VHP Plans Shaurya Jagran Yatra, To Raise ‘Dharma Yoddhas’ (Religion Warriors) to Create Awareness On “Love Jihad, Conversion"
New Age Islam News Bureau
12 September 2023
With Lok Sabha polls scheduled by the summer of 2024, the yatra assumes
significance, as it has the potential to create a religious fervour in favour
of the BJP.
Photo: Indian Express
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India
·
Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee Files Plea
Against Preservation Of Evidence In Gyanvapi Survey
·
Arya Samaj school reopens after 33 years in
Srinagar
·
India, Saudi Arabia look to marry power grids
with undersea cable
·
'PoK will become part of India on its own',
says Union minister
·
LeT terror recruitment module busted in
J&K’s Baramulla
-------
Arab World
·
Saudi Arabia mulls opening
Investment Ministry office in India
·
Al-Falih: Saudi Arabia and
India will launch special space program
·
Saudi minister of culture meets
with UNESCO’s director general
·
Saudi Arabia participates in
international conference on combating sand storms held in Tehran
·
Arab nations in strong show of
support for quake-hit Morocco
-------
Mideast
·
Israeli
Supreme Court Hears First Challenge to Benjamin Netanyahu’sContentious Judicial
Overhaul
·
Israel threatens to target
Iran’s ‘highest echelon’ in yet another bluff
·
Israeli Settlers Invade Al-Aqsa
Mosque, Profane Holy Places
·
Israeli Settlers Steals
Palestinian House in Jerusalem
·
Israeli Bulldozers Demolish
Palestinian Home in Occupied Negev
·
Presence of terrorists in
Kurdistan region violates Iraq’s constitution, at odds with friendly ties: Iran
FM
·
‘Iranian hackers’ penetrate
networks of over 30 Israeli firms: Report
-------
North America
·
Biden Asks Americans to Honour
September 11 Dead By Rejecting Extremism
·
Trump seeks disqualification of
US judge in federal election case
·
Blinken Defends US Troops Exit
from Afghanistan
·
CAIR Encourages American
People, Biden Administration to Aid Morocco Quake Victims
·
CAIR Welcomes Hate Crime Probe
into Racist, Neo-Nazi Vandalism Targeting Vermont Museum
·
CAIR Welcomes Arrest for
Racist, Xenophobic Attack on Black Man in Nebraska
·
US convoy transfers military
equipment from Iraq to Syria: Report
-------
South Asia
·
Billions of Dollars Injected
into Afghanistan After 9/11 Attack
·
Thousands of Afghan Children
Deprived of UN Humanitarian Aid
·
Bird hunting prohibited in
Balkh Province, Afghanistan
·
Malala Yousafzai’s Father
Condemns ‘Gender Apartheid’ In Afghanistan
·
121 Afghan migrants detained by
Karachi police: Pakistani media
·
Afghan Refugees Complain of
Mistreatment by Pakistani Police
·
15 indicted over ASP Shipon’s
death; trial to start Nov 9
-------
Africa
·
Death Toll In Derna City Tops
2,000 After Floods Hit Eastern Libya
·
Morocco: Survivors recall first
moments of devastating quake as death toll climbs
·
Airstrikes kill over 40 in
Khartoum's market as fighting intensifies
·
Hundreds feared dead after
Mediterranean storm Daniel lashes Libya
·
Nigerian Meteorological Agency
Predicts Three-Day Thunderstorm, Cloudiness Nationwide
·
25 million Nigerians at high
risk of hunger — UNICEF
--------
Pakistan
·
Imran Files Contempt Petition
Against Attock Jail Official
·
No compromise to be made on
Hajj arrangements: PM
·
£190m NCA case: NAB summons
Sheikh Rashid today
·
Contempt Plea By Elahi’s Wife:
LHC Issues Arrest Warrant For Islamabad IGP
·
Soldier martyred, six injured
in Peshawar blast
·
Murder of education and
heritage: 100-year-old high school in Murree to be handed over to judiciary
·
Court to separately hear
Imran’s bail in cypher case
·
At least one FC official
martyred in Peshawar blast
------
Southeast Asia
·
Malaysia’s Appeals Court
upholds Najib Razak’s acquittal in one of his 1MDB trial
·
PM Anwar Wants Government To
Help Small Halal Companies Tap US$1t Market
·
Azalina: Govt mulls amendment
to MCMC Act to block child abuse materials online
·
IGP confirms Muhyiddin done
giving statement to police regarding political ‘fatwa’
·
Filing of death penalty, life
imprisonment sentence reviews to be handled by Prison Dept
·
Malaysian student in Norway
nabbed on suspicion of espionage
-------
Europe
·
Ukraine Needs To Face ‘Reality’
– Kremlin
·
UK’s major retailer to shut all
stores amid high inflation, killing thousands of jobs
·
German-made drone used to
attack Russia – media
·
EU believes Ukraine is ‘a very
corrupt country’ – Politico
·
Ukrainian forces advance near
Bakhmut and Zaporizhzhia – ISW
Compiled by
New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/vhp-shaurya-jagran-yatra-dharma-yoddhas/d/130661
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VHP Plans
Shaurya Jagran Yatra, To Raise ‘Dharma Yoddhas’ To Create Awareness On “Love
Jihad, Conversion"
With Lok Sabha polls scheduled by the summer of 2024, the yatra assumes
significance, as it has the potential to create a religious fervour in favour
of the BJP.
Photo: Indian Express
----
By
Deeptiman Tiwary
New
Delhi: September 12, 2023
As part
of its countrywide ‘shaurya jagran yatra’ (valour tour) between September 30
and October 15 to “re-energise” society on Hindu Dharma and create awareness on
“love jihad, conversion and Sanatan Dharma”, the VHP plans to raise groups of
“dharma yoddhas”, or religious warriors, to keep an eye on “anti-religious
activities”, among others.
The
event comes in the run-up to the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya,
planned in January 2024.
“We will
awaken people against the menace of conversion and love jihad through these
tours,” according to VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal.
“We are
also raising groups of dharma yoddhas who will keep an eye on anti-religious
activities, prevent conversion and organisegharwapsiprogrammes. A comprehensive
plan has been devised which will be carried out through the length and breadth
of the country,” Bansal said.
“Love
jihad” is a term used by Hindutva organisations for Muslim men marrying Hindu
women, while “gharwapsi” is meant to describe people who have converted to
other religions returning to the Hindu fold.
With Lok
Sabha polls scheduled by the summer of 2024, the yatra assumes significance, as
it has the potential to create a religious fervour in favour of the BJP.
“We will
not only make people aware but also raise groups of youths to deal with
elements involved in such action. The issue of Sanatan Dharma will be discussed
at public meetings during the yatra.”
Bansal
said the yatra is meant to warn Hindu society of “nefarious designs” of those
opposed to Hindu Dharma, “prepare them to fight such forces”, and bring people
from other faiths back into the Hindu fold.
Sources
said the yatra is being held earlier than scheduled at some places where
elections are due.
Bansal
said the VHP plans to collect five earthen lamps from each household across the
country before the statue of Lord Ram is consecrated at the Ayodhya temple.
The VHP
programme will include padyatra by saints, who will go door-to-door across the
country and deliver religious lectures at temples, according to Bansal. “The
saints will make people aware of how people must stand up for their faith and
be aware of the designs of anti-religious people,” he added.
For the
inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, VHP is working out a plan that
includes live broadcast of the event on giant LED screens at public places,
conducting religious rituals around the time of inauguration, and inviting
eminent citizens of the country to Ayodhya to witness the event. “The larger
plan is to reconnect with 62 crore people who donated for Ram Temple,” the VHP
leader said.
The
organisation is also working on devising programmes to honour those who
participated in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, or contributed towards it. Those
who “sacrificed” for the temple construction would be specially remembered,
Bansal said.
Source: indianexpress.com
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the full text of the original
https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/vhp-plans-shaurya-jagran-yatra-to-raise-dharma-yoddhas-8935464/
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On State
Visit To India, Saudi Crown Prince Lauds ‘Relationship Written In Our DNA’
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) poses with Indian President
Droupadi Murmu, center, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a
ceremonial reception upon his arrival at the Indian presidential palace, in New
Delhi, India, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023. (AP)
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September
11, 2023
SANJAY
KUMAR
NEW
DELHI: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s state visit to India, following
close on the heels of the G20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi, represents a
turning point in the region’s strategic dynamics and for the economies of both
countries, according to analysts.
The
crown prince arrived in New Delhi on Saturday morning to head the Saudi
delegation to the G20 summit before commencing a state visit at the invitation
of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marking an important boost to trade
and diplomatic ties.
“We are
very glad to be in India,” the Saudi crown prince and prime minister said
during a ceremonial reception in New Delhi held in honor of his visit. “The
relationship between India and the Arabian Peninsula goes back thousands of
years in history.
“The
relationship between us is in our DNA in Saudi Arabia. India is our friend.
They helped us build Saudi Arabia over the past 70 years. There is a lot of
Saudi work in India, helping development.
“This
trip will highlight the Saudi work done here in India and ensure that our
relationship is maintained and improved for the sake of both countries, and,
with the leadership of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I am sure this
will happen.”
On
Monday, the two leaders oversaw the signing of several joint agreements
covering energy, petrochemicals, renewable energy, agriculture and industry, as
well as others in the social and cultural sectors.
Analysts
believe the timing of the state visit and the scale of their engagement offers
clues as to the direction of strategic thinking between the two governments.
“Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to India following New Delhi’s
successful hosting of the G20 holds significant implications,” Mohammed
Soliman, director of the Strategic Technologies and Cyber Security Program at
the Middle East Institute, told Arab News.
“It
signifies a desire to strengthen bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and
India, possibly through trade agreements, investments, or diplomatic
cooperation.
“Additionally,
the visit offers an opportunity for discussions on various fronts, including
economic ties, energy security, regional diplomacy and multilateral engagement.
It underscores the importance of Delhi and Riyadh collaborating on global
economic and diplomatic matters.”
Also on
Monday, the crown prince took part in the joint Saudi-Indian Strategic
Partnership Council meeting in New Delhi, where he told officials that
relations between the two countries are mutually beneficial.
“Mohammed
bin Salman’s visit to India gained significance because of the importance
attached to the first leaders’ meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council of
India and Saudi Arabia,” Ranjit Kumar, a strategic affairs expert based in New
Delhi, told Arab News.
“India
attaches great significance to this council, which has become a medium for
further strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries.
“Prime
Minister Modi has described Saudi Arabia as India’s most important strategic
partner. Modi has rightly commented that cooperative relations between India
and Saudi Arabia are very important for peace and stability in the region.”
The
development of a strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and India will
likely have far-reaching ramifications for the wider West Asian region,
potentially expanding common interests beyond trade into areas like defense
cooperation.
“Prime
Minister Modi’s statement regarding the significance of the India-Saudi
relationship for regional stability likely alludes to the ongoing geopolitical
and economic convergence between the Middle East and South Asia, forming what
is often referred to as West Asia,” said Soliman.
“In this
evolving landscape marked by complex geopolitical dynamics, India and Saudi
Arabia, both influential economies in the region with global and regional
impacts, hold considerable sway over the trajectory of regional stability.
“As
such, their cooperation becomes increasingly important, encompassing areas such
as intelligence-sharing, diplomatic mediation in regional conflicts, economic
growth, and the assurance of a secure and reliable energy supply within West
Asia.”
One
major strategic development to come out of the G20 leaders’ summit on Saturday
was the unveiling of ambitious plans to create a modern-day “spice road,” with
potentially wide-ranging geopolitical implications.
India
and Saudi Arabia, along with the US, the EU, the UAE and others, launched the
initiative to link railways, ports, electricity, data networks and hydrogen
pipelines.
“This
corridor will not only connect the two countries, but promote economic
cooperation, digital connectivity between Asia, West Asia and Europe,” said
Modi in footage broadcast by state media.
“As two
of the world’s fastest growing economies, our mutual cooperation is important
for the peace and stability of the entire region. For India, Saudi Arabia is
one of the most important strategic partners.”
For
Soliman, the significance of this new corridor cannot be overstated. “The
India-Middle East corridor holds significant potential for strengthening the
relationship and strategic resilience among Mediterranean states, the Gulf
region, and India — essentially forming a crucial geopolitical bridge between
Europe and the Indo-Pacific,” he said.
“This
corridor can play a pivotal role in advancing economic integration through
increased trade and investment opportunities. Additionally, it bolsters India’s
energy security by diversifying its energy sources and promoting infrastructure
development.
“This
progress creates a foundation for enhanced diplomatic cooperation on
transcontinental issues, marking a significant geopolitical and geoeconomic
milestone in the 21st century.”
Analysts
also point to the immense opportunities for Indian businesses created by Saudi
Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic diversification and social reform agenda,
particularly for those working in the tech sector.
“We know
that Saudi Arabia has big aims. They are looking to become an economy in
transition, moving away from oil,” Kabir Taneja, a fellow of the strategic
studies program at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, told Arab
News.
“We have
the potential to set up projects both here and in Saudi Arabia. From India, the
services sector, the IT sector is something that India can help with when it
comes to developing a localized Saudi economy and, of course, Saudi Arabia has
the capital to invest in infrastructure.
“For
India, funding for infrastructure is where the main game is right now and that
is what is fueling a lot of this 7.8 or 7.9 percent growth.
“It is
the infrastructure development that is very similar to what happened with
China, which is why it is very important when it comes to the bilateral
relationship between India and Saudi Arabia.”
For
Muddassir Quamar, associate professor at the Centre for West Asia Studies at
Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, the strengthening of trade ties has
come hand in hand with a shared acknowledgment of common strategic aims in the
region.
“Both
India and Saudi Arabia are leading global economies, which are growing very
fast and recognize the importance of economic reforms and prosperity for the
people,” Quamar told Arab News.
“Saudi
Arabia is a regional power in the Middle East, it is the leading regional
economy and plays a very important role in regional politics and stability.
“Some of
the recent initiatives undertaken by Saudi Arabia to fight climate change, its
mega reforestation drive, in green energy and the world water commission, are
significant for regional stability.”
Furthermore,
the growth of Saudi-India ties reflects a broader shift toward a multipolar
world, in which emerging economies are playing a greater role in determining
their own relationships and the power dynamics within their respective
neighborhoods.
As India
this year becomes the world’s most populous country, and is potentially on
track to become the world’s fourth biggest economy, Saudi Arabia and the wider
Gulf region have adjusted their policy focus accordingly.
“Several
initiatives have been identified to take the relationship to a new level,” said
Kumar, the strategic affairs expert.
“In the
fast-changing geopolitical profile of the Middle East, India and Saudi Arabia
both need each other to balance their relationships for a peaceful and stable
West Asia, where more than 8 million people of Indian origin reside and
contribute for the betterment of the economy of the region.”
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2371801/saudi-arabia
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Israel Says
Holding Talks with Palestinians to Advance Saudi Normalization Deal
Head of Israeli National Security Council Tzachi Hanegbi in Jerusalem on
January 19, 2023. ( Photo credit by Israeli Govt Press Office )
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September
11, 2023
JERUSALEM:
Israel is holding talks with Palestinians as part of efforts to normalise
relations with Saudi Arabia, the country’s national security adviser said
Monday.
“I have
been conducting a dialogue with them [Palestinian authorities] in the name of
the prime minister for eight months,” Tzachi Hanegbi said in statements cited
by The Times of Israel newspaper.
“The
conversations are taking place as part of the five-way dialogue with Jordan,
Egypt, and the US,” Hanegbi added at a conference at Reichman University in
Herzliya.
“We are
trying to reach agreements on security matters, so they will take
responsibility for the matters that touch on their lives, Area A, and so that
the IDF (army) won’t have to enter refugee camps in Jenin and Nablus instead of
them,” he said.
