Saudi Arabia Uses Artificial Intelligence Technologies to Guide Pilgrims Through Grand Mosque in Makkah
New Age Islam News Bureau
3rd January 2024
The interactive content can be shared
via mobile phones.
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·
Saudi Arabia Uses Artificial
Intelligence Technologies to Guide Pilgrims Through Grand Mosque in Makkah
·
Islam Does Not Encourage
Massacres of Christians, Others, Plateau Chapter of Jama’atu Nasril Islam
Declares
·
US Believes Hamas Used Al Shifa
Hospital but Evacuated Before Israeli Operation, Says Source
·
Indonesians Support South
Africa’s Genocide Case Against Israel at World Court
·
Proud To Have Been Present When
Tainted Babri Structure Was Brought Down: Maharashtra Dy. CM
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Arab World
·
Undersecretary of Islamic
Affairs Ministry Participates in International Conference of Sharia Academy in
Nigeria
·
Saudi Arabia Officially Joins
BRICS Bloc
·
Saudi Arabia offers condolences
to victims of Japan quake
·
GCC chief meets Australian,
Peruvian envoys in Riyadh
·
Historic area of Jeddah stages
2 months of cultural events
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Africa
·
Boko Haram Gunmen In Military
Uniform Attack Chibok In Borno, Kill 12 Residents
·
Plateau State Governor Commits
to Unity in Reception of Christian and Muslim Community Leaders
·
Burkina Faso government rebuts
ECOWAS concerns, affirms commitment to Security
·
First black Harvard President
resigns over plagiarism allegations
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North America
·
US condemns Israeli ministers’
call for Palestinians to emigrate from Gaza
·
Canada to accept 1,000 visa
applications from Canadians’ relatives in Gaza
·
Houthis fire 2 anti-ship
ballistic missiles from Yemen into Red Sea: US
·
US reaches deal to extend
military presence at Qatar base
·
Singh calls for solidarity,
respect as hate crimes targeting Jewish, Muslim communities spike
·
Senator Calls For 'No More US
Funding' For Israel's 'Illegal' War on Gaza
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Southeast Asia
·
Malay Shariah Experts Call for
Stringent Regulations Over Rising Trend of Unsanctioned Islamic Marriages
·
Foreign Affairs Ministry: No
reports of Singaporeans affected by Japan earthquake; travellers urged to
remain vigilant
·
Over a thousand join Selawat
Recitation Programme with Ustaz Don Daniyal in Ipoh
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India
·
Gyanvapi Mosque Case: Hindu
Petitioners File Application in Supreme Court To Clean
'Wuzukhana'
Area
·
VHP Warns Asaduddin Owaisi of
Legal Action For ‘Provoking Muslim Community’
·
Congress Leader Opposes Law on
Hit-And-Run Cases inMuslim-Dominated Nuh Rally
·
HC Commends MCD, Delhi Police
for Swift Action in Repossessing Jama Masjid Parks
·
"Big At Heart": PM
Modi Reaches Out to Muslim-Dominated Lakshadweep
·
ED conducts fresh searches in
money laundering case against AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan
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Mideast
·
Egypt Rejects Israeli Proposal
to Join US-Led Coalition in Red Sea
·
Israeli Public Broadcaster
Shares Footage of Wounded Israeli Soldiers
·
Head of Hezbollah to give
planned speech despite assassination of Hamas deputy chief in Lebanon
·
Israel ready ‘for any scenario’
after strike kills Hamas deputy in Lebanon
·
Hezbollah Says Israel Killing
of Hamas Deputy ‘Will Not Go Unanswered’
·
Iran’s UN Envoy: Israel fully
responsible for moves against Islam Republic
·
Hamas, Islamic Jihad respond to
Egyptian deal proposal - Al Mayadeen
·
Muslim scholars urge retrieval
of newborn 'abducted' by Israeli soldier in Gaza
·
4,119 Palestinian school
students killed, 7,536 injured in Gaza since Oct. 7
·
General Qassem Soleimani martyr
of entire Islamic world
-----
Pakistan
·
ISIS Trying to Establish
Foothold in Pakistan: Ministry of Interior Tells Senate
·
Illegal Nikah Case: Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf Founder Imran Khan And His Wife Bushra Bibi To Be Indicted On
10th January
·
Pakistan’s Maulana Fazlur
Rehman 'May Visit Afghanistan Next Week'
·
Pakistan, Afghan officials to
hold crucial talks as TTP terror spikes
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South Asia
·
Taliban Delegation Led ByKandahar
Governor Arrives In Islamabad For Talks
·
Pro-BNP And Jamaat Lawyers
Boycott Courts For 2nd Day
·
Afghanistan records $2 billion
worth of exports in 2023
·
Work on 500 Projects Continues
Across Afghanistan: Deputy PM
·
Pakistan's Deportations of
Afghans Has Decreased: Mujahid
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Europe
·
Top UK, US diplomats discuss
Houthi attacks, humanitarian situation in Gaza
·
Macron calls on Israel to avoid
escalation, 'particularly in Lebanon'
·
"The UK Government Is
Complicit InIsraeli War Crimes In Gaza Strip": British Muslim Palestinian
Professor Of International Relations
·
France will not support forced
displacement of Gazans: Envoy
Compiled by
New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/saudi-arabia-makkah-artificial-intelligence/d/131445
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Saudi Arabia Uses Artificial
Intelligence Technologies To Guide Pilgrims Through Grand Mosque in Makkah
The interactive content can be shared
via mobile phones.
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Jan 3, 2024
The General Authority for the Affairs of
the Two Holy Mosques has embraced artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and
a range of digital techniques to offer guidance and counselling content to
visitors and pilgrims at the Grand Mosque, reported the Saudi Press Agency
(SPA).
Utilising 52 screens, both inside and
outside the Grand Mosque, covering a total screen area of 279 square metres,
the authority disseminates tailored guidance content.
A specialised team comprising esteemed
scholars in religious and guidance aspects curates the content to suit specific
occasions. Additionally, a dedicated team translates this content into multiple
languages. These screens, operational 24/7, are strategically located at the
entrances, exits, courtyards, and roads leading to the Grand Mosque.
Moreover, the authority has introduced
AI through a guidance robot designed to assist pilgrims by offering essential
brochures and publications to facilitate their rituals.
This interactive guidance robot contains
informative and guiding content, allowing users to access and share it via
their mobile phones.
Source: gulftoday.ae
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https://www.gulftoday.ae/news/2024/01/03/saudi-arabia-uses-ai-to-guide-pilgrims-through-grand-mosque-in-makkah
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Islam Does Not Encourage Massacres of
Christians, Others, Plateau Chapter of Jama’atu Nasril Islam Declares
JNI Leaders; Plateau Governor
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JANUARY 2, 2024
The Plateau chapter of Jama’atu Nasril
Islam (JNI), on Tuesday, visited Governor Caleb Mutfwang over the recent
killings in the state, urging stakeholders to be more responsive to early
warning signals to avoid a repeat of the massacre.
The JNI chairman, the Emir of Wase,
Mohammed Haruna, described the incident as unfortunate and irreligious.
“You are fully aware there are Muslims
living with you in Plateau. We felt that with such development, there’s a need
to come to show our love, concern, prayers, support and suggestions on the way
forward. I am saying to the governor that Islam in no way encourages such kind
of horror,” stated Mr Haruna.
The Emir of Wase added, “Islam does not
give anyone the right to take the life of another, and in your government, you
have Muslims working with you. I pray that this will be the last time that any
gathering like this will hold because of something like this happening on the
Plateau.
”It is time for us to put our hands
together like our forefathers have done in the past to guard against such. I
want to urge you and the local government chairmen to utilise the early warning
signals which are usually available before such crises erupts and this recent
attacks was no exception.
“May God console those who suffered
losses and grant eternal rest to the departed.”
Mr Mutfwang thanked the group for its
support, reiterating his commitment to all citizens irrespective of religious
inclinations. He pledged to work closely with the Muslim Ummah to develop
Plateau.
The governor said, “I want to express my
profound gratitude to the Muslim Ummah. I appreciate you all for the support
you have shown me this far. You have demonstrated to the world that we can live
together as one people.
“You have demonstrated to the world that
all you care for is a leader who is fair and just, and that is what we promise
to all Plateau people.
“We will be fair to all, we will be just
to all, irrespective of our faith or tribe; neither of us chose our religions;
I, therefore, believe that we are all answerable to God who created us.”
He added, “I want to thank you for the
support you have shown to me personally and to the state even at such a time.”
The Plateaus governor stressed the need
for them to continue to work for peaceful coexistence within their communities
and caution their members against any act that may breach the peace.
Source: gazettengr.com
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US Believes Hamas Used Al Shifa Hospital
but Evacuated Before Israeli Operation, Says Source
Palestinians
inspect Al Shifa Hospital which was raided by Israeli forces during its ground
operation, amid a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist
group Hamas, in Gaza City, November 25, 2023. REUTERS/Abed Sabah/File Photo
Acquire Licensing Rights
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03 Jan 2024
WASHINGTON, Jan 3 ― US spy agencies
assess that Hamas and another Palestinian group fighting Israel used Gaza's Al
Shifa Hospital to command forces and hold some hostages but largely evacuated
the complex days before Israeli troops entered it, a US official said
yesterday, citing declassified US intelligence.
The complex was used by both Hamas and
Palestinian Islamic Jihad to command forces fighting against Israel, the US
official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
US intelligence agencies have not
disclosed the evidence on which they based their assessment. The official said
the US had independently confirmed the information.
Israel has also said Al Shifa, which it
had occupied earlier in the war in Gaza, had been used by Hamas. Israeli troops
entered the hospital in November.
The targeting of the hospital had stoked
global alarm over the fate of civilians and patients who were inside.
The World Health Organisation last month
described the emergency department in the enclave's main health facility as
resembling a “bloodbath.”
The American government believed that
Hamas used the hospital complex and sites beneath it to carry out command and
control activities, store some weapons and hold a few hostages, the US official
said.
US intelligence agencies obtained
information that Hamas fighters had largely evacuated the complex days before
Israel's operation and destroyed documents and electronics as they left,
according to the American official.
The US intelligence assessment was
reported first by the New York Times. A classified version of the assessment
was sent to lawmakers in the US Congress.
Israeli tanks advanced on Gaza City's Al
Shifa hospital, with some patients still inside, in mid-November. Israel said
the hospital sat atop tunnels housing headquarters for Hamas fighters using
patients as shields, which Hamas denied.
Israeli assessment's was at least
partially correct that some hostages were held at or under the complex but
those hostages appeared to have been moved as Hamas evacuated, the New York
Times reported.
In November, White House national
security spokesman John Kirby said Hamas militants were sheltering themselves
in the hospital and using the facility as a shield against military action,
placing patients and medical staff at risk.
“We have our own intelligence that
convinces us that Hamas was using Al Shifa as a command and control node, and
most likely as well as a storage facility,” Kirby said in November. Washington
had at the time not declassified the sources of the US intelligence.
Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel killed
1,200, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent assault on Hamas-ruled
Gaza has killed over 22,000, according to Gaza health officials. ― Reuters
Source: malaymail.com
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Indonesians Support South Africa’s
Genocide Case Against Israel at World Court
Indonesians
in Surabaya, East Java take part in a mass rally in support of Palestinians on
Nov. 12, 2023. (AFP)
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January 02, 2024
JAKARTA: Several Indonesian civil
society organizations and activists have come out in support of a case filed by
South Africa at the International Court of Justice which accuses Israel of
engaging in “genocidal acts” in Gaza.
In the case launched on Friday at the
ICJ, which is also known as the World Court, South Africa stated that Israel
has “engaged in, is engaging in and risks further engaging in genocidal acts
against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” adding that Tel Aviv’s conduct is in
violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention.
With its submission, South Africa is
asking the court to issue an interim order for Israel to immediately suspend
its military operations in Gaza. A hearing into that request is likely in the
coming days or weeks. While the case may take years if it goes ahead, an
interim order could be issued within weeks.
Pretoria can bring the case under the
Genocide Convention because both it and Tel Aviv are signatories to it.
South Africans liken their struggle
against apartheid with the Palestinian cause. Similarly, Indonesia is also a
staunch supporter of Palestine, with its people and government seeing
Palestinian statehood as mandated by the nation’s constitution, which calls for
the abolition of colonialism.
