Death toll rises to 32 in religious violence in India's capital

NEW DELHI - At least 32 people have been killed in the deadliest violence to engulf India's capital New Delhi for decades as heavy deployment of security forces brought an uneasy calm on Thursday, a police official said.

The violence began over a disputed new citizenship law on Monday but led to clashes between Muslims and Hindus in which hundreds were injured. Many suffered gunshot wounds, while arson, looting and stone-throwing have also taken place.

"The death count is now at 32," Delhi police spokesman Anil Mittal said, adding the "entire area is peaceful now."

At the heart of the unrest is a citizenship law that makes it easier for non-Muslims from some neighboring Muslim-dominated countries to gain Indian citizenship.

UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said the new law adopted last December is of "great concern" and she was worried by reports of police inaction in the face of assaults against Muslims by other groups.

"I appeal to all political leaders to prevent violence," Bachelet said in a speech to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Critics say the law is biased against Muslims and undermines India's secular constitution.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has denied having any prejudice against India's 180 million Muslims, saying that law is required to help persecuted minorities.

New Delhi has been the epicenter for protests against the new law, with students and large sections of the Muslim community leading the protests.

As the wounded were brought to hospitals on Thursday, the focus shifted on the overnight transfer of Justice S. Muralidhar, a Delhi High Court judge who was hearing a petition into the riots and had criticized government and police inaction on Wednesday.

Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the transfer was routine and had been recommended by the Supreme Court collegium earlier this month.

Opposition Congress party leader Manish Tiwari said every lawyer and judge in India should strongly protest what he called a crude attempt to intimidate the judiciary.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said inflammatory speeches at the protests over the new citizenship law in the last few months and the tacit support of some opposition leaders was behind the violence.

"The investigation is on," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who romped to re-election last May, also withdrew Jammu and Kashmir's autonomy in August with the objective of tightening New Delhi's grip on the restive region, which is also claimed by full by Pakistan.

For months the government imposed severe restrictions in Kashmir including cutting telephone and internet lines, while keeping hundreds of people, including mainstream political leaders, in custody for fear that they could whip up mass protests. Some restrictions have since been eased.

Bachelet said the Indian government continued to impose excessive restrictions on the use of social media in the region, even though some political leaders have been released, and ordinary life may be returning to normal in some respects.

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7 killed, 150 injured in riots in Indian capital

NEW DELHI - At least 7 people were killed and around 150 were injured in clashes between opposing groups in the Indian capital, a police official told Reuters on Tuesday, the deadliest riots in the city since protests against a new citizenship law began over 2 months ago.

"Seven persons, including one head constable of Delhi police, have died," said Anil Mittal, a police officer, adding around 150 persons were injured in the violence on Monday.

The clashes erupted in a northeastern district of the city between thousands of people demonstrating for and against the new citizenship law. Police used tear gas and smoke grenades, but struggled to disperse the stone-throwing crowds that tore down metal barricades and set vehicles and a petrol pump alight.

"Some of the people brought in had gunshot wounds," said Dr Rajesh Kalra, additional medical superintendent at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in New Delhi.

Tensions in parts of the city remained high on Tuesday with schools remaining shut in some areas amid news reports of fresh clashes. At least 5 metro stations in the city were closed.

A fire department official told Reuters that its teams were responding to reports of at least 8 separate cases of arson on Tuesday, linked to fresh protests in the city. One department vehicle was also torched by protesters on Monday, and a small number of firemen were injured in the violence, he added.

The violence on Monday began just as US President Donald Trump began his maiden visit to India. Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are set to meet for talks on Tuesday at a venue located a few miles away from where the clashes occurred.

At a press conference early on Tuesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed for people to maintain peace. "Whatever problems people have can be resolved peacefully," he said. "Violence will not help find a solution."

India's Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to meet Kejriwal and police officials on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the situation.

India's capital has been a hotbed of protests against the new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which eases the path of non-Muslims from 3 neighboring Muslim-dominated countries to gain Indian citizenship.

This has led to accusations that Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are undermining India's secular traditions. The BJP denies any bias against India's more than 180 million-strong Muslim minority, but objectors have been holding protests and camping out in parts of New Delhi for 2 months.

The violence erupted even as Trump was praising India as being a tolerant country.

"India is a country that proudly embraces freedom, liberty, individual rights, the rule of law, and the dignity of every human being," Trump said while addressing a rally of more than 100,000 people in Modi's home state of Gujarat. "Your unity is an inspiration to the world."

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At least 2 dead after police open fire amid raging India protests

NEW DELHI—At least 2 people are dead after police opened fire at a demonstration, an official said Thursday, as fresh protests erupted across India against a contentious citizenship law that critics say is anti-Muslim.

The men -- Abdul Jalil, 49, and Samshir Kudroli, 23 -- "died in police firing during the protests," Qadir Shah, a spokesman for the deputy commissioner of the southern city of Mangalore, told AFP, adding that a curfew had been imposed in the city with schools, restaurants and bars shut.

Another man taken to the King George's Medical University Trauma Centetr in Lucknow in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh with a gunshot injury died soon after, a hospital source told AFP.

His death has not been confirmed by local police, but his father told the Times of India newspaper his son was shot after getting caught in a crowd of protesters while he was out to buy groceries.

Four others were being treated at a hospital in Mangalore "with bullet injuries following the clashes," a district medical officer told AFP.

Shah said police fired their weapons after some 200 demonstrators refused to stop their march.

