‘All prophets calls on humans to uphold unity and rapprochement’: Senior Shia cleric

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Head of the World Forum for Proximity of the Islamic Schools of Thoughts, Ayatollah Mohsen Araki called on all human being to preserve and further unity and rapprochement.

Speaking in the 2nd international peace and unity conference was held in Scotland, Ayatollah Mohsen Araki stress the telling role of unity and necessity of holding dialogue for reasoning out the standing problems and setbacks the world is mired in.

Head of the World Forum for Proximity of the Islamic Schools of Thoughts in his trip to Scotland visited Scottish First Minister, Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond and some other religious and political faces in this country.

Ayatollah Araki in his trip stressed the importance of unity which not let people be bereft of hope in standing against extremism and solving their problems.

Head of the World Forum for Proximity of the Islamic Schools of Thoughts in his visit, like always, urged people to be staunch toward code of ethics and humane issues.

Needless to say, holding confab among people from different religions can be a good omen for future of the world and stopping extremist groups from perpetrating outlandish moves and willful measures which is a pestilence to peace in various countries.

The world in the here and now is comatose in standing against extremist measures and vandalism. Given that unity activists including Head of the World Forum for Proximity of the Islamic Schools of Thoughts do their utmost to take their steps in the realm of unity and uphold rapprochement for facing the standing vandalism the world is mired in.

It is worthwhile nothing that, religious scholars from every corner of the Islamic world, including Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, and other countries gathered for the one-day event on Wednesday, Oct 22.

Clerics in the meeting urged Muslims to move and stand against the pandemic extremism in the region, stressing the unity and unity related issues as well.

In this meeting Head of the World Forum for Proximity of the Islamic Schools of Thought underscored that all prophets calls on humans to uphold unity and rapprochement.

Given that, the grand Ayatollah urged all people from different religions to abide by this principles and refrain from any measures leads to dispersion and disunity.

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Israel war agony lingers on in Gaza

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People in the besieged Gaza Strip are suffering the agony of a recent Israeli war on the territory due to Israel’s refusal to allow construction materials in to rebuild homes damaged by its bombardments, Press TV reports.

Most of the Palestinians living in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City are suffering the devastation left behind by Israeli tanks and bulldozers during the Israeli onslaught on the blockaded area which started on July 8 and ended on August 26 with an Egyptian-brokered truce.

“My dream which I built with my hands is destroyed completely,” a Palestinian man said, referring to his house.

Palestinian officials have been taking measures to rebuild the area. They, however, have already raised concern over the shortage of construction materials to re-build Gaza after the 50-day Israeli war on the territory.

“95 percent of the destroyed facilities have been registered and we started emergency housing strategy,” Palestinian Minister of Public Works and Housing Mufeed al-Hasayna said. 

He further noted that Palestinian officials are cooperating with the United Nations to clear affected areas in the blockaded territory from explosives and toxics.

“We rented a garage in which twenty of our family members live,” a Gazan said, adding, “I am trying to rebuild my home but until now I haven’t received any penny from anyone.”

On October 7, Israel prevented dozens of trucks loaded with building materials from entering the besieged Gaza Strip, despite earlier promises to allow such a move.

“We were notified by the Palestinian National Company that Israel has indefinitely delayed the entry of the 60 trucks into the Gaza Strip,” the official Anadolu Agency quoted Mounir al-Ghalban from Gaza’s border authority, as saying.

The Israeli military aggression against the Palestinian territory also caused widespread devastation across Gaza. Over 15,600 housing units were damaged in the onslaught. More than 2,200 houses were totally destroyed, according to official figures released by Palestinian sources.

Financial experts estimate that it would cost over USD 7 billion to rebuild the Gaza Strip.

On September 23, Rami Hamdallah, the prime minister of the Palestinian national unity government, called for the international community to donate USD 3.8 billion in aid to reconstruct Gaza.

IA/NN/KA

 

Police, protesters clash in Ferguson

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Police have clashed with people in the US city of Ferguson as they were protesting once again against the police shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.

The incident happened on Wednesday night when up to 150 protesters marched from the Canfield Drive and Florissant Avenue toward the Ferguson Police Department.

Brown was killed by white police officer Darren Wilson in August.

The protesters demanded the arrest of the police officer.

The clashes broke out after the demonstrators arrived at the police department. They attempted to cross the street but being pushed back to the sidewalk opposite the department. At least two protesters were detained.

In another demonstration, protesters marched inside the St. Louis County Police Department headquarters in Clayton.

The protesters came to show their anger on the “National Day Against Police Brutality.”

Brown family attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement on Wednesday that the family asked protesters to remain peaceful.

“Regardless of the grand jury’s decision, the Brown family and our legal team ask again for peace and calm, even though we understand people may have feelings of anger or disappointment. We encourage people to take their frustrations to the ballot box, not the streets,” Crump said.

The death of the 18-year-old boy has sparked daily protests across Ferguson that is a black community with a mostly white police force.

Protesters said unrest is likely if the police officer is not charged. Local and state authorities have said they are preparing for that possibility.

“There is a lack of trust. That is why people are protesting every single night,” according to Rashad Robinson, executive director of Color of Change, a civil rights organization.

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Yemen Ansarullah forces secure town

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Yemen’s Ansarullah fighters have flushed out al-Qaeda-linked Takfiri militants from the southern town of Yarim, where residents say calm has returned.

The town, located in the southern Ibb governorate, was liberated by Ansarullah fighters, also known as Houthis, over the weekend, prompting residents to start safely returning to their homes.

Meanwhile, the Houthis say they have set up checkpoints at the entry points of the town as part of efforts to establish stability in the entire area.

Yarim is one of the latest areas recaptured from the Takfiri militants by Ansarullah movement and secured by its fighters.

The movement launched a campaign to drive out the terrorist elements in late September after its fighters established control and security over the capital, Sana’a.

The fighters have already taken some other parts of the Arab world’s poorest country and have also clashed with al-Qaeda militants.

Yemen’s Shia Houthi movement draws its name from the tribe of its founding leader Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi. The Houthi movement played a key role in the popular revolution that forced former US-backed dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

Saleh, who ruled Yemen for 33 years, stepped down in February 2012 under a US-sponsored power transfer deal in return for immunity, after a year of mass street demonstrations demanding his ouster.

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Israelis, Palestinians clash in al-Quds

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Israeli forces have carried out raids on Palestinian houses in East al-Quds (Jerusalem), provoking Palestinian youths, who clashed with Israeli troops.

Violent clashes erupted in the East al-Quds neighborhood of Silwan on Wednesday between Palestinian youths and Israeli policemen and army troops.

The violence erupted soon after Israeli policemen and army troops raided the houses of the relatives of a Palestinian driver from Silwan.

Earlier, Israelis said the driver had rammed his car at a railway stop in Jerusalem al-Quds, killing a baby girl and injuring eight others. The driver later died of injuries sustained when he was shot by Israeli forces.

“A large number of Israeli troops and policemen had arrived in the neighborhood and searched the homes of the relatives of Abdel-Rahman al-Shelodi, who is accused in the running over event,” one eyewitness told Anadolu Agency, Turkey’s official press agency.

Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri has described the incident as a “hit and run terror attack.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lashed out at the president of the Palestinian unity government, Mahmoud Abbas. Referring to Abbas with his nickname, he said, “This is how Abu Mazen’s partners in government act….”

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‘US anti-terrorism campaign suspicious ’

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A senior Iranian official has questioned the United States’ honesty in claiming that it intends to combat terrorism, citing Washington’s record of supporting terrorist groups.

In a meeting with Iraqi Oil Minister Adel Abdul-Mehdi in Tehran on Wednesday, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani pointed to the US’s support for the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) and former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran in the 1980s, saying, “The intention of this country (the US) in its claim to fight terrorism is suspicious and untrustworthy.”

The MKO is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community and has committed numerous terrorist acts against Iranians and Iraqis.

Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks since the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, 12,000 have fallen victim to the acts of terror carried out by the MKO.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Shamkhani termed unity and solidarity among Iraqi people, officials, armed forces and religious clerics as the main contributing factor which will help the nation overcome the terrorist groups currently wreaking havoc on the country.

Iraq has faced brutal violence by the ISIL across the country’s north and west since early June. The ISIL terrorists have threatened all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and Izadi Kurds, during their advances in Iraq.

The Iranian official expressed the Islamic Republic’s support for the Iraqi nation and government, calling for the further expansion of all-out ties between the two countries.

“As in the past, the Islamic republic of Iran will stand by Iraq and strive to enhance its strategic relations in favor of regional security and stability,” he said.

The Iraqi minister, for his part, praised Iran’s support for Iraq in its fight against terrorism, saying that different Iraqi parties and groups are willing to forge closer cooperation with the Islamic Republic.

Pointing to both countries’ great economic potential, Abdul-Mehdi called for the promotion of Tehran-Baghdad cooperation in the energy sector.

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Leader leads prayers for late cleric

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Prominent Iranian cleric Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani has been laid to rest in the south of the capital, Tehran.

The funeral held on Thursday was attended by a huge crowd of mourners, including a host of state and military officials.

Earlier in the day, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei led mass prayers at a ceremony in remembrance of the top religious figure.

The prayers were attended by people from all walks of life as well as dozens of senior clerics and high-ranking officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, Head of the Guardian Council Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, Chairman of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani and Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi was among the military top brass attending the ceremony.

The prayers were followed by a procession where mourners paid tribute to the late prominent religious figure.

Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani, 83, passed away in Tehran on Tuesday after he went into a coma on June 4 due to a major heart attack.

In a message of condolences following the demise of Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani on Tuesday, the Leader described the deceased cleric as an influential figure in the Islamic Republic and a true companion of the late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini.

