Builders Have Conspired To Give Houses Belonging To Hindus To Muslims

New Age Islam News Bureau

11 August 2025

Sanjay Nirupam said that "builders are attempting to alter the city's demographic composition".

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•  Builders Have Conspired To Give Houses Belonging To Hindus To Muslims

•  Hamas A Terrorist Group, Says Indian Army Chief For The First Time

•  How Conflicts Across The Middle East And North Africa Are Brutalizing A Generation

•  Saudi Arabia Welcomes Moves By Australia, New Zealand Toward Recognizing Palestinian State

•  Italy’s Defence Minister Says Israel Has ‘Lost Humanity’ On Gaza

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

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India

•  Builders have conspired to give houses belonging to Hindus to Muslims

•  Hamas A Terrorist Group, says Indian Army chief For The First Time

•  AIUDF's Gen Secy Targets Assam CM Over Voter Revision, Eviction Drives

•  ‘Won’t give in to nuclear blackmail’: India on Pak army chief Asim Munir’s threats

•  Asim Munir’s remarks ‘reinforce well-held doubts’ about Pakistan’s nuclear command, says India

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Mideast

•  How conflicts across the Middle East and North Africa are brutalizing a generation

•  Security footage from Syria hospital shows men in military garb killing medical worker

•  Five Al Jazeera journalists killed in Israeli strike in Gaza

•  Three-quarters of UN members support Palestinian statehood

•  Lebanon’s inherent right to self-defense requires military capability: Tehran

•  Mental health clinics in violence-prone South Sudan are rare and endangered

•  Syria vows accountability after video of Sweida hospital killing

•  Head of Iran top security body heads to Iraq, Lebanon

•  Malnutrition in El-Fasher kills 63 in a week

•  Hamas accuses Netanyahu of ‘series of lies’ during Gaza press conference

•  'Holocaust in Gaza': Western Wall vandalized with anti-war graffiti

•  Israel PM says new plan for Gaza ‘best way to end the war’

•  Far-right Israeli group Regavim calls for Palestinian school near Hebron to be destroyed

•  Magnitude 6.1 earthquake hits Turkiye’s Balikesir province, killing 1 and collapsing buildings

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Arab World

•  Saudi Arabia welcomes moves by Australia, New Zealand toward recognizing Palestinian state

•  Saudi, UK foreign ministers discuss Gaza crisis

•  Masam Project clears 1,140 explosive devices in Yemen

•  Search continues for missing diver in Jeddah

•  Saudi hunting expo attracts 52 Chinese companies

•  State of Law warns of dangerous showdown with Iraqi armed factions

•  Over 600 pilgrims hospitalised due to chlorine gas leak in Iraq

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Europe

•  Italy’s defense minister says Israel has ‘lost humanity’ on Gaza

•  Hundreds march in London against UK recognising a Palestinian state

•  EU leaders push for Kyiv to be part of Trump-Putin talks to end Ukraine war

•  Spain orders town to scrap motion restricting Muslim festivities

•  NATO secretary general: Trump-Putin meeting will be test for Putin, talks to continue afterwards

•  Ukrainian drone strikes hit defence industry facilities across Russia

•  Putin Pressured to End Ukraine War by His Own Top Aide

•  NATO Signals Possible De Facto Recognition of Russian Control in Ukraine Ahead of Trump-Putin Summit

•  On the front lines in eastern Ukraine, peace feels far away

•  ‘Andor’ star Denise Gough calls on celebrities to speak up for Gaza

•  Kneecap voices support for Palestine during Oslo performance

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North America

•  Trump demands homeless people 'immediately' move out of Washington DC

•  Zelenskyy Warns US Ahead of Trump-Putin Talks: 'We Will Not Allow Russia to Deceive America'

•  Trump Deploys 120 FBI Agents to Fight D.C. Crime, Weighs 1,000 National Guard

•  Bolton: Trump Legitimizing 'Pariah' Putin With Alaska Summit

Tariffs as War

•  Supreme Court formally asked to overturn landmark same-sex marriage ruling

•  Four days left to square the circle on global plastic pollution treaty

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South Asia

•  U.S. should hand over Afghan Embassy to Islamic Emirate, Mujahid

•  Afghan Man Arrested Over Killing of Former U.S. Military Interpreter

•  Afghanistan Media Group Launches Campaign to stop deportation from Iran and Pakistan

•  4 killed in Clashes Between Iranian Police and Jaish al-Adl Militants in Sistan-Balochistan

•  Pakistan suspends train services after railway bombing in insurgency-hit Balochistan

•  FBI Offers Up to $5 Million for Information on Mahmood Shah Habibi

•  Massive mudslide kills 7 volunteers repairing flood damage in northern Pakistan

•  Leaders of Indonesia and Peru hold talks on trade and economic ties

•  Bangladesh dengue deaths top 100, August could be worse

•  Industry Minister Urges Nationwide Standardization

Education left behind

•  ‘Have you seen a report in 53 years that law and order was good?’

•  9 stab injuries found on journalist Tuhin's body: autopsy report

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Southeast Asia

•  Islamic Shariah Court in Aceh Sentences 2 Men to Public Caning over Sexual Acts

•  Govt launches tougher laws, mobile courts to tackle child sexual crimes and protect victims

•  Philippines’ Marcos says China ‘misinterpreted’ his comments on Taiwan

•  North Korea warns of ‘resolute counteraction’ over US-South Korea drills

•  Woman charged with attempted murder of policeman in Setapak car ramming incident

•  ‘No stone must be left unturned’: Sabah governor orders full probe into 13-year-old Zara Qairina’s death

•  No one will be spared if bullying or criminal conduct found in UTM Palapes cadet’s death, says higher education minister

•  Thailand offers up to RM72,000 compensation to Malaysians burned in Bangkok attack

•  Indonesia, Major Coca Producer Peru Agree to Wage War on Narcotics

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Africa

•  ‘Horrific Violence’ – Trump Govt Condemns Killing Of Christians In Nigeria

•  ‘Bandits Have Declared Open War, This Is Not Time For Silence’ – Ex-guber Candidate Calls Out Gov. Mutfwang

•  Just In: Owo Church Attack Suspects Plead Not Guilty To Terrorism Charges

•  ‘They Are All Deceiving You’ – Sowore Warns Nigerians Over Amaechi’s Comment On Ending Corruption

•  Two generals and more than 40 soldiers arrested over coup allegations in Mali

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL:  https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/builders-belonging-hindus-muslims-conspired/d/136465

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"Builders have conspired to give houses belonging to Hindus to Muslims", Says Shiv Sena leader

Press Trust of India

Mumbai News/ Aug 05, 2025

Sanjay Nirupam said that "builders are attempting to alter the city's demographic composition".

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Mumbai:

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam on Monday claimed some builders have conspired to allot houses belonging to Hindus to Muslims in two slum redevelopment projects in Jogeshwari area of Mumbai as part of "housing jihad".

Addressing a news conference, Mr Nirupam alleged these builders were attempting to alter the city's demographic composition.

"Builders have conspired to give houses belonging to Hindus to Muslims in two slum redevelopment projects in Jogeshwari, a suburb in Mumbai. Through this housing jihad, builders are attempting to alter the city's demographic composition," he said.

Mr Nirupam claimed the number of houses in the Paradise Zone of Jogeshwari-Oshiwara increased from 44 to 95 after redevelopment. All 51 newly added houses are allegedly being allotted to Muslims.

He claimed 30 of these houses have been allotted in the names of the two sons of builder Abdul Gani Kitabullah.

With Muslims purchasing houses previously owned by Hindus, the entire locality has now become Muslim-majority, Mr Nirupam alleged.

In the Shri Shankar Slum Redevelopment Scheme, there were 67 houses, with only six Muslim families. But after redevelopment, the number of houses rose to 123, and the additional units have allegedly been sold to Muslims.

Mr Nirupam claimed that the land previously housed a Ganesh temple and space for a Devi mandap, which have now been removed, and a madrasa set up.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

https://www.ndtv.com/mumbai-news/shiv-sena-leader-sanjay-nirupam-alleges-housing-jihad-in-mumbai-slum-redevelopment-projects-9020012

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Hamas A Terrorist Group, says Indian Army chief For First Time

Indo-Asian News Service

New Delhi: Aug 11, 2025

This is the first time an Indian Army chief has publicly described Hamas as a terrorist organisation

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In a significant statement, Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Sunday named Hamas among terrorist organisations that India is concerned about, placing it alongside groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and The Resistance Front (TRF).

"The terrorist groups such as Hamas, LeT, TRF and some more names coming up... they'll be the permanent part that India is concerned (about)," Gen Dwivedi said at an event hosted by IIT-Madras.

This is the first time an Indian Army chief has publicly described Hamas as a terrorist organisation, a classification India has so far avoided officially, even though much of the Western bloc, including the US, UK and EU, already designates the group as such.

Hamas, which is not on the United Nations' list of designated terror groups, is known for its October 7, 2023, attack on Israeli civilians - a strike that triggered the devastating Gaza war, claiming over 60,000 lives, including thousands of children. While Hamas has historically not interfered in the Kashmir conflict, its name surfaced in Indian security circles earlier this year.

On February 5 - observed in Pakistan as 'Kashmir Solidarity Day' - social media was flooded with images and videos showing Hamas members in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) alongside LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed and other Pakistan-backed terror outfits. The individuals were seen delivering anti-India speeches and proclaiming that Kashmir would be "snatched from India," prompting alarm within New Delhi's security establishment.

Ahead of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Israel had been urging India to officially list Hamas as a terrorist group. However, New Delhi had maintained its distance from the designation, possibly due to geopolitical balancing in West Asia.

Gen Dwivedi's statement, therefore, assumes strategic importance, signalling a potential recalibration in India's security posture and threat perception.

His remarks suggest that, post-Operation Sindoor, India's counter-terrorism lens may be expanding beyond South Asia, encompassing groups with a global footprint that are now seen as intersecting with the Kashmir theatre.

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/army-chief-upendra-dwivedi-labels-hamas-a-terrorist-group-for-first-time-9062789

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How conflicts across the Middle East and North Africa are brutalizing a generation

August 11, 2025

Conflicts across the Middle East, from Gaza to Lebanon, have cost children dearly. (AFP)

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LONDON: For the past two years, humanitarian aid groups and UN aid agencies have warned repeatedly about the increasingly terrible price being paid by children in the conflicts across the Middle East and North Africa.

It is a refrain which, against the backdrop of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, has all but faded into the general cacophony of horror that in 2025 has become the soundtrack to life for so many in the region.

So when Edouard Beigbeder, MENA region director at UNICEF, the UN children’s fund, announced that more than 12 million children had been maimed, killed, or displaced by conflict in the region over the past two years, this gargantuan figure caused barely a ripple.

“A child’s life is being turned upside down the equivalent of every five seconds due to the conflicts in the region,” Beigbeder said.

“Half of the region’s 220 million children live in conflict-affected countries. We cannot allow this number to rise. Ending hostilities — for the sake of children — is not optional; it is an urgent necessity, a moral obligation, and it is the only path to a better future.”

UNICEF estimates that 45 million children across the region will require humanitarian assistance this year “due to continued life-threatening risks and vulnerabilities” — up from 32 million in 2020, a 41 percent increase in just five years.

The analysis is based on reported figures for children killed, injured, or displaced in Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen since September 2023, combined with demographic data from the UN Population Division.

But only those who have seen firsthand the suffering of children can fully understand the true meaning of such statistics. UNICEF staff on the ground in Gaza and elsewhere in the region are among those who have witnessed the true meaning of children’s suffering up close.

One of them is Salim Oweis, a communications specialist with UNICEF’s MENA office. Based in Jordan, his job is to go where, thanks to Israeli restrictions, international journalists cannot go, to tell stories from the scene.

It is a job which, he freely admits, gives him nightmares.

Oweis was in Gaza in August last year during one of the peaks in violence, when UNICEF was trying to reunite children separated from their families. And during the temporary ceasefire in February this year, when UNICEF worked with the World Health Organization to administer polio vaccines to hundreds of thousands of children.

When he first joined UNICEF, nine years ago, it was at the height of the civil war in Syria. “I wasn’t in the field yet, but I was receiving all these disturbing stories and images,” said Oweis. “I used to have nightly nightmares about me running away with my nephews, who were babies at the time.”

His job is harrowing, he says, but “how could I be sleeping safely at home, knowing this is happening, without doing anything?”

Oweis even describes as “selfish” the “reward” he gets from telling stories that might otherwise remain untold. “I’ve been there, I’ve spoken to people, I’ve been able to hug a child, or smile with a child, or listen to a mother,” he said.

“Maybe I can’t directly help her in the moment, but our job is to deliver the story, especially in places like Gaza, where no international media is allowed, and I think that is crucially important, in terms of letting people know what’s happening with children, and for their voices not to go unheard.

“Yes, I have my daily reminders of being exposed to that. But I think the cause is bigger than me, I believe in it — and I want to be on the right side of history.”

The message Oweis wants the world to hear, loud and clear, is that, whether in Gaza or Sudan, children are facing “a total disruption of whatever you think normal daily life for a child should be.

“Everything is disrupted. There is no sense of safety, no sense, even, of belonging, no sense of connection with others, no sense of community, because they are being constantly ripped away from places and communities to which they belong are under constant threat of death or displacement.”

Oweis says when he was in Gaza, “I didn’t meet any child, or adult, for that matter, who hadn’t lost someone, and mostly it’s either a father, a mother, a sister or a brother.”

For Oweis, meeting children in Gaza who had lost a father was hard, but looking into the eyes of children who had lost siblings was equally distressing.

“For a child to lose a brother or a sister, who they play marbles with, climb with, even fight with. When all that suddenly goes.

“We like to say that children have a high tolerance, but I think that is a dangerous word to use, because we say it and then we expect them to be resilient, but not every child is equally resilient.”

In Gaza, UNICEF has been doing its best to offer as much psycho-social support as possible to a generation of children in danger of being brutalized by war.

“The UN has been very clear that there are no such thing as ‘safe zones’ in Gaza,” said Oweis. “But we create child-friendly spaces where children can go for a couple of hours a day.”

Part of the objective is to maintain a basic level of education in four main subjects — maths, science, English and Arabic — “but school is not only for learning,” added Oweis. “It’s also for bonding, for community, for emotional and social connection.”

Through games, singing, and other activities, children are encouraged to be children, if only for a couple of hours a day, and to express themselves.

Oweis visited one camp for displaced people in Gaza where UNICEF had partners delivering activities, one of which was a session in creative writing.

Asked to write about their least favorite color, many of the children, who had seen more bloodshed than any child should ever see, unhesitatingly nominated red, followed by grey, the color of the rubble of devastated buildings.

Each child, Oweis found, is affected differently by the trauma they have experienced. “Some of them are very withdrawn. They don’t speak to you, they don’t respond to you. They don’t even look you in the eye. They seem broken by what they’ve been through.

“Others are more active and engaging. There is no one mold that fits all, but you know that every one of them is affected in some way.”

Affected, and affecting. Oweis will never forget one young boy he met, who had lost a leg. “He was in a wheelchair, and he was the sweetest person, very smiley. We asked him what he wanted for the future, and he said, ‘I want to go back and play football.’

“Me and my colleague and the boy’s father were there and all of us were taken aback, because we knew he was never going to do that in the way he thinks he will.”

Oweis fears that the conflicts in Gaza and elsewhere are breeding a generation of lost souls. “I truly hope not,” he said.

“Before all this we had an initiative with a lot of global partners in Syria called No Lost Generation. But unfortunately, each day that war continues, and hostilities impact children — not only in Gaza, but also in Sudan, in Syria, and now in Yemen, which is unfortunately almost forgotten — the risk of losing that generation, those childhoods, grows.

“I don’t want to believe that, because I really believe that we can still do something. But unfortunately, we know that many of the children that we will be able to provide with psychological support will not benefit from it. For them it will be too late, because the trauma is not a one-off, but is a daily thing for months on end.

“So yes, each day we are risking many more children being lost, and we’re talking about not only the impact on their lives, but also on the community, because they’re not going to be productive, they’re going to be needing a lot of support, medical, social and psychological, and that will have impact on the very core of these communities.”

There is also the fear that the brutality unleashed in Gaza will simply perpetuate the seemingly never-ending violence by breeding a new generation of terrorists.

“The best way for a government to fight terrorist movements is to avoid killing civilians, otherwise the cycle of victimization just breeds more terrorists,” said Jessica Stern, a research professor at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies, whose work focuses on connections between trauma and terror.

In a co-authored article published in Foreign Affairs magazine two months after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that triggered the war on Gaza, Stern wrote: “Those who study trauma know that ‘hurt people hurt people,’ and the adage holds true for terrorists.”

People who live in a state of existential anxiety, she argued, “are prone to dehumanizing others.”

“Hamas, for instance, calls Israelis ‘infidels,’ while the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has referred to members of Hamas as ‘human animals,’ and both sides have called the other ‘Nazis.’

“Such dehumanizing language makes it easier to overcome inhibitions against committing atrocities.”

UNICEF’s wake-up call about the suffering of children across the MENA region comes as the agency is experiencing major funding shortfalls.

As of May, its programs in Syria were facing a 78 percent funding gap, while its 2025 appeal on behalf of the people of Palestine fared little better, with a 68 percent shortfall.

Looking ahead, says UNICEF, “the outlook remains bleak.”

As things stand, the agency expects its funding in MENA to decline by up to a quarter by 2026 — a loss of up to $370 million — “jeopardizing life-saving programs across the region, including treatment for severe malnutrition, safe water production in conflict zones, and vaccinations against deadly diseases.”

As the plight of children in the region worsens, said UNICEF’s regional director Beigbeder, “the resources to respond are becoming sparser.

“Conflicts must stop. International advocacy to resolve these crises must intensify. And support for vulnerable children must increase, not decline.”

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611386/middle-east

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Saudi Arabia welcomes moves by Australia, New Zealand toward recognizing Palestinian state

August 11, 2025

Three-quarters of UN members have already or soon plan to recognize Palestinian statehood. (AFP file photo)

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DUBAI: The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed on Monday the recent announcements by Australia and New Zealand signaling steps toward recognizing the State of Palestine.

The Kingdom commended Australia’s declaration of its intention to formally recognize Palestine, as well as New Zealand’s announcement that it is considering such recognition, a statement from the ministry said.

Saudi Arabia praised these developments as part of a growing international consensus in support of the two-state solution.

The Kingdom reaffirmed its commitment to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

“The Kingdom appreciates the positions of countries that contribute to strengthening the path toward a just and comprehensive peace,” the statement said, adding that recognition of Palestine is a crucial step toward ending the decades-long conflict.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611439/saudi-arabia

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Italy’s Defence Minister Says Israel Has ‘Lost Humanity’ On Gaza

August 11, 2025

Mourners carry the bodies of Palestinian children from Irheem family, who were killed in an overnight Israeli strike in Gaza City. (Reuters)

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ROME: Italy’s defence minister said in an interview published Monday that Israel’s government had “lost its reason and humanity” over Gaza and signalled an openness to potential sanctions.

“What is happening is unacceptable. We are not facing a military operation with collateral damage, but the pure denial of the law and the founding values of our civilization,” Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told La Stampa daily.

“We are committed to humanitarian aid, but we must now find a way to force Netanyahu to think clearly, beyond condemnation.”

Asked about possible international sanctions against Israel, Crosetto said that “the occupation of Gaza and some serious acts in the West Bank mark a qualitative leap, in the face of which decisions must be made that force Netanyahu to think.”

“And it wouldn’t be a move against Israel, but a way to save that people from a government which has lost reason and humanity.

“We must always distinguish governments from states and peoples, as well as from the religions they profess. This applies for Netanyahu, and it applies to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, whose methods, by now, have become dangerously similar.”

He was speaking after Netanyahu defended his plan to take control of Gaza City and target the remaining Hamas strongholds, a plan which has sparked criticism from across the world.

