Mob Led By 'Self-Proclaimed Sadhu' Strips Dhaba Worker To Ascertain His Religious Identity
New Age Islam News Bureau
03 July 2025
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· Mob Led By 'Self-Proclaimed Sadhu' Strips Dhaba Worker To Ascertain His Religious Identity
· Trump Attacks ‘Communist Lunatic’ New York Mayoral Candidate, Zohran Mamdani
· Twenty Years On: Assessing The UK Islamist Terrorism Landscape Since 7/7
· Mali's Armed Forces Killed 80 Militants After Series Of Attacks On Military Posts
· Turaif: Historical, Cultural Mosaic Tracing Back To Pre-Islamic Eras
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India
· Three Islamic Shrines Found Inside Jaipur's Maharani College Spark Land Grab Row
· Tazias Under 9 Feet, No Loudspeaker At Night: Surat Police Issues Instructions For Muharram Processions
· Three Indians Abducted In Al-Qaeda-Linked Terror Attack In Mali; MEA Urges 'Safe' Release
· Rally Against Malkangiri Attack: Christians Demand Action As Police Delay Arrests
· Portion of building on Ajmer Dargah premises collapses, Centre blamed for ‘neglect’
· After 30 years on the run, terror suspect in 2013 Bengaluru BJP office blast case arrested in Andhra Pradesh by TN cops
· Congress in alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, driven by opportunism: BJP
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North America
· CAIR Condemns Shooting Attacks on Hindu Temple in Utah
· Man admits murders of four Idaho students in deal to avoid death penalty
· US is no longer our ‘ally’ – Ukrainian MP
· 'Bizarro world': Was Zuckerberg kicked out of Donald Trump's Oval Office? - Here's what report said
· Rebels in Republican; Trump on edge- When will US president sign his ‘Big Beautiful Bill’?
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Europe
· Redacted evidence 'delayed police grooming cases'
· Scorching European heatwave turns deadly in Spain, Italy and France
· NATO chief ‘totally understands’ US cutting off weapons for Ukraine
· NATO has picked a new ‘threat’ to bully
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Africa
· Nigeria Has Recovered Under My Administration – Says President Tinubu
· Fountain varsity leads five Islamic-based institutions to chart devt plan for Nigeria
· EU to seek tougher measures from Libyan authorities on Mediterranean migrant sea crossings
· At least three killed after AU military helicopter crashes in Somalia's Mogadishu airport
· ECOWAS calls for restraint in violent protests in Togo
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Arab World
· Mysterious Pink Glow Lights Up Northwest Saudi Skies
· Saudi Arabia Condemns Israeli Minister’s Call For Sovereignty Over Occupied West Bank
· Saudi FM discusses regional developments in call with US secretary of state
· Saudi delegation in Tokyo for talks on GCC-Japan free trade agreement
· Saudi Arabia, Indonesia sign several deals worth around $27 billion
· Africa Day celebrations in Riyadh focus on unity, shared growth
· Saudi Arabia completes departure of Iranian pilgrims
· Saliha Al-Shahrani, the fashion designer inspired by the landscapes of southern Arabia
· Saudi Arabia prepares for World Scout Moot in Portugal
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Mideast
· Expanded Meeting Of Scholars, Preachers In Al-Dhalea Emphasizes Muslim Unity In Support Of Gaza
· Syria State Media Says Talk Of Peace Deal With Israel ‘Premature’
· Israel says it’s serious about reaching ceasefire, cites positive signs
· Netanyahu vows to uproot Hamas as ceasefire proposals are discussed
· Israeli Likud party ministers urge Netanyahu to annex West Bank
· Hamas says open to Gaza truce but stops short of accepting Trump-backed proposal
· Hamas orders rival armed group leader to surrender
· Gulf diplomacy with Iran helped limit conflict with Israel, Middle East experts say
· Lebanon PM steps up efforts on weapons control
· Swiss move to dissolve Gaza aid delivery group’s Geneva branch
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Southeast Asia
· PM Anwar Meets Muslim Community In Rome To Promote Moderation
· Prabowo Performs Umrah During State Visit to Saudi Arabia
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South Asia
· ICT Accepts Charges Over Ashulia Police Killings, Burning Of Bodies
· Deputy PM Mullah Baradar Engages in Bilateral Talks with Azerbaijani Prime Minister
· Construction of Temporary Camp for Displaced Migrants Underway in Nimroz
· Contempt Of Court: Hasina Jailed For 6 Months
· Mass Deportation of Afghans from Iran: Faiq calls on Tehran to reconsider policy
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Pakistan
· No-confidence motion not under consideration, says Senator Irfan Siddiqui
· Bhutto: Kabul Violating Doha Deal, Threatening Regional Stability
· PM Shehbaz to attend ECO Summit in Azerbaijan tomorrow
· Ruling coalition gets two-thirds majority
· SSP visits Bohra community’s mosque , Jamaat Khana
· ECP notifies restoration of reserved seats following Supreme Court ruling
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/self-proclaimed-sadhu-dhaba-worker-religious/d/136068
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Mob Led By 'Self-Proclaimed Sadhu' Strips Dhaba Worker To Ascertain His Religious Identity
Piyush Srivastava
03.07.25
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Police have served notices to six people who were part of a mob led by a self-proclaimed sadhu that stripped an employee of a dhaba on National Highway-58 connecting Muzaffarnagar to Dehradun to ascertain his religious identity.
The incident occurred on June 28, but police swung into action on Wednesday after videos of the incident surfaced on social media and the harassed employee shared his ordeal with reporters.
“Led by Swami Yashveer Maharaj, a group of two dozen people came to our dhaba and asked for our identity. Then they pushed me into a room, stripped me and checked whether I was circumcised or not,” Gopal Singh, a middle-aged waiter at Pandit Ji Vaishnav Dhaba at Ratheda in Uttar Pradesh, told reporters on Wednesday.
Muzaffarnagar circle officer Rupali Roy said Nai Mandi Kotwali police station had sent notices to six people.
“We have served notices to them and asked them to reply to the allegation of the employees of the dhaba within three days,” she said.
Yashveer, the “sadhu” who led the mob, said: “The man who is claiming that his name is Gopal is a Muslim. He changed his name four times when we asked him. The dhaba has a Hindu name, but its owner is a Muslim. We will sit on dharna in front of the dhaba if they don’t change its name by July 4.”
He claimed that the owner of the dhaba was Mohammad Sanwar. However, Diksha Sharma, a resident of Meerut, told reporters that the eatery belonged to her and she had sacked all Muslim employees.
Yashveer, who is head of Baghara Ashram in Muzaffarnagar district, said: “We will continue this survey as long as the Kanwar Yatra is in progress. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has already asked shopkeepers along the highway to mention their correct names on display boards, and we are helping the government.”
“We also urge the kanwariyas not to buy anything from non-sanatanis,” Yashveer, who hasn’t been served a notice, added.
The Adityanath government had last year ordered owners of all shops and dhabas along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their names, addresses and mobile numbers on signboards.
Though the Supreme Court had stayed the directive, the Uttar Pradesh government had widened the ambit of the order to the entire state on the pretext of ensuring the sale of quality food.
Adityanath had last week iterated that shopkeepers and restaurateurs must declare their identities. He also said the sale of non-vegetarian food would be prohibited in the open along the highways of the state.
Reacting to the directive, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said in Delhi: “The shopkeepers get a licence from the government after providing all details. The government knows who is the owner of which shop... still such vicious orders are being issued.”
Source: telegraphindia.com
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https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/mob-led-by-sadhu-strips-dhaba-worker-over-religion-police-serve-notices-to-6-prnt/cid/2111123
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Trump Attacks ‘Communist Lunatic’ New York Mayoral Candidate, Zohran Mamdani
2 Jul, 2025
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani © Rob Kim / Getty Images
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US President Donald Trump has accused Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani of trying to “destroy New York,” calling him a “communist lunatic.” In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, the president promised to save the Big Apple.
Mamdani swept to victory in the Democratic primary last week, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo with 56% of the vote. The assemblyman from Queens has described himself as a democratic socialist and is running on a platform that includes fare-free public transit, rent freezes, universal childcare, and publicly owned grocery stores.
”As president of the United States, I’m not going to let this communist lunatic destroy New York. Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I’ll save New York City, and make it ‘Hot’ and ‘Great’ again, just like I did with the Good Ol’ USA!” Trump wrote.
Earlier this week, Mamdani got the president’s attention after he vowed to prevent ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents from operating in New York City and “deporting our neighbors.”
Speaking at a detention facility in Florida on Tuesday, the president threatened to arrest the mayoral nominee if he tries to interfere with ICE raids.
”We do not need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I am going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation,” Trump said, suggesting that law enforcement would look into whether Mamdani is in the country legally.
Mamdani, who was born in Uganda, moved to the US as a child and became a naturalized citizen in 2018.
Responding to Trump’s remarks, Mamdani accused the US leader of trying to intimidate dissenters. “He threatened me with arrest and deportation not because I have broken any law, but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorize our city,” he said on X.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/620909-trump-new-york-mayoral-nominee/\
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Twenty years on: Assessing the UK Islamist terrorism landscape since 7/7
July 02, 2025
July 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings. Rooted in ISD’s two decades of counter-extremism analysis and policy work, this article traces the development of the Islamist threat in the UK since 7/7. Part two of this series will analyse responses to the evolving policy response to extremism, and how 7/7 shaped a securitised relationship between the government and Muslim communities.
The 7/7 London bombings–which killed 52 people across trains and buses–were claimed by al-Qaeda (AQ). Then-leader Ayman al-Zawahri announced that the attacks were motivated by retaliation for “the British Crusader’s arrogance and against the American Crusader’s aggression on the Islamic nation for 100 years.”
Two decades later, Islamist extremism remains a key security threat; MI5 indicate that roughly 75 percent of their workload remains related to Islamist extremism. Around a quarter of cases adopted by the UK’s counter-radicalisation programme Channel relate to Islamist ideologies. However, despite this sustained Islamist threat, the extremism landscape has shifted dramatically since 7/7, with MI5 noting that “straightforward labels” such as Islamism are unreflective of a “dizzying range of beliefs and ideologies.”
For nearly two decades, ISD has traced the evolution of extremist ideologies, strategies and mobilisers. The UK terrorist threat landscape is increasingly characterised by both ‘traditional’ ideologies and emergent hybridised forms of extremism, supercharged by social media. Where the early 00’s saw top-down, group-organised, highly sophisticated attacks, over the following two decades terrorism has become more grassroots and self-initiated by loosely-connected individuals. The spate of Islamist attacks in the UK in 2017 and 2018 are emblematic of this mixed picture, where low sophistication caused extreme harm, both through the violence that ensued and wider threats to public safety and democracy. So too has the range of motivators become more complex; while ideology remains central to terrorism, attackers are now commonly also misfits driven by personal grievances and complex vulnerabilities.
In the context of this overall shifting threat landscape, this article explores how the nature of Islamist terrorism in the UK has shifted since 7/7, focusing on organisational structures, mobilisation pathways and perpetrator profiles. A first section presents analysis of global Islamist activity and ideologies, and their impacts on the UK. It then analyses the role of social media in mobilising and socialising Islamist extremism. Finally, it explores the increasing involvement of young people in terrorist activity.
Source: isdglobal.org
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https://www.isdglobal.org/digital_dispatches/twenty-years-on-assessing-the-uk-islamist-terrorism-landscape-since-7-7/
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Mali's Armed Forces Killed 80 Militants After Series Of Attacks On Military Posts
July 3, 2025
FILE - Mali's Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, Maj Gen Oumar Diarra salutes as he inspects the military during a military parade in Bamako, Mali, Sept. 22, 2022
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Copyright © africanews
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Mali’s armed forces say they have killed 80 al Qaeda-linked militants following a series of simultaneous and coordinated attacks on military posts in central and western parts of the country.
Officials say the attacks took place in seven towns and cities, near the border with Senegal and further north, close to the frontier with Mauritania.
The army made the statement during a special bulletin broadcast on the armed forces' television channel.
The Jihadist Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) group claimed responsibility for what it called “coordinated and high-quality attacks” and said it had taken control of three army barracks.
Regional authorities in Kayes and Dioïla introduced a 30-day overnight curfew on Tuesday due to attacks against positions in the Kayes region.
The incidents bore the hallmarks of other recent operations by the militants, who have conducted similar assaults on military positions in Mali and Burkina Faso.
Mali, which has been governed by military junta since 2020, has been fighting insurgent groups linked to the so-called Islamic State and al-Qaeda for more than a decade. It’s also been contending with a longer history of Tuareg-led rebellions in the north.
In May, the head of the US Africa Command, AfriCom, warned that the Sahel, which includes Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, has become the the “epicenter of terrorism on the globe.”
General Michael Langley said Islamist groups are looking to extend their reach to West Africa’s coastline, allowing them to significantly boost their revenue through human trafficking, smuggling and arms trading.
Source: africanews.com
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https://www.africanews.com/2025/07/02/malis-armed-forces-say-they-killed-80-militants-after-series-of-attacks-on-military-posts/
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Turaif: Historical, cultural mosaic tracing back to pre-Islamic eras
July 03, 2025
The governorate is home to a range of culturally and historically rich heritage sites, many of which date back to pre-Islamic times. (SPA)
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TURAIF: Located in Saudi Arabia's Northern Borders region, Turaif governorate stands as a crossroads of ancient civilizations and historical events, serving as a gateway to Iraq and the Levant. The governorate is home to a range of culturally and historically rich heritage sites, many of which date back to pre-Islamic times.
Among the most prominent heritage landmarks is the archaeological site of Qasr Duqrah, situated 40 kilometers southwest of the governorate. Adjacent to it lies a mountain known as “Aqran,” also referred to as Duqrah Mount, which has been recorded under the Comprehensive Archaeological Survey Program.
Saudi Historical Society member Zahi Al-Khalawi stressed that the site known as “Duqrah” is among the Kingdom’s most significant archaeological locations, given the discovery of material evidence indicating human settlement since the Stone Age.
He noted that habitation at the site continued through the later Roman period (2nd to 6th centuries CE) and persisted into the Umayyad era (661 to 750 CE).
Another landmark is the Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline), one of Saudi Arabia’s most significant industrial heritage sites. The pipeline stretches from the east of the Kingdom to its north, passing through Turaif, and has been registered in the National Industrial Heritage Register. It is the first officially documented industrial heritage site in the Kingdom, representing the early stages of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry and its developmental and economic significance.
Also noteworthy is the site of Qaru Turaif, a water source developed by the Tapline Company in the 1950s to help settle nomadic communities by order of the late King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al-Faisal Al Saud. The site has been listed as part of the governorate’s cultural heritage.
To the east of Turaif, about 25 kilometers away, stands Jabal Umm Waal, a historic landmark and northern gateway into the Arabian Peninsula. The mountain tells the stories of Bedouin life and the passage of trade caravans and pilgrims traveling from the Levant and Iraq. For centuries, it served as a safe route for travelers making their way southward.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2606712/saudi-arabia
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India
Three Islamic Shrines Found Inside Jaipur's Maharani College Spark Land Grab Row
Jul 2, 2025
A controversy has erupted at Jaipur's Maharani College after three shrines were discovered within the college premises, sparking allegations of an attempt to encroach on the institution's land.
Bharat Sharma, Chief of the Dharohar Bachao Sanrakshan Samiti, claimed that the shrines were constructed as part of a 'conspiracy' to take illegal possession of the college property under the pretext of the Waqf Act.
