Al-Qaeda’s last Indian soldier is imprisoned in Pakistan. Is the long jihad finally dead?

New Age Islam News Bureau

19 February 2025

Representational image | Illustration: Soham Sen | ThePrint

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·         Al-Qaeda’s last Indian soldier is imprisoned in Pakistan. Is the long jihad finally dead?

·         Security forces kill 30 terrorists in South Waziristan IBO: ISPR

·         Ayatollah Khamenei rejects US plan for Gaza as ‘foolish, futile’

·         The Muslim World League hosts forum to foster dialogue, promote Islamic unity

·         Europe's leaders divided over their tactics with Trump

·         White House labels Zelensky ‘short-sighted’

·         Iran executes citizen of Afghanistan on drug charges

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India

·         'CM has nothing to do with language or progress': Akhilesh hits back at Adityanath over Urdu remark

·         Telangana Government allows Muslim staff to leave one hour early during Ramzan, draws BJP's ire

·         Jamui (Bihar): Violence erupts after ABVP members raise provocative slogans near mosque

·         Uttar Pradesh: School pride of place returned to Param Vir Chakra awardee Abdul Hamid

·         Assam CM Sarma denies ‘witch hunt’ over Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi’s wife’s alleged ISI links

·         Modi’s cartoon in Tamil magazine on US deportations sparks controversy

·         Harsh Mander: Why Indian Muslims live apart

·         West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee threatens to quit if ‘terror, Muslim League links’ proved

·         ‘Muslim communities in BC list in united AP since 1960s’

·         Privilege motion against Suvendu Adhikari for 'government of Muslims' remark

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Pakistan

·         Gunmen kill seven bus passengers in Balochistan'sBarkhan

·         'Won't cut any deal' come what may, reiterates Imran Khan

·         SC constitutional bench urged to strike down Army Act provisions under Article 10A

·         No grand opposition alliance will be formed after Eid, claims Vawda

·         NA reaffirms support for Kashmiris’ struggle

·         Conducive environment a requisite for economic stability, says PM Shehbaz

·         IHC refuses to register Al-Qadir Trust as charity

·         Pakistan no longer isolated on world stage, says Ishaq Dar

·         NAB files fresh cases against Malik Riaz over illegal land grab

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Mideast

·         Palestinians to decide Gaza future: Qatar

·         Endowments Authority condemns burning of mosque by Islah Party in Taiz

·         Grand Imam of Al Azhar arrives to attend Intra-Islamic Dialogue Conference

·         Palestine briefs Islamic Group on recent developments

·         Tens of thousands of Palestinians flee West Bank refugee camps

·         More than one million Syrians return to their homes: UN

·         Beirut airport to close Sunday during funeral of slain Hezbollah leader

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Arab World

·         Saudi Arabia is ‘neutral setting’ for US-Russia talks, says political commentator

·         Saudi Cabinet reaffirms support for global peace talks in Riyadh

·         KSrelief organizes training in Aden on cholera, infection controls

·         Manga exhibition in Jeddah explores evolution of Japanese artform

·         Saudi Arabia’s Nusuk app expands services for pilgrims

·         Saudi leadership congratulates Jordan king after successful surgery

·         Saudi Arabia pledges innovation in road safety at Morocco conference

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Europe

·         NATO member suggests ‘ideal host’ for next Ukraine talks

·         Shutting the EU and Ukraine out of the talks is the only way to peace

·         Tell Mama reports sharp rise in anti-Muslim hate cases

·         Welsh school sacked teaching assistant who shared views on same sex marriage, abortion and Sharia law

·         Trump says Ukraine should have made a deal earlier

·         'He was just an innocent wee boy on his holidays'

·         British Army 'absolutely ready' if ordered to deploy to Ukraine

·         Moscow back at the table - and appearing to call the shots

·         Tips for having a healthy Ramadan

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North America

·         What the fall of DEI means for religion

·         Why did a plane crash in Toronto, and how did everyone survive?

·         Meghan puts new label on jams and lifestyle range

·         New York governor weighs Eric Adams' fate after scandals

·         A$AP Rocky not guilty of firearm assault on LA street

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South Asia

·         Islamic Emirate Congratulates Syria’s New Transitional Leader

·         OIC Affirms Commitment to Humanitarian Aid in Kabul

·         Islamic Emirate Cabinet Discusses Power Infrastructure, Development Plans

·         Stalled Talks, Familiar Faces as Afghan, Global Support Shifts to Islamic Emirate

·         Injured July uprising victims march to liberation ministry

·         ACC finds evidence of ex-IGP Shahidul's illegal wealth

·         ‘Release Azharul, restore party registration’

·         Afghan Red Crescent Society Begins Heart Surgery for Children

·         Imam-Muazzins’s salary issue discussed in DC conference: Khalid

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Africa

·         Ramaphosa offers condolences and concern after murder of imam Muhsin Hendricks

·         Kwara Court remands Islamic cleric, 5 others over alleged murder of final year student

·         Sudan seeks to bolster diplomatic ties with Iran

·         Ramadan: On Sultan’s Mandate We Stand — MURIC

·         Pray for Tinubu’s success, Olu-Alo urges Nigerians

·         Osun LG Election: Heavy Security As OSSIEC Insists On Saturday Poll

·         Just In: FG Resolves Passport Crisis In Atlanta, New York

·         Each Member Of Lagos House Received ₦30 Million To Pass Vote Of Confidence – Adegoke

·         It Is All Drama And Entertainment – Kyari Addresses Claims Of Low Quality Fuel

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Southeast Asia

·         PM Anwar’s first official visit to aluminium-producer Bahrain to include economic talks and intra-Islam dialogue

·         Bail denied for Rohingya imam charged with child sexual abuse at Kelantan mosque

·         MP: How is govt fostering unity when DAP minister toys with Islam?

·         Islamic affairs minister clarifies ‘public caning’ for Shariah offences just means outside prison instead of fully open

·         Strict Action Against Traders Who Rent Out Ramadan Bazaar Lots To Foreigners

·         Airlangga: Bullion Bank Aligns with Indonesia’s Muslim Population

·         SOSMA: Amendments to balance national security and individual rights

·         KPKT achieves 93.9% target of building 500,000 affordable home

Compiled by New Age Islam News Burea

URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/al-qaeda-indian-soldier-pakistan-jihad/d/134668

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Al-Qaeda’s last Indian soldier is imprisoned in Pakistan. Is the long jihad finally dead?

PRAVEEN SWAMI

19 February, 2025

Representational image | Illustration: Soham Sen | ThePrint

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Through the looking glass, the bright red words of the Coca-Cola logo seemed to scream blasphemies: “There is no Muhammad, there is no Mecca.” Everywhere, jihadist pop writer and cleric Sana-ul-Haq saw signs of the coming apocalypse. From the bowels of the Bermuda Triangle, the devil was reaching out to snatch planes, ships, and souls. The devil’s rule, he warned, would see “the truth presented as falsehood and the falsehood presented as the truth.” A time was coming when “the sky would rain and the earth yield crops, but neither would give succour to the people, who would face drought.”

For the pious, there was only one path left to fight the devil. He wrote: “The Lord has declared that if jihad is not carried out, the earth would be filled with fasaad [conflict].”

Last week, officials in New Delhi learned that one of the men drawn to Sana-ul-Haq’s call is now being held in a prison in Lahore. Mohammad Usman, a former resident of Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh, travelled to Pakistan, investigators claim, as part of a conspiracy to build an al-Qaeda unit that would wage war on India.

Eleven years after slain jihadist leader Ayman al-Zawahiri proclaimed the founding of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, the organisation has yet to conduct a single operation of significance. Leaders like Sana-ul-Haq, better known by his pseudonym Asim Umar, have been killed in American drone strikes. Lieutenants he dispatched to India are in prison. And al-Qaeda’s relationship with jihadist groups fighting Islamabad, as the story of Usman suggests, has deprived the group of safe havens.

Is al-Qaeda’s project in the Indian Subcontinent dead?

There is no simple answer. Earlier this month, a United Nations monitoring group reported that Afghanistan’s Taliban regime was housing low-level al-Qaeda operatives in Kabul neighbourhoods like Shahr-e Naw and Wazir Akbar Khan, while also setting up safe-houses for its top leadership in remote villages like Bulghuli in Sar-e Pul province.

Even more critically, the communal fractures that shaped the Indian jihadist movement remain a toxic part of our present.

A time of madness

To understand the rise of al-Qaeda in India requires a journey through the mirror, into the millenarian frenzy that took root in the 1990s. To many jihadists, it seemed that a long-awaited, decisive battle with the West was dawning. The discovery of Coca-Cola’s purportedly blasphemous iconography occurred in Lucknow that year, spreading worldwide through a new medium—the internet. Fringe ideas, like the prophecy of an apocalyptic war involving the army of the Prophet Muhammad, found a growing audience.

Like other jihadists of his generation—Sana-ul-Haq was likely born between 1974 and 1976—his worldview was shaped by communal violence. From 1977, communal clashes in India escalated savagely, culminating in the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992.

Across India, small jihadist groups began to spring up. Abdul Karim ‘Tunda’, so nicknamed because he was maimed in a bomb-making accident, is alleged to have carried out multiple bombings. The Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), banned by the Indian government in 2001, began lurching further rightward, eventually heading down a path that would lead some of its members to form India’s most lethal urban terror network—the Indian Mujahideen.

Although Sana-ul-Haq does not mention this in his writings, he likely had firsthand encounters with such violence. As ThePrint’s Vandana Menon has noted, Sambhal has a history of communal violence dating back to the early twentieth century. After spending a few months at the famous Dar-ul-Uloom seminary in Deoband, Sana-ul-Haq dropped out of his clerical education and left for Pakistan in 1995—a year, perhaps not coincidentally, marked by intense communal tension in Sambhal.

Later, he would write: “Democracy is one of the evils that has had a bad impact on the Muslim nation, replacing the system of Allah with an alternative that gives power to human beings, who are merely the creation of Allah. Democracy is evil, and if you want to fight it, you have to destroy its four essential pillars: parliament, judiciary, civil bureaucracy and media.”

The rise of al-Qaeda

For a time, Indian intelligence officials claim, Sana-ul-Haq studied at the Jamia Uloom-e-Islamia, a Karachi seminary that has produced several jihadist leaders, including Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Mohammad Masood Azhar Alvi. In late 1990s, he briefly taught at the Dar-ul-Uloom Haqqania seminary—one of the fountainheads of the global jihadist movement— in Akora Khattak in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where he encountered the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen group. Later, intelligence officials say, he served at Harkat-ul-Mujahideen camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, lecturing recruits from India.

Following the events of 9/11, Sana-ul-Haq moved back to Karachi and lived from 2004 to 2006 at the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen’s office in Haroonabad. His turn toward al-Qaeda began in the summer of 2007, after General Pervez Musharraf cracked down on jihadists opposing his rule.

By 2013, there was some evidence that he was embedded in the struggle against American forces in Afghanistan. Writing in the pro-Taliban magazine Azan that year, he declared: “There is no fasaad greater than the world being ruled by man-made law instead of Allah’s law! When this happens, the world is filled with fasaad! Even the animals and birds start crying out; the earth stops growing its produce.”

Court records reveal that these linkages led Sana-ul-Haq to recruit from among his friends and fellow students. The trial of former Sambhal resident Mohammad Asif showed that support networks for Jaish-e-Mohammed operations had been set up as early as 1999. From 2013 onward, several Indians—including Mohd Sharjeel Akhtar, Mohammad Rehan, Zafar Masood, Syed Anzar Shah and Aligarh Muslim University-educated engineer Arshiyan Haider—travelled to Pakistan for training.

By late 2015, funding from supporters in the Indian diaspora—including Glasgow suicide bomber Kafeel Ahmad’s brother, Sabeel Ahmad, and Karachi-based ganglord-jihadist Farhatullah Ghauri—allowed the network to expand.

Why al-Qaeda failed

Why did these efforts fail? Likely, it wasn’t due to intelligence or policing. Indian authorities were unaware of these networks—or that al-Qaeda’s regional chief was an Indian national—until the 2015 arrest of Odisha-based cleric Abdul Rehman. Even today, parts of the story remain unknown. Arshiyan, for example, is imprisoned in Turkey, but despite completing his sentence, he has successfully resisted deportation to India. Figures like Farhatullah Ghauri, meanwhile, remain in Karachi, out of reach of Indian investigators.

The key question is: Even crude, cash-strapped networks like Abdul Karim’s were able to stage effective terror campaigns—let alone better-funded groups like the Indian Mujahideen. Why, then, did al-Qaeda, with its vast resources and ties to Jaish-e-Mohammed, fail?

The answer likely lies in shadowy shifts in Pakistani policy after the 26/11 attacks. Facing international pressure and the threat of financial sanctions, Islamabad was forced to curb its support for jihadists targeting India. The Indian Mujahideen leadership, which had sought refuge in Pakistan, was pushed out and forced to fight alongside al-Qaeda’s units in Iraq and Syria, where they were decimated by American, Russian, and Iranian bombs.

Few survived; those who did, like Arshiyan, are in prison camps. There is no clear information on when Mohammad Usman was incarcerated, but being an anti-India jihadist no longer guarantees gentle treatment in Pakistani prisons.

More importantly, al-Qaeda’s jihadist message never resonated with Indian Muslims as it did in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Sana-ul-Haq’s calls for violence, analyst Hari Prasad notes, drew only a tiny following. For Indian Muslims, violent jihad against their homeland seemed absurd.

All this, of course, could change. Pakistan’s slow descent into anarchy could once again provide safe havens for jihadists. Large-scale communal violence in India could also radicalise a new generation. Even small numbers, as the Indian Mujahideen’s story teaches us, can cause significant damage.

The case of Mohammad Usman and the death of al-Qaeda’s Indian enterprise should remind New Delhi that developments in Pakistan have gifted it time and space. That opportunity should not be squandered by reigniting the communal fires that once gave birth to jihadism.

Source:theprint.in

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https://theprint.in/opinion/security-code/al-qaedas-last-indian-soldier-is-imprisoned-in-pakistan-is-the-long-jihad-finally-dead/2500949/

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Security forces kill 30 terrorists in South Waziristan IBO: ISPR

By Zarmeen Zehra

February 18, 2025

Security forces carry out a search operation in this file photo. — ISPR

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Security forces killed 30 terrorists in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's South Waziristan District, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Tuesday.

According to the military's media wing: "On 17 February 2025, security forces conducted an intelligence based operation in general area Sararogha, South Waziristan District on reported presence of Khwarij."

During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged the terrorists' location as a result of which, 30 militants were neutralised.

The ISPR further said that a sanitisation operation was conducted to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area as the security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country.

In the relevance of this attack, it is important to note that the country witnessed a sharp increase in terror attacks in January 2025, surging by 42% compared to the previous month, according to data released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), which is a think tank.

The data revealed that at least 74 militant attacks were recorded nationwide, resulting in 91 fatalities, including 35 security personnel, 20 civilians, and 36 militants. Another 117 individuals sustained injuries, including 53 security forces personnel, 54 civilians, and 10 militants.

KP remained the worst-affected province, followed by Balochistan. In KP's settled districts, militants carried out 27 attacks, resulting in 19 fatalities, including 11 security personnel, six civilians, and two militants.

The tribal districts of KP (erstwhile Fata) witnessed 19 attacks, leading to 46 deaths, including 13 security personnel, eight civilians, and 25 militants.

Source:thenews.com.pk

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https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1284132-30-terrorists-killed-in-south-waziristan-ibo-ispr

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Ayatollah Khamenei rejects US plan for Gaza as ‘foolish, futile’

By IFP Media Wire

February 19, 2025

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has refuted the US plan to displace the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip as "foolish and futile".

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The Leader made the remarks in a meeting with Ziyad al-Nakhaleh, Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.

“These plans will lead nowhere. Those who vowed to eliminate resistance within a short time a year and a half ago, now receive their prisoners from small groups of resistance fighters in exchange for a big number of Palestinians.”

Ayatollah Khamenei praised the victory of Gaza’s resistance over Israel and the US, describing it as magnificent.

He emphasized that the great work done by Palestinian resistance leaders and fighters in maintaining unity and cohesion, standing firm against enemies, and navigating the complex process of ceasefire talks, as well as the Gazan people’s resilience and patience has made the resistance proud in the region.

“This victory sets a new benchmark for resistance battles,” he noted.

Ayatollah Khamenei commended the way resistance handled prisoner exchanges as a testament to its strength before global audiences.

“Currently, international public opinion is in favor of Palestine, and thus no plan can succeed without consent from Gaza’s resistance and people,” the Leader added.

In this meeting, Nakhaleh congratulated Ayatollah Khamenei on Gaza’s victory and attributed it to Iran’s consistent support and guidance from late Hezbollah leader Seyed Hassan Nasrallah.

“The Palestinian resistance was effectively fighting America and the West over the past 18 months and despite the inequality of the balance of power, it could achieve major victories,” Nakhaleh said.

He highlighted the unity among Palestinian and Lebanese groups on the battlefield and political levels as one of the factors influencing their success in Gaza.

“We will never forget our path of resistance, and we will continue this path as soldiers of the resistance,” Nakhaleh stated.

Source:ifpnews.com

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https://ifpnews.com/ayatollah-khamenei-us-plan-gaza-foolish-futile/

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The Muslim World League hosts forum to foster dialogue, promote Islamic unity

February 18, 2025

MWL will host second edition of the Global Conference for Building Bridges Between Islamic Schools of Thought and Sects on March 6-7 in Makkah. (MWL)

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RIYADH: The Muslim World League will host the second edition of the Global Conference for Building Bridges Between Islamic Schools of Thought and Sects on March 6-7 in Makkah, Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.

The conference will bring together leading muftis, scholars, intellectuals, and representatives from senior Islamic councils, jurisprudential academies, and religious institutions across different sects and denominations.

It will serve as a unified platform for fostering constructive dialogue among diverse Islamic traditions as well as coordinating efforts and resources to strengthen Islamic unity, while ensuring mutual respect for doctrinal diversity.

The forum also aims to overcome sectarian disputes that have historically led to division and conflict, and promote fraternity and cohesion through practical initiatives.

This year’s conference marks a critical step in transforming the principles outlined in the inaugural conference into actionable programs, SPA said.

Discussions will address issues such as enhancing intra-Islamic dialogue and cooperation.

A highlight of the conference will be the launch of the encyclopedia of Islamic intellectual convergence, prepared by the Center for Safeguarding Intellect.

The encyclopedia, developed with contributions from 60 Islamic scholars and thinkers, aims to serve as a comprehensive guide to common Islamic principles.

Source:arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2590761/saudi-arabia

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Europe's leaders divided over their tactics with Trump

18 FEB 2025

Nato and European leaders held emergency talks in Paris to discuss the war in Ukraine

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French President Emmanuel Macron got straight on the phone to Donald Trump and, separately, to Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday night, after fellow leaders of Europe's biggest military powers left the glittering Élysée Palace in Paris.

What achievements could the French president boast? Was his emergency security summit a success?

What frustrates Europe's detractors is there's rarely a clear answer. Different European nations speak with different voices, though they share many values and goals.

But in the current climate of black-and-white thinking prevalent in Washington and Moscow, where the world is divided into the powerful and the weak, European nuance can count as weakness.

Under that unforgiving spotlight, Monday's meeting failed.

Leaders had raised expectations. The summit dominated headlines as soon as it was called.

The head of the West's defence alliance Nato, European Union chiefs and leaders of Europe's most influential military nations scrambled together at speed.

They wanted to hijack Donald Trump's attention. To impress him. To elbow themselves a seat at the negotiating table at the peace talks he plans with Russia's Vladimir Putin to discuss the future of Ukraine.

Europe was - it still is - smarting at being sidelined.

Ukraine is a European nation. Its fate will impact the whole continent.

Depending how bullish President Putin emerges from any peace talks, Europe's security services fear he could turn his attention to upending the sovereignty of other nations.

The Baltic states that neighbour Russia feel particularly exposed.

But leaders didn't help their case on Monday.

Yes, they say they'll spend more on their own defence, as Donald Trump demands. Despite domestic concerns about limited government budgets and a cost of living crisis.

The Paris meeting even discussed the possibility of sending European troops to Ukraine to oversee an eventual ceasefire - unthinkable even a few weeks ago for Europe.

That's what the US president wants.

But ultimately those leaders in Paris failed to deliver a strong, united, sum-it-up-in-a-line-tweet response, that might have made the impatient businessman-cum-US president sit up and really take notice.

The reasons for this are many, despite the sense of urgency in Europe about Ukraine and European security more broadly.

A number of Europe's leaders are furious at feeling they have to dance to Donald Trump's tune.

The frustration that poured out of the mouth of the normally phlegmatic German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was palpable when he left the Paris meeting.

"It is completely premature and a completely wrong time to have this discussion [on sending European troops to Ukraine] now. I'm even a little irritated by these debates."

He insisted that there must be equal division between the US and Europe on responsibilities in Ukraine.

Scholz is likely to be out of a job soon. There are elections in Germany on Sunday, which he is widely expected to lose.

He's had a couple of uncharacteristically emotional outbursts at home too of late, presumably under the strain.

Still, it's important to note that he is far from alone amongst European leaders, who suspect Donald Trump is in a hurry to wash his hands of Ukraine and pivot his attention elsewhere. Perhaps China?

They worry too that the US president not only intends to deplete the defence umbrella his country has offered its European allies since the end of World War Two, but that Europe may now need to defend itself against him and his policies.

The tone the UK prime minister struck after the Paris meeting was in stark contrast to these darker European broodings.

He is openly keen to use the "special relationship" the UK hopes it still has with Washington as a bridge between Europe and the US.

One that Sir Keir Starmer is determined not to burn, telling voters at home that European security was in their national interest.

He appeared determinedly unfazed at Russia's face-to-face preparation talks with the US in Saudi Arabia.

No date for that big-ticket summit between Trump and Putin has yet been set.

Sir Keir hopes to grab a window of opportunity to press Europe's case when he heads to Washington for a meeting of his own with the US president next week.

The US must stay by its allies' side, the prime minister has declared.

If it doesn't, Europe's leaders will have to keep meeting untill they can agree a way forward for Ukraine and their common security.

Should they fail again, long shadows over the stability of this continent will grow.

Source:bbc.com

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39vk01v10go

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White House labels Zelensky ‘short-sighted’

18 Feb, 2025

The White House has criticized Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky as “short-sighted” for refusing to sign a deal that would grant Washington access to Ukraine’s mineral resources, the Associated Press reported on Monday.

The proposal was reportedly a key topic of Zelensky’s recent talks with US Vice President J.D. Vance at the Munich Security Conference.

US President Donald Trump has recently demanded the “equivalent of $500 billion worth of rare earths” from Ukraine in exchange for what he estimates to be “more than $300 billion” that Washington has provided to Kiev in various forms of aid during its conflict with Moscow. However, Zelensky has pushed back, stating that he seeks a mutually beneficial “partnership” rather than simply handing over Ukraine’s natural resources.

White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes told AP on Monday that “Zelensky is being short-sighted about the excellent opportunity the Trump administration has presented to Ukraine.”

Zelensky told the outlet over the weekend that he had blocked Ukrainian ministers from signing “a relevant agreement” because, in his view, “it is not ready to protect us, our interest.”

The proposal was introduced during US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s visit to Kiev last week.

Zelensky stated that for him it is “very important” to preserve a “connection between some kind of security guarantees and some kind of investment.”

According to senior Ukrainian officials familiar with the talks, the deal proposed by Washington did not specify security guarantees in return. One former senior official reportedly described it as “a colonial agreement.”

Before the 2022 escalation of the Ukraine conflict, the country had Europe’s largest reserves of titanium and lithium, which are not rare-earths, but are critical for military industries, batteries, and capacitors. Around $7 trillion of Ukraine’s total mineral wealth is in its former Donbass regions of Donetsk and Lugansk which joined Russia in 2022, according to Forbes.

Zelensky has also acknowledged that much of Ukraine’s mineral-rich territory is now under Russian control.

The AP report noted that the US proposal apparently did not address how the deposits would be secured if the conflict between Moscow and Kiev continues. One of the Ukrainian officials who spoke to the agency suggested that Washington does not have “ready answers” to that question.

Moscow has strongly criticized the potential deal. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said it would violate Ukraine’s constitution, which affirms that the nation’s natural resources belong to its people.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has also dismissed the proposed arrangement as a “commercial transaction,” saying “it would be better not to provide aid at all, thus facilitating an end to the conflict.”

Source:rt.com

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https://www.rt.com/news/612980-us-zelensky-rare-earths-ukraine/

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Iran executes citizen of Afghanistan on drug charges

By Fidel Rahmati

February 19, 2025

Human rights organization Hengaw has reported that Iran executed an Afghan citizen. The execution took place on Monday, February, 17, at the central prison in Isfahan.

According to the report, the man was identified as Burhan Waisimzai, a 32-year-old Afghan national. He had been arrested three years ago on charges of “drug trafficking.”

Hengaw further stated that Burhan Waisimzai had been involved in a case related to the illegal trade of drugs, leading to his imprisonment and eventual execution. His execution marks another incident of executions involving foreign nationals in Iran.

Human Rights Organization Iran has reported that, in 2024 alone, approximately 74 Afghan citizens have been executed in Iran, with many of them facing charges related to drug trafficking or murder.

The execution of Burhan Waisimzai adds to the growing concern about the fate of Afghan nationals in Iran, particularly those arrested on drug-related charges. It is a tragic reminder of the harsh penalties faced by foreign nationals in the country.

The international community must address the ongoing human rights violations in Iran, advocating for fair trials and the abolition of the death penalty, especially for those facing charges under harsh conditions.

Source:khaama.com

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https://www.khaama.com/iran-executes-citizen-of-afghanistan-on-drug-charges/

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India

 

'CM has nothing to do with language or progress': Akhilesh hits back at Adityanath over Urdu remark

19 Feb 2025,

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday hit back at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his Urdu language remark, noting the 'carelessness' of the CM towards the education and progress of the state.

Yadav questioned the CM over the closure, stating that 11 lakh primary schools have been shut across India, most of them in UP.

Speaking to ANI, Yadav said, "It is very clear that the CM has nothing to do with language or progress. If you look at the record, 11 lakh primary schools have been shut. How many intermediate schools have been opened? Be it Polytechnic, ITI or Engineering - how much of it is being taken care of by the Government? How to improve the quality of education? Reports have come from time to time...The government should think that 11 lakh primary schools have been shut, most of them being in UP."

SP leader Mata Prasad Pandey, who is the leader of the opposition, accused the UP CM of deliberately making this a Hindu-Muslim subject.

"...Urdu is also a language. The matter raised in Vidhan Sabha was in another prospect, but he (Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath) talked about Urdu to carry forward his agenda of Hindu-Muslim. We were opposing the entry of the English language in Vidhan Sabha, but somehow the matter became about the Urdu language," he said.

Yadav's remark came after CM Yogi Adityanath in the UP Legislative Assembly said that SP wants to promote Urdu to make the children 'maulvis.'

In the Assembly, CM Yogi said, "...This is the problem with you people; you (Samajwadi Party) will oppose every good work which is in the interest of the state. This type of opposition should be condemned...These people will teach their children in English medium schools, but if the govt wants to give facilities to others' children, they will make them study Urdu. They want them to become Maulvis..."

SP was demanding to include the Urdu language among the languages of translation in the assembly.

UP assembly proceedings are now equipped with the facility of a translator, as per a release. The proceedings are now available in Awadhi, Braj, Bhojpuri, Bundeli and English.

Source:newindianexpress.com

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https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2025/Feb/19/cm-has-nothing-to-do-with-language-or-progress-akhilesh-hits-back-at-adityanath-over-urdu-remark

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Telangana Government allows Muslim staff to leave one hour early during Ramzan, draws BJP's ire

 February 19, 2025

The Telangana Government has issued a circular permitting Muslim employees to leave offices an hour early during the holy month of Ramzan, a move slammed by the opposition BJP, which wondered why such measures are not extended during Hindu festivals.

The saffron party dubbed the move as appeasement politics, but the ruling dispensation said such a facility was nothing new.

According to the circular, all the Muslim employees, including teachers, contract and outsourced staff, employees of Boards, Corporations and public sector, are permitted to leave offices at 4 p.m., ahead by an hour during Ramzan, from March 2 to March 31, except when their presence is required due to exigencies of service.

Hitting out, firebrand BJP MLA Raja Singh said the permission granted to Muslim employees is “appeasement politics at its peak”.

“Telangana govt allows early leave for Ramzan but ignores Hindu festivals. Equal rights for all, or none,” he said on the social media platform ‘X,’ while also posting a copy of the official circular.

Taking exception to Mr. Singh’s comments, ruling Congress leader and the Government’s adviser on minority affairs Mohammed Ali Shabbir said there is nothing new in the Government’s decision.

“The facility was given during the BRS regime. Many BJP governments are also giving in many states. Not just in Telangana and not just this year. It has been there since several years. One hour facility is given,” he told PTI Videos.

Mr. Shabbir said such special facilities and arrangements are made during festivals, irrespective of the community, like Ganesh Chaturthi and Bonalu (celebrated in Telangana).

“It is the duty of the government to help the citizens during festivals,” he added.

Coming down heavily on the Congress Government over the move, Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar asked why such exemptions are not given to Hindu devotees who take ‘Ayyappa Deeksha’ (41-day vow of devotion to Lord Ayyappa) and others.

The Ayyappa devotees find it difficult to observe the guidelines to the ‘Deeksha’ as they have to carry out the responsibilities of their job, Mr. Kumar said.

“Why is such an exemption given only to Ramzan devotees? We are called communal when we ask such questions,” he said, addressing an event at Mancherial town.

Meanwhile, state Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, in charge of Hyderabad, held a meeting with officials on the arrangements for Ramzan in the city.

He emphasised the need for ensuring uninterrupted electricity supply, garbage disposal and other essential services in major mosques, key intersections, and across the city, an official release said.

He also noted the issues raised by public representatives in the meeting and directed senior officials to take necessary action.

Mr. Prabhakar said the Telangana Government believes in treating all citizens equally and compassionately and the efforts to enhance essential services during Ramazan align with this approach, the release said.

During the meeting, Mr. Shabbir thanked Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy for issuing orders allowing Muslim employees to leave offices an hour early during Ramzan.

He also welcomed the possibility of issuing separate orders permitting businesses and shops to remain open until late during the holy month. “Such an order from the Labour department would facilitate business activities during Ramzan,” Mr. Shabbir said.

Source:thehindu.com

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Jamui (Bihar): Violence erupts after ABVP members raise provocative slogans near mosque

February 18, 2025

Jamui district in Bihar witnessed violent clashes between two communities on Sunday, prompting authorities to suspend internet services to prevent further escalation. The incident occurred in the Jhajha area during a religious procession, leading to stone-pelting and injuries.

According to Jamui District Magistrate Abhilasha Sharma, three individuals sustained injuries in the violence. They were promptly taken to the nearest government hospital, where their condition was reported as stable and out of danger.

Police stated that permission for the procession, led by the ABVP and Hindu Swabhimaan Sangathan, was not obtained. Additionally, the procession deviated from the approved route. Participants allegedly raised provocative slogans against another community near a mosque, escalating tensions.

“The police station received information that slogans were shouted while the procession was passing by a mosque,” said Jamui SP Madan Kumar Anand.

In response to the unrest, law enforcement agencies acted swiftly, arresting nine individuals linked to the clashes. Additionally, a police officer was suspended for dereliction of duty, and cases have been registered against 50-60 unidentified persons involved in the violence.

To restore normalcy and prevent further tensions, the police conducted a flag march in Jhajha. Authorities have assured that strict action will be taken against those responsible for inciting violence.

“The situation was immediately brought under control by the police. Security measures have been intensified to prevent any further disturbances,” District Magistrate Sharma stated, as reported by PTI.

The local administration continues to monitor the situation closely, urging residents to maintain peace and cooperate with law enforcement agencies. Internet services will remain suspended until further notice to curb the spread of misinformation and prevent any attempts to instigate violence.

This incident adds to the growing concerns over communal tensions in Bihar, where religious processions have frequently turned into flashpoints. Authorities remain vigilant to ensure that peace is maintained in the region.

Source:muslimmirror.com

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Uttar Pradesh: School pride of place returned to Param Vir Chakra awardee Abdul Hamid

Piyush Srivastava

19.02.25

The Uttar Pradesh government has restored the name of Abdul Hamid, the Param Vir Chakra awardee who destroyed eight Pakistani tanks during the 1965 war, to a school in Ghazipur district after his family protested and there was a widespread backlash.

However, there is a twist — the government has dovetailed the new name to the old name. So now the school is named the Shaheed Veer Abdul Hamid PM Sri Composite Vidyalaya, Dhamupur. If you cannot spell it out in one breath, there are small mercies — the painter who wrote the name on the school building on Tuesday morning has kept “Shaheed Veer Abdul Hamid” in large letters and “PM Sri Composite Vidyalaya” in a smaller font.

Hamid’s grandson Jameel Alam had alleged on Monday that the name of the school had been changed from the Amar Shaheed Abdul Hamid Vidyalaya to the PM Sri Composite Vidyalaya. Hamid had studied at the school.

Hemant Rao, basic education officer of Ghazipur, had said he had “cross-checked with the school management” and had been told that “there are no records of the school ever being known after the war hero”.

“However, we have received several complaints about the change of name and are probing it. We can never undermine the sacrifice of Abdul Hamid,” Rao had added.

Alam said on Tuesday that he was still not happy.

“Earlier, the name Amar Shaheed Abdul Hamid Vidyalaya was written on a board and on the boundary wall. It was changed last week to the PM Sri Composite Vidyalaya. Now the name of the school is the Shaheed Veer Abdul Hamid PM Sri Composite Vidyalaya. But they must write the war hero’s name on a board and on the gate of the school too,” he said.

Ajay Kushwaha, the headmaster of the school, told reporters: “We never changed the name of the school. Infact, some cleaning and painting work was going on. This created confusion and thefamily members of the war hero reacted to it. We stand corrected.”

Alam said: “I got a phone call in the morning that the school has again written the name of the war hero on its wall. We thank the education department of the state government for taking note of our complaint, but his name should also be there on a board and the gate of the school as soon as possible. This school, or even Dhamupur, is known because of the bravery of Abdul Hamid and he cannot be detached from this memory.”

Source:telegraphindia.com

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Assam CM Sarma denies ‘witch hunt’ over Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi’s wife’s alleged ISI links

19.02.25

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he is not on a "witch hunt" over the controversy surrounding Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi's British wife Elizabeth Colburn's alleged links with the ISI.

Reacting to a post on X by another Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi, Sarma on Tuesday said he is driven by national security, which cannot be compromised.

"You will be shocked in the coming months. Let me assure you, with all the responsibility vested in me, this is not a witch hunt. I, too, have served under Sri Tarun Gogoi, and I fully understand the gravity of such actions," the CM said.

Sarma and the BJP have been attacking Gaurav Gogoi, the Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, over Colburn's alleged connection with Pakistan's spy agency.

"What I am doing is driven solely by national security interests -- an area where there can be no compromise. I have taken an oath to protect the security and sovereignty of our nation, and I will uphold it, no matter what," Sarma asserted.

"This is a duty that transcends politics and personal ties -- this is about our country," he added.

Bordoloi had in a post on Sunday said, "People of Assam will never buy such a hypothesis of his #Government and would give a befitting reply to such #Skulduggery politics of @himantabiswa in the earliest opportunity they get in the near future." Earlier on Tuesday, Gogoi slammed Sarma, asserting that the BJP leader's fear of losing the 2026 assembly polls is the main reason behind the recent developments.

The Assam Police on Monday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe a case against Pakistan national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh for his social media comments on Assam and India's internal affairs.

Sheikh, an advisor of the Pakistan Planning Commission and a former colleague of Colburn, was charged under various sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

After much hue and cry over Colburn's alleged ISI links, the Assam Cabinet had on Sunday decided not to register any case against the parliamentarian or his British spouse, but instructed the DGP to file an FIR against the Pakistani national.

The state government also announced that it will write to the Centre for probing Colburn's participation in Lok Sabha campaigns in the erstwhile Kaliabor constituency, which was won by the Congress MP twice, despite being a British citizen.

Softening his stand on Gogoi, Sarma had on Sunday said the opposition leader may be "trapped or blackmailed" in the larger "anti-India" conspiracy and expressed sympathy for him.

The BJP leader had last week targeted the Assam MP over the issue, demanding answers regarding the allegations of ISI links, "leading young individuals to the Pakistan embassy for brainwashing and radicalisation, and the refusal to take Indian citizenship for the past 12 years", referring to Colburn's nationality.

He had also alleged that the Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha had raised questions in Parliament on sensitive defence matters after his marriage with the British citizen, a charge termed by the opposition leader as "false accusation".

Gogoi had dubbed allegations about his wife's links with Pakistan and the ISI as "laughable and entertaining".

He also said on Friday that the BJP went to extreme steps to defame him and his family, and asserted that he would be taking appropriate legal action.

Source:telegraphindia.com

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Modi’s cartoon in Tamil magazine on US deportations sparks controversy

February 18, 2025

A cartoon depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting handcuffed next to the US President Donald Trump has stirred controversy in Tamil Nadu after it appeared in Vikatan Plus, a Tamil magazine.

The cartoon was intended to highlight Prime Minister Modi’s silence regarding the inhumane treatment of Indian citizens deported from the US in chains.

On February 15, Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) and the Press Council of India, calling the cartoon “objectionable.” The central government swiftly responded by blocking Vikatan’s website.

The following day, February 16, officials from the Press Bureau of India (PIB) visited Vikatan’s office to confirm whether the cartoon had appeared in the print edition. The magazine clarified that it was solely published online. However, the PIB officials did not provide any explanation for the website’s blockade.

This is not the first time Indian nationals have been deported from the US. Under the Biden administration, deportations also occurred, but those individuals were transported via chartered flights without being handcuffed.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar referred to the deportees as “irregular migrants” rather than “illegal immigrants.” This raises the question: if India did not recognize them as illegal immigrants, why did it not negotiate a dignified return for them?

The timing of the cartoon’s publication has also sparked debate. Some critics questioned whether it was deliberately released while PM Modi was abroad. However, Vikatan’s publisher clarified, “PM Modi’s official trip to the US began on February 13, but the cartoon was published on February 10—when he was still in India. By then, two batches of Indians had already ‘returned’ in chains.”

Legal experts have weighed in on the issue. According to constitutional law specialists, “En masse deportation with restraints violates human dignity and contravenes international human rights laws. Handcuffing individuals on a flight exceeding 10 hours is inhumane and raises serious human rights concerns.”

Syeda Hena Rizvi, a Supreme Court lawyer, commented, “The Vikatan cartoon points to PM Modi’s unwillingness to protest the inhuman treatment of Indian citizens. This reflects India’s helplessness in dealing with the world’s sole superpower.”

She further remarked, “At the same time, the Trump administration’s decision to shackle deportees with handcuffs and leg chains highlights the complexities of India-US relations.”

In a press statement, Vikatan defended its decision to publish the cartoon, stating, “Vikatan has a long tradition of political satire, having criticized figures from Winston Churchill to contemporary leaders. We remain committed to press freedom and journalistic integrity.”

The statement also recalled Vikatan’s history of legal battles: “The magazine was shut down by the British in 1942, and its editor was jailed in 1987. We have faced multiple defamation cases under various governments but have continued to uphold our editorial independence.”

Source:muslimmirror.com

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Harsh Mander: Why Indian Muslims live apart

Harsh Mander

19 February, 2025

An inescapable feature of India’s urban geography is the Muslim ghetto: densely crowded habitations strewn with garbage, with potholed narrow lanes and open drains and conspicuously underserved with public services like schools and hospitals, sewerage, water and electricity supply.

Segregation has long been a normalised feature of urban living, as every Indian town and city is fragmented by class, caste and religion. But within these, although Muslims are more urbanised than other religious groups, and among the most segregated, they generally live in poorer settlements in urban areas, contributing a large proportion of the unorganised, daily wage workforce that perform “the dirtiest and worst paying jobs in the city”.

Why do Muslims, not just the working poor but also rich and middle-class Muslims, tend to live in segregated ghettoes? Some assume that this is a matter of choice, that most Muslims simply choose to live exclusively with people who share their religion and cultural practices. But a number of studies confirm that this is not the case. Muslims are actively excluded, even expelled, from mixed neighbourhoods. The driver may be the memories of the experience of communal violence, or fear. Or it may be by the routine reluctance of non-Muslims to sell or rent homes to people of Muslim identity, aided further in many states by exclusionary laws and state policies. Faizan Ahmad, a scholar of equality law at Oxford, is precise when he observes that “Muslims do not choose to live in the ghetto, rather the ‘ghetto’ is created as a result of historical exclusion, due to neglect or outright persecution by the state or organised violence.”

Anthropologist Raphael Susewind finds that the segregation of Muslims is highest in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, followed by Delhi. Take Delhi. Atikh Rashid evocatively describes how Partition and its aftermath dramatically transformed Delhi into a radically segregated city. In 1947, it was home to a large and thriving Muslim population who formed a third of the city’s mainstream population. It quickly transformed into a city in which most Muslims inhabit crowded unsanitary ghettos. Around 3.3 lakh Muslims migrated to Pakistan, while 5 lakh Hindu and Sikh refugees uprooted from their homes in West Pakistan made Delhi their new home. The census revealed that the Muslims of Delhi formed 33.33% of the population in 1941. But their share in the city’s populace fell drastically to only 5.33% in 1951. Colonies like Chandani Chowk, Khari Baoli and Karol Bagh that used to be predominantly Muslim now instead had a majority of Punjabi Hindus and Sikhs.

How did this happen? The Hindu and Sikh refugees in Delhi who had forever lost their homeland and loved ones in Pakistan were smouldering with revenge and rage, which spurred ferocious bloodletting. It is estimated that between August-October 1947, 20,000 Delhi Muslims were killed in communal riots in Muslim localities like Churiwalan, Phatak Habash Khan, Faiz Bazaar, Lal Kuan, and Kucha Chelan, and in “mixed” settlements like Paharganj, Karol Bagh, and Sabzi Mandi.

The result of this bloodbath was that almost every Muslim resident, especially in mixed neighbourhoods, shifted to temporary camps that had sprung up in Purana Qila, Nizamuddin and Humayun’s Tomb. Here they awaited trains to take them to Pakistan.

Mahatma Gandhi and Maulana Azad reached out to them with ardent pleas to stay on in India. On October 23, 1947, Maulana Azad spoke to a huge crowd from the ramparts of Delhi’s Jama Masjid. He declared that Delhi had been nurtured with the blood of their forefathers, that Indian Muslims were their “worthy inheritors” and that this was their country from which they should not feel compelled to flee. Mahatma Gandhi similarly assured Muslims that soon the hatred between the Hindus and Muslims would be over and harmony would be restored. He declared, like Azad, that “India belongs to you and you belong to India”.

Many Indian Muslims heeded their impassioned appeals. But for their own safety, the government did not arrange for them to return to the religiously mixed habitations of the past, but instead resettled them in predominantly Muslim localities such as Pul Bangash, Phatak Habash Khan, Sadar Bazar and Pahari Imli, areas that were described in government parlance as “Muslim Zones”. Even Nehru supported this approach as he felt it would secure their safety and communal peace. Nazma Parveen observes that “For Muslims staying in these ilaqe (areas) this was not a matter of choice; nor were these enclaves celebrated zones of culture. Instead, living in these areas became a compulsion for Muslims for safety”. The Muslim Zones soon gained the stigma of being “communally sensitive” and “zones of trouble”. As decades passed, these became stigmatised as hotbeds of crime, and then as terrorist hideouts.

The first decade and a half of India’s freedom was a period of relative communal peace. But beginning with the Jabalpur riots of 1961, India has been continuously rocked by communal violence. Each episode of violence spurs Muslims further to seek the safety of the ghetto, thereby exacerbating their demographic segregation..

The committee appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to enquire into the condition of Muslims headed by Justice Sachar observed in its report of 2006 that “Fearing for their security, Muslims are increasingly resorting to living in ghettos across the country. This is more pronounced in communally sensitive towns and cities.” As Sara Alter reports, “During what is reported as ‘riots’, the minority Muslim population is cornered and subsequently, forced to migrate in large numbers, to mohallas in older and poorer parts of the city”. She speaks of population movements in cities where recurrent incidents of communal violence compelled Muslims to abandon their homes, their property and businesses in mixed settlements, and move instead to Muslim ghettoes.

This population movement may appear to be “voluntary,” but as migration scholar Dipti Nagaul rightly points out, “it is, in reality, a coerced response to the state’s failure to protect its citizens, forcing them to seek safety on their own”. It is painful memories of loved ones cruelly slaughtered, of sexual violence, of homes and businesses looted and burned down that coerce the survivors to abandon their homes. Typically, they move to inner-city older overcrowded habitations or “the outskirts of cities that lack proper infrastructure”, characterised by “inadequate housing, poor sanitation and limited access to clean water,” disrupted education and scarce healthcare, and crushed livelihoods.

We will consider three examples of this. Mumbra on the outskirts of Mumbai was a small habitation of a community of Konkani Muslims. After the Mumbai riots of 1992-’93, Muslims from habitations in Mumbai where they were a minority migrated to Mumbra, raising its population spectacularly from 40,000 at that time to over nine lakh according to the 2011 census.

Ahmedabad, as I observed earlier, is the Indian city most segregated on communal lines. Juhapura is a massive Muslim ghetto with a population of about three lakh Muslim residents. This is as much as half of the Muslim population of Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad has seen a series of major communal riots, including in 1969, 1985 and 2002. Especially from 1985, and on an even larger scale in 2002, Juhapura (often called pejoratively “mini-Pakistan”) became the destination of masses of Muslim citizens fearful of living in mixed colonies with their Hindu neighbours.

I recall a conversation with the daughter of Ehsan Jafri, former Member of Parliament, that her first childhood memory was of her father carrying her to safety during the 1965 riots when their home was destroyed. Many friends urged him to move into a Muslim-majority ghetto, but he was adamant in his refusal. “Everything I believe in would no longer make sense if I feel I cannot live with safety and trust among my Hindu neighbours”, he declared. This decision was to cost him his life decades later, during the 2002 communal carnage when he was brutally slaughtered in the mixed neighbourhood that he continued to live in.

The extensive population redistribution that occurred after the February 2020 communal clashes in north-east Delhi is a recent instructive example of the separations and segregations that riots spur. My colleagues from the Karwan e Mohabbat, who work closely with the survivors of the 2020 violence, report a widespread reorganisation of populations on religious lines in what used to be a closely knit mixed colony. Hindus and Muslims lived side by side as neighbours, and Hindus would freely rent their properties to Muslims and vice versa. Now, this has conspicuously changed. People are hesitant to rent their properties to people of the other faith, and residents are choosing to rent or buy properties in locations which have a dense presence of people of their religion.

Newslaundry investigated a set of posters that appeared early in 2023 on the walls of Brahmpuri, a locality in northeast Delhi that was hit by communal riots in February 2020. These posters urged Hindus not to sell their homes to Muslims. Brahmpuri stands opposite Jaffarabad, a Muslim-dominated area. After the riots, many Muslims began to buy houses there, for the sense of safety of living close to other Muslims. Some Hindu residents complained that the colony was becoming “more Muslim”. A local leader claimed that now Muslims “comprise 40% of the population” and he blamed it on “Rohingyas and Bangladeshis”. Some residents spoke privately that the purchase of properties by Muslims was a matter of concern to them. Others were more explicit in claiming that the neighbourhood used to be 90% Hindu, but the presence of Muslims had grown and even a mosque has been erected. “Everybody is looking for a way out,” a Hindu resident said. They are moving out “not because of hostility. We have lived peacefully. All my immediate neighbours are Muslims. But the riots had an impact on our minds. We thought it’s better to live somewhere else – if not today, then tomorrow.”

It is not as though religiously homogenised neighbourhoods do not have other fissures. Class and caste are robust staples of Indian social life, and are not obliterated in a community of people who have come together to escape hate violence and discrimination. Sara Ather notes a prominent feature of modern Muslim ghettos is the presence within it of the Muslim middle class. These are people who could afford to live in upmarket areas with upper-caste Hindu neighbours. They do not do this either because fear stalks them, or because – as we shall see – Hindu landowners refuse to rent or sell their houses to Muslims. These ghettos therefore typically combine economic heterogeneity with ethnic homogeneity.

Sometimes it is fear of anticipated violence in the future that motivates people to move to a ghetto. One Imaad Hassan lived in a posh, Hindu-dominated gated colony Sarita Vihar in Delhi that had not seen riots. But he chose to shift to a Muslim ghetto, Abul Fazal Enclave, even though it had poor water and electricity access. He explained, “I moved from a gated society to a ghetto for my own safety. Every time the news carried events of Hindu-Muslim clashes, my neighbours would stop responding to my greetings. Only Allah knows what would’ve happened had I continued to stay there.”

Another Muslim man who made a similar choice explains, “I don’t dress Islamically, so I could manage somehow, but my wife is a practicing Muslim who wears the hijab. It would be difficult for her to be safe in a Hindu-majority area. Every day there is a new hate crime against Muslims. Every day we learn how much we are being hated in our own country.”

Anecdotally, over many years, I have heard literally hundreds of stories from young Muslims, including those I have worked with, of how arduous, painful, humiliating and most often doomed were their attempts to rent rooms and apartments in mixed neighbourhoods in cities. This is the other major reason for the clustering of most urban Muslim residents into ghettos, simply that it is very hard in contemporary India for them to find landlords, housing societies and property brokers who are willing to rent or sell homes in neighbourhoods and housing societies in which a majority of residents are caste Hindus. This reality has been confirmed by a number of research studies.

Two progressive publications TwoCircles.net and Newslaundry joined hands to study housing apartheid against Muslims in Delhi. They concluded that it is “more (the) norm than deviation in the capital”. They examined the membership records of all 1960 registered housing societies in Delhi. They were startled to find that out of 1960 registered societies, 1,345 have no Muslim members at all. This means that as many as 68% of the housing societies in Delhi have not a single Muslim member. Muslims form about 13% of Delhi’s population, but their membership in housing societies barely exceeds 3 per cent. Even this data is skewed, because Muslims have resorted to creating their own housing societies. (These are what Newslaundry describes as “pimped up ghettoes”). Among the 1960 registered housing societies in Delhi, there are 31 societies that have 90%-100% Muslim members and these account for 59% of Muslims in housing societies. This means that only around 1.5% Muslims live in mixed housing societies.

A study titled the Housing Discrimination Project led by law scholar Mohsin Alam Bhat studied housing discrimination based on 340 detailed interviews over three years in Delhi and Mumbai. Their conclusions were stark, that “in India’s most diverse and ostensibly cosmopolitan cities, neighbourhoods continue to keep Muslims and Dalits out. Home owners and cooperative housing societies refuse to rent them apartments. Discrimination in housing has become so commonplace that it is practically hidden in plain sight”.

The study found that most prospective tenants rely on brokers. The brokers the researchers interviewed were mostly candid in conceding that they tend to refuse Muslim tenants. Some revealed their own biases, but others explained that Muslim tenants could be a “liability”. Years of experience had taught them that landlords just do not accept Muslim tenants, which is why so many openly refuse to work with them at all. A broker estimated that this was true for 90% of all brokers. They don’t want to waste time on clients who would not be “open” to Muslim tenants. Some brokers refuse Muslims simply by saying that houses are only for “veg families” “Others show their hesitation by causing delays or not responding.” Religion, brokers observed – much like a tenant’s budget – is a fundamental constraint.

A broker in Mumbai, who does work with Muslim tenants, said he would look for “a Muslim landlord for a Muslim tenant, then a Christian, and finally a samajhdaar (sensible) Hindu”. “Even in cosmo neighbourhoods” – cosmopolitan areas being a common reference to mixed localities – “where a Muslim is willing to pay, landlords are unwilling to rent.” Even upper-class Muslim tenants of pedigree who are willing to pay more than the market rate can be refused because “prejudice often trumps class”.

“The right way to refuse people,” said an experienced broker in Mumbai’s Chembur, a suburb to the city’s north-east, “is by bringing the question down to vegetarian and non-vegetarian.” He simply tells tenants that he only has houses for “veg families”. “We are being denied spaces on the pretext of being meat eaters or on the assumption of being too aggressive or conservative,” Arif Ahmad, an intern at a Delhi-based law firm, confirmed to The Caravan.

Those who directly speak with landlords report that once they see their Muslim name in their documents, they back out. “The usual stuff. Someone went to see a house, went upstairs and, as soon as the introductions happened and names were exchanged, the broker stopped showing flats.” All of this makes “the ordinary task of finding a house unending, exhausting and deeply humiliating”. A young Muslim woman said, echoing doctoral scholar Rohith Vemula in the letter he scribbled before he took his life, that “I felt reduced to my immediate identity...” Every time she crosses the house where she was rejected, she wonders “Why?”

A discouraging finding of the research was “the profound and widespread feeling that Muslims were not welcome outside the so-called Muslim localities”. As a result, “Muslim tenants … consistently said they were aware of housing discrimination against Muslims and felt there was no point even trying to find a home in some areas”.

The refusal by Hindus to live alongside Muslims is no longer restricted to a polite (or even peremptory) refusal by landlords and builders to rent or sell apartments to them. On occasion, residents have begun to actively demand that Muslims leave their settlement in a form of low-intensity ethnic cleaning, or vociferously protest if Muslims seek to live in their neighbourhoods.

About a dozen Muslim families fled Purola, a small Himalayan town in Uttarakhand midsummer in 2023. This they did after notices from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal appeared glued on homes and shops demanding that they vacate the town, claiming that a Muslim man had tried to abduct a young Hindu girl. It did not matter that the courts later found that the allegations were entirely false.

Similarly, more than two dozen Muslim families fled from Borlay village of Barwani district in Madhya Pradesh, after a Muslim man allegedly eloped with a Hindu girl. The dominant Hindu Patidar community attacked and vandalised several Muslim homes and painted signs disallowing namaz and the azan. The Muslim residents felt they had no future in the village of their birth[25].

Residents of a housing society in Harni in Vadodara rose in protest after a Muslim woman was allotted a flat there by the local administration under the official Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana. They jointly petitioned the district collector, the municipal commissioner, the mayor and the commissioner of police in the city demanding that the allotment of the house be “invalidated”. The complaint cited an “imminent law-and-order crisis”. The residents wrote: “We believe that Harni area is a Hindu-dominated peaceful area and there is no settlement of Muslims in the periphery of about four kilometres. It is like setting fire to the peaceful life of 461 families.”

Most recently, residents of a Hindu-majority housing colony in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad launched a protest after a Hindu houseowner sold his apartment to a Muslim doctor. They claimed that this sale “violated social harmony”, adding that “We live here peacefully and there was never any issue before” because there were no earlier Muslim residents among the 450 apartments in the colony. They lodged complaints with the district administration and local police, demanding that the sale be cancelled. Finally, the Muslim doctor couple gave up their claim to this home.

An irony is that the law itself is being used in many states to promote segregation of Muslims. In 1991, the Gujarat legislature passed the Disturbed Areas Act, 1991. This authorises the state government to declare riot-prone urban areas as ‘disturbed’. The consequence of this notification was that every land sale required prior approval by the district collector. The law was designed to prevent distress sales, which had become rampant after a series of communal clashes in the 1980s and 1990s. This same law is now being weaponised almost exclusively to prevent Muslims from buying properties in Hindu-dominated areas. The law was amended in 2010 giving the local administration greater authority in regulating inter-community sales of property. In July 2019, the punishment for such transfers was further enhanced. Violations of the law are punishable with up to six years’ imprisonment. This amendment authorised the district collector to ascertain whether a transfer of property disturbs the demographic equilibrium of a disturbed area and increases the likelihood of “improper clustering of persons belonging to one community in the area”. The Gujarat high court stayed the amendments in 2021 and ordered the state government not to issue notifications under it, but the Disturbed Areas Act continues to be used to ensure religious segregation.

Faizan Ahmad, research scholar from Oxford observes that both Hindutva groups and radicalised Hindu residents pressure the state government to use the law to notify more and more urban enclaves as “disturbed”. They then protest the purchase of properties in Hindu dominated areas by Muslims, claiming discomfort in living next to meat-eaters and alleging law and order problems. Their overall aim is “to maintain the ‘purity’ of upper caste Hindu localities”. Very far from its original intention, the way that this law has been used has led commentators to compare this to the racial restrictive statutes and rules regulating the buying of property that were used to ensure racial segregation in the United States.

Another law that has facilitated religious segregation is the Enemy Property Act enacted in 1968. It sought to empower the state to regulate and take possession of real estate that belonged to people who had left India and got citizenship of countries India has gone to war with. These are Pakistan and China. An amendment of the law in 2017 expanded the meaning of the term “enemy subject”, and “enemy firm” to include legal heirs and successors of an ‘enemy’, whether citizens of India or citizens of a country which is not an enemy. It is also clarified that once a property is declared ‘enemy property’, it will remain so. There are 12,611 enemy properties across the country, out of which 126 belong to Chinese citizens. The rest all belonged originally to people who migrated to Pakistan and what later became Bangladesh. The right to these properties will not accrue to their heirs even if they are Indian citizens. The result is that many Muslims are being evicted from properties that they have occupied, most of all in the states of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Being coerced into living in ghettos is destructive first of the access of the Muslim residents to decent public services and social integration. This was noted by the Sachar Committee which reported “Muslims living together in concentrated pockets (both because of historical reasons and a deepening sense of insecurity) has made them easy targets for neglect by municipal and government authorities. Water, sanitation, electricity, schools, public health facilities, banking facilities, anganwadis, ration shops, roads, and transport facilities – are all in short supply in these areas”.

Race-based residential segregation has been studied for decades in the US. These studies supply robust evidence that segregation of communities is a powerful deterrent to the upward socio-economic mobility of segregated communities, particularly of the Black population. Farzana Afridi in the Indian Express observes fittingly that “Segregation not only makes minority communities easier targets during communal violence, it has strong negative implications for access to public goods and services”.

An extensive study of 1.5 million highly localised neighbourhoods of 700 people each in urban and rural India found settlements of Indian Muslims to be systematically disadvantaged in public services. These are less likely to have public schools, clinics, sewerage, water supply and closed drains than non-Muslim areas. This was reported in a paper titled “Residential Segregation and Unequal Access to Local Public Services in India”, by Sam Asher (Imperial College, London), Kritarth Jha (Development Data Lab), Anjali Adukia (University of Chicago), Paul Novosad (Dartmouth College) and Brandon Tan (International Monetary Fund). The study found the inequality in public service provision to be more systematic than they anticipated.

Segregation is one of the most important contributors to persistent racial inequality in the United States where Black Americans have remained under-served with public services even 150 years after the end of slavery, Novosad, professor of economics at Dartmouth College said to Article 14. In both the US and in South Africa, the “poisonous legacy” of residential segregation results even today in the low standards of socio-economic opportunities and upward mobility of Black populations. This is because their poor housing conditions and low access to public services like education and health are barriers to better employment opportunities and, therefore, to their capabilities to improve their economic status. Their study revealed that the denial was similar for Muslims and Dalits in India. “Indians of all social classes are very comfortable with segregation and the belief that social groups are better off if they keep to themselves – too comfortable,” Novosad told Article 14. Singapore offers an instructive contrast. There 80% of the population resides in public housing in which state policy ensures an equitable mix of the three ethnic groups of Chinese, Indians and Malays through quotas.

The India research project found that government-supplied public services were less likely to be found in neighbourhoods with high numbers of Muslims or Dalits. This was the case for almost every service the researchers could measure, including secondary schools, clinics and hospitals, electricity, water and sewerage. A 100% Muslim locality was 10% less likely to have piped water infrastructure and 50% less likely to have a secondary school as compared to a non-Muslim neighbourhood. For public schools and health-centres, the disadvantage in Muslim neighbourhoods is double the disadvantage even in Dalit neighbourhoods. A child growing up in a 100% Muslim neighbourhood can expect to obtain two fewer years of education than a child growing up in a 0% Muslim neighbourhood.

Segregation is a huge barrier also to social goodwill and understanding. As Afridi, a professor of economics notes, “When families belonging to different communities live next to each other, they not just tolerate each other but because their children go to the same schools and play in the same grounds, they can form strong bonds that help create more cohesive societies”. Kashif-Ul-Huda, Editor-in-Chief of TwoCircles.net, worries that “…Hindus and Muslims are getting ghettoised in their communities. It is a disturbing trend for the future of plural India.” Journalist Anurabh Saikia adds “The veneer of Delhi’s cosmopolitanism (and he could add, that of all our metropolises) is falling off – and it’s happening in such a surreptitious fashion that we can all claim ignorance. At our own peril, of course.

Sara Ather writes evocatively of the “psychological ghettoisation” of Muslims in which the spaces for interaction and friendship of people of diverse communities decreases drastically. “Generations of Muslims and Hindus now growing up together in segregated islands in the same city,” she observes, “whose only contact with each other is through uncertain glances on the street or through a state-controlled media that actively distorts the reality … to promote the stereotypical image of the unsociable and criminally profiled Muslim”.

I end with a poignant lament by Mohsin Alam Bhat. He grieves that the systematic expulsion of Indian Muslims from rental housing in Hindu-majority neighbourhoods reminds Muslims every day “of who belongs, and who does not”.

The Indian constitution had pledged to build a country of equal belonging for people of every faith, caste and identity. But in the ways Indians live their lives – the ways in which people of the majority religion and privileged castes continue to expel Dalits and Muslims from our neighbourhoods, our schools and our lives – Indian cities and Indian villages remain apartheid habitats segregated by overwhelming prejudice.

I am grateful for research support from Omair Khan.

Harsh Mander, justice and peace worker and writer, leads Karwan e Mohabbat, a people’s campaign to counter hate violence with love and solidarity. He teaches at FAU University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, and Heidelberg University, Germany; Vrije University, Amsterdam; and IIM, Ahmedabad.

Source:scroll.in

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West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee threatens to quit if ‘terror, Muslim League links’ proved

Feb 19, 2025

KOLKATA: "I will resign as the chief minister if you can prove that I have links with terror outfits or am associated with Muslim League," West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said in the assembly on Tuesday, countering BJP's allegations.

"I was accused of disrespecting Hinduism and supporting Muslim League. After all my struggles, I have to hear that I have links with terrorists from J&K and Bangladesh. I will write to the PM, and if he can prove any link with terrorists, I will step down as CM," she said as her party colleagues chanted "Shame, Shame)" in unison. Banerjee added, "There is no place for mafia in Bengal. We do not harbour terrorists or rioters. It's better to die than to be accused of having ties with terrorists." Her comments were in response to allegations made by leader of opposition SuvenduAdhikai outside the House on Monday after his 30-day suspension.

A privilege motion was moved in the assembly against Adhikari for his comments on Tuesday even as BJP MLAs boycotted the session.

Addressing Adhikari, the CM said, "I saw the video of what you said outside the assembly yesterday. You claimed you were expelled for speaking about Hinduism. Since when did you become a leader of Hinduism?" She added, "You (BJP) sell religion to divide the country. We do not. Remember that because we believe in democracy in Bengal, that everyone is allowed to speak. But we will not tolerate division in the name of religion."

Responding to BJP's allegations of two holidays on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat, the CM said the party in opposition raises questions but does not have the courage to listen to answers, which is why they were not present in the House. "One leave was for Shab-e-Barat and the other to mark the birth anniversary of Panchanan Barma," she said, adding, "You need the Rajbangshis for votes but won't respect their leader and tradition."

Source:indiatimes.com

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‘Muslim communities in BC list in united AP since 1960s’

Feb 19, 2025

Hyderabad: Govt advisor Mohammed Ali Shabbir said BJP was distorting facts to create animosity and provoke Hindu Backward Classes (BCs) by falsely alleging that the Congress govt in Telangana newly included Muslims in the BC category through the recent Socio-Economic, Education, Employment, Political and Caste Survey.

Many sections of the Muslim community have been part of the OBC list for several decades in both Congress and BJP govts in various states. He cited historical reports and govt records to prove that multiple commissions had recognised backward communities in Muslim as OBCs long before the Congress govt came to power in Telangana.

"The Hunter Commission Report (1882), the Miller Committee Report (1918), and the Kaka Kalelkar Commission (1955) identified several Muslim groups, including Ansari (weavers), Qureshi (butchers), Julaha (textile workers), Dudekula (cotton cleaners), and Mehtar (sanitation workers) as backward. The judiciary upheld the inclusion of Muslim BCs for decades. BJP's own central govt and party-ruled states continue to recognise Muslim OBCs," the former minister told a media conference at Gandhi Bhavan here.

Before the Mandal Commission in 1980s, many states had already classified some Muslim communities as OBCs. Tamil Nadu recognised Muslim backward groups in 1951 and 1971, Kerala included Mappila Muslims in 1957, Mysore (now Karnataka) identified Muslim OBCs in the 1960-1970, and Andhra Pradesh classified Dudekula, Pinjari, Laddaf, Qureshi, and other Muslim groups as BCs in the 1960s and 1970s. The Havanur Commission (1975) in Karnataka and the Andhra Pradesh State Backward Classes Commission (1970s) included Muslim BCs before the Mandal Commission formalised the classification in 1980.

"The Narendra Modi govt at the Centre continues to include Muslim communities in the OBC list. BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Assam also have Muslim OBC reservations. In 2016, the Modi govt had added 17 Muslim communities to the OBC list in West Bengal, and BJP's Karnataka govt maintained the 4% OBC quota for Muslims before attempting to scrap it in 2023, a move that was later struck down by the courts," he said.

Source:indiatimes.com

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Privilege motion against Suvendu Adhikari for 'government of Muslims' remark

Feb 18, 2025

A privilege motion was moved against Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari by the ruling Trinamool Congress in the West Bengal Assembly for allegedly labelling the Mamata Banerjee-led regime a "government of Muslims". The motion against Adhikari, who was suspended from the Bengal Assembly on Monday, was moved by state minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay.

Accepting the motion, Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay said, "It is a case of contempt of the House." The matter has been referred it to the privilege committee for further action.

Speaking to reporters after being suspended, Adhikari used communal and provocative remarks while attacking the Trinamool government, triggering a row.

"We take pride in our suspension for advocating on behalf of the Hindu community... It is a government of the Mollahs, a government of the Muslims, a government of Ansarul Bangla, a government of a Kashmiri terrorist. A government for Muslim appeasement and anti-Hindu," the BJP MLA said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed her one-time protege for "instigating hatred".

"Freedom of speech does not mean to speak about communalism or instigate against any religion. You are selling a particular religion... I have seen some videos where he (Suvendu Adhikari) is speaking about Hindu Dharma. I never talk about instigating anyone on religious matters," Banerjee said.

Meanwhile, BJP legislators protested against the suspension of Adhikari and three other party members outside the Assembly. They wore saffron turbans and shirts that read "Proud of being Hindu".

Adhikari and three BJP legislators -- Agnimitra Paul, Bishwanath Karak, and Bankim Ghosh -- were suspended for 30 days on Monday following an uproar by the opposition over organisation of Saraswati Puja in educational institutions.

While the Speaker allowed the introduction of the BJP's motion, it did not permit a discussion. In response, BJP legislators protested, with some tearing papers and throwing them at the Speaker.

Source:indiatoday.in

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Pakistan

 

Gunmen kill seven bus passengers in Balochistan'sBarkhan

By Salman Ashraf

February 19, 2025

QUETTA: Unidentified, gun-toting assailants shot and killed at least seven passengers in the Barkhan area of Balochistan late on Tuesday night, the Barkhan assistant commissioner (AC) said early on Wednesday.

The attack took place on the National Highway in the Rarkan area, where unidentified armed men stopped a passenger bus and opened fire into the air, AC Khadim Hussain revealed.

The gunmen then boarded the bus, checked the passengers’ identity cards, and forcibly took seven individuals to a nearby mountain. Shortly after, gunshots were heard.

When local law enforcement agencies, including the Levies force, arrived at the scene, they discovered the bodies of the abducted passengers.

The bodies have been transported to a nearby hospital in Rakni, according to the Levies force. The deceased were residents of various cities in Punjab.

According to the bus service office, the ill-fated bus was travelling from Quetta to Faisalabad and had at least 45 passengers on board.

One passenger, Zeeshan Mustafa, a resident of Burewala travelling to Multan, reported that the assailants took his brother away after checking his identity card.

The gunmen numbered between ten and twelve, Zeeshan said, adding that all were armed with Kalashnikovs.

Authorities have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to apprehend the perpetrators. Following the incident, two-way vehicular traffic on the National Highway, which connects Punjab to Balochistan, has been suspended.

Perpetrators will be brought to justice: Balochistan CM

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti strongly condemned the brutal killing of seven passengers in Barkhan, describing it as a "heinous and reprehensible act."

"Terrorists are targeting innocent and unarmed civilians," CM Bugti said in response to the attack.

"This cowardly assault by the enemies of peace is intolerable, and they will face a strong response."

He further emphasised that those responsible for the killings would be brought to justice.

Following the attack, security forces, including the FC and Levies, swiftly arrived at the scene and initiated a search operation to track down the perpetrators.

A spokesperson for the Balochistan government stated that security forces are actively pursuing the terrorists.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, and police have launched an investigation into the incident.

The Barkhan tragedy comes nearly a week after a terrorist attack in Harnai, where 11 labourers were killed in a blast, according to Harnai Deputy Commissioner Hazrat Wali Kakar.

The country witnessed a sharp increase in terrorist attacks in January 2025, surging by 42% compared to the previous month, according to data released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), a think tank.

The data revealed that at least 74 militant attacks were recorded nationwide, resulting in 91 fatalities, including 35 security personnel, 20 civilians, and 36 militants. Another 117 individuals were injured, including 53 security personnel, 54 civilians, and 10 militants.

KP remained the worst-affected province, followed by Balochistan. In KP’s settled districts, militants carried out 27 attacks, resulting in 19 deaths, including 11 security personnel, six civilians, and two militants.

The tribal districts of KP (formerly FATA) witnessed 19 attacks, leading to 46 fatalities, including 13 security personnel, eight civilians, and 25 militants.

Source:thenews.com.pk

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'Won't cut any deal' come what may, reiterates Imran Khan

By Web Desk

February 18, 2025

RAWALPINDI: Incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has said that he will not strike any deal with the government, no matter how much pressure is applied, Aleema Khan quoted the party founder as saying on Tuesday.

The defiant PTI founder’s remarks came amid reports circulating on social and electronic media that the former ruling party was once again seeking backchannel talks with the establishment, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur reportedly playing a key role in the effort.

A well-placed source told The News that Gandapur is using his connections to revive the dialogue. The source insisted that PTI is eager to restart the process and views Gandapur as the central figure who can make it happen. So far, there is no indication that the other side is willing to engage.

During her interaction with journalists outside the Central Jail Adiala, Khan’s sister said: “Jail rules and court orders have no value here.”

Aleema said that her car was stopped two kilometres from the jail premises, adding that Khan’s lawyers were also stopped. She said that they were allowed to meet the PTI founder after waiting for 50 minutes.

Responding to a question about his health, she said that the PTI founder was fit and healthy. “There is no truth in the reports [doing the rounds in the media] claiming that the PTI founder is ill,” she added.

Quoting Khan, Aleema said that former first lady Bushra Bibi was kept in solitary confinement.

She also categorically rejected reports claiming that PTI leaders were avoiding meeting their jailed leader in Rawalpindi. Slamming the government, Aleema said that their “media factory” was fabricating such news.

On the other hand, the military has maintained that it will not involve itself in political discussions and that it is up to political parties to resolve their issues through dialogue.

A few days ago, Army Chief General Asim Munir, while dismissing reports of receiving a letter from PTI founder Imran Khan, stated that even if such a letter arrived, he would forward it to the prime minister rather than read it. His remarks came in response to media questions after Khan, imprisoned since August 2023 on multiple charges ranging from corruption to terrorism, wrote a third open letter to the army chief.

Recently, PTI leaders Ali Amin Gandapur and Barrister Gohar Ali Khan met General Asim Munir, raising speculation about possible political discussions. However, government and security sources insisted it was an unscheduled meeting focused solely on security matters. Although Khan reportedly expressed excitement over what he saw as the initiation of PTI-establishment talks, Barrister Gohar remained cautious, telling the media that only security issues were discussed.

Subsequent reports by sections of the media suggested a follow-up meeting took place between PTI and other establishment figures, though sources told The News that no such meeting occurred. Instead, they claimed PTI leaders met with a federal minister.

While leaders like Gandapur are pushing for backchannel engagement, Khan continues to take an aggressive stance against the establishment. His three open letters are widely seen as provocative.

Meanwhile, a senior PTI leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, told this correspondent that the party’s foreign chapter is lobbying in Washington to pressure Pakistan into securing Khan’s release. He also warned that the European Union may take action against Pakistan over alleged human rights violations highlighted by the PTI.

Source:thenews.com.pk

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SC constitutional bench urged to strike down Army Act provisions under Article 10A

Nasir Iqbal

February 19, 2025

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court’s constitutional bench (CB) hearing a set of intra-court appeals was requested on Tuesday to strike down Sections 2(1)(d)(i) and (ii) of the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) on the basis of Article 10A of the Constitution that guarantees the right to a fair trial.

Unlike elsewhere in the world where civilians cannot be dragged into courts that are not independent, Section 2(1)(d)(ii) of PAA permits citizens’ trial by military courts in Pakistan, argued senior counsel Salman Akram Raja representing Arzam Junaid, who was sentenced to six years by a military court in connection with the May 9 violence.

Headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, the seven-judge CB was hearing a set of intra-court appeals against the October 2023 order of the five-judge bench that nullified civilians’ trial by the military courts in the May 9 case.

While Salman Akram Raja, who is also PTI secretary general, completed his arguments, Uzair Bhandari, representing PTI’s founding chairman Imran Khan, will commence his arguments on Wednesday.

Mr Raja also cited the detailed reasons of Justice Ayesha A. Malik in the October 2023 decision. According to Justice Malik, Article 10A is a categorical, unqualified, and fundamental right that guarantees a fair trial and due process to individuals facing trial.

This right is not merely an ethical notion or philosophical concept, but a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution that must be upheld. Consequently, Justice Malik ruled that fundamental rights cannot be compromised simply because it is deemed expedient.

Thus, Article 10A is a very powerful and standalone provision of the Constitution, and if the CB decides the present appeals based solely on Article 10A, it would be entirely sufficient and satisfactory, the counsel emphasised. As an independent court, rather than a military court, is an essential requirement, any court presided over by an executive officer, a colonel, or any senior military officer cannot be deemed an independent court, regardless of the severity of the crime committed by the accused, the counsel argued.

However, he expressed serious reservations with certain observations of Justice Munib Akhtar in his detailed reasoning on the military trial, and said application of these observations would have a catastrophic effect on civilians’ trials.

According to Justice Akhtar, challenge in terms of Article 175 to courts martial is of no avail. “All that is meant is that courts martial as presently conceived and understood, for historical reasons stand outside the framework of Article 175 (3) and cannot be constitutionally attacked or challenged.”

The counsel reiterated that the CB was not bound by the October 2023 observations, as it has to interpret the Constitution in the correct manner while deciding the appeals.

If exception was allowed on the basis of historical perspective or the moral ground, then it would provide exception to judges to decide matters on the basis of their perception of morality and historical backgrounds and thus would become very dangerous, the counsel said, while citing the then CJP Qazi Faez Isa’s ruling on review petitions against Article 63A’s interpretation in which the latter regretted the tendency of replacing constitutional provisions with personal likes and moralism.

At this, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail observed that at least the counsel finally appreciated the judgement on Article 63A.

The counsel argued that courts should give decisions on the express text of the Constitution rather than their personal beliefs or perceptions. To put it simply, he said, a court martial could not be conducted by abolishing fundamental rights, adding that civilians’ court martial was also against the international norms of fair trial.

He emphasised Article 10A was made a part of the Constitution in the light of international norms, adding that a European court decision compelled many countries to change their court martial procedures.

When Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan remarked it was not written anywhere internationally that civilians could not be court martialed, the counsel reminded him that in the UK, court martial was conducted by independent judges, and not army officials.

The counsel said the UN Human Rights Committee had expressed concern over the court martial of civilians in Pakistan, saying these were not independent and that bails should also be granted at the trial stage.

During the hearing, the counsel cited a 1997 case from the European Court of Human Rights, which had declared British soldier Alexander Findlay’s trial illegal. Findlay had been court-martialled in the UK after opening fire and breaking a TV set while under severe mental stress. Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar noted a parallel with the May 9 violence, where a TV was also broken.

In response, the counsel shared that he had met the suspect, describing how he was consumed by shame. The man was jobless and did not complete his primary school education, he said. “What has our society given to such people?”

Source:dawn.com

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No grand opposition alliance will be formed after Eid, claims Vawda

By Web Desk

February 18, 2025

As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) prepares an anti-government movement after Eid-ul-Fitr, Senator Faisal Vawda on Tuesday rejected the notion of a grand opposition alliance being formed, saying that no sit-in against the government would be organised.

"No alliance would be made and no sit-in would be organised," the senator said while speaking on Geo News programme 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath'.

Last week, the PTI founder Imran Khan issued directives to expedite "establishing contact with other opposition parties for protests after Eid", his lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said.

He added that Khan ordered Asad Qaiser to contact all opposition parties, including the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Mahmood Khan Achakzai's Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's Awaam Pakistan, Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Mahrang Baloch, and others.

Unveiling the former ruling party's strategy, Chaudhry said that the PTI was working towards forming a grand opposition alliance, focused on certain objectives including restoration of the constitution and democracy.

Since Khan's ouster from power, the PTI organised a series of anti-government protests in the past, however, they ended up abruptly following violent clashes between the protesters and law enforcers.

Speaking during today's programme, Vawda claimed that the entirety of PTI is "compromised", adding that the former ruling party has lost its popularity.

"PTI's popularity graph has fallen...PTI members walk out of the House under compromise during crucial amendments," he said.

The PTI has reportedly been facing "internal rifts", with members of its senior leadership developing differences on various matters after the incarceration of the party founder in 2023.

Recently party stalwart Sher Afzal Marwat was expelled, which he blamed on "de-facto" Secretary General Salman Akram Raja.

Before Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was removed as the head of the party’s provincial chapter and replaced by Junaid Akbar.

Separately, ex-PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry and party ticket-holder Shoaib Shaheen had a scuffle over a minor argument outside Adiala jail, causing the latter to fall to the ground and injuring his arm.

Furthermore, Vawda said Marwat would not be allowed to remain in PTI. "He's [Marwat] a sincere man and practices independent politics," he added.

In response to a question, he said he doesn't belong to any party, adding that he would "never rejoin the PTI".

The former PTI federal minister also accused the party's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government of being involved in corruption, saying that the chats of Aleema Khan, Imran Khan's sister, have exposed the "ongoing corruption in the province".

He further added that the PTI leaders "run their houses by embezzling party funds", adding that KP was ahead of other provinces in corruption.

The senator claimed that a case of "assets beyond means" could be registered against KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

"The establishment does not need PTI, nor does it want anything from the party," he clarified.

Source:thenews.com.pk

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NA reaffirms support for Kashmiris’ struggle

February 19, 2025

ISLAMABAD: The Natio­n­­al Assem­bly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming Pakistan’s unwavering moral, political, and diplomatic support for the just struggle of the Kashmiri people to realise their inalienable right to self-determination.

The resolution was tabled by the Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and Safron, Amir Muqam, who paid rich tribute to the courage and sacrifices of the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

The resolution expressed grave concern over India’s continued efforts to consolidate its occupation of held Kashmir and undermine its internationally recognised disputed status, particularly following its illegal and unilateral actions of Aug 5, 2019.

It said that any political process in occupied Kashmir cannot serve as a substitute for the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination. It also condemned systematic human rights violations in held Kash­mir under draconian laws.

It rejected provocative statements by Indian political leaders and senior military officers regarding Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. It stressed that the solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, is essential for lasting peace in South Asia.

The House demanded that India must improve the human rights situation in held Kashmir, release all Kashmiri political prisoners, and repeal draconian emergency and counterterrorist laws.

Source:dawn.com

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Conducive environment a requisite for economic stability, says PM Shehbaz

February 18, 2025

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday asserted that conducive environment was a requisite for economic stability, linking peace in the country with economic prosperity.

"Peace in the country was linked with the economic prosperity which would move the wheel of progress rapidly," the premier said while addressing a meeting of the federal cabinet on Tuesday.

Pakistan, currently bolstered by the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) secured in September 2024, is navigating a tricky path to recovery.

The South Asian nation narrowly averted a sovereign debt default, with reserves not sufficient enough to meet a month's worth of controlled imports in 2023.

Pakistan is looking to generate revenue by speeding up a privatisation push, but efforts to privatise the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, and outsource the capital's airport have fallen flat.

During today's meeting, PM Shehbaz also paid tribute to the security forces whose officers and personnel were sacrificing their lives for the protection of the country.

He said yesterday, he had attended the funeral of Shaheed Lt Hassan Arshaf in Lahore who laid down his life while fighting against "Fitna al-Khwarij and sending a number of Khwarij [terrorists] to hell."

The prime minister reiterated that the complete eradication of terrorism from the country was their mission.

The country has been reeling under increased terrorist attacks targeting especially the law enforcers and security forces since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, particularly in the bordering provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

The country witnessed a sharp increase in terror attacks in January 2025, surging by 42% compared to the previous month, according to data released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), a think tank.

Meanwhile, the premier also referred to the recent visit of Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying that the latter had always supported Pakistan at all global fora.

He noted that Pakistan and Turkiye were two brotherly nations and they were committed to taking the bilateral trade volume between the two countries to $5 billion target.

“President Erdogan had been a strong voice for Palestine and Kashmir. Pakistan and Turkiye enjoy brotherly ties and both countries also hold regular consultations and support each other at all fora,” he added.

The prime minister said that a number of MoUs were also signed during the Turkish president’s visit and urged the Ministry of Commerce and other relevant ministries to work jointly for the achievement of a bilateral trade target of $5 billion.

He said that a flyover which was completed in 84 days in Islamabad was named after President Tayyip Erdogan as a sign of affection by the people of Pakistan.

The prime minister also welcomed a recent Gallop’s survey, according to which about 55% of people had reposed confidence in the government’s pro-business policies.

However, he stressed that they had to move forward and work hard to accomplish the economic agenda and its key components including Uraan Pakistan.

The prime minister, about his meeting with a delegation of World Bank directors, said that they had unanimously expressed their satisfaction over the reforms agenda and the macro-economic stability.

They had praised the government and its credit went to every member of the cabinet, he added.

Source:thenews.com.pk

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IHC refuses to register Al-Qadir Trust as charity

February 19, 2025

ISLAMABAD: Acting Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar on Tuesday turned down a request to register the Al-Qadir Trust under the Charity Act, observing that the petition has become infructuous after the judgement in the £190m corruption reference.

Accountability Court Judge Nasir Javed Rana had sentenced ex-PM Imran Khan and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, in the graft case to 14 and seven years imprisonment. As per the verdict, the “property of the sham… Al-Qadir University Project Trust” is forfeited to the government.

The other accused namely Bahria Town owner Malik Riaz Hussain, his son Ahmed Ali Riaz Malik, former accountability czar Mirza Shahzad Akbar, former PM’s aide Zulfiqar Bukhari, Farhat Shahzadi and Ziaul Mustafa Nasim have already been declared proclaimed offenders. Perpetual warrants for their arrest and orders for the confiscation of their properties have been issued.

The petition seeking the registration of the trust was filed by Imran Khan and had been pending since October 2023.

Justice Dogar said the court could not issue direction for Al-Qadir Trust’s registration in the light of the accountability court’s decision. He said sentences had already been passed in the Al-Qadir Trust case, with the trust being confiscated and placed under the Punjab government custody.

Since the trust is under confiscation, the matter at hand lacks relevance until appeals are heard and the trial court’s decision is nullified, the court observed.

Al-Qadir Trust University’s lawyer, Jahanzeb Sukhera, informed the bench that several applications related to the trust were also pending in the IHC. He requested time to consult with his client for further proceedings.

In response, Justice Dogar questioned the admissibility of the application in light of the trial court’s ruling but granted an adjournment in the case, giving more time to the lawyer. Subsequently, the court put off the case for one month, granting the petitioner’s lawyer the opportunity to present further arguments.

Source:dawn.com

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Pakistan no longer isolated on world stage, says Ishaq Dar

Anwar Iqbal

February 19, 2025

• At UN Security Council, FM Dar calls for global financial reform; expresses support for peace in Palestine

• Calls for fresh approach to deal with terrorism; discusses economic and strategic ties with Chinese counterpart

WASHINGTON: On his first visit to the US after the Trump administration took office, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar boasted that Pakistan had broken its diplomatic isolation through active diplomacy, and called for sweeping global reforms and strengthening the UN to create a more inclusive international order.

In remarks made on separate occasions, Mr Dar said Pakistan was no longer isolated in the global community, adding that the country’s economy was set to take off as a result of his government’s hard work.

Addressing a high-level UN Security Council debate hos­ted by China, Mr Dar underscored the urgent need for restructuring both the UN and global financial institutions.

The existing frameworks have “failed to resolve long-standing conflicts and economic disparities”.

He pointed to unresolved crises — the war in the Middle East and Jammu and Kashmir dispute — and criticised the UN’s inability to enforce its resolutions and uphold its core principles.

He stressed the need for a system that is “more democratic, representative, and accountable,” one that truly serves the interests of all nations rather than a privileged few.

The foreign minister also reiterated Pakistan’s firm stance on India-held Kashmir, emphasising the right to self-determination for Kashmiris as enshrined in UN Security Council resolutions.

The minister said the ongoing tragedy in Palestine was evidence of “the failure to uphold the [UN] Charter and its principles”.

The January 15 ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel “offers a glimmer of hope” for a permanent ceasefire, Mr Dar added.

He also called for immediate and adequate aid to the Palestinian people.

He said Pakistan “fully supports the ceasefire agreement” and sees the two-state solution as “the only viable path to lasting peace between Israel and Palestine.”

The foreign minister called for a unified, non-discriminatory approach to combat terrorism, rejecting double standards in dealing with extremist threats.

He noted Pakistan’s sacrifices in the fight against terrorism and emphasised the need for an international strategy that does not conflate legitimate struggles for self-determination with terrorism.

He also highlighted cross-border threats from Afghanistan, particularly attacks by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

While reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to regional stability, he called on the Afghan government to take decisive action against terrorist groups operating from its soil.

Despite security challenges, Pakistan remained committed to supporting Afghanistan’s humanitarian needs and long-term economic development, he added.

‘Economic turnaround’

Earlier, in an interaction with the Pakistani community in New York, Mr Dar painted an optimistic picture of Pakistan’s economic trajectory.

He cited the drop in inflation from 40 per cent to just 2.4 per cent as of January 2025 as an example of effective government policies and robust diplomatic efforts.

“We are no longer isolated,” he said, adding that Pakistan now has many friends in the international community.

He encouraged the diaspora to contribute to the nation’s progress and urged them to increase remittances, invest in Pakistan, and explore business opportunities through the Special Investment Facilitation Council.

He also revealed plans to resume Pakistan International Airlines flights to New York, a move to strengthen economic and people-to-people ties.

Strategic ties with China

Mr Dar also met China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and reaffirmed the deep-rooted friendship between the two countries.

Calling China the “cornerstone” of Pakistan’s foreign policy, he lauded Beijing’s steadfast support for Pakistan’s sovereignty and its stance on Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting focused on strengthening economic and strategic ties, with both sides expressing satisfaction over the progress of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The two leaders committed to enhanced multilateral cooperation, pledging to work closely on regional and global challenges, from economic disparities to security threats.

They emphasised the need for a balanced, just, and multipolar world order where no single country dominates at the expense of others.

Source:dawn.com

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NAB files fresh cases against Malik Riaz over illegal land grab

Malik Asad

February 19, 2025

RAWALPINDI: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday filed two corruption references against property tycoon Malik Riaz, his son Ali Riaz, former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and others over alleged illegal occupation of government land in Rakh Takht Pari and New Murree.

The references, filed before the Accountability Court in Rawal­pi­n­­di, accuse Malik Riaz of unlawf­u­lly acquiring 4,500 kanals of state land in New Murree for Bahria Golf City and Takht Pari forest area.

In the New Murree case, NAB has named Mr Riaz, his son, Bah­ria Town official Shaukat Rauf and Revenue Department officials for allegedly incorporating state-owned land — including property belonging to the Forest Depart­m­ent and local villages of Mangah and Salkhetar and other surrou­n­ding hamlets — into the Bahria Golf City residential project.

Investigators claim the encroa­chment was facilitated through collusion with officials from the Revenue and Forest departments. A total of 28 individuals have been charged with corruption, fraud and misappropriation.

The case stems from a 2016 petition filed in the Supreme Court, which directed NAB to investigate the illegal occupation and construction on forest land. Following years of inquiry, NAB has now formally filed the reference in the accountability court.

The second reference pertains to Bahria Town’s alleged occupation of 684 acres in Rakh Takht Pari and 732.5 acres in Loi Bher forests.

Takht Pari, located six kilometres from Rawalpindi near GT Road, spans a total area of 2,210 acres and was transferred to the Forest Department on Aug 4, 1856.

According to a Punjab governm­ent report, the land consists mostly of natural shrub forest dominated by Phulai and Sanatha bushes, with no prior classification of priv­a­­te holdings (mostly shamlat, a te­­rm for land that’s owned by a co­mmunity and used for its benefit).

In May 2013, then-District Coor­dination Officer Rashid Mehmood and Divisional Forest Officer (South) Ijaz Ahmed infor­med the Supreme Court that in 2011, Bahria Town had allegedly used Islamabad police and Ran­­­gers to prevent a Forest Depart­ment team from demarcating land in Takht Pari. The management was also accused of detaining the officials for several hours and invoking Section 145 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which prohibits unlawful assembly.

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, representing Malik Riaz in the Supreme Court, defended the businessman by citing his charitable work, including providing medicines to the underprivileged and food to the needy. However, the court, while acknowledging Mr Riaz’s philanthropy, remarked that his case fell within the proverbial saying: “Rob Peter to pay Paul.”

Source:dawn.com

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Mideast

 

Palestinians to decide Gaza future: Qatar

February 18, 2025

DOHA: Qatar, a key mediator in the Gaza conflict, said on Tuesday that Palestinians — not outsiders — must decide the territory’s future after the Israel-Hamas war.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told a Doha news conference that the issue was “a Palestinian question,” after Israel insisted on removing Hamas and the US proposed taking over the territory.

“From our perspective, this is a Palestinian question on what happens post this conflict,” said Ansari when asked about Israel’s stated objective to eliminate Hamas.

“It is a Palestinian question on who represents the Palestinians in an official capacity and also the political groups and parties in the political sphere,” he said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said earlier on Tuesday that negotiations for the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which Qatar helped broker, would begin this week.

The second phase of the truce is meant to facilitate the release of all remaining hostages seized during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war.

Saar said Israel demanded the “complete demilitarization of Gaza” and would “not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist groups” in the territory, ruled by Hamas since 2007.

More hostage-prisoner exchanges are expected before the end of the first phase, which has also allowed humanitarian aid into besieged Gaza.

Hamas however has accused Israel of blocking the entry of prefabricated structures and heavy machinery to clear rubble.

Ansari, the Qatari spokesman, said that “the aid that enters the Gaza Strip today is insufficient.

“Using humanitarian aid as a bargaining chip in negotiations is a crime in and of itself.”

Source:arabnews.com

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Endowments Authority condemns burning of mosque by Islah Party in Taiz

19 Feb 2025

Sana'a (Saba): The General Authority of Endowments condemned the crime of burning the historic mosque of "Al-Arif Billah Ahmed bin Abdullah Al-Hadrami" in the village of Al-Armah in the Jabal Habashi district in Taiz Governorate.

The Authority explained in a statement - received by the Yemeni News Agency (Saba) - that elements of the Islah Party proceeded to burn the mosque because citizens were commemorating the night of the middle of Shaaban.

Source:saba.ye

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Grand Imam of Al Azhar arrives to attend Intra-Islamic Dialogue Conference

 18 Feb 2025

Manama, Feb. 18 (BNA): His Eminence Dr. Ahmed Al Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, arrived in Bahrain to attend the Intra-Islamic Dialogue Conference.

The event, hosted by Bahrain under the patronage of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, is organised by Al Azhar, the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIA) in Bahrain, and the Muslim Council of Elders under the theme " One Nation, One Shared Destiny."

The Grand Imam was received by Shaikh Abdulrahman bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Khalifa, President of the SCIA and Head of the High Committee for the Intra-Islamic Dialogue Conference; Nawaf bin Mohammed Al Maawda, Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments; Salman bin Isa bin Hindi Al Mannai, Governor of Muharraq; and Reham Abdulhamid Mahmoud Ibrahim Khalil, Ambassador of Egypt to Bahrain.

Source:bna.bh

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Palestine briefs Islamic Group on recent developments

18 Feb 2025

The Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, gave a briefing on the latest developments in the Palestinian issue, during the meeting of the Islamic Group, yesterday, Monday, at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

According to the Palestinian News Agency "WAFA", the meeting was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, Muhammad Ishaq Dar, who gave a comprehensive briefing, highlighting the Palestinian issue as it tops Pakistan's political interests.

Mansour stressed that the ceasefire should be permanent and include the West Bank as well, and that all its stages should be implemented, as well as UN Security Council Resolution 2735, stressing the rejection of displacement and the war of extermination that the Palestinian people are being subjected to, especially in the Gaza Strip, as well as protecting UNRWA and engaging in the international coalition for a two-state solution and preparations for the international conference next June at the United Nations, headed by Saudi Arabia and France.

Mansour also thanked the Islamic group for its continuous support for Palestine, calling on countries that have not recognized Palestine to do so, and for Palestine to soon gain full membership in the United Nations.

A large delegation of Arab ambassadors will meet today with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to follow up on mobilizing all components of the international community around the approved action plan in this regard.

Source:saba.ye

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Tens of thousands of Palestinians flee West Bank refugee camps

February 18, 2025

JERUSALEM: Tens of thousands of Palestinians living in refugee camps in the occupied West Bank have left their homes as a weeks-long Israeli offensive has demolished houses and torn up vital infrastructure in the heavily built up townships, Palestinian authorities said.

Israeli forces began their operation in the refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Jan. 21, deploying hundreds of troops and bulldozers that demolished houses and dug up roads, driving almost all of the camp’s residents out.

“We don’t know what’s going on in the camp but there is continuous demolition and roads being dug up,” said Mohammed Al-Sabbagh, head of the Jenin camp services committee.

The operation, which Israel says is aimed at thwarting Iranian-backed militant groups in the West Bank, has since been extended to other camps, notably the Tulkarm refugee camp and the nearby Nur Shams camp, both of which have also been devastated. The camps, built for descendants of Palestinian refugees who fled or were driven from their homes in the 1948 war around the creation of the state of Israel, have long been major centers for armed militant groups. They have been raided repeatedly by the Israeli military but the current operation, which began as a ceasefire was agreed in Gaza, has been on an unusually large scale. According to figures from the Palestinian Authority, around 17,000 people have now left Jenin refugee camp, leaving the site almost completely deserted, while in Nur Shams 6,000 people, or about two thirds of the total, have left, with another 10,000 leaving from Tulkarm camp.

“The ones who are left are trapped,” said Nihad Al-Shawish, head of the Nur Shams camp services committee. “The Civil Defense, the Red Crescent and the Palestinian security forces brought them some food yesterday but the army is still bulldozing and destroying the camp.” The Israeli raids have demolished dozens of houses and torn up large stretches of roadway as well as cutting off water and power, but the military has denied forcing residents to leave their homes.

“People obviously have the possibility to move or go where they want, if they will. But if they don’t, they’re allowed to stay,” Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters.

The operation began as Israel moved to banish the main UN Palestinian relief organization UNRWA from its headquarters in East Jerusalem and cut it off from any contact with Israeli officials.

The ban, which took effect at the end of January, has hit UNRWA’s work in the West Bank and Gaza, where it provides aid for millions of Palestinians in the refugee camps.

Israel has accused UNRWA of cooperating with Hamas and said some UNRWA workers even took part in the Hamas-led attack on communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 that set off the 15-month war in Gaza.

Source:arabnews.com

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More than one million Syrians return to their homes: UN

February 19, 2025

GENEVA: More than one million people have returned to their homes in Syria after the overthrow of Bashar Assad, including 280,000 refugees who came back from abroad, the UN said on Tuesday.

Assad was toppled in December in a rebel offensive, putting an end to his family’s decades-long grip on power in the Middle Eastern country and bookmarking a civil war that broke out in 2011, with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

Syria’s war has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions from their homes.

The Islamist-led rebels whose offensive ousted Assad have sought to assure the international community that they have broken with their past and will respect the rights of minorities.

“Since the fall of the regime in Syria we estimate that 280,000 Syrian refugees and more than 800,000 people displaced inside the country have returned to their homes,” Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, wrote on the X social media platform.

“Early recovery efforts must be bolder and faster, though, otherwise people will leave again: this is now urgent!” he said.

At a meeting in Paris in mid-February, some 20 countries, including Arab nations, Turkiye, Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Japan agreed at the close of a conference in Paris to “work together to ensure the success of the transition in a process led by Syria.”

The meeting’s final statement also pledged support for Syria’s new authorities in the fight against “all forms of terrorism and extremism.”

Source:arabnews.com

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Beirut airport to close Sunday during funeral of slain Hezbollah leader

February 18, 2025

BEIRUT: Beirut airport will close for four hours on Sunday during the funeral of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Lebanon’s civil aviation authority has announced.

“The airport will be closed, and takeoffs and landings... will halt on February 23, 2025, from 12:00 p.m. (1000 GMT) until 4:00 pm,” the authority said in a statement carried by official media on Tuesday.

Nasrallah was killed in a huge Israeli air strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on September 27, as Israel scaled up its campaign against the Iran-backed group following almost a year of cross-border hostilities.

Sunday’s funeral will also be for Hashem Safieddine, a senior Hezbollah figure who had been chosen to succeed Nasrallah, before he too was killed in an Israeli raid in October.

The funeral is to begin at 1:00 p.m. at a sports stadium in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

It will include a speech by current Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem, and is to be followed by a procession to Nasrallah’s burial site.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that Iran “will participate in this ceremony at a high level,” without specifying who would attend.

Qassem at the weekend called for broad participation as a demonstration of the group’s strength.

“We want to transform this funeral into a show of support and an affirmation of (Hezbollah’s) plan and approach, and hold our heads high,” Qassem said.

After decades at the helm of the group once seen as invincible, the killing of the charismatic Nasrallah sent shock waves across Lebanon and the wider region.

Hezbollah has said 79 countries would be involved in the commemoration, whether at an official or “popular” level.

Earlier this month in a security alert about the funeral, the US embassy urged its nationals to avoid the area “which includes the airport.”

Qassem has said Nasrallah would be buried on the outskirts of Beirut “in a plot of land we chose between the old and new airport roads.”

Safieddine will be buried in his hometown of Deir Qanun in southern Lebanon, he added.

Nasrallah had been temporarily buried elsewhere because of security concerns, Qassem said, and the group had also put off the public funeral for security reasons.

A November 27 ceasefire deal put a halt to two months of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah that saw the group weakened and numerous senior commanders killed.

Source:arabnews.com

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Arab World

 

Saudi Arabia is ‘neutral setting’ for US-Russia talks, says political commentator

LAMA ALHAMAWI

February 18, 2025

RIYADH: US-Russia talks taking place in Riyadh today exemplify Saudi Arabia’s position as a “neutral setting,” with the Kingdom having engaged in a policy of building ties with various nations, according to a political commentator.

“(Saudi Arabia) has close ties to Russia, America, to China, to the European Union, to the BRICS countries. Saudi Arabia has built a stature where it has maintained excellent ties with all the key players of the world,” Ali Shihabi said.

He said that the Kingdom has pursued a multilateral foreign policy in building close relationships with various nations, particularly in the past five years.

Russia and the US agreed after the Riyadh meeting to begin working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving ties, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Associated Press.

Saudi Arabia’s mediation efforts have gained renewed attention following the country’s role in dialogue over the Russia-Ukraine war.

In 2024, the Kingdom played an influential role as a mediator, and was responsible for facilitating the biggest US-Russian prisoner swap since the Cold War, according to Reuters.

The exchange involved 24 prisoners — 16 moving from Russia to the West and eight sent back to Russia from the West.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was also reportedly involved in a negotiating a Ukraine-Russia prisoner swap in 2022 involving more than 300 people.

Shihabi said that the meeting in Riyadh between Russia and the US “is really a result of the crown prince’s close relationships.”

He said: “Both parties look upon Riyadh and look upon the crown prince as a friend — in a way this is a neutral setting.”

Shihabi underlined that European countries “are hostile to Russia.”

He said that Saudi Arabia is an ideal host for the peace talks because of its “neutrality,” having been a close ally to both countries.

“Saudi Arabia did not impose sanctions on the Russians, it works closely with the Russians in OPEC+, it’s very close to the Americans, it was a place that both parties were comfortable coming to,” Shihabi said.

The meeting in Riyadh came about following phone calls US President Trump had separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin and then Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 12.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office following the calls, Trump said: “I think we are on the way to getting peace, I think President Putin wants peace, President Zelensky wants peace, and I want peace. I just want to see people stop getting killed.

“We think we’re going to probably meet in Saudi Arabia, the first meeting. We know the crown prince, and I think it would be a very good place to be.”

Shihabi underlined that the Kingdom’s hosting of the talks signals the country’s “very prestigious position,” adding that “it shows the respect that both Russia and America have for Saudi Arabia.”

Source:arabnews.com

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Saudi Cabinet reaffirms support for global peace talks in Riyadh

February 18, 2025

RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chaired a Cabinet session in Riyadh on Tuesday and briefed ministers on his recent talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

During the talks, he discussed relations with both countries, ways to strengthen ties across various sectors, as well as regional and international developments.

The Cabinet reiterated the Kingdom’s support for the talks between Russia and the US in Riyadh, highlighting the Saudi commitment to global peace and security.

The Council of Ministers reviewed the government’s recent activities, particularly those aimed at strengthening bilateral relations. It also discussed the outcomes of the Kingdom’s participation in regional and international meetings, highlighting its commitment to collective efforts and expanding cooperation to achieve its aspirations and objectives.

The Cabinet reiterated the Kingdom’s call, expressed during the 42nd Arab Interior Ministers Council, to enhance security cooperation, coordinate efforts to combat crime and develop a comprehensive security strategy to address shared challenges.

The council said that the Kingdom’s presidency of the GlobE Network reflects the international community’s confidence in Saudi Arabia’s ability to drive a major shift in consolidating cooperation among member states, enhancing policies and developing tools to effectively combat corruption.

The Cabinet welcomed the Jeddah Declaration issued by the 13th Conference of Ministers of Culture in the Islamic World. The declaration outlines a shared vision for leveraging culture to drive social and economic progress, safeguard Islamic heritage and foster collaboration to address global challenges.

For the occasion of Founding Day, observed on Feb. 22, the Cabinet expressed pride in the history of the Saudi state, its deep-rooted heritage and its three-century-long civilization. It commended the nation’s achievements in fostering unity, justice and continuous progress.

The Cabinet highlighted the Kingdom’s prominent position among the top 10 global markets for battery energy storage, marked by the start of operations at the 2,000-megawatt-hour-capacity Bisha project. This reflects the transformation of the energy sector and the Kingdom’s leadership in energy production as well as export.

The Cabinet commended the opening of regional headquarters for 600 international companies within the Kingdom, highlighting global recognition of Saudi Arabia’s economic stability, promising growth trajectory and strategic geographic location, supported by exceptional talent and expertise.

Source:arabnews.com

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KSrelief organizes training in Aden on cholera, infection controls

February 19, 2025

RIYADH: The Kingdom’s aid agency KSrelief recently held a training course in Aden governorate for healthcare personnel to treat cholera patients and institute infection controls, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.

The course was held in partnership with the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health, as a part of the cholera-prevention project in Yemen.

A total of 170 doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers from across Yemen received training on Feb. 12 and 13.

The course covered epidemiological definitions, transmission methods, risk factors, clinical manifestations, dehydration assessment, cholera management during pregnancy, and treatment of malnourished children.

The initiative is a part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts, through KSrelief, to enhance Yemen’s healthcare system, particularly the management of infectious diseases.

Source:arabnews.com

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Manga exhibition in Jeddah explores evolution of Japanese artform

NADA HAMEED

February 18, 2025

JEDDAH: As Saudi Arabia and Japan celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations, the Consulate-General of Japan in Jeddah is marking the milestone with Manga Hokusai Manga, a three-week art exhibition running until March 8.

Organized in collaboration with the Jeddah Historical Development Project and the Japan Foundation, the exhibition explores the evolution of Japanese manga from the 19th-century works of ukiyo-e master Katsushika Hokusai to the modern format that has gained widespread popularity in the Kingdom.

Hosted at Bait Amir Bahar in Al-Balad, one of Jeddah’s historic homes, the exhibition highlights both the similarities and contrasts between the artistic styles while showcasing the cultural depth of Japanese storytelling.

Rather than simply focusing on how Hokusai’s work influenced manga, the exhibition invites visitors to compare both styles and understand what makes them unique. It examines themes such as visual storytelling, artistic techniques and cultural participation across different eras.

Hokusai’s manga drawings, while sometimes resembling cartoons, encompass a wide variety of subjects, from nature to human expressions and everyday life. Unlike modern comics, his work was not centered on humor but balanced artistic instruction with entertainment — much like how manga today combines storytelling with visual artistry.

Hokusai created his manga using woodblock printing, transferring the images onto paper in three primary colors: Black, gray and pale peach. The collection, comprising 4,000 illustrations across almost 800 pages, was published between 1814 and 1878 in 15 volumes bound with string.

The phrase denshinkaishu, which precedes the title, translates to “transmitting the spirit and learning the craft,” highlighting the collection’s educational purpose.

Hokusai Manga was originally used as a reference book for aspiring artists, much like today’s “How to Draw Manga” guides. Similar to modern fan-made manga, his work encouraged learning, copying and artistic experimentation.

In an exclusive interview with Arab News, Daisuke Yamamoto, the consul-general of Japan in Jeddah, described Hokusai as one of Japan’s greatest artists, modernizing traditional print styles through innovations in subject matter and composition.

“Hokusai transformed the ukiyo-e genre traditionally focused on images of fleeting pleasures — by shifting its emphasis from people to landscapes and the changing seasons,” Yamamoto said. “His print designs invited audiences to witness nature’s transience, capturing birds in flight, flowers in bloom and water in motion. Through his work, he blended an acute awareness of the fleeting with a deep appreciation for the timeless.”

According to an official statement, Hokusai’s work captured Japan’s diverse landscapes, portraying scenes and activities connected by shared symbols and narratives. He was among the first artists to both shape and be shaped by globalization, drawing from international influences and later inspiring European artists who adopted his decorative motifs, serialized compositions and vision of contemporary society. To this day, countless artists continue to engage with his legacy.

Reflecting on the exhibition’s significance, Yamamoto highlighted its role in strengthening cultural ties between Saudi Arabia and Japan: “Holding this exhibition and other cultural events basically confirmed the excellent cultural cooperation between Japan and Saudi Arabia, and strengthens the bonds of friendship and cooperation, and provides an opportunity for a wide range of people to know about each other’s culture, which will be reflected in the future in their understanding of each other and facilitate all other aspects of cooperation.”

Since the 1970s, Hokusai himself has appeared as a character in manga, reimagined by various artists in styles ranging from realistic portrayals to fantastical interpretations. This reflects manga’s evolution, blending historical figures with contemporary storytelling techniques.

Ukiyo-e, the popular art of the 18th and 19th centuries, foreshadowed comic techniques such as visualizing the invisible. However, its speech-like balloons often depicted dreams rather than dialogue, and weather lines were integrated into the scene rather than used as abstract symbols.

Hokusai’s most popular collection of printed drawings was named “manga.” While the collection is primarily known for its diverse subjects and painting style, its frequent portrayal of exaggerated expressions and acrobatic scenes has led many to associate “manga” with cartoons or humorous images.

When compared to the work of his contemporary, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, it becomes clear that Hokusai’s manga images were not necessarily intended to be funny.

In 19th-century Japan, the success of Hokusai’s manga was rooted in the balance between the mundane and the whimsical, instruction and entertainment. This blend helped secure the collection’s lasting appeal.

Today’s Japanese comics share similarities in content, particularly in their focus on capturing movement, and in their wide circulation, thanks to advancements in reproduction technology.

Source:arabnews.com

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Saudi Arabia’s Nusuk app expands services for pilgrims

February 18, 2025

MAKKAH: The Nusuk app, the official guide for pilgrims visiting the holy sites, has introduced new services to enhance the visitor experience, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The updates include features that allow users to explore unique historical destinations, a tasbih service, a Hisnul Muslim guide for daily prayers and supplications, and Haramain Qur’anic recitations.

Additionally, the app offers awareness cards, interactive maps, an event calendar, and a comprehensive digital guide with multilingual instructions.

It also provides health information and services. Moreover, service providers can showcase their offerings electronically to Umrah pilgrims and visitors, according to the SPA.

The Nusuk app serves visitors from over 100 countries in 10 languages, offering more than 120 services to facilitate their arrival and experience.

Integrated with 25 government bodies and 10 business sector entities, the app aligns with the Kingdom’s digital transformation efforts to enhance technology use.

Source:arabnews.com

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Saudi leadership congratulates Jordan king after successful surgery

February 18, 2025

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent cables of congratulations on Tuesday to Jordan’s King Abdullah after he underwent minor surgery.

In separate cables, the king and crown prince prayed for the Jordanian monarch’s health and happiness.

King Abdullah left hospital on Tuesday after undergoing minor surgery, the Jordanian royal palace said.

The 63-year-old monarch was admitted earlier in the day for an incisional hernia at the country’s King Hussein Medical City.

He is set to resume his working schedule on Wednesday, according to the royal palace.

Source:arabnews.com

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Saudi Arabia pledges innovation in road safety at Morocco conference

February 18, 2025

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif met with Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch in Marrakesh on Tuesday.

Their meeting, held on the sidelines of the Fourth Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, reviewed ongoing security cooperation and discussed various issues of mutual interest.

Saudi Ambassador to Morocco Sami Al-Saleh, Moroccan Interior Minister AbdelouafiLaftit, and several senior officials attended the meeting, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

In his speech at the conference, Prince Abdulaziz commended Morocco’s efforts in hosting the event, highlighting its crucial role in fostering cooperation on road safety, protecting lives, and addressing challenges in the field.

He reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s strong commitment to road safety, recognizing it as a key public health, security, and economic priority.

Prince Abdulaziz highlighted the alarming global impact of road accidents, with over 1.3 million fatalities annually and millions more suffering severe injuries that hinder personal and national progress.

Stressing the need for effective strategies, he called for the development of mechanisms to reduce injuries and work toward a future with fewer road casualties.

Prince Abdulaziz underscored the profound social, economic, and health impact of traffic-related injuries, emphasizing the Kingdom’s determination to tackle these challenges through innovation and commitment.

He reaffirmed that, under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is dedicated to creating sustainable and safer road environments in alignment with global road safety objectives and the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030.

Prince Abdulaziz highlighted the Kingdom’s traffic safety initiatives, including a ministerial-level committee that has contributed to a more than 50 percent reduction in traffic-related fatalities over the past seven years.

He also emphasized the transformative role of technology in road safety, stating that Saudi Arabia will leverage AI-driven traffic management systems and IoT solutions to reduce fatalities and injuries. These innovations will enhance urban mobility, creating safer and more efficient road networks across the Kingdom.

Source:arabnews.com

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Europe

 

NATO member suggests ‘ideal host’ for next Ukraine talks

19 Feb, 2025

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that his country would be the best place to host new negotiations to end the Ukraine conflict. He made his statement during a meeting with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky on Tuesday, who was not invited to high-profile Russian-US talks held the same day in Saudi Arabia.

“Our country will be an ideal host for possible talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States,” Erdogan said, according to news agency Anadolu.

“In order for a just peace to be possible, the countries that we know to be powerful must show their attitude in favor of peace,” Erdogan stated at a press conference with Zelensky in Ankara.

The president noted that Russia and Ukraine negotiated Istanbul in March 2022, and later that summer Türkiye helped broker an agreement to facilitate the safe shipping of grain from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.

“In all these efforts, we have sincerely endeavored to be a reliable mediator for both sides, and we have achieved concrete results,” Erdogan said.

Speaking at the same event, Zelensky said that Türkiye, together with the EU, the UK and the US, should be involved in devising “necessary security guarantees” for Kiev. He thanked Ankara for supporting Ukraine’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Zelensky previously complained that Ukraine was not invited to the US-Russian meeting in Riyadh and vowed not to accept any settlement reached without Kiev’s involvement. Officials in Kiev and the EU have voiced frustration that Trump launched direct negotiations with Russia without their advice and approval.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump said that he was “very disappointed” with Kiev’s reaction and blamed Ukraine for failing to reach a deal with Russia over the course of the conflict.

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the talks in Istanbul broke down because the Ukrainian abruptly walked back from previously agreed terms, including the transformation of Ukraine into a permanently neutral country with a downsized army.

Victoria Nuland, a former senior State Department official, later confirmed that the US and other Western countries advised Ukraine against accepting Russia’s terms. In a recent interview with the Guardian, Zelensky insisted that in 2022 he rejected Moscow’s demands on his own.

Moscow has reiterated recently that Ukraine must renounce its plans to join NATO and abandon claims on Crimea and four other regions that are now part of Russia. Putin also said that he no longer considers Zelensky a legitimate leader of Ukraine because his five-year presidential term expired in May 2024 and no new elections were called due to martial law.

Source:rt.com

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Shutting the EU and Ukraine out of the talks is the only way to peace

18 Feb, 2025

It is already certain that the high-level Russian-American meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh will have a place in the history books.

Together with a recent telephone conversation between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump and statements made in Germany by US vice president JD Vance and secretary of defense Pete Hegseth, the Riyadh talks show that something very dangerous has ended: namely the bizarre period of non-communication between the world’s two largest nuclear powers that had been imposed by US obstructionism.

We are now in a – slightly – more normal world again, where Washington has returned to the minimum requirement of diplomacy: maintaining dialogue, as Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has highlighted in his briefing after the meeting. Moreover, US representatives have explicitly acknowledged that such talks should reflect the national interest of the participating states. That is another important and potentially very promising return, namely to both capital-R Realism – as a way of thinking about international relations – and realism as such, as the healthy habit of not fantasizing. Lavrov noted that aspect as well.

The question that is harder to answer is what precisely has just begun in Riyadh (and, clearly, nothing has been finished yet). Because there can be no doubt that something has started: According to Lavrov, the talks were “very useful,” characterized by not merely “hearing” but actually “listening to” each other. That is not formal phraseology. Clearly, Moscow feels that this has, at the very least, not been a dead end. And we are not hearing anything to the contrary from the American side. So far, so good.

We all know what could be starting: obviously, the end of the Ukraine War. Beyond that, both Russia and the new US leadership have declared an interest in a broader normalization of their relationship, call it détente 2.0, if you wish. This, in turn, could affect international politics more generally. And finally, there is an economic aspect that both sides clearly treat as no less important than politics alone.

In terms of geopolitics, there is one thing Washington should not expect: any attempts to drive a wedge between Russia and its current allies and partners will fail. Moscow has already made it clear that, for instance, its relationship with Iran is not up for grabs.

Regarding the economics, it is striking that at the same moment when Moscow’s sending of Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) head Kirill Dmitriev to Riyadh shows that the US and Russia may well leave the idiocy of Western economic warfare behind, EU commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has signaled that his politically powerless and economically anemic bloc will stick to vastly self-harming sanctions. Well, good luck with that. And also, it won’t last.

Russia’s signaling that it can accept Ukraine’s full EU membership is evidence that Moscow fears nothing from that direction. Indeed, burdening the EU with what will be left of Ukraine may even appear advantageous to Moscow.

Current, desperate EU attempts to be even more bellicist than the US and cobble together a coalition of the obstinate to keep the Ukraine War going even without US support are unimpressive. It’s simple: Even with American commitment, the West and Ukraine’s Zelensky regime have been defeated by Russia. Without it, the defeat would only get more catastrophic. And then, Lavrov has also been clear that Russia will not agree to any backhanded introduction of NATO troops as “peacekeepers.”

And here is the final take-away point from Riyadh: Locking out the NATO-EU European “elites” and the Zelensky regime works and promotes results, cooperation, and peace. Perhaps, the populations of both EU-Europe and Ukraine should start excluding their “elites” as well.

Source:rt.com

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Tell Mama reports sharp rise in anti-Muslim hate cases

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

AN ORGANISATION monitoring anti-Muslim hate in Britain reported yesterday that it had received a record number of cases last year.

Tell Mama said that 6,313 cases of anti-Muslim hate were reported to it in 2024 — the highest number since it was founded in 2011.

With 5,837 verified cases, the figure surged 165 per cent from the 2,201 recorded in 2022.

The organisation said that 3,680 reports were of offline or in-person hate.

Tell Mama noted a rise in threatening behaviour on the streets and reported a 715 per cent increase in these cases between 2023 and 2024, as far-right riots erupted across Britain following the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport.

In the aftermath of October 7 2023, the organisation reported its highest number of online anti-Muslim hate reports — seeing a 1,619 per cent increase.

In 2024, Tell Mama recorded 2,307 online cases of anti-Muslim hate, which again spiked after the Southport stabbings in July.

It said that Elon-Musk’s X is the most toxic platform for Muslim hate, with 991 cases on the platform verified by Tell Mama.

Tell Mama recorded disproportionate amounts of anti-Muslim hate targeted towards British politicians who happen to be Muslim.

London major Sadiq Khan, former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf, and MPs Zara Sultana, Apsana Begum and Naz Shah were listed as the most targeted.

Tell Mama director Iman Atta said: “We are at a nexus point where it is clear that anti-Muslim hate needs a co-ordinated action by the government.

“The rise in anti-Muslim hate is unacceptable, and this is deeply concerning for the future.

“We should never allow such hatred and intolerance to take root in our communities.

“We urge the public to stand together against hatred and extremism and we urge those in positions of influence and public authority to consider how their language risks stereotyping communities and how it unduly influences discussions online and offline.” More than 51,000 British Muslims have utilised the services of Tell Mama since its founding.

The government has been contacted for comment.

Source:morningstaronline.co.uk

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Welsh school sacked teaching assistant who shared views on same sex marriage, abortion and Sharia law

ByAbbie Wightwick

18 FEB 2025

A teaching assistant was dismissed from a Church in Wales school after sharing his views about same sex marriage, abortion and Sharia law during a training event. Ben Dybowski, a Christian with Catholic beliefs, told headteacher Marc Belli at a follow-up meeting that he often expressed these views on social media.

The Anglican school was "entitled" to manage how Christian views were expressed by a teacher in line with its values, a tribunal judge has now ruled. The teaching assistant's claims of harassment and direct discrimination related to his religious and protected beliefs were dismissed by an employment tribunal.

The judge said the school could exercise a degree of control over how beliefs "manifested" in accordance with its values. The tribunal also ruled that Mr Dybowski's criticisms of Sharia law were an opinion and therefore not a protected belief. You can get more story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here

Mr Dybowski began working as a teaching assistant at The Bishop of Llandaff Church in Wales school, a co-educational comprehensive for 11-to-18-year-olds in October 2022 through an agency. The school held a session delivered by Diverse Cymru Training on handling topics in March 2023, and Mr Dybowski asked the trainer about expressing personal beliefs and if they amounted to discrimination.

He said his view was that true marriage is a union between a man and a woman, that human life begins at conception and abortion is the taking of innocent human life and he was critical of some aspects of Sharia law, the Cardiff tribunal heard. The trainer said that the claimant was free to hold such views but that expressing them might be "regarded as discrimination".

Mr Dybowski had a meeting with headteacher Mr Belli the next day after other members of staff expressed concern about the views, the tribunal heard. During the meeting, Mr Dybowski discussed his social media activity and how he often expresses his beliefs, including topics like same-sex marriage and Islam, the hearing was told.

Mr Belli, reminded him of social media guidelines and the Education Workforce Council (EWC) regulations, explaining that expressing his views, when publicly expressed, could potentially harm students or staff, especially given the school's diverse community and values. Mr Dybowski is a self-confessed campaigner and debater and the evidence shows he quietly took opportunities to discuss his views with pupils and staff on a number of occasions, the tribunal was told.

Judge Samantha Moore said Mr Dybowski's views on marriage, abortion and gender amounted to protected beliefs but that his critical aspects of Sharia law were deemed an opinion and are not protected. The judge said it was clear that Mr Belli wanted the claimant not to manifest the views in any way he had during the training event and found that "none of what subsequently ensued was because the claimant held his particular beliefs".

She said it was "reasonable" for Mr Belli to have become very concerned and reach a conclusion that he could not trust that Mr Dybowski would refrain from inappropriate discussions with pupils. The judge added: "The claimant has a right to hold his beliefs and to manifest them but he is under the same prohibitions as the rest of society to not discriminate or harass others."

She added that "every circumstance turns on the particular facts of the claim" and said the school "was entitled to want to exercise a degree of control over how beliefs were manifested within the school environment in accordance with the school's values given the potential power imbalance between teachers and pupils and in the context of potentially vulnerable pupils."

Source:walesonline.co.uk

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Trump says Ukraine should have made a deal earlier

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

Donald Trump has taken aim at Ukraine after its President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said it was a "surprise" his country had not been invited to talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the war with Russia.

Saying he was "disappointed" by Ukraine's reaction, he appeared to blame Ukraine for starting the war, saying the country "could have made a deal" earlier.

A full-scale Russian invasion sparked the war in Ukraine almost three years ago.

Earlier on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh for the first high-level, face-to-face talks between the two countries since the invasion.

They agreed to appoint teams to start negotiating the end of the war.

Lavrov said his country would not accept peacekeeping forces from Nato countries in Ukraine under any peace deal, a proposal raised at a meeting of European members of Nato in Paris on Monday.

European Nato states, who remain committed to supporting Ukraine against Russia, have been smarting at being sidelined by Trump's unilateral peace initiative, which reversed the resolutely pro-Ukraine policy of his predecessor as president, Joe Biden.

Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence, Trump was asked by the BBC what his message was to Ukrainians who might feel betrayed.

"I hear that they're upset about not having a seat, well, they've had a seat for three years and a long time before that. This could have been settled very easily," he said.

"You should have never started it. You could have made a deal," he later added.

"I could have made a deal for Ukraine," he said. "That would have given them almost all of the land, everything, almost all of the land - and no people would have killed, and no city would have been demolished."

After the meeting in Riyadh, Trump said he was "much more confident".

"They were very good," he said. "Russia wants to do something. They want to stop the savage barbarianism."

"I think I have the power to end this war," he added.

Asked about the prospect of European countries sending troops to Ukraine, Trump said: "If they want to do that, that's great, I'm all for it. If they want to do that, I think that'd be fine. I mean, I know France has mentioned it, others have mentioned it, UK has mentioned it."

However, he added: "We won't have to put any over there because, you know, we're very far away."

After Monday's meeting in Paris, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said any Ukraine peace deal would require a "US backstop" to deter Russia from attacking its neighbour again.

Sir Keir said a "US security guarantee was the only way to effectively deter Russia", and vowed to discuss the "key elements" of a peace deal with Trump in Washington next week.

Also at the talks in Riyadh were US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, as well as Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov and the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev.

Stressing that Moscow would not agree to peacekeeping forces from Nato countries in Ukraine under any peace deal, Lavrov said: "Any appearance by armed forces under some other flag does not change anything. It is of course completely unacceptable."

He said the US and Russia would appoint ambassadors to each other's countries as soon as possible and create conditions to "restore co-operation in full".

"It was a very useful conversation. We listened to each other, and we heard each other," he said.

He reiterated Russia's previous position that any expansion of the Nato defence alliance - and Ukraine joining it - would be a "direct threat" to Russia.

Rubio for his part said he was "convinced" Russia was "willing to begin to engage in a serious process" to end the conflict.

"There has to be concessions made by all sides. We're not going to predetermine what those are."

"Today is the first step of a long and difficult journey, but an important one", he added.

Rubio said the European Union was going to "have to be at the table at some point because they have sanctions as well that have been imposed".

On the absence of Ukraine at the meeting, he insisted "no-one is being sidelined".

"Everyone involved in that conflict has to be OK with it, it has to be acceptable to them," he added.

The talks in Paris, which were hastily arranged in response to the apparent rapprochement between Russia and the US under Trump, did not agree a unified position.

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said discussing sending troops to Ukraine at present was "completely premature".

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk also said he did not intend to send troops while Italy's Giorgia Meloni - the only European leader to attend Trump's inauguration - expressed doubts.

She told the meeting in Paris that deploying European troops would be "the most complex and the least effective" way of securing peace in Ukraine.

Ukraine's leader looked visibly tired and upset when he gave his reaction to the Riyadh meeting during a news conference in Turkey.

