitter pill. We made painful
decisions …. the people suffered and we received criticism, but in the third
year, the economy is now heading towards recovery [phase] after attaining
stability,” said Mr Qureshi, amid desk-thumping by the treasury members and
sloganeering from the opposition benches.
PML-N, PPP seek
probe into campaign in support of presidential system; minister says government
has succeeded in stabilising economy
The fourth year
under the PTI government, he said, would be the year of “prosperous Pakistan”
as all economic indicators were moving in the right direction. He said the
international financial institutions were saying that Pakistan’s GDP growth was
touching 5.37 per cent. He said the national economy had registered sustainable
growth and the country’s exports, remittances and foreign exchange reserves had
witnessed an upward trend at a time when the economy was contracting in other
countries due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The minister
admitted that the farmers were getting urea fertiliser at higher rates from the
black market, but claimed that the price was still lower than the international
price. He also admitted that price hike was a challenge for the government, but
then said it was a worldwide phenomenon.
He claimed that
the per capita income in Pakistan was at around $1,457 which has now jumped to
$1,666, indicating that the purchasing power of people has also increased
considerably.
He also agreed
that the rupee had depreciated against the dollar, but again gave the examples
of Turkey, Argentina, Columbia, Japan and the European Union which were also
facing the same problem.
Taking the
floor, PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal ridiculed Mr Qureshi’s speech and taunted him for
changing his loyalties, stating that the opposition did not take him serious as
he used to deliver similar speeches when he was with them in the PML-N and then
in the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). He said Mr Qureshi was in fact trying to
present himself as “replacement” for Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Mr Iqbal
challenged the minister to have a live debate on TV with him over the economic
policies of the previous and present governments. He said the minister was
claiming that there was price hike all over the world, but he did not mention
India and Bangladesh where inflation was still in single digit.
Presidential
system
Mr Iqbal then
drew the attention of the house to the ongoing media campaign in favour of
imposition of the presidential system, stating that the country had already
suffered under this system during the eras of dictators like Ayub Khan, Yahya
Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf. He said Pakistan could no more afford
experimentation. He asked the speaker to hold a debate on the issue “to finish
the matter once for all”, stating that the Quaid-i-Azam had himself laid the
foundation of the federal parliamentary system in Pakistan.
Editorial:
Emergency rumours
Minister for
Energy Hammad Azhar said he was ready to accept Ahsan Iqbal’s challenge and
said parliament was the best forum to give answers to the opposition’s
“misleading” speeches on the national economy. He alleged that the PML-N had
maintained the growth rate at 5pc artificially after utilising foreign exchange
and borrowing loans.
Mr Azhar also
taunted the PML-N leader for naming Gen Zia as dictator, stating that it was
his party which should be made answerable for the actions taken by Gen Zia.
PPP’s Agha
Rafiullah called for investigation to find out the elements behind the media
campaign for the presidential system. In fact, he said, these elements were
creating distrust in the public on parliament and democracy.
Gas shortage
Earlier,
responding to a calling attention notice of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM),
the energy minister blamed the Sindh High Court and the provincial government
for the gas crisis in Karachi. He said that when the government started
disconnecting gas supply to some 1,900 industries in Karachi to shift its
supply to domestic users, the owners got a stay order from the court in
September last year and till that time they had been trying to get this stay
vacated.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1670845/govt-opposition-spar-in-na-over-growth-claim
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Gen Bajwa visits
Peshawar Corps HQ; briefed on security situation
January 22, 2022
PESHAWAR: Army
Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has reiterated the resolve of Pakistan Army to
fight against terrorism till elimination of the menace from the country.
The
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that Gen Bajwa visited the Corps
Headquarters, Peshawar, on Friday where he was given a detailed briefing on the
prevailing security situation, progress on development works in newly merged
tribal districts and Pak-Afghan border fencing.
Paying tribute
to brave tribesmen, officers and soldiers of the army, FC, Levies, Khasadar and
police, Gen Bajwa vowed that the sacrifices of martyrs would not go in vain and
complete peace would return to the country.
He praised
security forces for providing an enabling environment for the completion of
socio-economic development projects in the newly merged tribal districts, vital
for enduring stability and sustainable progress of the region.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1670840/gen-bajwa-visits-peshawar-corps-hq-briefed-on-security-situation
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10 Pakistanis
serving different sentences in Indian jails, SHC told
January 22, 2022
KARACHI: The
foreign affairs ministry has informed the Sindh High Court (SHC) that 10
Pakistani citizens were serving different sentences, including life terms, in
Indian prisons.
The foreign
ministry disclosed this in its reply filed before a two-judge bench headed by
Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro, which was seized with a petition seeking
directions for the federal government to ensure repatriation of 17 Pakistanis
imprisoned in India.
An official of
the foreign affairs ministry, Huzefa Khanum, stated in the comments that four
out of Pakistani nationals were serving life terms in the prisons of the
neighbouring country.
He also stated
that seven prisoners had been released from the Indian prisons and were
repatriated to the country from 2011 to 2015.
The director
submitted that ministry regularly took up the matter with the Pakistani mission
in New Delhi and continuously kept pressing the Indian authorities for early
release/repatriation of the prisoners who had completed their sentence and
whose national status had been confirmed.
The bench
disposed of the petition in view of the reply of the ministry of foreign
affairs.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1670767/10-pakistanis-serving-different-sentences-in-indian-jails-shc-told
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Pakistan beefs
up security in capital after deadly Lahore blast
21 January ,2022
Security was
beefed up across Pakistan’s capital Friday, police said, a day after three
people were killed and 22 wounded by a bomb in the eastern megacity of Lahore.
The country has
suffered a string of blasts and attacks since December, when a truce between
the government and Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP) lapsed.
But Thursday’s
bomb blast – in a busy shopping district of Lahore – was claimed by the Baloch
Nationalist Army (BNA), the newest of several separatist groups to emerge from
Pakistan’s biggest but poorest province, Balochistan.
Police spokesman
Naeem Iqbal told AFP that security would be tightened in Islamabad, the seat of
the government and home to dozens of embassies and other international
institutions.
He said
uniformed and plain-clothes officers would fan across the city, particularly in
crowded areas such as markets.
Earlier this
week a policeman was killed and two others wounded in a drive-by motorcycle
shooting in the capital by two TTP militants who died in return fire.
The BNA said it
carried out Thursday’s Lahore bomb attack “in response to the killing of women
and children by Pakistani forces in Balochistan.”
Ethnic
separatist groups have been waging an insurgency for years in the province,
complaining they do not receive a fair share of its gas and mineral wealth.
Source: Al
Arabiya
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Southeast Asia
Anyone can
challenge constitutionality of laws enacted in Malaysia
By Ersie Anjumin
January 21, 2022
KOTA KINABALU:
All parties are entitled to challenge the constitutionality of laws enacted in
Malaysia, whether they be state or federal laws.
Sabah Law
Society (SLS) president Roger Chin Ken Fong said such was the hallmark of a
democracy and the people should not be deterred to seek recourse with the courts.
"The
Federal Court had recently held that a Selangor Syariah law was invalid, this
decision was by no means an attack on Syariah law. The Federal Constitution
was, through that decision, upheld by the Federal Court.
"The core
of the decision is uncontroversial. Matters which are under the Federal List in
the Federal Constitution are for Parliament to legislate upon, and matters
which are under the State List in the Federal Constitution are for the States
to legislate upon," said Chin in his speech during the Opening of the
Legal Year for Sabah and Sarawak 2022 at the Kota Kinabalu Court Complex today.
Chin was
referring to a case of a Muslim man who challenged the constitutionality and
validity of Section 28 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Selangor) Enactment
1995, which allows for punishment for unnatural sex.
Clearly
therefore, any law enacted by the states in relation to matters contained in
the Federal List are invalid, he said.
"The states
simply have no power to legislate in relation to such matters. This is a fairly
rudimentary principle and the law minister would – or should – be entirely
aware of the same."
The SLS applauds
the willingness of the Federal Court to uphold the basic tenets of the Federal
Constitution, notwithstanding the potential for misunderstanding by members of
the public or politicisation by politicians, who may not appreciate the context
of the decision.
"In the
premises, it would be irresponsible for anyone to characterise the decision of
the Federal Court as an attack on Syariah law, and go further to discourage
similar challenges."
Chin further
said that the provisions of the Federal Constitution must be upheld at all
times.
Although there
may be concerns as to perception which should be managed with tact and
diplomacy, ultimately the rule of law and the provisions of the Federal
Constitution must always be preserved and upheld.
Source: NST News
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Indonesia jails
'Catholic brother' for molesting boys
Katharina Reny
January 21, 2022
An Indonesian
court has sentenced a “Catholic brother” to 14 years in jail for sexually
assaulting boys at an orphanage near capital Jakarta.
Lukas
"Lucky" Ngalngola, also known as Brother Angelo, was convicted by
Depok District Court on Jan. 20 for threatening violence and committing lewd
acts on at least three children.
He was also
ordered to pay a fine of 100 million rupiah (US$6,990).
Ngalngola
claimed to be a member of the Blessed Sacrament Missionaries of Charity (BSMC),
an obscure order based in the Philippines.
The order
founded the Kencana Bejana Rohani Foundation which ran the orphanage in the
city of Depok, West Java province, where the abuses were committed.
The abuse first
came to light when three boys living at the orphanage filed a police report
against Ngalngola in September 2019.
They claimed
they were sexually abused by Ngalngola on a regular basis over a prolonged
period.
Police arrested
Ngalngola but released him three months later after investigators failed to complete
a report for prosecutors to bring the case to court.
They cited their
inability to find the whereabouts of the boys to get additional statements
requested by prosecutors as the reason.
The case was
reopened in September 2020 after Darius Rebong, who took over running the
orphanage, filed another police report against Ngalngola.
Six months
later, however, Ngalngola remained free, prompting accusations the police were
dragging their feet in the case.
Ngalngola was
arrested in March last year.
Following the
Jan. 20 verdict, Ngalngola said he would file an appeal “in the name of the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit to a panel of fair judges.”
Speaking to UCA
News, Rebong said he had to respect the legal process even though “the sentence
will not be able to heal the victims’ suffering.”
Source: UCA News
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https://www.ucanews.com/news/indonesia-jails-catholic-brother-for-molesting-boys/95809
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Ah Long victim
in fear as RM300 loan swells to RM45,000
Zeanaaima Mohd
Yusof
January 22, 2022
KUALA LUMPUR:
Last year, Aliff and his sister borrowed RM300 from money lenders to settle their
father’s debts, but little did they know that the small loan would bring them a
year of suffering.
