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Turkey arrests journalists over alleged cartoon of Prophet Muhammad
Four employees of a satirical magazine in Turkey have been arrested for publishing a cartoon that appears to show the Prophet Muhammad – a sacred religious figure whose depiction is forbidden in Islam.
Turkey’s interior minister Ali Yerlikaya condemned LeMan magazine’s drawing as “shameless”, announcing that its editor-in-chief, graphic designer, institutional director and cartoonist had been detained.
In a post on the social media site X, LeMan denied its cartoon was a caricature of Muhammad, saying “the work does not refer to the Prophet Muhammed in any way”.
Riot police were deployed in Istanbul on Monday as hundreds of people protested against the publication.
Protesters gathered outside LeMan’s offices chanting slogans such as “tooth for tooth, blood for blood, revenge, revenge”.
A correspondent for the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency reported seeing rubber bullets and tear gas being fired to disperse the crowd.
Turkey’s minister of justice said an investigation had been initiated by the chief public prosecutor’s office for “publicly insulting religious values”.
“The caricature or any form of visual representation of our Prophet not only harms our religious values but also damages societal peace,” Yilmaz Tunc wrote on X.
“Necessary legal steps will be taken without delay” against LeMan’s journalists, he added.
Yerlikaya also shared videos of the four employees being arrested over the “vile drawing”.
Arrest warrants have also been issued for other members of the magazine’s senior management.
Images of the cartoon have appeared on social media, which show two characters with wings floating in the sky over a city under siege.
One of the characters is pictured saying “Peace be upon you, I’m Muhammed”, and the other replying, “Peace be upon you, I’m Musa”.
LeMan apologised to “well-intentioned readers who feel hurt” but defended its work and rejected allegations that the cartoon was a depiction of Muhammad.
“The cartoonist wanted to portray the righteousness of the oppressed Muslim people by depicting a Muslim killed by Israel, and he never intended to insult religious values,” it said in a statement on X.
“We do not accept the stain that is cast on us because there is no depiction of our Prophet. You have to be very malicious to interpret the cartoon in this way.”
LeMan’s editor-in-chief Tuncay Akgun, who is currently in Paris, told AFP the work had been misinterpreted and the magazine would “never take such a risk”.
He added that the backlash draws “similarities with Charlie Hebdo” which is “very intentional and very worrying”, referencing the 2015 attack on the French satirical magazine after it published a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad.
Charlie Hebdo’s offices were stormed by gunmen who killed 12 people and was one of the worst security crises in France’s history.
[BBC]
Typhoon Noul has hit southern China, including Hong Kong, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the region and prompting the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people in Guangdong province.
China’s national weather centre said Noul made landfall on the coast of Huidong county in Huizhou, southern Guangdong province, at approximately 3:50am local time on Sunday (19:50 GMT on Saturday).
China’s official Xinhua News Agency said Noul was the strongest typhoon to make landfall in China so far this year.
Hong Kong’s Observatory said Noul, with maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometres per hour (68 miles per hour) near its centre, was moving Sunday into inland Guangdong and weakening progressively, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to parts of the region.
More than 715,000 people had been relocated for safety by early Sunday in Guangdong province, according to state-owned China National Radio. On Saturday, authorities said some 340,000 people were evacuated.
China’s National Meteorological Centre expected parts of southern Guangdong and southeastern Fujian provinces to experience heavy rain and strong winds over the weekend.
Many trees were seen uprooted in Huilai county, located on the coast of Guangdong province, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Hong Kong’s airport authority said about 350 flights were cancelled on Sunday. At least nine people were injured across the city during the typhoon period, according to Hong Kong authorities.
As Noul approached Hong Kong, parts of a large scaffolding on a high-rise building collapsed on Saturday afternoon, local police said, although initial reports indicated there were no injuries.
[Aljazeera]
Colombo Kaps defended 197 runs to win the 12th match of the Lanka Premier League by restricting Dambulla Sixers to 176/8 at the Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Saturday [25] night.
SCORES:
Colombo Kaps 197/5 in 20 overs [Rubin Hermann 39, Sadeera Samarawickrema 16, Sharujan Shanmuganathan 12, Kamindu Mendis 88*, Ben McDermott 14, Janith Liyanage 17; Fazalhaq Farooki 1-41, Dushmantha Chameera 1-41, Ramesh Mendis 1-05, Gulabdin Naib 1-15]
Dambulla Sixers 176/8 in 20 overs [Pavan Rathnayake 50, Marques Ackerman 40, Gulabdin Naib 28, Maheesh Thhekshana 13; Shahnawaz Dahani 2-20, Wanuja Sahan 1-34, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2-33, Malsha Tharupathi 1-26, Milan Rathnayake 1-26]
Kandy Royals’ bowlers led by Nuwan Thushara were able to defend their score of 165 to win the 11th match of the Lanka Premier League by defeating Galle Gallants by 11 runs at Dambulla on Saturday.
SCORES:
Kandy Royals 165/6 in 20 overs [Lahiru Udara 16, Dale Phillips 34, Wanidu Hasaranga 16, Moeen Ali 41, Angelo Mathews 28, Vijay Shankar 15; Pramod Madushan 2-41, Akif Javed 2-26, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 2-36]
Galle Gallants 154/8 in 20 overs [Sam Harper 14, Charith Asalanka 14, Chamika Karunarathne 52, Dasun Shanaka 57*; Nuwan Thushara 3-33, Asitha Fernando 2-33, Moeen Ali 1-11, Wanidu Hasaranga 1-26]
Typhoon Noul makes landfall in China, with hundreds of thousands evacuated
Colombo Kaps down Dambulla Sixers by 21 runs
Kandy Royals win by 11 runs
Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
Govt. launches EPF, ETF shake-up
SLPI concerned over the proposed Chartered Institute of Media Professionals of Sri Lanka
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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