BEIRUT — A war monitor said Israeli strikes on central Syria’s Palmyra on Wednesday killed four pro-Iran fighters, while Syrian state media reported an unspecified number of wounded in the attack.
“Four non-Syrian fighters from pro-Iran groups were killed and six others including civilians were wounded in a provisional toll of the Israeli strikes” on Palmyra, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The strikes targeted “a warehouse in the industrial area and a restaurant and buildings near the ancient city of Palmyra,” the Britain-based Observatory added.
State news agency SANA said an “Israeli attack… targeted residential buildings and the industrial area” of the city, renowned for its ancient ruins.
State television reported unspecified “wounded due to the Israeli attack that targeted the city of Palmyra.” Since the civil war erupted in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria, mainly targeting the army and Iran-backed armed groups, including Hezbollah.
The Israeli military has intensified its strikes since almost a year of hostilities with Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon escalated into all-out war in late September.
Israel rarely comments on individual strikes in Syria, but has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran to expand its presence there.
Authorities have not gone from shop to shop checking for banned books, an official with the provincial information department and a Herat bookseller said. (AFP/File)
KABUL — Checking imported books, removing texts from libraries and distributing lists of banned titles — Taliban authorities are working to remove “un-Islamic” and anti-government literature from circulation.
The efforts are led by a commission established under the Ministry of Information and Culture soon after the Taliban swept to power in 2021 and implemented their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or sharia.
In October, the ministry announced the commission had identified 400 books “that conflicted with Islamic and Afghan values, most of which have been collected from the markets.”
The department in charge of publishing has distributed copies of the Qur’an and other Islamic texts to replace seized books, the ministry statement said.
The ministry has not provided figures for the number of removed books, but two sources, a publisher in Kabul and a government employee, said texts had been collected in the first year of Taliban rule and again in recent months.
“There is a lot of censorship. It is very difficult to work, and fear has spread everywhere,” the Kabul publisher told AFP.
Books were also restricted under the previous foreign-backed government ousted by the Taliban, when there was “a lot of corruption, pressures and other issues,” he said.
But “there was no fear, one could say whatever he or she wanted to say,” he added. “Whether or not we could make any change, we could raise our voices.”
AFP received a list of five of the banned titles from an information ministry official.
It includes “Jesus the Son of Man” by renowned Lebanese-American author Khalil Gibran, for containing “blasphemous expressions,” and the “counterculture” novel “Twilight of the Eastern Gods” by Albanian author Ismail Kadare.
“Afghanistan and the Region: A West Asian Perspective” by Mirwais Balkhi, an education minister under the former government, was also banned for “negative propaganda.”
During the Taliban’s previous rule from 1996 to 2001, there were comparatively few publishing houses and booksellers in Kabul, the country having already been wracked by decades of war.
Today, thousands of books are imported each week alone from neighboring Iran — which shares the Persian language with Afghanistan — through the Islam Qala border crossing in western Herat province.
Taliban authorities rifled through boxes of a shipment at a customs warehouse in Herat city last week.
One man flipped through a thick English-language title, as another, wearing a camouflage uniform with a man’s image on the shoulder patch, searched for pictures of people and animals in the books.
“We have not banned books from any specific country or person, but we study the books and we block those that are contradictory to religion, sharia or the government, or if they have photos of living things,” said Mohammad Sediq Khademi, an official with the Herat department for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (PVPV).
“Any books that are against religion, faith, sect, sharia… we will not allow them,” the 38-year-old told AFP, adding the evaluations of imported books started some three months ago.
Images of living things — barred under some interpretations of Islam — are restricted according to a recent “vice and virtue” law that codifies rules imposed since the Taliban returned to power, but the regulations have been unevenly enforced.
Importers have been advised of which books to avoid, and when books are deemed unsuitable, they are given the option of returning them and getting their money back, Khademi said.
“But if they can’t, we don’t have any other option but to seize them,” he added.
“Once, we had 28 cartons of books that were rejected.”
Authorities have not gone from shop to shop checking for banned books, an official with the provincial information department and a Herat bookseller said, asking not to be named.
However, some books have been removed from Herat libraries and Kabul bookstores, a bookseller told AFP, also asking for anonymity, including “The History of Jihadi Groups in Afghanistan” by Afghan author Yaqub Mashauf.
Books bearing images of living things can still be found in Herat shops.
In Kabul and Takhar — a northern province where booksellers said they had received the list of 400 banned books — disallowed titles remained on some shelves.
Many non-Afghan works were banned, one seller said, “so they look at the author, whose name is there, and they are mostly banned” if they’re foreign.
His bookshop still carried translations of Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “The Gambler” and fantasy novel “Daughter of the Moon Goddess” by Sue Lynn Tan.
