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November
Austrian police arrest 14 in manhunt after gunman's deadly rampage
Written by Nur YasminAustrian police raided 18 properties and arrested 14 people in a massive manhunt on Tuesday for possible accomplices of a convicted jihadist who shot dead four people and injured 22 others in a late-night rampage in the center of Vienna.
The gunman, who was killed by police minutes after opening fire on crowded bars on Monday, had been released from jail less than a year ago. He was identified as Kujtim Fejzulai, a 20-year-old Austrian who also held North Macedonian nationality.
It was the first such militant attack in Vienna in a generation, and the government pledged robust action.
“We will defend our fundamental values, our way of life and our democracy with all our strength,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said in a national address about what he branded an Islamist terror attack.
“We will find and hunt down the perpetrators, those behind this and their associates, and mete out a just sentence. And we will pursue all those who have anything to do with this outrage with all available means.”
Swiss police also arrested two men on Tuesday near Zurich in an investigation of possible links to the gunman.
Speaking later to broadcaster ORF, Kurz urged European nations to take more decisive action against terrorism.
“We must give everyone who wants to integrate the chance to integrate, but we must at the same time make clear that our basic values are not negotiable,” he said.
The attack followed recent deadly assaults by lone Islamist attackers in Nice and Paris. Many Muslims have been angered by the publication in strictly secular France of satirical caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad.
“WE WILL REMAIN UNITED”
In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Austrian Embassy to write a message of condolence in German that read: “In joy and in sorrow, we will remain united.”
Both he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to Kurz to offer their support as expressions of solidarity poured in from around the world.
Islamic State claimed responsibility on Tuesday for the attack without providing evidence, the group’s Amaq News Agency said in a statement on Telegram.
An elderly man and woman, a young passer-by, and a waitress were among those killed in the attack, Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said. A German woman was also killed, Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.
Vienna’s mayor said three people were still in critical condition.
The normally bustling center of Vienna was largely empty on Tuesday as the public heeded government calls to stay inside and a manhunt for a possible second gunman was underway.
The gunman, armed with an assault rifle, a handgun, and a machete, had opened fire at six places including a bar near Vienna’s main synagogue on Monday as people enjoyed the last night out before a COVID-19 curfew took effect.
Interior Minister Nehammer said Fejzulai had recently served about eight months of a 22-month sentence for seeking to travel to Syria to join Islamic State.
“He was released early exactly because he gave the impression that he had engaged with deradicalization programs and was prepared to integrate himself into society,” Nehammer told a news conference.
Fejzulai had posted a photo on a social media account before the attack, showing himself with weapons, Nehammer said.
Whether anyone else was involved in carrying out or preparing the attack remained unclear.
After saying overnight that another attacker was on the loose, Nehammer said there was no indication of another assailant in large volumes of mobile phone footage of the attacks sent in by the public, but it could not be ruled out.
North Macedonia’s Interior Ministry said it believed three people - all born in Austria and holding dual Austrian and North Macedonian citizenship - had been involved in the attack. It identified them only by initials and gave no further information.
A man identified as Fejzulai’s grandfather told a local television channel in North Macedonia that his grandson would visit his ancestral home, the tiny mountain village of Cellopek, every year. (Reuters)
November
Gunmen Kill Two In 'Terror Attack' in Vienna, Manhunt Launched
Written by Nur YasminGunmen attacked six locations in central Vienna on Monday starting outside the main synagogue, killing two people and injuring at least 14 in what Austria called a “repulsive terror attack” while hunting one or more assailants on the loose.
Witnesses described the men firing into crowds in bars with automatic rifles, as many people took advantage of the last evening before a nationwide curfew was introduced because of COVID-19. Police shot and killed one assailant.
Police sealed off much of the historic centre of Vienna, urging the public to shelter in place. Many sought refuge in bars and hotels, while public transport throughout the old town was shut down and police scoured the city.
“It is the hardest day for Austria in many years. We are dealing with a terror attack the severity of which, thank God, we have not experienced in Austria in many years,” Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told a news conference.
Austria’s capital had so far been spared the kind of deadly militant attacks that have struck Paris, London, Berlin, and Brussels, among others, in recent years. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said the “repulsive” act was “definitely a terror attack”, but he could not say what the motive was.
Oskar Deutsch, the head of Vienna's Jewish community, which has offices adjoining the synagogue on a narrow cobbled street dotted with bars, said on Twitter here that it was not clear whether the temple or offices were targeted but that they were closed at the time.
Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister told London’s LBC radio he was living in the compound of the synagogue. “Upon hearing shots, we looked down (from) the windows and saw the gunmen shooting at the guests of the various bars and pubs,” he said.
“The gunmen were running around and shooting at least 100 rounds or even more in front of our building,” he said.
Border checks were being reinforced, the Interior Ministry said, and children would not be required to attend school on Tuesday. Although people were urged to stay indoors Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig told broadcaster ORF the city would run normally on Tuesday, albeit with a tougher police presence. (Reuters)
November
China Claim Their Vaccine's Clinical Trial Results Safe For Human
Written by Nur YasminThe Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) claims the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Institute of Microbiology is safe for humans, according to the results of clinical trials by the institute.
The results of phase I and phase II trials have resulted in safety and health for people who received the vaccine injection and found no serious side effects, the Institute of Microbiology, an institution under CAS, was quoted by local media on Monday.
The Institute of Microbiology in collaboration with Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co Ltd has obtained permission to develop the COVID-19 vaccine from the Chinese National Medical Products Agency (NMPA) on June 19.
Researchers began conducting clinical trials on June 23 to make sure the vaccine is safe to administer to humans. The volunteers who are willing to receive the vaccine are aged 18-59 years from Beijing, Chongqing, and Hunan.
They received injections at hospitals in Beijing and Chongqing.
Then a second clinical trial was conducted on July 10 to evaluate the immunity power and safety of the vaccine. According to the development agency, clinical trials are conducted randomly to determine the effectiveness of vaccines before they are mass-produced.
The vaccine is patented and the developer is preparing a phase III clinical trial to confirm its efficacy. To date, in China, there have been 13 COVID-19 vaccines developed by several research institutes and pharmaceutical manufacturers.
The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology said that there have been four COVID-19 vaccine candidates that have conducted fae III clinical trials.
Chinese people are looking forward to the vaccine. Sinovac and Sinopharm, China's largest vaccine company, recently started offering a limited amount via online platforms. (Antaranews)
November
Six In Custody Over Nice Church Attack In France
Written by Nur YasminTwo more men were arrested in connection with a knife attack that left three dead at a church in Nice, bringing the number of people in custody to six as investigators look at the suspected assailant’s last known contacts, a French police source said.
The latest arrests took place on Saturday, the source said.
An assailant shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest) beheaded a woman and killed two other people in a church in Nice on Thursday, in France’s second deadly knife attack in two weeks with a suspected Islamist motive.
The suspected attacker, a 21-year-old from Tunisia, was shot by police and is now in critical condition in a hospital.
The latest arrests in the case involved two men from the town of Grasse, near the southern French coast close to Nice, BFM TV reported.
France’s chief anti-terrorism prosecutor has said the man suspected of carrying out the Nice attack had arrived in Europe on Sept. 20 in Lampedusa, the Italian island off Tunisia.
Investigators in Italy are also stepping up inquiries about the suspected assailant’s movements and contacts on the island of Sicily. They believe he may have spent time there after going from Lampedusa to Bari in early October on a ship used to quarantine migrants, judicial sources said.
In Bari, he is believed to have been handed an expulsion order obliging him to leave Italy within a week, the judicial sources said. Investigators are looking into the possibility the suspected attacker stayed in the Sicilian town of Alcamo for a 10 day period, the sources added. (Reuters)
October
UN Calls For Mutual Respect For Amid Islamic Cartoon Conflict
Written by Nur YasminThe UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Angel Moratinos calls on the world to respect each other of religions and faiths, to foster a culture of brotherhood and peace.
In a statement, Moratinos said he was following with deep concern the growing tensions and instances of intolerance fueled by the French weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo which published satirical caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
"The seditious caricature has also provoked acts of violence against innocent civilians, who were attacked because of their religion, belief or ethnicity," Moratinos said.
He underlined that contempt for religion and sacred religious symbols provokes hatred and violent extremism, leading to polarization and fragmentation of society.
Freedom of expression must be exercised in a way that fully respects the religious beliefs and principles of all religions, he said.
"Acts of violence cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group," said Moratinos.
Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron described Islam as a "religion in crisis" and announced plans for tougher laws to tackle "Islamic separatism" in France.
Tensions have escalated after the case of the beheading of a high school teacher, Samuel Paty, on October 16 in a Paris suburb after he showed him a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad in one of his classes about freedom of expression.