"They marched towards the busiest area of Mangalaru. This led to lathi (big, wooden sticks) charge. Then the tear gas was fired. When the protestors still didn't stop, the police had to open fire after that," he said, using an alternate name for the city.

Security forces and protesters had clashed in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka states, while elsewhere police bundled demonstrators onto buses, shuttered Delhi metro stations and cut cellphone access in some areas.

The protests were sparked by a new law easing citizenship rules for people fleeing persecution from 3 neighboring countries but not Muslims, stoking accusations at home and abroad that Modi wants to reshape India as a Hindu nation, which he denies.

Seven months after Modi swept to a second term, the past week has seen 6 other people killed in the northeastern state of Assam and dozens injured, while on Thursday, authorities banned gatherings across swathes of the world's biggest democracy that together are home to hundreds of millions of people.

DEMONSTRATORS DRAGGED

Fresh violence erupted in Samhbal, Uttar Pradesh, where hundreds of protesters set fire to vehicles and threw stones at security forces who responded with tear gas, local police chief Yamuna Prasad told AFP.

In Modi's home state of Gujarat, police said they baton-charged demonstrators and arrested 50 people.

As others ignored the assembly bans in Delhi and elsewhere, authorities ordered telecom firms to cut calls, text messages and data in parts of the city.

India is already the world leader in cutting the internet, activists say, and access was also restricted in parts of the northeast and in Uttar Pradesh, home to a large Muslim minority.

In Delhi, prominent rights activist Harsh Mander was detained, while in Bangalore globally renowned historian Ramachandra Guha was among those dragged onto a police bus.

Around 20,000 people took to the streets in the northeast, where the protests began last week—albeit for different reasons.

The day's biggest demonstration took place in Malegaon district of Maharashtra state with as many as 60,000 people, police said.

'SOMETHING HAS CHANGED'

In Mumbai, a crowd of thousands including tattooed students and older Muslim men wearing skullcaps brandished Indian flags, posters of Mahatma Gandhi and handed out copies of the constitution.

"Something has changed. This is the first time in a long time that people in Mumbai have come out in such large numbers to register dissent," said consultant Karishma V.

A crowd of around 40,000 people in eastern West Bengal's Kolkata city was led by the state's chief minister Mamata Banerjee, a strong Modi critic.

The protests have been fuelled by anger about alleged police brutality including at a university in Delhi on Sunday night.

Security forces in the capital have fired some 450 tear gas shells in the past 5 days, the Hindustan Times daily reported. One student reportedly lost an eye.

The demonstrations in the city have at times turned violent with vehicles set on fire and protestors hurling stones at police in heavily Muslim areas on Wednesday.

"If they show us the lathi (police baton), we will show them roses," a student in Delhi, Shivanji, told AFP as she handed flowers to police on Thursday.

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At least 15 killed in attack in Thailand's restive south: officials

BANGKOK - Suspected separatist insurgents killed at least 15 and wounded four village defense volunteers in a late-night shooting at a security checkpoint in Thailand's Muslim-majority south, security officials said on Wednesday.

The attackers in southern Yala province also used explosives and scattered nails on roads to delay pursuers late on Tuesday night in what authorities described as the biggest gun attack in years.

"This is likely the work of the insurgents," Colonel Pramote Prom-in, a regional security spokesman, told Reuters.

"This is one of the biggest attack in recent times," he said.

A decade-old separatist insurgency in predominantly Buddhist Thailand's largely ethnic Malay-Muslim provinces of Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat has killed nearly 7,000 people since 2004, according to Deep South Watch, which monitors the violence.

There was no claim of responsibility, as is common with attacks in Thailand's deep south.

Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat were part of an independent Malay Muslim sultanate before Thailand annexed them in 1909.

Some rebel groups in the south have said they are fighting to establish an independent state.

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'Nightmare' as Egypt aided China to detain Uighurs

CAIRO, Egypt - Abdulmalik Abdulaziz, an Uighur student, was arrested and handcuffed by Egyptian police and when they removed his blindfold he was surprised to see Chinese officials questioning him in custody. 

He was picked up in broad daylight with friends, and taken to a Cairo police station where Chinese officials grilled him about what he was doing in Egypt.

The three officials spoke to him in Chinese, addressing him using his Chinese name not his Uighur one.

"They never said their names or mentioned who they were exactly," said Abdulaziz, 27, who spoke to AFP helping to uncover new details of the 2017 arrests of over 90 Uighurs from the mostly Muslim Turkic minority.

Abdulaziz, like most swept up in the three-day crackdown in the first week of July 2017, was an Islamic theology student at Al-Azhar, the Sunni Muslim world's most prestigious educational institution.

"Egyptian policemen said 'the Chinese government says that you are terrorists'. But we responded that we are only Al-Azhar students," said Abdulaziz. AFP is using pseudonyms to protect the identities of those Uighurs interviewed.

China is one of Egypt's biggest investors, pouring money into massive infrastructure projects such as the construction of a new administrative capital east of Cairo. Trade between the two countries reached a record high of $13.8 billion last year.

Just three weeks before the raid, Egypt and China signed a security memorandum focusing on "combating terrorism".

After a few days of questioning in Police Station 2 in Nasr City, an upmarket suburb of Cairo, Abdulaziz was sent to Tora, one of Egypt's most notorious jails.

Released after 60 days in detention, he escaped, seeking asylum in Turkey, a hub of Uighur immigration, in October 2017.

'SAME TACTICS'

Shams Eddin Ahmed, 26, was arrested outside the Moussa Ibn Naseer mosque on 4 July, 2017 in Nasr City. 

