Nigerian Poet Maryam Bukar Hassan Named First UN Global Advocate For Peace
New Age Islam News Bureau
06 August 2025
UN Global Advocate for Peace, Maryam Bukar Hassan, performs in Central Park, New York, 27 July 2025
-
Copyright © africanews
Yoka, Ndea/
-----------
Africa
• Nigerian Poet Maryam Bukar Hassan Named First UN Global Advocate For Peace
• Sudan accuses UAE of deploying mercenaries
• CAR government and UN launch disarmament of former fighters
• Nigerian man extradited to U.S. over $3M fraud schemes
• Nigerian Politicians Have Turned Politics Into Business, Ordinary Citizens Are Just Pawns: Mahdi Shehu
• We Will Not Hand Over The Country To Men Whose Wives Are Taking Care Of Them – Hassan Slams Amaechi
-----
India
• ‘Miya’ Muslims asked to vacate parts of eastern Assam
• Kamal Haasan Rajya Sabha MP: Education is the only weapon that can break the chains of dictatorship and Sanatana; comment lands him in trouble
• Shakil and Sunita. the interfaith couple. beaten up by mob, paraded with heads shaved in Bihar
• B.Tech student from Bihar arrested for supplying illegal arms says J&K Police
-----
Mideast
• Egypt warns US and Israel against 'full occupation of Gaza'
• Netanyahu set to order full Gaza military occupation despite army opposition
• UN warns Israel's expansion of Gaza war risks 'catastrophic consequences'
• Hezbollah chief threatens missile attacks on Israel if war resumes
• Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel
......
Arab World
• Saudi Arabia urges global recognition of Palestinian state in UN-backed framework
• KSrelief expands humanitarian aid in Yemen, Sudan, and Pakistan
• ‘A war of starvation’
• The plot against Egypt
• Egypt lobbies for peace in Gaza
• 20 Palestinians killed by overturned aid truck: Gaza's civil defence
• Egypt sends 9th aid convoy to Gaza despite Israeli delaying tactics
• Israel hits UN clinic, kills 23 Palestinians across Gaza since dawn
• At least 20 Palestinians killed after aid truck overturns in central Gaza
• Hezbollah’s Qassem Warns against Foreign Intervention, Internal ‘Betrayal’ amidst Government Talks
.......
Europe
• Ukraine’s top spy admits to employing prostitutes
• Russia protests Israeli settler attack on diplomatic vehicle in West Bank
• Two killed in Russian attack on holiday camp, Kyiv says
• Sweden, Norway, and Denmark Pledge $500 Million in Weapons Aid for Ukraine
.......
North America
• Trump vows to pull US out of Ukraine ‘mess’
• NASA to Build Lunar Nuclear Reactor to Counter China’s Space Ambitions
• Trump Blames Biden for Ukraine War, Pledges to Withdraw U.S. from Conflict
----
Southeast Asia
• Singapore Airlines apologises after Muslim passenger served pork on flight to New York, says crew ‘didn’t know’ what prosciutto is
• Bridging food, law and compassion in Kuala Lumpur
• New Chief Justice: I can’t erase my history, but I vow to protect judicial independence
• Terengganu launches state-run matchmaking portal to boost marriage, birth rates
-----
South Asia
• Human Rights Watch: Global Community Fails to Curb Human Rights Abuses in Afghanistan
• UN Expert Warns Against Pakistan’s Rapid Mass Deportation of Afghan Refugees
• Pakistan to Begin Deportation of Afghan Refugees with Expired Residency Cards in September
• Iran Warns Citizens Against Aiding Undocumented Migrants
• Over 50 UK Charities Urge Government to Ease Family Reunification for Afghan Allies at Risk
• U.S. Congress Reintroduces Bill to Provide Permanent Residency for Afghan Allies
• Afghan Evac Urges U.S. Congress to Pass Afghan Adjustment Act and Protect Former Allies
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/nigerian-poet-global-advocate-peace/d/136422
------
Nigerian Poet Maryam Bukar Hassan Named First UN Global Advocate For Peace
August 6, 2025
UN Global Advocate for Peace, Maryam Bukar Hassan, performs in Central Park, New York, 27 July 2025
-
Copyright © africanews
Yoka, Ndea/
-----------
Nigerian poet, human rights activist, and Pan-Africanist, Maryam Bukar Hassan (aka Alhanislam), has been appointed the United Nations’ first ever Global Advocate for Peace.
Hailing from Borno State, her advocacy intensified after witnessing the hardships in her home region, especially the devastating impact of the Boko Haram insurgency.
She met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and other officials at UN Headquarters in New York, before giving a moving performance, “Peace is a Verb”, at the Central Park Summerstage music festival.
Peace is not a line we cross. It is a choice that we make over and over and over again. Especially when it feels far away. Especially when it is the hardest,” she said to the over 3,000 people attending.
“Today I speak peace into the bones of this world, into the rubble, into the rage, into the ruins. Because if war teaches us how to shatter, then peace must teach us how to stay, to stay soft, to stay human, to stay.”
Alhanislam uses her platform to champion women’s rights, youth empowerment and peacebuilding in communities impacted by violence and displacement
Her poetry speaks to the resilience of women and youth on the frontlines of conflict and the power of creative expression to inspire change.
“It is one that leverages emotions to actually get people to doing the work. I believe that if you cannot inspire, then you cannot lead. And so, poetry is an art of inspiration, and it can change mindsets,” she said.
Poetry itself, she added, might not change the world, but it can inspire people to take action, “and when people take action, then the world will change”.
In her innovative new UN role, Alhanislam will use her voice and creativity to promote the leadership of women and young people in building sustainable peace.
Her work will include storytelling campaigns, digital outreach, and global engagements to promote peaceful, just, and inclusive societies.
-----
‘Miya’ Muslims Asked To Vacate Parts Of Eastern Assam
August 06, 2025
In this image released by CMO Assam on July 25, 2025, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with others during an inspection of sites for eviction drives at Uriamghat, in Golaghat district, Assam. Photo Credit: Assam CMO
------------
The Hindu Bureau
GUWAHATI
Muslims with roots in present-day Bangladesh, referred to as “Miya” and perceived to be “illegal immigrants”, have been asked to vacate certain pockets of eastern Assam following Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s appeal to not provide shelter to people evicted from various categories of government land.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government has been conducting court-mandated eviction drives from forest lands, notified grazing grounds, and revenue lands in phases since 2016. The resumption of the drive in June is seen as a fallout of the Pahalgam attack in April.
Evicted people should not be given shelter: Assam CM Himanta
More than 55,000 people, mostly Bengali Muslims, have been evicted since 2016. The number of those evicted this year is estimated to be 6,000.
At least seven organisations have been conducting house-to-house searches in the Sivasagar district to verify the documents of people working as labourers and staying on rent. A leader of one of these organisations, called Bir Lachit Sena, said they made at least a dozen people with “suspect nationality” go back to where they came from.
The All Tai Ahom Students’ Union undertook a similar exercise in the Tinsukia district further east. Reports quoting the union’s president, Milan Buragohain, said members of his organisation intercepted 16 “Miyas” near a bus stand in Tinsukia town on August 5. These persons were on their way to Arunachal Pradesh to work as masons and construction labourers, but were made to return home to western Assam’s Barpeta, Dhubri, and South Salmara-Mankachar districts.
The union also said it issued a month’s notice to some 50 families of “illegal immigrants” to leave an area near the district’s coal-rich Margherita town.
The ‘Miya Kheda Andolan’ (movement to eject Bengali-speaking Muslims) has made the indigenous or Assamese Muslims uneasy. “Certain groups are trying to whip up communal tension by accusing us of sheltering the Miyas. Our people have rented out their houses to Indian citizens, people living in Assam before March 24, 1971,” Monirul Islam Bora, a Sivasagar resident, told journalists.
Clerical errors in documents “fatal” for citizenship in Assam: Study
“We are not against the drive to evict encroachers from government and satra (Vaishnav monastery) lands. We want to know if the district authorities have permitted these organisations to check the documents of people in the name of ejecting the Miya people,” he said.
Officials in the eastern Assam districts said they have been verifying complaints of harassment of certain categories of people.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/assam/miya-muslims-asked-to-vacate-parts-of-eastern-assam/article69900961.ece
-----
Egypt Warns US And Israel Against 'Full Occupation Of Gaza'
05 August, 2025
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has stated repeatedly that Egypt won't allow the forced displacement of Gaza's population [Getty]
-----------
The Egyptian government has warned the US and Israel against plans to fully occupy the Gaza Strip, Egyptian sources told The New Arab's Arabic-language edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on Tuesday.
The message came via "direct diplomatic channels" and emphasised Cairo's total rejection of any large-scale military operations or full ground invasion of Gaza, as reports emerge that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been convinced to seize Gaza.
It warns that such a move would pose a serious threat to Egyptian national security and could jeopardise the 1979 Camp David peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.
The sources stated that Cairo would view any major Israeli military operation as an attempt to impose a new status quo in Gaza, and such a move "wouldn't go unanswered by a firm Egyptian diplomatic response, potentially followed by reviews at multiple levels, including bilateral agreements with Tel Aviv".
Egypt, which shares a land border with the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing, fears that a wide-scale military operation could lead to thousands of Palestinians being displaced and pushed toward its territory.
Israeli and Western reports have suggested plans are underway for the forced expulsion of Gaza's population; something Cairo considers a red line.
Former Egyptian Ambassador Masoum Marzouk told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the current situation "is akin to a fire approaching a powderkeg".
He warned that every day of stasis "reduces the range of options available, and further emboldens the enemy to proceed with its aggressive plans".
Countries that recognize - or plan to recognize - a Palestinian State
Most countries in Asia, Africa and South America recognize a Palestinian state. The number of Western countries that recognize Palestinian statehood has increased since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Marzouk added that "despite the narrowing window of opportunity, there is still an urgent need for immediate, pre-emptive action, which may be the last chance for us to avoid an impending regional catastrophe".
Ambassador Rakha Ahmed Hassan, former Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Egypt categorically rejects any form of Israeli occupation, whether in Gaza, the West Bank, southern Lebanon, or southern Syria.
He stressed that the occupation of any territory constitutes "a blatant aggression against the rights of peoples and an unacceptable violation of international law and the right to self-determination, which is guaranteed by international charters for all nations".
Observers believe that Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to occupy Gaza would, if implemented, entail a full-scale military campaign against densely populated areas in southern Gaza, where over a million Palestinians have taken refuge since the war began.
They warn that "eliminating Hamas" via military means alone would inevitably impact civilians and result in insupportable mass displacement or a worsening of the genocide in Gaza.
In the event of a major wave of displacement, the closest destination for those fleeing the bombardment would be the Egyptian border, which would present Cairo with an extremely sensitive geopolitical and humanitarian situation, directly linked to its national security, demographic composition, and regional commitments.
Cairo fears that any large-scale military operation in the Rafah and Khan Younis areas would push residents there toward the Rafah crossing, particularly with no mechanisms in place to support such a forced population transfer with the number of people starving to death increasing by the day.
https://www.newarab.com/news/exclusive-egypt-warns-us-israel-against-full-gaza-occupation
-----
Saudi Arabia Urges Global Recognition Of Palestinian State In UN-Backed Framework
August 05, 2025
Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman chaired the cabinet on Tuesday in NEOM.
-----------
NEOM — Saudi Arabia has renewed its call for the international community to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stressing that the wave of recognition of Palestine by several countries marks growing momentum toward a just and comprehensive resolution.
The call came during a Cabinet session chaired by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday in NEOM.
The meeting reviewed the outcomes of the recent high-level international conference on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue, which Saudi Arabia co-hosted with France.
The conference concluded with a final document urging UN member states to endorse it as a viable implementation framework.
The Cabinet also reiterated Saudi Arabia’s continued humanitarian support to the Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza, through its ongoing air and sea aid bridges, including relief and medical supplies.