But he was keen to sell them “very cheap” now, to clear them from his stock.
KUALA BERANG — Hajat seorang warga emas mengangkat pukat yang dipasang kelmarin tidak kesampaian apabila ditemui meninggal dunia berdekatan kilang sawit di Jerangau Barat, Ajil di sini, pagi tadi.
Anak mangsa, Zamani Chik, 55 berkata, arwah bapanya, Chik Mamat, 76, keluar dari rumah kira-kira jam 7 pagi menuju ke kawasan anak sungai untuk memeriksa pukat yang dipasang pada malam Selasa.
Menurutnya, setiap kali tibanya musim tengkujuh bapanya yang juga seorang peneroka akan ke anak sungai di kawasan itu untuk memasang pukat dan hasil yang diperoleh akan dijadikan hidangan seisi keluarga.
Katanya, bapanya tidak menunjukkan sebarang perubahan sebelum ditemukan meninggal dunia pagi tadi oleh orang awam.
“Ayah saya ini dia memang minat menangkap ikan dan setiap kali tiba musim tengkujuh dia akan memasang pukat dan keesokan harinya akan kembali ke lokasi itu untuk memeriksa hasil yang diperoleh.
“Penduduk kampung memaklumkan kejadian yang menimpa ayah kepada saya kerana kebetulan ketika itu ada penduduk yang ke lokasi sama untuk memasang pukat,” katanya ketika ditemui di pekarangan Unit Forensik Hospital Hulu Terengganu, di sini, hari ini.
Difahamkan penduduk kampung menemui jasad ayah di lokasi kejadian yang terletak lima kilometer (km) dari rumah di Felda Jerangau Barat, dekat sini.
Zamani berkata, mungkin pada waktu memeriksa pukat yang dipasang arwah ayah mengalami kekejangan kaki atau tergelincir lalu terjatuh ke dalam sungai.
Sementara itu, seorang penduduk, Mohd Zakhiri Yusof, 40, berkata, dia antara individu terawal menarik mayat mangsa sebaik dijumpai terapung di sungai berkenaan.
“Waktu sampai di kawasan itu kira-kira jam 8.45 pagi seorang rakan memberitahu terlihat seperti mayat terapung kira-kira 50 meter dari kawasan daratan.
“Saya kemudian menghubungi seorang lagi rakan dan baru saya tahu bapa kepada penduduk Felda Jerangau Barat, yang pergi memukat di anak sungai itu pagi tadi.
“Saya serta beberapa penduduk kampung lain mengambil masa kira-kira 30 minit untuk bawa naik mayat mangsa ke darat,” katanya.
Terdahulu, polis menerima maklumat berhubung penemuan mayat seorang lelaki pada jam 9.40 pagi.
Mayat, Chik Mamat, 76, yang juga peneroka di FELDA Jerangau Barat, ditemukan lemas dalam anak sungai di belakang sebuah kilang sawit.
Ketika kejadian, kedalaman air kira-kira satu meter dan kita mengeluarkan mayat dengan bantuan orang ramai.
FILE PHOTO: A serviceman of 24th Mechanized brigade named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a 2s5 “Hyacinth-s” self-propelled howitzer toward Russian troops at a front line (Reuters)
The US embassy in Kyiv has received information of a potential significant air attack on Wednesday and will be closed, the US Department of State Consular Affairs said in a statement.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the embassy will be closed, and embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place,” the department said in a statement published on the website of the US embassy in Kyiv.
“The US Embassy recommends US citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced.”
The warning comes a day after Ukraine used US ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory, taking advantage of newly granted permission from the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden on the war’s 1,000th day.
Russia had been warning the West for months that if Washington allowed Ukraine to fire US, British and French missiles deep into Russia, Moscow would consider those NATO members to be directly involved in the war in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in October that Moscow will respond to Ukraine’s strikes with US-made weapons deep into Russia.
On Tuesday, Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a broader range of conventional attacks, with nuclear risks rising amid the highest tensions between Russia and West in more than half a century.
SEREMBAN — Empat penguat kuasa agensi kerajaan di negeri ini ditahan Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM), di sini, petang semalam, selepas disyaki meminta dan menerima rasuah RM1,000 daripada seorang individu.
Menurut sumber, keempat-empat suspek lelaki berusia antara 20an hingga 40-an itu ditahan ketika hadir memberikan keterangan di Pejabat SPRM Negeri Sembilan (NS), di sini kira-kira jam 5 hingga 6 petang.
Mereka disyaki melakukan perbuatan itu sebagai balasan tidak mengambil tindakan undang-undang bagi kesalahan cukai jalan.
