Man Kills, America-Born, Teenage Daughter In Quetta Over 'Objectionable' TikTok Videos

New Age Islam News Bureau

30 January 2025

A crime scene tape can be seen in this image. — Unsplash

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·         Man Kills, America-Born, Teenage Daughter In Quetta Over 'Objectionable' TikTok Videos

·         Human Rights, Religious Freedom In India Continued To Deteriorate In 2024: Indian American Muslim Council

·         BJP-RSS Waging War Against 20 Crore Indian Muslims: Jammu Activists On Waqf Amendment Bill

·         Anti-Racists Protest After East London Mosque Attack

·         Palestinians’ Return To Northern Gaza Complicates Netanyahu’s War Aims

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Pakistan

·         Six more bunkers destroyed in lower Kurram under peace agreement

·         PTI to stage public gathering in Swabi on Feb 8

·         Army major, sepoy martyred in North Waziristan anti-terror operation

·         FO raises 'profound concern' on US weapons left behind in Afghanistan after Trump's warning

·         SC returns military court docs over ‘prejudice’ fears

·         Govt wants lawmakers, not judges, to review May 9, Nov 26 events

·         FC official among six kidnapped in North Waziristan

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North America

·         Paterson Hosts Muslim Heritage Month Celebration at City Hall

·         Why Jeff Bezos gave US veteran who led Osama bin Laden raid $50,000,000

·         NDP statement on the eighth anniversary of the Quebec City Mosque massacre

·         Trump to send deported migrants to Guantanamo

·         White House rescinds memo on freezing federal grants and loans

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India

·         Maharashtra Transfers Case After Muslim Man Forced To Chant 'Jai Shri Ram' On Train

·         'Step To Weaken Muslims': Asaduddin Owaisi Slams JPC's Waqf Bill Report, Submits 229-Page Dissent Note

·         Prakash Karat says ‘murder of democracy’ is in BJP’s DNA, alleges ‘game plan’ to increase Hindu-Muslim tension

·         Priests Applaud Siddhivinayak Temple ‘No Revealing Clothes’ Dress Code: ‘It’s About Respect, Devotion’

·         Uttarakhand UCC Is Not Uniform, Targets Muslims

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Europe

·         Banks Told To Improve Islamophobia Training As Muslim Charities Report Access Issues

·         Andrew RT Davies accused of turning on Muslim colleague

·         Belgium asks Netherlands, Spain to extradite two suspects in Islamist attack probe

·         Far-right vote on asylum rocks German parliament

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Mideast

·         Israel to free 110 Palestinian prisoners in Gaza truce swap Thursday: NGO

·         Steven Witkoff, the real estate investor forging President Trump’s Middle East diplomatic deals

·         Jordan hospital offers injured Gazans hope for recover

·         Iran’s Leader pays tribute at Imam Khomeini’s mausoleum, martyrs’ cemetery

·         Zionist enemy's machinery demolishes mosque in Sur Baher village, occupied Quds

·         Event at Grand Mosque in Sana'a marks Isra, Mi'raj anniversary with support for al-Aqsa, Gaza

·         Hamas is set to free 8 more hostages and Israel will release 110 prisoners as Gaza ceasefire holds

·         First Gaza aid ship arrives at Egypt’s El-Arish port since ceasefire

·         Palestinian Red Crescent says Israeli strike kills 7 in West Bank

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South Asia

·         Afghanistan Embassy In Oslo Entrusted To Taliban-Appointed Individual

·         Bangladesh Nationalist Party To Hit Street In Feb For Election By Year End

·         Democrats urge resumption of Afghan refugee resettlement to US

·         ‘AL won’t be allowed to hold protests’

·         Afghanistan Ambassador Attends International Conference on AI in Tehran

·         Ministry of Finance Addresses Recent Economic Fluctuations

·         Afghanistan has become an ‘Islamic North Korea’: Former French Ambassador

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Arab World

·         Fatwa Department Of Kuwait In Collaboration With France’s Council Of State, Organize Training Program

·         Saudi universities unite at Darah event to innovate heritage preservation

·         Saudi crown prince, European council president discuss cooperation

·         Interpol to establish regional office in Saudi Arabia

·         Qassim governor praises green initiative’s success

·         King of Bahrain leaves Riyadh

·         Bangladesh committed to meet demand for skilled workers in Saudi Arabia, top official says

·         Saudi crown prince receives former US President Clinton

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Africa

·         Keep Sharia Law In Sokoto, Other Northern States Where It Has Worsened Suffering; It’s Alien To Yoruba Society, Group Replies Sultan

·         Zamfara: Bello Turji-Led Bandits Attack Mosque, Abduct Worshippers

·         Tinubu Accused Me Of Running Away After He Became President – BisiAkande

·         Details Of Sanwo-Olu’s Meeting With French Ambassador

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Southeast Asia

·         Ahmad Zahid urges leaders to put political differences aside and focus on serving the people

·         PM Anwar extends CNY care package to cancer patient in Kuantan

·         What do local councillors actually do? A guide as Selangor’s assessment tax hike sparks debate

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/man-kills-american-born-tiktok-videos/d/134479

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Man Kills, American-Born, Teenage DaughterIn Quetta Over 'Objectionable' TikTok Videos

January 29, 2025

A crime scene tape can be seen in this image. — Unsplash

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QUETTA: A man in Quetta admitted to killing his teenage daughter over making 'objectionable' TikTok videos, police said on Wednesday.

The shooting happened on a street in the capital of Balochistan on Tuesday.

Suspect Anwar ul-Haq, who had recently brought his family back to Pakistan from the United States initially said that unidentified gunmen shot and killed his American-born, 15-year-old daughter before he confessed to the crime, police official Babar Baloch said.

The suspect, Anwar ul-Haq, initially said that unidentified gunmen shot and killed his American-born, 15-year-old daughter before he confessed to the crime, police official Babar Baloch said.

"Our investigation so far has found that the family had an objection to her dressing, lifestyle, and social gathering," another police investigator, Zohaib Mohsin, said. "We have her phone. It is locked," he told Reuters. "We are probing all aspects, including honour killing."

The family had recently returned to Balochistan province having lived in the United States for about 25 years, Baloch said.

The suspect has US citizenship, the officer said. He said Haq had told him his daughter began creating "objectionable" content on the social media platform TikTok when she lived in the United States.

He told police that she continued to share videos on the platform after returning to Pakistan. Baloch said the main suspect's brother-in-law had also been arrested in connection with the killing.

Police said they had charged Haq with the murder. They did not offer proof of Haq's US citizenship except for the suspect's own testimony and declined to say whether the US embassy had been informed of the incident.

His family declined to respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

More than 54 million people use TikTok in Pakistan, a nation of 241 million. The government has blocked the video-sharing app several times in recent years over content moderation.

Islamabad often takes issue with what it terms "obscene content" with the social media platform, which has lately started complying with requests from Pakistan to remove certain content.

Over 1,000 women are killed each year in Pakistan at the hands of community or family members over perceived damage to "honour", according to independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

That could involve eloping, posting social media content, fraternising with men, or any other infraction against conservative values relating to women.

Source:thenews.com.pk

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Human rights, religious freedom in India continued to deteriorate in 2024: Indian American Muslim Council

January 30, 2025

Representation | AFP

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The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) has released a report that alleges that India’s human rights crisis has deepened in 2024.

The Washington-based group describes itself as the "largest advocacy organisation of Indian Muslims in the United States with chapters across the nation".

The report says that human rights and religious freedom in India continued to deteriorate throughout 2024, including through the introduction of new discriminatory policies, a spike in hate crimes, cow-related lynchings, hate speeches during India’s general elections, numerous incidents of deadly police brutality, and transnational repression.

There is ‘pervasive and structural’ violence and ‘egregious atrocities’ against Indian minorities, including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and Kashmiris, as per the report. It also notes that the government’s repression tactics have impacted members of the Indian diaspora living in the United States and Canada.

Two incidents highlighted in the report are the ‘police violence’ against Muslim protesters in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani in January, 2024 and Sambhal (Uttar Pradesh) in November. The report says that the police opened fire on Muslims who were exercising their right to protest.

It also highlights the Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand as forcing religious minorities to adhere to common law in personal matters such as marriage and divorce; the Waqf (Amendment) Bill for eroding control over historical mosques, dargahs and graveyards; and a number of directives by both police and local governments ordering all food sellers to display their names on their establishments.

The report has also called out the media for colluding with the government. "The press’s role in manufacturing and amplifying hate speech was especially visible in the run-up to India’s general elections", it reads.

IAMC executive director Rasheed Ahmed said that even after the BJP’s marginal loss of power in the 2024 elections, "…Hindu militant groups remain emboldened, law enforcement remains largely beholden to extremists, and the judiciary remains compromised", he said.

Source:theweek.in

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https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2025/01/30/human-rights-religious-freedom-in-india-continued-to-deteriorate-in-2024-indian-american-muslim-council.html

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BJP-RSS Waging War Against 20 Crore Indian Muslims: Jammu Activists On Waqf Amendment Bill

 Jan 29, 2025

United Peace Alliance members during a press conference in Jammu (ETV Bharat)

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Jammu: Several socio-political activists and religious scholars in Jammu have strongly condemned the BJP-led Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Amendment Bill for rejecting all 44 amendments proposed by 15 opposition MPs, calling it, “war against Indian Muslims". Moreover, they have accused the JPC of adopting “a dictatorial and undemocratic procedure.”

Addressing a joint press conference here in the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir, the chairman of United Peace Alliance (UPA) Shahid Saleem alleged that the proposed amendments to the Waqf Amendment Bill were aimed only at snatching the lands and properties of the Muslims across India, which they have dedicated in the name of Allah for the benefit and upliftment of the people. “Muslims in India are being discriminated against in all spheres of life, reducing them to 2nd-class citizens in their own country,” claimed Shahid.

Other Speakers at the joint press conference argued that rejection of all 44 amendments suggested by the opposition members defeats the purpose of the formation of the JPC itself. “Article 26 of the Indian constitution grants all religious groups rights to manage their institutions and properties. Allowing members of the other religious groups to manage the affairs of the Waqf violates article 26 of the constitution,” the speakers highlighted, claiming, “Allowing one religious group to oversee other groups’ property is a direct violation of this constitutional right.”

During the joint press conference, speakers accused BJP-RSS of harming the basic structure of the constitution by neutralizing the sections of the Waqf Board. “The BJP-RSS has, in a way, declared a war against twenty crore Muslims of India that can prove very harmful for peace and development of the country.”

They further alleged that the ruling BJP is promoting an anti-Muslim agenda for vote bank politics, which they described as, “Very dangerous for the unity and integrity of the country.”

The press conference was addressed by SafeerChowdahry, Mir Shahid Saleem, Wali Mohammad Dar, Dr. Rajinder Thappa, MoulanaMudasirJalali, Narinder Singh Khasa, and Yousuf Aijaz.

Source:etvbharat.com

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Anti-racists protest after east London mosque attack

 30 January 2025

The protest in Stratford  following mosque attack (Picture: Guy Smallman)

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Around 60 anti-racists gathered in Stratford, east London, on Wednesday night to protest against the Islamophobic vandalising of mosques.

Seven mosques, Muslim community centres and a primary school in east London were last week daubed with slogans such as, “Remigrate or die,” “Paedophile council here,” and, “Stop Islam.”

Miriam, a Newham Stand Up to Racism (SUTR) activist, said that they were there to show that “no act against our brothers and sisters will go unopposed”.

Shaquid from Newham Muslim Forum condemned the “serious acts of violence”.

LGBT+ campaigners brought solidarity and made the link to bigots vandalising a Pride flag mural in Forest Gate, east London, last year.

One LGBT+ activist made it clear that ‘’we are all neighbours’’ and that ‘’we will not disappear’’ regardless of homophobia, transphobia, or racism.

The attacks on the mosques come after a 25 percent increase in religiously-motivated hate crimes officially recorded in the last year.

Islamophobia and anti-migrant racism are sharply on the rise. The attacks on mosques in east London last week came as the far right tried to exploit the Southport murders trial.

Recent months have seen pogroms against migrants, arson attacks on refugee hotels and the disgusting rhetoric from far right figures such as Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson in the wake of the attack in Southport.

Fascists launched a wave of violence, including trying to burn down mosques and hotels housing refugees, last summer. A mass response pushed the fascists back, but they’re looking for opportunities to go back on the attack.

Idris, the president of Newham Mosque said he hoped the attack would be a “catalyst” of anti-racist action. He argued that if anti-racists do not fight now, they will have a much bigger challenge to face.

The rise of Nigel Farage’s far right Reform UK party is being fuelled by the Labour scapegoating of migrants and its failure to deliver change. Speakers condemned Keir Starmer for the racist agenda his Labour government is pushing. They slammed his brutal deportation plans and his relationships with far right leaders.

Speakers emphasised the importance of joining the SUTR counter-protest against Nazi Tommy Robinson’s supporters in London on Saturday.

Source:socialistworker.co.uk

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https://socialistworker.co.uk/anti-racism/anti-racists-protest-after-east-london-mosque-attack/

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Palestinians’ return to northern Gaza complicates Netanyahu’s war aims

January 29, 2025

Displaced Palestinian children sit on the back of trucks waiting along Salah Al-Din road in Nuseirat as people make their way to the northern part of the Gaza strip on Jan. 28, 2025. (AFP)

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TEL AVIV: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed 15 months ago that Israel would achieve “total victory” in the war in Gaza — by eradicating Hamas and freeing all the hostages. One week into a ceasefire with the militant group, many Israelis are dubious.

Not only is Hamas still intact, there’s also no guarantee all of the hostages will be released. But what’s really raised doubts about Netanyahu’s ability to deliver on his promise is this week’s return of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza. That makes it difficult for Israel to relaunch its war against Hamas should the two sides fail to extend the ceasefire beyond its initial six-week phase.

“There is no war to resume,” said OferShelah, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank. “What will we do now? Move the population south again?”

“There is no total victory in this war,” he said.

‘Total victory’ is elusive

Israel launched its war against Hamas after the militant group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and roughly 250 were taken hostage. Within hours, Israel began a devastating air assault on Gaza, and weeks later it launched a ground invasion.

Israel has inflicted heavy losses on Hamas. It has killed most of its top leadership, and claims to have killed thousands of fighters while dismantling tunnels and weapons factories. Months of bombardment and urban warfare have left Gaza in ruins, and more than 47,000 Palestinians are dead, according to local health authorities who don’t distinguish between militants and civilians in their count.

But the “total victory” envisioned by Netanyahu remains elusive.

In the first phase of the ceasefire, 33 hostages in Gaza will be freed, nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israel will be released, and humanitarian aid to Gaza will be vastly increased. Israel is also redeploying troops to enable over 1 million Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza.

In the second phase of the ceasefire, which the two sides are expected to begin negotiating next week, more hostages would be released and the stage would be set for a more lasting truce.

But if Israel and Hamas do not agree to advance to the next phase, more than half of the roughly 90 remaining hostages will still be in Gaza; at least a third of them are believed to be dead.

Despite heavy international and domestic pressure to develop a postwar vision for who should rule Gaza, Netanyahu has yet to secure an alternative to the militant group. That has left Hamas in command.

Hamas sought to solidify that impression as soon as the ceasefire began. It quickly deployed uniformed police to patrol the streets and staged elaborate events for the hostages’ release, replete with masked gunmen, large crowds and ceremonies. Masked militants have also been seen along Gaza’s main thoroughfares, waving to and welcoming Palestinians as they head back home.

A Hamas victory?

Despite the scale of death and destruction in Gaza — and the hit to its own ranks — Hamas will likely claim victory.

Hamas will say, “Israel didn’t achieve its goals and didn’t defeat us, so we won,” said Michael Milshtein, an Israeli expert on Palestinian affairs.

The return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza is an important achievement for Hamas, Milshtein said. The group long insisted on a withdrawal of Israeli troops and an end to war as part of any deal — two conditions that have effectively begun to be realized.

And Hamas can now reassert itself in a swath of the territory that Israel battled over yet struggled to entirely control.

To enable Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, Israel opened the Netzarim corridor, a roughly 4-mile (6-kilometer) military zone bisecting the territory. That gives Hamas more freedom to operate, while taking away leverage that would be difficult for Israel regain even if it restarted the war, said GioraEiland, a former Israeli general who had proposed a surrender-or-starve strategy for northern Gaza.