They have
already made repayments totalling RM34,000 but the loan sharks, or Ah Longs,
still want to squeeze RM11,000 out of Aliff (not his real name).
He is now living
on the run to escape the Ah Longs’ torments – but pictures of him and his
family have gone viral online after his phone was hacked. Members of the public
are being asked to “beat them up for failing to pay off their debts”.
Aliff’s suffering
began when he tried to get an immediate loan to help his father, who fell
victim to a scam. He was also unemployed at the time, forcing him to turn to
moneylenders.
“I just borrowed
RM300. My dad asked for my help, but I wasn’t working at the time because of
the Covid-19 lockdown.
“My friends
suggested this phone app through which I could submit a loan application. I had
to give a copy of my identification card and a video of me saying I borrowed
money through the app. That’s all. I got the money immediately,” he told FMT.
However, instead
of the RM300 he was promised, Aliff only received RM150 and was required to pay
back RM300 within a seven-day period. He could not afford to do so, and had to
rope in his sister as the debt continued to rise.
“My sister has
already spent so much money because of this. More than RM30,000 is now gone.
The first time I paid, RM8,000 was already gone. Then they came calling again,
asking for RM6,000, RM8,000.
“They said what
I paid initially was just the principal amount and that I had more to pay. In
total, my sister and I had to fork out RM34,000,” he said, adding that he then
had no choice but to borrow money online from an Ah Long to pay off the debts.
He fell into an
unending cycle and, in the end, resorted to borrowing money through 15
different applications to pay off his prior debts. His pictures then went
around online leaving him in fear and shame.
“My friend
called me and said, ‘A picture of you is going viral.’ In the picture, they
wrote, ‘This boy doesn’t pay his debts. If you see him, just beat him up.’ But
we actually have paid, in fact, we’ve paid off more than we borrowed,” he
lamented.
After jumping
from one application to another, he eventually filed a complaint with the
Malaysian Muslim consumer association Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (PPIM),
which said Aliff’s case was just one of the thousands who have been entrapped
by Ah Longs.
Police
statistics show that 3,149 complaints have been filed from 2019 to last October
over loan sharks. PPIM said more than 80% of cases involve Malays.
PPIM lead
activist Nadzim Johan conceded that loan sharks’ widespread presence was
because there was a demand for them, adding that this was due to “loopholes in
society”.
To help
borrowers, he said PPIM would try to negotiate with the Ah Longs to reduce the
amount demanded, in adherence to what the government allows.
Source: Free
Malaysia Today
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following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Malaysia: The
Absence Of Political Checks And Balances
By Murray Hunter
January 21, 2022
The major
impediment to Malaysia achieving the aspiration of becoming a developed country
is the lack of checks and balances within the system of politics and
government. Malaysia has three tiers of government, federal, state, and local
government. Malaysia also has three branches of government, the executive made
up of the prime minister and cabinet, the parliament, made up of the monarch,
Dewan Rakyat, lower popularly elected house, and the senate.
The lack of
checks and balances in government occurred partly due to the country’s origins
as a group of Malay Sultanates within the Malay peninsula, and events and
decisions that have shaped the nature of Malaysia’s political system since
federation.
Checks and
balances are a mechanism of constitutional government where institutions within
different branches of government are empowered to prevent other institutions
make decisions and take actions beyond their power and authority. Checks and
balances map out how authority and power is distributed and shared within
constitutionally based government. Checks and balances limit power by
individuals and institutions overreaching into areas they are not
constitutionally or by convention shouldn’t be involved in. Checks and balances
prevent the abuse of power, and regulate the harmonious operation and interactions
of the different branches of government.
The Constitution
The Malaysian
constitution lays out the basic law of government. It lays down the powers,
responsibilities, and boundaries of all branches and levels of government. All
legislation and operations within government must be consistent with the
wording and intentions of the constitution.
However, the
constitution is not a solid bedrock of government. The constitution can be
changed by an act of parliament that garners at least two-thirds of the votes
to pass it. Successive Barisan Nasional governments had a two-thirds majority
in the parliament for all but two elections since federation, up to 2009. This
has left the constitution, the very foundation of government vulnerable to
abuse, which has been the case.
Malaysia’s
constitution has been amended 58 times since federation, affecting some 750
clauses within the document. Most of these constitutional amendments were made
very hastily, under semi-secrecy.
The Reid
Commission formulated the constitution with the intention it would nurture a
strong, viable and healthy democracy in South-East Asia. The most controversial
amendments have weakened democratic safeguards and freedom of speech enshrined
within the constitution. These include;
Article 10 was
amended in 1971 to allow the parliament to pass legislation to restrict public
discussion on citizenship, the national language, Bumiputera rights, the
legitimate rights of other races, the sovereignty of the rulers.
Article 121 was
amended in 1998 to place the judiciary under the influence of parliament, and
Article 121 (1)
(a) was amended at the same time to divorce the Syariah court system from the
civil court system, thereby making it autonomous.
These and many
other amendments weakened the separation of powers between the executive,
judiciary, and legislature. Constitutional changes over the years have led to
the centralisation of power in Malaysia, and partly to the autonomy of Islam
within the state.
The Senate
The parliament’s
upper house, the Dewan Negara, or senate is comprised of 69 members. Each of
the 13 state assemblies elects 2 members each, and 43 members are appointed by
the Yang Di-pertuan Agong, or king, on the advice of the prime minister.
Consequently, the senate is an undemocratic house.
The role of the
senate is twofold. The first function is to safeguard the rights of the states.
However, with 43 federally appointed members negates this. The second function
for the senate is to act as a house of review for government legislation. This
is undermined by the shear weight of federal appointees outnumbering state
representatives. Consequently, although there are some independent minded
senators, the house is just a rubber stamp for the government of the day.
There are
provisions within the constitution for the direct election of state
representatives by the people. The senate by the nature of 43 representatives
nominated by the government of the day destroys the role of the senate as a
check and balance upon the executive government.
The Judiciary
The
independence, or lack of independence of the judiciary has long been the
subject of debate over the years. The Anwar sodomy 1 and 2 trials, and
convicted felon ex-prime minister Najib Razak out on bail after his conviction
and dismissal of an appeal continue to drive allegations of court partiality in
politically sensitive cases.
Confidence in
judiciary was at rock bottom after the dismissal of Lord President Tun Salleh
Abas in 1988 for effectively defending the court’s independence. Former prime
minister Mahathir Mohamed held distain for the court over a number of court
decisions. These cases included anger over the court overturning a decision to
revoke the work permit of the Asian Wall Street Journal correspondent John
Berthelsen, judicial reviews over ministerial decisions such as the awarding of
contracts for the North-South Highway Project to UEM, and the decision to
declare UMNO illegal following a dispute after party elections in 187.
Today, the
attorney-general is empowered to determine which courts will be used for
particular cases. This leaves a great question over how independent the
judiciary can really be in the Malaysian political environment.
The federal
court has traditionally been reluctant to nullify federal and state legislation
they deem as breaching the constitution. The court system needs to assert
itself as a truly independent arm of the government, as a custodian of the
constitution.
Federal-State
Relations
Malaysian
government over the last 64 years has become centralized. The federal
government has taken too much power away from the states. Successive federal
governments have showed a lack of respect for the division of powers between
the federal government and the states. This is not just about a new deal for
Sabah and Sarawak, all state governments had their sovereignty eroded by the
federal government.
State
governments need to be run by leaders who put state interests before the
political interests of the federal government. National development and
budgetary issues need to be undertaken as fully cooperative exercises, where
governments accept the will of the people, even if a state government is
administrated by an opposition party.
Part of the
federal-state nexus is distorted by the way Malaysian political party decision
making is undertaken, particularly with the selection of candidates for public
office in federal and state elections. These decisions are usually made
centrally, by the national party leader and a very small working group. This
disenfranchises the local party branch system, where local party membership has
little, if any say in who their candidates for public office will be. This
gravely weakens the checks and balances between federal and state governments,
particularly if they are of the same party and coalition.
Local Government
Local government
in Malaysia consists of various organizational units, including city councils
covering urban areas with over a population of 500,000 people, municipal
councils covering other urban areas, and rural district councils.
Local government
elections were suspended during the Indonesian Confrontation in 1964. They have
never been reinstated, and attempts by Penang to revert to local government
elections, thrashed by the federal government. Today, city, municipal, and
rural council members are selected by respective state governments and by the
federal government within federal territories for two-year terms.
Accountability and transparency are notoriously missing. The government that
operates closest to the people, affecting daily lives is totally undemocratic.
Local
governments have been detached and isolated from the communities they serve.
Policy making is top down and administrators serve other stakeholders, rather
than the communities they are serving.
Local government
is an incubator of future leaders, should be a check and balance against the
power of state and federal governments, rather than a subservient extension.
The nation is desperately in need of this protection. However, local government
elections would potentially challenge the state of federal government’s
prerogative. State and federal members of parliament fear that elected
councillors would erode their tenure of control over individual constituencies,
as citizens would have an alternative public representative to approach with
their problems.
Islamization
Under the
constitution Malaysia is primarily a secular state, with Islam as the religion
of the federation. To all intents and purposes, the operation of government was
intended to be secular with certain provisions made within the constitution to
empower the monarchy to be custodians of the religion. The responsibility for
the administration of Islamic affairs primarily lies with the states.
However, over
the last 50 years, an unassailable Islamic bureaucracy has developed in
Malaysia. Under then prime minister Mahathir Mohamed, under political threat by
the rural based Parti Islam se-Malaysia or PAS, the civil service has been
Islamized.
The federal
centrepiece of Islam within the federal civil service is the Islamic
Development Department of Malaysia (JAKIM). The department has almost become a
government within itself, able to manoeuvre itself politically over the last
few decades. JAKIM’s role in Malaysia has been strongly rebuked by the eminent
G25 group, and the Sultan of Johor has instructed his state Islamic department
not to cooperate with JAKIM.
Islamization of
Malaysia has destroyed the principle of secularism within government. There are
strong criticisms of Islamization by Malays themselves. They claim the freedom
of lifestyle, association, and expression has been taken away. Under Syariah
law Malays have less civil rights than non-Malays. Islamization has to some
degree stifled constructive discussion and criticism over issues of governance.
The Media
In a democracy,
the media is often considered a major check and balance against abusive
government. In Malaysia, the media has been heavily censored over the years.
