Fear In Odisha Pastor's Family After Communal Attack ' 'Is It A Sin To Practice One's Own Faith?'

New Age Islam News Bureau

24 January 2025

According to the FIR, a mob of 15–20 people “came on motorcycles armed with bamboo sticks and forcibly entered the house and brutally assaulted her husband using bamboo sticks, fist blows and kicks blows without any provocation or lawful authority”. (Source: File)

-----------

·         Fear in Odisha pastor’s family after communal attack — ‘Is it a sin to practice one’s own faith?’

·         VHP plans Ram Mandir–style temple at disputed Bhojshala–Kamal Maula Mosque complex in MP

·         Take back and prosecute your jailed Daesh militants, Iraq tells Europe

·         Amr Moussa: Saudi Arabia and Egypt must lead Arabs for true peace

·         Third Sector Podcast: How Islamic Relief UK is responding to Islamophobia

·         CAIR Maryland Congratulates Frederick County Communities on ‘Muslim American Heritage Month’ Designation

·         Boko Haram Kills EYN Pastor, Four Others In Borno Village Attack

·         Department of Islamic Development Malaysia developing framework to streamline state-level Islamic legislation

-----

India

·         Jungle raj has arrived: Owaisi slams BJP govt after mob attack on pastor in Odisha

·         Ayodhya-styled Ram temple with a ‘Bengali’ Idol coming up in Nadia – 90km from Babri Masjid replica

·         Despite EC order, no FIR against MLA Manirul over vandalism, hate speech

·         Congress more communist than Maoists, more communal than Muslim League: Narendra Modi

·         Turkman Gate case: HC sets aside bail granted in ‘cryptic, unreasoned’ order

·         Sambhal CJM changed again, Civil Judge who had ordered mosque survey sent back

·         Saraswati puja, Friday namaz converge at Bhojshala, under shadow of heavy security

·         Hoist Tricolour at mosque, madrasa main gates on Jan 26: Chhattisgarh Waqf Board

·         Rajasthan consumer panel halts order for forensic test of Salman Khan’s signatures in misleading ad case

·         Rajasthan moves to adopt Gujarat’s ‘disturbed areas’ Act: What is the controversial law?

·         ‘A clever ploy’: Punjab and Haryana High Court rejects man’s claim of being ‘misled’ into selling 50 kg beef

·         Valley demography plan, hear it from BJP as Chrungoo cites Hindu settlement

------

Mideast

·         Abbas reiterates opposition to displacement of Palestinians

·         Volatile security blocks UN from Syria Daesh-linked camp

·         Lebanon PM says IMF wants rescue plan changes as crisis deepens

·         Israel aims to ensure more Palestinians are let out of Gaza than back in

·         Hundreds of Displaced Kurdish Families Take Shelter in Qamishlo Mosques as Aid Campaigns Launch from Kurdistan Region

·         Israeli tank fires near Lebanese army and UNIFIL patrol amid escalating tensions

·         Settlers storm, vandalize Mosque east of Nablus

·         Armed tribal gatherings in Hajjah affirm commitment to path of Martyr of Qur’an, al-Sammad

·         60,000 Palestinians Perform Friday Prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque

-----

Arab World

·         Saudi Arabia to host WEF Global Collaboration and Growth Meeting in April

·         Saudi FM meets with UN humanitarian chief

·         Saudi minister opens global labor market academy

·         ‘Masterpieces of Saudi Orchestra’ shine at Maraya in AlUla

·         Merak’s Exel community day equips next generation of Saudi gaming entrepreneurs

·         Misk youth delegates take Saudi voices to the global stage at WEF in Davos

·         Saudi data platform enhanced with agentic AI as Kingdom drives digital innovation at Davos

·         Qassim winter season: Heritage, desert adventures drive regional tourism surge

·         Saudi Arabia wins Arab awards in medicine, nursing at health ministers’ meet

------

Europe

·         Danish PM in Greenland for 'show of support' after Trump threats

·         Starmer says Trump should apologize for ‘insulting’ UK troops

·         Judge recuses himself from dispute over control of Islamic Cultural Centre

·         Consultative Council of Religious Confessions Sends Letter to President Aliyev

·         Ireland’s largest mosque to reopen in time for Ramadan after nine-month hiatus

·         Is Halal KFC crisis about to bring down France's Fifth Republic?

·         World famous 'The Joshie Man’ to visit Blackburn mosques

·         Police admit overstating Maccabi fan ban evidence

·         Pentagon scales down commitments to defend European allies

·         Russia-US-Ukraine talks to continue on Saturday – media

-------

North America

·         CAIR OP-ED: Hate will not win: Muslim and Palestinian schoolchildren everywhere deserve safety, dignity and belonging – Religion News Service

·         CAIR Announces $195,000 Settlement with Maryland County Over Illegal Christian Faith Requirement in Chaplain Application

·         CAIR-NY Welcomes Arrest of Teen in Brooklyn Playground Antisemitic Vandalism Case

·         Muslim Awareness Week returns to Montreal for 8th year

·         Hundreds of Minnesota businesses close to protest ICE presence

·         'A natural partner': US treasury secretary weighs in on Alberta separatism

·         China will ‘eat up’ Canada – Trump

·         US considering total Cuba oil blockade – Politico

·         Trump’s Greenland deal seeks sovereign US bases, no drilling for Russia

·         But you are Indian: Texas Republican leader calls for H-1B ban like Florida universities, social media asks him to 'go back'

-------

Africa

·         Ransom, gold, and spoils of war: Islamic State Mozambique’s new cash flow

·         Violence Along Religious Lines Is Treated As Attack On Nigeria – Nuhu Ribadu

·         Dog sparks panic at Kpakungu Muslim cemetery in Minna

·         Beyond Tickets: Nigeria Needs Leadership, Not Religious Mathematics

·         ‘Remain Alert In Crowded Places, Churches, Others’ – DHQ Urges Nigerians

·         Labour Party Crisis: Otti Hails Court Ruling Recognising Usman-Led Committee

·         Protest Rocks Ijebu Ode Over Alleged Imposition Of Next Awujale

·         Presidency Makes U-turn, Says No Ambassador Posted To Turkey

------

Southeast Asia

·         Malaysia: Deputy Prime Minister Zahid reminds leaders, Muslims to uphold integrity, says power is the real test

·         ‘Unlawful and unacceptable’: IGP cautions Malaysians against online doxxing

·         DBKL cuts Ramadan bazaar rental to RM400 to ease hawkers’ burden, says Hannah Yeoh

·         Govt to update SARA essential items by Ramadan, may add fish, chicken and other fresh produce, says finance minister’s pol-sec

·         Pahang Sultan: Corruption is ‘filth’, illicit wealth a ‘curse waiting to unfold’

·         Anwar says ringgit’s performance among best in Asia reflects good governance and political stability

·         Reports claiming Malaysia ceded land to Indonesia are untrue, says Anwar amid Sabah-Kalimantan boundary claims

------

South Asia

·         Uzbekistan joins U.S.-led Board of Peace over Afghanistan security concerns

·         Russia Interested in Investment and Trade with Afghanistan

·         Incentive Scheme Introduced To Change Ismailis’ Religion In Badakhshan

·         Kabul, Dhaka Discuss Health, Trade Cooperation

·         IEA Emphasizes Transparent Use of Natural Resources for Sustainable Development

·         Over 3,000 Afghans Deported Amid Harsh Winter Conditions

·         Islamic Emirate Mobilizes All Resources to Manage Returnees, Muttaqi

·         Chief of Army Staff Visits Islamic Emirate Embassy in Qatar

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL:       https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/fear-odisha-pastor-family-communal-attack-faith/d/138584

-----

Fear in Odisha pastor’s family after communal attack — ‘Is it a sin to practice one’s own faith?’

by Sujit Bisoyi

January 23, 2026

According to the FIR, a mob of 15–20 people “came on motorcycles armed with bamboo sticks and forcibly entered the house and brutally assaulted her husband using bamboo sticks, fist blows and kicks blows without any provocation or lawful authority”. (Source: File)

------------

Ever since a mob of right-wing activists allegedly assaulted and humiliated him, pastor Bipin Bihari Naik has been living in dread. According to an FIR, Naik was attacked, garlanded with footwear, paraded on the streets, forced to drink drain water and compelled to bow before a temple “against his will”.

But for Naik and his family, the final blow came when his landlord of eight years asked him to vacate his home. “I don’t think my brother will be able to gather courage to visit the village again, where he stayed for eight years,” his elder brother Udaynath James tells The Indian Express. “Is it a sin to practice one’s own faith? Isn’t it a fundamental right in our 

On January 4, pastor Bipin Bihari Naik was assaulted by a mob of 15–20 youths at Kandarsinga village under Parjang police station in Dhenkanal district. An FIR — based on a complaint by Naik’s wife — said the pastor had been invited by a village resident to offer prayers for his health when a mob forced its way in and assaulted him.

The attack adds to rising communalisation in the state. Over the last 19 months, at least six Odisha towns have witnessed curfews and Internet suspensions following communal incidents. In most cases, the accused have been linked to right-wing outfits.

Since the incident, Naik has been living in fear in his native village of Khamar in neighbouring Angul district.

“The owner of the house, where my brother was staying for eight years without a single complaint, asked us to vacate the place within the week and we did,” James says.

According to the FIR, a mob of 15–20 people “came on motorcycles armed with bamboo sticks and forcibly entered the house and brutally assaulted her husband using bamboo sticks, fist blows and kicks blows without any provocation or lawful authority”.

The family claims it was forced to approach the Superintendent of Police after the local police allegedly failed to act. The FIR was registered only after the intervention of the Dhenkanal SP.

According to the complaint, Naik’s wife approached the Parjang Police Station within 30 minutes of the incident on January 4.

“Despite the seriousness of the offence, the police refused to register the FIR and took no immediate action. The police reached the spot only at about 1:30 PM, by which time my husband had already suffered severe physical and mental torture,” the complaint said.

Naik’s family blames “the rise of a certain ecosystem backed by people in power” for such attacks. “Has any god asked them to assault people from other faiths?” James asks.

James also rejects allegations that Naik was “forcibly converting people”, calling them “baseless and fabricated allegations levelled against us to dilute the case”.

“He has been going to that house for two years to offer prayers,” he says.

When contacted, Dhenkanal SP Abhinav Sonkar told The Indian Express that an explanation had been sought from the inspector-in-charge of Parjang Police Station.

“Steps will be taken accordingly,” he said, adding that nine people have been detained.

Meanwhile, the incident has triggered nationwide outrage, with chief ministers of at least two states condemning it.

“The brutal assault on a pastor in Odisha is not an isolated crime; it reflects the atmosphere of violence and hatred being systematically fostered by the Sangh Parivar. Forcing a human being to eat cow dung is a deeply inhuman act, emboldened by the silence and complicity of BJP-led governments,” Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote on X.

Recalling the Graham Staines case from 27 years ago, Vijayan said the same forces of intolerance continue to operate with impunity.

“Not just in Odisha, across India, the secular fabric of our nation is under sustained attack. This coordinated attempt to undermine constitutional democracy and impose the Sangh Parivar’s communal politics must be firmly resisted,” he added.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said the assault was a grave violation of constitutional rights.

“The repeated attacks on Christians taints the diverse culture and religious fabric of our nation. Strongly condemn this incident and urge the concerned authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and take swift, decisive action against those responsible,” he wrote on X.

Expressing concern, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, seeking urgent intervention and immediate arrest and prosecution of all those involved.

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/odisha-pastor-family-communal-attack-10491364/lite/

------

VHP plans Ram Mandir–style temple at disputed Bhojshala–Kamal Maula Mosque complex in MP

23 Jan 2026

The disputed Kamal Maula Mosque- Bhojshala complex in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar.File photo| EPS

-------------

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Friday declared that it will build a grand temple at the disputed Kamal Maula Mosque-Bhojshala complex in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar.

Thr right wing outfit said the temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati) would be built on the lines of the Ram Temple, constructed over the site of the demolished 16th-century mosque Babri Masjid in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.

Addressing a large gathering before taking the darshan of Goddess Vagdevi at Bhojshala on the occasion of Basant Panchami, VHP International President Alok Kumar said the already consecrated idol of the deity for the site is currently in a museum in London, and it needs to be brought back.

"We have to bring this idol back to India. We have to win the pending court case and restore the temple's appearance to the dignity of Goddess Saraswati," Kumar said.

"Can you and I resolve that we will complete the court process, bring back the idol of Goddess Vagdevi from there (London), and consecrate the idol here (Bhojshala) again in 2034 with the same grandeur as the Ram Temple in Ayodhya," he asked the gathering.

After a Supreme Court order allowing both Hindus and Muslims to offer prayers at the disputed site, the respective communities conducted Basant Panchami pooja and namaz at the complex on Friday.

The Muslim community refers to the 11th-century monument protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as the Kamal Maula Mosque while the Hindu community considers Bhojshala to be a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati.

The ASI issued an order on April 7, 2003, which allows Hindus to worship at Bhojshala every Tuesday, while Muslims are permitted to offer prayers on Fridays.

As Basant Panchami fell on Friday this year, the Supreme Court on Thursday issued a time-sharing formula to prevent potential friction, ruling that the Hindu community will be permitted to perform prayers from sunrise to sunset, and the Muslim side will be allowed to offer namaz between 1 pm and 3 pm.

As per the SC directions, Muslims offered prayers at a place allocated to them between 1 to 3 pm, the district administration said in a release. The puja began in the early hours under heavy security and will continue till sunset.

Members of the Bhoj Utsav Samiti, a local organisation, began the puja by installing an image of Goddess Saraswati, also known as Maa Vagdevi, amidst chanting of Vedic mantras, and the 'Akhand Puja' (a continuous sequence of prayers from sunrise to sunset) was initiated by offering oblations in the 'havan kund'.

Around 8,000 police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in the city.

Superintendent of Police Mayank Awasthi said that the entire city has been mapped and sensitive areas have been identified.

He said that the disputed complex has been divided into six sectors, while the city has been divided into seven zones, and every street is being monitored.

Drones and CCTV cameras are also being used to scan the area, he added.

Awasthi said that social media is also being monitored to prevent the spread of any inflammatory messages.

Source: newindianexpress.com

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

https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2026/Jan/23/vhp-plans-ram-mandirstyle-temple-at-disputed-bhojshalakamal-maula-mosque-complex-in-mp

------
Take back and prosecute your jailed Daesh militants, Iraq tells Europe

January 24, 2026

An Iraqi security official said the 150 so far transferred to Iraq were “all leaders of the Daesh group, and some of the most notorious criminals.” (Reuters)

-----------

RAQQA: Baghdad on Friday urged European states to repatriate and prosecute their citizens who fought for Daesh, and who are now being moved to Iraq from detention camps in Syria.

Europeans were among 150 Daesh prisoners transferred so far by the US military from Kurdish custody in Syria. They were among an estimated 7,000 militants due to be moved across the border to Iraq as the Kurdish-led force that has held them for years relinquishes swaths of territory to the advancing Syrian army.

In a telephone call on Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said European countries should take back and prosecute their nationals.

An Iraqi security official said the 150 so far transferred to Iraq were “all leaders of the Daesh group, and some of the most notorious criminals.” They included “Europeans, Asians, Arabs and Iraqis,” he said.

Another Iraqi security source said the group comprised “85 Iraqis and 65 others of various nationalities, including Europeans, Sudanese, Somalis, and people from the Caucasus region.”

They all took part in Daesh operations in Iraq, he said, and were now being held at a prison in Baghdad.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that “non-Iraqi terrorists will be in Iraq temporarily.”

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces jailed thousands of militant fighters and detained tens of thousands of their relatives in camps as it pushed out Daesh in 2019 after five years of fighting.

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630424/middle-east

----
Amr Moussa: Saudi Arabia and Egypt must lead Arabs for true peace

HEBSHI ALSHAMMARI

January 23, 2026

Amr Moussa, former Secretary-General of the Arab League, called for the establishment of an effective Arab leadership led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, during a panel discussion at the King Fahd National Library in Riyadh on Thursday evening. (AN photo Hebshi Alshammari)

------------

RIYADH: Amr Moussa, former Arab League secretary-general, has called for the establishment of an effective Arab leadership led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, in partnership with Jordan, to unify regional positions and negotiate on the Palestinian cause and broader regional future.

During a panel discussion at the King Fahd National Library in Riyadh on Thursday evening, Moussa stressed this was “both vital and achievable” and emphasized the primary goal should be the establishment of a fully sovereign and effective Palestinian state: “True peace is only that which protects all parties … we need genuine peace, not a facade or a superficial justification,” he said.

Such a state must be “responsible for security and peace in the Middle East alongside its neighbors,” rather than a fragile entity, he added.

Moussa underlined that achieving this objective first requires the Arab world to demonstrate the capacity for unified and decisive action. “Are we as Arabs truly capable of being ‘we,’ or has that moment passed?” he asked.

He said the firm positions taken by Saudi Arabia and Egypt in rejecting forced displacement and calling for an end to aggression “underscore that it is possible to assert ‘no’ when the Arab stance is justified.”

Warning of the severe consequences of maintaining the status quo, he added: “If things continue this way … there will inevitably be something akin to October 7 again, because injustice breeds resistance.”

He placed full responsibility on Israel, saying it “bears complete responsibility for the chaos and destruction.”

On a practical mechanism to implement a unified Arab stance, Moussa proposed that Saudi Arabia and Egypt take the lead in establishing a diplomatic baseline, representing their “yeses and noes” in consultation with other Arab states. This framework, he said, would counter any attempts to impose unjust solutions under labels such as the new international “Peace Council,” which might “demand Palestinian concessions on Palestinian land.”

On whether peace was possible with the current Israeli government, which he described as “not committed to peace,” Moussa said: “There are other Israelis who speak the language of peace.” He urged efforts to “identify and support them to create a political alternative within Israel.”

He said the first thing Palestinians should do is hold comprehensive Palestinian elections as soon as possible, utilizing technology to ensure all Palestinians took part, including those in Jerusalem, to select a new leadership “with strong negotiating legitimacy.”

Moussa also warned that the challenges “are not limited to Palestine,” saying the Arab world faces interconnected crises in Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Lebanon and Libya, alongside shifts in the international order and the race for space.

“The issue of our future (requires) reviving a new Arab world,” capable of actively shaping that future rather than being marginalized, the former secretary-general concluded.

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630358/saudi-arabia

------
Third Sector Podcast: How Islamic Relief UK is responding to Islamophobia

23 January 2026

Third Sector editor Emily Burt and senior reporter Emily Harle are joined by Zia Salik, interim director of Islamic Relief UK, to talk about the rising levels of Islamophobia and racism targeting the charity.

Zia describes the measures being taken to support staff in the face of growing online and face-to-face hostility, and the need to plan for an increased risk of attacks during the month of Ramadan.

He stresses the need for organisations and people in positions of power to take a public stand against racism and Islamophobia, as well as the value of solidarity and allyship from others in the sector.

You can listen to the episode below, or wherever you get your podcasts:

Tell us what you think of the Third Sector Podcast! Please take five minutes to let us know how we can bring you the most relevant, useful content. To fill in the survey, click here.

Subscribe to the Third Sector Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify.

Source: thirdsector.co.uk

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

https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/third-sector-podcast-islamic-relief-uk-responding-islamophobia/management/article/1945920

-----
CAIR Maryland Congratulates Frederick County Communities on ‘Muslim American Heritage Month’ Designation

January 23, 2026

The Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Maryland) today congratulated Frederick County communities on the official proclamation of January as ‘Muslim American Heritage Month’ presented by County Executive Jessica Fitzwater yesterday evening, marking an important moment of recognition, inclusion, and solidarity for Muslim communities in the area.

Frederick County joins Howard and Montgomery Counties to become the third Maryland county to take this step.

“This proclamation sends a powerful message that Muslim Americans belong and that our contributions matter,” said CAIR Maryland Advisory Board Member and Frederick County resident Bassant Kadry. “At a time when Muslim communities continue to face bias and dehumanization, official recognition like this affirms our shared values of dignity, equality, and justice.”

“Recognition is a starting point to countering Islamophobia and acknowledging our communities’ contributions,” said CAIR Maryland Advisory Board Member and Frederick County resident Dr. Mudusar Raza. “We look forward to continuing to work with our local leaders and communities to ensure that Muslim Americans are not only recognized, but also protected, respected, and empowered year-round.”

Presented on January 22, 2026, the Proclamation formally recognizes the longstanding and diverse contributions of Muslim Americans to society – including in medicine, law, education, public service, business, culture, and the military – while also acknowledging the harmful impact of Islamophobia, prejudice, and discrimination.

It emphasizes the importance of education, interfaith dialogue, and collective action in combating hate and fostering understanding, while encouraging residents of Frederick County to learn more about the rich history, traditions, and resilience of Muslim Americans.

A resolution introduced in the Maryland General Assembly this legislative session, if passed, would recognize both Muslim American and Jewish American Heritage Months statewide.

CAIR’s Maryland office extends its appreciation to County Executive Fitzwater and Frederick County officials for their leadership and partnership, as well as the community members, advocates, and organizations who continue to work toward a more inclusive Maryland.

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.      

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos. 

Source: cair.com

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

https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-maryland-congratulates-frederick-county-communities-on-muslim-american-heritage-month-designation/

-----
Boko Haram Kills EYN Pastor, Four Others In Borno Village Attack

January 23, 2026

By Enioluwa Adeniyi

Suspected Boko Haram terrorists have killed at least five people, including a pastor of the Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN), during a deadly raid on Tarfa village, in Hawul Local Government Area of Borno State.

Naija News reports that the armed attackers stormed the community on Thursday evening, unleashing mayhem and setting homes ablaze, leaving the once-peaceful village in ruins.

Sources told Sahara Reporters that the insurgents, riding on motorcycles, arrived around 7 pm, firing sporadically and forcing residents to flee into surrounding bushes.

“They came en masse and started burning houses and shops. People ran for their lives,” a fleeing resident recounted.

Eyewitnesses said the terrorists operated unchallenged for over an hour, torching homes and shops without any intervention from security operatives.

Confirming the attack on Friday, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Borno State chapter, Most Rev. John Bakeni, said five people, including the EYN pastor serving the community, were killed in the assault.

“Truly, there was an attack yesterday evening in a village called Tarfa. I was informed that five people were killed, including the EYN pastor there. The entire village was burnt down,” Bakeni told journalists.

One source identified the slain pastor as Evangelist Musa Umoru, appealing for urgent government intervention to protect surviving residents, many of whom have fled the area in fear.

“We are under constant fear. Five people were killed, including Pastor Musa Umoru. As I speak, I have fled Tarfa. We need urgent government intervention,” the source said.

The attack has left many residents displaced, with the village reportedly reduced to ashes. Survivors now fear further attacks if security forces are not deployed to the region promptly.

Source: naijanews.com

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

https://www.naijanews.com/2026/01/23/boko-haram-kills-eyn-pastor-four-others-in-borno-village-attack/

-----
Department of Islamic Development Malaysia developing framework to streamline state-level Islamic legislation

24 Jan 2026

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 24 — The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) is formulating a legal framework to address inconsistencies in state legislation affecting Muslims.

Its director-general Datuk Sirajuddin Suhaimee said one key issue stemming from the legal inconsistencies is that syarie lawyers are currently restricted to practising only in the states specified in their appointment letters.

For instance, he said, claims for nafkah, or financial support, involving divorced couples residing in different states pose challenges, as syarie lawyers are not allowed to practise across state lines.

“If the husband is in Kelantan and the wife is in Johor, a Johor-based syariah lawyer cannot represent the case in a Kelantan court. This makes things difficult for the community and raises costs, as they need to hire two lawyers,” he said in a special interview with the media here yesterday.

To address this, he said Jakim is drafting a clause in the state enactment to allow for the cross-state recognition of accredited syarie lawyers.

According to Sirajuddin, the initiative to formulate a model for standardising state-level Islamic law has received support from the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs (MKI) and consent from the Conference of Rulers.

He explained that the model is not intended to take over religious authority held by the states but aims to safeguard the interests of the ummah.

“Developing this model represents an important milestone in legal diplomacy, as it has harmonised views between the federal government and state religious authorities,” he said.

In addition, Sirajuddin said Jakim has also developed legal models covering family-related matters, hibah, and Islamic administration.

“We will develop more legal models that can serve as examples for states in implementing and drafting laws at the state level,” he said. — Bernama

Source: malaymail.com

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

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/01/24/jakim-developing-framework-to-streamline-state-level-islamic-legislation-says-d-g/206607

------

India

 

Jungle raj has arrived: Owaisi slams BJP govt after mob attack on pastor in Odisha

Jan 23, 2026

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi accusing the BJP of fostering an atmosphere of lawlessness in the state after a mob attacked on a pastor in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district.

