Skip Umrah, Exercise Franchise On April: Kerala Chief Imam Of Kozhikode Palayam Juma Masjid
New Age Islam
News Bureau
02 April 2024
Kerala Chief Imam Of
Kozhikode Palayam Juma Masjid
----
·
Skip
Umrah, Exercise Franchise On April: Kerala Chief Imam Of Kozhikode Palayam Juma
Masjid
·
Iraqi
Christian Refugee, Salwan Momika Who Desecrated Quran Found Dead In Norway:
Reports
·
CNN: ‘Taliban’s
Pashto Chauvinism Helps ISIS-K’ Recruitment From Other Ethnic Groups
·
Mosques
In NYC Struggle To House And Feed An Influx Of Muslim Migrants This Ramadan
·
Resilience
Amid Ruins: Call To Prayer Continues In Gaza's Destroyed Mosques
----
India
·
Assam’s
Land Sale Ban Between Hindus And Muslims May Be Unconstitutional – But It's
Happening Anyway
·
Allahabad
HC Fixes April 4 For Hearing Plea On Maintainability Of Suit On 'Removal' Of Shahi
Idgah Mosque
·
Mehbooba
Mufti Accuses BJP: Unemployed Youth Targeting Muslims, Says Party Fails On
Promised Jobs
-----
Europe
·
Teacher
Sacked For 'Undermining British Values' After Claiming Islam Will Take Over And
Westernised Girls Are ‘Lunatics’
·
Spain
Plans To Recognize Palestinian State 'Before Summer': Premier
·
Russia Says
It Arrested Four More Moscow Attack Plotters
·
Russia
condemns Israeli attack on Iranian consulate, requests UNSC meeting on strike
·
France
introduces ‘comprehensive’ Gaza ceasefire resolution at UN Security Council
·
Russian
Foreign Ministry invites banned Taliban delegation to World Islamic Forum in
Kazan
------
South
Asia
·
Russia
Considers Removing Taliban From Terrorist List: MFA
·
UNAMA
Deputy: Afghan Migrant Expulsion By Neighbours Violates International Migration
Laws
·
US Drones
Violate Intl Law: Mujahid
·
Hanafi
Calls for Safeguarding Nation's Historical Treasures
·
Islamic
Emirate Says Expanding Intl Relations Top Priority
·
Hanafi
meets with UNAMA’s deputy chief, discusses need for continued support
------
North
America
·
Biden
Adviser Sullivan's Talks With MBS Signals Focus On Israel-Saudi Ties
·
US pushes
alternatives to Rafah invasion in Hamas war talks with Israel
·
Blinken
urges Palestinian reforms in call with Abbas
·
US
'deeply troubled' by Israeli strike killing World Central Kitchen aid workers
in Gaza
·
US anti-Muslim
incidents hit record high in 2023, says watchdog
·
The White
House plans a smaller Ramadan gathering as the war in Gaza continues
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Mideast
·
Israeli
Government Says It Will Block Al Jazeera From Broadcasting
·
After 14
days, Israel turned Al-Shifa Hospital into 'death complex,' say eyewitnesses
·
Netanyahu
shows flexibility in return of Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza
·
Thousands
of Israelis call on Netanyahu's gov't to resign in 2nd day of protests
·
‘US
should be answerable’: FM after deadly Israeli attack on Iran consulate
·
Iranian
President says if Islamic countries paid attention to Qur’an, enemy would not
dare to commit crimes
·
Iran and
Hezbollah vow ‘punishment and revenge’ for strike that killed IRGC generals
·
Israel
airstrike on Gaza kills 7 foreign aid workers
------
Africa
·
ISIS
Terrorists Ambush Nigerien Soldiers, Capture, Destroy Sophisticated Weapons
·
Ethiopia
to repatriate 70,000 nationals from Saudi Arabia
·
Kebbi
Govt Tackles Imam Over Claims Of Political Victimisation
·
Obi Takes
One-Nigeria Message To Onitsha Mosque On Easter Day
·
Ramadan:
Bauchi Emir Flags off Distribution of Dangote Palliatives to Under-privileged
Persons
·
Sudan
general praises Popular Resistance, dismisses Islamist alliance claims
-------
Pakistan
·
Islamabad
Security Centre: Violence Has Increased By 96% In Provinces Bordering
Afghanistan
·
Sindh
Govt To Start Repatriation Of Registered Afghan Nationals After Eid
·
Terrorism
To End If Kabul Shuts TTP Havens: Asif
·
Pakistan
strongly condemns Israeli attack on Iranian Embassy in Syria
·
PM vows
to ensure best security arrangements for Chinese workers in Pakistan
·
KP CM
Meets Imran In Jail, Discusses Pending Cases
·
PTI hails
Toshakhana case relief, says bids to break Khan failed miserably
------
Australia
·
Australia's
Premier Demands Accountability From Israel Over Aid Worker's Killing In Gaza
-----
Southeast
Asia
·
PM Anwar:
Islamic Organisations Must Continue To Play Role In Fostering Unity
·
Thai
Same-Sex Marriage Bill Passes First Reading
·
Japan
Resumes Funding To Embattled Palestinian Refugee Agency UNRWA
·
Myanmar
Junta Conscripts Muslims To Fight Muslims
·
IGP:
Self-proclaimed Israeli assassin bought gun in Thailand
·
Another
Malaysia store attacked over 'Allah' socks
·
Indonesia
Condemns Israeli Attack on Iran Embassy in Syria
·
Indonesia,
Saudi Arabia to reprint copies of Quran in sign language
·
One of
Penang’s earliest Islamic scholars to have road named after him, says exco
-------
Arab
World
·
Yemen Condemns
Zionist Aggression Against Iranian Consulate In Damascus
·
Saudi
Arabia condemns targeting of Iranian consulate in Syria
·
Ramadan
Bazaar brings Saudi culture to life in US
·
Over 1
million people from 18 countries benefit from Saudi Etaam program
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/umrah-vote-kerala-imam-masjid/d/132064
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Skip Umrah, Exercise Franchise On April: Kerala Chief
Imam Of Kozhikode Palayam Juma Masjid
Kerala Chief Imam Of
Kozhikode Palayam Juma Masjid
----
1st April 2024
Thiruvananthapuram: Popular Kerala Islamic scholar,
educationalist and chief Imam of Kozhikode Palayam Juma Masjid, Hussain
Madavoor has given a clarion call to Muslims to ensure that they exercise their
franchise on April 26, even if they have to put aside the Umrah pilgrimage or a
vacation for it.
Umrah is a pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for
Muslims, located in Saudi Arabia. It can be undertaken at any time of the year.
Speaking at a prayer session at the Mosque, Madavoor
pointed out that the upcoming Lok Sabha polls is a very crucial election for
all secular people.
“Since the future of the country will be decided
through the polls, it is of utmost importance to the minority communities and
hence, those who have planned for Umrah and pleasure trips should postpone it
and ensure that all the votes are cast on April 26,” said Madavoor.
He added that in a democracy, the biggest weapon is
one’s franchise.
In Kerala, Muslims account for nearly 24 per cent of
the 3.30 crore population.
Source:
siasat.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.siasat.com/kerala-clergy-asks-muslims-to-skip-umrah-leisure-trip-for-april-26-3002033/
-------
Iraqi Christian Refugee, Salwan Momika Who Desecrated
Quran Found Dead In Norway: Reports
Photo: Salwan Momika/X
------
2nd April 2024
Iraqi Christian refugee who desecrated several copies
of the Quran in the Swedish capital, Stockholm was reported to have been found
dead in Norway on Tuesday, April 2.
Several social media sources on X with the
“#SalwanMomikaDead” reported the discovery of his lifeless body in Norway.
However, official confirmation from the Norwegian authorities has not yet been
announced.
Since June 28, 2023, 37-year-old Salwan Momika
desecrated several copies of the Quran in front of embassies of Muslim-majority
countries and mosques in Sweden under police protection.
Momika’s video of burning the Quran sparked
international outrage, causing riots and instability in Muslim countries,
prompting Sweden to investigate him for allegedly inciting ethnic groups.
He recently relocated from Sweden to Norway, seeking
asylum there.
“Today I left Sweden and am now in Norway under the
protection of the Norwegian authorities,” Momika posted on X on March 27.
“I applied for asylum and international protection in
Norway because Sweden does not accept asylum for philosophers and thinkers, but
only accepts asylum for terrorists. My love and respect for the Swedish people
will remain the same, but the persecution I was subjected to by the Swedish
authorities does not represent the Swedes,” he added.
Today I left Sweden and am now in Norway under the
protection of the Norwegian authorities.
I applied for asylum and international protection in
Norway because Sweden does not accept asylum for philosophers and thinkers, but
only accepts asylum for terrorists. My love and… pic.twitter.com/tbg883NqKc
In another post on X, Momika wrote, “If you are
waiting for me to raise the flag of surrender, then you are wrong. This will
not happen even in your dreams, and I will continue the struggle as long as I
live.”
If you are waiting for me to raise the flag of
surrender, then you are wrong. This will not happen even in your dreams, and I
will continue the struggle as long as I live.#Salwan_Momika
pic.twitter.com/Fxx00qg3E8
Swedish radio station Ekot reported on February 7,
that the Migration Court rejected the appeal filed by Momika last year and
approved the migration agency’s decision to deport him from the country.
The court ruled that Momika provided false information
about his residence permit application, leading to his deportation order,
Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
On October 26, 2023, the migration agency decided to
deport Momika but the order could not be implemented due to concerns about
torture and inhumane treatment in Iraq. However, he was granted a temporary
residence permit.
He obtained a permanent residence permit in Sweden in
2021, which was withdrawn and he was granted temporary residency until April
2024.
Source:
siasat.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.siasat.com/salwan-momika-who-desecrated-quran-found-dead-in-norway-reports-3002546/
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CNN: ‘Taliban’s Pashto Chauvinism Helps ISIS-K’ Recruitment
From Other Ethnic Groups
Photo: Khaama Press
-----
Fidel Rahmati
April 1, 2024
Edmund Fitton-Brown, a senior adviser to the New
York-based Counter Extremism Project, told CNN that ISIS-K “has the desire and
a growing ability to project beyond Afghanistan and carry out regional attacks”
in Pakistan, Iran and Central Asia, bolstered by a robust media output in
Tajik, Uzbek and Russian. Fitton-Brown said that in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s
“Pashto chauvinism has helped ISIS-K recruit from other Afghan ethnic groups.”
CNN, citing a senior advisor to the new-York-based
extremism project, said that the Taliban’s Pashtun extremist nationalism has
facilitated the recruitment of other Afghan ethnic groups into ISIS Khorasan.
Edmund Fitton-Brown said that “in Afghanistan, the
Taliban’s “Pashto chauvinism has helped ISIS-K recruit from other Afghan ethnic
groups.”
Brown stated that ISIS Khorasan has both the desire
and capability for growth to launch attacks beyond Afghanistan.
According to CNN’s report, despite expectations of
diminished ISIS threat amid news from Ukraine, Gaza, and the upcoming US
elections, the attack on a concert hall in Moscow demonstrated that the threat
of Islamist terrorism and the ambitions of ISIS Khorasan extend far beyond the
camps it operates in the mountains of Afghanistan.
The American media outlet, citing analysts, notes that
ISIS Khorasan has an increasing focus on Europe and sees events such as this
year’s Paris Olympics as potential targets.
UN experts and others, including Russian security
services, estimate the number of ISIS Khorasan fighters to be between four to
six thousand. Sanaullah Ghafari was declared the leader of this group in 2020.
Reports of Ghafari’s death surfaced in recent months, but terrorism analysts
now believe he remains an influential leader for ISIS Khorasan.
Amir Jadoon, who has written a book on ISIS, told CNN
that in the past three years, ISIS Khorasan has become more aggressive and
expansionist in its efforts to spread its networks across South and Central
Asia. He stated that ISIS’s multilingual campaign now operates more
aggressively.
According to this expert, ISIS leverages a spectrum of
regional grievances to advance its jihadist goals.
ISIS-K’s deadliest attack so far was the suicide
bombing at Kabul airport in 2021, which killed nearly 200 people, including 13
US soldiers who were guarding the airport.
Source:
khaama.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.khaama.com/cnn-talibans-pashto-chauvinism-helps-isis-k-recruitment-from-other-ethnic-groups/
----
Mosques In NYC Struggle To House And Feed An Influx Of
Muslim Migrants This Ramadan
Imam Omar Niass, third from
left top, lead evening prayers for African migrants, before the breaking of
Ramadan fast and the serving of a festive meal called an iftar, Friday March
15, 2024, at Bronx’s Masjid Ansaru-Deen mosque in New York. The mosque, formerly
the family home for Imam Niass, has been a refuge since 2020 for African
migrants seeking asylum in the United States.(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
------
Apr 02, 2024
NEW YORK — Above a bodega in New York City’s Harlem neighbourhood,
a mosque congregation hosts Iftar, the traditional Islamic end of fast meal,
for hundreds of hungry migrants every night during this holy month of Ramadan.
Up north in the Bronx, an imam has turned the
two-story brick residence that houses his mosque into a makeshift overnight
shelter for migrants, many of them men from his native Senegal.
Islamic institutions in the Big Apple are struggling
to keep up with the needs of the city's migrant population as an increasing
number of asylum seekers come from Muslim-majority African countries. The
challenge has become all the more pronounced during Ramadan, which began March
11 and ends April 9.
Many mosques have opened their doors to migrants
during the daylight hours, becoming de facto day centers where new arrivals can
find a quiet place to rest and recover, oftentimes following restless nights
sleeping on the streets or in the subway.
Muslim leaders say they’ve stepped up their appeals
for donations of money, food, clothing and other supplies in recent days.
“We’re doing what we can do, but we can’t do
everything. That’s the bottom line,” said Moussa Sanogo, assistant imam at the
Masjid Aqsa-Salam in Harlem, just north of Central Park. “These brothers, they
don’t eat enough. They’re starving when they get here. Can you imagine?
Starving. In America.”
Imam Omar Niass, who runs JamhiyatuAnsaru-Deen, the
mosque in the Bronx, said providing a place for newly arrived migrants to bed
down is the least he can do, even if it has come at great personal expense.
His utility bills have long since outpaced his ability
to pay. He estimates he’s behind about $7,000 on the home’s electricity service
and another $11,000 on water service.
“In our culture, you can’t deny the people who come to
the mosque,” he said on a recent Friday as more than 50 men arrived for
afternoon prayers. “We keep receiving the people because they have nowhere to
go. If they come, they stay. We do what we can to feed them, to help them.”
The latest migrant surge has seen more than 185,000
asylum seekers arrive in New York City since the spring of 2022, with Africans
from majority Muslim nations such as Senegal, Guinea and Mauritania among the
top nationalities represented in new cases in federal immigration courts in the
state.
New York City’s estimated 275 mosques were among the
first places to feel the impact of the African wave, as they're often migrants’
first stop upon arriving in the city, said Assefash Makonnen, of African
Communities Together, a Harlem-based advocacy group supporting African
immigrants.
But relying solely on the generosity of faith-based
communities — many of which are already struggling to keep afloat — isn’t
sustainable in the long run, she said.
Last summer, Democratic Mayor Eric Adams announced to
fanfare a program meant to provide funding, security and other support for up
to 75 mosques, churches and synagogues that agreed to provide overnight shelter
to migrants.
So far, though, just six houses of worship holding
around 100 beds have been approved to provide additional space for the more than
64,000 migrants currently housed by the city in hotels and other shelters.
Bishop Matthew Heyd of the Episcopal Diocese of New
York said the challenge for many faith-based institutions is that they’re
located in older buildings that don’t meet current fire safety standards.
With more “commonsense” regulations, he said, houses
of worship are prepared to provide 5,000 additional beds for migrants at a
fraction of the cost the city is currently paying to shelter migrants in hotels
across the five boroughs.
“We want to be part of the solution to this. We have
been before, and can be now,” Heyd said, referring to a network of faith-based
shelters that grew in response to the city’s homeless crisis in the 1980s.