“Siasatan awal mendapati semua suspek dipercayai melakukan perbuatan itu pada 12 November lalu di Lebuh Raya Utara- Selatan berhampiran Hentian Rehat dan Rawat (R&R) Seremban, di sini.
“Salah seorang suspek disyaki menerima wang rasuah melalui transaksi pindahan ke akaun bank milik seorang individu lain (pihak ketiga) berjumlah RM1,000.
“Ia sebagai dorongan untuk tidak mengambil tindakan undang-undang bagi kesalahan cukai jalan dan permit PUSPAKOM yang sudah tamat tempoh,” katanya.
Majistret Nurul Azuin Mohd Talhah pagi tadi membenarkan permohonan SPRM menahan reman semua penguat kuasa terbabit selama empat hari sehingga Ahad ini.
Pengarah SPRM Negeri Sembilan, Awgkok Ahmad Taufik Putra Awg Ismail ketika dihubungi mengesahkan penahanan itu.
Katanya, kes disiasat mengikut Seksyen 17(a) Akta SPRM 2009.
Majistret Nurul Azuin Mohd Talhah pagi tadi membenarkan permohonan SPRM menahan reman semua penguat kuasa terbabit selama empat hari sehingga Ahad ini.
Pengarah SPRM Negeri Sembilan, Awgkok Ahmad Taufik Putra Awg Ismail ketika dihubungi mengesahkan penahanan itu.
Katanya, kes disiasat mengikut Seksyen 17(a) Akta SPRM 2009.
KUALA TERENGGANU — Seorang tukang rumah menjadi individu pertama di Terengganu dikenakan enam hukuman sebatan di khalayak ramai di sebuah masjid seperti ditetapkan di Mahkamah Tinggi Syariah Terengganu kerana kesalahan khalwat berulang, hari ini.
Hukuman itu diputuskan Hakim Kanan Mahkamah Tinggi Syariah Terengganu, Kamalruazmi Ismail selepas tertuduh, Mohd Affendi Awang, 42, mengaku salah terhadap pertuduhan mengikut Seksyen 31 (a) Enakmen Kesalahan Jenayah Syariah (Takzir) (Terengganu) Pindaan 2022 kerana berkhalwat.
Kamalruazmi menjatuhkan hukuman enam sebatan, denda RM4,000 atau enam bulan penjara sekiranya gagal menjelaskan denda berkenaan terhadap tertuduh.
Kamalruazmi turut memerintahkan hukuman sebatan dilaksanakan di Masjid Al-Muktafi Billah Shah Kuala Terengganu pada 6 Disember depan selepas solat Jumaat sebaik tamat tempoh rayuan.
Terdahulu, Kamalruazmi dalam penghakiman berkata, dalam menjatuhkan apa-apa hukuman, matlamat utama dalam syariat adalah memberi pengajaran, pendidikan dan sebagainya suatu pencegahan supaya perkara yang sama tidak berulang khususnya ke atas tertuduh dan juga sebagai peringatan pencegahan ke atas orang awam secara amnya.
“Seorang mukmin itu tidak jatuh dalam lubang yang sama sebanyak dua kali. Kamu (Mohd Affendi) pernah disebat dan dipenjara tetapi buat lagi (berkhalwat).
“Hukuman kali pertama (sebatan kerana khalwat) sepatutnya sudah memberi keinsafan,” katanya.
Hukuman sebat dikenakan ke atas tertuduh memandangkan ia adalah kesalahan ketiga tertuduh.
Sebelum ini, tertuduh pernah didenda RM2,700 atau tiga bulan penjara selepas mengaku salah bagi pertuduhan khalwat pada 11 Julai 2023 di Mahkamah Rendah Syariah Daerah Kemaman.
Bapa kepada lima anak itu sekali lagi melakukan kesalahan sama pada 25 Januari lalu sebelum Mahkamah Tinggi Syariah Terengganu pada 19 Februari lalu menjatuhkan hukuman empat sebatan, denda RM3,000 atau enam bulan penjara sekiranya dia gagal menjelaskan denda berkenaan.
Untuk rekod, tertuduh sebelum ini menjadi pesalah khalwat pertama di Terengganu dikenakan empat sebatan di Mahkamah Tinggi Syariah Terengganu kerana melakukan kesalahan khalwat berulang.
Berdasarkan Enakmen Kesalahan Jenayah Syariah (Takzir) ( Terengganu) Pindaan 2022, kesalahan khalwat bagi kali kedua dan seterusnya boleh dikenakan hukuman sebatan sehingga enam kali, denda sehingga RM5,000 atau tiga tahun penjara yang berkuat kuasa 1 Januari lalu.
Mengikut pertuduhan, tertuduh didakwa melakukan khalwat bersama seorang wanita yang berusia 52 tahun di sebuah rumah di Kemaman pada jam 1.40 pagi pada 16 Jun lalu.
