Muslim World League cited in US for its anti-extremism campaign
Updated 09 February 2019
Arab News
The secretary-general of the Muslim World League (MWL), Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, met with a number of senior US officials on an official visit to New York on Saturday.
Al-Issa held talks with several prominent politicians, including counter-extremism campaigner and former UN ambassador, Mark D. Wallace, Democrat Senator Joseph Lieberman, Representative Brad Sherman and Republican Senator Ted Cruz, on the importance of confronting violent extremism and terrorism, and promoting the values of moderation and coexistence.
The US officials commended the MWL for its efforts in spreading awareness of the values of moderation, and for its dedication to confronting violent extremism and terrorism.
They also praised the many programs developed by the MWL aimed at promoting coexistence and harmony within religiously and ethnically diverse communities across the globe.
Salah poses for celebration selfie with Liverpool fans in Premier League title-winning victory
Arne Slot’s men stormed back after conceding a surprise early goal
Top-scorer Salah scored the goal the crowd craved, celebrated by grabbing a fan’s phone before taking a selfie in front of the Kop
Updated 4 min 3 sec ago
AFP
LIVERPOOL: Liverpool demolished Tottenham 5-1 to clinch the Premier League title at an impassioned Anfield on Sunday, sealing a record-equalling 20th English top-flight crown.
Arne Slot’s men stormed back after conceding a surprise early goal to dominate the first half as the decibel level soared among 60,000-plus crowd.
Liverpool, who can no longer be caught by second-placed Arsenal, are now level with bitter rivals Manchester United as the joint-most successful club in English top-flight history.
Slot’s men started on the front foot at an expectant Anfield after a stirring rendition of club anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” in the warm spring sunshine.
Mohamed Salah had an early sighter and Cody Gakpo went close with a spectacular overhead kick but Tottenham briefly threatened to become party poopers when Dominic Solanke powered home a header from a James Maddison corner in the 12th minute.
But Liverpool were level just four minutes later when Luis Diaz converted Dominik Szoboszlai’s cross from close range. The offside flag went up but VAR awarded the goal.
The momentum was now all with Liverpool and the home side took the lead in the 24th minute when Alexis Mac Allister thundered the ball home from the 18-yard line past the flying Guglielmo Vicario.
Now the party was well and truly started and Gakpo made it 3-1, slamming a shot into the bottom corner after Spurs failed to clear.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou had made eight changes from the team that lost to Nottingham Forest last week as he prioritizes the semifinals of the Europa League and they now had a mountain to climb.
The Liverpool fans — deprived of celebrating the 2020 Premier League trophy due to COVID-19 restrictions, ran through their full repertoire of songs as their team pushed for a fourth goal in the second half.
Top-scorer Salah scored the goal the crowd craved, collecting Szoboszlai’s pass before cutting in and blasting his shot into the bottom corner.
He celebrated by grabbing a fan’s phone before taking a selfie in front of the Kop.
Deafening cheers of “We’re going to win the league” and “We shall not be moved” rang out.
Liverpool had a fifth when Spurs defender Destiny Udogie poked the ball past his own goalkeeper from close range with about 20 minutes to go as the game turned into a procession.
As the game went into added time the club’s anthem rang out again as scarves were held aloft and the final whistle elicited a thunderous roar.
The win leaves Liverpool on 82 points, 15 clear of nearest challengers Arsenal with just four games remaining.
Tottenham are a miserable 16th in the Premier League table after their 19th defeat of the season, putting Postecoglou under enormous pressure.
Tens of thousands of fans swarmed around Anfield in the build-up to kick-off in anticipation of Liverpool’s coronation, setting off flares as the home team bus arrived.
Flags and scarves saying “Liverpool 20-time Champions” were on sale from stalls outside the ground.
At the start of the campaign, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City were favorites to extend their dynastic Premier League reign and make it five titles in a row but their form collapsed.
Arsenal emerged as their closest challengers but they drew too many games, failing to take advantage of the rare Liverpool slip-ups.
It was feared Liverpool’s players would need time to adapt to the methods of Slot, who replaced Jurgen Klopp last June following the German’s departure after nine trophy-filled years at Anfield.
But the former Feyenoord boss has sailed serenely through the season despite relentless speculation over the futures of three of his biggest stars — Salah, captain Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Both Salah and Van Dijk have now signed two-year extensions, though England defender Alexander-Arnold is believed likely to be on the verge of a move to Real Madrid.
Pakistani troops kill 54 militants attempting to sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan
Pakistani intelligence reports indicated that the killed militants were 'Khwarij,' a phrase the government uses for the Pakistani Taliban
The insurgents were spotted and killed near the former stronghold of Pakistan Taliban near North Waziristan
Updated 26 min 48 sec ago
AP
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces overnight killed 54 militants who attempted to cross into the country from Afghanistan, the military said Sunday, marking one of the deadliest such killings in recent years.
The military said in a statement that intelligence reports indicated that the killed militants were “Khwarij” — a phrase the government uses for the Pakistani Taliban.
Without directly blaming anyone, the military said that the slain insurgents had been sent by their “foreign masters” to carry out high-profile attacks inside Pakistan.
The insurgents were spotted and killed near the former stronghold of Pakistan Taliban near North Waziristan, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the Afghan border.
“This is the first time during the ongoing operations against terrorists that Pakistani forces killed terrorists in such a high number in a single day,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters. He praised security forces for carrying out a successful operation against militants and foiling possible attacks by them in the country.
“We had this information that the foreign masters of these terrorists are asking them to enter Pakistan as soon as possible” to carry out attacks. He stopped short of saying that India had urged the militants to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have congratulated security forces for eliminating the insurgents.
The military also said in the statement that the infiltration attempt came “at a time when India is leveling baseless accusations against Pakistan” following a recent deadly assault on tourists in India-controlled Kashmir.
In recent months, Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence, mostly blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. It’s a separate group, but allied with the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since then.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tatar on Sunday told foreign media that New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the tourist attack to distract Pakistan’s security forces from their focus on the war on its western borders.
He said that New Delhi, without presenting any evidence, blamed Pakistan for the assault on tourists in Kashmir “to divert Pakistan’s attention from the western region.” He said that Pakistan had “undeniable evidence” about India’s backing for the Pakistan Taliban and Baloch Liberation Army, which is behind multiple attacks in Balochistan, including one on a train in which more than 30 hostages were killed in March.
Balochistan has been the scene of a long-running insurgency with the separatists seeking independence from the central government in Islamabad. Although Pakistani authorities say they have quelled the insurgency, violence has persisted.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has dispatched 40 tons of humanitarian aid for the war-affected people of Gaza, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Sunday, amid continuing Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory.
The development came as the Palestinian health ministry said hospitals in the Gaza Strip had received the remains of 51 Palestinians over the past 24 hours who were killed in Israeli strikes, bringing the Palestinian death toll from the 18-month-old Israel-Hamas war to 52,243.
The overall toll includes nearly 700 bodies for which the documentation process was recently completed, the ministry said in its latest update. The daily toll includes bodies retrieved from the rubble after earlier strikes.
Pakistan’s NDMA said the latest shipment, which is the 15th aid consignment for Gaza and the overall 26th sent to the Middle East, was sent as part of Pakistan’s ongoing humanitarian efforts.
“The latest consignment, sent in collaboration with Al-Khidmat Foundation, comprises approximately 20 tons of medicine, 5 tons of hygiene kits and 15 tons of tents,” the NDMA said.
“The aid was transported via a chartered flight from Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, to Amman (Jordon). Royal Medical Services Jordan will receive for onward distribution to the people of Palestine.”
Israel ended its months-long ceasefire with Hamas by launching a surprise bombardment on March 18, and has been carrying out daily waves of strikes since then. Ground forces have expanded a buffer zone and encircled the southern city of Rafah, and now control around 50 percent of the territory. Israel has also sealed off the territory’s 2 million Palestinians from all imports, including food and medicine, for nearly 60 days. Aid groups say supplies will soon run out and that thousands of children are malnourished.
