British company launches first of its kind hijab line for female advocates
Barristers can now express ‘their identity as a Muslim and an advocate, and get on with the job,’ founder tells Arab News
‘I hope this will encourage other people to come to the bar and not feel like it’s a place where they wouldn’t fit in,’ barrister tells Arab News
Updated 02 April 2021
Christopher Hamill-Stewart
LONDON: In a first of its kind, a British company has launched a range of hijabs designed specifically for female advocates to wear in court.
British hijab-wearing barristers do not have to wear the country’s distinctive white wigs in court, but until now there had been no standard for what they should wear instead.
Seeking to change this, British legal-wear designer Ivy & Normanton on Wednesday launched a series of hijabs in keeping with court-attire norms.
Coming in both black and white, the hijabs will simplify a persistent problem faced exclusively by a subset of female Muslim barristers.
The designers said they could also help inspire more young Muslim women to join the legal profession.
The hijabs come in both black and white — appropriate for any court setting. (Photo courtesy: Ivy & Normanton)
“I think people aspire to be what they can see,” Karlia Lykourgou, a barrister and founder of Ivy & Normanton, told Arab News.
“To keep encouraging diversity at the bar, we have to make sure that those who don’t fit the white, male stereotype have the tools they need so other young people can see them and believe they have a place in the profession too,” she added.
“The Ivy & Normanton hijab was developed so other women could easily find a piece of clothing that expresses their identity as a Muslim and an advocate, and get on with the job.”
Sultana Tafadar, a human rights barrister at No5 Chambers, told Arab News that she has not yet tried the new hijabs, but the launch is as important symbolically as it is practically. “It’s a really great initiative — it normalizes women wearing the hijab at the bar,” she said.
Practically, the design is perfect for barristers who have to adhere to strict dress guidelines in court, and from a symbolic perspective it is important that there is an outfitter that recognizes that there are Muslim women at the bar and that they need to be catered for, Tafadar added.
“I hope this will encourage other people to come to the bar and not feel like it’s a place where they wouldn’t fit in,” she said.
Maryam Mir, a barrister at London’s Doughty Street Chambers, told Arab News: “Women now make up almost 50 percent of the bar, and the diversity stats are slowly improving as people wake up to the multiple layers of discrimination women face in their professional careers.”
She added: “I’m regularly approached by Muslim women worried that they’d never be accepted in what they perceive to be a very stuffy white male profession. To them I say, ‘Carve out your space. Make it work for you’.”
A Russian bomb attack on Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region has killed one person, local authorities said Thursday
Updated 59 min 7 sec ago
AFP
KYIV: A Russian bomb attack on Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region has killed one person, local authorities said Thursday.
Moscow’s forces are trying to seize full control of the frontline region, which it claimed to have annexed in 2022, months after invading.
Russia fired 11 guided aerial bombs on the village of Stepnogorsk, just a few kilometers from the front line, late on Wednesday.
“A five-story building was destroyed. A man was killed. Rescuers removed his body from under the rubble,” Zaporizhzhia’s Ukrainian governor Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.
The strike comes amid an escalation in aerial attacks, including Russian drone strikes on the center of Kyiv that killed two people in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
Ukraine is fearing a possible renewed Russian offensive toward the regional capital of Zaporizhzhia, around 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the front line and still under Ukrainian control.
Bangladesh court again rejects bail for Hindu leader who led rallies
Updated 02 January 2025
AP
DHAKA: A court in southeastern Bangladesh on Thursday rejected a plea for bail by a jailed Hindu leader who led large rallies in the Muslim-majority country demanding better security for minority groups.
Krishna Das Prabhu faces charges of sedition after he led huge rallies in the southeastern city of Chattogram. Hindu groups say there have been thousands of attacks against Hindus since early August, when the secular government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was overthrown.
Authorities did not produce Prabhu at the hearing during which Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Saiful Islam rejected the bail plea, according to Public Prosecutor Mofizul Haque Bhuiyan. Security was tight, with police and soldiers guarding the court.
Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee, a lawyer representing Prabhu, said they would appeal the decision.
