UK children campaign raises tens of thousands for Turkiye-Syria earthquake orphans during Ramadan

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Updated 03 May 2023
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UK children campaign raises tens of thousands for Turkiye-Syria earthquake orphans during Ramadan

  • Pioneer Zaavier Khan, 12, also works with several charities
  • Projects include for food, clothing, mental health support

LONDON: A campaign launched by children in the British capital, London, to fundraise while fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has concluded, raising £34,000 ($42,000), organizers said.

The Ramadan Kids initiative, which was launched three years ago, had chosen this year to raise funds for orphans and children of the devastating Turkiye-Syria earthquakes that struck in February, killing over 59,000 people.

“This year we (did) a sale where all the restaurants that we’ve cooked with for the past two years, they are sponsoring us (and) giving us food to sell for charity,” Zaavier Khan told Arab News recently.

The 12-year-old began the campaign on his own in 2021 in east London to raise $5,000 for food parcels for UK-based charity Human Appeal and create awareness of food poverty in the UK. The following year he was joined by a 15-member squad to raise money for children’s mental health affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 “Last year, we were going to different restaurants while fasting and cooking to raise money and we had trips and workshops for the children, which provided them with a good fun time,” Khan said.

Nine-year-old Muhammad Zidane said it was his second year participating in the Ramadan Kids campaign and he was eager to help the children and families suffering in Turkiye and Syria.

“I think I’ve made a lot of money because people have given money and then we’ve sold all the sweets, the khujools (dates), and everything. So they’re all gone,” Zidane said.

Aiza Khoda, 8, who was taking part in the campaign for the first time, said she was no stranger to charity work as her family was heavily involved.

“I feel really happy that I’m part of it because when I saw that when we send the money to the orphanages, I think they’ll feel really happy because they’re going to get food and nice things to do,” she said.

“Some kids have lost their parents, and some of them have lost their whole family and some haven’t even got anyone to go to,” Khoda added.

She said that she would like to see more children join the campaign so they can raise more money for what they will be doing next year.

Twelve-year-old Zahra Patel, the eldest in the group, was also taking part for the second year, and said the situation in Turkiye and Syria was “quite sad” and it felt good to raise money to help them.

“I’d like for more people to know about it, for more kids to get involved in helping in the charity, and I’d like for it to be a more famous thing,” she added.

Alayna, Khan’s younger sister, said she enjoyed selling food, sweets, cakes and burgers to raise money for those who lost their parents, grandparents and siblings.

“My brother started this Ramadan campaign when I was like four, and when my mom first took me to (do) charity, I was so surprised because I thought she could never do this much work,” said the 6-year-old. “But then she let me do it too and I started getting used to it.”

The campaign partnered with UK-based mental health and bereavement charity Supporting Humanity and teamed up with Help Yateem, a non-profit international organization dedicated to supporting the orphans.

“We’ve been working with a lot of orphanages throughout the African region, but this will be an opportunity to help Supporting Humanity to deliver their aid in Turkiye and Syria for the kids that have been affected really enormously by the recent earthquake,” said Imtiaz Patel, international project manager at Help Yateem.

He said this was only the starting point, and they would personally go to both countries to deliver the aid to two orphanages, in collaboration with the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, who run them.

“There’s one orphanage, the larger orphanage — one of the largest in the entire world — which accommodates 990 orphans who have been affected by the Syrian war,” he said.

He also praised the enormous show of support from the local community, which demonstrates “how passionate they are and what the orphans actually mean to us.”

Patel’s brother, Idris, who is CEO of Supporting Humanity, said that through this project they are looking to see the different ways that the quakes have impacted the children and orphans mentally and physically.

“It is unbelievable because we’re going to be able to do work with them for mental health issues, could even be clothing or anything,” Idris, who is also Khoda’s uncle, said. “But we try to work in a way where we can try and change their life around, understand the issues and the impacts of either the war or the earthquake or anything else.”

Tahreem Noor, Zaavier and Alayna’s mother, said as usual, the concept was children raising money for children, and this year they are expected to make a difference to over 2,000 children.

“There’s so many children out there who need to become more humanitarian, and more interested in what’s going on in the world and give back — something that a lot of families don’t teach their children from a young age, they start teaching them a little later,” said Noor, who is also head of operations and communications at Supporting Humanity.

“You can see that they’ve become, they’re forming into good charitable humans who I can see in the future moving on to doing great things for the world, for charity and for humanity,” the mother of two added.

She said she believes children are becoming more aware of global issues due to accessibility, changes in social platforms and means of engagement, and more importantly, being able to identify these at a young age makes them more empathetic and compassionate.

Noor said the campaign “takes a different twist or turn every year since its inception and next year would like to propose to wider communities to take part in Ramadan Kids in their areas to contribute to causes.

“I think as long as we have Muslim children who are fasting, Ramadan Kids will go on forever and ever, and there’s no limit to how many children we can have or which city or country they can be based in,” she added.