Adams spokesperson Kayla Mamelak said the city, in
response to the concerns, lowered the maximum number of beds permitted at
faith-based shelters earlier this year from 19 to 15, meaning they wouldn’t be
required to have sprinkler systems under city building codes.
“We are making changes where we can,” she said.
“Obviously the health and safety of the people we are sheltering has to be the
priority. You just can’t walk into a church and turn it into a shelter.”
In the Bronx, Niass said he hasn't given the city
program much thought. He also stressed he doesn't collect rent from the
migrants, in contrast to the illegal, dangerously overcrowded migrant boarding
houses the city has shut down in recent weeks.
Still, the conditions at the mosque are less than
ideal.
On a recent visit, men rested on the floor of a
basement prayer room in between the day’s five prayer times. More lounged out
in the backyard, where there was a microwave and hot water kettle set up for
preparing basic meals, as well as a shed for storing luggage and a row of file
cabinets for incoming mail. Near the driveway was a portable toilet covered in
a blue tarp that did little to mask the odors that drew swarms of flies.
MalickThiam, a Senegalese migrant who has been staying
at Niass’ mosque for about a month, said he’s thankful for the hospitality but
looks forward to finding a place of his own.
The 29-year-old, who arrived in the country in August,
said he’s recently started work making late-night food deliveries. He said he
typically returns to the mosque as others get up for early morning work shifts,
allowing him to avoid conflicts as men jockey over sleeping spots.
“Sometimes they got fighting, sometimes they got many
problems,” Thiam said, speaking in clear but at times broken English as he
relaxed in the mosque’s backyard. “Living here is not easy. It is difficult. It
is very, very difficult.”
Back in Harlem, Alphabacar Diallo is similarly
thankful for the support Masjid Aqsa-Salam has provided, but is anxious to get
on with his life. Like many others coming for iftar, the 39-year-old migrant
from Guinea says he’s still waiting for work authorization some eight months
after arriving in the country.
Until then, the mosque provides him a place to keep
warm, fed and close to the faith that’s sustained him.
“Without the masjid,” he said in French through a
translator, “I don’t know where I’d be.”
Source:
hindustantimes.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/mosques-in-nyc-struggle-to-house-and-feed-an-influx-of-muslim-migrants-this-ramadan-101712031537332.html
------
Resilience Amid Ruins: Call To Prayer Continues In Gaza's
Destroyed Mosques
Palestinians perform Friday
prayer at the debris of Al-Farooq Mosque, which was destroyed in Israeli air
strike, in Rafah, Gaza on 29 March, 2024 [Yasser Qudih/Anadolu via Getty
Images]
-------
1/04/2024
Despite the Israeli army's destruction of scores of
mosques in the Gaza Strip, the call to prayer (Adhan) still resonates from
these houses of worship at its designated times.
In northern Gaza, the minaret of the Masjid al-Awda
still stands tall, though the Israeli airstrikes destroyed the mosque during
the ongoing war since Oct. 7, 2023.
- Towering minaret amid ruins
Next to the lofty minaret lies rubble and debris, with
the remains of the mosque scattered around.
During Ramadan, the mosque became a memory for
residents of northern Gaza, who would frequent it for night prayers (Tarawih)
and worship during the Muslim fasting month.
Traditionally adorned for Ramadan celebrations in the
past, this year, the atmosphere has turned somber, with residents mourning the
destruction of the mosque.
- Hub of Ramadan activities
During Ramadan each year, the mosque would host
hundreds of worshippers before the Maghrib call to prayer, gathering for
Quranic recitations and providing iftar meals for the needy.
The Masjid al-Awda, built nearly 50 years ago, is
situated in the Jabalia refugee camp for Palestinian refugees.
Near the mosque, Palestinian AwwadShurafa, 55, feels
profound sadness over the bombardment that befell mosques and homes.
"We used to celebrate and decorate the mosques,
but everything vanished because of the war," he recalled.
"The occupation forces caused destruction everywhere,
demolishing our homes and mosques, displacing and killing Palestinians, and
eliminating the joy of Ramadan," he added.
Shurafa reminisced about the past Ramadan memories
inside the mosque, bustling with worshippers and devotees, but today,
everything seems to have disappeared.
- Call to prayers amid destruction
Similarly, the Al-Mahatta Mosque in the
Tuffahneighborhood of Gaza City was completely destroyed due to Israeli
attacks, yet the call to prayer continues to emanate from amid the rubble.
Yasser Hassouna, 23, without hesitation, goes to the
mosque for every prayer, where he calls the adhan and recites the Quran,
defying Israel.
"In the face of genocide and the targeting of
mosques, we come daily to the Masjid al-Mahatta to call to prayer," said
Hassouna.
"We are determined to come to the mosque for
prayer and raise the call to prayer amid Israel's genocidal war on Gaza,"
he added.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the
Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack by Hamas which killed some
1,200 people.
Nearly 32,800 Palestinians have since been killed and
75,300 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its
population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of
starvation.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population
into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and
medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or
destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International
Court of Justice (ICJ), which on Thursday asked Israel to do more to prevent
famine in Gaza.
Source:
yenisafak.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/resilience-amid-ruins-call-to-prayer-continues-in-gazas-destroyed-mosques-3680466
---
India
Assam’s Land Sale Ban Between Hindus And Muslims May Be Unconstitutional – But It's Happening Anyway
Apr 02, 2024
VineetBhalla&Rokibuz Zaman
Sanidul Islam, a 25-year-old driver living in Barpeta
in Assam bought a small parcel of land in 2019. But actually registering the
sale became a nightmare. The reason: an unofficial bar on Hindus selling land
to Muslims in Assam.
“I can’t count how many times my father went to the
circle office,” Islam told Scroll. “But every time he got the same reply. They
say that Muslims are not allowed to buy land from Hindus anymore. After the
Himanta government came, it became an unofficial rule and the registration was
totally stopped. We are under lots of stress.”
On March 7, the Assam government made this practice
legal, issuing a notification that prohibited the sale of land between people
from different religious communities for the next three months. According to
the notification, the Assam government had received intelligence inputs of
“several cases of attempt of transfer of land by fraudulent means” in the state
due to which land has been forcibly transferred “to some religious communities
from some other religious communities”. The notification also alleged that such
transfers are aimed at stoking communal tensions in the run-up to the Lok Sabha
elections.
According to legal experts, this notification is
unconstitutional for discriminating on the grounds of religion. However, in
spite of that, the bar on the sale of land between people from different
religious communities has existed for some time now on the ground.
Background
Land is an emotive issue in Assam, intertwined with
the state’s identity politics around language and religion. Assamese
nationalist groups have always expressed anxiety that the so-called outsiders
are usurping the land of so-called natives.
In 2016, the Bharatiya Janata Party made the
protection of land one of its main poll planks, with the slogan jati (nation),
maati (soil), bheti (hearth).
After it came to power, few Muslims got the land under
the Assam government’s flagship scheme, Mission Basundhara, which allows the
state to regularise land held by cultivators and other occupants without land
titles.
Unofficial policy
Hasmat Ali, a 53-year-old resident of Ghugubari
village in Lower Assam’s Barpeta district, used to live in Char Charia village,
at the bank of the river Beki, a tributary of the Brahmaputra that flows
through Barpeta.
However, Ali’s house was washed away by the floods and
erosion in the monsoon in 2000 and his family had to take refuge at the
Ghugubari village grazing pasture – government-controlled land – about 4 km
away.
After becoming landless and staying for 19 years in a
government land, where he consistently faced fear of eviction, Ali finally
bought 0.621 acres of land with Rs 6 lakh from Manoranjan Pathak, a resident of
Ghugubari village.
“I was working day and night as a daily wage labourer
to gather and save this huge amount of money to buy the land,” Ali, who now
works as a carpenter, told Scroll.
Ali paid Rs 5.65 lakh on January 20, 2019 and the
remaining money on February 8. Both Ali and Pathak signed in a stamp paper in
which details of the purchase were mentioned. Scroll has seen the copy of the
stamped sale agreement.
“The land owner already gave us the full possession of
the land after we made the full payment,” Ali told Scroll. “We have been staying
here since then and already built the houses.”
However, Ali has not managed to register the piece of
land despite his repeated attempts even after five years. His multiple visits
to the local revenue circle office did not yield any results.
“Whenever we went to the office to apply for the NOC
[no objection certificate] for the transfer of land from the owner to us, they
told us that the registration of land is not allowed anymore if the buyer is a
Muslim and the seller is a Hindu,” Ali said.
This has left families like Ali’s and Islam’s as well
as hundreds of others who have been facing difficulties to register their
purchased land despite paying money to the previous owners in a lurch and a
vulnerable situation. They can be asked to vacate the land on which they built
their house since it is not in their name.
“Do we have to live in this land like this forever
without any legal documents? Ali lamented. “On paper, we are still landless.
When will this harassment end? We don’t know what will happen and what will we
do.”.
However, he said that some Muslims, who had
connections and money, managed to do registration with the help of “third-party
people”, referring to the land brokers.
“They paid Rs 1 lakh to register the land,” he said.
“But we don’t have the money to pay the officials.”
Islam said he had submitted all kinds of documents
which are needed to purchase and transfer the land in their name. He also
mentioned an alleged nexus of officials and brokers, a repeated allegation
heard by Scroll whenever it visited circle officials.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives a memento from
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in 2022. Credit: Kamal Singh/PTI
“Without paying money, your file will not move from a
single table in the Barnagar circle office,” Islam said. “From the clerk to the
Lot Mandal [a state revenue department officer] and including the senior
officials, everyone takes bribes in order to register land. We purchased the
land with Rs. 6 lakh. Do we have to bribe Rs. 6 lakh more to register the land?
There are hundreds of people like me who are suffering.”
Senior Barpeta district official Khanindra Das, the
additional deputy commissioner who looks after the revenue department, told
Scroll, “I don’t know anything about it,” when asked about the struggle and
difficulties faced by Ali and Islam to register the land.
“Now, it is officially banned for three months as
there is a notification issued by the governor,” Das said. “I don’t know if
they will be allowed to buy it after three months.”
Unconstitutional prohibition?
Delhi-based senior advocate Mohan Katarki called the
notification “ex facie unconstitutional” – that is, unconstitutional on the
face of it – for being vague and not based on any hard evidence. He said that
it also violates Article 15(1) of the Constitution for prohibiting sale on the
grounds only of religion.
“How does the sale of land between consenting parties
affect the security of the state?,” he asked. “If a transfer of land may lead
to potential tension, the parties themselves will refrain from engaging in that
sale,” he added.
Guwahati-based lawyer and former sub-judicial
magistrate in the Assam Judicial Service Sarfraz Nawaz told Scroll that the
only prohibition on sale of land allowed in Assam is that between tribal and
non-tribal communities, which is constitutionally permitted by the Sixth
Schedule of the Constitution.
Nawaz referred to many recent cases of land being
fraudulently sold, with connivance of revenue authorities, in the state.
Several arrests of the public officers and advocates involved have also been
made in some of such cases in the last few months in Guwahati, he said.
However, it is hard to say that this could be
correlated with the notification, he said.
“This goes against fundamental rights in Part III of the
Constitution,” he said.
Advocate Haamim KJ Ahmed, who practises at the
Guwahati High Court, termed the notification “unreasonable”. He acknowledged
that satra land, that is, land belonging to Vaishnavite monasteries, in the
state had come under illegal encroachment over the years and the state
government had recently been making efforts to clear squatters.
However, such encroachments are not found to have been
made solely by members of any particular religious community.
“It is difficult to understand how stopping the sale
of land among members of different religious communities would stop such
encroachment,” he said.
Ahmed called the notification a “political gimmick”.
On whether it may be struck down by courts, he said
that “since the bar is based on intelligence reports’, it may be justified by
the government on the ground of sovereignty and integrity of the country.”
Katarki pointed out that since the ban is only for
three months, which is a short period, the state may defend it on the basis
that no material injury will be caused.
However, according to him, “this will hurt members of
all religious communities”.
Parallels to Disturbed Areas Act in Gujarat
Currently, there is no similar law or rule in place
elsewhere in India that outlaws the transfer of land between members of
different religious communities.
The closest parallel can be seen in Gujarat, where the
Gujarat Prohibition of Transfer of Immovable Property and Provision for
Protection of Tenants from Eviction from Premises in Disturbed Areas Act, 1991
has been used to effectively proscribe the transfer of land between Hindus and
Muslims. Experts have held that the law has led to communal segregation and
distortion of the land market.
The act empowers the government to declare specific
areas as “disturbed” if there is a risk of communal riots or heightened
communal tensions. In such designated areas, anyone wanting to sell their
property needs prior approval from the district collector.
Currently, large parts of Ahmedabad, Surat and
Vadodara – the three biggest cities in the state –as well as several smaller
towns, are notified as “disturbed”.
While the act doesn’t directly prohibit property sales
between Hindus and Muslims, it creates a system that demonstrably has this
effect in practice.
As a result, Hindu sellers are disincentivised from
approaching Muslim buyers, even if they offer a competitive price.
Challenges to the validity of the act are pending
before the Gujarat High Court. The High Court had in 2021 effectively stayed
certain amendments to the act made by the state government in 2020 under which
the government could have used religious grounds to declare a disturbed area.
Source:
scroll.in
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click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://scroll.in/article/1065849/assams-land-sale-ban-between-hindus-and-muslims-may-be-unconstitutional-but-it-s-happening-anyway
---
Allahabad HC fixes April 4 for hearing plea on
maintainability of suit on 'removal' of Shahi Idgah mosque
1st April 2024
Prayagraj (UP): The Allahabad High Court on Monday
fixed April 4 for hearing a plea regarding maintainability of a suit seeking
"removal" of the Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura that stands adjacent
to the Krishna Janmasthan temple.
The petition claims that the mosque has been built on
a 13.37 acre piece of land of the Katra Keshav Deo temple.
After hearing the matter, Justice Mayank Kumar Jain
fixed the next date of hearing in the case on April 4.
The counsel for the Muslim side, Taslima Aziz Ahmadi, appearing
through video conference, submitted before the court that the suit is barred by
limitation.
On Monday, the Muslim side concluded its arguments on
their objection regarding maintainability of the suit.
It was further submitted that the suit was filed for
possession after 'removal' of the structure of the Shahi idgah mosque as well
as for restoration of the Katra Keshav Deo temple and for permanent injunction.
The plea in the suit shows the structure of the mosque
is there and the committee of management is in possession of the same.
"In this way a question/dispute has been raised
on Waqf property and thus provisions of the Waqf Act will apply, and in such it
is the Waqf tribunal that has the jurisdiction to hear the matter and not a
civil court," argued Ahmadi.
After hearing her, the court asked her to conclude her
arguments by the next date of hearing.
Source:
deccanherald.com
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https://www.deccanherald.com/india/uttar-pradesh/allahabad-hc-fixes-april-4-for-hearing-plea-on-maintainability-of-suit-on-removal-of-shahi-idgah-mosque-2960753
----
Mehbooba Mufti Accuses BJP: Unemployed Youth Targeting
Muslims, Says Party Fails On Promised Jobs
April 2, 2024
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday charged that
the BJP has emboldened the unemployed youth in the country to target Muslims
for venting their frustration.
She was reacting to a media report that an Imam of a
mosque in Uttar Pradesh's Khushinagar was allegedly beaten up by miscreants and
the police refused to act against the assailants.
Mehbooba targets BJP over attack on minorities
"BJP claims it has replaced stones with laptops
in Kashmir. But just a glance at what is happening in the rest of the country
is ample proof that they've emboldened disgruntled unemployed youngsters to
wield lathis&dandas at muslims only to vent their frustration," the
PDP president charged in a post on X.
She said it was tragic that the youth were fine with
their future being destroyed as long as they can target Muslims. "Instead
of fulfilling their own promises of two crore jobs they've reduced them to
dangais&gundas. What makes it even more tragic is the fact that these young
men are okay with their futures being destroyed as long as they get to punish &
humiliate muslims," she added.
