RIGHTS BODY ACCUSES MYANMAR OF HARASSING MUSLIMS
A UK-based rights group accused the Myanmar military junta of harassing minority Muslims and setting a mosque on fire. “A fire in a mosque in Ahlone Township, Yangon, is the latest incident of violence against Muslims and other minorities in Burma by the illegitimate military regime,” the Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) said in a statement. It also blamed the junta for misinterpreting its oppressive acts. “While authorities blamed the fire on electrical issues, sources blamed the military and described it as an arson attack.” The mosque fire comes after months of attacks against Muslims and Christians throughout Burma, said the statement, adding that such attacks against the minorities are “intolerable” and the international community must realize the seriousness of these incidents and act immediately.
TEARS AND RESOLVE FOR PALESTINE IN SYDNEY
This year, with the help of Fatema from Mystic events and Lina from Prop Party Hire, The Palestinian Fundraiser Dinner was held on at the Holiday Inn, Warwick Farm, South West Sydney. The event brought together almost 300 people from different backgrounds in Sydney and raised a staggering $25000 which was meant for building tanks to provide clean water for people affected in Palestine. More than 60 businesses came together hand in hand and sponsored this event by either offering their products or services nil of charge. The highlight of the dinner, besides speeches, was the act. Organised by Zee Hawshar and Ms Haragli, and including around 15 participants aged between 5 and 50, who all showed remarkable acting and singing skills, the act brought most of the crowd to tears. It comprised a simulation of the slaughter of Palestinian babies.
Sudanese money – pound a business background
SUDAN TO CUT GOVT. SPENDING, INCREASE SOCIAL SPENDING
Sudan will cut its government spending and increase social spending, the cabinet said after completing a draft of rapid economic reforms. Sudan fully removed subsidies on car petrol and diesel. It had devalued its currency in February, 2021 and began a policy of a flexible managed float. Earlier it eliminated its customs exchange rate, used to calculate import duties, as the final step in a devaluation of its local currency. The country will cut costs of external official trips by 50%, reduce fuel quotas for government vehicles by 20%, sell all surplus government vehicles and cut embassies’ budgets by 25% among other measures, the cabinet said on June 26 after three days of closed meetings. The government will expand the registration of a family support project called Thamarat or Fruits to include three million families or about 15 million people within two months, it added.
TABUNG HAJI SEEKS TO DIVERSIFY, FIGHTS SHY OF RISKY ASSETS
The RM82.64 billion ($20.6 billion) Malaysian Hajj fund, which recently completed a restructure, is looking to diversify globally but remains cautious, avoiding risky financial commitments. It is looking to diversify away from Asia Pacific ex-Japan markets into global markets in order to diversify and capture higher risk-adjusted returns. It recently issued new mandates for global equities. The pilgrims fund is also eyeing foreign sukuk (Islamic bonds) to diversify globally. The fund currently allocates just 3% to private equity through domestic and foreign funds and direct investment. It underwent a restructuring in late 2018 after a 2017 audit by PwC found its total liabilities exceeded total assets by RM4.1 billion. These assets included listed agriculture conglomerate Felda Global Ventures, an area of land in Kuala Lumpur it purchased from scandal-ridden 1MDB, and state electricity company Tenaga Nasional.
POLLING OFFICIAL DEMOTED FOR WEARING HEADSCARF IN FRANCE
A top polling official during France’s regional elections was demoted from her post for wearing a headscarf. Rachida Kabbouri, a Muslim municipal councillor of the European Ecology – The Greens (EELV) party in Vitry-sur-Seine in the greater Paris Ile-de-France region, was appointed head of a polling station in the department of Val-de-Marne during the first round elections. But after the prefect of the Val-de-Marne got complaints about Kabbouri wearing a headscarf, the young woman’s position was demoted to polling station assessor. Kabbouri reportedly said that she “felt injustice and exclusion to tears.” She said the unexpected move affected her deeply, adding that while she was on duty at the ballot box, a woman insulted her and called an “Islamist.”
SAJID JAVID APPOINTED UK’S HEALTH MINISTER
British former finance minister Sajid Javid has replaced Matt Hancock as the country’s health minister. Javid resigned as Finance Minister last year after he refused to fire his political advisers as demanded by Johnson. Matt Hancock on June 26 quit after he was caught breaking Covid-19 rules by kissing and embracing an aide in his office, enraging colleagues and the public who have been living under lockdown. In the latest scandal to rock a government that has overseen one of the highest official death tolls from the pandemic, Hancock wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign, saying he had let people down. “Those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them and that’s why I’ve got to resign,” he said in a video on Twitter.