Zakir Naik Backs Demolition of Temple in Pakistan, Says 'Temples Should Not Be Allowed In an Islamic Country'
New
Age Islam News Bureau
02
January 2021
Zakir Naik
----
•
British Muslim Group Plans Legal Action against the Forced COVID-19 Cremations
In Sri Lanka
•
'Anti-Love Jihad' Law Sparks Controversy in Agra after Ex-IAS Officers' Letter
to CM Yogi
•
The Taliban Is Using Bomber Drones as a Psychological Weapon
•
Why Has Indonesia Banned the Islamic Defender’s Front Or FPI?
•
French Policy in West Africa ‘Silent On Human Rights’
•
Iran Tells IAEA It Plans To Enrich Uranium Up To 20pc
Pakistan
•
Zakir Naik Backs Demolition of Temple in Pakistan, Says 'Temples Should Not Be
Allowed In an Islamic Country'
•
Pakistan Urges UN to Prevent Kashmiri Leader and Human Rights Activist
Andrabi’s ‘Judicial Murder’
•
FO rubbishes India's 'unwarranted concerns' regarding state of minority rights
in Pakistan
•
Imran Khan says his govt wants to learn from China's development model to
eradicate poverty
•
No extradition treaty with UK, can only cancel Nawaz Sharif’s passport: Pak
minister
•
PDM's long march to Islamabad could also be to Rawalpindi: Fazl
•
NSG assailed for treating Pakistan, India differently on membership
-----
Europe
•
British Muslim Group Plans Legal Action against the Forced COVID-19 Cremations
In Sri Lanka
•
German mosque attacked for second time in two weeks
-----
India
•
'Anti-Love Jihad' Law Sparks Controversy in Agra after Ex-IAS Officers' Letter
to CM Yogi
•
DMK’s Invite to invitation to AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi Upsets Workers of TN
Muslim Parties
•
Indian, Afghan Clerics Jointly Call On Taliban To Stop Attacks On Civilians
•
Now, Gujarat Too Plans an 'Anti-Love Jihad' Law
•
As BJP Protests, Bengaluru Stalls Plan To Rename 11 Roads In Muslim Areas After
Muslim Leaders
•
Terror module busted in Reasi, one arrested
•
8 civilians injured after terrorists hurl grenade on security forces in J-K’s
Pulwama
•
Mehbooba Mufti is pro-separatist, shouldn’t talk about rights abuse: BJP leader
-----
South
Asia
•
The Taliban Is Using Bomber Drones as a Psychological Weapon
•
6 Taliban, Shadow Governor Killed by Own Explosive Device
•
Two Separate Attacks Claim Civil Society Activist, Tribal Leader
•
Supreme Court Puts KU Attack ‘Mastermind’ on Death Row
•
Afghan radio journalist shot dead in car ambush, fifth media person to be
killed
-----
Southeast
Asia
•
Why Has Indonesia Banned the Islamic Defender’s Front Or FPI?
•
Halal meat scandal: Malaysian authorities slammed for perceived inaction
•
Indonesia Potentially Set To Take On China And Claim Leadership Of ‘Moderate’
Islam
-----
Africa
•
French Policy in West Africa ‘Silent On Human Rights’
•
Peacekeeping Mission in Sudan’s Darfur Ends: Spokesman
•
Algeria’s president signs new constitution into law
•
Ethiopia: Human rights abuses after singer’s killing
-------
Mideast
•
Iran Tells IAEA It Plans To Enrich Uranium Up To 20pc
•
Israeli army fire paralyzes 24-year-old Palestinian man in West Bank: Ministry
•
Soleimani’s killers will ‘not be safe on Earth,’ says Iran’s judiciary chief
•
Yemen war: Saudi attack on wedding kills five civilians in Hudaydah
•
Hamas says new efforts underway to resume national dialog among Palestinian
factions
•
Israeli troops attack anti-settlement Palestinian protesters in West Bank
-----
North
America
•
Donations Coming In To Rebuild Missouri Mosque That Burned
•
Retired FBI Agent, Ex-Icoca Board Members Disgusted With Trump Backwater
Pardons
•
Venezuela's Maduro Plans To Further Expand Ties with Iran, Other Allies in New
Year
•
Pompeo sanctions Cuba bank for alleged links to country's military
•
US pulls warship from Mideast amid Iran tensions
-----
Arab
World
•
New Year’s Eve celebratory gunfire kills Syrian refugee in Lebanon
•
Qatar urges UN to stop violation of territorial waters by Bahraini vessels
•
Car bomb hits near Russia base in Syria’s Raqqah: Monitoring group
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/zakir-naik-backs-demolition-temple/d/123958
-----
Zakir
Naik Backs Demolition of Temple in Pakistan, Says 'Temples Should Not Be
Allowed In an Islamic Country'
Jan
02, 2021
Zakir Naik
----
New
Delhi: Wanted Islamic televangelist Dr Zakir Naik in his latest video has
supported the demolition of an old Hindu temple in Pakistan's Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa saying temples should not be allowed to be constructed in an
Islamic country.
On
December 30, a mob of over a hundred people led by local Muslim clerics from
radical Islamist party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam destroyed and set on fire a Hindu
temple in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
A
viral video clip on social media showed a violent mob destroying the walls and
roof of the temple.
'Temples
should not be allowed to be constructed in an Islamic country'
The
mob incited by a local cleric was part of a rally organised by Jamiat Ulema-e
Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), a Sunni Deobandi political party in Pakistan. As per the
reports, speakers delivered inflammatory speeches after which the mob stormed
the temple, set it ablaze, and razed it to the ground.
On
Friday, India lodged a formal protest with Pakistan via diplomatic channels
against the vandalisation and demolition of a Hindu temple there and conveyed
that the neighbouring country should investigate the matter and take strict
action against those responsible.
This
is not the first time Naik has sparked controversy through his videos.
'Haram
according to Sharia'
Last
year in July, he slammed the Imran Khan government saying it had committed a
sin by giving permission for the construction of a Krishna temple in Islamabad.
According
to Sharia, it is haram for an Islamic nation to pay or donate to a worship
house of a non-Muslim, said Naik.
The
Islamic preacher, who fled India to Malaysia in 2016, further said that all
Muslim scholars, imams and ulemas are of the same opinion and there are several
fatwas (rulings) regarding this.
Last
year, the United States placed Pakistan on a list of "countries of
particular concern" for religious freedom violations.
Minorities
in Pakistan regularly face persecution with more than 1000 women abducted and
forcefully converted to Islam every year.
https://www.timesnownews.com/international/article/zakir-naik-backs-demolition-of-temple-in-pakistan-says-temples-should-not-be-allowed-in-an-islamic-country/701983
--------
British
Muslim Group Plans Legal Action against the Forced COVID-19 Cremations In Sri
Lanka
January
01, 2021
A woman holds a placard and joins pro-government
Sri Lankan Buddhist monks during a protest outside president's office, asking
the government not to review the policy for mandatory cremation of Muslim
COVID-19 victims in Colombo | AP
------
Ever
since the COVID-19 pandemic reached Sri Lanka in March, the island nation's
government decided to ban burials for victims of the virus, stipulating cremation
as the only means to dispose of infected victims.
The
mandatory cremation policy had evoked protests from the minority Christian and
Muslim populations, who mostly practise burial. On December 30, the Muslim
Council of Britain, an umbrella group with over 500 Islamic groups affiliated
to it, announced it would launch legal action against the "forced
cremations" in Sri Lanka.
A
press release by the MCB claimed "over 100 Muslims" had been forcibly
cremated. The MCB release said, "The forced cremations of Muslim bodies in
Sri Lanka are a serious violation of the religious freedom of a minority group.
It is a violation of international law to delay returning a family member’s
body for burial in a timely way unless there is good reason to do so. In this case,
the Sri Lankan authorities have departed from the World Health Organisation’s
recommendation for the safe management of a dead body during the coronavirus
pandemic without any justification."
The
MCB claimed it is now preparing to bring this matter to the urgent attention of
the United Nations Human Rights Committee for resolution.
A
group of Christian and Muslim families had appealed in Sri Lanka's Supreme
Court against the forcible cremation policy, but the court junked the plea in
December. Hard-line Buddhist groups have called on the government to continue
the mandatory cremation policy.
Meanwhile,
as the debate about mandatory cremations continues, the College of Community
Physicians of Sri Lanka issued a statement on December 31, stating there was no
solid evidence that burial of COVID-19 victims would increase the spread of the
virus.
The
College referred to over 85,000 pieces of published literature on COVID-19 to
claim there had not been a single case of the virus being transmitted via a
dead body.
As
of Thursday, Sri Lanka had recorded 43,299 cases of COVID-19; 204 people have
died from the virus.
https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2021/01/01/sri-lanka-british-muslim-group-plans-legal-action-over-covid-19-cremations.html
--------
'Anti-Love
Jihad' law sparks controversy in Agra after ex-IAS officers' letter to CM Yogi
Siraj
Qureshi
January
1, 2021
Within
a month of the Uttar Pradesh government bringing an ordinance against the
so-called Love Jihad -- forced religious conversion of Hindu girls and women
for/through marriage and other means -- about 35 persons have been arrested,
sparking a controversy in Agra.
Bhartiya
Muslim Vikas Parishad chairperson Sami Aghai said the ordinance was
unconstitutional. "The Supreme Court has ruled that adults have the right
to live with each other and change their faith. Whether they are married or not
is a secondary question," he said.
Sami
Aghai said the ordinance targets ordinary Muslims who fall in love with Hindu
girls and want to marry them. He welcomed the recent letter written by 104
former IAS officers to UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath for a rollback of the
ordinance.
He
said that the letter has made it clear that the ordinance promotes politics of
hatred and is against the secular fabric of the country. "The letter
mentions the harassment of several people including a couple in Moradabad which
was caught at the marriage registrar's office and handed over to the police
with the charge that the man was forcing the woman to change her name," he
said.
IN
SUPPORT OF LAW
Social
activist Deep Sharma, however, said the law may have some objectionable
provisions but there have indeed been several cases of Love Jihad and only such
a law can stop it.
Hindustani
Biradari secretary Ziauddin said citizens must respect Indian culture and
traditions of other faiths. "Forced conversions are unacceptable and
conversion for marriage is invalid," he said.
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/-anti-love-jihad-law-controversy-agra-ex-ias-officers-letter-cm-yogi-1755134-2021-01-01
--------
The
Taliban is using bomber drones as a psychological weapon
Jan
2, 2021
With
no way to shoot down the Taliban’s drones, Afghan security forces face a hidden
but deadly psychological weapon today that is likely to grow into an effective
threat in the future.
As
far back as 2016, the Taliban have used camera-bearing drones to shoot
propaganda films. In early October 2020, they graduated to bomb-laden drones to
wage war on their enemies.
While
their attacks are few in number, the new tactic presents evidence of the
adaptability and resilience of the group which arguably survived the American
invasion of Afghanistan. More concerningly, it reflects a strategic intent to
continue building fighting capacity in spite of being involved in peace negotiations
with the Afghan government.
“It
was very obvious that the Taliban were going to imitate American drone warfare,
because what we’ve seen for a couple of years, not just in Afghanistan but also
in other regions where Americans have waged war, is that militant groups try to
imitate this kind of warfare,” says Emran Firoz, a drone expert who spoke to
TRT World.
Unprecedented
even in modern combat, the use of commercial drones casts a shadow in their
opponents mind that is larger than their size. For government forces, the
Taliban drones are the spearhead of psychological warfare that causes opponents
to ask if they are facing a better-equipped and more advanced enemy.
“Obviously,
it’s not the same technology,” says Firoz. “You can’t compare commercial drones
with American Reaper drones... but they try to show off and say we can also do
this. We can use drones, we have our special forces who are heavily equipped
and look kind of like American special forces.”
Displaying
remarkable adaptivity, the bombs dropped by these commercial drones continue to
improve at a steady rate. They run the gamut from dropped mortar shells that
explode on impact by default, to improvised munitions made out of plastic
explosive-packed Pepsi bottles with a trigger in the bottle’s cap, to modified
grenade shells meant to be fired from a grenade launcher.
Without
stabilizer fins, the munition is more likely to tumble in the air, not
guaranteed the impact on its nose that causes detonation. To solve this,
Taliban ‘engineers’ began to attach feathered badminton shuttlecocks to the
back of explosives. Not isolated to one region, Taliban drone attacks are
seeing action on multiple fronts throughout Afghanistan, specifically in
Paktia’s districts of Mirzaka and Zurmat, Baraki Barak, Balkh, Faryab, Charkh, and Pul-i Alam, and northern Kunduz.
