Irrespective Of Caste, Gender or Religion: A Masjid for All, With a Noble Purpose

For
the needy: Patients consulting a doctor at Masjid Ishaq at Achireddy Nagar in
Old City on Saturday.
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Irrespective
Of Caste, Gender or Religion: A Masjid for All, With a Noble Purpose
Pakistan
Likely to Escape US Censure Due To Aasia’s Release
Palestinian
Groups to Respect Gaza Truce 'As Long As Israel Does'
US
Senate Considers Legislation to Punish Saudi Arabia
Asia
Bibi: Britain Spars over Asylum in Pakistani Blasphemy Case
Aung
San Suu Kyi Stripped of Amnesty’s Highest Honour
India
Irrespective
Of Caste, Gender or Religion: A Masjid for All, With a Noble Purpose
Deported
Wayanad Youth Details His 6-Year Journey ‘Towards IS’
Two
Hizbul Mujahideen Terrorists Arrested From J&K's Pulwama, Arms Recovered
If Govt.
Can Talk to Taliban, Why Not to Kashmiri Youth, Asks Shahi Imam
Ayodhya
dispute: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar optimistic about out of court settlement,
litigants differ
J&K
BJP leader’s killing: Two Hizbul men named as killers, one govt staffer
detained
Govt
to ban Bangladeshi terror group JMB
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Pakistan
Pakistan
Likely to Escape US Censure Due To Aasia’s Release
Army
Vows To Enforce Writ of State
Pakistan
frees two more Taliban leaders
NAB
to respond to UK Home Office's questions on Dar's return
Bajaur
Press Club closed over terror threat
PA
wants private schools to give free education to disadvantaged students
PM
Khan stresses respect for religious sentiments
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Mideast
Palestinian
Groups to Respect Gaza Truce 'As Long As Israel Does'
Dozens
of Houthis Killed and Injured In Last Stronghold In Dhale Governorate
UN
aid chief demands cessation of hostilities around Yemen's Hudaydah
Ex-Bahraini
minister warns of joint Arab-Israel plot against Palestine
Warplanes
target main entrance to Yemen’s port city of Hudaydah
Lebanese
army forces detain man suspected of providing intelligence to Israel
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North America
US
Senate Considers Legislation to Punish Saudi Arabia
Smartphones:
A Double-Edged Sword for Terrorists
US
concerned over 'premature' return of Rohingya
US
refuses to grant visa to top British Islamophobe
US
Designates Son Of Hezbollah Leader As ‘Global Terrorist’
Trump
picks retired general for ambassador to Saudi Arabia
US
security Chief John Bolton vows to ‘squeeze’ Iran
Will
Nikki Haley block diplomatic immunity to Qatar hacking ringleader?
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Europe
Asia
Bibi: Britain Spars over Asylum in Pakistani Blasphemy Case
Palestinian
Initiative for Start-Ups Showcased At French Summit
Turkish
FM says Germany is not meeting demands on Gulen network
Hezbollah
moneymen face French justice after global wave of arrests
Anti-Muslim
activist Tommy Robinson denied US visa
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South Asia
Aung
San Suu Kyi Stripped of Amnesty’s Highest Honour
Taliban
Commander among 32 Killed, Wounded In Faryab Clashes, Airstrikes
U.S.
airstrike leaves 8 Taliban militants dead in Ghazni province
Thousands
of Afghans flee fighting in Hazara districts
Militants
suffer casualties in fresh clashes in Farah city outskirts, districts
International
Islamic University to be built in Nangarhar: Ghani
Taliban
expressed flexibility for talks in Moscow Summit: HPC
‘Bangladesh
deploys armed forces to force out Rohingya’
ASEAN
drafts statement in response to Rakhine violence, urges accountability
--------
Southeast Asia
Shafie
Urges Sabahans to Work towards Unity, Shun Racism, Extremism
Indonesian
Police Will Not Allow Meeting to Promote Caliphate
Amanah:
Oktoberfest fine as long as Muslims not part of it
It’s
academic now, rules court of Tawfik’s bid to challenge Hadi’s bill
'Rizieq
not a threat to my country': Saudi envoy says
--------
Africa
Why
I Chose a Fellow Muslim as Running Mate –Gov El-Rufai
We
Fighting Terrorism in Defence of True Islam -- King
Jordan
jails 10 for ISIS-claimed Karak attack
People
stage protest against Nigerian army’s killing of Muslims
Libya’s
PM Sarraj meets eastern commander Haftar in Palermo
Dozens
missing after Boko Haram kills 16 in Nigeria: militia
--------
Arab World
Syria:
US Conducts More Heliborne Operations to Rescue ISIL Terrorists
Turkish
Air Strikes Kill 19 Kurdish Militants in Northern Iraq
US-Led
Aircraft Evacuate Daesh Terrorists From Eastern Syria: Report
Daesh
Militant Attack On Hashd Sha’abi Cmdr. Home In Western Iraq Leaves 9 Dead
Syrian
Army Increases Deployment in Aleppo after Turkey's Threats in Eastern Euphrates
Protests
Flare in Turkish-Occupied Regions in Northern Syria
Syrian
Army Repels Terrorists' Heavy Offensives in Idlib, Hama
Fresh
Infighting Reported Again Among Terrorists in Northwestern Syria
Lebanon’s
Hariri blames Hezbollah for obstructing government formation
Saudi
Arabia executes ISIS member who killed his cousin
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/new-age-islam-news-bureau/irrespective-of-caste,-gender-or-religion--a-masjid-for-all,-with-a-noble-purpose/d/116876
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Irrespective
Of Caste, Gender or Religion: A Masjid for All, With a Noble Purpose
SYED
MOHAMMED
NOVEMBER
10, 2018
From
the outside, the Masjid Ishaq at Achireddy Nagar in Old City looks like any
other mosque. It has a mihrab, or a niche in a wall form where the Imam leads
the prayer, and musallis or congregants are seen performing their ablutions and
praying on the rows of prayer mats. But a closer look reveals that there is
something more to this place of worship than meets the eye. In perhaps a first
for the area, the masjid has thrown open a clinic for urban slum-dwellers,
irrespective of caste, gender or religion. The clinic is a collaborative effort
of the Masjid Managing Committee, headed by brothers Fayaq Khan and G.M. Khan,
and Helping Hand Foundation (HHF), an NGO.
“We
wanted to dedicate a space inside the masjid for the clinic where people from
weaker sections of all religions can come for free treatment and guidance on
healthcare. While the masjid was constructed two years ago and sees around 400
people on Fridays, the clinic is new and is spread over approximately 1,000
square feet. Since HHF has been working in the field of healthcare, we agreed
to work with them,” says Fayaq Khan. According to HHF founding trustee Mujtaba
Hasan Askari, the clinic has been informally functioning for about 10 days now.
It was launched on Saturday. The clinic runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except on
Fridays and Sundays.
Mr.
Askari says, “A counsellor-doctor and nurse will be available at the clinic. It
will also serve those who need home care. Several people are unable to go to
hospitals, say for changing bandages and other minor treatments. The clinic
will look after such cases as well.”
Apart
from home care, Mr. Askari says the clinic also offers free physiotherapy,
wound management and maternal care.
While
free healthcare services are provided here, the larger aim, he says, is to
‘link’ patients to government hospitals and the government healthcare system.
Thus, the clinic would also serve as a ‘referral centre’. Patients would be
transported to the area hospitals or larger ones, depending on the nature of
the case.
“Many
urban slum-dwellers cannot afford to pay for the trip to hospitals, leave alone
pay for medication. Apart from our two vehicles, we have engaged local
auto-rickshaw drivers to transport patients,” Mr. Askari says.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/a-masjid-for-all-with-a-noble-purpose/article25465079.ece
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Pakistan
likely to escape US censure due to Aasia’s release
Anwar
Iqbal
November
14, 2018
WASHINGTON:
Pakistan may escape a new designation — a serious violator of religious freedom
— thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision to release Aasia Bibi, according to
diplomatic sources.
In
January, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
recommended that Pakistan be designated as a “country of concern” because of
its alleged “serious violations of religious freedom”.
Although
it’s a long-standing USCIRF demand, the US State Department has never so
designated Pakistan, but it does highlight the commission’s findings in its
annual reports on religious freedom.
In
December last year, the State Department named Pakistan as the first, and only,
country on its “Special Watch List”, a new category created in 2016.
The
report for this year complained that religious minorities in Pakistan continued
to face attacks from extremist groups and society at large. It also noted that
“abusive enforcement of the country’s strict blasphemy laws result in the
“suppression of rights for non-Muslims, Shia and Ahmedis”.
Tenzin
Dorjee, the USCIRF chief, said: “The case of Asia Bibi illustrates the extent
to which blasphemy laws can be exploited to target minority communities.”
But
in its latest statement, the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the death
sentence against Aasia Bibi in 2010 on charges of insulting the Holy Prophet
(PBUH).
https://www.dawn.com/news/1445489/pakistan-likely-to-escape-us-censure-due-to-aasias-release
--------
Palestinian
Groups To Respect Gaza Truce 'As Long As Israel Does'
14
November 2018
Al
Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from Nahal-Oz near the Gaza-Israel fence,
said Hamas-led factions on Tuesday accepted the truce "to restart the
situation that prevailed up until this latest military escalation".
Hamas
is the group administering the besieged Gaza Strip.
Fawcett
added: "The Israelis do not confirm or deny such things, but Israeli media
are reporting, citing an unnamed official, that Palestinian factions tried
through four separate mediators to request a ceasefire."
A
statement by Palestinian groups in Gaza said: "Egypt's efforts have been
able to achieve a ceasefire between the resistance and the Zionist enemy.
"The
resistance will respect this declaration as long as the Zionist enemy respects
it."
The
announcement set off celebrations in Gaza City with hundrerds of Palestinians
taking to the streets to declare victory.
Earlier,
senior Hamas official Ismail Haniya said that the Palestinian group was
prepared to return to a ceasefire agreement if Israel "stops its
aggression" on the Gaza Strip.
"Should
the Occupation [Israel] stop its aggression a return to the ceasefire
understandings will be possible," Haniya said in a statement.
'Israel
provoked the Palestinians'
At
least seven Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the coastal
enclave since Monday, in the worst violence between the two sides since the
2014 war.
The
latest escalation erupted late on Sunday when Israel launched a botched raid in
Gaza that killed seven other Palestinians and one of its commanders.
Hamas
and other armed factions on Monday fired over 400 rockets or mortar bombs at
Israel, with Israel responding with dozens of air raids.
The
Palestinian Shehab news agency reported that civilian buildings, the Al-Aqsa TV
channel and the Al-Amal hotel were all targeted by Israeli strikes.
Turkey
criticised Israel's response to the rocket fire, with Ibrahim Kalin, a
spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, calling the strikes
"brutal" and illegal, state news agency Anadolu said.
The
German Foreign Office also condemned Israel's air strikes, saying: "There
can be no justification for this violence against innocent civilians."
Meanwhile,
the Palestine Liberation Organisation said Israel was solely responsible for
the surge in fighting. In a statement, it called on the international community
to protect citizens in Gaza.
Mohammad
Oweis, a Palestinian-American political analyst, told Al Jazeera that the
ceasefire would only hold "as long as the Israelis do not provoke the
Palestinians".
"The
Israelis provoked the Palestinians into this latest round of fighting. They are
the ones who need to stop.
"They
seem to have learnt from Donald Trump that by provoking people, attacking them
verbally and physically, [can] change facts and the reality on the
ground."
'A
different approach'
Gaza
- a territory of more than two million people - has been under a devastating
Israeli-imposed blockade for the past 11 years, which has severely restricted
the movement of Palestinians in and out of it.
Israel
withdrew its troops and settlers from the Strip in 2005 but, citing security
concerns, maintains tight control of its land and sea borders, reducing its
economy to a state of collapse.
Egypt
also restricts movement in and out of Gaza through its border.
Mohammed
Daraghmeh, a columnist and political analyst, said this latest escalation could
be an important moment in the future of the Gaza blockade.
"Both
sides have realised that after a series of wars they need to have a different
approach.
"After
a period of calm in Gaza, Israel finally allowed Qatari money to be funnelled
to Gaza, to have oil imported, to offer some relaxation amid the blockade. This
escalation has come at a critical moment."
Gideon
Levy, a columnist at Haaretz and member of the newspaper's editorial board,
said unless Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended the siege, the
violence would continue.
"Both
parties are not interested in a war, but both are not doing enough to prevent
one," he said.
"Netanyahu
has no intention to put an end to the siege, so as long as it continues, we
will, again and again, witness one violent action leading to another violent
act."
Israel
and Hamas have fought three wars since the group seized control of Gaza after
it won elections in the enclave in 2006.
In
the most recent one in 2014, more than 2,200 Palestinians were killed - the
majority of whom were civilians - and tens of thousands were left homeless.
Seventy-three people, most of them soldiers, were killed on the Israeli side.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/palestinians-announce-gaza-ceasefire-israel-181113152045040.html
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US
Senate considers legislation to punish Saudi Arabia
Nov
14, 2018
The
US Senate is expected to vote on legislation aimed at punishing Saudi Arabia
over its brutal war on Yemen as well as the murder of a dissident journalist at
its consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
Senator
Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
said Tuesday that the upper chamber could vote on the resolution within weeks
prior to the end of the year.
Corker
said that the legislation seeks to stop all assistance to the Kingdom, adding
measures to end arms sales to Riyadh would also be discussed at the Senate.
“Senators
are looking for some way to show Saudi Arabia the disdain they have for what
has happened, with the journalist, but also concerns about the way Yemen has
gone,” Corker (pictured below) told Reuters.
“It
would be very hard, if a weapons sale came up, to keep it from being undone, at
least in the Senate,” Corker said.
Saudi
Arabia has come under fierce criticism after journalist Jamal Khashoggi was
killed inside its consulate on October 2.
Khashoggi,
a prominent commentator on Saudi affairs who wrote for The Washington Post’s
Global Opinions section, had lived in self-imposed exile in the US since
September 2017, when he left Saudi Arabia over fears of the Riyadh regime’s
crackdown on critical voices.
Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a prime suspect in the murder plot.
Bin
Salman has also been leading a devastating war on Yemen since 2015 in an
attempt to reinstall Yemen's former Riyadh-allied regime and crush the Houthi
Ansarullah movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of an
effective government. Retired US general picked for ambassador to Saudi Arabia
Meanwhile,
President Donald Trump has picked a retired four-star general for US ambassador
to Riyadh as Washington faces pressure to respond to the killing of Khashoggi.
The
key diplomatic position has been vacant since former ambassador Joseph Westphal
left in January 2017.
Trump
announced on Tuesday that John Abizaid, the longest-serving commander of the US
Central Command, will be leading the American embassy.
Retired
in 2007, Abizaid of Nevada served in wars in Grenada, the Persian Gulf, Bosnia,
Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.
After
the Iraq War, he began leading CENTCOM, which overseas military operations in
20 countries located in areas from northeast Africa to the Middle East to
Central and South Asia.
He
is currently a private consultant as well as a visiting fellow at the Hoover
Institution at Stanford University.
Formerly,
he worked as the chair of the Combating Terrorism Center at the US Military
Academy at West Point in addition to holding various senior positions on the
Joint Chiefs of Staff.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/11/14/579980/US-Senate-Saudi-Arabia-Yemen-Khashoggi
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Asia
Bibi: Britain spars over asylum in Pakistani blasphemy case
November
13, 2018
Attempts
by a Pakistani-Christian woman to secure asylum in the UK after being acquitted
of blasphemy charges in Pakistan have been delayed because of a disagreement
within the British government, The National can reveal.
Asia
Bibi spent eight years on death row but she, her family and legal team have all
faced death threats since her release earlier this month and been forced into
hiding.
It
is understood that Britain’s interior ministry wants to allow Ms Bibi into the
country but is being blocked by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Ms
Bibi’s husband Ashiq Masih made a direct video appeal to the UK on Saturday
saying that he also feared for his own life, and the family’s campaign has been
taken up by senior figures including the former foreign secretary Boris
Johnson.
In
a letter to Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Mr Johnson said: “I am well aware, as a
former foreign secretary, of the constant threat to our overseas missions but
we cannot allow the threat of violence to deter us from doing the right thing”.
Conservative
MP Rehman Chishti told British radio that the UK had a “moral obligation to
give sanctuary to someone who’s been persecuted for their faith, but whose life
is in grave danger”.
Following
Ms Bibi’s release on the 7th November, crowds took to the streets in cities
across Pakistan baying for her death. A survey in 2013 that more than 10
million Pakistanis had said they would be willing to personally killed Ms Bibi.
The
predicament is a political minefield for Britain, pitting values against a
diplomatic relationship many see as vital for both countries.
Britain’s
High Commission in Islamabad is among its largest diplomatic missions anywhere
in the world, whilst Pakistan is the single largest recipient of UK foreign
aid. In 2016 it received more than £400 million, and disruption to the
diplomatic posting would have serious consequences for both countries.
Britain
is home to more than 1.2 million citizens with both Pakistani and British
citizenship, whilst as many as 80,000 dual nationals reside in Pakistan.
However,
Azeem Ibrahim, a former advisor to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, and
Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Policy, played down suggestions there
could be long term consequences for bilateral relations or significant unrest.
“It’s
a bad reflection on the Pakistani government that they can no longer protect
their own citizens,” he said.
“The
reality is that the government of Pakistan has indicated that they support the
Supreme court decision.”
He
added that, if Ms Bibi secured asylum in the UK it would be a headache for the
Pakistan government “that they no longer have to deal with”.
“There
may be protests, but they won’t last very long, they are mobs, they have been
looting, they have very little religious inclination, I don’t anticipate it
will go on for too long,” he told The National.
A
similar affair in 2007 saw the two countries’ relations reach near breaking
point, after Sir Salman Rushdie was awarded a knighthood
Mr
Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses, published almost two decades earlier was
widely condemned in Pakistan as blasphemous. In Britain, it was named a 1998
Booker Prize finalist.
Then
British High Commissioner Robert Brinkley was summoned, whilst the country’s
Religious Affairs Minister called on all Muslim countries to sever ties with
the UK..
Britain
is not the only country caught in the case of Ms Bibi, a number of Dutch
diplomats were “rushed home” on Monday, after Holland offered temporary
sanctuary to Ms Bibi’s lawyer, Saif Ul Malook.
https://www.thenational.ae/world/europe/asia-bibi-britain-spars-over-asylum-in-pakistani-blasphemy-case-1.791504
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Aung
San Suu Kyi stripped of Amnesty’s highest honour
November
13, 2018
Amnesty
International has stripped de facto Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi of its
highest honour in light of the Nobel laureate’s “shameful betrayal of the
values she once stood for”.
The
secretary general of the global rights body, Kumi Naidoo, wrote to Suu Kyi on
November to inform her of the organization’s decision to revoke the Ambassador
of Conscience Award, which was presented in 2009.
Naidoo
expressed Amnesty’s disappointment that Suu Kyi had not used her “political and
moral authority” to safeguard human rights, justice or equality in Myanmar,
citing her apparent indifference to atrocities committed by the Myanmar
military against the Rohingya ethnic minority.
“As
an Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience, our expectation was that you
would continue to use your moral authority to speak out against injustice
wherever you saw it, not least within Myanmar itself,” Kumi Naidoo wrote,
according to an Amnesty press release.
“Today,
we are profoundly dismayed that you no longer represent a symbol of hope,
courage, and the undying defence of human rights.
“Amnesty
International cannot justify your continued status as a recipient of the
Ambassador of Conscience award and so with great sadness we are hereby
withdrawing it from you.”
Perpetuating
human rights violations
Amnesty
International has repeatedly criticized the failure of Aung San Suu Kyi and her
government to speak out about military atrocities against the Rohingya
population in Rakhine State, who have lived for years under a system of
segregation and discrimination amounting to apartheid.
During
the campaign of violence unleashed against the Rohingya last year, the Myanmar
security forces killed thousands, raped women and girls, detained and tortured
men and boys, and burned hundreds of homes and villages to the ground.
More
than 720,000 Rohingya have since fled to Bangladesh, while a UN report has
called for senior military officials to be investigated and prosecuted for the
crime of genocide.
Although
the civilian government does not have control over the military, Aung San Suu
Kyi and her office have shielded the security forces from accountability by
dismissing, downplaying or even denying allegations of human rights violations,
and by obstructing international investigations into abuses.
Her
administration has actively stirred up hostility against the Rohingya by
labelling them as “terrorists”, accusing them of burning their own homes, and
by decrying “faking rape”.
Attacks
on freedom of speech
Despite
the power wielded by the military, there are areas where the civilian-led
government has considerable authority to enact reforms to better protect human
rights, especially those relating to freedom of expression, association and
peaceful assembly.
In
the two years since Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration assumed power, however,
human rights defenders, peaceful activists and journalists have been arrested
and imprisoned while others face threats, harassment and intimidation for their
work.
Aung
San Suu Kyi’s administration has failed to repeal repressive laws – including
some of the same laws which were used to detain her and others campaigning for
democracy and human rights.
Instead,
she has actively defended the use of such laws, in particular the decision to
prosecute and imprison two Reuters journalists for their work documenting a
Myanmar military massacre.
https://www.sabrangindia.in/article/aung-san-suu-kyi-stripped-amnestys-highest-honour
--------
India
Deported
Wayanad youth details his 6-year journey ‘towards IS’
by
Deeptiman Tiwary
November
12, 2018
From
online persuasion and sermons by preachers to cartels that have infiltrated
deportation centres in countries such as Iran, the interrogation of an alleged
Islamic State recruit deported from Afghanistan recently reveals how the terror
outfit runs a well-oiled system to attract young men to Iraq, Syria and
Afghanistan.
Nashidul
Hamzafar, a 26-year-old management student from Kalpeta in Wayanad district of
Kerala, travelled to Afghanistan in October last year, reportedly to join the
IS, on the persuasion of 14 youths from Kerala’s Kasargod and Palakkad
districts who had earlier joined the outfit. Many of them were friends Hamzafar
had made while studying in Kerala and later Bangalore.
This
September, Hamzafar was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA),
which is also investigating the case of the 14. During interrogation, Hamzafar,
the son of a Wayanad-based Regional Transport Office agent, reportedly
confessed he almost ended up in Pakistan in his attempt to join the IS.
As
per his interrogation report (IR), Hamzafar said that he left for Oman in
mid-2017, and from there went to Iran in a bid to reach Afghanistan. In Iran, a
person responsible for taking him to Afghanistan reportedly put him in a deportation
centre meant for Afghans.
“They
(the deportation authorities) got suspicious about my nationality. I was
forcefully loaded onto a Pakistan deportation vehicle (as they thought) I was a
Pakistani. I told one officer I am an Afghani and requested him to send me to
Afghanistan. Accordingly, he sent me back to the Afghan camp,” Hamzafar’s IR
says.
From
Nimruz, he reportedly took a bike taxi to Kabul, and met another contact. But
soon both were apprehended by Afghan authorities who, after months of detention,
deported Hamzafar to India.
In
his interrogation — which is not admissible as evidence in a court of law —
Hamzafar said that having finished his schooling with 60 per cent marks in
science stream, he had gone to Bangalore in 2011 to do Bachelor’s in Business
Administration. According to the IR, Hamzafar’s religious inclination began
with visits of a Tablighi Jamaat preacher there. By the end of his course, this
had reportedly transformed into “fanaticism”, with him coming in contact with a
Salafist preacher. The IS was rising in Iraq and Syria at the time, and there
was a flood of material on the Internet to draw impressionable minds.
At
college, Hamzafar reportedly came in contact with several youth who later
joined the IS, including Shihas and Bestin Vincent. A Christian whom Hamzafar
describes as “hooked to alcohol and marijuana”, Vincent converted to Islam and
migrated to Nangarhar in Afghanistan where, last year, he had a child with his
converted wife.
Following
his initiation into Salafi Islam, Hamzafar reportedly said, he began listening
to Yemeni proselytizer Anwar al-Awlaki and, along with friends, organised a
lecture of Islamic preacher M M Akbar, of the Peace Foundation, in Bangalore.
Akbar was arrested this February by the Kerala Police after his name reportedly
cropped up in IS investigations.
Hamzafar
said he was not attracted to the IS till then, and was trying to pursue a
career in Dubai and New Zealand. According to him, the “brutal” ways of the IS
scared him, and he feared for his friends who had joined it. By 2016, Hamzafar
was back in Kerala pursuing an automobile training course in
Thiruvananthapuram. He said his parents, alarmed at what Shihas had done,
warned him against ties with him.
According
to the IR, Hamzafar’s friends from Afghanistan, however, got in touch with him
again and began asking him to join them. “After 6 months of their departure,
one day I got a message on WhatsApp from Shihas: ‘Asalamum Alaikkum’. I didn’t
give any reply due to fear. After a month again he wished me… Then he started
sending voice messages and one day he instructed me to install Telegram… (On
Telegram) I asked him how was the condition there (IS-controlled Afghan areas)
and he told that… 99% media reports were lies and Khilafath (Caliphate) is right…
We then maintained regular contact,” Hamzafar’s IR says.
Shihas
reportedly also sent him a 110-page PDF file named ‘Victory in the shadow of
Sword’ in Malayalam, written by Ibnu Nuwas. That book was “all about hijra and
jihad and history of the Prophet”, which Hamzafar felt “related to an ancient
period and was not relevant”. But Shihas, Hamzafar said, argued, “Prophet’s
ways were always relevant.”
In
May 2017, Hamzafar received some audio clips from Shihas on a WhatsApp group
called ‘Message to Kerala’. “After hearing the clips my objection to ISIS
ideology became soft,” Hamzafar says in the IR.
“I
started listening to audios of Zakir Naik, Mufthi Maink, Noman Alikhan, Bilal
Philip etc. I instructed my family members not to watch TV and not to lend
money for interest. I also instructed my mother and sister to dress properly,
to cover their body fully. When my father instructed me to cut my beard, I
refused,” Hamzafar said.
In
May 2017, Hamzafar went to Bahrain for a job but reportedly maintained contact
with Shihas and the others in Afghanistan. “I expressed my interest in hijra.
Ashfaq (a friend who migrated to Afghanistan) and Shihas advised me… to come to
Iran first… Shihas was working in Media department of Khilafath and Ashfaq was
working in hijra department,” Hamzafar said.
He
came back from Bahrain but soon after left for Oman in October 2017. Through
all this, he was reportedly guided by Ashfaq, who provided him 600 Riyals in
Oman through hawala and later 5,000 Dirhams. Once in Tehran, Hamzafar was asked
to travel to Isfahan, where a man picked him up and put him in a safe house.
The next morning, he was dropped at a deportation camp.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/deported-wayanad-youth-details-his-6-year-journey-towards-is-5441677/
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Two
Hizbul Mujahideen Terrorists Arrested From J&K's Pulwama, Arms Recovered
November
14, 2018
Srinagar:
Two terrorists of terror outfit, Hizbul Mujahideen were on Wednesday arrested
from Pulwama’s Awantipora, news agency ANI reported. Further, arms and ammunition
were also recovered. Meanwhile, the matter is being further investigated, Jammu
and Kashmir Police told ANI.
More
details are awaited.
There
has hardly been a let up of violence in the valley. In another incident, the
Indian Army foiled an infiltration bid in Keren sector of Kupwara district in
Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. At least two terrorists were killed. Army
official said that the identity and group affiliation of the slain terrorists
was not immediately known.
On
November 9, one Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorist had been gunned down by
security forces in Tral area. Arms and ammunition were recovered from them. A
policeman was also injured during the encounter and was rushed to the hospital.
Full
report at:
https://www.india.com/news/india/jammu-and-kashmir-two-hizbul-mujahideen-terrorists-arrested-from-pulwamas-awantipora-arms-recovered-probe-underway-3428434/
--------
If
govt. can talk to Taliban, why not to Kashmiri youth, asks Shahi Imam
Nov
13, 2018
New
Delhi: Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari has raised some basic questions over the
Indian government’s move of sharing the stage with the Taliban at a
“non-official level” in Moscow. He asked why cannot then the Union government
led by Narendra Modi have a similar talk with non-mainstream leaders in India’s
Jammu and Kashmir. He said the Narendra Modi government has a duality of
approach to problems in Afghanistan and Kashmir.
It
must be noted that talks are being initiated in Moscow to find a solution to
the political imbroglio in Afghanistan after some fifteen years of continuous
warfare. The talks now underway involve many countries. The Narendra Modi
government has chosen to send a “non-official” Indian delegation to assist with
the talks.
Imam
Bukhari said, it is ironical that India showed the willingness to have talks
with Taliban, but feels shy of talking to the Kashmiri dissidents at home.
Full
report at:
https://www.siasat.com/news/if-govt-can-talk-taliban-why-not-kashmiri-youth-asks-shahi-imam-1432170/
--------
Ayodhya
dispute: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar optimistic about out of court settlement,
litigants differ
Nelanshu
Shukla
November
13, 2018
After
two litigants in the Ayodhya land dispute said they agree on an out of court
settlement, Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said he is optimistic
about it. However, this optimism is not shared by other litigants in the case
who have rejected the proposal.
Responding
to petitioners Haji Mahboob and Mohommad Omar signing the letter of support for
an out of court settlement on Tuesday, Ravi Shankar said, "I have spoken
to many people and they have agreed to go for an out of court settlement. I am
pushing it in a very harmonious manner so that both communities live in
harmony."
Speaking
to India Today TV, Iqbal Ansari, another litigant in the case, said, "The
matter is pending before the Supreme Court and let the verdict on this dispute
be delivered. No one has approached me for any talks."
Meanwhile,
member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and the Babri Masjid
Action Committee convener Jafaryad Jilani said, "The Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP) had already said in the past that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has nothing to do
with the case. He had already been in favour of the Ram Temple and wants
Muslims to compromise with the land meant for mosque. This is not possible. The
Supreme Court's verdict should be acceptable to all."
Mahant
Dharamdas, another litigant in this dispute said there is no clarity about Ravi
Shankar's proposal. "His representative met Haji Mahboob and decided on an
amicable resolution. We only want the Supreme Court to deliver its verdict on
this dispute at the earliest."
Speaking
about the matter, Rishi Kapoor, spokesperson of VHP said, "The Supreme
Court gave six months' time for an out of court settlement but nothing happened.
Similar attempts were made several times in the past. Now there is only one
solution, the central government should bring in a bill in Parliament for the
construction of Ram temple."
Full
report at:
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/ayodhya-dispute-sri-sri-ravi-shankar-optimistic-about-out-of-court-settlement-litigants-differ-1387927-2018-11-13
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J&K
BJP leader’s killing: Two Hizbul men named as killers, one govt staffer
detained
by
Arun Sharma
November
14, 2018
The
second suspect, Riyaz, identified as an overground worker of the Hizbul
Mujahideen, is alleged to have accompanied the militants from Dachhan to
Kishtwar town to identify the BJP leader.
Police
sources said a woman from Dachhan is also being questioned, as call detail
records showed that her SIM card was near the site of the killings on November
1. The woman had reportedly given her SIM card to Osama Javed’s sister.
Kishtwar SSP Rajinder Gupta declined to comment on the investigations. Sources,
however, said the militants are suspected to have stayed at Pervaiz Ahmed’s
property for two-three days, during which they carried out a recce of the area.
They chose a spot in Tapal mohalla, where the CCTV camera installed by another
BJP leader outside his house, was not working. Anil Parihar and his brother,
Ajit, were shot on the night of November 1, when they were on their way home.
Ajit was an employee of the State Forest Corporation.
Earlier,
police detained two PSOs who were assigned to Anil Parihar but were not with
him at the time of attack. An empty cartridge of an AK rifle was recovered from
the spot. Anil Parihar, considered to be a liberal face of the BJP, was
reported to have been targeted in an attempt to derail the coming panchayat
elections.
Recently,
Governor Satya Pal Malik had said that those behind the killings had been
identified and would be brought to book. BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on
Tuesday said the killers would be “neutralised” soon. “Right now, our main
challenge is to track down the terrorists and neutralise them. This will be
done very soon,” he told mediapersons in Kishtwar.
Madhav,
accompanied by Union Ministers J P Nadda and Jitendra Singh and state BJP
president Ravinder Raina, met the Parihar family and handed over a condolence
letter from party chief Amit Shah.
Full
report at:
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/jk-bjp-leaders-killing-two-hizbul-men-named-as-killers-one-govt-staffer-detained-5445141/
--------
Govt
to ban Bangladeshi terror group JMB
Nov
14, 2018
NEW
DELHI: Four years after its emergence in India, the government is finally in
the process of banning deadly Bangladeshi terror outfit, Jamaat-ul Mujahideen
Bangladesh (JMB), under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The
move will empower all state police forces and central agencies to restrict the
funding, recruitment activities and terror operations of the outfit, which has
been making fresh efforts lately to create its bases in cities across India.
The
ministry of home affairs, sources say, is presently considering the proposal
prepared by the National Investigation Agency for naming JMB as a proscribed
organisation and a decision will be taken shortly.
Officials
explained that banning JMB is important as the outfit has opened its
full-fledged India chapter, Jamaat-ul Mujahideen India (JMI) recently, under
the leadership of Salahuddin Salehin and his deputy Jahidul Islam with three
main objectives—proselytization, training and armed combat with a view to
establishing Islamic rule across the Indian subcontinent.
The
outfit planted IEDs at Bodhgaya temple in Bihar in January while West Bengal
police and NIA both have arrested several old JMB operatives in last few
months.
The
JMB leaders and operatives had gone into hiding after 2014 Burdwan accidental
blast, when NIA launched a nationwide crackdown on the outfit recovering over
100 IEDs and arresting over 50 members. The JMB leaders, counter-intelligence
officials say, were re-grouping after the crackdown on both sides – Bangladesh
and India.
Investigations
have revealed that JMB has not only been using Indian soil for hideouts in West
Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand and other regions but it is “quietly” carrying out
subversive activities like collection of funds, recruitment of Muslim youths
into the fold of JMB, imparting training to them and motivating them to make
handmade weapons like bows and arrows, etc and radicalising them to fight
against members of other communities within India. The JMB members are using
traditional methods like forming matrimonial alliances to settle in India. The
outfit receives good support from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and has
funding channels in various countries. It also uses madrasas, mosques and
social media for recruiting Muslim youth.
Latest
intelligence inputs suggest that JMB cadres are moving to cities including
Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Jammu etc and assuming fake identity by acquiring PAN
cards, Aadhaar etc and getting engaged in jobs like daily wage workers. Inputs
also suggest that there could be over 60 modules of JMB consisting of 10 to 12
members each in various parts of India.
Full
report at:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/govt-to-ban-bangladeshi-terror-group-jmb/articleshow/66613271.cms
--------
Pakistan
Army
vows to enforce writ of state
Baqir
Sajjad Syed
November
14, 2018
ISLAMABAD:
The army’s top brass on Tuesday said it backed state institutions in ensuring
the writ of the state and adherence to the rule of law.
