DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

COPENHAGEN/STOCKHOLM, July 31 (Reuters) - Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Monday he hoped the government's proposal to limit Koran burnings in the country would help de-escalate a growing international conflict with several Muslim countries. Denmark and Sweden have seen several protests in recent weeks where copies of the Koran have been burned, or otherwise damaged, prompting outrage in Muslim countries, which have demanded the Nordic governments put a stop to the burnings. The Nordic countries have deplored the burnings of the Koran but cannot prevent it under constitutional laws protecting freedom of speech. However, both governments have now said they are considering legal changes that would allow authorities to prevent further burnings in special situations. Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard in Copenhagen and Johan Ahlander in Stockholm; editing by David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Rasmussen, Tobias Billstrom, islamophobic, Nikolaj Skydsgaard, Johan Ahlander, David Evans Organizations: Danish, Nordic, of Islamic Cooperation, Thomson Locations: COPENHAGEN, STOCKHOLM, Denmark, Sweden, Swedish, Copenhagen, Stockholm

Even so, Koran burnings took place in both countries on Monday. In Denmark, anti-Muslim protesters burned the Koran outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in Copenhagen, with several more planned for later in the day. The Nordic countries have deplored the burnings of the Koran but cannot prevent it under constitutional laws protecting freedom of speech. OIC foreign ministers convened in an extraordinary session on Monday to discuss the recent developments where it strongly condemned the Koran burnings. The foreign ministries of Denmark and Sweden were not immediately available for comment after the OIC meeting had ended.

Persons: Rasmussen, Tobias Billstrom, Islamophobic, Nikolaj Skydsgaard, Johan Ahlander, Moaz Abd, Alaziz, Adam Makary, Marie Mannes, David Evans, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Nordic, Saudi, of Islamic Cooperation, OIC, Thomson Locations: COPENHAGEN, STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Denmark, Stockholm, Iraqi, Saudi Arabian, Copenhagen, Swedish

☆ ‘The heat is relentless’: Scorching temperatures bring misery to daily life in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Vivi Vitalone | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Cristina Quicler | Afp | Getty ImagesSEVILLE, Spain — The day-to-day reality of scorching summer heat in Spain is taking its toll. The mercury in the southern Spanish city of Seville hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on July 20, shortly before national elections failed to produce a clear winner. "During the day I work here where I have air conditioning but the walk home is ... agony," Sánchez told CNBC. Tacho Rufino, economist at the University of Seville, told CNBC that when classes are not in session, he lives in Cádiz in the southwest. Olive oil prices soared further into record-breaking territory this month and analysts have told CNBC that high prices could be here "for some time to come."

Persons: Cristina Quicler, Carlo Núñez, Sevillian, chatted, Maria Sánchez, Sánchez, Tacho Rufino, Rufino, Pedro Sánchez, Alberto Núñez Feijóo Organizations: Afp, Getty, CNBC, del Triunfo, University of Seville, People's Party, United Nations, PP, European Commission, La, Europa Press, Greenpeace, Observatory Locations: Sevilla, Spanish, Andalusia, SEVILLE, Spain, Europe, Greece, Italy, Albania, Seville, del, Cádiz, Cadiz, Puntagorda, La Palma, Canary Islands

STOCKHOLM, July 27 (Reuters) - Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is "extremely worried" about the consequences if more demonstrations go ahead in which the Koran is desecrated, he said on Thursday, amid growing Muslim anger at a series of attacks on Islam's holy book. Kristersson told Swedish news agency TT that further requests had been filed with police for permission to hold protests where desecration of the Koran was again planned. Sweden's embassy in Baghdad was stormed and set ablaze on July 20 by protesters angered by a planned Koran burning. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson addresses the media ahead of a NATO leaders summit in Vilnius, Lithuania July 11, 2023. Members of Sweden Democrats, the biggest party on the right, have repeatedly warned about the "Islamization" of Swedish society and called for immigrants to adopt "Swedish" values.

