Recap Of Religious Disputes: Temple-Mosque Disputes Mushroomed In UP After Ayodhya Ram Temple Consecration(Pran Pratishtha)
New Age Islam News Bureau
1 January 2025
Ram temple in Ayodhya
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· Recap Of Religious Disputes: Temple-Mosque Disputes Mushroomed In UP After Ayodhya Ram Temple Consecration(Pran Pratishtha)
· Patna's Khuda Bakhsh Library Houses 250 Rare Hinduism-Related Manuscripts
· Muzakarah Committee Of Malaysia Declares Teachings Of ‘The Ahmadi Religion Of Peace And Light’ As Deviant
· New Bangladesh Textbooks Will Say Ziaur Rahman Declared Independence
· Arise Sir Sadiq Khan: Muslim London Mayor Receives Knighthood
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India
· PM should sack Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane for calling Kerala a ‘mini-Pakistan’, says Congress
· ‘Kerala is mini Pakistan’: Pinarayi tears into BJP leader’s comments on Rahul-Priyanka wins, but Congress says CPI(M) paved the way
· UP: Objections raised over police post construction in Sambhal, DM says 'no rationality' found
· Properties of 2 PoK-based terrorists attached in J&K’s Rajouri
· J&K revenue secretary to become first IAS officer to face trial in ‘gun licence scam’
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Southeast Asia
· Unusual Zikir In Setapak, JAWI Has Recorded Statements From Individuals Involved - Mohd Na’im
· Muslims must defend, support Palestine - MKI
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South Asia
· Govt decision caught student leaders by surprise
· Ministry of Refugees and UNAMA Discuss Coordination for Returnees and IDPs
· Nearly 1 Million Afghan Migrants Return to Afghanistan
· Deputy PM Mawlawi Hanafi Meets Head of Islamic Emirate Political Office in Qatar
· UK arrests three Afghan men on human trafficking charges
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Europe
· Foreigners In German City Advised To Avoid Going Out Alone At Night
· UK special forces face possible Syria war crimes charges
· Post Office scandal: MPs call for financial penalty for slow payouts
· Wind and rain warnings in place for New Year's Day
· Ukrainian border agency posts photo of soldier wearing Nazi symbols
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Pakistan
· Pakistan Enters UN Security Council At Key Juncture In Global Politics
· Govt unveils ‘Uraan Pakistan’ 5-year transformation plan for economy
· President, PM express hope for united, prosperous Pakistan in 2025
· Govt plans to pull out of Haj operation, Senate panel told
· At least 11 injured in clashes as Karachi police attempt to disperse protests against Parachinar killings
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Mideast
· Islamist Rebel CommanderGeneral Murhaf Abu Qasra Tapped As Acting Syrian Defense Chief
· Syria’s De Facto LeaderAhmed Al-Sharaa Meets Minority Christians
· Amid ceasefire push, Palestinians released from Israeli jails bear mental, physical scars
· In Syrian military housing, new rulers take the homes of Assad officers
· New year hope reigns in a Damascus freed from Assad
· Ocalan: PKK chief held in solitary on Turkish prison island
· A new year dawns on a Middle East torn by conflict and change
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North America
· West Using Kiev To Spread Terrorism – US Communist Leader
· Texas Banned Shariah Law in December 2024? No, But 2017 Bill Was Described as 'Anti-Islamic'
· Muslim Youth Team With Canadian Blood Services For Year-End Blood Drive
· Civil Rights Group Wants Hate Crime Probe In Vandalism At Kent Mosque
· Elon Musk changes his name to Kekius Maximus on X
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Arab World
· As The Year Of The Camel Ends, Saudi Arabia Celebrates ‘Timeless Companion’ To Arabs
· Archaeologists Find Ancient Urban Development In Baha
· Economic support reflects Saudi Arabia’s commitment to stability in Yemen, cabinet says
· 12 New Arab Projects To Drive Innovation
· Riyadh’s royal institute launches craft initiative
· Emir of Madinah chairs meeting that discusses preparations for Ramadan
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Africa
· Nigerian Court Grants Request To Detain Bodejo, Leader Of Herders’ Union, Miyetti Allah, 6 Others For 60 Days
· Court Approves Further Detention Of Miyetti Allah Leader, Six Others
· Despite Fulani Leaders Plea, Bello Turji Launches Fresh Attacks
· Breaking: UniAbuja Gets New VC Amidst Controversies
· FG Reassures Niger Republic Of Non-Aggression, Seeks Dialogue
· Burkina Faso approves amnesty for 2015 coup plotters
· Mozambique: South Africa sends special envoy to help quell unrest
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/religious-disputes-temple-mosque-up/d/134215
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Recap Of Religious Disputes: Temple-Mosque Disputes Mushroomed In UP After Ayodhya Ram Temple Consecration(Pran Pratishtha)
Ram temple in Ayodhya
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01.01.25
Lucknow: After the consecration ('Pran Pratishtha') of the Ram temple at Ayodhya on January 24, numerous temple-mosque disputes mushroomed in Uttar Pradesh (UP) in 2024.They culminated in Sambhal where four lives were lost after a court-ordered survey of Shahi Jama Masjid which Hindu groups claimed was the site of an ancient temple.
Here is a brief recap of religious disputes that surfaced this year in UP:Sambhal:
It has been in the eye of the storm since November 19, when a Mughal-era mosque was surveyed on court orders following claims that a Harihar temple previously stood at the site.Violence erupted during a second survey on November 24 as protesters gathered near the Shahi Jama Masjid and clashed with security personnel. Four people were killed and several injured in the violence.
Budaun: A Hindu outfit has moved a local court seeking permission to offer prayers at the Jama Masjid Shamsi, claiming it to be a temple. The court asked the Muslim side on Tuesday to conclude their arguments in the matter by December 10.
The issue dates back to 2022 when Mukesh Patel, the then convener of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, claimed that a Neelkanth Mahadev temple existed at the site of the mosque.
Varanasi: In the Gyanvapi case, Hindus claim that a temple existed at the site and it was demolished in the 17th century on the orders of Aurangzeb. According to Madan Mohan Yadav, the lawyer for the Hindu side, the Gyanvapi temple or the Adi Visheshwar Kashi Vishwanath Jyotirling was demolished on April 18, 1679 following Aurangzeb's orders.
Yadav said Aurangzeb's secretary, Wazir Saqi Mustaid Khan, has mentioned this in his diary 'Maasire Alamgiri' which is preserved in the Asiatic Society, Kolkata.Mathura: In the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute in Mathura, the controversy is related to the Shahi Idgah mosque that was built during Aurangzeb's time. It is alleged that the mosque was built after demolishing a temple at the birthplace of Lord Krishna.
However, the Muslim side (the management committee of the Shahi Idgah and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board) to the dispute has opposed the plea on several grounds.
Lucknow:
In Lucknow, the additional district judge on February 28 dismissed a revision plea that had challenged a lower court's order rejecting an objection against a civil suit that had sought the right to worship at the Laxman Teela, where the Teelewali Masjid is situated.
According to the civil suit filed by a Hindu side, a temple of Shesh Nagesh Teeleshwar Mahadev is situated in close vicinity of the mosque.
Baghpat:
In February, a court in Baghpat dismissed a decades-old plea filed by a Muslim side over a site that Hindu devotees feel is the Mahabharat-era "Lakshagriha". The petitioners had claimed that it was a graveyard and the dargah of Sufi saint Sheikh Badruddin.
According to Ranveer Singh Tomar, the lawyer for the respondents, Civil Judge Junior Division of the District and Session Court Shivam Dwivedi dismissed the petition, saying there was neither a graveyard nor a dargah at the site in Barnawa.
Jaunpur:
A court here on December 16 has postponed the date of passing order for the survey of Atala Masjid till March 2 in view of the Supreme Court's instructions to all courts to refrain from passing orders in cases related to religious places under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
In the Atala Masjid case, the suit was filed by the Swaraj Vahini Association (SVA) president Santosh Kumar Mishra. It sought the "disputed" property be declared 'Atala Devi Mandir' and followers of the Sanatan religion be allowed the right of worship at the site.
No final verdict has been delivered by the courts in these cases, as the Supreme Court on December 12 restrained all the courts in the country from entertaining and passing any effective interim or final orders on any lawsuits seeking reliefs including survey of religious places under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
The direction of a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan came on a batch of pleas and cross pleas relating to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
On December 16, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat had said that certain people, ever since the construction of Ayodhya's Ram temple, have started to believe that they can become "leaders of Hindus" by raking up such issues.
Delivering a lecture in Pune on 'India-The Vishwaguru' at Sahjeevan Vyakhyanmala (lecture series), Bhagwat advocated for an "inclusive society". "Every day a new matter (dispute) is being raked up. How can this be allowed? This cannot continue. India needs to show that we can live together," he said.
What people feel on the issue:
"The ordering of the survey in Sambhal by the magistrate was against the spirit of law. The magistrate should have issued a notice to the state and the mosque, and thereafter, the lawyers or the court ameens should have been appointed for the survey work. There was no urgency," Justice (retired) D P Singh told PTI.
Ankur Saxena, an advocate of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court, however, had a different take. "Sooner or later, this facade and burden of secularism, which we have carried had to break at some point of time. Satyamev Jayate (Truth alone triumphs). The problem in my mind is the appeasement policy adopted by previous governments," Saxena told PTI.
Acharya Satyendra Das, the head priest of the Ram temple, Ayodhya, said, "Just the way the Ramjanmabhoomi case was decided, in the same manner, cases regarding evidence of temples should also be similarly decided by the court."
Lucknow-based cleric and senior member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahli, when contacted, told PTI, "The best possible way out and what we have also been saying from day one is to implement the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 in letter and spirit."
Source:deccanherald.com
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https://www.deccanherald.com/india/2024-temple-mosque-disputes-mushroomed-in-up-after-ayodhya-ram-temple-consecration-3338002
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Muzakarah Committee Of Malaysia Declares Teachings Of ‘The Ahmadi Religion Of Peace And Light’ As Deviant
BERNAMApix
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BERNAMA
01-01- 2025
KUALA LUMPUR: The Muzakarah Committee of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs Malaysia (MKI) has declared that the teachings of The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light are deviant, misguided and contradict the principles of Islam and Syariah law.
Committee chairman Datuk Dr Nooh Gadot said the decision followed the committee’s meeting from June 26 to 28, during which The Ahmadi Religion of Peace teachings were discussed based on the teachings of Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah.
He said the decision was made after the committee was satisfied with the evidence and arguments presented by researchers.
“Any individual or group practising or spreading these teachings and beliefs is straying from Islamic principles.
“Muslims must avoid such beliefs and practices and are prohibited from adhering to them. Those who have already followed these teachings must immediately repent to Allah SWT,” he said in a statement posted on the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) Facebook page today.
In light of this decision, Nooh stressed that any publicity, teaching, writing, broadcasting or publishing of materials—whether in print or audiovisual formats—related to these teachings is strictly prohibited and must be stopped.
He urged Muslims to adhere to the tenets of Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah in faith, following the Asyairah and Maturidiah methodologies. In matters of Syariah, it should be guided by the Shafie school of thought or other recognised schools, such as Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali.
“In the area of tasawuf or morality, Muslims should follow the approaches of Imam al-Junaid, Imam al-Ghazali, and other recognised and authentic tasawuf traditions,” he said.
Nooh highlighted that among the teachings of The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light that deviate from Islam is the belief in Muhammad bin al-Hassan al-Askari (the 12th Shia Imam) as Imam al-Mahdi, who is allegedly in hiding and will reappear at the end of times.
The group also believes Ahmad al-Hasan, referred to as al-Yamani, acts as a messenger for Imam al-Mahdi and will bring a final divine law to complete the teachings of past prophets.
Among the beliefs and practices of The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light that conflict with Islamic teachings and Syariah law are disparaging prophets by claiming some nearly had their prophethood revoked, including Prophet Musa, Prophet Yaakob and Prophet Muhammad.
The deviant teachings also embrace the concept of reincarnation, claiming that the Quran as it exists today is incomplete or has been altered, and denying the existence of angels who record good and bad deeds.
Additionally, they assert that entities other than Allah were involved in the creation of humans and the universe, claim that the crucifixion of Prophet Isa was intended to absolve the sins of his era, and argue that homosexuality had not been prohibited during the time of Prophet Lut, suggesting that such acts were not considered sinful.
Nooh also noted that JAKIM had presented this ruling to Sultan Of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah, the Chairman of MKI, and subsequently to the 267th Meeting of the Conference of Rulers held from Oct 23–24 this year.
“The Conference of Rulers has acknowledged this ruling, and state authorities may consider this decision for the gazettement of a fatwa in their respective states,” he said.
Source:thesun.my
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https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/mki-declares-teachings-of-the-ahmadi-religion-of-peace-and-light-as-deviant-CB13472707
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New Bangladesh Textbooks Will Say Ziaur Rahman Declared Independence
Photo: Rajib Raihan
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Jan 1, 2025
The new textbooks for primary and secondary students will now state that Ziaur Rahman declared the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.
Earlier, the books mentioned that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman made the declaration.
The new textbooks, which will have several changes, are currently being printed and will be distributed among the students from today (January 1).
Since 2010, a year after Sheikh Hasina came to power for the second time, the textbooks had mentioned that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared independence via a wireless message just before he was arrested by the Pakistan army on March 26, 1971.
Prof AKM Reazul Hassan, chairman of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board, said the new textbooks for the 2025 academic year will state that "on March 26, 1971, Ziaur Rahman declared the independence of Bangladesh, and on March 27, he made another declaration of independence on behalf of Bangabandhu".
The information has been included in the free textbooks where the matter of the declaration was mentioned, he added.
Writer and researcher Rakhal Raha, who was involved in the process of making changes in the textbooks, said they tried to free the textbooks from "exaggerated, imposed history".
"Those who revised the textbooks found that it wasn't a fact-based information that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman sent the wireless message [declaring independence] while being arrested by the Pakistani army, and so they decided to remove it."
Earlier, in the textbooks of classes one to 10, the information on who made the declaration of independence was changed according to the government in power.
It is widely believed among supporters of Awami League that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had made the announcement, and that Ziaur Rahman, who was an army major and later a sector commander of the Liberation War, merely read out the declaration upon Mujib's instructions.
Meanwhile, supporters of BNP believe their party founder and also former president of the country Ziaur had made the declaration.
Former NCTB officials said that when AL was in power from 1996-2001, the textbooks stated Sheikh Mujib made the declaration of independence and Ziaur Rahman read out the announcement. On the other hand, when the BNP was in power from 2001-2006, it was stated that Ziaur had made the declaration.
They, however, could not recall what was written in the textbooks before 1996.
Whether the change will spark new debates considering the difference of beliefs, Reazul said, "Of course not… This isn't a matter related to Awami League or BNP. This is a national issue. We want to give due recognition to individuals like Maulana Bhashani and Tajuddin Ahmed, who also played significant roles in the Liberation War.
"We're trying to make sure that focusing on factual representation remains consistent."
The former NCTB officials also pointed out that though the authorities in power kept changing the name of who declared independence, the constitution, in which Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is mentioned as the "Father of the Nation", included the telegram of the Declaration of Independence of Bangladesh made by Bangabandhu on March 26, 1971, in the sixth schedule.
The constitution also included the Proclamation of Independence of the Mujibnagar Government on April 10, 1971, in the seventh schedule.
It says, "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the undisputed leader of 75 million of people of Bangladesh, in due fulfilment of the legitimate right of self-determination of the people of Bangladesh, duly made a declaration of independence at Dacca on March 26, 1971, and urged the people of Bangladesh to defend the honour and integrity of Bangladesh...."
NCTB Chair Reazul said the telegram was introduced in the constitution through an amendment. "The documents of the Liberation War, the then Indian leaders, and the first post-independence documentary prepared by the then information ministry show evidence in favour of Ziaur Rahman making the declaration."