Source:
oneindia.com
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https://www.oneindia.com/india/mehbooba-mufti-accuses-bjp-unemployed-youth-targeting-muslims-says-party-fails-on-promised-jobs-3789373.html
---
Europe
Teacher Sacked For 'Undermining British Values' After
Claiming Islam Will Take Over And Westernised Girls Are ‘Lunatics’
Georgina Cutler
02/04/2024
A Muslim teacher has been sacked after suggesting
Islam was going to take over and branded Westernised girls as
"lunatics".
Aqib Khan has been banned after a Teaching Regulation
Agency professional misconduct panel found he had "undermined fundamental
British values".
Khan was an English teacher at Harborne Academy in
Birmingham between December 2020 and March 2023, the panel heard.
The 30-year-old also rejected a female doctor who
earned £70,000 as he couldn’t be with a woman who earned more than him.
The panel heard he told students that the baby of a
woman over the age of 30 was more likely to be disabled than a wife having a
child with her cousin.
While teaching at Harborne Academy, he sent a series
of "professionally unacceptable" messages.
Among the comments was a conversation about how to
"get girls" while he also showed a topless picture of himself flexing
to one pupil.
He stated: "Practically, because she’s a girl
she’s lucky. If she marries a good guy she can work or not work – it’s her
choice. Her husband will support her either way. It’ll take pressure off of her
to pick a career."
Discussing the growing Muslim population, he said:
"Natural selection increasing our numbers as a result. By 2050 the whole
of UK, France and Germany will look like Birmingham.
"The number of Muslims went up 44 per cent in 10
years. Everyone else is falling or growing at a snail’s pace. Traditional
values > liberalism."
Under a photo of a news article which read:
"Alcohol ban helps female fans enjoy hassle-free football in Qatar",
Khan wrote: "White women enjoying life under shariah lol".
Khan said feminism teaches that "women are equal
and discourages motherhood and being a wife" while "Islam teaches
women are x3 more valuable than men if they’re good mothers and wives (and they
can work if they want to)".
The panel heard he said words to the effect of:
"If you believe in feminism, if you believe in aborting babies, in man and
man and woman being married, if you believe in working until you are 35 years
old and not having any children.
"If you believe all this stuff, that’s fine,
believe in it. But I am telling you one fact, you’re going to get replaced by
Muslims even faster, they will replace you even faster."
The panel found Khan guilty of "undermining
fundamental British values including individual liberty, mutual respect and
tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs".
Source:
gbnews.com
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click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.gbnews.com/news/birmingham-teacher-sacked-islam-comments-feminism
---
Spain Plans To Recognize Palestinian State 'Before Summer':
Premier
DiyarGuldogan
02.04.2024
Spain plans to officially recognize the State of
Palestine "before the summer," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said
Monday.
Sanchez made the announcement during an informal
conversation with journalists accompanying him on an official trip to the
Middle East, according to local media reports.
On March 9, Sanchez said he would propose that Spain’s
parliament recognizes a Palestinian state.
Recently, the leaders of Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and
Malta released a joint statement announcing that they will recognize a
Palestinian state.
The statement said the countries’ leaders agreed that
“the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in the region is through
the implementation of a two-state solution, with Israeli and Palestinian States
living side-by-side in peace and security.”
Source:
aa.com.tr
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/spain-plans-to-recognize-palestinian-state-before-summer-premier/3181139
---
Russia says it arrested four more Moscow attack
plotters
Apr 01, 2024
Russia's FSB security service said Monday that four
people arrested over a foiled "terror" plot had provided money and
arms for the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall last month.
More than 140 people were killed when gunmen stormed
the Crocus City Hall venue on March 22 before setting the building on fire in
the most deadly attack in Russia for two decades.
The FSB said in a statement Monday that it had
arrested four people a day earlier in the southern Dagestan region who
"were directly involved in the financing and supply of terrorist means to
the perpetrators of the terrorist act carried out on 22 March in the Crocus
City Hall in Moscow."
Russia's national anti-terrorism committee said on
Sunday that it had apprehended three people who were "planning to commit a
series of terrorist crimes."
The FSB said Monday that four foreign citizens had
been arrested in the operation in the regional capital Makhachkala and the
nearby town of Kaspiysk.
The Interfax news agency cited an FSB video showing
one of the detained men saying: "I took weapons to them, these guys who
attacked Crocus City Hall. I took them weapons from Makhachkala."
Russian authorities had previously announced the
arrests of 12 people they say are connected to the attack -- including the four
suspected gunmen, who have been identified as Tajik citizens.
- Ten suspects charged -
The Investigative Committee, which probes major
crimes, said separately Monday that it was formally charging another suspect
with carrying out a "terrorist attack".
"At the moment, the investigation has charged ten
defendants," it said in a statement.
Moscow courts confirmed the tenth suspect,
YakubdjoniYusufzody, has been detained until May 22, accused of having
"transferred money to an accomplice" a few days before the attack to
"provide accommodation for the terrorists".
Citing information provided to the court, Russian
agencies reported that Yusufzody is also from Tajikistan.
The Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for
the massacre, the most deadly it says it has ever carried out on European soil,
though President Vladimir Putin has talked up a Ukrainian and Western
connection.
Kyiv and the West have repeatedly denied any
involvement and accused Moscow of "exploiting" the tragedy.
Dagestan is a Muslim-majority region in Russia's
southern Caucasus region.
The FSB has come under scrutiny over its failure to
thwart the attack despite private and public warnings by the US intelligence
community that "extremists" were planning an "imminent"
attack on "large gatherings" in Moscow.
The agency regularly announces it has foiled alleged "terrorist
cells", but in recent months has mainly announced the arrests of what it
calls pro-Ukrainian saboteurs planning attacks on Russian military sites and
infrastructure.
Source:
hindustantimes.com
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https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/russia-says-it-arrested-four-more-moscow-attack-plotters-101711991410373.html
---
Russia condemns Israeli attack on Iranian consulate,
requests UNSC meeting on strike
APRIL 2, 2024
Russia condemned an Israeli strike on the Iranian
consulate in Syria, called on the Jewish state to cease such "completely
unacceptable" actions, and has requested a meeting with the UN Security
Council regarding the strike.
The UNSC will hold an open meeting at Russia's
request, according to TASS, citing Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s First Deputy
Permanent Representative to the UN.
"After Israel's airstrike on the Iranian
consulate in Damascus today, Iranians have turned to the UN Security Council to
condemn this action," Polyansky posted on X. "Following their letter,
we have requested an open briefing of the UN Security Council. The Maltese
presidency has scheduled it for 3:00 p.m. New York time (10 p.m. Moscow time)
on April 2."
The strike
Suspected Israeli warplanes bombed Iran's embassy in
Syria on Monday in a strike that Iran said killed seven of its military
advisers, including three senior commanders, marking a significant escalation
in Israel's war with its regional adversaries.
"We strongly condemn this attack on the Iranian
consular mission in Syria," Russia's foreign ministry said. "Such
aggressive actions by Israel are absolutely unacceptable and must be
stopped."
The Iranian Mission to the UN referred to the alleged
Israeli strike as "cowardly" and a "terrorist attack" and
that it was a "flagrant violation of fundamental norms and principles of
international law." They claimed that the launching point of the strike
was from the Golan Heights, describing the region as "occupied," and
said the airstrikes resulted in "the complete destruction of Iran's
diplomatic premises in question."
"We urge the Israeli leadership to abandon the
practice of provocative military actions on the territory of Syria and other
neighboring countries," it said.
Source:
jpost.com
Please
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https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-794880
---
France introduces ‘comprehensive’ Gaza ceasefire
resolution at UN Security Council
April 01, 2024
NEW YORK: France on Monday announced that it will
introduce a “comprehensive” UN Security Council draft resolution that calls for
a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Nicolas de Riviere, France’s permanent representative
to the UN, told reporters in New York that the new draft “deals with the most
pressing matters. It calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza without a time
limitation. It also demands the immediate, unconditional release of all
hostages.
“It condemns the terrorist attacks by Hamas that took
place on Oct. 7, and it demands immediate and full humanitarian access.”
The text, a copy of which was obtained by Arab News,
calls for “an immediate ceasefire guaranteeing the protection of civilians and
humanitarian personnel as well as the massive delivery of humanitarian aid to
the civilian population of Gaza.”
The draft also requests that the UN secretary general
develop options for a UN role to monitor the ceasefire in Gaza.
It also demands the “immediate and unconditional
release” of all hostages held by “Hamas and other terrorist groups,” as well as
ensuring humane treatment of, and immediate humanitarian access to, the
hostages.
The French resolution condemns “in the strongest terms
the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups” on Oct. 7,
2023, and the taking of hostages.
It condemns “sexual violence including rape used as a
weapon of war, committed by Hamas and other terrorist groups,” and calls for
accountability for such crimes.
It also demands “immediate, full, safe and unhindered
humanitarian access to the civilian population throughout” Gaza, which is
facing “alarming levels of acute food insecurity.”
It further demands the opening of all crossing points
into and inside the Palestinian enclave, as well as the opening of Israel’s
Ashdod port and a land route from Jordan to Gaza.
The draft resolution also addresses reconstruction,
recovery and governance of Gaza. It calls for a “sustainable solution” to the
situation there, stressing the importance of “the re-establishment of effective
control over the Gaza Strip by the Palestinian Authority and of ensuring
contiguity with Jerusalem and the West Bank.”
It also calls on the international community to
support the PA “as it progressively assumes its responsibilities in the Gaza
Strip.”
De Riviere said the UNSC must address the root causes
of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the draft resolution urges the
international community to intensify its efforts for the achievement of a
comprehensive, “just and peaceful solution” to it.
“The ongoing crisis has shown that a negotiated
solution should be achieved urgently through decisive and irreversible measures
toward a two-state solution,” he added.
“France believes that it’s now high time to adopt a
comprehensive approach in order to end the ongoing crisis in Gaza, allow de-escalation
in the region and ensure that no Oct. 7 can ever happen again.”
The draft urges “the intensification of international
and regional efforts, including through direct negotiations, for the
achievement of a comprehensive, just and peaceful solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, on the basis of the relevant United Nations
resolutions, the Madrid Terms of Reference, including the principle of land for
peace, the Arab Peace Initiative, and the Quartet road map.”
A negotiated solution should be achieved, according to
the draft, “urgently through decisive and irreversible measures” toward a
two-state solution where “two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, live
side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders based on the 1967 lines,
with security arrangements that respect the sovereignty of Palestine and end
the Israeli occupation that began in 1967, ensure the security of Israel,
including against terrorist threats, as well as a just settlement of the
refugee problem, consistent with international law and relevant UN
resolutions.”
France presented the text to other UNSC members on
Monday. No timeline for the vote has been set yet.
Source:
arabnews.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2486536/middle-east
---
Russian Foreign Ministry invites banned Taliban
delegation to World Islamic Forum in Kazan
April 1, 2024
The Russian Foreign Ministry has extended an
invitation to Afghan Taliban representatives to attend the upcoming
Russian-Islamic World Forum in Kazan from May 14-19, the Russian propaganda
agency TASS reported on April 1.
Moscow's cooperation with the Taliban government on
anti-terrorism efforts "is conducted on a regular basis," said the
Ministry’s second Asian Department director, ZamirKabulov.
"There is nothing special to add here."
On March 23, analysts of the U.S.-based think tank
Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggested that the Crocus City Hall
shooting could have been carried out by representatives of the
Afghanistan-based Islamic State unit ISIS-X (Khorasan).
Militants from the Taliban Islamist movement, which is
banned in Russia, launched a large-scale offensive across Afghanistan in early
May 2021 amid the withdrawal of American and other Western military contingents
that had been stationed there for 20 years.
On Aug. 15, the Taliban captured the country's
capital, Kabul. In late August 2021, the Islamist movement announced the
seizure of power in Afghanistan and proclaimed the formation of the "Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan."
Taliban's talks in Europe ended on Jan. 27 in Oslo,
Norway. Western countries have ruled out the possibility of recognizing the
Taliban.
Nearly 20 million people across Afghanistan are facing
an acute food crisis, according to the UN. Western governments and institutions
have denied the Taliban access to the previous government's foreign currency
reserves and cut off the organization from foreign aid, exacerbating the
problem.
In August 2022, the Taliban government announces that
Afghanistan is considering buying oil products and goods from Russia in a
barter system. In return, the country agrees to export raisins, medicinal
herbs, and minerals to Russia.
Source:
english.nv.ua
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https://english.nv.ua/nation/taliban-delegation-invited-to-the-russia-islamic-world-forum-in-kazan-50406188.html
----
South
Asia
Russia considers removing Taliban from Terrorist list:
MFA
Fidel Rahmati
April 2, 2024
The Russian Foreign Ministry is currently reviewing
the removal of the Taliban regime from the list of “terrorist” organizations,
according to recent statements to the country’s state news agency.
As reported by TASS news agency, on Monday, April 1st,
the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other Russian
governmental bodies are collaborating to remove the “Taliban Movement” from the
list of terrorist organizations.
However, the Russian Foreign Ministry has added that
the country’s top political leadership will make the final decision.
The de facto administration has maintained good
relations with Russia; their representatives have been present in Moscow, and
interim government officials have consistently been invited to relevant
Afghanistan-related meetings.
Meanwhile, ZamirKabulov, Russia’s Special
Representative for Afghanistan, has informed the TASS news agency that “Moscow
is a regular collaborator in combating terrorism.”
Following the deadly attack on a concert hall in
Moscow, concerns over terrorism have intensified. The incident underscores the
global challenge posed by extremist groups and the imperative for concerted
international efforts to counter them.
Moreover, the rise of ISIS-K (Islamic State Khorasan
Province) in the region has further exacerbated security concerns. There are
allegations that this group operates actively in Afghanistan, adding to the
complexity of the security landscape and necessitating comprehensive strategies
to address the threat of terrorism effectively.
Source:
khaama.com
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click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.khaama.com/russia-considers-removing-taliban-from-terrorist-list-mfa/
----
UNAMA Deputy: Afghan Migrant Expulsion By Neighbours
Violates International Migration Laws
Khaama Press
April 2, 2024
The Special Representative of the United Nations in
Afghanistan says that the forced expulsion of Afghan migrants by neighbouring
countries is against international migration laws.
The Office of the Affairs of Taliban administration
announced on Monday that IndrikaRatwatte, the Deputy Special Representative of
the United Nations for Afghanistan, raised this issue in a meeting with Abdul
Salam Hanafi, the administrative deputy prime minister.
According to the newsletter, this meeting took place
yesterday, and the two sides discussed various issues, including the forced
expulsion of Afghan migrants, the distribution of humanitarian aid, and some
other matters.
The Deputy Special Representative of the United
Nations stated that humanitarian assistance from the international community to
the people of Afghanistan will continue and asked the officials of the Taliban
to cooperate in delivering this assistance to deserving Afghan citizens.
The newsletter states he still “welcomes overall
security and the prevention of smuggling, trafficking, trade, and use of drugs,
and the eradication of administrative corruption.”
Meanwhile, Abdul Salam Hanafi appreciated the
international community’s humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan.
He still considers the process of forced expulsion of
Afghan migrants from neighbouring countries to be against all norms.
This comes as, over the past year, the process of
forced expulsion of Afghan migrants from neighbouring countries, especially
Pakistan and Iran, has intensified, with hundreds of thousands of migrants
returning to Afghanistan forcibly and voluntarily from these two countries.
In addition, Pakistan intends to proceed with the
second phase of forced expulsion of Afghan migrants from its provinces in the
near future.
Source:
khaama.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.khaama.com/unama-deputy-afghan-migrant-expulsion-by-neighbors-violates-international-migration-laws/
---
US Drones Violate Intl Law: Mujahid
NawidSamadi
April 1, 2024
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Islamic
Emirate, once again said the patrolling of American drones over Afghan airspace
is a blatant violation and contrary to international laws.
Zabihullah Mujahid said that if these flights
continue, a decision must be made in response.
“We consider it a violation and this a blatant
violation of international law and also this is a violation of airspace, it
should be stopped and we condemn it, if further actions are taken, we can
decide then,” he added.
