‘Pakistan Now Gives Explanations Even If A Firecracker Bursts: UP CM Yogi Adityanath
New
Age Islam News Bureau
21
April 2024
Uttar
Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath (PTI)
-----
• ‘Pakistan Now Gives Explanations Even If A
Firecracker Bursts: UP CM Yogi Adityanath
• Nexus Claimed Between Jihadi And Sub-Nationalist
Secular Militant: Pakistan DIG
• Israel To Summon Ambassadors Of Countries That Voted
For Palestinian UN Membership
• Met Commissioner Failed To Curtail “Countless
Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes And Terrorist Offences" CAA Chief Says
• Award Winners Crowned At Close Of Gulf Cinema
Festival In Riyadh
India
• CAA Will Be Repealed, Not Amended, When INDIA Bloc
Comes To Power: Congress
• This Election Crucial For Protecting Community's
Rights, Pluralism: Muslim Voters In Aligarh
• BJP Blames 'Love Jihad' For Neha Hiremath's Murder
In Hubballi
• India Extends Invitation to Bangladesh PM: Bilateral
Talks Ahead
• NDA's lone Muslim Bihar MP Mehboob Ali Kaiser joins
RJD
-----
Pakistan
• Lahore High Court Asks Judges To Protect Rape
Victims’ Identity In Verdicts
• JUI-F To Up The Ante Against ‘Fake Govt’: Fazlur
Rehman
• Tough contest expected between PML-N, PTI-backed
candidates in PP-22
• CDA removes ‘encroachments’ at tennis court named
after Benazir Bhutto in Islamabad
• Little headway in Karach’s Landhi suicide bombing
investigation
• 616 booked for holding PTI election rally in Kasur
-----
Mideast
• Israeli Strikes On Southern Gaza City Of Rafah Kill
18, Mostly Children, As US Advances Aid Package
• Keeping Score Of The Israel-Iran War: Bibi Needs It,
The Mullahs Don’t
• Crackdowns, Attacks and Threat of War Put Iranians
on Edge
• Iran, Israel Appear To Pull Back From Brink As US
Approves Military Aid
• ‘Toys Our Children Play With’: Iran Foreign Minister
Appears To Mock Israel, Downplays Isfahan Drone Attack
-----
Europe
• Studying Islam Outside Of Stereotypes At Aristotle
University Of Thessaloniki
• Attacker who set fire to worshippers given
indefinite hospital order
• Creative Scene set to host The Big Eid Community
Party in Batley to celebrate the end of Ramadan
• UK Government and Labour Party criticised after
snubbing talks on EU-wide youth mobility scheme
-----
Arab
World
• Urban Greening Begins In Irqah, Riyadh
• Heritage Celebrations In Diriyah And Baha Draw
Crowds
• Oman’s Islamic banking sector sees 17.6% asset
growth
• Islamic Union Bloc addresses salary matters for
political prisoners and martyrs' families in Kurdistan
• 15k held for labor, residency, border violations in
Saudi Arabia
• Authorities bust drug smugglers across Saudi Arabia
• Saudi deputy FM meets Colombian counterpart in
Bogota
-----
South
Asia
• Need For India-Bangladesh Economic Cooperation Deal:
CUTS
• Expatriates urged to send remittances thru' legal
channels
• Commemorative Bangladeshi banknote featuring PM
Hasina misleadingly shared as 'legal tender'
• Bangladesh, Nepal stress finalizing PTA
-----
Southeast
Asia
• Anwar Says Up To Pardons Board To Decide On Proposal
For Najib To Serve House Arrest
• PKR’s reform success is measured by policies
benefiting the people, says sec-gen
• Sarawak Utility Ministry not tabling Bill on single
water entity this coming state assembly, says state minister
• Muhyddin: Perikatan to announce Kuala KubuBaru
by-election candidate on April 25
-----
North
America
• Muslim Americans Who Soured On Biden See Israel Aid
Package As Further Betrayal
• DER Weekends: Hamtramck gets new Muslim, Arab police
chief
• Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial in
New York dies
• Senate passes reauthorization of key US surveillance
program just after midnight deadline
-----
Africa
• Turkiye Pledges Continuous Support For Africa As Emine
Erdoğan Hosts Nigerian Counterpart OluremiTinubuIn Istanbul
• At least 50 dead after a boat capsizes in Central
African Republic
• Nigerian's 60-hour chess marathon breaks record
• Food Security: Southwest farmers, Miyetti Allah sign
MOU on peaceful coexistence
• Ondo Muslims get Dangote palliative rice
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/pakistan-firecracker-up-cm-yogi/d/132176
-----
‘Pakistan Now Gives Explanations Even If A Firecracker
Bursts: UP CM Yogi Adityanath
Uttar
Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath (PTI)
-----
By HT News Desk
Apr 21, 2024
While addressing a public rally in Chhattisgarh's
Korba, Uttar Pradesh CM and BJP leader Yogi Adityanath hailed the security
situation in India under the PM Modi-led government. He said that today the
situation is such that even if a firecracker bursts anywhere (in India),
Pakistan gives explanations that it wasn't involved. He made the comments while
drawing a comparison between the ruling Modi government and the pre-2014
Congress-led government.
"During Congress government, people died of
hunger, farmers committed suicide, the youth migrated, daughters and businessmen
were unsafe, terrorists could infiltrate into the country and would explode
bombs anywhere. But today, even if a firecracker bursts, Pakistan starts giving
explanations that it wasn't involved because it knows if it is found involved
in any attack, the forces of New India will infiltrate into its territory and
attack," said Yogi Adityanath while addressing the election rally.
In the first phase of the Lok Sabha election 2024,
voting was done in Chhattisgarh's Bastar constituency. In the second phase on
April 26 , Rajnandgaon, Mahasamund, Kanker are the three constituencies in
Chhattisgarh where voting will be held. On May 7, the third phase will decide
the fate of candidates in the remaining seven constituencies — Surguja,
Raigarh, Janjgir-Champa, Korba, Bilaspur, Durg and Raipur. Saroj Pandey is the
BJP candidate from Korba.
In view of the Lok Sabha election 2024, BJP leaders,
including Yogi Adityanath have been highlighting the achievements of the
government. The seven-phase election began, with phase one held on April 19.
The seventh phase will be held on June 1 and thenafter, the result will be
declared on June 4.
Source: Hindustan Times
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Nexus Claimed Between Jihadi And Sub-Nationalist
Secular Militant: Pakistan DIG
Omar Shahid Hamid
-----
Shazia Hasan
April 20, 2024
KARACHI: A senior police officer claims to have
identified a nexus between jihadi and sub-nationalist secular militant groups
in the country and said that they are providing each other safe havens.
DIG and novelist Omar Shahid Hamid also said young
people are inclined towards militancy due to a disconnect between them and the
state.
He was speaking at a talk on the rising trend of
terrorism, crime and violence and solutions to curbing these, organised by
Concerned Citizens Alliance (CCA) in collaboration with the Pakistan Medical
Association (PMA) at the PMA House on Friday.
Coming to the point right away by bringing up the
latest terrorist attack on foreign nationals in the city earlier in the day,
DIG Shahid said that the law enforcement agencies are facing difficult times
where they are seeing a downward spiral due to the state of the country’s
economics. “There is a spike in street crime, an increase in terrorist
attacks,” he said, adding that the challenges faced by Pakistan regarding crime
would even overwhelm Western countries.