Saudi ministers condemned repeated provocations by Israeli occupation officials at Al-Aqsa Mosque and called on the international community to halt violations that contravene international law.
On the economic front, the Cabinet highlighted a 3.9% year-on-year increase in Saudi Arabia’s real GDP in Q2 2025, driven by non-oil sector growth.
The IMF’s Article IV consultation report confirmed Saudi Arabia’s strong fiscal position and its ability to navigate global economic challenges.
In industrial development, the Cabinet welcomed the launch of new projects in the Eastern Province as part of a broader drive to boost local content and global competitiveness in the Saudi industrial sector.
The Cabinet also praised the World Health Organization’s designation of Jeddah and Madinah as healthy cities with populations exceeding one million, bringing the total number of certified healthy cities in the Kingdom to 16.
On the environmental front, the government reviewed progress on the Saudi Green Initiative, reporting the rehabilitation of over 500,000 hectares of degraded land and the planting of 151 million trees as part of the national campaign to combat desertification and restore vegetation.
Several agreements and memorandums of understanding were approved with countries including Mongolia, China, New Zealand, Kuwait, Pakistan, Oman, and Thailand, covering areas such as mining, healthcare, customs, vocational training, competition regulation, and non-oil exports.
The Cabinet approved the 2025–2028 GCC strategy to combat narcotics, endorsed a two-semester school year for public education, and adopted the use of national address-based numbering for street and building identification.
The meeting also included structural amendments to the National Center of Meteorology.
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/653945/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudi-Cabinet-backs-Palestinian-state-recognition-reviews-key-economic-health-and-education-reforms
-----
Ukraine’s Top Spy Admits To Employing Prostitutes
6 Aug, 2025
FILE PHOTO. © Getty Images / Hauke-Christian Dittrich/picture alliance
----------
Kiev employs prostitutes to gather information, Kirill Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR), has said.
In an interview with Ukrainian journalist Ramina Eshakzai published on Tuesday, he was asked if Kiev uses prostitutes to gather information – a practice which the reporter said is common in British intelligence.
”A normal method, isn’t it? Do you know how often men share stories to show how powerful they are, as they say?” Budanov said.
Ukrainian intelligence has been able to receive “several unique pieces of information” from men in relaxed circumstances, he added. “It’s just about things that we couldn’t have found out about at all, in principle.”
According to Budanov, “a very high percentage” of personnel serving in the HUR are now women.
Ukrainian plot to assassinate Russian defense industry leader derailed – FSBREAD MORE: Ukrainian plot to assassinate Russian defense industry leader derailed – FSB
Ukrainian spies commonly use “entrepreneurial activity, journalism, and sociology” as cover jobs while on assignment, while some work under “full cover,” living double lives in Russia, he said.
Ukraine has increasingly turned to assassination and sabotage in Russia as its forces have been beaten back on the battlefield.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has warned that Ukrainian intelligence has increased recruitment efforts within Russia to carry out assassination and sabotage plots. The FSB regularly reports that it has thwarted these types of activities.
Moscow has said Ukraine is morphing into a “terrorist” organization, accusing Kiev of carrying out killings of Russian officers, journalists, and other key figures.
https://www.rt.com/russia/622540-ukraine-spy-employing-prostitutes/
-----
Africa
Sudan Accuses UAE Of Deploying Mercenaries
August 6, 2025
Sudan has accused the United Arab Emirates of sending Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces against the military in the country's civil war.
The foreign ministry said in a statement Monday that the Sudanese government has “irrefutable evidence” confirming mercenaries from Colombia and some neighboring African countries were sponsored and financed by Emirati authorities. The statement failed to provide evidence or identify the neighboring countries.
“This unprecedented phenomenon poses a serious threat to peace and security in the region and across the continent,” the foreign ministry said, asserting that hundreds of thousands of mercenaries were hired from across the African continent.
In an emailed statement to The Associated Press, the UAE's foreign affairs ministry said the government “categorically rejects” the allegations and denied involvement in the war by backing armed groups.
“The UAE emphasizes that these claims are merely attempts to derail the peace process and evade the moral, legal, and humanitarian obligations to end the conflict and pave the way for a transitional process that reflects the aspirations of the Sudanese people for security, stability and development,” the statement by the ministry's media office added.
There was no immediate response from Colombia.
The civil war in Sudan erupted in April 2023 in Khartoum before spreading across the country following simmering tensions between the RSF and the army. The fighting has killed over 40,000 people, displaced as many as 12 million and pushed many to the brink of famine.
Sudan has long accused the UAE of being involved in the war by supplying the RSF with weapons, but the Gulf country has denied that claim.
In November, an Amnesty International report said the Sudanese military had captured armored vehicles manufactured by the UAE and equipped with French defense systems. A spokesperson for the Emirati government said at the time that the UAE was the “target of a coordinated disinformation campaign aimed at undermining our foreign policy, regional role and humanitarian efforts.”
Sudan's army and the RSF both have been accused of committing atrocities like ethnic cleansing, extrajudicial killings and sexual violence against civilians, including children.
https://www.africanews.com/2025/08/06/sudan-accuses-uae-of-deploying-mercenaries/
-----
CAR Government And UN Launch Disarmament Of Former Fighters
August 6, 2025
The government of the Central African Republic, alongside the UN peace unit, the MINUSCA, began disarmament and demobilization operations of former fighters.
The targeted groups were the Unity for Peace in Central Africa (UPC) and Return, Claim, Rehabilitation (3R), the Execution Unit of the National Disarmament, Demobilization, Reinsertion, and Repatriation Program (UEPNDDRR).
The two armed groups had been officially dissolved on 10 July in Bangui. The disarmament took place at Maloum village, located 55 kilometres from Bambari.
The former fighters went through several key stages of the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reinsertion process, including the handing over of weapons, medical examinations, psycho-social support, identification, and remuneration.
The village of Maloum, located 55 kilometres from Bambari, served as the setting for the disarmament of the fighters. The former fighters went through several key stages of the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reinsertion process, including the handing over of weapons, medical examinations, psycho-social support, identification, and remuneration.
This process is part of a broader program for disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, and repatriation (DDRR) aimed at strengthening security and sustainably stabilizing the country.
The ongoing process is part of the revitalization of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in the Central African Republic (APPR-RCA). Its goal is to address post-conflict security issues and to consolidate initiatives aimed at achieving lasting peace in the Central African Republic.
Only former combatants who meet the eligibility criteria will be integrated into the Defence and Security Forces of the Central African Republic or reintegrated into socio-economic activities. Those who are not eligible will benefit from the community violence reduction program, which offers vocational training opportunities and income-generating activities.
The disarmament operations carried out in Maloum have allowed for the removal from former UPC combatants of a significant arsenal, including hundreds of war weapons such as PKM machine guns and RPG-7 rocket launchers, as well as ammunition of various calibres.
These former combatants came from several localities, including Bria, Alindao, Pombolo, Ebando, Nzako, Goya, Bambari, and other gathering sites across the CAR.
All weapons collected by the mobile team of the UEPNDDRR have been transferred, stored, and secured in the facilities of MINUSCA. They will then be escorted to Bangui, where they will be officially handed over to the Central African government, by the procedures established under the peace agreement.
https://www.africanews.com/2025/08/06/car-government-and-un-launch-disarmament-of-former-fighters/
...
Nigerian Man Extradited To U.S. Over $3M Fraud Schemes
August 6, 2025
A Nigerian man, Chukwuemeka Victor Amachukwu, 39, has been extradited from France to the U.S. to face charges of hacking, wire fraud, and identity theft, the Justice Department announced.
Amachukwu and his Nigeria-based co-conspirators allegedly hacked U.S. tax firms, stole personal data, and filed fake tax returns scamming the IRS out of at least $2.5 million. He’s also accused of running an investment scam and fraudulently obtaining $819,000 from the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program.
He was arrested in France and brought to New York, where he now faces multiple federal charges and potentially decades in prison.
https://www.africanews.com/2025/08/06/nigerian-man-extradited-to-us-over-3m-fraud-schemes/
-----
Nigerian Politicians Have Turned Politics Into Business, Ordinary Citizens Are Just Pawns: Mahdi Shehu
August 6, 2025
Renowned public affairs analyst, Mahdi Shehu, has raised alarm over the deteriorating state of Nigeria’s political landscape, declaring that the nation’s politics has been reduced to a profit-driven enterprise.
Speaking in a press interview on Tuesday, Shehu expressed deep concern that the current political structure offers little to no hope for genuine democratic progress.
Shehu questioned the ideological foundation of Nigeria’s political system, arguing that political parties have become mere labels, lacking any real distinction in values or policies.
“There is only one party in Nigeria. And it’s always the ruling party,” he said.
“Once elections are over, politicians simply defect to the ruling party. We saw this when the PDP lost and many of its members moved to the APC.”
He stressed that most political actors in the country operate with the same mindset and personal interests, regardless of party affiliation.
“These politicians are the same, same background, same mindset. The ordinary citizens are just pawns,” he added.
Shehu encouraged Nigerians not to give in to political apathy, stating that doing so will only haunt them afterwards.
“Go out and vote, do your part and leave the rest to God. But if you refuse to vote and later start blaming the leaders, it will only come back to haunt you,” he advised.
The activist warned against the illusion of choice in a political structure he believes is dominated by personal gain rather than public service.
His remarks come amid growing dissatisfaction among Nigerians over governance, rising defections, and lack of ideological clarity within major political parties.
-----
We Will Not Hand Over The Country To Men Whose Wives Are Taking Care Of Them – Hassan Slams Amaechi
August 6, 2025
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alwan Hassan, has described former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, as a man controlled by his wife.
He argued that Nigeria cannot be handed over to a man being fed by his wife.
Naija News reports that Amaechi, during an interview, had described his wife, Judith Amaechi, as the “backbone” of their family.
He said said that his wife’s entrepreneurial spirit long predates his time in public office
The two-term governor of Rivers State was asked to clarify the source of his wealth.
In response, he credited his wife’s industriousness as central to their household’s financial strength.
Reacting during an interview on Channels Television, Hassan pointed out that Amaechi had given himself away by saying that he was not in control of his family but was fed by his wife, insisting that a man who depends on his wife to run his family is not worthy of Nigeria’s number one seat.
Hassan said Nigerians will vote a complete man into office and not men ‘being taken care of by their wives.’
The APC chieftain said, “Is it those ones that are saying their wives are taking care of them? We cannot hand over this country to such people, to men that are being fed by their wives.
“You know that somebody was here and said his wife is an entrepreneur and she’s…we want a man that is a man of his house. We want a man that is in charge of his house. We don’t want a man that a woman is feeding.
“We will not, no, no, we will not hand over a country to a man that is being fed by his wife. A man who is being fed by his wife. That’s what I’m saying.”
-----
India
Kamal Haasan Rajya Sabha MP: Education Is The Only Weapon That Can Break The Chains Of Dictatorship And Sanatana; Comment Lands Him In Trouble
By Neeshita Nyayapati
Aug 06, 2025
Kamal Haasan recently made a comment on Sanatana at the event held to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Suriya's charitable foundation Agaram.
Actor-politician Kamal Haasan recently attended the 15th anniversary celebration of Suriya’s charity, Agaram Foundation, in Chennai. His comments there on education countering Sanatana have not gone down well with the State Secretary of the BJP in Tamil Nadu, Amar Prasad Reddy, calling for a ban on his films.
Political leader calls for ban on Kamal Haasan films
Amar posted a video on his X (formerly Twitter), calling for a boycott of Kamal’s films both in theatres and on OTT. He captioned the post, “I appeal to every Hindu - Boycott Kamal Haasan’s movies who wants to DESTROY Sanathana Dharma! Let this be a message: Speak against Sanatana Dharma, and face the consequences. Let’s see which actor dares to mock Hindus next.”