What
kind of drones is the Taliban using?
No
one really knows, but given at least one captured model and the sound of rotors
reported by survivors of attacks, it seems likely that the Taliban are using commercially
available quadcopter drones which can be manned remotely.
More
explicitly, Taliban propaganda itself has no qualms with showing off its new
toys. A video shared in January 2020 shows off a weaponized DJI Matrice 210
outfitted with a powerful Zenmuse Z30 zoom camera and a munition dropping
mechanism. But matters may not be as clear cut as first glance may suggest.
In
the video, the speaker claims the drone was actually seized by the Taliban in
Afghanistan’s Helmand province after it had been allegedly used against them by
an unnamed third party. This is strange, given the lack of anti-Taliban groups
using commercial drones or weaponized drones to begin with. It’s worth noting
that Afghanistan’s army tested surveillance drones in the same province in
2016, but they were much larger Boeing Insitu ScanEagle variants.
Where
are the Taliban getting their drones?
Drones
are relatively easy to procure on the market. But in spite of that, there has
been speculation that they come by way of Pakistan. In truth, Afghan officials
have often been incorrect and quick to
claim military equipment used by Taliban originates from Pakistan and other
states.
A
more telling indicator of their origin can be found in the words of Ahmad Zia
Saraj, head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS). On November 23 he
vowed to prohibit the import of commercial drones into Afghanistan to prevent
such attacks.
But
in spite of this, they’re still relatively easy to get. “There are many black
markets, even in Afghanistan, from Pakistan or even China which is producing a
lot of drones and exporting them all over the world, both weaponized or
commercial drones.” says Firoz.
Such
drones are readily available in most countries, ranging from $700 for a used
drone seen in one propaganda video to nearly $6,500 for an advanced, new drone.
While not inexpensive by any measure, the drones are still affordable for a
large group such as the Taliban.
Poor
man’s air force
The
Taliban reportedly brought in US$1.6 billion in their last fiscal year which
ended in March 2020, according to Mullah Yaqoob, son of the late Taliban
spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, compared to the Afghan government’s
$5.55 billion during the same period.
In
light of this, the Taliban are more than able to competitively build their own
‘poor man’s air force.’ Unlike most weapon parts or platforms, the absence
of serial numbers or unique identifiers
on commercial drones means procuring and smuggling them can be easily masked.
Weaponizing
them is even easier, requiring basic DIY handiness and familiarity with
explosives.
The
question remains: why did the Taliban start arming drones only recently, in
spite of using commercial drones to film suicide attacks or propaganda footage
for significant time?
Imitating
the invader
For
Emran Firoz, it’s still about the “Americanization of war,” as militant groups
“try to use similar weapons, warfighting style, just copying this warfare that
is considered advanced because that’s how you make war in the 21st century,” he
notes.
It’s
also about the narrative.
“A
few days ago, a Taliban member I know claimed they were just targeting the
Afghan military but no civilians. It’s the same narrative used by everyone,
even Americans, which is a lie. It’s the same regarding the Taliban,” adds
Firoz.
One
possible explanation is the growth of younger tech-savvy Taliban members, or
possibly their inspiration by ISIL's use of weaponized commercial drones in
Syria and Iraq in 2017
“At
the moment, the impacts are not huge,” says Firoz. If they continue to improve
them or scale up their use, they could prove to be terrorizing weapons.
Grim
prospects
Commercial
drones can’t lift heavy objects. For a weaponized drone, that limits the size
of its explosive payload. But if the Taliban are able to procure stronger
drones, or learn to deliver payloads more accurately, the effects could be
devastating.
In
Syria, nearly 208 commercial drone strikes were recorded in 2017 alone. They
were also used in Iraq to devastating effect as far back as October 2016,
assassinating a governor by flying into his home in one instance, and
destroying a tank in another. Not only used to deliver explosive payloads,
drones were also used to guide terrifying heavily armored suicide vehicles
(VBIED) whose drivers could only barely see through the steel plates meant to
protect suicide bombers from defensive measures.
More
dangerously, their role as a psychological weapon cannot be underestimated.
Videos from Syria show soldiers abandoning their posts moments after hearing the
tell-tale buzz of a commercial drone. Coupled with reports that Afghan
government forces have previously vacated positions without a fight, weaponized
drones could be the latest blow to government forces’ morale.
For
Afghanistan, the drone threat is real; and the Taliban’s use of surveillance
drones alone has already seen an increase, suggesting a shift in tactics and
the relative availability of commercial drones. No information is available
regarding their ability to weaponize them however.
Death
from above
Can
they be countered? That’s easier said than done. Shooting them down is
difficult given their size, and tactically, they’re often launched in the dark
making it nearly impossible to catch them. Other solutions such as
electromagnetic anti-drone rifles are prohibitively expensive, and still
relatively new.
Even
the NDS’s attempt to ban their import is difficult to enforce given
Afghanistan’s porous borders. In 2010, Afghanistan’s government banned the
import of ammonium nitrate, commonly used as fertilizer, but also an ingredient
in improvised explosives. Nonetheless, large amounts of the chemical are still
regularly captured in Afghanistan.
Alternative
solutions could be to invest in electronic jamming systems, or hardened roofs
and walls, to protect against dropped munitions.
One
promising solution that has exhibited some measure of success is to train
eagles to attack drones, a concept pioneered by the US Marine Corp and French
army alike.
But
until eagles arrive to save the day, Afghanistan is faced with a dilemma that’s
not going to fly away anytime soon.
https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/the-taliban-is-using-bomber-drones-as-a-psychological-weapon-42851
--------
Why
has Indonesia banned the Islamic Defender’s Front or FPI?
December
31, 2020
Indonesia
on Wednesday banned the hardline religious group the Islamic Defender’s Front,
raising the prospect of rising political tension in the world’s largest
Muslim-majority nation.
The
ban came after last month’s return of the group’s spiritual figurehead, Rizieq
Shihab, from self-exile in Saudi Arabia, leading to concern in government that
he could be seeking to harness opposition forces against President Joko Widodo,
widely known as Jokowi, using Islam as a rallying cry.
What
is the Islamic Defender’s Front?
Formed
in the late 1990s, the Islamic Defender’s Front, widely known by its Indonesian
initials FPI, advocates a strict interpretation of Islam and developed a
reputation for raiding bars and brothels, intimidating religious minorities. It
once forced the cancellation of a Lady Gaga concert. It has also been involved
in humanitarian work after natural disasters.
Its
political sway has risen in recent years, and in 2016 the FPI played a role in
mass protests against Jakarta’s Christian former governor, who was jailed for
insulting Islam.
Who
is its leader?
Cleric
Rizieq Shihab, 55, has for years been a controversial figure in Indonesia. He
was jailed in 2008 for inciting violence and left the country in 2017 after
facing charges of pornography, and insulting the state ideology, which were
later dropped. This week a court ordered police to reopen the pornography case.
His
role in 2016 mass rallies raised concern about the rise of identity politics
and political Islam.
Last
month, thousands of people rallied to greet Rizieq’s return to Indonesia.
Rizieq
was arrested this month on charges of violating health protocols. He remains in
custody.
How
big a force is Islam in Indonesian politics?
With
nearly 90% of Indonesia’s population Muslim, Islam has always been important in
politics. However, the 2016 rallies spearheaded by the FPI and other Islamic
groups saw the religion take on an increasingly prominent political role.
In
a move widely seen as an attempt to appeal to Islamic voters, the president,
Jokowi, chose senior cleric Ma’ruf Amin as his vice presidential running mate
in 2019. While Rizieq was overseas, hardline Islamic groups such as the FPI
were relatively quiet. On his return, Rizieq began meeting several key
opposition figures and promising a “moral revolution”, a potential challenge to
Jokowi ahead of elections scheduled for 2024.
What
could happen next?
While
the decision to ban the FPI is legally sound, analysts say the move may
backfire and only lead to new iterations.
Hours
after the chief security minister announced the ban, a senior FPI member in
Jakarta, Novel Bamukmin, told Reuters the group would fight for their beliefs
and “defend the country from traitors”. The government could ban the FPI, he
said, but they would only reform anew.
Security
analysts have said the ban, based on historical precedents in what appears to
be a politically motivated decision, would do little to address the views of a
sidelined minority.
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/islamic-defenders-front-fpi-banned-in-indonesia-7127645/
--------
French
policy in West Africa ‘silent on human rights’
Fatma
Bendhaou
01.01.2021
TUNIS,
Tunisia
Amid
the visit of French prime minister and armed forces minister to French soldiers
in Chad, the country’s policy in the West African region received strong
criticism in an analysis published in a French online news outlet.
The
report issued by the independent French investigative opinion journal Mediapart
slammed the visit of Jean Castex and Florence Parly, saying its aim is to
assure the French soldiers of the government’s support despite the repeated
questions on the relevance of Barkhane Operation.
Operation
Barkhane, launched in 2014, is an ongoing anti-terror operation in Africa’s
Sahel region. It is headquartered in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad.
More
than 5,000 French soldiers are deployed under Barkhane which is led by France
alongside the G5 Sahel countries -- Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and
Chad -- to fight against armed terrorist groups in the region, particularly
al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Daesh/ISIS in the Greater Sahara.
The
French officials visit came few days after three French soldiers were killed in
eastern Mali after their armored vehicle hit an improvised explosive device,
the French presidency said on Monday.
“It
must not make us forget another reality of French policy in the Sahel, and more
generally in French-speaking West Africa: the concessions made to the defense
of human rights in the name of the fight against terrorism,” the French outlet
further noted, regarding the visit of Castex and Parly.
Mediapart
censured French diplomacy in the region, calling it “a diplomacy based on
security and economic concerns, silent when it comes to defending human
rights.”
“While
denouncing human rights violations in other parts of the world, France is in
fact silent or complacent about what is happening in West Africa, the countries
of its sphere of influence where public freedoms are more and more abused and
where several leaders have bypassed the constitution to seek a new mandate,”
according to Mediapart.
“Human
rights, it does not interest him,” lamented a French diplomat quoted by the
journal while speaking about Jean-Yves Le Drian, the former defense minister
under former President Francois Hollande, and the current minister for foreign
affairs.
“African
public opinions have started to say: ‘France is talking to us about democracy,
but still supports corrupt governments which bungle elections.’ France’s
inconsistency is unmasked, no one believes in its speech, seen as pure
duplicity. This feeds the anti-French sentiment which are taking significant
proportions in the region,” affirmed Laurent Bigot, the former deputy director
of the West Africa department of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs,
as quoted by Mediapart.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/french-policy-in-west-africa-silent-on-human-rights-/2095399
--------
Iran
tells IAEA it plans to enrich uranium up to 20pc
02
Jan 2021
VIENNA:
Iran has told the United Nations nuclear watchdog it plans to enrich uranium to
20 percent purity, a level it achieved before its 2015 accord, at its Fordow
site buried inside a mountain.
The
move is the latest of several recent announcements made by Iran to the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it plans to further breach the
deal, which it started violating in 2019 in retaliation for Washington’s
withdrawal from the agreement and the re-imposition of US sanctions against
Tehran.
This
step was one of many mentioned in a law passed by Iran’s parliament last month
in response to the killing of the country’s top nuclear scientist, which Tehran
has blamed on Israel.
Such
moves by Iran could complicate efforts by US president-elect Joe Biden to
rejoin the deal.
“Iran
has informed the Agency that in order to comply with a legal act recently
passed by the country’s parliament, the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran
intends to produce low-enriched uranium (LEU) up to 20 percent at the Fordow
fuel enrichment plant,” the IAEA said in a statement.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1599207/iran-tells-iaea-it-plans-to-enrich-uranium-up-to-20pc
--------
Pakistan
Pakistan
Urges UN to Prevent Kashmiri Leader and Human Rights Activist Andrabi’s
‘Judicial Murder’
Anwar
Iqbal
02
Jan 2021
WASHINGTON:
Pakistan urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday to prevent the
“judicial murder” of a Kashmiri leader and human rights activist and to
persuade India to drop all “fabricated charges” against her.
Aasiya
Andrabi, who risks conviction by a sham court on Jan 18, is the founder of a
Kashmiri rights group called the Dukhtaran-i-Millat, or Daughters of the
Nation.
In
a letter addressed to Mr Guterres, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the
UN Munir Akram said the world must stop giving a “free pass” to India over its
“systemic crackdown on the legitimate and indigenous freedom movement in
Kashmir”.
