Uttar Pradesh Government Introduces Artificial Intelligence and Coding in Madrassas Equipping Students with A Robust Digital Education

New Age Islam News Bureau

05 October 2023

 

In UP, Madrasa students are set to learn AI and coding amidst a digital literacy thrust. (Photo: PTI)

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India

·         Gujarat HC Frames Charges Against Four Cops Over Public Flogging Of Muslim Men In Kheda

·         3rd Anti-Terror Conference: Home Minister Says Modi Govt Committed To Oust Terrorism

·         Construction of proposed mosque near Ayodhya yet to begin. Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation said it does not have the money even to pay the project's “development charges”

·         Two militants killed in Jammu & Kashmir's Kulgam encounter
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Mideast

·         Yemeni Scholars Association condemns Zionists’ storming Al-Aqsa Mosque & punishes Jewish leaders visit to Saudi Arabia

·         Israeli Police Arrest Five Following Uproar Over Jews Spitting on Christians

·         Palestinian Islamic Jihad reveals new, locally-made drones in Gaza

·         Israeli Troops Kill Palestinians in Tulkarm Attack

·         Palestinian Detainee on Hunger Strike in Israeli Jails for 63 Days

·         Israeli troops kill two Palestinians in West Bank clash

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North America

·         20 US Senators Oppose Security Pledges for Saudi Arabia but Expressed Support for Israeli-Saudi Normalisation Deal

·         US to send Iranian weapons to Ukraine – media4

·         US dealer gets 30 years for three drug deaths on same day

·         Three officers injured in shooting after dispute about video game, US cops say

·         Thousands of US health care workers go on strike in multiple states over wages and staff shortages

·         US weaves web of intelligence links in Asia to counter China

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Europe

·         British Muslim Campaigner Says Poland Deported Him at France’s Request

·         PSC urges UK Labour to confront ‘reality of Israel's practice of apartheid’

·         UK launches safeguarding review into death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif

·         German opposition party leader hospitalized after alleged attack

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Arab World

·         Saudi Experts Start Work Separating Conjoined Tanzanian Twins

·         Yemen to execute 4 for kidnapping aid workers

·         Saudi Arabia condemns terror attack in Niger that left 29 soldiers dead

·         Saudi authorities foil drug smuggling attempts

·         Saudi Hajj minister begins official visit to Morocco, Tunisia

·         Qatar Strongly Condemns Al-Aqsa Mosque Incursions, Calls for International Action

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Southeast Asia

·         Religious Agencies, Islamic Figures Should Provide Input To 12MP, Budget: Anwar

·         Increasing Number of Men Lodging Sexual Harassment Reports, Says Minister Nancy

·         KL tow truck brawl: Cops arrest another 12 individuals

·         Court upholds lawyer’s acquittal on nine charges of money laundering involving RM6.5m

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Pakistan

·         Nawaz ‘Has to Return to Jail’, But His Legal Team Thinks Otherwise

·         Imran, Qureshi may be indicted in cipher case next week

·         Over 700 ‘illegal’ foreign nationals arrested in Quetta, Islamabad

·         Terror case against Lahore Bar Association secretary, other lawyers

·         Two innocent Pakistanis martyred in unprovoked firing by Afghan sentry at Chaman

·         Cipher Case Hearing to Be Held in Open Court: IHC

·         May 9 attacks aimed at removing army chief, reveals Usman Dar

·         K-P police arrest 13 ‘terror financiers’

·         Imran disappointed with President Alvi, claims sister

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South Asia

·         Bangladesh Nobel Laureate Yunus at Anti-Corruption Commission Office to Present Statement in Money Laundering Case

·         Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Needs to Meet Its Commitments: US

·         80 UN Countries Urge Immediate End to Taliban’s Gender Discrimination In Afghanistan

·         Kabul Denies Pakistan’s Claim of Afghans Involved in Suicide Bombings

·         Camp to Be Established for Returning Refugees in Nangarhar

·         Many Afghans concerned over deadline to return home

·         Taliban Ask Pakistan to 'Reconsider' Decision of Expelling Afghan Migrants

·         Pakistan Human Rights Commission calls for immediate reversal of Afghan migrant expulsion

·         Afghanistan Should Have the Right to Participate in International Conferences

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Africa

·         Tunisia: Families Of Political Prisoners To Stage Sit-In 'Until Detainees Are Released'

·         South African cabinet minister and 3 other lawmakers cleared of corruption

·         Gunmen kidnap five Nigerian university students - police

·         UAE delegation in Nigeria, to continue meeting with FG today

·         Pastor, brother sentenced to death for murder in Akwa Ibom

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL:    https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/up-ai-artificial-intelligence-madrasa-digital/d/130830

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Uttar Pradesh Government Introduces Artificial Intelligence And Coding In Madrassas Equipping Students With A Robust Digital Education

 

In UP, Madrasa students are set to learn AI and coding amidst a digital literacy thrust. (Photo: PTI)

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October 4, 2023

By Muslim Mirror Staff

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government, under the leadership of the Yogi administration, has unveiled a comprehensive plan to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) and coding to madrassa students. This initiative represents a significant stride towards equipping madrassa students with a robust digital education, bringing them in line with other education boards in the state.

Monica S Garg, Additional Chief Secretary of the Minority Welfare Department, who is spearheading this initiative, said, “We are committed to integrating digital literacy, coding, and artificial intelligence into the curriculum of madrassa education in Uttar Pradesh.”

To ensure the success of this program, the government has pledged its full support for the training of madrassa teachers, who will play a pivotal role in effectively teaching these subjects.

As part of this ambitious digital literacy initiative, an orientation module on artificial intelligence will be launched in Lucknow, encompassing both school and madrassa teachers. Experts in audio-visual education will provide essential information and guidance to educators.

Muslim Waqf and Haj Minister Dharampal Singh highlighted the extensive resources allocated to this initiative, saying, “Aadhaar verification of madrassa students has been completed. Currently, 13,92,325 students are enrolled in madrassas across the state.”

The Uttar Pradesh government has taken proactive steps, supplying computers to 1,275 madrassas, and providing book banks, science kits, and mathematics kits to 7,442 madrassahs.

The state boasts a total of 16,153 madrassas, with 560 receiving subsidies from the government. Through this innovative approach, madrassa education is set to incorporate Urdu, Hindi, and English as the medium of instruction, in accordance with the Uttar Pradesh Non-Government Arabic and Persian Madrassa Recognition Administration and Service Regulations 2016.

Source: muslimmirror.com

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https://muslimmirror.com/eng/uttar-pradesh-government-introduces-artificial-intelligence-and-coding-in-madrassas/

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Hindu Marriage Not Valid Without 'Saat Pheras', Says Allahabad High Court

 

Representative Phot: Live Law

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TNN | Oct 5, 2023

PRAYAGRAJ: Observing that a Hindu marriage is not valid without the 'saptapadi' ceremony (taking seven rounds around the sacred fire) and other rituals, the Allahabad high court has quashed the entire proceedings of a complaint case, where the husband had sought punishment for his estranged wife, alleging that she had solemnized her second marriage without obtaining a divorce from him. Allowing a petition filed by Smriti Singh, Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh on September 19 observed, “It is well settled that the word ‘solemnise’ means, in connection with a marriage, ‘to celebrate the marriage with proper ceremonies and in due form’. Unless the marriage is celebrated or performed with proper ceremonies and due form, it cannot be said to be ‘solemnised’. If the marriage is not a valid marriage ...it is not a marriage in the eyes of law. The ‘saptapadi’ ceremony under the Hindu law is one of the essential ingredients to constitute a valid marriage.”

The court relied on Section 7 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which provides that a Hindu marriage may be solemnized in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of either party thereto. Second, such rites include ‘saptapadi’, which makes the marriage complete when the seventh step is taken.

Quashing the summoning order and further proceedings of the complaint case pending before a Mirzapur court against the petitioner wife, the court said: “Even there is no averment with regard to ‘saptapadi’ in the complaint as well as in the statements before the court. Hence, no prima-facie offence is made out against the applicants.”

Hindu marriage invalid without rituals, rules High Court

Petitioner Smriti Singh was married off to Satyam Singh in 2017 but due to acrimonious relations, she left the house of her in-laws and lodged an FIR alleging harassment for dowry. Later, after investigation, the police submitted a chargesheet against her husband and in-laws.

Epilepsy no ground for divorce under Hindu Marriage Act: Bombay high court

The petitioner-wife also filed an application for maintenance, which was allowed and the principal judge, family court, Mirzapur, on January 11, 2021 directed the husband to pay Rs 4,000 as maintenance per month until she gets remarried. The husband gave an application alleging bigamy against his wife.

The husband filed another complaint on September 20, 2021, alleging inter alia that his wife had sanctified her second marriage. The magistrate on April 21, 2022, summoned the petitioner-wife, following which she filed the present petition before the HC.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/hindu-marriage-not-valid-without-saat-pheras-says-allahabad-hc/articleshow/104168615.cms

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Israeli Minister Hails 'Blossoming Ties' with Saudi Arabia During a Visit to Riyadh

 

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi addresses the UN Universal Postal Union in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 4, 2023. (Screenshot used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

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04 October, 2023

An Israeli minister on Wednesday hailed his country's "blossoming ties" with Saudi Arabia during a visit to Riyadh amid ongoing US-brokered negotiations to establish formal relations.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi this week became the second Israeli cabinet member to formally visit the Saudi capital, heading a 14-member delegation to a United Nations conference.

"We greatly appreciate the tireless efforts of the leaders of Saudi Arabia, and our prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for nurturing the blossoming ties between our nations," Karhi told the meeting of the Universal Postal Union, a specialised UN agency intended to facilitate international cooperation in the postal sector.

Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites, has never recognised Israel and long insisted it would not do so without a just resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has been pushing for a normalisation deal.

Riyadh did not join the US-brokered Abraham Accords which saw its Gulf neighbours Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates as well as Morocco establish formal ties with Israel in 2020.

Palestinians condemned the deals as a betrayal of their cause, pointing out that they rewarded Israel while it continued to occupy the West Bank and besiege the Gaza Strip.

Addressing the UN conference, however, Karhi called the Abraham Accords "monumentally transformative".

His visit comes days after the first official trip by an Israeli cabinet member, Tourism Minister Haim Katz, who last week attended a separate UN meeting in Saudi Arabia. Katz did not make any public remarks.

The White House said last week Saudi and Israeli negotiators were moving towards the outline of a deal.

Riyadh is bargaining hard for security guarantees from Washington as well as assistance with a civilian nuclear programme that would have uranium enrichment capacity.

The Palestinians have warned that they must be taken into account in any deal, and it is unclear what concessions Israel might be willing to make.

During his trip to Riyadh, Karhi also toured a 500-year-old Torah scroll on display at an annual book fair.

Karhi, wearing a Jewish kippah and white button-down shirt, was seen in a short video clip shared by his office reading from the religious scroll a description of the weeklong Sukkot holiday, or Feast of Tabernacles, which began on Friday.

Separate clips show Karhi praying in Riyadh and attending what his office described as a belated bar mitzvah - a Jewish rite of passage usually celebrated at age 13 - for a 70-year-old man.

Source: newarab.com

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https://www.newarab.com/news/israeli-minister-saudi-trip-hails-blossoming-ties

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How Conservatives Are Trying to Rebuild Trust Among Muslim Communities in Canada

 

Photo: Cole Burston/The Canadian Press)

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Oct. 4, 2023

When Pierre Poilievre pitches the Conservative party to Muslim Canadians, he talks about “faith, family and freedom.”

For months he has been pointing out what he sees as their overlapping values during visits to mosques, at community celebrations, with businesses and in conversations with ethnic media outlets.

It’s part of an effort to grow the party’s presence, particularly in larger cities that are home to many racialized Canadians whose support for the Conservatives plummeted during the final months of Stephen Harper’s government and his divisive 2015 campaign.

Poilievre has also fine-tuned his message to appeal to growing concerns from some parents, echoed by several prominent Muslim organizations, about what their children are learning about LGBTQ+ issues in schools.

He is gaining some traction with his acknowledgment of such worries, but whether he will take action through party policy remains unclear.

Some also wonder what he would do to address the Islamophobia that many feel his party exacerbated the last time it was in power. “This is where we have that sort of cautious optimism,” said Nawaz Tahir, a lawyer who chairs Hikma, an advocacy group for Muslims in southwestern Ontario. Tahir met Poilievre with other community leaders this summer.

“While it might be resonating in the short term, there are long-term questions about whether or not people will continue to listen, or latch on, in the absence of some concrete policy proposals.”

Poilievre has chosen to walk a careful path on the issue of “parental rights.” The term, which speaks to the desire by parents to make decisions regarding their children, has been popularized by people with wide-ranging concerns about efforts to make schools more inclusive for LGBTQ+ students, such as by raising Pride flags or including discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the curriculum.

New Brunswick and Saskatchewan now require parental permission for transgender and nonbinary students to use different names or pronouns at school. Court challenges have ensued, with teachers’ unions and provincial child advocates saying the policies put vulnerable students at risk.

The Conservative leader has said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should “butt out” of the issue and “let parents raise kids,” but otherwise Poilievre has stayed mum on how he might respond.

At last month’s policy convention in Quebec City, Conservative party members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a policy change to prohibit minors experiencing gender dysphoria from receiving “life-altering” pharmaceutical or surgical treatment.

A video posted online shows that Poilievre said during a Punjabi media event in Surrey, B.C., several days later that he was “taking some time to study that policy to come to the right solution.”

He said the party would have to consider “jurisdictions,” in the sense of “which level of government is responsible for it” — but ultimately, “I will be making my position clear.”

Poilievre’s office did not respond to a question about whether he has come to any conclusions.

His office was also silent in July when a photo circulated online that showed Conservative finance critic and Calgary MP Jasraj Singh Hallan with two men who wore T-shirts that read “leave our kids alone.” The shirts featured an image of stylized figures beneath an umbrella shielding them from the rainbow of colours associated with LGBTQ+ Pride flags.

One of the men in the photo, Mahmoud Mourra, a Muslim father of five, has for months been protesting school policies and activities that acknowledge students’ sexual orientation and gender identity.

As he and thousands of others took to the streets in recent countrywide demonstrations against “gender ideology” in schools on Sept. 20, Trudeau posted on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, that “transphobia, homophobia, and biphobia have no place in this country.”

Poilievre’s office, meanwhile, instructed MPs to keep quiet.

Two days later, Poilievre also posted on X, accusing Trudeau of “demonizing concerned parents” with his statement about the protests.