In a video shot from inside the campus, Sharma is seen appealing to the college administration to remove the shrines immediately. He has also warned of launching an agitation if no action is taken.
According to sources, the shrines are located near the pump house and water tank inside the college compound, which is surrounded by high boundary walls. However, it remains unclear who built the structures and when they were erected.
When contacted by India Today TV seeking a reaction on the developments, college Principal Payal Lodha did not provide a clear answer, saying the authorities have taken a note, but nothing has been decided with regard to the shrines as yet.
"I joined as the Principal just last December. All I know is that these shrines are a few years old. This is an educational institution and the focus should only be on education inside the campus," Lodha said, but refrained from commenting whether it was an attempt to grab college land, as claimed by Bharat Sharma.
Meanwhile, some of the students approached for their reaction said that they did not know the shrines existed inside the college campus, but admitted that no religious activity should be allowed there.
However, few others were of the opinion that there was no harm in allowing prayers at the shrines and that they should not be removed.
Source: indiatoday.in
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https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/rajasthan-islamic-shrines-found-inside-jaipur-maharani-college-spark-land-grab-row-2749475-2025-07-02
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Tazias under 9 feet, no loudspeaker at night: Surat Police issues instructions for Muharram processions
July 3, 2025
The height of Tazias should not exceed 9 feet, Tazia makers should ensure that religious sentiments of other faiths are not harmed, and no loudspeaker should be used from 10 pm to 6am: These are some of the instructions that Surat Police has issued ahead of the upcoming Muharram processions.
Tazia processions will be carried out on July 17 in Surat and are expected to see participation by hundreds of people.
On Wednesday evening, Surat police commissioner Anupam Singh Gahlaut held a meeting with members of Surat city Tazia committee and Shanti Samiti (peace committee). Apart from top police officials, people from both Muslim and Hindu communities attended the meeting in which an appeal was issued to strictly follow the notification and ensure peaceful conduct of the procession.
According to the notification issued by Gahlaut, Tazias should be kept at designated locations and should not be taken out on the roads, except on the day of the procession. The area where Tazias are made and kept should not create any road blockages or traffic issues, it added. Tazias should not be abandoned, it said. On the day of the procession, only those Tazias that have the permit will be allowed to pass through the allotted route, the notification said. A sound limiter should be installed in the sound system, it added.
Due to the ongoing work of the Metro rail project on Raj Marg, the route of Tazia procession has been changed. The procession will start from Zampa Bazaar area, reach Lalgate on Raj Marg, take a turn and pass through Shahpore, Muglishara, and finally culminate at Hodi Bungalow.
To ensure law and order, police officers will wear body-worn cameras, allowing for continuous monitoring of the procession and identification of those who could disrupt the atmosphere. Besides, the proceedings will be monitored through the CCTV network.
Surat city Tazia committee president Arshad Kalyani said, “This year, we have got requests from 330 Tazia makers. We have given them permit numbers and also prescribed them the routes they have to follow on the procession day. Our volunteers will stand on the roads to ensure the procession passes by peacefully.”
Commissioner Gahlaut said, “We held a meeting with the Tazia committee and Shanti committee leaders and asked them to ensure that the processions go by peacefully. We have acted on Supreme Court guidelines… The height of Tazia has been fixed at 9 feet.”
Source: indianexpress.com
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https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/tazias-under-9-feet-no-loudspeaker-at-night-surat-police-issues-instructions-for-muharram-processions-10102727/
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Three Indians abducted in Al-Qaeda-linked terror attack in Mali; MEA urges 'safe' release
03.07.25
India has expressed deep concern over the abduction of three Indian nationals in Mali amid a series of terrorist attacks in various parts of the West African country.
A day after the Indians were abducted, New Delhi on Wednesday called upon the Mali government to take all necessary measures to secure their "safe and expeditious" release.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) expressed its "deep concern" regarding the abduction of Indians, employed at the Diamond Cement Factory in Kayes.
"The incident occurred on July 1, when a group of armed assailants carried out a coordinated attack at the factory premises and forcibly took three Indian nationals as hostages," the MEA said.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the kidnappings.
Al-Qaeda affiliate Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks across Mali on Tuesday.
The MEA said the Indian embassy in Bamako is in "close and constant" communication with the relevant authorities, local law enforcement agencies as well as the management of the Diamond Cement Factory.
It said the mission is also in touch with the family members of the abducted Indian nationals.
"The government of India unequivocally condemns this deplorable act of violence and calls upon the government of the Republic of Mali to take all necessary measures to secure the safe and expeditious release of the abducted Indian nationals," the MEA said in a statement.
"Senior officials of the ministry are closely monitoring the evolving situation and remain engaged at various levels to facilitate safe and early release of Indian nationals," it said.
The MEA also advised all Indians currently residing in Mali to exercise utmost caution, remain vigilant and stay in close contact with the embassy in Bamako for regular updates and necessary assistance.
The ministry said it will extend all possible support to Indians and "remains committed to ensuring the safe return of the abducted Indian nationals at the earliest".
Source: telegraphindia.com
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https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/three-indians-abducted-in-al-qaeda-linked-terror-attack-in-mali-mea-urges-safe-release/cid/2111161
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Rally against Malkangiri attack: Christians demand action as police delay arrests
Subhashish Mohanty
03.07.25
Hundreds of Christians on Wednesday staged a demonstration in Malkangiri district demanding action against the people involved in the attack on them on June 21.
The demonstration was organised by the Voice Against Hate and Rastriya Christian Morcha. They submitted a memorandum to the governor through the Malkangiri district collector. Despite heavy rain, hundreds turned up to take part in the demonstration.
Senior member of the Voice Against Hate, Amiya Pandab said: “A violent attack was made on the Christian community in Kotamateru village under Matapaka gram panchayat in Malkangiri district on June 21. This incident resulted in the injury of over thirty individuals, with many sustaining severe injuries requiring hospitalisation. Despite drawing the police’s attention, they failed to arrest any of the accused.”
Pandab said: “Despite the registration of an FIR, bearing No. 315/2025, on June 22, against sixteen accused persons, we are deeply distressed to report that as of the date of this memorandum, the police have regrettably failed to take any concrete action, including arrests, against the perpetrators. This inaction is a serious dereliction of duty and undermines the rule of law.”
They said the government should direct the police to take immediate and decisive action against all accused persons named in the FIR, ensuring their prompt arrest and a thorough, impartial investigation into the incident.
The demonstration took an ugly turn when the president of the Voice Against Hate, Manas Choudhury tried to garland the inspector in charge of Malkangiri police station for failing to take action against the accused. He demanded why no action had been taken against the accused.
State general secretary of Rastriya Christian Morcha, Pallab Lima said: “The victims of this brutal assault are not only suffering from their physical injuries but are also living in extreme fear and insecurity. They are apprehensive about returning to their homes and villages, fearing further reprisal and violence from the accused, who remain at large. This creates an atmosphere of terror and denies them their fundamental right to live peacefully and securely in their own homes.”
Source: telegraphindia.com
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https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/rally-against-malkangiri-attack-christians-demand-action-as-police-delay-arrests-prnt/cid/2111141
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Portion of building on Ajmer Dargah premises collapses, Centre blamed for ‘neglect’
by Parul Kulshrestha
July 3, 2025
A small portion of a building within the Ajmer Dargah Sharif premises collapsed on Wednesday after heavy rain, raising safety concerns for visitors during the ongoing Chhoti Urs festival.
The incident took place around 2 PM, shortly after the afternoon prayers, when the rain impacted the already deteriorating structure.
Members of the Dargah Khadim Committee blamed the Central government for “neglecting the maintenance of the historic religious site”. According to Syed Sarwar Chishti, secretary of the Dargah Anjuman Committee — a body representing hereditary Khadims (priests)—the condition of the building has worsened due to prolonged inaction and corruption within the Dargah Committee, a government-constituted body responsible for the upkeep of the premises.
Chishti alleged that the post of Nazim, a key administrative officer of the Dargah Committee, remained vacant for three years until the recent appointment and that even today, positions of nine committee members remain vacant.
“There is so much corruption. Neither does the committee do anything, nor do they let us work. The building is one step away from a disaster, especially during monsoon,” he said.
He pointed out that water seeped into Khwaja Saheb’s dargah and that a small portion of a hut near Shah Jani Masjid near Chhabili Gate collapsed.
Responding to the allegations, Mohammad Bilal Khan, the recently appointed Nazim, a retired DIG of the Border Security Force (BSF), acknowledged the structural issues. He said that repair and maintenance work is already underway and that he had recently held a meeting with Khadims to address their concerns. “Today’s incident was caused by sudden heavy rainfall. There is a seepage issue as the building is very old, but the government is taking care of the matter,” Khan said, adding that several plans will soon be implemented to improve the condition of the shrine.
Source: indianexpress.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/portion-of-building-on-ajmer-dargah-premises-collapses-centre-blamed-for-neglect-10102795/
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After 30 years on the run, terror suspect in 2013 Bengaluru BJP office blast case arrested in Andhra Pradesh by TN cops
July 3, 2025
A shadowy and elusive member of the proscribed Al Ummah terrorist outfit in South India, who eluded the police for 30 years despite being linked to high-profile terrorism cases like the 2013 BJP office blast case in Bengaluru, has been arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police in Andhra Pradesh.
Abubakar Siddique, who is in his late 50s, was arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Annamaya district of Andhra Pradesh, the Tamil Nadu police said in an official statement on Monday. The Tamil Nadu CB-CID police had announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for his arrest in 2013 after he was linked to a series of attacks on BJP and right-wing leaders in the state.
Siddique is reportedly a foreign-trained terrorist operative and the alleged brains behind Al Ummah-linked attacks in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka since 1995. He is also named as accused number 19 in the chargesheet for the 2013 BJP office blast case in Bengaluru, where the trial is currently underway. The incident, where an IED left on a motorcycle parked opposite the BJP office exploded, had left 16 people injured.
Siddique, who hails from Nagore in Tamil Nadu, was arrested with an associate, Mohammed Ali of Tirunelveli. They “were absconding after planning various bomb blasts and religious killings in Tamil Nadu since 1995”, the TN ATS said.
Siddique is also linked to the 1995 blast at the Hindu Munnani office in Chennai’s Chintadripet, a parcel bomb blast case at the house of Nagore Thangam Muthukrishnan, and the 1999 blasts at seven places in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, including the Chennai police commissioner’s office.
He is also accused in the 2011 Madurai Thirumangalam Advani Rath Yatra pipe bomb blast case and the 2012 Vellore doctor Arvind Reddy murder case. Siddique’s accomplice, Ali, is accused of planting bombs at seven places in Tamil Nadu and Kerala in 1999.
“Both of them are remanded in judicial custody by the Tamil Nadu Anti-Terrorism Squad as per the arrest warrant issued by the Chennai court,” the state police said on July 1.
Siddique’s name had emerged as a key player in terrorism plots in multiple investigations between 1995 to 2024, but the police had failed to track him down as he allegedly used covert tactics to interact with the people directly involved in the attacks.
Who is Abubakar Siddique? What Bengaluru police found
Abubakar Siddique, who holds a master’s degree in literature, was at the top of the leadership pyramid for the conspiracy to attack the BJP office in Bengaluru, and was the possible financier and the key to bringing together two factions of the Al Ummah, according to the city police.
The 2014 arrest of Parvai Basha, the alleged supplier of explosives for the BJP office blast in Bengaluru, and the 2013 arrests of Police Fakrudeen, Panna Ismail, and Bilal Malik, three alleged perpetrators of the blast–– all linked to Al Ummah—had revealed Siddique as a key figure in the BJP office bomb plot.
In 2013, sources in the Karnataka Police had said that Siddique had been missing from the police radar for nearly 16 years. Siddique had claimed to have trained with a terror group in Afghanistan during his interactions with the men he trained, police sources said.
The Bengaluru blast investigation allegedly revealed that Siddique was a key stakeholder in the Tamil Nadu-based Charitable Trust for Minorities, whose funds were accessed by Kichan Buhari, Fakrudeen and others to prepare and plan for the BJP office blast.
In its chargesheet in the case, the Bengaluru police stated that the Charitable Trust for Minorities provided as much as Rs 1.5 lakh, which was used in the funding of the blast. Siddique has been cited as a key mover behind the trust. Siddique has been named as ‘Siddique Bhai’—one among 20 participants in the conspiracy—in the chargesheet.
The police investigation allegedly revealed that Siddique motivated and guided Fakrudeen and Malik to execute the April 17, 2013, attack at the BJP office. The investigations also allegedly revealed that it was Siddique who taught Fakruddin to make IEDs.
The IED for the BJP office blast was allegedly prepared at a hideout near Chittoor. The directive to target the BJP office in Bengaluru was allegedly given by Siddique.
“Siddique travelled and communicated in a manner where he would be untraceable. This means he has been trained in covert terrorist operations. We think he may be linked to an external terrorist group,” a police source had said in 2013.
Siddique has been represented in court documents as a speaker of multiple languages, including Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Urdu, and English.
Source: indianexpress.com
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https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bangalore/2013-bengaluru-bjp-office-blast-case-arrested-andhra-pradesh-tn-cops-10101718/
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Congress in alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, driven by opportunism: BJP
July 3, 2025
Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Wednesday accused the Congress of being in alliance with “Jamaat-e-Islami, a proscribed, anti-democratic, anti-Constitution, and anti-national organisation, driven purely by sheer political opportunism”, while speaking about protecting the Constitution and secularism.
The Rajya Sabha MP’s attack came after RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, at an event organised by the Imarat-e-Shariah, said that if the Mahagathbandhan bloc returns to power after the Bihar Assembly elections due later this year, it will “throw the Waqf Amendment Act in the dustbin”.
Alleging that the Congress was pursuing a policy of appeasement, Chandrasekhar claimed that in Bihar the Congress was working in “alliance with Imarat-e-Sharia”, and in southern states like Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, “it is aligning with Jamaat-e-Islami”.
“This is the height of Congress’s shameless politics, fueled by desperation,” he said.
“In Karnataka, Congress even has tacit understanding with groups like SDPI and PFI. We have seen earlier as well how Congress has followed a policy of appeasement even in matters of national security and terrorism,” he said.
During the bypolls to Kerala’s Nilambur Assembly seat — which falls under the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra — he alleged that the Congress “openly took the support of this dangerous organisation Jamaat-e-Islami”. In the bypoll, the Congress pulled off a stunning victory against the CPI(M), and wrested the seat from the LDF.
Slamming the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Chandrasekhar said, “On one hand, Rahul Gandhi and Congress roam around with a copy of the Constitution in their hands and talk about secularism, on the other hand they fight elections in alliance with an anti-national, anti-democratic and anti-constitutional organisation that believes in Islamic rule. This is the real face of Congress’ opportunistic politics,” he said.
“Congress has, for decades, practiced the politics of incitement, fear, and deception. Today, people from all communities have come to see the truth about Congress that its only consistent strategy is Muslim appeasement,” he said.
Source: indianexpress.com
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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/congress-alliance-jamaat-e-islami-bjp-10102643/
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North America
CAIR Condemns Shooting Attacks on Hindu Temple in Utah
July 2, 2025
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned reported shooting attacks on a Hindu temple in Spanish Fork, Utah.
The Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple was reportedly targeted by gunfire several nights in June, with bullets hitting the temple, including the dome arches and a second-story window. Utah law enforcement officials say they found 20 to 30 shell casings.
In a statement, CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper said:
“We condemn these allegedly bias-motivated attacks on a house of worship and express our solidarity with members of the Hindu community in Utah and nationwide as they are targeted by hate. All minority communities are unfortunately being forced to deal with the rising level of bigotry and division we are witnessing throughout our nation.”
He noted that CAIR has previously condemned hate attacks on Hindu houses of worship in other states, including California and New York.
Hooper said CAIR is urging community and mosque leaders to use advice offered in its “Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety” booklet to help keep religious facilities safe. The advice in the booklet is applicable to houses of worship of all faiths.
Yesterday, CAIR condemned the reported establishment of a segregated white supremacist community in Arkansas from which “Jews and non-whites are explicitly banned.”
CAIR has repeatedly condemned white supremacist, antisemitic and racist activity nationwide, and has called on states to ban racial covenants in housing.
Washington, D.C., based CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry.
Source: cair.com
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https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-condemns-shooting-attacks-on-hindu-temple-in-utah/
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Man admits murders of four Idaho students in deal to avoid death penalty
July 3, 2025
Ali Abbas Ahmadi
A 30-year-old man has admitted to murdering four roommates in a small Idaho college town in 2022, as part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.
Bryan Kohberger, a former PhD criminology student, was set to stand trial in August over the attacks that shocked America.
During a hearing on Wednesday, Judge Steven Hippler read the details of the agreement, including that Kohberger waived his right to appeal or seek leniency.
Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen were killed in their off-campus home in the city of Moscow, in November 2022. The two others in the house, Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen, survived.
"Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?" Judge Hippler asked the defendant.
"Yes," Kohberger replied.
Kohberger had previously pleaded not guilty.
Before beginning proceedings, the judge stated that his office had received numerous messages and voicemails from members of the public that sought to "influence my decision making".
He said he had not read or listened to any of the messages, and urged people to stop sending them.
The judge then read out the charges against Kohberger - one count of burglary, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and four counts of first-degree murder, which each carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Kohberger pleaded guilty to all the charges.
Judge Hippler said he will formally be sentenced on 23 July. It's expected he will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
The plea deal means lingering questions that may have been explored during a trial, such as Kohberger's motives, remain unanswered.
During the hearing, prosecuting attorney Bill Thompson told the court Kohberger had planned the attack, buying the knife online around eight months before the murders.
The blade's sheath was recovered, but the weapon itself was never found.
The prosecutor said there was no evidence of a "sexual component" to the killings.
'Deal with the devil'
Some in court appeared to become emotional as the names of the victims were read out. Kohberger remained impassive, including when he admitted to killing the four victims.
The brutal nature of the murders, the age of the victims and the suspect's background in criminology sparked intense public interest in the case.
The plea deal has divided the families of the victims.
Outside court, the father of Kaylee Goncalves, Steve, said he felt "pretty let down".
He said the state "made a deal with the devil".
The family wanted a full confession, including details about the location of the murder weapon and confirmation the defendant acted alone.
However, Madison Mogen's mother and stepfather said outside court they supported the plea agreement.
In a statement read out by their lawyer they expressed gratitude to everyone who had supported them and for the "successful outcome".
"We support the plea agreement 100%," the attorney read. "We turn from tragedy and mourning... to the light of the future. We have closure."
Kohberger, who was a student at nearby Washington State University, was charged in January 2023.
It's not believed he knew the victims personally.
The defendant was arrested at his Pennsylvania family home weeks following the stabbings, after investigators said they found DNA evidence on a "leather knife sheath" at the crime scene. He was indicted by a grand jury in May 2023.
Court documents revealed police recovered a knife, a Glock pistol, black gloves, a black hat and a black face mask during a search of Kohberger's family home.
His defence team questioned the accuracy of the DNA evidence and succeeded in its bid to move the trial location, after arguing their client would not receive a fair hearing from local jurors.
But they had failed to remove the death penalty as a sentencing option, after citing an autism diagnosis for Kohberger.
Idaho is one of 27 US states that allows for capital punishment, but there have been no executions since 2012, according to a database by the Death Penalty Information Center.
Source: bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2zvzm9v9jo
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US is no longer our ‘ally’ – Ukrainian MP
3 Jul, 2025
Kiev is no longer a “priority” at the center of US foreign policy, several Ukrainian MPs have lamented after Washington suspended the supply of certain categories of weapons as part of its “America First” shift.
Washington scaled back critical military aid to Kiev, reportedly halting deliveries of air defense ammunition, missiles, and artillery shells. While the exact list of suspended weaponry remains unclear, US envoy to NATO Matthew Whitaker said on Wednesday that the move was part of President Donald Trump’s domestically focused policy shift.
“The United States is no longer our ally," Ukrainian legislatorMariana Bezuglaya wrote on social media. She followed up with a remark that her earlier post suggesting US President Trump should “go f**k himself” was now even more relevant.
Bezuglaya went on to accuse Trump of “helping Russia move towards Dnepr and Sumy,” apparently referring to Moscow’s ongoing push to create a “buffer zone” intended to protect Russian border areas from attacks.
“Ukraine is no longer a priority, no longer at the center of US foreign policy… At least Trump is very honest about this with the Ukrainians,” another legislator and member of the defense and intelligence parliamentary committee, Solomiya Bobrovskaya, told the New York Times.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kiev summoned the US chargé d’affaires in Ukraine, John Ginkel, to lecture him about “the critical importance of continuing the deliveries of previously allocated defense packages” and to warn against “delay or procrastination in supporting Ukraine’s defense capabilities.”
Kiev has repeatedly voiced frustration over what it sees as dwindling support from Washington. Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky met with Trump at the NATO summit in The Hague last week to demand more Patriot air defense systems but received no firm promises. Trump said the systems were “very hard to get” and that the US needed them for its own defense and for Israel.
Russia has consistently condemned Western arms shipments to Ukraine, arguing they only serve to prolong hostilities and increase bloodshed without altering the ultimate outcome of the conflict.
Kremlin officials have also accused Western backers of encouraging Kiev to fight to the last Ukrainian in the empty hope of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia.
President Vladimir Putin said last month that Russian forces currently hold the strategic initiative across the entire front.
After expelling Kiev’s invasion force from Russia’s Kursk Region in March 2025, the fighting quickly spilled across the border into Ukraine’s Sumy Region.
Moscow officially described its objective as the creation of a buffer zone intended to safeguard the resumption of peaceful civilian life in Russia’s border regions.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/620914-us-no-longer-ally-kiev-mp/
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'Bizarro world': Was Zuckerberg kicked out of Donald Trump's Oval Office? - Here's what report said
Jul 3, 2025
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was reportedly kicked out of an Oval Office meeting after entering unannounced during US President Donald Trump's discussion with senior military officials.
According to NBC News sources, military leaders were taken aback when Zuckerberg entered the Oval Office while they were discussing the Air Force's future fighter jet programme.
Worried that Zuckerberg didn’t have security clearance, officials asked the social media magnate to wait outside, two people familiar with the meeting said.
NBC sources indicated that meeting participants were disturbed by the apparent lack of Oval Office security protocols. One official described the situation as "bizarro world."
A senior White House representative contested these claims, stating they were 'mischaracterised'. They explained that Zuckerberg briefly greeted the President at his request before departing to await his scheduled meeting.
Zuckerberg's political stance has evolved, shifting from supporting immigration reform and liberal policies to aligning with Trump's MAGA movement during his re-election campaign.
The Meta chief attended Trump's recent inauguration, joining fellow tech billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
Recent reports suggest Zuckerberg's support for Trump extended to White House meetings, culminating in this Oval Office incident.
Trump reportedly describes the Oval Office as 'Grand Central Terminal' due to constant visitors, with officials worried about sensitive information exposure.
Source: indiatimes.com
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/bizarro-world-was-zuckerberg-kicked-out-of-donald-trumps-oval-office-heres-what-report-said/articleshow/122219128.cms
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Rebels in Republican; Trump on edge- When will US president sign his ‘Big Beautiful Bill’?
Jul 3, 2025
Donald Trump’s signature tax-and-spending package, 'Big Beautiful Bill', was thrown into limbo as Republican leaders in Congress scrambled to rein in party rebels threatening to derail the centerpiece of the president’s domestic agenda.
Trump is seeking final House approval for the bill after its razor-thin passage in the Senate, but divisions within his own party have left the legislation teetering. Fiscal hawks bristle at ballooning deficits; moderates fear historic cuts to Medicaid and other safety net programs could cost them re-election.
Trump vented his frustration on Truth Social saying, "Largest Tax Cuts in History and a Booming Economy vs. Biggest Tax Increase in History, and a Failed Economy. What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!"
House Speaker Mike Johnson, caught between these factions, kept procedural votes open for hours, including one that set a record as the longest in House history, while his team huddled behind closed doors with holdouts. "We're going to get there tonight. We're working on it and very, very positive about our progress," Politico quoted Johnson saying.
Meanwhile, Trump turned up the pressure saying, "FOR REPUBLICANS, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE. RIDICULOUS!!!"
Republican leaders had hoped to quickly push Trump’s massive tax-and-spending bill through the House on Wednesday, aiming for a smooth approval well ahead of the president’s self-imposed July 4 deadline. But their plans hit turbulence as the 887-page legislation, already tweaked in the Senate to appease hardliners, faced resistance from within.
One conservative balked at the prospect of adding to the $37 trillion national debt, while two moderates worried about nearly $1 trillion in healthcare cuts that could leave 17 million Americans without insurance and shutter rural hospitals.
The sprawling $4.5 trillion package delivers on several of Trump’s campaign promises, increased military spending, mass deportation funding, and extended tax cuts from his first term. But it also adds $3.4 trillion to the deficit over a decade and slashes nearly $1 trillion from health care programs, raising alarms about millions losing insurance and rural hospitals shuttering.
With House Democrats unified in opposition and eyeing the bill as a potent campaign weapon for 2026, the pressure is squarely on Trump and Republican leaders to unite their fractured caucus and deliver the legislative victory the president demands.
Source: indiatimes.com
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/rebels-in-republican-trump-on-edge-when-will-us-president-sign-his-big-beautiful-bill/articleshow/122220151.cms
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Europe
Redacted evidence 'delayed police grooming cases'
3 July 2025
Investigations into historical child grooming cases were significantly delayed because a city council heavily redacted pages of evidence, a report has found.
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found some material provided by Manchester City Council contained pages with only a few words visible on them.
The watchdog said this "made it impossible to assess the evidential value of the information" but said a new process had since been agreed to share evidence.
Manchester City Council said "complex" rules about sharing personal data meant that prosecutions could have been jeopardised if some information had been included in the evidence.
The information came to light as part of an inspection into Greater Manchester Police's (GMP) historical handling of child sexual exploitation cases, which found the force had made significant improvements after a series of damning reports into its handling of allegations.
'Particularly affected'
The review by the HMICFRS was commissioned by Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, in 2024 to look at the "current and ongoing provision".
The report noted how each of the 10 local authorities in Greater Manchester had its own agreement about what information would be shared with police.
"Some are willing to share all available information and do so promptly and without redactions," the review found.
"Others will only do so in accordance with strict rules on what can be included.
"This has led to significant delays in investigations and in the preparation of evidence for court."
It noted how Operations Green Jacket and Bernese had been "particularly affected by these delays".
Only one person has been convicted as part of Operation Green Jacket, which was launched six years ago to investigate child sexual exploitation in south Manchester in the early 2000s.
Operation Bernese was set up to investigate child sexual abuse following the death of 15-year-old Victoria Agoglia in 2003.
Victoria, who was in care, died of a drugs overdose two months after reporting she had been raped and injected with heroin by an older man.
"Material provided by Manchester City Council took many months to arrive and was so heavily redacted that some pages contained only a few words," the report found.
"This made it impossible to assess the evidential value of the information."
A Manchester City Council spokesman said the authority had been "committed from the outset" to bringing offenders to justice.
The spokesman added: "The sharing of personal data is a complex legal area. Failure to follow the relevant guidelines correctly would risk such information being ruled inadmissible in court, serving to jeopardise prosecutions rather than to advance them.
"As this work has progressed, we've been able to develop information-sharing protocols with the police which have enhanced processes and been so successful that they have been adopted elsewhere."
HMICFRS said GMP, the council and Crown Prosecution Service had since agreed a new way of working together.
"Investigators can view and assess unredacted documents remotely," HMICFRS said.
It said while this was "far more efficient and effective", it had meant the process had had to be started again.
HMICFRS highlighted how GMP had made significant improvements in how it investigated child grooming cases.
The watchdog found the force had a "strong multi-agency approach to investigating child sexual exploitation" and had "significant resources committed to support these investigations".
It now has a specialist Child Sexual Exploitation Major Investigation Team with 98 dedicated staff, working with statutory and non-statutory agencies to support victims.
'Lost trust'
HMICFRS also noted GMP had a "good strategic and operational leadership and governance arrangements in place for investigations".
But there were "various training gaps" and previous failings had resulted in an "irrecoverable loss of trust".
Speaking ahead of the publication of the report, former detective Maggie Oliver, who resigned from GMP over its handling of the Rochdale grooming cases, said: "They have been through the most horrific childhoods that you could imagine.
"They've got no reason to trust anybody but when they do put their trust in the system, it's unforgivable that they are failed again and again and again."
Michelle Skeer, His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary, said: "We found that since 2019, when GMP started to review its non-recent child sexual exploitation investigations, the force has improved its understanding and approach to investigating allegations of child criminal and sexual exploitation.
"It is clear that the force has for many years been trying to provide a better service to those who have or may have experienced sexual exploitation.
"But for some, trust and confidence in the police had been lost, and the force would not be able to rectify their experiences."
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority and The Crown Prosecution Service have been approached for comment.
Source: bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgq7n3lyyjqo
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Scorching European heatwave turns deadly in Spain, Italy and France
3 July 2025
Malu Cursino
A wildfire in Spain and high temperatures elsewhere in Europe have claimed another six lives as the continent swelters in temperatures topping 40C.
Two farmers died when they became trapped by flames near the town of Coscó in Spain's Catalonia region. Authorities said a farm worker had appealed to his boss for help, but they were unable to escape as fire spread over a large area.
In Italy, two men died after becoming unwell on beaches on the island of Sardinia, and a man in his 80s died of heart failure, after walking into a hospital in Genoa.
A 10-year-old American girl collapsed and died while visiting the Palace of Versailles south-west of Paris , reports said.
According to French broadcaster TF1, she collapsed at the courtyard of the royal estate, in front of her parents, at around 18:00 local time on Tuesday. Despite efforts by the castle's security team and emergency services, she was pronounced dead an hour later.
France's ecological transition minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher said earlier that two heat-related fatalities had been recorded in France and that more than 300 people had been given emergency care.
The European continent is experiencing extremely high temperatures, a phenomenon that the UN's climate agency said is becoming more frequent due to "human-induced climate change".
Both Spain and England had their hottest June since records began. Spain's weather service, Aemet, said last month's average temperature of 23.6C (74.5F) "pulverised records", surpassing the normal average for July and August.
The two men who died in the fire in Catalonia were identified later as the farmer owner and a worker aged 32 and 45.
Emergency services said the fire had spread to an area of up to 6,500 hectares.
Aemet forecast temperatures of 41C in the southern city of Córdoba on Wednesday, and said overnight temperatures were as high as 28C in the nearby town of Osuna the night before.
France has registered its second-hottest June since records began in 1900. June 2023 was hotter.
