‘Shri Ram’ Found Written On Markazi Masjid Mosque Wall In Maharashtra, FIR Filed For Defiling A Place Of Worship
New Age Islam
News Bureau
26 March 2024
The
slogan was scribbled on the wall of the Markazi Masjid mosque in Majalgaon on
Monday, leading to protests by local Muslim community. (Screengrab from a video
of the protest)
-------
·
‘Shri
Ram’ Found Written On Markazi Masjid Mosque Wall In Maharashtra, FIR Filed For Defiling
A Place Of Worship
·
CAIR
Condemns Indian Court Ruling Outlawing Islamic Schools in Most Populous State
·
Baloch
Militants Attack Pakistan Naval Air Base In Balochistan; Bid Foiled And Six
Terrorists Killed
·
Macron
Says Islamists Who Hit Russia Had Tried To Attack France
·
Netanyahu
Cancels Israeli Delegation Visit To US Over UN Gaza Vote
----
India
·
Boy Threatened,
Forced To Chant 'Allah Hu Akbar' In Thane, Case Lodged
·
Hindus,
Sikhs Hold Iftar For Muslims In Punjab’s Malerkotla
·
UP: One
more arrested for throwing Holi colours on Muslim family
----
North
America
·
USCIRF
Raises Concern Over India's Notification Of Rules To Implement CAA
·
Trump
warns Israel ‘losing support’ for Gaza war, with public relations ‘in ruin’
·
US
non-veto at UN, Netanyahu’s response reflect an alliance in crisis, a war
slowed
·
CAIR
Condemns Anti-Palestinian Provisions in $1.2 Trillion Spending Package as
‘Racist, Dehumanizing’
·
CAIR
Calls on U.S. to Uphold UNSC Ceasefire Resolution by Ending Weapons Transfers
to Israel
·
California’s
governor publishes open letter of support to Arab and Muslim Americans
----
Pakistan
·
IK’s
Attendance Issue: Jail Authorities Directed To Ensure Attendance On Next Date
Of Hearing
·
Pakistan
welcomes adoption of UNSC resolution demanding ceasefire in Gaza
·
Cipher is
criminal case and we can’t rely on assumptions, IHC CJ tells FIA
·
Pakistani
ambassador condoles with Russian envoy in US on dastardly Moscow attack
·
Islamabad
police books Gaza protesters, JI’s Mushtaq Ahmad for holding rally in violation
of Section 144
----
Europe
·
Radical
Preacher Anjem Choudary Pleads Not Guilty To Two Terror ChargesRelating To The
Banned Group Al-Muhajiroun
·
Putin
Says 'Radical Islamists' Behind Moscow Attack, Reiterates Ukraine Link
·
Germany
to allocate €45M for regional funding of UN agency for Palestinians
·
President
held a joint iftar with representatives of the Muslim community of Ukraine and
awarded Ukrainian Muslim warriors
·
Sunni
Endowments assigns imams for Taraweeh prayers in Germany and UK
·
UK's
first Turkish mosque faces threat to its future
----
Mideast
·
UN Rights
Expert Accuses Israel Of Several Acts Of ‘Genocide’ In Gaza
·
Hezbollah
Targets Israel's Military Positions In Pro-Palestine Retaliatory Strikes
·
UN
Security Council Adopts Resolution On Gaza Ceasefire For The Month Of Ramzan
·
Hamas
leader Haniyeh to travel to Tehran for meetings with Iranian officials
·
Israel Continues
Strikes In Gaza Despite UN Ceasefire Resolution
·
Iran
reacts to UNSC resolution over ceasefire in Gaza
·
Enemy,
settlers attack worshipers in al-Aqsa Mosque
----
South
Asia
·
Daesh Has
Been Weakened in Afghanistan: Islamic Emirate
·
People
Will Not Accept Any Foreign Supremacy: BNP Secretary General
·
Amnesty
International Warns Against Continued Afghan Migrant Expulsion From Pakistan
·
Pakistani
delegation arrives in Kabul amid increased tensions
·
Taliban
orders Hizb-e-Islami leader to vacate home and office
·
Recognise
those who work silently for public welfare: PM
·
We have
friends, not lords abroad: Quader
·
Ramadan
Exacerbates Hardship of Unemployed Labourers
----
Southeast
Asia
·
KK Mart Founder,
Director And ‘Allah’ Socks Distributor Charged With Wounding Religious Feelings
·
Indonesia
plans to send aid to Palestine, Sudan starting next week
·
BNPT
highlights two ways to prevent Moscow attack in Indonesia
·
PM Anwar:
Malaysia strongly endorses UN resolution for ceasefire, immediate aid in Gaza
·
11
Rohingya found dead after Indonesia boat capsize: officials
----
Africa
·
Nigerian
Army Set To Release 200 Suspected Boko Haram Terrorists
·
Over 130
abducted schoolchildren in Nigeria's northwest rescued after weeks in captivity
·
Kaduna
School Teacher Died In Terrorists' Den, Six Freed Pupils Recovering In Hospital
– Army
·
South
Sudan on the brink after oil exports derailed by Sudan’s civil war
·
Bandits
Kill Two Worshippers, Kidnap Others During Ramadan Prayers In Katsina
----
Arab
World
·
War On
Yemen Part Of US, UK Scenario To Reshape Region In Favour Of Israel: Houthi
·
Qatar
welcomes UNSC resolution calling for Ramadan ceasefire in Gaza
·
OIC
welcomes UNSC resolution on ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan
·
Saudi
Arabia welcomes UN Security Council resolution calling for immediate ceasefire
in Gaza
·
Inside
Daily Preparations of Prophet's Mosque Roof to Receive 90,000 Visitors Every
Day in Ramadan
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/shri-ram-masjid-worship-defile/d/132009
------
‘Shri Ram’ Found Written On Markazi Masjid Mosque Wall
In Maharashtra, FIR Filed For Defiling A Place Of Worship
The
slogan was scribbled on the wall of the Markazi Masjid mosque in Majalgaon on
Monday, leading to protests by local Muslim community. (Screengrab from a video
of the protest)
-------
Mar 26, 2024
The Maharashtra Police on Monday registered a first
information report after the words “Shri Ram” were found written on the wall of
a mosque in the Beed district, The Indian Express reported.
Late in the evening, an unidentified person wrote “Shri
Ram” on the wall of the Markazi Masjid mosque in Majalgaon. In response,
members from the local Muslim community congregated outside the mosque and at
the police station seeking action.
“At around 5 pm some anti-social elements wrote ‘Shri
Ram’ on the wall of the mosque,” The Indian Express quoted Dheeraj Kumar, the
sub-divisional police officer, as saying. He said that a first information
report had been registered under Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code that
pertains to intentionally destroying or defiling a place of worship.
“We are tracking the perpetrator and will arrest him
soon,” Kumar added.
Source:
scroll.in
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click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://scroll.in/latest/1065802/maharashtra-fir-filed-after-shri-ram-found-written-on-mosque-wall-in-beed
-----
CAIR Condemns Indian Court Ruling Outlawing Islamic
Schools in Most Populous State
Muslim students read the
Quran at an Islamic school or madrasa in Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir.
Faisal Bashir/SOPA Images/SIPA/AP
------
Ismail Allison
March 25, 2024
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the
nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned
a ruling by a court in India’s most populous state Uttar Pradesh effectively
outlawing madrasas, or Islamic religious schools.
The Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh on Friday
declared the Madrasa Act of 2004 to be unconstitutional while ordering the
state government to move students enrolled in madrasas into mainstream schools.
“We hold that the Madarsa (sic) Act, 2004, is violative of the principle of
Secularism, which is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution of
India,” the high court said in its order.
“This ruling is a total violation of the basic
religious freedom of Indian Muslims,” said CAIR Deputy Executive Director
Edward Ahmed Mitchell. “The State Department should designate India a country
of particular concern and our government should condemn and take action to
oppose the continuing state oppression targeting Indian Muslims.”
He noted that earlier this month, condemned India’s
discriminatory, anti-Muslim implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act
(CAA).
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance
understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR esproteger las libertadesciviles,
mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a
losmusulmanesenlosEstadosUnidos.
Source:
cair.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-condemns-indian-court-ruling-outlawing-islamic-schools-in-most-populous-state/
----
Baloch Militants Attack Pakistan Naval Air Base In Balochistan;
Bid Foiled And Six Terrorists Killed
This image made out of
Google Maps locates Tubat in Balochistan Province of Pakistan.
------
March 26, 2024
Armed Baloch militants tried to infiltrate one of the
main naval air bases in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan Province, but security
forces foiled the attack and killed at least six terrorists.
The attack on March 25 night took place in Turbat, a
turbulent district in the sparsely populated Province.
Makran Commissioner Saeed Ahmed Umrani told the media
that security forces had foiled an armed terrorist attack at the PNS Siddique
Naval Air Base which is among the biggest naval air stations in the country.
“The armed men attacked from three sides of the
airport boundary, but security forces responded immediately and foiled their
attempt to infiltrate the premises,” he said.
Eyewitnesses reported they had heard gunfire and
explosions throughout the night.
A security official said on condition of anonymity
that six terrorists were killed in the operation and they were unable to cause
any damage at the airbase or to aeroplanes.
No loss of sensitive naval installations was reported,
the official said.
The banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed
that its Majeed Brigade was behind the attack.
This is the third major attack on security forces and
installations this year in Balochistan claimed by the BLA with the first two
attacks being also being repulsed by security forces.
Earlier in the year, security forces were attacked in
Mach town in which at least ten people were killed but attempts to breach the
Mach jail were thwarted by security forces.
On March 24, the BLA also claimed responsibility for
an attack on the Gwadar Port Authority Complex. Security forces had killed
eight militants of the banned separatist group in the gunfire.
Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home
to a long-running violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups have previously
carried out several attacks targeting the $60 billion CPEC projects.
The BLA accuses China and Islamabad of exploitation of
the resource-rich Province, a charge rejected by the authorities.
BLA’s Majeed Brigade, which was formed in 2011, is a
particularly lethal guerilla cell of the BLA.
It has been alleged that the group also maintains
sanctuaries in areas along the Pakistan-Iran border.
The brigade, which is the suicide squad of the BLA,
mostly targets security forces and Chinese interests in Pakistan. It had also
claimed responsibility for the April 2022 suicide attack outside the Karachi
University’s Confucius Institute.
Source:
thehindu.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/baloch-militants-attack-pakistan-naval-air-base-in-balochistan-bid-foiled-and-six-terrorists-killed/article67993330.ece
----
Macron says Islamists who hit Russia had tried to
attack France
French President Emmanuel
Macron speaks during a press conference on the day of a European Union leaders
summit in Brussels, Belgium March 22, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
Purchase Licensing Rights
------
MARCH 26, 2024
PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday
(March 25) that the gunmen who killed 137 people in a concert hall outside
Moscow were part of an Islamic State branch that was behind foiled attempts to
attack France over the past few months.
This explains why the French government on Sunday
increased the country's security alert to its highest level, Macron and Prime
Minister Gabriel Attal said. More soldiers will be put on standby and ready to
patrol sensitive sites, including schools.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for Friday's
Moscow attack.
Russia, which has challenged assertions by the United
States that the Islamic State militant group orchestrated the mass shooting in
Moscow, continued on Monday to suggest Ukraine was to blame. Macron said this
was "cynical and counterproductive".
"This attack was claimed by Islamic State,"
Macron said, "and the information available to us, to our (intelligence)
services as well as to our main partners, indicates indeed that it was an
entity of the Islamic State which instigated and carried out this attack.
"This specific group... had over the past months
carried out several (attack) attempts on our soil," he added. Attal later
said these included a foiled planned attack on the city of Strasbourg, in
eastern France.
"The claim of responsibility for the (Moscow)
attack by a branch of Islamic State that planned attacks in European countries
including France prompted us to increase the Vigipirate (security threat
assessmment) to its highest level," Attal said, speaking from a Paris
train station.
"We will deploy exceptional means everywhere on
(French) territory," he said.
Source:
asiaone.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.asiaone.com/world/macron-says-islamists-who-hit-russia-had-tried-attack-france
------
Netanyahu Cancels Israeli Delegation Visit To US Over UN
Gaza Vote
Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major American
Jewish Organizations, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the
Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Jerusalem, February 18, 2024.
REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
------
2024-03-26
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
on Monday said he will not send a delegation as planned to Washington after the
United States refrained from vetoing a UN Security Council proposal calling for
a ceasefire in Gaza.
Netanyahu, according to a statement from his office,
said that Washington’s failure to block the proposal was a “clear retreat” from
its previous position, and would hurt war efforts against Hamas, as well as
efforts to release over 130 hostages in Gaza captivity.
“In light of the change in the American position,
Prime Minister Netanyahu decided the delegation would not leave,” his office
said.
The UN Security Council voted to demand an immediate
ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and the immediate
and unconditional release of all hostages. The United States abstained from the
vote.
The White House denied that the US abstention
reflected a change in American policy.
The high-level delegation was due to travel to
Washington to discuss a planned Israeli military operation in the southern Gaza
city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are taking shelter.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby
fielded queries about Israel’s decision to pull out of the meeting this week
just as Netanyahu was announcing it.
Kirby said the decision was unfortunate but that the
United States would bring up its concerns about Israel’s policies as part of
ongoing discussions between the two governments.
“It’s disappointing. We’re very disappointed that they
won’t be coming to Washington DC to allow us to have a fulsome conversation
with them about viable alternatives to them going in on the ground in Rafah.”
“Nothing has changed about our view that a major ground offensive in Rafah
would be a major mistake,” Kirby said.
He said discussions between visiting Israeli Defence
Minister Yoav Gallant and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of
State Antony Blinken and others would cover the same points that the US team
had planned to raise with the delegation.
In Israel, parliamentary opposition leader YairLapid
accused Netanyahu of trying to divert attention away from a rift in his
coalition over a military conscription bill at the expense of ties with the
United States.
“It’s shocking irresponsibility from a prime minister
who has lost it,” Lapid wrote on social media platform X.
Source:
brecorder.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40295413/netanyahu-cancels-israeli-delegation-visit-to-us-over-un-gaza-vote
---
India
Boy threatened, forced to chant 'Allah Hu Akbar' in
Thane, case lodged
Mar 26, 2024
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered
against five minors in Maharashtra's Thane district, for forcing another boy to
chant 'Allah Hu Akbar'.
The incident came to light after the father of the
11-year-old boy approached the police on Monday evening, alleging his son was
forced to chant religious slogans by a group of minors.
On the way back home at nearly 9.30 pm, he said his
son greeted some people by saying 'Jai Shri Ram'.
Moments later, a group stopped him and forced him to
shout 'Allah Hu Akbar'.
Police said they had registered a case against the
five people, for hurting religious sentiments.
A search for the accused was on, and the police were
trying to identify him with the help of CCTV cameras.
A senior official, commenting on the incident, said,
"The matter was between children, as those involved were minors."
Investigations in the case were on.
Source:
indiatoday.in
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/thane-minor-forced-to-chant-allah-hu-akbar-fir-registered-against-group-of-minors-2519423-2024-03-26
----
Hindus, Sikhs Hold Iftar For Muslims In Punjab’s
Malerkotla
25th March 2024
In a true display of secularism spirit, Hindus and
Sikhs in Punjab’s Malerkotla district come together to hold Iftar for their
Muslim neighbours during the holy month of Ramzan.
A report by The Wire speaks on the visible communal
harmony prevalent between different religious communities with Iftar being
served in temples and Gurudwaras of Malerkotla district, a dominant Muslim
population. Muslims too have been inviting Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, and
members of other religious communities to join them in special Ramzan prayers,
the report said.
