UK’s The Royal Mint releases exclusive Ramadan gold bar with Kaaba design

Created in consultation with Muslim Council Wales and designed by Emma Noble, it represents Kaaba, the holiest site for millions of Muslims. (The Royal Mint)

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Updated 15 March 2023

Arab News

March 15, 2023 14:46

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UK’s The Royal Mint releases exclusive Ramadan gold bar with Kaaba design

The 20-gram bar, which was released ahead of Ramadan, was created in consultation with the Muslim Council of Wales

Updated 15 March 2023

Arab News

March 15, 2023 14:46

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LONDON: The Royal Mint, the UK’s oldest company and official maker of coins, has released a gold-minted bullion bar for Britain’s Muslim community that depicts the Kaaba.

The 20-gram bar, which was released ahead of Ramadan, was created in consultation with the Muslim Council of Wales.

Abdul-Azim Ahmed of the Muslim Council of Wales said: “It’s been wonderful to work with The Royal Mint to introduce this special gold bullion bar depicting the Kaaba. Covered by the kiswa, a black cloth with gold decoration, the building’s outline is unmistakable, and it has now been minted in gold, the precious metal prized for millennia.

“The design will undoubtedly be popular with the Muslim community and exemplifies the craftsmanship of The Royal Mint. It’s been a fascinating process and I hope people across the world will enjoy this bar.”

In marking the launch of the bar, The Royal Mint in February took part in three events across the UK hosted by Islamic Relief, a leading Muslim charity that provides aid responses to disasters and emergencies around the world.

The three events — in Manchester, London and Glasgow — aimed to raise funds for Turkiye and Syria in the wake of last month’s deadly earthquakes.

The Royal Mint donated one of the Kaaba gold bars for auction at each event, raising more than $10,000.

Islamic Relief Director Tufail Hussain said: “We’re honored to be partnered with the historic Royal Mint and so pleased to be able to hold these events across the country.

“These Kaaba gold bars, donated by The Royal Mint, will help us to raise significant funds for the Turkiye and Syria appeal.”

Director of Precious Metals at The Royal Mint Andrew Dickey said: “We are delighted that for the first time, the distinctive cube structure of the Kaaba is being represented on a 20-gram gold bullion minted bar by The Royal Mint.

“Drawing on more than 1,100 years of minting expertise, we have applied our expert craftsmanship to create a beautiful representation of the Kaaba, the holiest place on Earth for many Muslims.”

The bar was available for purchase at £1,156 ($1,393) at the time of writing.

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Putin says Chinese proposal could be basis for peace in Ukraine

Updated 16 sec ago

Reuters

March 22, 2023 01:45

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Putin says Chinese proposal could be basis for peace in Ukraine

Xi’s state visit is a major boost to Putin as he squares off against what he sees as a hostile West bent on inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia

Updated 16 sec ago

Reuters

March 22, 2023 01:45

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday that Chinese proposals could be used as the basis of a peace settlement in Ukraine, but that the West and Kyiv were not yet ready.
In a joint statement at the end of Xi’s state visit to Moscow, the two men cautioned against any steps that might push the Ukraine conflict into an “uncontrollable phase,” adding pointedly that there could be no winners in a nuclear war.
Putin accused Western powers of fighting “to the last Ukrainian,” while Xi reiterated China’s “neutral position” on Ukraine and called for dialogue.
“We believe that many of the provisions of the peace plan put forward by China are consonant with Russian approaches and can be taken as the basis for a peaceful settlement when they are ready for that in the West and in Kyiv. However, so far we see no such readiness from their side,” Putin said.
China’s proposal — a 12-point paper calling for a de-escalation and eventual cease-fire in Ukraine — lacks details on how to end the war.
The United States has been dismissive of the Chinese proposal, given Beijing’s refusal to condemn Russia over Ukraine, and says a cease-fire now would lock in Russian territorial gains and give Putin’s army more time to regroup.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Putin calls China Russia’s most important economic partner

• Xi is on a state visit to Moscow

• Putin says the West is not ready for peace in Ukraine

Ukraine has welcomed China’s diplomatic involvement but says Russia must pull out its troops and underlines the importance of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

BURGEONING TIES
The Kremlin talks were intended to cement the “no limits” partnership the two leaders announced last February, less than three weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine.
They signed a series of documents on a “strategic cooperation” after what Putin described as “successful and constructive” talks showing China was clearly now Russia’s most important economic partner.
“I am convinced that our multi-faceted cooperation will continue to develop for the good of the peoples of our countries,” Putin said in televised remarks.
Xi’s state visit is a major boost to Putin as he squares off against what he sees as a hostile West bent on inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia.
The Chinese leader visited Moscow days after an international court issued an arrest warrant for Putin over Russia’s actions in Ukraine, where Russian forces have made little progress in recent months despite suffering heavy losses.
In their joint statement, Xi and Putin also called on the United States to stop “undermining global strategic security” and to cease developing a global missile defense system.
While pledging more regular joint military drills, however, the two leaders said the closer relationship between the two countries was not directed against any third nation and that it did not constitute a “military-political alliance.”

POWER OF SIBERIA DETAILS UNFINISHED
Putin said that Russia, China and Mongolia had completed “all agreements” on finishing Russia’s coveted pipeline to ship Russian gas to China, and that Moscow was ready to increase oil exports to Beijing.
But a joint statement after the talks said only that the parties involved in the pipeline — which Putin has called just before Xi’s visit as “the deal of the century” — “will make efforts to advance work on the study and approval” of the pipeline.
The English versions of Xi’s two statements issued after the meetings do not mention the pipeline.
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters that there are still details that need to be worked out.
“Instructions were given to companies to work out the details of the project in detail and to sign it as soon as possible,” Russia’s state RIA news agency cited Novak as saying.
“Orders have been given to ensure the agreement’s conditions. We hope that it will be this year.”
The planned Power of Siberia 2 pipeline would deliver 50 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas per year from Russia to China via Mongolia. Moscow put forward the idea many years ago, but it has gained urgency as Russia turns to China to replace Europe as its major gas customer.
Russia’s Gazprom already supplies gas to China through an existing Power of Siberia pipeline under a 30-year, $400 billion deal launched at the end of 2019. That pipeline spans some 3,000 km (1,865 miles).
Russia’s gas exports to China are still a small fraction of the record 177 bcm it delivered to Europe in 2018-19.
Putin said on Tuesday Russia would deliver at least 98 bcm of gas to China by 2030.

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Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

US dismisses China mediation on Ukraine as not ‘impartial’

Updated 21 March 2023

AFP

March 21, 2023 20:34

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US dismisses China mediation on Ukraine as not ‘impartial’

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby: ‘I don’t think you can reasonably look at China as impartial in any way’
China has presented a 12-point position paper on the war which includes a call for dialogue and respect for all countries’ territorial sovereignty

Updated 21 March 2023

AFP

March 21, 2023 20:34

WASHINGTON: The United States said Tuesday it does not see China as capable of being an impartial mediator between Moscow and Kyiv over the war in Ukraine.
It was the most direct US criticism yet of China’s aim to be a middleman in efforts to end the war.
“I don’t think you can reasonably look at China as impartial in any way,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
He noted that China has refrained from criticizing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has continued to buy Russian oil even as the West piles sanctions on Moscow’s energy industry to starve the Kremlin of money to pay for the war.
China, Kirby added, also “keeps parroting the Russian propaganda” to the effect that the US and other countries in the West are to blame for the war for giving such strong support to pro-western Ukraine over the years that Russia felt threatened and justified in invading.
In a summit rich with red carpet pomp, Chinese President Xi Jingping was visiting Russia Tuesday and met with President Vladimir Putin, with the war in Ukraine high on their agenda.
After talks Tuesday they hailed what they called a “new era” in Russian-Chinese relations.
Kirby said the two were linked not so much by an alliance but rather “a marriage of convenience, because that’s what I think it is.”
China has presented a 12-point position paper on the war which includes a call for dialogue and respect for all countries’ territorial sovereignty.
Putin said he was open to talks on Ukraine and praised Beijing’s position paper.
Kirby said Russia and China “want to change the rules of that game,” meaning the rules based international order.
Still, the United States wants to maintain channels of communication with China, he said.
Kirby added that he is not aware of China having provided military assistance to Russia. The United States has said China is considering this big step, but China denies it.

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Topics: Russian-Ukraine conflict United States of America (USA) China

9 killed as strong earthquake rattles Pakistan, Afghanistan

Rescue worker unload earthquake victims from an ambulance at a hospital in Saidu Sharif, a town Pakistan's Swat valley, Tuesday,

Updated 56 min 10 sec ago

March 21, 2023 17:03

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9 killed as strong earthquake rattles Pakistan, Afghanistan

Taimoor Khan, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority in the northwest, said at least 19 mudbrick homes collapsed in remote areas

Updated 56 min 10 sec ago

March 21, 2023 17:03

ISLAMABAD: A magnitude 6.5 earthquake rattled much of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Tuesday, sending panicked residents fleeing from homes and offices and frightening people even in remote villages. At least nine people died.
More than 100 people were brought to hospitals in the Swat valley region of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in a state of shock, Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s emergency services told The Associated Press.
“These terrified people collapsed, and some of them collapsed because of the shock of the earthquake,” he said. Faizi said most were later discharged from the hospital.
Faizi and other officials said nine people were killed when roofs collapsed in various parts of northwestern Pakistan. Dozens of others were injured in the quake, which was centered in Afghanistan and also felt in bordering Tajikistan. The earthquake triggered landslides in some of the mountainous areas, disrupting traffic.
Taimoor Khan, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority in the northwest, said at least 19 mudbrick homes collapsed in remote areas. “We are still collecting data about the damages,” he said.
The powerful tremors sent many people fleeing their homes and offices in Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad, some reciting verses from the Qur’an, Islam’s holy book. Media reports suggested cracks had appeared in some apartment buildings in the city.
The scene was repeated in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan.
“The quake was so strong and terrifying, we thought houses are collapsing on us, people were all shouting and were shocked,” said Shafiullah Azimi, a Kabul resident.
The US Geological Survey said the center of the magnitude 6.5 quake was located 40 kilometers (25 miles) south-southeast of Jurm in Afghanistan’s mountainous Hindukush region, bordering Pakistan and Tajikistan. It said the depth of the earthquake was 187.6 kilometers (116 miles).
Rakhshinda Tauseed, a physician, said she was at her hospital in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore when the earthquake hit. “I quickly asked patients to go move to a safer place,” she said.
Khurram Shahzad, a resident in Pakistan’s garrison city of Rawalpindi, said he was having dinner with his family at a restaurant when the walls started swaying.
“I quickly thought that it is a big one, and we left the restaurant and came out,” he told The Associated Press by phone. He said he saw hundreds of people standing on the streets.
The situation was similar in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the border with Afghanistan, where people were seen standing outside their homes and offices.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in a statement said he asked disaster management officials to remain vigilant to handle any situation.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the main spokesman for the Taliban government in Afghanistan, tweeted that the Ministry of Public Health had ordered all health centers to be on standby.
The region is prone to violent seismic upheavals. A magnitude 7.6 quake in 2005 killed thousands of people in Pakistan and Kashmir.
Last year in southeastern Afghanistan, a 6.1 magnitude quake struck a rugged, mountainous region, flattening stone and mud-brick homes. Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers put the total death toll from the quake at 1,150, with hundreds more injured, while the UN has offered a lower estimate of 770.

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Topics: Pakistan earthquake Afghanistan

UK counter-terror police involved in ‘mosque attack’ probe

Updated 21 March 2023

AFP

March 21, 2023 15:14

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UK counter-terror police involved in ‘mosque attack’ probe

One man was arrested after the attack in Birmingham, central England on Monday evening
It came after an 82-year-old man was set on fire outside a mosque in the Ealing area of west London on the evening of Feb. 27

Updated 21 March 2023

AFP

March 21, 2023 15:14

LONDON: Counter-terrorism officers are involved in an investigation into the attempted murder of a man who was set alight after leaving a mosque, UK police said on Tuesday.
One man was arrested after the attack in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, central England, just after 7:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Monday.
It came after an 82-year-old man was set on fire outside a mosque in the Ealing area of west London on the evening of February 27.
The Birmingham force said it was aware of the previous attack.
“We are working with the Metropolitan Police Service to see whether they are linked,” a spokesman said.
West Midlands Police chief superintendent Richard North said counter-terrorism police were supporting the investigation.
They had “access to specialist capabilities to help establish the full circumstances,” he added.
In the latest attack, it is thought the victim, who was walking home from a nearby mosque, was sprayed with an unknown substance then had his jacket set on fire.
He suffered burns to his face and was taken to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.

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Topics: UK mosque terrorism

US report lists ‘significant human rights’ abuses in India

Updated 22 March 2023

Reuters

March 21, 2023 02:50

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US report lists ‘significant human rights’ abuses in India

US criticism of India is rare due to close economic ties between the countries
Advocacy groups have raised concerns over what they see as a deteriorating human rights situation in India

Updated 22 March 2023

Reuters

March 21, 2023 02:50

WASHINGTON: The annual US report on human rights practices released on Monday listed “significant human rights issues” and abuses in India, including reported targeting of religious minorities, dissidents and journalists, the US State Department said.
The findings come nearly a year after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was monitoring what he described as a rise in human rights abuses in India by some government, police and prison officials, in a rare direct rebuke by Washington of the Asian nation’s rights record.
US criticism of India is rare due to close economic ties between the countries and India’s increasing importance for Washington to counter China in the region.

People mourn next to the body of Muddasir Khan, who was wounded on Tuesday in a clash between people demonstrating for and against a new citizenship law, after he succumbed to his injuries, in a riot affected area in New Delhi, India, February 27, 2020. (REUTERS)

Significant human rights issues in India have included credible reports of the government or its agents conducting extrajudicial killings; torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by police and prison officials; political prisoners or detainees; and unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists, the US report added.
Advocacy groups have raised concerns over what they see as a deteriorating human rights situation in India in recent years under the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Human Rights Watch has said the Indian government’s policies and actions target Muslims while critics of Modi say his Hindu nationalist ruling party has fostered religious polarization since coming to power in 2014.

A radical Hindu religious flag flutters on the minaret of a burnt-out mosque following sectarian riots over India's new citizenship law, at Mustafabad area in New Delhi on February 28, 2020. Muslims in India's capital held regular on February 28 prayers under the watch of riot police, capping a week which saw 42 killed and hundreds injured during the city's worst sectarian violence in decades. (AFP)

Critics point to a 2019 citizenship law that the United Nations human rights office described as “fundamentally discriminatory” by excluding Muslim migrants from neighboring countries; anti-conversion legislation that challenged the constitutionally protected right to freedom of belief; and revoking Muslim-majority Kashmir’s special status in 2019.
The government dismisses the accusations by saying its policies are aimed at the development of all communities.
In 2022, authorities also demolished what they described as illegal shops and properties, many of them owned by Muslims, in parts of India. Critics say the demolition drive was an attempt to intimidate India’s 200 million Muslims. The government defended the demolitions, saying they were enforcing the law.
“Human rights activists reported the government was allegedly targeting vocal critics from the Muslim community and using the bulldozers to destroy their homes and livelihoods” without due process, the US report released on Monday added.
Since Modi took office in 2014, India has slid from 140th in World Press Freedom Index, an annual ranking by non-profit Reporters Without Borders, to 150th place last year, its lowest ever. India has also topped the list for the highest number of Internet shutdowns in the world for five years in a row, including in 2022, Internet advocacy watchdog Access Now says.
“Civil society organizations expressed concern that the central government sometimes used UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) to detain human rights activists and journalists,” the US report said.

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Topics: India human rights abuse Indian Muslims RSS terrorists

UK’s The Royal Mint releases exclusive Ramadan gold bar with Kaaba design

UK’s The Royal Mint releases exclusive Ramadan gold bar with Kaaba design

Putin says Chinese proposal could be basis for peace in Ukraine

Putin says Chinese proposal could be basis for peace in Ukraine

HIGHLIGHTS

US dismisses China mediation on Ukraine as not ‘impartial’

Putin welcomes China’s Xi to Kremlin amid Ukraine war

US dismisses China mediation on Ukraine as not ‘impartial’

US dismisses China mediation on Ukraine as not ‘impartial’

Putin welcomes China’s Xi to Kremlin amid Ukraine war

Putin hails China’s willingness to help settle Ukraine conflict

9 killed as strong earthquake rattles Pakistan, Afghanistan

9 killed as strong earthquake rattles Pakistan, Afghanistan

Floods kill 16 in Turkish earthquake-battered provinces

Quake aftermath: Fear of ‘Big One’ grips Istanbul

UK counter-terror police involved in ‘mosque attack’ probe

UK counter-terror police involved in ‘mosque attack’ probe

Romania’s president visits Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Children given wristbands at Two Holy Mosques

US report lists ‘significant human rights’ abuses in India

US report lists ‘significant human rights’ abuses in India

Surveillance nation: India spies on world’s largest population

World Islamic human rights body condemns discrimination against Indian Muslims

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UK’s The Royal Mint releases exclusive Ramadan gold bar with Kaaba design

UK’s The Royal Mint releases exclusive Ramadan gold bar with Kaaba design

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