“We are at the mercy of Hamas,” he said in an interview with Israeli Army Radio. “The war has ended very badly” for Israel, he said, whereas Hamas “has largely achieved everything it wanted.”

Little appetite to resume war

President Donald Trump could play an important role in determining the remaining course of the war.

He has strongly hinted that he wants the sides to continue to the second phase of negotiations and shown little enthusiasm for resuming the war. A visit by his Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, to Israel this week and a visit to the White House next week by Netanyahu will likely give stronger indications of where things are headed.

In announcing the ceasefire, Netanyahu said Israel was still intent on achieving all the war’s goals. He said Israel was “safeguarding the ability to return and fight as needed.”

While military experts say Israel could in practice relaunch the war, doing so will be complicated.

Beyond the return of displaced Palestinians, the international legitimacy to wage war that it had right after Hamas’ attack has vanished. And with joyful scenes of freed hostages reuniting with their families, the Israeli public’s appetite for a resumption of fighting is also on the decline, even if many are disappointed that Hamas, a group that committed the deadliest attack against Israelis in the country’s history, is still standing.

An end to the war complicates Netanyahu’s political horizon. The Israeli leader is under intense pressure to resume the war from his far-right political allies, who want to see Hamas crushed. They envision new Jewish settlements in Gaza and long-term Israeli rule there.

One of Netanyahu’s coalition partners already resigned in protest at the ceasefire deal and a second key ally has threatened to topple the government if the war doesn’t resume after the first phase. That would destabilize the government and could trigger early elections.

“Where is the total victory that this government promised?” Itamar Ben-Gvir, the former Cabinet minister who quit the government over the ceasefire said Monday.

Israel Ziv, a retired general, said restarting the war would require a new set of goals and that its motivations would be tainted.

“The war we entered into is over,” he told Israeli Army Radio. “Other than political reasons, I don’t see any reason to resume the war.”

Source:arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2588334/middle-east

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Pakistan

 

Six more bunkers destroyed in lower Kurram under peace agreement

Javid Hussain

January 30, 2025

KURRAM: As part of the recent peace agreement, six more bunkers were destroyed in lower Kurram, while a convoy of 12 vehicles carrying essential food items and medicines reached the Bagan area of the tribal district on Wednesday.

According to administration officials, three bunkers each in Khar Kallay and Balishkhel were blown up with explosives on Wednesday, taking the number of such structures to 16 since the signing of a peace agreement between two warring groups early this month.

They said tangible steps were being taken for the enforcement of the 14- point accord.

Meanwhile, a relief convoy consisting of 12 vehicles with food items and medicines reached Bagan from the Tal area in Hangu district in the day.

Mufti Shah Nawaz and other local elders thanked Governor Faisal Karim Kundi for facilitating the delivery of relief supplies to Bagan.

He said the governor had contacted the UN agencies to secure aid for the people of Kurram.

“We are thankful to Unicef and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and look forward to further assistance in the near future,” he said.

Students from Parachinar and adjoining areas demanded immediate opening of roads, complaining route blockades are causing learning losses.

They warned if they were not transported to Peshawar in a timely manner, they would stage a protest sit-in.

Murtaza Hussain, from Upper Kurram, said he had got admission to a US university but he feared he would miss a visa interview at the US Embassy in Islamabad due to the closure of roads.

Musadiq Hussain, from Orakzai tribal district, said he worked as an engineer in Parachinar and had secured admission in Russia but got stuck in Kurram due to road closures.

“I can’t make it to Peshawar, so my future is at stake,” he said, demanding his and other stranded people’s transportation to the provincial capital in a convoy of vehicles or helicopters.

ROADS CLOSED: Despite peace agreement, the main transportation routes in Kurram district have been closed for four months, paralysing life for the local population.

Students, patients, businessmen and those working abroad are the worst affected.

Furthermore, there are complaints about a rise in deaths among patients, including children, due to a lack of medical supplies in the local hospitals.

People in Parachinar told Dawn that they had long been awaiting relief supplies and medicines, whose unavailability was causing malnutrition and deaths among children.

Social worker Mir Afzal Khan claimed that Parachinar Hospital and health centres in adjoining areas had reported death of around 450 patients, including 215 children, due to lack of medicines and services.

He said road closures had blocked the delivery of relief goods and assistance sent by the United Nations for over500,000 population of Parachinar and residents of more than 100 surrounding villages.

The social worker alleged that the aid was distributed to those who had besieged the population.

He said food and other essential goods brought in by traders were sold at double the routine price, to the misery of poor residents.

Trade union president Haji Imdad said trucks with food supplies had been awaiting permission in Tal for weeks to enter Parachinar, forcing traders to pay high rents and causing goods to decay in vehicles.

The district administration claimed that it had taken special measures to open roads and demolish bunkers as part of the peace agreement, while every possible effort was being made to provide relief to the affected families.

Source:dawn.com

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PTI to stage public gathering in Swabi on Feb 8

By AbubakarSaddiq

January 30, 2025

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Junaid Akbar has said that party will stage a power show in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Swabi on February 8 in line with incarcerated founder Imran Khan's directives.

"A public rally will be held in Swabi on February 8 on the PTI founder's call," Akbar said in a statement, who recently replaced KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur as the party's provincial president.

The day holds significance as it marks the first anniversary of the last general elections, which the party alleges were rigged, resulting in the theft of its mandate.

The development comes as the former ruling party has also sought permission to hold a public gathering in Peshawar on February 8 which it says would be observed as a "Black Day".

PTI leader Aliya Hamza submitted an application to the deputy commissioner's office and sought the local administration's approval for a public gathering at the Minar-e-Pakistan ground, also known as Iqbal Park, next month.

The opposition party's prospective return to street politics comes against the backdrop of its negotiations with the government — which now seem to have collapsed after its refusal to attend the fourth round of talks on January 28 citing the government's failure to form a judicial commission to probe the May 9 riots and November 2024 protests as per its charter of demands.

The dialogue process between the PML-N-led government and the PTI commenced in late December after months of heightened political tensions.

Although the PTI presented its written charter of demands and after weeks of negotiations — with three sessions taking place — little progress was made on key matters.

Meanwhile, PTI's Akbar, who is also the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), has warned of agitation against the ruling coalition saying that the party's desire to hold dialogue with the government was misconstrued as its weakness.

Speaking on Geo News' programme 'Capital Talk' earlier, he remarked that the PTI might raise the political temperature in the country once again by shifting to "agitation mode" and further hinted at a large-scale reshuffle in the party’s hierarchy with "hardliners" set to be appointed to key positions.

Nevertheless, commenting on the party's protest strategy, the PTI KP president has said that instead of relying on the CM, the funding should be arranged by the workers' themselves.

"The public gathering and the workers both belong to the party so we have to make the [financial] contribution," he said.

"There are more than 70 village councils under the administration of each MNA. It is not difficult to arrange vehicles for a public gathering."

"We will change some things and procedures now," he added while putting his weight behind CM Gandapur saying that the province's chief executive "always supported every worker and every party wing".

Source:thenews.com.pk

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Army major, sepoy martyred in North Waziristan anti-terror operation

By Zarmeen Zehra

January 30, 2025

RAWALPINDI: The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Thursday said that two army personnel, including a major, were killed in exchange of fire with terrorists in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan.

The shootout happened during an intelligence-based operation by the security forces on the night between January 29–30.

"During the conduct of [the] operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij [terrorist] location and resultantly six khwarij were sent to hell," the ISPR said in the statement.

The martyred security personnel, meanwhile, were identified as Major Hamza Israr, 29, a resident of Rawalpindi, a brave officer who was leading his troops from the front, the communique added.

Another martyr was Sepoy Muhammad Naeem, 26, a resident of Naseerabad, having fought gallantly, and paid the ultimate sacrifice.

In response, a sanitisation operation is being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area as the "security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve".

Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari has paid tribute to security forces for killing six Khawarij terrorists.

The president also paid tribute to martyred security officials. He lauded bravery and patriotism of Major Israr and Sepoy Naeem.

"Security forces will continue their operations until terrorists are completely eliminated. Our resolve to eliminate terrorist elements and defend the country will remain unwavering," he said.

Two other soldiers were martyred and five terrorists killed, earlier this week, as militants attempted to attack a security forces’ post in the Gulistan area of Qila Abdullah district of Balochistan.

Pakistan witnessed a surge in violent attacks since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, particularly in the bordering provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

The year 2024 turned out to be the deadliest for Pakistan's civil and military security forces in a decade with at least 685 fatalities and 444 terror attacks, according to “CRSS Annual Security Report 2024” issued by Centre for Security and Strategic Studies.

Equally alarming were the cumulative losses of civilians and security personnel, i.e., 1,612 fatalities, accounting for over 63% of the total recorded this year, marking 73% more losses compared to 934 outlaws eliminated, the CRSS report said.

The overall fatalities recorded the previous year were a record 9-year high and over 66% more than in 2023. On average, nearly seven people lost their lives daily, with November emerging as the deadliest month across all metrics, compared to all other months of the year.

Source:thenews.com.pk

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FO raises 'profound concern' on US weapons left behind in Afghanistan after Trump's warning

January 29, 2025

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Wednesday raised "profound concern" at the presence of weapons left behind in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of its troops in August 2021, after US President Donald Trump demanded the return of "billions of dollars" of equipment.

"These weapons have been used by terrorist organisations, including the TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan], to carry out terrorist attacks in Pakistan," FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said in a statement on Wednesday.

He noted that Pakistan has been "repeatedly calling upon the de facto authorities in Kabul to take all necessary measures to ensure that these weapons do not fall into the wrong hands".

On the eve of his presidential inauguration, Trump at a public rally threatened Afghanistan to snap all the financial assistance if the nation does not return US aircraft, air-to-ground munitions, vehicles and communications equipment.

"If we’re going to pay billions of dollars a year, tell them we’re not going to give them the money unless they give back our military equipment,” he said.

However, Taliban reportedly refused to return any of the military equipment and urged the US to provide them with more advanced weapons to fight Daesh.

According to a report by the US Department of Defence in 2022, the US left behind $7 billion worth of military equipment in Afghanistan which was quickly seized by Taliban fighters as they swept the country.

The US forces tried to dismantle or destroy as much of their machinery as they could in the last weeks of their chaotic pull-out. However, huge amounts still fell to the Taliban in August 2021.

Although it was Trump’s first administration that signed the deal with the Taliban to withdraw forces from Afghanistan, the president strongly slammed the way the Joe Biden administration handled the pullout.

Biden carried out the agreement, with the Western-backed Afghanistan government swiftly collapsing and the Taliban retaking power. The scenes of chaos in Kabul drew criticism, especially when scores of Afghans and around 13 American troops died in a suicide bombing at the city's airport.

Pakistan witnessed a surge in violent attacks since the Taliban returned to power, particularly in the bordering provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

The year 2024 turned out to be the deadliest for Pakistan's civil and military security forces in a decade with at least 685 fatalities and 444 terror attacks, according to “CRSS Annual Security Report 2024” issued by Centre for Security and Strategic Studies.

Source:thenews.com.pk

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https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1277514-fo-raises-profound-concern-on-us-weapons-left-behind-in-afghanistan-after-trumps-warning

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SC returns military court docs over ‘prejudice’ fears

Nasir Iqbal

January 30, 2025

• Only two members of Constitutional Bench review details of procedure adopted during military trials of May 9 suspects

• Govt counsel says judges ‘can’t keep’, but review the papers

• Judges wonder if military court judges are ‘independent’ or subordinate to their superiors

ISLAMABAD: The Constitutional Bench (CB) of the apex court, on Wednesday, returned sealed envelopes submitted by the government counsel, which outlined the procedures followed during the military trial of civilians involved in the May 9, 2023, attacks on military installations.

Though the judges took a cursory look, they returned the envelopes when Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail suggested that it would not be appropriate to examine the documents, as the matter might reach the high courts and eventually land at the Supreme Court’s door in future appeals.

At this, all members of the seven-judge CB preferred returning the documents, except for Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, who expressed his desire to read the procedures for his personal understanding, and returned the documents after going through them.

Justice Musarrat Hilali also asked to read the documents, while Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan endorsed the decision to return them, stating that the case should not be prejudiced.

The seven-judge CB, headed by Justice Khan, had taken up a set of intra-court appeals (ICAs) against the Oct 23, 2023, five-judge bench order nullifying the military court trials of civilians involved in the May 9 violence.

Defence Ministry counsel Khawaja Haris Ahmed, while presenting the documents, argued that the court could read them but not retain them.

He explained that the document detailed the procedures followed during the military trials of the May 9 accused, including how the military court was convened, how the trial commenced, and how the presiding officer, prosecutors, and even the interpreters took an oath before the trial began.

The documents also outlined how the sentence awarded was confirmed by the commanding officer and how witnesses were cross-examined. Furthermore, before the trial commenced, the accused were asked if they had any objections to the presiding officer, but none raised any.

What disturbed Justice Hilali during the hearing was the absence of any procedure for transferring civilian cases from anti-terrorism courts (ATCs) to military courts, especially when the initial charges against the accused were under the PPC. Besides, one of the accused claimed that no eyewitnesses were presented during the trial.

In response, the counsel explained that some cases were transferred to military courts from ATCs, while others came from magistrate courts. He also pointed out that the judge was delving into case details, despite the possibility that the matter might come before them in appeal in the future.

Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi questioned whether the presiding officers of the military courts were fully experienced or if any officer could conduct the trial.

The counsel replied that experience was not necessary, but the officers had a complete understanding of the Pakistan Army Act (PAA). He said that those conducting military trials did not require special training, as their role was to determine whether the accused were guilty or not. He assured that all safeguards for a transparent trial had been put in place.

At this, Justice Mandokhail expressed regret, stating that “our country has become so trained that two people sit and nullify the decision rendered by eight judges of the Supreme Court”.

The counsel, however, responded that social media should not be a topic of discussion, adding that some individuals on social media forums consider themselves experts on everything. “Let them do their job; we should not be concerned about them.”

Justice Hilali, however, regretted that an unfortunate impression was being created on social media, suggesting that she belonged to a particular political party due to her observations. She clarified that, as a judge from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, she was simply asking questions about the impact of military trials.

Justice Rizvi observed that a cursory look at the document suggested that the records presented did not pertain to state security, but rather to attacks on military installations.

He questioned why, if the military trials of the accused were conducted in great detail, the proceedings should not be made public to expose those who committed the offenses, allowing the public to condemn them instead of keeping the information under wraps.

The counsel, however, said that this was for the authorities to decide.

Justice Mandokhail emphasised that his only concern was whether the presiding officers conducting the military trials were independent, like judges under Article 175, or subordinate to their respective authorities.

The counsel said if anyone had evidence, they should speak up, as mere perceptions could not be objected to.

However, Justice Mandokhail remarked that while he neither had any doubt nor objection against anyone, but the question remained as to who were conducting the trials in the military courts. “Don’t you trust the civilian courts that offences under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) will always be tried by the military courts?”

The counsel emphasised that military trials under the PAA were never in conflict with fundamental rights and could not be challenged on that basis, as stated in the Constitution. He said military courts have independent identities and operate outside the ambit of Article 175, under which normal courts are established.

Source:dawn.com

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https://www.dawn.com/news/1888591/sc-returns-military-court-docs-over-prejudice-fears

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Govt wants lawmakers, not judges, to review May 9, Nov 26 events

Syed Irfan Raza

January 30, 2025

ISLAMABAD: After negotiations between the government and PTI hit a roadblock, the former has decided not to form judicial commissions for the May 9 and Nov 26 violent protests, instead proposing alternative options, including the formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate the incidents.

Although the government’s negotiation team did not submit its replies to National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, who heads the dialogue committee, a source privy to the development told Dawn that the government had consulted legal experts and senior lawyers, who advised that judicial commissions could not be formed for cases that had already been decided or were being tried in courts.

Anticipating the government’s position that forming judicial commissions was not feasible, PTI had already boycotted the highly-publicised negotiation process even before the fourth round of talks, which was scheduled for Jan 28.

PTI had made its participation in the fourth meeting conditional on the formation of judicial commissions to probe the May 9, 2023, and Nov 26, 2024 incidents. However, the government decided not to dissolve the dialogue committee until Jan 31 and would wait for the opposition party’s ‘return’.