"We want everything to be fair and so that nobody decides anything behind our back," Zelensky said.

"You cannot make decisions without Ukraine on how to end the war in Ukraine."

He will be alarmed by all the smiles on both American and Russian faces in Riyadh, but he will know that he can do little to change whatever they agree on over his head.

The Ukrainian president will also know that his country's chances of resisting - let alone defeating - Russian troops without American help are very slim.

Following the overthrow of Ukraine's pro-Russian president in 2014, Moscow annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and backed pro-Russian separatists in bloody fighting in eastern Ukraine.

The conflict burst into all-out war when Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

Moscow's attempts to take control of the capital Kyiv were thwarted, but Russian forces have taken around one-fifth of Ukraine's territory in the east and south, and have carried out air strikes across the country.

Ukraine has retaliated with artillery and drone strikes, as well as a ground offensive against Russia's western Kursk region.

Accurate casualty counts are hard to come by but it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people, most of them soldiers, have been killed or injured, and millions of Ukrainian civilians have fled as refugees.

Source:bbc.com

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'He was just an innocent wee boy on his holidays'

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

A police officer who was at the scene when the Omagh bomb exploded in 1998 has said the death of a 12-year-old Spanish boy had "the most profound and lasting effect" on him.

Norman Haslett, who is now a superintendent with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, (PSNI) was just two years into his career when the explosion happened.

The Real IRA bomb killed 29 people in the County Tyrone town in August 1998, including a woman who was pregnant with twins.

Supt Haslett had gone into the town following the bomb warning to help oversee the evacuation.

He told the Omagh Bombing Inquiry that what he "saw and heard and smelled" at the moment of the explosion resembled "hell".

"It was pure carnage and chaos," he said.

'Beautiful wee boy'

Supt Haslett said he had been particularly struck by the body of a boy with brown hair, brown eyes and a "Mediterranean complexion".

The boy, he said, was Fernando Blasco Baselga, who was in Omagh as part of a language exchange group.

"The only possession that this beautiful wee boy had on him was a small red Swiss army knife which I found in one of his pockets," he said.

"I was relieved to hear he hadn't suffered any pain. He just looked to me as if he was asleep."

Supt Haslett said Fernando was "just an innocent wee boy on his holidays with his pen knife in his pocket".

"He was murdered for a political cause by people of insignificance whose humanity was indifferent to the consequences of their actions."

'Inhumanity'

Supt Haslett said some victims were "crying out in pain and some were very quiet and still".

"I remember seeing people who were obviously beyond help, some horribly mutilated with arms and legs missing."

The dead accumulated in an entryway, he said, and officers numbered them using "torn up strips of paper and a biro pen".

He said: "Looking back this sounds awful and terribly impersonal but it was the only way we could keep an accurate count of the number who had died and who we had recovered."

Supt Haslett told the inquiry the blankets used to cover the bodies were seeped through with blood stains.

Another police officer who provided first aid to the injured described the "horrors" he had witnessed after the attack.

In a statement read to the inquiry, Allan Palmer, who was badly injured himself, said he was "moving through the terrible scene trying to assist where [he] could".

He saw a young man on the ground with serious facial injuries but "there was nothing [he] could do to save his life".

Mr Palmer also described seeing "a woman lying on the ground with the engine of a car on top of her" and a male "lying near a gutter with his head on fire".

He added: "The memories and emotions that I carry with me every day are too many to include in this statement.

"The horrors, the guilt, the helplessness, the anger, the hurt, and many more have all had a serious impact on both my physical and psychological health."

'There are bodies everywhere'

Richard Scott, a police officer who helped gather the bodies of those killed, told the inquiry he had binned his blood-soaked clothing after his shift to try to "disassociate from the scene".

Mr Scott, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the bomb, described the devastation when he arrived in the town centre with a colleague.

"He said to me, 'This is terrible, there are bodies everywhere'," Mr Scott said.

"I said, 'I'm sorry but I can't see any bodies', and he said, 'Look down at your feet'.

"And I looked down at my feet and there was a body at my feet. And then as I glanced around there I could see bodies to my left, I could see bodies to my right."

Mr Scott was tasked with moving bodies and body parts from the scene to a nearby entry (alley).

He told the inquiry he had grabbed blankets and curtains for the dead to "give them back their dignity".

"It's one of the most important points that I've tried to emphasise over the years, how we treated the bodies, and how we treated everyone with respect and moved them to the entry and gently laid them down," he said.

Mr Scott said the entry was a reminder to him of the "carnage" that day.

He set up the voluntary organisation Military and Police Support of West Tyrone to help other officers with trauma.

'Stampede' of relatives

Julian Elliot was a police sergeant tasked with setting up an incident centre at Omagh Leisure Centre to help families search for loved ones.

In a statement read to the inquiry, he said there had been a "stampede" of people desperate for news of relatives.

He said that while he could not officially confirm the deaths, he chose to inform people in an unofficial capacity.

"I decided to take my uniform head off and put my human head on," he said.

"I thought if I was one of these poor people, I would want to know.

"Some hugged me, some beat my chest. Some hyperventilated and collapsed on the floor."

A senior RUC officer who led the police response said many officers "felt guilty and responsible" for moving members of the public to the area where the bomb went off.

The bomb warning said the explosive was at the courthouse in Omagh, but it exploded in Market Street, where civilians had been evacuated.

James Baxter, who was sub-divisional commander in Omagh at the time, told the inquiry he referred some officers for professional counselling.

'Very distressing'

Mr Baxter said he had to maintain a professional manner, while also grieving a personal loss as his son's girlfriend was killed that day.

Visiting the families of the bereaved was "the most difficult and emotional duty" of his career, he said.

Mr Baxter told the inquiry the sight of the bodies laid out in this temporary mortuary was "very distressing" and "brought home vividly the impact of the atrocity that had been inflicted on the people of Omagh".

He said the bomb and subsequent events had such an effect on his well being that he cut his police career short and left the service in 2003.

What was the Omagh bomb?

The bomb that devastated Omagh town centre in August 1998 was the biggest single atrocity in the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Twenty-nine people were killed, including nine children, a woman pregnant with twins, and three generations of one family.

It came less than three months after the people of Northern Ireland had voted yes to the Good Friday Agreement.

Who carried out the Omagh bombing?

Three days after the attack, the Real IRA released a statement claiming responsibility for the explosion.

It apologised to "civilian" victims and said its targets had been commercial.

Almost 27 years on, no-one has been convicted of carrying out the murders by a criminal court.

In 2009, a judge ruled that four men - Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly - were all liable for the Omagh bomb.

The four men were ordered to pay a total of £1.6m in damages to the relatives, but appeals against the ruling delayed the compensation process.

A fifth man, Seamus McKenna, was acquitted in the civil action and died in a roofing accident in 2013.

Source:bbc.com

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British Army 'absolutely ready' if ordered to deploy to Ukraine

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

The British Army has said it is ready to deploy to Ukraine if requested by the government.

This week, 2,500 UK troops from the Army's high readiness force, the First Division, have been taking part in a large Nato exercise in Romania - on a training area just 16 miles (25km) from the border with Ukraine.

Although mobile phones have been banned on the exercise, most soldiers are aware that there are now initial discussions to send troops to Ukraine itself.

Brigadier Andy Watson, who is commanding the British contribution to the Nato exercise, says his brigade "is absolutely ready" should they receive orders to deploy to Ukraine.

Earlier this week Keir Starmer said that he was ready and willing to send British troops to Ukraine to help guarantee its security, should there be a ceasefire.

But so far he too is unclear as to what they might be asked to do.

In terms of numbers of troops that might be needed, Brigadier Watson said "clearly what the force package would look like would be dependent on what the prime minister and the Ministry of Defence would like".

But he said "it's absolutely not" something the UK could do on its own. "I think the prime minister has been very clear that the UK would contribute to efforts, but absolutely not doing it on our own," says Brigadier Watson.

Exercise Steadfast Dart is Nato's largest exercise this year and meant to demonstrate how quickly allies can come to the defence of an ally under attack. But while it's meant to demonstrate Nato's readiness, it also highlights its limitations too.

The UK has shown it can move large numbers of troops and equipment, including more than 700 military vehicles, 1,400 miles (2,253 km) across Europe at relatively short notice as part of Nato's new Allied Reaction Force.

And that it can operate alongside allies. More than 10,000 military personnel are taking part in the exercise from eight European nations.

But that is just 10% of the number that most military experts believe might be required for any peacekeeping operation inside Ukraine which might require a force of more than 100,000.

Some of the nations taking part, like Spain and Italy, have not even met Nato's own spending target for defence of 2% of GDP, set more than a decade ago. Many, including the UK, have experienced recent cuts in the size of their armed forces.

When British forces were sent to Helmand in 2009, the British Army had more than 100,000 regular troops.

Now it is at its smallest since the Napoleonic wars, at just over 70,000. Even before the cuts, the British Army was stretched sending a force of 9,000 troops.

It required additional defence spending for urgent operational equipment, as well as a rolling deployment of fresh troops every six months. A regular Army of around 73,000 would now struggle to do something on a similar scale.

Steadfast Dart is meant to show that Nato's European allies can respond to a crisis.

Unusually, for a large Nato military exercise, US forces are not directly involved. But America remains Nato's most powerful and largest military member and its absence from any plan to guarantee Ukraine's security would leave a gaping hole.

That's why Keir Starmer and his Defence Secretary John Healey are calling for the US to be involved, despite the Trump administration's insistence that there will be no US boots on the ground.

Healey said on Tuesday that European nations would have to play a leading role but he added that "it is only the US that can provide the deterrence to Putin that will prevent him attacking again".

Nato's intervention in Libya in 2011 illustrated how European nations struggled without their biggest partner.

The US was supposed to take a back seat in the bombing campaign but was still heavily relied on for logistics - air-to-air refuelling - and providing intelligence and surveillance.

Back at Exercise Steadfast Dart, Colonel Gordon Muir, who commands 4 Scots troops and previously fought alongside the US in Afghanistan, said "there's a famous Highland saying - that friends are good on the day of battle". He said there are few circumstances when you want to go it alone.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine should have been the wake-up call that European nations needed. Most of its members are now spending 2% of their GDP on defence.

But Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte now says that is not enough and is pushing for more than 3%.

The Trump administration says it should be more like 5% of GDP. The UK government has still not set a date for its new spending target of 2.5%. Europe has also been slow to ramp up defence production.

But Exercise Steadfast Dart shows that some lessons are being learned from the war in Ukraine. There is an emphasis on trench and urban warfare as well as combatting drones.

We watch British and Romanian troops repeat drills of clearing a recently excavated zigzag of snow-covered trench lines.

Many of the British troops taking part in this training have also recently been helping train their Ukrainian counterparts in the UK.

Corporal Richard Gillin, of 4 Scots, told me, "we're definitely ready for Ukraine".

Though they do not know whether such a deployment would happen - or what role they might be asked to perform - any operation in Ukraine would give the British Army a new sense of purpose and help with its recruitment crisis.

Lance Corporal Lewis Antwis, of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, said "people have joined the Army for a purpose…so yeah, I think the boys would be ready".

Source:bbc.com

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Moscow back at the table - and appearing to call the shots

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

The sight of senior Russian and American officials back around a giant negotiating table is extraordinary.

For many, most of all Ukrainians, it will have been very hard to take.

In Saudi Arabia, Moscow achieved something major: after three years of all-out war on its neighbour and isolation by the West, it was back at the "top table" of global diplomacy.

Not only that, Russia looked for all the world like it was the one calling the shots.

Even as air raid sirens continue to sound across Ukraine, that's exactly the image Moscow wants to project.

This was not a defeated Russia, forced to the negotiating table. It was more like the US inviting the aggressor to set out its terms.

True, US officials went into the process saying they wanted to feel out Russia, check whether it's serious about peace.

But Donald Trump had already drawn his conclusions. Last week, after he spoke to Vladimir Putin by phone, he announced that the Russian leader "wants to see people stop dying".

Trump could have responded by telling him to withdraw all his troops.

Instead, he clearly wants to cut a deal with Moscow to end the war, as he promised voters, and move on.

After more than four hours of talks in Riyadh, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio emerged to the press and announced the first steps towards negotiations had been agreed, with teams to be formed on both sides.

He'd concluded that Russia was ready to engage in a "serious process" to end the war.

But why was he so sure?

Across the table was Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, still under sanctions for what the US Treasury called Russia's "brutal war of choice".

When Lavrov met the Russian media, he told them the US had proposed a moratorium on attacking energy infrastructure.

"We explained that we have never endangered the civilian energy supply and only target what directly serves Ukraine's military," was the minister's reply.

That's not true.

I have personally walked through the ruins of civilian power plants that have been directly targeted by Russian missiles.

This is the country that the US is attempting to engage with, although there is ample evidence that it can't be trusted.

Russia has also shown zero sign of conceding any ground: why would it, when the Trump administration has already agreed that Ukraine will never join Nato, as Moscow demands, and won't get its occupied land back?

That's why, for Ukraine's allies, it won't only be the image of US and Russian officials seated at the shiny Saudi table that jarred. It's also how they talked.

"Laying the ground" for future investment sounds like a promise of dropping sanctions: no reckoning for Russia's war of aggression, then, just reward.

These are, of course, the earliest of early days.

But in Moscow, officials and state media sense the start of Russia's return to where it believes it belongs: face to face with the US, as an equal.

Source:bbc.com

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Tips for having a healthy Ramadan

February 19, 2025

By Alistair Shand

TIPS are being offered to help people across the district stay healthy during Ramadan.

Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership has teamed up with the British Islamic Medical Association to provide advice.

The holy month of Ramadan is expected to begin on the evening of February 28 or the following day.

Dr Salman Waqar, a GP and former president of the British Islamic Medical Association, says: "This is an exciting time for Muslims, when we become busy with social gatherings, charitable deeds and extra worship. To get the most out of these activities, we need to try to stay as healthy as possible.

"It's important that you attempt where feasible to stay active during Ramadan, such as with an evening walk to your local mosque or park. Don't let Ramadan be a means of de-conditioning the body to activity.

"If you have a long-term condition such as diabetes, kidney disease or high blood pressure and are thinking of fasting, please speak to a healthcare professional in the first instance and they will advise you.

"People with mental health conditions respond in different ways during Ramadan; some find it helps and others really struggle. Fasting can affect the absorption of medicines, and a disruptive change in your sleeping pattern could cause a relapse, which is why it’s important to talk to the people looking after you and they'll advise you.

"Smoking or chewing tobacco will invalidate your fast. This is an opportunity for you to try quitting."

His advice is echoed by Keighley GP Dr Zoyah Hussain, who adds: "It’s important that we look after ourselves and our loved ones during the holy month.

"I'd encourage people to have a well-balanced meal – including a variety of foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein and healthy fats – in both suhoor (pre-dawn) and iftar (post-sunset).

"Anyone with a health condition must speak to a healthcare professional if they’re thinking of fasting. It doesn’t mean you can’t fast; it might be that you need to take precautions like reviewing your medicines and monitoring for harmful situations.

"Try to regulate your sleep pattern, like planning an adjusted routine for Ramadan so that you’re sleeping and waking at around the same time every day. This will help your body get into a rhythm."

Source:thetelegraphandargus.co.uk

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North America

 

What the fall of DEI means for religion

Feb 18, 2025

By Kelsey Dallas

President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has sparked changes to DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs across the country.

Trump administration officials have done away with DEI initiatives in government agencies, and many leaders in the private sector have followed their lead.

These changes have affected not just race- and ethnicity-based programs and clubs, but also religion-related employee resource groups.

For example, federal agencies no longer have faith-based ERGs, because they were shut down amid the DEI program purge, according to Brian Grim, the founding president of the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation.

Something similar played out in recent years on college campuses that shuttered DEI offices, as I previously reported for the Deseret News.

Interfaith organizations lost funding and staff members due to changes that were generally thought to be focused on race, sexuality and gender.

Grim has been tracking this trend closely, since he’s an advocate for faith-based initiatives in workplaces.

He said that most public companies he works with are continuing to support faith-oriented employee resource groups even as they fall out of favor in Washington.

However, some companies are making adjustments to their system of employee groups, as recent reporting from Fast Company makes clear.

Adjustments include changing the names of resource groups and reframing the mission of the groups to be more about professional advancement than personal connection.

Term of the week: ACTS 17

The ACTS 17 Collective is a nondenominational nonprofit that’s working to spark conversations about religion and spirituality in Silicon Valley.

It was launched last year by Michelle Stephens, who is personally and professionally connected to high-profile tech investors like Peter Thiel, according to The New York Times.

At ACTS 17 events, attendees can access both professional and spiritual benefits. They connect with Silicon Valley stars while learning new ways to connect with God.

Recent talks have been about leaning on faith to make career decisions and the relationship between artificial intelligence and religion.

The name of the group, ACTS 17, refers to a chapter in the Bible that recounts the apostle Paul’s ministry to wealthy Greeks. It’s also an acronym for the phrase “Acknowledging Christ in Technology and Society,” the Times reported.

Stephens told the Times that she knows the focus of the group is unique, but added that wealthy tech workers can benefit from faith just as much as anyone else.

“We were always taught as Christians to serve the meek, the lowly, the marginalized,” she said. “I think we’ve realized that, if anything, the rich, the wealthy, the powerful need Jesus just as much.”

What I’m reading...

Pew Research Center has released a large new survey to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes a look at how the pandemic did — and didn’t — change American religious life.

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, I stumbled onto a delightful survey from YouGov about common pieces of relationship advice. Researchers asked Americans if they thought the various tips were actually true and found that fully 92% of respondents believe that “actions speak louder than words.”

My friend John Hawthorne’s new book on the past and future of Christian colleges and universities came out last week. I’m looking forward to digging into “The Fearless Christian University.”

Odds and ends

You don’t need to be a BYU fan to enjoy BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe’s elaborate Halloween costumes. I wrote about his famous outfits after he announced his retirement last week.

If you’re a fan of celebrity memoirs, I’d encourage you to check out “Be Ready When the Luck Happens” by Ina Garten. I knew next to nothing about the “Barefoot Contessa” when I starting read, but really enjoyed learning about her professional journey and enduring love of food.

Source:deseret.com

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https://www.deseret.com/faith/2025/02/18/dei-programs-religion/

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Why did a plane crash in Toronto, and how did everyone survive?

18 Feb, 2025

Passengers have described their amazement after most of them escaped unscathed from a plane that crash landed in Toronto on Monday afternoon.

The Delta flight skidded along the runway in flames before flipping over and coming to a dramatic halt upside down, losing its tail and an entire wing in the process.

Some of the 80 people on board were then left hanging upside down while still strapped to their seats, before they scrambled over luggage to escape onto the snowy runway.

No deaths have been reported after the incident, which is under investigation.

Analysts have suggested the harsh winter weather may be to blame, or that the plane landed badly. They have also credited the plane's safety features with saving lives.

What happened when the plane crashed?

The incident took place shortly after 14:00 local time on Monday (19:00 GMT).

It involved a model CRJ-900 plane, operating as Delta Air Lines flight DL4819.

The aircraft arrived at Toronto from the US city of Minneapolis and was carrying 76 passengers and four crew members.

As it landed, the plane appears to have struck the runway, slid for some distance and then flipped over, observed Dan Ronan, a journalist and pilot licensed by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) who spoke to BBC News.

Footage obtained by TMZ showed part of the aircraft bursting into flames as the landing happened. Firefighters rushed to put these out.

Passenger Pete Carlson told broadcaster CBC it was "a very forceful event", recalling the sound of "concrete and metal" at the moment of impact.

He and others on board were suspended upside down in their seats, and had to release themselves onto the cabin ceiling before leaving the inverted aircraft.

All 80 people on board survived. On Tuesday morning, Delta said 21 injured passengers were initially transported to local hospitals - with 19 later released.

Delta has promised to give more updates.

How does a plane flip over?

BBC Verify has analysed recordings of communications between the plane and air traffic control.

At no point in discussions was there anything to suggest trouble was anticipated with the landing.

This was confirmed by Marco Chan, a former pilot and a senior lecturer at Buckinghamshire New University in the UK, and plane crash investigator Ismo Aaltonen, who also listened to the audio recording.

Mr Chan also said the plane appeared to have made a hard landing - involving an unusually high rate of descent.

It seems to have touched down with one wheel first, Mr Chan told the BBC, which might have caused the landing gear to collapse on impact. This could have lead to the right wing hitting the runway and in turn causing the plane to roll.

The weather may also have been significant. The airport fire chief stated that the runway was dry at the time of the incident.

Airport authorities had said earlier that although recent heavy snow had stopped, "frigid temperatures and high winds [were] moving in".

As the plane came in to land, air traffic controllers told the pilots of 38mph (61km/h) gusts and the possibility of a "slight bump in the glide path", CNN reported.

The pilots appear to have attempted what is known as a crab manoeuvre, Mr Ronan said. This involves turning a plane into the wind, and then directly onto the runway at the last moment.

How did everybody on board the plane survive?

"The sheer survivability of this is really amazing," Mr Ronan told the BBC, pointing out that the aeroplane's fuselage (body) had stayed intact.

Other commentators hailed the craft's safety features. CNN analyst and former FAA inspector David Soucie said the plane had broken apart as it had meant to, with the detachment of the wings stopping the fuselage ripping apart.

Graham Braithwaite, professor of safety and accident investigation at the UK's Cranfield University, said planes were also designed so that air passengers involved in an accident did not hit things likely to cause injury.

"Even the design of the seat back or the tray table is all part of how we consider making that survivable space," he told the BBC. "And the seatbelt that people have is so important - that is the ultimate thing that stops people being thrown around the cabin like this," he added.

The flight attendants have also been praised for getting everyone off the flipped aeroplane quickly. Emergency crews on the ground were labelled "heroic" by the airport chief after reaching the crash site in a matter of minutes.

Mr Carlson said the passengers themselves had worked together very effectively. "What I saw was everyone on that plane suddenly became very close in terms of how to help one another, how to console one another," he said.

How did the seat design help?

Mr Ronan highlighted the importance of the plane's high-impact 16g seats, which he said were "designed to absorb a great deal of punishment".

The seats can withstand deceleration of 16 times the force of gravity, and must pass rigorous testing using human dummies to model crash dynamics.

The seat legs, attached to a track on the floor, must be able to pitch down 10 degrees on one side and roll 10 degrees on the other side so that they do not break, said Kevin Campbell, founder of Aviation Consulting & Engineering Solutions, who is FAA-authorised to approve seats that are required to comply with the regulations.

In previous accidents, the FAA had seen seats piled up in the fronts of aircrafts, with bodies still attached in many cases, Mr Campbell said.

Mr Ronan said the regulations keep "the seat in place and bolted to the floor, so you have a higher degree of survivability in your seat itself and you have less likelihood that the seat is going to become detached, where you're now strapped into a moving object that's being bounced around the cabin."

The regulations also require a passenger to be able to withstand hitting their head and legs on the seat in front of them, and seats help absorb weight in their spine so that they do not break their back. Seatbelts are also less stretchy than they used to be so the restraint is more secure.

"As a result of that aircrafts are much, much safer," Mr Campbell said, and those factors were "absolutely" at play in improving safety in this crash.

"It really is remarkable that the seats did exactly what they were supposed to do, they stayed intact... the seatbelts worked just as they were supposed to, and the seats did not become detached from the floor," Mr Ronan said.

"Think of how many head injuries we would have had, spinal injuries we would have had, if the seat became detached."

Which other plane crashes have happened recently?

This marks the fourth major air crash in North America in less than a month, and other recent incidents remain under investigation.

All 67 people on board a passenger aeroplane and military helicopter died after the two aircraft collided in mid-air near Washington DC on 29 January

Seven people were killed on 1 February when a medical transportation plane carrying six people crashed in Philadelphia. Another person was killed on the ground

All 10 people were killed when a small plane came down in Alaska on 6 February

Those incidents followed another high-profile crash in South Korea in December, in which 179 people were killed.

Despite these, experts say air travel remains overwhelmingly safe - and increasingly so.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident dashboard says there were 257 fatal accidents globally in 2024, compared with 362 in 2014.

Source:bbc.com

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Meghan puts new label on jams and lifestyle range

18 Feb, 2025

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has announced a new identity for her lifestyle brand, which will be called As Ever.

Despite the social media teasers showing celebrities with pots of jam from Meghan, the previous brand name American Riviera Orchard seems to have reached a sticky end.

On a social media post, Meghan said the newly-named product range would be a joint project with Netflix, which is showing her cooking and lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan next month.

"'As ever' means 'as it's always been' or some even say 'in the same way as always,'" said Meghan's post.

The recorded message, delivered in close-up by Meghan, emphasises the continuity with her former, pre-royal, lifestyle blog, the Tig.

She said that the new venture would be "beautifully weaving together everything I cherish - food, gardening, entertaining, thoughtful living, and finding joy in the everyday".

Prince Harry, who has been at the Invictus Games in Canada, is heard briefly off-camera in the background of the recording of the Instagram posting. Their three-year-old daughter Lilibet is also seen in the distance, against a sunny Pacific sky, on the accompanying As Ever website.

The previous name American Riviera Orchard had been a reference to the part of California where she lives with Prince Harry - and Meghan said it "limited me to things which were manufactured and grown in this area".

That name had been promoted since April 2024, when celebrities published pictures on Instagram of jars of strawberry jam, in a launch that tried to preserve a sense of mystery.

But there had also been reports of delays because of trademark problems with the original title.

If this latest announcement means the lid is going to come off a new jam war, the Californian contender will be up against Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle Strawberry Preserve, both at £7 and Highgrove Organic Preserve at £6.95.

The new As Ever brand will be a partnership with Netflix, with reports that the TV company is going to open shopping outlets which will sell merchandising connected to its shows.

"Of course there will be fruit preserves, I think we're all clear at this point that jam is my jam," said Meghan.

"But there's so many more products that I just love that I use in my home and now it's time to share it with you, so I can't wait for you to see it."

The launch of Meghan's TV show was delayed by the wildfires in California, with the US state the backdrop for the series, which is expected to be a mix of cooking, hosting tips and celebrity friends and is due to run on Netflix from 4 March.

It is five years since Meghan and Prince Harry stepped down as working royals, becoming financially independent in the United States. Meghan says in her social media post, she has "poured my heart into" this forthcoming product range.

Meghan divides public opinion, with strong reactions on social media from supporters and opponents. Her fans have saluted her independence and creativity, while her opponents have already labelled the brand as "whatever".

Appropriately, she signed off her own post: "As ever, Meghan."

Source:bbc.com

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New York governor weighs Eric Adams' fate after scandals

18 Feb, 2025

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has called a crisis meeting on Tuesday to weigh whether to remove Mayor Eric Adams from office following a series of overlapping scandals.

A top prosecutor in Manhattan last week alleged the New York City mayor had asked the Trump administration to drop a corruption case against him in exchange for his cooperation on immigration enforcement.

Four of Adams' top deputies, including the first deputy mayor, resigned on Monday after the Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the criminal case against Adams.

The "alleged conduct at City Hall that has been reported over the past two weeks is troubling and cannot be ignored", Hochul said in a statement.

"In the 235 years of New York State history, these powers have never been utilized to remove a duly-elected mayor; overturning the will of the voters is a serious step that should not be taken lightly," Hochul said.

Adams was indicted last year for allegedly accepting gifts totalling more than $100,000 (£75,000) from Turkish citizens in exchange for favours. He denies the charges. The trial is scheduled for April.

His administration has been plagued by staff departures and scandals since the charges against him were first announced. A number of figures in his orbit have also been charged as a part of the investigation.

The governor's meeting with "key leaders" on Tuesday follows the resignations of four of Adams' top deputies - First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer; Deputy mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom; the deputy mayor for operations, Meera Joshi; and the deputy mayor for public safety, Chauncey Parker.

"I am disappointed to see them go, but given the current challenges, I understand their decision and wish them nothing but success in the future," Adams said in a statement after accepting the resignations on Monday.

In a joint statement, Torres-Springer, Joshi and Williams-Isom explained their decision to resign.

"Due to the extraordinary events of the last few weeks and to stay faithful to the oaths we swore to New Yorkers and our families, we have come to the difficult decision to step down from our roles," they said.

Last week, the former US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, resigned over pressure from the Justice Department to drop the Adams case.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove argued that the case against Adams had "restricted" the mayor's ability to address "illegal immigration and violent crime" - two of President Donald Trump's key priorities.

Ms Sassoon said dropping the case would set a "breathtaking and dangerous precedent".

Seven other Justice Department officials left before prosecutors eventually filed a motion to drop the case. New York Judge Dale Ho still needs to sign off on the request.

During an interview alongside Trump's border czar Tom Homan last week, Adams denied he had proposed the Justice Department drop the case in exchange for immigration measures, a move Ms Sassoon said amounted to a "quid pro quo".

Adams said the allegations were "silly".

Hochul faced calls to remove Adams after the indictment against him was first unsealed last September, but she did not move to do so then.

Source:bbc.com

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A$AP Rocky not guilty of firearm assault on LA street

19 Feb, 2025

Rapper A$AP Rocky has been found not guilty of firing a gun at a former friend.

A jury in Los Angeles acquitted the musician, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, on two felony assault charges that carried up to 24 years in prison.

Terell Ephron claimed the Grammy-nominated hip-hop star opened fire at him during an argument on a Hollywood street on 6 November 2021, grazing his knuckles with one of the shots.

Mr Mayers, who is also a fashion mogul and the longtime partner of pop star Rihanna, denied the charges, arguing that the weapon was a prop gun and that his former friend, who calls himself A$AP Relli, was only after money.

As the first not-guilty verdict was read on Tuesday, the court rang with screams and clapping. Mr Mayers rushed towards his family and Rihanna, who were seated behind him. He dived over a wooden barrier to embrace them.

Rihanna had been a repeated presence in court during the trial, and for Tuesday's verdict, brought along their two sons, two-year-old RZA and one-year-old Riot.

Mr Mayers also hugged his lawyers and appeared to have tears in his eyes as the second not-guilty verdict was read.

"Thank God for saving my life," Mr Mayers said aloud. He thanked members of the 12-person jury.

The rapper was arrested on the two felony assault charges after a heated argument with his former friend in the heart of Hollywood.

Mr Mayers and Mr Ephron have known each other since high school in New York and were part of the A$AP Mob hip-hop collective.

Their friendship cooled as A$AP Rocky's career took off.

Authorities said Mr Ephron met Mr Mayers on 6 November 2021, a day after the pair had a disagreement, outside a hotel about a block from the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame.

An altercation ensued.

Mr Mayers was alleged to have pulled out a gun from his waistband and pointed it at Mr Ephron, telling him: "I'll kill you right now."

"He looked me in my eyes and pointed the gun at me," Mr Ephron testified.

Mr Ephron said he told the rapper to fire the weapon, but Mr Mayers started walking away. As he left, Mr Ephron followed, shouting at him.

Prosecutors alleged that at this point, Mr Mayers once again pulled out the gun and fired multiple shots, with one bullet said to have grazed Mr Ephron's knuckles.

Much of the trial hinged on whether the firearm in question was a harmless prop gun, as Mr Mayers's defence said, or a real weapon capable of causing harm, as Mr Ephron and prosecutors alleged.

The weapon has not been recovered by authorities.

Jurors were able to watch some footage of the altercation because parts were captured on surveillance video, including audio of gunfire, but no video evidence directly showed any shooting.

Mr Ephron took two days before reporting the incident to authorities and brought shell casings he said he had retrieved from the scene.

But police who responded to reports of a shooting in the area did not locate any shell casings. Mr Ephron, who said he returned with his girlfriend hours later, said he knew exactly where to look, but no surveillance footage corroborates his account.

He was not admitted to hospital in Los Angeles and instead went for medical treatment after flying back to New York.

Lawyers for Mr Mayers suggested that Mr Ephron had planted the shell casings to frame the rapper.

The trial was marked by emotional and combative exchanges, particularly when Mr Ephron - the trial's star witness - took the stand.

At one point, Mr Ephron called Mr Tacopina - a defence attorney for Mr Mayers - "annoying", which led to a reprimand from the judge.

Another witness, A$AP Twelvyy, was asked by prosecutors about a photograph showing Mr Mayers's bed with the letters "AWGE" emblazoned on the furniture.

When asked what that stood for, Mr Mayers unexpectedly interrupted the proceedings and yelled, "Don't say!" Twelvyy ultimately refused to elaborate.

Outbursts from defendants during trials are uncommon, especially in front of a jury.

However, for a criminal suspect on trial to interject and instruct a witness not to answer a prosecutor's question during cross-examination is something nearly unheard of in a court.

The rapper is set to release his first solo album in nearly a decade and is scheduled to co-headline Los Angeles' Rolling Loud festival in March 2025.

Additionally, he stars alongside Denzel Washington in Spike Lee's upcoming film Highest 2 Lowest, due to be released the coming months.

Source:bbc.com

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South Asia

 

Islamic Emirate Congratulates Syria’s New Transitional Leader

2025-02-19

KABUL(BNA): Afghanistan’s Prime Minister, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, has extended his congratulations to Ahmad Al-Shara on his appointment as the head of Syria’s transitional government, expressing hope for stability and progress under his leadership.

In an official message, Akhund conveyed his best wishes to Al-Shara, emphasizing the challenges ahead and the importance of strong leadership in guiding Syria through this critical period.

Islamic Emirate Deputy Spokesperson, Mullah Hamdullah Fitrat, said the message not only offered congratulations but also included prayers for success in governance and efforts to bring peace and stability to Syria.

Fitrat added that Prime Minister Akhund reaffirmed Afghanistan’s commitment to strengthening ties with Syria, highlighting the need for deeper cooperation between the two brotherly nations.

This statement reflects the Islamic Emirate’s ongoing diplomatic engagement as regional dynamics continue to shift in the Middle East.

Source:bakhtarnews.af

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OIC Affirms Commitment to Humanitarian Aid in Kabul

2025-02-18

KABUL(BNA): Sheikh Shahabuddin Delawar, the head of the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), held a meeting with Tariq Ali Bakheet, the Special Representative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for Afghanistan, to discuss crucial aid for the country’s most vulnerable populations.

In a press release issued by the Afghan Red Crescent Society, Delawar emphasized the significance of OIC’s assistance in supporting needy and impoverished families. He urged for enhanced cooperation in developing services for critical areas, including the treatment and care of mentally ill patients, women with heart disease, and the homeless.

Tariq Ali Bakheet responded positively, assuring Delawar that the OIC remains committed to providing ongoing humanitarian support to the Afghan Red Crescent Society.

Source:bakhtarnews.af

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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/oic-affirms-commitment-to-humanitarian-aid-in-kabul/

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Islamic Emirate Cabinet Discusses Power Infrastructure, Development Plans

2025-02-18

KABUL(BNA): The 16th regular meeting of the Islamic Emirate’s cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, focused on crucial national matters, particularly electricity transmission and the acceleration of development projects.

During the session, held at the Arg, the cabinet addressed the urgency of enhancing the country’s power supply. The leadership of Emirati companies was instructed to expedite the electricity distribution process and take necessary actions to ensure reliable service.

The Prime Minister’s administrative deputy was tasked with working alongside the Ministry of Water and Energy and power company representatives to strengthen coordination and clarify priorities in the energy sector.

Additionally, the Ministry of Economy received instructions to collaborate with other departments to ensure the timely execution of development projects, monitor the spending of the development budget, and ensure that projects are completed on schedule.

The meeting also covered issues related to healthcare, education, and essential services. Committees were assigned to find solutions to improve these areas and ensure better service delivery.

This cabinet meeting highlights the Islamic Emirate’s ongoing commitment to advancing key infrastructure projects and enhancing governance in the country.

Source:bakhtarnews.af

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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/islamic-emirate-cabinet-discusses-power-infrastructure-development-plans/

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Stalled Talks, Familiar Faces as Afghan, Global Support Shifts to Islamic Emirate

2025-02-18

KABUL (BNA): In recent months, a series of unproductive international talks and similar gatherings on Afghanistan have taken place, yet they have yielded little to no results. These meetings seem repetitive, bringing together figures who neither represent the Afghan people nor have played a meaningful role in shaping the country’s future.

Many of those attending these discussions are either former officials who fled Afghanistan or individuals whose past policies led to failure. Now, they seek to safeguard their own interests rather than addressing the real concerns of the Afghan people.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate remains the governing authority in Afghanistan, with widespread support from the population. Given this reality, such meetings serve no practical purpose and only waste time.

Afghans continue their progress under the leadership of the Islamic Emirate, and the international community must recognize and respect the choices of the Afghan people. While many global powers are gradually acknowledging the Islamic Emirate as Afghanistan’s legitimate representative, some figures still attempt to obstruct its international recognition. These efforts, however, are unlikely to succeed.

For the Islamic Emirate, it is essential to understand that it has earned the trust of the Afghan nation. It will not engage with those whose past actions brought harm, instability, and division to Afghanistan.

The people of Afghanistan stand with the Islamic Emirate, and the world must shape its relations with the country based on this undeniable fact. Instead of holding fruitless discussions with disconnected figures, the international community should focus on direct, constructive engagement with the Islamic Emirate.

Ultimately, both Afghans and the world recognize that only the Islamic Emirate is a credible force for Afghanistan’s stability, peace, and development.

Source:bakhtarnews.af

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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/stalled-talks-familiar-faces-as-afghan-global-support-shifts-to-islamic-emirate/

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Injured July uprising victims march to liberation ministry

 Feb 19, 2025

A section of protesters injured during the July mass uprising and their families staged a long march towards the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs today, to press their three-point demand.

A delegation from the protesters has entered the ministry to submit a memorandum, while the rest remain gathered outside the National Press Club.

Police have been deployed in the vicinity.

The march began at 12:30pm, with participants moving from Shahbagh to Matsya Bhaban before heading towards the liberation war affairs ministry.

The protesters said that the government currently provides medical treatment under three categories—A, B, and C—for the injured.

However, category C does not offer the same benefits as categories A and B, which they argued is "highly discriminatory".

They demanded that all injured individuals be included under either category A or B, with only two classifications—injured and severely injured—for fair treatment.

The protesters also demanded a toll-free hotline to facilitate medical services for injured individuals in remote areas, legal protection for injured victims and inclusion of all injured individuals under government allowances for financial support.\

Source:thedailystar.net

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/injured-july-uprising-victims-march-liberation-ministry-3828286

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ACC finds evidence of ex-IGP Shahidul's illegal wealth

Feb 19, 2025

The anti-graft body conducted the raid as part of its investigation into allegations that Shahidul amassed a huge amount of wealth through unscrupulous means, the release said.

The ACC also discovered that Shahidul had secretly handed over the documents, contain evidence of his illegally acquired assets worth crores of taka, to his relatives. And these documents had been later transferred to another relative's residence, the press release said.

Acting on confidential information, a five-member ACC team, led by Assistant Director Rakibul Hayat, conducted the raid and recovered 38 different types of documents that include property deeds, confidential agreements, deeds of agreement, power of attorney papers, memorandums of association, bonds, copies of fixed deposit receipts (FDR), offer letters, and bank account statements and other papers.

A senior ACC official said that appropriate legal action will be taken based on the findings.

Source:thedailystar.net

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/acc-finds-evidence-ex-igp-shahiduls-illegal-wealth-3828271'

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‘Release Azharul, restore party registration’

Feb 19, 2025

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman yesterday warned that the government would be forced to accept their demands, including the release of former assistant secretary general ATM Azharul Islam, through an unstoppable movement.

Azharul has been sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).

Shafiqur made these remarks at a rally organised by Jamaat's Dhaka north and south units at Paltan. The rally was part of a centrally declared programme demanding the release of Azharul, reinstatement of the party's electoral symbol "scale", and restoration of the party's registration.

Shafiqur said from 2009 to August 5, 2024, the Awami fascists ruled the country through misrule and tyranny, specifically targeting Jamaat by arresting and imprisoning its top leaders.

"During this crisis, Azharul was serving as the party's acting secretary general. Awami League unjustly kept him in prison for 13 years under false, baseless, and politically motivated charges," he claimed.

He questioned the interim government, asking, "Even though the country has been freed from fascism, why has Azharul Islam not been released?" He demanded a clear timeline for his release. "We are dealing with the situation with extreme patience, but everything has a limit."

Protest rallies were held in 79 metropolitan and district units of Jamaat yesterday.

Source:thedailystar.net

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/politics/news/release-azharul-restore-party-registration-3827651

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Afghan Red Crescent Society Begins Heart Surgery for Children

2025-02-19

KABUL(BNA): The Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) has announced the commencement of treatment and surgery for nine children suffering from congenital heart defects, commonly known as heart holes.

According to a report released by the ARCS, the organization will fully cover the costs associated with the treatment and surgeries for these young patients, ensuring they receive the necessary medical care.

Officials from the ARCS highlighted their ongoing commitment to supporting heart patients in Afghanistan. Previously, 69 patients were referred to domestic hospitals for treatment, with their medical expenses also financed by the ARCS budget.

Source:bakhtarnews.af

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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/afghan-red-crescent-society-begins-heart-surgery-for-children/

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Imam-Muazzins’s salary issue discussed in DC conference: Khalid

18 Feb 2025

DHAKA, Feb 18, 2025 (BSS) - Religious Affairs Adviser Dr. AFM Khalid Hossain today said the issue of raising salary of Imam, Muazzin and Khadem of the mosque has been discussed at the DC conference today.

The adviser revealed this while talking to media after emerging from the working session of the DC conference held at Osmani auditorium here. 

Seeking all-out cooperation from the deputy commissioners aimed at building a discrimination-free secular state, he said all work of his ministry is associated with the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and the Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs).

He said the meeting also asked authorities concerned to take instant action against the attacks and vandalism in various religious institutions across the country.

Referring to “Debottar” Property, which has been occupied in different places, the religious affairs adviser said, “We recovered a deity property in Motijheel. A multi-storied building will be built there through the Hindu Religious Welfare Trust in collaboration with the Ministry of Religion.”

About the Waqf Estate property, he added, “Hundreds of Waqf State property has been taken away illegally and we are trying to recover those. Meanwhile, necessary instruction in this regard was given to the DCs.”

The adviser told the newsmen that the government would make a separate independent bench in the High Court Division with the help of the ministry of law affairs to dispose of the Waqf Estate cases.

“I have given the Demi-Official (DO) letter to the Law Ministry in this regard. I also talked to the registrar of the High Court. Hopefully, there will be a separate bench where the Waqf cases will be heard. So, those who filed these cases over the years will be able to recover the properties,” he added.

Source:bssnews.net

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.bssnews.net/news/247689

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Africa

 

Ramaphosa offers condolences and concern after murder of imam Muhsin Hendricks

19 February 2025

President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his condolences after the death of imam Muhsin Hendricks, who was fatally shot by gunmen in Gqeberha this past weekend.

The president extended his sympathies to Hendricks’ family, friends and fellow activists.

“While we await the outcome of investigations, I am concerned about the reported likelihood of this being a hate crime against a religious leader who championed the rights and protection of LGBTQI+ Muslims and compatriots more broadly. Like all South Africans, I anticipate the perpetrators will be brought to book for the heinous attack,” said Ramaphosa.

Hendricks, a prominent figure in the LGBTQI+ Muslim community, was gunned down in on Saturday, in Bethelsdorp, a township in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape at about 10am.

His death has shocked the nation and raised concerns about possible hate-motivated violence, specially given his lifelong activism advocating for the protection of LGBTQI+ individuals and religious acceptance.

The 57-year-old made history in 1996 when he became the world’s first openly gay imam.

His courage in coming out as gay in the face of significant societal pressures paved the way for other LGBTQI+ Muslims to live authentically. His unwavering support for the LGBTQI+ community was further embodied through the Al-Ghurbaah (The Strangers) Foundation, an organisation he founded in 2018.

The foundation provides invaluable support to LGBTQI+ Muslims and runs programmes that assist individuals in reconciling their sexuality with their faith.

The Al-Ghurbaah Foundation, based in Wynberg, Cape Town, has been instrumental in creating a safe space for Muslims who navigate the intersection of their religious and sexual identities.

The foundation confirmed his burial on Monday and said details regarding the memorial service would be shared in the coming days.

While the investigation into Hendricks' murder is ongoing, early reports suggest the attack may have been motivated by hate due to Hendricks’ activism and position as an outspoken advocate for the rights of marginalised groups.

Source:timeslive.co.za

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2025-02-19-ramaphosa-offers-condolences-and-concern-after-the-murder-of-imam-muhsin-hendricks/

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Kwara Court remands Islamic cleric, 5 others over alleged murder of final year student

February 18, 2025

By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

A magistrate court in Ilorin, Kwara state on Tuesday, remanded the acclaimed Islamic cleric, Abdulrahman Bello, and five others over the alleged murder of Adefalu Hafsat Yetunde, a final year student of Kwara state College of Education at Oke Kura Correctional Centre, Ilorin.

Among those arraigned along with the suspect are: Ahmed Abdulwasiu ‘M’, 41 YRS,. Suleiman Muhyideen ‘M’, 28 YRS,Jamiu Uthman ‘M’, 29 YRS.

Andulrahmon Jamiu and others at large.

The suspects were accused of a three-count charge of criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, possession of human parts and armed robbery.

The offences are contrary to sections 97, 221 of the penal code law, section 2 of Kwara state (prohibition law) of dealing in human parts Law 4 of 2018 and section 1(2) of robbery and firearms (special provision) Act CAP R11 Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), an acclaimed Islamic cleric allegedly committed the crime with his co-accused as accomplices.

The charge sheet added that “During the investigation at the State CID, Ilorin you, Abdulrahman Bello ‘male’ indicted and confessed to having done the act with the consent and knowledge of the following persons; Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Suleiman Muhyideen, Jamiu Uthman and Abdulrahman Jamiu all ‘male’, who were all into the same occultic group and that led to their arrest.

“Investigation conducted at the State CID, Ilorin revealed that you Abdulrahman Bello, Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Suleiman Muhyideen, Jamiu Uthman, Abdulrahman Jamiu all ‘male’ and others at large, criminally conspired together in killing of the victim for ritual purposes and equally robbed her of her jewelries and other valuables.

“Further investigation conducted at

the State CID, Ilorin revealed that, you Abdulrahmon Jamiu, Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Suleiman Muhyideen, Jamiu Uthman, Abdulrahmon Jamiu all ‘male’ and others at large are the syndicate that have been killing unsuspecting citizens of Kwara for rituals purposes.

“On 14-02-2025 at about 1400hrs, the above captioned case was

transferred from ‘C’ Divisional Headquarters, Oja-Oba, llorin and referred to Anti-Robbery Section, State CID, Ilorin for discreet investigation.

“That on 11-02-2025 about 1800hrs, one Adefalu Lawal lbrahim ‘male’ of No. 17, Adefalu Compound, Oju-Ekun Area, lorin reported at ‘C’ Division Oja-Oba, llorin that on 10-02-2025 at about 1400hrs, his daughter by name AdefaluHasfat Yetunde (female) left to her friend’s house who was having ceremony for her new baby at the same address.

“Thereafter, he discovered that his daughter did not return and her mother contacted some of her friends that went to the occasion together, but they responded that she went to somewhere else from the occasion.

“At this juncture, he called her severally, but her phone rang and no response. Hence, he reported the case to the Police.

“The said phone was tracked and traced to one Abdulrahman Bello ‘male’ of opposite Rain oil, Majeasura, Olunlade Area, llorin which led to his arrest.

“Upon your arrest, you Abdulrahman Bello ‘male’ voluntarily confessed to have killed the said AdefaluHasfat Yetunde

‘female’ and cuts her parts into pieces for ritual and your confessional statement led to the recovery of some parts of the victim’s body in your house, while some parts were also recovered where you dumped the parts.

“Investigation further revealed that you, Abdulrahman Bello ‘male’ robbed the deceased of her jewelries and other valuables which were recovered in your room”.

No counsel represented,the suspect, Abdulrahman Bello, who was arraigned with five other suspects.

The Magistrate Sanusi B. Mohammed, who presided over the matter, ordered the suspects to be remanded at the Correctional center,atOkekura and adjourned the case till March 6, 2025.

Source:vanguardngr.com

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https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/02/kwara-court-remands-islamic-cleric-5-others-over-alleged-murder-of-final-year-student/

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Sudan seeks to bolster diplomatic ties with Iran

19 February 2025

The Sudanese foreign minister met on Monday with his Iranian counterpart in Tehran to bolster the diplomatic tie between the two countries.

Ali Youssef Ahmed Al-Sharif, the Foreign Minister of Sudan, who has traveled to Tehran for consultations with high-ranking Iranian officials, met with Seyed Abbas Araghchi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on Monday evening.

During the meeting, the Iranian Foreign Minister emphasized Iran's commitment to continuing its principled policy of developing relations with all Islamic countries, including Sudan as one of the major Arab and Islamic nations.

Araghchi expressed regret over the internal conflicts in Sudan that have caused significant moral and material damage to the people and infrastructure of the African country. 

He stressed the importance of preserving Sudan's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, ending foreign interference in its affairs, and creating the conditions necessary to resolve the conflicts and achieve national consensus.

The conflict has killed more than 28,000 people, has forced millions to flee their homes and has left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine sweeps parts of the country.

It has been marked by gross atrocities including ethnically motivated killing and rape, according to the United Nations and rights groups.

The International Criminal Court said it was investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The U.S. has accused the RSF and its proxies of committing genocide in the war.

Source:africanews.com

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https://www.africanews.com/2025/02/18/sudan-seeks-to-bolster-diplomatic-ties-with-iran/

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Ramadan: On Sultan’s Mandate We Stand — MURIC

By Apata Oyeniran

Feb 18, 2025

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has dismissed fears of division among Nigerian Muslims over the issue of Ramadan.

He affirmed that the group will stand on the mandate of the Sultan of Sokoto and spiritual head of Muslims in Nigeria and the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III,

The Islamic rights group made its position known in a statement circulated on both online and conventional media on Tuesday.

It described those who recently fixed the date for the commencement of this year’s Ramadan as Islamic scholars engaging in sheer academic exercise.

The statement, which was signed by MURIC’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola,  explained that the Islamic scholars are merely partaking in calculating the movement of celestial objects as done in astronomy to determine the date of the appearance of the crescent.

