Sambhal Violence: Use Of Power To Create A Rift Between Hindus And Muslims: Leader of Opposition Urges SC To Intervene
New Age Islam News Bureau
26 November 2024
President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, LoP in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and LoP in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi during 'Samvidhan Divas' function at Samvidhan Sadan, in New Delhi, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024.Photo | PTI
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· Sambhal Violence: Use Of Power To Create A Rift Between Hindus And Muslims: Leader of Opposition Urges SC To Intervene
· Shia vs Sunni In The Killing Fields Of Pakistan’s Kurram: Death Toll Risen To 73
· UK Foreign Secretary Warned Over Rise Of Islamist Extremism And Political Turmoil In Bangladesh
· ‘Netanyahu Is Not Dreyfus,’ Palestinian Envoy Tells UN Security Council
· Official Tells Muslims To Report Firms Blocking Friday Prayers After Johor Shifts Weekend Days
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India
· Muslim Bodies Flay Sambhal Mosque Survey, Demand Judicial Probe Into Violence
· IUML accuses CPI(M) of 'divisive politics' amid attacks on UDF's alleged Islamist links
· Family Alleges Muslim Youth Beaten, Stripped, Forced To Chant Jai Shri Ram In Meerut; Police Dispute Charges
· J-K Government Bans WhatsApp, Gmail For Transmitting Official Documents
· Jaipur Police Send 11 Back To Bangladesh After ‘Fraud’ Case Filed Across The Border
· 26/11 Mumbai attack: President Murmu and leaders pay tribute to Mumbai terror attack victims on 16th anniversary
· Will stage sit-in protest outside Parliament if Waqf Bill is passed in current form: Muslim Law Board
· J-K news portal issued notice over claims that its reporting ‘pitches elected representatives against administration’
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Pakistan
· Govt Calls In Army After Violence Erupts Amid PTI Protest In Islamabad
· Targeted operation to be launched in Balochistan: CM Bugti
· Meeting of journalist body ‘disrupted’ in D. G. Khan
· Justice Karim Khan Agha to head constitutional bench of SHC
· Police identify 35 people involved in Nishtar AIDS scandal
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Europe
· Russian man jailed for burning Quran sentenced to 14 years on separate Ukraine treason charge
· Jews and Muslims collect for Surrey food banks
· Environment Agency objects to Muslim burial ground in Tamar Valley
· International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation comes up with its novel program at COP29
· Future of EU ‘in danger’ – Borrell
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Mideast
· FM: To Counter The Threats Posed By The Zionist Entity, Iraq Is Collaborating With Arab And Islamic Nations
· Martyr's Anniversary Makes Yemenis More Determined To Wage Jihad To Honour Martyrs' Sacrifices & Support Nation's Causes
· Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry says war death toll at 44,235
· 11 killed in Kurdish-led attacks in north Syria: war monitor
· Those still in north Gaza ‘scavenging among the rubble’: UNRWA
· Can Lebanon’s ancient cultural heritage be protected from war damage?
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Southeast Asia
· Pastor charged with murdering mum whose body was found in Taman OUG freezer
· Sultan Sharafuddin: Jais must ensure all Islamic preachers in Selangor accredited by Mais to uphold accurate teachings
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South Asia
· Shooting At Worshipers Shows Daesh’s Weakness, IEA Spokesperson
· Afghanistan Holds International Conference on Agricultural Development and Self-Reliance
· Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani and Nikolai Patrushev Discuss Strategic Cooperation and Regional Stability
· Afghanistan and Russia Strengthen Economic Ties in a High-Level Meeting
· CSTO to approve plan strengthening Tajikistan-Afghanistan Border Security
· Three Afghan migrants killed by Iranian border guards in Sistan and Baluchistan
· Afghanistan launches Polio Vaccination Campaign for 5.3 million children
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Arab World
· Saudi Arabia Hosts Global Cybersecurity Conference Black Hat 24
· Global leaders gather in Riyadh to shape future of non-terrestrial networks
· Saudi FM pushes for regional stability at G7-Arab foreign ministers meeting
· Scientists awarded for sustainable water innovation at Saudi conference
· Winners of Arabic language prize honoured
· Saudi economy minister meets US congressman
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North America
· Police: Man Threatens Gas Station Clerk With Arson, Asks 'Whose Side Are You On, Christian Or Muslim?'
· Trump vows to slap new tariffs on key US trading partners
· US prosecutor files to drop Trump charges
· Federal charges against Trump dismissed
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Africa
· New Presidential Jet Was Purchased For Tinubu Without The National Assembly’s Knowledge – Abaribe
· Kenyan police use teargas to disperse anti-femicide protesters in Nairobi
· Egypt : 17 missing as Tourist Yacht sinks in Red Sea
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/sambhal-violence-hindus-muslims-leader/d/133825
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Sambhal Violence: Use Of Power To Create A Rift Between Hindus And Muslims: Leader of OppositionUrges SC To Intervene
26 Nov 2024
President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, LoP in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and LoP in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi during 'Samvidhan Divas' function at Samvidhan Sadan, in New Delhi, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024.Photo | PTI
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NEW DELHI: A day after violence rocked Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal, the Congress on Monday accused the BJP of creating a rift between Hindus and Muslims and urged the Supreme Court to intervene in the matter as soon as possible.
Three people were killed and scores of others, including security personnel and administration officials, injured on Sunday as protesters opposing a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal clashed with police.
A fourth injured person died on Monday.
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "The biased and hasty attitude of the state government on the recent dispute in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, is extremely unfortunate. I express my deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the violence and firing."
The administration, without listening to all the parties, insensitively took action that vitiated the atmosphere further and led to the deaths of people -- for which the BJP government is directly responsible, he charged.
"The BJP's use of power to create a rift and discrimination between Hindu-Muslim communities is neither in the interest of the state nor the country. I request the Supreme Court to intervene in the matter as soon as possible and do justice," Gandhi said.
The former Congress chief also appealed for peace and mutual harmony.
"We all have to join together to ensure that India moves forward on the path of unity and constitution, not communalism and hatred," Gandhi asserted.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the Yogi Adityanath government of creating divisions while sitting in power and urged the Supreme Court to take cognisance of the matter and deliver justice.
In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi said, "The attitude of the state government regarding the sudden dispute in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, is very unfortunate. The way the administration acted in haste in such a sensitive matter without listening to the other side, without taking both the parties into confidence, shows that the government itself spoiled the atmosphere there."
The administration did not even consider it necessary to follow the necessary procedure and duty, the Congress general secretary said.
"Trying to spread discrimination, oppression and division while sitting in power is neither in the interest of the people nor in the interest of the country. The honourable Supreme Court should take cognisance of the matter and do justice," Priyanka Gandhi said.
"My appeal to the people of the state is to maintain peace in all circumstances," she asserted.
The police have lodged seven FIRs in connection with the violence, naming Samajwadi Party MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq and local Samajwadi Party MLA Iqbal Mehmood's son Sohail Iqbal as accused, officials said on Monday.
The district administration has already imposed prohibitory orders and barred the entry of outsiders into Sambhal till November 30.
The Congress on Sunday alleged that the Adityanath administration was squarely responsible for killing innocents and only the BJP-RSS was guilty of "setting fire" to peace and harmony in Sambhal.
The opposition party had said the videos of direct firing on the protesters depicted the horrifying result of a "well-planned conspiracy" by Adityanath and the BJP-RSS.
Source:newindianexpress.com
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https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2024/Nov/26/indian-constitution-live-progressive-document-prez-murmu-addresses-parliament-on-samvidhan-divas
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Shia vs Sunni In The Killing Fields Of Pakistan’s Kurram: Death Toll Risen To 73
November 26, 2024
KURRAM: Officials on Monday said the death toll from the recent violence that has plagued the restive Kurram tribal district had risen to 73, amid a tenuous ceasefire that is interrupted by sporadic gunfire.
Officials said that overnight firing between tribes divided along sectarian lines left one man dead and four others wounded in Lower Kurram. There were also reports of an exchange of fire and incidents of arson from different areas in the region.
Authorities acknowledged that the two sides had taken steps to abide by the terms of the week-long ceasefire, including the release of five women held hostage by one side and the return of two dead bodies.
While officials continued to work behind the scenes to keep the situation under control and pre-empt further escalation, the political leadership was conspicuous by its absence, as it is supposed to take the process forward and work towards a permanent ceasefire.
Sources said that an official delegation of the provincial government on Sunday negotiated a ceasefire between the two groups, who agreed to release hostages besides returning the bodies as well. One group, however, refused to release hostages, they said.
Locals reported that incidents of gunfire continued in Alizai and Bagan areas of Lower Kurram and Khar Kalay and Baleechkhel areas of Upper Kurram.
The clashes broke out on Thursday after a convoy of passenger vehicles came under attack in Lower Kurram and resulted in the death of at least 39 people. The attack, allegedly a reprisal for an earlier assault on Oct 12, triggered a wave of violence in the district.
The number fatalities since Thursday’s attack has risen due to the death of critically wounded individuals. The total number of those with injuries due to armed clashes now stands at 63, officials said.
Soon after the attack, Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur had ordered an official delegation comprising Minister for Law Aftab Alam Afridi, Adviser to Chief Minister on Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry and police chief Akhtar Hayat Khan to visit the district and assess the situation.
On Sunday, Mr Saif said that the warring groups had agreed to a week-long ceasefire, an exchange of hostages and retrieval of bodies.
The district, which borders Afghanistan, has long been plagued by sectarian tensions, often fuelled by disputes over land ownership. While the government-appointed land commission reportedly submitted its findings in the past, the report remains unpublished due to sectarian sensitivities.
Meanwhile, educational institutions and markets remained closed on the fifth day of the armed conflict while annual FSc exams, being held by the Kohat educational board, were also postponed.
Head of the private school teachers’ association Muhammad Hayat Khan said that the exams were postponed indefinitely and that all the educational institutions in the area were closed.
Source:dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1874830/kurram-death-toll-rises-to-73-as-sporadic-clashes-continue
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UK Foreign Secretary Warned Over Rise Of Islamist Extremism And Political Turmoil In Bangladesh
25 November 2024
Former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
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David Lammy has been warned that the UK could be pulled into another global flashpoint over the rapidly destabilising situation in Bangladesh.
A cross-party group of MPs have written to the foreign secretary with a major report into Bangladesh listing a series of alarming conclusions, including the gaining of ground by Islamist extremists following the collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s government at the start of August 2024.
The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for the Commonwealth has recorded more than 2,000 atrocities since the fall of Hasani’s government and warned that the current regime may be weaponsing the legal system to exact revenge.
Any escalation in Bangladesh could have potential fallout in the UK with the 2021 census recording 644,881 people of Bangladeshi descent in England and Wales - 1.1 per cent of the population.
The collapse of the government impacted Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq, whose aunt is the ousted Bangladeshi prime minister and maternal grandfather was its founding president.
APPG chairman Tory MP Andrew Rosindell said: “This report will be a step in our efforts to raise awareness of issues affecting important Commonwealth partners.
“The findings will be shared with the government, charities, and other stakeholders involved with Bangladesh and the Commonwealth. It is hoped that these issues are heard within Westminster and Whitehall, and this report helps to inform parliamentarians and decision makers.”
The report notes: “Despite the violence and turmoil, the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government at the start of August 2024 was met by many with great joy and hope.
“However, we have also received evidence that raises questions about the efficacy of the new interim regime. There is an urgent need to end the culture of using the law as a political weapon, and that human rights and the rule of law need to be upheld.
“A failure to do this will not reflect well on the new interim regime of Professor Muhammad Yunas.”
The APPG said that it received evidence that murder charges are being slapped on former ministers, Awami League leaders, MPs, former judges, scholars, lawyers and on journalists “in such numbers to raise questions around their credibility”.
Highlighting reports of 1,000 deaths by the end of August, the MPs and peers added: “We have heard the security situation in some parts of Bangladesh remains extremely dangerous over three months after the initial student protests that led to the fall of Sheikh Hasina and the formation of the interim government.”
It also raised concerns over the way religious and ethnic minority groups appeared to have been targeted in the past few months.
And added: “There is evidence emerging that hardline Islamists are becoming increasingly politically influential and visible.”
Source:independent.co.uk
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https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-lammy-political-turmoil-islamist-bangladesh-b2653259.html
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‘Netanyahu is not Dreyfus,’ Palestinian envoy tells UN Security Council
EPHREM KOSSAIFY
November 25, 2024
Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour speaks during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the situation in the Middle East and the Palestinian question at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Nov. 25. (Reuters)
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NEW YORK CITY: The warrant issued last week by the International Criminal Court for the arrest of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has “nothing to do with his faith and everything to do with his crimes,” the Palestinian envoy to the UN told the Security Council on Monday.
Riyad Mansour urged council members to stand up to what he described as Netanyahu’s “diversions and distortions, to his smearing, his threats and his attacks.”
Netanyahu has denounced the ICC decision as “antisemitic,” comparing it to the Dreyfus affair in France more than a century ago. Alfred Dreyfus, a French army officer of Jewish descent, was wrongfully convicted in 1894 of treason based on fabricated evidence.
“No, Netanyahu is not Dreyfus,” Mansour told the Security Council. “The ICC, the ICJ (International Court of Justice), this council and the General Assembly, the secretary-general and the United Nations are not antisemitic, and Netanyahu’s efforts to frame efforts to uphold international law as antisemitic must be firmly rebuked.”
The council must “act now to restore primacy to international law, to the humanitarian and human rights laws that Israel is shredding to the detriment of all,” he added.
He warned that the “genocide” in Gaza is transforming the Middle East for generations to come, with “the gravest” repercussions for the region and the wider world.
“This fire will devour everything in its path if it is not urgently stopped,” Mansour said, and so states are faced with a “quite simple” choice: defend the rule of international law or defend “the massacres perpetrated by this Israeli government.”