Regarding
the chances of reaching a deal to normalise Israeli-Saudi ties, Hanegbi said
that an agreement is “likely to take place.”
Read
also: Israel plans $27 billion rail expansion, eyes future link to Saudi Arabia
There
was no comment from the Palestinian or Saudi authorities on the Israeli
statements.
Last
month, Hanegbi cited “significant progress” in talks with Saudi Arabia and the
US on reaching a normalization deal between Tel Aviv and Riyadh.
Israeli
officials have talked in several occasions about an imminent normalization deal
with Saudi Arabia.
Saudi
Arabia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and opposes normalization
with Tel Aviv until it ends the decades-long Israeli occupation of the
Palestinian territories.
Six Arab
countries have diplomatic ties with Israel, starting with Egypt in 1979, Jordan
in 1994, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain in September 2020, and then
Sudan and Morocco later that year.
Source: tribune.com.pk
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the full text of the original
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2435266/israel-says-holding-talks-with-palestinians-to-advance-saudi-normalization-deal
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Canadian
Who Killed Muslim Family Inspired By White Nationalism: Prosecutor
Families pay their respects on 8 June 2021, at a makeshift memorial near
the site where a man driving a pickup truck struck and killed four members of a
Muslim family in London, Ontario, Canada. Photograph: Nicole Osborne/AFP/Getty
Images
-----
12 Sep
2023
A
Canadian man inspired by white nationalist beliefs acted deliberately and with
premeditation when he crashed his pick-up truck into a Muslim family, killing
four people in an alleged “terrorist” rampage, the prosecutor said at the
opening of the man’s trial.
Federal
prosecutor Sarah Shaikh said in the opening statement on Monday that Nathaniel
Veltman, 22, planned his attack for three months before driving his Dodge Ram
truck directly at the Muslim family.
Veltman
is accused of deliberately hitting five members of the Afzaal family with his
truck while they were out for a walk in London, Ontario, on the evening of June
6, 2021.
Salman
Afzaal, 46, his 44-year-old wife Madiha Salman, their 15-year-old daughter
Yumna and her 74-year-old grandmother, Talat Afzaal, were killed in the attack.
The couple’s nine-year-old son was seriously hurt but survived.
Veltman
has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of
attempted murder in the case, which is the first time arguments of a terrorism
motive related to white supremacy will be heard in a Canadian court.
In her
opening statement, Shaikh said Veltman drove his truck, which he bought just
more than two weeks before the attack, “pedal to the metal”, kicking up a cloud
of dust as the vehicle surged over the sidewalk’s curb, striking his victims.
Shaikh
said Veltman told detectives after he was arrested that his intentions were
political, that he left his home on the day of the attack looking for Muslims
to kill and that he used a truck to send a message to others that vehicles can
be used to attack Muslims.
The
attack on the Afzaal family sent waves of shock, grief and fear across Canada
and spurred ongoing calls for measures to combat Islamophobia.
Veltman
was arrested at a nearby mall, wearing body armour and a helmet, after the
attack. According to the prosecutor he was overheard in the background of a 911
call saying, “It was me who crashed into them… I did it on purpose”.
As he
was being handcuffed, he also told police he wanted to “send a strong message”
against Muslim immigration, Shaikh said.
Evidence
collected by police included writings gushing about white nationalism and
against mass immigration. Several knives and an air gun were also seized from
the attacker’s truck.
Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau said the killings were “a terrorist attack, motivated
by hatred”.
The
killing of three generations of the Afzaal family was the deadliest anti-Muslim
attack in Canada since a shooting at a mosque in Quebec City in 2017 that left
six dead. The perpetrator of that shooting was not charged with terrorism.
Veltman,
who wore an oversized wrinkled black suit and white shirt, sat quietly in court
as proceedings began on Monday but his hand was shaking when he tried to pour
water into a paper cup on his desk.
His
lawyer Peter Ketcheson took the jug and filled his cup with some water.
The
trial is expected to last about eight weeks.
Source: aljazeera.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/12/canadian-who-killed-muslim-family-inspired-by-white-nationalism-prosecutor
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UN: Female
Suicides Surge Under Taliban In Afghanistan
Afghan women sit along a road as they wait for the reopening of Torkham
International Border crossing in Torkham of Nangarhar province. - AFP PIC
------
September
12, 2023
GENEVA:
Restrictions imposed by the Taliban (under United Nations sanctions over
terrorism) on women's education and work, as well as the dire socioeconomic
situation, have led to an increase in the number of suicides and attempted
suicides in Afghanistan, especially among women, UN (United Nations) Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett,
said yesterday (September 11), reported Sputnik.
Bennett
added that 60,000 Afghan women lost their jobs due to the ban on beauty salons
in the country.
The
group has slashed women's rights to travel, study and work since it took
control of Afghanistan in August 2021 after the withdrawal of international
troops and the collapse of the US-backed government.
Late
last year, the Taliban banned girls and women from attending secondary schools
and higher education institutions. The move faced international backlash, with
many countries and the United Nations urging the Afghan authorities to lift the
restrictions on women's rights. – Bernama
Source: nst.com.my
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2023/09/954224/un-female-suicides-surge-under-taliban-afghanistan
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India
Anjuman
Intezamia Masjid Committee files plea against preservation of evidence in
Gyanvapi survey
September
12, 2023
The
Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC), which manages the Gyanvapi mosque,
has filed an objection in the Varanasi district court against the application
of four Hindu women seeking preservation of evidence found during the
court-mandated survey of the mosque in May 2022 and those found during the
ongoing survey by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
The ASI
has been conducting a survey in the barricaded area of the Gyanvapi mosque
premises, excluding its sealed section, since August 4.
The
survey was ordered to determine whether the 17th-century mosque was constructed
over a pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.
Four
women, the plaintiffs number 2 to 5 of Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case, filed the
application last week urging the court to pass an order to preserve all the
evidence found in Gyanvapi in ‘Malkhana’ (store house).
The
court fixed Wednesday as next date of hearing in the matter.
The AIMC
counsel filed the objection against the plea. Advocate Akhlaque Ahmad said they
had filed the objection on Monday.
In its
objection, the AIMC said: “The plaintiff numbers 2 to 5 have filed the
application in the court on the basis of baseless facts. No idol, article or
artefacts were found during the court- mandated advocate commissioner’s survey
proceedings conducted last year. Survey is being conducted by the ASI on
Gyanvapi mosque premises.
“Till
now, the ASI has not submitted any report about what has been found during the
survey. In such a situation, the so-called ancient articles of Hindu mentioned
in the application by the plaintiffs are their brainchild.”
The
committee said the claim made by the plaintiffs in their plea was against the
truth.
Therefore,
the application deserved to be rejected, it said. –IANS
Source: muslimmirror.com
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https://muslimmirror.com/eng/aimc-files-plea-against-preservation-of-evidence-in-gyanvapi-survey/
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Arya
Samaj school reopens after 33 years in Srinagar
Sep 12,
2023
SRINAGAR:
The Arya Samaj Trust recently reopened its school in downtown Srinagar that was
closed for 33 years following the eruption of separatist militancy in J&K
in 1990.
After
its closure, the building was taken over by a local man in 1992 and he
established a private institute named Naqshbandi Public School.
However,
the school was later reclaimed by J&K unit Arya Samaj Trust chairman Arun
Choudhary, along with the help of a local businessman, after a prolonged legal
battle. The authorities handed back possession of the property to the trust in
2022, despite protests by the students and their parents, who had been studying
in the private school.
Students
attend a class as Arya Samaj school reopens
The
salvaged school is now housed in a rundown building, serving 35 students from
underprivileged families in the Saraf Kadal locality. It does not charge any
fees, although some parents voluntarily contribute Rs 500 a month. These
contributions help sustain the middle school that has classes till the eighth
standard.
The
principal, a Lucknow native who chose to remain anonymous, said Monday that
Choudhary encouraged her to join him in this endeavour. “Although the number of
students is currently low, we are confident that we will motivate more to
enrol,” she said.
She
acknowledged the challenges of working with these children. “Initially, when we
approached residents in the locality, they were hesitant to send their children
to this school. However, in the end, they agreed,” she said.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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the full text of the original
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/srinagar/arya-samaj-school-reopens-after-33-years-in-srinagar/articleshow/103587265.cms
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India,
Saudi Arabia look to marry power grids with undersea cable
Sep 12, 2023
NEW
DELHI: India and Saudi Arabia on Monday set out to transform their traditional
oil buyer-seller relationship into an energy transition partnership by agreeing
to work towards building undersea interlink between their electricity grids,
renewable power and green hydrogen capacities.
The MoU,
signed by renewable energy minister RK Singh and his Saudi counterpart
Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud, has the potential to change India’s status from a
net buyer of Saudi oil and cooking gas (LPG) to an energy exporter with green
power and hydrogen exports. Saudi Arabia is India’s third-largest source for
oil and largest for LPG.
“The MoU
will support India’s efforts for energy transition and transformation of global
energy system towards combating climate change,” the government said in a
statement.
The
interconnect is the most ambitious and technically challenging proposition with
far-reaching consequence since it will tie both the economies into knot. There
are 485 undersea cables in operation worldwide, the longest being the 764-km
Viking link between Britain and Denmark.
As and
when it materialises, it will mark the first offshore link in prime minister
Narendra Modi’s 'One Sun, One World, One Grid' vision of a global grid for
primarily green power. There are 485 undersea power cables in operation
worldwide, the longest being the Viking link between UK and Denmark.
In an
upside for private sector participation, the statement listed “encouraging
bilateral investments” in the identified areas by “strengthening the
cooperation with companies specialised in the field of energy” among the
objectives of co-operation.
Early
signs of cross-investments emerged with Vineet Mittal-led Avaada Energy and the
Ruias-promoted Essar group announcing partnerships with AEW (Al Jomaih Energy
and Water) and Desert Technologies, respectively, for building renewable energy
projects in Saudi Arabia where Essar is building a $4.5 billion green steel
plant.
The MoU
also focuses on co-operation in the areas of petroleum reserves — a move that
could lead to Saudi investment in the expansion of India’s strategic oil and
gas storage capacities. India currently has strategic oil reserve of a little
over 5 million tonnes spread across three locations and stores LPG in a cavern
for commercial purpose.
India
had in 2008 proposed a 500 megawatt undersea power link with Sri Lanka across
the Gulf of Mannar. State-run PowerGrid had then pegged its cost at Rs 2,292
crore and said it could be completed in 42 months. But the proposal was shelved
after Sri Lanka developed grew cold feet. India currently exports power to
Bangladesh and Nepal and imports power from Bhutan. New Delhi is looking at
expanding the grid connectivity to Myanmar and beyond.
Other
than renewable power from expanding capacity, there is potential for India to
export green hydrogen to Saudi Arabia, feeding into the proposed economic
corridor to Europe via UAE. India is targeting a 5 million tonne green hydrogen
capacity by 2030 and aims to become an export hub for the ‘fuel of the future’.
Circular
economy and technologies to reduce the effects of climate change, such as
carbon capture, utilisation and storage, promoting digital transformation,
innovation and cybersecurity & artificial intelligence in the field of
energy are the other areas of co-operation.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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------
'PoK
will become part of India on its own', says Union minister
12
September 2023 | PTI | Jaipur
Union
minister V K Singh has said that "Pakistan Occupied Kashmir will become a
part of India on its own".
Addressing
a press conference as part of the BJP 'Parivartan Yatra' in poll-bound
Rajasthan's Dausa, Singh said India has proved its mettle to the world by
successfully hosting the recently concluded G20 meeting in the national
capital.
PoK will
become a part of India on its own, it's just a matter of time," the former
army chief said in response to a question on Monday.
He also
said the grandeur of the G20 Summit has given India a unique identity on the
world stage and the country has proved its mettle to the entire world.
"The
G20 meeting was unprecedented. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, India has proved its mettle to the world. The G20 group includes all the
powerful countries of the world. All countries have praised India openly,"
Singh told reporters.
Targeting
the Congress government in Rajasthan, he said the state has poor law and order
and promises made to the youth and farmers by the government remain
unfulfilled.
"Therefore,
the BJP has had to organise Parivartan Sankalp Yatra to go among the people and
listen to them," he said.
Source: dailypioneer.com
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LeT
terror recruitment module busted in J&K’s Baramulla
By HT
Correspondent, Srinagar
Sep 12,
2023
A police
spokesperson said on a specific input of militant movement in the Kreeri area,
a joint checkpoint was established at Chak Tapper.
Acting
on a tip-off, the Army and police in a joint operation on Sunday evening busted
a militant recruitment module and arrested three terrorist associates of
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) at Chak Tapar in Watargam, Baramulla, and recovered three
grenades from their possession, officials said on Monday.
The trio
was identified as Lateef Ahmad Dar, resident of Najibhat, Baramulla, Showkat
Ahmad Lone, resident of Pusnaag, Baramulla, and Ishrat Rasool, resident of
Pusnaag, Baramulla. They were part of a militant recruitment module belonging
to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit, said the officials.
Army’s
Chinar Corps, in a post on X, said they had established a mobile checkpoint
based on intelligence inputs at Chak Tapar. “Three suspected individuals were
apprehended. Three hand grenades and other war-like stores were recovered.
Investigation in progress.”
A police
spokesperson said on a specific input of militant movement in the Kreeri area,
a joint checkpoint was established at Chak Tapper by the special operations
group of police Kreeri, 29 RR and 52 RR.
“During
naka, checking the suspicious movement of three persons coming from Chak Tapper
towards Kreeri by foot was observed. While seeing police party and security
forces, the said individuals tried to flee from the spot but alert naka party
apprehended them tactfully,” he said.
“On
further questioning, it came to the fore that they had identified four youths
in Kreeri and were about to get them active in terrorist ranks in the near
future. The above three individuals were the masterminds of the recruitment
module in Kreeri and were also in touch with active terrorists Umar Lone and
foreign terrorist Usman,” the spokesperson said.
Source: hindustantimes.com
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Arab World
Saudi
Arabia mulls opening Investment Ministry office in India
NIRMAL
NARAYANAN
September
11, 2023
RIYADH:
In a sign of deepening economic ties between the two nations, Saudi Arabia is
considering “opening an office of the Investment Ministry in India,” said
Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih.
Al-Falih
was speaking at the India-Saudi Investment Forum in New Delhi on Monday.
The
minister noted that Saudi Arabia will soon send a delegation to India to study
the feasibility of opening such an office.
“I will
commit today that we will open an office in India for investment facilitation,”
said Al-Falih.
He
added: “Within the next few weeks, I commit that we will send a strong
delegation to GIFT City in Gujarat to look at where we should set up an office
for our ministry of investment, whether it should be Mumbai, Delhi or in GIFT
City itself.”
Speaking
at the forum, Al-Falih also deliberated on the possibility of creating an
agreement between Saudi Arabia’s National Venture Capital Fund and India to
promote the growth of the VC ecosystem.
“In the
next few weeks, we will create a joint agreement between our national venture
capital fund and their counterpart here in India to channel venture capital and
funding to startups that have the opportunity to leverage our two nations,”
added Al-Falih.
The
minister said that the trade and economic relationship between Saudi Arabia and
India have witnessed robust growth over the past few years, thanks to the
economic diversification efforts in the Kingdom.
“This
engagement has been ongoing for thousands of years. But certainly, in recent
times, there has been an accelerated engagement between our two countries, both
at the government and private levels,” said Al-Falih.
He
added: “We are blessed by many things in Saudi Arabia and India. One of the
best things we have is two of the most visionary leaders in the world: Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Modi. And when they talk, you
could see 10 steps ahead.”
Al-Falih
further noted that the memorandum of understanding signed between India, the
Middle East and Europe to construct a new economic corridor will significantly
benefit all parties involved.
“I want
to congratulate the prime minister (Narendra Modi), the crown prince (Mohammed
bin Salman), and other global leaders launching the economic corridor; this is
going to be a historic moment,” said Al-Falih.
“People
talk about the Silk Road of thousands of years ago, the spice road from India
to the Arabian Peninsula. But this (Economic Corridor) will be more
significant, and it will be relevant because it is about new energy, data,
connectivity, aviation and aligning countries with the same mind and vision,”
he added.
Al-Falih
also urged Indian business owners to come and operate in Saudi Arabia and said
that the Kingdom is one of the most accessible places to do business.
He also
lauded the efforts of Indian companies working in Saudi Arabia, especially in
the Kingdom’s $500-billion megacity NEOM.
“Indian
companies are already actively at the master contractor level in NEOM, which
includes Larsen and Toubro,” the minister said.
He
added: “You will be happy to know that one of the emerging communication
technologies, which is low orbit satellite, pioneered by Sunil Mittal’s Bharat
Enterprises, is already a partner of NEOM.”
Al-Falih
added that India and Saudi Arabia should work together to be on the list of the
top 10 countries in terms of attractiveness to the private sector.
The
forum also facilitated the signing of 47 memorandums of understanding,
including agreements between private and public sector undertakings.
Talking
about the $100 billion investment promise made by Saudi Arabia in India,
Al-Falih said: “A lot has happened, I don’t want to call these ambitions and
aspirations, they are really targets based on specific projects that had
estimates to underpin that $100 billion target. I think a lot has happened, the
COVID-19, supply chain, the acceleration of energy transition, has all been
reprioritized where capital is going globally.”
For his
part, Saad Al-Khalb, CEO of Saudi EXIM Bank, said that the India-Saudi
Investment Forum helped to ensure significant commitment from both private and
public sectors in India and Saudi Arabia, which will ultimately enhance trade
ties between both nations.
“We have
signed an MoU with Indian EXIM. This MoU is not just a document; it is rather a
testimony to our mutual aspirations and commitments toward the private sector
in our countries,” said Al-Khalb.
He
added: “The MoU signifies our mutual commitment and strengthening our ties,
promoting bilateral trade and ensuring continuous economic growth of our
economies.”
Source: arabnews.com
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------
Al-Falih:
Saudi Arabia and India will launch special space program
September
11, 2023
RIYADH —
Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih said on Monday that Saudi Arabia
and India will launch a special space program.
The
minister said that the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) would open an office
in India to facilitate the pumping and exchange of investments.
“Saudi
Arabia will consider setting up an office of its sovereign wealth fund in
India’s Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT). “I match your offer and
commit today to opening an office,” Al-Falih said after India’s Minister of
Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal invited Saudi Arabia to set up an office in
GIFT City.
GIFT
City is India’s tax-neutral financial services center. Goyal also said he will
suggest that his ministry starts an investment promotion office in Riyadh.
More
than 1000 business leaders and investors from India and Saudi Arabia attended
the India - Saudi Investment Forum held on Monday on the sidelines of the
official visit of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman to India.
Addressing
the forum, Badr Al-Badr, deputy Saudi minister of investment for investment
outreach, said that Saudi Arabia and India have signed a bilateral agreement to
further bolster the investment climate in both countries. There is a robust
growth in the trade ties between Saudi Arabia and India, the minister said
while urging Indian businessmen and investors to pump investments in the
Kingdom.
Around
50 agreements have been signed between India and Saudi Arabia, most of which
are memorandums of understanding towards the exchange of experiences in a wide
range of sectors. The agreements are valued at about $3.5 billion
Source: saudigazette.com.sa
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------
Saudi
minister of culture meets with UNESCO’s director general
September
12, 2023
The
Minister of Culture, Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, met with the
Director-General of the UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, on the sidelines of the 45th
extended session of the World Heritage Committee hosted by Saudi Arabia.
During
the meeting, which took place on Sunday, the Minister of Culture welcomed
UNESCO's Director General to Riyadh, praising the efforts exerted by UNESCO in
preserving and protecting heritage.
The
Minister of Culture expressed the Kingdom’s interest to host the next UNESCO
World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development (MONDIACULT)
scheduled for 2025.
During
the meeting, aspects of cooperation between the Kingdom and UNESCO in
preserving and protecting world heritage were reviewed.
The
Minister of Culture affirmed the Kingdom's continued support for the projects
and programs proposed by UNESCO.
Source: arabnews.com
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Saudi
Arabia participates in international conference on combating sand storms held
in Tehran
September
12, 2023
Saudi
Arabia participated on Monday in the International Conference on Combating Sand
and Dust Storms held in Tehran, where it discussed it Sand and Dust Storm
Warning Regional Center.
CEO of
the Saudi National Center of Meteorology, Ayman bin Salem Ghulam, stressed the
kingdom’s efforts to mitigate climate change and combat sand and dust storms,
citing the Saudi Green Initiative, introduced by the Crown Prince in March
2021, which is designed to tackle both local and global environmental
challenges.
The
Middle East Initiative aims to plant 50,000,000,000 trees, which is equivalent
to five percent of the global afforestation target.
Saudi
Arabia has made significant investments in research and technology in
collaboration with regional and international partners.
Ghulam
said that the Kingdom signed agreements with neighbouring countries to
strengthen cooperation in early warning systems, research, and technology
transfer.
He also
highlighted the recent recognition by the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO) of the consultation and evaluation system for warning of sand and dust
storms for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries as one of its regional
headquarters.
He said
the Sand and Dust Storm Warning Regional Center received accreditation as one
of its regional centres by the WMO.
The CEO
of the National Center of Meteorology called for attending the Saudi-hosted
first international conference on sand and dust storms in the Arabian Peninsula
next March, and the 16th for the parties to the United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification end of next year.
Source: arabnews.com
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------
Arab
nations in strong show of support for quake-hit Morocco
September
11, 2023
BADR
SAOUDI
CASABLANCA:
The official death toll in the Moroccan earthquake rose to more than 2,800
people, with more than 2,500 injured.
Latest
figures released by the country’s Interior Ministry revealed that the province
of Al-Haouz, south of Marrakesh, which was at the center of the quake, bore the
brunt of casualties, with 1,604 dead. In Taroudant, the next worse-hit area,
the tremors claimed nearly 500 lives.
Saudi
Arabia has been among several Arab countries to offer support to Rabat.
Under
directives issued by King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the
Saudi aid agency KSrelief quickly set up an air bridge to provide relief to
Morocco.
And
search and rescue teams, in collaboration with the Saudi Red Crescent
Authority, have been deployed to provide humanitarian assistance.
Joining
other Emirati leaders in expressing condolences to the people of Morocco, UAE
President Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan also ordered the establishment of a
humanitarian air corridor to provide immediate material assistance to quake
victims.
Qatar,
Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Algeria, Egypt, and Jordan are helping too with Algeria
having offered to open its airspace for humanitarian and medical flights to
Morocco.
In a
statement, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Hissein
Brahim Taha pledged the body’s full support for the North African nation in the
wake of the natural disaster.
Source: arabnews.com
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-------
Mideast
Israeli
Supreme Court Hears First Challenge to Benjamin Netanyahu’sContentious Judicial
Overhaul
September
12, 2023
JERUSALEM:
Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday opened the first case to look at the legality
of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul –
deepening a showdown with the far-right government that has bitterly divided
the nation and put the country on the brink of a constitutional crisis.
In a
sign of the case’s significance, all 15 of Israel’s Supreme Court justices are
hearing appeals to the law together for the first time in Israel’s history. A
regular panel is made up of three justices, though they sometimes sit on
expanded panels. The proceedings were also being livestreamed.
The law,
which parliament passed in July, cancels the court’s ability to strike down
government decisions it deems to be “unreasonable.” It is the first piece of
the wider plan by Netanyahu’s government to weaken the Supreme Court and give
more power to the governing coalition.
The
protesters have come largely from the country’s secular middle class. Leading
high-tech business figures have threatened to relocate. Perhaps most dramatic,
thousands of military reservists have broken with the government and declared
their refusal to report for duty over the plan.
Netanyahu’s
supporters tend to be poorer, more religious and live in West Bank settlements
or outlying rural areas. Many of his supporters are working-class Mizrahi Jews,
with roots in Middle Eastern countries, and have expressed hostility toward
what they say is an elitist class of Ashkenazi, or European, Jews.
Late on
Monday, tens of thousands of Israeli protesters crowded around the Supreme
Court, waving national flags and chanting against the government.
The law
passed as an amendment to what in Israel is known as a “Basic Law,” a special
piece of legislation that serves as a sort of constitution, which Israel does
not have. The court has never struck down a “Basic Law” before but says it has
the right to do so. The government says it does not.
In a
statement ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin said
the court “lacks all authority” to review the law.
“It is a
fatal blow to democracy and the status of the Knesset,” he said, insisting that
lawmakers elected by the public should have the final say over the legislation.
The
petitioners asking the court to strike down the law include a handful of civil
society groups advocating for human rights and good governance. A ruling is not
expected on Tuesday, but the hearing could hint at the court’s direction.
The case
is at the heart of a wider contest in Israel between fundamentally different
interpretations of democracy. Netanyahu and his coalition say that as elected
representatives, they have a democratic mandate to govern without being hobbled
by the court, which they portray as a bastion of secular, left-leaning elite.
Opponents
say that the court is the only check on majority rule in a country with such a
weak system of checks and balances – just one house of parliament, a figurehead
president and no firm, written constitution.
They say
that without the power to review and overturn some government decisions,
Netanyahu’s government could appoint convicted cronies to Cabinet posts, roll
back rights for women and minorities, and annex the occupied West Bank – laws
that the court with its current powers would be likely to strike down.
“We must
remember that democracies don’t die in one day anymore,” Navot from the Israel
Democracy Institute said. “Democracies die slowly, step by step, law by law.
And therefore we should be very careful with this kind of judicial overhaul.”
The
political survival of Netanyahu, who returned to power late last year while on
trial for corruption, depends on his hard-line, religiously conservative
coalition partners who have threatened to rebel if he forestalls the
legislation.
Netanyahu
has refused to say clearly whether he would respect a decision by the court to
strike down the new law. Some members of his coalition, including Levin, have
hinted that the government could ignore the court’s decision.
Legal
experts warn that could spark constitutional crisis, where citizens and the
country’s security forces are left to decide whose orders to follow – the
parliament’s or the court’s – thrusting the country into uncharted territory.
Source: arabnews.com
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-------
Israel
threatens to target Iran’s ‘highest echelon’ in yet another bluff
11
September 2023
The head
of the Israeli spy agency Mossad has accused Iran of plotting attacks on the
occupying regime’s interests around the world, threatening to assassinate
senior Iranian officials as he claims Tel Aviv is prepared to strike “the heart
of Tehran.”
David
Barnea claimed at an annual conference of the Institute for Counter-Terrorism
Policy (ICT) at Reichman University in the Israeli city of Hrezliya, north of
Tel Aviv, on Sunday that Mossad had foiled 27 anti-Israel attacks
“orchestrated, masterminded and directed by Iran” over the past year.
"The
captured squads and the weapons seized alongside them all had specific
targets," Barnea said, adding that the attempts occurred “all over the
world, in Europe, Africa, the Far East and South America.”
Barnea
claimed, "All of this was under Iran's direction and guidance. We are
currently working to track Iranian squads to prevent them from harming Jews and
Israelis worldwide."
The
Mossad chief said Israel would go after the agents involved in the plots as
well as the commanders who sent them to carry out the attacks, warning that
Israel’s response would go all the way to Iran’s “highest echelon.”
“The
time has come to exact a price from Iran in a different way,” Barnea said,
claiming, “Harming Israelis and Jews in any way — by proxy, by Iranians, or by
Iranian weapons smuggled into Israel — will lead to activity against the
Iranians ... and also against the decision-makers, from the ground operators to
the commanders who approved the operation, to the highest echelon.”
Barnea
warned, “These prices will be exacted with great precision in the depths of
Iran, in the heart of Tehran.”
The head
of the Israeli spy agency also briefed the participants on the structure of
Iran's intelligence community, using a chart that featured Major General
Hossein Salami, the chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps
(IRGC), and Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib at the top.
Iranian
officials have on numerous occasions condemned Israel’s threat to use military
force against the country’s military, non-military and vital infrastructure,
stressing that Tehran will not hesitate to respond decisively to any threat or
wrongful action by the Tel Aviv regime.
Iran-Russia
cooperation
Pointing
to the long-time military cooperation between Iran and Russia, Barnea claimed
that Iran intended to provide Russia with short- and long-range missiles in
addition to drones that would be used in Moscow’s military operation in
Ukraine.
The head
of the spy agency said Israel was concerned about Russia selling advanced
weaponry to Iran that could pose an existential threat to the occupying regime.
“Our
fear is that the Russians will transfer to the Iranians in return what they
lack, advanced weapons that will certainly endanger our peace and maybe even
our existence here,” Barnea said.
The
Mossad chief also expressed his worries about Iran’s peaceful nuclear program
and a potential agreement with world powers that would see sanctions on the
Islamic Republic eased.
Source: presstv.ir
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------
Israeli
Settlers Steals Palestinian House in Jerusalem
September
12, 2023
Protected
by Israeli occupation forces, Israeli settlers have stolen a Palestinian house
in occupied Jerusalem after storming it at dawn today, Tuesday, September 12,
and making some changes inside it.
The
neighbours have been shocked by settlers’ noisy sounds while breaking the house
doors and replacing them. They also installed security iron bars for the
windows.
The
Palestinian residents told the owners, the Idris family, about the settlers’
raid, so they rushed to the place and verbally quarrelled with the settlers and
the occupation forces.
Mohammad
Salih Idris stressed that they have been the owners of the house since 1979,
and they have the documents proving ownership of the house in which his mother
and sister currently live.
The
Israeli settlers took advantage of his mother’s hospitalization for about 10
days, so dozens of them stormed the house while nobody was inside, said Idris.
He
pointed out that the family managed to kick the settlers out of their homes
after proving their ownership of the house.
There’s
been a dramatic rise in violence carried out by extremist Israeli settlers
against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank this year, with more
than 100 incidents reported a month, according to the UN.
According
to the Colonization & Wall Resistance Commission CWRC, in July 2023,
Israeli occupation forces and settlers committed a total of 897 attacks against
the Palestinian people, their properties, and their holy sites.
Source: daysofpalestine.ps
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------
Israeli
Bulldozers Demolish Palestinian Home in Occupied Negev
September
12, 2023
Israeli
occupation bulldozers demolished on Tuesday, 12 September 2023
Palestinian-owned home in the city of Rahat in the occupied Negev.
Local
Palestinain sources reported that well-armed Israeli troops invaded the Rahat
city accompanied by military bulldozers and demolished a home owned by the
Palestinian family of Al-Huzayel.
Local
sources stated that Israeli forces demolished the home under the pretext of
building without a permit.
Israeli
troops surrounded the area where the home was located and prevented the
Palestinian residents from reaching the area in order to carry out the
demolition, sources added.
Israeli
occupation escalated the demolition orders against the Palestinian homes and
properties in the towns and villages in 1948 occupied Palestinian lands, aiming
to force the Palestinian residents to leave their own lands under the pretext
of building without a permit.
Since
the start of 2023, Israeli occupation leveled 25 Palestinian-owned structures
in 1948 occupied lands leaving its people homeless. They issued demolition
orders against dozens of others, according to Palestinain figures.
Source: daysofpalestine.ps
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------
Presence
of terrorists in Kurdistan region violates Iraq’s constitution, at odds with
friendly ties: Iran FM
11
September 2023
Iranian
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says the presence of terrorists in
Iraqi Kurdistan region contravenes the Arab country's constitution and is not
compatible with cordial relations between Tehran and Baghdad.
Amir-Abdollahian
made the statement in a meeting with Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (PUK), in Tehran on Monday. The meeting came ahead of a
deadline agreed by Iran and Iraq to disarm and relocate terror groups based in
semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
"The
presence of terrorists in Kurdistan region and their moves against security of
Iran are incompatible with Iraq's constitution and friendly bilateral relations
[because] no party should [be allowed to] harm security of Iraq's
neighbors," Iran's top diplomat said.
Amir-Abdollahian
added that Iran is in favor of an "independent, prosperous, and
developed" Iraq, noting that Tehran and Baghdad enjoy solid ties.
The
Iranian minister also called for the speedy implementation of a security
agreement concluded between the two sides. Under the agreement, the Iraqi
government has promised to disarm terrorist and separatist groups based in
Kurdistan region by September 19, vacate their military barracks there, and
transfer them to the camps established by the Baghdad government.
A top
Iranian diplomat says the anti-Iran terrorist groups based in Iraq
Iraqi
officials have notified authorities in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
of the terms of the agreement.
Iranian
Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kan'ani, said on Monday that the deadline
"will not be extended in any way," noting that the Iraqi government
has taken measures to implement the deal.
For his
part, Talabani hailed Iran's continuous support for the Iraqi government and
nation, adding, "We take pride in our relations and friendship with the
Islamic Republic of Iran."
He
pointed to his party’s measures to boost security along the borders of
Kurdistan region, stressing that Iraq will not allow any harm to come from its
territory to regional countries, particularly Iran.
Meanwhile,
a statement from Talabani’s office cited the PUK leader as saying, "Our
goal is to achieve stability and coexistence in the region, for which we
support responsible dialogue and understanding and believe that this is the
only way to overcome the problems and achieve national goals."
President
of Iraq
In a
meeting with Iran's Ambassador to Baghdad Mohammad Kazem Ale-Sadeq earlier on
Monday, the president of Iraq's Kurdistan region, Nechirvan Barzani, said the
semi-autonomous region is committed to the security agreement between Iran and
the Arab country and will allow no one to pose a threat to Tehran.
The
security agreement between the two countries came after anti-Iranian terrorist
groups residing in Iraqi Kurdistan region increased their malign activities,
especially in border areas.
Responding
to their activities, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched
several rounds of strikes against their positions since September 24 last year,
vowing to continue the attacks until the groups are disarmed.
Iran
has, on countless occasions, warned Iraqi Kurdistan’s local authorities that it
will not tolerate the presence and activity of terrorist groups along its
northwestern borders, saying the country will give a decisive response should
those areas become a haven for anti-Tehran terrorists.
Source: presstv.ir
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/09/11/710676/Iran-Iraq-Amir-Abdollahian-Patriotic-Union-of-Kurdistan-PUK-Bafel-Talabani-deal-terrorists-separatists-disarm-relocate-
------
‘Iranian
hackers’ penetrate networks of over 30 Israeli firms: Report
11
September 2023
Iranian
hackers have managed to break into the networks of more than 30 companies in
Israel, a report says.
Israel's
Ynetnews website reported on Monday that the information security company ESET
found that what it called Iranian hackers took advantage of a known weakness in
corporate email servers of 32 Israeli companies to introduce a backdoor,
allowing them to enter their networks.
The
cyber security company, which declined to disclose the names of the hacked
companies, said the purported Iranian hackers also broke into a company in
Brazil and another in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According
to the report, the hacked companies operate in diverse fields, including insurance,
medicine, industry, communications, IT, technology, retail, automobile, law,
financial services, architecture and civil engineering.
Ynetnews
said the hacking group identified itself as Ballistic Bobcat, which is also
known by other names, including Charming Kitten, TA543 or PHOSPHORUS as well as
APT35/42. It said at least 16 other companies were affected by secondary
attackers.
Israeli
daily claims a group of elite hackers that it introduces as Iranians have
advanced as far as Israeli prime minister’s office and the regime’s major
aerospace company.
The
Israeli regime has targeted Iran on many occasions either directly or by
instigating and providing support for the actual perpetrators.
Back in
2012, The Washington Post reported that the United States’ National Security
Agency (NSA), its spy service CIA, and Israel’s military had worked together to
launch a malware, named as Stuxnet, against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In
retaliation, Iranian hacking groups purportedly operate against targets in
Israel.
Back in
late 2020, Israeli daily Ha’aretz claimed a group of elite hackers it
introduced as Iranians had advanced as far as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s office and the regime’s major aerospace company.
Source: presstv.ir
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/09/11/710671/Israel-Iranian-hackers
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North America
Biden
asks Americans to honour September 11 dead by rejecting extremism
12 Sep
2023
ANCHORAGE,
Sept 12 ― President Joe Biden urged Americans yesterday not to succumb to the
“poisonous politics of difference and division” as he sought to revive the
spirit of national unity after the deadly September 11, 2001, attacks 22 years
ago.
“It
shouldn't take a national tragedy to remind us of the power of national unity,
but that's how we truly honour those we lost on 9/11,” Biden told about 1,000
US military personnel at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska.
Biden,
his wife Jill, Vice President Kamala Harris, her husband Doug Emhoff and US
military commanders participated in separate events to remember those who died
in the Sept.ember 11 attacks and the war in Afghanistan that resulted.
On
September 11, 2001, Islamist hijackers seized control of three jetliners and
crashed them into the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center and the
Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. A fourth plane crashed into a field in
Pennsylvania after passengers overcame the hijackers.
Biden's
event took place in Alaska because he was on his way back from a five-day trip
to India and Vietnam.
His
decision to hold the event in Alaska, instead of Washington or New York, was a
departure from what has been presidential custom.
With 14
months to go until the 2024 presidential election, his remarks included a
political message.
Biden
decried what he called a “rising tide of hatred, extremism and political
violence” in the United States. There is growing evidence that the country is
grappling with the biggest and most sustained increase in political violence
since the 1970s.
“We must
not succumb to the poisonous politics of difference and division. We must never
allow ourselves to be pulled apart by petty manufactured grievances,” said
Biden, recalling his friendship with John McCain, the late Vietnam war hero and
Republican senator.
McCain,
he said, put duty to country “above party, above politics, above his own
person. This day reminds us, we must not lose that sense of national unity.”
Harris
and other officials joined families of those who died at the 9/11 Memorial in
New York, which occupies the footprints of the downed buildings.
“It's 22
years and this is the way I still feel, like it was yesterday,” said Sybil
Ramsaran, whose daughter Sarah died in the attacks.
Also at
the New York event was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a candidate for the 2024
Republican presidential nomination.
Donald
Trump, the leading Republican candidate for the 2024 race, issued a video
vowing “we will never, ever forget” the 9/11 victims.
Across
the Potomac River from Washington, top US military leaders held their annual
event at the Pentagon, and Jill Biden took part in a wreath-laying ceremony.
In
Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Emhoff laid a wreath at the memorial for United
Flight 93.
The
attacks prompted then-President George W. Bush to launch a “global war on
terror” that included a military assault on Afghanistan to find al Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden eluded capture until he was killed in a US raid on
his Pakistan compound in 2011 ordered by then-President Barack Obama.
The 9/11
attacks were the worst assault on US soil since the 1941 Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, when 2,400 people were killed. ― Reuters
Source: malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2023/09/12/biden-asks-americans-to-honour-september-11-dead-by-rejecting-extremism/90328
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Trump
seeks disqualification of US judge in federal election case
12 Sep
2023
WASHINGTON,
Sept 12 ― Former US President Donald Trump filed a motion yesterday seeking to
disqualify US District Judge Tanya Chutkan from presiding over one of the
criminal cases charging him with trying to overturn his 2020 presidential
election loss.
Trump,
the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said last
month he planned to seek Chutkan's recusal as well as a change of venue for the
case.
Trump
argued in a court filing that Chutkan’s prior statements appearing to refer to
his role in influencing the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by his
supporters raise questions about her impartiality in the case.
The
court filing cites a remark Chutkan made at a 2022 sentencing hearing for a
Capitol riot defendant in which she suggested that the rioter was motivated by
“blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day,” after
some defendants argued they thought they were doing what Trump wanted.
Trump’s
lawyers argued that the comment indicated the judge’s belief that Trump “should
be prosecuted and imprisoned.”
Trump
has been charged by US Special Counsel Jack Smith with four felony counts for
allegedly plotting to subvert the results of the 2020 election. That is one of
four criminal cases he faces as he runs for the Republican nomination in 2024.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
“Although
Judge Chutkan may genuinely intend to give President Trump a fair trial — and
may believe that she can do so — her public statements unavoidably taint these
proceedings, regardless of outcome,” Trump's lawyers wrote.
Trump
has frequently criticisedChutkan on his social media site since she was
randomly assigned to preside over the election case in Washington federal
court.
Chutkan
set a trial date in the case for March 2024 over the objections of Trump and
his lawyers, who sought to push the proceeding back to 2026. The judge also
previously warned Trump about attempting to influence potential witnesses in
the case.
The
Washington indictment does not specifically charge Trump for the January 6
attack, but alleges that he exploited the riot in an attempt to delay Congress'
certification of his defeat by Democrat Joe Biden.
Chutkan,
who was nominated by former Democratic President Barack Obama, ruled against
Trump in 2021 in a civil case he brought attempting to shield his White House
records from the US House committee that investigated the Capitol attack.
“Presidents
are not kings, and Plaintiff is not president,” Chutkan wrote in that ruling.
Trump
also odaysyesterught to dismiss seven of the counts he faces in a separate
Georgia case, arguing that he is immune from prosecution for actions he took in
his official capacity as president. ― Reuters
Source: malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2023/09/12/trump-seeks-disqualification-of-us-judge-in-federal-election-case/90334
-------
Blinken
Defends US Troops Exit from Afghanistan
11 Sep
2023
The US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has once again defended the decision about
the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, saying “we want to make sure, and
as a result of what the President did we can make sure, that we’re not going to
have another generation going to Afghanistan to fight and die there as we had
for 20 years.”
Blinken
made the remarks with Jake Tapper of CNN’s State of the Union program “So we
did the right thing,” he said. “But of course, we will look very hard at
everything, every aspect of the decisions that we made to make sure that we get
it right every time going forward, and that everyone who was involved feels
that appropriate justice has been done to the sacrifice of their loved ones.”
Meanwhile,
Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul, also said
in an interview with CNN they have invited officials from the State Department
and White House for testimony.
“We want
to talk to Jen Psaki, the messages she was sending out from the White House
were so different from what was happening on the ground. You know John Kirby
made the comments that there were no weapons left behind, which is insane,” he
said. “…There (are) 7 billion dollars of
weapons. And I can show the types of the weapons and the cash. They were left
behind. Ned Price, you know the State Department, making rosy comments… we sent
letters to have them testified.”
The
Islamic Emirate meanwhile said that the US presence in Afghanistan was
affecting both countries.
“Both
sides suffered heavy damages. Boh the US and its partners have sustained both
human and economic losses. There was a major disaster in Afghanistan, tens of
thousands of our citizens were martyred,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman
for 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-185060
------
CAIR
Encourages American People, Biden Administration to Aid Morocco Quake Victims
Ismail Allison
September
11, 2023
(WASHINGTON,
D.C., 9/11/2023) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the
nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today
encouraged “American Muslims and American of all faiths and backgrounds” to do
whatever they can to aid the victims of the deadly earthquake in Morocco.
CAIR
also thanked the Biden administration for offering assistance to the Moroccan
government and encouraged the government to do so quickly.
Thousands
of people were killed in Friday’s 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck
Morocco’s High Atlas mountain range near Marrakech. More than 2,600 people are
already confirmed dead.
In a
statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“To God
we belong, and to God we return. We pray for those impacted by this tragedy and
call on American Muslims and American of all faiths and backgrounds to do
whatever they can to offer spiritual and financial support for the relief
efforts. We also thank the Biden administration for offering assistance and
encourage them to do so as soon as possible.”
He noted
that a number of national and international relief agencies are sending aid to
the area devastated by the earthquake.
Source: cair.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-encourages-american-people-biden-administration-to-aid-morocco-quake-victims/
------
CAIR
Welcomes Hate Crime Probe into Racist, Neo-Nazi Vandalism Targeting Vermont
Museum
September
11, 2023
Ismail
Allison
(WASHINGTON,
D.C., 9/11/2023) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the
nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed
a hate crime investigation by police into a racist, neo-Nazi vandalism
targeting a museum in Brownington, Vt.
The Old
Stone House Museum in Brownington was vandalized with Nazi swastikas and
antisemitic graffiti. Police are investigating the incident as a possible hate
crime.
https://www.mychamplainvalley.com/news/local-news/brownington-museum-vandalized-in-potential-hate-crime/
“We
thank law enforcement authorities for launching a hate crime investigation into
this disturbing incident,” said CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail
Allison. “No community should have its institutions desecrated with symbols of
racist hate.”
He said
that CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those
challenging white supremacy, antisemitism, anti-Black racism, xenophobia,
Islamophobia, and all other forms of bigotry.
Source: cair.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-welcomes-hate-crime-probe-into-racist-neo-nazi-vandalism-targeting-vermont-museum/
-------
CAIR
Welcomes Arrest for Racist, Xenophobic Attack on Black Man in Nebraska
Ismail
Allison
September
11, 2023
(WASHINGTON,
D.C., 9/11/2023) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the
nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed
the arrest of a suspect for an alleged racist and xenophobic attack on a black
man in a Grand Island, Neb., park.
Police
say the suspect threatened to kill the 24-year-old victim, repeatedly kicked
him and told him to go back to his home country. The alleged assailant was
arrested for assault and terroristic threats.
“All
Americans should be free to go about their daily lives without fear of
bias-motivated attacks or intimidation,” said CAIR National Communications
Director Ibrahim Hooper. “This disturbing incident is further evidence of the
growing bigotry nationwide that people of all faiths and backgrounds must
repudiate and actively oppose.”
He said
CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those
challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia,
white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry.
Source: cair.com
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https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-welcomes-arrest-for-racist-xenophobic-attack-on-black-man-in-nebraska/
------
US
convoy transfers military equipment from Iraq to Syria: Report
12
September 2023
A convoy
belonging to the US-led coalition has reportedly transferred military
equipment, ammunition and fuel from American bases in Iraq to neighboring
Syria.
Citing
unnamed sources, Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen news channel reported that the convoy
had entered eastern Syria through the Faysh Khabur border crossing in Iraq’s
semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region on Monday night.
The US
military has in recent months ramped up its military presence in Syria, a
country gripped by a foreign-backed militancy since 2011 which has repeatedly
denounced the deployment as “illegal”.
Last
month, the Pentagon sent a convoy to the bases in eastern Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
province through the Al-Waleed border crossing between Iraq and Syria.
Comprised
of around 50 vehicles, the convoy reached US bases in the Koniko natural gas
field and al-Omer oil field on August 14.
The
Pentagon claims that the deployment of its forces and equipment in Syria is
aimed at preventing oil fields from falling into the hands of Daesh terrorists.
Damascus,
on the other hand, maintains that the deployment is meant to plunder the Arab
country’s natural resources.
In
letters sent to the UN on Sunday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry called for an end
to the illegal presence of US occupation troops and return of the country’s
energy reserves and natural resources to the Damascus government.
It also
put the damage inflicted on the Syrian oil and mineral sectors as a result of
“acts of aggression and sabotage” by US forces and their allied terrorists at
$115.2 billion.
Source: presstv.ir
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/09/12/710686/US-convoy-transfers-military-equipment-Iraq-Syria
-------
South Asia
Billions
of Dollars Injected Into Afghanistan After 9/11 Attack
September
11, 2023
Following
the 9/11 attack that led to the 20- year US-led military mission in
Afghanistan, billions of dollars were injected into the war-torn country but
Afghanistan failed to reach self-sufficiency.
On
September 11, 2001, suicide attackers seized US passenger jets and crashed them
into two New York skyscrapers as well as the Pentagon.
Nearly
3,000 people were killed, and scores of others were wounded.
The US
and its partners attacked Afghanistan in October after the then Taliban regime
refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the attack.
Initially
considered a new start for Afghanistan as billions of dollars of assistance
flowed into the country, Afghanistan has yet to reach economic
self-sufficiency.
Meanwhile,
the citizens voiced criticism that the assistance was not used properly.
“Billions
of dollars have come to Afghanistan over the past 20-years, but it was not used
effectively,” said Jan Mohammad, a resident of Nimroz.
“Billions
of dollars which were circulated in Afghanistan were not placed into
fundamental fields. There has been no special work, the people of Afghanistan
are still poor,” said Zarmina, a resident of Jawzjan.
After
the fall of the former government, in February 2022, the US President Joe Biden
issued an executive order moving $7 billion of the Afghan central bank’s assets
frozen in the U.S. banking system to fund humanitarian relief in Afghanistan
and compensate victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks, according to a US
official familiar with the decision.
But the
Islamic Emirate said that Afghanistan was not involved in the 9/11 attack and
that its foreign assets should be returned.
“The
assets of Afghanistan is the right of the Afghan nation and should be released
without any restrictions and be preserved inside of Afghanistan,” said Abdul
Latif Nazari, the deputy Minister of Economy.
This
comes as economists said that there was no serious attention paid to the
reconstruction of infrastructure in Afghanistan over the past two decades.
“The
presence of the international community or the US in Afghanistan was not aiming
to reconstruct the infrastructure of Afghanistan, but they were following their
strategic and political goals,” said Abdul Naseer Rishtia, an economist.
“The
people who were ruling the government, when there was a project in
infrastructure, they would divide it among themselves,” said Mohammad Nabi, an
economist.
Source: tolonews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://tolonews.com/index.php/business-185058
------
Thousands
of Afghan Children Deprived of UN Humanitarian Aid
2023-09-11
KABUL
(BNA): The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid in Afghanistan
(OCHA) has reported that 36,000 children under the age of five are being
deprived of humanitarian food aid due to a lack of funding.
These
children were previously receiving food packages to improve nutrition in
priority provinces.
In a
statement, OCHA also revealed that access to basic health and nutrition
services has been either limited or cut off for more than 100,000 people.
The
organization warned that if the funding shortage continues, 173 mobile health
and nutrition service centers will be forced to close, affecting more than
70,000 children under the age of five.
In the
absence of funding, 1.8 million people will be cut off from nutrition services.
This includes 944,000 children under the age of five, and 521,934 children who will
suffer from severe acute malnutrition.
It’s
worth noting that donor countries and organizations have redirected aid
delivery to what they consider more vulnerable states.
The
Islamic Emirate believes that aid agencies should not politicize humanitarian
assistance.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
Please click the following URL to read
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https://bakhtarnews.af/en/thousands-of-afghan-children-deprived-of-un-humanitarian-aid/
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Bird
hunting prohibited in Balkh Province, Afghanistan
Fidel
Rahmati
September
12, 2023
Due to declining wildlife populations in Balkh
province, the provincial environmental department has banned bird hunting to
address these concerns.
Officials
from the provincial environmental department have emphasized that this bird
hunting ban follows government directives.
They
have also stated that strict legal measures will be enforced against
individuals found in bird hunting, reflecting the government’s commitment to
safeguarding wildlife in Balkh province.
Hunters
are urging the interim administration to implement a ban solely on hunting
endangered birds, but Environmental Protection Department officials remain
steadfast in prohibiting all bird hunting without exception.
Mohammad
Mohammadi, the head of Balkh’s environmental protection department, has voiced
concerns over declining bird populations and declared a complete ban on hunting
any bird or wild animal in the province.
Bird
hunting has been banned in Afghanistan’s Balkh province, with the establishment
of a bird sanctuary for protection and breeding.
The
department has highlighted a critical situation, warning that approximately 108
species of birds and wild animals in Afghanistan are at risk of extinction if
hunting continues unchecked.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.khaama.com/bird-hunting-prohibited-in-balkh-province-afghanistan/
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Malala
Yousafzai’s father condemns ‘gender apartheid’ in Afghanistan
Fidel
Rahmati
September
11, 2023
Ziauddin Yousafzai, the father of Malala
Yousafzai and an international advocate for girls’ education, has declared his
support for the campaign by women’s rights activists to condemn anti-women
policies and recognize what is referred to as “gender apartheid” in
Afghanistan. This campaign has been active for months, aiming to bring global
attention to the issue.
Yousafzai
announced this on his social media platform X on the ninth day of a hunger
strike by women’s rights activists in Cologne, Germany. He said, “We demand the
world to recognize Afghanistan as a place where gender apartheid is prevalent.”
He
shared a picture of himself and his wife at an airport, holding a placard with
hashtags reading “End Gender Apartheid” and “Let Afghan Girls Educate.”
The
campaign by women’s rights activists to condemn gender apartheid in Afghanistan
and seek international recognition for it has been ongoing for months. However,
about ten days ago, some of these activists began a hunger strike in Cologne,
Germany.
Tamana
Zaryab Paryani, a hunger striker, was hospitalized on the ninth day due to
worsening health. On the fourth day, she voiced her frustration, highlighting
the world’s failure to support Afghan women’s rights and freedoms despite their
struggle and suffering. She and her colleagues oppose engagement with the
Taliban administration, a stance at odds with global interests.
Their
hunger strike has garnered significant international support. A gender activist
from Afghanistan also initiated a hunger strike in Sweden in solidarity with
the activists in Germany. Afghan women refugees in Pakistan have also expressed
support for the strikers, warning that if the global community does not pay
attention to their demands, more people worldwide will join the hunger strikes.
German
authorities, including a representative from the German Foreign Ministry and a
deputy of the regional parliament, visited the hunger strikers yesterday after
two of them were hospitalized. They demanded an end to the hunger strike.
Zarmina
Paryani, the sister of Tamana Paryani, who had previously reported on the
prolonged hunger strike, mentioned on her social media accounts that a deputy
of the parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia had invited Tamana to speak in the
state parliament.
Ziauddin
Yousafzai has also joined the protesters and said, “We are going to the city of
Cologne in Germany to stand alongside Tamana Zaryab Paryany and Zarmina
Paryany, and other brave activists for the 12-day hunger strike. We demand the
world to recognize Afghanistan as a place where gender apartheid is prevalent.”
The term
“gender apartheid” was first used by Afghanistan’s acting permanent
representative to the United Nations to highlight the severity of the situation
in Afghanistan under the control of the Taliban administration.
A
special rapporteur on human rights and a working group on discrimination
against women and girls later wrote in their joint report on the situation of
women and girls in Afghanistan that the policies of the Taliban would lead to
“sexual violence,” constituting a crime against humanity.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.khaama.com/malala-yousafzais-father-condemns-gender-apartheid-in-afghanistan/
-------
121
Afghan migrants detained by Karachi police: Pakistani media
September
11, 2023
Media in Pakistan have reported that Karachi
city police have detained 121 Afghan migrants.
According
to Pakistani media citing the country’s police, on Monday, it was reported that
at least 121 individuals have been detained in Karachi city’s prisons by
Pakistani police due to lack of residency documents and illegal entry.
Afghan
migrants have been detained by Pakistani police when the Pakistan Interior
Minister had previously announced that the Pakistani government intends to take
strong measures against illegal migrants.
This
comes after Pakistani police had previously detained hundreds of Afghan
citizens, including children and women, in Karachi’s prisons for various
reasons, primarily due to a lack of legal documents.
The
Pakistani police have not specified when these detainees will be released nor
stated whether they will be deported to their home country after their release.
Many
Afghans opted for Pakistan as their primary destination for medical treatment
and as a potential host for migration among the neighbouring countries.
Amid
Pakistan’s closure of the Torkham border crossing due to clashes between Afghan
and Pakistani border forces, the impact is significant.
In
addition, it disrupts Afghanistan’s trade and regional economy, heavily
dependent on exports. Tragically, this situation has resulted in casualties,
including the deaths of four Afghan children, two Taliban militants, and two
Pakistani military personnel.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.khaama.com/121-afghan-migrants-detained-by-karachi-police-pakistani-media/
-------
Afghan
Refugees Complain of Mistreatment by Pakistani Police
September
11, 2023
In the
wake of rising tensions between Kabul and Islamabad, Afghan refugees in
Pakistan complained about mistreatment by the county’s police.
An
official of the Afghan Refugee Council in Pakistan said that the Pakistani
police have arbitrarily detained 100 Afghan refugees in Karachi.
“They
have imposed heavy fines. They have taken actions under the pretext of illegal
migration. This is a major concern,” said Mir Ahmad Rauf, head of an Afghan
refugee council in Pakistan.
“We have
witnessed that the police yesterday in Karachi detained more than 100
refugees,” said Faizullah Turk, an Afghan refugee.
Meanwhile,
Pakistan's caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti stressed the need to
return illegal refugees in Pakistan, saying that they are working on a plan in
this regard.
“We have
formed a plan which has been confirmed by the strategic forces of Pakistan as
well. Based on the plan, every illegal refugee who is in Pakistan, from
whichever country they are, they have received warnings and will be returned to
their countries,” he said.
In reply
to a question, Bugti said in a press conference that the TTP attack was
launched from Afghanistan, but the government has yet to ascertain whether only
TTP members conducted the attack or if Afghan nationals were also involved in
it.
According
to the Pakistan media, Bugti urged the Afghan government to abide by the Doha
Agreement which ensures that Afghan soil will not be used against any country.
Meanwhile,
the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation called on the countries which are
hosting Afghans to observe the international rights of the refugees.
“We call
on all hosting countries to use humane behavior with the Afghans and provide
them with the rights determined for them based on international laws,” said
Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, a spokesman for the Ministry of Refugees and
Repatriation.
“Pakistan
is using the Afghan refugees as an economic and political tool. To solve the
problem of Afghan refugees, the Afghan government needs to talk with the
hosting countries and international community,” said Bahija Sadaat, a refugees
rights activist.
According
to the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, nearly 3 million Afghans are
living in Pakistan.
Source: tolonews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-185054
-------
15
indicted over ASP Shipon’s death; trial to start Nov 9
Sep 12,
2023
A Dhaka
court today framed charges against 15 people, including National Institute of
Mental Health and Hospital (NIMH) registrar Abdullah Al Mamun, in a case filed
over death of ASP Anisul Karim Shipon on November 9, 2020.
Among
the accused, Abdullah and 13 others, now on bail, pleaded not guilty and
demanded justice after Judge Sheikh Samidul Islam of Dhaka's Third Additional
Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court read out the charges to them.
Before
that, the judge dismissed the petitions submitted for discharging them from the
charges of the case.
Another
accused, Sakhawat Hossain Remon, went abroad to avoid the arrest and charges
were framed against him in his absence.
The 13
other accused are --Mind Aid Psychiatry and De-Addiction Hospital directors
Fatema Khatun Moyna, Abdullah Al Mamun and Sazzad Amin; marketing manager Arif
Mahmud Joy; coordinator Redwan Sabbir Sajib; kitchen staffer Masud Khan; ward
boys Jobayer Hossain, Tanif Mollah, Sajeeb Chowdhury, Asim Kumar Pal and Saiful
Islam Palash; guard Liton Ahamed; and pharmacist Tanvir Hasan.
The
judge fixed November 9 for starting the trial of the case.
The IO
dropped the names of FIR-named accused Dr Nusrat from the charge-sheet as her
involvement was not found during the investigation.
Name of
another accused, Niaz Morshed, was also dropped from the charge sheet as he
died earlier.
Inspector
AKM Nasir Ullah of Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), the investigation
officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet to Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate's Court on November 30 last year.
ASP
Shipon was allegedly tortured to death on November 9, 2020 at the Mind Aid
Psychiatry and De-Addiction Hospital.
Following
Shipon's death, his father Faijuddin Ahmed filed the murder case with Adabor
Police Station accusing 15 people, including five management personnel of the
hospital.
Source: thedailystar.net
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/15-indicted-over-asp-shipons-death-trial-start-nov-9-3416926
--------
Africa
Death
toll in Derna city tops 2,000 after floods hit eastern Libya
September
12, 2023
ANKARA:The
death toll from floods in the eastern Libyan city of Derna has risen above
2,000, local media reported on Monday.
Further
thousands are believed to be missing, Libyan News Agency (LANA) cited Ossama
Hamad, the head of the parliament-appointed government, as saying in an
interview.
Hamad
also said entire residential blocks were erased after they were swept away by
the floods in Derna.
Read
also: Truce holds in Libya after clashes kill 55
Early on
Monday, the head of Libya’s Tripoli-based unity government, Abdul Hamid
Dbeibeh, declared all areas exposed to the storm and floods as “disaster
zones.”
Dbeibeh
also announced three days of national mourning for the victims of deadly floods
that ravaged the North African country.
Storm
Daniel swept several areas in eastern Libya on Sunday, most notably the cities
of Benghazi, Bayda, and Al Marj, as well as Soussa and Derna, according to an
Anadolu reporter in the field.
Source: tribune.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2435271/death-toll-in-derna-city-tops-2000-after-floods-hit-eastern-libya
-------
Morocco:
Survivors recall first moments of devastating quake as death toll climbs
September
11, 2023
Some
survivors are recalling the first moments a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that the
Atlas mountains of Morocco late Friday southwest of the tourist centre of
Marrakesh. Authorities report that the death toll zhich continues to climb have
surpassed 2600, making the quake teh deadliest in Morocco in 60 years.
_
"I came home to find the house destroyed and the children under the
rubble,"_ recalls one survivor, while one woman recounted the horror of
the quake as she and her children screamed and screamed until people heard them
and pulled them out of the rubble.
The
village is dead' -
The
earthquake wiped out entire villages in the foothills of the Atlas mountains,
where civilian rescuers and members of Morocco's armed forces have searched for
survivors and the bodies of the dead.
Many
houses in remote mountain villages were built from mud bricks.
While
the foreign teams begin to arrive, Moroccan authorities have erected emergency
shelters. Bright yellow tents were visible along the road into Tikht, a village
which has effectively ceased to exist.
Members
of the government's civil protection service carried camp beds from a
military-type truck toward the tents. Non-profit groups were also in the area
to assess needs.
Previously
home to at least 100 families, Tikht has been reduced to a tangle of timber,
chunks of masonry as well as broken plates, shoes and the occasional
intricately patterned rug.
"Life
is finished here," said Mohssin Aksum, 33, who had family in the
settlement, where residents and their livestock were killed. "The village
is dead."
- Blood
donations -
Citizens
reported to hospitals in Marrakesh and elsewhere to donate blood for the
injured. Among the donors were members of Morocco's national football team.
Other
volunteers organised food and essential goods to help quake victims, after
complaints that authorities were slow to respond.
"Everyone
must mobilise," said one volunteer, Mohamed Belkaid, 65. "And that
includes the authorities, but they seem to be absent."
The
education ministry announced that school classes were "suspended" in
the worst-hit villages of Al-Haouz province, the quake epicentre.
Some
parts of Marrakesh's historic medina and its network of alleyways saw
significant damage, with mounds of rubble and crumpled buildings in the World
Heritage site.
Dozens
of people continued to sleep outdoors overnight in the modern quarter of
Marrakesh. Some stretched out on the median strip of Mohamed VI Avenue. Others
lay at the foot of their parked cars.
The UN
Human Rights Council in Geneva began its session on Monday with a minute's
silence for the quake victims.
"We
are part of a global collectivity: humanity," said Gambia's ambassador
Muhammadu Kah, who proposed the tribute.
The
quake was the deadliest in Morocco since a 1960 earthquake destroyed Agadir,
killing 12,000-15,000 people. Rescue teams search for victims in devastated
Talat N'Yaaqoub village.
Moroccan
rescuers supported by newly-arrived foreigners on Monday faced an intensifying
race against time to dig out any survivors from the rubble of mountain
villages, on the third day after the country's strongest-ever earthquake.
The
6.8-magnitude quake struck the Atlas mountains late Friday southwest of the
tourist centre of Marrakesh. It killed almost 2,700 people and injured a
similar number, according to the latest official toll issued Monday.
Rabat on
Sunday announced it had accepted aid offers from four nations, while many other
countries have said they were willing to send assistance.
Authorities
have responded favourably "at this stage" to offers from Spain,
Britain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates "to send search and rescue
teams", the interior ministry said.
It noted
the foreign teams were in contact with Moroccan authorities to coordinate
efforts, and said only four offers had been accepted so far, arguing that
"a lack of coordination could be counterproductive".
President
Emmanuel Macron said France was willing to provide aid "the second"
Morocco requested it.
"Morocco
is a sovereign country and it's up to it to organise the aid," French
Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told BFMTV on Monday.
She
announced the release of five million euros ($5.4 million) to help
non-governmental groups already on the ground in Morocco
Source: africanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.africanews.com/2023/09/11/morocco-survivors-recall-first-moments-of-devastating-quake-as-death-toll-climbs/
------
Airstrikes
kill over 40 in Khartoum's market as fighting intensifies
September
11, 2023
Air
strikes on Sunday (Sep. 10) on an open market south of Sudan's capital,
Khartoum, killed at least 46 people, activists and a medical group said.
Over 50
others were wounded in the attack in Khartoum’s May neighborhood, where
paramilitary forces battling the military were heavily deployed, the Sudan
Doctors' Union said in a statement.
The
wounded and the dead were transferred to the closest hospital which is located
in Bachaïr. It is one of the latest
still operating in Khartoum where some 5 million people live trapped in their
homes with no eletricy and running water most of the time.
The RSF
blamed the military's air force for Sunday's attack, whiile the military said
that it didn't target civilians, describing the RSF accusations as “false and
misleading claims.”
Sudan
has been rocked by violence since mid-April, when tensions between the
country’s strongmen, army general Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the
paramilitary general by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, burst into open fighting.
The
conflict has since spread to several parts of the country. In the Greater
Khartoum area, RSF troops have commandeered civilian homes and turned them into
operational bases. The military responded by bombing these residential areas,
rights groups and activists say.
The
number of internally displaced persons has nearly doubled since mid-April to
reach at least 7.1 million people, according to the U.N. refugee agency.
Source: africanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.africanews.com/2023/09/11/airstrikes-kill-over-40-in-khartoums-market-as-fighting-intensifies/
-------
Hundreds
feared dead after Mediterranean storm Daniel lashes Libya
September
12, 2023
Flooding
caused by torrential rains has left at least 150 people dead in eastern Libya,
which has been hit by storm Daniel after Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, an
official source said on Monday.
Speaking
on the Almasar channel, the head of the executive in eastern Libya, Osama
Hamad, put forward figures of "more than 2,000 dead and thousands
missing" in the city of Derna alone, but no medical or rescue service
source confirmed this death toll.
While
the media in eastern Libya widely echoed Mr. Hamad's statements, the separate
figures they reported from different localities were far lower than those he
put forward.
"At
least 150 people were killed due to flooding caused by storm Daniel in Derna,
in the Jabal Al-Akhdar regions and in the suburbs of Al-Marj", Mohamed
Massoud, spokesman for the head of the eastern Libyan executive, told AFP
earlier.
Described
by experts as "extreme in terms of the amount of water falling",
storm Daniel has already claimed at least 27 lives in recent days in Greece,
Turkey and Bulgaria.
Daniel
hit eastern Libya on Sunday afternoon, particularly the coastal towns of Jabal
al-Akhdar (northeast) but also Benghazi, where a curfew was declared and
schools closed.
The east
of the country is home to the main oil fields and terminals. The National Oil
Company (NOC) declared a "state of maximum alert" and "suspended
flights" between production sites, where activity has been drastically
reduced.
Disaster-stricken
city
Rescue
teams were dispatched on Sunday to Derna, a city 900 km east of Tripoli and 300
km east of Benghazi was partially destroyed during violent clashes in 2018
between the forces of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, strongman of eastern Libya, and
radical Islamist groups that controlled the city.
With a
population of over 100,000, the coastal town is crossed by a wadi that flows
into the Mediterranean and which overflowed due to the storm by around fifty
meters on each side, washing away buildings and houses in its path, according
to videos broadcast by the media.
Earlier
on Monday, before heading out with his ministers, Mr. Hamad declared Derna a
"disaster area". Hundreds of residents are still trapped in
hard-to-reach areas as rescue teams, backed by the army, try to help them.
The
authorities in eastern Libya "lost contact with nine soldiers during
rescue operations in this town", according to Mr. Massoud.
Images
filmed by residents of eastern cities such as Derna, al-Bayda and smaller
towns, show impressive mudslides and entire neighborhoods under water, as well
as collapsed roads and buildings.
A Derna
city council official described the situation in his city as
"catastrophic", "out of control" and requiring
"national and international intervention", in statements to local
channel Libya al-Ahrar.
On
Monday, the head of the Presidential Council (PC) Mohamad al-Manfi called for
"help from brotherly and friendly countries and international
organizations" and officially declared the cities of Derna, Shahat and
al-Bayda in eastern Libya a "disaster zone", according to a statement
on Facebook.
Source: africanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.africanews.com/2023/09/12/hundreds-feared-dead-after-mediterranean-storm-daniel-lashes-libya/
-------
Nigerian
Meteorological Agency Predicts Three-Day Thunderstorm, Cloudiness Nationwide
September
12, 2023
The
Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted thunderstorms and
cloudiness from Tuesday to Thursday across the country.
NiMet’s
weather outlook released on Monday in Abuja forecast a cloudy atmosphere on
Tuesday with intervals of sunshine over the northern region.
It
envisaged thunderstorms over parts of Adamawa, Taraba, Sokoto, Zamfara,
Katsina, Kebbi and Kaduna states in the morning hours.
“Further
into the day, isolated thunderstorms are expected over parts of Bauchi, Gombe,
Adamawa, Taraba and Kaduna states.
“Thunderstorms
are expected over parts of Nasarawa, the Federal Capital Territory, Niger,
Kwara, Kogi and Benue states in the morning hours.
“Later
in the day, thunderstorms are envisaged over parts of Plateau, the Federal
Capital Territory, Kwara, Niger and Nasarawa states,” it said.
According
to it, a cloudy atmosphere is expected over the inland states of the South and
the coastal states with chances of thunderstorms over parts of Osun, Oyo,
Ekiti, Ogun, Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa and Cross River states in the
morning hours.
The
agency anticipated thunderstorms over parts of Imo, Abia, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Ondo,
Oyo, Anambra, Enugu, Edo, Delta, Lagos, Cross River, Rivers, Bayelsa and Akwa
Ibom states later in the day.
NiMet
predicted cloudy skies on Wednesday with spells of sunshine over the northern
region with prospects of thunderstorms over parts of Adamawa, Taraba and Gombe
states in the morning hours.
It
forecast thunderstorms over parts of Bauchi, Kaduna, and Zamfara states later
in the day.
“Cloudy
atmosphere is anticipated over the North Central region with thunderstorms over
parts of Niger, Kogi and Benue states in the morning hours.
”Later
in the day, thunderstorms are envisaged over parts of Plateau, the Federal
Capital Territory and Nasarawa states.
“Cloudy
atmosphere is expected over inland cities of South and coastal belt with
prospects of thunderstorms over parts of Enugu, Awka, Ebonyi, Imo, Anambra,
Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Lagos states in the morning hours.”
NiMet
envisaged thunderstorms and rains over parts of Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti, Osun,
Edo, Cross River, Rivers, Bayelsa, Lagos, Delta and Akwa Ibom states later in
the day.
The
agency predicted cloudy skies on Thursday with sunshine intervals over the
northern region in the morning with prospects of thunderstorms over parts of
Zamfara, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Katsina states.
According
to it, cloudy atmosphere is anticipated over the North Central region with
chances of thunderstorms over parts of Kogi and Benue states in the morning
hours.
Source: saharareporters.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://saharareporters.com/2023/09/12/nigerian-meteorological-agency-predicts-three-day-thunderstorm-cloudiness-nationwide
-------
25
million Nigerians at high risk of hunger — UNICEF
Nurudeen
Alimi
September
11, 2023
The
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said about 17.7
million Nigerians are hungry, and the number could increase to 25 million.
Nutrition
Officer for United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF),
NkeirukaEnwelum recently disclosed this during a two-day media dialogue on
nutrition financing in Nigeria, organised by the Child Rights Information
Bureau (CRIB) of Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, in
collaboration with UNICEF.
According
to her, Lagos, Borno, Katsina and Kano have the highest number of food-insecure
people in the country, even as she lamented widespread malnutrition in Nigeria.
The
country, she observed, might likely achieve the Sustainable Development Goal
(SDG) target on exclusive breastfeeding by 2030 but remains off-track in
achieving SDG2 on zero hunger.
Currently,
Enwelum ascertained, about 35 million children in Nigeria are malnourished,
with the country having the highest number of affected children in Africa and
the second highest in the world.
“About
35 million of under-five children in Nigeria are malnourished. And out of this,
12 million are stunted,” she said.
She
attributed the high burden of malnutrition in the country to poverty,
ignorance, and inadequate budgetary allocation for nutrition.
Earlier
in his own remarks, UNICEF communication specialist, Geoffrey Njoku, lamented
that federal and state governments don’t budget enough funds to tackle
increasing levels of malnutrition in the country.
He then
added that the malnutrition figure in Nigeria is high; hence there is a need to
close funding gaps through local resource mobilisation and increased awareness
by the media.
Source: tribuneonlineng.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://tribuneonlineng.com/25-million-nigerians-at-high-risk-of-hunger-unicef/
------
Pakistan
Imran
files contempt petition against Attock jail official
Amjad
Iqbal
September 12, 2023
TAXILA:
The proceedings of the cipher case of incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI) chief Imran Khan on Monday adjourned till Sept 14 as three special
prosecutors presenting the state did not appear in court due to their
engagements in the Supreme Court.
Mr
Khan’s lawyer Naeem Haider Panjotha along with other members of PTI’s legal
team while talking to newsmen outside Attock jail said, “we are told that the
cipher court will resume at Attock jail on Sept 14, as special prosecutors
representing the state not reached court due to their official assignments.”
He added
that the hearing date was originally set for Sept 13 but was rescheduled by the
judge on technical grounds. MrPanjotha termed this adjournment as a delaying
tactic to exert pressure on Mr Khan.
According
to MrPanjotha, who met with the incarcerated PTI chief in Attock jail on
Monday, Mr Khan’s morale remains high. He quoted Mr Khan as saying that the
only way to get the country out of present political and economic crises is to
conduct transparent and timely elections.
He also
relayed Mr Khan assertion that interference in country’s key affairs was taking
place through the cipher, while the original copy was preserved in the foreign
office.
MrPanjotha
pointed out that all economic indicators of Pakistan demonstrated significant
growth during PTI’s tenure, citing the Economic Survey of 2021-22, which
reported the highest growth in 17 years.
He said
that Mr Khan’s legal team filed a contempt of court petition in a special court
against the Attock jail superintendent for not allowing former prime minister
to talk to his sons.
He said
that the petition stated that despite the court order, the PTI chairman was not
allowed to talk to his children on telephone.
He added
that earlier on Aug 30, the special court set up to hear the cipher case had
issued an order allow Mr Khan to talk to his sons over the phone; however, this
order was not followed.
“We
urged that the Attock jail superintendent must be summoned in personal capacity
and requested to initiate contempt of court proceedings against him.”
In the
petition, Mr Khan claimed that jail officials denied him permission to have a
telephonic conversation with his sons, citing his detention under the Secrets
Act.
He said
that subsequently, Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain issued a notice to
Superintendent Attock Jail Arif Shehzad and sought a report on the
implementation of the court’s order on Sept 15.
It is
pertinent to mention here that a special court in Islamabad ordered Attock jail
authorities, where the former prime minister is incarcerated, to keep Mr Khan
in judicial lockup in the cipher case.
This
order came hours after the Islamabad High Court suspended PTI chairman’s
three-year sentence in the Toshakhana case.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1775380/imran-files-contempt-petition-against-attock-jail-official
-------
No
compromise to be made on Hajj arrangements: PM
September
11, 2023
Caretaker
Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has said no compromise will be made on Hajj
arrangements to provide maximum facilitation to the intending pilgrims.
He said
this while chairing a meeting in Islamabad today regarding advance preparations
for next year Hajj.
The
Prime Minister directed Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony
Aneeq Ahmed and Secretary of the ministry to undertake Hajj preparation in
advance.
He
decided to constitute a committee to review Hajj arrangements.
Anwaar-ul-Haq
Kakar also sought a detail report from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and
Interfaith Harmony regarding pilgrims' complaints about Hajj 2023. He
instructed the ministries of Religious Affairs and Information Technology to
construct a mobile application and website for the facilitation of Hujjaj to
get their complaints registered.
The
Prime Minister also directed to present a report regarding complaints about
private tour operators with an instruction to constitute a reform committee to
improve this system. He said strict monitoring of private tour operators should
be ensured so that pilgrims of private Hajj Scheme will not face any
difficulties.
Source: radio.gov.pk
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.radio.gov.pk/11-09-2023/no-compromise-to-be-made-on-hajj-arrangements-anwaar-ul-haq-kakar
-------
£190m
NCA case: NAB summons Sheikh Rashid today
September
12, 2023
ISLAMABAD:
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi summoned former interior
minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed today (Tuesday) in a £190 million National Crime
Agency (NCA) UK settlement case to record his statement being a former member
of the ex-cabinet of ex-PM Imran Khan.
The
Combined Investigation Team (CIT) of the NAB Rawalpindi probing the £190
million National Crime Agency (NCA) UK settlement case in the call-up notice to
Sheikh Rashid Ahmed asked him to appear today (Tuesday).
The
call-up notice stated that he (Shaikh Rashid Ahmad) attended the cabinet
meeting on 03-12-2019 in which the note for prime minister dated 02-12-2019 and
deed of confidentiality were presented and approved in sealed envelope, hence
he was procession of information/evidence whatsoever, which relates to the
commission of the said offence(s).
Sheikh
Rashid Ahmed is currently underground and it was fourth call-up notice to him
in the £190 million National Crime Agency (NCA) UK settlement case and only on
May 30 he submitted his reply to CIT of the NAB Rawalpindi through his lawyer
in which he disassociated himself from the case saying that he was not present
in the cabinet meeting on December 13, 2019, when the matter of Al-Qadir Trust
was discussed. He clarified that he had left the meeting before that agenda
item was taken up.
Source: thenews.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1108938-190m-nca-case-nab-summons-sheikh-rashid-today
-------
Contempt
plea by Elahi’s wife: LHC issues arrest warrant for Islamabad IGP
By
Shahid Hussain
September
12, 2023
LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Islamabad’s
Inspector General Police (IGP) Dr Akbar Nasir Khan in a contempt case
registered against him for the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)
President Parvez Elahi.
The LHC
issued the warrant after the top cop failed to appear before the court on a
show-cause notice and directed the police to arrest the federal capital’s top
cop and present him in court on September 18.
The
warrant was issued in the written order by Justice Mirza Viqas Rauf on the
petition filed by Elahi’s wife Qaisara. The warrant comes after the LHC, last
week, had issued a show-cause notice for contempt of court to IG Dr Khan in
connection with Elahi’s detention under 3-MPO (Maintenance of Public Order).
The LHC
ordered the Islamabad police chief to appear before the court on September 8.
However, he failed to do so. Last month, the PTI president was rearrested under
3-MPO by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police shortly after being
released by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and subsequently, the
seasoned politician was put under house arrest in Adiala jail for the next 15
days. The ICT police rearrested him despite the LHC’s restraining order against
his possible arrest.
Source: thenews.com.pk
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https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1108939-contempt-plea-by-elahi-s-wife-lhc-issues-arrest-warrant-for-islamabad-igp
-------
Soldier
martyred, six injured in Peshawar blast
September
12, 2023
RAWALPINDI:
A soldier was martyred while three civilians were injured as an Improvised
Explosive Device (IED) exploded on a vehicle of security forces in general area
Warsak, Peshawar District on Monday.
Lance
Naik Abdur Rehman (age 29 years, resident of District Bannu) embraced Shahadat,
while three soldiers got injured. This cowardly terrorist act also resulted in
injury of threeinnocent civilians.
Sansitisation
of the area is being carried out to eliminate the terrorists and their
facilitators. Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminating the
menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers as well as
valiant civilian brethren, further strengthen our resolve, the Inter-Services
Puplic Relations (ISPR) in a statement said.
Source: thenews.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1108940-soldier-martyred-six-injured-in-peshawar-blast
------
Murder
of education and heritage: 100-year-old high school in Murree to be handed over
to judiciary
By Ansar
Abbasi
September
12, 2023
ISLAMABAD:
In a new low in governance, the Punjab government has decided to hand over the
premises of a hundred-year-old high school in Jhiga Gali, Murree, to provide
place to a judicial complex.
What
adds insult to the injury is the fact that in a meeting with provincial
authorities, the LHC chief justice himself directed the authorities to transfer
the land, where the school exists, to the judiciary within seven days.
The
provincial government did neither object to the idea of sacrificing a
100-year-old school for a judicial complex nor did think of the future of those
who are studying in the school in an area where the education facilities are
already inadequate.
The
Board of Revenue (Colonies Department), Punjab issued the orders to local
administration to implement what is seen as cold-blooded murder of education.
Additionally, an Assistant Registrar of the LHC has asked the District and
Sessions Judge, Rawalpindi to take possession of the land.
Beyond a
complete disregard to an old school, which, besides educating thousands of
locals, has the heritage value as well, the decision has risked the future of
almost 200 students currently studying in the school.
A letter
issued on August 28 by Deputy Secretary (Colonies-I), Board of Revenue, and
addressed to Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi and Additional Deputy Commissioner
Murree, referred to a meeting held on August 21 under the chairmanship of LHC
CJ in which the LHC CJ is quoted to have directed: “The Hon’ble Chair was
pleased to direct that land measuring 02-Kannals, 15-Marla comprising Khasra No
392, situated in Mouza Murree Sakni. Tehsil Murree, District Rawalpindi,
presently in column of cultivation Tehsil Committee Murree, entered and on
ground Government M.C High School Jhika Gali, free of cost, in favour of Lahore
High Court, Lahore for ‘Extension of Judicial Complex Murree.
The
letter added, “2. The Government of Punjab in Colonies Department, is pleased
to accord sanction for transfer of state land measuring 02-Kanals, 15-Marla
comprising Khasra No 392, situated in Mouza Murree Sakni. Tehsil Murree,
District Rawalpindi, presently in column of cultivation Tehsil Committee
Murree, entered and on ground Government M.C High School Jhika Gali, free of
cost, in favour of Lahore High Court, Lahore for ‘Extension of Judicial Complex
Murree’, District Rawalpindi. Vide this office letter No…. dated 24.08.2023.”
“I am
directed to request you to identify some other piece of state land measuring
02-Kanal, 15-Marla free from all encumbrances/litigation for Government M.C
High School Jhika Gali, Murree and then furnish a detailed factual report along
with your specific recommendations supported with all relevant Revenue Record
i.e. Fard Jamabandi, coloured Site Map, Report of Revenue Field Staff etc. in
original routed through Commissioner, Rawalpindi Division, Rawalpindi at the
earliest to proceed further in the matter.”
Meanwhile
on the same day, August 28, when the Board of Revenue issued the above
direction, an Assistant Registrar passed the following directions to the
District & Sessions Judge, Rawalpindi: “I am directed to forward herewith a
copy of letter bearing No….. dated 24.08.2023 received from the Deputy
Secretary (Colonies-I), Board of Revenue, Punjab, Colonies Department, Lahore
on the subject cited above and to request you to take possession of land
measuring 02-Kanals and 15-Marlas bearing Khasra No 392 situation in Mouza
Murree Sakni, Tehsil Murree, District Rawalpindi transferred to this Court for
“Extension of Judicial Complex Murree, District Rawalpindi’’.
Source: thenews.com.pk
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------
Court to
separately hear Imran’s bail in cypher case
September
12, 2023ISLAMABAD:
A
special court in Islamabad, formed specifically to handle cases filed under the
Official Secrets Act, has decided to consider separately the bail pleas of PTI
Chairman Imran Khan and party leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Asad Umar in the
cipher case.
Judge
Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain reserved the verdict after the conclusion of the FIA's
arguments on the prosecution's plea against Imran Khan's bail application in
the cypher case.
The
court issued a reserved decision after the FIA prosecution team objected to the
former prime minister's bail plea, arguing that it was not admissible since
Imran Khan had failed to attach a certificate containing details of his bail
pleas.
The FIA
submitted an application, requesting the court to declare the PTI chief's plea
unfit for hearing.
The
prosecution insisted that attaching the certificate was mandatory, as specified
by a Supreme Court ruling.
The
court ruled that the bail application of Imran Khan and the party leaders, Shah
Mehmood Qureshi and Asad Umar, would be heard separately.
The
court adjourned the PTI chairman's bail application until September 14 and
directed the petitioner's lawyers to resolve the technical objection.
Imran
Khan has been in judicial custody in the cipher case and has been detained at
Attock prison since his arrest on August 5, following a conviction in the
Toshakhana case.
In a
previous development, the special court, established to handle cases under the
Official Secrets Act, granted him permission to speak with his sons.
The next
hearing regarding the bail pleas of Imran Khan and the PTI leaders is scheduled
for September 14.
Source: tribune.com.pk
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------
At least
one FC official martyred in Peshawar blast
September
11, 2023
At least
one Frontier Corps (FC) official was martyred and nine others, including six FC
personnel, were injured when a blast targeted a vehicle of security forces in
Peshawar's Warsak road area on Monday.
“On 11
September 23, an Improvised Explosive Device exploded on a vehicle of security
forces in general area Warsak, Peshawar District,” an Inter-Services Public
Relations (ISPR) statement said.
It said
that as a result of the explosion, a 29-year-old resident of Bannu district
Lance Naik Abdur Rehman embraced martyrdom while three soldiers sustained
injuries.
It
stated that the cowardly terrorist act also resulted in the injury of three
innocent civilians.
According
to ISPR, the sanitisation of the area is being carried out in the area to
eliminate the terrorists and their facilitators.
“Security
forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such
sacrifices of our brave soldiers as well as valiant civilian brethren, further
strengthen our resolve,” it added.
Superintendent
Warsak Arshad Khan, while expressing grief over the tragic incident, revealed
the findings from an initial report. He stated that two FC vehicles were
passing by when one of them was attacked. “There were no threat alerts
regarding this attack,” he stated.
According
to the initial investigation, five kilograms of explosives were used in the
Peshawar blast. The report also revealed the use of an IED device. Khan
asserted that some suspects have been detained and are now in police custody
for further investigation.
Three
civilians were also among the injured, confirmed Rescue 1122 officials.
In the
wake of the bombing, the K-P Health Department declared an emergency in all
medical facilities of the provincial capital. “Doctors and other medical staff
in all Medical Teaching Institutions (MTI) hospitals are hereby placed on
alert,” it stated. The department also instructed all medical staff to stay on
duty and cancel their leaves.
“Immediate
treatment facilities and presence of medical staff should be ensured for the
injured in all hospitals”.
Security
forces cordoned off the area following the attack and emergency teams shifted
the injured to nearby medical facilities.
The
injured were initially transferred to Prime Hospital. However, they were later
shifted to Lady Reading Hospital for further treatment.
Muhammad
Asim, a spokesperson for the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), confirmed that the
hospital is currently treating nine injured blast victims. “The injured include
six FC personnel and three civilians,” he said, adding that two FC personnel
and one civilian are in critical condition as of now.
Condemnations
Former
prime minister and President of Pakistan Muslim League (N) Shehbaz Sharif
condemned the Warsak Road blast in Peshawar. He also prayed for a speedy
recovery of those injured.
Shehbaz
further added that the nation can only survive if it gets rid of terrorism and
appreciated the efforts of all security forces engaged in the fight against
terrorism. “We pay tribute to the spirit, determination and bravery of the
officers and soldiers of the Pakistan Army, Police and other agencies in the
fight against terrorism”.
Caretaker
Interior Minister Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti strongly condemned the explosion and
prayed for the martyred security personnel.
He also
extended prayers for a speedy recovery of all injured security personnel and
civilians.
The
minister further added that “cowardly attacks by miscreants cannot demoralize”
the armed forces and the nation. “There is no place for extremists in the
country,” he stated, assuring that security forces are determined to eliminate
terrorism at all costs.
Previous
terrorist attacks in K-P
Two days
ago, Lance Naik Jamshed Khan, a soldier of the Pakistan Army, embraced
martyrdom in a gun battle with terrorists in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s North
Waziristan district.
According
to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the fire exchange took place between
security forces and terrorists in the general area Mir Ali, where army troops
effectively engaged the terrorists’ location.
Earlier
this month, a policeman was gunned down in the Tank district of K-P in broad
daylight.
Constable
Riaz Gul was deployed for bank security in the jurisdiction of the City Police
Station when two unidentified terrorists opened fire on him, killing him on the
spot. A passerby was injured in the attack.
It was
the second terrorist attack in the district after the August 11 high-profile
kidnapping and murder of Malik Ghulam Habib Mehsud of South Waziristan district
who was the elder brother of former K-P IGP Salahuddin Mehsud.
CTD ops
hindered by resource gap
K-P has
found itself grappling with an alarming surge in terrorism, yet it has failed
to establish offices and headquarters for its Counter Terrorism Department
(CTD) or provide it with modern vehicles and essential arms and ammunition.
Despite
receiving millions of rupees over the past nine years, the CTD lacks a
dedicated headquarters building, which was supposed to have been completed
years ago.
Additionally,
offices in the Malakand, Bannu, and Kohat regions remain unfinished, severely
hampering the efficiency of this vital counter-terrorism unit.
According
to data available with The Express Tribune, the province received a substantial
sum of Rs415 billion from 2010 to 2023 to address the losses inflicted by waves
of terrorism.
Source: tribune.com.pk
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------
Southeast Asia
Malaysia’s
Appeals Court upholds Najib Razak’s acquittal in one of his 1MDB trial
September
12, 2023
PUTRAJAYA,
Malaysia: Malaysia’s Court of Appeal on Tuesday upheld the acquittal of former
Prime Minister Najib Razak of audit tampering in relation to the multibillion
dollar looting of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad state fund, though he
remains in prison for other graft charges.
The
court struck out the appeal after prosecutors failed to meet deadlines in
filing documents to support their bid, Najib’s lawyer Mohamed Shafee Abdullah
told a news conference.
Najib,
70, was acquitted in March after the High Court ruled prosecutors failed to
show that he abused his position to order amendments to a 1MDB audit report in
2016 to coverup wrongdoings before it was presented in Parliament.
“The
acquittal is upheld without any further process,” Shafee said, adding that
prosecutors are unlikely to appeal to the top court.
The
audit tampering is one of Najib’s several corruption trials. He is currently
serving a 12-year jail term after losing his final appeal last year in his
first of several corruption trials linked to the 1MDB scandal.
The 1MDB
fund was set up months after Najib became prime minister in 2009. Investigators
allege more than $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and laundered by Najib’s
associates through lawyers of bank accounts in the United States and other
countries to finance Hollywood films and extravagant purchases that included
hotels, a luxury yacht, art and jewelry. More than $700 million landed in
Najib’s bank accounts.
Najib
and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, were hit with multiple graft charges after the
saga led to his ruling coalition’s shocking defeat in 2018 general elections.
Rosmah was sentenced in 2022 to 10 years in prison and a record fine of 970
million ringgit ($217 million) for corruption over a solar energy project and
is out on bail pending an appeal.
Source: arabnews.com
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-------
PM Anwar
wants government to help small halal companies tap US$1t market
By Syed
JaymalZahiid
12 Sep
2023
KUALA
LUMPUR, Sept 12 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today directed
members of his government to help spur small halal enterprises still unable to
tap into what has become a lucrative global market, valued at some US$1
trillion (RM4.68 trillion).
Anwar
was addressing this year’s Global Halal Summit, a yearly convention to showcase
halal-based businesses from around the world organised by the Malaysian
External Trade Corporation, now boasting participation even from major
economies like Japan, China and South Korea.
In his
speech, Anwar said the local halal ecosystem should play a larger role in
helping small local halal businesses thrive.
“Halal
shouldn’t just be about production methods, certification. We must also create
opportunities to small (halal) businesses, those from Tanjong Karang and all
the way to Manik Urai, they must be assisted,” the prime minister said.
Malaysia
is aiming to become the global leader of the halal market, which is estimated
to surpass the US$1 trillion mark by next year as demand for halal products
grow alongside the world’s Muslim population.
The huge
market has drawn trade interest even by countries with small Muslim
populations, among them South Korea and Japan.
Source: malaymail.com
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------
Azalina:
Govt mulls amendment to MCMC Act to block child abuse materials online
By
Kenneth Tee
12 Sep
2023
KUALA
LUMPUR, Sept 12 — To ensure children are protected under Malaysia’s criminal
justice system, the government has today revealed its intention to introduce
further legislation amendments with the aim of blocking child abuse materials
being disseminated online.
Minister
in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri
Azalina Othman Said said today cooperation over the proposed amendments to the
Communications and Multimedia Act will take place between the Communications
and Digital Ministry and the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)
respectively.
“The
recent challenges, especially those involving new information technologies,
necessitates the need for us to provide our views in the proposed MCMC Act
amendments to block online child abuse materials,” she told reporters after a
working visit to the Children Interview Centre Bukit Aman here.
Azalina
also said the 2017 Special Guidelines in handling Sexual Offences Against
Children will also be revised to its latest version by taking account of
various challenges faced and insert several special measures introduced under
the recent Sexual Offences Against Children (Amendment) Bill and the Evidence
of Child Witness (Amendment) Bill passed by Parliament earlier this year.
“Special
training for all stakeholders under the criminal justice system will also be
stepped up,” she said.
She said
the new guideline will take effect from January 2024 onwards, with revision to
be undertaken alongside with the Registry Office of the Federal Court.
Source: malaymail.com
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------
IGP
confirms Muhyiddin done giving statement to police regarding political ‘fatwa’
12 Sep
2023
KUALA
LUMPUR, Sept 12— Former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has finished
giving his statement to the police regarding the issue of his political ‘fatwa’
allegedly claiming that it is ‘haram’ to vote for Pakatan Harapan (PH)
candidate SuhaizanKaiat in Pulai parliamentary by-election last week.
The
statement by the Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman was recorded at his office in
the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) building here this
morning.
Muhyiddin
was spotted entering the building at 9.28am and leaving at 10.25am.
When
asked for comment by the waiting members of the media, he just smiled and gave
the thumbs up.
Meanwhile,
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain, when contacted, confirmed
the recording of Muhyiddin’s statement, saying that the investigation paper
will be completed in a week’s time before being submitted to the
Attorney-General’s Chambers.
“The
case is being investigated under Section 505 (b) of the Penal Code and Section
233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998,” he said.
On
September 2, the Pagoh Member of Parliament allegedly said at a ceramah at
Dataran Utama Kempas in Johor Baru that it was “haram to vote for Suhaizan”.
The
Pulai parliamentary and Simpang Jeram state seats fell vacant following the
death of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub
on July 23.
At the
polls last Saturday, Suhaizan won with an 18,641-vote majority, defeating
Zulkifli Jaafar of PN and independent Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi. — Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
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------
Filing
of death penalty, life imprisonment sentence reviews to be handled by Prison
Dept
12 Sep
2023
KUALA
LUMPUR: The filing of an application in court to review the mandatory death or
life imprisonment sentences of 1,020 prisoners will be handled by the Prisons
Department, says Ramkarpal Singh.
The
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional
Reform) said that the department would be given a 90-day period to begin filing
the applications for all 1,020 prisoners which begins Tuesday (Sept 12).
“They
will be in charge of all the pre-filing procedures which include the sorting of
prisoners according to their details and case details as well as the
preparation of the necessary documents to be filed together with the
application.
“After
which, they will compile and file the application together with a notice of
motion and supporting affidavit for each case individually either manually or
through the e-filing system to the courts," he said.
He said
that his office, together with the Prisons Department and other authorities,
had come up with a standardised format for the applications to ensure that none
of the 1,020 prisoners are left behind.
“We have
come up with a mechanism to allow for the Prisons Department to file a standard
application motion which is supported by a standard supporting affidavit.
“This is
to ensure a smooth application process as possible in ensuring that all the
cases are filed within the 90-day deadline.
“However,
the courts will have the discretion to extend the 90-day period further, should
reasonable grounds be provided,” he said.
He added
that so long as the application was filed within the 90-day period, any court
proceedings could be held at a later date after.
This
comes after the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life
(Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023 or Act 847 came into
force today (Sept 12).
Under
the Act, the court now has the discretion to impose the death penalty or
imprisonment for a period of not less than 30 years, but not exceeding 40
years; and if not sentenced to death, guilty parties shall also be punished
with whipping of no fewer than 12 strokes.
Ramkarpal
then explained that prisoners would then undergo the standard court process
which included the appointment of a lawyer for the prisoners either by the
prisoners themselves, court-assigned lawyers or the National Legal Aid
Foundation.
“For
non-Malaysian prisoners, the Prisons Department will discuss with their
country’s respective consulates for the appointment of a legal representative,”
he said.
He added
that after undergoing the standard court proceedings, prisoners with life
imprisonment sentences are guaranteed to have their sentences replaced by the
courts.
However,
those facing the death penalty could see their sentences maintained depending
on the discretion of the court.
“Should
their sentences be maintained, those on death row will continue their life in
prison as death row inmates.
“However,
these prisoners will not be executed according to the moratorium on executions
that has been active since 2018,” he said.
Source: thestar.com.my
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-------
Malaysian
student in Norway nabbed on suspicion of espionage
12 Sep
2023
HELSINKI:
A 25-year-old foreign student has been arrested in Norway on suspicion of
espionage, including illegal eavesdropping through various technical devices,
reports AP.
Norwegian
public broadcaster NRK, meanwhile, reported that the man is of Malaysian origin
but there is no suspicion that Malaysia is involved.
Norway’s
domestic security agency, known by its acronym PST, told Norwegian media that
the man, who was arrested on Friday (Sept 8), was charged in court on Sunday
(Sept 10) with espionage and intelligence operations against the Nordic
country.
The man,
whose identity hasn't been disclosed, has pleaded not guilty in initial police
questioning. Norwegian authorities have also not said which country the man was
allegedly spying for.
"We
don’t quite know what we’re facing. We are in a critical, initial and
vulnerable phase of the investigation,” PST lawyer Thomas Blom was quoted as
saying by NRK.
"He
(the suspect) is charged with using technical installations for illegal signal
intelligence.”
Police
have seized from the man a number of data-carrying electronic devices, which
the PST is now investigating. The suspect is a student, but he’s not enrolled
at an educational institution in Norway, and has been living in Norway for a
relatively short time, according to PST.
Citing
the arrest order, NRK said the suspect had allegedly been caught conducting
illegal signal surveillance in a rental car near the Norwegian prime minister’s
office and the defence ministry.
According
to a court decision, the man has been imprisoned in pretrial custody for four
weeks with a ban on receiving letters and visits. Security officials said the
suspect wasn't operating alone.
In its
previous assessments, PST has singled out neighboring Russia, China and North
Korea as state actors that pose a significant intelligence threat to Norway, a
nation of 5.4 million.
Source: thestar.com.my
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------
Europe
Ukraine
needs to face ‘reality’ – Kremlin
11 Sep,
2023
Peace
talks between Ukraine and Russia can start only after Kiev changes its stance
and creates the conditions necessary for such contacts, Kremlin spokesman
Dmitry Peskov has said.
Talks
can and will happen, if Russia sees that it can achieve its goals through means
other than military action, but this is not the case now, the official told
outlet RBK on Monday.
“In any
case, the Kiev regime will have to start this conversation from recognizing the
reality that has come into being since Kiev… rejected the resolution of issues
through peaceful means,” he said, when asked what the Ukrainian government
could do.
He added
that the draft truce agreement, which Russia and Ukraine almost adopted last
year during Turkish-mediated talks and which Kiev then dropped, was proof that
Moscow was willing to negotiate. Peskov was responding to recent claims to the
contrary by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Ukrainian
President Vladimir Zelensky has consistently rejected negotiations with Russia,
until his country achieves the goal of ousting Russian troops from all
territory that Kiev claims under its sovereignty. The no-talks policy was
enshrined in a law that he signed last year.
Crimea
broke away from Ukraine after a Western-backed 2014 coup in Kiev and rejoined
Russia the same year. Four other former Ukrainian regions – the Donetsk and
Lugansk People’s Republics, Zaporozhye Region and Kherson Region – did the same
last year amid the hostilities.
Kiev has
insisted that the so-called “Zelensky peace formula” which requires the return
of all territories, reparations from Russia and a trial of the Russian
leadership, is the only path to a “just” resolution of the conflict.
Senior
Russian officials have described Kiev’s demands as detached from reality and
have suggested that his government is not at liberty to accept peace talks.
Moscow perceives the Ukraine conflict as a US-led proxy war against Russia,
which Western nations intend to pursue “to the last Ukrainian.”
Kiev
relies on Western aid to arm and supply its military and to pay a large portion
of its government expenses. Zelensky claimed in an interview with The Economist
last week that despite public assurances of support by Western leaders, he
inferred that some of them were increasingly in favor of reducing the volume of
assistance.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/russia/582772-peskov-kiev-talks-reality/
------
UK’s
major retailer to shut all stores amid high inflation, killing thousands of
jobs
11 September 2023
Britain's
major retailer, Wilko, says it is forced to shut all its stores across the
country by early October, amid rising inflation and an unprecedented
cost-of-living crisis that is plaguing the UK.
According
to the announcement, which was made on Monday, the decision will see more than
10,000 staff get laid off after last-ditch talks on a rescue deal with the
owner of the HMV music store chain collapsed.
"...despite
extensive efforts, it has become clear that no significant part of the Wilko
operations can be rescued," said PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a British
multinational audit and assurance firm, which has taken over as the
family-owned budget retailer’s administrator.
A UK
parliamentary committee has heard from the CEOs of some of the country’s major
supermarkets which have been accused of grotesque profiteering in the middle of
a cost of living crisis.
PwC
confirmed that 124 Wilko stores will be closed by September 21, while the
timing for the closure of the remaining 222 stores has yet to be announced. The
company's distribution center operations are expected to be shut down on
Friday.
Wilko,
which started as a hardware store in 1930, announced its collapse on August 10,
putting 12,500 jobs at risk.
It
blamed Britain's "stubbornly high inflation" and interest rates
affecting businesses and consumers as the main reasons behind the decision.
Market
analysts also confirmed that the company has succumbed to Britain's tougher
economic environment and cost-of-living crisis that has been driven by high
inflation and a series of interest rate rises.
2022 has
been dominated by a cost-of-living crisis, and the figures are staggering in
the UK.
Earlier
this month, London-listed retailer B&M struck a deal to buy 51 Wilko stores
for up to 13 million pounds ($16.26 million). However, a deal could not be
reached in time for the rest of the company, despite efforts by Canadian
businessman Doug Putman, who owns HMV music stores, and PwC.
The PwC
put the failure down to the impossibility of cutting down infrastructure costs
quickly enough to make a transaction viable.
The rest
of the bidders said they were disinterested in running their stores under the
Wilko name.
"This
isn't a tragedy without cause," said Nadine Houghton, national officer at
the GMB trade union, which represents about 4,000 workers at Wilko.
"Wilko
should have thrived in a bargain retail sector that is otherwise strong, but it
was run into the ground by the business owners," she added.
Leader
of the Britain's opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, also commented on
Wilko’s collapse on X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter.
"Devastating
for staff and their families and another symptom of Tory Britain," he
said, referring to the Conservative Party, which has held power in Britain for
the last 13 years.
Source: presstv.ir
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/09/11/710677/Britain-economy-retailer-Wilko-collapse
------
German-made
drone used to attack Russia – media
11 Sep,
2023
Ukrainian
forces have reportedly utilized a German-made drone on Russian soil for the
first time, deploying the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a failed attack in
Bryansk Region.
A
mid-range Vector drone, made by Quantum-Systems, was shot down on Sunday during
an attempted attack in the Novozybkov district, according to a report by
Russian online media outlet Mash. The report didn’t identify the intended
target.
The
Vector was the second of three drones used for attacks in Bryansk, bordering
northeastern Ukraine, on Sunday morning. The first dropped explosives on the
Druzhba transit station, damaging administrative buildings, cable lines and
switchgear rooms. The other drone dropped fragmentation grenades on the village
of Krucha, Mash said, without identifying its source.
Three
drones intercepted over Russia – MODREAD MORE: Three drones intercepted over
Russia – MOD
With its
long-touted counteroffensive foundering in Donbass, Ukraine’s military has
ramped up drone attacks on civilian targets in Russia in recent weeks. One such
“terrorist attack” was foiled on Friday, when three Ukrainian UAVs were
intercepted in Bryansk Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said. A Ukrainian
drone also was shot down over Belgorod Region earlier in the day.
Germany’s
government ordered 300 Vector drones earlier this year as part of NATO’s
campaign to arm Kiev against Russian forces. The Vector is made of reinforced
carbon fiber and is touted for its ability to operate silently and in harsh
weather conditions on surveillance and reconnaissance missions. It provides
real-time HD video transmitted to the operator through an encrypted data
channel.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/582795-ukraine-uses-german-drone-to-attack-russia/
-------
EU
believes Ukraine is ‘a very corrupt country’ – Politico
11 Sep,
2023
Widespread
corruption in Ukraine could hamper Kiev’s bid for EU membership, a western
European diplomat told Politico on Monday. He said Ukrainian President Vladimir
Zelensky’s efforts to tackle the problem have also alarmed Brussels.
Ukraine
applied for membership in the European Union last February, and was formally
granted candidate status four months later. Although European Commission
President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to address the issue of enlargement
during her state of the union speech on Wednesday, and EU Council President
Charles Michel has vowed to admit all candidate nations by 2030, Ukraine’s bid
could be hamstrung by rampant corruption.
Ukraine
is a “very corrupt country,” an anonymous western European diplomat told
Politico. “We want to give a positive signal to Ukraine but things such as this
proposal to give more power to [Ukraine’s] intelligence [services] over
corruption can send the wrong message.”
The
proposal in question was raised by Zelensky last month. Following a purge of
allegedly corrupt officials at the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Zelensky
announced that he would task the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) with probing
and prosecuting corruption cases, taking investigative power away from the
country’s multiple anti-graft agencies.
The SBU
reports solely to Zelensky. Representatives of Ukraine’s existing
anti-corruption agencies told Politico last month that by making the SBU the
only body allowed to investigate these cases, Zelensky is essentially giving
himself the power to decide which corrupt officials to prosecute and which ones
to shield.
There is
precedent for these fears, the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center
(ACAC), Vitaly Shabunin, said. Oleg Tatarov, the deputy head of Zelensky’s
office, was under investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of
Ukraine (NABU) last year, when the case was unexpectedly transferred to the
SBU. “It was buried there,” Shabunin said. “Now [Zelensky’s] office wants to
make that into practice.”
Ukraine
has for years been ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, as of
2022, the country ranked 116th out of 180.
Aside
from corruption concerns, disputes between Ukraine and European nations over
agriculture could also hold up Kiev’s membership bid. Ukrainian farmers could
undercut their European counterparts with cheap grain exports, meaning that the
EU will likely have to reform its Common Agricultural Policy if Ukraine is to
be admitted, Politico noted.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/582782-eu-membership-ukraine-corrupt/
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Ukrainian
forces advance near Bakhmut and Zaporizhzhia – ISW
12
SEPTEMBER
Ukrainian
troops continued counteroffensive operations in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia
Oblasts on 11 September, and advanced in the area of Bakhmut and in the west of
Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Details:
The Ukrainian military have said that over the past week, 2 square kilometres
of territory on the Bakhmut front have been liberated and successes have been
achieved near Klishchiivka and Andriivka.
Hanna
Maliar, Deputy Minister of Defence, also said that over the past week,
Ukrainian troops liberated a total of 4.8 square kilometres on the Tavriia
(Zaporizhzhia Oblast) operational front.
In
addition, Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the
Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that Russian troops are changing their tactics
and using drones "en masse".
At the
same time, Russian troops continued offensive operations at the
Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna line and advanced on the Kupiansk front on 11
September. Geolocation footage released on that date shows that Russian troops
made progress near a forest belt northeast of Sinkivka.
To quote
the ISW’s Key Takeaways from 11 September:
Ukrainian
forces continued counteroffensive operations in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia
Oblasts on 11 September and have reportedly advanced near Bakhmut and in
western Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
The
Rosgvardia may be recruiting previously imprisoned former Wagner Group
fighters, likely to further subsume Wagner remnants while bolstering Russia’s
domestic security apparatus.
Russian
border guards expressed similar grievances about limited capabilities and
equipment to those voiced by Russian troops serving in Ukraine and continued to
express concern over potential Ukrainian raids into Russia.
The
Kremlin’s ruling United Russia party unsurprisingly achieved most of its
desired results in highly fraudulent local elections in Russia and occupied
Ukraine.
North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in
Vladivostok in the coming days, likely to discuss bilateral relations and North
Korea’s supplies of artillery munitions to Russia.
US and
Armenian forces began joint military exercises in Armenia on 11 September.
Russian
forces conducted offensive operations along the Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna line,
near Bakhmut, along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line, in the western
Donetsk-eastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast border area, and in western Zaporizhzhia
Oblast and advanced in some areas on 11 September.
Ukrainian
forces conducted offensive operations in at least one sector of the front on 11
September and advanced near Bakhmut, along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line, in
the western Donetsk-eastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast border area, and in western
Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Russian
Central Election Committee Head Alexander Sidyakin unsurprisingly claimed that
United Russia received the majority of votes in occupied Luhansk, Donetsk,
Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Oblasts.
Ukrainian
and United Kingdom military officials reported on 11 September that the Russian
military intends to mobilise over 400,000 personnel by the end of 2023.
Source: pravda.com.ua
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the full text of the original
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/09/12/7419399/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/vhp-shaurya-jagran-yatra-dharma-yoddhas/d/130661