Hindutva Outfit Defaces Ghaziabad Station Bahadur Shah Zafar Painting, Believing It Was Aurangzeb, Amidst Slogan of “Jai Shri Ram”
New Age Islam News Bureau
19 April 2025
MUGHAL MUDDLE: The defaced painting at the Ghaziabad railway station. The Hindutva attackers mistook the mural of Bhadur Shah Zafar to be that of Aurangzeb
The Telegraph
---------
· Hindutva Outfit Defaces Ghaziabad Station Bahadur Shah Zafar Painting, Believing It Was Aurangzeb, Amidst Slogan of “Jai Shri Ram”
· Ahmadiyya Minority Beaten To Death Allegedly By Anti-Blasphemy Group, groupTehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan
· How The Waqf (Amendment) Act Is Driving Anti-India Sentiment In Bangladesh
· Hamas Says ‘No’ To New Israeli Bid To Rewrite Gaza Truce
· Red Sea Film Foundation Champions Saudi Storytelling At Saudi Film Festival
-----
India
· 13-Year-Old Muslim Boy Assaulted For Refusing To Chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ In Kanpur
· IPS Officer Nurul Hoda Resigned From His Job In Protest Against Waqf Law
· Chhattisgarh Waqf Board Sends Notices To 400 ‘Illegally Possessed Properties’ In State
· Muslim body plans series of protests in state against changes in Waqf Act
· TMC leaders address 'disconnect', attend prayers at mosques, streets in trouble-hit areas of Murshidabad
· In tables: Delimitation could also cut SC, ST and Muslim representation
----
Pakistan
· No ban on meetings of Imran in Adiala: Azma
· Ishaq Dar to raise terror concerns in Kabul meetings today
· PTI, Imran’s sisters file contempt plea against jail authorities
· Justice Hassan Rizvi questions trial of ‘some’ May 9 cases in military courts
· Three killed, several missing after Kurram convoy attack
· Protests on The Mall should not choke entire city, says LHC
-----
South Asia
· Muttaqi welcomes removal of IEA from Russian list of banned groups
· Iran Transfers 199 Afghan Prisoners to Islamic Emirate
· Abolish mobile court’s power to impose jail sentence
· Teacher forced to resign amid BNP-Jamaat rift in Ctg
· December polls demand: BNP eyes joint movement with allies, Jamaat
-----
Mideast
· Protest Letters From Former Israeli Soldiers Lay Bare Profound Rifts Over Brutal War
· Hezbollah ‘will not let anyone disarm’ it, says chief
· Lebanon says two killed in Israeli strikes in south
· Israeli strikes hit dozens of targets in Gaza as ceasefire efforts stall
· Iraqi and Syrian leaders meet in Qatar, marking significant first encounter
· Yemen’s Houthi militants say 74 killed in US airstrikes targeting oil port
· Hostile motives against Iran-Saudi ties must be overcome: Leader
· Islamic Jihad Movement: US raids on Hodeida blatant, barbaric aggression that amounts to war crime
-----
Arab World
· How experts in Saudi Arabia are harnessing the power of microbes to treat wastewater
· In Asir, farmers use cattle and plow to keep agricultural heritage alive
· 153 Arabian oryx returns to Saudi wilderness
· Transavia France will launch flights to Madinah
· Residents, citizens arrested for drug offenses across Saudi Arabia
· Saudi Arabia and France strengthen strategic health care partnership during minister’s visit
· Saudis crack down on violating warehouses ahead of Hajj
----
Africa
· Tinubu To Muslims: Be Ambassadors Of Justice, Compassion, Peaceful Co-Existence
· Yoruba Group Demands Restructuring, Rejects Sharia Panels In South-West
· Muslim group lauds Tinubu over approval of varsity
· Why we accept Arabic exam certificate – Nursing Council
· 219 rescued from human trafficking and cybercrime ring in Ghana
-------
Europe
· Probe Launched Into Plymouth Islamic Charity's Accounts
· Trump says US will 'pass' on Ukraine peace talks if no progress soon
· Ukraine minerals deal may not buy peace after Trump threat
· EU ignores ‘shocking’ treatment of Moldovan church – opposition MP
-----
NorthAmerica
· CAIR Condemns Trump Admin’s ‘Double Tap’ Slaughter of 70+ Yemenis, Including Paramedics, as ‘War Crime’
· Florida State University shooting suspect did not know victims - police
· Anxiety at US colleges as foreign students are detained and visas revoked
· US to walk away if Ukraine talks become ‘very difficult’ – Trump
-----
Southeast Asia
· Mais Records Over 1,800 Mualaf Conversions In Selangor Through PPP, District Offices
· PM Anwar attends special meeting and briefing on Sarawak’s development
· Sultan Nazrin graces Perak Police Contingent’s Aidilfitri celebration
· PM Anwar attends special meeting and briefing on Sarawak’s development
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/hindutva-ghaziabad-station-bahadur-shah-zafar/d/135235
------
Hindutva Outfit Defaces Ghaziabad Station Bahadur Shah Zafar Painting, Believing It Was Aurangzeb, Amidst Slogan of “Jai Shri Ram”
Piyush Srivastava
19.04.25
MUGHAL MUDDLE: The defaced painting at the Ghaziabad railway station. The Hindutva attackers mistook the mural of Bhadur Shah Zafar to be that of Aurangzeb
The Telegraph
---------
Over a dozen members of a Hindutva outfit barged into the Ghaziabad railway station on Friday chanting “Jai Shri Ram” and blackened a painting that they believed was of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
A railway source, however, said the defaced painting on a wall on platform 4 was of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor.
The Railway Protection Force has registered an FIR against unknown persons under sections of the Railway Act, RPF assistant security commissioner S.S. Garbyal said.
Himanshu Kumar Upadhyay, the chief PRO of Northern Railway, said: “We have come to know about the incident and are collecting CCTV footage. We will take action accordingly.”
Vipin Rajput, a member of the Hindu Raksha Dal led by Bhupendra Chaudhary alias Pinki, said: “Aurangzeb was a rapist and he broke our temples. We wouldn’t let any painting of such a cruel person in any place in India.”
Aurangzeb, a bête noire of the saffron brigade, is one of the most vilified kings in Indian history but there is no record of him ever misbehaving with women. However, he has been accused of ordering the destruction of multiple Hindu shrines.
Reminded by a reporter that damaging public property was a criminal offence, Rajput said: “It is the government’s responsibility to think before painting a criminal’s portrait on the wall of the railway station. We are only correcting their mistake.”
Paintings of kings, singers and freedom fighters have adorned the walls of Ghaziabad station for years.
“The painting on which these people sprayed black paint was of Bahadur Shah Zafar, who had rebelled against the British. It showed Zafar smoking a hookah. You will never find a picture of Aurangzeb with a hookah,” a railway officer was quoted as saying to local reporters on the condition of anonymity.
Zafar, who was also a noted Urdu poet, was exiled to Rangoon (modern-day Yangon) by the British after the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. The British saw it as a way to weaken the symbolic leadership he had provided to the rebellion.
The members of the Hindu Raksha Dal also wrote “HRD” on the wall of the station
with red spray paint.
Pinki, founder president of the group, later released a video in which he said:
“I want to ask the government why such pictures are there on the walls of India’s buildings. We’ll not accept such things at any cost. Aurangzeb was a traitor. He
was an enemy of Sanatan Dharma and we would erase everything related to him in our country.”
Pinki was arrested last year and sent to jail with his two aides for damaging and torching a slum in Ghaziabad’s Guldhar. He had claimed that Bangladeshi nationals were living there, but the police had found the claim to be untrue. Currently, he is
out on bail.
Source:telegraphindia.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/pesky-pinki-gives-rail-the-chills-hindutva-group-defaces-station-mughal-art-fir-lodged-after-hours-prnt/cid/2094786
---------
Ahmadiyya Minority Beaten To Death Allegedly By Anti-Blasphemy Group, groupTehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan
Apr 18, 2025
A member of Pakistan’s Ahmadiyya community was beaten to death on Friday after a mob of radical surrounded an Ahmadi place of worship in Karachi’s Saddar neighbourhood.
The crowd, having many from the anti blasphemy political groupTehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), forced their way through narrow streets chanting anti-Ahmadi slogans before surrounding the colonial-era worship site. Tensions quickly escalated when the group accused the minority community of violating Pakistan’s controversial anti-Ahmadi laws.
“One member of the community was killed after the mob identified him as an Ahmadi,” said Muhammad Safdar, a senior police official in Karachi.
“They attacked him with sticks and bricks.”
Police said members of several religious parties were part of the mob. To protect others from further violence, officers took around 25 Ahmadis into custody and moved them away in a police-escorted van after negotiating with the crowd, which had swelled to around 600 people.
The Ahmadiyya community, considered heretical by Pakistan’s state and many religious groups, has long faced systemic discrimination. Ahmadis, who have a population of almost 10 million worldwide, consider themselves Muslims and have faith identical to mainstream Islam in almost every manner. Though they regard themselves as Muslim, a 1974 constitutional amendment declared them non-Muslim, and a 1984 ordinance criminalised many of their religious practices.
Friday’s killing is the latest in a long history of persecution. According to community records, six Ahmadis have been killed in 2024 so far, with over 280 killed since 1984. Thousands more have faced criminal charges, including hundreds under Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws.
Abdul Qadir Ashrafi, a 52-year-old businessman who took part in the protest, said the group’s intention was to pressure police to act against the Ahmadis.
“We requested that the place be sealed and that those conducting the Friday prayers be arrested, with criminal proceedings initiated against them,” he told AFP.
The human rights commission of Pakistan condemned the attack, saying it was "appalled by the orchestrated attack by a far-right religious party on a colonial-era Ahmadi place of worship."
“This failure of law and order is a stark reminder of the continued complicity of the state in the systematic persecution of a beleaguered community,” the commission posted on social media platform X.
Mob violence has become an all-too-common response to accusations of blasphemy in Pakistan, often with deadly consequences. In a similar incident last year, dozens of churches were torched in the city of Jaranwala after a Christian man was falsely accused of blasphemy.
Source:indiatimes.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/ahmadiyya-minority-beaten-to-death-by-anti-blasphemy-group-in-pakistan/articleshow/120412129.cms
--------
How the Waqf (Amendment) Act is driving anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh
Zakir Kibria
19.04.25
File photo of Islami Andolan Bangladesh President Syed Rezaul Karim. | Islami Andolan Bangladesh @IAB_1987 via Twitter
----------
On April 15, as Bangladesh’s capital sweltered under a heatwave, hundreds of activists from the Islami Andolan Bangladesh gathered outside Dhaka’s Baitul Mukarram Mosque. They carried banners declaring, “Stop Hindu aggression on waqf lands” and “Save Muslim identity”.
A day earlier, India’s Supreme Court grappled with a paradox: can a law that claimed to ensure transparency in managing Islamic endowments coexist with the rights of minorities in a secular democracy?
The Waqf (Amendment) Act, passed by India’s Parliament on April 4, has become a rallying cry for Bangladesh’s embattled Islamist parties. Their rhetoric, framing the bill as a “Hindu nationalist land grab”, has ignited protests and deepened anti-India sentiment.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government argues that the law modernises a system plagued by corruption and inefficiency. However, critics, however, see a Trojan horse. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board claimed it is unconstitutional, while Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain accused the BJP of fuelling communal polarisation.
In Dhaka, the law has been weaponised. On April 15, the far-right Khilafat Majlis called for a march to the Indian Embassy, alleging that the BJP is “building temples on waqf lands” and “killing Muslims”.
Days earlier, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party warned the bill could “destabilise religious harmony” and urged India to reconsider it. Even the Labour Party and Hefajat-e-Islam joined the chorus, framing the law as a threat to Islamic identity .
Three factors are driving the reaction in Bangladesh.
Islamist parties, sidelined in Bangladesh’s 2024 elections (the Jamaat did not win any seats and historically has never won more than 5% vote on its own), are leveraging the Indian law in an attempt to reclaim their relevance. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has found it convenient to focus on the law in India, ignoring the 12% inflation rate at home and chatter about a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
Unresolved issues such as the dispute about sharing the waters of the Teesta River have bubbled under the protests. So too does anger in Bangladesh against the “shoot in sight” policy of India’s Border Security Force. India claims that those who have been killed are cattle smugglers or have been attempting to enter the country illegally. But Bangladeshis say the dead are cattle traders or farmers will plots along the border.
As an editorial in Bangladesh’s Daily Star has previously noted, anti-India sentiment is being “repurposed to legitimise outrage” .
Groups such as the Islami Andolan Bangladesh have framed the Indian law as being part of a global pattern of Islamophobic, linking it to Kashmir and Myanmar’s Rohingya crisis .
On April 17, as Bangladesh’s protesters dispersed and India’s Supreme Court adjourned until afternoon, one truth became clear: the Waqf Bill is no longer about property laws. It is a proxy for deeper anxieties – about identity, sovereignty, and secularism in South Asia.
As India’s Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna reminded lawyers while considering challenges to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, “When we sit in court, we lose our religion. We are absolutely secular.” It’s a lesson South Asia’s politicians urgently need to learn.
Source:scroll.in
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://scroll.in/article/1081485/how-the-waqf-amendment-act-is-driving-anti-india-sentiment-in-bangladesh
--------
Hamas says ‘no’ to new Israeli bid to rewrite Gaza truce
April 19, 2025
The body of a man is recovered from the rubble of the Manoun family's house after it was hit by an Israeli army strike in Jabalia Al-Balad, Gaza City. (AP)
----------
GAZA: Hamas on Friday rejected Israel’s latest attempt to renegotiate the Gaza ceasefire as at least 43 more Palestinians died in airstrikes.
Among the victims were 10 members of the Baraka family killed in an attack on their home near Khan Younis.
The Israeli military said its troops were operating in the Shabura and Tel Al-Sultan areas near the southern city of Rafah, and in northern Gaza, where it has taken control of large areas east of Gaza City.
Last month Israel ended a two-month truce that had largely halted fighting, and it has since seized about a third of the enclave. A new Israeli offer to renew the truce for 45 days included demands that Hamas release 10 Israeli hostages and lay down its arms. The militants dismissed the proposal on Friday as imposing “impossible conditions.”
“Partial agreements are used by Benjamin Netanyahu as a cover for his political agenda ... we will not be complicit in this policy,” a Hamas spokesman said on Friday.
Hamas sought “a comprehensive deal involving a single-package prisoner exchange in return for halting the war, a withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip, and the commencement of reconstruction,” the spokesman said.
Egyptian mediators have been trying to revive the original January ceasefire deal but there has been little sign the two sides have moved closer on fundamental issues.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2597634/middle-east
----------
Red Sea Film Foundation champions Saudi storytelling at Saudi Film Festival
April 18, 2025
The 11th edition of the Saudi Film Festival is running until April 23 at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) in Dhahran. (Supplied)
----------
JEDDAH: The Red Sea Film Foundation is participating in the 11th edition of the Saudi Film Festival, running from April 17-23 at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) in Dhahran, as part of its ongoing efforts to support the Kingdom’s film industry.
Through its flagship initiative, the Red Sea Fund, the foundation will present two awards of SR 25,000 ($6,668) each for outstanding Saudi film projects in the Development and Production categories.
This year, five foundation-backed titles are screening at the festival, including three films selected for the official competition: “Hobal” by Abdulaziz Alshlahei, “Songs of Adam” by Oday Rasheed, and “My Driver and I” by Ahd Kamel.