In this regard, Rakhal Raha said, "The constitution can be amended through a two-third majority. You can do anything if you have that kind of [backing by] a majority. Any immoral act can't be justified by the constitution. The truth is above the constitution."
It is to be noted that among the changes in the textbooks, the NCTB has also removed the title "Father of the Nation" with regard to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Source:thedailystar.net
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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/education/news/new-textbooks-will-say-ziaur-rahman-declared-independence-3789096
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Arise Sir Sadiq Khan: Muslim London Mayor Receives Knighthood
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan attends the ceremony where Christmas trees, brought from Norway, are lit up at Trafalgar Square in London, United Kingdom on December 05, 2024
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31 December, 2024
London's three-term mayor Sadiq Khan has been awarded a knighthood in the UK's New Year Honours list.
While the mayor emphasised that he was "truly humbled" by the recognition, the announcement also sparked significant criticism from right-wing figures, including Reform and Conservative politicians.
In a post on X, Khan stated that he "couldn’t have dreamed when growing up on a council estate in south London that I would one day be mayor of London."
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy congratulated Khan, celebrating the achievement as a testament to Britain's diversity.
"I'm proud that the UK is a place where you can go from being the son of a bus driver to being a knight of the realm," Lammy said of the London mayor.
Khan became the first Muslim mayor of a major Western city when elected in 2016. His policies, such as the ultra-low emission zone, and efforts to combat knife crime had drawn frequent criticism from the right, leading some to condemn his knighthood.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp referred to the honour as a "reward for failure", citing increased knife crime, unmet housing targets, and rising council tax under Khan's tenure.
Philp commented: "Under Sadiq Khan, Londoners have faced a 61 per cent increase in knife crime, a housing crisis, and a 70 per cent rise in council tax - they will rightly be furious his track record of failure is being rewarded."
"By rewarding the failing Sadiq Khan, Keir Starmer has shown once again that for Labour, it is Party first, country second," he continued.
A petition launched by Conservative councillor Matthew Goodwin-Freeman opposing Khan’s knighthood garnered over 200,000 signatures since 5 December.
Following the backlash, many took to social media to accuse critics of perpetuating underlying biases against Khan.
On social media platform X, British journalist Ally Fogg wrote, "Sadiq Khan is & always was a centrist, passably competent managerialist who has done nothing especially remarkable (far less radical) in his long tenure, and the wingnut right’s success in portraying him as a crazed Islamist who has ruined London is both remarkable & revealing."
Another user questioned the disparity in reactions to Khan’s knighthood compared to that of Andy Street, the Conservative former Mayor of the West Midlands.
"The far-right thugs will be seething with faux righteous indignation about one but not the other. I wonder why," they wrote.
Khan secured his historic third term as mayor in May, defeating Conservative candidate Susan Hall. Before entering politics, he worked as a human rights lawyer and was elected MP for Tooting in 2005.
As shadow justice secretary under Ed Miliband’s leadership, he gained national prominence. His global profile was further boosted by a high-profile feud with Donald Trump during the former US president’s first term, with the two frequently clashing over policy and rhetoric.
Source:newarab.com
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https://www.newarab.com/news/arise-sir-sadiq-khan-muslim-london-mayor-receives-knighthood
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India
PM should sack Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane for calling Kerala a ‘mini-Pakistan’, says Congress
December 31, 2024
Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal on Tuesday (December 31, 2024) lashed out at BJP leader and Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane for calling Kerala a “mini-Pakistan”, and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately sack Mr. Rane for the “shameful” remarks.
In a post on X, Mr. Venugopal said the remarks show their [party’s] “deep-rooted animosity” for people of the southern State.
“From time to time, the BJP deploys its hatemongers to spew venom against Kerala. Using terms like ‘mini Pakistan’ shows they have deep-rooted animosity for the people of Kerala,” Mr. Venugopal wrote.
‘Model State’
The Congress leader said Kerala had been a model State to the entire world, one that had consistently topped the human development indices, especially on education, healthcare and overall standard of living.
“Since millennia, Kerala has been a beacon of communal harmony and brotherhood among all religions and sects. To use abusive language for the land of Sree Narayana Guru, Chattambi Swamikal and Mahatma Ayyankali, who advocated for egalitarianism, inclusivity and social justice, shows the BJP’s disregard for its own fellow citizens. If PM Modi has any shame about Mr. Rane’s statements, he should sack him immediately,” Mr. Venugopal said.
He added that the people of Kerala “have rejected, and will never accept the BJP for this very reason – it does not understand the beauty of its harmonious living”.
The Maharashtra Minister sparked a major controversy by calling Kerala a “mini-Pakistan”. Speaking at a rally in Purandar tehsil of Pune district on Sunday, he also stated that “all terrorists vote for Gandhis”, a reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and subsequently his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, winning the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat.
Source:thehindu.com
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https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pm-should-sack-maharashtra-minister-nitesh-rane-for-calling-kerala-a-mini-pakistan-says-congress/article69047027.ece
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‘Kerala is mini Pakistan’: Pinarayi tears into BJP leader’s comments on Rahul-Priyanka wins, but Congress says CPI(M) paved the way
January 1, 2025
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Tuesday said Maharashtra BJP minister Nitesh Rane’s statement calling Kerala a “mini Pakistan” is highly provocative and deplorable.
Addressing a function in Pune, Rane had said, “Kerala is mini Pakistan… that is why Rahul Gandhi and his sister are elected from there. All terrorists vote for them. This is the truth, you can ask. They have become MPs after taking terrorists with them.’’ In a sharp response, Vijayan said, “The Maharashtra minister’s words reflected the Sangh Parivar’s approach towards Kerala. Sangh Parivar is of the view that it can alienate places where it finds it difficult to gain control, by unleashing such hate campaigns. The minister is not fit to continue in his post. It is surprising that the leadership of the party that rules the country has not reacted to the statement of the minister, who has breached the oath of office by insulting the Constitution of the country.”
The Congress also deplored Rane’s statement but sought to link the controversy with the recent statements of CPI(M) leaders about Rahul’s and Priyanka’s victories in Wayanad.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said the minister had hurt Kerala’s secular mindset. “People want to know whether the Prime Minister and Kerala Chief Minister have the same view. It is the CPI(M) stand that prompted the BJP to spit communal venom. The minister should quit, and he should be disqualified. The Congress will politically and legally fight against the statement which depicted people of Wayanad as terrorists,” he said.
After Priyanka’s win in byelections in the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, the CPI(M) in Kerala had alleged that a communal Muslim alliance was behind her and her brother’s victories. Two weeks ago, CPI(M) politburo member A Vijayaraghavan said in a party convention that without the support of the communal Muslim alliance, Rahul would not have reached Delhi (won the Lok Sabha seat). Referring to the victory of Priyanka in the recent Wayanad byelection, VIjayaraghavan said the worst extremist elements were in her precession.
The CPI(M) leader’s reference to Wayanad went in line with the change in the approach of the CPI(M) after the Lok Sabha elections, during which the party faced a backlash over its bid to woo minority votes.
In 2019, too, when Rahul won his first electoral battle in Wayanad, the BJP national leadership had invoked Pakistan. Before he filed nominations at the time, green flags of Congress ally Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) were seen flying alongside the Tricolour.
At the time, then BJP president Amit Shah had attacked the Congress: “When a procession is taken out, you cannot make out whether it is an India or a Pakistan procession.”
In November this year, when Priyanka contested in Wayanad, CPI(M) raked up a controversy over Muslim voters in the constituency. Vijayan then said Priyanka was contesting with the support of the Jamaat-e-Islami, which is not in “favour of a democratic system”. The CM said the Jamaat-e-Islami stood for an “Islamic regime” and the “extremist section” was “trying to gain influence in the Indian Union Muslim League”.
Wayanad Lok Sabha seat has around 41 per cent Muslim voters, 45 per cent Hindu voters and 13 per cent Christian voters.
Source:indianexpress.com
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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/kerala-mini-pakistan-pinarayi-vijayan-bjp-rahul-gandhi-priyanka-congress-9752837/
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UP: Objections raised over police post construction in Sambhal, DM says 'no rationality' found
01.01.25
As the construction of the police post near Jama Masjid in Sambhal continues, District Magistrate (DM) Rajender Pensiya informed that the administration has received some documents raising objections to the ongoing construction.
However, "no rationality" was found in them upon examination.Additionally, only one person has approached the administration in person so far, and if others do so, the necessary action will be taken.
Notably, the police post is being constructed in response to recent unrest and to enhance security and improve surveillance."The Satyavrat Police Chowki is under construction. We have received some documents but they are not registered. Secondly, no one has presented themselves in front of us. We examined the documents and we did not find any rationality in them. If someone comes to us, we will take the required legal action...," said the DM while speaking to on Tuesday.Earlier on Monday, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sambhal, Shrish Chandra, stated that the construction work of the police post is progressing rapidly and will be completed in a few days.Speaking to ANI, ASP Chandra said, "The construction of the post is currently in progress. It will be established as soon as possible. So that the force staying here can stay comfortably.
Source:indiatimes.com
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https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/up-objections-raised-over-police-post-construction-in-sambhal-dm-says-no-rationality-found/articleshow/116844673.cms
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Properties of 2 PoK-based terrorists attached in J&K’s Rajouri
Jan 1, 2025
JAMMU: Police have attached properties of two fugitive terrorists — operating from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) — in J&K’s Rajouri district, officials said Tuesday.
The terrorists — Ishtiaq Ahmed and Zahid Ali Khan, both natives of Bhattian-Thanamandi in Rajouri — are accused of anti-national activities. Ishtiaq’s land measures 5 kanals and 14 marlas, while Zahid’s land measures 2 kanals and 4 marlas, a police spokesperson said.
The attachment was carried out Monday in the presence of revenue authorities under court orders following relevant sections of law in connection with an FIR registered at Thanamandi PS, officials said.
The property attachment is part of J&K Police’s ongoing efforts to dismantle networks of Pakistan-based handlers and their associates operating in the region, the spokesperson added.
Source:indiatimes.com
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/properties-of-2-pok-based-terrorists-attached-in-jks-rajouri/articleshow/116843503.cms
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J&K revenue secretary to become first IAS officer to face trial in ‘gun licence scam’
January 1, 2025
The central government has allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation to prosecute Jammu and Kashmir Revenue Secretary Kumar Rajeev Ranjan for alleged irregularities in granting gun licences, making him the first IAS officer against whom such a prosecution sanction has been granted in the case.
According to sources, the sanction to prosecute the IAS officer was granted through an order dated November 28, 2024, in a case registered by the CBI under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006.
The CBI is probing irregularities in granting over 2.74 lakh gun licences between 2012 and 2016 — when J&K was still a state — by district magistrates (DMs), deputy commissioners and licencing authorities for “monetary considerations”. Agencies estimate the alleged scam to run into more than Rs 100 crore.
In October, the CBI told the court that it was still awaiting prosecution sanction against 16 erstwhile District Magistrates (13 IAS officers and three KAS officers) who, during their posting in different districts of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, had issued gun licences “illegally” to “ineligible people” across the country.
On November 25, a Division Bench of the HC comprising Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice M.A. Chowdhary had expressed displeasure over “selective prosecution” in the case, observing that while the CBI had already concluded its investigation, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had yet to sanction their prosecution.
Significantly, the prosecution sanction is necessary to prosecute public servants such as IAS officers under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
In particular, the Bench had also referred to the case of Kumar Rajeev Ranjan, formerly the Kupwara district magistrate, against whom CBI had registered a case on October 16, 2018.
Earlier this year, Ranjan, father Kripa Shankar Roy, and brother Jyoti Ranjan, were among nearly two dozen people — including serving and retired government officials, gun dealers and middle men — against whom Enforcement Directorate filed a complaint for prosecution in the Court of Special Judge for CBI Cases on charges of money laundering.
In its prosecution complaint, the ED had said that the accused had directly hampered the security of the state, and sought action against them under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002 and confiscation of their moveable and immoveable properties.
“The proximity of Jammu and Kashmir from the borders with the neighbouring nations, coupled with the issuance of arms licenses in violation of the laid down rules and regulations evidences the fact that not only wrongful gains have been made by the accused, but their actions have directly hampered the security of the state, as such licenses were in certain instances used for illegal purchase/issuance of arms as well,’’ the ED has said in its complaint.
Source:indianexpress.com
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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/jk-revenue-secretary-to-become-first-ias-officer-to-face-trial-in-gun-licence-scam-9753837/
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Southeast Asia
Unusual zikir in Setapak, JAWI has recorded statements from individuals involved - Mohd Na’im
BERNAMA
01-01- 2025
PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (JAWI) has recorded statements from individuals who allegedly performed zikir in an unusual manner at a cemetery in Setapak, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar.
He said that based on the statements of the individuals concerned, a report had been submitted to the Federal Territory Mufti Department for follow-up action.
“If it is found that the action is against the teachings of Islam, then JAWI will submit a report to the Syariah Prosecution Department for further action,“ he told reporters after attending the Gema Syukur 2025 programme here today.
A 23-second video showing a group of individuals performing zikir in a loud and unusual manner at a cemetery in Danau Kota, Setapak, went viral last Dec 26, raising concerns among the public, especially within the Muslim community.
On the same day, Wangsa Maju District Police Chief ACP Mohamad Lazim Ismail confirmed receiving a report regarding the incident which is believed to have happened at about 10.05 am the previous day (Dec 27).
Regarding the Gema Syukur 2025 programme, Mohd Na’im said it was part of the elements outlined in the “Gagasan Kalimah Tayyibah” which was launched Aug 29 last year.
The aim is to produce a society that can use good words, not slander others and promote love and care, he said.
Source:thesun.my
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https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/unusual-zikir-in-setapak-jawi-has-recorded-statements-from-individuals-involved-mohd-na-im-OB13472851
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Muslims must defend, support Palestine - MKI
BERNAMA
01-01- 2025
KUALA LUMPUR: Muslims are obligated to defend and uphold the rights of the Palestinian people and nation against all forms of oppression, aggression, and occupation by the Israeli Zionist regime, says the Muzakarah Committee of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs Malaysia (MKI).Resipi masakan Malaysia
The decision was reached during its meeting held from Sept 24 to 26 to discuss the duty of defending Palestine against Israeli aggression.
MKI Muzakarah Committee chairman Datuk Dr Nooh Gadut, in a statement today, said Muslims must also support the recognition of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions and human rights principles.
He emphasised the need for Muslims to unite in defending and liberating Masjid al-Aqsa.
“Boycotting is sanctioned in Islam, especially to defend and uphold the objectives of ‘maqasid syariah’. Such actions align with the demands of ‘jihad’, particularly in the context of wealth,“ he said.
Nooh explained that boycotting companies or entities with interests linked to the Zionist regime should adhere to specific guidelines, including the goal of pressuring these companies to change their policies, visions, missions, and strategies regarding Palestine and halting Israel’s oppression.
He added that the boycott should target companies involved in colonial activities and aiding the Zionist regime, such as supplying computer equipment, machinery, or tools used to destroy Palestinian property and lives, and providing financial support.
“The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM), as the coordinating body, has conveyed its legal opinion to Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah, who serves as MKI Chairman. This matter was also presented to the 267th Meeting of the Conference of Rulers on Oct 23 and 24.Resipi masakan Malaysia
“In this regard, the Conference of Rulers has taken note of the agreed legal views, and state religious authorities may consider adopting this decision for the gazettement of fatwas in their respective states,“ he added.
Source:thesun.my
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https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/muslims-must-defend-support-palestine-mki-KB13472679
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South Asia
Govt decision caught student leaders by surprise
Jan 1, 2025
The government's decision to prepare a declaration of the July uprising came as a surprise to the leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and Jatiya Nagorik Committee.
The students' platform that spearheaded the uprising scheduled the unveiling of their own proclamation at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka for Tuesday.
However, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus's press wing late on Monday evening announced the government itself would prepare a proclamation within a few days based on national consensus.
Soon after the announcement, the student group and its organisation for citizens, the Nagorik Committee, sat for separate meetings at their offices in Bangla Motor around 10:00pm.
After intense drama for hours, they decided to hold a "March for Unity" instead of making the proclamation.
In the beginning, some of them became agitated and still wanted to go ahead with the programme while some wanted to call off the event.
Asif Mahmud, an adviser to the Yunus government and a key organiser of the student movement, was among the leaders who tried to calm the activists.
At the meeting of the student platform, the discussion started with an announcement by a top leader that the December 31 programme would be postponed, three leaders who were present at the meeting told The Daily Star, requesting to be unnamed.
Many resented his announcement, which he made "without consulting other leaders".
Organisers, who were entitled with responsibilities to bring activists from different districts and upazilas, presented a calculation of how many buses would bring how many people from each district.
Outside the office, the organisers were seen talking over their phones.
One of the organisers said buses had set off, but now they stopped midway, awaiting a decision. Nothing had been finalised yet.
At the other meeting, of the Nagorik Committee, a group of leaders expressed their dissatisfaction over being in the dark about the government's decision.
"They raised questions as to why Nagorik Committee Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain was not informed of the government's decision. However, at the meeting, Akhtar remained firm that the programme would be held at any cost," one member of the committee told this newspaper.
They were holding repeated meetings separately and jointly at the two platform's offices.
Akhtar left the office around 10:45pm, followed by Joint Convener Sarwar Tushar shortly afterwards. Neither of them spoke to the media.
As per sources inside the two platforms, Adviser Asif Mahmud sat with the two groups and tried to explain the government's decision. He left the offices around 11:15pm.
Meanwhile, two groups were demonstrating outside the building. They chanted slogans demanding that the programme be held.
Hasnat Abdullah, the convener of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, arrived at the offices with Umama Fatema, spokesperson for the platform, at 12:30am on Tuesday.
The leaders sat again afterwards, and following an hour-long discussion, they decided the proclamation would not be announced.
However, since people from various districts were already on their way, the event would be held, but in a different pattern, they decided.
After their meeting, at 1:30am, Jatiya Nagorik Committee Chief Organiser Sarjis Alam told a press conference, "Through the initiative to prepare a declaration of uprising, the government has brought all of Bangladesh to a united stance. We applaud this effort."
The dramatic change of the plans about the proclamation came after the political parties gave mixed reactions over the issue.
The BNP and several other parties said they apprehended the move may delay the next election. They also wondered why the students wanted to make a proclamation five months after the uprising.
The Jamaat-e-Islami welcomed the student platform's decision to make a proclamation.
Source:thedailystar.net
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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/govt-decision-caught-student-leaders-surprise-3789076
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Ministry of Refugees and UNAMA Discuss Coordination for Returnees and IDPs
2025-01-01
KABUL (BNA): Representatives of the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation held a meeting with representatives of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
According to a statement issued by the ministry, the meeting focused on sharing the ministry’s operational plans and discussing coordination efforts with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
The source added that Mawlawi Shukrullah Shakir, Director of Repatriation and Resettlement at the ministry, stated during the meeting: “The primary task of this ministry and related institutions is to work together and in coordination to address the challenges faced by returnees and internally displaced persons.”
The statement further noted that UNAMA representatives assured the ministry officials of their cooperation and emphasized: “We are committed to assisting the people of Afghanistan, particularly returnees and internally displaced persons, to resolve their challenges through coordination and collaboration.”
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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https://bakhtarnews.af/en/ministry-of-refugees-and-unama-discuss-coordination-for-returnees-and-idps/
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Nearly 1 Million Afghan Migrants Return to Afghanistan
2024-12-31
KABUL (BNA): The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has announced the return of approximately one million Afghan migrants to Afghanistan. These migrants have predominantly returned from Iran and Pakistan this year.
Abdul Mutaleb Haqqani, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations, stated that nearly 900,000 of these migrants returned from Iran alone. Following Iran, the majority of returning Afghan migrants came from Pakistan and Turkey.
It is reported that some of these returnees returned voluntarily, while many were forcibly repatriated from Iran.
According to statistics, around eight million Afghan citizens have migrated to other countries over the past decades.
The spokesperson for the Ministry also mentioned that employment opportunities have been created for nearly 48,000 returnees.
On the other hand, the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly stated that it is providing employment opportunities for unemployed youth, including returnees, through construction projects and vocational training programs.
Additionally, upon their return, migrants receive assistance from the Islamic Emirate in various regions of Afghanistan and are referred to domestic and international aid organizations for further assistance.
Since the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate and the restoration of nationwide security, the process of Afghan returnees coming back to their homeland has increased significantly.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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https://bakhtarnews.af/en/nearly-1-million-afghan-migrants-return-to-afghanistan/
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Deputy PM Mawlawi Hanafi Meets Head of Islamic Emirate Political Office in Qatar
2024-12-31
KABUL (BNA): Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi, the Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs, met today with Alhaj Mohammad Suhail Shaheen, the Head of the Islamic Emirate’s Political Office in Qatar.
During the meeting, Suhail Shaheen provided a detailed report on the activities, accomplishments, and future plans of the Political Office in Qatar to the Deputy Prime Minister. He emphasized that the office continues to play a constructive and proactive role in strengthening the Islamic Emirate’s relations with regional and global countries while safeguarding its interests.
Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi praised the efforts of the Political Office in Qatar, acknowledging its contributions to defending the Islamic Emirate’s interests and fostering ties with both the host nation and other regional and international countries.
He urged the office’s officials to focus on expanding these relations based on mutual respect and constructive engagement with regional and global nations.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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https://bakhtarnews.af/en/deputy-pm-mawlawi-hanafi-meets-head-of-islamic-emirate-political-office-in-qatar/
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UK arrests three Afghan men on human trafficking charges
ByFidel Rahmati
December 31, 2024
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) reported on Monday the arrest of “three Afghan men” for trafficking refugees through Turkey, Iran, and the Balkans to Western Europe. The men face charges related to sexual crimes, including the rape of young refugee boys and blackmailing them.
The three men are part of a human trafficking ring that has been bringing thousands of refugees, mainly to France and Belgium, before smuggling them across the English Channel to the UK in small boats.
After a two-year joint investigation by Belgian police and the UK NCA, the traffickers were finally arrested in South London.
Ziyarmal Khan, 24, also known as “Boxer Bai,” was the first member of the gang to be detained on December 6th at Stansted Airport in London.
On December 18th, Zeeshan Bangash, 20, was arrested in Kentish New Road, London, and the third suspect, Saifur Rahman Ahmadzai, 23, also known as “President Hamza,” was arrested on December 30th in Hampstead, UK.
The UK NCA stated that the gang filmed their sexual abuse of young refugee boys and extorted money from them.
Last month, a Belgian court sentenced the three Afghan traffickers, along with 20 other gang members, to a combined 170 years in prison. Ahmadzai received 10 years, while Khan and Bangash each received three years in prison and a €3,000 fine. The men were convicted in absentia.
The plight of Afghan refugees, fleeing violence and persecution, remains dire, with many becoming victims of human trafficking along their perilous journeys. Despite international efforts, these vulnerable individuals often face exploitation, with traffickers taking advantage of their desperation for safety.
As the UK continues to be a primary destination for Afghan refugees, there has been an alarming rise in deportations and the tightening of borders. This, coupled with the ongoing instability in Afghanistan, leaves many refugees caught in a cycle of displacement, struggling for a sense of security and justice. The international community must do more to protect refugees and dismantle the trafficking networks exploiting their vulnerability.
Source:khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/uk-arrests-three-afghan-men-on-human-trafficking-charges/
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Europe
Foreigners in German city advised to avoid going out alone at night
31 Dec, 2024
A support group for immigrants in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany, in which the city of Magdeburg is situated, has advised foreigners to avoid going out alone at night in the city.
Concerns were heightened after the deadly incident at the Magdeburg Christmas market on December 20, when a man rammed his car through a crowd, leaving five people dead, including a child, and over 200 injured. Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old Saudi psychiatrist, has been arrested for the crime.
The organization that issued the warning, Lamsa, “has spoken to the Ministry of the Interior, and the police want to send more patrols onto the streets at the turn of the year,” BILD wrote on Monday.
According to the outlet, the Saxony-Anhalt region has received many reports of right-wing extremism. Some of its political and public figures have already responded to the issue.
“Migrants in our midst have been afraid of being attacked since the [Christmas market] attack and don’t dare leave their homes these days... We must face up to the new violence,” the regional bishop of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany, Friedrich Kramer, said.
Eva von Angern, leader of the Left Party in Saxony-Anhalt’s parliament, posted on X on Saturday about an “increase in hostile treatment” and in attacks. “Looking for scapegoats is too easy. Let us show solidarity with the migrants in Magdeburg and resolutely oppose the hostilities,” the politician wrote, stressing that all migrants ought not to be held responsible for the actions of few.
The Christmas market attack suspect Abdulmohsen had been living in Germany since 2006 and was granted refugee status in 2016. He has a history of legal issues, including a conviction for “disturbance of public peace by threatening crimes” in 2013, which resulted in a fine but did not affect his asylum request. Saudi Arabia had reportedly warned German authorities about Abdulmohsen and even requested his extradition, but those warnings were not acted-on.
Lawmakers from various parties have criticized the government’s handling of the case following Monday’s hearing. Konstantin Kuhle of the Free Democrats (FDP) stated that, although federal and state authorities were aware of the suspect, they failed to connect the dots. Gottfried Curio of Alternative for Germany (AfD) was even more critical, pointing out that “everything was foreseeable,” and calling for deportations instead of naturalizations.
The Christmas market attack has ignited a heated discussion regarding security and immigration policies in Germany, especially with an upcoming national election in February. Recently, Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised to “thoroughly investigate whether there were any shortcomings among the authorities” and if any important clues were overlooked.
Source:rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/610246-foreigners-in-german-city-advised/
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UK special forces face possible Syria war crimes charges
January 01, 2025
Nine members of UK special forces could face prosecution over alleged war crimes linked to at least two separate incidents in Syria, according to Ministry of Defence (MoD) data seen by the BBC.
The data, which was originally obtained via a Freedom of Information request by The Times newspaper, shows that two cases are being reviewed by the Service Prosecuting Authority (Spa), the military equivalent of the Crown Prosecution Service.
One case involves one individual, while another involves eight individuals.
The MoD did not disclose details of the cases, or whether they involved singular or multiple incidents.
UK Special Forces have been deployed on operations against Islamic State (IS) in Syria during the past decade - but the MoD does not comment on operations or the whereabouts of special forces troops.
An MoD spokesperson said: "Our UK personnel are respected worldwide for the highest standards and action will be taken against anyone that fails to meet these standards, including dismissal from service, where appropriate.
"It would be inappropriate to comment further on ongoing investigations."
In March 2024, it emerged that five serving SAS soldiers were under investigation over an incident involving allegations of potential war crimes in Syria more than two years ago.
According to the Daily Mail, the incident related to an operation involving the killing of a suspected jihadist, whose body was found near to a primed bomb vest - but he was not wearing the vest when killed.
The SAS soldiers involved are alleged by superiors to have used excessive force and should have arrested the man instead of killing him, the Mail reported. The soldiers are said to have claimed he posed a threat and intended to carry out a suicide attack.
It is unclear if this earlier-reported case is the same as the one involving eight individuals.
In addition to the cases in Syria, the MoD data reveals that the Spa is also considering a case in relation to a special forces individual in Afghanistan. Again, details were not provided of this case.
A public inquiry is being held into the activities of the SAS during their time in Afghanistan.
The Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan - launched in the wake of reporting by the BBC and other media outlets - is investigating whether UK Special Forces killed civilians and unarmed people on night raids in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013.
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3legwxn6go
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Post Office scandal: MPs call for financial penalty for slow payouts
January 01, 2025
A group of MPs says compensation is not being paid quickly enough for the victims of the Post Office scandal and is calling for the government to face financial penalties if the process doesn't speed up.
The Business and Trade Select Committee said binding timeframes were needed, with any money arising from missed deadlines going to the claimants if they weren't met.
The committee also called for the Post Office to be removed from its role in the compensation schemes, and asked for more transparency over how much it was paying for lawyers.
The government said it was "working tirelessly" to settle claims "at a faster rate than ever before".
Committee chairman Liam Byrne MP said: "The fault lies with the Post Office, but ultimately government is the shareholder in the Post Office and acts on our behalf".
The government is already looking at the Post Office's role in the compensation schemes.
Between 1999 and 2015 hundreds of sub-postmasters were prosecuted and convicted based on information from a faulty accounting system, Horizon, which made it look like money was missing.
Some sub-postmasters wrongfully went to prison, many were financially ruined, and some have since died.
One of those accused, Seema Misra, was eight weeks pregnant when she was wrongfully imprisoned.
Speaking to the BBC after she was made an OBE in the King's New Year list for her role in campaigning for justice, she said it was an acknowledgement of the "scale of the injustice and scandal".
The scandal "still hasn't been sorted out", she said, recalling the "really, really difficult time" she had had since her legal battle with the Post Offices started in 2008, three years after she had bought the Post Office in West Byfleet in Surrey.
She served four-and-a-half months in Bronzefield prison and gave birth to her second son wearing an electronic tag.
'Poorly designed'
A public inquiry in to the scandal heard final submissions in December, where it took evidence from lawyers representing the Post Office, Horizon's creators Fujitsu, and the Department for Business, as well as victims and former Post Office bosses.
The select committee's report, which comes a year after an ITV drama about the scandal catapulted the issue to the public's attention, said the redress schemes were still "poorly designed" and payments were still "not fast enough".
It found the application process was akin to a second trial for the victims, adding that lawyers administering the schemes were making millions whilst the vast majority of the money set aside for redress had still to be paid out.
The committee's recommendations include providing upfront legal advice for victims and hard deadlines for administrators to approve claims - with financial penalties if they take too long.
Only around £499m of the budgeted £1.8bn has been paid out so far, to more than 3,000 claimants. The committee said that meant 72% of the budget had still not paid.
Many of those with the most complicated claims have still to be fully settled.
"This is quite simply, wrong, wrong, wrong", Byrne said.
"There are still thousands of victims who have not had the redress to which they are entitled.
"This is the biggest miscarriage of justice in British legal history," he said, adding that there are "eye-watering legal costs which are, frankly, going through the roof."
Talking to the BBC, he said that "for every £4 that the taxpayer is paying out in redress payments, £1 is going to the lawyers".
Byrne added that hard deadlines and fines would help the government and the Post Office to "get a grip".
A Post Office spokesperson said the firm was "focused on paying redress as swiftly as possible", adding that its spending on external law firms was kept "under constant review".
"Our chair said at the Public Inquiry in October that redress schemes administered by us should be transferred to the government, and we will support the Department for Business and Trade on any decisions they may take regarding this matter," the spokesperson added.
There are four compensation schemes for victims and two are overseen by the Post Office.
The government's Post Office minister Gareth Thomas said in December that the Labour government was considering taking over responsibility for the schemes from the company.
The Post Office told the select committee in December that legal fees had made up £136m of the cost of administering the Post Office-led schemes since 2020, which is around 27% of the compensation paid out.
Some of the committee's recommendations for improvement were previously rejected by the former Tory government.
Hard deadlines attached to financial penalties were dismissed as having "no positive effect" on speeding up claims and "might unjustly penalise solicitors for issues out of their control", the former government said in May.
Meanwhile, Hudgell Solicitors, which represents hundreds of former sub-postmasters, has welcomed the committee's recommendations, saying they would simplify and speed up the compensation schemes by removing "unnecessary obstacles to justice" which it said it had seen repeated over hundreds of cases.
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20ey5g88eno
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Wind and rain warnings in place for New Year's Day
January 01, 2025
Parts of the UK are set to be battered by wind and rain on the first day of 2025.