When contacted, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, the spokesperson for the government’s negotiation team, said the government’s response would remain undisclosed, adding that it was prepared after thorough deliberations and hard work.

“In fact, these are not two but 15 demands of the PTI because both demands (judicial commissions and release of PTI prisoners) have further seven to eight demands in the form of their ToRs (terms of reference),” he added.

Asked whether the government had decided against forming judicial commissions, Mr Siddiqui said alternative options had been proposed, including the formation of a parliamentary committee to probe the May 9 and Nov 26 protests.

“Through our replies, we were hopeful that they would address almost all of PTI’s demands, but unfortunately, the opposition party quit the dialogue process,” he added.

Mr Siddiqui said the government “took this process forward with a lot of patience”, despite PTI’s calls for civil disobedience and aggressive tweets, including attacks on the armed forces and personal abuse of the prime minister.

“We tolerated that,” he said, adding that the onus was now on PTI to approach the speaker to restart the process.

Meanwhile, PTI interim chairman Barrister Gohar blamed the government for the failure of the talks, stating: “It is because of the government that the dialogue wrapped up.”

Another PTI leader, Shibli Faraz, said the facts could have been revealed if the government had formed judicial commissions. “The judicial commission could expose the facts after which the government could not continue for even a day,” he claimed.

Source:dawn.com

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https://www.dawn.com/news/1888589/govt-wants-lawmakers-not-judges-to-review-may-9-nov-26-events

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FC official among six kidnapped in North Waziristan

January 30, 2025

NORTH WAZIRISTAN: Six people, one FC man among them, were kidnapped and two water tankers were taken away by armed men in two separate incidents in the same tehsil of North Waziristan district, on Wednesday.

Police said armed men travelling in two vehicles forcibly took away five people while firing shots into the air.

Sources said none of the five abducted men were local. They were working on electricity poles in the Hassan Khel village of Mir Ali sub-division, Shiwa tehsil, when they were kidnapped.

In another incident, a Tochi Scouts personnel, Hamidullah, was returning from market in the Hassan Khel area when some armed men kidnapped him. They also managed to drive away two bowsers supplying water to a government institution and set fire to one of the vehicles, sources said.

Police reached the spot soon after the abduction and started a search for the perpetrators.

Source:dawn.com

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https://www.dawn.com/news/1888563/fc-official-among-six-kidnapped-in-north-waziristan

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North America

 

Paterson Hosts Muslim Heritage Month Celebration at City Hall

January 29, 2025

PATERSON, NJ - Paterson recognized Muslim Heritage Month with a celebration held at City Hall on Wednesday. The event, hosted by Mayor Andre Sayegh, Councilman Shahin Khalique, Councilman Forid Uddin, and Deputy Mayor RaedOdeh, honored the significant contributions of the Muslim community to the city’s economic, cultural, and civic life.

Paterson, home to the largest Muslim population in New Jersey, hosted a brief ceremony that spotlighted various Muslim community members who have made an impact in the city. The celebration also included a “Taste of Paterson” food showcase, featuring a variety of dishes from local Muslim-owned businesses, such as Al Basha, Toros, Taskin Bakery, and Houran. Attendees were able to sample a diverse array of flavors, highlighting the city’s rich culinary offerings.

One of the highlights of the event was a traditional Dabke dance performance by the Al-Dal’ounaDabka Team, adding a festive touch to the celebration.

 “We are very proud to have the largest Muslim population in New Jersey," Sayegh said. “You’re making a very positive impact in the city, especially in the South Paterson section.”

He also noted significant achievements made in the past seven years, including the introduction of Halal menu items in local schools and the celebration of both Eids with school holidays.

Councilman Khalique, reflecting on the city’s progress, spoke about the historical significance of the event, noting the passage of an ordinance in 2019 that allowed for the use of loudspeakers for the call to prayer in Paterson, a first for the city.

In addition to the ceremony and performances, several key figures were recognized for their contributions to Paterson’s development, including Amon Fauci, the first Muslim department head in the mayor’s cabinet, and Abdul Pavid, the first Palestinian Chief Judge. The celebration also recognized the achievements of other community leaders and officials.

“The Sixth Ward is often recognized for its large Muslim population, but Muslims have called this city home from the First Ward all the way to the Sixth Ward,” Corporation Counsel AymenAboushi noted. "There are mosques in the Third and Fourth Wards as well. It’s important to emphasize the diversity within our city and within Islam. We must continue to support each other, work together, and keep moving this city forward. Thank you again, Mayor, for hosting, and thank you to everyone for being here today. I look forward to celebrating our shared future.”

The event underscored the strong sense of community in Paterson, with leaders from various backgrounds coming together to acknowledge the contributions of Muslims to the city’s rich cultural fabric.

As part of the festivities, local leaders took time to express their gratitude for the Muslim community’s continued involvement in shaping Paterson’s future. Deputy Mayor RaedOdeh emphasized the importance of diversity and collaboration, calling for continued support for all communities in the city.

Source:tapinto.net

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https://www.tapinto.net/towns/paterson/sections/religions-and-spirituality/articles/paterson-hosts-muslim-heritage-month-celebration-at-city-hall

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Why Jeff Bezos gave US veteran who led Osama bin Laden raid $50,000,000

29 Jan 2025

Jeff Bezos donated $50 million to the retired US veteran who led the raid that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The Amazon founder is the second-richest person in the world, behind Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

And since 2021, Bezos has been putting some of his $250 billion net worth to good use through his Courage and Civility Award.

Launched to support philanthropists, fiancée Lauren Sanchez previously told CNN in the couple's first ever TV interview in 2022 about the project that they were 'building the capacity to be able to give away this money'.

Asked directly if he intends to donate the majority of his wealth within his lifetime, Bezos confirmed: “Yeah, I do.”

Retired admiral Bill McRaven and actress Eva Longoria have each received $50 million from the award, bringing Bezos' pledge a total of $100 million - just 0.04 percent of his mammoth net worth.

McRaven led a special operations unit to bin Laden's northern Pakistan compound on May 2, 2011.

Al-Qaeda was behind the 9/11 terror attack, the deadliest ever on US soil which killed almost 3000 people.

Instructed by Barack Obama, McRaven's team killed the terrorist with three shots to the head.

McRaven has vowed to use Bezos' donation to develop educational programs for future military leaders, as well as for the children of veterans who've died.

Funding will also go towards mental health support for those who serve.

He told CNN: "The opportunity to use this incredible gift to help veterans and their families is the dream of a lifetime, and I am so grateful to Lauren and Jeff for giving me this opportunity."

Meanwhile, Desperate Housewives star Longoria plans to keep up her current work with her charitable bodies, the Eva Longoria Foundation and Eva's Angels.

The Hollywood star founded the former 2021 in a bid to 'help Latinas build better futures for themselves and their families through education and entrepreneurship'.

This includes offering mentorship and access to funding.

The latter - part of the foundation - helps support the special needs community.

Longoria told Elle her focus is on helping women as they 'are the changemakers in families.'

“When you help a woman, she helps her family. And then when you help families, you improve communities. And when you improve communities, you can improve nations,” she said.

Recently, the star pledged to donate $1 in aid of those affected by the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.

Past recipients of Bezos' award include singer Dolly Parton, lawyer and civil rights activist Van Jones and World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés.

Source:unilad.com

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https://www.unilad.com/celebrity/news/jeff-bezos-donation-bill-mcraven-bin-laden-011073-20250129

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NDP statement on the eighth anniversary of the Quebec City Mosque massacre

January 29th, 2025

Canada’s NDP leader, Jagmeet Singh made the following statement:

“Eight years ago, a gunman entered the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City and murdered six men, and injured many more. This horrific night changed our country and devastated lives, communities, and families.

This act of vile hate robbed six men of their futures — futures filled with dreams, aspirations and untold contributions to country and community. It also robbed people of their fathers, their partners and beloved family members. For the last eight years, they’ve been reeling from this painful loss. We say to these families, we stand with you. We never stopped thinking of you. We recommit to doing everything in our power to stomp out the Islamophobic hate that wreaked this devastation on your lives.

Over the last year, Canada has seen a rise in Islamophobia including hate-motivated incidents and hate crimes against Muslims. Sitting idly by in the face of this rising hate isn’t an option. We each have a responsibility to act and to make it unequivocal, and governments have a specific responsibility to tackle Islamophobia. There should be no tolerance for violence or hate.

New Democrats again send our condolences to the families and to Muslim communities in Québec City and across the country. In sorrow, may you find comfort in each other, and the solidarity being expressed by Canadians.”

Source:ndp.ca

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https://www.ndp.ca/news/ndp-statement-eighth-anniversary-quebec-city-mosque-massacre

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Trump to send deported migrants to Guantanamo

29 Jan, 2025

President Donald Trump has announced plans to expand detention facilities at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to accommodate thousands of deported immigrants as part of his intensified efforts to remove illegal aliens from US soil.

The initiative was revealed on Wednesday during the signing of the bipartisan Laken Riley Act, which mandates the detention and potential deportation of undocumented individuals accused of theft and violent crimes, even before conviction. Justifying the use of Guantanamo Bay, Trump argued that some individuals are “so bad, we don’t even trust the countries to hold them, because we don’t want them coming back.”

“So we’re going to send them out to Guantanamo,” Trump added, calling the facility “a tough place to get out of.”

Guantanamo Bay, best known for holding terrorism suspects, also hosts a separate migrant processing center. Trump said he would sign an executive order directing the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to expand and prepare the facilities for new arrivals.

“Most people don’t even know that we have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people,” Trump stated. He added that the move would “bring us one step closer to eradicating the scourge of migrant crime in our communities once and for all.”

Since his first day back in office, President Trump has enacted a series of executive orders aimed at overhauling the US immigration system. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been carrying out raids across the country, detaining hundreds of people daily. Targeted cities include Boston, New York, Newark, and San Francisco, with agents focusing on arresting immigrants who had committed crimes after entering the US illegally, according to the agency.

The Trump administration has also escalated deportation efforts, using military planes for removal flights and threatening tariffs and other repercussions for countries that refuse to accept deportees.

Guantanamo Bay has been a US naval base since 1903 and was transformed into a detention center in 2002 under President George W. Bush to house suspected terrorists following the September 11 attacks. The facility has long been criticized for torture and indefinite detentions without charge or trial. As of January 2025, 15 detainees remain at the site, many of whom have been imprisoned for over two decades without formal charges.

The Cuban government has consistently denounced the presence of the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, calling it a violation of Cuban sovereignty and raising concerns over human rights abuses at the detention facility. On his first day in office, Trump reinstated Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, reversing an executive order issued by former President Joe Biden just a week prior.

Source:.rt.com

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https://www.rt.com/news/611860-trump-guantanamo-deported-migrants/

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White House rescinds memo on freezing federal grants and loans

30 Jan, 2025

The White House says it has rescinded a memo authorising a federal freeze on hundreds of billions of dollars in grants and loans, which sparked widespread panic among millions of people who rely on government aid.

It comes after a judge temporarily halted the order on Tuesday, only hours after it was signed by President Donald Trump and the memo announcing it was issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The judge paused the order until next Monday, after a lawsuit was filed by a group of organisations representing grant recipients.

The new letter issued on Wednesday states "OMB Memorandum M-25-13 is rescinded."

It is unclear what prompted the apparent U-turn.

In a statement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was still pursuing a freeze.

"This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo," she said. "Why? To end any confusion created by the court's injunction. The President's EO's on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented."

The BBC has asked the White House to clarify how it plans to continue in light of Trump's decision to rescind the memo as well as the judge's injunction.

Earlier this week, the acting head of the White House budget office had instructed agencies to "temporarily pause all activities related to obligations or disbursement of all federal financial assistance".

The office said the move was intended to give the new administration time to assess what grants and loans were in step with their agenda.

But the order prompted widespread confusion about which agencies and programmes would be impacted. An online portal used to access federal funds was briefly taken offline and aid groups warned about a suspension in services.

In response to the latest development, Democrats abruptly shifted a news conference scheduled for Tuesday on the subject of Trump's move to end birthright citizenship to one condemning the decision to freeze all federal funding instead.

"What they're basically doing is being lawless - to hurt families, to help their billionaire friends," Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters after the order was rescinded.

He added that Republicans will continue to attempt to block future funding, and were only stopped this time due to an "outcry" from the public.

"I don't think this would have happened, except for the outcry throughout America. And we in the Senate are working with our constituents to show that outcry. We're going to keep fighting," he added.

Schumer also said that Trump should next rescind his nominee to lead the OMB.

The order was one of several Trump has issued since taking office, aimed at cutting the size of the government and slashing federal spending. Other orders target transgender rights and the automatic citizenship granted to anyone born in the US.

Also on Tuesday, the Trump administration offered federal workers an option to resign and continue to receive pay for eight months, in an effort to further reduce the size of the federal workforce.

On Tuesday, Leavitt had said the halt in funding would allow governments to cut back spending for "woke" gender issues and diversity programmes.

Several states had reported issues accessing funds through Medicaid, a government health insurance programme for low-income people. The White House later said the programme would not be affected.

It also said Social Security benefits would not be affected, nor would any programme "that provides direct benefits to individuals", including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP or food stamps.

Although the order has been blocked for now, the White House believes that the original memo served its purpose by prompting federal agencies to take steps to comply with the president's executive order.

"We are glad that this memo has been rescinded. The chaos unleashed by the uncertainty and lack of adequate notice yesterday should never have happened," said Diane Yentel, president and CEO of National Council of Nonprofits - one of the groups suing the White House over the order.

"Nonprofit organizations throughout the country and the people they serve can breathe a sigh of relief now that the White House has, at least for now, backed off its reckless and harmful plan to halt all federal funding for critical programs from homelessness and housing assistance, to disaster relief and rebuilding, to rape crisis centers and suicide hotlines," her statement on Wednesday added.

In an earlier press conference on Tuesday, Ms Yentel said that if implemented, the order would severely impact food and housing programmes for military veterans, shelters for survivors of domestic violence, childcare assistance.

Source:bbc.com

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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyv48540n4po

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India

 

Maharashtra Transfers Case After Muslim Man Forced To Chant 'Jai Shri Ram' On Train

Jan 30, 2025

The Maharashtra government informed the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that it had transferred a case involving a group of students accused of assaulting a Muslim family and forcing a man from the family to chant "Jai Shri Ram" on a train.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Mumbai resident Shaikh and his wife, who alleged that they were attacked while travelling on a train on January 19, 2024.

Shaikh claimed that after seeking help at Panvel railway station, some students were detained, but BJP MLA NiteshRane intervened, leading to an FIR being filed against Shaikh.

Shaikh’s plea alleged that the case was arbitrarily transferred to Kankavli, where he was assaulted while giving his statement. His vehicle was later vandalised in Mumbai, he told the court.

In June 2024, the Bombay High Court granted Shaikh police protection and agreed to hear his plea for a case transfer.

Additional Public Prosecutor PrajaktaShinde informed the bench of Justices RevatiMohite-Dere and Dr NeelaGokhale that the case had been transferred to Kudal Police Station from Kankavli, over 250 kilometres away. With the case now moved to Kudal as Shaikh wanted, the court disposed of the petition.

However, advocate Gautam Kanchanpurkar appearing for petitioner Asif Shaikh pointed out that Kudal was the constituency of BJP MLA NileshRane.

However, police protection for Shaikh was withdrawn after authorities assessed his threat perception and found none. The court allowed Shaikh to seek protection again if he feels threatened in the future.

Source:indiatoday.in

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https://www.indiatoday.in/india/law-news/story/maharashtra-transfers-case-muslim-man-forced-chant-jai-shri-ram-train-2672182-2025-01-30

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'Step To Weaken Muslims': Asaduddin Owaisi Slams JPC's Waqf Bill Report, Submits 229-Page Dissent Note

January 30, 2025

A constant critic of the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi, a member of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC), has submitted a list of amendments that were negated due to the lack of numbers with the opposition camp in the panel. In fact, Owaisi had moved amendments on 43 out of 44 clauses of the bill.

He has also submitted a detailed dissent note, which runs into 229 pages, explaining why this bill is “anti-Muslim".