In
a similar letter to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet,
Pakistan’s envoy in Geneva Ambassador Khalil Hashmi argued that the world
body’s “timely intervention may help prevent miscarriage of justice”.
The
United Nations, he said, could also “assist in breaking the vicious cycle of
impunity and human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and
Kashmir (IIOJ&K).”
By
acting on time to save Ms Andrabi, the United Nations would also “send a strong
message of hope to the Kashmiri people, especially women leaders and human
rights defenders”, Ambassador Hashmi wrote.
In
New York, Ambassador Akram said: “With Indian judiciary showing little proclivity
to stand up for the rights of Kashmiris, there is an imminent and real threat
to the life of Ms Andrabi and her associates, who are staring at a real
possibility of a judicial murder.”
In
its annual report on the situation in Kashmir, a Washington-based think-tank,
the US Institute of Peace noted that “Kashmir has once again emerged as a major
flashpoint between South Asia’s nuclear-armed rivals, India and Pakistan.”
https://www.dawn.com/news/1599196/pakistan-urges-un-to-prevent-andrabis-judicial-murder
--------
FO
rubbishes India's 'unwarranted concerns' regarding state of minority rights in
Pakistan
Naveed
Siddiqui
02
Jan 2021
Pakistan
on Saturday rubbished "unwarranted assertions" by the Indian Ministry
of External Affairs (MEA) regarding the burning down of a Hindu temple in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Karak district earlier this week.
"This
is not the first time the Indian government has tried to feign concern for
minority rights elsewhere, while being the most egregious and persistent
violator of minority rights itself," a statement by FO spokesman Zahid
Hafeez Chaudri said.
The
FO statement comes after India conveyed "serious concerns" to the
Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi at "repeated instances of similar
nature against members of the minority community", The Wire reported while
quoting official sources.
According
to the report, India also asked for the investigation report of the incident to
be shared with the Ministry of External Affairs and reiterated the message that
the government of Pakistan is "expected to look after the safety, security
and well-being of its minority communities".
A
similar report was also published by The Hindu.
In
a statement released today, the FO spokesman said: "From the
discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act to the National Register of Citizens
(NRC), from the Gujarat massacre of 2002 to the Delhi pogrom of 2020, from the
reprehensible demolition of Babri Mosque in 1992 to the despicable acquittal of
all the accused by Indian court in 2020, from blaming Muslims for spreading
coronavirus to banning of inter-faith marriages, from cow vigilantism and mob
lynchings to terming the Muslims of West Bengal ‘termites’ and threatening to
‘throw them into the Bay of Bengal’, from extra-judicial killings of innocent
Kashmiris to blatant attempts to turn Muslims into a minority in occupied
Kashmir through distribution of ‘fake domicile certificates’, the RSS-BJP
regime’s record is replete with instances of gross and systemic violations of
the rights of minorities, in particular Muslims."
He
stated that as a "perennial purveyor of state-sponsored discrimination
against its minorities, India was in no position to pontificate on the state of
minority rights elsewhere".
He
said that there was a clear difference between the state of minority rights in
India and Pakistan based on the fact that the accused in the Karak incident
were immediately arrested, orders were issued for restoring the temple, the
highest level of judiciary took immediate notice, and the senior political
leadership condemned the incident.
"Whereas
in India, blatant acts of discrimination against Muslims and other minorities
take place with state complicity. The Indian leadership is yet to condemn the
perpetrators of the Delhi massacre in February 2020, let alone bring those
criminals to justice," the FO statement said, referring to violence in the
Indian capital that claimed the lives of at least 50 people.
"Given
these incontrovertible facts, the Indian government would be well advised to
set its own house in order rather than feigning concern for minority rights
elsewhere," the statement concluded.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1599247/fo-rubbishes-indias-unwarranted-concerns-regarding-state-of-minority-rights-in-pakistan
--------
Imran
Khan says his govt wants to learn from China's development model to eradicate
poverty
Jan
1, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Praising the Chinese development model, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on
Friday said his government wants to learn from China's industrial development
to accelerate economic growth and eradicate poverty.
"If
we can learn from any one country in the world, it is China. Their development
model suits Pakistan the best," Khan said while speaking at a ceremony in
Islamabad.
"The
speed with which China developed in the last 30 years is something we can learn
from," he added.
Khan
said that Beijing had managed to prove that poverty alleviation is real
development.
"The
way they industrialised, made special export zones, brought investments from
abroad, and used those investments to increase their exports, all resulted in
China increasing its wealth," he said.
"They
used that money to bring their population out of poverty [...] there is no
other example of this in history."
He
said that his government was focused on making Pakistan a welfare state and
eradicating poverty.
China
last month announced that all registered impoverished counties in the world's
most populous country have shaken off poverty.
Khan
said that the government had made special economic zones to attract and
relocate Chinese industries so that they can export their products from
Pakistan.
The
prime minister said that the new year would be the year of economic growth as
the country was moving in the right direction.
“Our
exports are increasing as compared to our competitors, so Pakistan is headed in
the right direction,” he said.
Khan
said his government would focus on industrial development during the current
year that would have a positive impact on economic growth.
He
noted that cement and textile sectors recorded fast growth in the recent
months.
The
premier said that the government's policy was simple and based on the concept
of supporting business for the creation of wealth that would lead to
prosperity.
He
said the government has dealt with the Covid-19 challenge in the country
effectively.
Separately,
Khan in a series of tweets said that 2020 was a tough year for Pakistan and the
world because of the pandemic.
“But
by the grace of God, we fared far better than most. We not only managed to
protect our people but also saved them from hunger. We are moving forward to
making Pakistan a welfare State,” he said.
He
made two New Year resolutions for 2021 about completing two projects.
“One,
universal health coverage to all our citizens. It has begun in KP
(Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) & will soon in Punjab & GB (Gilgit-Baltistan). We
hope other provinces will replicate this programme,” he said.
“Two,
we will start our most ambitious nationwide project "Koi Bhuka Na
Soyay" (No one should sleep hungry) under Ehsaas programme. By the end of
the year, these two projects will move us closer to our goal of making Pakistan
a welfare state,” he said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/imran-khan-says-his-govt-wants-to-learn-from-chinas-development-model-to-eradicate-poverty/articleshow/80061003.cms
--------
No
extradition treaty with UK, can only cancel Nawaz Sharif’s passport: Pak
minister
Jan
02, 2021
Posted
by Prashasti Singh
Pakistan
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Friday said the government is
exploring all possibilities to bring back former prime minister Nawaz Sharif
from the UK, but it can only cancel his passport now as there is no extradition
treaty between the two countries.
Ahmed
on Wednesday had said the government will cancel the passport of Sharif on
February 16.
Sharif,
70, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, has been living in London
since November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to
go abroad for four weeks for treatment.
The
three-time former prime minister, who was convicted in two corruption cases --
Avenfield properties and Al-Azizia -- was declared a proclaimed offender in
December by the Islamabad High Court after he failed to appear before it
despite several warnings.
Addressing
a press conference here on Friday, Ahmed said the government will explore all
possibilities to bring back Sharif to Pakistan.
However,
since Pakistan currently has no extradition treaty with Britain, his ministry
can only cancel Sharif’s passport once it is expired, he said. Ahmed said the
PML-N chief’s passport will expire on February 16 and it will not be renewed.
Prime
Minister Imran Khan in October had said that he would contact his British
counterpart Boris Johnson, if needed, to discuss Sharif’s deportation.
Adviser
to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, on
Wednesday said Pakistan had asked the British authorities to deport Sharif who
was convicted by the courts.
Sharif
resigned as Pakistan prime minister in 2017 after the Supreme Court
disqualified him from holding public office and ruled that graft cases be filed
against the beleaguered leader over the Panama Papers scandal.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/no-extradition-treaty-with-uk-can-only-cancel-nawaz-sharif-s-passport-pak-minister/story-gqOwCWxiliI4OS5sRfqmBP.html
--------
PDM's
long march to Islamabad could also be to Rawalpindi: Fazl
02
Jan 2021
Pakistan
Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Friday that the
opposition's movement would no longer be directed only at the Prime Minister
Imran Khan-led government but also "his backers", hinting that the
alliance's possible long march to the capital "could also be to
Rawalpindi".
Addressing
a press conference after a meeting of the PDM leaders in Raiwind, Rehman said
it was decided after detailed discussions that the opposition will participate
in the upcoming by-elections, but indicated that there had been no decision on
contesting the Senate elections.
"In
principle, we are not opposed to the elections of any institution but there is
some time until [Senate polls]," he said, adding that the final decision
will be taken in future PDM meetings while keeping in view the prevailing
conditions.
The
JUI-F leader said news of rifts within the PDM was being run on media as part
of a "campaign", but stressed that such rumours had died today.
"PDM
has come out stronger than before and is more determined than before to rid the
nation of this illegitimate government," said the PDM chief, speaking
alongside other top opposition leaders including PML-N Vice President Maryam
Nawaz but not PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who attended the meeting
virtually.
Analyse:
Will the PDM succeed in its campaign to force PM Imran out of his office?
He
said all PDM constituent parties had reported to the meeting today that the
resignations of "all" opposition lawmakers had reached their party
leaderships, in accordance with the Dec 31 date given for this purpose by the
alliance.
"So
one of the targets has been achieved today," he said, reiterating that the
government had one month to resign. He said if the premier refused to step down
by January 31, the PDM leadership will announce the long march to Islamabad and
decide its date.
"It
will also decide whether the long march should be staged towards Islamabad or
to Rawalpindi," Rehman added. Rawalpindi is a metonym for the headquarters
of the Pakistan Army.
"We
agree that the establishment has held the entire system hostage by turning
Pakistan into a deep state. Imran Khan is a pawn [and] the people who did
rigging and imposed him upon the nation, we want to make it clear [to them
that] we blame the establishment and army leadership for this," the PDM
chief said.
He
continued: "The direction of our criticism will now be manifestly aimed at
them (establishment). Now it is for them to decide whether they will further
sink their claws on Pakistan's politics or retreat and move towards their
constitutional responsibilities."
Rehman
said the PDM considered the army "as our army" and it respected all
generals. "But when this defence power interferes in politics forgoing its
professional duties, it creates confusions," he added, attributing
Pakistan's alleged constitutional, political and economic crises to this
"transgression".
"All
parties are unanimous that the movement's direction should not be turned only
towards the pawn but also against his backers."
He
announced that the PDM will stage a demonstration in front of the Election
Commission of Pakistan offices in Islamabad on January 19, while a similar
protest was being planned to be held in front of the National Accountability
Bureau (NAB) headquarters as well.
Rehman
said all opposition members summoned by NAB had appeared before it but said
"it has been proven that this is not accountability but revenge".
The
meeting had been summoned to come up with a united stance on the issue of en
masse resignations and participation in the upcoming elections on a number of
seats of the national and provincial assemblies and the Senate.
On
Wednesday night, Rehman had met PML-N leader Maryam, after which they had
announced that they wanted to provide an opportunity to PPP chairman Bilawal
Bhutto-Zardari to present his viewpoint on the issues of resignations and
participation in the coming elections, following which they would try to
develop a consensus.
The
confusion arose earlier in the week when Bilawal, while addressing a press
conference after his party’s central executive committee meeting in Karachi,
said the CEC believed “that if we (joint opposition) take up the challenge of
Senate elections collectively we can make a better impact and achieve larger
success”.
He
added that he would take up the CEC’s decisions before the PDM leadership and
discuss a further plan of the opposition’s movement against the incumbent
government.
En
masse resignations
The
first phase of the PDM’s anti-government movement had come to an abrupt end
with the public meeting in Lahore on December 13 as the leadership had failed
to announce any future plan to intensify their campaign. Though the PDM leaders
had declared they would make an announcement regarding district-wise protests,
shutter down and wheel-jam strikes and the long march during the Lahore public
meeting, no such plan was announced from the stage.
Later,
the PDM leaders set Jan 31 deadline for Prime Minister Imran to resign or face
a decisive long march to Islamabad sometime in February.
It
was after a meeting of the heads of the constituent parties of the PDM in
Islamabad on Dec 8 that Rehman had announced that all the national and
provincial lawmakers belonging to the opposition would hand over their
resignations individually to the heads of their parties by Dec 31.
The
Maulana had announced the decision during a press talk after presiding over a
more than four-hour-long summit of the alliance which was also addressed by
PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari through video
link from London and Karachi, respectively.