Persons: Ulf Kristersson, Kristersson, Charlotte von Essen, Ints, Tobias Billstrom, Billstrom, Johan Ahlander, Simon Johnson, Terje Solsvik, William Maclean Organizations: Atlantic Treaty Organization, TT, Swedish, NATO, REUTERS, United Nations, of Islamic, Sweden Democrats, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, Swedish, Sweden, Denmark, Turkey, Ukraine, Sweden's, Baghdad, Vilnius, Lithuania, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Lebanon

☆ 8 Men Are Convicted in 2016 Terrorist Bombings in Brussels
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Monika Pronczuk | More About Monika Pronczuk | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Eight men were found guilty on Tuesday of having organized a series of bombings in Brussels in March 2016 that amounted to the deadliest terrorist assault in Belgium’s history. The verdict capped an eight-month trial, the largest ever organized in Belgium, with testimony from almost 1,000 registered survivors, witnesses and experts. Eight of the men standing trial were charged with murder and attempted murder in a terrorist context, and one was charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist group. The jury, composed of Brussels residents of all ages and skin colors, pronounced six men guilty of murder and attempted murder. Two were acquitted on the murder charges, but were found guilty of participating in the activities of a terrorist group.

Persons: —, Ibrahim Farisi, Smail Farisi Locations: Brussels, Paris, Belgium, Europe

☆ Beauty salons banned in Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

An Afghan beautician removes a poster in a beauty salon in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 24. The Taliban administration say they respect women's rights in line with their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture. The ban on salons, released on...moreAn Afghan beautician removes a poster in a beauty salon in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 24. The Taliban administration say they respect women's rights in line with their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture. The ban on salons, released on July 4 by the morality ministry, said it was based on an order from the supreme spiritual leader.

Persons: Ali Khara Organizations: REUTERS Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, Afghan

☆ Microsoft and Google may have to surrender people's data to Saudi Arabia after signing huge deals there
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But Saudi Arabia has weak privacy laws and a track record of persecuting dissidents. They are warning tech giants like Microsoft and Google that they could be forced to hand over private citizen data to Saudi hitmen. Data handed over a silver platterMarwa Fatafta, an analyst with digital rights group Access Now, described Saudi Arabia as a country with a "dismal" human rights record. "Have they really [Google and Microsoft] investigated how they plan to mitigate potential human rights abuses or privacy violations, building such infrastructure?" Countries such as Saudi Arabia, he said, often told companies that "if you want to operate in this country, you've got to keep the data in this country.

Persons: Prince Mohammed bin Salman's, Rewan Al, Haddad, umOfUs, FAYEZ NURELDINE, Fatima al, Salma al, Alan Woodward, you've, James Lynch, Fairsquare, Crown Prince Mohammed, James, Lynch, Prince Mohammed, it's, Woodward Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Service, Saudi, Human Rights Watch, New York Post, Getty, Twitter, Leeds University, University of Surrey, Crown Locations: Saudi Arabia, Wall, Silicon, Riyadh, Saudi, AFP

☆ Koran burners should be handed over for prosecution, Iran's Khamenei says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

July 22 (Reuters) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that persons desecrating the Koran should face the "most severe punishment" and demanded Sweden hand them over for prosecution in Islamic countries, Iran's state media reported. "All Islamic scholars agree that those who desecrate the Koran deserved the most severe punishment... The duty of that (Swedish) government is to hand over the perpetrator to the judicial systems of Islamic countries," Khamenei said in a statement carried by state media. Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khamenei, Jason Neely Organizations: Dubai, Thomson Locations: Sweden

☆ Malaysia halts music festival after same-sex kiss by UK band The 1975
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Rozanna Latiff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The 1975 have also been banned from performing in Malaysia, said a government committee that oversees filming and performances by foreigners. "I don't see the fucking point ... of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with." Festival organiser Future Sound Asia apologised for the cancellation of the show following Healy's "controversial conduct and remarks". Communications Minister Fahmi said Malaysia was committed to supporting the development of creative industries and freedom of expression. The Jakarta festival's organisers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether the band would play.

Persons: disparages, Fahmi Fadzil, Healy, Ross MacDonald, we've, Regrettably, Fahmi, Matt Healy, Carmen Rose, Anwar Ibrahim's, Rozanna Latiff, Bernadette Christina, William Mallard, Robert Birsel Organizations: Communications, Rights, United Arab Emirates, Sound, Twitter, Malay, Thomson Locations: KUALA LUMPUR, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Malaysian, Jakarta, Indonesia

CNN —Hundreds of protesters stormed the main gates of the Swedish embassy in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad early Thursday in response to police in Stockholm granting permission for a demonstration were organizers are reportedly planning another burning of the Muslim holy book, the Quran. Videos posted on social media showed a large number of protesters inside the Swedish embassy’s perimeter as well as black smoke and fire coming from the building. According to AFP, Swedish police said Wednesday they had granted a permit for a protest outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, with media reporting the organizers planned to burn the Muslim holy book. Stockholm police told AFP they had granted a permit for a “public gathering” outside the Iraqi embassy but did not wish to give further comments on what the protesters were planning. A large number of protesters breached the Swedish embassy in Baghdad early Thursday.

Persons: ” Organizations: CNN, AFP, Swedish, Swedish Embassy, Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs Locations: Swedish, Baghdad, Stockholm, Sweden, Stockholm’s, Iraq

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said staff at the Swedish embassy in Baghdad were safe but Iraqi authorities had failed in their responsibility to protect the embassy. Thursday's demonstration was called by supporters of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to protest at the second planned Koran burning in Sweden in weeks, according to posts in a Telegram group linked to the influential cleric and other pro-Sadr media. He stood by the embassy storming on Thursday, telling a press conference the U.S. "has no right to condemn the burning of the Swedish embassy but should have condemned the burning of the Koran". "Yes, yes to the Koran," protesters chanted. Sweden has seen several Koran burnings in recent years, mostly by far-right and anti-Muslim activists.

Persons: Tobias Billstrom, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Mohammed Shia Al, Billstrom, Muqtada al, Moqtada al, Read, Tayyip Erdogan, Ulf Kristersson, Timour Azhari, Anna Ringstrom, Supantha Mukherjee, Johan Ahlander, Marie, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Ahmed Rasheed, Tom Hogue, Tom Perry, Lincoln, Bernadette Baum, William Maclean, Alison Williams, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: NATO, Sweden's Ericsson, State Department, Telegram, Turkish, Sweden's, Islam, Marie Mannes, Thomson Locations: Iraq, BAGHDAD, STOCKHOLM, Swedish, Stockholm, Baghdad, Iraqi, Sweden, Tehran, Turkey, Washington, Sadr, Copenhagen

Swedish news agency TT reported on Wednesday that Swedish police granted an application for a public meeting outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm on Thursday. "Yes, yes to the Koran," protesters chanted. [1/5]Protesters clash with security forces members as they gather near the Swedish embassy in Baghdad hours after the embassy was stormed and set on fire ahead of an expected Koran burning in Stockholm, in Baghdad, Iraq, July 20, 2023. Late last month, Sadr called for protests against Sweden and the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador after the Koran burning in Stockholm by an Iraqi man. Two major protests took place outside of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in the aftermath of that Koran burning, with protesters breaching the embassy grounds on one occasion.

Persons: Muqtada Sadr, Baghdad's, Ahmed Saad, Sadr, Timour Azhari, Anna Ringstrom, Tom Hogue Organizations: Telegram, REUTERS, Sweden, United Arab, United, Thomson Locations: BAGHDAD, STOCKHOLM, Swedish, Baghdad, Sweden, Stockholm, Iraq, Iraqi, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Morocco, United States, Lincoln

☆ Malaysia charges opposition leader with sedition over remarks on royalty
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 (Reuters) - Malaysia on Tuesday charged opposition leader Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor with sedition for allegedly insulting the country's revered sultans, state media Bernama reported. Negative remarks about its royalty can be prosecuted under a colonial-era Sedition Act, which has been used against people who criticise the sultans on social media. However, sedition charges against Malaysian politicians have been rare in recent years. Muhammad Sanusi's remarks, according to other media reports, questioned decisions taken by the royalty regarding the formation of government in the federal and state level. If found guilty, he faces up to three years in prison and a maximum penalty of 5,000 ringgit ($1,102.54).

Persons: Muhammad Sanusi Md, Muhammad Sanusi, Anwar Ibrahim's, Muhammad Sanusi's, Martin Petty Organizations: PAS, Malaysian, Thomson Locations: KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Kedah, Thailand

☆ Swiss watchmaker Swatch sues Malaysia for seizure of Pride watches
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In May, Malaysian authorities confiscated watches from Swatch's 'Pride collection' because of the presence of the letters 'LGBTQ' on the watches, the home minister said. Home ministry officials "illegally" seized 172 watches from 16 outlets, Swatch said in court documents seen by Reuters. The seizure notices served to Swatch described the watches as having elements of or promoting LGBTQ rights and potentially breaching Malaysian law, the company said. Most of the seized watches, which have a combined retail value of 64,795 ringgit ($14,250.05), did not contain the 'LGBTQ' lettering, Swatch said. He has also said LGBT rights will not be recognised by his administration.

Persons: Swatch's, Anwar Ibrahim's, Anwar, Rozanna, John Revill, Kanupriya Kapoor, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Swatch, Malaysian, Reuters, Malay Mail, Swatch Group, Malaysia, Thomson Locations: KUALA LUMPUR, Swiss, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian, Zurich

CNN —Swedish authorities have approved a protest involving the burning of Torahs and Bibles outside the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden’s national radio broadcaster reported on Friday. A person who has applied to hold a public gathering on Saturday to burn the holy books has been granted permission, Sveriges Radio said. The European Jewish Congress (EJC) said in a press release on Friday that they “strongly” condemned the decision of Swedish authorities. “I unequivocally condemn the permission granted in Sweden to burn holy books. The decision to permit that protest was made in accordance with the right of freedom of speech, Swedish police said at the time.

Persons: ”, Ariel Muzicant, ” Muzicant, Isaac Herzog, “, ” Herzog Organizations: CNN, Embassy, Sveriges Radio, Jewish Congress Locations: Stockholm, Sweden, Israel, Swedish, Baghdad

☆ China has a reputation for exporting shoddy weapons, but its sales may get a boost from Russia's blunders in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

If Russia's arms exports falter because of the war in Ukraine, China's appeal may only grow. Despite the drawbacks, Chinese arms exports may get a boost from the war in Ukraine. Mazhar ABID/Gamma-Rapho via Getty ImagesQuality concerns could be one reason for a pre-Ukraine decline in Chinese arms sales. On the other hand, SIPRI also found that German and British arms sales declined 35% and Israeli sales fell 15% during the same period. "As Russia's weapons availability may change as the war continues, China is prepared for when that time arrives."

Persons: Cindy Zheng, AAMIR QURESHI, Zheng, —, Mazhar ABID, SIPRI, NOEL CELIS Organizations: Service, RAND Corporation, Kamra, Getty, Nigerian Air Force, Pakistan —, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Germany's Puma, Getty Images Arms Locations: China, Beijing, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Islamabad, Africa, South Asia, Nigeria, Soviet, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Aslat, Karachi, Stockholm, Russia, AFP, Venezuela, Iran

☆ Palestinians turn anger on own leadership after Israel's Jenin raid
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Ali Sawafta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The rockets were shot down and Israel's air force struck targets in Gaza belonging to the ruling Hamas, causing no casualties. [1/9]Palestinian girls sit outside a damaged house following an Israeli military operation, in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank July 5, 2023. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Tuesday the Jenin operation was unlikely to be a "one-off" and said it would be "the beginning of regular incursions and continuous control of the territory". Israel has been fiercely critical of the Palestinian Authority and its 87-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas, accusing them of failing to rein in the militant groups. PA officials in turn say Israel has made it impossible to exert any control by keeping them deliberately weak and undermining their authority.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Mahmoud Abbas, Abbas, Nidal al, James Mackenzie, Conor Humprhries Organizations: Palestinian, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, Islamic, Reuters, Hamas, Bank, REUTERS, Al, Quds Brigades, Thomson Locations: JENIN, West, Jenin, Israeli, Islamic Jihad, Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, Tel Aviv, Quds, Oslo, Nablus

☆ Taliban administration orders beauty salons in Afghanistan to close
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KABUL, July 4 (Reuters) - The Taliban administration in Afghanistan has ordered beauty salons to close within a month, the morality ministry said, in the latest shrinking of access to public places for Afghan women. Foreign governments and U.N. officials have condemned growing restrictions on women since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 after defeating a U.S.-backed government as foreign forces withdrew. Many public places including bathhouses, gyms and parks have been closed to women. Western government and international organisations have signalled that restrictions on women are hampering any possible progress to international recognition for the Taliban administration. The administration says it respects women's rights in accordance with its interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan customs.

Persons: Mohammad Sadiq Akif, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Charlotte Greenfield, Robert Birsel Organizations: Ministry, Thomson Locations: KABUL, Afghanistan, U.S, Kabul, United States

☆ Pakistan expects heavy monsoon rain raising risk of floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISLAMABAD, July 3 (Reuters) - Heavy monsoon rain is expected to hit Pakistan on Monday and last for several days, the weather office said, raising the risk of flooding in areas still recovering from a devastating deluge last year. Heavy thunder and rain was expected from Monday evening in the capital, Islamabad, as well as in the cities of Lahore and Peshawar, spreading to other areas until Saturday, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said. The weather office warned that flooding was possible in low-lying areas of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Gujranwala, and Lahore, with the risk of flash floods in hilly western areas late this week. Pakistan has received commitments of more than $9 billion from international donors to help recover from last year's floods with rebuilding efforts estimated to cost about $16.3 billion. Reporting by Asif Shahzad, Gibran Peshimam; writing by Shivam Patel; editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Asif Shahzad, Gibran Peshimam, Shivam Patel, Robert Birsel Organizations: Pakistan, Pakistan Meteorological Department, Thomson Locations: ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Pakistan

☆ Muslim group says measures needed to prevent Koran desecration
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Thaier Al-SudaniCAIRO, July 2 (Reuters) - An Islamic grouping of 57 states said on Sunday collective measures are needed to prevent acts of desecration to the Koran and international law should be used to stop religious hatred after the holy book was burned in a protest in Sweden. A man tore up and burned a Koran outside Stockholm's central mosque on Wednesday, the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holidays. But after the burning, police charged the man who carried it out with agitation against an ethnic or national group. The incident has triggered large protests in Baghdad in front of the Swedish Embassy. Turkey in late January suspended talks with Sweden on its NATO application after a Danish far-right politician burned a copy of the Koran near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.

Persons: Thaier, Sudani, Hissein Brahim Taha, Omar Abdel Razek, Adam Makary, Lisa Barrington, David Goodman, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, of Islamic Cooperation, NATO, Swedish Embassy, Thomson Locations: Swedish, Stockholm, Baghdad, Iraq, Sudani CAIRO, Sweden, Saudi Arabia's Jeddah, Turkey, United States, Danish, Turkish

☆ A Fatal Shooting and a Hijab Ban: Two Faces of France’s Racial Divisions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Catherine Porter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mama Diakité is a French citizen, raised in the suburbs of Paris by two immigrant parents, not far from where a 17-year-old boy was shot by the police during a traffic stop last week. As cars burned and barricades went up in her neighborhood over the shooting, she got word from the country’s top administrative court that she could not play the most popular sport in France — soccer — while wearing her hijab. On Thursday, the Conseil d’Etat upheld the French Football Federation’s ban on wearing any obvious religious symbols, in keeping with the country’s bedrock principle of laïcité, or secularism. The decision inspired a storm of feelings in Ms. Diakité — shock, anger, disappointment. One involved a fatal traffic stop that French officials have condemned; the other involved a charged debate on the visibility of Islam in French society.

Persons: Diakité, “, ” Organizations: French Football Locations: French, Paris, France

☆ Swedish embassy in Baghdad: Protesters break in after Stockholm Quran burning
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Mostafa Salem | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Demonstrators breached the perimeter of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad Thursday, a day after a protester burned a copy of the Quran in Sweden. Videos circulating on social media showed some protesters climbing over a barricaded wall outside the embassy. Muslim countries and Islamic organizations had condemned the burning of the Quran in Stockholm. On Thursday, the United Arab Emirates summoned Sweden’s ambassador to Abu Dhabi to protest the Quran burning incident, the UAE’s state news agency WAM said. In January early this year Iraqi protesters clashed with security forces outside the Swedish embassy for a separate incident of Quran burning in Stockholm.

Persons: Muqtada, Sadr, Al Sadr, Momika, ” Al Sadr, it’s, Sweden’s, Abu, WAM Organizations: CNN, Embassy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, AFP, of Islamic Cooperation, Arab League, Gulf Cooperation Council, United Arab Emirates Locations: Swedish, Baghdad, Sweden, Muqtada al, Iraqi, Stockholm, Stockholm –, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi

☆ Exclusive: Islamists wield hidden hand in Sudan conflict, military sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Yet the three military sources and an intelligence source said thousands of Islamists were battling alongside the army. Reuters spoke to 10 sources for this article, including military and intelligence sources and several Islamists. The army accused the RSF of promoting Islamists and former regime loyalists in their top ranks, a charge the RSF denied. Nowadays, former NISS officers also help the military by collecting intelligence on its enemies in the latest conflict. The NISS was replaced by the General Intelligence Service (GIS) after Bashir was toppled, and stripped of its armed "operations" unit, according to a constitutional agreement.

Persons: General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Umit, Bashir, Omar al, Osama bin Laden, Mohammed al, Fadl, Ali Karti, Abdel Fattah Burhan, Burhan, Reuters Graphics BASHIR, Hemedti, Bashir loyalists, Michael Georgy, Aidan Lewis, William Maclean Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, REUTERS, Army, DUBAI, West, Reuters, Sudanese, National Intelligence and Security Service, National, Party, United Arab Emirates, General Intelligence Service, Reuters Graphics, Central Reserve Police, Publicly, Thomson Locations: Aprag, Khartoum, Sudan, Darfur, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahri

☆ Taliban official letter reinforces bar of female aid staff in southern Kandahar
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KABUL, June 23 (Reuters) - Taliban authorities in Afghanistan's Kandahar province ordered female aid workers this week to stop work on a refugee project, according to an official letter, reinforcing rules against women working despite exemptions sought by some organisations. The letter underscored the uncertainty of the operating environment in Afghanistan for aid agencies who say they intend to stay and deliver aid during a humanitarian crisis but seek exemptions to let female staff work, to reach female beneficiaries and avoid breaching UN charter principles. The Taliban administration signalled in January it would work on a set of written guidelines that could allow aid groups to operate with female staff in some cases, but it has not yet done so. The Norwegian Refugee Council, an international NGO, in May said it had received exemptions for many of its operations in Kandahar and was resuming work with female staff. The Taliban's restrictions on women aid workers and access to education have been widely criticized by the international community.

Persons: Haibatullah Akhundzada, Charlotte Greenfield, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Peter Graff Organizations: Reuters, Department of Refugees, United Nations, Norwegian Refugee Council, NRC, Diplomats, Thomson Locations: KABUL, Afghanistan's Kandahar, Kandahar, Spin, Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States

☆ Bulldozers tear into Cairo's historic Islamic cemeteries
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Hatem Maher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] A view shows the City of the Dead, where tombs and historic cemeteries have been demolished due to a new construction project underway on the Salah Salem road, in the capital city of Cairo, Egypt, June 13, 2023. Known as the City of the Dead, the cemeteries along the eastern edge of Historic Cairo have been a resting place for Egypt's deceased since the arrival of Islam in the seventh century A.D. Some tomb owners who want to transfer the bodies of their family members say they are given little time beforehand. But only 102 sites among more than 2.5 million tombs in the area have received this designation, conservationists say. "I imagine that in five years' time, we won't find anything except maybe 20% of the current City of the Dead," Lafi said.

Persons: Salah, Hadeer Mahmoud, Sisi, Egypt's, Hisham Kassem, Abdel Fattah al, Ahmed Urabi, Hossam Abdel Azeem, Amr ibn, Moaaz, Lafi, Patrick Werr, Aidan Lewis, Emma Rumney Organizations: REUTERS, UNESCO, Thomson Locations: Salah Salem, Cairo, Egypt, CAIRO, Historic Cairo, el

Search resuls for: "of Islam"

25 mentions found