Four departments in France remained on the red alert level for heat on Wednesday, the highest level. These include Aube, Cher, Loiret and Yonne, according to Météo-France.
In Sardinia, where temperatures have exceeded 40C in recent days, a 75-year-old man died after falling ill on a beach in Budoni. Another man, 60, became sick while on the beach of Lu Impostu in San Teodoro.
Two construction workers in the Italian province of Vicenza were rushed to hospital at 15:30 local time on Tuesday because they fell ill as a result of the heat while working in a hole. One of the workers is in a coma, according to the Ansa news agency.
Meanwhile two wildfires have prompted emergency evacuations in Greece, as authorities warn of a very high fire risk across many regions, including Attica, Crete, and parts of the Peloponnese and Aegean islands.
In the northern Halkidiki region, a fast-moving blaze near the coastal village of Vourvourou burned through highly flammable pine forest, forcing residents and campers to flee. Power cuts have been reported in the area, while 65 firefighters, ground teams, and aerial units are battling the flames in steep terrain.
On the island of Crete, a large fire was burning out of control near the seaside village of Achlia, threatening homes, tourist accommodation and critical infrastructure. Local residents and tourists have been ordered to leave. More than 100 firefighters have been deployed to tackle the blaze.
Dimple Rana, heat and microclimate specialist at sustainable development consultancy Arup, told the BBC there was "a big link between heat-related impact and age".
In the UK, for example, most heat-related deaths were among older adults, Ms Rana said. Younger children, particularly those under five, were also at risk.
Another factor to consider is that often people on lower incomes undertake more manual work, Ms Rana said, meaning they are more exposed to higher temperatures.
Heatwaves are becoming more common due to human-caused climate change, according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Extreme hot weather will happen more often - and become even more intense - as the planet continues to warm, it has said.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which is the UN's weather and climate agency, said on Tuesday that human-induced climate change meant "extreme heat is becoming more frequent and intense".
In a statement, the WMO added: "The effect of heat on human health is more pronounced in cities as a result of the urban heat island effect.
"This is where urban environments are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas, especially during hot periods, due to an abundance of paved surfaces, buildings, vehicles, and heat sources."
"This additional heat in cities exacerbates heat stress and can increase mortality during hot periods," the agency said.
Source: bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyg5pq584eo
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NATO chief ‘totally understands’ US cutting off weapons for Ukraine
2 Jul, 2025
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said he “totally understands” the US prioritizing its own national interests, but stressed that European allies cannot continue backing Ukraine in its conflict with Russia without support from Washington.
Rutte made the remarks in a Wednesday interview with Fox News, responding to reports that Washington has scaled back critical military aid to Kiev, including deliveries of air defense ammunition, missiles, and artillery shells.
“I totally understand that the US always has to make sure that their own interests are covered,” the NATO chief said, but argued that “flexibility” was needed.
“In the short term, Ukraine cannot do without all the support it can get when it comes to ammunition and to air defense systems,” Rutte stated.
According to Matthew Whitaker, Washington’s envoy to NATO, the cut in US aid to Ukraine is part of President Donald Trump’s domestic-focused policy shift.
“This is what ‘America first’ looks like,” he told Fox News on Wednesday. The Pentagon needs to “make sure that the US has the strategic defense capabilities necessary to project power,” Whitaker stated.
The US president has previously criticized the hundreds of billions of dollars in aid sent to Ukraine under his predecessor Joe Biden. Trump has instead pushed for peace talks, while demanding that NATO allies take on a greater role in supporting Kiev and increase their own military spending.
Last week, European members of the US-led military bloc pledged to provide Ukraine with more than €35 billion ($41 billion) in aid and vowed to increase their NATO military spending to 5% of GDP over the next decade, up from a longstanding 2% target.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that such a “catastrophic” burden on NATO state budgets could spell “the organization’s collapse.”
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/620911-nato-chief-us-ukraine-cutoff/
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NATO has picked a new ‘threat’ to bully
2 Jul, 2025
The June NATO summit, held in The Hague, ended with a significant headline: a collective pledge to increase annual defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. This bold target, far exceeding the current 2% benchmark, signals a new era of militarization in the West, reflecting anxieties about a rapidly changing world order. While China was notably absent from the summit’s final declaration, the specter of the Asian giant loomed large over the event. The omission appears tactical rather than strategic – a thinly veiled attempt to avoid escalating tensions, even as NATO members ramp up rhetoric and military preparations clearly aimed at containing Beijing.
Though the summit declaration remained silent on China, the alliance’s leadership left little doubt about their true concerns. NATO’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, used the summit sidelines to sound alarm bells over China’s “massive military build-up”. Echoing the now-familiar Western narrative, Rutte linked China – alongside Iran and North Korea – to Russia’s military operations in Ukraine, accusing Beijing of supporting Moscow’s war efforts.
These remarks followed Rutte’s June address at London’s Chatham House, where he described China’s military expansion as happening “at breakneck speed” and labeled Beijing, Tehran, Pyongyang, and Moscow as an “awful foursome.” This framing makes clear that the NATO establishment and US leadership regard China not as a partner or even a rival, but a threat.
The perception of China as an imminent danger was also echoed at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in May, where US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned of a potential Chinese military move against Taiwan and reiterated Washington’s commitment to regional allies – albeit while pressing them to increase their own defense budgets. His remarks left no doubt: the US strategic focus is firmly on the Indo-Pacific, even at the expense of its traditional European commitments.
In a notable diplomatic snub, the leaders of Australia, Japan, and South Korea – the so-called “Indo-Pacific partners” of NATO – cancelled their plans to attend the summit in The Hague. This decision, viewed by observers as a pointed message, undermined NATO’s aspiration to consolidate its influence in the region.
Since the 2022 Madrid summit, when NATO adopted its “Strategic Compass” and for the first time classified China as a “systemic challenge,” the alliance has moved steadily to incorporate the Asia-Pacific into its strategic thinking. It now considers developments in East Asia as directly relevant to Euro-Atlantic security. As such, NATO seeks deeper cooperation with Australia, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand to uphold what it calls the “rules-based order” – a euphemism for Western hegemony.
However, the absence of these Indo-Pacific leaders suggests a growing discomfort with NATO’s expanding footprint. For many regional actors, NATO’s presence in Asia represents not stability, but the risk of being drawn into geopolitical conflicts under the guise of shared security.
Further adding to regional unease, French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a controversial message at the Shangri-La Dialogue, warning Beijing that NATO could be involved in Southeast Asia unless China convinces North Korea to withdraw its troops from Russia. This statement not only mischaracterized Beijing’s independent foreign policy and its complex relations with Pyongyang but also marked a sharp departure from France’s previous resistance to NATO’s involvement in Asia-Pacific matters. Such remarks, however, are increasingly aligned with the alliance’s real trajectory: NATO is no longer content with transatlantic defense. Its strategic horizon is now global, and its compass points East.
NATO-China relations, once limited and mostly symbolic, are now strained to the point of near-hostility. The first Chinese representative visited NATO headquarters in 2002, and both sides cooperated on anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden after 2008. Since then, however, the relationship has eroded amid intensifying geopolitical competition and diverging security philosophies.
Beijing has become increasingly vocal in its criticism. Chinese authorities responded sharply to Rutte’s remarks at The Hague, accusing NATO of spreading disinformation about China’s stance on Ukraine and conflating the Taiwan question – which Beijing insists is a purely domestic matter – with a war between states. Chinese officials emphasized that NATO’s role in the Asia-Pacific is unwelcome and destabilizing, viewing the alliance as a Cold War relic now repurposed to uphold US dominance and contain China’s rise.
For China, NATO is not just a military alliance, but a political tool used by Washington to limit Europe’s engagement with Beijing. From this perspective, NATO’s eastward ambitions threaten to derail the potential for constructive China-Europe cooperation, replacing it with division and distrust. China’s concerns are not limited to NATO. The revival of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), the emergence of the “Squad,” and the 2021 formation of AUKUS – a trilateral pact between the US, UK, and Australia – have only deepened Beijing’s fears of encirclement.
The AUKUS agreement, under which Australia is to receive nuclear-powered submarines from the US worth $240 billion, has introduced a new and dangerous element into regional security dynamics. Canberra will gain long-range strike capability for the first time and become only the second nation – after the UK – to receive access to US nuclear propulsion technology. Though the Trump administration has initiated a formal review of AUKUS, few expect significant changes. On the contrary, the pact is likely to reinforce the militarization of the region and increase the risk of nuclear proliferation.
In contrast to NATO’s bloc-based approach, China promotes a regional security framework rooted in multilateralism, inclusiveness, and dialogue. Beijing advocates for an ASEAN-centered architecture and supports institutions like the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus), the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), and the East Asia Summit. It also backs the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and has launched the Global Security Initiative to advance regional stability. Most significantly, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has emerged as a key platform for Eurasian states to coordinate on security, with the June meeting of defense ministers in Qingdao underscoring its role in promoting collective peace without resorting to confrontation or hegemonism.
The NATO summit may have avoided naming China, but it failed to conceal the reality of growing confrontation. While the alliance doubles down on military spending and expands its strategic reach into Asia, the Global South and a number of key Asia-Pacific states appear increasingly wary of NATO’s global ambitions.
As the world stands at a strategic crossroads, two competing visions of international security are on display. On one side, NATO and its partners advocate a “rules-based order” backed by military alliances and deterrence. On the other, China offers a model grounded in multipolarity, multilateral cooperation, consensus-building, and mutual respect.
The choice, increasingly, is not between East vs. West – but between confrontation and coexistence.
Source: rt.com
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Africa
Nigeria Has Recovered Under My Administration – Says President Tinubu
July 3, 2025
By Richard Ogunsile
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asserted that his administration has been able to rescue Nigeria from its economic and security challenges, which it inherited when it took over power in 2023.
Naija News reports that President Tinubu made this known during an interactive session with Nigerians living in Saint Lucia on Wednesday at the Windjammer Resort in Castries, the island nation’s capital.
According to a statement issued by Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga on Thursday, July 3, the Tinubu government inherited an economy on the brink of collapse and immediately began laying the foundation for long-term stability and investor confidence.
The President assured his audience that despite ongoing challenges, reforms are taking shape and Nigeria is on the path to recovery.
“We inherited a country that was near bankruptcy. But we have been able to rescue the economy. Nigeria has recovered,” Tinubu said.
Speaking on some of the corrective steps his government has taken, Tinubu said oil theft is now being curbed, and foreign exchange management has become more transparent.
“We have made the smuggling of our oil unattractive. We have stopped chasing forex papers at the Central Bank of Nigeria,” he said.
Acknowledging the contributions of Nigerians in the diaspora, Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to their well-being and success.
“For the professionals living here, our government will not abandon you. But you must work hard. It is our job to help you succeed,” the Nigerian leader told the gathering, which included students, professionals, and religious leaders.
Tinubu encouraged the diaspora to project a positive image of Nigeria, urging them to obey local laws and remain focused.
“My plea to you all: continue to be of good behaviour, don’t break the law,” he advised.
Reflecting on his own past as a student in the United States over 50 years ago, Tinubu said: “Life is about working hard, being consistent.”
Naija News reports that this was Tinubu’s second diaspora meeting in two days, following a similar session held Tuesday night at the official residence of Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister, Philip J. Pierre.
One of the major issues raised at the meeting was the $2,500 annual work permit fee imposed on Nigerians in Saint Lucia.
The President of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation in the country, Smart Duah, described the cost as burdensome and called for immediate intervention.
“We urge the President to urgently establish a diplomatic mission in Saint Lucia,” Duah added.
In response, Tinubu assured the community that diplomatic steps are already underway to address the concerns raised.
Nigerians Making Us Proud – Dabiri-Erewa
In her remark, the chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, commended the Nigerian community for their excellence and resilience in Saint Lucia.
“Nigeria is proud of what you contribute to Saint Lucia,” she said, while thanking President Tinubu for the personal engagement.
Speaking at the event, a paediatrician who has lived in Saint Lucia for nearly 20 years, Dr. Olugbemisola Ogunlusi, expressed gratitude for the President’s visit. She noted that she and her husband, now the head of a federal medical centre in Nigeria, raised children who also became medical doctors.
“Since you arrived, you have propagated Nigeria more than ever thought,” she said.
Source: naijanews.com
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Fountain varsity leads five Islamic-based institutions to chart devt plan for Nigeria
by Toba Adedeji, Osogbo
July 2, 2025
Fountain University, Osogbo, in partnership with five other Islamic faith-based universities in the Southwest and Kwara State, has launched a collaborative initiative to chart a development blueprint for Nigeria.
The participating institutions—Al-Hikmah University, Crescent University, Muhammad Kamaludeen University, Summit University, and Minaret University—are advocating the integration of Islamic principles into higher education to promote eco-friendly agriculture, sustainable urban planning, and resource conservation as pathways to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking at the maiden conference themed “Bridging Faith, Knowledge and Innovation for Sustainable Development”, Vice-Chancellor of Fountain University, Professor Ramota Karim, commended the universities for their collective commitment to national progress, stressing that collaboration, not competition, should define their relationship.
She urged scholars at the conference to use the platform to affirm that Islamic faith-based universities are vital contributors to Nigeria’s development agenda, not fringe players in the education and innovation ecosystem.
“We are central to its success, and we can ignite a renewed dedication to innovation, ethical scholarship, and service to humanity under divine guidance.”
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof Wahab Egbewole, SAN, in his keynote address, explained that “Before the recognition of justice and equity as sustainable goals, Islam has always advocated the principle of al-‘adl which involves equitable access to resources, education and opportunities.”
He noted that higher education must strive to align its objectives with the SDGs, especially SDG 4, which provides for quality education, and SDG 9, which calls for industry, innovation and infrastructure.
“Islam has always emphasised the importance of innovation in fields such as medicine, technology, agriculture and so on, as long as it serves the public good. It is imperative to stress that innovation must be ethical.”
Source: thenationonlineng.net
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EU to seek tougher measures from Libyan authorities on Mediterranean migrant sea crossings
July 3, 2025
The European Union Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner said on Tuesday that the EU would take a firm approach with Libyan authorities, following a rise in illegal migration across the Mediterranean.
In the first two months of 2025, the Central Mediterranean route - linking North Africa to Europe - saw a 48% increase in illegal border crossings compared to 2024.
Magnus Brunner plans to travel to Libya next week with government representatives from Greece, Italy and Malta. He discussed the upcoming visit in a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens.
“That is actually a question which bothers us quite a lot at the moment. Libya is, of course, at the top of the agenda, and we’re traveling together to Libya next week because we have to be fast, I think, and firm", Brunner said.
The European delegation will demand tougher measures from Libyan authorities to stop boats carrying migrants from leaving for Europe.
Brunner said the delegation will meet both the United Nations-recognized government in western Libya, and a rival authority led by warlord Khalifa Haftar in the east of the country.
Despite human rights abuses and conflict gripping the country, Libya remains a key departure point for sea crossings.
The Central Mediterranean route is one of the most active and dangerous migration paths towards Europe.
Hundreds of people died in 2023 when a fishing boat carrying migrants from Libya to Italy sank off the Greek coast.
Since the start of 2025, 542 migrants were reported dead or missing, according to the International Organization for Migration's Missing Migrants project. The persistent number of victims has prompted concerns across the EU.
Greece recently announced plans to send warships to international waters in the Mediterranean, following a surge in crossings from Libya to the southern Greek island of Crete.