Previously, residents of the provinces of Panjshir,
Badakhshan, Takhar, Kunduz, and Kandahar have said that drones occasionally
patrol the skies in their provinces.
They said that these aircraft have been conducting
continuous flights over the border areas of Afghanistan over the last two or
three days.
“I myself it witnessed on the border of Afghanistan
and Tajikistan, and I saw it in the district of Imam Sahib and it is seen after
each two or three days,” said Ezatullah, a resident of Kunduz.
“The unknown aircraft are seen patrolling the skies of
Takhar and Badakhshan in the last few days and this has caused concern among
the residents of this region,” Abdul Sami Khawari, one of the residents of
Takhar, told a TOLOnews reporter.
“If Americans want to ensure security with the
patrolling by their aircraft, this is the opposite of the Doha Agreement.
Instead they should share the intelligence information with the Afghan
government and they can ensure security of Afghanistan, region and beyond this
way,” said ZalmayAfghanyar, a military analyst.
This comes as the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly
stated in response to the concerns of regional and world countries that Afghan
soil will not be used against any country and the caretaker government is
combating terrorist groups.
Source:
tolonews.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-188102
----
Hanafi Calls for Safeguarding Nation's Historical Treasures
Nazir Shinwari
April 1, 2024
The deputy prime minister for administrative affairs,
Abdul Salam Hanafi, emphasized the need to prevent the smuggling of the
country's ancient artifacts, at the opening ceremony of the Quran manuscript
exhibition today (Monday).
Abdul Salam Hanafi said that the protection of the
country's ancient artifacts and the prevention of smuggling is the
responsibility of all citizens, and the Islamic Emirate is also committed to
protecting these ancient artifacts.
The exhibition of Quran manuscripts was inaugurated by
the Ministry of Information and Culture in the National Archives on the
occasion of the Quran Revelation Month.
"It is our duty and yours to protect our
historical artifacts. We must prevent their smuggling and destruction in every
sense," Hanafi said.
Atiqullah Azizi, the deputy of the Ministry of
Information and Culture, stated at the ceremony that the ministry has allocated
a budget for better protection of historical and ancient artifacts, as well as
for the National Archives.
"We ask the Administrative Deputy of the Prime
Minister's Office to pay serious attention to the agencies of the Ministry of
Information and Culture, especially to the National Archives and the National
Museum, as the Ministry of Information and Culture directly belongs to the
nation. The National Museum and the National Archives need reconstruction.
Budgeting is needed for the preservation and security of historical artifacts,
which must be attended to," he said.
Meanwhile, participants of the exhibition said such
exhibitions are beneficial for the protection of ancient artifacts.
"Such exhibitions are very useful for the
protection and enrichment of historical artifacts, and future attention should
be given to organizing exhibitions of historical artifacts," said
Khudadad, a participant.
"Today's exhibition displayed editions of the
Holy Quran on the occasion of the Quran Revelation Month, with a total of 70
editions of the Holy Quran being exhibited," said Abdul Rashid Osman, a
manuscript expert.
According to information from the National Archives of
Afghanistan, currently, 9,000 historical books, magazines, ancient treasures,
and other historical artifacts are kept in the National Archives, and 70
volumes of the Holy Quran are being displayed in a five-day Quran manuscript
exhibition.
Source:
tolonews.com
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://tolonews.com/arts-culture-188105
----
Islamic Emirate Says Expanding Intl Relations Top
Priority
April 1, 2024
The political deputy of the prime minister, Mawlawi
Abdul Kabir, in a meeting with some acting ministers, spoke about the expansion
of relations between the Islamic Emirate and the world.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Islamic
Emirate, quoting Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, said that the Arg is striving to improve
balanced policies with regional and global countries.
According to Mujahid, interacting with the world is
among the most important political goals of the Islamic Emirate.
The spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate said: "We
have a very clear foreign policy approach that is balanced. We want good
diplomatic relations with all countries based on mutual respect.”
In the past month, the visits and meetings of the
Islamic Emirate's officials were mostly focused on expanding relations and
joint cooperation with representatives of various countries.
Meanwhile, some analysts said that without the
official recognition of the Islamic Emirate by the world, the caretaker
government has not made any progress in politics.
"Afghanistan's political relations with the world
may be expanding in the transit or economic sector, but the policies that we
are developing for recognition (need to address) the policies, principles, and
foundations that have been passed by the major countries of the world and the
United Nations," said Sayed Ebadullah Sadiq, a political analyst.
"Interactions with Afghanistan have taken place,
but none of the countries in the world have yet agreed to officially recognize
Afghanistan because the demands that the international community and the people
of Afghanistan had for the government have not been met,” Najib Rahman Shamal,
an international relations analyst, told TOLOnews.
While no country has taken a step toward officially
recognizing the Islamic Emirate, the officials of the caretaker government have
always spoken of needing to expand relations with the world; according to the
officials of the Islamic Emirate, so far, about twenty of their representations
in various countries around the world are active.
Source:
tolonews.com
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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-188110
----
Hanafi meets with UNAMA’s deputy chief, discusses need
for continued support
April 2, 2024
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan (IEA) said at a meeting with the Deputy Special Representative of
the Secretary General of the United Nations in Afghanistan, Ramiz Al-Akbarov,
that the United Nations mission, and that of other aid agencies, was critical
to the well-being of the country.
According to a statement released by Mawlavi Abdul
Salam Hanafi’s office, the deputy prime minister met with Al-Akbarov, to
discuss the continuation of humanitarian support to the people.
Al-Akbarov thanked the officials of the Islamic
Emirate for the support given to the organization and its affiliated agencies.
For his part, Hanafi said the work the UN and aid
organizations were doing in the country was vital.
Hanafi stated that the Islamic Emirate welcomes and
supports the provision of humanitarian services and aid by the United Nations
and other aid organizations.
Source:
ariananews.af
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---
North
America
Biden adviser Sullivan's talks with MBS signals focus
on Israel-Saudi ties
[02/April/2024]
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan plans
to travel to Saudi Arabia this week for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman amid a US push for progress toward normalising relations between Israel
and Saudi Arabia.
Talks on normalisation had been put on ice in the
immediate aftermath of the October 7 blitz by Palestinian Hamas fighters on
southern Israel and Israel's subsequent invasion of Gaza, but conversations
have resumed in recent months.
A US official said Sullivan planned talks with the
crown prince to check in on the issue but did not expect a major breakthrough.
A second US official said Sullivan would consult
broadly on a number of matters.
"He has not been to Saudi Arabia in some time and
there’s lots to discuss," the second official said.
'A number of matters'
Last week, Biden emphasised his belief that the Saudi
normalisation deal remains attainable and significant, even though discussions
were disrupted by the October 7 event l and Israel's subsequent invasion of
Gaza.
"I won't go into detail now. But look, I've been
working with the Saudis. They are prepared to fully recognise Israel,"
Biden said at a fundraiser in New York with former Presidents Obama and Clinton
last week.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on March 21
that the United States and Saudi Arabia had made "good progress" in
talks on normalising ties between the kingdom and Israel, without providing a
timeline for concluding a deal.
As part of a normalisation deal, Saudi Arabia wants to
clinch a mutual defence pact with Washington and get US support for its civil
nuclear programme.
Saudi Arabia has explicitly stated, as per media
reports, that to advance the normalisation process with Israel, the conflict in
Gaza must cease, and the Israeli government must pledge unwaveringly to pursue
a two-state solution.
Source:
trtworld.com
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https://www.trtworld.com/us-and-canada/biden-adviser-sullivans-talks-with-mbs-signals-focus-on-israel-saudi-ties-17613296
---
US pushes alternatives to Rafah invasion in Hamas war
talks with Israel
April 02, 2024
WASHINGTON: Top American and Israeli officials held
virtual talks Monday as the US pushed alternatives to the ground assault
against Hamas under consideration by Israelis in the southern Gaza city of
Rafah, a move the US opposes on humanitarian grounds and that has frayed
relations between the two allies.
President Joe Biden and his administration have
publicly and privately urged Israel for months to refrain from a large-scale
incursion into Rafah without a credible plan to relocate and safeguard
noncombatants. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that
Israel I forces, which are trying to eradicate Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack on
Israel, must be able to enter the city to root out the group’s remaining
battalions.
The more than two-and-a-half-hour meeting by secure
video conference was described by both sides as constructive and productive, as
Washington encourages the Israelis to avoid an all-out assault on the city,
where an estimated four battalions of Hamas fighters are dispersed among more
than 1.3 million civilians. The White House has instead pushed Israel to take
more targeted actions to kill or capture Hamas leaders while limiting civilian
impacts.
The potential operation in the city has exposed one of
the deepest rifts between Israel and its closest ally, funder and arms
supplier. The US has already openly said Israel must do more to allow food and
other goods through its blockade of Gaza to avert famine.
“They agreed that they share the objective to see
Hamas defeated in Rafah,” the US and Israeli teams known as the Strategic
Consultative Group said in a joint statement released by the White House. “The
US side expressed its concerns with various courses of action in Rafah. The
Israeli side agreed to take these concerns into account and to have follow up
discussions between experts overseen by the SCG. The follow-up discussions
would include in person SCG meeting as early as next week.”
The virtual meeting came a week after planned
in-person talks were nixed by Netanyahu when the US didn’t veto a UN resolution
thaThe potential operation in the city has exposed one of the deepest rifts
between Israel and its closest ally, funder and arms supplier.t called for an
immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and
Secretary of State Antony Blinken chaired the meeting for the US side. The
Israeli side was led by Israeli national security adviser TzachiHanegbi and
Minister for Strategic Affairs and Netanyahu confidant Ron Dermer.
Source:
arabnews.com
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---
Blinken urges Palestinian reforms in call with Abbas
April 02, 2024
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
called Monday for further Palestinian reforms after the naming of a government
in a call with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmud Abbas, as Washington seeks a
post-war solution in Gaza.
Blinken told Abbas that the United States “looks
forward to working with the new PA cabinet to promote peace, security and
prosperity and urged the implementation of necessary reforms,” State Department
spokesman Matthew Miller said.
“Secretary Blinken emphasized that a revitalized PA is
essential to delivering results for the Palestinian people in both the West
Bank and Gaza,” he said.
Abbas last week approved a new government led by
Mohammed Mustafa, his long-trusted adviser on economic affairs, with
representation also for women and Palestinians from Gaza.
Since the war broke out in October, the United States
has been pressing for the Palestinian Authority to root out corruption and
bring in new faces in hopes that the PA, which has limited autonomy in parts of
the West Bank, can take charge of Gaza as well following a defeat of Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has
long fought against a Palestinian state, and his hard-right government have
made clear they are not interested in a role for the Palestinian Authority.
But Miller said Blinken “underscored the US commitment
to the realization of the creation of an independent Palestinian state with
security guarantees for Israel.”
Blinken spoke to Abbas shortly after the top US
diplomat joined a virtual meeting with Israeli leaders on a planned offensive
on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population has taken shelter since the
war.
The United States has warned Israel against an assault
but has also maintained its support for Israel including shipments of weapons.
The bloodiest ever Gaza war erupted when Hamas
launched its unprecedented October 7 attack which resulted in about 1,160
deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli
official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed more than
32,000 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in
Hamas-run Gaza.
Source:
arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2486596/middle-east
---
US 'deeply troubled' by Israeli strike killing World
Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza
DiyarGuldogan
02.04.2024
The US expressed sorrow on Monday over the killing of
aid workers with the US-based aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) by
Israel in the Gaza Strip.
"We are heartbroken and deeply troubled by the
strike that killed @WCKitchen aid workers in Gaza," White House National
Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said on X.
Her remarks came after five people working for the aid
organization, including four foreigners, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on
their vehicle in Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip on Monday.
A director of the Government Media Office in Gaza said
Israel struck a foreign team that consists of British, Polish and Australian nationals
and another nationality still not identified, in addition to a Palestinian from
Gaza.
Photos emerging on Palestinian social media accounts
showed the passports of the foreigners who were killed in the airstrike,
including from Australia, Poland and the UK, as well as dead bodies with WCK
T-shirts.
"Humanitarian aid workers must be protected as
they deliver aid that is desperately needed, and we urge Israel to swiftly
investigate what happened," Watson added.
The WCK confirmed that its members had been killed in
an Israeli army attack while working to support humanitarian food delivery
efforts in Gaza, saying: "This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and
civilians should NEVER be a target. EVER."
WCK founder Jose Andres said the organization lost
"several of our sisters and brothers" in an Israeli airstrike in
Gaza.
"I am heartbroken and grieving for their families
and friends and our whole WCK family. These are people…angels…I served
alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Türkiye, Morocco, the Bahamas, Indonesia. They are
not faceless…they are not nameless,” Andres said on X.
"The Israeli government needs to stop this
indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop
killing civilians and aid workers and stop using food as a weapon. No more
innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start
now,” he added.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, said it was
conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the
circumstances of the "tragic" incident.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the
Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas
which killed some 1,200 people.
Over 32,800 Palestinians have since been killed and 75,300
others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the
Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on
the verge of starvation.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population
into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and
medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or
destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International
Court of Justice (ICJ), which on Thursday asked it to do more to prevent famine
in Gaza.
Source:
aa.com.tr
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-deeply-troubled-by-israeli-strike-killing-world-central-kitchen-aid-workers-in-gaza/3181130
---
US anti-Muslim incidents hit record high in 2023, says
watchdog
02.04.2024
Reported discrimination and attacks against Muslims
and Palestinians reached a record high in the United States in 2023, driven by
rising Islamophobia and bias as the Israel-Gaza war raged late in the year,
data from an advocacy group showed on Tuesday.
Complaints totaled 8,061 in 2023, a 56 percent rise
from the year before and the highest since the Council on American-Islamic
Relations began records nearly 30 years ago. About 3,600 of those incidents
occurred from October to December, CAIR said.
Human rights advocates have similarly reported a
global rise in Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian bias and antisemitism since the
latest eruption of conflict in the Middle East.
US incidents have included the fatal October stabbing
of 6-year-old Palestinian American Wadea Al-Fayoume in Illinois, the November
shooting of three students of Palestinian descent in Vermont and the February
stabbing of a Palestinian American man in Texas.
CAIR’s report said 2023 saw a “resurgence of
anti-Muslim hate” after the first ever recorded annual drop in complaints in
2022. In the first nine months of 2023, such incidents averaged around 500 a
month before jumping to nearly 1,200 a month in the last quarter.
“The primary force behind this wave of heightened
Islamophobia was the escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine in October
2023,” the report said.
The most numerous complaints in 2023 were in the
categories of immigration and asylum, employment discrimination, hate crimes
and education discrimination, CAIR said.
The organization said it compiled the numbers by
reviewing public statements and videos as well as reports from public calls,
emails and an online complaint system. It contacted people whose incidents were
reported in the media.
The CAIR report on Islamophobia follows similar
findings about antisemitism in a January report by the Anti-Defamation League.
The ADL report, which recorded antisemitic incidents between October 7 and
January 7, found that attacks on Jews had “skyrocketed” during the period.
On October 7, thousands of terrorists led by Hamas
stormed southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and take
over 250 hostages of all ages, while committing numerous atrocities.
Israel’s subsequent military assault on Hamas-governed
Gaza has displaced nearly all its 2.3 million population, put the territory on
the brink of starvation, led to genocide allegations, which Israel denies, and
killed over 32,000 people, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
That figure cannot be independently verified and
includes some 13,000 Hamas terrorists Israel says it has killed in battle.
Israel also says it killed some 1,000 gunmen inside Israel on October 7.
Source:
timesofisrael.com
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---
The White House plans a smaller Ramadan gathering as
the war in Gaza continues
Asma Khalid
April 1, 2024
President Biden plans to meet Tuesday with a small
group of Muslims and Arab Americans at the White House, including community
leaders and doctors who've recently aided patients inside Gaza, according to
two people familiar with the White House plans. They spoke on the condition of
anonymity ahead of a public announcement.
The gathering is in lieu of the traditional Ramadan
iftar dinner or Eid celebrations the White House usually hosts with Muslim
leaders, and it comes amid ongoing political tensions given the war in Gaza.