He called on politicians who have “difficulties making the right choice” to stop “playing political games with our people’s lives,” and added: “Our children should not be sacrificed for the sake of your political calculations and ambitions.”
Palestinians in Gaza are bracing themselves to endure another winter living in makeshift tents, besieged and bombed, without any of the essential infrastructure required to sustain life, while famine continues to loom over the war-ravaged enclave, Mansour warned.
“How much more suffering must they endure?” he asked. “Their agony must be brought to an end and life and hope must be restored. Israel’s war machine must be stopped in Palestine and in Lebanon. It is sowing the conditions of insecurity and hatred for decades.”
He urged council members not to allow “a solvable political conflict to be transformed into an eternal religious conflict. This would have terrible, unimaginable consequences for our region and the world.”
He added: “The fate of our region is being determined in Gaza: either Gaza becomes the graveyard of international law or the land of its resurrection.”
Robert Wood, the deputy US ambassador to the UN, told fellow council members that Washington remains opposed to the annexation of the West Bank and the construction of settlements in Gaza.
Such actions would breach international law, he said, “sow the seeds of further instability and create new obstacles to Israel’s full integration into the region.” He also expressed concern about the “increasing extremist-settler violence in the West Bank.”
But Wood reiterated that the US rejects the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and blames Hamas for the failure to reach a ceasefire agreement. He added that the militant group must not be “let off the hook.”
Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s deputy permanent representative, said: “The USA only demands, and continues to demand, that we all put pressure on Hamas,” yet it is “clear” that Israel’s plan is “to create yet another irreversible fact on the ground: a scorched, depopulated Gaza that has been emptied of Palestinians.”
He added: “How many more people need to die for Gaza to at last see peace? Or will the USA obstruct this until all the Palestinians have been exterminated and the question of the two-state solution falls away by itself?”
Moscow “will continue to insist on the adoption of the most decisive measures to stop the bloodshed in Gaza,” Polyanskiy said.
Source:arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2580745/middle-east
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Official tells Muslims to report firms blocking Friday prayers after Johor shifts weekend days
26 Nov 2024
His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, attends Friday prayers and listens to a special Friday sermon in conjunction with the Installation Ceremony of the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong at the National Mosque, July 19, 2024. — Bernama pic
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ISKANDAR PUTERI, Nov 26 — Muslim workers in Johor facing discrimination for attending Friday prayers, starting Jan 1 next year, are urged to report the matter to the state Labour Department.
State Islamic Affairs Committee chairman, Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid, said employers who fail to provide sufficient break time for the purpose could face legal action.
“Any employer who prevents workers from performing their Friday prayers or makes it difficult for them to pray during working hours can be reported to the Labour Department under the Employment Act for discrimination, and the employer will be held accountable,” he said.
He was responding to Abdul Aziz Talib’s (PN-Maharani) question on the state government’s efforts to facilitate Friday prayers effective Jan 1, 2025, during today’s State Legislative Assembly session in Kota Iskandar.
On Oct 7, the Regent of Johor, Tunku Mahkota Ismail, announced that the state would align its weekend to Saturday and Sunday from Jan 1, 2025, with the approval of the Malaysian King, His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, and views of the Johor State Islamic Religious Department (JAINJ).
Tunku Mahkota Ismail has called on private companies, government bodies, and relevant organisations to allocate sufficient time and space for Muslim employees to perform Friday prayers.
Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, while presenting the Johor Budget 2025 at the state assembly last Thursday, announced that starting Jan 1 next year, Friday lunch breaks for public and private sector employees will be extended to two hours, from the current hour and a half.
Meanwhile, Semerah assemblyman Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid revealed that 26 schools in Johor-15 under the State Education Department and 11 under JAINJ-struggle to accommodate Friday prayers during school hours.
“These schools have requested approval from the Johor Mufti Department to upgrade their suraus or nearby prayer spaces to Surau Jumaat (Friday prayer suraus). The Johor Mufti Department has issued guidelines for conducting Friday prayers in schools as part of the solution.
“This applies to schools located more than 3 kilometres from a mosque, those with a significant number of Muslim students and teachers, and schools lacking nearby residential areas or adequate Friday prayer facilities,” he explained.
Previously, Onn Hafiz stated that to ensure Muslim male students can perform Friday prayers, the State Education Department, JAINJ, and the Johor Mufti Department will increase the number of suraus and halls in schools. — Bernama
Source:malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/11/26/official-tells-muslims-to-report-firms-blocking-friday-prayers-after-johor-shifts-weekend-days/158063
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India
Muslim bodies flay Sambhal mosque survey, demand judicial probe into violence
November 25, 2024
Ziya Us SalamZIYA US SALAM
The survey of the Jama Masjid in Sambhal ordered by the court of a civil judge which resulted in widespread arson and loss of five lives has been questioned by Muslim organisations for its “undue haste” and “lack of adherence to constitutional principles”.
They have questioned the court’s failure to take the viewpoint of the mosque committee before ordering the survey and have sought a judicial probe into the incident.
The vice-president of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Malik Moatasim Khan, told The Hindu, “The decision to order a survey without hearing the mosque committee’s perspective reflects a serious lapse in judicial fairness. The presence of provocative anti-social elements with the survey team and their offensive actions escalated communal tensions, leading to the unfortunate incident that saw the loss of innocent lives.”
Sambhal mosque survey violence: Death toll rises to five; FIR registered against MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq, SP MLA’s son
The survey, which had passed off peacefully on the first day, resulted in large scale violence the next day as the local Muslim residents protested against what they called a “motivated survey”. The survey team was accompanied by marchers shouting provocative slogans. It was objected to by the Muslim residents leading to violence.
The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president, Mahmood Madani, questioned why the survey resulted in violence. “The residents of Sambhal cooperated with the court-appointed team without resistance on the first day. However, reports suggest that on the day of the incident, some individuals accompanying the survey team raised provocative slogans that escalated tensions. Why did the police allow such individuals to accompany the survey team to the Jama Masjid? Why were they not stopped from inciting tensions with provocative slogans that targeted a specific community?”
Sambhal violence: Yogi Adityanath government ‘orchestrated’ riot to hide malpractices in bypolls, says Akhilesh Yadav
Calling for a probe into the killing of protesters, Mr. Khan said, “We demand a judicial probe into the incident to ensure accountability for the police officers responsible and justice for the victims and their bereaved families. It is imperative that the Places of Worship Act 1991, protecting religious sites as they stood in 1947 is upheld, and any attempts to dilute its letter and spirit are resisted and opposed. We sincerely hope that both the executive and the higher judiciary will address this trend of targeting Muslim places of worship and trying to acquire them illegally by claiming that there stood a Hindu temple on the land in ancient times.”
He called the killing of Muslim youths allegedly in police firing “a glaring example of State oppression and discrimination, violating the constitutional right to dignity and life that every citizen is entitled to”.
The viewpoint was shared by Mr. Madani who said, “We do not support violence from any group, but we view this action by the police as oppressive and discriminatory, resulting in the unjust loss of innocent lives. If a government adopts a discriminatory approach, devaluing the lives, dignity, and property of a particular community, it is in violation of the Constitution and the rule of law.” He recalled the Jamiat’s earlier warnings about the dangerous consequences “of seeking temples under mosques”, describing such actions as an attack on national peace and unity.
The bodies reiterated the need to implement the Places of Worship Act in letter and spirit.
Source:thehindu.com
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https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/muslim-bodies-flay-sambhal-mosque-survey-demand-judicial-probe-into-violence/article68910446.ece
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IUML accuses CPI(M) of 'divisive politics' amid attacks on UDF's alleged Islamist links
Kozhikode, Kerala: Amid mounting attacks on the Congress-led UDF by the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala over their alleged links with Islamist outfits such as SDPI and Jamaat-e-Islami, senior IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty on Monday accused the Left party of promoting issues that create divisions within society. A day after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan charged the Congress-led alliance of joining hands with SDPI and Jamaat-e-Islami to defeat the LDF in the recently held by-polls, Kunhalikutty said, "They do not consider the consequences of playing a different card by raising issues that create divisions, instead of highlighting the government's achievements and developmental issues." In response to Vijayan's direct attack on party supremo Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, the IUML leader said that the UDF secured a resounding majority of over 4.10 lakh votes for Priyanka Gandhi in Wayanad and a margin of over 18,000 votes for Rahul Mamkootathil in Palakkad, with the IUML and Thangal playing a pivotal role in these ctories. Referring to the poll figures released by media, Kunhalikutty pointed out that the LDF has slipped to third place in nearly 100 places in WayanadKunhalikutty further alleged that during the Babri Masjid demolition period, it was the Left that aligned with Jamaat-e-Islami and similar forces. "They even shared the stage with them for a long time." Responding to the LDF's claim of no antiincumbency in the state, the IUML national general secretary dismissed it, pointing to the Chelakkara assembly by-poll results. "If their claim is based on the Chelakkara win, they should note that their vote share declined significantly there," he said. Noting that Chelakkara was a seat they won even when the UDF swept 100 assembly segments in an election, Kunhalikutty said, "In a constituency where they once held a 40,000-vote majority, it has now shrunk to 12,000. A portion of their votes has shifted to the BJP." "They even admitted the need for introspection after the Chelakkara election performance," the IUML lea er said. Both the LDF and the UDF retained the Chelakkara and Palakkad Assembly seats, respectively, with a comfortable margin in the recent by-polls. The Congress won the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat with a thumping margin.
Source:deccanherald.com
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https://www.deccanherald.com/india/kerala/iuml-accuses-cpim-of-divisive-politics-amid-attacks-on-udfs-alleged-islamist-links-3290662
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Family Alleges Muslim Youth Beaten, Stripped, Forced To Chant Jai Shri Ram In Meerut; Police Dispute Charges
26 Nov 2024
MEERUT: A youth was allegedly beaten, stripped and forced to chant Jai Shri Ram here, his family alleged on Monday.
However, police have denied that he was stripped and forced to chant by the accused and said that it prima facie appears to be a case of enmity.
The incident took place at around 8 pm on Saturday when Gulfam, a resident of Sofipur village in Pallavpuram, was returning home after practising at a private shooting range in Mangal Pandey Nagar, his father, Aftab, said.
Aftab alleged that Gulfam was taken to Victoria Park by three youths on a motorcycle where they beat him, stripped him and forced him to chant Jai Shri Ram.
They also snatched his mobile phone.
Family members of the victim also claimed that he fell unconscious after he was thrashed and stripped.
However, the police have denied the charges of stripping and forced chanting.
SHO, Civil Lines Mahavir Singh said, "There is no mention of forcing the victim to chant Jai Shri Ram in the FIR. It is a prima facie case of enmity between youths."
Based on Aftab's complaint, an FIR was registered in the case Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 324 (mischief), Circle officer, Civil Lines, Abhishek Tiwari.
Efforts are being made to arrest the accused, SHO Singh said.
Gulfam is presently undergoing treatment at a private hospital here.
He is preparing for the national shooting competition, his family said.
Source:newindianexpress.com
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https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2024/Nov/25/family-alleges-youth-stripped-forced-to-chant-jai-shri-ram-in-meerut-police-deny-claims
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J-K government bans WhatsApp, Gmail for transmitting official documents
25 Nov 2024
SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government has banned the use of third-party tools like WhatsApp and Gmail for transmission of sensitive official documents, saying it can lead to data breaches and leaks.
These platforms are not specifically designed to handle classified or sensitive information, and their security protocols may not meet the stringent standards required for official communications, an order passed by the General Administration Department on Saturday.
"It has come to the attention of the administration that there is an increasing trend among officers and officials to use third-party tools such as WhatsApp, Gmail, and other similar platforms for transmitting sensitive, secret, and confidential information.
This practice poses significant risks to the integrity and security of the information being communicated," the order read.
It said using third-party communication tools can lead to several potential issues including unauthorised access, data breaches, and leaks of confidential information.
"Consequently, the use of such tools could result in severe security breaches that jeopardize the integrity of governmental operations," the order reads.
The GAD issued guidelines for the officials to follow while handling official communication.
"Classified information falls under the following four categories namely, Top Secret, Secret, Confidential and Restricted. A 'Top Secret' and 'Secret' document shall not be shared over the Internet.
According to NISPG, the 'Top Secret' and 'Secret' information shall be shared only in a closed network with leased line connectivity where a SAG-grade encryption mechanism is deployed.
However, 'Confidential' and 'Restricted' information can be shared on internet through networks that have deployed commercial AES 256-bit encryption," it added.
The directive said the use of government email facility or government instant messaging platforms (such as CDAC's Samvad, NIC's Sandesh etc) is strongly recommended for the communication of 'Confidential' and 'Restricted' information.
"Care should be taken during the classification of information; information that deserves a 'Top Secret/Secret' classification shall not be downgraded to Confidential/ Restricted for the purpose of sharing," it added.
In the context of the e-Office system, departments have been directed to deploy proper firewalls and white-list IP addresses.
"The e-Office server should be accessed through a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for enhanced security.
Departments may ensure that only authorised employees/personnel are allowed to access the e-Office system.
"However, Top secret/Secret information shall be shared over the e-Office system only with leased line closed network and SAG grade encryption mechanism," it said.
It said there was a blanket ban on sharing any top secret or secret information through video conferencing.
The officials working from home have been directed to use security-hardened electronic devices (such as laptops, desktops) connected to office servers via a VPN and firewall setup.
'Top Secret' and 'Secret' information should not be shared while working from home, it said.
The order said digital assistant devices such as Amazon's Echo, Apple's HomePod, Google Home, etc. should be kept out of the office during discussions on classified issues.
"Digital assistants (such as Alexa, Siri) should be turned off during official meetings in the office used by employee. Smartphones should be deposited outside the meeting room when discussing classified information," the order said.
