To Avoid Holi Colours, Muslim Men Can Wear ‘Tarpaulin Hijabs’: UP Minister
New Age Islam News Bureau
11 March 2025
Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Labour and Employment Raghuraj Singh (Photo:Instagram)
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· To Avoid Holi Colours, Muslim Men Can Wear ‘Tarpaulin Hijabs’: UP Minister
· Rights Watchdog Classifies Pakistan As ‘Repressed’, Journalists Being Clamped Down On By Draconian Laws
· 75 Hostages Freed As Nigerian Army Raid Boko Haram Stronghold In Sambisa Forest
· China Urges Lifting of Sanctions on Afghanistan’s Islamic Emirate
· Ramadan Behind Bars Should Be A Holy Time, Muslim Advocates Say, Not A Fight For Religious Rights
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India
· Now Bihar BJP MLA Urges Muslims To Stay Indoors On Holi If They Object To Colours
· BJP Leader, Out On Bail In A Hate Speech Case, Claims 400 Girls Lost To 'Love Jihad' In Kerala's Meenachil Taluk
· BJP MLA Calls For Ban On Muslim Entry In Ballia Medical College, Demands Separate Building
· No threats will stop the Waqf Bill from being enacted, says Jagadambika Pal
· Muslim literacy, participation of women in workforce up: Rijiju
· Catwalk on snow during Ramadan raises J&K's hackles, Omar disowns event after Mirwaiz backlash
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· Pakistan
· Nadra launches Pakistan's first 'Dematerialised Digital Identity Card'
· ‘All decisions made outside parliament’, PTI slams 'helpless' govt
· Straining to hear Zardari speak, govt members ‘ignore’ PTI din
· Senate panel alarmed over law, order in three provinces
· PM Shehbaz seeks greater outreach for Rs20bn Ramazan package
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Africa
· Hundreds of thousands return home in Sudan
· Assuaging the undaunted muslim-muslim ticket in Nigeria
· Don’t relent in praying for Nigeria’s peace, prosperity, Tinubu tells Muslims
· We No Longer Sleep Hungry, Zamfara Locals Laud Matawalle’s Ramadan Feeding Initiative
· How Retired Soldier Asked Us To Kill His Son — FCT CP, Tunji Disu
· Growing tension in South Sudan as cracks emerge in ruling coalition
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South Asia
· US Congressman: Afghan travel ban contradicts American values and puts allies at risk
· Islamic Emirate seeking good relations with world
· Canadian tourist embraces Islam in Nangarhar
· Afghanistan, Oman Discuss Enhanced Cooperation: Strengthening Ties
· Torkham Border Crossing to Reopen for Freight Trucks Soon: Nangarhar Officials
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North America
· Multiple shell casings found after Lewiston mosque shooting
· CAIR-SFBA Calls for Hate Crime Probe of Anti-Palestinian Hate Attack on Muslim Worshipers
· US court temporarily blocks effort to deport Gaza protest leader
· JD Vance's cousin criticises him for 'belittling' Zelensky
· Ontario says it will slap a 25% surcharge on US-bound electricity
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Mideast
· Israeli Army Says It Targeted Military Headquarters, Sites Containing Weapons In Southern Syria
· Israel urging UN agencies, aid groups to replace UNRWA in Gaza, envoy says
· IRGC's Resistance Logic Sole Way To Save Muslims: IRGC Chief Salami
· How long can Israel’s policy of deliberate nuclear ambiguity hold?
· Boatless in Gaza: using old fridge doors to catch fish
· Israel’s halt to food and aid deliveries worsens Gaza conditions
· Drought-stricken Algeria plans to import one million sheep ahead of Islam’s Eid Al-Adha
· Lebanese president calls for population to see beyond partisan, sectarian views
· Israeli team heads to Qatar for Gaza truce talks
· Adopted orphan brings couple ‘paradise’ in war-ravaged Gaza
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Arab World
· Saudi Envoy Chairs Landmark Global Conference, Says Barriers Denying Women Equal Rights Must Fall
· Zelensky in Saudi Arabia as Ukraine, US set for key talks
· Human Capability Initiative conference features thought leaders, policymakers
· Saudi Arabia condemns Israel’s Gaza electricity cut
· Saudi Arabia welcomes Syrian agreement in northeast
· Saudi crown prince, US Secretary of State discuss regional developments
· Madinah students embark on environment cleanup
· Eastern Province governor launches Green East initiative
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Europe
· Man Sentenced For Making Threatening Phone Calls To North London Mosque
· Muslim groups demand action over Finland’s refugee policy
· City Law Firm Takes Action Over “Anti-Islam And Anti-Transgender Comments” HR Advisor
· Ramadan 2025: Halifax to host one of the biggest iftar events in the country
· Teacher seen slapping boy in mosque is sacked
· Brierley Hill mosque plans to build dome and minaret which will 'double the height of the building'
· Ramadan event brings community together
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Southeast Asia
· PM Anwar Slams False Narratives On Azan Issue In Perak, Urges Unity
· Netizen apologises over video allegedly insulting Muslims
· Witness: Najib said ‘My God’, shocked, upset over RM42m entering his accounts via 1MDB’s CSR firm
· ‘Must be managed like blood pressure’: Indonesia’s central bank taps preachers to keep Ramadan inflation in check
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/holi-colours-muslim-men-hijabs/d/134844
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To Avoid Holi Colours, Muslim Men Can Wear ‘Tarpaulin Hijabs’: UP Minister
March 11, 2025
Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Labour and Employment Raghuraj Singh (Photo:Instagram)
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Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Labour and Employment Raghuraj Singh triggered a controversy on Tuesday by suggesting that those who wish to avoid colours on Holi should wear a “tarpaulin hijab’ or stay at their homes.
He said that just as the mosque is covered with tarpaulin on Holi and women wear hijabs, similarly, people who wish to avoid Holi colours can wear a hijab before leaving their homes.
Raghuraj Singh stated that “If you want to avoid colour on Holi, then wear a hijab of tarpaulin before you step out of your homes.”
This time, the festival of Holi and Jumma (Friday prayers for Muslims) are falling on the same day.
Minister Raghuraj Singh said that the reason for wearing a hijab made of tarpaulin is to save their caps and their bodies.
THe UP minister also mentioned that a temple would be built in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). He said, ”I will invest my full property to build a Ram temple in AMU, and I will lay the first brick for it.”
Earlier, the Minister of State had demanded a ban on ‘burqa’ (enveloping outer garment worn by some Muslim women) in the country.
Source:thestatesman.com
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https://www.thestatesman.com/india/to-avoid-holi-colours-muslim-men-can-wear-tarpaulin-hijabs-up-minister-1503406861.html
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Rights Watchdog Classifies Pakistan As ‘Repressed’, Journalists Being Clamped Down On By Draconian Laws
March 10, 2025
KARACHI: Pakistan has been added to the Civicus Monitor’s human rights watchlist for 2025 due to a narrowing civil space, human rights activists being arbitrarily targeted by authorities, and journalists being clamped down on by draconian laws, according to a statement issued by the monitor.
According to Civicus, Pakistan joins the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Serbia, Italy and the United States in this year’s watchlist, which “lists countries experiencing rapid declines in civic freedoms”.
It lists Pakistan’s status as “repressed” on its website.
“Pakistan’s recent criminalisation of activists, stifling of opposition and minority protests, and digital space restrictions have resulted in the county being added to the Civicus Monitor watchlist,” the press release read.
The release added that the government brought “trumped up charges” against Dr Mahrang Baloch, the leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, and human rights activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir.
The release said that Mahrang “faces multiple criminal charges, including under the Anti-Terrorism Act, for organising sit-ins across the country and attending gatherings”.
Meanwhile, the release said that Mazari-Hazir was “targeted on terrorism charges for actively supporting legal redress for victims of violence and persecution and advocating for rights of persecuted religious and ethnic communities”.
Civicus added that the Anti-Terrorism Act was also used to ban the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement in 2024.
“The charges against human rights defenders like Dr Mahrang Baloch and Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir are a political witch-hunt. They are attempts at silencing dissent,” said Rajavelu Karunanithi, Civicus’ Advocacy and Campaign Officer for Asia.
“Civicus calls on the government to drop these fabricated charges immediately and to revoke the ban against the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement,” the release added, quoting Karunanithi.
The monitor observed a systematic crackdown on protests by political opponents in October and November last year. “Hundreds were arrested and charged ahead of protests under vague and overbroad laws,” Civicus said. “The authorities blocked major highways and routes to stifle the movement of protesters.
“Protests by the ethnic Sindh and Baloch groups were met with suppression by the authorities. These incidents are clear violations of Pakistan’s commitments to uphold civic freedoms,” the monitor added.
Furthermore, Civicus noted that journalists were targeted under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), with the press release stating that they were “accused of spreading ‘false narratives against state institutions’.”
The monitor added that Peca was amended in January to “further tighten its control on free speech”, while it noted that social media platform X has been shut down in Pakistan since February 2024. Civicus also mentioned the suspension of mobile and internet services amid protests in its press release.
“The crackdown on protests by the opposition and ethnic minority groups and targeting of journalists and digital restrictions are inconsistent with Pakistan’s international human rights obligations,” the press release read. “They also go against the recommendations made by the UN Human Rights Committee.”
According to Civicus, the UN Human Rights Committee reviewed Pakistan’s record on civil and political rights and urged recommendations to protect civic freedoms in October 2024.
“The authorities must take steps to reverse course and protect the rights to peaceful assembly and expression and bring perpetrators to justice,” added Karunanithi.
Source:dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1896892/rights-watchdog-classifies-pakistan-as-repressed
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75 Hostages Freed As Nigerian Army Raid Boko Haram Stronghold In Sambisa Forest
10 March 2025
By Justina Otio
The Nigerian Army has rescued 75 civilian captives from the den of Boko Haram/ ISWAP terrorists’ in Sambisa Forest in Borno State.
The Theatre Commander Operation Hadin Kai Joint Taskforce North-East, Maj. Gen Waidi Shuaibu, made the disclosure on Monday while addressing journalists.
He handed over the 75 rescued captives comprising 7 adult males, 34 women, and 34 children at Maimalari cantonment in Maiduguri.
Represented by the Deputy Theatre Commander, Brig. Gen Anthony Okpodu, the Theatre Commander, Maj Gen Shuaibu, said the operation significantly degraded enemy capabilities by neutralising insurgents, destroying command and logistics bases, makeshift shelters, weapon caches, and IED-making materials, thereby disrupting their life-supporting structures.
He said, “As part of our ongoing clearance efforts, troops from the 21 Special Armoured Brigade and 199 Special Forces Battalion recently conducted successful offensive operations under Operation Desert Sanity 1V in the Sambisa Forest.
“Key terrorist enclaves in Ukuba, Njimia, Sabil Huda, Garin Falluja, and Gobara were cleared, leading to the rescue of 75 civilians, including seven adult males, 34 women, and 34 children. The operation significantly degraded enemy capabilities by neutralizing insurgents, destroying command and logistics bases, makeshift shelters, weapon caches, and IED-making materials, thereby disrupting their life-supporting structures.”
Gen. Okpodu said the day’s handover ceremony highlights the collective efforts of OPHK, the Borno State government, and key stakeholders in stabilising the North-East and ensuring the safety and well-being of civilians affected by the insurgency.
Source:naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2025/03/10/75-hostages-freed-as-nigerian-army-raid-boko-haram-stronghold-in-sambisa-forest/
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China Urges Lifting of Sanctions on Afghanistan’s Islamic Emirate
2025-03-11
KABUL(BNA): The Chinese ambassador to the United Nations has called for the Security Council to lift sanctions imposed on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. During a recent address, Ambassador Fu Cong urged the council to amend the sanctions list to foster greater interaction with the Islamic Emirate led government.
Ambassador Fu emphasized the importance of continued engagement with the Islamic Emirate, noting that an increasing number of countries have initiated dialogue and cooperation with Afghanistan over the past year.
“The Security Council should revive the travel ban exemption for Afghan interim government officials and timely amend the sanctions regime stemming from the 1988 resolution,” Fu stated, highlighting the need for improved international relations.
The 1988 Security Council resolution includes measures such as asset freezes, a travel ban, and an arms embargo on the Islamic Emirate. Fu urged that these restrictions should not hinder humanitarian efforts, especially as a significant portion of the Afghan population remains in dire need of assistance.
While refraining from naming the United States directly, the ambassador called on Western nations to reconsider their stance on halting humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
Fu’s comments reflect a broader push from China to strengthen its influence in the region and advocate for a more lenient approach to the Islamic Emirate, as the international community grapples with the complexities of governance and humanitarian issues in Afghanistan.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/china-urges-lifting-of-sanctions-on-afghanistans-islamic-emirate/
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Ramadan Behind Bars Should Be A Holy Time, Muslim Advocates Say, Not A Fight For Religious Rights
Fiona André
March 10, 2025
(RNS illustration)
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(RNS) — For Muslims, the monthlong fast of Ramadan is an occasion to deepen one’s knowledge of Islam and congregate with loved ones to break fast at sunset. But for Muslims who are incarcerated, it can be a month of frustration as prison schedules aren’t set with Ramadan’s daily rhythms in mind.
Prisoners who observe Ramadan, who don’t take any food or water between sunrise and sundown, are often forced to break their fasts when eating is not officially permitted, or are not allowed to congregate for Eid al-Fitr, the celebration marking the end of the holy time. Instead of growing spiritually, many prisoners spend the month engaged in tedious legal battles to ensure their religious rights are respected.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy group, sees a spike in the number of complaints filed by inmates. Most of these cases arise because of lesser consideration given to non-Christian inmates, out of ignorance and sometimes bigotry, said Corey Saylor, a research and advocacy director with CAIR.
“Some of these cases just straight up have to do with anti-Muslim biases, and some of those cases simply have to do with not understanding the faith,” said Saylor, though he noted it’s difficult to assess what share of these cases are the result of a deliberate desire to restrict prisoners’ ability to practice their faith.
In Virginia, some inmates have been denied the right to fast unless they declared their intention to do so four months in advance, including one inmate who had converted a month before Ramadan and was “being put in a position of either starving himself or not adhering to his sincerely held religious beliefs because of this just weird rule,” said Saylor.
Muslims make up as little as 1% of the U.S. population but 9% of inmates, with the federal government alone incarcerating some 11,000 Muslims. Despite the growing number of Muslims behind bars, American prisons lack a sufficient number of competent chaplains to serve the population and advocate for their rights.
CAIR produces a guide to Islamic religious practices and shares it each year with prison administrators as Ramadan approaches, reminding them of their obligations toward religious prisoners, said Saylor. The 16-page document provides information on Muslim daily prayers, the need for prayer rugs, Islamic garments and other topics.
There is also help in navigating Ramadan for prisoners themselves. The nonprofit Tayba Foundation offers religious teachings, reinsertion programs and assistance to inmates and their families in all 50 states, serving more than 1,000 facilities.
Muhammad Amin Anderson, an instructor with Tayba, joined the organization last summer after serving a 33-year sentence in a Pennsylvania federal prison. Having converted to Islam in prison at 22, he studied Islam through Tayba’s teaching materials. Anderson also trains non-Muslim chaplains on Islamic practices and helps inmates prepare their applications for parole.
Many complaints related to religious accommodations would be avoided, Anderson said, if more Muslim chaplains were present in prisons, where prisoners are often left to fend for themselves and their requests hesitantly answered by the correctional staff.
“If you put more Muslim chaplains in the system, it makes it a lot easier to put the responsibility of preparing for Ramadan, answering any questions that need to be answered by staff, to a member of the staff department in the chaplaincy, rather than having to go to a person who’s incarcerated, who they have a lot of doubt about,” he said.
In rural areas, the need for Muslim chaplains is even more important, as the correctional staff is less likely to be religiously diverse, he said.
A 2021 report from the U.S. Department of Justice on the lack of Muslim chaplains within the Bureau of Prisons concluded that “the BOP has not taken adequate steps to address its long-standing chaplaincy staffing issues, including issues arising from the increasing religious diversity within the inmate population.”
The report indicated that Protestant Christian chaplains were overrepresented in the BOP, with 84% of all chaplains being Protestant Christians as of March 2020, while serving only 34% of inmates claiming a faith preference.
Salahuddin Muhammad, vice-president of the corrections department for the Association of Muslim Chaplains, said potential candidates shy away from joining the chaplaincy because of notions that serving imprisoned people is unsafe.
Muhammad, primarily works at FCI Butner, a federal correctional complex in North Carolina where he mediates between the prison staff and inmates. During Ramadan he often has to remind staffers of their obligations about inmates’ religious rights, while negotiating matters such as whether inmates with medical conditions can fast despite the facility’s medication schedule interfering with fasting hours.
“In Islam, we have concessions, if you have an illness, you don’t have to fast. So I talk to them about that, that’s probably the biggest thing during the month of Ramadan,” he said.
Large prisons tend to impose stricter rules on fasting, which particularly affects those with medically limited diets. Alexandra Morgan-Kurtz, deputy director of the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, which defends inmates’ civil rights, recently represented a Pennsylvania detainee who was put in solitary for keeping oranges in his cell to break his fast.
“People who are receiving any kind of medical diet have to choose between getting their medical diet versus participating in the special Ramadan meals, which is pretty ridiculous,” they said.