In the video, he says, “Vanakkam. Kamal Haasan, a very famous actor in his recent speech, he expressed his opinion that he wants to destroy Sanatana Dharma. Earlier, it was Udhayanidhi Stalin (Deputy CM of TN, actor) and now, Kamal Haasan. I appeal to every Hindu, every Sanatani, to teach a lesson to these kind of people. We should ignore watching Kamal Haasan movies, ignore even on OTT. Once we do this, these kinds of statements which hurts billions of Indians, billions of Hindus will not be shared by such people in public platforms. Jai Hind.”
BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan also condemned Kamal's statement and told ANI, “First, he raised the language issue, dividing people of different states. Now, he is raising the religious issue to divide people on religious sentiments.”
Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) national secretary general Surendra Jain criticised Kamal and told PTI, “Haasan cannot be innocent. He is deliberately working under an agenda to defame Hindu society.”
What did Kamal Haasan say?
Kamal, who is now a Rajya Sabha MP and founder of Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), spoke about the value of education at the event for Agaram Foundation. Stating that only education can grant the power to change situations, he said, “In this war, only education has the power to change the nation. It’s the only weapon that can break the chains of dictatorship and Sanatana. Do not take any other weapon in your hands. You can’t win with any other weapon. Because you will be defeated by majoritarianism; ignorant majoritarians will defeat you.”
Recently, Kamal also faced flak before the release of his recent film Thug Life with Mani Ratnam, for claiming in Karnataka that Kannada was ‘born out of Tamil’. The controversy led to a halt to his film’s release in Karnataka as he refused to apologise. The Supreme Court later revoked the ban.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/tamil-cinema/kamal-haasans-comments-on-sanatana-dharma-land-him-in-trouble-politicians-claim-hes-trying-to-divide-people-101754474796393.html
-----
Shakil And Sunita. The Interfaith Couple. Beaten Up By Mob, Paraded With Heads Shaved In Bihar
PTI
06 Aug 2025
KAITHAR: A married woman and her boyfriend were allegedly beaten up, their heads shaved, faces blackened, garlanded with shoes, and then paraded by a mob in Bihar's Katihar district on Wednesday, police said.
The incident happened in Rahata in the Phalka police station area after the interfaith couple was caught while being intimate, they said.
Shakil (40) and Sunita (32) were rescued by the police, SP Shikhar Choudhary said.
"Both are married with children and have been in a relationship for some time. When the villagers caught them, Shakil's wife ran to the police station seeking help," he said.
"It was alleged that on the direction of the local panchayat, they were beaten up and paraded through the village, with their heads tonsured, faces blackened and garlands of shoes around their neck," he added.
Choudhary said an investigation is underway, and appropriate action will be taken against the guilty.
A purported video of the incident also went viral on social media.
PTI couldn't independently verify the authenticity of the video.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2025/Aug/06/woman-boyfriend-beaten-up-by-mob-paraded-with-heads-shaved-in-bihars-katihar
-----
B.Tech Student From Bihar Arrested For Supplying Illegal Arms Says J&K Police
By Muslim Mirror Network
August 5, 2025
The Jammu and Kashmir Police said that a Btech student who hails from Bihar has been arrested for allegedly supplying arms to gangs in Jammu and Samba districts.
Khair Ahmed who studies at the Central University of Jammu comes from Bihar’s Siwan district and has been arrested as part of an investigation into a February 23 shootout which happened during a wedding in Miran Sahib. Ahmed has been under sections 109(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to Arms Act.
The police have alleged that Ahmed was playing a key role in transportation of illegal weapons from Bihar and selling them to gangsters operating in Kashmir.
According to the police, Ahmed’s name came to light during the interrogation of Balwinder Singh who is a key accused in the February shootout.
The other two accused in the shootout were arrested on the same day of firing. Singh was arrested recently as he was on the run for a long time.
The police said that further investigation is underway.
https://muslimmirror.com/btech-student-from-bihar-arrested-for-supplying-illegal-arms-says-jk-police/
-----
Mideast
Netanyahu set to order full Gaza military occupation despite army opposition
05 August, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly preparing to order a full military occupation of the Gaza Strip, despite strong objections from senior military officials and the families of remaining hostages.
Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and other top generals are firmly opposed to a total takeover, warning that such a move would endanger the lives of captives still held by Hamas, according to Israeli media.
However, Netanyahu is believed to be yielding to pressure from far-right members of his coalition, who have long advocated for annexing Gaza and expelling its 2.2 million residents with Jewish settlements reestablished there.
"The die is cast – we are going for a full occupation of the Gaza Strip," a senior official familiar with the plans told Yedioth Ahronoth daily.
"There will be operations even in areas where hostages are being held. If the chief of staff doesn't agree, he should resign," the official said.
Israel currently controls approximately 75 percent of the Gaza Strip. The proposed plan involves advancing into the remaining areas, including Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, and Al-Mawasi, where the majority of the displaced population is now concentrated.
The Israeli cabinet is expected to discuss the next steps in a meeting later this week. Zamir is reportedly planning to present an alternative strategy focused on encircling Hamas-held areas and using military pressure to force the group into accepting a ceasefire.
Several ministers believe Zamir could resign if Netanyahu proceeds with a full occupation, according to Israel's public broadcaster Kan.
Last month, Netanyahu warned that Israel would move to annexe Gaza if Hamas rejected a US-backed temporary ceasefire proposal. Truce negotiations collapsed last week after Hamas insisted on guarantees for a permanent end to the war, terms Israel has so far refused.
An escalation of the war is likely to deepen divisions between Netanyahu’s far-right coalition and the Israeli security establishment, which is advocating for a ceasefire deal that would secure the release of captives and bring an end to the fighting.
On Sunday, more than 600 retired Israeli military and security officials signed a letter urging US President Donald Trump to pressure Netanyahu into negotiating an end to the war.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Mossad chief David Barnea are also reportedly opposed to a full occupation of Gaza.
Calls to end the war have intensified following the release of a video by Hamas showing two visibly emaciated hostages, which triggered public outrage and renewed appeals from the captives' families and opposition politicians.
Plans for a full occupation were first floated in March and have since been accompanied by repeated Israeli displacement orders, forcing Palestinians into isolated zones in Gaza’s north, centre, and south.
Members of Netanyahu’s government have repeatedly voiced support for expelling Gaza’s population. Last month, Defence Minister Israel Katz announced a plan to confine the entire population inside a massive camp in southern Gaza in an effort to encourage what he called "voluntary" migration.
https://www.newarab.com/news/netanyahu-order-full-gaza-occupation-despite-army-opposition
...
UN warns Israel's expansion of Gaza war risks 'catastrophic consequences'
06 August, 2025
A top UN official warned Tuesday that Israel is risking "catastrophic consequences" in Gaza, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly considered total occupation of the Palestinian territory.
A widening of the war "would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza", Miroslav Jenca, UN assistant secretary-general for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, told a Security Council meeting.
"There is no military solution to the conflict in Gaza or the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Jenca said.
During a visit to an army training facility earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu said: "It is necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, to free all our hostages and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel."
Israeli media reports indicated that the Israeli leader is considering a complete invasion and occupation of Gaza.
Over 22 months, Israeli forces have levelled large parts of the Gaza Strip, blocked aid to the enclave and killed at least 61,000 Palestinians. In recent weeks, pressure has piled on the Israeli leadership to ease its blockade on humanitarian aid.
UN experts and leading rights groups have deemed Israel's actions in Gaza to be genocide.
https://www.newarab.com/news/israels-expansion-gaza-war-risks-catastrophic-outcomes-un
...
Hezbollah chief threatens missile attacks on Israel if war resumes
05 August, 2025
In a defiant address on Tuesday, Hezbollah's leader Naim Qassem warned that the group would resume firing missiles into Israel if Tel Aviv escalates its military operations in Lebanon, stressing that the group would not be disarmed under pressure.
Speaking in a televised address, Qassem warned that no timeline for disarmament proposed under Israeli pressure would be accepted and insisted that Lebanon must not be stripped of its power while Israel retains all its military might.
"We do not accept any new agreement beyond the current one between the Lebanese state and the Israeli entity," Qassem said. "We will not agree to a schedule for giving up our weapons under the shadow of Israeli aggression."
Hezbollah, alongside its ally the Amal Movement, the Lebanese army, and the Lebanese people, will remain on the ground and "emerge victorious", Qassem added.
His remarks came as Lebanon's cabinet met in Beirut to discuss the contentious issue of placing all weapons under state control.
The meeting follows growing US pressure on Lebanon to present a timetable for Hezbollah’s disarmament following the group’s 14-month war with Israel, which ended in November 2024 under a US-brokered ceasefire.
Since then, Hezbollah officials have refused to engage in talks over disarmament unless Israel ends near-daily airstrikes, withdraws from five disputed hills inside Lebanon, and releases Lebanese detainees.
Qassem insisted on Tuesday the group would not agree to surrender its weapons while Israel retains full military superiority.
"We do not accept any new agreement beyond the current one between the Lebanese state and the Israeli entity," Qassem said. "We will not agree to a schedule for giving up our weapons under the shadow of Israeli aggression."
Hezbollah, along with the allied Amal Movement, the Lebanese army, and the people, would remain on the ground and resist any attempt to weaken Lebanon’s defensive capabilities, he added.
The comments came as tension grows over how to interpret the ceasefire agreement. While Hezbollah says it only covers the area south of the Litani River, Israel and Washington argue it applies to Hezbollah's entire military infrastructure across the country.
Qassem accused Israel of breaching the deal and attempting to rewrite it after regretting the concessions it made. The Israeli army itself recently admitted to violating the deal over 500 times.
He also lashed out at US envoy Thomas Barrack, who he said arrived in Beirut with "dictates aimed at stripping Lebanon and Hezbollah of all power", rather than with proposals for peace.
According to Qassem, the US deal delivered to Lebanese authorities calls for the dismantling of drones, mortars, rocket launchers, explosives and other weapons within 30 days, along with 50 percent of Hezbollah’s military infrastructure. Only then would Israel begin partial withdrawals from contested areas.
"This is about disarming the resistance and limiting the Lebanese army’s weapons to a domestic role that poses no threat to Israel," Qassem said.
He also criticised the terms of the deal's enforcement, pointing out that Israel’s violations would only face UN condemnation, while Lebanon would be threatened with suspended military aid and economic sanctions.
Qassem reiterated that Hezbollah's right to resist was enshrined in the Taif Accord and is thus constitutional. Any decision to alter the group’s military role, he argued, would require national consensus, not a cabinet vote.
"There will be no solution without consensus," he said. "Handing over our weapons will not stop the aggression. Israeli officials are saying so themselves."
His speech coincided with a Hezbollah memorial event in Beirut’s southern suburbs for Mohammad Saeed Yazdi, a senior Quds Force commander responsible for the Palestinian file, who was recently killed in an Israeli strike.
Qassem said Lebanon must be built on national unity, prioritising internal needs over foreign dictates, and resisting foreign tutelage, particularly from the United States.
"We want cooperation with the president, prime minister, and speaker," he said. "But no one should pressure us by claiming they are under pressure themselves."
He called on the cabinet to focus on a national defence strategy, not on timelines for disarmament. "The state’s role should be to protect its people, not strip them of their power to appease Israel, America, or some Arab state," he said, in a reference to Saudi Arabia, which has tied financial support for Lebanon to Hezbollah's disarmament.
Qassem also warned against domestic divisions and accused unnamed groups of serving Israeli interests. "The resistance is strong and dignified. Lebanon must remain free, independent, and sovereign," he said. "This battle is for all of Lebanon. Either we all win, or we all lose."
He concluded by calling for the Beirut port explosion investigation to move forward swiftly and without political interference.
https://www.newarab.com/news/hezbollah-threatens-missile-attacks-israel-if-war-resumes
...
Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel
6 Aug 2025
Iran has executed a man accused of spying for Israel, state media reported.
Rouzbeh Vadi allegedly passed on information about a nuclear scientist killed in Israel’s June attacks on the Islamic Republic, the Iranian judiciary’s news outlet Mizan reported.
He was executed on Wednesday and had worked in one of Iran’s “important and sensitive organisations”, Mizan said.
Executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel have significantly increased this year, with at least eight death sentences carried out in recent months.
Israel’s attacks in June involved 12 days of air attacks, including several that targeted Iran’s top generals and nuclear scientists, for which Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles and drones. Iran has since the war pledged swift trials for people arrested on suspicion of collaborating with Israel.
Mizan reported that Vadi had “committed a wide range of crimes against the country’s internal and external security, which have caused severe disruption to public order”.
Vadi was allegedly recruited online and met Mossad – the Israeli intelligence service – officers five times in Vienna, Austria.
Separately, Iran hanged a member of the ISIL (ISIS) group on Wednesday after he was accused of plotting sabotage, Mizan also reported.
Officials accused Mehdi Asgharzadeh of being a member of the group who participated in military training in Syria and Iraq before illegally entering Iran with a four-member team, who were killed in a fight with Iranian security, the news site reported.
Authorities said Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the sentences of lower courts and followed full legal procedures before executing both men, Mizan reported.
-----
Arab World
KSrelief expands humanitarian aid in Yemen, Sudan, and Pakistan
August 06, 2025
The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) continued its humanitarian efforts across some of the world’s most vulnerable regions this week, launching new development and emergency response initiatives in Yemen, Sudan, and Pakistan.
Fighting Cholera in Yemen
KSrelief signed a cooperation agreement on Monday with a civil society partner to implement an urgent cholera response project in Yemen. The program aims to reach more than 1.15 million people, according to SPA.
The agreement outlines the provision of essential medical tools, antibiotics, and intravenous solutions to reduce the number of cholera cases and prevent the disease’s spread. Medical teams will also be deployed at air and land ports to screen travelers and curb cross-border transmission.
Food Security Support in Sudan
Meanwhile, in Khartoum State, Sudan, KSrelief annpounced the recent distribution of 700 food baskets to displaced families, benefiting 7,041 individuals, according to SPA. The aid forms part of the third phase of the 2025 Food Security Support Project, aimed at helping those uprooted by conflict and facing acute food shortages.
Sudan remains in the grip of a deepening humanitarian crisis, as conflict, displacement, and inflation severely limit access to food and basic services.
Emergency Shelter in Yemen’s Hadhramaut
KSrelief also announced the distribution of shelter materials in response to natural disasters in Yemen’s Hadhramaut Governorate. This included the provision of tents and emergency kits to residents of Rumah district affected by floods and strong winds. The assistance reached 120 individuals, according to SPA.
Empowering Families in Pakistan
KSrelief also signed a joint executive program with a civil society organization in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to support economic empowerment for the region’s poorest families.
The project is expected to directly benefit 2,500 families approximately 17,500 individuals and indirectly impact 88,000 people, according to SPA. The program will provide beneficiaries with livestock and poultry, along with hands-on training in animal husbandry, in an attempt to help them reduce reliance on external aid.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2610823/saudi-arabia
...
‘A war of starvation’
6 Aug 2025
The war on Gaza is no longer a war to achieve political goals or release hostages, but rather “a war of starvation, genocide, and the liquidation of the Palestinian cause”, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi said during a press conference with his Vietnamese counterpart Luong Quong at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday.
President Al-Sisi stressed that a systematic genocide is being perpetrated against the Gaza Strip, adding “I previously appealed to the world, European countries, and US President Donald Trump to intervene to stop the war and allow aid into the Strip. Again, I reiterate my appeal to all of them to stop the war.” He added that “history will hold many countries accountable and we hope that the global human conscience will not remain silent for long.”
Al-Sisi described the allegations directed by some that Egypt is participating in the “siege” on and “starvation” of the Palestinians in Gaza as “bankruptcy”.
Egypt has never abandoned its role in bringing humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, and since the war erupted in October 2023 Egypt alone has provided more than 70 per cent of all relief and humanitarian aid to Gazans, he said.
Al-Sisi also stressed that Egypt is always prepared to deliver aid to the people of Gaza, “but we are not prepared to receive Palestinians or help displace them from their land.”
The president pointed out that there are more than 5,000 aid trucks on Egyptian territory ready to enter the Gaza Strip provided by Egypt and other countries, but the fact is that the Israelis control the Palestinian side of the Rafah Crossing.
Trucks flowed into Gaza through the Egyptian-controlled side of the Rafah Crossing this week, carrying essential food, medical supplies, and other relief materials for civilians affected by the ongoing war between the Islamist movement Hamas and Israel.
On Sunday and Monday, a sixth convoy from the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC), including dozens of trucks carrying 107 tons of diesel fuel intended for the operation of vital facilities in the Strip such as hospitals and water-treatment plants, entered Gaza.
According to Al-Qahera News channel, since the outbreak of the armed conflict between Hamas and Israel in October 2023, the ERC has maintained a permanent presence on the border, serving as the country’s main organisation designated to coordinate and direct humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The ERC’s humanitarian aid to help the besieged Palestinians in Gaza, dubbed “Zad Al-Izzah” (Provision of Honour) kicked off on 27 July and has not stopped since then, with trucks heading towards southern Gaza via the Kerem Shalom Crossing with Egypt.
Al-Qahera News sources state that from 27 July until 4 August, the ERC’s convoys have transported more than 5,000 tons of vital humanitarian aid, including food supplies, flour, fresh bread, infant formula, medical equipment, essential medicines, and personal hygiene materials.
In parallel effort, the ERC said its volunteers are producing fresh bread daily at its automated bakery located within the food supply centre known as the “Humanitarian Kitchen” in Sheikh Zuweid in North Sinai.
“This operation is part of the ‘Warm Meal from Egypt for Gaza’ initiative, which aims to provide immediate nutrition amid severe food insecurity across the Strip,” said an ERC statement.
The National Alliance for Civil Development Work also sent its 11th convoy to Gaza this week, including more than 200 aid trucks carrying around 2,000 tons of essential food supplies for Gazans.
North Sinai Governor Khaled Megawer stressed that the Rafah Crossing will remain open on the Egyptian side throughout the conflict and that the ERC will continue to operate its logistical hubs around the clock to facilitate the entry of approximately 35,000 aid trucks carrying nearly 500,000 tons of food, medical, and relief supplies packaged through the efforts of more than 35,000 dedicated volunteers.
Army Spokesman Gharib Abdel-Hafez said on Sunday that nine military planes have carried out airdrops of humanitarian aid over the Gaza Strip. “These come upon the directives of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and aim to send tons of food aid to areas in the Gaza Strip that are difficult to reach by land and that suffer from dire living conditions,” Abdel-Hafez said.
Megawer said the Egyptian military’s airdrop operations “complement Egypt’s ongoing land-based aid deliveries, which continue despite significant logistical and security challenges.”
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has commended Egypt for coordinating relief operations with international and UN agencies active in Gaza, as well as preparing for the upcoming international conference on Gaza’s reconstruction.
It expressed its full solidarity with Egypt in standing up to malicious media campaigns launched by Hamas and the banned Muslim Brotherhood group.
Rawhi Fattouh, chairman of the Palestinian National Council, criticised a speech delivered by Hamas leader in exile Khalil Al-Hayya on 27 July as an attempt to export the group’s internal crisis to neighbouring countries, particularly Egypt and Jordan.
Fattouh said Egypt and Jordan have been steadfast in their support for the Palestinians in Gaza and against the Israeli displacement plans.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty criticised the campaign waged against Egypt, which reflects misleading objectives aimed at diverting attention away from and easing pressure on Israel, which is responsible for the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. It is promoting lies and gross fallacies accusing Egypt of negligence in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, he said.
Abdelatty said Egyptian Intelligence is making efforts around the clock regarding the situation in Gaza and is communicating with various security agencies to quickly reach an agreement that could end the war and release the hostages.
The foreign minister also opened fire on the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, accusing it of orchestrating a number of “malicious” protests against Egyptian embassies and diplomatic missions around the world under the pretext of demanding that Cairo open the Rafah Crossing with the Gaza Strip.
Abdelatty told Al-Arabiya news channel that those who demonstrated in front of the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv “are affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and serve Israel by these actions. Instead of demonstrating against those who block aid, commit crimes against Palestinians, and practise starvation, they are demonstrating against Egypt, which supports the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights.”
MP Al-Sayed Shamseddin, a member of parliament’s National Security Committee, told Al-Ahram Weekly that President Al-Sisi’s comments reflect public anger over the protests in front of the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv.
“It is no secret that over the past few days Cairo has found itself in an increasingly uncomfortable position, caught in the crosshairs of a media and political campaign suggesting that it is responsible for Gaza’s suffering by allegedly closing Rafah and blocking aid. But Egypt led by President Al-Sisi maintains that it is Israel, not Cairo, that is preventing the flow of assistance and reiterates its refusal to be dragged into marginal conflicts that do not serve its national interests,” Shamseddin said.
Prominent political analyst Abdel-Moneim Said believes that Chief of the Hamas Political Bureau Khalil Al-Hayya’s speech on 27 July echoes the Muslim Brotherhood’s antagonistic rhetoric towards the Egyptian state.
“Al-Hayya’s remarks were in line with a broader Muslim Brotherhood strategy targeting Egypt,” Said said, adding that “the international Brotherhood organisation thought that the current conflict could give it a historic opportunity to demonise the Egyptian government and provoke unrest in Egypt.”
However, President Al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Abdelatty are choosing diplomacy and preferring to respond to Al-Hayya and the Brotherhood’s incendiary language using balanced language, he said, adding that in his speech on 28 July President Al-Sisi reaffirmed that the Palestinian issue remains a core concern for Egyptian national security and that despite the malicious campaigns Egypt will continue delivering aid to the Palestinians while exerting greater efforts to end the war.
“This is the difference between the ideology of a state and that of a faction,” Said said.
...
The plot against Egypt
By Ahmed Mustafa
6 Aug 2025
Protests by the Muslim Brotherhood and their affiliates outside Egyptian embassies in Israel and around the world are not helping Gaza or the Palestinians.
Over the last two weeks, a concerted campaign by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and its affiliates led meagre protests outside Egyptian embassies in Tel Aviv and other capitals. They claimed to be demonstrating in support of Gaza against the Israeli massacres and constant strangulation of Palestinians. But their slogans clearly targeted Egypt, with some calling for the ousting of its government, falsely accusing it of participating in the siege on the Gaza Strip.
According to an analysis by MEMRI, an American media monitoring organisation, the main instigator of this anti-Egypt campaign is the MB and “the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), sponsored and funded by Qatar and Turkey, which are also the patrons of the MB, Hamas’ parent organisation. The leaders of the IUMS have long been inciting against Egypt.”
The protests, especially the one in Tel Aviv, drew strong condemnations not only from Egypt but from all over the world and from Palestinians. Palestinian literary figure Anwar Hamed posted on social media expressing the mood among many criticising that campaign and stressing the fact that targeting Egypt does not aid Gaza. He said of those protests: “You shamed us, may God shame you! Nobody accepts your position... protest venues are there everywhere from Haifa to Tel Aviv, why in front of Egyptian Embassy? The Palestinians’ struggle is with the occupation and the protests against killing Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank should target Israel! I’m sure those who demonstrated in front of the Egyptian Embassy never participated in any protest for Gaza against Israel.”
Egypt has maintained a position in support of ending the war on Gaza and allowing aid into the Strip, but the Israeli occupation — supported by the US — is continuing its strangulation of the almost two million Palestinians in the Strip bordering Egypt.
Israel, the US, and their allies were not content with Egypt’s firm opposition to evacuating Palestinians from their homeland in Gaza. Egypt strongly resisted the Israeli campaign to drive Palestinians across the border into Egypt as part of a so-called Final Solution. American President Donald Trump temporarily abandoned his call for the transfer of Gazans to establish what he called a “Middle East Riviera” on the shores of the Strip.
From day one of the latest war on Gaza almost two years ago, Egypt has been actively seeking an end to the war, working with mediators like Qatar and the US to stop the carnage. The Rafah Crossing between the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip is closed by the Israeli army at the Palestinian side, and any movement of aid trucks through the crossing must be allowed by the occupation forces. Meanwhile, Egypt has sometimes been able to use another crossing, Karm Abu Salem, to send aid convoys into Gaza.
Many analysts and commentators note that the campaign by the MB and its affiliates is using the false accusation that Egypt is complicit in the Gaza siege by closing the Rafah Crossing.
MB, IUMS, and their affiliates have been trying to exploit the war on Gaza to destabilise Egypt, but their latest plot backfired, exposing their sinister intentions. In fact, their efforts strengthened the popularity of the Egyptian government even among the opposition. Many took to social media to denounce the MB and its affiliates and endorse Egypt’s official position of seeking to end the war and suffering of Palestinians while standing against the transfer of Gazans that would eventually dissolve the Palestinian cause.
The National Dialogue of Egypt, comprising representatives of all political currents in the country, met on Thursday to condemn the protests. It issued a strong statement accusing the protesters of collaboration with the Israeli occupation. It stated that the occupation authorities’ issuing of a permit for this protest reasserts the position it shares with the “Islamic Movement in Israel”, namely the continued attempt to smear Egypt’s decisive positions in support of the Palestinian people and their just cause and another failed attempt to destabilise the Egyptian state. “The Board of Trustees of the National Dialogue strongly denounces this act that can only be described as what it proves itself to be: ‘serving the purpose of the occupation, selling out the blood and souls of brothers, and seeking narrow interests, while taking no action for the liberation of their homeland,’” it added.
In fact, the Palestinian MB within the “Green Line” didn’t take part in any demonstrations against the occupation and the war in Gaza over the past two years. Other Palestinians inside Israel have been demonstrating in Arab cities and arrested by Israeli police, but MB members were never part of this.
The political wing of the MB, led by Knesset MP Abbas Mansour, which has four MPs in the Israeli parliament, never voted against any decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war on Gaza. That led many observers to question the slogans that MB groups and affiliates raise in Palestine and elsewhere. Some have even noted that the MB is serving the Israeli propaganda machine by blaming others for atrocities the occupation commits.
It is not particularly surprising that the MB and its terrorist offshoots ally with Israel and the US in their quest for power in the Middle East, as one British commentator told Al-Ahram Weekly. He even suggested that Palestinian Islamists might envy Druze and other minorities that Israel exploits to achieve opportunistic goals. “Many in the region think that allying with Israel would guarantee American support for them. The Israelis capitulate on that in using Kurds, Druze, and others to advance their interests and expand their influence. Islamic groups see that and think that if they managed to get Israeli support, the US would enable them to take power,” he added.
The main casualty in the MB campaign against Egypt is the Palestinian cause itself. Other than deflecting attention from the Israeli aggressors, the backlash from Egyptians and others in the region who historically support Palestinians might dent that support.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 7 August, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/550792.aspx
...
Egypt lobbies for peace in Gaza
Doaa El-Bey , Wednesday 6 Aug 2025
Resolving the Gaza crisis is linked to regional stability, as Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty underscored in his recent visit to the US.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty returned this week from the US where he held meetings with US and international officials about the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip and the use of starvation as a weapon against the Palestinians.
Abdelatty emphasised that the implementation of the two-state solution is key to resolving the Gaza crisis and to regional stability.
In Washington, Abdelatty held a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which they discussed the pressing issue of peace and security in the Middle East. The meeting, described as “productive” by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, also addressed enhancing bilateral ties and confronting key regional issues.
Abdelatty highlighted the necessity of implementing a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and drawing up a political roadmap to achieve a just and durable resolution to the Palestinian issue. He said that any political settlement should take the form of an independent Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders.
In his address to the UN High-Level International Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, which took place 28-30 July, Abdelatty called for a clear political horizon based on the full implementation of the two-state solution.
He called on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories and halt all unilateral actions, including settlement expansion, in line with key UN Security Council resolutions.
He reiterated Egypt’s firm opposition to the forced displacement of people from Gaza and to any Israeli moves to impose sovereignty over the West Bank.
The conference issued a statement saying that “war, occupation, and displacement cannot achieve peace… the two-state solution is the way to meet the aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians.”
It emphasised the importance of recognising the state of Palestine and granting it full membership in the United Nations.
Tarek Fahmi, a political science professor at Cairo University, said the conference is expected to reap fruit during the September session of the UN General Assembly, during which future policies will be drawn up in the light of the French and other countries’ recognition of the state of Palestine.
That is in addition to the UK, which said it would recognise Palestine if no ceasefire is reached.
The conference is an expression of the genuine concern of the attendees to resolve the Palestinian issue, Fahmi said, adding that it promoted the two-state solution as the way to resolve the Palestinian issue according to UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and the principle of land for peace.
Karim Al-Kadi, a senior researcher at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, agreed that the conference promoted the principle of the two-state solution, but lamented that the main players, the US and Israel, were not present.
Nonetheless, he added, the conference showed that there are many other parties in Europe and the world who support that principle.
The conference, co-organised by France and Saudi Arabia, was held last week in New York.
Former deputy to Egypt’s foreign minister Mohamed Hegazi said that the conference had aimed to draw up a roadmap for the two-state solution.
Abdelatty’s participation underlined Egypt’s willingness to resolve the Palestinian issue and to ease the suffering of the people in Gaza by exerting every effort to transfer aid to the Gaza Strip, he told Al-Ahram Weekly.
In their meeting, Abdelatty and Rubio also tackled the transition to civilian governance in Sudan.
Egypt currently hosts some 1.5 million Sudanese refugees who fled their country to escape the civil war that erupted in Sudan in April 2023. The refugees are putting pressure on the already struggling economy in Egypt.
The two men also discussed Egypt’s water security in their meeting.
Holding regular meetings with US officials is a necessity given the strategic relations that bind both states, Al-Kadi explained. “Continuous diplomatic dialogue between Cairo and Washington is required now more than at any other time given the situation in Gaza and the disruption and instability in the region,” he said.
Keeping dialogue open and trying to find a solution to an issue that is as important as Egypt’s water security is a must, he added.
During his visit to Washington, Abdelatty also held a series of meetings with senior US senators. During these meetings, he outlined Egypt’s pivotal regional role in promoting security and peace, as well as its ongoing mediation efforts, in coordination with Qatar and the US, to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
He stressed the urgent need for a permanent ceasefire, particularly given the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
He reaffirmed Egypt’s unwavering commitment to supporting the peace process and achieving a just and comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian issue based on the two-state solution and international legitimacy.
On the bilateral level, Abdelatty highlighted the strong cooperation in political, military, and economic fields between Egypt and the US and emphasised that this collaboration serves the mutual interests of both countries and contributes to security and stability in the region.
The meetings, Fahmi explained, reflected the fact that any approach towards the US administration is at present primarily linked with Gaza.
“The meetings reemphasise the size and importance of bilateral political and strategic relations in addition to the fact that Washington is keen to give Egypt a major role in the Gaza file. Any settlement in Gaza will not be achieved without security arrangements with Egypt,” he said.
The water security issue was also discussed during Abdelatty’s meeting with Senator Lindsey Graham, during which he expressed concerns regarding Egypt’s water security, emphasising “the rejection of unilateral measures that violate international law.”
He also asserted that Cairo would take all necessary measures, within the framework of international law, to protect its water security.
This was in reference to Ethiopia’s recent completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Egypt has long been in dispute with Ethiopia regarding the signing of a legally binding agreement on the filling and future operation of the dam.
US President Donald Trump has recently offered to intervene in the dispute in order to “quickly resolve” the issue. However, Egypt said that it is waiting for words to be reflected in deeds.
https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/550789.aspx
...
20 Palestinians killed by overturned aid truck: Gaza's civil defence
6 Aug 2025
Gaza's civil defence agency said Wednesday that 20 people were killed when an aid truck overturned on a crowd of aid seekers in the central Gaza Strip.
"Twenty people were killed and dozens injured around midnight last night in a truck carrying aid overturned... while hundreds of civilians were waiting for aid," the agency's spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
The incident took place near the Nuseirat refugee camp, as the truck was driving on an unsafe road that Israel had previously bombed, Bassal added.
Gaza Government Media Office accused Israel of forcing truck drivers to take dangerous routes to reach aid distribution centres, and to intentionally engineer starvation and chaos.
Israel "forces drivers to navigate routes overcrowded with starving civilians who have been waiting for weeks for the most basic necessities,"the office said in a statement.
"This often results in desperate crowds swarming the trucks," it added.
On Tuesday, Israeli forces killed 81 Palestinians across Gaza, among them 57 starving civilians who had gathered at aid distribution points in desperate search for food.
Driven by hunger, thousands of Palestinians continue to flock daily to a US and Isreali-backed aid centers, where they face the constant threat of being killed, wounded, or disappearing without a trace.
According to both local and international reports, Israel’s siege and ongoing genocide in Gaza have pushed starvation to unprecedented levels.
The number of deaths from hunger and malnutrition and continues to rise, reaching at least 189—including 95 children—according to medical sources in the besieged Strip.
Since October 2023, the Israeli military has waged a genocidal war on the population of Gaza. Over 61,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 150,000 injured, while nearly the entire population has been forcibly displaced. The destruction, according to Palestinian and international reports, is unlike anything witnessed since World War II.
https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/550809.aspx
...
Egypt sends 9th aid convoy to Gaza despite Israeli delaying tactics
6 Aug 2025
The ninth Egyptian aid convoy crossed the Rafah crossing toward the Karm Abu Salem crossing and heading into Gaza with tens of trucks carrying essential food supplies and personal care products for starved Palestinians.
The convoy is part of the emergency Egyptian response to stem famine conditions unfolding in Gaza over the past several weeks amid the Israeli genocidal war and war of starvation on the strip.
The five-month-old complete Israeli blockade on the entry of food, water, and medicine to Gaza has driven most of the 2.3 million population in the strip into famine. The blockade has starved at least 200 Palestinians, including tens of children, to death.
Since 27 July, the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) has managed to deliver 20,000 tons of aid supplies to Gaza under the Zad El-Ezza: From Egypt to Gaza humanitarian initiative to save starving Palestinians.
However, Israel has continued to delay the entry of aid trucks into Gaza at the Karm Abu Salem crossing as Israeli soldiers inspected trucks for hours at a time.
These Israeli delaying tactics have limited the number of aid trucks entering the strip to 100 per day, according to media reports, while international aid groups say that a minimum of 600-800 trucks are needed per day to stem starvation.
On Tuesday, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi described the war in Gaza as “a war of starvation, genocide, and an attempt to eliminate the Palestinian cause,” calling for an immediate ceasefire and the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid.
The Egyptian president also rejected the accusations directed against Egypt, claiming it was contributing to the blockade of aid.
“Before the war, 600–700 trucks of food and basic necessities used to enter Gaza daily to support 2.3 million Palestinians. Imagine reducing that number to zero over the past 21 months. The current situation in Gaza stems from the Israeli blockade, not from Egypt abandoning its role or participating in the siege,” he said.
He added that over 5,000 aid trucks are still waiting on Egyptian soil, ready to move into Gaza.
During a press conference with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong in Cairo on Tuesday, El-Sisi condemned the international community's silence while “the lives of the Palestinian people in Gaza — and possibly also in the West Bank — are now being used as political bargaining card.”
On Tuesday, Egypt's eighth aid convoy departed for Gaza carrying flour and dairy products. The convoy also included 33 Emirati aid trucks, carrying 892 tons of food, according to Sky News Arabia.
On Sunday, nine Egyptian military transport planes dropped food aid over remote areas of Gaza inaccessible by land.
https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/550807.aspx
...
Israel hits UN clinic, kills 23 Palestinians across Gaza since dawn
By Edna Mohamed and Nils Adler
6 Aug 2025
Israeli forces have killed at least 23 Palestinians across Gaza since dawn, with one of the attacks targeting a United Nations clinic sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, according to our team on the ground.
UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told the UN Security Council that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reported push to occupy Gaza fully is “deeply alarming”. European Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera also described the plan as an “unacceptable provocation”.
United States President Donald Trump said it is “pretty much up to Israel” to decide if it proceeds.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 61,020 people and wounded 150,671. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.
...
At least 20 Palestinians killed after aid truck overturns in central Gaza
Vehicle overturned after Israeli forces directed it down an ‘unsafe road’, local officials tell WAFA news agency.
6 Aug 2025
At least 20 Palestinians have been killed and many injured after a truck carrying humanitarian aid overturned onto a crowd of people in central Gaza, according to the Government Media Office in the enclave.
The incident occurred on Wednesday as large numbers of Palestinians gathered in central Gaza in search of food and basic supplies, amid an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis.
Local officials quoted by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said the vehicle overturned after Israeli forces directed it down what they described as an “unsafe road”.
Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that 20 people were killed and dozens were wounded in the incident while hundreds of civilians were waiting for aid, the AFP news agency reported.
“Despite the recent limited allowance of a few aid trucks, the occupation deliberately obstructs the safe passage and distribution of this aid,” the Gaza Government Media Office said in a statement.
“It forces drivers to navigate routes overcrowded with starving civilians who have been waiting for weeks for the most basic necessities. This often results in desperate crowds swarming the trucks and forcibly seizing their contents.”
The incident comes as humanitarian organisations warn of famine and disease spreading across the enclave, while deaths from starvation and malnutrition continue to rise.
At least three people died from malnutrition on Wednesday, medical sources told Al Jazeera. A source at al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza confirmed that Hiba Yasser Abu Naji, a child, died from malnutrition. An infant also died from malnutrition, according to the source. An adult from Jabalia was also reported to have died as a result of malnutrition.
On Monday, the Israeli military permitted 95 aid trucks to enter Gaza – a figure far below the 600 trucks a day needed to meet basic requirements, according to UNRWA. The current daily average is 85 trucks.
Meanwhile, Palestinians approaching aid distribution sites run by the notorious GHF have frequently come under Israeli fire since the organisation launched operations in late May. Such shootings have become near-daily occurrences near its sites in central and southern Gaza.
Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for OCHA, said that while some aid was entering the enclave, “there should be hundreds and hundreds of trucks entering Gaza every day for months or years to come.
“People are dying every day. This is a crisis on the brink of famine,” he said, adding that tonnes of life-saving aid remain stuck at border crossings due to bureaucratic delays and a lack of safe access.
Elsewhere in Gaza, several Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across the enclave.
Al-Awda Hospital reported that five people – including a woman and two children – were killed, and others wounded, in an Israeli raid on a house north of the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Four more people were killed in an Israeli raid on two homes in the Shujayea neighbourhood of Gaza City.
...
Hezbollah’s Qassem Warns against Foreign Intervention, Internal ‘Betrayal’ amidst Government Talks
August 5, 2025
Sheikh Naim Qassem, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, delivered a forceful televised address today, warning against what he described as foreign intervention and internal collaboration that threaten Lebanon’s stability.
In his speech, Qassem asserted that the nation’s future hinges on its ability to confront both external pressure and internal division.
Qassem issued a stern warning to Lebanese factions, stating that “if some prioritize personal interests that intersect with Israeli interests, they will be responsible for any harm that befalls Lebanon.”
He framed the current period as a “dangerous stage in the history of Lebanon’s independence,” vowing to confront what he called “foreign guardianship, American-Arab overreach, and internal bullying.”
He declared that Lebanon’s strength lies in the “triple helix of the army, the people, and the resistance,” and in national unity.
He emphasized that “Lebanon will be stabilized by all of its sons, not by one party at the expense of another.”
Qassem appealed for a unified national front, asserting that the current conflict is one where “either all of Lebanon wins, or everyone loses,” before expressing confidence that a collective victory is achievable.
Speaking directly to the supporters of the resistance, Qassem declared that their public is “steadfast and cohesive” and that its fighters are “prepared for the greatest and most extreme sacrifices.”
He proclaimed that the resistance, alongside the Lebanese army and people, “will remain in the field and will be victorious.”
Qassem also challenged the notion of defeat, stating, “Our enemy does not have a free hand and has not achieved what it wants, so do not allow it to succeed through your own defeatism.” He insisted that the true “priority (for Israelis) is aggression, not weapons,” highlighting the defensive nature of the resistance’s actions in the face of ongoing threats.
The leader of the Lebanese resistance’s statement comes in response to ongoing meetings in Lebanon, where the government began a session this Tuesday afternoon at the presidential palace in Baabda. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the issue of confining arms to the state. This meeting is taking place amid pressure from Washington to set a timeline for disarming Hezbollah, while Israeli drones have been flying over several areas in the country’s south.
According to the National News Agency, President Joseph Aoun is chairing the meeting. The agenda includes “continuing the discussion on implementing the part of the ministerial statement related to extending state sovereignty over all its territories exclusively with its own forces,” as well as “discussing the special arrangements for the ceasefire” that ended the war between Hezbollah and Israel last November 27.
Contacts have intensified in recent days to reach a formula on state control over weapons that all political forces can agree on. Before today’s meeting, President Aoun met with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.
Disarming Hezbollah—the only faction that kept its military arsenal after the end of the civil war (1975-1990)—remains a complex and sensitive issue in Lebanon.
This is especially true because the group remains the main force confronting Israeli aggression, while the Lebanese army remains small and largely influenced by the political dictates of the pro-Western political elites.
-----
Europe
Russia Protests Israeli Settler Attack On Diplomatic Vehicle In West Bank
Moscow says Israeli troops did not intervene as settlers attacked a Russian diplomatic vehicle and verbally threatened diplomats.
6 Aug 2025
Moscow has lodged a formal complaint with Israel over an attack by Israeli settlers on a Russian diplomatic vehicle near an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank.
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Tuesday that Moscow considered the attack a “gross violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961”, and expressed “bewilderment and disapproval” that the attack “occurred with the connivance of Israeli military personnel”.
According to Zakharova, the vehicle belonging to Russia’s representation to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and bearing diplomatic registration plates was attacked on July 30 near the “illegal Israeli settlement of Giv’at Asaf”, located east of Ramallah and some 20km (12 miles) north of Jerusalem, by a group of settlers.
“The vehicle sustained mechanical damage. The attack was accompanied by verbal threats directed at the Russian diplomats,” the spokeswoman said, adding that Israeli soldiers present “did not even bother to stop the aggressive actions of the attackers”.
According to reports in Russian media, the vehicle came under attack while carrying members of Russia’s diplomatic mission to the PA, who are also accredited with Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
The Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv has sent a demarche letter to Israeli authorities, Zakharova added.
Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, raised the attack on the diplomatic vehicle at a UN Security Council session on Tuesday focused on Israeli captives in Gaza.
Polyansky said the attack on Russia’s vehicle in the occupied West Bank comes at a time when “Israeli authorities have embraced the policy of cleansing and colonising” the Palestinian territory.
“It is ordinary Palestinians and even foreigners who every day become victims of relentless raids by security forces and settler violence,” Russia’s UN representative said.
The “attack on an official vehicle of the Russian Mission to the Palestinian Authority” was carried out “under the lenient eye of the Israeli military”, he said.
“It is clear that a systematic policy of exiling Palestinians – whether from the Gaza Strip or the West Bank – is fraught with new risks and dangers for stability and security in the Middle East and could once again bring the region to the brink of a major war,” he added.
Violent attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers in the occupied West Bank have surged since October 2023, with the UN reporting that almost 650 Palestinians – including 121 children – have been killed in the territory by Israeli forces and settlers between January 1, 2024 and the start of July 2025.
A further 5,269 Palestinians were injured during that period, including 1,029 children. Settler attacks alone accounted for more than 2,200 casualties and cases of damage to property, the UN said.
...
Two killed in Russian attack on holiday camp, Kyiv says
August 06, 2025
KYIV: A Russian attack on Wednesday that set ablaze a holiday camp in central Ukraine killed two people and wounded another dozen, local authorities said.
The central Zaporizhzhia region, which the Kremlin claims is part of Russia and is cut through by the front line, has been targeted in increasingly frequent and deadly Russian attacks.
The emergency services posted images showing firefighters putting out flames in single-story cottages and the bodies of those killed and hurt in the attack on the blood-stained ground.
The regional governor said two people were killed and that 12 were wounded, including four children.
“There’s no military sense in this attack. It’s just cruelty to scare people,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media, adding that hundreds had been left without electricity after Russian attacks further south.
Russian forces separately killed a man born in 1959 in the embattled town of Pokrovsk, an important logistics hub in the Donetsk region that Russia also said it annexed, according to local authorities.
There was no immediate comment on the strikes from Moscow, which launched the invasion of Ukraine early 2022 and denies its forces target civilians.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2610832/world
...
Sweden, Norway, and Denmark Pledge $500 Million in Weapons Aid for Ukraine
August 6, 2025
Sweden, Norway, and Denmark have pledged a combined $500 million to a NATO program supplying advanced U.S. weapons, including Patriot missiles, to Ukraine.
Sweden, Norway, and Denmark have announced a combined contribution of nearly $500 million to a new NATO-led program aimed at supplying advanced U.S. weapons, including Patriot missiles, to Ukraine.
The aid follows a proposal initially supported by former U.S. President Donald Trump, in which the United States would provide the weapons while European allies cover the cost.
Sweden is contributing $275 million, Norway $146 million, and Denmark $90 million. The funds will be transferred to NATO immediately to ensure the rapid delivery of weapons to Ukrainian forces.
Defense ministers from Norway and Denmark stressed the urgency of the situation. “Speed is vital,” said Denmark’s minister. Norway echoed this, emphasizing that Ukraine needs the equipment “as soon as possible.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the move, calling it a “new foundation for European security” and a deterrent to further Russian aggression.
The new NATO initiative, known as the “Ukraine Defense Capability Coalition,” also includes Canada and other European nations. The Netherlands was the first country to join, pledging €500 million earlier this week.
This support reflects increasing European commitment to help Ukraine defend itself as the war with Russia, now in its third year, continues to escalate.
https://www.khaama.com/sweden-norway-and-denmark-pledge-500-million-in-weapons-aid-for-ukraine/
-----
North America
Trump vows to pull US out of Ukraine ‘mess’
6 Aug, 2025
The US is working hard to withdraw itself from the “mess” of the Ukraine conflict, President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
When asked why the US should keep funding Ukraine as Kiev grows increasingly more coercive in its draft campaign, Trump responded: “This is Biden’s war. This is not my war. I’m here to get us out of it. It’s a mess, and I’m here to get us out.”
The journalist was referring to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s recent decree allowing the enlistment of men over 60.
”I haven’t heard that, when you say about 60-year-old men,” Trump said. “But this is Biden’s war. And we’re working very hard to get us out.”
In recent weeks, the US president has threatened to impose 100% tariffs and secondary sanctions targeting Russia’s trading partners in an effort to pressure Moscow into accepting a ceasefire with Kiev – measures which Russia has denounced as illegal.
Asked whether he was prepared to follow through on his threats, Trump said a decision would be made after a scheduled meeting in Russia this week involving his special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
”I never said a percentage [for tariffs], but we’ll be doing quite a bit of that,” Trump said. “We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow [on Wednesday]… We’ll make that determination at that time.”
Earlier in the day, Trump said he will “substantially” raise tariffs on Indian imports over the next 24 hours, due to New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian crude. He had previously announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods, scheduled to take effect on Friday.
India, one the biggest importers of Russian oil alongside China, has promised to “safeguard its national interests and economic security” in response to the tariff threat.