He said it is not like nothing was done to control the
crime but they are still unable to enjoy the peace dividend of the sacrifices
that the law enforcers have made.
“Even though Pakistan was able to break the
Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan [TTP], so many militants who had gone back to
Afghanistan are back due to some unfortunate decisions on the part of our
government. We have been seeing resurgence [of terrorism] for the past two to
three years and incidents are not just shooting or firing incidents but suicide
bombings, meaning the terrorists’ capacity is increasing. They have slowly
revived and we have reverted to our position of 2014,” he observed.
“We have expanded our footprint there but the problem
is still not solved because the militant groups have collaborated. The jihadi
groups are helping the secular groups, providing each other safe havens. There
is looting and extortion as the whole system of crime feeds on it. They enable
the militant groups to function comfortably as they collect amazing amounts to
become some of the richest groups in the world,” he said.
“The heart of the problem is the motivation for these
groups. The youth are inclined towards militancy due to a disconnect between
them and the state. There is a difference between their vision and the vision
that the government wants to give to its stakeholders. They are not buying that
vision,” he said.
About street crime, he said renting a pistol and
snatching three iPhones in a day looks far easier and feasible than holding a
job, which pays far less than that in a month. “Meanwhile, desperation is
increasing on both sides, that of the criminal and that of the victim. This
increase leads to violence and the sensational stories that you see and hear
about,” he added.
DIG Omar Shahid said that he was not saying all this
as an apologist for the performance of law enforcement agencies. But he felt
that the government has not invested enough in the capacity growth of the
police here.
“And it’s not by one political party. There are also
non-political actors because of whom there comes a problem with accountability.
For instance, there is the inspector general of police who may not feel that he
is accountable to the chief executive of his province. Then his entire chain of
command may also feel the same. This becomes a problem on the operational level
then. We need to reverse this, which is a tough thing to do because there is
political inference and control in police in the West, too,” he said.
Earlier, CCA founder Azhar Jamil and their coordinator
Mirza Ali Azhar also mentioned how the entire city is in the grips of crime.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1828527
-----
Israel To Summon Ambassadors Of Countries That Voted
For Palestinian UN Membership
Children injured during
Israeli bombardment receive treatment at at the Kuwait Hospital in Rafah, on
the southern Gaza Strip on April 20, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel
and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (AFP)
------
AFP
April 21, 2024
JERUSALEM: Israel will summon ambassadors of countries
that voted for full Palestinian UN membership “for a protest talk” on Sunday, a
foreign ministry spokesman said.
It came after the Palestinian Authority said it would
“reconsider” its relationship with the United States after Washington vetoed
the Palestinian membership bid earlier this week.
Thursday’s vote saw 12 countries on the UN Security
Council back a resolution recommending full Palestinian membership and two —
Britain and Switzerland — abstain.
A Palestinian doctor tends to a baby born prematurely
after his mother was injured during Israeli bombardment, at the Kuwait Hospital
in Rafah, on the southern Gaza Strip on April 20, 2024, amid ongoing battles between
Israel and the militant group Hamas. (AFP)
On Saturday, Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren
Marmorstein said the ministry “will summon for a protest talk the ambassadors
of the countries that voted in the Security Council in favor of upgrading the
status of the Palestinians in the UN.”
“The ambassadors of France, Japan, South Korea, Malta,
the Slovak Republic and Ecuador will be summoned tomorrow for a demarche, and a
strong protest will be presented to them,” he said in a post on X.
“The unambiguous message that will be delivered to the
ambassadors: A political gesture to the Palestinians and a call to recognize a
Palestinian state — six months after the October 7 massacre — is a prize for
terrorism.”
The draft resolution called for recommending to the
General Assembly “that the State of Palestine be admitted to membership of the
United Nations” in place of its current “non-member observer state” status,
which it has held since 2012.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2496486/middle-east
-----
Met Commissioner Failed To Curtail “Countless
Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes And Terrorist Offences" CAA Chief Says
Gideon Falter, chief
executive of the Campaign Against abti-Semitism, speaks to a Metropolitan
Police officer as a pro-Palestine march takes place in London on April 13. PA
------
20 April 2024
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has made the
call after the Met was forced into a humiliating double apology - after footage
of an officer appearing to claim that being visibly Jewish was provocative at
pro-Palestine marches in London.
In a statement, the CAA's chief executive, Gideon
Falter, said Sir Mark Rowley had failed to curtail the marches, allowing
"countless anti-Semitic hate crimes and terrorist offences" to be
committed "in broad daylight on our streets".
He added: "Racists, extremists and terrorist
sympathisers have watched the excuses and inertia of the Met under his command
and been emboldened by his inaction at precisely the moment when he should be
signalling a renewed determination to crack down on this criminality.
"What the Met under Sir Mark has done to the
Jewish community over the course of six months is utterly unforgivable and it
is time for him to go. Enough is enough."
Mr Falter has been at the centre of a row about the
policing of demonstrations after the CAA published footage of a police officer
describing him as "openly Jewish" during a protest in central London
on April 13.
The Met apologised on Friday, suggesting opponents of
pro-Palestinian marches "must know that their presence is
provocative" and they are "increasing the likelihood of an
altercation" by lining the route to object.
Mr Falter said his treatment had been "a
disgrace" and "the inevitable conclusion of six months of inertia and
contextualising crimes away by a Met that has curtailed the rights of
law-abiding Londoners in order to appease mobs rife with anti-Jewish racists
and terrorist sympathisers".
Policing minister Chris Philp said on Saturday he was
"deeply concerned" and would meet Sir Mark the following week to
discuss the incident.
He said: "No-one should be told their religion is
provocative, nor an innocent person threatened with arrest solely because of
someone else's anticipated unreasonable reaction."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We welcome the
Met Police's apology, and recognise the complexities of policing fast-moving
public protests, but simply being Jewish - or of any other race or religion -
should never be seen as provocative.
"The way the original incident was dealt with by
the Met was concerning and the original response put out by them was
insensitive and wrong.
"The Met have an extremely difficult job -
particularly so when it comes to operational decisions taken while policing
marches - but in the end the Met must have the confidence of the communities
they serve and it is right that they have apologised for the way the incident
was handled and their original public response."
The Met has faced criticism for its handling of a
series of pro-Palestinian demonstrations since the renewal of hostilities in
Gaza last October.
Last month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the public
wanted to see officers "not merely manage these protests, but police
them", while his former home secretary, Suella Braverman, said the Jewish
community had been "let down by the authorities", during a Commons
debate in February.
Source: Lbc.co.uk
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/mark-rowley-antisemitism-row/
-----
Award Winners Crowned At Close Of Gulf Cinema Festival
In Riyadh
The fourth Gulf Cinema
Festival has concluded in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. (SPA)
------
ARAB NEWS
April 21, 2024
RIYADH: Award winners were crowned on the final day of
the fourth Gulf Cinema Festival in Riyadh on Saturday, at a ceremony attended
by prominent artistic and cinematic names, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The winners were nominated by a jury headed by Ibrahim
Al-Hasawi from Saudi Arabia, who was joined by Bassam Al-Thawadi from Bahrain,
Rawda Al-Thani from Qatar, Khaled Amin from Kuwait, Nujoom Al-Ghanem from the
UAE and Ibrahim Al-Zadjali from Oman.
“Hajjan,” a coming-of-age drama set in Saudi Arabia
about two brothers who battle to save their favorite camel starring Omar
Al-Atawi and AbdulmohsenAlnemr, won the award for best feature film.
