BJP To Move Court For The Possession Of Maqbara-e-Sangi Tomb In Fatehpur That Hindutva Groups Had Stormed And Vandalised
New Age Islam News Bureau
19 August 2025
Policemen keep vigil outside the mausoleum in Fatehpur on August 12, a day after the tomb was desecrated.
PTI
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· BJP To Move Court For The Possession Of Maqbara-e-Sangi Tomb In Fatehpur That Hindutva Groups Had Stormed And Vandalised
· Bangladesh: Kanai Chandra Das, Held Over ‘Hurting Religious Sentiments’ On Facebook
· Boko Haram Founder Mohammed Yusuf’s Son Muslim Mohammed Yusuf Arrestedin Chad
· With ‘Takzir’ Law In Effect, Muslim Men In Terengganu Face Up To Two Years In Jail For Missing Friday Prayer Even Once
· CAIR-Michigan Calls for Hate Crime Charge for Threats Targeting Muslim Procession
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India
· To Tarnish The Image Of The Community:Hindu Man Wearing Burqa Gate-crashes Janmashtami Event With Governor In Attendance
· All India Muslim Development Council Picks 40 Promising Candidates To Groom As Change Makers
· Heavy Security Deployed In Tripura’s Unakoti After Meat, Anonymous Letter Found Inside Mosque
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South Asia
· 46 Afghans Among 800 Executed in Iran in less than Eight Months
· Bangladesh July Uprising Victims Demand Law Adviser’s Resignation
· Afghanistan Unveils $10 Billion Power Project in Herat
· Deputy PM Engages in Discussions with Akbar Foundation
· Afghanistan Achieves 60% Self-Sufficiency in Flour Production
· PBIL signs MoU with Amanie Advisors to boost Islamic investment
· Germany Seeks Return of Afghans Deported by Pakistan
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Africa
· Sheikh Gumi Raises Alarm Over Alleged Mossad Plot To Assassinate Muslim Leaders
· Instead Of Abusing The Judge, Prove You Are Not Terrorist Organisations – Falana Challenges APC, PDP
· Tanzania court bans broadcasting of opposition leader trial
· Mali's Military Junta Marks Five Years In Power But Elections Still Indefinitely Postponed
· DR Congo and M23 rebels miss deadline to reach peace agreement
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Southeast Asia
· Hong Kong strengthens Muslim-friendly travel offerings with Klook partnership
· Tok Mat: Trump’s Asean Summit visit chance to confront US over Palestine, not endorsement of Washington’s policy
· With Putrajaya help still pending, Kulai council fast-tracks work to prevent Hindu temple from erosion collapse
· PM Anwar defends Indian community aid, says claims of neglect are baseless
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North America
· CAIR Calls On Rubio To Address Whether He Spoke With Laura Loomer Before Banning Gaza Medical Visas
· Mayor Adams: How Can Muslim Mamdani Support Legal Sex Work?
· US State Department revokes 6,000 student visas
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Mideast
· A Record 383 Aid Workers Were Killed In Global Hotspots In 2024, Nearly Half In Gaza, UN Says
· A Ship With Hundreds Of Tons Of Food Aid For Gaza Nears Israeli Port After Leaving Cyprus
· Israel revokes visas for some Australian diplomats
· Israeli controls choke Gaza relief at Egypt border, say aid workers
· Why Gaza’s injured children face lasting struggles even after medical evacuation to Jordan
· Legal experts eye UN General Assembly action on Gaza
· Gaza slaughter a message to young Palestinians, ex-head of Israel’s military intelligence says
· Israel says will deliver humanitarian aid to South Sudan
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Arab World
· Riyadh Workshop Promotes Cultural Heritage In Nature Reserves
· Saudi Initiative Promotes Arabic In Azerbaijan
· Diplomats have ‘fascinating’ visit to International Falcon Breeders Auction
· Tuwaiq Academy introduces 200 new training camps and programs
· Syrian business delegation due in Riyadh
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Europe
· Fiji Muslim League withdraws McDonald’s Fiji Halal certification
· Man claims he is being evicted from care home for anti-Islamic views
· One man arrested at 'Lake District Mosque' protests
· Entire church begins two-day journey across Swedish city
· Ukraine’s army should face no size limits – Macron
· Ukraine wants Europe to pay $100bn for weapons deal with US – FT
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/maqbara-e-sangi-tomb-fatehpur-hindutva-court/d/136539
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BJP To Move Court For The Possession Of Maqbara-e-Sangi Tomb In Fatehpur That Hindutva Groups Had Stormed And Vandalised
Piyush Srivastava
19.08.25
Policemen keep vigil outside the mausoleum in Fatehpur on August 12, a day after the tomb was desecrated.
PTI
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The BJP has decided to move court for the possession of a tomb in Fatehpur that Hindutva groups had stormed and vandalised last week over the claim that it was a temple.
The development comes at a time a report on the tomb’s history and the August 11 violence is awaiting the attention of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
“We are discussing the matter with our legal cell and will move the count soon. We have collected some documents to substantiate our claim,” BJP district president Mukhlal Pal told reporters on Monday.
Pal had led a mob that had desecrated Maqbara-e-Sangi, a mausoleum in AbunagarRedaiya, in police presence and put up an RSS flag on it. The police had registered a case against half a dozen identified and 150 unidentified people, but none have been arrested so far.
Pal claimed the structure was a Krishna temple and Hindus used to pray there till 2012, before it was forcibly taken over by Muslims. However, locals can’t recall the existence of any temple in the last 70 years. Employees of the tomb claim that it can be traced back to more than 200 years.
“A report about the history of the maqbara and the August 11 violence was prepared by a committee headed by divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant. It has been submitted to the chief minister for review. We are awaiting instructions. We have been asked to protect the structure, and we are doing so,” a senior police officer said on condition of anonymity.
He said the report held the local intelligence unit of the police responsible for the vandalisation of the maqbara as it failed to send a timely warning against the mob approaching the tomb.
“The report mentions plots 753 and 1159, which are registered in the name of the maqbara and a temple of Thakurji. They are adjacent to each other. So there is no confusion about the two properties,” he added.
The maqbara is registered with the state government’s Sunni Waqf Board.
Pal had held a meeting near the tomb on August 11 before leading the mob to it. His plan to organise a puja at the tomb on Krishna Janmastami (August 16) was thwarted by the administration, which had imposed a prohibitory order on public gatherings.
While the vandals are still at large, the police have initiated a crackdown on social media users who have condemned the August 11 incident.
“We have registered cases against three X accounts for vitiating the atmosphere on social media,” inspector-in-charge Tarkeshwar Singh said.
According to the revenue department, 10.18 bighas of the maqbara’s land were in the possession of Ram Naresh Singh till December 30, 2010, when a local court ruled that it belonged to the tomb committee. The plot was registered in the name of the committee in 2012.
Abdul Aziz, the caretaker of the property, said: “We don’t know about the adjoining land, but this land and property belong to the Sunni Waqf Board. Ask any elderly resident and they will tell you that the maqbara has been here for several decades.”
Source: telegraphindia.com
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https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/bjp-to-take-tomb-row-to-court-amid-disputed-claims-and-pending-government-report-prnt/cid/2118566
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Bangladesh: Kanai Chandra Das, Held Over ‘Hurting Religious Sentiments’ On Facebook
Aug 19, 2025
Police yesterday took a youth into custody on allegations of "hurting religious sentiments" in Munshiganj town.
The detainee, Kanai Chandra Das, hails from Satchar village in Kachuaupazila of Chandpur. He is a former student of the mathematics department at Munshiganj Government Haraganga College, said Saiful Alam, officer-in-charge of Munshiganj Sadar Police Station.
The police said the accused made a "religiously derogatory" post on Facebook, which sparked tensions among students of Haraganga College.
When agitated students tried to assault him in the morning, police went to the scene, brought the situation under control and took Kanai into custody.
OC Saiful Alam said a case will be filed against him under the Penal Code. He will be produced before a court today.
Source: thedailystar.net
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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/youth-held-over-hurting-religious-sentiments-facebook-3965726
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Boko Haram Founder Mohammed Yusuf’s Son Muslim Mohammed Yusuf Arrestedin Chad
August 18, 2025
By Richard Ogunsile
File Photo: Terrorists [Google image for illustration]
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A young son of Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf, has been arrested in Chad, where he was allegedly leading a jihadist cell.
According to AFP, security sources have confirmed that Muslim Mohammed Yusuf, believed to be 18 years old, was arrested alongside five other suspected insurgents during a raid by Chadian security forces.
Naija News reports that although Chadian police confirmed the arrest of six Boko Haram members, they did not immediately verify if one of them was the son of the late extremist cleric.
However, a Nigerian intelligence source in the Lake Chad region reportedly told AFP: “The team was headed by Muslim, the youngest son of the late Boko Haram founder.”
Photos obtained by the media platform after the said arrest showed a young, slender man in a blue tracksuit, bearing a striking resemblance to Yusuf, standing next to older men.
The intelligence source noted that the arrested cell reportedly belonged to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a breakaway faction that split from Boko Haram following ideological differences.
Muslim Yusuf, who also goes by the alias AbdrahmanMahamatAbdoulaye, is said to be the younger brother of ISWAP leader, Habib Yusuf, alias Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi.
Ex-Lieutenant Confirms Arrest
Meanwhile, a former Boko Haram lieutenant, now denounced from the group, also confirmed the development: “He and the team were arrested by Chadian security. They are six in number.”
Yusuf was an infant in 2009 when his father, Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf, was killed during a military crackdown in Maiduguri that left over 800 people dead.
Since then, the insurgency has escalated, sowing terror across the Lake Chad Basin for over 15 years, with increasing attacks on villages, highways, and military bases.
Confirming the arrests, Chadian police spokesman Paul Manga told journalists from N’djamena: “They are undocumented. They are members of Boko Haram. They were arrested a few months ago.”
Nigeria’s counter-terrorism centre and national intelligence service are yet to officially respond to the development.
Source: naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2025/08/18/just-in-boko-haram-founders-son-arrested/
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With ‘takzir’ law in effect, Muslim men in Terengganu face up to two years in jail for missing Friday prayer even once
By Malay Mail
18 Aug 2025
Terengganu exco Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi reminded Muslim men in the state about the importance of Friday prayer. — Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri
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KUALA TERENGGANU, Aug 18 — Muslim men in Terengganu who miss Friday prayers without valid reasons risk a fine of up to RM3,000, a two-year jail term, or both, after the Shariah Criminal Offences (Takzir) Enactment 2016 now comes into effect.
State Information, Preaching and Shariah Empowerment exco Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi said while previously, only those who failed to attend three consecutive Friday prayers could be penalised, now missing it even once will be punishable.
“This reminder is important because Friday prayers are not only a religious symbol but also an expression of obedience among Muslims.
“Therefore, punishment will only be imposed as a last resort if reminders are ignored by those who neglect this obligation,” he was quoted saying by BeritaHarian.
He said banners would be displayed at mosque compounds to remind worshippers of the obligation to perform Friday prayers.
The campaign is also intended to raise public awareness of the law already in force in Terengganu.
He urged Muslims to accept the implementation of the law as an effort to educate and preserve the dignity of Islam, particularly among the younger generation.
“Enforcement action can be taken through public reports or via patrols and joint operations by Terengganu Islamic Affairs Department (JHEAT) officers together with local authorities (PBT).
“This section has existed since the law was first enacted in 2001, and was then amended in 2016,” he said.
The Enactment was passed in 2016, and also included amendments on sections handling Shariah offences such as failure to respect Ramadan and harassing women in public places.
Previously, the Shariah offence of missing Friday prayers were punishable by a maximum of six months imprisonment, or a fine not exceeding RM1,000.
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/08/18/with-takzir-law-in-effect-muslim-men-in-terengganu-face-up-to-two-years-in-jail-for-missing-friday-prayer-even-once/188100#google_vignette
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CAIR-Michigan Calls for Hate Crime Charge for Threats Targeting Muslim Procession
August 18, 2025
The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), a local chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called for hate crime charges against a Michigan man for alleged threats targeting a Muslim religious procession in Dearborn, Michigan.
A 27-year-old man from Garden City was arrested on Saturday for allegedly making threats prior to an annual religious procession known as Arba’een. The individual made violent threats towards the participants of the procession and was arrested a few hours before its start at the Karbala Islamic Educational Center in Dearborn.
Arba’een is a religious observance of commemorating the 40th day after the unjust killing of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Imam Husain.
“We call on the Wayne County prosector to charge the alleged perpetrator using the Ethnic Intimidation provision of Michigan law,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid. “No group of citizens should be threatened with potential violence or intimidated due to their sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Walid also mentioned that the Karbala Islamic Educational Center in the past has been vandalized and threatened.
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-michigan-calls-for-hate-crime-charge-for-threats-targeting-muslim-procession/
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India
To Tarnish The Image Of The Community:Hindu Man Wearing Burqa Gate-crashes Janmashtami Event With Governor In Attendance
by Shubham Tigga
August 19, 2025
Police in Ranchi have arrested a man who was allegedly found wearing a burqa at a Janmashtami event in the city on August 17. The Governor was in attendance at the cultural programme, as were senior officials of the Ranchi administration and the police.
The accused allegedly tried to mingle with the crowd, police said. The complaint was filed by Nusrat Parveen, who was in attendance and said she first noticed the man while stepping out to buy medicines during the programme.
“He was moving differently, and from the walk and feet, I realised this was not a woman but a man. When I saw him trying to leave the crowd, I alerted police officers nearby,” Parveen told The Indian Express.
She said the man was caught near Zila School, where he had boarded an e-rickshaw. “We stopped the rickshaw and forced him to step out. Once the veil was removed, it was clear he was a man. He first claimed he was searching for his wife, but this was nothing less than a conspiracy to disturb peace,” she alleged.
Parveen said that the act was intended to tarnish the image of the community and disrupt social harmony. “If it were genuinely a Muslim woman in a burqa, no one would object. But when a man from a different faith disguises himself in this way, it is suspicious,” she said.
Confirming the arrest, the officer in charge of Kotwali police station said, “On Janmashtami, during the Governor’s programme, a man in jeans was found wearing a burqa in suspicious circumstances. An FIR has been registered, and further inquiry is on.”
Asked if he was just roaming or doing something else, the officer said the act itself was “intended to disturb communal harmony”.
Source: indianexpress.com
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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/man-wearing-burqa-gatecrashes-janmashtami-event-governor-ranchi-police-10198349/
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All India Muslim Development Council Picks 40 Promising Candidates To Groom As Change Makers
Aug 18, 2025
Mumbai: The All India Muslim Development Council (AIMDC), an initiative to empower the community through education, economic development and academic excellence, has released a list of 40 promising Muslim leaders from across the country under the age of 40.
The announcement of the first "40 under 40", follows "one of the most exhaustive and merit-based selection processes," said the AIMDC.
The initiative drew approximately 950 applications from diverse fields such as education, politics, corporate leadership, engineering, medicine, activism, journalism, law, research, academia, entrepreneurship, Shariah scholarship, counselling, motivational speaking.
Selected after multiple evaluations, including personal interviews, the selected candidates will be mentored. "The aim is to prepare the next line of leaders who will be catalysts for change" said Maulana Mahmood Madni, Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind leader and member of AIMDC presidium.
This is the first such initiative by Indian Muslims in recent history where the emphasis is on creating leaders other than political or religious. "We want these leaders to motivate the community to create an ecosystem of business, entrepreneurship, skills and employment. They should be changemakers and contribute to India becoming atmanirbhar," said Madni.
Source: indiatimes.com
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/muslim-dev-council-picks-40-promising-candidates-to-groom-as-changemakers/articleshow/123369786.cms
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Heavy Security Deployed In Tripura’s Unakoti After Meat, Anonymous Letter Found Inside Mosque
by Debraj Deb
August 18, 2025
Heavy security was deployed after meat was allegedly found inside a mosque complex in the Tilabazar area of Tripura’s Unakoti district on Sunday evening, sparking outrage among people.
According to residents, the chief cleric found a plastic packet lying on the floor of the century-old Jame Masjid, and when he opened it, he saw the meat and a letter. Soon after, a heavy contingent of Tripura Police and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) was rushed to the area to bring the situation under control.
Sources said the letter purportedly claimed that Tripura used to be a Hindu state, and the TilabazarJame Masjid was built on land that earlier housed a Hindu temple. The anonymous letter demanded that the mosque be demolished immediately.
A team of senior officers from the local administration and police, including acting Avinash Rai, acting Superintendent of Police, Unakoti; L Darling, Additional SP, JayantaKarmakar, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO); MatilalDebbarma, Deputy Magistrate, and others, also rushed to the spot.
Speaking to reporters late Sunday, Rai said some miscreants tried to disturb the local communal harmony, and that he was satisfied that all communities in the area were fully cooperating with the administration in tracking those responsible.
He also said a case was registered at the local police station, and security forces were already deployed on the ground to maintain law and order.
The local administration has urged people to abstain from engaging in rumour-mongering on social media.
A large section of people, including senior Congress leader and Gournagar Block Vice Chairman MdBadruzzaman, Moboshor Ali, Chairman, Tripura Wakf Board and ex-MLA, and local community leaders, gathered in the area soon after the packet was discovered.
Congress leader Badruzzaman expressed concern over alleged attempts to create communal unrest in different parts of the state recently, and said donation boxes were stolen from Kanakpur and Gournagar areas in the vicinity, and meat was found inside a mosque in Udaipur in the Gomati district.
“It is clear that some miscreants are trying hard to create communal disharmony. I urge people to maintain peace and not get agitated by anything on social media. The people who did this are culprits and they must be booked, awarded exemplary punishment,” he said.
Tripura Wakf Board chairman and BJP leader Moboshor Ali also said attempts to create communal unrest in the area were “heinous and deliberate.”
The mosque was later washed with water and bleaching powder amidst tight security.
Source: indianexpress.com
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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/heavy-security-deployed-in-tripuras-unakoti-after-meat-anonymous-letter-found-inside-mosque-10195653/
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South Asia
46 Afghans Among 800 Executed in Iran in less than Eight Months
By Fidel Rahmati
August 19, 2025
In less than eight months, Iran has executed 46 Afghan nationals amid a surge in executions, raising concerns over due process, human rights, and growing international criticism.
A human rights organization reported on Monday, August 18, that Iran has carried out at least 800 executions in less than eight months of 2025, averaging around 100 per month. At least 46 Afghan nationals were among those executed.
The report provided no further details about the identities or charges of the Afghans already executed. However, rights groups say many Afghan prisoners face serious charges such as drug trafficking and often undergo unfair trials without adequate legal representation.
Separately, a rights news outlet revealed that at least seven Afghan nationals are now at imminent risk of execution. On Sunday, August 17, they were transferred to solitary confinement in Bandar Abbas Central Prison to await their fate. Families of these prisoners reportedly remain uninformed about the exact date of execution or whether final visits will be permitted.
Two of the condemned men have been identified as Abdul RoaufNoorzi from Nimroz province and Abdul Rahman Ishaqzai from Farah province. The identities of the remaining five have not yet been disclosed. Iranian judicial authorities have not issued any official statements about their cases or the charges.
Rights monitors note a sharp increase in executions of Afghans in Iran since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. According to a 2024 report, at least 80 Afghan nationals were executed that year, three times more than in 2023.
The surge in executions, both of Iranian citizens and Afghans, has sparked deep concern among human rights defenders, who warn that Iran’s judicial system lacks transparency and fairness. They argue that the mass use of the death penalty highlights a worsening humanitarian crisis that requires urgent international attention.
Source: khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/46-afghans-among-800-executed-in-iran-in-less-than-eight-months/
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Bangladesh July Uprising Victims Demand Law Adviser’s Resignation
Aug 19, 2025
Families of those killed and those who were injured in last year's July uprising staged a sit-in outside the Secretariat today, calling for the resignation of Law Adviser Asif Nazrul.
The protest began around 11:15am outside the Jatiya Press Club, where demonstrators held a brief demonstration before marching to Gate no. 2 of the Secretariat at approximately 12:30pm, blocking traffic in the area.
During the sit-in, protesters chanted slogans including, "Resign, resign, Asif Nazrul must resign," "One demand, one point, Asif Nazrul's resignation," "Killers roam free, what is the judiciary doing?" and "My brother is in the grave, why are the killers outside?"
The families and injured alleged that individuals accused in the July massacre cases were securing bail in exchange of money. They demanded the immediate resignation of the adviser and called for the removal of judges they accused of allowing impunity. The protest temporarily disrupted vehicular movement on the road outside the Secretariat.
Source: thedailystar.net
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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/elections/news/eu-delegation-meeting-cec-3965891
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Afghanistan Unveils $10 Billion Power Project in Herat
2025-08-18
HERAT(BNA): Work has formally begun in Herat on a massive $10 billion investment project led by businessman Mirois Azizi, aimed at generating electricity from wind, solar, water, and other sources.
A joint delegation from Azizi Group and the Ministry of Energy and Water traveled to Herat, where they met with Governor Sheikh Islam Jar, the provincial director of Information and Culture, and several local entrepreneurs.
Abdul RazaqSamadi, senior advisor to Azizi Foundation, said their team has arrived in Herat to carry out surveys and preliminary tasks, with practical construction set to begin soon. He noted that Herat has strong wind and solar energy potential, making the project a cornerstone of Afghanistan’s energy self-sufficiency.
Governor Jar welcomed the Azizi Foundation’s charitable contributions and economic investments, highlighting that Herat also has significant hydropower capacity that could further help meet the country’s electricity needs.
The investment agreement for the Azizi power project was signed after completion of surveys in northern provinces, and its implementation has now officially started in Herat.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/afghanistan-unveils-10-billion-power-project-in-herat/
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Deputy PM Engages in Discussions with Akbar Foundation
2025-08-18
KABUL (BNA): Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar held talks today with NamekHaidrov, head of the Akbar Foundation, at his office in Kabul.
According to the Deputy PM’s office, the meeting focused on expanding development projects in Afghanistan. Baradar praised the foundation’s activities in the country and urged its leadership to coordinate with government agencies to ensure projects are expanded and effectively implemented.
He added that with the return of the Islamic Emirate, progress has been made across various sectors, and called on international aid organizations to support Afghanistan’s reconstruction.
For his part, Haidrov said the nationwide security improvements have created favorable conditions for development work. He pledged that the foundation would work to attract international assistance for projects in Afghanistan and implement them in coordination with relevant authorities.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Baradar assured the foundation of the government’s full cooperation and support.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/deputy-pm-engages-in-discussions-with-akbar-foundation/
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Afghanistan Achieves 60% Self-Sufficiency in Flour Production
2025-08-18
KABUL(BNA): The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs announced that Afghanistan currently produces 60 percent of the country’s flour needs domestically.
According to the office, Afghanistan requires around 6 million tones of flour annually, of which 3.5 million tones are now produced inside the country.
Data shows that 200 flour factories are active nationwide, producing about 1 million tonnes of flour each year, while the remainder comes from local mills. These factories have attracted an estimated $150 million in investment and provide permanent employment for 2,500 Afghans.
The Islamic Emirate has also taken steps to support the sector, including reducing tariffs on imported wheat, banning wheat smuggling out of the country, and purchasing surplus wheat from farmers at fair prices during harvest season to store in state-run silos for later use.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/afghanistan-achieves-60-self-sufficiency-in-flour-production/
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PBIL signs MoU with Amanie Advisors to boost Islamic investment
Aug 18, 2025
Prime Bank Investment Limited (PBIL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Malaysia-based Amanie Advisors, a leading Shariah advisory firm, to accelerate the development of the Shariah-compliant investment landscape in Bangladesh.
Syed M Omar Tayub, managing director and CEO of Prime Bank Investment Limited, and SuhaidaMahpot, chief executive officer of Amanie Advisors, Malaysia, signed the MoU at Shangri-La, Kuala Lumpur recently, according to a press release.
Tayub emphasised the transformative potential of the partnership, describing it as a significant milestone in the country's Islamic investment journey. He highlighted the shared ambition of creating ethical, innovative, and investor-friendly Shariah-compliant solutions aligned with Bangladesh's economic priorities.
Mahpot observed that Amanie Advisors was proud to bring Malaysian expertise to Bangladesh, leveraging more than two decades of global experience across multiple jurisdictions.
The collaboration will focus on Sukuk structuring and advisory services, as well as the development of innovative Shariah-compliant financial products. It will also promote research, policy advocacy, and specialised training to strengthen market expertise.
This cross-border alliance with Malaysia's mature Islamic finance ecosystem is expected to facilitate knowledge exchange, generate new deal pipelines, and connect Bangladesh to a wider investor base.
Tayub represented PBIL as part of the Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI) delegation, which accompanied Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus during his recent state visit to Malaysia.
Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority and the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA); Mohd Shuhada Othman, the Malaysian high commissioner to Bangladesh; and Shabbir A Khan, president of BMCCI; were also present.
Source: thedailystar.net
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https://www.thedailystar.net/business/organisation-news/news/pbil-signs-mou-amanie-advisors-boost-islamic-investment-3965436
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Germany Seeks Return of Afghans Deported by Pakistan
By Fidel Rahmati
August 19, 2025
Germany has urged Pakistan to allow the return of Afghan refugees deported under Berlin’s resettlement program, stressing their right to continue visa processing and protection.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed that more than 200 Afghans, previously accepted under its refugee program, have been deported by Pakistan back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
On Monday, August 18, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Joseph Hintersir urged Islamabad to allow those deported to return to Pakistan so they may continue the process of receiving German visas.
Hintersir explained that Pakistani police had detained around 450 Afghans connected to Germany’s relocation program. Of these, 211 have already been sent back to Afghanistan.
He added that while some detainees were transferred to temporary camps, nearly 350 others remain at risk of deportation, facing an uncertain future.
The Afghans affected were part of Germany’s special initiative launched in 2021 after the Taliban’s return to power, aimed at protecting Afghans who had worked with German institutions.
However, Pakistan’s mass deportations, coupled with Germany’s stricter immigration stance, have left the program stalled and more than 2,000 applicants in limbo.
This crisis underscores the precarious situation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, trapped between tightening border measures and the dangers of forced return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Observers warn that without swift international cooperation, many Afghans who supported foreign organizations could be abandoned, raising serious concerns about the reliability of future humanitarian commitments.
Source: khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/germany-seeks-return-of-afghans-deported-by-pakistan/
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Africa
Sheikh Gumi Raises Alarm Over Alleged Mossad Plot To Assassinate Muslim Leaders
August 19, 2025
By George OshogweOgbolu
Controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Mahmud Gumi, has claimed that the alleged presence of Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, in Nigeria may be a clandestine plot to murder Muslim leaders in the country.
In a statement on his Facebook page, Gumi referenced the death of former military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, alleging he was poisoned on the night he hosted the late Palestinian leader, Yasir Arafat, in Abuja.
The cleric wrote: “Mossad in Abuja!? One should expect the clandestine murder of muslim leaders in Nigeria soon.
“Abacha was poisoned the night he welcomed Yasir Arafat into Nigeria.
“How can this genocidal apartheid government has a footing in Nigeria?
“President Tinubu is ill adviced because it will cost him a lot more than he may gain.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia authorities have arrested and detained a Kano woman, Maryam Hussaini-Abdullahi, after a bag containing Marijuana was allegedly mismatched with her luggage by Ethiopian Airlines.
Mrs Abdullahi had left Nigeria on August 6 alongside her husband, AbdullahiBaffa, to perform a lesser Hajj.
She was detained in Makkah after the police linked a strange “Ghana must go” sack to her name.
Speaking to Daily Nigerian, her husband accused the airline of adding the strange bag to his wife’s luggage without her consent.
Baffa said he alongside his wife had travelled with only one bag each, which were duly cleared before their departure from Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, adding that he was shocked that upon arrival in Jiddah, they could not find their luggage.
“Our flight was connected through Addis Ababa, and we arrived at Jiddah on 7th August. We scaled all the screening processes without any hassle.
“But when we arrived, our luggage was missing, and I reported it to the luggage claim desk.
“They gave us a complaint form to fill, and an acknowledged copy was returned to us. They also told us to expect feedback within 48 hours.
“But I protested, explaining to them that we had no spare clothes, but they insisted that was the procedure,” he said.
Baffa said they proceeded to Madinah and bought new clothes and other essentials, but after eight days he received a call that one of the bags was ready for collection in Jeddah, but he declined and requested it be sent back to Nigeria.
However, things took a dramatic turn when they returned to Madinah to catch their return flight to Nigeria on Thursday via the same airline.
He said, “It was at that point that I was informed that my wife has been restricted, and she can’t travel with me.
“When we arrived for departure, Ethiopian Airlines cleared my passport but said my wife had been blocked from travelling.
“When I enquired about the reason, the immigration officers referred us to the Rihab Centre in Makkah.
“And because Thursdays are not working days in the Kingdom, we couldn’t go. So I approached the Nigerian Consulate in Madinah and reported the incident.
“The head of the consulate made contacts to find out; he was briefed on the situation. He was very nice to us and even attached a staff member of the consulate to accompany us.
“So when we arrived at the investigation office in Makkah on Sunday, we were told in the presence of the consulate staff that my wife’s name was linked to a bag containing suspicious items.”
He said security operatives compared her luggage tags with the impounded bag but found no match, adding that “the bag was tagged with her name, and the police attached her pictures to the bag – but luckily the number on the bag was different from the one issued to us by the airline. But they insisted on detaining pending further investigations.”
“When I went to visit her in the cell, she told me the operatives showed her a Ghana-must-go sack containing wrapped items.
“But the items were totally strange to us. Because she had no connection whatsoever to the bag and its content. My wife is completely innocent,” Baffa said.
Source: naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2025/08/19/sheikh-gumi-raises-alarm-over-alleged-mossad-plot-to-assassinate-muslim-leaders/
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Instead Of Abusing The Judge, Prove You Are Not Terrorist Organisations – Falana Challenges APC, PDP
August 18, 2025
By Justina Otio
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has challenged the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to prove that they are not terrorist organisations.
Recall that a Canadian Federal Court had described both parties as entities that have engaged in conduct amounting to terrorism under Canadian law.
The judge, Justice Phuong Ngo, made the declaration while dismissing the asylum appeal of a Nigerian, Douglas Egharevba, ruling that Nigeria’s two main political parties, APC and PDP, were “terrorist organisations” because they allegedly use violence, coercion and subversion of democratic institutions in their bid to acquire political power.
Speaking on the development in a statement on Monday, Falana urged Nigeria’s major political parties to address the serious concerns raised, instead of dismissing the judge’s pronouncements as ignorant or mischievous.
“It is common knowledge that APC and PDP rig elections and announce fake results with the assistance of armed thugs, police and military personnel,” Falana said, adding that violence, killings and attacks on voters have repeatedly marred electoral processes without perpetrators being brought to justice.
The activist criticised both parties for their immediate reactions to the ruling, with the APC calling the judge “ignorant” and the PDP describing the decision as “mischievous”, saying these responses failed to address the substantive issues raised.
“Instead of abusing the Canadian judge, the APC and PDP should urgently adopt legal measures to prove that they are not terrorist organisations,” he stated.
Falana further advised the Federal Government to urgently engage immigration lawyers to intervene in the matter, warning that the ruling could lead to widespread denial of visas or deportation of Nigerians abroad who are members of the APC and PDP.
“If the ruling is registered in the United States, United Kingdom, France and elsewhere, members of the APC and PDP may have their visas revoked and may be deported,” he said.
He argued that the federal government’s protest to the Canadian authorities would not reverse the judgment and urged Nigerian security agencies and judges to compel political parties and their members to operate strictly within constitutional and legal boundaries, particularly during elections.
“The federal government should hire immigration lawyers to take urgent action to remove the stigma of infamy contained in the judgment. The collateral damage will certainly affect other citizens since the government of their homeland has been sponsored by two terrorist political parties,” Falana warned.
Source: naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2025/08/18/instead-of-abusing-the-judge-prove-you-are-not-terrorist-organisations-falana-challenges-apc-pdp/
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Tanzania court bans broadcasting of opposition leader trial
August 18, 2025
A Dar es Salaam court on Monday banned media from live broadcasting the trial of Tanzania's main opposition leader, TunduLissu, who is charged with treason.
Principal Resident Magistrate Franco Kiswaga said the ban was put in place to protect the identities of civilian witnesses.
"Live streaming, live broadcast, and any other kind of live distribution of content online to the public including on social media or video broadcast ... are hereby prohibited," Kiswaga ruled during preliminary proceedings on Monday at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate's Court.
In April, Lissu was arrested following a speech that prosecutors said called on the public to disrupt presidential and legislative elections scheduled for October. If convicted, the politician, could face the death penalty.
Lissu condemned the decision to keep the trial behind closed doors, saying that the ban would allow the court to operate in "darkness" and prevent his supporters from following the case, "Justice must be done and be seen to be done," he said.
Lissu is the leader of Tanzania's biggest opposition party, CHADEMA, which has been banned from participating in the general election in October after demanding changes to an electoral process that it said favours the ruling party.
Despite being shot 16 times in an assassination attempt in 2017, the 57-year old former lawyer ran for President in 2020, where he placed second.
A series of high-profile arrests and explicable abductions has put the spotlight on Tanzanian President SamiaSuluhu Hassan's human rights record.
A 2024 report by the U.S State Department said that rights in the East African country had deteriorated, with many violations perpetrated by the government, including "arbitrary or unlawful killings; disappearances; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; arbitrary arrest or detention; and serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom".
Source: africanews.com
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https://www.africanews.com/2025/08/18/tanzania/
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Mali's military junta marks five years in power but elections still indefinitely postponed
August 18, 2025
After five years in power, Mali's military junta have broken their promise not to stay in power long. But what has it achieved?
August 18th marks five years since the military overthrow of Mali’s democratic government. One month later, transitional president Bah N’Daw took office but he was soon ousted and replaced by General AssimiGoita.
Coup leaders initially promised an 18-month transition but five years on, they’re still there – with no prospect of elections.
Goita promised to free Mali of insurgents and the French soldiers sent to help fight them. And while the French troops have gone, they’ve been replaced by Russian paramilitary fighters. A major victory in the northeastern city of Kidal, came at a cost, with human rights organizations denouncing abuses against civilians. Meanwhile, many other towns remain under insurgent control with dozens of civilians held hostage.
Goita has also cut ties with the political and economic union of West African States, ECOWAS. Instead he helped establish the Alliance of Sahel States, alongside Niger and Burkina Faso who are also ruled by juntas.
Their aim is to create a federation and diminish the influence of the former colonial power France in their countries. In its place, they’ve increased cooperation with Russia, Turkey, China, North Korea and Iran.
Source: africanews.com
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https://www.africanews.com/2025/08/18/malis-military-junta-marks-five-years-in-power-but-elections-still-indefinitely-postponed/
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DR Congo and M23 rebels miss deadline to reach peace agreement
August 18, 2025
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23 movement have failed to reach a peace deal in Doha on Monday, missing the deadline they had set in earlier meetings.
This raises fears that the two parties might reverse the progress made to end hostilities.
Fighting in the eastern DRC escalated in January, when the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seized large parts of the area, including the regional capital of Goma.
The rebels and the Congolese government signed a declaration of principles in July under a Qatari mediation.
With this agreement, the two parties committed to a ceasefire. It was also supposed to pave the way for further peace negotiations, with the goal of reaching a deal by 18 August.
A Qatari official said on Sunday that a draft agreement to end fighting had been shared with the Congolese government and the rebels.
But in a statement on Sunday, the M23 movement said peace talks would not resume, unless all terms of the declaration of principles were fully implemented. This includes the release of prisoners.
The Congolese army last week accused the M23 of threatening the ceasefire by launching multiple attacks in the east of the country.
"All attacks against civilians must stop immediately, and all those responsible must be held to account", said Jeremy Laurence, the Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in reaction to the death of 319 in recent M23 attacks.
Meanwhile the M23 said government forces had continued to attack rebel positions.
Source: africanews.com
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https://www.africanews.com/2025/08/18/dr-congo-and-m23-rebels-miss-deadline-to-reach-peace-agreement/
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Southeast Asia
Hong Kong strengthens Muslim-friendly travel offerings with Klook partnership
19 August, 2025
The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and Klook have teamed up to promote Hong Kong as a Muslim-friendly destination, offering curated activities, accommodation and prayer-friendly experiences. The initiative builds on HKTB’s Jelajah Hong Kong campaign and reflects rising interest in the city among Muslim travellers, with Klook reporting a significant increase in bookings.
Muslim leisure travellers are motivated by the same interests as others, including exploring new cultures, discovering local experiences and creating meaningful memories, but their travel choices also need to meet faith-based requirements such as access to Muslim-friendly food, prayer facilities and privacy considerations.
The Jelajah Hong Kong campaign, the board’s first multi-market effort targeting Muslim travellers, has been enhanced through the Klook partnership. The platform provides a one-stop shop for Muslim-friendly activities, stays and prayer-friendly day trips to family attractions and cultural sites. Klook leverages its Kreator network in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia to develop curated itineraries and share first-hand recommendations, giving travellers confidence to explore Hong Kong.
The initiative builds on previous work by Klook, which partnered with CrescentRating and HalalTrip to become the first global experiences platform offering verified Muslim-friendly ratings. Hong Kong has also been recognised as the Most Promising Muslim-friendly Destination of the Year at the Halal in Travel Awards 2025 and ranks third among non-OIC destinations and second globally in the Muslim Women Friendly Travel category in the 2025 Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI).
Muslim travel continues to grow. GMTI reported 176 million international Muslim arrivals in 2024, up 25 per cent from 2023, with projections reaching 245 million by 2030 and total spending expected to hit US$230 billion. Klook data shows bookings to Hong Kong from Muslim travellers rose 43.5 per cent over the past year, led by theme parks and attractions.
Fazal Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating and HalalTrip, noted that travel to non-Muslim-majority destinations can be stressful when key information for “faith-based needs is not readily available”, and that navigating unfamiliar places can increase anxiety, creating discomfort or a sense of exclusion that undermines the purpose of leisure travel.
He added: “The partnership between Klook and HKTB is a good example of how collaborations can create meaningful, Muslim-friendly travel experiences to provide useful and relevant travel information for tourists.”
LiewChianJia, regional director for South-east Asia at HKTB, shared that the Jelajah Hong Kong campaign has increased interest from Muslim travellers, and that the partnership with Klook reinforces Hong Kong’s appeal as an inclusive destination and reflects the board’s efforts to diversify tourism offerings.
Source: ttgasia.com
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https://www.ttgasia.com/2025/08/19/hong-kong-strengthens-muslim-friendly-travel-offerings-with-klook-partnership/
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Tok Mat: Trump’s Asean Summit visit chance to confront US over Palestine, not endorsement of Washington’s policy
By Muhammad Yusry
19 Aug 2025
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — The Asean Summit in October will provide the region with a rare chance to press Washington directly on Israel’s war against Palestine since United States President Donald Trump is set to attend, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan told Parliament today.
He said Trump’s acceptance of Malaysia’s invitation to attend the summit should be seen as a platform for Asean to convey its united stance on the atrocities committed in Gaza, rather than as an endorsement of US foreign policy.
“We should not mix issues. In this setting, I believe Asean will be able to voice its stance clearly. We have already managed to secure a joint statement from Asean expressing deep regret over the atrocities committed against the Palestinian people.
“This is something we will bring into our bilateral discussions as well,” said the politician known as Tok Mat, when winding up the debate on his ministry’s portion of the 13th Malaysia Plan.
Mohamad was responding to PasirGudang MP Hassan Karim, who had questioned if it was appropriate to invite Trump, saying his “hands are stained with the blood of the people of Gaza.”
The minister argued that Malaysia, as Asean chair and summit host, had to extend the invitation, but stressed that the gathering would allow leaders to confront Washington directly on the issue.
“We are confident that the United States, and President Trump in particular, would want to see the atrocities committed by Israel brought to an end.
“We also want to emphasise this as much as possible in the Chairman’s Statement to be delivered by our Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, during the opening of the 47th Summit,” he said.
“This will be another opportunity to stress that America, as a major power, has the responsibility to ensure that the situation in Gaza is resolved without delay. God willing,” he added.
Last month, Anwar said Trump has agreed to attend the Asean Summit here in October.
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/08/19/tok-mat-trumps-asean-summit-visit-chance-to-confront-us-over-palestine-not-endorsement-of-washingtons-policy/188205
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With Putrajaya help still pending, Kulai council fast-tracks work to prevent Hindu temple from erosion collapse
By Ben Tan
19 Aug 2025
KULAI, Aug 19 — The Kulai Municipal Council (MPKu) has immediately allocated RM300,000 to build a retaining wall at a slope to prevent the Sri Maha Saraswathy Temple in Taman Putri here from collapse due to soil erosion.
Johor Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk MohdJafniMdShukor said the work to put up the retaining wall will start this September and take about three months.
“The soil erosion is due to landslides and this has been going on for the past six months.
“We cannot wait aa the erosion will get worse and costs will increase. In addition, there is a risk that the Hindu temple could collapse," he told reporters after visiting the site with MPKu councillors here today.
MohdJafni, who is also the Bukit Permai assemblyman, explained that the process of strengthening the soil structure on the slope needs to be done before erecting a concrete retaining wall.
He said the immediate RM300,00 allocation came from MPKu as the application to the Housing and Local Government Ministry is still pending.
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/08/19/with-putrajaya-help-still-pending-kulai-council-fast-tracks-work-to-prevent-hindu-temple-from-erosion-collapse/188199
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PM Anwar defends Indian community aid, says claims of neglect are baseless
19 Aug 2025
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — The allocations and assistance for the Indian community are channelled comprehensively through various ministries and not solely concentrated under the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (Mitra), said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said there are other programmes with substantial allocations under various ministries that benefit the community in areas such as education, housing and business, in addition to the specific annual allocation of RM100 million for Mitra.
For example, the SumbanganTunai Rahmah (STR) cash aid for the Indian community amounted to half a billion ringgit in 2022, while for 2025 it has reached RM1 billion, he said. Additionally, the Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme worth RM1.2 billion has been provided for the community.
“In 2024, out of the RM100 million allocation for Mitra, RM98.9 million has been spent, benefiting 122,082 members of the Indian community.
“Other forms of assistance include RM9.3 million in early education subsidies, RM17.63 million in higher education aid for the Indian B40 community, and RM2.99 million in laptop assistance for SJKT (SekolahJenisKebangsaan Tamil), involving 6,000 laptops distributed in stages.
“Therefore, claims that the government appears to neglect (the Indian community) or that allocations for Mitra are not approved promptly are not true,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
The Prime Minister was responding to a question from S. Kesavan (PH-Sungai Siput) regarding the Madani Government’s focus through Mitra or other agencies in efforts to comprehensively develop the socio-economic status of the Indian community.
Elaborating, Anwar said that for 2025, the government is taking a different approach in channelling assistance to the community, with better coordination involving each ministry and Mitra.
For example, in the case of housing projects for the Indian community under the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT), he said additional funds from Mitra would be coordinated to cover shortfalls.
“So, if KPKT spends RM20 million, an additional RM5 million (from Mitra funds) will be coordinated. ICT (information and communication technology) laboratory equipment assistance in 50 SJKT receives RM5 million from the Ministry of Education and partly from Mitra.
“A total of 200 Hindu places of worship or Hindu temples registered as Local Community Centres nationwide have been allocated RM20 million, in addition to a one-off RM10 million allocation from the Implementation Coordination Unit, Prime Minister’s Department (ICU JPM) for minor repairs and maintenance of residences of Indian estate workers,” he said.
On the issue of hardcore poverty among the Indian community, Anwar stressed that efforts to centralise programmes aimed at eradicating hardcore poverty must be strengthened and carried out comprehensively, including involving the community.
He said the Madani Economic framework focuses on comprehensively eradicating hardcore poverty in every state and district without racial distinction.
“The number of poor among the Malays is very high because the majority of the country’s population is Malays; therefore, (aid) programmes are naturally much higher for the Malay community.
“As for the Indian community, although the population is smaller and the number of poor is smaller compared with the Malays, there are groups within the Indian community who are relatively poorer and among the poorest, and that is what we need to address. That is why the centralisation of programmes to eradicate hardcore poverty needs to be strengthened — our policy is clear,” he said.
Anwar was responding to a supplementary question from V. Ganabatirau (PH-Klang) regarding clear guidelines in the 13th Malaysia Plan to eradicate poverty within the Indian community. — Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/08/19/pm-anwar-defends-indian-community-aid-says-claims-of-neglect-are-baseless/188180
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North America
CAIR Calls on Rubio to Address Whether He Spoke with Laura Loomer Before Banning Gaza Medical Visas
August 18, 2025
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to address whether he spoke directly with anti-Muslim extremist Laura Loomer, as she claims, before banning Palestinian children injured by American weapons in Gaza from seeking medical care in the U.S. and condemned his decision.
A day after Loomer posted videos on social media complaining about children from Gaza arriving in the U.S. for medical treatment and questioning how they obtained visas, the State Department said it was halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a review.
In a tweet, Loomer thanked Senator Rubio for halting the visas. The New York Times reported that Loomer said she spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday night to alert him to the flights and what she called the threat of an “Islamic invasion.”
CAIR’s call comes as an Amnesty International report charges Israel with enacting a “deliberate policy” of starvation in Gaza and as video shows a top Israeli official openly calling for genocide in Gaza.
Five Palestinians have died due to forced starvation in the past 24 hours alone, including two children.
In a statement, CAIR Deputy Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“We strongly condemn Marco Rubio for taking direction from Laura Loomer and we call on him to address whether her reported claim that they spoke directly is true. By caving to Loomer’s pressure and banning Palestinian children injured by American weapons from seeking specialized medical care in America, Secretary Rubio has effectively given a notoriously unhinged bigot and her online mob veto power of State Department policy. This is insanity from Secretary Rubio, someone once considered a serious public official. Will Secretary Rubio start taking calls from David Duke next?”
Source: cair.com
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https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-calls-on-rubio-to-address-whether-he-spoke-with-laura-loomer-before-banning-gaza-medical-visas/
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Mayor Adams: How Can Muslim Mamdani Support Legal Sex Work?
By Nicole Weatherholtz
18 August 2025
New York City Mayor Eric Adams questioned Democrat mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's previous calls for legal prostitution, asking how the self-identified Muslim could ever push to decriminalize sex work in the Empire State.
"I can't be more clear," Adams said Sunday, according to the New York Post. "I'm a man of God, just as Mamdani says he's a Muslim. I don't know where in his Quran it states that it's OK for a woman to be on the streets selling their body."
"I don't know what Quran he is reading," he added. "It's not in my Bible. As a man who said he is of faith, I don't quite understand what religion supports prostitution."
Mamdani's religion of Islam prohibits prostitution.
Since he ran for state assembly in 2020, Mamdani has voiced his support for legal prostitution multiple times.
"I would like to register my support for [decriminalizing sex work] legislation, my eagerness for that debate and for my fundamental belief that sex work is work," Mamdani said at a February 2021 assembly meeting.
However, from the outset of his mayoral campaign, the 33-year-old democratic socialist has kept quiet on the controversial issue.
His silence has some critics concerned that Mamdani might suddenly push to decriminalize prostitution in the Big Apple if voters elect him as their next mayor in November.
According to the Post, Adams said that Mamdani doesn't understand the realities of sex work and the associated crime it would bring to the city.
"I think he's lost on the fact that sex trafficking is very much part of prostitution," Adams said. "We are trying to bring down crime, and he is talking about legalizing sex work."
"You're not doing any service to a woman who is on the street who is forced to sell her body for whatever reason," he added. "No one should be on our streets selling their bodies. No one."
Those in favor of decriminalized sex work typically argue that prostitutes would be safer and less vulnerable to violence if the practice were legalized.
But in places where it is legally permitted, such as Nevada and certain European countries, some studies have shown that human trafficking increases to meet the demand for sex workers.
There are also fears that New York City could become a sex tourism hot spot, similar to Amsterdam's notorious Red Light District, if Mamdani is swept into office.
Adams, who is running for reelection against Mamdani as an independent, said he is against that possibility.
"If that is his belief, it is a danger for our city," the mayor said. "Our city needs to be a safe city. It should not be a city where women are standing on corners, or boys are standing on corners, or young men [are] standing on corners selling their bodies."
In a statement to the Post, a Mamdani spokesperson fired back at Adams and sidestepped the question of whether he still supports legalized prostitution.
"Mayor Adams' reckless budget cut over $3 million in funding from Safe Horizon, putting thousands of victims of crimes related to sex trafficking and prostitution in harm's way," the spokesperson said.
"As Mayor, Zohran will prioritize genuine public safety for all, including investing $40M through his Department of Community Safety towards victims services," the statement added.
Source: newsmax.com
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https://www.newsmax.com/politics/nyc-eric-adams-zohran-mamdani/2025/08/18/id/1222948/
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US State Department revokes 6,000 student visas
August 18, 2025
Ana Faguy
The State Department has revoked more than 6,000 international student visas because of violations of US law and overstays, the department told the BBC.
The agency said the "vast majority" of the violations were assault, driving under the influence (DUI), burglary and "support for terrorism".
The move comes as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on immigration and international students.
While the State Department did not specify what they meant by "support for terrorism", the Trump administration has targeted some students who have protested in support of Palestine, arguing they had expressed antisemitic behaviour.
Of the 6,000 student visas that were revoked, the State Department said about 4,000 of those were revoked because visitors broke the law.
Another 200-300 visas were also revoked for "terrorism done under INA 3B", the State Department said, referring to code that defines "terrorist activity" broadly as acts that endanger human life or violate US law.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration paused scheduling visa appointments for international students. In June, when they restarted appointments, they announced they would ask all applicants to make their social media accounts public for enhanced screening.
They said they would search for "any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States".
State Department officers were also instructed to screen for those "who advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to national security; or who perpetrate unlawful anti-Semitic harassment or violence".
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers in May that he estimated "thousands" of student visas had been rescinded since January.
"I don't know the latest count, but we probably have more to do," Rubio told US lawmakers on 20 May. "We're going to continue to revoke the visas of people who are here as guests and are disrupting our higher education facilities."
Democrats have pushed back against the Trump administration's effort to revoke student visas, describing it is an attack on due process.
More than 1.1 million international students from over 210 countries were enrolled in US colleges in the 2023-24 school year, according to Open Doors, an organisation that collects data on foreign students.
Source: bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz93vznxd07o
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Mideast
A record 383 aid workers were killed in global hotspots in 2024, nearly half in Gaza, UN says
August 19, 2025
UNITED NATIONS: A record 383 aid workers were killed in global hotspots in 2024, nearly half of them in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas, the UN humanitarian office said Tuesday on the annual day honoring the thousands of people who step into crises to help others.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said the record number of killings must be a wake-up call to protect civilians caught in conflict and all those trying to help them.
“Attacks on this scale, with zero accountability, are a shameful indictment of international inaction and apathy,” Fletcher said in a statement on World Humanitarian Day. “As the humanitarian community, we demand – again – that those with power and influence act for humanity, protect civilians and aid workers and hold perpetrators to account.”
The Aid Worker Security Database, which has compiled reports since 1997, said the number of killings rose from 293 in 2023 to 383 in 2024, including over 180 in Gaza.
Most of the aid workers killed were national staff serving their communities who were attacked while on the job or in their homes, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA.
So far this year, the figures show no sign of a reversal of the upward trend, OCHA said.
There were 599 major attacks affecting aid workers last year, a sharp increase from the 420 in 2023, the database’s figures show. The attacks in 2024 also wounded 308 aid workers and saw 125 kidnapped and 45 detained.
There have been 245 major attacks in the past seven plus months, and 265 aid workers have been killed, according to the database.
One of the deadliest and most horrifying attacks this year took place in the southern Gaza city of Rafah when Israeli troops opened fire before dawn on March 23, killing 15 medics and emergency responders in clearly marked vehicles. Troops bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. UN and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later.
“Even one attack against a humanitarian colleague is an attack on all of us and on the people we serve,” the UN’s Fletcher said. “Violence against aid workers is not inevitable. It must end.”
According to the database, violence against aid workers increased in 21 countries in 2024 compared with the previous year, with government forces and affiliates the most common perpetrators.
The highest number of major attacks last year were in the Palestinian territories with 194, followed by Sudan with 64, South Sudan with 47, Nigeria with 31 and Congo with 27, the database reported.
As for killings, Sudan, where civil war is still raging, was second to Gaza and the West Bank with 60 aid workers losing their lives in 2024. That was more than double the 25 aid worker deaths in 2023.
Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah militants fought a war last year, saw 20 aid workers killed compared with none in 2023. Ethiopia and Syria each had 14 killings, about double the number in 2023, and Ukraine had 13 aid workers killed in 2024, up from 6 in 2023, according to the database.
Source: arabnews.com
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A Ship With Hundreds Of Tons Of Food Aid For Gaza Nears Israeli Port After Leaving Cyprus
August 19, 2025
LIMASSOL: After setting off from Cyprus, a ship loaded with 1,200 tons of food supplies for the Gaza Strip was approaching the Israeli port of Ashdod on Tuesday in a renewed effort to alleviate the worsening crisis as famine threatens the Palestinian territory.
The Panamanian-flagged vessel is loaded with 52 containers carrying food aid such as pasta, rice, baby food and canned goods. Israeli customs officials had screened the aid at the Cypriot port of Limassol from where the ship departed on Monday.
Some 700 tons of the aid is from Cyprus, purchased with money donated by the United Arab Emirates to the so-called Amalthea Fund, set up last year for donors to help with seaborne aid. The rest comes from Italy, the Maltese government, a Catholic religious order in Malta and the Kuwaiti nongovernmental organization Al Salam Association.
“The situation is beyond dire,” Cyprus Foreign Minister ConstantinosKombos told The Associated Press.
Cyprus was the staging area last year for 22,000 tons of aid deliveries by ship directly to Gaza through a pier operated by the international charity World Central Kitchen and a US military-run docking facility known as the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore system.
By late July 2024, aid groups pulled out of the project, ending a mission plagued by repeated weather and security problems that limited how much food and other emergency supplies could get to those in need.
Cypriot Foreign Ministry said Tuesday’s mission is led by the United Nations but is a coordinated effort — once offloaded at Ashdod, UN aid employees would arrange for the aid to be trucked to storage areas and food stations operated by the World Central Kitchen.
The charity, which was behind the first aid shipment to Gaza from Cyprus last year aboard a tug-towed barge, is widely trusted in the battered territory.
“The contribution of everyone involved is crucial and their commitment incredible,” Kombos said.
Shipborne deliveries can bring much larger quantities of aid than the air drops that several nations have recently made in Gaza.
The latest shipment comes a day after Hamas said it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire. Israel has not approved the latest proposal so far.
Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavily populated areas after ceasefire talks stalled last month, raising the possibility of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which experts say is sliding into famine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin has dismissed reports of starvation in Gaza are “lies” promoted by Hamas. But the UN last week warned that starvation and malnutrition in the Palestinian territory are at their highest levels since since the war began.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from from 22 months of war has passed 62,000.
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Israel revokes visas for some Australian diplomats
August 18, 2025
SYDNEY: Israel’s foreign minister said on Monday he had revoked the visas of Australian diplomats to the Palestinian Authority, following a decision by Canberra to recognize a Palestinian state and cancel an Israeli lawmaker’s visa.
The Australian government said it had canceled the visa of a lawmaker from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition who has advocated against Palestinian statehood and called for Israel to annex the occupied West Bank.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Australia’s ambassador to Israel had been informed that the visas of representatives to the Palestinian Authority had been revoked.
Like many countries, Australia maintains an embassy to Israel in Tel Aviv and a representative office to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
“I also instructed the Israeli Embassy in Canberra to carefully examine any official Australian visa application for entry to Israel,” Saar wrote on X, describing Australia’s refusal to grant visas to some Israelis as “unjustifiable.”
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning Israel’s decision as illegal and “in violation of international law."
Australia is set to recognize a Palestinian state next month, a move it says it hopes will contribute to international momentum toward a two-state solution, a ceasefire in Gaza, and the release of hostages held by militants in Gaza.
Simcha Rothman, a parliamentarian from the Religious Zionism party led by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, had been scheduled to visit Australia this month at the invitation of a conservative Jewish organization.
Rothman said he was told his visa had been canceled over remarks the Australian government considered controversial and inflammatory, including his assertion that Palestinian statehood would lead to the destruction of the state of Israel and his call for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank.
“Nothing that I said personally has not been said over and over again by the vast majority of the public in Israel and the government of Israel,” Rothman said by phone.
Rothman said he had been informed that his views would cause unrest among Australian Muslims.
Asked about Canberra’s decision on Palestinian statehood, Rothman said that would be a “grave mistake and a huge reward for Hamas and terror.”
Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke, said in an emailed statement that the government takes a hard line on those who seek to spread division in Australia, and that anyone coming to promote a message of hate and division is not welcome.
“Under our government, Australia will be a country where everyone can be safe and feel safe,” he said.
The Australian Jewish Association had invited Rothman to meet members of the Jewish community and show solidarity in the face of “a wave of antisemitism,” AJA Chief Executive Robert Gregory said.
In June, Australia and four other countries imposed sanctions on Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over accusations of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
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Israeli controls choke Gaza relief at Egypt border, say aid workers
August 18, 2025
RAFAH: At the Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip, hundreds of aid trucks sat unmoving in the Egyptian desert, stuck for days with only a handful allowed through by Israel to relieve the humanitarian disaster across the border.
After nearly two years of war, UN-backed experts have said famine is unfolding in the Palestinian territory, while there are also dire shortages of clean water and medicines.
Yet aid groups say the flow of essential supplies remains painfully slow, despite the growing crisis.
Israel continues to deny entry for life-saving medical equipment, shelters and parts for water infrastructure, four UN officials, several truck drivers and an Egyptian Red Crescent volunteer told AFP.
They said the supplies were often rejected for being “dual-use,” meaning they could be put to military use, or for minor packaging flaws.
Some materials “just because they are metallic are not allowed to enter,” said AmandeBazerolle, head of emergency response in Gaza at French medical charity MSF.
Sitting on the Egyptian side was a truckload of intensive care gurneys baking in the sun, held back by the Israelis despite the UN reporting a severe shortage in Gaza, because one pallet was made of plastic instead of wood, aid workers said.
Other shipments were turned away because “a single pallet is askew, or the cling film isn’t wrapped satisfactorily,” said an Egyptian Red Crescent volunteer.
Even with everything lined up and approved beforehand, shipments can still be turned back, said Amal Emam, chief of the Egyptian Red Crescent.
“You can have a UN approval number stuck to the side of a pallet, which means it should cross, it’s been approved by all sides, including COGAT, but then it gets to the border and it’s turned back, just like that.”
COGAT is the Israeli ministry of defense agency that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories.
Complying with the restrictions was also incredibly costly, Emam said.
“I have never in my life as a humanitarian seen these kinds of obstacles being put to every bit of aid, down to the last inch of gauze,” she added.
Simple medicines such as ibuprofen can take a week to cross into Gaza.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization often has to rush to get insulin and other temperature-sensitive medicines through in regular trucks when Israeli officials reject the use of refrigerated containers.
In a tent warehouse, dozens of oxygen tanks sat abandoned on Monday, gathering dust months after they were rejected, alongside wheelchairs, portable toilets and generators.
“It’s like they’re rejecting anything that can give some semblance of humanity,” a UN staffer told AFP, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for the UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA, said the prohibited list “is pages and pages of things.”
Truck drivers have reported spending days stuck watching other vehicles that are often carrying identical supplies either waved through or rejected without explanation.
Egyptian driver Mahmoud El-Sheikh said he had been waiting for 13 days in scorching heat with a truck full of flour.
“Yesterday, 300 trucks were sent back. Only 35 were allowed in,” he said.
“It’s all at their discretion.”
Another driver, Hussein Gomaa, said up to 150 trucks lined up each night on the Egyptian side, but in the morning “the Israelis only inspect however many they want and send the rest of us back.”
AFP could not independently verify the daily aid volume entering Gaza from Egypt.
A WHO official said that at most 50 trucks enter Gaza every day while Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said only 130-150 trucks cross daily, sometimes 200 — about a third of what is needed.
“This is engineered hunger,” Abdelatty said on Monday, adding that over 5,000 trucks were waiting at the border.
Last week, COGAT denied blocking aid.
In a post on X, it said Israel facilitates humanitarian aid while accusing Hamas of exploiting aid to “strengthen its military capabilities” and said 380 trucks entered Gaza last Wednesday.
MSF warned aid bottlenecks were costing lives.
It cannot bring in vital medical supplies as basic as scalpels or external fixators used to treat broken limbs.
“People are at risk of losing limbs because we don’t have basic tools,” Bazerolle said.
She added supplies were depleting faster than expected. “We order for three or five months and then in two months it’s gone.”
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Why Gaza’s injured children face lasting struggles even after medical evacuation to Jordan
SHEROUK ZAKARIA
August 18, 2025
AMMAN: Abdulhadi Al-Sayed will never forget the vivid details of what happened to him on March 30, the first day of Eid Al-Fitr, just two weeks after Israel resumed its bombing campaign across the Gaza Strip following the latest ceasefire collapse.
He had joined some friends at a cafe in Gaza City to play video games — a semblance of normality amid the grinding conflict. On his way home, the 14-year-old recalled passing a group of children playing in the street when a car pulled up.
Moments later, the first missile struck.
Seven children and everyone in the vehicle were killed instantly, while shrapnel from the blast tore through Abdulhadi’s right arm and thigh. While he lay bleeding heavily on the ground, a second shell exploded, this one shattering his jaw.
Although he survived the attack, he will carry his wounds with him for the rest of his life.
“I remember that day vividly,” Abdulhadi told Arab News from his ward at Mouwasat Hospital, a facility run by Medecins Sans Frontieres in Amman, Jordan, specializing in reconstructive surgery and comprehensive rehabilitation for the war-wounded.
“For months in Gaza, I couldn’t sleep. Every time I woke up, I lived the nightmare still unfolding around me.”
For two days after the attack, Abdulhadi said he lay on the floor of a hospital in Gaza among dozens of patients, with no bandages, painkillers, or even enough specialist staff to offer more than basic first aid.
Given the damage to his jaw, Abdulhadi said he could only be fed liquids through a syringe. But amid Gaza’s severe food shortages under an Israeli aid blockade, his meals were typically tomato paste mixed with water.
Back in the makeshift camp where he had lived since being displaced from his home in the Shejaiya district of Gaza City, he said a nurse would occasionally come to check on him as he lay recuperating in unsanitary conditions.
It was three months before Abdulhadi was evacuated to Amman as part of the Jordanian medical corridor, an ongoing humanitarian mission launched by King Abdullah II in February to treat 2,000 critically ill and wounded Palestinian children in Jordanian hospitals.
He is one of 437 Palestinians, including 134 children, evacuated from Gaza to Jordan since the initiative began in March in coordination with the World Health Organization. The most recent group, 15 children and 47 companions, arrived on Aug. 6.
Since arriving in Amman on July 1, Abdulhadi has been receiving medical, rehabilitative, and psychological care.
After complex maxillofacial surgery to reconstruct his jaw with platinum implants, followed by plastic surgery to repair facial trauma, he can now eat, speak, and even smile again.
He will soon undergo further surgery to remove shrapnel from his hand, followed by reconstructive surgery on his right leg and a course of physiotherapy.
Although he now sleeps through the night on a clean bed, eats regularly, plays chess, and practices a little English daily, he carries the affliction of many war-wounded — survivor’s guilt.
Accompanied by his father and grandmother, Abdulhadi longs to be reunited with his mother, who chose to remain in Gaza, refusing to leave her three older boys, despite persistent hunger and her own untreated injuries.
“I like being here, but not without my family,” said Abdulhadi, who maintains daily contact with his family. They have since found shelter close to Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza.
Abdulhadi’s father, Sobhi Al-Sayed, told Arab News he is likewise torn between gratitude for safety and guilt for leaving his other children.
“I feel helpless when my sons tell me they are hungry,” he said. “The other day, I could not recognize my wife on a video call because of how much weight she had lost.”
Sobhi says his eldest son, 24-year-old Shaker, has also been injured by Israeli fire while trying to get flour for his siblings from an aid distribution center. “Injured, killed, or starved,” he said. “Those are the only three options in Gaza.”
The WHO, which coordinates medical evacuations with Gaza’s Health Ministry and host countries, warned of “catastrophic” conditions in the enclave, where fewer than half of hospitals are partially functioning, short of life-saving medicines, and overwhelmed with patients.
Nearly two years of war have devastated Gaza’s critical sanitation, water, and electricity infrastructure, leaving most of the 1.9 million internally displaced people crowded in tents and exposed to mounting garbage, poor hygiene, and unclean water.
The crisis is compounded by a surge in hunger-related deaths now exceeding 240 — half of them children — according to Gaza authorities, as aid agencies warn of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe.
Since the war began in October 2023 until July 31 this year, the WHO has evacuated more than 7,500 Palestinians, including 5,200 children, for treatment in Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Turkiye, and European countries.
However, WHO officials say more than 14,800 remain in urgent need, calling for faster medical evacuations through all possible routes, including restoring referrals to the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The small number evacuated compared to the scale of need reflects the long, complex process. Cases are first referred by doctors, then approved by Gaza’s Health Ministry, which prioritizes and transfers them to the WHO for coordination with host countries and Israel.
Bureaucratic hurdles, host country requirements, and occasional Israeli rejections continue to block access to lifesaving care.
Once children complete their treatment in Jordan, they and their caregivers are returned to Gaza, making room for new patients to be evacuated for medical care.
Cyril Cappai, MSF’s head of mission in Amman, told Arab News that while evacuations to Jordan were difficult at first, they have become more organized due to the presence of on the ground MSF teams and the Jordanian field hospital.
The MSF facility in Amman currently hosts 25 Palestinian children from Gaza with critical injuries, along with their companions.
Cappai said the comprehensive long-term treatment programs, which include orthopedic and reconstructive surgery, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and mental health services, last more than four months.
“The injuries we see often require multiple surgeries and a long road to recovery,” he said. “We also deal with post-surgery bone infections, which need close monitoring and prolonged courses of antibiotics.”
Rehabilitative and psychological care, which makes up 80 percent of the treatment program, is designed to help children and adolescents rebuild their sense of self-worth by providing adaptive tools that ease their daily life and support their reintegration into society.
“The key is to help young people live with their new condition as productive members of society who can get jobs, drive, and earn money,” said Cappai. “Building mental resilience also accelerates physical progress.”
A 3D printing lab at the facility designs tailored medical devices, from upper-limb prosthetics to transparent facial orthoses for burn patients, which help skin heal through pressure therapy.
Psychotherapy sessions address pain management and help those who have suffered life-changing injuries cope with painful memories and trauma. These services extend to the children’s companions, many of whom suffer from mental trauma and chronic illnesses.
Each patient is usually allowed one companion, but exceptions are made for families with young children, allowing mothers to bring them along.
“We cannot let a mother leave her babies behind, so they come with their wounded siblings to receive treatment,” said Cappai.
Young companions are kept engaged through play therapy, music, art classes, and schooling for those out of the classroom. A new hospital space provides a safe play area, while vocational training in skincare, barbering, and silver crafting is offered in collaboration with local agencies.
Ghada Al-Hams, a mother of six, said she could not leave her children Amr, 11, and Malak, 10, when she was contacted to accompany her 16-year-old son, Ammar, for treatment in Jordan, but she was forced to leave her three other children in Gaza — a decision that still haunts her.
“I left them with no food or water,” Al-Hams told Arab News at the Mouwasat Hospital in Amman. “To be offered the best food while my kids starve is a tragedy for me.” Her son, desperate to get flour for his siblings, was injured twice while seeking aid.
“When I heard about his injury, I requested to go back to Gaza, but my wounded son here needs a companion,” she said.
Al-Hams said Ammar was injured in July 2024 when an artillery shell landed between him and his father as they walked to their old home in Muraj, north of Rafah, having been displaced to Khan Yunis. The blast killed his father and left Ammar’s right arm dangling by a thread.
“He tried to carry his father to the nearest hospital but couldn’t,” said Al-Hams. “His father told him to leave him behind and go. His last words were, ‘Don’t look at your arm. Take care of your mother and siblings.’ And then he was gone.”
Despite their limited medical supplies, Al-Hams said medics in Gaza were able to save Ammar’s arm from amputation. But after months without proper care, his right palm was left paralyzed, with one nerve severed and two others damaged.
“Sleeping in an unsanitary tent left him in pain and unable to rest, which worsened his condition,” said Al-Hams.
MSF surgeons in Gaza operated to reconnect the severed nerve, but ongoing treatment was disrupted when Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis was bombed and MSF staff were forced to withdraw.
Ammar was referred abroad in March and evacuated on July 1 in a challenging journey along bombed-out streets, past shell-damaged ambulances, and through multiple security checks to reach the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom border crossing.
MSF doctors at Jordan’s Mouwasat Hospital said Ammar needs at least three months of physiotherapy and occupational therapy. If unresponsive to treatment, he will require a tendon transfer.
“Ammar was speechless for three months after watching his father die,” said Al-Hams. “He was always silent and zoned out. It took him time to start interacting again.”
Meanwhile, her accompanying children are receiving schooling and psychotherapy sessions, slowly regaining their energy and confidence — though the trauma still lingers.
After two years out of school, they now have the strength to play and even compete for the highest grades in the hospital’s classes. They feel safe at last, though the sound of airplanes still makes them flinch.
“Every day in Gaza is a struggle for survival,” said Al-Hams. “My children would spend four hours in line for water, then another for flour. If we managed to get food that day, we never knew when we’d find any again.
“Now my kids are living their childhood again.”
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Legal experts eye UN General Assembly action on Gaza
August 18, 2025
ISTANBUL: The UN General Assembly must be empowered to urgently intervene in Gaza and send a protective military force to help its devastated population, the non-government Gaza Tribunal project said Monday.
The body, which groups international academics, rights advocates and legal experts, was set up in London in 2024 aiming to mobilize public opinion and pressure governments “to end the genocide” in Gaza.
Addressing a news conferences in Istanbul, its leader Richard Falk, a former UN rapporteur for Palestinian rights, said the tribunal called on governments to act before it was “too late.”
The aim was “the empowerment of the UN General Assembly to organize a protective, armed intervention in Gaza to overcome the disruption of humanitarian aid and the continuing devastation and destruction of the people,” said the 94-year-old American emeritus law professor.
Since the Hamas October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, Gaza has been hit by a huge Israeli military onslaught that aid agencies say has caused a dire humanitarian crisis in the Palestinians territory.
“We urge governments around the world to take immediate steps to empower the veto-free UN General Assembly that ... so far has been frustrated in its attempts to end the Gaza genocide,” the group said in a statement.
Israel has repeatedly denied there is any genocide in Gaza or that it blocks humanitarian aid. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that calls to end the war “harden” the Hamas resolve to fight the conflict.
Falk said the move could be established through policy instruments like the 1950 “United for peace” resolution or the more recent “Responsibility to protect” (R2P) doctrine.
The first lets the UN General Assembly act when the Security Council fails to maintain international peace and security. It was adopted at US urging in the early stages of the 1950-53 Korean war to sidestep a systematic Soviet Security Council veto.
The R2P was passed in 2005 aiming to prevent a repeat of the horrors of the 1994 Rwanda genocide and the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia.
“If we do not take action of a serious and drastic kind at this time, (it) will be too late to save the surviving people,” said Falk who worked for decades on Palestinian rights and was repeatedly denounced for his harsh stance on Israel.
He said Gaza Tribunal hoped to have the issue added to the agenda of next month’s UN General Assembly in New York.
World powers are deeply divided over whether military intervention to halt atrocities is justified, with critics seeing it as a smokescreen for meddling in other nations’ internal affairs.
Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of enacting a “deliberate policy” of starvation in Gaza — a charge Israel has repeatedly rejected.
The 2023 Hamas attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 61,944 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza which the UN considers reliable.
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Gaza slaughter a message to young Palestinians, ex-head of Israel’s military intelligence says
August 18, 2025
LONDON: Israel’s former military intelligence chief has claimed that the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza were necessary “as a message for future generations.”
AharonHaliva can be heard in an audio broadcast by Israel’s Channel 12 saying that 50 Palestinians should die for every one Israeli killed in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli media reported.
“It does not matter now if they are children,” he said. “There’s no choice, they need a Nakba every now and then to feel the consequences.”
Nakba refers to the “catastrophe” of 1948 when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee their homes and land during the foundation of the Israeli state.
Haliva, who resigned last year over intelligence failings surrounding the Oct. 7 attacks, can be heard justifying the devastating death toll in Gaza, which he put at 50,000.
The slaughter by Israel’s forces reached that figure in March, suggesting his comments are several months old, with the number of people killed now more than 62,000, Gaza health officials said on Monday.
Haliva’s comments are a rare acknowledgement from a senior Israeli figure of the true scale of the bloodshed in Gaza. Even if Israel’s claim earlier this year that it had killed 20,000 militants in the territory was accurate, that would still suggest Haliva accepts the vast majority of victims are civilians.
He is even considered a moderate within the Israeli political spectrum that is now dominated by hardline figures like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir in senior ministerial positions.
The extensive recordings sparked anger among Palestinians and Israeli human rights groups.
“The remarks by former head of military intelligence AharonHaliva are part of a long line of official statements that expose a deliberate policy of genocide,” B’Tselem said on X.
In a statement to Channel 12, Haliva said the recordings came from a “forum setting.”
In the recording, he also discussed the intelligence failings leading up to Oct. 7, when Hamas and other militants attacked southern Israel killing 1,200 people and seizing 250 hostages.
He said no one could have imagined what happened on the morning of the attack after years of strategic assumptions that Hamas had been deterred from carrying out such an action.
The Shin Bet internal security service also should take the blame along with the military, Haliva said.
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Israel says will deliver humanitarian aid to South Sudan
August 18, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israel on Monday announced it will provide emergency humanitarian aid to South Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries in the midst of renewed violent political instability.
The announcement by Foreign Minister Gideon Saar comes after media reports that Israel held talks with the African state to resettle Palestinians from Gaza — a claim South Sudan has firmly rejected.
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, now in its 23rd month, has created a dire humanitarian crisis for the Palestinian territory’s population of more than two million people.
“In light of the severe humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, (Israel) will deliver urgent humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations in the country,” a statement from Saar’s office said.
“South Sudan is currently struggling with a cholera outbreak and facing a severe shortage of resources,” the statement added.
“The aid will include essential medical supplies for treating patients, water purification equipment, gloves and face masks, as well as special hygiene kits to prevent cholera” and food packages, the statement added.
Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister SharrenHaskel paid an official visit to the country’s capital Juba last week.
Meanwhile, UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in Gaza, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in and convoys have been repeatedly looted.
Rights group Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of enacting a “deliberate policy” of starvation in Gaza and “systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life.”
Israel has rejected claims of deliberate starvation.
The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,004 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.
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Arab World
Riyadh workshop promotes cultural heritage in nature reserves
ARAB NEWS
August 18, 2025
RIYADH: The Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve Development Authority, in collaboration with the Heritage Commission, organized a workshop on cultural heritage in nature reserves.
It was part of national efforts to integrate cultural and environmental dimensions and promote national identity through the preservation and development of nature reserves, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.
Attended by various specialists and experts, the workshop explored ways to leverage intangible cultural heritage in nature reserves, emphasizing the vital role of local communities in preserving it and passing it on to future generations.
The initiative reflects the collaborative efforts of national organisations committed to preserving cultural heritage, protecting natural biodiversity, and creating an integrated tourism experience that highlights the richness of Saudi identity in its environmental and cultural dimensions.
The reserve is also undertaking extensive restoration efforts, planting hundreds of thousands of trees, particularly acacia, across its vast 91,500 sq. km area.
This restoration aligns with the Saudi Green Initiative, aiming to revitalize the reserve’s vegetation and restore ecological balance, the SPA reported.
Acacia trees are crucial to this effort due to their resilience in harsh desert climates and their significant ecological role. They provide grazing, shade and habitat for wildlife while also helping to stabilize the soil and offering a nectar source for high-quality honey.
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Saudi initiative promotes Arabic in Azerbaijan
August 18, 2025
RIYADH: The King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language launched its Arabic Language Month program in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.
Part of the academy’s global initiative, the program supports Arabic for non-native speakers, boosts its international presence, and strengthens academic cooperation.
The launch featured speeches by the academy’s secretary-general, Abdullah Al-Washmi, and Saudi Ambassador to Azerbaijan Essam Al-Jutaili, highlighting cultural ties and the program’s role in promoting Arabic under Vision 2030.
Aimed at teachers, students, and language enthusiasts, the program includes competitions, training courses, and a scientific symposium on Arabic education in Central Asia.
Experts from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Georgia will discuss challenges and opportunities in Arabic teaching.
The event is part of the academy’s series held in countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China, Uzbekistan, France, Spain and Brazil.
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Diplomats have ‘fascinating’ visit to International Falcon Breeders Auction
RASHID HASSAN
August 18, 2025
RIYADH: Foreign envoys to Saudi Arabia were full of praise for the Kingdom’s commitment to preserving its cultural heritage on a recent visit to the International Falcon Breeders Auction 2025 in Malham.
Organized by the Saudi Falcons Club, the event brings together breeding farms from around the world and is indicative of the country’s status as the homeland of falcons and falconry.
New Zealand Ambassador Charles Kingston, Norway’s Charge d’Affaires Monika Thowsen, interim US Charge d’Affaires Alison Dilworth and El Salvador’s Ambassador Ricardo Ernesto Cucalon visited the event on Friday.
Speaking to Arab News on Monday, Kingston described the visit as “fun and fascinating.”
“Beautiful falcons on display and a wonderful showcase of the Kingdom’s rich heritage and culture,” he said.
Thowsen said: “Experiencing the International Falcon Breeders Auction and exhibition at Malham for the first time was truly memorable.
“We were struck not only by the beauty and grace of the falcons but also by the vibrant diversity of the event. Breeders and guests — men and women, young and old, Saudis and internationals — came together in a shared appreciation of this remarkable tradition.
“We were received by a knowledgeable guide who introduced us to breeders from around the world and shared insights into the history and techniques of falconry. There was no auction the day we visited but the visit gave us a deeper understanding of this UNESCO-recognized heritage and how it in later years has become a symbol of nature conservation, cultural heritage and connection across communities.”
The diplomats and their families were accompanied by Saudi Falcons Club Deputy CEO Ahmed Al-Habbabi.
During the tour they were able to get up close and personal with many of the birds and learned about how they are cared for and bred. They were also given presentations on the “Falconer of the Future” program and the history of falconry in Saudi Arabia.
The visit concluded with the ambassadors posing for commemorative photos with the falcons.
The annual auction provides a platform for falconers to learn about the latest breeding and hybridization techniques and share knowledge with fellow experts from around the world.
A total of 866 birds were sold at last year’s auction for a combined SR10 million ($2.7 million). Individual birds can fetch as much as SR375,000.
The event is open daily from 4-11 p.m. through Aug. 25.
The proceedings are broadcast live on TV and via the official digital platforms of the Saudi Falcons Club.
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Tuwaiq Academy introduces 200 new training camps and programs
August 18, 2025
JEDDAH: Riyadh-based technology institution Tuwaiq Academy has introduced more than 200 new training camps and programs in 10 different fields, the Saudi Press Agency announced on Monday.
The new programs are offered both in-person in Riyadh and remotely, with professional certifications created in partnership with global organizations.
Outstanding participants will also have access to employment opportunities upon completion.
The academy’s programs are open to a wide range of participants, including university students and graduates, employees and school students.
Camps and courses cover key areas such as programming, cybersecurity, data science, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, user experience, virtual worlds, mechatronics engineering, game development, drones and other modern technologies.
CEO Abdulaziz Al-Hammadi said the academy collaborates with more than 60 leading global technology partners, including Meta, Google, Nvidia, Amazon and Huawei to deliver training camps, many of which are being offered for the first time in the region.
“These programs provide a learning experience tailored to the needs of the labor market, with accredited professional certifications that strengthen and empower national capabilities, while contributing to the objectives of the Human Capability Development Program under Saudi Vision 2030,” he added.
All programs are available for free registration through the academy’s official website: https://tuwaiq.edu.sa/
Since its establishment, Tuwaiq Academy has graduated more than 35,000 students, with more than 80 percent of its bootcamp graduates securing employment within six months through the Tuwaiq Employment Program.
In addition to its training camps and professional programs, the academy organizes regular competitions, activities and an employment league used to place its graduates in advanced technology roles in different industries.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2612200/saudi-arabia
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Syrian business delegation due in Riyadh
August 18, 2025
RIYADH: A Syrian delegation of private sector representatives and government officials are due in Riyadh on Monday as Saudi Arabia further strengthens its commitment to re-engage with the conflict-ravaged country and support its reconstruction efforts.
The delegation will be led by Mohammad Nidal Al-Shaar, Syria’s Minister of Economy and Industry, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The visit follows up on the Syrian-Saudi Investment Forum held last month in Damascus, with more than 100 Saudi companies and 20 government entities joining the event, that yielded $6.4 billion worth of investment deals.
The 47 investment pledges ranged from real estate, infrastructure, finance, telecommunications and information technology, energy, industry, tourism, trade and health.
Among these include $1.07 billion worth of pledges from Saudi telecommunications companies including Saudi Telecom Co., GO Telecom, digital security firm Elm and cybersecurity company Cipher; while the $2.93 billion investment deals included the construction of three new cement plants to support Syria’s reconstruction efforts.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2612171/saudi-arabia
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Europe
Fiji Muslim League withdraws McDonald’s Fiji Halal certification
August 19, 2025
The Fiji Muslim League (FML) has officially revoked the Halal certification previously granted to McDonald’s Fiji, citing non-compliance with required religious standards.
The decision was triggered by an inspection of the mechanical slaughter process used by the fast food chain’s meat suppliers in New Zealand.
According to the FML, the review was conducted by members of the Board of Islamic Affairs.
FML General Secretary Saiyad Hussain said the slaughter method “does not fully comply with our requirements.”
As a result, the Halal certificate granted to McDonald’s Fiji has been withdrawn with immediate effect.
McDonald’s Fiji said the chicken products used to prepare its McChicken and Chicken McNuggets continue to be certified Halal by the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ).
“These products are manufactured by Ingham New Zealand, a trusted McDonald’s supplier that meets strict quality and Halal certification standards set by FIANZ,” said a public notice issued by McDonald’s Fiji.
“We remain committed to serving safe, high quality food that meets the expectations of our customers and
Source: fijitimes.com.fj
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https://www.fijitimes.com.fj/fiji-muslim-league-withdraws-mcdonalds-fiji-halal-certification/
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Man claims he is being evicted from care home for anti-Islamic views
18TH AUGUST
By James Connell
A frail 71-year-old care home resident with mobility issues said he is being evicted for expressing anti-Islamic views in posters he placed in his windows.
Robin Clarke claims he is being evicted from Henwick Grange Care Home in Hallow Road, St John's, Worcester after putting up posters in the windows of his bedroom criticising the religion.
Mr Clarke, who has mobility issues, said he has been given until August 21 to leave the care home.
"I am threatened with effective homelessness," he said.
However, a spokesperson for the care home, managed by Bondcare, said staff can no longer meet his needs.
Mr Clarke, who still has a flat in Birmingham, said he does not know where he will go when he leaves the home. He has been living at Henwick Grange for the last 16 months.
The pensioner said he feels the move is an attempt to 'silence or censor him'.
"It's effectively an eviction notice. They say they can no longer meet my needs but they have not yet explained what needs.
"I think there's very little doubt about what the real reason is.
"They have tried to find a legal excuse and this is the nearest they could come up with," he said.
The posters, which he and a friend have since taken down, were in the window of his room and he said could be seen from the yard but not the road.
He said he has reported it to police but they said it is a civil matter.
Mr Clarke said: "It's not that Muslims are bad people. The intention was to silence me but they haven't succeeded. I fight for free speech."
Mr Clarke has argued he has been subjected to 'harsh discrimination' and will also be raising the issue with Lord Young’s Free Speech Union, of which 'I am one of the most longstanding members'.
Lisa Cliff, the home manager, said: “We are unable to comment on the specifics of this or any matter relating to care provision.
"However, our first concern is the wellbeing of our residents and of course our staff, and it has become clear that Henwick Grange is no longer able to meet the needs of Mr Clarke.”
Source: worcesternews.co.uk
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https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/25393939.man-claims-evicted-care-home-anti-islamic-views/
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One man arrested at 'Lake District Mosque' protests
18TH AUGUST
By Tom Cockburn
One man was arrested at Dalton’s South Lakes Islamic Centre protests on Saturday (August 16) but later released on bail, Cumbria Police has confirmed.
In a statement, Cumbria Police announced that a 23-year-old man from Barrow was arrested at Saturday’s protests in Dalton on suspicion of a public order offence – but later was released on police bail.
The constabulary also said that an ‘enhanced operation’ was implemented for the protests to ‘ensure the safety of all communities.’
The spokesperson added: “To prevent crime and disorder, a proactive dispersal order was in place to enable officers to disperse individuals they suspected may commit crime or disorder.
“Whilst the majority of people who took part in protest activity acted in a safe manner, police made one arrest.”
Saturday’s protests at the South Lakes Islamic Centre in Dalton were the second to happen in under a month, with the previous protests taking place on July 19.
The most recent ones, however, again saw protestors who are both for and against the Islamic Centre’s construction demonstrate at the site.
Although referred to online as the 'Lake District mosque', it is not within the national park boundary.
Planning permission for the site was granted back in December 2022, and once construction is finished, organisers say the mosque will predominantly be used by the Muslim doctors who work at the nearby Furness General Hospital.
Source: nwemail.co.uk
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https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/25398182.one-man-arrested-lake-district-mosque-protests/
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Entire church begins two-day journey across Swedish city
18 August 2025
Erika Benke
A landmark 113-year-old church at risk from ground subsidence is being relocated in its entirety - in a 5km (3 miles) move along a road in Sweden's far north.
The vast red timber structure in Kiruna dating back to 1912 has been hoisted on giant rolling platforms and will now begin its move to the new city centre.
Travelling at a maximum speed of 500m an hour, the journey is expected to take two days.
The old city centre is at risk from ground fissures after more than a century of iron ore mining. The church's move is the most spectacular and symbolic moment of the wider relocation of buildings in Kiruna, which lies 145km north of the Arctic Circle.
In the words of culture strategist Sofia LagerlöfMäättä, "it's like finally, let's get it done. We've been waiting for so many years".
"We've done so much preparation," says the man in charge of the move, project manager Stefan Holmblad Johansson.
"It's a historic event, a very big and complex operation and we don't have a margin of error. But everything is under control."
His composure reflects years of planning.
By the mid-2010s, other buildings in Kiruna were already being shifted to safer ground. Most were demolished and rebuilt, but some landmarks were moved intact.
These include buildings in Hjalmar Lundbohmsgården such as the so-called yellow row of three old wooden houses and the former home of mining manager Hjalmar Lundbohm, which was split into three parts.
The clock tower on the roof of the old city hall was also moved and can now be found next to the new city hall.
Under Swedish law, mining activity can not take place under buildings.
Robert Ylitalo, chief executive officer of Kiruna's development company, explains: "There's no risk of people falling through cracks. But fissures would eventually damage the water, electricity and sewage supply. People have to move before the infrastructure fails."
The iron ore mine's operator, LKAB - also Kiruna's biggest employer - is covering the city's relocation bill, estimated at more than 10bn Swedish krona ($1bn; £737m).
Kiruna Church is 35m (115ft) high, 40m wide and weighs 672 tonnes. It was once voted Sweden's most beautiful pre-1950 building.
Relocating such a large building is an unusual feat. But instead of dismantling it, engineers are moving it in one piece, supported by steel beams and carried on self-propelled modular transporters.
"The biggest challenge was preparing the road for such a wide building," says project manager Mr Johansson.
"We've widened it to 24 metres (79ft) and along the way we removed lampposts, traffic lights as well as a bridge that was slated for demolition anyway."
Among the most delicate aspects of the move is the protection of the church's interior treasures, especially its great altar painting made by Prince Eugen, a member of Sweden's royal family.
"It's not something hanging on a hook that you just take off," says Mr Johansson.
"It's glued directly onto a masonry wall so it would have been difficult to remove without damage. So it will remain inside the church during the move, fully covered and stabilised. So will the organ with its 1,000 pipes."
The move is much more than an engineering marvel for local residents - it's a deeply emotional moment.
"The church has served as a spiritual centre and a gathering place for the community for generations," says Sofia LagerlöfMäättä, who remembers walking into the church for the first time as a young child with her grandmother.
"The move has brought back memories of joy and sorrow to us, and we're now moving those memories with us into the future."
That feeling is also shared by project manager Stefan Holmblad Johansson, an engineer who doubles as a member of the church's gospel choir.
"This is a very special task for me," he says. "The church was built over a 100 years ago for the municipality by LKAB. Now we move it to the new city. There simply can't be any other way."
For the church's vicar, Lena Tjärnberg, the moment carries added meaning.
"The church is leaving a place where it truly belongs," she says.
"Everyone knows it has to be relocated: we live in a mining community and depend on the mine. I'm grateful that we're moving the church with us to the new city centre but there is also sorrow in seeing it leave the ground where it became a church."
As the massive walls of Kiruna church begin to inch forward, thousands of residents and visitors - Sweden's King Carl Gustaf among them - are expected to line the route.
Swedish television is also broadcasting the entire journey live as "slow TV", marking a rare moment when a piece of history does not just survive change - it moves with it.
Source: bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cde3xp4xlw9o
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Ukraine’s army should face no size limits – Macron
19 Aug, 2025
A potential peace deal must not place limits on the size of Ukraine’s military, French President Emmanuel Macron has said, rejecting Russia’s demands.
Earlier this year, Moscow reaffirmed that peace terms must include Ukraine’s neutrality and legally binding restrictions on the size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Kiev has dismissed the demand as unacceptable.
Macron made his remarks following a meeting he attended in Washington on Monday with Vladimir Zelensky, several other European leaders and US President Donald Trump.
He said European countries should take the lead in providing security guarantees for Ukraine and equipping its army.
“The first security guarantee is a robust Ukrainian army capable of repelling any attempted attack,” Macron told reporters following the negotiations. He added that the Ukrainian army should consist of “several hundred thousand men” and face “no limitations on its size,” according to Le Figaro.
The Ukrainian army has struggled to replenish its ranks during the ongoing mobilization campaign, as Russia has steadily gained ground.
Ukraine has long urged the West to provide guarantees similar to NATO’s collective defense, as an alternative to full membership in the alliance, which the US has rejected.
Trump said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to security guarantees for Kiev, without elaborating.
The two leaders met in Alaska on Friday, with both sides describing the summit as an important step toward peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Moscow has repeatedly said it would not tolerate any Western troops in Ukraine, even under the guise of peacekeepers, and insists that Kiev must abandon its plans to join NATO. Putin has also warned that Ukraine could use a potential ceasefire to regroup and rearm.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/623263-macron-ukrainian-army-size/
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Ukraine wants Europe to pay $100bn for weapons deal with US – FT
19 Aug, 2025
Ukraine has proposed that its European backers spend $100 billion providing it with American weapons, the Financial Times reported. Kiev continues to seek security guarantees from Washington.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and the heads of several Western European states held talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday to discuss the ongoing conflict and diplomatic attempts to resolve it.
Trump, who has repeatedly questioned the previous administration’s unconditional aid to Kiev, announced last month that Washington’s NATO allies would effectively pay for the US-made weapons being sent to Ukraine.
In addition to the weapons procurement proposal, Ukraine is preparing a $50 billion deal to produce drones domestically, FT reported, citing four people familiar with the matter and a document Kiev reportedly shared with the US.
Although the document contains limited details, FT said Ukraine intends to purchase at least 10 Patriot air defense missile systems.
Ukraine’s European supporters have struggled to ramp up production to meet Kiev’s needs, as Ukrainian forces have steadily been losing ground to the Russian army.
After a one-on-one meeting in Alaska on Friday, Trump claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to agree to security guarantees for Ukraine, though he did not provide specifics.
Ukraine has previously urged the West to provide security guarantees equivalent to NATO’s collective defense, while several European states have offered to deploy peacekeepers. Russia, however, has stressed that it will not tolerate any Western troops in Ukraine.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/623262-ukraine-europe-trump-weapons/
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