The statement read: “The attention of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has been drawn to a notification for the commencement of Ramadan on 1st of March, 2025, given by the League of Alfas and Imams in Yorubaland.

“The notification, which was given media hype, was also portrayed as a sign of division among Nigerian Muslims as well as a challenge to the authority of the Sultan of Sokoto.

“We affirm that it is not unusual to find academics coming together to rub minds on issues of scientific, economic or social matters. They are trained to agitate minds and agree to disagree. This is exactly what those who announced the date of the commencement of this year’s Ramadan have done.

“They came together as Islamic scholars engaging in sheer academic exercise. They merely partook in calculating the movement of celestial objects, as done in astronomy, to determine the date of the appearance of the crescent. It should be made clear that academic exercise and scientific experimentation are allowed in Islam.

“What is noteworthy is that those who made the announcement did not claim to be doing so as leaders of Nigerian Muslims but as Islamic scholars of a particular region. It is scholarship. It is intellectual engagement.

“It should also be noted that this is not a new development. They do it every year. Exempli gratia, the same League of Imams fixed the date of Ramadan for April 25 in the year 2020.  They meant no harm but the press just elected to sensationalise it.

“Even the League of Imams and Alfas has dismissed insinuations that the organisation announced the date to confront the Sultan.

“We, therefore, assert clearly, emphatically and unequivocally that the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, is fully in charge not only of matters relating to the commencement and termination of Ramadan but all matters affecting Muslims in Nigeria as a whole.

“Let it be known from the West to the East and from the North to the South that when the come comes to become when the time comes to announce the beginning of Ramadan, we are going to wait until we hear from the Amiirul-Mu’miniin (the Commander of the Faithful), the Sultan of Sokoto, even if he announces another date different by one or more days from March 1, 2025. On the Sultan’s mandate we shall stand.

“Any suggestion that there are rumblings in the camp of Nigerian Muslims is therefore laughable, divisive and provocative. We are all united under the able, visionary and exemplary leadership of the Sultan. Muslims have always been known for their discipline.

“However, we are constrained to disown an individual who has been claiming to be the chief Imam of Yorubaland. It is only towns and Islamic organisations that have chief Imams. Any so-called office of the chief Imam of Yorubaland exists only in the figment of the imagination of the author and his promoters.

“It is like somebody calling himself the Bishop of Yorubaland. That office does not exist. It is a sham. It is fraudulent. We urge the press to stop encouraging perfidy. Anyone parading himself as the Chief Imam of Yorubaland is, therefore, a joker, a clown and a court jester. He should be ignored.”

Source:independent.ng

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://independent.ng/ramadan-on-sultans-mandate-we-stand-muric/

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Pray for Tinubu’s success, Olu-Alo urges Nigerians

February 18, 2025

by Segun Showunmi, Ibadan

A cleric, Prophet Sam Olu-Alo, has urged Nigerians to pray for the success of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration particularly in this year 2025, emphasising importance of divine guidance in leadership.

He said it was important for Nigerians to seek Tinubu’s success particularly at a time when the nation is facing numerous challenges, noting that collective prayers can bring about positive change.

Speaking at a programme at Jesus City, Lekki/Epe express way, Alo, who is the Planter, CAC Adamimogo Grace of Mercy Prayer Mountain Worldwide said by praying for Tinubu’s success, Nigerians demonstrate their support for the nation’s leader and seek God’s wisdom in governance.

He said: “Nigerians should continue supporting the President with prayer, the President has good intentions, he is not happy with current hardship facing the nation.

“Despite the hardship, if those we voted for and put our trust in know why we put them there, Nigerians will continue praying to for them. Not everybody likes Awolowo’s policies, he would have became the President if all Nigerians like his policies, but people begin to know his value after his death.

“Elected officials should see their current position as an opportunity and not their right, some people are far better than them but don’t have the privilege they has.

“Men of God should also continuing praying for the government, we should not abuse them, but correct them. Let us always say positive things about our nation, citizens of developed countries always says positive things about their nations.

“All Nigerians also have role to play, most of us should go back to farm. Government also need to encourage people particularly the youth to go back to farm.”

During the service, the cleric presented a professional toolkit to Olasunkanmi Ayoade, a former trainee, under his vocational empowerment programme.

Expressing his gratitude, Ayoade said: “With this support, I can now take on jobs with confidence, knowing that I have the right tools.”

A former lawmaker, Senator Bode Olajumoke, urged the President to ensure that only competent hands are appointed to his administration, saying Tinubu will be judge according to performance of his government.

Also, a United Kingdom based Pastor, Dr. Dele Osunmakinde, who was also at the gathering for personal retreat described Prophet Olu Alo as man of God with honour, humility, anointed by the Spirit of God and a man of integrity, saying one of the things that attracts him with the cleric was his humility, and the fact that he loves people.

“It’s not that our leaders are not doing anything, but the level of what they need to do compared to what they are doing, it’s just the gap is too much. And that is what is causing the problem and the fact that there is a bit of poverty and everybody in the country is not happy.

“Nigeria needs prayer and that is why a ministry like this is very good. We continue to pray for our beloved land, that is what the Bible has asked us to do, we don’t have any choice. We have to continue to pray.”

The service concluded with prayers for the peace and development of Nigeria.

Source:thenationonlineng.net

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https://thenationonlineng.net/pray-for-tinubus-success-olu-alo-urges-nigerians/

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Osun LG Election: Heavy Security As OSSIEC Insists On Saturday Poll

19 February 2025

By Richard Ogunsile

Many security personnel are presently occupying the premises of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) in Osogbo ahead of the Local Government Elections.

The security operatives include men of the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Amotekun Corps, and local vigilantes.

This is as the state’s electoral commission insisted that the local government election set for this Saturday will proceed as planned despite the prevalence of violence and fatalities within the state.

OSSIEC indicated that these security forces were assigned to ensure the safety of staff, facilities, and election materials.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Chairman of OSSIEC, Hassim Abioye, announced that all election materials are prepared and that all necessary arrangements have been finalized.

He further indicated that the ballot papers are equipped with barcodes to guarantee that those designated for a particular local government are not utilized in other areas.

“As I’m talking to you now, all 18 registered political parties are participating. We have not received any notice of withdrawal from any party.

“We have not received any communication to that effect, and that will not, in any way, hamper the election process,” Abioye noted.

OSSIEC Premises Not Sealed By Military Personnel

In a separate statement, the OSSIEC Information Officer, Sadiat Isiaka, dismissed speculations that the commission’s premises had been sealed by military personnel.

Naija News reports that Isiaka was responding to the report circulating on social media that soldiers had taken over the OSSIEC office in Osogbo.

Many security personnel were present at the OSSIEC office in Osogbo yesterday, comprising a collaborative team from the police, DSS, NSCDC, NDLEA, Amotekun Corps, and local vigilantes.

The commission indicated that these security forces were assigned to ensure the safety of staff, facilities, and election materials.

“OSSIEC wishes to alert members of the public to the fake news in circulation that the premises of the commission have been sealed off by the Nigerian Army.

“The general public, especially the electorate,e are hereby enjoined to disregard the fake news as the premises of the commission is well secure and safe, as evident in the heavy presence of inter-agency security personnel comprising the combined team of the police, DSS, NSCDC, NDLEA, Amotekun Corps, the Vigilante etc.

“Our commendations to the security agencies for providing adequate security for the staff, facilities and election materials at OSSIEC.

“We wish to add that the fake news was propaganda concocted by some miscreants to misinform and create panic among the electorate and therefore ,should not be taken seriously.

“We hereby assure the good people of Osun State that the election will hold as scheduled, as such, no pseudo information should inhibit the people from participating in the democratic process,” Isiaka said in the statement issued in Osogbo on Tuesday.

Source:naijanews.com

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.naijanews.com/2025/02/19/osun-lg-election-heavy-security-as-ossiec-insists-on-saturday-poll/

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Just In: FG Resolves Passport Crisis In Atlanta, New York

19 February 2025

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) have delivered and installed new passport printers to consulates in New York and Atlanta, United States of America.

Naija News reports that this followed a directive from the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo to the NIS on January, 2025.

The new passport printers were delivered and installed at the consulates on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.

Recall that some Nigerians in the diaspora recently called the attention of the federal government to the need for new printers to ease the process of passport application in the concerned consulates.

In a statement on Wednesday morning, SA Media to the Minister of Interior, Babatunde Alao, disclosed that the installation of the new printers provides immediate relief and is part of Tunji-Ojo’s broader effort to streamline passport services in ensuring a more seamless application process.

“The Ministry is committed to innovation and improved service delivery,” said Dr. Tunji-Ojo. “The installation of these new printers demonstrates our dedication to addressing the needs of Nigerians at home and abroad.”

He said the ongoing reforms, including the Abuja Passport Personalisation Centre, and the expansion of contactless solutions to cover more regions will further enhance service efficiency.

According to him, the development reflects the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and demonstrates the administration’s commitment to improving the lives of Nigerians.

Naija News notes that with these new printers, Nigerians in Atlanta and New York can expect a faster and more efficient passport application process.

Source:naijanews.com

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.naijanews.com/2025/02/19/just-in-fg-resolves-passport-crisis-in-atlanta-new-york/

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Each Member Of Lagos House Received ₦30 Million To Pass Vote Of Confidence – Adegoke

19 February 2025

By Udeze Ekene

Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have been accused of receiving bribes to the tune of ₦30 million each to pass vote of confidence on Speaker Mojisola Miranda.

Naija News reports that the Special Assistant on Youths Affairs and Special Duties to MudashiruObasa, Niniola Adegoke, made the allegation on Tuesday.

In an interview with News Central, Adegoke further alleged that the lawmakers in the absence of Obasa and the House’s Clark invited men of the Department of State Services (DSS) to give them cover in their action.

He stated that contrary to reports the DSS did not invade the House but were invited by the lawmakers. According to Obasa’s aide, the vote of confidence passed on Miranda was influenced by money.

His words: “The reason why they passed vote of confidence on Mojisola Miranda is because of their belly. Is their belly deciding their direction? Do you understand me?  I’m telling you this for free. And I don’t mind if you want to pay me, I’m going to collect it. Vote of confidence to those people. They don’t really mean it. You understand? Anybody that base his or her relationship with whosoever on that seat, base on money, such person doesn’t have integrity. None of them can come out and tell me that they didn’t collect money. Each of them went home, January 13th, with 30 million naira each.

“Let them come out and tell Lagosians that they didn’t receive any Kobo. They did on January 13th. Let us be honest to ourselves. The DSS did not invade the State House of Assembly. You can also look at it in this way, from this angle. What if the state managed that crisis? MudashiruObasa has no interest in the DSS. And don’t forget that they were the ones that invited police and DSS, January 13th, to give them police cover and also attack democracy on that very day, just to perpetrate their evil in the absence of the Clerk and Mr. Speaker, when they were unofficial truth.“

Source:naijanews.com

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It Is All Drama And Entertainment – Kyari Addresses Claims Of Low Quality Fuel

19 February 2025

By Justina Otio

The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari has rubbished claims that there are sub-standard fuel in the country.

He stated that the video review of Premium Motor Spirit which has gone viral on the internet, was done in an attempt to demarket the products sold by the NNPCL.

Speaking during a chat at the 60th Nigeria Mining & Geosciences Society (NMGS) Conference in Abuja, Kyari insisted that claims of bad fuel in the country are an unfortunate drama and bad marketing practice.

“The talk around fuel quality is unfortunate and a very bad marketing practice. It’s all drama and entertainment, and as we know, drama has a way of entertaining the people,” Kyari said.

According to the NNPC boss, Nigeria does not have any issues related to the quality of PMS.

In his explanation, Kyari said that PMS has quality standards which are obtainable in every country, adding that there are no two countries that have the same standards.

Kyari explained that in Europe, oxygenate (a fuel additive) is added into PMS to prevent it from solidifying in the tank of cars.

He said the same fuel additive, if introduced into cars in Nigeria, turns to water once it gets into contact with air.

The NNPC boss said Nigeria has standard regulatory agencies like the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA), whose job is to ensure that every product that comes into this country meets the required products specifications and standards.

He said, “I believe these regulatory agencies are doing their job. They have not come back to tell anyone that we have substandard products in the country.”

Kyari said the company has taken the necessary legal and security steps to ensure that those behind the video don’t jeopardise the country’s energy industry.

Kyari futher refuted reports claiming that NNPC Ltd has imported 200 million litres of fuel in February 2025.

Kyari said, “These are just lies, because we didn’t even import products within that window that the report was published. All the mischief about aligning this fictitious importation with the so-called low-quality fuel are just baseless.”.

Source:naijanews.com

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https://www.naijanews.com/2025/02/19/it-is-all-drama-and-entertainment-kyari-addresses-claims-of-low-quality-fuel/

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Southeast Asia

 

PM Anwar’s first official visit to aluminium-producer Bahrain to include economic talks and intra-Islam dialogue

19 Feb 2025

MANAMA (Bahrain), Feb 19 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim arrived here early this morning for an official visit to Bahrain under the invitation of Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman Hamad Al Khalifa.

The aircraft carrying the prime minister landed at Bahrain International Airport at 12.45 am (5.45 am Malaysian time).

Anwar, accompanied by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan and senior government officers, was then greeted with a static guard of honour as a gesture of Bahrain’s warm welcome.

Anwar and his delegation were received by Bahraini Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Abdullatif Rashid Al Zayani, Deputy Governor of Muharraq Brig Gen Jassim Mohammed Al Ghattam, Malaysian Ambassador to Bahrain Shazryll Zahiran and Bahraini Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Waleed Khalifa Al Manea.

Anwar, who is on his first visit to the country as Prime Minister, was then escorted from the airport to his accommodation here. Throughout the 20-minute journey, the Jalur Gemilang could be seen proudly flying along the streets, highways and on skyscrapers.

During the visit, Anwar is set to hold a courtesy meeting with Crown Prince Salman and have an audience with Bahrain’s King, Raja Hamad Isa Al Khalifa, a high honour for Malaysia that reflects the strong bilateral ties between the two nations.

Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, will also meet his Bahraini counterpart, Shaikh Salman Khalifa Al Khalifa and pay a visit to the Bahrain Economic Development Board to explore economic cooperation opportunities between Malaysia and Bahrain.

Anwar is also expected to meet with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif Prof Dr Ahmed El-Tayeb, besides engaging with the Malaysian diaspora at an event here.

On the sidelines of his visit, Anwar is also scheduled to deliver a speech at the Intra-Islamic Dialogue Conference, attended by 298 scholars from 75 countries.

Bahrain, the first Gulf nation to discover oil in 1932, was Malaysia’s ninth-largest trading partner in West Asia last year, while Malaysia ranked as Bahrain’s third-largest trading partner among Asean countries and 18th globally in 2023.

Besides oil, Bahrain is home to the world’s fourth-largest aluminium processing plant, a key export to Malaysia. — Bernama

Source:malaymail.com

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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/02/19/pm-anwars-first-official-visit-to-aluminium-producer-bahrain-to-include-economic-talks-and-intra-islam-dialogue/167160

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Bail denied for Rohingya imam charged with child sexual abuse at Kelantan mosque

19-02- 2025

PETALING JAYA: A 60-year-old Rohingya imam has been charged with sexually abusing a nine-year-old boy at a mosque in Kampung Paya Bemban, Kelantan.

Solim Abdul Jalil, who possesses a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card, pleaded not guilty to the charge in the Sessions Court here today, New Straits Times reported.

The alleged incident occurred during Asar prayers at approximately 5pm on February 12 at the Kampung Paya Bemban mosque.

He was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017. This section stipulates a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and whipping upon conviction.

Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Faiz Fitri Mohamad led the prosecution’s case.

The accused was represented by lawyer Muhamad Fikri Muhamad.

While the prosecution did not offer bail, the defense informed the court that a written bail application had been submitted.

Judge Zulkifli Abdullah denied bail and scheduled the next hearing for case mention on March 19.

Source:thesun.my

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https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/bail-denied-for-rohingya-imam-charged-with-child-sexual-abuse-at-kelantan-mosque-EE13710136

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MP: How is govt fostering unity when DAP minister toys with Islam?

Feb 18, 2025

PARLIAMENT | Pendang MP Awang Solahuddin Hashim questioned how the Unity Ministry can carry out its purpose if a DAP minister allegedly interfered in Islamic matters.

In his speech debating the king’s royal address in the Dewan Rakyat today, he highlighted recent events that he claims did not help to promote harmony among the people...

Source:malaysiakini.com

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https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/734928

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Islamic affairs minister clarifies ‘public caning’ for Shariah offences just means outside prison instead of fully open

By Muhammad Yusry

19 Feb 2025

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 — Public caning for Shariah offences is carried out outside the confines of prison in a closed-door setting, Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar said today.

The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Islamic affairs was clarifying the misperception of the sentence, which many confused as taking place in the open before crowds of people.

“Caning, within the context of Shariah law practised in Malaysia, is based on Islamic law, which emphasises repentance, education, and fairness for all involved parties.

“As an important clarification, caning carried out in the Shariah Courts of Malaysia is not categorised as public punishment but rather as caning conducted outside of prison. This punishment is carried out in a closed setting while adhering to health and safety guidelines,” he said in a written parliamentary reply.

He said caning in Islam is meant to be educational and rehabilitative and not physically harmful.

In implementing this punishment, Na’im said the government takes an approach that aligns with internationally recognised human rights standards while maintaining the enforcement of Shariah law, which plays a role in shaping moral and ethical values in society.

“The execution of caning outside of prison follows guidelines established jointly by the Prison Department and the Health Ministry,” he said.

Na’im said the government remains open to reassessing the implementation of caning through academic research and discussions with legal experts and stakeholders to ensure its relevance to current developments and its alignment with the needs of the Shariah justice system.

“As a multiracial and multi-religious country, Malaysia consistently ensures that the implementation of punishments is based on the principles of social justice and respects individual rights without compromising the moral and ethical values embedded in the Shariah legal system,” he said.

The first Shariah public caning in Malaysia was performed last December on a father of five inside a mosque in Terengganu for repeat khalwat (close proximity) offences.

Source:malaymail.com

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Strict Action Against Traders Who Rent Out Ramadan Bazaar Lots To Foreigners

19/02/2025

KOTA BHARU, Feb 19 (Bernama) -- The Kota Bharu Islamic City Municipal Council (MPKB-BRI) will take strict action against any local trader at Ramadan bazaars found to be renting out or 'selling' their lots to foreign traders. Kelantan Local Government, Housing, Health and Environment Committee chairman Hilmi Abdullah said that if any trader engages in 'Ali Baba' practices by transferring their licence or permit to foreign nationals, the authorities will not hesitate to revoke the licence and blacklist them. "Under MPKB-BRI’s supervision, there are 478 trading lots at nine Ramadan bazaars. "The rental fee for each stall is RM570 per lot, including the permit and tent," he told reporters after a dinner event honouring tourism industry players within MPKB-BRI’s jurisdiction last night. Hilmi added that the authorities had previously received information about some foreign traders using local traders’ licences to operate at Ramadan bazaars. "These foreigners usually claim to be mere workers when questioned, even though the reality is quite different," he said.

Source:bernama.com

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https://www.bernama.com/en/general/news.php?id=2394003

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Airlangga: Bullion Bank Aligns with Indonesia’s Muslim Population

February 19, 2025

Jakarta. The establishment of Indonesia’s first bullion bank will provide a Sharia-compliant savings method for the country’s predominantly Muslim population, Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said on Tuesday.

The government plans to launch two bullion banks, which will offer financial services backed by precious metals such as gold. The official inauguration, attended by President Prabowo Subianto, is set to take place next week.

According to Airlangga, bullion banking aligns well with Islamic financial principles, making it a viable option for saving for Hajj pilgrimages or other financial needs.

He described gold as a safe investment, similar to the US dollar, but with key advantages.

Gold offers a steady increase in value and reliable returns without relying on bank interest, which is prohibited in Islamic finance.

Additionally, he noted that gold is free from currency fluctuations, making it a more stable asset in uncertain economic conditions.

“We need to start using gold as a savings method, especially for religious purposes. When Indonesian Muslims plan to perform Hajj, they need to save money -- and gold could be a smart part of their savings strategy,” Airlangga said during the Indonesia Economic Summit in Jakarta.

The two bullion banks will be operated by Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) and state-owned pawnshop company Pegadaian, with financial backing from Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI).

Economic Independence

Indonesia is among the world's top gold producers, with significant mining operations in Papua, North Sumatra, and West Java. However, much of its gold trading and storage has been conducted overseas, primarily in Singapore and Switzerland.

According to Airlangga, Indonesia produces up to 60 tons of gold annually, and the government is now focused on gold industrialization, aiming to produce high-purity gold bars that increase economic value and support the domestic financial system.

By establishing its own bullion bank, Indonesia aims to reduce dependency on foreign markets and create a more self-sufficient gold ecosystem.

The bullion bank will allow domestic gold deposits to be managed within the country instead of being stored abroad. The initiative aims to strengthen Indonesia’s gold reserves, enhance the domestic gold trading system, and reduce reliance on foreign institutions.

The government also believes that robust gold reserves will help strengthen the local currency.

Earlier, Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo confirmed that the central bank is working with the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and the Indonesian government to set up the bullion bank.

The plan follows President Prabowo’s directive to enhance Indonesia’s financial sovereignty by maximizing the potential of its gold and precious metal reserves.

In the global financial system, bullion banks play a crucial role in gold trading, storage, and financing. These institutions facilitate gold transactions between central banks, mining companies, refiners, and investors. Major bullion banks such as JP Morgan, HSBC, and UBS operate in the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the world’s largest gold trading hub.

Source:jakartaglobe.id

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https://jakartaglobe.id/business/airlangga-bullion-bank-aligns-with-indonesias-muslim-population

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SOSMA: Amendments to balance national security and individual rights

BERNAMA

19-02- 2025

KUALA LUMPUR: Amendments to the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA) 2012 aim to balance national security needs with individual rights while ensuring its effectiveness in tackling serious, complex, and organised crimes that threaten national security and public order.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail stated that, in line with this objective, the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN) has outlined three key directions for improving the Act.

“First, the government will review the classification of offences under SOSMA, in particular strictly non-bailable offences and non-bailable offences where bail may be granted at the court’s discretion, based on the severity of the offence.

“The Act currently covers 73 offences. We will reassess which should remain strictly non-bailable and which should allow courts the discretion to grant bail,“ he said during a ministerial briefing on SOSMA in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Additionally, Saifuddin Nasution said the government will evaluate the necessity and feasibility of establishing a Special SOSMA Court, similar to the Special Corruption Court and the Special Court for Sexual Crimes Against Children, to ensure that such cases are heard without undue delays.

Saifuddin Nasution said the government is considering amending Section 30 of SOSMA to allow detainees to be granted bail while awaiting the disposal of legal proceedings, including trials and appeals.

Currently, individuals charged under SOSMA are not eligible for bail, except for children under 18, women, or individuals who are ill or infirm, subject to the court’s discretion.

To expedite this review, Saifuddin Nasution announced plans to establish a Special Committee to refine the proposed amendments and table them in Parliament as soon as possible.

“The faster this committee delivers its findings, the sooner we can table the amendments in Parliament. With the next session in July, this timeline reflects our commitment to continuously improve legal policies, regulations, and efforts to strengthen security and public order,” he said.

He emphasised that while SOSMA is being reviewed for improvements, this does not mean the MADANI government is complacent or taking a lenient stance on the legal measures needed to combat terrorism and organised crime present in the country.

“This demonstrates we are prepared to move beyond the status quo while upholding our responsibility to safeguard peace and security—without compromising the fundamental rights of those involved,” he added.

Enacted in 2012, SOSMA replaced the Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA).

Source:thesun.my

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https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/sosma-amendments-to-balance-national-security-and-individual-rights-DE13710276

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KPKT achieves 93.9% target of building 500,000 affordable homes

BERNAMA

19-02- 2025

KUALA LUMPUR: The MADANI government’s goal of building 500,000 units of affordable homes under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) is almost achieved with 93.9 per cent 466,421 units either completed, under construction, or in the process of obtaining planning approval as of Dec 1 last year.

Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming expressed confidence that the target can be achieved by the end of this year and that the effort will continue to be accelerated under the 13th Malaysia Plan to further expand homeownership opportunities, particularly for young Malaysians.

He said this in response to a supplementary question from Datuk Rosol Wahid (PN-Hulu Terengganu) regarding the Ministry of Housing and Local Government’s measures to deal with the issue of rising house prices and the government’s plans to ensure young people can afford to own houses.

The ministry, he said, will also expand the People’s Residency Programme (PRR) and the People’s Friendly Homes (RMR) initiative, with an allocation of RM900 million, which includes the construction of 5,410 RMR units under the 2025 Budget.

Apart from that. he said the government also provides a Housing Loan Guarantee Scheme (SJKP) under the i-Biaya initiative, with funding of RM 500,000 for the purchase of a first home will benefit young Malaysians from the low and medium-income group.

“As of last year, a total of 76,664 applications amounting to RM17.6 billion have been approved,“ he said.

According to Nga, based on the National Property Information Center (NAPIC), house prices are now stable.

Source:thesun.my

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https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/kpkt-achieves-939-target-of-building-500000-affordable-homes-ME13710084

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