It also picked up the best photography award, with
Jerry Fassbender recognized for his work on the film. Al-Atawi won the best
actor award for his role.
The award for best short film went to the heavily
tipped “Clouds,” about a widower and war veteran who are forced to balance
their own morals with societal expectations in southern Oman, directed by
MuznaAlmusafer.
The award for best original soundtrack went to Khaled
Al-Kammar for his music that featured in the movie “Hawjan,” a modern twist on
the ancient Arab jinn mythology, which also opened the latest edition of the
Red Sea Festival last year.
The Gulf Cinema Festival was held under the patronage
of Saudi Culture Minister Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, who is also
chairman of the board of directors of the Film Commission, which organized the
event.
Abdullah Al-Qahtani, CEO of the commission, said in a
speech during the ceremony that the festival embodied a commitment to
supporting the film sector in the region and building bridges for cinematic
cooperation between the Gulf countries.
He thanked Prince Badr for his sponsorship and support
of the festival and the film sector in Saudi Arabia, as well as the general
secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2496436/saudi-arabia
-----
India
CAA Will Be Repealed, Not Amended, When INDIA Bloc
Comes To Power: Congress
21 Apr 2024
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior Congress leader P
Chidambaram on Sunday said the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)
will be repealed in the first session of Parliament after the INDIA Bloc forms
the government at the Centre.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the CPI(M)
has been constantly lashing out at the Congress saying its manifesto fails to
mention the CAA.
The former union minister said the 10-year-rule of the
BJP has caused tremendous damage to the country as it misused the "brute
majority" in Parliament.
"There is a long list of laws among which five
laws will be absolutely repealed. Take it from me, I am the chairman of the
manifesto committee. I wrote every word of it, I know what the intention was.
The CAA will be repealed, not amended. We have made it clear," Chidambaram
said.
Dismissing the claims of Vijayan that the Congress has
not opposed the Law, Chidambaram said Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has
spoken against the CAA in Parliament.
"Ayodhya now has a temple. We are happy. People
wanted the temple and a temple has come up. That should be the end of the
story. Why should a temple in Ayodhya play a role in politics or in elections
and on who should rule the country. It should have no role at all,"
Chidambaram said.
On the issue of national border security, the senior
Congress leader alleged that the BJP government was hiding the truth from the
people of the country that "thousands of square kilometres of Indian land
was occupied by Chinese troops."
"That's a fact testified by the MP from Ladakh.
The fact testified by the Arunachal Pradesh citizens. Therefore, to say that
they have secured our borders is a complete lie," Chidambaram said.
He also lashed out at the BJP-led NDA government and
said the saffron party is no longer a political party but has become a cult
that worships Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Targeting the Modi government, Chidambaram said there
is a "grave erosion" of freedom of speech and expression that
happened in the 10 years of Modi rule, and urged the people to "restore
democracy."
"The BJP constituted the manifesto in 14 days
which is not titled manifesto. They called it Modi's guarantee. The BJP is no
longer a political party. It has become a cult and the cult worships Narendra
Modi," Chidambaram said.
The Congress leader also criticised Vijayan, who has
been vocal these days against the Congress and Rahul Gandhi, and asked the Left
leader to look at this election as a national election, which it is.
"And from a national point of view, who is better
placed to fight the BJP and form a government in Delhi. Who is better placed to
fight the BJP across India? It is obviously the Congress and not the CPI(M).
CPI(M) is literally a single state party now," Chidambaram said.
"I am not sure if I can hold a press conference
like this if Mr Modi is elected for a third time. I am not sure whether you
will be free to ask any questions to BJP leaders then," he added.
Source: The Print
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This Election Crucial For Protecting Community's
Rights, Pluralism: Muslim Voters In Aligarh
21.04.24
Campaigning in Aligarh is subdued with major parties
focusing on their core support bases. In the Muslim community, views on this
Lok Sabha election seem to vary, with some seeing it as crucial for India's
pluralism while others feel neglected by political parties.
Muslims are a sizeable community in the Aligarh
parliamentary constituency. According to the 2011 Census, Islam is the
second-most popular religion in Aligarh city, a lock-making hub in western
Uttar Pradesh, with over 40 per cent of people following it.
"For me, this election is about safeguarding the
Constitution, which grants me and everyone else in this country the right to
equality," Shadab Khan, a 45-year-old driver at the Aligarh Muslim
University (AMU), said.
Source: Telegraph India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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BJP Blames 'Love Jihad' For Neha Hiremath's Murder In
Hubballi
By HT News Desk
Apr 21, 2024
Neha Hiremath, a first-year MCA student in BVB
College, was stabbed to death on the campus by accused FayazKhondunaik.
The murder of the daughter of a Congress councillor in
Hubballi on her college campus for allegedly rejecting a man's marriage
proposal, has triggered a political row in poll-bound Karnataka. While the
ruling Congress claimed “a personal angle”, the Opposition BJP suspects that
the motivation behind the murder was "love jihad".
Neha Hiremath, a first-year MCA student in BVB
College, was stabbed to death on the campus by accused FayazKhondunaik. The
accused, who was arrested later, allegedly told the police that he had stabbed
Neha multiple times because the two were in a relationship and she had been
avoiding him of late. The victim's family, however, claimed he killed her as
she declined his marriage proposal.
Source: Hindustan Times
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India Extends Invitation to Bangladesh PM: Bilateral
Talks Ahead
by Huma Siddiqui
April 21, 2024
In the midst of ongoing General Elections in India,
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to visit New Delhi as early
as next month. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra and other top officials are set
to head to Dhaka soon to finalize the travel details.
Originally, the visit was planned for April 20, but it
got postponed unexpectedly without any explanation. However, government sources
now suggest the visit will happen soon.
Some speculate that India wants to assure Hasina
before the election results and perhaps send a message to neighboring countries
about the predicted outcome. Initially, India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh
formally invited Hasina to visit India at the end of June, but Bangladesh
expressed concerns about her busy schedule, including trips to Thailand and
Geneva.
Now, India hopes to host Hasina before her China trip.
China’s involvement in the Teesta delta development project adds complexity to
the situation. Dhaka has urged New Delhi to take up the project, emphasizing
its location within Bangladesh’s borders.
Source: Financial Express
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NDA's lone Muslim Bihar MP Mehboob Ali Kaiser joins
RJD
Apr 21, 2024
NEW DELHI: LJP MP Mehboob Ali Kaiser, the only Muslim
member elected to the Lok Sabha from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National
Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar, has shifted his allegiance to Rashtriya
Janata Dal (RJD), providing a boost to the opposition party during the ongoing
elections.
Kaiser, who stood by former Union minister Pashupati
Kumar Paras when he broke away from the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), was not
granted a ticket by Chirag Paswan this time, despite attempts at
reconciliation.
"Kaiser-saheb is joining us after a meeting with
party president Lalu Prasad-ji. We stand to gain from his experience. It is a
development that will send across a strong message in favor of our fight to
protect the Constitution, which is facing threat from the ruling
dispensation," said Yadav.
Source: Times Of India
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Pakistan
Lahore High CourtAsks Judges To Protect Rape Victims’
Identity In Verdicts
Wajih Ahmad Sheikh
April 21, 2024
LAHORE: Emphasising protection of the identity of rape
victims and their family while writing judgements by the trial judges, the
Lahore High Court has also ordered the federal government to ensure effective
implementation of the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021.