In 2022 Pennsylvania’s Department of Corrections, where 1 in 5 inmates are Muslim, revised a longstanding policy regarding the organization of religious feasts, removing the option to purchase food that wasn’t usually included in the prison mainline menu. For Muslim inmates, it meant they would no longer be able to buy halal meats for Eid al-Fitr meals, one of the rare times of the year inmates would have access to halal meat, they said.
Recently, Morgan-Kurtz, representing Craig Williams, a detainee of the Albion prison, in Erie County, argued the policy violated Williams’ religious rights under the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). A recent settlement required that the DOC draft a new policy that would reverse the change and apply to all religious groups eligible for meals for religious holidays at all prisons
The DOC had already moved away from the policy before the ruling, said the Rev. Ulrich Klemm, the head of the DOC’s religious services, in an email statement shared with Religion News Service, and the change will come into effect on March 12 in all the state’s prisons, accommodating faith groups that qualify with up to two religious meals per year, wrote Klemm.
The meals will include a DOC-provided meal chosen by faith groups from the regular menu, and up to three items purchased from food establishments approved by the department.
“The DOC strives to meet inmate religious needs within the confines of an institutional setting,” Klemm wrote.
But Morgan-Kurtz claimed the policy change was typical of a prison authority that had simply not considered the importance of food in religious practices. The DOC, they said, mostly believes “faith should be about what you think and what you pray, not about food.”
Source:religionnews.com
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https://religionnews.com/2025/03/10/ramadan-behind-bars-advocates-draw-concerns-over-muslim-inmates-situation/
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India
Now Bihar BJP MLA Urges Muslims To Stay Indoors On Holi If They Object To Colours
Scroll Staff
March 11, 2025
Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul on Monday asked Muslims to stay indoors on the Holi festival if they object to being smeared with colours, The Indian Express reported.
The Hindu festival of Holi falls on March 14 this year, and coincides with congregational Friday prayers during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan.
Bachaul said on Monday that Muslims should not take offence if colours are smeared on them on Holi. “If they have such a problem, they should stay indoors,” he said, according to PTI. “This is essential for maintaining communal harmony.”
The MLA from Bisfi constituency in Madhubani district added: “There are 52 Fridays, they [Muslims] can avoid coming out on Holi.'“
In response to the remark, Leader of Opposition and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav urged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to take action against the BJP MLA.
“Who is this Bachaul?” Yadav asked, according to PTI. “How can he issue such a statement on Muslims? Does the CM have the courage to punish Bachaul?
Yadav added: “This is a country that believes in ‘Ram and Rahim’…This is Bihar. He needs to understand that here five-six Hindus will protect one Muslim brother.”
State Minority Welfare Minister Zama Khan, a Janata Dal (United) leader, said that Bihar authorities would ensure communal harmony is maintained. The Janata Dal (United) is an ally of the BJP.
“What I mean is, any festival conveys a message of brotherhood,” Khan said. “Festivals are meant to promote brotherhood, and as far as Jummah prayers are concerned, they are offered in the mosque. People will go there to offer prayers.”
Bachaul’s remarks were on similar lines as those made by a police official in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal on March 6.
The official, Sambhal Circle Officer Anuj Kumar Chaudhary, had also said that Muslims should stay at home if they do not want Holi colours to be thrown at them. “And if they want to go out of their house, then they should be big-hearted enough not to object if colour falls on them,” he had added.
The remark was criticised by Opposition leaders who said that police officials should not act as agents of the ruling BJP.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath defended the police official’s remarks, saying that Friday prayers were not mandatory for Muslims.
“If someone wants to offer namaz [on that day], they can do it at home,” he said. “It is not necessary for them to go to a mosque. If they want to go, they should not object to colours.”
Source:scroll.in
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https://scroll.in/latest/1080137/bihar-bjp-mla-urges-muslims-to-stay-indoors-on-holi-if-they-object-to-colours
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BJP Leader, Out On Bail In A Hate Speech Case, Claims 400 Girls Lost To 'Love Jihad' In Kerala's Meenachil Taluk
Mar 10, 2025
BJP leader P C George, who is out on bail in connection with a hate speech case, has urged the Christian faithful to marry off their daughters by the age of 24, claiming that 400 girls have been lost to 'love jihad' in Meenachil Taluk alone. George made the controversial remarks while addressing a special conference in Pala on Sunday under the leadership of Bishop of Pala diocese, Joseph Kallarangatt, and the Temperance Commission of the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC) against the menace of drugs.
"In Meenachil Taluk alone, we have lost around 400 girls to love jihad. Only 41 have been recovered. Just Saturday (March 8), a girl left. She was 25 years old. She left at 9.30 PM. We are still searching for her.
"Let me ask--shouldn't her father be beaten up for keeping her unmarried until 25? ... Why wasn't she married off? This is an issue we need to discuss," George said.
Meenachil Taluk has a significant Syrian Catholic population.
George stated that a girl should be married off by the time she is 22 or 23 and that such decency should be maintained.
"If she reaches 28 or 29 and starts earning a salary, she will not get married, and her earnings will simply be drained by her family. That is the problem. Christians must ensure that their daughters are married off by the age of 24," George said.
'Love jihad' is a term used by BJP and right-wing leaders who claim Hindu women were lured into marriage by Muslim men through Islamic jihad.
In 2020, the Centre had said the term 'Love jihad' is not defined under the extant of laws and no case of 'Love jihad' has been reported by any of the central agencies.
The government had informed Parliament that the Article 25 of the Constitution provides for the freedom to profess, practice and propagate religion subject to public order, morality and health.
Various courts, including the Kerala High Court, have upheld this view, the government had said in reply to a question.
A few weeks ago, George, a former MLA, was arrested for delivering a hate speech against a minority community during a TV channel discussion.
George, who had been sent to judicial remand in connection with the case, was granted bail on 28 February.
Source:indiatimes.com
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https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/bjp-leader-george-claims-400-girls-lost-to-love-jihad-in-keralas-meenachil-taluk/articleshow/118851838.cms
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BJP MLA Calls For Ban On Muslim Entry In Ballia Medical College, Demands Separate Building
March 11, 2025
Ballia, Uttar Pradesh – In a controversial statement, BJP MLA Ketki Singh has demanded a ban on the entry of Muslims into Ballia Medical College and called for the construction of a separate building for them. The remarks have sparked outrage and debate, with critics accusing the legislator of promoting communal division.
Singh, who represents the Bansdih constituency in Uttar Pradesh, reportedly made the statement during a public address. She argued that Muslim students and staff should have a separate facility within the medical college, claiming it would prevent “conflicts” and maintain “harmony” within the institution.
All eyes are now on the Uttar Pradesh government and the BJP leadership to see whether they will endorse or distance themselves from Singh’s remarks.
Source:muslimmirror.com
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https://muslimmirror.com/bjp-mla-ketki-singh-calls-for-ban-on-muslim-entry-in-ballia-medical-college-demands-separate-building/
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No threats will stop the Waqf Bill from being enacted, says Jagadambika Pal
March 10, 2025
Following the announcement of massive protests by the Muslim bodies against the Waqf Amendment Bill, Chairman of Joint Parliament Committee, Jagdambika Pal on Monday said that the Bill cannot be stopped from passing irrespective of any ‘threats.’
Speaking to the IANS, Jagadambika Pal said, “Approaching the Supreme Court is always an option but should we as a democracy function only through threats or by the will of people? Elected individuals make laws not by threats.”
Defending the government, he said that the bill had been carefully examined along with many consultations. However, members of AIMPLB have accused the JPC of not consulting any scholar or holding any meeting before introducing the bill.
He also criticised the actions of AIMPLB where they called for nationwide agitation while being within the legal framework.
“We listened to the AIMPLB for a period of six months to voice their concerns by giving them four hours. We have now prepared a 400-page long amendment which deals with the needs of the minorities and supports the country’s poor, women, orphans, widows and economically backward Muslims.”
He said that the amendments are necessary and will benefit those who need it the most — the vulnerable groups. He then reasserted that the bill won’t stop by any resistance shown by the Muslim groups.
Meanwhile, all Muslim groups have been strongly criticizing the bill accusing the BJP of targeting the Muslims by bringing laws that are ‘unconstitutional.’
After the announcement of protests by the AIMPLB, the Jamiat Ulema e Hind extended its full support asserting that the government is forcing Muslims to come out on streets and protest.
Source:muslimmirror.com
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https://muslimmirror.com/no-threats-will-stop-the-waqf-bill-from-being-enacted-says-jagadambika-pal-criticises-muslim-groups/
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Muslim literacy, participation of women in workforce up: Rijiju
Mar 11, 2025,
NEW DELHI: Government on Monday told Parliament that the literacy rate among Muslims as well as the share of women from the community in the labour force had increased in recent years.
In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said that Periodic Labour Force Survey data for 2023-24 estimated literacy among Muslims (aged seven years or more) at 79.5%, although it was lower than the 80.9%-level for all religions groups. In Census 2001, the literacy rate among Muslims was pegged at 59.1% as compared to the all-India literacy rate of 64.8%. The literacy rate among Muslims was 68.5% in 2011 as compared to the all-India rate of 73%. “Thus, the literacy rate among Muslims has increased by 9.4 percentage points in Census 2011 as compared to Census 2001,” Rijiju said.
Replying to another question, he pointed to PLFS data on minorities to show that between 2021-22 and 2023-24, the percentage of women workers among Muslims in the labour force reflected a significant increase of over six percentage points from 15% in 2021-22 to 21.4% in 2023-24. In fact, it had dropped to 14.2% in 2022-23.
Source:indiatimes.com
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/muslim-literacy-participation-of-women-in-workforce-up-rijiju/articleshow/118861772.cms
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Catwalk on snow during Ramadan raises J&K's hackles, Omar disowns event after Mirwaiz backlash
Mar 11, 2025
SRINAGAR: Videos of fashion models strutting on snow in the ski resort of Gulmarg were pulled down from social media after a backlash led by J&K's chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq over what he termed an "outrageous" and "obscene" display that had hurt the "sensitivities of the local population" in the middle of Ramadan fasting.
Designer duo Shivan & Narresh, who staged the show on March 7 to mark the 15th anniversary of their label, proffered an apology after a 0.35-second reel shared by Elle India on its Instagram handle was removed.
"We deeply regret any hurt caused by our recent presentation in Gulmarg during the holy month of Ramadan. Our sole intention was to celebrate creativity and the ski & après-ski lifestyle, without any desire to offend anyone or any religious sentiments," the designers said.
"Respect for all cultures and traditions is at our heart, and we acknowledge the concerns raised. We sincerely apologize for any unintended discomfort and appreciate the feedback from our community."
The Mirwaiz – from "mir", denoting chief, and "waiz", meaning preacher – questioned how a fashion show of this nature was allowed "in the valley known for its sufi culture and the deeply religious outlook of its people".
He said "such obscenity in the name of tourism promotion will not be tolerated".
National Conference MP and Shia cleric Aga Ruhullah Mehdi described images from the Gulmarg show circulating on social media as "shocking", linking the event with what he called a "cultural invasion in the disguise of tourism"
Former vice chancellor of Islamic University of Science and Technology, Prof Siddiq Wahid, described the show as "less naked conspiracy and more veiled threat by the uncivilised in this country".
"Surely, even the limited local government can condemn this freshly insulting encroachment, unapologetically? Loudly? Dare we hope?" he said.
The frisson of outrage coursed through the J&K assembly, too. "How is it possible that the govt doesn't know anything about it (the show)? This nudity is neither acceptable in Hinduism nor in Islam," said PDP MLA Wahid Parra.
BJP's J&K president Sunil Sharma held CM Omar Abdullah for the show. He alleged that the models and designers stayed in a hotel owned by relatives of Omar and that the show was in "preparation" for his visit to Gulmarg.
Omar distanced himself and the National Conference-led govt from the show. "The controversial fashion show at the famous ski resort of Gulmarg was organised by a private party at a private hotel, with no involvement of the govt at any stage," the CM said.
He blamed the organisers for failure to exercise "sound judgment, disregarding the sensitivities of the people, the significance of the location, and the timing of their event".
"There have been concerns that such an event should not have taken place during Ramadan. I completely agree. Such an event should not have been held at any time of the year in a place, given the cultural and social ethos of our region," Omar said.
Kashmiri Pandit organisation Panun Kashmir took the opposite stand, calling the backlash "a blatant assertion of religious supremacy in J&K". Its chairperson, Dr Ajay Chrungoo, said the controversy surrounding the event "exposes the enduring grip of theocratic diktats in the region and raises serious questions about the claim of secular governance".
Source:indiatimes.com
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/catwalk-on-snow-during-ramadan-raises-jks-hackles-omar-disowns-event-after-mirwaiz-backlash/articleshow/118859406.cms
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Pakistan
Nadra launches Pakistan's first 'Dematerialised Digital Identity Card'
March 10, 2025
The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) on Monday launched Pakistan's first "dematerialised digital identity card" during its silver jubilee ceremony.
This development marks a revolutionary milestone in the national identity system.
The ceremony featured the unveiling of a commemorative coin by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), a special postage stamp by Pakistan Post, and a book chronicling Nadra's 25-year journey.
A special event was held at Nadra headquarters, with Nadra founding chairman Major General Retd Zahid Ihsan as the chief guest.
Other attendees included Nadra Chairman Lieutenant General Retd Asif Munir, the special secretary of interior, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) chief statistician, Immigration and Passport's director-general, former chairpersons, board members, and senior officials.
In his written message, Federal Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control Mohsin Naqvi termed the launch of Pakistan's first dematerialised digital identity card as a significant step toward digital identity transformation.
He announced that after integrating this feature into the Pak ID mobile app, citizens will be able to store their identity cards on their smartphones.
Additionally, a digital verification system will be introduced soon, facilitating secure and instant verification for various services under the World Bank-backed Digital Economy Project. The pilot phase of this initiative will begin on Independence Day 2025.
The minister also highlighted that Nadra extends identity services to remote areas within the country and Pakistanis living abroad, while also assisting law enforcement agencies in national security matters.
A documentary on Nadra’s achievements was also screened, and a commemorative book was unveiled, receiving great appreciation from the attendees.
Speaking on the occasion, Ihsan reflected on the organisation’s establishment and early journey, stating that the Nadra has continuously evolved to turn its vision into reality and is steadily achieving new milestones in its development.
Source:thenews.com.pk
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https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1290540-nadra-launches-pakistans-first-dematerialised-digital-identity-card
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‘All decisions made outside parliament’, PTI slams 'helpless' govt
By Web Desk
March 10, 2025
Firing a fresh salvo at the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led “helpless” government, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan claimed on Monday that all decisions were being made outside the parliament.
His remarks came shortly after President Asif Ali Zardari addressed a joint session of parliament to mark the commencement of the second parliamentary year amid a strong protest by the opposition. The president urged stakeholders to prioritise national interests and set aside personal and political differences for the sake of the country.
Emphasising the importance of democracy, Zardari said: "Democracy needs give and take, and what better place to work on collective goals than this parliament? As elected representatives, you function as role models for the nation."
The PTI, however, believes that the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government does not have any real power, and its leaders publicly call the establishment the “real decision maker”.
During his interactions with journalists after the president’s address, Barrister Gohar claimed that it was an incomplete house, adding that they attended the session only to register their protest.
According to the former ruling party, the lower house of parliament was “incomplete” as the reserved seats had not been allotted to the Sunni Ittehad Council so far.
For his part, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan said there was no rule of law in the country.
Referring to hundreds of cases against the PTI’s leadership, Ayub said: “Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ejaz Chaudhry and Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed are behind bars.”
“Hassan Niazi (PTI founder Imran Khan’s nephew) and our workers are political prisoners,” he added.
There was no investment in the country because of the lack of rule of law, he added.
Blasting the government over “wrong” economic policies, the PTI leader said that 20 million people had fallen below the poverty line and two million people had left the country.
These two million people went abroad by paying Rs4 million each, he said, adding that if the amount is converted into dollars, it becomes $27 billion.
The government was approaching the IMF for a $1.5 billion loan, and on the other hand, $27bn left the country due to the wrong policies of the rulers.
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Shibli Faraz raised questions about the federation wherein one province did not have representation. He added that there were serious threats to the country.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party's chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari termed President Zardari’s address to the joint session of the parliament “historic”.
“Asif Zardari becomes the first president who addressed parliament for the eighth time,” he added. The PPP leader said that the president praised the government for improving the economy and pointed out issues that remain.
Expressing his regret over the PTI’s protest in the house, the PPP leader called the opposition “non-serious”.
“The opposition’s behaviour shows that it is not interested in public issues,” he added.
Source:thenews.com.pk
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https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1290533-all-decisions-made-outside-parliament-pti-slams-helpless-govt
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Straining to hear Zardari speak, govt members ‘ignore’ PTI din
Syed Irfan Raza
March 11, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The opposition on Monday — in keeping with tradition — did its best to drown out President Asif Ali Zardari’s address to a joint sitting of parliament on Monday.
While television broadcasts of the speech kept the cameras pointed at the dignitaries on the dais or the treasury benches, the noisy protests and slogans could be heard during the president’s speech.
In the National Assembly chamber, members of the PTI kept hooting, shouting, desk-thumping and chanting slogans throughout the address. Many were holding posters of PTI’s jailed founder Imran Khan.
The PTI members’ din was so loud that it compelled government members — including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose seat is right next to the opposition front bench — to use headphones to hear President Zardari speak.
Leader of the Opposition Omar Ayub, who was sitting across the aisle from the prime minister, kept on banging his desk with a book throughout the speech.