Trump threatens Russia with tariffs if war on Ukraine isn’t resolved within 50 days

President Donald Trump speaks during the White House Faith Office luncheon in the State Dining Room, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP)
Updated 4 sec ago
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Trump threatens Russia with tariffs if war on Ukraine isn’t resolved within 50 days

  • “We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” the Republican president said
  • He said they would be “secondary tariffs,” meaning they would target Russia’s trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in global economy

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Monday he would punish Russia with tariffs if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days, the latest example of his growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump made the announcement during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
“We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” the Republican president said. He said they would be “secondary tariffs,” meaning they would target Russia’s trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy. “I use trade for a lot of things,” Trump added. “But it’s great for settling wars.” Besides the tariff threat, Trump and Rutte discussed a rejuvenated pipeline for US weapons. European allies plan to buy military equipment and then transfer them to Ukraine. Trump said there would be “billions and billions” of dollars purchased.
Rutte said Germany, Finland, Canada, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Denmark would be among the buyers to supply Ukraine. He said “speed is of the essence here,” and he said the shipments should make Putin “reconsider” peace negotiations.
Trump exasperated with Putin
Trump has long boasted of his friendly relationship with Putin, and after taking office in January repeatedly said that Russia was more willing than Ukraine to reach a peace deal. At the same time, Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of prolonging the war and called him a “dictator without elections.”
But Russia’s relentless onslaught against civilian areas of Ukraine wore down Trump’s patience. In April, Trump urged Putin to “STOP!” launching deadly barrages on Kyiv, and the following month said in a social media post that the Russian leader “has gone absolutely CRAZY!” as the bombardments continued.
“It just keeps going on and on and on,” Trump said on Monday. “Every night, people are dying.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, met with Zelensky in Kyiv on Monday.
Zelensky said he had “a productive conversation” with Kellogg about strengthening Ukrainian air defenses, joint arms production and purchasing US weapons in conjunction with European countries, as well as the possibility of tighter international sanctions on the Kremlin.
“We hope for the leadership of the United States, because it is clear that Moscow will not stop unless its ... ambitions are stopped by force,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
Talks on sending Patriot missiles
Russia has pounded Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, with hundreds of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles that Ukraine’s air defenses are struggling to counter. June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the past three years, with 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded, the UN human rights mission in Ukraine said. Russia launched 10 times more drones and missiles in June than in the same month last year, it said.
At the same time, Russia’s bigger army is making a new effort to drive back Ukrainian defenders on parts of the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.
Trump confirmed the US is sending Ukraine more badly needed Patriot air defense missiles and that the European Union will pay the US for the “various pieces of very sophisticated” weaponry.
While the EU is not allowed under its treaties to buy weapons, individual EU member countries can and are, just as NATO member countries are buying and sending weapons.
Germany has offered to finance two Patriot systems, government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said Monday in Berlin. As far as other European countries financing more systems is concerned, that would have to be seen in talks, he said.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was traveling to Washington on Monday to meet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Germany has already given three of its own Patriot systems to Ukraine, and Pistorius was quoted as saying in an interview with the Financial Times that it now has only six.
’Weapons flowing at a record level’
A top ally of Trump, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said Sunday that the conflict is nearing an inflection point as Trump shows growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back against Russia’s full-scale invasion. It’s a cause that Trump had previously dismissed as being a waste of US taxpayer money.
“In the coming days, you’ll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves,” Graham said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” He added: “One of the biggest miscalculations Putin has made is to play Trump. And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there’s going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table.”
Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s envoy for international investment who took part in talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia in February, dismissed what he said were efforts to drive a wedge between Moscow and Washington.
“Constructive dialogue between Russia and the United States is more effective than doomed-to-fail attempts at pressure,” Dmitriev said in a post on Telegram. “This dialogue will continue, despite titanic efforts to disrupt it by all possible means.”


Four confirmed dead in small plane crash at London regional airport

A plume of black smoke rises from an area near the runway after a small plane crash.
Updated 14 July 2025
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Four confirmed dead in small plane crash at London regional airport

  • Video footage had shown a 12-meter (39-feet) plane in flames with a plume of black smoke at Southend-on-Sea

LONDON: Four people were killed when a small plane crashed at a London regional airport at the weekend, UK police said on Monday.
The plane went down around 4:00 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Sunday, shortly after departing London Southend airport in southeast England for the Netherlands.
“Sadly, we can now confirm that all four people on board died,” Essex Police chief superintendent Morgan Cronin told reporters.
“We are working to officially confirm their identities. At this stage, we believe all four are foreign nationals,” he added.
Cronin said the force was interviewing dozens of witnesses, and detectives and forensic teams were working to “build an accurate picture of what happened.”
He added that the airport “will remain closed until further notice.”
Video footage had shown a 12-meter (39-feet) plane in flames with a plume of black smoke at Southend-on-Sea.
Police evacuated a nearby golf club and rugby club as a precaution.
According to the BBC, the plane was a Beechcraft B200.
Southend-on-Sea is about 65 kilometers (40 miles) east of the capital, and its airport is the sixth largest in the London area.


