Cash Rains In For Proposed Construction Of Babri Mosque, "Online Transactions Reached ₹2.37 Crore Till Monday Evening”
New Age Islam News Bureau
09 December 2025
People count money donated for the proposed Babri Masjid at Humayun Kabir’s residence in Murshidabad on Monday. Picture by Abdul Halim
----------
· Cash Rains In For Proposed Construction Of Babri Mosque, "Online Transactions Reached ₹2.37 Crore Till Monday Evening”
· Six Years On, Ayodhya Mosque Yet To Begin, Sunni Central Waqf Board Evasive On The Reasons Behind The Delay
· Florida Governor Declares Muslim Civil Rights Group CAIR A 'Terrorist Organisation'
· Israel Killed Highest Number Of Journalists Again This Year — Media Freedom Group
· Weaponising Secularism: French Right-Wing Politicians Accused Of Using ‘Laicité’ To Target Muslims
-----
India
· Celebrated author Salman Flags ‘Desire To Rewrite’ India’s History ‘To Say Hindus Are Good, Muslims Bad’
· Vande Mataram Not Only Against British, But Also Muslims: DMK MP A Raja Quotes Experts
· Red Fort blast: NIA conducts searches in JK's Anantnag, Kulgam
· ‘Democracy And Pakistan Don’t Go Together,’ Says MEA As It Flags Concerns Over Protests, Border Clashes
-----
North America
· Hoover’s Islamic School Snub And Vile Tuberville’s Anti-Muslim Rant Reveal Hate
· CAIR Congratulates Syrian Community on One-Year Anniversary of Liberation
· CAIR Condemns Neo-Nazi Rally in Arkansas
· Mass immigration undermining ‘American Dream’ – Vance
· Trump threatens new tariffs on India over rice ‘dumping’
----
Mideast
· Soleimani Warned Al-Assad About ‘Spy’ Luna Al-Shibl: Al-Majalla
· Israel army says struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon
· Jordan’s king stresses need to preserve Christian presence in Middle East
· US Congress moves toward repeal of tough ‘Caesar’ sanctions on Syria
· Jordan condemns Israeli raid on UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem
-----
Europe
· Council Set To Approve Staffordshire's Newest Mosque
· Uniting Church Welcomes Re-Opening Of Lindisfarne Place Of Worship As A Mosque
· Azerbaijan, Palestine set to seal new cultural cooperation pact, minister says
· Critical moment to ramp up support for Ukraine, European allies say
· No place for Lenin on German streets – parliamentary commissioner
----
South Asia
· ‘You Know Who Uses Religion -- Those Who Pray More During Elections’: Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
· Jamaat Trying To Emerge As A 'New Player' In The Old Culture Of Violence: NCP
· Six Pakistani Soldiers Killed in Attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
· India Condemns Pakistani Strikes on Afghanistan, Voices Concern Over Civilian Casualties
· Afghan Refugee in U.S. at Risk of Deportation Under New Trump Order
· Afghanistan Ready to Deepen Economic Cooperation with China, Minister
· Higher Education Minister Visits Iranian Universities to Boost Academic Cooperation
----
Africa
· Sharia Law No Threat To Christians – Bauchi Traditional Leader And Custodian Of The Danmalikin Bauchi Title
· ‘I Want To Thank Tinubu’ – US Lawmaker Reveals Details Of Visit To Nigeria
· Why Islamic Banking Is Growing In Nigeria – Sharia Council
· Jaiz Bank joins global Islamic liquidity network as first African primary dealer
· ‘It Is Not An Easy War’ – Presidency Gives Reasons Military Cannot Tackle Bandits Swiftly
· ‘Many Bodies Are Being Discovered’ – Update Emerge On Soldiers Who Reportedly Killed Protesting Women
----
Arab World
· Arab Identity, Heritage In Focus At Riyadh’s Arab Narrative Days Event
· King Salman, crown prince congratulate Ahmad Al-Sharaa on anniversary of Syrian Liberation Day
· AlUla named World’s Cultural Tourism Project 2025
· Japan consulate in Jeddah celebrates cinema with Red Sea Film Festival guests
· Rebuilding Lives: Saudi Initiative Gives Fresh Hope To Amputees
· Saudi Arabia highlights expanding trade ties at Thailand International Mega Fair
· Apple signs lease agreement to open flagship retail store in Diriyah Square
----
Southeast Asia
· Minister Slams Police For Refusing Report Over Woman’s Attire
· Zara Qairina trial begins with testimony from two teachers
· Southern Thailand peace talks propose technical working group
· Penang plans to double STEM outreach, targets stronger talent pipeline in 2026, says Jagdeep
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/cash-rains-construction-babri-mosque/d/137951
-----
Cash Rains In For Proposed Construction Of Babri Mosque, "Online Transactions Reached ₹2.37 Crore Till Monday Evening”
Alamgir Hossain, Subhasish Chaudhuri
09.12.25
People count money donated for the proposed Babri Masjid at Humayun Kabir’s residence in Murshidabad on Monday. Picture by Abdul Halim
------------
The proposed construction of Babri masjid in Beldanga, Murshidabad, initiated by suspended Trinamool leader Humayun Kabir, has triggered an extraordinary surge of donations since the MLA made his announcement on December 6.
Offline collections alone have touched nearly ?38 lakh so far. Online contributions have surpassed ?2 crore.
Contributions continue to pour into the designated bank account through UPI-based QR codes widely circulated on social media even before December 6. “Online contributions through QR codes and online transactions reached ?2.37 crore till Monday evening,” Kabir told The Telegraph.
The donation boxes placed at the venue of the proposed mosque at Beldanga were found overflowing. Cash-counting machines have been running since Sunday.
By Monday evening, ?37.33 lakh in cash had been counted from six of the 11 donation boxes and one sack. Counting resumed at 5pm on Monday, when the remaining five boxes and the sack were opened, said a source close to Kabir.
The magnitude and spontaneity of donations for the masjid have surprised many social activists, who struggle to raise funds for non-religious causes such as medical treatment for the poor, relief during natural calamities or support for education.
“Except for a few, most people refuse to make donations to serious causes. But they donate freely to build temples or mosques or even for a religious function,” said a Nadia-based youth, who recently undertook a crowdfunding initiative to raise around ?16 crore for the medical treatment of a girl suffering from spinal muscular atrophy.
“The way people are donating money for the proposed Babri mosque can well be termed a mass obsession,” he said.
The scenes at Beldanga on December 6, the day Kabir cut the ribbon for the ceremonial launch, reflected this spontaneous urge to donate.
A large crowd jostled to put cash inside the large stainless-steel boxes carried by volunteers.
Within hours, all 12 boxes were filled, particularly after Kabir announced that the day’s deposit limit for the designated bank (SBI) account had been exhausted.
People were seen flinging currency notes towards the boxes. Many missed the target but continued throwing notes in an attempt to ensure their contribution landed in the boxes.
On Sunday night, Kabir engaged 30 teachers from local madrasas to begin counting the cash deposited in the boxes. The process took place at his Behrampur residence, where the counting machines ran under CCTV surveillance, with the entire exercise streamed live on social media to maintain transparency.
Kabir said the public response had “exceeded all expectations,” claiming that donations had also come from outside India.
“People donated benevolently. It is our responsibility to use that money properly,” Kabir told The Telegraph. He dismissed rumours of foreign currency deposits being found inside counting boxes as “baseless propaganda”.
Death threat
The political heat over Kabir’s decision to build a Babri Masjid took a murkier turn when the Beldanga MLA said he received a death threat on Sunday night. Although he has not lodged a complaint with police till Monday evening, his trust has arranged armed private security personnel to guard him round the clock from Tuesday. At present, as part of the state government’s security cover, three policemen protect the MLA.
Kabir said he would move Calcutta High Court seeking central forces, similar to the security arrangement in force for ISF leader Nawsad Siddiqui.
Sources added that Kabir is slated to visit Delhi within two days to meet several political leaders, including AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi.
Another Humayun
In a rather humorous case of mistaken identity, Trinamool’s Debra MLA Humayun Kabir, the former IPS officer, has been inundated with phone calls from people ready to donate for the neo-Babri Masjid.
The Debra MLA’s phone has been ringing nearly non-stop for days, and as he is in the habit of responding to calls from unknown numbers, he has had to tell countless people that he cannot provide the bank details or the QR code for donations to the Masjid cause.
“In two days, I have received about 200 calls from people who have contacted me looking for the other Humayun Kabir. I told them all to find the number of the Bharatpur MLA and call him instead,” said the former IPS officer, who admitted to a sense of resentment among Muslims over the decisions regarding waqf and the issue of OBC reservation.
Source: telegraphindia.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/cash-rains-on-kabirs-proposed-babri-mosque-collection-boxes-overflow-at-beldanga-offline-sum-nearly-rs-38-lakh-online-contributions-surpass-rs-2-crore-prnt/cid/2136893#goog_rewarded
-----
Six Years On, Ayodhya Mosque Yet To Begin, Sunni Central Waqf Board Evasive On The Reasons Behind The Delay
Piyush Srivastava
09.12.25
The Sunni Central Waqf Board, a state government outfit, has been evasive on the reasons behind the delay in the construction of the mosque.
File picture
------------
Delay in the construction of a mosque in Ayodhya has raised many eyebrows after suspended Trinamool Congress leader Humayun Kabir’s declaration that a replica of the Babri Masjid would be built in Murshidabad.
While delivering its 2019 verdict that paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya where the mosque stood before it was demolished in 1992, the Supreme Court had ordered the central and Uttar Pradesh governments to allot five acres of land to the Sunni Central Waqf Board to build a mosque at some other place in the district.
With no options left, the champions of the Babri Masjid had accepted five acres in the Dhannipur area of Ayodhya, about 20km from the site of the demolished mosque.
That was six years ago. Not a structure has been built on the land since.
A "grand" Ram temple has come up at the once-disputed site. Prime Minister Narendra Modi consecrated the idol of Lord Ram at the temple last year and hoisted its “Dharma Dhwaja” last month.
The Sunni Central Waqf Board, a state government outfit, has been evasive on the reasons behind the delay in the construction of the mosque.
Many BJP leaders, including former MP Vinay Katiyar, have declared time and again that they wouldn’t let the alternative mosque come up anywhere in Ayodhya. The central and the Uttar Pradesh governments have been mum on the issue, which has led observers to allege a “silent acceptance” of the Hindutva leader’s claim.
The Sunni board had formed the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation for the construction of the mosque within a few months of the court verdict. Zufar Ahmad Faruqi, the board’s chairman, was made the head of the foundation.
A map of the proposed mosque was uploaded on the designated website of the Ayodhya Development Authority two years ago, but the foundation didn’t submit supporting documents. As a result, the map was rejected. Rules mandate the submission of land documents along with the map of the structure sought to be built. Failure to do so leads to the automatic rejection of the application after a few months.
Faruqi, the board chairman, said: “We uploaded a map of the mosque two years ago but didn’t submit the supporting documents, resulting in the automatic disapproval of the map. We didn’t pursue it because the map was also disapproved by the foundation in a meeting held in Mumbai six months ago.”
Faruqi didn’t explain why the foundation submitted the map in the first place if it did not want to take the process forward.
“The map the foundation had got prepared had two oval-shaped minarets, but the members objected to the design. They are against any modern architectural structure. We are preparing a new map in which there are five long minarets and one dome. We are not working under any external influence. The mosque will be named after Prophet Mohammed,” he said.
“The estimated cost of the mosque will be ?65 crore, but we have managed to collect only ?3 crore till date,” he added, making it clear that its construction wouldn’t be possible at the moment.
Atahar Husain, the secretary of the foundation, said: “We had formed a committee to raise funds but it didn’t work.”
Iqbal Ansari, whose father Hashim Ansari was a plaintiff in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case, said: “It is unfortunate that they have not started constructing the mosque. They would have built it if they were serious about it.”
Tauqeer Ali, a villager of Dhannipur, said: “We believe the waqf board and the foundation are under pressure not to do anything. A large number of rich people have visited the place where the mosque is proposed to be built and told us that they want to fund it, but the foundation was not showing any interest in their offers.”
Source: telegraphindia.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/delay-in-ayodhya-mosque-construction-sparks-questions-as-ram-temple-stands-completed-prnt/cid/2136872
------
Florida governor declares Muslim civil rights group CAIR a 'terrorist organisation'
09 December, 2025
CAIR had already been designated as a 'terror organisation' by Texas governor Greg Abbott last month [Getty/file photo]
----------
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday designated one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the US a "foreign terrorist organisation," following a similar step by Texas last month.
The directive against the Council on American-Islamic Relations comes in an executive order DeSantis posted on the social media site X. It also gives the same label to the Muslim Brotherhood.