The
PDM leadership, however, had failed to come up with an agreed plan regarding
the use of their most lethal weapon of en masse resignations and its timing and
Rehman simply announced that the steering committee of the PDM would meet in
Islamabad the next day “to decide the schedule for further rallies and
demonstrations and the date for long march towards Islamabad”.
The
next day, however, before the meeting of the steering committee could take
place, the PDM leaders once again gathered at Rehman's residence for a luncheon
meeting after which Bilawal categorically declared that his party would come
out with a final decision regarding en masse resignations after discussing it
at its CEC.
Sources
in the PDM earlier said PPP leaders during the meeting were not very
enthusiastic about the proposed move and Zardari was not in favour of Sharif’s
proposal to hand over the resignations to Rehman for future use and it was on
his proposal that other parties finally agreed on the PPP’s suggestion that the
resignations should be collected by the party heads.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1599076/pdms-long-march-to-islamabad-could-also-be-to-rawalpindi-fazl
--------
NSG
assailed for treating Pakistan, India differently on membership
02
Jan 2021
ISLAMABAD:
A senior foreign ministry official, while criticising the Nuclear Suppliers
Group (NSG) for differently treating Pakistani and Indian applications for
membership, has regretted that the multilateral export control regime is
politicised.
According
to a media statement issued on Friday by the Strategic Vision Institute (SVI),
which hosted a webinar on “The politics of NSG: The current dimensions”, the
director general of the foreign ministry’s Arms Control and Disarmament
Division, Kamran Akhtar, said: “NSG very much epitomises the politics of
non-proliferation at the global level.”
He
accused the NSG of according “precedence to the interests of the nuclear
supplier states”.
Indian
and Pakistani applications for membership have been held up at the NSG since
2016 because of their non-NPT status and differences between members over the
admission criteria.
According
to Mr Akhtar, Pakistan is better qualified than India, even going by the
formula proposed by Ambassador Rafael Grossi in 2016, as it does not have a mix
of safeguarded and unsafeguarded facilities and has been more forthcoming in
accepting legally binding commitments.
Speakers
at a webinar identify deficiencies in the export control regimes
Speaking
about India, he said: “If there was an argument that mainstreaming of India
would benefit the non-proliferation regime, the Indian behaviour since joining
Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) belies that argument.”
Mr
Akhtar said there should not be two different standards for judging the
membership applications from India and Pakistan. “Unfortunately, that’s what is
happening now,” he added.
A
former official of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Dr Tariq
Rauf, identified major problems and deficiencies in the export control regimes.
He said the regimes did not adapt to the changing international situations and
there was a lack of universality and legitimacy in them, besides having
inconsistent internal implementation.
A
former permanent representative to the Conference on Disarmament and the UN in
Geneva, Ambassador Zamir Akram, also noted that the working of NSG was driven
by geopolitics.
He
said Pakistan’s argument had always been that there should be an equitable
basis on which membership should be accorded. Pakistan also has other options
like cooperation with China in civilian use of nuclear technology under the
IAEA directives, he added.
SVI
president Dr Zafar Iqbal Cheema said the applications by India and Pakistan,
since 2016, had become a very contentious issue within the NSG as well as
the outside politics which was related to it.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1599186/nsg-assailed-for-treating-pakistan-india-differently-on-membership
--------
Europe
German
mosque attacked for second time in two weeks
January
2, 2021
Assailants
have targeted a mosque in Germany early on New Year’s Day for the second time
in two weeks in the southwestern city of Baden-Wurttemberg, inflicting material
damage to the place of worship.
Fatih
Mosque in the town of Sontheim was attacked in the early hours of Friday by
unknown assailants who broke windows and a wooden bank outside the mosque, run
by the Turkish-Muslim umbrella group DITIB, said the chairman of the mosque’s
foundation, Ali Ozdemir, Turkey’s official Anadolu Agency reported.
“In
the recent two weeks, this has been the second attack on our mosque,” Ozdemir
said, emphasizing that the anti-Muslim incident has raised fresh concerns among
community members of the mosque and its foundation.
Information
about the attack was reported to police authorities who launched an
investigation into it, he said, noting that in the earlier act of vandalism
against the worship center, a cross was painted on a wall inside the mosque.
This
comes after German prosecutors charged 12 native Germans back in November with
hatching a well-funded scheme to wage armed attacks against mosques in the
European country with the intent of killing or injuring as many Muslims as
possible.
“They
aimed through attacks on mosques and the killing and wounding of as many
Muslims as possible to create civil war-like conditions,” the prosecutors said
in a public statement at the time.
They
identified the suspects as 11 gang members and one accomplice – all German
nationals between the ages of 31 and 61 – adding that they had met regularly to
plan the terror attack with all but one pledging to contribute thousands euros
towards a 50,000-euro scheme to finance the purchase of weapons for the plot.
Authorities
further noted that cash sums in the “mid four-digit range” had been discovered
in homes of the suspects.
The
development came as Germany has recently witnessed a wave of attacks by far-right
elements targeting minorities and refugees across the country.
The
existence of far-right sympathizers has also been unveiled among Germany’s
police and military forces.
Moreover,
members of the so-called National Socialist Underground in the country were
convicted in 2018 for a decade-long spree of murders of ethnic Turks, who are
predominantly Muslim.
Also
last September, more than 200 German police officers raided police stations and
private homes to arrest 11 colleagues accused of spreading “repulsive”
far-right propaganda in online chatrooms.
At
the time, Herbert Reul, interior minister of Germany's most populous region
North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), announced that the raids had targeted 34 police
stations and private homes connected to the key suspects.
The
suspected police officers are believed to have shared more than 100 neo-Nazi
images in WhatsApp groups including swastikas, pictures of Adolf Hitler and a
digitally altered image of a refugee in the gas chamber of a concentration
camp.
https://en.abna24.com/news//german-mosque-attacked-for-second-time-in-two-weeks_1102191.html
--------
India
DMK’s
Invite to invitation to AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi Upsets Workers of TN
Muslim Parties
01st
January 2021
TIRUCHY:
DMK has extended an invitation to AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi for a meeting in
Chennai in January first week.
Sources
said this move of DMK has disappointed the functionaries of other Islamic
parties in the state.
DMK’s
minorities welfare wing secretary Dr. D Masthan along with AIMIM’s state
president Vakkil Ahamed went to Hyderabad on Friday to invite Owaisi for the
meeting in Chennai.
Speaking
to The New Indian Express, Vakkil Ahamed confirmed the information about the
invitation.
Owaisi
was strongly criticized and blamed for the defeat of RJD in the Bihar
elections.
However,
The DMK in a late-night statement said it had only invited its alliance
partners. No other parties had been invited, the DMK said
Many
of the Muslim people in Tamil Nadu also came down heavily on Owaisi when the
Bihar election results were being declared and charged him for the split in the
opposition votes that paved way for the BJP alliance emerging victorious.
The
criticism was obvious as the social media platforms were flooded with posts in
Tamil against Owaisi the next few days after the Bihar election results. Many
such posts alleged Owaisi as the B team for the BJP.
On
the other hand, there were some voices too in support of Owaisi.
In
this situation, the functionaries of the other Muslim parties have been seeing
the act of the DMK to rope in Owaisi into Tamil Nadu's political space as
unwanted.
As
the news about the invitation spread on social media platforms, it has caused
abuzz among the Muslim community widely.
Many
opine that Owaisi’s presence in the DMK’s alliance will not be of any use in
the upcoming elections as the AIMIM does not have any base here.
Noor
Muhammed, a resident of Tiruchy, said: “Owaisi definitely will not help in
getting more votes from the Muslim community to the DMK alliance. But his
introduction of Tamil Nadu politics may bring down the morale of the cadre of
other Islamic parties in the state. This move of the DMK is uncalled for.”
Sources
said that the DMK’s invite to Owaisi has already upset many of the grass-root
level workers of its coalition parties like IUML and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2021/jan/01/dmks-invite-to-owaisi-upsets-workers-of-tn-muslim-parties-2244167.html
--------
Indian,
Afghan clerics jointly call on Taliban to stop attacks on civilians
Edited
by Sohini Sarkar
Dec
31, 2020
Muslim
clerics from India and Afghanistan have for the first time jointly issued a
declaration describing the war in Afghanistan as “illegitimate” and calling on
the Taliban to halt attacks targeting civilian institutions and public
infrastructure.
The
declaration was issued following a meeting of the clerics from the two
countries held at the India Islamic Cultural Centre in New Delhi on Wednesday,
according to a statement issued by the Afghan foreign ministry on Thursday.
The
“First gathering of Islamic scholars of Afghanistan and India” brought together
religious scholars and “ulema” or clerics from different Islamic institutions
of the two countries. The gathering issued a joint declaration that called for
an immediate ceasefire in Afghanistan.
“The
war and violence perpetrated against the government and people of the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan by the Taliban, and targeting of civilian institutions
and public infrastructures by the Taliban goes against the basic teachings of
Islam and therefore it is illegitimate and has no religious justification,” the
declaration said.
The
declaration added: “Islam is a religion of peace and it urges harmony and unity
among Muslims, hence we call on both warring parties in Afghanistan to stop war
and declare an immediate nationwide ceasefire.”
The
scholars and clerics from both countries called on the Taliban and the Afghan
government to “rise to the occasion and seize this rare opportunity to
accelerate their negotiations for establishing a just and lasting peace in
Afghanistan”.
“We
support the steps taken by the government of Afghanistan to pave the way for
reaching an enduring peace,” the declaration said.
Noting
that Afghanistan has made remarkable progress in various spheres in the past 19
years, the scholars and clerics called for the “hard-gained achievements to be
preserved and protected”.
“We
call on other ulema and Islamic scholars to come forward in support of the
peace process in Afghanistan and raise their voice against the heinous attacks
on innocent people and to call on the Taliban to agree to a nationwide
ceasefire and embrace peace,” the declaration said.
Cities
across Afghanistan have witnessed a spate of attacks in recent weeks, targeting
civil society activists, human rights workers and members of the media. Dozens
have been killed in these attacks, and interior minister Massoud Andarabi has
blamed the Taliban for certain killings across the country. The group has
denied involvement in the attacks.
The
attacks have led to questions and concerns about the troubled peace talks
between government representatives and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar.
Following
a recent visit to Islamabad by a high-level Taliban delegation to discuss the
peace process, several videos emerged of Taliban leaders acknowledging that the
group’s top leadership is based in Pakistan and that it is consulted for all
decisions related to the peace talks. The videos also showed Taliban leaders
visiting terror training camps in Pakistan.
Reacting
to these videos, the Afghan foreign ministry said the “overt presence and
activities of Afghan insurgent elements and their leaders in Pakistani
territory clearly violate Afghanistan’s national sovereignty and continue to cause
crisis and instability in the region”. It urged the Pakistan government “not to
allow its territory to be used by insurgents and elements who insist on
continuing the war”.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/indian-afghan-clerics-jointly-call-on-taliban-to-stop-attacks-on-civilians/story-68HzG8CiYOD0PaipFGZkCO.html
--------
Now,
Gujarat too plans an 'anti-love jihad' law
Jan
2, 2021
GANDHINAGAR:
Close on the heels of BJP-governed UP and MP enforcing laws to thwart 'love
jihad', the Gujarat government is planning to introduce a legal provision to
act against those who force an individual into religious conversion in the name
of love and marriage.
Although
the stated objective of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003 is
"prohibition of conversion from one religion to another by the use of
force or allurement or by fraudulent means", the state government has been
mulling introduction of an altogether new law to check 'love jihad' or further
strengthening of the existing law to include the aspect of 'love jihad'.
The
government has directed the departments concerned - home, law and legislative
and parliamentary affairs - to legally vet the laws against 'love jihad' that
have been enacted by the UP and MP governments.
"The
government, meanwhile, is also considering the ordinance route to introduce a
law against 'love jihad'," a key government source said.
The
2003 law mandates that a citizen obtain prior approval from the district
authority for conversion. Anyone found guilty of forced conversion can face
imprisonment up to three years and a fine of up to Rs 50,000.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/now-gujarat-too-plans-an-anti-love-jihad-law/articleshow/80066844.cms
--------
As
BJP protests, Bengaluru stalls plan to rename 11 roads in Muslim areas after
Muslim leaders
ROHINI
SWAMY
1
January, 2021
Bengaluru:
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the civic agency of the
Karnataka capital, has put on hold its decision to change the names of streets
in Muslim-majority pockets of an area to honour leaders from the community.
