Two Young Austrians Of Turkish Origin Hailed For Helping Victims During Vienna Attack
New Age Islam News Bureau
04 November 2020
Recep Gultekin (right) and Mikail Özen (left) were
invited to Turkey's Vienna embassy in thanks for their help
-----
• No Offense Meant To Islam, Muslims: France's Macron
Tells Palestine's Abbas
• After Mathura Namaz Row, 4 Held For Reciting Hanuman
Chalisa Inside Mosque
• Saudi Minister Adel Al-Jubeir: Vienna Attack
Contrary To Religion And Human Values
• Pakistan Voices Concern Over Proliferation Of
Islamophobia In Europe
• Hindu Homes Attacked In Bangladesh Over Rumours
About Alleged Facebook Post Slandering Islam
• Malawi To Be 1st African Country To Open Embassy In
Israeli-Occupied Jerusalem Al-Quds
• Emir Research: More Malaysians Find Islam, Islamic
Institutions Being Questioned Openly
Europe
• Two Young Austrians Of Turkish Origin Hailed For
Helping Victims During Vienna Attack
• No Offense Meant To Islam, Muslims: France's Macron
Tells Palestine's Abbas
• Athens’ First State-Sanctioned Mosque Opens Its
Doors
• IS Claims Vienna Shooting As Austria Calls EU To
Fight ‘Political Islam’
• UK raises terrorism threat level to ‘severe’
• Austria police arrest 14 after Vienna shooting
rampage
• Teenage Satanist and far-right extremist sentenced
for terrorism offences
• Russia: 2,000 fighters from Middle East joined
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict
--------
India
• After Mathura Namaz Row, 4 Held For Reciting Hanuman
Chalisa Inside Mosque
• Congress Urges Centre To Take Up With Attacks On
Hindus In Bangladesh
• Pakistan Using Covid To Export Terror: India
• After Vienna Terror Attack, Austrian Embassy In
Delhi Closed Till Nov 11
• J&K Should Be Bridge Of Peace With India's
Neighbours Pakistan, China: Mehbooba Mufti
--------
Arab world
• Saudi Minister Adel Al-Jubeir: Vienna Attack
Contrary To Religion And Human Values
• Breaking With Muslims, UAE Supports Macron’s
Islamophobic Remarks
• Coronavirus: Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Al Maktoum receives vaccine
• Qatar's stance on independent Palestinian state
unchanged: Al Thani
• Turkey prepares to pull back from second military
post in northwest Syria: Sources
• Lebanon caretaker PM Diab urges central bank to
provide all info for audit
--------
Pakistan
• Pakistan Voices Concern Over Proliferation Of
Islamophobia In Europe
• Pakistan Receives 45 Stolen Relics From US
• Pakistan cannot afford to go into lockdown again:
Imran Khan
• Prosecution identifies discrepancies in charge sheet
against Capt Safdar
• Bosnian leader arrives on two-day visit today
--------
South Asia
• Hindu Homes Attacked In Bangladesh Over Rumours
About Alleged Facebook Post Slandering Islam
• Chief Negotiator Dares Taliban For ‘Immediate
Ceasefire’ Amid Peace Efforts
• Kandahar: 13 Taliban Fighters Killed In AAF
Airstrikes
• Death toll from Kabul University attack reaches 35
------
Africa
• Malawi To Be 1st African Country To Open Embassy In
Israeli-Occupied Jerusalem Al-Quds
• Mali air strikes kill dozens of jihadists linked to
al Qaeda, French govt says
• Ethiopia Says Militants Killed 32 People in Oromia
Region
• Boko Haram ‘Kills 12’ in Raid Near Nigeria’s Chibok
-----
Southeast Asia
• Emir Research: More Malaysians Find Islam, Islamic
Institutions Being Questioned Openly
• PAS MP finally says sorry for alcohol and Bible
remarks, insists only defending ‘original form’ as revealed to Jesus
• Quiet burial for Malaysian cardinal who engaged
Islam
• Indonesian Muslims protest France’s defence of
cartoon
--------
Mideast
• Iran Condemns Terrorist Attack in Vienna
• Iranian Speaker's Advisor Stresses Need for More
Unity among Muslims
• Azerbaijani territories under Armenian control must
be ‘liberated’: Iran’s Khamenei
• Turkish support for President Erdogan’s AKP party
hits all-time low: Poll
• In Toubas, Jordan Valley, 11 Palestinian homes are
demolished by Israel
• Houthis condemned for failing to protect journalists
--------
North America
• If Elected, Biden To Restore Palestinian Aid, Reopen
PLO Office In Washington: Harris
• US Election 2020: Angry Trump declares victory, will
go to Supreme Court
• More than 100 million votes were cast before
Election Day in US: Watchdog
• US has intensified cyberwar on Russia, China, Iran:
NYT
• Tip lines allow voters to report intimidation,
extremism at the polls
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
--------
Two Young Austrians Of Turkish Origin Hailed For Helping Victims During Vienna Attack
04 Nov 2020
Recep Gultekin (right) and Mikail Özen (left) were
invited to Turkey's Vienna embassy in thanks for their help
-----
Two young Austrians of Turkish origin have been hailed
for their courage following Monday's gun attack in the capital Vienna, after
footage of them intervening to aid wounded people including a policeman spread
across social media.
A video shot from a nearby building shows the pair
running to a metro station exit and helping panicked passers-by to take cover —
as gunshots were still echoing down the street.
On Tuesday, the interior ministry confirmed, without
naming the two friends, that they had helped during the attack late Monday by a
radicalised young man from North Macedonia.
The assailant killed four people before being shot
dead by police.
A young Palestinian man was also praised as a hero for
assisting an injured police officer.
Mikail Ozen and Recep Tayyip Gultekin, both Austrian
citizens from Turkish backgrounds, had planned to “drink a last coffee”
together at bustling Schwedenplatz before the country's coronavirus lockdown
came into effect, they said in a video posted online immediately after the
attack.
The first shots could be heard even as they arrived at
the busy square by the river to find “people lying on the ground covered in
blood”, Ozen recalled.
They went to help a panicked older woman who was
looking for a place to hide — only to see a wounded policeman lying on the
ground.
“We couldn't act as if we hadn't seen him,” Ozen said.
“We ran and carried him to the ambulance” by supporting him under his shoulders
as the gunfire continued.
The policeman was given first aid by a Palestinian
man, Osama Joda, a BBC report said.
Joda, 23, was working at a nearby McDonalds when the
attacker opened fire on passers-by. One of the police officers who arrived at
the scene was also shot.
"I pulled him behind the concrete bench and tried
to stop the bleeding," Joda told local newspaper Kurier. "There was
blood everywhere."
The perpetrator fled after more police personnel
arrived, and Joda then helped drag the officer to a nearby ambulance with help
from Ozen and Gultekin.
Gultekin was also shot in the leg and suffered a minor
injury while aiding the elderly woman and carrying her to a restaurant.
The two semi-professional martial artists issued an
appeal for unity between “Jews, Christians and Muslims” that was picked up by
many Austrian media outlets.
“We're Muslims of Turkish origin, we hate any kind of
terrorism. We're with Austria, with Vienna, we respect Austria,” they said into
the camera lens.
Turkish media reported that President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan had called the pair to congratulate them.
The two young men were also invited to the Turkish
embassy in Vienna where Turkey's ambassador to Austria Ozan Ceyhun praised
their conduct, according to the BBC.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1588504/young-muslim-heroes-hailed-for-helping-victims-during-vienna-attack
--------
No Offense Meant To Islam, Muslims: France's Macron Tells
Palestine's Abbas
03 November 2020
French President Emmanuel Macron
-----
French President Emmanuel Macron has said he did not
intend to insult Islam and its followers in what could be interpreted as a
retreat from his recent inflammatory Islamophobic remarks and support for a
publication's incendiary cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Speaking in a telephone conversation with Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday night, Macron said he respected Islam and the
Muslim world, and did not mean to offend them, Palestinian news agency WAFA
reported.
He added that he differentiated between terrorism and
extremism on the one side, and Islam and the Muslim world on the other.
The remarks came two days after Macron told
Qatar-based al-Jazeera television news network that he wanted to eliminate the
misunderstandings, after his remarks triggered an outburst of anger against
France among Muslim nations and leaders worldwide.
Macron said on Saturday that the caricatures published
by the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine did not represent the French
government’s position, and underlined that the magazine was not an official
publication.
“I understand the feelings that this arouses; I
respect them. But I want you to understand the role that I have. My role is to
calm things down, as I am doing here, but at the same time it is to protect
these rights,” he said, doubling down on his alleged support for freedom of
expression.
Elsewhere in his remarks on Monday night, Macron told
Abbas that France’s position on the establishment of peace in the Middle East
region on the basis of the so-called two-state solution was firm and
unswerving.
Abbas, for his part, underlined that everyone must
respect religions and religious symbols, and anything offensive to Prophet
Muhammad as well as other prophets and religions must not be allowed.
He also denounced all forms of violence, extremism,
and terrorism.
Macron's anti-Islam rhetoric and his support for
controversial cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad have triggered a boycott of
French goods, including dairy products and cosmetics, among Muslims.
Mass demonstrations have also taken place in several
countries with posters of Macron and French flags set ablaze in some instances.
Sisi, Macron discuss outrage over insulting cartoons
Separately, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi has
stressed the need for a complete differentiation between Islam as a religion
that promotes peace, tolerance and renounces violence, and terrorist actions
that are committed by extremists.
Sisi, in a phone conversation with his French
counterpart on Monday, noted that acts of terror are condemned in all their
forms.
The Egyptian president also called for promotion of
coexistence between followers of all religions via dialog, understanding, as
well as mutual respect, and demanded avoidance of prejudice towards religious
symbols.
Egypt is trying to prevent terrorist groups as well as
their sponsors from tarnishing the image of Islam, Sisi noted.
The Egyptian and French presidents also discussed the
latest attacks in France amid a Muslim outrage over the controversial cartoons
depicting Prophet Muhammad.
Sisi and Macron reviewed latest developments in Libya
as well, and exchanged viewpoints on efforts aimed at the implementation of the
ceasefire agreement between warring sides in the North African country.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/03/637808/I-did-not-intend-to-offend-Islam-Muslims-France-Macron-tells-Palestinian-counterpart
--------
After Mathura Namaz Row, 4 Held For Reciting Hanuman
Chalisa Inside Mosque
Nov 4, 2020
(Image: Zee)
----
Four persons have been arrested for allegedly reciting
Hanuman Chalisa inside a mosque in Goverdhan, a day after Namaz offered on the
premises of a temple here triggered a row.
One of the four men arrested over Tuesday's Hanuman
Chalisa recitation claims to be a local leader of the BJP's youth wing.
The men, aged between 18 and 25, entered the Idgah on
the Goverdhan-Barsana road and recited the Hindu prayer, police said.
Police in Goverdhan town, about 20 km from Mathura,
arrested them for disturbing the peace and registered an FIR under section 151
of the CrPC.
Saurabh Nambardar, Raghav Mittal, Rauki and Kanha were
produced in the court of Goverdhan sub-divisional magistrate Rahul Yadav, who
ordered their release on a surety of Rs 2 lakh each.
Superintendent of Police (SP), Mathura, Gaurav Grover
said, "Police and administration of Mathura district are monitoring
everything directly or indirectly. If any person tries to spread chaos or break
the dignity of any religious place, stern action will be taken against
them."
"Nobody is above the law and if any person tries
to disturb the peaceful environment then a strong action will be taken against
him or her," Ram Mishra, District Magistrate (DM), Mathura said.
In a video clip on social media, one of the arrested
men is heard saying that if Namaz can be offered for communal harmony in a
temple, reciting Hanuman Chalisa should be allowed in a mosque.
Meanwhile, Faisal Khan, one of the four persons who
allegedly offered 'Namaz' inside the Nanda Bhavan Temple complex in Mathura,
was on Tuesday sent to 14-day judicial custody by a local court.
Khan, who was arrested from Delhi on Monday, was later
handed over to Uttar Pradesh Police for questioning in the matter.
The UP Police had on Sunday registered an FIR against
four persons -- Faisal Khan, Chand Mohammad, Alok Ratan, and Nilesh Gupta -- at
Barsana Police Station for allegedly offering 'namaz' in the Mathura temple.
According to the FIR, while two of them offered
'namaz' in the courtyard of the temple on October 29, the other two recorded
the incident, and the video was posted on social media.
As per the FIR, they came to temple on Thursday and
Khan chanted a few lines from the Ramcharitmanas there.
The group members told the priest that they are on a
'parikarma' (circumambulation) of the 'Brij Chaurasi kos' on bicycles,
according to the FIR against them.
