December 5, 2023

A man has been charged with two counts of assault for allegedly spitting on Muslim students at Western University in Ontario, Canada. The male, who has also been barred from varsity premises, was arrested by the university’s special constable service after two incidents were reported. It wasn’t specified if the accused, who is scheduled to appear before a court, was a student at the university. In a post shared by WU’s Muslim Students Association (MSA) on its Instagram account, the MSA stated: “We strongly condemn the actions of the repeat offender, and extend our gratitude to Western University and Campus Police for their support during this process.” “It is crucial to acknowledge that this isolated incident is just one manifestation of the broader issue of hatred and Islamophobia that continues to persist at Western…we recognise that there is much work to be done in combating the root causes of discrimination,” the association added. In the same Instagram post, the MSA listed a total of nine Islamophobic incidents they claim have taken place on campus over the last month, including instances of physical assault and car tires being slashed. In a statement shared by WU with The Gazette, Western University’s official student newspaper, the varsity said: “Western is committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment and we are here to support our students. Hate and discrimination have no place on our campus and will not be tolerated.” Western University is situated in Ontario’s city of London which has recently been in the news over the conviction of Nathaniel Veltman, who was found guilty of attacking and killing four members of a Pakistani-origin Muslim family with his pick-up truck in June 2021 in the same city. Veltman is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan 4 and Jan 5 in the coming year. Source:https://www.dawn.com/news/1795248/man-charged-with-assault-for-allegedly-spitting-on-muslim-students-in-ontarios-london

The death toll from floods in northern Tanzania following torrential rains this weekend has risen to 63, officials have said. Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said in comments broadcast on television on Monday that the number of injured stood at 116 people. Landslides had destroyed half of one village he visited, he said. end of list “We are here in front of bodies of our fellows. We have lost 63 loved ones. Of the total fellows we lost, 23 are men and 40 are women,” he said during an event to bid farewell to the bodies of those who had died in Hanang district, northern Tanzania. “My fellow Tanzanians, this is a tragedy,” he said. Queen Sendiga, commissioner for the Northern Manyara region, said the death toll had reached 68, the AFP news agency reported. Earlier on Monday Zuhura Yunus, a spokesperson for the president’s office, said the flooding has affected at least 1,150 households and 5,600 people, with 750 acres [300 hectares] of farmland also destroyed. “Despite all the challenges rescue work is facing from damaged roads and mud and logs filling the roads, the government is doing its best to deal with that,” Yunus said. Residents stand beside a car damaged by flooding in the town of Katesh, Tanzania, on Sunday, December 3 [AP Photo] The flooding is the latest example of extreme weather that has devastated East African countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan, with hundreds of people killed since the region’s rainy season began in October. President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was attending a United Nations climate summit in Dubai, has said that she will return from the trip early to attend to the crisis. The flooding follows a period of severe drought that has left soil in the region drier and less capable of holding water, heightening the risk of flash flooding. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Sendiga said that about 100 homes were swallowed up in the village of Katesh, about 300 kilometres (185 miles) north of the capital, Dodoma, and that rescue workers continue to search for people buried in the mud. Worst flooding in decades kills dozens in East Africa At the COP 28 UN climate summit in Dubai, Hassan highlighted the fact that poor countries face disproportionate risks from climate change, despite the fact that wealthy countries in the West bear responsibility for a large share of the cumulative emissions that drive climate change. “It must be said, unfulfilled commitments erode solidarity and trust, and have detrimental and costly consequences for developing countries,” said Hassan. “My own country is losing 2 to 3 percent of its GDP due to climate change.” Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/4/death-toll-rises-as-tanzania-reels-from-flooding-landslides