History of Malerkotla
Malerkotla was founded by Sheikh Sadruddin-i-Jahan, a
ruler from Afghanistan, in the 15th century. During the 18th century, when
forced Muslim conversion was taking place on the orders of the last Mughal
emperor Aurangazeb, the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh waged a war cry
against it.
Guru Gobind Singh’s two little sons – nine-year-old
Zorawar Singh and seven-year-old Fateh Singh – were kidnapped and soon to be
executed.
The order was opposed by Nawab of Malerkotla, Sher
Muhammad Khan, who being on the Mughal side, debated the execution was against
the teachings of the Quran. The boys were however killed.
Later a Gurdwara named Haa Da Naara in Malerkotla was
built to honour Nawab Sher Muhammad Khan.
In the world of Gyanvapi, a Malerkotla exits
In present times, where significant mosques are
entangled in legal disputes over land possession, Malerkotla’s religious
neutrality is illustrated with a temple and a mosque sharing a common wall.
President of All India Brahmin Front, Mahant Swaroop
Bihari Sharma, said that Malerkotla remains far away from the politics of hate.
“Neither have we ever cared for the communal ideology
of politicians nor would we let them preach to us. We, the Hindus, Muslims,
Sikhs, and Christians have been together for ages in Malerkotla. There are
politicians who try to incite violence but no religion teaches hatred. Nobody
wants to fight. I keep telling people that before they talk about religion, let
us become humans first. We should celebrate all festivals together,” he was
quoted by The Wire.
Shri Naina Devi Temple, which shares the wall with a
mosque, also organises Iftar for their fasting Muslim brothers and sisters.
“Why should we stay away? Hindu-Muslim politics might
work in Uttar Pradesh. Punjab is different from UP,” said the chairman of the
Shree Ram Mandir Committee at Ahmedgarh, Deepak Sharma.
Locals strongly believe that Malerkotla is blessed by
both Guru Gobind Singh and Sher Mohammad Khan and that is why it has been
untouched by communal violence.
Source:
siasat.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.siasat.com/hindus-sikhs-hold-iftar-for-muslims-in-punjabs-malerkotla-2998216/
---
UP: One more arrested for throwing Holi colours on
Muslim family
25th March 2024
The Bijnor police in Uttar Pradesh arrested one more
person following an outcry in connection with a viral video showing a Muslim
family harassed by a Holi-playing group in the Dhampur area.
Suraj Verma was arrested following allegations of
harassment. Earlier, the police had arrested one named AnnuShishupal Verma and
three minors were taken into custody.
A case has been registered under sections 147
(Punishment for rioting), 341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint), 323
(Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (Intentional insult with intent
to provoke breach of the peace), 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult
the modesty of a woman), 354 (Assault or criminal force to a woman) of the
Indian Penal Code.
A Muslim family consisting of a man and two women, one
being elderly, were on their way to the pharmacy in their two-wheeler when the
group intercepted them.
The group poured coloured water on the women and
blackened the face of the man and the elderly woman of the family without their
consent.
As they protested, the men argued that Holi was an
ancient festival. “Main Bazaar meinayiothoyehihoga (If you come to the Main
Bazaar, this is what will happen),” one of them is heard saying.
Incidents have come out where Holi-playing groups
target Muslim women by splashing water balloons and forcefully smearing colour
without their consent.
In one such video, a woman who was running high fever
was made a target. The woman’s hijab and her caregiver’s clothes were soaked
with water.
In another video, a group, mostly minors, poured a
bucket full of water on two Muslim women and a child.
All these incidents are from Dhampur, Bijnor district.
Source:
siasat.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.siasat.com/up-one-more-arrested-for-throwing-holi-colours-on-muslim-family-2998165/
---
North
America
USCIRF Raises Concern Over India's Notification Of
Rules To Implement CAA
26.03.24
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom
(USCIRF) has voiced concern over the Indian government’s notification of rules
to implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), saying no one should be
denied citizenship based on religion or belief. Rules for implementation of the
contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) were notified earlier this
month, paving the way for granting citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim
migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
“The problematic CAA establishes a religious
requirement for asylum seekers in India fleeing neighbouring countries,” USCIRF
Commissioner Stephen Schneck said in a statement Monday.
Schneck said that while CAA provides a fast track to
citizenship for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians, the law
explicitly excludes Muslims.
While critics have questioned the government over the
exclusion of Muslims from the Act, India has strongly defended its move.
"The CAA is about giving citizenship, not about
taking away citizenship. It addresses the issue of statelessness, provides human
dignity and supports human rights," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson
RadhirJaiswal said recently, asserting that the law is an internal matter of
India.
India in the past has also dismissed USCIRF's locus
standi to comment on India's human rights record.
In his statement, Schneck said, “If the law were truly
aimed at protecting persecuted religious minorities, it would include Rohingya
Muslims from Burma, Ahmadiyya Muslims from Pakistan, or Hazara Shi’a from
Afghanistan, among others. No one should be denied citizenship based on
religion or belief,” he said.
However, India's Home Ministry says Muslims from these
countries are also free to apply for Indian citizenship under the existing
laws.
Last week, Schneck testified at a Tom Lantos Human
Rights Commission hearing on this issue.
With the CAA rules being issued, the Modi government
will now start granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants
from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India till December 31,
2014. These include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians.
The CAA was passed in December 2019 and subsequently
got the president’s assent but there were protests in several parts of the
country against it.
USCIRF urged members of the US Congress to continue to
“publicly call out religious freedom issues in India, and to include religious
freedom in discussions with government counterparts and importantly, during
congressional delegations.” USCIRF Commissioner David Curry said that as the
State Department recently noted, respect for religious freedom and equal
treatment under the law for all communities are fundamental democratic
principles.
“USCIRF urges the US government to work with Indian
authorities to release the human rights activists arbitrarily detained that
advocated for religious minorities,” Curry said.
India has previously said that the Commission
continues to regurgitate such comments and India rejects the
"misrepresentation of facts" which only serves to "discredit
USCIRF itself".
India has also asked USCIRF to develop a better
understanding of India, its plurality and its democratic ethos.
USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan federal
government entity established by the US Congress to monitor, analyse, and
report on religious freedom abroad.
Meanwhile, the Foundation for India and Indian
Diaspora Studies (FIIDS), which focuses on policy studies, analysis, advocacy
and awareness related to India and the Indian Diaspora, said that based on the
“factual analysis” of CAA, the provision in question aims to grant citizenship
to persecuted religious minorities from India’s three neighbouring Islamic
countries.
“Contrary to misconceptions, it does not involve
depriving or revoking the citizenship of or deporting Muslims in India.
Therefore, it could aptly be called the “Act for Expedited Citizenship for
Religious Minority Persecuted”,” FIIDS said.
“We trust that the USCIRF, other agencies and
interested entities will find this information on CAA appropriate and find CAA
directly addresses some of the concerns raised by the USCIRF regarding the
situation of minorities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan,” it said.
Source:
telegraphindia.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/us-commission-on-international-religious-freedom-raises-concern-over-indias-notification-of-rules-to-implement-citizenship-amendment-act/cid/2009205
----
Trump warns Israel ‘losing support’ for Gaza war, with
public relations ‘in ruin’
25 March 2024
Former US president Donald Trump warned Israelis in an
interview published Monday that they were losing support for the war in Gaza,
reiterating his call to “finish it up.”
The comments from Trump, the presumptive Republican
nominee to take on US President Joe Biden in November’s US election, came as
Washington abstained at a UN Security Council vote calling for an immediate
ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
“You have to finish up your war. To finish it up. You
gotta get it done,” Trump told the Israel Hayom newspaper in an interview the
freesheet said had been recorded over the weekend. Part of the interview was
published on Monday, with more expected later in the week.
And I will say, Israel has to be very careful because
you’re losing a lot of the world, you’re losing a lot of support, you have to
finish up, you have to get the job done. And you have to get on to peace, to
get on to a normal life for Israel, and for everybody else.”
War erupted in Gaza after thousands of Hamas-led
terrorists burst across the border into Israel on October 7 by land, air, and
sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages, mostly civilians.
“What I saw October 7 was one of the saddest things
I’ve ever seen,” Trump said.
Trump told Israel Hayom he would have responded to
Hamas’s attack “very much the same way” Israel did, but expressed concern about
the optics of a war in which Israeli strikes have left much of Gaza in ruins.
Trump also appeared to explain the rise in
antisemitism in the US since October 7 as a result of images of destruction
coming out of Gaza from the ongoing war.
“I think that’s one of the reasons that there has been
a lot of kickback,” Trump said when asked about rising hate toward Jews,
arguing the Israeli military should not continue to release footage of its
strikes.
“If people didn’t see that, every single night… I’ve
watched every single one of those. And I think Israel wanted to show that it’s
tough, but sometimes you shouldn’t be doing that.”
The rise in antisemitism, he said, is “because you
fought back. And I think Israel made a very big mistake. I wanted to call
[Israel] and say don’t do it. These photos and shots. I mean, moving shots of
bombs being dropped into buildings in Gaza… And I said, ‘Oh, that’s a terrible
portrait.’”
Trump also faulted US President Joe Biden for Hamas’s
attack on southern Israel, which he claimed the terror group perpetrated
“because they have no respect for him.”
Repeating an assertion he has made in the past, Trump
said that Hamas “would have never done that attack if I were there…because they
knew there would have been very big consequences.”
Asked about growing tensions between Jerusalem and
Washington over the war, Trump said support for Israel in the US has been
dropping for the past 15 years.
Back then, “Israel had the strongest lobby,” he said.
“If you were a politician, you couldn’t say anything bad about Israel, that
would be like the end of your political career. Today, it’s almost the
opposite.
“Israel has to get better with the promotional and
with the public relations because right now they’re in ruin. They’re being hurt
very badly,” Trump said.
He said there are “a lot” of American Jews who
“actually fight Israel.” He cited The New York Times as an example, as it is published
by the Jewish Ochs-Sulzberger family.
“I’m not Jewish. And yet Israel for me is very
important,” Trump said.
The former president has lashed out at Democratic
politicians including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for criticizing
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I think it’s a terrible thing to do,” Trump said of
recent remarks by Schumer calling for early elections in Israel.
Trump and Netanyahu have had a checkered relationship,
with the former often indicating that he has never forgiven the Israeli premier
for congratulating Joe Biden after he defeated Trump in the 2020 election. a
result Trump never accepted as legitimate.
Earlier this month, Trump said he would tell Netanyahu
to finish the war against Hamas in Gaza “quickly and get back to the world of
peace” if he won the election in November.
Trump frequently touts himself as a devoted ally of
Israel, pointing to his decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem and his
administration’s role in brokering the 2020 Abraham Accords, which saw Arab
countries including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain normalize ties with
Israel.
Palestinians, who claim East Jerusalem as their future
capital, have opposed Trump’s policies.
Source:
timesofisrael.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-warns-israel-losing-support-for-gaza-war-with-public-relations-in-ruin/
----
US non-veto at UN, Netanyahu’s response reflect an
alliance in crisis, a war slowed
DAVID HOROVITZ
25 March 2024
The United States may assert that its decision not to
veto Monday’s UN Security Resolution 2728 marks no shift in policy, being
consistent with its “support for a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal,” but
the text tells a different story.
The resolution it allowed through, by abstaining
rather than vetoing, “demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan
respected by all parties leading to a lasting sustainable ceasefire, and also
demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.” But it does
not condition the one on the other — that is, it does not require the release
by Hamas of the 130 Israeli hostages it has been holding since October 7 in
order for the ceasefire demand to become operative.
Furthermore, the resolution issues a ceasefire call
that Israel, a party to the UN Charter, will now be pressured by the
international community to heed, while Hamas, a barbaric terrorist organization
that regards itself as answerable to nothing but its own Jew-killing genocidal
ideology, will blithely ignore the demand to unconditionally free the hostages.
Indeed, Hamas rushed to congratulate the Security
Council on its initiative — and to call for the initial Ramadan ceasefire to
become permanent and require the withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza, thus enabling
the terror group’s survival and military revival. Its callous abduction and
holding of hostages, during protracted negotiations on a truce deal, have for
weeks delayed the IDF’s planned major ground offensive in Rafah, at the southern
foot of the Gaza Strip, where four of Hamas’s final six intact battalions are
deployed. Now, it has growing reasons to believe that offensive may never come.
However the Biden administration chooses to spin it,
the non-veto manifestly constitutes a significant further deterioration in its
fraying ties with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition — but with
consequences for the entire nation.
Articulating the administration’s animus for Netanyahu
and his far-right coalition partners, Vice President Kamala Harris noted two
weeks ago that it was “important for us to distinguish or at least not conflate
the Israeli government with the Israeli people.”
She also pledged, however, “to stand for the security
of Israel and its people.” Monday’s vote risks doing the opposite:
Diplomatically, and potentially practically, it weakens Israel’s capacity to
complete the dismantling of Hamas’s war machine, and emboldens Israel’s other
enemies.
Predictably and dismally, Netanyahu’s response to the
US non-veto escalates the damage still further.
Having inevitably failed to dictate to the US how it
should vote, he followed through on his unsuccessful ultimatum and canceled the
imminent departure for White House talks of his two loyal aides, Strategic
Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser TzachiHanegbi.
Netanyahu had agreed to dispatch representatives to
Washington, DC, at the express personal request of US President Biden, in their
phone conversation last week, and the trip was intended to enable debate and
discussion over the planned Israeli campaign in Rafah.
The US, publicly fuming at Israel for months over the
“massive” civilian death toll in Gaza, is unpersuaded that the IDF is capable
of operating in Rafah, where well over a million Gazans are sheltering, without
causing unthinkable harm to noncombatants. The IDF is adamant that it will be
able to evacuate civilians and focus its fire on Hamas. The US was reportedly
set to present its Israeli guests with alternative ideas and plans; the
Israelis would presumably have listened, debated, and reported back to
Jerusalem.
All the indications were that agreement on the path
ahead would be crucial to the nature of ongoing US support for the war. Now,
that dialogue will not take place.
Netanyahu could also have recalled Defense Minister
Yoav Gallant, who on Monday began his first visit to the US since October 7 —
and who termed the UN vote “scandalous” — but may have concluded that Gallant
would ignore him. Gallant said before entering the White House for meetings
that he had received no instruction to come home.
Presumably, Netanyahu regards the face-off as the
latest proof of his self-cited capacity to rebuff pressure, even from the best
of allies, and ostensibly defend Israel’s interests. He may believe it makes
him look strong, and will thus help rescue his popularity, destroyed by the
failure to prevent Hamas’s horrific invasion of southern Israel. Straight out
of that playbook, a “senior source” quoted in Hebrew media Monday night
asserted, “The confrontation with the United States doesn’t weaken Israel; it
conveys strength. The world, and especially our enemies, see that Israel knows
how to stand up to all pressure, even at the cost of confrontation with our
greatest friend.”
But as Netanyahu has himself highlighted in recent
months, it is vital to thwart “international initiatives against Israel that
would endanger the continuation of the fighting,” Indeed, he has frequently
praised himself for his ability to do just that. Not on Monday, he didn’t.
He has also often acknowledged that Israel cannot
actually continue to fight Hamas in Gaza without the constant shipments of
crucial US weaponry and defense equipment. Biden has already hinted that not
all these supplies are guaranteed, telling MSNBC two weeks ago that “there’s no
red line [in which] I’m going to cut off all weapons, so that they don’t have
the Iron Dome [missile defense system] to protect them” — phrasing that
strikingly did not promise ongoing supplies of offensive weapons. Holding
Dermer and Hanegbi at home is hardly the best way to persuade the president to
keep the arms coming.