The
decision came after BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who represents Bangalore South, shot
off a letter to BBMP commissioner Manjunath Prasad, objecting to the
rechristening of roads in the Padarayanapura area of the city after Muslim
leaders alone. Surya’s protest was supported by fellow BJP MP Anantkumar Hedge,
who represents Uttara Kannada and also wrote his own letter to the BBMP
commissioner. A third BJP MP, P.C. Mohan of the Bangalore Central constituency,
also wrote to Prasad.
On
10 September, the BBMP had written to the Karnataka Ministry of Urban
Development, intimating it about its decision to name 11 roads of
Padarayanapura after the Pehalwans, the Hajis, and other personalities
belonging to the Muslim community. This is the same area that witnessed riots
in August last year.
In
a letter dated 31 December, Surya said the decision to name roads in
Muslim-majority areas after Muslims reeks of the “communal mentality of
Jinnah’s two-nation theory”.
“There
is no dearth of non-Muslim public figures and patriots on whom are roads can be
named after (sic),” he added. He also asked the BBMP commissioner to revise the
list of names and only finalise it after public discussion.
“I
strongly oppose the move to name it (roads) after Muslims. If the civic bodies
in other parts of the state resort to the same move, it will lead to disruption
of communal harmony,” Hegde said in another letter to the BBMP commissioner.
Reached
for comment, BBMP commissioner Prasad said he has recommended cancelling the
decision.
“Before
the tenure of the BBMP council ended in September last year, they passed a
number of resolutions. One of them was the renaming of 11 roads. As per the
procedure, after the council passes such a resolution, a public notification
needs to be issued and it was done. Three MPs, Tejasvi Surya (Bangalore South),
Anantkumar Hegde (Uttara Kannada) and P.C. Mohan (Bangalore central) have
raised objections,” he added.
“There
is a provision in the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act that a resolution
passed by the council can be referred to the state government for cancellation.
As of now, it is on hold. After the procedure is completed, it will be
cancelled,” he said.
A
similar controversy in 2014
A
similar controversy erupted when the BBMP decided to name a road in the IT
city’s Indiranagar area after renowned folklorist Dr S.K. Karim Khan.
Dr
Khan was very popular and well-known for his vast collection of ballads and
oral epics.
The
municipal corporation passed a resolution in 2006, when the road was under
construction, to name it after Khan. The protest erupted in 2014, when the
construction was completed.
The
BJP, then in opposition, had said that the road should be named after former
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee rather than Khan. However, the resolution
had the backing of pro-Kannada groups, forcing the BJP to backtrack.
https://theprint.in/india/governance/as-bjp-protests-bengaluru-stalls-plan-to-rename-11-roads-in-muslim-areas-after-muslim-leaders/577826/
--------
Terror
module busted in Reasi, one arrested
Jan
1, 2021
JAMMU:
J&K Police on Friday claimed to have busted the fifth terror module within
a fortnight and arrested an operative with arms and ammunition in Reasi
district.
“Acting
on intelligence inputs, a team from Mahore police station arrested Mohammad
Yousuf (20), a resident of Mahore tehsil in the district,” IGP (Jammu Zone)
Mukesh Singh confirmed, adding that during interrogation Yousuf disclosed that
he had hidden a cache of arms and ammunition at a hideout in lower Angrala
village.
“Based
on the disclosure, a joint team of Army and J&K Police launched a search
operation and recovered five grenades and a 9mm pistol with ammunition from the
hideout,” the IGP said, adding that this module was linked to another of
Lashkar-e-Taiba whose operative was arrested with two grenades in Jammu’s
Narwal area on December 27.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/terror-module-busted-in-reasi-one-arrested/articleshow/80063940.cms
--------
8
civilians injured after terrorists hurl grenade on security forces in J-K’s
Pulwama
Edited
by Prashasti Singh
Jan
02, 2021
Eight
civilians were injured after terrorists hurled a grenade on security forces at
Tral bus stand in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Saturday.
“Eight
civilians suffered minor injuries in a grenade attack in Tral, Pulwama. The
health condition of all the injured is stable,” a police official said.
The
grenade missed the intended target and exploded in the market, resulting in
injuries to the civilians, the official said. The area has been cordoned off
and a hunt has been launched to nab the attackers, he added.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/8-civilians-injured-after-terrorists-hurl-grenade-on-security-forces-in-j-k-s-pulwama-district/story-M1PJfxylpuIzjlv1eRgvVJ.html
--------
Mehbooba
Mufti is pro-separatist, shouldn’t talk about rights abuse: BJP leader
Jan
01, 2021
Slamming
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti for her comments on the encounter that raged on
December 30 on the outskirts of Srinagar, former deputy chief minister and
senior BJP leader Kavinder Gupta on Friday accused her of always taking a
pro-separatist and pro-terrorists stand.
Early
this morning, Mufti had written a letter to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant
Governor Manoj Sinha and urged him to initiate an impartial probe into the
encounter.
In
her letter, she said that such incidents bring disrepute to the armed forces
and were a grave violation of human rights.
In
a statement issued here, Gupta said that Mehbooba Mufti should be the last
person to talk about violation of human rights.
“A
terrorist is a terrorist and he should be dealt strictly as per the law.
Mehbooba Mufti should not comment on human rights violation. What about the
human rights of armed forces and innocent civilians who are martyred in
terrorist attack which take place every other day?” asked Gupta.
Criticising
Mufti, Gupta said that the PDP leader has always taken a pro-terrorists and
pro-separatists stand. “If you notice, she has always been vocal for her
agenda, which is not in the interest of nation, and its people. PDP as a
political party has lost its relevance in Jammu and Kashmir’s political
scenario. Many of its leaders are already in the custody of National
Investigation Agency (NIA) in hawala cases,” said the former deputy CM.
He
further said that Article 370 has caused “criminal injustice” to the people in
Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Moreover, he asserted that BJP shall not allow the
Abdullah father-son duo and Mehbooba Mufti to carry forward their alleged “anti-national”
agenda in the Union Territory. He said the people in Jammu and Kashmir want
peace and development and communal harmony.
“Over
the past 70 years, Article 370 has done great injustice with Pakistani
refugees, Gujjar and Bakerwal communities, Valmiki and Gorkha communities,
women and nationalists and also gave birth to terrorism and separatism in this
peaceful land,” Gupta said. He alleged that the Abdullahs and Mufti are
conspiring to “bleed Kashmir’ once again but nobody will be allowed to cause
harm to the law and order situation in the valley.
“They
will face serious consequences. They are using the Gupkar Agenda to save their
skin and we will not allow them to succeed,” he said.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mehbooba-mufti-is-pro-separatist-shouldn-t-talk-about-rights-abuse-bjp-leader/story-u8m9C7CmzU3bJGL0QBDexN.html
--------
South
Asia
6
Taliban, Shadow Governor Killed by Own Explosive Device
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
02
Jan 2021
Wakil
Ahmad known as Mullah Nazem, a Taliban shadow governor assigned for Faryab
province was killed in an Explosion on Friday night, local police said.
According
to police six Taliban-affiliated members including Nazem were killed, when
their own explosive device detonated in Dawlat Abad district of Faryab
province.
No
further details were provided in regards to the incident.
Taliban
have not yet commented on the attacks.
Meanwhile,
the Ministry of Defense said in a tweet, that at least 50 Taliban including one
of their commanders were killed and eight others were wounded in Nawa, Garmsir,
and the outskirts of central Helmand province.
According
to MoD, during the operation eight of the Taliban strongholds were completely
wrecked.
Also,
a large number of weapons and ammunition were destroyed during the Afghan
security and defense missions.
In
a separate incident, MoD indicated, that at least 25 Taliban were killed and 12
others were wounded in the Gizab district of Uruzgan province.
Taliban
have not yet commented on the MoD operations.
https://www.khaama.com/6-taliban-shadow-governor-killed-by-own-explosive-device-5656544/
--------
Two
Separate Attacks Claim Civil Society Activist, Tribal Leader
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
01
Jan 2021
A
civil society activist, Abdi Jahid, was killed in unknown gunmen attack in Kabul
city on Thursday evening.
Abdi
was a civil society activist in Nahrin district of northern Baghlan province,
police stated on Friday.
No
further details were provided.
Meanwhile,
Abdul Baqi, a tribal leader was killed in an assassination attack by unknown
armed men in Lashkargah city of Helmand province on the same day.
According
to police, he was killed on Thursday evening in Lashkargah city.
Targeted
killings and attacks have increased in Afghanistan and across the country, on
the same day in Kabul’s Chehel Sutoon area a magnetic IED targeted a vehicle
carrying employees of the Presidential Palace, one person was killed and
another was left wounded.
The
Ministry of Interior says that “terrorists have recently changed their approach
to further effective insurgent activities”.
Interior
Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian wrote on his Facebook on Friday, that
“terrorists” have recently changed their battling “approaches”.
Arian
noted that several bakers and street vendors have been arrested on suspicion of
involvement in terrorist activities and security officials thwarted some
insurgency attacks.
He
stressed that the security agencies have understood the new tricks of the
terrorists and have so far identified and arrested several groups of them.
According
to the spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, the terrorists are trying to
utilize tools so that the public could not become suspicious.
Earlier
the insurgent groups have used coverts, deception, and surprise attacks to kill
journalists, public figures, and government officials in Afghanistan.
Security
officials have previously blamed such attacks on the Taliban, saying that they
use these tactics, but do not claim the responsibility for it.
https://www.khaama.com/two-separate-attacks-claim-civil-society-activist-tribal-leader-334433/
--------
Supreme
Court Puts KU Attack ‘Mastermind’ on Death Row
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
02
Jan 2021
Mohammad
Adil found guilty of masterminding the attack on Kabul University is sentenced
to death by the Afghan supreme court.
According
to the Interior Ministry, five other collaborators of the attack were sentenced
to various jail terms after being found guilty of charges of treason, transfer
of explosive materials, and cooperating with ISIS (Daesh).
Interior
ministry reported, five others involved in the violent act were sentenced to
various jail terms, after being found guilty of transfer of explosive
materials, treason, and cooperation with Daesh.
Amrullah
Saleh welcomed the court’s decision on Saturday and added that justice had been
served.
Others
were also sentenced to death, Saleh said but did not provide further
explanation except that the list will be shared with media soon.
Adel
is said to have been charged for kidnapping and other terrorist activities,
Obaidullah is another Daesh member who is found guilty of collaborating with
the group, planting IEDs, and delivery of explosive materials.
The
supreme court have sentenced Obaidullah for 25 years in prison.
Last
year in the month of November, 22 people were killed and over 40 were wounded
when two gunmen opened fire on the students in Kabul University.
Adel
meanwhile was also found guilty on charges of terrorist activities and
kidnapping.
https://www.khaama.com/supreme-court-puts-ku-mastermind-attacker-on-death-row-4455533/
--------
Afghan
radio journalist shot dead in car ambush, fifth media person to be killed
01
January 2021
An
Afghan radio journalist was shot dead on Friday in a car ambush in the central
province of Ghor, officials said, the fifth media worker to be killed in two
months.
Besmullah
Adel Aimaq, editor-in-chief of Voice of Ghor radio, was killed en route to
Firoz Koh city, the capital of Ghor province, said Aref Aber, the governor’s
spokesman.
In
recent months, other prominent Afghans have been ambushed by gunmen or killed
in bomb attacks.
No
group has yet claimed responsibility for Aimaq’s murder.
The
Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, a group working for the security of
journalists in the violence-wracked country, confirmed the incident.
It
comes weeks after the December 12 killing of Rahmatullah Nekzad, who was shot
dead with a silenced pistol near his home in the restive eastern city of
Ghazni.
Two
Taliban inmates who were freed ahead of peace talks between the insurgents and
the Afghan government have been arrested in connection with Nekzad’s murder,
Afghanistan’s spy agency the National Directorate of Security (NDS) said late
on Thursday.
About
5,000 Taliban inmates were released last year as part of a contentious prisoner
swap ahead of the long-delayed peace talks that finally commenced on September
12.
The
NDS said that after their release the two Taliban inmates joined a “terrorist
group” in Ghazni which has carried out several assassinations.
The
two, who have confessed to their crimes, had also assassinated a judge and two
government employees, the agency said.
The
Taliban had denied responsibility for the murder of Nekzad.
Peace
talks are currently on a break, but are due to resume on January 5 in the
Qatari capital of Doha.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2021/01/01/Afghan-radio-journalist-shot-dead-in-car-ambush-fifth-media-person-to-be-killed
--------
Southeast
Asia
Halal
meat scandal: Malaysian authorities slammed for perceived inaction
Hazlin
Hassan
Jan
2, 2021
KUALA
LUMPUR - An Islamic agency responsible for halal certification has been at the
receiving end of a public backlash over a scandal involving tainted halal meat
and cakes sold in halal-certified shops.