Israel ramps up attacks across the Gaza Strip, including near hospitals and in the south of besieged enclave where ground operation is intensifying. Israel’s “indiscriminate bombardment” of Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza has reached “new depths”, Norwegian Refugee Council chief warns. The Palestine Red Crescent says it lost contact with its teams after telecommunication services cut off in Gaza amid Israeli bombings. At least 15,899 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the official death toll stands at about 1,200. Disease spreading as 1.8 million people squeezed in area the ‘size of an airport’ Israel’s push to relocate Palestinians in Gaza to a small area in the south is making it impossible to deliver aid and driving up the risk of disease, Bushra Khalidi, a Ramallah-based legal expert and rights campaigner with Oxfam, warned. “Squeezing people into a space that is basically as big as London’s Heathrow airport… is inhumane and makes it impossible to distribute aid to people,” Khalidi told Al Jazeera. “Gaza was already overpopulated… [now] we’re talking about 1.8 million people in an airport.” Khalidi added that cholera and gastroenteritis is rapidly spreading due to the congested conditions. “People are not getting better because conditions are not allowing them to get better,” she said. Click here to share on social media ‘Region witnessing great challenges,’ Qatar emir says ahead of GCC summit The 44th GCC summit is set to take place in Qatar today with the conflict in Gaza expected to top the agenda. While welcoming the officials to the summit, Qatar’s emir said the summit was “being held at a time when our region and the world are witnessing great challenges in which our Gulf countries can play roles that contribute to resolving them and mitigating their effects”. We will bring you all the news and updates from the summit right here. Click here to share on social media Israeli forces stage another deadly raid in occupied West Bank Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian man during a raid in the Qalandiya refugee camp north of Jerusalem, the Palestinian WAFA news agency reports. Mohammad Yousef Hassan Manasra, 25, was killed when Israeli forces blew up the door to his home Tuesday morning, according to witnesses cited by WAFA. The Israeli forces then detained the man’s brother. At least 468 Palestinians have been killed in near-daily occupied West Bank raids in 2023, reports WAFA. Of these, 260 have been killed since the October 7 war broke out in Gaza. Click here to share on social media Photos: Wounded Palestinians rushed to Nasser hospital in Khan Younis [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters] [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters] [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters] Click here to share on social media Iran says not involved in actions against US military forces: Report Iran says that it has not been involved in any actions or attacks against United States military forces, according to the country’s United Nations envoy Amir Saeid Iravani. Iravani’s comments, which the Tasnim news agency reported, come after the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen launched a series of attacks on Sunday against Israel-linked vessels in the Red Sea. Those attacks drew a response from a US warship deployed in one of the world’s busiest maritime routes. On Monday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington has “every reason to believe that these attacks [on vessels in the Red Sea], while they were launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran.” Click here to share on social media Latest casualty figures Gaza Killed: 15,899 Wounded: 42,000 Occupied West Bank Killed: 260 Wounded: 3,365 Israel Killed: 1,147 in October 7 attack (revised down from 1,400) Soldiers killed since October 7: 404 Wounded: 8,730 Source: Palestinian Health Ministry, Israeli army Palestinians mourn over the bodies of their relatives who were killed in Israeli strikes, at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis [Mohammed Dahman/AP Photo] Click here to share on social media ‘State of panic’ after Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp bombed Israeli jets targeted the Bureij refugee camp in Gaza this morning. Mohamed Washa, our colleague at Al Jazeera Arabic, has these updates from the camp: Bombs began raining down around 6:05am (04:05 GMT) while most residents were asleep, leading to a total “state of panic”. At least 15 houses were “completely destroyed” more than 15 people were killed, including children. Many wounded are still trapped under the rubble. Residents are now working with their bare hands to rescue victims. There is no equipment or ambulances, they said. “We have been destroyed,” said one resident who survived the attack. “We did nothing to deserve this… we were all sleeping.” Another survivor added: “Nobody cares about us. Those were unarmed people and innocent children, asleep.” The entrance to the camp has extremely narrow roads making it difficult for ambulances or firetrucks to get in. Click here to share on social media Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/12/5/israel-hamas-war-live-israeli-attacks-on-southern-gaza-reach-new-depths