“We support South Africa’s move to drag
Israel to the International Court of Justice,” Dr. Sarbini Murad, chairman of
the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee, told Arab News.
MER-C is the Jakarta-based organization
that funded the development of the Indonesia Hospital in northern Gaza. The
facility was among the first damaged by Israel’s latest bombardments of the
besieged strip, which since early October has killed nearly 22,000 people and
injured more than 57,000.
“Israel must be taken to the ICJ because
what Israel is doing is genocide. (The) ICJ must act bravely and firmly,
without fear even under pressure from Israel through the United States,” Murad
said. “We hope that the war will end and peace will come for Palestine.”
Jama’ah Muslimin, a Muslim organization
based in West Java, also voiced its support for South Africa, calling the case
launch “brilliant and courageous.”
“(Jama’ah Muslimin) calls on other
countries, like Indonesia, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)
member countries, Arab countries especially, all member states of the OIC
(Organization of Islamic Cooperation) and the UN to support and push for the
international court to put Israel on trial to stop its crime of genocide in
Palestine,” the organization said in a statement.
Though the World Court’s orders are
legally binding, they are not always followed as the court has no means of
enforcing its decisions.
“Israel has gone beyond the limits of
humane reason, and as such we fully support South Africa and hope that the
international court will take urgent steps to stop the mass genocide that
Israeli forces are doing on the occupied Palestinian territory,” Cecep Jasim,
who coordinated a thousands-strong march for Gaza in West Java in late
November, told Arab News.
“This is another sliver of hope for us,
as concrete steps from other countries in support of Palestine will surely add
power to the movement to create freedom and independence for Palestinians.”
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2435241/world
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Proud To Have Been Present When Tainted
Babri Structure Was Brought Down: Maharashtra Dy. CM
Maharashtra
Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. Credit: PTI File Photo
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2nd January
2024
Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief
Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said he felt proud and happy to have been
present when the ‘kar sevaks’ brought down the Babri structure on December 6,
1992.
He made the statement while speaking to
reporters here.
Responding to the opposition’s criticism
that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) uses the Ram temple consecration ceremony
for its political benefits, Fadnavis said, “Whoever believes in Ram, that
person can participate in the ongoing celebration of the Ram temple
inauguration.”
“Some people were never part of any
movement associated with Ram temple. I participated in three ‘kar seva’
campaigns and feel proud and happy that I was there when the (Babri mosque)
structure was brought down,” he said.
“Some people were hiding when the kar
seva was at its peak. What can I even say about it? I even spent some days in a
central jail there,” he said.
Fadnavis also said that he felt happy
that the Ayodhya ram temple inauguration would take place at the hands of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
There will not be a single temple in the
country that will not celebrate this event, he added.
He was speaking after the inauguration
of Ram Rath (chariot), a miniature model of the Ayodhya Ram temple, that will
visit different areas for the people to see. Along with Fadnavis, Bollywood
director Rohit Shetty and state Minister for Rural Development Girish Mahajan
were also present.
“After 500 years of struggle, the Ram
temple is coming up in the country. We are in the process of removing the blot
put on us by Babur. We are reinstating the faith of the country. We should
forget our differences and chant the name of Ram. It is shallow to politicise
the issue.”
Source: siasat.com
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Arab World
Undersecretary of Islamic Affairs
Ministry Participates in International Conference of Sharia Academy in Nigeria
02 Jan, 2024
The Acting Undersecretary of the
Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call, and Guidance, Sheikh Dr. Awad bin Sabti
Al-Anazi, took part in the 15th international conference of the Daaru-Na'im
Academy for Sharia Science in Nigeria held from January 1st to 3rd.
The conference is attended by officials,
researchers, and experts from African and Gulf countries, as well as Iraq.
The conference activities began with the
recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, followed by speeches from the
conference president and the general supervisor of the academy.
In Dr. Al-Anazi's speech, he remarked that the
Kingdom's participation in these conferences affirms its consistent commitment
to supporting Islamic work and dedication to the unity of Muslims and their
collective voice.
He added that the leadership of the Kingdom is
exerting continuous efforts to serve Islam and Muslims. This, he said, is based
on the principles of religion and the lofty mission of the Kingdom to
disseminate Islam, peace, love, charity, call for unity and the promotion of
moderate Islam are grounded in the teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah.
The Kingdom's participation in the conference
arises from its commitment and leadership in diverse realms of Islamic work. It
also reaffirms its dedication to serving Islam and Muslims while emphasizing
its message grounded in moderation.
Source: alriyadhdaily.com
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http://alriyadhdaily.com/article/df4812677e82451da59ef9d0cf5cdc98
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Saudi Arabia Officially Joins BRICS Bloc
03 Jan 2024
(Reuters) - Saudi state TV said on
Tuesday that the kingdom had officially joined the BRICS bloc of countries.
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister had said
in August the kingdom would study the details before the proposed Jan. 1
joining date and take "the appropriate decision".
Prince Faisal bin Farhan had said the
BRICS group was "a beneficial and important channel" to strengthen
economic cooperation.
The BRICs bloc previously included
Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, but is set to double with Saudi
Arabia joining the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iran, and Ethiopia as new
members.
Saudi Arabia's entry comes amid
geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China, and the expansion of China's
influence within the kingdom.
Despite continued strong ties with the
U.S., Saudi Arabia has increasingly pursued its own path out of concern that
Washington is less committed to the Gulf's security than in the past.
China, Saudi Arabia's biggest oil
customer, has led calls for the BRICs to expand to become a counterweight to
the West.
The expansion could amplify the group's
declared ambition to become a champion of the Global South, although Argentina
signalled in November it would not take up an invitation to join.
Source: tolonews.com
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https://tolonews.com/world-186794
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Saudi Arabia offers condolences to
victims of Japan quake
January 03, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday
expressed sincere condolences and sympathy to Japan and its people, following a
New Year’s Day earthquake that killed at least 50 people and caused widespread
destruction.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
expressed the “Kingdom’s solidarity and stand with the government and people of
Japan as a result of this painful tragedy, and its sincere wishes for a speedy
recovery ahead to all those affected,” it said in a statement.
The 7.5 magnitude quake that rattled
Ishikawa prefecture on the main island of Honshu triggered tsunami waves more
than a meter high, sparked a major fire and tore apart roads.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2435466/saudi-arabia
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GCC chief meets Australian, Peruvian
envoys in Riyadh
January 02, 2024
RIYADH: The Secretary-General of the
Gulf Cooperation Council Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi met with the Australian
Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mark Donovan at the GCC’s headquarters in Riyadh on
Tuesday.
The meeting aimed to discuss ways to
enhance cooperation between the GCC and Australia within the framework of the
memorandum of understanding and the joint action for strategic dialogue signed
between them in 2011 to achieve the common goals of both sides.
During the meeting, several topics were
discussed, including reviewing the GCC- Australian relations and exploring ways
to develop and strengthen them to serve the common interests.
They also exchanged views on current
regional and international events and issues.
During a separate meeting with Peruvian
Ambassador to the Kingdom Carlos Zapata, Albudaiwi stressed the need to
strengthen ties between the two sides, as part of the framework agreement for
economic, commercial, investment and technical cooperation, which was signed in
October 2012 and constitutes a basic pillar of the strategic partnership
between the GCC and Peru.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2435291/saudi-arabia
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Historic area of Jeddah stages 2 months
of cultural events
January 02, 2024
JEDDAH: A series of cultural events are
to take place in Jeddah as part of a project aimed at highlighting historic
areas of the city.
International and regional artists will
bring together traditional and contemporary art during performances being held
under the Balad Al-Fann initiative.
The travel-inspired Sindbad Exhibition,
one of the event programs running until March 9, will explore the history and
cultural heritage of the district.
And another display, commencing on Jan.
4, will offer visitors an insight into the concept of entities, whether they be
natural, artificial, or abstract.
Other events will showcase works by
regional and international artists at Bait Sharbatly, Al-Khunji Al-Saghir, and
Aramco House, starting from Jan. 7.
An exhibition on cities located in hot
climate zones will focus on the capitals of the Arab world, how their residents
adapt to the heat, and architectural designs adapted to cope with extreme
climates.
The Sama’a program will center on sound
forms created through music and sound. It comes in the wake of a
program-related Jan. 1 event to mark the Year of Arabic Poetry 2023.
A Voices of Al-Balad event will begin on
Jan. 12, followed by the Jeddah International Jazz show on Jan. 25, a Talent
Market on Feb. 1, and a Stars Alley experience on Feb. 2.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2435296/saudi-arabia
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Africa
Boko Haram Gunmen In Military Uniform
Attack Chibok In Borno, Kill 12 Residents
January 3, 2024
Suspected Boko Haram terrorists in
military uniform have killed 12 persons and abducted one in Gatamarwa and Tsiha
communities in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State.
The latest attack came barely two weeks
after the insurgents perpetrated a similar attack in Chibok, where they killed
two persons and looted food stuff in some houses before settling them ablaze.
The Police Public Relations officer,
Borno State command, ASP Nahum Daso Kenneth, confirmed the attack saying 12
corpses were recovered.
“The gunmen shot sporadically at the
people in the two communities. So far, 12 corpses were recovered and two were
injured,” he said.
He said the police commissioner and
other security heads had ordered discreet investigation into the matter to
bring the perpetrators to book.
According to Daily Trust, the terrorists
stormed the community of Gatamarwa around 5pm on Monday during the New Year
celebration.
Sources said on Tuesday that insurgents
carrying weapons stormed the communities in large number.
“The insurgents who were heavily armed
with AK-47 rifles, came on motorcycles, in Hilux vans and opened fire on
mourners returning from Gatamarwa.
“They later attacked another Tsiha
community near Shikarkir and killed three people and abducted a young lady.
They burnt houses after looting their foodstuffs,” he said.
Recently, attacks have increased in
Borno State, grounding the electricity supplies in Borno and Yobe after the
insurgents destroyed six 33KVA towers that connected the two states.
Source: saharareporters.com
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https://saharareporters.com/2024/01/03/boko-haram-gunmen-military-uniform-attack-chibok-borno-kill-12-residents
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Plateau State Governor Commits to Unity
in Reception of Christian and Muslim Community Leaders
2024/01/02
Plateau governor, Caleb Mutfwang, on
Monday, January 1, welcomed delegations from both the Christian and Muslim
communities, demonstrating his commitment to unity and harmony in the state.
The Christian Community, led by the
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) State Chairman, Rev. Fr. Polycarp Lubo,
paid a Christmas Homage and condolence visit to Governor Mutfwang.
The governor also received a delegation
from the Muslim community, led by Jama’atuNasril Islam (JNI) Plateau State
Chapter Chairman and Emir of Wase, HRH. Alh. Muhammadu Sambo Haruna.
Governor Caleb emphasized his dedication
to fostering unity and prosperity, protecting the cultural heritage of Plateau,
and embracing all faiths and ethnicities. He vowed to pursue this commitment
diligently during his tenure.
He wrote on X: ”I am grateful that I was
able to host the Christian Community in Plateau State, led by the Christian
Association of Nigeria (CAN) State Chairman, Rev. Fr. Polycarp Lubo, for a
Christmas Homage and condolence visit.
”Today, I also welcomed the Muslim
community delegation led by Jama’atuNasril Islam (JNI) Plateau State Chapter
Chairman and Emir of Wase, HRH. Alh. Muhammadu Sambo Haruna, expressing
condolences for the recent incidents.
”As governor, my commitment is to foster
unity and prosperity, protecting the heritage of Plateau, embracing all faiths
and ethnicities. This is my solemn pledge, and I will diligently pursue it.”
Source: news.ng
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Burkina Faso government rebuts ECOWAS
concerns, affirms commitment to Security
03-01- 2024
In response to the recent ECOWAS
Commission statement expressing concern about the "deterioration of the
security situation" in Burkina Faso, the Transition Government has firmly
addressed the issues raised.
Expressing surprise at what it perceives
as a biased interpretation of the security situation, the government emphasized
the undeniable victories achieved by Burkinabe forces in reclaiming national
territory and the ongoing efforts against terrorist groups. Despite these
successes, it contends that the ECOWAS Commission's perspective appears skewed.
