Bengaluru, Apr 13: Amidst continued threats of covid-19, the government of Karnataka has issued special guidelines for Muslims during the month of Ramdan. As per the guidelines, masjids in containment zones to remain closed till the zone is denotified, large gathering continues to remain prohibited, face masks mandatory.
Here is the complete guidelines:
Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban's acting deputy foreign minister, delivered a powerful plea to his senior leadership, urging them to reopen schools for Afghan girls. In a speech that resonated as one of the strongest criticisms of the Taliban’s policies on female education, Stanekzai emphasized the injustice and non-compliance with Islamic Sharia law that the current restrictions represent.
“We request the leaders of the Islamic Emirate to open the doors of education,” he declared, invoking the teachings of Islam. “In the time of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the doors of knowledge were open to both men and women.” His words underscored the historical precedence and religious justification for granting education to all.
Stanekzai did not shy away from highlighting the gravity of the issue. “Today, out of a population of forty million, we are committing injustice against twenty million people,” he stated, pointing to the female population of Afghanistan who remain deprived of their fundamental right to education.
His remarks come as a rare public rebuke of the Taliban’s ongoing school closures for girls, a policy that has faced internal disagreements and widespread international criticism. Sources indicate that the decision was enforced by the Taliban’s supreme spiritual leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, despite opposition within the group.
The Taliban’s shifting stance on women’s education has drawn sharp condemnation globally. After initially promising to reopen high schools for girls in 2022, they reversed course, leaving the doors of secondary education and universities firmly closed to female students. The administration has claimed it is working on a plan for reopening these institutions but has yet to announce any concrete timeline.
Stanekzai’s speech adds to the chorus of criticism from Islamic scholars and the international community, who have called for the Taliban to honor women’s rights in accordance with Islamic principles. Western diplomats have made it clear that formal recognition of the Taliban government hinges on significant policy changes, particularly in the area of women’s education.
As of now, there has been no immediate response from a Taliban spokesman in Kandahar, where Haibatullah Akhundzada resides, regarding Stanekzai’s statements.
Mangaluru, Jan 17: A heart-wrenching accident at Nadupadavu near Kattukodi on the outskirts of the city claimed the life of a young scooter rider this morning.
The victim, identified as Abubakar Siddiq Razwi (22), son of Moydeen Kunji Bavu and a resident of Nadupadavu, tragically succumbed to his injuries on the spot.
The accident occurred when a scooter traveling from Deralakatte collided with an Ace Tempo heading from Mudipu to Thokkottu.
Abubakar, a final-year student at an Arabic Shariah College in Kasargod, leaves behind a community in mourning. The tempo driver also sustained injuries in the collision.
The Mangaluru South Traffic Police have registered a case and are conducting an investigation into the incident.
The director general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza has described as “hell” the situation in the north of the strip which has been under an Israeli ground offensive and siege for “100 days”.
“The situation is literally like hell,” Munir al-Barsh said on Sunday, referring to daily Israeli attacks and the regime’s ban on food delivery to medical staff trapped in the north’s hospitals.
He added that “hospitals in northern Gaza have turned into mass graves.”
Al-Barsh noted that the offensive and the destruction of hospitals and infrastructure and any sign of life in the north are aimed to empty the region of its residents.
“The Israeli occupation has been deliberately destroying the health system since the very first moment,” he said, adding that “the destruction of hospitals was the greatest evidence of the [Israeli] genocide.”
According to his statements, 5,000 people have been killed or gone missing, while 9,500 others have been injured since the start of Israel’s offensive on the north of Gaza in early October 2024. The regime’s forces have also abducted about 2,300 people, including 65 medical staff, during the ongoing offensive.
Al-Barsh slammed the “disgraceful” silence of the international community on Israel’s atrocities, which he said, has “deepened the suffering of innocent civilians.”
Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.
The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed at least 46,565 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 109,660 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.
However, the UK’s Lancet medical journal estimates the actual number of deaths in the war is much higher than the official toll.
According to the study, figures reported by the Palestinian health ministry likely undercounted the death toll by 41 percent in the first nine months of the war as the Gaza Strip’s healthcare infrastructure unraveled.
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