Pakistan, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, has consistently condemned Israeli military actions and called for the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.
The South Asian country has dispatched a total of 1,518 tons of relief aid exclusively for Palestine, according to the NDMA. Overall, Pakistan has dispatched 2,045 tons of humanitarian aid, including 416 tons for Lebanon and 111 tons for Syria.
“The Government of Pakistan remains steadfast in its commitment to standing with the people of Palestine and will continue to provide humanitarian assistance based on the evolving needs of those affected by the ongoing crisis,” the NDMA said.
Israel PM calls security chief ‘liar’, in court filing
Bar’s dismissal, announced by the government last month but frozen by the country’s top court, triggered mass protests.
Updated 37 min 13 sec ago
AFP
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an affidavit before the Supreme Court on Sunday, described as a “liar” the country’s internal security chief, whom the government is trying to fire.
Netanyahu’s response came almost a week after Shin Bet head Ronen Bar himself made a sworn statement to the court. It accused the prime minister of demanding personal loyalty and ordering him to spy on anti-government protesters.
Bar’s dismissal, announced by the government last month but frozen by the country’s top court, triggered mass protests.
The unprecedented move to fire the head of the Shin Bet security agency has been contested by the attorney general and the opposition, which appealed Bar’s firing to the Supreme Court.
“The accusation according to which I allegedly demanded action against innocent civilians, or against a non-violent and legitimate protest during the protests of 2023, is an absolute lie,” Netanyahu said in his court statement.
In his own affidavit, Bar had said “it was clear” that in the event of a potential constitutional crisis, Netanyahu would expect Bar to obey the prime minister and not the courts.
Netanyahu countered: “There is no proof supporting these remarks.”
Bar had also denied accusations by Netanyahu and his associates that the Shin Bet had failed to warn in time about Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
“Nothing was hidden” on that night from the security apparatus or the prime minister, Bar said.
Netanyahu countered before the court that Bar “did not accomplish his mission” that night.
“He did not wake up the prime minister. He did not wake up the minister of defense. He did not wake up the soldiers of the army,” or others before the attack, Netanyahu alleged.
The prime minister’s 23-page document said Bar “failed in his role as chief of Shin Bet and lost the confidence of the entire Israeli government as far as his ability to continue to manage the organization.”
Netanyahu’s office had already made similar public comments immediately after Bar filed his affidavit.
An April 8 Supreme Court hearing on the government’s plans to fire Bar ruled that he “will continue to perform his duties until a later decision.”
Saudi Arabia to power data platforms with AI to drive Vision 2030 goals
Officials pledge major upgrades in statistical systems to enhance decision-making and global competitiveness
Updated 56 min 19 sec ago
Nadin Hassan
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia plans to enhance its data platforms, strengthen digital transformation, and use artificial intelligence and modern technologies to improve statistical operations and data accuracy, according to a minister.
In his opening remarks at the first Saudi Statistics Forum held from April 27–28 in Riyadh, Economy and Planning Minister Faisal Al-Ibrahim said the Kingdom aims to build a modern, accessible, and globally competitive data ecosystem to support decision-making aligned with Vision 2030.
“In the coming phase, we will continue to develop data platforms, strengthen the digital transformation journey, and leverage administrative data, artificial intelligence, and modern technologies to further improve statistical operations, enhance data accuracy, and facilitate easier access to information,” Al-Ibrahim said.
He added: “Today, Saudi Arabia stands as an international platform for showcasing achievements, sharing success stories with the global community, accelerating the pace of development, and maximizing positive impact both locally and internationally in the field of statistics.”
The minister emphasized that the country will continue to develop administrative data systems and adopt modern technologies to improve the accuracy and accessibility of information across sectors.
The forum coincides with the 65th anniversary of establishing official statistical work in the Kingdom. This journey has witnessed the sector undergo transformative shifts toward higher quality and greater transparency.
“Transparency is crucial in supporting evidence-based decisions, especially given international challenges that highlight the need to develop statistical systems, adopt high-performance standards, and enhance the speed and efficiency of decision-making,” Al-Ibrahim.
He continued: “Today, many national and international statistical agencies and organizations are participating in this forum with the aim of transferring expertise, sharing pioneering experiences in statistical methodologies and best practices, and showcasing modern approaches to innovation and statistical development.”
The minister emphasized the crucial role of accurate, timely data in enabling evidence-based policymaking, particularly in the face of global challenges, and highlighted the need for resilient and agile statistical systems.
“Saudi Arabia today stands as an international platform for showcasing achievements, sharing success stories, and accelerating positive impact both locally and globally in the field of statistics,” Al-Ibrahim added.
The forum comes as Saudi Arabia prepares to host the Sixth UN World Data Forum in Riyadh in November 2026.
During the event, Fahad Al-Dossari, president of GASTAT, reiterated the authority’s commitment to supporting decision-makers by continuously developing the statistical system to meet national and international standards.
“Statistics are no longer merely supportive tools; today, they are at the heart of development work and a critical enabler of sustainable development, ensuring efficient spending, enhancing service quality, and supporting economic and social growth,” Al-Dossari said.
He noted that the authority has recently launched a number of strategic initiatives aimed at achieving full digital transformation in statistical operations, including promoting statistical innovation, enhancing the use of AI technologies, analyzing big data, and updating methodologies to align with best global practices.
As part of its efforts to meet rising demands for data in a rapidly evolving economy, GASTAT introduced around 39 new statistical products in 2023.
These products aim to deliver greater detail, broaden sector coverage, and enhance regional statistics to better inform both public policies and private sector investments.
Al-Dossari stressed that continuous collaboration between GASTAT and its partners in the government, private sector, and academic institutions is key to ensuring the success of Saudi Arabia’s broader data agenda.
He also highlighted the importance of national surveys as critical tools for expanding statistical coverage and providing timely indicators.
Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef speaks at the event. AN photo
During a panel discussion, the role of data as a foundation for industrial development and economic diversification was further emphasized by Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef.
“In the industrial sector, we cannot imagine that industry could thrive without infrastructure — whether in the form of industrial cities, energy supply, or other essential elements. Without this infrastructure, neither industry can grow nor investment be attracted,” Alkhorayef said
The minister underlined that Saudi Vision 2030 targets specific sectors that require precise, regularly updated data, allowing investors to accurately assess market conditions, identify opportunities, and anticipate trends.
Recognizing this, Saudi Arabia has taken proactive steps to institutionalize early technology adoption across sectors.
“Today, there is a massive abundance of data, and the key question is how we can harness it to serve decision-making processes and reduce associated risks,” Alkhorayef said.
He continued: “One of the risks we must be cautious about is relying on modern technologies without having accurate and trustworthy data sources, which can lead to misleading results despite the strength of the tools used.”
Therefore, here in the Kingdom, “we consider the early integration of technology as an essential part of all sectors.”
As technology reshapes the world of statistics, the nation is positioning itself at the forefront of innovation in data management.
Alkhorayef emphasized the growing global opportunity to harness AI and big data analytics to drive smarter decision-making.
However, he warned that relying on modern technologies without ensuring the accuracy and reliability of data can lead to misleading outcomes.
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority also plays a key role in regulating and accelerating the use of data technologies, striking a balance between strong legislative frameworks and rapid digital transformation efforts.
“SDAIA combines regulation and ensuring the proper development of technologies with accelerating their use to serve our national goals, whether to achieve the objectives of Vision 2030 or to support investors in accessing data quickly and mitigating investment risks,” Alkhorayef said.
He continued: “Thus, I believe the integrated system we see today positions the Kingdom as one of the best countries for attracting investments, thanks to the high level of reliability regarding opportunities and how to capitalize on them.”
During the forum, GATSTAT signed memorandums of understanding with four countries, including the UAE’s Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, Qatar’s National Planning Council, Statistics Estonia, and Finland.
The MoUs aim to foster cooperation and facilitate the exchange of expertise in the field of statistics.