“Child sexual abuse is a deeply traumatic and
sensitive issue that demands that the justice system handle these cases with
exceptional care and consideration for the unique needs and vulnerabilities of
child victims,” said a judgement authored by Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh.
However, he observed, regrettably, some of the
provisions of the 2021 Act have not been implemented and the intended goals of
the legislation have not been realised.
The judge noted that section 26 of the 2021 Act
explicitly prohibits the disclosure or revelation of the identity of a victim
or the victim’s family unless prior written permission is obtained from the
aggrieved parties.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1828670/lhc-asks-judges-to-protect-rape-victims-identity-in-verdicts
-----
JUI-F to up the ante against ‘fake govt’: Fazlur
Rehman
Saleem Shahid
April 21, 2024
QUETTA: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman once again
“rejected” the February 8 general elections, vowing that his party will not let
the existing government function as it was “fake” and a product of rigged
polls.
Addressing a public meeting at the Taj Lala Stadium in
Pishin on Saturday, he said: “Our anti-government movement will spread across
the country, and nobody can stop it.”
Heavy security deployment was made around the venue as
the district administration had issued a threat alert three days back over
reports of a possible attack on the public meeting.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1828732/jui-f-to-up-the-ante-against-fake-govt-fazlur-rehman
-----
Tough contest expected between PML-N, PTI-backed
candidates in PP-22
Nabeel Anwar Dhakku
April 21, 2024
CHAKWAL: A neck-and-neck contest is likely to be
witnessed in PP-22 (Chakwal-cum-Talagang) between candidates of the ruling
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-backed Sunni
Ittehad Council (SIC) in the by-election on Sunday (today).
PP-22, a sub-constituency of NA-59, was won by PML-N
candidate Sardar Ghulam Abbas who was also victorious in NA-59 in the Feb 8 polls.
Mr Abbas, however, retained his National Assembly seat and vacated PP-22.
According to sources in the PML-N, Mr Abbas wanted the
PP-22 ticket for his younger brother but the party instead awarded ticket to
Malik Falak Sher Awan, a businessman from Talagang.
A PML-N leader on condition of anonymity told Dawn:
“The party did not want to award a ticket to Malik Falak Sher Awan but it had
to choose him as he had a strong backing of the powers that be.”
In Sunday’s by-election, the main contest is once again
between Hakeem Nisar Ahmed and PML-N’s Malik Falak Sher Awan. However
Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan’s candidate Mohammad Adrees and an independent
candidate, Malik Ikram Abbas, are also in the running.In the Feb general
elections, Mr Adrees had obtained 9,113 votes as per Form-47.
Source: Dawn
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of the original story:
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CDA removes ‘encroachments’ at tennis court named
after Benazir Bhutto in Islamabad
Ikram Junaidi
April 21, 2024
ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) on
Saturday demolished some structures at a tennis club – named after slain prime
minister Benazir Bhutto – located on Embassy Road, prompting a strong response
from the PPP which claimed that the civic body violated the stay order of the
court.
The civic agency claimed that as per the directions of
the Islamabad High Court, construction could not be allowed in parks. The CDA
said the tennis court was not “removed at all” and only a few structures built
at the tennis court were removed by the civic body to facilitate residents. The
CDA also cancelled the lease of the tennis court.
According to documents, Metropolitan Corporation
Islamabad (MCI) Sports, Culture and Tourism Director AbeeraDilawar in an April
8 letter informed the secretary of the interior ministry’s staff welfare
society that the “letter of April and May 2004 regarding the Tennis Court G-6
Community Ground were withdrawn/cancelled”.
According to another document dated April 19 this
year, Civil Judge Humaira Afzal issued a stay order restraining the CDA from
dispossessing the plaintiffs from the property till the next date of hearing on
May 11.
Source: Dawn
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Little headway in Karach’sLandhi suicide bombing
investigation
April 21, 2024
KARACHI: While investigators are unable to find a
breakthrough in the probe into Friday’s suicide bombing in the metropolis, they
are focussed on finding those who facilitated the gruesome attack, it emerged
on Saturday.
Five Japanese travelling in a van escaped the suicide
attack but their private security guard was killed in Landhi’sMansehra Colony.
“Some raids have been conducted to pick up the last
owner of the motorbike as well as the seller of the cell phone and the SIM card
found from one of the attackers,” said an official, adding: “However, no arrest
has been made so far.”
While the officials said no group has so far claimed
responsibility for the attack, they are certain about the involvement of Baloch
insurgent groups in the suicide bombing against the foreigners.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1828644/little-headway-in-karachs-landhi-suicide-bombing-investigation
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616 booked for holding PTI election rally in Kasur
April 21, 2024
KASUR: Khudian police on Saturday lodged a criminal
case against 616 people, including 16 local leaders of the Pakistan
Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), on charges of holding a
public rally at Dogar Gardens locality in NA-132 in violation of the code of
conduct of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
As many as 521,955 voters will exercise their right to
vote for the by-election where a neck-n-neck contest is expected between
Muhammad Hussain Dogar of the PTI/SIC and Malik Rasheed Ahmed of the PML-N.
Police lodged a case under various sections of the
PPC. Besides Muhammad Hussain Dogar, the suspects nominated in the FIR included
Haji Muhammad Dogar, Sardar Nadir Farooq, JavaidBaito, Rashid Tufail, Shahid
Masood, Sher Afzal Marwat, Waqas Hassan Mokal, Maqsood Sabir, Aqeel Aslam,
Mehar Saleem, Nadeem Chana, Ehsan Saleem and Sardar AfzaalDogar.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1828675/616-booked-for-holding-pti-election-rally-in-kasur
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Mideast
Israeli Strikes On Southern Gaza City Of Rafah Kill
18, Mostly Children, As US Advances Aid Package
April 21, 2024
Israeli strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah
overnight killed 18 people, including 14 children, health officials said
Sunday, as the United States was on track to approve billions of dollars of
additional military aid to its close ally.
Israel has carried out near-daily air raids on Rafah,
where more than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has sought refuge from
fighting elsewhere.
It has also vowed to expand its ground offensive to
the city on the border with Egypt despite international calls for restraint,
including from the US The House of Representatives approved a $26 billion aid
package on Saturday that includes around $9 billion in humanitarian assistance
for Gaza.
The first strike killed a man, his wife and their
3-year-old child, according to the nearby Kuwaiti Hospital, which received the
bodies.
The woman was pregnant, and the doctors managed to
save the baby, the hospital said.The second strike killed 13 children and two
women, all from the same family, according to hospital records.
An airstrike in Rafah the night before killed nine
people, including six children.The Israel-Hamas war has killed over 34,000
Palestinians, according to local health officials, devastated Gaza’s two
largest cities and left a swath of destruction across the territory. Around 80%
of the population have fled their homes to other parts of the besieged coastal
enclave, which experts say is on the brink of famine.
The conflict, now in its seventh month, has sparked
regional unrest pitting Israel and the U.S. against Iran and allied militant
groups across the Middle East. Israel and Iran traded fire directly earlier
this month, raising fears of all-out war between the longtimefoes.Tensions have
also spiked in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israeli troops killed two Palestinians who the
military says attacked a checkpoint with a knife and a gun near the southern
West Bank town of Hebron early Sunday. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the
two killed were 18 and 19 years old, from the same family.
No Israeli forces were wounded, the army said.The
Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service meanwhile said it has recovered a total
of 14 bodies from an Israeli raid in the Nur Shams urban refugee camp in the
West Bank that began late Thursday. Those killed include three militants from
the Islamic Jihad group and a 15-year-old boy.