In a post on X, Owaisi said the incident was part of a broader pattern of targeting minorities after the BJP formed the government in Odisha. “The mob attack on the pastor in Odisha is only one of several incidents. Ever since the BJP has formed government in Odisha, the state’s tribals, Muslims and Christians have been targeted continuously. Multiple Bengali Muslim street vendors have been beaten up & threatened,” he said.

“In short, ‘jungle raj’ has arrived,” Owaisi added. He further alleged that similar trends could be seen in other BJP-ruled states, including Uttar Pradesh, citing incidents such as the killing of a Hindu-Muslim couple in Moradabad, attempts to withdraw cases related to Akhlaq’s murder, and the transfer of a judge who ordered an FIR against police officers linked to Sambal violence.

Earlier in the day, a pastor was allegedly beaten and publicly humiliated by a mob in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district over claims of religious conversion. Police have detained four people in connection with the incident after the pastor’s wife filed a complaint.

According to the police complaint, the incident took place on January 4 under the jurisdiction of Parjang police station. The victim has been identified as Bipin Bihari Nayak, a pastor. The family alleged that a group of 15 to 20 people armed with bamboo sticks entered his house while he was praying, assaulted him and forcibly dragged him outside.

The attackers allegedly garlanded him with slippers, applied vermilion on his forehead and paraded him through the village. The family also claimed that the mob forced the pastor to bow in front of a temple before handing him over to the police.

Local residents accused the pastor of being involved in religious conversion. However, his family has denied the allegations, calling the incident an act of mob violence without any legal basis.

The case came to light after the pastor’s wife approached senior police officials, alleging inaction by the local police for nearly a week after the incident. Following her complaint, police intensified the investigation and detained four people on Wednesday.

Confirming the action, Dhenkanal Superintendent of Police Abhinav Sonkar said an FIR had been registered. “An FIR has been registered. Based on the FIR, we initiated the investigation, conducted a spot visit, recorded eyewitness statements and sent the victim for medical examination. Four accused have been detained so far and further action will follow,” he said.

The SP added that multiple unknown persons have been named in the FIR and that all aspects of the case are under examination. “Allegations of forced religious conversion are also under investigation. Everyone has the right to follow any religion, but conversion, if undertaken, must follow a legal process and cannot involve coercion,” he said.

Police said they have found no evidence so far to support some of the claims circulating locally and assured that strict action would be taken against anyone found involved once the investigation is completed.

Source: indiatoday.in

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

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/asaduddin-owaisi-jungle-raj-odisha-pastor-mob-attack-dhenkanal-bjp-2856912-2026-01-23

------
Ayodhya-styled Ram temple with a ‘Bengali’ Idol coming up in Nadia – 90km from Babri Masjid replica

by Ravik Bhattacharya +1 More

January 24, 2026

About 90 km from what will be a Babri Mosque replica in Murshidabad, a newly erected signboard on a 15- bigha land announced the construction of an Ayodhya-style Ram Temple in Nadia district’s Shantipur. However, unlike Ayodhya, the idol of Lord Ram will be as depicted in Krittivasi Ramayan, composed by 14th century Bengali poet Krittibas Ojha, who lived in Phulia.

According to Sri Krittibas Ram Mandir Trust, the organisation behind the initiative, the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the temple will be held in February.

The initiative, though, taken in 2017, is being renewed barely a few months before the Assembly elections.

Located in Champatolla, Sadhurghat in Shantipur, the temple is around 90 km from Beldanga, where former TMC MLA Humayun Kabir, now heading Janata Unnayan Party (JUP) party, laid the foundation stone for the Babri mosque replica.

The move also comes close on the heels of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurating the Jagannath Dham in Digha, and laying the foundation stone for Durgangan in New Town and Mahakal temple in Siliguri.

Arindam Bhattacharya, former Congress MLA who later joined BJP and also the president of the Trust, said, “This is not a political move. It is a religious and cultural initiative taken in 2017 when I was an MLA in Shantipur. Later, I was away and our team dispersed. Now once again we have started to work on the project. In 2017, the area for the proposed temple was earmarked along with the river ghat beside it.”

“The temple is a part of revitalising and preserving our culture here. Apart from the temple, the complex will house a research centre, digital heritage hub, and a cultural centre,” Bhattacharya said.

“Though the temple will be a replica of the Ayodhya Ram temple, the deity will be as depicted in Krittivasi Ramayan. Lord Ram will be green in complexion and will be at the sanctorum with Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman,” he added.

According to Bhattacharya, the Trust already has 15 bighas (around 9.73 acres) of land for the temple, and the design of both the temple and the idol has been finalised.

Though the main temple will be styled after Ayodhya Ram Mandir, surrounding it will be a 15th century terracotta design bearing the essence of the architecture typical of this area.

According to the Trust, once completed, (scheduled in 2028), it will also host a training centre and hub of religious tourism. “The plan is to lay the foundation stone in February. The date is not fixed yet. The entire project cost is around Rs 100 crores. There are 27 Trust members, including some NRIs who are pooling in funds along with their friends,” said Bhattacharya.

Secretary of the Trust, Litan Bhattacharya, who gave 10 bighas of land for the proposed temple, said, “We are highlighting this place as Sridham of Shantipur. The temple will be constructed just 100 metres away from the birthplace of Krittibas Ojha.”

Krittibas Ojha, born in Phulia, was a 14th century poet who translated Ramayan in Bengali. His Ramayan called “Sri Ram Panchali”, tried to address the caste division within Hindus in medieval Bengal.

Source: indianexpress.com

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

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/90km-from-upcoming-babri-masjid-replica-ground-gets-ready-for-ayodhya-style-temple-10491781/

------
Despite EC order, no FIR against MLA Manirul over vandalism, hate speech

Jan 24, 2026

Kolkata: Despite an Election Commission directive, the Murshidabad district administration hasn't lodged an FIR against Farakka Trinamool MLA Manirul Islam for vandalism at a BDO office and hate speech against the Commission, till Friday evening. The EC had directed the Murshidabad DM (also the DeO) on Thursday to lodge an FIR against Islam and send a compliance report by 5pm on the same day.

On Jan 14, a BDO office in Farakka was vandalised allegedly by TMC protesters. Protesters alleged that citizens were being harassed at the hearing. Islam and his supporters were allegedly seen in the CCTV footage and other videos from the scene. The BDO lodged an FIR against unknown miscreants. Five persons were arrested and later given bail. However, Islam was not named in the FIR.

Islam was involved in another controversy after a video appeared on social media in which he was purportedly heard making hate speech against the Commission. In a letter to SDO Jangipur on Friday, Islam said, "I respectfully clarify that the remarks made by me during said public address were neither intended to undermine the authority of the Election Commission nor to influence the electoral process in any improper manner. The statements were made in good faith as a general expression of public opinion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process."

"I further submit that there was no mala fide intent, provocation, or violation of any statutory provision in my speech. Any interpretation to the contrary would be inadvertent and unintended," he added.

Source: indiatimes.com

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

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/despite-ec-order-no-fir-against-mla-manirul-over-vandalism-hate-speech/articleshowprint/127322602.cms

-----

Congress more communist than Maoists, more communal than Muslim League: Narendra Modi

by Shaju Philip

January 24, 2026

Setting the BJP-led NDA’s election campaign in motion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday that Kerala will change in the coming elections.

Addressing party workers in the state capital after a brief roadshow, Modi hard-sold the BJP’s theme, “marathathu eni marum” (what has not changed will change). “Whenever I have visited Kerala, you have given me your love. But this time, I can see a new energy in you. This verve makes me believe that change will happen in Kerala,” he said.

Modi said the election would change the future of Kerala.

“So far, l the state had seen only two fronts — the LDF and the UDF — which had destroyed Kerala,” he said. “A third front, the NDA, has now risen. People of Kerala have started reposing their faith in the BJP”, he said, referring to the party’s historic win in the Thiruvananthapuram corporation.

Modi drew a parallel between the BJP’s recent victory in the Thiruvananthapuram corporation and the party’s win in the Ahmedabad civic body in 1987.

“Until 1987, BJP was not a significant force in Gujarat. For the first time in 1987, the party won the municipal corporation. People recognised our performance. Since then, the people of Gujarat have entrusted us with opportunities to serve the entire state and that still continues. BJP began its journey in Gujarat in one city. Similarly, our journey in Kerala has started with a city,” he said.

Modi’s visit to Thiruvananthapuram marked the 27th day since the BJP assumed power in the corporation, which had been ruled by the Left for the last 45 days. During the campaign for the civic body elections, the BJP had promised to bring Modi and unveil the city’s development plan within 45 days if voted to power in the corporation. Although he did not unveil the development plan as earlier claimed, Modi hailed the victory as historic, saying its impact was being felt across the state.

“I extend my full support to Thiruvananthapuram to make it one of the best cities in India. BJP has started to realize Vikasita Thiruvananthapuram,” he said.

Both the LDF and the UDF had driven Kerala into a cycle of corruption, mismanagement and appeasement politics, he claimed.

“Their flags and symbols may be different, but their agenda is identical — corruption, lack of accountability and promotion of communalism. Both parties are aware that their chances to rule the state will emerge every five years. To save Kerala, this adjustment between the LDF and the UDF should be ended. Only BJP can bring change to this situation in Kerala,” he said.

Slamming the Congress, Modi said the party had become “MMC–Muslim Maoist Congress”.

“Congress has become more hardline communists than the Maoists, and more communal than Muslim League,” he said.

Referring to the alleged gold theft at Sabarimala, Modi said if the BJP is voted to power in the state, all those behind the theft would be jailed. “This is Modi’s guarantee,” he said.

In the 50-minute-long speech, Modi detailed various development projects and welfare schemes implemented by his government in Kerala and how the people of the state had benefited from them.

Earlier, he flagged off three Amrit Bharat Express trains, launched PM SVANidhi credit care and inaugurated the disbursal of PM SVANidhi loans. He also laid the foundation stone for the CSIR–NIIST Innovation, Technology and

Source: indianexpress.com

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

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/thiruvananthapuram/congress-more-communist-than-maoists-more-communal-than-muslim-league-narendra-modi-10491610/

--------

Turkman Gate case: HC sets aside bail granted in ‘cryptic, unreasoned’ order

Jan 23, 2026

New Delhi: Delhi High Court has set aside the bail granted to a man accused of being part of a mob that allegedly pelted stones during a demolition drive near Faiz-e-Elahi mosque at Turkman Gate earlier this month.

Remanding the case to the trial court for reconsideration, Justice Prateek Jalan said that while the court is extremely cautious in interfering with liberty granted to an individual, this was an "exceptional" case where bail was granted to Ubedullah, a street vendor, through a "cryptic and unreasoned" order.

The trial court granted bail to Ubedullah on Jan 20.

The high court noted that the bail order did not address the prosecution's arguments and lacked even a prima facie analysis of factors governing bail adjudication. "The impugned order is set aside for want of adequate reasons and remanded to the sessions court," the HC said in its Jan 21 order. The trial court will reconsider the plea on Jan 23.

Police challenged the bail, citing CCTV footage and a co-accused's disclosure alleging that Ubedullah was part of a violent crowd that obstructed police, pelted stones and damaged public property. Counsel for the accused termed the case a "fishing expedition", but the HC left it to the trial court to take a fresh call.

The case relates to violence during an anti-encroachment drive near the mosque in the Ramlila Maidan area on the intervening night of Jan 6 and 7. Police said rumours on social media that the mosque opposite Turkman Gate was being demolished prompted people to gather at the spot. Around 150-200 people allegedly hurled stones and glass bottles at police and MCD personnel, injuring six policemen, including the station house officer.

Source: indiatimes.com

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

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/turkman-gate-case-hc-sets-aside-bail-granted-in-cryptic-unreasoned-order/articleshowprint/127311503.cms

------

Sambhal CJM changed again, Civil Judge who had ordered mosque survey sent back

January 24, 2026

In three days, there has been a second change of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Sambhal. On Thursday night, Aditya Singh who had been brought in to replace CJM Vibhanshu Sudheer – who had ordered lodging of an FIR against policemen in the Sambhal November 2024 violence – was transferred back to his original post.

Singh will continue as Civil Judge (Senior Division), Sambhal, the post he held when he had ordered a survey of the Sambhal Jama Masjid, that led to the November 2024 violence.

The transfer by the Allahabad High Court of Sudheer from the CJM, Sambhal, post to Civil Judge (Senior Division), Sultanpur, had seen protests by lawyers at the district court. Lawyers had also protested against the replacement of Sudheer as CJM with Singh.

The new CJM, Sambhal, is the current CJM of Kaushambi district, Deepak Kumar Jaiswal.

On January 9, Sudheer had ordered lodging of an FIR against then Circle Officer (CO) of Sambhal City Anuj Chaudhary and other policemen over the injury to a local youth, Alam, in shooting during the November 24 violence. Police maintain that Alam was not killed by their bullet.

The violence had followed an order by Aditya Singh on November 19 clearing a survey of the Sambhal mosque, on a petition claiming that a temple had been demolished to build the mosque in 1526. The Sambhal Jama Masjid is considered the only known Babar-era mosque surviving in Uttar Pradesh after the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

The mosque committee contested the survey, arguing that the order was passed in haste on November 19, without giving them an opportunity to be heard, with the first round of the survey held the very same day.

The order sending Aditya Singh back to his original posting was part of a notification issued by the Registrar General of the Allahabad High Court Thursday night regarding postings and transfers of 344 judicial officers.

Some other officers besides Singh were also retransferred within three days of the January 20 shuffle.

Source: indianexpress.com

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

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/sambhal-cjm-civil-judge-ordered-mosque-survey-10491300/

-------

Saraswati puja, Friday namaz converge at Bhojshala, under shadow of heavy security

by Anand Mohan J

January 24, 2026

Basant Panchami at the disputed Bhojshala complex in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar was destined to become a study in contrast from the moment the calendar revealed that the spring festival and Friday prayers would converge after a decade.

Muslims who were permitted to offer Friday prayers at the Bhojshala complex had just over a dozen persons, brought in through a back gate, wearing volunteer jackets to render them indistinguishable from security personnel as they were moved to a designated spot at the complex where the dome of the structure was concealed with a white cloth. Around them, officers carrying automatic weapons maintained tight perimeters while armoured vehicles idled nearby, engines running.

Hindu devotees – thousands were part of processions that had been building since dawn – arrived through the front gates.

The Supreme Court had on Thursday issued directions to allow simultaneous Basant Panchami puja and namaz at the Archaeological Survey of India-protected Bhojshala Temple/Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district on Friday. The court allowed prayers on a plea by an organisation, the Hindu Front for Justice (HFJ), on the occasion of Basant Panchami. The day heralds the arrival of spring and involves worshipping Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge.

This marks the latest chapter in the dispute over the 11th-Century monument. Since the early 2000s, various right-wing groups have been seeking the closure of the mosque, a ban on Friday namaz there, and the installation of a Saraswati idol in the complex.

On Friday, the Dhar administration was prepared. Every corner of the city – from narrow bylanes to crowded markets and rooftops – was mapped in 3D. From a central control room, police monitored live feeds across the city, while over 20 AI-enabled drones flew regular circuits, relaying real-time data on crowd density. Over 8,000 police officers from the surrounding regions were called in along with eight Rapid Action Force platoons and 933 women police personnel, erecting an unprecedented security cordon.

By mid-morning, the narrow approach roads to the Bhojshala had turned saffron. Triangular flags fluttered from bamboo poles strung across lanes and rooftops. Young men in white kurtas raised slogans, while women in mustard, vermilion and deep orange saris moved in clusters, clapping and raising their hands in rhythm.

Riot police walked alongside the procession in helmets and body armour. Shuttered shops and tangled overhead wires framed a town briefly transformed into a corridor of devotion and discipline. “Chalo Bhojshala” blared from DJ-mounted vehicles as processions organised by various outfits advanced.

Shantilal, waiting with his ten-year-old son, spoke quietly about rights rather than rituals. “The Supreme Court has allowed both communities to enter today,” he said. “Basant Panchami has happened peacefully before, too. We don’t pay much attention to Hindu–Muslim issues. All we want is the right to pray the whole day in our Saraswati mandir.”

Others chose not to wait. Shivani, visiting Bhojshala for the first time, turned back with her children. “There is too much of a crowd,” she said. “I came because of the mahaul around Friday namaz. Basant Panchami is bigger than ever this time, but I can’t risk bringing my children into such a huge gathering.”

Among the crowd, young participants spoke of a changed moment. Rajesh, Gopal and Kartik, polytechnic students, said Bhojshala now felt like a national issue rather than a local one. “Earlier, people only thought about it when Basant Panchami fell on a Friday,” one of them said. “Now, politicians and media keep reminding us this is a temple. After the ASI said the structure was made from reused temple parts, it’s hard to ignore.” Gunjan Pipilofiya echoed the sense of scale and impatience. “The court order is good,” she said, “but we want access the whole year now. We have nothing against the Muslim community.”

Yet even this tightly managed exercise produced dissent. Imran Khan, one of those selected to offer namaz, alleged that the administration failed to follow through. He said officials met them around 11 pm the previous night and promised to take them for namaz, but later dropped them near the mosque with a single watchman. “We were 15–20 people in total, and we could not read the namaz,” he claimed. “We even made sure we came in small numbers as per their request. The administration cheated us.”

However, Dhar Collector Priyank Mishra dismissed the allegations: “Over 15-17 individuals from the Muslim community offered prayers at a designated site as per the Supreme Court orders and both processions went on peacefully.”

While right-wing groups have been seeking the closure of the mosque and a ban on Friday namaz, in April 2003, the ASI had arranged to find a solution under which Hindus would perform puja in the premises on Tuesdays, while Muslims would offer namaz there on Fridays.

On May 2, 2022, a PIL was filed by the HFJ, challenging the ASI order, which restricted daily worship for Hindus. The plea cited that the former rulers of Dhar had installed the statue of Saraswati there in the year 1034, and it was taken to London in 1857 by the British. In 2024, the Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered an ASI survey of the Dhar district, observing that its nature and character need to be “demystified and freed from the shackles of confusion”. The report later stated that the “existing structure was made from the parts of earlier temples”.

Right adjacent to the disputed site, Alok Kumar, the international president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, declared that the Bhojshala dispute was “not a religious issue, but an issue of encroachment”.

“The battle of Dhar is the battle of the whole country. This is the battle of the whole Hindu society, and we have to fight this battle together. We want happiness, peace and prosperity for everyone. But this cannot be our weakness. This is our strength. Today’s situation shows that this awakened society is no longer ready to tolerate insult. It has come onto the streets and into the field to protect itself,” he said.

Those old enough to remember the Saraswati Pooja before it took a political colour say the celebration has changed over the years. Sitaram (57), a local businessman, said, “The crowds are huge, the security is unprecedented. We never had so much political spotlight on the issue. We just celebrated Raja Bhoja’s achievements and Vaidehi Devi. Earlier, the temple demands were raked up during elections, and forgotten. Now it’s a permanent position of the people.”

Source: indianexpress.com

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

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/saraswati-puja-friday-namaz-converge-bhojshala-heavy-security-10491218/

-------

Hoist Tricolour at mosque, madrasa main gates on Jan 26: Chhattisgarh Waqf Board

Jan 24, 2026

The Chhattisgarh State Waqf Board has directed that the National Flag be hoisted at the main gates of all mosques, madrasas and dargahs across the state on Republic Day, January 26, 2026, triggering a wider political and social debate. The Tricolour must be unfurled as a mark of respect for the Constitution, democratic values and national unity, the directive said.

Issued ahead of India’s 77th Republic Day, the order mandates that the national flag be displayed prominently at the entrances of all Waqf-managed religious institutions so that it remains clearly visible during the celebrations.

The directive asks caretakers and managing committees of Waqf properties to ensure compliance and maintain the dignity of the occasion.

Chhattisgarh State Waqf Board Chairman Dr Salim Raj said Republic Day should be observed with patriotism, communal harmony and brotherhood. “Republic Day belongs to every citizen. Displaying the national flag reflects our respect for the Constitution and democratic values,” he said.

Dr Raj asserted that muslims in India are patriotic and committed to constitutional principles, adding that a similar directive had been issued on Independence Day as well. He described the move as part of the Board’s consistent approach towards national integration.

“Our institutions function within the framework of the Constitution. Observing national days in this manner reinforces unity and shared responsibility,” he said.

The move has drawn mixed reactions from political leaders. BJP leader Touqeer Raza welcomed the directive, saying it would help instil a sense of patriotism among children studying in madrasas and devotees visiting mosques and dargahs. “Statutory institutions like madrasas and mosques hosting the national flag should be welcomed, not criticised,” he said.

However, the Congress criticised the development, accusing the BJP of politicising the issue. Party media head and spokesperson Sushil Anand Shukla said the remarks surrounding the directive reflected an attempt to target a particular community. He alleged that such statements were condemnable and claimed that the Waqf Board chairman was making the comments to protect his position.

Former Chhattisgarh State Waqf Board chairman Salam Rizvi also expressed reservations, saying that while appeals can be made, such actions should not be enforced. He said patriotism is a personal sentiment and should not be imposed through official instructions.

The directive has opened a broader debate on the balance between institutional appeals for national symbolism and individual interpretations of patriotism, even as Chhattisgarh prepares for Republic Day celebrations alongside the rest of the country.

Source: indiatoday.in

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

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/tricolour-must-fly-at-mosque-main-gates-on-republic-day-chhattisgarh-waqf-board-2856801-2026-01-23

------

Rajasthan consumer panel halts order for forensic test of Salman Khan’s signatures in misleading ad case

Rajesh Asnani

24 Jan 2026

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has stayed a Kota District Consumer Commission order directing a Forensic Science Laboratory examination of Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s signatures in a case over alleged misleading pan masala advertisements.

The state commission also issued a notice to the complainant and referred the matter to the Kota Circuit Bench of the State Consumer Commission for further hearing. The order was passed while hearing a revision petition filed by Rajshree Pan Masala.

Advocate Devesh Sharma, appearing for the revision petitioner, informed the commission that advocate Indramohan Singh had filed a complaint before the Kota District Consumer Commission, accusing Salman Khan, the brand ambassador of Rajshree Pan Masala, of promoting misleading advertisements. In response to the complaint, a reply along with a power of attorney was submitted on behalf of Salman Khan.

However, the complainant disputed the authenticity of the documents, claiming that the signatures on the reply and power of attorney were not Salman Khan’s. While objections to the maintainability of the complaint were raised by the company, the district commission, instead of deciding on those objections, ordered an FSL examination of the actor’s signatures.

The original complaint, filed about a month ago, alleged that Rajshree Pan Masala and its brand ambassador were misleading consumers by advertising products under the name of saffron-infused cardamom and saffron-infused pan masala. The complainant questioned how saffron—priced at around Rs. 4 lakh per kilogram—could be used in a product sold for Rs. 5 per pouch.

The complaint further alleged that such advertisements mislead the public, particularly youth, and encourage the consumption of pan masala, which can cause serious health issues, including cancer. A ban on the allegedly misleading advertisements was sought.

Challenging the district commission’s order, the revision petitioner argued that Salman Khan was endorsing cardamom, not pan masala. It was also submitted that the complainant had earlier filed a similar complaint against another brand, Vimal, whose advertisement also featured cardamom, but later withdrew that complaint.

The revision petition further stated that objections had already been filed before the district commission, and that the order directing an FSL examination was unnecessary and premature. It was argued that to avoid prolonged and unnecessary litigation, an agreement had been reached between Rajshree Pan Masala and Salman Khan, making the company an aggrieved party by the district commission’s order.

On these grounds, the state consumer commission stayed the FSL examination order and transferred the matter to the Kota Circuit Bench for further proceedings.

Source: newindianexpress.com

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

https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2026/Jan/24/rajasthan-consumer-panel-halts-order-for-forensic-test-of-salman-khans-signatures-in-misleading-ad-case

--------

Rajasthan moves to adopt Gujarat’s ‘disturbed areas’ Act: What is the controversial law?

by Vineet Bhalla

January 23, 2026

The Rajasthan government has decided to introduce a Bill designating certain zones as “disturbed areas” to curb what it terms “demographic imbalance” and “improper clustering”. While the Bill is not yet in the public domain, it is already drawing comparisons with the Gujarat Prohibition of Transfer of Immovable Property and Provision for Protection of Tenants from Eviction from Premises in Disturbed Areas Act, 1991, which has been in force in Gujarat for over three decades.

The Rajasthan Law Minister has framed the proposed Rajasthan Prohibition of Transfer of Immovable Property and Provisions for Protection of Tenants from Eviction from the Premises in Disturbed Areas Bill, 2026, as a measure to maintain communal harmony. However, legal experts and civil rights activists have long articulated concerns regarding the constitutional validity of the Gujarat legislation. The Gujarat High Court has also frequently intervened to check executive overreach under the law, narrowing the scope of the state’s power to interfere in private property transactions.

What is the Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act?

Enacted in 1991 following a series of communal riots, the Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act was originally conceived to prevent “distress sales”, which occur when an individual is forced to sell their property at a value lower than the market rate due to fear of violence or intimidation – usually during communal unrest.

Under the Act, the state government can declare a specific area as “disturbed” due to a history of communal violence or mob unrest. Once an area is notified, the transfer of immovable property – houses, shops or land – in that zone requires the prior sanction of the district collector. Without their approval, any sale or transfer is considered void. The collector must hold a formal inquiry to ensure the sale is consensual and not driven by coercion.

While the stated objective of the Act is to protect vulnerable owners from being forced out, legal scholars have raised concerns that the Act effectively allows the state to police the demographic composition of neighbourhoods. By regulating who can buy property where, the state can prevent the organic mixing of communities, raising questions regarding Article 19(1)(e) of the Constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India and Article 15 of the Constitution, which prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.

Pending legal challenges

The constitutional validity of the Act is currently under challenge before the Gujarat High Court. Two major petitions – one filed in January 2021 and another in August 2022 – are pending adjudication before Benches led by the Chief Justice of the High Court.

The petitioner in the former case, the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Gujarat – the Gujarat wing of the socio-religious organisation – sought in 2024 an interim stay on the operation of the Act, arguing that it was being used to harass citizens. However, the Gujarat High Court declined to grant an interim stay. This decision was appealed in the Supreme Court, which also declined to intervene at the interim stage, instead directing the petitioner to approach the High Court for an early hearing and disposal of the case.

But the petitioners did score a legal victory regarding the 2020 Amendment to the Act. The Gujarat government had amended the Act to expand its scope, introducing vague terms like “proper clustering” of persons of one community and empowering the collector to check if a transfer of property would disturb the “demographic equilibrium” or lead to “polarization”.

In January 2021, the Gujarat High Court stayed the operation of these specific amendments, restraining the state government from issuing notifications based on these new, broader powers. The interim stay has continued to date.

The Rajasthan government’s stated rationale of checking “improper clustering” mirrors the language of this stayed Gujarat amendment.

Free consent and fair market value

The Disturbed Areas Act states that the decision of the collector – and the state government in appeal – shall be final and conclusive and “shall not be questioned in any Court.” However, since High Courts are empowered under Article 226 of the Constitution to review administrative actions that violate fundamental rights or principles of natural justice, the Gujarat High Court has repeatedly been petitioned to scrutinise orders passed by collectors that went beyond the scope of the law.

Through a series of judgments, the High Court has established a clear doctrine: the collector’s power is limited strictly to verifying free consent and fair market value to validate a sale. They cannot block a transaction based on “law and order” fears or neighbours’ objections if the sale is genuine.

For instance, in a case decided by the court in March 2020, Hindu sellers had sold a shop to Muslim purchasers in Vadodara. The district collector denied permission, relying on a police report that cited potential law and order problems. Quashing the order, the High Court ruled that the police inquiry was “completely out of context with the provisions of the Disturbed Areas Act”. The court noted: “It is undisputed that the property in question was sold on a fair value and with free consent… When the scope of inquiry is that of free consent and fair value, the role of neighbours in the context of such sale becomes irrelevant.”

This was reiterated in another order in August 2023. Neighbours opposed to an interfaith property sale had filed an appeal against a single judge’s order allowing it. A Division Bench dismissed the appeal and imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on the neighbours, holding that the deputy collector had “travelled beyond” his jurisdiction by entertaining objections based on community strength. The court affirmed that a neighbour has no legal standing to block a private contract between a willing buyer and a willing seller.

In October 2023, the High Court set aside a collector’s order rejecting the application for sale by a Hindu person to Muslim buyers. The collector rejection was based on a police report. The High Court stated that he had “overreached jurisdiction” by relying on extraneous grounds instead of focusing on the statutory requirement of free consent and fair value.

The court reiterated the core purpose of the act most recently in an order in September 2025, stating: “The object to get into such sale consideration is not to see whether it would create a law and order problem but to decide whether the sale is a distress sale so as to migrate from such an area by any manner getting away and selling his property for whatever consideration under fear.”

Source: indianexpress.com

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

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-law/rajasthan-gujarat-disturbed-areas-law-10490568/

------

‘A clever ploy’: Punjab and Haryana High Court rejects man’s claim of being ‘misled’ into selling 50 kg beef

by Jagriti Rai

January 24, 2026

Beef Possession Case: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has rejected a 62-year-old man’s anticipatory bail plea and said that his claim for being misled by meat suppliers was a “clever ploy” to evade prosecution for alleged illegal beef possession.

Justice Aradhana Sawhney was hearing an anticipatory bail plea of a man in a case registered under Section 299 of BNS, which deals with deliberate and malicious acts intended to insult a religion and outrage religious sentiments.

Aradhana Sawhney paunjab and haryana high court Justice Aradhana Sawhney said that the petitioner has not been able to make out a case of exceptional hardship to grant extraordinary relief of pre-arrest bail. (Image enhanced using AI)

Later, the police added Section 8 of the Punjab Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955, which deals with the penalties for violating the act’s provisions.

“The plea now taken by the petitioner, that he was misled by the sellers, who had allegedly disclosed to him that the meat was not beef, is a clever ploy and an afterthought, which does not deserve to be taken note of,” the court said on January 19.

Findings

 It would be appropriate to refer to the judgment of the top court in Nikita Jagganath Shetty Nikita Vishwajeet Jadhav v. The State of Maharashtra and another, wherein it has been held that anticipatory bail is an exceptional remedy and ought not to be granted routinely.

Initially, when the petitioner was caught, he produced two bills, taking the plea that he had obtained buffalo meat.

When the sample was sent to the National Meat Research Institute, Hyderabad, the experts opined that the meat was that of a “bull” or an “ox”.

The custodial interrogation of the petitioner is needed to find out who is involved in this incident, where the “cows were slaughtered, how their meat is sold, who all are the purchasers, etc.”

The petitioner has not been able to make out a case of exceptional depravity/hardship in his favour, entitling him to the grant of this extraordinary relief of pre-arrest bail.

Background

The petitioner filed a plea for the grant of pre-arrest bail in the case under Section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), BNS, and Section 8 of the Punjab Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955, added later on.

The criminal proceedings originated from a complaint filed by a member of the cow vigilante group, who alleged that the petitioner was supplying beef using a scooter.

Upon acting on this secret tip-off, the complainant and residents intercepted the petitioner, where police subsequently discovered 50 kilograms of meat in the vehicle.

While the man initially claimed the meat was of buffalo calf, purchased from vendors in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, a forensic analysis conducted by the Hyderabad institute identified the samples as “bos indicus (bull/ox)”.

Following this report, the police added Section 8 of the Punjab Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955, and the petitioner was again served a notice, but he reportedly did not join the investigation.

Apprehending his arrest, the petitioner moved the high court for anticipatory bail.

His counsel Advocate Jasbir Singh Dadwal submitted that the petitioner, aged about 62 years, was framed in the case, and he was under the genuine impression that the meat purchased by him was that of a buffalo.

He further submitted that since nothing is to be recovered from the petitioner, his custodial interrogation is not needed.

Additional Public Prosecutor Rahul Arora argued that the petitioner’s plea that he had purchased the meat under the genuine impression that it was not beef cannot be believed, for it cannot be presumed that both the sellers from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh would mislead the petitioner.

He further argued that this plea is nothing but a last-minute effort on the part of the petitioner to wriggle out of the embarrassing position in which he has placed himself.

Counsels for the complainant next contend that “cow” holds a sacred and revered place in the Hindu religion and Indian culture, and the petitioner, by indulging in these acts, has hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community.

Source: indianexpress.com

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

https://indianexpress.com/article/legal-news/a-clever-ploy-punjab-and-haryana-high-court-rejects-62-yearolds-claim-he-was-misled-into-selling-50kg-of-beef-10490916/

------

Valley demography plan, hear it from BJP as Chrungoo cites Hindu settlement

Muzaffar Raina

24.01.26

A senior BJP leader has claimed the “Indian State” is “working on” changing Kashmir’s demography by settling lakhs of Hindus from outside, appearing to confirm a fear widely expressed among Valley Muslims since the constitutional changes of 2019.

Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, a prominent Kashmiri Pandit, said the efforts to address the “demographic challenge” were not confined to Kashmir but extended to every part of India where Muslims were, or threatened to become, the majority.

He cited Bengal — where BJP leaders have been speaking openly about driving out “Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators” — Assam, and Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh where dozens of mosques, mazars and madrasas have been demolished.

“So far as Kashmir is concerned, I believe the Indian State is thinking of addressing its demographic balancing, its demographic challenge,” he told The Telegraph.

Chrungoo drew a distinction between the “government” and the “State”, which he said was a wider entity.

“There is a big difference.... Where I say ‘State of India’, it means GOI (Government of India) and all institutional structure(s), which is not a small thing,” he said.

“I say that people are thinking on these lines (settling lakhs of outsiders here).... People are working on it.”

Many Kashmiri Muslims believe that one of the motives behind the Centre scrapping Article 370 and introducing other momentous changes was to alter the region’s demography — a stand Chrungoo endorsed.

Before joining the BJP several years ago, Chrungoo headed a faction of the Panun Kashmir, an organisation that wants a separate homeland for Pandits in Kashmir. He said such a homeland remained his personal priority.

The contentious plan envisages the creation of a Union Territory across half of Kashmir to settle returning Pandits.

Chrungoo said he would not object to an alteration of the region’s demography in general as an alternative to the homeland idea, since that would virtually turn the whole of Kashmir into a Pandit homeland.

“A lot of people say, ‘What you want in your homeland will be done in the entire Kashmir’, with the efforts of the government and the political system, efforts of national will, people living in Kashmir and outside. Which is that they will balance the population,” he said.

He said Kashmir needed to be at least 25 per cent Hindu for that to happen.

The 1981 population census had found the Hindu population in the Valley to be less than four per cent. After the large-scale displacement of Pandits following the outbreak of militancy in 1989-90, Kashmir’s Hindu population in

2011 was a little less than 3 per cent, made up mostly of non-Pandit Hindus.

Displaced Pandits put up a show of strength in Jammu this week under the banner of the “Youth for Panun Kashmir”, vowing to become “swords” for the “destruction of the enemy”.

Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed increasing polarisation between Hindus and Muslims in recent weeks following protests in Jammu against the admission of Muslim students to the Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College. The Pandit protests have now added fuel to the fire.

‘Platform’ set

Chrungoo believes the Centre has over the last six years set up a platform to change the region’s demography.

“The way I see it, (from) how the Government of India is moving forward — it is my own way of viewing it — it has taken the first decision in this respect constitutionally (by scrapping Articles 370 and 35A, which barred outsiders from buying land or holding government jobs in Jammu and Kashmir),” he said.

“The other decisions were administrative, which are so overwhelming, like if you have an elected government, it will not be a complete government of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and there will always be interference by the GOI.

“(Similarly), law and order is not with him (the chief minister). The guardianship of the administration is also not with him. They are with them (the Centre).”

Chrungoo said the Centre had also succeeded in changing the political narrative from a demand for “azadi” to that for statehood. It was now working on bringing about cultural change, he said, referring to the recent government surveillance of mosques across Kashmir.

“Only one thing remains. The Government of India must be interested in it, which is to balance the population…. I foresee this happening in the future,” he said.

“It has started happening, first in Sambhal in UP, second in Assam and third in West Bengal. They (the Centre) have their eye on that; it is in Bengal’s context (that) he (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) spoke about the demographic challenge.”

Chrungoo said the call to change the Valley’s demography had come originally from Pandits in May 1990, at the peak of militancy. Towards the end of 1990, leading Pandits had joined hands to form the Panun Kashmir, formally seeking a homeland for Pandits.

Chrungoo had previously held charge of the BJP’s political feedback department in Jammu and Kashmir.

Source: telegraphindia.com

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

https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/valley-demography-plan-hear-it-from-bjp-as-ashwani-kumar-chrungoo-cites-hindu-settlement-prnt/cid/2144122

------

Mideast

 

Abbas reiterates opposition to displacement of Palestinians

January 23, 2026

MOSCOW: The Palestinian National Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas has reiterated his opposition to all attempts to displace Palestinian people from their land.

Speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the presidential palace in Moscow, Abbas was reported by the Kremlin’s official website as saying that “the Palestinian people are holding on to their land, and we categorically oppose attempts by the Americans and Israelis to expatriate Palestinians beyond Palestinian territory.”

He said the Palestinian people “will not abandon their land, whatever the cost.” Abbas stressed the need to fully implement US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, leading to the withdrawal of occupation forces and the launch of the reconstruction process.

He emphasized that the Palestinian Authority would assume a central role in administering the Gaza Strip, and that the enclave and the West Bank constituted two parts of a single territorial unit, with a unified and undifferentiated system of civilian institutions.

He stressed the need for an immediate halt to “Israeli settler colonialism and Israeli acts of terror in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, along with the release of withheld Palestinian funds and the cessation of all measures that undermined the Palestinian Authority and the two-state solution.”

He reaffirmed his commitment to continue the struggle for the realization of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and of their right to a fully sovereign, independent state based on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, while living in security and peace with neighbors.

He told Putin: “What we need is peace, and we hope that with your help and support, we can achieve it — a peace built on the basis of international legal resolutions, decisions of the United Nations, and the principles established following the wars of 1967 and 1973.

“East Jerusalem remains the capital of Palestine, and we know that Russia has always supported — indeed, was the first to support — Palestine, maintaining a firm stance in support of our people.”

Abbas thanked his Russian counterpart for Moscow’s support and commended the bilateral “bonds of friendship” between both countries. He added: “We are friends of Russia and the Russian people. For over 50 years our nations have been bound by a strong friendship that has developed over the decades and continues on the correct path. Russia is a great friend and a nation upon which we rely in many spheres.

“Historically, Russia has supported and stood by the Palestinian people at political and diplomatic levels. Your economic and financial support is both significant in scale and crucial in importance.”

Abbas emphasized moving forward with the implementation of a comprehensive national reform program aimed at consolidating the rule of law, strengthening the principles of good governance, transparency, and accountability, and ensuring the separation of powers.

Putin affirmed Moscow’s “principled and consistent approach” to the Palestinian question.

He said: “We believe that only the establishment and full functioning of the Palestinian state can lead to a lasting settlement of the Middle East conflict.”

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630407/middle-east

------

Volatile security blocks UN from Syria Daesh-linked camp

January 23, 2026

RAQQA, Syria: Poor security at a camp in Syria housing thousands of suspected relatives of Daesh group militants has prevented UN agency staff from entering, days after Kurdish forces withdrew and the army deployed at the site.

Two former employees at the Al-Hol desert camp told AFP on Friday that some of its residents had escaped during an hours-long security vacuum.

Thousands of suspected militants and their families, including foreigners, have been held in prisons and camps in northeast Syria since 2019, when the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) defeated Daesh with the support of a US-led coalition.

This year, the SDF had to relinquish to Syrian government control swathes of territory they had seized during their fight against Daesh, and on Tuesday withdrew from Al-Hol.

In Raqqa province, Kurdish forces who formerly controlled a prison housing Daesh detainees were bussed out on Friday under a deal with the government, as a four-day truce neared expiry.

- Returning today -

Celine Schmitt, the UN refugee agency’s spokesperson in Syria, told AFP that “UNHCR was able to reach Al-Hol for the past three days but has not yet been able to enter inside the camp due to the volatile security situation.”

“UNHCR is returning to Al-Hol today, with the hope of resuming the bread delivery that had stopped for the past three days,” she said.

On Sunday, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa announced a deal with SDF chief Mazloum Abdi that included a ceasefire and the integration of the Kurds’ administration into the state, which will take responsibility for Daesh prisoners.

A former employee of a local humanitarian organization that operated in Al-Hol told AFP on condition of anonymity that most associations withdrew on Tuesday “due to the deteriorating security situation.”

Some camp residents fled during the “security vacuum” between when the SDF withdrew and the army took control, they said, without providing a number.

A former employee at another organization working there said “escapes were reported, but the exact number is unknown.”

“The camp is fenced, but without security, anyone can easily cross it and flee,” they said, also requesting anonymity.

Both ex-employees said camp residents torched centers belonging to aid organizations operating in the camp, where humanitarian conditions are dire.

Before the turmoil, the camp housed some 23,000 people — mostly Syrians but also including around 2,200 Iraqis and 6,200 other foreign women and children of various nationalities, the camp’s former administration told AFP.

Roj, a smaller camp in the northeast still under Kurdish control, holds some 2,300 people, mostly foreigners.

The Kurds and the United States have repeatedly urged countries to repatriate their citizens but foreign governments have generally allowed home only a trickle.

- Al-Aqtan prison -

The SDF has withdrawn to parts of Hasakah province, its stronghold in northeast Syria.

A fresh four-day ceasefire was announced on Tuesday, while the following day the United States said it had launched an operation that could see 7,000 Daesh militant detainees moved from Syria to Iraq, with 150 transferred so far.

US envoy Tom Barrack, who has said the purpose of Washington’s alliance with SDF has now largely expired, held talks this week with Abdi and senior Kurdish official Elham Ahmad.

On Friday, Syria transferred Kurdish fighters away from the Al-Aqtan prison on the outskirts of Raqqa city.

An AFP correspondent in Raqqa saw buses and cars heading away from the Al-Aqtan prison, escorted by government vehicles.

Syrian state television reported the transfer came “after five days of negotiations” and that the fighters would go to the Kurdish-held city of Ain Al-Arab, also known as Kobani, on the northern border with Turkiye.

The SDF later said that with coalition support, all the fighters had been transferred “to safe locations,” while the interior ministry said authorities had taken control of the facility.

A government source told state television that around 800 SDF fighters were to leave, while Daesh detainees would be managed “according to Syrian law.”

The army said the Al-Aqtan transfer was “the first step in implementing the January 18 agreement.”

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630399/middle-east

-----
Lebanon PM says IMF wants rescue plan changes as crisis deepens

January 23, 2026

DAVOS, Switzerland: The International Monetary Fund has demanded amendments to a draft rescue law aimed at hauling Lebanon out of its worst financial crisis on record and giving depositors access to savings frozen for six years, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said.

The “financial gap” law is part of a series of reform measures required by the IMF in order to access its funding and aims to allocate the losses from Lebanon’s 2019 crash between the state, the central bank, commercial banks and depositors.

Salam told Reuters the IMF wants clearer provisions in the hierarchy of claims, which is a core element of the draft legislation designed to determine how losses are allocated.

“We want to engage with the IMF. We want to improve. This is a draft law,” Salam said in an interview at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in ⁠the Swiss mountain resort of Davos.

“They wanted the hierarchy of claims to be clearer. The talks are all positive,” Salam added.

In 2022, the government put losses from the financial crisis at about $70 billion, a figure that analysts and economists forecast is now likely to be higher.

Salam stressed that Lebanon is still pushing for a long-delayed IMF program, but warned the clock is ticking as the country has already been placed on a financial ‘grey list’ and risks falling onto the ‘blacklist’ if reforms stall further.

“We want an IMF program and we want to continue our discussions until we get there,” he said, adding: “International pressure is real ... The longer we delay, the more people’s money will evaporate.”

The draft law, which was passed by Salam’s government in December, is under parliamentary review. It aims to give depositors a guaranteed path to recovering their funds, restart bank lending, and end a financial crisis that has left nearly a million accounts frozen and confidence in the system shattered.

The roadmap would repay depositors up to $100,000 over four years, starting with smaller accounts, while launching forensic audits to determine losses and responsibility.

Lebanon’s Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, who is driving the reform push with Salam, told Reuters it was ⁠essential to salvage a hollowed-out banking system, and to stop the country from sliding deeper into its cash-only, paralyzed economy.

The aim, Jaber said, is to give depositors clarity after years of uncertainty and to end a system that has crippled Lebanon’s international standing.

He framed the law as part of a broader reckoning: the first time a Lebanese government has confronted a combined collapse of the banking sector, the central bank and the state treasury.

Financial reforms have been repeatedly derailed by political and private vested interests over the last six years and Jaber said the responsibility now lies with lawmakers.

Failure to act, he said, would leave Lebanon trapped in “a deep, dark tunnel” with no way back to a functioning system.

“Lebanon has become a cash economy, and the real question is whether we want to stay on the grey list, or sleepwalk into a blacklist,” Jaber added.

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630388/middle-east

-------

Israel aims to ensure more Palestinians are let out of Gaza than back in

January 23, 2026

TEL AVIV: Israel wants to restrict the number of Palestinians entering Gaza through the border crossing with Egypt to ensure that more are allowed out than in, three sources briefed on the matter said ahead of the border’s expected opening next week.

The head of a transitional Palestinian committee backed by the US to temporarily administer Gaza, Ali Shaath, announced on Thursday that the Rafah Border Crossing — effectively the sole route in or out of Gaza for nearly all of the more than 2 million people who live there — would open next week.

The border was supposed to have opened during the initial phase of President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war, under a ceasefire reached in October between Israel and Hamas.

Earlier this month, Washington announced that the plan had now moved into the second phase, under which Israel is expected to withdraw troops further from Gaza ⁠and Hamas is due to yield control of the territory’s administration. The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since 2024.

The three sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said it was still not clear how Israel planned to enforce limits on the number of Palestinians entering Gaza from Egypt, or what ratio of exits to entries it aimed to achieve.

Israeli officials have spoken in the past about encouraging Palestinians to emigrate from Gaza, although they deny intending to transfer the population out by force. Palestinians ⁠are highly sensitive to any suggestion that Gazans could be expelled, or that those who leave temporarily could be barred from returning.

The Rafah Crossing is expected to be staffed by Palestinians affiliated with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority and monitored by EU personnel, as took place during an earlier, weeks-long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas early last year.

The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story. The military referred questions to the government, declining to comment.

The three sources said that Israel also wants to establish a military checkpoint inside Gaza near the border, through which all Palestinians entering or leaving would be required to pass and be subjected to Israeli security checks.

Two other sources also said that Israeli officials had insisted on setting up a military checkpoint in Gaza to screen Palestinians moving in and out.

The US Embassy in ⁠Israel did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Washington supported Israel in limiting the number of Palestinians entering Gaza or setting up a checkpoint to screen those entering and leaving.

Under the initial phase of Trump’s plan, the Israeli military partially pulled back its forces within Gaza but retained control of 53 percent of the territory including the entire land border with Egypt. Nearly all of the territory’s population lives in the rest of Gaza, under Hamas control and mostly in makeshift tents or damaged buildings.

The sources said that it was not clear how individuals would be dealt with if they were blocked by Israel’s military from passing through its checkpoint, particularly those entering from Egypt.

The Israeli government has repeatedly objected to the opening of the border, with some officials saying Hamas must first return the body of an Israeli police officer held in Gaza, the final human remains of a hostage due to be transferred under the ceasefire’s first phase.

US officials in private say that Washington, not Israel, is driving the rollout of the president’s plan to end the war.

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630386/middle-east

------
Hundreds of Displaced Kurdish Families Take Shelter in Qamishlo Mosques as Aid Campaigns Launch from Kurdistan Region

23-01-2026

Peregraf — Hundreds of displaced Kurdish families in Qamishlo are currently taking shelter in mosques following attacks on Kurdish areas by militia groups affiliated with Damascus, according to local sources.

The families are living in dire humanitarian conditions and are in urgent need of immediate assistance, including food, heating, blankets, and medical supplies. Women and children make up a large portion of those affected, many of whom fled their homes with few belongings.

Local residents report that these families have faced repeated displacement over the past 15 years due to ongoing instability in Rojava and continued attacks by various armed groups, exacerbating an already fragile humanitarian situation.

In response to the crisis, several aid campaigns have been launched across the Kurdistan Region to collect humanitarian assistance. Organizers say the collected aid will be delivered to Rojava in the coming days to support displaced families and help ease their suffering.

Source: peregraf.com

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

https://peregraf.com/en/news/10664

-----
Israeli tank fires near Lebanese army and UNIFIL patrol amid escalating tensions

NAJIA HOUSSARI

January 23, 2026

BEIRUT: An Israeli tank opened fire near a joint Lebanese army and UNIFIL patrol on Friday afternoon, in the latest incident to heighten tensions along the Blue Line.

The tank shell reportedly landed near Wadi Al-Asafir, south of the town of Khiam, where the Lebanese army and UNIFIL were conducting a field operation. The fire was said to have come from a newly established Israeli position in the Hamams area, according to eyewitnesses.

A Lebanese military source told Arab News: “This is not the first time Israeli forces have targeted Lebanese army and UNIFIL units. Similar incidents have occurred during operations south of the Litani River, and UNIFIL has previously issued statements condemning such actions.”

Earlier on Friday, an Israeli drone fired three missiles at a vehicle in Baalbek, eastern Lebanon, in a failed assassination attempt. Witnesses said the first strike hit a car traveling on the Majdaloun-Baalbek road. The driver, believed to be Palestinian, managed to escape, tossing his phone out before parking near Dar Al-Amal Hospital.

The drone fired a second missile that missed, resulting in material damage only. A third strike followed, but the target was not injured.

The attacks come amid renewed Israeli skepticism over Lebanon’s efforts to confiscate weapons south of the Litani River. Israeli officials dismissed Beirut’s recent announcement of completing the first phase of the disarmament plan as a “media stunt to buy time.” Lebanese officials insisted that progress was being made under a phased national strategy backed by international partners.

On Friday, President Joseph Aoun met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to address the Israeli escalation, which this week included the bombing of residential areas north of the Litani River, displacing dozens of families.

Aoun has faced mounting criticism from Hezbollah-aligned activists for his repeated insistence on the state’s exclusive authority over arms. A social media campaign launched Thursday accused the president of betraying the resistance, using defamatory language in videos widely circulated online.

Despite the backlash, Berri is said to be supportive of Aoun’s position. A Lebanese official told Arab News, “Berri continues to play a mediating role and agrees that the real problem lies in the lack of international pressure on Israel to respect the ceasefire and end its violations.”

Aoun told a visiting delegation from the Southern Border Towns Association on Friday that Lebanon’s stability is impossible without security in the south. “We are coordinating with the army to reinforce their presence in the border villages,” he said. “Our primary demand in the mechanism meetings remains the safe return of displaced residents and the release of prisoners.”

Meanwhile, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has begun summoning individuals accused of insulting Aoun online, including journalist Hassan Alik, who failed to appear on Friday.

The Presidential Palace told Arab News that the president had not filed a complaint and that the judiciary acted independently in accordance with Lebanese law, which criminalizes insults against the head of state.

Alik’s lawyer, Alia Moallem, filed a legal memorandum arguing that the summons violated the constitution and press laws, stating the remarks fall within the scope of journalistic work and freedom of expression.

In a statement, the Lebanese Press Editors Syndicate urged journalists to uphold responsible discourse during this sensitive time, while reaffirming the importance of safeguarding freedom of speech under Lebanese law.

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630396/middle-east

-------

Settlers storm, vandalize Mosque east of Nablus

23 Jan 2026

Settlers on Friday desecrated and vandalized the Beit al-Sheikh Mosque in Khirbet Tana, near the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus.

Thaer Hanani, coordinator of the Committee for the Defense of Khirbet Tana Lands, reported that settlers stormed the mosque, causing extensive damage and destruction, forcing worshippers to perform Friday prayers in the mosque's outer courtyard, according to Sanad News Agency.

He added that the settlers destroyed the fences surrounding the orchards in the village to allow the cattle of a settler named "Kobi" to graze and damage the olive trees.

Hanani noted that this attack is part of a series of repeated attacks by settlers on the mosque and worshippers, aimed at preventing Palestinians from accessing the village after its residents were forcibly expelled at the beginning of last year.

Source: saba.ye

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

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3633526.htm

------

Armed tribal gatherings in Hajjah affirm commitment to path of Martyr of Qur’an, al-Sammad

23 Jan 2026

Several districts in Hajjah governorate on Friday witnessed armed tribal gatherings reaffirming commitment to the path of the Martyr of the Qur’an, Sayyed Hussein Badr al-Din al-Houthi, and Martyr President Saleh al-Sammad.

Tribes in al-Shahel, Khairan al-Muharraq, Bani al-Awam, and al-Jumaymah areas declared full readiness to confront enemies, uphold the Qur’anic project, and support national and regional causes, including Palestine, while pledging loyalty to the revolutionary leadership and continued mobilization for any future confrontation.

Source: saba.ye

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

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3633507.htm

----

60,000 Palestinians Perform Friday Prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque

23 Jan 2026

Approximately 60,000 Palestinians performed Friday prayers today at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, despite Israeli forces storming the mosque's courtyards during the prayers and provocatively touring the premises in a clear violation of the mosque's sanctity.

Sources in Al-Quds reported that 60,000 worshippers were able to reach the Al-Aqsa Mosque and perform Friday prayers, despite the strict restrictions imposed by Israeli enemy on the entry of worshippers.

Source: saba.ye

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

https://www.saba.ye/en/news3633509.htm

-------

Arab World

 

Saudi Arabia to host WEF Global Collaboration and Growth Meeting in April

January 23, 2026

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will host the World Economic Forum Global Collaboration and Growth Meeting in Jeddah between April 22-23, 2026.

Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim on Friday confirmed the details of the high-level meeting which was announced at the annual WEF meeting in 2025, Saudi Press Agency reported.

In his closing remarks at the forum, the minister stressed the need for sustained dialogue to accelerate global growth and called on participants to actively engage in the upcoming meeting.

He noted that the meeting will build on the momentum generated by the WEF’s Special Meeting hosted by Riyadh in 2024, affirming that the Kingdom has emerged as a global capital of pragmatism and consequential decision-making.

WEF President Borge Brende highlighted the forum’s deepening engagement with the Kingdom. He said: “We are pleased to return to Saudi Arabia in 2026 to carry forward the conversations started at our annual meeting, creating space for leaders to work together, build trust, and ensure dialogue leads to meaningful collaboration and action.”

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630404/saudi-arabia

------
Saudi FM meets with UN humanitarian chief

January 23, 2026

RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher in Davos on Friday.

During the meeting which took place on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, areas of joint cooperation and ways to enhance it were discussed, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630417/saudi-arabia

-----

Saudi minister opens global labor market academy

January 23, 2026

RIYADH: Saudi Vice Minister of Human Resources and Social Development for Labor Dr. Abdullah Abuthnain inaugurated the second edition of the Global Labor Market Academy in Riyadh on Friday.

The event, which will run until Jan. 25, features 19 new members, bringing to 50 the total number of countries involved in the initiative, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.

The academy serves as a specialized hub for exchanging expertise on global labor trends and innovative policy solutions, offering participants a year-long academic program focused on capacity building and international employment policy development.

The opening sessions, led by World Bank experts, focused on the critical role of social and labor policies in addressing global challenges and enhancing youth employment.

The initiative aims to expand its reach to more than 75 countries by 2028, solidifying the Kingdom’s role in shaping the future of international labor markets.

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630415/saudi-arabia

-----

‘Masterpieces of Saudi Orchestra’ shine at Maraya in AlUla

January 23, 2026

RIYADH: The “Masterpieces of Saudi Orchestra” concert opened at Maraya Concert Hall in AlUla on Thursday under the patronage of the Kingdom’s Minister of Culture and Chairman of the board of the Music Commission Prince Bader bin Abdullah.

Organized by the Music Commission, the concert on its opening night presented a seamless artistic journey, where orchestral works met Saudi musical identity.

The Saudi National Orchestra and Choir, conducted by Maestro Hani Farhat, led audiences through carefully curated pieces reflecting heritage and modern creativity.

The repertoire combined traditional influences with orchestral scoring, offering listeners heritage-based compositions alongside recent arrangements.

Regional rhythms and layered musical textures were used to echo the Kingdom’s history, while pieces rooted in Saudi classical music tradition connected audiences with familiar cultural references in a fresh format.

The concert underlined the Music Commission’s aim to present Saudi artistry at a high professional level.

The series seeks to honor national heritage while encouraging contemporary artistic engagement, and its growing local and international presence was highlighted throughout the evening.

The program also featured a visual dimension led by the Theater and Performing Arts Commission, which staged live performances of Saudi folk arts.

Audiences saw presentations of Samri, Dahha, Rafeihi, Yanbawi, Zair and Khabeeti, synchronized with the orchestra to create one integrated artistic experience.

These folk elements were arranged to complement the orchestral sound, reinforcing the richness and variety of Saudi cultural identity. The combination of music and movement aimed to show how traditional forms can engage with large-scale concert settings while retaining their historical character and community roots.

This performance is an extension of the series of successes achieved by the Saudi Orchestra’s masterpieces both locally and internationally, and reaffirms the Music Commission’s commitment to showcasing Saudi music in its finest form.

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630389/saudi-arabia

-------

Merak’s Exel community day equips next generation of Saudi gaming entrepreneurs

LAMA ALHAMAWI

January 23, 2026

RIYADH: In its mission to empower the next generation of gaming entrepreneurs, Exel Gaming Accelerator by Merak hosted its second cohort’s community day on Thursday evening, acting as a real-world testing ground for its latest gaming studios.

“We really want to see them grow, and we really care about building the ecosystem,” Rema Alyahya, vice president of venture capital, told Arab News.

“We have 18 companies — half Saudi companies, half international companies — that are relocating to Saudi,” she said.

“All early-stage studios are developing really exciting and different games in different genres.”

The event, which brought together leading designers, investors, and gaming enthusiasts, falls under a 16-week accelerator program designed to scale early-stage gaming startups.

Backed by an $80 million gaming fund and sponsored by the National Development Fund, Exel by Merak is actively shaping a sustainable industry by mentoring 18 companies — half of which are local startups and the other half international studios relocating to the Kingdom.

“The National Development Fund has a big focus on gaming and growing the gaming ecosystem. And what we do is, we are executing on their investment by trying to find the best local talent and then also by bringing in the best international talent — early-stage companies,” Alyahya said.

Some of the game developers under the cohort included Stellar Mythical, TAKA Studio, Limeless, Inventix Games, Sword Play, Holodot, Saer Games, and more.

The event offered a rare opportunity for early-stage studios to step out of the coding lab and into the public eye, allowing them to test their games with a diverse audience of specialists, including gamers, investors, and veteran product designers.

This community day served as a critical feedback loop for the cohort. Developers used barcodes to collect immediate feedback from players, helping them refine their user experience and game mechanics before their official demo day set for February.

“We wanted to see what the people think of their games, and wanted to get feedback. Every computer has a barcode where we can give your feedback,” Alyahya explained.

“The focus of our accelerator is actually on how these companies can monetize and commercialize their game,” she said.

The community day also gave the developers in the cohort the opportunity to interact with customers and meet with investors.

“We know that they know how to build, but we want to teach them how to sell these games,” Alyahya explained.

“We then try to help them with connections, with investors, and as they grow older as a company and they reach their milestones … we really want to see them grow, ” Alyahya added.

The accelerator also provides the game developers with the legal, human resources and marketing support needed to scale.

Under Vision 2030, the Kingdom has launched a multi-billion dollar National Gaming and Esports Strategy aimed at contributing $13.3 billion to local GDP and creating 39,000 jobs by the end of the decade.

The Exel program by Merak is also actively supporting in attracting and retaining global gaming entrepreneurs to the Kingdom to grow the industry sustainably.

“We really try to focus on bringing amazing talent into Saudi Arabia. They have to relocate here. And we urge them to do that because we want the industry to grow here organically,” Alyahya explained.

“We want them to meet other studios that are local, we want them to meet local talent, we want them to also connect with different entities that are focused on gaming,” she added.

Alyahya also underlined that Merak has multiple partnerships in place to support the developers, with partners such as AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft and Huawei.

Under the accelerator, developers also receive weekly guidance from industry experts.

“It’s really just making sure that they have the right mentors, the right tools, the right resources. So, for example, part of the program here is every week we bring two mentors — world-class mentors — and they teach their specific expertise. Like last week we had how to use AI tools in gaming, for instance,” Alyahay explained.

One of the entrepreneurs in residence who supported the cohort recipients with resources, advice, and guidance in the industry was Kelly Zmak, entrepreneur in residence for cohort two of Exel.

“Well, the gamers here are certainly excited to interact with, and I really love the enthusiasm they’re bringing to the table,” Zmak said.

“My focus is on the teams (game developers), but to watch them prepare for today and go through this experience and actually engage with consumers, which is a fairly new experience for most of them, has been the part I’ve really enjoyed the most.

“People are enjoying the games they’re making, but they’re also understanding how to have those conversational discussions about product and ideas and concepts, and to see each one of them step up and actually share their information with these gamers — if they have questions about development, have questions about process, have questions about the work —that’s been my most exciting part,” Zmak added.

The  community day also featured a panel session, where gaming entrepreneurs heard from leading experts and received advice on how to start, build, and scale their gaming ventures.

The Saudi gaming market was valued at approximately $2.39 billion in 2025 and is on track to hit $2.67 billion by 2026.

Approximately 23.5 million people (67 percent of the population) in the Kingdom identify as gaming enthusiasts, and women and girls now represent 42 percent of the esports participant base and 48 percent of the total gaming population.

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630384/saudi-arabia

------

Misk youth delegates take Saudi voices to the global stage at WEF in Davos

DANIEL FOUNTAIN

January 23, 2026

DAVOS: Saudi youth delegates from the Misk Foundation have been taking part in this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, positioning the Kingdom’s next generation of leaders at the heart of global discussions on economic transformation, innovation and future decision-making.

Three delegates from the foundation spoke to Arab News about their journeys with Misk and how their trip to Davos has increased their passion for making a difference.

Abdulaziz Al-Jaloud, a member of the Misk youth delegation, said his journey began through the foundation’s leadership programs, which focus on equipping young Saudis with the skills and confidence to represent the Kingdom internationally.

“Part of my journey through Misk was joining the United Voices and the Fellowship programs,” he said. “The fellowship helps equip you to become a future leader, and the United Voices program helps you be a representative for Saudi Arabia in global events.”

In Davos, Al-Jaloud said the experience has been defined by exposure and engagement rather than observation from the sidelines.

“Being part of the … change that’s happening in the global conversation, and giving back through amplifying the youth voice,” he said.

Asked about the broader climate for young people in Saudi Arabia, Al-Jaloud said empowerment had become a defining feature of the current moment.

“I would say we’re very passionate, we’re very driven,” he said. “The empowerment that exists currently for the youth in Saudi is helping us reach our full potential.”

For Haifa Al-Mofareh, who is also part of the delegation, her involvement with Misk grew out of a desire to support young Saudis working in the space sector and to represent them on global platforms.

“I’m very passionate about space, and I wanted to empower the youth that are working in space,” Al-Mofareh said.

In Davos, she has been participating in discussions focused on ensuring youth play an active role in shaping the future, rather than being limited to symbolic participation.

“I’ve been engaging in discussions about youth that are helping us be part of building the future, not just participating in it or just talking about it,” she said. “That has been a really mind-altering experience.”

She added that international perceptions of Saudi youth often underestimate the scale of opportunity available at home.

“It’s incredible,” Al-Mofareh said. “Everyone I talk to here, especially foreigners, they are baffled by it. Many youth from other countries can’t even fathom the experiences and the opportunities that we have as Saudi youth now, even though it’s super normalized back home. That’s something I’m incredibly proud to share with the world.”

Meshal Al-Shalan, who joined Misk while completing a master’s degree in chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said that the foundation opened the door for him to attend Davos as part of the youth delegation and that he was “excited and thankful” for the opportunity.

One of the standout themes for Al-Shalan has been the growing recognition that young people must be involved directly in economic design and decision-making.

“The biggest highlight is that youth are ready to be building the future economy,” he said. “I moderated a session about involving youth early on in system-making and decision-making, and that message is coming from speakers from very different backgrounds,” he added.

Reflecting on opportunities back home, Al-Shalan said Saudi Arabia has created an environment where ideas can move quickly from concept to execution.

“I feel like the door is open in Saudi Arabia for anyone,” he said.

“If you have an idea, the government, companies and investors are there. They’ve invested a lot in youth, and you can see that clearly.”

With more than half the Saudi population under the age of 35, he added, the youth are not a marginal group but the country’s majority, adding: “You can see the future is very bright.”

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630380/saudi-arabia

------

Saudi data platform enhanced with agentic AI as Kingdom drives digital innovation at Davos

DANIEL FOUNTAIN

January 23, 2026

DAVOS: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Economy and Planning is leveraging agentic artificial intelligence to transform access to economic data and extract deeper insights through its Data Saudi platform, a ministry official told Arab News.

In an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Abdulaziz Azzouqa, the executive director of digital innovation and AI at the MEP, highlighted enhancements to Data Saudi, which presents and analyzes a wide range of the Kingdom’s economic and social indicators.

The platform is now equipped with agentic AI that allows users to query, visualize and download customized datasets, generating deeper insights for policymakers, investors and researchers.

Azzouqa said: “(It) allows users to ask anywhere, from simple questions to specific or complex questions, and the platform responds in a structured format and allows additional features.”

The platform instantly generates visual reports and this enables “more seamless access to quality economic data,” he added.

The ministry has also launched the Data Explorer platform, which allows stakeholders to customize datasets and access the full Data Saudi database.

AI and technological innovation have been central to discussions in Davos this year, with Saudi officials emphasizing the Kingdom’s role as a reliable partner in addressing global challenges such as digital transformation, sustainability, and human capital.

Experts speaking at Saudi House, the Kingdom’s pavilion at Davos, and in related panels have underscored the importance of inclusive, AI-powered data ecosystems in driving economic competitiveness, sustainable development, and people-centered growth.

Azzouqa said feedback from stakeholders had been positive, adding that enhancements to Data Saudi will continue, positioning Saudi Arabia at the forefront of data-driven policymaking and innovation in the region.

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630378/saudi-arabia

-------

Qassim winter season: Heritage, desert adventures drive regional tourism surge

January 23, 2026

RIYADH: The Qassim Region is experiencing a significant winter tourism surge, offering a diverse array of heritage and recreational activities that align with Saudi Vision 2030’s goals.

The Qassim winter season features interactive programs in traditional markets and heritage villages, alongside desert adventures in the Nafud area, including off-road cycling, horseback riding, and fully equipped family camps, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Rural tourism has become a focal point of the region’s appeal, with local farms offering visitors hands-on experiences in harvesting and traditional bread making, all featuring traditional hospitality.

To support this growth, the Ministry of Tourism and regional authorities are actively upgrading infrastructure and service quality to meet the rising demand from domestic and international travelers.

The seasonal activity underscores Qassim’s role in diversifying the national economy and solidifying the Kingdom’s position as a year-round sustainable tourist destination.

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630377/saudi-arabia

--------

Saudi Arabia wins Arab awards in medicine, nursing at health ministers’ meet

January 23, 2026

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia won several Arab awards in medicine and nursing during the 63rd session of the Council of Arab Health Ministers, held recently in Tripoli, Libya, highlighting the Kingdom’s growing prominence in regional health excellence and the strength of its national health workforce.

The achievements reflect the rapid development of Saudi Arabia’s health sector and the high caliber of its medical and nursing professionals, who continue to contribute to innovation, enhanced health preparedness and the delivery of sustainable healthcare — in line with the objectives of the Health Sector Transformation Program under Saudi Vision 2030, said a statement issued on Thursday by the Saudi Ministry of Health.

As part of the Arab Doctors Award 2025 by the General Secretariat of the Arab League’s Social Affairs Sector, Dr. Ahmed bin Salem Bahammam, director of the Prince Naif Center for Health Research, received the award for excellence in scientific research and innovation.

Dr. Zuhair bin Yousef Al-Hlais, senior consultant in cardiac surgery at King Faisal Specialist Hospital, was honored with the award for excellence, leadership and professional medical impact.

For nursing, a Saudi team comprising Dr. Manal Saeed Banassr, Iman Mohammed Al-Shammari, Abdulrahman Abdullah Abu Khadaah, Jawharah Fahad Al-Harbi and Reem Mohammed Al-Humaidan won first place in the clinical practice category of the “Outstanding Work in Nursing and Midwifery” award for their project, the INS Model.

The innovative scheme focuses on strengthening surge capacity in intensive care units during disasters by enhancing nursing workforce readiness and increasing ICU capacity in times of crisis.

The model was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, Dr. Badriah Awad Al-Shehri, chief nursing executive at King Saud Medical City, jointly won the “Outstanding Work in Nursing and Midwifery” award with Egypt for the Nethathon Project, which aims to advance nursing education and training, enhance workforce competencies and improve the quality of health education outcomes.

The awards highlight Saudi Arabia’s leadership in medical innovation and professional excellence across the Arab region.

Source: arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630374/saudi-arabia

-------

Europe

 

Danish PM in Greenland for 'show of support' after Trump threats

24 January 2026

Adrienne Murray

Danish PM Mette Frederiksen is visiting Greenland's capital Nuuk for talks with the territory's leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, after a rollercoaster week that saw US President Donald Trump roll back his threats to forcibly take over the Arctic island and agree to further negotiations.

Tensions had risen precariously over the past couple of weeks, until a stunning turnaround on Wednesday, when Trump suddenly ruled out military action, and withdrew his threats to slap tariffs on several European allies.

Trump posted on social media that a "framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland" had been reached, following his meeting with Nato chief Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

However, few details have been given, and there are questions about what exactly was agreed between the US president and the secretary general.

The Danish prime minister travelled directly from Brussels, where she also met face-to-face with Rutte earlier on Friday morning. According to Rutte's post on X, they agreed "to enhance deterrence and defence in the Arctic".

After landing at Nuuk airport, Frederiksen was greeted on the tarmac by Nielsen, who gave her a hug.

"I am first and foremost in Greenland today to show our strong Danish support for the Greenlandic people," she told reporters. "It's a very difficult time, everyone can see that."

"It is a serious situation we are in. Everyone can see that. Now there is a diplomatic, political track that we will pursue," she said. Her trip was a "working" visit to prepare their "next steps," she said.

On Thursday, Trump told Fox News that the US "gets everything we want at no cost" and that a "piece" of his planned "Golden Dome" missile defence system would be placed on Greenland.

When asked if this was an actual "acquisition", he answered: "It's total access. There's no end, there's no time limit." Notably, Trump did not mention American ownership of Greenland.

For former Danish foreign minister, Martin Lidegaard, that's a sign of positivity.

"I hear a change in the language from the President," he said. "He does not necessarily think he has to own [Greenland]."

"I'm a bit more optimistic than I have been for quite a long time, where we saw only escalation after escalation after escalation," says Lidegaard, who's also known for inspiring the latest series of Borgen, a Danish political drama, which features a plotline about a power struggle over Greenland.

But despite Trump's climbdown, Greenlandic MP Aaja Chemnitz told the BBC it will take much more to rebuild the trust of her compatriots. "I think it's too early to lower our shoulder… Many people are confused and concerned."

Earlier Trump had also told CNBC that an "ultimate long-term deal" over Greenland "pertains to security and minerals, and everything else".

Chemnitz is sceptical. "Minerals haven't been discussed with Nato. Why should they do that? This is completely up to Greenland," she said, which has legal authority over its own land and resources.

Likewise, Per Stig Moeller, another former Danish Foreign Minister, remains cautious.

He said the situation is "still very delicate" and "might change tomorrow", pointing to recent meetings in Washington, and the White House's diverging interpretation of what had been agreed.

"That's why it's very important that we insist, it all happens inside NATO," he suggests.

Previously the New York Times reported that one idea under discussion was Denmark ceding sovereignty over small pockets of land where the US would build military bases.

However Danish and Greenlandic officials have pushed back strongly against giving up any sovereignty, making clear that it is a "red line".

Frederiksen has said it was non-negotiable, although Denmark was willing to work on "security".

Trump has argued that taking control over Greenland is necessary for the security of the United States, pointing to a growing presence of China and Russia in the Arctic.

In response Denmark and its European allies have sought to reassure the US that they'll boost Arctic security, while calling for a more substantive Nato presence.

Ahead of an emergency European summit in the Belgian capital on Thursday evening, Frederiksen said that Greenland's sovereignty was non-negotiable, though Denmark was willing to work on "security".

The US has around 150 military personnel at its single Pituffik base in the north-western tip of the territory.

Under a defence pact with Denmark, dating back to 1951, the US can already build up its military presence and deploy further troops.

"They withdrew bases. They withdrew soldiers," says Per Stig Moeller. "Did we throw them out? No, we did not. They went themselves."

That was updated in 2004, jointly with the Bush administration, to include Greenland as an equal partner to the deal.

"We signed it together," says Moeller, who was Denmark's foreign secretary at the time. "It's the real working treaty today."

"[The US] can make important changes to their military, to bases in Greenland. They just have to inform us or confer with us," he adds.

AFP has reported that sources familiar with talks had said the US and Denmark would renegotiate the 1951 agreement.

Danish national newspaper Berlingske also writes that a renegotiation is possible, that the Danish and Greenlandic sides have not ruled out revising that deal. However, mineral rights or the surrender of territory have never been on the table.

The BBC has reached out to Denmark's Ministry of Defence, which declined to comment.

Whatever is negotiated, Aaja Chemnitz says it could be an uphill battle for the United States to win Greenlandic hearts and minds.

"When Trump's talking about a 'big chunk of ice' that he wants," she says, referring to the US president's speech in Davos, "this is very, very disrespectful towards the people of Greenland".

"I think it will be much more difficult for the US to make an agreement," she adds. "The people of Greenland are really pushing away from the US, after everything that has happened this last year."

Meanwhile Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Friday there had been no detailed plan, but that negotiations would start soon, focusing on "security, security, and security".

Source: bbc.com

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

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78ejd0xmp0o

-------
Starmer says Trump should apologize for ‘insulting’ UK troops

23 Jan, 2026

US President Donald Trump should apologize for downplaying the role of America’s allies in the war in Afghanistan, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said.

In 2001, the US invoked NATO’s Article 5 after the 9/11 attacks, and requested that member states support the invasion of Afghanistan. Trump, however, has repeatedly accused the bloc’s European members of neglecting their commitments to Washington.

Speaking to Fox News in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Trump argued that the US “never needed” any help and that America’s NATO allies had “stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”

Starmer hit back on Friday, accusing the president of downplaying the contribution of British troops. “I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly appalling, and I’m not surprised they’ve caused such hurt for the loved ones of those who were killed or injured,” he told reporters.

Asked whether he would like an apology from Trump, Starmer said: “If I had misspoken in that way or said those words, I would certainly apologize.”

Prince Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan, said the sacrifices of British soldiers “deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect.”

The UK provided the second-largest number of Western troops in Afghanistan, peaking at around 11,000 in 2011, according to the BBC. A total of 2,456 Americans and 457 Britons died over the course of the 20-year conflict.

Western European countries have been on edge since Trump renewed his threats to annex Greenland from Denmark.

In Davos, Trump described the Nordic country as being “ungrateful” for US help in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II. Multiple states have warned that a potential US attack on a fellow NATO member would be a death knell for the bloc.

Source: rt.com

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

https://www.rt.com/news/631441-starmer-defends-troops-trump/

-------
Judge recuses himself from dispute over control of Islamic Cultural Centre

23/01/2026

A High Court judge hearing a dispute over the control of the company behind the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland has recused himself from the remainder of the proceedings “in an abundance of caution”, after a barrister made claims of bias and sabotage against him.

Mr Justice David Nolan made the decision after Joseph Sallabi, a barrister who previously purported to act as in-house counsel for the centre’s operator, the Al Maktoum Foundation CLG, sought the judge’s recusal from the proceedings.

On Friday, the judge read in court a letter sent to him by Mr Sallabi earlier this month, in which the barrister accused the judge of sabotaging the proceedings, and “whitewashing” alleged criminal wrongdoing on the part of several directors of the Al Maktoum Foundation.

The judge said he was “fully satisfied” that he’d done nothing wrong over the course of the proceedings. However, the judge said that “in an abundance of caution”, and seeking to avoid a “side show” in the case, he would recuse himself.

Last year, Mr Sallabi brought a case on behalf of Dr Abdel Basset El-Sayed, alleging several of the foundation’s board directors were appointed unlawfully, and seeking to have them removed.

The directors are Ahmad Tahlak, Hesham Abdulla Al Quassim, Khalifa Aldaboos, Mohamed Musabeh Dhahi and Zahid Jami. The men are residents in Dubai, but have their place of business as Roebuck Road, Clonskeagh.

Dr El-Sayed, in sworn written evidence prepared by Mr Sallabi, made allegations of fraud, theft and money laundering against the directors.

Dr El-Sayed subsequently withdrew his case and the allegations, described as “baseless” by Mr Justice Nolan. The judge made an order directing Dr El-Sayed to pay legal costs incurred by the directors.

The mosque attached to the cultural centre in Clonskeagh, south Dublin has recently reopened following a prolonged closure on account of the dispute.

Lawyers for the five directors are also seeking an order for costs against Mr Sallabi. The directors are represented by Lyndon MacCann SC and barrister Niall Ó hÚiginn, instructed by Mason Hayes & Curran.

At Friday’s hearing, Mr Justice Nolan said the costs application would be dealt with by a different judge, after he stated he was recusing himself from the case.

In correspondence sent to Mr Justice Nolan earlier this month, an apparent pre-ligitation letter, Mr Sallabi made various allegations, Mr Justice Nolan said, levelling claims of sabotage and whitewashing of criminality against the judge.

In the letter, Mr Sallabi criticised what the barrister described as the judge’s refusal to hear evidence related to the claims of criminal wrongdoing, the judge said.

Mr Sallabi said the judge exercised “undue influence” on Dr El-Sayed prior to the surgeon’s withdrawing his case, the judge said. Mr Sallabi also criticised the judge’s facilitation of a costs hearing.

“If these actions do not constitute an effective sabotage of High Court proceedings and a whitewashing of criminal activities, money laundering, it is difficult to imagine what would,” the letter read.

The letter went on to accuse Mr Justice Nolan himself of money laundering, the judge said.

Mr Sallabi said the judge had breached his judicial duty, and caused the barrister damage, according to the letter. The judge said Mr Sallabi sought an apology from the judge, and threatened to issue legal proceedings.

Mr Justice Nolan said the letter itself was not grounds for recusal, and that judges are often threatened with litigation.

However, he said that he did not want the recusal application to turn into a “side show”, and said he would accede to the application.

Mr Justice Nolan said the cost hearing would proceed before another judge on the date already assigned.

Last year, Mr Justice Nolan raised concerns regarding Mr Sallabi’s standing to act in the case, and he referred the matter to the Legal Service Regulatory Authority (LSRA) and the King’s Inns.

Separately, Mr Sallabi made a complaint to the Judicial Council accusing Mr Justice Nolan of conducting hearings in the case in an unfair manner, and making defamatory remarks about the barrister in court. The complaint was found to be not admissible by a council committee, the judge said.

Source: breakingnews.ie

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

https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/judge-recuses-himself-from-dispute-over-control-of-islamic-cultural-centre-1857086.html

------

Consultative Council of Religious Confessions Sends Letter to President Aliyev

 23 January 2026

The Consultative Council of Religious Confessions in Azerbaijan has addressed a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

According to Azernews, the letter reads:

Dear Mr. President,

Thanks be to the Almighty for granting us the happiness of congratulating Your Excellency on your continued success and achievements. We sincerely congratulate Your Excellency on being awarded the international Zayed Award for Human Fraternity in recognition of your efforts toward achieving peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We wish you continued achievements in your activities for the sake of supreme human values.

Following the great Garabagh Victory won under the leadership of Your Excellency, you are giving the people of Azerbaijan the pride of celebrating historically significant victories and prestigious international awards at the global political and diplomatic level. Your ideas and initiatives serving human fraternity on a global scale bring invincibility, trust, and respect to the state of Azerbaijan at the international level. The fact that you have been decorated with this prestigious award, which was established on the basis of a document signed by Ahmed El-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders - where, thanks to your blessing, Azerbaijan is represented by the Sheikh-ul-Islam - as well as by the late Pope Francis, represents recognition by the human family of your efforts and deeds that are pleasing to the Almighty.

We are proud that Azerbaijan’s exemplary model of interfaith cooperation, multiculturalism, and understanding is appreciated around the globe, and this is the fruit of Your Excellency’s modern and visionary public policy. Progress and prosperity are impossible without peace, stability, and mutual understanding, and Your Excellency’s activities in this direction as the political leader of Azerbaijan deserve the kindest words and the highest awards. Your Excellency’s position at the forefront of the world’s peace agenda, and your participation as a founder of the Board of Peace, is yet another vivid example of your valuable activities in the name of ideals that are pleasing to the Almighty. Seeing Your Excellency as a founder of such a prestigious body at the global level fills us with pride and evokes admiration among religious people, who are an integral part of the people of Azerbaijan. We are confident that this historic step of yours will play a major role in building global peace and eliminating the threats and dangers that cause concern for humanity, Inshallah. Our prayers are with you. May Almighty Allah protect you and your valuable family!

We, as leaders of the religious confessions of the country led by Your Excellency, feel infinite pride in having you as a world-class leader and wise statesman who has succeeded in strengthening the policy of the state of Azerbaijan, based on national spiritual and universal multicultural values founded by National Leader Heydar Aliyev, on an international scale. As people who experience this pride at the most prestigious international events beyond the borders of our country, we ask the Almighty to bless your activities.

Your Excellency, you are a powerful political figure who has raised the name of Azerbaijan and the glory of its people to great heights. On behalf of the religious people of Azerbaijan, we would like to express our deep gratitude to Your Excellency for the successes and achievements you have brought to Azerbaijan in all spheres of life thanks to your visionary statehood philosophy. We convey to you our best wishes and blessings. We pray to Almighty Allah to bless the efforts and deeds of our Leader, who is distinguished by respect for national spiritual and universal values, is an active participant and founder of the Board of Peace on a global scale, and is a Victorious Leader decorated with the highest award.

May the Almighty protect the state of Azerbaijan and always keep Your Excellency at the pinnacle. Amen!

With deep respect and reverence,

Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazada

Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Office

Aleksiy

Bishop of the Baku and Azerbaijan of the Russian Orthodox Church

Vladimir Fekete

Ordinary of the Apostolic Prefecture of the Roman Catholic Church in Azerbaijan

Milikh Yevdayev

Head of the Community of Mountain Jews in Azerbaijan

Aleksandr Sharovskiy

Head of the Community of European Jews in Baku

Robert Mobili

Chairman of the Albanian-Udi Christian Religious Community

Zamir Isayev

Head of the Baku religious community of Sephardic Jews

Source: azernews.az

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

https://www.azernews.az/nation/253445.html

------

Ireland’s largest mosque to reopen in time for Ramadan after nine-month hiatus

Jan 23 2026

The Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland, based in Clonskeagh, Co Dublin, is to open in time for the holy month of Ramadan, which begins on February 17th.

Ireland’s largest mosque, it closed following an internal dispute and an alleged altercation at a meeting there on April 19th last year.

The Muslim National School there, however, remained open.

The decision to close the centre was taken by the Al Maktoum Foundation, a United Arab Emirates charity that owns the centre and provides about €2.5 million a year in funding.

It had raised concerns about alleged financial irregularities at the centre as well as alleged links between some members and extremist ideologies.

Subsequent legal actions by and large ended earlier this month when the High Court ordered retired surgeon, Dr Abdel Basset El-Sayed, a director at the cultural centre since 2012, to pay legal costs incurred by other directors there in successfully defending against his claims of corporate criminality against them.

In the High Court last month Mr Justice David Nolan said Dr El-Sayed’s case was “entirely misconceived” and his allegations were baseless.

Dr El-Sayed then withdrew the proceedings, with the judge noting that, by withdrawing the case, the Meath-based physician was withdrawing the allegations made against the directors of Al Maktoum Foundation.

Dr El-Sayed withdrew the case in circumstances where his court documents did not contain a plenary summons, a key document used to start High Court proceedings.

In a notice on its website, the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland said it “would like to sincerely thank the community for its strong interest and continued support” over recent months.

“We are now on a path to recovery, thanks to the continued support of donors in Dubai and the community at large,” it said.

“We would also like to acknowledge and thank the various branches of the Government of the Republic of Ireland for their support in this regard.”

Meanwhile, the High Court judge hearing a dispute over the control of the company behind the cultural centre has recused himself from the remainder of the proceedings “in an abundance of caution”, after a barrister made claims of bias and sabotage against him.

Mr Justice David Nolan made the decision after Joseph Sallabi, a barrister who previously purported to act as in-house counsel for the centre’s operator, the Al Maktoum Foundation, sought the judge’s recusal from the proceedings.

On Friday, the judge read in court a letter sent to him by Mr Sallabi earlier this month, in which the barrister accused the judge of sabotaging the proceedings, and “whitewashing” alleged criminal wrongdoing on the part of several directors of the Al Maktoum Foundation.

The judge said he was “fully satisfied” that he’d done nothing wrong over the course of the proceedings. However, the judge said that “in an abundance of caution”, and seeking to avoid a “side show” in the case, he would recuse himself.

Last year, Mr Sallabi brought a case on behalf of Dr Abdel Basset El-Sayed, alleging several of the foundation’s board directors were appointed unlawfully, and seeking to have them removed.

The directors are Ahmad Tahlak, Hesham Abdulla Al Quassim, Khalifa Aldaboos, Mohamed Musabeh Dhahi and Zahid Jami. The men are resident in Dubai, but have their place of business as Roebuck Road, Clonskeagh.

Dr El-Sayed, in sworn written evidence prepared by Mr Sallabi, made allegations of fraud, theft and money laundering against the directors. Dr El-Sayed subsequently withdrew his case and the allegations, described as “baseless” by Mr Justice Nolan. The judge made an order directing Dr El-Sayed to pay legal costs incurred by the directors.

Lawyers for the five directors are also seeking an order for costs against Mr Sallabi. The directors are represented by Lyndon MacCann SC and barrister Niall Ó hÚiginn, instructed by Mason Hayes & Curran.

At Friday’s hearing, Mr Justice Nolan said the costs application would be dealt with by a different judge, after he stated he was recusing himself from the case.

Source: irishtimes.com

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

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/social-affairs/2026/01/23/irelands-largest-mosque-to-reopen-in-time-for-ramadan-after-nine-month-hiatus/

------

Is Halal KFC crisis about to bring down France's Fifth Republic?

Oman Alyahyai

23 Jan, 2026

KFC turning some of its restaurants halal in France should not have caused a national meltdown. It is a basic business move, one global fast-food chain adjusting its menu to what customers are already buying. Instead, it has triggered a loud and familiar backlash, with critics claiming the change threatens French traditions.

What is being presented as a cultural or political crisis is, in reality, nothing more than a profit-driven decision that has been twisted into yet another debate about Islam and Muslims in France.

In recent weeks, French media and social media platforms have been flooded with denunciations claiming that halal KFC locations “threaten secularism” or signal the “rise of extreme Islamism”. Some critics have even gone as far as arguing that the decision undermines democracy itself.

These claims collapse under the slightest scrutiny. KFC is not a public institution, halal food is not a religious imposition, and consumer choice is not a constitutional crisis.

The reality is much simpler: halal food sells. According to reports by local media, halal meat consumption in France extends beyond Muslim households. Market studies cited by France Info, indicate that more than one in four French households purchases halal meat, driven by a combination of accessibility, price and perceived quality.

In many regions, halal meat is not only more widely available, it is sometimes cheaper due to scale and supply chains. This is economics, not theology.

KFC is not the first chain to make this shift. The Belgian fast-food brand Quick, which converted many of its restaurants to halal menus in 2021, saw an increase in customers and profit, particularly in urban areas. Seven Five Guys locations have also gone halal in France, yet this has not triggered the same level of outrage.

KFC, however, appears to have been the last straw for Islamophobes who frame every visible accommodation as proof that “Islam is taking over the country.”

The backlash has spilled into politics. On French radio, Louis Sarkozy, the son of former president Nicolas Sarkozy declared that “the real subject is the growing islamisation of our societies” and added that “Islam has a place in France, but on condition that it bows to the rules of the republic, that it accepts our laws, our history, our culture, and not the other way round.”

These remarks are telling not only for their content, but for their framing. A private company’s supply decision is transformed into proof of civilisational threat, with Muslims positioned as collective agents behind a corporate choice they did not make.

This pattern is deeply familiar in France. Muslim communities are routinely blamed for decisions taken by institutions, corporations or policymakers, while the economic logic behind those decisions is ignored.

CEOs do not care about religion and franchise owners do not manage cultural integration. Their primary concern is profit. That KFC, like Quick before it, is responding to market data should surprise no one who understands how capitalism works.

Selective outrage

The hypocrisy of the outrage becomes especially clear on social media. On TikTok, young French users have posted videos announcing boycotts of KFC in the name of “French culture.” Yet many of these same users regularly consume kebabs, shawarma and French tacos, foods that are almost always prepared with halal meat.

These dishes are fully integrated into everyday French life, particularly among younger generations. They are eaten without controversy and without parliamentary outrage. When halal is visible in an American fast-food brand, it becomes a national scandal.

This contradiction exposes what the debate is really about. Halal food is not perceived as a threat when it is associated with working-class neighbourhoods or informal eateries. It becomes a problem when it is seen as normalised, mainstreamed or profitable. In that sense, the uproar over KFC is not about tradition, it is about discomfort with the visibility of Muslim consumers as a significant economic force.

Claims that halal menus undermine democracy are particularly incoherent. Democracy is not weakened when consumers choose what to eat, nor when companies adjust to demand.

No one is being forced to buy halal food. Pork serving KFC locations continue to operate, and no law mandates halal conversion. Conflating consumer capitalism with political submission undermines the very concept of democratic governance.

What is striking is how quickly the blame is redirected toward Muslims themselves. Rather than interrogating corporate decision-making or broader market trends, the discourse slips effortlessly into civilisational panic.

This is especially cynical given France’s own history. The country’s large Muslim population is not an accident; it is the direct consequence of decades of colonial rule in North Africa, particularly in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. France benefited from colonisation economically and politically, and now recoils at the demographic realities that followed.

KFC’s halal decision reveals how France would like their Muslim population to behave: they may participate in the economy, but their preferences should not shape it. When they do, it is framed as encroachment rather than inclusion. In the end, this controversy says far less about fried chicken than it does about France’s islamophobia.

Source: newarab.com

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

https://www.newarab.com/opinion/halal-kfc-crisis-about-bring-down-frances-fifth-republic

-----

World famous 'The Joshie Man’ to visit Blackburn mosques

23 JANUARY

By Shuiab Khan

An autistic and non-speaking child who is helping to break down barriers by visiting mosques across the UK will be in Blackburn over the weekend.

Joshua, and his dad Dan Harris, are globally famous Neurodiversity advocates, known as The Joshie Man online, who have been praised for their efforts in countering far-right narratives about Muslims and mosques.

The “Cake not hate” campaign came about after an Islamophobic attack on a mosque in Peterborough in October, where the perpetrator, Alexander Hooper, 57, entered Masjid Darassalaam and abused worshippers at morning prayers.

Following the incident, both Joshie, 12, and Dan, of Peterborough, visited the mosque with cakes that Joshie had baked and shared them.

Since then, they have visited countless places of worship after receiving hate online for simply visiting a mosque.

On Saturday, Josh and his dad will be in Preston and then in Blackburn will visit Masjid Vali in Preston New Road at 4.30pm, the Al Buraq Masjid in Devonport Road at 6.30pm, and then Tuyoorul Jannah (Birds of Paradise) Education Centre in Shear Bank Road at 7.30pm.

Then on Sunday, they will be in Bolton at the Zakariyya Masjid at 12pm.

Dan posted: “We’ve literally just landed back from Saudi Arabia, after visiting Medina.

"Suitcase open. Suitcase shut. Suitcase open again. Because the work does not stop, and the Joshie-Man does not stop.

“This weekend we are in Blackburn, Preston and Bolton.”

The father and child have also visited a Gurdwara and a Hindu temple on their travels, among others.

Dan told the Arab News he received backlash and threats from far-right individuals after posting videos of The Joshie-Man handing out his cakes.

He said: “If me, as a white middle-class guy in a nice part of the world, could get this kind of hate from the far right, how bad must it be for a Muslim, a female Muslim, an immigrant Muslim, or a Muslim who doesn’t have English as their first language?

“They must be incredibly intimidated.”

He added: “This is not the Britain I want to bequeath to my child. I don’t want him growing up in a Britain which is really divided, and I’ve always been proud of Britain being a really tolerant place which is very respectful.”

People can help fund the #BeMoreJoshie campaign online with the money solely used for the activities in the campaign.

Source: lancashiretelegraph.co.uk

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

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/25788226.world-famous-the-joshie-man-visit-blackburn-mosques/

------

Police admit overstating Maccabi fan ban evidence

24 January 2026

Eleanor Lawson

West Midlands Police has admitted it "overstated the evidence" used to make the decision to ban Israeli fans from a match in Birmingham.

Craig Guildford, its former chief constable, retired earlier this month after damning criticism of the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the Europa League match against Aston Villa, last November.

In newly released documents, the force also said "we did not engage early enough with the local Jewish community", and indicated there was now a ban on AI use after its evidence included a match that did not take place.

Furthermore, it said its operations would have lasted four days, involved multiple forces, and cost more than £5m, if 2,500 away fans had attended.

The documents were released ahead of a public meeting on Tuesday, at which Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands, Simon Foster, will discuss at his accountability and governance board, the decision to ban the Maccabi fans.

Presented by the chief officer team, the documents outline the chronology of the events leading up to the match and how the decision was made by SAG, whose members also include Birmingham City Council.

In it, the force outlines how the original plan was that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans would attend the fixture and plans were being developed to facilitate this.

However, in reaching the final conclusion the ban should be enforced, the force accepted "that there should have been contact made with police forces in other countries which had previously hosted matches" involving Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.

"And we accept that our discussions with the Dutch Police should have been recorded", the force said.

One of the errors that piled on pressure for Guildford to go was information included in a report to SAG thatreferenced a non-existent fixture between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham, a detail thrown up by the use of AI during evidence-gathering.

In a letter to the Home Affairs Committee (HAC) published earlier this month, Guildford said it was the result of using AI tool Microsoft Copilot.

In the newly released documents, the force said: "Since this error has been identified, West Midlands Police is undertaking a review into the force's use and policy regarding AI and will be seeking to improve our processes as part of theoperational debrief.

"The Acting Chief Constable has also taken the decision to block access to Microsoft Co Pilot on WMP systems until further notice."

'Home secretary was briefed'

The force also said Guildford had updated Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ahead of the fixture, outlining that Maccabi fans may be prohibited from attending, but at that stage the decision was still to be taken by SAG.

In publicly available evidence, Home Office officials asserted they were told by the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) that "all options were on the table" as late as 15 October and therefore there was no reason for them to believe that a ban on away fans was the likely SAG recommendation.

However, the evidence shows the force claimed Mahmood was briefed by Guildford and Home Office officials on 8 October, further confirmed via email, and even by that earlier date the working assumption was the fans would be banned, subject to the SAG's decision.

Speaking in parliament earlier this month, Mahmood said the government was told that a ban was one of the options under consideration and said she did not seek to influence the decision.

"I did not, because I could not," she told the House of Commons, adding the decision to ban the fans "was of national and international importance".

She also said she and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had voiced "considerable concern" about the implications of such a ban.

Source: bbc.com

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

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3r1zxgq0j7o

------

Pentagon scales down commitments to defend European allies

24 Jan, 2026

The US will prioritize its own defense and offer only “limited” support to its allies in Europe, the Pentagon has said.

In the revised National Defense Strategy released on Friday, the US Department of War said European NATO members must play a key role in protecting themselves and providing military aid to Ukraine.

“Although we are and will remain engaged in Europe, we must – and will – prioritize defending the US Homeland and deterring China,” the document reads.

“The Department will therefore incentivize and enable NATO allies to take primary responsibility for Europe’s conventional defense with critical but more limited US support.”

“This includes taking the lead in supporting Ukraine’s defense. As President Trump has said, the war in Ukraine must end. As he has also emphasized, however, this is Europe’s responsibility first and foremost,” the document reads.

The revised strategy notes President Donald Trump’s efforts to push NATO members to increase defense spending and rely less on Washington. The bloc’s chief, Mark Rutte, recently credited Trump with ultimately making NATO more resilient.

“He has forced us in Europe to step up, to face the consequences that we have to take care of more of our own defense,” Rutte told Fox News on Wednesday.

At the same time, many European officials have criticized Trump’s threats to annex Greenland from Denmark, with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas calling his stance “a big blow” to transatlantic relations.

The Pentagon said it would provide Trump with “credible options” to secure access to “key terrain” in Greenland and the Panama Canal, which he has also sought to annex.

Source: rt.com

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

https://www.rt.com/news/631443-pentagon-strategy-defense-europe/

-----

Russia-US-Ukraine talks to continue on Saturday – media

24 Jan, 2026

The three-way talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the US in Abu Dhabi will continue on Saturday, multiple media outlets have reported.

The sides met in a trilateral format for the first time since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine erupted in February 2022. No official statements were issued after the first day of talks concluded.

“Nobody is walking away from the table,” a person familiar with the matter told the Russian news agency TASS.

A White House official separately told NBC News that the talks had been “productive.”

The Kremlin said the Russian team, led by presidential aide Yury Ushakov and Admiral Igor Kostyukov, the head of GRU military intelligence, will focus on security matters.

“We remain interested in resolving the Ukrainian crisis by political and diplomatic means. However, if it does not happen, Russia will continue accomplishing its goals on the battlefield where Russian troops have the initiative,” Ushakov told reporters before the meeting.

All three parties said the territorial issue remains the biggest obstacle to a peace deal. Moscow has long demanded that Ukraine withdraw its troops from parts of Russian territory under its control and recognize Russia’s new borders. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has ruled out making such concessions.

Last year, US President Donald Trump proposed a 28-point roadmap to peace, urging Ukraine to cede some territory to Russia. Officials in Kiev, as well as Ukraine’s backers in Europe, rejected the plan as too favorable to Moscow. Russia, in turn, accused the EU of seeking to sabotage the talks and prolong the conflict.

Source: rt.com

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

https://www.rt.com/news/631442-ukraine-abu-dhabi-talks/

------

North America

 

CAIR OP-ED: Hate will not win: Muslim and Palestinian schoolchildren everywhere deserve safety, dignity and belonging – Religion News Service

January 23, 2026

When hate tries to divide and isolate us, we must organize. When it wants to silence us, we must speak louder.

To the students to whom the words on their school wall were directed: These words do not define you. To the families struggling to navigate these challenging times: You are not alone. And to those who believe intimidation will make us retreat or disappear: Know this — you will not succeed.

We will stand up for our students and families. And we will continue to reject fear and build communities rooted in dignity, justice and hope.

(Zainab Chaudry is Maryland director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)

Source: cair.com

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

https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-op-ed-hate-will-not-win-muslim-and-palestinian-schoolchildren-everywhere-deserve-safety-dignity-and-belonging-religion-news-service/

------
CAIR Announces $195,000 Settlement with Maryland County Over Illegal Christian Faith Requirement in Chaplain Application

January 23, 2026

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced the settlement of an employment discrimination lawsuit involving Prince George’s County of Maryland and the county’s former contractor, Prison Ministry of America.

In the lawsuit, Imam Dr. Edrees Bridges, represented by CAIR and Seddiq Law Maryland, sought a job as a chaplain in the Prince George’s County Jail only to find that the position was only open to Christians.

[NOTE: The title “Imam” refers to a Muslim religious leader, similar to a pastor or rabbi in Christianity and Judaism.]

CAIR secured a settlement award of $195,000 for Imam Bridges and a commitment from Prison Ministry of America not to use similar religious tests in the future. The county also agreed to approve Bridges as a volunteer chaplain.

“The First Amendment protects all of us,” said CAIR Legal Defense Fund Staff Attorney John Fossum. “We are proud to bring Mr. Bridges some measure of justice in this case, and pledge to continue fighting for equality and dignity for American Muslims.”

“Edrees Bridges was a dutiful volunteer in the Prince George’s County Jail. He was highly educated, deeply experienced, and perfectly suited for the job,” added Mirriam Seddiq of Seddiq Law. “A requirement of Christian faith, for a position that serves no particular religion, is a discriminatory religious test. We are pleased that Edrees was fairly compensated for his unlawful treatment.”

“This is an important victory for all chaplains and all those who believe in upholding our collective constitutionally-protected right to religious freedom in our country,” said Dr. Edrees Bridges.

BACKGROUNDER:

CAIR filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mr. Bridges in 2021, after he sought employment as a chaplain in the Prince George’s County Jail. When Mr. Bridges received the application for the jail’s chaplaincy, a position staffed by Prison Ministry of America, he discovered a section in the application that announced all of the contractor’s employees to be Christian and that required applicants to affirm a statement of Christian faith. As a devout Muslim, Mr. Bridges determined that he could not apply.

CAIR brought a complaint in federal district court, challenging the County and its then-contractor for violating Mr. Bridges’ constitutional rights under the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment. The defendants maintained that they did not violate Mr. Bridges’ rights. After multiple rounds of negotiations, the parties settled. In exchange for a payment of $195,000, a commitment not to use religious requirements in ways that violate the First Amendment in the future, and a commitment to bring Mr. Bridges back to the Prince George’s County Jail as a volunteer, Mr. Bridges agreed to dismiss his claims.

Washington, D.C., based CAIR offers an educational toolkit, called “A Correctional Institution’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices,” to help correctional officers and administrators gain a better understanding of Islam and Muslims.

Source: cair.com

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

https://www.cair.com/press_releases/breaking-cair-announces-195000-settlement-with-maryland-county-over-illegal-christian-faith-requirement-in-chaplain-application/

-----
CAIR-NY Welcomes Arrest of Teen in Brooklyn Playground Antisemitic Vandalism Case

January 23, 2026

The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemns antisemitic vandalism discovered at Gravesend Park in the Borough Park playground. 

At least 57 swastikas were discovered on Wednesday morning, while additional graffiti was found earlier in the week. The situation was investigated by the New York City Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force as aggravated harassment and a hate crime. A 15-year-old boy was arrested the same day.

In a statement, CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher, Esq., said:

“Hate has no place in our communities, and no child should ever encounter symbols of terror or intimidation at a place of play and innocence. This incident is part of a disturbing pattern of antisemitic attacks that threaten the safety and wellbeing of Jewish New Yorkers and all marginalized communities across our city.”

CAIR-NY commends local leaders, including New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and other elected officials, for their swift condemnation of the vandalism. 

CAIR-NY’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

La misión de CAIR-NY es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.

Subscribe to CAIR-NY’s Email List   

You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR. 

Source: cair.com

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

https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-ny-welcomes-arrest-of-teen-in-brooklyn-playground-antisemitic-vandalism-case/

------
Muslim Awareness Week returns to Montreal for 8th year

Emily Pasquarelli

January 23, 2026

Montrealers gathered for the launch of the 2026 edition of Muslim Awareness Week (MAW) at City Hall on Friday.

The 8th edition of MAW takes place from Jan. 23 to 31, across Montreal and Laval.

The event was created, in response to the Quebec City mosque attack on Jan. 29 2017, to tackle Islamophobia by promoting solidarity and a safe space to learn more about the diverse lived experiences of Quebecers of Muslim faith. “We are normal human beings, as we say, and we are really present here, and we have to build bridges and we have to spread information about who we are. And this is how we’re going to change the future of everybody, not just by crying about what happened in 2017,” said Lotyef.

Last November, the Coalition Avenir Québec government expanded secularism laws by presenting Bill 9, an Act representing the reinforcement of laicity in Quebec. The controversial bill has placed restrictions on public prayer, and has targeted daycare workers by extending a ban on wearing religious symbols.

Jawad Kanani, administrator and board Member of MAW, shared his concerns about Quebec legislation, arguing that it contributes to the notion that Muslims and Quebecers are “two divided personalities,” as opposed to “one identity.” “We should let people have the freedom to choose their own religion and to choose whatever, how they want to address, how they want to look. And that shouldn’t be a compromise between being a Quebecer or practicing and having your freedom of religion. One thing that I must say, Muslim women are often talked about, but not often talked to, said Kanani.

The kick off event was attended by Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Montreal police chief Fady Dagher and many other community leaders.

Speakers emphasized the importance of community dialogue and awareness, along with the need to foster interconnectedness between communities.

The event included a performance by Moroccan-Canadian musician Aziz Daouni.

This year’s event offers a range of diverse events and workshops–from the launch of the poetry collection Abwab by Ehab Lotayef, to a trade fair to get to know fellow community members.

A public gathering to commemorate and pay tribute to the victims of the Mosque attack in Quebec City is on Jan. 29, at the Grande Place in front of the Park metro station.

“We are normal human beings, as we say, and we are really present here, and we have to build bridges and we have to spread information about who we are. And this is how we’re going to change the future of everybody, not just by crying about what happened in 2017,” said Lotyef.

Source: montreal.citynews.ca

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

https://montreal.citynews.ca/2026/01/23/muslim-awareness-week-returns-2026/

-------

Hundreds of Minnesota businesses close to protest ICE presence

January 24, 2026

Kayla Epstein

Hundreds of businesses in Minnesota closed on Friday and thousands of protesters turned out in severely cold weather to demonstrate against the ongoing immigration crackdown in the state.

The widespread rallies come after organisers encouraged residents to skip work or school and refrain from shopping in a show of opposition to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The ICE operation ordered by the Trump administration in Minnesota has been going on for more than six weeks.

The administration has characterised it as a public safety operation aimed at deporting criminals illegally in the country. Critics warn migrants with no criminal record and US citizens are being detained too.

On Friday, about 100 clergy members were arrested at the Minneapolis airport while holding a protest calling on US airlines to refuse to transport detainees arrested by ICE.

A spokesman for the airports commission told the Minnesota Reformer that the arrests took place after the "permitted activity went beyond agreed upon terms" and was to done to protect the public safety and airport access.

Thousands of federal officers have been deployed to Minnesota as part of "Operation Metro Surge".

The killing of 37-year-old Minneapolis woman Renee Good earlier this month flared tensions across the state and brought condemnation from local officials.

"We want ICE out of Minnesota, and we want ICE out of every state, with their extreme overreach," said Bishop Dwayne Royster, whose organisation Faith in Action is supporting local partners in Minneapolis during the strike. "We want Congress to stand up and provide oversight to ICE."

Friday's marches are thought to be the largest display of opposition to date to the current immigration policy in the state, as thousands of people walked downtown through temperatures of -23C (-10F).

As they made their way to the city's NBA arena to hold an anti-ICE rally, taking place on the home court of the Minnesota Timberwolves, protesters chanted and played music.

On Friday morning, Minneapolis resident Corey Lamb closed his business, Harriet Grove Botanicals, in solidarity and headed to a protest. He objected to the presence of ICE agents in his city, and was outraged by Good's death in early January.

He also saw the immigration raids as an economic threat to his business, and others in his community.

"We have a lot of friends that we rely on, we have a lot of businesses that we rely on, in order to make our business work," Lamb told the BBC.

"When those individuals are struggling because they're afraid of being detained or disappeared, it has an effect not only morally but economically on what's going on here, and also in the greater Midwest."

Lamb's business was joined by hundreds of others, from restaurants and tattoo parlours to toy stores.

Kim Bartmann is the owner of six restaurants in Minneapolis, including four that remain open in the winter but that she shut on Friday.

While she supports the cause, she said the decision to participate had been a tricky one, given the costs.

"Everyone is in solidarity, but everyone needs to buy groceries and pay their rents," she said, noting that staff at one of her locations had initially asked to stay open, before deciding the risk of backlash over not participating would be too great.

"Economically, it is a severe blow to my business," she said.

She said sales at her restaurants, which include Barbette and Gigi's Café, have already dropped more than 30% over the past three weeks as a result of the ICE operation, which has prompted her to limit her opening hours as customers and staff stay home.

"We have a lot of employees who are US citizens or have paperwork to work in the US who are still terrified to leave their homes," she said.

ICE's presence has outraged many of Minnesota's residents, who have protested against their operations and other federal officers operating in their city.

This week, school officials in the suburb of Columbia Heights announced that four of their students had been detained by ICE, ranging from ages five to 17.

A two-year-old child was also detained on Thursday alongside her undocumented father while returning home from a grocery store in south Minneapolis, according to CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

In a speech on Thursday, Vice-President JD Vance called for local Minnesota law enforcement to coordinate with federal officers to carry out immigration enforcement.

Minnesota, and some of its cities, have so-called "sanctuary" policies, which limit the ways that local government and law enforcement cooperates with ICE. The Trump administration has criticised these policies as a threat to public safety.

Meanwhile, a Minneapolis FBI agent resigned this week over concerns about the bureau's handling of the investigation into Good's shooting, CBS News, the BBC's US partner, reported. The New York Times was first to report the resignation.

Tracee Mergen left "in part due to the pressure on her to reclassify/discontinue the investigation" over Good's death, CBS News reported, citing sources.

The BBC has contacted the FBI for comment.

Earlier this month, US media reported that at least six prosecutors in the Minneapolis US Attorney's office resigned over the administration's handling of the federal investigation.

Source: bbc.com

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

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dk67g4q91o

------

'A natural partner': US treasury secretary weighs in on Alberta separatism

January 24, 2026

Jessica Murphy

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has weighed in on a separatist movement in Alberta, saying the western Canadian province is a "natural partner for the US".

"Alberta has a wealth of natural resources, but they won't let them build a pipeline to the Pacific," Bessent told an American right-wing commentator in an interview on Thursday.

"I think we should let them come down into the US, and Alberta is a natural partner for the US. They have great resources. The Albertans are very independent people."

The top US official's comments come amid strained ties between US and Canada, and as signatures are being collected in the province seeking an independence referendum.

In comments to conservative host Jack Posobiec, Bessent went on to say there is a "rumour that they may have a referendum on whether they want to stay in Canada or not".

A group in Alberta has until May to collect at least 178,000 signatures - or 10% of eligible voters - for a referendum campaign.

Asked about Bessent's remarks on Friday, federal Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said he'd tell him "thanks but no thanks, we will do our own things".

He said Canadians are "able to develop our natural resources at home" and pointed to a deal recently inked by Prime Minister Mark Carney with Alberta that opens the door for an oil pipeline to the Pacific. It's a project long pushed for by Canada's oil heartland but one which faces significant hurdles.

A spokesman for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a statement to the BBC that the province supports new pipelines "west, east, north, and south, and we will continue to work with our US partners on building more pipeline capacity to US markets".

"But the premier also believes the overwhelming majority of Albertans are not interested in becoming a US state".

Late last year over 430,000 signatures were gathered for a petition calling for a united Canada to counter the separatist push, and polls indicate a majority of Albertans want to stay in Canada.

Many supporters of separatism have also told media they are seeking independence from Canada - not to join the US.

Mitch Sylvestre, who is spearheading the referendum petition, told the CBC on Friday he doesn't think anyone in his movement is eyeing the US.

He said he thought Bessent's comment on Alberta and the US being "natural partners" was obvious given the energy trade between them.

Still, some organisers of the movement have said they have travelled to Washington to meet officials from the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, trade talks between the US and Canada are on ice, and President Donald Trump has expressed irritation with the prime minister over a blunt speech he delivered at the World Economic Forum in Davos calling out "great powers" for weaponising their economic might.

Trump responded in his own speech with: "Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements."

Other US officials have also criticised Carney's speech, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who this week accused Canada of being "arrogant" and Carney of pandering to a domestic audience by adopting an anti-US stance.

Source: bbc.com

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

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8ylqx0zw4o

-------

China will ‘eat up’ Canada – Trump

24 Jan, 2026

China will “eat up” Canada if Ottawa refuses to cooperate with Washington, US President Donald Trump said on Friday.

Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Canada opposes his planned Golden Dome missile defense system, which is inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome.

“Canada is against The Golden Dome being built over Greenland, even though The Golden Dome would protect Canada. Instead, they voted in favor of doing business with China, who will ‘eat them up’ within the first year!” Trump wrote.

The president said he wants the Golden Dome to cover Greenland, which he has threatened to annex from Denmark, and argued that control over the Arctic region would allow the US to counter the influence of Russia and China.

Speaking in Davos earlier this week, Trump said Canada should be grateful to the US for its defense and claimed that “Canada lives because of the United States.”

In a rebuke, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney denied that his country owed its success to its southern neighbor and said the world order built on “American hegemony” was “in the midst of a rupture.”

Trump later responded to Carney’s remarks by disinviting him from his ‘Board of Peace’, a new body designed to resolve world conflicts.

Beijing has denied seeking to undermine other countries’ interests in the Arctic. “The so-called ‘China threat’ is groundless. China opposes fabricating baseless narratives and using China as a pretext for seeking selfish gains,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Thursday.

Source: rt.com

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

https://www.rt.com/news/631444-trump-china-eat-up-canada/

------

US considering total Cuba oil blockade – Politico

23 Jan, 2026

The US is considering imposing a total blockade on oil imports to Cuba, Politico has reported. News of the possible blockade comes as Washington reportedly searches for Cuban insiders to help topple Miguel Diaz-Canel’s government.

The plan is being “sought by some critics of the Cuban government” within President Donald Trump’s administration, and is backed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Politico reported on Friday, citing anonymous sources. Trump has not made a decision on whether to go ahead with the blockade, they claimed.

Trump announced last week that he would stop any shipments of Venezuelan oil from reaching Cuba, but a total blockade would place the island in a “chokehold to kill the regime,” one source said.

Cuba has been under a US trade embargo since the 1960s, but the island has not faced the prospect of an American naval blockade since 1962, when John F. Kennedy placed it under “quarantine” for 13 days to prevent the transfer of Soviet missiles to the Cuban military.

After abducting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month, Trump warned that Cuba was “ready to fall” next. The US president urged Havana to “make a deal, before it is too late,” without elaborating on the terms of such a deal.

“If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned,” Rubio told NBC News the day after Maduro’s kidnapping.

President Diaz-Canel has rejected Trump’s threats, stating that “Cuba is a free, independent and sovereign nation,” and that “nobody dictates what we do.”

The Trump administration is now looking to carry out a regime-change operation by the end of the year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. American officials have been holding meetings with Cuban exiles and civic groups in Miami and Washington in an attempt to identify a government official in Havana who might “want to cut a deal,” the newspaper reported.

Politico’s sources backed up this report, with one stating that taking out Diaz-Canel is “100 percent a 2026 event.”

Russia condemns the “language of blackmail and threats” against Cuba, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said last week. Zakharova also condemned Washington for placing Cuba under “the full horror of illegitimate and illegal sanctions” for decades.

Source: rt.com

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

https://www.rt.com/news/631440-us-cuba-oil-blockade/

------

Trump’s Greenland deal seeks sovereign US bases, no drilling for Russia

Jan 24, 2026

Discussions to resolve the future of Greenland have focused in recent days on proposals to increase Nato’s presence in the Arctic, give America a sovereign claim to pockets of Greenland’s territory and block potentially hostile adversaries from mining the island’s minerals.

Those elements, described by eight senior Western security and diplomatic officials, offer the fullest picture yet of the contours of a potential Greenland compromise that President Trump announced Wednesday without details. His move appeared to at least temporarily defuse an American-made trans-Atlantic crisis over the Danish territory.

Critically, the proposals under discussion would stop short of Trump’s goal of transferring ownership of all of Greenland to the US from Denmark, according to the officials, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity. The officials cautioned that many details have yet to be finalised.

It is unclear if these discussions will ultimately yield agreement over the territory. Denmark, which publicly opposes ceding ownership of any Greenlandic land, may not agree to the plans on the table. Still, the officials said they were hopeful that they could simultaneously address Trump’s stated concerns about securing the Arctic against possible threats from Russia and China while holding to Europe’s “red line” that Greenland was not for sale. To do that, the proposals would:

Create a significant new Nato mission in the Arctic. Multiple officials have dubbed this mission “Arctic Sentry,” in a nod to similarly named Nato missions in the Baltic Sea and Eastern Europe that are meant to counter an increasingly aggressive Russia

Update a pact signed between Denmark and the US in 1951. The pact gives the US military wide access to Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, for operations including the construction and operation of military bases. US officials have said they are concerned that this access could be curbed or ended if Greenland were to obtain independence. Nato officials have discussed expanding the 1951 pact with a new agreement that would effectively create pockets of American soil in the territory.

Such an agreement would likely be modelled on a “sovereign base area” agreement in Cyprus, where Britain’s military bases are regarded as British territory. That would give the US greater control over the land than it currently exerts over US embassy sites. Trump and other officials have said that territory in Greenland could prove important for his plans to build a so-called Golden Dome missile defence system for the US, which could include components stationed in Greenland.

Restrict non-Nato member countries, particularly Russia and China, from obtaining rights to mine the rare-earth minerals that lie deep under Greenland’s ice sheet.

All of those plans have been under discussion inside Nato over the last year, as a direct response to Trump’s stated ambitions.

Source: indiatimes.com

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

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/trumps-greenland-deal-seeks-sovereign-us-bases-no-drilling-for-russia/articleshowprint/127351684.cms

------

But you are Indian: Texas Republican leader calls for H-1B ban like Florida universities, social media asks him to 'go back'

Jan 23, 2026

Abraham George is not a Hindu like Vivek Ramaswamy, but he got a taste of his party’s hatred when the Indian-origin Republican leader called for a Florida-like ban on H-1Bs in Texas universities as well. George was born in India’s Kerala to Christian parents and came to the US when he was 16. As many equate H-1Bs with Indians, George was among the first to be asked to “go back to India.”

Texas has been seeing a surge in anti-India sentiment as influencers make videos claiming there has been an Indian takeover of the state. From social media influencers, the narrative entered the political realm when conservative leader Alexander Duncan questioned why there are so many Hindu temples in the state and called Hindu gods “false.” Recently, Aaron Reitz, who is contesting for Texas Attorney General, called Indians unassimilated and unassimilable and said he would stop H-1B abuses in Texas.

In October 2025, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis asked universities to end the use of the H-1B visa program. The policy has now been finalized, with a vote on the proposed ban scheduled for January 29. The proposal calls for a one-year pause on hiring through the H-1B visa program. Florida state universities employ more than 600 workers on H-1B visas at present.

The H-1B visa program allows US companies — universities in this case — to hire skilled individuals from foreign countries. India has dominance in the IT sector, but many other nationals are hired in universities through the H-1B visa program.

Reacting to the Florida development, Texas GOP chairman Abraham George said, “Texas should follow this. We should just ban it altogether.”

“I’m already drafting bills for this,” Rep. Brent Money promptly replied to George.

But social media was not impressed. Users asked “ricebag” George to “go back” and told him that he is not even considered an American in Texas.

Who is Abraham George?

Though George was born and brought up in India, many of his family members were already in the US, including his grandfather. Stories about them planted in him a “deep admiration for America’s freedoms and opportunities,” his website said. His family started the US visa process when he was two, and they finally came to the US when he was 16.

Despite his strong academic potential, George went to work, starting as a janitor’s assistant at an IT manufacturing company. He rose through the ranks and became the national sales director by the age of 22, his website said.

Source: indiatimes.com

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

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/but-you-are-indian-texas-republican-leader-calls-for-h-1b-ban-like-florida-universities-social-media-asks-him-to-go-back/articleshowprint/127310519.cms

-------

Africa

 

Ransom, gold, and spoils of war: Islamic State Mozambique’s new cash flow

23 January 2026

Data show that Islamic State Mozambique has shifted focus to developing new revenue sources including ransom and extortion, weapons seizures, and activity around mining sites — but it isn’t clear why.

Over the past eight years, Islamist insurgents in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province have proved to be resilient in the face of significant counter-insurgency operations. At their peak in 2021, they controlled the port town of Mocímboa da Praia and briefly occupied Palma, situated 80 kilometers to the north and home to a planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. In 2021, military intervention by forces from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) greatly denuded the group from its peak of up to 3,000 members, as estimated by SADC, to less than 300 today, according to the United Nations.

Yet Islamic State Mozambique (ISM) remains resilient. In 2025, it was active in all but one of Cabo Delgado’s 17 districts and undertook operations in neighboring Nampula and Niassa provinces. While the group has successfully remained in place and is adapting its tactics in response to intervention, a recent focus on raising revenue and other resources domestically suggests it sees a potentially expansionary future for itself.

This report quantifies and describes how ISM raises funds domestically and maintains a supply of arms and ammunition to maintain its operations. It shows how, in 2025, ISM undertook measurable steps to arm itself and access new sources of finance through continued arms and equipment seizures, as well as ransom and extortion for cash. Significantly increased activity around artisanal gold mining sites suggests the group may also be trying to exert control over that sector. The findings point to the breadth of measures that need to be taken — including security sector reform, tightened finance and banking security, and better mineral resource management — for the Mozambican state and its security partners to block ISM’s access to resources. Whether this is part of a plan to strengthen the group and expand its influence, or represents a decline in external financing from the Islamic State (IS), is not yet clear.

Islamic State financing and Mozambique

IS’s financing model is based on local revenue-raising by individual provinces, with provision for some external financing through international IS networks. To raise finance locally, larger provinces with effective territorial control can implement systems of taxation. IS West Africa Province, for example, has an annual income of over $190 million US dollars from three distinct forms of taxation, according to one report. As early as 2022, ISM had expressed a desire to implement systematic taxation, but without control of any significant territory, it has not been able to put this in place.

External financing for African provinces, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique, has come through the al-Karrar office managed by IS Somalia, with evidence for this since at least 2018. Findings of both the Bridgeway Foundation and the Security Council indicate that the funding ISM has received is neither significant in scale nor regular in frequency, and much less than that sent to the Central Africa Province in DRC. It is also unpredictable, particularly as it relies on trust-based hawala money transfer services, physical delivery of cash from South Africa and Tanzania, and international transfers through mobile money networks.

External financing was likely essential in ISM’s early years, when it needed to support up to 3,000 militants. With a force now estimated at a 10th that size, there is greater scope for reliance on local sources of finance. Al-Karrar financing may have been affected by intensified operations against IS structures in Somalia by Puntland forces, with support from the United States and the United Arab Emirates, that started in early 2025. These factors may underlie the significant increase in ISM’s ransom and extortion activities, a sure source of cash, and increased mining-related activity (see graph below).

Kidnapping, ransom, and extortion

Ransom and extortion for cash is now a significant feature of ISM’s activity. Prior to 2024, ransom and extortion were a minor part of the group’s activities. In the early years of the insurgency, ACLED records few events where people were kidnapped for ransom or there had been a clear case of extortion. That may mask other ad hoc cases of theft or extortion as fighters pass through settlements. It may also not cover all cases of abduction in rural communities. However, in such cases, those kidnapped are taken as temporary labor, forced recruits, or for the payment of very modest ransoms. By the end of 2025, it had become a significant feature in the data, quadrupling from its 2024 level, and accounting for around 10% of all ISM activity for the year (see graph below). Typical actions include using roadblocks to stop and detain people, vehicles, and goods on roads, as well as hijacking fishing boats and crews on the coast. Occasionally, individuals are kidnapped during attacks on villages and later released for ransom.

Kidnapping for ransom at roadblocks is particularly lucrative. In one week in March 2025, ISM may have raised over $3,000 from kidnapping and extortion at roadblocks on the N380. These ransom amounts are very high, particularly in such a poor socioeconomic environment. However, reports from victims, sources in the area, and mainstream media are consistent. The amounts may not be unusual internationally either. In Burkina Faso in 2022, ransoms paid to Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin ranged from $500 for small traders to$22,000 for government officials. Such payments are, however, not a predictable source of income, and are typically raised in short campaigns after which security on particular stretches of road is enhanced.

Ransoms are usually paid through one of the mobile money services operated by mobile networks such as Vodacom’s M-PESA, Movitel’s e-Mola, and Tmcel’s mKesh. Insurgents ask victims to transfer money to mobile money accounts likely controlled by ISM collaborators in urban areas. At the other end of the transactions, ISM collaborators need to withdraw ransom payments promptly, before victims can share the recipient number with the authorities. For such a system to work, ISM collaborators must be able to register new SIM cards and open mobile money accounts attached to them frequently enough to allow transfers to take place without being traced. This process likely involves fake identities and suggests that security practices in SIM card and mobile money account registration have broken down.

Such actions also have a wider impact. First, the sums demanded, often equivalent to hundreds of dollars, are a considerable cost for victims and those in their family and personal networks who help them pay. Second, they greatly restrict the movement of goods that are vital to maintaining and rebuilding the province’s economy. Finally, they restrict the supply of humanitarian goods and services. For example, in August 2025, humanitarian support to Macomia, Quissanga, Muidumbe, Mocímboa da Praia, Meluco, and Metuge districts was suspended due to the risk of aid workers encountering ISM roadblocks.

In 2024 and 2025, ransom and extortion were concentrated on the N380 highway. In 2025 alone, over one-third of all such ISM actions took place on this road, particularly on the stretch between Macomia town and Awasse village (see map below). Similarly, hijacking and kidnapping along the N380 spiked twice in 2025, with seven events recorded in March and 10 in August. ISM’s capacity to carry out such actions on that stretch of road is surprising, given that there are at least five military outposts along the N380 between Macomia town and Awasse village. However, ACLED research has shown how inaction by security forces stationed along this route leaves civilians at risk. It is also clear that the ineffectiveness of the security forces in this area allows ISM to raise considerable sums of money that presumably support its operations provincewide.

The concentration of activity on the N380 is not only due to the documented failure of security measures along that route, but also the high rewards available from hijacking valuable vehicles carrying passengers with access to cash. In one incident in June 2025, ISM stopped at least one truck for which the group demanded a ransom of 250,000 Meticais ($4,000 at the time). At least 10 bus passengers were also stopped in the same incident and released after paying ransoms of up to $600 each, according to one victim. The amounts reported in that incident are consistent with reports from victims involved in other such incidents. In March 2025, an Islamic religious leader was among a number of bus passengers kidnapped at an ISM roadblock. He reported that he was released on payment of a $600 ransom, while non-Muslim captives had to pay five times as much.

However, since August 2025, ACLED records just two such incidents on that road. This is likely due to a combination of more regular military escorts along the road, which business representatives demanded, and more risk-averse behavior by individuals and transporters. However, hijacking, kidnapping, and extortion have continued elsewhere in Cabo Delgado. This includes areas where ISM has an established presence, such as the Macomia coast, and areas where its presence is more sporadic and the security presence weaker, such as Meluco and Montepuez.

Artisanal and small-scale mining

The mining and trade of gemstones and gold have long been assumed to be a source of funding for ISM, though evidence has been scarce. The first in-depth study of the insurgency, published in 2019, alleged links between insurgency leaders and figures involved in gemstone trading and mining from both Mozambique and the Great Lakes region. More recently, the Mozambican authorities claim that captured insurgents had both gold and gemstones in their possession, and that the group has raised approximately $30 million from ruby mining alone. That figure is likely significantly exaggerated. Nevertheless, ISM’s increased activity in mining areas indicates that it is becoming a more significant source of income.

In Cabo Delgado, gold and gemstone mining is concentrated in the southern districts of Ancuabe, Meluco, Montepuez, and Balama. According to the Observatório do Meio Rural, the artisanal and small-scale mining sector employs up to 10,000 people as buyers, suppliers, transporters, or service providers. These unlicensed operations attract small investors and workers from across northern Mozambique and East Africa. Isolated mines in southern Cabo Delgado operate on the margins of state control, yet are connected to international markets through informal supply chains that feed formal and informal gold and gemstone markets.

Our analysis is restricted to events with mentions of known mine sites, interactions with miners, gold, and the principal gemstones of ruby and tourmaline. Such events have been primarily in Meluco and Montepuez districts, as well as in Ancuabe, although less so (see map below). Data indicate that the group’s presence in mining areas is becoming more pronounced, and that its importance to the group is growing.

This increased presence comes as the gold price in particular has surged. Since January 2024, the price of gold on global markets has risen by over 60%. Given this increase, the isolation of mining sites, and the group’s more frequent visits to their locations, it is reasonable to hypothesize that they are looking to exert some control on the sector.

In Meluco district, over 55% of mining-related activity by ISM in 2025 was concentrated around Minhanha and Ravia villages. Minhanha village lies approximately 25 km north of Meluco district headquarters and has been a center for artisanal gemstone mining since at least 2011, with tourmaline being the principal gemstone resource. There are also artisanal gold mines in the area. Ravia village lies about 30 km southwest of Meluco toward Montepuez. Like in Minhanha, there is a mixture of gold and tourmaline mines in the area. ISM was not active in Ravia prior to 2025.

Yet despite ISM’s increased and concentrated activity around Minhanha and Ravia, in 2025, the group directly attacked mines in those areas on only three occasions. Information from local sources over the course of 2025 suggests that visits to mine sites around Minhanha by insurgents were more frequent. Sources referred to their presence at mine sites on four occasions between December 2024 and March 2025, though these were not confirmed at the time. A sustained presence around mine sites suggests efforts to control the sector, rather than to destroy it.

The bulk of ISM’s remaining mining-related activity in 2025 has been in Montepuez district, with most of it happening in October. This followed the movement to Montepuez of a group of up to 100 fighters from Muidumbe district at the end of August. Here, the group’s intention to raise funds by exerting control over mining operations was made explicit. On 7 October, at the Ntola gold mine, ISM called a meeting of miners. According to a local source, they stated that they had come to stay but required daily contributions, presumably cash, and threatened to burn property if their demands were not met. They also said they wanted access to gold, according to the source. One week later, they launched one of their rare attacks on another gold mine in the area, destroying property and prompting a police guard on the mine to leave.

A more regular presence of ISM insurgents at mine sites indicates a failure of the state to provide security. This failure may allow relations between ISM and artisanal miners to develop in a mutually beneficial way, as research by ACLED and GI-TOC has shown in Burkina Faso and Mali. If ISM can set a price for their protection that the artisanal and small-scale mining sector can absorb, and if the state remains absent in such areas, it may well allow for a sustained stream of income.

Because the price of gold has more than doubled on world markets over the past three years, ISM’s heightened interest in the sector is not surprising (see graph below). Mine-site prices are not immediately reactive to world prices: Research by the Observatório do Meio Rural indicates a seasonal pricing system set locally at approximately $33 per gram when gold is abundant and around $47 when scarce in late 2024, equivalent to roughly one-third of the world price at the time.

How this translates into income for the group is not clear. There is some evidence of forced payments from miners, and no evidence to suggest that the group actively controls any mining operation. The Mozambican authorities claim that ISM militants have been found with gemstones and gold in their possession, suggesting the group may try to enter regional illicit markets. This, however, is likely occurring through local, not international, buyers, exploiting existing trade networks through Tanzania. According to the United Nations Security Council Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, ISM raised up to $3,000 in one week in Meluco during the first half of 2025. However, accurately estimating income from this source is challenging. Payments in cash may be regular or seized in occasional attacks. Payments may sometimes be in kind for later sale. In all cases, seizure or exchange occurs in isolated areas and in intimate transactions.

Securing armaments

ISM arms itself through the seizure of weaponry and ammunition in clashes with state forces. This has been a continuing feature of ISM activity throughout the insurgency. Seizure of weapons increased significantly in the second half of 2021, likely in response to military intervention by Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) (see graph below). In the early months of their intervention, Rwanda and SAMIM targeted ISM bases, seizing large amounts of weaponry and other supplies.

By the end of 2025, ISM weapons seizures had significantly surpassed the total for 2024 (see graph above). They had also become a much more significant feature of the group’s operations. In 2024, less than 2% of ISM operations involved the seizure of weapons. By the end of 2025, that share had almost doubled.

Images of seized weapons released through IS media channels give a good impression of the weaponry that ISM has in hand. The images are typically of small to medium-size machine guns, mortars, and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, with ammunition. Images of fighters, whether posed or in combat, depict them almost exclusively armed with weapons used by the Mozambican military. The exception is the occasional image of rifles seized from the Rwanda Defence Force in a May 2025 clash.

The consistency of weapons seizures over the years raises questions about the apparent ease with which they are taken. President Daniel Chapo complained of some members of the Defense and Security Forces being willing to “sell out their homeland” and leak details of operations. Information that leads ISM to arms captures would likely command a high price for corrupt military personnel willing to sell it. The risk of operational information leaking has allegedly led to attempts to restrict information sharing within the armed forces. This, ironically, may make soldiers in the field more vulnerable if they are unclear about objectives and immediate plans. There are also organizational capacity issues, with orders reportedly shared erratically on different platforms, ranging from secure methods to popular messaging apps.

Maintaining weaponry requires systems to control the supply, storage, and distribution of weapons. Fighters, too, need to be trained in their use. Seven years into the insurgency, the group has certainly developed an internal training capacity. The apparent lack of leakage of weapons out of ISM into, for example, the criminal community suggests effective control mechanisms. Continuing seizures can ensure a basic supply of ammunition. This may be relatively easy to supplement in a country that went through 15 years of civil war following an armed liberation struggle.

Implications for countering ISM

In 2025, there was a notable increase in ISM’s domestic revenue-raising activities. ISM has significantly increased its activity around artisanal and small-scale mining sites, with documented attempts to raise revenue from the sector. Meanwhile, ISM’s seizure of FADM weaponry has continued, though with a noticeable increase in 2025. Analysis of these developments helps identify a wider set of issues that need to be addressed for counter-insurgency to be successful. They also contribute to our understanding of ISM itself, the extent of its support networks, and the sophistication of its administration.

Civil authorities face the most wide-ranging challenges. At the core of financing is mobile money, overseen by the Bank of Mozambique. The ease with which ransom payments can be made through mobile money services points to the collapse of security measures related to registering accounts and overseeing transactions. Mozambique is not alone in this. There are considerable trade-offs in tightening controls on mobile money operations. Businesses across eastern and southern Africa, particularly small enterprises, rely on mobile money services for their operations. Placing greater controls on mobile money will directly impact liquidity in the local economy, affecting everything from remittances to humanitarian interventions. It is hard to see how effective controls on the use of mobile money for insurgent financing could be implemented without significant economic impact and extra costs for network operators.

Regarding informal gold and gemstone mining, measures to improve oversight of the artisanal mining sector that supports artisanal and small-scale miners are necessary. Recent attempts at extortion by ISM point to weak support and protection by the state from the threat ISM presents.

For security forces, there is, of course, a pressing need to maintain security on Cabo Delgado’s main highways. They have demonstrated some success in regaining control of the N380 highway since August. However, extending this to commercial traffic in traditionally ill-served districts such as Meluco, Montepuez, and Balama will remain a challenge. Perhaps more fundamentally, corruption in the armed forces must be addressed. This will likely be a key issue for international partners involved in security sector reform, from Rwanda to the European Union.

Finally, the findings have some implications for how we understand ISM. Increased cash flow, as well as continued and increasing re-armament, require well-articulated systems for managing assets and finances. According to the Financial Action Task Force, authorities have found evidence that the group has formalized systems for control of assets and cash flows. We can assume that, for now, these are resilient. Any significant increase in assets or cash flow could trigger divisions or splits within the group, but there is no evidence of any such divisions. This indicates that mechanisms for controlling assets and managing cash flows are robust enough to secure the resources necessary to sustain both the leadership and the networks that generate the income.

The findings do not explain why the group has decided to focus more on fundraising in 2025, but a significantly increased cash income indicates that the group has the potential to grow. Cash income allows ISM to attract new recruits and maintain them. It may also enable continued sourcing of arms through corrupt channels in the armed forces and the potential to buy-in specialized equipment, such as drones, or technical assistance, such as for the production of IEDs. However, this is only the case if other income streams remain the same. These include transfers from Somalia and income from small business operations in Mozambique. If such transfers have declined, increased local financing may simply be to replace them.

ISM remains a significant affiliate of IS — its actions account for over 11% of IS’s violent activity globally in 2025. New income streams, whether they replace lost funding or present new opportunities, speak to the group’s resilience and indicate it will remain a challenge for governments in southern and eastern Africa for some years.

Written by Peter Bofin, Senior Analyst, Southeast Africa, Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED).

Source: defenceweb.co.za

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

https://defenceweb.co.za/security/national-security/ransom-gold-and-spoils-of-war-islamic-state-mozambiques-new-cash-flow/

------
Violence Along Religious Lines Is Treated As Attack On Nigeria – Nuhu Ribadu

January 24, 2026

By Justina Otio

The Federal Government has declared that the protection of all citizens is non-negotiable.

The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, stated this at the conclusion of the first session of the U.S.–Nigeria Joint Working Group, held in Abuja, to address concerns around religious freedom and insecurity.

Ribadu asserted that any violence framed along religious lines will be treated as a direct attack on the Nigerian state.

He reaffirmed that the protection of all citizens, Christians, Muslims, and adherents of other faiths is non-negotiable.

“Nigeria is a deeply plural society, and the protection of all citizens, Christians, Muslims, and those of other beliefs, is non-negotiable.

“Violence framed along religious lines is treated as an attack on the Nigerian state itself,” Ribadu said.

He said the government’s response to insecurity goes beyond military action, combining security operations with the rule of law, humanitarian safeguards, and strategic communication to ensure that operational successes translate into public confidence and stronger social cohesion.

“Our response integrates security operations, rule of law, humanitarian safeguards, and strategic communication, ensuring that operational successes translate into public confidence and strengthened social cohesion,” he added.

Meanwhile, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has questioned the growing wave of insecurity in Nigeria, lamenting that it should not be.

According to Obi, the government is to be blamed for allowing insecurity to grow unchecked and unchallenged.

Speaking against the recent conflicting reports of another abduction of worshippers from a church in Kaduna, the former Anambra State Governor insisted that the frequency of such reports and happenings shows there is a crisis of safety, unity and leadership.

He cited examples of other communities around the country where there have been confirmed cases of insecurity and called on the government to wake up to its responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of citizens.

He again criticized reports that the government of President Bola Tinubu paid millions of dollars to a foreign lobbying firm to launder the administration’s image on the international scene.

“Just recently, other communities in Benue, Zamfara, Kano, Niger and Plateau, have faced similarly gruesome insecurity. Nigeria is not at war, yet here we are again, counting victims with inconsistencies that surpass those of nations at war. A government that can mobilise resources for waste, for propaganda, for foreign lobbyists, but cannot secure communities or protect its people has misplaced its priorities.

“I have just been informed that yet again, at the weekend, about 172 worshippers were abducted from churches in Kaduna. This is yet another unfortunate consequence of a nation where insecurity has been allowed to grow, unchecked and unchallenged in our everyday lives, as though it were normal. This should not be.

“Even with the government and police stating they are not aware of this incident, we must ask ourselves hard questions. Is this how we will continue? Can we keep waking up to news of mass abductions, disputed figures, and official denials while citizens live in fear? Whether confirmed or contested, the frequency of such reports alone shows a greater crisis of safety, leadership, and unity.

“To the people of Kaduna, you are not alone. We stand with you, and to the families whose loved ones were taken, we share in your pain. We pray and hope that those abducted will be found and returned safely, and that those injured in the course of this attack receive swift and full medical recovery.

“If the denials are true, we thank God Almighty. if untrue, we stand with the families of those affected and urge the relevant authorities to take swift action.

“Nigeria deserves a government that treats human life as sacred, the time to confront this insecurity is now.

“A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO,” Obi wrote in a statement released on Tuesday via his 𝕏 account.

Source: naijanews.com

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

https://www.naijanews.com/2026/01/24/violence-along-religious-lines-is-treated-as-attack-on-nigeria-nuhu-ribadu/

------
Dog sparks panic at Kpakungu Muslim cemetery in Minna

Jan 23, 2026

A scene of panic unfolded at the Kpakungu Muslim cemetery in Minna, Niger State capital on Wednesday evening at about 6 p.m., when a stray dog allegedly forced its way through the fence and began digging at one of the graves.

Eyewitnesses said the dog’s strange behavior startled the security guard on duty, who quickly raised an alarm.

Neighbors, gripped with fear, rushed to the scene, initially thinking a human intruder had trespassed into the burial ground, only to discover the dog clawing at a grave.

In a moment of anger and confusion, they were said to have attacked the animal and brought it outside the fence of the burial ground and set it ablaze.

“It was a terrifying incident. People thought something much worse was happening, and for a moment, everyone was on edge,” said one resident who witnessed the incident.

However, DAILY POST further gathered that after the dog was killed, rumours began circulating across Minna, the state capital, drawing a large crowd to the cemetery even in the dark hours of the night as whispers spread that a person had been caught and set ablaze for attempting to exhume a corpse.

Dispelling the rumors, the security guard at the burial ground yesterday evening in a video denied claims that a human entered the ground and “turned into a dog” to exhume a corpse.

“Myself and others who came when I raised the alarm killed the dog. No human turned into a dog as being speculated to dig out any corpse here. We killed it to discourage other dogs from entering the burial ground to dig at any grave again”

” This is the fifth time of killing dogs attempting to dig at graves on this burial ground. Please, this rumours of human turning to a dog should stop,” the security guard insisted.

Also, the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed that on January 22, 2026, at about 8:15 p.m., the Command received a report from Kpakungu burial ground of a dog that trespassed through the fence and attempted to dig one of the graves.

“During this attempt, the security guard and other neighbours attacked the dog and it was set ablaze,” he disclosed.

The police spokesperson explained that immediately, the DPO of Kpakungu Division led a patrol team to the scene and ensured that normalcy was restored as the situation attracted a crowd.

This is contrary to the insinuation in the public that a human crossed to the burial ground to exhume human parts from the burial ground.”  Abiodun declared

The statement urged members of the public to disregard such fabricated reports, warning that they could cause unnecessary panic and unrest.

Source: dailypost.ng

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

https://dailypost.ng/2026/01/23/dog-sparks-panic-at-kpakungu-muslim-cemetery-in-minna/

---

Beyond Tickets: Nigeria Needs Leadership, Not Religious Mathematics

23 January 2026

By Rayyanu Bala

Ever since President Bola Tinubu emerged in 2023 on a Muslim–Muslim ticket, religion has remained a recurring headline in Nigeria’s political conversation. Now, with reports that the president may be considering one or more Northern Christians as potential running mates ahead of another election cycle, the debate has been reignited this time, wrapped in speculation, hope, and political calculations.

Names like Governor Caleb Mutfwang, Yakubu Dogara, Bishop Matthew Kukah, General Christopher Musa, George Akume and others are being mentioned in political circles. Predictably, reactions have followed familiar lines. Some Christians see this as long overdue balance after the Muslim–Muslim experiment, while Muslims are wondering what such a move might mean for them. And many Nigerians, frankly exhausted, are asking a more basic question: will any of this actually change their lives?

Right from 2023, the much-talked-about Muslim–Muslim ticket has not produced any special advantage for Muslims as a group. If anything, one could argue ironically that Christians have benefited more under this arrangement. Appointments, access, visibility, and political relevance for Christians have hardly disappeared. Churches are still open, Christians still occupy key offices, and Christian voices are still loud in national discourse. Whatever one’s opinion of Tinubu’s government, it is difficult to credibly argue that Muslims, as ordinary citizens, suddenly became more prosperous, safer, or more empowered simply because the president and vice president share their faith.

So if that is the case, what exactly would a Muslim–Christian ticket add or remove from the Muslim population? Realistically, nothing fundamental.

This is why the obsession with religious pairing often feels like a political gimmick rather than a genuine solution to Nigeria’s problems. Elites trade these formulas to win elections or to signal inclusiveness, while insecurity, poverty, unemployment, and failing infrastructure continue to affect Muslims and Christians alike. A farmer in Zamfara, a trader in Onitsha, and a civil servant in Plateau all worry less about the religion of those at the top and more about whether they can live safely and afford food.

The concerns raised by Christians about attacks in parts of the North are real and painful. So too are the claims by Muslim communities that they are victims of banditry, terrorism, and state failure. These are not competing tragedies; they are symptoms of the same national sickness. Reducing them to a religious scorecard does no one justice.

If I were advising President Tinubu, my recommendation would be simple: stop shopping for a running mate based primarily on religion. Whether it is Mutfwang, Dogara, Kukah, Musa, or anyone else, the real criteria should be credibility, competence, national outlook, and the ability to command trust across regions. Nigeria does not need a symbolic fix; it requires leadership that can actually deliver peace, security, and economic opportunity.

At the end of the day, Nigeria’s future will not be saved by balancing religious tickets. It will be saved when leadership, Muslim, Christian, or otherwise, works for all Nigerians. Until then, these debates will remain what they too often are: loud, emotional, and ultimately distracting from the real work that needs to be done.

Source: leadership.ng

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

https://leadership.ng/beyond-tickets-nigeria-needs-leadership-not-religious-mathematics/

-----

‘Remain Alert In Crowded Places, Churches, Others’ – DHQ Urges Nigerians

January 23, 2026

Amid growing security concerns across the country, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has urged Nigerians to be extra vigilant in markets, churches, and other crowded public spaces, stressing that public alertness is critical to national safety.

In a public advisory posted Friday via its official 𝕏 handle, the DHQ advised citizens to promptly report unusual behaviour or suspicious individuals to the nearest security agency.

“Remain alert in crowded places, markets, churches, and public gatherings. Promptly report any unusual behaviour or persons to the nearest security agency. Always maintain situational awareness,” the statement read.

Naija News reports that the advisory comes amid rising fears over potential threats in high-traffic areas across Nigeria. The DHQ emphasised that situational awareness and citizen cooperation are vital tools in preventing criminal acts and ensuring public safety.

The military noted that early detection of suspicious activity could prevent escalation and save lives, positioning the public as the “first line of defence” in Nigeria’s internal security architecture.

The DHQ also called on citizens to cooperate with security personnel and take safety advisories seriously.

“Public vigilance plays a crucial role in reducing risks and protecting communities,” the statement said, reaffirming the military’s commitment to ensuring peace and safety across the country.

Source: naijanews.com

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

https://www.naijanews.com/2026/01/23/remain-alert-in-crowded-places-churches-others-dhq-urges-nigerians/#google_vignette

----

Labour Party Crisis: Otti Hails Court Ruling Recognising Usman-Led Committee

January 23, 2026

The Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, has hailed Wednesday’s judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which affirmed Senator Nenadi Usman as Chairman of the Labour Party National Caretaker Committee, describing the verdict as a step toward restoring peace, unity, and order within the party.