The FIR was registered on the complaint filed by
Nandbaba temple priest Kanha Goswami under several sections of the Indian Penal
Code (IPC) including charges of promoting enmity, injuring or defiling a place
of worship, and public mischief among others.
https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-after-mathura-namaz-row-4-held-for-reciting-hanuman-chalisa-inside-mosque-2854274
--------
Saudi minister Adel Al-Jubeir: Vienna attack contrary
to religion and human values
04 November 2020
Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs Adel
Al-Jubeir said on Twitter on Tuesday that the Vienna attack was a heinous crime
contrary to all religions and human values.
“We share with friends in the Republic of Austria the
sorrow of the terrorist crime that targeted innocent people in Vienna. This
heinous crime and its likes are contrary to all religions and human values, and
it emphasizes to us that terrorism has no religion or race,” his tweet said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/11/04/Saudi-minister-Adel-Al-Jubeir-Vienna-attack-contrary-to-religion-and-human-values
--------
Pakistan voices concern over proliferation of
Islamophobia in Europe
04 Nov 2020
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday expressed concern over
the proliferation of Islamophobia in Europe and called for urgent steps to
address it.
The issue was raised by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood
Qureshi at the Fifth Round of Pakistan-European Union Strategic Dialogue, which
was held virtually. The session was co-chaired by Mr Qureshi and High
Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Mr
Josep Borrell.
“The foreign minister apprised his European
counterpart about the concerns of Muslims around the world, including Pakistan
regarding the growing trend of Islamophobia in some European countries,” the
Foreign Office (FO) said.
The latest spell of Islamophobia began last month when
French President Emmanuel Macron in some rude remarks about Islam described it
as a religion “in crisis all over the world,” which had been taken over by
extremists.
He then vowed to fight “radical Islamism” and uphold
secular values at all costs. His subsequent defence of the caricatures, other
comments about Islam and action against Muslims added fuel to the fire.
Qureshi, EU’s Borrell co-chair virtual session of
strategic dialogue
It is feared that the crisis unleashed by Mr Macron’s
comments could draw Europe into greater polarisation that could affect its
peace and security.
Mr Qureshi had earlier raised this issue with his
other European counterparts in his conversations with them over the past few
days and called for promoting inter-faith harmony for defusing the potentially
dangerous situation.
EU-Pakistan dialogue reviewed the implementation of
Pakistan-European Union Strategic Engagement Plan (SEP), which was signed in
June last year.
The SEP is the new bilateral framework of cooperation
that aims at the deepening of Pak-EU relations in all areas.
The FO said the two sides expressed satisfaction on
the progress towards the implementation of the SEP.
The two sides at the dialogue exchanged views on
regional and international issues and shared their assessments on the current
situation of the Covid-19 pandemic and actions taken by the respective sides to
mitigate its negative socio-economic impacts.
EU is Pakistan’s major trading and investment partner.
Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood and Deputy Secretary
General of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora had last month
held the sixth round of Pakistan-European Political Dialogue.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1588498/pakistan-voices-concern-over-proliferation-of-islamophobia-in-europe
--------
Hindu homes attacked in Bangladesh over rumours about
alleged Facebook post slandering Islam
Nov 02, 2020
The houses of several Hindu families have been
vandalised and burned by some radical Islamists in Bangladesh's Comilla
district over rumours about an alleged Facebook post slandering Islam,
according to a media report on Monday.
The households were vandalised and later set on fire
on Sunday after a Bangladeshi man, who lives in France, allegedly praised
President Emmanuel Macron for taking steps against “inhumane ideologies” after
a teacher in Paris was decapitated for showing caricatures of the Prophet
Muhammad, bdnews24.com reported.
The headmaster of a kindergarten school in Purbo Dhour
welcomed Macron's action in a comment on the post.
As the rumours about the Facebook post spread, tension
mounted in the area on Saturday, the report said.
The police arrested two people on charges of hurting
the religious sentiments on Sunday, the report quoted Qamruzzaman Talukder,
Officer-in-Charge of Bangra Bazar Police Station, as saying.
They include the headmaster of the kindergarten. The
other person is a resident of nearby Andikot village.
“The situation is under control now,” Md Abul Fazal
Mir, deputy commissioner of Cumilla district, told bdnews24.com after visiting
the area. Syed Nurul Islam, Superintendent of Police, has also visited the
scene.
The deputy commissioner said the locals carried out
arson attacks on homes, including those of the two arrestees.
Asked what measures the authorities have taken against
the attackers, Mir said the administration has swung into action.
Qamruzzaman said the process to file a case over the
attack was underway.
The police will watch videos to identify the attackers,
he added.
Demonstrations against France over caricatures of the
Prophet Muhammad have been taking place in different Muslim-majority countries
for some days.
Bangladeshi authorities have deployed four platoons of
police in Kurbanpur and Andikot villages to keep the situation under control.
The police launched a case under the Digital Security
Act against the headmaster and the other arrestee.
A court denied bail and sent them to jail pending
trial when the police produced them before it late on Sunday afternoon. PTI
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/hindu-homes-attacked-in-bangladesh-over-rumours-about-alleged-facebook-post-slandering-islam-164880
--------
Malawi to be 1st African country to open embassy in
Israeli-occupied Jerusalem al-Quds
04 November 2020
The Republic of Malawi is set to become the first
African country to follow the United States and open an embassy in
Israeli-occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.
Malawi Foreign Minister Eisenhower Mkaka, in a video
statement during a visit to the Israeli-occupied territories on Tuesday, called
the decision a “bold and significant step.”
He also hailed the controversial normalization
agreements Israel recently reached with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and
Sudan with US mediation.
The normalization deals have drawn widespread
condemnation from Palestinians, who seek an independent state in the occupied
West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital. They say
the deals ignore their rights and do not serve the Palestinian cause.
Israel lays claim to entire Jerusalem al-Quds, but the
international community views the city’s eastern sector as occupied territory.
During the meeting, Israeli minister for foreign
affairs Gabi Ashkenazi, for his part, praised Malawi’s decision to open a full
diplomatic mission in Jerusalem al-Quds, which is expected to start operation
by the summer of 2021.
“I’m sure that more African leaders will follow this
decision,” he asserted.
“I would like to congratulate the Malawian government
on the important decision to be the pioneer, and the first African country to
establish its embassy in Jerusalem (al-Quds),” Ashkenazi added.
The landlocked Southeastern African country of Malawi
has had diplomatic ties with Israel since 1964, but without opening an embassy
in the occupied territories.
The embassy relocations began after US President
Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the Israeli “capital” in late 2017
and later moved his country’s embassy to the occupied city in a significant
pro-Tel Aviv policy shift on Palestine.
Guatemala and Paraguay later followed in Washington’s
footstep, before the latter reversed its decision just four months later.
Honduras has likewise said it aims to move its embassy
to Jerusalem al-Quds by the end of 2020. Brazil and the Dominican Republican
are also considering such a move.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/04/637878/Malawi-to-be-1st-African-country-to-open-embassy-in-Israeli-occupied-Jerusalem-al-Quds
--------
Emir Research: More Malaysians find Islam, Islamic institutions
being questioned openly
03 Nov 2020
BY SOO WERN JUN
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 — The percentage of Malaysians who
believe that Islam and Islamic institutions are being questioned openly are on
the rise, Emir Research found in its latest study in July.
The local research house said that in its latest study
conducted in the third quarter of this year, 39 per cent of respondents
believed that religion was being openly questioned, in comparison to 35 per
cent in a previous poll in the fourth quarter of 2019.
“One of the institutions of the Malay-Muslims in the
monarchy, and this could perhaps contribute to the rise in many Malaysians
believing that the institution concerned is being questioned openly.
“This corroborates findings from the focus group
discussion (FGD) in which discussants agree that the institution is being
questioned openly,” Emir Research said in its findings released yesterday.
Emir Research is led by Datuk Rais Hussin who was
recently appointed as Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation chairman.
The research house also found that participants of its
July FGD) were concerned about what they perceived as political maneuvering
within the current government, which made them unsure and less confident about
the ruling Perikatan Nasional coalition’s staying power.
Emir Research said this sentiment was reflected in its
research paper titled “Pulse From the Ground: Emir Research Quarterly Poll for
Third Quarter 2020 ― Part 1”.
“When the political crisis that ensued following the
resignation of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the King in his
wisdom had stepped in to solve the political imbroglio by appointing Tan Sri
Muhyiddin Yassin as the eighth prime minister of Malaysia.
“As mentioned in the FGDs, this was perfectly in line
with the Constitution and the role of a constitutional monarch, but most rakyat
while acknowledging Perikatan Nasional is a legitimate government, insinuated
that it is at the same time a backdoor government,” said Emir Research in a
statement today.
According to the research agency, some Malaysians take
this as questioning the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for appointing a backdoor
government.
The research was done among others to assess the
perceived direction of the country and living conditions among the people.
However, Emir Research noted that its FGD was
conducted in July, and the survey was in August, therefore the poll does not
take into account the latest developments in the country which include the
surge in Covid-19 cases, political turmoil and the call for a state of
emergency to be declared which was denied by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/11/03/emir-research-more-malaysians-find-islam-institutions-being-questioned-open/1918899
--------
Europe
Athens’ first state-sanctioned mosque opens its doors
November 4, 2020
ATHENS: The first official mosque in Athens, delayed
for more than a decade, opened its doors to a few faithful owing to the
coronavirus, the capital’s Muslim community said Tuesday.
The project to open a state-sanctioned mosque in
Athens, the only European capital without one, was launched in 2007.
It immediately ran into strong opposition from the
influential Orthodox Church, as well as from nationalist groups.
Athens will “finally have a place of worship for its
Muslim inhabitants,” Naim el Gadour, the president of the Muslim Union of
Greece told AFP.
There will be no official inauguration, however, due
to restrictions related to the virus outbreak, according to Zaki Sidi Mohammed,
the mosque’s Moroccan imam.
The Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs
announced the opening in a press release late Monday, specifying that under the
current circumstances only around 10 people at a time would be permitted to
pray in the mosque.
Some 650,000 Muslims live in Greece, the majority in
Athens. Most are migrants who arrived in the country over the last 20 years.
Located in Elaionas, a former industrial district, the
mosque is the first to operate officially in Athens since the country’s war for
independence from the Ottomans in 1821.
The only mosques dating from the Ottoman era now
operating in Greece are located in the border region with Turkey where a
minority of 150,000 Turkish people live.
Built with state funds, the Athens place of worship
was completed in 2019 and can accommodate up to 350 people.
After years of opposition, the opening was delayed yet
again in recent months owing to restrictions imposed to stem the coronavirus
pandemic, according to the ministry.
“We had been waiting for its opening for months, but
we did not know the exact date,” said el Gadour, who had campaigned for its
construction.
Numerous makeshift mosques in Athens apartments,
basements and even sheds were created over the years, which the state tried to
regulate by granting operating permits.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2020/11/04/athens-first-state-sanctioned-mosque-opens-its-doors/
--------
IS claims Vienna shooting as Austria calls EU to fight
‘political Islam’
November 4, 2020
VIENNA: Austrian investigators were on Tuesday piecing
together the Monday evening rampage through central Vienna by a lone gunman and
later claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group, as Chancellor Sebastian Kurz
called for a European response to “political Islam”.
Four people were killed when Kujtim Fejzulai,
described as a 20-year-old IS sympathiser who had spent time in prison, opened
fire with a Kalashnikov in a busy area of the Austrian capital the day before
the country went into a new coronavirus lockdown.
IS — which has claimed numerous attacks in Europe —
said Tuesday a “soldier of the caliphate” was responsible for the carnage,
according to its propaganda agency.
Police shot the gunman dead on Monday and later
swooped on 18 different addresses and made 14 arrests as they looked for
possible accomplices and sought to determine if he had acted alone.
After reviewing CCTV footage of the attack in an area
teaming with bars and restaurants not far from the historic sights of central
Vienna, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said the video “does not at this time
show any evidence of a second attacker”.
Vienna police have asked people who filmed the moment
of the attack to share their recordings with the authorities to aid in tracking
the gunman’s route through the capital, rather than posting them to social
media.
On Fejzulai’s computer, investigators found
incriminating evidence including a photograph recently posted on Facebook
showing him carrying the automatic weapon and a machete used during the attack.
Police said he was also wearing a fake explosive belt.
‘Repulsive’ attack
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz condemned the
shooting as a “repulsive terror attack”, which he said killed a waitress, a
young passer-by and an older man and woman.
He called on the European Union to fight against
“political Islam” saying it was an ideology that represented a “danger” to the
model of the European way of life, in an interview published in Germany’s Die
Welt newspaper.