Two short films — “Afen” by Nawaf Alkinani and “Hello My Dear” by Ahmad Salam — will screen outside the official competition lineup.
The foundation will also take part in the SFF’s Production Market, showcasing its key initiatives: the Red Sea Souk, Red Sea Labs, and the Red Sea Fund, all of which, the foundation said in a press release, “provide filmmakers with essential financial, creative, and logistical support across all stages of the filmmaking journey.”
Since its establishment in 2019, the Red Sea Film Foundation has, it stated, “played a central role in shaping the region’s cinematic landscape through a range of local and international initiatives spanning production, distribution, education and training. Its mission continues to focus on nurturing a new generation of storytellers and contributing to a thriving, sustainable film ecosystem across Saudi Arabia, Africa and Asia.”
The Saudi Film Festival was founded in 2008 and is the Kingdom’s longest-running cinema-related event.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2597626/saudi-arabia
---------
India
13-Year-Old Muslim Boy Assaulted For Refusing To Chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ In Kanpur
19.04.25
A 13-year-old Muslim boy was allegedly assaulted by three other minors in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur for refusing to chant “Jai Shri Ram” on Thursday, reported The New Indian Express.
The assault took place when the boy, a resident of Sarsaul, was walking towards a bus stop in the area. The accused minors allegedly asked him to bow down and touch their feet.
When he refused, the accused minors told the boy to chant “Jai Shri Ram”. They broke a bottle and allegedly stabbed the boy’s leg with broken glass as he refused to comply with their demand.
A first information report was registered in the case on a complaint by the boy’s grandfather.
The boy alleged that he had faced violence earlier as well, reported The Times of India.
Assisstant Commissioner of Police Sumit Ramtek said that an investigation was on.
Buy an annual Scroll Membership to support independent journalism and get special benefits.
Source:scroll.in
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://scroll.in/latest/1081492/13-year-old-muslim-boy-assaulted-for-refusing-to-chant-jai-shri-ram-in-uttar-pradeshs-kanpur
---------
IPS officer Nurul Hoda resigned from his job in protest against Waqf law
April 18, 2025
Senior IPS officer Nurul Hoda, a 1995 batch officer and a native of Sitamarhi, Bihar, has announced his resignation from the Indian Police Service in protest against the Waqf law. Known for his dedication and integrity, Huda has also been deeply involved in social work.
He provides free education to nearly 300 underprivileged children in his native village, believing that education is the key to real empowerment.
Throughout his distinguished career, Huda served in several sensitive and high-pressure zones including Dhanbad, Asansol, and the Delhi division. He is credited with implementing innovative strategies in railway security, Naxal control, and crime prevention.
His exemplary service has earned him the prestigious Vishisht Seva Medal twice, as well as the Director General Chakra on two occasions.
After decades in uniform, Huda has now decided to take a new path. Hanging up his khaki, he plans to don khadi and enter public life. His decision to step into politics is driven by a desire to serve both his community and the nation on a broader platform.
With his administrative experience, ground-level engagement, and commitment to justice, he hopes to bring meaningful change through democratic means. — With Agencies Inputs
Source:muslimmirror.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://muslimmirror.com/ips-officer-nurul-hoda-resigned-from-his-job-in-protest-against-waqf-law/
-------
Chhattisgarh Waqf Board sends notices to 400 ‘illegally possessed properties’ in state
April 18, 2025
Chhattisgarh State Waqf Board has sent notices to offenders who have illegally occupied its properties by the means of deceitful registered shells and others who have failed to pay the due rents for several years.
The board has sent notices to over 400 people including 78 individuals from Raipur and has claimed over 500 crore worth properties. Speaking to the Indian Express, Salim Raj, the chairman of Waqf Board confirmed this and said, “The Waqf properties cannot be sold or least by anyone permanently. We found that the Waqf properties were illegally registered through fictitious processes and those who sold such properties for charitable purposes could not be traced as their addresses were fake.”
Raj also added, “We have asked the collectors and the SPs to recover all the illegally sold properties, cancel the registrations and also resolve the issue that came to light during the survey of the Board.”
The people who have been sent notices include those living on the Waqf properties but have not paid rent since years.
According to Raj, in Chhattisgarh no non-Muslims have donated any land to Waqf Board. He expressed his disappointment over individuals treating Waqf properties as their personal assets and said that all properties are being evaluated by the Board currently.
A team from the Ministry of minority affairs was sent to Chhattisgarh last week to inspect the work properties and their current status.
Source:muslimmirror.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://muslimmirror.com/chhattisgarh-waqf-board-sends-notices-to-400-illegally-possessed-properties-in-state/
--------
Muslim body plans series of protests in state against changes in Waqf Act
By Faisal Malik
Apr 19, 2025
Mumbai: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is planning to hold a series of protests against amendments in the Waqf Act in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. AIMPLB representatives are in talks with leaders from various communities to secure their support for the protests as the organisation believes that the amendments comprise a direct attack on the right to religious freedom enshrined in the Constitution.
“We are working on a plan to hold a series of protests in Mumbai and other parts of the state,” said Maulana Mehmood Dariyabadi, convenor, AIMPLB, Maharashtra. “There will be marches, human chains, round table conferences and ‘batti gul’ (lights out) events.”
Formed in 1973, the AIMPLB is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that represents the interests of Muslims in matters of personal law. The upcoming protests in the state are part of its plan for nationwide protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 between April 10 and July 7.
“We have already held some protests in Mumbai since the amendments were passed in Parliament in early April. We now plan to hold a big rally if the Supreme Court does not provide some relief,” said Dariyabandi.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act has 44 provisions which have been outrightly rejected by the Muslim community, leading to much controversy. The Supreme Court is currently hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the amendments, and AIMPLB counts among the key petitioners.
AIMPLB spokesperson SQR Iliyas alleged that the government had enacted the amendments to encroach upon Waqf properties.
“Their intention is to take complete control of the administration of Waqf by sidelining the Muslim minority from managing their own religious endowments,” said Iliyas, slamming the central government.
Communities other than Muslims are also opposing the law, he said. “We are getting support from various communities. We are in talks with them to come out on the streets during our protests,” he told HT.
AIMPLB vice-president Maulana Obaidullah Azmi said the amendments were in violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution.
“This is an attack on the soul of the Constitution, which does not discriminate between citizens. We fought against the British in the past and will have to fight against their children now,” Azmi said, taking a dig at the BJP.
When the Waqf Act was amended in 2013, it was passed unanimously in Parliament and the community was also taken into confidence, said Azmi.
“This time, the suggestions of the community, organisations and members of the opposition were completely ignored,” he noted.
Source:hindustantimes.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/muslim-body-plans-series-of-protests-in-state-against-changes-in-waqf-act-101745003487251.html
---------
TMC leaders address 'disconnect', attend prayers at mosques, streets in trouble-hit areas of Murshidabad
19.04.25
Trinamool Congress leaders on Friday put their best foot forward to reconnect with people by attending prayers at mosques and on streets in the trouble-hit areas of
Murshidabad.
Last Friday, a massive protest against the new waqf Act erupted into violent communal clashes between two communities in Murshidabad’s Samserganj and some other areas, resulting in three deaths and the loss of lives and livelihoods for hundreds of Hindu and Muslim families.
In the past week, many, including TMC workers, had accused the ruling party lawmakers of being disconnected from the community and consequently failing to anticipate or contain the magnitude of the violence. On Friday, the damage-control efforts were palpable.
Samserganj MLA Amirul Islam, who usually takes part in Friday prayers at a mosque near his home in Pithkuri village, on this Friday visited a mosque in the Dhulian municipality area in Samserganj, the flashpoint of the violence. He met residents and urged them to help restore normality, recalling how people of different communities once lived together peacefully in Dhulian.
“I don’t usually attend Friday prayers at the mosque where I went today (Friday). But as I have been moving around the violence-hit areas for the past three days to restore peace and normality, I joined the Friday prayer at the local mosque in Dhulian,” said the Samserganj MLA.
Samserganj is home to as many as four TMC lawmakers — Samserganj MLA Islam, Jangipur MP Khalilur Rahaman, Farakka MLA Manirul Islam and Sagardighi MLA Bayron Biswas.
Apart from the Samserganj MLA, Jangipur MP Rahaman and Farakka MLA Manirul Islam also visited different mosques to meet local people, spread a message of harmony and reconnect with the Muslim community. Biswas, however, did not visit any local mosque, as he took part in prayers at his home.
After the onset of the violence in Malda-bordering Samserganj, when several local TMC workers and leaders accused the party’s elected lawmakers of “disconnect”, many even said that taking advantage of this, several radical groups previously associated with the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) instigated violence in areas where 80 per cent of the population is Muslim.
“What the local lawmakers and TMC leaders did this Friday should have been done before the violence erupted last Friday. Had they stayed better connected with the people, the loss of three lives and the livelihoods of hundreds of common people might have been avoided,” said a Trinamool leader in Dhulian.
Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam, who was sent from Calcutta to speak with different community members, formed a new peace committee consisting people of various communities, including Hindus and Muslims.
A peace rally marched through Dhulian town on Friday, led by the four lawmakers of the area along with local businessmen and residents, urging everyone to help restore harmony and return the area to its earlier peaceful state.
Samirul said the peace committee members would visit different trouble-hit areas from Saturday onward to spread messages of peace and rebuild the confidence shaken by the communal tensions.
“Most business establishments have reopened and people from all communities want to return to normality and preserve the harmonious environment that existed in Samserganj for years. The people of this area are peace-loving,” he said.
People from different communities, including Hindus and Muslims, said the joint peace committee would certainly help bring peace and positivity to the area.
“Our local lawmakers and Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam urged us to join hands to restore normality. Since we also want peace in the area, we attended the meeting,” said Sasthi Ghosh, a representative of the Ghosh community.
Allegedly, on April 11, there had been announcements from several mosques in the area urging people to join the anti-waqf Act protests after the routine Friday prayers.
This Friday, all the imams of the mosques were instructed to spread messages of harmony and peace during their traditional post-prayer addresses.
Maulana Golam Mehub, secretary of the All Bengal Imam and Muazzin Association and Charitable Trust, said that the organisation had urged all local imams in Samserganj to promote peace and harmony, focusing on the core values of the religion.
“As far as we know, all the imams in the area followed the instructions and contributed to restoring peace in violence-hit Samserganj,” he said.
Source:telegraphindia.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/tmc-leaders-address-disconnect-attend-prayers-at-mosques-streets-in-trouble-hit-areas-of-murshidabad-prnt/cid/2094817
-------
In tables: Delimitation could also cut SC, ST and Muslim representation
Banojyotsna Lahiri, Nadeem Khan & Imran Ansar
Apr 19, 2025
The recent debate about delimitation has set South India against the north.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has pointed out that the process of redrawing constituency boundaries, ostensibly to ensure fair representation in keeping with rising populations, will punish the more affluent southern states.
These states have been more successful in controlling their numbers, so they would have a lower proportion of representatives in Parliament than the more populous northern states if delimitation is conducted in line with results of the next census.
But it is not just southern states that will lose out. A look at the manner in which delimitation has previously been undertaken shows that the representation of Dalits and Muslims could also be reduced.
What is delimitation?
Articles 82 and 170 of the Constitution say that the number of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies should be readjusted after each census. This delimitation process is performed by the Delimitation Commission, which was set up under an act of Parliament.
The delimitation process also determines whether a constituency will be reserved for members of the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes.
Constituencies were redrawn after the 1951, 1961, and 1971 census operations. However, in 1976, the process was stalled for the next 25 years to encourage population control programmes. It was decided that the 1971 population would be considered the baseline to determine the number of constituencies.
In 2001, when the time came to readjust the size of constituencies as per the Constitution and to increase seats, the Vajpayee government, due to the fragility of its coalition, decided to postpone the decision on increasing the number of seats for the next 25 years.
However, a delimitation commission was set up in 2002 to focus only on redrawing the boundaries of many constituencies and on reserving constituencies for members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Its recommendations were implemented in the general elections in 2009.
The decision to increase the number of seats was kept on hold for another 25 years.
The 2021 census, which would form the basis for the next set of changes, had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and delays from the Central government. As a consequence, the next delimitation process is likely to start in 2026.
In the meantime, two pilot projects have taken place: in Jammu and Kashmir in 2022, after its special status under the Constitution was abrogated, and in 2023 in Assam, which was kept out of the purview of delimitation in 2009.
These previous exercises show that delimitation has often resulted in discrimination against minority communities. It has also failed to advance the cause of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities.
Muslim representation
One of the most common forms of discrimination is gerrymandering: electoral boundaries are drawn in ways that divide Muslim-majority areas, diluting their voting strength.
This can prevent Muslims from having enough influence in any single constituency, making it harder for community representatives to win elections.
After the scrapping of the former state’s special status, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, mandated fresh delimitation, by increasing assembly seats from 83 to 90. The seat count in the Jammu region increased from 37 to 43. This strengthened the region’s influence in the state assembly.
In the Muslim-majority Valley, however, after delimitation, seats increased by just one, increasing to 47. Besides, six of the nine newly reserved Scheduled Tribes seats are in Valley, while three are in Jammu.
In Assam, when fresh delimitation processes were undertaken in 2023, some problems became evident.
For example, Dhubri and Barpeta used to be Muslim-majority seats. Both had Muslim populations of more than 60% and always elected Muslim MPs. After delimitation, three Muslim-majority assembly seats of Barpeta – Chenga, Baghbar, and Jania – were transferred to Dhubri, increasing its voter base drastically by 10 lakh.
As a result, only Dhubri Lok Sabha now has a high Muslim population but Barpeta was realigned, reducing the Muslim population to 35%.
In West Bengal, the Katwa Lok Sabha seat had a Muslim population of around 40%. From 1952 to 2009, it has always elected a Muslim MP. In 2009, this constituency was divided into two Lok Sabha seats – Bardhaman Purba and Bardhaman Durgapur.
Both have an estimated Muslim population of around 20%. Besides, Bardhaman Purba is reserved for a representative of the Scheduled Castes. Since delimitation, neither of these constituencies has elected a Muslim MP.
Muslim-majority seats reserved for SCs/STs
In some cases, the Delimitation Commission has reserved seats for members of the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled tribes even though there are fewer members of these communities and more Muslim residents. This has effectively reduced Muslim numbers from the legislatures.
Here are some examples, though the actual list is much longer.
Discrimination against SCs, STs
Ironically, some seats have been reserved to benefit Dalits and Adivasis but there are several seats, in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, that have significant populations of these communities but are unreserved and open to be contested by all communities.
This has hindered the emergence of effective community leaders from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in areas where they have strong numbers and can raise the issues of these communities.
South Indian states
Since the size of constituencies was frozen in 1976 with the census data of 1971 as its basis, India’s population has witnessed a manifold increase, coupled with substantial shifts in internal demographics.
In Bihar, for instance, each Member of Parliament represents approximately 3.1 million citizens, while in Kerala, the corresponding ratio stands at 1.75 million.
If the delimitation is undertaken based on the 2026 census, southern states – which have implemented family planning measures effectively – may experience a reduction in the number of parliamentary seats allocated to them.
If the total number of seats in the Lok Sabha is retained at the current figure of 543 and reapportioned among states based on the projected population of 2026, the difference between some North Indian and Southern states will be significant, as the table shows.