His father in Xinjiang, a region in northwest China, also disappeared that month. 

Many Uighurs refer to Xinjiang as East Turkestan, including those AFP interviewed, but for Beijing it has troubling connotations of independence and activism.


"I still don't know if he's dead or alive," he recounted.

Unmarked black vans pulled up as afternoon prayers ended and around five policemen arrested several Uighur worshippers.

Ahmed was also transferred to Tora, the stifling carceral complex which houses many of Egypt's high-profile political prisoners.

"I felt so afraid when I got there. It was extremely dark... I thought to myself how will we ever get out of here?" he said. 

"I was afraid that they would hand us over to the Chinese authorities," added Ahmed.

The Uighurs were split into two groups of 45 to 50 men each and languished in large cells for weeks. 

Two weeks before their release, the Uighurs and other Chinese Muslims of different ethnic ancestry, were divided into three groups, and given colour codes.

Red, green or yellow determined if they would be deported, released or further questioned.

Ahmed said Egyptian prison guards handcuffed, blindfolded and then hauled many of the group into vans heading to Cairo police stations.

During 11 days in police custody, he claims three Chinese officials questioned him specifically about his father.

"Where is he and how does he send you money?" he told AFP. 

Ahmed was in the green group, meaning he was eventually released. He fled to Istanbul in early October 2017.

Abdulweli Ayup, a Norway-based Uighur linguist who has researched the community in Egypt, confirmed hearing similar accounts from other detainees.

"It's the same practice and tactic implemented in internment camps in China. I don't believe it's a coincidence," he said, adding Chinese authorities use the same three colour codes for detained Uighurs.

'MUSLIM BROTHERS'

Human rights groups say more than one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are held in a network of internment camps in China where they endure political indoctrination. 

Beijing says the "vocational education centres" are necessary to counter religious extremism.

Germany-based independent researcher Adrian Zenz, who has mapped out camps in Xinjiang, said: "China's new push to redefine human rights in terms of economic development... suits many of these nations."

"A country giving the Chinese significant leeway can in return expect significant favors," he added, referring to the Egyptian-Chinese security cooperation.

Egypt's interior ministry and the Chinese embassy in Cairo did not respond to AFP's repeated requests for comment.

"Those found to be overstaying contrary to the law, including Chinese citizens among other nationalities, are expelled", said Ahmed Hafez, Egypt's foreign ministry spokesman, when asked about the deportation of Uighurs in 2017. He did not answer AFP's questions on the 60-day detention of the group that had been picked up by police.

Darren Byler, an anthropologist at Washington University, noted "similar attempts by Chinese officials in Thailand and elsewhere" to extradite diaspora Uighurs.

"The autonomy with which Chinese authorities were permitted to act in Egypt is unprecedented," he told AFP.

Ayup, the linguist, explains the devastating effect of the 2017 raids that reduced a thriving community of around 6,000 people to about 50 families.

"For Uighurs it's a nightmare that your Muslim brother would invite Chinese officials to interrogate you. They have lost their belief and have become paranoid in the diaspora," he said.

Abdulaziz considers himself fortunate, but the fate of other Uighurs expelled by Egypt preys on his mind.

"It has been years since we heard anything about those deported and our families. We just don't know."

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Under pressure from Trump, Israel bars visit by two US Democratic lawmakers

* Women had planned visit to Jerusalem, West Bank

* Both back pro-Palestinian movement to boycott Israel

* Israeli law allows banning entry of boycott supporters

* Trump had urged Israel to bar visit

JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday barred U.S. Democratic congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from making a planned trip to Israel, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump called on his ally not to let them in.

Tlaib and Omar, the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, are members of their party's progressive wing and sharp critics both of Trump and of Israel's policy toward the Palestinians.

The moves, which were immediately condemned by many Democratic leaders in the United States as well as Palestinians, could help whip up support among Trump and Netanyahu's conservative voter bases as they head into election campaigns.

Israel holds a national election on Sept. 17 and Trump faces re-election in November 2020.

Tlaib and Omar have voiced support for the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement over Israel's policies toward Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Under Israeli law, BDS backers can be denied entry to Israel.

Omar called Thursday's decision an "affront" and "an insult to democratic values."

Israel had initially chosen to allow the visit. A source who took part in consultations Netanyahu held with cabinet members and advisers on Wednesday told Reuters that Israel backtracked due to pressure from Trump. The pressure was reported by the Axios news site on Saturday but denied by the White House.

"In a discussion held two weeks ago all the officials were in favor of letting them in but, after Trump's pressure, they reversed the decision," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In a tweet on Thursday, Trump wrote: "It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib to visit ... They are a disgrace!"

Asked if he had spoken to Netanyahu about the planned visit, Trump told reporters: "I don't want to comment about who I spoke to, but I think my social media statement pretty well speaks for itself."

"But I did speak to people over there," he added.

Trump's request appeared to contravene a U.S. government policy that says the United States seeks "equal treatment and freedom to travel" for all U.S. citizens regardless of ethnicity. It says those denied entry should be given a written explanation by Israel.

Trump has in recent months accused Tlaib, Omar and two other first-term Democratic congresswomen of color - dubbed "the Squad" - of hostility to Israel in a barrage condemned by critics as racist and widely seen as a way to drum up votes for 2020.

Omar is a favorite target. At a recent rally in North Carolina, supporters chanted "send her back" after Trump falsely accused her of supporting al Qaeda.

The 37-year-old lawmaker who represents a Minnesota congressional district immigrated to the United States from Somalia as a child. U.S.-born Tlaib, 43, has roots in the West Bank.

Omar has been criticized for statements critical of Israel, including a 2012 tweet referring to the country’s "evil doings" and a tweet this year saying that support for Israel is all about money. Omar has apologized for such statements.

Israel's ambassador in the United States, Ron Dermer, had said last month that Tlaib and Omar would be let in, out of respect for the U.S. Congress and the U.S.-Israeli relationship.

Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal Jewish advocacy group J Street, said Trump's strategy was about appealing to his conservative base, which includes evangelicals hawkish on Israel.

"This not a strategy that is primarily aimed at the Jewish community," Ben-Ami said. "It’s become another culture war issue."

'DENY ISRAEL'S LEGITIMACY'

No date had been formally announced for the congresswomen's trip, but sources familiar with the planning said it could begin over the weekend. They had planned to tour East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, which Palestinians want for a state.

Netanyahu said that Israel had the utmost respect for Congress but that Tlaib and Omar were promoting legislation calling for boycotts against Israel.

"Only a few days ago, we received their itinerary for their visit in Israel, which revealed that they planned a visit whose sole objective is to strengthen the boycott against us and deny Israel’s legitimacy," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu could easily feel he owes Trump a favor after some of the U.S. president's decisions, such as recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, withdrawing from the Iran nuclear accord and moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

However, denying entry to elected U.S. officials was likely to further strain relations between Netanyahu, who has highlighted his close ties with Trump in his current re-election campaign, and the Democratic leadership in Congress.

"Israel doesn't advance its case as a tolerant democracy or unwavering U.S. ally by barring elected members of Congress from visiting because of their political views. This would be a shameful, unprecedented move," Democratic presidential hopeful and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Twitter.

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate's top Democrat, said in a statement: "Denying entry to members of the United States Congress is a sign of weakness, not strength. It will only hurt the U.S.-Israeli relationship and support for Israel in America."

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian official with the Palestine Liberation Organization and founder of Miftah, a West Bank-based nongovernmental organization that is co-sponsoring the trip, called the decision to block it "an affront to the American people and their representatives."

"This ban is a clear case of discrimination and hostility based on political views and ethnic background, deserving of moral indignation and unequivocal condemnation in Palestine and the United States," Ashrawi said in a statement.

The Palestinians have broken off diplomatic ties with the Trump administration over what they see as its heavily pro-Israel bias.

Tlaib's grandmother and extended family live in the Palestinian village of Beit Ur Al-Fauqa.

"We were surprised today that they banned Rashida. It is unfair and racist that they banned her from visiting her country Palestine and her family in Palestine," said her uncle, Bassam Tlaib.

Netanyahu said that if Tlaib submitted a request to visit family on humanitarian grounds, Israel would consider it as long as she promised not to promote a boycott against Israel.

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Hajj begins

Muslim pilgrims face the Kaaba as they pray at the Grand Mosque during the annual Hajj in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia on Friday. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims have arrived in the kingdom to participate in the annual pilgrimage, a mandatory religious duty that must be carried out at least once by every adult Muslim who is physically and financially capable of making the journey.

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More than 2 million Muslims mark Eid'l Adha in Saudi

MINA, Saudi Arabia- More than 2 million Muslims took part in the symbolic stoning of the devil Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, the last major ritual of the hajj pilgrimage that heralds the start of the Eid al-Adha feast.

Muslims on the annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, made their way across the Mina valley of the western Saudi Arabian Mecca province, many carrying pebbles in plastic bottles. 

Pilgrims clad in white threw seven stones each at a pillar symbolizing Satan, shouting "Allahu akbar" ("God is greatest") under the watchful eyes of security forces.

Large fans sprayed water over the crowd as temperatures climbed to 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit).

"Thank God it hasn't been too crowded this year. There hasn't been a big rush," said Mohammed Osman, 27, who regularly attends hajj. 

Mina was the site of a 2015 stampede which saw more than 2,300 pilgrims crushed or suffocated to death. Authorities have since reinforced safety and security measures. 

"We are under God's protection," said May Khalifa, a 37-year-old Egyptian Muslim living in Riyadh. 

"Despite the exhaustion, I'm enjoying my first hajj," she said, lifting her small bag of stones. 

The hajj is one of the world's largest Muslim gatherings and drew this year nearly 2.4 million pilgrims to Saudi holy sites.

SECURITY, PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES

Roads from Muzdalifah -- another holy site where pilgrims spent Monday night -- to Mina were littered with plastic water bottles as sanitation workers scrambled to remove them.

Bangladeshi Moueeneddine Ahmed, 35, complained of the scorching heat but said he was "very excited" to take part in the stoning of the devil ritual.

In keeping with customs, he said he would then "shave his head" and trade the white seamless robe he wore for the hajj for his "normal clothes."

Ahmed also praised the Saudi government for keeping the peace throughout the hajj. "There's a lot of security. Very disciplined," he said.

Tens of thousands of security forces, including police and civil defense, have been deployed for hajj, according to Saudi authorities. 

Saudi Arabia's King Salman made the trip to Mina on Tuesday and was seen on state-run television observing worshippers from the window of a high-rise.

And in a rare move, he took to Twitter to say it was a "great honor" to welcome the pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. 

The hajj retraces the steps of the Prophet Mohammed on his last pilgrimage to Mecca.

It is one of the five pillars of Islam which every Muslim is required to complete at least once in their lifetime if they are healthy enough and have the means to do so.

Muslim tradition holds that pilgrims must throw seven stones at a pillar representing Satan on the first day of Eid al-Adha, which comes after two days of prayer and meditation. 

The stoning ritual is not without risk, as millions of pilgrims converge on a tight space.

Since 2004, authorities have expanded the site and replaced the pillar by walls to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims, who can now reach Mina via multiple bridges. 

Muslims traditionally slaughter sheep for the three-day Eid al-Adha, a tribute to the prophet Abraham's sacrifice of a lamb after God spared Ishmael, his son.

They will consume some of the meat and give the rest to poor people unable to buy food.

Pilgrims can purchase coupons from the Saudi government, which organizes the slaughter and freezing of the meat to avoid public health problems. 

Revenues from the coupons are considered "zakat", or a charity donation, another pillar of Islam.

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'Trailblazing' US judge found dead in New York

NEW YORK - An appeals court judge, the first black woman to serve on New York's highest court and the first Muslim woman judge in the United States, has been found dead.

Sheila Abdus-Salaam, 65, an associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals, was pulled from the Hudson River and pronounced dead on Wednesday after being alerted by an emergency call, police said Thursday.

Her husband had reported her missing on Tuesday, US media said.

"The medical examiner will determine the cause of death and the investigation is ongoing," New York police said in a statement.

State Governor Andrew Cuomo hailed Abdus-Salaam as a "trailblazing jurist" and extended his sympathies to her family, loved ones and colleagues.

"As the first African-American woman to be appointed to the state's court of appeals, she was a pioneer," he said.

"Through her writings, her wisdom, and her unshakable moral compass, she was a force for good whose legacy will be felt for years to come."

Abdus-Salaam was born into a working class family in Washington DC in 1952 and educated at public schools.

While researching her family history as a child she discovered that one of her great-grandfathers had been a slave in Virginia, US media said.

She studied at New York's Barnard College and Columbia Law School, where she was a classmate of Eric Holder, the first black US attorney general, who served under former president Barack Obama.

Abdus-Salaam began her legal career at East Brooklyn Legal Services, which works against poverty, racial and social injustice, before serving as a lawyer for the New York state government and city's office of labor services.

She was appointed to the Court of Appeals by Cuomo in 2013.

"Her personal warmth, uncompromising sense of fairness, and bright legal mind were an inspiration to all of us who had the good fortune to know her," the court said.

She lived in Harlem.

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Almost 1.5 million Muslims at launch of hajj

MECCA - From Asia, Africa and points in between, nearly 1.5 million Muslims launched the annual hajj pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites Saturday, undeterred by a stampede last year that cost around 2,300 lives.

The numbers are down because of the absence of tens of thousands of Iranians over tensions between their Shiite nation and Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia which is home to the sites in Mecca and Medina.

The 2015 stampede magnified those frictions.

After preliminary rituals this week in Mecca at the Grand Mosque, the pilgrims moved on Saturday, many by bus, in debilitating temperatures exceeding 40 C (100 F) to Mina, several kilometres (miles) to the east.

They are following in the footsteps of their Prophet Mohammed who performed the same rituals about 1,400 years ago.

"It's an indescribable feeling. You have to live it to understand. This is my sixth hajj and I still cannot express how happy I am to be in Mecca," said Hassan Mohammed, 60, from Egypt.

The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, which capable Muslims must perform at least once, marking the spiritual peak of their lives.

"People come from every country of the world, talk every language of the world, and meet here in one place under one banner, the profession of the Muslim faith," said Ashraf Zalat, 43, also from Egypt.

The first day of hajj was traditionally the chance for pilgrims to let their animals drink and to stock up on water.

Then they proceed to Mount Arafat, several kilometres further, for the peak of the hajj on Sunday.

Mina becomes their base, where an expanse of solidly-built white fireproof tents can accommodate 2.6 million pilgrims.

Last September 24, Mina was the scene of the deadliest disaster in hajj history, when the stampede broke out as pilgrims made their way to the Jamarat Bridge for a stoning ritual.

This year's "Stoning of the Devil" will start on Monday.

Although Riyadh stuck with a stampede death toll of 769, data from foreign officials in more than 30 countries gave a tally almost three times higher -- at least 2,297.

Saudi Arabia announced an investigation but no results have ever been released, although a number of safety measures have been taken.

'WE FEEL SAFE'

Government facilities have been moved out of Mina to free up space, Saudi newspapers reported, and roads in the Jamarat area expanded.

Officials have been issuing pilgrims with bracelets that digitally store their personal data, after some foreign officials expressed concern about difficulties in identifying the stampede dead.

AFP found pilgrims wearing the new bracelets which authorities aim to give each of the more than 1.4 million faithful from abroad, who are expected to be joined by more than 100,000 Muslims residing in Saudi Arabia.

But there has been no figure for the number of bracelets distributed so far.

Interior ministry spokesman General Mansour al-Turki spoke of "great efforts being exerted by the kingdom, not only in maintaining the security and safety of the pilgrims, but in facilitating performance" of the rites.

Many pilgrims appeared satisfied on Saturday.

"Everything is well organized," said Nasser Benfitah, 54, from Morocco.

"We feel safe," chimed in a Nigerian pilgrim, Hafsa Amina, 26.

Saudi Arabia has invested billions of dollars in hajj infrastructure and safety projects over the years.

This includes expansion of the Grand Mosque whose complex includes a plaza of white stones stretching for hundreds of metres (yards).

Just beyond this area, known as the Haram, or sacred site, luxury multi-storey hotels and shopping centres fill the skyline.

The hajj draws rich and poor, whose common humanity is emphasized by the white garment that each man wears. Women wear loose dresses, typically also white.

Many pilgrims now beam their spiritual journey back home through cyberspace to family and friends, and a range of specially-designed mobile applications can be downloaded.

Despite the safety and security measures which Saudi Arabia says it has taken, Iranian authorities have questioned the kingdom's custodianship of Islam's holiest places.

The two countries do not have diplomatic relations and are at odds over a string of regional issues including the wars in Yemen and Syria.

Iran reported the largest number of stampede victims, at 464, and its pilgrims are excluded for the first time in decades after the regional rivals failed to agree on security and logistics.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

London's new Muslim mayor hails 'unity over division'

LONDON, United Kingdom – London's new mayor Sadiq Khan thanked voters for choosing "unity over division" as he was elected Saturday, becoming the first Muslim leader of a major Western capital.

In a second round run-off, the son of Pakistani immigrants beat Conservative multimillionaire Zac Goldsmith with 57 percent, or 1.3 million votes, giving him the largest personal mandate of any British politician.

Khan swept to victory despite repeated accusations from his rivals, including Prime Minister David Cameron, that he sympathized with Islamic extremists -- which he denies.

"This election was not without controversy and I am so proud that London has today chosen hope over fear and unity over division," the 45-year-old said in his acceptance speech, to cheers from supporters.

"I hope that we will never be offered such a stark choice again. Fear doesn't make us safer, it only makes us weaker, and the politics of fear is simply not welcome in our city."

As he spoke, the mayoral candidate for the far-right Britain First party, Paul Golding, turned his back.

The victory offered some cheer for Labour after setbacks elsewhere following regional elections across Britain on Thursday, as a row over anti-Semitism in the party that has damaged leader Jeremy Corbyn continued to rage.

"Congratulations Sadiq Khan. Can't wait to work with you to create a London that is fair for all!" Corbyn tweeted.

Khan replaces the charismatic Boris Johnson and ends the Conservatives' eight-year hold on the London mayoralty, a position that has responsibility for transport, housing, policing and promoting economic development.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was among the first to tweet his congratulations to "fellow affordable housing advocate, @SadiqKhan. Look forward to working together!"

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo added on Twitter that Khan's "humanity, progressivism will benefit Londoners."

The victory was also hailed in Tooting, a multi-ethnic area of south London where Khan lives and where he grew up in social housing, before becoming first a human rights lawyer and then a member of parliament.

"Sadiq Khan will have a unifying factor because he is Muslim, an immigrant, he is from (the) working class, so he understands the working class people and he can associate with them," said Shahzad Saddiqui, a local businessman.

Labour losses elsewhere
Labour fared less well in other elections on Britain's "Super Thursday", in which 45 million Britons were eligible to vote.

The party came third in elections for the devolved government in Scotland, a one-time stronghold, behind the Conservatives, in a vote won by the incumbent pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP).

Labour retained power in the Welsh assembly, although it lost one seat, and with 118 of 124 results declared, maintained all but one of its local councils in England.

Corbyn, a veteran socialist who has faced opposition from centrists in his party since being elected last year, said his party had "hung on" and surpassed expectations.

But critics said Labour should have made more gains given the splits in the Conservative government ahead of the EU referendum on June 23, and its unpopular spending cuts.

Matthew Goodwin, politics professor at Kent University, said Labour was in "serious trouble".

"The Labour party is now third in Scotland for the first time since 1910 and it has failed to make a serious impression in southern England," he said.

'Persuade not divide'

SNP leader and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will lead the separatist party into its third successive government in Edinburgh, although the party lost its outright majority.

She announced she would lead a minority administration, and played down talk of a fresh independence referendum to follow the unsuccessful one in 2014.

"The SNP will always make our case with passion, with patience and with respect but our aim is to persuade not to divide," Sturgeon said.

The other big story in Scotland was the success of the Scottish Conservatives, who came second with 31 seats.

The party has been deeply unpopular in Scotland since the 1980s premiership of Margaret Thatcher but its fortunes have turned around under current Scottish leader Ruth Davidson.

Davidson is a charismatic and openly gay 37-year-old whose cheery, no-nonsense style and proficient use of social media has fuelled her party's success.

Elsewhere, the anti-European, anti-immigration UK Independence Party (UKIP) secured its first seat in the Welsh assembly and two seats in the London assembly.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How listed companies can tap into Islamic finance

For our Muslim brothers and sisters, investing in certain instruments isn't as easy because they have to adhere to what is called the Shariah Law.

To help broaden their options, the Philippine Stock Exchange has been working on encouraging companies to be compliant to this set of rules, and create what is called a Shariah Index.

-- ANC On The Money

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Google ordered to remove anti-Islamic film from YouTube

A US appeals court on Wednesday ordered Google Inc to remove from its YouTube video-sharing website an anti-Islamic film that had sparked protests across the Muslim world.

By a 2-1 vote, a panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Google's assertion that the removal of the film "Innocence of Muslims" amounted to a prior restraint of speech that violated the US Constitution.

The plaintiff, Cindy Lee Garcia, had objected to the film after learning that it incorporated a clip she had made for a different movie, which had been partially dubbed and in which she appeared to be asking: "Is your Mohammed a child molester?"

In a statement, Google said: "We strongly disagree with this ruling and will fight it."

Cris Armenta, a lawyer for Garcia, said she is delighted with the decision.

"Ordering YouTube and Google to take down the film was the right thing to do," Armenta said in an email. "The propaganda film differs so radically from anything that Ms. Garcia could have imagined when the director told her that she was being cast in the innocent adventure film."

The controversial film, billed as a film trailer, depicted the Prophet Mohammed as a fool and a sexual deviant. It sparked a torrent of anti-American unrest among Muslims in Egypt, Libya and other countries in 2012.

That outbreak coincided with an attack on US diplomatic facilities in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the US ambassador to Libya. US and other foreign embassies were also stormed in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

For many Muslims, any depiction of the prophet is considered blasphemous.

Google had refused to remove the film from YouTube, despite pressure from the White House and others, though it blocked the trailer in Egypt, Libya and certain other countries.

In court filings, Google argued that Garcia appeared in the film for five seconds, and that while she might have legal claims against the director, she should not win a copyright lawsuit against Google.

The film has now become an important part of public debate, Google argued, and should not be taken down.

"Our laws permit even the vilest criticisms of governments, political leaders, and religious figures as legitimate exercises in free speech," the company wrote.

But Garcia argued that her performance within the film was independently copyrightable and that she retained an interest in that copyright.

A lower court had refused her request that Google remove the film from YouTube. In Wednesday's decision, however, 9th Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski said Garcia was likely to prevail on her copyright claim, and having already faced "serious threats against her life," faced irreparable harm absent an injunction.

He called it a rare and troubling case, given how Garcia had been duped. "It's disappointing, though perhaps not surprising, that Garcia needed to sue in order to protect herself and her rights," he wrote.

The case is Garcia vs. Google Inc et al., 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 12-57302.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Sultan of Brunei introduces tough Islamic punishments

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN - The Sultan of Brunei on Tuesday introduced tough Islamic punishments including death by stoning for crimes such as adultery, making his oil-rich realm the first East Asian country to do so at the national level.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah -- one of the world's wealthiest men -- said a new Sharia Penal Code in the works for years was officially introduced Tuesday and would "come into force six months hereafter and in phases", sparking sharp criticism from rights groups.

Under the code, which applies only to Muslims, punishments can include stoning to death for adultery, severing of limbs for theft, and flogging for violations ranging from abortion to alcohol consumption.

"By the grace of Allah, with the coming into effect of this legislation, our duty to Allah is therefore being fulfilled," the sultan, 67, said in a speech.

An absolute monarch whose family has tightly controlled the tiny, languid realm of 400,000 people for six centuries, the sultan first called in 1996 for sharia criminal punishments.

"Brunei is showing its feudal characteristics as an 18th-century state rather than an important member of a regional Southeast Asian economic and social consensus in the 21st century," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

He called the legal change "rights-abusing, abhorrent, and absolutely unjustifiable".

Brunei already practices a brand of Islam that is relatively conservative compared to its Muslim neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia, banning the sale and public consumption of alcohol and closely restricting other religions.

But sharia has been a rare point of contention in a land where the sultan's word is unquestioned, with many Bruneians quietly grumbling that the concept is out of step with the affluent country's laid-back ethnic Malay society.

The monarch himself has acknowledged concerns over sharia in recent years as the code was being drafted.

Compatible with Malay culture?

But he has repeatedly advocated strengthening the insular nation's Muslim roots in the face of potentially harmful outside influences including the Internet, while guarding against radicalism.

However, Brunei was likely to apply sharia law "very, very softly" in keeping with its peaceful national character, said Gibril Fouad Haddad, a visiting fellow at Brunei's Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Centre for Islamic Studies.

"Is it merely symbolic? I don't know," he said.

The government has previously promised to apply an extremely high burden of proof with sharia and said judges would have wide discretion in applying it, comments aimed at easing public fears.

"It seems almost incompatible with Malay culture, which is peace-loving," said Tuah Ibrahim, 57, driver of a boat taxi in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan.

He said sharia can be acceptable if proportionate to the crime, but adds: "I can't imagine our country turning into somewhere like Saudi Arabia."

Neither of East Asia's two other Muslim-majority countries -- Malaysia and Indonesia -- impose sharia criminal punishments, but the Indonesian special region of Aceh does.

Nearly 70 percent of Brunei's people are Muslim Malays while about 15 percent are non-Muslim ethnic Chinese.

Brunei already has a dual system combining civil courts based on British law -- the sultanate was a British protectorate until 1984 -- and sharia-compliant courts handling marital, inheritance, and other low-key issues.

In his speech, the sultan appeared to try to assuage any international concerns, saying the sharia change "does not in any way change our policies ... as a member of the family of nations".

The monarch's wealth -- estimated at $20 billion by Forbes magazine two years ago -- has become legendary amid reports of a vast collection of luxury vehicles and gold-bedecked palaces.

The monarchy was deeply embarrassed by a sensational family feud between Hassanal and his younger brother Jefri Bolkiah over the latter's alleged embezzlement of 15 billion dollars during his tenure as finance minister in the 1990s.

Court battles and exposes revealed salacious details of Jefri's un-Islamic jet-set lifestyle, including allegations of a high-priced harem of Western paramours and a luxury yacht he owned called "Tits".

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Iranian President Condemns Anti-Islam Film

NEW YORK, (AFP) --- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on  Sunday sharply criticized the film mocking Islam that has sparked deadly anti-American protests in the Muslim world, but also called for restraint.

''Fundamentally, first of all, any action that is provocative, offends the religious thoughts and feelings of any people, we condemn,'' told CNN.

More than 50 people have died in protests and attacks around the world linked to the low-budget film, which mocks Islam and the Prophet Mohammed, since demonstrations first broke out on September 11, including the US ambassador to Libya.

''Offending the Holy Prophet is quite ugly,'' Ahmadinejad said. ''This has very little or nothing to do with freedom and freedom of speech. This is the weakness of and the abuse of freedom, and in many places it is a crime.

''It shouldn't take place and I do hope the day will come in which politicians will not seek to offend those whom others hold holy.''

However, when asked about comments by Pakistani Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, who on Saturday offered a $100,000 ''prize'' for killing the filmmaker of ''Innocence of Muslims,'' the Iranian president urged restraint.

''Likewise, we condemn any type of extremism,'' he said. ''We also believe that this must also be resolved in a humane atmosphere, in a participatory environment and we do not like anyone losing their lives or being killed for any reason, anywhere in the world.''

article source: mb.com.ph

Missing Jordanian journalist, crew was supposed to return to Zamboanga last June 12

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The missing Jordanian journalist and his two Filipino crew members were supposed to return to Zamboanga City on June 12, a local Muslim leader here disclosed on Monday.

Baker Atyani of Dubai-based Al Arabiya network only wanted to interview Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan and to "roam around" Jolo before returning to Zamboanga City either on June 12 or 13 for an interview with Western Mindanao Command chief Major Gen. Noel Coballes, Ustadz Abdulbaki Abubakar, Grand Mufti of Zamboanga and Palawan, said.

Nothing has been heard from the three since.

"He told me that he would only talk to the Sulu governor then he would stay in Jolo to take pictures," Abubakar said.

Atyani and his two Filipino crew members, Ramelito Vela and Rolando Letrero, have been reported missing last week after they left their hostel in Patikul early morning June 12.

Police said Atyani, the Southeast Asia bureau chief of the TV network, arrived with his crew members last June 11 to do a special report on Mindanao, including Sulu.

Abubakar, one of those interviewed by the Jordanian journalist, said that Atyani did not say he wanted to go out of Jolo or other parts of the island.

Abubakar said Atyani could just be "doing some stories that's why he has not returned yet."

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, Western Mindanao Command spokesman, said the Sulu government has already created a crisis management committee and this will be the only authorized body to speak on the matter.

The military also could not confirm reports that the three journalists were being held by Abu Sayyaf bandits in Sulu.

The ASG is reportedly 50-60 member strong in the Mindanao island, led by Radullan Sahiron.

In Manila, Sr. Supt. Generoso Cerbo, spokesman of the Philippine National Police, said Atyani had earlier expressed interest in meeting Yasser Igasan, who according to intelligence reports is the spiritual adviser of the Abu Sayyaf Group.

Cerbo, quoting Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan, said the journalist was"discouraged" by the governor to pursue his plan of interviewing ASG personalities and should Atyani insist on going, he should be given security. Atyani ignored the governor's requests.

"Based on findings of our investigators, there was no indication that he was forcibly abducted," Cerbo said. Atyani left his hotel room early morning June 12 on board a multi-cab to an unknown location.

"Seemingly based on indications, it appears he pursued his plan to meet personalities of the Abu Sayyaf Group. We all know he has past experiences of interviewing such underground personalities," Cerbo said.

Police on the ground are still gathering information that could lead to the location of the missing TV crew.

source: interaksyon.com

Aquino Extends Greetings To Muslims

MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno S. Aquino III has extended his warmest greetings to local Muslims in relation with "Maulidin Nabi" (Prophet Muhammad's birthday) Sunday, stressing the government "counts on your community to take part in building a nation of stability, prosperity, and amity."

"I extend my warmest greetings to the Muslim Filipino community on the occasion of Maulidin Nabi," Aquino said.

He reminded Muslims of the government's guiding principle -- straight and righteous path -- to attain national aspiration and reform.

"As one people, let us be galvanized by our sense of responsibility to serve the Almighty, our countrymen, and the Philippines," the Chief Executive said.

In a message through the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), the President noted the Muslims were prodded to reflect on the prophet's "exemplary qualities as a messenger of God."

The President said Muslims are still inspired by Muhammad's humility and patience, leading to a life of contentment and peace.

"His teachings also centered on brotherhood and harmony, as you live each day with your fellow Muslims, and neighbors of other faiths. May you exemplify the values and principles espoused by Muhammad, for we count on your community to take part in building a nation of stability, prosperity, and amity," Aquino said.

Scholars said if he were alive on Sunday (Feb. 5, 2012), Islam's prophet should be in his 1,442nd birth anniversary, having been born, they said, during the Hijrah calendar's 12th of Rabiul Awwal, year 570 CE.

Celebrating the prophet's birth is still a hotly debated issue among Islamic scholars, divided on the issue whether it is allowable or not.

In the Philippines, there are those who celebrate Maulidin Nabi, and there are those who forbid it.

The government, through the NCMF, headed by Secretary Bai Omera D. Dianalan Lucman, holds a simple program every year to remind Islam's local followers of the prophet's teachings, virtues, message, traditions, etc.

On Monday, Lucman will lead the observance, with Muslim religious leaders, to speak on the life and teachings of the prophet, what is called in the Holy Qur'an as "siratal mustaqim" or "straight path.”

source: mb.com.ph