In light of the risks, all officers and officials were directed to adhere strictly to the guidelines to ensure the security and confidentiality of official communications.
"Non-compliance with these directives may result in disciplinary action as deemed appropriate by the administration," the order read.
Source:newindianexpress.com
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Jaipur Police Send 11 Back To Bangladesh After ‘Fraud’ Case Filed Across The Border
by Parul Kulshrestha
November 25, 2024
Police in Jaipur have handed over 11 Bangladeshi nationals, who were allegedly living in Rajasthan illegally for several years, to authorities in the neighbouring country with the help of the Border Security Forces (BSF) on Sunday.
According to police, they came under the lens after some of them allegedly committed fraud with another Bangladeshi national, who went back to her country and filed a police complaint. Bangladeshi authorities subsequently informed police in Jaipur, who then started investigating the case.
The 11 people sent back included five women and three children.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Jaipur West) Amit Kumar said that after the investigation, the Bangladeshi nationals were sent to a detention centre in Alwar. “Later, we gave the custody of the accused persons to Bangladeshi authorities. All the accused had Indian and Bangladeshi passports. They had acquired the passports through fake documents. We are investigating the procedure through which they acquired the documents and will take action against the culprits,” said Kumar.
Police said one of the key accused, Sohag Khan, arrived in India two decades ago and had got a flat in Jaisinghpura using forged documents. Along with Bangladeshi identity cards, Sohag allegedly also had an Indian passport and Aadhaar cards.
Two others have been arrested in connection with allegedly making forged documents for the Bangladeshi nationals.
Source:indianexpress.com
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26/11 Mumbai attack: President Murmu and leaders pay tribute to Mumbai terror attack victims on 16th anniversary
November 26, 2024
26/11 mumbai attackTaj Hotel in south Mumbai following the 26/11 terror attacks in 2008. (Express Archives)
On the 16th anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday paid tribute to the lives lost in the horrific attack that shook the nation.
“On the anniversary of the cowardly terror attacks in Mumbai on 26th November, 2008, I join the entire nation in paying homage to the bravehearts who lost their lives and expressing solidarity with their families,” President Murmu said in a post on X.
On the anniversary of cowardly terror attacks in Mumbai on 26th November 2008, I join the entire nation in paying homage to the bravehearts who lost their lives and expressing solidarity with their families. A grateful nation salutes its valiant security personnel who made…
The attack, carried out by 10 terrorists from Pakistan, remains one of the deadliest in India’s history, claiming the lives of 166 people. While nine attackers were gunned down by Indian security forces, one surviving terrorist, Ajmal Kasab, was captured, tried, and later executed in November 2012.
The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi taking to X said, “My humble tribute to all the brave soldiers and civilians martyred in the cowardly terrorist attack on Mumbai 26/11.” He further added, “The country will always remember their bravery and sacrifice.”
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also paid his respects to the victims of the attack, offering a heartfelt tribute to the lives lost. “Humble tribute to the innocent citizens who lost their lives in the cowardly terror attack in Mumbai on 26/11 and heartfelt salute to the brave sons of Mother India who sacrificed their lives while performing their duties in this incident that tarnished humanity!” Adityanath said in a post on X.
He further expressed his resolve to fight terrorism, stating, “Let us be united and determined to end terrorism.”
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, as well as the state’s Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan, paid solemn tributes at the Martyrs Memorial in Mumbai, located on the premises of the Mumbai Police Commissioner’s Office.
In a post on X, Union Home Minister Amit Shah condemned terrorism as “a blot on the entire human civilization,” while praising India’s stance against such violence. “The Modi government’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy against terrorism has been appreciated by the entire world,” Shah noted, saying that under this leadership, “India has become a world leader in anti-terrorism initiatives.”
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also took to X to mark the occasion, writing, “We remember, and we will never forget those wounds,”.
Source:indianexpress.com
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Will stage sit-in protest outside Parliament if Waqf Bill is passed in current form: Muslim Law Board
Bengaluru: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has vowed to stage a sit-in protest outside Parliament if the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, is passed in its current form. board's spokesperson, SQR Ilyas, expressed concerns over the contentious bill and the process followed in drafting it. According to him, this is the first amendment to the Waqf Act that was drafted without holding consultations with the Muslim community. He emphasised that the Waqf Act underwent significant amendments in 1954, 1995, and 2013, only after extensive consultations with the stakeholders. "If the state has decided to create lawlessness, who can prevent it," he added. Ilyas said that the board also opposed the way the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was going forward with discussions regarding the bill. "The JPC, which was formed to seek suggestions of stakeholders, is consulting irrelevant people who have no locus standi,” he stated. The board official sought to refute claims in the media that the Waqf Act enjoys pecial powers and that waqf boards arbitrarily occupy and declare lands as waqf properties. Stating that waqf boards cannot encroach upon government lands, he said: "These are the lands of our forefathers who have given their private property for charitable purposes." Adding that government agencies have encroached upon waqf properties in many places, he said: "There were 123 properties in Delhi alone that had to be returned to the waqf board during Indira a resolution mechanism. "The issues can be referred to a tribunal, and if one does not accept the decision of the tribunal, there is provision to challenge it in the higher courts," he said. On Sambhal violence Referring to the recent Sambhal violence, Ilyas said that despite the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, in place, "every now and then, we see people claiming 'that masjid was a temple, this masjid was a temple’." He also condemned the killing of three protestors by UP police and said such a disruption of order should have been ha dled in a better way. Ilyas said the board would file a PIL petition next month in the Nainital High Court to challenge the Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand Act, 2024. "In a country which is so culturally diverse, how can all the people be tied with one law," he asked. The board demanded that the government introduce a blasphemy legislation banning insults to all religious and sacred personalities irrespective of their religion.
Source:deccanherald.com
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J-K news portal issued notice over claims that its reporting ‘pitches elected representatives against administration’
by Bashaarat Masood
November 26, 2024
Jammu and Kashmir’s Information & Public Relations department has sought an explanation from a news portal for a report about the detention of an “environmental activist” under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
The letter accuses the portal of “pitching the elected representative against administration” and states that the “tone and content… tried to put the administrative procedure in a bad light”. It also warns of action if the news portal fails to “explain (its) position”.
“The content of your video clearly pitches elected representatives against administration,” reads the notice issued to The Chenab Times, a news portal from Doda district. “The tone and content of your video tried to put the administrative procedure in a bad light and empathised with the person who has been booked under relevant laws/norms by following due process of law,” it states.
On November 10, activist Rehmatullah Padder of Doda was booked under the PSA by the district administration, which accused him of being an overground worker (OGW) and citing five FIRs against him. Padder’s family and colleagues, however, said he was booked for exposing alleged corruption in a sewage treatment plant.
His detention was also criticised by Doda MLA Mehraj Malik. “This young man is detained under PSA today, yesterday he raised questions on district administration for their failure. This area couldn’t be cleaned but he is arrested now. This is Swachh Bharat of Modi,” Malik posted on X, urging the chief minister to set-up a “judicial or legal committee to examine the dossier’s authenticity” as “most cases are quashed in the first hearing as they are often rooted in revenge”.
Responding to the public outcry over the detention, the district administration asked people “not to be misguided”. “It is to clarify that an OGW has been detained after following due process of law on grounds totally different from what is being circulated on social media. Request to general public/prominent citizens and elected representatives not to be misguided in (the) above stated case,” the Doda District Administration posted on Facebook.
In a video report, The Chenab Times reporter said that the district administration’s post is ostensibly in response to Malik’s post on X.
“It (the Facebook post) didn’t name any legislator,” District Information Officer Nasir Khan told The Indian Express. “Journalism should be ethical and peaceful. How can someone criticise the administration?” said Khan, who issued a notice to the online news portal.
Asked whether he believes the administration and its decisions are above criticism, Khan said he is “just a cog in the wheel”. “I got directions from above, from the district administration, and only followed them,” he said. “Please ask the district administration about it.”
The Doda Deputy Commissioner, Harvinder Singh, who slapped the PSA against the activist, said it is a 15-day-old news and some “vested interests” want to highlight it.
Source:indianexpress.com
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Pakistan
Govt calls in army after violence erupts amid PTI protest in Islamabad
By Azaz Syed & Web Desk
November 26, 2024
ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Tuesday deployed army in the capital city after violence erupted during the ongoing situation in the wake of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) protest.
The Interior Ministry issued a notification invoking Article 245, allowing the military to assist in maintaining order and deal with the miscreants with an iron hand. The notification also grants the army authority to impose curfew wherever necessary to curb lawlessness.
Sources indicate that security forces have also been authorised to shoot miscreants and troublemakers on sight.
They said that all necessary measures are being taken to counter terrorist activities by disruptive and extremist elements. All the miscreants are also being identified to bring them to justice.
The decision follows a tragic incident on Srinagar Highway, where PTI miscreants reportedly drove a vehicle into Rangers personnel, resulting in the martyrdom of four Rangers and injuries to five others, along with two police officers.
According to security officials, the attacks on law enforcement have so far claimed the lives of four Rangers and two police officers.
Over 100 police personnel have sustained injuries, many of whom are in critical condition, underscoring the gravity of the ongoing violence.
The PTI supporters have entered the federal capital on the call of their jailed party founder to gather at D-Chowk in the capital and stay there until their demands are met. The release of jailed ex-premier among other issues is what the party seeks.
A security lockdown has been imposed in the federal capital for the last two days to block Bushra Bibi and KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur-led convoys of PTI protesters, while highways into the city have been barricaded.
The government has used shipping containers to block major roads and streets in Islamabad, most of them patrolled by large contingents of police and paramilitary personnel in riot gear.
The Imran Khan-founded party, in recent months, has marched on the federal capital on multiple occasions which has seen its workers clashing with the law enforcement agencies (LEAs).
Source:thenews.com.pk
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Targeted operation to be launched in Balochistan: CM Bugti
November 25, 2024
QUETTA: In order to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the province, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti on Monday said the authorities would launch a targeted operation in the territory.
Last week, the Apex Committee — a civil-military body —formally approved a comprehensive military operation against terrorist organisations operating in the province.
The top civil-military body gave its nod to a military operation in Balochistan against terrorist groups including the Majeed Brigade, BLA, BLF and BRAS who are targeting innocent civilians and foreign nationals to scuttle Pakistan’s economic progress by creating insecurity at the behest of hostile external powers, read a statement issued by the Prime Minister Office.
During an interaction with journalists in Quetta, CM Bugti announced that the targeted operations would be conducted in the areas where there were "Ferrari camps" of the militant organisation.
Responding to a question, the chief minister said that the government was making all out efforts to recover Musavir Kakar.
Setting aside the criticism, he said the political parties opposing the military operation in the province should tell if there is any other solution to the rising incident of terrorism in the province.
The development came amid surge in terror attacks on security forces and civilians, with the latest deadly suicide explosion claiming at least 27 lives and left over 60 others injured at Quetta's railway station earlier this month.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Federal Apex Committee of the National Action Plan was held with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair and the agenda of the meeting was focused on the “Reinvigorating Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism (CT) Campaign”.
All provincial chief ministers, Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir, cabinet members and senior government officials were among the attendees of the important huddle.
The top civil-military body highlighted the necessity of a “unified political voice and a cohesive national narrative” to effectively address these multifaceted challenges.
It was emphasised that political support across party lines and complete national consensus are critical to reinvigorating the national counter-terrorism campaign under the framework of Vision Azm-e-Istehkam.
The meeting also agreed upon revitalisation of National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta) and the establishment of National and Provincial Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Centre.
The statement said civil-military leadership adopted a whole-of-system approach, incorporating diplomatic, political, informational, intelligence, socio-economic, and military efforts to address these issues comprehensively.
“Specific emphasis was placed on strengthening collaboration between federal and provincial governments and between relevant institutions and ministries to ensure seamless execution of the CT [counter-terrorism] campaign. It was decided to establish District Coordination Committees under the provincial apex committees to ensure implementation of directions received from federal and provincial governments.”
In addition to this, the forum demonstrated political resolve to dismantle the ecosystem of illegal spectrum and crime-terror nexus.
Speaking on the occasion, COAS General Munir reiterated the Pakistan Army’s unwavering resolve to eliminate all threats to national security and provide robust support to the government’s initiatives aimed at ensuring peace and stability.
All those who create obstruction in Pakistan’s security or try to stop them from performing their duty would face the music, he added. The army chief also called for putting up a collective fight against the menace of terrorism.
“Every Pakistani is a soldier in the war against terrorism, whether in uniform or not.”
He further said that the Constitution mandated them to ensure the internal and external security of Pakistan.
The COAS maintained that the personnel of armed forces and other law enforcement agencies were compensating for shortcomings in governance on a daily basis through the sacrifices of their martyrs.
At the conclusion, PM Shehbaz directed all the stakeholders to pursue the outlined initiatives with vigor, ensuring their timely implementation.
Source:thenews.com.pk
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Meeting of journalist body ‘disrupted’ in D. G. Khan
Ikram Junaidi
November 26, 2024
ISLAMABAD: The district administration in Dera Ghazi Khan last week forced an early end to a meeting of journalists discussing threats to their lives and the state of media freedom in Punjab’s Seraiki belt, according to a press release of the Freedom Network.
A local official said the district administration did not allow the event to go ahead because the organisers had not obtained permission, a requirement under the law.
The press release said Iqbal Khattak, the representative in Pakistan of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and a team of Freedom Network was expelled from Dera Ghazi Khan.
“Stop the meeting and leave the district,” an official who introduced himself as “Tehsildar [sub-district officer] Chaudhry Haneef” told Mr Khattak.
The official was accompanied by Younas, the SHO of D.G. Khan’s Saddar police station. The incident took place on Thursday (Nov 21), according to the press statement.