Beijing responded by vowing to “defend its sovereignty” in response to what it described as “coercion and pressure.”
Moscow has condemned Trump’s tariff threats as violations of other nations’ rights.
“We believe that sovereign states should have, and do have, the right to choose their own trade partners,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
https://www.rt.com/news/622538-trump-withdraw-us-ukraine-conflict/
...
NASA to Build Lunar Nuclear Reactor to Counter China’s Space Ambitions
August 6, 2025
NASA plans to build a 100-kilowatt nuclear reactor on the Moon by 2029, aiming to secure energy for Artemis missions and counter China’s space ambitions.
The U.S. space agency NASA is expediting plans to develop a 100-kilowatt nuclear reactor for deployment on the Moon by the end of this decade. This initiative is part of the Artemis program, aimed at establishing a permanent human presence on the lunar surface.
According to Politico, Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy and the U.S. Secretary of Transportation issued a directive on July 31, instructing NASA to solicit industrial proposals for the reactor within 60 days.
The lunar reactor is considered critical to ensuring reliable power during the Moon’s two-week-long nights, during which solar panels become ineffective. The New York Times reported that the reactor will support human missions, scientific research, and industrial activities such as lunar mining.
NASA’s reactor development also carries strategic significance, as both China and Russia are advancing similar plans to deploy nuclear reactors on the Moon by the mid-2030s. U.S. officials fear that early deployment by rivals could result in “no-go zones” that restrict American access.
Acting Administrator Duffy emphasized the urgency, warning that if adversaries establish dominance first, it could hinder the Artemis program and broader U.S. interests in space.
However, CNBC reported several obstacles, including a proposed 24% budget cut to NASA in 2026 and regulatory delays. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has yet to approve licensing frameworks for microreactors needed for the mission.
The Moon is increasingly viewed as a strategic and economic frontier, with spacefaring nations racing to establish energy infrastructure and extract valuable resources such as helium-3 and rare earth metals. Nuclear reactors offer a sustainable energy solution to power long-term operations in the harsh lunar environment.
Despite criticism from some scientists about the geopolitical motivations and safety challenges of deploying nuclear technology in space, NASA considers lunar reactors essential for both deep space exploration and building a future off-Earth economy.
https://www.khaama.com/nasa-to-build-lunar-nuclear-reactor-to-counter-chinas-space-ambitions/
...
Trump Blames Biden for Ukraine War, Pledges to Withdraw U.S. from Conflict
August 6, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized President Joe Biden’s handling of the Ukraine war, labeling it as “Biden’s war” and vowing to end U.S. involvement.
Speaking to reporters in Washington on Tuesday, August 5, Trump said, “This is Biden’s war, not mine. I’m here to get us out of it.” He distanced himself from the conflict and emphasized his opposition to prolonged military entanglements.
In response to Ukraine’s recent policy to draft citizens over the age of 60 into the military, Trump stated he had not heard about the new law but reiterated, “We are working hard to get out of this war.”
Trump also claimed that during the past five months, he has helped halt five separate conflicts. “I would love this to be the sixth,” he added, suggesting his intent to pursue diplomatic solutions.
His comments come as the war in Ukraine enters its third year. U.S. military and financial support for Kyiv remains a divisive issue in American domestic politics, with growing concerns about the costs and strategy.
Trump’s remarks are expected to further shape the debate over U.S. foreign policy, particularly as he positions himself as a peace broker ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Meanwhile, NBC News noted that Trump’s promise to end the war “within 24 hours” is unrealistic, and peace talks in Istanbul, despite prisoner exchanges, have made little progress.
The war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022, continues with heavy casualties, with U.S. estimates suggesting around 700,000 people have been killed or injured.
https://www.khaama.com/trump-blames-biden-for-ukraine-war-pledges-to-withdraw-u-s-from-conflict/
------
Southeast Asia
Singapore Airlines apologises after Muslim passenger served pork on flight to New York, says crew ‘didn’t know’ what prosciutto is
06 Aug 2025
SINGAPORE, Aug 6 — Singapore Airlines (SIA) has apologised after a Muslim business-class passenger was served a dish containing pork on an 18-hour flight from Singapore to New York, reported Mothership today.
The passenger, a Singapore permanent resident who identified himself as Jey, said the incident happened when he was served a dish labelled “Grilled Mediterranean Salad with Prosciutto” during one of the meal services on SQ24.
Unsure what “prosciutto” was, he asked cabin crew if it was bacon. According to Jey, they told him it was not and assured him it was safe to eat. But after tasting the “unfamiliar” dish, he decided to look it up — only to learn that prosciutto is pork.
“I was in complete shock,” Jey told the Singapore-based digital news outlet, adding that he has been a practising Muslim for over three decades.
When confronted, the crew allegedly suggested they might have misheard him. They later told him that the staff member who served him was a junior who “did not know prosciutto was pork”.
Jey lodged a complaint with the airline. He was initially offered a S$150 (RM490) KrisShop voucher, followed by 15,000 KrisFlyer miles and later 30,000 miles — all of which he rejected.
Calling the offers “saddening and insulting”, he told Mothership: “No person of faith — Muslim, Jew, Hindu, or otherwise — would ever willingly break a sacred dietary law in exchange for 30,000 miles.”
He also pointed out that his ticket had cost about S$10,000 and urged SIA to “commitment to improve the menu and understand the gravity of this”.
Jey has since filed another complaint with the US Department of Transportation.
Before the flight, Jey had booked a Muslim meal for the refreshment service. For lunch, he chose the airline’s “Book the Cook” option instead.
He said there was no pork label on the dish, and according to Mothership, SIA’s website shows dishes containing pork generally do not carry such labels.
In an email seen by Mothership, an SIA customer service officer admitted that “the cabin crew was initially uncertain whether the prosciutto was pork” and had served it “without confirmation”. The crew apologised and offered him alternatives, which he declined.
Mothership said it understand that passengers with religious or dietary restrictions must pre-book special meals for all meal services on flights with multiple meal rounds, such as SQ24, which has three.
In response to Mothership, an SIA spokesman confirmed the error and apologised for “the distress caused”.
“When our cabin crew members became aware that the customer does not consume pork, they immediately apologised, removed the dish, and offered an alternative,” the spokesman said.
SIA added that it has “strengthened cabin crew training and service procedures” and remains in contact with Jey. It also advised passengers with dietary requirements “to pre-book their special meals for all meal services before their flights”.
...
Bridging food, law and compassion in Kuala Lumpur
06 Aug 2025
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 — A group of 13 first year law students from University of Malaya (UM) has taken a bold step to address two urban challenges: food waste and food insecurity.
In collaboration with The Lost Food Project (TLFP) and Persatuan Shenpen Malaysia, the students carried out a community outreach programme titled “Sustainable Food Waste Management in Kuala Lumpur”, proving that civic engagement and legal awareness can go hand in hand.
Led by Shafiah Jailani Sulthan Mohamed Ali and guided by Associate Professor Nurhidayah Abdullah under the Law and Society (LIA1007) course, the initiative focused on collecting surplus food from Pasar Borong Selayang and redistributing it to vulnerable communities at Flat Hock Lock Mansion in Sentul.
These efforts were inspired by the growing contradiction between the tonnes of edible food discarded daily and the number of families who struggle to meet basic nutritional needs.
“This project is about recognising our role as future legal professionals and current citizens,” said Shafiah. “We realised we could use our platform to do more than study the law – we could apply it to real world issues that affect the communities around us.”
The team’s mission was deeply rooted in policy and advocacy. The project supported the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 on Responsible Consumption and Production, which calls for reducing food loss and waste across production and supply chains.
It also aligned with Malaysia’s National Agro Food Policy (NAP 2.0), which prioritises efficient, sustainable, and inclusive food systems.
The programme also aimed to promote legal literacy by raising awareness about the Food Donors Protection Act 2020, which protects individuals and organisations that donate food in good faith.
“Many vendors are unaware of the legal protection available,” Shafiah explained. “By informing them about this Act, we hope to remove fear and stigma around food donations.”
Working with TLFP, the students collected still edible vegetables from Pasar Borong Selayang that were otherwise destined for the landfill due to cosmetic imperfections.
Two TLFP lorries delivered the surplus produce to Flat Hock Lock Mansion, a low cost housing complex that houses UN registered refugees from Myanmar, elderly individuals, persons with disabilities, and low income families.
There, the vegetables were sorted and distributed with the help of 15 refugee volunteers. In total, more than 50 residents received food aid.
“What struck us most was not just the gratitude, but the quiet strength of the people we met,” said one student. “It was not only about giving food – it was about giving recognition and respect.”
The students also received support from Fragrance Foo, coordinator from the Brickfields Soup Kitchen, and Yogesh, a volunteer from TLFP, who offered crucial assistance in coordinating logistics and community interaction.
Their involvement demonstrated the importance of building partnerships between student initiatives and established community organisations.
Beyond the immediate food distribution, the project incorporated a hybrid SULAM model combining Direct, Advocacy, Research Based, and Social Entrepreneurship approaches.
Students not only engaged in hands-on volunteering but also studied food waste data, explored community nutrition gaps, and proposed long term policy changes to enhance food rescue efforts.
Nurhidayah praised the initiative, stating, “This programme shows that our students are thinking critically about how the law functions in society. They are not waiting until graduation to make an impact — they are starting now.”
Looking ahead, the group plans to expand their efforts by involving more volunteers, engaging additional food donors, and working closely with local authorities.
“Our hope is that this becomes more than just a one-time event,” Shafiah said. “We want it to be a stepping stone towards a culture where responsible food use and legal awareness go hand in hand.”
Through compassion, advocacy, and leadership, these UM students have proven that meaningful change begins with education and action.
In a city where both food excess and hunger coexist, their initiative offers a glimpse into what a more sustainable and humane future could look like.
....
New Chief Justice: I can’t erase my history, but I vow to protect judicial independence
06 Aug 2025
PUTRAJAYA, Aug 6 — Newly-appointed Chief Justice Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh today vowed to protect the independence of the Malaysian judiciary as he officially assumed his role as the country’s 17th top judge.
Speaking at a ceremony at the Palace of Justice, Wan Ahmad Farid acknowledged his past but stressed his commitment to judicial impartiality.
"I have had a long and varied career. I have served in all three branches of the government.
"I cannot erase my history, political or otherwise. But as I assume this most solemn 'amanah' (trust), for as long as I occupy this chair, I give you my unconditional pledge, in the name of my Creator, that I will vigorously protect and relentlessly safeguard the independence of this branch of government with every fibre of my being," he said.
While he did not list his previous roles, Wan Ahmad Farid is a former Umno member who previously served as a deputy minister and Dewan Negara lawmaker.
"And now let us look forward to the future of our judiciary — one that is independent, resilient, efficient, learned and future-proof," he added.
He repeatedly emphasised his intention to ensure the independence of Malaysia’s courts.
"I pledge to do my level best towards the betterment of the Malaysian judiciary and its independence," he said.
In June 2022, Wan Ahmad Farid had voluntarily recused himself from presiding over a High Court case involving former Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
At the time, he said he had resigned from Umno prior to becoming a judge, acknowledged his political background, and disclosed that a family member was an Umno division leader — citing the need to preserve public confidence in judicial independence.
...
Terengganu launches state-run matchmaking portal to boost marriage, birth rates
06 Aug 2025
KUALA TERENGGANU, Aug 6 — The Terengganu government today launched the Portal Jodoh Darul Iman (PJDI), an online platform aimed at expediting the matchmaking process among young men and women in the state.
State Welfare, Women's Development, Family and National Unity Committee chairman, Maliaman Kassim said PJDI is one of the state government's initiatives to boost the marriage rate among Terengganu residents and, in turn, increase the birth rate in the state, as well as delay the process of Terengganu becoming an ageing state.
“So, with this portal, it encourages our young people to get married legally, and when they get married and have children, it helps delay the ageing process of a state or country.