“This great and pious man appeared always and everywhere in the position of a religious scholar and an honest politician and a candid revolutionary,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

The late cleric who also was a veteran politician was elected chairman of the Assembly of Experts in March 2011. The high-ranking body of experts elects and oversees the activities of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

The senior Iranian official was also a founder and the leader of the Combatant Clergy Association, a prominent religious, cultural and political foundation formed with the objective of protecting the achievements of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

YH/NN/KA

 

Pakistan gunmen attack bus, kill 8 Shias

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Unidentified assailants in Pakistan have opened fire on a bus carrying Shia Muslims in Balochistan’s provincial capital of Quetta, killing at least eight members of the Hazara community.

Witnesses said that two armed men opened fire on a bus carrying Hazara people and managed to flee from the scene.

According to local reports, six of the victims were killed on the spot while two others succumbed to their injuries on the way to hospital.

Local police authorities have described the deadly attack as an act of targeted killing.

The pre-dominantly Shia Balochistan Province has been a scene of similar attacks against the country’s minority community for numerous years.

The development comes as the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has announced in a recent report that violence in the country’s southwestern Balochistan Province has forced more than 200,000 people to leave their homes and take refuge in other cities across the country.

Pakistani civilians and security forces have also become the victims of attacks by groups linked to al-Qaeda, including the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). The outlawed Pakistani terrorist LeJ group has launched attacks and bombings against Shia Muslims and the Hazara community in Pakistan’s city of Quetta in the past. Last year, more than 200 Shias were killed in such attacks.

The killings of Shias in Pakistan have sparked international outrage, with rights groups and regional countries expressing concern over the ongoing carnage. Still, those behind the violence are rarely caught or punished.

The rise in such acts of violence has triggered many protest rallies.

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Pakistan to up security on Iran border

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Pakistani authhorities have vowed to tighten security along the border with Iran in a bid to halt terrorist attacks against Iranian guards.

The commitment was made during a meeting between security officials between the two states in the Iranian capital, Tehran on Wednesday.

At the meeting, the Pakistani delegation headed by Frontier Corps Inspector General Major General Ejaz Shahid, and the Iranian team led by Commander of Iran’s Border Police Brigadier General Qasem Rezaei discussed the recent border incidents and other issues pertaining to the two countries’ frontiers.

“Both chiefs of border forces…agreed to tighten security at the border besides sharing intelligence information to maintain peace and order at the border,” said Khan Wasay, a spokesman for Pakistan’s Frontier Corps (FC).

“Cooperation between the two countries in battling terrorists is indispensable,” Dawn online quoted the spokesman as saying.

Shahid was quoted by the spokesman as telling Iranian officials that “Pakistan wants durable relations with its neighbors and peace in the region.”

The meeting came days after Iran summoned Pakistani Ambassador to Tehran Noor Mohammad Jadmani over a series of terrorist incidents that killed several Iranian guards at the Pakistani border.

In the latest border clashes, two Iranian border police officers were killed and several border guards were injured in southeastern Iran on October 16 in an armed conflict with a group of bandits at Iran-Pakistan border.
 
Iran has repeatedly criticized its eastern neighbors for failing to rein in terrorists who cross the borders back into these countries after carrying out their attacks on Iranian soil.

On Saturday, the second-in-command of the Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Abdollah Araqi said Iran has evidence proving that terrorists have infiltrated into Iran from neighboring Pakistan.

On October 8, three Iranian police officers were killed when they, along with other patrol police forces, came under a night attack by armed bandits while on a mission in the city of Saravan in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan.

Another police officer was killed after an explosives-laden car taken to the police station by terrorists went off hours after the first incident.

Iranian security forces have apprehended a number of perpetrators behind the recent killings. There are reports that Pakistan’s controversial spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is escorting the terrorists to the border for operation inside Iran. 

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Iran fully backs Iraq against terrorists

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Iran has reiterated its full support for the Iraqi government and nation in the face of threats posed by terrorist groups.

According to a joint press statement by Iranian First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, released at the end of the latter’s visit to Tehran, “The Islamic Republic of Iran once again insisted on its full support for Iraq’s government and nation in the fight against terrorist groups.”

Abadi travelled to Iran at the head of a high-ranking Iraqi delegation and met with Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and other senior officials.

During the meetings, the statement read, “The two sides insisted on the strategic aspects of bilateral relations between the two neighboring countries, which stand on mutual respect and common interests between the two countries, expressing content regarding the ever-increasing growth of the bilateral relations and asserting their inclination to increase these relations at all levels, namely political, economic, security, and business relations.”

During Abadi’s visit to Iran, meetings were also held at the ministerial level between Iranians and Iraqis.

According to the statement, the two sides laid emphasis on the importance of stability in the Middle East region and considered the threat of terrorism a menace to international security. They stressed that the international political efforts toward confronting this growing threat should be concerted.

Iraq has been plagued by violence committed by Takfiri ISIL militants, who made swift advances in much of northern and western Iraq over the summer, after capturing large swaths of northern Syria.

The Iraqi premier has praised Iran’s support for the Iraqi government in the fight against terrorist groups and lauded the assistance Iran has offered to the Iraqi government and nation at different sensitive junctures.

He has noted that the Islamic Republic plays a key role in the fight against the Takfiri ISIL group and has stood by the Iraqi nation in the anti-terror campaign.

HN/HJL/KA