Malaysians
have decried the Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) for being more
preoccupied with policing halal-certified shops than in reassuring the public
after news reports emerged that a syndicate had for decades imported
non-certified meat, including potentially diseased kangaroo and horse meat, to
be sold as halal beef in the local market.
The
public outcry came after Jakim announced on Dec 25 last year that
halal-certified businesses are barred from displaying cakes with "Merry
Christmas" greetings on them.
The
agency warned that those who do so risk invalidating their halal certificate.
The
announcement followed an incident where a bakery refused to write "Merry
Christmas" on a cake ordered by a customer, replacing the greeting with
the words "Happy Holidays" instead.
The
bakery did this apparently to abide by rules laid out by the halal
certification process.
Jakim's
announcement followed a Dec 24 tweet by Religious Affairs Minister Zulkifli
Mohamad Al-Bakri who said businesses are allowed to sell cakes with Christmas
wishes on them, as long as they are not displayed at the shop.
The
halal issue in multiracial Malaysia is a sensitive matter with the potential to
cause racial tensions.
As
the agency responsible for certifying products as halal, or permissible for use
by Muslims, Jakim has often found itself at the centre of controversies over
the certification process.
The
day after Datuk Dr Zulkifli tweeted his message, opposition Parti Keadilan
Rakyat MP Fahmi Fadzil urged the minister to focus more on the halal meat
controversy than Christmas greetings on a cake.
He
said the tainted meat scandal involved not just the halal status of meat sold
in Malaysia, but also issues of graft and breach of trust.
"Between
the cake issue and the meat cartel, I hope @drzul_albakri will be more focused
and proactive on the meat cartel issue since it involves bribery, government
administration, breach of trust, and even treason," Mr Fahmi said on
Twitter.
Others
also took to social media platforms to voice their dissatisfaction.
Twitter
user Effi Saharudin wrote on Dec 25: "The Christmas cake issue is
distracting us from the bigger issue which is 40 year corruption lead to haram
meat."
During
an emergency debate of the meat scandal in the Upper House last week, which was
live-streamed on Facebook, netizens questioned Jakim's apparent inertia.
"Jakim
is just quiet as well as the religious affairs minister... This is spoiling
Jakim's name," said Facebook user Normah Ramli.
The
Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association on Tuesday criticised what it saw as a
lack of transparency and progress in investigations into the meat scandal.
The
association's head activist, Datuk Nadzim Johan, said it had provided
information on the syndicate's activities to different agencies before the news
reports were published.
He
added that the association had a meeting on Nov 25 with organisations including
the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) and police
on the issue.
"Like
all Muslim consumers, we are concerned that action isn't being taken against
those responsible.
"Taking
immediate action will send a strong signal to other syndicates involved in
other crimes and ultimately protect our consumers," Mr Nadzim was quoted
as saying by The New Straits Times daily.
He
also alleged that policymakers were influenced by the syndicate who told
government officials it was cheaper to import the meat products than produce
them locally.
Jakim
last week responded to the criticism by saying that it was not taking part in
the probe and added that 300 government agencies are involved in the halal-certification
process.
Democratic
Action Party MP Steven Sim said the scandal impacts non-Muslims as well.
"The
issue of meat cartels is not just a problem for Muslims. Now, the quality and
nutrition of all our food is a question mark," he said.
"If
non-halal meat can enter (Malaysia) due to corruption, is it possible that
diseased or contaminated meat can also get through?"
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/halal-meat-scandal-malaysian-authorities-slammed-for-perceived-inaction
--------
Indonesia
Potentially Set To Take On China And Claim Leadership Of ‘Moderate’ Islam
By
James M. Dorsey
January
2, 2021
President
Joko Widodo’s recent cabinet reshuffle suggests that Indonesia may adopt a more
critical attitude towards China and reinforce government support for efforts by
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the world’s largest Muslim movement, to reform Islam and
position the Southeast Asian state as a key player in a battle with Middle
Eastern rivals for the soul of Islam.
Mr.
Widodo signaled his potential policy moves with the appointment of ambassador
to the United States Muhammad Lutfi as trade minister and prominent Nahdlatul
Ulama official Yaqut Cholil Qoumas as minister of religious affairs.
Mr.
Lutfi’s appointment came two months after a visit by Mike Pompeo to Jakarta in
October at the invitation of Nahdlatul Ulama during which the Secretary of
State extended Indonesia’s access to a preferential tariff arrangement and
opened the door to a free trade agreement with the United States.
Mr.
Pompeo emphasized in talks with Mr. Widodo and in an address to a Nahdlatul
Ulama conference the need to challenge China’s territorial claims in the South
China Sea as well as its brutal crackdown on Turkic Muslims in the People’s
Republic’s north-western province of Xinjiang.
Indonesia,
the world’s largest Muslim-majority democracy, extradited to China three
Uighurs, the dominant Turkic ethnic group in Xinjiang, just days before Mr.
Pompeo’s arrival.
Mr.
Qoumas’ appointment is significant not only because of his prominent Nahdlatul
Ulama background but also given the fact that he is one of the leaders of the
movement’s most influential wing that has adopted a tough position on China’s
repression of the Uighurs.
Indonesia
has to date sought to walk a fine line in escalating tensions between the
United States and China, including its refusal to speak out on the plight of
the Uighurs. Indonesia has further sought to balance rejection of Chinese
maritime claims in Indonesian waters with a desire to attract Chinese
investment.
An
Islamic scholar and leader of Nahdlatul Ulama’s GP Ansor Youth Movement, Mr.
Qoumas, alongside his brother, Yahya Cholil Staquf, NU’s secretary general, has
been a driving force in the promotion of the movement’s concept of Humanitarian
Islam, based on principles of tolerance, pluralism and the embrace of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Nahdlatul
Ulama’s government-backed promotion of the concept has put it in direct
competition with major efforts by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates,
Turkey, and Iran to garner religious soft power by propagating a statist
interpretation of the faith.
It
is an interpretation that in the case of the kingdom and the UAE professes
adherence to tolerance and inter-faith dialogue but demands absolute obedience
to the ruler. Turkey and Iran push interpretations of the faith that embrace
elements of political Islam as well as authoritarian governance.
In
one of his early statements as minister, Mr. Qoumas appeared to be challenging
more traditional wings of Nahdlatul Ulama by declaring in remarks during a
visit to a Protestant church that he would protect the rights of Shiites and
Ahmadis, two minorities that have been on the defensive amid concerns of
mounting intolerance in Indonesia.
Senior
figures within Nahdlatul Ulama continue to view Shi’ites, who constitute a mere
1.2 per cent of the Indonesian population, as one of the foremost domestic
threats to Indonesian national security and an Iranian fifth wheel. Similarly,
many in Nahdlatul Ulama reject Ahmadis identifying themselves as Muslims
because the sect refuses to acknowledge the finality of the Prophet Mohammed.
“I
don’t want members of Shia and Ahmadiyya displaced from their homes because of
their beliefs. They are citizens (whose rights) must be protected. The Religious
Ministry will facilitate a more intensive dialogue to bridge differences,” Mr.
Qoumas said, referring to attacks on minorities.
Mr.
Qoumas’ Nahdlatul Ulama youth wing, together with its five-million strong
militia, has played a key role in confronting militant Islamic groups, like
Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Islamic Defenders Front (FDI).
GP
Ansor officials take pride in have engineered situations that in 2017 led to
the banning of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a controversial global movement that calls for
the restoration of the Caliphate.
The
government last month banned FDI, established as a vigilante group that was a
major organizer of mass protests in 2016 that led to the defeat of Basuki
Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian of Chinese descent better known as Ahok, in mayoral
elections in Jakarta and his subsequent sentencing on blasphemy charges.
The
ban came weeks after the return to Indonesia from self-exile in Saudi Arabia of
FDI leader Rizieq Shahib. Mr. Shahib was arrested for allegedly violating
coronavirus restrictions.
The
outlawing of Hizb ut-Tahrir and FDI on the basis of a presidential decree that
enables the government to bypass legal procedures and fast-track the banning of
groups it considers security threats prompted human rights groups to warn that
Indonesia was undermining rights of
freedom of association and expression.
Deputy
justice minister, Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej, told reporters that FPI was
outlawed because some 30 members of the group had been convicted on terrorism
charges and because the group defied Indonesia’s state ideology, Pancasila,
which stresses unity and diversity.
The
banning of FDI followed the election in November of Miftachul Akhyar, a
Nahdlatul Ulama cleric, as head of the influential Indonesian Ulama Council
(MUI) to replace Ma’ruf Amin, Mr. Widodo’s vice-president who in the past took
a hardline against minorities and advocated Orthodox Sunni Muslim positions.
Mr. Akhyar is Nahdlatul Ulama’s spiritual guide.
The
election further removed from the council’s leadership several clerics who had
backed the anti-Ahok demonstrations. They were replaced by at least one
supporter of Humanitarian Islam, Masdar Masudi, as well as scholars from
Muhamadiyya, Indonesia’s second largest Muslim movement, viewed as
progressives.
Nonetheless,
some analysts suggest that the council, in apparent contradiction to Mr.
Qoumas, will not break its discriminatory attitude towards minorities.
Said
Alexander R Arifianto, an Indonesia scholar at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School
of International Studies: “When it comes to marginalized minorities, we can
expect the new MUI leadership to retain their conservative standing. Mainstream
Islamic clerics — including those within MUI — tend to share a conservative
orthodoxy in their religious interpretation toward these groups.”
https://www.eurasiareview.com/02012021-indonesia-potentially-set-to-take-on-china-and-claim-leadership-of-moderate-islam-analysis/
--------
Africa
Peacekeeping
mission in Sudan’s Darfur ends: Spokesman
01
January 2021
The
United Nations and African Union mission concluded 13 years of peacekeeping
operations in Sudan’s western Darfur region on Thursday, the mission’s
spokesman said.
“The
peacekeeping mission ended on Thursday December, 31 at midnight in Darfur,”
UNAMID’s spokesman Ashraf Eissa told AFP, adding that a phased withdrawal will
begin as of January 2021.
“This
process should result in the withdrawal of all uniformed and civilian personnel
from Sudan by June 30, 2021.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2021/01/01/Peacekeeping-mission-in-Sudan-s-Darfur-ends-Spokesman
--------
Algeria’s
president signs new constitution into law
01
January 2021
Algeria’s
president Friday signed the country’s new constitution into law, his office
said, after the document was approved in a November referendum on record low
turnout as its leader received treatment abroad for COVID-19.
President
Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who returned to Algeria this week after two months in
Germany, had promoted the new constitution as the “cornerstone of the new
Algeria,” as he sought to turn the page on the long-running Hirak mass protest
movement.
But
the document received the backing of less than 15 percent of the electorate, in
a November vote overshadowed by the novel coronavirus pandemic and following
Hirak calls for a boycott.
The
Hirak first launched vast street demonstrations in early 2019 to oppose
then-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term in office.
Following
his resignation that April, the Hirak kept up the pressure to demand a full
overhaul of the ruling system in place since the North African country’s 1962
independence from France.
The
new constitution was pitched as responding to the demands of the Hirak, but
keeps in place Algeria’s presidential regime and expands the powers of the
army, a central pillar of the state.
Tebboune,
75, on Thursday approved Algeria’s 2021 budget and is hoping to launch a
vaccination campaign against the novel coronavirus, using the Sputnik V jab
produced by its Russian ally, as early as this month.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/north-africa/2021/01/01/Algeria-s-president-signs-new-constitution-into-law
--------
Ethiopia:
Human rights abuses after singer’s killing
Addis
Getachew Tadesse
02.01.2021
The
Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said Friday it found crimes against
humanity were committed by individuals and groups who participated in violence
and the security crisis in the Oromia Region following the death of musician
Hachalu Hundessa.
"EHRC
visited over 40 different localities in the Oromia Region over the course of
several days as part of its investigation into human rights abuses committed
there between June 29 - July 2, 2020," according to the rights group.
"In the 59 page report, the findings state that attackers moving in groups
used axes, knives, machetes, sticks and other weapons to kill and injure
civilians in gruesome ways that involved beheadings and torture."
"Altogether,
123 people died and more than 500 were injured in the carnage that also
displaced thousands from their homes," it said.
The
findings showed that the attacks met the elements of a crime against humanity
with large numbers of people, organized in groups, having selected their
victims based on their ethnicity or religion when conducting a widespread and
systematic attack in several different, it added.
"While
it is understandable that security forces had the challenging task of restoring
order in the face of such widespread violence, the proportionality of the force
employed in some contexts is highly questionable.
"In
some instances, security forces employed disproportionate force in their
attempt to restore order amidst widespread violence and as a result, passersby,
bystanders, young people, elderly people stepping in to mediate, and even
police officers lost their lives from gunshot wounds despite having no
participation in the unrest," it noted.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/ethiopia-human-rights-abuses-after-singer-s-killing/2095981
--------
Mideast
Israeli
army fire paralyzes 24-year-old Palestinian man in West Bank: Ministry
02
January 2021
A
Palestinian man was paralyzed from the neck down after being shot by the
Israeli army during Friday clashes in the West Bank, the Palestinian health
ministry said.
The
man was shot through the neck, the ministry said in a statement.
Palestinian
sources had earlier reported the wounding of 24-year-old Haroun Rasmi Abu Aram
in the village of al-Tuwanah, south of Hebron.
The
man had been attempting to prevent the troops from “stealing an electric
generator” that belonged to him, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Israeli
rights group B’Tselem said Abu Aram was helping a neighbor to build a house at
the time of the shooting.
The
Israel Defense Forces told AFP that a number of Palestinians had attacked its
troops who were conducting a routine operation to evacuate an “illegal
building” and had fired into the air in response.
An
investigation into the incident was under way, the IDF added.
Israel
has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and its settlements in the area are regarded
as illegal by much of the international community.
But
the settler population has grown in recent years.
There
are currently some 450,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank, living among an
estimated 2.8 million Palestinians.
Tensions
between the two communities have repeatedly led to violence.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2021/01/02/Israel-Palestine-Israeli-army-fire-paralyzes-24-year-old-Palestinian-man-in-West-Bank-Ministry-
--------
Soleimani’s
killers will ‘not be safe on Earth,’ says Iran’s judiciary chief
01
January 2021
Iran’s
judiciary chief warned on Friday that Qasem Soleimani’s killers will “not be
safe on Earth”, as the Islamic republic began marking the first anniversary of
the top general’s assassination in a US strike.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app
Ebrahim
Raisi, speaking at an event in Tehran to pay tribute to Soleimani, said not
even US President Donald Trump, who ordered the strike, was “immune from
justice.”
Soleimani
was killed in a US drone strike at Baghdad airport on January 3, ratcheting up
tensions between decades-old arch foes the United States and Iran.
“They
will witness a severe revenge. What has come so far has only been glimpses” of
it, Raisi told the gathering at Tehran University.
“Do
not presume that someone, as the president of America, who appeared as a
murderer or ordered a murder, may be immune from justice being carried out.
Never,” he said.
“Those
who had a role in this in this assassination and crime will not be safe on
Earth.”
The
event was attended by Iranian officials, and speakers included representatives
from allied regional countries and forces, namely Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and
Yemen.
A
separate event is expected to be held in the coming days in Kerman, Soleimani’s
hometown where he is buried.
Soleimani
headed the Quds force, the foreign operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps.
Top
Iranian authorities, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had
previously said that all those involved in his killing would face retribution.
Days
after Soleimani’s killing, Iran launched a volley of missiles at Iraqi bases
housing US and other coalition troops, with Trump refraining from any further
military response.
The
Iranian leadership has called the strikes a “slap” and vowed that “severe
revenge” awaits.
Soleimani’s
successor, Esmail Qaani, warned during Friday’s event that it may come from
anywhere.
“It’s
even possible that there are people inside your home (the United States) that
will respond to your crime,” he said.
Tensions
between Washington and Tehran have soared since 2018, when Trump unilaterally
withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal and reimposed crippling sanctions.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2021/01/01/Soleimani-s-killers-will-not-be-safe-on-Earth-says-Iran-s-judiciary-chief
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Yemen
war: Saudi attack on wedding kills five civilians in Hudaydah
02
January 2021
At
last five civilians have been killed when Saudi-backed militiamen loyal to
Yemen's former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi launched artillery rounds at a
wedding ceremony in the strategic port city of Hudaydah.
Acting
Provincial Governor, Muhammad Ayyash Qahim, told Yemen’s official Saba news
agency that the attack in al-Hawk district of the city took place on Friday
evening.
He
said five people were killed and as many injured in the incident, noting that
the victims were waiting for their families to leave when they were hit.
Qahim
condemned the “horrific act” committed by Saudi mercenaries and Saudi-led
military forces, stressing that targeting a civilian structure is “a war crime
and inconsistent with all international and humanitarian principles, and a
flagrant violation of the provisions of the Stockholm agreement.”
The
attack on Hudaydah comes as the strategic port city was part of an agreement
clinched between the Houthi Ansarullah movement and Hadi loyalists in Sweden in
December 2018.
The
document included three provisions: a ceasefire along the Hudaydah front and
the redeployment of armed forces out of the city and its port; an agreement on
prisoner exchange; and a statement of understanding on the southern Yemeni city
of Ta’izz.
‘UN
mum on Saudi atrocities’
Later
in the day, Qahim criticized the United Nations for its utter silence on
Hudaydah shelling, telling Arabic-language al-Masirah television network that
the port city “is being bombed in the face of an unjustified silence” from the
world body.
The
Yemeni official underlined that such a behavior has emboldened Saudi
mercenaries to commit crimes, and that forces of the Saudi-led coalition do not
hesitate to perpetrate criminal acts and blame others.
Official
seeks Intl. probe into shelling
Mohammed
Ali al-Houthi, a member of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council, denounced the
Saudi shelling in Hudaydah, calling for an immediate international
investigation.
Houthi
described the attack as “a deliberate terrorist act,” demanding a probe into
the incident as well as all other crimes committed by the Saudi-led coalition
against Yemen.
Saudi
Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the war on Yemen in March
2015, with the goal of bringing Hadi’s government back to power and crushing
the popular Ansarullah movement.
Last
month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) put
the death toll from the Saudi war on Yemen at 233,000.
The
popular Houthi Ansarullah movement, backed by armed forces, has been defending
Yemen against the Saudi-led alliance, preventing the aggressors from fulfilling
the objectives of the atrocious war.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/02/642053/Shelling-on-wedding-ceremony-kills-five-civilians-in-Yemen-Hudaydah
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Hamas
says new efforts underway to resume national dialog among Palestinian factions
02
January 2021
The
head of the political bureau of the Hamas resistance movement says new efforts
have been made aimed at resuming national dialog among various Palestinian
factions to reach reconciliation for achieving national unity.
“National
unity is the cornerstone of confronting the Zionist occupation and its plans
aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause and canceling our rights to land,
sanctities, and return,” Ismail Haniyeh said in a press statement on Friday,
the Palestinian Information Center reported.
He
added that Hamas was establishing “internal and external contacts” with the
Fatah political movement and other national and Islamic factions in a bid to
turn the efforts aimed at resuming national dialog into “success” against the
Israeli regime.
Haniyeh
also noted that what has been done is aimed at fulfilling the requirements of
unity by rebuilding the Palestinian leadership institutions, whether the
Palestine Liberation Organization or the Palestinian Authority, on the basis of
partnership and national consensus.
“This
must be achieved according to the will of the Palestinian people through free
and fair elections,” the top Hamas official added.
Back
in September, Haniyeh strongly urged all Palestinian factions to sew up their
differences in the face of measures targeting the Palestinian cause by the
United States, Israel, and treacherous Arab regimes.
The
Palestinian leadership has been divided between Fatah and Hamas since 2006 when
the latter scored a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in the Gaza
Strip. Hamas has ever since been running the coastal enclave, while Fatah has
been based in the autonomous parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Previous
reconciliation attempts by the two sides to form a power-sharing unity
government in Gaza and the West Bank have so far failed.
Hamas
has repeatedly said it is ready to accept key reconciliation conditions offered
by Abbas while underlining its “desire to achieve national unity.”
Last
year’s talks between Palestinian factions were inspired by the treacherous step
taken by two Persian Gulf Arab states -- the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and
Bahrain -- to normalize their ties with Israel through US-brokered deals.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/02/642048/Palestine-Hamas-national-dialogue-Haniyeh-Israel-Fatah
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Israeli
troops attack anti-settlement Palestinian protesters in West Bank
01
January 2021
Israeli
forces have attacked hundreds of Palestinian people taking part in protest
rallies in the occupied West Bank against the Tel Aviv regime’s land grab
policies.
On
Friday, Israeli forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters, who
were out on the streets in the village of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah City, to
voice their anger at the construction of a new settlement outpost in the area.
One
of the protesters was transferred to hospital after he was hit in the head with
a rubber bullet and a number of others suffered breathing difficulties due to
inhaling tear gas.
The
rally came about a week after Israeli settlers, under the protection of the
regime’s forces, erected a tent in the al-Shorfa Mountain area and began the
excavation work.
Meanwhile,
tens of Palestinians suffered tear gas inhalation during a similar
demonstration in the village of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus City.
Murad
Shteiwi, the Coordinator for Popular Resistance in Kafr Qaddum, said tens of
Israeli forces stormed the village and used rubber bullets to break up the
gathering, leaving 18 people injured.
They
also used tear gas to crack down on the weekly protest in Kafr Qaddum.
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 anti-Palestine policies of US President Donald Trump, Israel has stepped up
its settlement expansion activities 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.
Separately,
media reports cited eyewitnesses as saying that Israeli forces opened fire on a
Palestinian young man south of the city of al-Khalil (Hebron) from close range
when he tried to prevent them from seizing a generator he and his family uses.
The
man, who was identified as 24-year-old Haron Rasmi Aboaram, was injured in the
neck and transferred to hospital.
Reports
say he is in critical condition.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/01/642034/Israeli-troops-attack-Palestinian-protesters
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North
America
Donations
coming in to rebuild Missouri mosque that burned
31
December 2020
NOEL,
Mo. -- Donations have topped $40,000 to help rebuild a Missouri mosque destroyed
by fire this week.
The
Islamic Society of Joplin launched a social media fundraiser Tuesday, a day
after a fire in Noel, Missouri, destroyed the African Grocery Store and the
mosque next door, the Joplin Globe reported. Both the store and the mosque were
gathering places for refugees.
The
state fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.
The
fundraiser is a combined effort of the Islamic Society of Joplin, the Muslim
community in Noel and the Bentonville Islamic Center in Arkansas. The fundraising
goal is $100,000.
The
mosque and the store, which sold a range of products from Africa and the Middle
East, were gathering spots in Noel. The town of 1,800 in the far southwest
corner of Missouri has a large immigrant population including Pacific Islanders,
Sudanese, Somalis and refugees from Myanmar. Most were drawn to Noel by jobs at
a Tyson Foods chicken processing plant.
Dr.
Navid Zaidi, a board member of the Islamic Society of Joplin, said it was “a
great loss.”
“We’d
like to get them back on their feet and get the mosque going again as soon as
we can,” Zaidi said. "We will stand together during this difficult time
for them.”
The
incident hits close to home for the Islamic Society of Joplin, whose own mosque
burned to the ground in 2012. Joplin resident Jedediah Stout pleaded guilty to
arson and was sentenced to prison in 2016.
A
new mosque was rebuilt in Joplin in 2014.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/donations-coming-rebuild-missouri-mosque-burned-74989274
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Retired
FBI agent, ex-ICoCA board members disgusted with Trump Backwater pardons
02
January 2021
A
retired agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and two former board
members of the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA) have expressed
outrage over US President Donald Trump’s issuance of pardons for four
Blackwater contractors convicted of killing at least 14 Iraqi civilians in a
2007 Baghdad massacre.
John
M. Patarini, a retired FBI agent, wrote in a letter to the editor of The New
York Times that he led the investigation into Baghdad’s Nisour Square massacre,
noting that he initially thought the shooting was some form of innocent
civilians caught in the crossfire between the guards and militants at the time.
After
only one week, Patarini, however, discovered that the incident was not as what
Blackwater, now renamed Academi, personnel and State Department officials had
described, but it was actually a carnage similar to the My Lai massacre
where between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians
were killed by US Army soldiers during the Vietnam War.
The
retired FBI agent then pointed to a political push by members of Congress for
the pardons, saying Trump should have had staff members review the trial
evidence that led to the convictions and read the judges’ opinions and sentencing
statements.
“I’m
so disgusted with the president’s actions! I am embarrassed for our country. I
believe we will pay a heavy price in our relationships with other countries as
a result of these pardons,” Patarini wrote.