Right after the meeting to approve the draft report and the proposed bill, Owaisi told CNN-News18, “We feel this legislation is to end the power of the Waqf Board, and the amendments that have been brought in will make sure we will lose multiple properties. In fact, one of the dangers of losing the Masjid, which is right in front of Parliament, also looms large. This bill in its form is not acceptable to us, and we will go to the public. We tried very hard to present our points in the JPC through multiple meetings. It is not in favour of the Muslims."

Expressing his fear about the treatment being meted out to people from his community, he has argued that this bill will further widen the gap between the majority and the minority.

“At a time when divisive elements have raised mischievous claims questioning the status of ancient mosques and dargahs as places of Muslim religious worship, the bill seeks to weaken the defence of the Muslim side in these disputes by removing the statutory recognition given to ‘waqfs-by-user’, a rule of evidence that hitherto allowed long use of a property as a waqf to be a sufficient basis for the property to be statutorily recognised as a waqf. Further, waqfs created by oral dedication have been de-recognised contrary to established principles of Muslim personal law recognised in this country for over a century. Thus, the only defence available to a waqf in a legal proceeding questioning its status will be to produce a written deed of dedication, a requirement that waqfs established centuries ago will not be able to meet," the AIMIM chief has argued.

Through its deliberation, the committee summoned multiple people to depose before it, and many of these witnesses feel betrayed because their opposition to the bill has not cut any ice with the panel, and it is still going on to pass the bill as the ruling government would like it, Owaisi has argued. His dissent note also reads, “The Joint Committee received representations opposing the proposed amendments from an overwhelming number of Muslim organisations. In particular, it may be noted that the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and the Muttaheda Majlis-e-Ulama (Jammu & Kashmir) have all vehemently opposed the proposed amendments. These organisations between themselves represent a very large portion of Muslims in India. The fact that the erudite arguments and detailed reasons put forward by each of these stakeholders were not accepted by the Joint Committee demonstrates that this ‘consultative process’ was a mere eyewash and the Joint Committee in its draft report has been blind, if not actively inimical to Muslim interests and has reached what were in any event foregone conclusions."

Owaisi has also argued how the committee chairman, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, acted according to the instructions of his party higher-ups and showed scant respect towards the procedures and dissenting voices of the opposition. “The Hon’ble Committee has been unduly captured by partisan sentiments, as evidenced by the disproportionate attention given to a few communal voices that supported the majoritarian changes proposed in the current Bill, in stark contrast to the substantial majority of stakeholders who strongly criticised it. Despite the overwhelming opposition to the proposed legislation, the Hon’ble Chairperson chose to disregard these concerns and, exploiting the numerical strength of the proponents – comprising members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies – pushed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, through with only minimal revisions, thus sidelining the legitimate objections raised by dissenting members," the Hyderabad MP says in his note.

Through his entire set of amendments, it was very clear that the AIMIM chief wanted the bill to be scrapped in its totality. In conclusion, he wrote in his dissent note, “Therefore, in light of the grave implications of the proposed amendments and the undeniable bias that underpins the entire process, I, on behalf of the Muslims of this country, wish to unequivocally express my dissent and urge the Hon’ble Houses of Parliament to accept the changes proposed by me to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The actions of the present Government, aimed at weakening the very foundations of waqf governance and undermining the rights of Muslims in this country, must not be allowed to stand. As I record my opposition to the Bill, I do so not in my name alone, but in the name of justice, equality, and the constitutional values that define the soul of this nation. History will remember this moment, and it will judge whether we stood on the side of fairness or succumbed to divisive forces."

On Wednesday, the JPC met for the last time to adopt the draft report and the revised draft bill before it would be submitted to the Lok Sabha speaker for his final approval in the next couple of days. After the meeting, several members who had still not submitted their dissent notes did so by this evening. Twelve members of the opposition, including YSRCP MP Vijaysai Reddy, who recently resigned from the Rajya Sabha, had also given his note, rejecting the bill in its current format. His note was submitted before his resignation, so it will be part of the draft report that will be presented to Parliament.

After more than three dozen meetings, the joint parliamentary committee, which got underway on August 22, has, on January 29, adopted the draft report, which will be submitted to the Lok Sabha speaker and then laid before the house during the upcoming budget session. Since the bill has been incorporated with 14 new amendments, it will have to go back to the cabinet for approval before it can be brought to Parliament for passage.

Source:news18.com

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https://www.news18.com/india/step-to-weaken-muslims-asaduddin-owaisi-slams-jpcs-waqf-bill-report-submits-229-page-dissent-note-9207436.html

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Prakash Karat says ‘murder of democracy’ is in BJP’s DNA, alleges ‘game plan’ to increase Hindu-Muslim tension

 by Debraj Deb

 January 29, 2025

Senior CPM leader Prakash Karat said on Wednesday that “murder of democracy” was second nature to the ruling BJP and, to drive home his allegation, pointed to the denial of permission for the Left party to hold a rally at Agartala’s Swami Vivekananda ground.

“We want to tell the BJP and its government that the more you attack us, the more we will rise up. The CPM is Tripura’s biggest Opposition party. The party was not allowed to hold a mass rally. With this incident, the situation of democracy in Tripura has been unveiled in front of the whole country. Murder of democracy is within the DNA and genes of the BJP,” said Karat while addressing the party’s state conference in front of RabindraSatabarshiki Bhawan.

Attempts have been made under the 11-year rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to end parliamentary procedures, he said citing the arrests of Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren. “We have seen how leaders of Opposition parties were jailed. Now, in Delhi, an Assembly poll will happen. Then Delhi CM Kejriwal was arrested and put in jail ahead of the parliamentary poll. Prior to this, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, was also arrested and jailed. For the Modi government, attacking the Opposition, lodging fake cases against them and putting them in jail has become a common practice,” he said.

Karat further said that no communal riots were witnessed in Tripura during the Left Front government’s tenure, while such incidents are occurring in different places owing to the conspiracies of the BJP and the RSS.

“This is their game plan to increase tension between Hindus and Muslims in the country. This is very dangerous for the country. Democracy will be in danger as long as the BJP is in power,” he said.

Karat emphasised on uniting all secular and democratic forces to safeguard democracy. He said that a plan would be prepared during the conference to fight for the social, economic and democratic rights of the people and to oppose the saffron party.

He alleged that the Modi government was conspiring to change the structure of the country’s democracy, citing a Bill that proposes simultaneous elections to Parliament and all Assemblies.

“With this amendment, they (the BJP government) can decide that an Assembly poll can have a term of three years or two years,” he said.

CPM politburo member Manik Sarkar, who was chief minister for 20 years, said many promises made for Tripura prior to 2018, when the saffron party first came to power, had remained unfulfilled, citing the promises to increase the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act wages to Rs 200 and minimum wages to Rs 340.

He said the erstwhile Left Front government prioritised the development of common people and the working class. He also talked about the differences within the Opposition INDIA bloc. Some Congress leaders recently suggested that their party might consider contesting elections independently in the future.

Sarkar alleged rampant corruption and a breakdown of law and order in the state—marked by political violence, crimes against women and drug abuse—under the BJP-led government.

He said the massive turnout at Wednesday’s CPM rally was a clear sign of public frustration and anguish, despite attempts by the ruling party to prevent people from participating in it.

Opposition leader and CPM state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury, who was seen sharing the dais with former minister and CPM heavyweight Badal Choudhury, alleged that the BJP had been suffering from public disconnect, citing the denial of permission for rallies and similar events of Opposition parties.

A large number of people attended the gathering, which covered streets from Orient Chowmuhani to the programme venue at RMS Chowmuhani and parts of IGM Chowmuhani, Kaman Chowmuhani, the RabindraSatabarshiki Bhawan area and beyond.

Alleging that Tripura’s economy has collapsed under the rule of the BJP-IPFT-TipraMotha alliance, Jitendra Chaudhury termed the government corrupt and autocratic.

Chaudhury urged his comrades to unite, stating that the government’s days were numbered. “The countdown for BJP’s fall has begun,” he said.

Source:indianexpress.com

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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/prakash-karat-cpm-tripura-democracy-rally-bjp-9806327/

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Priests applaud Siddhivinayak Temple ‘no revealing clothes’ dress code: ‘It’s about respect, devotion’

29.01.25

The Siddhivinayak Temple Trust on Tuesday announced that devotees must wear ‘decent clothing,’ preferably Indian attire, while visiting the iconic Mumbai temple.

The rule prohibits torn jeans, short skirts, and any clothing that exposes body parts. The temple trust clarified that the dress code is not meant to restrict personal choices but to maintain decorum and ensure that all visitors feel comfortable.

Priests across Mumbai strongly supported the temple’s move.

They said they feel relieved that the sanctity of the temple will be protected, allowing devotees to focus on worship. They also hope that devotees will treat the temple with greater reverence.

Many have long been uncomfortable with inappropriate clothing inside the temple and believe this rule will restore discipline, focus, and a sense of respect for tradition.

‘A temple deserves the same respect as any formal occasion’

Ashish Kumar Dubey, a priest from Kabutar Khana (nearly 1.3 km from the Siddhivinayak Temple) said just as people wear formal clothes to meetings and traditional attire to weddings, they should dress respectfully in temples too.

“This rule is good for everyone. A devotee can wear Indian or Sanatani dress to the temple. This rule must have been applied because of women who wear short clothes and go to the temple,” he said.

Dubey said he has often noticed people wearing revealing outfits in temples, which he finds disrespectful. “This rule is good for the temple,” he added.

‘Why are outsiders more respectful of our traditions?’

Aman Kulkarni, another priest with 18 years of experience who lives 45 km from the temple, compared temple dressing to professional attire. “If a police officer wears a dhoti to the station, will it be acceptable? Every place has its own dress code, and we should respect that,” he said.

Kulkarni also expressed disappointment that while foreign visitors often follow Indian traditions, many locals do not.

“I don't like it when people don't wear traditional clothes. When I see such people, I don’t get the shraddha and bhav to be in the temple” he added.

‘A temple should help people focus on God’

Anil Tripathi, a priest for 35 years, has seen both men and women wearing revealing clothes in temples. He believes this rule is essential to maintaining a respectful atmosphere.

“Every deity has their own dignity, and we must honour it,” he said.

He said that when people around him wear inappropriate clothes, it creates discomfort.

“When we go to the temple, we stay in line and when someone around us is wearing such clothes it makes us feel uncomfortable, so there should be restrictions. When we go to the temple, we go to God. If someone is standing next to us like this, we don't know if we will be able to concentrate or not as nobody will keep their eyes closed.” he added.

Tripathi believes that a temple should be a place of peace and devotion, and the dress code will help devotees maintain a spiritual mindset.

“I believe people's minds should not be disturbed. Their mind should be focused on the place. Hence the rule is good” he added.

Source:telegraphindia.com

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https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/priests-applaud-siddhivinayak-temple-no-revealing-clothes-dress-code-its-about-respect-devotion/cid/2080313

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Uttarakhand UCC Is Not Uniform, Targets Muslims

: 30 January 2025

Let's begin with the context. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) set out a core agenda from its very foundation, one inherited from the parties of the Hindu Right that preceded it. This core agenda has been the glue of the neo-fascist entity which is now loosely called the Sangh Parivar. Alongside the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya, the imposition of a UCC countrywide has been an important item in the BJP's to-do list. While Uttarakhand has implemented the UCC, other BJP-ruled states have either expressed the intention of imposing or initiated steps towards implementing one. Among them are Assam, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. There is an obvious purpose in mentioning this. In a state as small as Uttarakhand, the BJP has not been able to implement a uniform civil code at all. The UCC exempts from its operation people Uttarakhand government has thought it fit to make allowances for their sensibilities. We are not aware why that has been the case. Their traditional social practices on a grand scale, a UCC would appear logically to be dead in the water. Indeed, the current regime signalled its support for a separate code for tribal people, when Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on November 3, in the run-up to the Jharkhand elections, that the BJP would consider putting in place a Sarna religious code. This leads to one clear conclusion: the UCC is just one more tactic used by the majoritarian and divisive BJP to target and harass the largest minority in the country: the Muslims. BJP governments in various states have similarly enacted draconian laws against ‘forced’ conversions to mainly target the Christian minority. What about the ‘merits’ of UCC? The big takeaway is ‘women's empowerment’. The “UCC is not aimed against any religion or individual…It is a major step towards women's empowerment,” Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said as he promulgated the UCC. By banning polygamy, providing a uniform process for divorce, and equal inheritance for men and women, Uttarakhand has taken a step forward, though inheritance and divorce laws have already largely been made gender agnostic. The major advance is that the concept of ‘illegitimacy' of children has been removed by providing for equal inheritance rights for children of cohabiting couples, but this advance has been negated by the insistence that ‘live-in’ couples have to register with the state authorities. Dhami’s defence, that this is to prevent violence within relationships, is risible. In fact, it appears to be an unconscionable attack on citizens’ right to privacy. In terms of the injunction for registration, marriage and cohabitation cannot be equated. It is obvious, however, that only the rights of Muslims in terms of their personal code have been curtailed. While streamlining inheritance laws, for instance, the privileges embedded in the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) have not been touched. The claim that no bias has been at work is demonstrably false. To return to the larger context, clearly bringing about  a sweeping uniformity is neither possible nor desirable. The 21st Law Commission headed by Justice B S Chauhan (2015-2018) when tasked with exploring the idea of a UCC, labelled it ‘unnecessary’ and ‘undesirable’, because it would militate against India’s diversity. Nothing has changed since it gave its opinion. It is true that women's empowerment must be pursued, but there is no need for a UCC to pursue that aim. Much greater consultation is needed to make a UCC a practical compendium of best practices, keeping in mind the plurality of the nation

Source:deccanherald.com

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https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/uttarakhand-ucc-is-not-uniform-targets-muslims-3379859

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Europe

 

Banks told to improve Islamophobia training as Muslim charities report access issues

29 Jan 2025

Banks have been urged to improve their staff training on Islamophobia and racism in order to prevent debanking and de-risking of Muslim charities.

In a report published today, the Muslim Charities Forum made several recommendations to banks, the government, the Charity Commission and the wider charity sector on how to improve banking issues

Many Muslim charities reported banking difficulties and some a “complete withdrawal” of services in response to a survey conducted for the report.

Some reported a strain on human resources due to the added administrative burden of addressing financial issues and negative impacts on their relationships with implementation partners due to problems such as transferring funds or account closures.

The report suggests that Muslim-led charities face “disproportionate scrutiny” from banks when attempting to use their services, especially if the charities are operating in “high-risk regions or conflict zones”.

“While these charities share some challenges with the broader third sector, they also face the added burden of suspicion due to counter-terrorism frameworks, creating a unique and intensified set of financial difficulties,” it reads.

“Evidence suggests that structural Islamophobia plays a role, with Muslim-led charities often unfairly targeted by banks for perceived risks without concrete evidence of wrongdoing.”

The new data comes after a recent report found that an estimated nine in 10 charities generally had reported difficulties with banking in the last two years.

Recommendations to regulators and government

The report recommends that banks improve their transparency and communication with charities and provide better staff training on Islamophobia and racism as part of EDI programmes.

It also calls on banks to improve their due diligence processes, and offer “proportional” responses to any suspicions rather than outright de-banking or de-risking charities.

The report recommends that the Charity Commission should continue advocating for fair treatment of charities, especially if they are Muslim-led, and to improve information accessibility for banks.

It urges the UK government to introduce a legal right to basic banking services for charities, as has been introduced in some European countries, and encourages leniency from regulatory bodies.

Regulator finds new findings ‘discouraging’

Responding to the report, a Charity Commission spokesperson said: “These new findings are discouraging, but sadly not surprising, echoing the widespread problems in the way banks engage with their charity customers.

“We have heard from many charities about the significant impact this can have on their charities – as well as the stress it puts on trustees who have volunteered their time to do good.

“Charities provide vital support to people across the country and deserve better, so we continue to press this matter and continue to engage with the Treasury, FCA, high-street banks, and the charity sector.”

The regulator’s critical stance reflects troubling findings from its annual sector survey, published last year, which found that 42% of trustees surveyed said that their charity had experienced poor service from their banks in the last 12 months.

FCA: ‘We have been actively engaging with sector’

A spokesperson for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said: “We know that some groups can face challenges accessing bank accounts.

“We recently set out clear expectations on account access and have been actively engaging with the sector to ensure that these are being met.

“Smaller charities will benefit from the protections of the Consumer Duty. We continue to monitor data on account access.”

Source:civilsociety.co.uk

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https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/banks-told-to-improve-islamophobia-training-as-muslim-charities-report-access-issues.html

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Andrew RT Davies accused of turning on Muslim colleague

29 Jan 2025

Andrew RT Davies has been accused of “turning on his own colleague” after reacting with disdain to calls for a clamp down on racism.

In the Senedd this week, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice & Equalities, Altaf Hussain called out “online hate speech” and warned that malicious “misinformation” is helping to fuel antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred.

The Tory MS for South Wales West cautioned against a “worryingly” growing trend of an increasing effort to “sow discord between communities”.

He also blasted tech billionaire X owner Elon Musk for “giving Nazi salutes” and warned against the rise of far-right groups.

‘Hatred’

Dr Hussain said: “When the world’s richest men took over traditional and online media, they allowed the amplification of hate speech.

“Not satisfied with giving Nazi salutes, the owner of X is giving a platform to far-right agitators and providing a microphone for their lies and propaganda.

“Misinformation is helping to fuel antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred and helping to drive converts to al-Qaeda.”

The Shadow Cabinet Secretary also warned against the rise of Patriotic Alternative – a far-right group that was recently exposed in a BBC documentary.

Dr Hussain was praised for his passionate contribution by opposition Members and thanked by the First Minister.

Clip

Responding to his speech, Eluned Morgan said: “I can reassure you that, in particular under the leadership of Jane Hutt over a number of years – she has done incredible work to ensure that, as a Government, we have this front and centre of what we do, in all aspects of Government.

“You’re aware of the ‘Anti-racist Wales Action Plan’; this is demonstrating our commitment to developing a nation where everybody feels like they can contribute and be a part.

“I’d like to thank you for that and give you reassurance that this is absolutely one of the things that is central to our core principles as a Government.”

A edited clip of Baroness Morgan speaking directly to Dr Hussain was later shared by former Tory leader Andrew RT Davies who called for the Welsh Government to “scrap” its anti-racism strategy.

Posting to X on Wednesday (January 29), he wrote: “Deeply concerned to hear Labour’s Eluned Morgan double down on her ‘Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan’.

“Under this divisive project, librarians were warned not to hold meetings in ‘racist buildings’, and taxpayers’ cash funded ‘anti-racist public artworks’. Scrap it now.”

Later the same day, Mr Davies called for the Welsh Government to “abolish” all of its diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives.

A Conservative source said: “It’s clear Andrew is now turning on his own colleagues.”

Behaviour

Dr Hussain is one of the Senedd’s only two Muslim MSs.

Both he, and his Tory colleague, Natasha Asghar, formed part of the group of seven that toppled the former leader from his top job in December after concerns were raised abut his behaviour.

It came after Mr Davies was accused of “Islamophobic race-baiting” over incorrect claims he made about Halal meat in Welsh schools.

Since returning to the backbench the Tory MS has said he does not “recognise” the term Islamophobia.

He has also defended Musk’s one armed salute saying, “he pointed to his heart, then the crowd.”

It came after the former Tory leader made a plea to the Tesla mogul to intervene in Welsh politics.

Source:nation.cymru

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https://nation.cymru/news/andrew-rt-davies-accused-of-turning-on-muslim-colleague/

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Belgium asks Netherlands, Spain to extradite two suspects in Islamist attack probe

29 January 2025

By Charlotte Van Campenhout

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium has asked the Netherlands and Spain to extradite two suspects in connection with an Islamist militant attack in Brussels in 2023 that killed two Swedish citizens and injured a third person.

The suspects are believed to have helped gunman AbdesalemLassoued obtain the weapon used in the attack, a spokesperson for Belgium's Federal Prosecutor's Office said.

He added that one suspect was arrested in Spain last weekend while the other was apprehended in the Netherlands the previous week, without giving more details.

Local Dutch newspaper De Limburger identified the suspect in the Netherlands as a 25-year-old man.

At the time of the attack, Belgium was hosting Sweden for a Euro 2024 soccer qualifying match.

Lassoued, a 45-year-old Tunisian, claimed responsibility for the attack in a video posted online where he also identified himself as a member of the Islamic State militant group. He was later shot dead after an overnight manhunt by police.

Source:yahoo.com

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https://uk.news.yahoo.com/belgium-asks-netherlands-spain-extradite-103025561.html

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Far-right vote on asylum rocks German parliament

29 January 2025

Germany's parliament descended into heckles and recriminations on Wednesday after a "firewall" against working with the far-right cracked.

A non-binding motion calling for tougher border and asylum rules passed with support from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). During the stormy session, politicians of various parties hurled criticism and blame at each other.

Conservative CDU leader Friedrich Merz, who tabled the plans, defended his actions as "necessary". But Chancellor Olaf Scholz slammed the move as an "unforgivable mistake".

Merz now plans to propose actual legislation on Friday – again with possible AfD backing – aimed at curbing immigration numbers and family reunion rights.

But his proposed measures are highly unlikely to come into effect this side of February's snap election and – if they did – could clash with EU law.

Referring to the AfD's support for the motion, the CDU leader told the Bundestag that a policy wasn't wrong just because the "wrong people back it".

"How many more children have to become victims of such acts of violence before you also believe there is a threat to public safety and order?" he asked.

The CDU leader – tipped to be Germany's next chancellor because of his party's leading position in the polls – has also insisted he has neither sought nor wants AfD support.

"Thinking about how the AfD fraction will cheer and their happy faces makes me feel uncomfortable," he told lawmakers.

Chancellor Scholz – a social democrat whose coalition government collapsed last year – castigated Merz for his actions.

"Since the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany over 75 years ago, there has always been a clear consensus among all democrats in our parliaments: we do not make common cause with the far right."

Germany's already fraught debate on immigration has flared up following a series of fatal attacks where the suspect is an asylum-seeker, most recently in the city of Aschaffenburg.

It has become a central issue in campaigning for the election, triggered by the collapse of Scholz's governing coalition.

Wednesday's CDU motion, supported by the AfD and liberal FDP, called for a "ban" on anyone entering Germany without the right documents – but it cannot compel the current minority government to act.

It's hard to overstate the importance of the firewall against the far-right in German political culture. Remembrance of the Holocaust plays a fundamental role in modern Germany.

Before Wednesday's vote, the Bundestag held its yearly commemoration for the victims of the Nazis, during which 88-year-old Holocaust survivor Roman Schwarzmann addressed parliament.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also delivered a speech to MPs, calling for the Nazis' crimes never to be forgotten. There should be no "line drawn" ending our historical responsibility as Germans, he said.

This directly contradicts the policy of the AfD, which has criticised German memory culture and argued for a broader view of the country's history.

That's partly why so many were shocked when Friedrich Merz said last week that he didn't care if the AfD supported his parliamentary motions or not.

This contradicts not only his previous statements, but also the official line of his party, which bans the conservatives from relying on the far-right in parliamentary votes.

Sections of the AfD have been classed as right-wing extremists by domestic intelligence, but the party is is currently polling second, although Merz has ruled out any kind of coalition with them.

This week, latest polls showed that support for the conservative CDU had slipped a couple of percentage points to 28%, while the AfD increased slightly to 20%.

AfD leader Alice Weidel has said the firewall amounts to an "anti-democratic cartel agreement" and has predicted it will crumble over the coming years.

Opening the door to leaning on support from the far-right is a gamble for Merz, who believes that his increasingly radical stance on migration will win back right-wingers who are tempted to vote for the AfD.

But in so doing, he could risk losing support from the centre.

With these latest parliamentary motions, Merz has definitively said goodbye to the era of his more centrist conservative predecessor Angela Merkel, who a decade ago famously said "wirschaffen das" or "we can do it" when Germany was faced with large numbers of migrants and refugees.

These motions are symbolic, signalling what the conservatives would like to do in power. But they are also a concrete signal to voters about who Merz appears prepared to accept support from.

Critics say he has broken his word on the firewall. No wonder the AfD cheered in parliament when the result was announced.

Source:bbc.com

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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceq901dxjnzo

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Mideast

 

Israel to free 110 Palestinian prisoners in Gaza truce swap Thursday: NGO

January 29, 2025

RAMALLAH: A Palestinian prisoners advocacy group said Israeli authorities would release 110 prisoners, including 30 minors, on Thursday as part of an exchange under a Gaza ceasefire deal agreed with Hamas.

“Tomorrow, 110 Palestinian prisoners are to be released,” the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said in a statement, referring to the third exchange of hostages and prisoners under the truce, which began on January 19.

The group said the prisoners were expected to arrive in the “Radana area of Ramallah at around noon.”

Publishing the list of the prisoners, the group said 30 were under the age of 18, 32 had been sentenced to life imprisonment, and 48 others were serving jail terms of varying lengths.

The group also said that 20 of the prisoners set to be released would be sent into exile.

In the previous two swaps, seven Israeli hostages were freed by militants in exchange for 290 prisoners — almost all Palestinians, with the exception of one Jordanian.

On Thursday, three Israeli hostages are to be freed, along with five Thai nationals.

The three Israeli hostages are Arbel Yehud, Agam Berger and Gadi Moses. The identities of the five Thais are still unknown.

A fourth swap planned for Saturday will see three Israeli men released, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

Source:arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2588333/middle-east

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Steven Witkoff, the real estate investor forging President Trump’s Middle East diplomatic deals

JONATHAN LESSWARE

January 29, 2025

LONDON: When President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff viewed with his own eyes on Wednesday the devastation wrought on Gaza, it might have taken him back to another apocalyptic vision in his home city of New York.

The real estate investor and developer, who has been credited with an instrumental role in securing the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, was watching from his office window as the Twin Towers collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001.

Bronx-born Witkoff rushed to pick up his children before heading to Ground Zero. According to the book “The New Kings of New York,” he spent much of the night holding a rope attached to a firefighter digging through debris for survivors.

“Guys who had uniforms on are walking up these staircases to rescue people, and they all died,” Witkoff said of the terror attacks. “They didn’t go home to their families. That’s when I remember thinking: ‘I cannot do enough.’”

It may have been a similar sentiment that drove the 67-year-old billionaire to accept an offer from his close friend Trump to take on one of his administration’s most challenging foreign policy positions.

Witkoff, a Jew with close ties to Israel and business links to the Arab world, feels a deep connection to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack and Israel’s devastating war on Gaza that followed.

He has spoken movingly about the suffering of Israeli hostages, but also described a unity with those who lost children throughout the conflict by drawing parallels with his own grief. Witkoff’s son Andrew died from an opioid overdose at the age of 22 in 2011.

A Middle Eastern diplomat told NBC News that Witkoff talked about his son during the ceasefire negotiations, telling officials he “empathizes with parents who have lost children on both sides.”

In remarks in New York on Sunday night, he said: “I’m always comparing my family and what it went through when I lost my boy, Andrew, and what it must have been like for these families not knowing what was going to happen to their girls.

“So, when the president asked me to do this, I thought to myself, this will be the most worthy thing I could ever do in my life. Nothing else would matter beyond this.”

When Trump appointed Witkoff in November he was an outsider to the traditional world of diplomacy, with no foreign policy experience.

Yet, this fits the Trump mold perfectly — selecting his most important team members based on two criteria: that he trusts them implicitly and that they can ruthlessly close a deal.

With the Gaza ceasefire in place and progressing through the first of three phases, attention will now be drawn to how Witkoff can keep the process on track.

But he is already looking further ahead to whether the Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab countries reached during Trump’s first term could be expanded to include Saudi Arabia and other countries such as Qatar.

If successful, attention would turn to whether the Trump administration could finally broker the ultimate deal — a permanent peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Gaza ceasefire took effect on Jan. 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration. The deal led to rare cooperation between the incoming administration and the outgoing Joe Biden presidency.

While the main terms of the agreement had been largely the same for eight months, it was Trump’s demand that it should be in place before he took office or there would be “all hell to pay” that added the necessary pressure.

The man turning the screws on both sides was Witkoff.

As details of the deal emerged, so did Israeli media reports that Trump’s envoy had deployed his ruthless streak to get things over the line.

He called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Friday Jan. 11 from Qatar, where the negotiations were taking place, to say he would fly to Israel to discuss the agreement the following afternoon.

When Netanyahu’s aides suggested he would not be available during the Jewish Sabbath, Witkoff delivered an unequivocal “salty” response and the meeting went ahead.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Witkoff told Netanyahu: “The president has been a great friend of Israel, and now it’s time to be a friend back.” Netanyahu was forced to accept the agreement, bringing a halt to 15 months of fighting and starting a series of exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

In a subsequent interview with Israel’s Channel 12, Witkoff said: “We had a discussion with the prime minister about how we needed to get focused in a short period of time and get organized so that we could get to the finish line.

“He convened what looked to me like maybe nine, 10, 11 of the top commanders in the Israeli armed forces. He gave direction to his team to be very proactive, and that was the difference maker.”

Merissa Khurma, Middle East Program director at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington, said that while Biden’s team also deserved credit, it was the pressure from Trump and his relationship with Witkoff that was key to getting the agreement done.

“Empowered with this trust that he (Witkoff) has from President Trump and given that he was clearly given the green light to pressure both sides to make this happen he was able to be very effective,” Khurma told Arab News.

“Without this pressure, that was important not just on Hamas, but particularly on Netanyahu himself, it would have been very difficult to pull this through.”

Witkoff is one of Trump’s closest friends, golf partner and a fellow New Yorker, who has known the president for decades.

He was raised on Long Island and studied law at Hofstra University. He joined the Dreyer &Traub legal firm where Trump was a client, but his ambitions switched — he wanted to become one of the real estate tycoons he was representing.

He started a company in 1985 that bought up relatively cheap New York tenement buildings, often doing maintenance work himself.

When he moved over to office buildings, things took off and in 1997 he set up the Witkoff Group. Purchases of famous New York skyscrapers including the Woolworth and Daily News buildings followed. More recently he has focused on Florida, where he relocated in 2019.

An indication of his business links with Arab countries came in 2023 when the Witkoff Group sold Manhattan’s Park Lane Hotel to the Qatari Investment Authority for $623 million.

Real estate associates described Witkoff as “smart, personable and a talented negotiator with a common touch,” the Journal reported.

His friendship with the president has grown deeper during personal traumas. At the Republican National Convention in July, Witkoff described how Trump, “a kind and compassionate person,” had helped him get through the grief of losing his son. He was then invited to speak at a White House Summit on the opioid crisis in 2018.

Witkoff was playing golf with Trump in Florida in September when a second assassination attempt was made on the future president.

It was during Trump’s second run at the presidency that Witkoff’s role became more prominent.

He was a key fundraiser, providing a link to wealthy Jewish donors and in an early test of his diplomatic skills he was deployed on several occasions to smooth things over between Trump and prominent Republicans.

In the announcement of his appointment, Trump’s brief statement said: “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud.”

The selection of a trusted businessman with no diplomacy experience matched Trump’s appointment of Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, to the same position in his first term.

Kushner oversaw the Abraham Accords, which established diplomatic and trade relations between Israel and the UAE, along with Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

While the Accords are often criticized because they had little Palestinian involvement, they were still heralded as a major breakthrough in the Middle East and a big foreign policy win for the Trump administration.

“This transactional nature of dealmaking works very well with the regional leaders, particularly in the GCC,” Khurma said.

They are not really threatened by Trump’s “America First” strategy, she added. They also want to see “the Middle East great again” and want to work toward that.

Placing Witkoff as his Middle East figurehead, even without the deep regional understanding, shows how much Trump trusts him to deliver his version of transactional, dealmaking diplomacy.

“We have people that know everything about the Middle East, but they can’t speak properly,” Trump said of Witkoff earlier this month. “He is a great negotiator, that’s what I need.”

However, as Trump found out this week when he suggested that large numbers of Palestinians could be moved out of Gaza permanently, not fully grasping the regional dynamics can cause problems. The president’s idea was met with strong rebuttals from Jordan and Egypt.

Beyond ensuring the ceasefire plan progresses to the next phase, Witkoff will be pushing for a normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Saudi Arabia’s firm position is that ties with Israel would only happen once a Palestinian state has been established.