The Muslim Association of Canada also condemned Trudeau’s remarks, saying Muslim parents who participated in protests showed up “to be heard, not to sow division.” The organization said it feared Muslim kids would face “increased bullying and harassment” at school —a statement Poilievre and many of his MPs shared online.

Dalia Mohamed, who leads public affairs at the Canadian chapter of the Islamic Society of North America, said her organization has heard from parents who worry their children face pushback when opting out of certain lessons or activities related to LGBTQ+ issues.

“What they’re seeing more and more is that their kids are facing repercussions,” she said.

An audio recording surfaced online in June alleged to be an Edmonton school teacher chastising a Muslim student about missing class to avoid Pride events. The unidentified teacher says respect for differences “goes two ways,” adding that if the student thinks same-sex marriage should not be legal, then he “can’t be Canadian” and does not “belong here.”

The National Council of Canadian Muslims called it “deeply Islamophobic, inappropriate and harassing behaviour.” The school board said it was dealing with the issue.

Tahir, with Hikma, said it comes down to respecting religious freedom, adding that it is “not part of our faith teaching” to hate the LGBTQ+ community. “We condemn that,” he said.

Tahir said he and other community leaders told Poilievre the Conservatives have an opportunity to regain the support of Muslim Canadians.

He argued that the “vast majority” of Muslims voted for Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservatives in the 1980s and early ’90s.

“There was a lot of alignment on a number of issues. And that seems to have gone by the wayside,” he said.

Still, while there is frustration that the governing Liberals have failed to take enough action against Islamophobia, including within its own government agencies, Poilievre faces an uphill battle against long memories.

“He was around the table during the Harper years when there were some things that happened that were not well received by the Muslim community,” said Tahir.

In 2011, then-immigration minister Jason Kenney brought in a rule requiring Muslim women to remove face coverings, such as niqabs, when swearing the oath during citizenship ceremonies. During the 2015 federal election campaign, the Conservatives asked the Supreme Court to hear a request to appeal a court decision to overturn that policy, and Harper mused about extending it to all public servants. The Conservatives also promised to create a tip line to enforce a law against “barbaric cultural practices,” which they said at the time included forced marriages.

Eight years later, Conservatives are still apologizing.

“Mistakes were made. No doubt about that,” Conservative MP Garnett Genuis said in August of the 2015 campaign at a Greater Toronto Area breakfast meeting with members of the Pakistani community.

“There’s rebuilding of trust,” he said in a video shared online. “And I understand people saying, ‘Well, we’re not sure yet because of some of the things that happened in the past.’”

He described a “deep fundamental connection” between the Conservative party and the wider Muslim community. He said a “renaissance” of that relationship is underway.

“We’re trying to reach out to the community and tell them, ‘It’s a new party, that was eight years ago,’” Conservative Sen. Salma Ataullahjan said at the same event. Her office did not respond to a request for comment.

In a written statement, Genuis said the party’s message around lower prices, affordable housing and safer communities is “resonating with Canadians of all walks of life.

So is its defence of “faith, family and freedom,” he added.

Poilievre addressed the criticism of the Conservatives’ unsuccessful 2015 campaign during last year’s leadership race. Rival candidate Patrick Brown, who at the time was counting on heavy support from Muslim communities, accused Poilievre of having never “publicly stood against” the divisive policies, such as a “niqab ban.” Poilievre pushed back by noting the policy was limited to swearing the citizenship oath.

Since winning the leadership, Poilievre has travelled extensively to meet with immigrant and racialized communities that Conservatives had long ago credited with delivering them a majority victory in 2011.

Historically, the party has believed that many in these groups tend to be more religiously conservative, that they will prioritize public safety and that they are looking for policies, such as lower taxes, that can help them gain an economic foothold in Canada.

Tahir said Poilievre was told during his meeting this summer that if he comes back with concrete plans to address Islamophobia, there would be “a strong willingness” from the community to vote Conservative.

In 2017, Poilievre voted alongside other Conservative MPs against a motion from a Liberal MP to condemn Islamophobia, citing concerns it could infringe on free speech.

During Ramadan this spring, Poilievre said in an interview with Canada One TV that he believes the country must “combat bad speech with good speech, not with censorship, but with good speech.”

He also spoke of bolstering a security fund for mosques and talked about combating Islamophobia through a stronger criminal justice response, part of a broader push by the Conservatives for tough-on-crime policies.

Earlier this year, Poilievre addressed long-standing allegations that the Canada Revenue Agency is discriminating against Muslim charities.

The agency “has been abusing our Muslim charities and the immigration system has been discriminating against our Muslim immigrants,” he said in a video shared by the Muslim Association of Canada.

The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency announced in March it would be investigating allegations of bias and Islamophobia at the CRA.

Saleha Khan said she believes Poilievre is using the debate around LGBTQ+ issues in schools to his advantage. She also worries the surrounding rhetoric could ultimately bring more harm to the community.

The London, Ont., woman and nearly 700 other people, many of whom are members of the Muslim Canadian community, have asked in an open letter that their leaders “help separate fact from fiction” by speaking out about misinformation they see fuelling a lot of the discourse, placing both Muslim and LGBTQ+ students at risk, as well as those who identify as both.

She said the debate is “gut-wrenching” and risks making life even more dangerous for average Muslim families and their children, who already experience Islamophobia and live their life under high alert.

“We will become the poster children for transphobia and homophobia when we are not the poster children for homophobia and transphobia.”

In the Ramadan interview with Canada One TV, Poilievre acknowledged that his party has done a lousy job of fostering better ties.

He pledged to be different.

“I’m coming here with my hand extended in a spirit of friendship,” he said. “It’s not the duty of the Muslim community to come to us. It’s our duty to come to you.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2023.

Source: vancouverislandfreedaily.com

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https://www.vancouverislandfreedaily.com/national-news/how-conservatives-are-trying-to-rebuild-trust-among-muslim-communities-in-canada/

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UK Conservative Party Candidate For London Mayor Says Jews Are ‘Frightened’ By London’s Muslim Mayor

 

Susan Hall, a lawmaker for the UK Conservative Party, in the town of Ruislip near London, July 21, 2023. (Justin Tallis/AFP)

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Gabe Friedman

October 5, 2023

JTA — The British Conservative Party’s candidate for London mayor said that Sadiq Khan, who currently holds the post, is “divisive” and has therefore “frightened” some of Britain’s Jewish community.

“I will ask for as much help as I can get in London because we need to defeat him,” Susan Hall said Monday night at a Conservative Friends of Israel event in Manchester that was part of the Tory party’s annual conference. “Particularly for our Jewish community,” she added.

British Jewish groups quickly issued statements condemning Hall and defending Khan, who is London’s first Muslim mayor and has Pakistani ancestry.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said that Khan has always treated the Jewish community “with friendship and respect.” Longtime Jewish Labour parliament member Margaret Hodge called Hall’s comments “dog-whistle politics” and said “Khan has always called out antisemitism, wherever it has reared.”

Since being elected mayor in 2016, Khan has prioritized ties with British Jewry, repeatedly calling out his own Labour party over its handling of the antisemitism controversy that plagued its former leader, Jeremy Corbyn. Khan attended a community program commemorating the Holocaust as his first official public engagement, joined the Jewish Labour Movement and has made several pro-Israel pronouncements.

When asked by Sky News if she would apologize for her comments in the wake of the criticism, Hall said: “I will never apologize for standing up for our Jewish community.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan gives his acceptance speech after being declared the winner of the London Mayoral election at City Hall in London on May 8, 2021, winning his second term. (Justin Tallis/AFP)

Hall, a member of the London Assembly, also said that she has Jewish friends who have considered immigrating to Israel because they feel unsafe in the city.

“Since Sadiq Khan has taken over, these sort of attacks have doubled — literally doubled, over 1,000 or around about 1,000 this year,” she told Sky News, without specifying if she meant antisemitic attacks.

The Community Support Trust (CST), a British antisemitism watchdog, reported that there were 447 antisemitic incidents in Greater London between January and June 2023 — 4% fewer than the amount from the same period last year.

Source: timesofisrael.com

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https://www.timesofisrael.com/uk-conservative-party-candidate-says-jews-are-frightened-by-londons-muslim-mayor/

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 India

Gujarat HC frames charges against four cops over public flogging of Muslim men in Kheda

04th October 2023

By PTI

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday framed charges against four policemen for contempt of court for their role in the the public flogging of some members of a minority community arrested in Kheda district in October 2022.

In context of one of the four accused policemen, the HC said there is "a tacit consent or approval" by him in carrying out "the illegal and humiliating act," and therefore, no immunity can be granted to him from the framing of charges.

A division bench of Justices AS Supehia and MR Mengdey observed that the four policemen -- an inspector, a sub-inspector and two constables -- "actively participated and carried out the act of flogging the applicants in public by tying them to a pole" at Undhela village in the district on October 4, 2022.

By doing so, they violated the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in DK Basu vs State of West Bengal case, the HC said.

In doing so, they attracted punishment under section 2(b) read with section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 (related to wilful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or other process of a court or wilful breach of an undertaking given to a court), it said while framing the charges against them.

The punishment for the same attracts simple imprisonment of up to six months and/or a fine of up to Rs 2,000.

The four accused policemen are inspector AV Parmar, sub-inspector (SI) DB Kumavat, head constable KL Dabhi and constable RR Dabhi.

During the Navratri festival in October last year, a mob comprising members of the Muslim community allegedly hurled stones at a garba dance event at Undhela village in Kheda district, injuring some villagers and police personnel.

Videos emerged on social media showing police personnel purportedly flogging three of the 13 persons arrested for pelting stones.

Some of the accused later approached the HC, claiming the police personnel involved in the act had committed contempt of court by flouting the Supreme Court's directions.

A total of 13 policemen were accused in the case.

The court said charges were not framed against nine other policemen, who were also made respondents in the case, as they were not found involved, as per a report of the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) of Kheda.

The HC also allowed the lawyer for the respondents to file further affidavits to respond to the charges framed against them.

It kept the matter for next hearing on October 11.

In its order on July 12, the HC said the proceedings were maintainable and issued further directions to the CJM at Kheda to prepare a report based on the role of each of the respondents after verifying the contents of the videos and images placed on record.

In his report dated July 31, the CJM identified respondents numbers 2, 3, 5 and 13 and their presence was was found at the time of the incident.

The magistrate did not identify the role of the nine other respondents, and hence no charges were framed against them.

The court also observed that the lawyer for the respondents had argued that the report indicated SI Kumavat did not violate the Supreme Court guidelines.

As per the report, the accused was seen sitting on a chair and not with sticks or beating any applicants.

The lawyer requested that no charges be framed against him, which the court declined saying it does not concur with the submissions.

"The incident of flogging had happened in broad daylight. Presence of respondent number 3 at the time and incident is not at dispute. He has made no efforts to see that applicants who were being brutally flogged in public view by other respondents are rescued. No efforts are made by him to stop the flogging," the court observed.

"On the contrary, his presence in the chowk with other assailants shows that he has accompanied other respondents and has played an active role in bringing the applicants to the chowk from the police station, and they were tied to the pole and mercilessly beaten," it said.

Hence, there is "a tacit consent or approval" by him in carrying out "the illegal and humiliating act," and therefore, no immunity can be granted to him from framing of charges, the HC said.

Source: newindianexpress.com

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https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2023/oct/04/gujarat-hcframes-charges-against-fourcops-overpublic-flogging-of-muslim-men-in-kheda-2620800.html

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3rd anti-terror conference: Home Minister says Modi govt committed to oust terrorism

By Neeraj Chauhan

Oct 05, 2023

Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday inaugurated the third anti-terror conference in New Delhi, where intelligence and investigation agencies will discuss current and emerging threats to the national security, including funding and violent activities of pro-Khalistani extremists (PKEs) operating from foreign soil.

The closed-door two-day event is being attended by all federal intelligence agencies, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), anti-terror squads (ATSs) of the states, National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) and others.

Before going for the event, Amit Shah said on X - “The Modi government is firmly committed to rooting out terrorism from the country. Will inaugurate the 3rd anti-terror conference hosted by NIA in New Delhi today and illustrate Modi Ji’s vision behind the policy of zero tolerance for terrorism adopted by our nation”.

People familiar with the contours of conference said besides PKEs, gangsters and Pakistan sponsored terrorism, Chinese funding of fintech companies, smuggling of drugs via maritime route, cybercrimes at critical infrastructures, use of digital currencies by terrorists, north-east insurgency and left-wing extremism (LWE).

Other issues to be discussed at the conference include unfenced land borders, mass agitations, overstaying foreigners and radical organisations.

The issue of PKEs and gangsters based in Canada, which is sheltering these wanted persons, has led to a diplomatic standoff between New Delhi and Ottawa.

The NIA is currently investigation over half a dozen cases related to nexus between PKEs and gangsters, and about two dozen wanted persons are operating from Canadian soil, carrying out attacks on Indian high commission and consulates, threatening Hindu community and organising terror attacks and targeted killings in India.

“Dismantling PKEs network is going to be a key topic during the conference,” said an officer, who didn’t want to be named.

Source: hindustantimes.com

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https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/hm-inaugurates-3rd-anti-terror-conference-says-modi-govt-committed-to-oust-terrorism-101696489701801.html

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Construction of proposed mosque near Ayodhya yet to begin. Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation said it does not have the money even to pay the project's “development charges”

PTI | Oct 05, 2023

As the opening of Ayodhya's Ram temple nears, the construction of a proposed mosque some kilometres away is yet to begin with the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation saying it does not have the money even to pay the project's "development charges".

The IICF is a trust formed to build a mosque and other community facilities including a hospital on the five-acre plot at Dhannipur in Ayodhya as mandated by the Supreme Court in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid verdict.

The land for the mosque complex was given to Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board by the state government.

"In February this year, the board of Ayodhya Development Authority gave its approval for the mosque project after some procedural delay. Thereafter, we came to know that the amount of development charges to be submitted to the authority for the entire project would run into a few crores of rupees," Athar Hussain, spokesperson of IICF trust, told PTI on Tuesday.

"As we don't have enough money to pay the development charges, we decided to defer the construction of a hospital at the site as it consists of around 90 percent of the entire project. We will first build the mosque as the development charges for it will be less," Hussain said.

He hoped that in the next two months, the IICF trust will be able to mobilise funds for the construction of the mosque.

"We are in the process of mobilising funds for the mosque's construction... Since the trust was brought into the public domain, different accounts were opened for the mosque, hospital and community kitchen. At the moment, the funds in the account of the trust are around ₹40 lakh," the IICF spokesperson added.

