Japan Immigration Law Creates New Obstacles for Asylum Seekers

Heightened Risk of Refugee Applicants Being Returned Home to Harm

Teppei Kasai

HRW
Program Officer, Asia Division

June 14, 2023

Japan’s Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau, which includes the Tokyo Detention Center, December 2, 2015. © 2015 Yuya Shino/Reuters

On June 6, just weeks before World Refugee Day, Japan’s Diet passed a bill to amend the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act. The new law allows the Japanese government to deport asylum seekers who apply for refugee status more than twice.

The amendments faced fierce opposition from lawmakers, international legal experts, and civil society organizations. For people seeking refuge in Japan, they will be another obstacle. Japanese policy is already strongly oriented against granting refugee status. In 2022, only 202 people out of 3,772 applicants were recognized as refugees.

In April, United Nations human rights experts criticized the proposed amendments, saying “the absence of appropriate procedural safeguards that explicitly require individual assessment on the circumstances and protection needs prior to deportation, [and] legislative proposals lifting automatic suspension of deportation procedures for asylum seekers ... would undermine international human rights law and the principle of non-refoulement,” which is not returning someone to where their life or freedom would be threatened.

The bill is nearly identical to its predecessor, which was rejected in 2021 following public outcry over the death of a 33-year-old Sri Lankan woman, Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali, in an immigration detention center. At the time, UN experts voiced similar criticisms, asking the Japanese government “to respect the principle of non-refoulement.”

Japan’s immigration and refugee policy has long been mired in red tape and unnecessarily restrictive measures. Some refugee applicants are held for prolonged periods in detention centers without judicial oversight, sometimes without adequate access to medical services. Even if they are temporarily released, they are denied work permits or access to basic social services and are prohibited from traveling outside the area of their residence.

Instead of making it harder for asylum seekers seeking refuge from the threat of persecution, the Japanese government should respect the international treaties it has ratified, notably the Refugee Convention and the Convention against Torture. It should end the prolonged detention of refugee status applicants and respect the principle of nonrefoulement.

As recommended by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, the government should also establish independent bodies to oversee refugee applications and appeals. At the same time, improving procedural safeguards will only help if deportation is suspended for as long as a final review of the asylum application is pending; if Japanese officials recognize an asylum seeker’s refugee claim after the applicant has been sent back to be persecuted, what good will that do?

Popularity of Abu Dhabi's Abrahamic Family House exceeds expectations

Thousands of worshippers flock to multi-faith complex with as much as triple the expected attendance

Anjana Sankar
Jun 13, 2023

The Abrahamic Family House, a symbol of religious tolerance and harmony in the UAE, is attracting a growing number of worshippers, faith leaders have said.

In their first media interview, faith leaders heading the mosque, church, and synagogue spoke exclusively to The National about the transformative power of the space, as it opens hearts and minds to different traditions.

Located on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island, the multi-faith place of worship is a milestone in promoting peaceful coexistence in the UAE. Since its opening in March, worshippers have flocked to the complex, exceeding expectations.

“The number of worshippers for the Friday prayers exceeds the total capacity of 350,” Dr Mahmoud Al Khalaf, the Imam of the Eminence Ahmed Al Tayeb Mosque, told The National. “For instance, last Friday, we had more than 1,000 worshippers.”

Religion does not promote conflict

Imam Dr Mahmoud Al Khalaf at the Eminence Ahmed Al Tayeb Mosque. 

Antonie Robertson / The National

Dr Al Khalaf emphasised that the mosque, located within the same complex as the church and synagogue, promotes a culture of peaceful coexistence.

He said those who attend the prayers have the opportunity to meet followers of other faiths.

“It is actually an amazing experience for them,” he said. “They can communicate with each other, talk, and engage in conversations, which removes the barrier of ignorance.”

The Abrahamic Family House is a physical manifestation of the Document on Human Fraternity signed by Pope Francis and Dr Ahmed Al Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, during the pontiff's visit to the Emirates in 2019.

True to the spirit of the document, which aims to promote interfaith dialogue and harmony, Dr Al Khalaf said the Abrahamic Family House sends a clear message to people around the world to stop waging war in the name of religion.

