4'5 Lakh Miyas will get deleted in Assam SIR, my job to make them suffer: Himanta Sarma
New Age Islam News Bureau
28 January2025
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma | Himanta Biswa Sarma/Facebook
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· 4–5 Lakh Miyaswill get deleted in Assam SIR, my job to make them suffer: HimantaSarma
· More than 170,000 people displaced this month in northeastern Syria as winter strains aid efforts
· Saudi airspace, territory will not be used for attack on Iran, crown prince says
· Zelensky orders army to kill ‘tens of thousands of Russians’
· ‘Very bad choice’: Trump warns US will end support for Iraq if Nouri al-Maliki returns as prime minister
· Nigeria: Buhari’s Former Minister Says Sharia Law in Oyo Depends on Public Demand
· Malaysian Defence minister: Corruption in military is ‘threat to national security,’ not just embezzlement
· 3.7 Million Children in Afghanistan Suffer Acute Malnutrition Annually, UNICEF Warns
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India
· Readers’ comments: Scroll should focus on Bangladeshi Hindus instead of ‘illegal migrants’ in India
· When AR Rahman said that the teachings of Islam inspired him to make 'MaaTujhe Salaam' song: 'Being patriotic to your country is half of it'
· Second plea filed in SC challenging caste discrimination definition in 2026 UGC regulations
· Sambhal violence: Allahabad HC grants interim anticipatory bail to man who claimed cops shot him
· Uttarakhand CM backs temple panel's demand to bar non Hindus from religious sites
· ‘Pakistani’ taunts in office, rebuffed deliveries on apps: India’s Muslims face prejudice at work
· J&K Republic Day tableau sparks criticism over 'Kashmir-centric display' from Jammu voices, BJP
· 2 J&K residents booked for entering notified area near IB in Kutch: Police
· AjitPawar plane crash: DGCA confirms no survivor as aircraft crash-lands at Baramati
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Mideast
· Trump tells Fox News US solved ‘tremendous’ problem with Syria
· Israel’s Netanyahu says it would be a ‘mistake’ to hold elections now
· Israel plans large camp for Palestinians in southern Gaza, retired general says
· Gaza mourns victims as bodies arrive at Al-Shifa hospital
· Election of new Iraqi president delayed by Kurds
· UN votes to end mission in Yemeni city of Hodeida
· Russian forces begin pulling out of bases in northeast Syria
· Documentary highlights Israeli brutality
· Syrian Kurdish enclave on alert amid shaky ceasefire
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Arab World
· Saudi cabinet reaffirms support for Board of Peace initiative in Gaza
· Shoura Council speaker leads Saudi Arabia’s delegation to Asian Parliamentary Assembly
· Tech executives highlight Saudi Arabia’s growing AI ambitions
· Riyadh workshop focuses on Yemen capacity building
· Children’s Theater Festival opens in Qassim region
· Saudi defense minister meets with Kuwaiti counterpart in Riyadh
· Nearly 60% of employers have difficulty finding skilled workers, World Bank official says
· Saudi Arabia assessing global labor policies at GLMC, says deputy minister
· National Water Co. wins King Khalid Award for environmental sustainability
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Europe
· Former PM Scott Morrison criticised over calls to regulate Islamic preachers in Australia
· Greens Frame By-Election As Battle Against "Anti-Muslim Record" Of Reform’s Matthew Goodwin
· Convicted terrorist standing in election 'to unite' inner-city
· Retired Ukrainian serviceman kills four police officers – law enforcement
· Ukraine expects to join EU next year – Zelensky
· Children and parents welcome ‘The Joshie Man’ to Lancashire
· Watford mosque proposal has decision date confirmed
· France invites Chad president in bid to ease troubled relations
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North America
· CAIR, CAIR-MN Condemn Assault on Rep. Ilhan Omar, Demand End to Racist and Anti-Muslim Incitement
· Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquid during town hall
· Is Washington about to cross the Rubicon with Iran?
· Paxton Opinion Paves Way for Texas Vouchers to Steer Clear of Islamic Schools
· CAIR Md. Testifies Before State Board of Education Calling for Mandatory Palestine Cultural Literacy to Address Rising Hate in Schools
· Carney denies walking back Davos speech in phone call with Trump
· US launches military ‘readiness’ drills in Middle East
· US dollar hits four-year low after Trump says it’s ‘doing great’
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Africa
· ‘We’re Going To Apply The Big Stick If You Don’t Come To Work’ – Wike Warns FCTA Workers
· ‘This Is Not A Big Deal’ – Onanuga Reacts To Tinubu Stumble
· Miyetti Allah leader, others held for alleged sponsorship of bandits in Kwara
· Amosun, Ogun deputy gov urge Muslim unity for sustainable development
· Islamic Development Bank to fund $163 million solar project in Niger State
· South Sudanese government insists it is not at war despite heavy fighting
· Mali takes majority control of civil explosives producer
· Army Offensive Leaves 22 ISWAP Terrorists Dead In Borno
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Southeast Asia
· Selangor Sultan voices concern over rising culture of slander and allegations
· Malaysia urges restraint as US-Iran tensions threaten regional stability
· Mosques, suraus must remain free of politics, says Selangor Sultan
· Melaka mosque secretary sacked after allegedly watching indecent videos on premises
· Bush fire in Johor Bahru torches 18 vehicles near mosque, no casualties reported
· New registrar of Muslim marriages to assume role from Feb 1
· Anwar gives enforcement chiefs one-week ultimatum: Act on corruption or step aside
· US ambassador bids farewell, praises stronger US-Malaysia ties
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South Asia
· Amnesty Condemns Shutdown of Media Support Organizations in Afghanistan
· IEA Committed to Economic Development, Hanafi Says
· Minister Haqqani Reviews Performance of Access to Information Directorate
· UAE’s HHM Group to Invest in 1,000MW Gas-Fired Power Projects
· Afghanistan’s Role in Regional Development
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
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4–5 Lakh Miyaswill get deleted in Assam SIR, my job to make them suffer: HimantaSarma
January 28, 2026
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma | Himanta Biswa Sarma/Facebook
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Assam Chief Minister HimantaBiswaSarma on Tuesday claimed that four lakh to five lakh Miya voters will be deleted when the special intensive revision of electoral rolls takes place in the state and said that his job is to “make them suffer”.
“What ‘vote chori’ [vote theft] means to us?” Sarma asked while speaking to reporters. “Yes, we are trying to steal some Miya votes. Ideally, they should not be allowed to vote in Assam. They should be able to vote in Bangladesh.”
He added: “We have made arrangements so that they cannot vote in Assam. But this is preliminary. When the [special intensive revision] comes to Assam, four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be cut.”
In Assam, “Miya” is a derogatory word used to refer to undocumented immigrants and is exclusively directed at Muslims of Bengali origin. They are often accused of being undocumented migrants from Bangladesh.
Once a pejorative in Assam, from the common use of the honorific “Miya” among South Asian Muslims, the term has now been reappropriated by the community as a self-descriptor to refer to Muslims who migrated to Assam from Bengal during the colonial era.
Assam is not among the 12 states and Union Territories where the Election Commission is conducting the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls. The poll panel is separately conducting a “special revision” of the voter list in the state, which is similar to the usual updates to the electoral roll.
The state is expected to head for Assembly polls in three to four months.
“So, let the Congress abuse me as much as they want,” the chief minister told reporters. “But my job is to make the Miya people suffer.”
Sarma made the comments on the sidelines of a government event in Digboi in Assam’s Tinsukia district.
Reacting to Sarma’s comments, Congress leader AmanWadud said that the chief minister had “made the Constitution absolutely ineffective” in Assam.
The chief minister’s remark came three days after he said that only Miya Muslims were being served notices under the “special revision” of electoral rolls in the state.
Several Opposition parties have accused the BJP of conspiring to delete the names of a large number of genuine voters from the state’s electoral rolls amid the exercise and filed police complaints.
On Saturday, Sarma said that there was “nothing to hide”.
“We are giving them trouble,” the chief minister had said, referring to his earlier statements that “Miyas” would face problems in his regime. He added that serving them notices as part of the special revision exercise was a way to “keep them under pressure”.
A day later, the chief minister said that the eviction drives in the state were only targeting Miya Muslims and not Assamese people.
Since the BJP came to power in Assam in 2016, several demolition drives have been conducted in the state, mostly targeting areas populated by Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Sarma claimed earlier this month that the government has reclaimed close to 1.5 lakh bighas of land in the course of the eviction drives.
Source: scroll.in
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https://scroll.in/latest/1090299/4-5-lakh-miyas-will-get-deleted-in-assam-sir-my-job-to-make-them-suffer-himanta-biswa-sarma
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More than 170,000 people displaced this month in northeastern Syria as winter strains aid efforts
EPHREM KOSSAIFY
January 27, 2026
Women prepare hot meals as part of a volunteer initiative to distribute food to displaced families sheltering at a school in Qamishli, northeastern Syria, Jan. 26, 2026. (AP Photo)
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NEW YORK CITY: More than 170,000 people in northeastern Syria have been displaced this month as a result of clashes in several provinces, the UN said on Tuesday, and aid agencies are stepping up relief efforts amid a fragile security situation and the harsh winter conditions.
The areas affected by the displacements since Jan. 6 include parts of Aleppo, Hasakeh and Raqqa governorates, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York. Several sites for displaced people are now overcrowded and the situation in Hasakeh remains volatile, he said.
An interagency humanitarian convoy from Damascus reached the city of Qamishli in Hasakeh governorate on Tuesday to deliver food, warm clothing and blankets, Dujarric added, and more convoys are planned in the coming days. Aid agencies are also distributing bread and other food, and cash to buy supplies, at displacement sites and other collective facilities.
The latest wave of displacements followed weeks of violence in northern and northeastern Syria between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, government troops and allied armed groups, which flared in several areas late last year and has continued into the new year.
A truce between the SDF and Syrian government forces brokered this month has largely held, though tensions remain high and reports of sporadic incidents continue.
Health partners are providing mobile medical services for the displaced, including vaccinations and mental health care, Dujarric said. In addition, nutrition teams have screened more than 1,500 children and hundreds of pregnant and lactating women in Hasakeh for malnutrition and provided nutritional support.
Humanitarian operations are being strained by the severe winter weather, however. Another major storm hit several governorates last week, damaging more than 1,700 tents in displacement camps across Aleppo and Idlib, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
Mountain routes along the Syrian coast remain closed, cutting off communities in Latakia and Tartous, Dujarric said, while flooding and road closures in Hama and Homs also continue to restrict access to affected areas.
He added that a partner nongovernmental organization had reported disrupted power supplies and internet services in the northern town of Kobani that have yet to be restored.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630848/middle-east
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Saudi airspace, territory will not be used for attack on Iran, crown prince says
January 27, 2026
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. (File/SPA/AFP)
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RIYADH: The Kingdom will not allow its airspace or territory to be used for any military actions against Iran, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Iranian President MasoudPezeshkian in a phone call on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia respects the sovereignty of Iran and supports any efforts that would resolve disputes through dialogue in a way that enhances security and stability in the region, Saudi Press Agency reported the crown prince as telling Pezeshkian.
The president expressed his gratitude to the Kingdom for its steadfast position in respecting Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, thanking the crown prince for his efforts to achieve security and stability in the region.
Earlier, Iranian media reported Pezeshkian as saying that Tehran always welcomes any process, within the framework of international law, that prevents war.
Pezeshkian also told Prince Mohammed that the “unity and cohesion” of Islamic countries can guarantee “lasting security, stability and peace in the region.”
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630829/saudi-arabia
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Zelensky orders army to kill ‘tens of thousands of Russians’
27 Jan, 2026
Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky speaks in Kiev on January 27, 2026. © Global Look Press / Ukrainian presidential office
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The Ukrainian military should focus on inflicting the highest possible casualties on Russia, Vladimir Zelensky has said. The Ukrainian leader named a figure of 50,000 Russian losses per month as an “optimal level” the troops should strive for as he spoke at an event dedicated to the assessment of Ukrainian drone units’ effectiveness.
Ukrainian forces have been gradually losing ground to a large-scale Russian offensive, which has continued for many months. Neither side has officially reported on its own casualties for a long time, only giving losses suffered by the other side.
“When it comes to 50,000 Russian losses per month, this is the optimal level,” Zelensky said, calling it “the task of the Ministry of Defense… the task of our army, all… the security forces of Ukraine to guarantee exactly such a level of Russian losses.”
The idea was initially floated by Ukraine’s newly appointed defense minister, Mikhail Fedorov, who called it one of Kiev’s “strategic goals” during his first press conference in his new capacity. A close ally of Zelensky, Fedorov said that the Ukrainian leader himself demanded the military make the cost of continuing the conflict unacceptable for Moscow.
“One needs to set the right goals,” he told journalists, calling the kill quota one of them. His words drew condemnation from an opposition MP, Anna Skorokhod, who said Kiev should prioritize ending the fighting and bringing exhausted troops home.
On Monday, Zelensky claimed that Russia had lost some 35,000 soldiers to deaths and injuries in January. Moscow has previously accused the Ukrainian leader of ignoring reality and downplaying Ukraine’s own losses. Earlier this month, the head of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, said that Kiev was sacrificing troops in a failed defensive effort and falsifying a Ukrainian military presence in locations where there was none.
Russia also accused Kiev of increasingly targeting civilians in its attacks. As many as 45 people, including three minors, were killed in Ukrainian strikes in Russia over the holiday season lasting from January 1 to January 11, according to Moscow.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/russia/631617-zelensky-military-kill-russians/
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‘Very bad choice’: Trump warns US will end support for Iraq if Nouri al-Maliki returns as prime minister
Jan 28, 2026
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned that the United States would end all support for Iraq if former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki returns to power.
Trump said Iraq would be making a “very bad choice” by bringing Maliki back. Maliki has been nominated for the post by the largest Shiite political bloc in the country.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said that when Maliki was last in office, Iraq fell into poverty and chaos. He said this should not be allowed to happen again.
Trump said that because of Maliki’s policies and ideology, the United States would stop helping Iraq if he is elected prime minister. He added that without US support, Iraq would have no chance of success, prosperity or freedom.
Maliki stepped down in 2014 after pressure from the United States, which blamed his sectarian policies for contributing to the rise of the Islamic State group.
The United States holds significant leverage over Iraq, as most of the country’s oil export revenues are kept at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York under an arrangement made after the 2003 US invasion. Oil sales make up around 90 per cent of Iraq’s government income.
Trump’s comments came days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised similar concerns in a phone call with current prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Political sources said Washington had also sent a letter to Iraqi leaders stating its negative view of Maliki.
By tradition, Iraq’s prime minister has been a Shiite Muslim since the fall of Saddam Hussein. On Saturday, the Coordination Framework, a group of Shiite parties that holds a majority in parliament, backed Maliki’s nomination.
Source: indiatimes.com
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/very-bad-choice-trump-warns-us-will-end-support-for-iraq-if-nouri-al-maliki-returns-as-prime-minister/articleshowprint/127657773.cms
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Nigeria: Buhari’s Former Minister Says Sharia Law in Oyo Depends on Public Demand
January 27, 2026
By George OshogweOgbolu
A former Minister of Communications in the administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari, Adebayo Shittu, has said he would introduce Sharia law in Oyo State if elected governor and if the people demand it.
Shittu made the statement during an interview on Naija Unfiltered, a podcast published by Symfoni, while responding to questions on recent debates surrounding the possible introduction of Sharia law in the South-West.
Reacting to concerns about the institutionalisation of Sharia law in the region, Shittu challenged the interviewer to explain how it would negatively affect Christians.
“Let me ask you. How does Sharia law, if institutionalised, affect you as a Christian? How does it affect you negatively?” he asked.
The interviewer cited alleged human rights abuses by Hisbah police in some northern states operating under Sharia law.
In response, Shittu accused critics of religious intolerance.
“The constitution guarantees freedom of religion. You are talking out of intolerance for religion. You are very intolerant,” he said.
Asked directly whether he would introduce Sharia law if elected governor of Oyo State in 2027, Shittu said his decision would depend on the will of the people.
“If the people ask for it. Even the constitution says it should be established whenever it is demanded,” he said.
“It is open because the constitution allows it. I don’t run away from battles.”
Shittu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress who declared his intention to contest the 2027 governorship election in Oyo State, insisted that Sharia law would not be imposed on non-Muslims.
“If there is Sharia in any community, no Christian can be forced to go under Sharia,” he added.
The comments come against the backdrop of controversies in 2024 over moves to establish Sharia arbitration panels in parts of the South-West.
The debate intensified in December 2024 when the Oyo State chapter of the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria announced plans to set up a Sharia court in the state and surrounding areas.
The announcement sparked widespread backlash both online and offline, forcing the council to indefinitely suspend an event meant to inaugurate the panels.
Nigeria operates a plural legal system combining common law, customary law and Sharia law, reflecting its ethnic and religious diversity.
The constitution permits the establishment of Sharia and customary courts, particularly in civil matters, and several northern states have integrated Sharia law into their legal systems.
Source: naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2026/01/27/buharis-former-minister-reveals-condition-to-introduce-sharia-law-in-oyo/
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Malaysian Defence minister: Corruption in military is ‘threat to national security,’ not just embezzlement
By Syed JaymalZahiid
28 Jan 2026
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 — Amid backlash over alleged corruption within the Malaysian Armed Forces, Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin delivered a stern speech in Parliament today, declaring that no corrupt officers will be safe as he vowed to clean up the military.
Khaled said the recent prosecution of two top army generals had rightly eroded public trust in an institution that is expected to uphold the highest standards of integrity and discipline, and that regaining that trust would be an uphill task.
The speech marked the beginning of the Defence Ministry’s campaign to purge the MAF of entrenched corrupt elements, which came under public scrutiny following the arrests and charges of two former military officials over procurement of supplies and equipment.
“As the defence minister, I cannot and shall not cower behind or deny what has been happening in the ministry of late,” Khaled said during an explanation session in the Dewan Rakyat this afternoon.
“So I chose to stand before this august Hall with an open heart and a sense of responsibility.”
Today’s speech came after the government launched the National Defence Industry Policy (DIPN), a document aimed at preventing a repeat of failures that had weakened both governance and public trust.
At the launch ceremony, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim acknowledged that defence procurement has long been a sector vulnerable to abuse and opaque practices.
Khaled told Parliament earlier today that corruption in the armed forces cannot be viewed as merely a form of power abuse, but instead as a genuine threat to national security.
“Anything that has to do with morality and integrity, especially when it involves corruption and power abuse, cannot be treated as just embezzlement and maladministration,” he said.
“It is actually a major threat to national security… what is clear is that the Defence Ministry will not protect anyone.”
Under the DIPN, the Defence Ministry announced a five-pillar reform strategy aimed at overhauling its governance and procurement systems.
A central feature of this initiative is the expanded integration of technology, including the implementation of a ministry-wide digitalisation plan and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to oversee procurement.
Khaled said AI will be utilised to conduct cost comparisons, specification analyses and tracking of global procurement efficiency, as the ministry aims to ensure that government funds are protected through transparent, data-driven processes that minimise human error and corruption.
The ministry is also establishing a new Integrity and Trust Strengthening Board.
Khaled said the board will provide direct oversight and guide the implementation of ethical standards across all departments.
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/01/28/defence-minister-corruption-in-military-is-threat-to-national-security-not-just-embezzlement/207123
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3.7 Million Children in Afghanistan Suffer Acute Malnutrition Annually, UNICEF Warns
By Fidel Rahmati
January 28, 2026
Afghanistan faces one of the world’s worst child malnutrition crises, with approximately 3.7 million children suffering from acute malnutrition annually, UNICEF reports.
TajudeenOyewale, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, emphasized the urgent need to address this crisis during Tuesday’s launch of revised malnutrition prevention and treatment guidelines.
Afghanistan’s malnutrition crisis has worsened dramatically since August 2021 amid economic collapse, drought, and humanitarian funding shortages. The World Food Programme estimates over 90 percent of Afghan households cannot afford sufficient food, creating a generation of children facing permanent developmental damage from chronic hunger and inadequate nutrition.
The updated guidelines introduce significant changes in treatment and prevention approaches, with greater focus on life-saving interventions for the most severe cases of malnutrition.
Child malnutrition in Afghanistan is driven by multiple factors including poverty, food insecurity, limited access to healthcare, and poor maternal nutrition. The crisis particularly affects rural areas where families struggle with both food scarcity and lack of medical facilities, while ongoing restrictions on female healthcare workers have further limited treatment access.