In a statement issued on Friday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, Governor Otti congratulated Usman, Secretary Senator Darlington Nwokocha, and members of the newly recognised committee.

“This victory is both heartwarming and timely as it provides us with the opportunity of ensuring that peace, order and unity return to the party,” Otti said.

He described the judgment as a “new dawn” for the Labour Party, expressing confidence that the decision would allow the party to reorganise and emerge stronger, capable of delivering good governance and winning elections at all levels.

Otti called on the new leadership to embrace inclusive and purposeful leadership, guided by the party’s constitution and core values of justice, unity, and peace.

“Let this be an opportunity to rejig the party and ensure leadership that is committed to peace, unity and justice,” he added.

He also urged aggrieved members behind what he called “frivolous litigations” to sheathe their swords, respect the court’s ruling, and return to the fold in good faith.

“We assure them of forgiveness and proper reintegration if they are willing to turn a new leaf and become law-abiding members,” the governor stated.

Governor Otti praised the judiciary for what he described as a sound judgment, noting that it aligns with an earlier Supreme Court ruling on the party’s leadership dispute.

“This judgment has once again shown that the judiciary remains a pillar of democracy,” he said, while assuring continued support for deepening democratic ideals and maintaining peace and order across the country.

Also reacting, Abia State Chairman of the Labour Party, Emmanuel Otti, commended the Abuja court ruling, describing it as a victory for justice.

“The judiciary has restored the trust people have in it,” he declared.

He criticised the faction led by Julius Abure, saying any attempt to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal would be futile.

“They are just wasting their time,” he said confidently, insisting the ruling “will stand the test of legal time.”

Source: naijanews.com

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

https://www.naijanews.com/2026/01/23/labour-party-crisis-otti-hails-court-ruling-recognising-usman-led-committee/\

----

Protest Rocks Ijebu Ode Over Alleged Imposition Of Next Awujale

January 23, 2026

Tension flared in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, on Friday as scores of indigenes staged a peaceful protest over what they described as attempts to impose a candidate in the ongoing selection process for the next Awujale of Ijebuland.

The demonstrators marched through the Awujale Palace Road, chanting solidarity songs as they made their way to the Ijebu Ode Local Government Secretariat, where they registered their displeasure with the authorities.

The protest comes amid rising concern over transparency and fairness in the succession process for one of Yorubaland’s most revered traditional stools.

Earlier in the week, the Ogun State Government suspended the selection process following what it described as a wave of petitions and security warnings.

The decision was conveyed in a letter dated January 20, 2026, signed by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ganiyu Hamzat, and addressed to the Chairman of Ijebu Ode Local Government Area.

According to the Commissioner, “The Awujale stool is a foremost stool in Yoruba land generally and in Ogun State particularly. The stature of the immediate past Awujale, Oba Sikiru Adetona, who reigned for sixty-five years, significantly enhanced the modern esteem and prestige of the stool.”

The state government said it acted on security intelligence and multiple petitions from key stakeholders and security agencies. It explained that the move was necessary to preserve public order and protect the integrity of the selection process.

“In order to maintain public order, protect the integrity of the process, and maintain the veneration of the stool, it has become imperative to halt the selection process at this time,” the letter added.

Source: naijanews.com

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

https://www.naijanews.com/2026/01/23/protest-rocks-ijebu-ode-over-alleged-imposition-of-next-awujale/

------

Presidency Makes U-turn, Says No Ambassador Posted To Turkey

January 23, 2026

The Presidency has clarified an earlier statement it issued to the press, saying that no ambassador-designate has been posted to Turkey.

According to Western Post, the presidency stated that the appointment is still under review following a naming mix-up.

The clarification was contained in a corrected State House statement issued on Thursday by Bayo Onanuga, spokesperson to President Bola Tinubu.

According to the statement, President Tinubu has so far approved the posting of only three ambassador-designates from the 68 nominees earlier confirmed by the Senate.

The Presidency noted that Ambassador Ayodele Oke has been posted to France, while Colonel Lateef Are (rtd) was approved as Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to the United States of America. Ambassador Aminu Dalhatu, a former envoy to South Korea, was also confirmed as the High Commissioner-designate to the United Kingdom.

The Presidency said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been directed to notify the governments of the three countries in line with diplomatic procedures, stressing that no decision has been finalised regarding the Turkey posting.

It added that the review process is ongoing and that a formal announcement will be made once a decision is reached.

Naija News recalls that in a statement on Thursday night, the presidency had announced the posting of Usman Isa Dakingari Suleiman, former governor of Kebbi, as the ambassador-designate to Türkiye, where the President is scheduled to begin a state visit next week.

Source: naijanews.com

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

https://www.naijanews.com/2026/01/23/presidency-makes-u-turn-says-no-ambassador-posted-to-turkey/

-----

Southeast Asia

 

Malaysia: Deputy Prime Minister Zahid reminds leaders, Muslims to uphold integrity, says power is the real test

24 Jan 2026

MELAKA, Jan 24 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has reminded leaders and the Muslim community to always uphold integrity and to avoid corruption and abuse of power, especially when entrusted with positions of power.

He said the ultimate test of a person comes not in hardship, but in how they conduct themselves when granted power, wealth, and positions of authority.

“We may endure hardship successfully, but many fail when Allah SWT grants positions of power and comfort,” he said in his speech at a programme with students of Kompleks Anak Yatim/Miskin Fatimah Al-Zaharah (Kayfaz) in Bukit Katil here today.

Also present were state Tourism, Heritage, Arts and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Razak Abdul Rahman; state Education, Higher Education and Religious Affairs Committee chairman Datuk Rahmad Mariman; and Kayfaz manager Nur Atiqah Abd Karim.

In the context of leadership and politics, Ahmad Zahid said wisdom and good morals must go hand in hand in every decision made.

“In leadership, there must be wisdom and good moral values, including knowing when to act and when to remain silent,” he said.

The Deputy Prime Minister also called on the community to increase charitable deeds and assist the less fortunate as a means of gaining blessings in life.

Earlier, Ahmad Zahid, who arrived at Kayfaz at 11.22am on a high-powered motorcycle, handed out food kits to 38 residents of the complex. — Bernama

Source: malaymail.com

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

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/01/24/zahid-reminds-leaders-muslims-to-uphold-integrity-says-power-is-the-real-test/206652

-------
‘Unlawful and unacceptable’: IGP cautions Malaysians against online doxxing

By Malay Mail

24 Jan 2026

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 — The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has issued a strong warning against the online sharing of personal data without consent, saying such acts amount to illegal doxxing and will attract firm enforcement action.

The reminder follows public concern over the recent doxxing of journalist Rex Tan, whose personal details were circulated online after his comments at a public forum drew backlash.

In a statement today, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohd Khalid Ismail said the force had taken note of comments by the home minister over the circulation of an individual’s personal information on social media.

“PDRM stresses that the act of sharing, disclosing or displaying someone’s personal information without consent — including home address, telephone number, identification number and family details — is unlawful and unacceptable under any circumstances,” he said.

Mohd Khalid said this behaviour, widely known as doxxing, could be investigated under several existing provisions, including Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, Section 130 of the Personal Data Protection Act 2010, and Sections 507E and 507F of the Penal Code.

He added that the principles of personal data protection apply “to all individuals regardless of background, views or current circumstances”, and cannot be used as grounds for retaliation, threats or harassment online.

“PDRM reminds the public not to engage in any form of personal data dissemination and to exercise ethics and responsibility when using digital platforms,” he said.

“PDRM will not hesitate to take firm action against any party found in breach of the relevant laws, in line with the principles of the rule of law and public safety.”

Source: malaymail.com

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

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/01/24/unlawful-and-unacceptable-igp-cautions-malaysians-against-online-doxxing/206655

------
DBKL cuts Ramadan bazaar rental to RM400 to ease hawkers’ burden, says Hannah Yeoh

23 Jan 2026

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 23 — The rental rate for this year’s Ramadan bazaar sites under the supervision of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has been reduced from RM500 to RM400 to ease the burden of hawkers, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh.

She said the RM100 reduction is also aimed at preventing any form of unreasonable financial burden.

“The same charges are mandatory for hawker associations to ease the cost for hawkers, especially those doing business at Ramadan bazaars under the supervision of DBKL,” she told a media conference here today.

She said the maximum charge of RM400, including canopy and public liability insurance, is to protect hawkers from the risk of injuries or damage to public property during business operations.

Yeoh also stressed that any practice of subletting, buying and selling sites or taking excessive profit is strictly prohibited, adding that enforcement action will be taken against any violations, including the organisers.

Yeoh said this year’s Ramadan bazaars will be held at nine locations under DBKL’s supervision and 32 sites under hawker associations’ supervision.

To maintain the quality and price of food sold at the Ramadan bazaars, the DBKL, together with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN), will conduct daily inspections throughout the month of Ramadan.

“I hope that by reducing the rental, traders will also charge reasonable prices for their food. I also want the Ramadan bazaar environment to always be clean,” she said.

Meanwhile, Yeoh said the rental for this year’s Ramadan bazaar site for the Putrajaya area will remain at RM1,000.

Yeoh said the Madani government has carried out a comprehensive upgrading of the Ramadan bazaars in Kuala Lumpur, in line with its commitment to strengthen governance and to protect the welfare of hawkers and public interests.

“This year’s bazaar will be held based on the principles of being organised and transparent, having integrity and being fair through clear management practices, involving local authority regulation, community involvement and prioritising consumer comfort,” she said. — Bernama

Source: malaymail.com

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

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/01/23/dbkl-cuts-ramadan-bazaar-rental-to-rm400-to-ease-hawkers-burden-says-hannah-yeoh/206530

-------

Govt to update SARA essential items by Ramadan, may add fish, chicken and other fresh produce, says finance minister’s pol-sec

24 Jan 2026

SUNGAI PETANI, Jan 24 — The list of essential items under the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) programme will be updated at the latest by Ramadan this year.

Political secretary to the finance minister, Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim, said there have been requests to include additional essential items in the list, including fresh produce.

“Several parties have suggested adding more items, and the ministry is considering including fresh goods such as fish, chicken and others.

“We expect this to be implemented before Ramadan so that by Aidilfitri, or other upcoming celebrations, it can help ease the burden on the public when purchasing these items,” he said after participating in a gotong-royong clean-up programme held in conjunction with the Menyelusuri Desa - Jelajah Kasih Madani programme at Surau Kampung Perak, Bukit Selambau here today.

Commenting further, he said the government is exploring the best mechanisms to expand SARA to help ease the cost of living for the public.

“We are looking at the best ways to broaden the scope of SARA and it will not be limited to the existing list.

“SARA recipients will also be able to buy items at more small shops, especially in rural areas,” he said.

He added that the number of SARA and Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) recipients changes annually.

“The total allocation amounts to RM15 billion, this month we are reviewing and releasing an updated list of SARA and STR recipients.

“The list of recipients varies annually, as some move out of the poor category while new recipients are included. This is why SARA distribution is slightly delayed this year — to make sure it reaches those who qualify,” he said. — Bernama

Source: malaymail.com

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

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/01/24/govt-to-update-sara-essential-items-by-ramadan-may-add-fish-chicken-and-other-fresh-produce-says-finance-ministers-pol-sec/206674

------

Pahang Sultan: Corruption is ‘filth’, illicit wealth a ‘curse waiting to unfold’

24 Jan 2026

KUANTAN, Jan 24 — Sultan of Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today stressed that corruption is not a minor offence, but a grave betrayal of the nation.

His Royal Highness said the dignity of a country is not measured by the height of its buildings or the size of its financial accounts, but by the values upheld when faced with the temptations of power and wealth.

Al-Sultan Abdullah noted that many nations have fallen not because of external attacks, but due to internal betrayal through corruption, abuse of power and unchecked greed.

“Know that corruption is not a small offence. Abuse of power is not a weakness of ordinary people, it is a crime of office. When the law is manipulated by those entrusted to uphold it, the country is led to the brink of destruction.

“Today, there are those who wear uniforms, hold power and represent institutions, yet their hands are tainted, and their hearts are dead. They are not only damaging the image of their organisations, but also stealing the future of the nation’s children,” the Sultan said.

Al-Sultan Abdullah said this at the Royal Youth Discourse Programme 2026, which was also attended by his son, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah.

Also present were Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Mordi Anak Bimol, Pahang Communications and Multimedia, Youth, Sports and Non-Governmental Organisations Committee chairman Fadzli Mohamad Kamal, and Malaysian Youth Council president Mohd Izzat Afifi Abdul Hamid.

Al-Sultan Abdullah urged young people to reject corruption and abuse of power, and to rise as a generation that breaks the cycle of moral decay.

“Corruption is not a source of sustenance. It is filth. Abuse of power is not wisdom, it is poison. Illicit wealth is not success...it is a curse waiting to unfold.

“Do not bequeath to your children and grandchildren a country that is magnificent in appearance but rotten at its foundations. Do not turn Malaysia into a homeland that is rich on paper but poor in dignity,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, Al-Sultan Abdullah also reminded the youth to practise self-discipline, control their emotions and understand that true strength does not lie in popularity, social media followings or the lifestyles displayed online.

“True strength lies in the ability to resist temptation, to hold firmly to principles when tested, and to choose the right path even when it is lonely and difficult,” said His Royal Highness.

The discourse brought together 500 participants, including leaders of youth organisations, students from institutions of higher learning and stakeholders in youth and national development.

The programme is also a strategic initiative to strengthen literacy on nationhood among the youth, particularly on the role, function and position of the Constitutional Monarchy as the cornerstone of national stability and sovereignty. — Bernama

Source: malaymail.com

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

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/01/24/pahang-sultan-corruption-is-filth-illicit-wealth-a-curse-waiting-to-unfold/206665

------

Anwar says ringgit’s performance among best in Asia reflects good governance and political stability

24 Jan 2026

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Jan 24 — The ringgit’s performance, now among the best in Asia, proves the effectiveness of good governance policies, political stability, and investor confidence in the country’s economic direction.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the strengthening of the ringgit is also the result of the government’s continuous efforts to ensure the country’s peace, efficient administration, and firm action against corruption and misappropriation.

“Our ringgit is among the best-performing in Asia — not just compared with neighbouring countries, but across the Asia.

“That is why we must work hard and safeguard the country. That’s why I say it starts with governance — there must be no extra money being pocketed, no skimming, no taking of commissions,” he said in his speech at the Madani Cultural Carnival and Kenduri Rakyat Penang 2026 at the Seberang Perai Tengah district education office in Permatang Pasir here today.

On Friday, the ringgit broke through the important psychological level of 4.00 against the US dollar, reaching its highest level in more than seven years at 3.9992. The last time the ringgit was at that level was on June 18, 2018, when it stood at 3.9960/9990. — Bernama

Source: malaymail.com

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

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/01/24/anwar-says-ringgits-performance-among-best-in-asia-reflects-good-governance-and-political-stability/206645

-------

Reports claiming Malaysia ceded land to Indonesia are untrue, says Anwar amid Sabah-Kalimantan boundary claims

24 Jan 2026

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Jan 24 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today refuted media reports claiming Malaysia had handed over 5,207 hectares of land to Indonesia as compensation for three villages in the Nunukan area near the Sabah-Kalimantan border.

However, Anwar said Malaysia would engage in amicable negotiations on the land compensation issue in the near future.

“The reports are not true. We will negotiate properly, “ he told reporters briefly after attending the Madani Cultural Carnival and Penang People’s Feast 2026 at the Seberang Perai Tengah District Education Office in Permatang Pasir.

Present were the Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister Steven Sim, who is the Bukit Mertajam Member of Parliament, and Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Dr Mohamad Abdul Hamid.

Media reports recently claimed that three villages in Nunukan, North Kalimantan, have now moved to Malaysia, but the boundary dispute in the Pulau Sebatik area remains unresolved, while Indonesia was reportedly gaining an additional area of 5,207 hectares from Malaysia.

Yesterday, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sustainability Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup said negotiations regarding the marking and measurement of Outstanding Boundary Problem (OBP) areas were carried out harmoniously between the two countries, in accordance with international law and existing boundary agreements, without being based on principles of reciprocity, compensation, or “profit and loss”.

According to him, the finalisation of the land boundary measurement was sealed through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Malaysia and Indonesia on February 18, 2025, following more than 45 years of comprehensive and transparent technical negotiations. — Bernama

Source: malaymail.com

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

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/01/24/reports-claiming-malaysia-ceded-land-to-indonesia-are-untrue-says-anwar-amid-sabah-kalimantan-boundary-claims/206644

------

South Asia

 

Uzbekistan joins U.S.-led Board of Peace over Afghanistan security concerns

By Fidel Rahmati

January 23, 2026

Uzbekistan has joined the U.S.-led Board of Peace to address rising extremism, linking developments in Afghanistan and the Middle East to national security.

Uzbekistan’s presidential adviser, Abdulaziz Kamilov, said the country joined the Board of Peace established by U.S. President Donald Trump due to security concerns, particularly the spread of extremism in neighboring Afghanistan.

Kamilov’s stated on Friday, January 23, that regional conflicts and extremist movements from the Middle East have directly affected Central Asia.

He explained that the Board’s mission aligns with Uzbekistan’s national interests and foreign policy principles, emphasizing that coordinated international action is essential to counter threats and protect regional stability.

Kamilov noted that some Uzbek citizens joined extremist groups abroad and, upon returning, posed challenges. The government facilitated their reintegration into society, a policy praised by the United Nations.

The Board of Peace was initially launched to end the conflict in Gaza and later expanded to cover other regional issues, drawing criticism from some leaders who said it bypassed the United Nations.

Kamilov stressed that the Board’s mission aligns with Uzbekistan’s vital interests in ensuring national, regional, and global security, noting the importance of a unified international response.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the agreement with Trump in Davos, with representatives from Middle Eastern, European, South American, and Caucasus countries, signaling Uzbekistan’s commitment to collaborative peace efforts.

Source: khaama.com

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

https://www.khaama.com/uzbekistan-joins-u-s-led-board-of-peace-over-afghanistan-security-concerns/

-------
Russia Interested in Investment and Trade with Afghanistan

January 24, 2026

MOSCOW: The Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate to Russia, Mawlavi Gul Hassan Hassan, met with Alexander Shkirando, Special Representative of the Russian Chamber of Commerce, and Dmitry Antonov, Head of the Afghan-Russian Business Council.

The Russian side expressed strong interest in investment and trade in Afghanistan, the embassy said in a statement the other day.

The Afghan ambassador briefed the meeting on the country’s security and economic situation and called for expanded imports and marketing of Afghan products.

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening and expanding bilateral cooperation.

Source: thekabultimes.com

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

https://thekabultimes.com/russia-interested-in-investment-and-trade-with-afghanistan/

-----
Incentive Scheme Introduced To Change Ismailis’ Religion In Badakhshan

By Fidel Rahmati

January 23, 2026

Local authorities in Badakhshan have announced security protection, jobs and financial incentives for individuals who shift toward Sunni Islam.

Taliban officials in Badakhshan say people who adopt Sunni beliefs will receive security protection and be considered for financial and employment benefits, according to a written directive.

Khaama Press obtained a copy of the letter today, Friday, which says young people who adopt Sunni Islam will be recruited into government positions and supported by authorities.

The letter also calls for members of families who convert to Sunni Islam to be enrolled in schools outside Ismaili-populated areas and given special attention by education officials.

It further proposes hiring “experienced and missionary” teachers for schools in Ismaili-majority districts, with salaries allocated, and granting cash incentives to students introduced to these institutions.

In addition, the document urges the allocation of mosques in areas where a significant number of residents are said to be shifting toward Sunni Islam.

Badakhshan is home to a large Ismaili Shia population, a religious minority that has historically faced discrimination and pressure in parts of Afghanistan.

In recent weeks, residents of Badakhshan have reported an increase in violence and intimidation against Ismaili communities, raising concerns among rights groups and local observers.

Earlier, local sources said two young Ismaili men were shot and wounded in Faizabad, the provincial capital, highlighting growing fears over religious coercion and security in the region.

Source: khaama.com

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

https://www.khaama.com/incentive-scheme-introduced-to-change-ismailis-religion-in-badakhshan/

------

Kabul, Dhaka Discuss Health, Trade Cooperation

January 24, 2026

KABUL: Hafiz Dr. Naeemullah Ayubi, Director General of Pharmaceutical and Health Products Regulation of the Ministry of Public Health of the Islamic Emirate, met Dr. Mohammad Zakir Hossain, Secretary General of the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries, discussing health and trade cooperation.

Both sides stressed that pharmaceutical trade must be legal and transparent, with product registration and evaluation carried out swiftly in line with required standards, the ministry said Friday.

Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies were encouraged to invest in drug production inside Afghanistan, either jointly with Afghan investors or independently, the statement said.

Export of high-quality medicines from Bangladesh to Afghanistan has also been discussed in the meeting, the statement said.

To address challenges faced by traders, the Afghan delegation suggested facilitating banking services between the two countries and invited members of the Bangladeshi pharmaceutical industry to visit Afghanistan and explore investment opportunities in the sector.

For their part, representatives of the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries committed to exporting high-quality medicines to Afghanistan at affordable prices.

Both sides also emphasized the need to initiate cargo flights between Kabul and Dhaka to ensure faster and more efficient transportation of medicines and other goods.

Source: thekabultimes.com

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

https://thekabultimes.com/kabul-dhaka-discuss-health-trade-cooperation/

--------

IEA Emphasizes Transparent Use of Natural Resources for Sustainable Development

January 24, 2026

KABUL: Abdul Latif Nazari, Technical Deputy Minister of Economy, has stated at the National Entrepreneurship Conference held at Kateb University that effective utilization of Afghanistan’s natural resources is essential for national development.

“The Islamic Emirate prioritizes full transparency in the exploration, extraction, and refining of the country’s natural resources, particularly its mines,” he emphasized.

Nazari added that national capacities are being utilized in the natural resources sector in line with national interests and sustainable development goals.

Source: thekabultimes.com

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

https://thekabultimes.com/iea-emphasizes-transparent-use-of-natural-resources-for-sustainable-development/

------

Over 3,000 Afghans Deported Amid Harsh Winter Conditions

January 24, 2026

KABUL: Despite severe winter cold, the Iranian and Pakistani governments deported 3,000 Afghan migrants in the past one day.

Deputy Spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, Mawlavi Hamdullah Fitrat, staid the other day that migrants entered through Torkham, Spin Boldak, Bahramcha, Pul-e-Abrisham, and Islam Qala.

The situation has raised serious concerns among migrants and international organizations, particularly as harsh winter weather has made living conditions increasingly difficult.

Source: thekabultimes.com

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

https://thekabultimes.com/over-3000-afghans-deported-amid-harsh-winter-conditions/

------

Islamic Emirate Mobilizes All Resources to Manage Returnees, Muttaqi

January 24, 2026

KABUL: The country’s Foreign Minister, Mawlavi Amir Khan Muttaqi, said that the Islamic Emirate has intensified efforts to manage the return of Afghan migrants, mobilizing all available resources to ensure coordination, support, and effective assistance for returnees.

Speaking at a meeting with Alexander Matheou, Regional Director for Asia-Pacific of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Muttaqi expressed appreciation for IFRC’s humanitarian support and praised the coordination of relevant Afghan institutions, the ministry said in a statement the other day.

Discussions also focused on emergency assistance for returning Afghan migrants, support for victims of natural disasters, meeting basic humanitarian needs, and cooperation in the health sector, the statement added.

Meanwhile, Matheou provided an overview of IFRC assistance in Afghanistan over the past year and reaffirmed his commitment to reducing humanitarian gaps despite declining global aid, highlighting strong cooperation with Afghan authorities, particularly the Afghan Red Crescent Society.

Source: thekabultimes.com

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

https://thekabultimes.com/islamic-emirate-mobilizes-all-resources-to-manage-returnees-muttaqi/

------

Chief of Army Staff Visits Islamic Emirate Embassy in Qatar

January 24, 2026

KABUL: The Chief of Army Staff of the country’s Armed Forces, Qari Mohammad Fasihuddin “Fitrat,” visited the Embassy of the Islamic Emirate in Qatar during his official trip.

During the visit, he was briefed on the embassy’s activities, achievements, and operational processes, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

He praised the efforts of embassy officials in advancing diplomatic affairs, political coordination, and providing services to Afghan citizens.

Source: thekabultimes.com

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

https://thekabultimes.com/chief-of-army-staff-visits-islamic-emirate-embassy-in-qatar/

-------

URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/fear-odisha-pastor-family-communal-attack-faith/d/138584

 

New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism