Posted on March 10, 2026 by assedbaig
Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig reports from Erbil in Iraq where an Iranian Kurdish group was targeted with drones, as President Trump gave his backing to an armed uprising against Iran’s government.
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Posted on March 9, 2026 by assedbaig
Iraq has increased security measures across its border with Iran.
This comes as US-Israeli attacks on Tehran drags more countries into the conflict.
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Posted on March 8, 2026 by assedbaig
Loud blasts were heard throughout the day near the U-S military base in Erbil. Anti-aircraft fire has also been reported. It’s comes just hours after a strike killed one person in nearby Nineveh, at the headquarters of the Iran-linked Popular Mobilisation Forces.
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Posted on March 6, 2026 by assedbaig
“All these attacks taking place overnight and early this morning highlight how increasingly Iraq is becoming a battleground in this widening” Middle East war, said Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig, reporting from Iraq’s Erbil.
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Posted on November 9, 2018 by assedbaig
Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. But as allied countries commemorate what they call the ‘Great War’, Assed Baig reports, many of the soldiers that fought for Britain have long been ignored. #WorldWarOne #WWI
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Posted on October 28, 2018 by assedbaig
Between 2015 and 2017, one in three Oxford colleges failed to offer any black students a place. Last year, only 48 black students took up a place out of 12,000 undergraduates. Britain’s elite universities are being accused of not doing enough to offer black students from underprivileged backgrounds a place.
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Posted on October 4, 2018 by assedbaig
New rules in London mean all taxis must be zero emissions by 2032. The first batch are already on the road. TRT World’s Assed Baig takes a ride in one of the British capitals new hybrid taxis. #London #Electrictaxi #Nexus Read the original article published in TRT World on 4 October 2018
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Posted on August 2, 2018 by assedbaig
Imran Khan spent many years playing cricket in Britain, and his first marriage was to a British woman. Nexus’s Assed Baig went to East London – where there is a big Pakistani community – to find out whether his charm and charisma are remembered on the streets of the British capital.
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Posted on July 28, 2018 by assedbaig
A recent survey suggests 61% of German Turks feel more Turkish than they do German. It raises questions about integration, identity and belonging, but it also shows a deepening divide within Turkish society in Germany. Footballer Mesut Ozil’s recent decision to quit the German national team citing racism is still dominating headlines in Germany. The […]
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Posted on July 25, 2018 by assedbaig
Mesut Ozil’s shock resignation from the German football team – citing racism – has triggered both praise and criticism. But it’s also got people talking about inclusivity in sport. Assed Baig hit the streets of Berlin to find out what people are saying. Assed Baig went to Berlin to report on the politics of race, […]
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Posted on July 20, 2018 by assedbaig
Millions of Syrians have been forced to flee the war in their country. Many have taken the dangerous trip to Europe, but even if they do make it there’s no guarantee of a prosperous life. However, one Syrian chef is finding life is on the up, in the U.K.
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Posted on July 4, 2018 by assedbaig
Poland’s government has brought in a new law that could force upto forty percent of senior judges to retire early. Demonstrators took to the streets in several cities to protest against the reforms. The European Union has also raised objections. Read the original article published in TRT World on 4 July 2018
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Posted on June 30, 2018 by assedbaig
Austrian politicians have recently criticised Turks there who voted for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the recent Turkish elections. It’s just one of several issues which some Turks say is making life increasingly uncomfortable in Austria. Read the original article published in TRT World on 30 June 2018
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Posted on June 26, 2018 by assedbaig
Austria is staging its largest ever military exercise along its border with Slovenia, at a time when the European Union is divided over the issue of migration. This year, 43- thousand people arrived in the EU by crossing the Mediterranean, and more than one-thousand have died trying to make the crossing. Assed Baig has this […]
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Posted on June 10, 2018 by assedbaig
Turkish Muslims in the country say it’s the latest attempt to target them. Assed Baig has the latest from Vienna. Read the original article published in TRT World on 10 June 2018
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Posted on May 31, 2018 by assedbaig
On this episode of Nexus we looked at disgraced movie-producer Harvey Weinstein. He’s been indicted on rape charges, but his lawyer is confident he’ll walk free. Nexus with Matthew Moore On this episode of Nexus was actor Jumaan Short who worked on a Weinstein movie and says she had her own encounter with the producer. […]
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Posted on March 21, 2018 by assedbaig
Roads to Afrin town are still blocked but aid is being allowed through. The Turkish government says it has set up 29 aid distribution centres inside Afrin, after the YPG terror group has been mostly pushed out. Our correspondent Assed Baig is there.
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Posted on March 20, 2018 by assedbaig
Two days after the YPG terror group was removed from Afrin, Some residents of the Syrian town want to return to their homes. However, all routes in are now closed, after eleven people were killed in an explosion. Read the original article published in TRT World on 20 March 2018
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Posted on March 17, 2018 by assedbaig
The European Commission has promised extra funding to compensate Turkey for accommodating more than 3 million Syrian refugees. But many of the refugees who had planned to use Turkey as a staging post, say life there is quite hospitable. Assed Baig traveled to Kayseri in central Anatolia, but he begins his report in the western […]
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Posted on March 16, 2018 by assedbaig
As Operation Olive Branch enters its third phase, villages in the Afrin region continue to be freed from YPG control. Assed Baig visited one village hours after it was cleared. Read the original article published in TRT World on 16 March 2018
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Posted on March 13, 2018 by assedbaig
Relations between the United Arab Emirates and Turkey have taken another nosedive. A top diplomat in the Gulf state has accused Turkey of not respecting the sovereignty of its Arab neighbours. And as Assed Baig reports, it’s added strain to an already tense relationship. Read the original article published in TRT World on 13 March […]
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Posted on January 21, 2018 by assedbaig
Free Syrian Army soldiers backed by the Turkish military have cleared the town of Afrin of YPG terror group.The forces entered Afrin town centre earlier, on Sunday morning, fulfilling a major objective of operation Olive branch. TRT World correspondent Assed Baig was there as the events unfolded. Read the original article published in TRT World […]
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Posted on August 29, 2017 by assedbaig
Brexit and the City of London. Will the UK’s financial sector flounder without the EU, or is it an opportunity to flourish? Opinion is divided over what Brexit will mean for the City of London. Revenues, jobs and its reputation as a leading global financial centre. Here’s Roundtable correspondent Assed Baig in the City with […]
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Posted on June 29, 2017 by assedbaig
A man who was left with life-changing injuries in an East London acid attack has been telling this programme about his ordeal. Jameel Muhktar was in his car with his cousin Reshem Khan when a toxic substance was sprayed through the window. There’s been a steep rise in acid attacks in recent years. The Metropolitan […]
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Posted on June 14, 2017 by assedbaig
We speak to our reporter, Assed Baig, who spent the night at the scene of the fire talking to those who escaped and were desperately searching for loved ones.
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Posted on June 8, 2017 by assedbaig
[insert video] Counter terror officers investigating the London Bridge attack have made more arrests today in east London – and searched the gym where one of the attackers worked, apparently taking away computer equipment in an overnight raid. New CCTV images have emerged which appear to show the moment that armed officers shot the attackers […]
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Posted on February 23, 2017 by assedbaig
[insert video] Ministers have said former Guantanamo Bay detainees could lose the financial settlements paid to them if they have breached legal agreements with the Government. It’s a move designed to curb criticism over the payment made to the British suicide bomber Jamal al Harith. Tonight his wife Shukee Begum tells us what he may […]
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Posted on February 11, 2017 by assedbaig
[insert video] Depression and anxiety were once thought of as illnesses which only affected adults but mental health problems affect around one in ten children and young people. But schools are struggling to help them, according to a new survey. The charity Place to Be said more than half of head teachers said it was […]
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Posted on December 26, 2016 by assedbaig
[insert video] Assed Baig has been outside George Michael’s home in North London, where fans have gathered to pay tribute to the star today.
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Posted on November 20, 2016 by assedbaig
{insert video] More than 100 people have been killed and hundreds more injured after a passenger train derailed in Northern India. Rescuers are struggling to find and free survivors in the wreckage of the crowded passenger train. Assed Baig reports.
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Posted on April 1, 2016 by assedbaig
By Moneeb Hafeez This research is an attempt to understand the cause of the current insurgency in Afghanistan. The Taliban, a fundamentalist Islamic movement, are fighting a foreign occupation on what is perceived as a war on religious grounds. However when analysing the Taliban’s beliefs and actions such a notion does not hold. Firstly the Islam […]
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Posted on June 15, 2015 by assedbaig
Assed Baig reports from Dewsbury, where people are trying to understand why two Yorkshire teenagers, including reported suicide bomber Talha Asmal, ran away to a distant conflict.
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Posted on January 23, 2015 by assedbaig
Exclusive: two British men who have returned from the Syria conflict say they went to the Middle East on a humanitarian mission “against a brutal regime” – and insist they are not terrorists. Think about the conflict in Syria today and the headlines dominated by Think about the conflict in Syria today and the headlines dominated by the savage […]
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Posted on January 14, 2015 by assedbaig
[insert video] East London deli owner Adel Defilaux tells Assed Baig he received death threats, after posting a “Je suis Charlie” sign, on the day a new issue of the satirical magazine went out.
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Posted on November 20, 2014 by assedbaig
WikiLeaks founder Assange to appeal against decision by Swedish court not to drop an arrest warrant against him. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is to take his battle against an arrest warrant to Sweden’s Supreme Court, his lawyer has disclosed. Per Samuelson’s comments came on Thursday after a Swedish court rejected an attempt by Assange, who remains […]
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Posted on November 17, 2014 by assedbaig
Moazzam Begg tells Anadolu Agency that UK security services handed over intelligence to Syrian regime. Former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg says he believes that “vindictive” terror charges levelled against him in the U.K. – which have now been dropped – were brought because of his efforts to expose links between the British and U.S. governments and Syrian President […]
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Posted on November 12, 2014 by assedbaig
Anti-terror powers allowing police to stop individuals at UK ports for up to nine hours are challenged in Supreme Court. Human rights organizations have launched a legal challenge in the U.K. against a controversial anti-terror power which allows police to question people for up to nine hours on whether they have been involved in acts of terrorism. […]
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Posted on November 10, 2014 by assedbaig
Exercise Black Eagle designed to ‘deter Russian aggression’. Britain is to begin a bi-lateral military exercise with Poland in the next few days that will involve 1,350 U.K. military personnel and 350 vehicles, the Ministry of Defence has told the Anadolu Agency. The announcement came on Monday as tensions between west European states and Russia continue […]
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Posted on November 6, 2014 by assedbaig
Charity reports nearly a fifth of young people in Britain have slept on the streets and in cars and night buses. One in five young people in the U.K. have been forced to sleep rough, a charity for homeless people has reported. According to a poll published on Thursday and carried out on behalf of Centrepoint, a charity which supports homeless […]
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Posted on November 5, 2014 by assedbaig
Abubaker Deghayes has now lost two sons to the Syrian conflict, with another still fightng in the war torn country. The father who lost two of his sons fighting in Syria has said that he does not want others to suffer the same fate. Abubaker Deghayes, who lives in Saltdean, East Sussex, has lost his […]
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Posted on November 4, 2014 by assedbaig
Head of GCHQ Robert Hannigan accused of being ‘securocrat’ destroying Britain’s ‘best traditions’ and regard for rule of law. Human rights groups have dismissed claims made by the head of the UK government’s communications headquarters that the internet has become a “command-and-control network” for terrorists. The criticism came on Tuesday after Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) […]
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Posted on November 3, 2014 by assedbaig
British government insists it will pursue immigration changes despite Germany’s chancellor’s reported ‘UK can quit EU’ remarks. The U.K. government has said the “Prime Minister will do what is right for Britain” in response to reports that Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would rather see the UK leave the EU than compromise over the bloc’s […]
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Posted on November 3, 2014 by assedbaig
Shelter issues emergency appeal and says number of homeless living in bed and breakfasts has nearly doubled in three years. A total of 90,000 UK children will face Christmas without a home, according to a charity’s analysis of the latest government figures on homelessness in Britain. Shelter, a charity which helps people in England and Scotland struggling with poor housing […]
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Posted on October 30, 2014 by assedbaig
Observers took hundreds of testimonies to compile reports on human shields and indiscriminate targeting of noncombatants. Israel violated international law according to a report released Thursday that investigated the use of human shields during Israel’s 2014 onslaught of the Gaza Strip. The report, published by the Geneva-based Euro-Mid human rights observer, says that the Israeli […]
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Posted on October 28, 2014 by assedbaig
Journalist Assed Baig asks Birmingham Muslims about the “climate of fear” fuelled by the rise of Islamic State – and finds they are more alienated than ever.
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Posted on October 23, 2014 by assedbaig
Organization with alleged links to Muslim Brotherhood could face restrictions in government crackdown. The Muslim Association of Britain has said it will take the British government to court if it attempts to place any restrictions on the organization over allegations it is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. The declaration came on Thursday days after a British newspaper […]
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Posted on October 22, 2014 by assedbaig
Islamic charity and human rights campaigners accuse British government of anti-Muslim bias. Muslim rights groups in the U.K. have responded with anger to new proposals announced by Prime Minister David Cameron to give extra powers to the country’s charities regulatory body. The government announced earlier Wednesday that it was proposing giving the Charity Commission, the regulatory body […]
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Posted on September 18, 2014 by assedbaig
Some leaving yesterday’s polls dejected – embarrassed at way ‘Better together’ campaign was conducted. With the “No” vote ahead in polls to predict Scotland’s future, you’d expect their voters to be in celebratory mood, but some are leaving Thursday’s vote dejected – unhappy at the way the Better Together campaign has gone. John McIntyre, voting in the affluent parish […]
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Posted on September 17, 2014 by assedbaig
‘It’s about improving my community, for my people, for Muslims, and mainstream society,’ says ‘Yes’ voter. On the streets of southern Glasgow, independence posters in Urdu stare from windows, cars – prayer beads hanging from mirrors – beep their horns in support of “Yes,” and kids dribble footballs around women wearing brightly colored salwar kameez dresses. The […]
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Posted on September 16, 2014 by assedbaig
Labour, Conservative and Liberal leaders promise ‘extensive new powers’ to Scottish parliament if countrymen vote ‘No’. With just two days left until Scotland goes to the polls in a highly anticipated independence vote, political leaders scrambling to keep the country in the U.K. have pledged to devolve new powers to the Scottish government if its […]
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Posted on September 13, 2014 by assedbaig
‘The question is, did ’you‘ ever see a wrong and try to change it,’ says UK man on returning home, having fought Assad. He ignored the warnings, took the risks, and hopped on a plane. Hours later – via Heathrow, Istanbul, and then over land to the border – he arrived in Syria. A Muslim […]
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Posted on September 1, 2014 by assedbaig
The level of depravity and abuse revealed by the Jay report into the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal has shocked the entire country. The fact that 1,400 children have been abused has been lost on some as they rush to link the crimes of predatory men to ethnicity. The case that these crimes were carried […]
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Posted on August 28, 2014 by assedbaig
“There are issues within society, but it [child abuse] is not an Asian or a Muslim problem, it’s a [an all round] problem,” Raza Nadim told AA. Allegations of institutional racism reared their head in the UK this week on the back of an independent report into child sexual exploitation in Northern England that found […]
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Posted on August 27, 2014 by assedbaig
‘Domestic and foreign policy must be re-examined rather than new laws being introduced,’ specialist in counter-terrorism tells AA. A leading specialist in counter-terrorism has questioned the British government’s approach to extremism, stating that attempts to further criminalize those taking part is not the answer – that they should be looking at the cause not the […]
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Posted on August 27, 2014 by assedbaig
Egyptian-brokered cease-fire goes into effect, bringing to a halt 51 days of death and destruction in the blockaded coastal enclave. The European Union has welcomed the latest cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, bringing to an end 51 days of fighting between Israeli and Palestinian forces that have led to catastrophic death and destruction in the blockaded coastal enclave. A statement […]
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Posted on August 21, 2014 by assedbaig
‘We don’t expect Christians, nationalists or socialists to apologise for [Adolf] Hitler,’ so why should we apologize for the Islamic State. Muslim organizations have attacked British media values in the wake of what they see as a clamor to tie their faith to the Islamic State’s (IS) apparent murder of a U.S. journalist in Syria. […]
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Posted on August 17, 2014 by assedbaig
Breen Tahseen says Turkey more important than France and Britain because it has more power in Iraq. The son of an Ezidi leader has called for Turkey to help Ezidi refugees trapped in northern Iraq. Breen Tahseen, the son of Prince Tahseen Saeed Bek, who is leader of the Ezidi people, said Turkey should open its […]
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Posted on July 23, 2014 by assedbaig
Malaysian government minister says US also guilty for supplying war weapons to those killing innocent Palestinians in Gaza. A top minister in the Malaysian government has accused the United States of hypocrisy in its criticism of Russia for supplying arms to separatist groups, stating that the U.S. is just as guilty in that is supplying […]
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Posted on July 19, 2014 by assedbaig
Protesters flock to British capital as Israel escalates its onslaught against Gaza Strip. About 100,000 protestors from across Britain have rallied in London to protest against Israel’s onslaught on Gaza, according to demonstration organizers Stop the War coalition. Demonstrators of mixed ethnicities, race and color from across Britain including grandmothers and children, Jews and Muslims, began their march from Downing […]
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Posted on July 18, 2014 by assedbaig
New report says no empirical evidence to support notion that UK nationals fighting in Syria are threat on return. A new report by an UK-based campaign group claims that the British government has greatly exaggerated the threat posed to the country by foreign fighters taking part in the Syrian civil war. British government policy is […]
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Posted on July 18, 2014 by assedbaig
US calls for a full, credible, and unimpeded international investigation into downed Malaysian airliner. World leaders have urged Moscow, pro-Russian separatists and Ukraine to support a ceasefire in order to ensure international investigators have access to the crash site of a Malaysian airliner downed over Ukrainian territory. A Friday statement from the White House said the U.S. National Transportation Safety […]
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Posted on July 16, 2014 by assedbaig
A Muslim worshipper has told Anadolu Agency of the disturbing moments when members of a far-right group stormed a mosque in south London. Worshipper Mohammed Luthful Wahid told AA on Wednesday that he found himself confronted by five members of the Britain First group after they entered the Crayford Mosque and demanded the removal of what they called “sexist” signs – […]
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Posted on June 18, 2014 by assedbaig
Prime Minister tells Parliament that militant Britons are a threat to the UK. LONDON The militants currently advancing on Baghdad are planning terrorist attacks in the UK, Prime Minister David Cameron told Parliament on Wednesday. He said: “I would also disagree with those people who think that this is nothing to do with us and if they want […]
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Posted on June 9, 2014 by assedbaig
Investigations into 21 schools in Birmingham do not provide evidence of an Islamist plot, according to the leaked ‘Trojan Horse’ report. LONDON There is no evidence of an alleged Islamist plot to take over schools in Birmingham, the U.K.’s second-largest city, according to reports to be published by the country’s main educational authority Monday. The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services […]
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Posted on June 5, 2014 by assedbaig
Only about one percent of 46,000 people were stopped under Schedule 7 powers were arrested, according to UK government statistics LONDON Government figures reveal that only about one percent of people questioned under powers that allow police to stop individuals at ports were detained in 2013. More than 46,000 people were stopped at Britain’s ports under […]
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Posted on June 2, 2014 by assedbaig
‘My son was picked up by security forces in 1990, I have not seen him since,’ said Parveena Ahanger, the head of ‘the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons’ in Indian-held Kashmir. LONDON It’s been 24 years since she last saw her son. An arduous 24 years during which Parveena has struggled to find out […]
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Posted on May 9, 2014 by assedbaig
Counter-terrorism report by MPs from UK’s main parties criticized for policy recommendations LONDON A counter-terrorism report produced on Friday by MPs from the U.K.’s three main political parties has been criticized for its recommendations on how to deal with U.K. nationals returning from Syria. The proposals are similar to the de-radicalization programme Channel, which tries to “identify […]
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Posted on May 8, 2014 by assedbaig
Kashmiris mostly chose to boycott India election, but say they will vote in a referendum SRINAGAR, Indian-held Kashmir Showkat Ahmad Bhat, a middle-aged grocery store owner in Indian-held Kashmir’s capital, Srinagar, has never cast a vote in the 46 years of his life. On April 30, when polls were held in Srinagar, Bhat sat with his two […]
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Posted on April 25, 2014 by assedbaig
The UK government investigation into Muslim majority schools set off by an anonymous letter. A so-called ‘Islamist’ school plot, government leaks, off-the-record briefings, a media scramble and a government-ordered investigation of 25 schools has gripped the U.K.’s second city Birmingham in the last month.
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Posted on April 8, 2014 by assedbaig
Police donations to UK mosque raises suspicion about intentions. LONDON Birmingham is the United Kingdom’s second city and home to a sizeable Muslim community — one that has, at times, had a tense relationship with the city’s police. In recent years, Birmingham has seen some high-profile terrorism cases: a plot to behead a British soldier; a […]
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Posted on April 7, 2014 by assedbaig
A secret document purporting to expose an undercover Muslim conspiracy to take over schools in Birmingham hit national news recently, prompting journalists to fall over themselves heralding a sinister ‘Islamic plot’, while eliciting both public statements from the Prime Minister and snap Ofsted inspections for the places of learning allegedly targeted by the conspirators. From […]
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Posted on March 20, 2014 by assedbaig
Many Muslim victims continue to live in Internally Displaced People camps, still dreaming of returning home. RANGOON, Myanmar It’s been one year since a Buddhist mob rampaged through the central Myanmar town of Meiktila, killing local residents and setting fire to their homes. Today, the violence is over, but many of the Muslim victims continue […]
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Posted on March 13, 2014 by assedbaig
The Rohingya of Myanmar are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world according to the United Nations. SITTWE, Myanmar Myanmar’s Rohingya are mainly located in the Western state of Rakhine. There, violence against the minority in 2012 resulted in hundreds of deaths and, according to Human Rights Watch, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity were […]
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Posted on March 4, 2014 by assedbaig
In a series of features, Anadolu Agency correspondent Assed Baig, reveals the extent of oppression inflicted on the Rohingya. SITTWE, Myanmar In 2013, in preparation for Myanmar’s census the government asked the Rohingya Muslims of western Myanmar to sign papers declaring that they were illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The result would have been the Rohingya identity being wiped from […]
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Posted on February 26, 2014 by assedbaig
In a series of features, Anadolu Agency correspondent Assed Baig, reveals the extent of oppression inflicted on Rohingya Muslims. SITTWE, Myanmar In Sittwe, the capital of the Rakhine state in Western Myanmar, reaching Rohingya camps and villages means navigating past police checkpoints manned by armed officers. The Rohingya are not allowed beyond this point. They […]
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Posted on February 5, 2014 by assedbaig
A 16-year-old Rohingya Muslim girl has told AA that she was gang raped by police and a group of Rakhine villagers. MYANMAR A 16-year-old Rohingya Muslim girl has told Anadolu Agency that she was gang raped by police and local Rakhine villagers following an alleged massacre in Du Chee Yar Tan village, Rakhine state, Myanmar. According to […]
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Posted on January 23, 2014 by assedbaig
Protests take place in UK against violence and arbitary arrests of Rohingya men and boys. LONDON At least 40 Rohingya Muslims are now believed to have been killed in last week’s violence in Myanmar, according to a human rights group Fortify Rights. The group said that hundreds of Rohıngya Muslıms have been forcibly displaced and warned that the number of […]
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Posted on December 23, 2013 by assedbaig
Scores of Christians staged a pro-France protest near the airport in Bangui, capital of the troubled Central African Republic. BANGUI Scores of Christians on Monday staged a pro-France protest near the airport in Bangui, capital of the troubled Central African Republic (CAR). One person was killed when the demonstration was fired upon. Shots were fired […]
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Posted on December 22, 2013 by assedbaig
BANGUI An imam in a predominantly Muslim neighborhood of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), claimed on Sunday that French troops had killed three Muslims. Isa Hassan, the imam of Masjid Al Noor in Kilometer 5, claimed French soldiers had shot all three men through the head. He said the men were […]
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Posted on December 22, 2013 by assedbaig
Dozens of Chadian citizens trickle to a military base for African peacekeepers near Bangui airport in the hope of catching a military plane out of the war-ravaged CAR BANGUI Dozens of Chadian citizens, including women and children, continue to trickle to a military base for African peacekeepers near Bangui airport in the hope of catching a military […]
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Posted on December 20, 2013 by assedbaig
AA London correspondent Assed Baig and Johannesburg correspondent Hasa Isilow began to wire latest news and imageries from CAR after an uphill journey. ISTANBUL Anadolu Agency (AA) crew managed to enter troubled Central African Republic (CAR), amid deadly clashes creating humanitarian crisis, on Monday. AA London correspondent Assed Baig and Johannesburg correspondent Hasa Isilow began to wire latest news and imageries from […]
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Posted on December 20, 2013 by assedbaig
At least twenty-nine Muslims were killed since Thursday BANGUI At least 29 people have been killed in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic(CAR), in the last 24 hours, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The violence started Thursday night when Africa Union peacekeepers came under attack from the self-styled Christian militia known […]
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Posted on December 19, 2013 by assedbaig
BANGUI Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday accused Christian militias of perpetrating a number of recent “atrocities” against Muslim communities in the northern Central African Republic (CAR). “They began to cut my husband with their machetes on his side and his back,” one Muslim woman told HRW, describing a dawn attack by anti-balaka militants on […]
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Posted on December 18, 2013 by assedbaig
AA investigates attacks against Muslims carried out by the Christian militia known as the “anti-balaka,” meaning “anti-machete.” BANGUI Since the outbreak of the conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR), reports have focused on the Muslim rebel seleka group and the atrocities it has been accused of perpetrating against civilians. But little, if anything, has […]
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Posted on December 17, 2013 by assedbaig
The French peacekeeping troops in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, insisted that they are disarming all armed rebels, a contention questioned by many Muslims. BANGUI The French peacekeeping troops in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, insisted on Tuesday that they are disarming all armed rebels, a contention questioned by […]