The military says it killed 10 militants in the camp
and arrested eight suspects. Nine Israeli soldiers and officers were wounded.At
least 469 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the
West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza, according to the Palestinian
Health Ministry.
Most have been killed during Israeli military arrest
raids, which often trigger gunbattles, or in violent protests.The war in Gaza
was sparked by an unprecedented Oct. 7 raid into southern Israel in which Hamas
and other militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted
around 250 hostages.
Israel says militants are still holding around 100
hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.Thousands of Israelis have
taken to the streets to call for new elections to replace Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and a deal with Hamas to release the hostages. Netanyahu has
vowed to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed and all the hostages are
returned.The war has killed at least 34,049 Palestinians and wounded another
76,901, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The ministry does not differentiate between combatants
and civilians in its count but says at least two-thirds have been children and
women. It also says the real toll is likely higher as many bodies are stuck
beneath the rubble left by airstrikes or are in areas that are unreachable for
medics.
Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties because
the militants fight in dense, residential neighborhoods, but the military rarely
comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children. The
military says it has killed over 13,000 Hamas fighters, without providing
evidence.
Source: Allisrael
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Keeping Score Of The Israel-Iran War: Bibi Needs It,
The Mullahs Don’t
Melik Kaylan
Apr 20, 2024
Israel bombs to death a clatch of top Iranian military
leaders in their consulate in Syria, so Iran fires a meteor shower of over 300
drones and missiles at Israel, and Israel retaliates by hitting a military base
in Isfahan. That's the current status, the prima facie headline, plus some
explosions at Shiite militia bases in Iraq. But this is the Middle East.
There's a lot more behind the scenes.
Those Iranian bigwigs killed by Israel in Syria were
fully complicit in launching the Gaza horrors. They certainly didn't expect to
be liquidated on diplomatically protected ground near Damascus. Iran must
retaliate for their deaths. Yet the Tehran regime doesn't wish to trigger a
live-or-die war with Israel which it will lose not least because the Iranian
people can't wait for any weakening of the Mullah regime. So Iran warns Israel
and the US via Turkey of Tehran's plans to unleash the meteor shower on Israel,
whereupon Israel, with help from allies, and fully forewarned, shoots down all
the incoming and emerges unscathed.
By allies, one means not just US and European powers
but Arab countries around Israel. These Arab countries are outraged that their
sovereign skies are violated by the overflying Iranian ordinance. Moreover,
they absolutely will not allow Iran's Shiite regime to posture as Islam's chief
avenger of the Palestinians. So they collude in protecting Israel, despite
having publicly condemned Israel's actions in Gaza for weeks on end.
Essentially, Israel and Netanyahu have suddenly created a de facto circle of
Arab confederates. No small triumph.
Source: Forbes
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Crackdowns, Attacks and Threat of War Put Iranians on
Edge
By FarnazFassihi
April 21, 2024
In the early hours of Friday, Mehrdad, an engineer in
Isfahan, Iran, woke to the sound of explosions rattling the windows and shaking
the ground. In Tehran, passengers about to board flights were abruptly told the
airspace was closed.
As booms and gunfire went off in the distance,
Mehrdad, 43, came to realize that the Israelis’ target was a military base on
the outskirts of the city. He and his pregnant wife remained fearful that war
would break out, he said in an interview by phone.
“I think Israel wanted to test the water and evaluate
with last night’s strikes,” said Mehrdad, who, like others interviewed for this
article, asked that his last name be withheld for fear of retribution. “I fear
the worst is coming, but I also hope that things end here.”
Source: Ny Times
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https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/21/world/middleeast/iran-economy-israel-war.html
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Iran, Israel Appear To Pull Back From Brink As US
Approves Military Aid
April 21, 2024
Iran and Israel appeared to step back from the brink
of broader conflict as lawmakers in the United States approved new Israeli
military aid on Saturday despite growing criticism of its ally's war in Gaza.
Iran downplayed Israel's reported retaliation for its
unprecedented drone and missile attack, tamping down fears that escalating
attacks between the arch enemies could tip over into a broader war in the
Middle East.
However a deadly blast at an Iraqi military base
underlined the persisting tensions in the region, as did more deadly Israeli
strikes in Gaza and intensifying clashes in the West Bank.
Aiming to bolster Israel's defences including its Iron
Dome air defence system, the US House of Representatives approved $13 billion
in new military assistance for the country.
Source: Ndtv
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‘Toys Our Children Play With’: Iran Foreign Minister
Appears To Mock Israel, Downplays Isfahan Drone Attack
By: Shankhyaneel Sarkar
APRIL 20, 2024
Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said
the weapons that were used in the drone attack over Isfahan in central Iran in
the early hours of Friday were more like ‘children’s toys’.
“What happened last night was not a strike. They were
more like toys that our children play with – not drones,” Hossein
Amirabdollahian was quoted as saying by US broadcaster NBC News.
Amirabdollahian, who is currently in the US’ New York
to attend a UN Security Council session, said Iran is not planning to respond
to the attack unless Israel makes a significant move.
“As long as there is no new adventurism by Israel
against our interests, then we are not going to have any new reactions,” he was
quoted as saying.
Source: Ny Times
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Europe
Studying Islam Outside Of Stereotypes At Aristotle
University Of Thessaloniki
Stavros Tzimas
20.04.2024
In December 2016, the first graduates of the newly
established program Introduction to Muslim Studies, at the Aristotle University
of Thessaloniki, sat down to study Islam, an emerging world which, in one way
or another (positive or negative), we find before us and must learn to “read,”
away from stereotypes and prejudices. The introduction of the program, for
which the decision had been taken since 2014, did not start well. A section of
the Greek Orthodox Church, the university community and the conservative
political class reacted vociferously, alleging there was a danger of turning
the university into a “breeding ground for Islamic extremism” and
mass-producing fanatical imams. Some academics and non-academics even appealed
to the Council of State, Greece’s highest administrative court – and lost.
Kathimerini had joined the first class of new students
in 2017, curious to see who the young people who would want to study the Quran
were. “Do I look like a terrorist to you?” YiannisPalamidis had asked us,
laughing. The same was true for AthanasiaAvramoglou, a cheerful young woman
sitting next to him.
Eight years later, Kathimerini sought out the two
former students, now graduates of the school. Yiannis has not become an imam
nor does Athanasia wear the hijab. Palamidis has already completed a master’s
degree and is now serving his military service and plans to join the diplomatic
corps. He told us he has already done a six-month internship at a Greek embassy
abroad. Avramoglou, after completing her master’s degree, is teaching Arabic,
which she learned at the school, and wants to immerse herself in Arabic
literature. Both say they are happy with the school they chose. “My horizons
opened, I stopped seeing Islam narrowly and fearfully,” says Athanasia, as did
Yiannis, who believes that he acquired important resources for his professional
path.
“It is true that we traveled a difficult road, as is
the case with every beginning, but these things belong to the past,” says Nikos
Maghioros, professor of canon and ecclesiastical law and head of the Department
of Theology at Aristotle University. “Similar programs have been operating in
many European public and ecclesiastical universities for years.”
Source: Ekathimerini
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https://www.ekathimerini.com/society/1236783/studying-islam-outside-of-stereotypes/
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Attacker who set fire to worshippers given indefinite
hospital order
20-04-2024
A mentally ill man who set light to elderly
worshippers as they made their way home from mosques in London and Birmingham
has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order.