Mr Khattak is also a member of the Punjab Journalists Protection Coordination Committee, set up by the provincial government last year to investigate crimes of impunity against journalists. A Punjab police DIG heads the committee.
Journalists from Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur and Layyah attended the meeting.
Chaudhry Haneef or Younas did not show any order in writing, nor did they cite any legal provision allowing them to force an early end to the meeting, the statement said.
“Instead, they gruffly asked the RSF Pakistan representative, Freedom Network team members and local journalists, including a woman media practitioner, to “wind up the meeting and leave the venue at once.
“Ironically, the local journalists had been lamenting about widespread intimidation, enforced censorship, self-censorship and threats and violence they face from intelligence agencies’ personnel and district officials before the raid took place.”
Neither was any charge sheet framed nor any citation of violation of law given by the raiding team, according to the statement.
Tehsildar Haneef’s terse reply to the journalists’ protest was: “The AC [assistant commissioner] has ordered us.” When the two officials were pressed to produce any written order from the assistant commissioner, the tehsildar said: “We have verbal orders. You know how the system works.”
The tehsildar continued taking “instructions on the phone from unknown sources”. The officials also kept pressing the hotel administration to compel the participants to leave by turning the lights off.
“We met Additional Inspector General Muhammad Kamran Khan in Multan on Nov 19 to discuss how the Punjab Journalists Protection Coordination Committee could play its role to protect journalists in the Seraiki belt,” Iqbal Khattak said.
“We also met former Punjab governor Malik Rafiq Rajwana to seek support of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N in Lahore and he was obliging. We also met senior lawyers and civil society leaders in the region to discuss measures that can help stakeholders combat impunity for crimes against journalists in the region,” he added.
The authorities had shut the D.G. Khan Press Club in June after opposition leaders held a press conference and sent the club’s president, Sher Afghan Buzdar, and Ghulam Mustafa Lashari, president of the local journalist union, to jail under the Maintenance of Public Order. Both alleged they were severely tortured in custody.
“The closure of Dera Ghazi Khan Press Club is a grave violation of the government’s commitment to freedom of expression, and we hope Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz will look into the issue and help reopen the club at the earliest,” Iqbal Khattak said.
DPO denies claim
Syed Ali, the D.G. Khan DPO, told Dawn that the event was stopped since the organisers didn’t have permission from the local administration.
Any international organisation holding an event in D.G. Khan was bound to seek prior permission, the DPO explained.
He said officials of the local administration and police visited the hotel after receiving information about the organisers to show the permission letter granted by the authorities, which they failed to produce.
“The officials requested them [journalists] to end the meeting and the representatives of the organisation agreed to disperse peacefully,” the DPO said.
In reply to a question, he denied the allegation that the participants were not allowed to have lunch at the hotel.
“We allowed the NGO members and others to have the pre-arranged lunch,” the DPO said.
Asif Chaudhry in Lahore also contributed to this report
Source:dawn.com
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Justice Karim Khan Agha to head constitutional bench of SHC
Nasir Iqbal
November 26, 2024
ISLAMABAD: The third meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Monday nominated by majority Justice Muhammad Karim Khan Agha to head the nine-judge constitutional bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC), established under the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
The meeting was held in the Supreme Court building, presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, who is also the chairman of JCP, to consider a single-point agenda on the formation of constitutional benches.
Other members of the Sindh High Court constitutional bench nominated were Justice Salim Jessar, Justice Omar Sial, Justice Yousaf Ali Sayeed, Justice Abdul Mobeen Lakho, Justice Zulfikar Ali Sangi, Justice Ms Sana Akram Minhas, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and Justice Arbab Ali Hakro.
The decision to set up the nine-judge constitutional bench of SHC was made with a majority of 11 to four. Both members of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) Omar Ayub, who is also Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly as well as Leader of the House in the Senate, Shibli Faraz, could not make it to the meeting. The meeting even waited for the two members for two hours but since their mobile phones were switched off, the JCP decided to commence the proceedings.
The present meeting was expected after two weeks (Nov 25) to nominate judges of the Sindh High Court to become members of the constitutional bench in the high court.
Monday’s meeting was held in line with earlier resolution approved by the Sindh Assembly for the formation of the constitutional bench in the province with a simple majority under Article 202-A of the newly passed 26th Amendment.
The meeting was attended by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, via video link, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Chief Justice of SHC Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, senior puisne judge of SHC Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan, Senator Farooq Hamid Naek; Sheikh Aftab Ahmad, Member of the National Assembly; Ms Roshan Khurshid Barucha, Sindh Law Minister Zia ul Hassan Lanjar, Senior member of Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Akhtar Hussain and Sindh Bar Council member Qurban Ali Malano.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar, however, dissented whereas CJP chose to abstain from voting.
According to the public announcement, JCP after an extensive and thoughtful exchange of views, considered the formation of the constitutional benches in the SHC and approved nine judges with a majority of 11 to four. The constitutional bench will function for two months.
Justice K.K. Agha has done LLB (Hons) from Birmingham University (UK) and had passed the Law Society Solicitors Finals Examination from Guildford College of Law.
Justice Agha commenced his legal career in 1987 at London Law firm Cameron Markby as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. His main practice areas were investment property and secured lending.
On his return to Pakistan Justice Agha was enrolled as an advocate of SHC and entered private practice with his main practice areas being banking, customs and criminal law and served for a brief period as the country’s legal counsel for Citibank NA Pakistan. He was later called to the Bar from Lincolns Inn, London.
Justice Agha was also appointed as a prosecutor at the United Nations (UN) International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) based in The Hague.
Whilst at the ICTY the judge was involved in some notable prosecutions for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide during the 1990’s Balkans conflict including the prosecution of the former President of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic.
At The Hague, Justice Agha also graduated from Leiden University with an LLM in Public International Law, with Specialisation in International Criminal law.
After serving at the ICTY his Lordship was appointed to the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone to lead the prosecution of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity during their overthrow of the then Sierra Leonean government.
Justice Agha was later appointed a senior Appeals Counsel in the AFRC and Civil Defence Force (CDF) appeals and assisted in drafting the Indictment of Charles Taylor the former President of Liberia who was later convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Source:dawn.com
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Police identify 35 people involved in Nishtar AIDS scandal
Asif Chaudhry
November 26, 2024
LAHORE: Multan Police identified 30-35 people, including the Nishtar Hospital staff, who were behind the alleged tampering with the record of the kidney patients who tested positive for HIV/AIDS. However, police lack the mandate to investigate the health professionals.
On the other hand, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has come out in the support of the medics, including the Nishtar Medical University (NMU) VC, who were suspended for negligence that resulted in infections of dozens of kidney patients with HIV in the hospital.
Police completed the probe into the forged test reports of the patients on the directions of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz when the HIV/AIDS scandal in the nephrology unit of the hospital came to the limelight.
An official told Dawn police would submit findings of the investigation to the health department for further action.
“We have no mandate to investigate the healthcare professionals held guilty of the HIV/AIDS outbreak in the Nishtar Hospital,” he said, adding that the Multan police probe was limited to the issue of patients’ records that were tampered with.
During the investigation, he said, police found that the private labs had tampered with the record of dialysis patients enrolled with the Nishtar Hospital and generated new backdated test reports to mislead the authorities. He revealed that a hospital employee was running a dialysis centre out of the government health facility and he had used in his private lab the test kits supplied officially to the Nisthar Hospital.
The police officer added that nearly 30-35 persons, including the hospital employees, were found involved in preparing bogus test reports of the dialysis patients who contracted HIV/AIDS due to negligence of the medics.
To a question, he said, the investigation was carried out under the supervision of an SSP.
The PMA condemned the government’s action against the NMU VC and other health professionals in the wake of the scandal.
Talking to the media at a press conference held on Monday, the PMA leaders declared the suspensions of the senior medics on the basis of an inquiry conducted by the fact-finding committee illegal, illogical and against the rules.
The reports suggested that the PMA came to the support of the guilty NMU senior faculty members and other doctors when a senior leader of the association from Multan was also held responsible for allegedly tampering with the record of the patients who carried HIV/AIDS during the dialysis in the hospital.
Talking to the media, PMA Lahore chapter president Prof Ashraf Nizami, Dr Kamran Saeed, Prof Shahid Malik, Dr Izhar Ahmad Chaudhry, Dr Iram Shahzadi and Dr Wajid suggested to the Punjab governor to reject the resignation submitted by NMU VC Mehnaz Khakwani.
Prof Nizami declared the action against the NMU VC and other health professionals a continuation of the departmental and police action against the senior doctors of the Sahiwal Medal College.
“The Punjab government initiated proceedings against the NMU woman VC at a time when the world was observing an international day for the elimination of violence against the woman,” the PMA leader said and added that the doctors would not tolerate humiliation of the health professionals and announced that a PMA delegation would meet PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif to raise the matter.
Prof Nizami also raised questions over the findings of the inquiry committee, saying that it was half-baked, incomplete and full of anomalies. He declared the standard guidelines of the Punjab Aids Control Programme controversial regarding the time period of performing the AIDS tests of the dialysis patients.
The PMA leaders put the blame on the bureaucracy, including the health secretary, for mishandling the matter, saying that the CM was not properly informed by the inquiry committee and the health authorities about the facts behind the incident.
Source:dawn.com
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Europe
Russian man jailed for burning Quran sentenced to 14 years on separate Ukraine treason charge
25 November 2024
By Lucy Papachristou
LONDON (Reuters) - A Russian man serving time in prison for burning a copy of the Quran was found guilty by a court on Monday in a separate treason case and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
A regional court in Volgograd in southwestern Russia said it had convicted Nikita Zhuravel, 20, of state treason for corresponding online with a member of the Security Service of Ukraine and for acts "directed against the security of the Russian Federation."
Zhuravel's case drew attention last year when Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov published video showing his son Adam, then 15, beating and kicking him while he was in prison in Chechnya awaiting trial for burning a Quran in Volgograd, his hometown.
Kadyrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has cast himself as a staunch defender of the Islamic faith in the overwhelmingly Muslim republic, where Zhuravel was transferred after what Russian investigators said was public pressure from Chechens.
The office of Russia's Prosecutor General said last month that Zhuravel had also been accused of sending footage of a freight train carrying warplanes, and information about the movements of a car linked to a Russian military base to a representative of Ukrainian intelligence.
Zhuravel had pleaded guilty to the crime, the court said in a statement on Telegram on Monday, adding that he had been opposed to what Moscow calls its special military operation in Ukraine. It published video showing armed guards leading Zhuravel, with close-cropped hair and a short beard, down the courthouse staircase in handcuffs.
Reuters could not immediately reach his lawyer to ask about the reported guilty plea and whether he planned to appeal. Treason cases, held behind closed doors, hardly ever result in an acquittal, official statistics show.
The number of such cases has risen sharply in Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine, as intelligence agencies pursue a crackdown on suspected foreign spies and agents.
Yevgeny Smirnov, a member of a Russian lawyers' association called Pervy Otdel (First Department) which has in the past helped defend people accused of treason, said Russia's Federal Security Service, the FSB, sometimes tries to entrap people.
He said the FSB contacts people known to be opposed to the war over the internet and encouraged them to commit crimes, such as setting fire to military buildings or sending sensitive information related to the Russian military.
Reuters could not independently verify his assertion. Russia rarely comments on individual criminal cases.
Zhuravel is serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence following his conviction in February under Russia's law against offending religious believers. Investigators said he had confessed to publicly burning the Quran in a stunt paid for by Ukrainian intelligence.
It was not clear under what circumstances the alleged confession was made.
Source:yahoo.com
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https://uk.news.yahoo.com/russian-man-jailed-burning-Quran-161411798.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9jLm5ld3Nub3cuY28udWsv&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFOQDrBmeF-LHMngndSs5JyVXKTSH9OuTJ_1FeQi7iLH0jYtKp25FYBETY4bZS0D5RgA_RtFoLYt3MXKTtXHZuRLZnWfFkzGl-uKCIBMgL1YL-6gPVFQhChXIa-1gKiqrJuhR_c4GJPIl_MdxYGyfmFH5hW8yjzqMTL9pfhhshER
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Jews and Muslims collect for Surrey food banks
26 November 2024
Members of the Muslim and Jewish communities in Surrey gathered on Sunday in an "interfaith collaboration" to collect for a local foodbank.
Kawther Hashmi, from the Surrey Minority Ethnic Forum and Shah Jahan mosque in Woking said: “At a time when unity is so vital, our shared values of compassion and charity shone through."
Liz Sawyer, from the North West Surrey Synagogue in Weybridge said: "It’s so important we all work together to support people in need in our local community. Volunteering together helps build and strengthen relationships.”
Supporting the Runnymede foodbank, the group collected food items such as tins, deodorant and Christmas treats outside Morrisons and Waitrose supermarkets in Weybridge.
Ms Hashmi added: "Supporting the Runnymede Foodbank highlights how interfaith collaboration can make a real difference in our community.”
Runnymede Foodbank has branches in Egham, Englefield Green, Chertsey, Addlestone, and Weybridge.
The organisation is requesting donations of food and household items, particularly washing-up liquid and antibacterial spray.
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyd004175qo
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Environment Agency objects to Muslim burial ground in Tamar Valley
25th November 2024
THE ENVIRONMENT Agency has objected to plans for a huge cemetery on land near Callington.
The proposal to create a Muslim burial ground with space for almost 9,000 graves has been put forward by the Gardens of Mercy charity, which owns the fields near Maders on the South Hill Road.
The Environment Agency (EA) says that up until now, insufficient information has been provided to allow it to judge whether the natural burial of human remains would pose the risk of groundwater pollution. Until the results of further assessment are provided, the EA says it will maintain its objection.