The goal, according to people familiar with the plans,
is to allow guests to have a "substantive" conversation with the
president about the situation in Gaza. Vice President Harris and national
security adviser Jake Sullivan will also attend, the sources said. Biden last
met with Muslim and Arab-American leaders at the White House in late October.
The sources said the White House had initially planned
to host a small, solemn Ramadan dinner Tuesday evening, but plans changed after
a number of Muslim invitees said they did not feel comfortable dining at the White
House while scores of Palestinians are on the brink of starvation.
The White House still intends to host a small iftar
dinner later Tuesday evening for a dozen or so Muslim staffers — a scaled-down
version of the traditional celebration.
White House officials appear to be trying to balance
competing pressures by hosting events that reflect the somber mood in the
Muslim community because of the war and also curb the possibility of public
interruptions or protests.
Asked during Monday's White House press briefing about
plans for an iftar dinner on Tuesday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did
not have any further details, though last week she said the White House was
"committed" to marking the Muslim holidays.
The White House has wrestled for months with growing
discontent from a subset of Democratic voters over the president's Middle East
policies.
During the Michigan primaries in February, there was
an organized effort to vote "uncommitted" to pressure the Biden
administration to call for a cease-fire. Similar efforts cropped up in
primaries that followed around the country.
Last month, when senior administration officials
traveled to Chicago — the site of this summer's Democratic convention — one of
the meetings had to be canceled because local leaders refused to sit down with
White House staff. Some Muslim and Arab-American leaders declined invitations
to meet with campaign officials in Michigan in January too.
There's been ongoing debate among Muslim and
Arab-American community leaders about the merits of engaging with this White
House, after more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and the
United States continues to supply weapons to Israel unconditionally.
Some Muslim leaders insist talking to the president
and his team is the best way to push for foreign policy changes.
Still, agreeing to meet with administration officials
has become akin to crossing a picket line; Muslims who do can face immense
community pressure. There remains internal community pressure on some Muslim
invitees to not attend this week's event.
White House iftar celebrations date back to the
Clinton administration, though the tradition was interrupted by former
President Donald Trump, who didn't hold one during his first year in office,
after issuing an executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority
countries.
In previous years, the Biden administration held
larger Eid celebrations, marking the end of Ramadan. That didn't seem
appropriate this year, according to people familiar with the plans, and the
White House debated how else to mark the Muslim holidays, a source said. There
had been discussion of holding a smaller Ramadan iftar with foreign diplomats
from Muslim-majority countries; that would have been similar to how Trump
marked the holidays in 2018.
Source:
wmfe.org
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---
Mideast
Israeli government says it will block Al Jazeera from
broadcasting
April 02, 2024
TEL AVIV — The Israeli parliament has approved a law
giving the government the power to ban broadcasts of TV channels including Al
Jazeera, the Qatari-owned network.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would
"act immediately" to close the network's local office. The US
expressed concern over the move.
With foreign journalists banned from entering Gaza, Al
Jazeera staff based in the Strip have been some of the only reporters able to
cover the war on the ground.
The Knesset, Israel's parliament, approved the bill
allowing foreign networks considered a threat to national security to be
"temporarily" banned.
The ban would be in place for a period of 45 days at a
time, which could be renewed. The law would stay in force until July or until
the end of significant fighting in Gaza.
"Al Jazeera will no longer be broadcast from
Israel," Netanyahu wrote on Twitter/X, calling the network a
"terrorist channel".
For years, Israeli officials have accused the network
of anti-Israeli bias. But their criticisms of the broadcaster have intensified
since the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7. Authorities claim it has close links with
Hamas, which Al Jazeera vehemently denies.
Al Jazeera did not immediately respond to a request
for comment.
The channel has accused Israel of deliberately
targeting its staff. Journalists including Hamza Al-Dahdouh, the son of Al
Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh, have been killed by Israeli strikes.
Israel denies targeting journalists.
Qatar, where Al Jazeera is headquartered, is mediating
talks between Israel and Hamas over the now almost six-month long conflict.
Previous negotiations mediated by Qatar led to a temporary ceasefire and the
release of 105 Israeli hostages.
It is not clear, though, if the move by Israel will
affect the ceasefire talks. Israel has previously banned a smaller Lebanese
channel, Al Mayadeen, from operating in the country.
"If it is true, a move like this is
concerning," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when
asked about the proposed ban.
The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into
southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages,
according to Israeli tallies. About 130 of the hostages remain in captivity, at
least 34 of whom are presumed dead.
More than 32,800 Palestinians have been killed and
75,000 injured in Gaza since Israel launched its military campaign, according
to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. It says 70% of those killed were women and
children.
Al Jazeera first launched in 1996 and shook up the
media landscape in the Middle East by airing criticisms of governments and
rulers in the region.
Al Jazeera said it was the first Arabic channel to
feature Israeli politicians and commentators on the air. — BBC
Source:
saudigazette.com.sa
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---
After 14 days, Israel turned Al-Shifa Hospital into
'death complex,' say eyewitnesses
Ahmed Asmar
01.04.2024
The Israeli army committed "horrific
massacres" in the course of its devastating raid on Al-Shifa Hospital in
western Gaza City, according to witnesses.
Three Palestinian witnesses who were inside the
hospital during the two-week incursion on the hospital and its surrounding area
spoke to Anadolu.
The Israeli army withdrew from the hospital early
Monday after a 14-day raid, leaving behind dozens of people dead and a trail of
massive destruction.
Nurse Loay Abu Asi was working inside Al-Shifa
Hospital's surgery building when the Israeli army raided the hospital at dawn
on March 18.
"Before storming the hospital, a room inside the
surgery building was hit, leaving some displaced people killed, along with some
medical staff injured. After that, the gate's hospital was stormed and all the
hospital's buildings were under the Israeli forces' blockade," Loay
recounted.
He said that Israeli forces then began warning people
inside through loudspeakers not to move or stand in front of the windows.
"We stayed for 24 hours inside the building
without moving, while the Israeli bullets were hitting the building, and
communications and electricity were cut off and there was no water or
food," Loay added.
The next day, Israeli forces ordered people inside the
surgery building to leave, arrested dozens, and telling others to evacuate
towards southern the Gaza Strip.
They then ordered medical staff to exit the building,
he said, adding: "They arrested a number of doctors, forced them to take
off their clothes and tortured them inside the hospital's yard."
"They were calling us by name one by one,
interrogating us while being stripped of our clothes," Loay said.
Loay said he was also arrested for 12 hours, interrogated
and beaten before being released. After that, he was locked along with other
medical staff and patients inside another building of the hospital for five
days with no food, water, or medicine.
The nurse said some of the patients' wounds had rotted
as they could receive no medical care.
Also speaking on his experiences inside the hospital
during the raid, Hasan Al-Mansi, an injured patient, said he was interrogated
by Israeli forces and forced to move from one building to another under heavy
fire.
"Every person must pass in front of a camera for
the Israeli army, then taken into interrogation," Al-Mansi said, adding
that a number of patients, medical staff and displaced people were arrested by
the Israeli forces.
Meanwhile, Abdel-Fattah al-Zaharneh a local resident
living near the hospital, told Anadolu that he saw people being killed by
Israeli forces, with their corpses laid down on the surrounding streets while
Israeli bulldozers were ran them over.
"There was no water, no food. Here there was death
and destruction. We were forced to drink unusable water," al-Zaharneh
said.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the
Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas which killed some 1,200
people.
At least 32,845 Palestinians have since been killed
and nearly 75,400 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of
necessities. Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving
its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of
starvation.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population
into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and
medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or
destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International
Court of Justice (ICJ), which on Thursday asked Israel to do more to prevent
famine in Gaza.
Source:
aa.com.tr
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/after-14-days-israel-turned-al-shifa-hospital-into-death-complex-say-eyewitnesses/3181008
---
Netanyahu shows flexibility in return of Palestinians
to their homes in northern Gaza
Zein Khalil
02.04.2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed
flexibility in agreeing on proposals he rejected in the past on the return of
displaced Palestinians to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli media
reported Monday, citing two informed sources.
The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said an Israeli
delegation in Cairo presented a position to mediators that is more flexible
with regards to the return of the displaced people to the north.
It noted that Mossad spy agency chief David Barnea and
the director of Israel’s internal security service Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, are
expected to return to Cairo after receiving the Palestinian group Hamas's
response to the new Israeli proposals.
Over the past rounds of negotiations, Israel insisted
on the gradual return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza involving only
elderly people, women and children, a condition that was rejected by Hamas,
which insists on the return of all people to their homes in the north.
Hamas is estimated to be holding more than 130 Israeli
hostages, while Israel is holding more than 9,100 Palestinians in its jails.
Hamas demands an end to Israel’s deadly offensive on
the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory for any
hostage-prisoner swap deal with Tel Aviv.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the
Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas which killed some 1,200
people.
Over 32,800 Palestinians have since been killed and
75,300 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its
population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of
starvation.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population
into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and
medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or
destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International
Court of Justice (ICJ), which on Thursday asked Israel to do more to prevent
famine in Gaza.
Source:
aa.com.tr
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/netanyahu-shows-flexibility-in-return-of-palestinians-to-their-homes-in-northern-gaza/3181126
---
Thousands of Israelis call on Netanyahu's gov't to
resign in 2nd day of protests
Zein Khalil
02.04.2024
Thousands of Israelis rallied for a second day on
Monday in front of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in West Jerusalem
demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government resign.
Israel’s Maariv newspaper said the rallies continued
as thousands gathered to demand the return of Israeli captives being held by
the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza and that Netanyahu's government step down
and pave the way for early elections.
The newspaper reported some incidents of rioting
during the protest with Israeli police arresting at least three demonstrators.
On Sunday, nearly 100,000 Israelis gathered in rallies
in West Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other areas across Israel demanding the
government's resignation over the failure to bring back the Israeli hostages
held in Gaza.
Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas are taking
place in both Cairo and Doha aimed at reaching a deal that includes a prisoner
swap under which the Israeli captives would be released in exchange for the
freeing of Palestinians from Israeli jails.
Hamas is estimated to be holding more than 130
Israelis hostage while Israel is holding more than 9,100 Palestinians in its
jails.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the
Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas which killed some 1,200
people.
Over 32,800 Palestinians have since been killed and
75,300 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the
Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on
the verge of starvation.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population
into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and
medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or
destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International
Court of Justice (ICJ), which on Thursday asked it to do more to prevent famine
in Gaza.
Source:
aa.com.tr
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/thousands-of-israelis-call-on-netanyahus-govt-to-resign-in-2nd-day-of-protests/3181137
---
‘US should be answerable’: FM after deadly Israeli
attack on Iran consulate
02 April 2024
Iran’s foreign minister says, as the Israeli regime’s
biggest supporter, the United States should be “answerable” following an
earlier deadly attack by Tel Aviv against the Iranian consulate in the Syrian
capital Damascus.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a post on
X, formerly Twitter, in early Tuesday.
The Monday attack resulted in the martyrdom of
Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander of the Quds Force of Iran's
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), his deputy, and five of their
accompanying officers. Iran's Ambassador to Damascus Hossein Akbari confirmed
that the attack had resulted in the martyrdom of seven people, but said the
exact number of the martyrs was yet to be specified.
Amir-Abdollahian said Iran's Foreign Ministry had
summoned the chargé d'affaires of Switzerland, which represents Washington's
interests in Tehran, after the attack.
‘Important message’
“During the summoning, the dimensions of the Israeli
regime’s terrorist attack and crime were explained, and the American
administration’s responsibility underlined,” read the post by the Iranian top
diplomat.
“An important message was relayed to the American
administration as the Zionist regime’s supporter,” it noted. “The United States
should be answerable.”
The US has historically acted as the regime’s biggest
ally, providing it with billions of dollars in terms of military aid on an
annual basis and shielding Tel Aviv against condemnatory and punitive measures
at the United Nations by vetoing those measures.
Also on Monday, Amir-Abdollahian held a telephone
conversation with HisseinBrahim Taha, secretary-general of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation, urging the body to issue an “appropriate reaction” to the
Israeli atrocity.
For his part, the OIC chief vehemently condemned the
attack, pointing to the regime’s crime-riddled history and condoling with the
Iranian government and nation.
Many regional resistance groups and countries around
the world have strongly condemned the aggression, calling it a recipe for
further escalation.
Separately on Monday, Iran urged the United Nations
Security Council to strongly condemn the Israeli aggression, calling for an
urgent meeting on the regime’s violation.
Writing to the Council, Iran's Deputy Permanent
Representative to the United Nations, Zahra Ershadi denounced the aggression as
a “heinous and abhorrent terrorist attack.”
“These horrific crimes and cowardly terrorist attacks
are a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and
the foundational principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular
premises,” she wrote.
Such atrocities, the letter added, also “pose a
significant threat to regional peace and security.”
According to the letter, Iran urged the Council to
condemn the aggression “in the strongest terms possible,” calling on the body
to take “all necessary measures, including through an urgent meeting, to
address this egregious violation.”
Source:
presstv.ir
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/04/02/722898/Iran-United-States-Israel-attack-Iranian-consulate-Syria-Damascus
---
Iranian President says if Islamic countries paid
attention to Qur’an, enemy would not dare to commit crimes
[02/April/2024]
TEHRAN April 02. 2024 (Saba) - Iranian President
Ibrahim Raisi has confirmed that if Islamic countries paid attention to the
Qur’an, the Zionist enemy entity would not have dared to commit all these
crimes against the Palestinian people.
The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted Raisi
in a speech as saying If Islamic countries paid attention to the Qur’an, the
Zionist entity today would not have the audacity to commit all these crimes.
He added If Islamic countries had trusted the Qur’an
and the Islamic nation instead of trusting America and global arrogance and
followed the life-giving verses of the Qur’an, the conditions of the people of
Gaza and Palestine would have been different from what they are today.
The Iranian President stressed that the Zionist entity
is exploiting the differences between Islamic countries.
He pointed out that the Iranian Constitution in its
principles emphasizes supporting the oppressed and anger against the oppressor,
saying is the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran in defending the
oppressed in Gaza and Palestine.
Source:
saba.ye
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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3317916.htm
---
Iran and Hezbollah vow ‘punishment and revenge’ for strike
that killed IRGC generals
Apr 02, 2024
Iran and Hezbollah vowed Tuesday to respond to a
strike widely attributed to Israel that demolished Tehran’s consulate in
Damascus and killed seven people, including two Iranian generals.
Iran’s state TV reported Tuesday that the country’s
Supreme National Security Council, a key decision-making body, met late Monday
and decided on a “required” response to the strike. The report said the meeting
was chaired by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, but provided no further
details.
In an online statement, Raisi blamed Israel for the
attack, saying the “cowardly crime will not go unanswered.”
“After repeated defeats and failures against the faith
and will of the Resistance Front fighters, the Zionist regime has put blind
assassinations on its agenda in the struggle to save itself,” his statement
added.
It was not clear if Iran would respond itself, risking
a dangerous confrontation with Israel and its ally the United States, or if it
would continue to rely on proxies, including the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror
group and Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
While Israel does not, as a rule, comment on specific
strikes in Syria, it has admitted to conducting hundreds of sorties against
Iran-backed terror groups attempting to gain a foothold in the country over the
last decade. The Israel Defense Forces says it attacks arms shipments believed
to be bound for those groups, chief among them Hezbollah. Additionally,
airstrikes attributed to Israel have repeatedly targeted Syrian air defense
systems.
The airstrike in Syria killed Gen. Mohammad Reza
Zahedi, who led the elite Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016, according
to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. It also killed Zahedi’s deputy, Gen. Mohammad
Hadi Hajriahimi, and five other officers.
Zahedi was reportedly responsible for the IRGC’s
operations in Syria and Lebanon, for Iranian militias there, and for ties with
Hezbollah, and thus the most senior commander of Iranian forces in the two
countries.
Hezbollah said Tuesday that Zahedi played a crucial
role in helping “develop and advance the work” of the group in Lebanon. “This
crime will certainly not pass without the enemy receiving punishment and
revenge,” the terror group said in a statement.
Israel said it had no comment on the attack in Syria,
although a military spokesman blamed Iran for a drone attack early Monday
against a naval base in Eilat in southern Israel.
Faced with ongoing attacks by the Iran-backed
Hezbollah and Shiite militias throughout the Middle East in the wake of Hamas’s
brutal October 7 massacre, which sparked the war in Gaza, Israel has escalated
its strikes on Iran-linked terror targets in Syria, killing numerous IRGC
operatives, as well as members of Hezbollah and other Iranian proxy groups.
Israel has grown increasingly impatient with the daily
exchanges of fire with Hezbollah, which have escalated in recent days, and
warned of the possibility of a full-fledged war. Houthi rebels have also been
launching long-range missiles toward Israel, including on Monday.
Iran’s official news agency IRNA said Tuesday that
Iran relayed an important message to the United States late Monday and that it
called for a meeting of the UN Security Council. The message to Washington was
delivered through a Swiss envoy in Tehran; Switzerland looks after US interests
in Iran.
IRNA said Iran holds the United States responsible for
the strike, though Axios reported Tuesday that the US had told Tehran that it
“had no involvement” in or prior knowledge of the attack on the consulate in
Syria. A senior US official quoted in the report said the message had been
“communicated directly” to Iran.
Source:
timesofisrael.com
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---
Israel airstrike on Gaza kills 7 foreign aid workers
April 02, 2024
GAZA: Citizens from Australia, Britain and Poland were
among seven people working for celebrity chef Jose Andres’ World Central
Kitchen who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza on Monday, the
NGO said.
The workers, who also included Palestinians and a dual
citizen of the United States and Canada, were traveling in two armored cars
emblazoned with the WCK logo and another vehicle, WCK said in a statement.
Despite co-ordinating movements with the Israeli
Defense Force, the convoy was hit as it was leaving its Deir Al-Balah
warehouse, after unloading more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought
to Gaza by sea, WCK said.
“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an
attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations
where food is being used as a weapon of war,” said Erin Gore, chief executive
of World Central Kitchen.
“This is unforgivable.”
The Israeli military said it was doing a thorough
review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of what it called
a tragic incident.
“The IDF makes extensive efforts to enable the safe
delivery of humanitarian aid, and has been working closely with WCK in their
vital efforts to provide food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” the
military said.
Andres, who started WCK in 2010 by sending cooks and
food to Haiti after an earthquake, earlier said he was heartbroken and grieving
for the families and friends of those who died.
“The Israeli government needs to stop this
indiscriminate killing,” he said on social media.
“It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop
killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more
innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start
now.”
In a statement, the Islamist group Hamas said the
attack aimed to terrorize workers of international humanitarian agencies,
deterring them from their missions.
Australia confirms death
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed
the death of 44-year-old aid worker Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom and said his
government had contacted Israel to demand those responsible be held
accountable.
“This is a human tragedy that should never have
occurred, that is completely unacceptable and Australia will seek full and
proper accountability,” he told a press conference on Tuesday.
Albanese said innocent civilians and humanitarian
workers needed to be protected and reiterated his call for a sustainable
ceasefire in Gaza along with more aid to help those suffering from “tremendous
deprivation.”
Video obtained by Reuters showed paramedics moving
bodies into a hospital and displaying the passports of three of those killed.
“We are heartbroken and deeply troubled by the strike
that killed @WCKitchen aid workers in Gaza,” US National Security Council
spokesperson Adrienne Watson said on social media.
“Humanitarian aid workers must be protected as they
deliver aid that is desperately needed, and we urge Israel to swiftly
investigate what happened.”
WCK said it was pausing its operations in the region
immediately and would make decisions soon about the future of its work.
WCK delivers food relief and prepares meals for people
in need. It said last month it had served more than 42 million meals in Gaza
over 175 days.
WCK was involved in the first shipment of aid to Gaza
via a sea corridor from Cyprus in March. A second WCK maritime aid shipment of
332 tons arrived in Gaza early this week.
Since starting operations in 2010, the organization
has delivered food for communities hit by natural disasters, refugees at the US
border, health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and people in
conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
Source:
arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2486646/middle-east
---
Africa
ISIS Terrorists Ambush Nigerien Soldiers, Capture,
Destroy Sophisticated Weapons
April 1, 2024
The extremist armed group Islamic State (ISIS)
militants have carried out an ambush against the Nigerien Army in Tillabéri.
The ambush was a shocking development in the ongoing
conflict between terrorists and Niger military.
The aftermath of the attack has also revealed some
disturbing details about the sophisticated weapons that the militants were able
to capture and destroy.
One of the most striking pieces of equipment that fell
into the hands of the terrorists was a South Africa-made OTT Technologies' Puma
M36 MK5 MRAP.
The heavily armoured vehicle, originally donated by
the United States, was a crucial asset for the Nigerien Army in their fight
against terrorism, the report indicated.
"Its loss represents a significant blow to the
military capabilities of the country and raises concerns about the security
situation in the region."
In addition to the MRAP, the terrorists also
"seized a rare Singapore-made STK/CIS 40 AGL auto grenade launcher. This
weapon is known for its high accuracy and devastating firepower, making it a
prized possession for any armed group. The fact that ISIS was able to capture
such a sophisticated piece of equipment is a troubling sign of their growing
strength and influence in the region.
"They also acquired a cache of 107mm Chinese Type
63-2 HE rockets, as well as KPV and Type 85 heavy machine guns. These weapons
are highly destructive and capable of causing widespread damage, posing a
serious threat to the security and stability of the region.
"The presence of such advanced weaponry in the
hands of ISIS militants is a cause for concern and underscores the need for
increased international support to combat the growing terrorist threat in
Niger.
"In addition to the heavy weaponry, the militants
also seized a number of AKM/Type 56 assault rifles. These rifles are commonly
used by insurgent groups around the world and are known for their reliability
and effectiveness in combat."
According to the Family Writers Press International,
for the fact that ISIS was able to acquire a significant number of these rifles
further highlights their ability to outgun and outmaneuver the Nigerien Army.
"The implications of this ambush are clear - ISIS
is gaining ground and becoming more emboldened in their attacks on Nigerien
security forces. The sophisticated weaponry that they have been able to capture
demonstrates their growing capabilities and poses a serious threat to the
stability of the region.
"The international community must step up its
support for Niger in order to prevent further escalation of the conflict and to
ensure the security of the country and its people.
"The ambush in Tillabéri and the subsequent
capture of advanced weaponry by ISIS militants is a troubling development that
highlights the growing threat of terrorism in Niger. The loss of the MRAP and
other sophisticated weapons is a significant setback for the Nigerien Army and
underscores the need for increased support from the international community.
"It is crucial that the government of Niger and
its allies take decisive action to combat ISIS and prevent further attacks on
innocent civilians and security forces. Failure to do so could have dire
consequences for the stability and security of the region."
Source:
saharareporters.com
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https://saharareporters.com/2024/04/01/isis-terrorists-ambush-nigerien-soldiers-capture-destroy-sophisticated-weapons
----
Ethiopia to repatriate 70,000 nationals from Saudi
Arabia
01 Apr 2024
Ethiopia will repatriate some 70,000 of its nationals
living in Saudi Arabia starting early April.
State Minister BirtukanAyano said the repatriation,
the third such programme since 2018, will target “Ethiopians who are in a
difficult situation”.
During the announcement last week the minister didn't
specify whether the returnees have been living in Saudi Arabia legally.
Regional administrations are expected to ensure the
returnees resettle in their native home areas.
According to a government dispatch, repatriation
expenses will include flight tickets, temporary holding at transition centres
in Addis Ababa and some money to restart life.
Ethiopia currently hosts about 917,000 refugees from
neighbouring countries such as Yemen.
Data from the Ethiopian Refugees and Returnees Service
(RSS) also estimates that four million Ethiopians have been displaced due to
the nation's own conflicts and environmental hardships.
There have been funding cuts meant for these groups,
however.
On March 22, RRS and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
gathered stakeholders in Addis Ababa “with the intent to reach common
understanding on the rising fund cut for the refugee operation in Ethiopia and
to stand together to respond to the crises thereon.”
They said they were “urging partners and donors to
contribute the much-needed fund to respond to the burning needs of refugees and
asylum seekers.”
In March 2022, Addis Ababa struck a deal with Riyad to
repatriate over 100,000 of its nationals. It came as rights groups’ accused
Saudi Arabia of mistreating foreign labourers.
Source:
africanews.com
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---
Kebbi Govt Tackles Imam Over Claims Of Political
Victimisation
HARUNA USMAN
Apr 2, 2024
BIRNIN KEBBI –
Commissioner, Ministry for Religious Affairs, Alhaji Muhammadu Sani Aliyu, has
distanced the Kebbi state government from the claim of the chief Imam of Wala
jumuat mosque BirninKebbi, AlhajiRufai Ibrahim, that he was relieved of his
job because he belongs to the PDP.
Briefing journalist in BirninKebbi, the commissioner
stated that the chief imam voluntarily resigned for reasons best known to him,
though confirmed that his anger may nor be unconnected with the welfare done
to imams of jumuat mosques by Idris government, which the now former chief
imam claimed was shortchanged.
Shading more light on the controversy surrounding his
resignation, Aliyu said his allegations of under-payment were untrue after
investigations by the committee and DSS where he took the matter too.
He further stated that, Idris has never meddle into
any religious or any issue as there are relevant bodies concerned where
complaints can be channeled too ” we do not have hand in it and it has no
political inclination, he resigned and the local appointed his deputy to take
over pending the appointment of the new chief imam.
However, the chief imam of the mosque,MalamRufai
Ibrahim who could not be reached was heard in a video circulating on social
media that the person who brought the money threatened him over the phone when
he demanded why the money was brought incomplete hence his reason to report
the matter to the police and DSS.
Source:
independent.ng
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https://independent.ng/kebbi-govt-tackles-imam-over-claims-of-political-victimisation/
---
Obi Takes One-Nigeria Message To Onitsha Mosque On
Easter Day
Apr 2, 2024
The
presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Peter
Obi, on Easter Sunday visited Onitsha Central Mosque in Anambra State to pray
with them for a united Nigeria.
Obi said the visit became necessary to show the commitment
of all religions to the oneness and growth of Nigeria.
Writing on his X handle, Obi said, “In continuation of
my Easter activities today, after sharing the Easter joys with the inmates of
Onitsha Correctional Centre, earlier in the day, I was also at the Central
Mosque, Onitsha, to pray with the Muslim community in the city who are in the
last ten days of the Ramadan fasting.
“It was heartwarming to see how they were able to
judiciously deploy the little resources I gave them last year for the
renovation of their mosque.
‘I took time to remind them, and indeed every
Nigerian, of the need to transcend above religion and tribe, but in unity and
brotherly love, continue to work hard for “Our many challenges in our nation
can be conquered by our unity of efforts, collaboration, and mutual respect.
As I have always maintained, no religion, tribe, or political party buys food
cheaper anywhere in Nigeria. We must, therefore, join hands in moving our
nation from consumption to production, for the good of society.
“I shared my little Easter gifts with the community
and appreciated them for their kind words, encouragement, and prayers. Together
as one, we will build the new Nigeria.”
Source:
independent.ng
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https://independent.ng/obi-takes-one-nigeria-message-to-onitsha-mosque-on-easter-day/
---
Ramadan: Bauchi Emir Flags off Distribution of Dangote
Palliatives to Under-privileged Persons
Apr 2, 2024
The Emir of Bauchi AlhajiRilwanuAdamu has flagged off
the distribution of palliatives donated by Aliko Dangote Foundation to the
state.
Speaking yesterday in his palace during the event, the
Emir who was represented by the District Head of Bauchi, AlhajiNuruJumba,
called on other philanthropists to emulate the gesture.
The Emir said prior to the commencement of the Ramadan
fast, there was great concern on the challenges to be faced by many families.
In his remarks, the representative of Dangote
Foundation, Alhaji Sani Suleiman, disclosed that 10 kilogrammes of 25,000 bags
of rice were donated to the state by the Foundation for onward distribution.
Suleiman assured of more support to the state after the Ramadan period.
Also speaking, the Chief Imam of ATBU Mosque, Prof.
Mansur Yelwa, called on the Aliko Dangote Foundation to use Islamic
organisations in reaching out to the needy across the state.
In his remarks, the representative of Dangote
Foundation partners from Cancer Care Nigeria, Mr Zakariah Paul, pledged
sustained collaboration with the Foundation to improve the wellbeing of the
people.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of Bauchi Muslim
Coalition (BMCC) who is spearheading the exercise, Prof. SalisuShehu
represented by Dr Muhammad Alkali,
explained that BMCC came into being during the COVID 19 pandemic to
assist the people during lock down.
He thanked the
Aliko Dangote Foundation for the gesture and assured of continued collaboration
towards providing succour to people.
Source:
thisdaylive.com
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----
Sudan general praises Popular Resistance, dismisses
Islamist alliance claims
April 1, 2024
April 1, 2024 (OMDURMAN)—Sudan’s Assistant Army
Commander, Lieutenant General Yasir Al-Atta, addressed accusations of the army
aligning with Islamists. He emphasized that the military welcomes anyone who
fights alongside them against the “Janjaweed militia”.
Al-Atta’s remarks follow those of Deputy
Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Shams al-Din Kabbashi last week. Kabbashi
warned against political manipulation of the popular resistance movement and
announced a law regulating civilian participation alongside the military.
On Monday, Al-Atta hosted a Ramadan iftar event in
Omdurman for military leaders, government officials, and political figures. He
urged “all actors” to engage with the popular resistance and “form committees
to address shortcomings.”
Al-Atta advocated for a structured, popular
resistance. He envisioned some units collaborating with the army in military
operations, while others work with police on neighborhood security.
Additionally, he proposed committees for humanitarian aid, citizen services,
and “protecting livelihoods.”
The Popular Resistance groups emerged spontaneously
after the RSF militia’s takeover of Al-Jazirah State in December 2023. There
were calls to arm civilians for self-defence against potential RSF violence and
property theft.
Al-Atta cited the RSF and Forces for Freedom and
Change (FFC), claiming their influence persists within the Ministry of Culture
and Information, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Judiciary, and even the
Bank of Sudan. He stated, “They [RSF] and their associates remain embedded
within the state apparatus—in banks, agencies, and the justice system.”
“They shouldn’t use fear tactics to intimidate us by
saying we are remnants of the former regime. “I am Islamist, a communist, and a
red jinn,” Al-Atta declared. “The army is independent, but anyone who fights
with us is welcome.”
He revealed that during the Omdurman liberation
battles, the Popular Resistance contributed six battalions. He also stated they
are preparing seven battalions for the “second phase of operations.”
“Anyone who fights with us is welcome, regardless of
their tribe or political affiliation. The popular resistance operates with
complete discipline under the army’s command,” he said. “The march will go on,
overcoming any obstacles, mines, or challenges, even mountains, to reach its
goal,” he reiterated.
He further urged a discussion with General Abdel
Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Sovereign Council, regarding the 2019
constitutional document signed with the FFC. He declared his rejection of the
document and called for the reinstatement of Sudan’s 2005 transitional
constitution, with the removal of amendments made by the previous regime.
Source:
sudantribune.com
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https://sudantribune.com/article283982/
---
Pakistan
Islamabad Security Centre: Violence Has Increased By
96% In Provinces Bordering Afghanistan
Fidel Rahmati
April 2, 2024
A research center in Pakistan has reported that at
least 432 individuals have been killed in the first three months of the year
2024 as a result of attacks by militant groups, with more than 92% of the total
casualties attributed to two provinces of Pakistan that share a border with
Afghanistan.
The findings of a three-month study by the Center for
Research and Security Studies (CRSS), based in Islamabad, have recently been
released, indicating that in January, February, and March of the current year,
at least 245 terrorist attacks occurred in the country, including limited
instances of counter-terrorism operations.
These attacks in the first three months of 2024 have
resulted in at least 432 deaths and 370 injuries, encompassing civilians,
security personnel, and, in some limited cases, militants who have been killed
in engagements with Pakistani security forces.
The report states that the northwestern provinces of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, both located along the Durand Line (the
border between Pakistan and Afghanistan), accounted for more than 92% of the
total casualties and 86% of the total attacks during this time period.
The findings of this center indicate that in the first
three months of the year 2024, Balochistan witnessed a staggering 96% increase
in violence, with the number of victims rising from 91 in the first three
months of 2023 to 178.
Despite repeated allegations against the Taliban
regime for supporting the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and allowing them to
operate from Afghan soil, the Taliban have consistently rejected such
accusations.
They claim to have no affiliation with the TTP and
assert their commitment to not permitting any individual or group to utilize
Afghan territory as a base for launching attacks against neighbouring
countries, including Pakistan.
Despite these assertions, the accusations persist,
raising concerns about the ongoing security challenges faced by the region.
Source:
khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/islamabad-security-center-violence-has-increased-by-96-in-provinces-bordering-afghanistan/
----
Sindh govt to start repatriation of registered Afghan
nationals after Eid
April 2, 2024
KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to
repatriate more than 67,000 registered Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders to
their home country after Eidul Fitr.
Informed sources told Dawn that a high-level meeting
discussed preparations for repatriation of those Afghans who possessed Afghan
Citizens Cards (ACC) in the light of the decision of the federal government.
The meeting, chaired by Sindh Home Minister Zia
Lanjar, was told that the ACCs, which were issued in 2017, lacked an ‘expiry
date’, the sources said, adding that now the federal government had decided
that all such ACCs stood cancelled.
According to a statement issued after the meeting,
Home Secretary Muhammad Iqbal Memon informed the participants that the ministry
of interior had decided that the second phase of the Illegal Foreigners’
Repatriation Plan (IFRP) would begin after Eid.
He said that action would be taken against illegal
foreigners, including those whose ACC cards and proof of registration (POR)
cards expired in March.
The home minister directed the home secretary to
coordinate with all relevant stakeholders as well as the inspector general of
police to launch the repatriation plan.
The meeting was informed that over 40,000 Afghans
would be repatriated to their country in the first phase.
Besides the home minister and IGP, senior officials of
the army, Rangers, Intelligence Bureau and other institutions attended the
meeting.
Source:
dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1825138/sindh-govt-to-start-repatriation-of-registered-afghan-nationals-after-eid
---
Terrorism to end if Kabul shuts TTP havens: Asif
April 02, 2024
Khalid Mahmood
ISLAMABAD:Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Monday
that Afghanistan was the source of recent wave terrorism in Pakistan, warning
that this cycle would continue until Kabul shut down the training camps and
safe havens of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) there.
Talking to journalists in the Parliament House, Asif
said that he himself had visited Afghanistan with a delegation in the past and
requested the Taliban leaders to stop terrorism in their neighbourhood.
However, he added, the solution presented by the
Afghan side was not workable.
The minister stressed that the Pak-Afghan border
should be the same as the other international borders around the world. “People
come to Pakistan from Afghanistan on visa and do business here,” he said,
adding that this international status of the border was not being respected by
Afghanistan.
Asif reminded that Pakistan had allowed transit of
goods from Afghanistan to India. “We have fought wars and rendered sacrifices
for Afghanistan. But with the ever-changing attitude of the Afghan government, our
options for them are limited.”
Responding to a question, Asif said that investigation
in the Bisham tragedy – the killing of five chinese national in a suicide
bombing last week, was ongoing. “A Chinese investigation team has also joined
and we have found some leads,” he added.
When asked about the targets reportedly set for the
government by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the minister replied that
those target were being met, adding that it would take one and a half years to
give relief to the people.
“We have the means to provide relief to the people but
tax cases worth Rs2,700 billion were pending in courts. Thousands of billions
is being stolen in taxes, electricity, gas, if these things are corrected, the
people will get relief,” he added.
Responding to yet another question about Washington’s
opposition to the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, he said: “America should tell us
about the alternate to Iranian gas. If a neighbour gives us gas at good price,
then we have the right to buy it. America has to understand our economic
situation.”
Source:
tribune.com.pk
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https://tribune.com.pk/story/2461339/terrorism-to-end-if-kabul-shuts-ttp-havens-asif
---
Pakistan strongly condemns Israeli attack on Iranian
Embassy in Syria
April 02, 2024
Pakistan has strongly condemned the attack on the
consular section of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, Syria.
Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in a
statement termed the attack an unacceptable violation of the sovereignty of
Syria and undermining its stability and security.
The spokesperson said the attack is a violation of
international law and the UN Charter. She said attacks against diplomats or
diplomatic facilities are also illegal under the Vienna Convention on
Diplomatic Relations of 1961.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the irresponsible act of the
Israeli forces is a major escalation in an already volatile region.
She called on the UN Security Council to prevent
Israel from its adventurism in the region and its illegal acts attacking its
neighbors and targeting foreign diplomatic facilities.
The spokesperson offered deepest condolences to the
families of the victims and the people and the Government of Iran on behalf of
Pakistan.
Source:
radio.gov.pk
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---
PM vows to ensure best security arrangements for
Chinese workers in Pakistan
April 01, 2024
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif says the
government will ensure the best possible security arrangements for Chinese
engineers, workers and their families in Pakistan.
He was addressing the Chinese engineers and workers at
Dasu dam project site in Koshistan today.
The Prime Minister said our friendship will march
forward and the enemies of this friendship will be defeated comprehensively.
He also expressed condolence with the Chinese
engineers over the loss of five workers in the terrorist incident that took
place on 26th of last month.
He said once the enquiry report by the Committee
concluded exemplary punishment will be given to the perpetrators of this
incident.
The Prime Minister said the government will not leave
any stone unturned to punish the culprits involved in the terrorist attack.
He said the security of the Chinese brothers and
sisters is our responsibility as they support us in making Pakistan prosperous
and progressive.
On this occasion, thirty seconds of silence was also
observed in the memories of Chinese engineers.
The Chinese engineers and workers as well as
Ambassador of China to Pakistan thanked Prime Minister for expressing
solidarity with them.
Source:
radio.gov.pk
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----
KP CM Meets Imran In Jail, Discusses Pending Cases
April 02, 2024
RAWALPINDI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali
Amin Gandapur met Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan in Rawalpindi’s
Adiala Jail on Monday.
Ali Amin Gandapur had a meeting with the PTI founder
for an hour and this meeting was held in the conference room of the jail.
Sources said that party matters and issues related to
the KP province were discussed in the meeting.
Sources said that in the meeting, there was a
discussion on the pending cases including the rally held on Sunday and the
political situation in the country.
Source:
thenews.com.pk
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----
PTI hails Toshakhana case relief, says bids to break
Khan failed miserably
April 01, 2024
KARACHI: Rauf Hassan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI) spokesperson, on Monday said the suspension of Imran Khan and his spouse
Bushra Bibi sentence in the Toshakhana case by the Islamabad High Court (IHC),
was a positive development, and hopefully more good news were in store for the
party founder.
“All the efforts to undermine Imran Khan physically
and politically fell flat on their face,” he said in a statement, hoping the
country would soon break free from the clutches of fascism.
According to Hassan, the sentence of the founder of
PTI has only been suspended, it has not been overturned, and the Toshakhana
case against the founder of PTI is one of the most absurd ones.
The spokesperson said that perhaps the IHC chief
justice realised today that the punishment in Toshakhana could not be
maintained legally and morally. "PTI has never said at any stage that they
do not trust the courts," Hassan added.
He said the theft of the mandate on February 8 was
clear as daylight, adding, that the founder of PTI had been made a target of
the worst political revenge, and the system completely collapsed as a result.
“The PTI mandate was ambushed on February 8. The
election results on the night of 8th were different from the ones on the
morning of February 9 and the courts had apparently become Kangaroo courts or
were being toyed with by the establishment,” Hassan said.
Moreover, the party also raised objections to the
formation of a seven-member bench in response to the matter of the high court
judges' letter alleging spy agencies' intervention in judicial affairs.
Hassan stated that the matter of the judges' letter
was extremely important, and the formation of the seven-member bench was unacceptable.
He demanded a full court and immediate action on the judges' letter.
The spokesperson said that former chief justice
Tassaduq Jillani was a very good person. "His son wrote a letter along
with other lawyers demanding action according to the contents of the letter,
after former chief justice of Pakistan, Tassaduq Jillani, refused to head the
commission, the [suo moto] notice was taken, and a full bench should be
constituted immediately on the case," he added.
Source:
thenews.com.pk
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---
Australia
Australia's premier demands accountability from Israel
over aid worker's killing in Gaza
DiyarGuldogan
02.04.2024
Australia's prime minister on Tuesday demanded
accountability from Israel over the killing of an Australian aid worker in the
Gaza Strip.
"Australia expects full accountability for the
deaths of aid workers, which is completely unacceptable," Anthony Albanese
told reporters.
His remarks came after five people working for the
World Central Kitchen (WCK), including four foreigners, were killed on Monday
in an Israeli airstrike on their vehicle in Deir al-Balah city in the central
Gaza Strip.
A director of the Government Media Office in Gaza said
Israel struck a foreign team that consists of British, Polish and Australian
nationals and another nationality still not identified, in addition to a
Palestinian from Gaza.
Photos emerging on Palestinian social media accounts
showed the passports of the foreigners who were killed in the airstrike,
including from Australia, Poland and the UK, as well as dead bodies with WCK
T-shirts.
Albanese confirmed the death of aid worker Lalzawmi
"Zomi" Frankcom and conveyed his condolences to her family and
friends.
"Aid workers and those doing humanitarian work
and indeed all innocent civilians need to be provided with protection," he
stressed.
Australia already contacted the Israeli government
directly, he added.
“The truth is that this is beyond any reasonable
circumstance that someone going about, providing aid and humanitarian
assistance, should lose their life. There were four aid workers as well as a
Palestinian driver in this vehicle,” the prime minister said.
"This is a human tragedy that should never have
occurred, that is completely unacceptable.”
- 'This is a tragedy'
The WCK confirmed that its members had been killed in
an Israeli attack while working to support humanitarian food delivery efforts
in Gaza, saying: "This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and
civilians should NEVER be a target. EVER."
WCK founder Jose Andres said the organization lost
"several of our sisters and brothers" in the Israeli airstrike in
Gaza.
"I am heartbroken and grieving for their families
and friends and our whole WCK family. These are people…angels…I served
alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Türkiye, Morocco, the Bahamas, Indonesia. They are
not faceless…they are not nameless,” Andres said on X.
"The Israeli government needs to stop this
indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop
killing civilians and aid workers and stop using food as a weapon. No more
innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start
now,” he added.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, said it was
conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the
circumstances of the "tragic" incident.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the
Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas
which killed some 1,200 people.
Over 32,800 Palestinians have since been killed and
75,300 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the
Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on
the verge of starvation.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population
into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and
medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or
destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International
Court of Justice (ICJ), which on Thursday asked it to do more to prevent famine
in Gaza.
Source:
aa.com.tr
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---
Southeast
Asia
PM Anwar: Islamic organisations must continue to play
role in fostering unity
02 Apr 2024
KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri
Anwar Ibrahim hopes that Islamic organisations in Malaysia will continue to
play a central role in driving efforts to educate the people and foster unity
in the country’s plural society.
Anwar conveyed his hope in a post on his official
Facebook page after receiving a courtesy call from the leadership of
WadahPencerdasanUmat Malaysia (Wadah) yesterday, led by its president Datuk
Ahmad Azam Abdul Rahman.
The prime minister said that the meeting revolved
around the challenges confronting the dakwah movement, Islamic thought and the
role of non-governmental organisations in addressing Muslim issues on the
international stage.
In a separate posting, Anwar made a donation to
CheGayah, the wife of FuadYaacob, the chairman of the Malaysian Padi Farmers
Brotherhood Organisation (PeSAWAH), who died on March 23.
The donation was delivered by Anwar’s political
secretary Ahmad Farhan Fauzi, who visited CheGayah yesterday.
“I pray for his soul to be blessed by Allah SWT and
placed among the righteous,” said Anwar.
Fuad was known for his unwavering dedication to
advocating for the rights of rice farmers, regardless of their backgrounds, and
for boldly speaking out against every difficulty faced by the community. —
Bernama
Source:
malaymail.com
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---
Thai same-sex marriage bill passes first reading
02 Apr 2024
BANGKOK, April 2 — The Thai senate passed the first
reading of a bill to legalise same-sex marriage today, taking the kingdom
another step closer to becoming the first South-east Asian country to recognise
marriage equality.
Thailand has long enjoyed an international reputation
for tolerance of the LGBTQ community, but activists have struggled for decades
against conservative attitudes and values.
The lower house easily passed the law last week and
the legislation has moved to the country’s unelected senate, which is stacked
with conservative appointees named by the last junta.
“The senators voted to pass the bill with 147 agreed,
four against and seven abstaining,” said senate deputy president
SingsukSingpai.
Earlier, senators debated the legislation which would
change references to “men”, “women”, “husbands” and “wives” in the marriage law
to gender-neutral terms.
“Now I have faith in this country, that it can eventually
change,” campaigner NaiyanaSupapung told AFP as she watched the debate, ahead
of the vote.
The legislation will now pass to a committee for
further consideration. The senate cannot reject the proposed changes but can
send the bill back to the lower house for further debate for 180 days.
It will come back for two more senate votes, with the
next probably no earlier than July.
LGBTQ activist and a representative of the bill,
ChanyaRattanathada, thanked parliament ahead of the vote.
“The world is watching, and I thank everyone for
making this happen.”
‘Proud of our pride’
Prime Minister SretthaThavisin said he was “proud of
our pride” after the lower house voted to approve the bill in a 399-10
landslide.
“The passing (of this law) in the parliament today is
a proud moment for Thai society who will walk together towards social equality
and respect differences,” he wrote on social media platform X.
Across Asia, only Taiwan and Nepal recognise same-sex
marriage. Last year, India’s highest court deferred the decision to parliament,
and Hong Kong’s top court stopped just short of granting full marriage rights.
LGBTQ activists celebrated last Wednesday’s vote as a
significant milestone on the road to equality.
PaulieNatayaPaomephan, who won Miss Trans Thailand in
2023, said until recently she had never dreamed that transgender people would
be able to legally marry in Thailand.
“I think it is because politicians have to adapt
themselves to the changing world,” she told AFP, adding that she and her
boyfriend of three years planned to marry if the law passed.
The prime minister has been vocal in his support for
the LGBTQ community, making the marriage equality policy a signature issue and
telling reporters last year that the change would strengthen family structures.
Opinion polls reported by local media show the law has
overwhelming support among Thais.
While Thailand has a reputation for tolerance, much of
the Buddhist-majority country remains conservative, and LGBTQ people, while
highly visible, still face barriers and discrimination.
Activists have been pushing for same-sex marriage
rights for more than a decade, but in a kingdom where politics is regularly
upended by coups and mass street protests, their advocacy did not get far.
Activist Ann WaaddaoChumaporn said she knew of dozens
of LGBTQ couples ready to tie the knot once the law is passed, which she hoped
would happen this year.
“Once the law is enforced, yes of course, it will
change Thai society,” she told AFP.
“It will inspire other fights for other equalities.” —
AFP
Source:
malaymail.com
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---
Japan resumes funding to embattled Palestinian refugee
agency UNRWA
Apr 02, 2024
TOKYO: Japan on Tuesday said it will lift its
suspension of funding to the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) as the
relief body works to regain trust after an allegation that some of its staff
were involved in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Japan, the sixth-biggest donor to the agency, and 15
other countries paused about $450 million in funding following the allegation
by Israel in January, throwing the agency’s operations in the war-torn Gaza
Strip into turmoil.
Countries including Australia and Canada have since
restored funding to the UNRWA, the largest relief body operating in Gaza, which
has been besieged by Israel since the attack.
Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, who met UNRWA
head Philippe Lazzarini in Tokyo last week, said the agency’s role in
addressing the Gaza crisis was “indispensable” even as it works to improve
governance and manage risks.
“Japan will lift the moratorium on its financial
contributions to UNRWA and provide assistance while ensuring and confirming the
appropriateness of Japan’s funds,” Kamikawa told reporters, adding that about
$35 million of originally planned funding was ready to be released.
A senior foreign ministry official later told a press
briefing that Japan could not comment on the veracity of Israel’s allegations
due to an ongoing investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight
Services.
Japan to resume funding to UN Palestinian refugee
agency
The UNRWA fired some staff following the allegations.
It later said some employees released into Gaza from
Israeli detention reported having been pressured by Israeli authorities into
falsely stating that staff took part in the Oct. 7 attack, according to a
report by the agency dated February.
A separate review of the UNRWA’s activities and
neutrality led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna is expected
to publish its final report later this month.
Source:
brecorder.com
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---
Myanmar Junta Conscripts Muslims To Fight Muslims
Apr 02, 2024
The Myanmar military has dispatched Muslim conscripts
to fight fellow Muslims in the Southeast Asian nation’s west where fierce
fighting has taken a heavy toll on the junta over the last five months.
Leaders of the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed
organization (EAO) fighting the junta since it toppled the elected government
of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, shies away from being described as
Muslim-based, claiming to be a secular-based militia with a large number of
Buddhists within its ranks.
However, civic leaders have accused the Tatmadaw, the
local name for the army, of using conscription to drive a wedge between the
Islamic community.
One report and People’s Defence Force (PDF) sources,
attached to the armed wing of the opposition National Unity Government (NUG),
said more than 1,000 Rohingya Muslims were sheltering inside the Kyauk Ta Lone
displacement camp when junta troops arrived in late February and began
registering young people eligible for the draft in western Rakhine state.
They have since returned, enforced military training
with Battalion 34 and have been ordered to the frontlines amid clashes with the
Arakan Army around Mala Kyun, PyaingSaeke, and Thit Poke Taung villages over
the last month.
Arakan leaders had urged Muslims to relocate into
liberated areas to avoid forced recruitment but “after we fled, over 100 men
left at the camp were detained and tortured,” said one Muslim.
Further reports of torture are also filtering in from
across the Mae Sot-Myawaddy frontier where sources aligned with the PDF are
blaming the Pyu Saw Htee, a network of pro-military villagers, for terrorizing
local populations.
They include a CNN report investigating the deaths of
Phoe Tay, 21, and Thar Htaung, 20 — members of a local armed resistance group
in northwest Myanmar — and the use of terror tactics, including burnings and
decapitations.
“It’s painful,” one PDF source said. “People fear not
only the military but also civilian terrorists, the Pyu Saw Htee, which are
civilian militias formed by the military.
“These Pyu Saw Htee militias are armed by the
military, and they kill PDF supporters and PDF soldiers, they punish and inform
the military,” she said. “They also steal things from people, kidnap and molest
young women.”
Unconfirmed reports include the abduction of 12
civilians including one “for banging pots” in Kyi MyinDaing. Another report,
which was confirmed by the PDF source, said the junta had tried to forcibly
recruit a male named Amanullah near Yangon on March 29.
“He was a Muslim and he can’t eat pork. They forced
him to eat pork during training and he refused. So, they beat him to death,”
she told UCA News.
Source:
ucanews.com
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----
IGP: Self-proclaimed Israeli assassin bought gun in
Thailand
02 Apr 2024
KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 — An Israeli man who entered
Malaysia with a professed aim of killing a compatriot had purchased a gun in
Thailand beforehand, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Razarudin Husain
said today.
He said the investigation is ongoing but has since
been widened to incorporate the man’s illegal possession of a firearm.
“Currently, our investigation is focusing on securing
over 23 witnesses to determine whether the case under [Firearms Act] can be
presented to the Attorney General’s Chambers,” he said during a press
conference today.
The IGP said investigators learned that firearms could
be purchased off the black market in Thailand for at least RM10,000 each.
He said the Israeli’s ability to enter Malaysia with
the weapon showed that there were clear weaknesses with border security.
The man was detained at a hotel here on March 29 and
was initially investigated for violating the Passport Act by unlawfully
entering the country.
The IGP also said that investigators were still trying
to locate the other Israeli that the man had threatened to kill.
“But we still need to investigate whether he actually
exists, or if it could be just their excuse as the motive,” he said, adding
that the discovery was important for public safety and national security.
Source:
malaymail.com
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---
Another Malaysia store attacked over 'Allah' socks
APR 02, 2024
KUALA LUMPUR - A second store belonging to a Malaysian
chain that had offered socks bearing the word “Allah” for sale has been
attacked with a Molotov cocktail, police said on April 1.
The incident happened on March 31, a day after a
similar attack on another store in a different city.
“A glass bottle filled with kerosene was thrown” at a
KK Supermart branch in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, on Malaysia’s Borneo
island, local police chief AhsmonBajah said in a statement.
Boxes containing mineral water bottles, which were
stacked outside the shop, caught fire.
The two attacks came days after the mini-market
chain’s executives were charged with hurting religious feelings over the sale
of the socks at another of its stores.
No arrests have been made in either attack, police
said.
Pictures of the socks spread on social media last
month, sparking public outrage among some Muslims who regarded them as
insulting, especially because they went up for sale during the holy fasting
month of Ramadan.
Islam is the official religion in Malaysia and
Malay-Muslims make up more than two-thirds of the population of 34 million.
Race and religion are thorny issues in Malaysia, which
witnessed deadly racial riots in 1969.
KK Super Mart CEO Chai KeeKan, 57, and his wife, who
is a company director, were charged last month with “deliberately intending to
hurt the religious feelings” of Malaysians, according to a charge sheet seen by
AFP.
Three officials from supplier Xin Jian Chang were also
charged with abetting them.
All five pleaded not guilty and face a maximum jail
term of one year or a fine, or both, if convicted.
The case drew a rare royal rebuke from Malaysia’s
king, who called for an investigation and “strict action” against any guilty
party. KK Supermart, Malaysia’s second-largest mini-market chain, has
apologised for the socks, saying it viewed the matter “seriously” and had taken
action to stop their sale immediately.
The supplier also apologised, saying the “problematic
socks were part of a larger shipment of 18,800 pairs ordered” from China. AFP
Source:
straitstimes.com
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/another-malaysia-store-attacked-over-allah-socks
---
Indonesia Condemns Israeli Attack on Iran Embassy in
Syria
2 April 2024
NABIILA AZZAHRA
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government issued a
statement on Tuesday, April 2, condemning the Israeli attack on the Iranian
Embassy building in Damascus, Syria, on Monday, April 1. Iran confirmed that
the bombs killed seven of its military advisers, including three senior
commanders.
“Indonesia strongly condemns the Israeli attack
against the Iranian diplomatic premise and facilities in Damascus,” the
Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on its X social media.
The attack, the ministry said, was a direct violation
of international law and the United Nations or UN Charter. “It is yet another
dangerous action by Israel that will further escalate conflict in the region
and diminish the prospect of a lasting peace,” it added.
Indonesia's statement echoed that of Iran's
representative at the UN, who described the attack as a "flagrant
violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the
foundational principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular
premises."
The strike was also deemed "a significant threat
to regional peace and security". Iran urged the UN Security Council to
condemn the attack. It also claimed that Tehran has the right "to take a
decisive response."
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad was seen at the
site along with Syrian Home Affairs Minister Mohammad Khaled al-Rahmoun. “We
strongly condemn this atrocious terrorist attack that targeted the Iranian consulate
building in Damascus and killed a number of innocents,” Mekdad said as reported
by Reuters.
Source:
tempo.co
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---
Indonesia, Saudi Arabia to reprint copies of Quran in
sign language
April 1, 2024
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Ministry of
Religious Affairs and the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Religious Affairs,
Endowments, and Dawah will reprint copies of the Quran in sign language.
The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Jakarta announced the
plan at the launch of "Iqro'na," a practical guide for learning the
Quran in Braille, on Monday, according to AmienSuyitno, an official at the
Indonesian religious ministry.
"This step will help provide copies of the Quran
in sign language more widely to people with special needs throughout the
world," Suyitno said.
The copies of the Quran in sign language were first
printed by LajnahPenastihan Mushaf Al-Quran under the Indonesian Ministry of
Religious Affairs.
The mass reprinting will be carried out by Majma Malik
Fahd Li Thibaah Mushaf Syarif, the printing agency under the Saudi religious
ministry.
"This is the commitment of the ministry to
provide inclusive and equitable services for all people, in accordance with the
government's vision of building a more just and equal society," Suyitno
said.
Meanwhile, the religious attaché of the Saudi Arabian
Embassy, Al-Hazmi, expressed his admiration for the sign language version of
the Quran by LajnahPenastihan.
He said the Saudi Kingdom would double the production
of this version in Medina.
?????"This Quran will be a reading source for our
brothers and sisters who have special needs throughout the world," he
said.
Source:
antaranews.com
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---
One of Penang’s earliest Islamic scholars to have road
named after him, says exco
02 Apr 2024
Ian McIntyre
THE road in front of one of the country’s oldest
formal religious schools – SekolahMenengahKebangsaan Agama (Lelaki) Al-Mashoor
– will soon be named as Jalan S. A. Abdullah Bukhari – one of the state's
earliest Islamic scholars.
Confirming a state circular shared with The Vibes,
Penang executive councillor for infrastructure development ZairilKhir Johari
said that a section off Jalan Air Itam will soon be gazetted as Jalan S. A.
Abdullah Bukhari.
“It is the stretch in front of the school. It is only
appropriate considering he was one of the teachers who taught at the school. We
hope to have the road name made official soon.”
Zairil said that the main road of Jalan Air Itam will
continue to be maintained owing to its strong affinity that the islanders have
with the name and its brand as a neighbourhood.
Air Itam is regarded as the island’s main
working-class neighbourhood with a section divided between the Penang Hill
enclave to the New Air Itam township of Farlim and the commercial area of Air
Itam.
In another development, Zairil hoped that residents
can be understanding about the upcoming construction work that will take place
throughout the state, as plans firm up for the proposed RM10.5 billion light rail
transit system (LRT) project.
Echoing what Chief Minister Chow KonYeow mentioned
yesterday that there is a need for residents to put up with the range of
construction works needed to align the LRT, Zairil said that a little sacrifice
is needed to ensure that the state can enjoy good connectivity.
The LRT has received the final nod from cabinet, with
earthworks scheduled to begin in the third quarter of this year to construct a
29-km-long line that will stretch from the ongoing reclaimed Silicon Island off
BatuMaung to the state administrative seat of Komtar in George Town.
It will then stretch in a straight line from Komtar to
Penang Sentral through a rail bridge across the Penang Channel.
It also remains to be seen if the LRT line will be
connected with the suburban enclaves of PulauTikus and TanjungBungah as it was
stated earlier. – The Vibes, April 2, 2024.
Source:
thevibes.com
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---
Arab
World
Yemen condemns Zionist aggression against Iranian
consulate in Damascus
[02/April/2024]
SANA'A April 02. 2024 (Saba) - The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs has condemned in the strongest terms the Zionist attack on the Iranian
consulate in Damascus.
In a statement, the Ministry considered the attack a
blatant violation of customs and laws and an aggression against the sovereignty
of two brotherly countries.
The statement said, "Such practices are a clear
expression of the state of bankruptcy and confusion that the Zionist entity is
experiencing as a result of its miserable failure in Gaza, despite all the
forms of crime and brutality it has done against civilians."
The statement stressed that this behavior, which is
outside all laws of war and human values and norms, comes within the framework
of continued American support and Zionist-American revenge for the right and
honorable positions of both Iran and Syria towards the just Palestinian cause.
It affirmed the Republic of Yemen's solidarity with
Iran and Syria and supports their right to respond in accordance with the right
of self-defense.
Source:
saba.ye
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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3317917.htm
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Saudi Arabia condemns targeting of Iranian consulate
in Syria
April 02, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has condemned the targeting of
the Iranian consulate building in the Syrian capital Damascus, a foreign
ministry statement said early Tuesday.
On Monday, suspected Israeli warplanes bombed Iran’s
consulate in Syria, a marked escalation in a war pitting Israel against its
regional adversaries, and Tehran said the strike killed seven military advisers
including three senior commanders.
The foreign ministry expressed “the Kingdom’s
categorical rejection of targeting diplomatic facilities for any justification,
and under any pretext.”
Saudi Arabia said the attack is a violation of
international diplomatic laws and the rules of diplomatic immunity.
Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jasem
Mohamed Al-Budaiwi also denounced the attack.
He reiterated the importance of adhering to
international laws, treaties and diplomatic immunities.
Source:
arabnews.com
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click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2486601/saudi-arabia
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Ramadan Bazaar brings Saudi culture to life in US
April 01, 2024
Riyadh: The Saudi cultural attache’s office in the US
brought the spirit of Ramadan to life with a vibrant Ramadan Bazaar event at
their headquarters in Washington, DC.
The popular bazaar drew crowds of Saudi clubs,
families, students, and local community members for an authentic taste of the
holy month’s traditions, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Recreating the lively atmosphere of Ramadan markets
back home, the venue was abuzz with stalls selling traditional Saudi clothing,
accessories, textiles, household goods, and delicious foods.
Children were kept entertained at dedicated play
areas, while Saudi student clubs showcased their creative Ramadan-themed
projects.
The scents of traditional Saudi dishes filled the air
as a lavish iftar banquet was served, complete with sweet delicacies and
refreshing beverages.
“Hosting events like this introduces the American
community to our rich Ramadan culture,” said Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Turki, who heads
the cultural and social affairs department.
“It is a crucial way to foster cooperation and social
cohesion among Saudi students, thereby easing feelings of estrangement and
fostering integration, especially during the sacred month.”
Al-Turki also lauded the pivotal role played by
student clubs and volunteers in organizing the event.
Attendees were transported through Saudi Arabia’s
history during a tour of the King Abdullah Hall, where they learned about the
Kingdom’s efforts in serving the Two Holy Mosques. Interactive cultural
competitions added to the convivial family atmosphere.
For many, the bazaar was a welcome taste of home
during the holy month.
“This Ramadan event really captures the spirit of love
and cooperation, helping ease that sense of homesickness,” said Ph.D.
researcher Mohammad Al-Ghanmi, praising the attache’s efforts.
Youssef Al-Dail, another attendee, described joyful
scenes reminiscent of an extended family gathering.
“It is a wonderful social and cultural initiative that
brought our community together,” he said.
Student Siham Al-Abdullah was equally effusive,
marveling at the “outstanding” exhibits, competitions and engagement in the
“unique, family-friendly environment.”
Source:
arabnews.com
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click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2486401/saudi-arabia
---
Over 1 million people from 18 countries benefit from
Saudi Etaam program
April 02, 2024
RIYADH — More than one million people from 18
countries have benefited from Saudi Arabia’s Ramadan Food Basket Distribution
Program (Etaam) for the Hijri year 1445.
Saudi Arabia, represented by the King Salman
Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), provides aid and support to the
afflicted communities across the world. KSrelief has gained widespread recognition
for its extensive reach and unwavering support for those in distress.
One of these humanitarian efforts is the support for
food security during the current holy month of Ramadan. The center launched the
Etaam program with the objective of addressing food needs and enhancing the
living conditions of the most vulnerable groups in several countries during the
holy month.
Through the implementation of this project, KSrelief
successfully reached over one million beneficiaries in 18 countries through the
provision of 195,583 baskets containing essential food items. The Etaam project
is among the numerous humanitarian initiatives and programs the center has
adopted to alleviate the suffering of countries and communities worldwide.
Since its establishment, KSrelief has executed 2,829
humanitarian and relief projects worth over $6 billion in 98 countries. These
projects targeted vital sectors such as food, education, health, nutrition,
water, environmental sanitation, and shelter. These initiatives have benefited
millions of vulnerable and needy groups in the targeted countries.
Source:
saudigazette.com.sa
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https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/641725/SAUDI-ARABIA/Over-1-million-people-from-18-countries-benefit-from-Saudi-Etaam-program-nbsp
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/umrah-vote-kerala-imam-masjid/d/132064