Further, if the number of seats is increased to 848, based on the projected population of 2026 in a house in which proportional representation for all states remains the same, the difference between some Northern states and the Southern states will be as follows:
A decrease in representation will diminish the political influence of southern states in the Lok Sabha, affecting their ability to advocate for favorable policies and secure adequate resource allocation from the Central government.
Road ahead
In October 2024, a Supreme Court bench passed an order upholding the court’s power to review orders of the Delimitation Commission if they are deemed arbitrary or in violation of constitutional principles.
This has left a window of hope open for citizens to challenge delimitation principles that limit the representation of marginalised communities or certain states.
However, more than judicial intervention, it will take definitive political action by political parties to ensure equity in the process. Instead of merely highlighting how Southern states will be underrepresented after the process, the Opposition should also speak out on how delimitation will hurt the representation of Muslims and members of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
Source:scroll.in
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://scroll.in/article/1081039/in-tables-delimitation-could-also-cut-sc-st-and-muslim-representation
--------
Pakistan
No ban on meetings of Imran in Adiala: Azma
April 19, 2025
LAHORE: The Punjab government says it has not banned the meetings of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf supremo Imran Khan in Adiala jail.
“The Punjab government has not imposed any restrictions on meetings with the PTI founder leader,” Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said on Friday.
She said the PTI leaders were trying to shift the blame for their internal conflicts on the government.
“The PTI itself changes the names of those who are to meet their leader and then hold the Punjab government responsible,” she claimed.
On Thursday police had stopped the family of Imran Khan from meeting him in prison, despite an order by the high court in this regard. The police briefly detained the sisters of Mr Khan at a checkpoint close to the heavily guarded prison after the PTI leaders engaged in a heated argument with police officials for not allowing them to meet the incarcerated party founder.
Ms Bokhari added that according to the jail rules ordinary prisoners were allowed one meeting per week.
“However, the PTI founder has been granted the concession of two meetings on Tuesday and Thursday. The list of visitors is also provided by PTI itself to jail authorities. We have no issue with Aleema Khan or anyone else. It’s the PTI members who have problems with each other. They should not bring their internal party disputes to the public streets.”
The minister said PTI leaders organised “weekly photo sessions” outside Adiala Jail to gain public sympathy. “Their members voluntarily get into police vans and then disembark at the next intersection,” she said and added the Punjab government was operating in accordance with the constitution and the law.
“PTI should engage in serious politics instead of misleading the public with theatrics,” she advised.
Source:dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1905125/no-ban-on-meetings-of-imran-in-adiala-azma
---------
Ishaq Dar to raise terror concerns in Kabul meetings today
Baqir Sajjad Syed
April 19, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar will raise concerns about the terrorism threat to Pakistan from groups present in Afghanistan during his upcoming day-long visit to Kabul, Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said on Friday.
“You are aware of our concerns, which have been articulated very clearly. The key concern remains centered on security,” Mr Khan said at the weekly media briefing while responding to questions about the trip.
Mr Dar will undertake a day-long visit to Kabul on Saturday, building upon a recently revived engagement process following months of hiatus in ties due to Islamabad’s terrorism concerns. The visit has raised hopes of a thaw in bilateral relations.
The foreign minister will hold delegation-level talks with Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. He will also call on Afghan Acting Prime Minister Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund and meet Afghan Acting Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
The FO spokesperson did not disclose the composition of Mr Dar’s delegation. However, it is expected that diplomats, trade officials, and senior military and intelligence officers will accompany him.
“The talks will cover the entire agenda of the Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship, focusing on ways and means to deepen cooperation in all areas of mutual interest, including security, trade, connectivity, and people-to-people ties,” Mr Khan said.
The visit follows the latest meeting of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) held in Kabul earlier this week.
The Pakistani side was led by Ambassador Sadiq Khan, Special Representative for Afghanistan, while the Afghan delegation was headed by Mr Muttaqi. Pakistan’s delegation also included Director General Military Operations Maj Gen Kashif Abdullah.
Mr Dar’s trip had been under consideration for several months but was repeatedly delayed due to heightened tensions between the two countries.
The FO spokesperson described Mr Dar’s visit as “a reflection of Pakistan’s commitment to enhance sustained engagement with the brotherly country of Afghanistan,” and said Islamabad aims to build “good, friendly, neighbourly relations”.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s foreign ministry released a statement earlier this week confirming that Mr Muttaqi had in his meeting with Ambassador Sadiq expressed “deep concerns” over recent developments, particularly Pakistan’s expulsion of Afghan nationals, and emphasised resolving issues through “dialogue based on trust”.
The FO spokesperson said he was not aware of any agreements expected to be signed during the Kabul visit, but characterised the trip as “important and significant,” reiterating that it was “in line with the priority that we have given to this relationship”.
Source:dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1905195/ishaq-dar-to-raise-terror-concerns-in-kabul-meetings-today
--------
PTI, Imran’s sisters file contempt plea against jail authorities
Malik Asad
April 19, 2025
ISLAMABAD: PTI and sisters of former prime minister Imran Khan have filed contempt petitions against Adiala jail authorities for denying them meetings with him despite court orders.
Mr Khan’s sisters, Aleema and Uzma, alongside PTI leaders Omar Ayub, Shibli Faraz, Aliya Hamza and others appeared at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking action against jail authorities on Friday.
Ms Aleema, through her lawyer Advocate Ali Bukhari, submitted a contempt petition requesting proceedings against the Punjab home secretary and the Adiala jail superintendent. The petition asserted that continued denial of meetings with the PTI founder was a “blatant violation of court orders”.
Last month, the IHC had allowed Mr Khan to meet his family, lawyers and party members twice a week - on Tuesday and Thursday.
According to the petition, the court had earlier allowed the PTI founder to meet his legal team, family members and selected visitors. A comprehensive list of approved individuals was also submitted, it added. Despite this, jail authorities allegedly barred access to Mr Khan on multiple occasions. The petition stated that access to legal counsel and family was Mr Khan’s fundamental right, particularly as a former prime minister facing trial in several cases. The petition claimed that even scheduled visits were not allowed, which was in violation of the jail manual.
Earlier, a similar contempt petition was submitted by Mr Ayub and Mr Faraz, but that has yet to be scheduled for a hearing by the court.
Speaking to media outside the IHC, Ms Aleema criticised jail authorities for not allowing the lawyers to meet Mr Khan.
She stated Tuesday had been designated for legal consultations regarding the PTI founder’s ongoing cases.
“The court has clearly issued an order for a list of lawyers [to meet Mr Khan]. Why are they being stopped?” she questioned, wondering if this was an “attempt to sabotage the PTI founder’s legal proceedings”. She expressed frustration over the “deliberate interference” in the judicial process. Ms Aleema also highlighted the importance of legal consultations, saying the meetings with lawyers should take precedence over other visits.
“We will stand outside Adiala jail and insist that no one else meets him until his lawyers are allowed to.”
She mentioned that senior lawyer Salman Safdar had gone to Adiala jail on the direction of the Supreme Court for case consultations, but the jail staff “ignored the chief justice’s orders”.
“It’s not just our insult, it’s the court’s insult,” she added.
Ms Aleema reminded the media that a three-member bench had issued the order for legal meetings and that its implementation was being hindered, raising concerns about the integrity of the judicial process.
Mr Ayub, the opposition leader, made startling allegations about law enforcement practices and the treatment of political leaders. He revealed that despite a decision by a three-member bench of the IHC, PTI leaders had been unable to meet Mr Khan for the past three months.
He alleged that legal orders were being “blatantly ignored by the authorities”.
Citing Article 7 of the Constitution, which defines the state and its organs, Mr Ayub said, “Laws are not being implemented” in Pakistan.
He accused the state apparatus of failing to uphold the constitutional rights of people and operating outside legal boundaries. Describing a personal ordeal, Mr Ayub claimed he was stopped at multiple checkpoints on his way to Adiala jail.
In an effort to bypass surveillance, Mr Ayub claimed he had disguised himself and used a motorcycle to reach another checkpoint. However, he claimed he was arrested without a warrant despite being on bail. He further alleged that he and other PTI leaders were taken in a van to Chakri, around 40km away from Adiala jail, where they were given refreshments. They were then dropped near their vehicles on the motorway, Mr Ayub claimed, calling his ordeal “bizarre and unlawful”.
Source:dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1905136/pti-imrans-sisters-file-contempt-plea-against-jail-authorities
---------
Justice Hassan Rizvi questions trial of ‘some’ May 9 cases in military courts
Nasir Iqbal
April 19, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, a member of the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench, on Friday questioned what he called a ‘pick-and-choose’ approach in prosecuting civilians after the May 9, 2023, acts of violence and arson.
“How individuals were selected for military trials while some were picked for the trials by civilian courts,” Justice Rizvi wondered.
The observation came against the backdrop when 5,000 individuals were rounded up for their involvement in the May 9 violence, but only 105 were tried by military courts and the rest by anti-terrorism courts.
Justice Rizvi was a member of a seven-judge constitutional bench that had taken up a set of 38 intra-court appeals against the October 2023 judgement. Justice Aminuddin Khan headed the bench.
Senior counsel Khawaja Haris Ahmed, who was representing the defence ministry, responded that trials by military courts were not done on the basis of arbitrary selection rather cases were referred to different such forums depending on the nature and severity of the offence.
On Friday, the counsel closed his arguments after which the bench postponed further proceedings.
Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan will later apprise the court about the point the bench had raised earlier about providing right to appeal to the convicts sentenced by military courts for involvement in the May 9 violence.
During the hearing, Justice Musarrat Hilali observed that the military laws primarily exist to maintain discipline within the armed forces. “But if a civilian attacks military installations, does that automatically bring them under military jurisdiction,” the judges questioned.
Justice Hilali reminded that Section 2(1)(d)(i) and (ii) were added to the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) under the 1962 Constitution that appeared to be in conflict to different provisions of the 1973 Constitution.
Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan also reminded that the Constitution had never explicitly extended military court powers over civilians. He said many provisions were added to the 1973 Constitution whereas many other articles remained the same which were brought forward from the 1962 Constitution, but despite many amendments provisions regarding the army act had not been touched.
Justice Rizvi said 12 or 13 military installations were attacked during the violence which was a security and intelligence lapse. Whether any concerned military officers were ever held accountable for these failures, he wondered.
Additional Attorney General Chaudhry Aamir Rehman told the court the AGP would address the concern at the next hearing.
Justice Hilali said military law often conflicts with the Constitution. Mr Ahmed countered that court-martial proceedings ensure fair trials and army officers had the capacity and experience.
Source:dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1905144/justice-hassan-rizvi-questions-trial-of-some-may-9-cases-in-military-courts
--------
Three killed, several missing after Kurram convoy attack
Javed Hussain
April 19, 2025
KURRAM: At least three people were killed and several others went missing on Friday when unidentified assailants attacked a group of people travelling from Parachinar to Peshawar in the Bagan area of Lower Kurram, triggering protests across the tribal district.
According to officials from the Kurram district administration, the travellers were passing through the Dad Qamar area of Bagan when gunmen opened fire, killing three men identified as Tahir Hussain, Safar Ali and Mazar Hussain. Several others were missing until late on Friday night.
The bodies of the deceased were shifted to Parachinar, where news of the assault sparked widespread protests. Additional Commissioner Amir Nawaz confirmed that the bodies had been handed over to the families and said an investigation into the incident was under way.
Relatives of the victims said the men were travelling to Peshawar to renew visas or make arrangements for travelling abroad, as their documents were nearing expiry.
The Thall-Parachinar Road, which connects the district with the rest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has remained closed since the Nov 21, 2024, attack on a convoy in the Bagan area that left more than 50 dead. Ensuing clashes stemming from decades-old land disputes claimed at least 130 more lives.
With the road still inaccessible, essential supplies such as food and medicine are transported under official protection through convoys. However, convoys have repeatedly come under attack. A recent assault in Lower Kurram resulted in several casualties, as well as looting and the burning of several trucks.
Addressing a press conference, tribal elders including Haji Imdad Ali accused the local administration officials of taking bribes to allow trucks to join government-protected convoys, which transport basic necessities to the besieged town.
They criticised the administration for failing to reopen the road despite an eight-month peace agreement signed on March 29.
The tribal leaders accused authorities of fleecing traders for including their vehicles in the convoy and called for the immediate reopening of all roads in the district.
On Tuesday, traders of Parachinar city observed a shutter-down strike against the months-long closure of the Parachinar-Thall Road amid a volatile security situation.
Source:dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1905142/three-killed-several-missing-after-kurram-convoy-attack
---------
Protests on The Mall should not choke entire city, says LHC
April 19, 2025
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday expressed its displeasure over traffic congestion caused by protests on The Mall, saying that the right to protest does not mean the entire city should come to a standstill.
“The closure of a single road is impacting traffic across all of Lahore,” Justice Shahid Karim observed during a weekly hearing of the petitions regarding smog and other environmental issues.
The judge said the city appeared to be shut down in the name of “high-level security,” and emphasised the need for a permanent solution to the issue.
Noting that the protests had been ongoing for several days, the judge urged the authorities concerned to engage in a dialogue with the demonstrators.
A Punjab government counsel informed the court that negotiations were being held with the protesters. The judge suggested moving the protesters to an alternative location and reiterated that the protests should not result in road blockages.
Lahore Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Dr Athar Waheed stated that the city’s traffic system cannot function properly until The Mall is reopened.
He said the creation of high-security zones during events like the Pakistan Super League (PSL) leaves a negative impression.
The judge called for a long-term solution to the problem.
The CTO submitted a report regarding the action taken against beggars and suggested that specific legislation was required to address the issue.
The CTO further stated that a proposal to ban motorcycle-rickshaws had been sent to the Punjab home department. He said these three-wheelers were responsible for fatalities.
Justice Karim hinted at revoking the licences of motorcycle-rickshaw manufacturers if they do not ensure compliance with transport laws within three months. He remarked that banning illegal motorcycle-rickshaws was essential, directing that the summary should reach the chief minister’s office by next week.
During the hearing, Justice Karim highlighted that due to changes in climate conditions, the month of April witnessed three extreme weather events —intense heat, heavy rainfall, and hailstorms.
Source:dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1905127/protests-on-the-mall-should-not-choke-entire-city-says-lhc
-------
South Asia
Muttaqi welcomes removal of IEA from Russian list of banned groups
April 19, 2025
KABUL: The acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate, Mawlavi Amir Khan Muttaqi, met with Dmitry Zhirinov, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Kabul, welcoming the removal of the IEA form the that country’s list of banned groups, according to a statement from the ministry on Friday. Describing the move, a significant advancement in Kabul-Moscow relations, Muttaqi said that with this decision, the last remaining obstacle against the strengthening political and economic cooperation between the two countries has been removed. On Thursday, the Russian Supreme Court issued a ruling officially removing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from the list of banned groups. According to another statement from the ministry, Mawlavi Amir Khan Muttaqi, in a meeting with Mohammad Sadiq Khan, the Pakistani special representative for Afghanistan, emphasized that Kabul Muttaqi welcomes removal of IEA from Russian list of banned groups and Islamabad should address mutual concerns through dialogue. Speaking at the meeting, Mawlavi Amir Khan Muttaqi expressed deep concerns regarding the relations between Kabul and Islamabad, highlighting specific issues such as the forced expulsion of Afghan refugees. Muttaqi emphasized the importance of resolving mutual concerns through dialogue in a climate of trust, urging both nations to refrain from actions and statements that may provoke resentment and discord among the people. Sadiq Khan also emphasized the need to explore solutions to the arising challenges, announcing that his country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister are scheduled to visit Kabul soon, foreseeing beneficial outcomes for both sides. A Pakistani delegation, headed by Sadiq Khan, arrived in Kabul on Wednesday to participate in the Afghanistan Pakistan Joint Coordination Committee meeting and discuss strengthening bilateral relations. The Kabul Times
Source:thekabultimes.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://thekabultimes.com/muttaqi-welcomes-removal-of-iea-from-russian-list-of-banned-groups/
-------
Iran Transfers 199 Afghan Prisoners to Islamic Emirate
2025-04-18
KABUL(BNA): On Thursday, Iran officially handed over 199 Afghan prisoners to the Islamic Emirate as part of an agreement between the two countries.