His government will face questions about how an
individual known to security forces had been able to buy weapons and cause
havoc on the streets of the usually peaceful capital, often listed as having
the world’s highest quality of life.
The investigation is spanning several countries, with
Switzerland making two arrests and Macedonia, where Fejzulai has family roots,
cooperating with the Austrian authorities.
The attack came after several Islamist atrocities in
France, including an assault on churchgoers in the Mediterranean city of Nice
and the beheading of a schoolteacher near Paris.
The recent re-publication of cartoons of the Prophet
Mohammed in France has caused new tensions worldwide, sparking protests in some
Muslim-majority countries and calls from several terror groups for their
followers to take revenge.
Britain on Tuesday upgraded its terrorism threat level
from “substantial” to “severe”.
Fooled the system
Nehammer said Fejzulai had been convicted and jailed
for a terror offence in April last year for trying to travel to Syria.
The dual Austrian and Macedonian national had then
been admitted to a government-funded de-radicalisation programme and had
managed to secure an early release in December from a 22-month prison sentence.
“The perpetrator managed to fool the de-radicalisation
programme of the justice system, to fool the people in it, and to get an early
release,” Nehammer said.
“It was clear that the attacker, despite all the
outward signs of having integrated into society, did exactly the opposite.”
A large swathe of central Vienna was cordoned off
around the location of the shootings as police combed the area.
“It sounded like firecrackers, then we realised it was
shots,” one witness told public broadcaster ORF after the attack began. Another
spoke of at least 50 shots being fired.
Shock and sorrow
The small Alpine nation of nine million people had
until now been spared the sort of major attacks that have hit other European
countries such as France, Germany and Britain in the last decade.
The last significant attacks date back to the 1970s
and 1980s and were carried out by pro-Palestinian militants.
“This isn’t Berlin and it isn’t Paris. We’re perhaps a
big city but nothing really bad ever happens here,” said hotel receptionist
Sharut Gunduz.
The bloodshed triggered an outpouring of solidarity
from world leaders with French President Emmanuel Macron saying the people of
France shared the “shock and sorrow” of the Austrian people.
Across the country, flags were lowered to half-mast on
public buildings and people observed a minute of silence at noon as church
bells rang out.
Kurz, President Alexander Van der Bellen and other
officials took part in a wreath-laying ceremony in honour of the victims.
Common struggle
Twenty-three wounded people were in hospital Tuesday,
with seven in a critical condition, Vienna’s hospital association said.
Police said an officer was among those hurt.
Germany joined the Czech Republic in stepping up
checks at their borders in order to stop possible accomplices.
“The fight against these assassins and those who
instigate them is our common struggle,” said Chancellor Angela Merkel.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2020/11/04/is-claims-vienna-shooting-as-austria-calls-eu-to-fight-political-islam/
--------
UK raises terrorism threat level to ‘severe’
03 November 2020
Following terrorist attacks in France and Austria, the
UK has raised its terror threat level from “substantial” to “severe”, which
indicates that the security apparatus believes a terrorist attack is now
“highly likely”.
The decision to raise the threat level has been taken
by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Center (JTAC), which is housed inside the
headquarters of the British Security Service (MI5).
According to multiple reports in the British media,
JTAC’s decision to raise the terror threat level was materially influenced by
Monday night’s (November 02) terrorist attack in Vienna (Austria), in which
four people were killed.
Taking to Twitter the UK’s hardline Home Secretary,
Priti Patel, wrote that the measure is “precautionary” and not based on any
“specific” threat.
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has changed the UK
terror threat level from substantial to severe.
This is a precautionary measure and is not based on
any specific threat.
The public should continue to remain vigilant and
report any suspicious activity to the police. pic.twitter.com/XJa0gXetee
— Priti Patel (@pritipatel) November 3, 2020
Echoing that appraisal, Sky News’ defense and security
correspondent, Alistair Bunkall, tweeted that a “security source” had told him
there is no “specific” threat to the UK but recent attacks in Europe have felt
“different in tactic and tempo”.
A U.K. security source tells me there is no specific
threat to the UK but recent attacks in Europe have felt “different in tactic
and tempo” and the raised threat level is in response to that.
— Alistair Bunkall (@AliBunkallSKY) November 3, 2020
Bunkall wrote further that that the British security
apparatus had been operating at the top of “substantial” for some time and that
it wouldn’t take much to “nudge” the UK into the “severe” category.
“Vienna was that nudge”, Bunkall added.
Meanwhile, the BBC’s home affairs correspondent,
Dominic Casciani, wrote that while there is a sense of “inevitability” about
the raising of the terror threat, nevertheless intelligence plays a part in the
process.
According to Casciani, available intelligence on
“known suspects” targeting the UK and a “wider analysis” of how international
events interact with their intentions, informs the British security apparatus’s
decision on the threat level.
JTAC operates five terror threat levels with “severe”
constituting the second-highest.
Above “severe” is “critical” which indicates an attack
is thought to be highly likely in the near future.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/03/637857/UK-Terror-Threat-Level-Raise-Severe-JTAC
--------
Austria police arrest 14 after Vienna shooting rampage
03 November 2020
Police in Austria have arrested more than a dozen
people as they look for suspects in deadly shooting attacks in the capital,
Vienna.
Security forces raided 18 different locations and made
14 arrests during a massive dragnet on Tuesday, hours after the shootings left
four people dead and nearly two dozen others injured across Vienna.
At least 22 people, including a policeman, were also wounded.
One assailant was shot dead by police. But authorities
have not ruled out the possibility that more shooters may have been involved.
Austria’s Interior Minister Karl Nehammer announced on
Tuesday that the gunmen who was shot dead sympathized with the Takfiri Daesh
terrorist group.
“Yesterday we survived an attack of at least one…
terrorist. A situation we have not experienced in Austria for decades. The
identified criminal was armed with a belt with explosives, which turned out to
be fake, and a rifle. The criminal had sympathies for the ISIS terrorist
group,” Nehammer said at a press conference in Vienna, using a different
acronym for Daesh.
“Yesterday’s attack was an attack on our values and a
completely useless attempt to weaken our democratic society or to divide it,”
he added. “We do not tolerate this in any way or from anyone.”
Nehammer identified the terrorist as 20-year-old
Kujtim Fejzulai, who had dual Austrian and Macedonian nationality.
The Austrian minister said the attacker had been convicted
of a terror offense in April last year for trying to travel to Syria.
Vienna police said that SWAT teams on Tuesday entered
the gunman’s apartment using explosives, and a search of its surroundings was
underway.
The shooting on Monday night took place in six
locations in Vienna.
The Austrian capital remains on high alert following
the incident, as police ramp up their investigation into the attack and search
for more suspects.
Several neighboring countries have stepped up border
checks.
Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz vowed “decisive
action” against the perpetrators of the terrorist attack on Monday, underlining
that police were concentrating on an anti-terror operation and the army was
taking over the security of major buildings in Vienna and across the country.
European leaders have strongly condemned the Vienna
shooting, which follows two terror attacks in France in recent weeks.
Charles Michel, the president of the European Council,
said on Twitter that, “Europe strongly condemns this cowardly act that violates
life and our human values.”
Other leaders also shared statements expressing their
shock and sorrow, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Italian Prime
Minister Giuseppe Conte, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/03/637834/Austria-police-arrest-14-after-Vienna-shooting-rampage
--------
Teenage Satanist and far-right extremist sentenced for
terrorism offences
Nadeem Badshah
2 Nov 2020
A teenage Satanist and far-right extremist has been given
a suspended sentence after posting bomb-making manuals on neo-Nazi forums and
downloading indecent images of children.
Harry Vaughan, 18, a grammar school pupil who achieved
four A* grades in his A-levels, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Monday after
admitting 14 terrorism offences and two child abuse image offences. He was
given two years’ detention suspended for two years.
Vaughan was arrested by police in June last year
following an investigation into an online forum called Fascist Forge.
Police found that the teenager, of south-west London,
had been concealing his identity behind numerous aliases and boasting about
school shootings, sharing explosives manuals and neo-Nazi propaganda online,
expressing homophobic views and downloading indecent images of underage boys.
Digital forensic specialists retrieved 4,200 images
and 302 files from Vaughan’s devices including an extreme rightwing terrorist
book and documents relating to Satanism, neo-Nazism and antisemitism.
Police also discovered graphics encouraging acts of
terrorism in the name of the proscribed organisation Sonnenkrieg Division and
footage of the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre.
Several homemade posters were found in the bedroom of
the teenager, who attended Tiffin grammar school in Kingston-upon-Thames in
Surrey.
One featured the Norwegian far-right killer Anders
Breivik and the words “every girl loves a mass murderer” and “it’s okay to be a
Nazi”.
Richard Smith, the head of the Met’s counter-terrorism
command, said the case showed that any young person can be susceptible to
radicalisation.
He said: “Harry Vaughan is an intelligent young man …
yet, online, he was an enthusiastic participant of rightwing terrorist forums.
“His case illustrates it is possible for any young
person to be susceptible to radicalisation, so today I really want to appeal to
everyone to be as vigilant as possible for signs that a young loved one may be
in trouble.”
In a pre-sentence report, Vaughan indicated there were
no “significant political”, “racist or homophobic” views expressed during his
upbringing. The teenager’s father, who was in court, is a clerk in the House of
Lords and his mother is a teacher.
The judge took account of the defendant’s young age
and his diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder. He also acknowledged a letter
from Vaughan’s parents, who are committed to helping him “change for the
better”.
His extremist views, which he now claims to have
renounced, were said to be “driven by internet use”.
Prosecutor Dan Pawson-Pounds said: “The material
demonstrated unequivocally that Vaughan had an entrenched extreme rightwing and
racist mindset, as well as an interest in explosives, firearms and violence
more generally.”
Vaughan’s barrister, Naeem Mian QC, told the Old
Bailey that a “toxic cocktail of factors” had led the defendant to “disappear
down a rabbit hole of the internet” into a “very, very dark place”.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/nov/02/teenage-satanist-and-far-right-extremist-sentenced-for-terrorism-offences?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1682291_
--------
Russia: 2,000 fighters from Middle East joined
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict
03 November 2020
Russia's top diplomat said Tuesday that about 2,000
fighters from the Middle East have joined the fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh,
the worst outbreak of hostilities in the conflict between Armenia and
Azerbaijan in more than a quarter-century.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's statement
came as the warring parties traded accusations over new attacks in the region.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
“We are certainly worried about the
internationalization of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the involvement of
militants from the Middle East,” Lavrov said in an interview with the Russian
business daily Kommersant. “We have repeatedly asked foreign players to use
their potential to stop the transfer of militants, whose number in the conflict
zone is approaching 2,000.”
Lavrov added that Russian President Vladimir Putin raised
the issue in last week's phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan.
Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been
under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there
ended in 1994. The latest outburst of hostilities began Sept. 27 and has left
hundreds — perhaps thousands — dead, marking the worst escalation of fighting
since the war’s end.
Azerbaijan has relied on strong support from its ally
Turkey, which has trained Azerbaijani military and provided it with strike
drones and long-range rocket systems.
Armenian officials accuse Turkey of being directly
involved in the conflict and sending mercenaries from Syria to fight on
Azerbaijan’s side.
Turkey has denied deploying combatants to the region,
but a Syrian war monitor and Syria-based opposition activists have confirmed
that Turkey has sent hundreds of Syrian opposition fighters to fight in
Nagorno-Karabakh.
The heavy fighting involving heavy artillery, rockets
and drones has raged despite repeated international attempts to end
hostilities. A U.S.-brokered truce frayed immediately after it took effect last
week, just like two previous cease-fires negotiated by Russia, and the latest
pledge by Armenia and Azerbaijan not to target residential areas was broken
hours after it was made Friday. The warring sides have repeatedly blamed each
other for violations.
Artillery fire hit the region's capital Stepanakert on
Tuesday night and Nagorno-Karabakh emergencies ministry also said three rockets
hit the strategically key city of Shushi.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has insisted that
Azerbaijan has the right to reclaim its territory by force after three decades
of fruitless international mediation. He said that Armenia must pledge to
withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh as a condition for a lasting truce.
Azerbaijani troops have reclaimed control of several
regions on the fringes of Nagorno-Karabakh and pressed their offensive into the
separatist territory from the south, trying to cut a link between the
separatist territory and Armenia.
Lavrov said that Russia was continuing to push for
hostilities to end, noting that it's working on a set of verification measures
needed to achieve a lasting cease-fire, including the possible deployment of
international observers under the aegis of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/11/03/Russia-2-000-fighters-from-Middle-East-joined-Armenia-Azerbaijan-conflict
--------
India
Congress Urges Centre To Take Up With Attacks On
Hindus In Bangladesh
02nd November 2020
KOLKATA: Voicing concern over reports of attack on
minority Hindu community in some parts of Bangladesh, Congress leader in Lok
Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday urged the Centre to take up the issue
immediately with the neighbouring country.
He referred to recent media reports that temples were
attacked and Hindu families in Bangladesh became victims of arson and loot by
fundamentalist forces.
At least 15 Hindu temples in Bangladesh have been
vandalised over allegations of disrespect shown to Islam on Facebook,
triggering panic among the minority community in some areas, a report from
Dhaka said on October 31.
Temples at Nasirnagar in Brahmanbarhia district in
Bangladesh were vandalised on Sunday and over 100 houses in the area belonging
to Hindus were looted, the media report said.
After the violence, which reportedly lasted for hours,
two temples in adjacent Madhabpur in Habigunj also came under attack, the
report said quoting police and eyewitnesses.
"It is reported that Hindu families in Bangladesh
have been targeted by fundamentalist forces resulting in the arsoning and other
violence as a reprisal of the stand taken by our government.
Indian government should take up the issue with
Bangladesh government as immediately as possible so as to prevent further
escalation," he said in a statement.
Six persons have been arrested for their alleged
involvement in the attack and paramilitary Border Guards Bangladesh deployed at
Nasirnagar and Madhabpur Upazila headquarters along with the Rapid Action
Battalion, police and Armed Police Battalion to maintain law and order, the
report said.
Locals said the Nasirnagar incident started with a
Facebook post by one person from Harinberh village under Haripur Union
Parishad.
Police detained the accused on Friday immediately
after the allegation of blasphemy against him.
The man has been sent to jail following a court order.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/nov/02/congress-urges-centre-to-take-up-with-attacks-on-hindus-in-bangladesh-2218355.html
--------
Pakistan using Covid to export terror: India
Nov 4, 2020
UNITED NATIONS: Strongly hitting out at Pakistan,
India has said it is taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to enhance
support to cross-border terrorism and has resorted to “unbridled hate speech”
to try and create divisions among India’s religious communities.
Addressing an interactive dialogue with special
rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and related intolerance, first secretary in India’s permanent mission to the UN
Ashish Sharma on Monday said the hate speech by Pakistan is not merely directed
towards one community in India but also against organisations, individuals and
against highranking politicians.
“While the world has come to a standstill due to the
pandemic, Pakistan has only enhanced support to cross-border terrorism taking
advantage of the pandemic,” he said. Pakistan has resorted to “unbridled hate
speech trying to foment violence and intolerance in our country”, he told the
UN forum.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pakistan-using-covid-to-export-terror-india/articleshow/79031960.cms
--------
After Vienna Terror Attack, Austrian Embassy In Delhi
Closed Till Nov 11
Nov 4, 2020
NEW DELHI: In the wake of a terror attack in Vienna
that left five dead, the Austrian embassy in New Delhi announced that they
would be closed to the public until November 11 as a precautionary measure. Security
forces have stepping up their vigil near the embassy, officials said. The
embassy’s notice said: “We ask for your understanding.”
Meanwhile, the Indian embassy in Vienna tweeted: “The
Embassy would like to assure the Indian community in Vienna we are in touch
with authorities for your safety. All are advised to exercise caution since
terrorists may still be at large.” PM Narendra Modi too on Tuesday extended his
solidarity with the European nation.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/after-vienna-terror-attack-austrian-embassy-in-delhi-closed-till-nov-11/articleshow/79031571.cms
--------
J&K should be bridge of peace with India's
neighbours Pakistan, China: Mehbooba Mufti
Nov 3, 2020
JAMMU: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba
Mufti on Tuesday said her party wants Jammu and Kashmir to be a bridge of peace
between India and its neighbours Pakistan and China and this is a formula which
the government will have to adopt.
Addressing the media after talking to an invited group
of youth from Jammu and Kashmir, she referred to border tensions with China and
Pakistan. She said China had made attempts to transgress Line of Actual
Control.
She said PDP wants Jammu and Kashmir "should
become a bridge of peace" and referred to the views of her late father and
former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
"Be it our neighbouring nations like Pakistan or
China...China tried to enter LAC, I believe Muftiji's dream of making Jammu and
Kashmir a bridge between India and its neighbours is a formula, which government
will have to adopt," she said.
The PDP leader said her party will go to any length to
protect the future of the youth of Jammu and Kashmir.
She alleged that laws were "being imposed"
on people and "we won't tolerate it".
"To protect the future of Kashmiri youth, we will
go to any length. Earlier all laws were made in consultation with the public
and they were people-friendly. But now, laws are being imposed on Kashmiris
which are against their existence and we won't tolerate it," she said.
The PDP leader said they discussed political and
economic situation following the abrogation of Article 370 with the youth.
"I wanted to know the political and economic
situation in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir. We got to know that due to
abrogation of Article 370, they are facing problems. Along with that, the
policies of the central government have also been anti-people," she
alleged.
The PDP leader said her party will stand with the
youth and will be in the front in the struggle for normalcy in the region.
He said domicile and land laws have been changed
"which is creating a lot of trouble for people".
"Recently they said that people can be retired
after 22 years of service, and then they changed the domicile and land laws,
which is creating a lot of trouble for people. We told the youth that PDP is
ready to face any problem. The youth is with me. I will fight for their
future," the PDP chief said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/jk-should-be-bridge-of-peace-with-indias-neighbours-pakistan-china-mehbooba-mufti/articleshow/79023131.cms
--------
Arab world
Breaking With Muslims, UAE Supports Macron’s
Islamophobic Remarks
03 November 2020
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) says French President
Emmanuel Macron’s recent Islamophobic remarks are “totally right.”
In an interview with the German daily Die Welt on
Monday, the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash came out
in support of Macron and called on Muslims to accept the stance of the French
president on his claims about the need for “greater integration” of Muslims.
“Muslims have to listen carefully to what Macron said
in his speech. He doesn’t want to isolate Muslims in the West, and he is
totally right,” Gargash told the German daily, adding that Muslims “need to be
integrated in a better way” in Western nations.
Gargash also rejected statements that the French
president sought to exclude Muslims living in France.
Over the past two months, the French head of state has
attacked the faith of nearly two billion Muslims worldwide on several
occasions.
In September, Macron defended the “right to blaspheme”
in France after French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo republished
sacrilegious cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). On October 2, he claimed in a
speech that Islam was “in crisis globally” and announced his plan “to reform
Islam” to bring the faith more in line with French values.
Later, Macron supported a French teacher’s displaying
of cartoons insulting the Prophet in his class. “France will never renounce
caricatures,” Macron declared, defending the teacher for “promoting freedom.”
Numerous Muslim states and leaders have issued
condemnatory statements against Macron, and thousands-strong protests have been
held to protest his stance.
Gargash’s bizarre comments in defense of Macron come
even as the French president himself has softened his tone amid boycotts of
French products by Muslim companies and associations.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/03/637856/Breaking-with-Muslims-UAE-supports-Macron-Islamophobic-remarks
--------
Coronavirus: Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum receives vaccine
Tommy Hilton
03 November 2020
Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
received a coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday, according to a post by the sheikh on
Twitter.
"We wish everyone safety and great health, and we
are proud of our teams who have worked relentlessly to make the vaccine
available in the UAE. The future will always be better in the UAE," said
the sheikh.
Sheikh Mohammed is also Vice President and Prime
Minister of the United Arab Emirates.
Sinopharm vaccine in the UAE
The UAE has conducted Phase III trials for a vaccine
by the Chinese drugmaker Sinopharm.
Earlier this month, the government issued emergency
approval for the use of the vaccine for front line workers helping treat
coronavirus patients.
So far, dozens of officials have been vaccinated,
including the Minister of Health.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/03/Coronavirus-Coronavirus-Dubai-ruler-Sheikh-Mohammed-bin-Rashid-Al-Maktoum-receives-vaccine
--------
Qatar's stance on independent Palestinian state
unchanged: Al Thani
03 November 2020
Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has
reiterated support for the establishment of an independent and sovereign
Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders.
Our position on the justice of the Palestinian issue
and the right of the Palestinians to an independent state within the 1967
borders remains unchanged, Al Thani said on Tuesday, Al Jazeera reported.
Israel occupied the West Bank, including East
Jerusalem al-Quds, during the Six-Day War in 1967. It later annexed East
Jerusalem al-Quds in a move not recognized by the international community.
Palestinian officials say they want the resolution of
the conflict with Tel Aviv based on the two-state solution along the pre-1967
boundaries.
However, Israel has been building settlements deep
within territory that the Palestinians want for their future state.
Tel Aviv regime officials also say they consider
Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of their own “state.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Qatari emir pointed to a
land, air and sea blockade, which Saudi Arabia and some of its regional allies
imposed on Doha more than two years ago, saying despite the blockade, Qatar's
international standing was strengthened and the country was able to overcome
challenges facing its development.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain
and Egypt severed diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar on June 5, 2017, after
the quartet officially accused Doha of meddling in regional affairs and
supporting terrorism.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry condemned the decision to cut
diplomatic ties as unjustified and based on false claims and assumptions.
On June 9, 2017, Saudi Arabia and its allies issued a 13-point
list of demands, including the closure of Al Jazeera television news network
and downgrade of relations with Iran, in return for the reconciliation.
Al Thani also said the Persian Gulf state would hold
elections for its advisory Shura Council in October 2021, without giving
further details.
Qataris have previously been able to cast ballots on
constitutional reforms and in elections to a nationwide municipal council.
Elections to the council, required under the country's
2004 constitution, have been postponed repeatedly and the body's members have
instead been directly appointed by the emir.
Qatar has undergone cautious reform on issues
including democracy, worker rights and representation of women since Sheikh
Tamim came to power in 2013.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/03/637826/Qatar-Emir-Al-Thani-Palestine
--------
Turkey prepares to pull back from second military post
in northwest Syria: Sources
03 November 2020
Turkey is evacuating a second isolated military post
in northwest Syria, pulling back from territory controlled by Syrian government
forces to an area still held by insurgents and Turkey-backed rebels, Turkish
and rebel sources said on Tuesday.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News
channel online or via the app
A source in one of the rebel factions backed by Ankara
said trucks arrived at the observation post at Shir Maghar in north Hama
province late on Monday night to prepare the evacuation.
The forces pulling back from Shir Maghar will rebase
at a new military post in the village of Kokfin in the rebel-held area of Idlib
province, where thousands of Turkish troops are stationed, a Turkish security
source said.
A second Turkish source said Turkey was preparing to
pull back from additional posts located in areas which Syrian government forces
recaptured in an offensive launched last year.
Shir Maghar and Morek, which was abandoned by Turkish
forces two weeks ago, were two of a dozen set up by Turkish soldiers in 2018
under an ill-fated deal reached by Turkey, Russia and Iran to calm fighting
between Syrian government troops and rebels.
The three powers back opposing sides in Syria’s
conflict, with Turkey supporting rebels who fought to topple President Bashar
al-Assad while Russia and Iran ultimately helped Assad drive the rebels back to
a small pocket of northwest Syria.
Several Turkish military posts were surrounded last
year by the Russian-backed Syrian government forces, whose advance was halted
in February by Turkish military intervention, followed by a ceasefire agreed
between Russia and Turkey.
Already home to 3.6 million Syrian refugees, Turkey is
determined to prevent a further influx of people fleeing fighting. The United
Nations says there are around 4 million people in northwest Syria, of which 2.7
million have been displaced during the nine-year conflict.
Syrian rebels say Turkey retains between 10,000 and
15,000 troops in northwest Syria, alongside rebel fighters backed by Ankara and
extremist forces it has committed to disarm and contain.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/03/Turkey-prepares-to-pull-back-from-second-military-post-in-northwest-Syria-Sources
--------
Lebanon caretaker PM Diab urges central bank to
provide all info for audit
03 November 2020
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab called
on the central bank to provide restructuring consultancy Alvarez & Marsal
with all the information requested for a forensic audit, warning against any
attempt to scupper the process.
Lebanon is grappling with a financial meltdown that has
crashed the currency, paralyzed banks and prompted a sovereign default. It
hired the turnaround specialist this year to audit the central bank - a key
demand of the International Monetary Fund and foreign donors which have pressed
the indebted state to tackle waste and corruption.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
Diab said in a statement on Tuesday that Banque du
Liban (BDL) had only provided the firm with 42 percent of the documents
requested and criticized it for citing Lebanese legislation and banking secrecy
as a justification.
“Any reform not based on the forensic audit of the
central bank would only be symbolic reform to cover up the continued approach
that brought the country to this state,” Diab said.
“I warn against any attempt to subvert the forensic
audit to prevent Lebanese from knowing the truth behind the disappearance of
their savings,” he added.
A central bank spokesman said in response to a Reuters
request for comment that the BDL central board would meet on Wednesday to
“discuss the different opinions” stated by local politicians.
He said the central bank had handed its own accounts
to the forensic auditors via the finance ministry.
Sources last month told Reuters that a team from
Alvarez & Marsal which visited Beirut in October did not receive all the
information requested from the central bank.
A BDL spokesman had said then that the bank had
provided all its accounts for the audit, but “cannot provide the accounts of
its clients, by law not by choice”. He added that the audit contract was
subject to Lebanese law, so it was “no surprise” that some information could
not be disclosed.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/03/Lebanon-caretaker-PM-Diab-urges-central-bank-to-provide-all-info-for-audit
--------
Pakistan
Pakistan receives 45 stolen relics from US
Anwar Iqbal
04 Nov 2020
WASHINGTON: A relic showing Gautama Buddha meditating
under the tree of awakening was among the 45 antiquities that the Manhattan
District Attorney’s office returned to the people of Pakistan this week.
The repatriated items include a Gandharan frieze
featuring seven figures of Buddha beside a Bodhisattva Maitreya (a friendly
Buddha), a Gandharan box of religious relics and a gray schist relief of
Panchika and his consort Hariti Panchika. The relics also include a Hariti
Stele, a gray schist head of Buddha below a bodhi, the tree of awakening, and a
Gandharan head of Buddha under the bodhi tree — all dating back to the 2nd
Century CE.
In a statement released on Monday, the DA office
recalled that in 2015, they and the US Homeland Security Investigation (HSI)
office had executed multiple search warrants and seized close to 100
antiquities from “Nayef Homsi, a known trafficker involved in the illegal
looting, exportation and sale of ancient art from Afghanistan, India, Pakistan
and other nations”.
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. announced
the return of 45 Pakistani antiquities, valued at approximately $250,000,
during a repatriation ceremony attended by Pakistan’s Consul General Ayesha Ali
and Erik Rosenblatt, a special agent of the HSI office.
“Many people believe the looting and theft of
antiquities are injustices that only occurred in the past, but these crimes of
culture are still being committed all over the world every day,” said District
Attorney Vance. “I strongly encourage all collectors and gallery owners to
conduct due diligence and ensure all pieces they purchase were lawfully
acquired.”
Consul General Ali said that her office “vigorously
followed” the case and “months of cooperation” between the consulate and
authorities in Islamabad led to the recovery and return of these assets to
Pakistan. She praised US officials for their “efforts in retrieving stolen
cultural treasures of Pakistan”.
Mr Vance said he was “honoured to return these 45
beautiful artifacts to the people of Pakistan” as it belonged to them. He said
his office was committed to “protecting global cultural heritage by
investigating and returning stolen relics to their countries of origin.”
Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent-in-Charge of HSI New
York, noted that the high profit business of smuggling and trafficking
antiquities encouraged some people to indulge in trafficking these valuables
and emphasised the need for all communities to work together to discourage this
trade.
“HSI recognises the importance of both international
and local partnerships in locating pilfered antiquities and cultural property,
and it is through these repatriations that new generations are able to
experience a part of their nation’s story,” he said.
The Manhattan DA’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit also
recently repatriated multiple pieces to India and Lebanon. On Aug 14 this year,
10 antiquities valued at more than $1 million were repatriated to India. These
included five pieces from Maitreya (Nayef Homsi’s Gallery); three from the
Nancy Wiener Gallery; and two that had been put up for auction at Christie’s
Auction House — with the auction house cooperating fully in the investigation
as soon as they were notified.
The items included a carved marble statue, known as an
Apsara, dating back to the 10th century, which was stolen and trafficked abroad
in 2006 and featured in Interpol’s stolen art database.
On Sept 30, a life-size Roman Head was repatriated to
the Lebanese Republic. The piece, dating back to the 2nd century AD, is valued
at approximately $300,000, and was stolen from the Temple of Eshmun in Lebanon
during the 1979 civil war.
The DA’s Office seized the piece on June 19, 2020 from
the Royal Athena Gallery in New York — with the gallery cooperating fully in
this investigation.
To date, the unit has recovered several thousand
stolen antiquities collectively valued at more than $150m. Many hundreds of
these priceless artifacts have been returned to their rightful owners and
repatriated to their countries of origin. Many hundreds more are ready to be
repatriated as soon as the relevant countries can receive them amid the
pandemic. But more than a thousand must be held awaiting criminal proceedings
against the traffickers.
The items already returned include a gold coffin
stolen from Egypt in the aftermath of the Egyptian Revolution in 2011; three
marble Lebanese statues; a Roman mosaic excavated from the Ships of Nemi; an
Etruscan relic stolen from the site of a historic necropolis known as “City of
the Dead”; a marble sarcophagus fragment; a Buddhist sculpture stolen from an
archaeological dig site; a pair of 12th century Indian statues; a collection of
8th Century BCE bronze statues; and a set of ancient Greek coins.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1588510/pakistan-receives-45-stolen-relics-from-us
--------
Pakistan cannot afford to go into lockdown again:
Imran Khan
Nov 3, 2020
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday stated
that Pakistan cannot afford to go into a lockdown again, and urged everyone to
strictly follow preventive measures against Covid-19.
While addressing a cabinet meeting in the capital,
Khan said the provincial governments needed to ensure the implementation of
Trace, Test and Quarantine (TTQ) and smart lockdown strategies pertaining to
the coronavirus, reported Geo News.
"The country cannot afford lockdown again,"
said the Prime Minister after the Cabinet was briefed on the Covid-19 situation
across the nation.
Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar -- who
also heads the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) -- and the Khan's
aide on health, Dr Faisal Sultan, informed the Cabinet that the number of
coronavirus patients, as well as virus-related deaths, was increasing,
Adherence to Covid-19 standard operating procedures
(SOPs) needed to be ensured, said Umar and Sultan.
The Prime Minister also announced a package for small
industries, underscoring that Pakistan's industries would not be closed down
now, according to Geo News.
If the number of Covid-19 cases rises, the businesses
and industries would continue their operations while heeding the SOPs, he
added.
Khan also said that additional power to small-scale
industries would be provided at a cost of 50 per cent.
As of reporting time, Pakistan has recorded 336,260
coronavirus cases, of which 315,446 have recovered, and close to 7,000 deaths.
Sindh has the highest number of cases, at 146,774, with Punjab closely
following at 104,894.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pakistan-cannot-afford-to-go-into-lockdown-again-imran-khan/articleshow/79022057.cms
--------
Prosecution identifies discrepancies in charge sheet
against Capt Safdar
04 Nov 2020
KARACHI: The prosecution on Tuesday pointed out
discrepancies in the preliminary charge sheet submitted by police in the case
pertaining to alleged breach of sanctity of the Quaid’s mazar registered
against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader retired Captain Safdar
Awan.
Deputy district public prosecutor (DDPP) East Arif
Sitai in his scrutiny note observed that the investigation officer (IO) of the
case, SI Yousuf Narejo, did not record statements of the independent witnesses
who were present at the place where the offence was alleged to have been
committed.
Mr Awan, who is the husband of PML-N vice-president
Maryam Nawaz, was taken into custody by police on October 19 from a Karachi
hotel, where the couple was staying during their visit to the metropolis to
attend the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) public gathering on the preceding
day. He was granted bail by court hours after his arrest.
According to the FIR lodged by Waqas Khan, said to be
a nephew of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Haleem Adil Sheikh, Mr Awan,
his wife and cohorts violated the sanctity of the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam
Mohammad Ali Jinnah by creating a ruckus inside and chanting fiery slogans.
Prosecutor Sitai said that the IO failed to get
approval from his senior officers, as required under Section 181 (being a thug
or belonging to a gang of dacoits, escape from custody, etc) of the Criminal
Procedure Code (CrPC) before submitting the charge sheet. The IO also did not
attach the complaint moved by the administration officer of the mausoleum board
nor did he record the officer’s statement as per Section 161 of the CrPC, he
added.
The prosecutor, however, seconded removal of Sections
506-B (criminal intimidation) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of
fifty rupees) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) from the FIR as neither Captain
Safar used a weapon in the alleged offence nor did he damage any property.
He said that the IO should remove these discrepancies
from the charge sheet and then re-file it in the court under Section 173 of the
CrPC within three days.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1588434/prosecution-identifies-discrepancies-in-charge-sheet-against-capt-safdar
--------
Bosnian leader arrives on two-day visit today
04 Nov 2020
ISLAMABAD: Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia &
Herzegovina Sefik Dzaferovic, accompanied by a high-level delegation including
the minister for security and presidential advisers, will arrive here on
Wednesday on a two-day official visit to Pakistan.
Mr Dzaferovic is paying the visit on the invitation of
Prime Minister Imran Khan, a Foreign Office spokesperson said in a press
statement issued on Tuesday.
During the visit, the chairman of the presidency of
Bosnia & Herzegovina will meet the prime minister and the president,
besides having meetings with the speaker of National Assembly, foreign
minister, adviser to the PM on commerce and investment and other dignitaries.
This is Mr Dzaferovic’s first visit to Pakistan.
Earlier, Prime Minister Khan met Mr Dzaferovic on the
sidelines of the OIC summit in Makkah in May last year.
Pakistan enjoys traditionally warm and friendly
relations with Bosnia & Herzegovina. The two countries have extended
support to each other in times of need.
During years 1994-95, Pakistan was a significant
contributor of troops to the UN Peacekeeping Mission. Bosnia & Herzegovina
provided assistance to Pakistan during the 2005 earthquake and 2010 floods, the
press release said.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1588519/bosnian-leader-arrives-on-two-day-visit-today
--------
South Asia
Chief Negotiator Dares Taliban for ‘Immediate
Ceasefire’ amid Peace Efforts
By Mohammad Arif Sheva
03 Nov 2020
KABUL, Afghanistan – Addressing Monday’s attack on
Kabul University, Chief Negotiator Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai challenged the
Taliban to end “brutal killing”, saying the group should agree to an “immediate
ceasefire” if they really are committed to Afghan peace process.
“If the Taliban are committed to ending brutal killing
of the people, they must agree to an immediate ceasefire and cut short hands of
the enemy from the throat of the Afghan people,” said Stanekzai in a tweet.
“No one can acquit himself of such a murder and
terror,” he added. “This is a test before God and the people of Afghanistan.”
While Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (known as
Islamic State or IS) claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 19 and
wounded further 22 in Kabul University, Afghan politicians hold the Taliban
accountable for ongoing violence in the country.
“The brutal attack on the youth of Kabul University is
an eternal shame on those who have disgraced humanity,” said Stanekzia. “The
main source of these attacks are the same, but it has different branches.”
On Monday, Kabul University was attacked by gunmen
that lasted at least six hours before they were taken down by Afghan security
forces. Critique suggests the escalating violence is in contradiction to the
ongoing peace process in Qatari capital Doha.
https://www.khaama.com/chief-negotiator-dares-taliban-for-immediate-ceasefire-amid-peace-efforts-345344/
--------
Kandahar: 13 Taliban Fighters Killed In AAF Airstrikes
By Mohammad Haroon Alim
04 Nov 2020
The Ministry of Defense reported, AAF conducted an
operation in Kandahar Province, 13 Taliban fighters have reportedly been killed
in the airstrikes.
The ministry says in a press release on Wednesday,
that the operation took place in the Panjwai district.
The airstrikes also destroyed a large amount of
Taliban weapons and ammunition depots, the statement reads.
MOD indicates all of the militant’s attacks restrained
threats to provincial collapse into the hands of the Taliban.
The southern province of Kandahar is evident to heavy clashes
between Taliban militants and the Afghan government in the past weeks.
According to reports, in the past few days, the
Taliban have suffered heavy casualties in Arghandab and Zheray districts of
Kandahar province.
https://www.khaama.com/kandahar-13-taliban-fighters-killed-in-aaf-airstrikes-897987/
--------
Death toll from Kabul University attack reaches 35
03 November 2020
The death toll from an assault on Kabul University in
the Afghan capital has risen to 35 people, most of them students.
Two government sources told Reuters on Tuesday that
around 50 people had also been wounded in the Monday attack, which ended after
hours of fighting between the assailants and security forces.
Earlier on Monday, the Taliban militant group denied
involvement in the attack. A Taliban spokesman who goes by the name Zabihullah
Mujahid blamed the assault on the Daesh terrorist group.
But Afghanistan’s first Vice President Amrullah Saleh
blamed the Taliban and their alleged supporters in Pakistan, while
acknowledging an intelligence failure.
“The Talibs, [and] their like-minded satanic allies…
next door, won’t be ever able to wash their conscience of this stinking &
non justifiable attack on Kbul uni,” Saleh said on Twitter.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry also denounced the
“despicable” assault on a seat of learning.
Hours after the attack, the Takfiri Daesh terrorist
group claimed responsibility, saying its members had “managed to attack a
gathering set up by the Afghan government at the Kabul University for the
graduation of judges and investigators after completing a course at the
university.”
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has vowed to “take
revenge for this senseless attack and for any drop of innocent students’ blood
spilled.”
The Afghan government also declared Tuesday as a day
of national mourning.
Several education centers in Afghanistan have been
attacked over the years by extremist groups.
In 2018, a bomber killed dozens of people, many of
them teenagers, in front of Kabul University in an attack also claimed by
Daesh.
Also last week, two dozen people, mostly students,
lost their lives as an educational center in western Kabul was targeted in an
attack claimed by Daesh.
Violence continues in Afghanistan even as the Kabul
government and Taliban have been meeting in Qatar to reach a peace deal and end
nearly two decades of war in the country.
On the gates of the Kabul University, signs reading
“Boycott Doha talks!” were hung on Tuesday morning.
Official data shows that Taliban bombings and other
assaults have increased 70 percent since the group reached a “peace” deal with
Washington in February.
The United States invaded Afghanistan and toppled a
Taliban regime in 2001.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/03/637823/Death-toll-from-Kabul-University-attack-reaches-35
--------
Africa
Mali air strikes kill dozens of jihadists linked to al
Qaeda, French govt says
03/11/2020
The French government said Monday its forces had
killed more than 50 jihadists aligned to Al-Qaeda in air strikes in central
Mali.
The offensive took place on Friday in an area near the
borders of Burkina Faso and Niger, where government troops are struggling to
rout an Islamic insurgency, French Defence Minister Florence Parly said after
meeting members of Mali’s transitional government.
“On October 30 in Mali, the Barkhane force conducted
an operation that neutralised more than 50 jihadists and confiscated arms and
material,” Parly said, referring to the French-led anti-jihadist Operation
Barkhane.
She added that around 30 motorcycles were destroyed.
Parly, who earlier met Niger President Mahamadou
Issoufou and her Nigerien counterpart Issoufou Katambe before heading to
Bamako, said the operation was launched after a drone detected a “very large”
motorcycle caravan in the “three borders” area.
When the jihadists moved under trees to try and escape
surveillance, the French force sent in two Mirage jets and a drone to launch
missiles, leading to the “neutralisation” of the insurgents, Parly said.
Military spokesman Colonel Frederic Barbry said that
“four terrorists have been captured”.
Explosives and a suicide vest had been found, he told
a reporters in a conference call, saying that the group had been “about to
attack (an army) position in the region”.
Barbry also said that another operation, this time
targeting the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, was also underway, with a
total of 3,000 soldiers.
The results of the operation, launched about a month
ago, would be announced in the coming days, he said.
Significant blow
Parly said the action marked a “significant blow” to
the Ansarul Islam group which she said was linked to Al-Qaeda via the GSIM
alliance led by Iyad Ag Ghaly.
Ghaly has emerged as a top jihadist leader in the
Sahel since the death of the Qaeda commander Abdelmalek Droukdel, who was
killed by French forces in Mali in June.
The United Nations has some 13,000 troops deployed in
Mali as part of its peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSMA, while France has
5,100 deployed in the Sahel region.
Mali has been struggling to contain a brutal jihadist
insurgency which first emerged in the north of the country in 2012, overtaking
a rebellion by mostly ethnic Tuareg separatists.
Former colonial power France launched a military
operation to drive back the Islamists in 2013, but fighting has spread to
central Mali, and to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, leaving thousands
dead and hundreds of thousands forced to flee their homes.
Vast swathes of Mali lie outside effective government
control. Frustration over the seemingly endless conflict contributed to mass
protests against president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita this year, culminating in his
ousting in a military coup on August 18.
Many analysts argue that engaging in dialogue with
jihadists is one of the few escape routes from Mali’s cycle of violence, and
government leaders in Bamako increasingly view the option favourably.
Mali’s new interim government, which was appointed to
rule for 18 months before staging elections, appears willing to engage in
dialogue.
Last month, it secured the release of four hostages
held by Islamist groups—including 75-year-old Sophie Petronin, the last
remaining French hostage in the world—in exchange for about 200 prisoners, some
of whom are thought to have been jihadists.
https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20201102-mali-airstrikes-kill-dozens-of-jihadists-linked-to-al-qaeda-french-government-says?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1682291_
--------
Ethiopia Says Militants Killed 32 People in Oromia
Region
November 2, 2020
At least 32 people were killed in an overnight attack
in Ethiopia’s restive Oromia region, which the local government blamed on
militants seeking autonomy.
The Nov. 1 raid, in the West Wellega Zone, was
undertaken by members of the OLF Shane, a militant breakaway group of the Oromo
Liberation Front, working with the support of the Tigray People’s Liberation
Front or TPLF, the Oromia regional government said.
A spokesman for the OLF Shane didn’t respond to
repeated phone calls seeking comment.
The TPLF denied involvement. Getachew Reda, an
executive member of the TPLF and former communications minister, said the
accusation was “just a boilerplate statement from a cabal that has been
orchestrating violence against innocent civilians to cling to power.”
The raid follows a spate of deadly attacks in
Ethiopia, which have flared since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed began opening up
the country’s once tightly regulated political space after coming to power in
April 2018. His unbanning of opposition and rebel groups has stoked political
fragmentation and long-suppressed rivalries among ethnic communities and calls
for more regional autonomy.
“Official figures state a death toll of 32 civilians,
but preliminary evidence obtained by EHRC indicates the number is very likely
to exceed that tally,” the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said in an emailed
statement. The assailants, numbering as many as 60, targeted Amharas, the
country’s second-largest ethnic group, the commission said.
Amnesty International put the death toll at 54 people
and also said the Oromo Liberation Army was responsible for the attack, which
“took place just a day after Ethiopian Defense Forces troops withdrew from the
area unexpectedly and without explanation.”
Questions Raised
“This senseless attack is the latest in a series of
killings in the country in which members of ethnic minorities have been
deliberately targeted,” the London-based human rights group said in an emailed
statement. “The fact that this horrendous incident occurred shortly after
government troops abruptly withdrew from the area in unexplained circumstances
raises questions that must be answered.”
Abiy denounced the attack on his Facebook account and
said security forces had been deployed and “are taking action,” Abiy said. “The
government will continue to work hard to ensure the safety of our people,” Abiy
said in a statement posted on his Facebook page.
The attack is the latest in a “spate of massacres,”
the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said. About a dozen people were killed in
the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region and several others were
killed in Afar, it said.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-02/ethiopia-says-militants-killed-32-people-in-oromia-region?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1682291_
--------
Boko Haram ‘Kills 12’ in Raid Near Nigeria’s Chibok
NOVEMBER 2, 2020
Boko Haram jihadists on Sunday killed 12 people and
abducted seven others in a raid on a village near the northeast Nigerian town
of Chibok, local sources said.
Chibok is the scene of the mass kidnapping of 276
schoolgirls in 2014 by Boko Haram which drew global outrage and international
attention to the group.
Fighters in six pickup trucks drove into Takulashi
village on Sunday, 18 kilometers (12 miles) from Chibok, shooting residents and
setting homes ablaze.
“The terrorists killed 12 people, including two of our
members who engaged them in a gunfight,” Abwaku Kabu, the leader of a local
government-backed militia said.
Anti-jihadist militia members from Chibok mobilized in
two trucks to defend the village but they were outnumbered by the militants who
seized one of the trucks, Kabu said.
The insurgents who attacked the village from their
Sambisa forest enclave nearby abducted seven residents and burnt 70 houses
after looting food supplies, Ayuba Alamson, a community leader in Chibok said.
“The insurgents took away three women and their four
children in the attack,” said Alamson who has the same death toll.
Troops have been stationed in Chibok since the
schoolgirls kidnap but deadly Boko Haram raids continue in the area.
In the wake of the mass abduction, 57 of the girls
escaped shortly after the kidnapping, and 107 were either rescued or released
after negotiations. Some 112 are still in captivity.
The decade-long conflict in northeast Nigeria has
killed 36,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes in the
northeast, according to the United Nations.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2020/11/02/boko-haram-kills-12-chibok/?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1682291_
--------
Southeast Asia
PAS MP finally says sorry for alcohol and Bible
remarks, insists only defending ‘original form’ as revealed to Jesus
03 Nov 2020
BY YISWAREE PALANSAMY
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 ― Pasir Puteh MP Nik Muhammad
Zawawi Nik Salleh retracted and apologised in Parliament today for his controversial
remarks about alcohol consumption and the Bible made four months ago.
The lawmaker from PAS had initially refused to do so
back in August despite pressure from the Opposition.
“So, I apologise if anyone was hurt, it was not my
intention. What I intended to do is to defend the original form of the Bible
that was revealed to Jesus, without any alterations, which led me to defend
it,” Nik Muhammad Zawawi said today after being ordered to retract and
apologise by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun.
Nik Muhammad Zawawi had claimed the Bible was
manipulated during the previous Parliament sitting during a debate on the Road
Transport (Amendment) Bill 2020 to propose heavier fines for drink driving
offenders..
He had claimed to have done a comparison study of
religions and argued that all creeds forbid alcohol consumption, including
Christianity.
He went as far as claiming that Jesus forbade alcohol
consumption before the Bible was “manipulated”.
“I would like to state that the issues involving the
Bible are not just one which involves Christians. We Muslims also believe in
the Bible which was revealed to Jesus.
That is a belief which we defend, and when I said manipulated or altered,
my aim was to defend the originality of the book as it is,” he said.
In an attempt to correct Nik Zawawi in August, Beruas
MP Datuk Ngeh Khoo Ham cited the use of wine in the Lord’s Supper or as
practised in modern times in a symbolic manner, the Holy Communion — where
adherents partake in the consumption the bread and wine.
“I am from a Methodist church and we use Ribena juice.
I hope you correct your statement,” Ngeh said when he interjected Nik Zawawi.
However, Nik Zawawi insisted that his studies were
based on journals written by Christian scholars and not of Muslim scholars.
Despite Nik Zawawi’s claim, various religions have
differing opinions on intoxicants such as alcoholic drinks, with some
forbidding it, while in some, alcohol is part of their rituals.
The matter was raised in relation to PAS’ contention
to propose for a ban on alcohol entirely as a step to curb drink driving
offences.
As raised previously by other PAS leaders, they had
blamed the former Pakatan Harapan (PH) government for not banning alcohol sales
in neighbourhood stores.
The party’s information chief Kamaruzaman Mohamad had
in May said that drink driving should not be viewed lightly.
He reportedly said the offence stemmed from weak laws
and enforcement apart from the selfish and stubborn nature of drunkards.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/11/03/pas-mp-finally-says-sorry-for-alcohol-and-bible-remarks-insists-only-defend/1918851
--------
Quiet burial for Malaysian cardinal who engaged Islam
November 02, 2020
Malaysian Cardinal Anthony Soter Fernandez chose to
have his episcopal motto in his native language when he became a bishop in
1977. That was a decade after the Second Vatican Council when Latin was still
the language of bishops.
Cardinal Fernandez, whose funeral was conducted on
Oct. 31, loved Malaysia and the Second Vatican Council's inculturation idea. It
prompted him to promote the national language, Bahasa Malaysia, in his local
Church.
He chose his episcopal motto as "Keadilan dan
Keamanan" (justice and peace) when consecrated as bishop of Penang in
1977. He used to say the use of the local language shows the Church's
"commitment and love for our country."
Malaysia's first and only cardinal died on Oct. 28 at
the age of 88. The retired archbishop of Kuala Lumpur had an 11-month fight
against tongue cancer.
Knowing well that titles were no measures of a man,
Cardinal Fernandez preferred to travel the path of social justice and
interfaith dialogue and teamed up with various faiths to fight oppression,
corruption and greed.
In a predominantly Islamic country of 32.6 million
people, Cardinal Fernandez pioneered interreligious dialogue, helping the
universal Church to come closer to political Islam.
As the Church's head in the Malaysian capital Kuala
Lumpur since 1983, he was the leading figure in the Malaysian Consultative
Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism. He headed the
interreligious body as its president in 2001.
Until he retired 20 years later at the age of 71,
Cardinal Fernandez was an outspoken critic of detentions without trial and went
to the extreme by declaring as "immoral" the Internal Security Act
that empowered authorities to detain suspects without criminal charge and hold
them without trial.
Pope Francis elevated 84-year-old Fernandez to the
College of Cardinals in 2016, making him the nation's first cardinal.
In a condolence message to Archbishop Julian Leow Beng
Kim of Kuala Lumpur, the pope recalled the late cardinal's "generous
service to the Church in Malaysia and his long-standing commitment to the
promotion of ecumenism and interreligious dialogue."
Late vocation
Cardinal Fernandez was born in beautiful Sungei Petani
in Kedah and fell on hard times after his father died in 1946. He had to give
up his education to feed his family. He became the breadwinner for the family
by working as a hospital assistant from 1947 to 1954.
His encounters with the late Monsignor I.J. Aloysius
and the late Archbishop Dominic Vendargon led him to the priesthood. At the age
of 26, he was sent to the minor seminary in Singapore in 1958.
He was ordained a priest in 1966 at the age of 34 by
Bishop Dominic Vendargon, whom he replaced as archbishop of Kuala Lumpur on Nov
10, 1983.
Quiet burial
His further studies were conducted in the Philippines
at the International Training Institute for World Churchmen and the East Asian
Pastoral Institute in Manila and National Biblical Catechetical-Liturgical
Centre in Bangalore, India.
Cardinal Fernandez was diagnosed with cancer in
November last year and was undergoing palliative care at the Little Sisters of
the Poor home. His health deteriorated in the past two months.
As he was known in Malaysia, Cardinal Soter had the
knack of bringing out the best in others. According to his colleagues,
tenderness, kindness, simplicity and humility were the hallmark of his
Christian faith.
"The private and quiet funeral is likely to bear
true witness to the person he was," the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur said
in an obituary note.
Cardinal Fernandez was buried without any public
participation because of the Malaysian government's Covid-19 protocols.
https://www.ucanews.com/news/quiet-burial-for-malaysian-cardinal-who-engaged-islam/90102#
--------
Indonesian Muslims protest France’s defence of cartoon
By ANDI JATMIKO and NINIEK KARMINI
November 2, 2020
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian Muslims marched
to the heavily guarded French Embassy in Indonesia’s capital on Monday to
protest France’s president and his staunch support of secular laws that deem
caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad as protected speech.
Waving white flags bearing the Islamic declaration of
faith, more than 2,000 demonstrators, many wearing white Islamic robes, filled
a major thoroughfare in downtown Jakarta. Authorities blocked streets leading
to the embassy where more than 1,000 police and soldiers were deployed in and
around the building barricaded with razor wire.
The protesters chanted “God is Great” and “Boycott
French products” as they marched. Their banners and placards slammed French
President Emmanuel Macron, and some protesters stomped on Macron posters in the
blocked streets, while others voiced their anger by burning portraits of
Macron.
Smaller protests also occurred in other Indonesian
cities, including in Surabaya, Makassar, Medan and Bandung.
On Saturday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo strongly
condemned terrorist attacks in Paris and Nice as well as remarks by Macron that
were deemed offensive toward Islam and Muslims.
At a national memorial for a teacher who was beheaded
near Paris last month, Macron said the teacher “was the victim of a conspiracy
of stupidity, hate, lies ... hate of the other ... hate of what we profoundly
are.”
Widodo said freedom of expression that tarnishes the
honor, sanctity and sacredness of religious values and symbols could not be
justified and must be stopped.
“Linking religion with terrorist acts is a big
mistake,” Widodo said. “Terrorism is terrorism, terrorists are terrorists,
terrorism has nothing to do with any religion.”
The teacher, Samuel Paty, was attacked outside his
school Oct. 16 by a teenage Chechen refugee for showing the caricatures to
students. The attacker was later shot dead by police.
Macron has been accused of spreading anti-Muslim sentiment
while eulogizing the teacher.
Protest organizer Slamet Ma’arif told the crowd,
including members of the Islamic Defenders Front vigilante group, that Macron
was being aggressively hostile to Islam and called for a boycott on French
products.
“It hurt us deeply and we demanded him to retract his
words and apologizes to the Muslim communities all over the world,” he said
from a truck modified with loudspeakers.
Monday’s protests ended peacefully in the afternoon.
The French Embassy said Macron made a distinction
between Islam and militancy.
“President Emmanuel Macron made it clear that there
was no intention at all to generalize, and clearly distinguished between the
majority of French Muslims and the militant, separatist minority that is
hostile to the values of the French Republic,” the embassy’s statement said.
https://apnews.com/article/boycotts-emmanuel-macron-jakarta-indonesia-france-a64ef426316e642559c894288c576dab
--------
Mideast
Iran Condemns Terrorist Attack in Vienna
Nov 03, 2020
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh
slammed the terrorist attack, extending condolences to the Austrian government and people, and families
of victims.
“Terrorism is condemned in all its forms, and the
unfortunate incident in Vienna shows once again that terrorism and extremism
know no borders, and that replacing rationality with hatred and incitement
creates a vicious circle that only provides ground for the spread of extremist
and violent tendencies,” he said.
Khatibzadeh underlined the need for global cooperation
in the fight against the roots of terrorism, and said the Islamic Republic will
always remain part of this endeavor.
Austria's top security official said that five people
have died — including an assailant — and 17 people were wounded in a shooting
in the heart of Vienna hours before a coronavirus lockdown was to start.
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told reporters Tuesday
that two men and two women have died from their injuries in the attack late
Monday. A suspected attacker, who was carrying an assault rifle and a fake
suicide vest, was also shot and killed by police.
A total of 17 victims of the attack are being treated
at several hospitals, mainly for gunshot wounds and cuts, according to reports.
The 10 patients with minor injuries are in shock.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990813000247
--------
Iranian Speaker's Advisor Stresses Need for More Unity
among Muslims
Nov 03, 2020
In a message penned to the ambassadors of Islamic
countries based in Tehran on Monday, Amir Abdollahian felicitated the advent of
birth anniversary of Holy Prophet of Islam Mohammad (PBUH), and reiterated that
drastic measures should be made for establishing evermore unity and amity among
Islamic Ummah.
It is necessary to make more efforts by focusing on
the Islamic teachings and wisdom to achieve justice, peace, tranquility, unity
and amity among Islamic Ummah, he underscored.
The 17th day of the lunar Islamic month of Rabi
al-Awwal marks the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and Imam Jafar
Sadeq (AS) the sixth Imam of Shiites.
His comments came in the aftermath of a measure by
French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which reprinted offensive caricatures
of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) last month. The cartoons were originally published
by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005, and then republished by
Charlie Hebdo in 2006.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990813000231
--------
Azerbaijani territories under Armenian control must be
‘liberated’: Iran’s Khamenei
Yaghoub Fazeli
03 November 2020
All Azerbaijani territories under Armenian control
must be “liberated and returned to Azerbaijan,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei said on Tuesday.
“This military conflict must end as soon as possible
... of course, all the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia must be
liberated and returned to Azerbaijan,” Khamenei said in a televised speech.
Read more: Turkey’s Erdogan: Armenia must withdraw
from Azeri lands it is ‘invading’
Khamenei alleged that “terrorists” have entered the
conflict zone, adding: “They should not come close to the Iranian border, and
if they do, they will certainly be dealt with decisively.”
Iran shares borders with both Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Hundreds of people have been killed since fighting
broke out on September 27 between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed
Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is internationally recognized as part of
Azerbaijan, but populated by ethnic Armenians, which have controlled the
province since the 1990s.
On Monday, Armenia’s prime minister called for an
international investigation into the presence of “foreign mercenaries” in
Nagorno-Karabakh after ethnic Armenian forces said they had captured two
mercenaries from Syria.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Armenian President
Armen Sarkissian have said Turkey is funding Syrian mercenaries to battle
alongside Azerbaijan against Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said
last month it deployed troops along the border with Azerbaijan and Armenia,
following reports of stary shells from the fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh
falling on villages near Iran’s northwestern border.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/03/Azerbaijani-territories-under-Armenian-control-must-be-liberated-Iran-s-Khamenei
--------
Turkish support for President Erdogan’s AKP party hits
all-time low: Poll
Emily Judd
03 November 2020
A new poll has found that public support in Turkey for
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP party is at an all-time low, a decrease
that experts say is mainly due to the country’s economic crisis.
The poll, conducted by Turkish research center Avrasya
in October, found that only 32.5 percent of Turkish voters said they would
support the Justice and Development Party (AKP) if elections were held today.
The same survey found that support had increased for the main opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Turkey’s general elections are still three years away,
set to be held in 2023.
While there are many factors for the deteriorating AKP
support, experts told Al Arabiya English the economy is the number one factor.
The decline of the Turkish lira has people worried,
according to Council of Foreign Relations expert Henri Barkey.
The Turkish lira has taken a nosedive, descending to a
record low on Tuesday of 8.45 against the US dollar. It is one of the world’s
worst performing currencies this year, down 29 percent, according to Reuters.
The impact of the coronavirus combined with a currency
crisis that began in 2018 has led to a sharp recession, leading to “reduced
confidence in the AKP government,” Barkey told Al Arabiya English.
‘He desperately needs a scapegoat’
The Turkish people see Erdogan – who has been in power
since 2003, holding the position of prime minister until his election as
president in 2014 – and his affiliates as to blame for the state of the
economy, according to Barkey.
However, Erdogan has blamed foreign actors instead,
claiming in May that foreign plots seek to undermine the country’s commerce.
“He desperately needs a scapegoat,” said Barkey.
Critics of the AKP instead attribute the blame to the
policies of finance minister Berat Albayrak, aged 41, who is Erdogan’s
son-in-law.
Former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in
September that nepotism was the only reason for Albayrak’s appointment and that
Albayrak had “destroyed Turkey’s economy.”
“Someone needs to be held accountable for the lira’s
loss of value,” Davutoglu said, according to Turkish news outlet Duvar.
Fueling foreign conflicts
Another argument made by Erdogan critics is that the
Turkish government is paying more attention to interfering in foreign wars than
fixing the economic crisis - using the country’s resources to fuel conflicts in
Syria, Libya, and now Nagorno-Karabakh.
“One can link the current bad shape of the Turkish
economy with the armed conflicts and international and regional tensions that
Erdogan has made Turkey a part of,” said exiled journalist Bulent Kenes in an
interview with Al Arabiya English.
Ankara has paid thousands of Syrian fighters to
support its ally, the Government of National Accord, in Libya, according to the
US Defense Department.
Erdogan’s government is also funding Syrian
mercenaries to battle alongside Azerbaijan against Armenian forces in the
disputed Nagorno-Karabakh province, according to French President Emmanuel
Macron and Armenian President Armen Sarkissian.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/03/Turkish-support-for-President-Erdogan-s-AKP-party-hits-all-time-low-Poll
--------
In Toubas, Jordan Valley, 11 Palestinian homes are
demolished by Israel
03 November 2020
Eleven homes belonging to Palestinians living in the
town of Toubas west of the Jordan Valley have been demolished by Israeli
bulldozers.
That is according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news
agency quoting Palestinian activist Motaz Besharat on Tuesday.
Israel has also approved a plan to tear down 200
Palestinian sites in the key Wadi al-Joz area in East Jerusalem al-Quds for the
construction of a settlement, according to al-Arabi Al-Jadid.
Israeli authorities demolish Palestinian homes in the
occupied West Bank usually claiming that the structures have been built without
permits. They also sometimes order the Palestinian owners to tear down their
own homes or pay the demolition costs to the municipality.
The United Nations (UN)’s Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said there has been a sharp increase in the
number of Palestinian houses being demolished by Israel in the occupied West Bank
during the coronavirus pandemic.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian
territories Jamie McGoldrick has warned that the trend would make the
Palestinians more susceptible to health risks.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/03/637838/Israel-demolition-West-Bank
--------
Houthis condemned for failing to protect journalists
November 04, 2020
AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s Journalists Syndicate has
condemned a death threat made against a veteran journalist based in Houthi-held
Sanaa, calling upon the Iran-backed group to protect him and to find those
behind the threat.
The syndicate said the threat against Abdul Bari Taher
must be investigated.
“The Houthi group, the de facto authority in Sanaa,
holds full responsibility for these actions, and should protect him,
investigate this crime and punish the perpetrators.” Taher was targeted because
of his “brave stands and opinions,” the syndicate added.
Taher, who was born in the western province of
Hodeidah in 1941, was a founding member of the syndicate in the 1970s and has
been in charge of several government and private newspapers during the last
five decades.
He is currently a columnist for local and regional
newspapers. In Oct. 2018, the Houthis briefly held him along with 19 other
journalists for participating in an “unauthorized” event in Sanaa.
Yemeni politicians and activists demanded the Houthis
quickly identify the people who threatened to kill Taher and also those who
have killed several popular politicians in Sanaa in the last five years.
“Whoever threatens Abdul Bari Taher is in fact
threatening every free Yemeni who does not belong to the Houthi group,”
Mustapha Noman, a former minister and diplomat, tweeted.
Hundreds of Yemeni journalists, activists and
opposition figures have been forced to flee to government-controlled areas or
seek exile due to the group’s harsh crackdown in the last six years.
The group has put them on trial in absentia,
confiscated their houses and froze their bank accounts even after they had
left.
Outspoken journalists and writers who remain in Sanaa
are harassed by the Houthis.
In April the Houthis abducted Khaled Al-Ruwaishan, a
former Yemeni culture minister and an outspoken writer, who criticized the
group’s handling of flash floods that hit Sanaa and other areas in northern
Yemen.
That same month a Houthi-run court sentenced four
journalists to death after convicting them of contacting the group’s enemies.
The four journalists were among a group of 10 journalists who were abducted
from a hotel in Sanaa in 2015.
In a report issued on the International Day to End
Impunity for Crimes against Journalists — Nov. 2 — the syndicate said that 44
Yemeni journalists had been killed and hundreds of others had been detained
since 2010.
Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar Al-Aryani urged
international rights groups to pressure the Houthis to cease their harassment
of journalists and free those being held in their prisons.
“We remember with deep pain our fellow journalists in
Houthi prisons, who were sentenced to death for their political opinions. The
Houthis refused to release in (the latest) prisoner swap deal (so) as to
exploit their and their families’ suffering for political pressure and
blackmail,” the minister tweeted on Tuesday.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1758231/middle-east
--------
North America
If elected, Biden to restore Palestinian aid, reopen
PLO office in Washington: Harris
Emily Judd
03 November 2020
If elected US president, Joe Biden will restore
economic assistance to the Palestinians and reopen the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) office in Washington, his running mate Kamala Harris said
this week.
“We will take immediate steps to restore economic and
humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, address the ongoing
humanitarian crisis in Gaza, reopen the US consulate in East Jerusalem, and
work to reopen the PLO mission in Washington,” Harris said in an interview with
The Arab American.
The moves will reverse steps taken by US President
Donald Trump’s administration.
Under Trump, the State Department cut more than $200
million in aid to the West Bank and Gaza, and $25 million in aid for
Palestinians in East Jerusalem, in 2018. However, it did provide $5 million to
the Palestinians to help them fight the coronavirus epidemic this year.
Palestinian militant group Hamas’ control of Gaza was
one of the reasons for cutting the funding, according to the State Department,
which considers Hamas a terrorist organization.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has said the cut in
funding threatens the lives of thousands of Palestinians.
The Trump administration also halted all US funding to
the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) – an
estimated $360 million per year - saying that the organization was
“irredeemably flawed.”
UNRWA, founded after the first Arab-Israel war in
1949, is currently under investigation for misconduct. The head of the agency
resigned in 2019 due to allegations of corruption and mismanagement.
It is unclear whether the Biden administration’s
restoration of Palestinian humanitarian assistance mentioned by Harris will be
through UNRWA or another mechanism.
Harris said a Biden administration would also reopen
the US consulate in East Jerusalem, closed last year by the Trump
administration.
Under Trump, the US embassy in Israel was moved from
Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognizing Jerusalem as the “united” capital of Israel.
Palestinian, Arab, and other world leaders have long
contended that East Jerusalem should be the capital of a future Palestinian
state. Israel annexed East Jerusalem following the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, a
move condemned by the UN and the international community.
Biden has said he will keep the US embassy in
Jerusalem if elected president.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/11/03/If-elected-Biden-to-restore-Palestinian-aid-reopen-PLO-office-in-Washington-Harris
--------
US Election 2020: Angry Trump declares victory, will
go to Supreme Court
Joseph Haboush
04 November 2020
US President Donald Trump accused Democrats of trying
to steal the presidential election early Wednesday, announcing that he would be
going to the Supreme Court in order to put an end to the voting.
“This is a fraud on the American public. This is an
embarrassment,” Trump said during a speech at the White House at around 2:30 AM
EST.
For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
“We were getting ready to win this election ...
Frankly, we did win this election,” he said.
The president also announced his intention to take the
outcome of the election to the US Supreme Court.
“Our goal now is to ensure the integrity for the good
of this nation. We want the law to be used in a proper manner, so we’ll be
going to the US Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop.”
Results from key battleground states, including
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Georgia, have not been announced. It is
not unusual for counting to take more than one day.
This year, the added option of mail-in ballots due to
the coronavirus pandemic has sparked controversy. Some states will allow votes
to continue being counted for days, which could delay the official results for
a significant amount of time.
Electoral College votes tallied by Al Arabiya English
put Biden at 224 and Trump at 213. A candidate needs 270 Electoral College
votes to be declared the winner. There are 62 Electoral College votes split
between the four states mentioned above.
Trump’s speech came hours after Democratic nominee and
former VP Joe Biden told his supporters to be patient. “We believe we are on
track to win this election,” Biden said from his home state of Delaware. “It
ain’t over until every vote is counted,” Biden said.
Minutes after Biden spoke from Delaware,Trump said:
“We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election.”
Twitter slapped a warning message on Trump’s tweet,
saying some of the information in the tweet could be misleading.
Biden then hit back. “It’s not my place or Donald
Trump’s place to declare the winner of this election. It’s the voters’ place,”
the Democratic nominee tweeted.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/11/04/US-election-Biden-tells-supporters-to-be-patient-but-says-he-s-on-track-to-win-
--------
More than 100 million votes were cast before Election
Day in US: Watchdog
03 November 2020
More than 100 million Americans have cast their vote
in the 2020 US presidential election before Election Day despite the risks
posed by the ongoing deadly pandemic.
According to the US Elections Project watchdog 100.2
million Americans voted nationwide by depositing their ballot in drop boxes or
casting their vote at polling stations ahead of the vote on Tuesday.
The early ballots represent more than 72 percent of
the 136.5 million ballots cast in the 2016 presidential election, according to
the tally by the watchdog based at the University of Florida.
Nationwide pre-Election Day voting reached the record
figure amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and 231,000 COVID-19-related
deaths in the US.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump's election campaign events
increased the cases of COVID-19 by more than 250 per 100,000 residents of the
counties where these the rallies were held.
Trump's rallies were marked by not observing the
recommended safety distance, nor using face masks prescribed by a consensus of
medical experts and health authorities across the globe. Many experts blame the
US president for the high number of COVID-19-related deaths in the US.
More than 9 million people have been infected with the
novel coronavirus in the US, so far.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/03/637858/US-2020-Presidential-Election-US-Elections-Project-Watchdog-
--------
US has intensified cyberwar on Russia, China, Iran:
NYT
03 November 2020
The United States has significantly scaled up its
cyber warfare against Russia, China, and Iran under the pretext of deflecting
alleged interference from the trio in its 2020 presidential elections,
according to The New York Times.
The American paper ran the story on Monday, the eve of
the polls. The election is contested by Democratic and Republican archrivals
Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who is seeking a second term in office.
The Cyber Command, a subdivision of the US military, originally
launched the operation in 2018 before expanding it in dimension to “find
foreign hacking groups before the election,” the daily alleged.
“Since 2018, we have expanded our hunt forward
operations to all major adversaries,” said Lt. Gen. Charles L. Moore Jr.,
deputy head of Cyber Command.
The project features the Pentagon branch’s assigning
“experts” to locations across Europe and the Middle East, and purportedly
taking down the networks that it accuses of electoral meddling.
The Times claimed that the Cyber Command “was largely
on the sidelines in 2016,” when Trump won his first term against former
secretary of state Hillary Clinton amid far-and-wide allegations of Russian
meddling in his favor.
‘Aggressive US posture’
“For the 2018 midterm elections, the command took a
far more aggressive posture,” the paper said, but reported that despite the
enhanced confrontational approach, Russia was still the main focus of the US’s
cyberwar.
“We want to take down the archer rather than dodge the
arrows,” Moor claimed.
None of the countries that have been targeted in the
American campaign have, however, acknowledged any of Washington’s incessant
accusations of electoral interference.
Iran that also started coming under a campaign of
economic terrorism on the part of Trump’s administration, which returned its
sanctions against the Islamic Republic, has not only roundly rejected the
allegations, but also has clearly announced that it was not concerned with the
identity of the US’s next president, but the upcoming administration’s official
policies.
The Islamic Republic has also vowed to keep resisting
the US’s pressure if the future American head of state chose to retain his
country’s adversarial policies towards Tehran.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/11/03/637835/US-Iran-cyber-war-elections
--------
Tip lines allow voters to report intimidation,
extremism at the polls
By Tom Schuba
Nov 2, 2020
With tensions rising ahead of Tuesday’s election,
civil rights groups have set up resources for voters to report intimidation at
the polls and potential extremist activities.
David Goldenberg, executive director of the
Anti-Defamation League’s Midwest region, said his organization is being careful
not to “give oxygen” to fanatics while also getting across to elected
officials, law enforcement and members of the public “that the environment is
ripe for these types of incidents of election-related, extremist-motivated
violence to occur.”
Both the ADL and the American Civil Liberties Union
are part of a coalition overseeing the Election Protection Hotline — a
nationwide resource to report voter intimidation — which you can access by
calling 866-OUR-VOTE or by going to 866ourvote.org. The ADL is also manning a
text line (text “hatehelp” to 51555) for voters to report allegations of
election-related extremism and providing a “toolkit” to officials to prepare.
Goldenberg said his team is “keeping an eye” on
Illinois and other surrounding states — though he made it clear there’s been no
indication as of Monday afternoon of any direct threat before the polls close.
He explained that researchers have merely seen reports of intimidation at
polling places but no “widespread amount of violence before the election.”
However, Goldenberg acknowledged that militia members
and other extremists have joined recent demonstrations pushing back against
coronavirus-related shutdowns and decrying police violence. That includes Kyle
Rittenhouse, an Illinois teenager accused of fatally shooting two protesters
and wounding another in August after joining an ad hoc militia group amid the
unrest that followed the police killing of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“We’ve seen online organizing activities of extremists
turn into real life violence,” said Goldenberg. “And that’s why all of us need
to take this seriously.”
Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of
Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, said
researchers are seeing “elevated chatter” from extremists in the lead-up to the
election. Nevertheless, the “calls to violence” they expected haven’t
materialized.
Still, Levin explained that America is entering a “new
era” of extremism that could ultimately include “an insurgency by far-right
[actors] and white supremacists.”
Levin specifically pointed to Steven Carrillo, an
adherent to the “boogaloo” movement, a loosely organized militia group
allegedly pushing to spark a civil war. Carrillo was charged with killing a
federal security contractor and a sheriff’s deputy and wounding three others in
a pair of ambush-style attacks this summer in northern California, including
one that happened during a protest in the wake of the police killing of George
Floyd.
Levin noted that extremists have started moving away
from joining organized, “hierarchical” groups following the deadly “Unite the
Right” rally in 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Instead, they’re unifying
around specific causes and “increasingly ensconcing themselves in wedge places
of controversy,” like battles over pandemic regulations or conflicted
elections.
Meanwhile, members of a white nationalist group whose
members marched in Charlottesville appear to have left flyers on cars in
Lincoln Square over the weekend, including one that used iconography associated
with the Ku Klux Klan to describe those involved with the Black Lives Matter
movement.
That group, the Proud Boys, has recently been
emboldened by President Donald Trump, who specifically told the group to “stand
back and stand by” when he was asked to disavow white supremacists and militia
members during a September debate.
Elsewhere, fears that many Americans can bring guns to
polling places have reverberated throughout the county. And this weekend, one
incident of alleged political intimidation has embroiled the presidential race —
and earned the praise of Trump.
On Sunday, the FBI announced that its San Antonio
field office is investigating a video showing a caravan of Trump supporters
following a campaign bus belonging to his Democratic foe, Joe Biden. Trump has
since tweeted that his backers “did nothing wrong” and instead urged the FBI to
probe the “terrorists, anarchists, and agitators of ANTIFA, who run around
burning down our Democrat run cities and hurting our people!”
But according to Goldenberg, it’s now “incumbent on
leaders to tone down the rhetoric” and prepare voters for the possibility that
the results of the election could be delayed as election officials deal with an
influx of mail-in ballots. He specifically credited leaders in Minnesota, where
Gov. Tim Walz and three of his predecessors released a public service
announcement to get that very message across.
“It’s going to take a time to count these ballots,”
Goldenberg said of the ad’s message. “And if there’s a delay in it, it’s not
because somebody’s trying to fix the election. But instead because this is how
elections work.”
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2020/11/2/21546983/voter-intimidation-trump-biden-polls-tip-lines-anti-defamation-league-adl-aclu-extremist
--------