Pendakwaan dikendalikan Timbalan Ketua Pendakwa Syarie manakala tertuduh tidak diwakili peguam.
TELUK INTAN — Lelaki yang dilapor terjatuh ke Sungai Perak dekat Jambatan Sultan Yusuf, Batu 5, dekat sini semalam ditemukan lemas hari ini.
Ketua Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat (BBP) Teluk Intan, Mohd Ismail Mohd Yunus, berkata mangsa, Ng Weng Lum, 48, ditemukan di kawasan Jeti Tapak Semenang, di sini jam 9.30 pagi tadi, kira-kira 4.5 kilometer (km) dari lokasi dia dipercayai terjatuh.
Mengulas lanjut, katanya pihaknya menerima maklumat awal dari polis jam 7.15 pagi semalam sebelum pasukan penyelamat melakukan pencarian di permukaan menggunakan tiga bot.
“Dua pasukan digerakkan membabitkan radius pencarian lima kilometer (km) masing-masing menghala Bagan Datuk dan Teluk Intan,” katanya sebelum operasi ditangguhkan jam 6.15 petang semalam.
Tambahnya, hari ini radius pencarian diluaskan kepada 12 km, sebelum pihaknya menerima maklumat mayat mangsa ditemukan nelayan di Tapak Semenang.
Mayat diserahkan kepada pihak polis untuk tindakan lanjut.
KAPIT — Seorang lelaki dikhuatiri lemas dibawa arus deras, manakala dua lagi berjaya diselamatkan penduduk kampung dalam kejadian bot karam di Nanga Makoh Sungai Batang Rajang di sini petang semalam.
Jurucakap Pusat Gerakan Operasi Sarawak berkata, kejadian berlaku jam 5 petang ketika bot fiber dinaiki tiga mangsa bergerak dari arah Nanga Benin menuju Pekan Kapit, sebelum karam akibat terlanggar batu di tengah sungai.
Sehubungan itu, katanya, anggota Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat (BBP) Kapit memulakan usaha pencarian dan menyelamat (SAR) seorang mangsa yang masih hilang hari ini.
“Usaha SAR hari ini bermula jam 8 pagi menyasarkan pencarian secara permukaan pada radius pencarian dua kilometer dari lokasi bot berkenaan karam,” jelasnya.
KUALA LUMPUR — Pasangan suami isteri warga Filipina ditahan dalam serbuan ke atas sebuah rumah di Pandan Indah, di sini semalam kerana disyaki memiliki kad pengenalan palsu.
Bahagian Penguatkuasa Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) berkata, serbuan dijalankan susulan risikan selama dua minggu ke atas pasangan itu.
Katanya, pasangan itu dipercayai membeli MyKad palsu berkenaan dengan harga RM250 sekeping daripada seorang ejen sindiket di ibu negara dua tahun lalu.
“Kedua-dua individu ini berasal dari Basilan, Filipina yang mana isteri berumur 40 tahun manakala suaminya 53 tahun.
“Kedua-dua suspek mengaku bekerja sebagai pengawal keselamatan dan menggunakan MyKad palsu berkenaan untuk mendapatkan kerja serta untuk bergerak bebas,” katanya.
Bahagian Penguatkuasa JPN berkata siasatan mendapati kedua-dua suspek yang fasih berbahasa Melayu itu mempunyai seorang anak di Filipina dan dipercayai masuk ke Malaysia secara haram.
Katanya, mereka dihadapkan ke mahkamah, di sini hari ini atas kesalahan mengikut Peraturan 25 (1)(e) Peraturan-peraturan Pendaftaran Negara 1990.
“Jika disabitkan kesalahan, mereka boleh dihukum penjara tidak lebih tiga tahun atau denda sehingga RM20,000 atau kedua-dua sekali.
“Tindakan diambil bagi memastikan setiap pesalah yang melakukan kesalahan mendapat hukuman, setimpal mengikut peruntukan undang-undang negara,” katanya.
MOSCOW — Moscow’s revised nuclear doctrine outlines the possibility of a nuclear response if Kiev uses Western-made missiles against Russia, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.
“The Russian Federation reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in the event of aggression against it or the Republic of Belarus, … with the use of conventional weapons, in a way that poses a critical threat to their sovereignty and (or) territorial integrity,” Peskov said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree approving Russia’s updated nuclear doctrine on Tuesday.
The spokesperson further said that Russia would view the use of Western non-nuclear missiles by Ukraine as an attack by a non-nuclear state with the support of a nuclear state against the country, potentially justifying the use of nuclear weapons by Moscow.
Peskov said that the doctrine outlines that “aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state with the participation or support of a nuclear state” would be considered a joint attack.