With the treasury members straining to concentrate on his words, no one really reacted to the noisy protest by the opposition.
The occasion also offered a chance for leading state functionaries to interact. More than half of the members of both houses of parliament were present in the session, which was jointly presided by President Zardari, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq were also in attendance, alongside a whole host of foreign diplomats.
CM Maryam, seated in the visitors gallery that faces the opposition benches, seemed to become a target for their verbal attacks. Indeed, opposition lawmakers spared no chance to provoke her through their sloganeering.
But this didn’t seem to faze the Punjab CM, who was busy greeting the men and women who came to her seat to pay their regards.
Despite the shouting by opposition members, President Zardari remained steadfast and continued to deliver his speech till the end.
Although Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai and members of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) were also seated on the opposition benches, they did not join the PTI’s protest.
PTI dissident and former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister Pervaiz Khattak, who recently became an adviser to the prime minister, seemed unwelcome among ruling party members, as he was seen sitting on quite far away from the frontline PML-N leadership.
Before the start of the presidential address, PM Shehbaz Sharif went over to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to shake hands, and also paid his regards to Bilawal’s younger sister, Aseefa, who was seated nearby.
Security arrangements for the address were quite strict, and a large number of sergeants-at-arms manned the entrances to the NA hall, ready to tackle any untoward situation.
Source:dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1897170/straining-to-hear-zardari-speak-govt-members-ignore-pti-din
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Senate panel alarmed over law, order in three provinces
Iftikhar A. Khan
March 11, 2025
ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel on Monday expressed alarm over the deteriorating law and order situation in Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
As the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control met here with Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman in the chair, some senators voicing concern over law and order situation suggested that the relevant authorities of the provinces be summoned by the committee.
Interior Secretary Muhammad Khurram Agha assured support for conducting meetings in the provinces. Senator Shahadat Awan of PPP, however, stressed that law and order was a devolved subject and it was not the job of the committee to oversee matters related to the provinces.
He, however, noted that the federal government can take up the matter with the provinces.
Senator Rehman said that people have lost their loved ones at the hands of this menace and still “we are reminded of the 18th Amendment when the issue was highlighted in the committee”.
He reiterated that the committee would have a detailed discussion on the issue as the lives of millions of people are at stake and the issue has now become a national issue.
The committee highlighted the increasing crime ratio in ICT and fake calls received by senators.
ICT Inspector General Syed Nasir Ali Rizvi apprised the committee that the gang involved in fake calls had been arrested, and it was found during the investigation that the accused used True Caller and Eyeon to make such calls. The committee appreciated the efforts of the IG in tackling the matter efficiently.
Furthermore, the committee unanimously passed two bills — the Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Senator Mohsin Aziz, the mover of the Pakistan Penal Code Bill, stated that the bill aims to increase penalties for rape offenders with the intent of rooting out this menace from society.
However, Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri said that the Criminal Laws Bill aimed to prevent the heinous crime of Necrophilia and proposed severe punishment for the offence.
Additionally, the committee discussed several other bills moved by the senators. The committee deferred these bills owing to the interior and law divisions’ delayed and opaque response. The bills included the Control of Narcotics Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2024, moved by Senator Mohsin Aziz.
The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was moved by Senator Fawzia Arshad, the Societies Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2025, by Minister for Law and Justice Senator Azam Nazir Tarar on behalf of Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi, the Shamilat Land Protection Bill, 2024, by Senator Palwasha Muhammad Zai Khan, the Price Control and Prevention of Profiteering and Hoarding (Amendment) Bill, 2024, by Senator Mohsin Aziz and the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2024, by Senator Palwasha Muhammad Zai Khan.
The committee was also briefed on the workings of the Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts.
Officials informed the committee that the GB Scouts had been primarily tasked with the protection of Diamer-Bhasha Dam and Chinese nationals working on the dam. However, in addition to these tasks, GB Scouts engage with the youth and make necessary endeavours for the provision of health and education to the residents.
The committee acknowledged the efforts of the GB Scouts in maintaining law and order and extended support to their future initiatives. While discussing the unprecedented increase in drugs use in academic institutions, the ANF DG highlighted the efforts of the force in uprooting this menace.
He said provinces’ coordination is incumbent in making institutions drug free. The chairman of the committee acknowledged the efforts of ANF DG and extended committee’s support in controlling this menace.
Source:dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1897195/senate-panel-alarmed-over-law-order-in-three-provinces
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PM Shehbaz seeks greater outreach for Rs20bn Ramazan package
March 11, 2025
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed the relevant ministries, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and private sector partners to reassess the ongoing awareness campaign for the Rs20 billion Ramazan Relief Package, aiming to increase outreach and bridge the gap between disbursement and withdrawals.
The prime minister, during his visit to the National Telecommunication Corporation headquarters to monitor the execution of the programme, was told that the around 2.8 million entitled accounts had been credited with Rs5,000 each and 683,000 of those had withdrawn the amount.
“As 94pc of accounts had been established, the withdrawal ratio is just 22pc. There is a big gap between disbursement and withdrawal, which shows a lack of awareness among the people,” the prime minister remarked and asked the SBP governor to join the campaign to benefit as many people as possible from the programme.
He appreciated the relevant ministries and partners for the construction and execution of this “comprehensive and wonderful” programme and for accepting the challenge of supporting the entitled deserving people during the holy month of Ramazan.
“This was a new concept to say goodbye to the Utility Stores forever due to the massive complaints of ‘worst’ corruption of public money, which was also an injustice to the common man. The issues of poor quality and corruption have been dealt with through a new modern digital wallet,” he said.
The prime minister said that four million families comprising over 20m people from across the country would benefit from the programme which was the first ever such initiative by the government to disburse the cash amount through a transparent mechanism without any issues of quality or transparency.
The provision of Rs5,000 to each family would enable the beneficiary family to purchase the commodities of their own choice, he added.
He said a validation system was a central component of the programme, immediately correcting any mistake.
PM Shehbaz also urged the people to call the programme helpline 9999 to get their financial support without delay.
The prime minister also called the helpline and asked the call agent about the functioning of the programme and any issues being faced during the process.
He said that as the ongoing Ramazan Package was the first such facility, the private partners should suggest ways to expand the cash disbursal mechanism to a maximum level.
During the briefing, the prime minister was given an overview of the live monitoring system. It was told that over 60 people were serving at the call centre.
IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja said that since the launch of the programme, 689,000 calls had been received, of which 522,000 were addressed through an automated system of IVR and the rest 90,000 by call agents.
It was told that 94pc accounts had been established while Rs14bn had already been credited to beneficiaries’ accounts and 683,000 beneficiaries have withdrawn the amount. Besides, a track-and-trace system was in place to undo any wrong transaction without any delay.
Source:dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1897168/pm-shehbaz-seeks-greater-outreach-for-rs20bn-ramazan-package
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Africa
Hundreds of thousands return home in Sudan
March 11, 2025
PORT SUDAN: Nearly 400,000 Sudanese have returned to their homes over the past two and a half months after being displaced by the ongoing conflict, the United Nations migration agency said on Monday.
Between December and March, “approximately 396,738 individuals” returned to areas retaken from paramilitary forces by the army, which has advanced through central Sudan in recent months, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been locked in a brutal conflict between army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his former deputy Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Nearly all the returnees moved back to their homes in the central Sudanese states of Sennar, which the army largely recaptured in December, and Al-Jazira after it was retaken the following month.
Thousands more have returned to the capital Khartoum, where the army regained large areas last month and appeared on the verge of expelling the RSF.
Displaced families have headed back in droves, even to looted and burned homes, after more than a year of displacement.
Across the country, 11.5 million people are internally displaced, many of them facing mass starvation in what the UN calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
A further 3.5 million people have fled across borders since the war broke out.
Parts of the country have already descended into famine, with another 8 million people on the brink of mass starvation.
On Monday, the UN’s resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, said only 6.3 percent of the funding necessary to provide lifesaving aid had been received.
Nationwide, nearly 25 million people are suffering dire food insecurity.
The conflict divided the country into two parts, with the army controlling the country’s north and east while the RSF holds nearly all Darfur and parts of the south.
A medical source said RSF shelling on Sunday on a strategic city in Sudan’s south killed nine civilians and injured 21 others.
El-Obeid, the state capital of North Kordofan, came under attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, said the source at the city’s main hospital and several witnesses.
Source:arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2593168/middle-east
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Assuaging the undaunted muslim-muslim ticket in Nigeria
March 11, 2025
A democratic country, amongst other things, is characterised by the rule of law, legitimacy, free and fair elections, separation of power, human rights, accountability, transparency, and independent media. Everything is wrong with democracy in Africa, and Nigeria is in the worst of it. A multi-ethnic country like Nigeria should not have a group from two particular tribes and religions dictating what should happen and what has to be tolerated, which has to be in their religious or political interests.
“It’s a challenge because the political, social, and economic crises have revealed the characters of those at the helms, and having tested them, we’re hopeless.”
It has been defended that faith, religion, ethnicity, and language do not play a pivotal role in our political and resource-sharing formula, though untenable. After Nigeria’s independence in 1960, the first military head of state, Aguiyi Ironsi (Christian), had a Western Christian deputy, Babafemi Ogundipe; Yakubu Gowon (Northern Christian) had a Western Christian as deputy, Joseph Edet. Muhammad Buhari had another Northern Muslim as deputy, Tunde Idiagbon. Remarkably, ever since the return of democracy in 1999, this would be the first time the president and his vice came from the same faith, which, rather than elevate, dragged the citizens back to the years of struggle with the military coups.
We would not impoverish Nigeria by talking negatively or believing that a new Nigeria is not possible. It’s a challenge because the political, social, and economic crises have revealed the characters of those at the helms, and having tested them, we’re hopeless. With the overinflated opinions about our past, present, and future political leaders, hardship persists, and the common man is trampled upon. The failures of former leaders are repeated, and there’s no winning attitude envisaged from the presidential body language. If the Muslim-Muslim ticket of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima is not a religious paradigm shift in recent times, there’s never an explanation that would deny the Christians a stake in the ‘corridor of power.’
Sadly, there has never been a quip regarding the choice of a Muslim-Muslim ticket; all in the media is a mere malapropism as if the adoption had not divided Nigerians further along religious, ethnic, and tribal lines. Can we pay tribute or outline special qualities in such negotiations? Nigeria may not be witnessing religious conflicts or lack of cohesion presently, but we have to adjudge the wisdom behind the choice of a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
The ruling party ideology succeeded in paying N30,000 to unemployed youths for about five to six years, which later resulted in higher embezzlement in the Humanitarian Ministry in charge of the N-Power project. We may need to answer some questions that seem to be preposterous. “What qualifies a man/woman for the office of the president or vice president in Nigeria?” Whenever applications for a job are invited, there are prescribed qualifications to determine the suitability of the applicants. Normally, valid and reliable tests are to be carried out on whoever would rule a nation because it falls within the ambience of rescue and disaster. Do we consider certification, communication skills, religion, or physical abilities in electing our leaders? The Muslim-Muslim ticket epitomises that our democratic elections are just a selection done by the few (elites). Who has witnessed a Nigerian leader that scored very high in divergent thinking—which is thinking outside the box? They cannot and would not be able to because we’re governed and ruled mostly by octogenarians. A fascinating study on scoring higher in the genius category discovers that the older you get, the greater your tendency will become to resist change.
The chosen and anointed political leaders have not developed nor possess the necessary skills to transform the country. Think about it: There’s nothing unique and diverse about African leaders. It is the same meat boiling in the pot. If any one of them dares to be different, it must be in the negative as we have in the West African region. We all have accepted the Muslim-Muslim ticket, signalling the desperation amongst Nigerian politicians, which is a recipe for disaster. Chief Osita Osadebe of blessed memory sang a hit track titled “Osondi Owendi”—”as” “e dey sweet us, e dey pain them.” Overtly, it showcases an obstinacy in issuing countermands with disgusting nepotism. Defections and elections signify where to belong if you really want to be “happy.” Every day we hear about the decamping and dumping of one party for another. Ashamedly, we witness influential power mongers licking their saliva, recanting their statements, which boils down to the desperation to hold on to power permanently.
Every family in Nigeria is induced into panic buying and hoarding goods, even pharmaceutical products, because tomorrow is very uncertain. There is an increase in domestic violence, anger, and hunger amongst the populace. Pride, anger, rebellion, self-pity, complaint, and many more things have grappled with our reasoning and senses even against whoever may be in power.
Recently it was published that it will cost this country a hundred billion dollars to offset the debts accrued under Goodluck Jonathan, Muhammad Buhari, and the present government. Sir James Wilson Robertson was a British civil servant who served as the last colonial governor-general of Nigeria from 1955 to 1960, leaving her on a towering height as the giant of Africa. Proudly and brutally, the government is dealing with the citizens, and most of our leaders are bigoted, selfish, and vaunted. Most of our politicians have antagonistic desires and crossed-up emotions, which have kept them in a state of personal instability, gradually affecting the national collapse we are in. Beans, which used to be forbidden and not seen on tables except when processed into other delicacies, have become the most expensive. The well of human nature is deeper, and the best way to assess it is through interests and desires. Competence, vision, and compassion could arise from non-Christians, but they must be willingly and freely granted. Nigeria must shift from ‘power worship’ to celebrating citizens who make the country proud.
Source:businessday.ng
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://businessday.ng/opinion/article/assuaging-the-undaunted-muslim-muslim-ticket-in-nigeria/
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Don’t relent in praying for Nigeria’s peace, prosperity, Tinubu tells Muslims
March 11, 2025
by Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on Nigerians, particularly the Muslim faithful to use this period of Holy month of Ramadan to bless the country and pray for its continued peace, unity and prosperity.
Tinubu said peace and unity are necessary for progress and prosperity to take place as well as the sustenance, urging Nigerians not to relent in asking God to strengthen the hands of the nation’s leaders on good works that will usher in prosperity.
The President spoke in Ayetoro, the Headquarters of Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State during special Ramadan Tafsir and Iftar on Sunday evening, where special prayers were offered for him, Nigeria and Salako family in Ayetoro as well as the departed souls.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, represented President Tinubu during the Ramadan Tafsir and Iftar prayer organised by Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Kunle Salako, who lost his nonagenarian month recently.
The President noted that regardless of the age at which one loses one’s parents, the experience is always painful and prayed the Almighty God to grant the Salako family the fortitude to bear the loss, even as prayed for the peaceful response of the souls of the departed.
He urged the Minister to take solace in the quality of the upbringing from his late parents (Yunus Akande Omotosho Salako, the first convert to Ahmadiyya sect in Ayetoro and wife, late Anike Salako), saying those qualities would continue to be a source relief and bulwark for him in the period ahead.
Dr. Salako lauded President Tinubu for his “fatherly role” and being deeply involved in the burial of his late mother as well as sending the Coordinating Minister Ali Pate to represent him at the special Ramadan Tafsir and Iftar in Ayetoro.
Salako also hailed Pate for always exhibiting team spirit in his leadership style at the ministry of health and social service, saying those qualities have continued to engender smooth working environment and the attendant high productivity.
He commended the Deputy Governor Noimot Salako-Oyedele, who represented Governor Dapo Abiodun, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, Abiodun Akinlade and a host of others who graced the event and donated generously towards the rebuilding of the community mosque
Source:thenationonlineng.net
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https://thenationonlineng.net/dont-relent-in-praying-for-nigerias-peace-prosperity-tinubu-tells-muslims/
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We No Longer Sleep Hungry, Zamfara Locals Laud Matawalle’s Ramadan Feeding Initiative
By El Ameen Ibrahim
Mar 10, 2025
Locals in Zamfara State have lauded Nigeria’s Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Muhammad Matawalle, for establishing Ramadan feeding centers across all 14 local government areas of the state.
The initiative, aimed at providing free meals to the less privileged, is part of efforts to alleviate poverty and hunger during the holy month of Ramadan.
In a statement issued on Monday in Gusau, the spokesperson of Zamfara APC AKIDA, Comrade Saminu Isah Kanoma, described the initiative as a testament to Matawalle’s commitment to the welfare of the people.
“This initiative is not just about providing meals; it is about compassion, generosity, and the spirit of unity that defines Ramadan. By ensuring that the less privileged have access to food for iftar, Dr. Matawalle has significantly eased the hardship faced by many families during this sacred period,” Kanoma stated.
According to Kanoma the feeding centers, which will operate throughout Ramadan, are designed to support vulnerable communities, particularly those facing economic hardship.
He stated that many beneficiaries have expressed gratitude, noting that the initiative has provided much-needed relief.
A resident of Gusau, Malam Musa Ibrahim, who benefited from the program, said the gesture had made a significant difference.
“With the rising cost of food, many families struggle to afford meals. This initiative has truly been a blessing, ensuring that we can break our fast without worry,” he said.
Kanoma stressed that since leaving office as Zamfara’s governor in 2023, Matawalle has remained actively involved in social welfare programs. In addition to the Ramadan feeding centers, he has introduced empowerment programs targeting youths, elders, and women.
These initiatives he said include financial support for small businesses, aimed at reducing poverty and improving livelihoods in the state.
He emphasized the long-term impact of such programs, stating that they not only address immediate hunger but also contribute to economic stability in Zamfara.
“When leaders prioritize the welfare of the people, society thrives. Dr. Matawalle’s interventions are crucial in tackling both immediate food insecurity and long-term economic challenges,” he added.