The new framework strengthens family-based dietary regimens and increases the role of local communities in addressing malnutrition at the grassroots level.
For the first time, the guidelines provide care instructions for infants under six months old, representing a critical step in reducing child malnutrition.
UNICEF hopes these revised guidelines will significantly improve treatment outcomes and save children’s lives across Afghanistan’s devastating malnutrition crisis.
Source: khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/3-7-million-children-in-afghanistan-suffer-acute-malnutrition-annually-unicef-warns/
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India
Readers’ comments: Scroll should focus on Bangladeshi Hindus instead of ‘illegal migrants’ in India
January 28, 2026
These stories bear no resemblance to the plight being faced by Hindus in Bangladesh (“Assam’s nowhere people: 24 hours to leave India, tossed back and forth across Bangladesh border”). Focus on those stories and their pains to create international awareness. – Subrata Dutta
Why are you trying to generate sympathy for illegal migrants usurping the resources of India? – Subhash Singh
Double standards in article about lynchings in India
The article rightly condemns mob violence but applies an uneven and misleading lens (“Violence against Hindus in Bangladesh should spark outrage – as should mob lynchings in India”). In India, lynching is a punishable offence under Section 103(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and such acts are not sanctioned by the state or Hindu religion. Courts have taken cognisance of lynching cases, and arrests and convictions have occurred.
The article repeatedly links mob violence in India to Hindu majoritarianism and Hindutva while treating violence against Hindus in Bangladesh as the actions of mobs rather than a reflection of Islam or Muslim society. This double standard generalises Hindu identity while isolating Muslim perpetrators elsewhere.
Mob violence in India has affected Hindus, Muslims, Dalits, migrants and Christians, often driven by misinformation, local crime suspicion or mob psychology rather than religious ideology alone. Presenting Hindus as the dominant causal factor is an oversimplification unsupported by comprehensive data.
Condemning violence is necessary, but attributing criminal acts to a religious community distorts facts and deepens communal division instead of addressing the real issue: law enforcement failure and mob criminality. – Manoj Kumar
Shelters won’t help stray dogs
This is such an important article and one I dearly hope is listened to by those that decide on policy in India. My time in India and many other countries across the globe, has shown time and time again that the resources needed to have a good standard of shelter care for dogs' long term, costs significantly more than animal birth control approaches.
Unfortunately, many shelters are already overcrowded, and adoptions rates are falling with cost-of-living challenges. This approach to removing dogs from the street feels very similar to the knee-jerk reaction of banning certain breeds in the UK: it simply does not address the core issues, but political parties are able to say they have done something swift to tackle the issues.
This is not an India-specific issue as there are shelters all over the world that do not have the resources to maintain the dogs in their care to a standard that most would be comfortable with.
There are, of course, exceptions, and I have visited shelters in India that were fantastic at caring for the dogs, but I do not believe that these shelters would be the norm as new shelters are built and the numbers of dogs’ increase. I truly hope people like EllyHiby and all those working to educate decision makers are listened to. – Steve Goward
Article on stray dogs has ‘vested interests’
The author is peddling a false narrative (“From scavengers to territorial animals: Can India’s stray dogs co-exist with humans for much longer?”). Why is Scroll publishing this article with vested interests? As journalists, you should look into the article, the methodology and sample size of the studies carried out. – Abhiroop Banerjee
Stray dogs in Bengaluru locality
I have been a dog lover for many years and firmly believe that animals should be looked after with compassion. But the stray dog situation in North Bengaluru in Jakkur has me worried and sleepless – literally.
A pack of eight stray dogs roams outside the building at night, making it challenging to catch a late-night flights or early-morning trains. The dogs howl loudly through the night, making it impossible to sleep. Request for sterilising and vaccinating the dogs have not been met with success, and two puppies, born after we moved to this area, are now grown dogs adding to the sound and the threat.
Recently, these dogs surrounded my elderly parents as we were trying to get out of the car and we needed help from nearby shop owners to enter the building. Those living in a gated societies may not face these problems, for residents of individual apartments, the pack of dogs roaming outside has begun to create fear. There must be an administrative solution to this issue, one that bears the safety of citizens while also being considerate of the animals. I request the local corporation to take appropriate action. – Rashmi Mehta
‘Autobiography’ of a 94-year-old
It was so heartwarming to read this excerpt, especially as a Malayali brought up in Maharashtra (“Fiction: At ninety-four, a retired engineer writes his third and, as he insists, final autobiography”). Marathi is very close to my heart and this is an evocative translation. I would love to read its Marathi version as well. – Anju Joy
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This was a touching and well-written article, despite the author’s age of almost 94. I, too, am almost 94. Congratulations to Rajendra for his article. – John Samuel
Source: scroll.in
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https://scroll.in/article/1090190/readers-comments-scroll-should-focus-on-bangladeshi-hindus-instead-of-illegal-migrants-in-india
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When AR Rahman said that the teachings of Islam inspired him to make 'MaaTujhe Salaam' song: 'Being patriotic to your country is half of it'
Jan 27, 2026
AR Rahman has been in the news for his recent comments where he hinted that the industry may be getting communal and that's the reason why, he's been getting less work in Hindi cinema since the last eight years. Later, he issued a clarification after facing backlash on the internet for the same, stating that while “sometimes intentions can be misunderstood,” his only aim has always been to uplift, honour, and serve India through his music.
What Rahman spoke about recently is something he had also addressed decades ago. In 1997, when he released the patriotic album VandeMataram to mark 50 years of India’s Independence, the composer had spoken at length about the thought behind the project. The album was created in collaboration with director and producer Bharat Bala and featured the iconic track 'MaaTujhe Salaam'. This continues to remain one of the best works of the ace composer, over the years.
On veteran actor Farida Jalal’s podcast YaadeinBTown Ki on Shemaroo, Rahman had said earlier, “Even in Islam, it says being patriotic to your country is half of it. So, we decided to make this one big song. We started with it, and when Mehboob (Kotwal, lyricist) brought ‘MaaTujhe Salaam,’ it became a beautiful expression.”
Explaining the larger intent of the album, Rahman added, “It was a song which was there for nearly 100 years. So, the youth should relate to it without any bias. The whole thing was to bridge this thing. And I think that happened very well, and it reached out to people.”
Rahman also recalled how the idea for VandeMataram came from Bharat Bala, whom he had earlier worked with on advertising campaigns. “Bala’s father had told him to do something for the country. So, he said we should do ‘VandeMataram.’ I said if we plan to do ‘VandeMataram,’ it should be done to reach out to the youth, from every religion, all around the world, and all the NRIs for them to feel a sense of belonging and feel like they have a home,” he said.
For those not in the know, here's what Rahman had said in his recent interview with BBC Asian Network, which had sparked a frenzy on the internet. “People who are not creative have the power now to decide things and this might have been a communal thing also but not in my face. It comes to me as Chinese whispers that they booked you but the music company went ahead and hired their five composers,” Rahman said.
Source: indiatimes.com
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/when-ar-rahman-that-the-teachings-of-islam-inspired-him-to-make-maa-tujhe-salaam-song-being-patriotic-to-your-country-is-half-of-it/articleshowprint/127625234.cms
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Second plea filed in SC challenging caste discrimination definition in 2026 UGC regulations
SuchitraKalyanMohanty
27 Jan 2026
NEW DELHI: A second plea challenging the recent UGC notification was filed in the Supreme Court, alleging that it uses a non-inclusive definition of caste-based discrimination and denies institutional protection to certain categories.
The plea, filed by lawyer Vineet Jindal, seeks a writ restraining the Union of India and University Grants Commission(UGC) from enforcing Regulation 3(c) in its current form, which denies grievance redressal and institutional protection to individuals outside SC, ST, and OBC categories. It also calls for a direction to ensure that Equal Opportunity Centres, Equity Helplines, inquiry mechanisms, and Ombudsperson proceedings under the 2026 Regulations are made accessible in a caste-neutral and non-discriminatory manner until the regulation is amended.
On January 13, the UGC notified the Regulations, superseding its (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2012, while the stated objective of the Regulations is to foster equity, inclusion, and a discrimination-free academic environment across Higher Education Institutions in India.
Jindal argued that denying access to grievance mechanisms based on caste identity amounts to impermissible State discrimination and violates Articles 14, 15(1), and 21 of the Constitution.
A similar petition was also filed on January 24, seeking a direction from the SC to declare the Regulation 3(c) of the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) 2026, notified on January 13, as unconstitutional, discriminatory, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14, 15(1), 19(1)(a), and 21 of the Constitution.
The plea filed by Mrityunjay Tiwari, in the top court, through lawyer Neeraj Singh and AOR (Advocate-on-Record) Satyam Pandey, sought issuance of order directing the Respondents, UOI and UGC, to ensure that equal opportunity Centres, equity helplines, inquiry mechanisms, and ombudsperson proceedings under the 2026 Regulations are made available in a non-discriminatory and caste-neutral manner, pending appropriate amendment or reconsideration of Regulation 3(c).
The plea of Tiwari further sought order directing the Respondents to read down and suitably amend Regulation 3(c) of the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, so as to define "caste-based discrimination" in a caste-neutral, inclusive, and constitutionally compliant manner, extending protection and grievance redressal mechanisms to all persons subjected to discrimination on the basis of caste, irrespective of caste identity;
The plea also sought order restraining the Respondents from enforcing or acting upon Regulation 3(c) of the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, in its present exclusionary form, insofar as it denies grievance redressal and institutional protection to persons belonging to non-SC/ST/OBC categories.
The plea of Tiwari further sought to declare that denial of access to grievance redressal mechanisms on the basis of caste identity amounts to impermissible State discrimination and is violative of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15(1), and 21 of the Constitution of India.
Source: newindianexpress.com
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Sambhal violence: Allahabad HC grants interim anticipatory bail to man who claimed cops shot him
by Bhupendra Pandey
January 28, 2026
The Allahabad High Court Tuesday granted interim anticipatory bail to Mohammad Alam, a biscuit seller wanted in connection with a November 2024 Sambhal violence case on several charges including attempt to murder, rioting using weapons, and attacking policemen on duty.
Granting relief subject to conditions, the court directed that in the event of non-compliance with any of these, the prosecution would be at liberty to move an appropriate application seeking cancellation of the interim anticipatory bail.
This comes after then Sambhal Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) VibhanshuSudheer on January 9 ordered lodging of an FIR against then Circle Officer (CO) of Sambhal City Anuj Chaudhary, and other policemen, for injuries sustained by Alam during alleged police firing in the violence.
However, the FIR has not yet been registered, with the Sambhal Superintendent of Police stating that the police would approach the High Court to challenge the order.
The FIR order was in the news last week after CJM Sudheer was transferred to Sultanpur district as Civil Judge (Senior Division) on January 20. He was replaced by Aditya Singh, Civil Judge, Senior Division, Sambhal at Chandausi.
Singh was the same judge who had cleared a survey of the SambhalJama Masjid on November 19 two years ago on a petition claiming that a temple had been demolished to build the mosque in 1526. Following this, violence had broken out which left four dead and several, including policemen, injured.
However, Singh too was transferred back to his original post.
Alam’s plea
Submitting before the court that Alam was innocent, his counsel said he apprehends being arrested in the case. The counsel further submitted that Alam had suffered gunshot injuries in the alleged incident and underwent treatment. He said the applicant would not misuse the liberty of bail, will cooperate with the investigation and obey all bail conditions.
Opposing the plea, the government counsel contended that Alam had not suffered any gunshot injury due to police firing.
After hearing the parties, a HC bench of Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha ordered, “Considering the… submissions of the learned counsel for the applicant, and without expressing any opinion on merits, the applicant, MohdAlam, involved in the aforesaid case, be released on interim anticipatory bail on his furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the Court concerned till 25.2.2026.”
The court fixed February 25 as the next date of hearing and asked the government counsel to file a counter affidavit.
Alam’s application was moved under BNS sections 191(3), 223(b), 309(4), 125, 109(1), 121(2), 121(1), 132, 221, 352, 115(2), 190, 191(2) in the case lodged at Sambhal police station.
Source: indianexpress.com
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Uttarakhand CM backs temple panel's demand to bar non Hindus from religious sites
Piyush Srivastava
28.01.26
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday said the demand of the management committees of Hindu temples and religious sites in the state to bar the entry of non-Hindus was “in coherence with the Hindu tradition”.
“We will act according to the wishes of the temple committees because they are the primary stakeholders of the religious activities held there, including the Char DhamYatra and the HaridwarKumbh. The government is a co-organiser. Obviously, we will do whatever they demand from us based on our traditions,” Dhami told reporters in Dehradun.
The Opposition parties believe the government will make the issue a key poll plank in the run-up to the 2027 Assembly elections.
The demand was first raised by the Ganga Sabha, which organises religious congregations along the Ganga in Haridwar. They have put up banners at several places in the town prohibiting the entry of non-Hindus.
Ganga Sabha president Nitin Gautam said: “We are gearing up to celebrate KumbhMela in Haridwar in 2027. Keeping in view the purity and security of the area, we have banned the entry of non-Hindus here and expect the government to deploy security forces to enforce our decision.”
Hemant Dwivedi, chairman of the Sri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple committee, said: “It was a long-pending demand of the members of the temple management and the people. We have implemented it now and hope that the administration will respect our emotions. We don’t want non-Hindus at our religious sites.”
Gita-in-madrasa plea
An IPS officer in Madhya Pradesh urged students of a madrasa in Bhopal on Republic Day to read the Bhagavad Gita along with the Quran as it would help “enlighten their path”.
Raja Babu Singh, additional director-general of police (training), was addressing students of the madrasa in Sehore district via videoconference.
Source: telegraphindia.com
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‘Pakistani’ taunts in office, rebuffed deliveries on apps: India’s Muslims face prejudice at work
January 28, 2026
A Muslim domestic worker struggling to find employment in Delhi laments forlornly, “I am uneducated and it is very difficult for me to get a job. The only one I can get is of a domestic help, and even that is not happening because of my religion. I want to be known by my real name. I am not a criminal. I don’t see any reason to hide my identity.”
I hear anecdotally from Muslim taxi drivers and delivery agents whose services I hire of clients not uncommonly refusing their services due to their religious identity. Only sometimes does this come to public notice. One instance is when a man named Abhishek Mishra, who identified as a “Hindutva thinker” and was followed by several Indian ministers on X, announced on social media that he canceled an Ola cab ride because the driver was Muslim. The reason he gave was that he did not want to give his money to “Jihadi people”.
In the climate of frank and even defiant anti-Muslim prejudice among the Indian middle classes today, Muslim workers feel barred or pushed out from employment in both the public and private sector through the experience of everyday discrimination and prejudice in the workplace.
Muslim women in multiple cleaning, cooking and caregiving jobs frequently use Hindu-sounding names at their workplaces in order to retain their jobs. One of them said to Al Jazeera that her grandmother even wore a sari and bindi to appear Hindu, and her sister worked even on Eid to avoid suspicion.
Other studies also confirm that many Muslim domestic workers reported using Hindu names to hide their Muslim identity. This was because they had struggled initially to find work using their Muslim names, but found that if they changed their names to Hindu ones this got them quicker and better employment opportunities. They also adopted Hindu customs in the workplace such as applying vermillion on their foreheads, wearing saris and speaking only in Hindi.
The New Indian Express reports in a similar vein that Muslim domestic workers from Tamil Nadu in Delhi face job discrimination due to their names. To secure employment, many adopt Hindu names, despite a sense of personal discomfort and humiliation. Employers openly express distrust and reluctance to hire Muslims. They justify their prejudice citing “security concerns” – as though Muslims by definition are untrustworthy.
Their predicament is compounded by the inclusion of religious identifiers of people seeking employment on online job portals for domestic help. Some residents are candid about their prejudice. A homemaker said, “It is my personal choice who I will employ and who I won’t. I do not feel secure about a Muslim woman working in my house. I do not trust them,” adding that most women in her locality would not employ Muslim domestics.
Studies confirm that working conditions are dismal not just for Muslim but also Hindu casual workers. They are often subjected to extremely inhumane conditions of work which include no water, no food, and delayed and reduced payment. But they find that the Muslims are more vulnerable. They report feeling unwelcome. Their Hindu employer and fellow-workers do not socialise with them. They also say they felt excluded because of preconceptions about their eating habits.
Open discrimination is also the fate of Muslim gig workers. For instance, a man of Hindu identity ordered chicken from a food delivery app, and instructed that he would prefer a Hindu delivery agent. When a Muslim agent appeared instead, he refused to accept the package and slammed the company. When they re-sent the package with a Hindu agent, he still refused to accept it. This was repeated in Hyderabad, with a customer again refusing to accept food delivered by a Muslim delivery agent.
In Lucknow, the customer first questioned a Zomato delivery agent named Mohammad Aslam about his identity. Upon learning of his background, the customer assaulted him, holding him captive for about one and a half hours before the police intervened. Bharata Rakshana Vedike, a Hindutva group in Karnataka, actually campaigns for a boycott of cab services operated by Muslims. Its members visit homes to persuade people not to use cabs driven by Muslim drivers, arguing that it is a matter of cultural and religious purity.
Online aggregators do nothing to protect Muslim gig workers who face discrimination – affecting their already meagre earnings – and even sometimes violence. Bigotry is enacted on the apps, but – as journalist Rohitha Naraharishetty documents – the company just looks away, except occasionally when it stirs social media outrage. But even then, there is little that is either preventive or remedial that the companies offer to their at-risk delivery agents. She points to what is possible with the example of the United States, where Uber banned white supremacists who made black Uber drivers uncomfortable and vulnerable.
However, the same company Uber in India does nothing when their Muslim drivers feel unsafe or even when they face violence. For instance Syed Lateefuddin, on his third ride as Uber driver in Hyderabad, was accosted by six men who began following him on a motorbike and a scooter. They forced him to stop his car and coerced him to chant “Jai Shri Ram”. They also threw stones at his car, shattering the windows. Lateefuddin was terrified, abandoned his car and ran away. He suspects the attack was triggered by the Islamic prayer beads hanging in his car, a visible sign of his faith.
He called Uber’s emergency helpline multiple times but they provided him no assistance. Fortunately, he had escaped without serious injury, but his car was badly damaged. It cost him over Rs 1.5 lakh to repair. “Uber’s representatives should have come with me to the police station. Instead, I’ve not heard a single word of support from them until now,” he told Naraharishetty (who quotes him using a pseudonym). He had to face a hostile police system alone.
Through their inaction and indifference, Naraharishetty observes that apps wantonly compromise the workers’ right to life, their right to livelihood and to dignity. The reason, she avers, is that Swiggy, Uber, and other platform apps are fundamentally antithetical to workers’ labour rights. The apps present themselves as value-neutral entities. But by failing to recognise the vulnerability of stigmatised sections of gig workers, they wilfully deny them their rights in their bid to swell further the company’s profits.
“It’s not rocket science”, KaveriMedappa, a researcher on gig and platform workers explains. “You can filter out specific words… they can make sure that words like Hindu, Muslim, Dalit are flagged. There’s no will to do any of this,” she says. “Even if you don’t have these filters – as soon as the delivery person receives the delivery notes and is able to see them, why can’t [the platform] enable a function to report the notes and cancel the order? These are simple tools to have embedded in the app interface.”
This discrimination is grievous for working class Muslims but not confined to them. In 2015, an Economic Times Intelligence Group highlighted the disparity in representation of Muslims in senior management within India’s corporate sector. Despite making up 14.2% of the population, Muslims only account for 2.67% of directors and senior executives in Bombay Stock Exchange 500 companies. These executives received 3.14% of the total remuneration for this group. In BSE 100 companies, the representation increases slightly to 4.60%, but the remuneration percentage drops to 2.56%.
Many studies have confirmed entry-level anti-Muslim prejudices that significantly block the entry of qualified professionals into private sector jobs. In 2005, scholars Paul Attewell and SukhadeoThorat undertook a study in which applications with similar qualifications but different names were sent out. They found that discrimination operated even at the application state and even more severely at the interview stage against applicants with Muslim names, as compared with those with upper-caste Hindu names.
This was confirmed by another similar study by LedBy Foundation. It created two identical résumés for a fictitious Muslim woman, Habiba Ali, and a Hindu woman, Priyanka Sharma, and sent them for 1,000 job applications each. Priyanka received 208 positive responses, while Habiba received 103. Priyanka got more callbacks and proactive contacts from recruiters. This, despite the fact that they had equal qualifications. This once again revealed unsaid norms that the private sector employers maintain of not recruiting Muslim employees, and a possible underlying prejudice that Muslim women are less capable for jobs that they are fully qualified for.
This is in line also with the experience reported by many young qualified Muslim women. MadinaAshfaq, a postgraduate in clinical psychology said, “I have been a straight ‘A’ student since middle school. While others in my batch have gotten placed in reputed hospitals, I struggle to even get a call for an interview.” Likewise Wajiha Noor is a hijab-wearing fashion designer. She did get some interview calls, but feels her hijab was a dealbreaker.
Some may argue about the necessity of admitting a caveat here. “[T]he low share of Muslims among the better jobs in India need not necessarily be a result of discrimination in the hiring process,” argue journalists Abhishek Jha and Roshan Kishore in a data analysis published in Hindustan Times in 2023 “Rather, it could be the result of Muslim job-seekers lagging in terms of educational qualifications, which is bound to have a big role in employability.”
Data does confirm that Muslims in India have the lowest rate of enrollment in higher education. Worse still, the enrollment numbers of Muslim students decreased by 8% between 2019 and 2020, according to a report that stated: “(The) Muslim community is the only category to experience an absolute decline, while other communities have witnessed an overall increase in enrolment.”. There can be many reasons for these – such as inadequate educational infrastructure in Muslim-majority areas resulting in a shortage of schools including separate schools for girls that may be culturally more acceptable, and a lack of trained teachers, besides poverty but also the experience of discrimination that discourage Muslim educational access.
But I underline that this caveat does not apply to the instances of discrimination that we describe here, because the prejudice that blocks their job chances is experienced by Muslims who are educated and qualified, no less than their Hindu counterparts.
Ghazala Jamil, teacher and author of Muslim Women Speak, feels that this is partly because “Muslim women are stereotyped as being imprisoned in their homes by purdah, therefore professionally incapacitated. This image plays in the mind of employers who often subject Muslim women candidates to hostile questions in the interview and selection process.”
She adds that it is also true that “Often, the employers might simply have decided not to employ Muslims because of bigotry and Islamophobia. Even when they are selected, co-workers might subject them to subtle discrimination or microaggressions which makes the workplace hostile. Lack of dignity and low salaries keep much lower class and lower-middle class Muslim women from wage work because it is not considered worth their time,” said Jamil.
Three Indian Muslim women spoke to Article 14 of workplace “micro-aggressions”, which Jamil refers to, about their experiences of prejudice in Delhi-based private firms. They say they were chastised, humiliated, pressured to disown their religious identity, harassed over wearing the hijab, and subjected to taunts referring to Pakistan.
One said, “The CEO occasionally commented on how Muslims are intolerant and how he hoped I was different.” She was advised “not to wear her religion on her sleeve”. The CEO asked her in a meeting that if someone offered her a glass of wine, would she accept it – because it would be impolite to decline. When she was delayed in submitting an output, she was asked by her seniors in jest if she had gone to Pakistan.
Another young woman described her experience when she was called by a global company for a final interview for her selection. The question centred around the hijab she wore, and they offered her the job if she agreed to take it off. She refused.
A Muslim intern in a Delhi-based global ed-tech company talked about how casual Islamophobia was a normal part of office conversation. She explained once to her colleagues that in the Muslim nikah, or marriage, the woman is required to affirm quboolhai (I accept) three times before the marriage is solemnised. One of them laughingly remarked how Muslims also say talaq three times to end their marriages.
Another female colleague asked her how to get a gharara made; she would know because it is popular in Pakistan. “I asked her how I would know what people in Pakistan wear.” When the film The Kerala Files was released, another colleague kept speaking to her how traumatised she was by the experience of the women in the film.
Not just Muslim women. BBC reports that when Mumbai-based Zeeshan Khan applied after completing a business management course for a job at the jewellery firm, Hari Krishna Exports, the company did not call him for an interview. Instead, an email popped into his mailbox from them, saying, “We regret to inform you that we only hire non-Muslim candidates”. The company later formally retracted with a less than convincing denial after some social media outrage. Khan ruefully said he would take a break before he applies for a job again.
Harsh Mander is a peace and justice worker, writer, teacher who leads the Karwan e Mohabbat, a people’s campaign to fight hate with radical love and solidarity. He teaches part-time at the South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University, and has authored many books, including Partitions of the Heart, Fatal Accidents of Birth and Looking Away.
Source: scroll.in
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J&K Republic Day tableau sparks criticism over 'Kashmir-centric display' from Jammu voices, BJP
FayazWani
28 Jan 2026
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir’s tableau at this year’s Republic Day celebrations, highlighting the region’s handicrafts, folk dances, and iconic houseboats along Kartavya Path, has drawn criticism from BJP leaders and Jammu residents for sidelining Jammu’s cultural identity.
The tableau, themed “Handicrafts and Folk Dances of J&K,” showcased Kashmir’s artistic legacy with a houseboat setting, intricately engraved Samavaars (traditional Kashmiri kettles), Kani shawls, hand-knotted carpets, carved walnut-wood artefacts, papier-mâché creations, and Basohli miniature paintings. Folk dancers performed to a musical fusion of rabab, santoor, and flute, accompanied by saffron blossoms symbolising land and labour. The display was conceptualised and designed, by Padma Shri awardee Balwant Thakur, and produced by Natrang Jammu.
Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, a Kashmiri Pandit and J&K BJP leader, objected to the display of Samavaars and houseboats, saying the Samavaar was imported from Central Asia and the houseboats represented European influence during the British Raj. He added that the rabab, a foreign musical instrument, did not fully represent J&K’s classical music and folk traditions. Chrungoo cautioned that such displays, while attractive to tourists, failed to convey the true civilisational message and risked imposing “one region’s pseudo culture” over others, including Dogras and Kashmiri Pandits.
ShivaniVaid, a Jammu-based educationist and TEDx organiser, said Jammu’s rich handicrafts, folk art, history, and traditions had been systematically neglected for decades, and despite covering nearly 60% of J&K’s geographical area, Jammu found no voice in the tableau. Col (retd) Ajay K Raina added that Kashmir was dominating the narrative while Ladakh, Jammu, and the fringes of Kashmir Valley continued to suffer.
AutarKrishanPeshen, a Kashmiri Pandit, criticised the repeated showcasing of houseboats while ancient temples, sacred tirthas, and Sanatan heritage remained underrepresented, stating that the region’s spiritual and civilisational legacy deserved recognition and preservation.
Jammu-based entrepreneur SahilVerma said the tableau “speaks volumes” about Jammu’s absence, describing it as deliberate neglect of a region that has always stood for inclusiveness and unity. Manu Khajuria called the "token representation of a couple of dancers from Jammu insulting,” while Neeraj Singh Dogra, founder of the Jammu Pradesh Peoples Movement, expressed disappointment at Jammu being completely missed. He warned that Kashmiri politicians had to see beyond Banihal tunnel and that Jammu’s identity must be protected from the Kashmirization and Greater Kashmir narratives, demanding recognition for a separate Jammu Pradesh.
"Sadly Jammu is completely missed in this. Kashmiri Politicians can’t see beyond Banihal tunnel. Jammu has its own identity and that needs to be protected from the Kashmirization and the Greater Kashmir narrative of Pakistani ISI. We want #JammuPradesh (sic),” Singh said in a post on X.
Source: newindianexpress.com
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2 J&K residents booked for entering notified area near IB in Kutch: Police
January 28, 2026
The Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Kutch (West) Police in Gujarat booked two residents of Jammu and Kashmir for disobedience of prohibitory orders by allegedly entering a notified area near Narayan Sarovar near the International Border with Pakistan.
On January 25, the police booked Javed Iqbal Mohammad Ashraf Shaikh (30), and Mohammad MushtaqHassandeenRaisi (25), both residents of Atoli village of Mandi taluka in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The local police in these border areas are already on the watch for any outsiders in this sensitive area where security was already heightened in view of the blast near Red Fort, Operation Sindoor and Republic Day. “So, when the local police informed us they were in the notified area, we detained the two men and booked them for breach of prohibitory orders under section 223 of the BNS (which is disobedience of lawful order promulgated by a public servant),” said police inspector A D Parmar of the SOG.
Police officials said the two men had traveled on the Jammu Tawi Express till Ajmer in Rajasthan and then took a bus to Gandhidham, in Kutch. They then went to Mandvi and then to Naliya, before heading to Narayan Sarovar.
“They wanted to visit a village there as they had come to this area to collect donations from the various mosques and the community leaders. They said they are farmers in their village in Poonch,” said Parmar.
When asked, the officer said nothing objectionable had been found from them, but their phones had been sent to the FSL.
Source: indianexpress.com
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AjitPawar plane crash: DGCA confirms no survivor as aircraft crash-lands at Baramati
28.01.26
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday said that no person on board survived after an aircraft carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister AjitPawar crash-landed at Baramati airport in Pune district.
An aircraft carrying Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister AjitPawar and four others, including two crew members, crash landed at Baramati airport, killing all five persons on board, a senior DGCA official said.
There were five passengers — Deputy CM of Maharashtra AjitPawaronboard along with two more personnel (one PSO and one attendant) and two crew members (pilot in-command and the first officer) — on board the Learjet 45 aircraft when the accident happened, the official said.
According to initial information, no person on board survived the crash, he said.
A team of DGCA officials is heading to the crash site, the official added.
The incident occurred when the aircraft, carrying Nationalist Congress Party leader Pawar (66) and others, was attempting to land in the Baramati area, officials said.
Superintendent of Police, Sandip Singh Gill, said that after the crash, there was a fire. "People onboard were immediately taken to the hospital," he said.
According to Flight Radar, the flight took off from Mumbai at 8.10 am and it disappeared from radar around 8.45 am.
A source told PTI that the aircraft pilot had mentioned about poor visibility near the runway, before the aircraft attempted the landing.
The Learjet 45 (LJ45), a mid-size business jet aircraft produced by the Learjet Division of Bombardier Aerospace, went off the runway while attempting to land at Baramati airport and burst into flames, the source said.
Pawar is survived by wife Sunetra, a member of Rajya Sabha and two sons, Parth and Jay.
Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had contested the recent municipal corporation elections in Pune and PimpriChinchwad in alliance with his uncle SharadPawar’s NCP (SP).
Source: telegraphindia.com
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Mideast
Trump tells Fox News US solved ‘tremendous’ problem with Syria
January 28, 2026
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had “solved a tremendous problem in conjunction with Syria,” although he didn’t provide details.
Trump’s comments, which were made during an interview on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show,” came hours after he spoke to Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
Washington has been engaged in shuttle diplomacy to reach a lasting ceasefire and political resolution between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces — once its top ally in Syria — and Sharaa, now its favored partner in the country.
Source: arabnews.com
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Israel’s Netanyahu says it would be a ‘mistake’ to hold elections now
January 27, 2026
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that holding elections now would be a “mistake,” as he faces the possibility of a snap vote should he fail to pass a national budget.
The budget will have its first reading on Wednesday in Israel’s parliament, where Netanyahu’s coalition is only able to exercise a majority thanks to the uncertain cooperation of a former ally.
“Of course I’m concerned... I think we’re in a very sensitive situation,” Netanyahu said at a televised press conference.
Failure to pass the budget by March 31 would trigger early elections.
“I think the last thing we need right now is elections. We’ll have elections later on this year, but I think it’s a mistake to have them now” he said.
Elections are due to be held by November.
The leader of Likud, Israel’s main right-wing party, Netanyahu holds the record for the longest time served as Israel’s premier — more than 18 years in total over several stints since 1996 — and has already said he intends to run again.
In the last elections, Likud won 32 seats in the Knesset, its ultra-Orthodox allies 18, and a far-right alliance 14.
Some of Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox allies formally left his government last year, but for now refuse to bring it down.
However, they are reluctant to vote for the budget until the premier makes good on a promise to pass a law allowing their community to avoid military conscription.
Netanyahu’s current term began with a controversial judicial overhaul plan that sparked months of mass protests, with tens of thousands of Israelis taking to the streets almost daily.
Source: arabnews.com
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Israel plans large camp for Palestinians in southern Gaza, retired general says
January 27, 2026
JERUSALEM, Jan 27 : Israel has cleared land in southern Gaza for the construction of a camp for Palestinians potentially equipped with surveillance and facial recognition technology at its entrance, a retired Israeli general who advises the military said on Tuesday.
Retired reservist Brig.-General Amir Avivi told Reuters in an interview that the camp would be built in an area of Rafah cleared of tunnels built by Hamas, with entry and exit tracked by Israeli personnel.
Avivi is founder of the influential Israel Defense and Security Forum, a group representing thousands of Israeli military reservists. He does not speak on behalf of Israel’s military, which declined to comment. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately provide comment on any plans to build a camp in Rafah.
Avivi said the camp would be used to house Palestinians who wish to leave Gaza and cross into Egypt as well as those who wish to stay.
His comments come as Israel prepares for a “limited reopening” of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt, a key requirement under US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war.
Sources told Reuters this month that Israel wants to ensure more Palestinians leave Gaza than are allowed in. Israeli officials have spoken in the past about encouraging Gazans to emigrate, though they deny intending to transfer the population out by force — a highly sensitive issue for Palestinians.
“There are no Gazans, almost at all, in Rafah,” Avivi said. The area fell under complete Israeli military control following an October Israel-Hamas ceasefire, and most Palestinians fled for areas held by Hamas.
“You need to build infrastructure in Rafah that can host them, and then they can choose if they want to go or not,” Avivi said. He said the structure would likely be “a big, organized camp” capable of hosting hundreds of thousands of people that could enforce ID checks including facial recognition.
In July, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz told Israeli media that he had ordered troops to prepare a camp in Rafah to house Gaza’s population. Officials have not spoken publicly about such plans since then.
Ismail Al-Thawabta, head of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, told Reuters in a statement that the idea amounted to cover for “forced displacement.”
POTENTIAL RETURN TO WAR
Palestinians in Gaza, shattered by two years of Israeli attacks in the enclave, have long faced restrictions on their movement and monitoring of their online activity and phone calls by Israeli surveillance agencies.
Nearly all of Gaza’s 2 million people have been forced into a narrow coastal strip from which Israeli forces withdrew under the ceasefire and where Hamas has retained control.
Trump’s plan for Gaza, now in its second phase, calls for Gaza’s reconstruction to start in Rafah and for Hamas to lay down its arms in exchange for further Israeli troop withdrawals from the territory.
Avivi said Israel’s military was preparing for a new offensive against Hamas if it refuses to give up its weapons. This could include relaunching attacks on Gaza City, the enclave’s largest.
The camp in Gaza could be used to house Palestinians fleeing a renewed Israeli assault, Avivi said.
“Plans are set. The army is ready to get the command from the government, from the cabinet to renew its maneuvers in Gaza,” Avivi said.
Israel’s military says it has continued to carry out operations in Gaza since the ceasefire to thwart what it describes as planned attacks by militants and destroy Hamas’ tunnel network under Gaza.
Israeli attacks since the ceasefire have killed more than 480 Palestinians in Gaza, health authorities there say, while the military says four soldiers have been killed in militant attacks.
AviDichter, a minister in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet and former head of Israel’s domestic intelligence service, said disputes over disarmament could lead Israel back into war in Gaza.
“We have to get prepared for the war in Gaza,” Dichter told Reuters, adding that the disarmament issue “will have to be solved by Israeli troops, the hard way.”
DEMILITARIZATION GOAL
Hamas has publicly refused to lay down its weapons. Two Hamas officials told Reuters this week that neither Washington nor the mediators had presented the group with any detailed or concrete disarmament proposal.
According to a document shared by the White House last week, the Trump administration wants to see heavy weapons decommissioned immediately, with “personal arms registered and decommissioned by sector” as the police under an interim technocratic administration in Gaza “become capable of guaranteeing personal security.”
Trump has repeatedly warned Hamas that it would have “hell to pay” if it does not lay down its weapons.
A US official said on Tuesday that disarmament could come along with some sort of amnesty for Hamas members.
Speaking to Israel’s parliament on Monday night, Netanyahu said the next phase of the ceasefire would not include reconstruction of Gaza.
“The next phase is demilitarization of the Strip and disarming Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
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Gaza mourns victims as bodies arrive at Al-Shifa hospital
January 28, 2026
GAZA: Palestinians gathered at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital on Tuesday to mourn loved ones killed in recent Israeli strikes on Gaza.
Four bodies were brought to the hospital from the Tuffahneighborhood following reported Israeli attacks.
Medical sources said the victims were killed in separate incidents in northern Gaza.
The Israeli military said it was not aware of any operations in northern Gaza on Tuesday.
More than 480 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since the October ceasefire, amid repeated accusations of violations.
Under a US-brokered ceasefire that came into effect on October 10, Israeli forces have withdrawn to positions behind a so-called "Yellow Line" in Gaza, though they remain in control of more than half of the territory.
"Following the identification, the (Israeli air force) struck and eliminated the terrorists in order to remove the threat," the military said.
Media restrictions in Gaza and limited access to many areas mean AFP cannot independently verify casualty figures and details provided by either side.
The ceasefire has largely halted fighting between Israel and Hamas, but both sides have accused each other of violating its terms.
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Election of new Iraqi president delayed by Kurds
January 28, 2026
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s parliament postponed the election of a president on Tuesday to allow Kurdish rivals time to agree on a candidate.
Parliamentary Speaker Haibat Al-Halbussi received requests from Iraq's two main Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, to postpone the vote to allow both parties more time to reach a deal.
By convention, a Shi’ite holds the powerful post of prime minister, the parliamentary Speaker is a Sunni and the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd.
Under a tacit agreement between the two main Kurdish parties, a PUK member holds the Iraqi presidency, while the president and regional premier of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region is selected from the KDP. But this time the KDP has named Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein as its own candidate for the presidency.
Once elected, the president will then have 15 days to appoint a prime minister, widely expected to be Nouri Al-Maliki, who held the post from 2006 to 2014. The shrewd 75-year-old politician is Iraq’s only two-term premier since the 2003 US-led invasion.
The Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shi’ite parties that holds a parliamentary majority, has already endorsed Maliki.
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UN votes to end mission in Yemeni city of Hodeida
January 28, 2026
UNITED NATIONS, United States: The UN Security Council voted Tuesday to terminate a mission that tried to enforce a ceasefire in war-torn Yemen’s port city of Hodeida.
“Houthi obstructionism has left the mission without a purpose, and it has to close,” said Tammy Bruce of the US delegation, one of 13 on the 15 member council to support ending the mission’s mandate.
The UN mission is now scheduled to conclude in two months.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government is a patchwork of groups held together by their opposition to the Iran-backed Houthis, who ousted them from the capital Sanaa in 2014 and now rule much of the country’s north. They also hold Hodeida.
The Houthis have been at war with the government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and triggered a major humanitarian crisis.
Since 2021 the Houthis have periodically detained UN staffers and still hold some of them.
The resolution approved Tuesday, which was sponsored by Britain, stipulates that the UN mission in Hodeida — known as UNMHA — must close as of March 31. It has been there since 2019.
Russia and China abstained from the vote.
“For six years, UNMHA has served as a critical stabilizing presence” in the region and “actively deterred and prevented a return to full scale conflict,” said Danish representative Christina Markus Lassen.
“The dynamics of the conflict have evolved, and the operating environment has significantly narrowed as UN personnel have become the target of the Houthis’ arbitrary detentions,” Lassen said.
The war in the poorest country in the Arabian peninsula has triggered the worst humanitarian crisis anywhere in the world, the United Nations says.
It expects things to get worse in 2026 as hungry Yemenis find it even harder to get food and international aid drops off.
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Russian forces begin pulling out of bases in northeast Syria
January 28, 2026
QAMISHLI, Syria: Russian forces have begun pulling out of positions in northeast Syria in an area still controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces after the group lost most of its territory in an offensive by government forces.
Associated Press journalists visited one base next to the Qamishli airport Tuesday and found it guarded by SDF fighters who said the Russians had begun moving their equipment out in recent days.
Inside what had been living quarters for the soldiers was largely empty, with scattered items left behind, including workout equipment, protein powder and some clothing.
Ahmed Ali, an SDF fighter deployed at the facility, said the Russian forces began evacuating their positions around the airport five or six days ago, withdrawing their equipment via a cargo plane.
“We don’t know if its destination was Russia or the Hmeimim air base,” he said, referring to the main Russian base on Syria’s coast. “They still have a presence in Qamishli and have been evacuating bit by bit.”
A UN humanitarian convoy from Damascus reached Qamishli on Tuesday, UN spokesman StéphaneDujarric said.
“It delivered food, warm clothes and blankets, among other supplies,” he told UN reporters. “More convoys are planned in the coming days.”
Dujarric said the UN is also continuing to distribute food, bread and cash elsewhere including displacement sites.
There has been no official statement from Russia about the withdrawal of its forces from Qamishli.
Russia has built relations with the new central Syrian government in Damascus since former President Bashar Assad was ousted in December 2024 in a rebel offensive led by now-interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa — despite the fact that Moscow was a close ally of Assad.
Moscow’s scorched-earth intervention in support of Assad a decade ago turned the tide of Syria’s civil war at the time, keeping Assad in his seat. Russia didn’t try to counter the rebel offensive in late 2024 but gave asylum to Assad after he fled the country.
Despite having been on opposite sides of the battle lines during the civil war, the new rulers in Damascus have taken a pragmatic approach to relations with Moscow. Russia has retained a presence at its air and naval bases on the Syrian coast.
Al-Sharaa is expected to visit Moscow on Wednesday and meet with Putin.
Fighting broke out early this month between the SDF and government forces after negotiations over a deal to merge their forces together broke down. A ceasefire is now in place and has been largely holding.
After the expiration of a four-day truce Saturday, the two sides announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
Syria’s defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
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Documentary highlights Israeli brutality
January 27, 2026
PARK CITY, US: At the start of “American Doctor,” a new documentary about US medics working in hospitals in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war, director Poh Si Teng initially declines to film pictures of dead Palestinian children that one of the doctors is trying to show her.
Teng worries that she will have to pixelate the gruesome scene to protect the dignity of the children.
“You’re not dignifying them unless you let their memory, their bodies, tell the story of this trauma, of this genocide. You’re not doing them a service by not showing them,” Jewish-American doctor Mark Perlmutter tells her.
“This is what my tax dollars did. That’s what your tax dollars did. That’s what my neighbor’s tax dollars did. They have the right to know the truth.
“You have the responsibility, as I do, to tell the truth.
You pixelate this, that’s journalistic malpractice.”
Teng’s unflinching film follows Perlmutter and two other American doctors — one Palestinian American and the other a non-practicing
Zoroastrian — as they try to treat the results of the unspeakable brutality visited on a largely civilian population in Gaza since Israel launched its retaliation for Hamas’s October 2023 attack.
Alongside the severed limbs and the open wounds, the doctors labor on with their Palestinian colleagues, we also see the trio’s attempts at advocacy — in Washington’s corridors of power and in Israeli and American media.
The documentary also depicts the practical difficulties they face — the surgical scrubs and antibiotics they have to smuggle across the border to get around the Israeli blockade, and the last-minute refusals of Israeli authorities to let them in.
And we see the bravery of men voluntarily going to work in hospitals that are repeatedly hit by the Israeli army.
Israel rejects accusations its numerous strikes against Gaza hospitals amount to war crimes, saying it is targeting “terrorists” in these facilities and claims Hamas operatives are holed up in tunnels underneath the hospitals.
The attacks include the so-called “double tap” strike on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the south of the Strip, in August 2025 where the three men have worked.
Emergency responders and journalists who had rushed to the scene after a first projectile hit were killed when a second was fired at the same spot.
FerozeSidwha, perhaps the most eloquent of the three doctors, repeatedly makes the case throughout the film that he has never seen any tunnels and that, in any case, even the presence of wounded fighters in a hospital does not make it a legitimate target.
“Americans deserve the opportunity to know what’s going on, what their money is being used for, and you know, just to decide. ‘Do you really want this being done?’,” he said at the Sundance Film Festival, where the film got its premiere on Friday.
“I’m pretty sure the answer is ‘no’. I just want to keep speaking out and letting people know they don’t have to be an accessory to child murder. But we all are, right now.”
The film is dedicated to the around 1,700 healthcare workers who have been killed since Israel launched its invasion in October 2023.
UN investigators have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, a charge that Israel has denied as “distorted and false,” while accusing the authors of antisemitism.
Despite a fragile ceasefire in place since October last year, there has been continued violence between Israeli forces and Hamas, which has seen Palestinian non-combatants killed, including dozens of children, according to UNICEF.
Reporters Without Borders says nearly 220 journalists have died since the start of the war, making Israel the biggest killer of journalists worldwide for three years running.
The Sundance Film Festival runs until Feb. 1.
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Syrian Kurdish enclave on alert amid shaky ceasefire
January 27, 2026
QAMISHLI, Syria: With Syria’s Islamist-led government bearing down on Kurdish forces, residents of their last major enclave are on alert, mindful of last year’s violence against other minority groups and determined to preserve their self-rule.
In the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in the northeast, a mechanic, a storekeeper, and a student were among those taking part in a nighttime volunteer patrol this week, vowing to defend their area and putting little faith in a shaky ceasefire.
“We’re going out to guard our neighborhoods, to stand with our people and protect our land,” said YazanGhanem, 23. “This is our land. We won’t accept any outside interference in our areas.”
’FEARS AND DOUBTS’ WEIGH ON KURDS, SAYS RESIDENT
It reflects simmering tensions despite the US-backed ceasefire, which was extended on Saturday for 15 days. Some clashes have taken place since then.
Having taken swathes of the north and east from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), President Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s government is pressing its demand for the integration of the remaining Kurdish-run enclaves with the state.
The SDF is clinging on in its northeastern enclave — one of several where Kurds — an oppressed group under the ousted Assad dynasty — established de facto autonomy during the civil war.
While Sharaa has repeatedly vowed to uphold Kurdish rights — he recognized Kurdish as a national language earlier this month — the residents patrolling Qamishli on Monday had little confidence in the former Al-Qaeda commander.
“We have fears and doubts about the government because, quite simply, wherever it has entered, there have been massacres and killing,” said RadwanEissa, brandishing a gun.
Fears among Syrian minorities grew last year during several bouts of violence in which the Sunni Muslim-led government clashed with members of the Alawite community in Syria’s coastal region, and Druze communities in Sweida province, with government-aligned fighters killing hundreds of people.
Sharaa has promised accountability.
A senior Syrian government official said Kurdish fears were “understandable” based on abuses committed by army personnel in Sweida and some violations carried out by troops as they pressed into Kurdish-held areas in recent weeks.
The official said two people had been arrested for the recent abuses and a third was on the run, but being pursued. “We are keen to learn from past experiences, and we did,” he added.
The prosecutor general last year pressed charges against some 300 people linked to armed factions affiliated with the Syrian army over the violence in the coastal region, and around 265 who belonged to Assad-era paramilitary groups.
Human Rights Watch said on January 25 that both parties appeared to have committed abuses that violated international law during the current escalation in the northeast.
SDF READY ‘FOR WAR AND POLITICAL SOLUTIONS’
Government forces have advanced to the outskirts of SDF-held Hasakah, an ethnically mixed city some 70 km (45 miles) south of Qamishli. They have also encircled Kobani, or Ain Al-Arab, a Kurdish-held town at the Turkish border.
The SDF has vowed to protect Kurdish regions.
In an interview with Kurdish broadcaster Ronahion Sunday, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said dialogue continued with Damascus, and that after the 15-day period “serious steps” would be taken toward integration.
“Our forces are ready for war and political solutions,” he said. “The Kurds must get their rights in this region, and join the Syrian state,” he said.
The Syrian official said the January 18 integration deal aimed to reassure Kurds by stipulating that Syrian troops would not enter Kurdish areas and by spelling out how local communities would be able to delegate their own representatives.
The SDF’s territory grew as it partnered with the United States against Islamic State in Syria.
But its position weakened as Washington deepened ties to Sharaa over the last year. President Donald Trump said on January 20 Washington was trying to protect the Kurds.
Syria’s dominant Kurdish group, the PYD, follows a political doctrine emphasising leftism and feminism.
Giwana Hussein, a 23-year-old Qamishli student, said she hoped the ceasefire showed that both sides wanted a political solution. She urged Damascus to let Kurds run their own affairs, and said she was afraid that if the government took control, women’s rights would be marginalized.
The Syrian official said the government wanted to ensure a new constitution addressed Kurdish concerns, but said that it could only come after an integration deal was agreed and implemented. “Once we merge, we can discuss everything,” the official said.
Ivan Hassib, a Kurdish activist critical of the PYD, said Sharaa’sdecree recognizing Kurdish rights was positive but only a first step, saying they must be enshrined in the constitution and not limited to cultural rights: “The lasting solution ... is for the Kurds and other groups to obtain some form of autonomy.”
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Saudi cabinet reaffirms support for Board of Peace initiative in Gaza
January 27, 2026
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s cabinet on Tuesday reiterated its support for the Board of Peace initiative in Gaza, describing it as a transitional mechanism aimed at ending the conflict and facilitating reconstruction in the Gaza Strip.
The position was outlined during a cabinet meeting chaired in Riyadh by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Ministers reviewed regional and international developments, with a focus on efforts to restore security and stability in the region.
The crown prince briefed the cabinet on a message he received from Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa regarding bilateral relations between the two countries.
Minister of Media Salman bin Yousef Al-Dossari said the cabinet also discussed Saudi Arabia’s participation in the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos.
The cabinet welcomed Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the World Economic Forum’s international meeting on cooperation and growth on April 22–23, which is expected to bring together developed and developing economies to address shared global challenges.
Ministers also reviewed the outcomes of the third International Labor Market Conference held in Riyadh under the patronage of King Salman, including agreements and memoranda of understanding focused on workforce development, the use of advanced technologies and artificial intelligence, and the creation of more sustainable labor systems.
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Shoura Council speaker leads Saudi Arabia’s delegation to Asian Parliamentary Assembly
January 27, 2026
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Shoura Council Speaker Sheikh Abdullah Al-Asheikh headed the Kingdom’s delegation to the 16th Plenary Session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, held in Bahrain.
Themed “The Role of Asian Parliaments in Promoting Dialogue among Civilisations and Cultures in Asia,” the event saw the participation of over 190 representatives from 27 countries, parliaments, and international unions.
Speaker of the Council of Representatives of Bahrain Ahmed Al-Musallam praised Saudi Arabia’s efforts, carried out in partnership with France, to advance international recognition of the State of Palestine, the Saudi Press Agency said in a report.
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Tech executives highlight Saudi Arabia’s growing AI ambitions
RAHAF JAMBI
January 27, 2026
RIYADH: Leaders in Saudi Arabia’s technology industry highlighted the Kingdom’s growing ambitions in artificial intelligence during an event in Riyadh on Tuesday.
The Oracle AI World Tour Riyadh brought together senior Saudi government officials, business leaders, technology decision-makers, developers and innovators to explore how AI is transforming industries, accelerating economic diversification and enabling organizations to innovate securely and at scale.
The one-day conference highlighted advances in AI-powered cloud infrastructure, databases and enterprise applications, positioning AI as a key driver of digital transformation and economic growth in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
Saud Al-Sheraihi, vice president of digital solutions at stc, spoke to Arab News at the event about the strong demand for digital solutions across Saudi Arabia, noting the rapid growth of the Kingdom’s digital economy.
“Saudi Arabia is among the highest globally in digital growth. The digital economy now contributes more than 16 percent of GDP, and the ambition is to position the Kingdom as a global hub for digital and AI innovation,” he said.
Richard Smith, executive vice president of technology for Oracle in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, added that the event reflected Oracle’s long-standing commitment to the Kingdom and its expanding role in the regional AI ecosystem.
“Oracle has been working in Saudi Arabia for many years, and we are absolutely delighted with our partnerships here,” Smith said. “We have made significant financial investments in the region, more than $14 billion, as part of our long-term growth strategy.”
Smith said AI had moved beyond experimentation and was now focused on delivering measurable business outcomes. “Organizations are no longer asking whether AI works. They are looking for real return on investment, and that is where cloud, data and AI come together.”
He added that AI adoption in Saudi Arabia was accelerating across government, telecommunications and enterprise sectors, driven by demand for secure, compliant and locally hosted cloud solutions.
“Data sovereignty and security have always been fundamental to Oracle. Working closely with partners such as stc, we are ensuring that data remains within the Kingdom while delivering advanced cloud and AI capabilities.”
The Saudi government has initiated plans to invest more than $40 billion in AI by 2030, expecting to double this figure in coming years.
Reham Al-Musa, vice president of cloud applications for the public sector and country leader for Oracle Saudi Arabia, said the event supported the Kingdom’s ambitions to become a global AI hub.
“Saudi Arabia is rapidly emerging as one of the world’s most influential AI economies, with artificial intelligence acting as a major catalyst for boosting innovation, improving citizen services and enhancing the competitiveness of Saudi Arabia’s human capital,” she said.
“Oracle AI World Tour Riyadh provided a platform for collaboration, knowledge exchange and real-world innovation, helping Saudi organizations accelerate AI adoption in ways that are secure, scalable and aligned with national priorities under Vision 2030.”
Through executive keynotes and technical lab sessions, attendees examined how AI and cloud technologies were increasingly converging to enable faster innovation, stronger security and data-driven decision-making across sectors.
Breakout sessions explored AI adoption in government, telecommunications, finance, supply chain, human resources and customer experience.
The Solution Zone allowed participants to engage directly with experts, explore live demonstrations and examine use cases showing how AI was being applied across industries.
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Riyadh workshop focuses on Yemen capacity building
January 27, 2026
RIYADH: The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen is hosting a three-day capacity-building workshop in Riyadh as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen Yemeni institutional capacities.
The workshop is organized in cooperation with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
It includes 10 sessions aimed at transferring expertise in zakat and customs and developing infrastructure at border crossings, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.
Participants include representatives from all three organizations, as well as officials from Yemen’s Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Ministry of Finance, and Yemeni tax and customs authorities.
The workshop is part of the program’s continued efforts to support Yemen by enhancing institutional and technical capacities and strengthening expertise in key financial and economic sectors.
The program has launched various projects and initiatives to strengthen institutional, technical, and community capacities, enabling government institutions to identify needs, assess capabilities, and deliver services efficiently.
The workshop builds on broader capacity-building efforts, including a comprehensive program launched in mid-2021 to strengthen the capabilities of Yemen’s ministries of planning and finance.
It also follows a workshop held in November 2022 on developing Yemeni institutional capacities that brought together eight international organizations and UN bodies.
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Children’s Theater Festival opens in Qassim region
January 27, 2026
BURAIDAH: The Qassim Children’s Theater Festival opened on Tuesday bringing together professionals from across Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.
The event is being held under the patronage of Prince Dr. Faisal bin Mishaal bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, governor of Qassim, at the Science Center in Unaizah governorate.
It has been Organized by the Theater and Performing Arts Association and executed by the UnaizahTheater Association, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Running until Jan. 31, it features shows, panel discussions, as well as training workshops to develop children’s theater and strengthen professional skills in the field.
Khaled Al-Baz, CEO of the Theater and Performing Arts Association, told the SPA the festival forms part of a broader strategy to position children’s theater as a distinct cultural sector.
“Children today constitute genuine audiences — tomorrow’s cultural architects,” Al-Baz said.
Ahmed Al-Humaimidi, president of the UnaizahTheater Association, said it was an investment in young people, noting that it extends beyond performances to include cultural and educational programming.
He said the initiative aims to nurture creativity, aesthetic awareness and a sense of belonging, while also identifying emerging talent and encouraging knowledge exchange among theater practitioners.
“Our association recognizes children’s theater as foundational to cultivating aware, creative character,” he said.
The festival serves as both an artistic showcase and a platform for professional dialogue, reflecting the Kingdom’s expanding cultural landscape and growing focus on children’s theater as an educational and cultural tool, the SPA noted.
This occurs alongside support for signature initiatives and performing arts promotion as quality-of-life enhancement.
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Saudi defense minister meets with Kuwaiti counterpart in Riyadh
January 27, 2026
RIYADH: Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman met with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah in Riyadh on Tuesday.
The two officials discussed Saudi-Kuwaiti defense cooperation and ways to strengthen and develop it, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The latest developments in the region, efforts being made with regard to them, and issues of common interest were also discussed.
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Nearly 60% of employers have difficulty finding skilled workers, World Bank official says
HAJAR ALQUSAYER
January 27, 2026
RIYADH: Skill shortages remain a major constraint on business growth, with nearly 60 percent of employers reporting difficulty finding workers with relevant skills and capabilities, a World Bank official told Arab News.
On the sidelines of the Global Labor Market Conference in Riyadh on Tuesday, Luis Benveniste, senior adviser and acting global director for education and skills at the World Bank, said: “We find that people lack opportunities to upskill or reskill in a rapidly changing labor market, because of automation, because of digital transformation, because of climate change, jobs are changing, and so people are not able to acquire the skills that are relevant.”
He said that an estimated 70 percent of children in low and middle income countries are unable to read an age-appropriate paragraph with comprehension by the age of 10, making it harder to develop job-relevant skills later in life.
“In the absence of those foundational skills, it’s much harder to get those job-relevant skills that will enable them to open up to a fruitful, thriving career,” Benveniste said, adding that the gap often becomes more pronounced as young people enter the labor market.
He said addressing the challenge begins with expanding access to high-quality early childhood education, including proper nutrition and learning stimulation, and supporting teachers to use evidence-based teaching methods to strengthen literacy and numeracy.
He also pointed out the importance of closer coordination between governments, educators, and employers to better align training with labor market demand.
This includes engaging the private sector in curriculum development, improving labor market data systems, and expanding opportunities for apprenticeships and on-the-job training.
“More and more we see results-based financing approaches so that skilling institutions get rewarded not just for training people, but for ensuring that people who have been trained find jobs and hold those jobs six to 12 months after finalizing their training programs,” he said.
Benveniste highlighted the role of short-cycle training and micro-credentials, which allow workers to step in and out of the labor market to build flexible, stackable qualifications over time, helping them move up the job ladder.
He said that improved access to scholarships and training loans is also needed to ensure low-income learners are not excluded.
Tackling unemployment, particularly among youth and women, will require sustained collaboration between the public and private sectors, he said, adding that neither can respond to the scale of labor market change alone.
“There won’t be a jobs revolution without a skills revolution,” Benveniste said, emphasizing the need to invest in priority growth sectors such as manufacturing, agribusiness, and healthcare to ensure workers gain the capabilities required for the jobs of the future.
Speaking to Arab News, Samer Al-Kharashi, director of the UN Tourism Regional Office for the Middle East, said tourism has become a key tool for rural development and job creation, noting that a large share of the world’s poorest populations live in rural areas and are more likely to be in informal or vulnerable employment.
“Eighty-four percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas, (and) those people are twice as likely to be in informal or vulnerable employment.
“If you compare that 80 percent of them versus 44 percent in urban areas, that means that there is very important area that needs the focus of the mutual work from governments, international organizations and private sectors.”
Al-Kharashi said expanding tourism in rural regions can help create jobs, empower women and youth and support small and medium enterprises, but that it requires capacity-building, training, infrastructure and entrepreneurship support, alongside the adoption of digital and sustainable tools, including artificial intelligence.
He said the Kingdom’s tourism sector offers strong potential for Saudi entrepreneurs and SMEs, noting that local knowledge, culture, and technology skills are key assets for attracting visitors seeking authentic experiences.
“One of every 10 jobs is in tourism,” Al-Kharashi said, adding that the sector has moved from a recovery phase into a period of sustained expansion and growth, creating new opportunities in different segments of the industry.
“We can see that in numbers, tourism to national numbers have been raised in 2025 to 1.52 billion, with an increase of 4 percent from last year. So the sector is booming very strong. A lot of opportunities (are) coming. We can see that in depth.”
He said the tourism industry is largely driven by the private sector, with governments and national organizations playing a regulatory and enabling role to ensure that development preserves the environment and supports the empowerment of women and youth.
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Saudi Arabia assessing global labor policies at GLMC, says deputy minister
HAJAR ALQUSAYER
January 27, 2026
RIYADH: As the Global Labor Market Conference drew to a close in Riyadh, Saudi labor officials said they were assessing policies across global labor markets, using those findings to reform priorities.
Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the conference, Ahmed Al-Sharqi, deputy minister of labor affairs at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, said: “We look at the topics, we assess the experience, and we assess the outcome of each GLMC edition, and based on that, we tailor the next topics and the topics that still are very relevant in today’s time and world.”
Al-Sharqi described the process as one of incremental development and knowledge-building.
One initiative hosted at the conference was the policy hackathon titled “The First Job Guarantee,” in which experts discussed ways to tackle the transition from education to employment.
This year’s conference addressed trade shifts, informal economies, the evolving global skills landscape, the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs and productivity, and building more resilient labor markets, with a focus on youth.
“We have over 40 ministers of labor participating in this year’s conference, so that facilitates the spread of knowledge, and the exchange of effective experiences, in matters related to workforce and their adoption (of) AI, and other labor market dynamics,” Al-Sharqi said.
One of the conference’s main objectives is to equip policymakers with vetted, implementable policy frameworks, the deputy minister added.
“I believe one of the most important outcomes of this conference is for the policymakers to have practicable policies that are effective, and ways of implementing these policies in their respective labor markets,” he said.
He added that this year’s edition also marked the graduation of the first cohort of the Global Labor Market Academy, part of broader efforts to strengthen capacity-building for policymakers, develop specialized labor-market expertise and expand international knowledge exchange. A second cohort was launched this year.
On local workforce development, Al-Sharqi highlighted initiatives aimed at aligning skills with market demand, including sectoral skills councils and a training pledge under which private sector establishments commit to providing training opportunities for Saudi nationals.
He said these programs have generated hundreds of thousands of training opportunities across the private sector.
“When it comes to Saudis skilling and upskilling, all these initiatives aim directly at building a stronger Saudi workforce that can compete and meet the demands of the employing organizations,” Al-Sharqi said.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630812/saudi-arabia
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National Water Co. wins King Khalid Award for environmental sustainability
January 27, 2026
RIYADH: The National Water Co. has won the King Khalid Award for its environmental sustainability standards.
Prince Faisal bin Khalid bin Abdulaziz, chairman of the board of trustees of the King Khalid Foundation, who also heads the awards committee, presented the NWC with the prize for 2025.
The NWC’s CEO Fuad bin Ahmed Al-Asheikh Mubarak received the award at a ceremony on Monday at the KKF’s headquarters in Riyadh.
He thanked Prince Faisal, the judges, and members of the awards committees for nominating the NWC.
According to an NWC press release, the awards criteria include a company’s net-zero emission strategy in line with the Kingdom’s 2030 goals.
In addition, there are criteria for waste-removal standards, and the reuse of gases generated from sludge to produce bioenergy at the Ajyal and Hit plants.
In addition, the judges based their decision on alternative energy generation, solar projects, water-loss management targets, and reusing treated water for afforestation.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2630807/saudi-arabia
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Europe
Former PM Scott Morrison criticised over calls to regulate Islamic preachers in Australia
Jan 28, 2026
By Yashee Sharma
Muslim leaders have condemned Scott Morrison, claiming he is"deeply ill-informed" after he called for the regulation of Islamic teachings and said religious figures must "take responsibility" for what happens in their faiths.
The former prime minister said that "it is time" for Islamic institutions to adopt national self-regulated standards, an accreditation framework and a national register during a speech at an antisemitism conference in Israel overnight.
Addressing his comments this morning, he told Sydney radio station 2GB his proposal was not anything new, as Anglican ministers also have to undergo training and accreditation.
"What I'm proposing is that religious leaders in all faiths have got to take responsibility for what's happening in those faiths," he said.
"Now their teaching has to be right, it has to be positive, and it has to be in English, so people can see what's being said."
Morrison added that immigration was also part of the problem, but acknowledged that the radicalisation of the Bondi terrorists happened in Australia.
"We have to enlist our Imams and all of those who are religious leaders in the Islamic faith to take charge of that and deal with the very difficult issues that are clearly there," he said.
Australian National Imams Council President Imam ShadiAlsuleiman said the comments were "reckless, irresponsible, and deeply ill-informed", adding that the country had a "shared responsibility" to protect public safety and social cohesion.
"It is profoundly disappointing to hear such divisive language from a former prime minister who understands, better than most, the importance of unity, social cohesion, and responsible leadership," he said.
"To suggest that an entire faith community should be held accountable for the actions of two criminal offenders, both of whom law enforcement agencies have confirmed acted alone, is unacceptable and categorically rejected."
Alsuleiman said Australian Muslims were living the "real-world consequences" of this type of political rhetoric.
"Islamophobia does not require spectacular acts of violence to be harmful," he said.
"Ill-informed or inflammatory language has contributed to a documented rise in Islamophobic incidents, including online abuse, verbal and physical attacks on Muslim women, assaults on Imams and community leaders, arson attacks on homes, and threats and vandalism directed at mosques."
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has knocked back Morrison's plan, saying the government has introduced its own measures aimed at unifying the country rather than dividing it.
"Typically, Scott Morrison has a very different objective. He's a pretty divisive figure and the government's got its own approach to this," he told reporters this afternoon.
"The government's approach has been to crack down on antisemitism, to crack down on hate speech, to strengthen our gun laws and to try and rebuild social cohesion in our country."
The federal government has cracked down on hate preachers following the December 14 terrorist attack at Bondi Beach, with new aggravated offences for religious or spiritual leaders who advocate violence and penalties for religious leaders who preach hate to children.
The NSW government has also empowered councils to shut down premises housing hate preachers with greater fines and penalties.
Source: 9news.com.au
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https://www.9news.com.au/national/scott-morrison-criticised-over-calls-to-regulate-islamic-preachers-in-australia/d3c65a44-185c-42de-b5a8-4d0edee79997
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Greens Frame By-Election As Battle Against "Anti-Muslim Record" Of Reform’s Matthew Goodwin
Jan 28, 2026
The Green Party will put Reform candidate Matthew Goodwin’s “record of anti-Muslim bigotry”, along with a message of “unity and hope”, at the forefront of its campaign to win the Gorton and Denton by-election, PoliticsHome understands.
Goodwin, a GB News presenter and former academic associated with the populist right, has been selected as Reform UK's candidate for the parliamentary by-election in Greater Manchester next month.
A critic of the concept of Islamophobia, he recently wrote that ”the ruling class in the UK is moving to shut down public debate about Islam."
He has also suggested in the past that being born and raised in Britain does not necessarily mean that people are British, saying: “It takes more than a piece of paper to make somebody ‘British’.”
In Gorton and Denton, a Labour seat represented by Andrew Gwynne until his resignation last week, more than a quarter of voters identify as Muslim and 44 per cent as being from an ethnic minority background.
PoliticsHome reported on Monday that Muslim Vote, a pressure group focussed on who Muslims should support in elections, has decided to endorse the Greens over Labour and George Galloway's Workers' Party.
PoliticsHome also understands that Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s Your Party could endorse the Greens in the by-election. The decision will be discussed this week at a meeting of Your Party's members’ oversight committee, which is currently running the party alongside the Independent Alliance MPs.
The Green Party intends to frame the by-election to voters as a straight battle between itself and Reform.
A Green source said on Sunday: "We’ve been on the doorsteps in Gorton and Denton, and the Labour vote has collapsed. It’s between the Greens and Reform. This is game on."
“In the past, you would mention Keir Starmer and people would laugh dismissively. Now canvassers say voters are angry towards him,” a Green source added on Tuesday.
Expecting to face a “top-heavy, Farage-led” campaign with heavy expenditure, the Greens plan to portray Reform as being on the side of big donors and Donald Trump.
PoliticsHome has contacted Reform for comment.
On the first day that the by-election date of 26 February was confirmed, a source said hundreds of activists signed up to knock on doors for the Green Party, and leader Zack Polanski’s rally on Tuesday evening is sold out.
Ahead of the hustings on Thursday and selection on Friday, Green sources said the three “serious” contenders to become the party's candidate are Green deputy leader Mothin Ali, Trafford council’s Green group leader Hannah Spencer, and Fesl Reza-Khan, the Green candidate in Oldham in 2024.
Of the three, Spencer – a plumber by trade – is considered the favourite to win the selection. "Hannah seems most popular in the local parties by far," one source said.
While all three are known to have made clear indications in private that they intend to stand, none is allowed to publicly declare their bids as the Green Party has ruled out campaigning ahead of the selection.
Unlike in the Labour Party, there is no formal shortlisting process in the Greens. Instead, there are pre-candidate interviews undertaken by panels that do not have the power to stop applicants from running but will instead recommend or decline to recommend candidates to local members.
To qualify for selection, PoliticsHome understands there is a low threshold in place: an applicant must secure the nominations of two members from either Manchester or Tameside Green parties, which both cover the constituency.
Labour sources said the party, still divided over Andy Burnham's blocking, will be fighting hard keep hold of the seat, though there is little optimism that they will be able to do so. "If we win, that’ll be the surprise," one senior pro-Starmer source said.
However, some Labour MPs have sought to publicly push back against claims that the party is on course to lose the seat that it won with over 50 per cent of the vote in 2024.
"Labour people should be booking their train to the Gorton & Denton by-election and knocking on doors in support of whoever is selected and our party, not speculating about losing or perpetuating the psychodrama," John Slinger MP posted on X.
Source: politicshome.com
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https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/greens-frame-by-election-battle-anti-muslim-record-reforms-matthew-goodwin
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Convicted terrorist standing in election 'to unite' inner-city
27 Jan 2026
An activist who was jailed for his part in an armed terror plot is seeking election.
Shahid Butt says he believes he is the 'ideal candidate' to unite a divided community and city, push back against the far right and defeat Labour in one of its traditional strongholds.
His candidacy has come under immediate fire online amid claims he advocates violence, pushes a strongly Islamist agenda and has a significant history of criminality that should bar him from sitting on the council, BirminghamLive reports.
The 60-year-old, from Birmingham, is seeking to represent the Sparkhill ward.
He has openly encouraged the city's Muslim youth to 'work out at the gym and learn to fight' to defend against such attacks, and urged Muslims to stand together and hold their ground against people of other faiths, who he describes as 'disbelievers'.
He also however argues against gangs, drugs, dangerous driving and anti social behaviour. Ahead of the Villa match against Maccabi Tel Aviv last November he had called on Muslims from around the country to head to Birmingham to show solidarity for Palestine.
He added they should prevent the Israeli team's fans from 'desecrating' and 'dirtying' the city, claiming 'IDF babykillers' were set to be in the city. He also posted a video from a protest at the match saying: "Muslims are not pacifists...if somebody comes into your face, you knock his teeth out, that's my message to the youth."
Butt, a father of five and grandfather to two girls, will be one of an estimated 20 candidates who will be standing alongside controversial lawyer AkhmedYakoob and fellow local activist ShakeelAfsar in an Independent Candidates Alliance.
In a launch video for his campaign with the two men, he tells people that he will be relying on the 'support of Allah, these guys and you' to win the seat. The post has been blasted on social media, with one response claiming: 'Birmingham is on the cusp of being lost forever.'
Others responded to the news with clips of controversial comments made by Butt on podcasts and in interviews about Israel, Muslims and Birmingham. But he claims his story of 'recovery' from the mistakes of his earlier life, strong local recognisability and 20 years of activism for local and youth causes will help him win.
Butt was convicted on terror charges in 1999 amid claims he was part of a terrorist enterprise conspiring to terrorise Yemen. He was found guilty of forming an armed gang and conspiring to bomb the British consulate, an Anglican church and a Swiss-owned hotel in Yemen.
The group was supposedly linked to Islamic radicals who kidnapped 16 Westerners in 1998, four of whom were killed. They were accused of being sent to Yemen by radical cleric Abu Hamza.
Butt always proclaimed his innocence and says that he confessed under severe torture. He was later jailed for five years.
Before that he had been jailed in Birmingham for violence and was in trouble regularly through the 1980s linked to his role in the notorious Lynx gang, a street gang of mainly Pakistanis who took on the racist far right, skinheads and National Front.
Asked about his violent past, he said: "I am not a pacifist. If someone attacks me...I am not just going to turn the other cheek, I am going to defend myself. I will (also) be pre-emptive, as the law advises me, if I feel like my life is threatened, or my family, I will do a pre-emptive strike.
"But does that mean I go around oppressing or bullying people, no, I think that is disgusting."
He added: "I'm not saying that I'm perfect. I can make mistakes as well. Sometimes in the heat of the moment I say something that I may later regret...but I'm not an AI robot, I'm a real person, I have had a very colourful life and had my ups and downs but that's what gives me credibility in my community.
"People see me as a real person, with all my faults and shortcomings."
Asked if he believed he was a unifying or divisive force, he said: "I genuinely believe I can unify and bring people together. Even if we are talking about the far right, if you stick to your guns and stand firm, your enemy will respect you.
"I believe strongly I can bring people together. I don't have a degree from a university but I do have a phD in life."
Specifically asked if he was antisemitic, he said that 'as a Muslim I cannot be antisemitic, the Jews are my cousins, we both have the same Father.'
However, he said he had 'no love' for Zionism - the belief in the right for Israel to exist as a Jewish homeland - and had been outspoken about Israel's war on Gaza and the plight of Palestinians.
"I'm against any kind of apartheid behaviour, whoever is doing it, but no, I am not an antisemite. I am happy to sit with them, break bread, have a coffee with them, I have no issue whatsoever."
He also claimed suggestions of an 'Islamic takeover' of Birmingham or anywhere else were 'wildly exaggerated'. "There is a certain agenda pushing that, it is overhyped. They are giving us too much credit. Muslims are not that powerful.
"When I'm sitting in the council chamber, I will not be implementing Sharia law, I have to abide by British law, the law of this land. I will be an advocate of the law of the land. The irony is that the word Islamist is (misunderstood), Islamists believe in democracy, surely that is a good thing."
He added: "People suggest we are fifth columnists living here...partly that's because of the strength of the narrative being promoted by the far right, who now have billionaires and politicians behind them. Muslims don't have the power and influence to counter that narrative.
"We are British citizens and abide by British law, we are not implementing Sharia law, this is not a Muslim country." He said he was standing for council now because he had the desire and time to devote to the community where he had grown up.
"I don't like party politics - I did not previously see anything I wished to get behind, there was no party I felt I could join... where I could be truthful to the people I represent." He said he supported the project led by Yakoob and Afsar but would remain 'independent'.
He said of his local campaign: "My priorities are to support the youth and their education, to turn them away from drugs and anti social behaviour and dangerous driving. I want safer and cleaner streets in Sparkhill.
"I have seen my community change (over five decades) and it breaks my heart." He railed against community apathy and urged people to back community initiatives to improve their own streets and neighbourhoods, rather than waiting for others to do it for them.
"We need to take matters into our own hands, let's get it sorted out together."
Source: dailyrecord.co.uk
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https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/convicted-terrorist-standing-election-to-36625927
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Retired Ukrainian serviceman kills four police officers – law enforcement
27 Jan, 2026
Four Ukrainian police officers were killed and one was wounded during a detention operation after a wanted suspect, identified as a discharged serviceman, opened fire on them, the head of the National Police said on Tuesday.
The incident occurred earlier in the day in Cherkasy Region during an attempt to arrest a 59-year-old man wanted for attempted murder. According to National Police chief Ivan Vyhovsky, the suspect had planned an ambush and opened fire on law enforcement officers using automatic weapons.
Police special forces returned fire, eliminating the attacker on the spot.
Those killed included three police officers and combat veterans, as well as a senior lieutenant, according to Vyhovsky. Another officer was wounded and is receiving medical care.
The shooting comes against a backdrop of consistent and rising social unrest within Ukraine and tensions between the state and its citizens – including veterans – amid the protracted conflict with Russia.
On Monday, police in Kiev Region were forced to open fire and wound a man who was threatening members of the public and law enforcement with a hand grenade and refused commands to drop the weapon.
Last week, another man in Lviv Region attacked uniformed members of the Territorial Recruitment Centers (TCCs) with an airsoft grenade during a public awareness campaign.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/russia/631615-retired-ukrainian-serviceman-kills-four-police-officers/
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Ukraine expects to join EU next year – Zelensky
27 Jan, 2026
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky is calling for his country’s accession to the EU by next year. The idea has already raised hackles among some member nations.
In an X post on Tuesday, Zelensky said he had discussed the recent Russia-US-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi with Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker. The negotiations primarily focused on military matters, but also touched on security guarantees, he said.
“Ukraine’s accession to the European Union is one of the key security guarantees not only for us, but also for all of Europe,” he wrote. “That is why we are speaking about a concrete date – 2027 – and we count on partners’ support for our position.”
Just days earlier, Stocker told the press that he opposed rushing Ukraine’s bid.
“I’m not a fan of the fast lane. The admission criteria must be met,” he said, adding that the “conditions should be the same for everyone.”
Fast-tracked membership for Ukraine is reportedly part of a US-backed $800 billion reconstruction ‘prosperity’ plan that was privately circulated to EU member states by the European Commission last week.
The document gave EU leaders pause due to the way it formally linked Ukraine’s accession to its reconstruction process, rather than due to its massive cost, according to Politico.
Last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban slammed the proposal, which he said calls for the EU to provide Ukraine with €800 billion for the country’s reconstruction and a further €700 billion for military needs over the next ten years.
“Hear me now, loud & clear: Hungary will NOT pay for this,” he wrote on X.
He has also nixed the idea of letting Ukraine join the EU, arguing that no Hungarian parliament would vote for accession “in the next hundred years.”
Orban has long stood against Ukraine’s bid, arguing that accession would put the bloc at risk of direct confrontation with Russia.
Moscow has long said that it is not opposed to Ukraine joining the EU. However, Kiev's ambition to join NATO is a red line and one of the core causes of the current conflict, according to Russia.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/russia/631618-zelensky-2027-ukraine-eu-accession/
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Children and parents welcome ‘The Joshie Man’ to Lancashire
27TH JANUARY
Mosques in Blackburn welcomed a viral autistic and non-speaking child who is helping to break down barriers between communities to the town.
Joshua and his dad, Dan Harris, are globally famous neurodiversity advocates, known as The Joshie Man online, who have been praised for their efforts in countering far-right narratives about Muslims and mosques.
In Blackburn, father and son were at the newly opened Masjid E Vali before heading to the Al Buraq Masjid in Devonport Road, and then Tuyoorul Jannah (Birds of Paradise) Education Centre in Shear Bank Road.
The “Cake not hate” campaign came about after an Islamophobic attack on a mosque in Peterborough in October, where the perpetrator, Alexander Hooper, 57, entered Masjid Darassalaam and abused worshippers at morning prayers.
Following the incident, both Joshie, 12, and Dan, of Peterborough, visited the mosque with cakes that Joshie had baked and shared them.
Since then, they have visited countless places of worship after receiving hate online for simply visiting a mosque.
Joshua played with young children at the mosques and also took time out, of course, to hand out cakes to worshippers.
At the Al Buraq Mosque, Dan and Joshua toured the mosque’s Islamic museum and were also invited into the women's space.
Dan said: “The welcomes we have been receiving from mosques have been really child-centric.
“It has all been about how Joshie has been comfortable.”
On visiting mosques in Blackburn, Dan said: “What the media puts across is far from what we find.
“In Peterborough (before the incident), we had been in a few times because we had been delivering communication boards there. A low-tech version of how he (Joshie) communicates and talks.
“So we had installed them in some mosques.
“But the far-right attack on the mosque was the start of the campaign.”
Dan and Joshie recently visited the holy lands of Islam in Saudi Arabia.
Dan added: “Medina was awe-inspiring. We were surprised by how beautiful, peaceful and tranquil of a visit it was.
“We have travelled a lot around the world, but Saudi hospitality was unrivalled.”
People can help fund the #BeMoreJoshie campaign online, with the money solely used for the activities in the campaign.
Source: asianimage.co.uk
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https://www.asianimage.co.uk/news/25799316.children-parents-welcome-the-joshie-man-blackburn/
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Watford mosque proposal has decision date confirmed
27TH JANUARY
By Liam Fitzpatrick
A date has been set for when councillors will decide whether a Watford church can be turned into a mosque.
The borough council's development management committee will meet next Tuesday (February 3) to vote on the proposal for the former St Thomas’ United Reformed Church in Langley Road.
Unusually, an officers' report setting out a recommendation to the committee has not yet been published, with the meeting agenda saying "report to follow".
The Ar-Rahmah Trust has purchased the building for £3.5 million and intends to open a mosque called Masjid Al-Ummah in the summer, with the plans also including it being used as a community space and nursery.
The existing church has sat unused since its closure in 2015.
During a public consultation, 84 supporting comments and 37 objections were received.
The objections came on a number of grounds including parking issues, noise and disagreements with turning a Christian place of worship into a Muslim one.
Earlier this month the Watford Observer reported that the team behind the mosque have issued a "comprehensive" rebuttal to objections.
On the parking and traffic point, the applicant said a transport assessment predicts trip generation is “well within the capacity of the surrounding network” because peak activity is deliberately staggered to prevent “any concentrated surge”.
Disagreements about the change of religion were dismissed as “legally irrelevant to planning”.
Source: watfordobserver.co.uk
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https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/25799571.watford-mosque-proposal-decision-date-confirmed/
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France invites Chad president in bid to ease troubled relations
28 Jan 2026
Paul Njie
French President Emmanuel Macron has invited his Chadian counterpart to Paris, as both countries seek to renew and improve future relations.
The verbal invitation was delivered to President MahamatDéby by France's Ambassador to Chad, Éric Gérard, during a meeting at the presidential palace in the capital, N'Djamena, on Monday.
In a statement, Chad's Presidency said Déby accepted the invitation, although it made no mention of when the visit will take place.
It follows a sharp downturn in Franco-Chadian military relations, after Chad abruptly ended its defence agreement with France in November 2024.
This triggered the withdrawal of French forces from military bases across the central African nation, which continues to grapple with serious security challenges.
At the time, Chadian authorities said the historical accord with the former colonial power was "obsolete," and offered no added value to the country's modern security needs.
France had maintained about 1,000 troops in Chad providing intelligence and logistical assistance to the military from their bases, including in N'Djamena.
Chad said the move was about asserting its sovereignty and taking back full control of its defence after more than 60 years of independence.
But by late 2024, France's influence in the region had been rapidly eroding after forced withdrawals from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso following successive coups.
Months before ending its defence pact with France, Chad also ordered US troops to leave, fuelling speculation that N'Djamena was drifting from its Western partners toward closer ties with Russia.
But Déby insisted his country had no intention of welcoming another foreign power to replace France, saying is preferred to forge new alliances anchored on mutual respect.
Last week, Chad signed a memorandum of understanding with Belarus - close Russian ally - to strengthen military cooperation.
Monday's meeting between the Chadian president and France's ambassador focused on the "renewal of bilateral cooperation" characterised by "dialogue and openness in a spirit of consultation and consideration of the interests of each party", the Chadian presidency said.
"This meeting primarily provided an opportunity for the two officials to thoroughly review Franco-Chadian cooperation. This close cooperation now needs to be renewed, revitalised and adapted to the new balance of power. This must be done in a spirit of consultation and consideration of the interests of each party," Déby's office said.
Source: bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjw1pq38ql1o
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North America
CAIR, CAIR-MN Condemn Assault on Rep. Ilhan Omar, Demand End to Racist and Anti-Muslim Incitement
January 27, 2026
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its Minnesota chapter (CAIR-MN) tonight condemned a reported attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) during a town hall meeting in Minneapolis.
The alleged attacker sprayed an unknown substance on Rep. Omar before being tackled. She continued with the town hall after the alleged attacker was taken away.
Rep. Omar has been the frequent target of anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and anti-Somali hate rhetoric. CAIR and CAIR-MN have repeatedly condemned the rhetorical attacks on Rep. Omar and the Somali community.
This attack did not happen in a vacuum,” said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-MN. “We condemn this assault in the strongest possible terms and call for enhanced security for Congresswoman Omar, her family and her community. When a sitting member of Congress is relentlessly demonized through false anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric, violence becomes a predictable outcome.”
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director NihadAwad said:
“We strongly condemn the attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar at her community town hall, which comes after years of racist and Islamophobic incitement against her.
“We call on all members of Congress to condemn this assault, which was entirely predictable. The dangerous incitement that politicians like President Trump, pro-Israel lobby groups like AIPAC, and anti-Muslim hate groups have spent years spewing against Rep. Omar must end immediately.
“We commend Rep. Omar for her courage in continuing to speak out for justice here and abroad, despite the hate and threats she has faced for doing so. The American Muslim community stands in solidarity with her. An attack on Rep. Omar is an attack on all of us and on the rule of law.”
CIR-MN is the state’s leading Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. Its mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR esproteger las libertadesciviles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a losmusulmanesenlosEstadosUnidos.
Do you like reading CAIR press releases and taking part in our action alerts? You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR.
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Source: cair.com
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https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-cair-mn-condemns-assault-on-rep-ilhan-omar-demands-end-to-racist-and-anti-muslim-incitement/
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Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquid during town hall
Jan 28, 2026
Helen Sullivan
Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar was attacked with an unknown substance at a town hall she was hosting on Tuesday, when an audience member used a syringe to spray liquid at her, Minneapolis police said.
Omar was uninjured and continued to speak. "I'm ok. I'm a survivor so this small agitator isn't going to intimidate me from doing my work. I don't let bullies win," she later wrote on X.
The liquid sprayed on Omar had a sour smell that was similar to a chemical product, according to a BBC journalist in the room.
Anthony James Kazmierczak, 55, has been charged with third degree assault and is being held in custody, according to the local sheriff's office.
After the incident, Omar, Democrat, told the room that "we will continue... we are Minnesota strong".
Another attendee, Alfred Flowers Jr, told the BBC that he "respected her courage and strength to still stay and finish the town hall for the people".
Video from the scene shows the team shouting "make a hole" as they wrestled the man out of the room.
As he was pushed out of the room, he said that Omar was "pitting us against each other". It was not immediately clear who the man was referring to.
Kazmierczak was immediately arrested and forensics were being conducted at the scene, according to police.
In a post on social media, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said: "Violence and intimidation have no place in Minneapolis. We can disagree without putting people at risk... This kind of behavior will not be tolerated in our city."
In 2019, Omar became the first Somali-American, first African-born American, and one of the first two Muslim American women to serve in the US Congress.
The event was one of the regular town halls hosted by Omar, and about 100 people were in attendance in the north Minneapolis basement, expecting to hear about the presence of federal immigration officials in their town and ask questions after the second fatal shooting of an American citizen by immigration officials this month.
In January, an immigration officer fatally shot US citizen Renee Good. Last week, US citizen Alex Pretti was fatally shot after being stopped by border agents, reigniting local protests and public outcry.
At the town hall, Omar called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be "abolished" and said Department of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem should "resign or face impeachment". It was after these comments that the man attacked.
Officials pleaded with the Congresswoman to end the town hall but she insisted on continuing.
Speaking again at the podium Omar said: "We're gonna keep talking. Just give me ten minutes. Please don't let them have the show. Please don't let them have the show."
Many in the area see the increased immigration enforcement action as a response to President Donald Trump's dislike of Omar, who he has called a "radical left lunatic", and "disgusting".
On 18 January, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Omar "should be in jail, or even a worse punishment, sent back to Somalia, considered one of the absolutely worst countries in the World. She could help to MAKE SOMALIA GREAT AGAIN!"
The state of Minnesota is home to the largest population of Somali immigrants in the US.
On Tuesday, responding to the second fatal shooting, Trump said his administration was "going to de-escalate a little bit" in Minnesota.
Source: bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn9zpee3llxo
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Is Washington about to cross the Rubicon with Iran?
27 Jan, 2026
This week is set to become one of the most intense periods in the course of the US-Iran confrontation. A combination of military, political, and psychological factors points to the alarming possibility of a direct US strike against Iran in the coming days.
A key indicator of this is that the military preparations for a potential strike have been completed. On Sunday, it became known that the US Navy’s USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group had entered the Middle East region, and is located at a distance from which it can launch strikes on Iranian territory. From a military perspective, this shift means the US is moving from a phase of political pressure to one of operational readiness, where a decision to strike could be executed within hours.
Tehran’s reaction has been strong and unequivocal. The Iranian leadership has warned of a high probability of war breaking out at any moment, and stated that “the Persian Gulf could erupt” within the next 24 hours. This is not mere emotional rhetoric, but a clear stance: Iran is signaling that an American strike will be viewed as the start of a full-scale war, not as a limited operation. The Iranian armed forces are on heightened alert, and the country is preparing for the worst.
Another sign of preparation for a military response comes from the closed-door talks between the US and Israel. According to Israeli sources, Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, held overnight discussions with senior Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) officials. During these talks, the Americans indicated that while no final political decision has been made regarding a strike, all military preparations for it have been completed. Meanwhile, Israeli commanders are operating under the assumption that an attack could occur imminently.
The selection of targets has been particularly emphasized. Israel expects that potential US strikes will primarily focus on facilities associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Basij structures. This approach aims to reduce the likelihood of an immediate strike on the central government and, as officials in West Jerusalem believe, limit the scale of any retaliatory actions from Tehran. However, there is no certainty when it comes to such calculations. In Tehran, the IRGC is not merely a military force but a cornerstone of the entire political system; attacks on it would inevitably be interpreted as assaults on the state itself.
Interestingly, just a week ago, US President Donald Trump slightly softened his rhetoric. He expressed a desire to avoid conflict, but at the same time said that he is monitoring the situation closely and that a “large flotilla” of US ships is heading toward Iran “just in case.” This statement exemplifies Trump’s characteristic contradictory behavior: on the one hand, he states that he does not want to engage in war, while on the other, he shows readiness to use force without further warning, creating an emotional seesaw effect and keeping everyone in limbo.
At the same time, a large-scale information campaign is unfolding. Western media and propaganda outlets have begun actively shaping the narrative of a “humanitarian disaster” in Iran, claiming that just on January 8-9, up to 36,500 people may have been killed on the streets. Such figures are clearly absurd: this implies the death of about ten people per minute. It’s evident that these narratives serve a political purpose, providing emotional justification for a forceful response and will be used as arguments for “justified intervention.”
Donald Trump had repeatedly stated his readiness to support Iranian protesters in the event of a violent crackdown on demonstrations. To recap, the protests in Iran initially began on December 28 amid social and economic discontent. However, on January 16, Trump softened his rhetoric, stating that he decided against striking Iran after Tehran said that protest participants will not be executed. At the end of January, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reported that 3,117 people had died during the protests, which again reignited the accusatory campaign.
Particular attention is being drawn to the potential date of the strike. There’s a strong likelihood that it could occur on February 1 or shortly before that date. This date carries symbolic weight – something that Trump usually considers when making decisions. February 1 marks the anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s return to Iran 46 years ago, when he declared the establishment of a new state and effectively ended the monarchy. For the Islamic Republic, this date holds significant meaning and is a cornerstone of the regime’s legitimacy.
A strike at this moment would not only have military implications but would also carry deep ideological weight. It could be interpreted as an attempt to undermine the symbolic foundation of Islamic governance while simultaneously invigorating those seeking to restore the monarchy. It’s no coincidence that Trump had earlier expressed support for protesters who waved flags representing Iran’s monarchy.
What everyone seems to be asking today is not whether an attack will happen, but what it will look like. Will it be a large-scale operation or not? And will the US target decision-making centers or limit itself to a symbolic show of force? In any case, the stakes are extremely high. Any action taken could trigger a cascade of responses that would be difficult to contain. There is little room left for retreat. The decisive moment is drawing near, after which the Middle East could enter a phase of uncontrollable escalation.
The situation remains highly ambiguous. On the one hand, various signals indicate that the United States is seriously considering a strike. On the other hand, we cannot rule out the possibility that Trump may change course at the last minute. After all, his logic is well known: exerting maximum pressure in order to compel Iran to negotiate; however, the pressure may not suggest a military escalation.
Israeli right-wing Channel 14 reports that according to the results of a recent meeting involving CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper, Chief of the General Staff of the IDF Lieutenant General EyalZamir, and other high-ranking officials, there is currently no confirmed date for an attack on Iran. The US will need time to build up significant forces in the Middle East, although it is prepared for immediate action if necessary. Washington aims to conduct a “clean, swift, and cost-effective” operation against those who, according to the US narrative, are involved in violence against civilians and protestors. Additionally, discussions about regime change in Iran are also taking place.
In this context, Trump’s statements appear contradictory; he mentions the buildup of substantial US forces near Iran and at the same time expresses confidence in Tehran’s willingness to engage in dialogue. This creates a confusing situation. Iran, for its part, has also adopted a tough rhetorical stance. Iranian state media report that the Commander of the Iranian Navy, Rear Admiral ShahramIrani has declared that the country’s military is fully combat-ready, and noted that the combination of spirituality and military expertise is key to the resilience and success of the Iranian system.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to ramp up informational pressure, asserting that the US military presence near Iran’s borders surpasses the force that had been stationed off the coast of Venezuela. On Monday, he held a meeting with the commander of the US Air Force. The atmosphere is intentionally tense, yet it’s possible that it could also be rapidly defused.
It’s essential to consider the internal situation in the US as well. Events in Minnesota, described by many as chaotic and indicative of a management crisis, contribute to a growing sense of instability. Following Venezuela, Trump faces an array of unresolved and potentially conflicting issues—namely Iran, Canada, and Greenland. The situation around Ukraine remains uncertain as well.
Trump’s first presidential term illustrates a characteristic pattern: when faced with resistance in one area, he tends to swiftly shift focus to another. We saw this in the case of Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea. In the case of North Korea, initial escalation was followed by a personal meeting with leader Kim Jong-un and a dramatic change in tone. Such a style largely reflects Trump’s business mindset and creates an impression of a chaotic foreign policy.
For these reasons, we cannot completely rule out the possibility that an attack on Iran may never happen. Israel also understands that it cannot confront Iran alone and will not enter a war without direct US involvement. Additionally, a ground operation is currently off the table – and without it, accomplishing a regime change is nearly impossible. No one is realistically prepared for such a scenario. There is no certainty about anything, and in the current situation, that is the main intrigue.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/631606-washington-tehran-west-jerusalem-war/
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Paxton Opinion Paves Way for Texas Vouchers to Steer Clear of Islamic Schools
By Kelly Dearmore
January 27, 2026
Over the weekend, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion on the eligibility of some Texas private schools to be enrolled in the state’s new school voucher program. Not one to let a bit of snow deter him from issuing another press release from his office, the Saturday statement made clear that certain private schools should not be included in the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program.
“Let me be crystal clear: Texans’ tax dollars should never fund Islamic terrorists or America’s enemies,” Paxton said in the statement. “The Comptroller’s Office has always possessed exclusive authority under the TEFA framework to stop any school illegally tied to terrorists or foreign adversaries from accessing taxpayer dollars, and this opinion affirms that authority. There is no question that the Comptroller’s Office is statutorily charged with ensuring that our school choice program is protected from abuse by terrorists or the Chinese Communist Party.”
In December, acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock requested legal clarification from Paxton’s office on the reach of his power to keep “taxpayer dollars” from being used to “support institutions with ties to a foreign terrorist organization, a transnational criminal network, or any adversarial foreign government.”
The “terrorists” being referred to in this case are the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an organization that says its mission is to “enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.” State officials have been given free rein to use such terminology in an official capacity thanks to Gov. Greg Abbott’s November announcement, designating CAIR and another group, the Muslim Brotherhood, as terrorist organizations. The federal government, on the other hand, has not designated CAIR as a terrorist organization. CAIR has denied any connection to the Muslim Brotherhood or any terrorist group.
Hancock and Paxton haven’t simply singled out muslim private schools, but any private schools, regardless of religious affiliation, that are merely “based at an address that has hosted publicly advertised events by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).” Paxton’s issuance isn’t legally binding in the way legislation signed by the governor is, but the opinion will be used by state agencies as a guideline moving forward.
Although the number of schools affected by the decision is unclear, it likely means that hundreds of private schools will now be unavailable for parents to use school voucher funds to enroll their children in.
CAIR representatives did not return our requests for comment, but Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of CAIR, told the Texas Tribune that “Ken Paxton might have a future as an NFL punter. Instead of answering the simple question that Comptroller Hancock posed, the attorney general has responded with a confusing, evasive letter that kicks the issue back to Mr. Hancock to decide.”
Parents can begin applying for Texas Education Freedom Accounts on February 4. The $1 billion program allows families $10,474 per student, possibly more for students with special education needs, to pay for private school tuition, supplies, uniforms and more.
Regardless of Paxton’s guidance, the CAIR deputy director questions the legality of how state leaders are moving forward.
“Nothing in the law permits Mr. Hancock to scrutinize private Muslim schools because of their religious identity,” Mitchell added in the Texas Tribune report, “nor can he punish them if they once hosted an educational lecture from a civil rights organization that Greg Abbott happens to dislike.”
Source: dallasobserver.com
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https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/ken-paxton-keeps-some-islamic-schools-out-of-voucher-program-40638634/
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CAIR Md. Testifies Before State Board of Education Calling for Mandatory Palestine Cultural Literacy to Address Rising Hate in Schools
January 27, 2026
This morning, the Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, delivered formal testimony before the Maryland State Board of Education (MSDE) urging the Board to adopt mandatory, age-appropriate Palestine cultural literacy and anti-hate instruction in public schools as a necessary step to protect student safety and prevent bias-driven harassment.
CAIR’s testimony highlighted a troubling rise in anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim incidents in Maryland schools, including recent graffiti discovered at Walt Whitman High School in Montgomery County reading “f*** Muslims” and “Nuke Palestine.” The incident, which occurred on school property, sent a chilling message to Palestinian and Muslim students that their identities were targets of hate rather than protected within educational spaces.
“For students who walk into their school and see calls for violence against people like them, this is not an abstract debate – it is a direct threat to their sense of safety and belonging,” said CAIR’s Maryland Director ZainabChaudry. “When schools fail to address ignorance and dehumanization, hate is allowed to grow unchecked.”
In its testimony, CAIR emphasized that Palestine cultural literacy is not political advocacy and does not endorse any government or political movement. Instead, it is foundational education designed to help students distinguish between governments and civilians, identity and ideology, and fact-based history versus online misinformation.
“Maryland already understands the power of education to prevent harm,” Chaudry stated. “We teach Holocaust education, genocide education, and civil rights history not to assign blame, but to stop dehumanization before it turns into violence. Palestine cultural literacy follows that same educational logic.”
CAIR’s proposal calls for instruction that is fact-based, non-partisan, and developmentally appropriate, integrated into existing curricula without displacing other instructional requirements. The framework safeguards academic freedom and First Amendment protections while ensuring that anti-Palestinian bias – including bias against Palestinian Muslims and Christians – is recognized within existing anti-discrimination policies.
The organization warned that students are already absorbing distorted and inflammatory narratives about Palestine through social media and peer networks, often without guidance or context.
“The question facing the Maryland State Board of Education is not whether students are learning disinformation about Palestine,” Chaudry added. “They already are. The real question is whether the state will respond with silence, or with responsible, guided education that affirms the humanity of every student. Addressing hate through education is not optional. It is foundational to the mission of public schools and to the promise that every student deserves to learn without fear.”
CAIR is urging MSDE to use its authority to proactively address hate through education rather than responding only after incidents occur, stressing that student safety and dignity are core educational responsibilities.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR esproteger las libertadesciviles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a losmusulmanesenlosEstadosUnidos.
Source: cair.com
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https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-md-testifies-before-state-board-of-education-calling-for-mandatory-palestine-cultural-literacy-to-address-rising-hate-in-schools/
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Carney denies walking back Davos speech in phone call with Trump
Jan 28, 2026
Nadine Yousif
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has told reporters he stands behind his speech in Davos calling out unconstrained super powers, after a Trump official said he had "aggressively" walked it back in a call with US President Donald Trump.
"To be absolutely clear, and I said this to the president, I meant what I said in Davos," Carney said on Tuesday, confirming he and Trump had spoken by phone.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had told Fox News on Monday that Carney was "very aggressively walking back" some of the remarks to Trump.
Carney made global headlines for his Davos speech, in which he indirectly called out the US president for a "rupture" in the postwar world order.
Trump responded in his own Davos speech the following day by saying that "Canada lives because of the United States".
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday, Carney denied Bessent's recollection of the phone call.
He added that it was the US president who had called him on Monday, and that the two had a "very good conversation on a wide range of subjects", including Ukraine, Venezuela, Arctic security and Canada's recent trade agreement with China.
Carney said they also discussed the USMCA, a free-trade pact between Canada, the US and Mexico, which is up for a mandatory review later this year.
Carney said his speech in Davos clearly outlined how "Canada was the first country to understand the change in US trade policy that (Trump) had initiated, and we're responding to that".
He added that the president understood Canada's position.
Later, speaking in the House of Commons about the future of the trade talks, Carney said the USMCA review would begin in a few weeks.
He added, in French: "The world has changed. Washington has changed. There's almost nothing normal in the United States. That's the truth".
In the Fox News interview on Monday, Bessent criticised Canada's decision to negotiate a trade deal with China. He added that he was "not sure what the Prime Minister was thinking" when he made his speech in Davos.
"Canada depends on the US," Bessent said. "There's much more north-south trade then there could ever be east-west trade."
"The prime minister should do what's best for the Canadian people rather than try to push his globalist agenda," the treasury secretary added.
His remarks came after Trump threatened Canada with 100% tariffs on its goods if it allows Chinese goods to flow freely to the US, skirting levies.
The deal between Ottawa and Beijing would lower levies on Canadian canola oil from 85% to 15% by March, while Canada will tax a limited number of Chinese electric vehicles, or EVs, at the most-favoured-nation rate, 6.1% – down from 100%.
Carney said that Canada is not pursuing a free-trade deal with China and has "never" considered it.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Carney added that he believed Trump's latest tariff threat is a negotiation tactic ahead of talks on USMCA.
"The president is a strong negotiator, and I think some of these comments and positioning should be viewed in the broader context of that," he said.
Source: bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9qp3x5x2jpo
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US launches military ‘readiness’ drills in Middle East
28 Jan, 2026
The US has initiated large-scale, multi-day military exercises across the Middle East. The drills coincide with President Donald Trump’s announcement of an additional naval deployment, escalating a tense standoff with Iran.
US Air Forces Central (AFCENT) stated on Tuesday that the “readiness exercise” is designed to demonstrate the rapid deployment and sustainment of combat aircraft. The operation reportedly aims to validate procedures for dispersing personnel and jets to various “contingency locations” and integrating command with unnamed “partner nations.”
“This is about upholding our commitment to maintaining combat-ready Airmen and the disciplined execution required to keep airpower available when and where it’s needed,” AFCENT commander Lieutenant General Derek France said.
The air drills complement a major naval buildup. US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by guided-missile destroyers, entered the region earlier this week.
The US has also moved additional F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets, Patriot missile batteries, and THAAD air defense systems to the Middle East.
“There’s another beautiful armada floating beautifully towards Iran right now,” Trump said on Tuesday, adding that he hopes Tehran will “make a deal.” He previously stated that the naval force near Iran is larger than the one used in the Venezuelan operation.
These military movements follow weeks of extreme tension, during which Trump reportedly came close to ordering strikes to “punish” Tehran for its crackdown on violent anti-government protests. While he has yet to make a final decision, an unnamed Gulf official told Middle East Eye that Washington is weighing precision strikes against Iranian officials and military commanders.
Iran has responded with defiant warnings against “any miscalculations.” Government spokesperson FatemehMohajerani stated that Tehran is “fully prepared” for a war, saying a US attack would provoke a “swift and comprehensive” response. This mirrors prior warnings from Iranian military commanders that their forces have their “finger on the trigger.”
The crisis stems from widespread anti-government protests in Iran initially triggered by economic decline, which officials said left around 3,000 dead. Tehran blames the US and Israel for instigating and fueling the unrest to justify military intervention.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/631623-russian-tourists-us-base/
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US dollar hits four-year low after Trump says it’s ‘doing great’
28 Jan, 2026
The dollar suffered its worst single-day decline in nearly a year on Tuesday, plunging to a four-year low after US President Donald Trump publicly welcomed the currency’s weakness.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a key gauge of the greenback’s strength against other major currencies, recorded its steepest drop since last April, tumbling to its lowest level since February 2022. The sell-off accelerated immediately after Trump, speaking to reporters in Iowa on Tuesday, was asked if the dollar had fallen too much.
“No, I think it’s great,” he responded. “I think the value of the dollar – look at the business we’re doing. The dollar’s doing great.”
Trump elaborated that he wants the dollar to “just seek its own level, which is the fair thing to do,” and contrasted his stance with past fights against China and Japan, which he accused of deliberately devaluing their currencies. “It’s hard to compete when they devalue,” he said.
Market analysts interpreted the comments as a significant departure from the traditional ‘strong dollar’ mantra upheld by administrations of both parties. Axios suggested that Trump’s refusal to recite this “boilerplate” language rattled traders.
The dollar’s sharp decline is part of a broader downward trend that began when Trump rolled out his sweeping global tariff agenda in April 2025. Recent pressure has also come from a resurgent Japanese yen amid political shifts in Tokyo, with traders on alert for potential coordinated currency intervention by the US and Japanese authorities.
A weaker dollar carries direct consequences for the American economy and consumers. On one hand, it makes US exports more competitive abroad, potentially boosting manufacturers. On the other, it increases the cost of imports, which can fuel inflation, and makes international travel and foreign goods more expensive for Americans. Analysts also warn that it could make US assets less attractive to foreign investors.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/business/631625-trump-dollar-doing-great/
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Africa
‘We’re Going To Apply The Big Stick If You Don’t Come To Work’ – Wike Warns FCTA Workers
January 27, 2026
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), NyesomWike, has vowed to ensure that workers of the FCT Administration who disobey will face the wrath of the law from tomorrow.
Naija News reports that Wike made this known while addressing the media in his office on Tuesday, stating that he would use the big stick on workers who fail to show up for work.
Wike also threatened that any worker who attempts to block the gate of the office premises will be made a scapegoat.
He said, “When man disobeys the law, are there no consequences for disobeying the law? Must we allow people flagrantly disobey the law?
“I’m giving them this window because I’m still in the office today, from tomorrow if you don’t come to work, we are going to apply the big stick.
“And from tomorrow if we see anybody who says he wants to block the gate, we will make you a scapegoat. The law must take its place.”
Wike’s warning comes after the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday granted an interlocutory injunction filed by the Minister and the FCT Administration, compelling workers under the Joint Union Action Committee to suspend their ongoing strike.
The irate workers who gathered on Tuesday, however, said they were no longer on strike, stressing that they would stay home.
Staff of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, insisted on not resuming despite a court order mandating them to suspend the industrial action.
Source: naijanews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.naijanews.com/2026/01/27/were-going-to-apply-the-big-stick-if-you-dont-come-to-work-wike-warns-fcta-workers/
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‘This Is Not A Big Deal’ – Onanuga Reacts To Tinubu Stumble
January 27, 2026
The Presidency has dismissed concerns about President Bola Tinubu’s health following a brief stumble during his state visit to Ankara, Türkiye, on Tuesday.
The incident, which occurred as the President joined Turkish President RecepTayyipErdoğan for a ceremonial inspection, saw Tinubu briefly lose his balance after stepping on a metal object.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, BayoOnanuga, clarified the situation, describing it as a minor incident blown out of proportion by mischief-makers.
Onanuga said in a statement, “The President stepped on a metal on the floor, which made him lose his balance
“This is not a big deal, except for those who want to make mischief out of a fleeting incident. It was a mere stumble, thank God, not a fall.”
Onanuga affirmed that President Tinubu remains fit and fully engaged in his official activities, including high-level bilateral meetings with Turkish authorities.
He called on Nigerians to disregard sensational interpretations of the event, stressing that the President’s agenda in Türkiye continues smoothly.
Naija News reports that the Presidency said the ongoing visit reflects the strengthening of Nigeria-Türkiye relations, noting that both leaders are expected to sign several memoranda of understanding across sectors such as trade, investment, energy, and defence.
Source: naijanews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.naijanews.com/2026/01/27/this-is-not-a-big-deal-onanuga-reacts-to-tinubu-stumble/
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Miyetti Allah leader, others held for alleged sponsorship of bandits in Kwara
January 28, 2026
by AdekunleJimoh, Ilorin
Leaders of the Kwara State chapter of MiyettiAllah, including their President, Idris Abubakar, have been arrested for alleged involvement in kidnapping and sponsorship of armed bandit groups in the state, it was gathered.
Investigations indicated that Miyetti Allah leader reportedly admitted to aiding multiple kidnapping operations linked to Fulani bandits.
Security source said: “These are men over 60 years old, individuals who should be voices of peace, now accused of fueling terror and violence.
“This case exposes a deep moral failure by specific leaders, not a community , and it demands full accountability under the law.”
Source: thenationonlineng.net
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https://thenationonlineng.net/miyetti-allah-leader-others-held-for-alleged-sponsorship-of-bandits-in-kwara/
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Amosun, Ogun deputy gov urge Muslim unity for sustainable development
January 27, 2026
TaiwoBankole
The Deputy Governor of Ogun State, EngrNoimotSalako-Oyedele, alongside a former governor of the state, Senator IbikunleAmosun, and other Muslim leaders, have called for stronger unity, inclusive leadership and strategic collaboration among Muslims to achieve sustainable development and enduring community impact.
Salako-Oyedele and Amosun spoke separately in Abeokuta on Tuesday at a programme tagged “Ogun State Muslim Assembly,” organised by the League of Imams and Alfas, with the theme “Synergy, Leadership and Development in the Ummah of Ogun State.”
The Deputy Governor posited that religious knowledge alone, no matter how profound, cannot deliver development without active followership, structure and collective ownership.
She described Islamic scholars as custodians of faith, moral guides and a critical interface between the Muslim Ummah and government, noting that this role must be strengthened to improve engagement and policy outcomes.
Salako-Oyedele explained that even good ideas cannot succeed without followers, adding that religious leadership without grassroots participation would struggle to mobilise resources, influence policy and drive long-term growth.
She commended some Muslim organisations for effectively balancing religious authority with inclusive leadership, noting that such an approach has enabled them to build schools, universities, pilgrimage structures, zakat systems and vibrant da’wah programmes that empower members and encourage shared responsibility.
She maintained that leadership structures that are distant or exclusive often weaken trust, limit participation and undermine development efforts.
“As a politician, if you have fantastic ideas, you have a fantastic manifesto, you have the most laudable plans, but you don’t have followers, you cannot win an election, and your ideas and your ideology are going to die in the cooler.
“In the same way, a religious leadership structure without the active buy-in of its followership will always struggle to mobilise power, resources or influence.
“And this is where I believe we must speak honestly and constructively to ourselves, across Nigeria”, she said.
She emphasised that genuine synergy among Muslim leaders would help move the Ummah from gatekeeping to bridge-building, and from individual influence to collective strength.
Salako-Oyedele encouraged the League of Imams and Alfas to serve as a rallying platform for scholars and Muslim societies in driving unity, development and long-term prosperity within the state and the country.
Also speaking at the event, Amosun, who served as Father of the Day, described the assembly as timely, noting that divisions within Islam had weakened collective influence and distorted public perception of the Ummah.
“Over time, the practice and propagation of Islam have faced challenges, including differences among Islamic organisations and variations in Qur’anic interpretation arising from sectarian divisions,” Amosun said.
“These differences have sometimes led to disunity and conflicting teachings, portraying the Muslim Ummah as fragmented rather than united.”
He urged Muslims to prioritise their faith over affiliations and to anchor their actions in Qur’anic wisdom and shared understanding.
“When the Muslim Ummah works in synergy — united in teachings and collective purpose — we are better positioned to raise leaders who will uphold Islamic values and promote peaceful coexistence, social harmony and socio-economic development,” he said.
Speaking on the theme of the programme, the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof IshaqOloyede, represented by a former Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Prof AbdulafeezOladosu, decried persistent disunity among Imams in the state, warning that internal fragmentation had weakened the collective impact of Muslims.
Oloyede urged Islamic leaders to embrace renewed cohesion, expressing the hope that the assembly would herald a new era of greatness for the Ummah.
Earlier, the Secretary-General of the League of Imams and Alfas (Rabita), Ogun State, Sheikh Imam TajudeenAdewunmi, said the assembly was convened in response to harsh realities facing Muslims, including challenges in education, healthcare, economic empowerment, social justice and socio-political integration.
Other speakers at the event who also called for a united front among Muslims across the country included a former Nigerian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, AmbSarafadeenTunjiIshola, and Emeritus Prof KamaldeenBalogun, the Chief Imam of Gbagura-land and Mufti of Egba-land, among others.
Source: punchng.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://punchng.com/amosun-ogun-deputy-gov-urge-muslim-unity-for-sustainable-development/
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Islamic Development Bank to fund $163 million solar project in Niger State
Caleb Obiowo
January 27, 2026
The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) is set to fund a $163 million solar electrification project in Niger State, aimed at providing an alternative electricity source for communities across the state.
The announcement was conveyed in a statement issued by Bologi Ibrahim, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Niger State, on 26 January 2026.
The Niger State Solar Electrification Project, code-named NGA1063, is expected to cover 200 hectares and is designed to support industrialization, enhance agricultural productivity, and drive overall economic growth across the state.
What they are saying
According to the statement, the $163 million project is expected to generate 100 megawatts of solar power, providing a reliable electricity source for communities while supporting both industrial growth and agricultural productivity.
Governor Mohammed UmaruBago, who received the IsDB preparation team, highlighted the state’s substantial investments in agriculture and said the solar project would complement these efforts by boosting food production and industrial development.
He also emphasized the pivotal role of the IsDB in Niger State’s progress, stating that the investment would enhance productivity, generate revenue, and address multiple sectoral challenges.
“The project, which is the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa, is to cover 200 hectares of land with a cost of $163m to provide alternative source of power to many communities,” the statement read in part.
It added, “Farmer Governor UmaruBago acknowledged the vital roles Islamic Development Bank has played in the State through various intervention projects. The Bank’s decision to build 100megawatts of solar power in the State is a huge investment that will help increase productivity and revenue generation as well as pay for itself,” the statement read in part.
Project preparation and technical insights
DaniyarAbylkhan, the IsDB Task Team Lead, said the project will leverage Niger State’s abundant sunlight to generate electricity and commended the Governor’s initiative to diversify energy sources.
He also highlighted the Bank’s longstanding partnership with the state, noting that previous projects, including the reconstruction of the Minna/Bida road, influenced its decision to continue investing in Niger State.
The Secretary to the State Government, Alh. Usman Abubakar, explained that the meeting was convened to kickstart the IsDB’s preparation process, which involves reviewing the state’s plans with stakeholders and producing the necessary documentation for project appraisal and approval.
Project consultants Umar FarukBatagarawa and Mohammed Mahdi Abubakar noted that Niger State is uniquely positioned for solar energy due to its complementary power-generating sites.
They added that the new solar project will help stabilize the national grid, complementing the state’s current 2,000-megawatt contribution, and stressed that community engagement and environmental and social impact assessments are critical for successful implementation.
More insights
The Niger State Government’s partnership with the Islamic Development Bank comes shortly after the World Bank approved $50 million to expand solar-powered agricultural solutions in Nigeria and five other African countries, aiming to boost productivity, reduce post-harvest losses, and increase clean energy access.
The funding will support solar-powered cold rooms, refrigerators, water pumps, and grain mills across Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, implemented by Clasp, a Washington DC-based non-profit focused on clean energy and efficiency.
In January 2025, AkinwumiAdesina, then-President of the African Development Bank, announced that the AfDB and World Bank pledged $40 billion under Mission 300, which aims to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030.
What you should know
The Niger State Government has, in recent times, entered into several major development partnerships to boost economic and industrial growth.
One of these involves the Federal Government of Nigeria and Brazilian livestock company JBJ Brazil, working together to establish a 100,000-hectare cattle ranch in the state, intended to house 100,000 bulls and strengthen livestock production in Nigeria.
The ranch, part of a $2.5 billion investment agreement, is planned to leverage Niger State’s vast land, abundant water, and favorable climate.
The state pledged 1.2 million hectares of land for livestock development initiatives, with 100,000 hectares earmarked for the JBJ ranch. So far, there has been no update on the progress or implementation of the project.
Source: nairametrics.com
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https://nairametrics.com/2026/01/27/islamic-development-bank-to-fund-163-million-solar-project-in-niger-state/
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South Sudanese government insists it is not at war despite heavy fighting
January 28, 2026
Despite heavy fighting against rebel forces over the past few days, the South Sudanese government insisted on Tuesday that it was not at war.
The United Nations has said the clashes are occurring at a scale not seen since before the 2018 peace agreement.
This latest fighting between factions loyal to President SalvaKiir and his long-time rival, RiekMachar, erupted in late December in Jonglei State, north of the capital Juba.
"The ongoing security operation in northern Jonglei State is a lawful and necessary measure aimed at halting the advance of rebel forces, restoring public order, and safeguarding civilians," said Information Minister Ateny Wek Ateny.
President Kiir's forces and those loyal to his first vice president Machar fought a brutal civil war from 2013 to 2018.
In September of that year, they reached a peace deal known as the "Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan” (R-ARCSS).
This saw the creation of a unity government which has been unravelling over the past year amid ongoing clashes.
Machar has been kicked out of the power-sharing government and is on trial for "crimes against humanity".
But Ateny insisted on Tuesday that "the peace agreement has not collapsed".
“The government calls upon the SPLM/A in Opposition to immediately cease hostilities,” he said.
“Actions that undermine the [2018] agreement pose a serious threat to peace and jeopardise the ongoing transitional process," he added.
The fighting in Jonglei state has already caused the displacement of more than 180,000 people and threatens to reignite the civil war.
A spokesman for UN Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres said its mission in South Sudan, UN-MISS, is concerned that the clashes could put hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk.
"What we are witnessing in Jonglei is not an isolated security incident. It is a dangerous escalation which is manifesting in other parts of the country as well," a member of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, Barney Afako, said last week.
South Sudan is the world's youngest country and has been beset by civil war, poverty, and massive corruption since it was formed in 2011.
Source: africanews.com
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https://www.africanews.com/2026/01/27/south-sudanese-government-insists-it-is-not-at-war-despite-heavy-fighting/
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Mali takes majority control of civil explosives producer
January 28, 2026
The Malian government has announced that it is taking majority control of a new company dedicated to producing civil-use explosives inside the country.
Following a recent cabinet meeting at the Koulouba Palace, authorities approved the state’s 51 percent stake in the “SociétéIndustrielle du Centre du Mali FARATCHI-CO-SA,” created in partnership with the Chinese firm Auxin under a shareholder pact signed in November 2024.
The project aims to reduce Mali's dependence on imports and secure supplies for the mining sector, quarries and major civil engineering works, while tightening oversight of these sensitive products.
Since 2022, Bamako has toughened regulations on explosives amid the fight against terrorism and the spread of improvised explosive devices. Companies now face stricter rules on prior authorisation, traceability, storage, transport and stock monitoring.
Trade data show Mali imported about 5.2 million dollars’ worth of explosives and pyrotechnic products in the second quarter of 2023, mainly for authorised industrial use.
No official figures have yet been released on the plant’s production capacity or when it will come on stream, but the move fits into wider mining reforms and a new mining code designed to boost state participation and local economic benefits.
Source: africanews.com
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https://www.africanews.com/2026/01/28/mali-takes-majority-control-of-civil-explosives-producer/
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Army Offensive Leaves 22 ISWAP Terrorists Dead In Borno
January 27, 2026
No fewer than 22 fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have been killed during fierce encounters with Nigerian troops in the Timbuktu Triangle area of Borno State.
Security sources confirmed to ZagazolaMakama that the terrorists were neutralised during sustained ground operations carried out by Special Forces of the Nigerian Army in the notorious axis.
According to the sources, those killed included a senior ISWAP commander, known as a Qaid, as well as two unit leaders (Munzirs), while several other fighters sustained varying degrees of injuries.
“ISWAP suffered significant casualties during the fighting. A Qaid and two Munzirs were among those neutralised, with several other fighters wounded,” one of the sources said.
The source added that efforts were ongoing to confirm the identities of the senior commanders killed during the operation.
It was gathered that surviving ISWAP elements fled the area and are believed to be regrouping within forested locations around Bulabulin, about 18 to 20 kilometres west of Damboa, as well as in Korengelen, south-east of Azir.
Security officials disclosed that intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations have since been intensified over the identified areas and adjoining forests to track and intercept fleeing terrorists.
“The military is sustaining pressure on the remnants of the group through aggressive clearance operations and aerial surveillance,” the sources said.
They added that troops remain determined to degrade ISWAP’s operational capacity in the North-East and restore lasting peace to communities affected by insurgency.
Source: naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2026/01/27/army-offensive-leaves-22-iswap-terrorists-dead-in-borno/
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Southeast Asia
Selangor Sultan voices concern over rising culture of slander and allegations
28 Jan 2026
SHAH ALAM, Jan 28 — The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, has voiced concern over a culture of slander and the spread of allegations, particularly on social media, which run counter to Islamic teachings.
His Royal Highness said such acts should not be taken lightly as they have the potential to undermine ukhuwah and weaken unity among Muslims.
“Let there not be among you those who take pleasure in spreading false news, distorting facts or exaggerating minor issues to the extent of causing unease among members of the kariah and the community.
“This must not be taken lightly, as a single misstep could lead to disputes within society,” he said at the presentation of the instruments of appointment involving 850 mosque nazirs and imams at Balairong Seri, Istana Alam Shah, Klang.
In this regard, the Sultan reminded all nazirs as well as mosque and surau committee members not to be quick to believe false news and to verify the authenticity of information before sharing it, noting that the sin of slander is greater than that of killing.
“Be informed that I constantly monitor developments and am aware of what is happening in mosques and surau across the state, and I will not hesitate to take firm action if necessary,” he said.
Sultan Sharafuddin also urged mosque and surau imams not only to deepen their religious knowledge but also to equip themselves with the ability to manage and administer mosques effectively.
His Royal Highness said imams should serve as community leaders, mediators in disputes and catalysts for unity among members of the kariah, while practising a spirit of togetherness, mutual respect and cooperation regardless of the congregation’s background.
In addition, the Sultan stressed the importance of imams and nazirs maintaining good personal character, moral conduct and a positive image, as they are a reflection of the mosque institution.
“Safeguard the good name of mosques and surau, and avoid any actions that could undermine the dignity and trust of the community.
“Do not let the wrongdoing of a single individual cause the entire mosque institution to be viewed negatively, as reflected in the Malay proverb, ‘keranaseekorkerbaumembawalumpur, habissemuanyaterpalit’ (one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel),” he said.
Meanwhile, the Sultan of Selangor expressed pride in the achievement of the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque, which welcomed more than 100,000 visitors last year.
His Royal Highness said the achievement demonstrates that mosques not only function as centres of worship and dakwah, but are also capable of becoming Islamic tourism destinations, including for non-Muslim visitors. — Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/01/28/selangor-sultan-voices-concern-over-rising-culture-of-slander-and-allegations/207095
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Malaysia urges restraint as US-Iran tensions threaten regional stability
27 Jan 2026
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warns that military build-up and absolutist rhetoric risk pushing the volatile situation towards open conflict, with severe global repercussions.
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has expressed grave concern over mounting tensions between the United States and Iran.
He warned that the growing concentration of military assets and increasingly absolutist rhetoric risk pushing an already volatile situation towards open conflict.
Anwar said any confrontation would have severe repercussions across an already fragile Middle East.
He cited risks including proxy escalation, threats to maritime security and a severe economic shock extending beyond the region.
“No strategic interest could justify such human and material devastation that such conflict would entail,” he posted on Facebook.
Anwar stressed that the imperative of peace must prevail over all other considerations.
He urged all parties to step back from the brink and recommit to diplomacy with seriousness and urgency.
The prime minister also commended Oman’s constructive efforts to facilitate dialogue.
He urged countries with influence to use every available means to promote de-escalation and exercise utmost restraint.
International media reported that the Iranian government is bracing for a fresh US and Israeli missile assault.
This follows the deployment of key assets from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to the region.
Source: thesun.my
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https://thesun.my/news/malaysia-news/people-issues/malaysia-urges-restraint-as-us-iran-tensions-threaten-regional-stability/
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Mosques, suraus must remain free of politics, says Selangor Sultan
28 Jan 2026
SHAH ALAM, Jan 28 — The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, has stressed that mosques and suraus in the state must remain completely free from the influence of partisan politics and must not be used as platforms to advance the personal or political interests of any individual.
His Royal Highness said mosques are not political arenas, nor are they places to sow hatred or division among Muslims. Instead, they should function as centres of worship, dakwah and unity for the ummah.
“I will not tolerate politicians who attempt to hide behind religious talks and use mosques and suraus to serve their respective political agendas.
“I also do not wish to hear of any ‘nazirs’ (mosque officials) or members of mosque and surau committees who are directly involved in partisan politics, including holding political positions while simultaneously serving as nazirs or imams, as this could disrupt harmony among local congregations,” he said.
The Sultan said this at the presentation of the instrument of appointment to the nazirs and imams of mosques in the state, involving 850 people, atBalairong Seri, Istana Alam Shah, Klang.
Sultan Sharafuddin emphasised that the positions of nazir and imam are not political posts to be contested for personal gain, but sacred trusts that will ultimately be accounted for before Allah.
In this regard, His Royal Highness said he does not want to receive complaints about competition for positions in mosque and surau management, as such disputes only breed dissatisfaction, hostility and division among Muslims.
“I do not want the Malays to be divided due to greed for positions and power, which in the end will only harm the Malay community itself,” he said.
Touching on financial management, Sultan Sharafuddin stressed that mosque and surau funds must be administered with full trust, transparency and integrity, in strict accordance with regulations set by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) and the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS).
He also called for financial reports to be submitted every four months to ensure good governance and maintain public confidence.
“I will not tolerate any form of misappropriation of mosque and surau funds, as these funds come from public donations and belong to Muslims. They must be used responsibly and in accordance with Islamic principles for the benefit of the ummah.
“I do not want Islam to be viewed negatively by followers of other religions. Enough is enough. The sanctity of Islam must not continue to be tarnished by cases of misappropriation involving Malay Muslims, some of whom have even been brought to court for corruption, misuse of funds and abuse of power,” said the Sultan. — Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/01/28/mosques-suraus-must-remain-free-of-politics-says-selangor-sultan/207085
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Melaka mosque secretary sacked after allegedly watching indecent videos on premises
27 Jan 2026
MELAKA, Jan 27 — The services of a mosque secretary in the state, who was allegedly caught on camera watching indecent videos within the mosque premises, has been terminated effective immediately.
This was confirmed by the State Education, Higher Education, and Religious Affairs Exco, Datuk RahmadMariman who said that the decision was made during the Mosque Governance Committee (JKTU) meeting of the Melaka Islamic Religious Department (JAIM) today.
This decision followed the receipt of a resignation letter from the individual involved, who served as both the mosque secretary and the chairman of a local surau.
“The JKTU meeting decided to accept the resignation. Consequently, his services as mosque secretary and surau chairman - both JAIM-appointed positions - are terminated,” Rahmad said during a press conference at the Melaka Islamic Religious Council (MAIM) office in Bukit Palah today.
Commenting on the resignation of the individual believed to have recorded the video, Rahmad explained that this person is a rawatib imam (substitute/regular imam) at the mosque. Unlike the secretary post, his appointment was made by the mosque’s internal committee rather than JAIM’s JKTU.
The reason is that the appointment and allowance of the rawatib imam fall under the mosque committee’s jurisdiction; the decision to accept or reject his resignation has been left entirely to them.
Rahmad noted that a police report regarding the incident has been filed by the rawatib imam, and the department is leaving it to the police to conduct a full investigation.
In the meantime, he advised the public to stop fueling the issue to help de-escalate the situation and preserve the well-being of the Muslim community. He reminded everyone that actions violating Sharia law are unacceptable, especially within a place of worship. — Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/01/27/melaka-mosque-secretary-sacked-after-allegedly-watching-indecent-videos-on-premises/207001
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Bush fire in Johor Bahru torches 18 vehicles near mosque, no casualties reported
28 Jan 2026
JOHOR BAHRU, Jan 28 — A bush fire near Al Mahabah Mosque in Taman Bukit Mewah here yesterday destroyed 18 vehicles.
The Johor Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) said it received an emergency call at 1.32 pm, prompting the dispatch of a team from the Larkin Fire and Rescue Station.
Fire engines arrived at 1.45 pm to find a bush fire covering about 0.372 hectares that had spread to nearby vehicles.
Several vehicles, including a Hyundai Atos, PeroduaKancil, Naza Ria, Proton Perdana, Proton Savvy, PeroduaKelisa, a van and a Proton Saga FLX, suffered about 80 per cent damage, while five others could not be identified.
Several more vehicles, including a Proton Saga, BMW E60, Proton Inspira and a PeroduaKelisa, sustained minor damage of about five per cent.
The fire was brought under control at 2.37 pm and fully extinguished by 5.20 pm. The operation involved nine personnel using water from nearby hydrants and fire pumps.
No casualties were reported. — Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/01/28/bush-fire-in-johor-bahru-torches-18-vehicles-near-mosque-no-casualties-reported/207071
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New registrar of Muslim marriages to assume role from Feb 1
Jan 28, 2026
SINGAPORE – UstazSyakirPasuni will assume the role of registrar of Muslim marriages on Feb 1, taking over from UstazNorRazak Bakar, who has served almost six years in the post.
The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) announced the change in a statement on Jan 27.
UstazSyakir, 42, who will be Singapore’s fifth registrar, brings extensive experience to his role, having joined the Registry of Muslim Marriages (ROMM) as a kadi – a religious official who is authorised to solemnise Muslim marriages – and deputy registrar in March 2018. He also has over 18 years of experience across the faith-based sector and public service.
Throughout his tenure at ROMM, UstazSyakir has played a key role in strengthening the professional capabilities of kadi and naib (deputy in Malay) kadi, including the establishment of a platform to enhance knowledge-sharing and continuous improvement.
He is the son of UstazPasuniMaulan, who served as Singapore’s second registrar of Muslim marriages from 1984 to 2005.
UstazNorRazak, 60, was appointed as the fourth registrar in October 2019.
During his tenure at ROMM, UstazNorRazak contributed to strengthening Muslim marriages, including the establishment of the Bersamamu programme in 2019.
The programme provides Muslim couples with mentoring from their solemnisers in their first two years of marriage and has benefited more than 36,000 Muslim couples to date.
UstazNorRazak also spearheaded Bersamamu’s expansion through a collaboration with Asatizah Solace Care in August 2023, strengthening support for female spouses through guidance and counselling by female asatizah. He will continue to contribute to the Muslim community as chairman of the Asatizah Recognition Board.
To ensure continuity in ROMM’s operations and initiatives, UstazSyakir has been working closely with the current registrar during this transition period, said MCCY.
Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Faishal Ibrahim said: “ROMM is a key institution under the Administration of Muslim Law Act, with the registrar playing a central role in building strong partnerships that underpin strong and stable marriages.”
He noted that UstazNorRazak has played “an instrumental role in enhancing marriage support by galvanising kadi and naibkadi to provide sustained guidance to couples beyond solemnisation”.
Associate Professor Faishal also thanked UstazNorRazak for his dedication and contributions during his 26 years of service with ROMM.
“I look forward to working closely with UstazSyakirPasuni as we continue to strengthen support for Muslim families in Singapore,” he added.
Source: straitstimes.com
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/new-registrar-of-muslim-marriages-to-assume-role-from-feb-1
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Anwar gives enforcement chiefs one-week ultimatum: Act on corruption or step aside
By Muhammad Yusry
28 Jan 2026
PUTRAJAYA, Jan 28 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today issued an ultimatum to the heads of departments and enforcement agencies tasked with combating financial crime: take decisive action or step aside.
In blunt remarks, Anwar said he has lost patience after three years of witnessing persistent weaknesses and a culture of tolerance towards illicit activities like smuggling, which he said sometimes occurred with the “consent of enforcement agencies.”
Speaking to agency heads at the Ministry of Finance, the Prime Minister gave them one week to communicate if they were unable to carry out their duties.
“If you have been entrusted with responsibility and feel that you are unable to carry it out due to overwhelming challenges and severe tests, I strongly suggest that this be communicated within the coming week by the heads concerned directly to me, or to the minister, or to the attorney general.
“Inform us that you are not yet prepared to take bold action, and therefore make way for others,” he said in his speech.
Anwar said this warning was necessary as he believed there were still significant weaknesses and gaps in the enforcement system that must be addressed immediately.
“I choose to state this because I have reached a point of losing patience,” he reiterated.
Anwar said the government’s push to strengthen enforcement was driven by the need to protect the country’s standing and meet public expectations for reform and justice.
“We want to save this country, and this country has a very good reputation. The people, in general, are expecting and yearning for reform and justice,” he said.
The prime minister urged those present to use the coming week to reflect seriously on their roles and responsibilities.
Anwar also said he would respect any decision by senior officials who felt they should move to positions with lesser responsibilities.
However, he stressed that those who chose to remain in their current roles must commit fully totheir roles.
“But if you choose to shoulder this responsibility, then within this one-week period, you must carry it out to the best of your ability,” he added.
Anwar also reminded senior officers that their ranks and honours carried moral obligation and should compel firm action across all areas of enforcement.
“Those who hold office, those with the gleaming stars on their shoulders, are not just anyone. You have worked for decades and received recognition over a long period from various departments,” he said.
“But those stars must drive us to do what is right and wise. We must not adopt a complacent attitude,” he added.
When asked by reporters after the event about the warning, Anwar briefly replied: “It’s a stern warning”.
Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri ShamsulAzri Abu Bakar also added that “We mean business”.
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/01/28/anwar-gives-enforcement-chiefs-one-week-ultimatum-act-on-corruption-or-step-aside/207141
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US ambassador bids farewell, praises stronger US-Malaysia ties
28 Jan 2026
Outgoing US Ambassador EdgardKagan lauds a stronger bilateral partnership and says he will miss Malaysia’s culture and ‘can-lah’ spirit.
KUALA LUMPUR: Outgoing United States Ambassador to Malaysia Edgard D. Kagan has described the bilateral partnership as stronger and more resilient than ever.
Speaking at a farewell reception, Kagan said leaving was a “bittersweet moment” marking the end of his 35-year diplomatic career. He confirmed his final departure from Malaysia will be on February 15.
“The bitter part for me is that I will be leaving Malaysia, ending my tour as Ambassador. It is a very tough decision to leave,” Kagan told media.
He expressed pride that the relationship between Kuala Lumpur and Washington is now much stronger than when he arrived. Kagan cited cooperation on regional issues like the Cambodia-Thailand peace agreement and ASEAN as evidence of an effective partnership.
Having served two tours in Malaysia totalling five years, he said the country holds fond memories for his family. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission from 2014 to 2017 before returning as Ambassador in December 2023.
“I will miss the culture, the food and the dynamism. But most of all, I will miss Malaysians – their warmth and the ‘Can-lah’ spirit,” he said.
Kagan attributed his decision to leave to personal reasons and a desire to pursue new opportunities. He confirmed he will join a Washington-based think tank focused on Asian studies.
On economic ties, he highlighted long-standing American energy investments in East Malaysia and growing interest in the technology sector. He noted many data centre projects involve American companies or investment.
“The companies that know Malaysia best are willing to increase their exposure and double down,” he added.
Kagan also pointed to successful cooperation in security, science, and people-to-people programmes. He singled out the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) as a cornerstone for strengthening regional connections.
The farewell event was held in conjunction with the launch of the “Freedom 250” Road Show, a year-long initiative marking the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.
Source: thesun.my
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https://thesun.my/news/malaysia-news/us-ambassador-bids-farewell-praises-stronger-us-malaysia-ties/
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South Asia
Amnesty Condemns Shutdown of Media Support Organizations in Afghanistan
By Fidel Rahmati
January 28, 2026
Amnesty International says cancellation of independent media support organizations’ licenses is part of an ongoing campaign to suppress and eliminate press freedom in Afghanistan.
The Taliban’s Information and Culture Ministry announced Monday it was revoking licenses of all media support organizations except three, claiming these groups were ineffective.
Amnesty International warned Tuesday the shutdown eliminates remaining avenues for professional support and safety for independent journalists and media in Afghanistan’s severely repressive environment.
The organization urged the Taliban to immediately reverse this decision and ensure these vital media support organizations can continue their legitimate work freely.
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed severe restrictions on media freedom, including banning all female journalists from working. Male journalists face constant intimidation, arbitrary arrests, and detention when covering sensitive topics, creating an atmosphere of fear that has devastated Afghanistan’s once-vibrant independent media landscape.
Many media support organizations providing training, advocacy, and protection for journalists had already faced intimidation, restrictions, and financial difficulties before this shutdown decision was announced.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center reports that most organizations whose licenses were revoked had operated legally since receiving permits from the previous Afghanistan government. These groups provided critical professional support and safety resources for journalists working under extremely dangerous conditions in one of world’s most hostile environments for press freedom.
This crackdown further isolates Afghan journalists who already face unprecedented challenges, including complete exclusion of women from the profession and severe content restrictions.
Source: khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/amnesty-condemns-shutdown-of-media-support-organizations-in-afghanistan/
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IEA Committed to Economic Development, Hanafi Says
January 28, 2026
KABUL: Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi, Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs, reaffirmed the Islamic Emirate’s commitment to economic growth and national development, stressing continued support for trade, investment, and job creation across the country.
In a meeting a number of traders in Jawzjan province, Hanafi emphasized that all factors contributing to the expansion of trade and investment are being carefully evaluated, and stronger support measures for investors will be implemented, according to a statement from Arg on Tuesday.
He also addressed the issue of returning migrants, calling on citizens, especially traders and investors, to assist returnees according to their capacity so they can safely endure the winter and reintegrate into daily life.
Traders and investors expressed satisfaction with the services provided by authorities and the facilitation measures introduced to support trade and investment.
Participants highlighted improved security as a major positive development, noting that it has created favorable conditions for domestic and foreign investment.
Source: thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/iea-committed-to-economic-development-hanafi-says/
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Minister Haqqani Reviews Performance of Access to Information Directorate
January 28, 2026
KABUL: The country’s Minister of Information and Culture, Shaikh Shir Ahmad Haqqani, visited the Access to Information Directorate to assess its performance and operational progress, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
During the visit, officials of the directorate briefed the minister on their activities, responsibilities, and achievements, while also sharing existing challenges and concerns.
Minister Haqqani described the Access to Information Directorate as one of the key institutions responsible for implementing the ministry’s core duties nationwide.
He provided necessary guidance to the leadership of the directorate and assured them that their problems and proposals would be addressed promptly.
Source: thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/minister-haqqani-reviews-performance-of-access-to-information-directorate/
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UAE’s HHM Group to Invest in 1,000MW Gas-Fired Power Projects
January 28, 2026
KABUL: TankutDashd, the President of the United Arab Emirates–based HHM Group, has expressed interest in investing in the country’s electricity sector, particularly in gas-based power production with an initial capacity of around 1,000 megawatts.
In a meeting with the CEO of Da Afghanistan BreshnaSherkat (DABS), Mullah Abdul HaqAkhundzada, TankutDashd said that HHM Group views Afghanistan as a promising destination for energy investment, according to a statement from DABS the other day.
The DABS CEO assured the HHM Group delegation of full cooperation and emphasized that favorable conditions have now been created for investment in electricity generation.
He noted that investors can confidently invest in power production and infrastructure development.
Officials reaffirmed their commitment to continued joint cooperation and technical consultations, describing such initiatives as vital steps toward the development of Afghanistan’s energy sector and long-term electricity self-reliance.
Source: thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/uaes-hhm-group-to-invest-in-1000mw-gas-fired-power-projects/
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Afghanistan’s Role in Regional Development
January 28, 2026
Afghanistan is once again being discussed not merely as a challenge for the region, but as a potential contributor to regional development and cooperation. Recent regional discourse highlights a growing recognition that long-term stability and economic integration in Central and South Asia are closely tied to Afghanistan’s future. This evolving perspective reflects a broader shift from isolation toward pragmatic engagement.
Geographically, Afghanistan occupies a strategic position connecting Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. For decades, this position was more a burden than an opportunity due to conflict and insecurity. However, current regional dynamics suggest that Afghanistan could transform from a transit obstacle into a vital corridor for trade, energy, and connectivity. Regional infrastructure and economic projects increasingly view Afghanistan as a bridge rather than a buffer.
Stability in Afghanistan is widely regarded as a prerequisite for regional progress. Without security, cross-border trade, transport corridors, and investment initiatives cannot reach their full potential. Conversely, regional economic engagement itself can reinforce internal stability by generating employment, increasing state revenues, and fostering interdependence among neighboring countries. This mutual relationship between stability and development lies at the heart of current regional thinking.
Over the next few years, Afghanistan has the potential to become an active participant in regional economic frameworks. Its involvement in transit routes, energy transmission lines, and trade corridors could significantly reduce costs and increase efficiency for neighboring economies. Such integration would not only benefit Afghanistan but also enhance regional resilience by diversifying supply chains and strengthening economic linkages.
Regional cooperation, however, cannot succeed through rhetoric alone. Constructive trade policies, realistic political engagement, and sustained dialogue are essential between the Islamic of Afghanistan and the regional countries. Neighboring states must approach Afghanistan with a long-term vision that prioritizes economic inclusion over short-term political calculations. At the same time, Afghan authorities are expected to provide assurances related to security, governance, and the protection of economic interests to build trust among partners.
Another critical dimension is regional security. Economic cooperation and security are deeply interconnected. Cross-border threats, illicit trade, and instability undermine development efforts, while poverty and isolation can fuel insecurity. Coordinated regional strategies that address both economic and security concerns are therefore indispensable. Shared responsibility and collective action offer the best chance for durable peace.
The willingness of some regional states to maintain economic and political engagement with Afghanistan signals a pragmatic acknowledgment of reality. Rather than waiting for ideal conditions, these countries are choosing incremental cooperation as a means to shape a more stable regional environment. This approach may serve as a model for broader regional engagement.
With constructive regional policies and sustained cooperation, it can evolve into a meaningful contributor to regional development within the coming years. The path forward requires patience, coordination, and mutual trust, but the potential rewards, peace, prosperity, and connectivity, extend far beyond Afghanistan’s borders.
Source: thekabultimes.com
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