South Hill Parish Council has lodged objection on behalf of its residents. As well as the potential risk to groundwater supplies, the council also cites an increase in traffic along a narrow, unlit road, with access to the nearest public transport more than a kilometre away.
The council names the loss of farmland, the size of the site, and the lack of demonstrated need for the cemetery locally as further reasons to turn the project down.The proposal has attracted much media and public attention: at the time of writing there were almost 300 comments on Cornwall’s planning portal, with members of the public leaving 125 comments in objection and 155 in support.
Chairman of South Hill Parish Council Andrew Budd said that almost 90 people had attended a recent public meeting. The aim had been to allow people to be free to express their views, and in the event “there was nobody supporting the project”.
The charity explains how the Islamic burial rite is central to the Muslim faith, and that the absence of a Muslim cemetery in the South West adds to the distress faced by families at an already stressful time.
Part of the cemetery will be given over to natural burials for people of all faiths, and the charity says it wants the project to be an opportunity for fostering understanding and cohesion.
Chairman of the charity Dr Salim Mahadik says there are no plans to establish a mosque at the site and that the level of traffic would not be adversely impacted, as there would be around ten burials each year, with few people attending the ceremonies themselves.
Supporters of the project describe the distress and financial burden of travelling hundreds of miles for a loved one’s funeral, and the need to provide a final resting place closer to families.
Addressing the visual impact of the development, Dr Mahadik says: “The one acre field adjacent to South Hill Road will not be used for burials. Our plans also include leasing out a large part of the unused land for grazing or other agricultural use.”The development would include features to mitigate climate change as required by planning policy.
According to the most recent census in 2021, there were some 8,500 people living in Devon and Cornwall who identify as Muslim, and the community is growing in the South West. To see the plans visit Cornwall’s online planning portal and use reference PA24/06942.
Source:tamarvalleytimes.co.uk
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https://www.tamarvalleytimes.co.uk/news/environment-agency-objects-to-muslim-burial-ground-in-tamar-valley-742254
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International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation comes up with its novel program at COP29
26 November 2024
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 26. The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) Group, presented its Trade Connect Central Asia+ (TCCA+) Program at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Trend reports.
On this account, the ITFC reiterated its dedication to sustainable development paradigms at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) held in the capital of Azerbaijan.`
"Recognizing the impact of trade on CO2 emissions, ITFC actively participated in COP29 events, promoting sustainable trade practices in line with the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. ITFC's initiatives at COP29 emphasized its focus on climate resilience and sustainable agriculture. During a panel session titled 'Promoting Sustainable Agriculture and Organic Farming in Central Asia,' the ITFC introduced the TCCA+ program, aimed at improving access to organic products in markets, enhancing certification, and advancing sustainable practices in the region. The TCCA+ program could play a significant role in implementing sustainable trade practices and innovative technologies in Central Asia," a statement from the ITFC reads.
Furthermore, ITFC engaged in the Baku Initiative for Climate Finance, Investment, and Trade (BICFIT), which is centered on mobilizing climate-resilient capital flows, and endorsed the Baku Ministerial Declaration aimed at forming the Turkic States Partnership for Climate, Innovation, Green Economy, and Trade (CIGET).
Source:trend.az
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https://en.trend.az/business/green-economy/3975104.html
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Future of EU ‘in danger’ – Borrell
26 Nov, 2024
The future of the EU is in jeopardy at a time of multiple crises beyond its borders and doubts over defense guarantees from the US, Brussels' outgoing foreign policy chief said on Monday.
Josep Borrell painted an alarming picture of the state of world affairs when marking the release of a collection of his speeches and essays titled ‘Europe in the Arc of Fire.’ He listed conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and Africa among the key factors threatening global security.
“The events we have had to face during the last several months have – unfortunately – confirmed the diagnosis made earlier: Europe is in danger,” Borrell wrote on his office’s website.
“Our geopolitical environment is deteriorating, and conflicts and crises are multiplying on our doorstep. From Ukraine to the Middle East, via South Caucasus, the Horn of Africa or the Sahel,” he added. “All of this against a backdrop where the future US commitment to European security is becoming much more uncertain.”
The diplomat argued that Washington’s commitment “for Europe’s security as a whole has become more uncertain for the future,” given the re-election of Donald Trump.
“Our well-being and future cannot continue to depend on the mood of US voters in the Midwest every four years,” Borrell wrote, urging the bloc’s member states to boost their own defense.
He further stated that there was “a serious risk” that the Ukraine conflict “could help to solidify a coalition of the ‘rest against the West.’” He pointed to last month’s BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, and stressed that such a coalition could also “materialize” in the Sahel, with UN peacekeepers leaving Mali in late 2023.
BRICS (originally BRIC) was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China. The group’s members have refused to impose sanctions on Moscow over its conflict with Kiev and continue to advocate for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.
Russia and China have deepened economic ties in recent years, describing their relations as a “strategic partnership.” The two nuclear superpowers have also opposed the “unilateralism” of the US-led NATO alliance and said they wish to participate in the formation of a fairer model of international relations.
Source:rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/608201-borrell-eu-in-danger/
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Mideast
FM: To Counter The Threats Posed By The Zionist Entity, Iraq Is Collaborating With Arab And Islamic Nations
November 26, 2024
Iraq is important to the region, according to Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, who also pointed out that the Zionist entity is trying to spread the conflict.
"The Arab League has decided to support the Iraqi position and reject Zionist threats," Hussein told the Iraqi News Agency (INA), adding that "Iraq's role in the region is pivotal."
"The Iraqi Foreign Ministry has presented proposals from the beginning of the danger of expanding the war," he continued, adding that "the pivotal role of the Foreign Ministry and the Iraqi government is related to clear and full support for the Palestinian cause and the Lebanese people."
He added that "the Foreign Ministry was indicating that there is a certain policy in Tel Aviv to expand the scope of the war and this happened, as the war moved from Gaza to Lebanon and now with attempts to transfer it to other places."
He stressed that "the Foreign Ministry is working with the surrounding Arab and Islamic countries, to stop these threats and expand the scope of war."
Source:ina.iq
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https://ina.iq/eng/36572-hussein-to-counter-the-threats-posed-by-the-zionist-entity-iraq-is-collaborating-with-arab-and-islamic-nations.html
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Martyr's anniversary makes Yemenis more determined to wage jihad to honor martyrs' sacrifices & support nation's causes
25 Nov 2024
On a large scale and at all official and popular levels, the Yemenis proudly commemorated the martyr's anniversary as an annual station from which they draw inspiration, strength and determination to move forward on the path of the great martyrs , triumph over the principles and goals for which they sacrificed.
The martyr's anniversary came this year and the Yemeni people continue, along with the free peoples, to fight a historic battle in the face of the most dangerous enemies of the nation and all humanity, in support of the Palestinian , Lebanese peoples and the resistance movements in Palestine and Lebanon, who stand with all pride and patience in the face of the Zionist-American killing and criminal machine despite the genocide, starvation and crimes never seen before in history, but they did not allow the enemy to achieve any of its goals announced at the beginning of its criminal aggression against Gaza.
It is no longer a secret that the legendary "Al-Aqsa Flood" battle has tipped the scales and shaken the Zionist entity and made it more certain than ever that its inevitable end is approaching, and it realizes that American support will be useless in protecting it after it was unable to protect its ships and aircraft carriers that it was terrorizing the world with, before the Yemenis forced it to flee, the last of which was the aircraft carrier "Abraham Lincoln."
The Yemeni position has crystallized clearly and unambiguously on the side of the central cause of the nation, Palestine, and in line with all the values of faith, morality, and humanity.
Yemen's clear and clear position aligned with the central cause of the nation, Palestine, and consistent with all values and principles of faith, morality and humanity, crystallized on October 7, 2023, when the Yemeni leadership, represented by Sayyed Abdulmalik Badreddin al-Houthi, announced Yemen's direct participation in the nation's pivotal battle.
Despite the vain attempts by the tools of America and Israel to minimize the effectiveness of the Yemeni position, the American and Zionist enemies recognize and acknowledge the impact of the ongoing heroic operations of the Yemeni armed forces, whether those carried out by drones or ballistic missiles, which reach the vital targets of the Zionist entity in the occupied territories, in addition to the success of the Yemeni armed forces in imposing a naval blockade on the Zionist entity and inflicting heavy economic losses on it.
The Yemeni people's interaction with this occasion was further enhanced by the fact that it came as the nation mourned a group of its great leaders who rose as martyrs on the path of Al-Quds in defense of the grievances of the brotherly Palestinians and Islamic holy sites, headed by the martyr of the nation and humanity, the great leader, His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the martyred leader Ismail Haniyeh, the heroic mujahid leader Yahya Sinwar, Sayyed Hashim Safieddine and other leaders who remained fighting the enemy , leading the ranks until they achieved what they wanted and won the honor of martyrdom in the path of Allah, which was the great finale that they always wanted during their career full of jihad and carrying the flag of Islam , after they have achieved their goal and won the honor of martyrdom for the sake of Allah.
The heroic epics and great victories recorded by the mujahideen would not have been possible without the culture of jihad and martyrdom that they carry as a firm belief that has made them an icon of redemption and sacrifice and more thirsty to abuse the herds of Zionists who have wreaked havoc on the land of Palestine and Lebanon and have killed and displaced tens of thousands of children, women and civilians.
From this perspective, the importance of martyrdom and its impact on the nation is highlighted, and the Yemeni leadership and people are keen to commemorate this great occasion on the widest scale in honor of those who made great sacrifices , gave their lives for great principles , values on the path of truth and justice, in victory for the grievances of aggressed peoples and their right to freedom, independence and liberation from the domination of evil forces, tyranny and criminality.
In his speeches on this occasion, the Revolution Leader describes the annual martyr anniversary as an annual educational, mobilization and awareness-raising station to immortalize , glorify the great martyrs , their heroic epics and exploits, through which they created glory for their country and nation to prevent it from the falsehood, injustice and misguidance that lurk in its path.
According to the Leader, its importance lies in publicizing the position of truth and responsibility that the martyrs carried on their shoulders when they embarked on the fields of heroism and redemption to confront the forces of tyranny, and corruption, which is the position and responsibility that everyone should bear to win , succeed in this world and the hereafter.
One of the ultimate goals of the martyrs' memory is to honor, revere, and magnify the greatest gift and honorable sacrifice of the martyrs, to inspire the meanings of pride n all that strengthens steadfastness and fortitude in the face of enemies and arrogant tyrants.
It is also very important to draw attention to the martyrs' families and everyone's responsibility towards them, as well as to talk about the sanctity of martyrdom , its concept according to the Holy Qur'an, and the close connection of this concept to the life and nation's pride.
Yemenis pay tribute to all martyrs who stood strong and courageous in the face of tyrants, whether in Yemen, Palestine or Lebanon, and to all martyrs' families for their sacrifices, and renew their pledge to their leadership and all martyrs' families that they will continue to walk on the same path until all the goals for which they sacrificed are realized.
Source:saba.ye
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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3401640.htm
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Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry says war death toll at 44,235
November 26, 2024
GAZA CITY: The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Monday that at least 44,235 people have been killed in more than 13 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants.
The toll includes 24 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 104,638 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
Source:arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2580760/middle-east
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11 killed in Kurdish-led attacks in north Syria: war monitor
November 25, 2024
BEIRUT: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Monday 11 people including civilians were killed in attacks by a Kurdish-led force on positions of Turkiye-backed militants in north Syria.
“A woman, her two children and a man were killed... in the bombing of a military position... used by Ankara-backed factions for human smuggling operations to Turkiye,” the Britain-based monitor said.
It said seven Turkiye-backed militants were also killed in that incident and in an operation by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that control swathes of northeast Syria.
SDF special forces infiltrated a Turkiye-backed group’s military position and killed three militants, said the monitor with a network of sources inside Syria.
The SDF also booby-trapped a military position as they withdrew, in an attack that killed another four pro-Turkiye militants but also four civilians including a woman and her two children, the Observatory said.
On Sunday, 15 Ankara-backed Syrian militants were killed after the SDF infiltrated their territory, the monitor reported earlier.
The SDF is a US-backed force that spearheaded the fighting against the Daesh group in its last Syria strongholds before its territorial defeat in 2019.
It is dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), viewed by Ankara as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Turkish troops and allied armed factions control swathes of northern Syria following successive cross-border offensives since 2016, most of them targeting the SDF.
Source:arabnews.com
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Those still in north Gaza ‘scavenging among the rubble’: UNRWA
November 25, 2024
JERUSALEM: With an intensive Israeli military operation in Gaza’s besieged north in its 50th day, remaining residents are left “scavenging among the rubble” for food, said UNRWA spokeswoman Louise Wateridge.
The Israeli army announced it would intensify operations in the ravaged north of the territory on Oct. 6, with troops encircling the northern city of Jabalia and adjacent areas at the time.
Speaking from Gaza City, where many of the north’s residents have fled since the operation began, Wateridge gave insights gleaned from talking to displaced Palestinians and colleagues from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
She said UNRWA estimates that between 100,000 and 130,000 people have fled north Gaza since the beginning of the operation, which Israel said aims to keep militants from regrouping in the area.
“There is no access to food, no access to drinking water. Eight of the UNRWA water wells in Jabalia stopped functioning weeks ago. They’ve been damaged and destroyed. They’ve run out of fuel.
“There were very horrific reports of continued strikes on hospitals, on shelters where people are.
“Here in Gaza City, I’m meeting people who have fled for their lives, and they’re showing me these appalling videos where they’re running through the streets, they’re navigating, you know, the rubble.
“There are bodies of children around them. There are bodies of people who have been killed everywhere that they have to walk and step over
to get out.
“Fifty days of siege, it’s unfathomable, the destruction, the death, the pain, the suffering that that will cause.