New portals can be closed down like The Malaysian Insider was in 2016, running
multiple reports and commentary about the 1MDB financial scandal. Today, all
news portals practice self-censorship, and will take down articles upon the
request of ministers, in fear of not getting their licences renewed.
Investigative journalism is threatened with strong deformation laws. Journalist
have been regularly rounded up in political crackdowns and held in custody
without charge. In 2020, Malaysia was ranked 119 out of 180 in the Reporters
without Borders Press Freedom Index.
The First Past
the Post (FPTP) voting system
The type of
voting system a country adopts has great bearing upon the nature and dynamics
of formal political representation within the parliament. Malaysia adopted the
First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system from the United Kingdom, where the
candidate within an electoral constituency garners the most votes is elected
the member for the constituency. This greatly favours national organizations
with strong grassroot election machinery available to muster enough votes in
the maximum number of constituencies to win government, or enter onto a
coalition with other elected groupings that have concentrated support.
Political movements that have some broad support across the nation, but not
enough concentration of support within single constituencies will not win any
constituencies and be without representatives in parliament.
Source: Eurasia
Review
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following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Former Malaysian
PM Mahathir Mohamad admitted to hospital
January 22, 2022
KUALA LUMPUR:
Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has been admitted to
hospital, a spokesperson for him said on Saturday.
The spokesperson
said Mahathir was admitted to the cardiac care unit at the National Heart
Institute but gave no details.
Source: Arab News
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2009576/world
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South Asia
Rights groups,
victims call UN to ban Bangladesh paramilitary force RAB
21 January ,2022
Families of
victims of enforced disappearances allegedly perpetrated by an elite Bangladesh
paramilitary group Friday called on the UN to ban the security force from
serving as peacekeepers.
They made the
call a day after 12 international rights groups including Amnesty International
made similar demands to the UN Department of Peace Operations in a letter to UN
Under-Secretary General Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
For the latest
headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The move is
designed at adding pressure on Bangladesh authorities, especially its powerful
military and police, after rights groups blamed the elite Rapid Action
Battalion for gross human rights violations.
They say the RAB
enforced disappearances of hundreds of people, including many opposition
activists and leaders.
“If Secretary
General (Antonio) Guterres is serious about ending human rights abuses by UN
peacekeepers, he will ensure that units with proven records of abuse like the
Rapid Action Battalion are excluded from deployment,” said Kerry Kennedy,
president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.
“The evidence is
clear; now it’s time for the UN to draw a line.”
UN spokesman
Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday that the letter from the 12 rights groups
would be looked at.
The UN has a
“stringent human rights screening policy that applies to individual units from
every country. But we obviously have been taking very seriously what is being
done,” Dujarric told reporters.
The RAB, which
draws officers from the armed forces and police, has come under intense
pressure in recent weeks after the United States last month slapped sanctions
against it and at least seven of its current and former officers including its
current national police chief.
Bangladesh has
protested the sanctions and on Thursday home minister Asaduzzaman Khan defended
the RAB.
“They are not
highlighting the positive impacts of RAB has had on society. They are not
talking about RAB’s war on drugs and terrorism,” he told reporters.
Families of
victims of enforced disappearances and politicians have also stepped up
pressure on the tainted security force.
“RAB picked up
my brother in December 2013 and we have never found him. My mother went to RAB
headquarters every day for more than a year to find out his whereabouts,” said
Afroja Islam Akhi, whose brother Sajedul Islam was an opposition activist.
Akhi, who helped
set up Mayer Daak, which groups families of enforced disappearance victims,
blamed RAB for abducting and disappearing more than 600 people.
“Can murderers
and human rights violators be UN Peacekeepers? No way,” she said.
The UN sanctions
on RAB has emboldened Bangladesh’s opposition, which has held a series of
massive rallies across the country.
Reza Kibria, who
heads the Gono-odhikar Parishad, a new opposition outfit, called for the
disbanding the RAB.
Source: Al
Arabiya
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following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Taliban root
cause of Afghanistan's troubles; people face most difficult scenario in
country's history: Expert
Jan 21, 2022
KABUL: As people
residing in Afghanistan face the horrors of Taliban atrocities since the fall
of Kabul, an expert believes that the Taliban are the root cause of all of
Afghanistan's troubles and under their rule people are facing the most
difficult scenario in the country's history.
Red Lantern
Analytica on Thursday hosted a webinar titled "Regional and Global
Implications of Taliban Rule: Afghan Voices." The Red Lantern Analytica
organized a panel featuring specialists in the fields of human rights,
security, and geopolitics of South Asia.
Kabir Haqmal, an
ex-spokesperson for the office of the National Security Council said, "The
Taliban regime has brought upon a crisis which is a humanitarian crisis, a
national crisis, as well as an economic crisis and a political crisis. This has
been brought upon by the Taliban, which is backed by regional and some
international powers."
Haqmal said that
there is no conflict that may kill millions, but ordinary Afghans are forced to
leave the nation while millions live below the poverty line. Also, millions of
women lack access to education, and the Afghan community lacks trust in the
Taliban regime.
He added that
the Taliban's actions are backed by ISI operatives and the Pakistani and
Chinese governments. Every day, women and members of Afghanistan's ethnic
communities march on the streets, refusing to accept Taliban authority.
The Taliban's
return has set the path for another catastrophe unprecedented in the country's
history, necessitating another revolution. The Taliban are unwilling to work
democratically because they reject public opinion and deny elections and media
coverage, among many other things, Haqmal noted.
He further
stated that the Taliban are the "root cause" of all of Afghanistan's
troubles, and Afghans under their rule are facing the most difficult scenario
in the country's history.
Talking about
the humanitarian assistance provided to Afghanistan, Haqmal said that several
foreign groups and organizations are attempting to provide assistance worth
millions of dollars, but their efforts have proven largely ineffective.
"When a
government that has operated democratically for two decades abruptly
relinquishes power, these organizations cannot simply fulfil their
responsibilities by infusing money into the country at a time when the Afghan
administrative system has completely crumbled," he added.
According to
Haqmal, the ideal form of help for Afghanistan would be for the international
community to pressure the Taliban regime into accepting a "loya
jorga" system (elections) for a certain term in order to construct a
favourable administrative system for Afghans.
Afghans should
have the right to vote, and the country should hold legitimate democratic
elections. If fair elections were held, the Afghans would have ousted the
Taliban, he added.
In response to a
question on whether he could discuss Pakistan's involvement in causing the
Taliban crisis, Haqmal stated that Pakistan is the "primary element"
driving Taliban rule.
Major Amit
Bansal, who addressed an Indian perspective on Afghanistan's violence and
anarchy, as well as the Doha Agreement Factor, which was a big blunder in the
making, stated the deal did not take the opinions of the Afghan people into
consideration, and the agreement struck between the US and Afghanistan was a
watershed moment.
Bansal continued
discussing how the greatest threat to Afghanistan throughout the social
spectrum is the humanitarian food crisis, which will only worsen as it spreads
to the country's most marginalized parts.
He also
discussed how Pakistan has been a significant impediment and has been
responsible for building barriers in the movement of supplies and imports via
its shared border with Afghanistan.
Bansal concluded
by stating that the "only way to resolve these issues is for the Afghan
people to take action. Rather than fighting and fleeing the country, the people
must find a solution and unify through democratic protests."
Source: Times Of
India
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following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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US has no
specified schedule for recognition of Taliban: Special envoy
22 Jan 2022
US special
representative for Afghanistan Thomas West said that the US has no specified
schedule for the recognition of the interim government of the Islamic Emirate
of Afghanistan and that the Taliban should take some steps before the
normalization of relations.
Speaking with
BBC Pashto, Thomas West said that normalization of ties between the US and the
Taliban does not seem easy and that they (the US) have outlined preconditions
in this regard.
Respect for
human and women’s rights, freedom of speech, education of women, and
formalization of the rights of minorities in Afghanistan are preconditions of
the US to the Taliban.
The special
representative said that the US will pay the salaries of Afghan teachers in
collaboration with the International Society in case the Taliban reopen
schools.
About the frozen
assets of Afghanistan, Thomas West said that part of the nearly $10 billion
will be paid to the victims of 9/11 as ransom but added that the final decision
has not been made yet.
Source: Khaama
Press
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https://www.khaama.com/us-has-no-specified-schedule-for-recognition-of-taliban-special-envoy-876875/
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IEA delegation
led by Amir Khan Motaqi to visit Norway
21 Jan 2022
Spokespersons of
the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan said that an Afghan delegation led by the
acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Motaqi is supposed to leave for Norway on
Saturday, January, 22.
Inamullah
Samangani said that the Afghan delegation that will be comprised of a number of
Afghan ministers will meet with American diplomats, EU members, Norwegian
officials, and other Afghans.
Norway’s Foreign
Ministry in a statement said that Afghan representatives have been invited to
Oslo on 23-25 January 2022 to meet Norwegian authorities, the international
community, and other Afghans.
The statement
reads that the meetings do not represent a legitimization or recognition of the
Taliban but the de facto authorities must be talked with so that we prevent
political situation leading to a worse humanitarian disaster.
Source: Khaama
Press
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/iea-delegation-led-by-amir-khan-motaqi-to-visit-norway-987767/
--------
Africa
'Trade with Allah'
... The Mufti of Tunisia calls on citizens to donate in favour of the State
January 21, 2022
On Thursday, the
Grand Mufti of the Republic of Tunisia, Othman Battikh, called on all Tunisian
citizens to donate in favour of the State, in order to contribute to "end
the current economic crisis" that the country is witnessing.
Through a
statement by the Tunisian Dar Al Iftaa (Fatwa Council), Tunisia's Grand Mufti
called on "good and righteous people, who provided assistance during the
COVID-19 pandemic crisis" to "continue giving and expenditure as a
moral and religious duty, until the country overcomes the crisis."
The statement
stated that "subsidisation of the homeland" cannot be considered
"sacrifice, redemption or loss", but rather it is "trade with Allah,
the reward of which is social stability, progress, advancement and
tranquillity, with the aim of catching up with the advanced nations."
The Grand Mufti
also urged Tunisians to "not be stingy with the beloved Tunisia" and
"not to hesitate to support it." On the same occasion, he also warned
against those who "dishearten others, and do that in each society."
The call by the
Mufti of the Republic comes at a time when Tunisia is going through a severe
economic crisis, where economic analysts believe that the State may be unable
to pay the salaries of its employees in the near term. Indeed, the payment of
the salaries of a group of employees who work in various government sectors has
been delayed.
Earlier, Tunis
Afrique Presse reported that Tunisia's public debt will reach 114.14 billion
dinars ($ 39.77 billion) by the end of 2022, which represents 82.6 per cent of
GDP.
Source: Middle East
Monitor
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Sudanese hold
‘day for martyrs’ after anti-coup protest deaths
21 January ,2022
Sudanese
anti-coup protesters held a “day for the martyrs” Friday, gathering outside the
homes of some of those killed in a violent crackdown on demonstrations since an
October military takeover.
In Khartoum’s
twin city of Omdurman, dozens headed toward the home of John Kual, a
37-year-old electrician from South Sudan, some shouting “power to the people.”
For the latest
headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Friends said
Kual had regularly attended demonstrations until he was shot in the chest on
Wednesday while protesting against the security forces’ use of deadly violence.
Al-Tahami
Khalifa, 60, who was among those at the procession that followed Friday Muslim
prayers, called for an end to “an unjust and criminal regime.”
Marches also
headed to the homes of other bereaved families across the capital, activists
said.
Civil society
groups had called for a day of solidarity with the families of 73 protesters
killed since General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan led a coup on October 25 that
derailed the country’s fragile transition to civilian rule.
Regular
demonstrations against the military takeover have sometimes been attended by
tens of thousands, and trade unions, political parties and community groups
have called for new protests on Monday.
Burhan this week
announced a new “cabinet in charge of current affairs,” appointing some deputy
ministers in the deposed civilian government as ministers.
Among them was
Ayman Sayyid Salim, who was appointed youth and sports minister and who
resigned Friday in a letter made public.
He expressed
“surprise” at what he deemed an “unconstitutional” appointment and said he paid
“tribute to the martyrs.”
Amid an
international push for dialogue, US diplomats visited Khartoum this week in an
attempt to help end the crisis.
Source: Al
Arabiya
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following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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At least 11
migrants drown off Tunisia in shipwreck
21 January ,2022
At least 11
migrants drowned in a shipwreck off Tunisia as they tried to cross the
Mediterranean to Europe, while 21 others were rescued by the coastguard, the
army spokesman said on Friday.
He added the
coastguard had recovered five bodies, while the search was still under way for
six more drowned.
Tunisia is a key
departure point, just 140 kilometers from the Italian island of Lampedusa,
according to AFP.
Source: Al
Arabiya
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following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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US army confirms
Russian mercenaries in Mali
21 January ,2022
The US army has
confirmed the presence of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group in Mali,
which the African nation’s government has denied amid increasingly strained
relations with the West.
“Wagner is in
Mali,” General Stephen Townsend, the head of US Africa Command, said in an
interview with Voice of America, “They are there, we think, numbering several
hundred now.”
“They’re
deploying there, supported by the Russian military, Russian Air Force airplanes
are delivering them,” he said, directly tying the Wagner group to the Kremlin,
a link that Moscow denies.
“The world can
see this happening,” Townsend said. “It’s a great concern to us.”
French foreign
minister Jean-Yves Le Drian last week accused Wagner’s mercenaries of
“supporting” Mali’s ruling junta under the pretense of fighting extremists. He
also slammed Russia for allegedly lying about the status of the Wagner group.
“When we asked
our Russian colleagues about Wagner, they said they don’t know anything (about
it),” he said.
“When it comes
to mercenaries who are Russian veterans, who have Russian weapons, who are
transported by Russian planes, it would be surprising if the Russian
authorities did not know about it,” Le Drian said.
“We are living in
a lie.”
Source: Al
Arabiya
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/01/21/US-army-confirms-Russian-mercenaries-in-Mali-
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Sudanese judges,
US denounce deadly crackdowns on protests
January 22, 2022
KHARTOUM:
Sudanese head of judiciary and judges condemned violence against anti-military
protesters in a rare public statement, while the US said it would consider
unspecified steps against those holding up efforts to resolve Sudan’s political
crisis.
At least 72
civilians have died and more than 2,000 have been injured as security forces
have cracked down on frequent demonstrations since a military takeover on Oct.
25, according to medics aligned with the protest movement.
Angered by the
killing of seven civilians earlier this week, protesters took to the streets
once more on Thursday in eastern Khartoum and other locations across Sudan.
Military leaders
have said that the right to peaceful protest is protected and have commissioned
investigations into the bloodshed.
The violence has
deepened the deadlock between pro-democracy groups and the military leadership.
In a statement,
Sudan’s ruling council affirmed the need for national dialogue, a technocratic
Cabinet, and adjustments to a transitional constitutional document negotiated
after the ousting of former leader Omar Bashir in a 2019 uprising.
The document
formed the basis for a power-sharing arrangement between the military and
civilians that was halted by the coup.
After a failed
bid by former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok to salvage some civilian control
following the coup, the UN has been trying to facilitate dialogue between
opposing factions.
Late on
Thursday, military leader Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan announced the appointment
of 15 Cabinet ministers, most of whom had been promoted to acting roles by
Hamdok.
No prime
minister or defense or interior ministers were named.
The coup drew
condemnation from Western powers that largely froze badly needed economic
assistance to Sudan.
That assistance
would only be restarted if violence ended and a civilian-led government was
restored, visiting US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Molly Phee and
newly appointed special envoy David Satterfield said.
Condemning the
use of force on protesters, they “made clear the United States will consider
measures to hold accountable those responsible for failure to move forward”
with a political transition and an end to violence, a US statement said.
A statement from
55 Sudanese judges to the judiciary chief said military leaders had “violated
agreements and covenants since the Oct. 25 coup, as they have carried out the
most heinous violations against defenseless protesters.”
They called for
an end to the violence and a criminal investigation.
In response, the
head of the judiciary said in a statement that the ruling sovereign council
must do the utmost to prevent violations.
“We in the
judiciary affirm that we will not hesitate to take the measures we have at hand
to protect the lives and constitutional rights of citizens,” the statement
said.
Separately, more
than 100 prosecutors announced they would stop work from Thursday to call for
security forces to cease violations and lift a state of emergency. They said
prosecutors had been unable to carry out their legal duty to accompany police
to protests and determine the acceptable use of force.
It is unusual
for Sudan’s judges and prosecutors to make public statements about the conduct
of the security forces.
Source: Arab News
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2009461/middle-east
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North America
US commits to
helping Saudi Arabia, Gulf partners defend against threats from Yemen
21 January ,2022
The US
reiterated its commitment to helping Saudi Arabia and its Gulf partners defend
themselves against threats from Yemen and other places in the region, the State
Department said after a call between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and
Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
“Secretary
Blinken reiterated the US commitment to help Gulf partners improve their capabilities
to defend against threats from Yemen and elsewhere in the region and
underscored the importance of mitigating civilian harm,” Spokesman Ned Price
said.
Friday’s call
came after this week’s attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE, claimed by the Iran-backed
Houthis in Yemen.
Civilian sites,
including Abu Dhabi’s International Airport, were targeted with missiles and
drones. At least three civilians were killed, and a handful of others injured.
“The Secretary
condemned the January 17 Houthi attack on both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates that struck civilian sites in the UAE, including Abu Dhabi’s
international airport, and killed and wounded civilians,” Price said in the
statement.
Separately, the
UN Security Council condemned the “heinous terrorist attacks in Abu Dhabi”
after a meeting was called for by the UAE.
Source: Al
Arabiya
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following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
UN chief sharply
denounces Saudi coalition strikes in Yemen
Michael
Hernandez
21.01.2022
WASHINGTON
UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sharply condemned airstrikes on the Houthi
controlled city of Saada in Yemen that killed dozens of inmates at a detention
center.
The strikes were
part of ramped up hostilities from a Saudi-led coalition seeking to curtail the
Houthi rebels in the war-torn country. Other strikes targeted a
telecommunications facility in the port city of Hudaydah that led to mass
internet disruptions in Yemen, while others hit in the Houthi-controlled
capital of Sanaa.
"The
Secretary-General reminds all parties that attacks directed against civilians
and civilian infrastructure are prohibited by international humanitarian
law," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
"He further
reminds all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law
to ensure that civilians are protected against the dangers arising from
military operations, adhering to the principles of proportionality, distinction
and precaution," he added.
Guterres further
called for a "prompt, effective and transparent" probe into the
attacks to "ensure accountability," the UN said.
Yemen has been
engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi
rebels captured much of the country, including Sanaa.
Source: Anadolu
Agency
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US slaps
sanctions on Hezbollah-linked men, companies for second time this week
21 January ,2022
The US Treasury
Department on Friday sanctioned three Lebanese men linked to Hezbollah and ten
companies based in Lebanon, Zambia and Germany.
A statement from
the Treasury Department said that Friday’s announcement showed how Hezbollah
gained access to the international financial system to raise funds “in support
of its acts of terrorism and other illicit activities.”
“These actions
undermine the stability, security, and sovereignty of the Lebanese people,” the
statement read.
Adnan Ayad and
his son Jihad were designated alongside Ali Adel Diab, whose father Adel was
sanctioned earlier in the week.
Adnan and Jihad
also have German citizenship, according to the Treasury Department.
Two of the
sanctioned companies are based in Zambia, one in Germany and the rest in
Lebanon.
All three
individuals and the companies were used to raise funds and launder money to
Hezbollah, the Treasury Department said.
For his part,
Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian
Nelson said that Washington was committed to disrupting Hezbollah’s attempts to
evade sanctions.
Source: Al
Arabiya
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Turkiye
exemplary country to follow, says El Salvadoran president
Beyza Binnur
Donmez
21.01.2022
El Salvador's
President Nayib Bukele on Friday said his country sees Turkiye as "an
example" to follow.
Noting that his
country is one of the smallest countries in the world and at the center of the
entire American continent, Bukele said: "After 200 years of liberating
ourselves from the Spanish crown, El Salvador is finally taking firm steps to
achieve its true independence and write a history of modernity and
progress."
His remarks came
during his speech in the Center for Latin American Studies (LAMER) at Ankara University.
"Today, we
are in the right direction: we are turning our country into a beacon of light
for Central and Latin America," he continued.
The course of
history would not change if the country cannot overcome obstacles, he said,
adding: "On this point, we agree with the Turkish people, because step by
step we begin to dream and build a prosperous, innovative nation that looks
ahead to the future without fear, as Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (the founder of the
Republic of Turkiye) did, that man who dreamed of a Republic of Turkiye, which
is now an example for us."
He added that
"a friendly, free, independent, and sovereign state is being formed"
in El Salvador.