Yellow and amber warnings issued by the Met Office are in place for much of Wales and southern England into Wednesday morning.
A warning for snow and ice in northern Scotland is also in place, while 109 flood warnings have been issued across the UK.
It comes after New Year's Eve events across the country were cancelled due to expected bad weather - although celebrations in Manchester and London went ahead.
The Met Office said there was a "slight chance" of damage to buildings and power cuts, with gusts of up to 75mph possible.
An amber rain warning covering parts of North West England is in place until 09:00 on Wednesday
A yellow warning for rain for much of Wales and north-west England is in force until 11:00 on Wednesday
A yellow warning for snow and ice in the north of mainland Scotland is in force from 04:00 on Wednesday until 09:00 on Thursday
A yellow warning of wind is in place for Wales and large parts of England is in place from 00:15 until 15:00 on Wednesday
A yellow warning for snow and rain covering the Highlands and Moray was in place until 04:00 on Wednesday.
In the Highlands, forecasters warned "blizzard conditions are possible", especially in the far northern regions of Sutherland and Caithness.
The Environment Agency (EA) has issued 67 flood warnings in England, mostly concentrated in the North West.
There are also 10 flood warnings in place for north Wales and 32 warnings in place for Scotland.
The poor weather conditions are expected to cause travel disruption in parts of the country.
Transport for Wales and London North Eastern Railway warned some services could be delayed or cancelled at short-notice.
Northern Ireland's Translink advised passengers to check online before travelling.
A number of routes in Scotland have been impacted because of speed restrictions, including Inverness services to Perth and the Kyle of Lochalsh; Perth to Stirling; and Edinburgh to Inverness.
Flooding is also causing disruption on Northern services running across parts of Yorkshire.
Despite the poor weather, thousands of people gathered along Embankment in the capital to see in the New Year with a fireworks display over the Thames at midnight on Wednesday.
Celebrations in Manchester also went ahead as planned, after its fireworks display was moved to the top of the city's central library.
Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh were cancelled over public safety concerns, as were fireworks displays in Blackpool, Newcastle, the Isle of Wight and Ripon in North Yorkshire.
Hogmanay organisers, Unique Assembly, had previously apologised to international tourists who travelled to Edinburgh for the street party and midnight fireworks display.
Scotland's Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said cancelling the festival was "undoubtedly" the correct decision.
The fireworks display in Blackpool was cancelled because of the expected high winds. The town's other events, including a projection show to mark the start of 2025, went ahead.
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgm5rkrp25o
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Ukrainian border agency posts photo of soldier wearing Nazi symbols
31 Dec, 2024
The Ukrainian Border Guard Service has sparked social media uproar after posting a photo of a service member with several distinctively Nazi symbols on his uniform and weapon. The image appeared on the border agency’s official Facebook page in late October but has drawn public attention only recently.
A post dedicated to the “dark” side of the Ukrainian border guard soldiers, that they supposedly only show to “the enemy,” features a picture of a soldier dressed in military uniform and protective gear with a Nazi eagle patch on his chest.
The eagle holding a laurel wreath in its claws with his wings spread apart is depicted against the red-and-black background traditionally associated with the Ukrainian ultra-nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) – a WWII-era paramilitary entity known for collaborating with the Nazis and for committing numerous war crimes.
The only difference between the Nazi eagle and the one the soldier in question is sporting on his uniform is the Ukrainian trident coat of arms in place of the Nazi swastika inside the laurel. The same soldier is also seen holding an assault rifle with the SS bolts on one of its handles. The SS lightning bolts were a symbol of the Nazi Party’s paramilitary organization, which was condemned at the Nuremberg Tribunal and has since become popular among neo-Nazi and far-right groups.
The development did not go unnoticed on social media, with many commenters under the border guards’ post questioning the agency’s choice of a model to pose in the picture. “Why are you posting a [picture] of a fighter with Nazi symbols on the official page?” one commenter asked.
The post also caused a stir on social media platform X in December. Ukrainian journalist Anatoly Shariy was one of the first to draw attention to the issue by mocking Kiev’s and the West’s claims that there are “no Nazis” in Ukraine. Some users on X then openly branded border guards “SS fanatics,” who force ordinary Ukrainians to fight Russia. The agency has been known for the harsh tactics it uses against military-age men trying to flee the country in a bid to avoid being drafted.
Ukrainian troops have repeatedly been filmed donning Nazi iconography on their uniforms and weapons. In a widely publicized incident that occurred during the Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region in August, two of Kiev’s soldiers filmed themselves imitating invading Wehrmacht troops while harassing an elderly Russian civilian. The man went missing after the encounter.
Italy’s Rai News 24 state broadcaster had to apologize earlier this year after its journalist interviewed a Ukrainian fighter wearing a khaki cap adorned with the insignia of the ‘Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler’ SS division. This unit was convicted of war crimes by the Nuremberg Tribunal following World War II.
In May, the German authorities revealed that they had to expel seven Ukrainian recruits undergoing military training in the country, because they were sporting Nazi symbols. In September, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico accused Kiev’s Western backers of turning a blind eye to what he called Ukraine’s “Nazi troops.”
Source:.rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/russia/610249-ukraine-border-guard-nazi-symbols/
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Pakistan
Pakistan enters UN Security Council at key juncture in global politics
Anwar Iqbal
January 1, 2025
WASHINGTON: On the first day of the new year, Pakistan begins a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), stepping into a complex global landscape.
This marks Pakistan’s eighth term on the council, providing an opportunity to shape discussions on pivotal international issues, but also posing significant challenges.
Elected in June to replace Japan, Pakistan now occupies one of the two Asia-Pacific seats on the UNSC. It will preside over the council in July, a key opportunity to set the agenda and foster dialogue.
Pakistan will also secure a seat on the Islamic State and Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee, responsible for designating individuals and groups associated with these organisations as terrorists and imposing sanctions.
This will be a valuable opportunity for Pakistan to highlight cross-border terrorist attacks from Afghanistan by groups with longstanding associations with the militant Islamic State group and Al Qaeda.
While only permanent members hold veto power in the council, non-permanent members wield significant influence in terrorism-related sanctions committees, as decisions are made by consensus under established norms.
However, the fractured state of global politics and increasing polarisation within the council may test Islamabad’s ability to navigate its diplomatic priorities.
Global, regional challenges
Pakistan’s term coincides with heightened tensions in conflict zones such as Gaza, held Kashmir and Syria.
Its longstanding support for Palestine and its advocacy for the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination are expected to feature prominently. Yet, these efforts face entrenched geopolitical obstacles.
For instance, Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram emphasised the need to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling for a ceasefire, unfettered humanitarian access, and accountability for civilian casualties. While reaffirming Islamabad’s commitment to a two-state solution, he acknowledged “the challenge of overcoming divisions within the Council,” where veto powers frequently derail consensus.
Similarly, Pakistan’s efforts to revive the Kashmir dispute, one of the oldest issues on the UNSC agenda, face hurdles. Ambassador Akram noted, “We will continue to highlight the plight of Kashmiris and push for concrete steps from the international community.”
However, India’s growing global influence and the muted international response to Kashmir complicate Islamabad’s advocacy.
Emerging conflicts, limited leverage
Beyond its regional priorities, Pakistan’s stance on the Syrian conflict reflects its commitment to Syria’s sovereignty and a political solution. Ambassador Akram outlined Pakistan’s support for “a Syrian-led, UN-facilitated peace process”.
However, with major powers dominating the conflict’s dynamics, Islamabad’s capacity to shape outcomes remains constrained.
The challenge for Pakistan lies in balancing its principled positions with the realities of limited influence in conflicts where power dynamics overshadow multilateral diplomacy.
Multilateralism
Pakistan’s broader agenda includes advocating for UNSC reforms to make the body more representative and accountable. Islamabad opposes the addition of new permanent members, favouring an expansion in the non-permanent category instead.
“Regular elections and rotation are essential for a democratic council,” Ambassador Akram reiterated. This stance aligns with smaller nations seeking equitable global governance but also reflects Pakistan’s strategic interests in avoiding permanent rivalries in the council.
Opportunities, limitations
Pakistan’s eighth term on the UNSC underscores its contributions to peacekeeping and its commitment to multilateralism. As one of five non-permanent members from Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries, Islamabad’s role as a voice for the Muslim world is significant.
However, the polarisation within the council and the competing interests of major powers will also test the ability of OIC nations to advance to promote their interests.
While Pakistan aims to leverage its term to highlight regional issues, including Kashmir, and global concerns like Palestine, its success depends on its diplomatic agility and capacity to build consensus in a divided council. This term offers an opportunity to enhance its global standing, but the challenges it faces are equally daunting.
Ambassador Akram summarised Pakistan’s aspirations: “We look forward to working closely with other members of the UN Security Council and the broader UN membership to uphold the UN Charter and promote peace.” The coming two years will determine how effectively Islamabad can translate these aspirations into tangible achievements on the world stage.
Source:dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1882311/pakistan-enters-un-security-council-at-key-juncture-in-global-politics
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Govt unveils ‘Uraan Pakistan’ 5-year transformation plan for economy
December 31, 2024
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formally unveiled the National Economic Transformation Plan 2024-29 on Tuesday called “Uraan Pakistan: Homegrown National Economic Plan”, with the promise to revive the country’s economy.
The five-year plan aims to address key economic challenges through a targeted framework called the “Five Es” — Exports; E-Pakistan; Equity and Empowerment; Environment, Food and Water Security; and Energy and Infrastructure.
In April, PM Shehbaz had called for the creation of a comprehensive five-year strategy to double the country’s exports and underscored the importance of a collaborative approach, asking the Ministry of Trade to devise the export strategy in consultation with successful entrepreneurs and stakeholders.
The ceremony to announce the plan was held in Islamabad today, with speeches by the prime minister, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar.
Addressing the event, PM Shehbaz commended the presentations by the aforementioned ministers and said, “The crux is that in the last nine months, we negotiated huge challenges [and] difficulties and through untiring efforts of the federal and provincial governments and our partners in prosperity and progress, we have been able to achieve macroeconomic stability.
“But this is just the beginning of a long journey which would entail sacrifice, blood and sweat to achieve economic growth and find our lost place among nations,” he added.
The premier said achieving growth required everyone to come together to work and march forward with “unity of thought and action”.
The prime minister explained the challenges his government faced on the economic front when it came into power and said the country was forced to go for another programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He said it was a moment to ponder why the country had to resort to another IMF bailout, pointing out losses of state-owned enterprises, the circular debt, and corruption.
Outlining how growth would be achieved for the economy, the prime minister said that inputs would have to be made cheaper, investment would have to be encouraged, and import curbs would have to be removed to encourage competition, efficiency, and export-led growth.
“Export-led growth is the ultimate saviour of Pakistan. You need to earn dollars that is only possible through exports,” he said, adding that the same was the central pivot for the new reform package as well.
The premier also stressed the need to promote and expand the digital and technology sectors, particularly the use and adoption of artificial intelligence.
PM Shehbaz went on to say there was a need to create political harmony to forward privatisation efforts to prevent losses. He said there was a need to reduce inefficiency in state-owned enterprises, pointing towards unsuccessful efforts to privatise the national carrier.
“We faced a setback in PIA’s privatisation. Facts should be accepted. There is no doubt our team made full efforts and we are doing so again,” he said.
The premier said the government would have to aim for an annual investment target of $10 billion, adding that this was “easier said than done”. He said foreign investment was only possible through facilitating local investment first, and that measures were being taken in this regard.
Petty politics to be buried: Dar
During his speech, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said, “Petty politics has to be buried” if Pakistan was to achieve progress.
“If you remember we talked about a charter of economy multiple times between 2013-2017 but it fell on deaf ears,” Dar said.
He said Pakistan had to face huge losses and it “Fell from the 24th to the 47th largest economy”.
Dar said he believed Pakistan could still join the G-20 club of nations, adding that the “goal is very conveniently achievable provided we remain on track.”
He added that ownership had to be taken by everyone for the economic roadmap.
Long-term prosperity warrants homegrown solutions: Aurangzeb
Meanwhile, the finance minister recapped “the significant macroeconomic progress made” in the last 12-14 months.
“We have to move towards growth, but it has to be sustainable growth, we cannot continue to be in boom and bust cycles,” he said.
“Because we’ve been an import-based economy, as soon as we go above four per cent, we get into a balance of payment problems, then we run back to the institution and say: ‘this will be the last fund programme’.
“We need to move towards growth, under the leadership of PM Shehbaz, but on the back of fundamental reforms which have remained elusive for us and are imperative for sustained growth.”
He said that the journey towards long-term prosperity warranted homegrown solutions, which is why PM Shehbaz established the Homegrown Reform Economic Committee back in May. “That committee extensively reviewed national economic plans, including the 13th five-year plan prepared by the Ministry of Planning and duly approved by National Economic Council and the economic manifestos of various political parties.”
Aurangzeb explained the three main pillars of the plan: stimulating private investment, which was key to getting more jobs, higher incomes and a low cost of living through a more competitive economy.
He emphasised that implementation of the measures was key to the plan, not just planning. The minister also noted that under Manmohan Singh as premier, India progressed but Pakistan could not do so in the comparable timeframe.
The finance minister said the second pillar of the economy was stimulating exports, a key mechanism to drive productivity growth, and the third was optimising public finances, which was central to stability and sustained growth.
“There is going to be a separate tax policy unit which is in the process of being created, which will independently report to the Ministry of Finance. So we’re separating policy from collection.
“This tax policy unit will be managed by people of the private and public sectors so that we can implement policy continuity. Tax leakages will be plugged through the use of data analytics, and the privatisation process will be accelerated.”
Explaining the deliverables of the plan, he said they were achieving a sustainable GDP growth of 6pc by 2028, creating one million additional jobs annually, securing additional $10bn private investment per year and hitting an export target of $60bn by FY2028.
Aurangzeb emphasised that there was “no dearth of policy prescriptions in Pakistan; we have known the what and why for the longest time, we just don’t do it. This time round the plan is accompanied by a comprehensive implementation mechanism.”
Reform package to improve lives: Tarar
Earlier today, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the reform package would significantly improve citizens’ lives, stimulate growth and strengthen the economy.
Tarar said that the economy had moved from the verge of default to stability and was now on the path to progress, highlighting improvements in all economic indicators.
He described the reform-driven plan as being focused on a “Made in Pakistan” approach and stressed its vital role in fostering economic growth and bringing positive change to the people of Pakistan.
Tarar said the economic reform agenda was designed to accelerate the country’s development and ensure the prosperity of its citizens.
Source:dawn.com
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President, PM express hope for united, prosperous Pakistan in 2025
By APP & Web Desk
January 01, 2025
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif conveyed warm wishes to the citizens of Pakistan and the global community on New Year, expressing hopes for a year marked by the elimination of hunger, poverty, conflict, terrorism, crime, sectarianism, and social inequality in 2025.
In a message to the nation, President Zardari urged the public to reflect on the achievements and challenges of the past year, drawing lessons to pave the way for a brighter and more prosperous future.
He emphasised the importance of unity, discipline, and hard work as essential principles for tackling the nation’s pressing challenges. The President also highlighted the significance of investing in the country’s youth, describing them as the foundation of Pakistan’s future. He urged the provision of resources and opportunities to help young people reach their full potential.
Furthermore, he stressed the need to focus on supporting underprivileged segments of society to ensure inclusive progress for Pakistan.
As the new year begins, he called on the nation to resolve to work diligently for public service, peace, and stability. “I pray to Allah that the new year will be a year of success for the country,” the president concluded.
In his message on the occasion, PM Shehbaz urged the nation to collectively strive for a better and stronger Pakistan in 2025.
“I pray that the sun of 2025 will rise with the promise of progress and prosperity for our country Pakistan. I also pray that in the new year we correct our individual and collective mistakes committed in the past year and make a new beginning and start a new bright future,” he said.