The ECOWAS Commission accused the
Transition authorities of engaging in repressive actions, including the arrest
of political and civil society figures and an alleged "illegal and
arbitrary requisition procedure" suppressing freedom of expression. The
Burkina Faso government strongly refutes these allegations, asserting its
adherence to legal procedures in the fight against terrorism.
Expressing dismay at the ECOWAS
Commission's silence on critical issues in the fight against terrorism, such as
ransom payments and the tragic massacres of ECOWAS citizens, the government
criticized what it perceives as the Commission's complacency towards countries
supporting terrorists.
The Transition Government rejects being
diverted by what it considers imaginative communications and urges the ECOWAS
Commission to exercise discernment in fulfilling its mission.
The government underscores its
commitment to addressing significant security and humanitarian challenges. It
calls for the ECOWAS Commission to align with this approach if genuinely
committed to supporting Burkina Faso's efforts.
In conclusion, the Burkina Faso
government questions the consistent commitment of the ECOWAS Commission and
appeals for respect for the country's choices.
Source: africanews.com
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https://www.africanews.com/2024/01/03/burkina-faso-government-rebuts-ecowas-concerns-affirms-commitment-to-security/
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First black Harvard President resigns
over plagiarism allegations
January 3, 2024
The first black President of Harvard
University resigned Tuesday, the prestigious US school’s student newspaper
reported, after she faced criticism over allegations of plagiarism and her
handling of anti-Semitism on campus.
Claudine Gay was criticized in recent
months after reports surfaced alleging that she did not properly cite scholarly
sources in her academic work. Her time was the shortest presidency in the
University’s history.
The most recent accusations came
Tuesday, published anonymously in a conservative online outlet.
Gay was also engulfed by scandal after
she declined to say unequivocally whether calling for genocide of Jews violated
Harvard’s code of conduct, during testimony to Congress alongside the heads of
MIT and the University of Pennsylvania last month.
The university’s governing Harvard
Corporation backed her after her appearance before Congress, but did criticize
her response to the October 7 attack in Israel as the campus community reacted
to the war in Gaza.
More than 70 lawmakers including two
Democrats called for her resignation, while a number of high-profile Harvard
alumni and donors had called for her departure.
Still, more than 700 Harvard faculty
members had signed a letter supporting Gay.
The university did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
Gay, 53, was born in New York to Haitian
immigrants and is a professor of political science who in July became the first
Black president of 368-year-old Harvard University, in Cambridge, outside
Boston.
Source: tribuneonlineng.com
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-----
North America
US condemns Israeli ministers’ call for
Palestinians to emigrate from Gaza
January 03, 2024
WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday
denounced controversial comments by two Israeli ministers who said Palestinians
should be encouraged to emigrate from Gaza and for Jewish settlers to return to
the besieged territory.
State Department spokesman Matthew
Miller said Washington “rejects recent statements from Israeli Ministers
Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir advocating for the resettlement of
Palestinians outside of Gaza.”
“This rhetoric is inflammatory and
irresponsible,” added Miller, who reiterated the “clear, consistent, and
unequivocal” US position that “Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain
Palestinian land, with Hamas no longer in control of its future and with no
terror groups able to threaten Israel.”
Ben Gvir, Israel’s firebrand national
security minister, had called on Monday for promoting “a solution to encourage
the emigration of Gaza’s residents.”
Israel unilaterally withdrew the last of
its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, ending a presence inside Gaza that
began in 1967 but maintaining near complete control over the territory’s
borders.
The government under Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu has not officially suggested it has any plans to evict
Gazans or to send Jewish settlers back to the territory since the current war
broke out on October 7.
But Ben Gvir argued that the departure
of Palestinians and re-establishment of Israeli settlements “is a correct,
just, moral and humane solution.”
“This is an opportunity to develop a
project to encourage Gaza’s residents to emigrate to countries around the
world,” he told a meeting of his ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit, or “Jewish
Power,” party.
His comments came the day after Israel’s
far-right Finance Minister Smotrich also called for the return of settlers to
Gaza, equally saying Israel should “encourage” the territory’s approximately
2.4 million Palestinians to leave.
The bloodiest ever Gaza war was
triggered by Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel, which resulted in the deaths
of around 1,140 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based
on official figures.
After the worst attack in its history,
Israel began a relentless bombardment and ground offensive that has killed at
least 22,185 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run
health ministry.
With heavy combat raging on, 85 percent
of people in the besieged Gaza Strip have been internally displaced, according
to the United Nations.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2435491/middle-east
-----
Canada to accept 1,000 visa applications
from Canadians’ relatives in Gaza
Barry Ellsworth
03.01.2024
Canada will accept up to 1,000 visa
applications from Palestinians who want to flee Gaza and seek refuge with their
Canadian extended family members, but a Muslim organization wants the cap
removed, according to reports Tuesday.
The program, slated to start next week,
is in response to pleas from Palestinian Canadians to provide a safe path to
those trapped in the chaos of Gaza as the Israel-Hamas war rages on.
It will offer visas for up to 1,000
Palestinians, allowing them to come and stay in Canada for up to three years if
their sponsoring families guarantee financial support during their stay. The
door to Canada would be closed at 1,000 applicants.
But the National Council of Canadian
Muslims, which bills itself as Canada’s largest Muslim advocacy group, said it
has already been in contact with more than 1,000 people who have asked about
getting relatives out of Gaza.
“There should not be a cap,” Uthman
Quick, the organization’s director of communications, told the Canadian Press.
In a statement Tuesday, a Canadian
immigration department spokesperson defended the program cap, saying it “takes
into consideration the volatility on the ground and the difficulty that Canada
and like-minded countries are having in moving people from Gaza to Egypt.”
Gaza residents have been subjected to
constant retaliatory attacks since the Palestinian group Hamas raided southern
Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 and taking more than 200 hostages.
Israel has launched relentless air and
ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since the cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct.
7.
At least 22,185 Palestinians have since
been killed and 57,035 others injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in
ruins, with 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed and nearly
2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and
medicines.
Source: aa.com.tr
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/canada-to-accept-1-000-visa-applications-from-canadians-relatives-in-gaza/3098747
------
Houthis fire 2 anti-ship ballistic
missiles from Yemen into Red Sea: US
Diyar Guldogan
03.01.2024
Two anti-ship ballistic missiles were
fired Tuesday from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen toward international
shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea, according to the US military.
"Multiple commercial ships in the
area reported the impact of the ASBMs (anti-ship ballistic missiles) into the
surrounding water though none have reported any damage," US Central
Command (CENTCOM) said on X.
“These illegal actions endangered the
lives of dozens of innocent mariners and continue to disrupt the free flow of
international commerce,” it said, adding "this is the 24th attack against
merchant shipping in the Southern Red Sea since Nov. 19."
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have significantly
stepped up their involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip by
targeting vessels in the Southern Red Sea. The group has warned that it will
attack all Israel-bound ships. It said the attacks are to support Palestinians
as they face Israel's "aggression and siege" in Gaza.
The Red Sea is one of the world's most
frequently used sea routes for oil and fuel shipments.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
recently announced the creation of a multinational mission -- Operation
Prosperity Guardian -- to counter Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the
Red Sea.
Source: aa.com.tr
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/houthis-fire-2-anti-ship-ballistic-missiles-from-yemen-into-red-sea-us/3098744
-----
US reaches deal to extend military
presence at Qatar base
Jan 3, 2024
TEHRAN, Jan. 03 (MNA) – Washington has
"quietly" reached an agreement with Doha to extend the US military
presence at a major base in Qatar for another ten years.
Washington has "quietly"
reached an agreement with Doha to extend the US military presence at a major
base in Qatar for another ten years, an American broadcaster quoted unnamed
sources as saying, Sputnik reports.
The US Department of Defense has yet to
comment on the matter.
The reported developments come after US
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Al Udeid in December, where he thanked
Qatar for its increased spending on the base.
Qatar had previously reportedly pledged
billions of dollars of its own money to upgrade facilities for US airmen at the
base.
The Al Udeid air base, known as the
largest US military facility in West Asia, can accommodate more than 10,000
American troops.
Source: mehrnews.com
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https://en.mehrnews.com/news/210280/US-reaches-deal-to-extend-military-presence-at-Qatar-base
-----
Singh calls for solidarity, respect as
hate crimes targeting Jewish, Muslim communities spike
Jan 02, 2024
Canadians can and must do more to make
each other feel safe as reports of hate crimes spike during the ongoing
Israel-Hamas war, federal New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh said.
Recalling his own experiences of being
targeted over his identity, Singh said in a year-end interview with The
Canadian Press that people need space to express their fears, worries and
political opinions without provoking hateful conduct.
"I think we can be better as a
country," Singh said in a phone call from Toronto.
"We need to come to a place of
respect for each other, a place where we can be who we are, and we can be
celebrated for our identity and not be afraid."
Singh said he recently spoke to Jewish
and Muslim Canadians who have expressed concerns about their safety amid an
uptick in hate-motivated violence, and who are worried about wearing religious
symbols that are part of their identity.
"They're afraid (for their kids) to
wear anything that identifies them as Jewish. They're nervous to wear their
yamaka or Star of David. These symbols are part of their identity, and they're
afraid of that," he said.
He added that he's heard members of the
Muslim community describe the current climate as "a reminder of
post-9/11," a time of significant "suspicion and negativity."
"If a woman wears a hijab, she's
even more nervous to be in public," Singh said.
It's a familiar concern for Singh, who
wears a turban — a symbol of his Sikh faith.
"I grew up being picked on, having
my turban ripped off my head and having to fight back," he said.
"I remember what that's like, being
afraid to be yourself and the courage it takes to still do it."
Hamas militants killed an estimated
1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7 and took about 240 more hostage, provoking an
Israeli military response that local authorities said has killed almost 22,000
people in the Gaza Strip.
Police reporting spike in hate crimes
In Canada, protesters have been clashing
in the streets and on university campuses. And police are reporting significant
spikes in hate crimes.
"That is a real scary thing, and
it's happening in a real shocking way. I'm seeing a massive rise," Singh
said.
Last month, Toronto police said reports
of hate crimes increased by more than 104 per cent between Oct. 7 and Dec. 17
compared to the same time period last year. They included 56 reports of
antisemitic hate crimes and 20 reports of anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian or
anti-Arab hate crimes.
Police also said they're investigating
an exchange between a demonstrator and another person during a pro-Palestine
protest at a downtown mall.
Toronto is not an outlier.
In Montreal, Jewish schools have been
shot at, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a building belonging to the Jewish
Community Council of Montreal and anti-Muslim graffiti was spray-painted near
an Islamic centre.
In November, Calgary police said they
charged a man who allegedly used antisemitic language at a protest. His charges
were later stayed.
And last month, RCMP announced they had
arrested and charged a teen in Ottawa with terrorism-related offences that
allegedly targeted Jewish people. Police warned of a troubling trend in violent
extremism among Canadian youth.
Source: cbc.ca
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/singh-israel-hamas-gaza-hate-crimes-1.7072713
----
Senator calls for 'no more US funding'
for Israel's 'illegal' war on Gaza
Diyar Guldogan
03.01.2024
US Senator Bernie Sanders urged Congress
on Tuesday to reject the $10.1 billion in unconditional military aid being
considered for Israel to continue its "brutal war" against the
Palestinian people.
"Let me be clear: NO MORE U.S.
funding for (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s illegal, immoral,
brutal and grossly disproportionate war against the Palestinian people,"
Sanders said on X.
Americans must understand that Israel’s
war against the Palestinian people has been significantly waged with US bombs,
artillery shells and other forms of weaponry, he said, adding: "And the
results have been catastrophic."
"Enough is enough. Congress must
reject that funding. The taxpayers of the United States must no longer be
complicit in destroying the lives of innocent men, women and children in
Gaza," he added.
Israel has launched relentless air and
ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian
group Hamas on Oct. 7.
At least 22,185 Palestinians have since
been killed and 57,035 others injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities,
while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas
attack.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in
ruins, with 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed and nearly
2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and
medicines.
Source: aa.com.tr
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/senator-calls-for-no-more-us-funding-for-israels-illegal-war-on-gaza/3098742
----
Southeast Asia
Malay ShariahExperts Call for Stringent
Regulations Over Rising Trend of Unsanctioned Islamic Marriages
Shathana Kasinathan
03 Jan 2024
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 — Marriage decisions
based on the desire for a faster, easier process or even the fear of existing
spouses is becoming common reasons for Muslims choosing to marry without
official permission, whether within the country or abroad, according to Federal
Territories Syariah Bar Association president Datuk Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar.
Malay daily Utusan Malaysia today
reported Zainul Rijal expressing concern over the long-term repercussions of
such actions, particularly concerning lineage.
“Laws and regulations are made to
protect the interests of parties and religions such as lineage, for example.
“Permission is needed to ensure that a
person has never been married, widowed, or who wants to be polygamous,” he was
quoted as saying, referring to Muslim marriages.
Utusan Malaysia previously reported that
the Shariah courts received a total of 30,279 marriage confirmation
applications within five years from Muslim couples involved in elopement or
those who married without official consent, whether domestically or internationally.
This figure encompasses couples who have
previously married, regardless of whether it was their first marriage or a
polygamous union. Muslim men are allowed by their religion to wed up to four
wives.
Islamic Affairs Minister Datuk Mohd
Na’im Mokhtar underscored the importance of regulating Muslim marriage affairs
in the country to uphold Shariah’s ‘Maqasid’ and address the five ‘maslahahs’,
particularly preserving religion, lineage, and property.
He highlighted mandatory HIV tests for
Muslim couples in Malaysia to ensure the well-being of both the couple and any
future children.
“All these tests are important for the
long-term good. Many choose to get married and run away without thinking about
the bad consequences that will happen later,” he was quoted as saying.
Expressing concerns about the perceived
complexity of marriage laws, Malaysian Shariah Lawyers Association president
Tuan Musa Awang noted that some Muslims opt to marry abroad, such as in
Thailand, to avoid what they perceive as cumbersome legal provisions.
“A few people think that the legal
provisions set are very troublesome and burdensome,” he was quoted as saying.
He urged the government to collaborate
with state authorities to negotiate with neighbouring countries on marriage
procedures, ensuring that couples marrying abroad adhere to the rules of both
the host country and their country of origin.
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/01/03/sharie-experts-call-for-stringent-regulations-over-rising-trend-of-unsanctioned-islamic-marriages/110366
-----
Foreign Affairs Ministry: No reports of
Singaporeans affected by Japan earthquake, travellers urged to remain vigilant
3 Jan 2024
SINGAPORE, Jan 3 — There have been no
reports of Singaporeans affected by the earthquake that ripped through Japan's
Ishikawa prefecture on New Year's Day, said Singapore's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MFA) yesterday (January 2).
The 7.6-magnitude quake, which struck
central Japan at 4.10pm (local time), has claimed the lives of at least 48
people.
Search and rescue efforts are ongoing,
as rescue teams race against time to find survivors.
“The Singapore Government extends its
condolences to Japan and the families affected by the Ishikawa earthquake,” MFA
said in a statement.
The ministry added that it has reached
out to electronically registered Singaporeans in the affected regions and those
for which tsunami warnings had been issued.
“In view of possible aftershocks,
Singaporeans in Japan are advised to defer travel to the affected regions,
remain vigilant, take all necessary precautions for their personal safety and
heed the instructions of the local authorities.”
MFA also “strongly encourages” those who
are in or travelling to Japan to e-register with the ministry and to buy
comprehensive travel insurance if they have not done so.
Singaporeans in Japan who require
consular assistance can contact the Singapore Embassy in Tokyo at
+81-90-5949-6366 or +81-90-5258-3252.
They can also reach out to the MFA Duty
Office via its 24-hour hotline +65 6379 8800 / 8855. ― TODAY
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/singapore/2024/01/03/foreign-affairs-ministry-no-reports-of-singaporeans-affected-by-japan-earthquake-travellers-urged-to-remain-vigilant/110322
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Over a thousand join Selawat Recitation
Programme With Ustaz Don Daniyal in Ipoh
03-01- 2024
IPOH: More than 1,000 people
participated in a ‘selawat’ (salutations upon the Prophet Muhammad) recitation
programme with Ustaz Don Daniyal Don Biyajid at Bulatan Sultan Azlan Shah here
tonight.
The programme organised by the Perak
State Development Corporation (PKNP) was attended by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri
Saarani Mohamad and his wife Datin Seri Aezer Zubin, as well as state executive
council members and heads of government departments and agencies at the state
level.
The programme began at 9 pm with the
recitation of verses 122 to 129 of Surah At-Taubah, by 2023 Perak al-Quran
recitation champion Mohd Kamaruzaman Daud.
It then continued with the recitation of
selawat and ‘zikir’ (prayers) by the QasidahMajelis Rasulullah group from
Gerik, followed by a lecture titled ‘Mindset Tahun Baru’ (New Year’s Mindset)
delivered by Ustaz Don Daniyal.
The programme was held to celebrate the
new year as well as empower religious activities to benefit Muslims in
Perak.–Bernama
Source: thesun.my
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https://thesun.my/local_news/over-a-thousand-join-selawat-recitation-programme-with-ustaz-don-daniyal-in-ipoh-GK11936101
-----
India
Gyanvapi Mosque Case: Hindu Petitioners
File Application InSupreme Court To Clean 'Wuzukhana' Area
02 Jan 2024
The Hindu petitioners seeking direction
from the district magistrate of Varanasi for cleaning the entire area of
'Wuzukhana' or ablution pond of Gyanvapi mosque, have filed an application to
this end, reported news agency ANI.
According to the Hindu petitioners, the
'Wuzukhana' of Gyanvapi mosque is the place where the alleged 'Shivling' was
found and is the reservoir where devotees perform ablutions before offering
namaz.
In the application, the petitioners said
fish in the water tank died between December 12 and 25, 2023, and due to the
same, there is a putrid smell emitting from the tank.
"Since there exists Shivlingam
which is sacred to Hindus and should be kept away from all dirt, grime, dead
animals, etc., and must be in clean condition, is currently in the midst of
dead fishes which is hurtful to the sentiments of the devotees of Lord
Shiva," the application stated.
The application was filed through
advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain.
It is further submitted that the
Committee of Management Anjuman Intezamia Masjid which manages the mosque in
the Gyanvapi complex is responsible for the condition of fish.
"In case, the fish would have been
transferred as requested by District Magistrate, Varanasi the present
unfortunate situation would have not occurred," the application said while
seeking direction to clean 'wazukhana'.
The area of 'wazukhana' was sealed in
2022 on a Supreme Court order after the discovery of what was said to be a
'Shivling'.
On May 16, 2022, during a court-mandated
survey of the mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, a structure
-- claimed to be a "Shivling" by the Hindu side and a
"fountain" by the Muslim side -- was found in the mosque premises.
The 'Wazu' area of the Gyanvapi mosque
is the centre of the Gyanvapi mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute between
Hindus and Muslim parties in the case. The Hindu parties claim that 'Shivling'
has been found in that spot. However, the Muslim side disputed the same and
said that it was only a water fountain.
Source: livemint.com
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https://www.livemint.com/news/india/gyanvapi-mosque-case-hindu-petitioners-file-application-in-supreme-court-to-clean-wazukhana-area-11704211922604.html
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VHP warns Asaduddin Owaisi of legal
action for ‘provoking Muslim community’
2nd January 2024
New Delhi: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)
international Joint General Secretary Surendra Jain on Tuesday warned AIMIM
chief Asaduddin Owaisi for his comment that “Young people, I am telling you, we
have lost our Masjid and you are seeing what is being done there. Don’t you
have pain in your hearts?.”
Speaking to ANI, Surendra Jain said that
the way he (Owaisi) repeatedly criticizes the verdict given by the Supreme
Court on Shri Ram Janmabhoomi also comes under the ambit of contempt of the
Supreme Court.
“I want to warn leaders like Owaisi not
to provoke the people of Muslim community again and again, they are pushing
muslim society towards such a dark alley whose end does not lead to
development” he added.
Senior VHP Leader Surendra Jain further
told ANI that I condemn Owaisi’s statement and we have asked our legal cell
team to see whether his statement is going beyond the legal limits, going
beyond the limits of the Constitution and violating the law. If such is found,
then now we can also consider legal action against these leaders.
“As the construction of the grand temple
of Shri Ram at the birthplace of Shri Ram is moving towards completion, the
frustration of some Muslim leaders like Owaisi is increasing rapidly and they
are becoming even more frustrated when they see that a large section of Muslim
society is preparing to welcome the grand temple, In frustration, they say such
words which not only inciting a section of the Muslim society against the
Hindus but also instigating them against the government,” he added.
As the inauguration of the Ram Temple is
nearing, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin
Owaisi has appealed to the youth of the Muslim community to be watchful of the
activities done by the BJP-led Centre and said that masjids in the country
should remain inhabited.
With reference to Babri Masjid,
Asaduddin Owaisi said that the place where the holy Quran was recited for the
past 500 years is not in their hands anymore.
“Young people, I am telling you, we have
lost our Masjid and you are seeing what is being done there. Don’t you have
pain in your hearts ?,” Owaisi said at a programme in BhavNagar.
AIMIM chief further stated that young
Muslims have to remain alert and united.
“Maintain your support and strength.
Keep your mosques populated. It may happen that these Masjids are taken away
from us. I hope the young man of today who will be the old man of tomorrow will
keep his eyes ahead and think hard about how he can help himself, his family,
his city, and his neighbourhood. Unity is a strength, unity is a blessing,”
Owaisi added.
Source: siasat.com
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https://www.siasat.com/vhp-warns-asaduddin-owaisi-of-legal-action-for-provoking-muslim-community-2947366/
----
Congress Leader Opposes Law on
Hit-And-Run Cases inMuslim-DominatedNuh Rally
January 03, 2024
Amid the nationwide strike of
transporters against the increase in punishment in hit-and-run cases in the
yet-to-be-implemented Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, senior Congress leader and
former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday said he opposed
the manner and the format in which the law had been introduced.
“When the Congress returns to power, we
will fix it so that no excesses are committed against the drivers,” Mr. Hooda
said, speaking at a party workers’ meeting in the Muslim-dominated Nuh
district, where a sizeable proportion of people work as truck drivers and
helpers, including for agencies involved in ferrying construction material from
the Aravali hills.
Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, set
to replace the Indian Penal Code, drivers who cause serious road accidents due
to negligent driving and run away without informing authorities face up to 10
years in prison or a fine of ₹7 lakh.
Referring to the communal violence in
the region during the “Jalabhishek Yatra” in July last year, Mr. Hooda accused
the ruling coalition of instigating violence. “It is the responsibility of the
government to maintain law and order. Instead, the government fanned communal
tensions. I congratulate the people of Mewat and the Khaps that showed wisdom
and kept their brotherhood intact,” said Mr. Hooda, a two-time Chief Minister.
Congress won the three Assembly seats in
the district — Nuh, Ferozepur Jhirka, and Punhana — in the 2019 election, while
the two other constituencies — Sohna (Gurugram) and Hathin (Palwal) — which
also have a sizeable Muslim population went to the BJP. Mr. Hooda said Congress
would form the government in the State if Nuh’s people promised to help the
party win all five seats in the upcoming State election.
Mr. Hooda exhorted those present at the
meeting to take the Congress’s message to every home under its new campaign,
“Ghar Ghar Congress”.
Nuh MLA Aftab Ahmed said the new law on
hit-and-run cases had been brought without taking the stakeholders into
confidence and demanded its review. He accused the ruling coalition in Haryana
of pushing the district towards violence and creating communal tensions in the
area. “While Nuh saw unprecedented development during the Congress’s rule, the
BJP government tried to push it towards anarchy and violence by trying to
disturb the communal harmony,” said Mr. Ahmed, deputy leader, Congress
Legislature Party.
Source: thehindu.com
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https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/hooda-opposes-law-on-hit-and-run-cases-in-nuh-rally-eyes-all-five-muslim-dominated-assembly-seats-in-haryana/article67699282.ece
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HC Commends MCD, Delhi Police for Swift
Action in Repossessing Jama Masjid Parks
2nd January 2024
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has
lauded the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Police for their
prompt efforts in reclaiming the possession of two public parks adjacent to
Jama Masjid in the national capital.
The MCD’s counsel informed a division
bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna that the
civic body successfully regained control of both North and South Parks on
December 12, 2023.