Residents have urged other political leaders and well-meaning individuals to emulate such humanitarian efforts, particularly during Ramadan, when the spirit of giving and community support is most needed.
Source:independent.ng
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https://independent.ng/we-no-longer-sleep-hungry-zamfara-locals-laud-matawalles-ramadan-feeding-initiative/
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How Retired Soldier Asked Us To Kill His Son — FCT CP, Tunji Disu
10 March 2025
The Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), CP Tunji Disu, has shared a startling experience of how a retired soldier once demanded the police kill his own son, who was arrested for cultism.
Naija News reports that Disu disclosed this in a post on his official X account on Monday, in a piece titled, “The First Lawmakers: My Reflection on Home, Discipline, and Duty.”
According to Disu, the retired soldier stormed his office in Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, furious over his son’s involvement in cultism and insisted that the police should execute him. However, just a day later, the same man returned with food, inquiring about his son’s well-being.
“When I joked, ‘So you don’t want us to kill him again?’ his eyes betrayed a truth every parent knows: anger is often the flipside of helpless love,” Disu wrote.
Years later, Disu ran into the soldier’s son in Shagamu, where he had successfully completed his education and gotten married.
Parents Outsourcing Discipline to the Police
Disu reflected on his experience as a police officer, revealing how many parents approach the police station, not to seek justice but to request discipline for their children.
“Parents arrive at stations, not with pleas for justice, but with demands for us to parent for them. ‘I want you to detain my child; I want you to discipline him.’ ‘Torture him,’ as though pain alone could rewrite a life long gone astray,” he stated.
He recounted another case where a father insisted that his drug-addicted son be locked up for weeks. However, the police refused, explaining that cells are not rehabilitation centres.
“If anything were to happen to the boy, or if he escaped, who would the father blame? The police. Yet discipline cannot be outsourced. It must be nurtured, patiently and persistently, at home.”
Disu emphasized that the real issue today is not a lack of discipline, but a lack of parental presence.
The Police boss said: “Parents once corrected their children directly, even if harshly. Some have handed that duty to strangers—teachers, police, and social workers. But no institution can replace a parent’s guidance.”
He made it clear that while the police are there to enforce the law, they cannot replace parents in raising children.
“If your son steals or your daughter vanishes, come to us. We will help. But do not confuse reporting with surrendering. When you hand us your child and say, ‘Fix them,’ you misunderstand our role. We enforce laws; we cannot replace love. We investigate crimes; we cannot teach values,” he said.
Disu highlighted that the retired soldier’s son changed not because he was jailed, but because his father chose to support him rather than abandon him.
He called on parents to take responsibility for raising their children rather than relying on institutions.
Disu said: “The police cannot replace your voice. We cannot instil the values you withhold. Our cells are not classrooms; handcuffs are not teaching tools. When you outsource parenting to the state, you gamble with life—and with the peace of communities.”
Urging parents to be more present, he concluded: “My generation’s parents were far from perfect, but they owned their role as first teachers. They scolded, they punished, and they stayed. I urge present parents to do the same—not with the harshness of the past, but with the wisdom of your own heart. Meet your children where they are. Listen. Correct and love.”
Source:naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2025/03/10/how-retired-soldier-asked-us-to-kill-his-son-fct-cp-tunji-disu/
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Growing tension in South Sudan as cracks emerge in ruling coalition
10 March 2025
There is international concern over the growing tension in South Sudan as cracks emerge in the country’s ruling coalition.
Recent clashes in the northeastern Upper Nile State between forces allied to the president and first vice president are threatening a fragile power-sharing agreement.
The unity government, led by President Salva Kiir, with former rebel leader, Riek Machar as First Vice President, was formed in 2018.
This followed a peace deal that ended the country’s five-year civil war that cost nearly 400,000 lives.
An armed group clashed with the country’s army on Tuesday, leading to the arrests of two government ministers and a deputy army chief allied to Machar.
As fears grow of a renewed full-blown civil war, the United States on Sunday ordered all its non-emergency staff to leave South Sudan.
The travel advisory issued said that fighting was ongoing and that “weapons are readily available to the population”.
On Friday a United Nations helicopter came under attack during a rescue mission, which killed a crew member.
The UN Commission on Human Rights in the country on Saturday said it was witnessing an alarming regression that could erase years of hard-won progress.
“Rather than fuelling division and conflict, leaders must urgently refocus on the peace process, uphold the human rights of South Sudanese citizens, and ensure a smooth transition to democracy,” said the chairperson, Yasmin Sooka.
Source:africanews.com
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https://www.africanews.com/2025/03/10/growing-tension-in-south-sudan-as-cracks-emerge-in-ruling-coalition/
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South Asia
US Congressman: Afghan travel ban contradicts American values and puts allies at risk
By Fidel Rahmati-
March 11, 2025
Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has warned that a potential travel ban on citizens from certain countries, including Afghanistan, could endanger the lives of American local collaborators.
In an official letter to President Donald Trump, Krishnamoorthi urged the administration to reconsider the ban, stating that such a move would be inconsistent with American values. He specifically emphasized the serious consequences it could have for Afghan translators and employees who have worked with U.S. forces.
Krishnamoorthi posted on social media platform X that he sent the letter on Friday, requesting the President to withdraw plans for imposing travel restrictions that contradict American principles and interests. He stated, “I asked the President to reverse his plans for travel bans that are at odds with U.S. values.”
The Congressman referenced “credible and concerning reports” suggesting that the Trump administration intends to announce a new list of countries to be affected by travel bans this week. Afghanistan and Pakistan are among the countries likely to be included in this list.
Such restrictions could severely impact Afghan nationals who assisted U.S. military forces, especially translators and other local staff who have been vulnerable to retaliation. They may face increased risks if barred from entering the United States, leaving them in danger from militant groups.
It is noteworthy that on his first day back in the White House, President Donald Trump suspended all refugee resettlement programs.
On March 7, Reuters reported, citing three informed sources, that Afghan citizens may soon be banned from traveling to the United States. The report indicated that Afghanistan would be placed on a list of countries subject to a full travel ban for their citizens.
According to the report, this restriction would primarily target Muslim-majority countries, and other nations may be added to the list as well.
The new ban could affect tens of thousands of Afghans who have been approved for resettlement or have special immigration visas, potentially halting their journey to the U.S.
The potential travel ban adds to growing concerns over the U.S.’s commitment to safeguarding those who helped American troops in conflict zones, especially after the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. This issue has sparked debates within the U.S. about the country’s responsibility to protect its allies abroad.
Source:khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/us-congressman-afghan-travel-contradicts-american-values-and-puts-allies-at-risk/
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Islamic Emirate seeking good relations with world
March 10, 2025
Afghanistan, after the resumption of power by the Islamic Emirate in 2021, has repeatedly announced that it wanted close political and economic engagement and good relations with the international community, particularly the Islamic nations. The Islamic system has long asked the world for the restoration of good interaction and the opening of a new chapter of relations with Afghanistan after the defeat and withdrawal of foreign forces from the country. Security is now sure countrywide thanks to the country’s defense and security forces who are unequivocally striving to foil any criminal or malicious plots around the country. Thousands of small and big development projects are either implemented or underway, the tourism industry has highly developed, drugs are fought and uprooted, and the way is paved for further foreign tourists’ visits to the country. So, world countries have to secure good relations with the Islamic Emirate and ignore attention to those who did nothing for the country but instead, they looted Afghanistan’s property and invested abroad. They can do nothing for the country as they are now splintered into various hostile groups and are seeking foreign funds and support to once again disturb security and public order. The Islamic Emirate’s Minister of Justice, Abdul Hakim Sharee, has recently attended an international conference, “Building Bridges Between Islamic Sects,” in Makka City of Saudi Arabia, and emphasized the expansion of relations between Afghanistan and the world. During the conference, the acting minister highlighted the crucial role of Saudi Arabia in strengthening relations between the Islamic Emirate and other world countries. Undoubtedly, Afghanistan, under the Islamic Emirate, sincerely wants good and enhanced relations with the world countries, particularly the Islamic countries, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which can facilitate the issue and cooperate in strengthening good relations of the Islamic system with the world. It’s also of the importance to bring solidarity among scholars and leaders of different Islamic sects to address significant issues and as the minister believed understanding and cooperation among scholars of various Islamic schools are essential and crucial in achieving common goals, particularly on major issues relating to sect and religion.
Source:thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/islamic-emirate-seeking-good-relations-with-world/
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Canadian tourist embraces Islam in Nangarhar
Yousaf zarifi
10 Mar 2025
JALALABAD (Pajhwok): A Canadian tourist has converted to Islam while visiting eastern Nangarhar province, the Information and Culture Department said on Monday.
The 37-year-old Edward Andres was given the Islamic name Muhammad Akbar after converting to Islam.
Head of Information and Culture Department Eid Mohammad Hanafi said the tourist embraced Islam after being impressed by the sincerity, love, and Islamic ethics of the people while visiting the province.
Meanwhile, the Information and Culture Department in a statement quoted Andres as saying that religious beliefs, hospitality, and Islamic ethics of the Afghans found their way into his heart, and he decided to convert to Islam.
Recently, several other foreign tourists have converted to Islam in various provinces while traveling to Afghanistan.
Source:pajhwok.com
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https://pajhwok.com/2025/03/10/canadian-tourist-embraces-islam-in-nangarhar/
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Afghanistan, Oman Discuss Enhanced Cooperation: Strengthening Ties
2025-03-11
KABUL(BNA): Mawlavi Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, met with Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi, the Foreign Minister of Oman to discuss the strengthening of bilateral relations between their countries.
According to the Bakhtar News Agency, the two top officials engaged in discussions focused on enhancing political, economic, and social cooperation. Mawlawi Muttaqi emphasized the importance of security and stability in Afghanistan, inviting Omani investors to explore opportunities in the war-torn nation.
During the talks, the Acting Foreign Minister expressed appreciation for the Omani government’s recent decision to hand over the Afghan embassy in Muscat to the Islamic Emirate.
Key areas of cooperation identified during the meeting include granting work visas to Afghan citizens, facilitating Afghan exports to Oman, launching direct flights between the two nations, and implementing other necessary measures to enhance bilateral trade and travel.
Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi reiterated Oman’s positive stance towards Afghanistan, highlighting the Gulf state’s historical contributions to the country’s welfare and development. He expressed optimism about the ongoing dialogue between the two foreign ministries, aimed at further expanding cooperation in various sectors.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/afghanistan-oman-discuss-enhanced-cooperation-strengthening-ties/
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Torkham Border Crossing to Reopen for Freight Trucks Soon: Nangarhar Officials
By Fidel Rahmati
March 10, 2025
Nangarhar Taliban officials announced the Torkham border will soon reopen for freight trucks after talks between Afghan and Pakistani traders and tribal leaders.
Local Taliban officials in Nangarhar have stated that the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan could reopen to transit vehicles following talks between Afghan and Pakistani traders and tribal elders.
Ehsanullah Sajid, the head of the Taliban’s Information and Culture Department in Nangarhar, confirmed on Monday, March 10, that initial discussions between traders and tribal leaders from both sides had resulted in an agreement to reopen the Torkham crossing.
Sajid also mentioned that Afghan and Pakistani traders and elders had proposed a ceasefire between the Taliban forces and Pakistan until the end of Eid al-Fitr. This move is seen as an effort to create a more stable environment for the reopening of the border.
The talks between the two sides were reportedly held just across the border at Torkham on the previous day. While the discussions appeared to have yielded some positive results, it remains unclear when exactly the border will be reopened.
The Torkham border has been closed for nearly two weeks now, and efforts to reopen it have so far been unsuccessful. The Pakistani government has stated that the closure is a response to the Taliban’s construction of infrastructure along the border, which Pakistan considers a violation of agreements.
This prolonged closure has severely affected trade and transit between the two countries, with both Afghan and Pakistani businesses suffering from the disruption. Despite ongoing diplomatic discussions, it remains to be seen whether an agreement can be reached that will allow the border to reopen fully.
The situation highlights the tense relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the construction of border infrastructure and cross-border security issues continuing to fuel disagreements. Both sides will need to make significant compromises to ensure the continued flow of goods and people across the Torkham crossing, a vital trade route for the region.
Source:khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/torkham-border-crossing-to-reopen-for-freight-trucks-soon-nangarhar-officials/
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North America
Multiple shell casings found after Lewiston mosque shooting
March 10, 2025
LEWISTON — Lewiston police officers found more than two dozen shell casings at last Friday’s shooting, which took place at Mosjidu Salaam Mosque on Bartlett Street during a Ramadan service at about 9:45 p.m., according to Lt. Derrick St. Laurent.
People fled the mosque before police arrived, with one victim being shot, St. Laurent said. The victim was treated at a hospital for injuries that were not considered life threatening. The 19-year-old’s name is expected to be released later.
St. Laurent said over the weekend that multiple people are believed to be involved in the shooting. The police department is in the process of combing through surveillance footage, which “seems to be promising,” he said. He did not give any details Monday as to possible suspects.
Police are still looking for witnesses to the incident. People who were at the scene during the shooting are asked to call the police station at 207-513-3001 or they can leave a tip or their name through the department’s tip line at 207-513-3000 ext. 3142.
“There was quite a few people in the mosque; it is Ramadan right now,” St. Laurent said. “They were having a service. We believe there were a lot of people that witnessed this.”
Police said more details about the case will be available Tuesday on its Facebook page.
Source:pressherald.com
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https://www.pressherald.com/2025/03/10/multiple-shell-casings-found-after-lewiston-mosque-shooting/
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CAIR-SFBA Calls for Hate Crime Probe of Anti-Palestinian Hate Attack on Muslim Worshipers
March 10, 2025
The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called for a hate crime investigation of an alleged hate assault targeting an elderly Muslim man and his daughter following Taraweeh (a night prayer performed by Muslims during Ramadan) in Morgan Hill. This incident marks the fourth hate crime reported to CAIR-SFBA in less than two weeks.
[MEDIA NOTE: Tomorrow, CAIR-SFBA will hold a press conference at its office in Santa Clara to highlight findings from CAIR’s annual civil rights report. CAIR’s Washington, D.C., headquarters will also issue a national version of that report.]
According to reports, the assailant initially shouted, “Are you Palestinian?! Are you Hamas?!” before pushing the elderly man. The attacker then turned to his daughter, yelling “You people!” and “I love Israel!” while continuing to verbally harass them. The incident follows other recent hate acts in the area, including vandalism of a local business and harassment of community members outside mosques.
In a statement, CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo said:
“We are deeply disturbed by this hateful attack on community members leaving their place of worship. We call on local authorities to swiftly investigate this as a potential hate crime and to ensure the safety of all residents. We also urge people to remain vigilant and report any harassment or assaults to both law enforcement and CAIR-SFBA.”
CAIR-SFBA encourages the community to take the following steps if they witness or experience a bias incident:
Stay Alert: Be aware of your surroundings, especially near houses of worship and community centers.
Document the Incident: Record details. If it is safe, gather witness accounts, photos, or video.
Report to Law Enforcement: Request that the incident be investigated and documented as a hate crime if appropriate.
Contact CAIR-SFBA for Support: Visit ca.cair.com/sfba/report-hate-discrimination or call 408.986.9874 to file a report and seek assistance.
CAIR-SFBA is an office of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
Source:cair.com
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https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-sfba-calls-for-hate-crime-probe-of-anti-palestinian-hate-attack-on-muslim-worshipers/
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US court temporarily blocks effort to deport Gaza protest leader
11 Mar, 2025
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's attempt to deport pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested over the weekend by immigration agents.
Mr Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and permanent US resident, played a key role in last year's Gaza war protests at the Ivy League campus in New York City.
The arrest is part of President Donald Trump's pledge to crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses, in what he called "the first arrest of many to come".
Protesters gathered in New York City on Monday afternoon pushing for Mr Khalil's release and condemning the Trump administration's actions.
"Now we're facing a horrifying reality that our own student, a member of the Columbia community, has become a political prisoner here in the United States," Columbia University Professor Michael Thaddeus said in a statement.
The judge set a hearing for Wednesday where Syrian-born Mr Khalil is expected to make an appearance, according to court documents.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents informed Mr Khalil they were revoking his student visa and green card upon taking him into custody on Saturday, his attorney said.
The Department of Homeland Security accused the former student of "leading activities aligned to Hamas" but provided no details.
The BBC has asked the agency for further information on the allegations.
Trump has previously stated that foreign students found to be "terrorist sympathisers" would face deportation. Mr Khalil is the first known detainee under this policy.
His lawyer, Amy Greer, condemned his detention as "terrible and inexcusable", calling it part of "the US government's open repression of student activism and political speech".
Mr Khalil has not been charged with any crime.
ICE agents detained him at his university-owned Manhattan apartment and initially placed him in a New Jersey immigration facility before transferring him to a detention centre in Jena, Louisiana, according to ICE records.
His attorney claims ICE also threatened to arrest his wife, an American citizen who is eight months pregnant. When she attempted to visit him in New Jersey, officials told her he was not there.
Columbia University stated that law enforcement can enter campus property with a warrant but denied that university leadership had invited ICE agents.
On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed the administration's stance, posting on X: "We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported."
The Trump administration announced last week it was rescinding $400m (£310m) in federal grants to Columbia, accusing it of failing to fight antisemitism on campus.
Columbia was the epicentre last year of pro-Palestinian student protests nationwide against the war in Gaza and US support for Israel.
Mr Khalil was lead negotiator for Columbia University Apartheid Divest when its protesters set up a huge tent encampment on the university lawn in protest against the Gaza war.
He later told the BBC he had been temporarily suspended by the university, where he was a graduate student at the School of International and Public Affairs.
New York Civil Liberties Union President Donna Lieberman called his deportation "targeted retaliation and an extreme attack on the First Amendment."
New York Attorney General Letitia James said she was "extremely concerned" and monitoring the case.
Some Jewish students at Columbia claim that protest rhetoric sometimes crossed the line into antisemitism, while others have joined the the pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Carly, a Jewish-American graduate student at Columbia and a friend of Mr Khalil, told the BBC that the detainee was a "very, very caring soul".
"He has been very targeted online and just seeing how he has been so misrepresented, it's very painful, as someone who knows him on a personal level," said Carly, who declined to share her surname for privacy reasons.
Speaking on Fox News, Trump's border tsar Tom Homan alleged that Mr Khalil had violated the terms of his visa by "locking down buildings and destroying property".
The Israeli military launched its campaign against Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack into Israel on 7 October 2023, which left about 1,200 people dead and 251 taken hostage.
More than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in Israel's military action, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gdwy1gjjjo
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JD Vance's cousin criticises him for 'belittling' Zelensky
11 Mar, 2025
US Vice-President JD Vance's cousin has criticised him and President Donald Trump for "belittling" Volodymyr Zelensky during the three men's Oval Office showdown in February.
"There's a certain level of decorum that I expect from political leaders, especially in front of cameras," Nate Vance - who spent three years volunteering with the Ukrainian military after Russia's full-scale invasion - told the BBC.
It follows his earlier comment that Trump and Vance were acting like "useful idiots" for President Vladimir Putin in their handling of the conflict.
Last month US and Russian officials held direct talks on ending the war. US and Ukrainian officials are currently in Saudi Arabia for talks.
Nate Vance told the BBC's PM programme on Monday that he was "not happy" with the way in which the White House meeting had been handled by his cousin and Trump.
"I'm kind of attached to the Ukrainian issue but, looking at that, if it were some other completely neutral issue and I saw White House officials and hack journalists that are political belittling a foreign leader, I'd be like 'what the hell is going on?'" he told the BBC.
The televised Oval Office meeting between the leaders quickly turned heated, with Trump threatening to withdraw support from Ukraine if a deal was not made and accusing the Ukrainian President of "gambling with World War Three".
Vance called Zelensky "disrespectful" for "litigating" the dispute in front of the media and accused him of not expressing gratitude for America's support during the war.
Nate Vance said that he did not agree that Zelensky had failed to show appreciation. "Zelensky does a daily or nightly address and thanks everyone who supports Ukraine on a daily basis," he said.
He said that perhaps the Ukrainian leader had not shown "enough deference to Donald Trump" but that it would be "odd for my cousin and Donald Trump to ask for deference because they've been actively working against his initiatives for the past three years".
Zelensky was eventually asked to leave the White House and a planned news conference was cancelled.
Following the meeting, the Trump administration halted military aid, satellite imagery and intelligence sharing to Kyiv.
One American reporter during the meeting in the White House accused Zelensky of disrespecting the occasion by not wearing a suit. Since the start of the war, Zelensky has eschewed suits for military-style dress in what he says is solidarity with soldiers.
"Everyone knows that's why he does that and it's kind of a symbolic thing," Nate Vance said. "Who cares? It's a silly hill to die on. And speaking of which, why is Elon Musk in the Oval Office wearing a baseball hat and a T-shirt all the time?"
In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro earlier on Monday, Nate Vance said his cousin was a "good guy, intelligent" but that the meeting with Zelensky was "an ambush of absolute bad faith".
He later told the PM programme that he had been a "Republican my whole life so this is an odd stance for me to be taking but I'm pretty passionate about it and it's one issue where I think we're doing wrong".
He said it was unlikely his cousin would want to speak to him following his comments.
Asked about other Americans' view of the encounter, he said 20% would be "disheartened" and that "all of this alienation is isolating us and the last time we decided to take an isolationist path we ended up with World War One and World War Two".
Zelensky subsequently said the angry exchange had been "regrettable" and it was "time to make things right".
The US is attempting to mediate with both Russia and Ukraine in hopes of ending the war.
Last week, Trump said that he was "doing very well with Russia" and that it was "more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine".
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2yl5kevrpo
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Ontario says it will slap a 25% surcharge on US-bound electricity
10 Mar, 2025
Canada's most populous province Ontario is slapping a retaliatory 25% surcharge on electricity it sends to US states in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods.
Ontario leader Doug Ford confirmed the move in a news conference on Monday morning, saying it will increase costs about $10 (£7.75) per megawatt-hour for US customers.
Roughly 1.5 million American homes in the northern border states of New York, Michigan and Minnesota will be impacted.
Ford said that the surcharge on energy will remain until the threat of tariffs from the US "is gone for good."
"President Trump's tariffs are a disaster for the U.S. economy. They're making life more expensive for American families and businesses," Ford said in a statement on Monday.
He added that Ontario will be using the revenue from its retaliatory tariffs on energy to support local workers and businesses impacted by US tariffs on Canada.
Canada's federal government has also imposed its own dollar-for-dollar reciprocal tariffs on $30bn worth of US goods exported north. The list of products impacted ranges from clothing to perfume to orange juice.
President Trump has threatened Canada repeatedly with a blanket 25% tariff on all Canadian exports to the US - a move that economists have warned could result in job losses in Canada while increasing prices for Americans.
The US has threatened similar tariffs on neighbouring Mexico as well.
Last week, Trump imposed the levies but quickly reversed course, saying he would temporarily spare carmakers from tariffs until 2 April.
He later carved out further exemptions on goods shipped under North America's free trade pact, the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement, which Trump signed in his first term. The measures also reduced tariffs on potash - a key ingredient for fertiliser needed by US farmers - from 25% to 10%.
Trump, however, is still expected to impose tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium some time this week.
The trade war tensions have rattled markets and raised fears of economic turbulence.
The S&P 500 share index, which tracks the biggest listed American companies, has plunged to its lowest point since September, after Trump imposed the tariffs last week and later declined to rule out the possibility of a recession.
In a Fox News interview that was taped on Thursday, Trump said "I hate to predict things like that" in response to the possibility of a severe economic downturn, after saying that the tariffs could bring about a "period of transition."
"It takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us," Trump said.
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yrpnr6kr2o
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Mideast
Israeli army says it targeted military headquarters, sites containing weapons in southern Syria
March 10, 2025
DAMASCUS/DUBAI: The Israeli army said on Tuesday it had struck overnight military headquarters and sites housing weapons and equipment in southern Syria.
In its latest series of attacks on Syria’s military infrastructure, Israel also targeted radars and surveillance assets used in aerial intelligence assessments in the southern region of the country, the army said.
There were no immediate reports on casualties.
Since the overthrow of president Bashar Assad in December, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria.
"The Israeli occupation aircraft carried out several strikes on the surroundings of the towns of Jbab and Izraa in the north of Daraa," the state news agency SANA said.
Most Israeli strikes since Assad’s fall have targeted facilities and weapons held by the toppled government’s forces in what Israel has said was a bid to prevent the assets from falling into hostile hands.
According to the Syrian observatory, Israeli aircrafts carried out 17 strikes on Monday night, targeting several positions of the former Syrian army, including an observation platform and tanks.
Source:arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2593157/middle-east
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Israel urging UN agencies, aid groups to replace UNRWA in Gaza, envoy says
March 10, 2025
GENEVA: Israel is actively encouraging UN agencies and other aid groups to take over the work of the UN Palestinian relief agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, Israel’s ambassador said on Monday, after banning the agency on Israeli territory in January.
“We, the State of Israel, are working to find substitute to the act, to the work of UNRWA inside Gaza,” Daniel Meron, Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, told reporters.
He declined to give specifics but said Israel was “encouraging the UN agencies and NGOs to take over each one in its own field that they specialize in.”
Source:arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2593115/middle-east
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IRGC's Resistance Logic Sole Way To Save Muslims: IRGC Chief Salami
Mar 10, 2025
Speaking at the 3rd Quranic Festival in Tehran on Monday, the IRGC chief emphasized that the logic of resistance the Iranian guards hold to is the only to save the Muslims from captivity and domination of enemies.
Endurance is a clear manifestation of patience, trust, and seeking refuge in the face of hardship, he underlined.
When believers entered the battlefield with faith, patience, and trust, one of them would be victorious against ten of the enemy, he said, adding that if the believers showed weakness, this ratio would change.
The Yemeni fighters are clear signs of these divine signs; they stood up to the arrogant enemy and did not give in to fear.
The people of Yemen, Iraq, the Lebanese Hezbollah, and Palestinian brothers have understood this truth well on the battlefield, Salami stated, noting, “We have also touched these realities and divine truths for years on the battlefields of jihad.”
“Our path to salvation is to resort to the Holy Quran. This divine book is the true prescription for human happiness, guiding them from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge and faith,” Major General Salami highlighted.
Source:mehrnews.com
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https://en.mehrnews.com/news/229477/IRGC-s-resistance-logic-sole-way-to-save-Muslims-Salami
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How long can Israel’s policy of deliberate nuclear ambiguity hold?
JONATHAN GORNALL
March 11, 2025
LONDON: It was a moment that almost no one in the international community saw coming. On Saturday, during a routine meeting of the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Qatar’s ambassador to Austria delivered a surprise statement that added a dramatic new dimension to the ongoing Gaza peace talks in Doha.
The State of Qatar, Jassim Yacoub Al-Hammadi announced, was calling for “intensified international efforts” to bring all Israeli nuclear facilities “under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and for Israel to join the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-nuclear state.”
The move, in the words of the director of the globally respected and independent Stockholm International Peace Institute (SIPRI), which has kept tabs on the world’s nuclear weapons and the states that possess them since 1966, “came out of a clear blue sky.”
There was no immediate response from Israel. But it seems certain that the Israeli delegation that was en route to Doha on Monday for a fresh round of talks, was taken surprise by a diplomatic ambush seemingly designed to introduce another bargaining chip into the negotiations.
Israel has never formally admitted possessing nuclear weapons, but its nuclear capability has been an open secret for decades.
According to SIPRI’s latest assessment, published last year in its 2024 Yearbook, by the start of last year nine states possessed approximately 12,121 nuclear weapons, of which more than 9,500 were considered available for immediate use — and Israel was most definitely one of those nine states.
Israel’s estimated stockpile of 90 warheads is not large, certainly not when compared with Russia’s 4,380 and America’s 3,708. If SIPRI’s carefully researched assessment is correct, only North Korea, with 50 warheads, has fewer nuclear weapons than Israel.
SIPRI’s assessment is that Israel has about 90 warheads, capable of being delivered anywhere within a maximum radius of 4,500 km by its F-15 and F-16I aircraft, its 50 land-based Jericho II and III missiles, and by about 20 Popeye Turbo cruise missiles launched from submarines.
But the size of Israel’s stockpile is irrelevant when set against the damage it could do, especially when its only likely target is Iran, which currently lacks the ability to retaliate — or to strike first — with nuclear weapons.
SIPRI concedes that, when it comes to Israel’s stockpile, “all figures are approximate and some are based on assessments by the authors.” Israel, it adds, “continues to maintain its longstanding policy of nuclear ambiguity, leaving significant uncertainty about the number and characteristics of its nuclear weapons.”
That ambiguity extends to Israel’s only official stated position on nuclear weapons, which it has repeated since the 1960s, that it “won’t be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East.”
That, says SIPRI, is simply dissembling. Israeli policymakers, it says, “have previously interpreted ‘introduce nuclear weapons’ as publicly declaring, testing or actually using the nuclear capability, which Israel says it has not yet done.”
That, of course, raises the question of whether Israel’s nuclear weapons are home-grown or not. If not, the obvious supplier would be America.
But in 1979 reports emerged that a US satellite had detected the telltale double flash of a nuclear detonation over the Indian Ocean, roughly midway between Africa and Antarctica, raising the possibility that Israel had collaborated in a nuclear test with the apartheid-era South African government.
“Israel's nuclear capacity has always been a really quite strange phenomenon of Middle Eastern geopolitics,” said Dan Smith, Director of SIPRI.
“All five of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, each of which has nuclear weapons, are referred to in the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the nuclear weapon states and so are bound by the Treaty.
“Outside of the treaty, Israel, Pakistan and India never signed up for it, and North Korea did sign up for it, but then withdrew before developing its nuclear weapons.
“So, the three states that are nuclear armed, but not part of the NPT, all make explicit that they have nuclear weapons, and of course this is the point of a deterrent.
“The idea is, ‘You may not know exactly what hell I will rain down upon you, but you know I will rain down hell.’
“But Israel has come up with something different. It’s clear that they do have nuclear weapons, but they have never formally acknowledged it and in Israel it is not talked about.”
Israel has always taken extreme steps to protect its nuclear secrets.
“Israelis are scared,” said Ahron Bregman, a senior teaching fellow in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London’s Institute of Middle East Studies, who served in the Israeli army for six years in the 1980s.
“Even if you believe it is a good idea to restrict Israel’s behavior and make sure it doesn’t do anything stupid, you are scared to act because you know they will abduct you and put you in jail. Israel is very tough on those who reveal its secrets.”
This was precisely the fate that befell Mordechai Vanunu, an Israeli nuclear technician and peace activist, in 1986.
After Vanunu revealed details of Israel’s nuclear weapons program to a British newspaper, he was ensnared in the UK by a female Mossad agent posing as an American tourist. She persuaded him to accompany her to Rome, where he was kidnapped by other Mossad agents and spirited back to Israel on board an Israeli navy ship.
Vanunu was charged with treason and sentenced to 18 years in prison, much of which he spent in solitary confinement. Released in April 2004, he remains under a series of strictly enforced restrictions, which prevent him from leaving Israel or even speaking to any foreigner.
“We all believe that Israel has a nuclear capability,” said Bregman. “The fact that it found it necessary to catch Vanunu and put him in jail, and continues to impose strict limitations on him, just proves that it has probably got it.”
In its annual report last June, SIPRI reported that Israel was upgrading its plutonium-production reactor at Dimona, and modernizing its nuclear arsenal.
Smith thinks that, in seeking to bring Israel’s nuclear capability into the open and have it subjected to international scrutiny, Qatar is pursuing an agenda backed by the wider region.
“Israel’s nuclear monopoly has always been a huge irritant in geopolitics in the region for every other power, and at the 2010 Non-Proliferation Review Conference (held at UN headquarters in New York) the state parties agreed on the notion of a Middle East nuclear-weapons-free zone.
“For the Arab states, that was a major issue. For the US and some of the Europeans it was just something to agree to in order to keep everybody happy. Nobody really seriously expected they were going to force Israel to give up the nuclear weapons that it hasn’t formally acknowledged.
“But Qatar, I think, is now expressing that urge to bring Israel into the framework of a non-nuclear Middle East.”
This is, he believes, likely to be a serious attempt to introduce the issue of Israel’s nuclear arsenal into the Gaza talks.
“I take Qatari foreign policy very seriously,” he said. “I don’t think that they are into gestures or grandstanding. They take seriously the idea which has been written into the Qatari constitution that they are a state with a mission to try to spread peace in their region and in the world.
“The shaky ceasefire in Gaza was a product of a huge amount of effort by Qatar, among others. It’s not the first time they have been able to play that kind of role, so they strongly see themselves in this kind of mediating, bridge-building role.
“I don’t know what their assessment is, how they calculate this as being a good time to launch this initiative. But I take it seriously because it’s them.”
Israel is believed to have twice come close to wielding, and perhaps actually using, its nuclear weaponry.
In 2017 a claim emerged that, on the eve of the Arab-Israeli war in 1967, Israel had been on the cusp of unleashing a “demonstration” nuclear blast designed to intimidate its enemies in the event that it appeared it might lose the war and be overrun.
The plan was revealed in interviews with retired general Itzhak Yaakov, conducted by Avner Cohen, an Israeli American historian and leading scholar of Israel’s nuclear history, and published only after Yaakov’s death.
It was not the last time Israel reportedly came close to bringing nuclear disaster to the region. In 2003 Cohen revealed that during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when it appeared that Israeli forces were about to be overrun, then Prime Minister Golda Meir had authorized the use of nuclear bombs and missiles as a last-stand defense.
This doomsday plan, codenamed Samson, was named after the biblical strongman who, while captured by the Philistines, pulled down their temple’s pillars, killing himself and his enemies. And the shadow of an Israeli-triggered nuclear calamity continues to haunt the region.
In its 2024 report SIPRI noted that in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 “several Israeli policymakers and commentators — including a minister who was later suspended from the cabinet — suggested that Israel should use nuclear weapons against Hamas fighters in Gaza.”
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of non-governmental organisations in 100 countries that promotes implementation of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, welcomed Qatar’s initiative.
“As Israel’s nuclear arsenal is an open secret, it is long past time that its nuclear facilities are subject to international safeguards,” said Susi Snyder, ICAN’s Program Coordinator.
“Joining the NPT should be a first step followed by Israel and other countries in the region joining the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the proposed Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction.
“Eliminating Israel’s nuclear weapons and ensuring that no other state in the Middle East ever acquires such weapons will be vital for the long-term security of all people in the region.
“Without disarmament, true peace will remain elusive.”
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Boatless in Gaza: using old fridge doors to catch fish
March 11, 2025
GAZA CITY: Balanced calmly on top of what was once a refrigerator door, fisherman Khaled Habib uses a makeshift paddle to propel himself through the waters of Gaza City’s fishing port.
Israeli bombardment over more than 15 months of war has destroyed most of the boats in the harbor, wrecking the fishermen’s means of making a living.
“We’re in a very difficult situation today, and struggling with the fishing. There are no fishing boats left. They’ve all been destroyed and tossed on the ground,” said Habib.
“I made this ‘boat’ from refrigerator doors and cork — and thankfully it worked.”
So he could continue feeding his family, Habib came up with the idea of stuffing cork into old fridge doors to make them buoyant.
He covered one side with wood and the other with plastic sheeting to help make the makeshift paddleboard waterproof.
Habib also crafted a fishing cage out of wire because of the lack of nets but admitted that his resulting catch was “small.”
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said in December that the conflict had taken Gaza’s “once thriving fishing sector to the brink of collapse.”
“Gaza’s average daily catch between October 2023 to April 2024 dropped to just 7.3 percent of 2022 levels, causing a $17.5 million production loss,” the FAO said.
Habib now fishes mainly inside the small port area using dough as bait.
Despite the fragile ceasefire that came into force on Jan. 19, which essentially halted the fighting, Habib said that fishing outside the port is prohibited.
“If we go (outside the fishermen’s harbor), the Israeli boats will shoot at us, and that’s a problem we suffer from a lot.”
Habib said he catches enough fish to feed his family and tries to help others by selling the rest at an affordable price.
After dividing his catch into small plastic bags, the fisherman sells some at the high prices at the harbor market.
The first phase of the Gaza truce, which ended on March 1, had enabled the entry of vital food, shelter, and medical assistance into the Palestinian territory.
Israel announced on March 2 that it was blocking aid deliveries to Gaza, where Palestinians say they fear food shortages and price hikes.
Several other fishermen, particularly the younger generation, have also used the new makeshift floating platforms.
Habib sees the homemade paddleboards as having a dual purpose.
“If we wanted to raise a new generation to learn how to swim, boats should be made from refrigerator doors, and then everyone would learn how to swim, row, and sail,” he said.
“Thank God, now they’ve learned how to swim,” he added, looking over the water at children trying to keep their balance.
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Israel’s halt to food and aid deliveries worsens Gaza conditions
March 11, 2025
CAIRO: Israel’s suspension of goods entering Gaza is taking a toll on the Palestinian enclave, with some bakeries closing and food prices rising, while a cut in the electricity supply could deprive people of clean water, Palestinian officials said.
The suspension, which Israel said was aimed at pressuring militant group Hamas in ceasefire talks, applies to food, medicine and fuel imports.
The UN Palestinian refugees agency UNRWA said the decision to halt humanitarian aid threatens the lives of civilians exhausted by 17 months of “brutal” war. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people were dependent on aid, it said.
Hamas describes the measure as “collective punishment” and insisted it will not be pushed into making concessions.
Abdel-Nasser Al-Ajrami, head of the Gaza bakers’ union, told Reuters that six out of the 22 bakeries still able to operate in the enclave had already shut after they ran out of cooking gas.
“The remaining bakeries may close down in a week or so should they run out of diesel or flour, unless the crossing is reopened to allow the goods to flow,” he said.
The bakeries were already unable to meet the needs of the people, he said.
Israel last week blocked the entry of goods into the territory in a standoff over a truce that has halted fighting for the past seven weeks. The move has led to a hike in prices of essential foods as well as of fuel, forcing many to ration their meals.
Displaced from her destroyed house and living in a tent in Khan Younis, 40-year-old Ghada Al-Rakab said she is struggling to secure basic needs. The mother of six bakes some goods for her family and neighbors, sometimes renting out a clay makeshift oven.
“What kind of life are we living? No electricity, no water, no life, we don’t even live a proper life. What else is left there in life? May God take us and give us rest,” Al-Rakab said.
’ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH RISKS’
Israel’s onslaught on Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians since October 2023, according to Gaza health officials, left most of its people destitute and razed much of the territory to the ground.
The war was triggered by a Hamas-led cross-border raid into southern Israel in which militants killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
In Israel’s latest punitive measure, Energy Minister Eli Cohen said on Sunday he had instructed the Israel Electric Corporation not to sell electricity to Gaza in what he described as a means of pressure on Hamas to free hostages.
Israel already cut power supply to Gaza at the war’s start but this move would affect a wastewater treatment plant currently supplied with power, according to the Israeli electricity company.
The Palestinian Water Authority said the decision suspended operations at a water desalination plant that produced 18,000 cubic meters of water per day for the population in central and southern areas of Gaza Strip.
Mohammad Thabet, the spokesperson of the Gaza power distribution plant, told Reuters the decision will deprive people in those areas of clean and healthy water.
“The decision is catastrophic, municipalities now will be obliged to let sewage water stream into the sea, which may result in environmental and health risks that go beyond the boundaries of Gaza,” Thabet said.
All the aid supplies being distributed by the Palestine Red Crescent are dwindling and it is having to ration what remains, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies said.
“If it is possible to find the basics like eggs and chicken, the prices have rocketed and are out of reach for the majority of people in Gaza,” IFRC spokesperson Tommaso Della Longa said.
It is also concerned that a lack of medical supplies and medicines may impact the treatment of patients.
MEDIATORS TRY TO SALVAGE TRUCE
Fighting in Gaza has been halted since January 19 under a truce, and Hamas has exchanged 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
But the truce’s initial 42-day stage has expired and Hamas and Israel remain far apart on broader issues including the postwar governance of Gaza and the future of Hamas itself.
Underscoring the fragility of the ceasefire, an Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinians in the Bureij camp in central Gaza Strip, medics said.
The Israeli military said the air force struck three individuals in Nuseirat, central Gaza, who were accused of trying to plant explosives. It also said soldiers shot at several militants in Gaza City who were also allegedly attempting to plant explosives.
Arab mediators, Egypt and Qatar, and the US are trying to salvage the ceasefire deal. They held talks with Hamas leaders and are set to receive Israeli negotiators in Doha on Monday.
Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua told Reuters on Monday the group was committed to the original phased agreement and expected mediators to “compel” Israel to begin talks on implementing the second stage. Phase two is intended to focus on agreements on the release of remaining hostages and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Israel demands Hamas free the remaining hostages without beginning phase two negotiations.
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Drought-stricken Algeria plans to import one million sheep ahead of Islam’s Eid Al-Adha
March 11, 2025
ALGIERS, Algeria: Algeria’s president has announced plans to import a staggering one million sheep ahead of this year’s Eid Al-Adha, the Muslim holiday during which families worldwide purchase livestock for sacrifice.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Sunday instructed his ministers to launch plans for the massive livestock import effort to stabilize costs and meet soaring demand.
The plan is the latest in a series of measures designed to ease public frustration over rising costs and the military-backed government’s uncompromising grip on power.
It builds on previous efforts to flood markets with food staples throughout Islam’s holy month of Ramadan. Yet its scale has few parallels.
North Africa is enduring its seventh consecutive year of extreme heat and below-average rainfall. The record drought has shrunk harvests and driven up the price of animal feed needed to raise livestock, including in the northern Algerian highlands where breeders raise sheep revered by the population for their quality.
Algeria’s government has traditionally played a dominant role in the economy and in the past imported livestock in small quantities to ensure affordable options for low-income citizens. Last year, it facilitated the sale of 100,000 sheep in state-run stores, sourcing them from Argentina, Australia, Brazil and Spain.
Eid Al-Adha, which takes place this year in early June, is an annual “feast of sacrifice” in which Muslims slaughter sheep to honor a passage of the Qur’an in which the prophet Ibrahim prepared to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God, who intervened and replaced the child with a sheep.
It’s a celebrated tradition in Muslim-majority Algeria, yet also a pricey proposition. During last year’s Eid, sheep prices skyrocketed to 200,000 Algerian dinars ($1,496) in some markets — ten times the country’s minimum wage. Many Algerians have in recent years been forced to forgo the cherished tradition.
This year’s initiative aims to prevent price spikes and shortages that could put the ritual sacrifice out of reach for most Algerian families.
The Ministries of Agriculture and Trade will immediately seek international sources to meet Tebboune’s target, hoping to counteract the soaring inflation that has pushed basic goods and services — including meat — beyond the reach of many.
“Thank God, this year’s Ramadan is a blessing. The markets are well-stocked, housewives can shop without stress, without pressure. Products are available, and prices are accessible,” said Yasmine Zireg, a mother of three, on Monday.
History has shown that food prices can incite widespread political anger in North Africa and Algeria isn’t the only country taking steps ahead of Eid Al-Adha.
Its import plan comes just ten days after neighboring Morocco’s King Mohammed VI offered his subjects a reprieve from the costly ritual. The King said in a Feb. 27 letter read on state-run television, warned that the slaughter could burden low-income Moroccans and, as the highest religious authority under Moroccan law, said they could forgo it.
The move — which was widely covered in Algerian media — could harm livestock producers and put disparities between those who can afford sheep and those who can’t on stark display.
Tebboune’s intervention is also designed to make the Eid more feasible for those who otherwise couldn’t afford sheep. It’s one of several government spending policies Algeria has put in place to calm social unrest while continuing to crack down on opposition parties, journalists and people critical of the military-backed government.
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Lebanese president calls for population to see beyond partisan, sectarian views
NAJIA HOUSSARI
March 10, 2025
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun requested the population on Monday to view Lebanon as a state for all rather than continue to view it through sectarian and partisan lenses.
Aoun cautioned his visitors during a meeting that “if we remain prisoners of our narrow perspectives, we will lose many opportunities available to us.”
He added: “We have significant Arab and international support, and everyone claims to be with us. However, Lebanon is required to implement the necessary reforms.”
Aoun’s statement followed controversial remarks by Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem during an interview on the group’s Al-Manar channel.
He said: “The resistance will not cease and will not relinquish its capabilities in the face of Israeli aggression and occupation.”
He added: “The ceasefire agreement with Israel includes the phrase ‘south of the Litani River’ five times, which is the framework we must rely upon.”
He stressed that “the resistance views Israel as a threat to Lebanon and that there is no objection to the army and the state defending the country.”
He added: “The resistance has the right to continue its efforts to protect Lebanon. We do not consider the president’s remarks regarding the exclusivity of weapons to be directed at us.”
Qassem criticized Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji, who is affiliated with the Lebanese Forces team in the government.
The Lebanese Forces Party said that Hezbollah had not learned from past experiences and added that the group continued to act on the same logic despite tragedies and destruction.
The party said that Rajji had highlighted a truth understood by decision-makers: reconstruction of southern Lebanon would only occur under a state that had sole authority over war, controlled weapons, and maintained sovereignty over all Lebanese territory.
The statement also said that the international community was reluctant to rebuild what Hezbollah might destroy again.
It added: “Sheikh Qassem understands that reconstruction is an international responsibility.”
Mustafa Alloush, a former minister, told Arab News: “Hezbollah is ignoring what it knows to delay the surrender.”
Alloush added that Hezbollah had said that “it exists and will remain, and perhaps the party is counting on certain circumstances and changes.”
Alloush added: “When Hezbollah hands over its weapons, it cannot transform into a political party, as the justification for its establishment is primarily military, and it has no choice but to be stubborn to survive.
“The party is trying to continue with full encouragement from Iran, and perhaps it is counting on returning to what it used to be through the events on the Syrian coast. This is how I understand Naim Qassem’s stubbornness.
“But, in return, the new Lebanese government must not resort to settlements that would set back its launch and undermine the confidence granted to it by parliament.”
Alloush said Hezbollah’s supporters “must hold the party accountable when they see the procrastination in rebuilding the human and material losses caused by the war and that Hezbollah destroyed."
The Lady of the Mountain Gathering cautioned against Hezbollah’s “denial of its defeat and its attempt to evade responsibility by refusing to surrender its illegal weapons to the state, in violation of both the constitution and international legitimacy resolutions. They seem to believe that time is on their side.”
The meeting said that Hezbollah was once again placing its members and the entire Lebanese population in a dangerous situation.
It added: “By refusing to hand over its weapons to the state, Hezbollah is providing Israel with a pretext to threaten Lebanon’s safety. Surrendering these weapons to the state, on the other hand, is essential for the reconstruction and safety of Lebanon.”
The meeting urged Lebanon’s president, parliamentary speaker, and prime minister to “exert maximum diplomatic pressure to ensure the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territories and to compel Hezbollah to implement Resolution 1701 across Lebanon. The failure of any party to do so could lead to Lebanon’s downfall.”
Meanwhile, across the Lebanese border, Israeli media reported that the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert had been informed by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Moshe Sa’ar that Iran was smuggling funds to Hezbollah.
Hennis-Plasschaert is overseeing the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and UN Resolution 1701 from Tel Aviv.
More than a week ago, Lebanese airport security thwarted an attempt to smuggle $2.5 million.
The money was being transported by a passenger who claimed that an Iranian had given him the funds. The passenger remains in custody for attempting to smuggle undeclared money.
Additionally, about two months ago, Lebanon’s border security agencies pursued people who had abandoned $4 million in bags at an illegal crossing point.
A Lebanese judicial source informed Arab News that the situation likely forms part of Iran’s ongoing efforts to provide financial support to Hezbollah.
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Israeli team heads to Qatar for Gaza truce talks
March 10, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israel’s negotiating team left for Qatar Monday for talks aimed at extending the fragile Gaza ceasefire, after Israel cut the Palestinian territory’s electricity supply to ramp up pressure on Hamas.
Ahead of the negotiations, Israel disconnected the only power line to a water desalination plant in Gaza, a move Hamas denounced as “cheap and unacceptable blackmail.”
The first phase of the truce deal expired on March 1 with no agreement on subsequent stages that should secure a lasting end to the war that erupted with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
There are differences over how to proceed — Hamas wants immediate negotiations on the next phase, but Israel prefers extending phase one.
Hamas accused Israel of reneging on the ceasefire deal, saying in a statement Monday Israel “refuses to commence the second phase, exposing its intentions of evasion and stalling.”
An Israeli official familiar with the negotiations told AFP the country’s team had left for Doha. Media reports said the delegation was led by a top official from the domestic security agency Shin Bet.
Israel has halted aid deliveries to Gaza amid the deadlock, and said Sunday it was cutting the electricity supply.
“We will use all the tools at our disposal to bring back the hostages and ensure that Hamas is no longer in Gaza the day after” the war, Energy Minister Eli Cohen said.
The move echoed the early days of the war when Israel announced a “complete siege” on the Palestinian territory, severing the electricity supply which was only restored in mid-2024.
Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif Al-Qanoua said Israel’s move will impact its hostages still held in Gaza.
“The decision to cut electricity is a failed option and poses a threat to its (Israeli) prisoners, who will only be freed through negotiations,” Qanoua said in a statement on Monday.
Germany and Britain both criticized Israel over its latest decisions.
Germany foreign ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer said Gaza was “again threatened with a food shortage” and that cutting off electricity was “unacceptable and not compatible with (Israel’s) obligations under international law.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesman told reporters: “We’re deeply concerned by these reports and urge Israel to lift these restrictions.”
The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority also slammed Israel, calling the move an “escalation in the genocide” in Gaza.
The sole power line between Israel and Gaza supplies its main desalination plant, and Gazans now mainly rely on solar panels and fuel-powered generators to produce electricity.
Hundreds of thousands now live in tents across Gaza, where temperatures currently reach a night-time low of about 12 degrees Celsius (54 Fahrenheit).
Top Hamas official Izzat Al-Rishq called Israel’s decision “to cut off electricity to Gaza, after depriving it of food, medicine, and water” a “desperate attempt to pressure our people and their resistance.”
Gaza residents told AFP the electricity cut will only worsen their situation.
“The decision to cut off electricity is proof of a war of extermination,” Dina Al-Sayigh said from Gaza City.
“The occupation never stops killing Palestinian civilians, whether by bombing, missiles or by starvation.”
Hamas has repeatedly demanded that the second phase of the truce — brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States — include a comprehensive hostage-prisoner exchange, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a permanent ceasefire and the reopening of border crossings to end the blockade.
Spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP Hamas wanted the mediators to ensure Israel “complies with the agreement... and proceeds with the second phase according to the agreed-upon terms.”
Former US president Joe Biden had outlined a second phase involving hostage releases and the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza.
US envoy Adam Boehler, who has held unprecedented direct talks with Hamas, told CNN Sunday a deal could be reached “within weeks” to secure the release of all remaining hostages, not just the five dual US-Israelis, most of whom have been confirmed dead.
Of the 251 hostages taken during the October 7 attack, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed dead.
Boehler told CNN a “long-term truce” was “real close,” but later Sunday he told Israel’s Channel 12 that Washington would back any Israeli decision, including a return to war.
In late February, US President Donald Trump issued what he called a “last warning” to Hamas, threatening further destruction if it does not release all remaining hostages.
The initial 42-day phase of the truce, which began on January 19, reduced hostilities after more than 15 months of relentless fighting that displaced nearly all of Gaza’s 2.4 million people.
During phase one, 25 living Israeli hostages and eight bodies were exchanged for about 1,800 Palestinians in Israeli custody.
The truce also allowed in much-needed food, shelter and medical assistance.
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, while Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,467 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from both sides.
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Adopted orphan brings couple ‘paradise’ in war-ravaged Gaza
March 10, 2025
GAZA CITY: In their home in war-devastated Gaza City, Iman Farhat and her husband cherish the “paradise” brought by their newly-adopted baby, one of many orphans in the Palestinian territory after more than 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas.
Wrapping five-month-old Jannah in a brightly colored blanket, Farhat gently sang as she rocked her to sleep.
“I chose Jannah just as she was,” the new mother said smiling, explaining the couple simply wanted to adopt a young child without preference for gender or physical appearance.
“Her name was Massa, and I officially changed her name from Massa to Jannah,” which means “paradise” in Arabic, she added.
Farhat, 45, and her husband Rami Al-Arouqi, 47, adopted the well-behaved and chubby baby in January.
“At first, we had mixed feelings of both joy and fear, because it is a huge responsibility and we had never had a child,” said Arouqi, a Palestinian Authority employee.
The couple already owned a cat.
“The idea of adopting a child had crossed our minds, but it was cemented during the war” which “wiped out entire families and left only orphans,” he added.
In September, the United Nations children’s fund, UNICEF, estimated there were 19,000 children who were unaccompanied or separated from their parents in Gaza, Jonathan Crickx, UNICEF’s spokesman for the Palestinian territories, told AFP.
Data for the number of adoptions in Gaza was not immediately available.
The war sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel left more than 69 percent of Gaza’s buildings damaged or destroyed, displaced almost the entire population and triggered widespread hunger, according to the United Nations.
Hamas’s attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 48,446 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN considers these figures reliable.
Farhat and her husband said that before Jannah’s adoption, she was taken care of by the SOS Children’s Villages — an international NGO which looks after children in need.
After the NGO’s premises in the southern Gaza city of Rafah were destroyed in the war, the organization had to move to nearby Khan Yunis where “they could not house all the children in buildings, so they set up tents for them,” Farhat said.
Her husband Arouqi told AFP that another motive for adopting a child came from the idea that “Palestinians should stand by each other’s side.”
“The whole world has abandoned and let us down, so we shouldn’t let each other down,” he added.
Once the pair took Jannah home, “our life was turned upside down in a beautiful and pleasant way,” he said.
“Her name is Jannah and our world has truly become a paradise.”
A fragile truce took effect on January 19, largely halting the devastating fighting between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants.
The ceasefire’s first phase ended last weekend.
While Israel has said it wants to extend the first phase until mid-April, Hamas has insisted on a transition to the deal’s second phase, which should lead to a permanent end to the war.
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Arab World
Saudi envoy chairs landmark global conference, says barriers denying women equal rights must fall
EPHREM KOSSAIFY
March 10, 2025
NEW YORK CITY: Saudi Arabia’s permanent representative to the UN, Abdulaziz Alwasil, on Monday urged nations to use a pivotal conference in New York on the status of women not only as a chance to reflect on achievements to date, but to translate decades of commitments to gender equality into concrete, measurable action.
He warned that global challenges such as climate change, conflict and economic instability pose risks that could reverse the significant strides made in gender equality, and said true progress demands “unwavering political will,” inclusive leadership and continuous investment.
His comments came during the opening session in New York of the 69th Commission on the Status of Women, which underscored the urgent need to advance efforts to achieve gender parity worldwide.
The commission, established in 1946, is a key global platform for gender equality and the empowerment of women. It meets annually to review and appraise progress toward these aims and make recommendations for further action.
This year’s session marks the 30th anniversary of the historic 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a groundbreaking framework adopted by 181 countries during the 4th World Conference on Women. The declaration set ambitious goals for the advancement of women’s rights, including equal access to education, healthcare and economic participation, and the eradication of violence against women and girls.
Alwasil, who serves as chairperson of the commission’s 69th session, said it is important to reflect on the achievements that have been made since the Beijing Declaration, while also confronting the challenges that remain.
“The promise of Beijing remains as urgent as ever,” he added, acknowledging that although progress has been made — including more women in leadership positions, improved access to education, and the introduction of legal frameworks to advance gender equality — much still needs to be done.
He warned that global crises such as climate change, conflict and economic instability threaten to undo hard-won gains in gender equality, and that real progress requires political will, inclusive governance and sustained investments.
“We must create the conditions for women and girls to lead, shape policies and drive solutions," Alwasil said.
He highlighted the important need to convert commitments into concrete actions, and underscored the importance of a gender-equal approach in all policies and initiatives.
“Let us use this historic moment not only to reflect on our achievements and challenges, but also reignite our collective determination to turn commitments into concrete action,” he added.
“This means ensuring that gender equality is centered across all policies, which must be fully funded and implemented. It means dismantling the structural barriers that continue to exclude women and girls from leadership opportunity and equal rights.
“It means holding ourselves accountable, not only for the progress we celebrate, but for the gaps that persist.”
The Saudi envoy gave a portion of his speaking time to three remarkable women who shared their journeys. They included Jenna Riffi, a young woman from Saudi Arabia, who captivated the audience with the story of her personal journey as a trailblazer in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).
At just 16 years old, she became the youngest member of the NEOM project team, a futuristic project to develop and build a sustainable, smart megacity in Saudi Arabia. As an advocate for the empowerment of women, she told how the support of her family, the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan for national development and diversification, and international opportunities had enabled her to pursue a career in renewable energy and electrical engineering.
“I stand today as proof that determination, resilience and a supportive environment can empower young women to achieve incredible dreams,” Riffi said.
She credited Vision 2030 in particular for providing young women like her with opportunities to break barriers in traditionally male-dominated fields such as science and technology. Through educational programs and leadership initiatives, it has played a key role in changing the narrative about the roles of women in Saudi society, she added.
Riffi also highlighted the importance of continuing support for women and girls in all areas of life, noting: “Every step you take builds a bridge for the next generations.”
The commission will convene for two weeks, during which delegates and advocates from around the world will discuss a range of critical topics, including poverty, work opportunities, climate change, violence against women, and youth engagement.
Source:arabnews.com
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Zelensky in Saudi Arabia as Ukraine, US set for key talks
March 10, 2025
RIYADH: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Saudi Press Agency reported early Tuesday.
The president arrived ahead of talks between Ukrainian officials and Saudi and US representatives, due to take place on Tuesday.
The crown prince reiterated in a meeting the Kingdom’s keenness and support for all international endeavors and efforts aimed at resolving the Ukrainian crisis and achieving peace.
Zelensky expressed his thanks and appreciation for the Kingdom’s efforts, commending its pivotal role in the Middle East and the world.
Senior Saudi and Ukrainian officials attended the meeting.
Earlier, Zelensky was received at King Abdulaziz International Airport by the Deputy Governor of Makkah Region Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz and other officials.
Ukrainian and US officials will meet in the Red Sea city of Jeddah to seek a way out of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, more than three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, was also received by the crown prince.
Source:arabnews.com
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Human Capability Initiative conference features thought leaders, policymakers
March 10, 2025
RIYADH: The Human Capability Development Program — one of the initiatives of Saudi Vision 2030 — has unveiled the program for the second Human Capability Initiative conference.
To be held under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the conference will take place on April 13-14 at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh under the theme “Beyond Readiness.”
The conference sessions will center around three main themes — the first focuses on unlocking potential to develop human capabilities by leveraging cutting-edge technologies to create lifelong learning opportunities, support research and innovation, and enhance the skills needed to adapt to global changes.
The second theme underscores the significance of embedding core values and strengthening a sense of belonging to cultivate cohesive societies that collaborate effectively to achieve development goals.
The third theme focuses on channeling efforts toward creating opportunities and fostering cross-sector partnerships to amplify impact and develop sustainable solutions for a thriving future.
The conference’s dialogue sessions will be hosted across five key platforms, each dedicated to different aspects of human capability development — the Beyond Future Readiness Arena, Human Capability Initiative Dialogues, L.A.B Stage, Mastery Stage, and Success Stage.
The conference will bring together more than 300 speakers, including thought leaders, experts and policymakers, participating in 120 dialogue sessions.
The goal is to facilitate insightful discussions and exchange perspectives on enhancing human capabilities to keep pace with global advancements.
The conference will host sessions on the role of human capabilities as a catalyst for economic growth by exploring strategies to unlock potential and drive prosperity.
Discussions will also focus on global equity and the creation of inclusive opportunities through a comprehensive and balanced approach.
Additionally, the impact of artificial intelligence on human capabilities will be examined, highlighting both the growth opportunities it presents and the need for well-balanced, sustainable solutions.
CEO of the Human Capability Development Program Anas Al-Mudaifer said that the conference was more than just a platform for exchanging ideas — it was a catalyst for transformation and meaningful impact.
He highlighted that the diverse range of topics covered in the program underscored a commitment to comprehensive dialogue, fostering greater investment in human capability development and equipping individuals to successfully navigate future challenges.
Source:arabnews.com
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Saudi Arabia condemns Israel’s Gaza electricity cut
March 11, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has condemned Israel’s move to cut electricity to the Gaza Strip in what the Kingdom described as a practice of “collective punishment” against Palestinians in Gaza.
The Kingdom stressed its categorical rejection of Israeli violations of international humanitarian law, a foreign ministry statement said.
It reiterated its call on the international community to take urgent measures to restore electricity and the flow of aid to the Gaza Strip immediately without conditions or restrictions.
The Kingdom “renewed its call to activate international accountability mechanisms for these serious violations,” the statement concluded.
Israel cut off the electricity supply to Gaza, officials said Sunday, affecting a desalination plant producing drinking water for part of the arid territory.
It also suspended last week supplies of goods to the territory of more than 2 million Palestinians, an echo of the siege it imposed in the earliest days of the war.
Source:arabnews.com
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Saudi Arabia welcomes Syrian agreement in northeast
March 11, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia welcomed an agreement between the interim Syrian government and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that controls the country’s northeast.
The Kingdom praised the measures taken by the Syrian leadership to safeguard domestic peace in Syria and efforts made to complete the path of building state institutions, a Saudi foreign ministry statement said on Monday.
The deal includes a ceasefire and the merging of the main US-backed force there into the Syrian army.
The deal was signed by interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
The deal to be implemented by the end of the year would bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkiye, airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government’s control. Prisons where about 9,000 suspected members of the Daesh group are also expected to come under government control.
Source:arabnews.com
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Saudi crown prince, US Secretary of State discuss regional developments
March 10, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday evening.
Rubio arrived in Saudi Arabia earlier on Monday ahead of crucial talks with Ukraine aimed at ending three years of conflict with Russia.
They reviewed relations between the two countries and opportunities to enhance and develop them in various fields, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
They also discussed the latest regional and international developments, exchanged views on them, as well as efforts made toward achieving security and stability, SPA added.
The reception was attended by Mike Waltz, US President Donald Trump’s national security advisor.
On the Saudi side, Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defense and Saudi ambassador to Washington, Princess Reema bint Bandar, were also in attendance.
The top US diplomat is in Jeddah ahead of the talks with Ukrainian officials expected on Tuesday, leading a delegation that also includes Waltz.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also arrived in the Kingdom on Monday.
Source:arabnews.com
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Madinah students embark on environment cleanup
March 10, 2025
MADINAH: The Vegetation Cover Development Foundation, also known as Morooj, recently launched an environmental initiative in Madinah.
The project has 100 student volunteers cleaning parks, valleys and embarking on hikes, the Saudi Press Agency reported recently.
This integrated approach is aimed at promoting a clean environment and vegetation growth.
In addition, it provides participants with valuable wildlife skills and a heightened sense of social responsibility, the SPA reported.
Source:arabnews.com
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Eastern Province governor launches Green East initiative
March 10, 2025
RIYADH: Eastern Province Gov. Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz recently inaugurated the Green East initiative, a project designed to expand vegetation cover and combat desertification across the region.
The governor also launched the Eastern Province Afforestation Office, which will coordinate efforts to meet national environmental sustainability targets under Saudi Arabia’s Green Initiative.
Yousef Al-Badr, director-general of the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification’s Eastern Province branch, said the initiative aligns with broader efforts to rehabilitate land, enhance biodiversity, and improve quality of life.
He emphasized that the project extends beyond tree planting to include long-term desertification mitigation strategies.
Prince Saud witnessed the signing of four memoranda of understanding to advance the Green East initiative.
The agreements include partnerships with the Eastern Province Municipality to integrate green spaces into urban planning and a collaboration with Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University for sustainable land management research.
Additional signatories include the Eastern Province Council for Social Responsibility, tasked with mobilizing community engagement, and the Friends of the Environment Society, which will lead public awareness campaigns.
The agreements were signed by Turki Al-Tamimi, deputy governor of the Eastern Province, and Al-Badr, who thanked the governor for his support, reiterating the center’s commitment to achieving the Saudi Vision 2030 environmental goals.
The Green East initiative is under the umbrella of the Saudi Green Initiative, launched in 2021. Through SGI, Saudi Arabia aims to proactively address climate impacts by planting 10 billion trees and rehabilitating 74 million hectares of degraded land.
This nationwide effort seeks to revive ecosystems, improve air quality, reduce sandstorms, and enhance natural carbon capture.
Efforts across the Kingdom are already having a positive impact: Over 100 million trees and shrubs have been planted since 2021, alongside the rehabilitation of 118,000 hectares of degraded land.
Studies project a temperature decrease of up to 2.2°C in city centers due to expanded tree canopy cover, while more than 1,150 field surveys have been conducted nationwide to support the 10 billion trees program.
The Green East initiative exemplifies SGI’s “whole-of-society” approach, combining afforestation, research, urban greening, and community participation to drive sustainable environmental progress.
Source:arabnews.com
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Europe
Man sentenced for making threatening phone calls to North London mosque
11 March 2025
A North London man has been sentenced for making 'threatening calls' to a North London mosque. Lee Harper, 47, of Hornsey, made threatening phone calls to Finsbury Park Mosque.
A member of the mosque received a barrage of horrible phone calls on Tuesday, January 21, which were 'religiously motivated, violent and threatening', the Met Police said. He was sentenced to 10 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months at Highbury Magistrates Court earlier today (Monday, March 10).
Harper was arrested at his house three days after making the calls, on Friday, January 24, and charged the same day with two counts of sending offensive and indecent messages and one count of sending threatening death or serious harm communications. During his hearing, Harper pleaded guilty to all counts, and was also given a restraining order not to visit or contact Finsbury Park Mosque for five years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
Detective Superintendent Marco Bardetti, who led the investigation, said: “This investigation demonstrates our continued determination to protect communities across London from religiously motivated hate crime. Tackling it is at the centre of our efforts to make all Londoners feel safe.
“Lee Harper’s behaviour was totally unacceptable and I thank members of Finsbury Park Mosque for putting their trust in both the Met Police and the Crown Prosecution Service to report this crime promptly and support our investigation.
“I encourage our faith communities and members of the public to report hate crime to the police so we can act quickly and bring offenders to justice.”
Anyone who is the victim of a hate crime is encouraged to report it by calling 101 or submitting a report on the Met’s website . Always dial 999 in an emergency.
Source:yahoo.com
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https://uk.news.yahoo.com/man-sentenced-making-threatening-phone-204256577.html
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Muslim groups demand action over Finland’s refugee policy
11 MARCH 2025
Nine Muslim organisations in Finland have called on the government to take immediate action following reports that the Interior Ministry discriminated against Muslim refugees when preparing this year’s quota allocations.
In a joint statement released on Monday, the groups backed the findings of the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman, who last week said the ministry’s political leadership favoured asylum seekers from Christian-majority countries while seeking to block those from Muslim-majority nations.
"We agree with the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman's view that the Ministry of the Interior's policy was not based on humanitarian needs or integration criteria, but solely on religious discrimination," the statement said.
The organisations urged Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to introduce measures to safeguard equal treatment and combat Islamophobia. They also called for Interior Minister Mari Rantanen to be held accountable in parliament.
"This is not just a matter of discriminatory guidelines — it is a conscious, politically driven attempt to change the basic principles of Finland's refugee policy in a way that violates the Non-Discrimination Act and Finland's human rights obligations," the statement added.
The opposition Green Party has already filed a motion of no confidence in Rantanen following the ombudsman’s report.
The Interior Ministry said last week that it would review the report and was awaiting an assessment from the Chancellor of Justice, who oversees the legality of government actions.
Rantanen has denied that religious affiliation played any role in the quota refugee plans. Speaking in parliament on Friday, she insisted that decisions were made on the basis of security and integration factors, not religious background.
Source:helsinkitimes.fi
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City Law Firm Takes Action Over “Anti-Islam And Anti-Transgender Comments” HR Advisor
11 March 2025
Top City law firm CMS has taken “prompt and decisive action” after learning that a senior member of its HR team, a prospective Reform UK councillor, had posted anti-Islamic and anti-transgender comments on X.
Dan Cooper’s X profile said: “Family man. Professional. Film Maker. Anti Islam. Only two genders. Pro UK farming. Reform candidate for Boston Coastal Lincolnshire.” That is in deputy leader Richard Tice MP’s constituency.
He made no reference on X to his work for the law firm, nor on LinkedIn to his political views.
The connection was made by a social media account called ‘Reform Party UK Exposed’. Our investigation showed that the account ‘Danable64’ only started tweeting on 20 December last year, not long before he was confirmed at a Reform UK candidate, but was prolific thereafter.
The account was deleted last week, shortly after our first enquiry about it to CMS, while yesterday his LinkedIn profile was too after a story by another publication went live.
Responding to one X user’s question ‘What do you feel when someone calls you Islamophobic’, he replied: “Nothing, because it isn’t a thing. It’s a made-up word. I hate Islam. It’s a 7th century barbaric cult. I don’t fear it. I loath it.”
In another tweet, he wrote: “If you are over 18 and think you are transgender then you have a mental illness. If you are 8 and think you are transgender your parents have a mental illness.”
A tweet last week about immigration said: “This has to stop. Only @reformparty_uk will stop this invasion.”
CMS refused to confirm if Mr Cooper has left the firm, although Financial News London reported that he had.
Our efforts since last week to contact Mr Cooper have been unsuccessful, while operators on the CMS switchboard said he was unavailable.
He described himself on LinkedIn as a senior HR business partner and a ‘wellbeing ambassador’ who had worked for CMS since September 2012. Earlier in his career, he was head of HR at now-defunct London law firm Jeffrey Green Russell.
In a statement, CMS said: “We took prompt and decisive action as soon as we learnt about the nature of the individual’s offensive remarks on social media.
“The views expressed on their personal social media accounts are their own and do not represent those of the firm.
“At CMS we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all our colleagues and we will be supporting all the individuals affected by this.”
Source:legalfutures.co.uk
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Ramadan 2025: Halifax to host one of the biggest iftar events in the country
By Sarah Fitton
10 Mar 2025
One of the biggest iftars in the country is taking place in Halifax.
51st Pellon Scouts are organising the huge fast-breaking meal – Iftar Under the Stars - at Halifax Academy, on Gibbet Street.
Last March’s iftar saw more than 1,000 people gather to enjoy the meal and some fun activities.
This year’s event takes place on Saturday, March 22 and will start at 2pm, with the iftar at 8.30pm
It will include a host of stalls including from Jalebi King, a game zone, arts and crafts, axe throwing, bean bag tossing, a Nerf gun challenge, penalty shoot out, indoor archery, basketball and much more.
Tickets are £2 each, with all proceeds going to charity. They are available from https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/iftarunderthestars2025
The scouts group are well known for their charitable work in Halifax and were picked to receive the King's Award for Voluntary Service – the highest award given to local voluntary groups in the UK and awarded for life.
Source:halifaxcourier.co.uk
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Teacher seen slapping boy in mosque is sacked
11 March 2025
A school teacher has been sacked after a video of him slapping a boy across the face at a local mosque was posted online.
The video was posted anonymously in the West Yorkshire social media group by someone who claimed the man was a teacher at Upper Batley High School.
A spokesperson for the school, which is boys only, confirmed it had been made aware of the footage and ended a teacher's employment as a result.
West Yorkshire Police said a man had been identified from the video and interviewed, but an investigation was ongoing.
A force spokesperson said: "Police are aware of a video circulating on social media depicting an alleged assault, and have been conducting enquiries to establish what happened.
"Following inquiries a male was identified and interviewed by officers after attending at a police station.
"Officers are liaising with partners and the investigation remains ongoing."
A statement from the school, which has just under 800 pupils aged between 11 and 16, said: "We took action as soon as we were made aware of this incident, ending the employment of the individual concerned with immediate effect and informing the relevant authorities."
It stressed that the incident did not happen at school but said "behaviour like this goes against all that we stand for and is completely unacceptable".
It added: "The health, safety and high-quality education of our young people is our priority and what we provide every day."
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd657e17d22o
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Brierley Hill mosque plans to build dome and minaret which will 'double the height of the building'
By Adam Smith
11 March 2025
The Trinity Road mosque bought the former Albion Street Health Centre in 2015 and turned it into the Jamia Masjid Rizvia.
However, mosque elders now want the building to reflect its religious nature.
Michael Edwards Associates, submitting a planning statement to Dudley Council, said on behalf of the mosque: "The building still has the visual appearance of a health centre. The front entrance is not easily identifiable and lacks any street presence for way finding for the mosque.
"The application seeks to provide new entrance to provide clear way finding to the mosque and then to the entrance of the mosque.
Source:expressandstar.com
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Ramadan event brings community together
10 MARCH 2025
Messages of unity have been shared at a community meal during Ramadan.
Ipswich Mosque held an Iftar event on Sunday, the meal eaten by Muslims at sunset to break their daylight hours fast.
At the start of the evening Mahfuza Siddiqui, a member of the mosque, read passages from the Quran and then translated them into English.
She said: "It gives me a chance to show my excitement for my faith - I genuinely love being a Muslim."
Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, which form the basis of how Muslims live their lives.
The other pillars are declaration of faith, prayer, charity and pilgrimage.
Kay Willoughby said she reverted to Islam last year, so this is her first Ramadan.
The term revert, rather than convert, is used as Muslims believe everyone is born into the faith, but effectively "leaves" to be brought up in a different faith, or none, depending on their family, community or cultural environment.
"This is my mosque, I did my Shahadah [declaration of faith] last year, I'm following my heart," she said.
"This is my first Ramadan. I'm diabetic too, so it has been a little bit difficult. I'm on a journey, but I've done four days now of full fasting.
"God is with me, and my sisters, and it feels wonderful."
Although the Quran requires Muslims to fast from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, there are exceptions including for people who are ill or have medical conditions.
Fotik Miah, a trustee at the mosque, said: "It has been a wonderful event, people of all ages and all backgrounds and nationalities have come to share fast-breaking with us.
"It was glorious to share it with everyone, and be a part of this vibrant community of Ipswich."
The Reverend Tom Mumford, from Ipswich Minster, spoke at the start of the event about the value of interfaith work.
"I believe that anything that deepens and strengthens relationships across people, is indeed the work of God," he said.
Source:bbc.com
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Southeast Asia
PM Anwar slams false narratives on Azan issue in Perak, urges unity
By Ben Tan
10 Mar 2025
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today cautioned the public against baseless narratives on social media posts, touching on the issue of the Muslim call to prayer (Azan).
Tunku Nashrul Abaidah, senior press secretary to the prime minister, said the culture of slander must be stopped immediately to avoid any negative impact on the community and the country.
“False narratives like this usually emerge every time there is an election,” he said during the Prime Minister’s Office daily evening briefing that was broadcasted live today.
Tunku Nashrul reminded the public that the month of Ramadan also calls on Muslims to uphold the value of rational thinking and to reject any form of slander that could undermine unity.
The prime minister’s warning is believed to be in response to an issue regarding the call to prayer in Perak.
Recently, an unidentified individual uploaded a slanderous post on Facebook, claiming that the call to prayer for all mosques in Perak was no longer allowed to be broadcast using loudspeakers.
This baseless statement was made following the announcement of the Ayer Kuning state by-election, which will be held on April 26.
Source:malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/03/10/pm-anwar-slams-false-narratives-on-azan-issue-in-perak-urges-unity/169181
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Netizen apologises over video allegedly insulting Muslims
Mar 10, 2025
Netizen Vijayan Savarinathan has apologised after being accused of making lewd and insulting remarks about Muslims.
In a video posted on his Facebook today, he admitted that what he had done was inappropriate and he would like to apologise sincerely to all Malays and Muslims.
“What I did was wrong; what I said was also inappropriate. I was enraged because of that video they made,” he said, in an apparent reference to a video made by a group of Era FM radio announcers.
“We have been insulted again and again, but that was no excuse for me to say what I said in that video,” Vijayan added.
The netizen had posted the allegedly offensive video on March 5, which has since been deleted. The video came in the wake of another controversy where Era FM hosts mocked the Thaipusam kavadi ritual practiced by Hindus.
The hosts Nabil Ahmad, Azad Jasmin, and Radin Amir Affendy have since apologised over the debacle and have been suspended along with two other staff members.
Police are also investigating the case, while the MCMC issued a notice of intention to suspend Era FM’s broadcasting licence.
Several politicians, including National Unity Minister Aaron Ago Dagang and MIC deputy president M Saravanan, have also called for action against Vijayan.
However, Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain reportedly told the New Straits Times on March 7 that Vijayan is believed to be abroad, though efforts to track him down were still ongoing.
He said Vijayan was being investigated under Section 298 of the Penal Code for actions that could incite racial and religious disharmony and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for abuse of network facilities.
Source:malaysiakini.com
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Witness: Najib said ‘My God’, shocked, upset over RM42m entering his accounts via 1MDB’s CSR firm
By Ida Lim
10 Mar 2025
PUTRAJAYA, March 10 — Then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had been shocked and upset that RM42 million had entered his personal bank accounts through the company carrying out 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, a witness known as “Mr CSR” told the court today.
Datuk Dr Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman, who was formerly 1MDB’s executive director in the CSR division and Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd’s managing director, said this while testifying as the 14th defence witness in Najib’s 1MDB trial.
Dr Shamsul told the High Court that he is known as “Mr CSR” or “Dr Sam CSR”, and said Ihsan Perdana was set up to carry out CSR work for 1MDB. He said the company received a total of RM40 million each year from Yayasan 1MDB (Y1MDB) and Yayasan Rakyat1Malaysia (YR1M) to fund such activities.
Dr Shamsul said that in July 2015, he discovered from a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article that the RM42 million — which his company Ihsan Perdana had transferred to Najib’s private bank accounts — had originated from 1MDB’s subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd’s unit Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd.
He also stated that around July 2015, Najib had called him and asked if it was true he had transferred the RM42 million in three separate transactions. Dr Shamsul confirmed that he had made the transfers to the account without knowing who it belonged to.
Claiming that Najib had asked him why he had transferred the money into that account, Dr Shamsul said he explained that he had followed the instructions of YR1M officials and believed the RM42 million payment was for CSR purposes.
“From his reaction over the phone, it appeared to me that Datuk Seri Najib was taken aback, as I distinctly heard him mutter under his breath, ‘My God’,” he said.
After being remanded and questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in July 2015, Dr Shamsul said he met Najib in the latter’s house at Jalan Langgak Duta, Kuala Lumpur where they spoke about MACC’s interrogation.
Dr Shamsul said he told Najib that he had discovered during MACC’s questioning that the account which Ihsan Perdana sent money to actually belonged to the latter.
“Datuk Seri Najib was shocked. He said he does not know who is putting money into his account and why through Ihsan Perdana. From what I observed he was upset, in fact,” he said.
“I then told Datuk Seri Najib that if I had known it was his personal account, I would have sought his permission first. He also expressed, in his own words, that he had not expected these three transactions to have originated from Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd,” he added.
Previously, Dr Shamsul had testified about the RM42 million in Najib’s separate SRC trial, which resulted in the former prime minister’s imprisonment. Court evidence showed that Ihsan Perdana sent the money in three batches to two of Najib’s personal accounts in December 2014 and February 2015.
Dr Shamsul today listed the efforts he said he had made to find out who owned the accounts to which he had sent the RM42 million but stated that the information was not disclosed to him. He added that he had still proceeded with the transfer from Ihsan Perdana, as he was acting on the instructions of the company’s CSR funder, YR1M.
Dr Shamsul also claimed that he had assumed YR1M officials were following instructions from Najib’s then-principal private secretary, Datuk Seri Azlin Alias, as Azlin was a member of YR1M’s board of trustees.
“It was only after speaking with Datuk Seri Najib and observing his reaction that I realised he was completely unaware of these remittances,” he claimed.
Formerly the Umno Sungai Siput division’s Youth chief and chairman of Umno’s international bureau until 2006, Dr Shamsul today said he knew Najib well and had got to know the former minister when the latter was Umno Youth chief.
Dr Shamsul said he was 1MDB executive director in the CSR division from October 2010 to July 25, 2011, and that he referred to this division as Yayasan 1MDB even though there was no entity officially carrying this name.
He explained that he had established Ihsan Perdana under 1MDB’s directive to carry out CSR programmes, adding that it functioned as a contractor for Y1MDB and YR1M.
Dr Shamsul said Ihsan Perdana received RM20 million annually from Y1MDB to do CSR in Malay-majority seats won by Umno or Barisan Nasional and RM20 million annually from YR1M for CSR in BN-won Chinese and Indian-majority seats, but denied this was for political gain or to get advantage in elections and said it was to benefit communities in need.
Among other things, Dr Shamsul denied he had met with Low Taek Jho at the Mayfair Hotel in London in early 2015, or that he had been part of any discussion there about alleged 1MDB money in Najib’s account or the alleged preparation of a purportedly forged Saudi donation letter to Najib at that hotel.
“I was never involved in any such conversation in relation to drafting or procuring letters concerning donations from Saudi Arabia,” he said when disputing prosecution witness Jasmine Loo’s previous testimony in the 1MDB trial about the alleged fabricated donation letter.
Najib’s 1MDB trial before trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah resumes tomorrow morning, with Dr Shamsul expected to answer some questions from Najib’s lawyers before being cross-examined by the prosecution.
Earlier today, corporate lawyer Datuk Sreesanthan a/l Eliathamby — who had previously been legal adviser to 1MDB’s predecessor Terengganu Investment Authority — testified briefly as the 13th defence witness in the trial, but refrained from answering certain questions as he was still bound by legal and professional privilege and as 1MDB had decided not to waive the privilege.
When Najib’s lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah attempted to get Sreesanthan’s opinion on a clause (Article 117) in 1MDB’s company constitution as an expert witness, the judge made a ruling to disallow such attempts, as there would be a conflict of interest since he was still bound by the privilege.
“I can appreciate that you want to treat him as an expert witness ... that can be your right perhaps with any other witness who has not sought privilege. But I think with regard to this witness, I find that with 1MDB very categorically saying they are not waiving the privilege, I think I won’t allow the witness to answer the question.
“But you can call any other witness who is not in conflict in some way as an expert on Article 117, if you can find any. That will be my ruling,” the judge said.
This morning, the prosecution’s deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib asked the High Court to give a “proper warning” to Najib’s lawyers, and said the 1MDB trial should not be brought into the court of public opinion.
Akram said Najib’s lawyers had issued a “one-sided” press statement to the public via Najib’s Facebook page as it included testimony of a defence witness who had yet to be cross-examined by the prosecution, and noted it had attracted hundreds of comments by Facebook users including those that were against the prosecution and the High Court.
Akram argued that the press statement allegedly contained sub judice comments with the intention to prejudice the trial, as it allegedly commented and made conclusions while the trial was still ongoing and while the High Court had yet to decide on the case.
Shafee claimed that the press statement issued by his law firm was stating facts instead of opinions, and promised he would ask his team of lawyers to use the exact words that defence witnesses used and not to paraphrase their court testimony when issuing press statements.
The judge then said lawyers should avoid making press statements about what witnesses said before they have finished testifying, and that statements should be limited to the facts of the case and not go into sub judice matters (such as by making comments or conclusions on evidence that should be decided by the court).
“Can we perhaps ensure there’s no repeat of this?” the judge asked after stressing that he wanted to run the 1MDB trial without too many diversions, later adding: “I think we leave it at that for now, hopefully we don’t have to deal with this again.”
Four months ago, the prosecution had also objected to Shafee’s press conference on the 1MDB trial as it was allegedly sub judice and bordering on contempt of court, and the High Court had at that time told Najib’s lawyers not to make sub judice comments.
Source:malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/03/10/witness-najib-said-my-god-shocked-upset-over-rm42m-entering-his-accounts-via-1mdbs-csr-firm/169163
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‘Must be managed like blood pressure’: Indonesia’s central bank taps preachers to keep Ramadan inflation in check
11 Mar 2025
MAJALENGKA (Indonesia), March 11 — Waiting to break their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, clerics in the Indonesian town of Majalengka gathered for an unusual briefing on the subject of inflation, led by the country’s central bank.
The address by a central bank official and two Muslim clerics in the town’s Islamic centre was part of Bank Indonesia’s strategy to enlist preachers to warn against overconsumption during Ramadan, which can trigger price pressures in a country with a history of runaway inflation.
Though inflation has been brought under control in the past decade as authorities beef up efforts to strengthen food distribution along the supply chain, the central bank is keen to spread its message about the need to keep prices stable.
“We hope you as the ulamas (scholars of Islam) can be mediators to convey the message that inflation management is our common task,” said Agung Budilaksono, the senior central bank official for Majalengka.
“Inflation must be managed, because it’s like blood pressure... If it’s too high, it will ruin your health in the long run and if it’s too low, you will get weak,” he told the clerics.
Ramadan ends with the Eid al-Fitr festival, which, like in other Muslim countries, typically marks peak demand in Indonesia, where Muslims make up the majority of the population of 280 million.
Islamic clerics are influential among the public in Indonesia’s remote areas and towns like Majalengka in West Java, about three hours from the capital Jakarta.
“People tend to want more during Ramadan, so maybe we need to remind them again that the point of fasting is to control our lust,” said Mohamad Padil, 53, one of the clerics listening at the forum.
Inflation once ran hot in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, but in 2024 was 1.57 per cent, near the lower end of the central bank’s target range, while West Java’s rate was 1.64 per cent.
The rate dropped further in the first two months of 2025 due to a large increase in subsidies for electricity prices, and economists predict it will remain within the central bank’s 1.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent target range this year.
The central bank has run other unconventional initiatives including a podcast on spending management and programmes to foster entrepreneurship as well as boost local food supply.
At the nearby Islamic boarding school of Santi Asromo, it helped build a greenhouse for students to plant Chinese cabbage and water spinach, constructing a fish farm for the school next door. — Reuters
Source:malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/money/2025/03/11/must-be-managed-like-blood-pressure-indonesias-central-bank-taps-preachers-to-keep-ramadan-inflation-in-check/169209
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/holi-colours-muslim-men-hijabs/d/134844