When asked about any fundraising drive for the project, he said, “Fortunately or unfortunately, this project was compared with the Ram Mandir project... The response that we expected from people for the mosque project could not be materialised.”

"Now, we plan to approach some rich people of the community in metro cities so that fund mobilization for the project can become easier."

Dhannipur village is around 22 km from the spot of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

In Ayodhya, preparations are in full swing for the grand opening of Ram temple in January next year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to participate in the 'pranpratishtha' (consecration) ceremony at the newly constructed temple.

“The 'pranprtaihstha' ceremony will be held on January 22, 2024. Devotees will get 15 to 20 seconds each for the 'darshan' of Ram Lalla,” the head of Ram temple construction committee, Nripendra Mishra, had recently said.

Source: hindustantimes.com

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Two militants killed in Jammu & Kashmir's Kulgam encounter

04th October 2023

By PTI

SRINAGAR: Two unidentified militants were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, police said.

The encounter started earlier in the day when security forces launched a cordon and search operation at Kujjar following information about the presence of ultras there.

"02 terrorists killed. Bodies of the killed terrorists being retrieved from the site of encounter. Cordon & search operation is still in progress. Further details shall follow," Kashmir Zone police posted on X.

The search operation had turned into an encounter after the militants opened fire on the security forces, which retaliated.

Source: newindianexpress.com

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Mideast

 

Yemeni Scholars Association condemns Zionists’ storming Al-Aqsa Mosque & punishes Jewish leaders visit to Saudi Arabia

04/October/2023]

SANA'A October 04.2023 (Saba)-The Yemeni Scholars Association condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by hundreds of Zionist Jews and the successive visits of Jewish leaders to Saudi Arabia.

The association said in a statement, a copy of which was received by the Yemeni News Agency (Saba), “The Yemeni Scholars Association followed the storming and desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque by hundreds of Jews in light of international complicity, American light, shameful ,scandalous Arab silence, and Saudi Arabia’s haste in taking over the occupying Jews and Zionists.”

The statement considered the repeated raiding and desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque by the Zionists a disgrace against regimes affiliated with Islam and Arabism... stressing the Islamic nature of Al-Aqsa Mosque and rejecting any temporal or spatial division of Holy Al-Quds.

The association’s statement stated that the Saudi regime’s haste in taking over the Jews at this critical and sensitive stage that the Palestinian issue is going through is a treacherous stab, blatant commercialization, an insult, belittlement of all the sacrifices of the Palestinian people, a betrayal of their just cause and oppression.

Source: saba.ye

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Israeli police arrest five following uproar over Jews spitting on Christians

October 05, 2023

JERUSALEM — Israel Police arrested five people Wednesday on suspicion of spitting toward Christians or churches in the Old City of Jerusalem, they announced, following an uproar a day earlier over Orthodox Jews spitting at Christian pilgrims.

Four of the suspects were arrested for incidents on Wednesday, and one for an incident earlier in the week, police said. Four are adults and one is a minor.

One of the individuals was arrested on assault charges, and the other four were arrested on suspicion of unlawful disorderly conduct, Israel Police told CNN. The one charged with assault spat on a person, while the others spat towards people, police said to explain the different charges.

One of the arrests is connected to the viral video from Monday of ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting on Christian pilgrims carrying a cross out of the Church of the Flagellation in the Old City, police said.

Father Matteo, a priest in the Old City, told CNN Wednesday there were sometimes 10 incidents of spitting a day near his monastery along the Via Dolorosa, the path that Christians believe Jesus walked to his crucifixion, with people calling it “an impure place.”

The priest said such incidents were not a problem for him, but for the spitters, “Because when people grow up with hatred and despising all the others... it’s really very sad for them.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement Tuesday “strongly condemning any attempt to inflict harm on worshippers.”

“Israel is fully committed to safeguarding the sacred right of freedom of worship and pilgrimage to the holy sites of all faiths,” he said, vowing “urgent steps against such actions. Offensive behavior toward worshippers is a desecration and is unacceptable.”

On Wednesday, Israel Police announced the establishment of a special investigation team, the expansion of overt and covert operations, and consideration of imposing fines.

The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the spitting was part of a wider problem that leads to physical violence.

“The practice of spitting on non-Jews reflects the spread of extremism in Israeli society, especially among extremist settlers, and it is an expression of an attitude that begins with spitting and then turns into beating and killing,” the ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

Jerusalem Police District Commander, Doron Turgeman, said police would not tolerate “expressions of hatred towards anyone, Jews, Muslims, or Christians in the Old City and anywhere else in Jerusalem.”

Referring to “spitting by extremists,” Turgeman said: “Those who engage in such actions have a serious problem, primarily in their education, world view, and respect for others.”

He said that many of the spitters were children and called for “significant and immediate involvement of educational, religious, and parental authorities... [to] make it clear that these actions are forbidden, unacceptable, and disgraceful.”

On Tuesday, Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau strongly condemned “harm to any person and any religious leader. These immoral phenomena have certainly nothing to do with Jewish law.” — CNN

Source: saudigazette.com.sa

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Palestinian Islamic Jihad reveals new, locally-made drones in Gaza

OCTOBER 5, 2023

The military branch of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist movement, the al-Quds Brigades, revealed new, locally-made drones and rockets during a military parade in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

The terrorist movement displayed three drones called "Sahab," "Sayyad," and "Hudhud." The PIJ stated that the Sahab drone is meant for "reconnaissance and offensive missions," the Sayyad is meant to target "enemy forces and vehicles," and the Hudhud is meant for "reconnaissance, detection, and photography missions."

During Operation Breaking Dawn in August 2022, the PIJ attempted to launch a drone toward the Tamar gas rig off the coast of southern Israel. The attempt failed.

The al-Quds Brigades also displayed what they said were new rockets that had not been used in clashes with Israel yet. One of the rockets did not have a name on the side, instead showing three question marks where the range of the rocket would usually be marked. According to the Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV, the rocket with the question marks is called "Jaafar," although further information about it was not released.

The new rockets also include modified versions of old rockets, including a new version of the Badr 3 missile which the movement claims can now carry a 400 kg warhead, although some of these rockets were already displayed in the past.

The PIJ said that "thousands" of members of the movement from more than 60 companies in the al-Quds Brigades took part in the parade. The movement claimed that the parade was "the first of its kind in Palestine and the history of the resistance."

Islamic Jihad claims it has moved forward despite assassinations

The terrorist movement added that the parade showed that the al-Quds Brigades had "maintained their strength" after the assassinations of their leaders in Operation Breaking Dawn in August 2022 and in Operation Shield and Arrow in May of this year.

Akram al-Ajouri, a leader of the PIJ, spoke at the parade, saying that members of the al-Quds Brigades have "drunk the cup of death."

"They are planning, plotting, and conspiring, while we are planning, preparing, and striking on all fronts. Their continuous plans and conspiracies targeting our people, our youth, our lives, and our future will not succeed. Their time is about to end, and the circle is getting tighter and closing in on them, and the deciding moment is coming," said Ajouri.

In 2019, Ajouri was targeted by an alleged Israeli airstrike in Damascus at about the same time that Baha Abu al-Ata, one of the commanders of the al-Quds Brigades, was assassinated in Gaza. Ajouri survived the attempted assassination, although members of his family were killed and injured in the strike.

On Tuesday, the al-Quds Brigades held a military exercise in the northern Gaza Strip to mark the 36th anniversary of the PIJ's launch. During the exercise, rockets were fired toward the Mediterranean Sea, with the IDF Spokesperson's Unit saying the rocket fire triggered an alert in an open area in Israel, although no rockets entered Israeli territory.

Source: jpost.com

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https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/article-761757

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Israeli Troops Kill Palestinians in Tulkarm Attack

October 5, 2023

Israeli occupation forces shot dead two Palestinian citizens in Shufa town, east of the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm, on Thursday, October 4, claiming they were to carry out a shooting incident.

According to local Palestinian media, at 5 AM, Israeli occupation forces conducted a military incursion on the Tulkarm refugee camp, sparking confrontations with the residents there.

Israeli troops opened fire directly at Palestinians in a vehicle near the Shufa town, critically wounding them.

Israeli forces reportedly prevented medical crews from accessing the injured, while video clips depicted a wounded Palestinian lying on the ground, seemingly in need of medical assistance, but not receiving prompt treatment.

Source: daysofpalestine.ps

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Palestinian Detainee on Hunger Strike in Israeli Jails for 63 Days

October 4, 2023

The Palestinian detainee Kayed Al-Fasfous has been on an open-ended hunger strike for 63 days in protest of his administrative detention in Israeli jails without a charge or trial, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS).

The PPS stated that Palestinian administrative detainee Al-Fasfous has been on hunger strike in Israeli jails in protest of undefined detention without charge by the Israeli occupation.

Kayed Al-Fasfous, 34, from the city of Dura has been detained since May 2, 2023. Al-Fasfous is a former detainee who spent about 7 years in Israeli prisons, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club.

Al-Fasfous has been relocated from Asqalan Prison to the notorious Ramla Prison clinic, according to the PLO Detainees Affairs Commission.

Moreover, PPS reports that Al-Fasfous’s health has been steadily declining due to his prolonged hunger strike, during which he is also subjected to a daily cell search.

His personal belongings and clothing have been confiscated and he is left only with the clothes he was wearing when launching his strike.

Al-Fasfous went on an open-ended hunger strike in 2021 that lasted 131 days as well as in 2019 in protest of his administrative detention.It is reported that all of his siblings were arrested and he is married and has a daughter.

The Israeli occupation has escalated its administrative detention policy against Palestinians as the number of administrative detainees currently exceeds 760, including minors, women, and the elderly, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Commission.

The Commission added that 80 percent of the administrative detainees are former prisoners who spent years in the prisons most were administrative detentions.

Since 2023, the Israeli occupation has issued about 1978 administrative detention warrants until the end of last July, according to the data of the Prisoners’ Club.

Israel’s illegal policy of administrative detention is a pre-emptive measure that allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for lengthy periods of time based on disclosed allegations that even a detainee’s lawyer is barred from viewing.

Palestinian detainees have constantly resorted to hunger strikes as a method to oppose their administrative detention, demanding an end to this illegal policy that violates international law and Human rights accords.

Source: daysofpalestine.ps

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Israeli troops kill two Palestinians in West Bank clash

October 05, 2023

TULKARM: Israeli troops killed two Palestinians during a clash with gunmen in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the military and medical officials said.

The two Palestinians were in a car from which shots were fired at an Israeli vehicle near the town of Tulkarm, the military said. Following a pursuit, soldiers shot both in a gunfight and recovered an assault rifle from their car, it said.

The Hamas and Islamic Jihad factions said their men were fighting soldiers at the time. The two dead Palestinians, aged 23 and 27, were not immediately claimed by any armed groups.

The West Bank, among territories where Palestinians seek statehood, has seen a surge of violence in recent months amid an almost decade-old impasse in US-sponsored peacemaking efforts.

Source: arabnews.com

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North America

 

20 US Senators Oppose Security Pledges ForSaudi Arabia But Expressed Support For Israeli-Saudi Normalisation Deal

October 5, 2023

WASHINGTON: Twenty US senators, all of them Democrats, expressed support on Wednesday for a potential Israeli-Saudi normalisation deal, but laid out concerns about any security guarantees or nuclear assistance to Riyadh.

In a letter to President Joe Biden, the senators underscored resistance the White House could face from Congress if the administration brokers a landmark agreement opening diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel in return for Washington meeting Riyadh’s demands.

Negotiations have been advancing, but US officials caution that much work remains.

Among the suggestions from Biden’s fellow Democrats is that any agreement include “meaningful” provisions to preserve the option of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel’s far-right government is expected to resist any big concessions to the Palestinians.

Peace between Israel and its neighbours has been a long-standing goal of US foreign policy, and “we are maintaining an open mind about any agreement that would potentially deepen the political, cultural and economic ties” between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the senators wrote. But they cited misgivings about what the Saudis want.

Saudi Arabia is determined to secure a military pact requiring the United States to defend it in return for opening ties with Israel and will not hold up a deal even if Israel does not offer major concessions to Palestinians in their bid for statehood, three regional sources familiar with the talks said.

Source: dawn.com

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https://www.dawn.com/news/1779378/20-democrats-oppose-security-pledges-for-saudi-arabia

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US to send Iranian weapons to Ukraine – media4

Oct, 2023

Washington has figured out a legal way to send confiscated Iranian weapons and ammunition to Kiev, CNN reported on Wednesday citing unnamed US officials. The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) already delivered a million rounds of ammunition to the Ukrainians earlier this week.

The shipments “could help to alleviate some of the critical shortages facing the Ukrainian military as it awaits more money and equipment from the US and its allies,” according to CNN.

In a press release on Wednesday, CENTCOM said it had finalized the transfer of the one million rounds to Ukraine two days prior. The military explained that the US government “obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, 2023, through the Department of Justice’s civil forfeiture claims against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).”

Civil asset forfeiture is a practice that allows the US government to seize property suspected of being used in criminal activity, and has long been criticized as de facto theft.

Ukrainian officials fear cash will dry up – WSJREAD MORE: Ukrainian officials fear cash will dry up – WSJ

CENTCOM claims that the ammunition was on its way from Iran to the Houthi militia in Yemen, in violation of the UN arms embargo, when it was seized on December 9, 2022 by the US Navy. More weapons and ammunition were seized by American and French ships over the following several weeks.

In February, the Washington, DC think-tank Center for a New American Security (CNAS) proposed sending the seized weapons to Ukraine, as a symbolic reprisal for Iran’s alleged sale of drones to Russia. It took the US government several months to find a legal pretext to do so, however.

The DOJ said in July that it was seeking to claim “over 9,000 rifles, 284 machine guns, approximately 194 rocket launchers, over 70 anti-tank guided missiles, and over 700,000 rounds of ammunition” they claimed the IRGC had intended for the Houthis.

Wednesday’s announcement came amid uncertainty about further US funding of Ukraine’s war effort. A last-minute compromise between Democrats and Republicans on September 30 kept the US government open but did not include more money for Kiev. After Democrats claimed that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy promised to approve that funding in a separate vote, the California Republican was ousted by critics from his own party.

While President Joe Biden has insisted that another Ukraine aid bill must pass, it is currently unclear whether the US Congress will do so, or when.

Source: rt.com

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US dealer gets 30 years for three drug deaths on same day

October 5, 2023

NEW YORK: The leader of a drug delivery service in New York that was responsible for the death of three people from fentanyl poisoning on the same day was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Billy Ortega, 37, ran a service that in March 2021 delivered fentanyl-laced cocaine to three customers, US Attorney Damian Williams of the southern district of New York said in a statement.