CAIR is not designated as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US government, though President Donald Trump has moved to label the Muslim Brotherhood as such.
The order instructs Florida agencies to prevent the two groups and those who have provided them material support from receiving contracts, employment and funds from a state executive or cabinet agency.
In an emailed statement, CAIR and its Florida chapter said the organisation plans to sue DeSantis in response to what it called an "unconstitutional" and "defamatory" proclamation.
Founded in 1994, CAIR has 25 chapters around the country.
CAIR last month asked a federal judge to strike down Texas Governor. Greg Abbott's proclamation, saying in a lawsuit that it was "not only contrary to the United States Constitution, but finds no support in any Texas law".
The Muslim Brotherhood was established in Egypt nearly a century ago and has branches around the world. Its leaders say it renounced violence decades ago and seeks to set up Islamic rule through elections and other peaceful means. Critics, including autocratic governments across the Middle East region, view it as a threat.
Source: newarab.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.newarab.com/news/florida-declares-civil-rights-group-cair-terror-organisation
-----
Israel killed highest number of journalists again this year — media freedom group
December 09, 2025
Palestinian journalists and local officials lift portraits of media workers killed in Israeli fire in Ramallah city in the occupied West Bank on Oct. 8, 2025. (AFP)
------------
PARIS: RSF said Israel was responsible for nearly half of all journalists killed this year worldwide, with 29 Palestinian reporters slain by its forces in Gaza, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) group said on Tuesday.
In its annual report, the Paris-based media freedom group said the total number of journalists killed reached 67 globally this year, slightly up from the 66 killed in 2024.
Israeli forces accounted for 43 percent of the total, making them “the worst enemy of journalists,” RSF said in its report, which documented deaths over 12 months from December 2024.
The most deadly single attack was a so-called “double-tap” strike on a hospital in south Gaza on August 25 which killed five journalists, including two contributors to international news agencies Reuters and the Associated Press.
In total, since the start of hostilities in Gaza in October 2023, nearly 220 journalists have died, making Israel the biggest killer of journalists worldwide for three years running, RSF data shows.
Foreign reporters are still unable to travel to Gaza — unless they are in tightly controlled tours organized by the Israeli military — despite calls from media groups and press freedom organizations for access.
Elsewhere in the RSF annual report, the group said that 2025 was the deadliest year in Mexico in at least three years, with nine journalists killed there, despite pledges from left-wing President Claudia Sheinbaum to help protect them.
War-wracked Ukraine (three journalists killed) and Sudan (four journalists killed) are the other most dangerous countries for reporters in the world, according to RSF.
The overall number of deaths last year is far down from the peak of 142 journalists killed in 2012, linked largely to the Syrian civil war, and is below the average since 2003 of around 80 killed per year.
The RSF annual report also counts the number of journalists imprisoned worldwide for their work, with China (121), Russia (48) and Myanmar (47) the most repressive countries, RSF figures showed.
As of December 1, 2025, 503 journalists were detained in 47 countries across the world, the report said.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2625536/middle-east
-------
Weaponising Secularism: French Right-Wing Politicians Accused Of Using ‘Laicité’ To Target Muslims
9 December 2025
December 9, 2025, marks 120 years since the French Republic passed landmark legislation separating church and state that would form the cornerstone of France's cherished principle of "laïcité", or state secularism. © AFP file photo
-----------
When conservative members of the French Senate published a report on combating “Islamism” in late November, their proposed solutions came as all too familiar reading for representatives of France’s large and diverse Muslim community.
The 17 measures put forward by senators from the right-wing Les Républicains (LR) party ranged from a ban on headscarves for mothers accompanying school trips to the prohibition of Ramadan fasting for youths aged under 16. The report also called for a blanket ban on hijabs in sports, including at the amateur level, in the name of France’s cherished principle of laïcité, loosely translated as state secularism.
Such measures were necessary to combat the “veiling of young girls”, the senators argued, describing Muslim headscarves as “banners for sexual apartheid”.
For critics, however, the report smacked of a growing tendency to target not Islamism, but rather Muslims as a whole – an estimated five million people in a country with a total population of over 68 million. It also violated the very laïcité it professed to defend, by curtailing the freedom of worship enshrined in legislation passed 120 years ago today.
A day after the report’s release, Muslim religious leaders, community representatives and grassroots activists wrote an open letter to Senate President Gérard Larcher, a member of Les Républicains, expressing their “weariness” at the repeated “stigmatisation” of France’s Muslims.
“This umpteenth report is part of a pattern that has become sadly familiar to millions of French Muslim citizens, that of the systematic political exploitation of their religious practices,” the signatories wrote.
Weaponising laïcité
The authors of the Senate proposals argue that such measures are necessary to combat the influence of radical Islamism. They base their arguments on a report on the Muslim Brotherhood commissioned by the government, which identified a “threat to national cohesion” in the development of an ill-defined “Islamism” at the grassroots level. Published in May, the report highlighted a “massive and visible increase in the number of young girls wearing the veil”.
On November 24, Les Républicains’ top lawmaker in the lower-house National Assembly, Laurent Wauquiez, tabled a draft bill calling for a blanket ban on headscarves for women under 18.
Like many of the proposals put forward by his Senate colleagues, Wauquiez’s bill appears to contradict Article 1 of the hallowed 1905 law on secularism, which guarantees citizens’ “freedom of conscience” and “free exercise of religion, limited only by […] the interest of public order”.
The proposals by Les Républicains lawmakers “target only one faith, one category of French citizens, and do not apply the same rules to other faiths. This is a clear case of unequal treatment that violates the principle of equality,” says Nicolas Cadène, a former senior member of the now-defunct Observatoire de la laïcité, a body tasked with advising the government on how to uphold the principles of state secularism.
Cadène argues that such measures follow an increasingly common pattern of politicians weaponising the principle of laïcité as a “tool to curtail the rights of Muslims”.
‘Combative secularism’
Marine Le Pen's far-right, anti-immigrant National Rally party – whose ideological predecessors once opposed laïcité as an anti-clerical conspiracy – has long used France’s secular rules to target Muslims, often conflating Islam and immigration. So has her rival Eric Zemmour, a former TV pundit and presidential candidate who argues that Muslims must choose between Islam and France, ignoring the overwhelming majority of French Muslims who cherish the country’s laws and values.
Progressives on the left and centre of the political spectrum are also torn between rival understandings of French secularism, which disagree on how far the state should go in asserting religious neutrality in the public sphere. Divisions came to a head in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo and November 13 terrorist attacks in 2015, which fuelled calls for a more “combative secularism” in the face of a murderous ideology that repeatedly shed blood on French soil.
“It was a time of great confusion, with many politicians exploiting legitimate fears of Islamist terrorism to justify measures that curtailed the freedoms of part of the population,” says Cadène, a frequent target of advocates of this laïcité de combat, who were especially influential during President Emmanuel Macron’s first term in office (2017-2022).
Macron’s former education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer declared in 2019 that “the veil is not desirable in our society”, and frequently railed against what he described as the “devastating effects” of “Islamo-leftism” in universities – a notion vehemently rejected at the time by the overwhelming majority of academics. His successor Gabriel Attal would later ban pupils from wearing abayas, long-sleeved dresses of Middle Eastern origin, in state schools.
In 2021, then interior minister Gérald Darmanin secured passage of a bill on combating “separatism” in the French Republic, which rights groups warned would stigmatise minorities and Muslims in particular. It notably allowed the government to exert greater control over charities and NGOs.
The same year, the government scrapped Cadène’s Observatoire de la laïcité, which critics accused of “disarming” laïcité with its liberal, by-the-books take on France's secular rules.
A gift to Islamists?
Surveys have shown that the French public itself has only a partial understanding of laïcité – though a large majority believe it is under threat. This sketchy understanding of what is meant to be a cornerstone of French law and the idea of vivre ensemble (national cohesion) has left plenty of room for rival interpretations to thrive and collide, leading to vitriolic debates – and sometimes public embarrassment.
In 2019, a Catholic nun was mistakenly told she could only stay at a retirement home in the town of Vesoul if she stopped wearing religious clothing, prompting the local mayor to apologise. It came days after a politician in nearby Dijon asked a Muslim mother on a school trip to remove her hijab, igniting a fierce debate. There was more turmoil in 2020 when several French lawmakers walked out of the National Assembly in protest at the presence of a student union representative who wore a hijab.
In none of these cases had France’s secular rules – which require the neutrality of civil servants, teachers and pupils in state schools, but not of the general public – been infringed upon.
Cadène – who ran, unsuccessfully, as a left-wing candidate in parliamentary elections last year – says years of debating Islam in France have led to a “great confusion” over secularism laws and shifted public discourse towards a stricter understanding of laïcité. He warns that proposals targeting Muslims are both discriminatory and “counterproductive”, aiding the very radicalism they profess to combat.
“Radical indoctrinators feed off this rhetoric, which provides them with arguments to back their claims that Muslims are discriminated against,” he explains, adding that measures specifically targeting Muslims “only accentuate their withdrawal from a public space they feel excluded from”.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has voiced similar concern about Wauquiez’s proposed ban on minors wearing headscarves in public, describing the bill as “very stigmatising towards our Muslim compatriots who may feel hurt”. He said the authorities needed to be “extremely careful” and focus on targeting radical Islamists who seek to impose “religious law over the laws of the republic”.
But his view is not shared by all cabinet members, with Gender Equality Minister Aurore Bergé, whose portfolio includes the fight against discrimination, notably speaking in favour of a ban on minors wearing hijabs in public.
Source: france24.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.france24.com/en/france/20251209-weaponising-secularism-french-politicians-accused-of-using-laicit%C3%A9-to-target-muslims
------
India
Celebrated author Salman Flags ‘Desire To Rewrite’ India’s History ‘To Say Hindus Are Good, Muslims Bad’
08.12.25
Celebrated author Salman Rushdie has raised concerns about what he called attacks on free speech and rising Hindu nationalism in India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Rushdie, in a recent interview with Bloomberg, said he was worried about the portrayal of Muslims and what he described as pressure on India’s writers, journalists and academics.
“I feel very worried about it,” Rushdie said in the interview. “I have lots of friends in India. Everybody is extremely concerned with the attack on the freedoms of journalists, writers, intellectuals, professors, etc.”
He said that there appeared to be an attempt to reframe the country’s identity:
"There seems to be a desire to rewrite the history of the country; essentially to say Hindus are good, Muslims bad — the thing V.S. Naipaul once called a ‘wounded civilisation,’ the idea that India is a Hindu civilisation wounded by the arrival of Muslims. That project has a lot of energy behind it," Rushdie said.
Speaking about the warnings he voiced decades ago, he said: “I think, you know, if you're a writer, if you're paying attention then sometimes you see things coming, you know, and I think that's what I was doing, I was paying attention.”
Since the publication of The Satanic Verses in 1988, Rushdie has lived under the shadow of a fatwa issued by Iran. The threats resurfaced violently in August 2022 when he was attacked just before delivering a lecture in western New York.
The assailant, 27-year-old Hadi Matar, was later convicted of attempted murder and assault and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
India banned the import of Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses on October, 1988, under a customs order issued by the finance ministry during Rajiv Gandhi's government, citing potential backlash from Muslim communities who viewed the book as blasphemous.
The Delhi High Court effectively lifted the 37-year import ban on November 5, 2024.
Source: telegraphindia.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/rushdie-flags-desire-to-rewrite-indias-history-to-say-hindus-are-good-muslims-bad/cid/2136773
-------
Vande Mataram Not Only Against British, But Also Muslims: DMK MP A Raja Quotes Experts
by Deeptiman Tiwary
December 9, 2025
DMK MP A Raja on Monday quoted historical evidence to suggest that the Vande Mataram song and its author Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s works had religious overtones.
“The PM is very fond of the word appeasement. Without mentioning it his speeches do not end. What kind of appeasement was done in the case of Vande Mataram? It is acclaimed as the national song, but it has given intense contestation in terms of idolatry and religious antagonism… The PM said this song was cut off and that sowed the seeds of Partition… The PM asked who divided Vande Mataram. The division was done by your forefathers. Not by Muslims,” Raja said during a debate on Vande Mataram in LS.
According to Raja, Mahatma Gandhi praised the song in 1915, but in 1940 he said it should not be sung with the intention of hurting Muslims. “What happened between 1915 and 1940?” He said revolutionary group Anusheelan Samiti was the greatest proponent of the song and played a role in catapulting it to the status of national song.
“Documents seized by the British showed that the association did not allow Muslims. When questioned, the Samiti said that vows taken by members at the time of admission were sacred to Hindus but not Muslims. The poem is Vande Mataram. Cause is national struggle. But you are provoking Muslims and chanting Vande Mataram. The inference can be drawn that Vande Mataram is religious,” Raja said.
He said between 1905 and 1908, the then home department had noted that during prayers in mosques in Bengal, Hindu processions passing by chanted Vande Mataram, creating enmity. In 1907, Raja claimed, pamphlets were distributed that Muslims should not sing Vande Mataram, and no Muslim should join the Swadeshi movement. Such incidents increased between 1902 and 1915, he said.
“House of Commons had then debated why Vande Mataram was causing communal conflict. The fault is not with the song. According to them, it is only for Hindus. So the divide starts there,” Raja said. Quoting historian Tanika Sarkar, Raja claimed Anand Math stated: “Unless we throw…out, Hindus will be ruined. When shall we raze mosques to the ground and erect Ramdev temples in their place?” “You can draw inference as to what it means.”
He claimed that the same novel said, “How do our Muslims rulers protect us? We lost our religion, we lost our caste, we lost our honour and family name, and now we are about to lose our very lives. How can Hinduism survive unless we drive out…”
“This type of observation contemplated in the literature of Bankim Chandra prompted the animosity,” the MP said.
“So there are reasons to come to the conclusion that Vande Mataram, at least a few stanzas of it, are not only against the British, but also Muslims. R C Majumdar correctly said, ‘Bankim Chandra converted patriotism into religion and religion into patriotism’,” Raja said.
Source: indianexpress.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/vande-mataram-not-only-against-british-but-also-muslims-raja-quotes-experts-10410139/
------
Red Fort blast: NIA conducts searches in JK's Anantnag, Kulgam
09 Dec 2025
SRINAGAR: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday conducted searches at several places in Anantnag and Kulgam districts of Jammu and Kashmir as part of its probe into the November 10 blast near the Red Fort in Delhi, officials said.
They said the NIA sleuths, assisted by police and CRPF, brought along two of the accused, Dr Adeel Rather and Jasir Bilal Wani, arrested in connection with a "white collar" terror module.
The searches were carried out at the instance of the two accused who had told the investigators about hideouts in the Mattan forest area of Anantnag and in Wanpora in the Qazigund area of Kulgam.
Jammu and Kashmir Police, with the help of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana police, busted the "white collar" terror module in the first week of November.
Eight people, including three doctors, were arrested and 2,900 kg of explosives were seized with the uncovering of the interstate module involving the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.
The 2,900 kg of explosives included ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and sulphur.
Of this, 360 kg of inflammable material and some arms and ammunition were recovered from the rented accommodation of one of the accused in Faridabad.
Shortly after the module was busted, an explosives-laden car blew up near the Red Fort in Delhi, claiming 15 lives.
An investigation into JeM posters found pasted in different locations in Bunpora in Anantnag's Nowgam led to the unravelling of the terror network.
Source: newindianexpress.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2025/Dec/09/red-fort-blast-nia-conducts-searches-in-jks-anantnag-kulgam
-------
‘Democracy and Pakistan don’t go together,’ says MEA as it flags concerns over protests, border clashes
Jayanth Jacob
08 Dec 2025
NEW DELHI: External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Monday made a sharp remark on the state of democracy in Pakistan, saying that “democracy and Pakistan don’t go together,” while responding to questions on the political situation in the neighbouring country, including developments involving former Prime Minister Imran Khan and ongoing protests.
Asked whether Pakistan’s democratic structures were weakening, Jaiswal said India has been closely monitoring developments. “We keep a close eye on every development in Pakistan… but regarding democracy, the less we talk, the better,” he said.
Jaiswal also commented on last week’s border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, expressing concern over reports of civilian deaths. “We condemn such attacks on innocent Afghan people. India strongly supports the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Afghanistan,” he said.
Heavy gunfire was exchanged along the border last Friday, days after peace talks between the two sides collapsed.
Meanwhile, protests linked to Imran Khan’s incarceration continued in Pakistan. Reports said that authorities at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail last week allowed Khan’s sister, Uzma Khanum, to meet him, even as PTI supporters held demonstrations outside the Islamabad High Court and the prison over restrictions on his visitation rights.
On a separate query, Jaiswal urged Indian nationals to exercise caution while travelling through China, following an incident involving UK-based Indian citizen Pema Wangjom Thongdok.
Thongdok, born in Arunachal Pradesh, was travelling from London to Japan with a layover in Shanghai when Chinese immigration officials allegedly deemed her Indian passport invalid because it listed Arunachal Pradesh as her birthplace. She was kept in the transit area for nearly 18 hours before being allowed to continue her journey after contacting the Indian Embassy.
Reiterating India’s firm stance, Jaiswal said, “Arunachal Pradesh is and will remain an integral part of India, and we do not want any interference in it.” He added that India–China relations were “gradually moving in a positive direction” and that New Delhi intended to maintain that momentum.
Source: newindianexpress.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2025/Dec/08/democracy-and-pakistan-dont-go-together-says-mea-as-it-flags-concerns-over-protests-border-clashes
-------
North America
Hoover’s Islamic School Snub And Vile Tuberville’s Anti-Muslim Rant Reveal Hate
Dec. 08, 2025
There goes the ugly side of Hoover. Again.
There go the fearful, uninformed, intolerant, frighteningly bigoted folks next door. Or around the corner. Or across town.
Or in the U.S. Senate.
There go the folks who blissfully reside in a cocoon of whiteout, obfuscating anything that does not look, live, love or pray like them. Anything they don’t understand — which, for Alabama’s senior U.S Senator and wannabe governor Tommy Tuberville, is pretty much everything more complicated than a playbook.
Now, there are some really good people in Hoover, some of whom I call friends. Then there are those who spooked the city’s planning and zoning commission into NIMBYing the Islamic Academy of Alabama, a K-12 school that’s been educating kids in Homewood since 1995.
As I’ve shared, I live in Homewood. I’d never heard a peep about the Islamic school, honestly, until this kerfuffle made headlines.
The academy wanted to move into an empty office building off Highway 119 in Meadowbrook, a 175-acre corporate campus in Hoover. To do so required rezoning. Why they chose this property rather than one that didn’t require rezoning still baffles me. The commission nixed it last Monday — with sign-bearing spookers filling city council chambers to the brim.
Signs that might as well be published in the dictionary next to “Islamophobia.”
“Stop the 100 year plan.” The reference is to a decades-old conspiracy theory that Muslims are plotting to swallow American institutions — one piece of elementary-school refrigerator art at a time.
“Give an inch – Dearborn Michigan .” The city with the largest Arab American population in the U.S. (not all of whom are Muslim) appears to be humming along just fine. There’s a plethora of Christmas events scheduled. Today, Dearborn will host a parade for its football state champs.
Give an inch…win a state title. Pretty scary stuff.
In Hoover, the planning commission cited typical rezoning-killing blather about traffic, land use and nit-pickings about the application for its not-in-our-city vote. Some sign-wielders striving to cloak their phobia touted the same pale pushback.
Pale pushback reminiscent of spookers who, a generation ago, fought school integration in Birmingham and other cities throughout the South by stoking fears of white children learning in classrooms with Black children.
They’re not new neighbours. They’ve always lived among us — in Hoover and elsewhere.
Let’s be clear: Hoover’s rejection of the academy wasn’t about traffic (Somebody gimme an AI-tweaked Allan Iverson meme: We’re talking traffic?!) or “land use” or an incomplete application. It was about pacifying the spookers lining the walls at City Hall. Had, say, a Chick-fil-A applied for rezoning, cars might already be squirreling around the corner.
This isn’t the first time Hoover’s bigoted and fearful crawled into the light, unafraid to show themselves.
In 2018, one parent, backed by a weak-kneed superintendent, scuttled appearances by award-winning African American children’s book author Derrick Barnes at three elementary schools in Hoover for reasons they never fittingly articulated.
This summer, death threats, slurs and other social scum were thrust at Hoover City Council candidate Tanveer Patel. (She lost.)
Anti-Muslim rhetoric has arisen elsewhere in Alabama, as well.
In January 2024, leaders at the Masjid Baitul Haqq mosque in Mobile reported to police that a message was sent to the institution by someone threatening to “shoot your mosque up” and “kill as many as possible” with an AR-10 and detonate a bomb in the mosque’s bathroom.
Last month, Alabamian Jeremy Wayne Shoemaker was federally charged with making threats to Jewish and Muslim religious leaders throughout the South.
Muslims — heck, all non-white immigrants — really scare Tuberville. In October, he stood on the Senate floor for 13 minutes and spewed that anyone in the U.S. “practicing” sharia law — the foundation of Islamic faith, divinely guided principles for conduct — should be “deported immediately.”
Islam is the third-largest religion in the United States, following Christianity and Judaism; there are about 4.45 million Muslims here. About 24,000 Muslims live and worship in Alabama, the state Tuberville seeks to lead.
The day after Hoover’s school denial, Tuberville, appearing on one of his favorite right-wing podcasts called the religion a “cult.”
“In every state, they’re building Mosques, they’re having these five prayers a day,” he wailed. “They’re pushing this cult on everybody across this country.”
Tuberville’s venom sparked safety concerns for the academy’s students, teachers and parents,” said Stacy Abdein, the school’s assistant principal. “Not one word of these allegations reflects the teachings, values, curriculum or culture of our school. They are irresponsible fabrications that fuel fear, prejudice and division.”
“We have never had a single incident which would justify the vile accusations made against us.”
Little wonder school officials halted the effort to move to Hoover, informing city officials they would no longer seek to place their application before the City Council in January.
Source: al.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.al.com/opinion/2025/12/hoovers-islamic-school-snub-and-vile-tubervilles-anti-muslim-rant-reveal-hate-among-us-again.html
------
CAIR Congratulates Syrian Community on One-Year Anniversary of Liberation
December 8, 2025
Muslim civil rights and advocacy group urges President Trump to demand end to Israeli attacks
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/8/2025) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today congratulated the Syrian-American community on the one-year anniversary of that nation’s liberation from the Assad dictatorship and called on President Trump to demand an end to Israel’s illegal attacks on Syria.
In a statement, CAIR said:
“On the one-year anniversary of Syria’s liberation, CAIR congratulates the Syrian-American community, the Syrian people, the Muslim world, and everyone who struggled to free this historic land. We thank God for this moment that so many spent decades praying for, and we pray that He comforts the countless families who lost loved ones to the horrors of the Assad regime, including many Syrian-Americans and American Muslims.
“We welcome President Trump’s support for the full removal of Assad-era sanctions on Syria, which must rebuild and recover without foreign roadblocks. We urge President Trump to demand an end to the Israeli government’s occupation of Syrian land, its lawless attacks on the Syrian people, and its support for separatist militias that seek to destabilize and fragment the nation.
“Just as CAIR stood with the Syrian people at the start of the revolution, we continue to do so as they work to establish a free, independent and representative government that upholds justice.”
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
Do you like reading CAIR press releases and taking part in our action alerts? You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR.
You are receiving this email due to your interest selection from commercial media databases. If you would like to join CAIR’s media list, please sign up here:
Source: cair.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-congratulates-syrian-community-on-one-year-anniversary-of-liberation/
-------
CAIR Condemns Neo-Nazi Rally in Arkansas
December 8, 2025
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned a reported neo-Nazi rally in Arkansas.
Some two dozen members of the neo-Nazi white supremacist group Blood Tribe rallied at the Arkansas Capitol and Little Rock Central High carrying a banner that read “race mixing is communism.” The rally occurred near one of the nation’s most historic sites of the struggle for civil rights and racial equality.
In a statement, CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper said:
“At a time when white supremacist ideology is fueling threats, harassment, and violence across our nation, it is both disturbing and unacceptable to see neo-Nazi groups openly spewing their hateful message in Arkansas or anywhere else.
“White supremacy should have no place in our society. Communities across the country must stand united against racism, antisemitism, anti-Black racism, Islamophobia, and all forms of bigotry. We urge local and state leaders to speak out clearly against this hatred and to continue working toward a safer, more inclusive America for everyone.”
He said Washington, D.C., based CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
Do you like reading CAIR press releases and taking part in our action alerts? You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR.
You are receiving this email due to your interest selection from commercial media databases. If you would like to join CAIR’s media list, please sign up here:
Source: cair.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-condemns-neo-nazi-rally-in-arkansas/
------
Mass immigration undermining ‘American Dream’ – Vance
9 Dec, 2025
Mass immigration is ruining the “American Dream,” US Vice President J.D. Vance has said, amid the federal government’s increase in ICE raids and deportations of illegal immigrants.
Vance made the remarks while responding to a video by a construction company owner who said it was “amazing” that immigrants were not showing up for work. “I’ve gotten more calls in the last week than I’ve gotten in the last three months,” the man said.
“Mass migration is theft of the American Dream,” Vance, whose wife was born to a family of immigrants from India, wrote on X on Saturday. “It has always been this way, and every position paper, think tank piece, and econometric study suggesting otherwise is paid for by the people getting rich off of the old system,” he added.
Vance has long argued that mass immigration is driving up prices and making housing unaffordable. “A lot of young people are saying housing is way too expensive. Why is that? Because we flooded the country with 30 million illegal immigrants,” he told Fox News last month.
US President Donald Trump launched a crackdown on illegal immigration after returning to the White House in January. He has ramped up immigration raids and vowed to carry out the largest deportation in US history, while prioritizing the removal of dangerous criminals.
Democrats and migrant rights groups have argued that federal agents often deport people with no criminal records or history of violence, including the spouses of American citizens. Activists have held protests outside detention centers in numerous cities, and during the large-scale ‘No Kings’ marches in June and October, they accused Trump of abuse of power.
Trump, in turn, has accused his critics of protecting criminals and has drawn attention to several high-profile crimes, including a recently uncovered welfare fraud scheme in Minnesota involving members of the Somali community in the state.
Source: rt.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.rt.com/news/629198-vance-immigration-ruins-american-dream/
-------
Trump threatens new tariffs on India over rice ‘dumping’
9 Dec, 2025
US President Donald Trump has signaled more punitive tariffs on India after accusing it of “dumping” rice into the American market. The threat comes amid talks for a trade deal with New Delhi.
Trump’s hint of new tariffs came on Monday at a White House meeting with farmers, who claimed India and Canada are dumping rice and fertilizers in the US, stifling competition.
“Why is India allowed to do that?” Trump asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “They have to pay tariffs. Do they have an exemption on rice?”
Trump was told in the meeting that the two largest brands in the retail rice market in the US were Indian.
“All right, and we’ll take care of it,” he said. “That’s great. It’s so easy… Tariffs, again, solves the problem in two minutes.”
“They shouldn’t be dumping... I mean, I heard that, I heard that from others. You can’t do that,” Trump added.
The South Asian nation is the world’s largest producer of rice and also the top exporter, with a 30.3% share of global exports in 2024-2025, Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF) data showed.
India’s rice exports to the US in the financial year 2024 amounted to 234,000 tons.
The US produces less than 2% of the world’s rice, but it is also a major exporter, accounting for nearly 5% of the annual volume of global rice trade. The US imports around 1.3 million tons.
The US has slapped 50% tariffs on India, citing trade barriers, comprising 25% as reciprocal levies and the rest as a punitive measure for New Delhi’s continued imports of oil from Russia.
Trump’s latest threat also comes as the US under secretary of state for political affairs, Allison Hooker, is in India to stabilize ties in the aftermath of tariffs.
India is optimistic that a trade pact with the US can be reached by the end of the year, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal, India’s chief negotiator in trade talks, said in November.
The US is India’s largest export market and accounted for exports worth $52 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, according to reports.
Source: rt.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.rt.com/india/629201-trump-threatens-new-tariffs-on/
-------
Mideast
Soleimani warned Al-Assad about ‘spy’ Luna Al-Shibl: Al-Majalla
AL-MAJALLA
December 09, 2025
LONDON: The late Iranian General Qassem Soleimani confronted Syria’s National Security Bureau chief Ali Mamlouk in late 2019 after seeing Luna Al-Shibl leaving his office. Al-Majalla magazine claims its reporters reviewed a document containing the full Arabic transcript of their exchange.
Soleimani reportedly asked, “Who is this?” and Mamlouk replied, “She is Louna Al-Shibl, the president’s adviser.”
The Quds Force commander pressed further: “I know, I know… but who is she really? Where did she work?”
According to Al-Majalla, a sister publication of Arab News, he said her former salary was “ten thousand dollars,” compared with her current salary of “five hundred thousand Syrian pounds,” before asking: “Does it make sense for someone to leave ten thousand dollars for five hundred thousand pounds? She is a spy.”
Both Soleimani and Maher Al-Assad, commander of the Syrian army’s powerful Fourth Division, had warned the ousted president’s inner circle about Al-Shibl, Al-Majalla reported.
‘Suspicious’ car crash
On July 2, 2024, Al-Shibl was involved in what officials described as a traffic accident on the Damascus-Dimas highway. She was hospitalized and died four days later.
But Al-Majalla reported that photos of her armored BMW showed only minor damage, raising immediate questions among those close to the case.
Eyewitnesses told the magazine that the crash was intentional. One said, “a car approached and rammed her vehicle,” and before her bodyguard could exit, “a man attacked her and struck her on the back of the head,” causing paralysis that led to her death.
She was first taken to Al-Saboura clinic, then transferred to Al-Shami Hospital. Several senior regime-linked figures, including businessman Mohammed Hamsho and an aide to Maher Al-Assad, were present when her condition deteriorated. One witness told Al-Majalla that when her bodyguard tried to explain what had happened, “he was arrested immediately in front of the others.”
The presidency later issued a brief statement announcing her death. Her funeral was attended only by a handful of officials. Then president Al-Assad did not attend.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2625538/middle-east
-------
Israel army says struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon
December 09, 2025
JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said Tuesday it struck a training compound and other sites operated by Hezbollah during an operation in southern Lebanon.
“A short while ago, the IDF struck infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization in several areas in southern Lebanon,” it said in a statement, using the initials for the Israeli military.
Despite a November 2024 ceasefire that was supposed to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group, Israel has kept up strikes on Lebanon and has also maintained troops in five south Lebanon areas.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2625534/middle-east
-------
Jordan’s king stresses need to preserve Christian presence in Middle East
December 08, 2025
LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan emphasized the importance of preserving a Christian presence in the Middle East on Monday during talks with religious leaders.
In meetings at Al-Husseiniya Palace with Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East and Archimandrite Metodije of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the king called for an end to the violation of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem by Israel, which he said was seeking to change the historical and legal status quo, the Petra news agency reported.
The king reaffirmed Jordan’s religious and historical role in protecting holy sites under its Hashemite Custodianship.
Crown Prince Hussein, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, the king’s chief adviser for religious and cultural affairs, Alaa Batayneh, director of the Office of His Majesty, and Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III also joined the talks, the report said.
King Abdullah stressed the need for all parties to adhere to the agreement to end the war in Gaza, ensure the flow of aid and prevent escalations in the occupied West Bank.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2625509/middle-east
------
US Congress moves toward repeal of tough ‘Caesar’ sanctions on Syria
December 08, 2025
WASHINGTON: A set of tough US sanctions imposed on Syria under its former leader Bashar Assad could be lifted within weeks, after their repeal was included in a sweeping defense policy bill unveiled during the weekend and due for votes in Congress within days. The Senate and House of Representatives included repeal of the so-called Caesar sanctions, a move seen as key to Syria’s economic recovery, in a compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a sweeping annual defense policy bill that was unveiled late on Sunday.
The provision in the 3,000-page defense bill repeals the 2019 Caesar Act and requires regular reports from the White House certifying that Syria’s government is fighting Daesh militants, upholding religious and ethnic minority rights within the country and not taking unilateral, unprovoked military action against its neighbors, including Israel.
The NDAA is expected to pass by the end of this year and be signed into law by President Donald Trump, whose fellow Republicans hold majorities in both the House and Senate and lead the committees that wrote the bill. Lifting the sanctions is considered a key to the success of Syria’s new government. Several Saudi Arabian firms are planning billion-dollar investments in the country as part of Riyadh’s drive to support the country’s recovery. The US sanctions have been a significant obstacle to Syria’s economic revival.
Trump announced plans to lift all sanctions on Syria during a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa in May, and his administration has suspended them temporarily. However, the Caesar sanctions, the most stringent restrictions, can only be removed permanently by an act of Congress.
The 2019 Caesar Act imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Syria targeting individuals, companies and institutions linked to Assad, who was the president of Syria from 2000 until his ouster in 2024 by rebel forces led by Sharaa. Syrian central bank Governor AbdulKader Husrieh told Reuters last week that the country’s economy was growing faster than had been expected. He described the repeal of many US sanctions as “a miracle.”
The sanctions are named after a Syrian military photographer, code-named “Caesar,” who smuggled out thousands of gruesome photos documenting torture and war crimes by Assad’s government.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2625505/middle-east
------
Jordan condemns Israeli raid on UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem
December 08, 2025
LONDON: Jordan condemned an Israeli police raid on the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, calling it a violation of international law.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs, Ambassador Fuad Majali, said that Jordan rejects Israel’s systematic efforts to limit the operations of UNRWA and undermine its essential role in providing crucial services to Palestinian refugees.
Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of UNRWA, said that Israeli police, along with municipal officials, forcibly entered the UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem.
“Police motorcycles, as well as trucks and forklifts, were brought in and all communications were cut. Furniture, IT equipment and other property was seized. The UN flag was pulled down and replaced with an Israeli flag,” Lazzarini said in a statement.
He added that any actions taken by Israel do not affect the compound’s status as a UN site, which is immune to interference.
Majali said that Israeli measures aim to undermine UNRWA’s significance, as the agency supports the right of Palestinian refugees to return and receive compensation in accordance with international law.
He urged the international community to address Israeli actions targeting UNRWA and ensure the essential political and financial support needed for its services to Palestinian refugees.
The Jordanian ministry on Monday also condemned statements made by extremist Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who reiterated his rejection of the establishment of a Palestinian state.
It said that Israel does not hold sovereignty over the occupied West Bank. The expansion of Israeli settlements undermines the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination, the end of the occupation and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, the ministry added, according to Petra news agency.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2625489/middle-east
-------
Europe
Council set to approve Staffordshire's newest mosque
Kerry Ashdown
08 Dec 2025
Plans for a new mosque and community centre are set to be passed by borough councillors. Stafford Muslim Community Centre Ltd's application to convert a former industrial unit on land off Sandyford Street into a place of worship and community centre has been recommended for approval by planning officers at Stafford Borough Council.
If the plans are approved, facilities will include an outbuilding for mortuary use, as well as a first floor classroom and onsite parking. The site earmarked for the change of use does not include the former Sandonia Cinema building however and the proposal is not considered to adversely impact the setting of the non-designated heritage asset, a report to the council's planning committee said.
The proposal has been called in for consideration by the council's planning committee by ward councillor Louise Nixon, due to residents' concerns about flooding and parking. Committee members will consider the application at their latest meeting on Wednesday (December 10).
Stafford Borough Council has received 42 objections to the proposal. Objectors have said there are already parking and congestion issues in the area, and have also raised concerns about flood risk, noise and privacy for neighbouring residents.
A Charnley Road resident said: "While community facilities are welcome in principle, this development should be open and accessible to the wider community. As currently described, the proposal risks reducing social cohesion by serving only a narrow group, contrary to the aim of fostering inclusive communities in the Local Plan and National Planning Policy Framework."
A Sandon Road resident said: "Traffic in the area is already overly congested; there is a school and families here and this increases the risk of accidents. I have owned my house for seven years and parking has got worse - it's a nightmare when you need a tradesman."
There have also been 39 responses in support of the proposal and its community use.
A Weeping Cross resident said: "The current prayer hall does great work for its congregation and the wider community - very pleased that they've found a suitable new location."
A Brocton resident and active member of the Muslim community in Stafford said: "For many years we have sought a suitable facility that can serve as a place of worship, a cultural hub and a support centre for both Muslims and the wider community. This proposal is not just about meeting religious needs - it is about creating a welcoming space that benefits everyone in Stafford.
"This community centre is not just for Muslims. We envision a multifunctional space open to all, providing educational and cultural events to foster understanding and cohesion, health and wellbeing initiatives such as free medical check ups and mental health support, youth engagement programmes to provide a positive environment for young people (and) social support for the elderly and vulnerable, regardless of background and faith."
Source: stokesentinel.co.uk
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/plans-mosque-community-centre-set-10692891
-----
Uniting Church Welcomes Re-Opening Of Lindisfarne Place Of Worship As A Mosque
9 December 2025
By Madeleine Rojahn
For months, the former Lindisfarne Uniting Church has sat dormant by a highway in Hobart.
But the Hobart Muslim community is breathing new life into the century-old Christian building, in a move welcomed by Uniting Church Tasmania.
"What we really appreciate is that this will continue to be a place of community gathering, of reflection and worship, and for wellbeing and care," Uniting Church Tasmania synod liaison minister Rohan Pryor said.
"[That is] what it's been ever since 1903, when it was built. It's been a hub of the local community."
'Serving the community for more than a century'
Healthcare workers Hood Al Dawahdeh and Hebah Kaljeh, together with the Hobart Muslim community, are repurposing the former church into a mosque to be known as the House of Guidance Hobart.
They hope it will help fill a gap in services for Muslim families.
"I would like to acknowledge the beautiful heritage of this former church, built in 1903, as a place of worship," Mr Al Dawahdeh said.
"It has been serving the community for more than a century, and the House of Guidance Hobart will continue this legacy," he said.
The plan is to host modest Islamic education, Arabic classes and interfaith dialogue, which Ms Kaljeh said were important in keeping young people grounded.
"We love everything here, and for this reason we wanted to stay," Ms Kaljeh said.
Economists and demographers have said Tasmania had faced its first prolonged period of "brain drain" — where professionals leave the state for better work opportunities elsewhere — since the COVID-19 pandemic. It has meant that over the past few years, more people have left the state than have moved to it.
Some former Tasmanian residents also leave due to a lack of religious and cultural facilities, Mr Al Dawahdeh and Ms Kaljeh said.
Tasmania is the only state or territory without an Islamic school, although Bowen Road Primary School in Hobart's northern suburbs has this year begun offering Islamic studies.
Tasmania has three Islamic mosques across Hobart and Launceston
Mr Pryor, who drove from Launceston to Hobart to meet Mr Al Dawahdeh and Ms Kaljeh, said his organisation was "very pleased" about Mr Al Dawahdeh and Ms Kalijeh's plans for the former church.
"Their commitment to community, to education, to being part of the wider community, I think that enriches all of us," he said.
Rosalind Terry, a retired Uniting Church minister, said followers of Christianity, Islam and Judaism were all "people of the book".
"We give God a different name. But we all worship the same God," Reverend Terry said.
With a dwindling and aging congregation, Uniting Church Tasmania decided to sell the Lindisfarne church.
Mr Pryor said he could understand the sense of grief.
"But there's a new life coming to this space, a new community who've got religious faith — even if a slightly different flavour to the Uniting Church Christian flavour."
Source: abc.net.au
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-09/former-hobart-uniting-church-converted-into-mosque/106035642
-------
Azerbaijan, Palestine set to seal new cultural cooperation pact, minister says
08 December 2025
By Vafa Guliyeva
Palestinian Minister of Culture Imad al-Din Abdullah Salim Hamdan has announced that Azerbaijan and Palestine are working toward signing a bilateral cultural cooperation agreement.
Speaking to local media on the sidelines of the OIC Cultural Festival, Minister Hamdan noted the significance of the event, describing it as a platform that unites creative industry representatives and cultural figures from across the Islamic world, Caliber.Az reports.
“It is a great honor for me to participate in such a prestigious event as the OIC Cultural Festival,” he said. “This festival brings together not only representatives of the creative industry but also cultural figures from across the Islamic world. It contributes to strengthening cultural solidarity and promoting our shared values.”
Hamdan highlighted the deep historical, cultural, and spiritual foundations shared by Islamic nations.
“This is why it is essential to maintain continuous cultural dialogue, strengthen creative exchange, and develop joint projects. This platform creates opportunities for bringing our countries closer together and expanding cultural integration,” he emphasized.
The minister commended Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Culture and partner organizations for their professional organization of the festival, adding that he had previously participated in major cultural events held in Baku and Shusha.
“The designation of Shusha as the ‘Cultural Capital of the Islamic World’ has gone down in history as a symbol of justice, restoration, and cultural revival,” he said. “It is always a pleasure to be in Azerbaijan, and we believe that our relations with this brotherly country will continue to strengthen.”
Hamdan revealed that Palestine places great importance on expanding cultural ties with Azerbaijan and that work is underway to formalize cooperation between their respective ministries.
“We are currently working on signing a cultural cooperation agreement… aimed at expanding the exchange of experience, creative partnerships, and joint cultural projects,” he noted, adding that Palestine would be pleased to host Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Culture for the signing.
He stressed that initiatives of this kind play a vital role in promoting peace, universal values, compassion, and the creative legacy of Islamic culture on the global stage.
“We will remain committed to this unity and these principles, and we will continue to expand our cooperation in the future,” he concluded.
Source: caliber.az
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://caliber.az/en/post/azerbaijan-palestine-set-to-seal-new-cultural-cooperation-pact-minister-says
-------
Critical moment to ramp up support for Ukraine, European allies say
Fiona Nimoni
09 December 2025
European leaders have said "now is a critical moment" to ramp up support for Ukraine and put pressure on Russia to bring an end to the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in London on Monday to discuss the latest version of a peace plan, drafted between Ukrainian and US officials last week.
The European leaders said more work was needed to obtain security guarantees for Ukraine, as the US puts pressure on Kyiv to agree a swift deal with Russia.
Zelensky, who travelled on to Brussels to meet Nato officials, said that Ukraine would share a revised plan with the US on Tuesday.
Last week, Ukrainian officials spent three days with the US negotiating team in Florida pushing for changes to a US-backed peace proposal which has been widely considered favourable to Russia.
Answering questions from journalists after Monday's meeting in London, Zelensky said that the "most certainly anti-Ukrainian points have been removed" from the initial deal proposed in November.
But the Ukrainian president acknowledged that there were some outstanding concerns about ceding territory and a compromise had "not yet been found there".
The US has proposed that Ukraine pulls its forces entirely out of eastern regions which Russia has attempted to take by force, but has been unable to capture in full. In return, the US says Russia would withdraw elsewhere and there would be a cessation of fighting.
But this is an unpalatable option for Zelensky, who refuses to reward Moscow for its aggression and who has repeatedly warned that Russia would use any foothold in the eastern regions to launch future assaults on Ukraine.
"Americans are inclined, in principle, to finding a compromise," Zelensky said on Monday.
He added that the issue of security guarantees - which Ukraine wants to ensure Russia would be deterred from carrying out future attacks in the event of a peace deal - had yet to be resolved.
A spokesperson for the UK prime minister's office said: "The leaders all agreed that now is a critical moment and that we must continue to ramp up support to Ukraine and economic pressure on Putin to bring an end to this barbaric war.
"The leaders discussed the importance of the US-led peace talks for European security and supported the progress made," the statement said.
Leaders also "underscored the need for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, which includes robust security guarantees", it added.
Ahead of the talks he hosted at Downing Street, Starmer said there needed to be "hard-edged security guarantees" in a peace deal for Ukraine.
Merz stated he was "sceptical" about some of the details of the potential plan coming from the US side. "But we have to talk about it. That's why we are here," he added.
Following the meeting, France said work would be "intensified" to provide security guarantees for Ukraine.
There is nervousness in Kyiv and across Europe that the US could end its support of Ukraine over frustration with the slow progress of negotiations. "We can't manage without Americans, we can't manage without Europe and that is why we need to make some important decisions," Zelensky said in London.
Although the White House has been pushing Kyiv and Moscow to swiftly agree to a multi-point plan to end the war, there has been little sign of a breakthrough.
A five-hour meeting between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week failed to yield tangible results.
Those talks were followed by three days of discussions between Zelensky's chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and his US counterparts in Miami, which resulted in vague but positive statements of "progress" from both sides.
However, on Sunday Trump accused Zelensky of not having read the draft of the revised deal.
"I'm a little disappointed that President Zelensky hasn't yet read the proposal," he said, while insisting Russia's Vladimir Putin was "fine with it".
Almost simultaneously, Zelensky stated that he expected to be briefed on the negotiations by Umerov either in London or Brussels on Monday. "Some issues can only be discussed in person," he said.
The talks in London were the latest attempt by Ukraine's European allies to carve out a role in the US-led efforts to end the war, which they fear will undercut the long-term interests of the continent in favour of a quick resolution.
Despite significant economic pressure and sustained battlefield losses, the Kremlin has shown little sign that it is willing to compromise on its key demands, including ruling out any future path to Ukraine joining the Nato military alliance.
Last week, Putin also restated his willingness to continue fighting until his forces take full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, 85% of which is currently occupied by the Russian army.
As talks in the US and Europe continue, so does the war.
Between Sunday and Monday a total of 10 people were killed and 47 were injured as Russian forces attacked nine regions using drones, glide bombs and missiles.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Since then, thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed or injured, with Ukraine's cities continuing to come under fire on an near-nightly basis.
Source: bbc.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2k4z9nwz4yo
-------
No place for Lenin on German streets – parliamentary commissioner
8 Dec, 2025
A German parliamentary commissioner has called for the renaming of streets bearing the names of Vladimir Lenin and Cold War-era socialist leaders.
Streets in multiple cities still carry the names of politicians from socialist East Germany, which reunified with US-aligned West Germany following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Evelyn Zupke, the Bundestag’s commissioner representing former East German political prisoners, told Bild that names associated with the socialist past should be removed from public spaces.
“Thirty-five years after reunification, no street should be named after Lenin, Otto Grotewohl, or Wilhelm Pieck. Naming a street is an expression of appreciation by our democratic society today. These individuals, however, symbolize the suffering of thousands of victims,” she said on Saturday. Zupke added that changing the names “would send the right signal on the 35th anniversary of German unity.”
According to Bild, more than a dozen cities in the former East Germany have streets named after Lenin, including Nauen in Brandenburg. A spokesperson for Nauen told the newspaper that street names are decided by the city council, and the matter was not on the agenda.
A spokesperson for the town of Weissenfels said that although Mayor Martin Papke “supports the [name] remaining in the long term,” the final decision rests with the residents. The community in Saxony-Anhalt has streets named after Lenin and Pieck, East Germany’s leader from 1949 to 1960, as well as a street named in honor of German-Soviet friendship.
Many countries from the former Eastern Bloc removed pro-Communist names and statues following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Ukraine launched its own “decommunization” campaign after the US-backed coup in 2014, with the last remaining Lenin statue reportedly toppled in August. Moscow has condemned the campaign as part of an attempt to erase Ukraine’s historical ties with Russia.
Source: rt.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.rt.com/news/629194-germany-bundestag-ombudsman-call-lenin-streets-renaming/
------
South Asia
‘You Know Who Uses Religion -- Those Who Pray More During Elections’: Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
Dec 8, 2025
Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman today said they deeply feel that a national government is necessary for at least five years to restore the country's stability and economy, establish the rule of law, and eradicate corruption from society.
"If elected, we will form this government. We will expect just two things from those who would join this government. We will expect that no one engages in corruption, nor shows leniency towards corruption in any form. And secondly, they must not interfere in ensuring equal justice for all," he told journalists after a high-level meeting with an EU delegation at the EU embassy.
He added that Jamaat is willing to form a government with those who agree to these two minimum conditions.
Jamaat will form a national government with all political parties, even if it wins a majority in the upcoming 13th national election, said the Jamaat leader.
"In the interest of the country -- even if we, by the will of Allah, win 200 seats -- we will still form such a government, In sha Allah," he added.
"We told them [the EU delegation] that if we are elected by the will of Allah and through the people's support, we will build an inclusive Bangladesh, In sha Allah. We will not exclude any party," he said.
The Jamaat chief also spoke about allegations that the party is using religion in election campaigns.
"We work with religion; we do not use religion for political gains," he said. "You know better who actually uses religion -- those who suddenly start praying more during elections, who put on caps, and carry prayer beads."
He also said there was no scope for deferring the election.
"We believe the election must be held within the declared February timeline. Any deviation from it will severely harm the country. And we do not want the country to be harmed by anyone," he added.
Source: thedailystar.net
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/politics/news/you-know-who-uses-religion-those-who-pray-more-during-elections-4053666
-------
Jamaat trying to emerge as a 'new player' in the old culture of violence: NCP
Dec 8, 2025
National Citizen Party (NCP) today said that Jamaat-e-Islami is trying to emerge as a "new player" in the old culture of violence and hegemonic politics in Bangladesh.
"It is an ominous sign for the country," NCP said in a statement issued by the party's media wing chief, Mushfiqus Salehin, in response to remarks made by Jamaat on Sunday targeting NCP leader Akhter Hossen.
During an event at the Bishwo Shahitto Kendro on Saturday, Akhter said that they expected after the July uprising, BNP and Jamaat would embrace a new kind of politics.
"Still, parties like BNP and Jamaat appear to be competing to demonstrate which one relies more on weapons. This is not the Bangladesh we envisioned," the NCP leader said.
The next day, Jamaat termed Akhter's remarks as "untrue and purposeful" and condemned it. They also demanded withdrawal of the comments.
In the statement today, NCP defended Akhter's remark, saying that it was evidence-based.
The party also referred to the recent incident of violence in Pabna's Ishwardi.
"Tushar Mondal is a Jamaat activist and the respective district unit of DB has confirmed that he was arrested with arms," the NCP statement said.
"Denying the reality is nothing but a condemnable attempt to hide the truth and avoid responsibility," added the statement.
It further alleged that Jamaat is using religion as a "political tool" for divisive and violent politics.
Source: thedailystar.net
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/politics/news/jamaat-trying-emerge-new-player-the-old-culture-violence-ncp-4053716
-------
Six Pakistani Soldiers Killed in Attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
By Fidel Rahmati-
December 9, 2025
Six Pakistani soldiers were killed after gunmen attacked a security post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the Afghanistan border, security officials said Tuesday.
Six Pakistani soldiers were killed after gunmen attacked a security checkpoint in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, near the Afghan border, security officials told Reuters on Tuesday.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the assault, which highlights ongoing instability in Pakistan’s northwest border region.
The attack comes at a sensitive moment, as Pakistan and Afghanistan attempt to maintain a fragile ceasefire following deadly border clashes in October that disrupted civilian life and trade.
Islamabad continues to accuse militants operating from Afghanistan territory of planning and launching attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul rejects the claim, saying Pakistan’s internal security issues are not Afghanistan’s responsibility.
Amid rising cross-border tensions, Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, has warned Kabul to choose between maintaining ties with Islamabad or supporting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He said Pakistan would no longer tolerate militant safe havens across the border.
General Munir also cautioned India, stating Pakistan would deliver a “swift and severe response” if faced with any military provocation, comments widely interpreted as a message amid renewed regional tensions.
Analysts say the latest attack and hardening rhetoric reflect a worsening security environment and could further strain Pakistan’s relations with both Kabul and New Delhi unless diplomacy resumes.
Observers warn that without meaningful cooperation on counterterrorism and border management, violence is likely to continue, with civilians and security forces bearing the cost.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.khaama.com/six-pakistani-soldiers-killed-in-attack-in-khyber-pakhtunkhwa/
-------
India Condemns Pakistani Strikes on Afghanistan, Voices Concern Over Civilian Casualties
By Fidel Rahmati
December 9, 2025
India strongly condemned recent Pakistani strikes on Afghanistan territory, expressing deep concern over civilian casualties and reaffirming support for Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
India has condemned Pakistani strikes inside Afghanistan that reportedly killed civilians, reaffirming support for Afghanistan’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated on Monday, December 8 and described the attacks as “unacceptable” and urged restraint from all sides.
The clashes in Spin Boldak, Kandahar, involved Pakistani forces targeting civilian infrastructure, prompting retaliation from Taliban forces. Local officials reported at least five civilians killed and several injured, escalating tensions along the already volatile border.
Efforts to mediate a ceasefire, led by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar, have so far failed to produce an agreement. Both Kabul and Islamabad have accused each other of initiating violence in the region.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid highlighted continued Pakistani airstrikes, calling them provocations against Afghanistan civilians and infrastructure, while Taliban forces maintain that their responses are defensive and aimed at protecting local populations.
In a separate development, Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces, Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday, warned Kabul to choose between maintaining relations with Islamabad or supporting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), labeling cross-border terrorism as unacceptable.
Munir also issued a pointed warning to India, stating that any aggression would trigger a “much more swift and severe” response, highlighting Pakistan’s readiness to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
India has repeatedly criticized Pakistan’s governance, with MEA officials asserting that “democracy and Pakistan don’t go together,” amid escalating tensions and increasing cross-border incidents along the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier.
Analysts say the recent military rhetoric, combined with ongoing clashes and failed ceasefire talks, underscores a dangerous escalation in the region, with civilians on both sides bearing the brunt of the ongoing hostilities.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.khaama.com/india-condemns-pakistani-strikes-on-afghanistan-voices-concern-over-civilian-casualties/
------
Afghan Refugee in U.S. at Risk of Deportation Under New Trump Order
By Fidel Rahmati
December 9, 2025
An Afghan refugee in the United States, who fled security threats last year, now faces possible deportation under a new Trump administration order.
An Afghan refugee who fled Taliban threats last year has been detained by U.S. immigration authorities, facing possible deportation amid heightened scrutiny of Afghan migrants.
The detention occurred after a recent Washington, D.C., shooting killed a National Guard member and injured another, prompting authorities to suspend Afghan immigration cases temporarily, according to ABC News on Monday,
The refugee’s lawyer, Alora Mukherjee, said her client was arrested last Wednesday at a New York immigration office. He has no criminal record and has attended all immigration hearings.
Court records show the man fled Afghanistan due to direct threats from the Taliban. His case is now under review amid rising security concerns in the United States.
The accused Washington shooter, Rahmanullah Laknawal, a former U.S. agency employee, has pleaded not guilty, intensifying scrutiny of Afghan migrants nationwide.
Human rights groups warn the crackdown endangers vulnerable Afghan refugees, many of whom fled targeted threats. Advocates urge the U.S. to balance security measures with due process protections.
Experts emphasize the importance of careful case review, highlighting the delicate situation of Afghan nationals seeking safety in the United States amid growing security pressures.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-refugee-in-u-s-at-risk-of-deportation-under-new-trump-order/
-------
Afghanistan Ready to Deepen Economic Cooperation with China, Minister
December 9, 2025
KABUL: Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi said the other day that Afghanistan is fully prepared to expand economic cooperation with China and provide greater support to Chinese investors.
In a meeting with Zhao Xing, the Chinese Ambassador to Kabul, Azizi reaffirmed the government’s commitment to creating a more welcoming environment for foreign investment, including Chinese investors, according to a statement from the ministry.
Speaking at the meeting, the Chinese Ambassador outlined obstacles encountered by investors and expressed interest in expanding economic engagement with Afghanistan.
Source: thekabultimes.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://thekabultimes.com/afghanistan-ready-to-deepen-economic-cooperation-with-china-minister/
-------
Higher Education Minister Visits Iranian Universities to Boost Academic Cooperation
December 9, 2025
KABUL: The country’s Minister of Higher Education, Mawlavi Nida Mohammad Nadim, visited several academic institutions in the city of Qom during his official trip to Iran, including Qom University and Al-Mustafa International University, to boost scientific cooperation.
In meetings with university leadership and faculty members, discussions focused on expanding academic cooperation, sharing expertise, and strengthening bilateral educational ties, the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Iranian officials affirmed their readiness to enhance academic collaboration with Afghanistan, according to the statement.
Source: thekabultimes.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://thekabultimes.com/higher-education-minister-visits-iranian-universities-to-boost-academic-cooperation/
------
Africa
Sharia Law No Threat To Christians – Bauchi Traditional Leader And Custodian Of The Danmalikin Bauchi Title
December 9, 2025
A Bauchi traditional leader and custodian of the Danmalikin Bauchi title, Aminu Danmaliki, has dismissed claims that the practice of Sharia law in Northern Nigerian states poses a threat to Christians or Christianity.
While briefing journalists on Sunday, Danmaliki said those interpreting Sharia as a danger to non-Muslims “are either misinformed or ignorant of its true concept,” insisting that the Islamic legal system has no jurisdiction over individuals who are not Muslims.
According to him, a recent attempt by a group of Christian activists to discredit Sharia before a joint session of the American Congress has “revived an old, unfounded debate driven mostly by fear, misinformation, and political motives.”
He said, “Not too long ago, the same individuals went to the US Congress and falsely alleged that genocide was being carried out against Christians in Nigeria. While they failed in that attempt to turn the world against Nigerian Muslims, they would also fail in this renewed crusade against Islam and Sharia law.”
Danmaliki stressed that Sharia law is constitutionally protected and remains an integral part of governance that Muslims desire.
“Let it be known that we Muslims shall never accept a governance system in Nigeria without Sharia, which has nothing to do with Christians and is fully recognised by the Nigerian Constitution,” he insisted.
The traditional leader argued that Sharia is neither foreign nor extreme, adding that its influence can be traced in the development of Western legal traditions.
Citing the works of legal scholars such as John Makdisi, Danmaliki noted that several English common-law institutions were adapted from Islamic jurisprudence through Norman interactions with Muslim Sicily.
“These parallels do not exist in Roman law, Canon law, or Anglo-Saxon traditions. Their closest match is Islamic law.
“If Sharia were inherently unjust, why would medieval England adopt some of its principles?” he stressed.
Danmaliki also referenced early American scholarships that regarded Sharia as a sophisticated legal system.
He cited the 1894 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in U.S. v. Addams, where the court referenced legal scholars who described Islamic law as rational, humane, and protective of civil liberties.
He added that 19th- and early 20th-century U.S. congressional publications acknowledged Islamic law’s contributions to the protection of minorities, contractual rights, constraints on arbitrary rule, and judicial integrity.
“In short, the United States once regarded Sharia not as a threat but as a respected legal civilisation,” he said.
Speaking in Nigeria’s context, Danmaliki insisted that Sharia is not imposed on Christians and has no legal force over them.
“Sharia in Nigeria applies only to Muslims. This is guaranteed by the Constitution and by state legislation,” he observed.
The Danmaliki title custodian added that non-Muslims can not be tried under Sharia criminal law, non-Muslims can not be compelled to appear in Sharia courts, and non-Muslims have full access to secular courts.”
He pointed out that many Christians voluntarily subscribe to Sharia courts in cases involving Muslims because the process is faster and perceived to be less corrupt, maintaining that, “Sharia strengthens—not weakens—Nigeria’s unity.”
Danmaliki argued further that Nigeria already operates a multi-legal system—common law, customary law, and Sharia—and that each serves the communities that believe in them.
“This is multiculturalism, not division,” he said, adding that Sharia continues to thrive because it delivers justice, not because it is imposed.
He concluded that the enduring value of Sharia lies in its foundational principles of justice, equity, due process, protection of life and property, accountability for leaders, and fairness in commercial dealings.
Source: punchng.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://punchng.com/sharia-law-no-threat-to-christians-bauchi-traditional-leader/
-------
‘I Want To Thank Tinubu’ – US Lawmaker Reveals Details Of Visit To Nigeria
December 8, 2025
A member of the United States House of Representatives, Riley Moore, has spoken of his recent visit to Nigeria.
Naija News reports that the U.S. Congressional delegation had visited the West African country on a fact-finding mission to Nigeria.
The delegation included Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, Rep. Norma Torres, Rep. Scott Franklin, Rep. Juan Ciscomani, and Rep. Riley M. Moore.
The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Richard Mills, accompanied the delegation on a visit to Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Speaking on his visit, Riley Moore wrote on social media: “I want to thank National Security Advisor Nuhu Ribadu for a productive and positive conversation with the US Congressional delegation to Nigeria.
“There were concrete steps and actions discussed at length, that if fully executed, I believe will enhance security across the country for all Nigerians, disrupt and destroy terrorist organizations in the northeast and stop the killing of Christians (a specific concern for @POTUS and myself) – particularly in the Middle Belt of the country.
“I want to thank the Nigerian government and Bola Tinubu for rescuing the 100 innocent and precious Catholic school children. This is a positive demonstration of the government’s increasing response to the security situation and shows commitment to the emergency declaration laid out by President Tinubu.
“The US’ sense of urgency on our concerns was positively received. I feel that a cooperative security framework is within sight. The now established joint task force between Nigeria and the US is a great example.
“It is clear that there is an openness and willingness on the part of the Nigerian government to work with the United States to tackle these critical issues. Now, that openness has to translate to concrete action.
“There is much work still to be done, but things are moving in the right direction. I look forward to the next steps with Nigerian government and the continued open dialogue.
“Peace be with you all. God bless the great people of Nigeria.”
Source: naijanews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.naijanews.com/2025/12/08/just-in-i-want-to-thank-tinubu-us-lawmaker-reveals-details-of-visit-to-nigeria/
------
Why Islamic Banking Is Growing In Nigeria – Sharia Council
8 Dec 2025
The President of the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria (SCSN), Dr Bashir Aliyu Umar, has attributed the rapid growth of Islamic banking and finance in the country to its ability to offer solutions to financial challenges without relying on interest or usury, which are prohibited in Islam.
Speaking at a two-day workshop organised by the Centre for Qur’anic Studies, Bayero University Kano (BUK), Dr Umar said Islamic finance has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry, with five Islamic banks now operating in Nigeria.
Dr Umar, who also serves as the Deputy Chairman of the Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts (FRACE)—the advisory body to the Central Bank of Nigeria on Islamic banking and non-interest financial institutions—said Islamic finance is expanding because it promotes fairness, stability, and ethical financial practices.
“Islamic finance is growing because it offers stability and fairness. Muslims are forbidden from taking interest, and the system provides alternatives that are in line with Sharia,” he said.
He emphasised the role of clerics in guiding banks, insurance firms, and stockbroking companies to ensure full compliance with Islamic financial principles.
BUK Vice Chancellor, Professor Haruna Musa, announced during the event that Summit Bank had committed to offering automatic employment for five years to the best graduating male and female students from the university’s Islamic Banking and Finance programme.
He noted that the Centre for Qur’anic Studies, established in 2014, is mandated to promote Qur’anic teachings and would continue to receive institutional support.
The Director of the Centre, Professor Ahmad Murtala, said the workshop aimed to deepen understanding of Islamic jurisprudence in banking and finance. He added that the event was supported by Jaiz Bank, Lotus Bank, TAJ Bank, Nur Takaful and other partners.
“This is the biggest conference on Islamic banking and finance by any centre in northern Nigeria. We hope to replicate it in other parts of the country,” he said.
The workshop, themed “Halal and Haram in Islamic Finance: Quranic Foundations, Contemporary Challenges and Future Prospects,” brought together more than 250 stakeholders, including clerics, bankers, regulators and academics from across northern Nigeria.
Source: dailytrust.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://dailytrust.com/why-islamic-banking-is-growing-in-nigeria-sharia-council/
-------
Jaiz Bank joins global Islamic liquidity network as first African primary dealer
ByAyodeji Adegboyega
December 8, 2025
Nigeria’s Jaiz Bank says it has become the first financial institution in Africa to join the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation’s (IILM) network of primary dealers, after signing an agreement during a CBN–IILM liquidity management conference in Abuja.
The bank disclosed this in a statement by its management on Sunday.
The move gives the non-interest lender access to the IILM’s short-term, investment-grade sukuk, which Islamic banks use to manage liquidity in the absence of interest-bearing assets permitted in conventional finance.
Several central banks established the IILM to offer high-quality Shariah-compliant instruments, similar to Treasury bills, which are scarce in many jurisdictions.
Haruna Musa, the bank’s chief executive, said the development marked an important step for the bank. “This milestone is historic, as Jaiz Bank becomes the first financial institution in Africa to be admitted into the IILM’s global network of primary dealers,” he said.
He added that the arrangement would improve the bank’s internal buffers. “The onboarding positions Jaiz Bank to access world-class liquidity management instruments with strong credit quality,” he said.
Mr Musa noted that the agreement would “deepen the Bank’s balance sheet resilience and risk management capacity”.
He also said the partnership would raise the bank’s visibility within the sector. According to him, it would “enhance its regional and international visibility within the Islamic finance ecosystem” and “strengthen its long-term collaboration with the CBN, IILM, ICD, and other global Islamic finance institutions”.
Nigeria has expanded its Islamic finance market in recent years, with governments issuing sukuk to fund roads and other infrastructure. The IILM’s sukuk are already widely used in the Gulf and Southeast Asia, where Islamic finance is more established.
The IILM, backed by several central banks and multilateral bodies, issues short-term Shariah-compliant liquidity instruments recognised by regulators and used across multiple jurisdictions.
Source: premiumtimesng.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/business-news/841488-jaiz-bank-joins-global-islamic-liquidity-network-as-first-african-primary-dealer.html?tztc=1
------
‘It Is Not An Easy War’ – Presidency Gives Reasons Military Cannot Tackle Bandits Swiftly
December 9, 2025
The presidency has asserted that tackling the insecurity confronting Nigeria for years cannot be compared to the swift response of the Nigerian military to the attempted coup in the Benin Republic.
Naija News reports that the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made this known during an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’ programme on Monday.
Onanuga said bandits and terrorists hold innocent Nigerians as a shield, stressing that fighting them is not the same as fighting a conventional army.
According to the presidential aide, the bandits and terrorists kidnap soft targets, adding that there must be utmost care not to bomb those they are holding as collateral.
He said, “I think it’s a different ball game altogether. The internal one is more of a symmetric war. I think our military people have been saying that, but people don’t seem to understand what it was talking about.
“Look at the case of Benin Republic now. They wanted to bomb a military base in Benin. They know where to where to go. They coordinated where they should actually bomb, which is what they did.
“Unlike those people the bandits and terrorists are holding up as shield. They are always kidnapping soft targets and so on. You have to be very careful not to go and bomb those they are holding as collateral.
“These are like a gorilla. Even the almighty America couldn’t find gorillas in Afghanistan as well. It’s not easy.
“It’s not an easy war, but I think the country is poised to find a way around it to make sure that all this banditry and terrorism will end in a very short time.”
Source: naijanews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.naijanews.com/2025/12/09/it-is-not-an-easy-war-presidency-gives-reasons-military-cannot-tackle-bandits-swiftly/
-------
‘Many Bodies Are Being Discovered’ – Update Emerge On Soldiers Who Reportedly Killed Protesting Women
December 8, 2025
By Enioluwa Adeniyi
A peacekeeping mission in Lamurde Local Government Area of Adamawa State turned deadly on Monday after soldiers reportedly opened fire on unarmed protesters, killing at least nine persons, including five women.
The victims were among residents demonstrating against what they described as the government’s failure to protect them from repeated attacks by unidentified assailants targeting their communities.
According to reports, the peaceful protest was led by women chanting and calling for help after weeks of violent incursions that left several villages exposed and fearful.
Eyewitnesses told Daily Sun that chaos erupted when military personnel allegedly tried to disperse the gathering. The situation escalated quickly, leading to live ammunition being fired into the crowd.
Following the shootings, violent clashes broke out and spread to nearby villages. Communities reportedly affected by the unrest include Tingno, Suwa, Balaifi, Wami 1, Wami 2, and Waduku, many of which were reportedly set ablaze.
A local resident, speaking anonymously due to security concerns, said the actual death toll may be higher than initially reported.
“What we are seeing on the ground is far worse. The situation has spiralled out of control, and more bodies are still being discovered,” the source said.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Nigerian Army nor the Adamawa State Government had released an official statement regarding the incident.
The security situation in Lamurde remains tense, with residents fleeing for safety amid fears of more violence.
Source: naijanews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.naijanews.com/2025/12/08/many-bodies-are-being-discovered-update-emerge-on-soldiers-who-reportedly-killed-protesting-women/
-------
Arab World
Arab identity, heritage in focus at Riyadh’s Arab Narrative Days event
HAIFA ALSHAMMARI
December 08, 2025
RIYADH: Prince Turki Al-Faisal, chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, inaugurated the third Al-Marwiyah Al-Arabiyah, or Arab Narrative Days, event in Riyadh on Sunday.
The two-day event, with the theme “From Orientalist Narrative to Arab Narrative,” aims to reconstruct the Arab narrative within a critical framework and reclaim the strengths of Arab and Islamic culture.
It also highlights the aspects that have shaped Arab civilization, culture and identity, while shedding light on history and society.
Prince Turki said in his opening remarks that the Arab aesthetic was born from “the silence of the desert and the clarity of its horizon,” where beauty first emerged as sound, script and orientation converged to shape early Arab consciousness.
The chairman addressed the foundational moment when the Arabic language rose to prominence with the revelation. He added that this transformation began with the descent of the Holy Qur’an, when the Arabs were captivated by its eloquence, and with the growing importance of writing, as “Arabic calligraphy became the vessel of the Divine Word, giving rise to the journey of Arab Islamic art.”
He highlighted that the center has upheld this vision since its inception, transforming its treasures and collections into an “Arabic narrative” visible through art and knowledge, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Prince Turki said that cooperation with the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization reflects this approach and establishes a knowledge partnership that restores attention to the Arabic narrative through the “Arab Narrative” programs.
Mohamed Ould Amar, director-general of ALECSO, commended the center’s role as a beacon of scientific research in the Arab world.
He added that organizing the Arab Narrative Days aligns with the organization’s vision of preserving Arab heritage and reinforcing its presence in modern consciousness.
Amar said that the project is a pivotal step in rebuilding the Arab narrative on critical foundations, restoring the cultural presence of Arabs throughout their scientific and intellectual history, and linking creativity, language, identity and the paths of modernization.
The third edition extends the first edition of Arab Narrative Days, held in February 2023, which focused on critiquing classical narration and tracing the journey of science to and from the Arabs, highlighting that restoring the civilizational role begins with the nation’s awareness of its history and identity.
It also builds on the second edition, held in May 2024, which reinterpreted the culture of the desert as the primary memory where language, imagination and values were formed, drawing on the legacy of Bedouin studies and the efforts of pioneers in documenting desert life and its cultural layers.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2625491/saudi-arabia
---------
King Salman, crown prince congratulate Ahmad Al-Sharaa on anniversary of Syrian Liberation Day
December 08, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulated Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa on Monday, the first anniversary of Syria’s Liberation Day.
Syrian forces led by Al-Sharaa toppled the regime of Bashar Assad on Dec. 8, 2024, bringing an end to more than five decades of Assad family rule.
“The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud sent a cable of congratulations to … President Ahmad Al-Sharaa of the Syrian Arab Republic on the anniversary of his country’s Liberation Day,” the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The crown prince also sent a cable of congratulations to Al-Sharaa, the SPA added.
Al-Sharaa chose Saudi Arabia for his first foreign visit as the country’s new president in February, and in May the crown prince facilitated a meeting in the Kingdom between US President Donald Trump and Al-Sharaa, during which Washington announced it would lift sanctions on Syria.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2625490/saudi-arabia
------
AlUla named World’s Cultural Tourism Project 2025
December 08, 2025
AlUla: AlUla has strengthened its reputation as a global hotspot after being named the World’s Leading Cultural Tourism Project 2025 at this year’s World Travel Awards.
The award, one of the most respected in the travel industry, was decided by votes from international experts, senior executives, buyers, tour operators, and agents, according to a recent Saudi Press Agency report.
Founded in 1993, the World Travel Awards recognize achievements across tourism and hospitality, covering categories from hotels and airlines to experiences and events.
This recognition follows a series of recent accolades for AlUla. The region’s honors include the Middle East’s Leading Cultural Tourism Project 2025, Middle East’s Leading Festival and Event Destination 2025, and Saudi Arabia’s Leading Cultural Tourism Project 2025 at the regional edition of the awards.
Known for its dramatic desert landscapes and rich history, AlUla is home to major cultural sites including Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for its well-preserved Nabataean tombs.
With a history stretching back 200,000 years, and 7,000 years of continuous civilization, the region’s story is brought to life through the Royal Commission for AlUla’s year-round immersive experiences.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2625473/saudi-arabia
------
Japan consulate in Jeddah celebrates cinema with Red Sea Film Festival guests
AFSHAN AZIZ
December 08, 2025
JEDDAH: As part of the celebrations marking 70 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Saudi Arabia, the Consulate General of Japan in Jeddah hosted a special reception on Sunday evening for guests of the Red Sea International Film Festival.
The gathering, held at the consul general’s residence, highlighted the strengthening cultural ties between the two nations and Japan’s growing presence at the festival.
Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the event, Daisuke Yamamoto, consul general of Japan in Jeddah, said: “We are happy to have a gathering today. This is the first time Japan has held this kind of event related to the Red Sea Film Festival. Although it is the festival’s fifth edition, Japanese representation in previous years was limited. I encouraged our film industry to engage more, and I am happy that five Japanese films are being screened this year.”
While noting the absence of Japanese actors at the festival, he said the presence of producers and directors marks an important step forward. “There are already discussions about potential collaborations, and this reception is an excellent opportunity to build on the proposal we received from the Red Sea organizers.”
Yamamoto highlighted the longstanding partnership between Japan and Saudi Arabia in key sectors such as petrochemicals and the automotive industry, and expressed hope that cinema will become a new bridge for cooperation.
“I have known Saudi Arabia for many years and have seen remarkable, positive changes. We hope the Japanese film industry can be part of this dynamic transformation as well,” he added.
The event, organized in cooperation with the Red Sea Film Foundation, brought together about 50 attendees, including government officials, several consuls general, representatives from the Jeddah Historic District Program, festival guests and Saudi cultural figures.
Welcoming the guests, Yamamoto expressed his appreciation to the Ministry of Culture, the Jeddah Historic District authorities, and the Red Sea Film Foundation for their close cooperation throughout the year.
He noted the increasing cultural engagement between the two countries, including the hosting of several Japanese cultural programs in the historic district.
“Cinema is a noble art and a global cultural window that connects peoples and fosters cultural exchange, thus promoting openness to cultural diversity,” Yamamoto said in his address.
This aligns with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, he added. “Our two friendly countries are collaborating to achieve this vision through the ‘Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030’ Committee, and the Ministry of Culture, through its Jeddah Historical District, is implementing it with insightful and open leadership to the fullest extent.”
Well-known Saudi actor, writer and producer Abdullah Al-Sadhan, who attended the reception, praised both the festival and the Japanese Consulate for their hospitality.
“It’s always a pleasure to return to the Red Sea International Film Festival and see how it continues to grow,” he said, adding: “This gathering by the Japanese consulate reflects a genuine interest in building bridges with our film community. Events like this open the door for stronger cooperation between Saudi and Japanese creators, which can only enrich the industry on both sides.”
Maiyada Mahdaly, secretary of the consul general, said: “Through this event, we celebrated the vibrant spirit of cinema and the growing cultural connection between our countries. We also welcomed talents from Saudi Arabia, Japan and beyond to honor creativity, collaboration and the power of storytelling that transcends borders.”
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2625460/saudi-arabia
------
Rebuilding lives: Saudi initiative gives fresh hope to amputees
TAREQ AL-THAQAFI
December 08, 2025
MAKKAH: The Baitureh Health Association for the Care of Amputees has quickly become one of Saudi Arabia’s most impactful humanitarian initiatives, transforming support for people with lost limbs.
Established in 2020, the association deals with people’s physical, psychological and social needs and fills a long-standing gap in the national health system.
CEO Badr bin Alyan told Arab News that the initiative was created in response to a growing need, driven by amputations linked to accidents, blood disorders, occupational injuries and other causes.
Its operations were “based on service integration rather than fragmentation, enabling beneficiaries to return to their lives with confidence, ability and independence,” he said.
This holistic process covers everything from initial evaluations to psychological and physical rehabilitation, family support, prosthetic fitting and ongoing maintenance.
Its psychological support programs include group sessions led by certified mentors who have undergone similar experiences, as well as field visits to support patients before and after amputation.
More than 1,000 people across the Kingdom have so far benefitted from the association’s work, about 10 percent of them children, whom Alyan said were “the most sensitive and the most in need of intensive psychological and family support.”
Its specialist programs for children — My First Step and Therapeutic Entertainment — help young people adapt to prosthetics, overcome trauma and build confidence in a safe and supportive setting.
The association has completed more than 300 prosthetic fittings, including silicone cosmetic limbs, mechanical, hydraulic, electronic and 3D-printed models.
Alyan said the type of prosthetic selected depended on a number of factors, such as age, lifestyle, type of amputation, activity level and psychological readiness.
Children also have to undergo frequent adjustments to their new limbs to account for their growth.
Each prosthetic cost between SR20,000 ($5,300) and SR285,000, Alyan said.
The association funds its work through sponsorships, community contributions and strategic partnerships.
Despite its success, Alyan said there were still challenges to be faced, including the lack of a consolidated base for the provision of psychological support and therapy services and prosthetics development and maintenance.
There was also a shortage of local experts, he said.
In response, the association set up a rehabilitation center, which Alyan said would help to localize prosthetics manufacturing, reduce costs and accelerate fitting processes and create opportunities for local experts to develop their knowledge and experience.
But providing prosthetics was only part of the association’s work, he said.
“Rebuilding a human life is the deeper goal.”
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2625493/saudi-arabia
-------
Saudi Arabia highlights expanding trade ties at Thailand International Mega Fair
December 08, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia underscored its growing economic ties with Thailand as the Kingdom took part in the Thailand International Mega Fair 2025 in Riyadh this week.
Majid Al-Qasabi, representing minister of commerce and chairman of the board of the General Authority for Foreign Trade, and Abdulaziz bin Omar Al-Sakran, the authority’s deputy governor for international relations, attended the fair’s inauguration on Sunday.
The event brought together senior officials from both countries, including Kirida Bhaopichitr, vice minister for commerce of the Royal Thai Government; Darm Boontham, Thailand’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia; and Osama Qoqandi, chairman of the Saudi–Thai Business Council, alongside public and private sector representatives.
Speaking at the ceremony, Visit Limlurcha, vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Trade of Thailand, highlighted the significant progress in Thai-Saudi relations since the full restoration of diplomatic ties in 2022.
He said the fair serves as a key government-backed platform to expand cooperation in trade, investment, tourism, and emerging industries, supporting long-term economic collaboration between the two nations.
Al-Sakran said in a statement that years of joint efforts have strengthened partnerships between the Saudi and Thai private sectors, noting that bilateral trade over the past five years has reached nearly $40 billion, with an average annual growth rate of about 9 percent.
He added that the Saudi–Thai Joint Business Council has been restructured to provide an improved channel for communication, joint initiatives, and broader commercial and investment cooperation.
He said Saudi Arabia’s participation in the event reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to creating new avenues for economic collaboration and supporting Saudi and Thai companies in exploring promising investment opportunities.
The effort, he noted, aligns with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 to diversify the national economy and enhance the Kingdom’s position as a leading regional and global trade hub.
Organized in strategic partnership with the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Board of Trade of Thailand, the Thailand International Mega Fair 2025 is supported by the Royal Thai Embassy in Riyadh, the Federation of Saudi Chambers, the Saudi–Thai Business Council, and the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce.
The three-day exhibition features more than 150 leading Thai brands across sectors including food and beverages, health and wellness, tourism, fragrances and oud, smart agriculture, automotive components, decor, construction materials, and business solutions.
Held at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center, the fair also offers cultural performances, interactive displays, and new opportunities to deepen commercial ties between the Kingdom and Thailand.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2625481/saudi-arabia
------
Apple signs lease agreement to open flagship retail store in Diriyah Square
December 08, 2025
DIRIYAH: Diriyah Co. announced on Monday that Apple had signed a lease to open a flagship store in the heart of Diriyah Square, marking a major milestone in the development of the retail district, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The announcement follows Apple’s recent confirmation that it will launch the first of several flagship stores across Saudi Arabia in 2026, including a store at Diriyah, home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site At-Turaif.
Jerry Inzerillo, group CEO of Diriyah Co., said: “Having this iconic flagship store in the heart of Diriyah Square is an incredible milestone for Diriyah, ‘The City of Earth,’ and for Apple as one of our most esteemed retail partners.”
Diriyah Co.’s partnership with Apple highlights Diriyah Square’s role as Saudi Arabia’s premier lifestyle and retail hub, blending global brands with authentic Saudi heritage.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2625476/saudi-arabia
--------
Southeast Asia
Minister slams police for refusing report over woman’s attire
9 Dec 2025
Gobind condemns Jasin police for denying accident report over pant-skirt dress code violation
PETALING JAYA: Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo has strongly condemned an incident where a woman and her daughter were allegedly turned away from lodging an accident report at the Jasin district police headquarters in Melaka because of their attire.
The victims of a car accident were reportedly refused entry to the police station because they were wearing a “pant-skirt”, which officers claimed violated standard operating procedures on dress code.
In a statement today, Gobind said denying a person the right to file a police report based on their clothing was not only an abuse of authority but also an obstruction of justice.
“The fundamental purpose of a police station is to serve the public, protect citizens and facilitate the reporting of crimes and accidents which are required in law,” he said.
“Denying a person the right to file a police report because of how they are dressed is not just an abuse of authority but is also obstruction of justice as persons are required in law in many instances, to lodge reports when incidents occur.”
“The fundamental purpose of a police station is to serve the public, protect citizens and facilitate the reporting of crimes and accidents which are required in law,” he said.
“Denying a person the right to file a police report because of how they are dressed is not just an abuse of authority but is also obstruction of justice as persons are required in law in many instances, to lodge reports when incidents occur.”
The DAP national chairman, who is also Damansara MP, said the immediate focus of the police officer on duty should have been to assist the victims in recording the details of the incident rather than turning them away.
“It is therefore the duty of a police officer to facilitate access of persons to police stations for that purpose and not the reverse,” Gobind said.
He emphasised that people do not dress up in anticipation of crime, and clothing cannot be the basis for deciding whether someone can lodge a report.
“What is important is that an incident has occurred which needs to be reported and action needs to be taken to deal with it without delay,” he said.
Gobind called on the Inspector-General of Police to issue a clear directive to all police stations nationwide that no victim or complainant seeking to report an accident or crime should be denied their rights based on their attire.
“The police have no right to impose upon anyone standards which are unilateral, arbitrary and unreasonable. They must instead ensure that all police stations remain accessible to all citizens at all times for the purposes of lodging police reports,” he said.
The minister said he would raise the matter with Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and request that all existing standard operating procedures which deny public access to police stations for lodging reports or investigations be reviewed immediately.
“We must ensure that incidents like these do not happen again,” Gobind added.
Source: thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://thesun.my/news/malaysia-news/people-issues/minister-slams-police-for-refusing-report-over-womans-attire/
-------
Zara Qairina trial begins with testimony from two teachers
8 Dec 2025
Two teachers testified as the first witnesses in the Children’s Court trial of five teenagers accused of verbally abusing student Zara Qairina Mahathir.
KOTA KINABALU: Two teachers from SMK Agasi Tun Datu Mustapha testified on the first day of a Children’s Court trial involving five teenage girls.
The accused are charged with using abusive words against Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir under Section 507C(1) of the Penal Code.
According to the Court Registrar, one witness is an academic teacher and the other is the school’s Guidance and Counselling teacher.
The proceedings are being held under a gag order before Sessions Court Judge Marlina Ibrahim, with access restricted to directly involved parties.
Cross-examination of the second witness is scheduled to continue on Tuesday.
The prosecution is led by Deputy Public Prosecutor NorAzizah Mohamad, assisted by three other DPPs.
The first accused is represented by lawyer Datuk Ram Singh, with four other lawyers representing the remaining teenagers.
The five girls were charged on Aug 20, with the offence carrying a maximum penalty of one year in jail, a fine, or both.
Zara Qairina died at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital on July 17 after being found unconscious in a drain near the school dormitory a day earlier.
Source: thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://thesun.my/news/malaysia-news/courts/zara-qairina-trial-begins-with-testimony-from-two-teachers/
-------
Southern Thailand peace talks propose technical working group
8 Dec 2025
The eighth official meeting of the Southern Thailand peace dialogue proposes a technical working group to discuss outstanding issues in greater detail.
KUALA LUMPUR: The eighth official meeting of the Southern Thailand peace dialogue today proposed establishing a technical working group.
This group will discuss outstanding issues in greater detail, according to Malaysia’s facilitator, Datuk Mohd Rabin Basir.
He said the meeting was held in a harmonious atmosphere, with both sides reviewing mechanisms to strengthen the existing framework.
The Peace Dialogue Panel for Thailand’s Southern Border Provinces and the Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Patani also agreed to enhance the current framework.
They emphasised an achievable ‘End State’ based on three key pillars: Cessation of Violence, Public Consultation and Political Settlement.
“Malaysia, as facilitator, remains committed to accelerating the peace efforts through further discussions on inclusivity,” Mohd Rabin told a press conference.
He said these discussions will be refined at the technical meeting level.
Malaysia remains committed to assisting in any appropriate manner to ensure the peace process continues to move forward.
It will maintain its consistent role as facilitator, Mohd Rabin added.
He welcomed the decision by both sides to resume the peace dialogue process, which had been suspended since August 2024.
This reflects their continued commitment to achieving a final resolution and lasting peace.
The meeting was chaired by Mohd Rabin and attended by an international expert.
The PEDP delegation was led by its chief negotiator, General Somsak Roongsita, while the BRN delegation was led by its representative, Ustaz Anas Abdulrahman.
Source: thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://thesun.my/news/malaysia-news/people-issues/southern-thailand-peace-talks-propose-technical-working-group/
-------
Penang plans to double STEM outreach, targets stronger talent pipeline in 2026, says Jagdeep
09 Dec 2025
GEORGE TOWN, Dec 9 — The Penang government will double up on the organisation of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programmes in 2026 to strengthen the development of future talent in line with industry needs.
Deputy Chief Minister II Jagdeep Singh Deo said the commitment was born of discussions at a meeting with the leadership of relevant stakeholders, including Tech Dome Penang and Penang Science Cluster.
“The year 2026 is very important for us. This just-concluded meeting focuses on planning to double STEM programmes because that is our priority,” he told a press conference here today.
According to Jagdeep, grassroots programmes need to be strengthened because early exposure to science and technology will lay a strong foundation for producing the skilled manpower required for the state’s industrial sector.
He said that in 2025 alone, 110 STEM programmes involving 236,000 students were conducted, and that figure is expected to increase significantly next year through the coordination of programmes across all state agencies.
Explaining the need for such a programme, Jagdeep said Penang’s technology sector currently involves more than 500 multinational companies (MNCs) and over 7,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which require a highly skilled workforce to remain globally competitive.
Jagdeep also said that the state will seek financial support from the Federal government to expand the STEM programme under the 13th Malaysia Plan. — Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/12/09/penang-plans-to-double-stem-outreach-targets-stronger-talent-pipeline-in-2026-says-jagdeep/201286
-------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/cash-rains-construction-babri-mosque/d/137951