Shehbaz Sharif said the outgoing year was the worst year in terms of ongoing atrocities in the Middle East and Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
"Our oppressed brothers and sisters suffered under the brutality of the Indian occupying forces," he said, while expressing hope that the Middle East crisis and Kashmir issue witness a peaceful resolution this year.
Referring to country's economic situation, the premier said 2024 was a remarkable year for Pakistan, as the country evaded default and progressed, overcoming economic challenges with resilience and determination.
He said that the government took challenging yet essential measures that averted an economic collapse, restored macroeconomic stability, managed fiscal deficits, and bolstered our reserves.
Reflecting on other hurdles, the prime minister noted that Pakistan encountered a resurgence of terrorism over the past year. “Nevertheless, our valiant armed forces, with their unwavering dedication and immense sacrifices, continue to stand resolute in their commitment to ensure a peaceful future for the nation,” he added.
PM Shehbaz urged the nation to vow at the beginning of the new year to not hesitate to make any sacrifice to make this country the Pakistan of Quaid-i-Azam and Allama Iqbal.
"This country is the trust of our people, we will unite our blood and sweat in its protection and development. I pray that 2025 will be a year of good fortune and immense happiness for our nation. Long live Pakistan!,” the prime minister said.
Source:thenews.com.pk
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Govt plans to pull out of Haj operation, Senate panel told
Kalbe Ali
January 1, 2025
• Onus may be shifted to private firms
• Tour operators asked to end litigation or risk cancellation of quotas
ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs was informed on Tuesday that the government plans to phase out its involvement in the Haj arrangements and intends to transfer the responsibility of managing the operation to private companies, possibly in 2025.
Religious Affairs Secretary Dr Zulfiqar Haider disclosed this while briefing the Senate committee about the government’s next Haj scheme.
The committee, chaired by Senator Attaullah Rehman, witnessed heated arguments between private Haj operators and the Religious Affairs Ministry officials over the quota allocated to the tour operators.
Responding to the accusation by the tour operators that the government was planning to harm their business, Dr Haider said the government intends to transfer the entire responsibility of managing the Haj operations to private companies, potentially starting in 2025.
The secretary explained that the ministry had registered 904 companies for Haj operation, but following concerns conveyed by the Saudi authorities about the large number of participating entities, this number was reduced to 162.
“However, Saudi Arabia expressed concerns over dealing with such high number of companies, and asked to reduce it further,” the official claimed.
He said the Saudi authorities had given their policy directive to Pakistan that each Haj operator should manage a minimum of 2,000 pilgrims.
The official apprised the meeting that a Haj quota of 179,000 had been allocated to Pakistan for 2025 by the Saudi government based on the country’s population, adding that the government had divided this number into two, with one half to be covered under the official scheme and the other by private tour operators.
He said a quota of around 90,000 had been allocated for the private Haj scheme and this quota had been divided among the selected 40-45 operators.
Dr Haider said that the reduction in the number of companies had to be done in compliance with the Saudi instructions, adding that they want to streamline the Haj operations.
When the committee members inquired about the impact of reducing the number of tour operators to around 46 only, the ministry officials said a large number of tour operators had challenged the decision in a court of law.
The secretary asked the tour operators to withdraw their court cases, warning that failure to do so could result in the cancellation of their Haj quotas.
The committee was informed that around 80 complaints had been received against the private Haj scheme and 18,000 over the government’s scheme related to Haj 2024.
Dr Haider cautioned that any further delay in resolving the court matter could result in Saudi Arabia revoking the private Haj quotas altogether.
He suggested that the private operators should merge to avail the minimum quota of 2,000 pilgrims.
Source:dawn.com
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At least 11 injured in clashes as Karachi police attempt to disperse protests against Parachinar killings
Imtiaz Ali
December 31, 2024
At least 11 people, including six cops, were injured on Tuesday as the Karachi police attempted to disperse sit-ins across the city against the recent killings in Parachinar, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram District.
The religiopolitical Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) had given a country-wide call of protests to express solidarity with the people of Parachinar, who have also been staging a sit-in since December 20 against the law and order situation as well as road closures.
The demonstrators are protesting the ongoing violence in Kurram as well as an incident where two people were killed and later decapitated after being waylaid on their way towards Parachinar in the district’s Bagan area.
Speaking to Dawn.com, MWM spokesperson Syed Ali Ahmer Zaidi alleged that the police resorted to tear gas shelling and baton-charge at “10 places — including Abbas Town, Power House and Kamran Chowrangi” — and got the roads cleared.
However, he added, the sit-ins at three locations were continuing, namely at Numaish Chowrangi, Ancholi and Rizvia Society. He criticised what he called “state tyranny against peaceful protesters”.
Violence also erupted on main National Highway in Malir where police and protesters clashed, resulting in injuries to several policemen and protesters.
Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said that four injured people, including one in critical condition with a bullet wound to the head, were brought to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre from Malir.
She said three policemen from Malir with injuries caused by hard and blunt instruments were also brought. The police surgeon further said that three policemen were injured in clashes with the protesters at Numaish Chowrangi, two constables and the Pak Colony station house officer, and were also brought for treatment.
Dr Summaiya said one person with a gunshot injury on his left arm was brought from Numaish Chowrangi to Civil Hospital Karachi.
Malir Superintendent of Police (SP) Saeed Rind told Dawn.com that the protesters blocked the highway at Malir-15 at night. He said when the police took action to get the highway vacated; the protestors who were armed allegedly resorted to “straight firing”, resulting in bullet injuries to two policemen.
He said the police resorted to tear gas shelling and dispersed the protesters who fled towards the streets. The Malir SP refuted charges of the protesters that the police resorted to firing on them, saying that only tear gas shelling was used.
Meanwhile, the MWM spokesperson in a statement said that the “police resorted to straight firing on participants of the sit-in in Malir, resulting in bullet injuries to nine persons including two in critical condition.”
The spokesperson said they would not be deterred by bullets and threats and a large number of people had again started gathering at Numaish Chowrangi while an emergent meeting of the MWM was underway to chalk out future course of action.
MWM Information Secretary Asif Safvi condemned the alleged heavy firing and shelling by police and security forces on protesters at Numaish Chowrangi. He also condemned alleged violence on senior religious scholar Allama Hassan Zafar Naqvi by paramilitary forces, “who failed to open the roads in Parachinar”.
Safvi maintained that the protest “will continue in any case”.
“The Sindh government has used force. We will fight state oppression,” he said. He added that dozens of protesters were injured by police brutality at Numaish Chowrangi and condemned the arrest of Allama Naqvi.
“The government and some black sheep are conspiring to create communal riots in the city,” he said. “Banned sectarian groups are being given free rein on the streets as part of a conspiracy to suppress the demands of the public.”
He called on the Sindh government to stop brutality against innocent civilians, adding that protesting is the right of every citizen.
He also called on PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and President Asif Ali Zardari to take notice of the “state oppression” by the Sindh government.
MWM leader Allama Mukhtar Emami held Sindh Chief Minster Murad Ali Shah and Bilawal responsible for the attack on Naqvi, who was allegedly kicked and punched.
“The FIR for the murderous attack on Naqvi will be registered against Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah,” he said and reiterated that the protests in solidarity with the protesters in Parachinar would continue.
“The PPP government has revived the memory of the Zia era,” the MWM leader said. “The Sindh government has proved that it is not with the oppressed but with the oppressors.”
Earlier today, CM Shah confirmed that “administrative action” was taken against protesters at some locations to get the roads cleared and reopened for traffic.
The city police chief had claimed that the blocked roads in the metropolis would be cleared of protests by yesterday evening, clarifying later that he meant they would be organised in a way that does not disrupt the traffic flow.
Subsequently, Allama Naqvi asked protesters to keep one track open of the roads where sit-ins were being held for the smooth flow of traffic. However, he made it clear that these sit-ins would continue until the blocked roads in Kurram were reopened.
A spokesperson for the MWM had stated that the sit-in on the main Sharea Faisal near Natha Khan Bridge had been ended to facilitate people’s movement.
Earlier in the day, several roads in Karachi were reopened for traffic as the sit-ins eased after police warnings. The roads at six different locations — out of 13 where they were being held yesterday — had been reopened for vehicles after the protests ended, according to a traffic update shared by the Karachi Traffic Police.
The six locations that were cleared for traffic included Jauhar Mor heading to Jauhar Chowrangi; Five Star Chowrangi in North Nazimabad; Shamsuddin Azeemi Road towards KDA Flats in Surjani Town; Nawab Siddique Ali Khan Road in Nazimabad-1 going towards Nazimabad-2; and Ancholi and Ayesha Manzil on Shahrah-i-Pakistan.
However, the traffic police said the protests continued at four different points across the city.
At Abbas Town in District Malir, both tracks of Abul Hasan Ispahani Road towards Superhighway remained closed, where diversions have been provided for traffic from Paradise Bakery to Fariya Chowk and inside streets and from Rangers’ Cut to a service lane heading to Punjab Adda (bus stand).
In District East, the M.A. Jinnah Road near Numaish Chowrangi remained closed where alternative diversions from Capri Cinema to Soldier Bazaar and Saddar Dawa Khana have been provided.
Kamran Chowrangi in Gulistan-i-Jauhar was also closed, with vehicles from Mosmiyat directed towards University Road and the inner streets from Munawar Chowrangi.
University Road going towards Samama Shopping Centre and Nipa roundabout was closed at the Metro Safari Store, where diversions were provided from streets inside residential areas.
Outlawed ASWJ begins counter-protests
Separately, the outlawed Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) began its counter-protests at at least two locations in Karachi today.
This came a day after the group’s announcement yesterday that it would stage sit-ins at 60 locations across the city starting today.
According to ASWJ spokesperson Umar Muavia, the group had begun a protest sit-in on Sharea Faisal, while another was reported at Qayyumabad.
According to video footage available with Dawn.com, speaking at a protest near a railway track, an ASWJ leader asserted: “As soon as the leadership announces, God-willing, from Karachi to Khyber, no train would operate on this railway track.”
The leader raised slogans of “Pakistan Zindabad” and “Pakistan Army Zindabad”, demanding that a military operation be conducted in Kurram and that the KP apex committee’s decisions be implemented.
Protests ended at 8 points out of 12: Sindh CM
Meanwhile, CM Shah said MWM-organised protests at a total of eight locations had ended so far, noting that they were being held at 12 points till Monday night.
Addressing a press conference in Thatta, CM Shah said: “The sit-ins are still continuing at four points. We are talking to them, and also taking some administrative action where needed, which may also upset people.”
He further said, “Now at the four places that are left [to be cleared], we will clear the protests by talking to them and administrative action.”
The chief minister recalled that negotiations with the MWM went on till late night yesterday, highlighting that they were even offered to hold a single protest without disrupting traffic flow.
He stressed that “distressing other people” was not the solution to the crisis ongoing in Kurram for over a month.
Source:dawn.com
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Mideast
Islamist Rebel CommanderGeneral Murhaf Abu Qasra Tapped As Acting Syrian Defense Chief
31 December 2024
Syria’s new authorities announced on Tuesday that the military chief of the Islamist group that spearheaded the offensive that toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad had been appointed defense minister in the transitional government.
“The General Command announces the nomination of General Murhaf Abu Qasra as defense minister in the new government of the Syrian Arab Republic,” said a statement carried by the official news agency SANA.
Abu Qasra, 41, a former agronomist, led the armed wing of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham for five years.
As commander of the Islamist rebel forces, he played a key role in the offensive that ousted Assad on December 8 after a lightning advance from north Syria to the capital Damascus.
On Sunday, Abu Qasra was given the rank of general in a decree from HTS chief Ahmed al-Sharaa, now Syria’s de facto leader.
Some other key positions in the transitional government, headed by Mohammad al-Bashir, have already been filled.
Syrian sources said Sunday that several foreign jihadi fighters had been installed in the country’s armed forces, along with the leaders of other Syrian armed factions that fought alongside HTS, as part of an effort to shape the patchwork of rebel groups into a professional military.
HTS was once aligned with al-Qaeda, but al-Sharaa has cut ties with the group and since coming to power has preached religious coexistence and promised not to enforce strict adherence to Islamic fundamental principles.
In remarks broadcast on Sunday, al-Sharaa said the new Syria “cannot be run by the mentality of groups and militias.”
Bashir, who led the rebels’ self-proclaimed “Salvation Government” in their northwestern Idlib bastion, was made interim prime minister until March 1. That’s when Syria’s different factions are set to hold a political dialogue to determine the country’s political future and establish a transitional government that brings the divided country together.
Speaking to al-Arabiya Sunday, al-Sharaa said HTS would dissolve itself at the March 1 meeting after years of being the country’s most dominant rebel group.
In an interview with AFP on December 17, Abu Qasra said HTS would be “the first” to dissolve its armed wing and integrate into the national forces, demanding that other groups do the same.
Abu Qasra also said that the new leadership would seek to extend its authority to semi-autonomous, Kurdish-held areas in Syria’s north and northwest.
Al-Sharaa said Sunday that talks were ongoing with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria, whom he hoped to integrate with the Syrian security agencies.
Both Abu Qasra and al-Sharaa have spoken out against Israel’s military incursion into Syria, where troops are holding a buffer zone on Mount Hermon near the Golan Heights. They have also criticized Israeli airstrikes on Syrian military facilities since Assad’s fall, which Israel says are aimed at preventing them from falling into hostile hands.
In comments carried by state media Monday, Iranian security chief Ali Akbar Ahmadian said that a new “resistance” would emerge in Syria to fight Israel, while insisting that the so-called axis of resistance set up to stage attacks on the Jewish state had not been weakened by Assad’s fall.
“With the occupation of Syrian territories by the Zionist regime, a new resistance has been born that will manifest itself in the years to come,” said Ahmadian, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, IRNA news agency reported.
Tehran’s allies in the region, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, have suffered severe blows in conflicts with Israel since war broke out in Gaza following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and another 251 kidnapped into the Strip.
Source:timesofisrael.com
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https://www.timesofisrael.com/islamist-rebel-commander-tapped-as-acting-syrian-defense-chief/
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Syria’s De Facto LeaderAhmed Al-Sharaa Meets Minority Christians
December 31, 2024
DAMASCUS: Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa met with senior Christian clerics on Tuesday, amid calls on the Islamist chief to guarantee minority rights after seizing power earlier this month.
“The leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, meets a delegation from the Christian community in Damascus,” Syria’s General Command said in a statement on Telegram.
The statement included pictures of the meeting with Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican clerics.
Earlier Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called for an inclusive political transition in Syria that guarantees the rights of the country’s diverse communities.
He expressed hope that “Syrians could take back control of their own destiny.”
But for this to happen, the country needs “a political transition in Syria that includes all communities in their diversity, that upholds the most basic rights and fundamental freedoms,” Barrot told AFPTV during a visit to Lebanon with Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu.
Barrot and Lecornu also met Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun and visited UN peacekeepers patrolling the southern border, where a fragile truce ended intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in late November.
Since seizing power, Syria’s new leadership has repeatedly tried to reassure minorities that they will not be harmed, although some incidents have sparked protests.
On December 25, thousands protested in several areas of Syria after a video circulated showing an attack on an Alawite shrine in the country’s north.
A day earlier, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in Christian areas of Damascus to protest the burning of a Christmas tree near Hama in central Syria.
Before the civil war erupted in 2011, Syria was home to about one million Christians, according to analyst Fabrice Balanche, who says their number has dwindled to about 300,000.
Earlier, a Syrian official told AFP that Sharaa held “positive” talks with delegates of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Monday.
The talks were Sharaa’s first with Kurdish commanders since his Islamist-led rebels overthrew longtime strongman Bashar Assad in early December and come as the SDF is locked in fighting with Turkish-backed factions in northern Syria.
The US-backed SDF spearheaded the military campaign that ousted Daesh group jihadists from their last territory in Syria in 2019.
But Turkiye, which has long had ties with Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham group, accuses the main component of the SDF of links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state.
On Sunday, Sharaa told Al Arabiya television that Kurdish-led forces should be integrated into the new national army.
“Weapons must be in the hands of the state alone. Whoever is armed and qualified to join the defense ministry, we will welcome them,” he said.
Source:arabnews.com
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Amid ceasefire push, Palestinians released from Israeli jails bear mental, physical scars
December 31, 2024
CAIRO/JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH: Once muscular and strong, Palestinian bodybuilder Moazaz Obaiyat’s nine-month spell in Israeli custody left him unable to walk unaided upon his release in July. Then, in an October pre-dawn raid on his home, soldiers detained him again.
Before being re-arrested, the 37-year-old father of five was diagnosed with severe PTSD by Bethlehem Psychiatric Hospital, related to his time at Israel’s remote Ktz’iot prison, according to medical notes seen by Reuters from the hospital, a public clinic in the occupied West Bank.
The notes said Obaiyat was subjected to “physical and psychological violence and torture” in prison and described symptoms including severe anxiety, withdrawal from his family and avoidance of discussion of traumatic events and current affairs.
Alleged abuses and psychological harm to Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons and camps are in renewed focus amid stepped-up efforts in December by international mediators to secure a ceasefire that could see the release of thousands of inmates detained during the Gaza war and before, in return for Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.
In the event of the release of detainees in any future deal, many “will require long-term medical care to recover from the physical and psychological abuse they have endured,” said Qadoura Fares, head of the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, a government body in the West Bank. Fares said he was aware of Obaiyat’s case.
For this story, four Palestinian men shared their experiences. They were detained by Israel since the war’s outbreak after the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. All were held for months, accused of affiliating with an illegal organization, and released without being formally charged or convicted of any crime.
All described lasting psychological scars they attributed to abuses including beatings, sleep and food deprivation and prolonged restraint in stress positions during their time inside.
Their accounts are consistent with multiple investigations by human rights groups that reported grave abuses of Palestinians in Israeli detention. An investigation published by the UN human rights office in August described substantiated reports of widespread “torture, sexual assault and rape, amid atrocious inhumane conditions” in prisons since the war began.
The White House has called the reports of torture, rape and abuse in Israel’s prisons “deeply concerning.”
The Israeli military said it was investigating several cases of alleged abuse of Gazan detainees by military personnel but “categorically” rejected allegations of systematic abuse within its detention facilities.
The Israel Prison Service, which falls under hard-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the country’s internal security service said they were not in a position to comment on individual cases.
Tal Steiner, executive director of the Israeli rights group Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, said the symptoms the men recounted were common and can echo through victims’ lifetimes, often shattering their families.
“Torture in Israeli prisons has exploded since Oct. 7. It will have and already has had a devastating effect on Palestinian society,” said Steiner. Speaking from his hospital bed in July, a severely emaciated Obaiyat called the treatment of himself and fellow prisoners “disgusting,” showing scars on his wasted legs and describing isolation, hunger, handcuffs and abuse with metal rods, without giving details.
Photos of Obaiyat taken before his incarceration show a powerfully built man.
On Dec. 19, Israel’s High Court ordered the state to answer a petition brought by rights groups about the lack of adequate food for Palestinian prisoners.
Obaiyat is currently being held in a small detention center in Etzion, south of Bethlehem, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, an advocacy group.
He is being held for six months under “administrative detention,” a form of incarceration without charge or trial, and the official reason for his arrest is unknown, the group said. Israel’s military, internal security service and prison service did not respond to questions about his specific case.
PCATI said at least 56 Palestinians had died in custody during the war, compared to just one or two annually in the years preceding the conflict.
Source:arabnews.com
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In Syrian military housing, new rulers take the homes of Assad officers
December 31, 2024
DAMASCUS: Families of military officers who served under Syria’s ousted Bashar Assad are being evicted from their subsidized housing at a compound outside Damascus to make way for victorious former rebels and their families, residents and fighters there said.
The Muadamiyat Al-Sham compound housing hundreds of people in over a dozen buildings is one of several such areas set aside for officers under Assad’s rule.
As the military is being restructured around the former rebel forces, with Assad-era officers demobilized, the evictions from military housing are not a surprise.
But their rapid replacement in the accommodation by fighters who spent years in impoverished, rural rebel-held territory shows the sudden reversal of fortune for supporters of each side in the conflict.
Names of rebel factions under the main victorious group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, which captured the capital on Dec. 8, are scrawled in spray paint on the entrances to buildings, apparently marking them out for fighters from each entity.
Three fighters at the compound, four women who have been residing there and a local official providing documents to those leaving said officers’ families had been given five days to go.
“We will start moving our children’s schools, starting our lives over. I am very sad, my heart is broken, it’s our lives, my children’s lives,” said Budour Makdid, 38, the wife of a former military intelligence officer living in Muadamiyat Al-Sham.
Makdid’s husband, who has signed papers recognizing the new authorities and handed over his gun, has already returned to his family home in Latakia province, a former Assad stronghold, and Makdid and their children would join him there, she said.
Like other families leaving the area, she needed a document from the municipal authorities to say the family was leaving the accommodation and giving permission to remove their belongings.
Local administrator Khalil Al-Ahmad, 69, said families had started approaching him several days ago seeking the document and that around 200 requests for one had been made so far.
Ahmad said he had not been officially contacted by the new administration about the change, and was only made aware of it when residents began to ask him for the documents.
A spokesman for HTS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Any sign of how Syria’s new administration intends to handle former Assad officers, as well as property rights, will be closely watched in a country where millions of people have been displaced since civil war erupted in 2011.
Earlier this month, HTS leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa was filmed requesting the residents of his family’s former home in Damascus to leave and allow his own family to move back.
Some former military families living near the Muadamiyat Al-Sham compound but not in the subsidized units from which officers are being evicted are also leaving.
Eidye Zaitoun, 52, was packing her belongings into black plastic bags as she prepared to leave her two-room apartment for the coast. She said her son in the military had moved to the coast too and there was no reason for her to stay.
HTS fighters at the compound were not sympathetic.
“We were displaced out of homes, out of our regions on a moonless night with only the clothes we were wearing. Thank God they are now allowed to take out their belongings,” one said.
Source:arabnews.com
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New year hope reigns in a Damascus freed from Assad
January 01, 2025
DAMASCUS: Umayyad Square in Damascus hummed to the throngs of people brandishing “revolution” flags as Syria saw in the new year with “hope” following 13 years of civil war.
Gunshots rang out from Mount Qasioun overlooking the capital where hundreds of people gazed up at fireworks, an AFP reporter at the square saw.
It was the first new year’s celebration without an Assad in power for more than 50 years after the fall of Bashar Assad in December.
“Long live Syria, Assad has fallen,” shouted some children.
Despite the revelry, soldiers patrolled the streets of Damascus, less than a month after Assad’s rapid demise.
The green, white and black “revolution” flag with its three red stars flies all over the capital.
Such a sight — the symbol of the Syrian people’s uprising against the Assad dynasty’s iron-fisted rule — was unthinkable a month ago.
The revolutionary song “Lift your head, you are a free Syrian” by Syrian singer Assala Nasri rang out loud on Umayyad Square.
“Every year, we aged suddenly by 10 years,” taxi driver Qassem Al-Qassem, 34, told AFP in reference to the tough living conditions in a country whose economy collapsed under Assad.
“But with the fall of regime, all our fears have dissipated,” he added.
“Now I have a lot of hope. But all we want now is peace.”
More than half a million people died in the 13-year civil war as the country split into different regions controlled by various warring parties.
Many families are still waiting for news of loved ones who disappeared under Assad’s rule, during which time tens of thousands of prisoners disappeared.
“I hope that Syria in 2025 will be non-denominational, pluralist, for everyone, without exception,” said Havan Mohammad, a Kurdish student from the northeast studying pharmacy in the capital.
Source:arabnews.com
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Ocalan: PKK chief held in solitary on Turkish prison island
January 01, 2025
ISTANBUL: Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed founder of Kurdish militant group the PKK, is hailed by many Kurds as an icon, but within wider Turkish society many see him as a terrorist who deserves to die.
On Saturday, Ocalan, who has been held in solitary confinement in Turkiye since 1999, received his first political visit in nearly a decade amid signs of a tentative thaw in relations with the Turkish government.
The move came two months after the leader of the far-right MHP, a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, offered Ocalan an unprecedented olive branch if he would publicly renounce terror.
In a message sent back with his visitors, two lawmakers from the pro-Kurd opposition DEM party, Ocalan — the man who embodies the decades-long Kurdish rebellion against the Turkish government — said he was “ready” to embrace efforts to end the conflict.
“I am ready to take the necessary positive steps and make the call,” said the 75-year-old former guerrilla, who also received his first family visit in four years on October 23.
During that visit, Ocalan said he had the necessary clout to shift the Kurdish question “from an arena of conflict and violence to one of law and politics.”
Ankara’s tentative bid to reopen dialogue nearly a decade after peace efforts collapsed comes amid a major regional adjustment following the ouster of Syria’s Bashar Assad.
Ocalan founded the PKK — the Kurdistan Workers’ Party — in 1978. It spearheaded a brutal insurgency that has killed tens of thousands in its fight for independence and, more recently, broader autonomy in Turkiye’s mostly Kurdish southeast.
A Marxist-inspired group, the PKK is considered a terror organization by Turkiye, the United States, the European Union and most of Turkiye’s Western allies.
After years on the run, Ocalan was arrested on February 15, 1999 in Kenya following a Hollywood-style operation by Turkish security forces.
He was sentenced to death, but escaped the gallows when Turkiye abolished capital punishment in 2004. He has since been held in an isolation cell on Imrali island in the Sea of Marmara.
For many Kurds, he is hero they call “Apo” (uncle). But Turks often call him “bebek katili” (baby killer) for his ruthless tactics, including the bombing of civilian targets.
Tentative moves to resolve Turkiye’s “Kurdish problem” began in 2008. Several years later, Ocalan got involved in the first unofficial peace talks, approved when Erdogan was premier.
Seen as the world’s largest stateless people, Kurds were left without a country when the Ottoman Empire collapsed after World War I.
Although most live in Turkiye, where they make up around a fifth of the population, the Kurds are also spread across Syria, Iraq and Iran.
For hard-line nationalists who support the post-Ottoman idea of “Turkishness,” the Kurds simply do not exist.
And not all Kurds back the ideas, let alone the methods, of the PKK.
Led by Hakan Fidan, Erdogan’s spy chief turned foreign minister, the talks raised hopes of ending the insurgency in favor of an equitable solution for Kurdish rights within Turkiye’s borders.
But they collapsed in July 2015, reigniting one of the deadliest chapters in the conflict.
After a suicide attack on pro-Kurdish demonstrators attributed to Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in October 2015, the PKK accused Ankara of collaborating with IS and resumed its violence with a vengeance.
Turkiye’s widescale use of combat drones has pushed most Kurdish fighters into Iraq and Syria, where Ankara has continued raids.
The government has defended its de facto silencing of Ocalan by saying he failed to convince the PKK of the need for peace, raising doubts about how much sway he has over the group.
Ocalan was born on April 4, 1948, one of six siblings in a mixed Turkish-Kurdish peasant family in Omerli village, in Turkiye’s southeast. His mother tongue is Turkish.
He became a left-wing activist while studying politics at university in Ankara, and did his first stint in prison in 1972.
He set up the PKK six years later, then spent years on the run, launching the movement’s armed struggle in 1984.
Taking refuge in Syria, he led the fight from there, causing friction between Damascus and Ankara.
Forced out in 1998 and with the net closing in, Ocalan raced from Russia to Italy to Greece in search of a haven, ending up at the Greek consulate in Kenya, where US agents got wind of his presence and tipped off ally Ankara.
Lured into a vehicle and told he would be flown to the Netherlands, Ocalan was instead handed over to Turkish military commandos and flown home on a private plane to face trial.
Source:arabnews.com
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A new year dawns on a Middle East torn by conflict and change
December 31, 2024
DAMASCUS: In Damascus, the streets were buzzing with excitement Tuesday as Syrians welcomed in a new year that seemed to many to bring a promise of a brighter future after the unexpected fall of Bashar Assad’s government weeks earlier.
While Syrians in the capital looked forward to a new beginning after the ousting of Assad, the mood was more somber along Beirut’s Mediterranean promenade, where residents shared cautious hopes for the new year, reflecting on a country still reeling from war and ongoing crises.
War-weary Palestinians in Gaza who lost their homes and loved ones in 2024 saw little hope that 2025 would bring an end to their suffering.
The last year was a dramatic one in the Middle East, bringing calamity to some and hope to others. Across the region, it felt foolish to many to attempt to predict what the next year might bring.
In Damascus, Abir Homsi said she is optimistic about a future for her country that would include peace, security and freedom of expression and would bring Syrian communities previously divided by battle lines back together.
“We will return to how we once were, when people loved each other, celebrated together whether it is Ramadan or Christmas or any other holiday — no restricted areas for anyone,” she said.
But for many, the new year and new reality carried with it reminders of the painful years that came before.
Abdulrahman Al-Habib, from the eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor, had come to Damascus in hopes of finding relatives who disappeared after being arrested under Assad’s rule. He was at the capital’s Marjeh Square, where relatives of the missing have taken to posting photos of their loved ones in search of any clue to their whereabouts.
“We hope that in the new year, our status will be better ... and peace will prevail in the whole Arab world,” he said.
In Lebanon, a tenuous ceasefire brought a halt to fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group a little over a month ago. The country battered by years of economic collapse, political instability and a series of calamities since 2019, continues to grapple with uncertainty, but the truce has brought at least a temporary return to normal life.
Some families flocked to the Mzaar Ski Resort in the mountains northeast of Beirut on Tuesday to enjoy the day in the snow even though the resort had not officially opened.
“What happened and what’s still happening in the region, especially in Lebanon recently, has been very painful,” said Youssef Haddad, who came to ski with his family. “We have great hope that everything will get better.”
On Beirut’s seaside corniche, Mohammad Mohammad from the village of Marwahin in southern Lebanon was strolling with his three children.
“I hope peace and love prevail next year, but it feels like more (challenges) await us,” he said.
Mohammad was among the tens of thousands displaced during more than a year of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. Now living in Jadra, a town that was also bombarded during the conflict, he awaits the end of a 60-day period, after which the Israeli army is required to withdraw under the conditions of a French and US-brokered ceasefire.
“Our village was completely destroyed,” Mohammad said. His family would spend a quiet evening at home, he said. This year “was very hard on us. I hope 2025 is better than all the years that passed.”
In Gaza, where the war between Hamas and Israel has killed more than 45,500 Palestinians, brought massive destruction and displaced most of the enclave’s population, few saw cause for optimism in the new year.
“The year 2024 was one of the worst years for all Palestinian people. It was a year of hunger, displacement, suffering and poverty,” said Nour Abu Obaid, a displaced woman from northern Gaza.
Obaid, whose 10-year-old child was killed in a strike in the so-called “humanitarian zone” in Muwasi, said she didn’t expect anything good in 2025. “The world is dead,” she said. “We do not expect anything, we expect the worst.”
The war was sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in which militants killed around 1,200 people and abducted some 250 others.
Ismail Salih, who lost his home and livelihood, expressed hopes for an end to the war in 2025 so that Gaza’s people can start rebuilding their lives.
The year that passed “was all war and all destruction,” he said. “Our homes are gone, our trees are gone, our livelihood is lost.”
In the coming year, Salih said he hopes that Palestinians can “live like the rest of the people of the world, in security, reassurance and peace.”
Source:arabnews.com
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North America
West using Kiev to spread terrorism – US communist leader
31 Dec, 2024
The US will continue in 2025 to use Ukraine to support terrorism in Africa and the Middle East, American Communist Party leader Christopher Helali has predicted.