The prisoners, who were detained for various offenses, were received through the Nimroz province border crossing.
Iranian prison authorities have reported that a total of 484 Afghan prisoners are expected to be transferred, furthering diplomatic relations between the two countries. This transfer reflects ongoing negotiations aimed at improving collaboration and addressing humanitarian concerns.
In a gesture of goodwill, the Islamic Emirate has reciprocated by releasing two Iranian prisoners back to Iran. This exchange highlights a commitment to fostering a cooperative relationship, despite the complexities of regional politics.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/iran-transfers-199-afghan-prisoners-to-islamic-emirate/
---------
Abolish mobile court’s power to impose jail sentence
Apr 19, 2025
The Judicial Reform Commission has recommended abolishing the mobile court's power to impose jail sentences on people for committing offenses, saying that the imposition of imprisonment by such a court is contradictory to the constitution.
It also suggested keeping this court's jurisdiction to impose financial penalties intact and increasing the scope for judicial magistrate-run mobile courts instead of those conducted by executive magistrates.
Mobile courts are mainly conducted to ensure environmental protection, safe food supply, consumers' rights, price control, and similar public-related issues, so they have special popularity among people, according to the commission.
"A maximum of two years' imprisonment can be imposed through conducting a mobile court. In case of imposition of fine by mobile court, any amount of fine can be imposed within the limit prescribed in the law, which is recoverable immediately. However, if it is not realised immediately, a maximum of three months' imprisonment can be imposed."
"Imposition of imprisonment without giving proper opportunity to any person to get shelter of law is inconsistent with the fundamental rights recognised in Articles 32, 33 and 35 of the Constitution. So, it is necessary to abolish the power of the mobile court to impose imprisonment by amending the Mobile Court Act."
"As a result, the mobile court will be able to impose the penalty prescribed in the law based on the confession, and its powers related to search, seizure and disposal of seized goods will be upheld," the reform body said in its 351-page final report, which was submitted to Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on February 5.
"... If the scope of mobile courts run by judicial magistrates is gradually increased, the need for conducting mobile courts through executive magistrates in many cases will be reduced and the scope of controversy and dissatisfaction will also be narrowed," it said.
In the report, the commission also proposed to amend the Mobile Court Act, 2009 incorporating a provision for filing appeal directly to the sessions judge's court concerned against the orders of the district magistrate or executive magistrate.
Source:thedailystar.net
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/abolish-mobile-courts-power-impose-jail-sentence-3874636
-------
Teacher forced to resign amid BNP-Jamaat rift in Ctg
Apr 19, 2025
The acting headteacher of Bhatiyari Haji Tobarak Ali Chowdhury (TAC) High School in Chattogram's Sitakunda was allegedly forced to resign on Wednesday due to a rift between local leaders of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.
Kanti Lal Acharya, the acting headteacher, claimed he was compelled to sign a resignation letter after the newly formed ad hoc school committee appointed a Jamaat-backed individual as chairman.
He alleged that over a hundred BNP activists, led by Nurul Anwar, president of the BNP's Bhatiyari union unit, came to the school and harassed him.
On Thursday, his daughter Bhavna Acharya posted a video of the incident on Facebook, triggering widespread criticism against BNP.
"You know, we girls can't sleep at night after watching the video of our father being humiliated. Think about it: he's not just a teacher, he's our father. Tell me, how would you feel if this happened to your own father?" Bhavna wrote.
Bhavna wrote, "You know, before the trouble started at the school, my father was advised not to go there. They said he would face humiliation if he did. In response, my father said, 'I have done nothing wrong. I have committed no crime. If I am asked to step down from my position, I will do so without hesitation. Even then, I will go to the school. Why should I run away? Let anyone bring proof if they think I have done something wrong.'"
Meanwhile, in response to her post, local BNP leaders held a press conference, denouncing the incident as a conspiracy by Jamaat. They accused the acting headteacher of corruption and demanded his resignation.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Kanti Lal said the education board approved an ad hoc committee on April 6, and he was informed on April 10.
"Based on recommendations from local leaders of BNP and Jamaat, and guardians, I forwarded three names to the district administration through the local education officer. Among them, the Jamaat-backed candidate Mahiuddin Ahmed was appointed chairman," he said.
"I had no role in the final selection," he added.
"On April 16, when Mahiuddin arrived at the school to assume the role of chairman, hundreds of BNP supporters showed up and created havoc. They forced me to resign. I signed the letter under duress to save my life."
He further alleged, "At first, they asked me to sign a statement saying I was resigning due to corruption. When I refused, they harassed me and then forced me to sign another letter citing 'personal reasons' for my resignation. Both Nurul Anwar and Mahiuddin Ahmed were present at the time."
When contacted, Nurul Anwar said Kanti Lal had served as acting headteacher since 2019 and during this time misappropriated funds meant for a Shaheed Minar and collected extra money during admissions. He claimed guardians and students had long been demanding his removal.
He denied any BNP involvement in the incident, claiming Jamaat activists were trying to shift the blame. He said he visited the school that day at the request of local guardians and former students, though he admitted he had no documentary proof of the corruption allegations.
Mahiuddin Ahmed, chairman of the ad hoc committee, said if there were corruption allegations against the acting headteacher, they should have been addressed through legal channels.
He claimed the incident was the result of misinformation spread among senior BNP leaders by local opportunists.
"I am a supporter of Jamaat. My name was recommended by Jamaat, while BNP also proposed another candidate. The education board selected me from the three names submitted, though I am unaware of the basis for that decision," he said.
Sitakunda Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Fakhrul Islam said, following a written complaint from the acting headteacher, the Chattogram Education Board had asked him to submit an investigation report within four days.
"We are currently reaching out to all involved. No further comments can be made until the probe is complete," he said.
He also confirmed that no formal corruption complaint against the teacher had been received.
Source:thedailystar.net
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/education/news/teacher-forced-resign-amid-bnp-jamaat-rift-ctg-3874466
---------
December polls demand: BNP eyes joint movement with allies, Jamaat
Apr 19, 2025
The BNP is eyeing a joint movement with Jamaat-e-Islami and like-minded parties to pressure the government to hold the next national election in December.
Starting today, the BNP will hold a series of meetings with parties that previously participated in joint movements against the Awami League-led government to devise a strategy. Separate talks will also be held with Jamaat, which the BNP said would not be part of its electoral alliance.
The party plans to host a press conference in Dhaka at the end of this month or early next month, bringing together top leaders of the parties to send a clear message to the government: most political parties are ready for the election and want it to be held in December.
According to party insiders, the move was finalised during the BNP's Standing Committee meeting on Thursday night at the party chairperson's Gulshan office, a day after senior leaders met Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus at the state guest house Jamuna.
During that meeting, BNP leaders demanded a clear election roadmap. However, the chief adviser reiterated that polls would be held between December and June next year, a response that did not sit well with the party.
"We are not satisfied at all," said Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir after the meeting.
As per the committee's decision, BNP will begin today's meetings at the party's Gulshan office with the leaders of the 12-Party Alliance at 3:00pm, followed by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the evening. BNP Standing Committee Member Nazrul Islam Khan will lead the discussions.
A senior BNP leader said the party will announce peaceful programmes -- rallies and public gatherings across the country -- to press its demands following the talks.
Sources said the move is part of the BNP's broader strategy to maintain psychological and political pressure on the government.
Restoring voting rights and establishing an elected government will be the core issues, they added.
During Thursday's Standing Committee meeting, chaired by the party's acting chairman Tarique Rahman, Fakhrul briefed members on key points from talks with the chief adviser and the National Consensus Commission.
At the meeting, leaders agreed that maintaining continuous pressure on the government is the only way to ensure polls in December. Coordination with previous allies, including Jamaat, will resume. Although the format for talks with Jamaat is yet to be finalised, one leader said it might follow earlier formats.
Sources added that the BNP will monitor the government's actions over the coming months. If there is no progress, stronger programmes may follow.
The BNP argues that December is the only practical time to hold the election, considering the country's weather and logistical realities. The party believes the necessary reforms can be completed in time for a December vote, and any delay beyond that would be deliberate.
A senior BNP leader said the absence of a clear election roadmap suggests internal disagreements within the interim government, with some factions possibly aiming to delay the polls.
"If we don't keep up the pressure, the election might be pushed back to late 2025," he said.
The BNP has also welcomed Jamaat's call for elections before Ramadan. Sources said that while the BNP prefers polls in December, some leaders are open to a slight delay, as long as the election is not pushed to June.
While mass mobilisations will remain limited for now, the BNP aims to show both domestic and international audiences that democratic parties in Bangladesh are united in their demand for timely elections, sources said.
Source:thedailystar.net
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/politics/news/december-polls-demand-bnp-eyes-joint-movement-allies-jamaat-3874526
-------
Mideast
Protest letters from former Israeli soldiers lay bare profound rifts over brutal war
April 18, 2025
TEL AVIV: When nearly 1,000 Israeli Air Force veterans signed an open letter last week calling for an end to the war in Gaza, the military responded immediately, saying it would dismiss any active reservist who signed the document.
But in the days since, thousands of retired and reservist soldiers across the military have signed similar letters of support.
The growing campaign, which accuses the government of perpetuating the war for political reasons and failing to bring home the remaining hostages, has laid bare the deep division and disillusionment over Israel’s fighting in Gaza.
By spilling over into the military, it has threatened national unity and raised questions about the army’s ability to continue fighting at full force.
It also resembles the bitter divisions that erupted in early 2023 over the government’s attempts to overhaul Israel’s legal system, which many say weakened the country and encouraged Hamas’ attack later that year that triggered the war.
“It’s crystal clear that the renewal of the war is for political reasons and not for security reasons,” said Guy Poran, a retired pilot who was one of the initiators of the air force letter.
The catalyst for the letters was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision on March 18 to return to war instead of sticking to a ceasefire that had facilitated the release of some hostages.
In their letters, the protesters have stopped short of refusing to serve. And the vast majority of the 10,000 soldiers who have signed are retired in any case.
Nonetheless, Poran said their decision to identify themselves as ex-pilots was deliberate — given the respect among Israel’s Jewish majority for the military, especially for fighter pilots and other prestigious units.
Tens of thousands of academics, doctors, former ambassadors, students, and high-tech workers have signed similar letters of solidarity in recent days, also demanding an end to the war.
“We are aware of the relative importance and the weight of the brand of Israeli Air Force pilots and felt that it is exactly the kind of case where we should use this title in order to influence society,” said Poran.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2597618/middle-east
--------
Hezbollah ‘will not let anyone disarm’ it, says chief
April 18, 2025
BEIRUT: Hezbollah “will not let anyone disarm” it, the Lebanese group’s leader Naim Qassem said Friday, as Washington presses Beirut to compel the Iran-backed movement to hand over its weapons.
Hezbollah, long a dominant force in Lebanese politics, was left weakened by more than a year of hostilities with Israel sparked by the Gaza war, including an Israeli ground incursion and two months of heavy bombardment that decimated the group’s leadership.
The fighting was largely brought to an end by a November ceasefire, but not before the group’s longtime leader and Qassem’s predecessor Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli air strike.
“We will not let anyone disarm Hezbollah or disarm the resistance” against Israel, Qassem said in remarks on a Hezbollah-affiliated TV channel.
“We must cut this idea of disarmament from the dictionary.”
His comments came hours after another Hezbollah official said the group refused to discuss handing over its weapons unless Israel withdrew completely from south Lebanon and halted its “aggression.”
“It is not a question of disarming,” Wafic Safa said in an interview with Hezbollah’s Al-Nur radio station.
“What the president (Joseph Aoun) said in his inauguration speech is a defensive strategy.”
Safa, believed by experts to belong to the movement’s most radical faction, said Hezbollah had conveyed its position to Aoun, who on Tuesday said he sought “to make 2025 the year of restricting arms to the state.”
In his interview, Safa asked: “Wouldn’t it be logical for Israel to first withdraw, then release the prisoners, then cease its aggression... and then we discuss a defensive strategy?
“The defensive strategy is about thinking about how to protect Lebanon, not preparing for the party to hand over its weapons.”
Analysts have said that the once unthinkable idea of Hezbollah disarming may no longer be so, and may even be inevitable.
Under the November ceasefire, Israel was meant to withdraw all of its forces from south Lebanon.
But despite the deal, its troops have remained at five south Lebanon positions that they deem “strategic.”
Israel has also continued to carry out near-daily strikes against Lebanon — including on Friday — saying it is targeting members of Hezbollah.
Under the truce, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters back north of Lebanon’s Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
Lebanon’s army has been deploying in the south as Israeli forces pulled back.
Hezbollah says the ceasefire does not apply to the rest of Lebanon, despite being based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the disarmament of non-state groups.
Hezbollah was the only group to keep its weapons after Lebanon’s 15-year civil war ended in 1990, saying that they were for “resistance” against Israel, which continued to occupy the south until 2000.
US special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus, who visited Beirut this month, said Washington continued to press Beirut “to fully fulfil the cessation of hostilities, and that includes disarming Hezbollah and all militias.”
Safa said on Friday that both Hezbollah and the Lebanese army were respecting the terms of the truce.
“The problem is Israel, which has not done so,” he said.
On Saturday, a source close to Hezbollah told AFP that the group had ceded to the Lebanese army around 190 of its 265 military positions identified south of the Litani.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2597616/middle-east
---------
Lebanon says two killed in Israeli strikes in south
April 18, 2025
GHAZIYEH, Lebanon: Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli air strikes killed two people in the south on Friday, with Israel announcing attacks in the same areas targeting Hezbollah militants.
Despite a November 27 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, Israel has continued to conduct near-daily strikes in Lebanon.
An Israeli attack on “a car on the Sidon-Ghaziyeh road resulted in one dead,” a Lebanese health ministry statement said on the fourth straight day of Israeli attacks in the south.
Hours later, the ministry said another Israeli strike on a vehicle around Aita Al-Shaab had also killed one.
Israel’s military said it had “conducted a precise strike in the area of Sidon and eliminated the Hezbollah terrorist Muhammad Jaafar Mannah Asaad Abdallah.”
It said Abdallah was “responsible, among other things, for the deployment of Hezbollah’s communication systems throughout Lebanon.”
On Friday evening, it announced “a Hezbollah terrorist was struck and eliminated by the IDF (military) in the area of” Aita Al-Shaab.
An AFP journalist said the Israeli attack in Sidon had hit a four-wheel-drive vehicle, sending a column of black smoke into the sky.
At the scene of the strike, members of the security forces stood guard as a crowd gathered to look at the charred remains of the vehicle after firefighters had put out the blaze.
The Israeli military has also said it was behind other attacks this week that it said killed Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah, significantly weakened by the war, insists it is adhering to the November ceasefire, even as Israeli attacks persist.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2597606/middle-east
--------
Israeli strikes hit dozens of targets in Gaza as ceasefire efforts stall
April 18, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israeli airstrikes hit about 40 targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military said on Friday, hours after Hamas rejected an Israeli ceasefire offer that it said fell short of its demand to agree a full end to the war.
