Mandir-Masjid: How Competitive Faith Politics Is Recasting Bengal's 2026 Poll Battle

New Age Islam News Bureau

13 December2025

Representative Image Photo

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·         Mandir-Masjid: How competitive faith politics is recasting Bengal's 2026 poll battle

·         Israeli settlements in West Bank growing at highest level since 2017: UN report

·         Islamic military alliance completes Riyadh training program

·         Two accused of terror plans on mosque and Jewish cemetery

·         Row erupts after pro-Israel Congressman calls praying Muslims 'barbarians': 'Dangerous, dehumanizing...'

·         Peaceful coexistence possible across faiths, says Sola Allyson

·         Malaysia welcomes UN resolution reaffirming Israel’s obligations in Occupied Palestinian Territory

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India

·         Security forces nab terrorist associated with Jaish-e-Mohammad in Pulwama, grenade recovered

·         Vande Mataram was anti-British. Here’s how it became ‘anti-Muslim’

·         Key accused in Mangaluru autorickshaw cooker blast case seeks to plead guilty to terrorism charges

·         ‘Film must be judged as a whole’: Kerala High Court upholds release of film ‘Haal’, rejects CBFC excision orders

·         ‘Matter requires consideration’: SC stays Kerala High Court’s verdict declaring Munambam land not Waqf property

·         Odisha gives CAA citizenship to 35 Hindus as unrest grows between settlers and tribal communities

·         Uttarakhand private school under fire after video shows students reciting kalma

·         December global nonfiction: Six fascinating new books about humanity’s iconic stories

·         AIMIM eyes Malda for polls, Owaisi's party plans march with focus on Muslim votes

·         Raided again Thursday, why this region is never off the radar of agencies

·         Can give you my kidney, not my vote: Assam CM Himanta on what a Miya Muslim told him

·         Police post built with stones thrown at cops during Sambhal clash opens

·         Kashmir police launch crackdown on vehicles without proper ownership transfer after Delhi car blast

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Mideast

·         US officials say Gaza stabilization force will not fight Hamas

·         Israel gives legal status to 19 West Bank settlements

·         Gaza amputees struggle to rebuild lives as the enclave faces shortages of prosthetic limbs

·         Children dying from cold as storm batters Gaza, killing 16

·         Syria welcomes US House vote to end ‘Caesar Act’ sanctions

·         Leader: Enemy seeks Iranian mind shift as only path towards success

·         Tens of Thousands perform Friday prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque, courtyards

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Arab World

·         Surviving the sands: The battle to save Arabian wolves

·         Ethiopian Cultural Days brings aroma of coffee, flavourful food to Alsuwaidi Park in Riyadh

·         KSrelief delivers 14 ambulances to Iraqi Kurdistan Health Ministry

·         China’s Chorus choir debuts in Saudi with ‘World Famous Songs’

·         Saudi Arabia advances in Universal Health Coverage index

·         SFDA’s generic drug conference in Riyadh to empower local pharmaceutical manufacturing

·         Eight Muslim countries, including Pakistan, back UNRWA; call its role in Gaza 'irreplaceable' amid crisis

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Europe

·         Interview: Cardinal Müller on Europe, Islam, the SSPX and the German Synodal Path

·         King says he can 'share the good news' his cancer treatment will be reduced

·         Kurdish community in UK stages protest over 'mistreatment' of Mullah Krekar in Italian custody

·         Member states step up opposition to EU seizing Russian funds – Politico

·         EU’s use of emergency powers on Russian assets will backfire – MEP

·         Ukraine wants West to pay for election

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North America

·         The US is teaching its European allies a harsh lesson in who’s really in charge

·         CAIR-LA Calls on Attorney General to Investigate Anti-Muslim Threats from Individual Targeting SoCal Mosques Online

·         Thorold, Ont., city hall lobby filled as vigil mourns teen denied traditional Muslim burial

·         CAIR-Cleveland Welcomes Apology for Racist Anti-Arab Post by Youngstown Council President

·         CAIR Welcomes Texas Securities Commissioner’s Refutation of False Claim Related to AG Paxton’s Anti-Muslim Lawsuit Against EPIC

·         Canada's Conservatives on shaky ground as MP defects to Carney's Liberals

·         Fyodor Lukyanov: Washington no longer sees Russia as Mordor

·         Denmark intel report warns of US military threat under Trump

·         Trump’s $100,000 visa move: 20 US states sue administration over H-1B fee hike; cite illegal burden on employers

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Africa

·         No Christian, Muslim genocide in Nigeria – Tinubu

·         Presidency Reacts To Alleged Plan To Kill On Christmas Day

·         US-Based NGO Warns Of Christmas Day Killing Plot, DSS Confirms Intelligence    

·         No Genocide Against Christians Or Muslims In Nigeria — Tinubu    

·         Nigerian Army Allegedly Detains, Tortures Ekiti Man For Protesting Troops’ Welfare

·         Defence Minister Condoles Family Of Slain Brig‑Gen Uba

·         Fuel tanker explosion kills at least eight people in Cameroon

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Southeast Asia

·         Saifuddin Nasution: Sabah poll outcome signals voters’ preference for local parties aligned with federal govt

·         Malaysia’s Defence Cooperation MoU with US unrelated to trade pact, says Khaled Nordin

·         ‘We won’t sugar-coat it’: Sabah Electricity admits reliability gaps in ongoing state power woes

·         Pahang distributes RM2.8 million in zakat for school supplies

·         Malaysia boosts social safety net with RM13 billion aid for 2025

·         Negeri Sembilan pioneers character building for future leaders

·         Malaysia and UAE sign defence MoU to boost military cooperation

·         Anwar discusses Cambodia-Thailand conflict with US President Trump

·         Malaysia to convene special ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting soon

·         Indonesia's Sharia Banking Assets Reach Record High in October

·         PM Anwar explains AGC’s withdrawal of Rosmah appeal as lawful

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South Asia

·         A Shift Toward Constructive Engagement on Afghanistan

·         Australia-Based Afghans Fund New Health Center in Kunar

·         Defense of Afghanistan’s Sovereignty; A Religious and Moral Duty

·         Health Minister Calls for UAE Support in Hospital Equipment, Polio Eradication

·         Sharif Calls for International Pressure on Kabul Amid Afghanistan Terror Threats

·         Afghanistan’s Elite “Zero Unit” Veterans in U.S. Face Mental Health Struggles, NPR Reports

·         Shooting of Hadi a ‘grim warning’ for election: Islami ‍Andolan

·         BNP, Jamaat, NCP voice concern over shooting of Dhaka-8 aspiring candidate Hadi

·         Shooting of Hadi: Protests erupt on university campuses

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/mandir-masjid-faith-politics-bengal/d/137998

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Mandir-Masjid: How competitive faith politics is recasting Bengal's 2026 poll battle

13 Dec 2025

Representative Image Photo

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KOLKATA: As West Bengal heads into an election year, a spate of temple–mosque announcements, scripture spectacles and date-sensitive symbolism is pushing the state’s politics into unfamiliar territory, sharpening communal polarisation in a borderland shaped by Partition memories, demographic anxieties and a coexistence periodically tested by political mobilisation.

From the bordering Murshidabad district to the planned township of Salt Lake on the eastern fringes of Kolkata, faith has emerged as the most audible idiom of political mobilisation, often drowning out conversations on migration, jobs, prices and governance, as rival players test how far religious assertion can stretch Bengal’s electoral grammar ahead of the Assembly polls.

The immediate spark came on December 6, which marks the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition.

Suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir pressed ahead with laying the foundation stone of a mosque “modelled on the original Babri structure” in Murshidabad’s Rejinagar, under unprecedented security cover.

Kabir argued that the political moment itself had shifted.

“People are trying to pretend that faith has no place in Bengal’s politics. That phase is over. Whether one likes it or not, questions of identity, dignity and religious rights will shape the next election. The next elections will be fought on questions of honour and belonging. Anyone denying that is not reading the ground,” Kabir told PTI.

In nearby Banjatiya in Murshidabad, BJP leaders also conducted groundwork rituals for a Ram temple, framing it as resistance to what they called minority appeasement.

Elsewhere, the saffron party sharpened its pitch around cultural assertion, while the TMC moved quickly to distance itself from Kabir’s actions.

“Bengal’s culture has never supported competitive religious politics. The party believes faith is personal and politics must remain inclusive. We will not allow Bengal to be converted into a laboratory for polarisation experiments borrowed from elsewhere,” TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.

The response underlined the party’s political tightrope — managing a minority base that accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the electorate, while arresting signs of Hindu drift amid intensifying identity politics.

On December 7, Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Grounds, the most politically loaded public stage, hosted a massive Bhagavad Gita recital projected as “five lakh voices chanting together”. Senior BJP leaders and nationally known monks filled the dais, even as organisers insisted the event was spiritual rather than political.

Kabir was quick to announce a similar Quran recital event in Murshidabad district.

Political scientist Maidul Islam said this is a very new phenomenon in Bengal politics.

“Leaders like Humayun Kabir and parties like the BJP and AIMIM are consciously trying to import Hindi heartland narratives into Bengal. Dates, symbols and mass religious performances — these are not accidental,” he told PTI.

BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya said that when one side uses religious symbolism to consolidate its vote bank, “the other cannot be expected to remain silent”.

“The politics of selective secularism will no longer work in Bengal. For decades, Hindu sentiments were pushed to the margins of the state’s political discourse. This is about to change,” he claimed.

For decades, Bengal’s political mobilisation rested largely on class, language and welfare, with religion operating as a secondary identity marker. Even during earlier communal flare-ups, mainstream parties avoided sustained, competitive religious symbolism.

However, Murshidabad, where Muslims form a numerical majority and memories of Partition displacement remain alive, has emerged as the epicentre, with mandir–masjid politics increasingly dominating public conversation.

In Salt Lake, posters appeared announcing an Ayodhya-style Ram temple complex with a hospital, school and old-age home. The proposed foundation ceremony is slated for Ram Navami next year, signalling how religious symbolism is now being projected deep into spaces associated with governance and power.

“When temple–mosque politics moves from border districts to planned urban centres, it signals ambition, not spontaneity,” political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty said, adding that it reflects an “attempt to normalise religious assertion as mainstream electoral language”.

The Congress and the Left, reduced to the margins in Bengal, have warned of historical repetition.

“We know where competitive communalism leads,” state Congress chief Subhankar Sarkar said, recalling the countrywide violence that followed the Babri demolition in the 1990s.

Bengal is a border state born of Partition, its social fabric shaped by refugee influx, demographic churn and episodic violence. While it never fully followed the Hindi heartland’s template of sustained religious polarisation, the scars remain real and politically exploitable.

“When economic distress dominates daily life, sudden mandir–masjid politics signals a deliberate narrative shift,” political scientist Subhomoy Moitra said.

With the Assembly elections months away, Bengal appears headed into a season of competitive symbolism, where mosques and temples are no longer merely places of faith but strategic markers on a polarised political map.

Whether this moment hardens into lasting division or recedes under electoral pragmatism may shape not just individual political fortunes but the future trajectory of Bengal’s political culture itself.

Source: newindianexpress.com

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2025/Dec/13/mandir-masjid-how-competitive-faith-politics-is-recasting-bengals-2026-poll-battle

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Israeli settlements in West Bank growing at highest level since 2017: UN report

December 13, 2025

New buildings stand around the Israeli settlement Migdalim near Nablus. (Reuters/File)

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UNITED NATIONS: The expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is at its highest level since at least 2017, when the United Nations began tracking such data, according to a report by the United Nations secretary-general seen by AFP on Friday.

In 2025, “plans for nearly 47,390 housing units were advanced, approved, or tendered, compared with some 26,170 in 2024,” the report said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned what he called the “relentless” expansion in a statement accompanying the report, saying it “continues to fuel tensions, impede access by Palestinians to their land and threaten the viability of a fully independent, democratic, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State.”

Source: arabnews.com

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2626069/middle-east

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Islamic military alliance completes Riyadh training program

December 12, 2025

The program aimed to enhance the intelligence readiness of military and civilian personnel from member states. (SPA)

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RIYADH: The Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition has concluded a five-day tactical intelligence training program at its Riyadh headquarters, where a total of 22 military trainees took part, representing Jordan, Pakistan, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Guinea, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Senegal.

The program aimed to enhance the intelligence readiness of military and civilian personnel from member states, improving their efficiency and capabilities in counterterrorism. It is one of 46 training initiatives offered by Saudi Arabia in support of the coalition’s efforts to develop and empower national talent.

The alliance also aims to coordinate, unify and support the efforts of member countries in ideology, communications, and financing as well as in the military domain in partnership with friendly countries and international organizations.

Most Muslim countries have joined the coalition, which also benefits from the support and respect of the international community.

Source: arabnews.com

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2626061/saudi-arabia

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Two accused of terror plans on mosque and Jewish cemetery

Owain Evans

13 December, 2025

Rhys Edwards and Talan Vincent are alleged to have been planning the attacks at the Madina Mosque and a Jewish cemetery in Cardiff

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Two men have appeared in court accused of planning a terrorist attack against Muslim and Jewish targets in Cardiff.

Rhys Edwards and Talan Vincent, both 18, are alleged to have been planning the attacks at the Madina Mosque and a Jewish cemetery in Cardiff between 1 October and 16 November.

Mr Edwards, from the Heath area of Cardiff and Mr Vincent from the Whitchurch area of the city have both been charged with preparation of acts of terrorism.

Both defendants, who appeared via video-link from HMP Thameside, indicated during the hearing at the Old Bailey on Friday that they would be pleading not guilty.

Prosecutor Christopher Hewertson said the defendants allegedly researched acquiring an AR15 automatic weapon and wanted to acquire sophisticated 3D printing equipment to potentially print gun parts.

The court heard they are accused of planning to reverse a van with false number plates up to the doors of the Madina Mosque so that no-one could escape before opening fire with automatic weapons, before allegedly planning how they would escape the scene.

It is alleged they also discussed loading a van with 1,000kg (about 157st) of ammonium nitrate explosive and how they would acquire such an amount without arousing suspicion.

The pair had been in dialogue using an app called Discord, the court heard. It is alleged Mr Edwards discussed his intention to kill Jewish people and Muslims and made claims about the "superiority of his own race".

Mr Vincent is accused of researching software security for the attacks, while the defendants are alleged to have sourced aerial photos of attack locations, including the Jewish cemetery near Roath Park as well as a synagogue in the city.

The judge was told that both defendants would indicate not guilty pleas based on a lack of intent to carry out acts of terrorism, while a representative for Mr Edwards said some of his comments on Discord were nothing more than "rage-baiting".

A provisional trial date has been set for February 2027.

Source: bbc.com

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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqlkkekwdg9o

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Row erupts after pro-Israel Congressman calls praying Muslims 'barbarians': 'Dangerous, dehumanizing...'

Dec 13, 2025

Anti-Islam Republican Congressman Randy Fine stirred a row after he came across a social media post of Muslims praying on the streets in Brooklyn, New York, and called them 'barbarians.'

The post was deleted, but not before progressive leaders and religious communities condemned the comments.

In a comment on X, Fine said this about Muslims praying on the street: "The barbarians are no longer outside the gate, they're inside. This is happening in Brooklyn, NY. America must wake up now."

After a few moments, the American Jewish Committee slammed Fine for his "dehumanizing" and "unacceptable" comments.

The Committee replied: "Jews know all too well how demonizing rhetoric and stoking fear can fuel discrimination and violence."

"Religious freedom is a cornerstone of American life, and the right of Muslims, and any faith community, to pray without slander or suspicion must be protected."

It was quite ironic to take criticism from Jews because of Randy's hard-line pro-Israel stance on the topic of the Middle East crisis.

Furthermore, Democratic Congressman Dan Goldman also weighed in on the hateful comment. On X he said: "It is despicable and unacceptable for a member of Congress to call people in prayer barbarians. The threat here isn’t Brooklynites praying. The threat is Rep. Fine spewing disgusting slurs about another religious faith."

It is despicable and unacceptable for a member of Congress to call people in prayer “barbarians.”

The threat here isn’t Brooklynites praying.

The threat is Rep. Fine spewing disgusting slurs about another religious faith.@RepFine must apologize and retract this tweet… https://t.co/Xe6Ls2S0KR

Goldman called for an apology and retraction of the tweet. The post was deleted, but Fine has not apologized for the Islamophobic comments as of now.

Randy Fine has also faced backlash for uploading a photo of himself in his office with an Israeli flag in the background. Earlier this week, ex-DOGE lead Elon Musk called for the deportation of anyone who raises a foreign flag in one's own country. The same method was applied to Fine by social media.

The Republican Congressman has long voiced his anti-Islam stance on conferences and even described "How to Deal with Mainstream Muslims." In a post on X, he said: “I don’t know how you make peace with those who seek your destruction, I think you destroy them first.”

Rep. Fine on How to Deal with Mainstream Muslims: “I don’t know how you make peace with those who seek your destruction, I think you destroy them first.” 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/vpcS5QX6II

Source: indiatimes.com

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/row-erupts-after-pro-israel-congressman-calls-praying-muslimsbarbarians-dangerous-dehumanizing-/articleshow/125939918.cms

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Peaceful coexistence possible across faiths, says Sola Allyson

by Adeniyi Adewoyin

December 13, 2025

Inspirational singer Sola Allyson has spoken about her early exposure to multiple religions, saying her upbringing took her through Islam and Christianity at different stages of her childhood.

Allyson, who shared the experience in a recent interview, explained that her environment largely determined the faith she practised while growing up.

“As a child I didn’t have the control to make certain choices. I had to practice the religion they practiced in the places I lived,” she said.

According to her, her mother, aunt and grandmother all came from Muslim backgrounds, which meant she was raised as a Muslim whenever she lived with them.

“My mother is from a Muslim background and so is my aunt and grandmother so I practiced Islam when I lived with them,” she noted.

She added that her faith practice shifted again when she later moved into a Christian household. “When I moved to another place where they practiced Christianity I also worshipped with them as a Christian,” she said.

Despite her exposure to various beliefs, Allyson maintained that her personal relationship with God remains above any religious label.

“Personally, knowing God’s love is more important than religion,” she said.

The singer stressed that peaceful coexistence is possible among people of different faiths and that relating with others should not be mistaken for adopting their beliefs.

“If I’m with you and you’re a Muslim we will definitely have a good time, if I’m with you and you are a traditionalist we will also have a good time. The fact that I’m talking with you doesn’t mean that I have adopted your faith,” she said.

Calling for mutual respect, she urged Nigerians to avoid hostility over religious differences. “We all can practice our religion respectfully. We don’t have to hurl insults at each other. God is one,” she added.

Source: thenationonlineng.net

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://thenationonlineng.net/peaceful-coexistence-possible-across-faiths-says-sola-allyson/

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Malaysia welcomes UN resolution reaffirming Israel’s obligations in Occupied Palestinian Territory

13 Dec 2025

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Malaysia welcomes the adoption of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on Friday reaffirming Israel’s obligations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said the resolution, led by a group of like-minded countries including Malaysia, reaffirms the primacy of international law and underscores the international community’s collective resolve to fully and swiftly implement the recent findings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its Advisory Opinion.

The adoption of the resolution gives effect to the ICJ Advisory Opinion of Oct 22, 2025, on the obligations of Israel as the occupying power and as a member state of the United Nations (UN) regarding the presence and activities of the UN, other international organisations, and third states in the OPT.

The resolution received overwhelming support from UN member states with 139 votes in favour.

Malaysia demands Israel’s immediate compliance with all its legal obligations, including to facilitate, without obstruction, humanitarian relief efforts by UN entities, particularly the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as well as by international organisations and member states.

This is to protect all humanitarian and medical personnel, and to uphold the privileges, immunities, and inviolability of the UN, its premises, property, and officials.

“Malaysia will continue to work with the international community to ensure a just, comprehensive, and lasting solution to the question of Palestine, in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions,” the ministry added. — Bernama

Source: malaymail.com

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/12/13/malaysia-welcomes-un-resolution-reaffirming-israels-obligations-in-occupied-palestinian-territory/201775

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India

 

Security forces nab terrorist associated with Jaish-e-Mohammad in Pulwama, grenade recovered

12.12.25

Security forces arrested an alleged terrorist associated with the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district and recovered a grenade from his possession, police said on Friday.

Jammu and Kashmir Police in Awantipora, along with security forces, arrested a terror associate identified as Musaib Nazir involved in supporting terrorist activities, a police spokesman said.

"Acting on a credible input about the movement of a suspect at Naner Midoora area, security forces launched a search operation in the area," the spokesman said.

During the search, Nazir, a resident of Ladhoo Khrew area in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, allegedly associated with JeM, was apprehended and a grenade was recovered from his possession, the spokesman added.

He said a case has been registered and further investigation is ongoing.

Source: telegraphindia.com

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/security-forces-nab-terrorist-associated-with-jaish-e-mohammad-in-pulwama-grenade-recovered/cid/2137587

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Vande Mataram was anti-British. Here’s how it became ‘anti-Muslim’

IBN KHALDUN BHARATI

12 December, 2025

The Muslim opposition to Vande Mataram is well known. However, the reason behind it is not well understood. Actually, it’s beyond comprehension. Their objection to the national song is formulated in such abstruse theological terms that even an educated Muslim can’t grasp its esoteric nuance. In reality, it’s not so much an opposition to the song as to the idea behind it — the idea of India as a nation. It’s the idea that Hindus and Muslims become an organic whole to form an inseparable political community. The major Muslim ideologues insisted on their separateness, and separate they remain.

To say that saying Vande Mataram (Salutations, O’ Mother) evokes the imagery of idol worship is the kind of convoluted reasoning that defies common sense. Furthermore, to emphasise that the hostility to idol worship is the foundational creed of Islam, and that it’s incumbent on every Muslim to wear this abhorrence on sleeve, isn’t really conducive to diversity, pluralism, peaceful coexistence, and composite nationhood — the ideals in which the Muslims have greater stake than anyone else.

Recently, Maulana Mahmood Madani, the head of the largest organisation of ulema in India, Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, made a controversial speech, in which he stressed the imperative of jihad in India. He also said, “Murda qaumen mushkilaat mein mubtala nahin hotin. Wo to surrender kar deti hain. Wo kahenge ke Vande Mataram padho to padhna shuru kar denge. (Dead communities don’t face any difficulty since they surrender readily. When asked to chant Vande Mataram, they willingly do that).”

The ferocity with which these Muslims proclaim their revulsion for Vande Mataram, and the grim determination with which they threaten to go to war if its public singing were to be revived, makes one wonder if there is actually something so repugnant in the song that a Muslim can’t countenance it if he were to remain true to his faith.

Is there a problem?

Let’s see if there is anything in Vande Mataram that makes Muslims recoil in horror. Arif Mohammed Khan, the scholarly Governor of Bihar, translated into Urdu the two stanzas that have the status of the national song, and sent the same to one of the most prominent Islamic seminaries, the Nadwa, at Lucknow, for their opinion on it; specifically asking if there was anything in it that was contrary to Islam.

It was presented as an original composition, and not a translation. He had rendered the key words, Vande Mataram, as “Taslimaat, Maa, Taslimaat”. The ulema at Nadwa opined that there was nothing in the song that contravened Islam. One, however, suspects that if they knew it to be the translation of Vande Mataram, they might have had a different opinion. Such is politics and such is the power of narrative!

The reality behind the narrative

The root of the Sanskrit word ‘Vande’ is ‘Vand’. According to Sanskritist Monier Monier-Williams, depending on the context, ‘Vand’ means “to praise, celebrate, laud, extol, to show honour, do homage, salute respectfully; or, venerate, worship, adore”. The primary meaning is not worship; certainly, not the ritual worship. Even if it were, hasn’t Urdu poetry been more extravagant in such expressions. For example, Iqbal, the poet of Islamic revivalism, in one of his earlier poems, said, “Khaak-e watan ka mujhko har zarra devta hai” (every particle of the country is a god unto me)”. Iqbal’s fans — quite a few of them being fundamentalist fanatics — never saw anything amiss in this.

Can there be a nation without motherland?

As for Mataram, i.e., mother — Mother India — Urdu has a beautiful term, Madar-e-Watan, the motherland. No Muslim ever found this concept contrary to Islam. In fact, the most literal and yet most exquisite rendition of Vande Mataram has been AR Rahman’s song Maa Tujhe Salaam.

There are numerous ayats in the Quran (7:12, 23:12, 30:20, etc.) which say that we are made of earth, and it is the source of life and the place of origin. It’s implied that, in a deeper sense, the earth is the mother, and one’s own place is the motherland.

In a display of genius that is peculiar to them, the Muslim leaders espied the idol of a deity in the conception of motherland, and flinched from its adoration. Even in Pakistan — which broke away from us, on difference over the Indian nationhood, and the sacredness of the motherland — Asim Munir, the generalissimo, can be seen referring to his country as motherland.

Nowhere else in the world, the Muslims have had any problem with the concepts of nationalism and the sacredness of the respective countries. The literal translation of the word ‘Pakistan’ is holy land, which in Hindi translates as punya bhumi. The Indian Muslims, however, can’t accord this status to their own country.

In the Islamic political praxis, Muslims are nationalist if they are in majority, and the rule is theirs. But if they can’t rule the country, they can’t be nationalist either. In a debate that raged between poet Muhammad Iqbal and Jawaharlal Nehru, the former candidly said, “In majority countries Islam accommodates nationalism; for there Islam and nationalism are practically identical; in minority countries it is justified in seeking self-determination as a cultural unit”. (Modern Review, Calcutta, 1934-35)

There’s a deeper reality. Without recognising the country as the motherland, there can’t be a nation. But can the people who came as invaders, conquered the country, and ruled it for centuries, ever accord the status of mother to the vanquished territory? Could the British ever regard India as mother?

The Muslim ideology has been in the hands of the elite descended from the old ruling class. The Muslim masses follow it uncritically because it’s couched in religious idiom, and religion is not to be questioned.

Anandmath, anti-Muslim?

Regarding Vande Mataram being a part of the novel Anandmath; well, it’s true that the poem, though independently written, has been interpolated in the book. It’s also true that the theme of the book is the Sanyasi rebellion of 1770s, which was an uprising against the oppressive Muslim rule, and therefore, some passages have clear anti–Muslim overtones. But isn’t it equally true that those Muslim rulers were oppressors, and their religious hostility toward the Hindu peasants was an added factor in oppression? So, why shouldn’t the rebellion against them be seen as a class war of the oppressed against the oppressors, and the fulmination against them should be seen in perspective, and not misconstrued as invective against ordinary Muslims who belonged to the same class as them? Haven’t we seen this kind of class analysis about the Moplah “Rebellion”?

But, it’s not possible despite the fact that a large number of Marxist historians have been Muslim. That’s because, these historians, when it suits them, treat Muslims as a monolith, ignoring their socioeconomic diversities. Thus, a justified diatribe against the Nawabi system is seen as a tirade against ordinary Muslims. What if Indian Christians were to see in the criticism of the British rule the condemnation of ordinary Christians?

By the way, no Indian ever rejected the popular patriotic song Saare Jahan Se Achha just because it’s from the pen of Iqbal, the separatist ideologue.

The genesis

Vande Mataram, set to tune by Rabindranath Tagore, had been sung in the Congress sessions since 1896. No Muslim leader ever found it antithetical to their religion. Even during the Swadeshi Movement, which was a response to the Partition of Bengal (1905), when this song became the anthem of resistance to the British, one doesn’t hear of any objection to its purported polytheistic imagery. This was despite the fact the division of Bengal was on religious lines, and it supposedly favoured the Muslim majority of East Bengal. Even Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the great Islamic scholar and thinker, who claims to have joined the underground revolutionary movement of the Bengali youth, doesn’t record any religious objections to it.

Even during the Khilafat Movement (1919-24), when the Congress was working on pan-Islamist agenda, Vande Mataram continued to be sung in its gatherings, in the presence of the leading Khilafatist maulanas, who, then, dominated its proceedings.

How an anti-British song became ‘anti-Muslim’

From 1896 to 1937, Vande Mataram was the staple for the Congress. And then, elections were held under the Government of India Act, 1935; and Congress ministries were formed in provinces. After centuries, the natives of India, the Hindus, were in power. The Muslim ruling class could endure British rule, but seeing their former subjects becoming rulers was beyond their endurance. For centuries, they had been conditioned to look down upon the Hindus, and now the same Hindus were ministers. They freaked out, and began hallucinating about the Hindu oppression. As they upped the ante for a desperate fight, their glance fell upon the ‘Durga’ and ‘Lakshmi’ in Vande Mataram, and the Islam-in-danger bogey became ever more palpable.

This situation has been best summarised by a nationalist Muslim, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai. In a statement that was published in The Pioneer on 19 October 1937, that merits in-extenso reproduction, he said, “Mr. Jinnah characterises Vande Mataram as an anti-Islamic song. Mr Jinnah had been a devoted and enthusiastic member of the Congress and of its chief executive, the All-India Congress Committee, for a number of years. Every year, the session of the Congress opened with the singing of this song, and every year he was seen on the platform listening to the song with the attention of a devotee. Did he ever protest? Mr Jinnah left the Congress, not because he thought the Vande Mataram was an anti-Islamic song, but because he had found the idea of swaraj unacceptable.”

Both Churchill and Chamberlain in Nehru

The Muslim League, having suffered a rout in the 1937 elections, and further failing to force its way into the government in the United Provinces — not on the basis of the seats won, but as an entitlement for having once been the rulers — suddenly realised that Vande Mataram was idolatrous, and raised a war cry against it.

In the book Vande Mataram: The Biography of a Song, historian Sabyasachi Bhattacharya details the debates in the Congress, and the correspondence between Nehru, Bose, and Rabindranath Tagore. Nehru’s first reaction was: “The present outcry against Bande Mataram is to a large extent a manufactured one by the communalists.” However, soon, in order to appease the communalists, he said that having read the English translation of Anandmath, he was of the opinion that it was “likely to irritate the Muslims”. And so, he set out “to meet real grievances where they exist(ed).” That is how the Congress Working Committee, on 26 October 1937 (just days after Kidwai’s remonstrance), decided to truncate the song, and adopt only the first two stanzas as they were “unobjectionable”.

Such bending backward before the communalists recalls to mind what Atal Bihari Vajpayee once told Nehru about the streak of appeasement in him: “In you, there are both Churchill and Chamberlain”.

Sabyasachi Bhattacharya narrates how this concession couldn’t satisfy the Muslim League, as they insisted on the deletion of Vande Mataram in toto. Jinnah wrote, “Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru cannot be unaware that Muslims all over have refused to accept the Vande Mataram or any expurgated edition of the anti-Muslim song as a binding National Anthem”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is right in his analysis that the mutilation of Vande Mataram whetted the appetite of the Muslim League, and became the prelude to the partition of India. It is in the logic of appeasement that instead of resolving an issue, it exacerbates it.

Even now, the Muslim leadership remains as staunchly against Vande Mataram as it was during Jinnah’s time. So, what is gained by cutting out the better part of the song; and, what’s been gained by acquiescing to the partition?

The way forward

Since 2014, because of the conducive atmosphere provided, the Muslims have been showing an unprecedented fondness for the Constitution, and the sacred symbols of the nation. The Independence and Republic Days are celebrated with gaiety in Muslim institutions, including madrasas; and the national anthem is sung with gusto. Many a time, one can see the national flag waving from the high minaret of a mosque. If a better atmosphere is conduced, the Muslims will sing Vande Mataram with as much fervour as anyone else.

Source: theprint.in

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Key accused in Mangaluru autorickshaw cooker blast case seeks to plead guilty to terrorism charges

December 12, 2025

The main accused in the Mangaluru cooker bomb blast case in November 2022 has sought to plead guilty in the case where he is facing a trial on charges of terrorism, sources said.

Mohammed Shariq, 26, who is a member of an Islamic State (IS) module that emerged from the Shivamogga region of Karnataka, which is linked to multiple terror-linked incidents in the state, has moved an application to the special court for terrorism cases under Section 229 of the Criminal Procedure Code this week for pleading guilty in the Mangaluru cooker blast case that occured in an autorickshaw.

Shariq and the autorickshaw driver were injured after a low-intensity bomb allegedly intended for a terror act near the Dharmasthala Manjunatha Swamy Temple in Mangaluru exploded prematurely in the autorickshaw on November 19, 2022, owing to an error — the timer was mistakenly set for nine seconds instead of 90 minutes in the blast. He was arrested for the accidental blast after being discharged from the hospital.

“At this stage, learned counsel for accused No.1 submits that he has already filed an application u/S.229 of Cr.P.C. In view of the same, the Superintendent, Central Prison, Bengaluru, is directed to produce accused No.1 physically before the court on 22.12.2025 to enquire accused No.1 on the said application in the open court,” the special court said on December 8.

Shariq had previously, in April 2024, pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charges of terrorism, criminal conspiracy, attempt to murder, forgery, and charges under the Explosive Substances Act and had sought a trial.

Several people who are accused in terrorism cases in Karnataka have sought to plead guilty to their crimes in recent times to serve a shorter sentence in prison rather than face a prolonged trial and a prison sentence.

On November 21, two associates of Shariq — Mohammed Zabiullah, 34, and Nadeem Faizal, 29 — were sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty in the Shivamogga terror module case. The two were arrested in 2022, and the sentencing after they pleaded guilty meant a prison term of three years instead of a prolonged trial.

Shariq was wanted in 2022 Shivamogga terror case

At the time of the incident, Shariq was wanted in a 2022 Shivamogga terror case for alleged links to an IS module that had tested IEDs. He was arrested in 2020 for painting anti-national graffiti on a wall in Mangaluru.

Members of the Shivamogga module are also accused in the 2024 Rameshwaram Cafe blast case in Bengaluru, where an IED similar to the one used by Shariq in Mangaluru on November 19, 2022, was planted by Mussavir Hussain, a founding member of the Shivamogga module, along with the now-arrested Abdul Matheen Taha.

The Shivamogga module is suspected to have received over Rs 3 lakh in cryptocurrency from handlers between 2020 and 2022. The accused Shariq, who was training others to make IEDs, sent money to Syed Yasin — a co-accused in the Mangaluru blast case — through cryptocurrency to make a bomb that was tested in Shivamogga in August-September 2022.

Shariq, a BCom degreeholder, was in jail for eight months in 2021 for writing provocative graffiti on a police station wall in Mangaluru.

The two from the Shivamogga module – Zabiullah and Nadeem Faizal – who were convicted last month – were allegedly paid by Shariq for participation in a terror conspiracy by conducting recces for targets of attack – on the directions of a handler based abroad who identified himself in online chats only as the “Colonel” – who has been identified by agencies as a missing 2012 Bengaluru terror case suspect – Mohammed Shahid Faizal.

Source: indianexpress.com

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‘Film must be judged as a whole’: Kerala High Court upholds release of film ‘Haal’, rejects CBFC excision orders

by Richa Sahay

December 13, 2025

Haal Film Release Verdict News: The Kerala High Court recently dismissed the appeal of Catholic Congress and Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) objecting to several scenes of the “Haal” movie including alleged ‘love jihad’ references and the burqa scene, finding the objections “totally unfounded and trumped-up” and based on the viewpoint of a person having a “hypersensitive, intolerant, and blinkered mind.”

Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and P V Balakrishnan said, “The film must be judged by its overall message and not from isolated depictions of social evils and it need not comply strictly with religious requirements or be excessively moralising.”

“Care must also be taken not to crucify the rights of an expressive mind, which may create characters different than an ordinary man and the judgment must be on the basis of the standards of a reasonable, strong-minded, and courageous man, having common sense and prudence and not that of a person who is hypersensitive and is having a wobbling mind,” the court added.

The court was hearing the appeal from the Catholic Congress and CBFC, challenging the single bench’s November order directing the censor board to issue a fresh certificate after completing the procedural formalities within two months of resubmission.

The censor board had earlier suggested modifications and excisions of various scenes, including the beef-eating scene and the burqa scene, of which the filmmakers voluntarily accepted only two excisions.

On December 12, the high court upheld the single judge’s directions for fresh certification of the film after procedural compliance.

Love story between ‘Muslim boy, Christian girl’

The high court, after watching the Shane Nigam starrer film on December 3, said, “The movie as a whole depicts a love story between a Muslim boy and a Christian girl, facing opposition from their families against their union.”

The court noted that the opposition from the respective families, in the film, was based on their own religious beliefs and ultimately, both the boy and the girl overcame the hurdle with the help of a well-wisher who acted as their “guardian” and convinced their families to move forward in their lives by setting aside their faiths.

“The movie shows that religious leaders of both the communities also accept the above view and repent their earlier actions,” the order read.

‘Love jihad, conversion scene’

The love jihad scene, as the court held, cannot be considered as “supporting or negating the existence of the movement” the way it has been portrayed by the characters of the movie.

On the heroine’s conversion scene in the movie, the court said, “There is nothing in the movie to show that the heroine was forced to undergo such a process.”

Rejecting the contentions of the appellants, the court found it was only based on the viewpoint of a person having a “hypersensitive, intolerant, and blinkered mind”.

‘Burqa scene’

The court noted that the scene where the heroine, a Christian girl, was wearing Muslim attire and the hero was interrogated by police officers in the police station cannot be considered as “indecent, immoral, contemptuous, affecting public order or affecting the morale of the police force as such.”

‘Love has no religion’

The “Haal” movie’s representative, advocate Joseph Kodiyanthra, submitted that a movie should be judged in its “entirety” from the point of view of its overall impact and through the eyes of an “ordinary human being.”

He contended that the movie does not contain any visuals/words that are contemptuous of any religion or community. He also mentioned that the movie only “conveys the message that love has no religion and that the couples can move forward in their life, by keeping aside each of their religious tenets/culture.”

On the contrary, the censor board’s advocate G Sreekumar contended that the modifications prescribed by the censor board were required to be adhered to and said, “those scenes are against public order, decency, and morality of the society and will not adhere to the contemporary.”

Background

The movie “Haal,” created under the banner “JVJ Productions,” was initially scheduled to release for Onam, but got delayed. The regional office of the CBFC informed the producer that the revising committee and the board have come to the conclusion that the film is not suitable for unrestricted public exhibition, but may be suitable for public exhibition restricted to adults after making deletions and modifications.

The CBFC demanded the makers of the Shane Nigam-starrer to carry out six modifications or deletions of several dialogues and scenes, including one pertaining to beef biryani. The filmmakers subsequently moved the high court against the board’s stance which directed the censor board to issue fresh certification to the Malayalam film.

Source: indianexpress.com

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‘Matter requires consideration’: SC stays Kerala High Court’s verdict declaring Munambam land not Waqf property

December 12, 2025

The Supreme Court Friday ordered an interim stay of the Kerala High Court ruling, which declared that the land in Kochi’s Munambam, over which a dispute had arisen, is not Waqf land.

A bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Ujjal Bhuyan wondered if the Kerala High Court could have undertaken such an exercise, as the appropriate forum would be the Waqf Tribunal. The court ordered the status quo regarding the land for now.

“The matter requires consideration. Issue notice returnable in the week commencing January 27. In the meantime, the declaration in the impugned judgment that the property in question is not the subject matter of waqf shall remain stayed, and the status quo as regards the same shall be maintained,” the bench ordered.

‘Can the writ court go into all this?’

The bench clarified that it was not staying the High Court observation upholding the Kerala Government’s decision to appoint a one-member Commission of Inquiry to examine the status and extent of a 404.76-acre property.

When informed that the proceedings are pending before a Tribunal, Justice Misra remarked orally, “The question here is, if the court comes to a conclusion that the writ petition was not maintainable, he could have stopped there…He has gone much beyond its remit.”

Justice Bhuyan also asked, “Can the writ court go into all this?… He could have set aside the single judge’s order instead of going into all this. Nobody has asked for this… He has gone much beyond. The state government should have challenged all this.”

Appearing for the appellant, Kerala Waqf Samrakshana Vedhi, Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi said the original petition by the Vedhi challenged only the constitution of the state’s inquiry commission, but the HC went further.

“I went to the writ court challenging this inquiry by the Commissioner of Inquiry to say that by virtue of the Bar enacted under sections 85 and 83 read with Section 7 of the Waqf Act, it is only the Waqf Tribunal that has the jurisdiction to determine. What division bench does, it goes into my waqf deed and declares that it is not waqf but a gift,” Ahmadi said.

Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta, representing the Kerala Government, said the petitioner had no stake in the proceedings related to the Munambam land and was a third party. “What my learned friend hasn’t pointed out is that it is a PIL. It is not the mutawalli who has come forward, and said that it is a waqf property. He claims to be a person aggrieved,” Gupta said.

However, Ahmadi said the Vedhi has a representative interest in protecting Waqfs.

Senior Advocate V Chitambaresh, who appeared for the residents of the place, pointed out that the Commission had already submitted its report to the Government. The senior counsel said that the poor fisherfolk who inhabit the place were not heard before their properties were notified as Waqfs in 2019.

A single judge of the Kerala High Court initially quashed the inquiry, saying it fell within the jurisdiction of the Waqf Tribunal. However, on writ appeal by the state government, a division bench set aside the single bench order, saying the property cannot be classified as Waqf land.

Source: indianexpress.com

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Odisha gives CAA citizenship to 35 Hindus as unrest grows between settlers and tribal communities

Subhashish Mohanty

13.12.25

The Odisha government has granted citizenship certificates to 35 people under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, even as tensions simmer between Bangladeshi-origin settlers and local tribals in Malkangiri district.

All 35 beneficiaries are Hindus, most of whom fled Bangladesh following persecution in the 1960s and 1990s, official sources said.

Handing over the certificates on Thursday, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi said: “By availing these certificates, all of you are now a part and parcel of Indian society. You are now eligible to enjoy the rights and benefits like any other citizen of this country.” He added that the state government would ensure their safety and create a conducive atmosphere for their development.

The 35 individuals were granted citizenship after completing the legal formalities under the CAA, which allows persecuted minorities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, to obtain Indian citizenship and exempts them from being treated as “illegal migrants”.

Majhi said the conferment “reflects India’s timeless values of humanity and shelter, reaffirming the nation’s commitment to compassion and dignity for all.” With this, a total of 51 people have been granted citizenship in Odisha, while 1,100 applications remain under process.

Large numbers of Bengali-Hindus migrated from East Pakistan in the 1960s following targeted harassment. The sparsely populated Dandakaranya region, spanning present-day Chhattisgarh and Odisha, was earmarked for their rehabilitation, with 281 villages set up in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur and smaller settlements in Jagatsinghpur and Khurda. Another wave arrived after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992.

However, relations between Bengali settlers and local tribals have deteriorated in recent years, with the latter accusing the settlers of encroaching on their land. Malkangiri district has been tense since tribals attacked Bengali settlers following the murder of a 52-year-old tribal woman, Lake Podiami.

Deputy chief minister K.V. Singh Deo and animal resources development minister Gokulananda Mallik visited Malkangiri on Thursday, meeting leaders of both communities — the Malkangiri Adivasi Samaj and Malkangiri Bengali Samaj. The ministers submitted a detailed report to chief minister Majhi

on Friday.

“We were asked to submit a report and we did it. Now the chief minister will take a call. We have appealed to people not to take the law into their hands,” Singh Deo told The Telegraph.

Sources said the Bengali-Hindu settlers suffered losses worth around ₹5 crore in

the violence.

Source: telegraphindia.com

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Uttarakhand private school under fire after video shows students reciting kalma

Dec 12, 2025

A private school in Uttarakhand has come under the spotlight after a video showing students reciting the Islamic kalma during morning prayers went viral, triggering protests from Hindu organisations and swift action from the state Education Department.

VIDEO SPARKS PROTESTS

The video, which shows young students pronouncing the kalma in Arabic, quickly circulated on social media. Hindu groups, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), protested at the school and submitted a complaint to the local SDM demanding immediate action against the management. Yashpal Rajhans, VHP’s state minister for cow protection, said a letter regarding the incident had been sent to the Chief Minister through the SDM of Bazpur, calling the practice “inappropriate and against the sentiments of Hindu students.”

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION RESPONDS

The controversy centres on Adarsh Janata Montessori Junior High School in Sultanpur Patti (recently renamed Kaushalya Puri). Principal Girish Chandra Saini told reporters that the school has around 110 Hindu students and 80 Muslim students. “For the past year, we had been including the kalma in morning prayers for all students,” he said. Following the viral video, the school immediately stopped this practice from Monday, acknowledging that it was not appropriate to include all children in a religious ritual.

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT ACTS

District Chief Education Officer PS Rawat confirmed that the department had taken notice of the incident. He said an investigation revealed that while the school is located in a predominantly Muslim area, Hindu students were also being made to recite the kalma, which violates educational guidelines. A notice has been issued to the school, and appropriate action will be taken following the inquiry.

Source: indiatoday.in

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December global nonfiction: Six fascinating new books about humanity’s iconic stories

Dec 13, 2025

Muslim Europe: A Journey in Search of a Fourteen Hundred Year History, Tharik Hussain

In a revelatory journey across the continent, we tread in the footsteps of the first Muslims who arrived on European soil in 647 AD. We travel through Cyprus, Sicily, Malta, Portugal and Spain, learning about the continent’s great Caliphate culture and Muslim commonwealth, encountering red-haired European Sultans and Arabic-speaking Christian Kings, the Sufi lodges of Cyprus and the palaces of Sicily.

Forgotten Muslim pioneers like Abbas Ibn Firnas gave us flight, Ibn Rushd gifted us modern philosophy and the cross-fertilisation of faiths and cultures birthed Europe’s Christian Renaissance. For twelve centuries, Muslim Europe was a sanctuary for the continent’s Jews. Recalling the poignant voices of Hasdai Ibn Shaprut and Abraham Ibn Daoud, Jews flourished under Muslim protection, triggering the Jewish Golden Age.

For the first time, Muslim Europe lays bare the cause of our collective Islamic amnesia by mapping Europe’s “anti-Muslim DNA” through medieval Crusade narratives and nation-building myths. But Islam was never a sideshow to Western culture; it was integral to its development for over 1,400 years.

A Danger to the Minds of Young Girls: Margaret C Anderson, Book Bans, and the Fight to Modernize Literature, Adam Morgan

Already under fire for publishing the literary avant-garde into a world not ready for it, Margaret C Anderson’s cutting-edge magazine The Little Review was a bastion of progressive politics and boundary-pushing writing from then-unknowns like TS Eliot, Ezra Pound, William Butler Yeats, and Djuna Barnes. And as its publisher, Anderson was a target. From Chicago to New York and Paris, this fearless agitator helmed a woman-led publication that pushed American culture forward and challenged the sensibilities of early 20th-century Americans dismayed by its salacious writing and advocacy for supposed extremism like women’s suffrage, access to birth control, and LGBTQ rights.

But then it went too far. In 1921, Anderson found herself on trial and labelled “a danger to the minds of young girls” by a government seeking to shut her down. Guilty of having serialised James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses in her magazine, Anderson was now not just a publisher but also a scapegoat for regressives seeking to impose their will on a world on the brink of modernisation.

Journalist and literary critic Adam Morgan brings Anderson and her journal to life anew in A Danger to the Minds of Young Girls, capturing a moment of cultural acceleration and backlash all too familiar today while shining light on an unsung heroine of American arts and letters. Bringing a fresh eye to a woman and a movement misunderstood in their time, this biography highlights a feminist counterculture that audaciously pushed for more during a time of extreme social conservatism and changed the face of American literature and culture forever.

Battle of the Arctic: The Maritime Epic of World War Two, Hugh Sebag-Montefiore

A deep dive into the Second World War’s maritime epic in the Arctic. In a reconfiguration of recent events in Ukraine, it is 1941, and Russia has been invaded. The terms of the new alliance were that Western nations would ship urgently needed war materials to Russia via the shortest but most dangerous route: sailing north of the Arctic Circle while being hunted by U-boats, the Luftwaffe, and a surface fleet spearheaded by Tirpitz and Scharnhorst. This endeavour was called the Arctic convoys.

Battle of the Arctic is about the conflict and naval battles that unfolded while Allied naval and merchant seamen, airmen, submariners, soldiers and intelligence officers delivered on this wartime commitment to Russia from 1941-45, passing through terrific storms, snow, ice and Arctic mirages. When ships went down in seas so cold that a man could die after just five minutes of immersion, it triggered events reminiscent of the do-or-die moments during the sinking of the Titanic.

Men perished one by one in lifeboats, and as castaways on deserted Arctic islands where they were stalked by polar bears. Frostbitten and wounded survivors ended up in Russian hospitals so primitive that amputations were carried out without anaesthetics. Other survivors, while stranded for months in the communist state they were aiding, experienced the murky worlds of the NKVD and the gulags as well as famine and prostitution.

Although during World War Two, the relationship with Russia was far from smooth sailing, this wartime sacrifice for Stalin’s Soviet Union is today used by both parties as the historical precedent for future cooperation between Russia and the West.

The Curious Case of Mike Lynch: The Improbable Life and Death of a Tech Billionaire, Katie Prescott

On the morning of August 19, 2024, the Bayesian yacht tragically sank off the coast of Sicily, taking with it the lives of Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others. Hours earlier, Lynch’s associate and co-defendant in one of the biggest fraud cases in Silicon Valley history, Stephen Chamberlain, was hit by a car in Cambridge and killed.

The odds of these two deaths occurring together were estimated at four in one billion.

Drawing on extensive research and exclusive access to key sources, journalist Katie Prescott forensically explores the life and death of this elusive maverick. Prescott guides us from Lynch’s humble beginnings, through his meteoric rise to CEO of Autonomy, and beyond to a vicious legal battle lasting more than a decade following the 2011 sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for more than £11 bn. A truly brilliant feat of investigative reporting, this is a tale where nothing is quite as it appears.

Hate: The Uses of a Powerful Emotion, Şyeda Kurt, translated from the German by Jackie de Pont

Who is allowed to hate? Hatred, this grating, corrosive feeling, is omnipresent, roaring from the streets or whispered in bourgeois homes. It thrives in parliamentary speeches, conspiracy theorists’ fantasies and children’s bedrooms – and certainly not in secret, even if many would like to see it restricted there.

Kurt frees hatred from its banishment and sets out on the trail of its potential for resistance. She is particularly interested in people as subjects of hatred in a capitalist, racist and patriarchal world. Who are these haters and what power relations do they base themselves on? Who is allowed to hate? Which feelings paralyse, and which ones guide us to a fairer, more caring society?

Quantum 2.0: The Past, Present, and Future of Quantum Physics, Paul Davies

Scientist Paul Davies tells the gripping story of how, beginning with an iconic mathematical equation in the 1920s, a radical new theory of nature – quantum mechanics – burst upon the modern world, and how today we are on the cusp of the second great quantum technology revolution.

Quantum 2.0 reveals how exotic states of matter that have no counterpart in the everyday world are being harnessed to enable forms of teleportation and “spooky” telepathic links between remote places. Powerful new tools such as quantum computers, quantum cryptography and the quantum internet have attracted billions of dollars of investments, triggering a frantic quantum arms race. And appearing on the horizon is the most awesome and game-changing prospect of all – quantum AI.

Yet underpinning this dazzling promise lies a paradox. Although quantum mechanics is the most successful scientific theory ever, quantum systems possess properties that defy intuition and shred everyday notions of reality. Albert Einstein could never quite believe it. And decades after Erwin Schrödinger introduced his famous cat paradox, scientists are still divided over how to make sense of the weird quantum realm, one where ghostly quantum particles produce tiny forces in nanotechnology, cause black holes to evaporate – and may even be making the universe expand faster and faster. Indeed, cosmologists believe, the imprint of a quantum process remains etched into the afterglow of the Big Bang.

Quantum 2.0 takes the reader gently from the basic concepts to the cutting edge, inviting us all to peek into the new wonderland of quantum physics and glimpse its stunning implications.

Source: scroll.in

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AIMIM eyes Malda for polls, Owaisi's party plans march with focus on Muslim votes

Soumya De Sarkar

13.12.25

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), the Hyderabad-based political party led by Asaduddin Owaisi, has set its focus on Malda, a district with around 52 per cent Muslim population, keeping an eye on the next Assembly

elections.

So far, the party has opened 20 offices in the minority-dominated areas of Malda and is trying to consolidate the Muslim votes through an “Adhikar Yatra (march for the rights)” that it has planned for the last week of this month.

“The Adhikar Yatra will cover at least eight Assembly constituencies (out of 12) in Malda, where the Muslim population is significantly higher. We are leaving no stone unturned to make the march a success. Till now, we have opened 20 party offices in 10 Assembly constituencies of the district. The offices are busy these days. Many people are visiting the offices, expressing willingness to join the AIMIM after quitting the Trinamool Congress and the Congress,” said Rezaul Karim, the Malda district president of the AIMIM.

Imran Solanki, the state president of the AIMIM, said the party was focusing on districts like Malda, Murshidabad, North Dinajpur, Birbhum and Nadia ahead of the polls and wanted to build a support base.

“We will be in Malda from December 22 to 25 to join the march and to encourage people to join our party. Before that, we will be visiting Murshidabad,” Solanki said over the phone.

AIMIM insiders said Asauddin Owaisi, the party’s national president, would visit Bengal with special attention on Malda and Murshidabad.

Such a move by the AIMIM comes after the party bagged five Assembly seats in the Seemanchal area of Bihar last month. Also, suspended Trinamool MLA Humayan Kabir has announced that he intends to join hands with Owaisi’s party, a move which can jeopardise Trinamool’s support base among the minority community.

In 2021, Trinamool had won eight of 12 Assembly seats in Malda.

The AIMIM leadership also made it clear that it would oppose the Congress and the BJP in the Assembly polls in Bengal.

“The BJP is blatantly communal, while Trinamool has indulged in unprecedented corruption, ruining the lives of the people. The minority communities have been betrayed by the Trinamool regime. The chief minister used the state coffers to build the temples. Now mosques are being built. People are disgusted with Trinamool as it paved the way for the BJP’s rise in Bengal,” Karim said.

Solanki, the state president, however, did not make it clear if the AIMIM would enter into an electoral alliance with any party, including the ISF or the one to be floated

by Kabir.

“This is too early to speak about a probable alliance. The final decision in this regard would be taken by the national president of the party,” the state AIMIM president said.

Malda district Trinamool leaders, however, sounded confident about retaining the support of the Muslim voters.

“The party (AIMIM) lacks political credibility here. People know that Mamata Banerjee is the saviour and the protector of the minorities and their rights. We are paying no heed to such migrant political parties,” said Abdur Rahim Boxi, the district Trinamool president.

Source: telegraphindia.com

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Raided again Thursday, why this region is never off the radar of agencies

by Zeeshan Shaikh

December 13, 2025

On Thursday, when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out raids at 40 locations across multiple states and districts, over a money-laundering probe linked allegedly to ISIS activities, one of the sites on its list was the Borivali-Padgha region, just over 50 km north of Mumbai.

It was yet another visit by investigating agencies to this region of about 5,780 residents, with 83% of them Muslims as per the 2011 Census. Over the past two years, it has seen raids by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), and Thane Rural Police, apart from the ED — over alleged association with first the SIMI (Students’ Islamic Movement of India) and now the ISIS.

short article insertBorivali-Padgha first came on the radar of agencies during probes into the 2002-03 Mumbai serial blasts that left 15 dead. Five residents from here were named as accused, with the key conspirator alleged to be Saquib Nachan, a former SIMI general secretary and a resident of Padgha in Thane district.

Officials claimed to have seized weapons from Nachan, as well as found evidence of him facilitating training of others as well as planning of blasts in Ghatkopar, Vile Parle, Mumbai Central and Mulund. Total 13 men were brought to trial in the case, of which five were from Padgha. While four of the 10 were found guilty of committing and planning to commit a terror act, six others were charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) for possessing unauthorised firearms. Nachan, who was also charged under POTA, was deemed the main conspirator and was convicted for 10 years.

Only one Padgha resident, Farhaan Abdul Malik Khot, was convicted on the serious charge of committing or inciting the commission of a terrorist act, and given life imprisonment. The third of 12 children of Abdul Hamid Nachan, seen as a leader by the Konkani Muslim community that is based here, Saquib Nachan is believed to have begun his ideological journey with the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, and joined its student wing SIMI in the 1980s. His rise within the organisation was swift, and Nachan became the SIMI Maharashtra president and later its national general secretary.

As per officials, by the mid-1980s, Nachan was known to have travelled to Pakistan and Afghanistan and developed links with militant groups. A 1992 CBI chargesheet accused him of facilitating explosives and guerrilla training for Indian Muslim and Sikh youths and aiding ISI-backed ‘Operation K2’, which sought joint Islamist-Khalistani operations.

The same year, Nachan was arrested under TADA along with Khalistani militant Lal Singh, and sentenced to life. This was later reduced to 10 years by the Supreme Court. After completing the term, he returned to Padgha in 2001. Though acquitted in three murder cases soon after, Nachan again came under the scanner following the 2002-03 Mumbai serial blasts. His attempted arrest in March 2003 saw a confrontation between Padgha residents and police. Days later, police linked three alleged terrorists to him through a recovered diary. Nachan surrendered and was arrested along with 15 others.

Released in 2017, he returned to Padgha again, before his name resurfaced in 2023 during an NIA probe, for alleged links with ISIS.

In December 2023, the NIA arrested Nachan on the charge that he, along with his son Shamil Saquib Nachan and five others, was part of an ISIS-affiliated sleeper cell operating out of Kondhwa, Pune. The agency alleged the group was involved in the fabrication, training and testing of improvised explosive devices and had conducted bomb-making workshops.

Investigators further claimed the group had conspired to transform Padgha into a “liberated zone” and planned to carry out attacks aimed at “disturbing communal harmony” and “waging war against the Indian State”, in alignment with ISIS’s agenda.

Nachan died in Tihar Jail in Delhi earlier this year. His son Shamil and other associates remain in various jails across India.

As per agencies, while Nachan is dead, the ideological and organisational networks built in the region largely by him persist, necessitating the close watch by them here and the number of police pickets.

A retired senior police officer who once interrogated Nachan says: “He remains a standout figure. Few matched his level of ‘ideological conviction’, forged during his early grooming years and training along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. He is a major reason Padgha carries the notoriety it does.”

Apart from the Padgha-Borivali region, the ED carried out raids Thursday in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, as well as in Delhi, Calcutta and Uttar Pradesh, with officials saying they hoped to trace money flows, funding channels and support networks connected to the accused.

As per inputs gathered by the ATS, Mumbai, that formed the basis for the raids, illegal trading in Khair wood is one of the main sources of funds for this alleged ISIS module. Incidentally, for a long time, prominent families here have made their living as timber traders.

Many believe with Nachan’s death, Padgha should now be left alone by agencies. “Things are quiet. Hopefully these nightly raids and constant surveillance will be a thing of the past,” a local from Padgha, who did not want to be named, said.

Source: indianexpress.com

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Can give you my kidney, not my vote: Assam CM Himanta on what a Miya Muslim told him

Dec 12, 2025

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, warning of a "demographic invasion" of the state, said that the "Miya Muslim" community does not vote for him due to ideological differences. Speaking at Agenda Aaj Tak on Thursday, Sarma said that no matter how many welfare schemes are rolled out for them, it does not translate into votes for the BJP. Assam is going to hold Assembly elections early next year.

Himanta added that he continued to introduce those schemes because he saw it as the duty of the government.

The "Miya Muslims" in Assam are a community of Bengali-speaking Muslims who or whose ancestors migrated from present-day Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) and settled mainly along the Brahmaputra riverine areas, where they became a significant part of the state's population and politics.

"Even if I give them one lakh each, many groups in Assam still won't vote for us. This group is what we call the 'Miya Muslim' community. They tell me personally that the Chief Minister is very good. Someone recently told me, 'You have helped me so much that if you ever need it, I can even donate a kidney to you. But I still won't vote for you'. They keep saying this to me because voting is an ideological choice," Himanta said at Agenda Aaj Tak, India Today Group's flagship conclave in Hindi.

"I don't blame anyone," added Himanta.

The term "Miya", originally meaning "a gentleman", is used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to these Bengali-origin Muslim settlers. Many prefer to identify as migrant Assamese Muslims or Bengali-origin Muslims, as the term has triggered pushback from the community too.

The Himanta-led BJP in Assam has often made distinctions between the indigenous Muslims of Assam Muslim communities of the state, and the Bengali-speaking "Miya community". The current Assembly of Assam was elected in 2021, with the next election slated for 2026.

Himanta also said that schemes for the community don't guarantee votes, which he said is a "simplistic assessment", but remain the government duty.

"Votes are not given just because of schemes. But as a government, we still have to create schemes for them... we have to do something. But thinking that we get votes only because of schemes is a very simplistic assessment," Himanta said at Agenda Aaj Tak.

He claimed that even if he offered Rs 1 lakh, "Miya Muslim" voters would still not support him.

HIMANTA BISWA SARMA TALKS ABOUT DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE

At the conclave, Himanta also warned of what he called a "demographic invasion" in the state, asserting that other communities would be "finished" if the "Miya Muslim" population crosses 50% in the northeastern state. He added that the indigenous Assamese population is facing an existential crisis due to decades of unchecked migration.

Citing statistical projections, Sarma said Assam's Muslim population, estimated at around 38% in 2021, could reach 40% by 2027 due to a consistent decadal growth rate of 4-5% since 1961. He warned that if the Muslim population crosses 50%, others won’t remain. "Only they will remain," said Himanta.

Himanta also added that if he remains the CM of Assam, the demographic balance could be maintained.

Assam's "Miya Muslims", the Bengali-speaking migrants from present-day Bangladesh, according to a 2023 India Today Digital report, shape politics in over 30 Assembly seats. It makes them a powerful demographic group in the state with a total of 126 seats.

However, there have been debates over the nomenclature of "Miya Muslims", their identity, migration and indigenousity, which continue to influence Assam's politics and its discourse.

Source: indiatoday.in

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Police post built with stones thrown at cops during Sambhal clash opens

Namita Bajpai

13 Dec 2025

LUCKNOW: A newly constructed police post was inaugurated on Friday, just 100 metres away from the residences of Samajwadi Party’s Sambhal MP Zia-ur-Rahman Barq. The uniqueness of the outpost lies in the fact that it has been built using the same bricks and stones that rioters had thrown at the cops during a violence which had seen loss of five lives leaving scores, including the cops, injured in the western UP district on November 24, 2024.

The post, named Deepa Sarai Police Outpost, was inaugurated on Friday with a havan-pujan ceremony conducted by two priests. CO Kuldeep Kumar served as the host for the ritual. The outpost is near the residence of the absconding gangster Sharik Satha, who is believed to be the mastermind of the Sambhal violence last year. Moreover, SP MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq figures among the accused of violence. He is charged with inciting unrest. The construction of the Deepa Sarai outpost began on March 4, 2025, and was completed in nine months and 13 days, said police sources.

The two-storey outpost has a control room equipped with CCTV cameras to keep a vigilant eye on the activities taking place in the vicinity. The city already has a Satyavrat police post next to Sambhal Jama Masjid, where police remain deployed round-the-clock.

It may be recalled that the violence had erupted during the second phase of a court-ordered survey of Sambhal Jama Masjid in response to a petition by the Hindu side claiming it to be the original Harihar Temple, allegedly demolished by Mughal emperor in 1529.

A petition regarding this claim was filed on November 19, 2024 after which Civil Judge (Senior Division) Aditya Singh ordered a survey and appointed Advocate Commissioner Ramesh Singh Raghav.

The survey team began work inside the mosque on November 19 after the court order but could not complete it. It again went for the survey on November 21 and when it returned on November 24 for the next phase of survey, a large crowd gathered and pelted stones at the police.

Source: newindianexpress.com

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Kashmir police launch crackdown on vehicles without proper ownership transfer after Delhi car blast

Fayaz Wani

12 Dec 2025

SRINAGAR: In the wake of the Delhi car blast, police have launched a massive Kashmir-wide crackdown on vehicles operating without mandatory ownership transfers following sale or purchase.

The drive targeting outside-UT registration numbers is aimed at streamlining vehicle ownership records, curbing misuse of non-transferred or non-local registrations, and enhancing overall road safety.

A police spokesman said vehicle checking was intensified across Awantipora in south Kashmir as part of an enforcement drive targeting vehicles operating without mandatory transfer of ownership after sale or purchase.

“The checking teams were deployed at multiple locations, during which several vehicles found without proper documentation or updated ownership records were seized. Necessary proceedings under the Motor Vehicles Act have been initiated,” he said.

In neighbouring south Kashmir’s Shopian district, police have taken legal action against 144 vehicles bearing registration numbers of other states, found plying on roads without mandatory transfer of ownership after sale–purchase in the week-long drive.

“During the drive, several vehicles operating without proper transfer of ownership and without mandatory re-registration were found in violation, and action under the relevant provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act has been initiated, including for non-registration and failure to transfer ownership. This action forms part of a sustained enforcement campaign carried out over the last few weeks,” the police spokesman said.

In central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, police, in coordination with the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD), established nakas at key locations across the district, where joint teams thoroughly inspected vehicles to ensure compliance with transfer norms and other statutory requirements.

“Strict action was initiated against owners and drivers found violating the Motor Vehicles Act, including plying non-transferred vehicles, lack of valid documents, and other traffic-related violations,” the police spokesman said.

In south Kashmir’s Pulwama, Kulgam, and Anantnag districts, police teams deployed at multiple checkpoints inspected vehicles for proper documentation and updated ownership records. “Several vehicles found violating norms or involved in rash driving were seized, and proceedings under the Motor Vehicles Act have been initiated,” the police spokesman said.

In central Kashmir’s Budgam district, police seized 11 vehicles found violating provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act across the district.

“These vehicles had been brought from outside the Union Territory but had not undergone the mandatory legal transfer of ownership to their current users. This lapse is not only a violation of the Motor Vehicles Act but also a matter of significant security relevance,” the police spokesman said.

Police have urged vehicle owners to complete transfer-of-ownership formalities promptly and maintain valid documents.

“Unregistered or illegally transferred vehicles can be misused for criminal or anti-national activities, including smuggling, theft, or transportation of unauthorized goods, thereby posing a serious threat to public safety and national security,” police warned the public.

Source: newindianexpress.com

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Mideast

 

US officials say Gaza stabilization force will not fight Hamas

December 12, 2025

NEW YORK: International troops could be deployed in the Gaza Strip as early as next month to form a UN-authorized stabilization force, two US officials said, but it remains unclear how Hamas will be disarmed.

Officials said the International Stabilization Force, or ISF, would not fight Hamas.

They said many countries have expressed interest in contributing, and US officials are currently working out the size of the ISF, its composition, housing, training, and rules of engagement.

An American two-star general is under consideration to lead the ISF, but no decision has been made, officials said.

Deployment of the force is a key part of the next phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.

Under the first phase, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year war began on Oct.10, and Hamas released hostages, and Israel freed detained Palestinians.

“There is a lot of quiet planning that’s going on behind the scenes right now for phase two of the peace deal,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said.

“We want to ensure an enduring and lasting peace.”

Indonesia has said it is prepared to deploy up to 20,000 troops to take on health and construction-related tasks in Gaza.

“It is still in the planning and preparation stages,” said Rico Sirait, spokesperson of the Indonesian Defense Ministry.

“We are now preparing the organizational structure of the forces to be deployed.”

Israel still controls 53 percent of Gaza, while nearly all the 2 million people in the enclave live in the remaining Hamas-held area. The plan — which needs to be finalized by the so-called Board of Peace — is for the ISF to deploy in the area held by Israel, the US officials said.

Then, according to the Trump peace plan, as the ISF establishes control and stability, Israeli troops will gradually withdraw “based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization.”

A UN Security Council resolution adopted on Nov. 17 authorized a Board of Peace and countries working with it to establish the ISF.

Trump said on Wednesday that an announcement on which world leaders will serve on the Board of Peace will be made early next year.

The Security Council authorized the ISF to work alongside newly trained and vetted Palestinian police to stabilize security “by ensuring the process of demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding of the military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups.”

However, it remains unclear exactly how that would work.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz noted on Thursday that the Security Council authorized the ISF to demilitarize Gaza by all means necessary, which means the use of force.

“Obviously, that’ll be a conversation with each country,” he told Israel’s Channel 12, adding that discussions on rules of engagement were underway.

Hamas has said the issue of disarmament has not been discussed with them formally by the mediators — the US, Egypt, and Qatar — and the group’s stance remains that it will not disarm until a Palestinian state is established.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech on Sunday that the second phase would move toward demilitarization and disarmament.

“Now that raises a question: Our friends in America want to try and establish a multinational task force to do the job,” he said. “I told them I welcome it. Are volunteers here? Be my guest,” Netanyahu said.

“We know there are certain tasks that this force can perform ... but some things are beyond their abilities, and perhaps the main thing is beyond their abilities, but we will see about that,” he said.

Source: arabnews.com

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Israel gives legal status to 19 West Bank settlements

December 12, 2025

JERUSALEM: Israel’s Cabinet has decided to give legal status to 19 settlements in the occupied West Bank, including two that were vacated 20 years ago under a pullout aimed at boosting the country’s security and the economy, Israeli media reported.

The Palestinian Authority on Friday condemned the move, announced late on Thursday.

Some of the settlements are newly established, while others are older, Israeli media said.

The move to legalize the settlements in the West Bank — territory Palestinians seek for a future state — was proposed by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Most world powers deem Israel’s settlements, on land it captured in a 1967 war, illegal. Numerous UN Security Council resolutions have called on Israel to halt all settlement activity.

Construction of settlements — including some built without official Israeli authorization — has increased under Israel’s far-right governing coalition, fragmenting the West Bank and cutting off Palestinian towns and cities from each other.

The 19 settlements include two that Israel withdrew from in 2005, evacuated under a disengagement plan overseen by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that focused mainly on Gaza.

Under the plan, which was opposed by the settler movement at the time, all 21 Israeli settlements in Gaza were ordered to be evacuated. Most settlements in the West Bank were unaffected.

In a statement on Friday, Palestinian Authority Minister Mu’ayyad Sha’ban called the announcement another step to erase Palestinian geography.

Sha’ban, of the Palestinian Authority’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, said the decision raised serious alarms over the future of the West Bank.

Home to 2.7 million Palestinians, the Israeli-occupied West Bank has long been at the heart of plans for a future Palestinian nation existing alongside Israel.

Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians reached their highest recorded levels in October with settlers carrying out at least 264 attacks, according to the UN.

Source: arabnews.com

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Gaza amputees struggle to rebuild lives as the enclave faces shortages of prosthetic limbs

December 13, 2025

NUSEIRAT: Sitting in her wheelchair, Haneen Al-Mabhouh dreams of rebuilding her family, of cradling a new baby. She dreams of walking again. But with her leg gone, her life in Gaza is on hold, she says, as she waits to go abroad for further treatment.

An Israeli airstrike in July 2024 smashed her home in central Gaza as she and her family slept. All four of her daughters were killed, including her 5-month-old baby. Her husband was severely burned. Al-Mabhouh’s legs were crushed under the rubble, and doctors had to amputate her right leg above the knee.

“For the past year and a half, I have been unable to move around, to live like others. For the past year and a half, I have been without children,” she said, speaking at her parents’ home.

The 2-month-old ceasefire in Gaza has been slow to bring help for thousands of Palestinians who suffered amputations from Israeli bombardment over the past two years. The World Health Organization estimates there are some 5,000 to 6,000 amputees from the war, 25 percent of them children.

Those who lost limbs are struggling to adapt, faced with a shortage of prosthetic limbs and long delays in medical evacuations out of Gaza.

The WHO said a shipment of essential prosthetic supplies recently made it into Gaza. That appears to be the first significant shipment for the past two years.

Previously, Israel had let in almost no ready-made prosthetic limbs or material to manufacture limbs since the war began, according to Loay Abu Saif, the head of the disability program at Medical Aid for Palestinians, or MAP, and Nevin Al Ghussein, acting director of the Artificial Limbs and Polio Center in Gaza City.

The Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid, known as COGAT, did not respond when asked how many prosthetic supplies had entered during the war or about its policies on such supplies.

‘My future is paralyzed’

Al-Mabhouh was asleep with her baby girl in her arms when the strike hit their home in Nuseirat, she said. For several weeks while recovering in the hospital, Al-Mabhouh had no idea her children had been killed.

She underwent multiple surgeries. Her hand still has difficulty moving. Her remaining leg remains shattered, held together with rods. She needs a bone graft and other treatments that are only available outside of Gaza.

She was put on the list for medical evacuation 10 months ago but still hasn’t gotten permission to leave Gaza.

Waiting for her chance to go, she lives at her parents’ house. She needs help changing clothes and can’t even hold a pen, and remains crushed by grief over her daughters. “I never got to hear her say ‘mama,’ see her first tooth or watch her take her first steps,” she said of her baby.

She dreams of having a new child but can’t until she gets treatment.

“It’s my right to live, to have another child, to regain what I lost, to walk, just to walk again,” she said. “Now my future is paralyzed. They destroyed my dreams.”

Medical evacuations remain slow

The ceasefire has hardly brought any increase in medical evacuations for the 16,500 Palestinians the UN says are waiting to get vital treatment abroad — not just amputees, but patients suffering many kinds of chronic conditions or wounds.

As of Dec. 1, 235 patients have been evacuated since the ceasefire began in October, just under five a day. In the months before that, the average was about three a day.

Israel last week said it was ready to allow patients and other Palestinians to leave Gaza via the Israeli-held Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt. But it’s unsure that will happen because Egypt, which controls the crossing’s other side, demands Rafah also be opened for Palestinians to enter Gaza as called for under the ceasefire deal.

Dr. Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO’s representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, told The Associated Press that the backlog is caused by the lack of countries to host the evacuated patients. He said new medevac routes need to be opened, especially to the Israeli-occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, where hospitals are ready to receive patients.

For those waiting, life grinds to a standstill

Yassin Marouf lies in a tent in central Gaza, his left foot amputated, his right leg barely held together with rods.

The 23-year-old and his brother were hit by Israeli shelling in May as they returned from visiting their home in northern Gaza that their family had been forced to flee. His brother was killed. Marouf lay bleeding on the ground, as a stray dog attacked his mangled left leg.

Doctors say his right leg will also need to be amputated, unless he can travel abroad for operations that might save it. Marouf said he can’t afford painkillers and can’t go to the hospital regularly to have his bandages changed as they’re supposed to.

“If I want to go to the bathroom, I need two or three people to carry me,” he said.

Mohamed Al-Naggar had been pursuing an IT degree at the University of Palestine before the war.

Seven months ago, shrapnel pierced his left leg during strikes on the house where his family was sheltering. Doctors amputated his leg above the knee. His right leg was also badly injured and shrapnel remains in parts of his body.

Despite four surgeries and physical therapy, the 21-year-old Al-Naggar can’t move around.

“I’d like to travel abroad and put on a prosthetic and graduate from college and be normal like young people outside Gaza,” he said.

Gaza faces prosthetic limb shortage

Some 42,000 Palestinians have suffered life-changing injuries in the war, including amputations, brain trauma, spinal cord injuries and major burns, the WHO said in an October report.

The situation has “improved slightly” for those with assistance needs but “there is still a huge overall shortage of assistive products,” such as wheelchairs, walkers and crutches. Gaza has only eight prosthetists able to manufacture and fit artificial limbs, the WHO said in a statement to the AP.

The Artificial Limbs and Polio Center in Gaza City, one of two prosthetics centers still operating in the territory, received a shipment of material to manufacture limbs just before the war began in 2023, said its director, Al Ghussein. Another small shipment entered in December 2024, but nothing since.

The center has been able to provide artificial limbs for 250 cases over the course of the war, but supplies are running out, Al Ghussein said.

No pre-made prosthetic legs or arms have entered, according to Abu Saif of MAP, who said Israel does not ban them, but its procedures cause delays and “in the end they ignore it.”

Ibrahim Khalif wants a prosthetic right leg so he can get a job doing manual labor or cleaning houses to support his pregnant wife and children.

In January, he lost his leg when an Israeli airstrike hit Gaza City while he was out getting food.

“I used to be the provider for my kids, but now I’m sitting here,” Khalif said. “I think of how I was and what I’ve become.”

Source: arabnews.com

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Children dying from cold as storm batters Gaza, killing 16

December 12, 2025

GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency on Friday said at least 16 people had died in the last 24 hours, including three children who died from exposure to the cold, as a winter storm batters the territory.

Heavy rain from Storm Byron has flooded tents and temporary shelters across the Gaza Strip since late Wednesday, compounding the suffering of the territory’s residents, nearly all of whom were displaced during more than two years of war.

Gaza’s civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, told AFP three children had died from exposure to the cold — two in Gaza City and one in Khan Yunis in the south.

Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City confirmed the deaths of Hadeel Al-Masri, aged nine, and Taim Al-Khawaja, who it said was just several months old.

Source: arabnews.com

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Syria welcomes US House vote to end ‘Caesar Act’ sanctions

December 12, 2025

LONDON: A vote by the US House of Representatives in favor of ending tough sanctions on Syria was welcomed by Damascus on Thursday as a “pivotal moment.”

The “Caesar Act” sanctions regime was imposed in 2020 against former President Bashar Assad’s government over the human-rights abuses carried out during the civil war.

The move to repeal the sanctions, seen as a crucial step for the Syrian Arab Republic’s economic recovery, is contained in a wide-ranging defense bill that the lower house of Congress backed on Thursday.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said the vote “paves the way for a broader economic recovery and the return of opportunities long denied to Syrians.”

The ministry described it as a first step toward improving trade flows, and increasing the availability of essential goods, and medical supplies.

The National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, will now pass to the US Senate where a vote is expected to be held by the end of the year.

Assad was forced from power a year ago after a rapid military campaign by opposition forces brought the 13-year conflict to an end.

The new president, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who led the offensive, has made ending Syria’s isolation a priority as he attempts to rebuild the country’s shattered economy.

President Donald Trump said in May that he planned to lift all sanctions on Syria and many have already been removed or suspended.

The Caesar Act, which imposed the toughest restrictions on trade and investment in Syria, requires Congressional approval to be overturned.

Along with repealing the act, the bill requires the White House to provide regular reports confirming that Syria’s government is fighting Daesh militants and upholding religious and ethnic minority rights, Reuters reported.

Syria’s foreign minister, Asaad Al-Shaibani, said the step toward repealing the Caesar Act was a “triumph for justice but also a recognition of the strength and resilience of the Syrian people.”

He said it reflected the success of Syrian diplomacy with the US.

Al-Sharaa has held talks with Trump three times, including an initial meeting in Riyadh in May on the sidelines of a US-GCC summit.

The Syrian president traveled to Washington in September where he was hosted at the White House. Speaking after the meeting, Trump said the US would do “everything we can to make Syria successful.”

During the visit, Syria confirmed that it would join the global coalition against Daesh.

Removing international sanctions on Syria would allow foreign investment to flow into the country, where the cost of rebuilding is estimated to be more than $200 billion.

Syrian Central Bank Gov. Abdulkader Husrieh told Reuters recently that the repeal of US sanctions was “a miracle” and that the economy was growing faster than expected.

The Caesar Act targeted individuals, companies and institutions linked to Assad, and sanctioned foreign entities from funding them.

The legislation was named after a code name given to a Syrian military photographer who smuggled thousands of photos documenting torture and war crimes by the Syrian regime out of the country.

Source: arabnews.com

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Leader: Enemy seeks Iranian mind shift as only path towards success

December 12, 2025

Ayatollah Khamenei congratulated the birth of Lady Siddiqa al-Tahira (pbuh) and conveyed that the virtues and qualities of the Lady Fatimah Zahra surpass human understanding and comprehension. He added that one must strive to be Fatemi and follow that exemplary Lady in all aspects of life, including religious devotion, the pursuit of justice, Jihad of Clarification, being a good spouse, raising children, and other essential areas.

Ayatollah Khamenei then defined National Resistance as resilience and steadfastness in the face of the various pressures imposed by hegemonic powers. He stated that sometimes these pressures are military, while at other times they take economic, media, cultural or political forms.

Ayatollah Khamenei described the agitation and noise-making by Western media agencies and political-military officials as an example of the enemy’s propaganda pressure. He stated that the aim of these pressures on nations, and especially on the Iranian people, is sometimes territorial expansion, as seen in what the US is currently doing in Latin America. He went on to say that at other times, the goal is to control underground resources. In some cases, it is to alter lifestyles, and most importantly, to carry out an identity transformation, which he identified as the core objective of hegemonic pressures.

Ayatollah Khamenei noted that arrogant global powers have been attempting for over a century to change the religious, historical and cultural identity of the Iranian nation. He stated that the Islamic Revolution rendered all those attempts ineffective, and in recent decades, the Iranian people, through their resilience and refusal to submit, have continued to thwart the extensive pressures of their enemies.

The Leader described the spread of the concept and language of Resistance from Iran to regional countries and even beyond as an undeniable reality. He stated that some of the actions the enemy carried out against Iran and its people would have completely destroyed any other nation.

Referring to the deeply influential, Zainabi-inspired role of eulogies in preserving the memory of the martyrs and strengthening the concept of Resistance, he said that today, beyond the military confrontation recently witnessed, the country is at the center of a large propaganda and media war being waged by a broad enemy front. He added that the enemy has come to understand that this divine and spiritual land cannot be subdued or occupied through military pressure.

The Leader added that some repeatedly raise the possibility of renewed military conflict, and that certain individuals deliberately fuel such talk to keep people anxious and unsettled, although, God willing, they will not succeed.

Ayatollah Khamenei considered the objective and strategic direction of the enemy to be the erasure of the symbols, aims and principles of the Islamic Revolution and the fading of Imam Khomeini’s legacy. He stated that the US stands at the center of this broad and active front, some European countries surround it, and mercenaries, traitors and rootless individuals in Europe seeking personal gain occupy its margins. He emphasized the need to understand the enemy’s goals and its operational formation. He said that just as in a military front, the country must shape its own formation in this media and propaganda confrontation in accordance with the enemy’s structure and objectives, focusing attention on what the enemy targets: Islamic, Shia and Revolutionary teachings.

He described standing firm in the face of the Western propaganda and media war as difficult but entirely possible. He stated that in this effort, eulogists should turn religious gatherings [heyats] into centers of loyalty to Revolutionary values. Through the development and transmission of the language of Resistance, eulogies and gatherings today significantly reinforce this essential task.

The Leader concluded his remarks with several recommendations for the eulogists. These included explaining religious teachings and teachings of struggle based on the lives of all the Imams (pbut), attacking the enemy’s weak points while mounting an effective defense against the doubts it spreads, and clarifying Quranic concepts across personal, social and political spheres and in confronting the enemy.

Source: tehrantimes.com

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Tens of Thousands perform Friday prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque, courtyards

12 Dec 2025

Tens of thousands of Palestinians performed Friday prayers today at the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyards, despite the restrictions and limitations imposed by the Israeli occupation forces.

The occupation forces prevented worshippers from entering al-Aqsa Mosque before inspecting and checking their IDs, turning back a number of young men and preventing them from praying.

The occupation forces erected permanent and temporary checkpoints and placed obstacles in front of worshippers, further hindering the movement of citizens within the Old City, according to the Sanad News Agency.

In addition, the occupation forces arrested al-Aqsa Mosque guard Wahbi Makkiya at the Mughrabi Gate and brutally assaulted him during the Friday sermon, then released him after the prayer.

Since the early morning hours, the occupation forces have been deployed in the streets of the Old City and around the mosque, maintaining close surveillance.

Palestinian calls have been issued for mass mobilization and a continuous presence at the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque to thwart the plans of the Israeli occupation and its settlers.

Source: saba.ye

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Arab World

Surviving the sands: The battle to save Arabian wolves

HAIFA ALSHAMMARI

December 13, 2025

RIYADH: Wolves are often portrayed in Western stories and films as dangerous, unpredictable predators. In contrast, Arabic perspectives offer a more nuanced view.

In Saudi Arabia, wolves are admired for their resilience, intelligence, and role in the natural environment. The Arabian wolf, or Canis lupus arabs, is one of the Peninsula’s iconic native predators.

For centuries, it shaped both ecological and cultural landscapes across Saudi Arabia. However, its population declined in recent decades. Today, conservation efforts led by the National Center for Wildlife aim to protect and restore this species.

Saudi regulations now make it illegal to display, sell, or transport wolves without authorization. NCW’s initiatives include studying wolf genetics, developing breeding programs to restore wild populations, raising public awareness, and imposing fines of up to SR80,000 ($22,000) for unlicensed hunters.

The Arabian wolf is a symbol of the desert and an important component of the Kingdom’s biodiversity. Historically, it inhabited deserts, mountains, and valleys across Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman. Unlike wolves from colder regions, it evolved to survive extreme heat, scarce water, and fluctuating prey populations.

“Saudi Arabia’s vast and diverse ecosystems have enabled many wildlife species to thrive, including the Arabian wolf,” NCW notes. The wolf historically helped control populations of rodents, small mammals, and weak or diseased animals, maintaining a balanced ecosystem.

However, the shift from nomadic life to urban settlements and agriculture, alongside expanding human activity, put increasing pressure on the species.

Habitat loss, conflicts with herders, and hunting practices significantly reduced their natural range. NCW records show numerous cases of injured wolves rescued and rehabilitated, highlighting the challenges they face today.

Culturally, the Arabian wolf is admired and feared in equal measure. In Bedouin tradition, it symbolizes independence and intelligence, appearing in poetry and oral stories.

“Two cultures in the world share a similar view of the wolf: Native American and Arab cultures,” said Obaid Alouni, a Saudi environmentalist. “They admired wolves and respected wolves. For example, when they see a wolf and someone has a gun, they don’t kill it even though they could,” he added.

Alouni explained that despite being predators, wolves coexisted with humans in the Arabian Peninsula: “There was a kind of coexistence in the Arabian Peninsula.” Yet livestock owners often feared wolves for preying on sheep and goats, creating a tense relationship between humans and wolves.

This dual perception shaped the wolf’s role in cultural metaphors: it was seen as a mirror of the desert itself — tough, resilient, and adaptable. “Arabs have always sought positive qualities in wolves. For example, one of their characteristics is that wolves understand their pack and sacrifice themselves for them. They do not betray their pack and fight for it, in addition to their loyalty to it,” Alouni explained.

Physically, the Arabian wolf is one of the smallest gray wolf subspecies, adapted to desert life. It weighs 18-25 kilograms and measures 100-110 cm in length. Its large ears reduce heat, a light sandy-gray coat reflects sunlight and camouflages it in the desert, and its diet includes small mammals, birds, and occasionally livestock.

Sadly, the Arabian wolf is classified as endangered due to habitat loss, human conflict, and historical hunting. Alouni noted that hybridization has further reduced the population of purebred Arabian wolves: “Unfortunately, a species is now being circulated that is not the true size of the Arabian wolf. The National Center for Wildlife is currently conducting extensive research to learn more about the Arabian wolf and its true size. The species currently prevalent is shorter in stature.”

Other wolf subspecies include the Gray Wolf, found in North America, Europe, and Asia. It weighs 30–80 kilograms, measures up to 180 cm in length, and is known for its complex social packs.

The Arctic Wolf, native to Arctic Canada and Greenland, has a thick white coat, short snout and ears, and survives extreme cold, preying on musk oxen, Arctic hares, and caribou.

The Indian Wolf, scientifically known as Canis lupus pallipes, inhabits South and West Asia, weighs 20-30 kilograms, and forms small, stealthy packs.

Finally, the Ethiopian wolf is fox-like, inhabits highlands above 3,000 meters, weighs 13–18 kilograms, and has a reddish coat with white markings. It is one of the world’s rarest wolves, with fewer than 500 individuals in the wild.

Protecting wolves is crucial for maintaining healthy ecosystems. As apex predators, they regulate prey populations, prevent overgrazing, maintain plant diversity, and reduce disease spread by feeding on sick or weak animals. Their presence influences herbivore behavior, supporting a balanced environment.

The Arabian wolf is more than a desert predator. It is a cultural symbol, a survivor of harsh landscapes, and a vital component of Saudi Arabia’s ecological identity. The work of the NCW is essential: protecting the Arabian wolf means conserving biodiversity, preserving heritage, and sustaining ecological systems across the Arabian Peninsula.

Source: arabnews.com

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Ethiopian Cultural Days brings aroma of coffee, flavorful food to Alsuwaidi Park in Riyadh

HAIFA ALSHAMMARI

December 12, 2025

RIYADH: Ethiopian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Muktar Kedir Abdu attended the opening of Ethiopian Cultural Days at Alsuwaidi Park in Riyadh on Thursday.

The Ministry of Media and the General Entertainment Authority organized Ethiopian Cultural Days as part of the Global Harmony Cultural Series, which has focused on several other countries so far, including Yemen, Indonesia, Syria, and Uganda.

The Global Harmony Cultural Series is open to visitors every day from 4:00 p.m. until midnight.

During Ethiopian Cultural Days, guests will see Ethiopian dance groups showcasing diverse folk dances from various regions of Ethiopia.

“What caught my attention the most was the DJ. My friends and I come almost every day for the DJ,” Turki Mesmeh, a frequent visitor to Global Harmony, told Arab News. “They brought their cultures to us, all the way to the Alsuwaidi neighborhood.”

Ethiopia has an enormously rich history. According to National Geographic, the ancient African kingdom of Aksum was based in what is now northern Ethiopia and parts of Eritrea. It emerged as a powerful and wealthy civilization from the 1st to the 10th century CE, controlling the trade routes between the Roman Empire, India, and the Arabian Peninsula. Ethiopia was also among the first countries in Africa to adopt Christianity.

Guests to Ethiopian Cultural Days will also discover a range of Ethiopian cuisine.

“The most important dishes are tibs and kitfo. Tibs is meat, fried with tomatoes and other ingredients,” Welday Meles, owner of the Ethiopian restaurant Lucy, told Arab News.

Kitfo is raw minced beef mixed with chili and clarified butter, and is similar to steak tartare.

Another popular dish is beyaynetu, a dish — or series of small dishes — made from a wide variety of ingredients and served with injera — Ethiopia’s famous spongy flatbread made from fermented teff flour.

And no celebration of Ethiopia would be complete without coffee. Not only because the coffee plant originated there — legend has it that a goat herder named Kaldi discovered coffee when he noticed that his animals became unusually energetic after eating red berries from a particular tree — but also because the country has preserved its traditional rituals, diverse varieties, and deep cultural connection to coffee, remaining one of its most significant global producers.

Rahika Mohammed, a participant at the event, explained that, in Ethiopia, coffee is commonly served with “popcorn and mastic incense,” adding that “the cup must be full when served.”

Source: arabnews.com

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KSrelief delivers 14 ambulances to Iraqi Kurdistan Health Ministry

December 12, 2025

RIYADH: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center has signed an agreement with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to deliver 14 ambulances to Iraq’s Ministry of Kurdistan Region.

The medical vehicles will benefit an estimated 3.35 million people across the region.

Ahmed bin Ali Al-Baiz, assistant supervisor general for operations and programs at the center, and Ambassador Mohamed Bamba Mohamed Boba, director general of the OIC regional mission in Somalia, signed the $4 million agreement in Riyadh.

Boba described the partnership as reflecting the deep strategic ties between the OIC and KSrelief across multiple regions. He expressed the organization’s appreciation for the center’s support and commended Saudi Arabia’s extensive humanitarian outreach through KSrelief, which has aided vulnerable populations worldwide.

The assistance underscores Saudi Arabia’s commitment to supporting health infrastructure in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region and reinforces the Kingdom’s broader humanitarian mission to assist nations and communities in need globally.

Source: arabnews.com

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China’s Chorus choir debuts in Saudi with ‘World Famous Songs’

JASMINE BAGER

December 12, 2025

DHAHRAN: In collaboration with the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, “World Famous Songs” was performed by one of the globe’s most renowned choirs at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture on Thursday night, for a one-off showcase.

Arab News spoke with the NCPA Chorus’ Managing Director and Resident Conductor Jiao Miao following the nearly two-hour performance.

“In China, we often perform Western works, but this opportunity has opened a window for us to see Arabic culture. We find it very fascinating,” she said.

“This was our first time singing in Arabic, and it was quite challenging for us because it’s a language we’ve never learned before, and the music also uses a different scale.”

The choir began preparing for the concert in July.

The program included a selection of global works, transporting the audience through various cultures, eras and styles without leaving their plush red seats.

It featured classical compositions, Chinese folk songs and Western choral works. Pianists Liu Xiaoxing and Sun Nianyang accompanied the singers at various times.

The women performers from China wore flowing white dresses while the men were in black suits with crisp white shirts. And the maestro, Miao, guided them with fluid movements — fingertips elegantly but firmly carved out rhythm from air into sound.

The ensemble sang in multiple languages, gathering songs from China, South Korea, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Mexico, South Africa, Argentina and the US.

Moments of gentle, lullaby-like softness were punctuated by energetic bursts that reignited the hall. At times, only the men sang; at others, only the women, with solos placed strategically throughout. Some dancing was involved.

The attentive audience watched as the lights on stage shifted in colors that mirrored the music, creating a fully immersive sonic and visual journey.

Opened in 2007, the NCPA in Beijing is China’s principal venue for music, theater and dance.

Formed in 2009, the NCPA Chorus is its resident ensemble. The group performs regularly in China and has appeared at major events, including the G20 Summit in Hangzhou and the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Their performance marked their debut in Saudi Arabia.

The concert was a part of “Ithra Winter” under Khobar Season, launched in October, and aligned with the Saudi-China Cultural Year 2025, supporting cultural dialogue through artistic collaboration and creative exchange.

“Their repertoire spans continents and generations, offering our audiences a rich experience of harmony and expression that speaks directly to the power of music to unite,” Paul Bearne, head of performing arts at Ithra, said in a statement.

“It is a great honor for us to perform at Ithra for the first time,” Miao added.

The evening featured a special appearance by the Saudi ensemble Choralla, who sings only in Arabic, marking the first time both groups performed together on stage.

Choralla — founded in Jeddah in 2022 — takes its name from a portmanteau of “choral” and the musical note “la.” They performed a few songs before the NCPA Chorus returned to the stage.

Their joint appearance comes during the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Saudi Arabia.

Together, the NCPA Chorus and Choralla performed two pieces — one from Saudi Arabia and one from China — each in their native languages.

“We hope we’ll have another chance to sing in Arabic again,” Miao added.

“We also hope that in the future — when we perform back home in China—we can include more Arabic songs, that way, audiences in China can also hear them.”

There were several well-known and global classics performed including “La Bamba” from Mexico, Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” and “Ala Al-Bal” by Saudi icon Mohammed Abdu. A tune from the 2016 Hollywood musical “La La Land” served as the finale.

“The audience in Saudi Arabia, specifically at Ithra, has been incredibly warm and enthusiastic — something we truly didn’t expect. This has become a very unforgettable memory,” Miao gushed.

Source: arabnews.com

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Saudi Arabia advances in Universal Health Coverage index

December 12, 2025

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has made notable progress in the Universal Health Coverage Service Coverage Index, reinforcing its position among leading nations in global health indicators, according to the latest data released by the World Health Organization and the World Bank.

The Kingdom recorded a score of 83 points in the latest UHC update, marking a nine-point increase within two years and placing Saudi Arabia among countries classified as having high-level health service coverage.

The steady rise reflects sustained improvements over the past two decades and underscores the impact of the Kingdom’s Health Sector Transformation Program under Saudi Vision 2030.

The UHC Service Coverage Index is one of the internationally recognized Sustainable Development Goal indicators and measures access to essential health services across key areas, including preventive care, treatment, and system capacity.

Progress in the index is closely linked to broader development outcomes such as improved quality of life, reduced disease burden, and enhanced social well-being.

Saudi Arabia’s advancement has been driven by a strategic focus on preventive healthcare, strengthened primary care services, expanded early screening programs, and increased health system readiness.

The transformation has also been supported by rapid digitalization, including platforms such as Sehhaty and the Seha Virtual Hospital, which have expanded access to care and improved service efficiency nationwide.

These reforms have translated into measurable public health gains. Life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rose from 74 years in 2016 to about 79.7 in 2025, bringing the Kingdom close to its Vision 2030 target of 80 years and highlighting the effectiveness of preventive and treatment programs.

Health Minister Fahad Abdulrahman AlJalajel said the progress reflected the tangible outcomes of Vision 2030 and sustained leadership support.

He said: “The improvements we see today in international health indicators demonstrate the real impact of the Kingdom’s health transformation, which prioritizes prevention, primary care empowerment, and digital health solutions. Raising life expectancy to 79.7 years is the result of an integrated effort focused on improving people’s health and quality of life.”

Saudi Arabia’s progress in the UHC index further strengthens its standing among G20 countries and underscores the Kingdom’s commitment to building a more efficient, resilient, and sustainable health system, with people at the center of national development.

Source: arabnews.com

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SFDA’s generic drug conference in Riyadh to empower local pharmaceutical manufacturing

December 12, 2025

RIYADH: The Saudi Food and Drug Authority will organize the Generic Drugs Conference 2025 under the title “Empowering Local Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: The Future of Generic Drugs in Saudi Arabia” on Dec. 30 in Riyadh.

The conference aim is to build a resilient, sustainable pharmaceutical sector that supports public health, according to a press release issued by the Saudi food safety watchdog.

The conference will be a unique platform bringing together healthcare providers, regulatory experts, academics, investors, and major pharmaceutical companies to foster open dialogue, share global best practices, and align efforts toward strengthening the generic drug sector in Saudi Arabia.

Bringing together a distinguished group of experts, leaders, regulators, healthcare professionals and pharmaceutical industry leaders, the conference will discuss the latest developments, challenges, and opportunities in the field of generic medicines.

With discussion sessions, interactive dialogues and numerous networking opportunities, the conference opens new horizons to enhance collaboration, innovation, and sustainable growth in the generic medicines sector, supporting improved access to medicines and raising their quality.

The conference agenda is designed to address strategic themes, including national efforts to enhance drug security; investment and regulatory enablers for generic drug manufacturing; pharmaceutical research and development and formulation challenges; pricing, reimbursement, and market access policies; and supply chain resilience and good manufacturing practice compliance, all aimed at strengthening public confidence in generics.

The conference, designed for professionals and stakeholders involved in the development, regulation, manufacturing, and distribution of generic and biosimilar medicines, comes at a pivotal time in Saudi Arabia’s healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors.

With Saudi Vision 2030 driving economic diversification and healthcare transformation, the local pharmaceutical industry is a cornerstone of national drug security, public health sustainability, and economic growth.

Source: arabnews.com

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Eight Muslim countries, including Pakistan, back UNRWA; call its role in Gaza 'irreplaceable' amid crisis

13.12.25

Eight leading Muslim countries, including Pakistan, have voiced strong support for the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees, calling its role in Gaza “irreplaceable” amid an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

In a joint statement shared by Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Friday, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and the United Arab Emirates reaffirmed “the indispensable role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in safeguarding the rights and well-being of Palestinian refugees.”

The ministers highlighted that for decades, UNRWA has carried out a unique mandate entrusted to it by the international community, providing protection, education, health care, social services, and emergency assistance to millions of Palestinian refugees in its areas of operation.

“In light of the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, the ministers underscore the essential role UNRWA plays in delivering humanitarian assistance through its network of distribution centres, ensuring that food, relief items, and basic necessities reach those in need fairly and efficiently," the statement said.

The ministers noted that the UN General Assembly’s decision to renew UNRWA's mandate for an additional three years reflected international confidence in the agency's vital role and the continuity of its operations.

UNRWA’s schools and health facilities remain a lifeline for refugee communities in Gaza, the statement said, underlining that UNRWA's role is “irreplaceable.”

“No other entity possesses the infrastructure, expertise, and field presence required to meet the needs of Palestinian refugees or to ensure continuity of services at the necessary scale,” it read.

The statement warned that any weakening of the agency's capacity would have grave humanitarian, social, and political repercussions across the region.

The ministers also condemned the storming of the UNRWA headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem by Israeli forces, describing it as a “flagrant violation” of international law and the “inviolability” of UN premises.

Source: telegraphindia.com

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Europe

 

Interview: Cardinal Müller on Europe, Islam, the SSPX and the German Synodal Path

DECEMBER 12, 2025

As Advent dawns — a season meant not merely for candlelight and carols but for a renewed sharpening of the Christian soul — the Church once again turns her gaze toward the mystery of Christ’s coming. Few voices speak to this moment with the clarity and spiritual urgency of Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller. The former prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has long been one of the Church’s most incisive theological minds, unafraid to diagnose the deeper spiritual crises of our age and to call Catholics back to the foundations of Revelation.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Cardinal Müller reflects on the true nature of Advent as a time of purification and hope, offers counsel for resisting the noise of consumer culture, and examines Europe’s paradoxical blend of secularism and religious revival. He speaks candidly about Vatican II, the challenges posed by the SSPX, and the turbulence of the German Synodal Path. What emerges is a bracing and luminous vision of the faith — one grounded in Christ, rooted in the Tradition, and unflinching in the face of the Church’s present trials.

Jan Bentz: As we enter Advent, the Church presents this season not merely as a countdown to Christmas, but as a school of watchfulness, purification, and hope. In your view, what is the spiritual work that Catholics today most urgently need to recover during Advent?

Cardinal Gerhard L. Müller: The cycle of the liturgical year reflects the history of God’s salvation with humanity. In the celebration of the Eucharist, God’s saving work for all people is made sacramentally present in Jesus Christ. In the readings we hear the voice of the prophets — above all Isaiah — who proclaim the coming Messiah of Israel, the Saviour and Redeemer of the world: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light… For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder” (Is 9:1, 5). This is the Kingdom of God, which Jesus publicly proclaimed and fulfilled as the King of the Jews on the Cross, and which he brought into the world, indestructible, through his Resurrection from the dead.

In Jesus, all the prophetic promises have been fulfilled beyond measure, for he is the Son of God who, through Mary, assumed our humanity, redeemed us from sin and death, and raised us to the dignity of the children of God. We are no longer slaves to the elemental powers of this world, for this is our faith — the very thing Paul proclaimed to the Churches of Galatia, and thus to Christians of all times: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal 4:4–5).

Anyone who reflects even a little on the meaning of life and takes seriously his own existence and identity knows that preparing for Christmas cannot consist merely in buying gifts and indulging in a bit of seasonal romanticism. What truly matters is opening our ears and preparing our hearts for the coming of Jesus into our minds and lives. For we cannot place our hope — in life or in death — in the false prophets and pseudo-messiahs of ideological and political manufacture who, in the twentieth century, plunged humanity into unspeakable misery through world wars and genocides. Our hope rests in God alone, “who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:57).

JB: Many Catholics struggle to prepare spiritually for Christmas amid the noise of consumer culture. What practical disciplines or interior dispositions would you propose to help the faithful receive Christ at Christmas with a renewed heart?

CGLM: I believe that the interior and exterior belong together, because our human nature is a unity of body and soul, of reason and free will. As individual persons, we are always embedded in ecclesial, civil, and cultural communities that are meant to support and strengthen us.

A Christian can remind himself each day that his existence in the world is not the result of chance, but that from eternity he has been chosen in the Son of God — destined, even before the creation of the world and in anticipation of his historical existence, to become a son or daughter of God through Jesus Christ (Eph 1:4–5).

The human species, in accordance with God’s reason (logos) and will, was formed out of animal precursors into a rational being capable of self-determination. Therefore — notwithstanding the common confusion of Darwinism as a biological theory with a metaphysical concept — no human being is, ontologically speaking, a “naked ape,” destined to construct himself into a superhuman creature by means of clever survival strategies, only to surrender his biological leadership role in a final evolutionary leap to a highly technological cyborg.

For this reason, we can shape our time intellectually and spiritually through meditation, prayer, and liturgy. These practices free us from our entanglement in the machinery of entertainment and material care, from the numbing noise of the market and the media, and from the diabolical illusion of worldly doctrines of salvation with their propaganda, lies, and leaders who allow themselves to be worshipped as gods.

JB: Europe today faces an unusual combination of accelerating secularism and large-scale immigration from strongly religious cultures. How do you understand this paradox, and what does it reveal about the spiritual condition of contemporary Europe?

CGLM: European secularism is not at all devoid of religion. It is a soft — or at times violent — form of de-Christianisation. The goal is not pure immanent worldliness, but the replacement of salvation and truth, which come from God, with a religion of self-redemption.

Since the eighteenth century, Islam has been regarded — by the philosophy of deism and of “natural religion” — as an ally in the struggle against Christianity. Even today, it is instrumentalised by the so-called fighters against “Islamophobia,” who hope that this religion will eventually secularise itself and ultimately tolerate — against its own truth — the atheistic woke anthropology.

For us Christians, the decisive point is not whether we live in a secular or a religious environment, but that we place our trust in God through faith, hope, and charity — for in Jesus Christ he is our only hope.

JB: Debates about the “spirit” and “letter” of Vatican II continue to polarise Catholics. In your experience, what is the authentic meaning of the Council, and how should the Church receive it today?

CGLM: This distinction is an insult to the theological intelligence of every Catholic. We can only assent to the Church’s teaching that Jesus is Lord through the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:3). The Church’s doctrine is the actualised doctrine of the Apostles, through which the full truth of Revelation remains present in history — into the present and all future.

Anyone who appeals to a “spirit of the Second Vatican Council” in opposition to its binding doctrine may well be invoking a “spirit of the world” (in the sense of Hegel or the Romantic notion of national spirits). But this has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit — the third Person of the Blessed Trinity — who inspired the authors of Scripture and preserves the magisterium of bishops and popes from grave error.

JB: The situation of the SSPX remains a pastoral and theological challenge. What, in your judgment, is the most fruitful way for the Church to approach dialogue with the Lefebvrian movement while preserving unity and doctrinal integrity?

CGLM: There have been — and continue to be — endless dialogues with this group, but they simply circle around. There is no way around recognising the Second Vatican Council as the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church, in accordance with the Catholic hermeneutic and epistemology already fully articulated by Irenaeus of Lyon.

The foolish talk of a “sede vacante” of the Chair of Peter, calls for a revision of the Council, and the claim that the Lefebvrists are the last bastion of true Catholicity must finally come to an end. Even if they are right to place their finger on the wounds inflicted on the Body of Christ by self-appointed reformers in the style of Modernism, there is never a justification for distancing oneself from the Catholic Church — even though the Church is a mixture of saints and sinners, as St Augustine emphasised against the strict and self-righteous Donatist sect.

Against Petilianus, the highly educated leader of the Donatists, he declared: “It was not we who separated ourselves from you — you separated yourselves from us. You withdrew from communion with the universal Church” (Contra litteras Petiliani II, 38).

Now is the kairos for all Catholics to reunite in the truth of Christ, who in the person of St Peter and his successor — Pope Leo XIV — has established an enduring principle and foundation of unity in faith and sacramental communion (Vatican II, Lumen gentium 18).

JB: The German Synodal Path has caused considerable concern across the Catholic world. How do you assess this development, and what are its broader implications for the unity and credibility of the universal Church?

CGLM: The German dioceses are part of the universal Church and are Catholic only insofar as they share the Catholic faith, the sacraments, and the Church’s divine constitution. The organisation of the so-called Synodal Path possesses no magisterial authority, nor is it a constituent assembly empowered to establish a German national church in an Anglican or Protestant style.

If even the magisterium of the Pope and the bishops is bound to Revelation and its actualisation in Scripture and Apostolic Tradition — and cannot introduce doctrines contrary to Revelation — then this applies all the more to the German Synodal Path. It is nothing other than a heretical attempt to replace the Christian understanding of the human person with gender ideology, and to present this corruption of doctrine to a naïve audience as its “development.”

There is scarcely any talk of God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the sacraments, grace, or eternal life — except ornamentally, as a pious veneer to obscure the transformation of the Church of Christ into a religious-social NGO with spiritual slogans. This fundamental critique comes from competent German bishops and eminent theologians.

The devastating record of progressivism in Germany since the 1970s is evident in mass departures from the Church, empty seminaries, closed monasteries, and an appalling ignorance of God and the Catholic faith — an ignorance that the Anglo-Saxon Boniface, the Apostle of the Germans, already sought to overcome 1,300 years ago (Ep. 28).

And it was Pope Francis — whom the German Synodalists otherwise love to quote — who wrote in his letter of 29 June 2019, “To the Pilgrim People of God in Germany,” that the Church’s first and foremost task is not external structural reform but the New Evangelisation: “For the Church is not something we make, nor can it be reinvented by us.” And his subsequent words apply not only to Germans but to Catholics around the world in this moment of history: “She does not renew herself by adapting to the spirit of the times, but by rediscovering the Gospel.”

Source: thecatholicherald.com

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King says he can 'share the good news' his cancer treatment will be reduced

Sean Coughlan

DECEMBER 13, 2025

King Charles has shared "good news" about his cancer, saying in a personal message that early diagnosis and "effective intervention" means his treatment can be reduced in the new year.

In a recorded video message broadcast on Channel 4 for the Stand Up To Cancer campaign, the King said: "This milestone is both a personal blessing and a testimony to the remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care."

This news that he is responding well to treatment is the biggest update on the King's health since he revealed his diagnosis in February 2024.

The type of cancer has not been identified and treatment and monitoring will continue, but he said: "Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives."

According to Buckingham Palace, the King's recovery has reached a very positive stage and he has "responded exceptionally well to treatment", so much so that doctors will now move his treatment "into a precautionary phase".

The regularity of treatment is going to be significantly reduced - but the King, 77, is not described as being in remission or "cured".

"Today I am able to share with you the good news that thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to 'doctors' orders', my own schedule of cancer treatment can be reduced in the new year," the King said in his speech.

The video message, recorded in Clarence House two weeks ago, was played in the Stand Up To Cancer show on Channel 4 on Friday evening, in a fundraising project run with Cancer Research UK.

The campaign encourages more people to get tested for cancer and to take advantage of national screening schemes - and the King's message emphasised the importance of checks to catch cancer at an early stage.

"I know from my own experience that a cancer diagnosis can feel overwhelming. Yet I also know that early detection is the key that can transform treatment journeys, giving invaluable time to medical teams," said the King.

Early detection could be a lifesaver, he said: "Your life, or the life of someone you love, may depend upon it."

The King also spoke of how much he had been "profoundly moved by what I can only call the 'community of care' that surrounds every cancer patient - the specialists, the nurses, researchers and volunteers who work tirelessly to save and improve lives".

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the King's announcement was a "powerful message".

"I know I speak for the entire country when I say how glad I am that his cancer treatment will be reduced in the new year," he added.

Until now the King has said little publicly about his illness.

He didn't seem to want to be defined by the disease and his approach has been to keep working, with a busy schedule including overseas trips and hosting state visits, including last week's by the German president.

A couple of days ago he was sending a message of optimism and seasonal "hope", when he attended an atmospheric, candle-lit Advent service at Westminster Abbey.

The Stand Up To Cancer show, presented by celebrities including Davina McCall, Adam Hills and Clare Balding, has urged people not to be frightened of getting cancer checks.

In particular, the show has appealed to the estimated nine million people in the UK who Cancer Research UK says are not up to date with NHS screening schemes, offering an online checker to let people see if they are eligible for tests for breast, bowel and cervical cancer.

The King said it "troubles me deeply" that this represents nine million missed opportunities to catch cancer early - and he urged people to use the screening checker online tool.

"The statistics speak with stark clarity. To take just one example: When bowel cancer is caught at the earliest stage, around nine in 10 people survive for at least five years. When diagnosed late, that falls to just one in 10," he said.

According to royal sources, the King's reference to bowel cancer should not be seen as linked to his own condition, and prostate cancer has previously been ruled out.

In an attempt to demystify cancer checks and show the value of early diagnosis the Stand Up To Cancer show had a live broadcast from cancer clinics at Addenbrooke's and Royal Papworth hospitals in Cambridge.

"I want to take the fear out of cancer screening and show everyone that they are not on their own in this," said McCall, 58, who recently said she was recovering from breast cancer surgery.

Currently in the UK, there are three NHS cancer screening programmes - for bowel, breast and cervical cancer - available to certain age groups.

A new lung cancer screening programme is also being slowly rolled out for anyone at high risk of developing the disease, specifically targeting people aged 55-74 years old, who currently or used to smoke.

Men may enquire about prostate cancer checks, but there is no national programme in place.

The Stand Up to Cancer project, which has raised £113m since 2012, is funding 73 clinical trials involving 13,000 cancer patients.

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said public figures speaking openly about cancer can encourage others to have a check up.

"Spotting cancer early can make a real difference and provides the best chance for successful treatment," she said.

Source: bbc.com

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Kurdish community in UK stages protest over 'mistreatment' of Mullah Krekar in Italian custody

12 December, 2025

Kurds in the UK are set to gather outside the Italian Embassy in London, calling for improved prison conditions and greater protection regarding Najmaddin Faraj Ahmad, widely known as "Mullah Krekar", currently held by the Italian authorities.

The protesters denounce what they describe as his "inhumane" treatment in Italy.

The 69-year-old Iraqi Kurdish preacher went to Norway as a refugee in 1991. In 2020, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison by an Italian court on terror-related charges after Norway extradited him to Italy.

Walid Faraj Ahmed, brother of Mullah Krekar, during an interview with The New Arab, noted that Kurds in the UK will peacefully demonstrate in London in defiance of "the bad treatment" his brother faces in an Italian prison.

Ahmed stated that his brother suffers from various chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. He added that Italian authorities have recently restricted his access to medication, and his cell remains cold, with heating provided for only five hours each day.

Ahmed also claimed that Italian authorities have denied Mullah Krekar access to an Italian-language interpreter, despite his inability to speak or understand Italian, and that his lawyer has been unable to visit him for the past 11 months.

Ahmed further claimed that Italian authorities recently confiscated all of his brother's handwritten materials and Arabic-language books, including the Holy Quran, for which he was preparing an interpretation.

"Confiscating his handwritings and interpretation of the Quran had badly affected my brother psychologically," Ahmed added, indicating that they have contacted Iraqi lawmakers who have been in touch with the Italian government, and are waiting for an answer.

Ahmed urged Kurds in the UK to ensure the demonstration remains peaceful and to highlight the rights violations his brother has experienced.

"We want to create a positive atmosphere for the situation of my brother in which the Italian authorities will end their pressure on him," Ahmed concluded.

The Italian Justice Ministry did not respond to The New Arab's email inquiry. TNA also contacted Safeen Dizayee, the Head of the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations, but he was unavailable for comment.

The Italian court convicted him of being the 'spiritual leader' of the Rawti Shax jihadi cell, which was dismantled by the Italian security police in the autumn of 2015.

His Norwegian lawyer, Brynjar Meling, said in 2019 that his client rejected the charge.

"He has no connection with IS," Meling told AFP after the Italian court ruling.

"His only goal is to come back to Kurdistan in Iraq and be able to (be a) politician there, set up a political party he wants to establish in Iraq as a free man," Meling said.

Kawa Kurdi, a Kurdish preacher in the UK, told TNA that the gathering will take place in front of the Italian Embassy in London from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM GMT. He noted that British authorities, including the police, have been notified, and that invitations have been sent to representatives of all Kurdish parties in the UK.

Kurdi further stated that Mullah Krekar's health is poor and that Italian authorities have denied family members in Norway the opportunity to visit him.

Despite living in Norway for many years and being acquitted in numerous trials, Krekar does not hold Norwegian citizenship, unlike his wife and four children.

Unknown destiny

Ahmed stated that Krekar has approximately two years and seven months remaining on his sentence. However, Norwegian authorities have informed Krekar's lawyer that he will not be allowed to return to Norway after his release. Krekar is willing to return to Iraqi Kurdistan, but the Kurdish authorities have not yet clarified whether he can do so.

As a young man, Krekar engaged with ideas of the Muslim Brotherhood. During the Iran-Iraq war, he fled through Iran to Pakistan, earned a master's in Islamic sciences, and returned to the Kurdistan region after the 1991 uprising.

Krekar was born into a Sunni Kurdish religious family in Sulaymaniyah, northern Iraq. In August 2002, while he was in Iraq, the Norwegian authorities revoked his refugee status because he had returned to his homeland and spent extended periods there.

He was arrested in the Netherlands in September 2002 after being denied entry to Iran and sent back to Europe.

Krekar became a leader in the Islamic Movement of Kurdistan (IMK), founded in 1987 with Iranian backing.

IMK played a complex role in Kurdish politics, with splits leading to the creation of groups like Ansar al-Islam, labelled as "terrorists" by the US.

IMK fought the PUK from 1993 to 1997. Later, joining the Kurdistan Regional Government caused splits, leading radicals to form Ansar al-Islam, led by Krekar in 2001.

Ansar al-Islam operated in the Hawraman mountains, enforcing a rigid form of Islamic sharia law. In 2003, US and PUK forces attacked Ansar Al-Islam, killing and scattering members. The group renamed itself "Ansar Al-Sunna" and later returned to its original name.

The PUK accuses Krekar of killings while leading "Ansar Al-Islam", which he denies.

If he returns to Iraq, the PUK intends to sue him, and he could face the death penalty.

Source: newarab.com

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https://www.newarab.com/news/uk-kurds-rally-against-italian-mistreatment-mullah-krekar

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Member states step up opposition to EU seizing Russian funds – Politico

13 Dec, 2025

Italy, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Malta have urged the EU to explore alternatives to seizing frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, Politico Europe reported on Friday, citing an internal document.

The European Commission hopes to pressure individual member states into approving the plan ahead of the European Council meeting on December 18-19. However, some members, including Belgium, which holds the bulk of Russia’s frozen assets, have warned that seizing the funds could undermine trust in the bloc’s financial system, trigger capital flight, and expose member states to legal risks.

According to Politico, the four countries said they “invite the Commission and the Council to continue exploring and discussing alternative options in line with EU and international law, with predictable parameters, presenting significantly fewer risks, to address Ukraine’s financial needs, based on an EU loan facility or bridge solutions.”

On Friday, the EU invoked its rarely used emergency powers to circumvent potential vetoes from Hungary and Slovakia and made the asset freeze indefinite. Although Italy, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Malta supported the measure, they reportedly stressed that the “vote does not pre-empt in any circumstances the decision on the possible use of Russian immobilized assets, which needs to be taken at leaders’ level.”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called Friday’s vote unlawful and accused the Commission of “systematically raping European law.” Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico similarly condemned the move, arguing that “providing tens of billions of euros for military spending is prolonging the war” between Ukraine and Russia.

Russia has said that seizing its assets would be tantamount to theft and vowed to retaliate. On Friday, the Russian Central Bank initiated legal proceedings against Belgian clearinghouse Euroclear, which holds the bulk of Moscow’s foreign assets in Europe.

Source: rt.com

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https://www.rt.com/news/629407-eu-opposition-russia-assets/

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EU’s use of emergency powers on Russian assets will backfire – MEP

12 Dec, 2025

The EU’s move to invoke emergency powers and freeze the assets of the Russian Central Bank indefinitely will seriously damage the bloc’s credibility, European Parliament member Fernand Kartheiser has told RT.

On Friday, the EU invoked Article 122 of its treaty to override vetoes from Hungary and Slovakia and bypass the European Parliament. Brussels has been pressuring individual members to agree to using the Russian assets for a ‘reparations loan’ for Ukraine.

Kartheiser, an MEP from Luxembourg, argued that the move will “weaken the member states.”

“Europe will lose much of its credibility as an investment place for people around the world. It is not only legally questionable but will also have a lot of economic and institutional consequences which are harmful to the EU and other countries,” he said.

With Hungary and Slovakia sidelined, the European Commission’s actions will fuel Euroskepticism among voters, Kartheiser said. “The smaller and medium-sized countries will simply lose confidence in the functioning of the European institutions.”

Kartheiser added that by shutting itself off from negotiations with Russia, the EU is “prolonging the war” in Ukraine. “It is morally questionable and diplomatically not very intelligent because we are standing in the way of American-Russian efforts to bring this war to an end.”

Belgium, which holds the bulk of the Russian assets, has warned that “stealing money from the Russian Central Bank” would damage the EU’s financial system, trigger capital flight, and expose Belgium to legal risks. Hungary and Slovakia have also urged the EU to focus instead on diplomacy.

Moscow has said that tapping into its funds would be tantamount to theft and warned that it would retaliate.

Source: rt.com

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https://www.rt.com/news/629405-eu-russian-assets-backfire/

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Ukraine wants West to pay for election

12 Dec, 2025

Kiev is ready to hold an election, but only if a series of conditions are met, including Western funding of the vote, Mikhail Podoliak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, has said.

Zelensky’s presidential term expired in May 2024, but he has refused to organize elections, citing martial law. Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said Kiev should no longer use the ongoing conflict as an excuse for the delay.

Moscow has maintained that Zelensky has “lost his legitimate status,” which would undermine the legality of any peace deal signed with him.

Zelensky has claimed he was not trying to “cling to power,” declaring this week readiness for the elections, but insisting that Kiev needs help from the US and European countries “to ensure security” during a vote.

Podoliak expanded on the position on Friday, writing on X that Zelensky had called on parliament to prepare changes to the constitution and laws. Podoliak, however, added that three conditions must be met for a vote to go ahead.

“No missiles or drones can fly during the vote. The only realistic path is a ceasefire,” Podoliak wrote, adding that those on the front and in frontline zones must be able to “elect and get elected.” He said that “millions of displaced persons” make the process “complex and costly.”

“This burden cannot fall on Ukraine alone,” Zelensky’s aide stated, adding that Kiev would be “ready” to proceed with a vote only if the funding and two other conditions are guaranteed.

Commenting on Kiev’s U-turn on holding an election, top Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told RT that the idea is a ploy to secure a ceasefire. Moscow has long insisted that Kiev would use the pause in fighting to rearm and regroup.

President Vladimir Putin recently noted that Russia held presidential elections in March 2024, even though it is engaged in a military conflict.

While Ukraine and its Western backers have repeatedly called for a temporary ceasefire, the Kremlin has ruled out the option, insisting on a permanent peace that addresses the conflict’s underlying causes. Moscow argues that a sustainable peace deal can only be reached if Ukraine withdraws completely from the new Russian territories and commits to neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification.

Source: rt.com

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https://www.rt.com/russia/629383-ukraine-elections-western-funding/

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North America

 

The US is teaching its European allies a harsh lesson in who’s really in charge

12 Dec, 2025

The humiliation Washington is inflicting on Western Europe today will shape an entire generation of politicians who will eventually have to rediscover how to deal with Russia. The lessons they are absorbing now may prove as important as those learned by previous Western European leaders who built a dialogue with the USSR after 1945.

Over the past year, we have grown accustomed to watching the US treat its European allies with increasing roughness. But it would be a mistake to simply enjoy the spectacle. Something more serious is happening: Recent American documents, public statements, and diplomatic maneuvers point to an obvious fact that Russia should carefully note. The US is not the EU’s friend. It is not even a reliable ally. Its behavior is grounded in a deep cultural arrogance and an instinctive greed, and these are constants that will not change regardless of who sits in the White House.

Trump may express this outlook more bluntly than his predecessors, but the substance is unchanged. Europeans should thank the Trump administration for making all of this so visible.

Against this backdrop, Russia should not rule out the possibility that relations with our European neighbors could eventually be rebuilt. The half-continent is our neighbor, whether we like it or not. But that does not mean Russia wants to absorb or dominate it. Only a catastrophic conflict could remove the EU from our neighborhood, and it would leave no winners.

For any future restoration of ties, at least three conditions matter. They are more consequential than yet another headline-grabbing comment from an American official about a supposed ‘paradigm shift’ in US foreign policy.

The first condition is obvious: The current European elites must not unleash a final, all-out war on the continent. They have already done so twice. Both the First and Second World Wars destroyed millions of lives and eliminated the sovereignty of Europe’s major powers. World War I destroyed Europe’s global empires. World War II consolidated American dominance over the half-continent. Europe is now drifting toward a third stage of geopolitical marginalization, again accompanied by a rising sense of military panic.

European politicians and generals have become so eager to talk publicly about war with Russia that President Vladimir Putin was forced to address the matter a few days ago. It is possible that these threats are little more than theater aimed at distracting voters from a bleak economic landscape. Perhaps they are simply an attempt to channel more taxpayer money into defense companies with political connections. But as a responsible nuclear power, Russia cannot ignore this rhetoric.

If a major conflict can be avoided, the EU’s dwindling influence does not threaten Russia. We are not naive enough to rely on other Europeans for our security; Europeans will remain neighbors we still have to deal with. And frankly, weak neighbors are easier to manage than strong ones.

A second condition concerns the US itself. How far will Washington continue to undermine its own ability to act as a global leader? Right now, the trend is accelerating. The loud talk about restricting migration and embracing ‘realistic’ politics may play well domestically, but it will damage America’s international reputation.

Realism is not inherently negative. It signals a willingness to abandon unnecessary ideological dogmas. But there is a price. Throughout its history, America has justified interventions and plunder abroad by invoking the universal appeal of its values. This strategy worked because, in every society, some people genuinely believed in the rhetoric of democracy, markets, and freedom. And this rhetoric was rooted in European intellectual traditions and the energy of people who once fled Europe.

Trumpism is different. Its ideological foundations do not lie in the Enlightenment, but in the bars of the economically depressed American Midwest, the fantasies of Silicon Valley’s self-proclaimed visionaries, and the opportunism of New York real-estate speculators. This is a far weaker basis for sustaining global influence.

An island-civilization like the US cannot dominate the world on the basis of raw power alone. It requires willing supporters. Will the same number of people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America rally behind Washington’s new ‘realism’ as they once did behind its claims to defend ‘freedom and democracy’? It is unclear.

Migration is another factor. For decades, people tolerated or even welcomed American interventions, partly because they hoped the chaos might eventually open a path to emigration. Few people admire US foreign policy, but many dream of living in the US. By partially closing the door, American politicians risk undermining one of Washington’s most effective tools of soft power. Perhaps the US will eventually reverse course. For now, there is no sign of it.

Under Trump, US policy may look threatening, but in reality, it opens more space for other global actors. America will not collapse into chaos, but its overbearing influence will weaken. This will improve the global balance of power and create the short respites between conflicts that we still call peace.

The final condition relates to Europe’s internal politics. The continent desperately needs new leaders. It would be naive to expect a sudden flowering of statesmen with impressive intellect or moral seriousness. But perhaps, at a national level, the current crop of hopeless figures from the 1990s and 2000s will gradually be replaced by people slightly better suited to today’s reality.

For Russia, this shift would be useful. For the EU, it is essential.

The humiliation the US is inflicting on Europe today is not just an episode in transatlantic relations. It is a formative event. The politicians who will one day negotiate with Russia are watching the US treat them not as partners, but as subordinates. The more openly the Americans behave like demanding overseers rather than allies, the more enduring the lesson will be.

And that is ultimately good for Russia’s long-term interests and for stability across the continent.

Source: rt.com

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CAIR-LA Calls on Attorney General to Investigate Anti-Muslim Threats from Individual Targeting SoCal Mosques Online

December 12, 2025

The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) sent a letter to Attorney General Rob Bonta urging the California Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch an immediate investigation into a series of hateful and threatening online posts targeting mosques throughout Southern California. CAIR-LA also called on the DOJ to evaluate whether the content violates California’s hate crime or criminal threat statutes. 

In recent days, a man posting under the name Robert Oliveiri on a publicly accessible Google Maps profile allegedly left several alarming comments, reviews, and videos on the pages of dozens of local mosques. The posts contained blatantly anti-Muslim and Islamophobic statements, including “Go back to your sh**hole f***ing countries where you f***ing belong,” and “You motherf***ers don’t belong in America. Islam does not belong in America.” 

In addition to calling for an investigation, CAIR-LA urged the DOJ to coordinate with local law enforcement agencies to ensure adequate security measures for the impacted mosques and to address the ongoing concerns of community members. 

In a statement, CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said:

“This incident comes at a time when Muslims across the nation are facing an unprecedented wave of hate. It mirrors the dangerous anti-Muslim rhetoric perpetuated in the media and from our elected officials, which we have seen escalate into real-world violence as mosques are being set on fire and vandalized, and community members are being subjected to blatant racism and harassment simply because of their faith. 

“Such behavior cannot be written off as mere online hostility or free speech. We call on Attorney General Bonta and the DOJ to take immediate action to protect the safety and well-being of the Southern California Muslim community and send a clear message that hate-fueled intimidation of houses of worship will not be tolerated. We also urge all mosques and Islamic centers to remain vigilant and immediately report any incidents to CAIR and local law enforcement.”

Over the past two years, CAIR has recorded a sharp increase in complaints reported to its offices nationwide. In 2024, the organization documented 8,061 complaints, the highest number in its more than 30-year history. 

CAIR-LA has documented a 70% increase in incoming complaints from 2022–2024, with a nearly 500% increase in reported hate crimes and incidents during that time—including mosque threats, vandalism, workplace discrimination, harassment, and hate messages targeting community institutions.

If you or someone you know are the victim of a hate crime or incident, click here to contact CAIR-LA’s Civil Rights department or call (714) 776-1177 (ext. 2).

Source: cair.com

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https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-la-calls-on-attorney-general-to-investigate-anti-muslim-threats-from-individual-targeting-socal-mosques-online/

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Thorold, Ont., city hall lobby filled as vigil mourns teen denied traditional Muslim burial

Dec 12, 2025

About a hundred people joined a vigil held in front of city hall in Thorold, Ont., to honour an 18-year-old woman who died in a recent car crash.

They were also protesting the city's decision, at the last-minute, to deny her family's request for Muslim burial accommodations at a public cemetery.

The vigil later moved inside the city hall, filling the lobby as city councillors and staff walked past to attend a council meeting.

Alina Masud lived in Thorold and studied psychology at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont. She hoped to work in criminal psychology some day and was the middle daughter of three.

Masud died in a collision on Highway 406 on the evening of Dec. 3.

The family's imam, Asad Mahmood, and the director of the city-owned Lakeview Cemetery agreed she could be buried on Dec. 6 in a section that would be dedicated for Muslim burials. And, as is tradition, her body would face Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Islam's holiest city.

Just an hour before her burial, Mahmood said the director could no longer proceed with the burial after Thorold councillors denied the accommodation request.

‘I’m not alone’: said father

“When we were not allowed to bury the body here, that time was a time of crisis and so stressful,” Masud’s father, Malik Masud, told CBC News.

“I see the support, the community. I’m not alone,” Malik said.

People from all over the Niagara Region joined the vigil, expressing concerns over the lack of space for Muslim burials.

“It's extremely heartbreaking for all of us, because she’s not just a name in the headlines,” said Binoy Mahmud, former president at Brock University’s Muslim Students' Association. “She was someone who walked our halls, who attended the same classrooms, and someone with a future.”

“I spoke to a lot of students. And not only are we extremely disappointed about what happened to Alina, but also our concern for our fellow Muslims that live here,” Mahmud added.

After the last-minute change, her family was able to bury Masud at the Islamic Cemetery of Niagara in Niagara Falls, Ont.

“We should not be driving long distance to bury our dead,” said Dr. Yousef Haj-Ahmad, founder of the Haj-Ahmad Family Foundation, which he said has donated over $7 million to educational and health institutions across the Niagara Region.

“It's definitely very sad that we are resident[s] of Niagara, we are resident[s] of Thorold, and they would not give the Muslim community a plot to bury their dead," added Haj-Ahmad.

“I don't know what went wrong, but we really desired to get a burial in [Thorold],” said Masud. “Being here means that I am around Alina, and Alina is with me all the time … I could not get that feeling.”

Malik hopes the next person won't "have to go through the same thing” and that by that time, there would be space for Muslims to be buried.

Ontario’s Bereavement Authority investigating

The Bereavement Authority of Ontario, which oversees the death care sector, confirmed to CBC News that it is looking into the case, but would not provide comment at this time.

In an email to CBC News, the city wrote it extended their condolences to the family, as well as loved ones and friends.

"Staff informed the family and provided an alternative which the family declined,” read the email. “We sincerely apologize for the added burden this situation has caused during an already difficult time.”

Mahmood said the alternative option is largely occupied with non-Muslim graves.

“They’re asking us to make one grave in that section facing Mecca,” said Mahmood. “We need every grave in that section facing Mecca.”

Since 2023, Mahmood said he has requested the city dedicate a section for Muslim burials. The city agreed to sell the land for $50,000, along with an additional $9,000 to survey and paint the ground to ensure the burials are facing Mecca.

A year later, the city returned the money, “saying that they cannot segregate the cemetery,” Mahmood said.

City cites a bylaw preventing the accommodation

According to a bylaw, passed on July 11, 2023, the public cemetery is prohibited to sell plots in unopened areas of the public cemetery before selling out existing sections.

The bylaw was put forward after Thorold councillors discussed concerns of segregation in a public cemetery.

Mahmood says it's not “segregation.”

“This is accommodating a community that has different faith values and different way[s] of praying and different way[s] of burying people.”

Protesters are hoping city councillors reconsider.

“I hope they reverse that decision and consider us as citizens of this community,” said Haj-Ahmad.

Source: cbc.ca

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/vigil-thorold-denied-muslim-burial-request-9.7012344

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CAIR-Cleveland Welcomes Apology for Racist Anti-Arab Post by Youngstown Council President

December 12, 2025

The Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Cleveland), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed an apology for a racist anti-Arab post by Youngstown Council President Anita Davis.

In that post congratulating a police officer on his retirement, Davis said: “We all thought he was an Arab terrorist.” She later apologized for the post.

In a statement, CAIR-Cleveland & Northern Ohio Executive Director Faten Odeh said:

“Offensive comments like these are not jokes. They reflect and reinforce dangerous stereotypes that have real consequences for Arab, Muslim, and other marginalized communities. Elected officials have a responsibility to uphold the dignity of the people they serve, not demonize them with racist remarks. We welcome the apology, but call on the Youngstown City Council to take this matter seriously and to ensure that meaningful steps are taken to prevent this kind of dehumanizing rhetoric in the future.”

She said CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, anti-Muslim hate, white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry.

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.      

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.   

Source: cair.com

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https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-cleveland-welcomes-apology-for-racist-anti-arab-post-by-youngstown-council-president/

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CAIR Welcomes Texas Securities Commissioner’s Refutation of False Claim Related to AG Paxton’s Anti-Muslim Lawsuit Against EPIC

December 12, 2025

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a statement by Texas Securities Commissioner Travis Iles refuting a false claim made in connection with Attorney General Ken Paxton’s anti-Muslim lawsuit against the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC).

A Fox News article asserted that “Texas Securities Commissioner Travis Iles claimed the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) entities sold securities without meeting registration or exemption requirements and referred the matter to the Office of the Attorney General after identifying flagrant violations.” The Securities Commissioner issued a statement refuting the claim.

SEE: Texas Securities Commissioner Refutes Claims Made in Connection with Attorney General’s EPIC City Lawsuit | Texas State Securities Board

“We thank Commissioner Iles for issuing this statement clarifying the false information about EPIC presented in the article,” said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw. “With the amount of defamatory and blatantly propagandistic lies there are targeting EPIC and the Texas Muslim community generally, it is important to set the record straight. Ken Paxton and anti-Muslim Texas officials must end their witch hunts into the community.”

Source: cair.com

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https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-welcomes-texas-securities-commissioners-refutation-of-false-claim-related-to-ag-paxtons-anti-muslim-lawsuit-against-epic/

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Canada's Conservatives on shaky ground as MP defects to Carney's Liberals

December 13, 2025

Nadine Yousif

A Conservative member of parliament said he will be crossing the floor to join Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals, putting his government just one seat shy of a majority and delivering another blow to the opposition party.

Michael Ma, an MP from Ontario, announced his decision to join the Liberals in a statement on Thursday night, saying it is "time for unity and decisive action".

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre responded by saying that Ma has "let down" those who voted for him to oppose Liberal policies and "will have to answer to them".

Ma's defection comes one month after another Conservative MP, Chris d'Entremont, crossed the floor to join the governing Liberal party.

It also comes a few weeks ahead of a scheduled leadership review for Poilievre.

Ma said in his statement that Prime Minister Carney is "offering the steady, practical approach" needed "to deliver on the priorities that I hear every day" from voters.

At the Liberal holiday party in Ottawa on Thursday evening, Carney asked Ma to join him on the stage, touting the "big, broad, and growing Liberal tent".

"You are going to have a much better time spending Christmas with us," he said.

In his own statement, Poilievre, who has campaigned heavily on affordability issues, said Ma "chose to endorse the very policies he was elected to oppose. The same policies driving up food prices and making life more expensive for all".

Ma was first elected to parliament earlier this year to represent the constituency of Markham-Unionville, an area north of Toronto.

He defeated the Liberal candidate with just under 2,000 votes. The constituency has flipped between the Conservatives and Liberals over the years.

In early November, d'Entremont from Nova Scotia defected and joined the Liberals shortly after Prime Minister Carney put forward his first fiscal plan. At the time, he said he crossed the floor because he no longer felt represented by Poilievre.

In return, the Conservative Party accused him of breaking his promises to Canadians and of acting on "personal grievances".

Another Conservative MP, Matt Jeneroux from Alberta, then announced that he would resign later in November, citing family reasons.

Liberal government house leader Steve MacKinnon suggested to reporters on Friday morning that Conservative MPs are frustrated with their party's leadership.

"There are lots of Conservatives, I assure you, who do not like Poilievre's approach," MacKinnon said. "You have seen two to date. There are others, for sure."

Some Conservative MPs, on the other hand, have expressed disappointment at Ma's decision.

"When you join a team, you work as a team," said Ontario Conservative MP Scott Aitchison in a post on X, adding that Ma had voted with the party in the House of Commons for months and attended the Conservative Christmas party a day before crossing the floor.

Laura Stephenson, a political science professor at the Western University in Ontario, told the BBC that the Liberal Party and Prime Minister Carney are likely gunning for a majority in parliament in order to enact their agenda without fear of a snap election.

"The long game is to actually be able to enact the kind of change that they think is necessary," Prof Stephenson said.

She added that the willingness of some Conservative MPs to cross also suggests a waning appetite for Poilievre's politics, though she notes that he still maintains a good amount of support in his caucus.

Poilievre's combative style of politics has been blamed for the Conservatives' election loss earlier this year. Party members will vote on whether he should stay on as leader at the Conservative convention in January.

He lost his own Ottawa seat, prompting a Conservative MP from a safe Alberta riding to step down and allow him to run there. Poilievre won that seat in August with more than 80% of the vote.

Polling shows Poilievre remains popular with the majority of Conservatives, though that margin is shrinking. An Angus Reid poll released on Thursday revealed 58% of recent Conservative voters back Poilievre, down from 68% in August.

Source: bbc.com

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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5ggqkl44lo

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Fyodor Lukyanov: Washington no longer sees Russia as Mordor

11 Dec, 2025

Fyodor Lukyanov

The new edition of the US National Security Strategy breaks sharply with past documents. It looks, at first glance, like a standard presidential framework, but it reads more like an ideological manifesto. One might be tempted to treat it as a political pamphlet from Trump’s circle, destined to fade once he leaves office.

But that would be a mistake. There are two reasons to take it seriously. First, the United States is an ideological power by definition. It’s a country founded on slogans and principles. Every American policy line, no matter how pragmatic in appearance, is infused with ideology. Second, even an unconventional president produces guidelines that outlive him. Trump’s 2017 strategy, for example, announced the era of great-power confrontation and shaped much of what followed. Biden softened the rhetoric in 2021, but the underlying framework remained. This new document will also endure.

What stands out is the tone toward Western Europe. The sharpest criticism is aimed not at Russia or China, but at the European Union. For the authors, the EU is an aberration of the liberal order. A structure that has led European nations astray. The US now identifies its true continental partners in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, pointedly omitting the western and northern states that drove post-war integration.

The Strategy touches on the wider world, but Western Europe occupies symbolic ground. American identity was forged as a rejection of the Old World, the corrupt, tyrannical Europe from which settlers fled in search of religious and economic freedom. The “farmer’s republic” is long gone, but its founding myth remains potent. In today’s conservative revival, that myth has returned with force. Trump’s supporters hope not only to revive an idealized past, but to undo much of the 20th century. Most specifically the liberal internationalism launched when Woodrow Wilson took the US into the First World War.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth made this rejection explicit in a recent speech at the Reagan Forum. Down with utopian idealism; long live hard realism. Washington, in this vision, sees the world as a collection of spheres of influence controlled by the most powerful states, two of which are the US and China. The role of the others, presumably including Russia, will be clarified in the Pentagon’s upcoming military strategy.

Historically, these oscillations in American doctrine have always been tied to Europe. The City on a Hill emerged as a repudiation of Europe. The liberal order of the 20th century, by contrast, rested on an unbreakable Atlantic bond. That bond was never realized after 1918, but it became the organizing principle of the West after 1945.

Today, Washington blends both impulses. On one hand, it tells Western Europe to solve its own internal problems rather than “parasitize on America.” On the other, it encourages resistance within the bloc to what it sees as failed EU policies. This is not disengagement; it is an attempt at a political reformation of the half-continent. The goal is regime change. Not in the old Cold War sense, but in cultural and ideological terms: a shift from liberal-globalist to national-conservative values. Through this, Washington hopes to strengthen its grip on a “revitalized Europe” that will serve as a key ally in America’s broader goals: dominance in the Western Hemisphere, hence the explicit resurrection of the Monroe Doctrine, and a trade arrangement with China that favors US interests.

The most unexpected element is how Russia is treated. Unlike in previous strategies, Russia is not depicted as a threat or a rogue actor. Nor is it framed as a global challenger. Instead, Russia appears as part of the European landscape. As an essential component of the continental balance. Washington’s new goal is to engineer a European settlement in which Russia participates, but not as an equal global power. The logic is simple: Europeans themselves cannot calibrate this balance, so America must intervene on their behalf.

In essence, the authors are proposing a return, in a new form, to a 19th-century “concert of Europe.” With Russia included, but confined. The parallel with the post-Cold War liberal project is striking. Back then, the West also imagined Russia integrated into a stable European system, but under Western ideological leadership. The slogans have changed; the hierarchy remains.

It is at least encouraging that Washington has abandoned the cartoonish portrayal of Russia as a kind of Mordor, the fantasy imagery that dominated Western discourse in recent years. The new tone is calmer, pragmatic, almost clinical. But the place assigned to Russia is still not one the country can accept. A junior partner in a reconstructed European house is not a role befitting Russia’s strategic ambitions.

Moreover, even the premise feels dubious. The idea that Europe can rebuild itself into a coherent political entity, with or without Russia, is far from certain. The continent’s fragmentation is deep, its interests divergent, and its dependence on external powers entrenched. The US Strategy imagines a Europe reorganized along American preferences, integrated into an Atlantic framework that ultimately serves Washington’s goals. Whether such a Europe exists even as a theoretical possibility is another question entirely.

Russia, for its part, will study this American project closely. But its trajectory is already set. Moscow’s long-term strategic objectives – sovereignty, a multipolar order, and freedom of maneuver beyond the European theater – do not fit neatly into a US-designed continental balance. Even if a pan-European house could be rebuilt, Russia would not be content to serve as one of its decorative pillars.

The new American doctrine may be more measured than the rhetoric of recent years, but it still imagines Russia constrained within a Western-centered system. That vision belongs to the past. Russia will proceed along its own path, guided not by ideological proclamations from abroad, but by its own understanding of its future role in world politics.

Source: rt.com

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Denmark intel report warns of US military threat under Trump

Dec 13, 2025

COPENHAGEN: The US is using its economic power to “assert its will” and threaten military force against friend and foe alike, a Danish intelligence agency said in a new report. The Danish Defense Intelligence Service said Washington’s greater assertiveness under the Trump administration also comes as China and Russia seek to diminish Western, especially US’, influence.

Perhaps most sensitive to Denmark — a Nato and EU member, and a US ally — is growing competition between those great powers in the Arctic. “The strategic importance of the Arctic is rising as the conflict between Russia and the West intensifies, and the growing security and strategic focus on the Arctic by the US will further accelerate these developments,” said the report, published Wednesday.

The report echoes a string of recent concerns about an increasingly go-it-alone approach by the US, which under Trump’s second term has favoured bilateral deals and partnerships at the expense of multilateral alliances like Nato. “For many countries outside the West, it has become a viable option to forge strategic agreements with China rather than the US,” read the report. “At the same time, uncertainty has grown over how the US will prioritise its resources in the future,” it added.

“The US is leveraging economic power to assert its will, and the possibility of employing military force – even against allies – is no longer ruled out,” the report said.

Source: indiatimes.com

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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/denmark-intel-report-warns-of-us-military-threat-under-trump/articleshow/125943261.cms

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Trump’s $100,000 visa move: 20 US states sue administration over H-1B fee hike; cite illegal burden on employers

Dec 13, 2025

A coalition of 20 US states, led by California, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over a new $100,000 fee imposed on H-1B visas, arguing that the move is unlawful and threatens access to essential public services such as healthcare and education.

The legal challenge, announced by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, targets a policy introduced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) following a presidential proclamation issued in September. The fee applies to all new H-1B visa petitions filed after September 21, and represents an unprecedented increase from the existing charges, which typically range from under $1,000 to around $7,500.

In the lawsuit, the attorneys general argue that the Trump administration has exceeded its authority by imposing a fee far beyond what Congress has authorised. They say the policy violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by bypassing mandatory notice-and-comment rulemaking and by setting a charge unrelated to the actual cost of processing visa applications.

Bonta said the measure runs counter to the purpose of the H-1B programme, which allows US employers to hire highly skilled foreign workers in “specialty occupations” requiring at least a bachelor’s degree. These include doctors, nurses, researchers, teachers and engineers.

“California knows that when skilled talent from around the world joins our workforce, it drives our state forward,” Bonta said, warning that the fee would place “illegal financial burdens” on public employers and worsen existing labour shortages.

The coalition, which includes states such as New York, Illinois, Washington and Massachusetts, is seeking to block the policy and have it declared unconstitutional.

Impact on schools, hospitals and public services

The states argue that the fee will hit public sector and non-profit employers hardest, particularly schools, universities and hospitals, many of which are exempt from the annual H-1B cap of 65,000 visas. These institutions, they say, cannot absorb an additional $100,000 cost per hire without cutting services or diverting funds from other programmes.

The lawsuit highlights the scale of existing shortages. During the 2024–25 school year, nearly three-quarters of US school districts reported difficulties filling teaching posts, especially in special education, science and bilingual education. Educators are among the largest occupational groups using H-1B visas, with tens of thousands employed across the country.

Healthcare is another major concern. In the 2024 fiscal year, almost 17,000 H-1B visas were issued for medical and health occupations, including physicians and surgeons. The US is projected to face a shortfall of up to 86,000 doctors by 2036, a gap that is already acute in rural and low-income areas, including parts of California.

Trump tightens grip on H-1B visas with higher fees, deeper vetting

The Trump administration has sharpened its focus on the H-1B visa programme as part of a broader immigration crackdown, signalling tougher scrutiny, higher costs and expanded data collection. A new proposal seeks five years of social media history from all visitors to the US, including those from visa-waiver countries such as the UK, Japan and Australia. While not yet final, the measure reflects a wider push towards deeper vetting that goes well beyond tourists and directly affects skilled migrants.

For H-1B applicants, social media vetting is already mandatory from December 15, alongside stricter compliance checks.

The impact is magnified by structural bottlenecks. The H-1B cap remains frozen at 85,000 visas despite soaring demand, while Indians account for over 70% of approvals. Even those who secure visas face decades-long green card backlogs due to per-country limits.

White House defends move amid wider backlash

The Trump administration has defended the fee as part of a broader effort to reform the H-1B system and prioritise American workers. A White House spokesperson said the policy would discourage abuse of the programme and protect domestic wages, insisting the action was lawful.

Critics, however, say the measure risks damaging the US economy and international relationships. Lawmakers have warned that the fee disproportionately affects Indian professionals, who hold an estimated 70 per cent of H-1B visas, and could strain US–India ties while driving skilled workers towards countries with more welcoming immigration systems.

Source: indiatimes.com

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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/trumps-100000-visa-move-20-us-states-sue-administration-over-h-1b-fee-hike-cite-illegal-burden-on-employers/articleshow/125943149.cms

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Africa

 

No Christian, Muslim genocide in Nigeria – Tinubu

December 13, 2025

Ismaeel Uthman

President Bola Tinubu has again dismissed claims that there is a Christian genocide in the country, insisting that neither Christians nor Muslims are being targeted for killing.

The President said the insecurity bedevilling the country is rooted in historical, economic and criminal factors, not religious persecution.

He spoke on Friday in Abuja while declaring open the Nasrul-Lahi-l-Fatih Society 8th Biennial Conference and Annual General Meeting, themed “Building Resilience in a Changing World: The Role of Faith and Community.”

Tinubu, who was represented at the event by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, said Nigeria was battling terrorism driven by criminality and extremism.

A few weeks ago, former United States President Donald Trump had declared that Christians were being targeted for killing in Nigeria and threatened to deploy US military forces if the Federal Government failed to address the situation.

Trump, who designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern,” insisted that Christians were being persecuted while the Federal Government allegedly looked the other way.

His statement generated controversy within and outside Nigeria, prompting the Federal Government to send a delegation led by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to engage US congressmen and present a clearer perspective on Nigeria’s security challenges.

According to a report by an online platform, Freedom Online, Tinubu, while speaking at the NASFAT programme, said, “In recent times, the Federal Government and other persons of goodwill have had to address unfounded allegations. These allegations are not only false but harmful, and capable of inflaming passions and disrupting the peaceful coexistence we continue to build as a nation.

“Nigeria’s response was clear, firm and measured. We reaffirmed that our nation does not foster or tolerate policies or actions aimed at persecuting any religious group. Muslims and Christians alike have been victims of terrorism in Nigeria. Muslims and Christians alike stand shoulder to shoulder in condemning violence from any quarter.

“As President, I reiterate with all sense of responsibility and fidelity to the Constitution that there is no Christian genocide in Nigeria, and there is no Muslim genocide in Nigeria. What we have is terrorism driven by criminality and extremism—challenges we are working tirelessly to overcome.”

The President added that the Federal Government would continue to promote national unity, religious freedom and the security of every human life.

“We must, therefore, reject narratives that seek to divide us, whether they come from within or outside our borders. We must not allow internal or external forces to sow discord or promote dangerous stereotypes about our beloved nation,” he added.

Tinubu said Nigeria’s strength has always been in its diversity and the ability of its people to live together while worshipping differently.

He commended NASFAT’s role in promoting unity in the country, saying, “Your teachings on moderation, tolerance and service to humanity provide pathways for resolving conflicts and deepening national unity.

“Let us continue to promote moderation, peaceful coexistence and respect for our diversity. Our differences are a divine design, not a source of conflict.”

The keynote speaker at the conference, Dr Nurudeen Lemu, urged Muslims to hold firmly to God and remain optimistic, regardless of the challenges facing the country.

Source: punchng.com

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https://punchng.com/no-christian-muslim-genocide-in-nigeria-tinubu/

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Presidency Reacts To Alleged Plan To Kill On Christmas Day

December 13, 2025

By Enioluwa Adeniyi

The Presidency has dismissed an alert raised by a United States-based humanitarian organisation, Equipping The Persecuted, over an alleged plot to carry out mass killings in northern Nigerian communities on Christmas Day.

The group, earlier in the week, had claimed that terrorists were regrouping to launch attacks in areas including Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and Benue states on December 25.

Reacting to the development, the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, questioned the motive behind the alarm, warning that it could create panic and heighten insecurity.

Ajayi told Saturday Punch, “We should be very careful how we digest and process some of these doubtful reports by external organisations who are setting a stage for internal crisis in our country.

“We should not be providing oxygen for reports that heighten a sense of insecurity in our country.”

Ajayi expressed concern over the timing and content of the report, particularly its focus on a major Christian holiday, calling for greater scrutiny of the organisation’s intentions.

“What is the motive and agenda of this organisation in raising this kind of alarm about a likely terror attack in the three states and on Christmas Day?” he queried.

Despite questioning the report, the Presidency assured Nigerians that security agencies are fully equipped and mobilised to forestall any planned attacks.

“Whatever the motive is, our security forces are capable of foiling any terror attack and keeping us safe,” Ajayi stated.

He urged Nigerians to remain calm and go about their celebrations without fear.

“Nigerians should not entertain any fear in any part of the country. The police and the military are working to ensure we have a peaceful Christmas and Yuletide season,” he added.

Source: naijanews.com

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US-Based NGO Warns Of Christmas Day Killing Plot, DSS Confirms Intelligence

December 13, 2025

By Enioluwa Adeniyi

A United States-based humanitarian organisation, Equipping The Persecuted, has raised the alarm over what it described as a plot to launch coordinated attacks on several Christian communities in northern Nigeria on Christmas Day.

The group’s founder, Judd Saul, made the disclosure during a roundtable meeting held on Wednesday in Washington DC, United States.

The meeting, convened by the International Committee on Nigeria and the African Jewish Alliance, was chaired by former US Congressman Frank Wolf.

Speaking at the session, Saul said terrorists were regrouping around key border communities and planning attacks on December 25.

Saul warned, “They are gathering forces around the Plateau and Nasarawa border, along the Nasarawa-Benue border and along the Nasarawa-Kaduna border.

“They are planning to hit on Christmas Day in Riyom, Bokkos, Kafanchan and Agatu. We got very reliable information that they are weaponising for a Christmas Day massacre.

“I am imploring the Nigerian government and President Donald Trump to do something so we don’t have a bunch of dead Christians in Nigeria.”

Top US Lawmakers Present

The meeting was attended by Congressmen Riley Moore and Chris Smith, Senator James Lankford, members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and a Nigerian delegation.

A source familiar with the discussions told Saturday Punch that Saul had already conveyed the intelligence to the US government through Congressman Moore, who is expected to file a report to President Donald Trump.

“All the congressmen at the meeting have been to Nigeria many times. They’ve been involved in this matter since (Bill) Clinton was president,” the source said.

A senior officer of the Department of State Services (DSS) confirmed on Friday that the agency was aware of the intelligence report and had begun implementing countermeasures.

“The service is aware; we have the intelligence report, and we are already working on it,” the officer told Saturday PUNCH in Abuja.

Another operative revealed that intelligence gathering had been intensified in sensitive locations.

He stated, “We know the trend of attacks in those areas. I was in Kaduna for over two years, and I can tell you that these people have a pattern.

“The intelligence report by the US NGO may be correct because communities in the Middle Belt have always come under attack during festive periods. But I am sure the service would also have got wind of any planned attack by the bandits, and preventive measures would have been put in place.”

Communities mentioned in the report, Riyom, Bokkos, Kafanchan, and Agatu, have all witnessed deadly attacks in 2025.

On October 31, bandits stormed the Kwi community in Riyom, killing at least six residents. A major attack in Jebu village, Tahoss District, left at least 32 dead, including women and children.

Between June 19 and 21, gunmen also invaded Juwan and Manja in Bokkos and neighbouring Mangu LGAs, killing about 13 people.

Agatu in Benue State has also seen repeated violence. On June 1, 28 people were killed in Edikwu Ankpali and Opaha communities, while a pastor was murdered and three others kidnapped in Anwule village in November.

Similarly, Chawai communities near Kafanchan in Southern Kaduna were reportedly attacked by suspected Fulani herdsmen last month, leaving several residents dead and many displaced.

Efforts to get a response from the Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, proved abortive as he neither answered calls nor replied to a text message sent by Saturday Punch.

However, a senior security official, who requested anonymity, assured that surveillance would be intensified.

“We will intensify surveillance for early warning and continue to deepen our intelligence penetration. However, there is no specific detailed Intel at this end,” he stated.

Source: naijanews.com

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https://www.naijanews.com/2025/12/13/us-based-ngo-warns-of-christmas-day-killing-plot-dss-confirms-intelligence/

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No Genocide Against Christians Or Muslims In Nigeria — Tinubu

December 13, 2025

By Enioluwa Adeniyi

President Bola Tinubu has once again debunked claims of a Christian genocide in Nigeria, insisting that no religious group, Christian or Muslim, is being deliberately targeted for extermination.

Speaking on Friday in Abuja at the opening of the 8th Biennial Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Nasrul-Lahi-l-Fatih Society (NASFAT), themed “Building Resilience in a Changing World: The Role of Faith and Community,” the President stressed that insecurity in the country is not rooted in religious persecution.

Represented by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, Tinubu said Nigeria’s current security challenges are largely driven by historical injustices, economic deprivation, criminality, and extremism.

“In recent times, the Federal Government and other persons of goodwill have had to address unfounded allegations. These allegations are not only false but harmful, and capable of inflaming passions and disrupting the peaceful coexistence we continue to build as a nation,” he said.

The President’s remarks come weeks after former U.S. President Donald Trump alleged that Christians in Nigeria were being targeted and persecuted, warning that the U.S. could consider military intervention if the Nigerian government failed to act.

Trump had labelled Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern,” sparking widespread reactions within and beyond Nigeria’s borders.

In response, the Federal Government dispatched a high-level delegation led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu to engage U.S. lawmakers and provide clarity on the nation’s security situation.

President Tinubu reaffirmed that the Nigerian government does not support or carry out any policy that targets religious groups.

“As President, I reiterate with all sense of responsibility and fidelity to the Constitution that there is no Christian genocide in Nigeria, and there is no Muslim genocide in Nigeria. What we have is terrorism driven by criminality and extremism—challenges we are working tirelessly to overcome,” he stated.

He noted that both Christians and Muslims have suffered from terrorism and continue to stand together in condemning violence from all quarters.

The President emphasised the Federal Government’s commitment to national unity, religious tolerance, and the protection of every Nigerian life.

“We must, therefore, reject narratives that seek to divide us, whether they come from within or outside our borders. We must not allow internal or external forces to sow discord or promote dangerous stereotypes about our beloved nation,” he added.

Tinubu praised NASFAT for promoting national unity and peaceful coexistence.

“Your teachings on moderation, tolerance and service to humanity provide pathways for resolving conflicts and deepening national unity. Let us continue to promote moderation, peaceful coexistence and respect for our diversity. Our differences are a divine design, not a source of conflict,” he said.

Delivering the keynote address, Islamic scholar Dr Nurudeen Lemu urged Nigerian Muslims to remain steadfast in faith and hopeful amid the country’s challenges, stressing the importance of unity, patience, and resilience.

Source: naijanews.com

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https://www.naijanews.com/2025/12/13/no-genocide-against-christians-or-muslims-in-nigeria-tinubu/

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Nigerian Army Allegedly Detains, Tortures Ekiti Man For Protesting Troops’ Welfare

December 12, 2025

By Richard Ogunsile

A Nigerian man, Sunday Afolabi, has reportedly been detained by the Nigerian Army under conditions his family says have raised fears for his health, safety, and access to urgent medical care.

Sunday was reportedly arrested on Monday, October 20, 2025, at about 2 p.m. along NTA Road in Ado-Ekiti by a military officer.

According to his family, he was first taken to Akure before being transferred to Abuja.

His brother, Sunkanmi Afolabi, who lives in the United States, told SaharaReporters that Sunday’s only alleged offence was speaking out about the welfare of regular soldiers deployed to Sambisa Forest, especially their poor equipment and lack of adequate support.

“The only thing my brother did was tell the truth about what soldiers face in Sambisa,” Sunkanmi said. “He spoke about their welfare and the lack of proper equipment, and that was enough for him to be arrested.”

‘He Was Handcuffed, Bleeding, Extremely Weak’

Sunkanmi narrated that during Sunday’s last video call with his wife on Wednesday, October 22, he appeared severely injured and in distress.

“In his last video call with his wife on Wednesday, October 22, he appeared handcuffed, bleeding, and extremely weak from torture,” he said.

He added that the family had not heard from Sunday since that call, raising fears that his health may have worsened due to the alleged torture and lack of medical attention.

The family further expressed concern over Sunday’s medical condition, noting that he suffers from asthma and requires consistent medical care.

“Since then, we have had no contact, and we are deeply worried about his life and health, especially because he is asthmatic and urgently needs medical care,” Sunkanmi added.

Sunkanmi called for urgent assistance from relevant authorities, rights groups, and well-meaning Nigerians to help secure his brother’s safety and access to treatment.

“We just want to know that he is alive and being treated. Any help that can ensure his safety would mean the world to us,” he said.

Source: naijanews.com

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https://www.naijanews.com/2025/12/12/just-in-nigerian-army-allegedly-detains-tortures-ekiti-man-for-protesting-troops-welfare/

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Defence Minister Condoles Family Of Slain Brig‑Gen Uba

December 12, 2025

By Enioluwa Adeniyi

The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (retd), on Thursday visited the family of the late Brigadier General Musa Uba in Abuja to pay his condolences and show solidarity with the Nigerian Armed Forces over the officer’s tragic death.

The visit was described as “a show of solidarity with the Nigerian Armed Forces and deep respect for the family of the late Brigadier General Uba.”

According to a post on 𝕏, General Musa met with the wife and children of the late general at their residence, where he paid glowing tribute to Uba’s service and sacrifice.

He described the deceased as “a consummate professional whose sacrifice reflects the highest ideals of the Nigerian Armed Forces.”

The Defence Minister highlighted Uba’s “exceptional bravery, uncommon dedication, and selfless service to the nation.”

General Musa also used the visit to reaffirm his commitment to the fight against terrorism and other security threats confronting Nigeria.

He emphasised that the Federal Government remains resolute in honouring the legacy of personnel who paid the ultimate price defending the country.

The tragic death of Brigadier General Uba followed a harrowing series of events that began on Friday, November 14, 2025.

While leading a joint convoy of Nigerian Army troops and Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) personnel along the Burum‑Kubua axis of Damboa Local Government Area in Borno State, the force came under a “coordinated massive attack” by terrorists while returning from a routine mission from Biu.

General Uba initially evaded capture by fleeing deeper into the forest on foot. He reportedly communicated via satellite phone or WhatsApp with the Theatre Command of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), confirmed he was alive, shared his GPS coordinates, and assured rescuers he was “heading back to base.”

Rescue ground reinforcements and air assets were immediately dispatched to extract him, with initial assessments optimistic.

However, while attempting to link up with the rescue teams, Uba was seized by fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

On Monday, November 17, 2025, ISWAP released a shocking video and photograph showing General Uba in captivity, seated on the ground surrounded by armed terrorists. He was executed at close range in what the group framed as retribution for military operations in their territory.

Source: naijanews.com

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https://www.naijanews.com/2025/12/12/defence-minister-condoles-family-of-slain-brig-gen-uba/

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Fuel tanker explosion kills at least eight people in Cameroon

December 12, 2025

At least eight people died in the explosion of a tanker on the road linking Limbe to Douala in Cameroon on Friday.

Firefighters were working throughout the day to extinguish the flames of the raging truck, which carried more than 36,000 litres of fuel when it exploded.

Authorities said the tragedy began when the truck lost its brakes on the Mutengene Hill. It ended its uncontrolled descent near the Likomba bridge in Tiko.

The force of the blast spread the flames over a wide area, pushing residents to flee. Around 10 houses and several vehicles were engulfed in flames.

Among the eight dead were men, women, and at least one child, many burned beyond recognition.

"We identified those we could see," said Okwandum Samuel Ndenzen, disaster manager for the Limbe Red Cross."We cannot even determine if that is all, because the vehicles are still there, but we searched everywhere and found nothing else,."

Three severely injured survivors were taken to Bingo Hospital, while several slightly injured military personnel were treated on-site.

The severity of the situation prompted the city of Douala to dispatch an additional team of firefighters. A detour was set up along the national road to ease traffic, which had been blocked all day.

As the smoke cleared, Likomba was left assessing the cost of a disaster that struck without warning.

Meanwhile, the nearby watercourse was contaminated by fuel runoff, raising fears of a potential health crisis.

Source: africanews.com

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Southeast Asia

 

Saifuddin Nasution: Sabah poll outcome signals voters’ preference for local parties aligned with federal govt

By Julia Chan

13 Dec 2025

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Detailed polling-stream analysis of the recent Sabah state election shows that voters strongly favoured local parties, but preferred those aligned with the federal government, according to Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

Saifuddin said the analysis went beyond broad constituency results and examined voting patterns down to individual polling streams across all state seats.

“The most important signal is that Sabahans strongly prioritised local parties — the ‘Sabah for Sabahans’ sentiment.

“That is the first clear fact,” he said, adding that the biggest beneficiaries of this sentiment were Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Parti Warisan.

However, he said further analysis showed that when GRS and Warisan went head-to-head, GRS — which campaigned on state and federal relations — emerged as the clear winner.

“There were 52 state seats where GRS and Warisan directly competed, and the major victories went to GRS.

“This tells us that while Sabahans want Sabah-based parties, they chose the Sabah party that is more openly cooperative with the federal unity government,” he said.

Saifuddin said the message from voters was that they wanted respect, recognition, and a state government capable of working closely with the federal government.

“This is a far more important signal. Sabahans value unity and want a state government that can work hand in hand with the unity government,” he said.

He said Pakatan Harapan had completed its internal post-election discussions, with further meetings at the unity government level expected in the coming days.

“From my perspective, the recent outcome is a victory for the unity government.

“While Pakatan Harapan may not have won many seats, what matters more is the victory of unity,” he added.

Source: malaymail.com

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Malaysia’s Defence Cooperation MoU with US unrelated to trade pact, says Khaled Nordin

13 Dec 2025

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — The memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Defence Cooperation between Malaysia and the United States is unrelated to the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) signed on October 26 on the sidelines of the Asean Summit here, said Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

The defence minister explained that the MoU is legally non-binding and has been under negotiation since 2020.

He said the defence cooperation instrument, signed by the Ministry of Defence with the US Department of War on October 30, on the sidelines of the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and ADMM-Plus, is an MoU, not an agreement as previously suggested.

“The Defence Cooperation MoU focuses on bilateral activities between Malaysia and the United States, covering capability and capacity development, military training and exercises, defence science, technology and industry, as well as other areas mutually agreed upon through the Malaysia-US Strategic Talk (MUSST), which has been conducted since 2008.

“The signing of Defence Cooperation MoUs with partner countries is a form of defence diplomacy, as outlined in the Third Pillar of the Defence White Paper (DWP) launched in 2019 during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s tenure as the seventh prime minister,” he said in a statement today.

Mohamed Khaled added that Malaysia has also signed Defence Cooperation MoUs with other countries, including China in 2016, Japan (2018), Laos (2019), Indonesia (2022), Vietnam (2023), and most recently the United Arab Emirates on December 11.

“The signing of the Defence Cooperation MoUs with these countries, including the US, is consistent with Malaysia’s neutral and non-aligned foreign policy and supports the country’s commitment to the Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (Zopfan) declaration signed by Asean member states in 1971.

“The Ministry of Defence appreciates Dr Mahathir’s concern on this matter and emphasises that the signing of the Defence Cooperation MoU with the US is in the national interest, aimed at ensuring Malaysia remains safe, sovereign and prosperous,” he added.

On Thursday, Dr Mahathir issued a statement on the Defence Cooperation Agreement between Malaysia and the US, claiming that the government had not made the full MoU public. — Bernama

Source: malaymail.com

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‘We won’t sugar-coat it’: Sabah Electricity admits reliability gaps in ongoing state power woes

13 Dec 2025

KOTA KINABALU, Dec 13 — Sabah Electricity (SE) has vowed not to sugar coat the reality of Sabah’s ongoing power issues.

Its chairwoman, Saadiah Aziz, acknowledged that shortages and reliability gaps are still affecting households, hospitals and businesses throughout the state.

She said Sabahans have every right to expect a stable and dependable supply, and the utility is taking firm steps to address long standing weaknesses in the electricity system.

“We will not sugar coat the reality. Sabah still faces shortages and reliability issues, and our people deserve better.

“Sabah Electricity is moving with urgency and purpose to ensure reliable electricity reaches every corner of Sabah,” she said at the launch of the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at the Sabah International Convention Centre here yesterday.

Saadiah said the company is accelerating its work on several fronts, including generation, transmission, distribution and retail operations.

These reforms, she added, are intended to strengthen the entire energy ecosystem and reduce the frequency and scale of interruptions that have affected many parts of Sabah.

She noted that Sabah is now entering a phase where the push toward a more stable and modern electricity system is gaining momentum.

According to her, the state can no longer afford to delay improvements that are essential for social and economic development.

“Sabah’s progress depends on a power system that is strong and reliable. We are working to ensure that our grid, our infrastructure and our planning are aligned with the needs of the future,” she said.

Saadiah also stressed that electricity is more than a technical service. It is a foundation for dignity, opportunity and advancement.

She said that stable supply is vital for schools, hospitals, rural communities and local businesses that depend on consistent and predictable energy.

“At every level of society, electricity shapes opportunity. From classrooms to clinics and from small enterprises to large industries, reliable power drives growth and lifts communities,” she said.

She also expressed confidence that current reforms will set Sabah on a stronger path toward long-term energy resilience. — The Borneo Post

Source: malaymail.com

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Pahang distributes RM2.8 million in zakat for school supplies

13 Dec 2025

MUIP allocates RM2.8 million in zakat to 6,800 asnaf families for school supplies, providing non-cash credits for essential items

KUANTAN: The Pahang Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MUIP) has allocated RM2.8 million in zakat to support 6,800 asnaf families through its 2026 School Supplies Assistance Programme.

The initiative, running from today until February next year, aims to ease the financial burden on the poor ahead of the new school session.

Assistance will be provided as non-cash credit directly credited to the recipients’ identification cards.

This allows families to independently purchase essential school supplies at participating supermarkets.

Items covered include uniforms, footwear, stationery, and sportswear.

MUIP Zakat Distribution Division acting director Muhammad Khairuddin Husin said the programme is part of the council’s annual zakat distribution.

“This programme is part of MUIP’s annual zakat distribution initiative, aimed at easing the financial burden of the poor ahead of the school session,” he told reporters at a local supermarket.

He added that the allocation was increased from RM2 million last year due to a rise in recipient numbers.

The assistance is available to schoolchildren aged four to 17, in line with current educational requirements.

Support for early childhood education is also included in the programme. – Bernama

Source: thesun.my

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Malaysia boosts social safety net with RM13 billion aid for 2025

13 Dec 2025

The MADANI government increases STR and SARA funding to RM13 billion, expands petrol subsidies, and launches community programmes to ease living costs

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has launched a series of initiatives to strengthen social safety nets and alleviate the rising cost of living for citizens.

Key efforts include enhancing the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) aid schemes, which have been adjusted to reflect current expenses.

STR provides direct cash aid, while SARA allows the purchase of essential goods using a MyKad at registered outlets.

Total funding for these programmes has been increased from RM10 billion in 2024 to RM13 billion for 2025.

Eligibility has been expanded to cover more low-income households, senior citizens, and low-income singles.

More than 5.4 million monthly SARA recipients have used the scheme, with a 98% utilisation rate and spending totalling RM3.6 billion as of November 3.

For the RM100 SARA Appreciation scheme, over 83% of recipients have benefited, amounting to RM1.69 billion in disbursements.

The government is strengthening collaboration with the private sector through the Payung Rahmah initiative.

One component, Rahmah Sales, sells essential goods at lower prices and has recorded around 21 million transactions as of October.

To address public concerns, petrol subsidies have been expanded to include the M40 income group.

The BUDI MADANI RON95 (BUDI95) initiative offers petrol at RM1.99 per litre, below the market price of RM2.05.

As of October 31, more than 13.1 million Malaysians out of 16.5 million eligible have benefited from BUDI95.

The initiative has contributed to national savings of over RM7 billion, alongside monthly savings of around RM400 million from diesel subsidy rationalisation.

The Early Schooling Aid (BAP) scheme has also been distributed earlier to help parents with school preparation costs.

Beyond subsidies, community development is being strengthened through the SejaTi MADANI and Kampung Angkat programmes.

These focus on small infrastructure improvements like village roads, street lighting, and local amenities.

The programmes also support sanitation, learning activities, and efforts to boost residents’ incomes.

The government is bolstering the social safety net by improving welfare assistance under the Social Welfare Department (JKM).

This support covers senior citizens, children from low-income households, and general aid in targeted areas.

The rollout of these initiatives reflects the government’s commitment to public welfare under the Malaysia MADANI framework. – Bernama

Source: thesun.my

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Negeri Sembilan pioneers character building for future leaders

13 Dec 2025

Negeri Sembilan’s Bangsa Malaysia programme for Form Six students focuses on leadership, patriotism and social responsibility, mobilising over 1,000 volunteers

SEREMBAN: Negeri Sembilan has successfully mobilised more than 1,000 volunteers for its pioneering Bangsa Malaysia Character Building Programme for Form Six Students since its 2023 launch.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun said the programme is grounded in leadership, social responsibility and patriotism, aligned with the six pillars of MADANI.

He said the initiative plays a vital role in producing quality, competitive and principled students while supporting efforts to nurture a future generation of leaders.

“Young people need to interact more widely and build friendships beyond their usual circles, while strengthening the values of mutual respect,“ he said at a town hall session involving 240 participants.

Aminuddin urged youth to think rationally and exercise consideration when facing issues, acting within the framework of the country’s constitution rather than on emotion.

He said the programme, organised by the state Education Department with the Negeri Sembilan Foundation and Pertubuhan Penggerak Madani Negeri Sembilan, serves as a benchmark for the National Character Building programme.

The Menteri Besar emphasised that the spirit of togetherness represents the country’s true strength.

“I want to see the students before me become leaders, whether in service to the nation, state, organisation or family,“ he added.

Aminuddin advised them to be good leaders who avoid corruption, study hard, pursue knowledge diligently and use sound judgment to make wise decisions.

Meanwhile, 42 volunteers comprising Form Six students and youth group members will participate in the Global MADANI Outreach 2025 in Pekanbaru, Indonesia from December 20 to 23.

He said the programme aims to foster idea exchange with Indonesian students and create a meaningful impact through brotherhood and dialogue. – Bernama

Source: thesun.my

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Malaysia and UAE sign defence MoU to boost military cooperation

13 Dec 2025

Malaysia and the UAE sign a defence cooperation MoU, focusing on joint research, training and industry collaboration with EDGE Group

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates have signed a memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation.

The MoU was signed by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin during a bilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi.

He said the agreement would expand the scope of defence cooperation in a comprehensive manner.

“Under this MoU, Malaysia and UAE state their joint commitment to among other things, encourage joint defence research, explore defence products and develop new capabilities for our mutual benefit,” he said.

The minister added it would serve as a bridge to kickstart industry engagement and identify high-impact projects.

Mohamed Khaled said both nations are committed to boosting military training coordination and sharing expertise.

“It is hoped that the MoU will open a new chapter in Malaysia-UAE defence cooperation,” he stated.

The UAE welcomed the participation of Malaysian companies to work with its defence conglomerate, EDGE Group.

Mohamed Khaled also presented Malaysia’s capabilities in semiconductor and aerospace components.

Both parties agreed to improve information sharing and human capital development.

The minister noted a positive response to a proposal for training Royal Malaysian Navy officers on UAE ships.

This training would prepare them to operate Malaysian Littoral Combat Ships that use similar technology.

During his visit, Mohamed Khaled also stopped by the Malaysian embassy in the UAE.

He expressed appreciation for the commitment shown in improving bilateral ties.

“Our embassies play a role in improving defence diplomacy and to support the national security agenda,” he added. – Bernama

Source: thesun.my

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Anwar discusses Cambodia-Thailand conflict with US President Trump

13 Dec 2025

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim spoke with Donald Trump about the border conflict, affirming Malaysia’s role in urging dialogue and ASEAN-led solutions

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim held a discussion with United States President Donald Trump concerning the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict.

Anwar said the matter was raised during a phone call from Trump, who also discussed bilateral relations and global issues of mutual interest.

Regarding the border tensions, Anwar explained Malaysia’s role in urging both countries to remain calm and return to negotiations through dialogue and ASEAN mechanisms.

“Malaysia remains ready to assist efforts to defuse the situation, protect civilians and restore regional stability, in line with the ASEAN spirit of good neighbourliness,” he said in a Facebook post.

As ASEAN Chairman, Anwar said Malaysia would convene a Special Meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers soon to assess the situation and support measures to de-escalate tensions.

He also expressed appreciation for the active engagement of the United States with ASEAN and the confidence in Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship.

The century-old border conflict flared up again in July, leading to a five-day military clash.

The two countries later agreed to a ceasefire in Kuala Lumpur on July 24 before signing the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord on Oct 26 during the 47th ASEAN Summit.

That summit was witnessed by Anwar as ASEAN Chairman and by President Trump.

However, fighting has recently erupted again, causing several deaths and displacing thousands of people. – Bernama

Source: thesun.my

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Malaysia to convene special ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting soon

13 Dec 2025

Malaysia, as ASEAN chair, will hold a special foreign ministers’ meeting to assess regional tensions and strengthen collective peace efforts

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will convene a Special Meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers in the near future to assess the current situation and support measures to ease tensions in the region.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that as ASEAN Chairman, the meeting is also to strengthen ASEAN’s collective role in maintaining regional peace.

He said this in a Facebook post after contacting his counterpart, Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính to discuss current developments in the region as well as joint efforts to ensure continued peace and stability.

“In the meantime, I also express Malaysia’s commitment to strengthen bilateral cooperation with Vietnam in addressing the issue of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing,” he said.

Anwar said the cooperation includes coordination in enforcement, information sharing and preventive measures.

“I am confident that through continued dialogue and existing mechanisms, this issue can be resolved with prudence, calm and mutual respect,” said Anwar. – Bernama

Source: thesun.my

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Indonesia's Sharia Banking Assets Reach Record High in October

December 13, 2025

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) reported that total assets in the country’s sharia banking sector reached Rp1,028.18 trillion (around US$65 billion) in October 2025, marking an all-time high since the industry was established.

According to Dian Ediana Rae, Executive Director of Banking Supervision at OJK, sharia banking assets grew by 11.34 percent year on year, the highest nominal level on record.

Other key indicators also posted record highs. Sharia financing stood at Rp685.55 trillion, up 7.78 percent year on year, while third-party funds (DPK) reached Rp820.79 trillion, reflecting annual growth of 14.26 percent.

“These achievements show that the policy direction for developing sharia banking is on the right track,” Dian said in a statement released on Saturday, December 13, 2025.

She added that OJK remains committed to implementing the 2023–2027 Roadmap for the Development and Strengthening of Indonesia’s Sharia Banking to ensure sustainable growth.

Dian noted that OJK will continue to promote structural strengthening through spin-offs and consolidation, aimed at creating sharia banks with a stronger economic scale. Most sharia commercial banks currently fall into KBMI I, the lowest capital category, with core capital of up to Rp6 trillion.

With larger scale, she said, sharia banks would be better positioned to expand financing, adopt more innovative business models, improve cost efficiency, strengthen IT infrastructure, and enhance human resource capacity.

“A stronger economic base will also allow sharia banking to contribute more significantly to the national economy,” Dian added.

Source: en.tempo.co

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PM Anwar explains AGC’s withdrawal of Rosmah appeal as lawful

12 Dec 2025

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says the AGC’s decision not to appeal Rosmah Mansor’s acquittal was based on a weak case, upholding legal principles.

LANGKAWI: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has clarified that the Attorney General’s Chambers’ (AGC) decision not to appeal Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s acquittal was made in accordance with the law.

He stated the AGC determined the case had a weak basis after reviewing the High Court’s judgment.

“There was some commotion after the Attorney General independently decided not to appeal in Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s case,” Anwar told reporters after Friday prayers at the Nur Al-Hidayah Mosque in Kuah.

“I want to clarify that we approach court cases not based on whether someone is our supporter, our enemy or a threat.”

He noted Rosmah was charged in 2018 and the case proceeded through proper legal channels.

The Prime Minister said the judge found the case to be very weak.

Anwar added that appeals are filed in other cases only when judgments provide sufficient grounds.

However, in Rosmah’s case, the judgment appeared to leave no grounds for an appeal.

“Does this case affect other cases? No,” he said.

“Other cases are proceeding as usual.”

Anwar urged all parties to uphold constitutional supremacy and the rule of law.

“Do not let dissatisfaction with any group lead us to make decisions based on political preferences,” he concluded.

Source: thesun.my

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South Asia

 

A Shift Toward Constructive Engagement on Afghanistan

December 13, 2025

The latest session of the United Nations Security Council on Afghanistan has offered a rare glimpse of diplomatic convergence on a country long trapped in geopolitical stalemate. While divisions among global actors remain, the meeting reflected a growing recognition that isolating the Islamic Emirate has failed to produce meaningful change and has instead prolonged the suffering of ordinary Afghans. The tone of the discussion marked a gradual but notable shift toward constructive engagement.

During the session, the acting head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) underscored the need to address the root causes of the country’s humanitarian, economic, and human rights challenges. The remarks highlighted a reality that has been evident for years saying Afghanistan’s crises cannot be resolved without sustained engagement with the Islamic Emirate currently in power. By stressing the need to “build bridges of engagement,” UNAMA signaled that the international community must move beyond punitive approaches and work toward a shared vision of a stable, peaceful, and reintegrated Afghanistan.

China’s representative echoed this view, arguing that strengthening dialogue with the Islamic Emirate is more essential now than ever. His position reflected a broader regional concern that continued isolation risks deepening instability, which could spill across borders. India and Russia similarly noted that pressure-based policies pursued over the past four and a half years have yielded no tangible benefit for Afghans.

Both India and Russia urged the creation of a coordinated international approach that prioritizes stability, development, and balanced assessments of conditions inside Afghanistan. Their statements suggest an emerging consensus that engagement, however challenging, remains the only realistic path forward.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan welcomes the signals of positive engagement presented during the meeting as the constructive interaction builds trust and opens the door to cooperation.

This is worth noting that some countries continue to adhere to unrealistic or negative positions, arguing that such stances have produced no results in the past.

Such constructive sessions that renewed attention to escalating tensions between Kabul and Islamabad, help normalize relations between the Islamic Emirate and certain world countries. On the other hand, regional stability is closely linked to Afghan-Pakistani dynamics, and reducing these tensions will be critical to any long-term peace.

Overall, the Security Council’s discussions can indicate a gradual shift toward realism. Engagement, rather than isolation, is increasingly recognized as the only viable route to a stable Afghanistan and a more predictable regional environment.

Source: thekabultimes.com

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Australia-Based Afghans Fund New Health Center in Kunar

December 13, 2025

Reports said that Construction of a new health center has begun in Chawkay district of Kunar province, funded by Afghans living in Australia.

Officials say the project costs three million afghanis and will be completed and operational within two months.

According to them, the health center will provide medical services to around 7,000 people.

The Kunar Public Health Director, Muzaffar Mukhlis, said: “Once this building is completed, residents of Deewa Gul Valley in Chawkay district, estimated between seven to ten thousand people, will have access to standard health services at this new facility.”

An Afghan living in Australia, Abdul Ghafar Akbar, said: “We have laid the foundation stone of a health center worth three million afghanis. This money is dedicated for this facility, and all residents of Deewa Gul Valley will benefit from it.”

Those affected by the recent earthquake in Kunar say the Islamic Emirate and aid organizations should assist them, as they have lost everything in the disaster.

Mohammad Naeem, an earthquake survivor, said: “Our schools, health centers, religious schools, and water structures have been destroyed. Farmlands have been damaged, and this year all our agricultural fields remained uncultivated.”

Another affected resident, Rahmanuddin, said: “Our house is no longer livable, and we are living in tents. When it rains, living in tents becomes extremely difficult. Conditions are very bad, and surviving in tents is hard.”

Another survivor, Rahmanullah, said: “Members of my family were trapped under the roofs, soil, and stones. When people arrived, they pulled out the injured and the martyrs. The injured were taken by ambulances to health facilities. In our village alone, we lost around 107 people in the earthquake.”

More than three months ago, a deadly earthquake in Kunar left nearly 2,500 families, including women and children, mourning. The devastating quake destroyed around 7,000 homes, hundreds of hectares of farmland, as well as schools, religious seminaries, and health centers, either completely or partially.

Nearly two months ago, director of crisis bureau of the United Nations Development Programme, Shoko Noda, visited earthquake-affected areas in Dara-e-Noor district of the province.

Shoko Noda assured the affected families that continued support will be provided during the winter in areas such as permanent housing, employment, agriculture, and more, with the help of aid organizations.

She stated that winter was approaching, and they were working seriously with the affected people to first provide temporary shelter and later build permanent housing, emphasizing that they would move forward together with those impacted by the earthquake.

Meanwhile, the victims called on local and international aid agencies to provide them with urgent and long-term assistance.

One affected resident in Nangarhar, Ehsanullah, said: “When the earthquake hit, we had martyrs and injured people. Most of our homes were destroyed. Canals, agricultural boundaries, and dams were damaged.”

Another victim, Abdul Wali Khan, said: “Support must be continuous. Our children are living in tents, it’s winter, and they’re all sick.”

This visit by the UNDP Crisis Bureau head to the eastern region comes as some national and international organizations have already constructed and handed over residential houses to victims in quake-hit areas of Kunar province.

Source: thekabultimes.com

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Defense of Afghanistan’s Sovereignty; A Religious and Moral Duty

December 13, 2025

Hundreds of religious scholars from various provinces of Afghanistan in a gathering in Kabul have issued a resolution stating that defense of Afghanistan’s sovereignty is a religious and moral duty, with stressing that no Afghan is allowed to take part in wars outside Afghanistan. The gathering, which was convened late last week at the initiative of the Islamic Emirate, was attended by high-ranking officials of the government. In the gathering, ulamas and tribal elders declared that protecting the country’s sovereignty in response to any violations is a religious duty, describing resistance against aggression as jihad. The participants also asked for strictly implementing the order of the Islamic Emirate’s supreme leader prohibiting anyone from traveling abroad for military purposes.

Participants further emphasized that Afghanistan’s territory must not be used against any other country, adding that the Islamic Emirate has the authority to act against individuals or groups who violate this directive.

“The sovereignty of Afghanistan is sacred. If anyone violates or encroaches upon the national sovereignty of our country, a definite and mandatory response will be given. Defending and protecting our homeland is our religious responsibility and national duty,” said the resolution issued after the gathering. “We do not commit any form of aggression against other countries, and no military or civilian individual of Afghanistan will be allowed to carry out or attempt aggression against any state.”

The resolution further states: “Obedience to the Amir is obligatory. God willing, we will obey our Amir under all circumstances and will never disobey his legitimate instructions.”

“Protecting the country and its sovereignty is a religious obligation. If anyone violates our sacred sovereignty, we will declare obligatory jihad against them, as this is required by our faith and responsibility.” it added. According to the source, all scholars, elders, officials and Mujahideen present at the gathering expressed full agreement with these directives of the Islamic Emirate leadership and pledged to take necessary actions in case of any aggression or attack.

The recent gathering of ulamas in Kabul is a key step towards protecting the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It has been not the first time Afghanistan ualams have clearly declared that the defense of Afghanistan sovereignty is a religious and moral duty. In the past, the country’s ulamas had played key role in taking clear position against the invaders and those violating the country’s sovereignty. During the Soviet Union’s aggression as well as the US-led NATO’s invasion, the country’s ulama had issued fatwa ‘religious decree’ and declared jihad against the invaders, as a result of which the invaders both the Soviet Union and US were defeated by Afghans.

The recent ulamas gathering has also urged that Afghanistan’s soil will not be used to launch attacks against any other country, which shows the Islamic Emirate’s commitment to non-aggression. The Islamic Emirate has repeatedly assured all countries in the world and region that nobody or group will be allowed to use Afghanistan’s soil against others. With the recent gathering’s resolution, the Islamic Emirate has the moral duty to take legal and corrective action against any individual or group attempting to use Afghanistan’s soil for any military activities abroad. In the meantime, the recent gathering’s resolution has also highlighted that Afghanistan has a legitimate Islamic government and obedience to it is obligatory for the nation’s protection.

Source: thekabultimes.com

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Health Minister Calls for UAE Support in Hospital Equipment, Polio Eradication

December 13, 2025

KABUL: Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali, the Minister of Public Health of the Islamic Emirate, has called for continued support from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to strengthen Afghanistan’s healthcare sector, highlighting the need for modern hospital equipment and ongoing efforts to eradicate polio.

Jalali made the remarks in a meeting with the newly appointed United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to Afghanistan, Saif Mohammed Alkatbi, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The two sides discussed collaboration in several critical areas, including the provision of modern medical equipment to 318 hospitals across the country, capacity building for specialized medical staff, and supplying radiology equipment to Kabul’s Sheikh Zayed Specialized Hospital.

Health Minister underscored that continued cooperation is essential to enhance the country’s health infrastructure and ensure better services for Afghan citizens.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Alkatbi reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to supporting Afghanistan in health-related initiatives, pledging full assistance in areas such as infectious disease control, polio eradication, and broader medical capacity building.

Both sides agreed to maintain close collaboration to strengthen the overall healthcare system and improve access to quality medical services nationwide.

Source: thekabultimes.com

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Sharif Calls for International Pressure on Kabul Amid Afghanistan Terror Threats

By Fidel Rahmati

December 12, 2025

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has urged the international community to pressure Kabul, warning of escalating terrorism threats originating from Afghanistan.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has urged the international community to pressure the Taliban to fulfill their commitments on counterterrorism, warning of a growing terrorism threat emanating from Afghanistan. He made the remarks on Friday at the “Peace and Confidence” conference in Turkmenistan.

Sharif emphasized that the Taliban must be held accountable for failing to control extremist groups operating from Afghanistan territory. According to Geo News, he stressed that the peaceful resolution of conflicts remains the cornerstone of Islamabad’s foreign policy.

The Prime Minister’s statements come amid rising tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban, as cross-border attacks continue to target Pakistani civilians and security forces.

In recent weeks, Taliban officials claimed that Afghan religious scholars have ruled military operations by Afghans in other countries as impermissible. Despite these claims, attacks originating from Afghanistan persist, prompting Islamabad to call for stronger Taliban enforcement of their counterterrorism commitments.

The regional threat was further highlighted when at least five Chinese nationals were killed and five others injured in attacks along the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border over the past two weeks. Reuters reported that these incidents illustrate how Afghanistan-based violence can spill across borders, affecting neighboring countries.

Experts argue that international pressure on the Taliban is essential to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for extremist groups. Without accountability, promises of counterterrorism by the Taliban are likely to remain largely symbolic.

Source: khaama.com

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https://www.khaama.com/sharif-calls-for-international-pressure-on-kabul-amid-afghanistan-terror-threats/

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Afghanistan’s Elite “Zero Unit” Veterans in U.S. Face Mental Health Struggles, NPR Reports

By Fidel Rahmati

December 13, 2025

NPR reports that Afghanistan’s Zero Unit soldiers resettled in the United States are struggling with trauma, isolation, and inadequate mental health support.

U.S. public broadcaster NPR has reported that former Afghan soldiers from the elite “Zero Units,” resettled in the United States after the Taliban takeover, are facing serious mental health and social challenges.

According to the report published on Friday, the Zero Units carried out some of the most dangerous counterterrorism operations during the war in Afghanistan, often working closely with U.S. forces under extreme conditions.

NPR says many former fighters have struggled to adapt to civilian life in the United States, experiencing depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, social isolation, and difficulties accessing long-term mental health care.

The report notes that at least four former members of the units have died by suicide since their relocation, underscoring concerns raised by mental health professionals and refugee advocates about insufficient post-resettlement support.

Experts cited by U.S. media point to language barriers, unemployment, and the abrupt loss of military structure and identity as key factors intensifying psychological stress among Afghan evacuees.

The issue has gained wider attention following the alleged shooting by Rahmatullah Lakanwal, a former unit member accused of wounding two U.S. National Guard personnel, an incident that has fueled political debate in Washington.

Advocates warn that without expanded mental health services and social integration programs, vulnerable Afghan veterans may face deeper personal crises, while isolated cases risk being politicized rather than addressed through support-based solutions.

Source: khaama.com

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https://www.khaama.com/afghanistans-elite-zero-unit-veterans-in-u-s-face-mental-health-struggles-npr-reports/

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Shooting of Hadi a ‘grim warning’ for election: Islami Andolan

Dec 12, 2025

Islami Andolan Bangladesh has described the shooting of Sharif Osman Hadi -- an aspiring independent candidate for the Dhaka-8 constituency and spokesperson of Inqilab Moncho -- as a "grim warning" for the upcoming national election.

"Islami Andolan Bangladesh expresses deep anger and condemnation over the shooting of Inqilab Moncho's Osman Hadi in a densely populated area like Bijoynagar in Dhaka," the party's Joint Secretary General and spokesperson, Mawlana Gazi Ataur Rahman, said in a statement today.

He demanded the immediate arrest of both the gunman and the mastermind behind the attack.

Ataur said the party's ameer expressed concern immediately after hearing about the incident and has been closely monitoring Hadi's treatment.

"We have repeatedly urged the authorities to bring the law and order under control. Be tough on criminals, because they will attempt to disrupt the upcoming election," he said.

"The country's top political leaders will soon be travelling across various regions for election campaigns. Their security concerns have now become even more pressing," he added.

Hadi was shot by unidentified assailants in Dhaka's Paltan area around 2:25pm today.

Critically injured, he is currently undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Source: thedailystar.net

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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/politics/news/shooting-hadi-grim-warning-election-islami-andolan-4056791

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BNP, Jamaat, NCP voice concern over shooting of Dhaka-8 aspiring candidate Hadi

Dec 12, 2025

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman, and NCP Member Secretary Akhter Hossen today expressed concern over the shooting of Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of Inqilab Moncho and a prospective independent candidate in the Dhaka-8 constituency.

The Jamaat ameer, in a Facebook post, said he was deeply worried about the incident.

"Any violence arising from political rivalry or differences of opinion is never acceptable. I demand a quick, impartial, and transparent investigation into this incident, and I pray that Allah grants him full recovery," he said.

Mirza Fakhrul, in a Facebook post, wished Hadi a swift recovery and urged the interim government and relevant authorities to take decisive action against those responsible.

"No matter what our beliefs are, anyone who uses fear or force should be rejected," Fakhrul wrote.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Akhter Hossen said the attack on Hadi reflects the deteriorating law and order in the country.

"Leaders of the July uprising have long faced numerous threats, yet the government has failed to bring the perpetrators to justice. We demand immediate arrest of those responsible for this attack," he added.

Hadi was shot in Dhaka's Paltan this afternoon. He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital ICU, confirmed Md Faruk, in-charge of the DMCH police outpost.

Source: thedailystar.net

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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/bnp-jamaat-ncp-voice-concern-over-shooting-dhaka-8-aspiring-candidate-hadi-4056736

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Shooting of Hadi: Protests erupt on university campuses

Dec 12, 2025

Demonstrations were held on university campuses and in some districts today, protesting the shooting of Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of Inqilab Moncho and a prospective independent candidate in the Dhaka-8 constituency.

Hadi was shot and critically injured in Dhaka's Paltan this afternoon. He was first taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, and is currently being treated at Evercare Hospital.

Following the attack, students from several universities, including Dhaka University, and students from some districts protested the shooting and demanded the attackers' arrest.

Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) brought out a protest procession on the campus this evening.

The procession began at 6:30pm from the Ducsu building and ended at VC (vice-chancellor) Chattar, where a brief rally was held.

During the march, Ducsu leaders chanted slogans demanding justice for the attack on Hadi, including, "Why was Hadi shot? We want interim government's answer," "We all stand with Hadi," and "Who are you, who am I -- Hadi, Hadi."

Speaking at the rally, Ducsu Assistant General Secretary Mohiuddin Khan said," We are giving the interim government 24 hours to arrest the attackers. If the perpetrators are not brought under the law within this time, a tougher movement will be launched."

Ducsu Health Affairs Secretary Abdullah Al Minhaj said, "We have provided the police with evidence that they were supposed to collect. If the perpetrators are still not arrested, Dhaka University students will not sit idle," he added.

At 6:00pm, a separate protest rally was held at the base of the Raju Sculpture by a platform named Swadhin Bangla Chhatra Sangsad, demanding the arrest and punishment of the attackers.

Earlier, at 5:30pm, another group of students under the banner of Students Against Terrorism held a rally at the same venue.

Rajshahi University

A procession began around 5:00pm from the Shaheed Minar premises on Rajshahi University campus and ended at Talaimari in Rajshahi -- marching through the main roads of the campus.

Addressing the gathering, Rucsu Vice President and Shibir's RU unit president Mostakur Rahman Jahid said, "No matter the obstacles or the bullets, we will continue to stand by the ideals of July and justice."

Around 300 students and several Rucsu leaders were present at the rally.

Chittagong University

Leaders and activists of Chittagong University Central Students' Union (Cucsu) brought out a rally and held a demonstration on campus.

Around 5:00pm, Cucsu activists marched from the university's Zero Point to Suhrawardy Hall and later returned to Zero Point, where they held a brief rally.

During the demonstration, participants chanted slogans demanding answers from the interim government.

Cucsu General Secretary Saeed Bin Habib said, "From India, ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina is still plotting the killing of our brothers."

Cucsu Vice President Ibrahim Hossain Rony said, "Some people are trying to destabilise the country under the guise of civility, the students of Bangladesh will never accept this."

A group of students and activists staged a protest in Chattogram this evening, demanding the arrest and punishment of Hadi's attackers.

The demonstration began around 6:00pm at the city's Sholoshahar 2 No. Gate area, where protesters brought out a procession that marched towards GEC and Wasa intersection before returning to the 2 No. Gate point.

Jhalakathi

A group of general students blocked the Barisal-Khulna Highway for an hour in Jhalakathi -- Hadi's home district -- this afternoon to protest the shooting.

Witnesses said that protesters set tires on fire on the road at the College intersection around 4:00 pm, bringing traffic to a standstill and disrupting road communication.

Source: thedailystar.net

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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/rights/news/shooting-hadi-protests-erupt-university-campuses-4056906

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