The attacker, Abdullakh Anzorov, an 18-year-old man from Chechnya, was then shot dead by police. Macron paid tribute to Paty, and the cartoon released by Charlie Hebdo was also projected on buildings in several cities.
The French president defended the caricature, saying France "will not stop our cartoons". The remarks sparked outrage across the Muslim world.
In addition to condemnation from several countries including Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan, there have been calls to boycott products, protests and French attacks on French websites. (Antaranews)
October
Three dead as woman beheaded in attack in French church
Written by Nur YasminA knife-wielding attacker shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest) beheaded a woman and killed two other people in a church in the French city of Nice on Thursday.
A defiant President Emmanuel Macron, declaring that France had been subject to an Islamist terrorist attack, said he would deploy thousands more soldiers to protect important French sites, such as places of worship and schools.
Speaking from the scene, he said France had been attacked “over our values, for our taste for freedom, for the ability on our soil to have freedom of belief”.
“And I say it with lots of clarity again today: we will not give any ground.”
A police source told Reuters the assailant was believed by law enforcement to be a 21-year-old Tunisian national who had recently entered France from Italy. A Tunisian security source and a French police source later named the suspect as Brahim Aouissaoui.
Tunisia’s anti-terrorism court prosecutor began a forensic investigation into “the suspicion that a Tunisian committed a terrorist operation abroad”, Mohsen Dali, spokesman for the specialised counter-militancy court, said in Tunis.
In Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, state television reported that a Saudi man had been arrested in the Red Sea city of Jeddah after attacking and injuring a guard at the French consulate. The French Embassy said he was in the hospital after a knife assault though his life was not in danger.
Within hours of the Nice attack, French police killed a man who had threatened passersby with a handgun in Montfavet, near the southern city of Avignon.
France’s Le Figaro newspaper quoted a prosecution source as saying the man was undergoing psychiatric treatment, and that they did not believe there was a terrorism motive.
Nice’s mayor, Christian Estrosi, said the attack in his city had happened at Notre Dame church and was similar to the beheading earlier this month near Paris of teacher Samuel Paty, who had used cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a civics class.
Thursday’s attacks, on the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad, came at a time of growing Muslim anger at France’s defence of the right to publish the cartoons, and protesters have denounced France in street rallies in several Muslim-majority countries. (Reuters)
October
President Hopes To Extend GSP To Enhance Indonesia-US Partnership
Written by Nur YasminPresident Joko Widodo wants to increase economic cooperation between Indonesia and the United States (US), one way is by obtaining an extension of the general preferential tariff facility (Generalized System of Preferences / GSP) from the US, which is beneficial for the economies of both countries.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said this after accompanying President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, Thursday.
According to Retno, President Jokowi at the meeting conveyed the need for mutual understanding to maintain the partnership between Indonesia and the US. Apart from understanding each other, concrete cooperation efforts are also needed, including in the economic field.
"The President emphasized that Indonesia wants to see economic cooperation between the two countries increase, including of course the hope of extending the GSP to Indonesia," said the Foreign Minister.
The GSP facility is a US unilateral program that provides import duty tariff relief for exporting countries to the US market. Indonesia gets GSP facilities at 3,572 tariff posts.
However, since 2018, in the Federal Register Vol. 83 as of 27 April 2018, the US is still reviewing the eligibility of Indonesia and several other developing countries to get an extension of the facility.
In the review process, the US is known to have revoked facilities for other countries such as India. Indonesia is currently still trying to get the GSP extension facility, in order to increase business cooperation for the two countries. (Antaranews)
October
President: Indonesia-US Partnership Needs To Be Nurtured
Written by Nur YasminPresident Joko Widodo stressed the need to maintain the partnership between Indonesia and the United States when he received a visit from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, Thursday.
"In the meeting, the President said that Indonesia is partnering and good friends with America. Indonesia wants America to be Indonesia's true friend, this cannot be taken for granted," said Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, in a virtual press conference after accompanying the President received the US Foreign Minister in Bogor, Thursday.
The Foreign Minister said that President Jokowi stated that the Indonesia-US partnership must be maintained, and to maintain this partnership, serious efforts, mutual understanding, and efforts to show concrete cooperation, including cooperation in the economy.
"The President emphasized that Indonesia wants to see economic cooperation between the two countries increase, including of course the hope of extending GSP facilities to Indonesia," explained the Foreign Minister.
In addition, the Foreign Minister said, President Jokowi also wants defense cooperation with the United States to increase and the president wants to see America understand the interests of developing countries and the interests of Muslim countries.