Last month the Israeli military broke off a two-month truce that had largely halted fighting in Gaza and has since pushed in from the north and south, seizing almost a third of the enclave as it seeks to pressure Hamas into agreeing to release hostages and disarm.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he would make a special statement on Saturday evening but gave no detail on what it would be about.
Palestinian health authorities said that at least 43 people were killed in strikes on Friday, adding to more than 1,600 deaths since Israel resumed airstrikes in March.
The military said troops were operating in the Shabura and Tel Al-Sultan areas near the southern city of Rafah, as well as in northern Gaza, where it has taken control of large areas east of Gaza City.
Egyptian mediators have been trying to revive the January ceasefire deal that broke down when Israel resumed airstrikes and sent ground troops back into Gaza, but there has been little sign the two sides have moved closer on fundamental issues.
Late on Thursday Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas’ Gaza chief, said the movement was willing to swap all remaining 59 hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel in return for an end to the war and reconstruction of Gaza.
But he dismissed an Israeli offer, which includes a demand that Hamas lay down its arms, as imposing “impossible conditions.”
Israel has not responded formally to Al-Hayya’s comments, but ministers have said repeatedly that Hamas must be disarmed completely and can play no role in the future governance of Gaza.
On Friday, Defense Minister Israel Katz repeated that Israel intended to achieve its war aims.
“The IDF is currently working toward a decisive victory in all arenas, the release of the hostages, and the defeat of Hamas in Gaza,” he said in a statement.
The ceasefire offer it made through Egyptian mediators includes talks on a final settlement to the war but no firm agreement.
Katz also said this week that troops would remain in the buffer zone around the border that now extends deep into Gaza and cuts the enclave in two, even after any settlement.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2597598/middle-east
---------
Iraqi and Syrian leaders meet in Qatar, marking significant first encounter
April 18, 2025
CAIRO: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani met on Thursday in Qatar with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the first encounter between the two leaders, Iraqi and Syrian state news agencies reported.
The meeting was brokered by Qatar, with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani present. It came ahead of Sharaa’s expected attendance at the Arab Summit in Baghdad on May 17.
In January, Sharaa was named as interim president and pledged to form an inclusive transitional government that would build up the Syrian Arab Republic’s gutted public institutions and run the country until elections, which he said could take up to five years to hold.
Syria issued a constitutional declaration, designed to serve as the foundation for the interim period led by Sharaa. The declaration kept a central role for Islamic law and guaranteed women’s rights and freedom of expression.
During Thursday’s meeting, Al-Sudani called for the beginning of a comprehensive political process and the protection of social, religious, and national diversity in Syria, especially after an attack on Alawites last month.
Hundreds of Alawites were killed in Syria’s western coastal region in apparent retribution for a deadly ambush on Syria’s new security forces by armed loyalists to toppled Syrian President Bashar Assad, an Alawite.
The Iraqi prime minister also stressed the importance of the new Syrian government taking serious steps to combat Daesh militants.
He said progress made on these issues could help in building growing relations between Baghdad and Damascus.
Both leaders agreed to respect the sovereignty of the two countries and reject all kinds of foreign interference.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2597583/middle-east
---------
Yemen’s Houthi militants say 74 killed in US airstrikes targeting oil port
April 18, 2025
DUBAI: Yemen’s Houthi militants said Friday that the toll from US airstrikes targeting oil port jumped to 74 people killed and 171 others wounded.
The toll from the militants’ Health Ministry in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, reflected the destruction from the overnight strikes that left fuel trucks burning and sent fireballs into the night sky.
The attack is the deadliest known attack in the American airstrike campaign that began Mar. 15 under President Donald Trump.
The US military’s Central Command declined to comment when asked about civilian casualties from the strikes.
Assessing the campaign’s toll has been incredibly difficult as the Central Command so far has not released any information on the campaign, its specific targets and how many people have been killed. Meanwhile, the Houthis strictly control access to areas attacked and don’t publish information on the strikes, many of which likely have targeted military and security sites.
But the strike on the Ras Isa oil port, which sent massive fireballs shooting into the night sky, represented a major escalation for the American campaign.
The Houthis immediately released graphic footage of those killed in the attack.
In a statement, Central Command said that “US forces took action to eliminate this source of fuel for the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists and deprive them of illegal revenue that has funded Houthi efforts to terrorize the entire region for over 10 years.”
“This strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen, who rightly want to throw off the yoke of Houthi subjugation and live peacefully,” it added. It did not acknowledge any casualties and declined to comment when asked by The Associated Press regarding civilians reportedly being killed.
The Iranian-backed Houthis later Friday launched a missile toward Israel that was intercepted, the Israeli military said. Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and other areas.
The war in Yemen, meanwhile, further internationalized as the US alleged a Chinese satellite company was “directly supporting” Houthi attacks, something Beijing declined to directly comment on Friday.
US strikes spark massive fireball
The Ras Isa port, a collection of three oil tanks and refining equipment, sits in Yemen’s Hodeida governorate along the Red Sea. NASA satellites that track forest fires showed an intense blaze early Friday at the site just off Kamaran Island, targeted by intense US airstrikes over the past few days.
The Houthis’ Al-Masirah satellite news channel aired graphic footage of the aftermath, showing corpses strewn across the site. It said paramedic and civilians workers at the port had been killed in the attack, which sparked a massive explosion and fires.
The Ras Isa port also is the terminus of an oil pipeline stretching to Yemen’s energy-rich Marib governorate, which remains held by allies of Yemen’s exiled government. The Houthis expelled that government from Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, back in 2015. However, oil exports have been halted by the decadelong war and the Houthis have used Ras Isa to bring in oil.
The Houthis denounced the US attack.
“This completely unjustified aggression represents a flagrant violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and independence and a direct targeting of the entire Yemeni people,” the Houthis said in a statement carried by the SABA news agency they control. “It targets a vital civilian facility that has served the Yemeni people for decades.”
On April 9, the US State Department issued a warning about oil shipments to Yemen.
“The United States will not tolerate any country or commercial entity providing support to foreign terrorist organizations, such as the Houthis, including offloading ships and provisioning oil at Houthi-controlled ports,” it said.
The attack follows Israeli airstrikes on the Houthis which previously hit port and oil infrastructure used by the militants after their attacks on Israel.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2597524/middle-east
----------
Hostile motives against Iran-Saudi ties must be overcome: Leader
April 18, 2025
The purpose of the meeting was to convey a message from Saudi Arabia’s King, as well as to explore avenues for enhancing bilateral relations between the two nations.
The meeting, which also saw the participation of Iranian military chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, was marked by a spirit of cooperation. Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized that Iran views stronger ties with Saudi Arabia as mutually beneficial. “We believe that relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia can serve both nations well. The two countries can complement each other,” he stated.
Highlighting Iran’s growing advancements in various technological sectors, the Leader conveyed Tehran’s willingness to share its knowledge know-how with Riyadh. “We are ready to offer assistance in technology to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is far better for regional brothers to collaborate and support one another rather than relying on external powers,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.
Ayatollah Khamenei also acknowledged the challenges posed by external forces opposed to the deepening of Iran-Saudi ties, noting that these adversarial influences must be overcome. “There are certain countries that are adamantly against the expansion of relations between our two nations, but we are ready to counter these hostile motives,” he asserted.
Prince Khalid bin Salman, for his part, expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of the discussions. Reflecting on his visit, he said, “I have come to Tehran with the intention of expanding relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran and fostering cooperation in all areas. I sincerely hope that the constructive dialogue we have had will pave the way for stronger ties between our countries than ever before."
The Saudi Defense Minister underscored the importance of building a foundation for a robust future partnership. He further conveyed that the discussions would continue to focus on creating positive, lasting outcomes for both nations.
Source:tehrantimes.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/511944/Saudi-defense-minister-presents-King-Salman-s-message-to-Ayatollah
--------
Islamic Jihad Movement: US raids on Hodeida blatant, barbaric aggression that amounts to war crime
18 Apr 2025
The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine said that the US raids on Ras Isa Port in Hodeida last night, which resulted in the death and injury of dozens of civilians, are a blatant, barbaric aggression that amounts to a clear war crime, part of an unprecedented military escalation.
In a press statement on Friday, the movement added that the ongoing US aggression against the Yemeni people constitutes actual military support for the war crimes and genocide carried out by the Zionist entity in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank against our Palestinian people.
It condemned the World Food Program's suspension of food shipments to the same areas targeted by the US raids, which constitutes a contribution to the aggression against the Yemeni people and the use of starvation of civilians as a weapon against the Yemeni people, just as Israel is doing in Gaza, under blatant US protection.
Jihad also condemned the Arab and international silence regarding the US aggression against the Yemeni people, who are paying the price for adhering to their principles in standing up to the occupation's crimes in Gaza, while many Arab and Muslim countries continue to receive war criminals and maintain relations with the criminal entity.
Jihad expressed its appreciation for the steadfastness of the Yemeni people and their armed forces, who have demonstrated an unwavering will to confront this aggression and support the Palestinian cause with steadfastness and faith.
Source:saba.ye
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3467371.htm
---------
Arab World
How experts in Saudi Arabia are harnessing the power of microbes to treat wastewater
TAMARA ABOALSAUD
April 18, 2025
RIYADH: What if the answer to wastewater treatment was in the water itself? At King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, a team led by Professor Pascal Saikaly is harnessing the natural power of microbes found in wastewater — not just to clean it, but to generate energy and create valuable resources.
Rather than relying on outdated, energy-intensive systems, Saikaly’s team is developing innovative, nature-based solutions that turn waste into a tool for sustainability. Their key technology? A microbial electrochemical system that takes advantage of how certain microbes “breathe.”
Some microbes are capable of a process called extracellular electron transfer — moving electrons outside their cells to solid surfaces. Under the right conditions, this creates a small but useful electric current.
“At the anode, think about oxidation, you basically release electrons. At the cathode, it’s more like uptaking the electrons,” Saikaly told Arab News. “You have organisms that release the electrons at the anode side. At the cathode side, you have organisms that can capture these electrons.”
This process — using natural microbial activity and controlled conditions such as pH, electrode potential and substrate type — helps to treat wastewater while recovering energy and chemicals such as methane.
“You’re not adding any more energy to the whole process, so we reduce energy consumption,” Saikaly said.
Unlike conventional wastewater treatment methods, which were developed more than a century ago and rely heavily on aeration, these new systems are far more efficient. According to Saikaly, current methods require 0.6 kilowatt-hours of energy per cubic meter of treated water and produce large amounts of residual sludge.
“The technology that we are currently using generates a lot of residual solids,” he said. “In any biological treatment process, you produce waste. And this waste, we call it residual waste or waste activated sludge, we need to dispose of it.
“This means there is an additional cost that we have to pay for in the treatment process. So, it is energy intensive and generates a lot of residual solids.”
The KAUST team’s microbial system not only removes pollutants but, under the right operation, can also fix carbon dioxide — transforming it into methane gas or acetate, both of which can be used as renewable fuels.
“You can operate it without microorganisms and there you produce hydrogen, or you operate it with microorganisms and you can generate methane gas or other types of substrates,” Saikaly said.
The goal is to move from simply treating waste to recovering valuable resources from it. “All the biotechnology that we developed falls under this principle,” Saikaly said. “Treat the waste with simultaneous recovery of resources. That’s our principle.”
Another innovation Saikaly’s team has developed is a technology called microbial chain elongation. Designed as an alternative to landfilling organic waste, this process converts food and dairy waste into high-value chemicals rather than low-value methane.
“According to Vision 2030, all of these landfills will be shut down and waste should be diverted away from landfills by 2030 or 2035,” Saikaly said. “This means there is an urgent need for an alternative solution for this huge amount of organic waste that is being generated.”
Among the byproducts of this process is casaene — a protein-rich substance containing 16 essential amino acids — suitable for use in aquaculture and poultry feed.
“We’re in discussions with the aquaculture program at KAUST,” Saikaly said. “And also we are in discussion with Sipchem, which is a petroleum chemistry company. They also want to use our products to produce polymers. There’s a big window of applications that is much, much broader and has a higher value than methane gas.”
The team is also behind a compact, mobile wastewater treatment plant — the aerobic granular sludge gravity-driven membrane system — developed in partnership with former KAUST scientist Mohammed Ali. It treats domestic wastewater without the need for energy-intensive aeration or pumping, making it ideal for rural or remote locations.
The system, already in use in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia, serves up to 2,000 people and is designed to process 150 cubic meters of wastewater per day.
These innovations are part of a broader push by Saikaly and his team to rethink how we deal with waste — not as something to dispose of, but as something to transform. And while many of these technologies are still a few steps from commercial deployment, they are already showing how science and sustainability can go hand in hand.
“We want to think about waste not only as to treat and dispose, but as a waste that we can use to recover resources,” Saikaly said.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2597631/saudi-arabia
---------
In Asir, farmers use cattle and plow to keep agricultural heritage alive
April 18, 2025
RIYADH: In Saudi Arabia’s Asir region, farmers still use cattle and hand-crafted tools to tend their land, maintaining traditional techniques passed down through generations, SPA reports.
The farmers carefully prepare their soil during seasonal periods, using either modern machinery or traditional wooden plows.
This process supports soil health for planting seasons, especially on terraced farms where rugged terrain or limited access roads make modern equipment less practical.
During a recent field visit, SPA correspondents interviewed farmers and regional experts about these enduring practices.
Farmer Mesfer Al-Qahtani and Dr. Abdullah Al-Moussa, a heritage sciences researcher focused on the region’s agricultural calendar, discussed the role of celestial movements in Asir’s farming calendar.
“Farmers in Asir rely on celestial movements and weather patterns to determine optimal plowing and planting times,” Al-Moussa said.
He noted key seasons, including Al-Dhira’ayn, which signals the start of spring planting; Al-Thuraiya, ideal for corn and millet cultivation; and Al-Han’a, a critical period for soil preparation before autumn.
Al-Qahtani, who plows using cattle and ancestral methods, emphasized the deep connection between astronomical knowledge and agricultural practice.
“We track the seasons and heed our elders’ wisdom. We know when to plow the land and when to let it rest,” he told SPA.
He explained that traditional plowing relies on cattle and the plow, adding, “This is not merely technique — it is a lifestyle where we honor the earth and understand its rhythms of giving and resting.”
According to farmer Abdul Karim Al-Shehri, the traditional plowing process begins with securing two bulls using a wooden neck harness called Al-Nir (yoke). This connects to Al-Sikka — a sharp iron plowshare attached to a wooden plow that cuts and turns the soil.
He also outlined the traditional tools that have shaped Asir’s agricultural practices for generations. The plow, typically made from jujube or juniper wood, holds the iron blade that breaks the soil. Farmers have relied on the handheld wooden Al-Madra to guide the plow’s direction during tilling.
The Ruba’a (clevis) or Al-Dimad (drawbar) system connects cattle to the plow, ensuring the optimal distance between the animals for effective field work. This system uses a wooden harness positioned over the bulls’ necks, with 70-cm wooden arms extending through four holes and secured with leather or palm fiber ropes.
Farmer Abdullah Abdulrahman Al-Asmari explained that plowing is usually a team effort. Two farmers work together: One steadies the plow while the other, known as Al-Thari (sower), scatters seeds evenly.
After plowing is complete, the Makam or Al-Madsam (harrow) — a wide, two-meter piece of wood pulled by bulls or camels over the freshly turned earth — is used to level the soil and protect seeds from birds and harsh elements such as wind and heat.
“While we must embrace progress, we cannot abandon Asir’s agricultural heritage,” Al-Asmari said. “Teaching younger generations about our traditional farming methods is essential — these practices were not merely labor but represented the entire way of life that sustained our ancestors for centuries.”
The process involves four distinct phases designed to maximize crop yield and nutritional quality: Initial soil turning, deeper breaking for improved aeration and water absorption, directional plowing to prepare for seeding, and finally, careful seed distribution and coverage.
Many farmers maintain that despite the available modern equipment, traditional cattle plowing benefits the soil in ways machinery cannot.
They believe that it provides greater control using more natural methods while preserving soil fertility and reducing fossil fuel dependence.
In Asir, traditional plowing is more than farming — it embodies cultural identity and sustains people’s timeless bond with the land.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2597627/saudi-arabia
---------
153 Arabian oryx returns to Saudi wilderness
April 18, 2025
RIYADH: The King Salman bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority has reintroduced 153 Arabian oryx to their native habitat across the Tubaiq, Al-Khanfah, and Hurra Al-Hurra regions of Saudi Arabia.
The initiative forms part of the authority’s strategy to restore biodiversity and reestablish endangered species in their natural environments.
The Arabian oryx, which belongs to the bovine family, is classified as an endangered species.
The distinctive animal, recognizable by its powerful build, straight elongated horns, and striking white coat with black facial markings, grazes on vegetation throughout the reserve. It forages during early morning and evening hours to avoid the intense desert heat.
The authority also highlighted a particularly encouraging development in its conservation efforts: Eight new oryx births have been documented within the reserve.
The first birth, recorded in 2022 in the Tubaiq region, represented the first successful reproduction of the species in its natural habitat in 90 years.
The endangered species resettlement programs reflect the authority’s commitment to ongoing work supporting ecological balance, enriching biodiversity, and preserving species whose numbers have declined due to environmental factors and loss of vegetation cover.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2597625/saudi-arabia
---------
Transavia France will launch flights to Madinah
April 18, 2025
RIYADH: The Air Connectivity Program, in partnership with the Al Madinah Region Development Authority, has announced the expansion of Transavia France’s travel services to Saudi Arabia.
Beginning in October, new routes will be launched from Paris-Orly, Lyon, Marseille, and Toulouse to Madinah.
This expansion complements the successful launch last year of routes connecting Paris-Orly and Lyon with Jeddah, enhancing air connectivity and reflecting the growth in travel demand between the two countries.
It also underscores the Kingdom’s position as a major destination and supports the tourism goals of Saudi Vision 2030 by increasing the number of tourists to the Kingdom.
CEO of the Air Connectivity Program Majid Khan described the development of air connectivity between France and Saudi Arabia as a fundamental pillar of the National Tourism Strategy.
He highlighted that this expansion will help capitalize on the significant opportunities in France’s Umrah market, while supporting the Kingdom’s tourism objectives.
CEO of Tibah Airports Operation Co. Sofiene Abdessalem stated that the selection of Madinah among Transavia France’s new destinations confirms the city’s religious and cultural status, while underlining the efforts made to enhance its presence on the international air connectivity map.
Chief Commercial Officer of Transavia France Nicolas Henin said the airline is excited to start flights to Madinah and strengthen its ongoing partnership with Saudi airports.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2597624/saudi-arabia
--------
Residents, citizens arrested for drug offenses across Saudi Arabia
April 18, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s security forces this week arrested several residents and citizens on charges of smuggling and distributing drugs.
Two citizens were arrested in Asir region for distributing 27 kg of qat hidden in a vehicle driven by one of them in Dhahran Al-Janub governorate. A firearm was also found in their possession.
In Asir’s Al-Raboua, 10 Ethiopians were arrested for violating border security and smuggling 192 kg of qat.
In addition, Border Guard land patrols in Yanbu, Madinah, thwarted an attempt to smuggle 3.6 kg of hashish.
And in Al-Arda, Jazan, four Yemenis were arrested for violating the border security system and smuggling 80 kg of qat.
Citizens and residents are urged to report drug offences by calling 911 in Makkah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province, or 999 in other regions.
Reports can also be submitted confidentially to the General Directorate of Narcotics Control at 995 or via email at 995@gdnc.gov.sa.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2597623/saudi-arabia
------
Saudi Arabia and France strengthen strategic health care partnership during minister’s visit
April 18, 2025
PARIS: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Health Fahd bin Abdulrahman Al-Jalajel met French health officials in Paris on Friday to reaffirm and deepen healthcare cooperation between the two countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The talks between Al-Jalajel and Catherine Vautrin and Yannick Nodder focused on building a strategic partnership with an emphasis on public health policy, healthcare system development, disease prevention and emergency response, SPA added.
Both sides praised Saudi Arabia’s ambitious health-sector reforms under Vision 2030, notably in digital health, biotechnology and innovation.
The ministers welcomed the near-finalization of a major agreement to formalize healthcare collaboration and witnessed the signing of several memoranda of understanding between Paris’s Assistance Publique–Hopitaux de Paris and the Saudi Red Crescent Authority.
These agreements aim to boost scientific research, innovation and pre-hospital emergency services.
They also committed to strengthening cooperation on global health issues, including antimicrobial resistance, and highlighted the importance of engaging with international institutions such as the World Health Organization Academy and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
During his visit, Al-Jalajel also met senior French officials, including Clara Chappaz, minister for artificial and digital intelligence, and Laurent Saint-Martin, minister for foreign trade and French diaspora.
He also attended the Saudi-French Business Council Forum, where strategic agreements were signed in digital health, oncology, emergency medicine and biotechnology, supporting Vision 2030 goals.
Both countries pledged to maintain regular dialogue and activate joint action channels to ensure the effective implementation of their health partnership.
Source:arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2597608/saudi-arabia
--------
Saudis crack down on violating warehouses ahead of Hajj
April 18, 2025
Cairo: Saudi authorities have shut down 95 unlicensed warehouses of equipment used for serving pilgrims during the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage due this year in June.
The violating warehouses were detected during an inspection campaign launched by municipal authorities in the city of Mecca, home to Islam’s holiest mosque.
The campaign aims to ascertain the compliance of these facilities, providing tents and air conditioning units during the Hajj season, with regulations, a local official has said.
“We have launched a correctional campaign to monitor the warehouses and check their compliance with the health requirements,” spokesman for the Mecca Municipality, Osama Zaytouni, told Saudi television Al Ekhbariya.
The campaign, targeting warehouses in Mecca and affiliated governorates, also aims to set up a database on them, he added.
Violations detected in the shut warehouses included failure to have efficient safety systems, poor storage and decline in cleaning standards, Al Ekhbariya reported.
Saudi Arabia is maximising preparations for the upcoming Hajj season amid iron-clad measures against violators.
Earlier this week, authorities started issuing online permits for residents who will be engaged in the Hajj-related works in and around Mecca.
The Saudi General Directorate of Passports said it is receiving applications from such workers to obtain entry permits to Mecca through the Ministry of Interior’s electronic platform “Absher” and the Muqeem portal.
Entry permits to Mecca are issued through the Muqeem portal to workers in establishments based in the city, holders of seasonal work visas, and those who have employment contracts with those establishments during the Hajj season.
Source:gulfnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/saudis-crack-down-on-violating-warehouses-ahead-of-hajj-1.500098241
---------
Africa
Tinubu to Muslims: Be ambassadors of justice, compassion, peaceful co-existence
by Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta
April 19, 2025
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday urged the Muslim faithful to continually be ambassadors of justice, compassion, and peaceful co-existence wherever they found themselves to foster harmony and national development.
Tinubu also restated his administration’s commitment to inclusiveness, security, and a prosperous Nigeria, adding that efforts at restoring the economy are also gradually yielding positive outcomes.
The president spoke in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, while declaring open the 11th Triennial National Conference of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria.
Tinubu, who was represented at the occasion by the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, an engineer, charged the leadership of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria (ASN) to come out with practicable recommendations that will strengthen the relevance of Islam in tackling the challenges currently plaguing the nation.
The president also hailed the sect for championing dynamism and intellectual growth through education and community development of Nigeria, even as he described Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria as a “critical pillar of national fabric.”
He noted that the society had been deeply involved in the area of youths’ development, moral leadership, educational reform, and economic empowerment.
Tinubu reckoned that the deliberations at the Society’s Triennial Conference, which ended today, Thursday, should be able to point Nigeria’s leadership towards the path of unity and collective progress.
“Let me begin by saluting the leadership of this great society, particularly the president, Alhaji (Dr) Abdul-Rafiu Ademola Sanni, and all members of the National Executive Council for their steadfast stewardship and remarkable work they continue to do in sustaining the founding ideals of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria.
“I also recall with pride the enduring relationship between my forebears and this organization, a bond which I continue to hold dear. For over a century, the society has championed the cause of Islamic education and community development in Nigeria, from the establishment of schools and health centers to supporting the spiritual and social needs of its members.
“The society has become a critical pillar of our national fabric. Your impact is visible across generations, particularly in your ability to nurture God-fearing, intellectually sound, and socially responsible individuals,” Tinubu said.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the President of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Abdul-Rafiu Sanni, said the “gathering is a testament to our collective commitment to the principles of unity, faith, and service to humanity”.
He pointed out that the Triennial Conference served as a platform to reflect the society’s achievements, assess its challenges, and strategize for the future, stressing that “we aim to reinforce our commitment to educational advancement, moral upbringing, and national unity”.
In his goodwill message, the Secretary-General of the National Council of Islamic Affairs (NCIA) and Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishiaq Oloyede, urged the society not to deviate from its methodology, education, and dynamism, attributes which have made Ansar-Ud-Deen stand out over the years.
“Even when we see anyone that is not knowledgeable as we are, we should endeavour to put them on the right track rather than condemning such outrightly”.
Source:thenationonlineng.net
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://thenationonlineng.net/tinubu-to-muslims-be-ambassadors-of-justice-compassion-peaceful-co-existence/
--------
Yoruba group demands restructuring, rejects Sharia panels in south-west
April 19, 2025
A Yoruba self-determination group, Yoruba One Voice (YOV), has declared that for Nigeria to witness true development, its continued existence must be anchored on regional self-governance and regional autonomy.
The group also rejected the agitation for the establishment of Sharia law in the south-west zone of the country, describing it as an attempt to weaponise religion for political gains.
This position of the group was conveyed through a communique issued at its international conference, with the theme, “Sharia Law in Yorubaland: Setting Things Straight through Restructuring.”
The virtual conference, which had Prof. Oluwafemi Obayori as guest lecturer and presided over by YOV convener, Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, brought together members of the YOV Global Coordinating Council; YOV General Assembly, other critical stakeholders, and prominent Yoruba sons and daughters across many countries to deliberate on the contentious and polarising move to introduce Sharia Law in Yorubaland.
YOV maintained that the continued absence of regional autonomy by the political class will ultimately leave the Yoruba with no other option than to pursue a realisation of total liberation and complete political independence for all her territories to form the Yoruba nation.
To address the highlighted concerns, participants at the conference stressed the urgent need for restructuring of the Nigerian state to reflect the autonomy and integrity of its constituent nationalities.
The conference advocated for a comprehensive constitutional amendment to return control over local governments and economic resources to the regions, reduction of the burdens on the federal government, and strengthening of grassroots governance.
Source:thenationonlineng.net
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://thenationonlineng.net/yoruba-group-demands-restructuring-rejects-sharia-panels-in-south-west/
---------
Muslim group lauds Tinubu over approval of varsity
by Toba Adedeji, Osogbo
April 19, 2025
A Muslim group, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat of Nigeria has said the approval by President Bola Tinubu of the body’s newly established university will assist youth development in Nigeria.
The body, through its Acting National President, Idris Fashina, addressed newsmen at the NYSC Camp Hall, Ede, at the opening of the 51st annual Itema. Ahmadiyya is playing a leading role in developing the coming generation and the youth through education.
Fashina dispelled the claim that the crime rate is increasing in Nigeria, noting that it is happening in all countries but is underreported. Hence, he said education and knowledge should be used to tackle the surge.
He said: ”We have a work plan for youths and children, we believe if we take care of our homes, our children will be change agents in society when they go to school by influencing their friends and the world positively, which will tackle restiveness.
“We believe solely in education and knowledge because the Quran states that ignorance is darkness. In all the states in Nigeria, we have schools, even in Ede, which are contributing immensely to the country.
Source:thenationonlineng.net
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://thenationonlineng.net/muslim-group-lauds-tinubu-over-approval-of-varsity/
--------
Why we accept Arabic exam certificate – Nursing Council
19th April 2025
By Lara Adejoro
The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria has explained its decision to continue accepting Senior Arabic and Islamic Secondary School Certificate Examination for admission into nursing programmes across the country.
In a circular dated April 14, 2025, and addressed to stakeholders, the council reaffirmed that SAISSCE was a valid and nationally approved qualification recognised by the Federal Government.
The circular titled, ‘Acceptance of Senior Arabic and Islamic Secondary School Certificate Examination for Admission into Nursing Programmes’ was directed to commissioners/secretary of health services, all states ministry of health, vice chancellors, chief medical directors/medical directors, university teaching hospitals/specialist & medical centre, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, and directors of nursing services, among others.
Signed by the Acting Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the NMCN, Ngadi Alhassan, the circular read, “The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria wishes to inform you all on the continued acceptance of the Senior Arabic and Islamic Secondary School Certificate Examination for admission purposes.
“The Council reiterates that SAISSCE is a recognised and acceptable qualification for admission into nursing programmes, alongside other recognised secondary school certificates such as the Senior School Certificate Examination conducted by WAEC and NECO.”
In response to public criticism suggesting that the inclusion of religious-based certificates undermines the professionalism of nursing, Alhassan clarified that the SAISSCE also run other basic science subjects such as biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, and others.
“The SSSCIA is an examination body approved by the Federal Government of Nigeria. They also run basic science courses like biology, physics, chemistry, English, mathematics that is accepted by the council,” he told our correspondent on the phone.
He further emphasised that admission into nursing programmes was not based on Arabic or Islamic studies alone.
“We did not say we are taking that result because of Islamic or Arabic studies. We are taking anybody that sits for that examination and they have to pass English, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology; that is our consideration, just like we consider for other examination bodies, nothing more,” he added.
He also said the directive to accept the SAISSCE was not driven by the current shortage of nurses and midwives in the country.
Source:punchng.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://punchng.com/why-we-accept-arabic-exam-certificate-nursing-council/
--------
219 rescued from human trafficking and cybercrime ring in Ghana
April 18, 2025
In a sweeping operation led by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), 219 people—primarily foreign nationals—have been rescued from a suspected human trafficking and cybercrime ring operating in Oyarifa, a suburb of Accra.
The victims, mostly young individuals from across West Africa, were lured into Ghana with false promises of well-paying jobs and a better life. Instead, they were held against their will under harsh and exploitative conditions.
At a press briefing, EOCO’s Acting Executive Director, Abdul Bashiru, revealed that many of the victims had been confined for extended periods, with some enduring over a year in captivity. "A Nigerian victim disclosed that he was fed only once a day and had no freedom to leave the premises," Bashiru said.