Italy has declined to join other nations in saying it would recognize a Palestinian state — a decision Crosetto defended, saying that “recognizing a state that doesn’t exist risks turning into nothing but a political provocation in a world dying of provocations.”

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611438/world

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India

AIUDF's Gen Secy Targets Assam CM Over Voter Revision, Eviction Drives

Ratnadip Choudhury

Guwahati: Aug 10, 2025

Leaders of the All Indian United Democratic Front (AIUDF), a key opposition party in Assam which enjoys support among the Bengali-speaking Muslim population, accused Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of failing to maintain law and order in the state.

The party's MLAs Hafiz Rafiqul Islam and Ashraful Hussain, addressed a press conference on Sunday on issues including eviction drives, allegations of harassment, and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.

Demanding the Chief Minister's resignation, Mr Islam accused him of "instigating goons" to harass bonafide Indian citizens, including labourers and lawyers, in different districts. He said, "The Constitution grants Indians the right to work anywhere in the country. But in Assam, people are unsafe even when moving between districts."

On eviction drives, Mr Islam claimed they were being carried out without rehabilitation plans. Further, he added that these drives targeted Muslims under the guise of identifying "foreigners." He alleged that displaced families have lost access to housing, education and basic rights, and urged the judiciary to intervene.

Regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list, Mr Islam said it was unnecessary as Assam had already undergone extensive National Register of Citizens verification between 2015 and 2019. He alleged that the exercise was politically motivated and aimed at harassment. "The Election Commission should not act as a puppet of the BJP," he said, demanding that the SIR be scrapped and the voter list be revised only through regular procedures.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/assam-opposition-targets-himanta-sarma-over-voter-revision-eviction-drives-9057933

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‘Won’t give in to nuclear blackmail’: India on Pak army chief Asim Munir’s threats

By Rezaul H Laskar: Aug 11, 2025 05:56 pm IST

NEW DELHI: Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir’s fresh nuclear threats against India reinforce doubts about the integrity of nuclear command and control in a country where the “military is hand-in-glove with terrorist groups”, the external affairs ministry said on Monday while reiterating that New Delhi won’t give in to nuclear blackmail.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said it was “regrettable” that Munir made the remarks while in a friendly country such as the US, and contended that “nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s stock-in-trade.”

Munir, elevated to the rank of field marshal after four days of hostilities with India in May, reportedly said at a meeting with the Pakistani diaspora in Florida that Pakistan could use its nuclear weapons to take down India and “half the world” in the event of an existential threat in any future conflict with India. He reportedly said Pakistan can use its missiles to destroy any dams built by India on cross-border rivers after the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.

“The international community can draw its own conclusions on the irresponsibility inherent in such remarks, which also reinforce the well-held doubts about the integrity of nuclear command and control in a state where the military is hand-in-glove with terrorist groups,” Jaiswal said in a statement.

“It is also regrettable that these remarks should have been made from the soil of a friendly third country,”

Jaiswal said, “India has already made it clear that it will not give in to nuclear blackmail. We will continue to take all steps necessary to safeguard our national security.”

People familiar with the matter said Munir’s remarks demonstrated once again Pakistan’s irresponsible approach towards its nuclear arsenal and its role as a driver of nuclear instability in South Asia.

Munir’s remarks were in line with the nuclear blackmail resorted to by Pakistan for several decades, and this is one of the reasons why the country is widely considered an irresponsible nuclear-armed state, they said on condition of anonymity.

The risk of Pakistan’s nuclear materials or expertise falling into the hands of non-state actors such as terror groups is a reason why the international community “does not trust nuclear weapons in the hands of an institution like the Pakistani military, which is accountable to no one”, one of the people cited above said.

Noting that Munir had made the remarks at an event held on American oil, the people questioned whether the US administration and the international community, with its repeated emphasis on containing nuclear conflict, will hold Pakistan to account for such provocative statements.

Munir’s remarks, reportedly made at a dinner hosted at Tampa in Florida by a Pakistani businessman, were reported by ThePrint. Munir visited the US for the second time since June, when he was hosted at the White House by President Donald Trump, to attend a ceremony marking the change in leadership of the US Central Command, based in Florida.

The Pakistani military’s media arm acknowledged Munir’s participation in an interactive session with the Pakistani diaspora in Florida but provided few details. Experts said Munir’s reported remarks were in line with his stance on India and his religious conservatism.

The people said Munir’s remarks were also in line with Pakistan’s history of rhetorical nuclear brinkmanship while simultaneously claiming the mantle of a “responsible” nuclear actor. The central driver of nuclear instability in South Asia is Pakistan’s military establishment holding the nuclear button, the people said.

“Pakistan’s military-controlled democracy is a sham and is clearly a facade, with the military controlling key levers of power. The favourable international reception may embolden the Pakistani military brass, and the world community overlooking Pakistan’s hand in cross-border terrorism raises concerns about a silent coup and potential direct rule by the army chief,” the person cited above said.

The people also noted that periods of US support for Pakistan’s military are followed by overtly aggressive postures by the generals in Rawalpindi.

The Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, during which attackers identified and shot dead 25 men on the basis of their faith, was carried out less than a week after Munir, during a speech to the Pakistani diaspora in Islamabad, described Jammu and Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein” and noted that Hindus and Muslims cannot live together, the people pointed out. They also questioned whether Munir’s latest remarks signalled another impending attack.

India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 to target terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan to retaliate for the Pahalgam terror attack. This triggered four days of hostilities, during which the two sides used drones, missiles and other long-range weapons. The conflict ended when the two countries reached an understanding on May 10 to end military actions. However, the Indian government has maintained that Operation Sindoor has not ended.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pm-modi-inaugurates-184-new-flats-for-mps-in-delhi-all-about-the-type-vii-multi-storey-housing-101754883765895.html

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Asim Munir’s remarks ‘reinforce well-held doubts’ about Pakistan’s nuclear command, says India

 August 11, 2025

The Hindu Bureau

The Ministry of External Affairs on Monday (August 11, 2025) responded sharply to Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s reported remarks on nuclear weapons and said that it will not give in to nuclear threats.

“Our attention has been drawn to remarks reportedly made by the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff while on a visit to the United States. Nuclear sabre-rattling is Pakistan’s stock-in-trade,” Randhir Jaiswal, the Ministry’s official spokesperson, said in a statement. The remarks by Field Marshal Munir were reportedly made during his address to the Pakistani community in the U.S., where he is on an official visit.

Pakistan Army chief Munir repeats anti-India rhetoric in U.S. with ‘jugular vein’ remark

India slammed the remarks saying the remarks raised questions about the nuclear command in Pakistan.

“The international community can draw its own conclusions on the irresponsibility inherent in such remarks, which also reinforce the well-held doubts about the integrity of nuclear command and control in a state where the military is hand-in-glove with terrorist groups,” the Ministry said.

“It is also regrettable that these remarks should have been made from the soil of a friendly third country,” it added.

Emphasising that India will not give in to “nuclear blackmail”, the Ministry said that the country will continue to take all necessary steps to safeguard national security.

In an address to the Pakistani diaspora in Florida’s Tampa, Field Marshal Munir reportedly made the nuclear threat in case his country faced an existential threat in a future war with India.

“We are a nuclear nation. If we think we are going down, we’ll take half the world down with us,” media reports quoted him as saying.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/asim-munirs-remarks-reinforce-well-held-doubts-about-pakistans-nuclear-command-says-india/article69919499.ece

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Mideast

Security footage from Syria hospital shows men in military garb killing medical worker

August 11, 2025

DAMASCUS, Syria: Footage from security cameras at a hospital in the city of Sweida in southern Syria published Sunday showed what appears to be the killing of a medical worker by men in military garb.

The video published by activist media collective Suwayda 24 was dated July 16, during intense clashes between militias of the Druze minority community and armed tribal groups and government forces.

In the video, which was also widely shared on social media, a large group of people in scrubs can be seen kneeling on the floor in front of a group of armed men. The armed men grab a man and hit him on the head as if they are going to apprehend him. The man tries to resist by wrestling with one of the gunmen, before he is shot once with an assault rifle and then a second time by another person with a pistol.

A man in a dark jumpsuit with “Internal Security Forces” written on it appears to be guiding the men in camouflage into the hospital.

Another security camera shows a tank stationed outside the facility.

Activist media groups say the gunmen were from the Syrian military and security forces.

A Syrian government official said they could not immediately identify the attackers in the video, and are investigating the incident to try to figure out if they are government-affiliated personnel or gunmen from tribal groups.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not immediately cleared to speak to the media on the matter.

The government has set up a committee tasked with investigating attacks on civilians during the sectarian violence in the country’s south, which is supposed to issue a report within three months.

The incident at the Sweida National Hospital further exacerbates tensions between the Druze minority community and the Syrian government, after clashes in July between Druze and armed Bedouin groups sparked targeted sectarian attacks against them.

The violence has worsened ties between them and Syria’s Islamist-led interim government under President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who hopes to assert full government control and disarm Druze factions.

Though the fighting has largely calmed down, government forces have surrounded the southern city and the Druze have said that little aid is going into the battered city, calling it a siege.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent, which has organized aid convoys into Sweida, said in a statement on Saturday that one of those convoys that was carrying aid in the day before “came under direct fire,” and some of its vehicles were damaged. It did not specify which group attacked the convoy.

On Sunday, the UN Security Council adopted a statement expressing “deep concern” at the violence in southern Syria and condemning violence against civilians in Sweida. It called for the government to “ensure credible, swift, transparent, impartial, and comprehensive investigations.”

The statement also reiterated “obligations under international humanitarian law to respect and protect all medical personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties, their means of transportation and equipment, as well as hospitals and medical facilities.”

It expressed concern about “foreign terrorist fighters” in Syria, while calling on “all states to refrain from any action or interference that may further destabilize the country,” an apparent message to Israel, which intervened in last month’s conflict on the side of the Druze, launching airstrikes on Syrian government forces.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611388/middle-east

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Five Al Jazeera journalists killed in Israeli strike in Gaza

August 11, 2025

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Al Jazeera said two of its correspondents, including a prominent reporter, and three cameramen were killed in an Israeli strike on their tent in Gaza City on Sunday.

The Israeli military admitted in a statement to targeting Anas Al-Sharif, the reporter it labelled as a “terrorist” affiliated with Hamas.

The attack was the latest to see journalists targeted in the 22-month war in Gaza, with around 200 media workers killed over the course of the conflict, according to media watchdogs.

“Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif has been killed alongside four colleagues in a targeted Israeli attack on a tent housing journalists in Gaza City,” the Qatar-based broadcaster said.

“Al-Sharif, 28, was killed on Sunday after a tent for journalists outside the main gate of the hospital was hit. The well-known Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent reportedly extensively from northern Gaza.”

The channel said that five of its staff members were killed during the strike on a tent in Gaza City, listing the others as Mohammed Qreiqeh along with camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa.

The Israeli military confirmed that it had carried out the attack, saying it had struck Al Jazeera’s Al-Sharif and calling him a “terrorist” who “posed as a journalist.”

“A short while ago, in Gaza City, the IDF struck the terrorist Anas Al-Sharif, who posed as a journalist for the Al Jazeera network,” it said on Telegram, using an acronym for the military.

“Anas Al-Sharif served as the head of a terrorist cell in the Hamas terrorist organization and was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops,” it added.

Al-Sharif was one of the channel’s most recognizable faces working on the ground in Gaza, providing daily reports in regular coverage.

Following a press conference by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, where the premier defended approving a new offensive in Gaza, Al-Sharif posted messages on X describing “intense, concentrated Israeli bombardment” on Gaza City.

One of his final messages included a short video showing nearby Israeli strikes hitting Gaza City.

In July, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement calling for his protection as it accused the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee of stepping up online attacks on the reporter by alleging that he was a Hamas terrorist.

Following the attack, the CPJ said it was “appalled” to learn of the journalists’ deaths.

“Israel’s pattern of labelling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah.

“Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted. Those responsible for these killings must be held accountable.”

The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate condemned what it described as a “bloody crime” of assassination.

Israel and Al Jazeera have had a contentious relationship for years, with Israeli authorities banning the channel in the country and raiding its offices following the latest war in Gaza.

Qatar, which partly funds Al Jazeera, has hosted an office for the Hamas political leadership for years and been a frequent venue for indirect talks between Israel and the militant group.

With Gaza sealed off, many media groups around the world, including AFP, depend on photo, video and text coverage of the conflict provided by Palestinian reporters.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in early July that more than 200 journalists had been killed in Gaza since the war began, including several Al Jazeera journalists.

International criticism is growing over the plight of the more than two million Palestinian civilians in Gaza, with UN agencies and rights groups warning that a famine is unfolding in the territory.

The targeted strike comes as Israel announced plans to expand its military operations on the ground in Gaza, with Netanyahu saying on Sunday that the new offensive was set to target the remaining Hamas strongholds there.

He also announced a plan to allow more foreign journalists to report inside Gaza with the military, as he laid out his vision for victory in the territory.

A UN official warned the Security Council that Israel’s plans to control Gaza City risked “another calamity” with far-reaching consequences.

“If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction,” UN Assistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenca told the Security Council.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611389/media

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Three-quarters of UN members support Palestinian statehood

August 11, 2025

PARIS: Three-quarters of UN members have already or soon plan to recognize Palestinian statehood, with Australia on Monday becoming the latest to promise it will at the UN General Assembly in September.

The Israel-Hamas war, raging in Gaza since the Palestinian militant group’s attack on October 7, 2023, has revived a global push for Palestinians to be given a state of their own.

The action breaks with a long-held view that Palestinians could only gain statehood as part of a negotiated peace with Israel.

According to an AFP tally, at least 145 of the 193 UN members now recognize or plan to recognize a Palestinian state, including France, Canada and Britain.

Here is a quick recap of the Palestinians’ quest for statehood:

On November 15, 1988, during the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising against Israeli rule, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat unilaterally proclaimed an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

He made the announcement in Algiers at a meeting of the exiled Palestinian National Council, which adopted the two-state solution as a goal, with independent Israeli and Palestinian states existing side-by-side.

Minutes later, Algeria became the first country to officially recognize an independent Palestinian state.

Within a week, dozens of other countries, including much of the Arab world, India, Turkiye, most of Africa and several central and eastern European countries followed suit.

The next wave of recognitions came in late 2010 and early 2011, at a time of crisis for the Middle East peace process.

South American countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Chile, answered calls by the Palestinians to endorse their statehood claims.

This came in response to Israel’s decision to end a temporary ban on Jewish settlement-building in the occupied West Bank.

In 2011, with peace talks at a standstill, the Palestinians pushed ahead with a campaign for full UN membership.

The quest failed, but in a groundbreaking move on October 31 of that year, the UN cultural agency UNESCO voted to accept the Palestinians as a full member, much to the dismay of Israel and the United States.

In November 2012, the Palestinian flag was raised for the first time at the United Nations in New York after the General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to upgrade the status of the Palestinians to “non-member observer state.”

Three years later, the International Criminal Court also accepted the Palestinians as a state party.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attack has boosted support for Palestinian statehood.

Four Caribbean countries (Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the Bahamas) and Armenia took the diplomatic step in 2024.

So did four European countries: Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia, the latter three EU members.

Within the European Union, this was a first in 10 years since Sweden’s move in 2014, which resulted in years of strained relations with Israel.

Other member states, such as Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, had already done so in 1988, long before joining the EU.

On the other hand, some former Eastern bloc countries, such as Hungary and the Czech Republic, do not or no longer recognize a state of Palestine.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday that “Australia will recognize the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own” at the UN General Assembly.

France said last month it intends to recognize a Palestinian state come September, while Britain said it would do the same unless Israel takes “substantive steps,” including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Canada also plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney said, marking a dramatic policy shift that was immediately rejected by Israel.

Among other countries that could also formally express recognition, Malta, Finland and Portugal have raised the possibility.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611412/middle-east

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Lebanon’s inherent right to self-defense requires military capability: Tehran

August 11, 2025

Amid Western calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has asserted that military capability is essential for Lebanon’s inherent right to self-defense.

“Our position regarding recent developments, in support of the territorial integrity, unity, and independence of Lebanon, is firm and proven,” Esmaeil Baghaei said during his weekly press conference on Monday.

“Iran has always underscored the necessity of preserving the independence and territorial integrity of Lebanon and the right of this country to defend itself against the evils of the Israeli regime,” Baghaei underlined.

However, he noted, “as a rule, exercising this inherent right is not possible without military capability and weapons.”

He explained that Iran’s past experience in the region demonstrates that the Zionist regime cannot be contained except by equipping nations with the necessary means for self-defense.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman reiterated that these issues are Lebanon’s internal affairs, and the people of this country, and the various components of Lebanese society must identify the interests of their country through legal and approved processes. 

The US is pushing the Lebanese government to trade Hezbollah’s disarmament for a partial Israeli withdrawal from the south.

In response, the Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has announced plans to restrict weapons possession solely to state institutions under a new army-led framework by year’s end. 

Iran, Armenia to hold high-level talks

Regarding the recent peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Baghaei noted that the deal can be a turning point in establishing peace and stability in the South Caucasus.

“Today and tomorrow, high-level consultations will be held between officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Armenia to be more closely informed about the situation and, if necessary, share our considerations and concerns with them,” he added.

Addressing the possibility and quality of Iran’s role in the peace process announced by Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, he said that the Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia will visit Tehran on Tuesday as part of these diplomatic efforts.

Baghaei further said that Armenia’s foreign minister reaffirmed the country’s commitment to avoiding any actions that could be perceived as inconsistent with—or concerning to—the interests of Iran.

Iran-IAEA talks begin in Tehran

The talks with Rafael Grossi, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), began today in Tehran, he said.

He will be meeting with Foreign Ministry officials, Baghaei added. 

The Foreign Ministry spokesman highlighted Iran’s unprecedented situation with the IAEA, saying, “No country’s safeguarded nuclear facilities have ever been attacked without IAEA condemnation. We find this lack of response unacceptable.”

With no established protocols for such cases, discussions will focus on future Iran-IAEA cooperation—considering the aggression of Israel and the US on Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities, and parliamentary directives, he added.

‘Activation of snapback will not yield results’

Responding to a question about the possibility of Europe resorting to activating the snapback mechanism, he said using the so-called snapback mechanism “to exert pressure on Iran is a sign of the three European countries’ desire not to play a constructive and serious role in this regard.”

According to Baghaei, European countries have forfeited their JCPOA membership privileges through their own actions—both by failing to meet their commitments under the nuclear deal and by refusing to adopt a rational and legal stance following Israel’s military aggression against Iran.

“Using snapback as a threat to pressure Iran will certainly not yield any results, except to marginalize Europe even more than before,” he said, noting that Europe must review its approach towards Iran if it wishes to play a constructive role.

‘Zero trust’ in US

“We have no trust in the US,” he stated, adding that even during negotiations, Iran never trusted them at all.

The Zionist regime’s aggression in the middle of the negotiations and the US participation in it basically left no room even for “zero trust,” he emphasized.

“What guarantees our independence, territorial integrity, and dignity are domestic capabilities, including capabilities in the military field, which our armed forces will pursue with seriousness,” he continued.

He added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will use “all its tools to optimally, timely, and effectively utilize the capacity of diplomacy to advance the supreme interests of the Iranian nation.”

https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2025/08/11/752881/Lebanon-s-inherent-right-to-self-defense-requires-military-capability--Tehran

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Mental health clinics in violence-prone South Sudan are rare and endangered

August 11, 2025

MUNDRI: Joy Falatiya said her husband kicked her and five children out of their home in March 2024 and that she fell apart after that. Homeless and penniless, the 35-year-old South Sudanese mother said she thought of ending her life.

“I wanted to take my children and jump in the river,” she said while cradling a baby outside a room with cracked mud walls where she now stays.