The court rejected an earlier request for bail made while Prabhu did not have lawyers. Lawyers who sought to represent him at that hearing said they were threatened or intimidated, and many of them are facing charges related to the death of a Muslim lawyer when Prabhu was arrested in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, in November.
For Thursday’s hearing, 11 lawyers traveled from Dhaka, arriving and leaving with a security escort.
Hindu groups and other minority groups in Bangladesh and abroad have criticized the interim government led by Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus for undermining their security. Yunus and his supporters said that reports of attacks on Hindus and other groups since August have been exaggerated.
Prabhu’s arrest came as tensions spiked following reports of the desecration of the Indian flag in Bangladesh, with some burning it and others laying it on the floor for people to step on. Protesters in India responded in kind, attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh.
Prabhu is a spokesman for the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatan Jagaran Jote group. He was also associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, widely known as the Hare Krishna movement.
Truck bearing Daesh flag rams New Year’s revelers in New Orleans, killing 15
Driver identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, from Texas, who was deployed to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010
The FBI said a Daesh flag was found on the truck. It is working to determine his potential associations with terror groups
Updated 02 January 2025
AP
NEW ORLEANS: A US Army veteran driving a pickup truck that bore the flag of the Daesh group wrought carnage on New Orleans’ raucous New Year’s celebration, killing 15 people as he steered around a police blockade and slammed into revelers before being shot dead by police.
The FBI said it is investigating the attack early Wednesday as a terrorist act and does not believe the driver acted alone. Investigators found guns and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device in the vehicle, along with other devices elsewhere in the city’s famed French Quarter.
The rampage turned festive Bourbon Street into a macabre mayhem of maimed victims, bloodied bodies and pedestrians fleeing for safety inside nightclubs and restaurants. In addition to the dead, dozens of people were hurt. A college football playoff game at the nearby Superdome was postponed until Thursday.
Zion Parsons, 18, of Gulfport, Mississippi, said he saw the truck “barreling through, throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air.”
“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering,” said Parsons, whose friend Nikyra Dedeaux was among the people killed.
“This is not just an act of terrorism. This is evil,” New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said.
Ramming suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar. (FBI/Handout via REUTERS)
The driver “defeated” safety measures in place to protect pedestrians, Kirkpatrick said, and was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”
The FBI identified the driver as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a US citizen from Texas, and said it is working to determine his potential associations with terrorist organizations.
“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible,” FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said at a news conference.
Investigators found multiple improvised explosives, including two pipe bombs that were concealed within coolers and wired for remote detonation, according to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin obtained by The Associated Press.
The bulletin, relying on preliminary information gathered soon after the attack, also said surveillance footage showed three men and a woman placing one of the devices, but federal officials did not immediately confirm that detail and it wasn’t clear who they were or what connection they had to the attack, if any.
Jabbar drove a rented pickup truck onto a sidewalk, going around a police car that was positioned to block vehicular traffic, authorities. A barrier system meant to prevent vehicle attacks was being repaired in preparation for the Super Bowl in February.
Jabbar was killed by police after he exited the truck and opened fire on responding officers, Kirkpatrick said. Three officers returned fire. Two were shot and are in stable condition.
Investigators recovered a handgun and AR-style rifle, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Deadly explosions also rocked Honolulu and Las Vegas, though authorities haven’t said if they’re related to the New Orleans attack.
A photo circulated among law enforcement officials showed a bearded Jabbar wearing camouflage next to the truck after he was killed. The intelligence bulletin obtained by the AP said he was wearing a ballistic vest and helmet. The flag of the Daesh group was on the truck’s trailer hitch, the FBI said.
“For those people who don’t believe in objective evil, all you have to do is look at what happened in our city early this morning,” US Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said. “If this doesn’t trigger the gag reflex of every American, every fair-minded American, I’ll be very surprised.”
Jabbar joined the Army in 2007, serving on active duty in human resources and information technology and deploying to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, the service said. He transferred to the Army Reserve in 2015 and left in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.
Hours after the attack, several coroner’s office vans were parked on the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets, cordoned off by police tape with crowds of dazed tourists standing around, some trying to navigate their luggage through the labyrinth of blockades.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry urged people to avoid the area, which remained an active crime scene.
“We looked out our front door and saw caution tape and dead silence and it’s eerie,” said Tessa Cundiff, an Indiana native who moved to the French Quarter a few years ago. “This is not what we fell in love with, it’s sad.”
Nearby, life went on as normal in the city known to some for a motto that translates to “let the good times roll.” At a cafe a block from where the truck came to rest, people crowded in for breakfast as upbeat pop music played. Two blocks away, people drank at a bar, seemingly as if nothing happened.
President Joe Biden, speaking to reporters in Delaware, said he felt “anger and frustration” over the attack but that he would refrain from further comment until more is known.
“My heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday,” Biden said in a statement. “There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”
The attack is the latest example of a vehicle being used as a weapon to carry out mass violence, a trend that has alarmed law enforcement officials and that can be difficult to protect against.
If confirmed as Daesh-inspired, the attack would represent the deadliest such assault on US soil in years. FBI officials have repeatedly warned about an elevated international terrorism threat due to the Israel-Hamas war.
In the last year, the FBI has disrupted other potential attacks inspired by the militant group, including in October when agents arrested an Afghan man in Oklahoma accused of plotting an Election Day attack targeting large crowds.
South Korea police raid Jeju Air, Muan airport over fatal plane crash
The conversion of data from the Jeju Air 7C2216 cockpit voice recorder to audio file is expected to be completed by Friday
All 181 people on board the Jeju Air jet were killed on Sunday when crashed at Muan International Airport in the country’s southwest
Updated 02 January 2025
Reuters
SEOUL: South Korean police said on Thursday they had raided Jeju Air and Muan International Airport as part of its investigation into a passenger jet crash that killed 179 people on Sunday.
A Jeju Air spokesperson said it is checking the situation.
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok said on Thursday immediate action must be taken if a special inspection of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated in the country finds any issues as authorities ramp up a probe into Sunday’s deadly air crash.
The conversion of data from the Jeju Air 7C2216 cockpit voice recorder to audio file should be completed by Friday, Choi told a disaster management meeting, which could provide critical information on the final minutes of the doomed flight.
All 175 passengers and four of six crew members were killed on Sunday when the Jeju Air jet belly-landed at Muan International Airport in the country’s southwest and slammed into an earth-and-concrete embankment, bursting into flames.
Two crew members, located near the tail of the Boeing 737-800, survived.
“As there’s great public concern about the same aircraft model involved in the accident, the transport ministry and relevant organizations must conduct a thorough inspection of operation maintenance, education, and training,” Choi said.
Choi’s comments at the start of the meeting were provided by his office.
Questions by air safety experts on what led to the deadly explosion have focused on the embankment designed to prop up navigation equipment that they said may have been built too close to the end of the runway.
The aircraft’s flight data recorder, which sustained some damage, is being taken to the United States for analysis in cooperation with the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Investigators from the NTSB, US Federation Aviation Administration and the maker of the aircraft, Boeing, are in South Korea to help probe the worst air disaster in the country.
Choi asked no effort be spared in helping the families of the victims as the remains of those killed are handed over them. He also asked the police to take action against anyone posting “malicious” messages and fake news on social media related to the disaster.
Daesh-inspired driver expressed desire to kill before deadly New Orleans rampage, Biden says
Investigators found multiple improvised explosives, including two pipe bombs that were concealed within coolers and wired for remote detonation, say police
The attacker, identified as former US Army soldier Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was killed by police after he exited the truck and opened fire on responding officers
Updated 02 January 2025
AP
NEW ORLEANS: The US Army veteran who rammed a pickup truck on New Orleans’ raucous New Year’s celebration, was inspired by the Daesh group, US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday, hours after the attack that left 15 people dead.
The FBI said it is investigating the attack early Wednesday as a terrorist act and does not believe the driver acted alone. Investigators found guns and a Daesh flag on the truck, and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device in the vehicle, along with other devices elsewhere in the city’s famed French Quarter.
Biden said Wednesday evening that the FBI found videos that the driver had posted to social media hours before the attack in which he said he was inspired by the Daesh group and expressed a desire to kill.
The rampage turned festive Bourbon Street into a macabre mayhem of maimed victims, bloodied bodies and pedestrians fleeing for safety inside nightclubs and restaurants. In addition to the dead, dozens of people were hurt. A college football playoff game at the nearby Superdome was postponed until Thursday.
Zion Parsons, 18, of Gulfport, Mississippi, said he saw the truck “barreling through, throwing people like in a movie scene, throwing people into the air.”
“Bodies, bodies all up and down the street, everybody screaming and hollering,” said Parsons, whose friend Nikyra Dedeaux was among the people killed.
“This is not just an act of terrorism. This is evil,” New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said.
The driver “defeated” safety measures in place to protect pedestrians, Kirkpatrick said, and was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”
The FBI identified the driver as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a US citizen from Texas, and said it is working to determine his potential associations with terrorist organizations.
“We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible,” FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alethea Duncan said at a news conference.
Investigators found multiple improvised explosives, including two pipe bombs that were concealed within coolers and wired for remote detonation, according to a Louisiana State Police intelligence bulletin obtained by The Associated Press.
The bulletin, relying on preliminary information gathered soon after the attack, also said surveillance footage showed three men and a woman placing one of the devices, but federal officials did not immediately confirm that detail and it wasn’t clear who they were or what connection they had to the attack, if any.
Jabbar drove a rented pickup truck onto a sidewalk, going around a police car that was positioned to block vehicular traffic, authorities said. A barrier system meant to prevent vehicle attacks was being repaired in preparation for the Super Bowl in February.
Jabbar was killed by police after he exited the truck and opened fire on responding officers, Kirkpatrick said. Three officers returned fire. Two were shot and are in stable condition.
Investigators recovered a handgun and AR-style rifle, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
There were also deadly explosions in Honolulu and outside a Las Vegas hotel owned by President-elect Donald Trump. Biden said the FBI is looking into whether the Las Vegas explosion was connected to the New Orleans attack but had “nothing to report” as of Wednesday evening.
A photo circulated among law enforcement officials showed a bearded Jabbar wearing camouflage next to the truck after he was killed. The intelligence bulletin obtained by the AP said he was wearing a ballistic vest and helmet. The flag of the Daesh group was on the truck’s trailer hitch, the FBI said.
“For those people who don’t believe in objective evil, all you have to do is look at what happened in our city early this morning,” US Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said. “If this doesn’t trigger the gag reflex of every American, every fair-minded American, I’ll be very surprised.”
Jabbar joined the Army in 2007, serving on active duty in human resources and information technology and deploying to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, the service said. He transferred to the Army Reserve in 2015 and left in 2020 with the rank of staff sergeant.
Hours after the attack, several coroner’s office vans were parked on the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets, cordoned off by police tape with crowds of dazed tourists standing around, some trying to navigate their luggage through the labyrinth of blockades.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry urged people to avoid the area, which remained an active crime scene.
“We looked out our front door and saw caution tape and dead silence and it’s eerie,” said Tessa Cundiff, an Indiana native who moved to the French Quarter a few years ago. “This is not what we fell in love with, it’s sad.”
Nearby, life went on as normal in the city known to some for a motto that translates to “let the good times roll.” At a cafe a block from where the truck came to rest, people crowded in for breakfast as upbeat pop music played. Two blocks away, people drank at a bar, seemingly as if nothing happened.
Biden, speaking from the presidential retreat at Camp David, called the attack a “despicable” and “heinous act.” Addressing the victims and the people of New Orleans, he said: “I want you to know I grieve with you. Our nation grieves with you as you mourn and as you heal.”
“My heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday,” Biden said in a statement. “There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”
The attack is the latest example of a vehicle being used as a weapon to carry out mass violence and the deadliest IS-inspired assault on US soil in years.
FBI officials have repeatedly warned about an elevated international terrorism threat due to the Israel-Hamas war. In the last year, the agency has disrupted other potential attacks, including in October when it arrested an Afghan man in Oklahoma for an alleged Election Day plot targeting large crowds.