Authorities uncovered a trove of evidence at the scene, including laptops, internet routers, and other tools believed to have been used in online fraud schemes. Victims were housed in crowded, unsanitary conditions, forced to work long hours under surveillance.
EOCO, in partnership with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), the Nigerian High Commission, and international stakeholders, has begun a detailed screening process to separate victims from suspects, and to identify minors among those rescued.
During the ongoing operation at Kunzak Estates in Oyarifa, journalists captured visuals of suspects being lined up, screened, and resting on EOCO’s premises while investigations continued. Officials say they expect the screening process to be completed within 24 hours.
Abdul Bashiru emphasized EOCO’s commitment to dismantling the entire trafficking network: “We’ve mapped out strategies for stronger collaboration between EOCO and the CID to intensify efforts against transnational organized crime.”
Repatriation plans for many of the victims—particularly Nigerian nationals—are already in motion. EOCO also confirmed that similar operations are being rolled out in other parts of the country, targeting what it calls a "well-coordinated trafficking network."
This latest operation highlights Ghana’s growing role as a transit and destination point in the fight against cross-border human trafficking and cybercrime.
Source:africanews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.africanews.com/2025/04/18/219-rescued-from-human-trafficking-and-cybercrime-ring-in-ghana/
-------
Europe
Probe launched into Plymouth Islamic charity's accounts
18 APR 2025
The charities’ watchdog has launched an investigation into Plymouth Islamic Education Trust (Piety) over what it called a persistent failure to submit accounts on time. The charity, based in St Judes, works, amongst other things, to advance the faith of Islam in Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall.
But the regulator said Piety has a history of failing to submit accounts and that trustees had not complied with their legal duties, and it has now opened a statutory inquiry.
The Charity Commission said its engagement with Piety began in 2014, when the charity had “repeatedly failed” to comply with statutory reporting requirements.
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “Prior to the opening of this inquiry, Piety had, on two separate occasions, been placed in the commission’s ‘double defaulter’ inquiry for charities that have failed to file their annual documents for two or more years in the last five years. Despite significant regulatory engagement on this matter by the commission, the trustees have consistently demonstrated that they are either unwilling or unable to comply with their legal duties.”
Piety admitted to PlymouthLive that there had been issues in the past but said “everything is now in place”. It said it would fully cooperate with the Charity Commission inquiry.
The Charity Commission opened the statutory inquiry in March under section 46 of the Charities Act 2011. It said this was as a result of its regulatory concerns that there is, or has been, misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of Piety.
The Charity Commission said the inquiry will examine the extent to which the trustees are complying with their legal duties in respect of the administration, governance, and management of the charity and in particular:
The trustees’ compliance with their legal obligations for the content, preparation and filing of the charity’s accounts and annual returns.
The extent to which the trustees have complied with previously issued regulatory guidance.
To identify if there has been any misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity.
The commission said the scope of the inquiry may be extended if additional regulatory issues emerge during its investigation.
A spokesperson for Piety said: “The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into our compliance with the charities (sic) legal duties of filing the charities (sic) accounts and reports in time. We admit that this happened before 2014 which was rectified until 2020.
“We filed our accounts in time until the Covid time which disorganised our staffing. This caused us to lag behind on two financial years, which have now been submitted and there aren’t any reports lagging behind.
“The trustees have agreed to welcome the Charity Commission and are willing to cooperate fully in their endeavours. This engagement is seen as an opportunity to improve on our performance to avoid this happening again. Everything is now in place and we are willing to work closely with the Charity Commission to improve on our policies and procedures.”
The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. A statutory inquiry is a legal power enabling the commission to formally investigate matters of regulatory concern within a charity and to use protective powers for the benefit of the charity and its beneficiaries, assets, or reputation.
An inquiry will investigate and establish the facts of the case so that the commission can determine the extent of any misconduct and/or mismanagement; the extent of the risk to the charity, its work, property, beneficiaries, employees or volunteers; and decide what action is needed to resolve the concerns.
Source:plymouthherald.co.uk
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/probe-launched-plymouth-islamic-charitys-10115725
--------
Trump says US will 'pass' on Ukraine peace talks if no progress soon
19 APR 2025
Donald Trump has said the US will "take a pass" on brokering further Russia-Ukraine talks if Moscow or Kyiv "make it very difficult" to reach a peace deal.
The US president told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that he was not expecting a truce to happen in "a specific number of days" but he wanted it done "quickly".
His comments came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the US would abandon talks unless there were clear signs of progress within days.
"We're not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end," Rubio said, adding that the US had "other priorities to focus on".
This comes as Russian strikes on Ukraine continue, with two people reported killed and more than 100 injured in the north-eastern cities of Kharkiv and Sumy on Friday.
Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Russian troops have been advancing - albeit slowly - in eastern Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin has placed a number of conditions on any potential ceasefire.
When asked about a deal between Russian and Ukraine, Trump said: "We're talking about here people dying. We're going to get it stopped, ideally.
"Now if, for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say, 'You're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people,' and we're going to just take a pass."
Despite the Trump administration's initial confidence that it could secure a deal quickly, attempts to reach a full ceasefire have yet to materialise, with Washington blaming both sides.
Following a meeting with European leaders in Paris about a potential ceasefire on Thursday, Rubio told reporters on Friday: "We need to determine very quickly now - and I'm talking about a matter of days - whether or not this is doable."
"If it's not going to happen, then we're just going to move on," he said about truce talks.
He admitted that a peace deal would be difficult to strike.
Trump had said before he re-entered office that he would stop the fighting in the first 24 hours of his presidency.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked to respond to Trump saying he expected an answer from Russia on a ceasefire, said "the negotiations taking place are quite difficult".
"The Russian side is striving to reach a peace settlement in this conflict, to ensure its own interests, and is open to dialogue," he said.
During a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Friday, US Vice-President JD Vance said he was still "optimistic" about ending the Ukraine war.
"I want to update the prime minister on some of the negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and also some of the things that have happened even in the past 24 hours," he said.
"I won't prejudge them, but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war - this very brutal war - to a close."
Vance's comments followed separate news that Ukraine and the US took the first step towards striking a minerals deal, after an initial agreement was derailed when a February meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky erupted into a public shouting match.
On Thursday, the two countries signed a memorandum of intent on setting up an investment fund for Ukraine's reconstruction as part of an economic partnership agreement.
The aim is to finalise the deal by 26 April, the memo published by the Ukrainian government says.
The details of any deal remain unclear. Previous leaks have suggested the agreement has been extended beyond minerals to control of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, as well as its oil and gas.
Ukrainian negotiators have tried to resist Trump's demands that a joint investment fund would pay back the US for previous military aid, but have seemingly accepted his claim that it would help the country recover after the war ends.
The memo said the "American people desire to invest alongside the Ukrainian people in a free, sovereign and secure Ukraine".
Zelensky had been hoping to use the deal to secure a US security guarantee in the event of a ceasefire deal, telling European leaders last month that "a ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine".
The US has so far resisted providing Kyiv with security guarantees.
The White House argues the mere presence of US businesses would put off Russia from further aggression, but that did not exactly work when they invaded in 2022.
Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced the signing of the memorandum on X, with pictures of Svyrydenko and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent separately signing the document over an online call.
"There is a lot to do, but the current pace and significant progress give reason to expect that the document will be very beneficial for both countries," Svyrydenko wrote.
Bessent said the details were still being worked out but the deal is "substantially what we'd agreed on previously."
Trump hinted at the deal during a press conference with Meloni, saying "we have a minerals deal which I guess is going to be signed on (next) Thursday... and I assume they're going to live up to the deal. So we'll see. But we have a deal on that".
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, an MP and the chair of Ukraine's parliamentary committee on EU Integration, told the BBC the Ukrainian parliament would have "the last word" in the deal.
She added: "I hope that there will be enough reasoning to ensure that whatever is signed, and if it is going to be ratified that it is in the interest of our country and our people".
On Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met Rubio and Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff in Paris to discuss how to end the war.
Sybiha said they had "discussed the paths to a fair and lasting peace, including full ceasefire, multinational contingent, and security guarantees for Ukraine".
Source:bbc.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20x5xn1g92o
--------
Ukraine minerals deal may not buy peace after Trump threat
19 APR 2025
Ukraine started the day with, for once, the diplomatic wind in its sails.
It had finally agreed a mineral deal "framework" with Washington. An agreement that would see the US invest in Ukraine's recovery, in return for a share of the country's future profits from its natural resources, energy infrastructure and its oil and gas.
There had also been a first round of peace talks between American, European and Ukrainian officials in Paris, which had been hailed as "positive".
That was until the both US President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatened to pull out of brokering a ceasefire until progress appeared quickly.
It had been hoped by Ukraine that America's growing impatience with Russia would translate into further sanctions for Moscow. Instead, the threat of the US washing its hands of the ongoing peace efforts suits the Kremlin more than Kyiv.
The consensus is that the collective weight of Ukraine and its European allies would still be insufficient to counter Russian aggression in the long term. Despite continuing in its quest to conquer and occupy as much of Ukraine as possible, Moscow claims it is still striving for peace.
What it has done is launch some of the deadliest missile strikes on civilians in recent days. In Kharkiv in the north-east, more than 100 people were injured and one person was killed after three struck a residential part of the city.
But these attacks have not brought the slightest condemnation from the White House, which has continued to use more of a stick with Kyiv, by pausing military aid, and a carrot with Moscow, by improving relations, to get both sides to mirror its appetite for peace.
Kyiv agreed to a full ceasefire after the US paused its military aid and intelligence sharing. Moscow has not bent from its continued maximalist demands of more Ukrainian territory and the toppling of President Volodymyr Zelensky. It's hard to see how this threat will bring a breakthrough.
On the calm, open waters of the Black Sea, Mykhailo commands his US-made naval patrol ship. As we stand in the bridge, I ask him whether he feels he's fighting for Europe, as well as his country.
"If Russia occupies all of Ukraine, who knows?" he replies. "In 10 or 15 years' time, Russia will go to Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, any of the Baltic countries, that is quite clear."
US military aid for Ukraine is gradually going to run out. No more packages are going to be put before Congress or unlocked by presidential draw-down powers.
Should Washington turn its back on these peace efforts, it would leave Ukraine reliant on its European allies to counter Russia's continued invasion. The consensus is that that collective weight would be insufficient in the long term.
On this stretch of Ukrainian-controlled coastline Kyiv has a success story. Through launching Western and domestically-produced drones, Russia's fleet has been forced back, and a major shipping lane has been restored.
But the problem for defending forces, as President Zelensky admits, is the battlefield realities being lost on a wider audience.
Despite the US and Ukraine stepping closer to this mineral deal, the Trump administration's threat leaves it looking more like a business venture.
It also poses greater questions on whether Washington cares who controls Ukraine in the long term, as long as US commercial interests are protected.
Source:bbc.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5rqvqg36qo
---------
EU ignores ‘shocking’ treatment of Moldovan church – opposition MP
19 Apr, 2025
Brussels is turning a blind eye to the treatment of the Moldovan Orthodox Church by the pro-EU government in Chisinau, Marina Tauber, a senior opposition MP, has told RT.
Her comments came after Moldova’s border police blocked Marchel, the Bishop of Balti and Falesti, from departing the country to attend Easter celebrations in Jerusalem.
Marchel was due to participate in the Holy Fire ritual at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally held around midday on Holy Saturday. Police stopped him at Chisinau Airport on Thursday under the pretext of a routine search and withheld his passport until after the plane had departed. According to the cleric, airport police singled him out again on Friday, causing him to miss a second flight.
Ilona Railean, a Border Police spokeswoman, said the bishop had arrived late and was subjected to “standard processing procedures.” Marchel accused the authorities of lying.
Tauber, the executive secretary of the opposition coalition Pobeda – Victorie, told RT on Friday that she was “shocked” by the bishop’s treatment. “It’s an outrageous situation,” she said, arguing that the authorities had failed to properly explain their actions.
“We have never thought that something like this could happen to a clergyman on such sacred days.”
Moldova, a former Soviet republic, is home to two branches of the Orthodox Church: the Moldovan Orthodox Church, a self-governing arm of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Metropolis of Bessarabia, aligned with the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Tauber accused Moldova’s pro-EU president, Maia Sandu, of repressing the Moscow-affiliated church. “What is Maia Sandu doing? She is trying to put pressure on our church and our religion,” she said.
“It is very surprising that the European Union is not reacting to what their representatives in Moldova are doing,” she added. “Brussels is remaining silent.”
“We definitely need to think about what to do [next], because this has happened – and tomorrow, they [may] dictate which temple to go to, which faith is right, and which faith is wrong,” she said.
Moldova’s former president, Igor Dodon, described the treatment of Marchel as “an act of terror against our Orthodox faith,” claiming it was an “act of revenge” against the bishop, a vocal critic of Sandu.
Source:rt.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.rt.com/russia/615980-tauber-sandu-moldovan-church/
--------
NorthAmerica
CAIR Condemns Trump Admin’s ‘Double Tap’ Slaughter of 70+ Yemenis, Including Paramedics, as ‘War Crime’
April 18, 2025
Muslim civil rights organization calls on Trump to fulfill campaign pledge to end forever wars, stop Gaza genocide
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the killing of 74 people in Yemen in a US airstrike as a war crime.
US airstrikes targeting an oil port in Yemen reportedly killed at least 74 people and wounded 171 others. US forces also reportedly struck the area as first responders were at the scene, a so-called “double tap” bombing.
In a statement, CAIR Deputy Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“We strongly condemn the Trump administration’s unauthorized and increasingly deadly attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Yemen. Destroying a fuel port full of civilian workers and then reportedly bombing paramedics when they arrived to rescue survivors is a war crime, plain and simple. So was blowing up an outdoor post-Eid meeting of Yemeni tribal leaders and their children.
“President Trump promised to end our nation’s involvement in forever wars, but he is instead entangling our nation in a new forever war for the benefit of the out-of-control Israeli government, which treats our nation like a piggy bank.
“This is an Israel First foreign policy, not an America First foreign policy. This regional conflict would end if the genocide in Gaza ends, which is why President Trump should force Netanyahu to accept a permanent ceasefire deal that frees all captives and ends the genocide for good.”
Last month, CAIR called on President Trump to protect civilian life when approving any military operations after national security officials “casually celebrated” the killing of Yemeni civilians, including a woman, in Signal chat messages released by reporter Jeffery Goldberg.
Also last month, CAIR condemned congressionally unauthorized U.S. strikes on Yemen that killed at least 53, reportedly including children and women.
Source:cair.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-condemns-trump-admins-double-tap-slaughter-of-70-yemenis-including-paramedics-as-war-crime/
---------
Florida State University shooting suspect did not know victims - police
April 19, 2025
A suspect accused of killing two people and injuring six others during a shooting spree at Florida State University did not know his victims, police said Friday.
The alleged gunman, 20-year-old FSU student Phoenix Ikner, began shooting around lunchtime on Thursday near the student union building in Tallahassee. The motive remains unclear.
Police said the gun was owned by his stepmother, Jessica Ikner, a veteran police officer.
In a video statement, Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell said: "At this point, there does not appear to be any connection at all between the shooter and any of the victims."
Details about the victims began to emerge Friday. One of two people killed was an employee of food service provider Aramark, the company said on Friday.
Tiru Chabba, 45, of Greenville, South Carolina, was a married father of two, according to a statement from a law firm hired by his family. He was on the Florida campus working Thursday when the shooting began.
