Dy Minister of IEA Youth Affairs Urges Afghan Youth To Pursue Knowledge, Adhere To Islamic Teachings
New Age Islam News Bureau
22 May 2025
· Dy Minister of IEA Youth Affairs Urges Afghan Youth To Pursue Knowledge, Adhere To Islamic Teachings
· PM Modi's Message To Pakistan, 'Sindoor Flows In My Veins’: India Views Pakistan’s “State And Non-State Actors” As One
· Concept Of “Waqf By User” Effect: Lone Muslim Keeping Azaan Alive In This Bihar Village
· French Report Warns Of Islamist 'Entryism' As Risk To National Cohesion
· CAIR Calls French Plan to Ban Hijab in Public an ‘Authoritarian Attack on Religious Freedom’
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South Asia
· IEA’s economy-oriented policy has improved Afghanistan’s economic performance
· Protests, road blockades trigger traffic disruptions in Dhaka
· 9 Agricultural Irrigation Networks to be Built in Nangarhar
· CSTO Member States to begin sending Weapons to Afghanistan Border
· Minister Jalali holds virtual health meeting with WHO officials
· Badri, his Iranian counterpart meet on oil refining
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India
· I Am Field Marshal Thanks Not To Allah, But You Narendra Modi: Pakistani Field Marshal
· 26/11 Attackers Were Killed But Pahalgam Terrorists At Large While Centre Preparing Dossier: Congress
· AIMPLB, BJP On Their Marks, Bihar Heats Up As Waqf Battleground Ahead Of Assembly Race
· India rejects Pakistan's school bus attack 'baseless' allegations
· Vimannagar Student Booked For Derogatory Post Against Islamic Prophet
· Waqf boards and Hindu endowment boards can't be compared: Centre in SC
· Muslim Author, Hindu Translator: Duo Ignites Kannada Literary Pride
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Europe
· Danish Conservative Party Seeks to Limit Work Permits for Citizens of Muslim Nations
· UK Anti-Islam Activist 'Tommy Robinson' Charged With Harassment Of Two Men
· France revives Devil's Island legacy with new supermax prison to deport Islamists to French Guiana
· Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups tried to influence EU: Report
· Government-commissioned report says Muslim Brotherhood posing threat to French unity
· A spiritual journey from Spain to Mecca: Meet the Muslims reviving the historic Andalusian route to Hajj on horseback
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North America
· Trump ambushes S African leader with claim of Afrikaners being 'persecuted'
· US accepts Qatari plane into Air Force One fleet
· Trump administration to scrap police reform measures in some US cities
· Judge says US deportations to South Sudan violate court order
· Carney says Canada in talks to join Trump's Golden Dome defence system
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Mideast
· UK FM Facing Calls To Recognize Palestine Statehood
· Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Golan’s Critique Of Gaza War Toll On Palestinians Sparks Outcry
· UN warns of renewed conflict in Syria but offers hope with sanctions lifting
· Rubio says some ‘optimism’ Gaza war could end ‘pretty quickly’
· In Syria, a Shiite shrine and community navigate a changed landscape
· The UN says no aid that has entered Gaza this week has reached Palestinians
· Israel supreme court rules security chief sacking ‘unlawful’, Netanyahu barred from naming new one
· Iranian Parliament ratifies strategic partnership treaty with Russia
· Warning of Calls to Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque
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Arab World
· Saudi University Develops Sensor To Reduce Fresh Produce Spoilage
· Saudi Arabia ‘strongly condemns’ Israel shooting toward diplomatic delegation
· Polish Pianist Brings Europe’s Musical Soul To Saudi Arabia’s Capital
· New program backs 20 AI startups in Saudi Arabia
· AI-powered robot to assist Hajj pilgrims at Grand Mosque in Makkah
· Saudi Arabia, Japan sign MoU to boost judicial ties
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Africa
· Gov Zulum Accuses Politicians, Security Agencies Of Colluding With Boko Haram
· Muslim-Muslim Ticket Has Opened A Pandora Box – Babachir Lawal
· US Airstrike Kills 10 Islamic State Militants in Somalia
· AI: Muslim lawyers urge caution, call for regulatory safeguards
· A look at South Sudan, where the US is accused of quietly sending migrants
· Unlocking Opportunities For Integrated Arabic And Islamic Schools
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Southeast Asia
· Malaysia Among First Three Countries Given Approval To Operate Haj Clinic In Madinah
· Singapore PM’s post-election Cabinet reshuffle brings new faces while keeping ‘experienced hands’ intact
· M’sia, Palestine to boost strategic cooperation in health sector - Dzulkefly
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/minister-youth-affairs-islamic-teachings/d/135627
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Dy Minister of IEA Youth Affairs UrgesAfghan Youth To Pursue Knowledge, Adhere To Islamic Teachings
May 22, 2025
KABUL: Qari Mohammad Younus Rashid, the Deputy Minister of Information and Culture for Youth Affairs, urged the youth to pursue knowledge and adhere to the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) as essential steps toward national progress, the ministry said in a statement Wednesday. He made the remarks in a gathering with a number of youths and local officials in Logar province, the statement said. “Youths are the backbone of society and architects of the nation’s future, and the current Islamic system was established through significant sacrifices, and its preservation and development now rest on the shoulders of the young generation,” he said.
He also encouraged youths to engage in innovation, invention, and the development of tools and technologies, advising them to build strong personal character, remain vigilant against misleading foreign propaganda, and dedicate themselves to acquiring knowledge. Meanwhile, a number of youths asked the ministry to focus on improving educational opportunities, creating employment prospects, and establishing libraries in the province’s districts to further support youth development.
Source: thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/youth-urged-to-pursue-knowledge-adhere-to-islamic-teachings/
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PM Modi's Message To Pakistan, 'Sindoor Flows In My Veins’: India Views Pakistan’s “State And Non-State Actors” As One
Hamza Khan
Jaipur/ May 22, 2025
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses during the inauguration and foundation stone laying of various development projects, in Bikaner district, Rajasthan. (PTI Photo)
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that the Indian armed forces made Pakistan kneel during Operation Sindoor and that the world and enemies of the country have now seen what happens when “sindoor (vermilion) turns to gunpowder”, adding that garam sindoor runs through his veins now.
He said India’s response is a “new form of justice” and emphasised that there will be no trade or talks with Pakistan now. Significantly, the PM said that the recent developments have made three things clear: that there will be a befitting reply for each terror attack; that India will not be scared by threats of an atom bomb; and that India will view Pakistan’s “state and non-state actors” as one.
Addressing a rally in Bikaner, parts of which were attacked by Pakistan recently, the PM said: “This brave land of Rajasthan teaches us that there is nothing bigger than the country or its people. On April 22, terrorists asked the religion (before shooting Pahagam victims) and destroyed the sindoor of our sisters. Those bullets were fired in Pahalgam, but they pierced the chests of 140 crore people of the country. After that, every citizen of the country united and took a pledge that we will destroy the terrorists and give them a punishment beyond imagination.”
“Today, with your blessings and with the valour of the country’s armed forces, we have lived up to that promise. Our government gave a free hand to all three forces. And the three armies together created such a chakravyuh (web) that Pakistan was forced to kneel,” the PM said.
“Saathiyon, 22 tareek ke jawab mein, humne 22 minute mein aatankiyon ke 9 sabse bade thikane tabah kar diye. Duniya ne aur desh ke dushmano ne bhi dekh liya, ki jab sindoor baarood ban jata hai toh nateeja kya hota hai (Friends, in response to the attack on April 22, we destroyed the nine biggest terrorist hideouts in 22 minutes. The world and enemies of the country saw what happens when vermilion turns into gunpowder),” the PM said.
Pakistan can never win a direct war with India. Whenever there is a direct war, Pakistan has to suffer a humiliating defeat. That is why Pakistan has made terrorism its weapon of war. Since Independence, this has been happening for several decades,” he said.
“Pakistan used to spread terror, kill innocent people, create an atmosphere of fear in India. But Pakistan forgot one thing. Ab, Ma Bharti ka sevak Modi yahan seena taan kar khada hai. Modi ka dimag thanda hai, thanda rehta hai, lekin Modi ka lahu garam hota hai. Aur ab toh Modi ki nason mein lahu nahi, garam sindoor beh raha hai (Now, Mother India’s servant Modi is standing here with his head held high. Modi’s mind is cool, it stays cool, but Modi’s blood runs hot. And now, not blood, but hot vermilion is flowing in Modi’s veins),” he said.
He said this is not a game of vengeance, but “a new form of justice”. “This is Operation Sindoor. This is not just aakrosh (outrage), ye samagra Bharat ka raudra roop hai, ye Bharat ka naya swaroop hai (This is the fierce form of the entire India, this is the new face of India).”
Referring to the 2019 Balakot strikes by India, he said, “Pehle ghar mein ghus kar kiya tha vaar, ab seedha seene par kiya prahaar hai. Aatank ka phan kuchalne ki yahi reeti hai yahi neeti hai, yehi Bharat hai, naya Bharat hai (First, we attacked them inside their homes, and now, we have directly attacked them on the chest. This is the way to crush terrorism; this is the policy. This is Bharat, this is the new Bharat).”
He said that Operation Sindoor settled three principles to tackle terrorism: “If there is a terrorist attack on Bharat, there will be a befitting reply. The time and method will be decided by our armed forces. And the shartein (terms and conditions) will be ours too.”
“Doosra, atom bomb ki geedad bhapkiyon se Bharat darne wala nahi hai (Second, Bharat will not be scared by the threats of an atom bomb),” he said.
Third, he said, India will not view “aatank ke aakaon aur aatank ki sarparast sarkar” (the masters of terror and the government that patronises terror) as separate entities. “They will be considered as one. Pakistan’s game of state and non-state actors will not work anymore.”
“Today, from the land of Rajasthan, I would like to humbly tell the people of my country, the Tiranga yatra which is taking place in every corner of the country, mein deshavaasiyon se kehta hoon, jo sindoor mitaane nikale the, unhe mitti mein milaya hai (I tell my countrymen that those who set out to wipe off the vermilion have been turned to dust),” the PM said.
“Those who used to bleed Hindustan have paid the price for every drop. Those who used to think that Bharat will stay quiet are now hiding inside their homes. Those who used to have ghamand (pride) on their weapons, today they are buried under a pile of rubble,” Modi said.
He said that India has made it clear that Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price for every terror attack. And this cost will be paid by the Pakistani army and its economy.”
The PM said he arrived at Bikaner via the Nal airport, which was targeted by Pakistan, “but they couldn’t cause even the slightest damage”. “But across the border, there is Pakistan’s Rahim Yar Khan airbase. We don’t know when it will reopen. It is in the ICU. Indian Army’s accurate attacks have destroyed this airbase,” he said.
The PM said that there will be no trade or talks with Pakistan. “If there’s talk, it will only be on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. And if Pakistan continues to export terrorists, then it will be deprived of every penny. Pakistan will not get water that is India’s right. Playing with the blood of Indians will prove costly to Pakistan. This is Bharat’s resolve, and no power in the world can sway us away from this resolve,” he said, adding that both security and prosperity are necessary for a viksit (developed) Bharat.
“This is possible only when each corner of Bharat is strong,” he said.
He said that it is a coincidence that five years ago, when India conducted airstrikes in Balakot, his first public rally was in Rajasthan too. He recalled his words in Churu – uttered in February 2019 – saying, “Saugandh mujhe is mitti ki, main desh nahi mitne dunga, main desh nahi jhukne dunga (I swear on this soil, I won’t let the nation fade or bow down).”
He added that seven Indian delegations comprising MPs from all parties are travelling the globe “to show the real face of Pakistan to the world”.
Source:indianexpress.com
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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/pm-narendra-modi-bikaner-visit-operation-sindoor-india-pakistan-10021740/?ref=hometop_hp
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Concept Of “Waqf By User” Effect: Lone Muslim Keeping Azaan Alive In This Bihar Village
by Santosh Singh
May 22, 2025
Born in 1980, Zahid Ansari is the village muezzin, just like his father Abdul Samad Ansari. (Express Photo)
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For the last 15 years now, Zahid Ansari, a 45-year-old second-generation muezzin from Sarbahdi village in Nalanda’s Bihar Sharif block, has had a fixed routine – five times a day, he steps into the village mosque for the customary azaan. But there’s a catch: he knows fully well that there’s no one to hear him, since he’s the only Muslim in the village.
“My Hindu neighbours have accepted me (as their own),” Zahid says, sitting inside the village’s 11-decimal mosque (1 decimal is 435.56 square feet). “I’m committed to staying here until my last breath. All I want is to be buried on the mosque grounds like my father.”
Born in 1980, Zahid Ansari is the village muezzin, just like his father Abdul Samad Ansari. A humanities graduate, he also provides tuition for students up to Class 10 in a vacant space next to the mosque.
Until 1981, the Ansaris were among the 90 Muslim families that lived in Sarbahdi, now a village of 350 – largely Hindu – households, he says. The 1981 riots in Bihar Sharif – the district headquarters of Nalanda – was a pivotal moment in the state’s history. Still considered one of the worst communal riots to hit the state, second only to the one in Bhagalpur eight years later, the Bihar Sharif violence left 45 people dead.
Although Sarbahdi was never directly affected by the violence, the incident spooked many in the area, leading to an exodus of Muslims to areas such as Bihar Sharif town and even West Bengal.
“Many of the Muslims were landed, with 5-20 bighas of land,” Zahid says. “The area where the mosque stands had a thriving Muslim population with landholdings of about 300 bighas. But by the mid-1980s, distress sales started, and by 2005, all except my father and I had left.”
Some Muslim families would come back once to check on their land, but eventually, even that stopped, he says.
Sitting next to Zahid, fellow village resident Dilip Mahto echoes this: “I have witnessed instances of distress land sale by some Muslim families. Some simply abandoned their homes and land, and some sold it to their neighbours for peanuts.”
With his father’s death in 2013, Zahid became the only Muslim in the village. But the azaan calls continued diligently.
There’s another reason Zahid cites for wanting to remain in the village: the Waqf (Amendment) Act of 2025. Passed by Parliament earlier this year, the new law sparked protests because of the amendment to the concept of “Waqf by user” — while the earlier provision stated that Waqf properties will remain Waqf even if the user does not exist, the amendment removes the concept, prompting fears of how it would affect properties without valid documents.
“The Waqf (Amendment) Bill has given me all the more reasons to stay put at the village to monitor Waqf by user property, including the mosque,” he says.
Sitting inside the mosque, Zahid takes a slip of paper out of his pocket to read out the village’s “Waqf by user” land: apart from the mosque, there are two cemeteries of a total of 120 decimal, one mazaar measuring 79 decimal and an Imam Bara of 10 decimal.
“I had heard about the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and thought there was a need to keep a record of the village’s Waqf by user land,” he says. “Of the two cemeteries, one is being used as a cowshed and the other as an open field used to store hay.”
After the Waqf law was passed, he was asked to account for the Waqf by user properties in the area, he says. “But I’m the lone Muslim here. I can’t ask people to vacate the cemeteries or clear them of encroachment. Reclaiming it would do nothing. I want to live here peacefully and am happy with the status quo,” he says.
Mokhtar Ul Haque, the person in charge of the Woghra Waqf Estate, echoes this. “It’s true that cemeteries come under Waqf by user property, but where are the users? We could request the state government to reclaim the cemeteries, but who would take care of them in the village?”
As Zahid steps out of the mosque to head to his three-room brick house in one corner of the village, an elderly woman stops him and advises him to get married “soon”. He smiles and nods at the woman, but once she leaves, Zahid says that between his mosque duties and teaching students, he’s left quite satisfied.
“I prefer to live alone,” he says. “What I want is for the mosque to be whitewashed. I also need to have a makeshift structure built on mosque land so I can teach my students there.”
Source: indianexpress.com
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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/waqf-law-muslim-azaan-alive-nalanda-10021714/
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French report warns of Islamist 'entryism' as risk to national cohesion
May 21, 2025
President Macron asked for new proposals to be submitted to a security cabinet early next month
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Islamists are infiltrating France's republican institutions and are a threat to national cohesion, according to a report presented to President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday.
The report, drawn up by two senior civil servants, claims to find evidence for a policy of "entryism" by the Muslim Brotherhood into public bodies like schools and local government.
After a meeting of his security cabinet, Macron asked the government to come up with "new proposals" by early next month in light of the seriousness of the report's conclusions.
Secularism is a core tenet of France's national identity.
According to an Élysée official speaking off the record, there is a "new phenomenon - entryism - which is different from separatism".
While separatism implied Muslims living in a parallel society in France, "entryism means getting involved in republican infrastructure… in order to change it from the inside. It requires dissimulation… and it works from the bottom up," the official said.
In a copy of the report published in Le Figaro newspaper, the authors identified the Federation of Muslims of France (FMF) as the main French emanation of the historic Muslim Brotherhood, which was founded 100 years ago to promote a return to core Islamic values.
They said the FMF controlled 139 places of worship in France, with a further 68 affiliated – in all around 7% of the total. The organisation also ran some 280 associations, in sports, education, charity and other fields, as well as 21 schools.
The aim of the movement was to set up "ecosystems at local level" to "structure the lives of Muslims from birth till death".
"[The movement's] officials, who are hardened activists, enter into a relationship with the local authority… Social norms – the veil, beards, dress, fasting - are gradually imposed as the ecosystem solidifies," the authors write.
"What happens is that religious practice become stricter, with a high level of girls wearing the abaya (long robe) and a massive and visible increase in the number of young girls wearing Islamic headscarves. Some are as young as five or six."
The Federation angrily rejected "any allegation that associates us with a foreign political programme, or with a strategy of 'entryism'".
"Confusing Islam with political Islamism and radicality is not only dangerous, but counter-productive for the Republic itself," the FMF said. "Behind these unfounded accusations there is a plan to stigmatise Islam and Muslims."
The report has been seized on by proponents of a strict enforcement of France's secular laws, which are meant to exclude all religion from public life.
Interior minister Bruno Retailleau, who on Sunday was elected leader of the conservative Les Républicains party, warned on Tuesday of "below-the-radar Islamism trying to infiltrate institutions, whose ultimate aim is to tip the whole of French society under sharia law".
Municipal elections are due in France next year, and Retailleau - who has won a reputation as a hardliner - has said he is concerned about the possibility of Islamic lists of candidates.
Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon warned that "Islamophobia has crossed a line", accusing the president's security cabinet of adopting the "delusional theories" of both Retailleau and far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen.
The report's authors, who visited 10 different regions of France and four other European countries, concluded that the Muslim Brotherhood was losing influence in the Middle East and North Africa, and so was targeting Europe, backed by money from Turkey and Qatar.
"Having given a Western look to the ideology in order to implant themselves in Europe, (the Muslim Brotherhood) tries to lay down the roots of a Middle Eastern tradition while concealing a subversive fundamentalism," they wrote.
Source: bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgnnelvz0do
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CAIR Calls French Plan to Ban Hijab in Public an ‘Authoritarian Attack on Religious Freedom’
May 21, 2025
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called a plan by French President Emmanuel Macron’s political party to ban those under 15 from wearing hijab, or Islamic head scarves, in public an “authoritarian attack on religious freedom.”
That proposed ban would forbid “minors under 15 from wearing the veil in public spaces,” apparently referring to places like the street, restaurants, parks, and stores.
In a letter to Laurent Bili, Ambassador of France to the United States, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw wrote in part:
“This authoritarian attack on religious freedom, which would exclusively target the French Muslim community, is an afront to the claimed ‘liberty’ and ‘equality’ in France’s national motto.
“Such a dictatorial proposal would create scenarios in which young girls wearing scarves are stopped on the street and questioned about their faith. If they are Christian, Jewish or Sikh wearing a head covering or scarf, they could go about their business after declaring their faith. But a Muslim girl who declared her faith would be subject to legal action.
“Is this really the 21st Century in France?”
Earlier this year, CAIR called on French lawmakers to reject proposed legislation that would ban the wearing of religiously-mandated attire in sports.
Washington, D.C., based CAIR previously opposed efforts to ban the hijab and other religious clothing in France.
Source: cair.com
https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-calls-french-plan-to-ban-hijab-in-public-an-authoritarian-attack-on-religious-freedom/
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South Asia
IEA’s economy-oriented policy has improved Afghanistan’s economic performance
May 22, 2025
The acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mawlavi Amir Khan Muttaqi, in his most recent visit to neighboring Iran, has once again stressed the economic-oriented policy of the Islamic Emirate. Addressing participants at the Tehran International Forum held the other day, Muttaqi emphasized the significance of neighboring countries in Afghanistan politics, asserting that they play a crucial role in the region’s stability and development.
Muttaqi expressed confidence in the effectiveness of the current political system, which he believes is conducive to both domestic stability and regional cooperation. Economic policy encompasses a broad range of strategies employed by governments to optimize economic performance, and economy oriented policy refers to the actions taken by governments to influence and improve the economic performance of a country.
These policies aim to achieve various economic objectives like price stability, full employment, and sustainable growth. With re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate in mid August, 2021 the economic oriented policy was introduced with the aim to improve Afghanistan’s trade and economic relations with countries in the world and region. He noted that with the Islamic Emirate’s economic oriented policy, Afghanistan has successfully maintained and fostered positive ties with various nations, particularly in the economic sector. Foreign Minister remarks come as Afghanistan seeks to strengthen its international ties and improve its economic standing, four years after the Islamic Emirate’s return to power.
With the economic-oriented policy, the Islamic Emirate has been able to maintain good and positive ties with various countries in the region as Afghanistan’s trade and economic relations have expanded considerably with almost all countries in the region. In the past almost four years, in addition to improving full security nationwide, there have been positive signs of improvement in all areas, particularly in economic and trade sector. The government revenues collection has been consistently enhanced, the afghani currency has been strengthened, inflation has reduced, domestic prices stabilized, the condition of the country’s banks have improved and there has been relative increase in exports and trade and economic relations have been further expanded with the Central Asian countries. The positive signs of improvement following the adoption of the economic oriented policy as foreign policy by the Islamic Emirate has resulted in a warm welcome from the international community, especially the neighbors.
This approach caused most countries in the world and region to establish close political and economic relations with the Islamic Emirate. As a result of the Islamic Emirate’s economic-oriented foreign policy, economic and political visits of high-rank
ing officials of the neighboring countries to Kabul have increased in recent months, which shows strengthening political and economic ties of regional countries with Afghanistan. Realizing this importance, the Islamic Emirate has put the expansion of economic and commercial interactions with neighboring countries, including Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, China, and Kazakhstan, at the top of their economic policy to improve Afghanistan economy. It is worth mentioning that the approach of the Islamic Emirate in interacting with other countries through economic-oriented policy has been effective and has been able to increase the political and economic interaction of countries with Afghanistan. It should be also noted that with the Islamic Emirate’s economic-oriented foreign policy, Afghanistan’s economic performance has improved considerably in the past three years. There are hopes that the country’s economic performance will further improve in coming years. Safi
Source: thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/ieas-economy-oriented-policy-has-improved-afghanistans-economic-performance/
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Protests, road blockades trigger traffic disruptions in Dhaka
May 22, 2025
Several parts of the capital have been experiencing severe traffic congestion today due to demonstrations and road blockades by different political parties citing various reason.
From 10:00am, supporters of BNP leader Ishraque Hossain staged a sit-in protest, blocking the road from Nagar Bhaban (DSCC) to Kakrail via the High Court area and Matsya Bhaban.
This led to massive traffic gridlocks in the surrounding areas.
The protest also disrupted access to Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus's residence in Jamuna, with law enforcement deployed in the area to prevent BNP supporters from approaching the premises.
At the same time, the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) are holding a day-long sit-in from 10:00am to 5:00pm at Shahbagh intersection and in front of the InterContinental Hotel.
The programme was launched in protest against the recent killing of Shahriar Alam Shammo, a student of the 2018-19 session at the Institute of Education and Research, Dhaka University, and the publication secretary of the JCD's Sir AF Rahman Hall unit. He was reportedly stabbed to death by unidentified assailants near the Bangla Academy area on campus.
JCD leaders are demanding a proper investigation, arrest of all perpetrators -- including the main accused -- and exemplary punishment. They also called for a safer campus environment.
Meanwhile, the National Citizen Party (NCP) is scheduled to hold a protest rally in the Jatrabari Tower area at 4:00pm, demanding the reformation of the Election Commission and reforms in local government elections.
Besides protests across the capital, a relentless spell of early morning rain plunged Dhaka into disarray, compounding the sufferings of citizens amid severe traffic congestion.
The rain, fuelled by a low-pressure system extending from West Bengal to the North Bay through south-western Bangladesh, began early in the morning and continued for nearly two hours, significantly hampering the morning commute and daily activities in one of the country's busiest cities, according to UNB.
Many office-goers were seen stranded on waterlogged streets, waiting for transport in the downpour. Traffic moved at a snail's pace in several areas due to waterlogging and ongoing demonstrations that brought major intersections to a standstill.
According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), 20mm of rainfall was recorded in Dhaka in the morning.
AKM Nazmul Haque, a meteorologist at BMD, said more rain was likely later in the day, although conditions were expected to improve from today, reports UNB.
While the rain brought temporary relief from the recent spell of scorching heat, it caused immense suffering to commuters and pedestrians alike.
Source: thedailystar.net
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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/protests-road-blockades-trigger-traffic-disruptions-dhaka-3900606
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9 Agricultural Irrigation Networks to be Built in Nangarhar
2025-05-22
NANGARHAR(BNA): The Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock Department of Nangarhar province has started the construction of 9 agricultural water networks in the Goshta and Kama districts of the province.
Zakerullah Zaki, the Government and Social Coordination Officer of the Nangarhar Agriculture Department, told Bakhtar News Agency that this project is being implemented under the Rapid Water Resources Rehabilitation Program, with nearly 3 million Afghanis in funding support from the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), in the Goshta and Kama districts.
He added that upon completion of this project, nearly 1,800 jeribs (about 360 hectares) of dry and barren land will be irrigated and made ready for agriculture.
He noted that during the implementation of this project, employment opportunities will also be provided for thousands of local residents.
Additionally, Mawlavi Mohammad Wali Mohsin, Head of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock in Nangarhar, called the implementation of this project a positive step towards water resource management in his remarks. He urged supporting organizations to also provide necessary training to farmers in the mentioned districts regarding the value and management of water for more effective project implementation.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/9-agricultural-irrigation-networks-to-be-built-in-nangarhar/
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CSTO Member States to begin sending Weapons to Afghanistan Border
By Fidel Rahmati
May 22, 2025
CSTO countries will start delivering weapons and military equipment to strengthen the Afghanistan border, enhancing regional security and response.
Imangali Tasmagambetov, Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), announced at the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly that the dispatch of weapons and military equipment to strengthen Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan will begin soon. This plan aims to counter security threats stemming from Afghanistan and reduce border vulnerabilities.
The program, approved in 2024 in Astana, Kazakhstan, is set to be officially implemented in three phases starting in 2026. CSTO member states—including Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and Belarus—will prepare to respond rapidly to cross-border threats originating from Afghanistan, enhancing regional security cooperation.
The plan includes bolstering military infrastructure in southern Tajikistan and increasing the rapid response capabilities of CSTO forces. Concerns have escalated in the region due to the presence of terrorist groups such as ISIS and the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, especially following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
Tajikistan, which shares over 1,400 kilometers of border with Afghanistan, has repeatedly warned of extremist infiltration risks. Several Central Asian countries have conducted joint military drills near the Afghan border to enhance readiness and cooperation against growing threats from over 20 active terrorist organizations within Afghanistan.
While the Taliban administration of Afghanistan claims it does not permit foreign militant groups to operate from its territory, regional reports highlight escalating insecurity and drug trafficking, increasing concerns among neighboring states.
Experts view the CSTO initiative as a strategic move to establish a “security belt” around Afghanistan, a concept previously proposed by Tajikistan’s president. This security framework seeks to stabilize the region amid persistent instability and transnational threats.
The CSTO’s efforts to fortify borders reflect a broader regional push to mitigate risks stemming from Afghanistan’s ongoing turmoil. With international actors focusing on counterterrorism and border security, the success of such measures will depend on sustained cooperation and political will among Central Asian nations and global partners.
Source: khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/csto-member-states-to-begin-sending-weapons-to-afghanistan-border/
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Minister Jalali holds virtual health meeting with WHO officials
May 22, 2025
KABUL: The country’s Ministry of Public Health held a high level virtual meeting with senior representatives from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, including Director Ms. Hanan Al-Balkhi, alongside health ministers and officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, to strengthen the health sector.
According to a statement from the ministry on Wednesday, the meeting focused on critical strategies to reinforce and develop Afghanistan’s health sector. Expanding healthcare services, controlling infectious diseases including polio, enhancing the effectiveness of polio vaccination campaigns, and mobilizing international support for Afghanistan’s health system have been discussed in the meeting, the statement said. Mawlavi Noor Jalal Jalali reiterated that his-led ministry prioritizes the eradication of polio
and the containment of infectious diseases, pledging to intensify efforts in these domains. He emphasized the importance of achieving health system self-sufficiency and expanding services through domestic funding. While acknowledging the critical role of emergency and short term aid, he stressed the necessity for development-oriented and sustainable support to ensure long-term progress of the health sector in the country. Meanwhile, Hanan Al-Balkhi commended the ongoing efforts within Afghanistan’s health sector and emphasized the need for sustained international assistance alongside fundamental capacity building initiatives. According to the statement, the representatives from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates reaffirmed their commitment to support Afghanistan’s health sector and collaborate in combating infectious diseases.
Source: thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/minister-jalali-holds-virtual-health-meeting-with-who-officials/
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Badri, his Iranian counterpart meet on oil refining
May 22, 2025
KABUL: Mulla Hedayatullah Badri, the acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum, during his official visit to Tehran, met with Mohsen Paknejad, the Iranian Petroleum Minister, discussing the survey, exploration, extraction, and crude oil and gas refining cooperation, the ministry said in a statement Wednesday. According to the statement, the meeting was attended by Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Tehran, Mawlavi Fazl Mohammad Haqqani, and Iran’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, Ali Reza Bigdeli. Both sides also exchanged views on joint investments in Afghanistan’s mineral resources, the statement said.
The statement added that the enhancement of collaborative efforts, attracting investments, exchanging technical expertise, and setting up joint technical committees have also been discussed in the meeting. It should be said that the Badri-led delegation left for Iran to participate in the second international conference of mineral experts and researchers and discuss the strengthening of bilateral cooperation, Afghanistan’s mining potential, and available investment opportunities in the mining sector.
Source: thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/badri-his-iranian-counterpart-meet-on-oil-refining/
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India
I Am Field Marshal Thanks Not To Allah, But You Narendra Modi: Pakistani Field Marshal
22 May, 2025
Mere aziz humwatano, I write to you on the heels of winning yet another historical war against my favourite enemy, India. A war that made me crown myself as Pakistan’s Field Marshal. And you all thought it was only martial laws that we men in uniform run after. I have only one person to thank for this great bookmark in my life and no that’s not Allah; that’s you Narendra Modi. While I remained a footnote of sorts in the internal politics of Pakistan, in the aftermath of this four-day conflict, it seems, Modi showered me with not two or three but five stars. Thank you, Modi, for boosting my career. I hope to officially meet you soon at Babri mosque as the next King of Pakistan.
It turns out in Pakistan, one can fail at any kind of war with India and yet win accolades. General Pervez Musharraf lost the 1999 Kargil War, yet became president. General Ayub Khan was also the only other gem who lost the 1965 War to India as a Field Marshal. I guess he’d be proud of me today.
Sixty years on, I did press conferences for four days and became Field Marshal in the end. Quite unlike India, where a General has to win an actual war and create another country to become Field Marshal. Poor Sam Manekshaw, he had to do so much work for nothing, really. It is for this reason I thank Allah for the two-nation theory.
Sleep through war, still win
As I write to you, I am polishing my new medal. I had kept it safe in my shoe box so that I could pin it whenever I decided it was the right time. After 11 bases being under attack from missiles and drones, the time was right for a new medal, a new title, and a salary bump. There has to be a cost for my bravery and you, my nation, will pay it. Reports of me hiding in a bunker are greatly exaggerated, especially as India bombed the Nur Khan base. It is a smear campaign spread by India. How could I have hidden in a bunker when I was taking some shut-eye time? Feel for your new Field Marshal, my nation. I am 57 years old and I need my beauty sleep even in a war. I might be a few years younger than SRK, but I am no Jawan.
India should remember that this is not the Pakistan of 1971; we won’t leave our 93,000 pants to save half of a country. Now, even pants are expensive, and the country is not worth the trouble.
I might have been unpopular in Pakistan, but that never dampened my political ambitions. I kept calm and went after everyone working against me. That’s why Imran Khan and his associates are languishing in jail. Who cares about popularity when you are the mighty chief of Pakistan’s armed forces? These trivial issues are for lesser beings like bloody civilians. Now, I am the most popular chief in the history of Pakistan. Don’t trust me? Ask Shahid Afridi, who bit my neck lovingly. I had to warn him about public displays of affection—this is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, after all.
Never did I doubt my ability to come out victorious in this battle of ‘made in China’ versus ‘made in Russia, France and India’. But you, my lovely readers, had your hearts in your mouth for a moment there. That’s why I always tell you to sleep before 12 am because the buzdil dushman (cowardly enemy) always attacks in raat ki tareeki (the darkness of night). I want to cut all the noise around our hits and our misses. To the people asking me for proof, I say don’t ask what we hit, ask what we didn’t hit. Now that would be nothing and everything. Use your imagination when talking about wars in Pakistan. If I claim that I downed six Indian Rafale jets, be assured these were actually 600 jets in total that I was shooting down, but then I woke up abruptly. I only blame India for this discrepancy.
With this conflict, I have also given a befitting response to the critics of Pakistan military who would say that this house, butter, jam, cornflakes, cereal, frozen vegetables-making army could neither fight nor win wars. This win of mine is a slap in their faces because now I plan to take Defence Housing Authorities all over India, which can be followed by my food and farming businesses. Ambanis, be ready. See how in every war, there is a silver lining.
India lies when it says that it was targeting terrorist infrastructure in Bahawalpur and Muridke. They should know that those Masood Azhars or Hafiz Saeeds that it is trying to find are safe with me at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. But I’m unsafe now. About time I relocated GHQ too. Maybe shifting house to India will prevent me from coming under attack. India, I’m coming.
This is part of an occasional, irreverent take on Pakistani issues by General X (formerly General Twitter). The real name of the authors will not be disclosed because they don’t want to be taken too seriously. Views are personal.
Source: theprint.in
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https://theprint.in/opinion/i-am-field-marshal-thanks-not-to-allah-but-you-narendra-modi-pakistani-general-x/2633791/
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26/11 attackers were killed but Pahalgam terrorists at large while Centre preparing dossier: Congress
21.05.25
The Congress on Wednesday said India got the support of countries following the 26/11 attack as the perpetrators were killed and one was arrested but after the Pahalgam attack, the government is sending diplomatic delegations abroad and preparing a dossier while the terrorists remain at large.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh lashed out at the BJP for its criticism of Rahul Gandhi and said it should instead channel its energies to target Pakistan and China.
"The BJP must answer who gave a clean chit to Mohammad Ali Jinnah and praised him? Jaswant Singh and L K Advani had lauded him and called him a great leader, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had taken out the Lahore bus yatra and it was none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had gone to Lahore to break bread with Nawaz Sharif," Ramesh told PTI here.
He also recalled that it was former prime minister Morarji Desai who got Pakistan's highest civilian honour 'Nishan-e-Pakistan'. The BJP must recall that Desai's cabinet had Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the external affairs minister, he added.
Hitting out at the government, Ramesh asked why the terrorists behind the April 22 Pahalgam attack had not been arrested even a month after the incident.
He pointed out that the terrorists who carried out the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks were killed and one was arrested, due to which India got the support of countries across the globe.
"Look at the current situation, we are preparing a dossier and sending diplomatic delegations abroad but the terrorists are at large. They must be arrested and interrogated, that is the real issue," he said.
Ramesh's remarks come amid a war of words between the Congress and the BJP over their leaders' statements on the India-Pakistan conflict. The BJP called Congress leader Rahul Gandhi "modern age Mir Jafar" and the opposition party hit back, describing External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as "new age Jaichand".
The two parties have traded barbs over their remarks on Operation Sindoor and also posted memes on social media, each suggesting that the other has betrayed the nation.
The Congress and Rahul Gandhi have attacked Jaishankar, alleging that he forewarned Pakistan about Operation Sindoor. It also asked how many planes India lost and how many terrorists escaped from their camps in Pakistan due to the minister's "warning".
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 lives.
India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7, following which Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions.
The hostilities ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.
Source: telegraphindia.com
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https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/congress-slams-centre-over-pahalgam-terror-attack-response-questions-delay-in-terrorist-arrests/cid/2101006
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AIMPLB, BJP on their marks, Bihar heats up as Waqf battleground ahead of Assembly race
LALMANI VERMA
May 22, 2025
HOPING to make a difference in the Bihar Assembly elections scheduled for end of this year, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is planning a series of programmes in the state against the Waqf (Amendment) Act, which is facing several petitions in the Supreme Court.
The Board has organised public gatherings under its ‘Save Waqf Campaign’ across the country, but its efforts have been more concentrated on Bihar, particularly the districts of Patna, Araria, Kishanganj, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Saharsa, Madhubani, Siwan and Darbhanga.
In a statement earlier this week, the AIMPLB underlined the importance of the state for the party because of the coming elections. “It is likely that these (Save Waqf Campaign) programmes can influence the election results as well,” it said.
The nine Bihar districts where the AIMPLB is focusing consist of 72 Assembly constituencies, or 30% of the 243-seat House. Muslims, who make up around 17.7% of the Bihar population, play a decisive role in at least 30 of these 72 Assembly seats.
In the 2020 Assembly polls, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had won a majority (38) of these 72 seats, with the BJP securing 25 seats, followed by the JD(U) 11 and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VSIP) 2.
The Opposition Mahagathbandhan had won 28 of the 72 seats, with the RJD winning 11, the Congress 5, CPI (ML) (L) 4 and CPI 2. The BJP’s performance was significant given that Muslims are seen as staunch RJD supporters in Bihar.
These 72 seats also comprised the five constituencies won by the AIMIM in 2020 (four of its five MLAs who won crossed over to the RJD). The AIMIM had formed a third front at the time, with the BSP and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP). Upendra Kushwaha had later merged his RLSP with the JD(U), but had again split and now heads the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, which is part of the NDA.
The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) led by Chirag Paswan which was outside the NDA umbrella then and contested separately, won its lone seat from here too.
In its Save Waqf Campaign, the AIMPLB, along with other Muslim bodies, is targeting BJP allies in particular, including the JD(U), accusing them of “betraying Muslims” on the Waqf Act.
During one such event in Delhi last month, Muslim clerics and the AIMPLB accused NDA parties of “stabbing Muslims in the back” by supporting the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Parliament, and asked them to push the government to withdraw the contentious law or be ready to face the community’s opposition everywhere.
They are specifically naming NDA leaders such as JD(U) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Chirag Paswan, and HAM (S) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi, apart from other BJP allies outside Bihar like NCP president Ajit Pawar and TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu.
“We are hopeful that the JD(U), LJP and HAM which got Muslim votes in the past will not get their support now because of the new Waqf law. The AIMPLB will not make any direct political appeal against any particular party. Other Muslim organisations participating in the programmes will make such appeal. The AIMPLB will only tell people which parties helped the government make the Waqf law. Bihar’s ruling party (JD-U) was involved in making of the law,” says S Q R Ilyas, AIMPLB spokesperson and Convenor of the All India Save Waqf Campaign.
Last month, the BJP leadership constituted a four-member coordination committee, headed by Rajya Sabha MP Radha Mohan Das Agrawal, to tour the country to create awareness among people, including Muslims, on the “benefits” of the contentious Waqf Act. The party also has its sights on Bihar and has held meetings in Bhagalpur, Motihari, Patna, Muzaffarpur etc.
“These programmes were planned in other areas too but were postponed after the Pahalgam terror attack. Then the party organisation got busy with the Tiranga Yatra. Waqf-law related programmes are yet to resume,” says Kamruzzama Ansari, the Bihar BJP minority wing president. BJP allies are not a part of these programmes, says Ansari.
He expresses confidence that the campaign of the AIMPLB and opposition parties on the Waqf Act will not damage the BJP or its allies in the Bihar polls. “Out of the total Muslim population, the majority are Pasmanda, who are poor and have been deprived of benefits of Waqf properties. Now they will get benefits due to the new law, and the Pasmandas will support the BJP and its allies,” Ansari says.
He expects the Centre’s announcement to hold a caste census along with the next Census exercise to also help the BJP among the Pasmanda Muslims. K Laxman, the national president of the BJP’s OBC Morcha, told The Indian Express earlier that Pasmanda Muslims would be counted as OBCs in the caste census.
At the same time, Ansari hopes that the BJP will give tickets to Muslims and accommodate Muslim leaders in government to strengthen trust in the community.
Source: indianexpress.com
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https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/aimplb-bjp-on-their-marks-bihar-heats-up-as-waqf-battleground-ahead-of-assembly-race-10021153/
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India rejects Pakistan's school bus attack 'baseless' allegations
May 22, 2025
India slammed Pakistan for claiming its involvement in the school bus attack, saying Pakistan remained the epicentre of terrorism and its attempts to hoodwink the global community was doomed to fail. The ministry of external affairs also condoled the loss of lives in the attack that took place in Khuzdar. "India rejects the baseless allegations made by Pakistan regarding Indian involvement with the incident in Khuzdar... To divert attention from its reputation as the global epicentre of terrorism and to hide its own gross failings, it has become second nature for Pakistan to blame India for all its internal issues." Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif said terrorists operating under "Indian patronage" attacking children is clear evidence of their hostility.
Source: indiatimes.com
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-rejects-paks-baseless-allegations/articleshow/121326501.cms
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Vimannagar Student Booked For Derogatory Post Against Islamic Prophet
ByNadeem Inamdar
May 22, 2025
The Vimannagar Police have registered a case against a student from a prominent college for allegedly posting derogatory remarks against the Islamic Prophet on her X (formerly Twitter) handle. The FIR was filed on May 19 under BNS sections 299, 196 (1) (a), and 353 (2).
According to the FIR, constable Praveen Gurav lodged an FIR on behalf of the state government, wherein he stated that he received information about the student uploading an offensive post on May 14. The controversial post was flagged by another X user.
The case has drawn attention amid rising concerns over inflammatory speech on social media. Local Muslim groups have demanded strict action against the accused.
Last week, Kondhwa police arrested a 19-year-old woman studying at an engineering college for allegedly posting a message on social media in support of Pakistan. Following a complaint, a case was registered against her at Kondhwa Police Station under BNS sections 152, 196, 197, 299 and 352.
Source: hindustantimes.com
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https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/pune-news/vimannagar-student-booked-for-derogatory-post-against-islamic-prophet-101747850569960.html
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Waqf boards and Hindu endowment boards can't be compared: Centre in SC
May 22, 2025
NEW DELHI: After countering the Muslim side's argument that non-Muslims could theoretically form a majority in the Central Waqf Council and Auqaf Boards, Centre told Supreme Court Wednesday that an ill-founded attempt was made to project discrimination of Muslims by comparing composition of waqf bodies with religious endowment boards of Hindus, Sikhs and Christians.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta exhibited documents, including the minority affairs ministry's written assurance to the Joint Parliamentary Committee and its affidavit in SC, to apprise a bench of CJI B R Gavai and Justice A G Masih that the council and boards would never lose their minority character as an overwhelming majority of members would always be Muslims.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal had taken nearly 30 minutes on Tuesday to highlight apprehension among Muslims about the council and boards losing their minority character by claiming that the govt, through the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025, at least theoretically intended to make non-Muslims the majority in these two bodies. He had asked when the govt never attempted to make non-believers in Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity members in their religious endowment boards, why were waqfs of Muslims singled out. He termed it discrimination on the ground of religion, which violated the fundamental right to non-discrimination guaranteed under Article 15.
Mehta said Hindu religious endowment board members entered temples and even supervised rituals. The charity commissioner, who can be non-Hindu, can appoint archakas (pujaris) and remove them for not performing rituals or for immoral activities, and SC had upheld this by terming appointment of archakas as a secular activity, he added.
The SG said Hindu personal laws were codified in 1956, but Muslims continued to be governed by Sharia law. Adjudicating a petition highlighting this discrimination, SC in 1996 had said such a comparison was not possible and reforms in personal law and religious activities were a gradual process.
"There cannot be any comparison with Hindu religious endowment boards as they deal with religion and rituals. But the boards deal with management of waqf properties, which is a secular activity, and the state has the power to regulate it through legislation. None of the petitioners has challenged Parliament's legislative competence to enact the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025," the SG said.
He said the JPC had consulted Archaeological Survey of India on ancient monuments being taken out of the purview of waqf. ASI said while religious activities, which have been going on for years, had not been stopped in protected and ancient monuments, waqf boards managing these monuments as waqfs had unilaterally allowed commercial activities in these ancient spaces, hindering preservation and conservation works.
Mehta said in certain cases, waqf boards had restrained ASI from carrying out repair and restoration work in ancient monuments.
Source: indiatimes.com
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/waqf-boards-and-hindu-endowment-boards-cant-be-compared-centre-in-sc/articleshow/121324856.cms
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Muslim author, Hindu translator: Duo ignites Kannada literary pride
May 22, 2025
The International Booker Prize win for Heart Lamp has triggered an outpouring of joy across Karnataka, with Kannadigas hailing it as a watershed moment for regional literature. The recognition comes at a time when Kannada literature, despite its rich legacy, has not seen a Jnanpith Award since Chandrashekhara Kambara win in 2010. Kannda once held the record for most Jnanpiths, but it has been overtaken by Hindi. The Booker win, therefore, is being celebrated as a long-awaited moment of global recognition.
Mushtaq's literary journey is rooted in rebellion. In the early 1980s, she penned a powerful article rebuking a fatwa issued against a Muslim woman. The only publication bold enough to carry it was Lankesh Patrike, the tabloid run by literary icon P Lankesh.
"This award has undoubtedly put the spotlight on Kannada," said Basavaraju Megalakeri, Mushtaq's colleague at Lankesh Patrike. "But one cannot overlook the symbolism; a Muslim woman author and a Hindu woman translator together bringing Kannada to the global stage. Whether intended or not, it is powerful."
Renowned literary critic Prof Asha Devi MS, who wrote the foreword to Heart Lamp, said the award will resonate with women writers. "Women writers have been congratulating one another ever since the news broke. It feels like a victory for every woman," Devi said. "The male-centric myth often claims women lack unity. That notion has been shattered by this collective celebration."
Heart Lamp draws from decades of Mushtaq's writing, transcending religious and gender identities. "Sara Aboobacker gave us context for the struggle of Muslim women. Mushtaq took it beyond that. Her work speaks to universal human experiences, not just experiences of women or Muslim women," Devi added.
In one of Mushtaq's most evocative stories, Omme Hennagu Prabhuve, the protagonist with God to become a woman for a day to understand the dangers women face.
"This is not plea of just Muslim women, or women from one region or country," Devi said. "It's a plea rooted in shared human experience. The greatest impact of Banu Mushtaq is her ability to bring women characters out of boundaries set for them. She gives them dignity and a stamp of human experience."
Though often associated with the Bandaya (rebel) school of literature, Devi argues that Mushtaq's style is more reflective than angry. "The essence of Bandaya is outrage (aakrosha), but when you're overwhelmed by outrage, truth can't be seen from all angles. Mushtaq's writing carries a tranquillity that enables a deeper, more nuanced engagement with truth."
Source: indiatimes.com
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/muslim-author-hindu-translator-duo-ignites-kannada-literary-pride/articleshow/121322952.cms
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Europe
Danish Conservative Party Seeks to Limit Work Permits for Citizens of Muslim Nations
May 21, 2025
By Arta Desku
Denmark’s Conservative party has proposed to tighten work permit rules for people from Muslim countries planning to go to Denmark for work purposes.
According to the party, such measures would help the country to enhance national security, Schengen.News reports.
As the Local explained, Denmark’s Conservative Party wants to make the process stricter for internationals from “Menapt” countries (the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Türkiye).
He said that it should be acknowledged that what may be in the short-term interest of business is not necessarily in the long-term interest of Denmark.
However, the Confederation of Danish Industry (Dansk Industri, DI) shares a different opinion.
According to a report from the Local, the largest business and employers’ organisation in Denmark shares a different opinion.
MENAPT countries consist of the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Türkiye, which means that if the Conservative party’s plan moves forward, nationals from the following countries would be affected:
Middle East: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Israel, Palestine
North Africa: Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Sudan
Pakistan
Türkiye
Under the existing rules, people from countries outside the European Union can get permission to live and work in Denmark if they are offered a job that meets the minimum salary threshold. These rules apply to all non-EU countries, apart from exceptions from the EU freedom of movement.
It is still not clear if Denmark’s Conservative proposal will gain enough support in parliament. However, the Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, previously said that the immigration numbers are important and that the number of foreign workers in Denmark should be limited, according to the Local.
Authorities in Denmark have tightened rules for foreign students from third countries who want to access the Danish labour market, after reports of misuse of student residence permits for work permits.
Source: schengenvisainfo.com
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https://schengenvisainfo.com/news/danish-conservative-party-seeks-to-limit-work-permits-for-citizens-of-muslim-nations/
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UK anti-Islam activist 'Tommy Robinson' charged with harassment of two men
21 May 2025
LONDON (Reuters) -Prominent British anti-Islam activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon has been charged with harassment causing fear of violence to two men around the time of the nationwide riots last year, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
"We have authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, 42, with harassment causing fear of violence against two men," a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesperson said in a statement.
Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, is currently in prison over a separate contempt of court issue but is due to be released next week after winning a bid on Tuesday to trim the 18-month sentence.
The CPS said the alleged offences were committed between August 5 and 7 last year — when riots broke out at anti-immigration protests in towns and cities across Britain following the murder of three young girls in Southport, northwest England.
Yaxley-Lennon, who describes himself as a journalist who exposes state wrongdoing and counts U.S. billionaire Elon Musk among his supporters, was accused by some media and politicians of inflaming tensions at the time of the riots.
Source: yahoo.com
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https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uk-anti-islam-activist-tommy-144207769.html
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France revives Devil's Island legacy with new supermax prison to deport Islamists to French Guiana
21 May, 2025
France's plan to build a high-security prison in its South American territory of French Guiana, specifically to house drug traffickers and individuals convicted of terrorism-related offences, has triggered a wave of condemnation from local officials and residents, who accuse Paris of reviving colonial-era practices by using the territory as a penal dumping ground.
The 500-capacity facility, first announced in 2017 and now scheduled for completion by 2028, will include a 60-inmate supermax wing designed to isolate key figures in drug trafficking networks and suspected Islamist militants.
Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin confirmed the project over the weekend during a visit to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, a remote town near the Surinamese border that once served as a key outpost in France's penal colony system, home to the infamous Devil's Island and the setting of the novel Papillon.
Darmanin described the prison as France's third "high-security" facility, strategically placed to keep high-level offenders far from their criminal networks.
"My strategy is simple," he told reporters. "Hit organised crime at all levels, from source to consumer."
He said 15 of the supermax wing's cells would be allocated for radicalised Islamist inmates. The €400 million ($451 million) complex will include a courtroom, and staffing priority will go to people from French Guiana and France's Caribbean territories.
But the announcement has provoked backlash across the territory, with officials denouncing what they describe as a unilateral decision made without local consultation.
Jean-Paul Fereira, acting president of the Guianese Territorial Collectivity, expressed "astonishment and indignation" over the project, saying local lawmakers were blindsided by the scope of the plan.
"We discovered, along with the entire population of Guiana, the details through a national newspaper," he said in a statement Sunday.
According to Fereira, the 2017 agreement with Paris was for a standard correctional facility to alleviate overcrowding, not a supermax prison intended to house dangerous criminals from mainland France.
"This project undermines our dignity," he said.
He also warned that French Guiana should not be used to warehouse France’s most problematic inmates.
Jean-Victor Castor, a member of France's National Assembly representing French Guiana, also accused the government of exploiting the territory's peripheral status.
"It's an insult to our history, a political provocation, and a colonial regression," Castor wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Gabriel Attal calling for the immediate withdrawal of the project.
Source: newarab.com
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https://www.newarab.com/news/france-revives-devils-island-legacy-supermax-islamist-jail
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Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups tried to influence EU: Report
MAY 21, 2025
PARIS — A bombshell report from the French authorities alleges that organizations with links to the Muslim Brotherhood have been attempting to influence European Union institutions through “significant lobbying activities.”
A version of the document seen by POLITICO before its official publication says the Islamist group’s supposed ideological allies sought to push Brussels to criminalize blasphemy and promote a “singular” vision of religious freedom that clashes with France’s strict model of a secular state that protects both freedom of religion and freedom from religion. The European Parliament and MEPs were “particularly targeted,” the report said.
The French Ministry of the Interior had been expected to release a sanitized version of the document, which would not include the names of sources that could be endangered by its release and mentions of ongoing legal cases, on Wednesday after it was discussed during a national security council meeting chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Following the meeting, Macron’s office said the report would be released by the end of the week.
The version of the report seen by POLITICO alleges that the Muslim Brotherhood, which was founded more than 100 years ago in Egypt with the aim of creating a state ruled by Islamic law, is pushing its agenda via several pan-European organizations that share the group’s ideology and have received money from Qatar and Kuwait, states known to fund both Muslim and Islamist causes overseas.
Among the organizations listed were the Council of European Muslims (CEM) and the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO). The report claimed that members of the Brotherhood’s inner circle were members of CEM and that FEMYSO was used as a “training structure” for Muslim Brotherhood officials.
FEMYSO in a statement strongly denied the allegations while CEM did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.
The reports’ findings, which are based on dozens of interviews with academics, Muslim leaders and intelligence officers, are similar to those of a government review published in the United Kingdom a decade ago.
The report alleged that the Muslim Brotherhood waged parts of its influence campaign under the guise of combatting Islamophobia, but at times struggled to tie specific pieces of purported evidence, like an anti-discrimination campaign featuring the slogan “freedom is in hijab,” directly to the group.
France has in recent days gone to great lengths to protect its secular nature. Earlier this week, France’s Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad called for tighter checks on the way the EU allocates grants following allegations that Brussels funded campaigns that did not respect the country’s secular values, and purportedly entities linked to Islamist movements.
Macron has tasked his government with proposing measures to fight the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence, which are expected to be discussed next month, the president’s office said Tuesday.
Early version leaked
An early version of the report was leaked to the conservative daily Le Figaro and right-wing magazine Valeurs Actuelles, an act that one high-ranking member of government, who was granted anonymity to speak freely, attributed to Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.
Retailleau, who had access to the full report due to his role, told reporters earlier this week that the document would demonstrate how “Islamist infiltration is a threat.”
Presidential hopefuls jumped on the leak to put forward their own talking points even before the findings were officially made public. The president of the far-right National Rally, Jordan Bardella, told France Inter on Wednesday morning that the Muslim Brotherhood poses “one of the most existential challenges facing our country.”
And Gabriel Attal — who briefly served as prime minister last year and now leads the centrist pro-Macron Renaissance party — responded by floating a ban on Muslim headscarves for those under 15.
On the left, the far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon accused the government of stoking Islamophobia and “giving credence” to far-right talking points.
“That’s enough! You’re going to destroy the country,” he wrote on X.
Source: politico.eu
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https://www.politico.eu/article/muslim-brotherhood-eu-report-freedom-relgion-campaign/
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Government-commissioned report says Muslim Brotherhood posing threat to French unity
Juliette Jabkhiro
21 May 2025
By Juliette Jabkhiro
PARIS (Reuters) -President Emmanuel Macron convened senior ministers on Wednesday to address a state-commissioned report that accuses the Muslim Brotherhood of waging a covert campaign via local proxies to subvert France's secular values and institutions.
The report called for action to halt what it called a slow-burning spread of "political Islam" posing a threat to social cohesion, drawing swift criticism from members of the Muslim community and some academics.
Under mounting pressure from a rising far-right opposition, Macron has undertaken a crackdown on what he calls Islamist separatism by seeking to limit foreign influence over Muslim institutions and communities.
Now, presidential advisers say Macron wants to tackle what they frame as a long-term Islamist plan to infiltrate state institutions and change them from within.
"The reality of this threat, even if it is long-term and does not involve violent action, highlights the risk of damage to the fabric of society and republican institutions," said an excerpt of the report, a copy of which Reuters obtained.
The government has said it will not publish the report in full. Macron ordered ministers to draw up measures in response to the report for another government meeting in June.
The report said the Islamist campaign was focusing on schools, mosques and local non-governmental organisations, with the aim of influencing rule-making at local and national levels, notably concerning secularism and gender equality.
The report describes the Musulmans de France (Muslims of France) association as the "national branch" of the Muslim Brotherhood, a global Islamist organisation that was founded in Egypt in 1928 as part of a movement to end colonial rule.
The Brotherhood's stated goal is to establish sharia (Islamic law) through peaceful political means. It is banned in several Arab countries including Egypt.
DENIAL OF MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD LINK
Musulmans de France denies belonging to the Brotherhood, according to the report. Its leader was not immediately available for comment.
Azzedine Gaci, head of the Villeurbanne mosque near Lyon that is cited in the report, denied ties with the Brotherhood and said the report was a "slap in the face" after he has worked in close collaboration with French authorities for years.
Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, hardline Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the report underlined a clear threat from the Muslim Brotherhood. "Its ultimate goal is to shift all of French society to sharia," he said.
France's Muslim population numbers over 6 million, the largest in Europe.
The report's conclusions stated that no recent evidence indicated Musulmans de France wished to establish an Islamic state in France or enforce sharia.
Haoues Seniguer, a researcher specialising in political Islam, said that while Musulmans de France held a conservative vision of Islam, it had no ambition to transform French society into an Islamic one.
"In the public debate and politicians' words, there is a tendency to act as if the distant heirs of the Muslim Brotherhood today had the exact same views as the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1928. (This) makes absolutely no sense."
Macron denies stigmatising Muslims and says Islam has a place in French society. However, civic rights and Muslim groups say the government is increasingly impinging on religious freedom, making it harder for Muslims to express their identity. They cite a crackdown on several Muslim schools as an example.
"Our teachings have always been respectful of republican values," Makhlouf Mameche, head of the National Federation for Muslim Education, told Reuters. "Our goal is to make sure our pupils succeed."
Source: yahoo.com
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A spiritual journey from Spain to Mecca: Meet the Muslims reviving the historic Andalusian route to Hajj on horseback
21 May, 2025
As the Hajj season begins, Muslims around the world are preparing their journey for the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Many will start looking at flights to Saudi Arabia, booking their tickets and packing their bags.
But for one group of Muslims, their journey this year looks a little different.
Starting their trip six months ago, three men set off for the sacred pilgrimage from Spain's southern province of Huelva, in hopes of replicating the spiritual journey made by Spanish pilgrims by land on horseback.
The ambitious expedition came about when Dr Abdallah Hernández was studying to become a geography and history teacher in Spain 30 years ago.
Although he had memorised several chapters of his country’s history, it was Al-Andalus, the Islamic kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, that stood out to him — in particular, the Muslim pilgrimage from the early 8th century struck his heart.
He was fascinated and promised himself he would become Muslim, and one day, perform Hajj in the same way his ancestors once did.
The men went through the South of Europe until reaching Turkey and then downwards across the Middle East to finally arrive at Saudi Arabia.
"Every day was an achievement on its own," Abdelkader Harkassi, one of the horsemen, tells The New Arab as he rejoices at the result of his efforts after such an arduous and courageous journey.
"Each night we were able to reach a place to camp after hours riding, it was a blessing," he adds, while taking a well-deserved break to recount the story to The New Arab as the group finally enters the doors of Saudi Arabia.
Abdelkader was born a Muslim after his grandmother converted to Islam in the mid-1900s when she married his grandfather during Spain’s protectorate in Morocco.
Although taking inspiration from Andalusian travellers like Ibn Jubayr, who either travelled across North Africa or took a ship through the Mediterranean sea before entering the Arabian desert, Abdelkader and his group’s route resembled more what the Muslim Spaniards who stayed in the peninsula incognito after the fall of Granada would take: travelling through Christian lands not to expose themselves as Muslim pilgrims.
“We did the route we could, as crossing North Africa was impossible given that Morocco and Algeria have their borders closed, and Libya finds itself in a difficult and unstable moment,” says Abdelkader.
Six months of travelling and years of prior training to keep an old promise, the men aimed to show the world that Spanish Muslims still exist, with hopes of being able to unite the Muslim world under a practice that once connected people through a shared journey.
Years of preparation and countless obstacles, compensated with widespread solidarity
Using horses to travel long distances was the norm during those centuries, and they were used among some pilgrims before switching to camels to survive the desert. However, using the same horses for 7,000 km straight is quite an achievement.
“We started to train every year, with long sessions of two weeks both in the summer and the winter, crossing Spain from east to west, from south to north, across Portugal," Abdelkader shares.
"We had to test our equipment, our horses, our clothing, our physical and mental state and the camaraderie between us as a team.”
The training, though, did not consider a small detail: while Hajj journeys and caravans worked in a time when people were able to move freely across borders, modern maps are not made for Muslim pilgrims wanting to make the route by land, less so on horseback.
Their research concluded that, without a temporary importation permit or the justification to attend a race or a show, horses could not cross most countries.
The group was particularly scared of Saudi Arabia, where the government has in recent years been stricter ahead of the Hajj season to avoid logistical issues. Worries that, in the end, ended up not being a problem.
“We entered Saudi Arabia with our horses, without the authorities even asking about them. I don't think they even saw our passports, did they? They didn't even ask for them,” Abdelkader recounts gratefully.
“Allah has opened the doors for us along the way so that everything is easy.”
This ease also comes from having become popular faces worldwide, making impressive scenes every time they crossed a town, especially as the group entered Bosnia and Herzegovina and started their route through Muslim-majority countries.
Dozens of Muslims gathered to welcome them at every stop, even calling the attention of major institutions.
In Turkey, the horsemen had meetings with ministers, governors and even with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had to cancel at the last minute as protests spread across the country at the time.
In some of those encounters, the representatives apologised for their ancestors not coming to the aid of Muslims when they were about to be expelled from Spain, says Abdelkader.
In Syria, where the country is still processing the ousting of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad and trying to keep a smooth transition, the arrival of the Spanish pilgrims was a moment of communal joy, more so in cities like Aleppo, Homs or Daraa, where the Assad regime had left more devastation.
“They kept chanting that they were our ancestors, since Syrians are the sons of the Umayyads, those who settled in Al-Andalus. To most people, we reminded them of the stories of their grandparents, the stories that were left in the families, or the history books," Abdelkader adds.
Reviving a centuries-long tradition
“From very early on since the Muslim presence in the Iberian Peninsula, those who wanted to be trained in the world of knowledge, especially in the world of religious knowledge, had to go to study abroad, and generally the trip was also associated with the Hajj pilgrimage,” Maribel Fierro, a researcher at the Spanish National Research Council, tells The New Arab.
“It was something costly that entailed great dangers,” Maribel adds. “Those who did it are, above all, people from the world of knowledge, doing it also to gain reputation, as they could then bear the name of ‘Hajj’ and return to Al-Andalus with a curriculum that gave them a certain status to, perhaps, stand out from other competitors for power positions.”
Tyler Kynn, a history professor at Central Connecticut State University, explains that apart from Ibn Jubayr, an Arab geographer, traveller and poet from Al-Andalus, the main travel accounts explaining the journey that Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula might have taken are those of Al-Ayyashi and Ibn al-Tayyib from Fez.
“Ibn al-Tayyib talks about when they get lost from their caravan because there was a sandstorm," Tyler continues.
"They woke up and the rest of the Egyptian caravan had already departed, and they did not know where to go,” he explains, describing some of the challenges that were experienced while performing Hajj at a time when it could cost pilgrims their lives.
“For many pilgrims, when you read either medieval or early modern travel narratives, Hajj is very much the journey, the destination is the destination,” Tyler adds.
“Most of what they are writing about is the difficulty of the journey, and how they have to overcome sandstorms, disease, bandits, lack of water, all these things that are obviously very different from the modern Hajj experience where you can take a flight to Jeddah.”
Another important factor that characterised Hajj journeys was the people that were met on the way. “It was a global multicultural space with all these people from across the Islamic world coming in and gathering, a place of encounter and understanding, making Mecca and Medina arguably the most diverse places in the medieval and early modern world,” he adds.
A spiritual journey bringing awareness and fighting prejudices
While Abdelkader embarked on this journey wanting to help a friend keep an old promise, he and his other colleagues soon understood the true meaning of pilgrimage.
“Travelling overland, you start to feel attached to the countryside, to the animals, to the plants, to the weather… You start to have a kind of intuition, to understand the movement of the clouds, or even to sense where the qibla (the direction towards the Kaaba in Mecca) might be without looking at the phone,” Abdelkader emotionally recounts.
“From there we meet people, we get to know cultures, we get to know the generosity of both Muslims and non-Muslims, because a large part of the trip was through Europe.”
The trip also helped break stereotypes among those who had a negative perception about Islam and Muslims. The horsemen share that many people who encountered them confessed they did not have good references of Muslims, given what they saw on television, but they were grateful that the Spanish pilgrims showed them another image: that of Spaniards, Europeans being Muslims, dedicated to this spiritual journey.
“Everywhere we went, we were known as the ‘Spanish pilgrims’, people called us by our nationality and our religion together, without a difference,” says Abdelkader with pride.
“It has reinforced our identity in a very beautiful way, and we feel privileged and proud to have put Spanish Muslims on the map, so that people know about them.”
Despite their pride, the group feels a bit disappointed that Spanish media have barely talked about them, except for a few local channels.
Even if they have been mentioned by international outlets worldwide, their objective is to spread the word among Spaniards so that they get to know their history and heritage, and feel proud of it too, they explain.
They also hope that their achievement serves to encourage other Muslims to take on similar journeys, not necessarily on horseback, but through different countries to revive that sense of diversity and unity that once inspired civilisations across the Muslim world to seek knowledge, enhance their spirituality, connect with their environment and meet new people.
Source: newarab.com
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https://www.newarab.com/features/reviving-historic-andalusian-route-hajj-horseback
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North America
Trump ambushes S African leader with claim of Afrikaners being 'persecuted'
May 22, 2025
A meeting meant to soothe tensions between the US and South Africa instead spiralled as President Donald Trump put his counterpart on the defensive with claims that white farmers in his nation were being killed and "persecuted".
On Wednesday, a week after the US granted asylum to nearly 60 Afrikaners - a move that rankled South Africa - President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the White House to reset the countries' relations.
Instead, Trump surprised Ramaphosa during a live news conference with widely discredited claims of a "white genocide" in South Africa.
He played a video showing an exhibit during a protest of several crosses lining a road - claiming they were burial sites for murdered white farmers.
Trump said he did not know where in South Africa it was filmed. The crosses, in fact, are not actual graves, but appear to be from a 2020 protest after a farming couple was killed in KwaZulu-Natal province. Organisers said at the time that they are an exhibit representing farmers killed over years.
Before Wednesday's White House meeting, South Africa's leader stressed that improving trade relations with the US was his priority. South African exports into the US face a 30% tariff once a pause on Trump's new import taxes ends in July.
Ramaphosa hoped to charm Trump during the meeting, bringing along two famous South African golfers and gifting him a huge book featuring his country's golf courses.
The meeting came days after the arrival of 59 white South Africans in the US, where they were granted refugee status. Ramaphosa said at the time they were "cowards".
Still, the Oval Office meeting began cordially, until Trump asked for the lighting to be lowered for a video presentation. The mood shifted.
The film featured the voice of leading South African opposition figure Julius Malema singing: "Shoot the Boer [Afrikaner], Shoot the farmer". It then showed a field of crosses, which the US president, talking over the images, said was a burial site of white farmers.
He handed Ramaphosa what appeared to be print-outs of stories of white people being attacked in South Africa. Trump said that he would seek an "explanation" from his guest on claims of white "genocide" in South Africa, which have been widely discredited.
Ramaphosa responded to the opposition chants in the video, saying, "What you saw - the speeches that were made... that is not government policy. We have a multiparty democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves."
"Our government policy is completely against what he [Malema] was saying even in the parliament and they are a small minority party, which is allowed to exist according to our constitution."
Ramaphosa said Wednesday that he hoped Trump would listen to the voices of South Africans on this issue. He pointed out the white members of his delegation, including golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, and South Africa's richest man, Johann Rupert.
"If there was a genocide, these three gentlemen would not be here," Ramaphosa said.
Trump interrupted: "But you do allow them to take land, and then when they take the land, they kill the white farmer, and when they kill the white farmer nothing happens to them."
"No," Ramaphosa responded.
The US leader seemed to be referencing that Malema and his party, who is not part of the government, have the power to confiscate land from white farmers, which they do not.
A controversial law signed by Ramaphosa earlier this year allows the government to seize privately-owned land without compensation in some circumstances. The South African government says no land has been seized yet under the act.
Ramaphosa did acknowledge that there was "criminality in our country... people who do get killed through criminal activity are not only white people, the majority of them are black people".
Referring to the crosses in the video, Trump said, "The farmers are not black. I don't say that's good or bad, but the farmers are not black..."
South Africa does not release race-based crime figures, but the latest figures show that nearly 10,000 people were murdered in the country between October and December 2024. Of these, a dozen were killed in farm attacks and of the 12, one was a farmer, while five were farm dwellers and four were employees, who are likely to have been black.
Claims of genocide in South Africa have circulated among right-wing groups for years. In February, a South African judge dismissed the claims as "clearly imagined" and "not real", when ruling in an inheritance case involving a donation to white supremacist group.
As Trump pressed the issue, Ramaphosa stayed calm - and tried to work his charm by making a joke about offering a plane to the US.
He invoked the name of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, saying South Africa remained committed to racial reconciliation.
When a journalist asked what would happen if white farmers left South Africa, Ramaphosa deflected the question to his white agriculture minister, John Steenhuisen, who said that most farmers wanted to stay.
But Trump kept firing salvoes at Ramaphosa, who avoided entering into a shouting match with him - something that happened to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when he met Trump in the same room in February.
After the confrontation, Malema mocked the meeting, describing it as "a group of older men meet in Washington to gossip about me."
"No significant amount of intelligence evidence has been produced about white genocide. We will not agree to compromise our political principles on land expropriation without compensation for political expediency," he posted on X.
Patrick Gaspard, former US ambassador to South Africa under then-President Barack Obama, called the meeting "truly embarrassing".
"It is clear that a trap was set for the South African president. There was every intention to humiliate him, to embarrass South Africa, by extension," he said.
The head of South Africa's most prominent Afrikaners interest group told the BBC Wednesday night that "there are real issues that need to be addressed" when asked about the Trump/Ramaphosa meeting.
Asked whether Afriforum, a South African NGO representing Afrikaners in the country, helped make the video shown in the White House Oval Office, CEO Kallie Kriel said the group has "used some of that video footage in some of our videos, but in terms of that specific compilation, we did not make that."
"That video material is quite easily accessible to many people, but I think that video was very important to just get the shift to a situation that there can't be denialism, and if there is (sic) going to be solutions, then there are real issues that need to be addressed. And I think that video made the point quite strongly," she said.
Tensions between South Africa and the US are not new.
Days after Trump took office for his second term in January, Ramaphosa signed into law the controversial bill that allows South Africa's government to expropriate privately-owned land in cases when it is deemed "equitable and in the public interest".
The move only served to tarnish the image of Africa's biggest economy in the eyes of the Trump administration - already angered by its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
In February, the US president announced the suspension of critical aid to South Africa and offered to allow members of the Afrikaner community - who are mostly white descendants of early Dutch and French settlers - to settle in the US as refugees.
South Africa's ambassador to Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, was also expelled in March after accusing Trump of "mobilising a supremacism" and trying to "project white victimhood as a dog whistle".
Source: bbc.com
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US accepts Qatari plane into Air Force One fleet
May 22, 2025
The US has accepted a plane intended for the Air Force One fleet from Qatar, a gift that has sparked criticism including from some of President Trump's biggest supporters.
"The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations," Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on Wednesday.
The plane will need to be modified before it can be used as part of Air Force One - the president's official mode of air transport.
The White House insists that the gift is legal, but the announcement of the transfer a week ago caused huge controversy.
The plane is a gift from the Qatari royal family and is estimated to be worth $400m (£300m). The White House says that the new plane will be transferred to Trump's presidential library at the end of his term.
It could require years to fit with additional security systems and upgrades required to carry the president - including the ability to withstand the electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear blast, and to refuel mid-flight.
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Defense and Security Department, says the costs of such retrofitting could easily run to $1bn (£750m).
Justifying the transfer a week ago Trump said: "They're giving us a gift". The president has also said it would be "stupid" to turn down the plane.
The US Constitution has a provision known as the Emoluments Clause, which prohibits gifts to public officials from foreign governments without permission of Congress. The transfer has not received congressional approval.
The president has argued that the plane transfer is legal because it is being given to the US defence department, and not to him personally. He also insisted he would not use it after leaving office.
The current Air Force One fleet includes two 747-200 jets which have been in use since 1990, along with several smaller 757s.
Trump has expressed his displeasure at the aircraft manufacturer Boeing, which has been contracted to provide the White House with two 747-8s directly.
His team negotiated to receive them during his first term in office, though there have been repeated delays and Boeing has cautioned that they will not be available for two or three more years.
Trump surreptitiously visited the Qatari plane in Palm Beach, near his Mar-a-Lago resort, just a few weeks after the start of his second term in office.
The president insists there is no quid-pro-quo involved and that the plane is a simple exchange between two allies.
On Truth Social he wrote: "The Defense Department is getting a gift, free of charge, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40-year-old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction."
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani has said the transfer "is a government-to-government transaction.
"It has nothing to do with personal relationships - neither on the US side, nor the Qatari side. It's between the two defence ministries," he said.
But those assertions have done little to calm the criticism of the deal, including from a number of Trump's allies in Congress and the right-wing media.
"I think it's not worth the appearance of impropriety, whether it's improper or not," Rand Paul, Republican senator from Kentucky, told Fox News.
"I wonder if our ability to judge [Qatar's] human rights record will be clouded by the fact of this large gift," Paul said.
Another Republican senator, Ted Cruz of Texas, said accepting the gift would pose "significant espionage and surveillance problems".
Source: bbc.com
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Trump administration to scrap police reform measures in some US cities
May 22, 2025
The Trump administration said it will roll back Biden-era police reform efforts in cities where there has been controversy over high-profile police killings and brutality.
The US justice department said on Wednesday it will be dismissing oversight agreements reached with the police departments in Louisville, Kentucky and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
It will also be scrapping investigations into police constitutional violations in six other cities, including Phoenix and Memphis.
The announcement comes just days before the fifth anniversary of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in 2020 after being arrested in Minneapolis, sparking protests and a national reckoning on racial inequ
The police officer involved, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of murder charges and is serving a 22-year prison sentence.
Announcing the move, the Department of Justice criticised the Biden administration for enacting "sweeping" oversight agreements "that would have imposed years of micromanagement" of local police by federal courts.
The agreements would were "handcuffing" local departments, said Harmeet K Dhillon, the assistant attorney general of the justice department's civil rights division
The justice department said it will also move to dismiss two lawsuits filed against police in Louisville and Minneapolis that accuse law enforcement of unconstitutional police practices.
Investigations into several other police departments will also be closed.
The Department of Justice under former President Joe Biden, led by then-attorney general Merrick Garland, had opened civil investigations into 12 state and local law enforcement agencies since 2021.
Four of those - in Minneapolis, Louisville, Phoenix and Lexington, Mississippi - were completed, and issued reports of systemic police misconduct.
The investigations were a result of mounting public pressure to address instances of police brutality after several high-profile cases of police killings of black Americans, which led to accusations of systemic racism against law enforcement agencies across the US.
Among those cases are the deaths of Mr Floyd and Breonna Taylor, a hospital worker who was shot multiple times and killed in Louisville as officers stormed her home in "no-knock" raid in 2020.
An ex-officer with the Louisville Metro Police, Brett Hankison, was found guilty of using excessive force in Ms Taylor's death.
The Biden-era justice department reached accountability agreements with both the Louisville and Minneapolis police departments, but they were not formally enacted.
They included measures like enhanced training, accountability, and improved data collection of police activity.
The Trump administration said those findings relied on "flawed methodologies and incomplete data".
The move comes amid a large upheaval of the justice department's civil rights division since Trump's re-election.
Around 70% of the department's lawyers have quit, according to current and former officials who spoke to NPR, over concerns of its changing priorities under the new Trump administration.
Source: bbc.com
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Judge says US deportations to South Sudan violate court order
May 22, 2025
A federal judge has said the deportation of eight men to South Sudan "unquestionably" violated his order that migrants must be allowed to challenge their removal to third countries.
Judge Brian Murphy's finding on Wednesday was the latest turn in a fast-evolving dispute.
One day earlier, he ordered US authorities to keep custody of the men, over concerns that the US had violated his injunction against sending migrants to countries other than their own without allowing them to raise concerns.
The Department of Homeland Security has said it was seeking to deport "uniquely barbaric monsters" who were convicted of crimes including murder, and South Sudan was not their final destination.
At a hearing on Wednesday Judge Murphy said the Department of Homeland Security's attempts to deport the men "are unquestionably violative of this court's order", according to CBS News, the BBC's US partner.
"I don't see how anybody could say that these individuals had a meaningful opportunity to object," Judge Murphy said.
Justice Department attorneys said his orders were unclear and had led to "misunderstanding".
Earlier, a lawyer for the Justice Department confirmed the aircraft carrying the deportees had landed but did not say where, citing "very serious operational and safety concerns", as reported by Reuters.
The judge has said he would decide on another day whether he would hold Homeland Security officials in contempt of court.
Earlier on Wednesday, the department shared on X the photographs, nationalities and criminal convictions of eight men on board the deportation flight.
They are listed as citizens of Cuba, Laos, Mexico, South Sudan, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
Department spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told a briefing earlier on Wednesday: "Every single one of them was convicted of a heinous crime, murder, rape, child rape, rape of a mentally and physically handicapped victim."
She said it was "absurd for a US judge to try to dictate the foreign policy and national security of the US".
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons said: "If we don't have a country that'll take their citizens back, we do have an option to find a safe third country."
They did not specify where the migrants might ultimately be bound.
Judge Murphy issued a ruling on 18 April requiring that illegal migrants have a "meaningful opportunity" to challenge their removal to countries other than their homelands.
After learning the men were on a flight leaving the country, he quickly scheduled a hearing on Tuesday where he said the migrants must remain in the government's custody and be "treated humanely". He did not order the plane to turn back to the US.
One of the deported men was Nyo Myint, a citizen of Myanmar. According to homeland security, he had been convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to 12 years of confinement. He was arrested by immigration authorities on 19 February, and was detained in Texas.
In August 2023, an immigration court in Omaha, Nebraska, issued Myint a final order of removal, according to court documents filed by groups representing multiple deportees.
His immigration attorney, Jonathan Ryan, told the BBC that his client had received two conflicting deportation notices on 19 May.
The first, which arrived at about 10:59 local time, notified Myint he would be sent to South Africa, but subsequent several hours later declared he would be taken to South Sudan.
Both notices were provided in English, a language that Mr Ryan said his client barely speaks. On Tuesday, Mr Ryan said he was notified that Myint was being removed from the country.
"I have no idea where he is," Mr Ryan said. "He's been disappeared by the United States government."
Mr Ryan acknowledged his client's criminal record, but said he and the other deportees were still entitled to the same due process rights as any other individual.
"These people were purposefully selected by the government for this maneuver, to divert our attention from the government's blatant disregard for a federal judicial order," he said.
"If we allow the government to pick and choose who deserves due process and who has rights, we're relinquishing all rights," he said.
As it accelerates and expands deportations, the Trump administration is working with other countries to accept both their citizens removed from the US, as well as citizens of other nations. Most notably, it sent migrants it said were originally from Venezuela to a mega-prison in El Salvador.
Rwanda confirmed it was in such talks with the US, while Benin, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini and Moldova have all been named in media reports.
In early April, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the US was revoking visas issued to all South Sudanese passport holders because the African nation was refusing to accept its citizens who had been removed from the US.
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Carney says Canada in talks to join Trump's Golden Dome defence system
May 22, 2025
Canadian Prime Minister Markey Carney has said that "high level" talks are taking place with the US about joining its proposed "Golden Dome" missile defence system, aimed at countering futuristic threats.
US President Donald Trump unveiled the plan for the new missile defence system on Tuesday, announcing an initial total cost of $25bn (£18.7bn). He said Canada was interested in joining the project.
There are doubts from experts on how the US would deliver a comprehensive system and it is unclear how Canada would participate or how much it would pay.
"It's something that we are looking at and something that has been discussed at a high level," Carney told reporters on Wednesday.
Carney was asked by a reporter following a cabinet meeting on Wednesday whether Canada would join the military project, and how much it would spend.
"I'm not going to put a price tag," on it at this stage, Carney began.
"We are conscious that we have an ability, if we so choose, to complete the Golden Dome with investments and partnership," he said.
"But I'm not sure one negotiates on this. These are these are military decisions. And we will evaluate it accordingly."
Canada's openness to joining the proposed Golden Dome system comes amid ongoing trade and security negotiations between the two countries, after Trump threatened steep tariffs on Canada and said it would be better off as a US state.
This galvanised a wave of national patriotism in Canada that was credited with ushering in a historic election win for Carney's Liberal government.
A spokeswoman for Carney confirmed earlier that talks were due to take place on the issue.
"Canadians gave the prime minister a strong mandate to negotiate a comprehensive new security and economic relationship with the United States," said Audrey Champoux.
"To that end, the prime minister and his ministers are having wide-ranging and constructive discussions with their American counterparts," she said.
"These discussions naturally include strengthening Norad [North American Aerospace Defense Command] and related initiatives such as the Golden Dome."
On Tuesday, Trump said that Canada has expressed interest in being part of the Golden Dome.
"We'll be talking to them," the US president said. "They want to have protection also, so as usual, we help Canada."
Trump said that the new Golden Dome defence missile programme would be operational by the end of his time in office, and that it would cost $175bn. He added that he his administration is looking for Canada to "pay their fair share."
But the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated the eventual price tag could be $542bn over 20 years, on the space-based parts of the system alone.
Canada and the US already partner on Norad - a system that is responsible for aerospace and maritime surveillance, warning and defence of the region, and that can detect and shoot down cruise missiles.
Norad has been in place since 1958, and both countries in recent years have been engaged in discussions to modernise it.
Trump said the proposed Golden Dome is meant to target increasingly sophisticated aerial weapons, including hypersonic missiles, and will include space-based sensors and interceptors.
He said the system would be "capable even of intercepting missiles launched from the other side of the world, or launched from space".
It is partly inspired by Israel's Iron Dome, which the country has used to intercept rockets and missiles since 2011.
Experts have expressed doubts on whether the US would be able to build a similarly comprehensive defence system, given its larger land mass.
Shashank Joshi, defence editor at the Economist, told the BBC that one way the Golden Dome could work was by using thousands of satellites to spot and track missiles and then use interceptors in orbit to fire at the missiles as they take off and take them out.
He said the US military would take the plan seriously but it was unrealistic to think it would be completed during Trump's term, and the huge cost would suck up a large chunk of the US defence budget.
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Mideast
UK FM Facing Calls To Recognize Palestine Statehood
May 21, 2025
LONDON: The governing Labour Party chair of the foreign affairs committee is pushing for UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy to recognize Palestine as a state, the Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday.
MP Emily Thornberry said the move would be a “first step” if Lammy announced British recognition next month at a high-level conference co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France.
It follows Lammy’s halting of trade talks with Israel and the summoning of the country’s ambassador in response to Tel Aviv’s renewed Gaza offensive.
Labour’s manifesto at the last general election said the party was “committed” to recognizing Palestine within the context of a two-state solution.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long vowed to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Thornberry told the Telegraph: “I think Britain and France should recognize Palestine at the New York conference chaired by Saudi Arabia in June.
“The two signatories of the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement, which created the borders of the Middle East as we see today, would be very powerful.
“It would be a first step in working multilaterally to update Oslo, build on the Arab Deal and create a new peace deal proposal.”
The conference in the US will be held from June 17-20, and aims to galvanize support for the two-state solution.
French diplomats have said the event will likely lead to more countries recognizing Palestine as a state.
David Cameron, who served as foreign secretary in the previous Conservative government, said last year that Britain was weighing whether to recognize Palestine.
In the UN, 139 of 193 member states recognize Palestine, while Israel is recognized by 165. In 2021, the UK abstained in a UN General Assembly vote that granted Palestine “non-member observer” status.
Labour MP Rachael Maskell said: “With the imminent catastrophic loss of life through starvation and military operations, the government must hesitate no longer in fully recognizing the state of Palestine.
“The reprehensible actions of the Israeli government must be held to account, so full sanctions and ceasing all arms sales must also take place immediately.”
Lammy, speaking in the House of Commons this week, condemned Israel’s expansion of the Gaza war as an “affront to the values of British people.” He added: “History will judge them.”
Lammy outlined a series of sanctions against Israeli settlers who are targeting Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank.
“Blocking aid, expanding the war, dismissing the concerns of your friends and partners. This is indefensible and it must stop,” he said.
Some MPs say the government should take further action over the Gaza war, such as a complete arms embargo on Israel and sanctions on senior members of its government, including Netanyahu.
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Israeli opposition leader Yair Golan’s critique of Gaza war toll on Palestinians sparks outcry
May 22, 2025
TEL AVIV, Israel: Killing babies “as a hobby.” “Expelling a population.” “Fighting against civilians.”
It is some of the harshest language against Israel’s wartime conduct in Gaza and it came this week from a prominent Israeli politician, sparking a domestic uproar as the country faces heavy international criticism.
It is not uncommon for politicians to criticize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war strategy, especially his failure to free all the hostages held by Hamas. What made the comments by center-left opposition party leader Yair Golan rare – and jarring to officials across the political spectrum – was their focus on the plight of Palestinians.
The ensuing controversy underscored how little the war’s toll on Gaza’s civilians has figured into the public discourse in Israel – in stark contrast to the rest of the world.
Speaking to the Israeli public radio station Reshet Bet, Golan – a former general – said Israel was becoming a pariah state and cautioned that “a sane country doesn’t engage in fighting against civilians, doesn’t kill babies as a hobby and doesn’t set for itself the goals of expelling a population.”
After the outcry, he said he was referring to the conduct of Israel’s far-right government in his remarks, not of its soldiers.
A rare focus on the plight of Palestinian civilians
Golan’s words were a shock to the system because, outside of the country’s politically marginalized left, criticism focused on Palestinian civilian suffering and deaths has rarely been spoken publicly in Israel.
The reasons for this include: the trauma Israelis still feel over Hamas’ deadly attack on Oct. 7. 2023, Jewish citizens’ deep faith in the righteousness of the military, dozens of hostages remain in Gaza and soldiers are dying to rescue them.
Criticism of the war has focused overwhelmingly on Netanyahu. His opponents believe his own political motives have dictated war strategy and his failure to reach a deal with Hamas to release all the hostages – an accusation he denies.
“Part of the Israeli public and media outlets are still trapped in an obsession over the initial shock that started this war,” said Ehud Olmert, a former prime minister and fierce critic of the current government. “But this is changing and it’s just a matter of time.”
Public opinion polls show that most Israelis support ending the war in exchange for the release of the remaining 58 hostages held by Hamas, around a third of whom are said to be alive.
Opponents of the war have tended to focus on concerns over the fate of the remaining hostages and the risk of soldier casualties in a campaign that many feel has run its course.
While Olmert disputed Golan’s choice of words, he said the essence of his remarks “reflects what many people think.”
Israelis are still traumatized by Hamas’ attack
After Hamas’ 2023 attack, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, Israelis rallied behind the military. They saw the war as a just response to the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. Many Israelis cannot imagine a future where Hamas remains intact.
Israel’s retaliatory war in Gaza has killed more than 53,000 people, mostly women and children, according to local health authorities, whose count doesn’t differentiate between combatants and civilians. The fighting has displaced 90 percent of the territory’s roughly 2 million population, sparked a hunger crisis and obliterated vast swaths of Gaza’s urban landscape.
While international media coverage has largely focused on the war in Gaza and its toll on civilians there, in Israel the media still devotes heavy attention to the Oct. 7 attack itself and the hostage crisis. Photos of those still held captive line the streets.
Stories about the plight of Palestinian civilians are less prominent, and largely avoid the harshest images emanating from Gaza. Most outlets repeat the official line that Hamas is solely to blame for the civilian toll.
For many Jewish Israelis, it is hard to fathom that their own children, most of whom must enlist in Israel’s military, could be committing the crimes that Golan described.
All that has helped solidify a national narrative that views the war as an existential struggle.
“When you fight a war of existence, you don’t much think about the suffering of the enemy,” said Shmuel Rosner, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank.
Golan’s words have sparked outcry before
A former deputy chief of staff of the military, Golan’s words have sparked outcry in the past. The most notable occasion was a 2016 speech marking Israel’s Holocaust remembrance day, when he compared what he said was an increasingly illiberal atmosphere in Israel to that of Nazi-era Germany.
On Oct. 7, Golan donned his uniform and grabbed a gun to help battle militants during Israel’s flailing first response to Hamas’ assault. Olmert called him “one of Israel’s greatest warriors.”
Golan is not the first public figure to have made such remarks about Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
Former defense minister and military chief of staff Moshe Yaalon accused Israel of ethnic cleansing during a major operation last year. Zehava Galon, a former leader of a dovish political party, highlighted the deaths of thousands of children at a recent protest in Tel Aviv.
But unlike them, Golan has his political future at stake, lending more weight to his words.
Pictures of dead Palestinian children
Netanyahu said Golan’s words “echoed disgraceful antisemitic blood libels.” Benny Gantz, an opposition leader, said Golan’s remarks were extreme and false and called on him to recant and apologize, which he did not do. Yair Lapid, another opposition leader, said Golan’s words were “a gift to our enemies.”
Rosner said Golan’s wording was “uncareful” and that instead of triggering introspection, they prompted a media debate over Golan himself and the damage his remarks might cause to Israel.
But they could resonate among the steadfast anti-war protest movement, said Alma Beck, an activist who is part of a small contingent of demonstrators who have been holding up pictures of Palestinian children killed in Gaza ever since Israel ended a ceasefire in March. She said the group began as 20 people and has grown to 600, still just a fraction of the thousands attending the broader anti-government protests.
Beck said the protest movement has been receptive to messages that focus on the Palestinian toll, and more signs with that message have been held up by demonstrators in recent weeks. Their main criticism remains that Netanyahu is continuing the war to appease his governing partners and ensure his own political survival.
“I think there is a shift. I think people are starting to connect the dots,” she said, while noting that the bulk of Israeli society hasn’t changed. “I hope that it will only grow.”
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UN warns of renewed conflict in Syria but offers hope with sanctions lifting
May 22, 2025
UNITED NATIONS: The top UN official for Syria warned Wednesday of the “real dangers of renewed conflict and deeper confrontation” in the war-battered country but also hoped for a better life for its people following decisions by the US and European Union to lift sanctions.
Geir Pedersen noted the fragilities in the multiethnic country and “the urgent need to address the growing polarization.” He pointed to violence against the Druze minority in late April following the killings in Alawite-minority areas in March.
“The challenges facing Syria are enormous, and the real dangers of renewed conflict and deeper fragmentation have not yet been overcome,” he told the UN Security Council.
But Pedersen said the Syrian people are cautiously optimistic that President Donald Trump’s announcement last week that the US will lift sanctions and a similar EU announcement Tuesday will “give them a better chance than before to succeed against great odds.”
Speaking by video from Damascus, Pedersen called sanctions relief, including by the United Kingdom last month, as well as financial and energy support from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye “historic developments.”
“They hold major potential to improve living conditions across the country and to support the Syrian political transition,” the UN special envoy said. “And they give the Syrian people a chance to grapple with the legacy of misrule, conflict, abuses and poverty from which they are trying to emerge.”
Former Syrian President Bashar Assad was ousted in a lightning rebel offensive late last year after a 13-year war, ending more than 50 years of rule by the Assad family. The new Syrian government, led by Ahmad Al-Sharaa, has said Syria’s heritage of coexistence must be preserved at all costs, but the country faces massive challenges.
Today, 90 percent of Syrians live in poverty, with 16.5 million needing protection and humanitarian assistance, including nearly 3 million facing acute food insecurity, Ramesh Rajasingham, the UN humanitarian division’s chief coordinator, told the council.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday that Syria is potentially “on the verge of collapse,” warning that would lead to civil war and the country again becoming “a playground” for the Daesh group and other militants.
Pedersen told the Security Council that IS has been escalating attacks in areas of Syria in recent weeks, with signs of more coordinated operations using improvised explosive devices and medium-range weapons.
Rubio said there’s no guarantee that “things are going to work out” by lifting sanctions and working with Al-Sharaa’s transitional government, but if the US didn’t try, “it’s guaranteed not to work out.” He said Trump’s announcement of sanctions relief has led regional and Arab partner nations to help stabilize the country.
“No one should pretend this is going to be easy, because it’s not,” Rubio said. But if Syria could be stabilized, it would mean broader stability in the region, including Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, he said.
“It is a historic opportunity we hope comes to fruition,” Rubio said. “We’re going to do everything we can to make it succeed.”
John Kelley, political coordinator at the US mission to the United Nations, told the council that “US government agencies are now working to execute the president’s direction on Syria’s sanctions.”
“We look forward to issuing the necessary authorizations that will be critical to bringing new investment into Syria to help rebuild Syria’s economy and put the country on a path to a bright, prosperous and stable future,” he said. “The United States also has taken the first steps toward restoring normal diplomatic relations with Syria.”
Syria’s transitional government is urged to take “bold steps” toward Trump administration expectations, Kelley said, including making peace with Israel, quickly removing foreign militant fighters from the Syrian military, ensuring foreign extremists such as Palestinian militias can’t operate from Syria, and cooperating in preventing the resurgence of the Daesh group.
Syria’s deputy UN ambassador, Riyad Khaddour, praised Trump’s “courageous decision” to lift sanctions as well as his meeting with Al-Sharaa. Khaddour also touted actions by the European Union, UK, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates “to support Syria as it moves forward with confidence and hope.”
“The new Syria” is seeking to become “a state of peace and partnership, not a battleground for conflicts or a platform for foreign ambitions,” he said.
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Rubio says some ‘optimism’ Gaza war could end ‘pretty quickly’
May 21, 2025
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced guarded optimism Wednesday for a solution “pretty quickly” to end the Gaza war.
“I have some level of optimism that we may have breakthrough achievements here pretty quickly, hopefully on an end to this and the release of all the hostages,” Rubio told a congressional hearing.
Rubio acknowledged that he has made such predictions before and said he did not “want to get ahead of myself.”
“I have felt that way now at least four separate times in the last couple of months, and for one reason or another at the last minute, it didn’t happen,” he said.
“I don’t want to be disappointed on it again, but I want you to know there are efforts ongoing to both provide more humanitarian assistance and bring about the end of this conflict.”
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In Syria, a Shiite shrine and community navigate a changed landscape
May 21, 2025
SAYYIDA ZEINAB, Syria: At the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, rituals of faith unfold: worshippers kneel in prayer, visitors raise their palms skyward or fervently murmur invocations as they press their faces against an ornate structure enclosing where they believe the granddaughter of Prophet Muhammad is entombed.
But it’s more than just religious devotion that the golden-domed shrine became known for during Syria’s prolonged civil war.
At the time, the shrine’s protection from Sunni extremists became a rallying cry for some Shiite fighters and Iran-backed groups from beyond Syria’s borders who backed the former government of Bashar Assad. The shrine and the surrounding area, which bears the same name, has emerged as one symbol of how the religious and political increasingly intertwined during the conflict.
An altered landscape after Assad’s ouster
With such a legacy, local Shiite community leaders and members are now navigating a dramatically altered political landscape around Sayyida Zeinab and beyond, after Assad’s December ouster by armed insurgents led by the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS). The complex transition that is underway has left some in Syria’s small Shiite minority feeling vulnerable.
“For Shiites around the world, there’s huge sensitivity surrounding the Sayyida Zeinab Shrine,” said Hussein Al-Khatib. “It carries a lot of symbolism.”
After Assad’s ouster, Al-Khatib joined other Syrian Shiite community members to protect the shrine from the inside. The new security forces guard it from the outside.
“We don’t want any sedition among Muslims,” he said. “This is the most important message, especially in this period that Syria is going through.”
Zeinab is a daughter of the first Shiite imam, Ali, cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad; she’s especially revered among Shiites as a symbol of steadfastness, patience and courage.
She has several titles, such as the “mother of misfortunes” for enduring tragedies, including the 7th-century killing of her brother, Hussein. His death exacerbated the schism between Islam’s two main sects, Sunni and Shiite, and is mourned annually by Shiites.
Zeinab’s burial place is disputed; some Muslims believe it’s elsewhere. The Syria shrine has drawn pilgrims, including from Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. Since Assad’s ouster, however, fewer foreign visitors have come, an economic blow to those catering to them in the area.
The shrine’s locale has faced many attacks
Over the years, the Sayyida Zeinab area has suffered deadly attacks by militants.
In January, state media reported that intelligence officials in Syria’s post-Assad government thwarted a plan by the Daesh group to set off a bomb at the shrine. The announcement appeared to be an attempt by Syria’s new leaders to reassure religious minorities, including those seen as having supported Assad’s former government.
Al-Khatib, who moved his family from Aleppo province to the Sayyida Zeinab area shortly before Assad’s fall, said Assad had branded himself as a protector of minorities. “When killings, mobilization ... and sectarian polarization began,” the narrative “of the regime and its allies was that ‘you, as a Shiite, you as a minority member, will be killed if I fall.’”
The involvement of Sunni militants and some hard-line foreign Shiite fighters fanned sectarian flames, he said.
The Syria conflict began as one of several uprisings against Arab dictators before Assad brutally crushed what started as largely peaceful protests and a civil war erupted. It became increasingly fought along sectarian lines, drew in foreign fighters and became a proxy battlefield for regional and international powers on different sides.
Post-Assad, new tensions center on the shrine
Recently, a red flag reading “Oh, Zeinab” that had fluttered from its dome was removed after some disparaged it as a sectarian symbol.
Sheikh Adham Al-Khatib, a representative of followers of the Twelver branch of Shiism in Syria, said such flags “are not directed against anyone,” but that it was agreed to remove it for now to keep the peace.
“We don’t want a clash to happen. We see that ... there’s sectarian incitement, here and there,” he said.
Earlier, Shiite leaders had wrangled with some endowments ministry officials over whether the running of the shrine would stay with the Shiite endowment trustee as it’s been, he said, adding “we’ve rejected” changing the status quo. No response was received before publication to questions sent to a Ministry of Endowments media official.
Adham Al-Khatib and other Shiite leaders recently met with Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa.
“We’ve talked transparently about some of the transgressions,” he said. “He promised that such matters would be handled but that they require some patience because of the negative feelings that many harbor for Shiites as a result of the war.”
Many, the sheikh said, “are holding the Shiites responsible for prolonging the regime’s life.” This “is blamed on Iran, on Hezbollah and on Shiites domestically,” he said, adding that he believes the conflict was political rather than religious.
Early in the conflict, he said, “our internal Shiite decision was to be neutral for long months.” But, he said, there was sectarian incitement against Shiites by some and argued that “when weapons, kidnappings and killing of civilians started, Shiites were forced to defend themselves.”
Regionally, Assad was backed by Iran and the Shiite militant Lebanese group Hezbollah, whose intervention helped prop up his rule. Most rebels against him were Sunni, as were their patrons in the region.
Besides the shrine’s protection argument, geopolitical interests and alliances were at play as Syria was a key part of Iran’s network of deterrence against Israel.
Emotions can run high; for some, fears persist
Today, rumors and some social media posts can threaten to inflame emotions.
Shrine director Jaaffar Kassem said he received a false video purporting to show the shrine on fire and was flooded with calls about it.
At the shrine, Zaher Hamza said he prays “for safety and security” and the rebuilding of “a modern Syria, where there’s harmony among all and there are no grudges or injustice.”
Is he worried about the shrine? “We’re the ones who are in the protection of Sayyida Zeinab — not the ones who will protect the Sayyida Zeinab,” he replied.
While some Shiites have fled Syria after Assad’s fall, Hamza said he wouldn’t.
“Syria is my country,” he said. “If I went to Lebanon, Iraq or to European countries, I’d be displaced. I’ll die in my country.”
Some are less at ease.
Small groups of women gathered recently at the Sayyida Zeinab courtyard, chatting among themselves in what appeared to be a quiet atmosphere. Among them was Kamla Mohamed.
Early in the war, Mohamed said, her son was kidnapped more than a decade ago by anti-government rebels for serving in the military. The last time she saw him, she added, was on a video where he appeared with a bruised face.
When Assad fell, Mohamed feared for her family.
Those fears were fueled by the later eruption of violence in Syria’s coastal region, where a counteroffensive killed many Alawite civilians — members of the minority sect from which Assad hails and drew support as he ruled over a Sunni majority. Human rights groups reported revenge killings against Alawites; the new authorities said they were investigating.
“We were scared that people would come to us and kill us,” Mohamed said, clutching a prayer bead. “Our life has become full of fear.”
Another Syrian Shiite shrine visitor said she’s been feeling on edge. She spoke on condition she only be identified as Umm Ahmed, or mother of Ahmed, as is traditional, for fear of reprisals against her or her family.
She said, speaking shortly after the coastal violence in March, that she’s thought of leaving the country, but added that there isn’t enough money and she worries that her home would be stolen if she did. Still, “one’s life is the most precious,” she said.
She hopes it won’t come to that.
“Our hope in God is big,” she said. “God is the one protecting this area, protecting the shrine and protecting us.”
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The UN says no aid that has entered Gaza this week has reached Palestinians
May 22, 2025
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza: The UN said Wednesday it was trying to get the desperately needed aid that has entered Gaza this week into the hands of Palestinians amid delays because of fears of looting and Israeli military restrictions. Israeli strikes pounded the territory, killing at least 86 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Under international pressure, Israel has allowed dozens of aid trucks into Gaza after blocking all food, medicine, fuel and other material for nearly three months. But the supplies have been sitting on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the majority of supplies that had entered since Monday had been loaded onto UN trucks, but they could not take them out of the crossing area. He said the road the Israeli military had given them permission to use was too unsafe. Talks were underway for an alternative, he said.
A UN official later said some trucks had left the crossing area, heading for warehouses in Gaza, but there was no immediate confirmation they arrived. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Food security experts have warned that Gaza risks falling into famine unless the blockade ends. Malnutrition and hunger have been mounting. Aid groups ran out of food to distribute weeks ago, and most of the population of around 2.3 million relies on communal kitchens whose supplies are nearly depleted.
At a kitchen in Gaza City, a charity group distributed watery lentil soup.
Somaia Abu Amsha scooped small portions for her family, saying they have not had bread for over 10 days and she can’t afford rice or pasta.
“We don’t want anything other than that they end the war. We don’t want charity kitchens. Even dogs wouldn’t eat this, let alone children,” she said.
Aid groups say the small amount of aid that Israel has allowed is far short of what is needed. About 600 trucks entered daily under the latest ceasefire.
Israeli warning shots shake diplomats
Israeli troops fired warning shots as a group of international diplomats was visiting the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Footage showed a number of diplomats giving media interviews as rapid shots ring out nearby, forcing them to run for cover. No one was reported injured.
The Israeli military said their visit had been approved, but the delegation “deviated from the approved route.” The military said it apologized and will contact the countries involved in the visit.
Israeli troops have raided Jenin dozens of times as part of a crackdown across the West Bank. The fighting displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Netanyahu says population will be moved south
Israel has said its slight easing of the blockade is a bridge until a new distribution system it demands is put in place. The UN and other humanitarian groups have rejected the system, saying it enables Israel to use aid as a weapon and forcibly displace the population.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters the plan will begin “in coming days.”
He said in a subsequent phase, Israel would create a “sterile zone” in the south, free of Hamas, where the population would be moved “for the purposes of its safety.” There, they would receive aid, “and then they enter – and they don’t necessarily go back.”
The plan involves small number of distribution hubs directed by a private, US-backed foundation known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Armed private contractors would guard the distribution.
Israel says the system is needed because Hamas siphons off significant amounts of aid. The UN denies that claim.
Initially, four hubs are being built, one in central Gaza and three at the far southern end of the strip, where few people remain.
A GHF spokesman said the group would never participate in or support any form of forced relocation of civilians. The spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with the group’s rules. said there was no limit to the number of sites and additional sites will open, including in the north, within the next month.
The trickle of aid is jammed
Currently, after supplies enter at Kerem Shalom, aid workers are required to unload them and reload them onto their own trucks for distribution.
Antoine Renard, the World Food Program’s country chief for Palestine, said 78 trucks were waiting. He told The Associated Press that “we need to ensure that we will not be looted.”
Looting has plagued aid deliveries in the past, and at times of desperation people have swarmed aid trucks, taking supplies.
A UN official and another humanitarian worker said the Israeli military had designated a highly insecure route known to have looters. The military also set a short window for trucks to come to Kerem Shalom and rejected a number of individual truck drivers, forcing last-minute replacements, they said. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing aid for Gaza, did not immediately respond when asked for comment.
Hospitals surrounded
Israeli strikes continued across Gaza. In the southern city of Khan Younis, where Israel recently ordered new evacuations pending an expanded offensive, 24 people were killed, 14 from the same family. A week-old infant was killed in central Gaza. In the evening, a strike hit a house in Jabaliya in northern Gaza, killing two children and their parents, according to hospital officials.
The Israeli military did not comment on the strikes. It says it targets Hamas infrastructure and accuses Hamas militants of operating from civilian areas.
Israeli troops also have surrounded two of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospitals, preventing anyone from leaving or entering the facilities, hospital staff and aid groups said this week.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others. The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third believed to be alive, after most were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has destroyed large swaths of Gaza and killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.
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Israel supreme court rules security chief sacking ‘unlawful’, Netanyahu barred from naming new one
May 21, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israel’s supreme court on Wednesday ruled as “unlawful” the government’s decision to fire domestic security chief Ronen Bar in March, a move which had triggered mass protests in the country.
“The Supreme Court ruled that the government’s decision to terminate the head of the Shin Bet’s tenure was made through an improper and unlawful process,” the court ruling said.
The ruling is the latest twist in a judiciary and political affair that shook Israel since the government’s decision to sack Bar in March, which the supreme court froze.
Israel’s government said in late April it had canceled its decision to fire Bar, a day after he announced he would stand down following weeks of tension with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Wednesday’s ruling noted “irregularities” in the process that led to Bar’s sacking, as well as “a disregard for fundamental principles regarding internal security.”
Israel's attorney general on Wednesday barred Netanyahu from appointing the next head of the domestic intelligence agency after the court decision.
“The court ruled that the prime minister acted in a situation of conflict of interest,” Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said, adding that “as a result, he must refrain from any action related to the appointment of a new head of the Shin Bet until legal guidelines are established to ensure the integrity of the process.”
However, Netanyahu said his government would appoint a new chief for the Shin Bet agency despite the attorney general's announcement.
The move to sack Bar sparked large protests across Israel led by the opposition, which saw it as a sign Netanyahu’s government’s was slipping toward autocracy.
Netanyahu had argued that the government was allowed to sack Bar, whom he blames for the security failure that allowed Hamas’ deadly October 7, 2023, attack to unfold.
Noting Bar’s decision to quit the job, the supreme court ruling said that “this announcement puts an end to the (legal) procedure.”
Source: arabnews.com
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Iranian Parliament ratifies strategic partnership treaty with Russia
May 21, 2025
During an open session on Wednesday, May 21, lawmakers of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majles) voted in favor of the bill outlining the treaty’s provisions. Out of 211 members present, 192 voted in favor, 5 opposed, and 2 abstained.
According to the bill’s single article, the “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation,” consisting of a preamble and 47 articles, is hereby ratified, and authorization is granted for the exchange of official instruments related to it. A note attached to the legislation stresses the necessity of observing Articles 77, 125, and 139 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as the 1979 legislative act annulling Chapters V and VI of the Treaty of Friendship between Iran and Russia.
This vote follows the earlier ratification of the treaty by Russia’s State Duma in April, where lawmakers passed the agreement submitted by President Vladimir Putin, who had signed it in January alongside Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during a high-profile ceremony in Moscow.
At the time of signing, Putin described the treaty as a “breakthrough document,” while President Pezeshkian said it would “open a new chapter in relations between Iran and Russia in all fields.”
The 20-year treaty provides a legal framework for long-term cooperation between the two countries in key strategic areas, including defense, security, energy, transportation, banking, agriculture, science, and technology. It also includes provisions for intelligence-sharing and mutual support in the face of shared security threats. Notably, the treaty contains a clause stating that neither side will assist an aggressor in the event that one party is subjected to external aggression.
The agreement is also designed to strengthen economic resilience amid Western sanctions, promoting investment in oil and gas sectors, collaboration in peaceful nuclear energy development, and the establishment of a payment system independent of third-party states, relying on national currencies.
Speaking earlier, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin emphasized that the treaty would enhance bilateral cooperation and inter-parliamentary coordination, including through joint commissions and participation in international parliamentary organizations.
Iran and Russia have increasingly aligned their policies in recent years, forging a closer strategic partnership in defiance of U.S.-led sanctions. This treaty, now approved by both legislatures, formalizes what has already been an evolving alliance—one aimed at reshaping regional and global power dynamics through mutual support and cooperation.
Source: tehrantimes.com
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Warning of Calls to Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque
21 May 2025
Al-Quds Governorate warned of calls by extremist Israeli "Temple Organizations" to storm the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque next Monday, the 58th anniversary of the occupation of Al-Quds.
The governorate described the anniversary as "a new catastrophe, the chapters of which are renewed every year against the Holy City, its residents, and its Islamic and Christian sanctities."
Al-Quds Governorate said in a statement that the calls published by the "Temple Mount in Our Hands" organization to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque, raise the occupation flags inside it, and perform provocative Talmudic rituals under the protection of the occupation police represent a dangerous escalation and a full-fledged crime against the sanctity of Al-Aqsa.
Source: saba.ye
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Arab World
Saudi university develops sensor to reduce fresh produce spoilage
May 22, 2025
AL-AHSA: Researchers at King Faisal University in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province have developed a low-cost smart sensor that aims to reduce spoilage of fresh produce.
The Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday that the device, which is now registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office, is designed to predict spoilage early during transportation and storage.
Developed by a team from the KFU’s College of Science, the device detects volatile organic compounds, particularly ethylene gas, a key indicator of the onset of spoilage in fresh produce.
“The compact and lightweight prototype is designed for easy installation in refrigeration units or transport containers,” the report stated.
As the device can be connected to Internet of Things networks, real-time remote monitoring and early alerts can be done by stakeholders across the food supply chain.
It can be integrated into cooling and distribution systems, offering a practical solution for the food and logistics sectors, the report stated.
It added that the device was showcased by KFU during the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Riyadh last December.
It has drawn significant interest from investors due its “practical value in supporting smart agriculture and minimizing food waste in supply chains,” the SPA reported.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2601683/saudi-arabia-
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Saudi Arabia ‘strongly condemns’ Israel shooting toward diplomatic delegation
May 21, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi authorities condemned “in the strongest terms” an incident on Wednesday in which Israeli soldiers fired toward a diplomatic delegation visiting the occupied West Bank.
The Kingdom called on the international community, in particular the permanent members of the UN Security Council (the US, the UK, Russia, France and China), to “immediately stop Israeli violations against civilians, diplomatic missions and relief organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Saudi Arabia demands Israel be held accountable under international law for its ongoing crimes during the occupation, the ministry added.
The delegation visiting the West Bank, which included diplomats from Europe, Turkiye and Egypt, was near Jenin when shots were fired by nearby Israeli soldiers, sending the officials scurrying for cover. There were no injuries.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Israel “deliberately targeted, by live fire, an accredited diplomatic delegation.”
The incident sparked an angry response in Europe, where a number of governments condemned the shooting. Italy, France and Sweden were among those who summoned Israeli ambassadors.
The Israeli military said the visitors had “deviated from the approved route” and the soldiers fired warning shots to keep the delegation away from an unauthorized area.
Israel has been conducting a major military operation in Jenin and surrounding areas since January.
Source: arabnews.com
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Polish pianist brings Europe’s musical soul to Saudi Arabia’s capital
SAMIA HANIFI
May 21, 2025
RIYADH: As part of the cultural dialogue between the EU and Saudi Arabia, the embassy of the EU in the Kingdom organized a musical evening at the Saudi Music Hub in Riyadh.
Speaking at “The European Piano Recital,” the EU ambassador said: “Saudi Arabia is a close ally with whom we enjoy close relations. My only wish is that music will serve to build bridges and bring our artists and our peoples closer together.”
During the recital, Polist vituoso pianist Wojciech Waleczek took the audience on a journey through the 27 countries of the EU, performing classical works that highlight the continent’s cultural diversity.
The pianist is renowned internationally for his artistic excellence and his commitment to spreading classical music throughout the world. He is also professor of musical arts at the University of Silesia in Katowice.
Waleczek told Arab News: “These were works by composers from all the countries of the European Union. We asked composers from each EU country to write a piece, which we presented this evening.
“I think this is a very important event, because we can exchange our cultures. For example, in Europe we can listen to music from other continents. Just as in Europe, we can listen to music from other continents. So we can bring European culture to other countries. That’s why I do it. I’ve discovered Polish culture and now I’d like to share it with Saudi audiences.”
Waleczek has a very active international career. He performs solo recitals, chamber music and as a soloist with orchestras in more than 40 countries, notably in Europe, the Middle East, America and Asia, and collaborates with many prestigious orchestras.
He closed his recital with a performance of Schiller’s poem “Ode to Joy,” which expresses an idealistic vision of human brotherhood, a vision shared by Beethoven. In 1972, the Council of Europe adopted the theme of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” as its anthem, and in 1985 the leaders of the EU adopted it as their official anthem.
Waleczek said: “I played the ‘Ode to Joy,’ which is the anthem of the European Union, and this piece is very special. I think that, in today’s world, we must always remember that we are the guardians of peace.”
A specialist in the repertoire of Franz Liszt, his recordings include “Grandes etudes de Paganini” (2017), “Harmonies poetiques et religieuses” in 2019, and “Weihnachtsbaum” in 2024. He also performs works by Franz Schubert, such as “Rarities and Short Piano Works” in 2021.
Alongside his artistic career, he teaches at the Institute of Musical Arts at the University of Silesia. He is also vice president of the SIGNUM association, which promotes classical music in Poland and abroad.
The recital concert is part of efforts to strengthen cultural links between Europe and Saudi Arabia and accompanies the Kingdom’s artistic and cultural transformation under Vision 2030.
Source: arabnews.com
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New program backs 20 AI startups in Saudi Arabia
May 21, 2025
RIYADH: The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has launched a specialized incubator to support the growth of artificial intelligence startups, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.
This initiative by the ministry’s Center of Digital Entrepreneurship strengthens the Kingdom’s position as a regional innovation hub and reinforces AI’s role as a key driver of digital economic growth.
The program includes 20 AI startups, empowering innovators to turn ideas into viable tech solutions, according to SPA.
The four-month program targets tech enthusiasts, experts, and industry leaders.
It offers training, financial support from the National Technology Development Program, mentorship, digital incentives, networking opportunities, and office space.
In collaboration with the Saudi Data and AI Authority, the Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence, SambaNova, and BIM Ventures, the program fosters a supportive environment for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Source: arabnews.com
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AI-powered robot to assist Hajj pilgrims at Grand Mosque in Makkah
ARAB NEWS
May 21, 2025
MAKKAH: As preparations continue in Saudi Arabia for the start of Hajj, pilgrims in need of assistance will this year be able to call on the services of a new high-tech helper that blends the traditions of Islam with the latest developments in artificial intelligence.
The Presidency of Religious Affairs at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque unveiled the updated second version of its AI-powered Manarat Al-Haramain Robot on Wednesday, as part of an initiative that aims to leverage the power of advanced technologies to enhance the spiritual experiences of pilgrims.
It said the robot will act as a reference point for religious inquiries at the Grand Mosque, and can connect worshippers and other visitors to direct video calls with muftis who can answer any questions they might have, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The robot's updated version and software features designs inspired by traditional Islamic motifs and architecture found at the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah. It combines authenticity, modernity, and advanced technology to help enhance the experiences of pilgrims by providing easy access to information, the presidency said.
Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage every Muslim is obliged to undertake at least once in their life if they are physically and financially able to do so, is expected to begin in Makkah on June 4 and end on June 9. Pilgrims from around the world began to arrive in the Kingdom this month.
Source: arabnews.com
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Saudi Arabia, Japan sign MoU to boost judicial ties
May 21, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Justice Walid Al-Samaani met with his Japanese counterpart Keisuke Suzuki during an official visit to the East Asian country.
The ministers discussed ways to strengthen judicial ties between the two countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.
Al-Samaani reviewed recent developments in Saudi Arabia’s judicial and legal sectors, supported by King Salman and overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, particularly regarding specialized legislation aimed at ensuring prompt justice.
He highlighted key advancements, including promoting transparency through audio and video documentation of court sessions — both in-person and virtual — and the publication of judicial rulings.
He also emphasized efforts to activate the preventive justice system by documenting contracts as enforceable instruments, SPA reported.
On the sidelines, Al-Samaani and Suzuki signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation in the judicial field, including the exchange of expertise and information, and collaboration in legislation, capacity building, and dispute resolution.
Source: arabnews.com
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Africa
Gov Zulum Accuses Politicians, Security Agencies Of Colluding With Boko Haram
May 21, 2025
By Enioluwa Adeniyi
Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has alleged that certain Nigerian politicians and members of the armed forces are acting as informants and collaborators for Boko Haram insurgents.
Zulum made the revelation during an interview on News Central’s Breakfast Central on Wednesday, where he vowed to strengthen the state’s intelligence network and deal with saboteurs “ruthlessly.”
“We have informants and collaborators within the Nigerian armed forces, within the politicians, and within the communities. What we shall do is to strengthen our intelligence and to deal with them ruthlessly,” Zulum stated.
The governor also called for a shift away from “contractocracy,” emphasising that within six months, the insurgency could be significantly reduced if the right measures were put in place.
He further stressed that insecurity should not be politicised.
“Let’s remove contractocracy. In six months, we can put an end to this madness. We need not politicise insecurity,” Zulum said.
Addressing the issue of surrendered insurgents, Zulum acknowledged that while not all of them have fully reformed, the majority are contributing positively.
“I cannot completely say that 100% of those people who have surrendered are doing the right thing, but I want to assure you that over 99% are doing well and are not participating in the ongoing terrorism,” the governor stated.
He reaffirmed the importance of combining both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies in tackling insurgency, stressing that military force alone would not bring an end to the conflict.
Zulum reiterated his stance that insurgency cannot be defeated through military force alone. He emphasised the need for social, political, and economic solutions to complement military efforts.
“Insurgency will never be ended by kinetic measures alone. We must ensure that the non-kinetic measures are also properly put in place.
“What I mean by non-kinetic measures is social, political, and economic dimensions of the crisis. Our ongoing non-kinetic measures have yielded positive results with the support of the Nigerian military,” Zulum said.
He acknowledged that not all 500,000-plus repentant fighters might stay reformed, but believes the system is largely working.
“Yes, I believe among the 500,000 or more that have repented, I cannot rule out the possibility of fewer of them going back to the bush,” he said.
The governor also criticised the lack of necessary military equipment, claiming that insurgents had a technological advantage. He stated, “The army doesn’t have the necessary equipment on ground to fight the insurgency.”
Despite these challenges, Zulum commended the Nigerian military for its support in peace-building efforts.
“I want to commend the Nigerian armed forces for the support that they have been rendering to our non-kinetic measures,” Zulum added.
Zulum urged President Bola Tinubu to pay closer attention to ground-level intelligence and professional advice from the military.
“The forest guard shall be provided immediately. The President of Nigeria needs to listen to those who can differentiate their left from their right.
“We should not politicise insecurity. The President needs to listen to the people who can tell him the right thing. The President should listen to the army,” he said.
Source: naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2025/05/21/gov-zulum-accuses-politicians-security-agencies-of-colluding-with-boko-haram/
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Muslim-Muslim Ticket Has Opened A Pandora Box – Babachir Lawal
May 21, 2025
By Justina Otio
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has lamented that the nation is suffering the consequences of the Muslim-Muslim ticket fielded by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking during an interview on Arise News, Lawal stated that the ticket fielded by the ruling party has opened a Pandora box.
He claimed that it would be difficult for Nigerians to oppose a Christian-Christian presidential ticket in future.
“When the leader decides to practice evil, the society suffers”, Lawal said, suggesting that the nation is currently suffering the consequence of the Muslim- Muslim ticket.
He added, “It has opened a Pandora box. Somebody can now come out with a Christian-Christian ticket, and Nigerians will find it very difficult to oppose it because a precedent has been set.
“But not only was I complaining about the precedent because of religious considerations, but because of the sense of equity. There needs to be equity in what we do. If we don’t, we suffer the consequences that we are doing now because we have not shown equity, we have discriminated against the ill segment of the society. I do believe that part of the punishment we are going through is on account of that.
“When the leader decides to practice evil, the society suffers. And that is part of the reason why we are where we are now.
“I always remember, not only Muslim-Muslim ticket or Christian-Christian ticket, it’s not about the ticket alone, but also our regional balances. People must feel they have a sense of belonging before they can put their energy into working to develop and unite the country.”
Source: naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2025/05/21/muslim-muslim-ticket-has-opened-a-pandora-box-babachir-lawal/
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US Airstrike Kills 10 Islamic State Militants in Somalia
May 22, 2025
The United States has executed a new airstrike targeting Islamic State militants in Somalia, killing 10 fighters, according to a statement from the White House.
“That brings the total to over 100 bloodthirsty terrorists killed since President Trump was sworn in,” the statement reads.
U.S. airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Somalia began in early February and are conducted in coordination with Somalia’s federal government.
Islamic State-affiliated militants operate primarily in northern Somalia, particularly in the semi-autonomous Puntland region.
IS-Somalia was formed in 2015 when a faction split from al-Shabaab, Somalia’s dominant Islamist insurgent group, aligned with al-Qaeda.
U.S. Africa Command occasionally conducts drone and airstrikes against IS-Somalia targets.
Several senior commanders were reported killed between 2022 and 2024.
Though relatively small in number, IS-Somalia remains an active terrorist threat and could expand amid ongoing instability in the region.
It also functions as a regional Islamic State cell, coordinating with affiliates in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Trump administration is reportedly weighing formal recognition of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland in exchange for basing rights for a U.S. naval facility.
Somaliland, located in northern Somalia, declared independence in 1991 following the collapse of the regime of dictator Siad Barre, which triggered a protracted civil war.
The territory corresponds to the former British protectorate of British Somaliland. The de facto independent state formed after the fall of the regime of dictator Siad Barre, which plunged the country into civil war.
Source: horseedmedia.net
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AI: Muslim lawyers urge caution, call for regulatory safeguards
Mansur Aramide, Ilorin
21 May 2025
Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria (MULAN) has warned that the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Nigeria must be pursued with caution, regulatory safeguards, and ethical considerations to check harmful consequences.
MULAN gave the warning in a 17-point communique issued at the end of its 16th annual general conference in Ilorin, Kwara State, between May 15th and 18th, 2025.
The communique, signed by its Secretary General, Dr. Akinwale Akinlabi, agreed that AI holds significant value for the legal profession, particularly in legal research and case management, “but it must not replace human reasoning and adjudication.”
It said that the Bar and the Bench should embrace AI as a complementary tool, but not a substitute for judicial reasoning or human discretion.
It stressed the need for lawyers to pursue steady personal development and invest in modern technology to remain relevant in a rapidly evolving global legal environment.
It added: “AI’s use in legal practice should be carefully managed to avoid professional, ethical, or legal pitfalls.
“As AI reshapes the legal landscape, Nigerian lawyers must evolve and not be replaced by AI. The lawyer of the future must be tech-literate and savvy in leveraging AI for efficiency by adapting to hybrid roles of law and technology, while upholding human values as he apply the rules of ethics.
“Government at all levels should initiate legislative reforms and invest in AI infrastructure to align Nigeria with global technological trends.
“The religion of Islam permits the use of AI, provided such use does not contravene Sharia principles. AI tools in Muslim homes must be regulated within Islamic boundaries.
“Hard work, integrity, and strategic positioning remain indispensable for Muslim lawyers who must not only work hard but also work smart, maintaining unwavering integrity, and positioning themselves intentionally for opportunities and trusting in Allah’s divine plan.
“Muslim lawyers are encouraged to embrace collaborative legal practice and mentorship, as the era of one-man law firms is becoming outdated. The importance of teamwork, partnerships, and intergenerational mentoring within the legal profession to improve client service, sustainability, and professional development cannot be overemphasised.
“The application of Islamic personal law is constitutionally protected in Nigeria. Muslims are entitled to resolve personal matters in line with their religious beliefs.
“MULAN affirms the commendable work of Sharia Panels in South West Nigeria but notes their legal limitations. These panels function as arbitral bodies without the authority of formal courts and currently lack an appellate structure.
“In light of the significant Muslim population in South West Nigeria, MULAN urges state governments in the geopolitical zone to enact appropriate legislative and administrative reforms to establish Sharia Courts of competent jurisdiction, including Sharia Courts of Appeal, in accordance with constitutional provisions,” MULAN stressed.
Source: guardian.ng
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https://guardian.ng/features/law/ai-muslim-lawyers-urge-caution-call-for-regulatory-safeguards/
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A look at South Sudan, where the US is accused of quietly sending migrants
May 22, 2025
The United States is being asked to explain why it appears to be deporting migrants from as far away as Vietnam and Cuba to South Sudan, a chaotic country that’s once again in danger of collapsing into civil war.
A US judge ordered Trump administration officials to appear at an emergency hearing Wednesday to answer questions. The administration said it had expelled eight immigrants convicted of violent crimes in the US but refused to say where they would end up.
If South Sudan is the confirmed destination, that means people from Vietnam, Mexico and elsewhere are being sent to a nation they have no link to, thousands of miles from where they want to be. Vietnam’s list of its embassies in Africa shows the closest one to South Sudan is in Tanzania, over 800 miles away.
South Sudan’s police spokesperson, Maj. Gen. James Monday Enoka, told The Associated Press that no migrants had arrived and if they did, they would be investigated and “redeported to their correct country” if not South Sudanese.
Some in the capital, Juba, worried their country would become a kind of dumping ground. “Those people who are deported, some of them are criminals, they have been involved in crimes. So once they are brought to South Sudan, that means that criminal activities will also increase,” said Martin Mawut Ochalla, 28.
This would not be the first time the Trump administration has pressured South Sudan over deportees. Recently, the administration abruptly revoked the visas of all South Sudanese, saying their government failed to accept the return of its citizens “in a timely manner.” South Sudan pushed back, saying the person in question was Congolese, but later said it would allow him to enter “in the spirit of maintaining friendly relations” with the US
South Sudan’s government has struggled since independence from Sudan in 2011 to deliver many of the basic services of a state. Years of conflict have left the country heavily reliant on aid that has been hit hard by another Trump administration decision — sweeping cuts in foreign assistance.
Here’s a look at South Sudan, whose own people had been granted US temporary protected status because of insecurity at home.
A deadly divide
The euphoria of independence turned to civil war two years later, when rival factions backing President Salva Kiir and deputy Riek Machar opened fire on each other in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, in 2013.
The two men’s tensions have been so much at the heart of the country’s insecurity that the late Pope Francis once took the extraordinary step of kneeling to kiss their feet in a plea for lasting peace.
Five years of civil war killed hundreds of thousands of people. A peace deal reached in 2018 has been fragile and not fully implemented, to the frustration of the US and other international backers. South Sudan still hasn’t held a long-delayed presidential election, and Kiir remains in power.
His rivalry with Machar is compounded by ethnic divisions. Machar has long regarded himself as destined for the presidency, citing a prophecy years ago by a seer from his ethnic group.
Earlier this year, the threat of war returned. Machar was arrested and allies in the government and military were detained following a major escalation that included airstrikes and an attack on a United Nations helicopter. Machar’s opposition party announced South Sudan’s peace deal was effectively over.
“Let’s not mince words: What we are seeing is darkly reminiscent of the 2013 and 2016 civil wars, which killed 400,000 people,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned.
Some Western countries have closed their embassies there while others, including the US, have reduced embassy staff. The US Embassy’s travel warning said that “violent crime, such as carjackings, shootings, ambushes, assaults, robberies, and kidnappings are common throughout South Sudan, including Juba.”
A country in disarray
The Trump administration’s pressure on South Sudan to take in deportees, including foreign ones, is in sharp contrast to Washington’s past warm embrace as its rebel leaders — including Kiir and Machar — fought for independence.
Now there is less support than ever for most of South Sudan’s over 11 million people because of the cuts in US aid.
Climate shocks including flooding have long caused mass displacement and closed schools. South Sudan’s health and education systems were already among the weakest in the world. Aid organizations had offered essential help.
South Sudan’s government has long relied on oil production, but little money from that is seen, in part because of official corruption. Conflict in neighboring Sudan has affected landlocked South Sudan’s oil exports. Civil servants at times go months without being paid.
How South Sudan is equipped to handle migrants arriving abruptly from the US is yet to be seen.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2601670/middle-east
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Unlocking opportunities for integrated Arabic and Islamic schools
May 22, 2025
The monumental turnaround and repositioning of the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) under the leadership of Prof. Yahuza Sulaiman Imam deserves an ovation from well-meaning Nigerians. The board is a national examination body responsible for the conduct of Senior Arabic and Islamic Secondary School Certificate Examination (SAISSCE), the certificate issued to students of Integrated Arabic and Islamic Secondary Schools where Science, Arts and Commerce subjects are similarly offered. The students must have sat for and passed the SAISSCE.
Essentially, NBAIS is an examination body, just like the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO), established to conduct Senior Secondary examinations for integrated Arabic and Islamic schools across the country. Candidates from such schools must have also written and passed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Post UTME (PUTME) before qualifying for admission into a tertiary institution of their choice.
The National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) have directed all tertiary institutions under their purview to accept Senior Arabic and Islamic Secondary School Certificate Examination for admission into their respective institutions of higher learning, thereby offering equal admission opportunity for WAEC, NECO and NBAIS candidates.
It is, therefore, erroneous to assume that Arabic Language and Islamic Studies are the only subjects that qualify holders of SAISSCE results for admission into tertiary institutions. Rather, all other subjects taken by WAEC, NECO and NABTEB candidates are similarly taken by NBAIS candidates in tandem with the ongoing Federal Government’s programme for the integration of Tsangaya and Qur’anic Education (IQTE).
The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria has recognised the Senior Arabic and Islamic Secondary School Certificate for admission into nursing programmes. This decision has increased access to higher education. NMCN has unlocked new opportunities for students.
It is noteworthy that alongside Arabic and Islamic subjects, Integrated Arabic and Islamic Schools offer English and Mathematics as well as science, arts, commerce and technical subjects that are prerequisites to studying a chosen field of study.
Source: thenationonlineng.net
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https://thenationonlineng.net/unlocking-opportunities-for-integrated-arabic-and-islamic-schools/
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Southeast Asia
Malaysia among first three countries given approval to operate haj clinic in Madinah
Bernama
20-05- 2025
MAKKAH: The Tabung Haji (TH) Treatment Centre in Madinah has obtained the permit approval (Tasrih) from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health to operate fully the health facility for the 1445H/2025M haj season.
Head of the Malaysian Haj Delegation Mohd Hisham Harun said Malaysia was among the first three countries to receive the approval for the Madinah sector, attributing this to the strategic collaboration between TH and Saudi German Hospital, being implemented for the first time this haj season.
“This approval not only proves the level of compliance (of TH Treatmnent Centre ) with international regulations, but is also a form of recognition of the high standards of the Malaysian health service system in caring for the welfare and health of pilgrims in the Holy Land,“ he told a media conference here today.
He said TH’s health facilities went through a strict inspection process set by the Saudi Arabian health authorities and directly supervised by the Saudi German Hospital before being approved.
Meanwhile, Mohd Hisham said that a total of 141 Malaysian pilgrims have received health treatment since their arrival in the Holy Land, either at the TH Treatment Centre or at local hospitals in Saudi Arabia.
“Of the total, 129 pilgrims received treatment at TH health facilities, while 12 pilgrims were referred to the Saudi Arabian hospitals. In Makkah alone, a total of 97 pilgrims received treatment, with 89 at the TH Treatment Centre and eight at local hospitals.
“Meanwhile, in Madinah, 44 pilgrims sought treatment with 40 people at TH facilities and four others at Saudi Arabian hospitals,” he said.
He said the cases that were treated involved various health problems, including respiratory diseases such as coughs and colds, ear, nose and throat (ENT) problems, muscle and joint problems and skin diseases.
Meanwhile, Mohd Hisham said so far, two Malaysian pilgrims were confirmed to have died in Makkah, both due to heart attacks.
He said the first death involved Norizan Tambonan Nordin, 47, from Batu Pahat, Johor, who died at 7 am last Friday, while the second was Abdullah Mat, 59, from Pasir Mas, Kelantan, who died at 5.10 am yesterday, after collapsing while performing the circumambulation of the Grand Mosque.
“Their bodies were buried at the Syariee Cemetery, Makkah. TH will perform the badal haj for them,” he said.
Source: thesun.my
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Singapore PM’s post-election Cabinet reshuffle brings new faces while keeping ‘experienced hands’ intact
22 May 2025
SINGAPORE, May 22 — Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced a cabinet reshuffle yesterday after his party’s election victory, with the premier retaining nine ministers as well as the finance portfolio he has held since 2021.
Wong, who led the ruling People’s Action Party to a decisive win on May 3 in his first election as premier, appointed six new ministers to the 15 portfolios excluding his office, in a move to retain experienced players during an uncertain time for the economy.
Wong, 52, kept the key roles unchanged, with Trade Minister Gan Kim Yong remaining deputy premier. He did not appoint a second deputy, unlike with previous Singapore cabinets.
“We are operating in a changed world, with rising trade barriers, sharper competition, and greater uncertainty,” Wong said in an announcement by his office.
“We need experienced hands at the helm. So I’m keeping most of the ministers in their current roles during this critical period.”
The PAP won nearly two-thirds of the vote in an election that was seen as a bellwether of its popularity amid some signs of disenchantment with cost of living in the Asian financial hub, whose six million people have known no other kind of government since independence in 1965.
The reshuffle is Wong’s biggest since taking over as premier in May last year from Lee Hsien Loong, who was in power for two decades and is the son of founding father Lee Kuan Yew. Most ministers appointed by Lee were retained in Wong’s last reshuffle.
Wong has promised “new blood, new ideas and new energy” and fielded 32 new faces in the election in May for 97 house seats.
Wong gave ministerial portfolios to two newly elected lawmakers. He also appointed three ministers as coordinating ministers for national security, public services and social policies.
Several political heavyweights retired before the election, including Singapore’s longest-serving defence minister, a former deputy prime minister under Lee, and another deputy premier who had once been tipped for the top job. — Reuters
Source: malaymail.com
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M’sia, Palestine to boost strategic cooperation in health sector - Dzulkefly
Bernama
21-05- 2025
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Palestine have agreed to strengthen strategic cooperation to strengthen a health system that is fair, resilient and based on universal human values.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the cooperation was detailed during a bilateral meeting between him and his Palestinian counterpart, Dr Maged Abu Ramadan, today.
Dzulkefly said the areas of cooperation discussed were health workforce capacity development, prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, and digital transformation efforts in health.
“This meeting further strengthens the close relationship between two Muslim countries with aspirations to strengthen a fair, resilient and humane health system.
“I also commend Palestine’s success in implementing the polio vaccination campaign using nOPV2, an important step in public health preparedness,” he said in a post on his official Facebook.
Dzulkefly said the entire discussion was held in Arabic as a diplomatic approach aimed at ensuring clear message delivery, strengthening mutual understanding and respecting the cultural backgrounds of both parties.
At the same time, he reiterated Malaysia’s stance raised at the recent 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78), which urged the international community not to remain silent on the ongoing humanitarian and public health crisis in Gaza.Malaysian travel packages
Source: thesun.my
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/minister-youth-affairs-islamic-teachings/d/135627