“We want to tell the entire world that religions have nothing at all to do with wars or conflicts all over the world,” he said. “Religions are found in order to maintain peace and to achieve the welfare of all humanity.”

A model for the whole world

The St Francis Church within the complex is becoming an important place of worship for the UAE's Christian community, and is learning new perspectives on interfaith harmony, Father Darick D'Souza told The National.

“This is not just a community of Catholics but also includes Muslims and Jews,” he said.

“People come not only to practice their Catholic faith but also to observe and understand other faiths, how they live, and how they express themselves.”

Father Darick at the St Francis Church says the inter-faith complex is becoming a model in religious harmony.

 Antonie Robertson / The National

There is a daily mass and special Sunday mass which more than 1,000 worshippers attend, again exceeding the designated capacity of 350, he said.

Father Darick said that since the opening, the faithful have celebrated various events such as the Holy Week, Good Friday, Easter, and the rosary month in May.

He said the Abrahamic Family House is becoming a model for the whole world, demonstrating that people can live together with love and harmony.

“It is all about accepting one another as brothers and sisters. That is the whole point,” he said.

What to expect at Abu Dhabi's Abrahamic Family House

“We can live with love and affection for one another, despite having differences. Imagine the whole world coloured with one paint. It would be such a boring place. It shouldn't be. And that is the speciality of this place.”

Interfaith relations grow organically

The Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue in the Abrahamic Family House is the first purpose-built Jewish place of worship in the Arab world.

Rabbi Yehuda Sarna said the synagogue has become a spiritual centre for the entire UAE Jewish community since its opening.

“We have had phenomenal celebrations in the lives of people and families, we've had weddings, we've had baby naming,” he said.

Rabbi Sarna inside the Jewish temple at the Abrahamic House in Abu Dhabi. 

Victor Besa / The National

“The main synagogue is not just a place for people to come for prayers. It is also a place for people to come with their dreams.”

He said there's just been a “surge of excitement” for Jewish people coming from all over the world to come and pray in a purpose-built synagogue, the first in the Arab world in almost 100 years.

The synagogue is named after Moses Ben Maimon, a 12th-century scholar, philosopher and medical doctor from the Jewish community in the Middle East.

The UAE and Israel have had a robust diplomatic and bilateral partnership since the two countries signed the Abraham Accords in September 2020.

Rabbi Sarna said the Abrahamic House helps form interfaith connections in an organic way.

“We are breathing the same air, sharing the same cafe and encountering each other really through day-to-day interactions,” he said.

He pointed out how in the month of April, the overlap of Ramadan, Easter and the Jewish festival of Passover brought together people from all faiths in the same complex.

“We were literally within the same geographic area where thousands of people coming together, celebrating each in their own way, but also with an awareness that just next door there's another group, also celebrating their faith,” he said. “And rather than being a point of tension, it's a point of inspiration.”







The Moses ben Maimon Synagogue at the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi hosted its first ever Passover. Photo: Abrahamic Family House

Updated: June 14, 2023, 3:48 AM

 

 

 

 

 

Sanna Marin opens up about how Finland 'danced' into Nato

Finnish politicians were reluctant to speak about Nato membership when Russia invaded Ukraine, she said


Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin at London Tech Week. EPA


Laura O'Callaghan

Jun 14, 2023

Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin has spoken about the experience of leading her country into Nato, likening the process to a dance.

Days before she leaves office, Ms Marin recalled the difficult situation her country faced after Russia invaded Ukraine, prompting unprecedented security discussions in Helsinki.

She compared the scenario her administration was thrust into to the “chaotic” period at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, when governments around the world did not have a roadmap to navigate the crisis.

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“We didn’t have a manual [on] how to have this Nato discussion within Finland,” she said, recalling how politicians “had to make decisions very fast”.

‘Dancing towards Nato’

Recalling the mood in Finland during the “Nato spring” – when conversations centred on defence, security and potential membership of the alliance – Ms Marin said people were hesitant to say out loud what they saw coming.

“I think everybody in the room knew where we are heading and where we’re going but nobody said it out loud, like ‘we should join Nato now’.

“It’s a dance. You have to make sure that everybody is on board … and make that process very fast but you cannot rush it.

You have to make sure that everybody's on board, because you need that unity.”

Finnish border guards stand near a pilot border fence at the Finnish-Russian border near Imatra, Finland. AFP

She made the comments during a discussion at London Tech Week on Wednesday.

A video of Ms Marin dancing went viral last year, sparking criticism from opposition MPs.

Looking back to February 2022, she said: “It was so hard wake up very early in the morning to face the fact that Europe is in war once again.”

Given Finland’s boundary with Russia, and the historic animosity between the two nations, Finns were eager to discuss security matters despite there being “no consensus” for Nato membership up to that point.

“It meant for Finland many decisions concerning security,” she said. “We have an over 1,300km border with Russia and they attacked another neighbouring country so of course we have to make decisions as well.”

After a war broke out on the continent “it was evident” that Finland’s population of 5.5 million were moving closer to the idea of becoming part of the transatlantic alliance, she said.

Her country’s eagerness to join Nato is “to do with the fact that we always want to make sure that our nation and our people are secure,” she said.

“This is in Finnish DNA because already we have had wars with Russia,” she added.

She expressed hope that Sweden would become a member of Nato at the alliance’s summit in Vilnius in July, saying it would “be very important” for security in northern Europe.

Finland became an official member of Nato in April.

Ms Marin became the world’s youngest serving state leader when she was elected Prime Minister in 2019 at the age of 34.

She conceded defeat in elections in April after being overtaken by two conservative opponents in a three-way race for control of parliament.

Xi: China willing to help foster Palestinian peacemaking with Israel

The New Arab Staff & Agencies
14 June, 2023

China's president said he is willing to help in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians to achieve "peace and reconciliation," as Israel continues with its settlement expansion and aggression.

Xi reiterated Chinese support for the Palestinian Authority becoming a full member of the United Nations [Getty]

China is willing to play a positive role to help the Palestinians achieve internal reconciliation and promote peace talks with Israel, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his Palestinian counterpart in Beijing on Wednesday.

"The fundamental solution to the Palestinian issue lies in the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital," Xi said, according to Chinese state media.

Palestinians seek statehood in the West Bank and East Jerusalem - territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war - and the Gaza Strip. Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but has kept it under crippling siege and continues to expand settlements in the West Bank.

Peace talks that were brokered by the United States collapsed in 2014, with no revival on the horizon.

"We have always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights," Xi told Abbas at a welcoming ceremony at Beijing's Great Hall of the People.

China has had historically good ties with the Palestinians and since Abbas' last visit in 2017 has consistently talked up its capabilities in mediation, although with little to show in this regard until it brokered a surprise deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore diplomatic relations in March.

Abbas is in Beijing on a three-day visit in which he hoped to demonstrate Chinese support for a Palestinian state, after failing to meet with US officials while in New York for the United Nations General Assembly last year.

Xi reiterated Chinese support for the Palestinian Authority becoming a full member of the United Nations and said Beijing would continue to stand up for the Palestinian side in multilateral forums, state media reported.

The United States opposes full Palestinian UN membership barring a peace deal with Israel, a step requiring a vote in the Security Council where the US, like China, holds a veto.

Xi also said the international community should increase development and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians.

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Xi and Abbas also announced the two sides had agreed to establish a strategic partnership and signed a number of bilateral cooperation documents.

Those include an economic and technological cooperation pact, a deal on mutual visa exemption for diplomatic passports, and a friendship between the Chinese city of Wuhan and Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian government in the occupied West Bank.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang offered to contribute "Chinese wisdom" to the "Palestinian issue" in a separate meeting with Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki.

(Reuters and The New Arab Staff)

EU probes Google for breaching competition law

Google may have abused dominant position in online advertising market, says EU Commission
Agnes Szucs |14.06.2023 



BRUSSELS

The European Commission on Wednesday notified Google that it might have breached the EU competition law according to their investigations.

“We are concerned that Google may have illegally distorted competition in the online advertising technology industry,” EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said at a news conference.

She explained that after launching an investigation into Google’s activities on the ad tech chain in 2021, the EU executive body sent a formal notification called “Statement of Objections” to the tech giant.

“We found that Google may have abused its dominant position by favoring its own ad tech services,” Vestager explained.

According to the investigation, Google is the most important player in the market of ad tech services offered for publishers and advertisers, as well as operating a matching function called AdX.

The EU executive body assumes that it had abused its leading position “by ensuring that both its intermediation tools on the buy-side and on the sell-side would favor AdX in the ‘matching’ auctions,” Vestager explained.

“Rather than letting the best of the ad exchanges win the race, the helping hand of the powerful Google ecosystem gave Google's own exchange a unique head start over all other rivals in the industry,” she further said.

As the next step of the investigation that may lead to another heavy fine on the tech company, Google can reply to the European Commission’s letter.

In the past years, the EU executive body imposed a penalty of €2.4 billion ($2.6 billion) and €4.3 billion ($4.7 billion) on Google for abusing its dominant position in the market of online searches and related Android operating systems.

Maintaining fair competition in the EU’s internal market is one of the few exclusive competencies of the EU, allowing the European Commission to fine companies for breaching antitrust law.

Ugandan anti-LGBTQ law deepens Anglican Church rift on gay rights

The latest split in the Anglican Church comes after recent comments by the Archbishop of Canterbury on Uganda’s new law.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at the UN headquarters in New York City, August 29, 2018 [Andrew Kelly/Reuters]

Published On 14 Jun 2023

The chair of a conservative group of Anglican church leaders on Wednesday accused the church’s global head of perpetuating colonialism with his criticism of one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, introduced by Uganda last month.

The new legislation imposes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts and a 20-year prison sentence for “promoting” homosexuality.

“It seems the history of colonisation and patronising behaviour of some provinces in the northern hemisphere towards the South, and Africa in particular, is not yet at an end,” said Bishop Laurent Mbanda, chair of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) and head of Rwanda’s Anglican Church.

He was referring to Justin Welby, head of the Church of England and leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion’s 85 million members, who said last week that he had written to Ugandan Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba.

The letter expressed “grief and dismay” at Kaziimba’s support for the law.

Welby had said last week that he was aware of the history of British rule in Uganda and his statement was not about imposing Western values, but a reminder of the commitment “to treat every person with the care and respect they deserve as children of God”.

In response, Archbishop Kaziimba said last week that Welby “has every right to form his opinions about matters around the world that he knows little about first-hand”.

Mbanda’s statement mentioned but did not explicitly offer support for the Ugandan law.

The law has triggered widespread Western criticism including threats by United States President Joe Biden and others to cut aid to Uganda and impose other sanctions.

Issues of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights have sharply divided Anglicans, with the church’s GAFCON coalition of conservative adherents among the most critical.

Anglicans created GAFCON in 2008 in response to what the group says was Western churches’ abandonment of Bible-based doctrines. GAFCON claims to represent the majority of all Anglicans worldwide.

In February, another splinter group, the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches, said it no longer recognised Welby’s leadership of the Anglican Communion after the Church of England announced it would allow priests to bless same-sex couples.

The Church of Uganda says 36 percent of Uganda’s population of around 45 million are Anglicans.

Iran: 500-year-old library holds knowledge from Islam's 'Golden Age'

An Iranian manuscript library containing the world's oldest Quran sits in a 500-year-old building which holds books twice that age by the greatest scholars of Islam's 'Golden Age'. The library is in Mashhad, part of eastern Persia in ancient times, and it holds texts by two scholars, Ibn Sina (980-1037) and Al Razi (864-925). Their books were later translated into Latin and taught in European universities as recently as the 18th and 19th centuries.

June 14, 2023 

The Caliph and the Imam: The making of Sunnism and Shiism


Book Author(s) :
Toby Matthiesen
Published Date :
March 2023
Publisher :
Oxford University Press
Hardcover :
960 pages
ISBN-13 :
978-0190689469

Omar Ahmed
3umr27md
June 9, 2023


The Caliph and the Imam: The Making of Sunnism and Shiism by Toby Matthiesen is an extraordinary and comprehensive study that traverses centuries and continents, delving into the intricate evolution of the two major sects of Islam. This scholarly work meticulously examines the historical development and transformation of the Sunni and Shia schools of thought, providing invaluable insights into their origins and influences across diverse time periods and geographical locations.

While the subject of sectarianism in Islam is not novel, Matthiesen's contribution to the field distinguishes itself through its considerable scope and extensive coverage. Unlike other works that dwell on the worn-out – though mandatory – narratives of the ancient schism over succession, the author tactfully limits this explanation to the early pages, instead diving into the intricate nuances that shaped the separate trajectories of Sunnism and Shiism. However, he notes that the formative period is nonetheless crucial, not just for tracing the roots of the theopolitical split, but because subsequent Muslim empires, states and movements "sought to legitimise themselves by referring to it."

What truly sets The Caliph and the Imam apart from others on the topic is the author's departure from the conventional exclusive focus on the Middle Eastern heartlands of Sunni-Shia sectarianism, "For it is across this temporal and geographical reach that Sunnism and Shiism constituted each other." Matthiesen expands his analysis to encompass regions beyond, including the Indian subcontinent in South Asia.

This attention to the subcontinent becomes especially significant considering that India and Pakistan together constitute the largest Sunni population, with an equally significant Shia presence rivalling that of Iran. By venturing beyond the customary boundaries, he sheds light on the dynamics of sectarianism in a region often overlooked in similar studies, providing a fresh and engaging perspective. For instance, we learn that in the case of the Mughals, "Which Sufi order they allied with had consequences for Sunni-Shia relations," and that the dynasty's founder Babur initially sought help from the Shia Safavids of Persia in his early campaigns.

The Arab Conquests: The spread of Islam and the first caliphates

Last week, during a book launch event held at London's Al-Khoei Foundation, Matthiesen shared with MEMO his motivations for writing the book, considering the abundance of existing literature. He explained: "I started working on this book in 2015. I got sort of stuck at some point, partly because I didn't want to do exactly what was already out there… I did feel that there are many people who already have strong opinions about this topic..the more popular accounts of this are really very essentialist, very misleading, and focused on conflict."

With its focus on the political history of the Sunni-Shia split, I drew several parallels with a previous publication, aptly titled Sunnis and Shi'a: A Political History, by the esteemed academic Laurence Louer. However, while that book covers similar themes of the ebbs and flows of Sunni-Shia relations marked by cooperation and conflict, it does so through specific case studies of individual countries, providing a more limited examination.

In contrast, Matthiesen's work offers a broader analysis encompassing historical periods and geopolitical shifts. It delves into major turning points and milestones, such as the age of "Confessional Ambiguity", which gave rise to two rival dynasties — the Ottomans and the Safavids —whose actions had far-reaching consequences for Sunni-Shia relations.

Matthiesen himself acknowledges the significance of Louer's scholarship and told MEMO: "Louer is a great scholar and I appreciate her work."

"Her new book came out while I was writing mine. In general, it's about the same topic. But the two books are actually quite different. [Louer's] is largely a number of case studies, focussing on a number of countries primarily in the modern period," he added.

Opposing the Imam: The Legacy of the Nawasib in Islamic Literature

Then there is the much more recent and relevant Arab Spring and the geopolitical conflicts that followed. One certainly gets the impression that The Caliph and the Imam is a particularly contemporaneous study with events unfolding in close to real-time the closer one gets to the end. As Matthiesen quips: "Even something as non-discriminatory as a respiratory virus had become sectarianised," given how many Shia pilgrims were treated as "super spreaders" of COVID-19 from visiting the shrine cities in the early days of the pandemic.

Bearing in mind the book was published in the same month as the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement, which was a monumental development as far as political and sectarian rivalries go in the Middle East, I'd fully expect there to be an updated edition in the pipeline, taking into account the implications of Syria's readmission into the Arab League and possibly the legitimisation of the Houthi-led government in Yemen and how these will shape the sectarian interplay.

I found the mention of the impact of the press printing on polemics particularly intriguing, as this "led to a more scripturalist Islam, in which sectarian boundaries were more rigidly enforced," this prompted me to contemplate how this phenomenon has been exacerbated with the expansive, and frankly, toxic world of online polemics and the way in which these sectarian identities have solidified to greater extents on social media.

Matthiesen agrees, explaining to MEMO: "The internet has led to massive uploading of sectarian content which is often the one that gets spread more widely. It's also the engagement factor of social media…this has definitely hardened sectarian identities."

He also revealed that: "The importance of structural change in the media is a major sub thread in the book."

Although The Caliph and the Imam briefly touches on sectarianism in the West, specifically Salafi propagation among the Muslim diaspora and converts to Islam, it would have been more insightful if this part of the world was explored in further detail, especially with last year's controversy surrounding the Lady of Heaven film – about the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him)'s daughter – serving as a relevant talking point, further emphasising the book's international scope.

Nonetheless, despite this missed opportunity, the extensive presence of endnotes and a bibliography spanning about half of the book demonstrates its thorough research and authoritative analysis. With a keen focus on a subject intertwined with political and theological aspects that transcend regional boundaries, this contribution effectively showcases the global nature of this issue.

Grammy Awards: Africa finally gets its own category

Angelique Kidjo accepts the award for Best World Music Album for "Mother Nature" at the 64th annual Grammy Awards ceremony on 3 April 2022 in Las Vegas. -
Copyright © africanewsMALIK KONATE/AFP or licensors

By Rédaction Africanews
with AFP Last updated: 1 hour ago

USA

The American music industry's Grammy Awards announced on Tuesday that they will be awarding a gramophone to the best African music performance at their next edition, a further sign of their quest for diversity and a consecration for the genre.

The new award covers a wide range of styles, from Afrobeat and Afro-fusion to Kwassa Kwassa and Ndombolo from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana drill, Afro-House and South African hip-hop, said the Recording Academy, which brings together music industry professionals, in a press release.

The category will reward "recordings that use the unique local expressions of the African continent", the Grammys organisers added.


Long accused of not sufficiently reflecting the diversity and evolution of the music industry, the Grammy Awards have been seeking for years to broaden the range of styles and registers of awards. The category of best soundtrack for a video game was added in 2022.

Musicians from African countries, such as French-Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo (5 wins, 14 nominations) and Nigerian singer Burna Boy (one win, 6 nominations), regularly dominate the Grammy world music categories.



At the 65th edition on 5 February in Los Angeles, a trio led by South African DJ-producer Zakes Bantwini, a pillar of local house music, won thanks to a track in Zulu in the best world music performance category.



The 2024 edition will also honour two other new categories: best alternative jazz album and best dance pop recording. In 2023, 91 awards were presented in as many categories, including pop, rock, classical, hip-hop, gospel and country.

GOP Budget bill bans military abortions, transgender care, diversity work

By Leo Shane III

NAVY TIMES
Jun 14, 2023

Abortion rights protestors rally ouside the capitol building in Sacramento, Calif., on May 21, 2019. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

This is a developing story, and will be updated.

All abortion assistance for troops would be banned, all transgender medical care ended, and all diversity and extremism training blocked under the defense appropriations plan unveiled by House Republicans on Wednesday.

The move came just one day after GOP leaders advanced similar legislation to block abortion and transgender care at Veterans Affairs facilities through their veterans programs budget bill. The Defense Department restrictions drew immediate condemnation from Democratic officials, who called the provisions “extremist” and “disturbing.”

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The budget bill — scheduled to be debated behind closed doors by the House Appropriations panel on Thursday and publicly later this month — calls for $826.5 billion in defense spending for fiscal 2024, at roughly the levels agreed upon by White House negotiators and House Republican leaders earlier this month.

It also includes a 5.2% pay raise for all troops next year and a pay boost of more than 30% for some junior enlisted troops, provisions that have been hailed by lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum.

But the restrictions regarding abortion services and other controversial social issues put the future of the legislation in doubt. Congress must agree upon a new spending package for the Defense Department by Oct. 1 or trigger a partial government shutdown.