Source: africanews.com
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At least three killed after AU military helicopter crashes in Somalia's Mogadishu airport
July 3, 2025
A military helicopter operated by the African Union crashed and caught fire Wednesday at the airport in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, killing at least three people, according to Somali authorities.
The helicopter was arriving from Baledogle Airfield in the Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia with eight people on board.
The helicopter originally belonged to the Ugandan Air Force but was being operated by the African Union peacekeeping mission, said Artan Mohamed, who heads the immigration office at Mogadishu's Aden Abdulle airport.
The crash occurred at around 7:30 am. The exact number of casualties remains unclear. At least three people have been confirmed dead, according to Mohamed.
A Ugandan army spokesperson, Felix Kulaigye, said three people had escaped the helicopter with burns and that the remaining five passengers were "yet to be accounted for."
The three survivors were taken to hospital for treatment while "search and rescue operations are currently underway to retrieve the remaining crew and passengers", the AU peacekeeping mission said in a statement.
The impact of the crash also caused munitions onboard the helicopter to detonate, injuring three civilians, Kulaigye reported.
Aviation officer Omar Farah, who was among the first to reach the wreckage, told The Associated Press that he “saw the helicopter spinning and then it fell very fast.”
There was "a huge explosion and smoke everywhere”, said Abdirahim Ali, a nearby resident who also witnessed the crash.
Minor delays were reported at the airport, but flights and other operations have since resumed.
The African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), is made up of more than 11,000 troops from countries including Uganda and Kenya.
The mission helps Somali authorities fight the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group. Al-Shabab has been waging a violent insurgency in Somalia since the mid-2000s.
Source: africanews.com
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ECOWAS calls for restraint in violent protests in Togo
July 3, 2025
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission has expressed concern about the current state of affairs in Togo.
Protests against the regime of Faure Gnassingbé that involved a violent police response and saw at least 7 people die shook the country from 26 to 28 June.
After refraining from commenting on the events while they took place, ECOWAS published a press release on social network X in the evening on 1 July in French and English.
"In the interest of social cohesion, the ECOWAS Commission calls for restraint and urges all stakeholders to favour dialogue", the organisation wrote.
ECOWAS also noted that it "remained available to contribute to efforts to preserve social peace in the Togolese Republic".
Protesters took to the streets for the first time at the beginning of June to denounce a high cost of living and the concentration of power in the hands of Faure Gnassingbé, who has been in office for the past two decades and succeeded his father, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, at the helm of the state.
Source: africanews.com
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Arab World
Mysterious pink glow lights up northwest Saudi skies
July 02, 2025
JEDDAH: Residents in Saudi Arabia’s northwest have been puzzled by the appearance of what some described as a “bright pink circular spot” in the evening sky — with the phenomenon occurring twice in recent weeks.
The latest incident on July 1 left locals searching for an explanation for the “rare and unfamiliar scene,” Saudi Press Agency reported.
Majed Abu Zahrah, head of the Jeddah Astronomical Society, told SPA that a similar occurrence was recorded on May 13.
“According to the captured images, the spot was clearly illuminated against the dark blue sky … with no accompanying sound or noticeable changes in shape before it began to gradually fade after a few minutes,” he said.
While no official scientific confirmation has yet been issued, Abu Zahrah offered one possible explanation, saying: “This phenomenon could result from vapors of barium, strontium, and ionized oxygen released at high altitudes to study the upper layers of the atmosphere (the ionosphere).”
For science and astronomy enthusiasts around the Kingdom, he further speculated: “In such experiments, the released vapors glow due to the reflection of residual sunlight after sunset at altitudes exceeding 100 km, forming luminous spots in pink, blue, or green, whose shapes are altered by upper atmospheric winds.”
Abu Zahrah said that the spot also may have resulted from debris in the upper atmosphere, such as remnants of a rocket burn or satellite fragments, along with clouds of gases such as helium or hydrogen.
Source: arabnews.com
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Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli minister’s call for sovereignty over occupied West Bank
July 02, 2025
RIYADH: A government minister’s threat for Israel to apply full sovereignty over the occupied West Bank was strongly condemned by Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Kingdom “condemned and denunciated” the statement made by the Israeli official calling for the imposition of sovereignty over the Palestinian territory.
Such action would be a violation of international law, the statement said. Saudi Arabia rejects any attempts to expand settlements on Palestinian land, the ministry added, while reiterating the Kingdom’s position on the importance of Israel abiding by international resolutions.
The statement followed comments from Israel’s Justice Minister Yariv Levin saying “the time has come” for Israel to apply sovereignty across the West Bank.
Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967 and has built dozens of settlements, deemed illegal under international law, across the territory.
The Saudi foreign ministry offered its support for the Palestinian people in restoring their legitimate rights and in establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Source: arabnews.com
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Saudi FM discusses regional developments in call with US secretary of state
July 02, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan held a phone call with his US counterpart State Marco Rubio on Wednesday, Saudi Press Agency reported.
During the call, Prince Faisal and Rubio reviewed US-Saudi relations and ways to enhance the strategic partnership between their countries. The latest regional and international developments were also discussed.
Source: arabnews.com
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Saudi delegation in Tokyo for talks on GCC-Japan free trade agreement
July 02, 2025
TOKYO: Farid bin Saeed Al-Asali, the General Authority for Foreign Trade’s deputy governor for international agreements and organizations, is in Tokyo to lead the Kingdom’s delegation in the second round of negotiations on the free trade agreement between the GCC and Japan, which began on June 30 and will run until July 4.
According to GAFT, the Saudi negotiating team includes nine technical teams focused on goods, services, investment, e-commerce, intellectual property, and government procurement.
Comprising 46 government agencies, the teams prepare the Kingdom’s positions on negotiations and proposals within the World Trade Organization and free trade agreements, and submit relevant reports to the negotiating team.
In 2024, the trade volume between Saudi Arabia and Japan reached about $36 billion. The most significant exports from the Kingdom were mineral products and organic chemical products. In contrast, the primary imports from Japan included automobiles and automotive components, as well as machinery and mechanical tools.
Overall, Saudi Arabia’s exports totaled about $28 billion, while imports amounted to around $8 billion.
The Saudi team oversees and monitors the progress of trade negotiations to ensure they align with the Kingdom’s trade objectives and policies. Additionally, the team participates in the negotiations to incorporate the Kingdom’s positions, making their role integral to the process.
The General Authority for Foreign Trade aims to enhance trade gains, strengthen global presence, and engage with international organizations for sustainable development. The authority plays a crucial role in negotiations, representing the Kingdom’s interests and ensuring trade agreements align with its objectives.
Source: arabnews.com
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Saudi Arabia, Indonesia sign several deals worth around $27 billion
July 02, 2025
RIYADH/CAIRO: Saudi Arabia and Indonesia signed several deals and memos of understanding worth around $27 billion between private sector institutions in several fields including clean energy and petrochemicals, the Saudi Press Agecny reported.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah on Wednesday.
The two sides also agreed to bolster cooperation in the supply of crude oil and its derivatives, improve supply chains and their sustainability in the energy field and strengthen cooperation in the field of mineral resources, the Saudi state news agency said.
Trade between the two counties amounted to around $31.5 billion in the last five years, according to SPA.
The two leaders held an official session of talks during which they discussed Saudi-Indonesian relations and cooperation in various fields. Ways to develop and strengthen them were also reviewed, SPA said.
Regional and international developments and efforts made with regard to them were also discussed by the leaders.
Prince Mohammed and Prabowo also chaired the first meeting of the Saudi-Indonesian Supreme Coordination Council after which they signed the minutes of the meeting.
Prabowo’s visit is his first official trip to Saudi Arabia since taking office.
Source: arabnews.com
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Africa Day celebrations in Riyadh focus on unity, shared growth
RASHID HASSAN
July 02, 2025
RIYADH: Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji has reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s commitment to strengthening cooperation and partnership with African countries, promoting trade and integration and enhancing consultation and coordination on shared issues.
Speaking at the Africa Day ceremony at the Cultural Palace in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter, the minister described Africa as a continent of opportunities with natural resources, a young population and renewable potential.
He said African countries were important in Saudi foreign policy, stating: “Africa hosts the largest number of Saudi diplomatic and consular missions, and the Kingdom intends to increase its embassies in Africa to more than 40 in the coming years.”
Elkhereiji added that the Kingdom had provided more than $45 billion in support for development and humanitarian projects in 54 African countries, with Saudi aid agency KSrelief alone delivering more than $450 million in assistance across 46 African nations.
Elkhereiji added that the Kingdom’s goal was to invest $25 billion in Africa, secure $10 billion in exports and offer $5 billion in development financing to the continent by 2030.
The event, “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations,” was attended by more than 400 guests, including Saudi officials, diplomats, businesspeople and society members.
The dean of the Diplomatic Corps and Djibouti’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Dya-Eddine Said Bamakhrama, highlighted the day’s symbolic and political importance, calling it a reminder to pursue an Africa based on dignity, fairness, and justice.
“It is a day for remembrance, unity, and collective responsibility. We honor our ancestors, recognize our leaders’ vision, and reaffirm our commitment to an African future founded on dignity, equity, and justice,” he said.
He stressed the need for African states to raise their voices in international forums, strengthen pan-African cooperation, and promote youth, indigenous knowledge and cultural identities.
Bamakhrama added: “On its path to development, Africa does not walk alone and relies on the solidarity of its partners, especially Saudi Arabia. We welcome the resolutions adopted by the Saudi Arabia-Africa summit held in Riyadh in 2023, which marked a significant step in strengthening the strategic partnership.
“The Saudi Vision 2030 offers new opportunities to build lasting bridges between our people. Together we can transform this cooperation into a lasting alliance.”
The head of the African Diplomatic Corps and Cameroon’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Iya Tidjani, paid tribute to the vision of the founding fathers of Pan-Africanism, who saw African unity as essential for the continent’s development and global standing.
“Sixty-two years ago, when Africa still bore the scars of slavery, colonization, apartheid and discrimination, African heads of state laid the foundations for the Organization of African Unity’s charter, marking a turning point in the quest for independence. Their successors, supported by the African Union, remain committed,” he said.
“Africa Day, formerly African Freedom Day and later African Liberation Day, originates from the collective resistance of the African people. The 2025 commemoration under the theme of justice for Africans continues this legacy.”
He urged younger generations to draw inspiration from the legacy and work toward the African Union’s Agenda 2063 goals of inclusive and sustainable economic growth across the continent.
On the sidelines of the reception, Africa’s cultural diversity was highlighted by a handicraft exhibition representing various countries.
Through the celebration, the African Diplomatic Corps aimed to convey solidarity, unity and determination to the international community while calling for dialogue, historical recognition and concrete action for justice for Africans and people of African descent.
Source: arabnews.com
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Saudi Arabia completes departure of Iranian pilgrims
July 02, 2025
RIYADH: The Ministry of Interior has completed departure procedures for Iranian Hajj pilgrims leaving through the Jadidat Arar border crossing in the Northern Borders region.
This was done following directives from King Salman and based on a recommendation from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.
The aim was to support Iran’s pilgrims amid the current circumstances in their country and provide necessary services until they can safely return home after completing Hajj.
The ministry, through its sectors and affiliated entities, deployed all human and technical resources to facilitate the pilgrims’ movement, the SPA reported.
It coordinated with relevant authorities to ensure smooth and organized transport to the border within an integrated service and security framework.
Alireza Bayat, head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization in Iran, recently praised Saudi Arabia for assisting the pilgrims, noting the quality organization and services at border crossings and other locations.
He said Iran’s pilgrims were satisfied with the support they had received and for the excellent organization of the Hajj.
Source: arabnews.com
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Saliha Al-Shahrani, the fashion designer inspired by the landscapes of southern Arabia
TAREQ AL-THAQAFI
July 02, 2025
Makkah: Saudi designer Saliha Al-Shahrani is powerful force in the Kingdom’s fashion world who uses her work to reimagine the rich culture of the country’s south.
Hailing from the mountainous region of Asir, she has forged a unique creative path drawing on local traditions.
Al-Shahrani spoke to Arab News about how her connection to southern Arabia is a natural extension of her identity.
The designer’s deep-rooted bond with Asir led her to reimagine traditional clothing, creating designs that appeal to a wide audience while authentically representing her homeland.
“I merge modernity with authenticity through the use of colors and materials, without ever compromising the spirit of southern attire,” she said.
A cornerstone of her collections is the Asiri dress — known as “al-Muzanad or Al-Mujanab” — a signature piece worn during national celebrations, including Founding Day.
Al-Shahrani particularly enjoys working with velvet, although she uses a range of materials to represent the different climates of Asir.
She said that her designs are inspired by natural landmarks such as Mount Dhirah (the Green Mountain), Jabal Al-Janoub in Asir, and the Sarawat Mountains in Abha.
The designer highlighted her well-known design, Dhirah, inspired by the mountain, which has become a signature piece in her collection.
She said that her participation in international exhibitions has brought positive feedback, with designs garnering widespread acclaim and being embraced by a diverse global audience.
This experience reaffirmed her belief that Saudi heritage has immense artistic value, especially when reimagined with a contemporary perspective and presented with professional finesse.
Al-Shahrani praised Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 for removing many obstacles, particularly by empowering women, and highlighted the need for continued support of international exhibitions that promote Saudi cultural identity on a global scale.
In a message to aspiring designers, she urged them to break free from convention, move beyond imitation, and carve their own creative paths, adding that success on a global scale begins with thoughtfully crafted local excellence.
Al-Shahrani’s ambition is to launch a boutique in one of the world’s leading fashion capitals, where she can present the heritage of southern Saudi Arabia to a wider audience.
Source: arabnews.com
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Saudi Arabia prepares for World Scout Moot in Portugal
July 02, 2025
RIYADH: The Saudi Arabian Scouts Association held a virtual preparatory meeting for participants in the 16th World Scout Moot, to be hosted by Portugal from July 25 to Aug. 3.
Abdulrahman Al-Mudaris, the association’s secretary-general, stressed the importance of representing the Kingdom honorably at the global event, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
He emphasized promoting cultural exchange, building international friendships among youth, and enriching participants’ leadership and service skills through scouting experiences.
The meeting included presentations on the World Scout Moot’s key themes. The first phase, called “Paths,” involves international teams taking part in five-day exploratory and community service programs.
Participants will then move to the Main Camp, which features cultural and educational activities and workshops and ends with an official ceremony in Porto.
Organized under the theme “Engage,” the event will bring together around 5,000 participants aged 18 to 25 to promote leadership and community impact.
Held every four years, the Moot rotates among different countries, giving participants the opportunity to explore diverse cultures and environments.
Source: arabnews.com
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Mideast
Expanded Meeting of Scholars, preachers in Al-Dhalea emphasizes muslim unity in support of Gaza
02 Jul 2025
An expanded meeting of scholars and preachers from Al-Dhalea Governorate was held under the title: “The Obligation of Muslim Unity to Support Gaza and Support Iran in Facing the Enemies of the Ummah: America and Israel.”
During the meeting, members of the Association of Yemeni Scholars—Saleh Al-Khawlani, Hamid Al-Ghayathi, Ali Al-Washli—and Deputy Head of the Shafi’i Council, Radwan Al-Mahiya, emphasized the importance of Islamic unity in supporting the causes of the Ummah, foremost among them the Palestinian cause.
They addressed the ongoing aggression and siege on Gaza, describing it as an act of genocide by the Israeli enemy, backed by the United States and Europe. They stressed that such crimes require Muslims to unite and firmly stand in solidarity with their brothers in the Gaza Strip.