The victims – a lawyer, a stock trader and a social worker – died on the same day.

"Worse yet, Ortega was fully aware that a customer had previously overdosed from the deadly fentanyl Ortega laced into his product yet continued sending the drugs to his victims," Williams said.

"Ortega's callous and remarkably evil conduct rightly deserved a significant sentence."

Ortega ran his drug operation from 2015 to 2022, employing relatives and friends. He was convicted in a trial in January this year, and a federal judge sentenced him on Wednesday, according to Williams.

"This sentence sends a message to the fentanyl traffickers causing the fentanyl epidemic in our communities that they will bear the most serious consequences," Williams' statement said.

Ortega's defense team has indicated he plans to appeal the decision, US media reported.

The United States is facing an epidemic of deaths caused by fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more powerful than heroin and much easier and cheaper to produce.

It has largely replaced heroin and prescription opioids like oxycodone as a cause of overdoses. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 110,000 Americans died from overdoses last year.

China is a major producer of precursor chemicals, which are then shipped to Mexico and Central America where cartels produce fentanyl for smuggling into the United States.—AFP

Source: nst.com.my

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Three officers injured in shooting after dispute about video game, US cops say

 05 Oct 2023

PHILADELPHIA: Three Philadelphia police officers responding to a home where people were arguing about a video game were wounded in a shootout Wednesday evening, authorities said.

Acting Police Commissioner John Stanford told reporters the suspect was killed. Two officers were shot in the leg and one in the hand, police said. All three were hospitalised in stable condition.

Stanford said officers were dispatched to the residence shortly after 7pm. A 12-year-old boy said his father had shot his uncle following a dispute about a video game, FOX 29 reported.

The boy and the uncle called police.

Stanford said when police arrived the father opened fire. The man was killed when officers fired back, he said.

The uncle was hospitalised in critical condition. A woman and the child left the house apparently uninjured, police said.

Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson said on on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she was "deeply saddened and very angry to learn of the shooting of three Philadelphia Police Officers in Northeast Philadelphia.” – AP

Source: thestar.com.my

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Thousands of US health care workers go on strike in multiple states over wages and staff shortages

 Oct 5, 2023

LOS ANGELES: Some 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers walked off the job Wednesday in multiple states, kicking off a major health care strike amid an extraordinary year for US labor organizing and work stoppages.

Kaiser Permanente is one of the country's larger insurers and health care system operators, with 39 hospitals nationwide. The nonprofit company, based in Oakland, California, provides health coverage for nearly 13 million people, sending customers to clinics and hospitals it runs or contracts with to provide care.

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, representing about 85,000 of the health system's employees nationally, say understaffing is hurting patient care. Members approved a strike for three days in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, and for one day in Virginia and Washington, D.C.

In the pre-dawn hours outside Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, workers cheered as the strike deadline arrived. The strikers include licensed vocational nurses, home health aides and ultrasound sonographers, as well as technicians in radiology, X-ray, surgical, pharmacy and emergency departments.

Brittany Everidge, a ward clerk transcriber in the medical center's maternal child health department, said short-staffing in her position means pregnant people in active labor may be stuck in a waiting room for hours before they can get checked in. Other times, too few transcribers can lead to delays in creating and updating charts for new babies.

"We don't ever want to be in a situation where the nurses have to do our job," she said during a phone interview from the picket line.

Doctors are not participating, and Kaiser says its hospitals, including emergency rooms, will remain open during the picketing. The company said it was bringing in thousands of temporary workers to fill gaps during the strike. But the strike could lead to delays in getting appointments and non-urgent procedures being rescheduled.

It comes in a year when there have been work stoppages within multiple industries, including, transportation, entertainment and hospitality.

The health care industry alone has been hit by several strikes this year as it continues to confront burnout with the heavy workloads - problems that were exacerbated greatly by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unions representing Kaiser workers in August asked for a $25 hourly minimum wage, as well as increases of 7% each year in the first two years and 6.25% each year in the two years afterward.

They say understaffing is boosting the hospital system's profits but hurting patients, and executives have been bargaining in bad faith during negotiations.

"They're not listening to the frontline health care workers," said Mikki Fletchall, a licensed vocational nurse based in a Kaiser medical office in Camarillo, California. "We're striking because of our patients. We don't want to have to do it, but we will do it."

Kaiser has proposed minimum hourly wages of between $21 and $23 next year depending on the location.

Since 2022, the hospital system has hired 51,000 workers and has plans to add 10,000 more people by the end of the month.

Kaiser Permanente reported $2.1 billion in net income for this year's second quarter on more than $25 billion in operating revenue. But the company said it still was dealing with cost headwinds and challenges from inflation and labor shortages.

Kaiser executive Michelle Gaskill-Hames defended the company and said its practices, compensation and retention are better than its competitors, even as the entire sector faces the same challenges.

"Our focus, for the dollars that we bring in, are to keep them invested in value-based care," said Gaskill-Hames, president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals of Southern California and Hawaii.

She added that Kaiser only faces 7% turnover compared to the industry standard of 21%, despite the effects of the pandemic.

"I think coming out of the pandemic, health care workers have been completely burned out," she said. "The trauma that was felt caring for so many COVID patients, and patients that died, was just difficult."

The workers' last contract was negotiated in 2019, before the pandemic.

Hospitals generally have struggled in recent years with high labor costs, staffing shortages and rising levels of uncompensated care, according to Rick Gundling, a senior vice president with the Healthcare Financial Management Association, a nonprofit that works with health care finance executives.

Most of their revenue is fixed, coming from government-funded programs like Medicare and Medicaid, Gundling noted. He said that means revenue growth is "only possible by increasing volumes, which is difficult even under the best of circumstances."

Workers calling for higher wages, better working conditions and job security, especially since the end of the pandemic, have been increasingly willing to walk out on the job as employers face a greater need for workers.

The California legislature has sent Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom a bill that would increase the minimum wage for the state's 455,000 health care workers to $25 per hour over the next decade. The governor has until Oct. 14 to decide whether to sign or veto it.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/thousands-of-us-health-care-workers-go-on-strike-in-multiple-states-over-wages-and-staff-shortages/articleshow/104176870.cms

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US weaves web of intelligence links in Asia to counter China

 Oct 5, 2023

WASHINGTON: The US is deepening intelligence cooperation with countries across Asia as it looks to counter Beijing’s sophisticated spying apparatus and blunt Chinese cyber attacks.

The Biden administration has developed a set of separate but overlapping partnerships in Asia, including an intelligence-sharing arrangement with the “Quad” grouping of the US, India, Japan and Australia, according to US officials who asked not to be identified discussing matters that aren’t public.

The web of relationships also includes trilateral partnerships among the US, Japan and South Korea, and one encompassing the US, Japan and the Philippines, the officials said.

The push also involves strengthened bilateral sharing of information with Japan, India and Vietnam, according to the officials, who added that a major focus of these relationships is boosting resilience to Chinese offensive operations online.

These new and strengthened partnerships, known formally as intelligence liaison relationships, are in part aimed at reducing the growing power of China’s spy apparatus, which a recent UK parliamentary report described as the world’s largest. The administration effort is part of a broader drive to deepen links across the region amid growing alarm at the threat from Beijing.

“Intelligence liaison can serve as an important force multiplier,” said Daniel Byman, a specialist on the topic at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “It can expand overall collection as different countries will have access to different secrets in different parts of the world.”

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on the relationships. A White House spokesperson said the US cooperation in the region includes sharing information but declined to comment on specific relationships. India’s ministry of external affairs declined to comment. The South Korean, Japanese, Australian, Philippine, and Vietnamese governments did not respond to requests for comment.

China’s increasing assertiveness in the region, combined with leadership changes in some capitals, has made countries such as South Korea and the Philippines more willing to cooperate of late, the US officials said. Some partners in the region also hope the ties will provide some security in the event Donald Trump wins the US presidential election next year. The closer links are already delivering results, the officials noted.

Late last year, India was able to repel a Chinese military incursion in the Himalayas thanks to strengthened intelligence-sharing with the US military, according to US News & World Report. In May 2022, the Quad countries announced a pact that provides data from commercial satellites to countries across the Pacific, allowing them to track the activities of China’s maritime militia, as well as smuggling and illegal fishing.

Deepened ties with Japan in this area come after what Washington sees as a quiet push by Tokyo to resolve longstanding US concerns about its ability to keep a secret, US officials said. In May, the US Space Force announced the delivery of sensitive satellite-tracking equipment to Japan.

In a meeting with US defenseSscretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday, Japan’s defense minister Minoru Kihara vowed to carry out a drastic upgrade of information protection and cyber security capabilities with American help, according to a readout from the Japanese defense ministry.

Still, obstacles remain — not least because of questions about the US’s own ability to keep a secret. In April, the Justice Department charged 21-year-old National Guard airman, Jack Teixeira, with illegally disseminating classified information, including sensitive battlefield data about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and revelations that the US eavesdropped on allies such as South Korea.

The partnerships will complement the “Five Eyes” arrangement that has long been the cornerstone of US intelligence partnerships. That informal network consisting of the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand has shifted its focus to China in recent years, but its exclusive English-speaking membership limits its reach and relevance in Asia.

Five Eyes countries have been sharing secret information for decades through intimate networks of officials that permeate their intelligence, defense and foreign ministries. Asia’s emerging spy pacts are much newer and will likely take time to rival the Five Eyes.

“The Five Eyes’ dominance is pretty established, but when you start to work on different problems you get different priorities,” Byman said. “As we shift to China, then countries like Japan and South Korea become more important, alongside Five Eyes partners in the region like Australia and New Zealand.”

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Europe

 

British Muslim campaigner says Poland deported him at France’s request

04.10.2023

Mehmet Solmaz

UK-based advocacy group CAGE said that at France’s request, its Managing Director Muhammad Rabbani was denied entry into Poland, where he had to speak at a conference.

In a statement, CAGE said that Rabbani was due to deliver “another critical speech against France’s state-sponsored Islamophobia, as he had done last year,” at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Human Dimension Conference.

“On that occasion, he was banned from France only a month after delivering a speech on France’s systematic persecution of Muslims,” the statement said

CAGE accused France of continuing its “relentless pursuit of Muhammad Rabbani, a human rights defender, this time extending its reach to Poland by abusing international information sharing between states to silence dissent.”

The rights group said the sequence of events targeting CAGE underscores France’s “discomfort with public scrutiny of its policies that target Muslim communities.”

“It represents a blatant attack on freedom of expression and undermines the credibility of the OSCE as a platform for human rights and dialogue. It also undermines Poland’s historic struggle to escape totalitarianism which plagued the country during the Soviet era and its credentials as a liberal democracy,” the group said.

Commenting on his forced return to the UK, Rabbani said: “France attempted to prevent CAGE from bringing public awareness at the international level regarding France’s systematic persecution of Muslims.”

“However, France has not achieved its objectives as my colleagues from CAGE are at the conference and have been joined by a number of delegates from various European countries representing Muslim civil society. We will not be silenced,” he said.

The advocacy group will legally be ch

Source: aa.com.tr

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PSC urges UK Labour to confront ‘reality of Israel's practice of apartheid’

04 October, 2023

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has called on the Labour Party to "confront the reality of Israel's practice of the crime of apartheid" following an alleged decision by Labour to stop the PSC from using the word apartheid on its stall at the upcoming Labour conference.

The restrictions by Labour also extend to the PSC's fringe meeting on 10 October titled "Justice for Palestine: End Apartheid." As a result, the title currently appears as "Justice for Palestine" on the Labour Party Conference app.

According to PSC director Ben Jamal, when the PSC challenged the decision a senior party official stated that the party would "not publish a description of Israel as an apartheid state" whilst also reaffirming that the party would not publish content "we believe to be detrimental to the party."

However, Jamal said that the meeting would "go ahead regardless of how it is advertised in Labour's conference brochure."

In addition to criticising the policy at the conference, the PSC has also accused the Labour leadership of "seeking to avoid engaging with the reality lived by Palestinians for decades," and that the party had "watered down a clear commitment to recognise a Palestinian state."

Jamal further added that Israeli apartheid was "a reality that the Labour party leadership not only refuses to accept, but is willing to take active steps to suppress," noting that the party "simply prefers not to face a reality which it finds politically inexpedient."

Jamal called on any future Labour government to be "fully committed to the upholding of international law" and that "such a commitment would mean holding Israel to account for its practice of what amounts to a crime against humanity."

A growing number of organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have labelled Israel's policies in the occupied territories as amounting to apartheid. A small but growing number of prominent Israelis, including former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo, have taken a similar view.

The Labour Party spokesperson has told The New Arab that "Keir Starmer has been clear that this is not the position of the Labour Party."

The annual Labour party conference is due to be held in Liverpool from 8-11 October.

Source: newarab.com

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https://www.newarab.com/news/uk-labour-urged-confront-reality-israeli-apartheid

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UK launches safeguarding review into death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif

October 04, 2023

LONDON: The UK is launching a safeguarding review into the death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, who was found at her home in Woking on Aug. 10, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

Her father, stepmother and uncle are all charged with murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.

The Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership will investigate the work of all agencies involved with the girl’s family, including, police, health, social care and education.

The purpose of a local safeguarding child practice review, which is a statutory process, is for public agencies to learn ways to improve how they work to protect and promote the welfare of children.

Derek Benson, chair of the SSCP, said: “This process is likely to take some time.

“Findings may not be shared by the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership until the partnership is assured that doing so will not prejudice any future legal proceedings,” he said.

A post-mortem examination found that Sara had suffered “multiple and extensive injuries,” but the cause of her death has yet to be determined, the BBC reported.

Urfan Sharif, 41, Beinash Batool, 29, and Faisal Malik, 28, are scheduled to appear for a plea hearing on Dec. 1 and will face trial in September 2024.

New photos of Sara were released by Surrey Police in September as part of the ongoing investigation.

“The photos present Sara in the way we believe she may have dressed in the months prior to her death,” police said.

“We are hoping that these images will prompt more people to come forward with information about her and her family,” they added.

Source: arabnews.com

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German opposition party leader hospitalized after alleged attack

4 Oct, 2023

Tino Chrupalla, the co-chair of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, was hospitalized on Wednesday after collapsing at a campaign event in Ingolstadt, the party’s national website reported.

While the details of the incident have not been officially made public, the party hinted at an “assault incident” precipitating his collapse.