Witkoff was expected to be in Israel on Wednesday to oversee the implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza and inspect Israeli “corridors” carved through the territory.

There is already concern over whether the next phase of the ceasefire will hold, with Netanyahu under pressure from the hardline members of his government. Witkoff will have to deploy all of his boardroom nous to keep the fragile ceasefire, in a complex and devastating conflict, on track.

“The Middle East envoy does not necessarily understand all the different dynamics at play but it seems that he has good rapport with the Arab allies of the United States,” Khurma said.

“But they’re going to have to be confronted with a very delicate balancing act with regard to how they support Israel, but at the same time exert the necessary pressure to keep things moving.”

Source:arabnews.com

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Jordan hospital offers injured Gazans hope for recovery

January 29, 2025

AMMAN: Karam Nawjaa, 17, was so badly injured when an Israeli strike hit his home in Gaza nearly a year ago that his own cousin, pulling him from the rubble, did not recognize him.

After rushing Karam to hospital he returned to continue searching for his cousin all night in the rubble.

In that strike on Feb. 14, 2024, Karam lost his mother, a sister and two brothers. As well as receiving serious burns to his face and body, he lost the ability to use his arms and hands.

Now, the burns are largely healed and he is slowly regaining the use of his limbs after months of treatment at a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders in the Jordanian capital Amman which operates a program of reconstructive surgery.

“I only remember that on that day, Feb. 14, there was a knock on our door ... I opened it, my brother came in, and after that ... (I remember) nothing,” he said.

“Before the war I was studying, and thank God, I was an outstanding student,” Karam said, adding that his dream had been to become a dentist. Now he does not think about the future.

“What happened, happened ... you feel that all your ambitions have been shattered, that what happened to you has destroyed you.”

Karam is one of many patients from Gaza being treated at Amman’s Specialized Hospital for Reconstructive Surgery, Al-Mowasah Hospital. He shares a room there with his younger sister and their father.

“All these patients are war victims ... with complex injuries, complex burns ... They need very long rehabilitation services, both surgical but also physical and mental,” said Moeen Mahmood Shaief, head of the MSF mission in Jordan.

“The stories around those patients are heartbreaking, a lot of them have lost their families” and require huge support to be reintegrated into normal life, he added.

Israel’s 15-month offensive in Gaza left the coastal enclave a wasteland of rubble that will take years to rebuild.

Displaced Palestinians have been returning to their mostly destroyed homes after a ceasefire came into effect on Jan. 19.

Source:arabnews.com

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Iran’s Leader pays tribute at Imam Khomeini’s mausoleum, martyrs’ cemetery

ByEhsanGhasri

January 30, 2025

In the lead-up to the celebrations over the victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, or Ten-Day Dawn, and the anniversary of Imam Khomeini's return to his homeland from exile, Iranian Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Ayatollah Khamenei visited the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini on Wednesday in southern Tehran.

During his visit, the Leader honored the memory of the founder of the Islamic Republic and prayed for him.

Besides visiting the mausoleum, Ayatollah Khamenei paid tribute to the martyrs of the July 7, 1981, terrorist bombing and the September 8, 1981, terrorist bombing at the prime minister’s office, including prominent figures such as top jurist Mohammad Hosseini Beheshti, then president Mohammad Ali Rajai, and prime minister Mohammad JavadBahonar.

The Leader also visited the graves of the martyrs of the Islamic Revolution, the Iran-Iraq war in the 80s, and those who fought in Iraq and Syria against militants, known as the Defenders of the Holy Shrines, offering prayers for them.

The Ten-Day Dawn marks the period between Imam Khomeini’s return to Iran on February 1, 1979, and the victory of the Islamic Revolution on February 11, which deposed the last Shah of Iran.

Source:ifpnews.com

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Zionist enemy's machinery demolishes mosque in Sur Baher village, occupied Quds

29 Jan 2025

The Zionist enemy authorities demolished, today, Wednesday, the Al-Taqwa prayer hall in the village of Sur Baher, south of the city of Quds.

The occupation municipality crews, accompanied by police officers, stormed the village of Sur Baher in Quds, surrounded an entire building, and then raided the upper floor, which is the "Al-Taqwa prayer hall."

According to the Palestinian Ma'an Agency

The villagers said that the occupation's machinery inspected the entire prayer hall, prevented access to it, and then began the process of demolishing it under the pretext of building without a permit.

It is noteworthy that last year, the occupation's machinery demolished the Al-Shiyah prayer hall in the village of Jabal al-Mukaber, and also threatened to demolish the Al-Israa Mosque in the village of Silwan.

Source:saba.ye

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Event at Grand Mosque in Sana'a marks Isra, Mi'raj anniversary with support for al-Aqsa, Gaza

29 Jan 2025

The Yemeni Scholars Association, in collaboration with the Scientific Association of the Grand Mosque in the old city of Sana'a, held a speech event on Wednesday to commemorate the anniversary of Isra and Mi'raj, alongside a reaffirmation of support for al-Aqsa Mosque and Gaza, titled "The Promise of the Hereafter and the Inevitability of the Demise of the Zionist Entity."

During the event, Sheikh Jabry Ibrahim, a member of the Shura Council and the Yemeni Scholars Association, spoke about the significance of the Isra and Mi'raj, highlighting the spiritual lessons it offers the Arab and Islamic nations.

He reflected on the miracles granted to the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, during this event, which marked Islam as a universal faith.

He expressed his regret over the actions of the Saudi regime, noting the erosion of Islamic identity in the region, particularly with regard to the legacy of revered figures like Khadija and Fatima al-Zahra, peace be upon them.

Sheikh Jabry emphasized the sacredness of al-Aqsa Mosque, referring to it as a focal point for Muslims, and celebrated the resistance of the Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza, who continue to defy the Zionist-American forces.

He stressed that the commemoration of the martyr leader and other historic figures should serve as an inspiration to persist in supporting the Palestinian cause.

Sheikh Taha al-Hadhri, the Secretary-General of the Yemeni Scholars Association, highlighted the continued relevance of Al-Aqsa Mosque and its connection to the Palestinian struggle. He noted the profound significance of Rajab, a month rich with Islamic historical events, including the martyrdom of Sayyed Hussein Badr al-Din al-Houthi, and the Isra and Mi'raj.

Sheikh Al-Hadhri emphasized the importance of drawing lessons from these moments to remain steadfast in the face of tyranny.

The event also condemned the atrocities committed by Zionist forces in Palestine, stressing that the demise of the Zionist entity is inevitable according to divine promises.

The speakers underscored the importance of jihad, patience, and perseverance, highlighting Yemen's unwavering support for Gaza, including actions such as preventing enemy vessels from passing through critical maritime routes.

Scholar Abdulfattah al-Kebsi, the Secretary-General of the Scientific Association of the Grand Mosque, also spoke at the event, emphasizing the profound connection between the Isra and Mi'raj and the struggle to protect Al-Aqsa and Palestinian rights.

He called for greater action to support Gaza and Palestine, questioning the role of Arab and Muslim leaders in failing to defend the holy sites.

The event concluded with a statement read by Sheikh Ibrahim al-Jalal, calling for unity and continued support for the oppressed Palestinian people.

It emphasized the role of faith, courage, and steadfastness in the face of aggression, urging the faithful to remain committed to the cause of justice and resistance against tyranny.

Source:saba.ye

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Hamas is set to free 8 more hostages and Israel will release 110 prisoners as Gaza ceasefire holds

January 30, 2025

DEIR AL-BALAH: Hamas began the process of freeing three more Israeli hostages and five Thai captives on Thursday, the third such release since a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took hold earlier this month. Israel was expected to release another 110 Palestinian prisoners.

The truce is aimed at winding down the deadliest aggression on the Gaza strip.

It has held despite a dispute earlier this week over the sequence in which the hostages were released.

Hamas handed female Israeli soldier Agam Berger, 20, to the Red Cross at a ceremony in the heavily destroyed urban refugee camp of Jabaliya in northern Gaza. The Israeli government later confirmed that Berger was with its forces.

Another ceremony was planned in the southern city of Khan Younis, in front of the destroyed home of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Both were attended by hundreds of people, including masked militants and onlookers.

In Israel, people cheered, clapped and whistled at a square in Tel Aviv where supporters of the hostages watched Berger’s handover on big screens next to a large clock that’s counted the days the hostages have been in captivity. Some held signs saying: “Agam we’re waiting for you at home.”

Berger was among five young, female soldiers abducted in the Oct. 7 attack. The other four were released on Saturday. The other two Israelis set to be released Thursday are ArbelYehoud, 29, and Gadi Moses, an 80-year-old man.

There was no official confirmation of the identities of the Thai nationals who will be released.

A number of foreign workers were taken captive along with dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers during Hamas’ attack. Twenty-three Thais were among more than 100 hostages released during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023. Israel says eight Thais remain in captivity, two of whom are believed to be dead.

Of the people set to be released from prisons in Israel, 30 are serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis. Zakaria Zubeidi, a prominent former militant leader and theater director who took part in a dramatic jailbreak in 2021 before being rearrested days later, is also among those set to be released.

Israel said Yehoud was supposed to have been freed Saturday and delayed the opening of crossings to northern Gaza when she was not.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar, which brokered the ceasefire after a year of tough negotiations, resolved the dispute with an agreement that Yehoud would be released Thursday. Another three hostages, all men, are set to be freed Saturday along with dozens more Palestinian prisoners.

On Monday, Israel began allowing Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, the most heavily destroyed part of the territory, and hundreds of thousands streamed back. Many found only mounds of rubble where their homes had been.

Ceasefire holds for now but next phase will be harder

In the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is set to release a total of 33 Israeli hostages, including women, children, older adults and sick or wounded men, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel says Hamas has confirmed that eight of the hostages to be released in this phase are dead.

Palestinians have cheered the release of the prisoners, who they widely see as heroes who have sacrificed for the cause of ending Israel’s decades-long occupation of lands they want for a future state.

Israeli forces have meanwhile pulled back from most of Gaza, allowing hundreds of thousands of people to return to what remains of their homes and humanitarian groups to surge assistance.

The deal calls for Israel and Hamas to negotiate a second phase in which Hamas would release the remaining hostages and the ceasefire would continue indefinitely. The war could resume in early March if an agreement is not reached.

Israel says it is still committed to destroying Hamas, even after the militant group reasserted its rule over Gaza within hours of the truce. A key far-right partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is already calling for the war to resume after the ceasefire’s first phase.

Hamas says it won’t release the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Israel’s ensuing air and ground war among the deadliest and most destructive in decades. More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, over half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were militants.

The Israeli military says it killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence, and that it went to great lengths to try to spare civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because its fighters operate in dense residential neighborhoods and put military infrastructure near homes, schools and mosques.

The Israeli offensive has transformed entire neighborhoods into mounds of gray rubble, and it’s unclear how or when anything will be rebuilt. Around 90 percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced, often multiple times, with hundreds of thousands of people living in squalid tent camps or shuttered schools.

Source:arabnews.com

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First Gaza aid ship arrives at Egypt’s El-Arish port since ceasefire

January 29, 2025

CAIRO: A Turkish ship docked at Egypt’s El-Arish on Wednesday, delivering the first aid destined for Gaza through the port since a fragile ceasefire went into effect, a Turkish official and Egyptian sources said.

“We are prepared to heal the wounds of our Gazan brothers and sisters and to meet their temporary shelter needs,” Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya posted on X on Wednesday.

The ship was loaded with 871 tons of humanitarian aid, including 300 power generators, 20 portable toilets, 10,460 tents and 14,350 blankets, according to Yerlikaya.

A team from the Egyptian Red Crescent received the Turkish aid to make the necessary arrangements for its delivery to the Strip, a source at the port, 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the Gaza Strip, said.

Two staff from the Egyptian Red Crescent also confirmed its arrival.

Since the start of the truce in the Palestinian territory, hundreds of truckloads of aid have entered Gaza while some has been airlifted in.

The truce between Israel and Hamas came after more than 15 months of war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Source:arabnews.com

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Palestinian Red Crescent says Israeli strike kills 7 in West Bank

January 29, 2025

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: The Palestinian Red Crescent said an Israeli drone strike in a village in the occupied West Bank killed at least seven people on Wednesday, while the military said it had struck an “armed cell.”

“An Israeli strike in the village of Tamun in the northern West Bank killed seven people,” the group said in a statement.

The Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah said eight people had been killed.

The Israeli military told AFP its forces were involved in a “counterterrorism operation” in the area.

As part of the operation, an Israeli “aircraft, with the direction of ISA (security agency) intelligence, struck an armed terrorist cell in the area of Tamun,” the military said in a statement.

Violence has soared throughout the West Bank since the war between Hamas and Israel broke out in Gaza on October 7, 2023.

Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 870 Palestinians, including many militants, in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

At least 29 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military raids in the territory over the same period, according to official Israeli figures.

Source:arabnews.com

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South Asia

 

Afghanistan Embassy in Oslo entrusted to Taliban-appointed individual

ByFidel Rahmati

January 30, 2025

Following the closure of the Afghanistan’s Embassy in Oslo, a reliable source in Norway has revealed that the host country has handed over the care of the embassy building to someone approved by the Taliban.

Norway closed the Afghanistan’s Embassy in September of last year at the request of the Taliban. For the past three years, the embassy had been managed by diplomats loyal to the former Afghanistan’s government.

Yusuf Ghafurzi, the former Afghanistan’s ambassador to Oslo, announced in September that his mission had ended after serving four and a half years in Norway.

Sources stated that the handover of the embassy building to a Taliban-approved individual does not signify the reopening of the embassy. Any official reopening would require the removal of legal barriers by the host country.

It has been reported that the person assigned by the Taliban to care for the embassy building currently resides in Oslo.

The Afghanistan’s Embassy in Oslo announced in September that, at the request of the Norwegian government, the embassy would remain closed until September 12, 2024. During this period, all movable and immovable assets, including the embassy building, would be entrusted to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a trust until a legitimate government, based on the will of the people, is formed in Afghanistan.

Both Norwegian and Taliban officials have yet to comment officially on the handover of the Afghanistan’s Embassy building.

International organizations and Western countries have strongly criticized the Taliban’s current restrictions on women, particularly the banning of their participation in public life. These measures have been condemned for violating women’s basic human rights and limiting their access to education, work, and healthcare, further isolating Afghanistan from the global community.

The continued tensions between Norway and the Taliban reflect broader international concerns over the Taliban’s policies, particularly regarding women’s rights. As the situation remains unresolved, it highlights the challenges of navigating diplomatic relations with Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

Source:khaama.com

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Bangladesh Nationalist Party To Hit Street In Feb For Election By Year End

Jan 30, 2025

The BNP is set to take to the streets demanding general elections by the end of this year and protesting the rising prices of essentials, said several standing committee members of the party.

Before Ramadan, the party will hold a rally in the capital and in district towns across the country, said sources present at a BNP standing committee meeting held last night.

The BNP will launch public engagement programmes across the country from mid-February to garner support, said several standing committee members.

BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman attended last night's meeting through a video link.

Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, a member of the committee, said the BNP would reach the public through its programmes.

Salahuddin Ahmed, another member, at a discussion at the Jatiya Press Club yesterday said, "We are planning to launch a movement to correct the interim government's mistakes and pave the way for a democratically elected government."

The party leaders think the government should be brought to the right path, he said, adding that if the national election was to be delayed, there should be logical explanations.

Insiders say the movement will be organised in two phases, the first of which will involve rallies against the soaring prices, and the second will focus on restoration of democracy through free and fair elections.

The BNP is drafting a declaration on the July mass uprising, which will uphold the principles of the 1972 Constitution," a BNP leader said.

The party leaders believe the imposition of VAT and customs duties on certain goods drove the prices of essentials even higher, insiders say.

"Reform commissions submitted their reports to the government about two weeks ago. Since then, no significant discussions with political parties, social organisations, or experts have taken place," said a leader.

The government should identify the proposals on which a consensus can be reached by the political parties, social organisations and experts, said the leader, adding, "There are also proposals that do not align with Bangladesh's political and social culture."

About constitutional reforms proposals, Salahuddin yesterday said he wondered if it was right to mention the July uprising in the same paragraph as the 1971 Liberation War.

He said the Awami League committed crimes against humanity and people would decide if the party can participate in the election.

Trials must be held for Sheikh Hasina and other AL leaders whose decisions have led to the massacre of people. "Therefore, both the individuals and the organisation must face trial."

The interim government has not prioritised the trial of the AL as an organisation.

"There were talks of amending the International Crimes Tribunal Act to hold trial of the organisation, but the government backtracked on it. Some advisers say they want the Awami League to face trial, but they have done nothing to ensure that trial.

"Some say that they [the AL] will not be allowed to take part in the election. But what does the law say about it? The Election Commission will announce the schedule. Those who are registered will be able to participate in the election."

He said a new party was using the government apparatus to win elections.

"I welcome the emotions, aspirations, and party formation efforts of student leaders, but these factors must be taken into consideration."

Source:thedailystar.net

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Democrats urge resumption of Afghan refugee resettlement to US

ByFidel Rahmati

January 30, 2025

A group of prominent Democratic figures in the U.S. Congress has urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to resume the Afghan refugee resettlement program and continue providing services to Afghan refugees already in the country.

On his first day in office, former U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order suspending the refugee resettlement program and foreign aid. This move left thousands of Afghan collaborators awaiting decisions on their applications, stranded in countries like Pakistan and Albania.

Additionally, the suspension affected federal services, including financial and food assistance, for Afghan refugees already in the U.S., with many left uncertain about their future.

Members of the Democratic Party in the Judiciary Committees of the House of Representatives and Senate sent a letter to Marco Rubio, urging him to use his influence to lift the suspension of the Afghan resettlement services.

The Democratic lawmakers argued that these services were essential for the refugees’ well-being in the U.S., stressing that this assistance was different from foreign aid as it was provided to people already in the country.

The lawmakers pointed out that 32,000 Afghan refugees scheduled to be resettled in the U.S. by 2025 still qualify for government support, which would be affected by the suspension of the program.

The Democratic representatives expressed concern that the suspension of support would violate legal commitments made by the State Department under agreements with resettlement organizations in the U.S.

They also warned that the suspension would put Afghan refugees at risk of homelessness and food insecurity, as they rely on the support for basic living needs.

The Trump administration had scrutinized all loans and federal assistance to domestic agencies, including refugee resettlement organizations. They cited security concerns as one of the reasons for temporarily halting the relocation of Afghan collaborators, claiming that proper security checks had not been conducted.

The administration pointed to an incident involving Nasir Ahmad Tawidi, who was arrested in Oklahoma for allegedly plotting a terrorist conspiracy. This raised concerns about the vetting process and led to further restrictions on the Afghan refugee relocation program.

Source:.khaama.com

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‘AL won’t be allowed to hold protests’

Jan 30, 2025

Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam has said the Awami League will not be allowed to demonstrate until it apologises and its leadership faces trial for the killings during the July uprising.

He made the comments yesterday, a day after the AL announced on Facebook that it would begin from February 1 a nine-day programme that includes hartals and blockades in protest at what it said were rising prices of essentials, deteriorating law and order, and killings of leaders and activists.

"Does any leader or worker of the Awami League regret committing genocide? Had they begged pardon? You saw 71 children get killed and shots fired at them from helicopters. Has anyone repented or apologised for this?" Shafiqul Alam told a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy.

"Have Awami League men said, 'We do not support the killings carried out by Hasina'? We want leadership with a clean image. I don't see it. Rather, many are lying and spreading rumors and propaganda," he said.

Shafiqul also wrote on Facebook, "Unless AL apologises for these massacres, killings and blatant corruption and until its tainted leaders and activists submit to justice system and they are purged and tried over their crimes  -- and until AL separates itself from its current leadership and its Fascist ideology, there is no way it will be allowed to hold protests."

The interim government will not allow any attempt to push the country towards violence, he wrote.

"Since it took over in early August, the Interim Government has not stopped or banned any lawful protests. We believe in freedom of assembly and freedom of association. One report this morning said at least 136 protests took place alone in Dhaka in the past five and a half months. Some of these protests triggered massive traffic congestion. Yet, the IG [inspector general of police] has never imposed any restrictions on the protests.

"But should we allow the Fascist Awami League party to hold protests? The video footage of July and August clearly show that AL party activists took part in the killings of peaceful protesters who included young students and minor children. The party leadership headed by Sheikh Hasina is responsible for the massacres, murders and mayhem during the July mass uprising."

He further said, Hasina established a kleptocracy and murderous regime. Under her watch, 234 billion dollars were siphoned off by her cronies, according to an independent panel. Her family is now being investigated for making billions of dollars from corrupt deals, he wrote.

He added that no country allowed a bunch of killers and corrupt gangs to make a comeback. "No country allows a reset without accountability. The interim government represents the will of the Bangladeshi people who will react to the protest by the killers. We will not allow any attempts to push the country into violence. Anyone [who] dares to hold illegal protests under the AL banner will face the full power of the law."

Source:thedailystar.net

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Afghanistan Ambassador Attends International Conference on AI in Tehran

2025-01-30

KABUL(BNA): Mawlavi Nasir Ahmad Haqqani, the First Secretary and Acting Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in Iran, participated in the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Civilization held on Wednesday in Tehran.

The event, brought together a diverse group of attendees, including scientists, foreign ambassadors, and diplomats, alongside Iranian officials. Notable figures included Mohammad Mokhber, advisor and deputy leader of Iran.

The conference took place at the Center for the Conferences of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting and focused on the implications of artificial intelligence in shaping future societies. Participants engaged in discussions on the ethical, social, and technological challenges posed by AI, emphasizing the importance of international collaboration in navigating these issues.

Mawlavi Haqqani’s presence at the conference highlights Afghanistan’s commitment to engaging with global dialogues on technology and civilization, reinforcing diplomatic ties and fostering cooperation in the region.

Source:bakhtarnews.af

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Ministry of Finance Addresses Recent Economic Fluctuations

2025-01-29

KABUL(BNA): The Ministry of Finance held a meeting today, Wednesday under the chairmanship of Acting Minister Mullah Mohammad Nasir Akhund to evaluate the current economic situation in Afghanistan.

During the meeting, comprehensive discussions focused on several key areas, including national trade, foreign humanitarian aid, the value of the Afghani, and the impact of negative media propaganda on the national economy.

Officials reported that Afghanistan’s trade processes remain robust and without issues, while the banking sector continues to operate stably. National revenues are being collected transparently, ensuring that necessary system expenses are met without complications.

Despite recent fluctuations, the Ministry acknowledged a slight depreciation of the Afghani against foreign currencies, mainly the US dollar. However, they attributed this decline largely to negative domestic and international propaganda rather than a reflection of the country’s economic health.

The Ministry emphasized that domestic economic factors are currently stable and play a crucial role in maintaining the Afghani’s value. They reaffirmed their commitment, alongside relevant Emirati institutions, to uphold the stability of the national economy and currency moving forward.

In conclusion, the Ministry of Finance aims to counteract the detrimental effects of misinformation while reinforcing the resilience of Afghanistan’s economy.

Source:bakhtarnews.af

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Afghanistan has become an ‘Islamic North Korea’: Former French Ambassador

ByFidel Rahmati

January 30, 2025

David Martinon, former French ambassador to Afghanistan, stated in an interview with Nice Matin newspaper that the Taliban have turned Afghanistan into an “Islamic North Korea.” He emphasized that the outlook for change in the country under Taliban rule is not promising in the short term.

Martinon, who is now based in South Africa, has explored the situation in Afghanistan in his new documentary, The Fall of  Kabul, which is based on his own book. He considers the fall of Kabul a failure for both the international community and Afghanistan’s political class.

He mentioned that the Taliban have created an atmosphere of terror, depriving women of access to public spaces,  education, and medical training. He described this situation as “domestic slavery” and noted that the condition of women has become increasingly difficult.

Martinon also pointed out that the French diplomatic team carefully carried out evacuation operations in the days leading up to the fall of Kabul, making efforts to rescue at-risk Afghans.

The documentary The Fall of Kabul, written and directed by Thomas Bremond, David Priser, Nils Montel, and Miriam W, recounts the events of Martinon and his team’s three-year mission in Kabul. It is set to air on January 31 on the French network Canal+.

Meanwhile, Martinon’s reflections on Afghanistan under the Taliban highlight the dire situation, especially for women and vulnerable groups, and underscore the international community’s failure to prevent the collapse of the Afghanistan’s government. As the documentary airs, it will shed more light on the challenges faced by the diplomatic teams working to save those in danger.

This documentary will provide a detailed and personal perspective on the final days in Kabul, offering a critical insight into the broader implications of the Taliban’s return to power. It will likely spark further discussions on the international community’s role in Afghanistan’s ongoing crisis.

Source:khaama.com

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Arab World

 

Fatwa Department Of Kuwait In Collaboration With France’s Council Of State, Organize Training Program

January 29, 2025

KUWAIT: The Fatwa and Legislation Department organized its first training program on Tuesday, in collaboration with France’s Council of State, as part of the cooperation protocol signed between the two sides in March 2022. The Head of the Fatwa and Legislation Department, Salah Al-Majed, told KUNA that the program aims to exchange specialized information and documents in addition to develop expertise in issues of mutual interest, particularly those related to public law and administrative jurisprudence. The cooperation also includes organizing joint studies, seminars, conferences, and workshops between the two institutions, he added.

Al-Majed stressed the Fatwa and Legislation Department’s commitment to organizing training programs designed to empower its employees, enhance their professional skills, improve their performance, and increase their efficiency in their respective areas of responsibility. He also emphasized the importance of establishing a legal culture and professional principles to achieve the public interest. The program featured a lecture by Jean-Yves Ollier, member of the French Council of State, and was attended by several agents, counselors, and technical members from the department. — KUNA

Source:kuwaittimes.com

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https://kuwaittimes.com/article/24056/kuwait/other-news/fatwa-dept-french-council-organize-training-program/

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Saudi universities unite at Darah event to innovate heritage preservation

HAJAR ALQUSAYER

January 29, 2025

RIYADH: The King Abdulaziz Public Foundation for Research and Archives, Darah, concluded its three-day National History Lab on Tuesday at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, showing ways to preserve and celebrate Saudi history.

Themed “History in the Eyes of the Future,” the event brought together 30 Saudi universities and 15 national and international organizations to inspire innovative approaches to documenting and sharing Saudi history.

The initiative featured two streams: the digital innovation track, which focused on developing technical solutions for documenting and sharing history; and the social impact track, designed to create initiatives that strengthen community connections to history.

A panel of 13 judges evaluated the submissions, supported by more than 20 facilitators who guided participants in refining their ideas.

Al-Jouf University took first place with its innovative project to preserve Saudi heritage through an online platform promoting historical sites across the Kingdom.

Wajd Al-Huzaim, a student from the winning team, explained the concept: “Al-Majlis is a Saudi social media app connecting the Kingdom’s regions through communities. Each region is represented as a ‘majlis,’ such as Majlis Al-Jouf, Majlis Riyadh, and so on.

“People share posts about historical sites, their homes, and interact through likes and comments.”

She said that the app awards badges for visiting historical sites where users can check in at these locations to earn badges. “Once they collect a certain number, they achieve the title of ‘guide.’”

Al-Huzaim emphasized the app’s impact, saying: “It connects people to local landmarks and encourages citizens to promote their region’s history. By turning Saudi heritage into a trend, it appeals to the younger generation, making history relevant and engaging.”

The event included workshops, exhibitions, and talks by various experts. At one of the booths by Darah, visitors were able to learn how colors and inks were traditionally extracted from plants.

Munirah Al-Qahtani, a researcher at Darah, said: “In the past, our ancestors used these natural methods to color doors, windows, and houses where they would dissolve gum arabic to create a liquid substance that was mixed with the colors. This process ensured the durability of the piece and preserved its quality, preventing it from deteriorating over time.”

Aligned with Vision 2030, the National History Lab gave youth and organizations passionate about preserving Saudi heritage a platform to collaborate and compete, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Source:arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2588296/saudi-arabia

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Saudi crown prince, European council president discuss cooperation

January 30, 2025

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received a phone call from European Council President Antonio Costa, the Saudi Press Agency said early Thursday.

The pair discussed enhancing cooperation between the Kingdom and European Union countries.

They also tackled a number of regional and international issues and the efforts made to achieve security and stability.

Source:arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2588346/saudi-arabia

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Interpol to establish regional office in Saudi Arabia

January 30, 2025

RIYADH: Interpol is to establish an office in Saudi Arabia that will serve the Middle East and North Africa region.

Hisham Al-Faleh, undersecretary at the Kingdom’s Ministry of Interior, and Jurgen Stock, secretary-general of the international police organization, signed a host country agreement on Wednesday.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud, the Saudi Minister of Interior, and Maj. Gen. Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi, the president of Interpol, also attended the signing ceremony, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

In addition, they discussed Interpol’s activities during a meeting that also included Nasser Al-Dawood, the deputy minister of interior; Brig. Gen. Abdulmalik Al-Saqeeh, the director general of Saudi Interpol; and other senior officials.

Source:arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2588338/saudi-arabia

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Qassim governor praises green initiative’s success

January 29, 2025

RIYADH: Qassim Gov. Prince Faisal bin Mishaal commended the success of the Green Qassim Land Initiative in planting 5 million trees as part of the broader Saudi Green Initiative.

In a meeting on Wednesday, he praised government and private sector efforts, particularly the contributions of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification.

The governor also lauded the ministry’s and center’s innovative approach to repurposing materials confiscated from environmental regulation violators for sustainable reforestation, notably in Qassim National Park.

Prince Faisal reaffirmed the region’s commitment to expanding vegetation cover and strengthening environmental protection, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The ministry’s Qassim branch director general, Salman Al-Suwainea, said that the initiative has progressed through various stages of collaboration with governmental and nonprofit organizations, playing a key role in advancing the Saudi Green Initiative’s objectives.

Source:arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2588320/saudi-arabia

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King of Bahrain leaves Riyadh

January 29, 2025

RIYADH: Bahrain’s King Hamad left Riyadh on Wednesday evening after paying his respects to the family of the late Prince Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz.

The king recalled the late Saudi prince’s contributions to the Kingdom and society, Bahrain News Agency reported.

Prince Mohammed was the governor of the Eastern Province from 1985-2013, and his funeral was held on Wednesday after his death was announced on Tuesday.

Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad also visited Riyadh on Wednesday, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Earlier on Wednesday, the king received Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Media Salman bin Yousef Al-Dosari at Bahrain’s Sakhir Palace.

During the meeting, the king expressed his pride in the solid and historic fraternal relations that unite their countries and the efforts of King Salman to strengthen Bahraini-Saudi relations.

The king visited Muscat on Tuesday where he met with the Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq.

Source:arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2588295/saudi-arabia

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Bangladesh committed to meet demand for skilled workers in Saudi Arabia, top official says

RASHID HASSAN

January 29, 2025

RIYADH: Bangladesh is committed to meeting demand for skilled workers in Saudi Arabia, said Asif Nazrul, adviser to the Bangladeshi Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, as well as the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment.

Speaking at a discussion organized at the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh with owners and senior officials of Saudi companies, Nazrul said that there were significant opportunities for Bangladesh to send skilled and semi-skilled workers, including doctors, engineers, nurses and technicians.

Nazrul, who is in Riyadh at the invitation of the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development to attend the Global Labor Market Conference (Wednesday-Thursday), emphasized the need for qualitative changes in Bangladesh’s labor market in Saudi Arabia.

He highlighted the many employment prospects emerging from Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiatives, including mega projects such as NEOM, Red Sea, Qiddiya, Green Riyadh, Amala, Diriyah and Roshan, alongside major global events such as the AFC Asian Cup (2027), Winter Asian Olympics (2029), World Expo (2030) and FIFA World Cup (2034).

He sought the cooperation of Saudi recruitment companies, who acknowledged the presence of skilled professionals in Bangladesh but pointed out challenges such as inadequate information, marketing, networking, visa delays, language barriers and a lack of pre-boarding orientation.

Nazrul assured them of resolving these issues and emphasized strengthening ties through labor fairs, seminars and regular communication with company officials.

He also inaugurated the embassy’s e-demand attestation system, enabling Saudi companies to easily register online and attest worker demand letters without visiting the embassy, a key initiative for promoting transparency and efficiency.

Nazrul also distributed prizes to winners of competitions organized as part of the embassy’s “Festival of Youth 2025” on Wednesday.

Bangladesh’s new ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Delwar Hossain, welcomed the Saudi delegates at the interactive session.

Later, Nazrul interacted with Bangladeshi expatriates, listening to their concerns, including high airfare costs and excessive fees charged by recruiting agencies, and assured them of solutions and encouraged them to maintain close contact with the embassy through social media and its website.

Appreciating their role in sending remittances, he assured the government’s continued welfare initiatives for expatriates and urged compliance with Saudi laws and culture to avoid legal complications.

On the issue of voting in national elections, he said that the government was exploring viable options to facilitate expatriate participation.

Source:arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2588266/saudi-arabia

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Saudi crown prince receives former US President Clinton

January 29, 2025

RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received in Riyadh on Wednesday former US President Bill Clinton.

A friendly conversation took place during the reception held at the crown prince’s office, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The reception was also attended by Princess Reema bint Bandar, the Saudi Ambassador to the United States; Minister of State, Cabinet Member and National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban and the delegation accompanying the former US President.

Source:arabnews.com

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

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2588265/saudi-arabia

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Africa

 

Keep Sharia Law In Sokoto, Other Northern States Where It Has Worsened Suffering; It’s Alien To Yoruba Society, Group Replies Sultan

January 30, 2025

The indigenous Yoruba people said the application of Sharia is alien to their society, adding that it has the potential to disrupt the peaceful coexistence among people of different religious beliefs.

A group under the aegis of Society for Yoruba Culture Renaissance has vehemently rejected the establishment of Sharia panels in Oyo, Ekiti and other southwestern states.

In a press statement made available to SaharaReporters on Thursday, the indigenous Yoruba people said the application of Sharia is alien to their society, adding that it has the potential to disrupt the peaceful coexistence among people of different religious beliefs.

SaharaReporters had reported that the Independent Sharia Arbitration Panel in Ekiti State recently held its first public sitting at the popular Oja Oba Central Mosque, Ado-Ekiti.

The Ekiti State Government had reacted to that by stating that the existing legal structure in the state does not recognise Sharia Court or Independent Sharia Arbitration Panel.

However, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar, argued that the Sharia panel initiative is legal, as it is provided for in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Section 275).

NSCIA, therefore, urged the governors and traditional authorities in the southern part of the country to preserve and protect the constitutional rights of Muslims in their respective domains.

The Sultan-led group also emphasised that Muslims should be allowed to practise their faith without hindrance, just like other religious groups.

In response, the Society for Yoruba Culture Renaissance emphasised that Sharia law is an Arabic cultural practice suitable for societies with a dominant Muslim population, which is not the case in Yorubaland.

The group also accused the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar, of attempting to incite a religious crisis in southwestern Nigeria by advocating for the implementation of Sharia law in the region.

The group wrote: “Our attention has been drawn to the misguided press release by the Nigeria Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs.

“Since Yoruba Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba group, has refused to respond to such a divisive play by the Sultan of Sokoto that is capable of causing religious crisis in Yorubaland, our group, the Society for Yoruba Culture Renaissance, has taken it upon ourselves to respond to such a disrespectful press release.

“The Yoruba people firmly reject the imposition of Sharia law or any Sharia panel in Yorubaland. Sharia law is alien to our society, as it is an Arabic cultural practice suited for societies with over 80% Muslim population. Yorubaland has a rich history of traditional values, culture, and language that we hold dear.

“Our ‘Omoluabi’ ethos is sacrosanct, and it is this ethos that has ensured peaceful coexistence among Yoruba people of different religious beliefs for over 300 years. Unlike the frequent religious crises in Sokoto and other Sharia states in Northern Nigeria, Yorubaland has remained peaceful.

“The Sultan of Sokoto, as the title implies, is the Sultan of Sokoto, and his emirate does not include Yorubaland. Islam has existed in Yorubaland for centuries, and Yoruba Muslims have never been marginalised or denied their rights. Claims of preventing students from wearing hijab are false and serve only to blackmail the peace-loving Yoruba people.

“We reject any attempt to disguise the invasion or eradication of our culture and values. The Usman Danfodio Jihad eroded the culture of the Hausas, and we do not want the same to happen in our society. Yoruba people will settle their internal issues independently and focus on addressing the myriads of issues affecting our communities.

“The Sharia law practised in the north has not added value to the society but has exacerbated the suffering of the people. We call attention to the origins of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups, which began with the implementation of Sharia law. We do not want such destabilization in our society.

“Yoruba is an ethnic nation with a unique culture, and we will not allow Arab culture to erode ours. In Yorubaland, people of the same parents practice different religions and coexist peacefully, a situation not often seen in Northern society.

“We want this harmony to continue in the Southwest, so we reject any attempt to impose Sharia law that could sever relationships between family members.”

“Keep Sharia law in Sokoto and other Northern states. Yorubaland will maintain its peaceful nature and uphold its cultural values,” the group added.

Source:saharareporters.com

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

https://saharareporters.com/2025/01/30/keep-sharia-law-sokoto-other-northern-states-where-it-has-worsened-suffering-its-alien

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Zamfara: Bello Turji-led bandits attack mosque, abduct worshippers

January 30, 2025

By Hadiza Musa

Notorious Bandit, Bello Turji and his band of armed assailants launched a violent assault on a mosque in Shanawa community, Zamfara State, on Wednesday night, leaving several worshippers injured and abducting an unknown number of individuals.

A Northwest-based security analyst, Bakatsine, confirmed the attack on his X handle on Thursday.

“Last night, during the Isha prayer, Bello Turji led his gang to attack worshippers in Shanawa community, injuring four people and kidnapping an unspecified number of individuals.

“They later stormed Shinkafi town around 10 p.m., where they also abducted several people,” he wrote.

As of the time of filing this report, security forces have not yet released an official statement regarding the latest attack.

Source:dailypost.ng

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

https://dailypost.ng/2025/01/30/zamfara-bello-turji-led-bandits-attack-mosque-abduct-worshippers/

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Tinubu Accused Me Of Running Away After He Became President – BisiAkande

30 January 2025

By Justina Otio

A former interim chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), BisiAkande has disclosed that he advised President Bola Tinubu to run for office.

He, however, stated that after Tinubu became president he returned to his village in Ila, Osun State.

Speaking in an interview with Edmund Obilo, Akande revealed that Tinubu accused him of running away after he became president.

According to Akande, he occasionally visits Abuja, but may not always meet Tinubu.

Akande said: “My goal originally was for a Yoruba man to become president, and my choice was Tinubu. After he won, I was happy and returned to my village in Ila, Osun State.

“When he came back, I met him, and he said, ‘Baba, you asked me to run, I did, and became president, but now you (Akande) are running away.’

It’s true! I went back to my village because I don’t want to be a minister or take any other thing.”

Speaking further, Akande declared that the #EndSARS movement was designed by the obedient movement against Tinubu.

He declared that the #EndSARS movement was planned with a lot of money and support from America and only brought to Nigeria for implementation.

He specifically stated that the obedient movement were the ones behind the #EndSARS movement and protest, adding that it was after the protest they attempted to become a political party and when that couldn’t be done, they joined themselves to another party.

EndSARS was designed to be the end of Tinubu. Those behind the EndSARS knew that’s what they were doing,” Akande declared during the interview.

Asked by the interviewer to identify those behind the EndSARS movement, Akande replied, “The obidients.”

“The Obidients were behind EndSARS; it was manufactured in America and brought in just to stop him (Tinubu).

Obideints came from America to do the EndSARS and later became a movement to form a party, and they couldn’t form a party and joined whichever party,” the APC chieftain said.

Pushing further, the interviewer noted that Obidients are tied to Peter Obi and Akande, in response said: “Well, maybe Obi’s party, I don’t know, maybe Obi’s movement, I don’t know, but the obidients were behind the EndSARS.

“It was well planned with a lot of money from America.”

He added that it was an ambush that President Tinubu wasn’t aware of.

Source:naijanews.com

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

https://www.naijanews.com/2025/01/30/tinubu-accused-me-of-running-away-after-he-became-president-bisi-akande/

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Details Of Sanwo-Olu’s Meeting With French Ambassador

 30 January 2025

The Governor of Lagos State, BabajideSanwo-Olu, has pledged his commitment to deepening collaboration with France in agriculture, public transportation, and other key sectors.

Sanwo-Olu stated this during a courtesy visit by the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Marc Fonbaustier, at the Lagos House, Marina, on Wednesday.

He highlighted the strong relationship between Lagos and France, pledging to enhance bilateral cooperation.

“We have enjoyed extensive support and a wonderful relationship with the French Government, the French Embassy, and the Consul-General throughout my nearly six years in office. Every successive Ambassador and Consul-General has maintained a unique and productive partnership with Lagos, and we are excited to strengthen it further under your tenure,” Sanwo-Olu said.

The Governor emphasised Lagos’ strategic importance to France and noted ongoing collaborations in agriculture and both public and water transportation.

“We will continue to explore ways to enhance this mutually beneficial relationship. As a subnational entity, Lagos remains committed to fostering strong ties with France, ensuring growth and development in critical sectors,” he added.

Ambassador Fonbaustier commended Sanwo-Olu’s leadership, describing him as “a driving force and an inspirational leader.”

He affirmed France’s commitment to expanding its partnership with Lagos and initiating ambitious projects to further economic and infrastructural development in the state.

Source:naijanews.com

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

https://www.naijanews.com/2025/01/30/details-of-sanwo-olus-meeting-with-french-ambassador/

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Southeast Asia

 

Ahmad Zahid urges leaders to put political differences aside and focus on serving the people

BERNAMA

30-01- 2025

BAGAN DATUK: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has called on leaders to put aside political differences and prioritise serving the people.

He emphasised that the trust and mandate given by the people must be honoured, regardless of political party, religion, or race.

“As politicians, we must not allow divisions among citizens. Whether we win by a large margin or a small one is secondary. What truly matters is that, once elected as members of parliament or assemblymen, we must fulfil our duty to serve,” he said when opening the RC Hall in SimpangEmpat, HutanMelintang here today.

The hall was built by a businessman from Bagan Datuk, M. Nagaraja, 69, who has been running a cendol business for the past 47 years.

Ahmad Zahid, who is Bagan Datuk MP, added that leaders must continue to reach out to the people in their constituencies, including the youth, whether they are working locally or abroad.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid said he has known Nagaraja since he was 22 years old and gave him the title ‘Raja Cendol’ during an Aidilfitri do in 2007.

After the event, he took the opportunity to attend a Chinese New Year open house hosted by his family friends at the DatoHj Abdullah Ahmad Hall here.

He was welcomed by Beh Song Wan, 62, his wife Tian Mee Ping, 56, and their two children.

Ahmad Zahid also mingled with the local community members who attended the event.

Source:thesun.my

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

https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/ahmad-zahid-urges-leaders-to-put-political-differences-aside-and-focus-on-serving-the-people-CO13591164

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PM Anwar extends CNY care package to cancer patient in Kuantan

30 Jan 2025

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim presented a contribution to stage four breast cancer patient Chai Pau Chin in Kuantan, Pahang in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration.

The contribution, comprising cash, mandarin oranges and a food basket, was delivered by the Prime Minister’s political secretary Datuk Ahmad Farhan Fauzi and Semambu state assemblyman Chan Chun Kuang, who visited Chai at her home.

“Hopefully, this small contribution can help ease her burden and bring some joy to Chai and her family.

“Let us all pray for her recovery and strength as she faces these challenges,” according to a re-post on the Prime Minister’s Facebook page today. — Bernama

Source:malaymail.com

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

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/01/30/pm-anwar-extends-cny-care-package-to-cancer-patient-in-kuantan/164963

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What do local councillors actually do? A guide as Selangor’s assessment tax hike sparks debate

By Syed JaymalZahiid

30 Jan 2025

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 — The Selangor government’s decision to raise the assessment tax rate by 25 per cent, effective from January this year, has reignited debates around city council elections and put the spotlight on the role of local government services.

The argument, at least to those who are for the third vote, is that election gives property owners and residents the power to hold non-performing councillors accountable.

But just how influential are these councillors?

Malay Mail’s brief survey of residents reveals limited awareness, if any, about the duties and powers of councillors.

We spoke to Bukit Gasing state assemblyman Rajiv Risyakaran and Medaline Chang of the DAP, both former Petaling Jaya City Council board members, to get their explanation about a councillor’s responsibilities and jurisdiction.

Who are they?

At the moment, councillors are handpicked by the state’s governing coalition.

Typically, which party helms the state legislative seat will be given priority to choose but is ultimately contingent upon the power-sharing agreement between parties in the state government.

But this doesn’t mean each party can just pick any Ali, Ah Seng and Ajol for the post.

Chang said councillors are usually chosen among party workers with experience dealing directly with local communities or those with some level of distinction in their respective careers.

Their appointment is provided for and is governed by Local Government Act 1976 (Act 171), outlined in Part II of the Act, Section 10.

For each municipality, there can be no less than eight and not more than 24 other councillors.

They are salaried but usually not amounting to more than RM2,500 each.

Councillors also have certain allowances, like for attending meetings.

What are their duties?

For example, if one is worried about the safety conditions of equipment at a particular children’s playground, the councillor representing their zone will be the best person to talk to.

This councillor can carry that message to the relevant department within the local authority and, if urgent, press for immediate remedy.

Fundamentally, councillors act as intermediaries between their communities and local authorities.

If a councillor’s duty is to be summarised in a single line, it would be to act in the best interest of residents with regard to anything related to the upkeep of the zone they represent, Chang said.

“So we are the people who have to explain to residents the laws (relating to property and town management), the rules and regulations or any projects being carried out,” she explained.

Rajiv said councillors are members of the board headed by a mayor or president that decide everything regarding their local authority, such as determining fees, enacting by-laws and how the yearly budget should be spent.

“In MBPJ’s case any decision is made collectively or in the event they disagree, it could be put to a vote,” he said.

It doesn’t have to be just about complaints.

Residents can also request for amenities or facilities that would make living better for them and their children.

For example, they can push their councillor to build a futsal or basketball court if that is in the best interest of that local community.

Do councillors have control over local budgets?

Using the request for a playground as example, a single councillor may not necessarily be able to fulfil the request because he or she does not have full control over how the budget for that municipality is being spent.

“How the budget is spent is decided by that board and no (local authority) officers can challenge it, they must carry it out,” Rajiv said.

Still, Chang said some MBPJ councillors have used money from their own allocations to help where they can, usually in the form of funding for community programmes.

They can be your monthly gotong-royong, annual community get-together or even hiring contractors to do small works like repairing a damaged futsal court, provided it falls within budget.

“Each councillor for their respective zone would get an allocation of RM150,000 annually, which can be used for these things and we are given the flexibility to decide how best to use the fund.”

Can they challenge local authorities’ decisions?

To some extent they may.

Councillors are meant to act as check-and-balance, Chang explained, so any decisions made by local authorities should be done in the best interest of the community but these decisions sometimes do not align.

This is when the councillor comes in.

“For example if we feel that the city council had been putting money into a certain programme that has been running for years but with minimal impact, we can voice our objection to the mayor and make recommendations to change,” she said.

Again, all this must be ironed out in the board meetings, usually held monthly.

Rajiv said under the current system an individual councillor has no power to call any shots.

He or she can only convey a problem or requests of his constituents in the meetings and must get the consensus to fix or approve any projects.

How to reach your councillors?

There are two ways to do this.

Each local authority is required to provide contact details of every councillor on their official website like phone number and email addresses so you can contact them directly.

The other way is to communicate via your resident’s association or community leaders, who would usually be in contact with the respective zone’s councillor’s regularly.

But keep in mind that your councillors can only solve problems that fall within the jurisdiction of local authorities, which is predominantly about managing infrastructures within the zone he or she represents.

A councillor is not empowered to meddle in personal affairs or mediate disputes between residents unless they concern problems with their properties. A councillor also has no power to scrutinise a resident’s conduct or matters relating to morality.

A councillor also has no power to determine matters of security although they may pass complaints to the police.

Chang said residents are strongly encouraged to familiarise themselves with Act 171 and understand the roles and powers of the local authorities.

Source:malaymail.com

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

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/01/30/what-do-local-councillors-actually-do-a-guide-as-selangors-assessment-tax-hike-sparks-debate/164091

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