“For this initial phase, we are targeting 500 participants this year. It is only open to unmarried individuals and to single mothers and fathers who wish to find a partner,” he told reporters after the launch of PJDI.
The PJDI Launch Ceremony was officiated by Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar at Wisma Darul Iman here today.
Maliaman said for now, the portal, which is accessible starting today, is only open to Muslim residents of Terengganu, and improvements including the portal interface and candidate criteria will be enhanced over time.
To prevent fraud or misuse of the portal, he said various requirements and identity details, including identity card numbers, must be provided by individuals seeking a match through the portal.
“This means if a participant falsifies their identity, we will detect it and immediately remove them from participation. The process will be handled by the Family Development Foundation, and we will verify the personal data submitted,” he said.
He added that participants will state their preferred criteria for a spouse and also provide details about themselves, before the portal's secretariat matches suitable husband or wife candidates accordingly.
He said the first meeting between the pair will be accompanied by the secretariat, including a marriage counsellor, before further steps such as engagement and marriage are handled by the respective families. — Bernama
----
South Asia
Human Rights Watch: Global Community Fails to Curb Human Rights Abuses in Afghanistan
August 6, 2025
Human Rights Watch states that the international community has failed to take meaningful action to halt ongoing human rights abuses in Afghanistan since 2021.
Human Rights Watch, in a statement released on Tuesday to mark the fourth anniversary of the Taliban’s takeover, stated that despite extensive documentation of the group’s abuses—including bans on girls’ education, extreme restrictions on women, suppression of dissent, and arbitrary arrests of journalists, no meaningful accountability mechanism has been established.
The organization urged the UN Human Rights Council to urgently create an independent international body to monitor, document, and investigate human rights violations committed under Taliban rule.
HRW also called on the European Union to include a proposal for such a mechanism in its upcoming annual resolution to the Human Rights Council, stressing the urgency of international response.
The statement warned that global inaction has emboldened the Taliban to enforce misogynistic, violent, and authoritarian policies without facing consequences, which has contributed to Afghanistan’s deepening humanitarian catastrophe.
According to HRW, since August 2021, the Taliban have intensified their crackdown on women, journalists, and political critics, reversing years of progress in human rights and civil liberties.
The report also noted that the forced deportation of nearly 1.9 million Afghan migrants from Iran and Pakistan, combined with sharp declines in international humanitarian aid, has significantly worsened the crisis in Afghanistan.
Human Rights Watch emphasized that continued passivity by the global community risks legitimizing Taliban rule and its abuses. The organization called for immediate and coordinated international efforts to hold the Taliban accountable.
Without a comprehensive accountability framework, HRW warned, Afghanistan’s human rights situation will continue to deteriorate, leaving millions vulnerable and silencing those who seek justice.
...
UN Expert Warns Against Pakistan’s Rapid Mass Deportation of Afghan Refugees
August 6, 2025
UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett warned that Pakistan’s mass, rapid deportation of Afghan refugees is deeply concerning, citing risks of instability and worsening humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s decision to begin deporting Afghan refugees holding temporary residence cards from September 1 has drawn sharp concern from the United Nations and humanitarian agencies.
UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, warned on Wednesday that mass and rapid deportations could destabilize the region and worsen Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis.
Bennett stressed that such actions would significantly increase the financial and logistical needs required to support returnees, many of whom face insecurity, lack of shelter, and limited access to basic services.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also urged Pakistan to reconsider the move, warning that forced returns may breach international refugee protection obligations and place lives at risk.
Pakistani officials have confirmed the September 1 deadline, which could see more than one million Afghan refugees expelled from the country under the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan.
According to UN data, 2.1 million Afghans have already been deported from Iran and Pakistan this year, overwhelming Afghanistan’s strained economy and limited humanitarian resources.
Humanitarian organizations caution that without proper coordination, legal safeguards, and reintegration programs, the planned deportations risk deepening Afghanistan’s crisis and triggering further instability across the region.
https://www.khaama.com/un-expert-warns-against-pakistans-rapid-mass-deportation-of-afghan-refugees/
...
Pakistan to Begin Deportation of Afghan Refugees with Expired Residency Cards in September
August 6, 2025
Pakistan will begin deporting Afghan refugees holding expired temporary residency cards starting September, citing security concerns and pressure on national resources, officials confirmed.
The Government of Pakistan has officially announced that it will begin deporting Afghan refugees holding expired temporary residence cards starting from September 1, 2025.
This decision was finalized during a high-level meeting held earlier this week as part of the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP), a national strategy aimed at addressing illegal migration, citing security concerns and increasing pressure on national resources.
According to Radio Pakistan, nearly one million Afghan refugees with expired cards are at risk of being deported under this policy shift. The Interior Ministry has confirmed that these cards are no longer valid and legal proceedings for deportation will begin in the coming weeks.
The move follows Pakistan’s earlier efforts in late 2023 to expel undocumented Afghan nationals, a campaign that has already led to the forced return of hundreds of thousands, many of whom had lived in Pakistan for decades.
While the Pakistani government has defended the policy on national interest grounds, human rights organizations and international observers have raised serious concerns over the humanitarian consequences of such mass deportations.
They warn that many returnees face insecurity, lack of shelter, and limited economic opportunities in Afghanistan, which is already grappling with political instability and a deteriorating humanitarian crisis.
Critics argue that without proper legal safeguards, support systems, and coordination with international agencies, this mass deportation campaign could violate international refugee protections and further destabilize the region.
...
Iran Warns Citizens Against Aiding Undocumented Migrants
August 6, 2025
Iranian authorities have launched a nationwide crackdown on undocumented migrants, warning citizens that offering housing or employment to them is a punishable legal offense.
Iranian authorities have stepped up efforts to identify and detain undocumented foreign nationals, warning that citizens who shelter or employ such individuals will face legal consequences.
Deputy Police Commander Qassem Rezaei announced the measures during a press conference in Kerman province on Tuesday, August 5. He stated that any form of cooperation with undocumented migrants—including providing housing or employment—constitutes a legal violation under Iranian law.
“Iranian citizens are legally obligated not to offer support to undocumented foreign nationals,” Rezaei said, adding that law enforcement agencies across the country are actively working to locate individuals without valid residency documents.
Authorities have also urged the public to verify the identity and legal status of individuals when renting properties or conducting commercial transactions. Rezaei emphasized that failing to do so could result in criminal liability.
The announcement comes amid a growing number of Afghan refugees entering Iran following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Fleeing war, poverty, and repression, thousands of Afghans have sought refuge in Iran over the past two years.
Despite hosting one of the largest Afghan refugee populations in the world, Iran has no formal asylum system aligned with international standards. As a result, many Afghan migrants face the constant threat of deportation, detention, or exclusion from basic services such as healthcare, education, and legal employment.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly urged Tehran to implement a transparent and humane migration framework. Advocates warn that current policies risk further marginalizing vulnerable populations and may violate Iran’s obligations under international humanitarian law.
https://www.khaama.com/iran-warns-citizens-against-aiding-undocumented-migrants/
...
Over 50 UK Charities Urge Government to Ease Family Reunification for Afghan Allies at Risk
August 6, 2025
Over 50 UK charities have urged the government to swiftly reunite Afghan families at risk, following a major data leak endangering asylum seekers.
More than 50 refugee charities and legal advocacy organizations have called on the British government to urgently facilitate the safe relocation and reunification of Afghan families who had supported UK forces during the war in Afghanistan.
According to reports published by Western media on Tuesday, August 5, the organizations submitted a joint letter to UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, urging her to simplify the process for family reunification. They emphasized that many relatives of Afghans now residing in Britain remain in grave danger, facing threats of retaliation from the Taliban.
This appeal follows revelations of a serious security breach at the UK Ministry of Defence in February 2022, when the personal details of thousands of Afghan nationals—many of whom claimed they were at risk and had applied for asylum in Britain—were mistakenly made public online.
The leaked list reportedly included the names of individuals eligible for resettlement under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), a program designed to support those who had directly worked with British forces in Afghanistan. The breach has since endangered hundreds of individuals and their families, many of whom remain stranded in unsafe conditions abroad.
Charities warn that the current delays and lack of effective procedures are placing lives at risk and undermining the UK’s moral responsibility to protect its Afghan allies. They stress the need for safe, legal pathways and a clear, responsive system for family reunification.
The organizations also called for greater transparency and accountability from the government to prevent such failures in the future. They emphasized that urgent reforms are necessary to rebuild trust in the UK’s refugee resettlement commitments and to avert further humanitarian crises.
...
U.S. Congress Reintroduces Bill to Provide Permanent Residency for Afghan Allies
August 6, 2025
The U.S. Congress has reintroduced a bipartisan bill offering a path to permanent residency for Afghan allies who supported American missions and now face danger.
Two U.S. lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill titled the Afghan Adjustment Act to provide a legal pathway for thousands of Afghan evacuees to gain permanent residency in the United States. These individuals were brought to the U.S. after the 2021 military withdrawal under emergency circumstances.
The bill targets Afghans currently living in the U.S. under temporary humanitarian parole. If passed, it would allow those who pass security vetting to apply for lawful permanent residence, addressing the legal uncertainty many face.
The legislation proposes creating a special interagency task force led by the U.S. State Department to coordinate processing, expand eligibility lists, and restore consular services both virtually and in-person. It also mandates responses to Congressional requests about Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and refugee program applications.
Importantly, the bill calls for expanding eligibility to include Afghan Special Forces, Air Force members, and relatives of U.S. service members and veterans. It also requests that the SIV program be extended through at least December 31, 2029.
Jason Crow, a co-sponsoring Congressman and veteran of the Afghanistan war, said he owes his life to Afghan allies who served alongside American forces. His colleague, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, stressed the urgent need to protect those now facing Taliban threats.
Veterans’ organizations and refugee advocates have voiced strong support. AMVETS Executive Director Joseph Chenelly said the bill is essential to honoring U.S. commitments to its wartime allies.
If passed, the bill would shield many Afghans from deportation amid growing concerns that the returning Trump administration may dismantle protections. It also reaffirms America’s responsibility to those who risked their lives for its missions.
...
Afghan Evac Urges U.S. Congress to Pass Afghan Adjustment Act and Protect Former Allies
August 6, 2025
Afghan Evac has urged the U.S. Congress to swiftly pass the Afghan Adjustment Act, warning that further delays endanger thousands of former Afghan allies’ lives.
Afghan Evac, a leading advocacy group for Afghan refugees, has welcomed the reintroduction of the Afghan Adjustment Act in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, urging Congress to pass the legislation without further delay.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, August 5, the group warned that continued inaction puts the lives of thousands of former Afghan allies of U.S. forces at serious risk, both within and outside the United States. Afghan Evac emphasized that many of these individuals remain in legal limbo nearly four years after the fall of Kabul.
“We cannot operate on Washington’s timeline when lives are on the line,” said Shawn VanDiver, President of Afghan Evac. He stressed the need for immediate action to protect Afghans who supported U.S. military and humanitarian efforts during the war.
The organization pointed out that many Afghans currently live in the U.S. under temporary legal status, while others are held in detention facilities in Qatar, facing possible deportation to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Afghan Evac argued that failing to secure a pathway to permanent residency would constitute both a moral and strategic failure for the United States.
This marks the third time the Afghan Adjustment Act has been introduced in Congress since 2021, yet it has failed to gain the necessary momentum for passage. The proposed legislation would allow eligible Afghans to apply for permanent U.S. residency after undergoing additional vetting.
Veterans’ groups, human rights organizations, and the families of American service members have repeatedly urged lawmakers to act. They argue that the U.S. government must honor its commitments to Afghan allies who risked their lives in support of American missions.
The group concluded that without swift legislative action, the U.S. risks undermining its credibility as a partner in global military operations and humanitarian alliances.
-----
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/nigerian-poet-global-advocate-peace/d/136422
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism