Hundreds of Hezbollah members wounded in Lebanon when pagers explode, security source says

Hundreds of Hezbollah members wounded in Lebanon when pagers explode, security source says
Smoke rises above Lebanon following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Israel's border with Lebanon in northern Israel, September 8, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 17 September 2024
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Hundreds of Hezbollah members wounded in Lebanon when pagers explode, security source says

Hundreds of Hezbollah members wounded in Lebanon when pagers explode, security source says

BEIRUT: Hundreds of members of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, including fighters and medics, were seriously wounded on Tuesday when the pagers they use to communicate exploded, a security source told Reuters.
A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the detonation of the pagers was the “biggest security breach” the group had been subjected to in nearly a year of war with Israel.
The explosions took place amid heightened violence between Israel and Hezbollah, who have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the Gaza war erupted last October in the worst such escalation in years.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military to Reuters enquiries about the detonations.
A Reuters journalist saw ambulances rushing through the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut amid widespread panic. Residents said explosions were taking place even 30 minutes after the initial blasts. The security source added that devices were also exploding in the south of Lebanon.
Groups of people huddled at the entrance of buildings to check on people they knew who may have been wounded, the Reuters journalist said.
Regional broadcasters carrying CCTV footage which showed what appeared to be a small handheld device placed next to a grocery store cashier where an individual was paying spontaneously exploding. In other footage, an explosion appeared to knock out someone standing at a fruit stand at a market area.
Lebanon’s crisis operations center, which is run by the health ministry, asked all medical workers to head to their respective hospitals to help cope with the massive numbers of wounded coming into for urgent care. It said health care workers should not use pagers.
Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel immediately after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas gunmen on Israel. Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire constantly ever since, while avoiding a major escalation as war rages in Gaza to the south.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced from towns and villages on both sides of the border by the hostilties.


Libya factions agree on process for picking central bank governor, UN mission says

Libya factions agree on process for picking central bank governor, UN mission says
Updated 51 sec ago
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Libya factions agree on process for picking central bank governor, UN mission says

Libya factions agree on process for picking central bank governor, UN mission says
  • The agreement could help defuse a crisis over control of the central bank and oil revenue

CAIRO: Libya’s factions signed an agreement on the procedures, criteria and timelines for appointing a governor, deputy governor and board of directors for the country’s central bank, the United Nations Libya mission (UNSMIL) said on Wednesday in a statement.
The agreement could help defuse a crisis over control of the central bank and oil revenue that has slashed Libya’s oil output and exports.


Houthis threaten to ‘cut off heads’ of Yemenis who celebrate Sept. 26 revolution

Houthis threaten to ‘cut off heads’ of Yemenis who celebrate Sept. 26 revolution
Updated 36 min 32 sec ago
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Houthis threaten to ‘cut off heads’ of Yemenis who celebrate Sept. 26 revolution

Houthis threaten to ‘cut off heads’ of Yemenis who celebrate Sept. 26 revolution
  • Militant group deploys forces across northern Yemen to crack down on gatherings, and abducts more than 200 people over online anniversary celebrations
  • The 1962 revolution overthrew the Zaidi Imamate, which ruled northern Yemen for centuries and was ideologically similar to the Houthis

AL-MUKALLA: The Houthis vowed to violently suppress any public celebrations this week of the 62nd anniversary of the Sept. 26 revolution in Yemen.

The militant group has deployed armored vehicles and forces across northern Yemen to crack down on any gatherings that take place on Thursday, and abducted more than 200 people who celebrated it online.

The revolution, which began on Sept. 26, 1962, resulted in the overthrow of the Zaidi Imamate rulers who had controlled northern Yemen for centuries, paving the way for the establishment of the Yemen Arab Republic.

The Houthis share a similar ideology with the Zaidi Imamate, including a desire to limit rule over the country to Hashemites. The group fears people will be motivated by the anniversary to take to the streets in large numbers and demand an end to repressive Houthi rule.

Nasruddin Amer, a Houthi media official, threatened to “cut off the heads” of those who gather on Thursday to commemorate the 1962 revolution. He accused them of being “stooges for the Zionists” and seeking to undermine security and stability in areas under Houthi control. Houthi authorities will allow people to celebrate the anniversary under supervision, in designated locations, he added.

“We do not have mercy or pity for enemies … If anyone tries to twist our arm, we will remove his head,” Amer said. “This is our nature and methodology. We are unconcerned about the entire world or public opinion.”

Abdulkader Al-Murtada, the head of the Houthi prisoner-exchange committee, issues similar threats and accused people who would celebrate the revolution of “serving the US agenda” in an attempt to force the Houthis to halt their attacks on international shipping, which the group claims to be carrying out in support of the Palestinian people.

“We will deal with any anarchists or charlatans, as well as anyone who attempts to cause trouble, in the same way that we deal with the enemy, and everyone is aware of how we do so,” Al-Murtada said.

Local media and residents of Sanaa, Hodeidah and other Houthi-controlled areas confirmed on Wednesday that the group had deployed armed vehicles and military forces as part of an intensive crackdown on those who celebrate the revolution or incite others to do so online.

The Mayyun Organization for Human Rights and Development said that in the past few days the Houthis abducted 270 Yemenis, including teachers, activists, journalists and members of the former ruling party, the General People’s Congress, in Sanaa and other areas for posting online messages that praised the Sept. 26 revolution and urged the public to commemorate it.

“We denounce these intimidation campaigns against civilians, particularly women, which coincide with security crackdowns and public threats of arrest aimed at deterring people from participating in planned public celebrations and raising the national flag,” the organization said.

Activists reported that in the past 24 hours the Houthis abducted people in Sanaa and other areas for flying the Yemeni flag, as well as a person in Sanaa who appeared in a video dancing to nationalist songs commemorating the revolution.

The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate also demanded the immediate release of four Yemeni journalists abducted over the past six days as part of the Houthi crackdown on Sept. 26 anniversary celebrations.

“The syndicate reiterates its call to all organizations concerned with freedom of opinion and expression to show solidarity with the abducted journalists and press for their release,” it said.

Hundreds of people marched through the streets of the government-controlled southern city of Taiz on Tuesday night to commemorate the 1962 revolution, carrying the Yemeni flag and chanting nationalist slogans. Thousands of people in Marib and other cities were expected to hold similar rallies on Wednesday and Thursday.

Meanwhile, the US Central Command said on Wednesday that its forces destroyed a Houthi drone over the Red Sea before it reached a vessel it was targeting in a critical shipping lane.

It was the latest US military response against the Houthis intended to weaken them and pressure them into halting their attacks on ships in international waters off the coast of Yemen.


Hundreds in southern Pakistan demand justice for doctor killed after blasphemy accusations

Hundreds in southern Pakistan demand justice for doctor killed after blasphemy accusations
Updated 57 min 37 sec ago
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Hundreds in southern Pakistan demand justice for doctor killed after blasphemy accusations

Hundreds in southern Pakistan demand justice for doctor killed after blasphemy accusations
  • Dr. Shahnawaz Kumbhar was killed in alleged police shootout last week in southern Umerkot district
  • Protesters demand transparent inquiry, arrest of the police officers responsible for doctor’s killing 

KARACHI: Hundreds of civil society activists and residents of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Wednesday protested against the killing of a doctor allegedly by police after he was accused of blasphemy, demanding a transparent inquiry into the incident and action against the culprits. 

Dr. Kumbhar, accused of sharing blasphemous content online, was arrested last Wednesday in Umerkot district and killed hours later by police in a purported shootout. His family disputes the police account, claiming he was murdered while in custody. The incident has sparked widespread condemnation from Pakistani rights activists, who have demanded a transparent investigation.

Accusations of blasphemy — sometimes even just rumors — can spark riots and mob rampages in Pakistan. Although killings of blasphemy suspects by mobs are common, extra-judicial killings by police are rare.

The Sindh government last week suspended ten officers, including a deputy inspector general of police and registered a case against 34 suspects, out of which 15 were not identified, for burning Dr. Kumbhar’s body. 