The court was pleased to learn that the
parks have been reopened for public use, with informational boards displaying
their timings installed at entry points.
The court expressed appreciation,
stating, “This Court appreciates the alacrity with which the officers of the
Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Delhi Police have taken repossession of the
North and South Parks bounding Jama Masjid.”
This commendation follows the court’s
earlier criticism of MCD’s failure to take possession, saying that a statutory
authority cannot lose control of public parks.
In November last year, the court had
directed the MCD to reclaim the parks, alleging that the Shahi Imam of Jama
Masjid authorities were illegally in possession and had locked them.
Now, the court was informed that a
section of Urdu Park, near Meena Bazaar, has been taken over by Delhi Urban
Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) for a night shelter.
The court has directed the officials to
write to DUSIB to vacate the green cover as expeditiously as possible,
preferably within four months, and listed the next hearing for April 10.
“The MCD is directed to file a fresh
status report at least a week before the next date of hearing,” the court said.
The case originated from a petition
filed by resident Mohd. Arslam, concerning the possession of the two public
parks near Jama Masjid, initially managed by MCD.
The court disposed of the plea in 2022,
directing authorities to consider Arslan’s representation.
Allegedly, no action was taken despite a
positive assurance. In April 2022, the court involved the Delhi Waqf Board,
ordering the removal of encroachments from the parks in the interim.
Source: siasat.com
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https://www.siasat.com/hc-commends-mcd-delhi-police-for-swift-action-in-repossessing-jama-masjid-parks-2947410/
----
"Big At Heart": PM Modi
Reaches Out To Muslim-Dominated Lakshadweep
January 03, 2024
Kavaratti, Lakshadweep: Reaching out to
the people of the Muslim-dominated Lakshadweep, which witnessed massive
protests against reforms introduced by his government, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi today said the archipelago is small, but the people have a big heart.
The Prime Minister was in Lakshadweep to
inaugurate and lay the foundation for various projects worth ₹ 1,150 crore in the
Union Territory.
"The area of Lakshadweep may be
small, but the people here have a big heart. I am overwhelmed by the love and
blessings I am receiving here. I express my gratitude to you all," said
the Prime Minister who reached the islands on Tuesday.
The projects were launched at a function
attended by hundreds of islanders including women and children.
Addressing the gathering after launching
the projects, PM Modi took a dig at the previous non-BJP governments at the
Centre, stating that their only priority for decades was the development of
their own political parties.
"Far-off states, border areas, or
those in the middle of the ocean were not given any attention," he said.
Elaborating on the steps taken by his
government for the development of such areas, PM Modi said, "In the last
10 years, our government has made border areas and locations at the edge of the
sea its priority."
"In 2020, I guaranteed you that you
would get fast internet facility within the next 1,000 days. Today, the
Kochi-Lakshadweep Submarine Optical Fibre Project has been inaugurated. Now,
the internet in Lakshadweep will be available at 100 times higher speed,"
the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi had announced the project in his
Independence Day speech in August 2020 at the Red Fort in Delhi.
The transformational initiative aims to
overcome the challenge of slow internet speed on Lakshadweep Island. This will
result in an increase in internet speed by more than 100 times, from 1.7 Gbps
to 200 Gbps, in the islands, according to officials.
They said Lakshadweep is now connected
through a submarine optical fibre cable, marking a significant shift in
communication infrastructure. This will enhance internet services,
telemedicine, e-governance, education, digital banking, currency usage and literacy
in the islands, they said.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated the
Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) plant at Kadmat, which will produce
1.5 lakh litres of clean drinking water every day. Additionally, he dedicated
to the nation the Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) in all households
on the Agatti and Minicoy islands.
Other projects launched by PM Modi
include the solar power plant at Kavaratti, which is the first battery-backed
solar power project in Lakshadweep. He also laid the foundation stone for the
renovation of the primary healthcare facility in Kalpeni and the construction
of five model Anganwadi centres (Nand Ghars) in the five islands of Androth,
Chetlat, Kadmat, Agatti and Minicoy.
Source: ndtv.com
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https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/big-at-heart-pm-narendra-modi-reaches-out-to-muslim-dominated-lakshadweep-4791932
----
ED conducts fresh searches in money
laundering case against AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan
02 Jan 2024
New Delhi : The Enforcement Directorate
(ED) on Tuesday undertook fresh searches at about four-five premises in the
national capital as part of a money laundering probe against AAP MLA
Amanatullah Khan linked to alleged irregularities in recruitment of staff for
the Delhi Waqf Board, official sources said.
The raids are being carried out under
the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources
said.
About four-five premises are being
covered by the ED officials, they said.
The agency had in October raided the
premises of the 49-year-old legislator who represents the Okhla constituency in
the Delhi assembly. It had also arrested three of his alleged associates in
this case in November.
The ED had alleged that Khan acquired
“huge proceeds of crime” in cash from illegal recruitment of staff in the Delhi
Waqf Board and invested these for purchasing immovable assets in the name of
his associates.
“The searches (in October) were
conducted in the case related to illegal recruitment of staff in Delhi Waqf
Board and illegal personal gains by way of unfairly leasing out of Waqf Board
properties during the chairmanship of the board by Amantullah Khan during
2018-2022,” the agency had claimed in a statement.
It said a CBI FIR and three Delhi Police
complaints formed the basis of the ED action against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
MLA.
Khan, the ED said, “acquired huge
proceeds of crime out of the said criminal activities in cash and this cash
amount was invested in purchase of various immovable properties in Delhi in the
name of his associates.”
Several “incriminating” materials in the
form of physical and digital evidence were seized during the raids which
“indicate” the role of Khan in the offence of money laundering, it said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had
alleged there was a campaign underway to end the AAP and asserted that false
cases are being filed against party leaders. ( With PTI inputs )
Source: muslimmirror.com
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https://muslimmirror.com/eng/ed-conducts-fresh-searches-in-money-laundering-case-against-aap-mla-amanatullah-khan/
-----
Mideast
Egypt rejects Israeli proposal to join
US-led coalition in Red Sea
02 January 2024
Egypt has rejected an Israeli proposal
to join a US-led maritime coalition formed under the pretext of protecting
shipping in the strategic Red Sea following Yemen’s retaliatory attacks on
Israeli-owned and -bound vessels in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza
Strip, according to Israeli media.
Israel’s i24NEWS website reported the
development after an Israeli foreign ministry delegation headed to the Egyptian
capital of Cairo last week to discuss the possibility of Egypt joining the
Washington-led multinational task force in the Red and the Arabian seas.
The Israeli website said Egypt
"refused to take an active part in the coalition forces," leaving
Bahrain as the only Arab country that has agreed to participate in the
coalition.
The Pentagon announced in mid-December
the launch of the maritime coalition under the banner of Operation Prosperity
Guardian with five warships from the United States, France, and the United
Kingdom patrolling the waters of the southern Red Sea and the western Gulf of
Aden.
However, the task force has been beset
by reluctant participation of its members and lack of interest from regional
Arab states to be part of the coalition.
Yemen’s Defense Minister Major General
Mohammad al-Atifi on Thursday warned foreign forces "against engaging in
various activities supporting the Zionist entity in the maritime theater that
spans between Arab states and Bahrain in the Red Sea."
Atifi underlined that Yemeni Armed
Forces “are closely and rigorously monitoring the movement of American, British
and French military forces in both bodies of water.”
Moreover, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the
top commander of US naval forces in the Middle East, in an interview with the
Associated Press on Saturday acknowledged the failure of the multinational task
force.
Cooper said Yemen’s Armed Forces and the
popular Houthi Ansarullah resistance movement show no signs of ending their
attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea even as more nations join the
maritime mission to protect vessels in the vital waterway.
The Yemeni armed forces and the popular
resistance movement have on several occasions announced that those vessels
which are not owned by and bound for Israel can safely transit the Red Sea and
the Arabian Sea.
The United States’ military has admitted
to the failure of a Washington-led multinational task force.
US ‘shot itself in the foot’ by
targeting Yemeni forces: Ansarullah
In a related development on Tuesday,
Ansarullah’s Office Director Safar al-Sufi censured the recent American
aggression against Yemeni forces in the Red Sea, where US Navy helicopters
attacked four boats belonging to the Yemeni Naval Forces, sinking three of them
and killing at least 10 Yemeni servicemen.
Sufi said the US revealed its “criminal
face” by striking Yemeni boats and violating international navigation laws,
stressing that America’s targeting of the Yemeni naval forces threatens the
security of international maritime navigation.
“The United States shot itself in the
foot by targeting Yemen’s Armed Forces, and of course will not be spared from
Yemeni fighters’ response,” he added.
The Israeli regime launched its
devastating war on the Gaza Strip on October 7 after the territory’s
Palestinian resistance movements carried out a surprise retaliatory attack,
dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.
The relentless Israeli military campaign
against Gaza has killed more than 22,000 people, most of them women and
children. At least 57,000 individuals have also been wounded.
The regime has largely cut off access to
water, food and power supplies in Gaza.
Source: presstv.ir
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/01/02/717490/Egypt-maritime-coalition-Red-Sea-Israeli-ships
------
Israeli public broadcaster shares
footage of wounded Israeli soldiers
bdelRa'ouf D. A. R. Arnaout and Ali
Semerci
03.01.2024
The Israeli public broadcaster KAN has
published a video showing Israeli soldiers wounded in clashes with the
Palestinian resistance group Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip.
The footage shows 16 soldiers trapped
inside a house in Beit Hanoun, with some of them saying they don't want to die
after being exposed to heavy fire from Hamas fighters.
One wounded soldier is heard screaming:
"I am going to die brother! I don't want to die! I can't! My leg is cut
off!"
Another soldier says: "My hand is
cut off! I have no hand!"
The solider says he realizes there is no
one to help him and that while coming under rocket fire, he felt that he and
everyone else would die.
While the soldiers are evacuating the
apartment, one of them asks: "Are there any more injured?" while
another soldier says: "There is one wounded."
According to KAN, the video footage was
taken from bodycams worn by the soldiers.
Source: aa.com.tr
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-public-broadcaster-shares-footage-of-wounded-israeli-soldiers/3098743
------
Head of Hezbollah to give planned speech
despite assassination of Hamas deputy chief in Lebanon
Wassim Saifuldine
02.01.2024
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan
Nasrallah will give a speech on Wednesday as scheduled, a group spokesperson
told Anadolu.
Reports emerged that Nasrallah had
canceled his speech following the assassination of Hamas deputy chief Saleh
al-Arouri in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
“We will not cancel Nasrallah’s speech
on Wednesday,” Rana al-Saheli said.
Arouri was killed in an Israeli drone
attack targeting a Hamas office in Beirut’s southern neighborhood on Tuesday,
according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
Hamas confirmed that Arouri and two
commanders of its military wing, the Qassam Brigades, were killed in the
attack, which left at least six people dead.
Arouri was the most senior Hamas leader
to have been killed by Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct.
7.
Tension has flared along the border
between Lebanon and Israel amid intermittent exchanges of gunfire between
Israeli forces and Hezbollah, in the deadliest clashes since the two sides
fought a full-scale war in 2006.
The border tension comes amid an Israeli
military offensive in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas
on Oct. 7.
At least 22,185 Palestinians have since
been killed and 57,035 others injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities,
while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas
attack.
Source: aa.com.tr
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------
Israel ready ‘for any scenario’ after
strike kills Hamas deputy in Lebanon
January 03, 2024
Jerusalem: The Israeli army has said it
is “prepared for any scenario” after a strike in Beirut that killed Hamas’s
deputy chief, stoking fears the war in the Gaza Strip could boil over into
wider regional conflict.
A high-level security official in
Lebanon told AFP that Saleh Al-Aruri was killed along with his bodyguards in a
strike by Israel, which has vowed to destroy Hamas after the movement’s shock
October 7 attacks.
A second security official confirmed the
information, while Hamas TV also reported Israel had killed Aruri in Lebanon.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari did
not directly comment on the killing, but said afterwards that the military was
in “very high state of readiness in all arenas, in defense and offense. We are
highly prepared for any scenario.”
Israel has previously announced the
deaths in Gaza of Hamas commanders and officials during the war, but Aruri is
the most high-profile figure to be killed, and his death came in the first
strike on the Lebanese capital since hostilities began.