Netanyahu’s increasingly unhappy emergency coalition
partner Benny Gantz declared on Monday evening that Netanyahu should have
dispatched Dermer and Hangebi as planned. Better yet, said Gantz, Netanyahu
should himself fly to the US and speak directly to Biden.
Perhaps it had slipped Gantz’s mind that the president
has yet to invite the prime minister to the White House. Or perhaps Gantz sees
Biden’s promised “Come to Jesus” meeting with the prime minister as more urgent
than ever.
Source:
timesofisrael.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-non-veto-at-un-netanyahus-response-reflect-an-alliance-in-crisis-a-war-slowed/
---
CAIR Condemns Anti-Palestinian Provisions in $1.2
Trillion Spending Package as ‘Racist, Dehumanizing’
Ismail Allison
March 25, 2024
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the
largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the nation, today
condemned the anti-Palestinian provisions in the $1.2 trillion spending package
signed by President Biden over the weekend.
The spending package bars funding for United Nations
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) through March 2025. It
also cuts funding to the United Nations Human Rights Council unless the
administration can certify that it is taking “significant steps to remove
Israel as a permanent agenda item.”
UNRWA is a critical lifeline for many Palestinians,
providing essential services such as food and medical aid. The suspension of
this aid could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe, including the starvation of
innocent Palestinian civilians. The bill does provide full funding for Israel’s
annual security commitment of $3.3 billion.
The legislation also eliminates funding for the UN
Commission of Inquiry against Israel. This provision hinders the Palestinians’
ability to initiate an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation or
actively support such an investigation that subjects Israeli nationals to an
investigation for alleged crimes against Palestinians.
In a statement, CAIR National Deputy Executive
Director Edward Mitchell said:
“President Biden and many members of Congress should
be ashamed for supporting legislation with openly racist, dehumanizing
provisions aimed at starving Palestinians in Gaza and permanently silencing and
subjugating the entire Palestinian population.
“By sending another three billion dollars to the
Israeli government, cutting funding to UNWRA amid a famine caused by the Israeli
government, and threatening to defund international bodies that address
injustices against ‘the Palestinians,’ this legislation makes our nation even
more complicit in the oppression and occupation of the Palestinian people.
“These callous measures continue our government’s
pattern of dehumanizing the Palestinian people, contributing to
anti-Palestinian violence both overseas and here at home.”
Source:
cair.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-condemns-anti-palestinian-provisions-in-1-2-trillion-spending-package-as-racist-dehumanizing/
----
CAIR Calls on U.S. to Uphold UNSC Ceasefire Resolution
by Ending Weapons Transfers to Israel
Ismail Allison
March 25, 2024
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the
nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on
the Biden administration to uphold the United Nations Security Council
resolution passed earlier today demanding an immediate cease-fire in the
far-right Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza by ending U.S. weapons
transfers to Israel.
Fourteen Security Council members voted in favor of
the resolution, while the United States abstained.
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad
Awad said:
“The Biden administration’s long overdue decision to
permit the passage of a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire
will only be impactful if our government takes concrete steps to support it.
The far-right Netanyahu government is already flouting the resolution and
promising to continue its genocide in Gaza. The Biden administration should
respond by ending the transfer of any new weapons to the Israeli government and
taking steps to pursue a just, lasting peace.
“Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid must be
removed. The siege of Gaza must be lifted and those forced from their homes
must be allowed to return. All political prisoners and hostages must be freed.
Gaza must be rebuilt. The Israeli government must be held accountable for its
crimes. The state of Palestine must be recognized among the community of
nations.
“We thank the millions of activists who exerted
pressure on the Biden administration over the months not to block the United
Nations’ efforts to stop the genocide of the Palestinians. We need to keep up
the pressure. It’s working.”
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance
understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR esproteger las libertadesciviles,
mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a
losmusulmanesenlosEstadosUnidos.
Source:
cair.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-calls-on-u-s-to-uphold-unsc-ceasefire-resolution-by-ending-weapons-transfers-to-israel/
----
California’s governor publishes open letter of support
to Arab and Muslim Americans
March 26, 2024
CHICAGO: At a time when Islamophobia and anti-Arab
sentiment are increasing in the wake of Israel’s war in Gaza, one American
governor has felt compelled to tell Arabs and Muslims in America how much they
are appreciated.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued a four-page
letter in which he says California is “a better place” because of the presence
of Arabs and Muslims; offers blessing for Ramadan to the Muslim community; and
vows to continue to fight what he calls anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hate crimes
that are “becoming more common.”
Newsom, a Democrat, also said that he feels the
anguish of the loss of life in Gaza and will continue to organize efforts to
provide aid to civilians in the region, including utilizing the California
National Guard to assist in delivering aid to the besieged Palestinian
territory.
Newsom said: “California is a better place because of
you — our Muslim, Palestinian American, and Arab American neighbors and friends
who contribute so much to our state’s sense of faith and belonging.
“From countless achievements in literature, civil
rights, arts, entertainment, government, business, medicine, and science, to
the daily contributions to your communities, you form an essential part of
California’s spirit.
“And now, as many of you observe the Muslim holy month
of Ramadan, we can all extend our heartfelt wishes and be reminded of the value
of introspection and renewal. I am grateful and proud that each of you call the
Golden State home.”
Newsom said his administration was “fighting back”
against Islamophobia and hate crimes, while “uplifting Muslim and Arab American
heritage and culture.”
He added he was “pained” by the grief caused by the
suffering in Gaza, where more than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed, and
dozens of hospitals, schools, government buildings, businesses and civilian
homes destroyed in the five months since the “Oct. 7 terrorist attack on
Israel.”
He added in his letter, which was published on the
state’s government website this week: “That’s why it pains me so deeply to see
the ways your communities are suffering, bearing the weight of lost family and
friends in Gaza while facing a rise in discrimination and hate here at home.
“As I’ve met with leaders from your communities in
recent months, I’ve heard stories of unimaginable loss and widespread fear.”
Newsom said he has had personal contact with people
and friends who have lost family in Gaza.
He said: “Here in California, one leader in the
Palestinian American community told me of his work counseling community members
who have lost family members — but now, after losing 23 of his family members,
he is left searching for his own counselor. Others have shared similar
devastation with me.
“I have spoken publicly about a close friend of mine
who has lost nine of her family members. I’ve listened to stories of entire
families in Gaza killed and multiple generations wiped out. These losses are
staggering. And now burgeoning disease and starvation threaten to deepen the
devastation, especially among children. This is unacceptable.”
Citing the hate-driven actions against several
Palestinians in America, Newsom said these were not exceptions but a growing
trend.
He wrote: “These are not isolated incidents. Hateful
acts targeting those who are or are perceived to be Muslim or Arab American are
becoming more common. In California, reported anti-Muslim bias events rose 44.4
percent from 2021 to 2022.
“Reports also indicate a spike in reported anti-Muslim
and anti-Arab incidents following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel — the
largest documented surge of its kind since late 2015 and early 2016, amidst
calls for a Muslim ban. And now, many Muslim and Arab American communities
report a level of fear comparable to the months following 9/11.”
Newsom condemned the killings taking place in Gaza,
although he avoided casting blame on Israel’s government and urged the revival
of peace talks to guarantee the autonomy of both Palestinians and Israelis.
He said: “Our efforts must continue amidst the current
conflict in the Middle East. On top of the pain of discrimination and fear of
violence, I have also heard from Muslim, Arab American, and Palestinian
American leaders that many fear speaking out against the deaths of civilians in
Gaza. Know that I will always defend your right to take part in the California
tradition of peaceful protest — to publicly express your opposition to any war
or government decision you oppose, including the war in Gaza.
“So let me be clear — I condemn the ongoing and
horrific loss of innocent civilian life in Gaza. I support President Biden’s
call for an immediate ceasefire as part of a deal to secure desperately needed
relief for Gazan civilians and the release of hostages. I also unequivocally
denounce Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel. It is time to work in earnest
toward an enduring peace that will furnish the lasting security, autonomy, and
freedom that the Palestinians and the Israeli people both deserve.”
His administration last November “shipped a field
hospital and vital medical supplies to support humanitarian relief for
civilians in Gaza.”
He said he has directed state grants to bolster
“safety and security” for Arabs, Muslims and Jews at college campuses, schools,
mosques, churches and synagogues.
He wrote: “To every Muslim, Palestinian American, and
Arab American who calls California home: please know that you belong here.”
Newsom was elected California’s 40th governor in 2019.
He previously served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California from 2011 to
2019, and the 42nd mayor of the city of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011.
Source:
arabnews.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2482801/world
----
Pakistan
IK’s attendance issue: Jail authorities directed to
ensure attendance on next date of hearing
2024-03-26
ISLAMABAD: Despite court directives, the Adiala jail
superintendent did not appear before the court, hearing the bail petition of
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in six cases and his wife
Bushra Bibi in one case.
Additional Sessions Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra, during
the previous hearing, had directed the Adiala jail superintendent to appear in
person before it, after it was informed that Khan’s attendance was not marked
via video link due to poor internet signals in six cases registered against
Khan in Tarnol, Kohsar, Karachi Company, Ramna, and Secretariat police
stations.
At the start of the hearing, Adiala authorities submit
its reply on contempt of court notice and technical report before the court.
The Adiala jail authorities informed the court that
Khan’s attendance via video link was not marked as the main server was down.
Khan’s counsel Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry appeared before the court.
According to the written order of the court, the
deputy superintendent jail has submitted a written reply in detail. The NRTC
facility is still not in working condition. The matter regarding the attendance
of the accused through video link is already pending adjudication before the
Islamabad High Court (IHC), it says.
The order says that the jail authorities are hereby
directed to ensure the attendance of the accused in person or through video
link on the next date of the hearing to be held on April 4.
Source:
brecorder.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40295485/iks-attendance-issue-jail-authorities-directed-to-ensure-attendance-on-next-date-of-hearing
----
Pakistan welcomes adoption of UNSC resolution
demanding ceasefire in Gaza
March 26, 2024
Pakistan has welcomed the adoption of the UN Security
Council resolution, demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the holy month
of Ramadan.
In a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz
Zahra Baloch said Pakistan also welcomes the Security Council’s call for
allowing free flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and lifting of all
barriers to provision of humanitarian assistance.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch called for expeditious
implementation of the Security Council resolution and hoped that it will serve
as a first step towards ending Israel’s brutal onslaught and ensure a permanent
ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Minister for Foreign Affairs Ishaq Dar has
also welcomed the United Nations Security Council resolution calling for
immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
In a post on X, he urged urgent implementation of the
resolution and hoped the Palestinian people will have much needed respite after
months of bloodshed and massacre of over 30,000 innocent civilians.
Source:
radio.gov.pk
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.radio.gov.pk/26-03-2024/pakistan-applauds-unsc-resolution-demanding-ceasefire-in-gaza
---
Cipher is criminal case and we can’t rely on
assumptions, IHC CJ tells FIA
March 26, 2024
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) told
the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday that the coded cipher had been
received through an email, which could still be found at the Foreign Office.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq pointed out that this
is a criminal case and the court cannot rely on assumptions, so the FIA has to
explain clearly. The court also pointed out that the content of the document
that was misused by the accused has not come on record.
Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb remarked that nobody
knows what the actual text of the cipher is, but it has been claimed that it
has benefited the enemy.
Chief Justice Farooq and Justice Aurangzeb were
hearing the appeal against the conviction of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s
(PTI) founder Imran Khan and former vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the
cipher case.
The superintendent of the Adiala Jail could not submit
the report in compliance with the court’s order, so he was ordered to produce
the report on the next date of hearing.
Addressing the Islamabad attorney general, the chief
justice said that the order was issued on Wednesday but copies of the CVs of
the state counsel appointed for the appellants have still not been provided.
The AG said he could not get a copy of the court
order. The chief justice said that the order was written in the presence of the
AG who was not taking the court order seriously.
The chief justice remarked that the cipher was
received via email in coded language. Justice Aurangzeb asked if the original
cipher is still available at the FO.
The FIA’s Prosecutor Hamid Ali Shah said that the
original copy of the cipher should be available at the FO. The chief justice
told the prosecutor that he should give a clear answer.
Barrister Salman Safdar said the foreign secretary was
the competent authority who appointed the persons to distribute the copies of
the cipher. He said the coded email was decoded and sent as copies.
Justice Aurangzeb asked if the PTI’s founder had
access to the code at any stage. Barrister Safdar said that neither was there
any access nor is this an FIA case.
He said that the secret code is changed every
fortnight. He pointed out that the cipher security had no access to the secret
code, so how was the system compromised. He remarked that some links are
missing in it.
Justice Aurangzeb said that the text of the cipher is
not before the judges, the prosecution or the lawyers of the accused. Barrister
Safdar said that according to the FO’s witness Shamoon, the original cipher is
at the FO. The word ‘cipher’ has been wrongly used in the FIR, he added.
He also said the cipher stopped at the FO, and the
plain text of the decoded copy went ahead and was discarded on return.
The court said it is hearing the appeal, so it has to
see the legal position of the trial court’s decision, adding that neither the
judge nor the prosecution was shown that document. Further hearing on the
appeals will be held on Tuesday (today).
Source:
thenews.com.pk
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1172394-cipher-is-criminal-case-and-we-can-t-rely-on-assumptions-ihc-cj-tells-fia
----
Pakistani ambassador condoles with Russian envoy in US
on dastardly Moscow attack
March 26, 2024
WASHINGTON: Pakistan's Ambassador to the United
States, Masood Khan, on Tuesday condemned the terrorism and offered his
condolences to his Russian counterpart over the dastardly attack in Moscow.
On March 22, at least 137 people were killed and 182
people were injured when militants belonging to Daesh attacked a music venue in
Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region, by opening fire on the concert-goers and setting
the building ablaze.
Russian authorities arrested 11 people in connection
with the attack including four armed men. President Vladimir Putin vowed to
bring everyone involved to justice, declaring March 24 a national mourning day.
To pay condolences, Ambassador Khan visited the
Embassy of Russian Federation in Washington DC today where he was warmly
welcomed by his Russian counterpart Ambassador Anatoly Antonov.
"Today Russian grief is our grief because time
and again Pakistan has also been made target of terrorism," he said.
“I am here to express solidarity with the Russian
Federation and its people over the grisly attack on Crocus Hall,” observed the
envoy. He added that Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and
manifestations.
The ambassador conveyed condolences to the families of
the victims of the terrorism and the entire Russian nation.
“We salute Russian people who are facing this tragedy
with courage, dignity and patience,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Antonov thanked the Pakistani
envoy for his visit while seeing him off.
Source:
thenews.com.pk
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1172453-pakistani-ambassador-condoles-with-russian-envoy-in-us-on-dastardly-moscow-attack
----
Islamabad police books Gaza protesters, JI’s Mushtaq
Ahmad for holding rally in violation of Section 144
March 25, 2024
Shakeel Qarar
The Islamabad police has booked protesters and
organisers of a rally in support of Palestinians in Gaza, it emerged on Monday.
Save Gaza Campaign, a civil society movement of
civilians and organisations taking action against the Israeli bombardment in
the besieged strip, posted earlier today on social media platform X that the
police had registered a first information report (FIR) against its leader
Humaira Tayyaba and her husband and the movement’s patron, former
Jamaat-i-Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmad for leading a sit-in at D-Chowk on
Sunday.
