NEWS
DIGEST, Afternoon
04 March 2019: 26 Jamadiul-II 1440:Vol:11, No:142
INDIA
Republic TV issues unconditional apology for
hurting Muslims’ sentiments; CNN-News18 also accused of ‘blasphemy’ with
mischievous broadcast
Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV has issued a rare
apology after being accused of hurting the sentiments of Muslims with a piece
of fake news, which was hugely provocative in nature. The extraordinary apology
by Goswami’s channel came amidst Muslims groups also accusing Mukesh
Ambani-owned CNN-News18 of committing blasphemy by casting aspersion on the
three of the holiest sites for Muslims in the world. Republic TV’s apology came
after All India Muslim Personal Board issued a scathing letter accusing the
channel of falsely accusing the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind chief Maulana Jalaluddin Umri
of being a terrorist. Taking exception to the channel’s ‘mischief,’ several
Muslim groups including the Board wrote a letter to the channel condemning its
act and demanding an immediate apology. The letter by AIMPLB also condemned
CNN-News18 for committing ‘blasphemy’ by linking three of the holiest sites for
Muslims to Jaish chief Masood Azhar’s ‘terror factory.’ While posting its
letter, AIMPLB wrote, “We strongly condemn @republic channel for falsely
accusing Ml Jalaluddin Umri, the vice president of @AIMPLB_ Official, of being
a terrorist. We also condemn @CNNnews18. It has committed blasphemy against
Madjids (sic) in Mecca, Madina and Quds. Both channels must apologize.”Realising
the potential consequences of its fake reporting, Republic moved in with
lightning speed and issued a rare apology for hurting the sentiments of
Muslims. Its tweet read, “CORRIGENDUM & APOLOGY for taking a wrong image of
Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umri carried on Republic TV at 4:03 PM. It was an
inadvertent error, the video editor concerned carried the wrong image which was
wrongly broadcast once & immediately corrected.” In its subsequent tweet,
the channel wrote, “Republic TV unconditionally apologises to Maulana Syed
Jalaluddin Umri for the same.”Republic TV appears to have removed the
controversial video from its website and has also updated its report on the
government’s crackdown on Jamaat-e-Islami in Kashmir by clearly stating that
the outfit in the valley had no relation with Jamaat-e-Islami Hind.Elsewhere,
CNN-News18, a channel owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group is facing even
more serious charges as the AIMPLB accused it of hurting the sentiments of
Muslims across the world. In its broadcast on Saturday, the channel claimed to
unearth the property details of Jaish chief Masood Azhar. While flashing the
headlines ‘JeM terror factory in Bahawalpur,’ the channel showed the photos of
the Grand Mosque in Mecca, a mosque in Madina and Al-Aqsa implying that they
were part of Azhar’s terror factory. These mosques are considered to be the
three most holiest sites for Muslims around the world. Letter by AIMPLB termed
the news flash by CNN-News18 as mischievous, deliberately designed to defame
Islam and provoke Muslims. The channel has not yet apologised for its
incredibly inflammatory broadcast targeting Muslims around the globe. In other
words by running the images of three of the most sacred sites of Islam with a
caption ‘JeM terror factor,’ the channel sought to link their role with
terrorism. jantakareporter
Maulana Umari mulls legal action against Republic
TV
Schools, Mosques, Orphanages Run By J&K
Jamaat Kept Outside Ambit of Seizure:J&K Admin
Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir government on Sunday
said the schools, mosques and orphanages being run by banned Jamaat-e-Islami
J&K(JI) have so far been kept outside the ambit of seizure. The
clarification came hours after NC leader Omar Abdullah said the ban on JEI
"is having a major social impact" in Kashmir and appealed to the
government to "urgently review" its decision to seal schools and mosques
run by it."Schools, mosques and orphanages have been kept outside the
scope of seizures and sealing in the wake of the ban imposed by Government of
India on Jamaat-e-Islami, J&K," state government spokesman Rohit
Kansal clarified on Sunday evening. He said the action is being taken against
offices, assets, properties and other equipment of the banned outfit. "Ban
is for 5 years and subsequent orders to do so have been issued by the state
government and the deputy commissioners."PTI
IAF Doesn’t Calculate Casualties: Air Chief
Marshal on Balakot
For the first time after the aerial strikes by
the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Pakistan’s Balakot, Air Chief Marshal Birender
Singh Dhanoa addressed the media in Coimbatore. On Monday, Dhanoa said that IAF
had conducted “successful raids”, however he refused to comment on the number
of casualties inflicted, calling it “the government’s prerogative.”IAF is not
in a postilion to clarify the number of casualties, he said.“The government
will clarify that. We don't count human casualties, we count what targets we
have hit or not,” he said. Dhanoa’s remarks come amid a lack of clarity on the
exact details of the strike. The government has refused to comment on the
details of the attack.thequint
Pakistan won’t hesitate to use nuke in face of
defeat against India, warns Amarinder
Amritsar: Punjab CM Amarinder Singh has
cautioned that Pakistan would not hesitate to use its nuclear arsenal if it
felt it was losing out against India in a conventional battle.Refusing to
comment on the casualty figure in Indian Air Force strikes in Pakistan, Singh
said, “Whether it was one killed or 100, the message had gone out loud and clear
– India will not let the killing of its innocent soldiers and citizens go
unpunished.”He asserted that neither country could afford a full-scale
war.“Pakistan will not hesitate to use its nuclear arsenal if it felt it is
losing out against India in a conventional war,” Singh told the media in
Amritsar.PTI
Imran Khan: I am not worthy of Nobel Peace
Prize, one who solves Kashmir dispute must get it
New Delhi :2 days after a resolution was
submitted in Pakistan Parliament to endorse Imran Khan for the prestigious
Nobel Peace Prize for de-escalating tensions with India, the Pakistan Prime
Minister on Monday said the person worthy of the award would be “the one who
solves the Kashmir dispute”.Taking to Twitter, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief
said, “I am not worthy of the Nobel Peace prize. The person worthy of this
would be the one who solves the Kashmir dispute according to the wishes of the
Kashmiri people and paves the way for peace & human development in the
subcontinent.”indianexpress
Sidhu takes swipe at govt over Balakot
strikes: Were you uprooting trees or terrorists?
New Delhi:Congress leaders Navjot Singh Sidhu
and Kapil Sibal on Monday joined the growing chorus of Opposition leaders
expressing skepticism over the impact of Feb.26 IAF airstrikes in Pakistan’s
Balakot. Sibal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should respond to
international reports claiming there were hardly any casualties in the IAF’s
Balakot airstrike, while Punjab minister Sidhu asked the Centre to come clear
if indeed 300 terrorists were killed. indian express
‘Who put out the number of casualties?’:
Congress slams BJP for ‘milking’ Balakot airstrike
No minister to receive body, Bihar CRPF
inspector’s family is upset
Patna: Although PM Narendra Modi and Bihar
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar mentioned the supreme sacrifice of CRPF Inspector
Pintu Kumar Singh at the NDA rally on Sunday, CRPF inspector’s family is upset
because no minister from the state government was present at Patna airport to
receive Singh’s body.Patna DM and SSP represented the government. Among
political leaders, state Congress chief Madan Mohan Jha was present at the
airport to pay last respects to the CRPF personnel. Singh, a resident of Bagras
Dhyanchakki village of Begusarai, was among five CRPF personnel killed in an
encounter with terrorists in Kupwara.When his body reached Patna airport, a
government protocol was in place, but there was no minister to pay respects to
the paramilitary personnel.indianexpress
Dalit, minority voters missing from electoral
rolls in Uttarakhand: opposition parties
Dehradun: Members of various opposition
parties in a joint press conference held on Sunday, alleged that names of
people belonging to downtrodden sections of society, like Dalits and other
minorities, were missing from electoral rolls in Uttarakhand. Leaders claimed
that the data emerged after an internal voter survey was conducted ahead of Lok
Sabha polls.Former state Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay, along with leaders of
other parties like CPI, CPI(M) and Samajwadi Party, demanded that Election
Commission must conduct extensive survey and include all missing names in the
voting list, or else “democracy would be in danger.”“We conducted a poll survey
in January last week in which voters were surveyed in Dharampur, Raipur and
Mussoorie assembly constituencies. Out of 298 voters who had voter IDs, it was
found that around 12.5% were not present in the voter list. Of these, 90% were
Dalits or minorities. If the same proportion applies across the state, among
Dalits alone, more than 1,36,000 people will not be able to vote in the
upcoming elections,” said Shankar Gopalakrishnan,joint convenor, Chetna
Andolan, organisation that had conducted the survey. Kishore Upadhyay, former
state Congress chief termed it a “deeply disturbing situation.”“Similar surveys
in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and elsewhere have found equally large
numbers of people missing from voter lists.In Uttarakhand, recent local body polls
saw over 2 lakh names missing from voter lists. If poor people are removed from
the voter list in such large numbers, democracy itself will be in danger,” he
alleged. TOI
AP: 8 lakh applications for deletion of
voters, cases booked
Large-scale applications for deletion of
voters in Andhra Pradesh have come under the scanner of the state's Chief Electoral
Officer, who on February 4, ordered booking of police cases against those
submitting the applications in bad faith.Taking a serious note of 8 lakh
applications received for deletions, CEO Gopal Krishna Dwivedi asked police to
book 45 cases in nine districts.He said firm action would be taken against
those misusing form-7 to seek removal of names of eligible voters. CEO asked
officials to identify those sending online applications in bulk seeking
deletions of voters. During last 10 days, seven lakh applications under form-7
were received.nationalheraldindia
Pakistan may soon take action against JeM
chief Masood Azhar: PTI Report
Lahore: Pakistan government, in order to
de-escalate tensions with India, has decided to launch a crackdown on
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar, according to a top government
source. This came on a day a media report said that Islamabad may even withdraw
its opposition to the move to list him as global terrorist in the UN Security
Council.“The government has decided in principle to launch crackdown on the
leadership of the JeM (Azhar),” the source told PTI. He said the action against
JeM in the country is “expected any time soon”.“In order to de-escalate the
tensions between India and Pakistan, the Imran Khan government has planned
action against the JeM,” the source said. “This will be another significant
move of the Imran Khan government to de-escalate tensions after handing over
the captured Indian pilot to his country.”PTI
India standing taller among Islamic nations,
Saudi has raised Haj quota, says PM Modi in Patna
PATNA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said
India’s standing has grown taller among Islamic countries in the world lately
due to efforts by the NDA government he heads.“For the first time in 50 years,
India was invited to a summit of Islamic countries. In these 50 years, India
had governments of Congress and its allies,” he said at an NDA rally in Bihar
capital Patna, referring to the plenary of the foreign ministers’ conclave of
OIC, an influential grouping of 57 Islamic countries.“During the Saudi Crown Prince’s
recent visit to Delhi, I asked him to raise the Haj quota from India as more
and more Muslims want to go for Haj. He raised it to two lakh. This happened to
no other country. India’s voice was heard and respected,” said Modi.newindianexpress
VHP does not want to solve Ayodhya land
dispute:petitioner Haji Mehboob
With the Supreme Court set to pass an order on
March 5 on whether the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case should be
sent for mediation, Haji Mehboob, a petitioner, has accused VHP of not wanting
to settle the issue and keep it on for its own benefits."The main
petitioner of the Hindu side, Nirmohi Akhada, wants to solve the issue but VHP
wants to keep this issue on forever for its own benefits," he told ANI in
Lucknow.Mehboob said, "Talks have been started. The SC has earlier been of
the view that the issue should be resolved through dialogue."According to
Gautam Vij, a representative of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, "The SC had said that
the matter should be solved through dialogue. We have sent the letters to the
Muslim law board and Jamiat Ulama president Maulana Arshad Madni."Syed
Rafat, president of Intellectual Forum, said, "I am sure that we will
succeed. We have sent letters and the parties have told us that they will look
into it. I have started a new intellectual forum of Muslims. Nirmohi Akhada is
ready to solve the issue."ANI
RSS, BJP bodies mull report card on work done
to woo Muslim votes
NAGPUR: In a bid to woo Muslim votes, BJP’s
minority wing and RSS’ Muslim Rashitrya Manch (MRM) have drawn up plans for a
micro-level campaign in the community.In a meeting held two days ago, the two
groups decided to distribute booklets in Muslim households detailing the work
done by the BJP government for the community’s upliftment.The booklet would
stress that the 10% reservation for the general category would also benefit
Muslims.The issues to be highlighted in the booklet were discussed in a meeting
attended by senior functionaries of both the organizations of Sangh Parivar.
The work done by BJP would be directly compared with Congress’ contribution to
the community, said a source. TOI
After sedition charges dropped, UP govt forms
SIT to probe AMU clash
Uttar Pradesh government has decided to form a
SIT to probe the violent clash between two groups of AMU students, one of them
led by a BJP MLA’s son, that occurred on Feb.12. The clash had led to the
slapping of sedition charges on 14 students. However, the charges were dropped
later for want of credible evidence.Confirming the move, principal secretary
(home) Arvind Kumar said that he has instructed the Aligarh police to form a
SIT to investigate the matter, as the four separate FIRs that were registered
are interlinked and related to the same incident.The move to form SIT comes a
few days after the police withdrew the sedition charges against 14 AMU
students.According to sources, the formation of the SIT is the result of the
pressure being exerted by the two groups. While there was political pressure,
as one of the complaints is from the son of BJP MLA Dalveer Singh, the teachers
and students’ union of the AMU were backing the claims of the other group that
they had been falsely implicated in the case. TOI
Train coach set on fire to recreate Godhra
attack for ‘biopic on Modi’
Vadodara :A burning railway bogie on the
narrow gauge between Pratap Nagar and Dabhoi railway line in Vadodara on Sunday
morning had many people watching from their rooftops nearby. The burning bogie
was part of a film shoot to re-create the attack on S6 coach of the Sabarmati
Express on Feb.27, 2002, in which 59 passengers, mainly kar sewaks returning
from Ayodhya, were killed, which set off riots across Gujarat.The Indian
Express has learnt that the Western Railways and the Vadodara fire department
had given permission to shoot the film, which, according to an executive of the
production company, “captures the life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” It is
slated for a social media release ahead of the 2019 elections.Western Railway
PRO Khemraj Meena said, “Permission was given to shoot the documentary film
here. It was shot at the narrow gauge Vishwamitri railway station. No rail
traffic was affected in the process of the shoot and the bogie being used for
the shoot was provided by us. It is a mock-drill bogie and was unused.”Indian express
France Reiterates Support for India's
Permanent Seat in Reformed UNSC
UN: France, which assumed the March Presidency
of the UNSC, has reiterated its support for India as the permanent member of
the powerful UN organ, saying the UNSC’s enlargement is the “first crucial
part” towards its reform.India has been calling for the reform of the UN
Security Council along with Brazil, Germany and Japan for long, emphasising
that it rightly deserves a place at the UN high table as a permanent
member.Reiterating its support for India, Germany and Japan as permanent
members of an expanded Council, France said that enlargement of the powerful UN
organ in both permanent and non-permanent categories is the “first crucial
part” towards UNSC reform.PTI
59 Nobel Laureates Urge India, Pakistan to
'Defuse Rising Tension'
New Delhi: 59 Nobel laureates have urged the
prime ministers of India and Pakistan to “defuse the rising tension” before the
situation “escalates to a full-fledged war”, a statement said.A letter signed
by the Noble winners, under the aegis of the Laureates and Leaders for
Children, a platform founded by India’s Nobel peace laureate Satyarthi, was
submitted to India and Pakistan’s Permanent Representatives to the UN on
Saturday, it said.Nobel Laureates who have signed the appeal include Leymah
Gbowee, Shirin Ebadi, Tawakkol Karman, Malala Yousafzai, Muhammad Yunus, Jos
Ramos-Horta, Edvard Ingjald Moser and May-Britt Mose, among others who have
been awarded the prize across disciplines, according to the statement.PTI
Muslim school kids called names and told to
‘go to Pakistan’, mothers blame TV hate
New Delhi: ‘Osama’, ‘Baghdadi’, ‘Mullah’, ‘Go
to Pakistan’… These are some of the terms that kids are blurting out, often
unknowingly, at their Muslim peers in primary schools, leaving parents in
extreme distress over the impact of such bullying.Such hate has come and gone
cyclically in the past, but in the wake of the escalating India-Pakistan
tensions, there has recently been a rise in Muslim kids being subjected to
religious slurs, which has left mothers shaken.Most of them squarely put the
blame on jingoistic television channels, saying that their “hate mongering” is
leading to discrimination and harassment.Nazia Erum, author of the book
Mothering a Muslim, spoke about the trend in a Facebook post.“Getting
information from various cities that there has been a sharp spike in children
being singled out, bullied and being told to ‘go to Pakistan’. From my maid,
cousins, friends to Twitter acquaintances — everyone reporting this in,” she
had written, stirring up a conversation on social media.Erum said in the last
few years, religious discrimination in schools had gone up drastically,
prompting her to write the book in the first place.theprint
PM Modi mocks dyslexia persons; political
leaders, Twitterati erupt in anger
PM Narendra Modi faced severe criticism for
mocking individuals suffering from dyslexia at a video conference at IIT
Kharagpur during the finals of the Smart India Hackathon 2019.A student was
talking about her project that aimed at helping children with dyslexia to be
creative in spite of their learning difficulties. PM Modi asked the student if
the project would help children who are between the ages of 40-50 years. When
the student responded in affirmation, responded saying, “The mothers of such
children will be very happy in that case.”The National Platform for the Rights
of the Disabled (NPRD) issued a statement against PM Modi for his “distasteful”
remark and demanded an apology.NPRD general secretary Muralidharan Vishwanath
said the PM’s conduct is uncalled for and his response is totally insensitive
as he tried to portray all dyslexic people in a poor light by taking a dig at
his political rivals.Leaders and other Twitter users slammed PM Modi for his
crass comment on people suffering from dyslexia.nationalheraldindia
First-time voters could hold key to 282 seats
in this Lok Sabha elections
https://indianexpress.com/elections/first-time-voters-could-hold-key-to-282-seats-this-time-5609391/
New Delhi: The analysis is based on new voters
who crossed the eligibility age of 18 years after the 2014 elections and were
added during subsequent annual summary revisions of electoral rolls.This Lok
Sabha election, the youth may hold the key in as many as 282 seats across 29
states, where there could be more first-time voters than their respective
winning margins in 2014, an analysis of Election Commission (EC) data by The
Indian Express has revealed.These voters — born between 1997 and 2001 — were
not eligible to vote in the last general elections. In fact, there will be an
estimated average of 1.49 lakh first-time eligible voters in each Lok Sabha
constituency and this figure is larger than the winning margin in 297 seats in
2014. Some of these voters may have got an opportunity to vote during the
Assembly elections since 2014, but this will be their first Lok Sabha
election.indianexpress
Former BJD MP Baijayant Panda joins BJP
New Delhi :Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections
and in a major boost to the BJP in Odisha, former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP
Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda on Monday joined the saffron party in the presence of
Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Panda met BJP chief Amit Shah and joined the
party in New Delhi.indianexpress
Air pollution from stubble burning costing
India $30 bn annually: Study
Air pollution due to crop residue burning in
northern India is a leading risk factor of acute respiratory infections and
causes an estimated economic loss of $30 billion annually, according to a study
unveiled on Monday.Researchers from the US-based International Food Policy
Research Institute (IFPRI) and partner institutes found that living in
districts with air pollution from intense crop residue burning (CRB) is a
leading risk factor for acute respiratory infection (ARI), especially among
children less than five years.PTI
WORLD
US shuts Jerusalem consulate, downgrades
Palestinian mission
United States has officially shuttered its
consulate in Jerusalem, downgrading the status of its main diplomatic mission
in Palestine by folding it into the US Embassy to Israel.For decades, the
consulate functioned as a de facto embassy to the Palestinians. Now, that
outreach will be handled by a Palestinian affairs unit, under the command of
the embassy."This decision was driven by our global efforts to increase
the efficiency and effectiveness of our diplomatic engagements and
operations," State Department spokesperson Robert Palladino said in a
statement."It does not signal a change of US policy on Jerusalem, the West
Bank, or the Gaza Strip."Palestinian leaders see the decision as another
move against them by US President Donald Trump's administration, which they
froze contact with after his 2017 decision recognising Jerusalem as Israel's
capital."Trump administration is intent on leaving no room for doubt about
its hostility towards the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights, as
well as its abject disregard for international law and its obligations under
the law," senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said in a
statement.Palestinian official Saeb Erekat called the move "the final nail
in the coffin" for the US role in peacemaking. he symbolic shift hands
authority over US diplomatic channels with the West Bank and Gaza to Ambassador
David Friedman, a longtime supporter and fundraiser for the West Bank settler
movement and fierce critic of the Palestinian leadership.aljazeera
Israeli soldiers kill two Palestinians after
alleged car-ramming
Israeli soldiers shot 3Palestinians after a
car ramming attack in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army said.Media
outlets in Israel said two of the alleged attackers on Monday were killed,
while the Israeli military said another was slightly wounded.In a statement,
the Israeli army said an officer was critically injured and a soldier slightly
hurt when they were hit by the vehicle, about 10km northwest of Palestinian
city of Ramallah .Israeli soldiers had stopped their car on the roadside at
night - Israeli media reported it had broken down - and were deliberately
struck, the military said.aljazeera
Israeli army, settlers 'routinely harass'
Nablus students
Nablus:School principal Mohammad Jaser presses
a button to open the intercom system and makes a routine
announcement."Israeli army has been spotted near the premises," Jaser
says, his voice blaring from speakers and into the classrooms of the al-Sawiyeh
al-Lebban school near Nablus in the northern West Bank last month. "Stay
inside your classrooms, away from the windows, and lock the doors," he
instructs the students. "Prepare for an evacuation."The students and
teachers at the mixed school, located between the villages of al-Sawiyeh and
al-Lebban, have been trained to respond to incidents like this. he school is
often the target of Israeli army activity in the area and has faced numerous
incidents of armed settlers entering the premises and threatening students.aljazeera
Hamas: Egypt reaffirms its role as mediator
pushing Israel to sign truce
Egypt is working to force Israel to commit to
previously signed agreements and lift the siege on the Gaza Strip, a senior
Hamas official said in a press conference .“Egypt is working to compel Israel
to commit to the agreements of the truce and lift the siege on Gaza Strip,”
Khalil Al-Hayya said in Gaza City. This came following a meeting between Hamas
chief Ismail Haniyeh and factions and officials of the High Committee of the
Great Return March and Breaking the Siege.Haniyeh returned to Gaza from Egypt on
Wednesday after a three-week visit to Cairo and announced that four
Palestinians who had been abducted in Sinai would be released following
talks.Al-Hayya stated that during his visit to Cairo, Haniyeh stressed on “the
Palestinian national constants and the need to put an end to the Palestinian
division following the Palestinian common vision, and in accordance with the
agreements signed between the factions during the past years.”“Haniyeh also
reviewed the dangers threatening the Palestinian issue with the Egyptian
officials,” and stressed “the need to end the Israeli siege on Gaza, which has
been ongoing for about 12 years.”middleeastmonitor
Israel rejects building permits for
Palestinians in Jerusalem
Israeli occupation authorities have rejected
applications from Palestinian residents to build homes in occupied Jerusalem,
Haaretz reported on Sunday. The Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee,
turned down some 20 applications for residential building permits submitted by
Palestinians.According to the newspaper, this means “rejecting a long-standing
procedure for establishing land ownership in East Jerusalem.” It reported that
representatives of the Israeli right-wing parties and the secular Hitorerut
ticket on the city’s zoning board voted against the building plans, pointing
out that this decision prevents the Palestinians from building any homes in the
city in the future. Members of ultra-Orthodox parties, apparently, voted in
favour of the applications.MEMO
800 Palestinians allowed to exit Gaza for
Mecca pilgrimage
Some 800 Palestinians crossed Sunda from the
Gaza Strip into Egypt on their initial stage of a pilgrimage to Mecca, the
first time since 2014 Egyptian authorities have granted visas for such a trip.
Pilgrims left at around dawn and were to be met by buses on the Egyptian side
to bring them to Cairo's airport, from where they would fly to Mecca in Saudi
Arabia, said a Palestinian official at the Rafah crossing in the Gaza Strip. 15
Gazans among the 800 were not authorised to cross, according to a Palestinian
security official at Rafah, without providing the reasons.Security sources on
the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing confirmed it was first such permission
for Muslim umrah pilgrimage since the start of Egyptian military operations in
northern Sinai in 2014. Around 2500 pilgrims are authorised annually to leave
Gaza via Egypt for hajj, one of the 5 pillars of Islam that Muslims must
undertake at least once in their lifetime. AFP
Khashoggi's body likely burned in large oven
at Saudi home
The body of slain Saudi journalist Jamal
Khashoggi was likely burned in a large oven at the Saudi consulate general's
residence in Istanbul, an Al Jazeera investigation revealed.New details of the writer's
murder by a Saudi assassination team were reported in a documentary by Al
Jazeera Arabic that aired on Sunday.Turkish authorities monitored the burning
of the outdoor furnace from outside the premises as bags believed to be
containing Khashoggi's body parts were transferred to the Saudi consul's home
after he was killed inside the consulate a few hundred metres away.Al Jazeera
interviewed a worker who constructed the furnace who stated it was built
according to specifications from the Saudi consul. It had to be deep and
withstand temperatures above 1,000 degrees Celsius - hot enough to melt
metal.aljazeera
Renowned Egyptian news photographer Shawkan
released from prison
Award-winning Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud
Abu Zeid, widely known as Shawkan, has been released in his country after more
than five years in prison.The photographer, who was arrested while covering a
crackdown on anti-military protests back then, was freed on Monday.He posted a
picture on his Twitter with the hashtag "hello asphalt", a phrase
used by Egypt's political prisoners when they get freed.Shawkan was arrested in
August 2013 while covering clashes between security forces and supporters of
the overthrown President Mohamed Morsi that turned into a bloodbath in which
hundreds of demonstrators died.aljazeera
No Agreement Reached at US-Taliban Talks in
Qatar - Statement
DOHA (Sputnik) - A Taliban negotiating team
and US delegates, who continue their talks in Doha, have not yet reached any
common understanding or agreed on a joint document, Taliban spokesman
Zabihullah Mujahid said."The current round of talks in Doha are advancing
on a step-by-step basis. As the issue at hand is immensely crucial and delicate,
its progression is taking place with that much care and vigilance. The talks
during January saw an agreement regarding withdrawal of occupying forces and
preventing Afghanistan from being used against others, but this round of talks
are about the details and nature of these two issues. It should be mentioned
that no understanding has so far been reached about any agreement or
document", Mujahid wrote on Twitter.The new round of the US-Taliban talks
kicked off in Doha on 25 February. Three days later, US Special Representative
for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad described the talks as
productive, adding that the sides would take the next two days for internal
deliberations and resume talks on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Afghan peace process
and prospects for resuming a direct dialogue between the Taliban movement and
the Afghan government are being discussed on a number of platforms.Sputnik
Taliban says peace talks with US continue with
'care and vigilance'
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov to hold talks
in Qatar
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has
arrived in Qatar as part of a tour across the Gulf countries aimed at
discussing bilateral trade, energy, investment and regional issues including
Syria, Yemen, Libya and Palestine.Lavrov is scheduled to travel to Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates after his first stop in the Qatari
capital Doha on Monday. ussian media reported that Lavrov, in his talks with
Qatari officials, would discuss the "implementation of the top-level
agreements, projects in the energy sector, industry, agriculture and peaceful
use of outer space".aljazeera
Yemen's farmers forced to eat leaves as war
devastates harvests
Khalid Abdullah, a 33-year-old resident of
Yemen's Hajjah governorate, used to work on the farms he had inherited from his
father.He would plant tomatoes, onion, potatoes, corns, and other kinds of
vegetables and grains, and never thought he would find himself unemployed and
reliant on help from others.But anything is possible when your country is
enveloped in conflict, and the outbreak of Yemen's civil war in 2015 turned the
lives of farmers in Abdullah's part of the world upside down. Hajjah is a rural
governorate, 127km from the capital Sanaa in Houthi-controlled territory.Houthi
rebels have been mired in a war with government forces, who have been backed
since 2015 by a Saudi-led coalition."I used to provide for my family from
farming, but in 2015 the prices of fuel more than doubled and I could not buy
fuel for the water pump, so my lands became barren," Abdullah told Middle
East Eye."I did my best to bring water by jerrycans to water the farms,
but that did not help, and I lost my only source of income because of the expensive
fuel."According to UNICEF, 1.8 million children are acutely malnourished
in Yemen, including 400,000 who are suffering from "severe malnutrition
and urgently need life-saving food to survive". Middleeasteye
The way polygamy is practiced today is unfair
to women and children: al-Azhar Imam
Cairo (Egypt): Sheikh Ahmed El Tayeb, the
Grand Imam of Al Azhar, stated on his weekly TV show that the understanding of
polygamy has been distorted and the way it is currently misinterpreted and
practiced is unfair to women and children.“We have to read the verse (of Quran)
in full. The part which says, ‘two, three and four wives’, is only part of the
verse, and not the entire verse, as having multiple wives oppresses the women
and her children", al-Azhar Imam is quoted as saying by Egyptian
Streets.“Is the Muslim really free to marry a second and third and fourth? Or
is this freedom bound by restrictions and conditions? ” he asked."Those
who say that marriage must be polygamous are all wrong," he said.The
Quran, he added, states that for a Muslim man to have multiple wives, he
"must obey conditions of fairness - and if there is no fairness, it is
forbidden to have multiple wives".Egypt's National Council for Women
responded positively to his comments, according to BBC.ummid.com
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Anwarulhaq (Released at: 6:51 PM)
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