The strike adds to widespread fears that
the nearly three-month-old Israel-Hamas war could become a wider regional
conflagration.
Hamas said Aruri’s death would not lead
to its defeat, while its Lebanon-based ally Hezbollah vowed the killing would
not go unpunished, calling it “a serious assault on Lebanon... and a dangerous
development.”
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati
condemned the killing and said it “aims to draw Lebanon” further into the war.
Aruri, who lived in exile, is accused by
Israel of masterminding numerous attacks.
Following his death, Hamas chief Ismail
Haniyeh said that a movement “whose leaders fall as martyrs for the dignity of
our people and our nation will never be defeated.”
Hamas’s bloody October 7 attack on
Israel resulted in the deaths of around 1,140 people, most of them civilians,
according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also took around 250 hostages
back to Hamas-ruled Gaza, of whom 129 remain in captivity, according to Israeli
figures.
After the attack, the worst in its
history, Israel began a relentless bombardment and ground offensive that has
killed at least 22,185 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s
health ministry.
Israel’s army said soldiers in Gaza had
killed “dozens of terrorists” in fighting on Tuesday, and had also raided a
weapons storage compound in the southern city of Khan Yunis.
In the aftermath of a strike on the
Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, Palestinians rushed to rescue victims
and retrieve bodies from the rubble.
“There are about 12 martyrs until now,
mostly children. What was their fault? Among them my one-month-old son, what
did he do to Israel?” asked Ghazi Darwish. “My other son is five years old, he
was also martyred.”
Further south in Khan Yunis, the
Palestine Red Crescent Society said Israel had twice struck its headquarters,
resulting in “five casualties and three injuries” among displaced people who
had sought refuge there and at a nearby hospital.
“They told us to go to the south, which
is safe, but they are liars,” shouted Fathi Al-Af, pointing to his wounded
daughter on a stretcher on the floor of Nasser Hospital after the Red Crescent
strike.
The head of the World Health
Organization (WHO) denounced the alleged strikes as “unconscionable.”
The strikes in Khan Yunis continued
overnight into Wednesday morning, with the Hamas health ministry reporting
“numerous” deaths.
United Nations agencies have voiced
alarm over Gaza’s spiralling humanitarian crisis, which has left 2.4 million
people under siege, most of them displaced and crowded into shelters and tents
during winter rains.
“Hamas people are hiding in their houses
and the tunnels, while we don’t find food or drink and are dying of cold,” said
Wojud Kamal Al-Shinbary, who like many Gazans had made her way to Rafah, in the
far south.
The WHO has warned of the risk of famine
and disease, with only a minimal amount of aid entering.
On Tuesday the UK said a British ship
had delivered 87 tons of Gaza aid to Egypt from Cyprus, the first shipment via
a new maritime corridor from the Mediterranean island.
In the occupied West Bank, where the
official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported multiple Israeli operations
overnight, AFPTV images showed scores of people in the streets of Ramallah to
protest at Aruri’s killing.
Palestinian prime minister Mohammad
Shtayyeh also condemned the killing, and warned about the “risks and
consequences that could follow,” his office said.
Israeli strikes in neighboring countries
on groups acting in support of Hamas have fanned fears of a wider conflict.
In a call with Israeli war cabinet
member Benny Gantz after Aruri’s killing, French President Emmanuel Macron
urged Israel to “avoid any escalatory attitude, particularly in Lebanon.”
A strike inside Syria last month that
was blamed on Israel killed a senior commander of the foreign operations arm of
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels,
meanwhile, have also launched attacks at Israel and against cargo ships in the
Red Sea in solidarity with Hamas, with the US military assembling a
multinational task force to protect the vital shipping lane.
The Houthis fired two missiles late
Tuesday toward merchant ships traveling in the Red Sea near the strategic Bab
el-Mandeb Strait, the US military said, though no ships in the area reported
damage.
The French mission to the UN said the
Security Council — of which France and the United States are permanent members
— would discuss the Houthi attacks in a meeting on Wednesday.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2435551/middle-east
-----
Hezbollah says Israel killing of Hamas
deputy ‘will not go unanswered’
January 03, 2024
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah
group warned that Israel’s killing Tuesday of the deputy Hamas leader in a
Beirut suburb they control “will not go unanswered or unpunished.”
Hezbollah called it “a serious assault
on Lebanon.”
“We, Hezbollah, affirm that this crime
will not go unanswered or unpunished,” the movement said in a statement that
called it “a serious assault on Lebanon... and a dangerous development in the
course of the war,” the statement added.
An Israeli strike killed Saleh Al-Aruri,
deputy head of the Hamas movement, in a southern Beirut stronghold of Hamas
ally Hezbollah, two security officials told AFP.
Hamas, at war with Israel in the Gaza
Strip for almost three months, later confirmed Aruri’s death which Lebanese
state media said came in an Israeli drone strike that killed a total of six
people.
Hezbollah has engaged in near-daily
cross-border clashes with Israel since Israel’s war with Hamas began in
October.
Last month, Iranian state media said an
Israeli missile strike killed Razi Moussavi, a senior commander of the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps’ foreign operations arm, the Quds Force, near the
Syrian capital Damascus.
Moussavi was the most senior Quds Force
commander to be killed outside Iran in four years.
Hezbollah said the strike that killed
Aruri was “in continuation with... the assassination of commander Razi
Moussavi.”
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is set
to give a televised speech on Wednesday.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2435506/middle-east
-----
Iran’s UN Envoy: Israel fully
responsible for moves against Islam Republic
January 3, 2024
Iran’s ambassador and permanent
representative to the United Nations has held the Israeli regime to account for
its moves against the Islamic Republic of Iran following the recent Israeli
threats against Tehran.
“The Israeli regime bears full
responsibility for all of its wrongful international actions against Iran and
should be accountable for them,” wrote AmirsaeidIrvani in a letter to the UN
Secretary General and also the French ambassador to the world body, who holds
the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly
emphasizes its legitimate and inherent rights, as stipulated in international
laws and the UN Charter, to firmly respond to any threat and illegal move
originating from the Israeli regime,” added Iran’s ambassador.
“Iran also stresses its steely
determination to exercise these rights to safeguard its security, national
interests and people against any threats or attacks,” he explained.
The top diplomat touched upon Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s threat to use military force against Iran
over its nuclear program.
“Such hostile comments are a blatant
violation of the fundamental principles of international law and the UN
Charter,” Iravani said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Iran’s
ambassador to the UN called on the world body to take prompt action to stop
Israeli atrocities against Palestinians.
More than 21,000 Palestinians have so
far been killed in Israeli carnage against Gaza since early October.
Source: ifpnews.com
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https://ifpnews.com/un-envoy-israel-responsible-moves-iran/
-----
Hamas, Islamic Jihad respond to Egyptian
deal proposal - Al Mayadeen
JANUARY 2, 2024
Hamas and Islamic Jihad responded in a
joint statement on Tuesday to the Egyptian proposal of a deal with Israel, the
Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese news outlet Al Mayadeen reported on its Telegram
channel.
According to the Hezbollah-aligned news
organization, the Hamas and Islamic Jihad paper presented to the Egyptians
stipulated in its first clause that there must be a ceasefire and complete
Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
“We presented to Qatar and Egypt our
position and vision, which is based on a comprehensive cessation of aggression
against our people,” Al Mayadeen reported Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as
saying.
Source: jpost.com
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https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-780466
-----
Muslim scholars urge retrieval of
newborn 'abducted' by Israeli soldier in Gaza
Faruk Zorlu
02.01.2024
The International Union for Muslim
Scholars (IUMS) has called on the Islamic world to reclaim a newborn allegedly
taken by an Israeli soldier from Gaza.
"We call on governments and leaders
in the Arab and Islamic world to take back this newborn," Ali al-Qaradaghi
said on X.
"I declare that I bear the
responsibility to care for this baby. Our honor is precious, and we cannot
accept this humiliation," he added.
The appeal follows revelations by an
Israeli soldier who disclosed that an officer took a Palestinian infant from
Gaza after airstrikes likely claimed the lives of her family.
Shachar Mendelson, an associate of the
soldier, told Army Radio on Sunday that Capt. Harel Itach, from the
GivatiBrigade, who was killed in battles in the northern Gaza Strip on Nov. 22,
took the Palestinian infant to a hospital in Israel. The whereabouts of the
baby are said to be unknown since then.
Israel began its attacks on Gaza after
the Oct. 7 cross-border offensive by Hamas. It has since killed nearly 22,000
people, mostly women and children, and left Gaza in ruins, where more than half
of the population does not have enough food, water and medicine.
Source: aa.com.tr
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----
4,119 Palestinian school students
killed, 7,536 injured in Gaza since Oct. 7
Ahmed Asmar
02.01.2024
At least 4,119 Palestinian school
students have been killed and 7,536 others injured in the ongoing Israeli
attacks on Gaza, the Palestinian Education Ministry said on Tuesday.
In addition to the students' casualties
in Gaza, the Israeli army also killed 37 school students and injured 282 others
in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war on Oct. 7, the ministry
said in a statement cited by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
The statement noted that 221 teachers
and educational staff were also killed, and 703 others injured in Gaza by the
Israeli army.
It also said that 343 schools across
Gaza were damaged in the Israeli bombing in addition to 38 schools damaged in
the West Bank.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since
a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at
least 21,978 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 57,697
others, according to local health authorities.
Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to
have been killed in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7.
Source: aa.com.tr
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-----
General Qassem Soleimani martyr of
entire Islamic world
Jan 3, 2024
TEHRAN, Jan. 03 (MNA) – The chairman of
Turkey's Patriotic Party penned a letter to the Leader of the Islamic
Revolution of Iran and President Raeisi on the occasion of the fourth
anniversary of the martyrdom of General Qassem Soleimani.
The following is the text of the letter
of Doğu Perinçek, the chairman of Turkey's Patriotic Party to the Leader of the
Islamic Revolution of Iran, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and Ayatollah Seyyed
Ibrahim Raeisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
General Qassem Soleimani and his comrade
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis are martyrs of the Iranian and Iraqi nations, as well as
of the entire Islamic world and all the peoples of the world who struggle
against imperialism and Zionism.
We are blessed to have so many heroes in
this land who did not hesitate to fight against imperialism, Zionism,
separatist and takfiri Islamist terrorist organizations.
They thought that they could take over
Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Türkiye, Iran, and Palestine by killing Qasem
Suleimani. But they could not.
Today, our states and nations,
especially Palestine, are fighting on the front line against the aggression of
American imperialism and Israeli Zionism. Syria, Iraq,
Iran, Libya, Libya, Palestine,
Azerbaijan, and Russia are our frontline brothers in this war.
Qassem Soleimani's legacy to us is this:
US imperialism and Israeli Zionism cannot be defeated with appeals for
restraint, pleas, and curses.
We can only prevent aggression against
our region with armed determination.
We can only stop the massacres in Gaza
and the West Bank by using force.
The staff's mind and the method of
struggle that will lead to the success of the struggle to establish an
independent Palestinian state with East Al-Quds as its capital is the struggle
to which Qassem Soleimani dedicated his life.
This is the struggle that will uproot
imperialist-Zionist aggression from our region. For this, we need the right
strategy.
Today, there is a front stretching from
the Caucasus and the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, the Strait of Hormuz and
the Sea of Oman.
In this front, all the states and
peoples of the region have a common responsibility to fight against US
imperialism and Israeli Zionism for
security and prosperity. We all have to
be together in every part of the front.
The Eastern Mediterranean is now the
focus of the front and the center of the growing danger of war.
The plan for solidarity with Palestine
that we are working on as the Vatan Party is this: The states of Türkiye,
Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Russia can eliminate the US and Israeli-led ethnic
separatist and takfirist terrorist organizations in northern Syria and Iraq
through a joint armed operation.
Conditions are favorable. There are
brave and determined resistance forces against imperialist-Zionist aggression
everywhere in our region.
We are all Palestinians, we are all
Qassem Soleimani.
Source: mehrnews.com
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https://en.mehrnews.com/news/210284/General-Qassem-Soleimani-martyr-of-entire-Islamic-world
-----
Pakistan
ISIS trying to establish foothold in
Pakistan: Ministry of Interior tells Senate
03rd January 2024
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, which is witnessing
an influx of Tehreek-i-Taliban terrorists in significant numbers in the restive
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's tribal districts, is also facing a threat from the Islamic
State (ISIS) which is trying to establish a foothold in the country, the
Ministry of Interior has said.
The ministry's statement came as the
Senate was briefed about the escalating influence and activities of the TTP
following the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the inaction of the
interim Afghan government led by the Taliban against the banned group.
The interior ministry, in a written
response during question hour, highlighted the TTP's reorganisation and
operational expansion during the peace talks in 2022, which has significantly
increased its militant activities.
"It has given significant rise to
its activities and is seeking the support of other militant groups to increase
strength and capabilities. It is mostly concentrated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
especially merged districts, with footprints in Balochistan and trying to
activate its network in the country," it said.
It said that the arrival of TTP in
significant numbers continues in merged districts, along with the recruitment,
training and placing of suicide bombers, is a cause of concern.
The ministry said Daesh -- an Arabic
acronym for the self-proclaimed Islamic State militant group -- was also trying
to establish a foothold in Pakistan and resorted to terrorist activities
against Shias and religious minority communities to ignite sectarian strife.
It said fencing along the western
borders of Pakistan had largely been completed to further strengthen the state
mechanism of curbing the illegal movement from across the border.
However, it pointed out that the two
organisations, particularly the TTP, continued to sabotage the fence.
Pakistan started fencing its porous
borders with Afghanistan in March 2017, after facing a spate of deadly attacks
from Afghanistan-based militant groups in the previous year.
The barrier, being built on the 2,640-km
border, also known as the Durand Line, is near completion.
It passes through rugged mountains,
densely forested valleys and narrow rock passages.
Militants have ramped up their attacks
since they revoked a ceasefire with the Pakistani government in November 2022.
In the deadliest attack on security
forces in the outgoing year, at least 23 Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred
and more than 30 troops wounded on Dec 12 after militants belonging to the
Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan stormed a compound used by the military in Dera Ismail
Khan's Daraban area.
The ministry also said data of 1.45
million registered refugees was updated and expanded through the issuance of
smart identity cards.
"The cards contain basic
information, including biometric data, and are compatible with the local
systems," it said.
About dismantling the communication
networks to combat online extremism, it said the Pakistan Telecommunication
Authority was actively monitoring cyberspace.
"A total number of 16,522
complaints were forwarded to social media platforms for blocking of
radical/sectarian, anti-state and terrorist content during 2022," it said.
Source: newindianexpress.com
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https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2024/jan/03/isis-trying-to-establish-foothold-in-pakistan-ministry-of-interior-tells-senate-2647448.html
-----
Illegal NikahCase: Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf Founder Imran Khan And His Wife Bushra Bibi To Be Indicted On
10th January
2024-01-03
ISLAMABAD: A local court on Tuesday
fixed January 10 for the indictment of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder
Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the alleged illegal Nikah case.
The civil judge, Qudratullah, while
hearing the case at Adiala Jail, announced that the charge against Khan and his
wife in the case will framed on January 11. Jail authorities produced Khan
before the court. Bushra Bibi, Khan’s wife also appeared along with her counsel
Usman Gull as well as prosecutor Rizwan Abbas also attended the hearing.
During the previous hearings, the court
had so far recorded the statements of Bushra Bibi’s former husband Khawar
Maneka, his servant Muhammad Latif, Mufti Muhammad Saeed who had solemnised the
Nikkah and former advisor to prime minister on sports and tourism Awn Chaudhry.
Source: brecorder.com
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----
Pakistan’s Maullana Fazlur Rehman 'May
Visit Afghanistan Next Week'
Mitra Majeedy
The Pakistani political party Jamiat
Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maullana Fazl Ur Rehman said that he “may
visit” Afghanistan next week.
Speaking at a press conference held
today in Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Maullana Fazl Ur Rehman,
stressed the “brotherly” relations between the countries.
This comes as Pakistani media earlier
reported that Fazl Ur Rehman will travel to Afghanistan on January 03.
“I may go to Afghanistan next week… we
are two brotherly countries. Our nation and religion are the same. We are so
close to each other that no other countries are. Thus, there is a need for
trust between us. An enduring Afghanistan is linked to Pakistan and an enduring
Pakistan is linked to Afghanistan,” he said.
Earlier, the Express Tribune quoted
sources as saying that the Islamic Emirate’s Ministry of Interior and the
Foreign Office had finalized the arrangements for various meetings with Fazl Ur
Rehman, focusing primarily on addressing the Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
issue and resolving tensions between Kabul and Islamabad.
But how effective is the visit of
Pakistan’s well-known religious figure to ease tensions between the two
countries.
“If he [Fazl Ur Rehman] came, there may
be a discussion about some of the issues but Pakistan will not be ready to
compromise with the TTP,” said Moen Gul Samkani, a political analyst.
“Maullana Fazl Ur Rehman is not a senior
government official of Pakistan who can improve the relations but is one of the
influential and religious leaders on the TTP, he should pay efforts to improve
the relations between the TTP and the coming Pakistan government,” said Najib
Rahman Shamal, a political analyst.
The visit of Fazl Ur Rehman is the first
since the Islamic Emirate came to power.
Source: tolonews.com
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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-186783
----
Pakistan, Afghan officials to hold
crucial talks as TTP terror spikes
January 03, 2024
Azaz Syed
ISLAMABAD: A high-level delegation of
the Taliban-led Afghan government has arrived in Islamabad to hold talks with
Pakistani officials as part of the efforts to reduce the tensions between the
two countries amid a rise in Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) terror
activities in the country, sources told Geo News.
According to the sources, the delegation
— led by senior Taliban leader Kandahar Governor Mullah Shirin Akhund — arrived
in Islamabad on Tuesday to attend the Joint Coordination Council (JCC) meeting.
The sources added that officials and
dignitaries from both sides will deliberate on ways to reduce tensions between
the two countries during the JCC meeting.
"Pakistani officials will take up
the issue of banned groups using Afghan territory against Pakistan during the
meeting. The issue of terrorists' safe havens in Afghanistan will also be
discussed," the sources told Geo News.
The sources added that the Pak-Afghan
border fence, the Chaman border and visa-free movement will also come under
discussion in the meeting.
The delegation will also hold bilateral
talks with Pakistani officials during their visit and also hold a meeting with
Pakistan's Special Representative for Afghanistan Asif Durrani, the sources
stated.
More meetings with the Foreign Office
and military officials are also expected during the Afghan delegation's
high-profile visit.
The Afghan delegation in Islamabad
consists of nine to 10 members including Afghan defence and information
ministers, and intelligence officials.
The visit comes amid a spike in terror
incidents in Pakistan with Islamabad publicly criticising Kabul over its
failure to take action against the militants using its soil to launch
cross-border attacks.
Fazl invited for visit to Kabul
As efforts speed up towards mending
Pak-Afghan ties, Kabul extended an invitation to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl
(JUIF) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for a visit to Afghanistan over their
country's prevailing situation.
Fazl, too, has indicated the likelihood
of his visit a day earlier. He further said that he could not undertake his
visit earlier due to the ongoing election scenario in the country.
"We share cultural and religious
ties with them. We are one and the atmosphere of mistrust between the two
countries must end.”
Source: thenews.com.pk
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------
South Asia
Taliban delegation led by Kandahar
Governor arrives in Islamabad for talks
idel Rahmati
January 3, 2024
A delegation from the Afghanistan-run
Taliban, headed by Kandahar Governor Mullah Shirin Akhund, has reached
Islamabad to engage in discussions with Pakistani authorities.
The visiting delegation, comprising 9 to
10 members, includes officials from the Afghan Ministry of Defense, Ministry of
Information, and intelligence agencies.
During their visit to Pakistan, the
Afghan delegation is scheduled to engage in bilateral discussions with
Pakistani authorities tomorrow.
The Pak-Afghan Joint Coordination
Council’s joint meeting is set to take place tomorrow in Islamabad, where the
Afghan delegation will also confer with Ambassador Asif Durrani, the Special
Representative for Afghanistan.
Throughout their visit, the Afghan
delegates expect to hold discussions with various Pakistani entities, including
the Foreign Office and military officials.
Pakistan intends to raise the issue of
alleged use of Afghan territory by banned groups for anti-Pakistan activities,
emphasizing the need for a crackdown on such operations.
Additionally, the discussions will focus
on the presence of safe havens for militants within Afghanistan, seeking
collaborative solutions to address these security concerns.
It is expected to request the
extradition of Hafiz Gul Bahadur and other militants harboured in Afghanistan,
aiming to address security threats and cross-border terrorism.
The discussions are also expected to
cover the facilitation of visa-free transportation at the Chaman border,
enhancing mobility and trade between the two countries.
This move aims to strengthen bilateral
relations and ensure a more secure and cooperative border management system.
Source: khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/taliban-delegation-led-by-kandahar-governor-arrives-in-islamabad-for-talks/
-----
Pro-BNP And Jamaat Lawyers Boycott
Courts For 2nd Day
Jan 3, 2024
Pro-BNP and Jamaat lawyers observed
countrywide court-boycott programme for second day today demanding
"restoration of democracy and rule of law, and stopping injustice in the
name of trials".
The lawyers abstained from attending
court functions in 61 districts except the three districts in Chattogram Hill
Tracts, Barrister Kayser Kamal, secretary general of Bangladesh
JatiotabadiAinjibi Forum (BJAF), a body of pro-BNP lawyers, told The Daily Star.
They will continue their programme till
January 7, he added.
As part of the programme, a section of
lawyers staged sit-in at the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) premises from
9:00am-4:00pm with one hour's break yesterday.
Meanwhile, Attorney General AM Amin
Uddin told reporters at his office that there was no impact of the boycott
programme on the court functions.
All the courts including the Appellate
Division and High Court Divisions of the SC have conducted judicial functions
on Monday and yesterday he said.
On December 31, BJAF and Bangladesh
Lawyers Council at separate press conferences announced that they will boycott
all the courts across the country from January 1-7 in protest against what they
said was a "dummy" elections and conviction of BNP men in
"fabricated" cases.
Source: thedailystar.net
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-----
Afghanistan records $2 billion worth of
exports in 2023
Fidel Rahmati
January 2, 2024
Officials from the Ministry of Industry
and Commerce of the de facto administration have announced that Afghanistan
exported goods worth nearly $2 billion to regional and global countries during
the year 2023.
Abdul Salam Akhundzada Jawad, the
spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Taliban, stated
on Monday, January 2nd, that Afghanistan’s major exports were to countries such
as Pakistan, India, China, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, and
Uzbekistan.
He mentioned that Afghanistan’s exports
this year have increased by two per cent compared to previous years and
emphasized the need for the world to lift restrictions to develop Afghanistan’s
trade further.
The spokesperson stressed that
Afghanistan had exports worth $1.9 billion in 2023, representing a two per cent
increase or $41 million, despite the renovation of the Salang highway, reduced
coal exports, and problems with neighboring countries.
According to the ministry’s data,
exports to Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan have decreased, but there has
been an increase in exports to India, China, and Kazakhstan.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce of
the Taliban considered the process of increasing exports, establishing a trade
data centre, a single centre for export documentation, reviving the export
enhancement project, and increasing human resources for the growth of exports
as significant achievements for Afghanistan’s future.
In recent months, restrictions on Afghan
traders’ assets in Karachi have led to a loss of two million dollars for two
individuals.
Furthermore, in its latest report, the
World Bank mentioned that Afghanistan’s exports in the first three months of
the last year increased by four per cent, and the country exported goods worth
$600 million from January to April.
Source: khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/afghanistan-records-2-billion-worth-of-exports-in-2023/
----
Work on 500 Projects Continues Across
Afghanistan: Deputy PM
January 2, 2024
The deputy prime minister for Economic
Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, said that work on more than 500 small and
big development projects is being continued across Afghanistan.
Speaking at a gathering held to begin
work on a new mosque in Daman district of Kandahar province, Mullah Baradar
said that work on Wakhan avenue is underway, which will connect Afghanistan to
China.
“We assure our compatriots that we
support them in every area and we stand beside them,” he said.
The mosque is located alongside the
Kabul-Kandahar highway, and it cost them 3.5 million Afs.
Mullah Baradar said that Qush Tepa canal
and Badakhshan’s Wakhan’s connectivity with China will help the country’s
economy to improve.
“A path will be constructed, through
which we will conduct our transit of trade goods with China, witb both exports
and imports, and we will give you good news soon in this regard,” Mullah
Baradar said.
Speaking at the same gathering, the
acting Minister of Public Work, Mohammad Esa Sani, said that based on the
decree of the Islamic Emirate’s leader, at least 75 mosques will be constructed
along all highways across the country.
“Based on the decree of the Amirul
Momineen (Islamic Emirate’s leader), at least 75 mosques will be built across
the country,” he said.
The residents of Kandahar also praised
the implementation of the projects, saying that the projects helped the economy
of the province.
“Any kind of facilities is in the
interest of Afghanistan and the nation,” said SebghatullahArghand, a resident
of Kandahar.
According to TOLOnews’s findings, the
start of construction of the 2nd phase of the Qush Tepa canal, the
reconstruction of the Salang highway and contracts worth billions of dollars
are considered to be the main economic projects for 2023.
Source: tolonews.com
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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-186782
-----
Pakistan's Deportations of Afghans Has
Decreased: Mujahid
January 2, 2024
The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman
Zabiullah Mujahid, said that the deportation of Afghan refugees by Pakistan has
recently dropped compared to the initial days when Pakistan began expelling
undocumented Afghans from its soil in early November last year.
According to Mujahid, nearly 2,000
families are crossing to Afghanistan on a daily basis, which he said shows a
significant reduction.
“During the initial days and weeks, the
number of deportees was high. It was even up to 15,000 to 20,000 families on a
daily basis. They came through various gates, where control was difficult. This
process becomes easier later,” he said.
Mujahid said the officials of Pakistan’s
caretaker government pledged to not put pressure on Afghan refugees.
“The promises that they have made so far
were to not apply pressure anymore… we have also not seen any new pressure,”
Mujahid said.
Meanwhile, some Afghan refugees in
Pakistan expressed optimism that the Pakistani government has eased pressure on
the Afghan nationals recently.
“The process of forceful deportation of
the refugees has been reduced. The treatment of Pakistan toward the documented
and undocumented refugees has been eased,” said Atiqullah, an Afghan refugee in
Pakistan.
“There should be a joint meeting for
facilities to be provided to the people, so that the people [refugees] can live
in prosperity,” said Mir Ahmad Rauf, head of an Afghan refugee council in
Pakistan.
In December Mujahid said that since
October, 2023, more than 800,000 Afghan immigrants had returned to the country.
Source: tolonews.com
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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-186788
-----
Europe
Top UK, US diplomats discuss Houthi
attacks, humanitarian situation in Gaza
Burak Bir
02.01.2024
The top British and American diplomats
held a phone call on Tuesday on the rising number of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis
on vessels in the Red Sea as well as worsening food insecurity in Gaza.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron
and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about the international
community’s "shared condemnation of the illegal and unjustified
attacks" on commercial shipping in the Red Sea by Houthi militants, said a
UK Foreign Office spokesperson in a statement.
Iranian-backed Houthis have
significantly stepped up their involvement in the conflict between Israel and
the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip by targeting vessels in the Red
Sea, one the world's most important routes for oil and fuel shipments.
"They made clear that the UK and US
will work with our partners to hold the Houthis accountable for these unlawful
seizures and attacks," said the statement.
The spokesperson said Cameron raised the
issue of "worsening food insecurity" in Gaza and the “urgent need for
significantly more aid to reach civilians, through as many routes as
possible."
Israel has launched air and ground
attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Palestinian resistance
group Hamas on Oct. 7.
At least 22,185 Palestinians have since
been killed and 57,035 others injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities,
while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas
attack.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in
ruins, with 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and
nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water,
and medicines.
The two diplomats also discussed
Russia’s recent airstrikes on Odesa, Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Kyiv, and their
"steadfast commitment" to supporting Ukraine this year.
Moscow and Kyiv have exchanged
accusations over mutual airstrikes that intensified on Friday when at least 40
people were killed in Ukraine in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described
as the "heaviest attack" since the start of the war 22 months ago.
A day later, 24 people were killed and
at least 100 injured in a Ukrainian attack on the city of Belgorod, which
Russian President Vladimir Putin called a “terrorist attack” that “will not go
unpunished."
Source: aa.com.tr
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----
Macron calls on Israel to avoid
escalation, 'particularly in Lebanon'
03 Jan 2024
PARIS, Jan 3 ― French President Emmanuel
Macron called on Israel to avoid escalation, “particularly in Lebanon”,
following a strike in Beirut attributed to Israel that killed Hamas's deputy
leader, the Elysee Palace said yesterday.
Macron, who spoke by telephone with
Israeli minister and war cabinet member Benny Gantz, said “it was essential to
avoid any escalatory attitude, particularly in Lebanon, and that France would
continue to pass on these messages to all players directly or indirectly
involved in the area”, the presidency said.
Hamas number two Saleh al-Aruri was
killed in a strike attributed to Israel in a suburb of Beirut on Tuesday
evening, the Palestinian group and Lebanese security officials said.
Israel regularly carries out strikes
against the Hamas-allied Hezbollah movement along its shared border with
Lebanon, but Aruri's killing was the first time since the start of the war in
Gaza that it has targeted the Lebanese capital.
After the strike, Hezbollah vowed
Aruri's death would not go “unpunished”, calling it “a serious assault on
Lebanon... and a dangerous development in the course of the war”.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati
also condemned the killing and said it “aims to draw Lebanon” further into the
Israel-Hamas war.
In his conversation with Gantz, Macron
reiterated his call for a “lasting ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas, the
presidency said.
He also expressed again his “deepest
concern” at the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza, as well as the
humanitarian crisis unfolding inside the Palestinian territory, while at the
same time reaffirming “France's commitment to the security of Israel”.
The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas's
bloody attack on October 7, which resulted in the death of around 1,140 people
in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official
Israeli figures.
After the attack, Israel launched a
relentless bombardment and ground offensive against the group that has killed
at least 22,185 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's health
ministry. ― AFP
Source: malaymail.com
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----
"The UK government is complicit in
Israeli war crimes in Gaza Strip": British Muslim Palestinian Professor of
International Relations
2/01/2024
"The UK government is complicit in
Israeli war crimes in Gaza Strip, with the blood of Gaza equall on the hands of
the UK government as it is on Israel's". This was part of the letter of
Prof Dr Abd al-Fattah El-Awaisi, a renowned leading International Professor of
International Relations to Mr Rishi Sunak, the British Prime Minister, on 31
December 2023.
Professor El-Awaisi letter "seeks
answers and accountability" from the British Prime Minister office.
It starts with "I am compelled to
write this letter to convey my profound distress and anger regarding the recent
war crimes in Gaza Strip and the role of the United Kingdom in these
matters".
Then, the letter focused on several
critical points.
"First and foremost, I must address
the heart-wrenching incident that occurred on Christmas day (25/12/2023) in the
Al Maghazi refugee camp. An Israeli airstrike claimed the lives of 25 of my
family members, most of whom were children and women. It is my belief that the
UK's unwavering support for Israel implicates it in this massacre. The British
government, akin to the American administration, seems to be facilitating
ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza Strip. In my opinion, as a British retired
Professor of International Relations, this makes the UK government complicit in
Israeli war crimes in Gaza Strip, with the blood of Gaza equally on the hands
of the UK government as it is on Israel's".
"Secondly, the ongoing war crimes
in Gaza is alarming. Hospitals, schools, shelters, and churches are being
bombed, with apparent disregard for the inevitable civilian casualties. Entire
families are being obliterated. The targeted killings of academics, healthcare
workers, and journalists are deeply troubling".
Then, the letter highlighted a very
critical point. "What is equally disturbing is the involvement and
reactions of British citizens in these war crimes. For instance, the incitement
of war crimes by Aryeh Yitzhak King, a British citizen and Deputy Mayor of
Jerusalem. Eylon Levy from North London, now a spokesperson for the Israeli
government. Peter Lerner, originally from Kenton, North London, who has become
a prominent figure in the Israeli army as a Lieutenant Colonel and spokesman.
Richard Hecht, the Scottish Colonel and a voice in the Israeli Army. These
individuals, to name a few, not only represent the UK in a foreign conflict but
also raise serious questions about the UK's policies regarding its citizens
participating in such activities. Sam Sank, an Israeli Army reservist from
Stanmore in North London, who revealed in The Times, the significant presence
of Britons in the Israeli Army. The lack of transparency regarding the number
of British citizens fighting for the Israeli army is concerning, especially in
contrast to the UK's explicit prohibition of Britons fighting in Ukraine. Their
involvement raises critical questions about the UK’s stance on its citizens
participating in foreign wars. The question that haunts many is why the UK
government remains silent on the number of British citizens fighting for the
Israeli army".
In light of these facts, Prof. El-Awaisi
"urged the British Prime Minister to answer several critical questions:
1. Why is there a lack of transparency
regarding British citizens fighting for the Israeli army?
2. Is it a criminal offence under
British law for citizens to travel to Israel or the occupied Palestinian
territories to fight for the Israeli army or any other state or non-state
actor?
3. How do you justify the apparent
double standards in the government's stance on British citizens fighting in
Ukraine versus those in Israel?
4. What actions will the UK government
take against its citizens who are fighting for the Israeli army?
He concluded his letter by stating that
"The situation in Gaza and the involvement of British citizens in the
Israeli army's actions not only challenge the international rules-based order
but also threaten the integrity of the rule of law within Britain itself. As
Prime Minister, your response to these issues will be critical in defining the
UK's position on international humanitarian law and human rights".
Please note
- Professor Dr Abd al-Fattah El-Awaisi
is a renowned leading international Professor of International Relations and
the Founder of the Field of Inquiry of islamicjerusam (Bayt al-Maqdis) Studies
30 years ago (1994).
- He has been teaching and researching
for more than 35 years at Arab, British, Malaysia, Turkish, and Indonesian
universities.
- One of his Major achievements is his
contribution to knowledge (a number of theories and models) in the field of
international relations, such as his new geopolitical theory and his Aman
(peaceful co- existence and mutual respect) model.
- He received a number of international
awards.
- In short, professor El-Awaisi is an
energetic Muslim scholar and a visionary, accomplished and innovative Muslim
academic leader who dedicated and planned his lifetime to education and
knowledge as a base for human development, with passionate and grittier
commitment to progressive education, research and community welfare.
Source: yenisafak.com
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https://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/the-uk-government-is-complicit-in-israeli-war-crimes-in-gaza-strip-british-muslim-palestinian-professor-of-international-relations-3675508
----
France will not support forced
displacement of Gazans: Envoy
Diyar Guldogan
03.01.2024
France will not support the forced
displacement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by Israel, Nicolas de Riviere,
the permanent representative of France to the UN, said Tuesday.
"France is opposed to the forced
displacement of populations. That's very clear-cut...We will not support the
forced displacement of people,” de Riviere told reporters.
"It's more or less obvious that the
Gaza Strip is inhabited by Palestinians. Our goal is for Palestinians to be
able to continue living there in safety and security and under good conditions.
That should be the priority.”
His remarks came after Israeli officials
called for the "voluntary evacuation" of Palestinians from Gaza and
urged various countries to take in Palestinians from the enclave.
De Riviere said shutting people out of
Gaza or recolonizing Gaza are "harebrained ideas," adding it is
essential to put an end to the military operation and not to target civilians.
"Palestinians should be able to
live in peace in their homes, and the bombing of civilians in the Gaza Strip
should end. Hospitals, schools have been destroyed...We want that to end,"
he stressed.
He said the Palestinian group Hamas
"is using the civilian population as human shields, is hiding in
schools," adding: "That is true. However, whenever there's a doubt,
you shouldn't bomb schools."
Underlining the need to protect the
civilian population, de Riviere said there are 2 million civilians in Gaza, not
2 million terrorists.
Israel has launched relentless air and
ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct.
7.
At least 22,185 Palestinians have since
been killed and 57,035 others injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities,
while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas
attack.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in
ruins, with 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed and nearly
2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and
medicines.
Source: aa.com.tr
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/france-will-not-support-forced-displacement-of-gazans-envoy/3098750
----
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/saudi-arabia-makkah-artificial-intelligence/d/131445