“I met some children just in the last few days; you can hear the planes going over, you can hear the drones, and they freeze, they completely freeze, they don’t have anything to say, their teeth start chattering, they’re absolutely paralyzed by fear from these experiences that they’ve had over the last few weeks.”
“(There are) around 65,000 people in these besieged areas. We hear that they are scavenging from residential buildings, scavenging among the rubble, trying to find any old tins of canned food, any kind of source of food already in these residential buildings or among the rubble.”
“It was around this time last year that there were reports from northern Gaza that was cut off, and people were going around. Our colleagues were going around eating animal food to stay alive. So, people are just eating anything that they can find at this point, and it really is complete survival.
“Hearing these stories of people’s families under the rubble and fleeing and having to leave them behind, people are traumatized, people who haven’t managed to escape, they’re absolutely traumatized.”
“(There are) around 100,000 to 130,000 more people forcibly displaced from Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and these besieged areas. And... they’re arriving (in Gaza City) to charcoal buildings, blown out buildings, it’s raining, cold, and freezing.
“They don’t have mattresses, they don’t have tarps, they don’t have tents, they don’t have blankets, families are crying, begging because their children don’t have clothes, they don’t have warm clothes, babies don’t have anything to keep them warm.
“It’s beyond appalling, the conditions people are forced to live in here. So they’re among the rubble in these facilities that should be protected by international law.
“Horrific stories of tanks arriving, of strikes on the schools, and then people being forced to go back and shelter there because they simply don’t have anywhere else to go.”
Source:arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2580743/middle-east
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Can Lebanon’s ancient cultural heritage be protected from war damage?
ROBERT EDWARDS
November 25, 2024
LONDON: Towering above the fertile Bekaa Valley, the Temple of Jupiter and Temple of Bacchus in Baalbek stand as monumental symbols of Roman power, while the ruins of Tyre echo the splendor of the Phoenician civilization.
Today, these UNESCO World Heritage sites, along with countless other historical landmarks, face a grave threat as the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters encroaches on Lebanon’s unique and ancient heritage.
After nearly a year of cross-border exchanges that began on Oct. 8, 2023, Israel suddenly escalated its campaign of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets across Lebanon.
In recent weeks, Baalbek’s famed Roman temples, celebrated for their architectural sophistication and cultural fusion of East and West, have come dangerously close to being hit.
Although these structures have so far been spared direct strikes, adjacent areas have suffered, including a nearby Ottoman-era building. The city’s ruins, which have survived the test of time and the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war, are now at significant risk.
The ancient city has suffered multiple airstrikes since evacuation orders were issued on Oct. 30 by Israel, which has designated the area a Hezbollah stronghold.
The proximity of these airstrikes has left archaeologists and local authorities fearing that damage, whether intentional or collateral, could be irreversible. Even indirect blasts pose a serious risk, as reverberations shake these ancient stones.
“The threats come from direct bombing and indirect bombing,” Joanne Farchakh Bajjaly, a Lebanese archaeologist and founder of the non-governmental organization Biladi, told Arab News. “In both ways, cultural heritage is at huge risk.”
Reports indicate that hundreds of other Lebanese cultural and religious sites have been less fortunate. Several Muslim and Christian heritage buildings have been reduced to rubble in southern towns and villages under shelling and air attacks.
“Some of them are known and already registered in the inventory list and some of them unfortunately we know about them when they are destroyed and inhabitants share the photos of them,” said Farchakh Bajjaly.
Many of these sites carry irreplaceable historical value, representing not only Lebanon’s heritage but also that of the broader Mediterranean and Near Eastern regions.
Baalbek’s origins stretch back to a Phoenician settlement dedicated to Baal, the god of fertility. Later known as Heliopolis under Hellenistic influence, the city reached its zenith under the Roman Empire.
The Temple of Jupiter, once adorned by 54 massive Corinthian columns, and the intricately decorated Temple of Bacchus, have attracted pilgrims and admirers across millennia.
Tyre, equally revered, was a bustling Phoenician port where the rare purple dye from Murex sea snails was once crafted for royalty. The city is home to ancient necropolises and a Roman hippodrome, all of which have helped shape Lebanon’s historical identity.
Israel’s war against Hezbollah, once the most powerful non-state group in the Middle East, has thus far killed more than 3,200 people and displaced about a million more in Lebanon, according to local officials.
The Israeli military has pledged to end Hezbollah’s ability to launch rocket and other attacks into northern Israel, which has forced around 60,000 people to flee their homes near the Lebanon border.
On Oct. 23, the Israeli military issued evacuation orders near Tyre’s ancient ruins, and began striking targets in the vicinity.
The cultural devastation in southern Lebanon and Bekaa is not limited to UNESCO sites. Across these regions, many cultural heritage sites of local and national significance have been reduced to rubble.
“Cultural heritage sites that are located in the south or in the Bekaa and that are scattered all over the place … were razed and wiped out,” said Farchakh Bajjaly.
“When you can see the demolition of the villages in the south of Lebanon … the destruction of the cultural heritage is coming as collateral damage. The historical sites, the shrines or the castles, aren’t being spared at all.”
As a signatory to the 1954 Hague Convention, Lebanon’s heritage should, in theory, be protected from harm during armed conflict. However, as Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada has appealed to UNESCO, these symbolic protections, like the Blue Shield emblem, have shown limited effectiveness.
In response to the escalation, the Geneva-based International Alliance for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Conflict Areas, known as ALIPH, has provided emergency funding to Lebanon, working alongside Biladi and the Directorate General of Antiquities.
With $100,000 in initial funding, ALIPH is sheltering museum collections across Lebanon and providing safe accommodation for displaced heritage professionals.
“We are ready to stand by our partners in Lebanon, just as we did after the 2020 Beirut explosion,” Valery Freland, ALIPH’s executive director, told Arab News.
“Our mission is to work in crisis areas… If we protect the cultural heritage now, it will be a way (to stop this becoming) another difficulty of the peacebuilding process.”
Documentation has also become a critical tool for preservation efforts, particularly for sites at risk of destruction. Biladi’s role has been to document what remains and, where possible, secure smaller objects.
“Unfortunately we are not able to do any kind of preventive measures for the monuments for several reasons,” said Farchakh Bajjaly.
“One of the most obvious ones is due to the weapons that are being used. If the hit is a direct hit then there’s no purpose of taking any action. Nothing is surviving a direct hit.
“The only measures that we can do, as preventative measures … (are) to secure the storage of museums and to find ways to save the small items and shelter them from any vibrations and make sure storages are safe and secure.”
Farchakh Bajjaly describes a “dilemma of horror” arising from the conflict. When the IDF issued its evacuation order for Baalbek, around 80,000 residents fled, with some seeking refuge within the temples themselves.
“The guards closed the gates and didn’t let anyone get in,” she said, explaining that, under the 1954 Hague Convention, using protected sites as shelters nullifies their protected status. “If people will take refuge in the temples, then it might be used by the Israeli army to target temples. Thereby killing the people and destroying the temples.”
The displacement of Baalbek’s residents has added to Lebanon’s swelling humanitarian crisis. With more than 1.2 million people displaced across the country due to the conflict, the city’s evacuation order has compounded local instability.
Despite the harrowing reality, Farchakh Bajjaly insists that preserving cultural heritage is not at odds with humanitarian goals. “Asking to save world heritage is in no way contradictory to saving people’s lives. They are complementary,” she said.
“It’s giving people a place to find their memories, giving them a sense of continuity when in war, usually, nothing remains the same.”
UNESCO has been actively monitoring the conflict’s impact on Lebanon’s heritage sites, using satellite imagery and remote sensing to assess visible damage.
“UNESCO liaised with all state parties concerned, reminding (them of their) obligations under the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage,” Nisrine Kammourieh, a spokesperson for UNESCO, told Arab News.
The organization is preparing for an emergency session of the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property to potentially place Lebanon’s heritage sites on its International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection.
The importance of cultural preservation extends beyond mere aesthetics or academic interest. “It’s part of the resilience of the population, of the communities and it’s part of a solution afterward,” said ALIPH’s Freland.
Elke Selter, ALIPH’s director of programs, believes “protecting heritage is essential for what comes after. You cannot totally erase the traces of the past.”
Indeed, the preservation of Lebanon’s cultural heritage is as much about safeguarding identity and memory as it is about recovery.
“Imagine that your town is fully destroyed and you have to go back to something that was built two weeks ago; that is very unsettling in a way,” Selter told Arab News, noting that studies have shown how preserving familiar landmarks fosters a sense of belonging after displacement.
In the broader context of Lebanon’s recovery, cultural heritage can play a key role in economic revitalization, particularly through tourism.
“For Lebanon’s economy, that’s an important element and I think an important one for the recovery of the country afterwards,” said Selter. “Cultural heritage in Lebanon was one of the key reasons why people would visit Lebanon.”
The tragedy facing Lebanon’s heritage is also a global concern. “The cultural heritage of Lebanon is the cultural heritage of all humanity,” said Freland.
For Biladi and other heritage organizations, Lebanon’s current crisis offers a test of international conventions that aim to protect heritage in times of conflict.
“If the conventions are being applied, then cultural heritage will be saved,” said Farchakh Bajjaly. “Lebanon has become in this war a sort of a field where it’s possible to test if these conventions work.”
Source:arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2580730/middle-east
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Southeast Asia
Pastor charged with murdering mum whose body was found in Taman OUG freezer
By Malay Mail
26 Nov 2024
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 — Pastor N. Deanesh, 53, was charged at the magistrates court today with murdering his mother, Catherine Daniel, before putting her body in a freezer at their home in Taman OUG here.
According to The Star, Deanesh, who appeared in court in a wheelchair, acknowledged the charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code when it was read out to him.
No plea was recorded as the matter will be transferred to the High Court.
The charge carries a potential death sentence or imprisonment of up to 40 years, along with at least 12 strokes of the cane.
Daniel’s body was discovered on Nov 12 after Deanesh called the police to surrender.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Comm Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa previously said Deanesh had confessed to murdering his mother in 2021 and that he did so to “send her to heaven”.
According to a source before, the woman was punched to death before her body was wrapped in a towel and plastic sheets and stuffed in a freezer.
Source:malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/11/26/pastor-charged-with-murdering-mum-whose-body-was-found-in-taman-oug-freezer/158067
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Sultan Sharafuddin: Jais must ensure all Islamic preachers in Selangor accredited by Mais to uphold accurate teachings
25 Nov 2024
SHAH ALAM, Nov 25 — The Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) has been instructed to ensure that all Islamic preachers invited to the state, especially to talk on matters related to aqidah (faith), syariah (Islamic law), the teachings of tasawwuf (Sufism), and the practice of tariqa (spiritual paths), were accredited by the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) Accreditation Committee.
The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah said this is to prevent individuals who do not fully understand the subject matter or have learned from unqualified or unaccredited teachers from spreading incorrect knowledge and interpretations to the public.
“I see that the solution to this issue is to provide proper understanding through efforts by religious agencies or institutions involved in the true teaching of Islam.
“I also wish to propose the creation of guidelines, or a special curriculum, or specific regulations regarding the practice of Sufism and tariqa in Selangor. I am confident that with true understanding and practice, this will certainly have a positive impact on the character development of the ummah in Malaysia.
The Sultan said this at the Multaqa Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj event titled “Ilmu Tasawuf Merungkai Masalah Ummah”, which was also attended by Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari here today.
Meanwhile, Sultan Sharafuddin also expressed his deep regret that some Muslims, lacking expertise in Islamic jurisprudence, have questioned and disputed the fatwas issued by the Selangor State Fatwa Committee.
His Royal Highness said that the process of issuing a fatwa is conducted with great care, considering opinions from many parties, particularly from the Selangor State Fatwa Committee and experts in Islamic law, before it is presented for approval and subsequently gazetted.
“As such, I urge those who frequently question the fatwas to first understand that the fatwas and refer to the religious authorities if they have any confusion or questions,” he said.
At the event, the Selangor ruler also launched the Selangor Fatwa and Falak Journal (JUFFAS), the Taudhih Al-Ahkam System, and the Selangor e-Falak System under the Selangor Mufti Department.
JUFFAS will serve as a platform for scholarly publications, with more research and writings that can provide new perspectives in formulating solutions to the problems of the ummah, while the Taudhih Al-Ahkam System can also become an effective medium for the public to interact and inquire about Islamic law with the Selangor Mufti Department.
The e-Falak app, on the other hand, will make it easier for the community to access accurate information regarding the Qibla direction based on their location, correct prayer times, and accurate Hijri calendar dates. — Bernama
Source:malaymail.com
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South Asia
Shooting At Worshipers Shows Daesh’s Weakness, IEA Spokesperson
November 26, 2024
KABUL: The spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate, Zabihullah Mujahid, in an interview with the private TOLOnews said the other day that the attack on people engaged in worship by Daesh demonstrates the foolishness and weakness of the group. The Islamic Emirate is seriously fighting Daesh and has brought the group to the brink of collapse, he said as quoted by the TV. “The brave security forces of the Islamic Emirate have been fighting the phenomenon of Daesh with determination and have pushed it to the edge of destruction. Their attacks on weak points and targeting ordinary people engaged in worship show the extent of their foolishness and weakness,” the spokesman said. This comes as Daesh claimed responsibility for a recent attack on worshipers in Baghlan province. The attack, which occurred on Thursday, claimed the lives of ten residents in the Nahrin district of the province. Meanwhile, the European Union also condemned the attack on civilians in a statement, emphasizing that all communities must be protected from
Source:thekabultimes.com
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Afghanistan Holds International Conference on Agricultural Development and Self-Reliance
2024-11-26
KABUL(BNA): Mullah Ataullah Omari, the Acting Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, highlighted the importance of optimizing natural resources as a key step toward enhancing Afghanistan’s economic and agricultural sectors during the inaugural International Conference on the “Green Revolution for Self-sufficient Afghanistan” in Kandahar.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, the conference, organized by Kabul University, commenced at Kandahar’s Anasatoi University. The event brings together experts, policymakers, and industrialists from Canada, Nigeria, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Qatar, Bangladesh, Egypt, Turkey, and Iran to discuss strategies for agricultural development and propose solutions to existing challenges.