Sources have verified the attack to RT.de. One account suggests that the politician was assaulted with a syringe containing an unidentified substance that triggered an anaphylactic shock. However, the political party has not yet confirmed this allegation. Police reportedly told Austrian journalist Gerald Grosz, who was also listed to speak at the rally, that Chrupalla had collapsed after taking selfies with members of the public.

The Upper Bavaria North Police Headquarters announced on Wednesday evening that Chrupalla was found to have had no apparent injury at the hospital, according to German news outlet Focus, though other outlets have indicated that his situation is “still being clarified.”

The Ingolstadt Criminal Investigation Department is reportedly looking into the incident, and police have asked any attendees who took photos or videos in the area to submit them online via a special upload portal.

Chrupalla’sAfD co-chair, Alice Weidel, had canceled a Unity Day appearance in Bavaria-Thuringia on Tuesday for security reasons following a threat of attack to her second home in Switzerland that required the relocation of her family with a security escort.

AfD members and their families frequently require personal protection due to violent threats, physical attacks, and vandalism, according to German media outlets – Chrupalla himself has been attacked before – but party representative Stephan Brandner told NZZ that a threat requiring the relocation of a politician and her entire family to a safe house was unprecedented in post-war Germany.

The party’s defense policy spokesman, Rudiger Lucassen, warned the outlet that the “heated political climate” in which AfD was routinely demonized by other parties could easily produce “an attack with fatal consequences against one of our members.”

While the AfD has grown in popularity among the German electorate to the point that it plans to nominate its own candidate for chancellor for the first time in 2025, victory would require one or more coalition partners to run the federal government. Germany’s other parties have thus far refused to work with the right-wing populists, who are often denounced as extremist bogeymen by the media.

The AfD’s youth wing was designated an extremist organization by the German federal government earlier this year, subjecting its members to covert surveillance and onerous legal hurdles for employment and weapons licenses.

The party has been illegally shut out of the two main public news channels and was labeled a suspected threat to democracy last year, while some in party leadership worry that despite – or perhaps because of – its increasing popularity, attempts may soon be made to ban it from politics entirely.

Founded in 2013, AfD is known for its tough stance on migration, LGBTQ rights, and EU bureaucracy. The party has surged in popularity in recent years, polling second after former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union.

Source: rt.com

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https://www.rt.com/news/584052-afd-chrupalla-attack-campaign-event/

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Arab World

 

Saudi experts start work separating conjoined Tanzanian twins

October 05, 2023

RIYADH: A complex operation to separate conjoined Tanzanian twins started Thursday in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The operation, which follows directives from King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is being carried out under the supervision of KSrelief chief Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah.

A medical and surgical team will separate the two-year-olds Hassan and Hussien at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital in the King Abdulaziz Medical City at the Ministry of National Guard in Riyadh.

Al-Rabeeah said in a statement that the operation is expected to last 16 hours over nine stages, with 35 consultants, specialists, and technical, nursing and support staff taking part.

He said the twins arrived from Dar es Salaam in August for a series of medical examinations, which showed that they are conjoined at the lower chest, abdomen, pelvis, liver, urinary tract, intestines and one reproductive organ.

Al-Rabeeah thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their support of the Saudi conjoined twins separation program.

Since its launch in 1990, the scheme has operated on 58 twins from countries around the world.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2385396/saudi-arabia

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Yemen to execute 4 for kidnapping aid workers

October 04, 2023

AL-MUKALLA: A court in Yemen’s southeastern province of Hadramout on Tuesday sentenced four Yemenis to death for kidnapping international humanitarian workers last year.

The Specialized Criminal Court of First Instance for Terrorism and State Security in the port city of Al-Mukalla, Hadramout’s capital, charged Mohammed Ali Al-Harethi, Ali Ghaled Al-Salehi, Abdul Rahman Ali Al-Salehi and Shehab Abdullah Al-Salehi with kidnapping two employees of the international humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, and ordering their execution by firing squad or beheading.

Five others were absolved in the same case.

In March 2022, armed men believed to be Al-Qaeda militants intercepted a vehicle transporting a German and a Mexican in the Hadramout province between Al-Aber and Al-Khasha.

Six months later, the captors were apprehended, and Yemeni security forces raided their hideout and freed the two hostages.

During the past three years, the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, and other armed groups have killed and kidnapped a number of international charity workers across the country.

In August, MSF said that two of its foreign employees had been kidnapped in the central province of Marib, not far from where their colleagues had been kidnapped in 2022.

The organization’s Yemen office refused to share with Arab News any information on the situation of the two workers or the identity of the abductors, saying it is “still working on the safe return of colleagues.”

Armed men on a motorcycle assassinated a UN food program employee in the southern city of Taiz in July, prompting the UN agency to suspend operations in the besieged city and increase security around its employees.

Meanwhile, Yemenia, the country’s national airline, has announced the resumption of flights from Sanaa airport to Amman, days after suspending the only commercial operations from the capital due to Houthi restrictions on the company’s access to its bank accounts.

The company said it would resume its near-daily flights between Sanaa and Amman on Friday, without explaining how it resolved the dispute with the Houthis.

Yemenia recently announced that it will suspend flights between Sanaa and Amman in protest at the Houthi refusal to allow the airline to withdraw funds from its accounts in Houthi-controlled banks.

The Houthis responded by stopping a Yemenia plane from taking off from Sanaa airport, alleging that they blocked the company from withdrawing large amounts of money from its accounts over corruption concerns.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2385321/middle-east

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Saudi Arabia condemns terror attack in Niger that left 29 soldiers dead

October 04, 2023

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has condemned a terrorist attack in Niger on Monday that targeted soldiers deployed close to the nation’s border with Mali, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday. At least 29 Nigerien soldiers were killed and many more were seriously injured.

More than 100 extremists used homemade explosives in the assault on security forces who were carrying out a clearance operation in the border region of the West African nation, Niger’s defense minister, Lt. Gen. Salifou Mody, said on Monday. It was the second such attack on Nigerien soldiers in the space of a week.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Kingdom strongly condemns the attack and rejects all forms of violence and terrorist activities. It also sent its condolences to the victims’ families and the people of Niger.

Source: arabnews.com

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Saudi authorities foil drug smuggling attempts

October 04, 2023

RIYADH: Saudi authorities foiled attempts to smuggle drugs in the regions of Najran, Jazan, Asir, Makkah and the Eastern Province, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.

Border Guard land patrols seized 29 tons of qat, 421 kg of hashish and 108,422 pills.

The spokesperson of the General Directorate of Border Guard Col. Misfer Al-Quraini said that initial legal procedures had been taken against those allegedly involved in the smuggling attempts and seized items had been handed over to the authorities.

Saudi security forces are calling on the public to report information concerning drug smuggling or dealing by calling 911 in the Makkah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province regions, and 999 in the rest of the Kingdom.

Members of the public can also contact the General Directorate of Narcotics Control on 995 or via email at 995@gdnc.gov.sa. All reports will be treated with strict confidentiality.

Source: arabnews.com

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Saudi Hajj minister begins official visit to Morocco, Tunisia

October 04, 2023

RIYADH: Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah began an official visit to Morocco and Tunisia, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.

He met with Moroccan Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs Ahmed Al-Tawfiq on Wednesday to discuss boosting coordination to ensure the comfort of Moroccan pilgrims.

The two ministers signed an agreement, on behalf of the Moroccan ministry and the Kingdom’s flagship carrier Saudia, to boost the number of flights between the two countries while ensuring stable prices.

The agreement also outlined initiatives to improve the services provided to pilgrims.

During a press conference, Al Rabiah-stated that his visit to Morocco reflects the deep historical ties between the two countries, highlighting the continuous growth of their cooperation in various fields.

Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah at the opening of the Tasheercenter in Rabat. (X/HajMinistry)

The minister also attended the opening of Tasheer, a Saudi visa service center in Rabat.

Al-Rabiah will meet with officials and relevant authorities in both countries to explore ways of facilitating the arrival procedures for Moroccan and Tunisian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

His visit is part of the Kingdom’s efforts to build communication networks with the Islamic world and showcase the unprecedented services and facilities that it is providing to pilgrims.

Source: arabnews.com

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Qatar Strongly Condemns Al-Aqsa Mosque Incursions, Calls for International Action

October 4, 2023

Qatar strongly condemned on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, the Israeli incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and criticized the Israeli occupation for imposing strict restrictions on worshippers’ entry.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry stated that these actions constitute a provocation of Muslims and Christians worldwide.

They warned against tampering with the historical and legal status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem, emphasizing that no changes should be made.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry held the Israeli occupation solely responsible for the escalating violence against the Palestinian people, their lands, and their sanctities.

They called on the international community to urgently intervene to stop these aggressions and compel Israel to provide necessary protection for these holy sites while respecting international legitimacy.

Qatar reiterated its unwavering stance on the justice of the Palestinian issue and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to practice their right of worship without restrictions, establish their independent state, and have Jerusalem as its capital.

For the fifth consecutive day, Israeli occupation forces and settlers continued their aggression against the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

On this Wednesday, 1435 settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the occasion of the “Sukkot Holiday,” performing Talmudic prayers and rituals.

Source: daysofpalestine.ps

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Southeast Asia

 

Religious agencies, Islamic figures should provide input to 12MP, budget: Anwar

05-10- 2023

KOTA KINABALU: Islamic affairs agencies and religious figures should provide input into national policies, such as the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) and the national annual budget, so that the concept of Malaysia MADANI can be applied, for more sustainable development of the country and its people.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the parties involved need to provide input as a whole in the policy, not only focusing on the field of Islam but also on other areas that need it.

“I have relayed this to Jakim (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia) officials to cooperate because the approach used in the past was different. We do not use these Islamic agencies solely for religious programmes.

“When I conducted the mid-term review of 12MP, I sent the draft to the director-general of Jakim and asked her for input, not on the religious-related initiatives (but) on 12MP,” he said when officiating the Islamic Affairs Management Convention in conjunction with the ‘Ijtimak Perdana Agensi Agama Seluruh Malaysia (IJPAM 2023)’, at the Sabah International Convention Centre, here last night.

Also present were Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor; Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Armizan Bin Mohd Ali; and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Nai’im Mokhtar.

The Prime Minister said that the input was important so that he could present 12MP as an injection and view from Islamic experts, so that the spirit of MADANI could be applied.

He added that Malaysia MADANI is also an important ‘perencah’ (seasoning) in the Budget 2024, which will be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Oct 13.

The six-day IJPAM 2023, to conclude on Oct 5, saw the participation of 1,837 participants from various Islamic affairs agencies, at the federal and state levels nationwide. – Bernama

Source: thesundaily.my

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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/religious-agencies-islamic-figures-should-provide-input-to-12mp-budget-anwar-LN11581497

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Increasing Number of Men Lodging Sexual Harassment Reports, Says Minister Nancy

05 Oct 2023

 ILI AQILAH

IPOH: There has been an increase in the number of sexual harassment reports lodged by men, says Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.

The Women, Family, and Community Development Minister said more than 750 cases have been reported between July and early Oct.

“From July 6 to Oct 2, there have been 762 cases reported. From the figure, a total of 197 reports were made by men and the remaining 565 reports were women," she told reporters after attending the Anti-Sexual Harassment Advocacy programme at Casuarina@Meru on Thursday (Oct 5).

“A few years ago, the cases among men were not as many because they were probably afraid and ashamed," she said, adding that the majority of the cases reported were harassment made using jokes.

"But we can see that the numbers are growing and we believe that advocacy programmes like this will help more victims to come forward and speak up,” she added.

Separately, she said there will be at least 10 panels in the Anti-Sexual Harassment Tribunal which will include a president, a deputy, and members.

“There are two parts that we need to address first, namely the administrative and legal matters. As we have received the approval to have members appointed to the tribunal, we are discussing the financial aspect to propose the salary rate for the appointed panel,” she said.

On Aug 29, Nancy said they had submitted the complete list of names for the tribunal and were awaiting the Attorney General’s Chambers' (AGC) approval as the members are lawyers.

The Anti-Sexual Harassment Act 2022 (Act 840) was gazetted on Oct 18 last year after receiving the consent of the Yang di-PertuanAgong on Oct 8.

The tribunal was a critical part of the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act 2022 (Act 840), which was passed by Parliament in August and gazetted in October last year.

The tribunal would deliberate sexual harassment complaints, and provide a mechanism for anyone who had been sexually harassed to seek redress.

Despite the absence of the tribunal, the ministry announced that several sections of the Act have come into force, including Section 1 – Simple Titles and Commencement; (ii) Section 2 – Interpretation; (iii) Section 24 – Administrator; (iv) Section 25 – Functions and powers of the administrator; and (v) Section 26 – Power to make regulations.

Source: thestar.com.my

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https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/10/05/increasing-number-of-men-lodging-sexual-harassment-reports-says-nancy

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KL tow truck brawl: Cops arrest another 12 individuals

 05 Oct 2023

AUSTIN CAMOENS

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested another 12 individuals over a street brawl between two rival factions of tow truck drivers at Kampung Malaysia Tambahan recently.

Cheras OCPD Asst Comm Zam Halim Jamaluddin said the 12 men, aged between 20 and 35 years old, are suspected of being involved in the brawl.

"They were arrested around the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday (Oct 4) evening.

"We have obtained a three-day remand order on these suspects to assist with further investigations," he said when contacted on Thursday (Oct 5).

It was initially reported that police detained eight suspects believed to have been involved in a fight using weapons at Kampung Malaysia Tambahan on Monday (Oct 2) morning.

The suspects, all local men aged between 22 and 44 years old, were detained at locations around the Klang Valley at 11.15am on Monday (Oct 2).

The public informed the Cheras police headquarters control room about the fight, which started at 1.37am after an argument broke out between the two tow truck groups about who was eligible to tow away a victim’s vehicle.

Source: thestar.com.my

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https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/10/05/kl-tow-truck-brawl-cops-arrest-another-12-individuals

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Court upholds lawyer’s acquittal on nine charges of money laundering involving RM6.5m

05-10- 2023

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today upheld the Sessions Court’s decision to acquit and discharge a lawyer of nine charges including receiving, transferring and using RM6.5 million in funds allegedly derived from illegal activities, six years ago.

Judge K. Muniandy made the ruling after dismissing the prosecution’s appeal against the decision of the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Nov 30, 2022, which acquitted and discharged M. Pathmarajah, 67.

In his judgment, Muniandy said that the Sessions Court judge decided to acquit and discharge Pathmarajah as the appellant (prosecution) had failed to establish a prima facie case against him.

“This court finds that the order to discharge the accused person by the Session Court judge is correct and this court has no reason to change or interfere with the decision made by the Sessions Court judge. Therefore, the appellant’s (prosecution) appeal was dismissed,” he said.

The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor NorazihahAsmuni while the respondent was represented by counsel Datuk C. Vignesh Kumar.

The prosecution filed an appeal against the decision of the Sessions Court Judge on Nov 30, 2022, which acquitted and discharged Pathmarajah of money laundering charges at the end of the prosecution case.

A total of 24 prosecution witnesses testified at the trial.

On April 7, 2021, Pathmarajah, a partner of law firm Messrs. Mazwan Pathma & Co, was charged with three counts of receiving RM3,735,200, RM640,070 and RM2,161,330 believed to be proceeds of illegal activities, through four cheques deposited into two current accounts belonging to the law firm.

He was accused of committing the offences at the branches of Malayan Banking Berhad and Public Bank Berhad in Jalan Maarof, Bangsar Baru here, between Aug 8, 2017 and Feb 12, 2018.

He was also charged with transferring RM608,370 believed to be derived from illegal activities, from a current account at Malayan Banking Berhad belonging to Messrs. Mazwan Pathma into a fixed deposit account at the same bank belonging to the same law firm, besides issuing cheques of RM1,080,000 and RM2 million from the Malayan Banking Berhad current account to two companies, namely Mitz LuniquesSdnBhd and Emizen Line Sdn Bhd.

The fourth to sixth counts were allegedly committed at Malayan Banking Berhad, Jalan Maarof, Bangsar Baru here between Feb 12, 2018 and April 16, 2018.

Pathmarajah was also charged with three counts, namely of transferring RM22,000, RM1,594,757 and RM1,538,484 in funds allegedly derived from illegal activities, from the law firm’s two current accounts at Public Bank Berhad and Malayan Banking Berhad into two current accounts at Malayan Banking Berhad and one current account at Public Bank Berhad belonging to the same firm between Aug 16, 2017 and March 21, 2018.

All the charges were framed under Subsection 4 (1) (b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds from Illegal Activities Act 2001 (AMLA), which carries a maximum jail term of 15 years, and a fine of not less than five times the amount or value of proceeds from the illegal activity, or RM5 million, whichever is higher, upon conviction. – Bernama

Source: thesundaily.my

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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/court-upholds-lawyer-s-acquittal-on-nine-charges-of-money-laundering-involving-rm65m-DN11581552

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Pakistan

 

Nawaz ‘has to return to jail’, but his legal team thinks otherwise

October 5, 2023

Wajih Ahmad Sheikh

LAHORE: The expected return of Nawaz Sharif remains the talk of the town, but legal opinion on what he can and cannot do upon his return seems to be divided.

Criminal lawyers believe that Mr Sharif would have to go straight to prison, while sources within the PML-N’s legal team suggest they have ‘a way out’ and that the three-time former PM would not be required to go back to jail.

In 2019, a two-judge bench of the Lahore High Court — comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem — had allowed him to travel abroad, initially for a period of four weeks, which was extendable subject to medical opinion.

“One can find all the answers on a careful reading of the court orders allowing Nawaz Sharif to go abroad for medical treatment,” a member of the PML-N chief’s legal team told Dawn.

He seemed to be referring to the text of the undertaking submitted by Nawaz Sharif before the LHC, where he had vowed to “return to Pakistan as per my past record to face the process of law and justice within four weeks or as soon as I am declared healthy and fit to travel back to Pakistan by my doctors”. His brother Shehbaz had also submitted a similar undertaking.

Earlier, the LHC had granted the elder Sharif bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case, while the Islamabad High Court had suspended the sentence of the former premier for eight weeks in the Al Azizia case. Both decisions were made on medical grounds. In the latter case, however, the court had said that Punjab government should be approached for an extension in bail. The IHC had already suspended his sentences in the Avenfield reference in 2018.

But former Supreme Court Bar Association secretary Aftab Ahmad Bajwa told Dawn on Wednesday that Nawaz Sharif would have to go back to jail upon his return to the country, as he went abroad from the jail.

According to Mr Bajwa, the PML-N leader was not only a proclaimed offender but also a convict, and there was no provision in the law or precedent to grant protective bail to a convict.

However, he concluded, anything can happen in Pakistan and the situation may change on the day.

Although they were not prepared to speak on the record, a member of Nawaz Sharif’s legal team told Dawn that a petition is likely to be filed in the LHC on behalf of the PML-N supremo for the grant of a protective or transit bail, days before his arrival at Lahore airport. He said the petition wherein a two-judge bench had allowed Nawaz to go abroad was still pending before the court and, in all likelihood, the same bench would be approached through a civil miscellaneous application.

He also claimed that the LHC could be asked for interim protective bail on the pretext of traveling to Islamabad to surrender before the IHC, hoping that the high court would suspend Nawaz’s arrest warrants after his appearance and subsequently grant bail, either on medical or hardship grounds.

Source: dawn.com

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https://www.dawn.com/news/1779388/nawaz-has-to-return-to-jail-but-his-legal-team-thinks-otherwise

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Imran, Qureshi may be indicted in cipher case next week

October 5, 2023

Malik Asad

ISLAMABAD: The Special Court (Official Secrets Act) seized with the cipher case against former prime minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is likely to indict both Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders on Oct 9, it emerged during their trial behind bars on Wednesday.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which had submitted the challan to the court last month, declared both leaders as principal accused in the case, registered under Sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act for disclosing the contents of classified diplomatic cable and misplacing the same.

When the matter came up before Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain in Adiala Jail, the prosecution distributed copies of the challan among the defence counsel.

Sources in the legal team of Imran Khan said he briefly held a meeting with Mr Qureshi before the commencement of the court proceeding that continued for about an hour.

High court rejects FIA request to hear bail pleas in-camera

According to a lawyer who witnessed the proceeding, when the FIA sought in-camera proceedings of the case, the judge remarked that the trial would start only after framing of charges against the suspects while the proceedings were being conducted inside the Adiala Jail.

The court adjourned the proceedings till Oct 9 when it is likely to indict the PTI leaders.

On the other hand, Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq rejected FIA’s request for an in-camera hearing of their post-arrest bail petitions in cipher case.

The court, however, ruled that the prosecution may seek in-camera proceedings of a discussion on any classified document.

While citing the case of journalist Zahid Malik who authored a book on Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan and faced trial under the Official Secrets Act, Advocate Niazullah Niazi, counsel for Imran Khan, said the court had ruled against in-camera proceedings of the case.

Also, the PTI legal team filed a petition before the IHC, challenging the law ministry’s authority to issue a notification for their trial in Adiala Jail. The party claimed the notification was not binding on the judge, as it was issued without any legal backing. The petition requested the court to rule against the law ministry’s authority of issuing such notification.

No longer secret

Calling the possible in-camera trial of Imran Khan in the cipher case ‘a brutal murder of justice’, PTI Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan claimed the secret document had been declassified by the entire cabinet and the information contained in the communication could no longer be dubbed ‘secret’.

“If, as is claimed, unimpeachable evidence is available against the alleged ‘criminals’, what are the prosecution and their patrons afraid of by conducting an open trial so that the people of this country could also ascertain the reality of this monstrous drama?”

“The fact that the cipher had been declassified by the entire cabinet was enough to drive a nail in the artificial balloon of this case as the information contained in the communication could no longer be dubbed as ‘secret’ after that,” he maintained.

Source: dawn.com

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original

https://www.dawn.com/news/1779401/imran-qureshi-may-be-indicted-in-cipher-case-next-week

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Over 700 ‘illegal’ foreign nationals arrested in Quetta, Islamabad

October 5, 2023

ISLAMABAD / QUETTA: A day after the federal government gave illegal immigrants the deadline to leave Pakistan by Nov 1, police in Islamabad and Quetta detained over 700 foreign nationals for allegedly living without legal documents.

In a statement, an Islamabad police spokesperson said 1,126 people were interrogated during the operation, and 503 were allegedly found to be living illegally.

They were booked under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act and are currently in prison on judicial remand. Around 623 people were released after presenting the requisite legal documents, the statement added.

The entire process was carried out without any “unpleasant event,” the capital police said, adding that linking criminal elements to illegal foreign nationals was “false equivalence”.

In Quetta, over 200 Afghans allegedly living illegally were arrested, Quetta Division Commi­ssioner Hamza Shafqaat said.

In a presser, he said the arrests were made from several areas of the provincial capital.

Mr Shafqaat added action against illegal buildings on Quetta’s drainage channels has begun, with 11 such structures already sealed. There are over 1,000 such illegal residential and commercial complexes which pose a natural disaster threat, he claimed.

He said 20,000 auto-rickshaws were operating in the provincial capital, with only 8,000 registered. The authorities will launch an operation against unregistered rickshaws. Additionally, 18 roads in Quetta have been converted into one-way roads with barriers for improved traffic management.

Source: dawn.com

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https://www.dawn.com/news/1779381/over-700-illegal-foreign-nationals-arrested-in-quetta-islamabad

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Terror case against Lahore Bar Association secretary, other lawyers

Asif Chaudhry

 October 5, 2023

LAHORE: The police registered a case under terror and other offenses against Lahore Bar Association (LBA) Secretary Umar Waqas Warraich and 15 to 20 other lawyers on Wednesday for allegedly manhandling police personnel, and misbehaving with senior police officers.

The incident took place on the sessions court premises. Lawyers have condemned the move and demanded withdrawal of the “fake case”.

Video clips of the incident went online, showing Mr Warraich shouting at SP Raza Tanvir to “get out of the court premises”, insisting “it is our premises”.

An official stated that following the video clips, the police’s high command decided to respond firmly to the lawyers by registering criminal cases against them.

The FIR was filed by police inspector Asad Mahmood Qureshi with the Islampura police station.

He alleged that they were at the sessions court to carry out an official duty when Mr Warraich and other lawyers ordered them to leave the premises. They allegedly manhandled him, tore his uniform, and snatched a police rifle from a constable.

The FIR states that provoked by Mr Waqas, another lawyers also snatched an SMG official gun from another police employee, aimed it at the police team, and threatened them with consequences.

Senior police officers, upon being alerted, arrived at the scene, and lawyers also misbehaved with them.

Lawyers have condemned the registration of the case.

In a statement, Pakistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Haroonur Rashid declared it a false and frivolous case filed against the bar secretary and other lawyers under anti-terrorism charges.

“The registration of the false case against the secretary of the LBA is illegal and unlawful,” Mr Haroon said, demanding that the IG police withdraw it and take action against the police officers involved in filing the case against the lawyers.

Source: dawn.com

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https://www.dawn.com/news/1779309/terror-case-against-lahore-bar-association-secretary-other-lawyers

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Two innocent Pakistanis martyred in unprovoked firing by Afghan sentry at Chaman

October 04, 2023

Two innocent Pakistanis, including a twelve years old child embraced martyrdom in an unprovoked firing by an Afghan sentry employed at the Friendship Gate of Chaman Border Crossing on Wednesday.

According to ISPR, the incident occurred at the outbound gate located on the zero line along the Pakistan-Afghanistan Border in Balochistan when the Afghan sentry opened unprovoked and indiscriminate firing at pedestrians moving from Pakistan to Afghanistan. Another child got injured in the incident.

Own troops exercised extreme restraint and avoided any exchange of fire in presence of innocent passengers to avoid collateral damage.

Dead bodies of the deceased have been shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital Chaman and the injured child, who was immediately evacuated by security forces, is under treatment.

Afghan authorities have been approached to inquire the reason of such irresponsible and reckless act, apprehend and hand over the culprit to Pakistani authorities.

The Afghan authorities are also expected to exercise control over its troops and impart discipline to act responsibly in order to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future.

Pakistan remains committed to contribute towards peace, prosperity and development through positive and constructive bilateral relations; however, such unpleasant occurrences have the potential to harm the sincere intent and purpose.

Source: radio.gov.pk

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https://www.radio.gov.pk/04-10-2023/two-innocent-pakistanis-martyred-by-unprovoked-firing-by-afghan-sentry-at-chaman

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Cipher case hearing to be held in open court: IHC

October 05, 2023

Awais Yousafzai & Khalid Iqbal

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Wednesday ruled that the hearing of PTI chief Imran Khan’s bail plea in the cipher case will take place in an open court.

The court announced its verdict that was reserved earlier this week on the FIA’s plea seeking in-camera hearing of the bail application.

In its verdict, the high court said open court hearing of the bail petition will be held on October 9. However, it said arguments by the lawyers on documents regarded as sensitive would be heard in-camera.

The FIA appealed to the IHC on Monday for an in-camera hearing, as it feared that the open court hearing might harm Pakistan’s diplomatic ties with other states.

Shah Khawar, FIA’s Special Prosecutor, had told the court that under the Official Secrets Act, a trial could not be made public, adding that they would move a similar plea to the trial court.

“There are some statements and information that cannot be made public,” said the lawyer adding that they also had to place statements related to other countries before the court.

“Sharing such information in an open court can affect Pakistan’s diplomatic ties with other countries,” said Khawar.

The PTI chief’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, had opposed the FIA’s plea for an in-camera hearing.

Last month, the PTI chief moved the IHC seeking post-arrest bail in the cipher case.

The special court — established under the Official Secrets Act and hearing the case registered against the PTI chief and his party’s Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi — had rejected the post-arrest bail applications of Khan and the senior politician.

Both the leaders are currently on judicial remand till October 10 in the cipher case.

The FIA booked them under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly misplacing and misusing the classified document for vested political interests in August this year.

Subsequently, both leaders were arrested in connection with the investigation into the case and a special court was established under the Official Secrets Act to try the accused.

Earlier, the Special Court adjourned the hearing in the cipher case till October 9 without proceedings.

Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain presided over the proceedings in the Adiala Jail in line with a notification of the Ministry of Law.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team and special prosecutor appeared before the court.

The PTI lawyers objected to the trial in the Adiala Jail and urged the court to adjourn the hearing until the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) decision on the in-camera trial of their clients.

A 12-member PTI lawyers team, including Barrister Salman Safdar, Sardar Latif Khosa, Raja Yasir, Naeem Haider Panjutha, Barrister Umair Khan Niazi, Chaudhry Khalid Yusuf, Niazullah Khan Niazi, Rai Muhammad Ali and others, was allowed to attend the hearing.

The PTI legal team also refused to receive a copy of the FIA challan (charge sheet), submitted to the court last week.

Imran was also produced in the courtroom. Both the PTI leaders are on judicial remand till October 10.

A large contingent of police was deployed outside the jail.

The FIA, in its challan, stated that the former prime minister and vice-chairman were found guilty and requested the court to conduct their trial and sentence them in the case.

The FIR was registered on August 15 under the Official Secrets Act on the complaint of home secretary.

Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were nominated in the report, while names of former principal secretary Azam Khan and former planning minister Asad Umar were also mentioned.

According to the report, action will also be taken against Azam Khan and Asad Umar after the authorities reached the conclusion that they were also involved in misusing the classified documents.

The FIR stated that the former prime minister and foreign minister distorted the facts of the diplomatic cipher.

“A conspiracy was launched to misuse the contents of the cipher to fulfill nefarious purposes,” it added. It further stated that the former premier and top diplomat endangered the state interests.

Source: thenews.com.pk

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1116156-cipher-case-hearing-to-be-held-in-open-court-ihc

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May 9 attacks aimed at removing army chief, reveals Usman Dar

October 04, 2023

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Usman Dar while sharing shocking details of May 9 incident has said the planning for the May 9 events unfolded at PTI Chairman Imran Khan's residence in Lahore's Zaman Park, and Khan himself directed strategies, including targeting sensitive installations, in the event of his arrest.

He asserted that the primary aim of the May 9 attacks was to exert pressure on the military to remove Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir from his post.

Dar, who had gone into hiding following the tragic events of May 9, said in his first interview with a private TV channel on Wednesday that October 2022 long march was also organised by his party to prevent the appointment of General Asim Munir as the army chief.

He revealed that Khan employed PTI workers as human shields to evade arrest and manipulated them into avoiding law enforcement. Dar emphasised that the subsequent incidents at the Judicial Complex in Islamabad and Zaman Park were direct outcomes of this mindset.

Moreover, Dar disclosed that in the event of Imran Khan's arrest, instructions were issued to attack sensitive installations within the country. Astonishingly, it was Imran Khan himself who provided these directives, he added.

Also read: JIT finds Imran ‘mastermind’ of May 9 riots

Dar further claimed that PTI workers from all over the country were gathered outside Zaman Park to brainstorm and strategise for this purpose.

He also accused PTI Chairman Imran Khan of supporting an anti-state narrative, adding that Khan bears personal responsibility for the current situation within the PTI.

In the aftermath of Khan’s arrest on May 9, 2023 in Al-Qadir Trust case, a wave of protests stared and continued for three consecutive days.

The PTI workers on the direction of the PTI leadership attacked the Jinnah House, GHQ building, Core Headquarters, ISI offices, airbases, state installations, monuments of the martyred, Askari Tower, Military Library, residences of the armed forces officers, army selection centre, petrol pumps, set ablaze public properties and attacked several other sensitive places of the armed forces.

A joint investigation team (JIT), constituted to probe into the May 9 incidents under the supervision of DIG Investigation Imran Kishwar, submitted its finding before an anti-terrorism court last week, declaring Imran Khan and the top PTI leadership guilty of May 9 incidents by inciting people through a fake stance.

“Imran Khan, with the cooperation of central, provincial and local leaderships, constituted this plan to push Pakistan towards civil war and the public was incited through fake and self-created stories,” the JIT report revealed.

The PTI used public power for its vested interests so that the then top military officers, federal, and provincial governments could be forced to tender their resignations.

Source: tribune.com.pk

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2439211/may-9-attacks-aimed-at-removing-army-chief-reveals-usman-dar

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K-P police arrest 13 ‘terror financiers’

October 04, 2023

Ahtesham Khan

PESHAWAR:In a significant crackdown on terror financing, police in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have apprehended 13 people who were allegedly providing funds to terror outfits.

These individuals had reportedly funnelled substantial sums of money, amounting to millions of rupees, to banned terror outfits including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The arrested individuals, described as financiers, were detained in various operations conducted in Swabi, Mardan and other districts of the province.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Director-General Counter Terrorism Finance Unit Imran Shahid said that those secretly providing funds to banned outfits would face charges related to terror financing.

He emphasised that arrested financiers were instrumental in supporting the resurgence of terrorism in the province and tribal areas.

Shahid also revealed that during the past year, 173 cases of extortion had been registered, with 90 per cent of the suspects being Afghan nationals, adding that 60 per cent of those involved have already been apprehended.

Read more: High-profile terrorist neutralized in DI Khan

He further disclosed that militants from Afghanistan were involved in terrorism in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with the assistance of local collaborators.

During a significant operation in the Buner district, he said that the authorities thwarted a major terror attack and arrested four key TTP terrorists. A large cache of arms and ammunition were also taken into custody from the possession of the terrorists, he added.

During the interrogation, it was revealed that the group was involved in extortion, targeted killings, and other terrorist activities in the Buner district. It was further disclosed that the terrorists were trained in Afghanistan.

Source: tribune.com.pk

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https://tribune.com.pk/story/2439200/k-p-police-arrest-13-terror-financiers

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Imran disappointed with President Alvi, claims sister

October 04, 2023

LAHORE:Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan is deeply disappointed and unhappy with President Dr Arif Alvi, Aleema Khan said on Wednesday following a court appearance in Lahore.

Aleema, who was accused in the May 9 riots case, appeared before an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), where the court extended her and former finance minister Asad Umar's interim bails until October 16.

The judge directed the lawyers to present their final arguments in the Jinnah House attack case.

Following the hearing, Imran's sister while addressing the media stated that her brother’s health conditions were deteriorating. “He has lost a lot of weight. There is no place for him to exercise or walk,” she said, adding that she was worried about his health.

Imran also said that there were "preparations going on to keep him in jail for a longer period in the cypher case,”, she added.

Aleema further claimed that the former premier has conveyed a message that no one has approached him for discussions. Furthermore, she conveyed Imran's profound regret and disappointment in President Alvi's "failure to fulfil his constitutional duty of announcing the election date during this crucial time for the nation".

Strategy for polls

Meanwhile, sources said the PTI has devised a comprehensive political strategy in anticipation of the forthcoming elections.

Insiders revealed that the party chief Imran Khan has issued detailed instructions to the party leaders regarding the election campaign. Once the election date is announced, PTI plans to initiate its campaign promptly.

In a bid to gain widespread grassroots support, worker conventions will be organised at the district level throughout the country. The conventions will serve as a platform to engage with party workers, address their concerns, and garner their support.

Furthermore, PTI has also directed its underground leaders to commence preparations for the upcoming workers' convention.

These leaders, currently operating discreetly, will be tasked to play a significant role in mobilising the party's workforce and ensuring the successful organisation of the conventions.

With the announcement of the election date, the leaders will also emerge from the shadows and actively participate in the election campaign, sources added.

Elections date conundrum

Last month, the PTI's core committee had, in a hard-hitting statement, reminded President Alvi about his constitutional responsibilities, demanding that he should exercise his powers and announce the polls’ date without any further delay.

The core committee stated that if the president – who completed his five-year term on Friday night and was unlikely to leave the office – did not announce the poll date, he would be responsible for the violation of the Constitution and the basic constitutional and democratic rights of the people.

The committee conveyed that the announcement of the date for general elections would put an end to the prevailing chaotic and uncertain situation that gripped the country since the “regime change conspiracy” in April 2022.

The caretaker government has emphasised that only the ECP possessed the authority to make such an announcement.

Initially, the president had extended an invitation to Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja in an attempt to settle on a date.

However, Raja declined the request, dismissing it as a futile exercise and reinforcing that only the ECP possessed the authority to announce the date, citing amendments made in the ECP Act of 2017.

Prior to the amendment to Section 57(1) of the act, Raja had said, that the president was required to consult the ECP before appointing a date for the election.

However, after the amendment in Section 57, the commission had been empowered to announce the date or dates for the general election, he said.

Source: tribune.com.pk

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2439173/imran-disappointed-with-president-alvi-claims-sister

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South Asia

 

Bangladesh Nobel Laureate Yunus at Anti-Corruption CommissionOffice to Present Statement in Money Laundering Case

Oct 5, 2023

Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus reached the Anti-Corruption Commission this morning (ACC) to present his statement in a money laundering and embezzlement case.

Prof Yunus, the chairman of Grameen Telecom, along with his lawyers, entered the ACC office at 9:37am.

Nazmul Islam and Ashraful Hasan, the current and former managing directors of the telecom company respectively, also entered the ACC office with Prof Yunus.

Abdullah Al Mamun, a lawyer for Prof Yunus, told reporters that Prof Yunus went to the ACC office as he was asked to be present there to present statements in the case.

"After receiving the notice from the ACC, my client came to the ACC office to present his statement, showing respect to the laws of the country," he added.

On September 27, ACC Deputy Director Gulshan Anwar Pradhan issued a notice, asking Prof Yunus and seven others to appear before the ACC office today.

On May 30, Pradhan filed the case accusing Prof Yunus and 12 others of embezzling Tk 25.22 crore meant for the workers and employees of Grameen Telecom.

Earlier, ACC Director General (Administration) Rezwanur Rahman said the factories inspection directorate sent the ACC several complaints against the board of directors of Grameen Telecom.

On July 28 last year, the ACC formed a three-member committee to investigate those complaints. As part of the investigation, the ACC interrogated six people several times in August last year.

The other accused in the case are lawyers Yusuf Ali and Jafrul Hasan Sharif, President of Grameen Telecom Workers-Employees Union Muhammad Kamruzzaman, General Secretary Firoz Mahmud Hasan, and representative of Grameen Telecom Workers-Employees Union Mainul Islam.

Source: thedailystar.net

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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/yunus-acc-office-present-statement-money-laundering-case-3435266

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Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Needs to Meet Its Commitments: US

October 04, 2023

As the world continues to demand the Islamic Emirate meets its commitments to the international community, the United States has said that the interim Afghan government should meet their pledges to get recognized.

In a press briefing, John Kirby, US National Security Council spokesman, said that despite the “Taliban’s” fight against ISIS-K, it would be irresponsible for them not to continue their counterterrorism efforts.

“We have not recognized them as governing power in Afghanistan, they want the legitimacy, but they need to meet their commitments. How can you effectively govern and how can you have an effective economy when basically half you workforce--all women--are prohibited from being part of that process, so we are going to keep holding them accountable for their commitments,” said John Kirby, US National Security Council spokesman.

Meanwhile, political analysts are of the view that Afghanistan’s problems will be resolved if the acting Afghan government respond to legitimate demands of the world. 

“The Islamic Emirate should sit with the international community, internal legitimacy leads to international legitimacy,” Said Abdul Shukor Dadras, political analyst.

“The exerted economic and political pressures in the past two years have been the goal of regional and extra-regional countries in the governance in Afghanistan.” said

Muhammad Zalmai Afghanyar, political analyst.

Responding to the US National Security Council spokesperson, the Islamic Emirate spokesman said that the interim Afghan government has met its pledges it made to the world community.

“The Islamic Emirate is committed to its pledges, Afghanistan’s soil has never been used against other countries and the nature of governance in Afghanistan is an internal issue of Afghans and not related to other countries, Said Zabiullah Mujahid, spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate.

This comes as the international community has made the recognition of the Islamic Emirate conditional on its respecting human rights, in particular the rights of women and girls, Afghanistan’s soil not being used to threaten other countries and the fight against terrorism by the Islamic Emirate.

Source: tolonews.com

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original

https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-185401

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80 UN countries urge immediate end to Taliban’s gender discrimination in Afghanistan

October 5, 2023

Fidel Rahmati

Wednesday, 80 member countries of the United Nations expressed their concern about systematic discrimination against women by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

These countries issued a joint statement at the UN General Assembly, calling for removing restrictions on Afghan women and girls immediately.

Among the 80 countries that presented this joint statement at the UN General Assembly were European Union member states, Australia, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates.

In their statement, they stated, “We demand that the Taliban immediately cancel policies, actions, orders, and other violations of women’s and girls’ human rights and freedoms in Afghanistan, which are incompatible with the principles of non-discrimination.”

The statement added, “Arbitrary decisions and rulings intensify violence, the ongoing economic crisis, and the healthcare system, depriving women and girls of access to vital services such as healthcare and maternity care.”

Since the Taliban assumed control of Afghanistan, they have implemented oppressive policies that severely curtailed women’s access to education and employment while limiting their presence in public spaces. This has led to widespread concern and condemnation from the international community.

However, rather than heeding the global outcry and calls for change, the Taliban has not only maintained these restrictions but has also escalated their harsh policies.

They have, troublingly, attempted to frame this issue as an internal matter for Afghanistan, further exacerbating the situation and raising alarm among advocates for women’s rights worldwide.

In a recent and concerning development, the Taliban has enforced a ban on women’s beauty salons, leading to the devastating consequence of over 60,000 Afghan women losing their jobs.

These countries expressed deep concern about the severe negative impacts of these restrictions on Afghan women and girls’ physical and mental health and the violation of their human rights, discrimination, oppression, and severe violence by the Taliban.

In the statement, the Taliban was urged to respect and protect human rights and the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, referring to Afghanistan’s membership in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Human rights organizations have repeatedly warned of the devastating economic and social consequences of these restrictions for Afghan women and girls and the emergence of mental and psychological problems.

Source: khaama.com

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https://www.khaama.com/80-un-countries-urge-immediate-end-to-talibans-gender-discrimination-in-afghanistan/

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Kabul Denies Pakistan’s Claim of Afghans Involved in Suicide Bombings

Nazir Shinwari

October 04, 2023

The Islamic Emirate denied the remarks of the Pakistani official alleging involvement of Afghan refugees in the suicide bombings which have recently ripped the country.

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said on X that the Afghan refugees are not involved in the attacks and that Islamabad seeks to harass them under various pretexts.

“We deny that if the refugees settled in Pakistan, they would have handled any attack and incident in that country,” he said.

The Pakistan’s interior minister, Sarfraz Bugti, claimed the Afghans are involved in 14 of 24 suicide bombings that happened this year the country.

He said that the Fatwa (formal ruling or interpretation on a point of Islamic law) issued by the Islamic Emirate’s leader should become practical in this regard.

“There have been 24 attacks since February. The Afghan nationals conducted 14 of them,” Bugti said.

The political analysts believe that the remarks of the Pakistani officials will affect the relations between the Islamic Emirate and Pakistan.

“The people can solve the issue of security and they can take their security. The people on the two sides of the [Durand line] can take the security. They should be given the opportunities and the regional and world countries should support them, I think the issue of terrorism will be eliminated,” said Yousuf Ameen Zazai, a military veteran.

“When you reflect hostility to 40 million people, I think it is irresponsible and contrary to the neighboring and international laws,” said Sadiq Aminzoy, a political analyst.

This comes as the Pakistani officials repeatedly claimed the Afghan soil is used against their country. But Islamabad urged Islamabad to pay attention to its security and that the interim Afghan government is not responsible for the internal issues of Pakistan.