The FIR was registered at the capital’s Kohsar police
station on the complaint of Station House Officer Shafqat Faiz on Sunday. The
complaint was filed under Sections 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 149
(unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public
functions), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 341
(punishment for wrongful restraint), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter
public servant from discharge of his duty), (mischief causing damage amounting
to Rs50) and 506(ii) (criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code and the
Amplifier Act.
The FIR said the SHO was stationed at Islamabad’s
Jinnah Avenue along with other police personnel for security duty when
protesters under Ahmad and Tayyaba’s leadership assembled around 2pm and began
playing slogans through speakers installed in pickup trucks. It added that
speeches were also made against state institutions.
The SHO said that a city magistrate present with the
police force admonished the crowd that Section 144 was imposed in the capital
and thus, there was a restriction on every rally, the protesters did not have a
no-objection certificate, impeding national arteries without permission could
not be allowed and therefore, the demonstrators could relocate to the green
belt without impacting the ordinary citizenry’s commute.
The FIR added that an offer was also previously made
by the local administration to the protesters to stage their demonstration at the
press club or some other venue but the organisers were insistent on D-Chowk.
The FIR said that around 5:30pm, Ahmad announced that
the protesters would reach D-Chowk at any cost and surround embassies and
important offices. The FIR added that the former senator had warned of violence
if met with resistance and had incited the crowd.
It further said that despite repeatedly being reminded
that they were violating Section 144, the crowd of around 300-350 people did
not listen and began proceeding towards D-Chowk with some carrying sticks.
The SHO said that when the police attempted to stop
their advance, the crowd confronted the police under Ahmad’s leadership and
pushed around female police officers, threatened the officers against carrying
out their duties and began pelting the police personnel, injuring one constable
and shattering anti-riot shields.
The FIR said the crowd blocked Express Chowk and
Jinnah Avenue from both ends and stopped the flow of traffic, including
ambulances. It added that they continued their protest at Jinnah Avenue for a
time and then dispersed.
A day ago, the Islamabad police had said that Section
144 was in force and legal action was being taken against the rally held
without permission.
“Protesters tried to enter the high-security zone and
pelted stones at the police. The protesters blocked the roads of the citizens,”
the police had said in a statement on X, adding that “unauthorised assembly and
blocking of public highways cannot be allowed.”
Tayyaba termed the case a “fabricated” one and said
the pro-Gaza demonstrations would continue until the demands of the protesters
were met.
Ahmad also came down hard against the development and
said: “The rulers made it a crime to show solidarity with the people of Gaza.”
He said the sound system and vehicle of the organisers
were detained while three people were sent to jail.
“I condemn this fascism of the Pakistan government and
Islamabad police. This is the worst kind of pro-Israelism,” he lashed out.
Last night, he had alleged that while on his way back
from the protest with his family, personnel of the Islamabad police had
accosted him and his family.
Responding to him, the Islamabad police claimed otherwise
and said its personnel were rudely treated when they had stopped the
former-senator and exhibited patience. The police said no arrest attempt was
made.
Ahmad in turn had termed the police response a bunch
of lies.
During the recently concluded Pakistan Super League
(PSL) tournament, there were several incidents in which fans were disallowed
from taking Palestinian flags and banners with messages of solidarity with
Gazans into the stadiums.
A woman was intimidated by security officials in
Lahore to let go of such banners during the early days of the ninth season of
the PSL. Meanwhile, in Karachi, two videos went viral of police personnel
snatching Palestinian flags from supporters who were displaying them in the
stands.
The Pakistan Cricket Board had remained silent over
the issue since it emerged on social media for the first time and its
newly-elected chairman Mohsin Naqvi deflected it to provincial governments.
However, after being snatched away from several fans
at the entry gates and in the stands, Palestinian flags were finally waved in
the PSL final and the symbol of protest against Israel’s atrocities in Gaza was
carried freely at Karachi’s National Bank Stadium.
FM Dar reiterates ‘unwavering support’ for Palestine
Separately, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a meeting
today with Ambassador of Palestine to Pakistan Rabaie Ahmed.
Dar reiterated Pakistan’s unwavering support for the
Palestinian cause and called for an urgent and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza.
Source:
dawn.com
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----
Europe
Radical Preacher Anjem ChoudaryPleads Not Guilty To
Two Terror ChargesRelating To The Banned Group Al-Muhajiroun
March 25, 2024
LONDON — Radical preacher Anjem Choudary has pleaded
not guilty to two terror offenses relating to the banned group Al-Muhajiroun.
The 57-year-old is accused of being a member of a
proscribed organization and addressing meetings to encourage support for a
proscribed organization.
He appeared via video link at the Old Bailey on Monday
to deny the charges.
A second suspect, Khaled Hussein, also pleaded not
guilty to charges relating to membership of the group.
Choudary was arrested in London by counter-terrorism
detectives on July 17, 2023, the same day 29-year-old Hussein was detained
after getting off a flight at Heathrow.
Prosecutors allege Hussein helped set up the Canadian
branch of Al-Muhajiroun and said he was "in effect working for"
Choudary.
The pair will appear at Kingston Crown Court on June
4, for a trial estimated to last six to eight weeks.
Choudary will reappear at the Old Bailey for a further
hearing on April 23. — BBC
Source:
saudigazette.com.sa
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---
Putin says 'radical Islamists' behind Moscow attack,
reiterates Ukraine link
Mar 26, 2024
Sharangee Dutta
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged on
Monday that the March 23 attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow was carried
out by Islamic militants, but reiterated his claim that Ukraine had a role to
play in the carnage that has claimed 139 lives.
During a Kremlin meeting, aimed at measures taken in
response to the deadliest attack in Russia in two decades, Putin said
investigators are yet to determine who "ordered" the attack that was
carried out by "radical Islamists with an ideology that the Muslim world
has fought for centuries". The Russian President's remarks were posted on
Telegram.
"The question that arises is who benefits from
this? This atrocity may be just a link in a whole series of attempts by those
who have been at war with our country since 2014 by the hands of the neo-Nazi
Kyiv regime," Putin said.
He said the purpose of the attack was to "sow
panic" and could also be intended to show the Ukrainian population that
"not all is lost for the Kyiv regime" with the Russia-Ukraine war
currently in its fourth year.
Earlier, Putin said that the Moscow concert hall
attackers had made their way to the Bryansk region, about 340 km southwest of
Moscow, to try to escape to Ukraine. He further claimed that some people on the
Ukrainian side had prepared to let the four attackers cross the border from
Russia.
Ukraine has dismissed the Russian President's
allegations, with Ukrainian President VolodymyrZelenskyy accusing Putin of
attempting to divert blame.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the
attack, and released bodycam footage of what looked to be the four gunmen, who
opened fire on civilians at the Crocus City Hall - a music venue and a shopping
centre - on March 23. The Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) - an affiliate of the
terror outfit active in parts of Central Asia and primarily Afghanistan - has
claimed they were behind the attack.
US officials said they had warned Russia earlier this
month of an imminent attack, a message that Moscow appears to have pushed
aside.
Now, France has also joined the US in saying intelligence
indicated the Islamic State was behind the attack. French President Emmanuel
Macron told reporters on Monday that available information indicated
"indeed that it was an entity of the Islamic State that instigated this
attack".
Macron also warned Moscow against any
"exploitation" of the attack, saying it would be "cynical and
counterproductive for Russia to use this context to try and turn it against
Ukraine".
The US, has meanwhile, renewed its statement that
there is no evidence to support Ukraine had anything to do with the attack.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the terrorist attack was
conducted by the Islamic State and that Putin "understands that" and
"knows that very well". She also expressed her condolences to those
whose loved ones were killed in the attack and those who were injured.
As many as 11 people have been detained in the Moscow
concert hall attack, of which four have been charged. Three of the four
suspects pleaded guilty during a court appearance on Sunday. All four men are
citizens of Tajikistan, and have been remanded in pre-trial custody until May
22.
Meanwhile, Russia's failure to avert the Moscow attack
has raised questions about its security lapses. Following the Moscow hostage
massacre in 2002 and the Beslan school siege in 2004, the Crocus City Hall
attack is the latest brutality claimed by jihadists under Putin's regime, which
has put the role of security services under the scanner.
Admitting that the attack was carried out by the
Islamic State would be to acknowledge that the image of an "omnipotent and
the all-power security services control everything is a myth", AFP
reported, quoting Tatiana Kastoueva-Jean, Russia specialist at the French
Institute of International Relations (IFRI).
She said that Putin's priority is to divert attention
from "security lapses" and rally "all those who are still
hesitating on the domestic scene" to the need to fight Ukraine and the
West, the AFP report added.
Source:
indiatoday.in
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---
Germany to allocate €45M for regional funding of UN
agency for Palestinians
Oliver Towfigh Nia
25.03.2024
The German government announced on Monday that it is
earmarking €45 million for the regional work of the UN agency for Palestinian
refugees or UNRWA.
Germany is providing €45 million for the agency's
regional work in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank, according to a
joint statement by the Foreign Ministry and by the Development Aid Ministry.
As part of the overall payments, the Development Aid
Ministry is providing €22 million –€15 million to support basic health and
education services for Palestinian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon and €7
million for the "Cash for Work" program for those in Lebanon – the
statement added.
Meanwhile, the Federal Foreign Office is providing €23
million for aid for Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria as well
as food aid in the West Bank.
On Jan. 27, Germany announced that it was suspending
funding for the agency’s humanitarian work in Gaza over allegations that a
handful of its staffers were involved in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack
in southern Israel.
Earlier in the day, the German government said that
providing more urgently needed humanitarian aid for the people in Gaza was “a
big political priority” for Berlin.
We are “working intensively to ensure that more
humanitarian aid reaches the people of Gaza. It is our big political priority
that more humanitarian aid comes into Gaza,” deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman
Christian Wagner said in Berlin.
Asked about Israel’s decision to prevent the UN agency
from operating in northern Gaza, Wagner replied while he could not give any
assessment yet, "any news that gives the impression that the already
insufficient humanitarian aid is being reduced again is of course not a good
thing.”
Israel informed UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini
over the weekend that they would no longer approve any agency food convoys to
the north, even as a famine looms there.???????
“This is outrageous and makes it intentional to
obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man-made famine,” Lazzarini warned on
the social media platform X.
Source:
aa.com.tr
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---
President held a joint iftar with representatives of
the Muslim community of Ukraine and awarded Ukrainian Muslim warriors
25 March 2024
President of Ukraine VolodymyrZelenskyy, along with
the Ukrainian military, who profess Islam, leaders of the Mejlis of the Crimean
Tatar people, and representatives of the Muslim community and clergy, took part
in an iftar – a dinner held during the holy month of Ramadan.
The event took place on the territory of the Religious
Administration of Muslims of Crimea and was a continuation of the tradition of
holding an iftar, launched at the state level by the President of Ukraine in
2023.
"Last year we initiated a new tradition – to
celebrate the holy Ramadan together. The political leadership of our country,
the military command, representatives of the Ukrainian Muslim community, the
Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, and the diplomatic corps – all together. I
am very glad that we are here today in the same composition. Unity is always
important, especially when life is overshadowed by war and the strikes of
evil," VolodymyrZelenskyy said.
The Head of State expressed gratitude to all those
present, to those who fight, work for Ukraine, who help our country and do not
obey evil.
"I would like to recognize Muslim warriors – all
those who are part of the Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine defending our
country, our freedom. I thank each of our warriors for their bravery. I thank
everyone who brings the liberation of our entire land and our Crimea
closer," the President emphasized.
Ukrainian Muslim servicemen who are currently
defending our country in the Armed Forces of Ukraine also shared the iftar with
VolodymyrZelenskyy. The President presented the Orders of Bohdan Khmelnytsky,
III class, and the Orders "For Courage", III class, to intelligence
officers, artillerymen, machine gunners, and servicement of assault forces who
showed courage and selflessness in the defense of Ukraine's sovereignty and
territorial integrity.
VolodymyrZelenskyy also noted all those who find
opportunities to take care of our citizens in the occupied territory of
Ukraine: children, elderly people who need support.
"I am also grateful to all those who help our
country return deported children abducted by Russia and adults to Ukraine.
These are thousands of lives. We must save them all. Every leader whose
mediation returns our children from deportation and saves adults from Russian
repressions deserves global gratitude," the Head of State noted.
The President of Ukraine wished peace and tranquility
to those peoples who are deprived of normal life and security due to
hostilities: people in Syria, Gaza, Libya, Sudan.
"In Ukraine, we wish everyone who values life
real protection. We wish a just peace to all nations whose homes are being
destroyed by war. We wish justice to our state of Ukraine and all other
nations. May this time of Ramadan support all of us – our people and our
country. And may our unity remain firm," VolodymyrZelenskyy said.
The leader of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa
Dzhemilev expressed his gratitude to the President of Ukraine, all those
present, as well as to all the warriors who are defending our country with
weapons in their hands.
"You are now fulfilling not only your civil but
also your religious duty. After all, according to the principles of Islam, war
for one's Homeland is a duty for every Muslim," he said.
The leader of the Crimean Tatar people expressed his
belief that the punishment for all the evil done will definitely return to
those who are guilty of this war. At the same time, Mustafa Dzhemilev thanked
all the countries of the world that help to protect the Ukrainian people today.
He wished that the holy month of Ramadan would become
another occasion for greater consolidation of the entire Ukrainian people to
defeat the enemy.
The iftar was also attended by: Chairman of the Mejlis
of the Crimean Tatar People RefatChubarov and other members of the Mejlis,
Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic
of Crimea TamilaTasheva, Mufti of the Religious Administration of Muslims of
the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Sheikh AyderRustamov, Deputy Mufti of the
Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine "Ummah" Mamet Mamutov,
Chief Ombudsman of the Republic of Türkiye SerefMalkoç, Secretary General of
GUAM Altai Efendiev, Ambassadors of Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Palestine,
Uzbekistan, Egypt, Libya, Pakistan, Indonesia, South Africa to Ukraine,
representatives of diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan, Algeria, Sudan, Qatar,
Iraq, Kyrgyzstan accredited in Ukraine, cultural and public figures.
Ukraine's Defense Minister RustemUmerov emphasized
that thousands of Muslims are fighting in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed
Forces, and this is the third Ramadan since the beginning of the full-scale
invasion, which they are spending in the trenches, protecting the future of our
country.
"We are very grateful to our warriors who are
jointly pushing the enemy out of our land, defending justice and peace. Our
prayers are with those who died for a free Ukraine. I ask the Almighty to grant
us victory over the occupier as soon as possible. So that we liberate our
Homeland and our people as soon as possible and ensure the rule of law for all
our fellow citizens from Yalta to Chernihiv, from Luhansk to Uzhhorod,"
RustemUmerov emphasized.
Mufti of the Religious Administration of Muslims of
the Autonomous Republic of Crimea AyderRustamov recited the iftar prayer, which
symbolizes the end of the fast on this day.
The President of Ukraine also visited the exhibition
"Qurans that Survived Deportation", which features copies of books
published in Crimea and beyond. The oldest edition of the Quran presented was
published in the late XIX century. Some of the books were carried by people
during the deportation, and later their children returned them to their
homeland.
The Head of State also watched the portraits of the
military – Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians who profess Islam and come from Crimea
– with the stories of their families and motivation to fight for the
territorial integrity of Ukraine today.
In addition, the exhibition features portraits of
Muslim warriors of various nationalities who are citizens of Ukraine and are
fighting at the front, defending our country.
The event was organized by the Mission of the
President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Religious
Administration of Muslims of Crimea together with the Crimean Tatar community
of Kyiv.
Source:
president.gov.ua
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----
Sunni Endowments assigns imams for Taraweeh prayers in
Germany and UK
25 Mar 2024
Manama, Mar. 25 (BNA): The Sunni Endowments
Directorate has assigned four imam reciters to conduct Taraweeh prayers and
night prayers throughout Ramadhan in mosques and Islamic centres in Germany and
the United Kingdom.
Shaikh Dr. Rashid bin Mohammed bin Futtais Al Hajeri,
Chairman of the Sunni Endowments Council, said the decision reflected royal
support for Holy Quran centres and reciters.
Hamza Muadh Al Abdulrazzaq and Salman Abdulaziz Al
Nufaie will be lead prayers in Germany, while Saleh Al Muhaysin and Ammar
Hassan Tayeb will be in the UK.
Al Hajeri said that this initiative came in
coordination with the Central Council of Muslims in Germany for the second
consecutive year, as the scope of participation expanded this year in
coordination with the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments to
hold Tarawih prayers in coordination with the London Muslim Centre.
Source:
bna.bh
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---
UK's first Turkish mosque faces threat to its future
25 Mar 2024
The UK's first Turkish mosque, based in north-east
London, may need to shut or be downsized due to increased costs and a
"dwindled down congregation", its owner has said.
The Masjid Ramadan, also known as the Shacklewell Lane
Mosque, in Dalston, was established in 1977 as a place of worship for the
area's Turkish Cypriot community.
ErkinGüney, 59, who owns and runs mosque, told the BBC
his bills had tripled in recent years.
He added that while he had received increased donations
and support from the wider Muslim community in the area, the mosque still faces
an uncertain future.
“It’s quite sad really," he said. "We’ve
been here since 1977, the first Turkish mosque in the UK and I’ve seen the
change.
“Our community has passed away, moved out or gone back
to northern Cyprus. Congregations have dwindled down."
The building, which Mr Güney said was formerly a
synagogue, was built in 1903 and needs "a lot of work".
Monthly costs work out at about £4,000 per month but
donations from worshippers have failed to match this with about £200 to 400
collected each week.
He added that on maintenance costs "we’re falling
short anything between £17,000 and £20,000 per year”.
'Difficult to sustain'
Mr Güney said if the financial situation was not
turned around soon he faced the prospect of having to downsize the mosque with
parts of the building being redeveloped into apartment and retail space.
“It would be a tragedy to do that. This is a very
beautiful building with millions of prayers being said over the years," he
told BBC Radio London.
He said that while the number of worshippers remain
high for Friday prayers, the mosque is "difficult to sustain" when
there are reduced numbers of visitors during the week.
About £10,000 has been raised in donations from the
wider community, which Mr Güney said was "amazing", but he added
about £200,000 was still required to help make the building "good and
safe".
“We’ve got a long way to go before we come out of the
red," he said.
Source:
bbc.com
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----
Mideast
UN Rights Expert Accuses Israel Of Several Acts Of
‘Genocide’ In Gaza
March 26, 2024
GENEVA: A UN rights expert on Monday said there were
“reasonable grounds” to determine that Israel has committed several acts of
“genocide” in its war in Gaza, also evoking “ethnic cleansing.”
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the
rights situation in the Palestinian territories, said there were clear
indications that Israel had violated three of the five acts listed under the UN
Genocide Convention.
“The overwhelming nature and scale of Israel’s assault
on Gaza and the destructive conditions of life it has inflicted reveal an
intent to physically destroy Palestinians as a group,” she said in a report,
which was immediately rejected by Israel as an “obscene inversion of reality.”
Albanese, an independent expert appointed by the UN
Human Rights Council but who does not speak on behalf of the United Nations,
said she had found “reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating
the commission of... acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza has been
met.”
The report, entitled “Anatomy of a Genocide,” listed
those acts as: “killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental
harm to the group’s members; and deliberately inflicting on the group
conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole
or in part.”
Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva said the country
“utterly rejects the report,” describing it as “simply an extension of a
campaign seeking to undermine the very establishment of the Jewish State.”
“Israel’s war is against Hamas, not against
Palestinian civilians,” it said in a statement, slamming Albanese’s “outrageous
accusations.”
Israel has long been harshly critical of Albanese and
her mandate.
Last month it slapped a visa ban on her after she made
comments denying that Hamas’s October 7 attack, which sparked the war in Gaza,
was anti-Semitic.
That attack resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel,
mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized about 250 hostages, of whom
Israel believes around 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 presumed dead.
Israel’s relentless bombardment and ground offensive
in Gaza has since killed more than 32,300 people, mainly women and children,
according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.
South Africa has already filed a complaint against
Israel before the International Court of Justice, alleging its assault on Gaza
amounts to a violation of the genocide convention.
The court has yet to rule on the underlying issue, but
earlier this year ordered Israel to do everything it could to prevent genocidal
acts during its campaign and also to allow in humanitarian aid.
In Albanese’s report, which she is due to present to
the Human Rights Council on Tuesday, she maintained that Israel’s “genocidal
acts” followed “statements of genocidal intent.”
Statements by some senior Israeli officials spelling
out an intent to forcibly displace Palestinians and replace them with Israeli
settlers, she said, indicated that “evacuation orders and safe zones have been
used as genocidal tools to achieve ethnic cleansing.”
The report also found that Israel was treating all
Palestinians and their infrastructure “as ‘terrorist’ or
‘terrorist-supporting’, thus transforming everything and everyone into either a
target or collateral damage.”
“In this way, no Palestinian in Gaza is safe by
definition,” it said.
“This has had devastating, intentional effects,
costing the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians.”
The report also stressed that Israel’s mistreatment of
the Palestinians had not begun on October 7.
“Israel’s genocide on the Palestinians in Gaza is an
escalatory stage of a longstanding settler colonial process of erasure,” it
said.
Source:
arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2482841/middle-east
----
Hezbollah targets Israel's military positions in
pro-Palestine retaliatory strikes
26 March 2024
Hezbollah has struck Israeli military positions in the
northern part of the 1948 Israeli-occupied territories in retaliatory
operations in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television said the group
separately targeted two gatherings of Israeli troops inside Shomera and Shlomi
settlements in the predawn hours of Tuesday with appropriate weapons.
Hezbollah said in a statement that the operations came
in solidarity with steadfast Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in support of
their brave and honorable resistance factions, and in response to the Israeli
aggression on southern Lebanese villages and residential buildings.
The Lebanese resistance movement also mourned the loss
of its fighter Hussein Ali Dbouk, a resident of Chabriha town in southern
Lebanon.
The Israeli regime has been attacking southern Lebanon
off and on since October 7, when it launched the devastating campaign of death
and destruction in Gaza, killing more than 23,200 Palestinians.
In retaliation, Hezbollah has launched near-daily
rocket attacks on Israeli positions.
At least 322 people have been killed on the Lebanese
border, including 56 civilians.
Israel says at least ten of its troopers and seven
settlers have been killed in the area.
The fighting has forced the evacuation of tens of
thousands from the northern part of the occupied territories, which have been
pummeled by rocket fire and shelling carried out by Hezbollah and allied
Palestinian groups.
Hezbollah has already fought off two Israeli wars
against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006. The resistance forced the regime to retreat
in both conflicts.
Source:
presstv.ir
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----
UN Security Council adopts resolution on Gaza
ceasefire for the month of Ramzan
26.03.24
The UN Security Council Monday passed a resolution
demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the month of Ramzan, a
breakthrough coming after more than five months since the start of the
Israel-Hamas conflict.
The 15-nation Council adopted the resolution, put
forth by the 10 non-permanent elected members of the Council, with 14 nations
voting in favour, none against and an abstention by permanent member the US.
“The Security Council just approved a long-awaited
resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire, and the immediate and
unconditional release of all hostages,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
said in a post on X.
“This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be
unforgivable,” he said.
The resolution “demands an immediate ceasefire for the
month of Ramzan respected by all parties leading to a lasting sustainable
ceasefire, and also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all
hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access to address their medical and
other humanitarian needs, and further demands that the parties comply with
their obligations under international law in relation to all persons they
detain.” US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that the
resolution rightly acknowledges that, during the month of Ramzan, “we must
recommit to peace. Hamas can do that by accepting the deal on the table. A
ceasefire can begin immediately with the release of the first hostage.” “And
so, we must put pressure on Hamas to do just that. This is the only path to
securing a ceasefire and the release of hostages, as we have all called for
today. That is what this resolution means, a ceasefire of any duration must
come with the release of hostages. This is the only path,” she sa.
She said that with the adoption of the resolution,
“this Council spoke out in support of the ongoing diplomatic efforts, led by
the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, to bring about an immediate and
sustainable ceasefire, secure the immediate release of all hostages, and help
alleviate the tremendous suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, who are in
dire need of protection and life-saving humanitarian assistance.” The US envoy
said that the only path to a durable end to this conflict is the release of all
hostages. UK’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward
said her country has long been calling for an immediate humanitarian pause
leading to a sustainable ceasefire without a return to destruction, fighting
and loss of life, as the fastest way to get hostages out and aid in.
“That is what this resolution calls for and why the
United Kingdom voted yes on this text,” she said.
Woodward voiced regret that this resolution has not
condemned the terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas on October 7. The UK
condemns these attacks unequivocally.
“This resolution sets out the urgent demand for the
unconditional release of all hostages. And we welcome the ongoing diplomatic
efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to this end,” she said.
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Ambassador and Permanent
Representative of Guyana said that after more than five months of a “war of
utter terror and destruction”, a ceasefire is the difference between life and
death for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and others.
“This demand [by the Council] comes at a significant
time as Palestinians are observing the holy month of Ramzan,” she said.
Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch,
said that Israel needs to immediately respond to the UN Security Council
resolution adopted today by facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid,
ending the starvation of Gaza’s population, and halting unlawful attacks.
“Palestinian armed groups should immediately release
all civilians held hostage. The US and other countries should use their
leverage to end atrocities by suspending arms transfers to Israel.” The
adoption of the resolution comes more than five months after the latest
conflict in Gaza erupted following the October 7 Hamas attacks against Israel.
The Security Council, with its primary responsibility of maintaining
international peace and security, has remained deeply divided and has till now
not been able to adopt any resolution on a ceasefire in Gaza.
According to an update by the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Between October 7, 2023, and March 25, at
least 32,333 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 74,694 Palestinians were
injured.
Over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals have been
killed in Israel, the vast majority on October 7, the day of the Hamas attack.
As of March 25, the Israeli authorities estimate that
134 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities
whose bodies are withheld, the UN agency said.
Source:
telegraphindia.com
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---
Hamas leader Haniyeh to travel to Tehran for meetings
with Iranian officials
March 26, 2024
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh will travel to Tehran on
Tuesday to meet Iranian officials, a day after the United Nations Security
Council adopted a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire between Israel
and the Palestinian group, Iran’s official Press TV reported.
Iran has backed Hamas in the nearly six-month war with
Israel that has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza.
It will be Haniyeh’s second visit to Iran since the
outbreak of the war on Oct. 7.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani
called Monday’s resolution a “positive step.”
“A more important step is effective action for its
implementation,” said Kanaani.
Hamas welcomed the UN resolution but said the
ceasefire needs to be permanent.
The United States abstained from the UN vote, sparking
a spat with its ally Israel.
Source:
arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2482936/middle-east
----
Israel continues strikes in Gaza despite UN ceasefire
resolution
26 March 2024
There is no let-up in the Israeli aggression on the
Gaza Strip despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an “immediate
ceasefire.”
Israel carried out air raids and artillery strikes on
several parts of Gaza on Tuesday, hitting residential buildings and gatherings
of displaced people, “killing and wounding hundreds of people”, the Palestinian
Information Center said.
Among the victims are 15 people, including four women
and children, who were killed in an attack on a house in the neighborhood of
Mosbeh, north of Rafah.
Media reports also said that fighting on the ground
continued unabated.
That’s while the UN Security Council on Monday adopted
a resolution for an “immediate ceasefire” for the ongoing Muslim holy month of
Ramadan.
The resolution was put forward by the 10 non-permanent
members of the UN Security Council. The US abstained and the 14 other council
members all voted in favor of it.
After the vote, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
wrote on social media platform X that failing to implement the resolution
“would be unforgivable.”
Palestinian resistance movements have welcomed the
resolution, but Israel’s minister for military affairs Yoav Gallant said Israel
will not stop its attacks in Gaza.
“We will operate against Hamas everywhere – including
in places where we have not yet been,” Gallant said.
Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, also said in a
post on X that the attacks will continue until all the captives taken by Hamas
during its October 7 blitz are released.
Israel unleashed its war on Gaza on October 7 after
the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm
against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities
against the Palestinian people.
Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime
has killed more than 32,300 Palestinians and injured over 74,000 others.
The Tel Aviv regime has also imposed a “complete
siege” on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the
more than two million Palestinians living there.
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human
rights in the Palestinian territories, said Israel has committed acts of
genocide in Gaza.
Source:
presstv.ir
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/03/26/722525/Israel-continues-fighting-Gaza-UN-ceasefire-resolution
----
Iran reacts to UNSC resolution over ceasefire in Gaza
Mar 26, 2024
TEHRAN, Mar. 26 (MNA) – Iranian Foreign Ministry
Spokesperson Nasser Kan'ani has reacted to the resolution adopted by the United
Nations Security Council demanding for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The senior Iranian diplomat considered the adoption of
the resolution after six months of failure a positive but insufficient step.
Kan'ani stressed that the most important step is to
take effective action to implement the resolution and stop the attacks of the
aggressor Zionist regime against the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, completely
lift the cruel blockade of Gaza, and reopen the crossings in order to send
international humanitarian aid widely and without discrimination, as well as
providing financial aid for the reconstruction of Gaza Strip.
It is expected that the United Nations Security
Council would hold the Israeli regime accountable for the crimes committed
against the homeless people of Palestine in the past six months and the
possibility of its continuation in violation of the resolution, he added.
Israel waged its US-backed war on Gaza on October 7
after the Palestinian Hamas Resistance group carried out a historic operation
against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified
atrocities against the Palestinian people.
So far, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 32,142
Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 74,412 others.
Israel is intentionally starving the people in Gaza by
blocking their access to food, a war crime under the Geneva Conventions and the
Rome Statute.
Source:
mehrnews.com
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https://en.mehrnews.com/news/213276/Iran-reacts-to-UNSC-resolution-over-ceasefire-in-Gaza
---
Enemy, settlers attack worshipers in al-Aqsa Mosque
[26/March/2024]
OCCUPIED AL-QUDS March 26. 2024 (Saba) - The Zionist
enemy police and settlers have attacked the worshipers as they were leaving the
blessedaAl-Aqsa Mosque after the end of Tarawih prayers.
Eyewitnesses reported, according to the Palestinian
Wafa Agency, that enemy police and a number of settlers assaulted worshipers in
Bab al-Khalil area, as they were leaving al-Aqsa Mosque.
The witnesses added that the enemy police arrested two
young men near Bab al-Khalil, after they left the mosque.
On the same level, dozens of citizens suffocated in
confrontations with enemy forces in al-Arroub camp, northern Hebron.
Wafa Agency reported that the confrontations broke out
after enemy forces stormed the camp, causing dozens of citizens to suffer from
suffocation due to inhaling toxic tear gas.
The citizens were treated on the field.
Source:
saba.ye
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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3316104.htm
---
South
Asia
Daesh Has Been Weakened in Afghanistan: Islamic
Emirate
Nazir Shinwari
March 25, 2024
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Islamic
Emirate, in response to the claim by Michael McCaul, the chairman of the US
House Foreign Affairs Committee regarding the presence of Daesh in Afghanistan,
said that Daesh has been suppressed in Afghanistan and cannot pose a threat to
other countries.
Zabihullah Mujahid once again pledged that Afghan soil
will not be used against any country.
“Daesh has been significantly weakened compared to
when American forces were here, and the forces of the Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan have used all means to suppress Daesh. Even if Daesh remains here 1
or 2 percent, they can neither recruit soldiers here nor can they create a
threat,” he added.
Previously, Michael McCaul, the chairman of the US
House Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized the withdrawal of US forces from
Afghanistan in an interview with CBS News, calling it a breeding ground for
Daesh in Afghanistan.
Michael McCaul said in the interview that the manner
of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, which did not include an assessment of
Daesh capabilities, was a mistake.
“The way it was done and the way we left it with no
ISR capability, that intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance, puts us in
danger where this is a new battleground training ground for (Daesh),” he added.
A number of military and political experts said that
Daesh does not exist in Afghanistan and that America wants to portray
Afghanistan to the world as unstable.
“The main source of terrorism is America, and this
country has created proxy groups and wants to achieve its goals through these
means," Kamran Aman, a military analyst, told TOLOnews.
“There is no need for world superpowers to create such
concerns that further deteriorate the situation of our country,” said Ahmad
Khan Andar, a political analyst.
The New York Times has also recently claimed in a
report that Daesh’s Khorasan branch intends to attack the embassies of China,
India, and Iran in Afghanistan; however, the Islamic Emirate emphasizes that
Daesh does not have the capability to attack diplomatic missions.
Source:
tolonews.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://tolonews.com/science-technology-187987
----
People Will Not Accept Any Foreign Supremacy: BNP
Secretary General
Mar 26, 2024
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir
yesterday said people's aspirations for which they fought the war in 1971
against Pakistani army are now elusive due to Awami League's undemocratic rule.
Bangalee students, youth, farmers, labourers, and
soldiers joined the Liberation War to build a democratic Bangladesh where
people will have freedom of speech, people's government, and economic
emancipation, but the dreams of 1971 are now elusive, said Fakhrul.
He said this at a rally of freedom fighters organised
by BNP on the occasion of Independence Day in front of the party's Nayapaltan
central office. Banners at the rally carried the slogan "Boycott Indian
Products."
"The country's people will not accept any foreign
supremacy. If any country thinks it will dominate over us, they should know
that people of Bangladesh have never accepted this," said Fakhrul.
People did not accept such dominance during Mughal
era, British era, or Pakistani era, and they will not accept it now, he added.
"We did not liberate Bangladesh by anyone's
mercy. We believe that the current government, which has forcibly usurped
power, will have to leave one day," he added.
"The movement against a fascist regime is not
easy but we have been continuing it for 15 years," he said.
Twenty-two leaders and activists of BNP sacrificed
their lives in the last two years, he claimed, adding that thousands of BNP
leaders and activists have been imprisoned and have been living inhumane lives
in jail.
It was Fakhrul's first public speech since his release
from jail in late February after being detained for more than three months
following his arrest on October 29 last year.
Source:
thedailystar.net
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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/people-will-not-accept-any-foreign-supremacy-fakhrul-3574991
---
Amnesty International warns against continued Afghan
migrant expulsion from Pakistan
Fidel Rahmati
March 26, 2024
The International Amnesty Organization has expressed
concerns that Pakistan’s program to continue expelling Afghan migrants will put
many of them at risk.
The organization has urged countries to expedite the
processing of asylum cases and the resettlement of Afghan migrants.
Amnesty International has also called on the Pakistani
government to halt the mass expulsion of Afghan migrants and to protect the
rights of asylum seekers in accordance with international laws.
According to Pakistani officials, after the Taliban
takeover of Afghanistan, around six hundred to eight hundred thousand Afghans
migrated to Pakistan. Many intend to seek asylum in other countries, while some
face uncertain fate.
The Pakistani government recently instructed its
police force to begin the second phase of expelling Afghan migrants.
Pakistani media reported that nearly one million
Afghan migrants will be expelled from Pakistan in the second phase.
Pakistani authorities stated that this phase is likely
to begin in the summer.
Amidst a dire humanitarian crisis in the country, the
ongoing expulsion of Afghan migrants from Pakistan exacerbates the challenges
faced by returnees. Many lack basic necessities such as water, foodstuffs,
shelter, and job opportunities upon their return, further compounding their
struggles.
Furthermore, as winter approaches, the situation for
Afghan returnees becomes even more precarious. Harsh winter conditions threaten
their already vulnerable situation, with inadequate shelter and limited access
to essential resources intensifying their plight.
Earlier, in the first phase, Pakistan announced in
November last year that it would expel 1.7 million undocumented migrants.
Pakistani media estimate that around half a million migrants have returned to
Afghanistan so far.
Source:
khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/amnesty-international-warns-against-continued-afghan-migrant-expulsion-from-pakistan/
----
Pakistani delegation arrives in Kabul amid increased tensions
Fidel Rahmati
March 25, 2024
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Taliban
announced that a high-level delegation from the Ministry of Commerce of
Pakistan has traveled to Kabul at the official invitation of the Taliban.
This is the first Pakistani delegation to travel to
Kabul after Pakistan’s recent attacks on Khost and Paktia.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Taliban
stated in a newsletter on Monday, March 25th, on their social media platform X
that Muhammad Khurram Agha, an official from the Ministry of Commerce of
Pakistan, is leading this delegation.
The ministry also said: “The purpose of this trip is
to continue discussions on strengthening and expanding the trade and transit
relations between the two countries.”
Earlier, Pakistani media also reported that a
Pakistani delegation led by an official from the Ministry of Commerce of
Pakistan would travel to Kabul for discussions and decision-making on major
regional economic and trade issues.
This Pakistani delegation travels to Kabul while a
week ago, the Pakistani army conducted airstrikes on several areas in Khost and
Paktia.
Pakistan announced that in these attacks, members of
the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, one of the commanders of the Pakistani Taliban
(TTP), were targeted, accusing the Taliban of supporting the Pakistani Taliban.
In response, the Taliban stated that they responded to
these attacks with artillery attacks on several Pakistani military outposts,
and the victims of the Pakistani airstrikes were civilians.
Source:
khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/pakistani-delegation-arrives-in-kabul-amid-increased-tensions/
---
Taliban orders Hizb-e-Islami leader to vacate home and
office
Fidel Rahmati
March 25, 2024
According to media reports, Taliban forces have
reportedly surrounded the house of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of
Hizb-e-Islami, in Kabul.
It has been said that the controversy revolves around
the land of Hekmatyar’s house; according to the Taliban, it belongs to the
Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan.
Habib al-Rahman, Hekmatyar’s son, wrote in a post on
his social media platform X that their house is not surrounded, but they are
changing their residence in Kabul.
According to him, the leader of Hizb-e-Islami lived in
a house provided by the previous government after the peace agreement, while
the Taliban have not accepted this agreement.
He stated that based on the previous government’s
agreement, this house was given to Hekmatyar, but after several months of
discussions with Taliban officials, the previous peace agreement is not
acceptable to the current government.
But Karim Amin, a member of the leadership of
Hizb-e-Islami, speaking to the media, said that the Taliban officials forced
Hekmatyar to leave his home and workplace and go to another place.
This incident occurred while Hekmatyar had previously
criticized the Taliban leader and policies.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hizb-e-Islami
Afghanistan, in a recent speech, strongly criticized the Taliban’s system and
policies, such as banning girls’ education.
Regarding the ban on girls’ education, he said that
anyone who differentiates between the education of boys and girls is
“definitely wrong.”
Source:
khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/taliban-orders-hizb-e-islami-leader-to-vacate-home-and-office/
---
Recognise those who work silently for public welfare:
PM
Mar 25, 2024
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today asked the nation to
recognise and honour the dedicated souls who have been working silently for the
welfare of people in different parts of the country.
Speaking at the ceremony where the Independence
Award-2024 was conferred upon 10 distinguished individuals, the PM emphasised
the importance of identifying those who selflessly contribute to public
welfare.
"I would like to call upon you to find such
dedicated persons who have been working not for themselves but for the welfare
of the people. They never can come to the limelight or don't want to come to
limelight," she said.
The recipients of the Independence Award-2024, or
their family members, were presented with the highest civilian honour by the
prime minister herself.
Among the recipients were freedom fighters Kazi Abdus
Sattar Bir Pratik, posthumously honored freedom fighter flight sergeant
MdFazlul Haque, and posthumously honored freedom fighter Shaheed Abu
NayemMdNazib Uddin Khan (Khurram), recognized for their significant
contributions to Bangladesh's independence and the Liberation War.
The PM greeted the awardees for their remarkable
achievements in various fields, expressing hope that their recognition would
inspire others to contribute positively to the nation and its people.
"I believe that many people will be inspired to
work for the welfare of the country and people with the conferment of the
award," said the PM.
Dr. Mobarak Ahmad Khan was honored for his
contributions to science and technology, while Dr. Harishankar Das received
recognition for his contributions to medicine. Mohammad Rafikuzzaman and Firoza
Khatun were acknowledged for their respective contributions to culture and
sports.
In the social service category, AranyaChiran, freedom
fighter Prof Dr. MollahObaidulBaki, and SM Abraham Lincoln were among the
recipients of the prestigious award.
Expressing gratitude on behalf of the awardees,
Mohammad Rafikuzzaman shared his sentiments during the ceremony, while Cabinet
Secretary MdMahbub Hossain moderated the event.
Bangladesh has been honouring individuals and
institutions with the award every year ahead of Independence Day on March 26
since 1977.
Source:
thedailystar.net
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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/recognise-those-who-work-silently-public-welfare-pm-3574606
---
We have friends, not lords abroad: Quader
Mar 26, 2024
When a foreign master of BNP was plotting to foil the
national election, a friendly country stood firmly by Bangladesh, said Awami
League General Secretary ObaidulQuader yesterday.
"We do not have any masters abroad, rather we
have friends. It's BNP who has a master… who advocates for BNP. Our friend is
the tested friend of 1971," said Quader.
He was speaking at a discussion marking Genocide Day
held in front of the AL headquarters in the capital's Gulistan.
While addressing the event, Quader blamed BNP for the
lack of recognition of March 25 genocide.
"They(BNP) are agents of Pakistan, because of
them we did not receive the recognition of genocide. We did not get our fair
dues from Pakistan. They(Pakistan) did not take back their citizens who have
been a burden on our shoulders for a long time," said Quader.
"Pakistan has never expressed regret for the 1971
genocide," he added.
Quader said BNP is still daydreaming of coming back to
power.
Addressing Mirza Fakhrul [Secretary General of BNP],
Quader said, 'Mirza Fakhrul held a rally of freedom fighters at Nayapaltan
today(yesterday). I want to ask him, where were you in 1971? Where did you get
your training from? In which sector did you fight?Their(BNP's) liberation war
rally is fake, it is a rally of fake freedom fighters."
Source:
thedailystar.net
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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/we-have-friends-not-lords-abroad-quader-3574996
---
Ramadan Exacerbates Hardship of Unemployed Laborers
HadiaZiaei
Mar 25, 2024
Some residents of the capital, especially laborers,
complain about the challenges of unemployment, particularly during the holy
month of Ramadan.
Laborers say they cannot find work even for one day a
week.
Emal, who has completed fourteen years of education
and is now working as a laborer due to the lack of good job opportunities, told
TOLOnews that since the beginning of Ramadan, he has only found work for three
days.
"Our request is that they provide job
opportunities. Many people are unemployed; if only they could establish a
factory somewhere so that people could work," Emal said.
Others along with Emal also complained about
unemployment.
"In this holy month of Ramadan, we went to work
for two days, earning three hundred Afghanis each day, making six hundred in
total. We eat dry bread; we have neither oil nor sugar, nor tea," Mohammad
Fazel, a laborer said.
Wahid, another laborer said: “They should find work
for the poor people so that they can overcome their misery.”
Economic experts said that creating job opportunities
for the youth is beneficial for the country's economic growth.
"Based on the economic severity in Afghanistan,
whenever employment rates rise, it leads to an increase in the purchasing power
of consumers and creates effective demand in the market, which itself is a good
incentive for suppliers. Overall, it can get the economic wheel turning.
Therefore, work in the agriculture sector can be impactful, as well as in the
water and electricity sectors," said Abdul ZahorMudabir, an economist.
Previously, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs
has reported that more than 100,000 people were provided with job opportunities
in the year 1402 in the country.
Source:
tolonews.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-187996
----
Southeast
Asia
KK Mart founder, director and ‘Allah’ socks
distributor charged with wounding religious feelings
26 Mar 2024
SHAH ALAM, March 26 — The founder and group executive
chairman of KK Group that owns the KK Mart convenience store chain, and his
wife, were charged at the Shah Alam Sessions Court today, over the sale of
socks with the word ‘Allah’ printed on them at one of KK Mart’s outlets in
Selangor.
Datuk Seri Chai KeeKan, also known as KK Chai, and his
wife Datin Seri Loh Siew Mui, who is a director of the company, were charged
under Section 298 of the Penal Code with deliberate intent to wound the
religious feelings of others.
The duo pleaded not guilty after their individual
charges were read before judge Muhamad Anas Mahadzir.
They were both allowed to post bail of RM10,000 each,
and the case has been fixed for mention for April 29.
If found guilty, the duo can be jailed for up to one
year in jail, fined, or both.
Soh Chin Huat, the director of Xin Jian Chang SdnBhd
that distributed the contentious socks, his daughter and managing director Soh
Hui San as well as Chin Huat's wife, Goh Li Huay were all charged under Section
109 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 298, for abetting said
offence by supplying the convenience store chain with the socks.
They were allowed to post bail of RM10,000 each. If
found guilty, the trio can also be jailed for up to one year in jail, fined, or
both.
Additionally, KK Supermart and Superstore SdnBhd and
Xin Jian Chang were also charged separately as entities.
The court charges today come as KK Mart filed a
lawsuit against Xin Jian Chang and Chin Huat, for supplying the controversial
socks, seeking a court declaration that the supplier had unlawfully interfered
with its business, and for court orders for Xin Jian Chang and its director to
indemnify it for the losses and to prevent further causing of losses by
unlawful interference to business.
It is also claiming RM10.5 million for the damage
caused to its brand name and goodwill in the market, and RM20.3 million caused
by the aborted proposed listing on the stock exchange — or initial public
offering (IPO) — of its business, as well as aggravated damages to be assessed
by the court, and punitive and exemplary damages.
Source:
malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/03/26/kk-mart-founder-director-and-allah-socks-distributor-charged-with-wounding-religious-feelings/125561
----
Indonesia plans to send aid to Palestine, Sudan
starting next week
March 26, 2024
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's National Disaster
Mitigation Agency (BNPB) plans to deliver social assistance to civilians who
are victims of the conflict in Gaza, Palestine, and Khartom, Sudan, from next
week.
BNPB Head Suharyanto stated on Tuesday that the social
assistance will comprise medicines and health equipment from Indonesia to be
sent aboard Garuda aircraft.
"Hopefully, we can send the aid next week. We
still have several technical issues to be discussed with the task force, which
is the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Health Ministry," he noted.
If there are no significant obstacles, the
humanitarian aid from Indonesia will be sent twice to refugee camps for victims
of the Palestinian and Sudanese conflicts, he added.
He remarked that the total aid amounts to US$1 million
from the Indonesian Government and another additional aid from donations
collected by domestic volunteers.
"For Palestine, after the aid arrives at the
location, the distribution will be carried out directly by the Egyptian
government, which is currently handling victims who have fled their
territory," Suharyanto explained.
He is optimistic that the delivery of aid would run
smoothly to help with medical treatment for victims of the conflict in
Palestine and Sudan. Since 2023, the Indonesian government has distributed aid
six times and succeeded in safely arriving at destinations in conflict.
One of the aid deliveries was transported with the
Indonesian Navy's (TNI-AL's) hospital ship KRI Dr. Radjiman Wedyodiningrat-992
on January 18, 2024, and arrived at the Port of Al Arish in the Sinai Peninsula
on the Mediterranean coast on February 13, 2024.
The hospital ship brought 80 trucks loaded with
humanitarian aid, including diapers, clothing for children and adults, jackets,
various types of foods and medicines, and blankets, which were handed over to
the Egyptian Red Crescent for transportation to Rafah, the closest entry point
to Gaza, Palestine.
Source:
antaranews.com
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https://en.antaranews.com/news/309306/indonesia-plans-to-send-aid-to-palestine-sudan-starting-next-week
----
BNPT highlights two ways to prevent Moscow attack in
Indonesia
March 26, 2024
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Head of the National
Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) Commissioner General Mohammed
RyckoAmelzaDahniel drew attention to two ways to prevent terror attacks in
Moscow, Russia, from occurring in Indonesia.
"First, we need to build public resilience,"
Dahniel stated on Monday (March 25).
According to the agency head, public resilience can be
built by increasing knowledge for the public to understand that all forms of
terror attacks are humanitarian tragedies that could destroy civilization. In
fact, no religion teaches acts of terror.
"Second, by practicing effective law enforcement
for preventive measures. This aims to teach the perpetrators of terror, who
still believe that committing violence is the right thing, that it is a wrong
practice," he elaborated.
Dahniel explained that law enforcement begins with
arresting terror perpetrators, providing punishment, and conducting
rehabilitation through deradicalization programs.
He noted that the deradicalization program includes
preparations for terror perpetrators to return to society, including getting
back to work.
However, these two methods were mitigation efforts
carried out by his side since the Moscow attack was considered to be able to
inspire similar events in the country.
Earlier, a terrorist attack occurred at the Crocus
City Hall in Moscow, Russia, on March 22.
Based on data from the Russian Investigative Committee
on March 23, reported by Sputnik, the number of victims killed in the attack
has increased to 133 people.
The four perpetrators who have been captured are
DalerdzhonMirzoyev, SaidakramiRachabalizodu, ShamsidinFariduni, and
MuhammadsobirFayzov.
The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed
that as of March 23, no Indonesian citizens had become victims of the attack.
"The Indonesian Embassy in Moscow immediately
coordinated with local authorities and established communication with the
Indonesian community in Russia," the Ministry's Director of Protection for
Indonesian Citizens and Indonesian Legal Entities, JudhaNugraha, noted in a
written statement on March 23.
Source:
antaranews.com
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indonesia?utm_source=antaranews&utm_medium=desktop&utm_campaign=top_news
---
PM Anwar: Malaysia strongly endorses UN resolution for
ceasefire, immediate aid in Gaza
26 Mar 2024
KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 ? Malaysia today expressed in
the strongest terms the country’s endorsement of United Nations Security
Council (UNSC) Resolution 2728 and urged for the legally binding resolution to
be enforced immediately.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the
people of Gaza must be relieved from the immense pain and suffering they have
now endured for almost six months.
“For the sake of Ramadan, in the spirit for which this
season is intended to engender contemplation, renewal of our faith, and return
to family, today’s legally binding resolution must be enforced now,” he said in
a statement here.
The UNSC Resolution 2728, which was passed yesterday,
called for an immediate ceasefire of all hostilities in Gaza for the month of
Ramadan, the immediate release of all hostages and the immediate and urgent
need to expand the flow of aid into the territory.
The prime minister said the United States, particularly,
must prevail upon its ally to respect the will of the international community
and accordingly observe the ceasefire and permit the immediate and massive
entry of emergency aid.
Anwar said Malaysia also applauded the bravery and
commitment to humanity of the ten elected members of the council namely
Algeria, Guyana, Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Slovenia,
South Korea, and Switzerland.
“Malaysia remains committed to the Palestinian cause
and will continue efforts for the establishment of an independent and sovereign
State of Palestine, based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its
capital, as well as the admission of Palestine as a full Member of the United
Nations,” he said.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the
Palestinian territory since October 7, 2023, with more than 32,333 Palestinians
have been killed and over 74,694 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of
necessities.
The Israeli war, now in its 171st day, has pushed 85
per cent of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages
of food, clean water and medicine, while 60 per cent of the enclave's
infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN. ? Bernama
Source:
malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/03/26/pm-anwar-malaysia-strongly-endorses-un-resolution-for-ceasefire-immediate-aid-in-gaza/125577
---
11 Rohingya found dead after Indonesia boat capsize:
officials
March 25, 2024
MEULABOH: The bodies of at least 11 Rohingya refugees
have been recovered off Indonesia’s westernmost coast after their boat believed
to be carrying around 150 people capsized last week, officials said Monday.
The mostly Muslim ethnic Rohingya are heavily
persecuted in Myanmar, and thousands risk their lives each year on long and
expensive sea journeys, often in flimsy boats, to try to reach Malaysia or
Indonesia.
Indonesian rescuers called off the search for any
remaining Rohingya refugees on Friday after 75 were rescued, despite reports
from some survivors that dozens of people were swept away when their boat and
another trying to help them capsized days earlier.
The head of the local search and rescue operation,
Muhammad FathurRachman said nearly half-a-dozen Rohingya were found dead at sea
14 nautical miles from shore.
“Six more bodies are being evacuated right now,” he
said by phone on Monday afternoon.
“They were all women. We heard about the bodies from a
fisherman. The bodies will be taken to the hospital.”
Earlier on Monday, United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees officials told AFP five bodies had been recovered in recent days.
On Thursday, authorities staged a dramatic rescue of 69 Rohingya who had been
adrift at sea for weeks before the boat capsized, with many found clinging to
the hull of the overturned vessel. Six others were rescued by fishermen on
Wednesday.
From mid-November to late January, 1,752 Rohingya
refugees, mostly women and children, landed in the Indonesian provinces of Aceh
and North Sumatra, according to the UNHCR.
The UN agency said it was the biggest influx into the
Muslim-majority country since 2015, driven by worsening conditions in squalid
camps in Bangladesh and the continuing threat of violence in the Rohingya’s
native Myanmar.
Source:
arabnews.com
Please
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2482766/world
----
Africa
Nigerian Army Set To Release 200 Suspected Boko Haram
Terrorists
Richard Ogunsile
26 March 2024
Reports obtained by Naija News revealed that the
detainees who were arrested by the military in the heat of insurgency would be
released to the Borno State government today.
According to Daily Trust, Governor BabaganaZulum’s led
government will receive the suspected terrorists today for proper reintegration
into society.
It was reported that the event will occur on Tuesday
morning at Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri, the state capital.
“Not fewer than 200 cleared Boko Haram suspects are
being cleared of any wrongdoing by security operatives, and they will be handed
over to the Borno State Government for rehabilitation and reintegration.
“The handing over ceremony is set to be this morning
(Tuesday) at 10: am at Giwa Barracks,” a source, who spoke with the news
platform, revealed.
The source further disclosed that the State
Commissioner for Women Affairs, ZuwairaGambo, and her Information and Internal
Security counterpart, Prof Tar Umar, will receive the clear detainees on behalf
of the state government.
Source:
naijanews.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.naijanews.com/latest/
-----
Over 130 abducted schoolchildren in Nigeria's
northwest rescued after weeks in captivity
March 25, 2024
More than 130 children abducted more than two weeks
ago from their school in Nigeria's northwestern state of Kaduna were rescued
Sunday and are getting psychological support before being returned to their
families, the West African nation's military and government officials said.
School authorities had told the state government that
a total of 287 students were kidnapped when motorcycle-riding gunmen invaded
the remote Kuriga school March 7. However, Kaduna Gov. Uba Sani told local
media late Sunday that only 137 young people had been abducted during the
attack.
"All of them have come back home safely,"
the governor said in a broadcast by the Lagos-based Channels Television. The
Associated Press could not reach villagers or school authorities in Kuriga
town, which does not have cellphone service.
Such varying reports are common in Nigeria's
kidnapping crisis, sometimes because of inadequate recordkeeping or because
some hostages escape moments after their abduction.
"As the leader, I shouldn't bother myself about
figures. What is more important is the return of the children," the
governor said.
At least 1,400 students have been kidnapped from
Nigerian schools since 2014, when Boko Haram militants seized hundreds of
schoolgirls from Borno state's Chibok village. In recent years, abductions have
been concentrated in the country's northwestern and central regions, where
dozens of armed groups often target villagers and travelers for ransom.
The 137 children were rescued in Zamfara state, an
enclave notorious for kidnappings more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) away
from their school, Nigerian military spokesman Maj. Gen. Edward Buba said in a
statement.
Pictures released by the Nigerian military showed the
children looking worn out as they were covered in dust, still wearing their
blue-white-and-brown uniforms while being transported following their release.
Kuriga town leaders joined other government officials in waiting for their
arrival at the Kaduna State Government House, which officials postponed until
Monday.
The children were in "high spirits" and were
receiving psychological support and medical attention, the governor said.
At least 17 other schoolchildren in northern Sokoto
state were also rescued two weeks after they were taken hostage, according to a
statement issued Saturday by the Sokoto state government.
Under growing pressure to end the mass kidnappings in
northern Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu promised his administration is
"deploying detailed strategies to ensure that our schools remain safe
sanctuaries of learning, not lairs for wanton abductions."
Tinubu had vowed to rescue the children "without
paying a dime" as ransom. But ransoms are commonly paid for kidnappings,
often arranged by families, and it is rare for officials in Nigeria to admit to
the payments.
No group has claimed responsibility for the Kaduna
kidnapping, which locals have blamed on bandit groups known for mass killings
and kidnappings for ransom in the conflict-battered northern region, most of
them former herders in conflict with settled communities.
At least two people with extensive knowledge of the
security crisis in Nigeria's northwest told AP that the identity of the
abductors is known.
Murtala Ahmed Rufa'i, a professor of peace and
conflict studies at UsmanuDanfodiyo University, and Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, a cleric
who has negotiated with the bandits, said they were hiding in the region's vast
and ungoverned forests.
Arrests are rare in Nigeria's mass kidnappings, as
victims are usually released only after desperate families pay ransoms or
through deals with government and security officials that sometimes involve the
release of detained gang members.
Source:
africanews.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.africanews.com/2024/03/25/over-130-abducted-schoolchildren-in-nigerias-northwest-rescued-after-weeks-in-captivity/
----
Kaduna School Teacher Died In Terrorists' Den, Six
Freed Pupils Recovering In Hospital – Army
March 25, 2024
The General Officer Commanding, 1 Division, of the
Nigerian Army and Force Commander Operation Whirl Punch, Major General
MayirensoSaraso, has said that six out of 137 rescued students are in the
hospital.
He noted that they would be allowed to join their
fellow students when doctors certify them fit.
Saraso made the disclosure on Monday after handing
over 131 Kuriga children to the Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani.
Recall that 137 school children were abducted on March
7, 2024 from a school in Kuriga, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Saraso also announced that one teacher, Abubakar who
was also abducted, died in captivity.
He said, “We successfully freed 137, but you will
discover that 6 of them are not presently with us here, they are being attended
to medically in our facility at Darlet Barracks, one male with five female
students who have been hospitalised.
"His Excellency visited them last night and he
saw all the students including those lying on hospital beds. So those six when
eventually discharged when they get better will join their 131 colleagues that
are here physically present to complete the figure of 137.
“Recall that on Thursday, 7 March 2024, some Violent
Extremists and Insurgents (VE/I) infamously called armed bandits invaded the
LEA Primary School and the Government Secondary School both co-located at
Kuriga, in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, where they criminally
abducted several pupils and students including a staff member of one of the two
schools.
“Through the sustained and coordinated application of
both kinetic and non-kinetic efforts by the security agencies under the
strategic guidance of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria through the Office of the National Security Adviser
(ONSA), the abducted Kuriga school children have in the early hours of
yesterday Sunday, 24 March 2024, been safely rescued after spending about 16
days in captivity.
“The students were initially received and administered
first aid at the Nigerian Army Troops Forward Operating Base Dandadau, in
Zamfara State before being served refreshment and subsequently conveyed from
there under escort to Kaduna this morning/afternoon.
“In all, there were 137 children and one staff member
making 138 persons altogether that were abducted from the co-located schools on
the ill-fated day. But unfortunately the staff member, Mr Abubakar is not here
with us today because he died while in captivity.
“Consequently, there are here at present, a total of
137 students of the Govt Secondary and LEA Primary Schools Kuriga in Chikun LGA
of Kaduna State who were successfully rescued from captivity around Dansadau
Forest in Zamfara State and safely brought back to Kaduna.
"The breakdown of the figure of the rescued
children shows that there are 76 Females and 61 Males making the total of 137
altogether (less the teacher that died while in captivity)."
Source:
saharareporters.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://saharareporters.com/2024/03/25/kaduna-school-teacher-died-terrorists-den-six-freed-pupils-recovering-hospital-army
----
Kaduna School Teacher Died In Terrorists' Den, Six
Freed Pupils Recovering In Hospital – Army
March 25, 2024
The General Officer Commanding, 1 Division, of the
Nigerian Army and Force Commander Operation Whirl Punch, Major General
MayirensoSaraso, has said that six out of 137 rescued students are in the
hospital.
He noted that they would be allowed to join their
fellow students when doctors certify them fit.
Saraso made the disclosure on Monday after handing
over 131 Kuriga children to the Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani.
Recall that 137 school children were abducted on March
7, 2024 from a school in Kuriga, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Saraso also announced that one teacher, Abubakar who
was also abducted, died in captivity.
He said, “We successfully freed 137, but you will
discover that 6 of them are not presently with us here, they are being attended
to medically in our facility at Darlet Barracks, one male with five female
students who have been hospitalised.
"His Excellency visited them last night and he
saw all the students including those lying on hospital beds. So those six when
eventually discharged when they get better will join their 131 colleagues that
are here physically present to complete the figure of 137.
“Recall that on Thursday, 7 March 2024, some Violent
Extremists and Insurgents (VE/I) infamously called armed bandits invaded the
LEA Primary School and the Government Secondary School both co-located at
Kuriga, in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, where they criminally
abducted several pupils and students including a staff member of one of the two
schools.
“Through the sustained and coordinated application of
both kinetic and non-kinetic efforts by the security agencies under the
strategic guidance of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria through the Office of the National Security
Adviser (ONSA), the abducted Kuriga school children have in the early hours of
yesterday Sunday, 24 March 2024, been safely rescued after spending about 16
days in captivity.
“The students were initially received and administered
first aid at the Nigerian Army Troops Forward Operating Base Dandadau, in
Zamfara State before being served refreshment and subsequently conveyed from
there under escort to Kaduna this morning/afternoon.
“In all, there were 137 children and one staff member
making 138 persons altogether that were abducted from the co-located schools on
the ill-fated day. But unfortunately the staff member, Mr Abubakar is not here
with us today because he died while in captivity.
“Consequently, there are here at present, a total of
137 students of the Govt Secondary and LEA Primary Schools Kuriga in Chikun LGA
of Kaduna State who were successfully rescued from captivity around Dansadau
Forest in Zamfara State and safely brought back to Kaduna.
"The breakdown of the figure of the rescued
children shows that there are 76 Females and 61 Males making the total of 137
altogether (less the teacher that died while in captivity)."
Source:
saharareporters.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://saharareporters.com/2024/03/25/kaduna-school-teacher-died-terrorists-den-six-freed-pupils-recovering-hospital-army
----
South Sudan on the brink after oil exports derailed by
Sudan’s civil war
Mat Nashed
26 Mar 2024
Violence and insecurity could worsen in South Sudan
after one of its key oil pipelines to international markets, which passes
through neighbouring Sudan, was damaged last month, according to experts.
The incident occurred in early February in Sudan’s
White Nile state, prompting the Dar Petroleum Oil Company to suspend loadings.
The rupture happened in an area controlled by Sudan’s
paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which is fighting the Sudanese army for
power in the country.
A team of technical experts has been unable to fix the
pipeline due to ongoing fighting, raising fears that South Sudan’s political
economy could collapse.
“The pipeline accounts for two-thirds or
three-quarters of oil revenues. Unless [South Sudan] is able to get the
pipeline working again, it will be a massive pull on South Sudan’s budget,”
said Alan Boswell, an expert on South Sudan for International Crisis Group, a
non-profit dedicated to conflict resolution.
Overall, oil is responsible for about 90 percent of
the country’s revenue, according to a 2022 World Bank report.
Little to none of the oil proceeds go towards the
national budget, the International Crisis Group says, with some 60 percent of
production diverted by the oil companies as their share, and most of the rest
paid to Sudan as part of the settlement reached upon independence, settling old
debts, or into “special projects” overseen by the office of President
SalvaKiir, which has been accused of corruption and diverting these funds.
A disruption to this payment structure could cause a
great deal of upset and accelerate the depreciation of the local currency,
leading to more poverty, violence and lawlessness, experts told Al Jazeera.
‘The grassroots weren’t benefitting’
Daniel AkechThiong, a South Sudanese political
economist and the author of The Politics of Fear in South Sudan, said most of
the people of South Sudan would not feel the impact right away of the stoppage
or a delay in finding a bailout.
People are already barely scraping by due to soaring
inflation, he said, and the government’s failure to pay civil servants for the
past six months.
“If you were to speak with the common person on the
street, they would say they’re very happy that the oil is shut down. This is a
sentiment that is very powerful on the grassroots level because they were not
benefitting from [the oil] to begin with,” said Thiong.
In 2023, about 7.7 million people – or two-thirds of
the population – were coping with extreme levels of hunger.
Even Kiir’s inner circle would not rise up against him
if the privileges and gifts they received from oil revenue were interrupted,
according to Joshua Craze, a researcher and political analyst on South Sudan,
who does not believe any of Kiir’s inner circle have a large enough
constituency to sustain a rebellion against him.
“The oil money goes to a narrow elite in Juba and not
military men. If there is disorder, then it would come from this clique,” he
told Al Jazeera.
“One of the geniuses of Kiirs’s reign is that he has
surrounded himself with useful hatchet men that don’t really have a
constituency to challenge him.”
While a collapse into full-blown civil war is unlikely
in the short-term, state collapse is a possibility in the future, warn experts.
Kiir is preparing for an election at the end of
December, even as the international community has expressed fears that South
Sudan is nowhere near ready to hold a credible process unless “urgent steps”
are taken.
Thiong believes that even a sham election can be
expensive.
“If the government takes a drastic measure – as a form
of panic – because it can no longer hold elections because there is no money,
then that could trigger disappointment and lead people to pick up guns,” he
told Al Jazeera.
“These are the sort of things that could happen. There
could be indirect – not direct – consequences from [a halt in oil revenues].”
Yakani, the peace activist, added that the lack of oil
revenue will also accelerate the depreciation of South Sudan’s currency.
He noted that South Sudan already has pockets of armed
violence, which could be exacerbated if economic conditions worsen for local
communities. That could force more people to pick up weapons and participate in
a war economy.
“If the economy worsens, then that means political
instability and the collapse of the rule of law. That could lead to a spike in
crimes and human rights violations,” he told Al Jazeera. “Oil means a lot to
South Sudan.”
A history of bailouts
In 2012, South Sudan had another halt in oil
production after accusing Sudan of theft in a dispute over export fees.
South Sudan compensated by taking out loans to
ostensibly pay for fuel, medicine and food imports, often promising to pay
lenders back with future oil proceeds, debts it is still paying off today.
But Kiir siphoned off the loan money to his loyalists,
effectively indebting the country and impoverishing his people for generations,
according to a three-year investigation by The Sentry, a policy organisation
tracing corruption in Africa.
With oil exports now considerably affected once more,
experts believe Kiir may chase new loans to keep his inner circle happy.
Some point to the UAE as a party that may help South
Sudan to expand its influence in the region.
“There have been long-standing talks between South
Sudan and the UAE [United Arab Emirates] for a big loan, but obviously
circumstances have changed given the pipeline picture,” said Boswell. “I think
most [South Sudanese] officials will typically look at the UAE as the first
candidate to bail South Sudan out.”
Boswell added that the IMF could be another option,
even though South Sudan struggles to repay loans it took out during oil
production stoppages. Oil stoppages also hamper its ability to raise money,
while the alleged corruption and mismanagement disperse what money it does
have.
Edmund Yakani, a South Sudanese expert and peace
activist, believes the UAE “may use a loan to buy South Sudan’s acceptance of
its interests and agenda in Sudan”.
According to a UN Panel of Experts report, the UAE
provides direct military support to the RSF via Amdjarass in northern Chad.
The UAE denies these reports and claims it is sending
humanitarian supplies.
Source:
aljazeera.com
Please
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https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/3/26/south-sudan-on-the-brink-after-oil-exports-derailed-by-sudans-civil-war
----
Bandits Kill Two Worshippers, Kidnap Others During
Ramadan Prayers In Katsina
March 25, 2024
Abdurrahman Umar
Bandits have killed two worshippers and the same
number comprising a woman and her 15-year-old daughter abducted in Faskari
Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The Chairman of the Local Council, Musa Faskari, told
BBC Hausa on Sunday, that the incident happened at about 8:00 pm on Saturday
during the Muslim Ramadan Tarawih prayers at Mai-Ruwa community.
He explained that the hoodlums upon their arrival in
the community, invaded the house of one LadoMairua during the prayers, asking
him to follow them. But when he rejected the directive, they shot him dead on
the spot.
Faskari said the attack led to the abduction of
LadoMairua’s wife and his 15-year-old daughter.
According to him, the deceased neighbour, who arrived
at the scene on a motorcycle, on witnessing the incident, raised an alarm and
was also killed by the bandits.
He, however, lamented that the security situation is
becoming worrisome and order of the day for residents of Faskari Local
Government Area.
“This is the second time the late Lado’s wife is
kidnapped by bandits. Earlier on Saturday, they invaded Malalai village as
well, killed two persons, and abducted two other women,” he said.”Even a
soldier was killed in Ruwan-Godiya village in the same Council on the same day.
We are calling on the Federal Government to consider our situation critically
because the situation can not be handled alone by the state government.”
Faskari is calling for an “urgent need to invade the
bandits’ hideouts and deal with them decisively”.
“These attacks will persist unless security agencies
take the fight to the bandits,” he said.
Source:
channelstv.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.channelstv.com/2024/03/25/bandits-kill-two-worshippers-kidnap-others-during-ramadan-prayers-in-katsina/
----
Arab
World
War On Yemen Part Of US, UK Scenario To Reshape Region
In Favour Of Israel: Houthi
26 March 2024
The leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement
has said the Saudi-led war on Yemen is part of a strategy pursued by the US and
Britain to reshape the region in favour of Israel.
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi made the remarks in a televised
address on Monday night marking the ninth anniversary of the Saudi-led war on
Yemen.
“The Yemen war was part of a larger geopolitical
strategy pursued by the United States, Britain, and Israel to reshape the
region for the benefit of the Zionist regime,” he said.
He condemned the Saudi-led offensive as an unwarranted
and deceitful conflict aimed at obliterating Yemen, seizing control, and
subverting the people’s entitlement to liberty and autonomy.
Houthi went on to highlight the resilience of the
Yemeni nation in overcoming the invading forces and their ongoing progress.
The Ansarullah chief noted that the Saudi-led
aggression on Yemen has resulted in the death or injury of over 50,000
civilians, mostly women and children.
He reiterated that the Yemeni nation’s spirit remains
unbroken, despite the extensive damage inflicted on the country’s essential
infrastructure and high civilian toll.
Houthi also emphasized that the Yemeni Armed Forces
will further develop their indigenous military capabilities and that
authorities in the Sana’a-based National Salvation Government will strive to
boost the economy.
He finally called upon certain countries to rectify
their miscalculations and renounce their aggressive policies towards Yemen.
In March 2015, Saudi Arabia and its allies launched
the war on Yemen to restore power to the impoverished country’s Western- and
Riyadh-allied government.
The war has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of
Yemenis and turned the entire country into the site of what the United Nations
has described as the one of world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Source:
presstv.ir
Please
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/03/26/722523/Saudi-war-on-Yemen-part-of-US,-UK-scenario-to-reshape-region-in-favor-of-Israel--Houthi
----
Qatar welcomes UNSC resolution calling for Ramadan
ceasefire in Gaza
March 26, 2024
Qatar’s foreign ministry has welcomed the UN Security
Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during the holy
month of Ramadan.
According to a statement issued by the ministry, Qatar
hopes this will be a step towards a permanent cessation of hostilities in Gaza,
“especially in light of the catastrophic humanitarian conditions which
civilians, including children and women are suffering from.”
The ministry stressed the need to comply with the
implementation of the resolution, especially stopping the hostilities,
facilitating the urgent and unhindered entry of humanitarian aid to all areas
of Gaza, and positively engaging in the ongoing negotiations.
“In this context, the ministry reaffirms the
continuation of mediation by the State of Qatar in cooperation with its
partners to stop the war on Gaza and address its humanitarian repercussions,”
the statement read.
“The ministry expresses the State of Qatar’s hope that
the vote of 14 countries in favor of the resolution will constitute a
fundamental shift in the international community’s awareness of the seriousness
of the tragic situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Gaza Strip
in particular, thereby enhancing international efforts to apply the two-state
solution and resume the peace process on the basis of international resolutions
and the Arab Peace Initiative,” the statement read.
The ministry also reiterated Qatar’s firm position in
support of legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their right
to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem
as its capital.
Qatar has played a key role in facilitating and
mediating talks between Hamas and Israel over the past few months in the hope
of reaching an agreement on a Gaza truce and hostage-prisoner swap.
On Sunday, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin
Abdulrahman held talks in Doha with UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian
Affairs Martin Griffiths to discuss ways to facilitate the entry of
humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip.
On Monday, the United Nations Security Council adopted
a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the
release of all hostages after the United States abstained from the vote.
The remaining 14 council members voted for the
resolution, which was proposed by the 10 elected members of the body. There was
a round of applause in the council chamber after the vote.
“The Palestinian people has suffered greatly. This
bloodbath has continued for far too long. It is our obligation to put an end to
this bloodbath before it is too late,” Algeria’s U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama
told the council after the vote.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the
failure of the U.S. to veto the resolution was a “clear retreat” from its
previous position and would hurt Israel’s war efforts and bid to release more
than 130 hostages still held by Hamas.
“Our vote does not, and I repeat that does not
represent a shift in our policy,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told
reporters. “Nothing has changed about our policy. Nothing.”
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the
Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which some 1,200
people were killed.
More than 32,200 Palestinians, mostly women and
children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 74,500 others injured amid
mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Source:
ariananews.af
Please
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https://www.ariananews.af/qatar-welcomes-unsc-resolution-calling-for-ramadan-ceasefire-in-gaza/
---
OIC welcomes UNSC resolution on ceasefire in Gaza
during Ramadan
MARCH 26, 2024
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on
Monday welcomed the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution calling for an
immediate ceasefire during the month of Ramadan.
In a statement, the OIC considered this an important
step towards the international community assuming its responsibilities to stop
the crime of the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people for
about six months.
The statement called for the need to compel Israel,
the occupying power, to implement the resolution immediately and ensure the
delivery of humanitarian aid in a sufficient and safe manner to all parts of
the Gaza Strip.
The OIC also renewed its call on the international
community to put an end to all war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation,
including settlement, killing, destruction, forced displacement, and genocide
to which the Palestinian people are subjected in all occupied Palestinian
territories.
Source:
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.gulf-times.com/article/679580/international/oic-welcomes-unsc-resolution-on-ceasefire-in-gaza-during-ramadan
----
Saudi Arabia welcomes UN Security Council resolution
calling for immediate ceasefire in Gaza
March 25, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has welcomed the issuance on
Monday of a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire
in Gaza during the holy month of Ramadan, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The Kingdom has also expressed hope that a cessation
of hostilities will lead to a permanent and sustainable ceasefire; the release
of all hostages held by Hamas; and the parties’ compliance with their
obligations under international law, as well as an increase in the flow of
humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip to enhance their protection,
the SPA added.
The Kingdom has renewed its calls on the international
community to assume its responsibility to stop the Israeli occupation’s attacks
on civilians in the Gaza Strip, and to emphasize the necessity of ending the
suffering, to provide hope to the Palestinian people, a statement said.
It also called for Palestinians to obtain their rights
to live in safety and self-determination through a reliable and irreversible
path to establishing a state within the 1967 borders, with its capital in East
Jerusalem, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant
international resolutions.
Source:
arabnews.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2482636/saudi-arabia
---
Inside Daily Preparations of Prophet's Mosque Roof to
Receive 90,000 Visitors Every Day in Ramadan
25 Mar, 2024
The General Authority for the Affairs of the Two Holy
Mosques is making strenuous efforts to be sure that all corners of the
Prophet's Mosque are perfectly prepared to embrace worshipers around the clock.
The efforts
stem from the authority's responsibility to provide all services to the
visitors of the Prophet's Mosque so that they can perform their rituals in an
atmosphere of utmost comfort and tranquillity.
Each day,
around 90,000 worshipers gather on the roof of the Prophet's Mosque during
Ramadan, with the area specified for prayers spanning an impressive 67,000
square meters.
To facilitate
the smooth entry and exit of visitors before and after prayers, 24 staircases,
including 6 escalators, are conveniently located near the mosque's entrances.
The features help ease congestion during peak periods when the mosque is at its
busiest.
The Saudi Press
Agency (SPA) has captured the tireless efforts of the authority's workers,
along with charitable and volunteer organizations, as they cater to the fasting
worshipers on the mosque's roof.
The team
diligently cleans, sterilizes, and fumigates the area before iftar, while also
laying out 5,000 prayer carpets.
Meanwhile,
iftar banquets are set up in specified areas for fasting worshippers to gather
and enjoy the meals distributed to them, along with Zamzam water containers
that are available throughout the night.
More than
20,000 Mushaf (the holy Quran) copies are handed out, guidance is provided to
worshipers, and the roof is meticulously prepared for iftar, Isha, and Tarawih
prayers.
Adding to the
overall ambience, the vibrant yellow lighting on the roof of the Prophet's
Mosque is charming, beautifully complementing the white illumination in the
mosque's exterior courtyards and intertwining with the lights emanating from
its ten minarets.
Another
captivating sight is the seamless merging of the designated prayer areas on the
roof with the domes, showcasing the distinctive architectural character of the
Prophet's Mosque.
Source:
alriyadhdaily.com
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click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://alriyadhdaily.com/article/9efeac7a55fb44dc9454c2bf887ae387
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/shri-ram-masjid-worship-defile/d/132009