Japanese FM offers support for Palestine in talk with Salameh

Japanese Foreign Minister IWAYA Takeshi met with Estephan Anton Salameh, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation.
Updated 14 July 2025
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Japanese FM offers support for Palestine in talk with Salameh

  • Iwaya reiterates Japan’s support for a two-state solution for Palestine and its commitment to assisting Palestinian state-building efforts

TOKYO: Japanese Foreign Minister IWAYA Takeshi met with Estephan Anton Salameh, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation of Palestine, at CEAPAD IV and expressed his hope that the conference would contribute to promoting CEAPAD’s objectives of expanding assistance to Palestine.

The Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD IV) was held in Kuala Lumpur and Foreign Minister Iwaya reiterated Japan’s support for a two-state solution for Palestine and its commitment to assisting Palestinian state-building efforts.

According to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, Minister Salameh expressed his appreciation for Japan’s continued support for Palestine, including through its initiatives such as CEAPAD. He also elaborated on the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza, stating that an immediate ceasefire is essential for advancing Palestinian development.

Iwaya expressed deep concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza and stated that Japan has been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible.


Nigeria’s former leader Buhari to be buried on Tuesday, official says

Nigeria’s late former President Muhammadu Buhari will be buried in his northern home state of Katsina on Tuesday. (File/AP)
Updated 14 July 2025
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Nigeria’s former leader Buhari to be buried on Tuesday, official says

LAGOS: Nigeria’s late former President Muhammadu Buhari, who died in a London clinic on Sunday aged 82, will be buried in his northern home state of Katsina on Tuesday, the state governor said.
Buhari, a former military ruler after a coup in the 1980s, returned to frontline politics to become the first Nigerian president to oust an incumbent through the ballot box in 2015. He was re-elected for a second term four years later.
Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima and government officials were in London on Monday to organize the repatriation of the former president’s remains.
Katsina state governor Dikko Umaru Radda said after consultation with Buhari’s family it was agreed the body would arrive in Nigeria on Tuesday for burial the same day in his home town of Daura.
Among those who paid tribute to Buhari was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who posted on X platform that “his wisdom, warmth and unwavering commitment to India–Nigeria friendship stood out.”
Buhari earned a devoted following for his brand of anti-corruption conviction politics, especially in Nigeria’s largely Muslim north.
He referred to himself as a “converted democrat” and swapped his military uniform for kaftans and prayer caps.
Ibrahim Babangida, another former military ruler who toppled Buhari in a coup in 1985, said he knew Buhari as a deeply spiritual and humble man.
“We may not have agreed on everything — as brothers often don’t — but I never once doubted his sincerity or his patriotism,” Babangida said in a statement.
After leaving office in 2023, Buhari spent most of his time in Daura, away from the public eye.
His successor Bola Tinubu inherited a country grappling with double digit inflation, foreign exchange shortages, economic hardship, low oil production and insecurity that had spread to most parts of Nigeria.
Buhari’s supporters, however, viewed him as Nigeria’s conscience because he had a reputation for shunning the corruption and ostentatious lifestyles often associated with the country’s political elites.
To his critics, Buhari was “an absentee landlord — a leader who governed by delegation, who disappeared for long stretches (often to London for medical treatment), and whose aloofness felt like abandonment,” the local BusinessDay newspaper said.


111 monsoon-related deaths in Pakistan since late June: disaster agency

A man along with a child carrying umbrellas walks along a street during monsoon rains in Islamabad on July 14, 2025. (AFP)
Updated 14 July 2025
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111 monsoon-related deaths in Pakistan since late June: disaster agency

  • Data from the national disaster agency between June 26 and July 14 showed that electrocution was the leading cause of fatalities, followed by flash floods

ISLAMABAD: Monsoon rains in Pakistan have been linked to more than 110 deaths including dozens of children since they arrived in late June, according to government figures released Monday.
Data from the national disaster agency between June 26 and July 14 showed that electrocution was the leading cause of fatalities, followed by flash floods.
In late June, at least 13 tourists were swept to their deaths while sheltering from flash floods on a raised river bank.
In its latest report, the disaster agency said 111 people including 53 children have been killed, with the highest number of deaths in the most populous province of Punjab.
Meanwhile, the national meteorological service has issued a warning for further heavy rainfall in the northern and eastern regions of the country, with the potential for urban flooding, landslides, and infrastructure damage due to strong winds.
Monsoon season brings South Asia 70 to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, arriving in early June in India and late June in Pakistan, and lasting through until September.
The annual rains are vital for agriculture and food security, and the livelihoods of millions of farmers.
But it brings with it flooding, landslides and causes buildings to collapse.
South Asia is getting hotter and in recent years has seen shifting weather patterns, but scientists are unclear on how exactly a warming planet is affecting the highly complex monsoon.
Pakistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, and its 240 million residents are facing extreme weather events with increasing frequency.
In 2022, unprecedented monsoon floods submerged a third of Pakistan and killed 1,700 people, with some areas yet to recover from the damage.
In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms, including strong hailstorms.