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Posted on December 16, 2013 by assedbaig
Anadolu Agency (AA) Correspondent Assed Baig has travelled to the war stricken region of the Central African Republic to report on the crisis BANGUI The number of internally displaced people camped at the airport in the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui, has increased to 40,000 according to aid workers in the city. In […]
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Posted on December 7, 2013 by assedbaig
AA correspondent sheds light on the difficult journey of undocumented migrants from Libya to Europe via Italy. By Assed Baig TRIPOLI (AA) – Anadolu Agency (AA) correspondent investigates into migration and smuggling in Libya by traveling 640 km south of the capital Tripoli to Sabha, the largest city in the south. Migrants from across Africa […]
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Posted on December 7, 2013 by assedbaig
AA commissions investigation into how Libyan smugglers transport undocumented migrants from the restive N.African state into Europe, via Italy. LONDON Anadolu Agency recently commissioned an investigation into how Libyan smugglers transport undocumented migrants from the restive North African state into Europe, via Italy. Our correspondent Assed Baig posed as a migrant trying to reach the Italian island of Lampedusa in […]
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Posted on December 5, 2013 by assedbaig
Anadolu Agency investigates undocumented migrants in Libya TRIPOLI Before the uprising that ousted Libya’s long-time strongman Muammar Qaddafi, there were about one million black Africans living and working in Libya. However, during the conflict the situation deteriorated and forced many to flee the country. At the time international media outlets and human rights organisations reported cases of human […]
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Posted on November 26, 2013 by assedbaig
TRIPOLI Since the fall of Gadhafi, African migrants mainly from Chad, Niger and Mali have been flocking to Libya hoping to get work or a boat to Italy. AA reporter Assed Baig goes to detention centres in Tripoli to meet some of them. Armed men guard the entrance of the zoo in Tripoli, some are […]
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Posted on July 15, 2013 by assedbaig
When Malala Yusufzai was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen simply because she wanted to gain an education it sent shockwaves around the world. Straight away the Western media took up the issue. Western politicians spoke out and soon she found herself in the UK. The way in which the West reacted did make […]
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Posted on July 12, 2013 by assedbaig
Police are treating a blast near a mosque in Tipton, West Midlands, as a terrorist incident. The blast near the Kanz-ul-Iman took place around 1:00 pm and police are currently at the scene. Residents reported finding debris in their gardens including nails. One resident, wishing not to be named said, “My house is about 40 […]
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Posted on May 28, 2013 by assedbaig
Abu Nusaybah is still in custody but has not been charged. Parts of the letter have been redacted to prevent contempt of court.
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Posted on May 25, 2013 by assedbaig
The murder in Woolwich has shocked everyone, no one was prepared for such a killing on the streets of the UK. The response has been of disgust and condemnation. This incident has raised some questions that politicians and the mainstream media have conveniently dodged. I am disgusted and appalled by what has taken place, but why should I […]
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Posted on April 18, 2013 by assedbaig
Three dead as bombs rip through a crowd at the Boston marathon. The coming days and weeks will unpick what took place and who is responsible. My fellow journalists will seek to give a face and voice to the dead and injured. Their families and work colleagues will be interviewed, a picture of their lives […]
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Posted on April 3, 2013 by assedbaig
Reports of what actually took place in the Central Myanmar town of Meiktila are still emerging. IDPs are beginning to speak out and tell the world of what they witnessed with their own eyes. “They beat them in front of me. I was watching. I can still see it.” Noor Bi, is crying as she […]
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Posted on March 31, 2013 by assedbaig
We are being followed. Everyone we speak to is then in turn spoken to. We are being watched, our movements, what we buy, what we say, what we eat. The regime is scared of something. In Sittwe where the Rohingya Muslims were murdered last year the attitude towards us has further darkened. Some of the […]
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Posted on March 30, 2013 by assedbaig
We are being followed. Everyone we speak to is then in turn spoken to. We are being watched, our movements, what we buy, what we say, what we eat. The regime is scared of something. In Sittwe where the Rohingya Muslims were murdered last year the attitude towards us has further darkened. Some of the […]
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Posted on March 30, 2013 by assedbaig
Muhammed sits sketching a stick man and then he picks up a green pencil crayon, colouring in the man he has drawn. No one has bothered to ask these children about what they witnessed during last year’s massacre of the Rohingya in Burma. No one seems to care what children have to say. Ten or […]
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Posted on March 26, 2013 by assedbaig
Following recent violence in central Myanmar reportedly between Buddhists and Muslims, the displaced have been fleeing to the central city of Mandalay. Buildings were burnt down and the ‘official’ death toll stood at 32, as angry mobs roamed the streets. The reality of events is very different from what we have heard on our TV […]
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Posted on March 26, 2013 by assedbaig
Following recent attacks in central Myanmar against Muslims, the displaced have been fleeing to the central city of Mandalay. Buildings were burnt down and the ‘official’ death toll stood at 32, as angry mobs roamed the streets. The reality of events is very different from what we have heard on our TV screens. Burmese state […]
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Posted on February 9, 2013 by assedbaig
Another Western nation and former colonial power, has engaged in yet another conflict with an African country, bombing from the air and attacking from the ground. We are told that France is fighting in Mali to push back ‘Islamist’ rebels (not too comfortable with the word ‘Islamist’, I’ve never heard of a Christianist) who are extremists,
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Posted on December 24, 2012 by assedbaig
A row has been ensuing since October after the Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, announced that the Council would sell a Henry Moore sculpture, the Draped Seated Woman also known as Old Flo. The proposed sale of the sculpture is due to massive government cuts to the council’s budget. The sculpture has not been […]
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Posted on November 4, 2012 by assedbaig
The decision to extradite Talha Ahsan and Babar Ahmad is only one in a long line of subservient decisions that the UK judiciary has taken to please the US. These two men have languished in prison, without charge, without an end in sight, for six and eight years, respectively. Their families going through a difficult […]
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Posted on November 1, 2012 by assedbaig
It is that time of the year again when it seems like everyone is wearing a poppy; on the tube, on the bus, in the park. You cannot get away from them. Yet, like every year, I refuse to wear one. It is not because I am opposed to remembering those who died in WWI. […]
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Posted on October 9, 2012 by assedbaig
Over the last few days I have been receiving messages about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Apparently the game shows a hadith (saying of the Prophet Muhammed) on the picture frame in the bathroom. This features in the multiplayer maps, Favela. The Arabic script said “Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty”. Muslims […]
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Posted on October 6, 2012 by assedbaig
The decision to extradite Talha Ahsan and Babar Ahmad is only one in a long line of subservient decisions that the UK judiciary has taken to please the US. These two men have languished in prison, without charge, without an end in sight, for 6 and 8 years respectively. Their families going through a difficult […]
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Posted on October 4, 2012 by assedbaig
A debate I was involved in on the Voice of Russia. This studio discussion is on the protests that have spread across the Muslim world over a US made video insulting the prophet Muhammad. Those protests have now been going on for 10 days. The first began in Cairo, then the unrest spread to Libya. […]
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Posted on September 16, 2012 by assedbaig
Demonstrations have spread around the world after an anti-Islam video, made by someone named Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, insulting the most revered figure of the Muslim world, the Prophet Muhammed was posted on youtube. Why is it that this short video, apparently the work of one insignificant individual, can instigate such outrage? While the filmmaker and […]
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Posted on August 30, 2012 by assedbaig
I am not going to comment directly on the Citizen Khan program. I do not particularly care for so-called ethnic comedy shows that regurgitate out-of-date jokes and reinforce racist stereotypes. They are only sanctioned by the BBC because they lack real diversity in the organisation and are forced to scrape the bottom of the barrel […]
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Posted on August 10, 2012 by assedbaig
A Muslim family representing England in the European Chess Championships in Austria have alleged that they have been the victims of racism, Islamophobia and hate. 13-year-old Yusuf Bin-Suhayl was attacked and left bleeding by the mother of a fellow English competitor. The situation was so bad for the family that they required a police escort […]
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Posted on July 7, 2012 by assedbaig
Islamic Relief’s PR machine has now gone into full swing. They have launched a ruthless campaign of character assassination against me, spun with lies and inaccuracies that even Tony Blair would be proud of. Rather than do the right thing and admit their faults months ago, which could have prevented this entire ‘Relief-Gate’ scandal, they […]
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Posted on July 6, 2012 by assedbaig
Statement by Darrell Williams concerning the Director of Islamic Relief UK: Assed recently wrote an article about corrupt practices he witnessed at Islamic Relief (IR). Now that IR has released a disgusting statement about him I feel I have to say something. I was also an employee of IR and I was with Assed in […]
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Posted on July 5, 2012 by assedbaig
I had travelled to East Africa as a journalist working for Islamic Relief, along with another journalist, Darrell Williams, we were responsible for collecting media material for the different Islamic Relief offices and for any news organisations to use. This is my account of what I witnessed during my time with Islamic Relief. During the […]
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Posted on June 27, 2012 by assedbaig
Is the BBC as impartial, free and fair as they claim. I choose to disagree! Guest post by Ishmahil Blagrove After I initiated an inquiry into the way in which the BBC distorted my documentary “Blood Diamonds (2001)”, deceitfully reneged on a signed contract and jeopardised the lives of several contacts on the ground, the […]
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Posted on June 27, 2012 by assedbaig
A Muslim women wearing the niqab has been turned away from her son’s parents evening because of security concerns. Maroon Rafique was told by college staff that she could not come to the parents evening unless she removed her niqab. The 40-year-old from Manchester has visited the college on previous occasions and there never seemed […]
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Posted on June 12, 2012 by assedbaig
A helpline for Muslim youngsters has been suspended and its CEO has resigned amid a furious row over the apparent forwarding of confidential information to a police anti-terror unit. Muslim Youth Helpline, which was established in 2004, has been put on ice by bosses after private emails were leaked onto a blog detailing the “disgusting” […]
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Posted on June 4, 2012 by assedbaig
The Queen’s diamond jubilee has exposed Muslims and Muslim organisations as being complicit in the collective amnesia around the crimes of the British Empire. The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) sent out a press release stating that British Muslims are “deeply grateful” for the Queen’s long interest in her Muslim subjects. It must have been […]
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Posted on February 28, 2012 by assedbaig
‘Proud and Prejudiced’ was a programme that seemed to be about two extremist groups: the English Defence League (EDL) and Al Maharijroun (or whatever name they are currently operating under). From the outset, it is clear that the programme makers are working within the premise that these are two groups of extremists both of which are […]
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Posted on February 26, 2012 by assedbaig
The people of Balochistan have the right to self-determination and their own sovereignty, according to the United States House of Representatives Committee on foreign affairs. The reasoning behind this article is to question the motives of any Western power to support the Balochi independence cause. Not for a moment am I going to excuse the […]
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Posted on February 26, 2012 by assedbaig
Such is the level of racism and Islamophobia in society that when encountered by a politically active Muslim, people automatically seem to put them in the radical or extremist box. The main problem here is that there is a set of double standards at play for categorising people with political opinions. There seems to be […]
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Posted on January 5, 2012 by assedbaig
Many people have weighed into the debate over Dianne Abbot’s comments on twitter. She has quickly apologised, no doubt due to the pressure she has received from within her own party, the Tories and the media. A wider discussion is required about racism, there are many issues, far more than I can address in this […]
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Posted on August 7, 2011 by assedbaig
The look in her eyes tells me all I need to know about what had happened. Even before I ask her, I know she has lost a child. It is a familiar look, one that I have seen, as a journalist, in the eyes of mothers in Pakistan, Bosnia, Palestine and now in this IDP […]
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Posted on May 2, 2011 by assedbaig
The US has announced the leader of Al Qaeeda, Osama Bin Laden, has been killed. What does this mean? On the ground in terms of the US’s fight against terrorism, it means nothing. Al Qaeeda will continue to function as it is. It is not an organisation in the traditional sense of the word. It […]
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Posted on November 13, 2010 by assedbaig
Ali Shan is an 90-year-old Kashmiri who spent five years in Burma fighting against the imperial army of Japan for the British. I was greeted with a strong hand shake from him at his family home in Sparkbrook where the former soldier lives with three generations of his family. He was wrapped in a traditional […]
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Posted on May 25, 2010 by assedbaig
This video was shot at the same time as the article ‘Refugees and the War on Terror’ in January 2009. It was meant to accompany the article.
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Posted on May 10, 2010 by assedbaig
I saw the green Israeli military jeep speeding down the Israeli road towards us, the roar of its engine had alerted the Palestinian farmers who had taken cover under a tree, but there were two fences between us. They’re probably just coming to see what we are doing, I told myself. The two soldiers got […]
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Posted on May 10, 2010 by assedbaig
The Israeli occupation of Palestine has forced Palestinians to live in isolated bubbles, cutting off their struggle from those outside of the major cities, where life has become bearable since the Oslo agreement but has resulted in Palestinians being cut off from each other as settlements criss-cross Palestinian land cutting off one village, one town, […]
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Posted on May 21, 2009 by assedbaig
As medical workers went on hunger strike today at the Rafah border crossing into Gaza in Egypt, Israeli jets could be heard flying overhead, the sound of explosions and vibrations could be felt on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing. No mercy was shown by the Egyptian authorities, who kept the border closed, not […]
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Posted on May 18, 2009 by assedbaig
British, Belgian and Greek doctors, nurses and aid workers will go on hunger strike tomorrow over the Egyptian Authorities’ refusal to allow entry into Gaza. After constant attempts aid workers, doctors and nurses, have been refused entry in to the Gaza strip by the Egyptian authorities. Some doctors have been waiting for forty days. Out […]
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Posted on May 14, 2009 by assedbaig
I have arrived in Cairo and have spent the last 24 hours running around meeting people, trying to get contacts and trying to formulate some sort of plan to get me into Gaza. It is looking very difficult. I attended a conference today on Palestine; the place was swamped with police […]
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Posted on April 27, 2009 by assedbaig
Pakistan’s tumultuous relationship with the West has put the country at the forefront of the so called War on Terror.With violence flaring in the North West Frontier province and the recent attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, many analysts are predicting Pakistan’s future as a failed state. Since former President Musharraf […]
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Posted on February 19, 2009 by assedbaig
On the edge of Peshawer, capital of the North West Frontier Province in Pakistan, lies a sea of white tents that is home to thousands of refugees who have been internally displaced as the Pakistani military carries out operations against so called terrorists in Bajour Agency in the region.
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Posted on February 9, 2009 by assedbaig
In Pakistani-administered Kashmir this small refugee camp is home to some 600 people who have fled Indian-administered Kashmir, 16km from the line of control. This is the line of the world’s most militarised zone. Since the Mumbai attacks and continued Indian allegations of Pakistani involvement tensions are once again forcing people to fortify their bunkers […]
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Posted on November 18, 2008 by assedbaig
Interpal, a British charity providing development and relief for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza strip, has been served notification from the Islamic Bank of Britain that the charity’s account will soon be closed. This comes as a result of Lloyds TSB, the Islamic Bank’s clearing bank serving notice to “cease all dealings with […]
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Posted on August 30, 2008 by assedbaig
As I walk through the hand crafted wooden doors of the sixteenth century Naqshabandia Tajkia (spiritual centre) mosque that sits on one of the many hills surrounding Sarajevo, I am greeted by sounds of ambient, mellow chanting emanating from inside the Mosque. As I approach the sounds define themselves as voices singing in unison.Water trickles […]
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Posted on July 17, 2008 by assedbaig
Thirteen years later we stood together under the hammering hot sun of midsummer on a meadow near the town of Srebrenica. Tens of thousands of us gathered to commemorate those 8,000 massacred thirteen years ago.
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