Speaking to RT on Tuesday, Helali described the recent visit to the Syrian capital Damascus by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sybiha as a “very significant” geopolitical event. During the visit, Sybiha declared that Kiev wanted to sign a strategic partnership with Syria’s new leader, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, whose forces allegedly received weapons and training from Ukrainian military intelligence before they successfully toppled Bashar Assad’s government in early December.
”Ukraine, we know, is training some of these terrorist forces in Idlib, and provided technical and military support,” Helali told RT, referring to the Syrian city from where al-Jolani’s Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) jihadists launched their offensive.
”I think that this will continue,” he said, describing comments by Sybiha about how the Ukrainian military and Jolani’s forces should both oppose Russian influence as “deeply worrying for those of us who watch the region.”
Russia has two military bases in Syria – Khmeimim Air Base near Latakia and a naval facility at Tartus. Following the fall of Assad, the Kremlin said that it had received assurances from al-Jolani’s forces that these sites would not be attacked. Last week, the leader said Syria has “strategic interests” in maintaining good relations with the “second most powerful country in the world,” and that he wishes to avoid conflict with Moscow.
Ukraine will also “try to deepen its influence” in Africa, the American Communist Party leader predicted.
The military rulers of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have all accused Ukraine of arming and training Tuareg rebels and jihadist insurgents in the Sahel region. These claims have been echoed by French media outlets but are denied by Kiev, despite a Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman claiming responsibility for an insurgent attack on Malian forces and Russian private military contractors earlier this year.
”I think that Ukraine is also being used as a spearhead for the West to carry out a lot of the dirty projects that those countries might not be able to do openly, so I think we’re going to see more of this in the coming years,” Helali told RT.
”We know that the US and its allies have used ISIS before. They have used these terrorist networks. They still do,” he said.
Source:rt.com
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Texas Banned Shariah Law in December 2024? No, But 2017 Bill Was Described as 'Anti-Islamic'
Dec. 31, 2024
In December 2024, a claim that the state of Texas had just passed a bill "banning islamic shariah law and anything that contradicts American values" was circulating online.
One post (which has since been removed from X) read: "BREAKING: Texas has passed a bill banning islamic shariah law and anything that contradicts American values." The use of the word "breaking" suggested that this legislation had just been enacted in late December.
In fact, the rumor appeared to start circulating in the summer of 2024 when it first cropped up on X (archived) and Facebook (archived) on Aug. 7. Posts featuring the claim's main text and the word "breaking" followed on Threads (archived), LinkedIn (archived) and were repeated on X throughout September and November.
However, Texas passed no such legislation banning Shariah law in December 2024. Therefore, we have rated the claim as false.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. foreign policy think tank, Shariah is "the divine counsel that Muslims follow to live moral lives and grow close to God." Interpretations of Shariah, the principles of which stem from the Quran and hadith, the latter of which are sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, form the basis of Muslim law.
No Bill Banning Shariah Law Passed in December 2024
A Google search of news stories throughout December 2024 produced no evidence of Texas enacting a bill that would ban Shariah law.
Additionally, the official websites of the Texas State Law Library and the Legislative Reference Library of Texas make no mention of any Shariah-related legislation being passed in December or taking effect as of Jan. 1, 2025.
Likewise, searching for "Sharia," "Shariah" and "Islam" on the Texas Legislature Online website provided no results. Similarly, searches for "Sharia" and "Shariah" on the Texas Constitution and Statutes website produced no results, while a search for "Islam" revealed two unrelated results about food labeling and a political party in Sudan.
Additionally, the picture used alongside the claim in numerous social media posts shows Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signing a different piece of legislation in June 2023.
2017 Texas Bill Has Been Described as 'Anti-Shariah'
It is true that the state enacted a bill regarding the application of "foreign laws" in family law cases in 2017. However, that legislation, called House Bill 45, did not mention Shariah or any Islamic law by name.
Technically, the bill would apply to Shariah law as that falls under "foreign law," and civil rights advocacy groups, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), have branded the legislation and others like it "anti-Sharia."
House Bill 45 took effect in Texas on Sept. 1, 2017. One local media outlet, ksst radio, said the legislation would "require the Texas Supreme Court to adopt rules to ensure that the application of foreign laws cannot be used to violate constitutional rights guaranteed under the Texas or United State Constitutions."
The first section of House Bill 45 reads as follows:
CAIR in Texas opposed the bill in 2017, likening it to "similar unconstitutional and discriminatory 'anti-Sharia,' 'anti-foreign law' and 'anti-Islamic Indoctrination' bills" which had been "introduced in state legislatures nationwide," such as Arkansas.
Arkansas enacted similar legislation on April 6, 2017. The Bill Summary of Act 980 reads: "To Protect The Rights And Privileges Granted Under The Arkansas Constitution And The United States Constitution; And To Declare American Laws For American Courts."
Source:snopes.com
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Muslim youth team with Canadian Blood Services for year-end blood drive
Jan. 1, 2025
While some Calgarians were getting ready to ring in the New Year at parties on Tuesday, others were giving the gift of life.
Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association teamed up with Canadian Blood Servies for a blood drive Tuesday.
The countrywide drive aims to help fill the critical need for blood and the association has run the drive for more than 20 years.
About 100 people were expected to make donations.
Organizers said the event demonstrates the true meaning of Islam.
“In the Holy Qur’an, it states, ‘If you save one life, it is as if you’ve saved the whole of mankind,” said one organizer.
“And so the whole overall element behind this is that we’re effectively just demonstrating what Islam is all about.”
The mosque also runs a blood donation drive every Canada Day.
Source:ctvnews.ca
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https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/muslim-youth-team-with-canadian-blood-services-for-year-end-blood-drive-1.7161957
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Civil rights group wants hate crime probe in vandalism at Kent mosque
Dec. 31, 2024
The head of Washington state’s largest Muslim civil rights organization is asking law enforcement to investigate an alleged vandalism incident at the Islamic Center of Federal Way as a hate crime.
Surveillance video footage released by the state’s branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations shows an individual throwing objects at the center, which is located in Kent, and driving away from the parking lot in a pickup truck. The incident occurred shortly after 12:15 a.m. Saturday, CAIR-WA said.
“We call on local, state and national law enforcement authorities to investigate a possible bias motive for this attack, as the brazen acts depicted in the video are highly disturbing,” Imraan Siddiqi, CAIR-WA’s executive director, said in a statement Monday. “It is very concerning to see a house of worship targeted by violence.”
Kent police did not return calls from The Seattle Times seeking additional information.
Atif Nazir, the center’s board president, told KIRO 7 that attendees saw a damaged window when they arrived to pray Saturday morning. The center was also targeted last year when monetary donations were stolen during a break-in, he said.
Nationally, CAIR documented a 69% increase in bias complaints from January to June, according to CAIR-WA.
In a survey of Muslim Washingtonians older than 13 conducted by CAIR-WA this year, 82.5% of respondents said they had experienced bias or discrimination in the past year. Nearly 40% said discrimination had increased since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in 2023, according to a report on the survey findings released in September.
Source:seattletimes.com
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Elon Musk changes his name to Kekius Maximus on X
Jan. 1, 2025
The world's richest man, Elon Musk, has sparked speculation after changing his name on his social media platform X to "Kekius Maximus".
The tech mogul - and close confidant of US President-Elect Donald Trump - offered no immediate explanation for the name or his new profile image which depicts the character Pepe the Frog - a meme that has been used by far-right groups.
The move has sent ripples through the cryptocurrency world, sending the value of a memecoin - a digital currency inspired by internet memes - that shares the same name skyrocketing.
In the past, Mr Musk has influenced crypto prices with his social media commentary, but it was not immediately clear if he had any involvement in this particular memecoin.
"Kekius" appears to be a Latinisation of "kek", a word roughly equivalent to "laugh out loud" popularised by gamers but now often associated with the alt right.
"Kek" is also the name of the ancient Egyptian god of darkness, who is sometimes depicted with the head of a frog.
Many people would link "Maximus" to the name of Russell Crowe's heroic character in the film Gladiator, Maximus Decimus Meridius.
Mr Musk's new profile image depicts Pepe in Roman military dress holding what appears to be a game console.
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy53vz1qpx1o
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Arab World
As the Year of the Camel ends, Saudi Arabia celebrates ‘timeless companion’ to Arabs
RASHID HASSAN
December 31, 2024
RIYADH: The Saudi Ministry of Culture declared 2024 “The Year of The Camel” to celebrate the cultural and social significance of camels, in recognition of their esteemed status in Saudi society and their enduring connection with the Arab people.
Joining them, the UN declared 2024 as the International Year of Camelids with the slogan, “Heroes of the deserts and highlands: nourishing people and culture.”
The Saudi Ministry of Culture recently held a ceremony in Laysen Valley, Riyadh, to celebrate the successful conclusion of the Year of the Camel initiative, where key partners who contributed to achieving the year’s objectives were honored.
It included a presentation of Alheda’a, an oral polyphonic expression accompanied by gestures or musical instruments played by herders to communicate with their camels, recently inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Camels have long been associated with the history and culture of the Arabs. The bond between Arabs and camels in the vast deserts of this part of the world weaves a tale of companionship and reliance that reaches deep into antiquity.
Bedouins, the quintessential desert dwellers, found consolation and great help from these majestic creatures as they traversed the arid terrain in search of sustenance. With their resilience, camels bore the weight of countless journeys, their significance immortalized in the grand gestures of presenting them as gifts to leading figures in every age.
For many Bedouins who still live in the deserts of Arabia, they continue to provide a source of livelihood, food supply and transport to this day.
Historically, the domestication of camels unleashed the potential of early Arab societies. Arabian armies were able to quickly conquer territory and establish large empires thanks to the speed and resilience of these “ships of the desert.”
The Arabs’ deep-seated attachment to camels is reflected in other ways. In ancient times, Arabs used the words wealth and camels interchangeably in their vernacular.
In an interview with Arab News, Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Turki, spokesperson for the annual King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, said: “The camel holds a revered place in the heart of the Arabs, a timeless companion woven into the very fabric of history. It was the steadfast ally of our ancestors, offering them not only protection and sustenance but also embodying the essence of sacrifice, and ensuring their survival and well-being.
“The camel, after God, was their refuge — providing shelter in a world that offered little else. From its wool, they built their homes, and in its shadow, they found security. Centuries ago, before the comforts we enjoy today, life was a struggle, with few resources and fewer means of survival. Their existence hinged upon the camel and the nomadic life of herding.
“In a land dominated by deserts, it was the divine wisdom of God that allowed the camel to thrive here, for it alone could endure the harsh trials of this unforgiving environment. Thus, the camel became, as mentioned, everything to the Arabs: shelter, food, drink, and the means of travel,” Al-Turki said.
Throughout the year cultural events and activities were organized, domestically and internationally, celebrating camels and the rich cultural heritage they represent.
The Saudi Games 2024 also announced a collaboration with the initiative, adorning their torch, medals and victory bouquet with designs to represent the spirit of the program.
A special camel parade was held in France in April 2024 with Saudi Arabia participating.
The event in Paris was organized by the French Federation for the Development of Camelids in France and Europe, under the umbrella of the International Camel Organization, and was sponsored by the Saudi Ministry of Culture and the Kingdom’s Camel Club.
Elaborating on the significance of camels for people in the Arabian Peninsula, Al-Turki said: “In a time when cars were but a distant dream, it was the camel that carried them across vast deserts, took them on pilgrimages, and connected them with loved ones. It was their faithful companion on every journey, both physical and spiritual, embodying the essence of survival and connection in a world without the conveniences we know today.
“The significance of the camel runs deep, its presence etched into the very essence of Arab identity. It is not something the Arab could ever relinquish, for it is woven into the fabric of their history, culture, and way of life,” he added.
Al-Turki went on: “The significance of the camel in our culture is immense, for our way of life is inseparable from it. Even today, people continue to be bound to the camel. They may live in palaces and towers, yet they cannot do without its milk or meat. The camel remains a vital part of their lives, a companion that is deeply embedded in their culture and identity, an irreplaceable partner in their journey through life.”
He noted that a royal decree was issued in 2017 to establish the Camel Club, under the supervision of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the club’s supervisor general.
The club is supported by a distinguished membership of intellectuals, experts in the field, and government officials, and places particular emphasis on the camel races held during the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival.
Al-Turki noted that before the establishment of the Camel Club, the number of camels in Saudi Arabia was fewer than 500,000 heads, according to UN statistics, underscoring the critical role the club played in preserving and enhancing this valuable tradition.
Today there are nearly two million camels in the country, according to official statistics.
“This reflects the Camel Club’s significant role in enhancing camel populations in the country,” Al-Turki said.
Initially, some individuals, especially the elderly, entered the field as a hobby and for its cultural value. But with the growth of the Camel Club, this hobby evolved into large commercial ventures, supported by the Public Investment Fund.
One of the most notable examples is camel milk, which has become a highly sought-after product in local and international markets, with supply often struggling to meet growing demand.
In addition to the camel milk industry, large factories have also emerged in the fields of meat and wool production, reflecting the continuous growth of this sector, thanks to the support of the Camel Club, said Al-Turki.
“Camels are no longer just a hobby or passion, they have evolved into an economic and investment venture that contributes to improving the standard of living, prompting camel owners to progress,” Al-Turki said.
Since its inception, the Camel Club assumed responsibility for overseeing the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, which was organized in collaboration with the administration of King Abdulaziz.
The first edition of the festival was entirely managed by the administration. By the third edition, regulations and arrangements specific to the festival were established, granting the Camel Club full supervision. This was a significant step in strengthening its role in promoting this national heritage.
The club has worked to foster camel culture in younger generations through various efforts, such as incorporating this heritage into school booklets, organizing school visits for students, and holding regular seminars.
The International Camel Organization was established under the umbrella of the UN following a series of collaborations, visits, research, conferences and meetings held over the years, in addition to the regular reports submitted about the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival.
The International Camel Organization initially had 103 member countries. This number later expanded to 105 countries, including the United States, most European countries, East Asia, Africa, and most Arab and Gulf states.
As the organization developed, camel breeders’ associations were established in various regions around the world. One of the first of these was the European Association, founded in Switzerland, followed by associations in America, Africa, East Asia, and other countries.
The International Camel Organization plays a significant role in promoting and spreading camel culture worldwide. It contributes to raising awareness of the health and economic benefits of these animals.
One of the most prominent initiatives by the organization is the International Camel Organization Race at the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival. This race is restricted to participants from non-Arab countries, with Saudi and Gulf participants excluded from competing.
The rest of the races at the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival are open to all participants, regardless of nationality or gender, making the event a true global occasion that encourages interaction from diverse cultural backgrounds.
The festival also provides special opportunities for women, such as the Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman Race, exclusively for female participants.
“Given that this year has been designated as the Year of the Camel by the Ministry of Culture, it marks a significant activation of this important sector. The exceptional ninth edition of the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival has witnessed notable developments in prizes, which have been increased to over SR200 million ($53.3 million), and the number of prizes has risen from five to 10,” the festival spokesperson said.
It has become essential for everyone to recognize the importance of camels, not only as part of the cultural heritage but also as a key element in sustainable development, Al-Turki said.
Source:arabnews.com
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Archaeologists find ancient urban development in Baha
December 31, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Heritage Commission has completed the third season of the archaeological excavation project at the Al-Ma’mala site in the Baha region, continuing efforts to document the Kingdom’s heritage.
The excavations uncovered evidence of urban development more than a millennium old, shedding light on the historical aspects of archaeological sites in the Kingdom.
Excavators found granite stone walls, some with mud bricks and gypsum plaster, reflecting advanced building techniques, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.
The walls, standing 50-120 cm high and 50-80 cm wide, demonstrate the era’s architectural skill.
The dig revealed two well-preserved residential complexes. The first has three rooms, four storage areas, five basins and two hearths. The second features three rooms, two storage spaces, four basins, a hearth, a clay oven and two supporting pillars.