A statement issued by the meeting condemned the Zionist violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque and the crimes committed in the West Bank, Gaza, and all of Palestine. It noted that Arab abandonment and regional complicity have emboldened the enemy to commit further massacres in Gaza, especially targeting the hungry and those awaiting aid.
The statement also denounced Arab funding of the U.S.-Israeli aggression, referencing the massive sums paid to the American administration during Trump’s visit.
The scholars firmly rejected the aggression against Iran and declared it religiously impermissible to support it, describing normalization with the Zionist entity as a betrayal of the Islamic Ummah and its critical causes.
The statement called upon the scholars of the Islamic world to fulfill their responsibility in clarifying the religious position on the ongoing conflict and to condemn the attacks on Islamic nations. It warned against sectarian strife and serving foreign agendas.
The scholars expressed pride in the position of the Yemeni people and their leadership—represented by the Leader of the Revolution, Sayyed Abdul-Malik Badr Al-Din Al-Houthi—in supporting Palestine and the resistance axis. They stressed the importance of awareness in the ongoing struggle against the enemies of the Ummah.
The meeting concluded by calling on Islamic nations to trust in God’s promise of inevitable victory, affirming that victory belongs to the faithful, the patient, and the sincere.
Source: saba.ye
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Syria state media says talk of peace deal with Israel ‘premature’
July 02, 2025
DAMASCUS: Syrian state media reported Wednesday that statements on signing a peace deal with Israel were “premature,” days after Israel said it was interested in striking a normalization agreement with Damascus.
“Statements concerning signing a peace agreement with the Israeli occupation at this time are considered premature,” state TV reported an unidentified official source as saying.
“It is not possible to talk of the possibility of negotiations over a new agreement unless the occupation fully adheres the 1974 disengagement agreement and withdraws from the areas it has penetrated,” it added.
On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said his country had an “interest in adding countries, Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors, to the circle of peace and normalization while safeguarding Israel’s essential and security interests.”
The statement came amid major shifts in the region’s power dynamics, including the fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar Assad in December and the weakening of his ally Lebanese armed group Hezbollah after its latest war with Israel.
Syria’s new Islamist authorities have confirmed they held indirect talks with Israel to reduce tensions.
Since Assad’s ouster, Israel has repeatedly bombed targets inside Syria while Israeli troops have entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone along the 1974 armistice line on the Golan Heights and carried out incursions deeper into southern Syria.
Interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has repeatedly said Damascus does not seek conflict with its neighbors, asking the international community to pressure Israel into stopping its attacks.
Syria has said that the goal of ongoing negotiations is the reimplementation of the 1974 armistice between the two countries.
Saar insisted that the Golan Heights, much of which Israel seized in 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognized by the United Nations, “will remain part of the State of Israel” under any future peace agreement.
Control of the strategic plateau has long been a source of tension between Israel and Syria, which are technically still at war.
Source: arabnews.com
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Israel says it’s serious about reaching ceasefire, cites positive signs
July 02, 2025
TALLINN: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Wednesday that his country was serious about reaching a deal with the Palestinian Hamas group to end the war in Gaza and return the hostages held there to Israel.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalize a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas after what he called a “long and productive” meeting of his representatives with Israeli officials.
At a press conference in the Estonian capital Tallinn, Saar said: “We are serious in our will to reach a hostage deal and a ceasefire. We said yes to (US) special envoy (Steve) Witkoff’s proposals.
“There are some positive signs. I don’t want to say more than that right now. But our goal is to begin proximity talks as soon as possible,” said Saar, who spoke after holding talks with Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
“But it must be clear: Hamas is not only responsible for initiating this war on October 7 (2023). It is responsible also for its continuation. Pressure must be applied on Hamas. The international community must now back the American initiatives. It must shatter any illusions that Hamas may have,” he said.
In a statement on Wednesday, Hamas said it was studying new ceasefire offers it received from the mediators Egypt and Qatar but stressed it aimed to reach an agreement that would ensure an end to the war and an Israeli pullout from Gaza.
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Netanyahu vows to uproot Hamas as ceasefire proposals are discussed
July 03, 2025
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday vowed to eradicate Hamas, even as the Palestinian militant group said it was discussing new proposals from mediators for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Israeli leader had yet to comment on US President Donald Trump’s claim that Israel had backed a plan for a 60-day truce in its offensive against Hamas in the war-ravaged territory.
But a week ahead of talks scheduled with Trump in Washington, he vowed to “destroy” Hamas “down to their very foundation.”
Hamas said it was “conducting national consultations to discuss” the proposals submitted in negotiations mediated by Qatar and Egypt.
Nearly 21 months of war have created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has recently expanded its military operations.
The civil defense agency said that Israeli forces had killed at least 47 people on Wednesday.
Among the dead was Marwan Al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital, a key clinic in the north of Gaza, Palestinian officials said.
Trump on Tuesday urged Hamas to accept a 60-day ceasefire, saying that Israel had agreed to finalize such a deal.
Hamas said in a statement that it was studying the latest proposals and aiming “to reach an agreement that guarantees ending the aggression, achieving the withdrawal (of Israeli forces from Gaza) and urgently aiding our people in the Gaza Strip.”
Netanyahu vowed however: “We will free all our hostages, and we will eliminate Hamas. It will be no more,” in filmed comments in the city of Ashkelon near Gaza’s northern border.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar earlier said that he saw “some positive signs,” amid high pressure to bring home the hostages.
“We are serious in our will to reach a hostage deal and a ceasefire,” he said. “Our goal is to begin proximity talks as soon as possible.”
Out of 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants in October 2023, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
A Palestinian source familiar with the mediated negotiations told AFP that “there are no fundamental changes in the new proposal” under discussion compared to previous terms presented by the United States.
The source said that the new proposal “includes a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release half of the living Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip, in exchange for Israel releasing a number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.”
In southern Gaza, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that five members of the same family were killed in an Israeli air strike on Wednesday that hit a tent housing displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area.
Despite being declared a safe zone by Israel in December 2023, Al-Mawasi has been hit by repeated Israeli strikes.
AFP footage from the area showed makeshift tents blown apart as Palestinians picked through the wreckage trying to salvage what was left of their belongings.
“They came here thinking it was a safe area and they were killed. What did they do?” said one resident, Maha Abu Rizq, against a backdrop of destruction.
AFP footage from nearby Khan Yunis city showed infants covered in blood being rushed into Nasser Hospital. One man carrying a child whose face was smeared with blood screamed: “Children, children!“
Among other fatalities, Bassal later reported five people killed by Israeli army fire near an aid distribution site close to the southern city of Rafah and a further death following Israeli fire near an aid site in the center of the territory.
They were the latest in a string of deadly incidents that have hit people trying to receive food.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers.
Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it “is operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities” in line with “international law, and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.”
It said in a statement that a 19-year-old sergeant in its forces “fell during combat in the northern Gaza Strip.”
The military late on Wednesday issued a fresh evacuation warning to residents for three neighborhoods of Gaza City, urging them to flee south to the Mawasi area.
Israeli forces are “operating with extreme intensity in the area and will attack any location being used to launch missiles toward the State of Israel,” Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a message on Telegram.
“The destruction of terrorist organizations will continue and expand into the city center, encompassing all neighborhoods of the city,” Avichay wrote.
The military earlier said that its air force had intercepted two “projectiles” that crossed from northern Gaza into Israeli territory.
Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 57,012 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers its figures reliable.
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Israeli Likud party ministers urge Netanyahu to annex West Bank
July 03, 2025
Cabinet ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party called on Wednesday for Israel to annex the Israeli-occupied West Bank before the Knesset recesses at the end of the month.
They issued a petition ahead of Netanyahu’s meeting next week with US President Donald Trump, where discussions are expected to center on a potential 60-day Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas.
The petition was signed by 15 cabinet ministers and Amir Ohana, speaker of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
There was no immediate response from the prime minister’s office. Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, long a confidant of Netanyahu, did not sign the petition. He has been in Washington since Monday for talks on Iran and Gaza.
“We ministers and members of Knesset call for applying Israeli sovereignty and law immediately on Judea and Samaria,” they wrote, using the biblical names for the West Bank captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
Their petition cited Israel’s recent achievements against both Iran and Iran’s allies and the opportunity afforded by the strategic partnership with the US and support of Trump.
It said the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel demonstrated that the concept of Jewish settlement blocs alongside the establishment of a Palestinian state poses an existential threat to Israel.
“The task must be completed, the existential threat removed from within, and another massacre in the heart of the country must be prevented,” the petition stated.
Most countries regard Jewish settlements in the West Bank, many of which cut off Palestinian communities from one another, as a violation of international law.
With each advance of Israeli settlements and roads, the West Bank becomes more fractured, further undermining prospects for a contiguous land on which Palestinians could build a sovereign state long envisaged in Middle East peacemaking.
Israel’s pro-settler politicians have been emboldened by the return to the White House of Trump, who has proposed Palestinians leave Gaza, a suggestion widely condemned across the Middle East and beyond.
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Hamas says open to Gaza truce but stops short of accepting Trump-backed proposal
July 02, 2025
CAIRO: Hamas suggested Wednesday that it was open to a ceasefire agreement with Israel, but stopped short of accepting a US-backed proposal announced by President Donald Trump hours earlier, insisting on its longstanding position that any deal bring an end to the war in Gaza.
Trump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. The US leader has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to broker a ceasefire, and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war.
Trump said the 60-day period would be used to work toward ending the war — something Israel says it won’t accept until Hamas is defeated. He said that a deal might come together as soon as next week.
But Hamas’ response, which emphasized its demand that the war end, raised questions about whether the latest offer could materialize into an actual pause in fighting.
Hamas official Taher Al-Nunu said that the militant group was “ready and serious regarding reaching an agreement.”
He said Hamas was “ready to accept any initiative that clearly leads to the complete end to the war.”
A Hamas delegation is expected to meet with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the proposal, according to an Egyptian official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the talks with the media.
Israel and Hamas disagree on how the war should end
Throughout the nearly 21-month-long war, ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over whether the war should end as part of any deal.
Hamas has said that it’s willing to free the remaining 50 hostages, less than half of whom are said to be alive, in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.
Israel says it will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and exiles itself, something the group refuses to do.
An Israeli official said that the latest proposal calls for a 60-day deal that would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a surge in humanitarian aid to the territory. The mediators and the US would provide assurances about talks to end the war, but Israel isn’t committing to that as part of the latest proposal, the official said.
The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the details of the proposed deal with the media and spoke on condition of anonymity.
It wasn’t clear how many hostages would be freed as part of the agreement, but previous proposals have called for the release of about 10.
Israel has yet to publicly comment on Trump’s announcement. On Monday, Trump is set to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, days after Ron Dermer, a senior Netanyahu adviser, held discussions with top US officials about Gaza, Iran and other matters.
Trump issues another warning
On Tuesday, Trump wrote on social media that Israel had “agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War.”
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he said.
Trump’s warning may find a skeptical audience with Hamas. Even before the expiration of the war’s longest ceasefire in March, Trump has repeatedly issued dramatic ultimatums to pressure Hamas to agree to longer pauses in the fighting that would see the release of more hostages and a return of more aid for Gaza’s civilians.
Still, Trump views the current moment as a potential turning point in the brutal conflict that has left more than 56,000 dead in the Palestinian territory. The Gaza Health Ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its death count, but says that more than half of the dead are women and children.
Since dawn Wednesday, Israeli strikes killed a total of 40 people across the Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry said. Hospital officials said four children and seven women were among the dead.
The Israeli military, which blames Hamas for the civilian casualties because it operates from populated areas, was looking into the reports.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages.
The war has left the coastal Palestinian territory in ruins, with much of the urban landscape flattened in the fighting. More than 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million population has been displaced, often multiple times. And the war has sparked a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, pushing hundreds of thousands of people toward hunger.
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Hamas orders rival armed group leader to surrender
July 02, 2025
GAZA CITY: Authorities in Hamas-ruled Gaza declared treason charges Wednesday against the leader of a rival armed group accused of working with Israel during its Gaza offensive, ordering him to turn himself in.
Yasser Abu Shabab, aged 35 according to Hamas's summons issued on Wednesday, is suspected of heading the Popular Forces group in southern Gaza.
Palestinian media say the group operates in the east of the southern city of Rafah in an area controlled by Israeli forces as they battle Hamas in the territory.
The "military judiciary authority" of the government in the Hamas-ruled territory ordered him "to surrender himself to the competent authorities for trial before the judicial bodies".
It said in a statement that its "revolutionary court" had "given Yasser Abu Shabab 10 days to turn himself in for trial on charges of treason, collaborating with hostile entities, forming an armed gang, and armed rebellion".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted last month that Israel was supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes Hamas, without naming it.
Israeli and Palestinian media named the group as the Popular Forces, led by Abu Shabab.
The European Council on Foreign Relations think tank described Abu Shabab as the leader of a "criminal gang operating in the Rafah area that is widely accused of looting aid trucks".
It said he was thought to have been previously imprisoned by Hamas for drug-trafficking.
The Popular Forces said in a statement on Sunday that they had raided a site where they said Hamas was storing food aid meant for civilians.
Hamas has accused the Popular Forces of collaborating with Israel to loot humanitarian aid.
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Gulf diplomacy with Iran helped limit conflict with Israel, Middle East experts say
JONATHAN LESSWARE
July 02, 2025
LONDON: Improved relations between Arab Gulf countries and Iran helped contain the recent conflict with Israel, Middle East experts said on Wednesday during a discussion about regional developments.
Israel attacked Iran on June 13 with airstrikes targeting its nuclear program and military sites. Iran retaliated during the 12-day conflict by launching salvos of missiles toward Israeli cities.
Many feared the war might escalate, dragging in other countries in the region, especially after the US joined the airstrikes on June 22 by dropping bombs on key Iranian nuclear sites.
While Iran did retaliate against the US by attacking Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar on June 23, President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire two days later, and Iran has refrained from attacking other US targets in the region.
When the war started, Gulf countries condemned Israel’s attacks on Iran and called for deescalation. There has been a shift in the region in recent years away from an adversarial relationship with Iran to one of more pragmatic relations, cemented by a Chinese-brokered agreement between Riyadh and Tehran in March 2023.
“That reintegration of Iran into the Gulf security complex has played a really prominent role in preventing this from getting out of hand,” Simon Mabon, a professor of international politics and director of the SEPAD peace and conflict research center at Lancaster University, said during a discussion about developments in the Middle East this year.
This approach showed Gulf states building a regional security architecture from the inside that is “inclusive,” he added. It is viewed as a more “pragmatic and more sustainable way of building a longer-term form of prosperity,” and the approach speaks to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 reforms program and the economic pragmatism of Gulf states, he added during the online event organized by SEPAD and the Foreign Policy Centre in London.
Eyad Alrefai, a lecturer in political science at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah and a SEPAD fellow, said the efforts to forge new relationships between Gulf countries and Iran meant that the nations had been able to “manage their differences diplomatically,” and this included economic issues.
There had been less Iranian interference in the domestic affairs of GCC countries, and also in the wider Arab region, he added. This included Iran’s decision not to get involved in Syria when President Bashar Assad, an Iranian ally, was removed from power by opposition fighters in December last year.