The
Inter-Services Public Relations said the 215th Corps Commanders’ Conference
“expressed its resolve for continued support to all state institutions for
ensuring writ of the state and rule of law in which lies the peace, stability
and prosperity of the country”.
Army
Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa presided over the meeting, which was attended by corps
commanders and principal staff officers. The meeting, which is a monthly
feature, took stock of the internal security situation in addition to external
environment.
Although
ISPR did not mention in which context this resolve was expressed, it seemed
that the observation was related to recent protests by Tehreek-i-Labbaik
Pakistan (TLP) and other religious parties against the acquittal of Aasia Bibi,
a blasphemy accused, by the Supreme Court. The protesting leaders had made
inflammatory speeches against the judiciary and military leadership.
The
ISPR, in a reaction to the anti-army statements during the protests, reminded
the protesters of constitutional limits and asked for those to be respected.
“We have so far been tolerating, but action can be taken when constitutional
limits are crossed. Don’t force us to take steps that are allowed
constitutionally,” military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor had on that occasion
said.
The
National Security Committee had in its meeting on Nov 6 also stressed on the
“rule of law” for the country’s progress.
Almost
11 days have passed since the TLP sit-in ended after a deal with the federal
and Punjab governments, but still there has been no action against those who
made provocative speeches. The government has instead accused the opposition
parties of being behind the violent protests.
Afghanistan
The
military also expressed its support for the various efforts for peace and
reconciliation in Afghanistan. The ISPR said the corps commanders supported
“all initiatives towards regional peace” and pledged to continue efforts for
bringing enduring peace to the country.
Pakistan
had last month released former Taliban deputy chief Mullah Baradar at the
request of the United States for facilitating peace talks in Afghanistan. The
US initiative, which started with direct contacts with the Taliban and
appointment of Zalmay Khalilzad as special envoy for peace and reconciliation,
is continuing.
Ambassador
Khalilzad is in the region for contacts with stakeholders and another round of
talks with the Taliban.
Meanwhile,
Russia had last week hosted a meeting of the ‘Moscow format’, which was
attended by the representatives of Taliban and a number of regional countries.
“Progress
of ongoing operations, fencing along Pak-Afghan border, situation along the
eastern border including Indian ceasefire violations deliberately targeting
innocent citizens were also discussed,” the ISPR said.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1445462/army-vows-to-enforce-writ-of-state
--------
Pakistan
frees two more Taliban leaders
Nov
13, 2018
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan has released two senior Afghan Taliban leaders in the wake of the
meetings between the representatives of the Taliban and the US officials in
Qatar.
According
to Taliban officials, Abdul Samad Sani, a Taliban fundraiser, and Salahuddin, a
military commander, were freed from prison in Pakistan on Monday. The move came
weeks after Pakistan had freed former Taliban deputy chief Mullah Abdul Ghani
Baradar as part of Washington’s effort to revive peace talks with the
insurgents.
Sani
was declared as Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) this year in
January for “providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism”.
During
the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Sani was the deputy finance commissioner of
the movement and had also served as the governor for the Afghan central bank.
The US Department of the Treasury had issued a long list of charges against him
that included collecting funding to purchase supplies and ammunition for
Taliban fighters engaged in war in Afghanistan.
Pakistan
had arrested Sani from restive southern Balochistan province in October 2016
along with Suleman Agha, the Taliban governor for Daykund province.
The
release of Taliban leaders took place as the US special envoy on Afghan
Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad is on his second regional tour. Over
the weekend, Khalilzad had met the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul and
is currently involved in consultations with Afghan leaders to take them into
confidence about the US talks with the Taliban. During his current visit,
Khalilzad will stop at Pakistan, United Arab Emirates and Qatar as well. He
will likely arrive in Islamabad at the end of this week and will return to
Washington on November 20.
Pakistan
had freed Baradar last month following Khalilzad’s meeting with political
representatives of Taliban in Doha. “We freed Baradar at the US request in
order to move forward on the shared objective of pursuing a political
settlement in Afghanistan,” Dr Muhammad Faisal, Pakistan’s foreign office
spokesperson, had said last week during a weekly press briefing in Islamabad.
Full
report at:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pakistan-frees-two-more-taliban-leaders/articleshow/66610812.cms
--------
NAB
to respond to UK Home Office's questions on Dar's return
Haseeb
Bhatti
November
14, 2018
The
Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to
respond to a questionnaire prepared by the United Kingdom's Home Office
regarding the return of former minister Ishaq Dar to the country.
A
three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar
was hearing a case related to Dar's non-appearance before the apex court in a
corruption case pertaining to owning assets approximately valued at Rs831.7
million, disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Dar
was declared an absconder by the court last year when he failed to appear since
he was in London, allegedly undergoing medical treatment. His absence was first
attributed to ill health on Oct 30, 2017.
The
additional attorney general told the bench today that the UK Home Office had
sent some questions regarding Dar's return to the country, and these questions
had been forwarded to NAB.
"They
will submit their response to the UK Home Office," the additional attorney
general added.
The
CJP observed that Dar "can no longer use his illness as an excuse [to stay
abroad]".
"He
would say that when justice will prevail, only then will he return to the
country," the top judge added.
The
court ordered NAB to respond to the Home Office's questionnaire and to submit a
report on the matter within a month.
The
case was subsequently adjourned for a month.
'Assets
beyond known income'
The
noose began to tighten around the former finance minister after NAB decided to
reopen the Rs1.2 billion Hudaibiya Paper Mills reference against him last year.
The
Hudaibya reference will be the second ‘mega-corruption’ case against Dar being
investigated by NAB, after the reference filed against him in the wake of the
Panamagate judgement.
The
reopening of the case was recommended by the joint investigation team formed by
the apex court to probe the Panama Papers allegations against former prime
minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members.
On
July 28, a five-member Supreme Court bench had ordered NAB to file three
references against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and one against Dar, on
petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Imran Khan, Jamaat-i-Islami’s
Sirajul Haq and Awami Muslim League’s Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.
In
its reference against the finance minister, NAB has alleged that “the accused
has acquired assets and pecuniary interests/resources in his own name and/or in
the name of his dependents of an approximate amount of Rs831.678 million
(approx)”.
Full
report at:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1445560/nab-to-respond-to-uk-home-offices-questions-on-dars-return
--------
Bajaur
Press Club closed over terror threat
November
14, 2018
KHAR:
The Bajaur Press Club was closed for an indefinite period on Tuesday following
threats of terror attacks.
The
press club president Hasbanullah Khan told Dawn here that though he did not
know about the threats, but the club had been shut down on the directives of
senior officials of the local administration.
Quoting
the officials, Mr Khan said they had received information that some unknown
miscreants planned to carry out terrorist attacks on the press club building,
‘hence you’re advised to keep the club shut for an indefinite period to thwart
any unpleasant incident.’
Following
the instructions, the press club president said an emergency meeting of the
senior journalists was held to discuss the situation in which the participants
unanimously decided to shut the club for indefinite period.
Before
shutting the press club, scores of Levies personnel arrived on the spot and
took position at various places.
The
Levies personnel also evacuated vehicles from a nearby bus stand owing to
security concerns.
People
present at the bus stand told Dawn that dozens of Levies personnel suddenly
entered there and ordered the transporters to evacuate.
Full
report at:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1445446/bajaur-press-club-closed-over-terror-threat
--------
PA
wants private schools to give free education to disadvantaged students
Hasan
Mansoor
November
14, 2018
KARACHI:
As the provincial education minister warned the “elite” educational
institutions to abide by rules, the Sindh Assembly on Tuesday demanded
implementation of a law that bound private schools to provide free and
compulsory education to “disadvantaged” children not less than 10 per cent of
the total strength of a school.
A
resolution to this effect was tabled by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Seema Zia on
Tuesday, which is a private members’ day, and the house unanimously adopted it.
The
resolution reads: “This house resolves that the government of Sindh to
implement Section 10 of the Sindh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Act, 2013, which says private schools to provide at least 10 per cent
free education to the disadvantaged children.”
It
demanded that the government take action against those private schools which
did not comply with Section 10 of the said law.
Dr
Zia lamented that despite lapse of five years to the passage of the law,
formulation of its rules of business was still awaited.
She
said certain private schools provided such facility to the children of their
staff instead of helping the meritorious children from class one to class 10.
Leader
of the Opposition Firdous Shamim Naqvi suggested for establishment of a
separate controlling authority to effectively regulate private schools.
Ruling
Pakistan Peoples Party’s Marui Rashdi and Heer Soho, Muttahida Qaumi
Movement-Pakistan’s Rana Ansar and PTI’s Khurram Sher Zaman also supported the
resolution.
Karachi
has 6,700 private schools
Education
Minister Sardar Shah asked all the members of the house to join him to go to
private schools, the “elitist” schools in particular, and force them to
implement the law, which also bound them not to increase the fee by more than
five per cent in a year.
“We
should visit these schools, particularly the elitist schools, which I call as
seven-star schools to force them to abide by the law or face de-registration
then and there,” said the minister whose only child is enrolled with a
government school.
He
said at present a total of 12,670 private schools were registered across the
province, of which 6,700 were in Karachi only. “We estimate some 5,000 to 7,000
schools in Sindh are not registered with us.”
Mr
Shah said the Supreme Court had ordered the private schools to deposit the
amount they charged over five per cent annual tuition fee to the registrar of
the apex court. However, he added the schools had not yet complied with the
court order.
He
said there were 13 elite school chains operating in the province and “if we get
two of them de-registered [for violating the law of the land] it would cause
others to respect the law”.
Speaker
Agha Siraj Durrani placed the resolution before the house, which carried it
unanimously.
Opposition
stages walkout
Earlier,
the house rejected a resolution with majority vote tabled by Grand Democratic
Alliance lawmaker Nusrat Sehar Abbasi calling for removal of two MNAs and three
senators from a committee formed by the chief minister for the welfare of
non-Muslims.
All
major opposition parties in the house — PTI, MQM-P and GDA — staged a walkout
in protest over the rejection of the resolution.
However,
PTI’s Seema Zia chose to stay in the house, saying she would prefer to table
her resolution, which was more important for the welfare of the people.
Lone
Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal lawmaker Abdul Rasheed was the only opposition member
who stayed in the house along with her.
The
protesting opposition members, however, returned to the house in a few minutes.
MQM-P’s
Mohammad Hussain tabled an adjournment motion regarding absence of public
transport in Karachi.
Transport
Minister Awais Shah said the mass transit system had got delayed because of
continuous “U-turns” by the federal government.
The
motion, however, was ruled out by Deputy Speaker Rehana Leghari, who was then
chairing the house, for being a general statement.
Govt
won’t evict people living in illegal houses
MMA’s
Rasheed tabled a resolution calling for a ban on construction of high-rise
buildings in Lyari where, he said, people were already deprived of basic
amenities
Responding
to the resolution, Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani said that the people
living in illegal buildings could not be rendered homeless. However, action
against such under-construction buildings was already under way, he added.
He
said it would be hard for the low-income people to buy another house if they
were forcibly removed from the illegally-constructed buildings.
However,
thousands of buildings got constructed in the presence of relevant authorities,
he said referring to the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) as well as
those involved in offering bribes.
Mr
Naqvi termed such bribes as “speed money” to cut through the official red tape.
Mr
Ghani said the LG department was working on a mechanism to offer one-window
operation for the approval of building plans.
Mr
Rasheed said in his resolution that Lyari was deprived of basic facilities
where the law permitted for the construction of ground-plus-one-storey
buildings; yet around 200 buildings were being built in violation of that
provision.
He
said Lyari had 80 sanitary workers in the 1980s and now the populous area had
just 20.
Call
to ban high-rise construction
MQM-P’s
Mohammad Hussain said a ban on illegal construction be imposed across Karachi.
He said residential districts were being turned into commercial ones
unlawfully.
PTI’s
Khurram Sher Zaman supported the resolution while Opposition Leader Naqvi
claimed the SBCA had turned into a “centre of corruption”. He said development
should not be stopped but better infrastructure be ensured first.
MQM-P’s
parliamentary party leader Kanwar Naveed Jameel said a limited ban be imposed
on high-rises in the city until existing infrastructure was replaced with an
improved one.
Full
report at:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1445415/pa-wants-private-schools-to-give-free-education-to-disadvantaged-students
--------
PM
Khan stresses respect for religious sentiments
Nov
14, 2018
ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday received a call European Parliament
President Antonio Tajani during which he stressed the need for respecting
religious sentiments and called for enhanced dialogue as well as cooperation
for promoting inter-cultural and inter-faith harmony.
Tajani
thanked the prime minister for ensuring the safety and security of Aasia Bibi
and her family. He assured EU Parliament’s cooperation with the Pakistani
government while conveying that the debate on Aasia Bibi in the EU Parliament
had been postponed, a press release issued by the PM Media Office said.
The
prime minister reaffirmed the government’s resolve to respect the judgment of
the Supreme Court (SC), adding that as citizens of Pakistan, Aasia Bibi and her
family were entitled to all rights as guaranteed by the Constitution of
Pakistan.
He
also conveyed serious concerns of the government and people of Pakistan on the
issue of blasphemous cartoons and caricatures of the Holy Prophet (PBUH),
underscoring the need to redouble efforts in European countries to avoid such
provocative incidents; raise greater awareness about religious sensitivities of
Muslims, particularly the respect of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and promotion of
inter-faith harmony.
The
prime minister welcomed the European Court of Human Right’s recent decision not
to allow acts of blasphemy under the cloak of the right to freedom of
expression.
Full
report at:
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/11/13/pm-khan-stresses-respect-for-religious-sentiments/
--------
Mideast
Dozens
of Houthis killed and injured in last stronghold in Dhale governorate
13
November 2018
Dozens
of Houthis were killed and injured and ten others, including field commanders,
were detained in violent confrontations with the Yemeni army in the front of
Damt, the last Houthi stronghold in the Dhale governorate, south of the country.
The
media center of the Yemeni army forces said violent confrontations erupted in
Damt after the Houthis tried to raid the town of Al-Haqab and the mountains
that overlook Damt from the western side, adding that dozens of Houthi fighters
were killed or injured and their bodies are still in the northern areas of
Al-Haqab and on the outskirts of the town of Khab, the western entrance of
Damt.
Ten
Houthi members were detained while trying to sneak towards army posts in the
area, the media center added.
Meanwhile,
military sources said Houthi commander in Damt Hisham al-Ghorbani was killed
along with other Houthi fighters in the battles in Damt on Monday, adding that
Houthi commander Colonel Abdelwahed Abdullah was detained along with others.
The
Yemeni army, aided by the Arab coalition, have been fighting violent battles
with the Houthis in Damt and managed to liberate wide areas of the district.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2018/11/13/Dozens-of-Houthis-killed-and-injured-in-last-stronghold-in-Dhale-governorate.html
--------
UN
aid chief demands cessation of hostilities around Yemen's Hudaydah
Nov
13, 2018
United
Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, has called for a ceasefire around of Hudaydah, where
Saudi-backed militiamen loyal to Yemen's former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur
Hadi and foreign mercenaries are fighting Houthi Ansarullah fighters for the
control of the western Yemeni port city.
“I
ask that the parties implement a cessation of hostilities, not least in and
around all the infrastructure and facilities on which the aid operation and
commercial importers rely,” Lowcock said in a statement on Tuesday.
He
added that the United Nations was ready to play a role in “ensuring the
appropriate use of key facilities, especially around Hudaydah.”
‘UAE
responsible for escalation of conflict in Yemen’s Hudaydah’
Meanwhile,
the spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces has held the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
fully responsible for the recent intensification of conflict around Hudaydah.
Speaking
at a press conference in the capital city of Sana’a on Tuesday, Brigadier
General Yahya Saree stated that Yemeni army troops, supported by allied
fighters from Popular Committees, maintain control over the strategic city.
He
added that the Abu Dhabi regime is seeking to establish control over Hudaydah
after it managed to occupy the southern Yemeni port cities of Mukha, Mukalla
and Aden.
Saree
further noted that the UAE bears full responsibility for the conflict, which
has escalated significantly around Hudaydah city and possible consequences.
The
senior Yemeni official went on to say that Yemeni army soldiers and their
allies enjoy subtle tactics and great capabilities to deal with invaders,
pointing out that special units have been trained for street battles.
Saree
said Yemeni soldiers and Popular Committees fighters have carried out over 35
counterattacks against Saudi-sponsored Yemeni and foreign mercenaries ever
since Saudi-led coalition began a new onslaught on Hudaydah earlier this month.
He
said at least 1,224 mercenaries, including 20 battalion commanders and 33
Sudanese soldiers, have been killed and injured in the process.
Saree
stated that 183 armored vehicles in addition to five weapon depots have also
been destroyed in Hudaydah city, emphasizing that Yemeni army soldiers and
their allies have successfully managed to cut off enemy supply lines.
The
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has
expressed deep concern about the recent wave of violence in Hudaydah and its
impact on the civilian population as well as on humanitarian aid operations.
The
world body appealed to parties to the conflict to protect civilians and
humanitarian personnel; and to secure humanitarian relief items stored in the
strategically important Yemeni city.
Saudi
Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating military
campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the aim of bringing the government
of Hadi back to power and crushing the country’s Houthi Ansarullah movement.
According
to a new report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED),
a nonprofit conflict-research organization, the Saudi-led war has so far
claimed the lives of around 56,000 Yemenis.
The
Saudi-led war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure,
destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN has already said that a
record 22.2 million Yemenis are in dire need of food, including 8.4 million
threatened by severe hunger. According to the world body, Yemen is suffering
from the most severe famine in more than 100 years.
Full
report at:
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/11/13/579959/UN-aid-chief-demands-cessation-of-hostilities-around-Yemens-Hudaydah
--------
Ex-Bahraini
minister warns of joint Arab-Israel plot against Palestine
Nov
13, 2018
Bahrain’s
former minister of education Ali Fakhro has criticized Saudi Arabia and its
regional allies for their willingness to establish diplomatic relations with
the Tel Aviv regime, arguing that such attempts would pave the way for the
Israeli military to continuously target Palestinians.
“The
Occupation regime (Israel) continues its efforts to get rid of Palestinians in
the remaining parts of occupied lands,” Fakhro told Arabic-language Arabi 21
online newspaper, noting that Israel has usurped 85 percent of the historical
Palestine, leaving “only 15 percent for 14 million Palestinians.”
“Israel
enjoys full political support of the administration of US President Donald
Trump, who is overly eager to put an end to the existence of the Palestinian
cause,” he pointed out
“There
is a large and complicated conspiracy aimed at getting rid of the Palestinian
cause,” he said, stressing that all “justifications” given for the
normalization of ties with Israel are “originally meant to liquidate the
Palestinian cause.”
Fakhro
also criticized intensive contacts between Arab and Israeli officials,
emphasizing that internal Palestinian disputes have facilitated certain Arab
states’ efforts to forge ties with the Israeli regime.
A
senior official of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement recently the fact
that Persian Gulf kingdoms are dramatically warming their relations with the
Tel Aviv regime after secret contacts is a decision dictated to them by the
Saudi regime.
“Persian
Gulf states' attempts at normalizing ties with Israel is a decision made by the
royal Saudi family, because Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salam is currently facing
numerous crises, namely the war on Yemen, the murder of prominent dissident
journalist Jamal Khashoggi as well as internal
and external challenges. He is pinning hope on the Israeli regime in
order to save himself,” Deputy Chairman of Hezbollah's Executive Council Sheikh
Nabil Qaouq said.
He
said the willingness shown by Saudi Arabia and its regional allies to establish
diplomatic relations with the Tel Aviv regime has exceeded all expectations of
Israeli officials, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying he was not
dreaming the day would come when he sees normalized ties with Persian Gulf
kingdoms.
Israeli
Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz visited Oman on November
4 to attend an international transport conference and pitch a railway project
that would link the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean via Israeli-occupied
territories.
The
trip came on the heels of a surprise visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu to Oman late last month, where he met Sultan Sayyid Qaboos bin Said
Al Said at the Bait al-Barakah Royal Palace in the coastal city of Seeb near
the capital Muscat.
Israel’s
English-language daily newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported that the two men
discussed ways to advance the so-called Middle East peace process as well as a
number of issues of mutual interest with regard to the region’s stability.
Netanyahu
was accompanied by senior officials, including the head of the Mossad spy
agency and his national security adviser.
Netanyahu's
unpublicized visit to Oman came on the same day that Israeli Culture and Sports
Minister Miri Regev traveled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to accompany
Israel’s judo team at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam 2018.
Regev
arrived in Abu Dhabi on October 26, and she participated in the opening
ceremony of the international event at the Emirati capital’s Zayed Sports City,
Palestinian Arabic-language Ma’an news agency reported.
Her
visit to the UAE marked the first of its kind by an Israeli minister to a
Persian Gulf littoral state.
Tel
Aviv and Abu Dhabi have no diplomatic ties and the UAE does not recognize Israel,
but the two sides have increased backchannel cooperation in recent years. There
have been numerous reports of growing contacts between Saudi and Israeli
officials too.
Among
Arab countries, Israel has diplomatic relations only with Egypt and Jordan.
Full
report at:
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/11/13/579928/ExBahrain-minister-warns-of-joint-ArabIsrael-plot-against-Palestine
--------
Warplanes
target main entrance to Yemen’s port city of Hudaydah
Nov
13, 2018
The
military coalition led by the Saudi regime has carried out airstrikes targeting
the main entrance to Yemen’s western port city of Hudaydah, some five months
after coalition forces, backed by armed militia loyal to the former Yemeni
government, launched a full-scale offensive to seize the vital port.
The
main gate “was the target of airstrikes... but the port is operating normally,”
said the port’s deputy director Yahya Sharafeddin on Tuesday, adding that at
least two airstrikes had hit the entrance, leaving three guards wounded.
Other
reports said that a single-storey guardroom had taken a direct hit from the
strikes, which killed at least one soldier.
Back
in June, the coalition, backed by loyalists of Yemen’s former President Abd
Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who resigned amid popular discontent and fled to Saudi
Arabia three years ago, started a massive offensive against Hudaydah, which is
currently under a tight siege imposed by the invaders.
The
so-called liberation operation, however, has so far failed to achieve its
objective, which is overrunning the vital port and defeating fighters of the
Houthi Ansarullah movement, backed by those from the Popular Committees.
However, the Saudi-led forces on November 1 commenced a fresh wave of
airstrikes and ground invasion in an attempt to capture the city of some
600,000 people.
Elsewhere
in his remarks, Sharafeddin said that despite the air raids, the vital docks
were operating normally. Some 80 percent of Yemen's commercial imports and
nearly all UN supervised humanitarian aid pass through these docks.
Meanwhile,
Yemen’s Arabic-language al-Masirah satellite television network reported that
Saudi-led airstrikes had claimed the lives of at least eight people and wounded
several others in Jarrahi district of Hudaydah.
In
a separate report on Tuesday, al-Masirah cited Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman
Brigadier General Yahya Saree as saying that since early November, 867
mercenaries and those loyal to Hadi had been killed in various fronts and 2,150
others were wounded.
He
added that 1,224 of Riyadh's mercenaries and Hadi’s militia had either been
killed or wounded in Hudaydah alone.
Leading
a coalition of its allies, including the United Arab Emirates and Sudan, Saudi
Arabia invaded Yemen in March 2015 in an attempt to reinstall Hadi.
Since
the onset of the imposed war, the Yemeni army, backed by Houthi fighters, has
been defending the impoverished nation against the brutal aggression.
Saudi
Arabia has achieved neither of its objectives. Riyadh had declared at the start
of the invasion that the war would take no more than a couple of weeks.
The
aggression initially consisted of a bombing campaign, but was later coupled
with a naval blockade and the deployment of ground forces to Yemen.
According
to a recent report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project
(ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, the war has so far claimed
the lives of around 56,000 Yemenis.
The
war has also taken a heavy toll on Yemen's infrastructure, destroying
hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN has already said that a record 22.2
million Yemenis are in dire need of food, including 8.4 million threatened by
severe hunger. According to the world body, Yemen is suffering from the most
severe famine in more than 100 years.
Full
report at:
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/11/13/579919/Yemen-Hudaydah-
--------
Lebanese
army forces detain man suspected of providing intelligence to Israel
Nov
13, 2018
The
Lebanese Army's intelligence branch has arrested a man suspected of spying for
Israel's Mossad spy agency and collaboration with Israeli authorities as he was
attempting to cross the southern border into occupied Palestinian territories.
The
army announced in a statement released late on Monday that the man, identified
as Mohammad Hussein Fakih, was captured in the village of Meiss Ej Jabal,
situated some 78 kilometers (49 miles) south of the capital Beirut.
The
statement added that Fakih had formerly collaborated with Israeli official. It
was not immediately known whether the man was of Lebanese origin.
On
September 25, Lebanon's Military Tribunal sentenced three Lebanese nationals to
three years in prison with hard labor on charges of espionage on Hezbollah
resistance movement for Mossad.
The
tribunal, chaired by Brigadier General Hussein Abdallah, issued the verdicts against
Hasan Salemeh, Karam Idris and Kamal Hasan on Tuesday after they were found
guilty of providing the Israeli regime with intelligence about Hezbollah’s
military arsenal and operations, and with photos of several strategic locations
in Lebanon.
The
court also stripped them of their rights as Lebanese citizens.
The
three were arrested last October and charged with communicating information to
Israel. They reportedly possessed Israeli wireless communication devices at the
time of their arrest.
Two
other defendants, identified as Lebanese nationals H.K. and N.Sh., were
separately questioned on Tuesday after they allegedly contacted Israelis
through Facebook.
Full
report at:
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/11/13/579915/Lebanese-army-forces-detain-man-suspected-of-providing-intelligence-to-Israel
--------
North America
Smartphones:
A Double-Edged Sword for Terrorists
November
14, 2018
Michel
MOUTOT - Bombs and guns aside, a smartphone can be a powerful weapon in the
hands of a terrorist - but it can also provide intelligence services with the
tools to track them down.
Three
years ago to the day, the Paris attacks of November 13, 2015 remain one of the
best known examples of a large-scale assault that could not have been planned
without phones.
The
Islamic State group gunmen and bombers who struck the Bataclan concert hall and
other nightlife spots used them extensively to coordinate the carnage, said a
former French anti-terrorist official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Just
before entering the Bataclan, where they massacred 90 people, the attackers had
sent a text message to accomplices in Belgium: “We’re going ahead. It’s
started.”
But
if smartphones have been a “game-changer” for jihadists, their use by the
world’s extremists goes much further back than the Paris attacks.
“As
of 2003, in Iraq, home-made bombs started being set off by the sending of an
SMS as American convoys drove past. This caught on and was then repeatedly used
by Al-Qaeda,” the ex-official told AFP.
These
days, encrypted apps such as Telegram, Wire and WhatsApp can help jihadists
communicate while evading police tracking - or at least complicate efforts to
decode their messages.
For
several years IS has published online tutorials in several languages explaining
to jihadists how to choose the best software to evade detection in war zones.
For
new recruits in developing countries, where smartphones are more common than
computers, there are different strategies still.
“Phones
are no longer phones - they’re computers,” said Laurent Heslault, director of
security strategies at Symantec, a security group. “They are far more powerful
than what we had on our desks 10 years ago,” he added.
“They
have more computing power, more memory and connection capabilities. They are
very powerful tools when it comes to communicating.” That has also made it much
easier for jihadist groups to recruit new members.
Smartphones
“enable people to reach out for propaganda” with the swipe of a screen, said
the retired official.
“Thirty
years ago, guys used to exchange video cassettes, then it was CDs. Now it’s
online and can be looked up at any time.”
For
propaganda-makers, videos of attacks can be filmed and uploaded in the blink of
an eye. “You can film attacks, claim responsibility, use (a phone) to take photos
and film reconnaissance operations,” the ex-official said.
Flip
side of the phone
But
the smartphone can be an extremist’s downfall as well as their best asset.
Intelligence
agencies have grown better at using phones to identify suspects, spy on them -
and, in case of capture, lift data for use as evidence in court.
That
in turn has raised difficult questions for tech giants who promise their users
privacy. Most famously, Apple faced a court showdown with the FBI after agents
sought access to the data of the attackers who killed 14 people in San
Bernardino, California, in December 2015.
Investigators
dropped the case after finding a way into the phone without help from Apple,
which argued that helping authorities access a phone would set a dangerous precedent.
Further
afield, governments have used phone data extensively to pinpoint extremist
suspects. The French military intervention in Mali, launched in 2013 after
jihadists took over the northern half the country, started with air strikes
whose targets were chosen based on phone data, the former French official said.
“Today all air strikes focus on telephones,” he added. “Even if you keep
changing the SIM card the phone has its own identity and once detected can
continue being tracked.” And when it comes to police investigations,
smartphones sometimes provide more information than their owners.
They
might allow investigators to work their way back along an information trail,
snare other members of a suspect’s network, and track sleeper cells, he added.
“Smartphones make you a target,” the expert said. “Because of this jihadist
leaders have learned to keep away from them. For the past few years, there’s
been a marked return to using human envoys,” he added. –AFP
https://nation.com.pk/14-Nov-2018/smartphones-a-double-edged-sword-for-terrorists
--------
US
concerned over 'premature' return of Rohingya
13.11.2018
By
Umar Farooq
WASHINGTON
The
U.S. expressed concern over Myanmar's plan to begin the repatriation process
for Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh from violence in the northern
Rakhine state, saying that conditions were not conducive for the returns.
The
repatriation process was scheduled to start earlier this year, as a part of an
agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar, but had been continuously delayed.
Myanmar
agreed to begin receiving a return of Rohingya starting November 15, and on
Sunday said that they were ready to receive the refugees.
More
than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly children, and women, fled Myanmar and
crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the
minority Muslim community in August 2017, according to Amnesty International.
The
government of Myanmar released a statement saying that they would receive an
initial group of 2,251 at a rate of 150 per day, according to the Associated
Press.
In
response, the U.S. said the conditions were not yet met for the return of these
refugees and the government of Myanmar needs to create conditions that allow
for a freedom of movement throughout the country.
"We
have engaged both governments at the highest levels to express our serious
concerns about premature returns, and to emphasize that, consistent with
international practice, returns be informed, voluntary, safe, dignified,"
said a State Department spokesperson on the condition of anonymity.
"Further, returnees to Burma [Myanmar] must have freedom of movement and
not be confined to camps."
The
U.S. also urged Myanmar to grant humanitarian access and hold those responsible
for human rights abuses that are accountable.
The
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights backed a voluntary repatriation of
Rohingya to Myanmar but said the conditions in the country are not conducive to
a safe return.
"I
have not seen any evidence of the Government of Myanmar taking concrete and
visible measures to create an environment where the Rohingya can return to
their place of origin and live there safely with their fundamental rights
guaranteed," said Yanghee Lee, the special rapporteur on human rights in
Myanmar, in a statement.
The
Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced
heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in
2012.
Since
Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s
state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development
Agency (OIDA).
More
than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires, while over 114,000 others
were beaten, said the OIDA report, titled "Forced Migration of Rohingya:
The Untold Experience".
Some
18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police and
over 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned down and 113,000 others vandalized, it
added.
Full
report at:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-concerned-over-premature-return-of-rohingya/1310606
--------
US
refuses to grant visa to top British Islamophobe
Nov
13, 2018
Authorities
in the United States have refused to grant visa to the most senior anti-Islam
figure in Britain.
Reports
on Tuesday suggested that Tommy Robinson had his visa application rejected a
day earlier as he was seeking to meet senior republican lawmakers in Washington
this week.
Robinson
has previously been hailed by the so-called alt-right camp in the United States
for his opposition to Islam. People close to US President Donald Trump once
criticized UK authorities for jailing the figure over contempt of the court
charges and other convictions. Among his previous convictions was an attempt in
2013 to travel to the US using a passport in someone else’s name.
The
far-right figure was released from jail in August apparently under immense
pressure from political groups while judges referred his case to the UK
Attorney General.
After
founding his English Defence League, Robinson, whose real name is Stephen
Yaxley-Lennon, staged several violent demonstrations against Islam in various
British cities.
He
was planned to deliver a speech against Islam in an event on Wednesday convened
by seven conservative Republican members of the US House of Representatives.
The
conservative Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum invited Robinson to the
Washington. The organization said that US embassy in London had informed
Robinson that it “will take a while” for him to be allowed into the US.
Washington’s
refusal to grant visa to the controversial figure comes after 55 lawmakers of
the British parliament wrote a letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
demanding that Robinson be banned from visiting the US. The lawmakers said
Robinson could use the trip to raise funds for his extremist activities.
Full
report at:
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/11/13/579933/UK-Islamophobe-Robinson-US-visa
--------
US
designates son of Hezbollah leader as ‘global terrorist’
13
November 2018
The
US State Department on Tuesday designated Jawad Nasrallah, son of Lebanon’s
Iran-backed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, as a global terrorist and
accused him of carrying out attacks against Israel in the West Bank.
The
department also blacklisted Al-Mujahidin Brigades (AMB), which it said had
links to Hezbollah and had plotted a number of attacks against Israeli targets
from a base in the Palestinian Territories.
“Today’s
designations seek to deny Nasrallah and AMB the resources to plan and carry out
terrorist attacks,” the State Department said in a statement. It said the
actions denied Nasrallah and AMB access to the US financial system.
More
sanctions would be announced later in the day, the State Department’s top
counter-terrorism official Nathan Sales said separately without elaborating.
“We
will be making some additional announcements at the State Department’s briefing
later this afternoon,” Sales told the Washington Institute for Near East
Policy.
Earlier
on Tuesday, Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri blamed Hezbollah
for what he called “a big obstacle” in efforts to form a new government.
Full
report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2018/11/13/US-designates-son-of-Hezbollah-leader-as-global-terrorist-.html
--------
Trump
picks retired general for ambassador to Saudi Arabia
November
14, 2018
A
retired four-star general is President Donald Trump's pick to be US ambassador
to Saudi Arabia, filling a key diplomatic vacancy at a time when US-Saudi
relations are being tested by the slaying of a journalist critical of the Saudi
royal family.
Trump
announced Tuesday that he is nominating John Abizaid, the longest-serving
commander of the US Central Command, to lead the US Embassy in Riyadh. It's a
post that has been empty since former ambassador Joseph Westphal left in January
2017.
If
confirmed by the Senate, Abizaid would become ambassador as the Trump
administration is weighing the US response to the killing of Washington Post
contributor Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
Turkish
officials claim Khashoggi was killed by a 15-member assassination squad sent
from Riyadh on orders from the highest levels of the Saudi government.
Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo has revoked the visas of the Saudis implicated in the
killing. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis has said additional measures will be
taken.
Abizaid,
who retired in 2007, served in wars in Grenada, the Persian Gulf, Bosnia,
Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Following the war in Iraq, Abizaid assumed
control of Centcom, which overseas military operations in 20 nations stretching
from northeast Africa to the Middle East to Central and South Asia.
Abizaid,
of Nevada, currently works as a private consultant and is a visiting fellow at
the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
Full
report at:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1445552/trump-picks-retired-general-for-ambassador-to-saudi-arabia
--------
US
security chief John Bolton vows to ‘squeeze’ Iran
13
November 2018
US
National Security Advisor John Bolton vowed Tuesday to “squeeze” Iran “until
the pips squeak”, a week after a tough new round of sanctions came into force.
President
Donald Trump has dramatically increased pressure on Tehran, withdrawing from an
international agreement aimed at ending its nuclear program and introducing
several rounds of unilateral US sanctions.
The
latest tranche of measures have been touted as the toughest yet, and aim to
significantly reduce Iran’s vital oil exports and cut off its banks from
international finance.
Speaking
in Singapore ahead of a summit, Bolton said: “We think the government is under
real pressure and it’s our intention to squeeze them very hard.
“As
the British say, squeeze them until the pips squeak.
“We
are also going to significantly increase the enforcement of sanctions.”
The
US measures have been opposed by other parties to the deal aimed at ending
Iran’s nuclear drive -- Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia -- who have
vowed to keep the accord alive.
“There’s
no doubt Iran has already started to try and find ways to evade the sanctions
both on oil in particular and financial markets,” Bolton added.
UN
inspectors say Iran is abiding by the agreement.
Bolton,
however, said that “most of the countries of Europe have passed through denial
and anger and many of them are already at acceptance that we’re out of the deal.
“Others
are getting to that point.”
In
the face of widespread opposition to the sanctions, Washington issued
exemptions to eight countries to its ban on buying oil from major producer
Iran.
Washington
is demanding that Tehran end policies rooted in the 1979 Islamist revolution,
including its support for regional proxies such as the Lebanese militia
Hezbollah and its development of missiles.
The
only support for the US position has come from Iran’s regional rivals, notably
Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Full
report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2018/11/13/US-security-chief-John-Bolton-vows-to-squeeze-Iran.html
--------
Will
Nikki Haley block diplomatic immunity to Qatar hacking ringleader?
13
November 2018
Before
she officially resigns from her post as US ambassador to the UN the end of
2018, Nikki Haley will decide on whether she will block diplomatic immunity for
an alleged “paid agent of Qatar” who hacked and shared the private
communications of a US citizen.
Earlier,
Haley announced that she would be resigning from her post at the end of the
year.
The
Jerusalem Post said “Before she heads into the next stage of her career, Haley
will have one more chance to intervene on behalf of the pro-Israel community:
blocking diplomatic immunity for a paid agent of Qatar (one of Iran’s closest
allies) which hacked and disseminated the private communications of an American
citizen.”
The
legal team of Elliot Broidy, a former vice chair of the Republican National
Committee, has accused longtime UN official and Moroccan national Jamal Benomar
of serving as the ringleader in the Qatari hacks of more than 1,200
individuals, including Broidy himself.
Benomar
is seeking to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that he has diplomatic
immunity.
The
alleged ringleader claims in a court filing that he “is a member of the
Permanent Mission of the Kingdom Morocco to the UN” and therefore enjoys
diplomatic immunity. The filing acknowledges Ben Omar’s contacts with Qatari
officials and US-based Qatari agents.
Moroccan-born
Ben Omar, who had a 25-year U.N. career and last served as special adviser to
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for conflict prevention, had been sued by
Broidy for, allegedly, orchestrating his dissemination stolen emails and
documents to the media in to damage Broidy’s reputation.
The
Jerusalem Post said “Given her post at the United Nations, it falls to her to
decide whether to accord Benomar diplomatic immunity. The US Mission at the
United Nations, overseen by Haley, has ultimate discretion over who receives
accreditation from the UN as a diplomat. Her choice will determine whether
Qatar, a leading partner of Iran and enemy of Israel, faces consequences for
its assault on the private data of American citizens, or whether it can
continue to prey on Americans with impunity.”
Ben
Omar’s attorney, Abbe Lowell of Winston and Strawn LLP, wrote in a pre-motion
letter to a US district court that Ben Omar’s alleged diplomatic status made
him “immune from jurisdiction for actions performed in the course of his duties.”
Ben Omar had never previously claimed Moroccan diplomatic status.
Lowell
argued that because the ex-diplomat “Ben Omar enjoyed derivative sovereign
immunity not only based on Qatar’s immunity as a sovereign, but on Morocco’s
immunity as a sovereign as well. Consequently, this Court lacked subject matter
jurisdiction, and the case must be dismissed, because the alleged actions of
Ben Omar are protected under derivative sovereign immunity.”
Spanning
from 2014-2018, the hack’s alleged targets include Broidy, an ex-CIA official,
a Democratic Party operative, and “range from Syrian human rights activists to
Egyptian soccer players,” Bloomberg recently reported. According to the report,
the hackers’ IP addresses “linked back to the internet service provider,
Ooredoo, which is majority-owned by Qatari government agencies.”
Broidy’s
attorney, Lee Wolosky, filed a letter with the court outlining what he
described as “fatal flaws” with Ben Omar’s argument. “To date, the U.S.
government has not agreed to extend diplomatic immunity to him,” adding
“according to the U.N., the Moroccan Mission to the retained Defendant as a
consultant or advisor on August 1, 2018 – after the July 23, 2018 filing of
this lawsuit.”
Wolosky
further alleged that “Ben Omar’s participation in the conspiracy to hack and
distribute Broidy’s electronic information was disclosed through discovery.”
That discovery produced communications by Ben Omar’s co-conspirators, one of
whom stated he was sure that the defendant ‘took the credit’ for personally
reviewing the hacked materials before they were distributed to the press.”
The
letter also disclosed that Ben Omar “profited personally from the scheme,”
pointing out that he was recently appointed to the Lagardère Supervisory Board,
a multinational media conglomerate headquartered in Paris in which the largest
shareholder is Qatar Holding LLC, a part of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
Wolosky
wrote in his letter, “In a deposition, one of Defendant’s co-conspirators
testified that their work was done for “money” and that he was considering
suing Ben Omar because the co-conspirator was owed ‘five to ten million.’”
Ben
Omar was best known for his tenure as the U.N.’s special envoy in Yemen, where
he was responsible for attempting to mediate that country’s civil war between
Iranian-armed Houthi rebels and the government.
The
Arab coalition accused Ben Omar of being fixated on Hadi-Houthi peace talks and
on his own legacy, instead of emphasizing the continued Houthi aggression. Ben
Omar’s time as envoy was also marked by indications of his pro-Qatar bias,
Broidy’s lawsuit noted.
Full
report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2018/11/13/Will-Nikki-Haley-block-diplomatic-immunity-to-Qatar-hacking-ringleader-.html
--------
Europe
Palestinian
initiative for start-ups showcased at French summit
November
13, 2018
As
rounds of applause periodically erupted at the Paris Peace Forum on Tuesday,
pitchmen for 121 selected projects set out their ideas ahead of a vote that
will select the 10 most promising.
In
the heart of the forum’s pavilion – an area known as the “Space for Solutions”
– 34-year-old Ismail Abu Arafeh completed his 25-minute presentation on a
project that aims to alleviate poverty in his native Jenin, a town perched in
the hills of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
IDEA,
an incubator founded in 2015, was born from a partnership between two local
organisations, Mr Abu Arafeh’s Palestinian Consultative Staff for Developing
NGOs (PCS) and the Local and Economic Development Council.
“We
want to prove that Palestinians are able to change their situation by
themselves and resist the occupation,” he said in his pitch.
Since
its launch, the incubator helped 45 start-up local businesses provide a
lifeline for marginalised communities.
“In
our semi-country, which has been under occupation for 70 years now, it is very
difficult to build something meaningful,” Mr Abu Arafeh said. “We really are
trying from bottom-up to give opportunities to people.”
The
initiative has been instrumental in kick-starting the first pineapple farm in
Jenin, an Arabesque wood design studio and a laboratory for carving quarry
stones. These businesses in turn generate employment and contribute to giving
back to IDEA and financing similar projects, which the incubator assists for an
initial period of 6 months through feasibility assessments and training.
Mr
Abu Arafeh said participating in the Paris Peace Forum has been an opportunity
to network and be inspired, but being in the winners’ roster would give IDEA
the necessary boost to expand beyond the perimeter of Jenin.
“Our
objective is to work across all 16 governorates in Palestine,” he said.
Following
a call for applications that collected 900 entries from 116 countries, the
Paris Peace Forum Selection Committee selected 121 projects to be showcased
from 11 to 13 November 2018 as part of the forum’s first edition.
The
forum offered them the opportunity to approach nearly 20,000 stakeholders from
the worlds of politics, economics and academics attended the forum, and debate
their global governance solutions.
A
few stands from Mr Abu Arafeh’s initiative, Typhanie Scognamiglio, 35,
distributed leaflets and gave out information on the Global Citizens Debate
project, which seeks to “bring ordinary citizens into the global discussions on
the pressing issues.”
“We
want to reconnect citizens to the decision-making process,” Ms Scognamiglio,
who works for Missions Publiques, one of the four independent organisations
behind the project, said.
In
76 countries, 100 citizens representative of their population in age, gender
socio-professional categories attended a day-long event on June 6, 2015, that
sought to gauge their opinions on climate change.
This
was the project’s first attempt to gauge the feelings of a representative
portion of the population and produce data that could then be fed to
governments and stakeholders.
“We
are proposing a tool to improve democracy at a time in which democracy is under
threat,” Ms Scognamiglio said, adding that Global Citizens Debate conducted
another survey on driverless cars and is about to launch one on internet
governance.
A
number of high-tech projects also offered strikingly innovative solutions to
the world’s most pressing problems. Nimray-Solar relies on the idea that
blockchain technology can offer renewable energy to power the world while
Embark is service connecting talented refugee with business leaders.
Meanwhile
3D Printed and Satellites, an initiative by the Peruvian organisation Ankawa
Internacional, aims to provide 3D printed satellites to marginalised
communities to monitor water, air and ground pollution, record aeral images or
improve internet connectivity through the satellite technology.
“According
to the distance on earth we can take different information from the ground,”
Amilcar Romero, the 32-year-old founder of the initiative, told The National.
While
satellites are not new, Mr Romero said that 3D printing has made the technology
“cheaper and transferrable to the people who need it the most.”
“We
realised that local [marginalised] actors did not have any information on what
is going on in their territory,” he said.
The
3D Printed and Satellites product is now about to be launched in Syria, it will
be used to collect data on the situation in the war-torn country to facilitate
humanitarian intervention on the ground.
https://www.thenational.ae/world/europe/palestinian-initiative-for-start-ups-showcased-at-french-summit-1.791494
--------
Turkish
FM says Germany is not meeting demands on Gulen network
November
14, 2018
ANKARA:
Germany is far from meeting Turkey’s demands regarding alleged members of the
network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for a 2016 failed
coup, according to the text of a speech by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu.
In
September, President Tayyip Erdogan called on Berlin to extradite what he said
were the hundreds Gulen supporters residing in Germany. The Cavusoglu comment
was in the text of a speech which he was making in parliament.
Chancellor
Angela Merkel has said Germany needed more evidence if it was to class the
movement as a terrorist organization, as Ankara is demanding.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1404726/world
--------
Hezbollah
moneymen face French justice after global wave of arrests
November
13, 2018
French
courts heard evidence of a vast international money laundering and drug
smuggling operation run by suspects linked to Hezbollah that stretched across
four continents.
The
network was busted in a wave of arrests in 2016 and the hearings in Paris are
laid bare a global network that handled tens of millions of dollars in
narcotics, luxury contraband and smuggled goods.
A
total of 15 defendants linked to the Lebanese diaspora, including Mohamed
Noureddine, 44, the suspected operations chief and a designated as a member of
Hezbollah by the US Treasury.
Prosecutors
have amassed evidence that the group handled the vast sums generated from
smuggling drugs on behalf of a Colombian drug cartel, run by the kingpin
Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, shipping large quantities of cocaine to Europe and
the US.
Led
by the US Drug Enforcement Agency, the investigation involved seven countries,
including France, Germany, Italy and Belgium, from its launch in February 2015.
In late January 2016 a co-ordinated series of arrests took place across all four
countries. Mr Noureddine, who denies involvement in drug smuggling, was held at
the French airport, Roissy.
French
investigators have now pieced together a triple-tiered money laundering
operation that involved buying luxury goods and even whole businesses to
disguise the origins of the drug revenues.
Cash
was dropped off at hairdressers in Antwerp in Belgium, a large hotel in Paris,
a restaurant in Montreuil or a café in Enschede in the Netherlands. Transcripts
showed that Mr Noureddine would hand out orders for the collection of as much
as 500,000 euros at a time. Six figure sums were often delivered in small note
denominations.
Among
the colourful codes that the group used for its drop-offs was Mercedes 250,
meaning of 250,000 euros, while "truck" was a tranche of one million
euros. Meanwhile the destinations were also given codewords, including the
"oven" for the Netherlands, and the "mill" for Belgium.
Outposts
ranged from Singapore to Coliombia, via the Middle East. The informal banking
arrangements in Hawala networks was often used to shift the money across
borders including to the drug gangs of Colombia. American investigations also
compiled evidence of an import and export trade in luxury vehicles, including
Porsche, BMW or Range Rover, that were shipped to West Africa, Lebanon or
Dubai.
Dealerships
involved in this network occupied some of the most prestigious sites in France,
including the Arc de Triomphe showroom in Paris. Hundreds of thousands of euros
was paid for merchandise at leading jewellers for the easily transportable and
expensive watches of Rolex and Patek Philippe.
The
main destination for the luxury products was Beirut airport, where the head of
intelligence was known contact of the group, according to the DEA. It also
alleges that part of the money was used to procure weapons used by Hezbollah
units in Syria.
Funds
returned to the Colombians was funnelled through Lebanon-based Chams Exchange,
a foreign exchange dealer active around the world.
The
main movers in the money and luxury goods operations were Noureddine, an
associate named Abbas Nasser and Mohamad Ali Chour, who was in 2016 at Abidjan
airport in West Africa carrying $1.7 million said to be destined for
Hezbollah’s local operation.
The
nexus was ultimately run by a man called Mohammad Ammar from a prominent
Lebanese family who was arrested in Florida in early 2016 while travelling from
his home in Medellin, Colombia.
Matthew
Levitt, an expert on Hezbollah's financial operations, has said the arrests in
2016 were among the most significant breakthroughs against its lucrative links
to drugs and money laundering ever seen.
"This
was no rogue operation but, rather, a function of Hezbollah’s “financial
apparatus,” which “maintained direct ties” to both Hezbollah commercial and
terrorist elements," he wrote in a report published by the Washington
Institute of the US Treasury designation of Nourheddine, which preceded the
arrests. "Within days of this designation, Noureddine was arrested in
France along with several other accused Hezbollah operatives.
Full
report at:
https://www.thenational.ae/world/hezbollah-moneymen-face-french-justice-after-global-wave-of-arrests-1.791525
--------
Anti-Muslim
activist Tommy Robinson denied US visa
November
13, 2018
British
far-right activist Tommy Robinson has failed to get a United States visa in
time for a fundraising tour of the country.
Robinson,
whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had been due to meet Republican
congressmen in Washington as well as the Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum (MEF).
British
politicians said that the former leader of the anti-Muslim English Defence
League could make up to £1 million (Dh4.7m) through speaking appearances.
Robinson
was jailed in the UK in 2013 for using someone else’s passport to travel to the
US. He has also served time in prison for assault and mortgage fraud and has
been convicted of drug offences.
The
35-year-old is currently on bail after being charged with contempt of court by
British authorities earlier this year in a highly publicised case which gained
him supporters in US far-right circles.
MEF
president David Pipes, who invited Robinson to the US, said it would “take a
while” for the campaigner to obtain a visa.
Robinson
will still appear via video link at a panel discussion hosted by the MEF on
Wednesday with former editor-in-chief for Breitbart London Raheem Kassam,
Canadian activist Ezra Levant and Anne Marie Waters, leader of the far-right
For Britain party.
The
topic of discussion is “de-platforming”. Paypal recently blocked Robinson from
using their service. Robinson said the reason for his ban was because he did
not fit within the company’s user guidelines but that followers could “support”
him using Bitcoin instead.
An
ex-assistant for Robinson said he had received up to £2m in donations since he
was jailed and his appeal case this year.
The
father-of-three also has plans to visit Australia next month as part of a
five-city speaking tour. Tickets for the event, in which Robinson is joined by
Vice co-founder Gavin McInnes, are priced up to $995.
Last
week, dozens of British politicians signed a joint letter to US Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo to urge him not to allow Robinson into the country.
The
MPs said Robinson was using the trip to “promote his violent and extremist
agenda” and would use any funds garnered to “disruptive demonstrations in
communities in the UK”.
The
State Department said it did not discuss individual visa cases in accordance
with US law.
Full
report at:
https://www.thenational.ae/world/europe/anti-muslim-activist-tommy-robinson-denied-us-visa-1.791399
--------
South Asia
Taliban
commander among 32 killed, wounded in Faryab clashes, airstrikes
Nov
14 2018
At
least thirty two militants including a local commander of the Taliban were
killed or wounded during the clashes and airstrikes in northenr Faryab province
of Afghanistan.
The
209th Shaheen Corps of the Afghan Military in the North in a statement said
clashes broke out between the security forces and Taliban militants in Kalik
village of Qaisar district, leaving at least 18 militants dead, including one
of their local commanders Mullah Khal Mirza.
The
statement further added that the security forces also received air support and
and as a result at least 14 militants also sustained injuries.
According
209th Shaheen Corps, at least five vehicles and fifteen various types of
weapons of the militants were also destroyed during the clashes and airstrikes.
Faryab
is among the relatively volatile provinces in North of Afghanistan where the
Taliban militants and other groups are actively operating in some of its
districts and often carry out terrorist related activities.
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-commander-among-32-killed-wounded-in-faryab-clashes-airstrikes-02737/
--------
U.S.
airstrike leaves 8 Taliban militants dead in Ghazni province
Nov
13 2018
At
least eight Taliban militants were killed in an airstrike carried out by the
U.S. forces in southeastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan.
The
203rd Thunder Corps of the Afghan Military in the Southeast in a statement said
the airstrike was carried out in the vicinity of Andar district.
The
statement further added that the militants were targeted in Kamal Khel area of
the district, leaving eight of them dead.
The
anti-government armed militant groups including Taliban militants have not
commented regarding the airstrike so far.
Ghazni
is among the relatively volatile provinces in Southeastern parts of the country
where the Taliban militants are actively operating in some of its districts.
Earlier
reports indicated that other militants belonging to foreign groups including
ISIS loyalists are also active in some of its districts.
https://www.khaama.com/u-s-airstrike-leaves-8-taliban-militants-dead-in-ghazni-province-02735/
--------
Thousands
of Afghans flee fighting in Hazara districts
November
13, 2018
Ghazni,
Nov 13 (AFP) Thousands of Afghans have fled to Ghazni city to escape fighting
in two Hazara-dominated districts, with some describing the violence Tuesday as
the worst they had seen in the 17-year conflict.
The
Taliban have been battling members of Afghanistan’s special forces and ethnic
Hazara militia in the previously safe districts of Jaghori and Malistan in the
southeastern province of Ghazni for nearly a week.
Hundreds
of people, including civilians, militia, commandos and militants, have been
killed, according to figures provided by locals and government officials.
Many
families have fled to the provincial capital, some leaving their homes in the
middle of the night and travelling on side roads to avoid Taliban checkpoints.
“We
were scared, other people were fleeing so we decided to leave too,” said a
woman called Zainab, who drove with her five children for 12 hours on dirt
roads from her home in Jaghori district to Ghazni city.
“We
have never seen this kind of war and my children and I were scared,” she told
AFP, adding her husband had stayed behind to protect their property.
Around
2,000 families displaced by the fighting are living in mosques and hostels in
Ghazni city, said Abdul Haleem Noori, director of the Afghan Red Crescent
Society in Ghazni.
Others
are staying with relatives as they wait out the fighting. Afghan security
forces have stepped up ground and air offensives in the restive region, and US
Forces also have launched air support, including aerial surveillance.
The
escalation in fighting comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity to convince
the Taliban to negotiate an end to the war.
Jaghori
district “is surrounded by Taliban and there are a lot of them”, Mohammad Ali
told AFP in a mosque where he is staying with nine family members.
“They
were very well equipped with night-vision goggles and heavy weapons.” Fighting
in the area has been ongoing since Wednesday. There are growing fears the
violence could be rooted in ethnic or sectarian differences.
Most
Hazaras belong to the Shiite branch of Islam.
The
Taliban, which are Sunni and largely ethnic Pashtuns, have been accused of
committing human rights violations against the group during their oppressive
1996-2001 rule.
As
displaced families continued to arrive in Ghazni city on Tuesday, provincial
police spokesman Ahmad Khan Sirat told AFP the “situation is under control”.
“Commando
forces have been deployed in both Jaghori and Malistan,” Sirat said. “We have
reports of sporadic fighting.” The Afghan Red Crescent Society has dispatched
food, warm clothes and medicine to hundreds of families still in Jaghori and
Malistan districts.
The
fighting has angered many Hazaras, who blame the government for failing to
protect the minority ethnic group.
Hundreds
of demonstrators took to the streets of Kabul in the past two days to demand
the deployment of military reinforcements to the Hazara districts under Taliban
attack.
Full
report at:
https://www.india.com/news/agencies/thousands-of-afghans-flee-fighting-in-hazara-districts-3427258/
--------
Militants
suffer casualties in fresh clashes in Farah city outskirts, districts
Nov
14 2018
The
Taliban militants suffered casualties during the fresh clashes erupted in the
skirts of Farah city and other districts of the province.
The
207th Zafar Corps of the Afghan Military in the West in a statement said fresh
clashes broke out the militants and the national defense and security force in
the outskirts of Farah and Khost and Brenktot villages of Khak Safid and Posht
Rod districts, leaving at least 9 militants dead.
The
statement further added that the clashes also left at least 16 militants
wounded while two of their vehicles were destroyed.
In
the meantime, the 207th Zafar Corps said at least eight militants were killed
and four others were wounded during the airstrikes conducted in Chahar Sada
district of Ghor province.
Full
report at:
https://www.khaama.com/militants-suffer-casualties-in-fresh-clashes-in-farah-city-outskirts-districts-02739/
--------
International
Islamic University to be built in Nangarhar: Ghani
Nov
14 2018
President
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has said the International Islamic University would be
built in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan along with the Technology
Park.
He
made the remarks during a meeting with the tribal elders, religious scholars,
and other representatives of Nangarhar province.
In
his speech during the gathering, President Ghani said the residents of
Nangarhar have bravely stood against the ISIS terrorists which helped the
Afghan forces to retake Nazian district.
Emphasizing
that the International Islamic University would be built in Nangarhar province,
President Ghani said he has instructed the Ambassador of Islamic Cooperation
Organization in this regard.
He
also added that the employees of the foreign ministry who had shared wrong
information in this regard would be punished.
In
the meantime, President Ghani said budget has been allocated for the
construction of Nangarhar administrative complex and facilities would also be
put in place for the construction of Technology Park and civil airport in
Jalalabad city.
Full
report at:
https://www.khaama.com/international-islamic-university-to-be-built-in-nangarhar-ghani-02738/
--------
Taliban
expressed flexibility for talks in Moscow Summit: HPC
Nov
13 2018
The
Afghan High Peace Council members are saying that the Taliban group’s political
leadership expressed flexibility for the talks with the government during
Moscow Summit.
However,
the group demands the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan as a
precondition for negotiations.
The
High Peace Council Deputy Chairmen made the remarks during a press conference
in Kabul after their return from Moscow Summit.
The
Deputy Chief of High Peace Council Mawlavi Abdul Khabir Ochqoon however said
the decision in this regard must be taken by the nation, considering the
national interests of the country.
He
also expressed hopes that the release of Taliban leaders by Pakistan would have
a positive impact on peace process.
Another
deputy chairman of the High Peace Council Haji Din Mohammad said the
participants of the summit agreed on an Afghan-led peace process.
Full
report at:
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-expressed-flexibility-for-talks-in-moscow-summit-hpc-02732/
--------
‘Bangladesh
deploys armed forces to force out Rohingya’
Nov
14, 2018
Bangladesh
is reportedly using heavy-handed tactics in an attempt to force Rohingya Muslim
refugees — who have taken shelter in the country after fleeing state violence
in neighboring Myanmar — back across the border.
The
Guardian reported on Wednesday that Bangladeshi paramilitary troops, police,
and army have been deployed in southeast Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district,
where the Rohingya are cramped in refugee camps, to make final preparations to
start sending back the first group of the minority Muslim refugees to Myanmar
on Thursday.
The
British daily said it had seen and could verify a video in which a Rohingya
leader in Chakmarkul Camp is seen saying he was beaten in the office of
Bangladeshi camp officials, known as CICs, “with a large stick” when he refused
to provide them with a list of Rohingya in his camp on Monday.
“They
stepped on my neck, I could not stand it,” Ullah said in the footage. “You can
see from my face how I was beaten.”
It
also quoted other refugees as saying they were reluctant to go back and afraid
of the military presence.
“The
army is in every corner of the Jamtoli and Hakimpara camps, sitting and
checking people and not letting them move between camps,” one Rohingya refugee
in the Jamtoli camp said.
“People
are too afraid to leave their houses or eat. Some left our block at midnight
using secret paths for other camps, especially Kutupalong, where there is not
so much fear about repatriation,” the refugee added.
Myanmar
and Bangladesh announced earlier this month that they were going to start
implementing a previous repatriation agreement in mid-November.
The
announcement prompted human rights groups, aid agencies, and many governments
to raise concern about safety issues for Rohingya back in Myanmar.
More
than 700,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh since last year, when
Myanmar’s armed forces, backed by Buddhist extremist mobs, intensified a
crackdown that had already been underway against the Muslim community in Myanmar’s
Rakhine State.
Thousands
of Rohingya Muslims were killed, and others only survived by fleeing to
Bangladesh, where they now face potential violence as well.
This
is while Bangladesh’s foreign secretary and refugee commissioner have several
times offered assurances that they would not send the Rohingya back against
their will.
Dozens
of Rohingya families, who were placed on a list of 2,200 refugees “approved”
for return by Myanmar, told The Guardian that they did not want to return under
the current conditions.
Many
had already fled the camps and gone into hiding, while others had attempted
suicide over fears of going back to Maynmar.
The
United Nations (UN) has repeatedly warned that the repatriation of the Rohingya
could be dangerous, given that they still faced violence in Myanmar. Last week,
UN Special Envoy for Myanmar Yanghee Lee said the people were still facing a
“high risk of persecution.”
UN
demands halt to repatriation
UN
human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has, meanwhile, called on Dhaka to halt
the repatriation, warning that the Muslims’ lives would be at “serious risk.”
“Forcibly
expelling or returning refugees… would be a clear violation of the core legal
principle of non-refoulement,” Bachelet said on Tuesday.
She
explained that the legal principle “forbids repatriation where there are
threats of persecution or serious risks to the life and physical integrity or
liberty of the individuals.”
Suu
Kyi once again refused to shoulder responsibility over Rohingya
Meanwhile,
Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been blamed by the
international community for inaction over the plight of the Rohingya, has once
again refused to take responsibility.
US
Vice President Mike Pence told her on the sidelines of a summit in Singapore on
Wednesday that the violence against and the persecution of the Rohingya was
“without excuse.”
Suu
Kyi responded by saying, “Of course people have different points of view.”
She
had already taken the side of the military in the violence against the
Rohingya.
Full
report at:
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/11/14/579989/Bangladesh-military-heavyhanded-Rohingya-Muslim-refugees-Myanmar
--------
ASEAN
drafts statement in response to Rakhine violence, urges accountability
Nov
13, 2018
Southeast
Asian nations are set to call for those responsible for atrocities against
Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine state to be held “fully accountable.”
In
a draft statement, which would be delivered at the end of meetings of the
10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore, it was
mentioned that the situation in Rakhine was a “matter of concern.”
“We
called on the Independent Commission of Enquiry established by the Government
of Myanmar to carry out an independent and impartial investigation of the allegations
of human rights violations and related issues, and hold those responsible fully
accountable,” said the ASEAN draft statement.
Sources
close to pre-summit discussions said Singapore was leaning toward a stronger
stance because it feels responsibility as the summit host to protect its
credibility.
Singaporean
Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan earlier this year said his ASEAN peers had
urged Myanmar to give the inquiry commission a full mandate to hold those
responsible accountable.
ASEAN's
Muslim-majority members, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, tend to take the
toughest line on the Rohingya matter.
Malaysian
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has served notice he has lost faith in Nobel
Peace laureate and Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, because of the
Rohingya issue.
"We
have made it quite clear we don't really support her anymore," Mahathir
said in an interview over a month ago. "Our policy in ASEAN is
non-interference in the internal affairs of the countries, but this is ...
grossly unjust."
Suu
Kyi, who will be joining the summit in Singapore, has been widely criticized
for her handling of the Rohingya crisis.
Mohamad,
ASEAN’s senior most leader, was scathing about Suu Kyi on Tuesday when asked
about the situation in Myanmar. “It would seem that Aung San Suu Kyi is trying
to defend what is indefensible,” the 93-year-old told reporters in Singapore.
“We are very disappointed, because someone who has been detained before knows
the sufferings, and should not inflict it on others.”
Amnesty
International said on Tuesday it had withdrawn its most prestigious human
rights prize from Suu Kyi, accusing her of perpetuating human rights abuses by
not speaking out about violence against the Rohingya.
On
Tuesday, United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called on
Bangladesh to halt plans to repatriate hundreds of Rohingya refugees to
Myanmar, warning that their lives would be at "serious risk."
Forcibly
returning or expelling refugees and asylum-seekers to their home country would
violate international law, which forbids it to places where returnees face
threats of persecution or their lives would be endangered, she said in a
statement.
"We
are witnessing terror and panic among those Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar
who are at imminent risk of being returned to Myanmar against their will,"
Bachelet said.
"With
an almost complete lack of accountability, indeed with ongoing violations,
returning Rohingya refugees to Myanmar at this point effectively means throwing
them back into the cycle of human rights violations that this community has
been suffering for decades."
Elsewhere
in her statement, she said two men had attempted suicide.
Both
governments have been pushing ahead with this first large-scale repatriation
effort. This has prompted criticism from a group of 42 aid agencies who said in
a statement that it would be “dangerous” for them.
Full
report at:
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/11/13/579923/ASEAN-Myanmar-Rakhine
--------
Southeast Asia
Shafie
urges Sabahans to work towards unity, shun racism, extremism
14
November 2018
KOTA
KINABALU, Nov 14 — Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal urged
people of all faiths in the state to shun racism and extremism to ensure the
unity of the multi-racial and religious community in Sabah remains strong.
He
said racism and extremism are the main factors that could cause the collapse of
unity in any country with people of different races, religions and cultures.
“It
is important for us to ensure that the unity of the people in the state is
intact, so it is important for us to be sure that there is no extremism in any
religion regardless of whether it is Islam or Christianity.
“Do
not let any of us do anything that can be called racism. It does not matter
whether we are Chinese, Kadazan, Dusun, Iban, Bajau or any other race because
Sabah is our state therefore let us
jointly develop the state,” he said.
He
said this when addressing the state government’s financial assistance
distribution to schools and non-Islamic religious bodies for the South West
Coast, North West Coast and Upper and Lower Interiors at Banquet Hall, Sabah
State Assembly, here today.
Also
present were Sabah Deputy Chief Ministers Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau and
Datuk Christina Liew, as well as Sabah Council of Churches chairman Bishop
Melter Jaiki Tais and the Association of Sabah National Type Chinese School
Management Committee chairman Ben Lim Kiat Kong.
Commenting
on the financial aid, Mohd Shafie said although there were some financial
constraints, the state government has never neglected the non-Muslim religious
schools and institutions.
In
the 2019 State Budget presented recently, RM34.64 million was allocated to 554
schools and non-Islamic religious bodies throughout Sabah. — Bernama
https://www.malaymail.com/s/1693173/shafie-urges-sabahans-to-work-towards-unity-shun-racism-extremism
--------
Indonesian
Police will not Allow Meeting to Promote Caliphate
2018-11-13
Police
in Bogor, Indonesia, said Tuesday they would not issue a permit for a two-day
Muslim gathering billed for this weekend as a discussion on ushering an Islamic
caliphate into the country, saying such a meeting was illegal.
A
little-known group that calls itself Khilafatul Muslimin and says its leader is
a caliph who oversees chapters across Indonesia and other countries is
organizing the meeting. It is planned for Saturday and Sunday at the Az-Zikra
mosque in Sentul, a suburb of Jakarta near the city of Bogor.
A
Singapore think tank has described the group as a supporter of the extremist
group Islamic State (IS), and two mosques in Jakarta have turned down requests
to host the meeting whose theme is “Indonesia: Ushering in the rise of Islam.”
The
gathering would not be allowed, Bogor police chief Andi Muhammad Dicky told
BenarNews.
“The
event has to do with the intention to change the system of government, from
democracy and Pancasila to the caliphate,” Dicky said. Pancasila is the
Indonesian state philosophy, which rests on pillars that include national
unity, the belief in one God, democracy and social justice.
He
said police feared potential clashes between participants and people opposed to
the event.
“We
will disband the event if the organizers go ahead with it,” Andi warned.
In
response, Khilafatul Muslimin spokesman Jamaludin, who uses one name, said
similar events had been held 10 times before without any issue in different
places, such as Bandung, Klaten and Sidoarjo.
Asked
if the meeting would be held without a police permit, he said: “We still don’t
know.”
“This
is the consequences of a struggle,” he told BenarNews.
“It’s
about devotion. We are not afraid,” he said when asked if group members worried
that they would be accused of treason.
Jamaludin
said his group was not Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), a local branch of an
international Islamic group campaigning to establish a caliphate.
The
government outlawed HTI last year after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo issued a
decree banning organizations that were deemed as a threat to national unity and
Pancasila.
‘Not
just a dream’
In
a statement posted online, Khilafatul Muslimin said the gathering was intended
to address “accusations and slander by the enemies of Islam” about the
caliphate. It invited representatives from the military, police, government and
Muslim groups.
“For
people who believe, the rise of Islam is not just a dream and an imagination,
but has become a conviction,” the statement from Khilafatul Muslimin said.
“This conviction has crystallized into a determination to immediately prepare
in welcoming it. The Prophet also narrated that at the end of time there will
be a caliphate based on the prophetic tradition.”