These structures highlight the community’s efficient spatial organization and versatile building design, the SPA added.
The excavation uncovered 230 pottery pieces, both glazed and unglazed, featuring distinctive geometric patterns.
The team also found 48 stone artifacts, 26 colored glass pieces in green and gray, 35 metal implements and 17 stone tools, including pestles, grinders and millstone fragments used in crushing raw materials.
These findings suggest a thriving commercial and industrial center, the SPA reported.
Al-Ma’malah’s strategic location, 13 km east of Al-Aqiq and 45 km from Baha, was key to its historical significance. The site lies near the ancient Darb Al-Feel (Elephant Road) trade route, which connected southern Arabia to northern regions in pre-Islamic times, making it economically important.
This route later became a major pilgrimage path during the Islamic era, leading to the growth of villages and cities along its path.
The Heritage Commission continues to conduct extensive surveys and excavations across Saudi Arabia using advanced survey techniques and field methods. These efforts aim to document and preserve the Kingdom’s history while raising public awareness of its cultural heritage.
Source:arabnews.com
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Economic support reflects Saudi Arabia’s commitment to stability in Yemen, cabinet says
December 31, 2024
RIYADH: The Kingdom’s latest aid package to Yemen reflects its commitment to stability in the country, the Cabinet said on Tuesday.
On Friday, Saudi Arabia announced new economic support worth $500 million. It comprises a $300 million deposit into the Central Bank of Yemen to improve economic and financial conditions and $200 million to address its budget deficit, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
During a meeting on Tuesday, the cabinet said the support aimed to strengthen Yemen’s economic, financial and monetary foundations, build the capacity of government institutions and empower the private sector to drive sustainable growth and create job opportunities.
The meeting also discussed regional and international developments and emphasized the Kingdom’s continuous efforts to foster cooperation through relations with other countries and its membership of multilateral organizations and groups.
The cabinet also strongly condemned Israel’s ongoing attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque, rejected any attempt at altering Jerusalem’s historical and legal status and called upon the international community to hold the Israeli authorities accountable for violations against civilians and Islamic holy sites in Palestine. It also reiterated its support for the Palestinian people.
The condemnation came after Israel’s Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ascended to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Thursday for what he said was a “prayer” for hostages in Gaza, challenging rules over one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East.
The cabinet also reviewed the performance indicators of key economic sectors and commended the growth of the non-profit sector, which plays a crucial role in supporting healthcare, education, research and other vital areas, in line with Saudi Vision 2030 goals.
Source:arabnews.com
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12 new Arab projects to drive innovation
December 31, 2024
RIYADH: The Arab Gulf Programme for Development’s board of directors has approved funding for several projects to support the region’s advancement and promote innovation, the Saudi Press Agency reported recently.
The meeting, chaired by Prince Abdulaziz bin Talal bin Abdulaziz, took place at the organization’s Riyadh headquarters.
The board endorsed the Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security, aimed at supporting small farmers and addressing the impact of drought, desertification, and climate change.
The organization approved 12 projects focused on key areas including early childhood development, inclusion of people with disabilities, women’s empowerment, and marine conservation.
The board reviewed the organization’s 2024 activities, highlighting its participation in the 16th UN Conference on Combating Desertification.
The directors also expressed appreciation for the Arab Coordination Group’s initiative to allocate $10 billion to combat drought, desertification, and climate change.
Source:arabnews.com
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Riyadh’s royal institute launches craft initiative
December 31, 2024
RIYADH: The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts will launch the Wrth Community initiative on Saturday, marking the beginning of its year-long celebration of the “Year of Handicrafts” in 2025.
The initiative will feature a series of meetings, dialogues with leading figures in the field and educational workshops, all held at the institute’s headquarters in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
It seeks to revitalize and modernize traditional handicrafts by incorporating contemporary design and technologies, foster collaboration among institutions and the local community, and highlight the crucial role of traditional arts in preserving cultural identity.
The initiative will also help individuals to use these arts in innovative ways through specialized training, the SPA added.
It covers a diverse range of areas — education, handicrafts and entrepreneurship — and features dialogue sessions, providing a platform for skill development, experience exchange and fostering creativity and innovation.
Source:arabnews.com
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Emir of Madinah chairs meeting that discusses preparations for Ramadan
December 31, 2024
MADINAH — Emir of Madinah Region and Chairman of Hajj and Visit Committee in the region Prince Salman bin Sultan chaired a meeting to discuss the preparations of the concerned authorities for the holy month of Ramadan.
The meeting was attended by heads of several government agencies.
Prince Salman commended the great care given by wise leadership to the visitors of the Prophet’s Mosque and emphasized the need to raise the level of readiness of all concerned parties to ensure the highest levels of comfort, ease and security for visitors throughout the month of Ramadan.
The meeting also reviewed the latest developments related to operations at Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport.
Source:saudigazette.com.sa
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Africa
Nigerian Court Grants Request To Detain Bodejo, Leader Of Herders’ Union, Miyetti Allah, 6 Others For 60 Days
December 31, 2024
The Federal High Court has granted the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) permission to detain Alhaji Bello Bodejo, President of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, and six others for 60 days as investigations into allegations of banditry and illegal arms possession continue.
Justice Emeka Nwite approved the request following an ex-parte motion presented by DIA counsel, I.O. Odom.
The application, filed under case number FHC/ABJ/CS/1875/V/2024, sought to hold the respondents for an initial 60-day period to allow for thorough investigations.
The respondents include Bodejo, Suleiman Abba, Umar Jibrin, Umar Bello, Muhammed Ayuba, Jibrin Baba, and Saidu Wakili.
The motion, filed by Mrs. N.F. Bala on behalf of the DIA, argued that the detention was necessary to complete investigations into the allegations and determine appropriate legal action.
In an affidavit submitted by Bonny Ozegbe, an investigating officer with the DIA, it was revealed that the suspects were apprehended by the Nigerian Armed Forces in Nasarawa State on December 11.
They were subsequently transferred to the DIA for further investigation.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ozegbe alleged that the respondents were arrested for banditry and illegal possession of firearms.
According to Ozegbe, a preliminary investigation revealed that the respondents were involved in an attack on a military formation in Nasarawa State during an assault on local farmers and farmland.
He stated that the attack resulted in severe injuries to Nigerian Armed Forces personnel and civilians, with military arms and ammunition being stolen.
"During the operation leading to their arrest, several weapons, including AK-47 rifles and ammunition, were recovered from the respondents," Ozegbe said.
He further alleged that the attack was orchestrated under the instruction of the first respondent, Bodejo, who is the group's leader.
Ozegbe noted that this was not Bodejo's first arrest on charges related to insecurity in North Central Nigeria.
He explained that investigations into the crimes were ongoing, with efforts to apprehend accomplices still at large.
He argued that releasing the suspects could jeopardize the investigation and increase the risk of further crimes or flight from justice.
“I strongly believe the respondents pose a serious threat to national security and public safety. A court order is needed to remand them in the custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) pending the conclusion of the investigation and their arraignment,” he said.
Ozegbe requested a 60-day remand order in DIA custody.
When the case was called, Odom, the prosecution lawyer, moved an ex-parte motion seeking the detention of the respondents.
Justice Nwite inquired about the nature of the case, and Odom explained that it involved allegations of banditry and illegal arms possession, with the respondents arrested on December 11.
After hearing Odom's arguments, Justice Nwite acknowledged that the prosecution had only presented its side of the story, which the respondents might dispute.
However, despite this, the judge granted the motion, ordering the respondents’ detention for 60 days to allow the investigation to proceed.
The case was adjourned until March 3, 2025, for mention.
Meanwhile, a separate ruling by Justice Mohammed Zubairu of the FCT High Court on Monday ordered the release of Bodejo from detention by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Justice Zubairu deemed Bodejo's detention since December 9 without charges as unlawful, granting his release following a habeas corpus application by his lawyer, Reuben Atabo (SAN).
However, the judge ruled in favor of the application, which had not been contested by the Attorney-General of the Federation or the DSS Director-General.
Source:saharareporters.com
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Court Approves Further Detention Of Miyetti Allah Leader, Six Others
31 December 2024
By Richard Ogunsile
The Federal High Court in Abuja has authorized the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) to hold Alhaji Bello Bodejo, the President of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, along with six other individuals for a period of 60 days.
Naija News reports that this decision is intended to facilitate investigations into allegations of banditry and illegal possession of firearms.
Justice Emeka Nwite granted this detention following an ex-parte application submitted by DIA counsel I.O. Odom.
The case, designated as FHC/ABJ/CS/1875/V/2024, sought a two-month extension to ensure a comprehensive investigation.
The individuals apprehended in Nasarawa State on December 11 include Bodejo, Suleiman Abba, Umar Jibrin, Umar Bello, Muhammed Ayuba, Jibrin Baba, and Saidu Wakili.
After their arrest by Nigerian Armed Forces personnel, the suspects were placed in the custody of the DIA.
An affidavit presented by DIA investigator Bonny Ozegbe indicated that the suspects were implicated in an assault on a military installation in Nasarawa State. This attack, reportedly led by Bodejo, resulted in injuries to both soldiers and civilians, the theft of military weapons, and considerable damage.
Among the items recovered from the suspects were AK-47 rifles and ammunition. The affidavit also highlighted ongoing efforts to apprehend additional accomplices.
“Releasing the suspects could jeopardise the investigation and pose a serious threat to national security,” Ozegbe stated.
Justice Nwite approved the request, allowing the Department of Internal Affairs to retain custody of the suspects until March 3, 2025, at which point the case will be addressed.
In a related matter, Justice Mohammed Zubairu of the FCT High Court mandated the release of Bodejo from the custody of the Department of State Services, ruling that his prior detention without charges was unlawful.
Source:naijanews.com
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Despite Fulani Leaders Plea, Bello Turji Launches Fresh Attacks
31 December 2024
Notorious and wanted bandit terrorist leader Bello Turji has reportedly resumed violent activities along the Shinkafi road in Zamfara State, defying recent pleas from senior Fulani leaders to abandon his threats.
Intelligence Sources confirmed to Zagazola Makama that Turji and his men have been targeting travelers and communities along the road, causing widespread panic and disrupting movement in the area.
The attacks come just few hours after top Fulani leaders from Shinkafi, Moriki, and Zurmi met with Turji to urge him to reconsider his plans for violence and to lift his blockade of the Shinkafi-Gusau road.
During the meeting, the leaders appealed for calm and implored Turji to abandon his plans for abductions and killings, particularly in Zamfara and neighboring Sokoto State.
They also urged him to release his grip on critical routes to ensure the free movement of people and goods.
However, Turji gave no guarantees during the meeting, and it now appears that their efforts were unsuccessful.
Recall that Turji had recently issued threats of reprisal following the recent arrest of his close associate, Bako Wurgi, by troops of the Nigerian Army.
Wurgi, also known as Baka NaGarba, was a key figure in Turji’s network, playing a crucial role in ransom negotiations and the collection of payments from kidnappings.
Source:naijanews.com
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Breaking: UniAbuja Gets New VC Amidst Controversies
31 December 2024
By Rachel Okporu Fadoju
Prof. Aisha Maikudi has been appointed as the new Vice-chancellor of the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) amidst the ongoing controversies and protests at the institution.
Naija News reports that the acting Director of Public Affairs of the institution, Habib Yakoob, announced Aisha’s appointment in a statement issued on Tuesday.
The statement reads, “The Governing Council of the University of Abuja, under the chairmanship of Air Vice-Marshal Saddiq Ismaila Kaita (Rtd), has approved the appointment of Professor Aisha Sani Maikudi as the 7th Substantive vice-chancellor of the University.
“The appointment was announced during the 77th Extraordinary Meeting of Council on Tuesday, 315t December 2024.
The appointment takes effect from January 1, 2025, and it is for a nonrenewable tenure of five years.
“Maikudi emerged as the best among 10 shortlisted candidates and interviewed by the Joint Council and Senate Selection Board of the University, in line with the extant regulations governing the process.”
Recall that controversies trailed the appointment process of the new substantive VC for the institution.
Stakeholders had earlier accused the governing council of planning to appoint Maikudi who was tagged as not having the required number of years of experience needed to be appointed VC of a university.
The appointment process also led to division between members of the institution’s governing council, with certain members shunning meetings convened by the council regarding the appointment.
Source:naijanews.com
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FG Reassures Niger Republic Of Non-Aggression, Seeks Dialogue
31 December 2024
By Justina Otio
The Federal Government has reaffirmed it’s commitment to peace, stability, and regional harmony in West Africa.
The assurance follows a recent statement by the President of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland of Niger, Abdourahman Tchiani, who claimed that Nigeria was colluding with France to destabilise his country.
Speaking via a statement in Tuesday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, promised that Nigeria remains steadfast in its desire for dialogue which are the cornerstones of sustainable solutions.
He noted that Nigeria has no plans to embark on any actions that would undermine the sovereignty and security of Niger as alleged by Tchiani.
According to the Minister, Nigeria and Niger share deep historical and cultural ties, underscored by trade and economic interdependence.
He said, “We reaffirm our respect for Niger’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, in alignment with ECOWAS principles.
“We welcome and encourage open, constructive dialogue between our governments and invite Niger’s leadership to join us in candid discussions to address mutual concerns.
“We are prepared to explore confidence-building measures, such as collective support, to alleviate the humanitarian impact on our border communities.
“We call upon regional and international partners to support efforts aimed at fostering reconciliation and stability, rather than deepening divisions.
“Nigeria remains guided by the principles of diplomacy, mutual respect, and the pursuit of peace. We are confident that through constructive engagement, we can work together towards a more prosperous and stable future for our people”.
Source:naijanews.com
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Burkina Faso approves amnesty for 2015 coup plotters
1 January 2025
Burkina Faso is taking steps to confront its turbulent past. The country's transitional parliament has passed a law granting amnesty to soldiers accused of a coup attempt in 2015.
Then, a group of soldiers from the country’s Presidential Security Regiment, loyal to ousted President Blaise Campaore, attempted to overthrow the transitional government less than a month before elections.
The coup failed after a section of the military pushed back.
The masterminds - several high-ranking army officers were sentenced to prison as a result in 2019.
To receive amnesty, they must write to army ruler Captain Ibrahim Traoré appealing for clemency.
Campaore whom the coup plotters wanted to reinstate had been forced out of office in 2014 by protesters angered by his attempt to change the constitution to extend his 27-year rule, and fled the country.
The Sahel country has had a chaotic past punctuated by army takeovers and brief experiments with democracy.
Roch Marc Kabore who was elected President shortly after the 2015 coup attempt was deposed by soldiers in 2022.
Another mutiny eight months brought forth a new military junta headed by Traore.
Some people see the amnesty measure as a positive step towards reconciliation, while others question its motivation and implications.
Source:africanews.com
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Mozambique: South Africa sends special envoy to help quell unrest
31 December 2024
South Africa has sent a special envoy to meet with Mozambique’s outgoing president, in an attempt to quell deadly protests sparked by Mozambique's disputed election in October.
The South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, called on special envoy Sydney Mufamadi to voice his government's solidarity with the neighbouring country, and its eagerness to help end the crisis.
Fearing that the unrest could become more widespread, South Africa has ramped up security along its border.
Mozambique’s Constitutional Council recently confirmed the victory of the Frelimo party in the election, sparking a fresh wave of protests.
The main opposition candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, has refused to accept the outcome of the election, describing it as rigged, and has called on his supporters to organise demonstrations.
Buildings, including Frelimo's offices and police stations, have been looted and set alight across the nation.
Capitalising on the instability, hundreds of detainees escaped from a high security prison in Mozambique’s capital last week,
Dozens of people have been killed in the protests since the elections.
Source:africanews.com
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https://www.africanews.com/2024/12/31/mozambique-south-africa-sends-special-envoy-to-help-quell-unrest/
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/religious-disputes-temple-mosque-up/d/134215