Michael
Posner also noted that it took seven years for the US government to
successfully prosecute the Blackwater contractors, arguing that the outgoing US
president shamefully pardoned the four perpetrators and upended such a valuable
example of accountability.
“Trump’s
pardon underscores the need for governments to bolster ICoCA’s role in
monitoring private security firms and addressing abuses when they occur,”
Posner commented.
He
called on the incoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden to
support ICoCA’s important global mission, by providing financial and diplomatic
support and by requiring private security companies doing business with US
agencies to participate in the association’s monitoring and assessment program.
Finally,
Karen Porter personally apologized to the Iraqi people not only for the US-led
invasion and occupation but also for what she described as “despicable pardons”
of four convicted killers of Baghdad’s crowded Nisour Square.
“I’m
sure I speak for millions of Americans who are horrified by these pardons and
are truly sorry. Our apologies may not help, but we still must offer them,” she
said.
In
2014, four former US government contractors who worked for Blackwater were
convicted in federal court in Washington in connection with the Iraq killings
in 2007.
Nicholas
Slatten was sentenced to life in prison without parole after being convicted of
murder, while Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were convicted of
manslaughter and weapons charges.
Prosecutors
said the Blackwater convoy “launched an unprovoked attack using sniper fire,
machine guns and grenade launchers.”
Blackwater
was founded by Erik Prince, a staunch Trump ally and the brother of Secretary
of Education Betsy DeVos.
The
notorious company was one of several private military firms hired to assist the
US army in Iraq following its 2003 invasion and occupation of the Arab country.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/02/642066/Retired-FBI-agent,-ex-ICoCA-board-members-disgusted-with-Trump-Backwater-pardons
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Venezuela's
Maduro Plans To Further Expand Ties with Iran, Other Allies in New Year
02
January 2021
President
Nicolas Maduro says he plans to further strengthen Venezuela's ties with Iran
as well as with Russia and China among other allies in 2021 in order to boost
his homeland’s economic status..
“The
gate of our country is open to the world,” Maduro said in an interview with
Venezuelan news agency AVN Friday on the occasion of the New Year.
“Undoubtedly,
we will establish special relations with the governments and nations of Russia,
the People's Republic of China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Cuba, India, as
well as relations with Turkey and the countries of South Africa.”
Venezuela
and Iran enjoy 70 years of relations which have featured considerable alignment
over the past two decades, in clear opposition to Washington's unilateralist
and interventionist foreign policy.
Iran
has, in recent years, been involved in a series of joint ventures worth several
billion dollars in energy, agriculture, housing, and infrastructure sectors in
Venezuela.
Both
countries are hugely rich in resources. Venezuela possesses the world's biggest
oil deposit while Iran owns the fourth largest oil and first largest gas
reserves of the world.
In
clear defiance of US sanctions, five Iranian vessels carried out fuel delivery
missions to Venezuela between May and June last year, with another flotilla
also delivering the equipment that the Latin American country needed to shore
up its gasoline industry, which has been hit hard by American sanctions.
Venezuela
experienced political turmoil when opposition figure Juan Guido unilaterally
declared himself "interim president" in January 2018, followed by a
US-backed botched coup against the elected government. There was also an
attempt at assassinating Maduro in a drone strike the same year.
Guaido's
self-proclamation and his coup attempt received backing from the US
administration.
Washington
has imposed several rounds of crippling sanctions against the oil-rich South
American country aimed at ousting Maduro and replacing him with Guaido.
The
sanctions, which include the illegal confiscation of Venezuelan assets abroad
and an economic blockade, have caused enormous suffering for millions of people
in the country.
In
his interview on Friday, Maduro assured that “the year 2021 will be a decisive
year to end the economic siege of imperialism and the start of the era of
recovery and reconstruction.”
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/02/642063/Venezuela-Nicolas-Maduro-consolidation-relations-Iran-AVN
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Pompeo
sanctions Cuba bank for alleged links to country's military
02
January 2021
US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has added a Cuban bank to a list of sanctioned
entities, accusing it of being linked to the country’s military and funding
"Cuba's interference in Venezuela."
"Today,
the Department of State is announcing the addition of Banco Financiero
International S.A. (BFI) to the Cuba Restricted List, effective upon
publication in early January,” Pompeo said in a Friday statement, alleging that
“BFI is a Cuban military-controlled commercial bank that benefits directly from
financial transactions at the expense of the Cuban people."
Reacting
to yet another anti-Cuba measure by Washington in recent weeks, Cuban Foreign
Minister Bruno Rodriguez slammed the move in a Twitter post later on Friday,
saying, "I reject new punitive measure of #US State Department to tighten
blockade against #Cuba.”
"The
inclusion of Cuban entities in its lists is intended to reinforce an economic
siege that has failed to destroy the Cuban Revolution after 62 years."
The
move by Washington's top diplomat came amid speculation that the out-going
Trump administration may be planning to redesignate the island as a state
sponsor of terrorism, a hostile measure that would severely impede foreign
investment in the Caribbean island nation and could hinder diplomatic ties with
the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden.
This
comes ahead of January 3, which marks the 60th anniversary of the United States
severing relations with Cuba following the "bay of pigs" defeat of
its military incursion into the country after its popular revolution that
ousted the US-installed dictator Fulgencio Batista.
US-Cuba
tensions eased a bit under the administration of former President Barack Obama,
who established diplomatic relations and removed Cuba from Washington’s
arbitrary “terror list” in 2015.
Biden,
who was Obama's vice president, has offered only broad details about his Cuba
policy but has indicated he would again relax some restrictions against Havana
while still raising concerns about alleged human rights violations.
On
Thursday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel censured a final-hour effort by the
Trump administration to place the Caribbean island on its list of state
sponsors of terrorism.
President
Díaz-Canel said in a tweet that Havana condemns “a unilateral, absurd,
hypocritical and unjust maneuver of the US administration to include Cuba in
their list of state sponsors of terrorism.”
“This
administration protects terrorist groups acting against #Cuba,” he added.
Díaz-Canel
also wrote that Havana “will constantly and rightfully denounce every mercenary
and imperialist action against #Cuba.”
Meanwhile,
a New York Times report cited two US officials as saying that Pompeo was
contemplating efforts to re-designate Cuba as a state sporor of “terrorism.”
Democratic
Party lawmakers have, however, denounced Pompeo’s Cuba plan, describing it as
an attempt to unfairly limit Biden’s incoming administration.
“It’s
another stunt by this president with less than 23 days to go,” said Democrat
Representative Gregory Meeks, adding that Trump is “trying to put handcuffs on
the incoming administration.”
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/02/642065/US-Secretary-of-State-Mike-Pompeo-Cuba-sanctioned-entities-Banco-Financiero-International
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US
pulls warship from Mideast amid Iran tensions
Michael
Gabriel Hernandez
31.12.2020
WASHINGTON
The
US announced Thursday is recalling the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier from the
Middle East after a nearly 10-month deployment amid tensions with Iran.
The
Nimitz will return to its home port in Norfolk, Virginia, according to the
Pentagon.
“The
Nimitz team provided persistent air cover during the troop drawdowns in
Afghanistan and conducted operations and exercises that strengthened enduring
partnerships and alliances in the U.S. Central Command and U.S. Indo-Pacific
Command areas of responsibility," spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman said in
a statement.
"They
conducted themselves admirably throughout the deployment despite the many
challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic," he added.
The
move comes one day after the US flew two B-52 bombers over the Middle East in a
warning sign likely intended for Iran.
In
announcing the "clear deterrent message," US Central Command did not
specify to whom the display of force was intended, saying only it applies
"to anyone who intends to do harm to Americans or American
interests."
The
deployment of the bombers from the US is the third such action in the past 45
days, according to the Pentagon. It comes amid heightened tensions between the
US and Iran that have been at a fever pitch since US President Donald Trump
opted to unilaterally withdraw Washington from a landmark nuclear accord with
Tehran in 2018.
The
countries found themselves on the verge of a conflict that would have likely
enveloped the region earlier this year when Trump chose to assassinate a key
Iranian general in Iraq in January.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-pulls-warship-from-mideast-amid-iran-tensions/2095255
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Arab
World
New
Year’s Eve celebratory gunfire kills Syrian refugee in Lebanon
02
January 2021
Celebratory
gunfire to ring in the New Year killed a Syrian woman living as a refugee in
eastern Lebanon and struck an airplane parked at Beirut’s airport in two
separate incidents, Lebanon’s official news agency said Friday.
The
Syrian woman died early on Friday after a bullet struck her in the head in a
refugee camp in Baalbek, according to the National News Agency.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
Middle East Airlines plane on the tarmac at Beirut’s airport was hit as people
in the vicinity of the southern Beirut neighborhood fired in the air in
celebration. The plane later took off as scheduled after engineers made sure it
was safe to fly.
Shooting
from guns and rifles into the air in celebration is common in some parts of
Lebanon at events such as weddings, funerals, when political leaders give
speeches — and even when a student passes high school exams.
In
September, Lebanon’s leading football player Mohammed Atwi died, nearly a month
after he was struck in the head by a stray bullet fired by mourners during a
funeral for one of the victims of this summer’s massive Beirut port explosion.
Atwi was 33.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2021/01/02/New-Year-s-Eve-celebratory-gunfire-kills-Syrian-refugee-in-Lebanon
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Qatar
urges UN to stop violation of territorial waters by Bahraini vessels
02
January 2021
Qatar
has protested at the violation of its territorial waters by Bahraini military
vessels, calling on the United Nations to put an end to such acts and adopt
appropriate measures to maintain international peace and security.
Permanent
Representative of Qatar to the United Nations Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al
Thani, in two identical letters addressed to the rotating President of the
Security Council Jerry Matthews Matjila and UN Secretary-General António
Guterres, stated that the latest violation of Qatari territorial waters took
place on November 25 last year, condemning the “dangerous and illegal” acts.
She
noted that the Bahraini vessels entered Qatar’s maritime territory without any
permission in a move which represents a violation of Doha's sovereignty and a
threat to the Persian Gulf kingdom’s security.
The
diplomat went on to say that such an infringement, together with the violation
of Qatari airspace on December 9 last year, exacerbates tensions in the region
and shows Manama’s disregard for its obligations under the international law.
Al
Thani pointed out that Bahrain is trying to invent pretexts to destabilize and
increase tensions in the region, stating that such a practice threatens
regional and global peace and security.
She
said Qatar is abiding by its commitments and is exercising its sovereign
rights.
The
Qatari diplomat highlighted that Doha stands committed to the principle of good
neighborliness, exhibits restraint in the face of provocative acts, rejects any
violation of its sovereignty, and reserves the right to take all necessary
legal measures to defend its borders and airspace in line with international
regulations.
Saudi
Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt severed diplomatic
and trade ties with Qatar on June 5, 2017, accusing Doha of meddling in
regional affairs and supporting “terrorism.”
Qatar
has rejected the allegations and said it was targeted because it followed an
independent foreign policy.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/02/642060/Qatar-urges-UN-to-stop-violation-of-territorial-waters-by-Bahraini-vessels
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Car
bomb hits near Russia base in Syria’s Raqqah: Monitoring group
01
January 2021
A
bomb has reportedly gone off near a Russian military base in Syria’s
northeastern province of Raqqah.
The
so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two men parked an
explosives-laden vehicle outside the base in the Tal Saman area, before opening
fire on the base and fleeing the scene in the early hours of Friday.
“It’s
the first such direct attack against a Russian base in northeastern Syria,”
Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.
The
Britain-based group claimed that several Russian troops had been wounded in the
car bomb attack, without giving an exact number.
The
report has not been confirmed by Russia.
The
al-Qaeda-linked Hurras al-Deen Takfiri terrorist group reportedly claimed
responsibility for the attack in a statement that circulated on social media.
The
SOHR described the attack as the first of its kind in the area by Hurras
al-Deen militants, who rarely operates outside the northwestern region of
Idlib, the terrorists’ last major bastion in the country.
Armed
groups in Idlib regularly make attempts at attacking Hmeimim airbase in
Lattakia Province.
The
Russian military and the Syrian army have thwarted several drone and mortar
attacks launched by militants on the airbase, destroying dozens of drones and
multiple-launch rocket system shells.
Russia
has been helping Syrian forces in the ongoing battles across the
conflict-plagued Arab country.
The
Russian military assistance, which began in September 2015 at the official
request of the Syrian government, has proved effective as Syrians continue to
recapture key areas from Daesh and other terrorist groups across the country
thanks to Russian air cover.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/01/642025/Car-bomb-hits-Russia-base-Syria-Raqqah
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