The president
emphasized that his government wants "the world to see El Salvador as an
example, not only of what we Salvadorans can achieve but of all the potential
that exists in Latin America."
Bukele also said
that being the first president of El Salvador who paid an official visit to
Ankara is an honor for him.
He said his
country can offer countries like Turkey "a fair, peaceful, and lasting
relationship."
At the end of
the event, Ankara University awarded Bukele a Certificate of Friendship.
Turkish Deputy
Foreign Minister Faruk Kaymakci, head of LAMER Mehmet Necati Kutlu, and Ankara
University's Rector Necdet Unuvar also attended the event.
Source: Anadolu
Agency
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following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Turkish
Aerospace, El Salvador sign MoU on space, satellite systems
Gozde Bayar
21.01.2022
Turkish
Aerospace Industries (TAI) and El Salvador signed a memorandum of understanding
on space and satellite systems on Friday.
In a Twitter
post, TAI said that President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele visited the company
and “got information about our products.”
“We have signed
a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Space and Satellite Systems,” it added.
Bukele has made
his first trip abroad this year to Turkiye on Thursday at the invitation of
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Source: Anadolu
Agency
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following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Arab World
Gulf Arab
embrace of Jewish minority reflected in Bahrain cemetery-restoration project
January 22, 2022
DUBAI: For more
than a century, a small cemetery in the heart of Manama has served as the final
resting place for members of Bahrain’s tiny Jewish community, which is the most
established of its kind in the Gulf Cooperation Council area.
Located a short
distance from The House of Ten Commandments, the oldest synagogue in the Gulf,
the cemetery receives fewer visitors these days than the nearby Christian
graveyard at St Christopher’s Cathedral. But for Jews in Bahrain it remains a
cherished part of their heritage.
Thanks to a new
donor-funded initiative, efforts have begun to restore the site, which is
recognized as the only Jewish cemetery in the Gulf. The project, launched by
the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities on Jan. 16 to coincide with the
Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shevat, aims to finance renovation and maintenance work
at the site. The AGJC was founded in 2021 as a network of communities to
develop Jewish life in the GCC area.
“For more than
100 years, our family members have been buried in the Jewish cemetery in
Bahrain,” Ebrahim Dawood Nonoo — president of the AGJC, chairman of the Board
of Trustees of The House of Ten Commandments and head of Bahrain’s Jewish
community — told Arab News.
“One component
of our community planning is ensuring that our cemetery is properly maintained
for generations to come. We are very thankful that the AGJC chose this for its
Tu B’Shevat project.”
As part of the
renovation project, weathered headstones are being cleaned and trees planted.
“We are planting
trees in the Jewish cemetery of Bahrain, which is akin to bringing life back to
those that have lived in the beautiful community in Bahrain for centuries and
made their resting place in Bahrain for eternity,” Rabbi Elie Abadie, the most
senior Jewish cleric in the GCC area, told Arab News.
“Trees offer
life; they provide shade, oxygen and nutrients. We are planting trees in the
cemetery, the final resting place to the spirits, as a revival to them. Trees
take time to grow so we are not growing them for this generation, but for the
upcoming one as our forefathers did for us.”
The readiness of
Bahrain to embrace its Jewish minority and celebrate its heritage has made it a
trailblazer for the region. The island kingdom’s former ambassador to the US,
Houda Nonoo, is a prominent member of the Jewish community in the Gulf.
Bahrain has long
been supportive of coexistence not only between Muslims and Jews but also
between Arabs and Israel. In June 2019, it hosted the “Peace to Prosperity”
workshop in Manama, during which US President Donald Trump’s administration
presented the economic aspects of his plan for peace between Israel and Palestine.
In August the
following year, Bahrain and the UAE issued a joint declaration with Israel
called the Abraham Accords, which led to the normalization of relations between
the two Arab countries and Israel. The agreements also paved the way for warmer
ties between Israel and Oman, Morocco and Sudan.
Israel considers
itself a “Jewish and democratic state,” while Islam is the official religion of
the UAE and Bahrain. Abraham Accords was chosen as the name for the agreement
to signify the shared origin of belief between Judaism and Islam, both of which
are Abrahamic religions that strictly espouse the monotheistic worship of the
God of Abraham.
Since the
signing of the accords, the UAE and Bahrain have invested a great deal in their
bilateral relationships with Israel, and encouraged the celebration of Jewish
history and heritage in the region.
At the same
time, Gulf leaders have enhanced their political ties with Israel. Late last
year, for example, Naftali Bennett, the Israeli prime minister, visited the UAE
where he met Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s crown prince.
Bennett also met
Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa on the sidelines of the
COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, in November.
The modern
Jewish community in Bahrain was established in the 1880s when hundreds of Jews
arrived from Iraq and Iran in search of a better life. Many settled in the
Al-Hatab neighborhood of Manama, where they initially worked in the clothing
industry.
In 1935, as the
community began to thrive, an Iranian immigrant named Shimon Cohen established
a synagogue. However, the building was destroyed in 1947 during disturbances
linked to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Until the
Abraham Accords were formally signed on Sept. 15, 2020, in Washington, D.C, Bahrain’s
remaining Jewish community of about 50 people practiced their faith largely
behind closed doors. Since then, however, their synagogue has been renovated at
a cost of 60,000 Bahraini dinars ($160,000) and religious services are once
again taking place openly.
Bahrain is not
the only regional state that hosts a Jewish minority. About 1,000 Jews, all of
them expatriates, are thought to live in the UAE. As trade ties with Israel are
enhanced and Israeli tourists continue to flock to the UAE, that number is
expected to increase, in parallel with economic, technological, cultural and
security cooperation.
“I went to Dubai
twice last year and I would like to go to Bahrain,” said Yossi Levy, 41, an
Israeli who lives in Jerusalem. “We felt safe and so did all my friends. I’m
interested in the heritage aspect — and the shopping is out of this world.”
Israeli tour
groups have become more common in Dubai in the past two years. And until
COVID-19 restrictions put the brakes on international travel, the city’s hotels
were serving a growing Israeli clientele.
According to the
Israel’s foreign ministry, about 200,000 Israelis have visited the UAE since
relations between the two countries were normalized in 2020.
“There will be
many more when COVID-19 finally disappears,” said Levy. “I hope we can develop
the heritage links. It’s important.”
In most parts of
the Arab world, however, Jewish populations are on the brink of vanishing.
Iraq, once home to one of the world’s oldest Jewish communities, now hosts only
four members of the faith. Last year, their patriarch, Dhafer Eliyahu, died.
Baghdad has one
semi-functional synagogue but it does not have a rabbi and no services have
been held there since before the 2003 US-led invasion. An estimated 220,000
Jews of Iraqi descent now live in Israel.
Both Turkey and
Iran have small Jewish communities, while Lebanon, Syria and Egypt are thought
to have only a few dozen Jewish residents between them. It is estimated that
Yemeni Jews number in the low hundreds, at most.
Against this bleak
backdrop, Bahrain is seen by many in the Jewish community as a particularly
successful example of peaceful interfaith coexistence.
“The revival of
the Jewish community in Bahrain and the development of one in the UAE is just
beautiful,” Rabbi Abadie told Arab News. “It is nostalgic, after decades of the
absence of Jewish presence.”
Abdullah Issa, a
39-year-old Muslim and Bahraini national, said his country has set a strong
example that others should follow.
“Bahrain and
other GCC countries have proven to the world that coexistence and the values of
human fraternity as a whole can be achieved through will and resolve,” he told
Arab News.
“Although
changing perceptions and attitudes can be difficult, by the simple gesture of
planting a tree both the government and people of Bahrain showcase that
coexistence and demonstrate that human fraternity must be achieved.”
Source: Arab News
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2009406/middle-east
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Islamic State
Fighters Overran Entire Army Outpost In Iraq’s Diyala, Killing 11 Soldiers
Shelly Kittleson
January 21, 2022
BAGHDAD —
Islamic State fighters overran an Iraqi army outpost in the freezing early
morning hours of Friday, killing 11 soldiers including their commanding
officer.
By the end of
day IS had taken responsibility for the attack, which happened northeast of
Baghdad in Diyala province near the town of al-Udhaim (also known as al-Azim),
which lies on the main road between Baghdad and Kirkuk.
All of the men
at the post were killed.
Diyala province
has long been one of Iraq’s most problematic in terms of IS activity, with
areas disputed between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional
Government resulting in security gaps and issues with intelligence sharing.
The Hamrin
mountains, which have for decades served as a hiding place for various
insurgent groups, run through the province from near the Iranian border and
then cuts across the country, acting as a dividing line between Kirkuk and
Salahuddin provinces on its westernmost edge.
Photos of the
site where killings took place showed a flat expanse with no hills or groves of
trees in sight. Streams of bright red blood can be seen on the ground near a
lookout position with a low dirt embankment and cement bricks providing scant
protection.
According to the
website of the Arabic-language Iranian broadcaster al-Alam, the “terrorist
attack was carried out by a cell consisting of nine members” of IS. The report
added that the cell had come from areas of Kirkuk province including Riyadh and
south of Hawija, “taking advantage of the Hamrin hills through Salahuddin” to
conduct the attack.
The security
forces had been trying to keep fires burning nearby the checkpoints to warm
themselves and the bonfires and heavy fog appear to have helped IS carry out
the attack.
A photo of the
small building where most of the men had been sleeping shows a stack of
blood-stained khaki flak jackets, messy stacks of paper and wooden ammunition
crates on the rough concrete floor.
Diyala province
has long been used by IS cells to conduct hit-and-run attacks and kidnappings.
It was where the Jordanian-born leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,
was killed in a 2006 airstrike. Repeated operations by the regional operations
command, which often finds large weapons stashes, have failed to entirely
eliminate the cells.
In April 2020, a
Diyala security officer had told Al-Monitor that IS had begun to conduct
attacks during the day and “uses groves of trees between Kulajo and Jalawla to
hide in” close to the Iranian border.
When reporting
from Kalar in the Garmian administration north of Diyala in September 2020,
this journalist was told by a security official who works in areas disputed by
the central government in Baghdad and the KRG that kidnappings, especially in
those areas, remain a major source of funding for terrorist groups in Iraq.
However, “If
they are not Asayish, or Peshmerga or the Iraqi army, then they will demand a
ransom. If they are part of the security forces then they kill them,” he said.
An Oct. 26
attack last year in Diyala had set off further sectarian killings and
displacement. At least 11 Shiite members of a tribe were killed in the attack,
and their fellow tribesmen went en masse to a nearby Sunni village, killing
members of the community and burning down homes in revenge for what they
claimed was “collusion” with IS. Many residents fled out of fear to neighboring
provinces.
Udhaim lies
further west, close to Salahuddin, on the other side of Hamrin Lake from
Jalawla.
A police colonel
was kidnapped along with two friends while they were on a fishing trip near
Hamrin Lake on Dec. 13. IS published photos of his corpse two weeks after he
was kidnapped.
South of Udhaim,
the road to the capital runs close to Tarmiya, near where two members of the
local Popular Mobilization Units were killed Jan. 18. An operation conducted
the morning after in collaboration with the Iraqi National Security Service
killed three IS fighters in a nearby area.
Since the
international terrorist group lost its last territorial holdings in the country
in late 2017, much of its activity has been concentrated in areas disputed
between the central government and Iraqi Kurdistan in the northern part of the
country.
The commanding
officer killed on Friday morning was Lt. Dergham al-Kuraiti, whose social media
accounts show him praising the Shiite-led PMU.
Source: Al Monitor
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Islamic State
stages Syria prison break, kills 11 soldiers in Iraq
January 21, 2022
The Islamic
State launched its deadliest attacks in years in both Iraq and Syria yesterday,
killing 11 Iraqi security forces and attacking a prison holding jihadists in
Kurdish-run northeast Syria.
Wiped off the
battlefield in 2019, IS demonstrated its ruthless endurance on Thursday in a
pre-dawn attack on an Iraqi army barracks north of the city of Baqouba in
Diyala province as soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division were asleep.
The attack just
75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Baghdad is one of the deadliest attacks in
Iraq by the jihadist groups in recent years.
Hours earlier
and more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) away, IS fighters detonated a car bomb
and skirmished with local Kurdish-led security forces near Sinaa Prison in
Syria’s Hasakah province. Initial reports suggested at least some IS detainees
escaped the prison’s walls.
Fighting
continued overnight in Hasakah as Kurdish-led security forces sent anti-terror
commandos and the US-led coalition provided air support. By Friday morning, at
least 23 Islamic State militants were reported dead in the attack.
The attacks
underscore the lurking risk of jihadist resurgence as the two countries slowly
rebuild following a devastating five-year war against the Islamic State.
Sinaa is one of
the largest facilities holding thousands of hardened IS jihadists and their
families across northeast Syria. Tens of thousands of IS detainees, many of
them deeply radicalized, have languished for nearly three years in makeshift
jails and internment camps. There is no clear plan for trials or repatriation
for most of them.
Kurdish-led
administration officials in Syria have warned for years that the prisons and
internment camps that hold tens of thousands of IS adherents in their region
are not tenable, a warning echoed repeatedly by US military and diplomatic
officials.
Source: Al Monitor
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Kurdish forces
kill 16 ISIS members in Syria prison clashes: Monitor
21 January ,2022
Kurdish forces
have killed 16 ISIS members in Syria prison clashes, according to a war
monitor.
For the latest
headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Earlier reports
said at least 18 Kurdish security forces, including guards, were killed in an
ongoing ISIS attack on a Syrian prison housing thousands of suspected
terrorists, a war monitor said Friday.
The Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights monitor, which relies on a network of sources
inside Syria, also said at least 16 ISIS members were killed in the clashes.
The fighting was
triggered by an ISIS attack Thursday night on the Ghwayran prison, said the
Britain-based Observatory.
“The number of
those killed among Kurdish internal security forces and prison guards stands at
18,” the Observatory said, calling it the largest such attack since the ISIS
group was declared defeated in 2019.
Source: Al
Arabiya
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
UAE has ‘legal’
right to self-defense against Houthi terrorist acts: Gargash
21 January ,2022
The UAE has a
“legal and moral right” to defend itself against terrorist acts by Yemen’s
Iran-backed Houthi militia, said Dr. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the
UAE president, the official WAM news agency reported on Friday.
“The UAE has a
legal and moral right to defend its lands, population and sovereignty, and will
exercise this right to defend itself and prevent terrorist acts pursued by the
Houthi group,” he was quoted as saying.
The comment was
made during a call with Hans Grundberg, the Special Envoy of the
Secretary-General of the United Nations to Yemen, where the duo reviewed the
nature of the Iran-backed Houthi attack in Abu Dhabi that led to a fuel tanker
explosion killing three.
For the latest
headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The UAE official
also noted the expansion of the Houthi militia over the past three years and
their lack of engagement in a “political solution to the crisis,” as the piracy
of the UAE-flagged ‘Rwabee’ ship adds another dimension to the issue.
The Iran-backed
Houthis seized the ship on January 3 off the Red Sea port of Hodeida, along
with its 11-member crew, and rejected a United Nations request to release the
vessel.
Gargash called
for a “strong and firm position” against the “terrorist acts by the Houthi
militia” from the international community.
He stressed the
fact that the group repeatedly violated international laws and agreements,
primarily, the Stockholm Agreement, which Gargash says is evident in the port
of Hodeida which is reportedly being used for “maritime piracy and war
financing.”
The Iran-backed
militia frequently target civilian areas and energy facilities in Saudi Arabia
with explosive-laden drones and ballistic missiles.
The Arab
Coalition has been carrying out attacks against legitimate military Houthi
targets in Yemen in recent months, warning civilians to not approach or gather
around the targeted sites beforehand.
Source: Al
Arabiya
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
More than 70
dead in fighting after Syria jail attack
January 22, 2022
BEIRUT: Fighting
raged for a third day Saturday between the Daesh group and Kurdish forces in
Syria after Daesh attacked a prison housing militants, in violence that has
claimed over 70 lives, a monitor said.
The assault on
the Ghwayran prison in the northern city of Hasakah is one of Daesh’s most significant
since its “caliphate” was declared defeated in Syria nearly three years ago.
“At least 28
members of the Kurdish security forces, five civilians and 45 members of Daesh
have been killed” in the violence, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights.
Daesh launched
the attack on Thursday night against the prison housing some 3,500 suspected
members of the militant group, including some of its leaders, said the
Observatory.
Hundreds of
militant inmates had since been detained and around 10 were believed to have
escaped, said the Observatory, a Britain-based monitor that relies on sources
inside war-torn Syria for its information.
“The exceptional
situation continues in and around the prison,” said Farhad Shami, spokesman for
the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The fighting on
Saturday morning was taking place north of the prison, he added.
The militant
group said in a statement released by its Amaq news agency that its attack on
the jail aimed to “free the prisoners.”
Daesh has
carried out regular attacks against Kurdish and government targets in Syria
since the rump of its once-sprawling proto-state was overrun on the banks of
the Euphrates in March 2019.
Most of their
guerrilla attacks have been against military targets and oil installations in
remote areas, but the Hasakah prison break could mark a new phase in the
group’s resurgence.
Source: Arab News
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2009596/middle-east
--------
Mideast
2008 Gaza war's
effects continue to resonate for Palestinian resistance: Expert
Salam
AbuSharar
21.01.2022
GAZA, Palestine
Saad Wahidi
still remembers the day in 2008 he was trying to rescue his family from Israeli
fires by moving them to his uncle's home, where he believed it would be safer.
"The
distance between the two houses is passed in two minutes, but at the time, it
felt like a year," he told Anadolu Agency.
Wahidi recalled
the first time he saw the white phosphorus, fired by Israeli artillery,
descending from the sky around him and his family amid the clashes that came to
be known as the 2008 Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
"It was
very strange, like a small date of a fire that can never be put out, even by
water. The fire was increasing," he said.
For Wahidi, the
worst part of the war was when his family was separated amid Israeli ground
invasion of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, storming the region from multiple points.
"Then, we
lived without electricity and heating. The army arrested all the men under 40
years old in those cold days and the fire was everywhere around us. Those were
unforgettable days," he said.
Wahidi
remembered those days, comparing them with later wars that took place in Gaza
and how resistance groups improved their methods against the Israeli troops.
"In the war
of 2008, dozens of rockets were fired. But in the later wars, hundreds were
launched on each rocket burst, and this improvement is the only thing that
helped us forget the horrible days we lived," he said.
On Dec. 27,
2008, Israel carried out a large onslaught on Gaza over three weeks, named by
Israel as "Operation Cast Lead" during which 1,436 Palestinians,
including 410 children and 104 women, were killed. In response to the Israeli
onslaught, 13 Israelis were killed in the Palestinian attacks.
Coming after two
years of an Israeli blockade on Gaza to put pressure on Hamas after it won the
legislative elections in 2006, the 2008 Gaza war was followed by several
large-scale attacks by Tel Aviv on the sea-side enclave.
"It was an
attempt to eradicate the Palestinian military resistance in Gaza, but it proved
counterproductive. The military resistance learned its lessons and improved its
tools. This reflected on the later three wars," said Palestinian political
analyst Wisam Afifah.
ِAccording to Afifah, the
Israeli army deliberately strategized to use shock, terror, surprise, and fire
to undermine the region's will to resist, as well as to pressure it to adopt a
political situation that was favorable to Israel.
"Israel
wanted to downsize the force of Hamas, and there was a regional support for it
but the effects of that war led to surge in the force of the resistance, not
only military, but politically, as well, in the region," he added.
Afifah
emphasized that the 2008 war was the origin of all subsequent developments that
affected the political and armed strength of Hamas, as well as its relations
with countries that have played critical roles to support the Palestinians,
like Iran, Qatar, and Turkiye.
"Today, as
a major faction on the military resistance, Hamas is attacking the enemy, not
receiving the attacks. This is one of the most important transformations of the
balance of power," he argued.
Source: Anadolu
Agency
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Iran Rejects
UNGA’s Resolution on Holocaust
2022-January-22
“As our
country’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York has in an
explanatory statement officially proclaimed the Islamic Republic of Iran’s
stance on the Holocaust resolution, it is reiterated that the racist Zionist
regime abuses international bodies to cover up its daily crimes against
Palestinians. This move by the Zionist regime is another attempt at abusing
international mechanisms to cover up the regime’s daily crimes, which
unfortunately have the unconditional support of the West these days,” the
statement said.
“As is clear to
all, the atrocities during the Second World War took place with the two motives
of racism and expansionism, two satanic traits inherited and represented now by
the Zionist regime. The regime’s racist approach has been affirmed in numerous
international documents, and in spite of the solid will of the international
community, Israel remains the sole racist regime with an expansionist
ideology.”
