ISRAEL AIRSTRIKES TARGETED CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL IN GAZA
Israeli warplanes conducted airstrikes in the blockaded Gaza Strip, local sources said. Air force hit the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza and the Deir al-Balah region. A Palestinian child and a young man were injured with shrapnel, according to Palestinian WAFA News Agency. A children’s hospital, a residential area and a rehabilitation centre for the disabled in the Al-Tuffah neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, were damaged in the attacks. After alleged rocket fire from the coastal enclave, the Israeli military reacted with intensive air and artillery strikes, in the central and southern Strip, damaging a number of civilian targets, including homes, a mosque, and the Mohammad Durra Pediatrics Hospital, causing material damage.
HAMAS TO RESUME RECONCILIATION EFFORTS WITH FATAH
Head of Hamas Political Bureau Ismail Haniyeh on January 1 revealed that efforts are being exerted to resume internal talks ahead of reaching a reconciliation agreement. In a statement, Haniyeh announced: “There are new efforts being exerted to restore national dialogue ahead of achieving reconciliation, which is the cornerstone of resisting Israeli occupation and facing off conspiracies aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause.” He added: “We are currently carrying out many internal and external contacts to push these efforts to succeed and continue the steps towards reconciliation with Fatah and the other Palestinian factions.”
PAS OPPOSES MISS/MRS PLUS WORLD MALAYSIA PAGEANT
Echoing the opposition voiced by its women wing, PAS insisted that the Miss/Mrs Plus World Malaysia 2020 is hedonistic and should be barred from taking place next January 2 where the majority are Malays and Muslims. PAS information chief Kamaruzaman Mohamad said the Islamist party is joining Muslim evangelical foundation Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (Yadim), and other non-government organisations (NGOs), in sending a memorandum to the authorities to protest the pageant. “PAS again calls on the programme organisers to cancel this unbeneficial programme. In fact, PAS is confident that this programme will receive opposition from all concerned citizens regardless of race and religion,” he said in a statement.
HOLLYWOOD FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY SEEKS YOUNG MUSLIM ARAB
MagicQuest Entertainment, a Hollywood-based film and television company since 1975 headed by Oscar-Academy member Bo Svenson, is seeking a young Muslim Arab martial artist to star in the major Hollywood film and television series “Khalid – A Champion For All.” Winner of numerous international film festival awards for best screenplay, the story is about Khalid, a young Arab martial artist who, when his mother dies of cancer, enters a martial arts tournament in Japan that he hopes to win. Khalid wins the championship, but learns too late that winning the tournament enslaves him to an international crime syndicate.
MALAYSIAN MUSLIMS HAVE BEEN EATING FAKE HALAL MEAT FOR YEARS
A “meat cartel” that has been operating for the past 40 years has been recently exposed for forging halal documents, distributing fake halal beef, and passing off horse/ kangaroo meat as beef. As reported by New Straits Times, the cartel obtains meat from countries such as Canada, Colombia, Ukraine, Uruguay, Spain, and Mexico. The produce comes from non-certified manufacturers. This process of certification is overlooked by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) and the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS). Upon the meat’s arrival in Malaysia, it gets mixed with certified halal meat. What was found shocking to many was that the stock brought in includes kangaroo meat, horse meat, besides beef.
SHOPEE NOT ZAKAT COLLECTOR, MERELY TO MAKE PAYMENTS EASIER
The Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council Zakat Collection Centre (PPZ-MAIWP) of Malaysia said that e-commerce website Shopee is merely an instrument to help ease the payment process of zakat or alms, amid backlash from some Muslim groups. Its chief Datuk Seri Syed Ali Syed Abbas Al Habshee said in Islamic terms, Shopee is a “wasilah” that can assist Muslims and not a collector or “amil” as the management of the collection is still fully under each state’s zakat collection centre. “The allegation that Shopee has been appointed as ‘amil’ is not true at all, even the management of zakat collection and distribution remains under the responsibility and supervision of PPZ-MAIWP. Syed Ali compared this to the payments of ‘zakat’ on crops and livestock which are already no longer made physically, instead paid with the value of money transferred to PPZ through online bank transactions, as decided by the authorities. He added that Federal Territories tax payers in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Labuan also found that Shopee is among the preferred online alternatives.
YEMEN’S NEW GOVERNMENT FACES MAJOR CHALLENGES AHEAD
A power-sharing government was announced in war-torn Yemen, containing 24 ministers including representatives of the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is backed by the UAE. While the formation of the new government came in accordance with the terms of the Riyadh Agreement that was jointly signed between the internationally recognised government and STC in November last year, it neglected other issues that led to some opposition from political and civil groups in the country. Last week, hundreds of Yemenis demonstrated in Taiz city, demanding a fast return of the government to Yemen to take the constitutional oath in the temporary capital Aden, not in Riyadh. They also called for the implementation of all provisions of the Riyadh Agreement, including the security and economic sides.
GERMAN POLICE CUFF MUSLIM WOMAN FOR NOT WEARING MASK
Police in a Western German city handcuffed a Muslim woman in headscarf in front of her toddler and put her on the ground for not wearing a mask, as seen in video that recently went viral. According to the video taken by eyewitnesses in the city of Wuppertal, there were seven police officers outside of the building the woman left after visiting the dentist. Two police officers were seen handcuffing the woman in front of her toddler, putting her on the ground, and pressing on her body while she screamed for help. When the police tried to stop bystanders from filming, one said: “You have no right to stop me from shooting this video. The phone is mine. I can give my lawyer’s number.” As bystanders in the video protested, the police removed the woman’s handcuffs and released her and left as if nothing happened. The woman is reportedly set to file a criminal complaint against the police.
TUNISIA, ALGERIA PREVENT ISRAEL FROM USING THEIR AIRSPACES
Tunisia and Algeria have prevented an Israeli airplane from using their airspaces on its way to the Moroccan city of Rabat, forcing it to take an indirect route through Europe. Tunisia’s Nessma TV channel revealed that the Israeli airplane was forced to take a northern route that passes over the Mediterranean Sea then through the Greek, Italian and Spanish airspaces to reach the Moroccan capital, after both Tunisia and Algeria closed their airspaces to the Israeli airplane. Meanwhile, Algeria’s Ennahar Online news site refuted earlier reports claiming that Algeria allowed the “Zionist plane” to use its airspace. Moroccan Al-Sahifah news site confirmed that the first direct flight between Tel Aviv and Rabat avoided entering the airspaces of North African countries.
JOKOWI REPLACES INDONESIA HEALTH MINISTER AS COVID DEATHS SPIKE
Indonesian President Joko Widodo replaced the country’s health chief as part of a cabinet revamp to bolster government efforts against Southeast Asia’s worst coronavirus outbreak. Budi Gunadi Sadikin, who heads the country’s task force for national economic recovery, was appointed as health minister to replace Terawan Agus Putranto. Before his appointment, Sadikin was a former chief executive of state lender PT Bank Mandiri and state mining company PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium. He was named deputy minister in the ministry for state-owned enterprises in October 2019. Former health minister Putranto had faced criticism from civil-society groups regarding his handling of Indonesia’s Covid-19 response.