"We are heartbroken to confirm that an Aramark employee was among those killed at FSU yesterday in that senseless act of violence," the company, which manages Florida State University's on-campus dining programmes, said in a statement. "We are absolutely shaken by the news and our deepest sympathies are with the family and our entire Aramark community."
The other dead victim, university dining worker Robert Morales, was identified by his sister, who posted a tribute online. His LinkedIn profile said he had been working at FSU as a university dining co-ordinator since 2015.
At a news conference on Friday, doctors at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare hospital said six people injured by gunshots were in stable condition, with one seriously injured.
Doctors said two of the victims would be released from hospital on Friday, and all were expected to make full recoveries.
According to a police timeline, officers responded to an active shooter call shortly before midday local time on Thursday. An alert was issued warning students and those on campus to "seek shelter and await further instructions".
"One of my classmates got an alert on her phone and announced it to the rest of the class," student Ava Arenado told CBS News Miami.
Another student, Blake Leonard, told CBS he initially heard roughly 12 shots fired.
"In my head, I thought it was construction at first, until I looked behind me and saw people running from the union towards my direction, and then I heard another 12 or 15 shots go off, so I started running away from there too," he said.
The incident ended less than five minutes later when police shot Mr Ikner after he did not comply with their commands, authorities said. He was undergoing treatment at a local hospital, police said.
Chief Revell said Mr Ikner had serious injuries and would be in hospital for a "significant time", after which he will face charges "up to and including first-degree murder".
Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil described the suspect's stepmother Mrs Ikner, who worked as a school resource officer, as a "model employee".
He said the gun used in the shooting was a police-issued firearm that Mrs Ikner kept for personal use after the force upgraded its weapons. A shotgun also was found at the scene, police said.
The suspect was a "longstanding member" of the sheriff office's youth advisory council and was engaged in a number of training programmes, Sheriff McNeil said.
"So it is not a surprise that he had access to weapons," he said.
Court documents indicate that the alleged gunman was largely raised by his father and stepmother.
He was previously known as Christian Eriksen and was the subject of a long-running custody dispute between his biological mother and father. He had health issues including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and a growth disorder, according to court documents.
The FSU student newspaper quoted the suspect commenting on an anti-Trump rally on campus in January.
FSUNews.com said Mr Ikner, who was registered to vote as a Republican, commented about anti-Trump protesters: "These people are usually pretty entertaining, usually not for good reasons."
President Donald Trump, who said he was briefed on the incident, called the shooting "a shame, a horrible thing".
When asked by reporters whether he wanted to change gun regulations in light of the shooting, he said he was a "big advocate" of the Second Amendment in the US Constitution, which protects gun rights.
"I have been since the beginning," he said. "I have protected it. These things are terrible. We will have more to say about it later."
Source:bbc.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62z0dp5n0vo
--------
Anxiety at US colleges as foreign students are detained and visas revoked
April 19, 2025
For the last few weeks, many foreign students living in the US have watched as a sequence of events has repeated itself on their social media feeds: plain-clothes agents appearing unannounced and hauling students off in unmarked cars to detention centres.
Those taken into custody in a string of high-profile student detentions captured on video have not faced any criminal charges and instead appear to have been targeted for involvement in pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.
The Trump administration has said repeatedly that visas are a "privilege" and can be revoked at any time for a wide variety of reasons.
But the crackdown appears to be far wider than initially thought, with more than 1,000 international students or recent graduates at colleges across the US now having had their visas revoked or legal statuses changed, according to a tracker from Inside Higher Ed, an online news site covering the sector.
For many, the precise reasons are unknown, and universities have often only learned of the changes when checking a government-run database that logs the visa status of international students.
The combination of targeted detentions and reports of wide-scale visa revocations have left campuses on edge, from the biggest public universities to elite Ivy League institutions, students and faculty told the BBC.
"I could be next," said one student visa-holder attending Georgetown University, who has written articles about Israel and the war in Gaza.
He's begun carrying around a card in his pocket that lists his constitutional rights, in case he is ever stopped by law enforcement.
Another student in Texas said he's afraid to leave his apartment, even to buy groceries.
And at some colleges, departments are being hit as researchers abroad refuse to return to the US.
Most students the BBC spoke to requested anonymity out of fear that having their names in the media could make them a target.
The BBC has contacted the Department of Education for comment.
The reasons for visa cancellations vary. In some cases, criminal records appear to be a factor. Other instances have reportedly included minor legal infractions like driving over the speed limit. But "a lot" of those targeted have been involved in pro-Palestinian protests, Secretary of State Marco Rubio himself has said.
It is part of a wider White House push to crack down on protesters whom officials say created an unsafe environment for Jewish students on many campuses. They also accuse demonstrators of having expressed support for Hamas, an officially designated terrorist group.
"Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas," Rubio told reporters in late March. "We do it every day."
Civil liberties groups have protested against the detentions and moves to deport student demonstrators as a violation of constitutional rights. And the students themselves reject associations with Hamas, saying that they are being targeted for political speech about the war in Gaza and US support for Israel.
At Georgetown, signs that read "protect our students" have been taped to the doors of bathroom stalls, adding a sense of gloom to the cherry blossom trees and tulips that typically mark the arrival of spring on campus.
A postdoctoral fellow from the university, Badar Khan Suri, was grabbed by federal agents outside his Virginia home in March. The Department of Homeland Security accused the conflict resolution researcher of "promoting antisemitism on social media" and having links to a "known or suspected terrorist".
This was an apparent reference to the Palestinian father of his US-born wife, a former adviser to killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Mr Suri's lawyers say he has only met his father-in-law a handful of times and is being targeted due to his wife's identity.
His detention followed that of Columbia University student protest organiser Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident arrested at home in New York but now awaiting deportation from a facility in Louisiana.
Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk, who co-authored a student newspaper op-ed about Gaza and was detained in Massachusetts, is also being held in Louisiana.
Last Monday, Mohsen Mahdawi, another Columbia student protester, was detained in Vermont as he attended an interview to obtain US citizenship. Like Mr Khalil, he holds a green card, rather than a student visa.
"Based on the detentions that we're seeing, I think there is a possibility anyone who has been outspoken about Palestine can be detained," said the Georgetown student, who knew Mr Suri.
The White House says it is going after those who have been involved in activities that "run counter" to US national interests. In Mr Khalil's case, officials have cited a 1952 law that empowers the government to order someone deported if their presence in the country could pose unfavourable consequences for US foreign policy.
In a post on X, the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association celebrated Mr Khalil's arrest, calling him the "ringleader of chaos" at the university.
Polling suggests that immigration is an issue where President Trump enjoys some of his highest approval ratings, with recent Reuters and AP-NORC surveys suggesting about half of US adults approve of action in that area, several points higher than his overall rating.
Universities are also being targeted at an institutional level. This week, the White House's task force on combating antisemitism froze over $2bn in funding for Harvard University, after the university refused to agree to a list of demands that it said would amount to "surrendering its independence".
Trump officials have said that if Harvard doesn't comply with a request for information on certain student visaholders, it will stop granting visas to international students who want to study there.
Georgetown professor Nader Hashemi said he believes the government's main goal is "silencing dissent" by intimidating would-be protesters.
The Georgetown student says he has asked his parents not to fly from India to the US to see him graduate with a master's degree in just a few weeks. He is still unsure if he will even attend the ceremony.
In addition to checking his email daily to see if he is among the hundreds that have had their visas revoked recently, he has also prepared for the possibility of sudden arrest.
"I have cleared my chats across messaging apps, and I have learned how to quickly lock my phone in SOS mode," he said.
Georgetown professors have even begun offering spare rooms to students who worry about being visited by immigration agents at their residences, said Prof Hashemi.
"This is part of the trauma that I think students are facing," he said.
At Tufts University, outside of Boston, Massachusetts, students are waiting to see what happens to Ms Ozturk, who was detained outside her home.
Video shows her confused and shaking in fear as she is intercepted by agents while headed to a Ramadan dinner celebration. Last year, she had co-authored an op-ed supporting the boycott, divest and sanction (BDS) movement against Israel.
Tufts PhD student Anteri Mejr told the BBC that the actions have had a "chilling effect", and that international students she knows who have left the country to visit home or attend conferences are now afraid to return.
"There are students working remotely because they're afraid they can't get back in the country," he said.
At the University of Texas, rumours about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on campus have some students terrified.
"I'm scared to be out. I'm scared to come to school. I'm scared to go grocery shopping," a master's student there said.
"I'm afraid that if I'm walking, I will be approached by agents in incognito clothes and plain disguise," he continued.
Despite being a green card holder and having not played a role in pro-Palestinian protests on campus, he says he is still in "crippling anxiety" because he has written things that are critical of the president.
"How far does this administration dig through, like, an immigrant's history?" he asked. "What if I did say something and I'm not aware."
Source:bbc.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20xq5nd8jeo
---------
US to walk away if Ukraine talks become ‘very difficult’ – Trump
18 Apr, 2025
US President Donald Trump has said that Washington could abandon efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict if Moscow and Kiev don’t engage in negotiations. He added, however, the US still hopes to see the fighting come to an end.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump was asked to comment on remarks by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had suggested that the White House could walk away from efforts to broker a settlement.
“If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say you’re foolish, you’re fools, you’re horrible people,” Trump said, adding “We’re going to just take a pass, but hopefully we won’t have to do that.”
Earlier on Friday, the secretary of state told journalists that the White House is still waiting to see if a peace deal is “doable.”
“We need to figure out here, now, within a matter of days, whether this is doable in the short term, because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on,” Rubio said.
Rubio refused to comment on what is being discussed, but called it a “broad framework.”
“Marco [Rubio] is right in saying we want to see it [the conflict] end,” Trump said, noting “I think we have a good chance of solving the problem.”
Trump has repeatedly claimed he wants a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict as soon as possible. Russia and the US have been engaged in negotiations since Trump took office in January. The two countries have held several rounds of high-level talks while Kiev and its Western backers have continued to push for escalation.
Moscow has maintained it is open to peace talks, provided its core security demands are addressed. Russia opposes any NATO presence on Ukrainian soil and has demanded that Kiev recognize Russia’s new borders and abandon its plans to join NATO or acquire nuclear weapons.
The Russian government, however, has said it will not accept a freeze of the conflict, which will only lead to renewed hostilities later on, citing Ukraine’s multiple violations of a US-mediated moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure as proof of Kiev’s untrustworthiness.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday the ongoing negotiations to secure peace in the Ukraine conflict are “difficult,” but Russia remains committed to resolving the crisis. He said there’s some progress but numerous challenging issues remain on the table.
Source:rt.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.rt.com/news/615974-us-trump-ukraine-conflict/
---------
Southeast Asia
Mais records over 1,800 mualaf conversions in Selangor through PPP, district offices
19 Apr 2025
SHAH ALAM, April 19 — The Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) registered 1,875 individuals as mualaf, or Muslim converts, last year, said its chairman Datuk Salehuddin Saidin.
He said of the total, 1,031 individuals registered their conversion at the Islam Management Centres (PPP), which comprised mosques and non-governmental Islamic organisations.
Salehuddin said the remaining 844 individuals registered as mualaf at the Mais headquarters, the Chief Registrar of Mualaf’s Office, and the district Islamic religious office.
“Mais is responsible for managing mualaf affairs in Selangor, from the conversion process to registration, in accordance with the Administration Of The Religion Of Islam (State Of Selangor) Enactment 2003 under Part IX, relating to embracing Islam.
“The Regulations on Registration, Care and Teaching for Mualaf (State of Selangor) 2009, which have been enforced, assist mualaf with registration, welfare support, education, and funeral management,” he said in speech at the Majlis Apresiasi dan Jalinan Ukhwah PPP 2025 programme at Wisma PKPS today.
Salehuddin expressed hope that every PPP officer would remain committed to the task of preaching and registering mualaf in Selangor, treating them with love and sincerity.
“Officers are also hoped to help raise awareness among mualaf about the importance of registering their conversion to Islam so they can be effectively managed in terms of welfare and assistance, particularly regarding nasab (lineage), property management, and funeral arrangements,” he said.
During today’s ceremony, Mais presented a contribution of RM103,100 to 30 PPPs, in appreciation of their role in facilitating the mualaf registration process.
At the same event, Mais also handed over a RM30,000 contribution under the Sumbangan Agihan Fidyah Mais initiative to 100 mualaf in Selangor, aimed at alleviating their cost of living.
To date, there are 41 PPPs across Selangor, which also play a key role in offering consultations to those who wish to convert to Islam. —Bernama
Source:malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/04/19/mais-records-over-1800-mualaf-conversions-in-selangor-through-ppp-district-offices/173673
---------
PM Anwar attends special meeting and briefing on Sarawak’s development
Bernama
19-04- 2025
KUCHING: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today attended a Special Meeting and State Development Briefing at Wisma Bapa Malaysia in conjunction with his one-day working visit to Kuching
Upon arrival here, the Prime Minister was immediately taken to Wisma Bapa to attend the meeting together with Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, as well as members of the State Cabinet.
The meeting lasted for about an hour.
Anwar then attended the MADANI Aidilfitri Celebration at Stadium Perpaduan, Petra Jaya at 12 noon.
At about 1.50 pm, Anwar is scheduled to attend the Open House Ceremony organised by the Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri at Wisma SABATI before leaving for the capital at 3.15 pm.
Source:thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/pm-anwar-attends-special-meeting-and-briefing-on-sarawak-s-development-BM13971231
----------
Sultan Nazrin graces Perak Police Contingent’s Aidilfitri celebration
Bernama
19-04- 2025
IPOH: The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah, graced the Perak Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) Contingent’s 2025 Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration at the Federal Reserve Unit 5 Headquarters, here yesterday.
Also gracing the event were Raja Permaisuri Perak Tuanku Zara Salim, Raja Muda Perak Raja Jaafar Raja Muda Musa, Raja Di Hilir Perak Raja Iskandar Dzurkarnain Sultan Idris Shah, and Raja Puan Muda Perak Tunku Soraya Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah.
Their Royal Highnesses arrived at 8.33 pm and were welcomed by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad and his wife Datin Seri Aezer Zubir.
Also present to welcome Their Royal Highnesses were Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain, Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Mohammad Zahir Abdul Khalid, and Perak police chief Datuk Noor Hisam Nordin.
The event was attended by about 3,000 guests, including state and federal department heads.
Sultan Nazrin and Tuanku Zara also graciously presented duit raya to 50 orphans and Perak PDRM staff.
Their Royal Highnesses visited several food stalls before departing around 10.22 pm.
Source:thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/sultan-nazrin-graces-perak-police-contingent-s-aidilfitri-celebration-AM13970473
--------
PM Anwar attends special meeting and briefing on Sarawak’s development
19 Apr 2025
KUCHING, April 19 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today attended a Special Meeting and State Development Briefing at Wisma Bapa Malaysia in conjunction with his one-day working visit to Kuching.
Upon arrival here, the Prime Minister was immediately taken to Wisma Bapa to attend the meeting together with Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, as well as members of the State Cabinet.
The meeting lasted for about an hour.
Anwar then attended the Madani Aidilfitri Celebration at Stadium Perpaduan, Petra Jaya at 12 noon.
At about 1.50 pm, Anwar is scheduled to attend the Open House Ceremony organised by the Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri at Wisma Sabati before leaving for the capital at 3.15 pm. — Bernama
Source:malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/04/19/pm-anwar-attends-special-meeting-and-briefing-on-sarawaks-development/173685
--------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/hindutva-ghaziabad-station-bahadur-shah-zafar/d/135235