Khilafatul
Muslimin appointed Abdul Qadir Hasan Baraja as caliph, or leader, and has 21
branches across the country and in several neighboring countries.
“Talking
about the rise of Islam, means talking about the Islamic caliphate, because
there is no other interpretation for the rise of Islam except the rise of the
Islamic caliphate,” its statement added.
In
May 2015, the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore
described the group as one of 18 in Indonesia supporting IS, in a report on
counterterrorist trends and analysis.
Since
2014, Indonesian officials have dealt with the threat of terrorism from
home-grown militants inspired by IS.
Full
report at:
https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/indonesian/caliphate-cancel-11132018155315.html
--------
Amanah:
Oktoberfest fine as long as Muslims not part of it
12
November 2018
KUALA
LUMPUR, Nov 11 — Amanah communications director Khalid Samad said today his
party had no objections to the Oktoberfest celebration taking place as long as
it did not involve Muslims.
He
was commenting on a report that the Sabah Amanah had protested to the
Oktoberfest celebration in Sandakan last Saturday because it had hurt the
sensitivities of Muslim residents there.
“We
are not against the staging of the Oktoberfest event.
“We
only do not want Muslims to attend and that the event should be held in orderly
manner,” said Khalid to reporters after officiating the launch of the selection
of Kuala Lumpur as a World Book Capital in 2020.
Sabah
Parti Amanah Negara chairman Haris Alimudin was quoted as saying that he
regretted the decision by Sandakan Municipal Council for allowing the event to
be held in an open area as the Council did not respect the sensitivities of the
rakyat particularly Muslims.
He
also demanded Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal personally look into the
matter, claiming state support of the event may cause a backlash of support
among voters for the ruling Parti Warisan Sabah government.
Full
report at:
https://www.malaymail.com/s/1692501/amanah-oktoberfest-fine-as-long-as-muslims-not-part-of-it
--------
It’s
academic now, rules court of Tawfik’s bid to challenge Hadi’s bill
V
Anbalagan
November
14, 2018
PETALING
JAYA: The High Court today ruled as academic a suit filed by former MP Tawfik
Ismail against ex-Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia seeking to stop the
tabling of a bill by PAS to amend the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction)
Act.
Judge
Nordin Hassan said the matter had been overtaken by events following the
dissolution of the 13th Dewan Rakyat on April 7.
“The
subject matter is no longer there since the convening of the 14th Dewan
Rakyat,” he said in allowing the government’s preliminary objection to throw
out the suit without hearing the merit of the case.
Nordin
said the rights of Tawfik were also not affected as the issue was “no longer
alive”.
He
said the court would be seen as expressing its views if it had proceeded to
hear the matter.
Nordin,
however, said Tawfik was at liberty to file a fresh action if a similar motion
to amend the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act was tabled again in the
Dewan Rakyat and allowed by the speaker.
Last
month, the government raised the preliminary objection as Tawfik’s suit was
academic as all matters related to the 13th session of the Dewan Rakyat had
come to an end following Parliament’s dissolution in April.
A
letter by Attorney-General Tommy Thomas to Tawfik’s lawyers said that any
unfinished business of a Parliament that had been dissolved would automatically
lapse pursuant to the dissolution.
“Such
unfinished business cannot and does not ‘carry on life’ when the new Parliament
convenes.
“It
would certainly extend to the RUU355 motion,” Thomas said in the letter,
referring to the bill pushed by PAS to introduce heavier punishments under
shariah law.
He
said since the motion “died” on April 7, the dispute had become academic, and
it was not practical to proceed with the case.
But
Tawfik’s lawyer Rosli Dahlan disagreed, saying the government’s objection was
misconceived.
“The
preliminary objection is misconceived as it presupposes that the originating
summons is solely on (Marang MP) Abdul Hadi Awang’s motion. The reliefs sought
are beyond just Hadi’s motion,” he said.
Rosli
said there were issues which required the court to deliver a judgment and not
shirk from its judicial duty as mandated by the Federal Constitution.
He
said the reliefs sought were not just against the tabling of Hadi’s motion but
also against other breaches of the constitution. Hadi is PAS president.
Rosli
said if the preliminary objection was allowed, it would set an adverse
precedent for future motions without adhering to the spirit and provisions of
the constitution.
He
said Tawfik’s originating summons should be heard to pronounce the legal
position of the tabling of laws with regards to Article 38 of the constitution.
On
Feb 22, judge Kamaludin Md Said, who heard the government’s application to
strike out Tawfik’s suit, declined on grounds the court had jurisdiction to
hear the matter.
Tawfik
is a former Barisan Nasional MP for Sungai Benut in Johor, and son of the late
Ismail Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s deputy prime minister from 1970 to 1973.
He
was seeking a court order to stop the tabling of the bill which sought to give
wider powers to shariah courts, including stiffer sentences on Muslim
offenders.
He
filed his application in court in March last year, naming Pandikar and Dewan
Rakyat secretary Roosme Hamzah as defendants.
He
claimed the private member’s bill proposed by Hadi did not conform to the
requirements of the Standing Orders of the Dewan Rakyat.
Hadi
tabled a motion on April 6 last year to introduce his bill but it was not
debated.
The
bill aims to increase the penalties for shariah offences to 30 years’ jail,
RM100,000 fine and 100 strokes of the cane.
Full
report at:
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/11/14/its-academic-now-rules-court-of-tawfiks-bid-to-challenge-hadis-bill/
--------
'Rizieq
not a threat to my country': Saudi envoy says
November
13, 2018
The
Saudi envoy to Indonesia said on Tuesday that despite the controversy Muhammad
Rizieq Shihab caused by flying a black Islamic flag at the rear of his
residence in Mecca, the firebrand Indonesian cleric had not broken any laws.
On
Nov. 5, Saudi security authorities questioned Rizieq, who is in self-exile in
the country, because of reports from local residents about a black flag
resembling ones used by extremist Islamic groups that was spotted hanging from
the wall of the cleric’s house. The flag in question was a black flag with the
Arabic inscription of the tawhid text, the Muslim doctrine of the oneness of
God. Similar flags have been used by several Islamist groups, including the
Islamic State (IS) movement.
Saudi
Ambassador to Indonesia Usamah Muhammad Al-Syuaiby said the tawhid has a
significant meaning for Muslims, but displaying it on a flag was not
necessarily a criminal act.
“If
we find such a flag being installed on someone’s wall as a picture or anything
else, we need to find out who is doing such a thing,” the ambassador said
during a press briefing at the headquarters of Muhammadiyah, Indonesia’s
second-largest Islamic organization.
The
ambassador met with high-ranking officials of Muhammadiyah and they talked
about Saudi Arabia’s cooperation with Indonesia and the organization.
“Are
you a criminal for installing the flag on your house? I don’t think so,” he
said.
However,
Al-Syuaiby did not address the fact that the Indonesian government compared the
flag on Rizieq’s house to those flown by IS terrorists.
Last
week, Indonesian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Agus Maftuh Abegebriel told
journalists he had received reports on the questioning and detention of the
cleric. He said the embassy staff were informed that the Mecca Police went to
Rizieq’s house on the morning of Nov. 5 to “investigate the allegation of the
installation of a black flag that resembles the flag of Islamist extremist
groups on the rear side of his house”.
Later
that afternoon, Mecca Police and Saudi Arabia’s General Investigation
Directorate questioned Rizieq at a nearby police station, where he was
eventually detained. Indonesia’s representative office in Jeddah dispatched
staff to provide legal assistance to Rizieq, whom Saudi authorities released on
bail at about 8 p.m. local time on Nov. 6.
According
to the Indonesian embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has banned the installation
of flags and other materials resembling those used by extremist groups,
including IS.
Rizieq,
the leader of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), has been in Saudi Arabia for
more than a year. He was charged by Indonesian police for violating the 2008
Pornography Law in May 2017 and fled to Saudi Arabia, refusing to return to
Indonesia. The police dropped the case in June, citing a lack of evidence.
In
September, the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh said Rizieq had overstayed his visa
for the country. The statement was issued in response to complaints from his
supporters who claimed that his activities were being restricted in Mecca.
Al-Syuaiby,
however, said the cleric has not violated any laws while staying in Saudi
Arabia.
Full
report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/11/13/rizieq-not-a-threat-to-my-country-saudi-envoy-claims.html
--------
Africa
Why
I chose a fellow Muslim as running mate –Gov el-Rufai
November
13, 2018
Kaduna
State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, on Tuesday cleared the air on the emergence of
Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, a fellow Muslim, as his running mate for the 2019
governorship election in the state.
The
governor, who received in audience the people of Sanga Local Government Area
who were at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna, on a thank-you
visit for picking their daughter, said the choice of his running mate was based
on competence and performance.
He
explained that under his administration, there was no room for religious or
sentiments in deciding who to appoint into any office in the state.
“Muslim-Muslim
ticket is not a religious ticket but a competent and performance ticket,” the governor
said.
El-Rufai
had told critics of the Muslim-Muslim ticket that the Government House was not
a place for worship but where people work.
The
governor added that most of his Muslim-Muslim ticket critics were those who did
not vote for him in the 2015 governorship election in the state.
“The
people that have criticised me most on this are people who never voted me in
the first place. So, are they not supposed to be celebrating it?
“In
their own opinion, I have made a wrong choice. Then, why are they mourning?” he
asked.
Earlier,
the paramount ruler of Numana in Sanga LG where Dr. Hadiza Balarabe hails from,
Brigadier-General Aliyu Yamma (Rtd), said the choice of their daughter had
given them the hope of being in government.
He
sad successive administrations had forgotten the people of the area as far as
participation in government was concerned.
“The
governor couldn’t have made a better choice than the selection of Hadiza.
“We
now feel a sense of belonging in Kaduna government. We are just like Black Americans
in Kaduna State,” he said.
https://punchng.com/why-i-chose-a-fellow-muslim-as-running-mate-el-rufai/
--------
We
Fighting Terrorism in Defence of True Islam -- King
Nov
14, 2018
AMMAN
– His Majesty King Abdullah has said that the fight against terrorism and
extremism Jordan is spearheading is aimed not to please anyone but rather to
defend orthodox, true Islam.
In
his speech at a ceremony in Washington DC as he accepted 2018 Templeton Prize
on Wednesday, His Majesty underlined Jordan's historic privilege as the land of
prophets and its role in maintaining and defending their message of peace and
goodness.
Following
is the full text of the speech:
In
the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,
Thank
you, all.
But
I must begin today with a word about those who are highest in my mind today,
the Jordanian families who are suffering and grieving in the aftermath of
horrific flash flooding in my country.
There
are no words strong enough to express my sorrow, the sorrow of all Jordanians,
for the human loss caused by the double natural disasters, just weeks apart.
And I want to commend to the world the Jordanians who raced to respond, the
neighbours and medical teams and rescue units.
Truly,
in facing tragedy—whether the deadly floods that struck Jordan or the deadly
wildfires that struck California—we are, all of us, bound together in
brotherhood. For the victims and their families, in Jordan and in California, I
ask you to join me in a moment of silence.
Dean
Hollerith, thank you for your warm welcome to the Washington National
Cathedral.
Shaykh
Hamza, and Professor Volf, and, my dear friend, Secretary General, thank you
for your very, very generous words.
And
a heartfelt thanks to Heather Templeton Dill, and the entire Templeton family
and Foundation. May God reward the late Sir John for his tremendous legacy in
affirming life’s spiritual dimension and upholding positive values worldwide. I
truly wish I had met Sir John in person, but meeting his family, who are
carrying on his work, is meeting the best of what he stood for.
Today,
I am truly humbled to be recognised by all of you. But let me say, everything
you honour me for simply carries onward what Jordanians have always done, and
how Jordanians have always lived—in mutual kindness, harmony, and brotherhood.
And so, I accept this extraordinary prize, not on my own behalf, but on behalf
of all Jordanians.
My
friends,
Our
country has long upheld religious mutual respect. The five prophets of “great
resolve”—as they are called in the Quran—prophets of Judaism, Christianity and
Islam, peace be upon them all, have blessed our land with their presence. Noah
has a tomb in Karak. Abraham came through from the land of what is now Iraq, on
his way to Hebron. Moses died in Jordan on Mount Nebo. Jesus Christ, the
Messiah, was baptised in Jordan, on the East Bank of the River Jordan, by John
the Baptist. My country preserves this special site and others with great care,
welcoming Christian pilgrims and other visitors from around the world.
The
Prophet Mohammad, may peace and blessings be upon him, came to Jordan
twice—once with his uncle as a boy, when he was witnessed by a Byzantine priest
as a future prophet, and then later as a young merchant. It was that first
encounter under a tree—which is still present in the Jordanian desert—that set
the tone for Muslim-Christian coexistence and harmony in Jordan.
My
friends,
These
prophets of great resolve were on a journey, an internal journey of the self,
to fulfil God’s commands. And the first step of any such journey begins with
the struggle, the jihad, within each of us, to be the best person we can be.
The
greater jihad of the great prophets brought illumination to all of us. So here,
at this Cathedral, as a Muslim, I’d like to say a word about jihad.
And
I'm sure that's not something you hear too often within these walls. But
nothing, nothing is more important to understand.
The
greater jihad has nothing to do with the hate-filled fiction promoted by the
khawarej—the outlaws of Islam, such as Daesh and the like—or the Islamophobes
who also distort our religion.
It
is, instead, the personal, internal struggle to defeat the ego, and the
struggle we all share for a world of peace, harmony, and love.
As
it has been said, in Islam, to love God and love one’s neighbour are core
commandments. As Shaykh Hamza noted, the Prophet Mohammad, peace and blessings
be upon him, said: “None of you has faith until you love for your neighbour
what you love for yourself.”
This
is the Islam I learnt in Jordan.
The
Islam of kindness and mercy, not of madness and cruelty.
Traditional
orthodox Islam, not modern fundamentalist Islam.
The
Islam of “forgive and let live”, not of “attack and nit-pick”.
The
Islam of fundamental principles—usul inArabic—not of fundamentalist details.
The
Islam of the holistic vision of the Quran and the Sunnah, not the
cherry-picking of verses to suit a political agenda.
This
is the traditional, orthodox Islam that is the faith of the vast, vast majority
of Muslims around the world—1.8 billion good neighbours and good citizens who
are helping build the future, in Jordan and the Middle East; in the US and Asia
and Europe; and beyond. And we are working, on every continent, to defend Islam
against the malignant sub-minority who abuse our religion. And we do this not
to please our friends, not to please the world, but to please God. And as long
as there is life in our bodies, and faith in our hearts, we will continue to do
so, God willing, In sha Allah.
And
we are not alone. The great commandments to love God and love one’s neighbour,
as has been said this evening, are found again, and again, in Judaism,
Christianity, Islam, and other faiths around the world. It is a profound
message, calling every one of us to struggle to look beyond ourselves. And this
outward insight is the source and hope of all coexistence.
And
when we talk about hope and coexistence, no issue is more important than
Jerusalem. More than half of the world’s people belong to religions that hold
Jerusalem as a holy city—Islam, Christianity and Judaism. For Muslims,
Jerusalem stands along with Mecca and Medina as one of Islam’s three holiest
places. And a special duty binds me and all Jordanians as Hashemite Custodian
of Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites.
With
its long, multi-faith heritage, Jerusalem must be protected as a unifying city
of peace. And I am tremendously grateful to the Templeton Prize for making it
possible to further this work. A portion of the Templeton Prize will help
renovate and restore religious sites in Jerusalem, including the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre. The entire remaining sum is also being donated to humanitarian,
interfaith, and intra-faith initiatives, in Jordan and around the world.
My
friends,
God
says in the Quran: “For those who say, ‘our Lord is God’ and then follow the
straight path, there is no fear, nor shall they grieve.” (Al Ahqaf, 46:13)
And
the Prophet Mohammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whoever believes
in God and the Last Day, let him behave with excellence and virtue (ihsan)
towards his neighbour’ (Sahih Muslim).
It
is time to do all we can to maximise the good in our world, and bring people
together in understanding. But it begins with the struggle, the jihad, within
ourselves to be the best we can be.
Full
report at:
http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/we-fighting-terrorism-defence-true-islam-king
--------
Jordan
jails 10 for ISIS-claimed Karak attack
13
November 2018
A
Jordanian court on Tuesday sentenced 10 people to prison terms of between three
years and life in connection with a deadly 2016 attack claimed by ISIS.
The
shooting attack in Karak, site of one of the region's largest Crusader castles,
killed seven policemen and two Jordanian civilians as well as a female Canadian
tourist, and wounded 34 other people.
The
defendants were charged in state security court, a military tribunal, with
"terrorist acts", illegal possession of arms and producing
explosives.
Two
of them were handed life terms, while three were sentenced to 15 years in
prison and five others to serve three years in jail. One defendant was
acquitted.
Courts
in Jordan, the target of several deadly attacks, regularly put on trial
suspected extremists.
Full
report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2018/11/13/Jordan-jails-10-for-ISIS-claimed-Karak-attack.html
--------
People
stage protest against Nigerian army’s killing of Muslims
Nov
13, 2018
Female
members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria have staged a peaceful protest over
the recent killing of the movement’s supporters in Abuja. Press TV’s correspondent
Danjuma Abdullahi has details from the Nigerian capital.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/11/13/579955/People-stage-protest-against-Nigerian-armys-killing-of-Muslims-
--------
Libya’s
PM Sarraj meets eastern commander Haftar in Palermo
November
13, 2018
PALERMO:
Italy’s premier on Tuesday hosted a meeting of Libya's rival leaders on the
sidelines of a conference aimed at helping its former colony crack down on
extremists and human trafficking.
Photos
of the encounter showed Premier Giuseppe Conte presiding over a handshake
between the Tripoli-based UN-backed prime minister, Fayez Al-Sarraj, and rival
Gen. Khalifa Haftar, commander of the self-styled Libyan National Army that is
based in Libya's east.
Later,
UN Libyan envoy Ghassan Salame said Haftar, had committed himself to a UN
action plan and to holding a national conference early next year prior to
elections.
“Haftar
is committed to the political process,” Salame told reporters at the end of a
reconciliation conference in Italy. “His representatives said that.”
The
exclusion of Turkey from the mini-summit prompted the Turks to pull out early,
adding drama to the two-day conference at a resort on the picturesque Sicilian
seaside.
Other
leaders attending the Palermo conference, including French Foreign Minister
Jean-Yves Le Drian, and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The office of
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who backs Haftar, confirmed he joined
the “mini-summit” Tuesday with Conte and other leaders.
Italy's
populist government organized the two-day conference in hopes of making
progress on ending Libya's lawlessness and promoting a UN framework for
eventual elections.
But
expectations were limited, with Haftar's camp making clear that he wasn't
participating in the conference itself but rather meeting with leaders of
neighboring countries on the sidelines. Neither Haftar nor El-Sisi posed for
the final conference group photo.
And
Turkish Vice-President Fuat Oktay pulled out before it ended, citing his
exclusion from the morning mini-summit.
“The
informal meeting, held this (morning) with a number of players and having them
presented as the prominent protagonists of the Mediterranean, is a very
misleading and damaging approach which we vehemently oppose,” he told
reporters.
“Turkey
is leaving the meeting with deep disappointment,” he said.
An
Italian diplomatic official, briefing reporters in Palermo, said the atmosphere
of the mini-meeting was cordial and collaborative and that Haftar told Sarraj
to stay in charge until the elections.
A
statement on social media Tuesday by a spokesman for Haftar's army, Ahmed
Al-Mesmari, suggested that Haftar was snubbing the broader conference because
he accuses representatives from the Tripoli side of working with militias he
considers illegitimate, as well as extremists backed by Qatar.
In
an interview provided by his media office, Haftar said he wanted to meet with
African leaders in particular to discuss migration.
“We
are still at war, and the country needs to secure its borders,” Haftar said.
Libya
plunged into chaos after the 2011 uprising that ousted and killed longtime
dictator Muammar Qaddafi, and it is now governed by rival administrations in
the east and west with both relying on the support of militias.
It
has also become a haven for Islamic militants and armed groups, including
several from neighboring countries, which survive on looting and human
trafficking, particularly in the remote south of the country.
Full
report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1404086/middle-east
--------
Dozens
missing after Boko Haram kills 16 in Nigeria: militia
November
14, 2018
KANO,
Nigeria: Boko Haram militants have killed at least 16 farmers and left dozens
missing in the latest attacks in restive northeast Nigeria’s Borno state,
militia and residents said on Wednesday.
The
civilian militia fighting the Islamists found 15 bodies in fields around Kazaa
and Daraa villages, five kilometers (three miles) outside the garrison town of
Monguno on Tuesday.
A
farmer was also shot dead while working near Gremari village, 13 km from the
state capital Maiduguri.
“Yesterday
our members recovered 15 bodies from farms around neighboring Kazaa and Daraa
villages who were killed by Boko Haram on Monday,” militia leader Ibrahim Liman
told AFP.
“Another
35 people have not been seen and a search will continue today (Wednesday) to
find them,” he said.
The
farmers were mostly from camps in Monguno housing people displaced by the
nine-year Islamist insurgency.
Monguno
resident Mari Bulama said the jihadists opened fire on farmers at work,
shooting them as they fled.
“We
buried 15 of them yesterday before I left Monguno,” said Bulama who arrived at
Maiduguri on Tuesday from Monguno, 140 km away.
The
IS-affiliated faction — Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) — operates a
camp near the town of Zulum, 20 km from Monguno, and residents said they
believed the attack was launched from there.
On
Tuesday two militants on a motorcycle opened fire on farmers outside Gremari
village killing one, militiaman Umar Ari told AFP.
“The
rest of the farmers fled and later returned to pick the dead body of their
colleague,” he added.
Boko
Haram has stepped up attacks on farmers and loggers in recent years, accusing
them of passing information on the group to the military.
Last
month the militants hacked 12 farmers to death as they worked on their fields
in Kalle, a remote village 17 km from Maiduguri.
Despite
government insistence Boko Haram are near defeat, the group has recently
carried out major attacks on military and civilian targets, killing scores.
Full
report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1404721/world
--------
Arab World
Syria:
US Conducts More Heliborne Operations to Rescue ISIL Terrorists
Nov
13, 2018
The
US-led coalition helicopters landed in the village of al-Suweidiyah in Northeastern
Hasaka and took 3 ISIL terrorists away.
In
the meantime, several other helicopters carried out a heliborne operation in
Hajin desert in Eastern Deir Ezzur, transferring a group of ISIL terrorists to
an unspecified location.
Heliborne
of ISIL members by the US military has long been underway amid the US claims of
campaign against ISIL terrorists on the Eastern bank of the Euphrates River.
Last
week, the Arabic-language al-Ma'aloumah news website quoted Ahamd al-Sahrifi,
an Iraqi security expert, as disclosing that the US intended to heliborne ISIL
terrorists from Syria-Iraq border to regions behind Iraqi forces' positions
near border with Syria.
It
further said that the US plan to heliborne ISIL to Iraq came after the Iraqi
forces deployed at border with Syria and close off any infiltration by
terrorists into Iraq.
Al-Sharifi
further said that ISIL has not only been supported financially and militarily
in the battlefield but also received logistic and diplomatic backup in regional
and international arenas.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970822000714
--------
Turkish
air strikes kill 19 Kurdish militants in northern Iraq
13
November 2018
Turkish
forces have killed 19 militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
during air strikes in northern Iraq, the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
The
air strikes targeted several regions in northern Iraq, including the Qandil
mountains, a PKK stronghold, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said on Twitter.
Turkey
regularly carries out air strikes against PKK targets in neighboring northern
Iraq.
The
PKK, considered a terrorist organization by the United States, the European
Union and Turkey, has waged a three-decade insurgency in Turkey’s largely
Kurdish southeast that has killed about 40,000 people.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2018/11/13/Turkish-air-strikes-kill-19-Kurdish-militants-in-northern-Iraq.html
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US-led
aircraft evacuate Daesh terrorists from eastern Syria: Report
Nov
13, 2018
The
US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group has
airlifted to safe sanctuaries several members of the foreign-sponsored terror
outfit from regions in Syria’s eastern provinces of Hasakah and Dayr al-Zawr.
Local
sources, requesting anonymity, told Syria’s official news agency SANA on
Tuesday that US-led military helicopters conducted an operation in the village
of al-Suwayda in Hasakah near the border with Iraq, and transported a number of
Takfiris to an unknown location.
Separately,
US-led aircraft landed on the outskirts of al-Susah town in Dayr al-Zawr over
the weekend, and took away three Daesh terrorists.
SANA,
citing information received from local residents, reported on October 7 that
American helicopters had evacuated Daesh commanders from al-Shaafah town in Abu
Kamal district of Dayr al-Zawr to an undisclosed location.
Later
on Tuesday, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned
the recent airstrike by the US-led coalition against the eastern town of
al-Shaafah, which left more than 60 people killed and injured, arguing that the
massacre clearly points to the fact that members of the military alliance have
no respect for moral values, international rules and regulations besides the
lives of innocent civilians.
The
ministry, in two separate letters, addressed to United Nations Secretary
General Antonio Guterres and the rotating president of the UN Security Council
Ma Zhaoxu, called on the Security Council to assume its responsibilities and to
stop US-led aerial assaults.
It
also asked the world body to recommend an international, independent and
impartial mechanism to investigate the crimes being perpetrated by the US-led
coalition.
The
letters noted that the coalition is deliberately targeting Syria civilians and
making use of internationally banned weapons, including white phosphorus bombs,
in Syria.
The
Syrian foreign ministry stressed that the US-led coalition airstrikes were
meant to kill as many Syrian people as possible, prolong the ongoing Syrian
conflict, destroy the country’s infrastructure and undermine its sovereignty
and territorial integrity in flagrant violation of all United Nations Security
Council resolutions on Syria.
The
letters concluded that the embarrassing silence of the Security Council has
encouraged the US-led coalition to kill more Syrian civilians and destroy their
properties.
The
US-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes against what are said to be
Daesh targets inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from
the Damascus government or a UN mandate.
Full
report at:
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/11/13/579956/USled-aircraft-evacuate-Daesh-terrorists-from-eastern-Syria-Report
--------
Daesh
Militant Attack On Hashd Sha’abi Cmdr. Home In Western Iraq Leaves 9 Dead
Nov
13, 2018
At
least nine people have been killed after Daesh Takfiri terrorists broke into
the house of a commander of pro-government fighters from the Popular
Mobilization Units in Iraq’s western province of Anbar as army troopers, backed
by their allies, are trying to flush the last remnants of the foreign-sponsored
terror group out of the crisis-hit Arab country.
Deputy
Mayor of Karma city Ahmed Mukhlaf told Arabic-language al-Sumaria television
network that armed men, wearing military uniforms, attacked the house of a
captain in the voluntary forces, better known by the Arabic word Hashd
al-Sha’abi, in the al-Dhabetiyah area, situated 53 kilometers east of the
provincial capital city of Ramadi, late on Monday.
Mukhlaf
added that the attack left the Hashd al-Shaabi commander and eight passers-by
dead.
Former
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the end of military operations
against Daesh in the Arab country on December 9, 2017.
On
July 10 that year, he formally declared victory over Daesh in Mosul, which
served as the terrorists’ main urban stronghold in the conflict-ridden Arab
country.
In
the run-up to Mosul's liberation, Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer Hashd
al-Sha’abi fighters had made sweeping gains against Daesh.
Iraqi
forces took control of eastern Mosul in January 2017 after 100 days of
fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19 last year.
Full
report at:
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/11/13/579921/Daesh-militant-attack-on-Hashd-Shaabi-cmdr-home-in-western-Iraq-leaves-9-dead
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Syrian
Army Increases Deployment in Aleppo after Turkey's Threats in Eastern Euphrates
Nov
13, 2018
Field
sources reported on Tuesday that a large military convoy was sent by the Syrian
army to Menaq airbase in Northern Aleppo, 11km away from Aleppo city.
They
added that the convoy consisted of a large number of Syrian army forces and
several tanks and military and armored vehicles, noting that the army has also
dispatched military grids to Deir Jamal and Tal Rafat in the West and Tadaf in
Northern Aleppo close to the positions of the Ankara-backed militants.
The
sources said that the Syrian Army aims to strengthen its fronts in response to
the Turkish army's mobilization of militants in the Euphrates region.
They
added that the army's decision to send more forces and military equipment to
Northern Aleppo was made after Turkey recently threatened that it was preparing
to launch an assault on the Kurds in Eastern Euphrates.
The
London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Sunday that
the Turkish troops and their allied militants targeted the strongholds of the
Kurdish militias in Manbij region in Northeastern Aleppo in violation of an
earlier agreement between Ankara and Washington.
SOHR
reported that the Ankara-backed forces known as the Euphrates Shield opened
heavy machinegun fire at the village of al-Hamran Northwest of the town of
Manbij.
It
further said that the Ankara forces targeted the positions of the Syrian
Democratic Forces and farms in the region.
In
the meantime, the US-led coalition fighter jets conducted round the clock
flights over Manbij.
The
attacks were carried out regardless of an agreement between the US and Turkish
forces to carry out joint patrols along a buffer zone separating the Euphrates
Shield forces from the Manbij Military Council forces.
Full
report at:
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970822001147
--------
Protests
Flare in Turkish-Occupied Regions in Northern Syria
Nov
13, 2018
Civilians
in the town of Jarabulus in Northeastern Aleppo that is under the occupation of
the Ankara-backed Euphrates Shield forces took to the streets against the
Turkey-affiliated terrorists.
In
the meantime, media activists reported continued blasts and insecurity in
regions occupied by the Turkish forces, and said people in these regions are
tired of the present situation and have taken to the streets to call for the
expulsion of the terrorists from their homes and town.
They
further said that the demonstrators set fire at tires and closed off roads to
the region.
Abdul
Aziz al-Khazar, a field commander of the Free Army terrorists, was killed in a
blast in Jarabulus on Monday.
A
bomb-laden vehicle went off in front of the base of the Free Army's Military
Police in Central Jarabulus that left a number of civilians and militants dead
and more than 25 wounded.
Full
report at:
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970822000927
--------
Syrian
Army Repels Terrorists' Heavy Offensives in Idlib, Hama
Nov
13, 2018
The
army units exchanged heavy fire with Tahrir al-Sham terrorists, deployed in
regions near al-Mahjourah battalion base and Tawil al-Halib, and repelled their
attack on government forces' positions in the demilitarized zone West of Abu
al-Dhohour base in Southeastern Idlib.
In
the meantime, the army's artillery and missile units pounded terrorists'
movements in the small towns of Jarjanaz, al-Taah, Skeik and al-Tamanna in
Southeastern Idlib.
Meanwhile,
other artillery units, deployed in Bridij base in Northwestern Hama, opened
heavy fire at terrorists' movements in the village of al-Janabarah, preempting
their attack after inflicting heavy casualties on them.
Other
artillery units of the army shelled the movements of Kata'eb al-Izzah
terrorists near the village of Tal al-Sakhar in Northern Hama and preempted
their attack on government troops.
Tahrir
al-Sham, in a command on Sunday, put the entire operation rooms, military
centers and field commanders on alert to launch an imminent attack on the army.
Meanwhile,
the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Tahrir
al-Sham have forwarded more gunmen and military hardware to contact lines with
the army in Southeastern Idlib in the last two days.
On
Monday, a senior Syrian military and strategic analyst said that continued
attacks by Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at against the army positions in Northern Syria
accelerate collapse of terrorist groups in Idlib.
Colonel
Mar'ei Hamdan was quoted by the Arabic-language website of Sputnik news agency
as saying that Tahrir al-Sham is in control of nearly 70% of towns and villages
in Idlib province and makes provocative moves against the Syrian army, adding
that the army's commitment to decrease tensions is not lasting forever.
He
added that the Syrian army has so far repelled all attacks by terrorists
against its positions and inflicted heavy damages on them, noting that the army
is now necessitated to come out of the defensive mood to retake control of
Idlib.
Hamdan
said that Tahrir al-Sham will resort to a full-scale military operation against
the Syrian and Russian armies soon, after rejecting the Sochi agreement last
October, which leaves no room for ceasefire or disarmament anymore, and
underlined that the Syrian army's battle against Tahrir al-Sham is inevitable.
Meantime,
the Turkey-backed Ahrar al-Sham and National Liberation Front (NLF) terrorist
groups has also dismissed the Russian-Turkish Sochi agreement and is preparing
for military operations against the army in Northern Syria, calling for a
coalition with Tahrir al-Sham.
Full
report at:
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970822000806
--------
Fresh
Infighting Reported Again Among Terrorists in Northwestern Syria
Nov
13, 2018
Tahrir
al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) started
arresting terrorists of the rival National Liberation Front (NLF) in several
villages, including Ablin and Kansafrah, in Jabal al-Zaviyah in Southern Idlib.
In
the meantime, the NLF arrested a Mufti (religious leader) of Tahrir al-Sham
along with a number of Tahrir terrorists in the village of al-Rami in Southern
Idlib.
Local
sources, meanwhile, reported that members of the NLF have engaged in heavy
infighting in the towns of Ma'arat al-Nu'aman and Ariha in Southern Idlib.
Field
sources said on Thursday that a Tahrir al-Sham commander, Abu Abdullah Mohjer
Marakeshi, was killed by unknown assailants in Jisr al-Shughour in Western
Idlib.
Another
Ahrar al-Sham commander, namely Abulfazl, was gunned down by unknown assailants
North of the Talmans town in Ma'arat al-Nu'aman in Southern Idlib.
The
news came as a number of Tahrir al-Sham terrorists were shot dead by gunmen in
al-Janoudiyeh village West of Idlib.
Full
report at:
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970822000672
--------
Lebanon’s
Hariri blames Hezbollah for obstructing government formation
13
November 2018
Lebanese
Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri said on Tuesday the process of forming
a new government had hit a big obstacle and blamed Iran-backed Hezbollah for
the stalemate.
Shiite
Muslim Hezbollah, a heavily armed group, has been pressing its demand for one
Sunni lawmaker allied to it to get a cabinet portfolio, something Hariri
refused.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2018/11/13/Lebanon-s-Hariri-Hezbollah-responsible-for-obstructing-govt-formation.html
--------
Saudi
Arabia executes ISIS member who killed his cousin
13
November 2018
The
Saudi interior ministry announced on Tuesday the execution of an ISIS militant
who killed his cousin.
Majed
Saad bin Radhi al-Anzi, a Saudi national, was handed the death sentence
following a trial which found him guilty of committing terrorist acts,
including luring his own cousin to a desert area and killing him in the rehion
of Hail.
In
a statement, the ministry stressed on the need to root out those who violate
the safety and security of the kingdom.
The
crime shook the kingdom as it was videotaped, and the man’s cousin is seen
begging for him not to kill him, repeatedly screaming “enough Saad”.
Full
report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2018/11/13/Saudi-Arabia-executes-ISIS-member-who-killed-his-cousin.html
--------
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