But she’s made a remarkable recovery months later, thanks to the support of well-wishers and a mental health clinic nearby where she’s received counseling since April.

She told The Associated Press that her suicidal thoughts are now gone after months of psycho-social therapy, even though she still struggles to feed her children and can’t afford to keep them in school.

The specialized clinic in her hometown of Mundri, in South Sudan’ s Western Equatoria state, is a rare and endangered facility in a country desperate for more such services. Now that the program’s funding from Italian and Greek sources is about to end and its future is unclear.

The clinic is in one of eight locations chosen for a project that aimed to provide mental health services for the first time to over 20,000 people across this East African country. Launched in late 2022, it proved a lifeline for patients like Falatiya in a country where mental health services are almost non-existent in the government-run health system.

Implemented by a group of charities led by Amref Health Africa, the program has partnered with government health centers, Catholic parishes, local radio stations.

Across South Sudan, there has been massive displacement of people in the civil war that began in 2013 when government troops loyal to President Salva Kiir fought those loyal to Vice President Riek Machar.

The eruption of fighting was a major setback for the world’s newest country, which became a major refugee-producing nation just over two years after independence from Sudan. Although a peace deal was reached in 2018, the resumption of hostilities since January led the UN to warn of a possible “relapse into large scale conflict.”

The violence persists even today, with Machar under house arrest and government forces continuing with a campaign to weaken his ability to wage war. And poverty — over 90 percent of the country’s people live on less than $2.15 per day, according to the World Bank — is rampant in many areas, adding to the mental health pressures many people face, according to experts.

In a country heavily dependent on charity to keep the health sector running, access to mental health services lags far behind. The country has the fourth-highest suicide rate in Africa and is ranked thirteenth globally, World Health Organization figures show.

In South Sudan, suicide affects mostly the internally displaced, fueled by confinement and pressures related to poverty, idleness, armed conflict, and gender-based violence, according to the International Organization for Migration.

“Mental health issues are a huge obstacle to the development of South Sudan,” said Jacopo Rovarini, an official with Amref Health Africa.

More than a third of those screened by the Amref project “show signs of either psychological distress or mental health disorders,” he said. “So the burden for the individuals, their families and their communities is huge in this country, and it has gone quite unaddressed so far.”

Last month, authorities in Juba raised an alarm after 12 cases of suicide were reported in just a week in the South Sudan capital. There were no more details on those cases.

Dr. Atong Ayuel Longar, one of South Sudan’s very few psychiatrists and the leader of the mental health department at the health ministry, said a pervasive sense of “uncertainty is what affects the population the most” amid the constant threat of war.

“Because you can’t plan for tomorrow,” she said. “Do we need to evacuate? People will be like, ‘No, no, no, there’s no war.’ Yet you don’t feel that sense of peace around you. Things are getting tough.”

In Mundri, the AP visited several mental health facilities in June and spoke to many patients, including women who have recently lost relatives in South Sudan’s conflict. In 2015, the Mundri area was ravaged by fighting between opposition forces and government troops, leading to widespread displacement, looting and sexual violence.

Ten years later, many have not recovered from this episode and fear similar fighting could resume there.

“There are many mad people in the villages,” said Paul Monday, a local youth leader, using a common derogatory word for those who are mentally unwell. “It’s so common because we lost a lot of things during the war. We had to flee and our properties were looted.”

“In our community here, when you’re mad you’re abandoned,” Monday said.

As one of the charities seeking to expand mental health services, the Catholic non-governmental organization Caritas organizes sessions of Self Help Plus, a group-based stress management course launched by WHO in 2021. Attended mostly by women, sessions offer simple exercises they can repeat at home to reduce stress.

Longar, the psychiatrist, said she believes the community must be equipped with tools “to heal and to help themselves by themselves, and break the cycle of trauma.”

But she worries about whether such support can be kept sustainable as funds continue to dwindle, reflecting the retreat by the United States from its once-generous foreign aid program.

The project that may have helped save Falatiya’s life, funded until November by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and the Athens-based Stavros Niarchos Foundation, will come to an end without additional donor funding. Specialized mental health services provided at health centers such as the Mundri clinic may collapse.

“What happened to me in the past was very dangerous, but the thought of bad things can be removed,” Falatiya said, surveying a garden she cultivates outside her small home where a local man has allowed her to stay after taking pity on her.

She said that she hopes the clinic will still be around if and when her “bad thoughts” return.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611418/middle-east

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Syria vows accountability after video of Sweida hospital killing

August 11, 2025

DAMASCUS: Syria’s interior ministry on Monday said it would hold accountable those responsible for the apparent killing of an unarmed man at a hospital during violence last month in Druze-majority Sweida province, after a purported video of the incident emerged.

“We condemn and denounce this act in the strongest terms and affirm that the perpetrators will be held accountable and brought to justice... whatever their affiliation,” the ministry said in a statement.

A week of bloodshed began on July 13 with clashes between local Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes, but the violence rapidly escalated as it drew in outside forces, eventually killing some 1,600 people, many of them Druze civilians, according to an updated toll by a war monitor.

Local media outlet Suwayda 24 published the video on Sunday, saying it was from hospital surveillance footage.

Forces in military garb are seen shooting dead a man whom Suwayda 24 identified as an engineer volunteering with the hospital team after a brief scuffle, as a group of people dressed as health care workers are crouched on the floor.

Another man seen in the video told AFP that the incident took place on July 16.

Rights activists called for accountability and an independent inquiry after the footage emerged, following other videos that circulated last month that also appeared to show government forces killing civilians.

The interior ministry said it appointed an official “to directly oversee the progress of the investigation in order to ensure the culprits are found and arrested as soon as possible.”

Late last month, authorities announced the formation of a committee to investigate the Sweida violence, which should present its findings within three months.

Activists have instead called for an independent investigation to probe the violence.

Mohammad Al-Abdallah, executive director of the Syria Justice and Accountability Center, said on Sunday that United Nations investigators “must enter Sweida immediately” and labelled the medic’s killing a war crime.

Despite a ceasefire, the situation remains tense in Sweida and access to the province remains difficult.

Local residents accuse the government of imposing a blockade, something officials have denied, pointing to the entry of humanitarian convoys.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611427/middle-east

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Head of Iran top security body heads to Iraq, Lebanon

August 11, 2025

TEHRAN: The head of Iran’s top security body, Ali Larijani, will visit Iraq on Monday before heading to Lebanon, where the government has approved a plan to disarm Tehran’s ally Hezbollah, state media said.

“Ali Larijani departs today (Monday) for Iraq and then Lebanon on a three-day visit, his first foreign trip since taking office last week,” state television reported

Larijani will sign a bilateral security agreement in Iraq before heading to Lebanon, where he will meet senior Lebanese officials and figures.

His trip to Lebanon comes after Tehran expressed strong opposition to a Lebanese government plan to disarm Tehran’s ally Hezbollah, a stance condemned by Beirut as a “flagrant and unacceptable interference.”

“Our cooperation with the Lebanese government is long and deep. We consult on various regional issues. In this particular context, we are talking to Lebanese officials and influential figures in Lebanon,” Larijani told state TV before departing.

“In Lebanon, our positions are already clear. Lebanese national unity is important and must be preserved in all circumstances. Lebanon’s independence is still important to us and we will contribute to it.”

On Saturday, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, described the plan to disarm Hezbollah as compliance “to the will of the United States and Israel.”

The disarmament push followed last year’s war between Israel and Hezbollah, which left the group, once a powerful political and military force, weakened.

It also comes amid pressure from the United States and anti-Hezbollah parties in Lebanon, as well as fears Israel could escalate its strikes if the group remains armed.

Iran appointed 68-year-old Larijani to head the Supreme National Security Council, which is responsible for laying out Iran’s defense and security strategy. Its decisions must be approved by the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The appointment comes after a 12-day war with Israel, which began the conflict with an unprecedented attack on Iran in mid-June striking military, nuclear and residential sites.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611420/middle-east

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Malnutrition in El-Fasher kills 63 in a week

August 11, 2025

PORT SUDAN: Malnutrition has claimed the lives of at least 63 people, mostly women and children, in just one week in Sudan’s besieged city of El-Fasher, a health official said on Sunday.

The official said the figure only included those who managed to reach hospitals, adding that many families buried their dead without seeking medical help due to poor security conditions and a lack of transportation.

Since May last year, El-Fasher has been under siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which have been at war with Sudan’s regular army since April 2023.

The city remains the last major Darfur urban center in army control and has recently come under renewed attack by the RSF after the group withdrew from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, earlier this year.

A major RSF offensive on the nearby Zamzam displacement camp in April forced tens of thousands of people to flee again — many of them now sheltering inside El-Fasher.

Community kitchens — once a lifeline — have largely shut down due to a lack of supplies.

Some families are reportedly surviving on animal fodder or food waste.

Nearly 40 percent of children under five in El-Fasher are now acutely malnourished, with 11 percent suffering from severe acute malnutrition, according to UN figures.

The rainy season, which peaks in August, is further complicating efforts to reach the city.

Roads are rapidly deteriorating, making aid deliveries difficult if not impossible.

The war, now in its third year, has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and created what the United Nations describes as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises.

Rapid Support Forces killed 18 civilians in an attack on two villages west of Khartoum earlier this week, a monitoring group said on Saturday.

The attack occurred on Thursday in North Kordofan state, which is key to the RSF’s fuel smuggling route from Libya.

The area has been a major battleground between the army and the paramilitaries for months, and communications lines with the rest of the world have been mostly cut off.

According to the Emergency Lawyers human rights group, which has documented abuses since the start of the war two years ago, the attack on the two villages in North Kordofan “killed 18 civilians and wounded dozens.”

The wounded were transferred to the state capital of El-Obeid for treatment.

Tolls are nearly impossible to independently verify in Sudan, as many medical facilities have been forced out of service and there is limited media access.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611387/middle-east

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Hamas accuses Netanyahu of ‘series of lies’ during Gaza press conference

August 11, 2025

GAZA STRIP: Hamas slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for telling what it called a “series of lies” at a press conference Sunday where he laid out his vision for victory in Gaza.

“Netanyahu continues to lie, deceive and try to mislead the public. Everything Netanyahu said in the press conference is a series of lies, and he cannot face the truth; instead, he works on distortion and hiding it,” Taher Al-Nunu, the media adviser to the head of Hamas’s political bureau, told AFP.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611364/middle-east

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'Holocaust in Gaza': Western Wall vandalized with anti-war graffiti

August 11, 2025

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Sites of Israel, condemned the act as a serious desecration showing blatant disrespect for the site’s sanctity

Authorities launched an investigation Monday after protest graffiti was found sprayed on the southern section of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, expressing opposition to the war in the Gaza Strip.

The phrase “There is a Holocaust in Gaza” was sprayed in the area opposite the “Ezrat Yisrael” section, a space designated for prayer without gender separation.

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, an Orthodox rabbi and the Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Sites of Israel, condemned the act as a serious desecration showing blatant disrespect for the site’s sanctity.

“A holy place is not a place for protests, regardless of their nature, especially at the holiest site for the entire Jewish people,” Rabinovitch said. “Police must investigate, identify those responsible for this desecration, and bring them to justice.”

The rabbi is expected to oversee efforts to remove the graffiti carefully, ensuring the ancient stones are not damaged. Similar incidents have occurred in recent years, including in 2019 when graffiti was sprayed on the “Small Western Wall” located in the Muslim Quarter.

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bkpmmnwule

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Israel PM says new plan for Gaza ‘best way to end the war’

August 11, 2025

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his new plan to expand the war in Gaza and target the remaining Hamas strongholds there was “the best way to end the war,” defying growing calls to stop the fighting.

Defending his plan in a press conference in Jerusalem, the premier said the new operation would be implemented on “a fairly short timetable because we want to bring the war to an end.”

More than 22 months into the war, sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel, the country is gripped by a yawning divide pitting those demanding an end to the conflict and a deal for the release of the hostages against others who want to see the Palestinian militants vanquished once and for all.

Criticism has only intensified after Netanyahu’s security cabinet announced plans Friday to expand the conflict and capture Gaza City.

But Netanyahu was defiant on Sunday, telling journalists: “This is the best way to end the war, and the best way to end it speedily.”

The premier said the new operation’s aim was “to dismantle the two remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City and the central camps,” while establishing secure corridors and safe zones to allow civilians to leave the area.

“Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas. Now we’ve done a great deal. We have about 70 to 75 percent of Gaza under Israeli control, military control,” he said.

“But we have two remaining strongholds, OK? These are Gaza City and the central camps in Al Mawasi.”

The press conference came ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Gaza.

It also came a day after thousands of people took to the streets in Tel Aviv to protest the security cabinet’s decision.

“The new plan is just another plan that is gonna fail, and it could very well be the end of our hostages, and of course, it will take probably more lives of our soldiers,” protester Joel Obodov told AFP.

The premier has faced regular protests over the course of the war, with many rallies calling for the government to strike a ceasefire and hostage-release deal after past truces saw captives exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.

Netanyahu, however, has also come under pressure from the far right to go harder on Hamas, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich slamming the new plan as half-hearted.

“They decided once again to repeat the same approach, embarking on a military operation that does not aim for a decisive resolution,” Smotrich said.

The far-right members of Netanyahu’s cabinet, including Smotrich, have maintained considerable influence in the premier’s coalition government throughout the war — with their support seen as vital to holding at least 61 seats for a parliamentary majority.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, also of the far right, told Kan radio on Sunday: “It is possible to achieve victory. I want all of Gaza, transfer and colonization. This plan will not endanger the troops.”

Meanwhile, the cabinet’s decision to expand the war in Gaza has touched off a wave of criticism across the globe.

On Sunday, the UN Security Council met to discuss the latest development.

“If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings and destruction,” UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told the Security Council.

Foreign powers, including some of Israel’s allies, have been pushing for a negotiated truce to secure the hostages’ return and help alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the territory following repeated warnings of famine taking hold.

Despite the backlash and rumors of dissent from Israeli military top brass, Netanyahu has remained firm.

“We will win the war, with or without the support of others,” he told the press on Sunday.

“Our goal is not to occupy Gaza, but to establish a civilian administration in the Strip that is not affiliated with Hamas or the Palestinian Authority,” he said.

Out of 251 hostages captured during Hamas’s 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the military says are dead.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable.

According to Gaza’s civil defense agency, at least 27 people were killed by Israeli fire across the territory Sunday, including 11 who were waiting near aid distribution centers.

Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611361/middle-east

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Far-right Israeli group Regavim calls for Palestinian school near Hebron to be destroyed

August 11, 2025

LONDON: Regavim, an Israeli settler group, on Sunday called for the demolition of a Palestinian school in the Bedouin Badia community, south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank.

Osama Makhamreh, an activist, told the Wafa news agency that members of Regavim posted leaflets on the walls of the Bat Zuwaydin Secondary School in Badia.

The leaflets called for the school’s destruction and argued that maintaining the school would encourage Palestinians to build and remain in the area.

Badia is one of several Palestinian Bedouin communities near Hebron, known collectively as Masafer Yatta, that have endured attacks by Israeli settlers and government policies aimed at pushing them out of the area, designated as a military zone.

For more than four years, work has been underway to establish and build Bat Zuwaydin Secondary School, in the Zuwaydin municipal area, Wafa added.

Regavim, an extremist organization, was founded in 2006, with far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich being one of its notable founders. It aims to establish “legal channels” for enforcing Israeli demolition orders against Palestinian structures and operations in the West Bank, particularly Area C, which constitutes 60 percent of the territory.

It also operates in Israel, specifically targeting Palestinian citizens living in Bedouin communities in the southern Negev Desert, and conducts detailed aerial photography to document the expansion of Palestinian communities.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611354/middle-east

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Magnitude 6.1 earthquake hits Turkiye’s Balikesir province, killing 1 and collapsing buildings

August 11, 2025

ISTANBUL: A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Turkiye’s northwestern province of Balikesir on Sunday, killing at least one person and causing more than a dozen buildings to collapse, officials said. At least 29 people were injured.

The earthquake, with an epicenter in the town of Sindirgi, sent shocks that were felt some 200 kilometers (125 miles) to the north in Istanbul — a city of more than 16 million people.

An elderly woman died shortly after being pulled out alive from the debris of a collapsed building in Sindirgi, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters. Four other people were rescued from the building.

Yerlikaya said a total of 16 buildings collapsed in the region — most of them derelict and unused. Two mosque minarets also tumbled down, he said.

None of the injured were in serious condition, the minister said.

Television footage showed rescue teams asking for silence so they can listen for signs of life beneath the rubble.

Turkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency said the earthquake was followed by several aftershocks, including one measuring 4.6, and urged citizens not to enter damaged buildings.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a statement wishing all affected citizens a speedy recovery.

“May God protect our country from any kind of disaster,” he wrote on X.

Turkiye sits on top of major fault lines and earthquakes are frequent.

In 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed more than 53,000 people in Turkiye and destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 southern and southeastern provinces. Another 6,000 people were killed in the northern parts of neighboring Syria.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611392/middle-east

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Arab World

Saudi, UK foreign ministers discuss Gaza crisis

August 11, 2025

RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan spoke on the phone with his UK counterpart David Lammy on Sunday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The parties discussed developments in the Gaza Strip, the need to stop Israeli attacks and violations, and how to end the humanitarian catastrophe suffered by the residents of the enclave, the SPA added.

The phone call came on the same day as a UN Security Council meeting on the Gaza crisis, which had been requested by the UK and other countries.

During the meeting, the UK, which was joined by Denmark, France, Greece and Slovenia, urged Israel to reverse its recent decision to expand military operations in Gaza, warning it would deepen Palestinian suffering, worsen the humanitarian crisis and endanger hostages.

The UK’s representative at the meeting, James Kariuki, said the move would not secure the release of hostages held by Hamas since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, and reiterated calls for their unconditional release.

He stressed that Hamas must disarm and play no role in Gaza’s governance, which should involve the Palestinian Authority.

He also urged Israel to lift restrictions on aid, open all land routes for essential supplies, and allow humanitarian agencies to operate freely.

Kariuki also highlighted a further $11.4 million provided by the UK for humanitarian funding for Gaza. He called on both sides to engage in negotiations in good faith toward a ceasefire and a two-state solution, which he added was the only path to lasting peace.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611372/saudi-arabia

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Masam Project clears 1,140 explosive devices in Yemen

August 11, 2025

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Project for Landmine Clearance, known as Masam and launched by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), has removed 1,140 explosive devices this month from various regions of Yemen affected by the war.

The cleared explosives included 1,090 items of unexploded ordnance, 49 anti-tank mines, and one anti-personnel mine, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

This brings the total number of mines and other devices removed since Masam began to 509,612. The devices, scattered randomly across Yemeni territory, have posed a serious threat to civilians and communities.

Masam plays a key role in making Yemen safer by training local demining engineers, equipping them with modern tools, and supporting victims of explosive devices. Its teams work to clear villages, roads, and schools, enabling the safe movement of civilians and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The project’s efforts have significantly reduced casualties and allowed displaced people and farmers to return to their land, resume cultivation, and rebuild livelihoods — progress that has earned praise from the UN and international organizations.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611385/saudi-arabia

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Search continues for missing diver in Jeddah

August 11, 2025

JEDDAH: A sweeping search-and-rescue operation is underway by Coastal Guards and volunteers in Jeddah a week after two Saudi men went missing during a diving trip in North Obhur.

Wissam Al-Zahrani and Fahad Arafat set out for a recreational diving trip from the resort in North Obhur around 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 3.

Concern arose when they failed to return after 8 hours and a missing persons’ report was filed at the Coastal Guard in Jeddah.

Search and rescue teams from the Jeddah Coastal Guard and diving volunteers were mobilized on the morning of Aug. 4.

After several hours of intensive operation, rescuers found the body of Arafat on Aug. 5 with marks indicating that he had possibly been attacked by a shark.

Rescue efforts continue uninterrupted to find Al-Zahrani at of the time of writing.

Speaking to Arab News, Baraa Al-Amoudi, a relative of Wissam, said: “Wissam, a professional and experienced diver, had participated in a diving trip last Sunday afternoon with two of his colleagues, one of whom was his cousin, Ammar. The three of them went diving in the open sea. After completing the first dive, everyone went to the beach to rest.

“Ammar decided to leave the resort after the break. Wissam Al-Zahrani and his friend Fahad Arafat returned to the sea for a second dive … but neither of them came back to the surface after that.”

Al-Amoudi said: “Early in the morning Wissam called me and told me that he and his friends are going to dive from the resort.

“As an experienced diver, I warned him that it is a dangerous area but he insisted on going with his friends. Around 9 p.m. I received a call from my friends and they told me my brother and his friend, Fahad, are missing.”

He added: “We are in a state of shock and it is a very painful and tragic incident to bear but we have faith in Allah’s will. Wissam was no stranger to the sea, but a professional who carried all the safety equipment. We do not know what happened underwater, but only God knows.”

Al- Amoudi said that Wissam, in particular, is a professional instructor and belongs to a family of diving professionals, suggesting that sharks at the site may have been a factor in the accident.

Fahad is a father of three and known for his good character and diving professionalism.

On Aug. 9, part of a torn diving suit was also found, along with diving goggles and an air cylinder, but the rest of the equipment and the body were not found, raising the family’s concern and increased the ambiguity and complexity of the situation.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611356/saudi-arabia

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Saudi hunting expo attracts 52 Chinese companies

August 11, 2025

RIYADH: China’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Chang Hua said 52 Chinese companies will participate in the International Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition, organized by the Saudi Falcons Club at its headquarters in Malham, north of Riyadh, from Oct. 2-11.

During his visit on Saturday to the International Falcon Breeders Auction, the Chinese ambassador affirmed that the exhibition presents an investment opportunity for companies to display their products, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

He noted that 52 Chinese companies in various fields, including automobiles and hunting equipment, will participate in the event.

Chang expressed his pleasure at visiting the auction, where he was received by Ahmed Al-Hababi, the Saudi Falcons Club’s deputy CEO.

The ambassador said that he was keen to visit the auction to learn about this ancient culture and heritage so cherished by Saudis, affirming that he greatly enjoyed what he discovered during his visit and the professional organization he witnessed.

He then toured the accompanying pavilions of the auction, where he received detailed explanations about the types of falcons, their feed, and the sales process.

The auction, which runs until Aug. 25, is open daily from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611381/saudi-arabia

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State of Law warns of dangerous showdown with Iraqi armed factions

August 11, 2025

The State of Law Coalition, led by former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, warned on Sunday against escalating tensions between the government and armed factions.

The warning follows Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s acknowledgment of “flaws” within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) — an umbrella organization of Shiite groups formed in 2014 to fight ISIS — after armed confrontations between PMF fighters and security forces at the Agriculture Directorate in Baghdad. Al-Sudani has ordered a review of PMF unit deployments, leadership qualifications, and compliance with regulations through a high-level ministerial and security committee.

Coalition figure Hussein al-Maliki told Shafaq News that while the law “must apply to all,” the government’s latest steps — including an investigative committee’s findings on the Agriculture Directorate incident and the dismissal of two Kataib Hezbollah brigade commanders — amounted to escalation. He linked the moves to recent remarks by the British ambassador on dissolving the PMF, and what he described as a US veto on passing the PMF Authority Law.

“These issues should be resolved politically,” he said, warning that external actors were trying to push the government into confrontation with “resistance factions” in a way that could ignite a Shiite–Shiite conflict. Such a crisis, he argued, could derail the electoral process, push Iraq toward chaos, and even lead to an emergency government or a return to UN Security Council oversight under Chapter VII.

Al-Maliki urged holding individuals accountable without naming their factions, saying that repeated public identification and the insistence on restricting weapons — without passing the PMF law — could give the impression the government was acting on foreign instructions, undermining public trust.

https://shafaq.com/en/Iraq/State-of-Law-warns-of-dangerous-showdown-with-Iraqi-armed-factions

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Over 600 pilgrims hospitalised due to chlorine gas leak in Iraq

August 11, 2025

More than 600 pilgrims in Iraq were briefly hospitalised with respiratory problems after inhaling chlorine as the result of a leak at a water treatment station, authorities said on Sunday.

The incident took place overnight on the route between the two Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, located in the centre and south of Iraq respectively.

This year, several million Shiite Muslim pilgrims are expected to make their way to Karbala, which houses the shrines of the revered Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas.

There, they will mark the Arbaeen – the 40-day period of mourning during which Shiites commemorate the death of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

In a brief statement, Iraq's health ministry said "621 cases of asphyxia have been recorded following a chlorine gas leak in Karbala".

"All have received the necessary care and left hospital in good health," it said.

Security forces charged with protecting pilgrims meanwhile said the incident had been caused by "a chlorine leak from a water station on the Karbala-Najaf road".

Much of Iraq's infrastructure is in disrepair due to decades of conflict and corruption, with adherence to safety standards often lax.

In July, a massive fire at a shopping mall in the eastern city of Kut killed more than 60 people, many of whom suffocated in the toilets, according to authorities.

https://www.gulftoday.ae/news/2025/08/10/over-600-pilgrims-hospitalised-due-to-chlorine-gas-leak-in-iraq

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Europe

Hundreds march in London against UK recognising a Palestinian state

August 11, 2025

Joined by several relatives of the hostages, the march ended at the 10 Downing Street office of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has said the UK will recognise a Palestinian state if Israel does not agree to a truce in its war with Hamas.

Many of the protesters waved Israeli flags or wore yellow ribbons, a symbol of solidarity with the hostages, whose liberation the organisers of the march argue should be the Labour leader's priority.

Of the 251 hostages Hamas seized in its October 7, 2023 attack which began the war in Gaza, 49 are still held captive, including 27 who the Israeli army says are dead.

Among the demonstrators were Ayelet Stavitsky, sister of dead hostage Nadav Popplewell, and Adam Ma'anit, cousin of Tsachi Idan, who died while held by Hamas.

"I think that the government got it wrong with its foreign policy, that it's time for it to correct and refocus on the hostages," said Ma'anit, criticising Starmer's planned recognition of a Palestinian state in September.

Three people, identified as counter-protesters, were arrested, two of them for violent acts, police said.

Israel has faced mounting outcry over the 22-month-long war with Hamas, with United Nations-backed experts warning of widespread famine in besieged Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under mounting pressure to secure the release of the remaining hostages, as well as over his plans to expand the Gaza war, which he has vowed to do without the backing of Israel's allies abroad.

Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, whose toll the United Nations considers reliable.

Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20250810-hundreds-march-in-london-against-uk-recognising-a-palestinian-state?dicbo=v2-qmND76w

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EU leaders push for Kyiv to be part of Trump-Putin talks to end Ukraine war

August 11, 2025

Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said any deal between the United States and Russia to end the war in Ukraine had to include Kyiv and the bloc, adding that she was convening a meeting of  EU foreign ministers on Monday “to discuss our next steps". A statement from EU leaders on Sunday urged US President Donald Trump to put more pressure on Russia to end the war.

European leaders on Sunday pushed for Ukraine to be a part of negotiations between the United States and Russia, ahead of talks between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

The two leaders will meet in the US state of Alaska Friday to try to resolve the three-year war, but the European Union has insisted that Kyiv and European powers should be part of any deal to end the conflict.

The idea of a US-Russia meeting without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has raised concerns that a deal would require Kyiv to cede swaths of territory, which the EU has rejected.

EU foreign ministers will discuss the talks in a meeting by video link on Monday, joined by their Ukrainian counterpart.

“The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain and Finland and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement, urging Trump to put more pressure on Russia.

In a flurry of diplomacy, Zelensky held calls with 13 counterparts over three days including Kyiv’s main backers Germany, Britain and France.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday he hoped and assumed that Zelensky would attend the leaders’ summit.

Leaders of the Nordic and Baltic countries – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden – also said no decisions should be taken without Kyiv’s involvement.

Talks on ending the war could only take place during a ceasefire, they added in a joint statement.

Asked on CNN on Sunday if Zelensky could be present, US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker responded: “Yes, I certainly think it’s possible.”

“Certainly, there can’t be a deal that everybody that’s involved in it doesn’t agree to. And, I mean, obviously, it’s a high priority to get this war to end.”

Whitaker said the decision would ultimately be Trump’s to make, and there was no word Sunday from the White House.

‘Testing Putin’

Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said any deal between the United States and Russia to end the war in Ukraine had to include Kyiv and the bloc.

“President Trump is right that Russia has to end its war against Ukraine,” Kallas said in a statement Sunday.

“The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security,” she added.

“I will convene an extraordinary meeting of the EU foreign ministers on Monday to discuss our next steps.”

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga will also take part in the Monday afternoon meeting, the ministry said.

NATO chief Mark Rutte told ABC’s “This Week” broadcast on Sunday that Trump was “putting pressure on Putin”.

“Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end,” he added.

Ukraine’s military said on Sunday it had taken back a village in the Sumy region from the Russian army, which has made significant recent gains.

The village is on the frontline in the north of the country and about 20 kilometres (13 miles) west of the main fighting between the two armies in the northern region.

A ‘just peace’

As a prerequisite to any peace settlement, Moscow has demanded Kyiv pull its forces out of the regions and commit to being a neutral state, shun US and EU military support and be excluded from joining NATO.

Kyiv said it would never recognise Russian control over its sovereign territory, though it acknowledged that getting land captured by Russia back would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield.

The EU’s Kallas backed Kyiv’s position on Sunday.

“As we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine,” the EU foreign policy chief said.

NATO’s Rutte said it was a reality that “Russia is controlling some of Ukrainian territory” and suggested a future deal could acknowledge this.

“When it comes to acknowledging, for example, maybe in a future deal, that Russia is controlling, de facto, factually, some of the territory of Ukraine. It has to be effectual recognition and not a political de jure recognition,” Rutte told ABC.

Zelensky thanked those countries backing Ukraine’s position in his Sunday evening address.

“The war must be ended as soon as possible with a fair peace,” he said. “A fair peace is needed.

“Clear support for the fact that everything concerning Ukraine must be decided with Ukraine’s participation. Just as it should be with every other independent state.”

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20250811-eu-leaders-push-for-kyiv-to-be-part-of-trump-putin-talks-to-end-ukraine-war

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Spain orders town to scrap motion restricting Muslim festivities

August 11, 2025

MADRID: Spain’s leftist government on Monday ordered a town to drop a ban on religious celebrations in municipal sports facilities, a measure critics say was aimed at blocking longstanding Muslim festivities.

The town council of Jumilla, in the southeastern region of Murcia, approved the ban last week with support from the conservative Popular Party (PP), saying it sought to “promote and preserve the traditional values” of the area.

Far-right party Vox had demanded the measure in exchange for backing the PP mayor’s municipal budget.

Spain’s national government swiftly denounced the ban, with minister for inclusion and migration Elma Sainz calling it a “racist motion.”

Territorial Policy Minister Angel Víctor Torres announced on X on Monday that the central government had formally ordered the Jumilla council to scrap the ban, arguing it violates the constitution.

Jumilla, a wine-producing town of about 27,000 people, has a significant Muslim community, many of whom work in the agricultural sector.

For years, the community has used sports venues for celebrations such as Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The controversy comes just weeks after far-right groups and immigrant residents clashed for several nights in another Murcia town following an assault on a retired man by a young North African.

Even Spain’s Catholic Church criticized the ban in Jumilla, saying public religious expressions are protected under the right to religious freedom.

Vox leader Santiago Abascal said he was “perplexed” by the Church’s stance, suggesting it might be tied to public funding or to clergy abuse scandals that he claimed have “gagged” the institution.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611444/world

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NATO secretary general: Trump-Putin meeting will be test for Putin, talks to continue afterwards

August 11, 2025

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte believes that the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska on 15 August will be a test of Putin's seriousness about ending the war, but that later the talks should continue with Ukraine's participation.

Quote: "Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end.

When it comes to full-scale negotiations, and let's hope that Friday will be an important step in that process. ... It will be about territory. It will be, of course, about security guarantees, but also about the absolute need to acknowledge that Ukraine decides on its own future, that Ukraine has to be a sovereign nation, deciding on its own geopolitical future – of course having no limitations to its own military troop levels. And for NATO, to have no limitations on our presence on the eastern flank."

Details: Answering the question whether there was a risk that Trump and Putin could agree on something "that rewards Russia for its invasion of Ukraine", Rutte replied: "No, I don't think that risk is there."

He believes that "President Trump is absolutely adamant to bring this war to an end but also to keep maximum pressure on Putin".

"And next Friday will be important, because it is testing Putin, how serious he is in this whole process, which will then have to continue after Friday with Ukraine involved,"  Rutte concluded.

Background:

Trump has announced that he will hold a meeting with Putin in Alaska on 15 August.

Media reports say  that Washington and Moscow are apparently seeking an agreement to end the war in Ukraine that could lock in Russia's occupation of part of its territory.

In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that "the answer to the Ukrainian territorial question is already in the Constitution of Ukraine".

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/08/10/7525526/

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Ukrainian drone strikes hit defence industry facilities across Russia

August 11, 2025

Ukrainian forces have launched a new series of drone strikes against companies involved in supplying the Russian army, some located thousands of kilometres away from the Ukrainian border.

Ukraine's armed forces carried out a series of drone strikes in Russian regions on Monday night, attacking defence industry-operated enterprises and infrastructure facilities.

One of the targets was the Arzamas instrument-making plant in the Nizhny Novgorod region. This enterprise produces optical, electronic, and navigation systems for military vehicles, aircraft, and missiles.

Arzamas lies about 759 kilometres from Ukraine's border.

According to regional governor Gleb Nikitin, an employee of the enterprise was killed, while two others were injured and taken to hospital.

In the region of Tula, a Ukrainian drone strike "on one of the civilian enterprises" killed two people and injured three, according to local authorities.

Tula lies roughly 370 kilometres from the Russia-Ukraine border.

On Sunday night, the Saratov oil refinery in Russia's southwest was attacked by drones. There were explosions and a fire at the enterprise.

According to a report by the AFU General Staff, which confirmed the strike, the oil refinery "is one of the key fuel infrastructure facilities of Russia, providing the occupation troops with oil products."

Another oil refinery was attacked in the Komi Republic. There, according to the Ukrainian media, which cite sources in military intelligence, drones hit a tank with oil products and damaged a gas processing unit.

This refinery, also involved in supplying the Russian army, is located almost 2,000 kilometres from Ukraine’s border, in Russia's northeast.

Russia's Defence Ministry claimed the air defence forces shot down more than 30 Ukrainian drones overnight — over Nizhny Novgorod, Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orel, Kursk, Voronezh, Tula and Ryazan regions, as well as over annexed Crimea.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that seven drones heading towards the Russian capital had been shot down.

Restrictions on receiving and dispatching aircraft were imposed at several Russian airports due to Ukrainian drone raids, particularly Saratov, Volgograd, Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod, Russian air transport agency Rosaviatsia said.

https://www.euronews.com/2025/08/11/ukrainian-drone-strikes-hit-defence-industry-facilities-across-russia

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Putin Pressured to End Ukraine War by His Own Top Aide

August 11, 2025

A senior Russian official, Dmitry Kozak, deputy head of President Vladimir Putin’s administration, has reportedly urged Putin to end the war in Ukraine and initiate peace negotiations, according to sources cited by The New York Times on August 10. This development comes just days before the scheduled summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin in Alaska on August 15, which could mark their first in-person talks since Trump resumed office. The White House is also reportedly considering inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to join the discussions on the same day.

Kozak, a longtime ally of Putin, is said to be among the few high-ranking Russian officials privately opposing the conflict. He presented Putin with a plan to cease hostilities along with proposals for internal reforms, including increased oversight of Russia's security agencies and the establishment of an independent judiciary. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022, Kozak warned Putin of the potential for fierce Ukrainian resistance and had tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a truce after hostilities started.

Despite Kozak’s long-standing involvement in managing Ukraine-related affairs, much of his influence has waned, with Sergei Kirienko now overseeing the occupied territories. Kremlin insiders note Kozak’s disagreement with the war is unique among Putin’s inner circle, though he has kept his dissent private. Western officials reveal Kozak maintains informal communications with foreign representatives, actively seeking arguments to convince Putin to change course. However, given Putin’s hardline stance and the dominant influence of security services in Moscow, Kozak’s efforts are seen as unlikely to sway the Russian president.

Putin has repeatedly rejected an unconditional ceasefire, demanding that Ukraine abandon its NATO ambitions and withdraw military forces from occupied regions including Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson as preconditions for peace. These demands were reiterated during peace talks held in Istanbul in May and again in July, the latter ending swiftly without progress.

In recent statements, U.S. President Trump indicated that he and Putin would discuss a ceasefire proposal involving Kyiv conceding eastern territories to Russia. Ukrainian President Zelensky has firmly rejected this plan, warning it would enable Moscow to regroup and renew its attacks.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, expressed confidence that the U.S. will approach negotiations from a position of strength. Speaking to CBS News and on Facebook, she stated that all Ukrainians hope Trump’s engagement will lead to an end to the conflict, supported by robust sanctions and international pressure on Russia. Markarova dismissed the idea of buffer zones as outdated, emphasizing that the frontline represents a battle between good and evil, with the future location of this line carrying significant geopolitical consequences. She stressed that the issue transcends territorial disputes and involves fundamental principles and values. Markarova highlighted recent sanction measures, including those targeting India for supporting Russia’s war effort, as indicators that the U.S. intends to maintain firm leverage in the talks.

In response to questions about Ukrainian territory, Markarova noted that the Ukrainian Constitution clearly defines the country’s borders, underscoring Kyiv’s stance on sovereignty.

On the European side, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz welcomed the prospect of inviting Zelensky to the Trump-Putin meeting, calling it the best possible decision. He conveyed optimism that Zelensky’s participation would strengthen efforts toward a just and lasting peace. Kosiniak-Kamysz referred to discussions with close advisers of President Trump, highlighting their determination to bring the war to an end. He suggested that the upcoming days would be decisive in moving toward at least a ceasefire agreement.

Kosiniak-Kamysz also noted the symbolic significance of holding such a meeting on August 15, the anniversary of the 1920 Battle of Warsaw victory over Bolshevik forces, describing it as a potential historic gift for the region’s future.

The Trump-Putin summit, planned for August 15 in Alaska, is reportedly focused on ending the war in Ukraine, though media reports suggest any agreement might solidify Russia’s control over parts of Ukrainian territory. Ukrainian President Zelensky has reiterated that the resolution to the territorial dispute is enshrined in Ukraine’s Constitution. On August 9-10, a joint statement was issued by leaders of France, Italy, Germany, Poland, the UK, the European Commission president, and the Finnish president, addressing both Trump and Putin with a call for peaceful resolution and respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty.

https://www.novinite.com/articles/233841/Putin+Pressured+to+End+Ukraine+War+by+His+Own+Top+Aide

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NATO Signals Possible De Facto Recognition of Russian Control in Ukraine Ahead of Trump-Putin Summit

August 11, 2025

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has described the upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska as a critical moment to test Moscow’s willingness to end the war in Ukraine. Speaking to ABC News, Rutte emphasized that the meeting, scheduled for August 15, will focus on territory, security guarantees, and ensuring Ukraine’s sovereignty, including the country’s freedom to determine its own future without restrictions on its military or NATO’s presence on its eastern border.

Rutte acknowledged the difficult reality that Russia currently controls parts of Ukraine’s pre-war territory. He stressed that any future peace deal might involve a de facto recognition of Russia’s control over some areas, but this recognition must be practical rather than formal or political. The discussion will revolve around moving beyond a ceasefire to establish lasting security arrangements for Ukraine.

While some, such as former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, have criticized the summit as potentially rewarding Russia’s invasion, Rutte disagreed with that assessment. He highlighted President Trump’s firm stance on maintaining pressure on Russia, citing recent economic sanctions like the 25% tariffs imposed on India, a major buyer of Russian resources, and the renewed delivery of lethal weapons to Ukraine funded by European nations but supplied by the U.S. According to Rutte, these measures show Trump’s determination to end the war while keeping Russia under pressure.

At the same time, the European Commission has urged caution, warning the U.S. against agreeing to a one-sided territorial swap that would disadvantage Ukraine. An anonymous senior EU official emphasized the need for robust security guarantees for Kyiv, including unrestricted support from third countries and no limits on Ukraine’s armed forces. The official criticized Russia’s proposal as unfair and underscored the importance of Ukraine’s security in any agreement.

EU foreign ministers are scheduled to hold a videoconference to discuss these issues further. EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas has stressed that Ukraine and the EU must be involved in negotiations, warning that any deal should not enable further Russian aggression. Similarly, U.S. Vice President JD Vance has suggested that any settlement would likely be based on the current line of contact between Russia and Ukraine.

Meanwhile, far-right German politician Tino Chrupalla of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has called for an end to welfare payments to Ukrainian refugees in Germany, describing them as undeserved and suggesting many should return home. Chrupalla’s remarks, made on ZDF television, included claims that large parts of Ukraine are pro-Russian and that millions of Ukrainians have fled to Russia. He also expressed a desire for a swift end to the conflict, even if it involves Ukraine conceding territory, framing the war as “not our war” and noting Russia’s status as the world’s largest nuclear power.

These views echo similar calls from German regional leaders who have criticized welfare payments to Ukrainian refugees, arguing that they discourage employment and advocating for stricter social assistance rules.

On the broader European front, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský has reaffirmed strong support for Ukraine’s EU and NATO membership, highlighting the country’s vital role in defending European values and security. Writing during a visit to Ukraine in August, Lipavský pointed out that Ukraine’s struggle against Russian aggression is a defense of the entire Western world, likening Putin’s imperial ambitions to historical threats to European civilization.

Lipavský reflected on the legacy of Czech writer Milan Kundera, noting that if Kundera were to rewrite his essay “A Kidnapped West” today, he would surely include Ukraine among the nations belonging to the West. He underlined that Ukraine’s future lies firmly with Europe, stressing the importance of continued reforms within Ukraine, particularly regarding rule of law and anti-corruption measures, as essential for integration.

The minister highlighted ongoing Czech support for Ukraine, including unrestricted military aid, and noted efforts to deepen economic ties, especially with industrial hubs like Dnipro. He asserted that regions currently under Russian control, such as Donetsk, Luhansk, Mariupol, Crimea, and others, will be part of Europe once Ukraine regains sovereignty. According to Lipavský, Ukraine’s fight is a clash of civilizations, pivotal not only for its own people but for the entire continent.

https://www.novinite.com/articles/233839/NATO+Signals+Possible+De+Facto+Recognition+of+Russian+Control+in+Ukraine+Ahead+of+Trump-Putin+Summit

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On the front lines in eastern Ukraine, peace feels far away

August 11, 2025

DONETSK REGION: In a dugout where each nearby blast sends dirt raining from the ceiling and the black plastic lining the walls slipping down, Ukrainian soldiers say peace talks feel distant and unlikely to end the war. Explosions from Russian weapons — from glide bombs to artillery shells — thunder regularly overhead, keeping them underground except when they fire the M777 howitzer buried near their trench.

Nothing on the Eastern Front suggests the war could end soon.

Diplomatic peace efforts feel so far removed from the battlefield that many soldiers doubt they can bring results. Their skepticism is rooted in months of what they see as broken US promises to end the war quickly.

Recent suggestions by US President Donald Trump that there will be some ” swapping of territories” — as well as media reports that it would involve Ukrainian troops leaving the Donetsk region where they have fought for years defending every inch of land — have stirred confusion and rejection among the soldiers.

Few believe the current talks can end the war. More likely, they say, is a brief pause in hostilities before Russia resumes the assault with greater force.

“At minimum, the result would be to stop active fighting — that would be the first sign of some kind of settlement,” said soldier Dmytro Loviniukov of the 148th Brigade. “Right now, that’s not happening. And while these talks are taking place, they (the Russians) are only strengthening their positions on the front line.”

Long war, no relief

On one artillery position, talk often turns to home. Many Ukrainian soldiers joined the army in the first days of the full-scale invasion, leaving behind civilian jobs. Some thought they would serve only briefly. Others didn’t think about the future at all — because at that moment, it didn’t exist.

In the years since, many have been killed. Those who survived are in their fourth year of a grueling war, far removed from the civilian lives they once knew. With mobilization faltering and the war dragging on far longer than expected, there is no one to replace them as the Ukrainian army struggles with recruiting new people.

The army cannot also demobilize those who serve without risking the collapse of the front.

That is why soldiers wait for even the possibility of a pause in hostilities. When direct talks between Russia and Ukraine were held in Istanbul in May, the soldiers from 148th brigade read the news with cautious hope, said a soldier with the call sign Bronson, who once worked as a tattoo artist.

Months later, hope has been replaced with dark humor. On the eve of a deadline that US President Donald Trump reportedly gave Russia’s Vladimir Putin — one that has since vanished from the agenda amid talk of a meeting in Alaska — the Russian fire roared every minute for hours. Soldiers joked that the shelling was because the deadline was “running out.”

“We are on our land. We have no way back,” said the commander of the artillery group, Dmytro Loviniukov. “We stand here because there is no choice. No one else will come here to defend us.”

Training for what’s ahead

Dozens of kilometers from Zaporizhzhia region, north to the Donetsk area, heavy fighting grinds on toward Pokrovsk — now the epicenter of fighting.

Once home to about 60,000 people, the city has been under sustained Russian assault for months. The Russians have formed a pocket around Pokrovsk, though Ukrainian troops still hold the city and street fighting has yet to begin. Reports of Russian saboteurs entering the city started to appear almost daily, but the military says those groups have been neutralized.

Ukrainian soldiers of the Spartan brigade push through drills with full intensity, honing their skills for the battlefield in the Pokrovsk area.

Everything at the training range, only 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the front, is designed to mirror real combat conditions — even the terrain. A thin strip of forest breaks up the vast fields of blooming sunflowers stretching into the distance until the next tree line appears.

One of the soldiers training there is a 35-year-old with the call sign Komrad, who joined the military only recently. He says he has no illusions that the war will end soon.

“My motivation is that there is simply no way back,” he said. “If you are in the military, you have to fight. If we’re here, we need to cover our brothers in arms.”

Truce doesn’t mean peace

For Serhii Filimonov, commander of the “Da Vinci Wolves” battalion of the 59th brigade, the war’s end is nowhere in sight, and current news doesn’t influence the ongoing struggle to find enough resources to equip the unit that is fighting around Pokrovsk.

“We are preparing for a long war. We have no illusions that Russia will stop,” he said, speaking at his field command post. “There may be a ceasefire, but there will be no peace.”

Filimonov dismisses recent talk of exchanging territory or signing agreements as temporary fixes at best.

“Russia will not abandon its goal of capturing all of Ukraine,” he said. “They will attack again. The big question is what security guarantees we get — and how we hit pause.”

A soldier with the call sign Mirche from the 68th brigade said that whenever there is a new round of talks, the hostilities intensify around Pokrovsk — Russia’s key priority during this summer’s campaign.

Whenever peace talks begin, “things on the front get terrifying,” he said.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611416/world

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‘Andor’ star Denise Gough calls on celebrities to speak up for Gaza

August 11, 2025

DUBAI: Irish actress Denise Gough, who most recently rose to fame with her fan favorite role in “Star Wars” series “Andor,” has urged fellow public figures to use their platforms to advocate for Palestinians, following her speech at the March for Gaza at Downing Street in London.

In an Instagram post on Sunday, Gough said she was invited by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign to speak out and also to deliver a poem by Palestinian poet and activist Nour Abdel Latif, called “If I Must Starve.”

“The point of my being there was to encourage people with platforms to speak up,” Gough wrote. “I understand the fears. They are not nothing. But we are now at one of the darkest moments in our history.”

She said that celebrities often receive more attention than “healthcare workers, journalists and, most importantly, the Palestinians themselves,” making it imperative for high-profile voices to “centralise and amplify Palestinian voices.”

Gough urged people to “support verified families directly, march, be visible, boycott, educate,” adding: “The more people that do it the less fearful we need to be. It’s time for action.”

She described standing with demonstrators as “being on the right side of history,” telling followers, “It feels better … making noise.”

Gough also thanked Abdel Latif “for the privilege of speaking” her words and praised “the millions all over the world who energise me and who have created a community that nourishes rather than punishes.”

She ended her post with the words: “Free Palestine.”

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611313/lifestyle

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Kneecap voices support for Palestine during Oslo performance

August 11, 2025

DUBAI: Irish rap group Kneecap continued to voice their stance on the war in Gaza during their performance in Oslo, Norway, on Friday.

Just before the trio— Mo Chara, Moglai Bap and DJ Provai — took the stage, a message in white text on a black background appeared on a video screen, accusing the Norwegian government of “enabling” the “genocide” against Palestinians through investments in the country’s sovereign wealth fund, referring to it as the “oil pension fund.”

“Over 80,000 people have been murdered by Israel in 21 months,” the band’s message continued, “Free Palestine.” The message was received with cheers from the audience.

Kneecap has supported the Palestinian cause throughout the war in Gaza. The band has been the center of controversy in Britain since last year, when the previous government sought to block an arts grant for the band, citing its anti-British politics. That decision was overturned after the Labour Party won last year’s parliamentary election and Prime Minister Keir Starmer took office.

Last month, the group was banned from entering Hungary for three years over accusations of antisemitism.

They were due to perform at the Sziget Festival on Aug. 11.

Kneecap said in a statement that their ban was a “further attempt to silence those who call out genocide against the Palestinian people.”

At Glastonbury Festival this year, Chara accused Israel of committing war crimes against the Palestinians.

More than 150 Hungarian artists and musicians signed a petition against Kneecap playing at Sziget.

But festival organizers said that the government’s ban was “both unnecessary and regrettable,” adding the group had “reassured us that their performance would not contravene either Sziget’s values or Hungarian law.”

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611219/lifestyle

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North America

Trump demands homeless people 'immediately' move out of Washington DC

Max Matza, BBC News

August 11, 2025

US President Donald Trump has said homeless people must "move out" of Washington DC as he vowed to tackle crime in the city, but the mayor pushed back against the White House likening the American capital to Baghdad in Iraq.

The Republican president has also trailed a news conference for Monday about his plan to make the city "safer and more beautiful than it ever was before".

Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, said: "We are not experiencing a crime spike."

Trump signed an order last month making it easier to arrest homeless people, and he last week ordered federal law enforcement into the streets of Washington DC.

"The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY," Trump wrote on his social media site Truth Social on Sunday. "We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong."

Alongside photos of tents and rubbish, he added: "There will be no 'MR. NICE GUY.' We want our Capital BACK. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

The specifics of the president's plan are not yet clear, but in a 2022 speech he proposed moving homeless people to "high quality" tents on inexpensive land outside cities, while providing access to bathrooms and medical professionals.

On Friday, Trump ordered federal agents - including from US Park Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and the US Marshals Service - into Washington DC to curb what he called "totally out of control" levels of crime.

A White House official told NPR that up to 450 federal officers were deployed on Saturday night.

The administration is also considering deploying National Guard members, although Trump has not yet made a final decision, according to reports by Reuters and ABC News.

Trump's moves come after a 19-year-old former employee of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) was assaulted in an alleged attempted carjacking in Washington DC.

Trump vented about that incident on social media, posting a photo of the bloodied victim.

Mayor Bowser told MSNBC on Sunday: "It is true that we had a terrible spike in crime in 2023, but this is not 2023.

"We have spent over the last two years driving down violent crime in this city, driving it down to a 30-year low."

She criticised White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller for dubbing the US capital "more violent than Baghdad".

"Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false," Bowser said.

Washington DC's homicide rate remains relatively high per capita compared to other US cities, with a total of 98 such killings recorded so far this year. Homicides have been trending higher in the US capital from a decade ago.

But federal data from January suggests that Washington DC last year recorded its lowest overall violent crime figures - once carjacking, assault and robberies are incorporated - in 30 years.

Trump has promised a news conference at the White House on Monday to outline his plans to stop violent crime in the US capital.

In another post on Sunday, he said the event at 10:00 EDT (14:00 GMT) would address ending "crime, murder and death" in the city, as well as its "physical renovation".

He described Bowser as "a good person who has tried", adding that despite the mayor's efforts, crime continued to get "worse" and the city was becoming "dirtier and less attractive".

Community Partnership, an organisation that works to reduce homelessness in Washington DC, told Reuters that the city of 700,000 residents had about 3,782 people homeless on any given night.

Most were in public housing or emergency shelters, but about 800 were considered to be "on the street".

As a district, rather than a state, Washington DC is overseen by the federal government, which has the power to override some local laws.

The president controls federal land and buildings in the city, although he would need Congress to assume federal control of the district.

In recent days, he has threatened to take over the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department, which Bowser argued was not possible.

"There are very specific things in our law that would allow the president to have more control over our police department," Bowser said. "None of those conditions exist in our city right now."

Trump has been critical of various Democratic-run city administrations during his two presidential terms.

In recent months, he has notably clashed with the Los Angeles leadership after ordering thousands of National Guard members to deal with unrest over raids on undocumented migrants.

That deployment became the subject of a legal battle which will reach a federal court in California on Monday.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1kzz4m3ll1o

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Zelenskyy Warns US Ahead of Trump-Putin Talks: 'We Will Not Allow Russia to Deceive America'

August 11, 2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed Sunday that Kyiv will not let Moscow mislead Washington, as President Donald Trump prepares for high stakes talks Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

In his Sunday night national address, Zelenskyy said Ukraine remains in constant contact with the U.S. "to ensure real peace," and praised Trump's "determination" to stop the killing in the three-year-old full-scale war.

"We understand Russia's intention to try to deceive America — we will not allow this," Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy's remarks came hours after Russian air-dropped bombs struck the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, hitting homes, a bus station, and a clinic. He confirmed casualties and lauded first responders for saving lives under fire.

The Ukrainian leader urged stronger sanctions and economic pressure on Moscow, arguing that "if Russia does not want to stop the war, then its economy must be stopped."

Zelenskyy spoke with the leaders of Sweden, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and France, all of whom reaffirmed support for Ukraine's sovereignty.

Zelenskyy highlighted new cooperation with Sweden to bolster Ukraine's combat aviation, as well as ongoing energy collaboration with Azerbaijan despite Russian strikes on shared infrastructure.

On the battlefield, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces are making gains in the Sumy region and praised multiple military units for resilience in key areas, including the heavily contested Pokrovsk direction.

"The sole root cause of these killings is Putin's desire to wage war and manipulate everyone he comes into contact with," Zelenskyy said, vowing that Ukraine "will certainly defend our state and our independence."

https://www.newsmax.com/us/zelenskyy-warning-trump/2025/08/10/id/1221959/

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Trump Deploys 120 FBI Agents to Fight D.C. Crime, Weighs 1,000 National Guard

August 11, 2025

The Trump administration has begun deploying roughly 120 FBI agents in overnight shifts to help D.C. police combat carjackings and violent crime, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

U.S. military is preparing for the activation of hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday.

The officials, who were speaking on the condition of anonymity, said a final decision was still to be made by President Donald Trump but the troops were prepared to deploy.

One of the officials said it was unclear what exactly the troops would do, but could take part in efforts to protect federal agents or even carry out administrative tasks to free up law enforcement officials.

The move comes as President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric about a potential federal takeover of the nation's capital, vowing to "clear out" homeless encampments and crack down on lawlessness.

Agents from the FBI's Washington Field Office — as well as some brought in from cities like Philadelphia — are being assigned to assist local and federal law enforcement on D.C. streets for at least a week, the Post reported.

Many of the agents typically work in counterintelligence, public corruption, and other specialized divisions, and have limited experience in traffic stops or street patrols. The assignments have sparked frustration inside the bureau, sources told the Post, with some agents feeling they lack training for the work and are being diverted from their primary missions.

Trump compared the push to his first-term border crackdown, warning in a Truth Social post: "Be prepared! There will be no 'MR. NICE GUY.' We want our Capital BACK."

He has tied the effort to quality-of-life initiatives under his "D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force," which also targets graffiti and homeless encampments.

Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser has pushed back against Trump's portrayal of the city, noting violent crime is down 26% from last year, homicides are down 12%, and juvenile arrests have fallen 20%.

"If the priority is to show force in an American city, we know he can do that here," she told MSNBC.

Despite the drop in crime, Trump has threatened to assume control of the city's police if improvements are not made quickly. A White House news conference on D.C. crime, cleanliness, and physical renovation is scheduled for Monday at 10 a.m. ET.

Reuters and Newsmax's Eric Mack contributed to this report.

https://www.newsmax.com/us/trump-administration-fbi-agents-washington-d-c/2025/08/10/id/1221962/

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Bolton: Trump Legitimizing 'Pariah' Putin With Alaska Summit

August 11, 2025

John Bolton, a former national security adviser during President Donald Trump's first administration, on Sunday said he is skeptical about the president's approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of their upcoming meeting in Alaska, warning it could undermine Ukraine and the Western alliance while giving the Russian leader too much control.

"I think Trump has made some mistakes already," Bolton said in an interview with ABC News' "This Week," commenting that holding the meeting on American soil means that Trump is legitimizing Putin, the "pariah leader of a rogue state."

Trump is also allowing Putin to get the upper hand by putting his peace plan on the table before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has an opportunity to present his, said Bolton.

He added that Trump had already suggested Ukraine might have to amend its constitution to cede territory, an idea Zelenskyy has "flatly rejected."

The summit, planned for Friday, will also give Putin the chance to restore his rapport with Trump, said Bolton.

"What Putin gets more than anything else is an opportunity, one on one, to try and get his magic working again with Trump, applying that KGB training," he added. "What Putin wants to get is the relationship back with Trump. We'll see if he gets it."

Bolton further warned that Trump, by discussing parts of Putin's plans before the negotiations open, is risking pressuring Zelenskyy into accepting terms that are favorable to Moscow, not Ukraine.

"I don't think you negotiate under the circumstances that are being presented," he said, criticizing both the United States and NATO for lacking "an effective strategy for Ukraine to win" over the past three and a half years.

Bolton on Sunday also questioned Trump's commitment to sustained military aid for Ukraine and dismissed his recent threats of sanctions on Russia as being largely symbolic.

Trump proposed sanctions on India for buying Russian oil, but no similar measures were aimed at China, which imports more Russian energy, Bolton said.

Bolton further on Sunday dismissed Trump's recent international agreements, including deals between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Congo and Rwanda, and Cambodia and Thailand.

"I don't think what he has done materially changes the situation in any of those circumstances," he said, suggesting that Trump's motivation was personal recognition.

"I think what Trump has done is make it clear that he wants the Nobel Peace Prize more than anything else," he said.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/john-bolton-donald-trump-vladimir-putin/2025/08/10/id/1221944/

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Tariffs as War

Under Donald Trump, all policies have to be coercive. Hence, this week, his tariffs on the Swiss.

by Harold Meyerson

August 11, 2025

While there is nothing fundamentally funny about Donald Trump’s presidency, some of his policies, as Stephen Colbert and others regularly point out, register well above 9 on the Richter scale of ridiculosity. One current example of life under Trump imitating farce is his proposed 39 percent tariffs on Switzerland.

The farce I have in mind is the musical comedy Strike Up the Band, with books (it had two versions, one in 1927, one in 1930) by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind (who also wrote the definitive Marx Brothers comedies) and a score by George and Ira Gershwin. It features an American cheese mogul so infuriated by Switzerland’s efforts to block U.S. tariffs on their cheese that he finances a war in which the U.S. conquers Switzerland … almost (it’s a comedy, after all). The war is so identified with his business interests that, thoughtfully, it is named after the cheesemonger: the Horace J. Fletcher Memorial War.

In its 1927 version, the show so openly and scathingly satirized the American involvement in World War I—the business interests that had pressured the government to go to war, the wave of jingoism and the suppression of free speech that followed that decision—that audiences didn’t take to it. The watered-down 1930 version, however, was a Broadway hit.

Fast-forward to last week, when Donald Trump imposed a ruinous tariff on Swiss imports, despite Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter flying to D.C. in an attempt to strike a better deal with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and then in a phone call with Trump himself. The U.S. is running a $40 billion trade deficit with Switzerland, for which, not that it matters to Trump, Switzerland is hardly to blame. The nation manufactures high-end watches and precision tools not made in the U.S., makes pharmaceutical products, and also refines gold bullion and bars that are marketed on right-wing U.S. websites and sold to right-wing U.S. goldbugs and occasional readers of The Wall Street Journal editorial pages. None of the Swiss factories or gold refineries were offshored from the U.S.; most are venerable Swiss industries that only a limited number of American businesses have chosen to engage in.

Moreover, a number of these Swiss firms have already been opening production facilities in the U.S., so much so that on a per capita basis, the Swiss investment in the U.S. is the highest of any other nation. Problem is, there are only nine million Swiss, so when the total sum of those per capita investments is measured in raw dollars, it doesn’t come to all that much. And, of course, a nation of nine million can’t really buy as many goods, either foreign or domestic, as a nation of 340 million (us). Hence, the deficit.

Trump’s concern here is every bit as personal as that of the fictitious Horace J. Fletcher. At first glance, he doesn’t appear to be angling for personal profit, but, as with all his transactions, he’s bent on creating his signature transactional dynamic in which there’s a clear winner (him) and a clear loser (in this case, Switzerland). But who knows? If Switzerland is to win a lower tariff rate, he may require it to provide some five- or even six-figure timepieces at a steep discount (or even gratis?) to his wealthy backers, not to mention the Trump family itself. And as his policies drive down the value of the dollar relative to gold, he may compel the Swiss to provide more affordable gold bars to those same wealthy backers, or at least knock off the price on the gold trim he’s placing around every object in the White House (and Lord knows how many objects in Mar-a-Lago). Late last week, Trump proposed putting a tariff on previously tariff-free gold imports, which would surely reduce the trade deficit with Switzerland, and perhaps compel their refineries to open U.S. branches, in which Don Jr. and Eric might quietly secure a Trump Family share.

For Trump (to flip Clausewitz upside down), politics is an extension of war by other means, and that’s certainly true with tariffs. He’s punishing Brazil by threatening it with a 50 percent tariff (though the U.S. is actually running a trade surplus with that nation) because he hates its democratic socialist president, and wants to stop the trial of Brazil’s own Trump wannabe, Jair Bolsonaro, for trying to overthrow the elected government. He’s punishing Democrats by telling Republican state legislatures to strip the Democrats of their congressional seats through mid-decade gerrymandering. He’s punishing federal employees and their unions by unilaterally abrogating their contracts: Last Wednesday, the Veterans Affairs Department announced that it would no longer recognize or be guided by the contract it had with its employees’ unions, despite the administration’s promise that departments and agencies would not actually abrogate their contracts until the courts had ruled on whether this was legal.

Winners and losers. Actually, winner and losers. The problem, as Saul Bellow’s Augie March noted, is that “there is no fineness or accuracy of suppression; if you hold down one thing, you hold down the adjoining.” In the case of the tariffs, the “adjoining” things will surely be American consumers. They’ll be able to find alternatives to Swiss cheese, but a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian coffee beans will turn our nation into a collection of caffeine-starved, semiconscious zombies. Many of whom may be just conscious enough to vote Democratic in the midterm elections.

Where the Kaufman/Ryskind/Gershwin Horace J. Fletcher had to push the U.S. into a war to get the tariffs he sought, Donald J. Trump’s tariffs are meant to have the force of war in and of themselves. Life in the Age of Trump imitates farce, only worse.

https://prospect.org/economy/2025-08-11-trump-tariffs-as-war/

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Supreme Court formally asked to overturn landmark same-sex marriage ruling

August 11, 2025

Kim Davis, a former clerk who refused gay couples, brought the appeal.

ByDevin Dwyer

Ten years after the Supreme Court extended marriage rights to same-sex couples nationwide, the justices this fall will consider for the first time whether to take up a case that explicitly asks them to overturn that decision.

Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who was jailed for six days in 2015 after refusing to issue marriage licenses to a gay couple on religious grounds, is appealing a $100,000 jury verdict for emotional damages plus $260,000 for attorneys fees.

In a petition for writ of certiorari filed last month, Davis argues First Amendment protection for free exercise of religion immunizes her from personal liability for the denial of marriage licenses.

More fundamentally, she claims the high court's decision in Obergefell v Hodges -- extending marriage rights for same-sex couples under the 14th Amendment's due process protections -- was "egregiously wrong."

"The mistake must be corrected," wrote Davis' attorney Mathew Staver in the petition. He calls Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion in Obergefell "legal fiction."

The petition appears to mark the first time since 2015 that the court has been formally asked to overturn the landmark marriage decision. Davis is seen as one of the only Americans currently with legal standing to bring a challenge to the precedent.

"If there ever was a case of exceptional importance," Staver wrote, "the first individual in the Republic's history who was jailed for following her religious convictions regarding the historic definition of marriage, this should be it."

Lower courts have dismissed Davis' claims and most legal experts consider her bid a long shot. A federal appeals court panel concluded earlier this year that the former clerk "cannot raise the First Amendment as a defense because she is being held liable for state action, which the First Amendment does not protect."

Davis, as the Rowan County Clerk in 2015, was the sole authority tasked with issuing marriage licenses on behalf of the government under state law.

"Not a single judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals showed any interest in Davis's rehearing petition, and we are confident the Supreme Court will likewise agree that Davis's arguments do not merit further attention," said William Powell, attorney for David Ermold and David Moore, the now-married Kentucky couple that sued Davis for damages, in a statement to ABC News.

A renewed campaign to reverse legal precedent

Davis' appeal to the Supreme Court comes as conservative opponents of marriage rights for same-sex couples pursue a renewed campaign to reverse legal precedent and allow each state to set its own policy.

At the time Obergefell was decided in 2015, 35 states had statutory or constitutional bans on same-sex marriages, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Only eight states had enacted laws explicitly allowing the unions.

So far in 2025, at least nine states have either introduced legislation aimed at blocking new marriage licenses for LGBTQ people or passed resolutions urging the Supreme Court to reverse Obergefell at the earliest opportunity, according to the advocacy group Lambda Legal.

In June, the Southern Baptist Convention -- the nation's largest Protestant Christian denomination -- overwhelmingly voted to make "overturning of laws and court rulings, including Obergefell v. Hodges, that defy God's design for marriage and family" a top priority.

Support for equal marriage rights softening

While a strong majority of Americans favor equal marriage rights, support appears to have softened in recent years, according to Gallup -- 60% of Americans supported same-sex marriages in 2015, rising to 70% support in 2025, but that level has plateaued since 2020.

Among Republicans, support has notably dipped over the past decade, down from 55% in 2021 to 41% this year, Gallup found.

Davis' petition argues the issue of marriage should be treated the same way the court handled the issue of abortion in its 2022 decision to overturn Roe v Wade. She zeroes in on Justice Clarence Thomas' concurrence in that case, in which he explicitly called for revisiting Obergefell.

The justices "should reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell," Thomas wrote at the time, referring to the landmark decisions dealing with a fundamental right to privacy, due process and equal protection rights.

"It is hard to say where things will go, but this will be a long slog considering how popular same-sex marriage is now," said Josh Blackman, a prominent conservative constitutional scholar and professor at South Texas College of Law.

Blackman predicts many members of the Supreme Court's conservative majority would want prospective challenges to Obergefell to percolate in lower courts before revisiting the debate.

The court is expected to formally consider Davis' petition this fall during a private conference when the justices discuss which cases to add to their docket. If the case is accepted, it would likely be scheduled for oral argument next spring and decided by the end of June 2026. The court could also decline the case, allowing a lower court ruling to stand and avoid entirely the request to revisit Obergefell.

"Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett seem wildly uninterested. Maybe Justice Neil Gorsuch, too," said Sarah Isgur, an ABC News legal analyst and host of the legal podcast Advisory Opinions.

"There is no world in which the court takes the case as a straight gay marriage case," Isgur added. "It would have to come up as a lower court holding that Obergefell binds judges to accept some other kind of non-traditional marital arrangement."

Ruling wouldn't invalidate existing marriages

If the ruling were to be overturned at some point in the future, it would not invalidate marriages already performed, legal experts have pointed out. The 2022 Respect for Marriage Act requires the federal government and all states to recognize legal marriages of same-sex and interracial couples performed in any state -- even if there is a future change in the law.

Davis first appealed the Supreme Court in 2019 seeking to have the damages suit against her tossed out, but her petition was rejected. Conservative Justices Thomas and Samuel Alito concurred with the decision at the time.

"This petition implicates important questions about the scope of our decision in Obergefell, but it does not cleanly present them," Thomas wrote in a statement.

Many LGBTQ advocates say they are apprehensive about the shifting legal and political landscape around marriage rights.

There are an estimated 823,000 married same-sex couples in the U.S., including 591,000 that wed after the Supreme Court decision in June 2015, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School. Nearly one in five of those married couples is parenting a child under 18.

Since the Obergefell decision, the makeup of the Supreme Court has shifted rightward, now including three appointees of President Donald Trump and a 6-justice conservative supermajority.

Chief Justice John Roberts, among the current members of the court who dissented in Obergefell a decade ago, sharply criticized the ruling at the time as "an act of will, not legal judgment" with "no basis in the Constitution." He also warned then that it "creates serious questions about religious liberty."

Davis invoked Roberts' words in her petition to the high court, hopeful that at least four justices will vote to accept her case and hear arguments next year.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/supreme-court-formally-asked-overturn-landmark-same-sex/story?id=124465302

...

Four days left to square the circle on global plastic pollution treaty

August 11, 2025

GENEVA: Countries remained at loggerheads Monday over how to tackle plastic pollution, with only four days left to craft a landmark global treaty on reining in the ever-growing scourge.

While plastic has transformed modern life, plastic pollution poses an increasing threat to the environment and the human body — and every day the garbage accumulates on land and in the oceans.

The 184 countries meeting at the United Nations to sculpt a first international accord setting out the way forward return to the negotiating table after a day off Sunday to reflect on their differences.

The first week of talks in Geneva fell behind schedule and failed to produce a clear text, with states still deeply divided at square one: the purpose and scope of the treaty they started negotiating two and a half years ago.

Last week, working groups met on technical topics ranging from the design of plastic to waste management, production, financing for recycling, plastic reuse, and funding waste collection in developing countries.

They also discussed molecules and chemical additives that pose environmental and health risks.

A nebulous cluster of mostly oil-producing states calling themselves the Like-Minded Group want the treaty to focus primarily on waste management.

The United States and India are also close to this club.

At the other end of the spectrum, a growing faction calling themselves the “ambitious” group want radical action written into the treaty, including measures to curb the damage caused by plastic garbage, such as phasing out the most dangerous chemicals.

Plastic pollution is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found on the highest mountain peaks, in the deepest ocean trench and scattered throughout almost every part of the human body.

The ambitious group wants a clause reining in plastic production, which is set to triple by 2060.

The club brings together the European Union, many African and Latin American countries, Australia, Britain, Switzerland and Canada.

It also includes island micro-nations drowning in plastic trash they did little to produce and have little capacity to deal with.

Palau, speaking for 39 small island developing states (SIDS), said the treaty had to deal with removing the plastic garbage “already choking our oceans.”

“SIDS will not stand by while our future is bartered away in a stalemate,” and “this brinkmanship has a real price: a dying ocean,” the Micronesian archipelago said.

The treaty is set to be settled by universal consensus; but with countries far apart, the lowest-ambition countries are quite comfortable not budging, observers said.

“We risk having a meaningless treaty without any binding global rules like bans and phase-outs. This is unacceptable,” Eirik Lindebjerg, global plastics adviser for the World Wide Fund for Nature, told AFP.

“Expecting any meaningful outcome to this process through consensus is a delusion. With the time remaining, the ambitious governments must come together as a majority to finalize the treaty text and prepare to agree it through a vote.”

Without touching on whether ambitious countries would ultimately abandon consensus and go for a vote, the EU’s environment commissioner Jessika Roswall, due in Geneva on Monday, urged countries to speed up negotiations and not “miss this historic opportunity.”

The draft treaty has ballooned from 22 to 35 pages — with the number of brackets in the text going up near five-fold to almost 1,500 as countries insert a blizzard of conflicting wishes and ideas.

“With four more days to go, we have more square brackets in the text than plastic in the sea. It’s time to get results,” Roswall said.

In total, 70 ministers and around 30 senior government officials are expected in Geneva from Tuesday onwards and could perhaps help break the deadlock.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611430/world

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South Asia

U.S. should hand over Afghan Embassy to Islamic Emirate, Mujahid

August 11, 2025

KABUL: Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, spoke about direct talks with the United States and urged Washington to hand over Afghanistan’s embassy to the current Islamic system.

In an interview with National Television, he called the U.S. for the handover of Afghanistan’s embassy in Washington to the Islamic Emirate.

Mujahid said: “We have periodic contacts with the United States. As you saw some time ago, an American representative came to Kabul, and likewise, when our representatives travel to Qatar or elsewhere, they meet with American officials. We have requested official recognition from them and have also raised the issue of transferring the Afghan embassy in the United States to us. Although we have not received a positive response, the people of Afghanistan want their rights.”

Continuing his remarks, he referred to Russia’s recognition of the Islamic Emirate and called on other countries to also recognize the IEA.

The spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate added: “Afghanistan has no problems with any country and seeks good relations with all nations. Russia understood Afghanistan’s intentions, took the initiative in this regard, and took advantage of the opportunity. We call on other countries to take such courageous steps and establish relations with Afghanistan.”

https://thekabultimes.com/u-s-should-hand-over-afghan-embassy-to-islamic-emirate-mujahid/

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Afghan Man Arrested Over Killing of Former U.S. Military Interpreter

August 11, 2025

An Afghan man has been arrested in Houston over the killing of a former U.S. military interpreter, who was also a well-known advocate for Afghan refugees.

Authorities in Houston have arrested an Afghan national in the fatal stabbing of Abdul Rahman Niazi, a former U.S. military interpreter and prominent advocate for Afghan refugees.

According to a Harris County court affidavit cited by NBC News, the suspect, Masihullah Sahel, allegedly attacked Niazi after repeated arguments, stabbing him more than 20 times.

Niazi’s body was discovered in his office, where investigators reported clear signs of a violent struggle. Police have not disclosed a motive for the killing.

Sahel was initially granted release on a $750,000 bond but remains in custody after his bail was later reduced to $25,000.

Niazi, 34, was originally from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. He began working as a military interpreter for U.S. forces in 2011 and lost both legs in a roadside bomb blast during a mission in Helmand province.

After receiving threats from the Taliban against his family, Niazi was granted a Special Immigrant Visa and resettled in Houston, where he became active in supporting newly arrived Afghan refugees.

News of his death has deeply shocked the Afghan diaspora and U.S. veteran communities, who described him as a courageous, selfless figure committed to helping others.

The investigation is ongoing, and authorities have urged anyone with additional information to contact law enforcement.

https://www.khaama.com/afghan-man-arrested-over-killing-of-former-u-s-military-interpreter/

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Afghanistan Media Group Launches Campaign to stop deportation from Iran and Pakistan

August 11, 2025

Afghanistan’s Media Support Organization has launched a campaign urging Iran and Pakistan to stop deporting Afghan journalists, calling for faster relocation to safe countries and stressing “journalism is not a crime.”

The Afghanistan Media Support Organization (AMSO) has launched a campaign opposing the deportation of Afghan journalists from Iran and Pakistan, warning that such actions endanger lives and press freedom.

On Sunday, August 10, AMSO urged social media users to join the initiative by using hashtags calling for a ban on the expulsion of journalists.

The campaign promotes three core messages: “No to the deportation of journalists from Pakistan and Iran,” “Speed up the relocation of journalists to safe countries,” and “Journalism is not a crime.”

A day earlier, in an online meeting, AMSO voiced deep concern about the safety of Afghan journalists in both countries and called for an immediate end to forced removals.

The group also warned that Pakistan’s new deportation policy could put Afghan journalists, civil society activists, human rights defenders, and former security personnel at serious risk of harm.

Press freedom organizations have long called for urgent international action to protect Afghan journalists who fled to neighboring countries and are awaiting relocation to safer destinations.

The AMSO campaign reflects growing fears over the erosion of media freedom in the region and highlights the urgent need for coordinated protection and resettlement efforts.

https://www.khaama.com/afghanistan-media-group-launches-campaign-to-stop-deportation-from-iran-and-pakistan/

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4 killed in Clashes Between Iranian Police and Jaish al-Adl Militants in Sistan-Balochistan

August 11, 2025

Iranian media report that four people, including a police officer and three Jaish al-Adl militants, were killed in an attack in Sistan-Baluchestan province.

According to the Azad Iran News Agency, the incident occurred on Sunday, August 10, when militants from the Sunni insurgent group launched an assault on an Iranian police military post.

Police commander Mohammadreza Eshaqi said in a statement that three “terrorists” were killed during the clash and two others were arrested.

Sistan-Baluchestan, in southeastern Iran along the border with Pakistan, has long been a hotspot for insurgent activity and frequent militant attacks.

The Jaish al-Adl group, designated as a terrorist organization by Tehran, has previously targeted security forces and government facilities in the province.

Just weeks earlier, the group carried out an attack on the Sistan-Baluchestan judiciary compound, killing eight people and wounding 13 others.

Security analysts say the latest incident reflects ongoing instability in the province and the challenges Iranian authorities face in securing the remote, restive border area.

https://www.khaama.com/4-killed-in-clashes-between-iranian-police-and-jaish-al-adl-militants-in-sistan-balochistan/

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Pakistan suspends train services after railway bombing in insurgency-hit Balochistan

August 11, 2025

QUETTA: Pakistan’s railways on Monday suspended all train services to and from an insurgency-hit southwestern province for four days after separatists blew up a railway track, derailing six cars of a passenger train, officials said.

No one was harmed in the attack Sunday in Mastung, a district in Balochistan, said railways spokesman Ikram Ullah. Engineers were repairing the damaged track, he said.

The Jaffer Express was traveling from Quetta, the provincial capital, to the northern city of Peshawar when assailants targeted it with a bomb, Ullah said.

The banned Baloch Liberation Army, in a statement, claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes months after BLA fighters hijacked a train in the same district, killing 21 hostages before security forces were able to kill 33 assailants.

The attack came as Pakistan prepares to mark its 78th Independence Day on Aug. 14.

Balochistan has long been the scene of insurgency by separatists seeking independence from the central government. The province is also home to militants linked to the Pakistani Taliban.

Local administrator Shahid Khan said the government imposed curfews in some areas of the district of Bajaur along the Afghan border in the troubled northwest and advised residents to stay indoors, prompting many to flee to safer places in preparation for a possible security operation against the Pakistani Taliban.

Bajaur was once a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and the group has resurfaced there. TTP is a separate group but closely allied to the Afghan Taliban.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611441/world

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FBI Offers Up to $5 Million for Information on Mahmood Shah Habibi

August 11, 2025

The FBI in Washington has released a missing-person poster for Mahmood Shah Habibi, an Afghan–American citizen and former head of Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority.

In a statement issued Sunday, August 10, the FBI announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the location and safe return of Habibi.

The agency urged the public to report any details regarding his disappearance or current whereabouts, emphasizing that tips can be provided anonymously.

“It has been three years since Habibi was abducted, and the FBI, along with its partners, remains determined to find him,” the statement said.

The announcement comes after Reuters recently reported that the Taliban detained Habibi in connection with the killing of former al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and alleged CIA infiltration of the company where he was employed.

Habibi served as Afghanistan’s civil aviation chief prior to the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. He later relocated abroad, but maintained professional ties to the aviation sector.

The Taliban has not publicly confirmed his detention, and his current condition and location remain unknown. His family and colleagues have repeatedly appealed for his release, expressing concern for his safety.

The FBI’s involvement underscores the seriousness of the case and the potential international dimensions of Habibi’s disappearance. The reward offer signals a renewed push to gather actionable intelligence in hopes of securing his safe return.

https://www.khaama.com/fbi-offers-up-to-5-million-for-information-on-mahmood-shah-habibi/

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Massive mudslide kills 7 volunteers repairing flood damage in northern Pakistan

August 11, 2025

GILGIT: A massive mudslide early Monday killed seven volunteers as they repaired a drainage channel damaged by flash floods in northern Pakistan, officials said, leaving three others injured.

Rescuers recovered the bodies after the mudslide hit the town of Danyor in Gilgit-Baltistan at dawn and transported the injured to a hospital, said Faizullah Faraq, a regional government spokesperson.

This came a day after a flash flood triggered by a glacial lake outburst damaged the key Karakoram Highway, which passes through Danyor, disrupting traffic and trade between Pakistan and China. Engineers and workers were deployed along with heavy machinery to start repairs, Faraq said Monday.

Meanwhile, several landslides near the damaged mountainous highway left homes damaged in Danyor and nearby areas as first responders evacuated those affected by the floods to safer areas, said Hassan Ali, a local police chief, adding that essential foods were being provided to those displaced.

Sunday’s glacial lake outburst was huge, Ali said, swelling the Hunza river and triggering flash flooding that battered crops. Authorities were still assessing the damage, he said.

The region’s Chief Minister Gulbar Khan called the seven who died “heroes who sacrificed their lives for the community” in a statement Monday.

Gilgit-Baltistan is known for its scenic glaciers that provide 75 percent of the country’s stored water supply, according to the region’s official website. Last month, it was hit by landslides, killing 18 tourists when flash floods swept away their vehicles.

Experts say glacial lake outburst floods occur when water dammed by a glacier is suddenly released, often because ice or debris barriers collapse. Scientists say rising temperatures linked to climate change are accelerating glacier melt in Pakistan’s northern mountains, increasing both the size and number of these lakes.

A study released last week by World Weather Attribution, a network of international scientists, found rainfall from June 24 to July 23 was 10 percent to 15 percent heavier because of global warming. Pakistan produces less than 1 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases, but research shows it suffers disproportionately from extreme weather.

In 2022, its worst monsoon season on record killed more than 1,700 people and caused an estimated $40 billion in damage.

Rains and floods since June 26 have killed more than 300 people across Pakistan.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611426/world

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Leaders of Indonesia and Peru hold talks on trade and economic ties

August 11, 2025

JAKARTA: Peruvian President Dina Boluarte met his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto on Monday during a visit aimed at strengthening economic ties as the two countries for new markets amid geopolitical challenges and rising trade barriers.

The signing came just four days after the US President Donald Trump began imposing higher import taxes on dozens of countries on Thursday, including a 19 percent rate on Indonesia. Imports from Peru are paying the 10 percent baseline rate Trump set in April.

Boluarte arrived in Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta on Sunday afternoon, following an invitation President Prabowo extended when the two leaders met at the APEC Summit in Peru in November 2024.

The two-day visit is aimed at deepening Peru’s ties with Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, after the two nations concluded negotiations which began in May on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement or CEPA.

Subianto hosted Boluarte with a ceremony at Merdeka palace in Jakarta before the two leaders lead a closed-door bilateral meeting.

The two leaders are expected to witness the signing of CEPA that could be a major booster to bilateral trade, said Indonesia’s trade minister Budi Santoso ahead of the visit.

“The CEPA deal with Peru is a potential gateway for Indonesian goods and services to enter markets in Central and South America,” Santoso said, “We hope the deal can strengthen Indonesia’s trade presence in the region.”

His ministry’s data showed the country’s total trade with Peru went down from $554.2 million in 2022 to $444.4 million the following year, while Indonesia enjoyed a $290.4 million trade surplus in 2023, driven by major exports including vehicles, footwear and biodiesel.

Indonesia is currently seeking membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Peru is part of, to boost export growth.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611415/world

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Bangladesh dengue deaths top 100, August could be worse

August 11, 2025

DHAKA: Bangladesh is experiencing a surge in dengue cases and deaths, with health experts warning that August could bring an even more severe outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease if urgent action is not taken.

Dengue has killed 101 people and infected 24,183 so far this year, official data showed, placing a severe strain on the country’s already overstretched health care system.

A sharp rise in fatalities has accompanied the spike in cases. Nineteen people have already died of dengue so far in August, following 41 deaths in July — more than double June’s 19 fatalities.

“The situation is critical. The virus is already widespread across the country, and without aggressive intervention, hospitals will be overwhelmed,” said Kabirul Bashar, an entomologist at Jahangirnagar University.

“August could see at least three times as many cases as July, with numbers potentially peaking in September.”

Health officials are urging people to use mosquito repellents, sleep under nets, and eliminate stagnant water where mosquitoes breed.

“We need coordinated spraying and community clean-up drives, especially in high-risk zones,” Bashar said.

Experts say climate change, along with warm, humid weather and intermittent rain, has created ideal breeding conditions for Aedes mosquitoes, the carriers of the dengue virus.

While Dhaka remains a major hotspot, dengue is peaking across the country. Large numbers of infections are being reported from outside the capital, adding pressure to rural health care facilities with limited capacity to treat severe cases.

Doctors warn that early medical attention is critical. Severe abdominal pain, vomiting, bleeding, or extreme fatigue should prompt immediate hospital visits to reduce the risk of complications or death.

With the peak dengue season still ahead, health experts have stressed that community participation, alongside government-led mosquito control, will be critical in preventing what could become one of Bangladesh’s worst outbreaks in years. The deadliest year on record was 2023, with 1,705 deaths and more than 321,000 infections reported.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611405/world

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Industry Minister Urges Nationwide Standardization

August 11, 2025

KABUL(BNA): Minister of Industry and Commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, has called for national standardization across multiple sectors during a consultative session on petroleum products, liquefied gas, and new technical standards.

The meeting, attended by the minister and several petroleum sector representatives, addressed challenges, shortcomings, and proposals related to fuel and gas standards. Participants also shared technical information about the standards used in neighboring and regional countries, particularly those producing diesel and petrol.

Azizi emphasized that the Islamic Emirate has consistently maintained positive engagement with citizens and business owners while taking into account the purchasing power of the population.

At the conclusion, fuel and gas sector representatives were asked to submit written technical and consultative recommendations to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce for review by the leadership of the Islamic Emirate.

https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/industry-minister-urges-nationwide-standardization/

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Education left behind

August 11, 2025

One year into its tenure, the interim government is struggling to bring stability to the country's educational institutions, beset by campus unrest and disruptions to academic activities.

Many of the institutions have seen student protests, politically influenced appointments, forced resignations of teachers, and public humiliation of educators, underscoring the administration's lack of resolve to restore order in the education sector.

Upon assuming office, the interim government pledged to initiate sweeping reforms across key sectors through the formation of 11 reform commissions. However, education sector was left out.

Some educationists have described the past year as a lost opportunity, urging the administration to form a specialised, non-partisan commission to stabilise the sector and draft a long-term policy roadmap to guide the next government.

Following the fall of Awami League government, nearly all vice-chancellors of public universities resigned -- many under pressure from protesters due to their ties with AL. Their sudden departure disrupted academic and administrative activities at the universities.

It took more than a month for most universities to fully resume academic activities, with political influence continuing to shape university governance.

As appointments to the vacant posts were made, The Daily Star found that at least 30 of the 47 VCs appointed over the past year were affiliated with teachers' organisations linked to BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.

Following the AL government's ouster, calls for a uniform policy for VC appointments gained momentum. Yet, the University Grants Commission has not introduced any such framework.

Disruptions to academic activities were not limited to universities only. Students staged protests at dozens of schools and colleges, demanding resignation of institutional heads.

According to a count by The Daily Star, at least 150 teachers across the country were forced to resign between August 5 and August 31 last year. Many were humiliated and harassed.

In some cases, teachers and officials were assaulted, with video clips of the incidents circulating on social media. The education ministry issued directives repeatedly to bring the situation under control but failed.

Throughout the year, both students and teachers staged demonstrations over their distinct demands -- from salary hikes and pay scale revisions to exam deferrals and auto-pass for students.

Many of these protests turned violent. The education ministry could neither maintain order nor negotiate meaningful resolutions.

Student groups on August 20 stormed the Secretariat and carried out vandalism, demanding cancellation of HSC and equivalent examinations postponed during the July mass uprising.

The authorities eventually scrapped the exams and published results through subject mapping, drawing criticism from academicians.

The then education adviser, Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud, later admitted that the decision was a mistake.

Another controversial move was the sudden reversion to the 2012 curriculum for class-6 to 12 amid pressure from a section of guardians and teachers. Students who had just begun adapting to the new curriculum were forced to shift back, resulting in widespread confusion.

The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) was tasked with revising and reprinting 50 textbooks to align them with the previous curriculum. A coordination committee was formed to facilitate the process but was disbanded following backlash over its composition.

The NCTB promised to deliver the revised textbooks by December, 2024, but missed the deadline. New targets were set for January and February. However, nationwide distribution could not be completed until April this year.

School students in multiple districts began the academic year without full sets of textbooks, leading to significant learning loss, especially for those with limited access to digital tools.

In March this year, the government made a change in the top leadership of the sector, with Prof Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar replacing Prof Wahiduddin as education adviser.

"A LOST OPPORTUNITY"

In October last year, the primary and mass education ministry formed a consultation committee to recommend ways to improve primary and non-formal education.

Headed by BRAC University Professor Emeritus Manzoor Ahmed, the committee submitted its report to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on February 10 this year.

On implementation of the committee's recommendations, Prof Manzoor said, "As of now, we've only seen piecemeal steps, not a comprehensive or systematic response."

Despite time constraints, the interim government could still establish a similar body for the education sector with a six-month tenure, he said.

"This could give the next government a strong foundation for much-needed reforms," he told The Daily Star recently.

Terming the past year a lost opportunity for the sector, he said, "The shortcomings inherited by the interim government were significant, but the response has been largely ad hoc. No substantive reform initiative has been taken. There has been no education commission, unlike in other sectors."

"It can be fairly described as a disappointing record," he said.

Criticising the government's approach as fragmented and uncoordinated, he said, "There was no holistic planning and no mechanism for short, medium, or long-term reform."

Prof Anu Mohammad, a former teacher at Jahangirnagar University, said it's true that everything cannot be changed in a year, but the government failed to do even what was possible.

"Why education was not given due importance under this government remains a pressing question."

Questioning why no education reform commission was formed, he said the government could at least introduce a uniform framework for teacher recruitment in universities.

Contacted, Education Adviser Prof CR Abrar said, "For those who expected a miracle within a year, their expectation is misplaced."

The education sector has been plagued with problems for years. "Can a government just assume power and change everything, especially in a situation where the youth who brought about this transition have a major stake in the outcome.".

"In such a context, decisions that affect them must be made with great care," he said.

About partisan appointments at universities, he said, "Perhaps it was the circumstances that led to the decisions made at a certain point of time… We have learnt from that process... It was not ideal.

"Not all the decisions were necessarily good. Perhaps the role of the state -- what it should have been and what was expected -- was not delivered."

On the formation of a commission for the education sector, the adviser said that commissions often operate on very short terms -- some for six months. Such short-term bodies, he argued, are not suitable for something as complex as education.

"We hope to see some meaningful and visible results within the next five to six months as we complete our tenure," he added.

https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/education-left-behind-3959881

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‘Have you seen a report in 53 years that law and order was good?’

August 11, 2025

Home Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury today questioned whether there has ever been any report of improvement in Bangladesh's law and order in the past 53 years.

"Raise your hand if you are above 53 years old. Have you ever seen a report that the law and order was very good? Nobody has seen it," he told reporters after visiting Tegharia High School, a potential polling centre in Keraniganj upazila.

He acknowledged the persistent negative perception of law and order but assured, "given the current state of law and order, we will have no difficulty conducting the election."

The home adviser described the situation as dire, citing police reluctance to work and Ansar members' rebellion following the July uprising last year.

"Has the situation improved since then? Much time is still in our hands. Although the situation has not yet reached the expected level, it is expected to improve by this time," he said.

Apart from members of police, Ansar, and other agencies, around 80,000 army personnel will be deployed during the election, he added.

Addressing a question, he vowed that no extortionists, including those holding higher positions, would be spared.

He also announced that a reward would soon be offered for information leading to the recovery of firearms looted during last year's July uprising.

He pledged those involved in attacks on journalists will be brought to justice.

https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/9-stab-injuries-found-journalist-tuhins-body-autopsy-report-3960171

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9 stab injuries found on journalist Tuhin's body: autopsy report

August 11, 2025

Nine deep stab wounds were found on journalist Asaduzzaman Tuhin's throat, neck, chest, back and hands, according to the autopsy report.

The report was prepared on August 9 at Gazipur Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital.

ANM Al Mamun, assistant professor of the hospital's forensic department, told The Daily Star around noon today that the wounds varied in size but were all serious and deep.

Gazipur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Nazmul Karim Khan said authorities will file a charge sheet against the accused within 15 days after receiving the autopsy report.

Tuhin was fatally attacked by a group of miscreants wielding sharp weapons in front of a crowded market near Chandana Chowrasta in Gazipur city on August 7.

https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/yunus-receive-honorary-doctorate-degree-ukm-aug-13-3960136

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Southeast Asia

Islamic Shariah Court in Aceh Sentences 2 Men to Public Caning over Sexual Acts

August 11, 2025

Banda Aceh. An Islamic Shariah court in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province on Monday sentenced two men to public caning 80 times each after Islamic religious police caught them engaged in what the court deemed were sexual acts.

The trial at the Islamic Shariah District Court in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, was held behind closed doors. Judges have the authority to limit public access to a trial if the case relates to adultery and open it only for the verdict.

The couple, aged 20 and 21, were arrested in April after residents saw them entering the same bathroom at Taman Sari city park in Banda Aceh and reported it to Sharia police, who were patrolling the area.

The police broke into the toilet and caught the men kissing and hugging each other, which the court considered to be a sexual act.

Aceh is considered more devout than other areas of Muslim-majority Indonesia and is the only province allowed to observe a version of Islamic Shariah law.

Monday’s verdict was the fifth time that Aceh has sentenced people to public caning for homosexuality since the Islamic law was implemented in 2015 as a concession made by the government to end a long-running separatist rebellion.

Indonesia’s national criminal code doesn’t regulate homosexuality, and the central government doesn’t have the power to strike down Shariah law in Aceh.

https://jakartaglobe.id/news/islamic-shariah-court-in-aceh-sentences-2-men-to-public-caning-over-sexual-acts

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Govt launches tougher laws, mobile courts to tackle child sexual crimes and protect victims

August 11, 2025

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — The government is intensifying efforts to safeguard children from sexual crimes through legislative improvements and more comprehensive implementation strategies.

Deputy director-general (Legal Reform Sector) of the Legal Affairs Division (BHEUU) under the Prime Minister’s Department, Thiyagu Ganesan, said these efforts include the amendments to the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 [Act 792], the expansion of special criminal courts, and ongoing training for legal officers.

He said that several key amendments were made to Act 792 in 2023, which include replacing the term ‘child pornography’ with ‘child sexual abuse material’, introducing new offences such as live-streaming of sexual crimes and sextortion, and mandating compensation for victims.

“Additionally, the government has recently passed the Online Safety Act 2025 (Act 866), which places the responsibility on digital platforms to remove child sexual abuse content. It also introduces the safety-by-design concept to ensure a safer online environment for children,” he said during an interview on Bernama TV’s Apa Khabar Malaysia programme today.

To broaden access to justice for victims, Thiyagu noted that the number of Special Courts for Sexual Crimes Against Children has been increased to 81 nationwide, along with the introduction of child-friendly mobile courts.

“These mobile courts are equipped with a child witness room and will travel to where the child is located, hence eliminating the need for the child to travel to a physical courtroom, which may be distressing,” he explained.

Thiyagu also underscored the importance of specialised training for prosecutors, judges, and lawyers to improve the handling of child-related cases, in line with the 2023 legal reforms regulating the manner in which child witnesses are examined, cross-examined, and re-examined in court.

He said the BHEUU is actively expanding awareness campaigns related to Section 19 of Act 792, which mandates all individuals to report suspected cases of child sexual crimes to the authorities.

Touching on the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) Act 1999, he said amendments in 2023 led to the creation of a full-time position for Chief Children Commissioner, along with two Children Commissioners and one additional Commissioner, all dedicated to strengthening oversight of government policies related to child protection.

“Their role is to provide assistance, commentary, and recommendations on government plans and policies, as well as to announce improvements. If issues arise, they will actively speak out to ensure continuous progress,” he added. — Bernama

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/08/11/govt-launches-tougher-laws-mobile-courts-to-tackle-child-sexual-crimes-and-protect-victims/187223

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Philippines’ Marcos says China ‘misinterpreted’ his comments on Taiwan

August 11, 2025

MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday that Beijing has “misinterpreted” his comments saying Manila will be inevitably drawn in to a conflict between China and Taiwan should one erupt.

China accused Marcos of “playing with fire” after the Philippine leader said during a visit to India that “there is no way that the Philippines can stay out of it” due to its proximity to the democratically governed island.

“We are, I think for propaganda purposes, misinterpreted,” Marcos told a press briefing.

“I’m a little bit perplexed why it would be characterized as such, as playing with fire,” he added.

Marcos said Filipinos working and living in Taiwan will have to be evacuated if a conflict does arise but maintained that he wishes to avoid confrontation and war.

Over a hundred thousand Filipinos live and work in Taiwan, according to Philippine government data.

“War over Taiwan will drag the Philippines kicking and screaming into the conflict. That is what I was trying to say,” Marcos said.

Marcos’ comments come at a time of heightened tensions between Manila and Beijing over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway where the two countries have had a series of maritime run-ins over the past years.

On Monday, a Philippine vessel transporting provisions to Filipino fishermen in the Scarborough Shoal was sprayed at with a water cannon by a Chinese coast guard ship, the Philippine Coast Guard said. The vessel managed to evade being hit.

China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the president’s remarks.

Responding to the Monday incident, China’s coast guard said it had taken necessary measures to expel Philippine vessels from Scarborough Shoal, which China claims as its own territory.

It described the operation as “professional, standardized, legitimate and legal.”

A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal voided Beijing’s sweeping claims in the region, saying they had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611413/world

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North Korea warns of ‘resolute counteraction’ over US-South Korea drills

August 11, 2025

SEOUL: North Korea will react with “resolute counteraction” in the event of provocations from upcoming joint military drills between South Korea and the United States, its defense chief said Monday in a state media dispatch.

The warning comes as Seoul and Washington are set to carry out their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, aimed at containing the nuclear-armed North, from August 18 to 21.

North Korea — which attacked its neighbor in 1950, triggering the Korean War — has always been infuriated by US-South Korean military drills, decrying them as rehearsals for invasion.

“The armed forces of the DPRK will cope with the war drills of the US and (South Korea) with thoroughgoing and resolute counteraction posture... at the level of the right to self-defense,” North Korean defense chief No Kwang Chol said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.

The US stations around 28,500 troops in South Korea, and the allies regularly stage joint drills they describe as defensive in nature.