It noted that
the Islamic Republic of Iran has considered genocide an act to be condemned and
unjustifiable under any circumstances, and that is the reason why, during the
Second World War, Iran hosted people displaced by the conflict in some European
countries, adding, “This is while the faux Zionist regime has constantly
attempted to exploit victims of the World War II and Jews as justification for
its egregious and aggressive acts.”
“This regime and
its leaders have over the past seven decades committed all acts of criminality
and specially crimes against humanity against the people of Palestine and the
peoples of regional countries by violating international law. Genocide,
assassinations, ethnic cleansing, the demolition of houses, and siege are some
of the crimes that the Zionist regime is constantly in the process of
committing.”
“The Islamic
Republic of Iran once again stresses that historical research is needed to
avoid the repetition of historical catastrophes, which should be conducted
without political prejudgments; and thus, such constrictive approaches are not
acceptable, and such a resolution is not deemed based on consensus, and is thus
null,” the statement concluded.
The UN General
Assembly on Thursday agreed on a definition of denial of the Holocaust and
urged social media companies "to take active measures" to combat the
s-called anti-Semitism.
Source: Fars
News Agency
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14001102000225/Iran-Rejecs-UNGA%E2%80%99s-Reslin-n-Hlcas
--------
Iran Condemns
Deadly Blast in Pakistan
2022-January-21
Khatibzadeh
expressed sympathy with those affected by the terrotist attack, as well as the
families of the victims and the friendly government of Pakistan.
The Iranian
foreign ministry spokesman slammed the terrorist attack that killed and wounded
a number of Pakistani citizens in the city of Lahore.
"Such acts
of terror once again highlight the need to fight the terrorist groups to
restore peace and stability to the region," he added.
Source: Fars
News Agency
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14001101000479/Iran-Cndemns-Deadly-Blas-in-Pakisan
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Iran nuclear
talks ‘on right track': EU official
Agnes Szucs
21.01.2022
Negotiations on
the Iran nuclear deal are “on right track” and a final deal might be reached
soon, an EU official said on Friday.
“We are on the
right track for a final agreement,” a senior EU official said about the
negotiations in the Austrian capital Vienna to bring the US and Iran back to
the 2015 nuclear deal.
The official
pointed out that the slow pace of negotiations may put a “good solution” in
danger.
“Still, I think
we will have an agreement (…) sooner than later,” the official added.
Last week, EU
foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also said he hoped “to be able to inform the
public about the final decision within weeks.”
The EU diplomacy
has made significant efforts to get Iran and the US back to the negotiation
table since the beginning of the conflict between the two countries.
Since last
month, representatives from Iran, China, Russia, France, the UK, and Germany
under EU chairmanship have held several rounds of discussions.
The Iran nuclear
deal was signed in 2015 by Iran, the US, China, Russia, France, the UK,
Germany, and the EU.
Source: Anadolu
Agency
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/iran-nuclear-talks-on-right-track-eu-official/2482146
--------
Iran embassy
responds to Pakistani newspaper's false claims about developments in Yemen, UAE
January 22, 2022
The Embassy of
the Islamic Republic of Iran in Pakistan responding to the baseless accusations
against Tehran by a Pakistani newspaper in its editorial said constructive
approach of Iran is based on good neighborliness to establish a ceasefire,
resolve disputes among the countries involved in the Yemen crisis.
Press section of
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Islamabad in a statement on Friday
said the Editorial published in your esteemed daily newspaper "Dawn"
under the headline "UAE targeted" on Wednesday, January 19, 2022; put
up negative and baseless accusations and allegations against the Islamic
Republic of Iran.
“While
reiterating its respect for the newspaper, the Embassy strongly denied the
allegations, noting that making such claims would have a detrimental effect on
public opinion towards the relations between the two countries and to over
shadow the positive dimensions of relations and cooperation between the two
governments for peace and durable stability in the region,” said the statement.
It added by
subverting the truth, such viewpoints ignores the respect of the Government of
the Islamic Republic of Iran for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
its neighbors, including the UAE, and the constructive approach of the Islamic
Republic of Iran based on good neighborliness to establish a ceasefire, resolve
disputes among the countries involved in the Yemen crisis and to end this human
crisis. Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is making great efforts to
maintain peace and security in the region.
The statement
said the Dawn Editorial accused Iran of supporting the attackers in the UAE
without presenting any reason or document. Moreover, although the United
Nations has confirmed that Iran was not involved in the attack on Aramco oil
installations, it is unclear on what basis and evidence the newspaper made the
accusation.
“Regarding the
published material and the baseless accusation of Iran's possible role in the
attacks on Aramco oil installations, while explicitly and seriously denying
this accusation, the esteemed editor is requested to take note of the UN report
on this incident, which states: The United Nations has not found any evidence
that the Islamic Republic of Iran was involved in this incident and rejects
such a claim,” it noted.
It said the U.N.
sent a team of weapons experts to Saudi Arabia in September and November to
analyze missile and drone debris. During the trip, the Saudis told the U.N.
that 18 unmanned vehicles were used in the attack on Abqaiq and four cruise
missiles were used in the attack on the Khurais oil facility. Three additional
cruise missiles fell short of their target. “At this time, [the U.N.
secretariat] is unable to independently corroborate that the cruise missiles
and unmanned aerial vehicles used in those attacks were of Iranian origin and were
transferred in a manner inconsistent with the Iran nuclear deal, according to
the report”.
Source: ABNA24
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following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Over 100 killed
in airstrike on Yemen prison
January 22, 2022
SAADA: More than
100 people were killed or wounded in an air strike on a prison and at least
three children died in a separate bombardment as Yemen’s long-running conflict
suffered a dramatic escalation of violence on Friday.
The Houthi
rebels released gruesome video footage showing bodies in the rubble and mangled
corpses from the prison attack, which levelled buildings at the jail in their
northern heartland of Saada.
Further south in
the port town of Hodeida, the children died when air strikes by the Saudi-led
coalition hit a telecommunications facility as they played nearby, Save the
Children said. Yemen also suffered a country-wide internet blackout.
“The children
were reportedly playing on a nearby football field when missiles struck,” Save
the Children said.
The attacks come
five days after the Houthis took the seven-year war into a new phase by
claiming a drone-and-missile attack on Abu Dhabi that killed three people.
The United Arab
Emirates, part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels, threatened
reprisals.
Aid workers said
hospitals were overwhelmed in Saada after the prison attack, with one receiving
200 wounded, according to Doctors Without Borders.
Basheer Omar,
spokesperson for the International Committee for the Red Cross in Yemen, told
AFP: “There are more than 100 killed and injured... the numbers are going up.”
Ahmed Mahat,
Doctors Without Borders’ head of mission in Yemen, said: “There are many bodies
still at the scene of the air strike, many missing people. It is impossible to
know how many people have been killed. It seems to have been a horrific act of
violence.”
The United
Nations Security Council is due to meet at 1500 GMT on Friday in an emergency
session on the Houthi attacks against the UAE, at the request of the Gulf
state, which has occupied one of the non-permanent seats on the council since
January 1.
The UAE is part
of the Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting the rebels since 2015, in an
intractable conflict that has displaced millions of Yemenis and left them on
the brink of famine.
Source: Dawn
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1670808/over-100-killed-in-airstrike-on-yemen-prison
--------
Russian Diplomat
Underlines “Very Useful” Meeting with Iran’s Top Negotiator in Vienna
2022-January-22
Ulyanov in a
post on his Twitter account on Friday said that he held a "very
useful" meeting with Baqeri Kani.
“A very useful
meeting with the Head of the delegation of Iran at the Vienna Talks Mr.
A.Bagheri Kani,” he wrote.
"Close
coordination between our two delegations is one of prerequisites of successful
continuation and completion of negotiations on restoration of JCPOA and
sanctions lifting," Ulyanov added.
Also in a Friday
meeting between Baqeri Kani and Enrique Mora, the European Union’s deputy
foreign policy chief and head of the JCPOA Joint Commission, the sides
discussed various issues pertaining to the Vienna negotiations.
In an earlier
tweet, Ulyanov said Russia rejects “artificial deadlines” set by Western
parties after their meeting with the US.
“The Western
colleagues, as they do it publicly, underlined the need to finalize negotiations
ASAP. Russia shares the sense of urgency but is against artificial deadlines,”
Ulyanov wrote.
On January 17,
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian once again reaffirmed that
Tehran has no intention to waste time or derail the sanctions removal talks in
Vienna, criticizing the West, particularly the US, for failing to present any
innovative proposals in the negotiations.
“China and
Russia support Iran’s constructive plan, but Western countries, including the
United States, have so far offered no innovative proposals in the talks,” he
added, emphasizing that “if the parties can resume their commitments under the
Iran deal, Iran will also return to commitments based on the agreement”.
Iran and the
other participants to the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) (Russia, China, Britain and France plus
Germany), have been holding talks in the Austrian capital since April last year
with the aim of reviving the deal by bringing the US into full compliance.
The US left the
JCPOA in May 2018 under former President Donald Trump. The Vienna talks began
on a promise by Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, to rejoin the deal and repeal the
so-called maximum pressure campaign against Iran. Biden, however, has so far
failed to undo Trump’s own undoing of Barack Obama’s Iran policy, which led to
the JCPOA in June 2015.
In response to
the US withdrawal, Iran began to reduce its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA
in 2019. Tehran maintains that it will reverse its nuclear measures once the US
– the main culprit behind the failure of the JCPOA – removes its sanctions and
abides by all of its contractual commitments in practice.
Source: Fars
News Agency
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following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Europe
Iran holding
talks with Russia to expand its sole nuclear power plant
21 January 2022
TEHRAN — Iran is
in talks with Russia over the construction of two new units at its sole nuclear
power plant, the Islamic republic’s atomic energy agency said on Friday.
“Negotiations
are underway between Tehran and Moscow to construct the second and third units
of the Bushehr power plant,” said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic
Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).
The move was “in
accordance with the Islamic republic’s plans to produce at least 10,000
megawatts of electricity using nuclear energy,” he said, quoted on the
government’s website.
The announcement
coincides with ongoing talks in Vienna seeking to revive a 2015 nuclear deal
between Iran and world powers, including Russia.
The parties to
the accord that gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its
nuclear program saw it as the best way to stop Tehran from building a nuclear
bomb -– a goal it has always denied.
The United
States unilaterally withdrew from the deal and began imposing sanctions on Iran
in 2018 under then-US president Donald Trump, prompting Tehran to begin walking
back on its commitments under the agreement.
Moscow built the
Bushehr plant, equipped with a 1,000 MW reactor, delivering it in September
2013, after years of delay.
Kamalvandi said
the project was being implemented “without delay,” despite payments being
behind schedule.
The announcement
immediately follows a two-day visit by ultraconservative Iranian President
Ebrahim Raisi to Moscow, during which he said Tehran has “no limits for
expanding ties with Russia.”
Source: Times Of
Israel
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How a Muslim
dating app made UK man’s search for a wife go viral
David Batty
21 Jan 2022
When giant
purple billboards advertising Muhammad Malik’s search to find a wife appeared
in London and Birmingham in early January, the 29-year-old financial consultant
became an overnight celebrity.
His quest
attracted widespread coverage and messages of support on social media, which
Malik said led to 5,000 responses via an accompanying website,
findMALIKawife.com.
Then last week
the Muslim dating app Muzmatch revealed it was behind the stunt, with Malik’s
website rebranded, directing hopeful suitors to their site.
The revelation
prompted mixed reactions on social media, with one user praising the viral
marketing campaign, another criticising it as unethical and a third saying it
was leaning into Islamophobic tropes as a result of its slogan “save me from an
arranged marriage”.
Malik, a startup
consultant at Nationwide building society, said Muzmatch’s marketing team
pitched the campaign to him last autumn. He has previously appeared in adverts
and promotional videos for the app, including one called “Farts Break Hearts”
where he discusses his dating red flags, which include “that there’s a double
life going on”.
He denied that
the campaign was disingenuous. “This was an idea that was presented to me and I
thought: it’s genuine, I’m 100% looking. But these guys just absolutely took it
on steroids. I’ve always been a bit tongue in cheek. A bit quirky. I’ve done a
bit of standup comedy. So I think it was quite in line with that.”
Shahzad Younas,
the chief executive of Muzmatch, said: “Malik was very keen to stress that
there’s nothing wrong with an arranged marriage. For a lot of people it works.
The whole premise touches more upon how young Muslims are increasingly becoming
empowered through Muzmatch to find their own partner, but still do it in a way
that’s respectful of their faith, their traditions, their culture.”
The viral
campaign comes as Muzmatch, which has 5 million users worldwide, is defending
itself from a claim of alleged trademark infringement brought by Match.com in
the high court. Muzmatch was accused of “piggybacking on established dating
brands” to improve its success. The court heard that Match brought the legal
action after four failed attempts to buy Muzmatch.
Hussein Kesvani,
the author of Follow Me, Akhi, which explores how British Muslims interact with
the online world, compared Malik to the TikTok trainspotter Francis Bourgeois,
who was revealed to be a student called Luke Holland, represented by a modelling
agency. He was subsequently signed up to feature in an ad campaign for Gucci
and the North Face.
“The aim is to
get people really invested in a character that you’re not quite sure is
‘real’,” said Kesvani. “Muzmatch might argue that ‘Malik’ is more a representation
of the kind of clientele of the platform. Which, in this case, seems to be
middle-class, fashionable, metropolitan young Muslims for whom faith is a part
of their identity and aesthetic.
“To me, this
represents what MuzMatch is trying to assert itself as, now that it finds
itself being the most successful ‘halal dating’ app … It was always going to
lead to some identity crisis as it expanded.”
Malik, who lives
in London with his parents, said he considered himself “more on the orthodox,
conservative side” of Islam. “When going on dates, it’s always a chaperone
date. From a spiritual angle, the purity is intact in terms of there’s no
ulterior motives. What you’re focused on is marriage.”
Source: The Guardian
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UN Security
Council slams Houthi’s ‘heinous terrorist attacks’ on Abu Dhabi
21 January ,2022
The UN Security
Council blasted the Iran-backed Houthis on Friday for the “heinous terrorist
attacks in Abu Dhabi.”
“The members of
the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous terrorist
attacks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Monday, 17 January, as well as
in other sites in Saudi Arabia,” a statement from the Security Council said.
The meeting, requested
by the UAE, was held behind closed doors.
The Security
Council expressed its condolences to the families of the victims killed from
India and Pakistan, and wished a speedy and full recovery for those injured.
The members also
reaffirmed that “terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one
of the most serious threats to international peace and security.”
Speaking to
reporters after the meeting, UAE Ambassador to the UN Lana Nusseibeh said she
had presented the Security Council with details of the origins of the Houthi
attack.
She said it
showed “clearly that Sanaa, amongst other places of origin, were the place that
these cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones were launched
indiscriminately at my country in order to target the maximum number of
civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
The UAE diplomat
added: “The attack on the UAE is an attack that is a violation against all
international norms. It is a violation of international law.”
Source: Al
Arabiya
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UK’s Prince
William to visit UAE next month
21 January ,2022
Queen
Elizabeth’s grandson Prince William will visit the United Arab Emirates next
month, his office Kensington Palace announced on Friday, as Britain seeks to
step up its relationship with the Gulf state.
William, the
Duke of Cambridge, will visit Dubai on Feb. 10, with his trip coming as the UAE
marks its 50th year and coinciding with UK National Day being held at Expo 2020
Dubai, his office said.
“The bond
between the UK and the UAE is deep and strong and Prince William’s visit will
highlight and build upon these links as he has the opportunity to engage with
young Emiratis, leaders from government and committed conservationists,”
Kensington Palace said in a statement.
Britain has been
looking to the Gulf countries for trade deals as part of its post-Brexit
strategy to build new ties around the world.
Source: Al
Arabiya
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Concerned over
'grave situation' in Afghanistan, Norway set to host talks with Taliban
Merve
Aydogan
21.01.2022Concerned
about the "grave" humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, Norway is
hosting Taliban representatives for talks in Oslo on Jan. 23-25, the Norwegian
Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
In a statement,
it said the Taliban, who have taken power in Afghanistan, have been invited for
"meetings with the Norwegian authorities and representatives of the
international community, as well as with other Afghans from a range of fields
within civil society."
Foreign Minister
Anniken Huitfeldt said her country is "extremely concerned about the grave
situation in Afghanistan, where millions of people are facing a full-blown
humanitarian disaster."
"In order
to be able to help the civilian population in Afghanistan, it is essential that
both the international community and Afghans from various parts of society
engage in dialogue with the Taliban," she added.
She said Norway
will convey its expectations from Afghanistan's interim government,
particularly on "girls’ education and human rights, such as women’s right
to participate in society."
The minister
said the meetings "do not represent a legitimization or recognition of the
Taliban" but "we must talk to the de facto authorities in the
country. We cannot allow the political situation to lead to an even worse
humanitarian disaster."
Afghan women
leaders, journalists, and individuals working to safeguard human rights and
address humanitarian, economic, social and political issues will join the
meetings.
"One of the
key principles underpinning Norway’s peace and reconciliation efforts is the
willingness to talk to all parties. Norway has been in dialogue with the
Taliban for many years," the readout said.
Abdul Qahar
Balkhi, a Taliban spokesman, said a senior delegation led by acting Foreign
Minister Amir Muttaqi will leave for the Norwegian capital on Saturday.
Taliban regained
power in August 2021 amid the withdrawal of foreign forces and collapse of the
US-backed government. The interim administration, however, has yet to gain
international recognition.
While
international funding remains largely suspended, billions of dollars of the
country’s assets abroad, mostly in the US, are also frozen.
According to the
UN humanitarian coordination office OCHA, half the population now faces acute
hunger, over nine million people have been displaced and millions of children
are out of school.
The UN and its
partners have launched a $4.4 billion funding appeal to avert a humanitarian
catastrophe in Afghanistan in 2022.
"Humanitarian
assistance, while essential, is not enough. We must prevent a collapse in basic
services such as health and education. We must support the livelihoods of
families and communities. This could reduce the number of people needing
humanitarian assistance," Huitfeldt said.
Source: Anadolu
Agency
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'Turkiye-EU
economic relations a very important cornerstone in ties'
Merve Gül
Aydoğan Ağlarcı
21.01.2022
The EU is the
largest trading partner of Turkiye," the bloc's top diplomat in Ankara
noted Thursday, saying economic relations with the country are a very important
cornerstone in ties.
Speaking to a
group of reporters from the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Turkiye,
Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut hailed economic ties with Ankara as he expressed hope to
continue to have "a conducive environment" to maintain cooperation
with aims to expand on it.
Citing the
initial records for last year, Meyer-Landrut said Turkiye's exports to the EU
have surpassed €70 billion ($79 billion), making the country the bloc's
"largest trading partner."
Bilateral trade
in the last 25 years has more than quadrupled, the head of the EU Delegation to
Turkiye said, noting that "high-level dialogues" on a range of issues
are to continue in the year to come.
On the issue of
updating the Customs Union between Turkiye and the EU, Ambassador Meyer-Landrut
said: "We all agree that the Customs Union and its potential modernization
has an important potential for the EU-Turkey economic and trade
relations."
Technical talks
on the issue of the Customs Union are ongoing, EU envoy further said, adding
that Turkiye and the bloc are "now working on the elements of a positive
agenda," including "a number of things which were possible, on which
engagement is increasing, where cooperation is growing."
On bilateral
relations between Turkiye and the EU, Meyer-Landrut recalled the EU and
European Council's "strategic interest in a stable and secure environment
in the eastern Mediterranean and the development of a cooperative and mutually
beneficial relationship with Turkey."
He also cited
"the resumption of political high-level meetings," as well as
"high-level dialogues on climate migration, security and public
health" during the past year.
"We then
have seen an additional decision by the EU to allocate an additional €3 billion
to support refugees and host communities in Turkey for the next years. ... this
additional three billion ... makes it three plus three plus three. So, we are
close to 10 (billion euros)," he added.
He also said the
first billion committed by the end of 2021 covers areas such "as basic
needs, education, and migration and border management, which was an issue ...
particularly asked for by the Turkish authorities."
Turkey is the
largest host country for Syrian refugees, providing protection to nearly 4
million people who fled the civil war.
In the area of
health, the EU envoy said there were "important results" as he cited
the "mutual recognition of the COVID digital certificate from Turkey in
the EU system."
Defining the
mutual recognition as "an important step also in terms of allowing trade
and people movements," Meyer-Landrut said Turkiye was "one of the first
countries with such mutual recognition."
"And we
have also been working together on the strengthening of Turkey's laboratory
network, linking it to early warning systems."
"This is
important in terms of spotting potential pandemics, allows swift responses and
cooperation on this part of the fight against pandemics," he added.
Meyer-Landrut
said the EU recognizes and supports "the diplomatic efforts of Turkey as
an important NATO ally."
Source: Anadolu
Agency
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