In his address, Mullah Omari emphasized that effective utilization of natural resources and the adoption of scientific methods in agriculture are critical to strengthening the nation’s economy and agricultural sector.
Additionally, the minister announced that research papers presented by university professors and experts during the conference would be implemented to promote agricultural development and move the country toward self-sufficiency.
The conference serves as a significant platform for dialogue among domestic and international specialists, aiming to devise practical solutions for advancing Afghanistan’s agriculture.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani and Nikolai Patrushev Discuss Strategic Cooperation and Regional Stability
2024-11-26
KABUL(BNA): Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Acting Minister of Interior of Afghanistan, met with Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, and his accompanying delegation.
Mr. Patrushev reassured that the Russian government would soon remove the Islamic Emirate from its list of banned groups, expressing hope that this process would be completed swiftly, leading to expanded bilateral relations in various sectors.
He emphasized the importance of Afghanistan’s security for the region, stating that a peaceful Afghanistan would present a great opportunity for regional prosperity and economic cooperation.
For his part, the Acting Minister of Interior, Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani, welcomed the visit of the high-level Russian delegation, calling it a positive and meaningful step. He expressed hope that the visit would strengthen bilateral ties in different areas.
Minister Haqqani noted that the Afghan people are now independent, holding the power to determine their own political fate and make their own decisions. He added that Afghanistan seeks not only peace but also stability and prosperity for the entire region.
He further stated that with the end of occupation, the war in Afghanistan has concluded, and all factors of instability have been removed. Haqqani emphasized that the region must make the most of this opportunity for growth and development.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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Afghanistan and Russia Strengthen Economic Ties in a High-Level Meeting
2024-11-26
KABUL(BNA): Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, reaffirmed Afghanistan’s commitment to advancing its export capabilities during a high-level meeting with Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, at the Charchanar Palace in Kabul.
Discussions centered on strengthening political relations, enhancing economic cooperation, expanding trade and transit frameworks, and encouraging Russian investments in Afghanistan.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar underscored the Islamic Emirate’s economic-driven foreign policy, emphasizing that Afghanistan, with restored security and stability, has become a pivotal center for regional economic collaboration, trade, and transit. He highlighted that these developments benefit not only Afghanistan but also neighboring and regional countries.
During the discussions, the Deputy Prime Minister elaborated on Afghanistan’s efforts to foster economic growth through strategic measures, including the prohibition of narcotics cultivation and dismantling groups detrimental to the nation’s security and economy. He also reaffirmed Afghanistan’s commitment to playing an integral role in the North-South Economic Corridor to bolster regional connectivity and mitigate economic challenges.
“We are dedicated to creating opportunities for Afghanistan’s exports to regional and international markets,” underlining the significance of strengthened bilateral relations in unlocking practical economic advancements. Mullah Baradar further emphasized.
For his part, Nikolai Patrushev expressed Russia’s readiness to elevate its bilateral partnership with Afghanistan, describing the visit as part of a directive from President Vladimir Putin. He announced Russia’s intent to remove the Islamic Emirate from its blacklist shortly, facilitating the development of political and economic ties.
The Russian delegation reaffirmed its support for the Afghan-Trans project and emphasized its commitment to fulfilling agreements reached at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. Additionally Russian investors and state enterprises also expressed a strong interest in investing in Afghanistan’s mining, transportation, and agricultural sectors.
In the end, both sides agreed to establish a joint intergovernmental commission to oversee and promote collaboration in trade, transit, and investment. Under this framework, specialized committees will be formed to advance targeted initiatives in various sectors.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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CSTO to approve plan strengthening Tajikistan-Afghanistan Border Security
By Fidel Rahmati
November 26, 2024
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has announced that the plan to strengthen the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan will be approved in the next two days.
Azerbaijani media reported on Tuesday, November 26, that the CSTO is set to approve this plan on November 28.
The report was based on statements from Imangali Tasmagambetov, the Secretary-General of the CSTO.
Previously, the Secretary-General had mentioned that the draft plan to reinforce the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan had been reviewed and agreed upon by the CSTO member states.
He emphasized that this plan plays a crucial role in ensuring the security of Central Asia as a whole, adding that the decision to develop this plan was made 13 years ago.
According to a report by RIA Novosti, the plan includes several stages, such as clarifying capabilities, practical implementation, full deployment along the border, and the possibility of adjusting weapon ranges for several years.
The Collective Security Treaty was signed in May 1992 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and its members include Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
The strengthening of the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border reflects growing concerns over regional security, especially following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan.
This initiative comes as part of the CSTO’s broader efforts to address instability in Central Asia, which has been exacerbated by the potential flow of refugees and militants from Afghanistan.
While the plan aims to enhance border security, there are concerns about the impact on local communities and trade, as well as the humanitarian consequences for Afghan refugees seeking refuge in Tajikistan.
The international community must ensure that any security measures do not compromise the rights of vulnerable populations and contribute to long-term peace and stability in the region.
Source:khaama.com
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Three Afghan migrants killed by Iranian border guards in Sistan and Baluchistan
By Fidel Rahmati
November 26, 2024
Independent Iranian media outlets, which often cover security events and widespread human rights violations in the eastern part of the country, have reported the deaths of three Afghan migrants in a shooting incident involving Iranian border forces.
The human rights organization Halwash cited its sources, reporting that on Saturday and Sunday of this week, November 23 and 24, at least three Afghan migrants were shot in the Saravan district of Sistan and Baluchestan province in Iran.
According to the report, the Afghan migrants were attempting to enter Saravan when Iranian border guards opened fire on them.
Halwash clarified that the migrants were trying to cross into Iran through informal routes with the help of local guides and smugglers.
Since August 2021, when a new wave of Afghan migration to neighboring countries began, there have been numerous reports of shootings and mass executions of migrants by Iranian border forces in the Saravan region alone.
In the past month, three deadly shootings by Iranian border forces targeting Afghan migrants in this region have been reported, though the exact number of casualties remains unclear due to the Iranian regime’s refusal to take responsibility for these mass killings of migrants.
The killing of Afghan refugees by Iranian border forces highlights the ongoing and brutal treatment of migrants, particularly those fleeing violence and instability in Afghanistan.
Despite possessing legal documents or seeking asylum, many refugees face deadly hostility at borders, reflecting broader patterns of human rights abuses and violations of refugee protection laws.
The situation of Afghan refugees in Iran is increasingly dire, with reports of forced deportations, killings, and the denial of basic protections under international law.
The international community must urgently intervene to ensure that refugees are treated with dignity and respect, their rights protected, and that governments like Iran are held accountable for violations of refugee rights and international conventions.
Source:khaama.com
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Afghanistan launches Polio Vaccination Campaign for 5.3 million children
By Fidel Rahmati
November 26, 2024
The Ministry of Public Health of Afghanistan has announced the launch of a polio vaccination campaign for approximately 5.3 million children under the age of five in 11 provinces of the country.
In a press release, the ministry stated that the campaign began on Monday, November 25 and will run until November 27.
According to the announcement, around 5.3 million children under five years old will receive the polio vaccine during this campaign in the southern, eastern, central, northeastern, and western zones of the country.
In Herat province, the campaign will be carried out from November 30 to December 2.
Furthermore, Ministry of Public Health, has urged families to ensure that all children under five years old are vaccinated during this campaign.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has warned of an increase in polio cases in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
According to the organization’s data, 72 polio cases have been reported this year, including 23 cases in Afghanistan and 49 cases in Pakistan.
Afghanistan and Pakistan are the last two countries in the world where polio has not been eradicated and continues to affect children.
The ongoing presence of polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan underscores the critical need for sustained vaccination efforts to protect children from the debilitating disease. Despite challenges, these vaccination campaigns are a vital step toward eliminating polio in the region.
The international community, alongside local authorities, must continue to prioritize polio eradication, ensuring that every child, regardless of their location, has access to life-saving vaccines.
Source:khaama.com
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Arab World
Saudi Arabia hosts global cybersecurity conference Black Hat 24
November 25, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is hosting Black Hat 24, a global three-day cybersecurity conference organized by the Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Black Hat 24 will be held from Nov. 26 to 28 at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center in Malham district, north of the capital.
Mutab Al-Qunai, CEO of the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, told SPA that the event aims to enhance innovation and cooperation in digital safety.
The current edition of Black Hat 24 is also organized by Tahaluf, one of the federation’s companies, and partners with company Informa and the Investment Events Fund.
It will bring together cybersecurity leaders, security researchers, and startup pioneers to exchange knowledge about technological challenges and the latest innovations in cybersecurity.
Some of the experts speaking at the Black Hat 24 event include Nikhil Shrivastava, a leading security researcher from India; Bianca Lewis, founder of the company Girls Who Hack, which supports women in cybersecurity; and Kiran, known by the codename “7h3h4ckv157,” who worked as a security researcher at NASA to discover vulnerabilities in their digital security.
Participants will showcase their expertise in dealing with major cyber threats in leading international organizations.
Black Hat 24 will also feature an interactive platform for Saudi students, technical workshops, and a competition to test the audience’s skills in finding solutions to complex cyber challenges.
The Saudi global event will host five national pavilions of the US, Canada, India, Egypt and Pakistan, alongside 43 exhibitors.
Source:arabnews.com
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Global leaders gather in Riyadh to shape future of non-terrestrial networks
WAAD HUSSAIN
November 25, 2024
RIYADH: The international Connecting the World From the Skies forum kicked off on Monday, bringing together ministers, industry leaders, experts and CEOs from leading companies specializing in non-terrestrial networks.
Under the patronage of Abdullah Al-Swaha, minister of communications and information technology and chairman of the Communications, Space and Technology Commission, the event welcomed renowned researchers in technology and investment alongside regulatory authorities at both local and global levels.
In his opening speech, CST Governor Mohammed Al-Tamimi emphasized the forum’s significance as a vital platform for advancing NTNs in alignment with sustainable development goals, particularly addressing the challenge of space debris.
He also highlighted Saudi Arabia’s unwavering commitment, in partnership with global stakeholders, to connecting the unconnected.
As part of these efforts the CST, in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union, conducted a groundbreaking study aimed at harnessing communication services to reduce the global digital divide.
The Saudi Space Agency also announced the launch of the “Centre for Space Futures,” the first of its kind within the network of Fourth Industrial Revolution Centers affiliated with the World Economic Forum.
Al-Tamimi said Saudi Arabia took pride in being one of the first nations to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for NTNs, including the regulation of direct-to-device communications, spectrum allocation for high-altitude platforms and global space sustainability frameworks.
A key highlight of the forum was the announcement of the winners of the international Competition on Non-Terrestrial Networks for 6G, launched by the CST in collaboration with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
This year saw 17 countries take part with 114 research papers submitted, 77 percent of which came from researchers and academics.
The CST is also highlighting its recent technical experiments in NTNs, including the pioneering Seamless D2D Connectivity trial, the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region.
The forum is a key pillar of the NTN program, launched by the CST in 2021. The inaugural forum, held in 2022, attracted more than 3,000 participants.
With over 120 countries represented this year, the forum reinforces Saudi Arabia’s position as a global leader in technological innovation and collaboration.
Source:arabnews.com
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Saudi FM pushes for regional stability at G7-Arab foreign ministers meeting
November 25, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan took part in an expanded session of the second meeting between G7 foreign ministers and their counterparts from Arab nations on Monday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The meeting was hosted in Italy under the theme “Together for the Stability of the Middle East.”
The session, which addressed pressing regional and international challenges, was held with the participation of Saudi, Jordanian, Emirati, Qatari and Egyptian officials, as well as the secretary-general of the Arab League.
In his address, Prince Faisal emphasized the importance of strengthening partnerships to address these challenges effectively.
He highlighted the ongoing crises in Gaza and Lebanon, urging the international community to act immediately to secure a ceasefire, facilitate unrestricted humanitarian aid, and progress toward establishing an independent Palestinian state.
He also called for respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty, and renewed international efforts to resolve the crisis in Sudan and alleviate the resulting human suffering.
The meeting was also attended by Prince Faisal bin Sattam bin Abdul Aziz, Saudi ambassador to Italy, the SPA reported.
Source:arabnews.com
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Scientists awarded for sustainable water innovation at Saudi conference
SALEH FAREED
November 25, 2024
JEDDAH: Scientists were awarded prizes for their work in researching desalination and wastewater treatment technologies during an event in Jeddah on Monday.
The third edition of the Innovation-Driven Water Sustainability Conference was attended by 480 experts, scientists, researchers, specialists and 40 leading organizations in the water sector, from 20 countries.
The grand prize — the Global Prize for Innovation in Desalination 2024 — went to Lee Nuang Sim from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University for his project “uncovering the power of centrifugal reverse osmosis,” and Sue Mecham, CEO of NALA Membranes, for her project “chlorine stable new membranes for sustainable desalination and wastewater treatment/reuse.”
Mecham, from North Carolina, US, spoke to Arab News after receiving her award, saying: “We are honored to be selected for the Global Prize for Innovation in Desalination 2024. Our mission is to bring new membranes to market and reduce the cost and complexity of water purification.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Ghadeer Al-Balawi from the University of Tabuk was another one of this year’s prizewinners with her project “novel heterogeneous catalysts for improving wastewater treatment plants in Saudi Arabia.”
Al-Balawi told Arab News: “I am incredibly honored to be one of the recipients of the Global Prize for Innovation in Desalination 2024. This recognition means so much to me. This project has been conducted at the University of Sheffield with hard work and dedication with the assistance of my supervisor, Dr. Marco Conte.”
The event’s opening ceremony was attended by Makkah Deputy Emir Prince Saud bin Mishal and Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, as well as other senior officials.
Following the opening, Abdullah Al-Abdulkarim, chairman of the Saudi Water Authority, said that the event reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to promoting scientific and research innovation as a pillar for achieving water sustainability and security.
Through the conference, the SWA aims to share the impact of innovation in promoting the sustainable supply of water, according to SWA spokesperson Sultan Al-Rajhi.
“This conference discusses the latest global practices and innovative solutions in the water industry, with the participation of experts, scientists and specialists, who emphasize the pivotal role of innovation in accelerating the future prosperity of water and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for water and the environment,” he said.
The two-day conference will continue to feature discussions on more than 180 research papers, as well as a water hackathon organized by the Saudi Water Innovation Center.
Source:arabnews.com
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Winners of Arabic language prize honored
November 25, 2024
RIYADH: The winners of the King Salman Global Academy Prize for Arabic Language were recently honored in Riyadh in individual and institutional categories.
The event, held under the patronage of Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, focused on four main areas: Arabic language teaching and learning, Arabic language computing and services through modern technologies, Arabic language research and studies, and promoting linguistic awareness and community initiatives.
The total value of the awards for both categories amounted to SR1.6 million ($426,000), with each winner receiving SR200,000, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The final results were based on evaluations by judging committees, considering criteria such as creativity, innovation, performance excellence, impact, and achieved outcomes.
The award honors those who excel in serving the Arabic language, recognizing their contributions to preserving linguistic identity, promoting Arab culture, fostering loyalty, and enhancing communication within the Arab community.
Source:arabnews.com
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Saudi economy minister meets US congressman
November 25, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim met US Congressman Jason Smith, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, the Economy Ministry said on X on Monday.
During the meeting, they discussed areas of collaboration between the US and Kingdom, as well as topics of common interest.
Meanwhile, Saudi Deputy Minister for International Multilateral Affairs Abdulrahman Al-Rassi met Ukrainian Ambassador to the Kingdom Anatolii Petrenko in Riyadh on Monday. They reviewed topics of common interest, the Foreign Ministry said on X.
Source:arabnews.com
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North America
Police: Man threatens gas station clerk with arson, asks 'Whose side are you on, Christian or Muslim?'
November 25, 2024
OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Waterford man was charged Saturday with making a threat of terrorism, preparation to burn property and ethnic intimidation among other charges, at a gas station in Pontiac.
Police say Noah Syl Johnson, 28, walked into the gas station store with a lit cigarette in his mouth, a gas can, and an open book in his hand at 7 p.m. Friday. He then made multiple statements to the clerk - ""Hey man – where your Quran at? Whose side you on? Christian, or Muslim?"
At that point he poured gasoline on shelves throughout the store, during the incident which was recorded on security camera video.
Police located Johnson walking in the area with the gas can. He brandished a large kitchen knife and allegedly ran from officers. He then refused to drop the knife before he was taken into custody.
"This was an extremely dangerous situation for everyone in that store, and threats based on religion or race have a much wider impact on entire communities," said Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald in a statement. "I want the victims to know that we will never shy away from bringing the most serious charges available. And I applaud the bravery and skill of the deputies who arrested this individual and saved his life at great risk to themselves."
Johnson is facing charges of with making a threat of terrorism, arson, preparation to burn property, ethnic intimidation, and resisting and obstructing a police officer.
Johnson's bond was set at $50,000 by the court.
"We have to respond appropriately because this sort of thing is becoming normalized," McDonald said. "And that's very dangerous for every single member of our community."
Johnson's mother spoke to FOX and said that mental health circumstances are a part of the incident.
"This is definitely out of character," she said. "This is a mental health situation and I am requesting that this is handled appropriately according to mental health issues.
"Because mental health is serious, mental health is real and it should be handled accordingly."
Johnson was holding the knife when responding officers used a Tazer on him.
Source:fox2detroit.com
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Trump vows to slap new tariffs on key US trading partners
26 Nov, 2024
US President-elect Donald Trump has said he plans to levy sweeping duties on all Canadian, Mexican, and Chinese imports after he takes office in January.
Posting on his Truth Social platform on Monday, Trump promised more tariffs as part of a proposed crackdown on illegal immigration and the US fentanyl crisis.
“Thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing crime and drugs at levels never seen before,” he wrote. Trump threatened to levy “a 25% tariff on all goods” coming from Mexico and Canada, “until such time as drugs, in particular fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country.”
Both countries “have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem,” he claimed.
In a separate post, Trump threatened a blanket 10% tariff on all Chinese imports on top of any existing duties, until Beijing “follows through” on punishing drug dealers sending fentanyl to the US.
The US fentanyl epidemic and the subject of growing illegal immigration were hot topics during the 2024 presidential election campaign. China banned the production of the synthetic opioid in 2019. Since then, Mexican drug cartels have switched to buying less controlled fentanyl precursor chemicals from Chinese companies and making the opioid in Mexico, from where it gets shipped to the US, the Drug Enforcement Administration said last month.
Trump has described himself as a “tariff man,” and engaged Beijing in a years-long trade war during his first presidency. In 2018, relations between the two countries soured as Trump imposed tariffs and restricted China’s access to high-tech US products and foreign investments involving security concerns. The Republican also accused China of unfair commercial practices.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington warned that no side will benefit from a trade war, commenting on Trump’s tariff threat. “China believes that China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in a statement. “No one will win a trade war or a tariff war.”
Earlier in November, Chinese President Xi Jinping told US President Joe Biden that China-US relations could face a setback if either “pursue vicious competition and seek to hurt each other.”
Source:rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/608203-trump-promises-more-tariffs/
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US prosecutor files to drop Trump charges
25 Nov, 2024
The prosecutor leading the US government’s election interference and classified documents cases against Donald Trump has filed a motion to drop all charges against the president-elect. Special Counsel Jack Smith is expected to resign before Trump takes office in January.
Smith filed his motion in the election interference case on Monday, writing that while “the Government’s position on the merits of the defendant’s prosecution has not changed,” Justice Department policy prohibits the criminal prosecution of a sitting president.
“That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” Smith continued in his submission to a federal court in Washington DC.
District Judge Tanya Chutkan will now have to grant Smith’s request in order for the case to be dismissed.
Smith charged Trump last year with plotting to overthrow President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win, arguing that Trump pressured election officials to invalidate the results and encouraged his supporters to riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a bid to block the certification of Biden’s victory.
Trump faced four felony counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.
Then candidate Trump derided Smith as a “deranged lunatic,” and called the case a “pathetic attempt” by the Biden administration to jail a political opponent.
In a separate filing in Florida on Monday, Smith dropped his appeal against a district judge’s decision to throw out another case against Trump, this one concerning his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office in 2021. Smith charged Trump with 40 criminal counts after FBI agents recovered troves of government papers in a pre-dawn raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate last year, but the case was dismissed in July after District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that Smith did not have the authority to prosecute the former president.
After abandoning his two cases against Trump, Smith is expected to resign before the president-elect takes office on January 20. Even if Smith were to cling on to his position, Trump has already vowed to fire the “crooked” prosecutor “within two seconds” of taking office.
Aside from Smith’s two federal cases, Trump was charged in New York with misreporting “hush money” payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, and in Georgia with conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state. He was found guilty on all counts in New York in May, after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg successfully elevated one misdemeanor offense to 34 felonies, one for each installment paid to Daniels.
Trump was due to be sentenced in New York later this month. However, Judge Juan Merchan postponed the sentencing indefinitely on Friday, and agreed to hear a motion from Trump’s lawyers to dismiss the case altogether.
The president-elect is still facing state-level election interference charges in Georgia, although three counts were dropped earlier this year. Oral arguments were canceled last week, and the case is widely expected to be dismissed before Trump’s inauguration.
Source:rt.com
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Federal charges against Trump dismissed
26 Nov, 2024
A US district court has granted Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request to dismiss the federal case against President-elect Donald Trump, effectively ending the investigation into his conduct following the 2020 presidential election.
The charges were based on allegations that Trump tried to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden, and mishandled classified documents after leaving office in 2021. Trump has argued that the prosecution was politically motivated and claimed that the case was orchestrated by the Democrats.
“The court will grant the government’s motion to dismiss, and dismiss the superseding indictment without prejudice,” Columbia District Judge Chutkan wrote in her decision, citing the legal immunity afforded to sitting US presidents.
The document was published just hours after Smith filed motions to drop the charges against Trump.
Trump’s spokesman, Steven Cheung, welcomed the ruling. “Today’s decision by the Department of Justice ends the unconstitutional federal cases against President Trump, and is a major victory for the rule of law,” Cheung said in a statement. “The American people and President Trump want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country,” he added.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday that the charges against him are “empty and lawless, and should never have been brought.” He previously threatened to fire Smith immediately upon starting his second term as president, describing the special counsel as a “crooked person.”
Trump still faces a criminal case in Georgia, which also alleges that he ran a scheme aimed at overturning the 2020 election.
In May, a New York jury found Trump guilty of campaign finance violations. The sentencing has been postponed indefinitely, however. As with the other cases against him, Trump denies any wrongdoing.
Source:rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/608202-federal-charges-trump-dismissed/
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Africa
New Presidential Jet Was Purchased For Tinubu Without The National Assembly’s Knowledge – Abaribe
25 November 2024
The Senator representing Abia South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Enyinnaya Abaribe. has submitted that the approval of the National Assembly was not sought before a new jet was purchased for President Bola Tinubu.
According to Abaribe, the National Assembly never received nor approved a request for the purchase of a new jet for President Tinubu.
Naija News recalls the presidency had, in August, unveiled a new Airbus A330 purchased for President Bola Tinubu.
However, amidst the backlash from Nigerians that greeted the new purchase, presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, said the aircraft was not new as reported but was simply refurbished.
But speaking on Monday against the background of allegations that the National Assembly is a rubber stamp of all Tinubu actions, Abaribe denied the involvement of the lawmakers in the purchase of a new presidential jet.
Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Abaribe said: “I am in the national assembly, but I can tell you for a fact that nobody, quote me, nobody brought anything to the national assembly to say please approve this for purchase of a new plane,” Abaribe said on the programme.
It was done without my knowledge, nobody brought anything. I never saw any document and I have always been in the national assembly. Ask anyone, none.”
He said the lawmakers have been denied their responsibility of serving as a check on the executive amidst the public perception that the current 10th National Assembly can’t go against the President and the executive arm.
Abaribe added that the lawmakers are not a rubber-stamp assembly but feel the need to cooperate with the executive in the overall interest of Nigerians.
Source:naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/11/25/new-presidential-jet-was-purchased-for-tinubu-without-the-national-assemblys-knowledge-abaribe/
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Kenyan police use teargas to disperse anti-femicide protesters in Nairobi
25 November 2024
Police in Kenya used tear gas to disperse a peaceful march in Nairobi on Monday, commemorating the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Protesters later spoke out against the reaction by security forces and highlighted what they say is a lack of government action.
Nairobi resident, Waithira Karanja, said they want accountability.
"The police are the ones who kill women, which is why they do not want us to protest against the killing of women. They are supposed to be protecting us,“ she said.
Kenyan police agencies say there have been 97 cases of femicide in various parts of the country in the last three months alone. But activists say many more go unreported.
Last week, Kenyan President William Ruto condemned the alarming rise in femicide cases and urged collective efforts to protect women from gender-based violence.
As the world marked the start of the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, social justice activist, Happy Olal, said the Kenyan government is not doing enough.
"Ruto cannot come and say there is femicide. He has an extra role. He should tell us how many people have been arrested this year because of femicide. How many?” he said.
The United Nations on Monday said 85,000 women and girls were killed intentionally in 2023, of which 60 per cent died at the hands of their partner or a close relative.
Africa had the highest number, with an estimated 21,700 victims out of the 51,100 killings by an intimate partner or family member.
It also had the highest number of victims relative to the size of its population — 2.9 victims per 100,000 people.
Source:africanews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.africanews.com/2024/11/25/kenyan-police-use-teargas-to-disperse-anti-femicide-protesters-in-nairobi/
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Egypt : 17 missing as Tourist Yacht sinks in Red Sea
26-11- 2024
At least 17 people are missing after a tourist yacht sank in the Red Sea following warnings about rough seas, Egyptian officials said Monday.
The governor of the Red Sea region, Amr Hanafy, said rescuers saved 28 people from the vessel south of the coastal town of Marsa Alam, and some were airlifted to receive medical treatment.
Hanafy said 31 tourists of various nationalities were on board along with 14 crew. The U.K. Foreign Office said it was providing consular support to “a number of British nationals and their families” after the sinking. There were reports that British citizens were among the missing.
The governorate received a report shortly before dawn Monday of a distress call made from the yacht, which had left Marsa Alam for a five-day journey.
It was not immediately clear what caused the four-deck, wooden-hulled motor yacht to sink. But the Egyptian Meteorological Authority on Saturday warned about turbulence and high waves on the Red Sea and advised against maritime activity for Sunday and Monday.
A person answering the phone at the company that operates the yacht, Dive Pro Liveaboard in Hurghada, Egypt, told The Associated Press they have “no information” and hung up.
According to their website, the Sea Story was built in 2022 and can hold 36 passengers.
The Egyptian military was coordinating rescue operations with the governorate.
Many tourist companies have stopped or limited traveling on the Red Sea due to the dangers from conflicts in the region.
Source:africanews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.africanews.com/2024/11/25/egypt-17-missing-as-tourist-yacht-sinks-in-red-sea/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/sambhal-violence-hindus-muslims-leader/d/133825