The West’s position on the Iran-Israel conflict, largely seen to be one of support of Israel, was symptomatic of the fact that those countries continue to adopt a “tactical” outlook toward the region rather than a strategic one, Alrefai said. He urged those countries to engage with the Middle East as a socioeconomic, sustainable project moving forward.
If the truce between Iran and Israel continues to hold, many see the end of the brief war as a potential opportunity for more stability in the region.
Lina Khatib, an associate fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Program, said there was “a real possibility for an integrated economic and security and political partnership” to emerge. She said a weakened Iran also opens up the chance to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Trump said on Tuesday that Israel had agreed to the terms of a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed during a devastating military campaign launched by Israeli authorities in response to the Hamas-led attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, during which 1,200 people were killed and dozens taken hostage.
Khatib said a shift in domestic Israeli politics, with pressure from Trump, could reopen a pathway toward a long-term agreement between Israel and Palestine. This would also lead to further normalization of relations between Israel and Arab countries, she added.
“This will in turn encourage the flow of funding to places like Lebanon and Syria for reconstruction, which could only be good news for these countries economically, but also will help with stability,” Khatib said.
“Having a stable region is very much in the interest of countries in the Gulf as well.”
Clive Jones, a professor of regional security and director of the Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at Durham University, said Israel had scored a huge win against Iran but ran the risk of failing to convert it into a diplomatic opportunity.
“The challenge for Israel now is how you actually cash in those military gains for diplomatic advantage,” he said.
“I think Israel is actually missing a huge opportunity, for example by not engaging more proactively with the new regime in Syria.”
He said Israel’s reliance on its military superiority would not be enough to secure long-term security.
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Lebanon PM steps up efforts on weapons control
NAJIA HOUSSARI
July 02, 2025
BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Wednesday said that his government is intensifying its efforts to confine weapons solely to state institutions and to extend its authority across all areas of the country as part of a broader push to advance the implementation of a ceasefire.
Salam’s comments come as Lebanese officials are drafting a response to Washington’s proposal to disarm Hezbollah, which was presented by the US envoy to Syria and Lebanon, Tom Barrack, during a visit to Beirut last month.
The proposal centers on achieving full disarmament by the end of the year, strengthening Lebanese-Syrian relations, implementing financial reforms, and establishing a UN-supervised mechanism to secure the release of prisoners held by Israel during the recent war on Hezbollah.
Barrack is scheduled to visit Beirut on Monday to discuss the response.
During his address to the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, Salam confirmed control over Rafik Hariri International Airport and its access roads as part of security measures aimed at combating smuggling and enhancing public safety.
However, he added that Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese territory is integral to the country’s stability, emphasizing Lebanon’s efforts to intensify political and diplomatic pressure to enforce Resolution 1701, secure the return of displaced citizens to their villages, and advance the reconstruction of areas devastated by last year’s war with Israel.
To date, a $250 million loan has been secured from the World Bank to fund the immediate reconstruction phase, pending parliamentary approval, said Salam.
In parallel, Lebanon is partnering with UN agencies to implement over $350 million worth of projects in the south — spanning education, health, shelter, and food security — as part of a four-year support plan.
Salam said that Lebanon will also host an international reconstruction conference in the coming months to mobilize support under the leadership of the government.
“Reconstruction is not solely a matter of engineering or finance, but a comprehensive political, economic, and social process,” he said.
“The cumulative crises facing Lebanon leave no room for delay or denial. True salvation requires meaningful reform that builds a modern state, one that restores the trust of its citizens and earns the confidence of the international community.”
Salam highlighted the role of regional countries in supporting Lebanon’s reconstruction, describing President Joseph Aoun’s visits to Arab states as “concrete steps toward revitalizing Lebanon’s relations with its Arab neighbors and reasserting its role within the framework of regional cooperation.”
He added: “The region is undergoing a historic transformation, and Lebanon cannot afford to stand on the sidelines. There can be no progress outside the Arab fold, and no future without a partnership founded on mutual respect and shared interests.”
The prime minister also noted the direct coordination with Syria to reinforce border security, curb smuggling activities, and ensure the safe return of Syrian refugees.
“We look forward to meaningful contributions that will help restore what has been lost and strengthen the country’s path to recovery.”
A tripartite committee composed of representatives from the offices of Salam, Aoun, and Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri recently held a series of meetings to draft a preliminary framework to serve as the executive response to the US disarmament proposal.
A political source familiar with the committee’s discussions told Arab News: “The atmosphere is constructive, and a preliminary draft of Lebanon’s response will be finalized by Monday, ahead of US envoy Barrack’s arrival in Beirut.”
The source said that Berri is tasked with communicating Hezbollah’s stance on the US demands.
“It is unlikely that Lebanon’s response will be any less stubborn than Israel’s. Lebanon cannot be expected to make all the compromises, while Israel ignores every ceasefire agreement,” the source said.
This includes Israel’s failure to withdraw from the five key Lebanese points it occupies, its daily attacks on southern and northern Lebanon, and refusal to release prisoners.
According to sources, Hezbollah refuses to be bound by any timeframe to disarm.
“It views Lebanon’s current treatment as a form of imposed guardianship, especially while Israel continues to pose an existential threat. The US is required to provide written guarantees of Israel’s full commitment to the agreement,” sources said.
Hezbollah confirmed that it has handed over the area south of the Litani River to the Lebanese Army, which then seized hundreds of weapons depots.
However, the situation regarding weapons north of the river is subject to different conditions, which the military group said is being handled through internal dialogue that began with Aoun several months ago.
Mohieddine Al-Shahimi, a professor of international law, told Arab News that the US proposal to Lebanon is nothing new.
“US envoy Barrack is simply laying out a roadmap for Lebanon to implement all the international resolutions it has previously failed to carry out, starting with the Taif accord and extending to the ceasefire agreement.”
The agreement, brokered by the US and France, aims to implement Resolution 1701, which calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament, exclusive control of weapons by the state, deployment of the Lebanese Army south of the Litani River, and the restoration of full Lebanese sovereignty over its territory.
“The agreement is being implemented gradually and depends on the state’s efforts, placing full responsibility on its shoulders. Only after this will Israel fulfill its obligations under the agreement,” Al-Shahimi said.
Al-Shahimi believes that Hezbollah is deliberately stalling.
“The party is waiting to see how American-Iranian relations unfold, while ignoring that Israel has grown more aggressive, and that Syria is very different from what it once was. Hezbollah is creating false hopes of guarantees. This strategy puts Lebanon dangerously close to the edge and plays directly into Iran’s hands.”
The Iran-backed group has been severely weakened by its war with Israel last year, with more than 70 percent of its military arsenal destroyed and many of its front-line fighters killed.
“Hezbollah knows that the situation has changed both locally and internationally, and its old tactics no longer work,” said Al-Shahimi.
“Iran, in turn, is draining Hezbollah, as it created the weapons to defend its own interests, but it does not see itself as responsible for defending Hezbollah. Perhaps Hezbollah, through its deliberate denial, is trying to gain internal leverage.”
Hezbollah has accused Israel of violating the Nov. 27 truce 3,799 times, including 1,916 airspace breaches and 112 maritime violations, resulting in 159 deaths and 433 injuries.
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Swiss move to dissolve Gaza aid delivery group’s Geneva branch
July 02, 2025
GENEVA: Switzerland on Wednesday initiated proceedings to dissolve the Geneva branch of the controversial, U.S- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid group, citing legal shortcomings in its establishment.
The GHF began handing out food packages in the Gaza Strip at the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid deliveries that has drawn UN criticism over a perceived lack of neutrality in Gaza’s war as well as the killings of hundreds of Palestinians in mass shootings near its distribution hubs.
The GHF is registered in the US state of Delaware and had registered an affiliate in Geneva on February 12. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Swiss move to shut down its Geneva office.
“The ESA may order the dissolution of the foundation if no creditors come forward within the legal 30-day period,” the Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA) said in a creditors notice published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce on Wednesday.
The ESA told Reuters the GHF had not fulfilled certain legal requirements including having the correct number of board members, a postal address or a Swiss bank account.
“GHF confirmed to the ESA that it had never carried out activities in Switzerland...and that it intends to dissolve the Geneva-registered (branch),” the ESA said in a statement.
Last week, Geneva authorities issued a separate legal notice to the GHF to remedy within 30 days “deficiencies in the organization” or face potential action.
More than 500 people have been killed near GHF distribution hubs in Gaza or along access roads guarded by Israeli forces since the GHF started operating, according to Palestinian medical authorities in the territory.
Israel’s military acknowledged on Monday that Palestinian civilians have been harmed near the distribution centers and its forces had been issued new instructions following what it called “lessons learned.”
The GHF has said that it has delivered more than 52 million meals to needy Palestinians in five weeks and that other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted.”
There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies in Gaza after a nearly two-year war by Israel against militant group Hamas that has displaced most of the enclave’s two million inhabitants and left much of it in rubble.
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Southeast Asia
PM Anwar meets Muslim community in Rome to promote moderation
Bernama
2025-07-03
ROME: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim engaged with Italy’s Muslim community during his working visit, reinforcing Malaysia’s commitment to fostering moderation and interfaith harmony. The meeting included key figures from Italy’s Islamic organisations, focusing on countering Islamophobia through dialogue and diplomacy.
Anwar emphasised Malaysia’s role in promoting an inclusive interpretation of Islam, stating, “I reaffirmed Malaysia’s commitment to promoting Islam that upholds moderation, tolerance and harmony through education, dakwah and international collaboration.” As a gesture of goodwill, he presented a special edition of the Quran and Italian-translated copies to the community.
Italy hosts approximately 2.7 million Muslims, making such engagements crucial for cross-cultural understanding. The Prime Minister also acknowledged the translation of his book, *The Asian Renaissance*, into Italian, praising the efforts of translator Andrea Fais and publisher Stefano Bonilauri.
“This work presents a broad vision of the revival of Asian civilisation through knowledge, culture, and justice,” Anwar said. He described the translation as a bridge between Eastern and Western thought, particularly valuable in today’s divided global climate.
The discussion highlighted the importance of shared values in addressing global imbalances. Anwar expressed hope that the book’s ideas on democracy and justice would inspire further international dialogue.
Source: thesun.my
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Prabowo Performs Umrah During State Visit to Saudi Arabia
Agnes Valentina Christa
July 3, 2025
Jakarta. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto performed the Umrah pilgrimage in Mecca during his state visit to Saudi Arabia, taking time to greet Indonesian pilgrims and pray inside the Kaaba.
Wearing the traditional white attire for Umrah, Prabowo was seen smiling and interacting warmly with Indonesian worshippers near the Grand Mosque. He also performed tawaf around the Kaaba, kissed the Hajar Aswad, and completed the sa’i between Safa and Marwah, concluding his pilgrimage with a symbolic head shave.
Photos shared by state media showed Prabowo walking in the mosque courtyard with senior Indonesian officials, including Chief Food Affairs Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Foreign Minister Sugiono, Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar, Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, and Hajj Management Agency head M. Irfan Yusuf.
Prabowo’s visit to Saudi Arabia also included a meeting with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman at the Al-Salam Palace. The two leaders discussed plans to establish an Indonesian Hajj and Umrah village in Saudi Arabia and explored ways to strengthen bilateral and regional cooperation.
Both leaders expressed deep concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, condemning ongoing Israeli aggression that has caused civilian casualties and infrastructure destruction. In a joint statement, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia reaffirmed their commitment to providing humanitarian assistance and supporting recovery efforts in Gaza while coordinating closely on delivering emergency aid.
The leaders also emphasized their shared commitment to advancing regional peace and maintaining global stability, pledging to intensify cooperation in addressing security challenges.
Source: jakartaglobe.id
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South Asia
ICT Accepts Charges Over Ashulia Police Killings, Burning Of Bodies
02 Jul 2025
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has accepted formal charges of crimes against humanity over the killing of six people and the burning of their bodies in Ashulia during last year’s July-August mass uprising.
The case accuses former MP Saiful Islam and 15 others. Following the decision, the tribunal issued arrest warrants for the absconding MP and seven others.
A three-member panel of the tribunal led by Justice Md Nazrul Islam Chowdhury made the decision on Wednesday.
Earlier, the prosecution submitted a 173-page formal complaint in the case to the tribunal. The investigation report into the much-discussed incident was handed over to the prosecution on Jun 19.
On that day, Prosecutor Mizanul Islam told reporters that 16 people, including former MP Saiful Islam, were named as accused in the formal complaint.
Seven of the accused, including detained police officers Abdullah Hill Kafi and Shahidul Islam, were brought to the tribunal in a prison van in the morning.
The complaint alleges that on Aug 5, 2024, police opened fire in Savar's Ashulia area, killing five people and critically injuring another. The bodies of the dead and the injured person were then placed in a police van, doused in petrol, and set ablaze.
The victims were identified as Sajjad Hossain (Sajal), As Sabur, Tanzil Mahmud Sujoy, Bayezid Bustami, and Abul Hossain. One victim remains unidentified.
A case was initially filed with the ICT on Sept 11, 2024, alleging crimes against humanity. The original complaint listed 11 accused.
They included former MP Saiful, former additional superintendent of police (Savar Circle) Md Shahidul Islam, former additional superintendent of police (Dhaka) Abdullah Hill Kafi, former chief of Ashulia Police Station AFM Sayed, former inspector of Dhaka District Detective Branch (North) Md Arafat Hossain, former sub-inspectors Abdul Malek, Arafat Uddin, Sheikh Abjalul Haque, Bishwajit Saha, and Kamrul Hasan, and former constable Mukul Chokder.
Eight of the accused have been arrested so far. Seven of them were produced before the tribunal on Wednesday.
According to the investigation report, the fatal shooting took place around 3pm on Aug 5, 2024, near the Ashulia Police Station.
After the shooting, the five bodies and the injured person were first placed in a police van and later moved to a car. Inside the vehicle, all six -- one of whom was still alive -- were doused in petrol and set on fire.
Source: bdnews24.com
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https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/3d1d2bfc9e52
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Deputy PM Mullah Baradar Engages in Bilateral Talks with Azerbaijani Prime Minister
2025-07-03
KABUL(BNA): Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, met with Ali Asadov, the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, On Wednesday in Baku during his visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan.
According to Bakhtar News Agency, quoting a statement from the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office for Economic Affairs, the meeting focused on expanding political, economic, trade, and transit relations between Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund called for an upgrade in the diplomatic presence of Afghanistan’s embassy in Baku and urged Azerbaijan to officially recognize and accept the ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the Islamic Emirate, based on its economy-centered policy, believes in regional connectivity and considers the Lapis Lazuli Corridor very important for increasing trade and transit between Afghanistan and regional countries. He also requested Azerbaijan to invest in Afghanistan’s oil and gas extraction and processing, railway network development, and solar and wind power generation, and to share its experiences with the Afghan people.
The Prime Minister of Azerbaijan expressed his country’s interest in broadening relations with Afghanistan through ECO (Economic Cooperation Organization) and bilateral and trilateral cooperation. He stated that Azerbaijan is ready to continue joint efforts in areas such as trade, investment, and economic collaboration.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/deputy-pm-mullah-baradar-engages-in-bilateral-talks-with-azerbaijani-prime-minister/
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Construction of Temporary Camp for Displaced Migrants Underway in Nimroz
2025-07-03
NIMROZ(BNA): The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) has initiated the construction of a temporary standard camp aimed at providing shelter for forcibly displaced migrants.
The camp is strategically located in the Pul-e-Abrisham area and is designed to meet all humanitarian standards, ensuring that the basic needs of the displaced individuals are adequately addressed.
