US To Review Peace Deal With Taliban, Senior Biden Official Tells Afghan Counterpart
New
Age Islam News Bureau
23
January 2021
President
Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, speaks, Nov. 24, 2020, in
Wilmington, Del. (AP)
-----
• Ashraf
Ghani: Taliban Should Sever Ties with Pakistan
• Ugandan
Forces In Somalia Kill 189 Al-Shabaab Fighters
• ‘Irony’,
Says India As Pakistan Moves UN Resolution To Protect Religious Sites
• Harmeet
Singh, A Sikh News Anchor Of Pakistan Contemplating Leaving Country After
Threats
• Chinese
Group KLSCAH Women Says Heavier Punishment On LGBT Community Will Spur More
Violence Against Them
• Explosions
Heard In Syria, Air Defences Confront ‘Israeli Aggression’ In Hama: Report
North
America
• US
To Review Peace Deal With Taliban, Senior Biden Official Tells Afghan
Counterpart
• Biden
Orders Review Of ‘Domestic Violent Extremism’ Threat In US
• US
Suspends Program That Allows Iraqis Refuge In Return For Helping Troops
• US
State Department starts to revisit Trump terrorist designation of Yemen’s
Ansarullah
• Israel
lobby trying to thwart Biden return to Iran nuclear deal: Analyst
• UAE
To Get F35 Jets And Predator Drones After Normalizing Ties With Israel
• US:
Schiff asks spy chief to publicize Khashoggi report
• Biden
sworn-in to office with 5-inch thick family Bible
--------
South
Asia
• Ashraf
Ghani: Taliban Should Sever Ties with Pakistan
• 44
Civilians Killed, Injured As Battle Intensifies In Afghanistan
• NATO
to Address Its Training Mission in Afghanistan
• Targeted
Killings of Afghan Journalists Threaten Free Media in Afghanistan
• Bangladesh
PM Hasina Thanks PM Narendra Modi For Covid-19 Vaccine Gift
--------
Africa
• Ugandan
Forces In Somalia Kill 189 Al-Shabaab Fighters
• Christian
Group Names Nigeria Hot Spot for Persecution
• Over
Two Million People Internally Displaced By Violence In Africa’s Sahel Region:
UN
• Wagner's
mercenaries dig huge trench in Libya
• Somalia:
Protests over missing recruits gather steam
• French
troops kill over 20 extremists in Burkina Faso
--------
India
• ‘Irony’,
Says India As Pakistan Moves UN Resolution To Protect Religious Sites
• Pak’s
Secret Tunnel To Push Terrorists For 8 Years In Jammu Detected By BSF
• As Vaccine
Diplomacy Continues, Government Says No Request From Pakistan Yet
• Pakistanis
jailed in Lanka pushing drugs into India through sea: NCB
• J&K:
Militants hurl grenade on police party in Kishtwar; no casualties
--------
Pakistan
• Harmeet
Singh, A Sikh News Anchor Of Pakistan Contemplating Leaving Country After
Threats
• Family
Isolates Mufti Abdul Qavi, Strips Him Of Mufti Title
• Opposition
rejects Azmat as Broadsheet probe head
• Biden
administration urged to see Pakistan beyond Afghanistan prism
• China
to coordinate with companies to 'speed up' vaccine export to Pakistan
• Falcons
To Be Exported To UAE As Goodwill Gesture, IHC Informed
• Education
ministry sets up committee to oversee curriculum standards
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Chinese
Group KLSCAH Women Says Heavier Punishment On LGBT Community Will Spur More
Violence Against Them
• PKR
Youth calls Kedah MB arrogant for cancelling Thaipusam holiday in state
• DAP
kowtowed to Mahathir, failed to help Chinese when in govt, says MCA
--------
Arab
World
• Explosions
Heard In Syria, Air Defences Confront ‘Israeli Aggression’ In Hama: Report
• Asa'ib
blames Saudi, UAE for deadly bombings in Iraqi capital
• Syria
writes to UN on Israel air raids, stresses right to self-defense
• UK
MPs call for investigation into British company with possible link to Beirut
blast
• Arab
Coalition intercepts missile, drone attack targeting Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh
• Arab
Coalition thwarts two attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis
• Saudi
Embassy in Qatar to open within ‘days,’ says Prince Faisal bin Farhan
--------
Mideast
• Palestinians
Defy Israeli Crackdown To Stage New Anti-Settlement Protests
• FM
Slams Persian Gulf Arab States' Futile Clinging to Trump
• Terrorist
Captured by IRGC in Western Iran
• FM:
Iran's UN Membership Payment Hindered by US’ Obstructionism
• Iranian
human rights lawyer moved back to notorious prison after surgery: Husband
• Israeli
settlers leave Palestinian kids bloody, bruised in latest West Bank attack
--------
Europe
• EU,
Turkey to work on new roadmap: Top Turkish diplomat
• Man
arrested in Birmingham on suspicion of terrorism offences
• Far-right
terrorism in Germany: Walter Lübcke's murder and the NSU
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/us-review-peace-deal-with/d/124138
--------
US to
review peace deal with Taliban, senior Biden official tells Afghan counterpart
Joseph
Haboush
22
January 2021
President
Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, speaks, Nov. 24, 2020, in Wilmington,
Del. (AP)
-----
The
United States will review the peace deal reached with the Taliban under the
Trump administration, a senior US official told his Afghani counterpart in a
phone call Friday.
National
Security Advisor Jake Sullivan “made clear” the US’ intention to the review the
agreement, a spokesperson from his office said in a statement.
The
review will include assessing “whether the Taliban was living up to its
commitments to cut ties with terrorist groups, to reduce violence in
Afghanistan, and to engage in meaningful negotiations with the Afghan
government and other stakeholders,” NSC Spokesperson Emily Horne said.
During
his call with Afghanistan’s Hamdullah Mohib, Sullivan underscored that the US
would support the peace process in an effort to achieve “a durable and just
political settlement and permanent ceasefire.”
Sullivan
also voiced US support for protecting the “extraordinary gains” made by Afghan
women, girls and minority groups as part of the peace process.
Before
the start of the peace talks last year, authorities released more than 5,000
Taliban inmates as demanded by the group in the deal with Washington.
In
return, the Taliban agreed to give some security guarantees and participate in
peace talks aimed at ending the country’s war.
Under
the landmark deal signed last year, the US pledged to pull out all foreign
forces from Afghanistan by May 2021.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2021/01/23/US-to-review-peace-deal-with-Taliban-NSA-Jake-Sullivan-tells-Afghan-counterpart
--------
Ashraf
Ghani: Taliban Should Sever Ties with Pakistan
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
23
Jan 2021
President
Ashraf Ghani while addressing a press conference
-----
President
Ashraf Ghani while addressing a press conference on Thursday stated that the Taliban
should cut ties with Pakistan and that they should not have a safe haven in
there.
“One
of the basic needs for peace in Afghanistan is that the Taliban should cut
their ties with Pakistan. If they call themselves Afghans and want to be in
Afghanistan; they should not have dual citizenships,” Ashraf Ghani was quoted
by Ariana News.
The
Afghan president also urged Pakistan to play a positive role in the Afghan
peace process.
“I
urged PM of Pakistan to tell Taliban that there is no solution without a political
settlement,” said Ghani.
The
President has also criticized the interim government plan, emphasizing a
democratic process for the power transfer.
Ghani
stated that he will transfer power to the Taliban if they are elected by the
people in the elections.
Ghani
added, “We hope for peace, but we are ready for every danger,”, he also
indicated that in the final steps, the people of Afghanistan will decide the
outcome of negotiations.
This
comes as peace negotiators in Doha are busy discussing the Afghan peace
process.
https://www.khaama.com/ashraf-ghani-taliban-should-sever-ties-with-pakistan-443322/
--------
Ugandan
Forces In Somalia Kill 189 Al-Shabaab Fighters
Godfrey
Olukya
22.01.2021
KAMPALA,
Uganda
Image:
Reuters
----
The
Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) Friday claimed killing 189 al-Shabaab
fighters in an operation in Somalia.
Talking
to Anadolu Agency by phone, army’s deputy spokesman Lt. Col. Deo Akiki said:
“Today morning, a UPDF contingent under African Union Mission in Somalia
(AMISOM) has killed at least 189 al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia.”
“This
is the biggest number of al-Shabaab fighters killed in a day,” he added.
Earlier,
the UPDF issued a statement, saying Ugandan troops have raided al-Shabaab
hideouts in Sigaale village, approximately 99 kilometers (61 miles) southwest
of Mogadishu.
A
large number of military hardware and items used by the terrorist were also
destroyed, the statement said, adding the UPDF also disrupted an al-Shabaab
meeting, injuring several terrorists in Doncadaafeedow which is seven km (4 mi)
away from the Janaale town.
For
over 10 years, the UPDF has been keeping peace in Somalia and it has lost over
20 soldiers ever since it went there. Uganda was the first country to send
peacekeeping forces to Somalia.
In
recent days, al-Shabaab militants intensified attacks on security forces as the
Africa Union Mission Forces and the Somali National Army soldiers continue
pushing the group from strongholds in successive military operations.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/ugandan-forces-in-somalia-kill-189-al-shabaab-fighters/2119995
--------
‘Irony’,
says India as Pakistan moves UN resolution to protect religious sites
Jan
23, 2021
NEW
DELHI: In another India-Pakistan face-off at the UN, after Pakistan
co-sponsored a resolution promoting a culture of peace, India described as a
matter of great irony that a country where a Hindu temple was recently
demolished, and where minority rights are being emasculated, was introducing
such a resolution.
The
UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted the resolution, promoting a culture of
peace and tolerance to safeguard religious sites, that condemned all acts or
threats of violence, destruction, damage or endangerment, directed against
religious sites as such, that continue to occur in the world, and denounced any
moves to obliterate or forcibly convert any religious sites. The resolution was
co-sponsored by Pakistan along with 21 other nations.
India,
in the explanation of position on the resolution, cited attacks on the Hindu
temple in the Pakistani town of Karak, against a Sikh gurdwara as well as
destruction of the Bamyan Buddhas in Afghanistan, and said in the world of
growing terrorism, violent extremism, radicalisation and intolerance, religious
sites and cultural heritage sites remain vulnerable to terrorist acts, violence
and destruction.
“The
resolution cannot be a smokescreen for countries like Pakistan to hide behind,”
said India, reiterating its call for application of principles of objectivity,
non-selectivity and impartiality to form the basis of discussions at the UN.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/irony-says-india-as-pakistan-moves-un-resolution-to-protect-religious-sites/articleshow/80415095.cms
--------
Harmeet
Singh, A Sikh News Anchor Of Pakistan Contemplating Leaving Country After
Threats
Jan
22, 2021
AMRITSAR:
Distressed over receiving intimidating calls from jail coupled with alleged
police inaction, Harmeet Singh, a Sikh news anchor of Pakistan is contemplating
leaving the nation for the safety and security of his family.
"I
will be left with no other option but to leave Pakistan for good if police
don’t take action against a murder accused. He is threatening me and my
family", said Harmeet while talking to TOI over the phone from Islamabad
on Friday.
While
clarifying that migrating to India was not an option, he said he may explore
the option of migrating to some other country.
Notably,
in January 2020, Harmeet’s younger brother Parwinder was shot dead in Peshawar
where he had arrived from his native town of Chakesar in Shangla district of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Earlier
it was believed that Parwinder was shot dead by terrorists but the police
investigation led to the arrest of Parwinder’s fiancé Prem Kumari, her
boyfriend Eijaz, and another person Ibrahim.
"Both
Prem Kumari and Eijaz are out on bail while Ibrahim is still lodged in the
Mardan jail from where he makes threatening calls to me and my family from
government number," said Harmeet.
He
said pressure was being mounted upon him and his family members by the accused
to strike a compromise. "But we don’t want a compromise but justice,"
he said.
He
said he had given a police complaint but the police had not taken any action on
his complaint. However, he said that the bar association of the Supreme Court
had assured to extend every possible help to him and his family.
Meanwhile,
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Bibi Jagir Kaur has
written a letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and governor of
Pakistan’s Punjab Chaudhary Mohammad Sarwar asking them to ensure the safety
and security of Harmeet and his family members. "It’s unfortunate that the
Pakistan government has so far not taken any action against the persons who are
issuing threats to a turbaned Sikh" she said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/sikh-anchor-contemplating-leaving-pakistan-after-threats/articleshow/80408257.cms
--------
Chinese
group KLSCAH Women says heavier punishment on LGBT community will spur more
violence against them
23
Jan 2021
BY R.
LOHESWAR
KUALA
LUMPUR, Jan 23 — Heavier punishments to prosecute the lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) population will only spur more violence and hatred
towards the group, The Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH)
Women said.
In a
statement, its women’s division chairman Ng Geok Chee called out Deputy
Minister in the Prime Minister’s department (Religious Affairs) Ahmad Marzuk
Shaary for stating the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government were mooting
amendments to the the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 or Act
355 to provide for heavier punishments on the LGBT community, claiming it will
only encourage people to harass the community.
“KLSCAH
Women believes that this law amendment will encourage harassment and violence
against LGBT groups, placing them in far more dangerous situations, which goes
against the government’s duty to protect citizens from discrimination and
violations of human rights.
“Society,
in general, believes that LGBTs not only violate the laws of nature or moral
standards but even regard it as a mental illness and has been marginalised for
a long time.
“As a
Cabinet member, Ahmad Marzuk should have a clearer understanding of the
situation. Moreover, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently suggested
that Asean take a stronger stance against hate speech on gender and sexual
orientation at the 1st Asean Digital Ministers Meeting,” Ng said in the
statement.
Malaysia
has had a poor history of treating the LGBT community with each government not
embracing the community.
After
Pakatan Harapan won the 2018 general elections, the prime minister Tun Dr
Mahathir Mohamad said the LGBT lifestyle was a shift in the Westerners’ moral
values and they wanted to force that lifestyle on other countries.
The
same was of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak when ruling the
Barisan National government had cited Islam as justification for his
government’s exclusion in protecting the human rights LGBT individuals.
Another
incident was when former tourism minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapin was quoted
saying during an event in Berlin, Germany that homosexuality did not exist in
Malaysia after being asked if it was a safe travel destination for the LGBT
community.
Most
recently Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) summoned its enforcers
involved in the recent alleged violence during arrest of cosmetics entrepreneur
Nur Sajat early this month.
Sajat
said authorities raided her home following a report made on her on February 23,
2018 during her religious event held at her guest house in Seksyen 16, Shah
Alam.
She
said she was handcuffed and assaulted by the officers from the state religious
officers during the investigation process, causing bruises all over her body.
She
further claimed that the state religious officers had denied her her rights
even when she fully cooperated during the whole process on January 6 this year
in Kuala Kubu Bharu, Selangor.
KLSCAH
Women said many countries have enacted laws to protect the community but the
powers in Malaysia are refusing to progress but rather are focusing their
energy on enforcing their values on the people.
“LGBTs
are neither against nature nor are they morally corrupt. As members of society,
everyone should be given equal treatment and rights,” said Ng.
“For
this reason, KLSCAH Women asks Ahmad Mazruk to stop discriminating against
LGBTs and government spending. Inciting hatred based on sexual orientation not
only violates the core values of openness and tolerance, but also creates many
social problems.
“With
the ongoing pandemic and floods, we hope Ahmad Marzuk prioritise
matters
and deal with the most pressing issues that concern the people first.”
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/01/23/chinese-group-klscah-says-heavier-punishment-on-lgbt-community-will-spur-mo/1943242
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Explosions
Heard In Syria, Air Defences Confront ‘Israeli Aggression’ In Hama: Report
22
January 2021
Syrian
air defenses confronted early on Friday “an Israeli aggression” in the governorate
of Hama, state media said, after reporting that explosions were heard there.
Israel
has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria in recent years against
suspected Iranian military deployments or arms transfers to Tehran-backed
Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas.
“At
about four o’clock in the morning today, the Israeli enemy launched an aerial
aggression with a barrage of missiles coming from the direction of the Lebanese
city of Tripoli, aiming at some targets in the vicinity of Hama governorate,”
Syrian state media said, citing a military source.
“Our
air defenses confronted the enemy’s missiles and downed most of them.”
The
Israeli military declined to comment.
In
previous statements, Israel has described its Syria strikes as necessary to
protect its northern front from Iran.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2021/01/22/Explosions-heard-in-Syria-air-defenses-confront-Israeli-aggression-in-Hama-Report
--------
North
America
Biden
orders review of ‘domestic violent extremism’ threat in US
23
January 2021
US
President Joe Biden has directed law enforcement and intelligence agencies in
the United States to conduct a comprehensive assessment of “domestic violent
extremism,” a phenomenon that officials call a pressing national security threat.
President
Biden on Friday ordered the Office of Director of National Intelligence to task
the FBI and Department of Homeland Security with conducting a joint threat
assessment on domestic violence extremism, White House Press Secretary Jen
Psaki told reporters later in the afternoon.
“The
Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol and the tragic deaths and destruction that
occurred underscored what we all know: The rise of domestic violent extremism
is a serious and growing national security threat,” Psaki said, adding that the
Biden administration “will approach this threat with the necessary resources
and resolve.”
The
threat assessment will be used as a foundation to develop policy to confront
the growing threat of violent extremism in the country.
“The
key point here is that we want fact-based analysis upon which we can shape
policy,” the White House spokesperson said. “So this is really the first step
in the process, and we will rely on our appropriate law enforcement and
intelligence officials to provide that analysis.”
The
involvement of the national intelligence office -- a senior-level agency
created after the September 11, 2001 attacks to oversee the sprawling US
intelligence community -- indicates that authorities are looking into how to
pivot from international terrorism to the more pressing threat of domestic
extremism.
The
National Security Council will also carry out a separate policy review to see
how information about the threat can be better shared across the US government,
Psaki said.
Rep.
Adam Schiff, the Democratic chair of the House Intelligence Committee, said it
was “critical” that the new administration appeared to be taking the threat of
domestic extremism seriously.
“In
particular, far-right, white supremacist extremism, nurtured on online
platforms, has become one of the most dangerous threats to our nation,” Schiff
said.
The
violent assault on the Capitol, which promoted the House to impeach former
President Donald Trump for an unprecedented second time last week, raised
questions about whether the US national security apparatus that for decades has
focused on thwarting attacks from foreign terror groups is equipped to confront
the threat of domestic terrorism.
More
than 140 people have been charged in connection with the riot, including some
members of far-right militia groups. The assault led to the deaths of a police
officer, a rioter and three others.
Big
questions remain about the extent to which the intelligence community knew
about the potential for violence on January 6, when Congress convened to
certify Biden’s election victory, especially in light of Trump's incendiary
language.
Security
experts believe there was a systemic failure across multiple law enforcement
and intelligence agencies, including the FBI, DHS and the DC and Capitol
Police, all of which were aware of information about threats of violence on
social media but failed to act accordingly.
The
issue of domestic extremism has repeatedly resurfaced as a topic of national
debate over the years after different attacks, including the 2018 shooting
rampage at a synagogue in Pittsburgh.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/23/643647/Biden-orders-review-of-domestic-extremism-
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US
suspends program that allows Iraqis refuge in return for helping troops
Joseph
Haboush
22
January 2021
The
United States announced Friday the suspension of a program that allowed Iraqis
to seek refuge in return for helping Americans in Iraq, according to the State
Department.
“Effective
January 22, 2021, the United States is suspending the Direct Access Program for
US-Affiliated Iraqis for 90 days,” acting Secretary of State Daniel Smith said.
The
program allowed many Iraqis who helped US troops on the battlefield to find a
safe haven in the US.
As an
incentive and a way for local residents to cooperate with the US, this program
was offered.
The
move comes after an investigation unveiled that individuals stole US government
records from the State Department’s Worldwide Refugee Admissions system “to
take advantage” of the program for US-affiliated Iraqis.
Friday’s
move was necessary, Smith said, in order to “further review and address
vulnerabilities.”
“The
message is clear for those who would seek to take advantage of America’s
generosity in welcoming the world’s most vulnerable people – you will be held
accountable,” he added.
But
the US will continue to provide humanitarian aid. Since 2014, Washington has
provided more than $3 billion in humanitarian assistance to Iraq, and for
Iraqis in the region, the statement said.
“We
recognize the importance of assisting those who legitimately put their lives at
risk to provide critical support to the United States in Iraq, and we do not
take the decision to suspend this program lightly,” Smith said.
Shortly
before the Trump administration left office, then-acting Defense Secretary
Christoper Miller said that US troops were cut to 2,500.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2021/01/23/US-suspends-program-allowing-Iraqis-to-seek-refuge-in-return-for-helping-troops
--------
US
State Department starts to revisit Trump terrorist designation of Yemen’s
Ansarullah
23
January 2021
A
spokesperson at the US State Department says Washington has started a review of
a decision by the administration of former US President Donald Trump to
designate Yemen’s popular Houthi Ansarullah movement as a foreign terrorist
organization.
“As
noted by Secretary-Designate [Anthony] Blinken, the State Department has
initiated a review of Ansarullah’s terrorist designations,” the spokesperson
said on Friday.
“We
will not publicly discuss or comment on internal deliberations regarding that
review; however, with the humanitarian crisis in Yemen we are working as fast
as we can to conduct the review and make a determination,” the spokesperson
added.
Trump's
administration announced the designation of popular Ansarullah movement as a
terrorist group on January 11, nine days before new US President Joe Biden took
office on Wednesday.
Trump
was a staunch ally of Saudi Arabia, offering US logistical help and military
sales for its six-year war on Yemen to dislodge the Ansarullah-led and
Sana’a-based National Salvation Government, which is controlling much of the
war-torn country.
Earlier
this week, Blinken said the US State Department would quickly take a look at
the terrorist designation of Ansarullah, and end support to the devastating
Saudi-led offensive on Yemen.
Blinken
said that the Saudis have "contributed to what is by most accounts the
worst humanitarian situation anywhere in the world."
The
United Nations and aid groups have warned the terrorist designation risks
complicating efforts to combat the world’s largest humanitarian crisis in the
war-wracked country where millions depend on aid to survive.
Stephane
Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, has called on
the United States to reverse the Trump administration's move.
“Our
position on this has not changed. We call on the government to reverse that
decision,” Dujarric said.
“Our
concern from the beginning, that we expressed very clearly, is the impact on
the commercial sector,” he added.
“The
vast majority of food and other basic supplies that comes into Yemen comes in
through the commercial sector,” Dujarric pointed out.
Over
170 Yemeni NGOs condemn US terrorist designation of Ansarullah
Meanwhile,
a total of 173 Yemeni civil society organizations have in a joint statement
denounced the terror designation of Ansarullah, and called for the move to be
undone.
The
organizations rejected the blacklisting as an aggressive step that would pose
catastrophic risks to the humanitarian situation in Yemen, and would exacerbate
the sufferings of Yemeni people – most of whom are living below the poverty
line and are currently at risk of starvation.
Yemenis
to stage mass rallies against blacklisting
Thousands
of people in Yemen are set to take part in countrywide demonstrations on Monday
to condemn the US designation of popular Ansarullah movement.
The
organizing committee said in a statement that that the rallies will be held
under the motto “The blockade and US aggression are terrorist crimes” in the
capital, Sana'a, and elsewhere in the country.
The
committee highlighted that the Yemeni nation’s resolve and steadfastness will
not be damaged in the face of the enemy, whatever the challenges might be.
The
US terrorist designation appears to be a desperate attempt by the former US
administration to step up pressure on the popular Houthi movement after the
Saudi regime failed to fulfill its objectives in Yemen after years of war,
despite all the support it received from the US and other Western states.
The
Houthi Ansarullah movement, backed by the Yemeni armed forces and allied
popular groups, has been successfully defending Yemen against the Saudi
aggression, leaving Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the county.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/23/643644/US-State-Department-starts-to-revisit-designation-of-Yemen-Ansarullah-as-terrorists
--------
Israel
lobby trying to thwart Biden return to Iran nuclear deal: Analyst
23
January 2021
An
American political analyst has said that the Israeli lobby is exerting pressure
on US President Joe Biden not to return to the Iran nuclear deal.
Mark
Dankof, who is also a broadcaster in San Antonio, Texas, made the remark during
a phone interview with Press TV on Friday.
A new
report has cited a “very senior Israeli official” as saying that the Tel Aviv
regime would start snubbing the US if it reentered a 2015 nuclear deal between
Iran and world powers that was ditched by the Trump administration.
“If
Biden adopts [former US president, Barack] Obama’s plan, we will have nothing
to talk about with him,” the regime’s Channel 12 reported on Wednesday, citing
the unnamed official.
Although
the channel did not specify what plan the official meant, the online newspaper
The Times of Israel said the official was referring to the nuclear agreement,
officially called the Joint Comprehensive Joint Action Plan (JCPOA), sealed in
2015 between Iran and the 5+1 group of countries (which was then made up of the
US, the UK, France, Russia and China, plus Germany).
The
remarks came on the same day as Joe Biden took over the White House following
the end of predecessor Donald Trump’s tenure.
Trump
took the US out of the deal -- that is officially known as the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- in 2018 following widely reported
provocation on the part of Israel and some of its allied regional regimes.
The
former president would continually vilify the JCPOA, calling it “the worst deal
ever,” a term that has also been used for the agreement by Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden
has suggested he could return the US to the agreement that was signed during
Trump predecessor Barack Obama’s tenure.
Dankof
said that “it's a supreme act of arrogance, and I think it underscores who
actually runs the foreign policy of the United States, and in this case,
Israel. According to these reports in Israeli Channel 12, as well as in the
times of Israel, that they're putting Joe Biden on notice that ‘they'll have
nothing to do with him in the event that the JCPOA P5+1 deal is entered into
again by the United States.’”
“After
all, the United States gives them $10 billion a year minimum. The United States
is their chief political, economic, and military benefactor in that part of the
world. In this particular instance this early on, for the Israelis to do
something like this is absolutely outlandish,” he said.
“Now
having said that, you have Antony Blinken, who is a Zionist Jew, and who is now
the new Secretary of State of the United States, basically at the same time
telling these Israeli media outlets that in effect he would ‘reengage with
Israel and its Arab allies’ before the United States would consider re-entering
this JCPOA treaty. This is already proving that Scott Ritter is correct in what
he observed, and that is that Biden was being duplicitous during the
presidential election campaign in saying that the United States would re-enter
the deal. Ritter, I think had it down correctly Biden, in essence, was
committing himself to JCPOA P5+1, which is the correct position to have
certainly and I say that as a member of the Buchanan Ron Paul wing of the
Republican Party,” the analyst said.
“But
having said that, Ritter predicted that Biden would attach so many conditions
to re-entry of the United States in the JCPOA P5+1 that the Iranians could not
possibly be expected to go for all the attachment of all of these new
conditions, and that the Iranians quite rightly would reject the deal, only to
be blamed for the deal not being restarted again,” he noted.
“So
this is what's happening here. And we're already beginning to see the evidence
of the amount of pressure that the Israeli government and the Israeli lobby are
now exerting on Joe Biden and working this time, not through Mike Pompeo and
John Bolton, and Nikki Haley, and through all of these Zionist Republicans in
Capitol Hill. But in this instance, you're going to see the extent to which all
of these Zionists who now surround Joe Biden, including Blinken, including
Avril Haines the new CIA director, including Hillary Clinton who is probably
going to be our ambassador to the UN, and of course Victoria Nuland now crops
up again in a Biden administration, her husband, of course, Robert Kagan, who
is a key figure in the project of the New American Century, and the so-called
clean break documents. And of course, Robert Kagan is one of the chief Zionist
Jews in Israel's lobby in the United States,” he said.
“So
this is where we are at this particular point in time. This is an example of
what I was telling Salaam media in South Africa late last night, and that is
that if you look at some of the best sources on this, ranging from Glenn
Greenwald, of course, to Caitlyn Johnstone to Finian Cunningham, you're going
to see that Joe Biden is absolutely no different from Donald Trump in foreign
policy once the cards are out there on the table. I believe this nuclear deal
is dead,” he said.
“And
as I said to South African media last night. Trump's criminal actions in the
assassination of Soleimani, have I think set the United States and Iran on a
course of action that can lead only to a war, and a war that will be basically
started by a false flag, or other means, but we'll have the hands of Israel,
and their domestic lobby in the United States behind it,” the analyst noted.
“So
in this particular case, I think the JCPOA P5+1 treaty is essentially dead.
Biden has had an opportunity here to put the Israelis in their place. The signs
from Blinken absolutely indicate the opposite. And at the end of the day, I
believe I'm going to be proven a sad prophet once again. And that is that this
latest presidential administration is going to be no better than all the
presidential administrations since the end of World War Two, with the possible
exception of John Kennedy, of course, in doing whatever it is that Israel
wants,” he stated.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/23/643639/Israel-lobby-tries-to-thwart-Biden-return-to-JCPOA
--------
UAE
to get F35 jets and Predator drones after normalizing ties with Israel
22
January 2021
Former
US President Donald Trump took full advantage of his last hours in office this
week to push through a flurry of controversial decisions. One of Trumps final
acts was signing a deal to sell state of the art warplanes and drones to the
United Arab Emirates. His administration reportedly signed the deal just one
hour before Trump's tumultuous presidential term was over.
Under
the agreement, the UAE is expected to receive 50 stealth F 35 warplanes and 18
advanced Reaper drones. The Emiratis have long expressed interest in getting
the stealth jets. The UAE was promised a chance to purchase them when it agreed
to normalize relations with Israel last August, angering the Palestinians.
The
arms deal was pushed by the president's son in law, Jared Kushner, who was
central to the normalization of ties with Israel. The weapons package is
considered another part of Trump's notorious dealings with Persian Gulf Arab
allies, which have long records of human rights violations.
Trump
boosted weapons transfers despite outcry by human rights advocates
The
Emiratis, for instance, have been deeply involved in the devastating Saudi led
war on Yemen, which has triggered the world's worst humanitarian disaster. The
UAE has carried out a large number of aerial bombardments in Yemen where
hospitals, schools, weddings and funerals have been among the targets on the
ground; the business minded former US president boosted weapons transfers to
its regional allies despite outcry by human rights advocates.
A
coalition of human rights organizations recently urged the US to avoid further
arms sales to the United Arab Emirates. The rights groups believe more arms for
the Emirati’s would worsen a set of bloody conflicts in Yemen, Libya and
beyond.
Former
US President, Donald Trump, was dismissive of such warnings as the United
States itself has been deeply involved in the Yemen war ever since it began in
2015. US military support for the Saudis and their Emirati allies has included
mid air refueling, military intelligence and logistics.
During
his presidential campaign the new US president signaled, a major shift. He has
pledged to take a tough line on human rights issues, even when it comes to
America's allies. Biden has also hinted at ending weapons transfers and
military support to the Saudi led coalition pounding Yemen.
Actions
speak louder than words
But
critics say actions speak louder than words. They say there is no guarantee
that Biden will change America's approach as promised. Saudi and Emirati
petrodollars have proven to be irresistible to many American presidents. Is Joe
Biden really willing to put human rights first and change America's stance in
the region?
I
don't think any American government, any American President, is going to step
completely away from the Petro dollars coming into the American defense
industry. However, I think everyone has to realize in Washington and elsewhere,
is that this war, I hate to keep harping on American national security but what
does it have to do with American national security?
Brian
Downing, Journalist
How
will he deal with powerful Saudi and Emirati lobbies in Washington? Biden faces
tough choices over Yemen and his ties with the regimes of Saudi Arabia and the
UAE as he will probably need to make very important decisions.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/22/643622/UAE-to-get-F35-jets-and-Predator-drones-normalizing-ties-with-Israel
--------
US:
Schiff asks spy chief to publicize Khashoggi report
Servet
Günerigök
23.01.2021
WASHINGTON
US
House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said
Friday he asked the new head of national intelligence to release an
unclassified report on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
In a
letter addressed to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines, the
Democrat from the state of California called the murder in Istanbul
"brutal" and "premeditated."
"For
a year the [former President Donald] Trump Admin refused to make public an
unclassified report on Saudi Arabia's culpability. I have asked Director Haines
to declassify this report. There must be accountability and justice,"
Schiff said in a tweet in which he included a copy of the letter.
Khashoggi,
a Washington Post columnist and US resident, was assassinated inside the Saudi
Consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 after being lured there by Saudi
officials to receive legal documents he needed to marry.
The
CIA reportedly concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered
Khashoggi's murder. But Trump resolutely shielded bin Salman from facing
consequences for the killing, including blocking the intelligence agency's
assessment from being handed to lawmakers.
"The
importance of speaking the truth and confronting the powerful over their
misconduct is at the heart of bipartisan concerns over the year-long delay in
ODNI’s production of an unclassified report to Congress regarding Saudi
Arabia’s culpability," said Schiff.
During
her Senate confirmation hearings earlier this week, Haines committed to
providing Congress with the unclassified report on the brutal murder.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-schiff-asks-spy-chief-to-publicize-khashoggi-report/2120021
--------
Biden
sworn-in to office with 5-inch thick family Bible
Beyza
Binnur Dönmez
21.01.2021
US
President Joe Biden was sworn in on a 19th-century family Bible on Wednesday,
continuing the tradition during his long political career.
Biden,
the second Catholic US president after John F. Kennedy, put his hand on the
five-inch thick Bible that was held by First Lady Jill Biden and took the
35-word oath administered by Chief Justice John Roberts.
The
Bible featuring a Celtic cross on the cover has been part of the Biden family
for nearly 130 years and Biden first used it during his first Senate swearing-in
in 1973. Since then, he has used it every time he has taken an oath of office,
including his swearing-in as vice president in 2009 and 2013.
The
heirloom was also used by Biden's son Beau when he was sworn in as Delaware
attorney general in 2007.
By convention,
incoming presidents in the US raise their right hand and place the left on a
Bible while taking the oath of office.
During
a pre-inaugural blessing before the now-president left his home state for
Washington, D.C., Delaware Rabbi Michael Beals called Biden "our
Moses."
"It
is indeed bashert that you, our dear president-elect, are being inaugurated on
the very week when Jews all around the world are reading from the book of
Exodus about Moses freeing us from 400 years of backbreaking, Egyptian slavery
at the hands of an autocratic, cruel Pharaoh," according to Beals, who
referenced the inauguration at an event Tuesday as "bashert" -- a
Yiddish word which means "destiny" or "meant to be."
"In
many ways, dear Joe, you are our Moses and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris
is our Aaron," he added.
The
comparison is similar to how a majority of evangelical Christians saw former
President Donald Trump as God's appointee who will "bring change into this
nation."
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/biden-sworn-in-to-office-with-5-inch-thick-family-bible/2118086
--------
South
Asia
44
Civilians Killed, Injured As Battle Intensifies in Afghanistan
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
22
Jan 2021
According
to the preliminary findings of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission,
8 civilians were killed in incidents like roadside bomb blasts, targeted
magnetic IED killings, unidentified gunmen attacks, mortar shells landing on
residential places.
The
incidents cover various insurgency attacks in Kabul, Uruzgan, Baghlan,
Nangarhar, and Helmand.
AIHRC
reported that from the 18th of January to the 20th of December 8 civilians were
killed and further 36 others including (Women and Children) were wounded in
different attacks across Afghanistan.
Warring
parties must abide by the principles and rules of international humanitarian
law, AIHRC demanded.
War
crimes are not subject to the passage of time, and no individual or group
involved in the Afghan war should ignore the rights of the war victims and
their access to justice and reparation.
This
comes as two people were killed in a targeted attack on an Afghan National Army
vehicle in the PD6 Kote Sangi area of Kabul City on Thursday night, the
Ministry of Interior said.
Tariq
Arian, spokesperson to MOI, blamed “Taliban” for the incident.
The
second incident happened in PD6 when a civilian vehicle was targeted by a
magnetic IED, killing one person and injuring two others.
Both
incidents have sparked outrage among people, Afghan public criticized
government security agencies for the lack of proper security plans and their
implementation.
People
in social media have asked that how can this assassination occur in a busy
area, and that police could not chase the perpetrators of this incident.
Security
agencies operating are deemed incapable and inexpert in the city.
Meanwhile,
European Human Rights Ambassadors in a joint statement condemned civilian
casualties in Afghanistan.
According
to the statement, the Taliban and different terrorist groups have caused
significant casualties in the region.
“The
targeted killing of human rights defenders, judges, journalists, media workers
& civil society actors is unacceptable.”
European
Humans Rights Ambassadors calls on accountability and the need for
comprehensive investigation in all of the attacks.
They
also demanded that all of the perpetrators should be brought to justice.
The
world’s Islamic dignitaries and leaders are also expected to hold a summit
aimed at seeking a settlement to the ongoing war in Afghanistan.
The
leader of the Muslim World League, Mohammad bin Abdul Karim Issa in a meeting
with Afghan Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar told that a conference will be
arranged to bring key Islamic figures in order to find a fundamental solution
to the Afghan crisis through a religious perspective.
https://www.khaama.com/44-civilians-killed-injured-as-battle-intensifies-in-afghanistan-334433/
--------
NATO
to Address Its Training Mission in Afghanistan
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
22
Jan 2021
Jens
Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO in a meeting with Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu,
Turkish Foreign minister said, that NATO will address the future of its
training mission in Afghanistan by February 2021.
Jens
Stoltenberg also reiterated that the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation will
support the Afghan peace process.
He
added, that “whatever path we choose, it is important that we do so together,
in a coordinated and deliberate way”.
The
international organization will also support the Afghan peace process and
stands ready to adjust its presence in the region.
“NATO supports the Afghan peace talks and, as
part of this process, stands ready to further adjust its presence,” Jens added.
According
to NATO, the agenda is also planned for the expansion of NATO’s Training
Mission in Iraq to help ensure ISIS never returns.
Stoltenberg
also welcomed the continuation of NATO-brokered talks between Turkey and Greece
on a military deconfliction mechanism in the Eastern Mediterranean. “The
de-confliction mechanism has helped to reduce tensions and create the space for
political discussions to resolve the underlying issues. I also welcome the
Exploratory Talks taking place in Istanbul next week.”, the Secretary-General
said.
Previously
NATO had declared that their Resolute Support mission will be ongoing in
Afghanistan.
On
the other hand, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistan’s foreign minister called on
American President Joe Biden to follow up the Afghan peace process.
Aljazeera
quoted Qureshi saying “I think they should realise there is an opportunity in
Afghanistan and they should persevere with what was initiated and not reverse
things”, he added in regards to US troops withdrawal that “We are concerned
because we feel violence can vitiate the climate,”.
“Pakistan
has done a lot, we have really bent backwards to create an environment to facilitate
the peace process,” Aljazeera quoted Qureshi.
The
Pakistani prime minister blamed internal spoilers for the violence escalation.
This
comes as violence has intensified and surged in Afghanistan, and many innocent
civilians suffer from a lack of insecurity and overall instability.
https://www.khaama.com/nato-to-address-its-training-mission-in-afghanistan-445544/
--------
Targeted
Killings of Afghan Journalists Threaten Free Media in Afghanistan
By
Roshan Noorzai
January
21, 2021
WASHINGTON
- A recent string of targeted killings in Afghanistan has created an atmosphere
of fear among Afghan journalists who say they cannot carry out their duties
under growing threats.
The
Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, a local media advocacy group, has warned
that the country might lose one of its main achievements in the past two
decades, freedom of expression and press, if the attacks on journalists
continue.
At
least five journalists have been killed in Afghanistan in the past two months
as part of a wave of targeted attacks against women working outside their
homes, rights activists, tribal and community leaders, religious figures and
journalists.
“If
this trend continues, we will lose one of the most noteworthy achievements of
this country, which is press freedom and freedom of expression,” Najib Sharifi,
president of the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, told VOA.
Journalists
in many parts of Afghanistan say they no longer feel safe amid the increased
killings of fellow journalists.
“We
are in constant fear of being targeted,” said Sami Serat, a journalist working
with a local radio station in Helmand province. “We do not feel safe in the
city, in our offices or even at home.”
Serat
added that the recent targeted killings of journalists in the country have “negatively
affected” news coverage of his home province of Helmand, which has seen
intensified clashes between government forces and Taliban militants in recent
months.
“We
rarely go to the scenes for news coverage. It has become nearly impossible for
us to go there because of the fear of being targeted and the ongoing fighting
in the city [Lashkargah] and provincial districts,” he told VOA.
Serat
said that some of his fellow journalists have left Helmand for Kabul because
“it has become difficult to work in the province, and some of our own
journalists, fearing their lives, are now in Kabul.”
Walwala,
23, who worked as a journalist in the northern province of Baghlan, said that
she left her job because of security concerns.
“I
love my profession, but I had to stop all my social and journalistic
activities,” she said.
Walwala
said the killing of Malalai Maiwandi, a female journalist killed by unknown
gunmen on December 10 in the eastern Nangarhar province, “has shocked all the
female journalists across Afghanistan,” adding that many female journalists
“are looking for jobs in other areas.”
She
added that she would “only start working as a journalist again when the
security situation gets better in the country.”
Nai,
a local media organization in Afghanistan, reported that 11 Afghan journalists
and media workers were killed in 2020.
Demand
for investigation
The
Afghan government says several suspected attackers in some targeted killings
have been arrested, including those suspected of killing Mohammad Ilyas Dayee,
a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, who was killed December 12.
However,
Mudasar Dawat, Dayee’s younger brother, told VOA that the security officials
have not informed his family about the arrests.
“The
government has not given us any information [about the progress made in the
investigation],” he told VOA. “We have seen videos on Twitter and Facebook of
someone confessing [to the killing], but that is not enough nor acceptable. We
have the right to know about the investigation and who was behind the attack.”
Tariq
Aryan, a spokesperson for the Afghan Interior Ministry, said the government is
investigating into the targeted killings of journalists “in collaboration with
media organizations.”
He
blamed the Taliban for the attacks, claiming that the government has “arrested
the killers of Dayee and Malalai Maiwand, and [those killers] were members of
the Taliban.”
The
Taliban have denied any involvement in the recent killings of human rights
activists and journalists though they have targeted journalists and media
workers in the past.
In
2016, the militant group claimed responsibility for an attack on a bus, killing
seven Tolo TV staffers and injuring 25 others. The Taliban at the time
described the journalists as “enemy personnel.”
Call
for protection
In a
letter released December 12, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and a number of
other media organizations called on the U.N. to take “concrete measures” for
the protection of journalists in Afghanistan.
The
letter urged the U.N. Security Council to “take serious actions to reduce
violence and pressure the perpetrators to cease targeting journalists.”
Danish
Karokhel, the head of Pajhwok Afghan News Agency, also believes the
international community should pressure the Taliban to stop targeting journalists.
“It
is not enough that they send press releases rejecting involvement in these
killings. The Taliban should be accountable for the actions of their fighters
in the provinces,” he told VOA.
The
United States signed a peace agreement with the Taliban in February 2020, which
paved the way for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations in September 2020.
However,
violence in Afghanistan, particularly targeted killings, has surged in
Afghanistan as negotiations continue in the Qatari capital, Doha.
Karokhel
said that in some instances Taliban commanders and fighters have “created
problems” for journalists, though the Taliban political leaders insist that
they have changed and do not oppose free media anymore.
In a
report released last year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Taliban militants
of imposing restrictions on media groups in the areas they control.
John
Sifton, the Asia Advocacy director at HRW, told VOA in a recent interview that
“what the Taliban say at the leadership level … does not mean that is what
happens on the ground,” adding that the Taliban commanders in provinces
“interpret things their own way.”
Afghanistan
ranks 122nd out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2020 press freedom index.
The
establishment of independent media has been considered as one of the main
achievements of the post-Taliban Afghanistan, said RSF, adding that “given the
country’s political and security challenges, this achievement is extremely
vulnerable.”
https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/targeted-killings-afghan-journalists-threaten-free-media-afghanistan?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1927205_
--------
Bangladesh
PM Hasina thanks PM Narendra Modi for Covid-19 vaccine gift
Jan
22, 2021
DHAKA:
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has thanked her Indian counterpart
Narendra Modi for sending over two million doses of Covid-19 vaccine as a gift
to Bangladesh. India on Thursday officially handed over 2 million doses of
domestically produced Covishield vaccine to Bangladesh. The vaccines were
provided at a crucial time when the number of coronavirus cases in Bangladesh
is rising.
"I
thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sending the vaccine (batch) as a
gift," Hasina said at an online international conference held on the
occasion of the 100th founding anniversary of the University of Dhaka on
Thursday.
She
said the government has already planned how it would proceed with the vaccine,
the Dhaka Tribune reported.
"We
have taken all the steps to face the Covid-19 situation in the country,"
Hasina said.
Apart
from the current delivery of vaccines, Bangladesh is also set to purchase 3
crore doses of India-made coronavirus vaccine.
Hasina
hoped that the vaccine that Bangladesh procured from India would arrive by
January 25-26, the report said.
Bangladesh
has so far recorded 7,966 Covid-19 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in
March last year, while the total number of infections have surged to over
530,270.
India
also handed over 1 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to Nepal on Thursday.
On Wednesday, India sent 150,000 doses of Covishield vaccines to Bhutan and
100,000 doses to the Maldives.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/bangladesh-pm-hasina-thanks-pm-narendra-modi-for-covid-19-vaccine-gift/articleshow/80406346.cms
--------
Africa
Christian
Group Names Nigeria Hot Spot for Persecution
By
Timothy Obiezu
January
21, 2021
ABUJA
- A report by the U.S-based Christian persecution monitoring group Open Doors
shows the number of Christians killed in 2020 increased by 60%, mostly because
of Islamic violence against Nigerian Christians.
The
study says more than 2,200 of 4,761 Christians killed around the world in 2020
died in Nigeria because of radical Islamists.
Open
Doors CEO David Curry says the global focus on battling the coronavirus pandemic
last year also contributed to an increase in Christian persecution.
But
Nigerian Muslim groups say the report is promoting a false impression.
"Nigerian
Christians are not persecuted," said Ishaq Akintola, director at Muslim
Rights Concern. "What is happening in Nigeria is the persecutor crying out
and claiming that he is being persecuted, claiming that he is the victim. And
it's because a Muslim is in power that the crying of persecution is so
loud."
Another
U.S.-based organization, International Christian Concern, estimates 50,000 to
70,000 Christians have died in violent attacks in Nigeria over 18 years, mostly
carried out by Boko Haram terrorists or arms-wielding gangs.
Nigeria
has been battling insurgents seeking to create an Islamic caliphate in the
country's north for more than a decade. The conflict has also affected
Nigeria's neighboring countries.
But
Akintola says violent groups have no affiliation with Islam.
"There's
nothing like that," Akintola said. "Boko Haram is not a Muslim group.
This is a fake and misled group, a group that has gone out of the palms of
Islam. There's nothing like a caliphate for a violent group."
Last
month, the State Department designated Nigeria as a country of particular
concern because of religious freedom violations based on a report by the U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom. It said Nigeria's Christian
communities had "weathered particularly egregious attacks."
Nigeria's
information minister, Lai Mohammed, rejected the listing and called the allegations
untrue.
However,
Christian organizations maintain Nigerian Christians are persecuted and say the
Nigerian government is not doing enough to address the issue.
"If
you go back to the Chibok [mass kidnapping] case, you'll discover that the
Chibok schoolgirls, many of them were Christians," said Israel Akanji,
northern regional head of the Christian Association of Nigeria. "The
church is being persecuted. There are so many places where Christians will not
be made to head certain institutions, even when they're very qualified."
Open
Doors' report said persecution would likely grow worse as the coronavirus
pandemic continues.
https://www.voanews.com/africa/christian-group-names-nigeria-hot-spot-persecution?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1927205_
--------
Over
two million people internally displaced by violence in Africa’s Sahel region:
UN
22
January 2021
More
than two million people have been forced to flee their homes within their own
countries' borders owing to the violence engulfing Africa's Sahel region, the
United Nations said on Friday.
The
humanitarian response is "dangerously overstretched" in an area
covering parts of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Niger, said UNHCR, the UN
Refugee Agency.
Thousands
have died since militants launched an insurgency in northern Mali in 2012 that
spilled over its borders.
UNHCR
spokesman Boris Cheshirkov told reporters in Geneva the "unrelenting
violence" must stop.
He
said the figure of two million internally displaced people had more than
quadrupled since the start of 2019.
"The
extreme vulnerability of the Sahel has been laid bare by the impact of forced
displacement, caused by widespread and gruesome violence perpetrated by armed
insurgent groups and criminal gangs," he said.
"The
humanitarian response is dangerously overstretched, and UNHCR is urging the
international community to redouble its support for the region."
He
said the countries needed help particularly with schools and hospitals, many of
which have shut because of the violence.
Lacking
basic shelter
More
than half of the displaced in the region are in impoverished Burkina Faso,
which has been under attack since 2015 when Takfiri militants swept in from
neighboring Mali.
The
problems in Burkina Faso have intensified in recent weeks, said Cheshirkov.
More
than 11,000 people, mostly women, and children fled attacks in and around the
northern town of Koumbri earlier this month, he said.
They
have reached safety and the UNHCR is erecting shelters and distributing aid.
"Despite
the generosity of their hosts, many of the IDPs lack basic shelter and are
sleeping under open skies," said Cheshirkov, adding that they urgently
needed essential supplies and facilities to stop Covid-19 from spreading.
On
top of the internally displaced, more than 850,000 people have fled from Mali
and taken shelter in other countries.
Throughout
the Sahel, UNHCR and other agencies are working to help hundreds of thousands
of displaced people with shelter, aid, and cash, the spokesman said.
"Our
teams are also working to prevent and respond to instances of sexual violence,
which have become widespread," he added.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/22/643636/Sahel-Africa-UN-displaced-Burkina-Faso
--------
Wagner's
mercenaries dig huge trench in Libya
23.01.2021
TRIPOLI,
Libya
The
CNN network said Friday that a satellite detected a kilometers-long trench dug
by Russian-backed Wagner mercenaries between Sirte and al-Jafra in central
Libya.
"The
trench, which extends dozens of kilometers south from the populated coastal
areas around Sirte towards the Wagner-controlled stronghold of al-Jufra, can be
seen on satellite imagery and is bolstered by a series of elaborate
fortifications,” it said.
The
network cited a US official who said construction indicates that Wagner
fighters have long-term goals, will not withdraw from the country and plan to
stay for a long time.
Warring
Libyan parties reached a cease-fire deal Oct. 23, with UN mediation, to
withdraw foreign mercenaries within 3 months. That deadline ends Saturday.
The
government, however, has documented regular breaches by militias affiliated
with warlord Khalifa Haftar.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/wagners-mercenaries-dig-huge-trench-in-libya/2120034
--------
Somalia:
Protests over missing recruits gather steam
Magdalene
Mukami
22.01.2021
MOGADISHU,
Somalia
Hundreds
of Somali parents have been camping in the streets of Mogadishu for the last
two days, demanding the government tell them about the fate of their sons who
were sent to Eritrea for military training.
The
protesting parents said they have been unable to contact their children and
that their whereabouts remain unknown since clashes between rebel forces and
the Ethiopian military started in the northern Tigray region toward the end of
2020.
Abdishakur
Kirie, the father of Somali recruit Afyare Abdi Ahmed, told Anadolu Agency that
he used to talk to his son regularly, but now he cannot reach him. “I've not
heard from him for a long time. We are protesting because we want to know how
our loved ones are. We just need to know that they are safe. If the former
intelligence official is wrong, then we need proof of their life.”
Abdisalan
Yusuf Guled, the former deputy spy chief of Somali National Intelligence and
Security Agency, last week claimed that over 370 Somali soldiers died in the
Tigray conflict. Guled said the soldiers sent to Eritrea for training were
redeployed to fight alongside the Ethiopian army, a claim shot down by the
Somali government.
Abdullahi
Bashir, another parent who does not know the whereabouts of his son, said: “The
government should tell me about the fate of my child. If he died in the Tigray
battle in Ethiopia, as we are being told, the government should tell us.”
“We
are almost certain that our children were sent to the Ethiopia war. We want to
know if they are alive or dead,” said Halima Sagal, a soldier's mother.
Hundreds
of Somali parents, whose sons and daughters have been missing since going to
Eritrea for military training, took to the streets of the north-central Galkayo
city on Wednesday, demanding the government find their children. People in
other Somali cities are also protesting.
Ethiopian
Foreign Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti also denied the claims, saying: “We have
seen reports about Eritrean troops that have crossed into Ethiopia, we are also
witnessing similar reports about Somali soldiers participating in the same
campaign. Both of these claims are false and unfounded.”
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/somalia-protests-over-missing-recruits-gather-steam/2119720
--------
French
troops kill over 20 extremists in Burkina Faso
January
21, 2021
PARIS:
More than 20 militants have been killed by French troops this month in Burkina
Faso near the border with troubled Mali, the French military said Thursday.
One
of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina Faso is struggling with a
ruthless insurgency by armed Islamists who swept in from neighbouring Mali in
2015.
Almost
1,100 people have died and more than a million people have fled their homes.
French
Tigre helicopters on Saturday "neutralised" a "suspicious convoy
of 30 motorcycles" on Burkinabe territory near the Mali town of Boulikessi
in which some 10 extremists were killed, said Colonel Frederic Barbry,
spokesman for the French defence staff.
The
same day, a French drone struck a four-wheel drive vehicle heading for Mali, he
said.
On
Sunday, French helicopters fired on a convoy of 40 motorbikes "allowing us
to stop the convoy and neutralise more than 10 armed terrorists and destroy
about 10 motorbikes," Barbry added.
France
has deployed troops in the region to fight extremists.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1796376/world
--------
India
Pak’s
Secret Tunnel To Push Terrorists For 8 Years In Jammu Detected By BSF
By
Shishir Gupta
JAN
23, 2021
The
Border Security Force on Saturday found a 150-metre long underground tunnel in
Jammu and Kashmir that had been used by Pakistani intelligence to infiltrate
terrorists into India. This is the second tunnel to be spotted in 10 days by
the border guarding force that last year went on campaign mode to detect and
destroy a web of tunnels believed to have been built by Pakistan’s deep state,
a senior BSF official said on Saturday.
The
30-feet deep tunnel has been detected between Border Post number 14 and 15 near
BSF’s outpost at Pansar, Kathua district. On the other side of the fence are
Pakistani border outposts of Abhiyal Dogra and Kingre-de-Kothe in Shakargarh
district.
Pakistan’s
Shakargarh, the area across the fence, is home to a terror training facility
overseen by one of Jaish-e-Mohammed’s operational commander Kasim Jan who,
Indian intelligence believes, was involved in the November 19 Nagrota encounter
in Jammu and is the principal accused in the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack. Jan
is also one of the main launch commanders of Jaish terrorists into India.
“This
is huge,” a senior BSF official said. Because the tunnel appears to be at least
6 to 8 years old and would have been used for infiltration for a long time.
Also, it is located in a place that has seen action in the past, right from
2012 when Pakistan had mounted a heavy fire assault on the forward duty point
and constructed a new bunker on the zero line in the vicinity.
Not
far from where the tunnel was found, a BSF assistant commandant Vinay Prasad
who was leading a border domination patrol was killed by sniper fire from
across the border in January 2019. Ten months later, a group of terrorists was
noticed in the same area in November 2019.
It is
very important to detect all the tunnels built by the Pakistani military and
its terrorists because the infiltration of terrorists through them practically
nullifies the utility of deployment of soldiers along the Line of Control. When
it becomes too difficult to cross the LoC, Pakistani terrorists use these
tunnels, a senior counterterror official said in Delhi.
Border
Security Force director general Rakesh Asthana had ordered the force to step up
efforts to detect tunnels after the Nagrota encounter in November when security
forces were able to trace the route taken by the terrorists who had crossed
over using one of the many tunnels that the Pakistani military have built for
the terrorists to sneak into India.
Security
officials underscore that proper engineering effort had gone into the
construction of the tunnels that had been detected in recent times, pointing to
the involvement of the Pakistani military along the heavily-guarded border.
BSF
seizes weapons
Meanwhile,
the BSF carried out an intelligence-backed raid in Poonch district that led to
the seizure of one AK-47 rifle, three China-made pistols, an under-barrel
grenade launder and a radio set.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/paks-secret-tunnel-to-push-terrorists-for-8-years-in-jammu-detected-by-bsf-101611386495290.html
--------
As
vaccine diplomacy continues, government says no request from Pakistan yet
Jan
23, 2021
NEW
DELHI: Faced with queries about whether India would consider supplying Covid-19
vaccine to Pakistan, the government on Friday said it had not received any
request from Islamabad for vaccine.
India
has so far donated Covishield vaccine to Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan and
the Maldives in the immediate neighbourhood and is awaiting confirmation of
regulatory clearances from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka to deliver the same as
grant assistance to them.
“I am
not aware of any request for the supply of India-made vaccines to Pakistan on a
G2G basis or commercial basis. The other part of the question is hypothetical
at this stage and I would not like to respond,” said MEA spokesperson Anurag
Srivastava, when asked if India could consider donating vaccine to Pakistan as
well. China has so far committed 500,000 doses of its Sinopharm vaccine for
Pakistan.
The
official said that keeping in view the domestic requirements of the phased
rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, India will continue to supply the same to partner
countries over the coming weeks and months in a phased manner. “It will be
ensured that domestic manufacturers will have adequate stocks to meet domestic
requirements while supplying abroad,” he said, adding that contractual supplies
are also being undertaken to Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil, Morocco,
Bangladesh and Myanmar.
On
the issue of quantity and types of vaccine being supplied, the government said
supplies would be based on availability and regulatory approvals in the
countries concerned.
Brazil
President J M Bolsonaro thanked PM Narendra Modi for the vaccine in a tweet.
“Namaskar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Brazil feels honoured to have a great
partner to overcome a global obstacle by joining efforts. Thank you for
assisting us with the vaccines exports from India to Brazil. Dhanyavaad,” he
tweeted.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/as-vaccine-diplomacy-continues-government-says-no-request-from-pakistan-yet/articleshow/80415668.cms
--------
Pakistanis
jailed in Lanka pushing drugs into India through sea: NCB
January
23, 2021
An
international drug racket operated by Pakistani drug traffickers jailed in Sri
Lanka is increasingly pushing narcotics into India through the sea route using
Lankan and Maldivian couriers, a recent investigation by Narcotics Control
Bureau (NCB) has found.
The
drug network, NCB sources said, is spread across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran,
Sri Lanka, Maldives, Australia and India.
On
November 26, in a joint operation with the Indian Coast Guard, NCB had detained
Sri Lankan fishing vessel ‘Shenaya Duwa’ in the territorial waters of India
near Tuticorin port. A search of the vessel led to recovery of 95.875 kg of
Heroin and 18.325 kg of Methamphetamine. Five pistols and magazines were found
in possession of the crew and seized. The six-member crew, all of them Sri
Lankan nationals, were arrested and are currently in jail.
Less
than two months later, NCB on January 20 arrested two more Sri Lankan
nationals, identified as MMM Nawas and Mohamed Afnas from Chennai for allegedly
being part of the racket.
“Both
Nawas and Afnas hold important positions in the multinational heroin syndicate.
They were controlling mid sea pick up and delivery of narcotic drugs from
Pakistani and Iranian vessels. Both had fled Sri Lanka when authorities closed
in on them. It is also believed that there is an Interpol Red Corner Notice
issued by Sri Lankan government against Nawas,” an NCB statement said.
The
NCB said intelligence shared by the agency with Sri Lankan authorities led to
seizure of 100 kg of Heroin there.
“With
increased vigil that our border guarding forces keep in the north western
borders of India, the traditional route of Afghani-Pakistani heroin is becoming
tougher to breach. This has also led to the increased use of sea route by
heroin traffickers to smuggle the narcotic into India,” an NCB official said.
According
to NCB, the largest opium cultivation region of the world, the Golden Crescent
comprising Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, has two important transit points for
processed heroin in the island nations of Sri Lanka and Maldives. The heroin
from this region is usually loaded in fishing vessels setting sail from the
ports of Iran and Pakistan for mid-sea transfer into similar vessels of Sri
Lanka and Maldives.
“However,
the mid sea transfers happen in territorial waters of India or very near to its
territorial waters. There is a big network of foreign entities controlling this
lucrative trade. Very reliable intelligence developed by NCB and Indian
agencies over the period indicates that Pakistani drug traffickers lodged in
Sri Lankan prisons for drug offences control this trade…” an NCB statement
said.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/pakistanis-jailed-in-lanka-pushing-drugs-into-india-through-sea-ncb-7157982/
--------
J&K:
Militants hurl grenade on police party in Kishtwar; no casualties
January
22, 2021
Ahead
of the Republic Day celebrations, suspected militants Friday lobbed a grenade
on a police party at Dedpath village near Sinthantop on the Kishtwar-Chatroo
national highway, which connects Kashmir Valley with the hilly Kishtwar
district in Chenab Valley region.
While
a policeman suffered a minor injury, there were no reports of any other damage
as the grenade missed the intended target and exploded on the roadside. It has
been after nearly seven months that militants have made their presence felt in
Chenab Valley region as the police and security forces had killed two militants
in the adjoining Doda district’s Gundna area in May last.
Kishtwar
SSP Dr Harmeet Singh Mehta said that the police party on a vehicle were on
patrol from Kishtwar to Chatroo when a grenade was lobbed on it near Dedpath.
“There has been no loss of life as grenade missed the target,” he said, adding
that the police have registered an FIR and launched searches in the area.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/jk-militants-hurl-grenade-on-police-party-in-kishtwar-no-casualties-7157477/
--------
Pakistan
Family
Isolates Mufti Abdul Qavi, Strips Him Of Mufti Title
January
23, 2021
MULTAN:
The family of Mufti Abdul Qavi has restricted his movement and isolated him in
his house.
Addressing
a press conference here on Friday, Mufti Qavi’s uncle Abdul Wahid Nadeem said
Abdul Qavi had been used by different people over the years for media
attention.
“We
are from a respected family involved in religious teaching through Darul Uloom
Obaidia in Multan. We are doing the sacred task without any sectarian divide,”
he said.
“With
a heavy heart, I announce that we have withdrawn the title of Mufti (scholar)
from him. He should not be addressed as Mufti anymore as he has damaged our
family and its respect. We have seized his mobile phones and now he is under
treatment for mental illness he is suffering from,” he said.
Dr
Hafiz Abdul Kabir, a personal physician of the scholar, said Qavi’s “thoughts
were not in his control. Now we will try to keep him away from public eye. He
has been isolated in his house,” he said.
Abdul
Qavi is in spotlight again after he was slapped by TikTok star Hareem Shah who
filmed the act and uploaded it on social media. Later she accused him of sexual
harassment. Earlier in 2016, he remained a central figure in model Qandeel
Baloch murder investigation.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1603021/family-isolates-qavi-strips-him-of-mufti-title
--------
Opposition
rejects Azmat as Broadsheet probe head
Syed
Irfan Raza
January
23, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
The appointment of retired justice Azmat Saeed as the head of the inquiry
commission on the Broadsheet scandal has become controversial as the opposition
has rejected the selection while the government has defended the move.
The
opposition has rejected the appointment on the grounds that Justice Saeed was
part of the five-member bench of the Supreme Court which announced the verdict
against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Panama Papers case.
On
the other hand, federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and Minister of
State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan have said that the government
had no “bad” intention in retired Justice Saeed’s appointment.
The
main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) has demanded that an
undisputed and non-controversial person be appointed as chairman of the
commission and its proceedings be made public as the law on inquiry commissions
had such a provision.
Recently
a UK court gave a verdict against Pakistan in the Broadsheet case. Broadsheet
LLC, a UK-based asset recovery firm, was engaged by NAB in 2000 to trace off-shore
assets of Pakistani nationals but the agreement was cancelled in 2003. The
government has recently paid $28 million to the firm in damages.
Addressing
a press conference at Parliament Lodges, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan
Abbasi said cases like Broadsheet were the reason why Pakistan had been in a
state of crisis. “When institutions are established for tarnishing the image of
politicians and slinging mud at them by dubbing them corrupt, the country can
never smoothly function,” he added.
“These
institutions have become instruments of political victimisation and those who
created them and pulled their strings have been exposed,” he said.
Showing
the 14-page contract signed with Broadsheet, he said, the contract was signed
by Lt Gen Syed Mohammad Amjad as NAB chairman, Dr Pepper of Broadsheet, then
prosecutor general of NAB Farooq Azam Khan and Tariq Fawad Malik as witness.
“It was a one-sided agreement signed with a company that was created days
before the signing of the agreement,” he added.
The
former prime minister said Pakistan had so far paid $65 million to Broadsheet
and about one-third of the amount was recently paid by the PTI government.
He
under the decision made by ECNEC and the cabinet, $28m was transferred into the
Pakistani High Commission’s account and Broadsheet was permitted to take that
money, yet no national institution had the guts to question this.
“Had
any such agreement been sponsored by a politician, it would have made headlines
for days that a politician has looted a huge amount from national exchequer. He
would have been in NAB’s custody for 90 days and then perpetually in jail. This
matter isn’t just about corruption but about an organised effort to destroy
Pakistan’s political system and taunt its politicians to discredit them”, he
said.
Mr
Abbasi said the PTI government went a step ahead and wanted to take commission
over the payment of the remaining one-third amount as Broadsheet owner Kaveh
Moussavi had repeatedly said that a representative of the government approached
him for their cut for facilitating the payment.
The
former PM said retired Justice Saeed was deputy prosecutor general of NAB when
the agreement was signed with the Broadsheet. “This establishes a clear and
undeniable conflict of interest.”
He
asked how the inquiry could be impartial and transparent when the commission
head had a glaring conflict of interest.
He
urged retired Justice Saeed to refuse to accept the position of the inquiry
commission head.
He
said retired justice Saeed was also a member of Shaukat Khanum Memorial
Hospital’s (SKMH) board of governors but that was another discussion for
another day.
Speaking
at the press conference, PML-N information secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb said
the administration of the Parliament Lodges had banned media from covering the
press conference so that the nation wouldn’t know the truth about the scandal.
She
said Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri had ordered the administration
of Parliament Lodges not to let media in. “But when the media persons asked for
the written order they said the instructions were issued only verbally.”
The
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has also rejected the formation of the inquiry
commission to probe the Broadsheet issue.
PPP
secretary general Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari in a statement said that the
commission would misguide people of Pakistan by hurling allegations at the
opposition and the previous governments.
He
said the Broadsheet scandal was a serious issue and should be probed in a
transparent way.
Govt
defends
Talking
to Dawn, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan said
that there was nothing wrong in appointment of retd justice Saeed as head of
the inquiry commission. “If he was [deputy] prosecutor general of NAB when
Broadsheet agreement was inked, it does not mean that he was involved in
decision making.”
He
said retd justice Saeed had served as a member of board of governors of SKMH,
but as an honorary member and he did not take any salary or perks.
Talking
about Panama Papers case, the minister said: “If a judge gives any judgement in
a case, it does not mean he is biased.”
Talking
to the media in Karachi, Sheikh Rashid predicted that the Broadsheet fiasco
would prove to
be
counterproductive for the opposition. Terming it “Panama Papers II” for the PML-N,
he advised the leaders of the opposition party to “wait and see.”
“I
have heard that they [PML-N] have raised objections to the appointment of retd
Justice Azmat Saeed as the head of the inquiry commission assigned the
Broadsheet probe,” said Mr Ahmed. “What’s the logic behind that? They want the
appointment of judges and head of inquiry commissions of their choice. They are
known to influence judges and the judiciary. Everyone knows [the saga of]
Justice Malik Qayyum. Should we appoint him as the commission head?”
Imran
Ayub in Karachi also contributed to this report
https://www.dawn.com/news/1603062
--------
Biden
administration urged to see Pakistan beyond Afghanistan prism
Kamran
Yousaf
January
22, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Prime
Minister's Special Assistant on National Security Dr Moeed Yusuf has said
Pakistan wants to pursue a bilateral relationship with the US that is not
hyphenated or clouded by US interests in other regional countries but is based
on mutual understanding.
A day
after the Biden inauguration, Dr Moeed addressed a gathering of US policymakers
at the Washington-based think tank Wilson Centre titled “US-Pakistan Relations
in the Biden Era” on Friday.
Laying
out a new vision of Pakistan’s engagement with the incoming Biden
administration, Dr Yusuf said that the government wants to pursue a bilateral
relationship with the US that is not hyphenated or clouded by US interests in
other regional countries but is based on mutual understanding.
“In
the past, Pakistan was unfortunately seen by Afghanistan prism,” he said while
emphasising that the world had undergone immense transformation in the past
four years and the new administration should look beyond Obama-era conversation
to build a truly bilateral relationship with Pakistan.
He
told the participants that now you are dealing with a different Pakistan; a
Pakistan which is self-confident and whose formal vision is squarely based on
economic security paradigm. “Pakistan is talking about becoming a geo-economic
melting pot that is ready to consolidate global positive interest in our
territory. We are talking about providing the world with economic-bases, not
military-bases,” he said.
Dr
Yusuf while elaborating Pakistan’s vision said that "our focus is
connectivity and CPEC is an obvious example of it. This is the reason we desire
peace and stability in Afghanistan for westward connectivity. Furthermore, we
are looking for development partnerships".
He
noted that all Western multinational companies in Pakistan earned profits well
above their global average, demonstrating that Pakistan remained a lucrative
market for foreign companies. “How about having US reprocessing zones?
Expanding the ROZs? Having US-China co-investments in regional connectivity?
“Pakistan
of today is very different,” the SAPM said, adding, “Terrorism in Pakistan is
negligible, we have turned the corner,” he stated.
While
delving into regional peace, he said that we are dealing with a different
India; an India which is intolerant, has serious internal tensions, human
rights concerns and is taking unilateral decision, including in Indian
Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
India
is destabilising the region and becoming a liability on anyone dealing with it,
including the US, he said.
The
PM's aide said that we wish to achieve a peaceful region where international
obligations are met by all countries.
He
also emphasised that the Biden administration and Pakistan could work closely
on important global challenges such as climate change – a priority area for
both the Biden administration and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government. He
also emphasised that there are opportunities for Pakistan to work with the US
in regional diplomacy in Afghanistan, the Middle East and elsewhere to decrease
global tensions and restore the multilateral system.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2280972/biden-administration-urged-to-see-pakistan-beyond-afghanistan-prism
--------
China
to coordinate with companies to 'speed up' vaccine export to Pakistan
January
23, 2021
The
Chinese government will provide a batch of Covid-19 vaccine to Pakistan
"as aid" and will "actively coordinate with the relevant Chinese
enterprise to speed up export of vaccines to Pakistan", Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a press briefing on Friday.
"Since
the outbreak of Covid-19, China and Pakistan have been working together to
overcome difficulties," she said in response to a question by the
Associated Press of Pakistan.
"In
order to support our brothers and sisters in Pakistan, the Chinese government
has decided to provide a batch of vaccines as aid and will actively coordinate
with the relevant Chinese enterprise to speed up export of vaccines to
Pakistan. State Councilor Wang Yi shared this decision of the Chinese
government with Pakistani Foreign Minister [Shah Mahmood] Qureshi yesterday
during their phone call."
She
did not, however, confirm the number of vaccine doses that China would provide,
nor the name of the "relevant Chinese enterprise".
The
confirmation came a day after Qureshi announced that China has promised to
provide 500,000 doses of a coronavirus vaccine to Pakistan by January 31.
The
minister said he held a detailed conversation with the Chinese foreign minister
in which he "discussed Pakistan's requirements", after Prime Minister
Imran Khan had directed him to increase interaction with Beijing
"considering the sensitivity of the situation".
In a
tweet, Qureshi suggested the doses to be provided to Pakistan will be of the
Sinopharm vaccine, which the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) had
approved for emergency use in the country earlier this week.
On
December 30, a special cabinet committee for procurement of Covid-19 vaccine,
chaired by federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, had decided
to procure 1.1 million doses of vaccine from Sinopharm. It was also announced
that the vaccine would be provided to 500,000 frontline healthcare workers as
two doses would be given to each worker and the margin of spoilage was 10pc.
Sinopharm's
vaccine is able to be stored at two to eight degrees Celsius, or a normal
refrigeration temperature.
The
jab has already been approved in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and is
slated for use next in Morocco.
Trials
of a vaccine developed by China National Biotec Group (CNBG) and Sinovac
Biotech Ltd are also being held in Pakistan.
Additionally,
a member of the Scientific Task Force on Covid-19 constituted in March last
year, Dr Ghazna Khalid, had told Dawn last week that the Phase-I trial of the
Sinopharm vaccine that was being conducted in Karachi had reached the final
stage.
The
vaccine has been developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, a
subsidiary of state-owned conglomerate Sinopharm. The company announced last
month that preliminary data from last-stage trials had shown it to be 79.3 per
cent effective.
Last
week, Drap also authorised the Oxford University-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine
for emergency use.
Earlier
this week, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal
Sultan had expressed confidence in the government's ability to procure at least
one million doses of coronavirus vaccines by March, saying it ultimately aimed
to inoculate 70 per cent of the country's population against the virus.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1603145/china-to-coordinate-with-companies-to-speed-up-vaccine-export-to-pakistan
--------
Falcons
to be exported to UAE as goodwill gesture, IHC informed
Malik
Asad
January
23, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Syed Mohammad Tayyab on Friday informed the
Islamabad High Court (IHC) that Pakistan had issued permit to the UAE
government for export of falcons as part of goodwill and friendly gesture.
He
was responding to a petition filed by former Islamabad Wildlife Management
Board (IWMB) chairperson Dr Anisur Rehman against issuance of permit for the
export of 150 falcons to Dubai.
The
federal government has reportedly issued special permit to Dubai Ruler Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum for the export of 150 rare falcons from Pakistan
to Dubai during 2019-20.
IHC
Chief Justice Athar Minallah was hearing the petition. He asked the DAG to
satisfy the court on export of the falcons.
The
DAG told the court that the UAE government had sent a written request for
falcons and Pakistani government gifted it to the friendly country in order to
strengthen brotherly relations and in the larger national interest.
He
said it was not a commercial activity.
Counsel
for the petitioner adopted before the court that the government had not been
empowered to grant permit or permission for export of falcons.
The
counsel said falcons had been declared endangered species. Grant of permission
is in violation of Pakistan Trade Control of Wild Fauna and Flora Act 2012,
besides the law highlighted in the judgment of the IHC of May 21, 2020 in which
the court had ordered relocation of miserably detained animals to the natural
habitat.
On
court’s query, an official of the ministry of climate change told the court
that import of falcons had been banned since 2005.
Justice
Minallah observed that the government had issued the permission prima facie in
violation of the law adding that if this was indispensable, the government
should have issued relaxation or amended the law beforehand.
IHC
chief justice remarked that the government was bound to protect the endangered species
and this matter might be sent to the federal cabinet.
The
court extended the stay order against export of falcons till four weeks and
adjourned the hearing.
Falcons
are protected under various international nature conservation conventions,
including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna
and Flora (CITES). Trade in falcons is banned under local wildlife protection
laws.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1603104/falcons-to-be-exported-to-uae-as-goodwill-gesture-ihc-informed
--------
Education
ministry sets up committee to oversee curriculum standards
Kashif
Abbasi
January
23, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
The education ministry on Friday notified a 10-member supervisory committee of
experts to provide guidance to ensure that the ongoing curriculum renewal
process meets necessary requirements.
“The
committee will provide overall guidance to ensure that curriculum renewal
process adheres to the necessary requirements i.e academic standards, student
needs according to age and grade level and international trends,” read a
notification issued on Friday.
The
committee is tasked to review curriculum documents and advise about their
accuracy, consistency and relevance. It will also advise about the continuity
of knowledge and skills across grades K-12 in the curriculum documents.
Experts
to ensure curriculum renewal process adheres to international trends, says
notification
The
experts will also suggest programme areas that should be included or excluded
from the curriculum.
The
federal government in collaboration with provinces has already developed a
single National Curriculum (SNC) for class one to five, which will be
implemented in the upcoming academic session to start in August. However,
sources in the education ministry said Sindh was not fully convinced and might
refuse to adopt the SNC.
Last
month, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani had told Dawn that his province
already had an advanced curriculum compared to other provinces so it was not
going to adopt the SNC, hinting that if need arises the provincial government
will get an input from SNC.
The
sources said all provinces had been requested to get the textbooks of 1 to V
classes published in accordance with the SNC.
“We
have requested all provinces, so now it is up to them to get the books published.
The PTI and its allies are in government at the centre, in Punjab, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan so there will be no issue in implementation of the
SNC there. Our talks with Sindh are also in progress,” said an officer of the
federal education ministry. He said the SNC will be introduced in all public
and private schools and seminaries.
After
launching the SNC at the primary level this year, the government is planning to
launch a uniform curriculum from class six to eight next year and from class
nine to 12 from 2023.
The
committee will mainly supervise the curriculum from class six to 12 as for the
primary level the curriculum is already finalised.
“The
committee will play supervisory role mainly on curriculum being developed by
experts under the National Curriculum Council (NCC) for class six to eight and
then from class nine to 12,” said an official of the ministry.
The
10-member experts notified for the committee are: Dr Syed Khurshid Hasnain from
Quaid-i-Azam University, Dr Irfanullah Chaudhry from University of Engineering
Lahore, Afia Salaam, expert on climate change, geography and environment, Dr
Mohammad Mustafa from FC College Lahore, Dr Sabieh Anwar from Lums, Dr Fatima
Zia Dar from Centre for Teaching Excellence and Learning Innovation, Asia
University Malaysia, Dr Irfan Muzaffar from Columbia University, Prof Dr Meraj
Mustafa Hashmi from Nust, Dr Sajida Zaki from NED University of Engineering and
Technology Karachi and Dr Habibullah Pathan from Jamshoro University.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1603107/education-ministry-sets-up-committee-to-oversee-curriculum-standards
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Southeast
Asia
PKR
Youth calls Kedah MB arrogant for cancelling Thaipusam holiday in state
22
Jan 2021
BY
JERRY CHOONG
KUALA
LUMPUR, Jan 22 — PKR Youth today condemned Kedah Mentri Besar Muhammad Sanusi
Md Nor for cancelling Thaipusam as a special holiday due to the rising number
of Covid-19 cases.
Its
chief Akmal Nasir and vice-chief Thiban Subramaniam described Sanusi’s remarks
of ‘no celebration, no holiday’ (raya pun tidak, cuti pun tidak) as arrogant.
“The
irresponsible statement by the Kedah Mentri Besar is a clear indicator that he
does not honour the spirit of Malaysia’s diversity and as a multiracial and
multireligious country,” they said in a statement.
Akmal
and Thiban said it was even more embarrassing as he represents PAS which touts
itself as the ideal approach to a Malay-Muslim government.
“Instead
it has given a bad impression of Malay-Muslims to non-Malays and non-Muslims,
whereas Islam has never discriminated against any race.
“The
blind decision by the Mentri Besar in cancelling Thaipusam on the basis of too
many holidays or the movement control order is both irrational and
unreasonable. This also indicates that it is not impossible to cancel Chinese
New Year and Hari Raya Aidilfitri on the same excuse,” they said.
Both
leaders urged Sanusi to recognise the immense contribution that the Indian
community has made to Kedah, which should be honoured through recognising
Thaipusam as a holiday.
“According
to the statistics of the Population and Housing Census 2020, Indians constitute
150,100 residents in Kedah, which is a considerable number.
“The
decision of the mentri besar in this matter should be revoked, as it has the
potential of spreading the fires of racism and threatens the racial harmony in
the country,” they said.
Sanusi’s
announcement on Wednesday cancelling Thaipusam, which falls on January 28, in
the state drew flak from several quarters, including MIC deputy president and
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan who called it a shortsighted
decision.
In
response, Sanusi said the decision was not aimed at denying the rights of Hindu
believers, adding that they could still celebrate or observe the holiday as
long as the proper standard operating procedures are in place.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/01/22/pkr-youth-calls-kedah-mb-arrogant-for-cancelling-thaipusam-in-state/1942978
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DAP
kowtowed to Mahathir, failed to help Chinese when in govt, says MCA
January
23, 2021
PETALING
JAYA: The MCA accused its political nemesis DAP of failing to adequately
represent the Chinese community when given the chance to do so, saying it had
given in to Malay leaders, especially former prime minister Dr Mahathir
Mohamad.
Its
vice-president, Ti Lian Ker, said MCA had been instrumental in the past in
ensuring Chinese values were upheld in government by standing up against the
conversion of non-Muslim minors to Muslims and hudud laws, among other
policies.
He
said Chinese voters have reached a crossroads now, faced with a choice of
supporting the government and having a seat at the table in policy discussion
and execution or maintaining loyalty to DAP.
Ti
said that despite DAP trying to blame the MCA for all the frustrations of the
Chinese community in the past and provoking “anger and hatred” towards the
party, the opposition party was unable to fulfil its promises when given the
chance in 2018.
“DAP
secured 90% of the Chinese vote. The overwhelming support it obtained did not
result in any significant changes to their livelihood,” he said in a statement.
With
42 MPs against Dr Mahathir’s 13, DAP proved that it was much weaker and a
bigger letdown to the Chinese than MCA, with DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng
announcing he was not a Chinese and allowing Mahathir to renege on election
promises.
“Instead
of moving forward, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government regressed, and DAP
allowed Tun Mahathir to return to a Malay-centric government, for which MCA had
been criticised and demonised before.”
He
said that in not pushing for the post of deputy prime minister and having just
four Chinese ministers despite winning the most seats in Parliament, DAP had
“forgotten that it was the Chinese community that gave them the greatest
support”.
“In
the end, the PH government maintained most, if not all, Bumiputera policies and
appointed Malays as ministers in all key Cabinet and GLC positions.
“DAP
even agreed to an increase in the Bumiputera entry quota to local public
universities and supported the introduction of Jawi lessons in schools to win
over the Malay electorate.”
Furthermore,
Ti said the same people MCA had stood firm against on Malay and Islamic issues
in the past — opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and Mahathir — were the ones
dictating the policies when DAP was in government.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/01/23/dap-kowtowed-to-mahathir-failed-to-help-chinese-when-in-govt-says-mca/
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Arab
World
Asa'ib
blames Saudi, UAE for deadly bombings in Iraqi capital
23
January 2021
Iraq’s
Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq movement, a subdivision of anti-terror Popular Mobilization
Forces (PMU) or Hashd al-Sha’abi, has blamed Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates for the deadly twin bombings in the capital Baghdad.
Speaking
to Lebanon's al-Mayadeen TV channel on Friday, Saad al-Saadi, a member of
Asa'ib’s political bureau, said the fingerprints of the Al Saud and Al Nahyan
regimes are evident in the attacks.
Additionally,
Asa’ib spokesman Jawad Al-Talibawi took to Twitter to say that Saudi Arabia had
once again mobilized its agents to shed the blood of the Iraqi nation after
former US president Donald Trump's criminal role came to an end in Iraq.
He
warned that the Iraqi fighters will not remain indifferent in the face of the
crimes committed by Riyadh.
The
Baghdad bombings – the deadliest in nearly three years – killed at least 32
people and wounded 110 others in a crowded marketplace on Thursday.
The
first attacker drew a crowd at the bustling market in Tayaran Square by
claiming to feel sick, and then detonated his explosives belt. As more people
then flocked to the scene to help the victims, a second bomber set off his
explosives.
The
US-sponsored Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.
‘Bombings
an attempt to keep US forces in Iraq’
Kata’ib
Hezbollah group, another PMU faction, said Friday the bombings were meant to
implement the US plot in the region and keep its forces in Iraq under security
pretexts.
Saudi
Arabia wants to bring war into Iraq in line with Trump’s self-proclaimed
"deal of the century", pushing Baghdad towards normalization with
Israel, Kata’ib spokesman Muhammad Mohi stressed.
He
further noted that some Takfiri groups are being trained at American bases
inside Syria as well as the Iraqi borders with Syria and Jordan.
Maliki
calls for probe into foreign involvement
Meanwhile,
Nouri al-Maliki, former Iraqi prime minister and current head of State of Law
coalition, called for a comprehensive investigation into the terrorist attacks
to determine whether they was supported from or planned abroad.
In a
post on his Twitter account, he called for the severe punishment of the
military and security officials who will be found guilty of negligence.
Daesh
began a terror campaign in Iraq in 2014, overrunning vast swathes in lightning
attacks.
The
PMU played a major role in reinforcing the Iraqi army, which had suffered heavy
setbacks against the Takfiri elements.
Iraq
declared victory over Daesh in December 2017 after a three-year
counter-terrorism military campaign, which also had the support of neighboring
Iran.
The
terror outfit’s remnants, though, keep staging sporadic attacks across Iraq,
attempting to regroup and unleash a new era of violence.
Daesh
has intensified its terrorist attacks in Iraq since January 2020, when the
United States assassinated top Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General
Qassem Soleimani and PMU’s deputy commander, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, near
Baghdad International Airport.
Just
two days after the cowardly assassination operation, Iraqi lawmakers
unanimously passed a bill mandating the expulsion of all foreign troops,
including the Americans.
However,
recent reports say the US military has transferred Daesh prisoners to the
Iraqi-Syrian border in order to provide a pretext for its continued presence in
the region.
American
forces used choppers to relocate the Daesh inmates from prisons in Hasakah
province in northeast Syria to the Iraqi border, al-Mayadeen reported last week.
The
Trump administration had stepped up its efforts to weaken the anti-terror PMU
and blacklisted the group’s chairman Falih al-Fayyadh in early January.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/23/643648/Iraq-Asa-ib-Saudi-UAE-Baghdad-bombings
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Syria
writes to UN on Israel air raids, stresses right to self-defense
22
January 2021
Syria
has written to the United Nations in protest at a new Israeli aerial assault
that killed four members of a family near the western city of Hama, saying
Damascus reserves the right to defend the Arab state’s sovereignty and
civilians against such acts of aggression.
The
Syria Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday sent letters to the UN
secretary-general, the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council in the
wake of the Israeli missile strikes, which hit targets in the Hama Province in
the early hours of the day.
Syrian
air defenses downed most of the missiles, but the projectiles that hit the
residential areas killed a man, a woman, and their two children.
“Four
other citizens of the same family were wounded, and a number of homes belonging
to innocent civilians were destroyed,” the letters said.
The
ministry further said the Israeli attacks constitute a flagrant violation of
Syria’s sovereignty and international law.
It
also slammed the international community, especially those who call themselves
advocates of human rights, for remaining tight-lipped in the face of Israeli
aggression, saying the deafening silence only emboldens the occupying regime in
Tel Aviv to keep up its attacks “in suspicious coincidence with the crimes of
terrorist groups.”
The
Syrian ministry further called on the United Nations and its Human Rights
Council to assume their responsibilities and condemn Israeli raids, which pose
a serious threat to regional security and stability.
Syria,
it added, reserves the legitimate right to defend its citizens and national
sovereignty via all legitimate means, which are guaranteed by international law
and conventions.
Israel
frequently targets military positions inside Syria, especially those of the
Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement, which has helped Syrian army in its
fight against foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorists.
The
Tel Aviv regime mostly keeps quiet about the attacks on Syrian territories which
many view as a reaction to Syrian government’s increasing success in on the
battlefield against the terror groups, many of which have the support of Israel
in their push against the Damascus government.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/22/643624/Syria-Israeli-aggression-UN
--------
UK
MPs call for investigation into British company with possible link to Beirut
blast
22
January 2021
Two
senior British parliamentarians called on Friday for an investigation into a
British-registered company possibly linked to last year’s devastating explosion
in Beirut, after Reuters found that the firm had not disclosed its beneficial
owners.
The
company, Savaro, is registered at a London address, and like all British firms
is required to list who owns it with Britain’s companies register, known as
Companies House.
For
all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
In an
e-mail to Reuters this week, the woman listed as Savaro’s owner and sole
director at Companies House, Marina Psyllou, told Reuters that she was acting
as an agent on behalf of another beneficial owner, whose identity she could not
disclose.
“The
person who was and has always been the UBO (ultimate beneficial owner) of the
company was always the same. As you should be aware, we cannot disclose his
name,” she said. She did not say why she could not disclose his identity.
Global
corporate governance rules define a UBO as someone who receives the benefits of
an entity’s transactions, typically owning a minimum of 25 percent of its
capital.
Margaret
Hodge, a British lawmaker and former cabinet minister who headed parliament’s
public affairs committee from 2010-2015, called the apparent failure to list
Savaro’s ultimate beneficiary at Companies House “outrageous.”
“The
UK authorities should investigate this, given inaccurate information appears to
have been filed. We need to challenge formation agents where it appears they
may have acted improperly.”
John
Mann, a member of Britain’s House of Lords who has investigated the use of
UK-registered companies in illicit activity, said the case showed the need for
stronger enforcement of Britain’s company disclosure rules.
“It
is shocking and very damaging to the reputation of the United Kingdom that
Companies House and our national system of company registration can be so
easily exploited,” he said.
Psyllou,
who provides corporate registrations for clients through her own Cyprus
company, Interstatus, said in a follow-up e-mail to Reuters on Thursday that
her company “strictly complies with legislations and reports to relevant
Regulators.”
She
also denied this week that Savaro could have been linked to the Lebanon
explosion, saying she believed it had never done any business: “As far as we
know the company in question, ever since its registration it remained dormant
without any trading or other activity or keeping any bank accounts as the
project for which it was incorporated was never realized.” She gave no further
information about the company’s intended purpose.
Fertilizer
Shipment
A
Reuters investigation last year into the Beirut blast that killed 200 people
found that the huge shipment of ammonium nitrate fertilizer that exploded in
Lebanon had been held in Beirut while en route to Mozambique. The Mozambican
buyer, FEM, identified the company it bought it from as Savaro.
A
Lebanese source said a sales contract for the fertilizer identified Savaro, and
listed it at the London address where the company was then registered with the
UK authorities.
Tracing
the shipment could ultimately depend on unravelling exactly who stands behind
Savaro, said Ben Cowdock, who investigates international corruption for
Transparency International in London.
Under
legal changes in 2016 -- introduced as part of an anti-corruption campaign by
Prime Minister David Cameron -- that should be a straightforward matter of
looking the information up with Companies House, Cowdock added.
Psyllou’s
firm Interstatus has been listed since 2006 as the company secretary for
Savaro, responsible for fulfilling its reporting requirements, and another
Interstatus company was initially listed as Savaro’s owner.
In
July 2016, three months after the Cameron-era rule change requiring companies
to list their beneficial owners, Savaro updated its records to name Psyllou
herself as the owner.
Lawmakers
Hodge and Mann both called on Britain’s business ministry to investigate what
they said appeared to be a breach of the disclosure rules. The business
ministry declined to comment, saying it does not discuss individual companies.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2021/01/23/UK-MPs-call-for-investigation-into-British-company-with-possible-link-to-Beirut-blast
--------
Arab
Coalition intercepts missile, drone attack targeting Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh
23 January 2021
The
Arabi Coalition intercepted an apparent missile or drone attack over Saudi
Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.
Social
media users posted video of what appeared to be an explosion in the air over
Riyadh. Saudi state TV quoted authorities in the kingdom acknowledging the
interception.
The
Houthis have held Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, since September 2014.
Riyadh
has been targeted in sporadic missile attacks, while the Houthis also have
launched missile and drone strikes.
Western
experts, Saudi Arabia and the US say Iran has supplied arms, including
ballistic missiles to the Houthis. Iran denies that, though devices in the
weapons link back to Tehran.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2021/01/23/Arab-Coalition-intercepts-missile-drone-attack-targeting-Saudi-Arabia-s-Riyadh-
--------
Arab
Coalition thwarts two attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis
22
January 2021
The
Arab Coalition fighting against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement said had it
thwarted two attacks by the Houthis on Friday morning, including destroying an
explosive-laden boat in the southern Red Sea, Saudi state TV said on Twitter.
The
coalition also intercepted and destroyed an explosive-laden drone launched by
the Houthis towards Saudi Arabia, state TV channel Ekhbariya said on Twitter.
The
Saudi-led coalition since 2015 has fought the Iran-aligned Houthi movement,
which has launched cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2021/01/22/Arab-Coalition-thwarts-two-attacks-by-Yemen-s-Iran-backed-Houthis
--------
Saudi
Embassy in Qatar to open within ‘days,’ says Prince Faisal bin Farhan
21
January 2021
Saudi
Arabia will open its embassy in Doha within “days,” Foreign Minister Prince
Faisal bin Farhan told Al Arabiya Thursday.
“All
four countries are in agreement on the importance of reconciliation with
Qatar,” Prince Faisal added, in reference to Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.
The
Arab Quartet cut ties with Qatar in June 2017 over its relationship with Iran
and funding for radical Islamist movements.
Saudi
Arabia formally reopened its airspace and land and sea borders to Qatar on
January 4, with commercial flights resuming between Riyadh and Doha as of
January 14.
The
AlUla Declaration, signed at the conclusion of the GCC Summit earlier this
month, put an end to the Gulf dispute.
Leaders
of the six-member GCC signed documents named after the Saudi city where this
year’s regional summit was held and a final communique.
On
Thursday, Prince Faisal voiced his optimism that the agreement would be
executed. “We believe all parties that signed the AlUla Declaration have the
intention of implementing it,” he told Al Arabiya.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2021/01/21/Saudi-Embassy-in-Doha-to-open-within-days-says-Prince-Faisal-bin-Farhan
--------
Mideast
Palestinians
defy Israeli crackdown to stage new anti-settlement protests
22
January 2021
Palestinians
have staged several anti-settlement protests in the occupied West Bank, defying
a heavy-handed crackdown by Israeli forces.
Israeli
forces attacked a protest in the village of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus City, on
Friday.
Shehab
News Agency quoted local sources as saying that protesters were heading toward
the area where a settlement outpost had recently been established in the
village when the Israeli troopers fired a barrage of sound bombs and tear gas
at them and blocked the road to the outpost.
Meanwhile,
tens of Palestinians suffered breathing difficulties in Kafr Qaddum, east of Qalqilya
City, due to inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli troops during clashes with
participants in the latest of weekly protests in the village.
A
protester was also hit by a rubber bullet fired by the Israeli forces in Kafr
Qaddum.
Palestinian
sources said clashes also erupted in the village of Deir Jarir, east of
Ramallah City, on Friday after Israeli forces violently suppressed a rally by
Palestinians.
An
unspecified number of Palestinians were also injured by rubber bullets during
the clashes.
The
rally came as Israeli settlers, under the protection of regime forces, set up a
tent in the al-Shorfa Mountain area in the village last month and began
construction work for a new settlement.
More
than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli
occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem
al-Quds.
Emboldened
by the anti-Palestine policies of former US president Donald Trump, Israel
stepped up its settlement expansion in defiance of United Nations Security
Council Resolution 2334, which pronounces settlements in the West Bank and East
Jerusalem al-Quds “a flagrant violation under international law.”
All
Israeli settlements are illegal under international law as they are built on
occupied land.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/22/643615/Palestinians-defy-Israeli-crackdown-to-stage-new-anti-settlement-protests
--------
FM
Slams Persian Gulf Arab States' Futile Clinging to Trump
2021-January-22
Zarif
expressed regret that a few regional governments lost the opportunity to
cooperate with Iran due to relying on the former US administration of Donald
Trump, adding, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has always sought to have friendly
relations with Persian Gulf littoral states.”
“This
region belongs to all of us and its security is in the interest of all of
us," he added.
Zarif
stressed that the regional countries should know that they and Iran will stay
in this region and others will be gone.
In
relevant remarks last year, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah
Seyed Ali Khamenei, in a meeting with visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad Al-Thani in Tehran, called upon all neighboring countries of the region
to rely on intra-regional capacities to stop the US from throwing the region
into further mayhem.
During
the January 12, 2020 meeting with Sheikh Tamim, Ayatollah Khamenei said corrupt
actions taken by the United States and its allies are the main cause of the
current situation in the region, urging regional countries to boost cooperation
to undo such actions.
Describing
the current conditions in the region as unfavorable, Ayatollah Khamenei said,
“The reason behind this situation in corrupt actions taken by American and its
allies and the only way to counter it is to rely on inter-regional
cooperation.”
In
another part of his remarks, the Leader pointed to good political ties between
Iran and Qatar, saying, "The two countries' economic relations are not on
the same level as political relations and Iran-Qatar cooperation should further
improve in common fields."
"The
Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly announced and Mr. President [Hassan
Rouhani] has also explicitly stated that Iran is ready for closer cooperation
with regional countries," Ayatollah Khamenei noted.
The
Leader stated, "Of course, some parties who have come to this region from
across the world are not interested in the expansion of cooperation among
regional countries, but this issue has nothing to do with them and regional
countries and nations do not accept such bullying and interference
anymore."
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991103000287/FM-Slams-Persian-Glf-Arab-Saes'-File-Clinging-Trmp
--------
Terrorist
Captured by IRGC in Western Iran
2021-January-23
The
IRGC Ground Force's Najaf Ashraf Base announced in a statement on Friday that
following vast intelligence operations, the foreign-backed terrorist who had
assassinated Head of Traffic Police of Ravansar County of Kermanshah Province
Major Hassan Maleki has been arrested.
The
statement added that the terrorist has been handed to Iran’s Judiciary.
On
August 15, 2018, a foreign-backed element shot dead Major Maleki in Ravansar in
front of his young child.
The
perpetrator shot the officer several times and martyred him after he had broken
the door at him.
Back
in October, IRGC Hamzeh Seyed al-Shohada Base had also announced that its
forces launched two operations against terrorist and counterrevolutionary
elements in Kurdistan province, killing three and arresting one more.
Hamzeh
Seyed al-Shohada base said in a statement that during two successful operations
against terrorist and counter-revolutionary groups in Kamyaran and Marivan
counties of Kurdistan province, three terrorists were killed three others injured
one of whom was captured.
The
statement added that large amounts of weapons, ammunition, and communication
equipment have also been seized by the brave forces of the base.
The
statement also said that the captured terrorist is s foreign national.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991103000476/Terrris-Capred-by-IRGC-in-Wesern-Iran
--------
FM:
Iran's UN Membership Payment Hindered by US’ Obstructionism
2021-January-22
“We
should have paid $16 million to settle our debts to the UN and secure our right
to vote,” Zarif said on Friday, adding, “The government allocated the fund and
urged that the country’s frozen assets in South Korea be used [for the
purpose], but the US blocked the payment to the UN account.”
He
said that Iran’s unpaid membership dues are the only reason the UN General
Assembly has stripped Tehran of its right to vote.
Article
19 of the UN Charter stresses that a member state in arrears in the payment of
its dues in an amount that equals or exceeds the contributions due for two
preceding years can lose its vote in the General Assembly.
According
to a statement by the UN General Assembly on 13 January 2021, ten member states
are subject to the provisions of Article 19 of the Charter, which include
Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Libya, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe,
Somalia, South Sudan, Zimbabwe and Iran.
In
relevant remarks on Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh
said Tehran has regularly paid its UN membership fees during the past years
despite illegal sanctions imposed by the US.
“During
recent years, despite restrictions caused by unilateral US sanctions, the
Islamic Republic of Iran has always used few remaining financial channels to
pay its UN membership dues,” Saeed Khatibzadeh said on January 17.
He added
that during the current year, Iran has been in talks with the UN treasury,
urging the world body to replace a safe transaction channel after the US
blocked the previous channels used by Tehran to transfer money.
“Iran’s
latest proposal in this regard was to settle arrears using the country's
blocked funds in South Korea," the spokesman said, noting that Central
Bank of Iran (CBI) has approved the option and talks on using it are underway
with the UN secretariat.
He
also stressed that Iran insists on the UN not to use an American bank as the
“intermediary” for transfer of Iran’s payment because of the bleak history of
the US in encroaching on Iran’s international money, otherwise the UN should
guarantee the transaction channel’s security.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991103000393/FM-Iran's-UN-Membership-Paymen-Hindered-by-US%E2%80%99-Obsrcinism
--------
Iranian
human rights lawyer moved back to notorious prison after surgery: Husband
Yaghoub
Fazeli
22
January 2021
Prominent
Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was moved back to prison this week
after being temporarily released due to health concerns, her husband has
revealed.
Sotoudeh,
57, returned to the notorious Qarchak prison just days after she underwent an
angiogram at a hospital in Tehran, her husband Reza Khandan said.
“Unfortunately,
the conditions of prisoners in Iran are miserable, and prisoners with physical
problems and illnesses have it worse,” wrote on Twitter.
Sotoudeh,
a winner of the European Parliament’s Sakharov prize, was arrested in 2018 on
espionage charges, spreading propaganda, and insulting Iran’s supreme leader.
She denies all charges.
In
2019, Sotoudeh was sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes.
Last
September, Sotoudeh ended a 46-day hunger strike to protest the risk that
political prisoners in Iran face amid the coronavirus pandemic due to
deteriorating health.
Protests
erupted in several Iranian prisons in late March over concerns about the spread
of coronavirus in prisons.
According
to the rights group Amnesty International, around 36 prisoners are believed to
have been killed by security forces during the protests.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2021/01/22/Iranian-human-rights-lawyer-moved-back-to-notorious-prison-after-surgery-Husband
--------
Israeli
settlers leave Palestinian kids bloody, bruised in latest West Bank attack
23
January 2021
Amid
a sharp rise in attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their
property across the occupied territories, two little Palestinian children and
their mother have been wounded after a group of masked Jewish extremists
assaulted their family’s car in the West Bank.
Six-year-old
Palestinian boy Majd sustained injuries to his face after being hit with a rock
on Thursday night, while his three-year-old brother Jad was cut by broken
glass. Their mother’s arm was hurt by another rock thrown at the vehicle. Their
father, Alaa Sawfta, remained relatively unharmed.
The
family had just left their home in the central West Bank city of Ramallah,
located 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of Jerusalem al-Quds, and were on their
way to visit relatives in the northern West Bank city of Tubas when they came
under the extremists’ attack.
Sawafta
said he slowed down and pulled over when two figures on the side of the highway
started motioning their flashlights at his car.
“Just
two seconds after I came to a stop, dozens of people came out of nowhere from
the sides of the road and started attacking the car,” he said.
When
the Palestinian man saw their clothes and that some of them were masked,
carrying knives, bats, large sticks, and huge rocks, he realized his family was
under attack from a group of Israeli settlers.
“They
started throwing large rocks at the car and beating it with sticks and bats and
other objects,” Sawafta said.
He
added, “It was a total pandemonium, the windows were completely shattered, my
wife and kids were screaming and crying, we didn’t know what was going on.”
Sawafta
noted that the settlers at one point started violently pulling at the door handles
from outside the car, in an attempt to open them.
He
finally pressed on the gas pedal and somehow managed to swerve around the
settlers and escape.
Sawafta
then drove his family's car up to an Israeli checkpoint outside the Beit El
settlement, but Israeli soldiers pointed guns at him and cautioned him not to
get any closer when he approached the checkpoint.
“I
started shouting and telling them that we needed help, and showed them my kids
in the car who were covered in blood. I told them we were attacked by settlers
and pleaded with them to call us an ambulance,” he said.
An
Israeli medic on a motorcycle arrived after more than half an hour at the
checkpoint, and gave them first aid until a Palestinian ambulance came and
transported them to a hospital in
Ramallah.
While
Sawafta’s family were in the hospital, a number of other Palestinians came in
for injuries they said were sustained in attacks by the same group of settlers.
“I’m
still in shock over what happened. We didn’t sleep all night, we can’t believe
that we were attacked like that, and that we made it out alive,” Sawafta said.
He
noted that he believes the attack on his family was not a coincidence, but
rather part of a “coordinated effort from settlers in the West Bank against
Palestinians.”
“We
have been seeing attacks like these happening almost every day in the past few
weeks,” Sawafta added.
He
argued that while he plans to file a complaint against the settlers who
attacked his family, he has very little hope for justice.
“The
Israeli authorities who we expect to help us in these situations, are the same
ones who are enabling the settlers to commit this violence,” Sawafta said.
“Who
am I supposed to ask for help, the Israeli police? Maybe they will open an
investigation, but they will eventually close it with no findings, as they
always do.
“At
the end of the day, the settlers have the green light from the Israeli regime
to attack and kill us. And because they are never charged, they will keep doing
it without consequence,” he noted.
According
to Palestine’s official Wafa news agency, three of the attacks on Palestinian
vehicles that took place on Thursday night “occurred in full sight of Israeli
occupation soldiers, who did nothing to stop the settlers and rather provided
them with protection.”
Hani
Nassar, a field researcher for Defense for Children International - Palestine
(DCIP), said the attacks from Israeli settlers from the end of 2020 to the beginning
of 2021 have increased dramatically.
“It
is also very clear that the attacks are being organized and coordinated, not
just among the settlers, but with the soldiers as well,” he noted.
Israeli
human rights organization Yesh Din said they have documented 44 settler attacks
against Palestinians in recent weeks.
Palestinian
Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on Thursday denounced the uptick in Israeli
settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, and described them as
organized terrorism.
He called
on the administration of new US President Joe Biden to intervene and put an end
to the crimes, saying the policies of former President Donald Trump have led to
an upsurge in the Tel Aviv regime’s illegal settlements construction and
expansion activities as well as settler attacks against Palestinians and their
property.
More
than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli
occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem
al-Quds. All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.
According
to human rights groups, acts of violence by Israeli settlers against
Palestinians and their property are a daily occurrence throughout the occupied
West Bank.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/23/643653/Israeli-settlers-leave-Palestinian-kids-bloody-bruised-in-latest-West-Bank-attack
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Europe
EU,
Turkey to work on new roadmap: Top Turkish diplomat
Busra
Nur Bilgic Cakmak
22.01.2021
Turkey
and the EU agreed on working on a roadmap for enhancing relations, the Turkish
foreign minister said Friday.
Speaking
to journalists in Brussels after his two-day working visit, Mevlut Cavusoglu
said "2020 was a problematic year” for relations between Turkey and the EU
but a more positive dialogue has developed since the EU leaders’ meeting in
December.
“We
interpreted the joint statement of the December meeting as a hand extended
towards Turkey and we reciprocate it in a positive way,” said Cavusoglu.
Turkey
is always ready to improve its relations with any party or institution
extending a positive hand, he said, adding that Turkey fulfills its promises.
“But
in relations, of course, one side’s wish or dedication is not enough, and the
EU should also be dedicated. And I'd like to say that in my talks with all my
counterparts, I've witnessed a very positive approach and a will to improve our
relations,” he stressed.
The
presidents of the European Council and Commission will visit Turkey upon
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's invitation for talks on Turkey-EU
relations, Cavusoglu noted.
He
said the migration pact between Turkey and the EU will hit its fifth
anniversary in March but there are still parts of the agreement that the EU has
not fulfilled its commitments.
Visa
liberalization and modernization of Turkey’s 1995 Customs Union with the EU
were part of this agreement and “unfortunately no steps have been taken in this
regard,” said Cavusoglu.
“There
were 72 criteria for the visa liberalization and up until last year we were
able to fulfill 66 of them. So, only six were left outstanding, and before
coming here we looked into the situation again with some colleagues, and only
four are left for the time being,” said Cavusoglu.
"I
think it was because of the impact of certain EU countries which did not want
to establish visa liberalization" that "it did not happen so
far".
"But
we've taken all necessary steps and will continue to do so,” he added.
Cavusoglu
noted that Turkey's EU membership process should also be kept alive, adding
that Ankara is always ready to take steps to fulfill opening and closing
criteria of the negotiation chapters.
Cyprus
issue
Cavusoglu
said the EU expressed willingness to attend the UN-initiated "5+1
unofficial meeting" on Cyprus, between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot
communities, and three guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the UK.
The
EU has always attended these meetings as an observer and they still can, but they
only supported the Greek Cypriots’ rights, while ignoring the rights of the
Turkish Cypriots, he stressed.
“Turkish
Cypriots’ trust should be won back,” said Cavusoglu.
The
island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek Cypriot coup was
followed by violence against the island's Turks and Turkey's intervention as a
guarantor power.
It
has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017
initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Turkey,
Greece, and the UK.
Cavusoglu,
who arrived in Brussels on Wednesday for a two-day visit, met a number of top
EU officials, including European Council President Charles Michel, European
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the bloc’s foreign policy chief
Josep Borrell.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/eu-turkey-to-work-on-new-roadmap-top-turkish-diplomat/2119665
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Man
arrested in Birmingham on suspicion of terrorism offences
Jan
22, 2021
A man
has been arrested on suspicion of collecting and disseminating terrorist
publications.
The
21-year-old was arrested at a property in Birmingham on Wednesday, West
Midlands Police said.
He
was taken to a local police station where he remains in custody, the spokesman
added.
The
arrest is part of an on-going investigation and there is not believed to be any
imminent threat to the public.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-55757439?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1927205_
--------
Far-right
terrorism in Germany: Walter Lübcke's murder and the NSU
21.01.2021
Ben
Knight
The
lawyer defending Stephan E.*, the neo-Nazi on trial for the assassination of
regional governor Walter Lübcke , has made his final statement to the court
ahead of next week's verdict. In the hope of shortening his client's prison
term, attorney Mustafa Kaplan argued that the defendant should be found guilty
of manslaughter rather than murder.
Lübcke,
a conservative politician in the state of Hesse who defended Chancellor Angela
Merkel's refugee policies in the 2015 crisis, was shot dead on the porch of his
home in June 2019. Stephan E. confessed to the killing, though he told the
court that he had been helped by his erstwhile friend and co-defendant, Markus
H., another known neo-Nazi, who has denied involvement.
For
many observers, among them state prosecutor Dieter Killmer, Lübcke's killing
could only be understood as the latest of a series of far-right terrorist attacks
in Germany dating back to the Oktoberfest bombing in the 1980s.
But
those attacks are not random. For the past 20 years, Germans have learned more
and more about an underground network of neo-Nazis who are prepared to
assassinate politicians, stockpile weapons, compile lists of the addresses of
perceived enemies, and plant nail bombs in minority communities.
The
most spectacular evidence of this came to light in 2011, when it emerged that
three terrorists calling themselves the National Socialist Underground (NSU)
had committed 10 murders and several bombings over the previous decade without
ever being officially identified, let alone caught.
In
the intervening years, a little light has been shed on some of the questions
raised by the subsequent investigation: Who helped the NSU? What did Germany's
domestic intelligence agency, known as the BfV, know? Why were the police
apparently ignorant of the NSU's existence?
But
the answers have consistently raised new questions. Most recently, new
connections have emerged between the NSU and the case of the two men currently
on trial in Frankfurt for Lübcke's murder.
Though
there is no proof that they ever met the members of the NSU, it has become
clear that they moved in the same circles, shared acquaintances in the regional
neo-Nazi scene, and pursued similar criminal activities.
According
to a new article by the German investigative outlet Correctiv, the defendant in
the Lübcke case had about 60 contacts in the far-right scene, at least four of
whom were investigated in connection with the NSU murders.
In a
statement to DW, Hesse's state intelligence agency, reported that dozens of
people who met both Markus H. and Stephan E. were currently being investigated,
but the agency insisted there was no evidence that either of them met or helped
the NSU.
There
are plenty of circumstantial similarities between the Lübcke case and the NSU
crimes. Like the NSU, Stephan E. compiled lists of enemies, potential targets.
Some of the names appear on both lists. Like the NSU, Stephan E. carried out
his alleged murder with a single point-blank gun-shot to the head. Like the
NSU, Stephan E. built and detonated nail bombs. Like the NSU, the defendants in
the Lübcke case, engaged in firearms training. The NSU had a large stash of arms
and ammunition. Police also found a stockpile of illegally acquired weapons in
Stephan E.'s possession, including five handguns, two rifles, 1,400 rounds of
ammunition, and an automatic rifle.
'A
helper network'
And
yet there are other questions plaguing authorities: Could Lübcke's murder have
been prevented? What did the intelligence agencies know about the two
defendants, both of whom were prominent neo-Nazis with a history of violence?
And could they have helped the NSU commit the one murder the group committed on
its doorstep: That of 21-year-old Halit Yozgat in April 2006 in an internet
cafe in Kassel (the city Lübcke later governed)? "We are still convinced
there was a helper network in Kassel at the time, and that this murder was at
least logistically supported," Hermann Schaus, a member of the Left party
who served on the Hesse state parliament's committee to investigate the NSU,
told DW.
The
answer to all these questions may be in the files of the Hesse intelligence
agency, which maintains informants in the neo-Nazi scene.
Schaus
is now also on the committee investigating Lübcke's murder. For him, the
associations are all too obvious — in fact, at one hearing for the NSU
committee in 2016, he actually discussed the two neo-Nazis now accused of murdering
Lübcke.
"My
team and I noticed the names Stephan E. and Markus H. in the Verfassungsschutz
documents at the time," he said. "We had already noticed that they
were especially militant, but at the time the Verfassungschutz had assessed
them as having 'cooled off' — in other words, they were no longer considered
dangerous."
That
remains an "explosive" question, Schaus said: "Why did we, as
politicians — as amateurs, so to speak — turn out to be right, when the
Verfassungsschutz was wrong?"
Schaus
first learned about Stephan E. and Markus H. in 2016, three years before
Lübcke's murder, from a 15-page intelligence dossier dated in 2009 that tracked
neo-Nazis in Hesse.
"The
description of Stephan E. and his readiness to commit violence — that was very
noticeable," Schaus said. As the dossier showed, there was plenty to
suggest that Stephan E. could turn out to be a terrorist: He put a pipe bomb in
the cellar of a German-Turkish boy's home as a teenager, stabbed an imam in
1992, put another pipe bomb in a car outside a home for asylum applicants in
1993, and in 2009 was in of a crowd of neo-Nazis that attacked a leftist May 1
demonstration in Dortmund.
The
mystery of the missing files
After
he read that dossier, Schaus invited the officer who wrote it to testify to the
committee as a
witness.
"I remember asking the officer whether she thought Stephan E. should be
considered a right-wing terrorist," Schaus said. "She couldn't
confirm that."
But
then something odd happened when Schaus asked her how she had prepared for the
hearing: The officer told the committee that she had looked for the
intelligence reports on the two men, and found that the files on Stephan E. and
Markus H. were no longer in the system.
"So
I asked: 'What do you mean no longer there? Have the files been deleted?'"
Schaus said. "First she said, 'Yes.' Then: 'I don't know — in any case,
they're no longer in the Verfassungsschutz system.'"
Much
later, after the committee had ended its work, it emerged that the intelligence
agency had deleted its files on Stephan E. and Markus H. in June 2016 — the
same month that Schaus made his information request regarding the dossier that
mentioned them. It's not clear whether the deletion happened before or after
the request arrived. "It could be a coincidence," Schaus said.
"But that's going to be one of the crucial questions on the
committee." If it happened shortly afterward, it could indicate that
someone in the intelligence agency was seeking to shield the two men.
As it
happens, only the computer files were deleted (which is why the officer
couldn't find them when she was preparing for her hearing), but a paper copy of
the files was kept and stored away, because of a moratorium on shredding
intelligence documents introduced in 2012 following the NSU scandal. "If
it hadn't been for that scandal, all those files would've been lost
forever," Schaus said. "We should have been given them earlier."
The
only problem is: The state of Hesse opted to seal those files for 30 years. All
that is known about them is that Stephan E. is mentioned multiple times.
https://www.dw.com/en/far-right-terrorism-in-germany-walter-l%C3%BCbckes-murder-and-the-nsu/a-56304776?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1927205_
--------
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