“Today’s protest is purely to arrest the killers of Shahnawaz Kumbhar and punish them,” rights activist Kazwa Nawaz Asif told Arab News during a demonstration attended by hundreds at Umerkot. The protest was held in front of the district’s press club. 

Asif said the protest also aimed to prevent such incidents from occurring again in the future.

Suleman Rahimoo, another activist, questioned the government’s decision to conduct an inquiry against a deputy inspector of general police by another foficer of the same rank, pointing out that he was his colleague. 

“This is why we believe that a judicial inquiry should be carried out,” Rahimoo told Arab News.

Rights activist Sindhu Nawaz said the doctor had pleaded for an opportunity to explain his position, asserting that he was not the one using the account that posted the blasphemous content online.

“But he was killed overnight by the police officials and the body was handed over to fanatics who burnt it,” she said. 

Nawaz said Sindh is known as being a land where love, peace and interfaith harmony prevailed. 

“To uphold this identity, we felt it was necessary to hold a protest in Umerkot because Umerkot is the land where, during Eid, our Hindu brothers congratulate Muslims and when Holi is celebrated, the same Muslims celebrate with them,” she said. 

Nawaz vowed that the protest would continue until the officers responsible for killing Dr. Kumbhar are arrested and a judicial inquiry into the matter is conducted.

“This is our Sindh and we will continue to fight to restore this identity,” Nawaz said. 

Dr. Kumbhar’s killing marks the second such incident in recent weeks. Earlier this month, a police officer in Balochistan province killed a blasphemy suspect in custody, highlighting the grave dangers faced by persons accused of blasphemy in Pakistan.

Human rights groups and civil society organizations have urged the Pakistani government to repeal the country’s blasphemy laws, which they argue contribute to discrimination and violence. They have also called for a comprehensive review of law enforcers’ response to blasphemy accusations.


US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting

US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting
Updated 58 min 28 sec ago
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US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting

US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting
  • The US ambassador to the United Nations made a new appeal to let assistance into El-Fasher
  • “We must compel the warring parties to accept humanitarian pauses,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield

UNITED NATIONS: The United States on Wednesday announced $424 million in new aid for displaced and hungry Sudanese at a high-level meeting on the country’s brutal war at the United Nations.
The US mission to the UN said the assistance includes $175 million with which the United States will buy surplus food from its own farmers to feed people in and around Sudan, where a UN-backed assessment has warned of wide-scale famine.
Addressing the event, the US ambassador to the United Nations made a new appeal to let assistance into El-Fasher, which has been besieged by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as the paramilitary force seeks a complete takeover of the western Darfur region.
“We must compel the warring parties to accept humanitarian pauses in El-Fasher, Khartoum and other highly vulnerable areas, eliminate barriers to humanitarian access along all routes, and put down their weapons and come to the negotiating table,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Sudan plunged into a devastating war last year as the army battled the RSF.
The World Health Organization said this month at least 20,000 people have been killed. But some estimates are far higher, with the US envoy on Sudan, Tom Perriello, saying that up to 150,000 people may have died.


Saudi crown prince receives written message from Jordan’s king

Message was received by Saudi deputy foreign minister during a meeting with Jordan’s ambassador to Kingdom.
Message was received by Saudi deputy foreign minister during a meeting with Jordan’s ambassador to Kingdom.
Updated 25 September 2024
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Saudi crown prince receives written message from Jordan’s king

Message was received by Saudi deputy foreign minister during a meeting with Jordan’s ambassador to Kingdom.
  • Al-Khuraiji and Abu Al-Foul reviewed Saudi-Jordanian relations and ways to support and enhance them in various fields

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received a written message from Jordan’s King Abdullah on Wednesday relating to relations between their countries.

The message was received by Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed bin Abdulkarim Al-Khuraiji during a meeting with Jordan’s ambassador to the Kingdom Haitham Abu Al-Foul in Riyadh.

Al-Khuraiji and Abu Al-Foul reviewed Saudi-Jordanian relations and ways to support and enhance them in various fields. They also discussed topics of common interest.