MOSCOW: Residents angry over recent power cuts in southern Russia staged a rare public protest on Saturday in the city of Krasnodar, posts on social media said, as the local governor blamed a heatwave for causing the blackouts.
The south of Russia has been affected by unusually hot weather that has caused mass power outages in several regions and led to the shutdown earlier this week of one of four power units at the Rostov nuclear power plant, the region’s largest.
The unit has been put back into operation since then.
“There has been abnormal heat in the Krasnodar region for a week now. The load on the energy system is colossal. I know and understand all the indignation of residents due to power outages,” Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of Krasnodar region, said on the Telegram messaging app.
He said power capacities were not currently sufficient to meet peak demand during the hot summer months.
One video posted on the Baza Telegram channel appeared to show police making at least two arrests during Saturday’s protest.
Russian authorities have clamped down on any protest activity, especially politically laced dissent, since the start of the conflict with Ukraine in February 2022, and public protests are very rare given the risk of arrest.
Residents protest over power cuts in southern Russian city
https://arab.news/zmqrv
Residents protest over power cuts in southern Russian city
- One video posted on the Baza Telegram channel appeared to show police making at least two arrests during Saturday’s protest
Trump, Carney say they had a productive call; Canadian tariffs still coming
Carney has said that Trump’s threat of tariffs is a betrayal of a once close economic and security relationship
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday had a conversation that both men described as productive, although the Canadian leader said Ottawa would be imposing retaliatory tariffs next week as promised.
The phone call was the first contact since Carney won the leadership of Canada’s ruling Liberals on March 9. Carney has said that Trump’s threat of tariffs is a betrayal of a once close economic and security relationship.
“It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canada’s upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
That work “will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada,” he added. Carney on Thursday vowed to transform Canada’s economy to be less dependent on the United States. Trump’s tariff announcement is expected on April 2. Ottawa has made clear for months that it will impose countermeasures.
“The Prime Minister informed the President that his government will implement retaliatory tariffs to protect Canadian workers and our economy, following the announcement of additional US trade actions on April 2, 2025,” Carney’s office said in a statement.
The United States and its northern neighbor have long been close allies and trading partners. But relations deteriorated after Trump, a Republican who took office in January, upended the relationship with tariff threats and repeated comments about annexing the country.
Trump referred to Carney as the Canadian prime minister rather than as the governor of the 51st US state, the term he often used to describe former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Carney said the two leaders had agreed to begin comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship immediately after an election on April 28.
Malaysian couple completes Ramadan fasting journey through Asia to perform Umrah
- Farhan Mokhali and Ainaa Fakhira crossed seven countries on the way to Saudi Arabia
- On the last day of Ramadan, they are traveling to Malaysia to celebrate Eid at home
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian backpackers who traveled through seven countries to reach Saudi Arabia for Umrah have completed their 30-day Ramadan journey, fasting with Muslim communities they visited along the way.
Farhan Mokhali, 28, and Ainaa Fakhira, 27, started their journey from Padang Besar, a town bordering Thailand in the northern part of the Malaysian state of Perlis.
“The inspiration and idea solely came from Ainaa. She is the one who has always dreamed of being a backpacker and traveling around the world since she was a teenager,” Mokhali told Arab News.
“After several years of postponing the dream, in 2025 she decided to pursue it because she didn’t want to wait any longer.”
From Hatyai on the other side of the border, they reached Bangkok and traveled to Vientiane in Laos, from where they crossed to Kunming in China and traveled to Xi’an and further to Khorgos, where they entered Kazakhstan.
There the land journey had to end when they faced problems in obtaining visas to Turkmenistan and Syria.
Within 30 days, they visited seven countries, taking 10 trains, three buses and two aeroplanes.
Self-employed and running a media startup, they kept on working during their travel, which they estimate cost them about $4,300 in total.
While the journey took place during Ramadan, both kept on fasting as they experienced the cultures of various Muslim communities that they met on their way.
“We camped in the snow in negative temperatures and hiked 15 km during snowfall just to experience the Altyn Arashan hot springs while fasting in Kyrgyzstan. We loved every part of this journey since it gave us the chance to spend more quality time together and learn a lot of new things,” Mokhali said.
“We are also thankful to have had the opportunity to experience the beauty of Ramadan in other countries. We experienced different cultures, like iftar with the locals, Taraweeh at different mosques in several countries, and many more Ramadan traditions.”
Last week they reached Madinah, from where they traveled to Makkah to complete their pilgrimage.
It was the best part of their journey because they could experience Umrah together, Mokhali said, as they packed to return home on Saturday, right before the end of the fasting month.
“We are going to celebrate Eid in Malaysia,” he added. “We are going back to Malaysia tomorrow. We haven’t experienced Ramadan in our country this year yet.”
Sweet treat: Peshawar store shares secrets of the ‘most beautiful’ shakes in town
- Ameer Sahib Juice Shop’s offerings — served in glasses decorated with nuts and dried fruit — have become an iftar favorite
- Customers from around Pakistan pay up to $6 to enjoy drinks’ unique presentation, flavor
PESHAWAR: Mohammed Ibrahim stood in his store, Ameer Sahib Juice Shop, earlier this month and fixed whole pistachios, cashew nuts, almonds, walnuts, and raisins to a large milkshake glass covered in a gooey paste.
He was preparing the glass for what many in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar describe as the “most unique” and “most beautifully presented” shakes in town.
Ibrahim and his brother, Ismail, co-owners of the shop they set up in 2005, grind dates, honey, and chocolate to prepare a soft and sticky paste that they carefully apply on the outside of each glass before the dried fruits are applied. The end product is a glass that looks like it is made entirely of dried fruit.
Into the glass are poured thick shakes made from a variety of seasonal fruits, with more edible decorations added on top to finish the offering. The drinks have become a social media hit, and are loved by customers who throng the shop in Ramadan and throughout the rest of the year.
“It takes at least 15-20 minutes to prepare the glass,” Ibrahim told Arab News at Peshawar’s historic Namak Mandi, where his store is located. “We make it in the morning and serve it at iftar time.”
Different sizes of the shakes retail for between $2 and $6, expensive for a city like Peshawar. But many people are still willing to pay due to the drinks’ unique presentation and taste.
“People from different parts of the country come for this dried fruit juice,” Ibrahim said, saying he regularly served customers from cities across KP province, as well as from the Punjab province and the federal capital, Islamabad.
Ayub Sher, a resident of KP’s Bajaur district who works in Peshawar, visited Ibrahim’s shop last week and was full of praise for the shakes.
“We came here to try this juice and to see if it has taste or not. When we tried it, we found it that it is fantastic,” he told Arab News as he scooped some of the thick shake out of the glass with a long spoon.
“Forget about the taste, we haven’t seen any juice presented to us this beautifully.”
Trump thanks Muslim supporters during White House iftar
- Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US Princess Reema bint Bandar among the guests
- US president thanks Muslims who voted for him in election
LONDON: Donald Trump thanked the “hundreds of thousands” of Muslim Americans who helped to elect him president as he hosted an iftar at the White House on Thursday.
The event was attended by Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US Princess Reema bint Bandar along with other representatives from Muslim countries, the Muslim community in America, and senior administration officials.
“I want to extend a very special thanks to the hundreds of thousands of Muslim Americans who supported us in record numbers in the 2024 presidential election,” Trump said. “It was incredible. We started a little slow with you, but we came along and by the time that election was finished we went up like a rocket ship.”
“The Muslim community was there for us in November, and while I’m president, I will be there for you,” he added.
Angered by the US approach to the war in Gaza, many Muslim voters abandoned support for the Democrats in November’s election, switching instead to Trump or other candidates.
The Arab American and Muslim vote helped Trump to win Michigan — a key swing state.
Trump thanked two Muslim mayors from Michigan, Bill Bazzi and Amer Ghalib, who endorsed his campaign and attended the iftar. They have now been appointed ambassadors to Tunisia and Kuwait, respectively.
The president also used his address at the iftar to highlight his administration’s efforts to bring an end to the war in Gaza. His team helped to broker a ceasefire in January, although Israel resumed attacks on Gaza last week.
“My administration is engaged in relentless diplomacy to forging lasting peace in the Middle East, building on the historic Abraham Accords, which everybody said would be impossible, and now we’re going to start filling them out,” he said.
The Abraham Accords were a series of normalization agreements reached during Trump’s first term between Israel and Arab countries the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
Trump also used the occasion to reflect on the importance of Ramadan for Muslims around the world.
“To our Muslim friends, I look forward to working with each of you to achieve a brighter and more hopeful future,” Trump said.
Posting on X, Princess Reema said that she was honored to attend the iftar.
“Grateful for his (Trump’s) kind invitation and thoughtful gesture toward the Muslim community,” she said. “It’s a testament to the spirit of friendship and cooperation that brings our nations together.”
Four policemen, two militants killed in gunbattle in Indian-administered Kashmir
- The encounter this week took place in a forested part of the Kathua area, near India’s border with Pakistan
- Both Pakistan, India claim Kashmir in full but rule in part, and have fought two of their three wars over it
SRINAGAR: At least four police personnel and two militants were killed in a gunbattle in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, an official said on Friday, as troops searched for heavily armed men who local residents had spotted in the area on Sunday.
Militants have for decades fought security forces in the region, known for its scenic lakes, lush meadows, and snow-topped mountains, resulting in the death of thousands of people, though violence has tapered off in recent years.
Government data shows 14 security personnel were killed in such violence in the first half of 2024, and 30 died in 2023.
Kashmir has also been at the heart of over 70 years of hostility between India and Pakistan, both of which claim it in full but rule it in part, and have fought two of their three wars over it.
The encounter this week took place in a forested part of the Kathua area, near India’s border with Pakistan, where the men were spotted last week.
“We have recovered bodies of three police men and have also spotted the body of another cop and two militants lying in the forest,” the official, who did not want to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media, told Reuters.
Arms and ammunition, including two grenades, a bulletproof jacket, empty shells and some magazines of assault rifles were also recovered from the area, the official said.
Police and the army are yet to reveal the number of those killed in the operation, but the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, said in a post on X that “several terrorists” had been “neutralized” in the encounter.
“I bow to the valorous martyrs of J&K (Jammu and Kashmir) Police, who laid down their lives for our motherland...Operation in progress,” he added.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government had, in 2019, revoked the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir — India’s only Muslim-majority region — and split it into two federally administered territories.
“No power in the world” could restore the region’s special status, Modi said in November.
