Miraj un Nabi (saw) Celebrated At Masjid Anwar e Madina in Surrey

On Feb 11, The annual Meraj un Nabi(SAW) program was held at Masjid Anware Madina, Surrey. The program started with a beautiful recitation of the Quran followed by a Naats. Then the youngsters read naat with zikr, and the entire Masjid was swaying in spiritualism, the MC said a few words regarding tonight’s spiritual program about Miraj un Nabi(saw). Maulana Saiyad Imroz Dean Naqshbani Saify presented his bayan on the topic of “ Prophet Mohammad’s Muqaam e Abdiyat” and it was once again, filled with deep knowledge and wisdom, explained clearly from the Quran and Hadiths. He also said about Prophet Mohammad’s(saw)

Scientific Miracles In The Quran – Quran And Science

By: Abdullah Ansari

Among the miracles of the Holy Quran is its preservation, which is unlike that of any other Holy Book.

It’s an established fact that the Quran remains in its original form, free of any corruption by human beings. This guarantees that every word within it was revealed over 14 centuries ago. Hence, there can be no dispute over the fact that the numerous scientific facts in the Quran were revealed to our Prophet (PBUH) many centuries before being corroborated by modern science.

There’s no denying that science was archaic and thoroughly outdated at the time of our Prophet (PBUH), in comparison to the present. Certainly, there were none of today’s technological marvels that aid science available in that era. There were no telescopes, microscopes, etc. in the 7th century! Therefore, what were the odds of an illiterate desert-dweller like Muhammad (PBUH) producing the scientific miracles of the Quran?

Verily, the only plausible answer is that he received a revelation from God. It wasn’t conceivable for the advanced science in the Quran to originate from a man in the seventh century. The remarkable preservation of the Quran, by virtue of the memorization and recording of its text, makes it clear that none of its scientific miracles were added separately, after the Prophet’s (PBUH) demise. We will now cover some scientific examples of miracles in the Quran. Source: quranforkids.com incident of Meraj e Mustafa (SAW) in detail of all Prophets meeting at each step towards Arsh e Muhallah with references to the Quran Surah Adh-Dhuha Verses 36 “Thy Guardian-Lord hath not forsaken thee, nor is He displeased”. “And verily the Hereafter will be better for thee than the present.” And soon will thy Guardian-

Lord give thee (that wherewith) thou shalt be well-pleased. Did He not find thee an orphan and give thee shelter (and care)? He After his bayaan, salaam, and durood presentation were led by all guest members, Duaa for all the Muslims in the world was done. Everyone left after having a very delicious and satisfying dinner.

Canadian military says it has tracked, stopped China surveillance in Arctic waters

OTTAWA - The Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces confirm that they are aware of recent efforts by China to conduct surveillance operations in Canadian airspace and waters.

Spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier said in a statement that the armed forces have tracked and stopped attempts to surveil Canadian territory since 2022 under Operation LIMPID. “To ensure the integrity of operations, we are unable to provide further information at this time,” he said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said in an interview on CNN Wednesday morning that China is an increasingly disruptive power. She said Canada will work with Norad to protect North American airspace and take a strong stance on Canada’s Arctic sovereignty as more reports of foreign interference emerge. “When it comes to China, we will challenge China when we ought to, and we will co-operate with China when we need to,” she said. “When it comes to issues over the Arctic within our maritime borders, or any form of foreign interference, we will be clear, and that’s how we will address this issue.” Her comments come after the Globe and Mail newspaper reported that the Canadian military had detected Chinese monitoring buoys in the Arctic. That revelation follows the U.S. decision to shoot down what was confirmed to be a Chinese high-altitude balloon early this month. China’s government denied it was a spy device. Three other high-altitude objects were shot down over North America in the days that followed, but U.S. President Joe Biden has said that there is nothing to suggest these additional objects were related to what he described as “China’s spy balloon program.” Adam Lajeunesse, an assistant professor at St. Francis Xavier University who specializes in Canadian Arctic marine security, said it isn’t clear right now what kind of instrumentation would be present in the Chinese buoys.

Source: ctvnews.ca

Trudeau knocks Poilievre’s ‘simplistic’ call to close Roxham Road

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is knocking Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s call for the federal government to close the Roxham Road irregular border crossing in Quebec as a “simplistic solution,” saying the best approach is to renegotiate the CanadaU.S. migrant pact known as the Safe Third Country Agreement. “Could somebody put up barricades and a big wall? Yes. If Pierre Poilievre wants to build a wall at Roxham Road, someone could do that. The problem is we have 6,000 kilometres worth of undefended shared border with the United States, and… people will choose to cross elsewhere,” Trudeau said Wednesday. “The only way to effectively shut down not just

Roxham Road, but the entire border, to these irregular crossings is to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement, which is serious work that we are doing as a government right now.” On Tuesday, Poilievre called for the federal government to present a plan to close the crossing at Roxham Road along the Quebec-New York border within a month, suggesting it can be done as it was for some time during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a press conference on the topic, the Conservative leader accused Trudeau of encouraging irregular crossings there, after failing to find a solution for years. “If we are a real country, we have borders. And if this is a real prime minister, he is responsible for those borders,” Poilievre said. “He’s had six years since the influx began. It is his job to close the border and we’re calling him to do it.” The prime minister said Wednesday that while “simplistic solutions” won’t be how it’s done, the government has for years -- alongside the U.S. -- been looking at ways to completely but compassionately close off all irregular crossings. Source: ctvnews.ca

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said the cabinet members, politicians and bureaucrats will not be allowed to retain gifts worth more than $300 (around Rs80,000), as he promised to make the entire record of Toshakhana available to public. “No one would be allowed to retain state gifts worth more than $300,” the prime minister said in a press conference at Prime Minister House after the cabinet meeting. “Record of Toshakhana will be brought before the public, as the official website [of the cabinet division] will provide details about foreign gifts and will be accessible to all,” he added. According to the premier, judges and the armed forces do not provide details of gifts, which they receive on official tours, to the state gift repository. Only the president, prime minister, parliamentarians, cabinet members and bureaucrats follow the practice, he added. Responding to a question about recent audio leak of a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, the PM said the audio has proved partiality of some judges against his party — Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz

(PML-N). “We respect the judiciary but if any partiality is being committed, we cannot keep our eyes shut. We demand that our cases should not be referred to the judges whose behaviour is prejudiced against us,” the PM said. He said the judiciary had regularised Imran Khan’s Banigala house while it ignored the demolition of poor’s houses by the former prime minister. In a question regarding general elections scheduled to be held in October, the PM said holding of elections was a constitutional requirement. About elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the prime minister said the caretaker governments of the two provinces have not presented their stance on polls as of yet. “It is not in my domain,” he added....Source: dawn.com

6.8-magnitude quake hits eastern Tajikistan: USGS

China, about 67 kilometres from the small mountain town of Murghob.

OTTAWA -- An accused extremist recruiter is returning to the Ontario Superior Court on Thursday and is expected to plead guilty to terrorism offences, eight years after he was first charged. Awso Peshdary’s criminal trial had been on hold pending a decision in Federal Court, where his lawyers were arguing that charges should be dropped because Canada’s spy agency was authorized to surveil him based on misleading information. The Federal Court has not yet made a ruling, but Peshdary’s lawyers have now filed a motion with the criminal court to have the matter dealt with. They say their client is now prepared to plead guilty, and the defence is submitting a joint application with the Crown to proceed directly to sentencing.

Peshdary was arrested on terrorism-related charges in February 2015, based on allegations that he recruited and financed homegrown terrorists and helped Islamic

State militants travel to Syria. His case has dragged on in court while lawyers representing him, the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service debated what evidence was admissible and could be disclosed in the proceedings.

Peshdary, who was 25 at the time of his arrest, has been held in custody since 2015. He has spent most of that time at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre. Source: ctvnews.ca

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit eastern Tajikistan on Thursday, the US Geological Survey said. The quake struck around 5:37 am local time (0037 GMT) at a depth of about 20.5 kilometres (12.7 miles).

The USGS estimated that “little or no population” would be exposed to landslides from the quake. Its epicentre appeared to be in Gorno-Badakhshan, a semi-autonomous eastern region that borders Afghanistan and

A 5.0-magnitude aftershock hit the area about 20 minutes after the initial quake, followed by a 4.6-magnitude quake. The sparsely populated territory is surrounded by the towering Pamir Mountains and is home to Lake Sarez. The aquamarine-coloured body of water — formed as a result of an earthquake in 1911 — is among Tajikistan’s largest lakes. Located behind Lake Sarez is a natural dam deep in the Pamir mountains, and experts have warned the consequences will be catastrophic if the dam is breached.

Tajikistan — like much of the rest of Central Asia — is highly prone to natural disasters and has a long history of floods, earthquakes, landslides, avalanches and heavy snowfalls. Earlier this month, nine people died in a February 15 avalanche in Gorno-Badakhshan, while another person was killed the same day in an avalanche on a highway near the capital Dushanbe. Source: dawn.com

Irked by ‘interference’, NAB chairman quits office

ISLAMABAD: After serving for eight months, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Aftab Sultan resigned on Tuesday, citing “interference” and “pressure”. Although Mr Sultan did not elaborate who was pressuring him, the main opposition PTI claimed he was being coerced to file corruption references against their chief Imran Khan. Mr Sultan had sent his resignation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif which was subsequently accepted, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) confirmed. He was appointed by the incumbent government in July 2022 after retired Justice Javed Iqbal relinquished charge as NAB chairman. Aftab Sultan says never ‘bowed to any pressure’; PTI wants in on talks to choose next head of accountability watchdog “The chairman National Accountability Bureau, Aftab Sultan presented his resignation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif citing personal reasons. The PM appreciated the services of Aftab Sultan and lauded his honesty and uprightness. Upon his insistence, the prime minister reluctantly accepted his resignation,” an official PMO press release said. Following Mr Sultan’s resignation, NAB Deputy Chairman Zahir Shah has been given the acting charge as chairman.

‘Never bowed to pressure’

Soon after his resignation, Mr Sultan held a farewell meeting with NAB officers.

According to a press release issued by NAB, Mr Sultan expressed satisfaction at upholding “his principles” and not bowing to any “pressure”. “I can neither initiate a false case nor drop an established reference merely because the culprit was related to some big shot,” the press release quoted Mr Sultan as saying, without mentioning any specific case. He said that throughout his professional career, he tried to act according to the law and never compromised on his principles. He said continuity of the political process and elections were essential. The former NAB chief said he had complete faith in the bureau’s young officers to uphold high moral values and rule of law.

Source:dawnnews.com

The increasing presence of media in our everyday life cannot be denied. It is not uncommon today to be watching TV while scrolling through news on your smartphone or tablet with online streaming playing in the background.

While digital media is overtaking print media, print media has been transitioning to electronic editions, and accessible technology has made such bridging easier.

Malcolm X once said,

“The media is the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.”

The role of media is being defined and redefined constantly as people around the world gain access to various types of media.

Media has been applauded for promoting free speech and at the same time accused of inciting violence and spreading propaganda.

It is a fine line that all media outlets, regardless of the audience, need to walk all the time.

The Miracle Media Group has been very conscious of this need for balance from day 1.

Twenty Two years ago, the environment in which the newspaper was launched was quite different than today. This was pre-9/11, and the ideals on which the newspaper was founded were giving Muslims a voice in the mainstream through their own platform and promoting the community while bringing harmony among all communities in Canada.

Circumstances changed in less than a year and Muslims all over the world found themselves on the defence, protecting their families, fighting hate crimes, negative portrayals in the mainstream media while trying to increase the awareness about Islam and Muslims.

At that time, the role of Muslim media become more pivotal than ever as it was incumbent on them to use all their means to combat ignorance, and discriminatory attitude of some powerful mainstream media.

As Muslims are legally entitled to proceed in an organized manner to protect their faith, their media too is equally entitled to publish literature to give the true picture to the public regardless of ethnicity, colour or creed. The fact is media is always bound by a code of ethics to continue as competitive and credible under all circumstances.

A successful journalist has to be conscientious, because presenting the distorted facts is unethical and unlawful.

Fortunately, the Muslim media of today has genuine encouragement to become more and more assertive with an improved degree of confidence. In other words, they are more involved and getting closer to be competitive even in the commercially focused media market.

Better late than never, the Muslims are comfortable to troubleshoot the negative status quo through their own electronic and print media. They are catching up gradually and hopefully would be able to free the Canadian audience of Islamophobia. Misreporting, exaggerating, or ignoring coverage for the Muslims did lead to the formation of such independent voice of Muslim community through their own print and electronic media throughout Canada. Moreover, utilizing Muslim friendly apparatus, pro-Islamic media advocates may go ahead with repairing the tarnished image of Islam. Regularly airing of the constructive interfaith dialogues can be further fruitful.

The Miracle Media Group has strived to uphold these ideas. While it has not been a perfect journey, we are constantly learning from our mistakes and building on our experiences.

Over the past 22 years, the landscape has changed within the BC Muslim Community. The community has grown exponentially, and various media outlets are now representing the community and different viewpoints. In the spirit of unity and harmony, The BC Muslim Electronic and Print Media Think Tank formed a Canadian Muslim Media Club (CMMC) in 2019. The Miracle Media Group is one of its key members and being a President term of 2023-24 of CMMC we committed to taking action.

As Muslim media reaches full force on daily basis, the Muslim youth would be encouraged to benefit, preserve, and strengthen their Islamic identity.

In addition to the print media, a daily Muslim presence in the broadcast media and the internet would correct the anti-Islam feelings among the non-Muslim Canadians. We seen Muslim female journalists like Ginella Massa on television, hosting a prime-time show on Canada’s own CBC and breaking the glass ceiling for Muslims, in particular, hijab-wearing Muslim sisters.

Progress cannot happen in a vacuum. The community continues to work together to strengthen its voice and representation in the media. Whether it is supporting through advertising in free newspapers, writing for a Muslim publication or reading a newspaper and sharing your feedback and suggestions, we all have a part to play in strengthening Muslim Media. Meanwhile, Muslim media should continue to focus on achieving the goal of nation building based on balanced truthful journalism on merit. Together, everything is possible.

Waan Laysa Lil Insana illa ma’ sa’aa That man can have nothing but what he strives for.

By: Misbah Naseer Asst. Miracle Editor

PTI top brass bundled off to Kot Lakhpat

• Asad Umar, Qureshi, Ejaz Chaudhry among leaders sent to prison on first day of ‘court arrest drive’

• Police say 81 jailed for violating Section 144; Fawad claims ‘500-700’ workers courted arrest

LAHORE: On the first day of the ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’ launched by the Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf (PTI), at least “81 party supporters”, including members of its top brass, were rounded up by the police and moved to Kot Lakhpat jail after they courted arrest at Charing Cross on The Mall, on Wednesday.

Party supporters had moved in a convoy, led by Dr Yasmin Rashid, and reached Charing Cross via Jail Road, where they staged a sit-in and chanted slogans against the federal and the Punjab governments. Videos circulated on social media showed a large number of PTI workers who had thronged the site of the sit-in in front of the Punjab Assembly. he PTI workers had also brought a “dummy jail” to Charing Cross. Some workers stood inside the cage and gave interviews to media persons on the party policy towards the movement. A police official was also seen with a megaphone asking PTI workers to board a prison van if they wanted to turn themselves in. Another video shared by the PTI workers showed PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Secretary General Asad Umar, former governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, former minister Murad Raas, Senator Azam Swati, and Senator Walid Iqbal sitting in a prison van after they allegedly forced their way through. : Dawn

Extreme cold, deep snow for Western Canada as East braces for ice, freezing rain

Most of Canada is under warnings from Environment Canada on Tuesday, principally due to two weather systems. A messy winter snow and ice storm is heading toward Ontario, with most of the Prairies and northern parts of Canada under extreme cold and winter storm warnings.

A double-barreled storm, fuelled by an “Alberta Clipper” and then a “Colorado low,” is expected to bring high ice accumulation totals to the southern half of Ontario and higher snow totals to the northeast.. The Alberta Clipper, a low-pressure storm system that moves from the west, will im- pact northern Ontario communities overnight on Tuesday. The system from Colorado brings lowpressure Wednesday evening, to the southern half of the province with snow and freezing rain expected.As the two systems head to Eastern Canada, many provinces including B.C. and the Prairies are buried under snow and subject to extreme cold warnings issued by Environment Canada.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

On the West Coast, “winter is not over,” said Armel Castellan, warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada said to CTV News Vancouver as the agency issued winter storm warnings across the B.C. interior.

The Pacific frontal system is expected to bring snow accumulation of 20 to 25 centimetres to the Fraser Valley, Okanagan Valley, East Columbia, and Fraser Canyon.The storm is expected to taper off by Tuesday afternoon, but “light snow will continue through tonight,” the Environment Canada website reads.Environment Canada urged residents to postpone non-essential travel along all highway mountain passes in the area.

Source: ctvnews.ca

Canada’s annual inflation rate slowed in January but grocery prices remain high

OTTAWA - The annual inflation rate slowed more than expected in January, suggesting the Bank of Canada will stick to its decision to pause interest rate hikes as an overheated economy cools. In its consumer price index report released Tuesday, Statistics Canada said the deceleration in headline inflation to to 5.9 per cent in January from 6.3 per cent in December reflects a base-year effect. A base-year effect refers to the impact of price movements from a year ago on the calculation of the year-over-year inflation rate. OTTAWA - The annual inflation rate slowed more than expected in January, suggesting the Bank of Canada will stick to its deci- sion to pause interest rate hikes as an overheated economy cools.

In its consumer price index report released Tuesday, Statistics Canada said the deceleration in headline inflation to to 5.9 per cent in January from 6.3 per cent in December reflects a base-year effect. A base-year effect refers to the impact of price movements from a year ago on the calculation of the year-over-year inflation rate. Extreme drought makes cattle farmers thin herds, could cause future supply problems

High gas prices may have curbed downward inflation trend in January: economists

‘Canadian cannabis is in peril’: Industry leaders call on feds to help Home sales in Canada had their worst January since 2009: report

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IM portant note: Letters to the editor and Articles do not reflect the opinion of the Miracle media group. We do not publish anonymous letters or the letters of the people who do not disclose their identity to ‘The Miracle.’ A writer can use a pen name or request ‘The Miracle’ to withhold his / her identity. Please include your daytime telephone number for the confirmation of your letter. We regret the inconvenience.

Cost-of-living

crisis:

Canadian musicians struggling to keep up with high inflation

Profit slips for Tim Hortons restaurant owners amid high commodity costs, inflation Consumer Price Index, January 2023

Given much of the acceleration in price growth happened in the first half of 2022 as the threat of Russia invading Ukraine turned into a reality, the federal agency said the annual inflation rate will continue to slow in the coming months.

The last time Canada’s annual inflation rate was below six per cent was in February 2022 when it was 5.7 per cent.The headline rate came in lower in January than many commercial banks were anticipating in their forecasts, signalling good news for the Bank of Canada. S.ctvnews.ca

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The Miracle requests to all readers to respect any published Islamic material including Allah’s name and Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and quranic verses. Please recycle those pages and avoid throw them in the garbage. Miracle

The ‘complicated’ train ride that brought Biden into Ukraine

Ukraine’s national railway company has a catchy slogan, delivered with considerable pride: “Trains on time.” It’s a remarkable achievement considering the airborne terror unleashed on this country by Russia.

Through it all, with stations bombed, tracks destroyed, and employees killed, the trains never stopped. They’ve carried millions of refugees to safety, packing trains around the clock, and every time a Ukrainian city or town is liberated, the familiar blue and yellow cars soon arrive to pick up passengers. Not for nothing do people call the country’s rail workers “Ukraine’s second army.”

Joe Biden knows and loves trains. For years when he was a U.S. senator, he took the train every night from Washington, D.C., to Delaware to be with his family. And suddenly, there he was again, back on board, only this time as U.S. President Biden, rolling into war-ravaged Ukraine.

As you might expect, his train had casually been dubbed “Rail Force One.”

The head of Ukrainian Railways, Alexander Kamyshin, issued a series of proud tweets as soon as Biden was safely back in Poland. Among them was a stylized image of a modern locomotive, bearing shiny blue and yellow stripes, with an American flag blowing in the wind.

“Out of 24 hours, president Biden spent 20 on the train (both directions) and only 4 in Kyiv. That’s why it was important for us to care about him in a proper way. And we did,” Kamyshin tweeted Tuesday. He was very coy about how it all came together. “I will not tell you much more about this mission. Just believe me, it was quite a complicated project for us.” Secrecy was paramount. After covertly flying to Poland, Biden was driven to Przemyśl Główny station on the border for the long and plodding journey to Kyiv. A White House pool reporter filled in the details.

According to the pooler, the train had approximately eight cars and most were occupied by a “heavy security presence.”..

Source: ctvnews.ca

Xi Jinping to visit Moscow for summit with Putin:

Panic injures many as traumatised Syria hit by new earthquakes

People in northwest Syria are ‘traumatised’ and still reeling from the February 6 quakes that killed more than 4,000 in Syria. Fear and panic caused the most injuries in northwest Syria when two new earthquakes hit on Monday evening, just two weeks after the catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake that devastated large parts of the region including southern Turkey. At least six people have been killed and hundreds wounded across both countries.

“Many were hurt because of stampedes, panicking and even jumping off buildings,” Oubadah Alwan, a spokesperson for the Syria Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, told Al Jazeera. The rescue group estimated more than 190 injuries in the opposition-held part of the country that is home to four million. “Civilians are mostly sleeping out and refusing to go back into their homes despite the cold,” Alwan said. “People are traumatised.”

In a shelter on the outskirts of Idlib, 40-yearold Ismail Abu Raas told Al Jazeera he ran out of his building with his wife and five children as soon as he felt the tremor on Monday. The streets were filled with people who had also evacuated their houses and shelters. His family remained outside for four to five hours before making their way to a shelter, too afraid to go home... Source: aljazeera.com

Russia’s war in Ukraine: After a year of conflict, what next?

a young woman with long dark brown hair, was seen in photos of the aftermath, her lifeless body strewn awkwardly across a pavement. Friday marks the first anniversary of the war the world had feared. Peace seems a distant prospect.

Which direction might the war take now?

Top diplomat Wang Yi, who is currently in Moscow, has said ties between the two countries are ‘rock solid’. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is preparing to visit Moscow for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming months, according to the Wall Street Journal. Citing people familiar with the plan, the newspaper said on Tuesday that the Xi-Putin summit was part of a Chinese effort to play a more active role in bringing the year-old war to an end and part of a push for multi-party peace talks. China will also use the summit to reiterate calls that nuclear weapons should not be used, the report added. Preparations for the trip are at an early stage and the timing has not been finalised, the Journal said, adding that Xi’s visit might take place in April or in early May when Russia celebrates its World War Two victory over Nazi Germany. China’s top diplomat Wang Yi is currently in Moscow and expected to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday. In a tour of Europe, Wang has stepped up calls for a negotiated settlement to end the war in Ukraine, which began on February 24 last year when Russian troops invaded the country. Xi and Putin last met in person in China ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics last year, days before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. The two men announced a “no limits” partnership where no areas of cooperation were “forbidden”. They had a video call last December.

Source: aljazeera.com

US judge says 9/11 families not entitled to Afghan bank funds

District judge says victims cannot seize bank’s assets since the US has not recognised the Taliban as a legitimate government.

A United States judge has ruled that family members of victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are not entitled to funds from Afghanistan’s central bank. In the ruling on Tuesday, US District Judge George Daniels said that awarding the families money seized from the Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) would require an assessment that the Taliban is the legitimate government of Afghanistan, a decision he was “constitutionally restrained” from making. “The judgment creditors are entitled to collect on their default judgments and be made whole for the worst terrorist attack in our nation’s history, but they cannot do so with the funds of the central bank of Afghanistan,” Daniels wrote. “The Taliban — not the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan or the Afghan people — must pay for the Taliban’s liability in the 9/11 attacks,” he added. In February 2022, the administration of US President Joe Biden issued a controversial executive order stating it would split $7bn in frozen assets from Afghanistan’s central bank between the Afghan people and families of 9/11 victims who sued the Taliban. While the Taliban was not directly involved in the attacks, lawyers for the families argued it had helped enable al-Qaeda, which mounted the attack, by allowing the group to operate in Afghanistan. Bilal Askaryar, an Afghan-American activist, told Al Jazeera at the time of the order that the Afghan people “had nothing to do with 9/11” and called the decision a “theft of public funds from an impoverished nation”... Source: aljazeera.com

Seven experts predict possible scenarios as neither Moscow nor Kyiv appears ready to negotiate a peaceful end to the war. In a year, thousands of Ukrainian civilians and troops on both sides have been killed in Russia’s war, and tensions between Moscow and the West have risen to an all-time high.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin defended the invasion he ordered on February 24, 2022, as his United States counterpart Joe Biden was in Poland, rallying support for Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, bemoaned a Russian attack in Kherson, carried out as Putin made his fiery state of the nation speech. At least six people were killed. One victim,

We asked several experts to share their views:

‘Ukraine and Russia both don’t have enough arms’

“The basic scenario – neither Russia nor Ukraine can achieve their goals in this war. Russia will hardly be able to even occupy the entire [southeastern region of] Donbas, let alone destroy Ukraine as a nation.

“Ukraine won’t be able to get back to the borders of January 2014 [before the annexation of Crimea and Russia’s support to separatists in Donbas].

“The war may be over by late 2023 or in 2024 because both sides will have exhausted their resources. The main reasons being that Ukraine and Russia both don’t have enough arms, ammo and servicemen to achieve what they aim for. Source: aljazeera.com

Iranian-German man sentenced to death on ‘terrorism’ charges

Iran says Jamshid Sharmahd masterminded a bombing that killed 14 people, something his family denies. Tehran, Iran – IranianGerman citizen Jamshid Sharmahd has been sentenced to death by Iran’s judiciary on terrorism-related charges.

The 67-year-old, who also has United States residency and was arrested in 2020, was convicted of “corruption on Earth” for heading a pro-monarchist group accused of a deadly 2008 bombing and planning other attacks across the country, Mizan, the official news agency of the Iranian judiciary, reported on Tuesday. Sharmahd is accused of being the leader of the US-based group Tondar (which means “thunder” in Farsi), also known as the Kingdom Assembly of Iran, which says it seeks to restore the monarchy that was overthrown after the last shah fled Iran shortly before the 1979 revolution.

The Los Angeles-based group runs radio and television stations abroad that support Iranian opposition groups. The Iranian judiciary released several clips of Sharmahd speaking in 2010 against the Iranian establishment and also video of him appearing to confess to attacks. His main charge is masterminding a 2008 bombing at a mosque in the southern city of Shiraz, which killed 14 people and wounded hundreds. He was also convicted of being in contact with US and Israeli officials and agents.

Mizan said he wrote confidential letters to former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The judiciary said Sharmahd wanted to carry out 23 “terrorist acts” and succeeded in executing five.

It said they include other bombings, arson, assassinations and leaking classified information about the missile programme of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Tondar was also accused by the judiciary of plans to target an oil pipeline and a book fair in addition to deploying “chemical weapons” in parliament and organising heists from banks and currency exchanges.

Source: aljazeera.com

Suspected grave sites, children’s deaths found in probe of B.C. residential school

Premier David Eby says he’s introducing more supports to better prepare British Columbia communities for natural disasters related to climate change before they happen.

“The last few years have taught us a hard lesson about the impacts of climate change,”

Eby said Tuesday, citing Interior wildfires, Fraser Valley floods, highway slides, bridge collapses and a heat wave that resulted in more than 600 deaths.

A Vancouver Island First Nation has announced the detection of 17 suspected unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school, in an emotional event that combined science and ceremony on Tuesday. The Tseshaht First Nation, which took the lead in an 18-month effort to find potential graves of schoolchildren at the former Alberni Indian Residential School, also said interviews with survivors, historical records and other documents show 67 students died at the school. “We need to remember that all of these students were just children,” said Tseshaht Elected Chief Councillor Wahmeesh, whose English name is Ken Watts.“They were just children. So ... for those of you that are not from our communities, I want you to think about that, think about what would happen today if children who were five years old were removed from their homes. “That’s the reality that our communities have to live with,” said Wahmeesh, who wore a traditional cedar headband. The announcement was preceded by drumming and singing, and portions of the event were blacked out in a livestream because of cultural sensitivities.

Many at the ceremony wore orange, the colour that has come to represent those who died and the survivors of Canada’s residential schools. Dozens of women slowly danced to the drumming, turning on the spot in their orange shawls.

Children from at least 90 communities spanning more than 70 First Nations attended the school when it operated from 1900 to 1973. B.C. land surveyor GeoScan has been working on the project, using ground-penetrating radar to detect possible grave sites at the former school since last July.

Brian Whiting, a geophysics division manager with GeoScan, said at the announcement that the 17 suspected graves represent the minimum number believed to be on 12 of 100 hectares that were searched.

Sheri Meding, the lead researcher who did the work with historical records and survivors’ statements, said many of the 67 children had died from medical conditions. Meding said there were a number of recurring themes when interviewing survivors of the school, including forced abortions, multiple burial locations without markers, students finding skulls and human remains around the grounds and witnessing small coffins being taken out of the building at night. Wahmeesh said it was essential to embark on what he called “this journey of truth” despite the process being difficult for survivors. He said any legal investigations would have to be done by an independent body with Tseshaht consent, and not by the RCMP, because of the force’s role in residential schools and removing children from their homes... Source:dawnnews.com

The New Democrat government will almost double the current funding of its Community Emergency Preparedness Fund, adding $180 million to support projects that help communities and First Nations prepare for and mitigate the effects of natural disasters, he said. “For too long governments did not place sufficient importance on protecting B.C. from the impacts of climate change,” said Eby, adding the province previously presented itself with the “false choice” of growing the economy or protecting the environment. “We have to grow the economy and act on climate change,” he said. Eby said he experienced the devastating threat of climate change about three years ago while staying at a family cabin in B.C.’s wildfire zone. “There was a forest fire across the water and at night we could literally watch the trees burn and explode, literally explode, because of the heat from the fire,” he said. The threat of losing a treasured family home left a deep imprint on him where the importance of limiting and fighting the destructive power of climate change must be addressed, Eby said.

Bowinn Ma, the minister of emergency management and climate readiness, said the ministry’s preparedness fund has previously supported projects that include a dike in Merritt, public cooling infrastructure in Victoria and tsunami evacuation planning in Tofino.

The new fund will also provide a one-stop online platform for communities and First Nations to review flood, wildfire, weather and other hazardous events data that had previously been spread over various government websites, said Ma. “We need to be ready, and that means understanding the hazards, the risks, what is ahead of us, and working with communities to get the work that needs to happen done, now,” said Ma. The program also includes supports for communities to prepare for the effects of extreme cold and heat, she said.

Since 2017, local governments and First Nations have received funds for more than 1,300 projects to prepare for natural disasters and climate-related emergencies, the Emergency Preparedness Ministry says. Jen Ford, Union of B.C. Municipalities president, said accurate data is critical for communities planning climate change mitigation and response strategies.

“People need to be able to understand what it means for them when they hear atmospheric river, when they hear wildfires are coming,” she said. “When they see temperatures rising.” Source:bc.ctvnews.ca

Nural Sumbultepe said she heard screaming before she felt the ground shake, that was when she knew she was living through an earthquake.“I heard a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, there was a lot of anxiety attacks among people and children were crying,” Sumbultepe said. ”We just left everything and ran outside.”Sumbultepe lives in Vancouver and works as a teacher in Richmond, but this week she arrived in her home country of Turkiye to help her extended family after the major earthquake two weeks ago. Her brother-in-law died instantly when the 15-storey building they lived in collapsed, and five other family members were trapped under the rubble for days. They did not survive. Almost immediately after the quake Sumbultepe started planning a trip home in order to help her other family members in person. This week she arrived in Arsuz, a coastal town on the Mediterranean in the Hatay province. She visited the site where her family members were killed, along with a library and church she visited as a child. Both buildings had collapsed. In the rubble she found hundreds of pictures belonging to her brother and sister-in-law.

Monday, the area was hit by a 6.6 magnitude earthquake, followed by aftershocks,

“We all fled outside,’ she said. “Most of the people slept in their cars, some people like me slept in the doorway.” Sumbultepe has lived through an earthquake before. She was in Istanbul when a magnitude 7.6 struck in 1999. She lived in a tent for four weeks helping English rescue crews with translation.

“My job was to say, ‘Is anybody under the rubble,’” she said. “But this is like 10 times worse, this earthquake is 10 times worse and it’s on a bigger scale.”

Sumbultepe is planning to stay in Turkiye for another week before returning to Canada. If possible, she’s hoping to bring some of her family members with her to offer financial and emotional support. Source:bc.ctvnews.ca