Mohammed Abbkr was found guilty last year by majority
11-1 verdicts of attempting to murder HashiOdowa, 82, in Ealing and 70-year-old
Mohammed Rayaz in Edgbaston three weeks later.
Jurors convicted the 29-year-old, of Gillott Road,
Edgbaston, at Birmingham Crown Court after hearing how he believed someone had
“performed magic on him” and he was being persecuted by a mind-reader.
Passing sentence on Wednesday, Judge Melbourne Inman
KC told Abbkr: “The nature of each attack was identical. You threw petrol over
your victims and then set them alight – the attacks were horrific.
The judge imposed the hospital order after being told
it will mean Abbkr is treated at a high security hospital, and cannot be
released or even transferred to a less secure unit without permission from the
Ministry of Justice.
Abbkr’s trial was told he used a lighter and petrol in
a water bottle to set fire to Mr Odowa and Mr Rayaz on February 27 and March 20
last year respectively.
He appeared for his sentencing hearing by video-link
to the Ashworth high security mental health hospital in Merseyside, and was
assisted by an Arabic interpreter.
Source: Asian Image
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Creative Scene set to host The Big Eid Community Party
in Batley to celebrate the end of Ramadan
By Dominic Brown
20th Apr 2024
Dewsbury based arts organisation Creative Scene has
been working with community partners to design and host The Big Eid Community
Party (Eid al-Fitr), which will take place at Healey Community Centre on
Saturday, April 27 from 12pm until 3.30pm.
The free family event will include a wide range of
arts and crafts workshops and self-led mehndi/henna for people to decorate
hands or other items.
There will also be a calligraphy workshop led by Iram
Iqbal and zine-making sessions with the theme of Eid and Ramadan led by Munaza
Kulsoom, creating “My Eid Zines”.
Source: Dewsbury Reporter
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UK Government and Labour Party criticised after
snubbing talks on EU-wide youth mobility scheme
21 Apr 2024
Plaid Cymru has accused the UK Government, and the
Labour Party of limiting “young people’s horizons” after they ruled out a deal
that would make it easier for youngsters to live, study and work in the EU.
The European Commission said on Thursday it would seek
permission from EU member states to open negotiations on a “youth mobility
scheme” for UK citizens aged 18-30, and begin to “rebuild bridges” following
Brexit and the UK Government’s decision to withdraw from the Erasmus scheme.
The UK currently has individual youth mobility schemes
with 13 countries, and the Government said it preferred such bilateral
arrangements over an EU-wide deal.
Labour also rejected the possibility of an EU-wide
scheme, saying the party would “seek to improve the UK’s working relationship
with the EU within our red lines – no return to the single market, customs
union or free movement”.
Source: Nation.Cymru
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Arab
World
Urban greening begins in Irqah, Riyadh
ARAB NEWS
April 20, 2024
RIYADH: Urban greening works in the Irqahneighborhood
of Riyadh began on April 18, continuing a tree-planting initiative that is part
of the Green Riyadh program.
Irqah is the eighth residential neighborhood in the
capital to become part of the urban greening initiative, following Al-Aziziyah,
Al-Naseem, Al-Jazeera, Al-Uraija, Qurtuba, Al-Ghadir, and Al-Nakheel, the Saudi
Press Agency reported.
In Irqah, works will include the planting of 24,000
trees and shrubs — all of which are heat-tolerant and suitable for the
Kingdom’s summer climate, the creation of 39 parks, and the greening of eight
schools, 54 mosques, four government buildings, and 69 kilometers of streets.
These efforts will, the SPA said, “improve the neighborhood’s landscape,
encourage walking, and reduce health care expenses and energy consumption.”
In addition to the greening works, bicycle paths and
pedestrian walkways will be created between Mohammed bin Salman Nonprofit City
with WadiHanifah.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2496226/saudi-arabia
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Heritage celebrations in Diriyah and Baha draw crowds
ARAB NEWS
April 20, 2024
RIYADH: The Diriyah Gate Development Authority, in
collaboration with the Saudi National Committee of the International Council on
Monuments and Sites and the Heritage Foundation, marked World Heritage Day on
April 18.
The celebration included a variety of activities held
over three days at several sites, notably the historic At-Turaif district in
Diriyah, listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List since 2010.
Heritage experts embarked on a field tour to Diriyah’s
sites undergoing rehabilitation, including Wadi Hanifa, Al-Bahli Farm,
Ghassiba, and the historic At-Turaif district.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2496181/saudi-arabia
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Oman’s Islamic banking sector sees 17.6% asset growth
20/April/2024
Muscat: The total assets of Islamic banks and windows
increased by 16.3 percent reaching about OMR7.5 billion by the end of January
2024. This represents 17.6 percent of the total assets of the banking sector in
the Sultanate of Oman.
Data issued by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) showed
that the total balance of financing granted by the Islamic banking sector
increased by 12.7 percent to reach about OMR6.2 billion. Deposits at Islamic
banks and windows also recorded an increase of 14.9 percent, reaching about
OMR5.6 billion.
Source: Times of Oman
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https://timesofoman.com/article/144583-omans-islamic-banking-sector-sees-176-asset-growth
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Islamic Union Bloc addresses salary matters for
political prisoners and martyrs' families in Kurdistan
2024-04-20
Shafaq News / The Islamic Union Bloc in the Iraqi
Parliament has provided insight into the status of salaries for political
prisoners and martyrs' families over the last three months of the previous
year, alongside discussions on professional advancements and salary
localization for Kurdistan employees.
During a press conference in al-Sulaymaniya, Member of
Parliament Muthana Ameen remarked, "Last Thursday, we visited the Iraqi
Federal Court to deliberate on its rulings concerning the compensation of
regional employees, reflecting the stance of the Islamic Union, the primary
petitioner in the case initiated on September 14th, 2023, regarding employee
compensations."
Ameen elaborated, "The Federal Court's decision
underscored two pivotal aspects initially overlooked. Firstly, the inclusion of
retired individuals under the social protection network, despite the grievance
being focused on government employees. Secondly, the phrase 'on par with other
Iraqi employees' implies equal entitlements and privileges for Kurdistan Region
employees, including bonuses and career advancements, which were not explicitly
stated in the initial petition."
He emphasized, "The Federal Court's verdict
removes Kurdistan Region employee compensations from political disputes,
eliciting relief among all residents of the Region, as it mandates the federal
government to disburse salaries unconditionally, irrespective of the Region's
ability to generate oil or internal revenues."
Source: Shafaq
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15k held for labor, residency, border violations in
Saudi Arabia
ARAB NEWS
April 20, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi authorities arrested almost 15,000
people in one week for breaching residency, work and border security
regulations, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.
According to an official report, a total of 9,479
people were arrested for violations of residency laws, while 3,763 were held
over illegal border crossing attempts, and a further 1,430 for labor-related
issues.
The report showed that among the 996 people arrested
for trying to enter the Kingdom illegally, 64 percent were Ethiopian, 33
percent Yemeni, and 3 percent were of other nationalities.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2496346/saudi-arabia
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Authorities bust drug smugglers across Saudi Arabia
ARAB NEWS
April 20, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi authorities recently made several
drug-related arrests and confiscations in operations across the Kingdom, the
Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.
The General Directorate of Narcotics Control arrested
a Bangladeshi resident in the Hail region for attempting to sell
methamphetamine, a narcotic substance commonly referred to as “shabu.”
The authorities also arrested a citizen in Jazan for
selling amphetamines, highly addictive drugs that stimulate the central nervous
system.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2496336/saudi-arabia
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Saudi deputy FM meets Colombian counterpart in Bogota
April 21, 2024
BOGOTÁ: Saudi Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Waleed Elkhereiji recently met his Colombian counterpart, Francisco Coy
Granados, the foreign ministry reported on X on Saturday.
During the meeting, the two reviewed bilateral
relations and ways in which they could be strengthened, along with the latest
developments and issues of mutual concern.
The meeting was also attended by Acting Charge
d’Affairs of Saudi Arabia’s Embassy in Colombia Mohammed Al-Shatri, and the
director general of the deputy minister’s office, Mutashar Al-Enezi.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2496441/saudi-arabia
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South
Asia
Need for India-Bangladesh economic cooperation deal:
CUTS
ByNivedita Mukherjee
April 21, 2024
NEW DELHI: India needs exploring partnership
opportunities to navigate the changing trade dynamics effectively.
Even as Bangladesh and Japan move forward with the
signing of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) by December 2025, aiming to
strengthen bilateral economic relations and secure duty-free market access for
Bangladesh, a report by CUTS International (Consumer Unity & Trust Society)
on ‘Preferential Trade Agreements and India’ suggests that India should
exercise caution and closely monitor the progress of the Bangladesh-Japan EPA
negotiations. As Bangladesh seeks to expand its trade relations with Japan,
India should assess the potential impact on its own trade interests and
competitiveness in the region, says the report, and suggests India may need to
consider strengthening its existing trade ties, diversifying export markets,
enhancing competitiveness, and exploring partnership opportunities to navigate
the changing trade dynamics effectively.
The CUTS quarterly dossier selectively covers existing
and/or potential PTAs between India’s competitors, particularly those that can
have significant trade diversion, affecting India’s exports to those countries.
India and Bangladesh have discussed preparations to start talks for a free
trade agreement between the two countries to promote economic ties.
It was discussed during an official-level meeting of
the Joint Working Group on Trade (JWG) between India and Bangladesh, which was
held in Dhaka in September 2023.
Source: Sundayguardianlive
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Expatriates urged to send remittances thru' legal
channels
21 Apr 2024
DHAKA, April 21, 2024 (BSS) - Bangladesh Ambassador to
the United States (US) Muhammad Imran has urged the expatriate Bangladeshis to
send remittances through legal channels for further strengthening the country's
economy.
He simultaneously called upon them to project the
country's tremendous success stories to further brighten the country's image
abroad.
The ambassador was speaking as the chief guest at the
Customers' Gathering and SECI App Campaign of Sonali Exchange at the
Bangabandhu Auditorium of Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC on Friday
evening, according to a press release received here today.
Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC and Sonali
Exchange, a subsidiary company of Sonali Bank, jointly organized the program to
create awareness about sending remittance to Bangladesh through legal channel.
Source: Bssnews.Net
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https://www.bssnews.net/news/184778
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Commemorative Bangladeshi banknote featuring PM Hasina
misleadingly shared as 'legal tender'
21 April 2024
A photo of a commemorative banknote printed in
Bangladesh featuring Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been shared repeatedly in
Facebook posts that misleadingly suggested it was genuine currency. However,
the note was not legal tender. The South Asian country's banknotes have not
historically included the portraits of serving prime ministers.
"New 50 taka note (0.46 dollars). How does it
look?" read the caption of a Bengali-language Facebook post alongside a
photo showing both sides of a currency note on September 3, 2023.
A portrait of Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina was printed on one side of the note, while an image of a Dhaka metro
train was printed on the opposite side.
Source: Uk.News
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Bangladesh, Nepal stress finalizing PTA
20 Apr 2024
DHAKA, April 20, 2024 (BSS) – Bangladesh and Nepal in
a commerce secretary level meeting put emphasis on finalizing the Preferential
Trade Agreement (PTA), highlighting its significance in boosting bilateral
trade between Bangladesh and Nepal.
The 7th Commerce Secretary Level Meeting (7th CSLM)
between Bangladesh and Nepal was held in Kathmandu on April 18-19, said a press
release here today.
Bangladesh delegation was led by Tapan Kanti Ghosh,
Senior Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, while Nepali delegation was led by
Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, Secretary (Commerce and Supplies), Ministry of Industry,
Commerce and Supplies.
Source: Bssnews
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https://www.bssnews.net/news/184731
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Southeast
Asia
Anwar says up to Pardons Board to decide on proposal
for Najib to serve house arrest
By Soo Wern Jun
21 Apr 2024
SHAH ALAM, Apr 21 — Whether Datuk Seri Najib Razak
should serve the remainder of his SRC International SdnBhd conviction under house
arrest instead of in prison is for the Pardons Board to decide, Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.
“That's the answer I gave based on discussions with
the Attorney General and also information from the Sultan, and the Yang
di-Pertuan Agong,” Anwar, who is also PKR president, said in his speech at the
party’s 25th anniversary special convention here.
He said while the decision may not be one that sits
comfortably with parties allied to the unity government, or others on the
outside, no previous government has taken any action that oversteps the role
and power of the Malay Rulers.
Source: Malay Mail
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PKR’s reform success is measured by policies
benefiting the people, says sec-gen
21 Apr 2024
SHAH ALAM, April 21 — The success of PKR’s reform
struggle is measured based on policies and programmes that benefitted the
people, and is not based on the number of party representatives in the Cabinet,
said PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
In this regard, Saifuddin said the real success of the
party’s reform struggle is when PKR, which is in government administration, is
able to introduce policies that benefit and can be enjoyed by the people.
He said that in achieving the struggle, PKR as the
main party in the government needs to do the right thing even if at times it
has to take unpopular moves.
Source: Malay Mail
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Sarawak Utility Ministry not tabling Bill on single
water entity this coming state assembly, says state minister
21 Apr 2024
KUCHING, April 21 — The Ministry of Utility and
Telecommunication will not be tabling a bill on the formation of a single water
supply authority in the coming State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting next
month.
Minister Datuk Seri JulaihiNarawi said efforts to
establish this entity are still in the early stages with the integrated
management office (IMO) tasked to merge the state’s water supply agencies.
“Whatever details (on the water supply entity), we
will table them later. But it will not be at this coming DUN sitting,” he told
reporters when met at his ministry’s Hari Raya open house at Borneo Convention
Centre Kuching (BCCK) today.
Source: Malay Mail
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Muhyddin: Perikatan to announce Kuala KubuBaru by-election
candidate on April 25
21 Apr 2024
KUALA KUBU BARU, April 21 — The PerikatanNasional (PN)
candidate for the Kuala KubuBaru by-election will be announced on April 25.
PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the name of
the party’s candidate for the by-election will be decided in the PN supreme
council meeting tomorrow.
“At tomorrow’s meeting, we will discuss which
candidate is the most suitable on the basis of ‘winnability’. We have many
candidates, but whatever party has a proposal to put forward the name of a
(other) candidate, we accept it.
Source: Malay Mail
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North
America
Muslim Americans who soured on Biden see Israel aid
package as further betrayal
By Megan Lebowitz
April 21, 2024
WASHINGTON — "Outraged," "point of no
return" and "absolute disaster" are how some Muslim American
organizers have described their reactions to an aid package for Israel that is
making its way through Congress for President Joe Biden to sign into law.