Equipped with essential services, the camp will feature toilets, bathrooms, clean drinking water, electricity, a mosque, and a clinic. These facilities aim to create a peaceful and comfortable environment for the migrants, mirroring the successful Torkham camp model.
The situation for displaced individuals remains critical, this initiative by ANDMA represents a vital step towards providing immediate relief and support to those in need.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/construction-of-temporary-camp-for-displaced-migrants-underway-in-nimroz/
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Contempt of court: Hasina jailed for 6 months
Jul 3, 2025
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to six months' simple imprisonment for contempt of court over remarks she made during a phone conversation with a local leader, which the tribunal deemed obstruction to justice.
A three-member tribunal, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, handed down the verdict after hearing arguments from the prosecution, defence, and amicus curiae.
Shakil Akanda Bulbul, the local leader, was sentenced to two months in prison for his role in the conversation with Hasina.
The sentence will take effect once the convicts surrender before the court or are arrested by law enforcers.
Since Hasina fled the country, this was the first punishment handed down against her.
In the audio clip, Hasina is allegedly heard telling former Gobindaganj upazila chairman Shakil Akanda Bulbul, "I have had 227 cases filed against me, so I have received a licence to kill 227 people."
The tribunal said such a comment from a former prime minister and leader of a major political party could intimidate victims, investigators, prosecutors, judges, and staff of the tribunal and witnesses of cases of crimes against humanity committed during last year's July uprising.
The former premier is facing at least three cases at the ICT-1. She and her two top aides have already been charged with five counts of crimes against humanity for murder, attempted murder, torture, and use of lethal weapons, superior command responsibility, among others.
"This is a clear threat, and it prejudices the case," the tribunal noted in its order.
During the hearing, Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam told the tribunal that the audio clip was forensically examined and authenticated. The conversation between Hasina and Shakil lasted about 40 minutes.
At one stage of the hearing, the audio call recording featuring Hasina was played in the court.
Justice Shofiul Alam Mahmood asked whether the accused said anything specifically targeting tribunal officials?
In response, Tajul said there were three kinds of threats evident in the conversation: against the complainants of July's uprising cases; against investigators of the tribunal; and against witnesses of cases.
Investigators told the tribunal that the call was recorded and circulated via a Facebook group called "A-Team," which was reportedly used by Hasina to coordinate with leaders at the grassroots level. One of the group admins allegedly sent the audio clip to a local journalist in Gaibandha via WhatsApp, leading to its eventual publication in the media.
Tajul said the source, content, participants, and phone numbers involved in the call were all verified, and the accused never denied the authenticity of the conversation.
During the hearing, state-appointed defence counsel Md Amir Hossain argued that the allegations were "unfounded".
"If experts conducted a forensic test of the audio clip, they must come before the court and confirm that they signed and authenticated the report. Otherwise, how can we be sure of its authenticity?" he said.
The tribunal then heard submissions from senior High Court lawyer AY Masihuzzama, who said, "If someone is found prejudicing the administration of justice, it is your lordship who will decide what action to take."
In his final remarks, tribunal Chairman Justice Golam Mortuza said, "If the words of the accused create fear among victims, witnesses, prosecutors, or judges, especially when the accused is a former prime minister and leader of a major party, it qualifies as a clear threat and prejudice the cases."
He then passed the order, sentencing Hasina and Shakil.
After the verdict, lawyer Amir Hossain told journalists, "I'm not satisfied with the sentence and will take the next course of action after getting the order copy."
On April 30, the prosecution brought the matter before the tribunal, describing the conversation as an attempt to intimidate victims and witnesses in the ongoing trials.
Source: thedailystar.net
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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/contempt-court-hasina-jailed-6-months-3930631
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Mass Deportation of Afghans from Iran: Faiq calls on Tehran to reconsider policy
By Fidel Rahmati
July 3, 2025
Faiq urged Iran to reconsider its mass deportation of Afghan migrants, warning it could trigger a humanitarian and security crisis in the country.
The government of Afghanistan has called on Iran to immediately reconsider its decision to forcibly deport Afghan migrants, particularly former military personnel. The appeal was made by Naseer Ahmad Faiq, Afghanistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
In a statement posted on X on Wednesday, July 2, Faiq stressed that deportations must be carried out with full respect for human dignity and in line with international human rights principles. He warned that unjust and mass expulsions risk creating a broader humanitarian and security crisis across the region.
Faiq emphasized that a fair and humane approach to migration issues would play a vital role in preventing regional instability, especially at a time when many Afghans face threats under Taliban rule or are in exile under precarious conditions.
Prior to Faiq’s remarks, the Coordination Council of Afghanistan’s Political and Consular Missions had also called on Iranian authorities to respect the principle of human dignity in their treatment of Afghan refugees.
Recent reports indicate that Iran has significantly increased deportations of undocumented Afghans, with an average of 30,000 individuals being expelled daily, sparking serious concerns among Afghan and international observers.
The escalating deportation campaign has prompted urgent appeals from Afghan officials and humanitarian organizations to ensure migrant protections are upheld.
Afghanistan’s call for restraint and dignity in handling migration reflects growing fears of another humanitarian crisis and highlights the need for international dialogue and oversight.
Source: khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/mass-deportation-of-afghans-from-iran-faiq-calls-on-tehran-to-reconsider-policy/
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Pakistan
No-confidence motion not under consideration, says Senator Irfan Siddiqui
July 03, 2025
Senior PML-N leader and Senator Irfan Siddiqui has dismissed speculation about any ongoing discussions regarding a no-confidence motion against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
In a televised talk show appearance, Siddiqui emphasized that no such proposal is being considered at any high-level political forum. He acknowledged that a no-confidence motion is a constitutional and legal instrument—citing the example of the PTI founder’s removal through this process—but said interpreting a recent meeting between the KP Governor and the Prime Minister as a conspiracy is baseless.
“We have no intention of triggering a political crisis in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he stated firmly.
Senator Siddiqui also reaffirmed that the right to protest is guaranteed under the Constitution and every political party, including PTI, has the right to exercise it. However, he warned that any attempt to incite unrest under the pretext of protest would be met with an appropriate government response.
Source: nation.com.pk
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https://www.nation.com.pk/03-Jul-2025/no-confidence-motion-not-under-consideration-says-senator-irfan-siddiqui
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Bhutto: Kabul Violating Doha Deal, Threatening Regional Stability
By Fidel Rahmati
July 2, 2025
Bilawal Bhutto warned that the Kabul’s repeated violations of the Doha Agreement are threatening regional stability and undermining efforts to combat terrorism.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, has warned that the Taliban’s repeated violations of their commitments under the Doha Agreement are fueling regional instability. He emphasized that adherence to these promises is critical for maintaining peace.
Speaking at a seminar in Islamabad titled “Pakistan: A Barrier Against Terrorism”, Bhutto stated that terrorism is not just a local issue but a global threat. He noted that Pakistan has sacrificed heavily—both in human lives and economically—in its ongoing struggle against terrorism.
Bhutto directly addressed the Taliban leadership, urging them to remain faithful to the pledges made in the Doha Accord. He stressed that such commitment could prevent further destabilization and promote regional trust.
Under the Doha Agreement, the Taliban had promised not to allow extremist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS to use Afghanistan’s territory to threaten other nations, especially the United States. However, doubts over Taliban compliance have persisted.
Despite Taliban assurances that Afghanistan’s soil won’t be used against neighboring countries, Pakistani authorities accuse them of sheltering members of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a group blamed for numerous attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban have denied these allegations, maintaining that no foreign militant groups are being hosted.
Source: khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/bhutto-kabul-violating-doha-deal-threatening-regional-stability/
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PM Shehbaz to attend ECO Summit in Azerbaijan tomorrow
July 03, 2025
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will participate in the 17th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Summit, scheduled to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, over two days starting tomorrow.
Centered around the theme "New ECO Vision for a Sustainable and Climate Resilient Future," the summit will bring together regional leaders to discuss pressing global and regional challenges.
Leading the Pakistani delegation, Prime Minister Shehbaz will present Pakistan’s stance on key issues and reaffirm the country’s commitment to the ECO Vision 2025. He is expected to emphasize the importance of strengthening intra-regional trade, transport connectivity, energy cooperation, and sustainable development.
On the sidelines of the summit, the Prime Minister will also engage in bilateral meetings with fellow ECO leaders to discuss matters of mutual interest.
Source: nation.com.pk
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https://www.nation.com.pk/03-Jul-2025/pm-shehbaz-to-attend-eco-summit-in-azerbaijan-tomorrow
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Ruling coalition gets two-thirds majority
JAVAID UR RAHMAN
July 03, 2025
ISLAMABAD - A decisive shift in the political landscape has emerged after the Supreme Court verdict on reserved seats, as the ruling clique has secured two-thirds majority in the National Assembly (NA).
The long pending decision on reserves seats has given constitutional power to the treasury benches to easily approve constitutional amendments with its numerical strength. The National Assembly (NA) issued a notification that revealed that the government coalition now commands 235 seats out of the total 336, well above the 224-seat threshold required to amend the Constitution.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday issued an official notification restoring the reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the national and provincial assemblies, in compliance with a recent Supreme Court verdict and the notification takes immediate effect. According to the ECP, a total of 74 seats have been reinstated, including 19 in the National Assembly, 25 in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, 27 in the Punjab Assembly, and 3 in the Sindh Assembly.
According to the ECP, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has secured 13 reserved seats in the National Assembly, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has been allocated four such seats.
The PML-N’s returned MNAs on reserved seats include Ghazala Anjum, Shaheen, Tamkeen Akhtar Niazi, Saira Tarar, Huma Akhtar Chughtai, Mah Jabeen Khan Abbasi, Gulnaz Shahzadi, Shamaila Rana, Shazia Farid, Syeda Amnah Batool, Rabia Naseem Farooqi, Erum Hamid, and Neelum (Non-Muslim).
From the PPP, the elected MNAs are Asma Alamgir, Naima Kanwal, Natasha Daultana, and Ramesh Kumar Vankwani (Non-Muslim).
According to the notification, the reserved seat for women in the National Assembly allocated to Ms. Sadaf Ihsan has not been restored, in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order dated April 22, 2024, issued in CMA No. 3525/2024 and Civil Petition No. 1503/2024.
Additionally, JUI-F has secured reserved seats for Naeema Kishwar Khan and James Iqbal (Non-Muslim).
The notified members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on reserved seats for women and non-Muslims including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Balqees, Saira Afreen, Aiman Jalil Jan, Madina Gul Afridi, Rabia Shaheen, Nelofar Begum, Naheeda Noor, and Arifa Bibi.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) members notified for reserved seats are Amina Sardar, Faiza Malik, Afshan Hussain, Shazia Jadoon, Jamila Paracha, and Farah Khan.
Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) representatives include Shazia Tehman Khan, Sajida Tabassum, Mehr Sultana, Ashbar Jan Jadoon, Farzana Shereen, and Nadia Sher.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly the Awami National Party (ANP) secured one reserved seat, filled by Khadija Bibi.
The non-Muslim members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly include Asker Pervaiz and Gurpal Singh from JUI-F, Suresh Kumar from PML-N, and Beari Lal from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
In the Punjab Assembly, the returned members from PML-N on reserved seats include Sadia Muzaffar, Fizzah Mamoona, Abida Bashir, Maqsoodan Bibi, Amra Khan, Somia Atta, Rahat Afza, Rukhsana Shafiq, Tehseen Fawad, Farzana Abbas, Shagufta Faisal, Uzma Butt, Maria Talal, Sajida Naveed, Nasreen Riaz, Afshan Hassan, Amna Parveen, Sheher Bano, Zeba Ghafoor, Kanwal Nauman, and Saima Zahid. Other notified members included Rubina Nazir, (PPP), Syeda Sumaira Ahmed (Istehkam e Pakistan Party), Syeda Samreen Taj (Pakistan Muslim League).
The non-Muslim members from PML-N in Punjab Assembly are Waseem Anjam and Tariq Masih, while PPPP is represented by Basro Jee.
For the Sindh Assembly, the PPP’s notified members on reserved seats include Sumeta Afzal Syed, while MQM is represented by Musarrat Jabeen. The non-Muslim member notified for the Sindh Assembly is PPP’s Sadhumal Surendar Valsai.
Source: nation.com.pk
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https://www.nation.com.pk/03-Jul-2025/ruling-coalition-gets-two-thirds-majority
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SSP visits Bohra community’s mosque , Jamaat Khana
July 03, 2025
HYDERABAD - Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hyderabad Adeel Hussain Chandio visited the central mosque of Bohra community and Bohra Jamaat Khana. The organizers of the Bohra community Jamaat Khana, including Secretary Abbas Bhai Uzzi, Moeez Abbas Bhai Mamoonwala, Hussain Shaukat Bohra, Muhammad Bhai Cheeni Khamwala, Azhar Sheikh Shabbir Bhai Mamoonwala, Moeez Tahir Ali Vajlani and others, gave him a special welcome. SSP Hyderabad met with the scholars of the Bohra community, Sheikh Tayyab Bhai, elders and others. A detailed review of the arrangements and security arrangements for the ongoing gatherings on the occasion of Muharram-ul-Haram was taken and the organizers of the Bohra Jamaat Khana were appreciated for their discipline and organized arrangements. SSP Hyderabad took a detailed briefing on the security arrangements of the Bohra Jamaat Khana from DSP Cantt Gul Hassan Thebo and SHO Cantt Malik Javed Iqbal and made the security arrangements effective.
Source: nation.com.pk
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https://www.nation.com.pk/03-Jul-2025/ssp-visits-bohra-community-s-mosque-jamaat-khana
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ECP notifies restoration of reserved seats following Supreme Court ruling
July 2, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued a notification for the restoration of reserved seats after the Supreme Court’s decision.
According to the Election Commission, five reserved seats for women from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been restored in the National Assembly. The Muslim League (N) and the PPP have secured two seats each, while the JUI-F has secured one seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Eleven reserved seats for women in the National Assembly from Punjab have been restored, out of which 10 seats have been allocated to the Muslim League (N) and one to the PPP.
Three seats for minorities have also been restored in the National Assembly, out of which the Muslim League (N), the PPP and the JUI-F have got one minority seat each.
Reserved Seats in Provincial Assemblies
21 reserved seats for women have been restored in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, of which JUI has got 8, (N) League 6, and PPP 5 seats, while Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians and ANP have also got one reserved seat each.
Four minority seats have also been restored in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, of which JUI has got 2, Nawaz League and PPP have got one minority seat each.
24 reserved seats for women have been restored in the Punjab Assembly, of which 21 seats have been given to (N) League, one to PPP, one to Istehkam Pakistan Party, and one to Muslim League (Q).
According to the Election Commission, 3 minority seats have been restored in the Punjab Assembly, of which the (N) League has got 2 minority seats and the PPP has got one seat, while 2 reserved seats for women have been restored in the Sindh Assembly, of which one women’s seat has been given to the PPP and one to the MQM.
The Election Commission has withdrawn the notification declaring the successful candidates on general seats as candidates of the Tehreek-e-Insaf. These candidates had won general seats from the National Assembly, Punjab Assembly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, and Sindh Assembly.
Source: dailyausaf.com
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https://dailyausaf.com/en/pakistan/ecp-notifies-restoration-of-reserved-seats-following-supreme-court-ruling/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/self-proclaimed-sadhu-dhaba-worker-religious/d/136068