Seoul and Pyongyang have recently appeared to be heading toward a thaw in relations, with the two sides removing propaganda loudspeakers along the border.

Seoul has said North Korean troops have begun dismantling propaganda loudspeakers used to blare unsettling noises along the border, days after Seoul’s new administration dismantled its own.

The two countries had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarised zone, Seoul’s military said in June, after the election of President Lee Jae Myung, who is seeking to ease tensions with Pyongyang.

Relations between the two Koreas had been at one of their lowest points in years under former president Yoon Suk Yeol, with Seoul taking a hard line toward Pyongyang, which has drawn ever closer to Moscow in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Lee has taken a different approach to dealing with the North since his June election, including requesting civic groups cease sending propaganda leaflets over the border by balloon.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611411/world

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Woman charged with attempted murder of policeman in Setapak car ramming incident

August 11, 2025

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — A woman pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today to a charge of attempting to murder a police officer by ramming her car into him and causing injury earlier this month.

Cham Shan Jer, 31, is accused of ramming her car into Cpl Muhamad Fahrulradi Sabran at Jalan Usahawan 6, Setapak, around 11.15 pm on Aug 1.

She was charged under Section 307 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a fine. If the act causes injury, the penalty can extend to 20 years’ imprisonment, upon conviction.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Ikhwan Mohd Nasir objected to bail, citing the seriousness of the case involving an alleged attempt to kill a police officer.

However, defence counsel Nurul Fatihah Abdul Ghani urged the court to grant bail, citing that her client, a single mother of three, also cares for her elderly parents.

“My client is a single mother. We request bail to be set at the lowest possible amount,” she said.

Judge Dr Azrol Abdullah denied bail and fixed Sept 23 for case mention and submission of documents. — Bernama

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/08/11/woman-charged-with-attempted-murder-of-policeman-in-setapak-car-ramming-incident/187229

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‘No stone must be left unturned’: Sabah governor orders full probe into 13-year-old Zara Qairina’s death

August 11, 2025

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 11 — Head of State Yang diPertua Negeri Sabah Tun Musa Aman said he has ordered a comprehensive and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the passing of 13-year-old schoolgirl Zara Qairina Mahathir.

The former chief minister-turned-governor said that the people were seeking justice in her tragic death and no stone must be left unturned in the investigation.

“This investigation must be conducted with the utmost diligence, without fear or favour, and guided solely in the pursuit of truth and justice,” he said in a statement today.

“Seeking justice is not vengeance. It is the fulfilment of Allah’s command to protect the weak and punish the wrongdoer,” he added.

He also reiterated his call to the public not to engage in baseless speculation, spread unfounded accusations, or promote conspiracy theories related to this case.

“Such actions not only risk jeopardising the integrity of the investigation but may also inflict further emotional distress on Zara’s family.

“The Palace also urges the public to allow the due process of law to take its course and stand in solidarity with the family as they seek answers and closure,” he said.

He said that a state-level prayer session will be held for Zara this Thursday August 14 at the city mosque, as well as all mosques and surau throughout Sabah.

“Tuan Yang Terutama Tun encourages muslims to join in this event and those of the non-muslim faith to pray for Zara in their own respective way. The safety and well-being of our children must always remain our highest priority,” he said.

Zara’s body was found on the ground floor near her dormitory of her religious boarding school in Papar last July 16, and she was pronounced dead and buried without a post mortem.

However, family members have raised concerns of possible bullying and foul play and questioned authorities on the lack of investigation and handling of her death.

Public concern and anger further increased following speculation of the involvement of “VIPs” in the incident, prompting ministers, the police chief, and other figures including Musa himself to issue statements denying familial links to the case.

Public pressure has also prompted the Attorney General’s office to order the exhumation and post mortem of Zara’s body over the weekend.

She was reburied early this morning in Sipitang after an eight-hour autopsy from 11am Sunday.

Crowds of people were seen at every point from her exhumation at the Tanjung Ubi Islamic Cemetery, to the hospital and again at her reburial at 1.45am.

Zara’s family lawyer Shahlan Jufri, said that findings from the autopsy could not be revealed as investigations were still ongoing.

He told reporters that the post-mortem report was not a public document and could only be revealed in court if an inquest is ordered by the Attorney General to ascertain the cause of death.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/08/11/no-stone-must-be-left-unturned-sabah-governor-orders-full-probe-into-13-year-old-zara-qairinas-death/187249

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No one will be spared if bullying or criminal conduct found in UTM Palapes cadet’s death, says higher education minister

August 11, 2025

SEMENYIH, Aug 11 — The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) has assured that no individual will be protected if investigations into the death of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) cadet Syamsul Haris Shamsudin uncover elements of bullying or criminal conduct.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said the special committee investigating the 22-year-old Reserve Officer Training Unit (Palapes) cadet’s death is expected to complete its report soon.

“I have directed UTM to take all necessary measures and fully cooperate with the investigation. There will be no attempt to shield anyone if wrongdoing is found,” he told reporters after visiting Syamsul Haris’ mother, Ummu Haiman Bee Daulatgun, at her home here today.

Also present was UTM vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mohd Shafry Mohd Rahim.

Zambry also noted that priority should be given to expediting the committee’s report while ensuring that the family’s concerns are addressed.

Syamsul Haris, a second-semester Bachelor of Cyber Security student and the eldest of three siblings, died under unclear and suspicious circumstances while undergoing Palapes training at the Army Combat Training Centre (Pulada) in Ulu Tiram, Johor. He began training on July 26, which was scheduled to end on August 3.

Earlier, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin announced the formation of a joint investigation committee comprising the Ministries of Defence, Higher Education and Home Affairs.

The family has called for a transparent and fair investigation, including a second autopsy, following allegations by Ummu Haiman Bee that her son’s body showed bruises and injuries consistent with physical assault rather than a seizure.

“I want a transparent investigation. There were wounds on his chest, as if he was stabbed or struck with an object. His eyes were bruised. I strongly believe there was foul play, that he was beaten, tortured and assaulted until he died,” she said.

She also urged that the family’s lawyer, Datuk Naran Singh, be included in the ministry’s investigation committee. — Bernama

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/08/11/no-one-will-be-spared-if-bullying-or-criminal-conduct-found-in-utm-palapes-cadets-death-says-higher-education-minister/187248

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Thailand offers up to RM72,000 compensation to Malaysians burned in Bangkok attack

August 11, 2025

BANGKOK, Aug 11 — The Thai government will provide compensation to two Malaysian tourists who were set on fire by an unemployed man on Ratchadamri Road here on Thursday night.

Permanent Secretary of the Tourism and Sports Ministry, Natreeya Taweewong, reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to providing the best possible care and assistance to the victims until they are able to return home safely.

“The ministry will also provide assistance under the Thai government’s compensation measures, including medical expenses and emotional distress compensation to both victims,” she said in a statement today.

According to Natreeya, medical expenses will be reimbursed according to actual costs stated in receipts, up to a maximum of 500,000 baht (approximately RM65,000), while emotional distress compensation will amount to 50,000 baht.

“This brings the total compensation to a maximum of 550,000 baht (approximately RM72,000) per person. The government will consider additional assistance as appropriate based on the situation, with other cases subject to the discretion of the attending physicians,” she said.

She said the ministry, in collaboration with all relevant agencies, will ensure the best possible medical care, logistical support and psychological assistance for the injured Malaysian tourists.

Natreeya said the condition of both victims has significantly improved, with the female tourist now able to communicate through writing.

She acknowledged that while families of the victims have expressed their wishes to transfer them back to Malaysia for further treatment, doctors have not recommended travel at this time.

“Therefore, the patients will continue to receive treatment in Thailand for the time being,” she said.

The two Malaysians, Gan Xiao Zhen, 27, and Ong Yik Leong, 26, were attacked by an unemployed man who allegedly doused them with thinner before setting them alight near a shopping mall on Ratchadamri Road at around 10pm on Thursday.

Gan is currently receiving treatment at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital for second-degree burns over 36 per cent of her body, including her face, chest and arm, while Ong is being treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Police General Hospital for second-degree burns to his upper body, both front and back. — Bernama

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/08/11/thailand-offers-up-to-rm72000-compensation-to-malaysians-burned-in-bangkok-attack/187237

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Indonesia, Major Coca Producer Peru Agree to Wage War on Narcotics

August 11, 2025

Jakarta. Indonesia and major cocaine raw ingredient producer Peru are planning to wage war on narcotics in a document signed during Peruvian President Dina Boluarte’s Jakarta trip on Monday.

Both countries have just inked a memorandum of understanding aimed at eradicating the production, processing, and distribution of narcotics. Signing the document were Indonesia’s National Anti-Narcotics Agency (BNN) and Peru’s counternarcotics policy agency DEVIDA.

“We have concluded an agreement on eradicating narcotics and [its] illegal trafficking. It has posed great danger for our countries,”  President Prabowo Subianto told a news conference at Jakarta’s Merdeka Palace on Monday.

Boluarte did not comment on the anti-narcotics cooperation during the presser. Her statement mainly focused on the freshly signed bilateral goods trade deal. She also looked forward to how Indonesia had finally let Peruvian blueberries enter its market, paving the way for greater fruit exports. Boluarte also invited Indonesian businesses to invest in Peru.

BNN has yet to provide any details of its latest anti-narcotics cooperation with its Peruvian counterpart. Indonesia has tough laws on drugs, even putting countless smugglers on death row. Indonesia has also caught some Peruvians in its anti-narcotics operations.

In 2022, local authorities arrested a Peruvian woman seeking to smuggle 1.2 kilograms of cocaine from Brazil. The woman had just landed at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport at the time. The culprit also hid the drugs by swallowing the cocaine capsules. In 2019, a Peruvian man had to face 17 years in prison after bringing 947.5 grams of cocaine to the tourist haven Bali.

Peru, on the other hand, has quite lenient laws. The country does not punish anyone who possesses small amounts of drugs for personal use. Peru is the second-largest cultivator of coca leaf -- the base plant used in cocaine production -- just behind Colombia, according to the United Nations. DEVIDA reported that the land devoted to coca leaf cultivation in Peru jumped by 18 percent between 2021 and 2022, reaching an all-time high. Coca leaves are also legal for traditional purposes in the country. However, DEVIDA’s statistics showed that 90 percent of the 120,000 tons of the coca leaves grown in Peru went to illicit drug trade.

https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-major-coca-producer-peru-agree-to-wage-war-on-narcotics

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Africa

‘Horrific Violence’ – Trump Govt Condemns Killing Of Christians In Nigeria

August 11, 2025

The Donald Trump-led United States Government has strongly condemned the brutal attacks targeting Christians in Nigeria and across sub-Saharan Africa.

The US administration described the violence against Christians as horrific, vowing to work with international partners to address the crisis.

The White House and the State Department have vowed to respond decisively.

“The Trump administration condemns in the strongest terms this horrific violence against Christians,” the White House said, according to Fox News, emphasising that religious freedom is both a moral duty and a U.S. foreign policy priority

The condemnation follows a series of deadly incidents in recent weeks, including the massacre of 27 Christians in the Nigerian village of Bindi Ta-hoss by Islamist Fulani militants.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of horror, with many victims, many of them women and children, burned alive while seeking refuge in a church.

“I lost my wife and second daughter in the attack,” survivor Solomon Sunday told reporters. “They were burned alive.”

In a separate incident on July 27, 49 Christians were butchered with machetes during prayers in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Authorities blame Islamist militants from the Allied Democratic Forces, a group affiliated with ISIS.

Across the region, Islamist extremists, including Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa, are accused of targeting Christians for killing, displacement, and land seizure.

Human rights organisations warn that the violence amounts to an ongoing campaign of “ethno-religious cleansing.”

John Eibner, president of Christian Solidarity International, told Fox News Digital that in Nigeria’s Plateau State alone, over 165 Christians have been killed in the last four months.

“Such grisly proceedings have become commonplace in central Nigeria,” John Eibner, president of Christian human rights organization Christian Solidarity International, told Fox News Digital. “It is part of a longstanding process of violent Islamization, of ethno-religious cleansing. Last Palm Sunday, 50 Christians were similarly slaughtered in nearby Bassa. Over 165 Christians have been killed in the last 4 months in Plateau State (one of Nigeria’s provinces) alone,” he added.

“Massacres of the sort that happen in central Nigeria are also happening with increasing frequency in predominately Christian places like Congo and Mozambique. There is no simple solution.”

“People are being killed like chickens, and nothing is being done,” added local youth leader D’Young Mangut.

According to Open Doors, more Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than in the rest of the world combined.

Over the past decade, jihadist violence in sub-Saharan Africa has claimed around 150,000 lives and displaced more than 16 million Christians.

In Plateau State, over 64 communities have been reportedly taken over by armed Fulani militants.

Religious leaders say the violence is systematic and unchecked. Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, who lost 20 parishioners in a recent attack, accused militants of seeking to turn parts of Nigeria into an Islamic State, while victims’ families say they are “tired of condolences” and demand real protection.

https://www.naijanews.com/2025/08/11/horrific-violence-trump-govt-condemns-killing-of-christians-in-nigeria/

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‘Bandits Have Declared Open War, This Is Not Time For Silence’ – Ex-guber Candidate Calls Out Gov. Mutfwang

August 11, 2025

Former governorship candidate on the Labour Party (LP) platform in Plateau State, Yohana Yilpwan Margif, has accused Governor Caleb Mutfwang of remaining silent as terrorists and bandits continue to invade several communities and take over their lands.

Naija News reports that Margif, who is the Waziri Mushere in Bokkos Local Government Area of the state, made the comments in a statement on Sunday, noting that Mutfwang’s unkept assurances to the grieving communities may have emboldened the attackers.

The LP chieftain also alleged that there are plots by criminal herders to kill Mushere people and take over their lands.

Margif lamented the killings and raids on villages across Plateau, stressing that they are no longer random but a carefully executed strategy to seize ancestral farmlands.

According to him, the well-armed Fulani herdsmen are working with precision and deadly intent to capture at least 40 per cent of Plateau’s farming lands, exploiting their superior weapons to overwhelm the unarmed and defenceless communities that have been left to their fate by government inaction.

He further warned and called on every Plateau citizen to rise from their slumber, shun complacency, and confront the existential threat.

He added, “It breaks my heart that Governor Caleb Mutfwang has yet to fulfil promises made to grieving communities during his visits.

“Today, the herders have declared an open war, and Mushere Chiefdom, my people are now their direct target. This is no time for silence.

“We must unite and demand urgent action from leaders who appear to have forgotten their sacred duty of protecting lives and property.”

https://www.naijanews.com/2025/08/11/bandits-have-declared-open-war-this-is-not-time-for-silence-ex-guber-candidate-calls-out-gov-mutfwang/

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Just In: Owo Church Attack Suspects Plead Not Guilty To Terrorism Charges

August 11, 2025

Five men accused of masterminding the June 5, 2022, bombing of Saint Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, have pleaded not guilty to nine counts of terrorism filed against them by the Federal Government.

Naija News reports that the defendants: Idris Omeiza, Al-Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdul Malik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Abubakar, were arraigned on Monday before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The men are alleged members of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group, operating a cell in Kogi State.

According to Channels Television, Justice Nwite ordered that they be remanded in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) and fixed August 19, 2025, for the commencement of trial.

Their arraignment comes three years after the then Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, announced that those behind the Owo attack had been apprehended.

Arrest Linked to ISWAP Activities

Naija News understands that the National Security Council had previously linked the incident to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a terror group blamed for several deadly attacks in Nigeria.

It could be recalled that over 40 worshippers were killed and scores injured when armed assailants invaded Saint Francis Catholic Church during a Sunday mass, detonating explosives and opening fire on congregants.

The then Ondo State Governor, the late Rotimi Akeredolu, had condemned the attack as a crime against humanity.

“This horrific act will not deter the indomitable spirit of our people in the fight against insecurity,” Akeredolu had declared, while renewing his calls for the creation of state police.

“A single police command cannot guarantee safety in this country. We must have state police now. We are doing our best with Amotekun, but Amotekun suffers a lot of limitations in getting all the equipment needed to fight these criminals,” he said.

https://www.naijanews.com/2025/08/11/just-in-owo-church-attack-suspects-plead-not-guilty-to-terrorism-charges/

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‘They Are All Deceiving You’ – Sowore Warns Nigerians Over Amaechi’s Comment On Ending Corruption

August 11, 2025

The African Action Congress (AAC) 2023 presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has slammed former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, over his comment on ending corruption in one month.

Naija News reports that the former governor of Rivers State made the statement during a discussion on 𝕏 Space.

Amaechi stated that he would change the Nigerian constitution if elected President in 2027.

He said, “If I become President, I will change the constitution from indigeneship to citizenship.

“If I do not end corruption in Nigeria within one month, I will tender my resignation.

“I challenged the present FCT minister, Wike, to take a walk along the streets of Port Harcourt, which will reveal who is healthy and who the people actually loved.”

Reacting to the comment, Sowore, in a video posted by SaharaReporters, described Amaechi as “a fool at 40”, stating he had served as minister, governor, and Speaker, yet failed to curb corruption.

Sowore also warned Nigerians to avoid being deceived by Amaechi and other politicians, adding that the current situation in the country has caused many young people to appear older.

He said, “Amaechi said he would end corruption in one month, Amaechi has been a Speaker for eight years, governor for eight years making it 16 years.

“He was Minister for eight years, making it 24 years. If you deduct 24 from 60 what do you say? A fool at 40 is a fool forever.

“They are all deceiving you, yes we have alternatives and we have provided that we will participate but we are not bound by one alternative because we don’t have time on our side.

“The clock is ticking and I keep telling the youths that we don’t have time you might be youth today but not youth forever.

“There are some Nigerian youths that when I see them, I’m 54 and when I see them they say that they are 24 and I ask, are we the same age? Because the system has made them not look their age anymore.”

https://www.naijanews.com/2025/08/11/they-are-all-deceiving-you-sowore-warns-nigerians-over-amaechis-comment-on-ending-corruption/

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Two generals and more than 40 soldiers arrested over coup allegations in Mali

August 11, 2025

At least 45 Malian soldiers, including two generals, were arrested over the weekend for attempts to ”destabilise the institutions"

Among those arrested was General Abass Dembele, a former governor of the central Mopti region who is popular within army ranks.

Soldiers arrested Debele early Sunday morning on the outskirts of the capital, Bamako, without explaining the reasons for his apprehension, a source close to the General said.

Nema Sagara, a brigadier General in the air force, was also arrested. She is one of the few high-ranking women in the Malian army.

"All are soldiers. Their objective was to overthrow the junta," the MP said.

The rise of Mali's military junta

After eight years of relative political stability in Mali, a group of Malian soldiers stormed Bamako in August 2020 and detained then-President, Aboubakar Keita.

The coup d’etat followed weeks of protests against Keita, who was accused of failing to combat violent Islamist groups who were waging an armed rebellion in the North. The new military junta promised to deal with the problem swiftly.

Internal divisions within the new government led to a second coup in May 2021, resulting in the accession of Colonel Assimi Goïta to the presidency of Mali. A role he has occupied ever since.

Jihadist attacks and political repression fuel discontent

Following the 2020 coup, the Malian junta with Goïta at the helm promised to hold elections within 18 months. No vote has been held so far, with the government recently postponing the ballot to 2027.

Meanwhile, jihadist attacks have been on the rise. According to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), in the first half of 2024, Islamist groups killed a record 7,620 people in the Sahel in the first half of 2024.

Recently, the armed group, Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, killed more than 30 soldiers at a military base in Boulkessi in central Mali on June 1st.

In the face of the attacks, the junta has intensified crackdowns on political dissidents. In May, President Goïta dissolved all political parties and organisations in Mali, which sparked widespread protests.

https://www.africanews.com/2025/08/11/two-generals-and-more-than-40-soldiers-arrested-over-coup-allegations-in-mali/

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