The President said that Indonesia appealed to the United States to also understand Southeast Asia and together with Southeast Asia countries to create peace, stability, and cooperation in the region," he said. (Antaranews)
October
US Will Find "New Ways" To Cooperate With Indonesia In South China Sea
Written by Nur YasminUnited States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Thursday (29/10/2020), paid a visit to Indonesia and immediately met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. During the meeting of the two foreign ministers, the South China Sea (SCS) was one that was raised.
Mike Pompeo praised Indonesia's courage in rejecting China's claim to territory that was claimed to be part of its country's sovereignty or is often known as the nine-dash line (nine-dash line).
"Many countries reject China's claims regarding some parts of the SCS. This is clear and bold, including what Indonesia is doing as a subject within Asia and the United States. That is what we have achieved in a multilateral relationship, and the President Trump administration is very supportive of this," he said.
Pompeo when giving a press statement after a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Thursday (29/10/2020), at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta.
Pompeo also appreciated Indonesia's maritime power, which safeguards the country's sovereignty in the Natuna Islands.
"As an example of the maritime power (TNI AL-red) to safeguard the country's sovereignty in the Natuna Islands," he added.
According to Pompeo, the United States wants to strengthen cooperation in the context of security in the SCS area with Indonesia, to protect one of the world's busiest trade routes.
"I look forward to working together in new ways, to ensure maritime security by protecting one of the world's busy trade routes," Pompeo stressed.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi emphasized that Indonesia is committed to continuing to make the SCS a peaceful and stable area.
"We also discussed the conditions in the SCS and for Indonesia the area must be maintained as a peaceful and stable water area," said Retno.
In front of her counterpart, Retno also emphasized that all parties must respect international laws, especially UNCLOS 1962 which regulates the SCS.
"International law in particular UNCLOS 1962 must be respected and implemented. Therefore, there must be international recognition, including UNCLOS 1962," he added.
He said Indonesia also hopes for investment from US businessmen in the Natuna Islands.
"I encourage American businessmen to invest more in Indonesia, including in the outer islands such as the Natuna Islands," said Retno.
Meanwhile, the bilateral meeting between the Indonesian and US Foreign Ministers also discussed the development of democracy, respect for human rights, Palestine, Afghanistan, and ASEAN.
During his second visit to Indonesia, Mike Pompeo is also scheduled to meet with President Joko Widodo and the Ansor Youth Movement. (RRI)
October
Pakistan Embassy Holds Seminar on Islamophobia
Written by Nur YasminTo mark the Kashmir Black Day on 27 October 2020, the Embassy of Pakistan held a Webinar titled "ISLAMOPHOBIA – Effects on Humanitarian Aspects of Muslim Minority Communities in South Asia: Kashmir Perspective". This was the third program this month which was held in connection with the Kashmir Black Day.
The Speakers included
1- Prof. Dr. Yusny Saby
2 -Mr. Jamal Nasir, Charge d'Affaires of Pakistan Embassy Jakarta.
3 -Drs. Nur Munir, Head of IMERC, University of Indonesia
4 -Dr. Surwandono S.Sos., M.Si Head of Magister Program of International Relations Department Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta
5 -Khairunnisa Simbolon, MA - Lecturer in International Relations Department Universitas Lampung
Charge d'Affaires Mr. Jamal Nasir delivered a detailed presentation on the rising wave of Islamophobia, reasons behind the rise of Islamophobia, and Implications on the Muslim communities around the world in general, and South Asia in particular.
He specifically highlighted the plight of Muslims in India, especially in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK) where the Indian occupation forces have unleashed a reign of terror and brutalities.
Mr. Nasir emphasized that India, under the RSS inspired regime, is systematically suppressing the religious minorities, Muslims in particular.
He quoted recent statements by the Top Leadership of the ruling BJP where they refuse to consider Muslims as equal citizens.
He also highlighted various discriminatory policies introduced by the current Indian Government, including the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and the NRC.
He also spoke about the brutal lynching of Muslims by Cow Vigilantes, demolition of Mosques, and the recent killing of 50 Muslims in Feb 2020 when they were protesting against the Government's discriminatory policies.
Other speakers also presented their views on the topic and stressed the need for that the International Community should take notice of the situation in the IIOJK.
The Webinar was attended by more than 160 participants including Deans of Universities, Professors, Lecturers, Researchers, Members of Religious Organizations, and Students. (VOI)