Many Muslim Americans were already furious with the
Biden administration over its handling of the Israel-Hamas war, with activists
organizing Democrats to vote “uncommitted" rather than support the
president in some state primaries this year.
For several activists and leaders of prominent Muslim
American organizations, Biden's support for $26 billion in aid for Israel
reaffirms their view about November's election: They cannot back Biden for a
second term.
Ahead of the House's vote to pass the aid package to
Israel on Saturday, Muslim American organizations urged voters to contact
members of Congress to demand they vote against the aid. It ultimately passed
366-58, with 37 Democrats and 21 Republicans voting against the aid and seven
members absent.
If Biden signs an Israel aid package, as he intends
to, "that heartless decision could mark the point of no return for what
remains of the White House’s relationship with the American Muslim community
and other Americans opposed to the genocide in Gaza," said Council on
American-Islamic Relations' government affairs director Robert McCaw in a
statement.
The rift between the president and Muslim American
voters is unlikely to be repaired "unless the president can undo what has
been done for the past six months" in Gaza, said Osama Abu Irshaid, the
executive director for Americans for Justice in Palestine Action.
Source: Nbcnews
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DER Weekends: Hamtramck gets new Muslim, Arab police
chief
SaschaRaiyn
April 20, 2024
On the latest episode of Detroit Evening Report
Weekends, WDET’s Nargis Rahman spoke with JamielAltaheri who becomes
Hamtramck’s new police chief this month.
Altaheri has been serving as a deputy inspector and
commanding officer for diversity and inclusion at the New York Police
Department.
He spoke to Rahman about why he decided to come to the
city, his plans for leading its law enforcement, and what he thinks community
policing should look like.
Source: Wdet.Org
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https://wdet.org/2024/04/20/hamtramck-gets-new-muslim-arab-police-chief/
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Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial in New
York dies
Apr 21, 2024
NEW YORK: A man has died after setting himself on fire
on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic
hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials
said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
The man burned for several minutes in full view of
television cameras that were set up outside the courthouse, where the
first-ever criminal trial of a former US president is being held. An NYPD
spokesperson said the man was declared dead overnight at a hospital. Officials
had previously said he was in critical condition.
Witnesses said the man, who was in his 30s, pulled
pamphlets from a backpack and threw them in the air before he doused himself
with a liquid and set himself on fire. One of those pamphlets included references
to "evil billionaires". The NYPD said the man, who they identified as
Max Azzarello of St. Augustine, Florida, did not appear to be targeting Trump
or others involved in the trial.
Source: Times Of India
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Senate passes reauthorization of key US surveillance
program just after midnight deadline
Apr 21, 2024
WASHINGTON: Barely missing its midnight deadline, the
Senate voted early Saturday to reauthorize a key US surveillance law after
divisions over whether the FBI should be restricted from using the program to
search for Americans' data nearly forced the statute to lapse.
The legislation approved 60-34 with bipartisan support
would extend for two years the program known as Section 702 of the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act. It now goes to President Joe Biden's desk to
become law. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden
"will swiftly sign the bill."
"In the nick of time, we are reauthorizing FISA
right before it expires at midnight," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
said when voting on final passage began 15 minutes before the deadline.
"All day long, we persisted and we persisted in trying to reach a
breakthrough and in the end, we have succeeded."
US officials have said the surveillance tool, first
authorized in 2008 and renewed several times since then, is crucial in disrupting
terror attacks, cyber intrusions, and foreign espionage and has also produced
intelligence that the US has relied on for specific operations, such as the
2022 killing of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri.
"If you miss a key piece of intelligence, you may
miss some event overseas or put troops in harm's way," Sen. Marco Rubio,
the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said. "You may
miss a plot to harm the country here, domestically, or somewhere else. So in
this particular case, there's real-life implications."
Source: Times Of India
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Africa
Turkiye pledges continuous support for Africa as Emine
Erdoğan hosts Nigerian counterpart OluremiTinubu in Istanbul
April 20, 2024
Emine Erdoğan, wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,
has held a meeting with OluremiTinubu, wife of Nigerian President Bola Ahmed
Tinubu at Vahdettin Mansion in Istanbul.
First Lady Erdoğan emphasized that Nigeria is an
important ally of Türkiye and expressed her belief that relations between the
two countries will grow stronger during Tinubu’s tenure.
Noting that Türkiye has established sincere relations
with African countries, Erdoğan said the country will continue to provide
necessary support to the continent.
Erdogan discussed with Tinubu about the “African
Handicrafts and Culture House”, where handmade products made by African women
are offered for sale and the income is given to African women.
Source: Muslim News
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At least 50 dead after a boat capsizes in Central
African Republic
Apr 21, 2024
NEW DELHI: At least 50 people died after a river boat,
en route to a funeral, capsized in Mpoko river in the Central African
Republic's capital Bangui, civil protection said on Saturday.
As per the eyewitnesses and videos on social media,
the boat was carrying around 300 people , en route to attend funeral of village
chief around 45 kilometers away from Bangui. The boat was over capacitated as
some passengers were standing, while others were perched on wooden structure.
The boat capsized shortly after setting off and the
rescue service arrived 40 minutes after the sinking. Local boat pilots and
fishermen were the first to react and rescued victims and collected bodies from
the river before the emergency services arrived.
Source: Times Of India
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Nigerian's 60-hour chess marathon breaks record
Apr 21, 2024
Nigerian chess champion Tunde Onakoya appears to have
broken the world record for the longest chess marathon, managing to play
unbeaten for 60 hours on New York City's Times Square.
Onakoya, who is a child education advocate, bettered
the Guinness World Record of over 56 hours in an effort to raise funds for
underprivileged children.
"I can't process a lot of the emotions I feel
right now. I don't have the right words for them. But I know we did something
truly remarkable," he told AFP.
Source: Times Of India
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Food Security: Southwest farmers, Miyetti Allah sign
MOU on peaceful coexistence
By Moyosore Salami
21 April 2024
In a bid to achieve food sustainability and production
in Nigeria, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria and South
West farmers have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote
peaceful coexistence between both parties in the zone.
The South West farmers under the aegis of Southwest
Commodities Farmers Organisation and the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders
Association signed the peace accord during a one-day summit held in Ibadan.
Addressing newsmen shortly after signing the peace
accord, the coordinator of the Southwest Commodities Farmers Organisation,
Olusegun Dasaolu, said the summit was an eye opener towards finding a lasting
solution to some challenges confronting farmers in South West states.
He said the MoU symbolised an agreement between the
herders and farmers to work in unity to improve food production and
sustainability within the South West region and by extension Nigeria.
Source: Guardian.Ng
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Ondo Muslims get Dangote palliative rice
OsagieOtabor
April 20, 2024
Ondo State Council for Islamic Affairs (ODSCIA) has
distributed 10,000 bags of rice donated
by the Dangote Foundation to Islamic stakeholders across the State.
The distribution was done across the State to major
Muslims organizations like the league of Imam and Alfas, FOMWAN, NACOMYO ,
Ansa-ur-deen, NASFAT, MSSN, and many other islamic organizations.
Chief Imam of Araromi-Obu kingdom and Chairman,
ODSCIA, Alhaji Sheikh Muhammad AbibullahiAkinpelumi said the distribution was
monitored by the Muslim Welfare Board.
Source: Thenationonlineng
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https://thenationonlineng.net/ondo-muslims-get-dangote-palliative-rice/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/pakistan-firecracker-up-cm-yogi/d/132176