Source: tolonews.com

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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-185396

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Camp to Be Established for Returning Refugees in Nangarhar

Mohammad Amin Pacha

October 04, 2023

A delegation formed by the Islamic Emirate to manage the newly returning refugees from Pakistan, said that a new refugee camp will be established in Lalapor district of Nangarhar.

The delegation has arrived in Nangarhar, where the main crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan is located.

The delegation said that after the International Organization of Migrants (IOM) limited its support they are trying to seek support of various organizations in a bid to provide food and cash assistance to the refugees.

“The families which are headed by women or do not have a shelter or do not have anyone to take care of them, they will be provided with transportation. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan wants to make a camp for them in Lalpor desert,” said Fazal Bari Fazli, a member of the delegation.

The decision comes as Pakistan has announced an ultimatum for the Afghan refugees who lack legal documents to leave by the end of October.

Meanwhile, the residents of Nangarhar called on the Pakistani government to stop harassing the Afghan refugees.

“The treatment of Pakistan with Afghan refugees is not based on neighborhood manners. The Islamic Emirate should talk to them,” said Ahmadullah, a resident of Nangarhar.

“If it is the UN or other organisations, they are all helping Pakistan regarding the Afghan refugees. We call on them to prevent such issue,” said Abdul Ghafoor, a resident of Nangarhar.

Based on official statistics 150,000 Afghan refugees have returned to the country via Torkham crossing over the past two-years.

Source: tolonews.com

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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-185400

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Many Afghans concerned over deadline to return home

October 05, 2023

JAMRUD: Afghan refugees living in Khyber district are worried about the deadline given by the government of Pakistan to return to their country.

According to sources, Afghan refugees have bought lands and houses in various areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where they are living, and also have businesses worth millions of rupees in Pakistan.

There are hundreds of Pakistani citizens who have married Afghan women and in this way, hundreds of Afghan refugees have also married Pakistani women and now they have children who are either studying at various institutions or doing businesses.

Those Afghan refugees living in Pakistan who lack Afghan passports or Pakistani legal documents and those who have married local women are very worried about the government’s deadline for them to leave Pakistan because now they do not understand how they would

go to Afghanistan where they have no home. Also, they can’t stay in Pakistan because they do not have legal documents with them.

Source: thenews.com.pk

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1116202-many-afghans-concernedover-deadline-to-return-home

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Taliban ask Pakistan to 'reconsider' decision of expelling Afghan migrants

October 04, 2023

Taliban officials expressed concerns over Pakistan's proposal to expel hundreds of thousands of Afghan migrants on Wednesday and refuted Islamabad's claims that its citizens were behind a string of suicide bombings in Pakistan.

Around 1.3 million Afghans are registered refugees in Pakistan and 880,000 more have legal status to remain, according to the latest United Nations figures.

But caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said Tuesday a further 1.7 million Afghans were in Pakistan illegally, giving a November 1 deadline to return home or face deportation.

The order comes as Pakistan grapples with a rise in attacks the government blames on militants operating from Afghanistan, a charge Kabul routinely denies.

"Afghan refugees are not involved in Pakistan´s security problems. As long as they leave Pakistan voluntarily, that country should tolerate them," Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on the social media site X.

Bugti claimed Afghan nationals were responsible for 14 of 24 suicide attacks in Pakistan since January.

"We deny all these claims because Afghans have migrated to other countries for their safety, their security," said Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, spokesman for the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation.

"It´s natural when someone migrates to another country for his safety, he would never want insecurity there," he told AFP.

Legions of Afghans have migrated to neighbouring Pakistan over decades of conflict during the Soviet invasion, the following civil war and the US-led occupation.

And 600,000 have arrived since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in August 2021 and imposed their austere version of Islamic law.

Taliban authorities have been trying to tempt back those who left, despite the nation suffering from a massive scaleback of aid following the collapse of the US-backed government.

Rights monitors have also reported reprisal killings and disappearances.

"Internally work is underway to ensure the capacity for Afghans coming back to the country so that they live in their country in a peaceful atmosphere," Haqqani told AFP.

Source: thenews.com.pk

Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1116001-taliban-asks-pakistan-to-reconsider-decision-of-expelling-afghan-migrants

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Pakistan Human Rights Commission calls for immediate reversal of Afghan migrant expulsion

October 5, 2023

Fidel Rahmati

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has said that Pakistan’s government’s decision to expel Afghan migrants violates international human rights laws and should be immediately revoked.

The commission said, “It is unacceptable to hold them responsible for the actions of a few individuals.”

On Wednesday, the Independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in a statement on its social media platform X, “The government’s decision to expel over a million undocumented migrants within 30 days, because they have links with terrorist and criminal groups, reflects not only a lack of compassion but also a narrow and short-sighted focus on national security.”

The commission added that most of these individuals are vulnerable refugees without citizenship who have called Pakistan their home for generations.

The statement further asserts, “It is unacceptable to label them responsible for the actions of a few individuals. They have a moral right to seek refuge in this country and should be treated with dignity and empathy.”

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan stated that it is trying to compel the Pakistan government to rescind this decision and adhere to the 1951 Refugee Convention.

In the wake of two recent suicide bombings in Pakistan, military and National leaders have issued a stern ultimatum, demanding that over a million Afghan migrants vacate the country within a month.

These devastating attacks claimed the lives of 55 individuals during a ceremony commemorating the birth of Prophet Muhammad in Balochistan, with an additional five casualties in a separate assault in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The interim interior minister of Pakistan has reported that one of the suicide attackers was identified as an Afghan citizen.

On Tuesday, during a press conference, Sarfraz Bugti added that out of 24 suicide attackers who have carried out attacks in this country since January 2023, 14 were Afghan nationals.

At the same time, the Taliban administration has responded to Pakistan’s recent decision to expel Afghan refugees and has called upon the Pakistani government to reconsider its stance.

Source: khaama.com

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https://www.khaama.com/pakistan-human-rights-commission-calls-for-immediate-reversal-of-afghan-migrant-expulsion/

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Afghanistan Should Have the Right to Participate in International Conferences

2023-10-04

KABUL (BNA): Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate, has urged for Afghanistan’s right to participate in international meetings, including those related to the United Nations.

This issue was raised during a meeting with the UN Special Representative for Afghanistan.

According to a statement from the Ministry, Mr. Stanekzai discussed regional coordination, combating drug trafficking, revitalizing private trade and banking sectors, and mine clearance activities with the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and the head of UNAMA in Kabul.

Stanekzai emphasized that despite differences of opinion in some areas, it is crucial to work on common issues and grant Afghanistan the right to participate in various international meetings, including those of the United Nations.

He further stressed that humanitarian affairs should be kept separate from politics and that political differences should not hinder interaction in humanitarian aid, drug control, mine clearance, and other sectors.

Roza Otunbayeva, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and the head of UNAMA, shared information about her recent trip to New York.

She stated that efforts are being made to secure global aid for ensuring food security, combating narcotic drugs, treating drug addicts, and promoting alternative plants to narcotics.

Source: bakhtarnews.af

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https://bakhtarnews.af/en/afghanistan-should-have-the-right-to-participate-in-international-conferences/

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Africa

 

Tunisia: Families of political prisoners to stage sit-in 'until detainees are released'

04 October, 2023

Families of hunger-striking political prisoners in Tunisia announced on Tuesday that they will begin an open-ended sit-in protest against their loved ones' detention.

The sit-in will take place in the capital Tunis at the headquarters of the Republican Party, and will carry on until the detainees are released, the families said.

Republican Party Secretary-General Abdelaziz Chebbi said in a statement to The New Arab’s Arabic-language site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that the move comes after activists had "engaged in all peaceful means and protests to call for the detainees’ release".

Chebbi stressed that "the demands have not changed, and the coming days will witness the announcement of successive hunger strikes".  He also called on "all patriots and free people" to support the sit-in, adding that families are also seeking that the charges brought against them to be dropped.

A coordination committee made up of detainees’ families has also called for "a day of rage” on Thursday, when they will go on a hunger strike in solidarity with imprisoned relatives charged with "conspiracy against state security."

In February, Tunisian authorities intensified their crackdown against critics of President Kais Saied.

Among those detained include journalists, businessmen, lawyers and politicians, including many affiliated with the Islamist-inspired Ennahda Party.

Many political detainees, including Jawhar Ben Mbarek, have gone on hunger strike.

The Acting Secretary-General of the Republican Party, Abdellatif El-Harmasi, said in a speech that "the families present today are in pain and living in darkness, enduring hardships in order to respond to the detainees' needs."

President Saied suspended the elected parliament and sacked the prime minister in a power grab in 2021. Since then he has reimposed authoritarian rule, arresting political opponents and clamping down on freedom of speech.

Prior to the power grab, Tunisia was considered the only successful democracy to emerge from the 2011 Arab Spring protests.

Amnesty International has urged authorities on numerous occasions to release the detainees, emphasising that jailing dissidents "sends a chilling message that no Tunisian can freely express his or her opinions without fear of human rights violations".

Source: newarab.com

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https://www.newarab.com/news/tunisia-families-stage-sit-against-prisoner-detentions

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South African cabinet minister and 3 other lawmakers cleared of corruption

October 4, 2023

A South African cabinet minister and three other lawmakers from the ruling African National Congress party were cleared of corruption Tuesday by a parliamentary ethics committee.

Employment and Labour Minister ThulasNxesi and lawmakers Cedric Frolick, Mosebenzi Zwane and Winnie Ngwenya were implicated following a commission of inquiry into allegations of large-scale corruption under former President Jacob Zuma, who was South Africa's leader from 2009-18.

The four lawmakers had been under investigation since last year over separate allegations.

Nxesi was accused of receiving money from a company connected to well-known South African businessman and government contractor Edwin Sodi.

Sodi's relationship with and payments to prominent ANC figures came under scrutiny at the commission of Inquiry. He is reportedly under investigation by the anti-corruption Special Investigating Unit over another government contract.

The Zondo Commission of Inquiry ran for four years from 2018-22 under Judge Raymond Zondo. It revealed widespread graft involving big-money contracts in government and state-owned entities. Numerous high-profile ANC politicians were implicated in receiving improper payments but no one has been convicted in a criminal trial.

Zuma, who resigned as president in 2018, is on trial on charges of corruption, racketeering, fraud, tax evasion and money laundering, but that case relates to an arms deal the South African government signed with French company Thales before Zuma was president.

Zuma's trial began in 2021 but is yet to hear any testimony and has been postponed multiple times.

Source: africanews.com

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https://www.africanews.com/2023/10/04/south-african-cabinet-minister-and-3-other-lawmakers-cleared-of-corruption/

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Gunmen kidnap five Nigerian university students - police

October 4, 2023

Gunmen in Nigeria have kidnapped five female students from a university in the northwestern Katsina state. This marks the second such abduction of students in the region within a month.

Kidnappings for ransom by armed groups are widespread in northwest Nigeria due to high levels of poverty, unemployment, and the proliferation of illegal firearms.

The incident occurred early on Wednesday at the Federal University in Dutsin-Ma town, as confirmed by Katsina police spokesperson Abubakar Sadiq. The police are taking immediate action, deploying all available resources to ensure the safe rescue of the victims. Additionally, one suspect is already in custody.

This incident follows a similar abduction on September 22, when at least 24 female students were taken from their hostel at the Federal University Gusau in Zamfara state. Fortunately, 16 of them were successfully freed three days later during a rescue operation conducted by security forces.

Source: africanews.com

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https://www.africanews.com/2023/10/04/gunmen-kidnap-five-nigerian-university-students-police/

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UAE delegation in Nigeria, to continue meeting with FG today

Shola Adekola 

October 5, 2023

The officials of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are in Nigeria to resolve the controversy over the issues of visa bans and suspension of flight operations between the two countries, Tribune Online gathered.

The UAE officials who arrived in the country since Sunday have been meeting with the Nigerian officials on how to conclude on the issues.

According to sources, the meeting between officials of the two countries will continue tomorrow.

The Nigerian government is however not in a hurry to make the discussions public in other to avoid a repeat of the experience that  took place during the visit of President Bola Tinubu to the UAE where the news about the two countries agreements to lift the visa bans and restore flight operations was debunked by the UAE officials.

The denial by the UAE officials which became embarrassing to the government attracted angry reactions amongst Nigerians.

To avoid a similar scenario, the Nigerian government is said not to be in a hurry this time to make any pronouncement on the meeting until there is proper documentation from both sides.

The five-member UAE team is made up of   Almannaei Khalid, Janahi Asma, Alshehhu Rasheed, Teo Teck San, and Alhosani Talal.

The issues at stake include: the visa ban, suspension of flights between the two countries and the trapped funds of the two UAE airlines; Emirates and Qatar in Nigeria.

If the officials are able to reach a compromise at the end of the meeting on Thursday, the over one year suspension of flights between Nigeria and the UAE and other lingering issues may finally restore activities between the two countries.

Source: tribuneonlineng.com

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https://tribuneonlineng.com/uae-delegation-in-nigeria-to-continue-meeting-with-fg-today/

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Pastor, brother sentenced to death for murder in Akwa Ibom

Cletus Ukpong 

October 5, 2023

A state High Court in Essien Udim Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, on Wednesday, sentenced a pastor, Uduak Umoren, and his brother, Emmanuel Umoren, to death for the murder of a 45-year-old farmer and trader.

The two beat their victim, Iboro Joe, to death over a piece of land in Essien Udim, according to a report by Punch newspaper.

The Punch reported that the convicts hail from Essien Udim.

The slain man, Mr Joe, who hailed from Essien Udim, too, had visited his sister-in-law in Adiasim Ikot Ekon, a community in Essien Udim Local Government Area, to condole with her on her husband’s death.

While at Adiasim Ikot Ekon, Mr Joe had accompanied the widow to her late husband’s farmland to figure out how much she could sell the farmland and use the proceeds for the burial of her late husband, according to the woman’s testimony in court.

The woman told the court that the pastor and his brother hurried to the farmland in response to a false alarm that Mr Joe was trying to bury charms in the farmland

“She told the court that arriving on the farmland, the second convict started beating the deceased, while his wife also invited her son and her brother-in-law who joined in the fray, cutting the deceased with a machete and broken bottles,” the paper reported.

Justice Winifred Effiong found the two brothers guilty of murder and sentenced them to death by hanging.

“The prosecution team from the State Ministry of Justice had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt. The accused did intentionally kill the deceased,” the judge said.

Source: premiumtimesng.com

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https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/630840-pastor-brother-sentenced-to-death-for-murder-in-akwa-ibom.html

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