ARAB GAZETTE - Weekly Newspaper - Founded by Chairman and Editor : Alauddin Saeed .

OIC lists Israeli companies in occupied territories

Posted by مؤسسة الوطن العربى الإعلامية - لندن ، المملكة المتحدة . WA MEDIA FOUNDATION - LONDON, UK | Tuesday, 25 October 2016 | Posted in arab news

ARAB GAZETTE - Tashkent ..

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is compiling a list of Israeli companies operating in occupied Palestinian territories that will be used as a database for the organization’s 57 member countries to implement an agreement that boycotts Israeli products.
“The OIC Secretariat has been requested to provide an up-to-date database on Israeli companies that produce materials or goods in the occupied territories. The database would later be agreed upon for the boycott," the Foreign Ministry's multilateral affairs director general Hasan Kleib told reporters on Monday.
He was responding to journalists’ questions on the results from the recent OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Kleib further explained that the boycott agreed by OIC member countries during a conference earlier this year would not be implemented on all Israeli products, but only for those produced in the occupied territories—the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.
While the primary focus was toward Israeli companies, it would be deemed disappointing if foreign companies were also operating in the aforementioned areas, as this opposed the global dissenting voice against Israel, he said.
Kleib further said foreign companies that cooperated with Israel in the occupied territories would also be boycotted, even if they were not based on Palestinian soil.
“Products, plantation goods or textiles manufactured in the occupied territories would be labeled so that OIC member countries can implement the boycott and never buy the products," he said. The move would hopefully deter settlers by creating an undesirable economic condition, he added.

UNICEF: 3 million Syrian children out of school or at risk of dropping out

Posted by مؤسسة الوطن العربى الإعلامية - لندن ، المملكة المتحدة . WA MEDIA FOUNDATION - LONDON, UK | | Posted in arab news

ARAB GAZETTE - New York ..

With the start of the school year in the war-ravaged Syria, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said more than 1.7 million children remain out of school and another 1.3 million are at a risk of dropping out, as the number of school attacks exceeding 4,000.
“In Syria, children are risking death to go to school. In the past two weeks, nine schoolchildren, aged as young as five, lost their lives in two separate attacks on or near schools,” UNICEF Representative in Syria Hanaa Singer said in a statement issued over the weekend.
She said one in three schools cannot be used because they are either damaged, destroyed, sheltering the internally displaced or are being used for military purposes, adding that since the war began in 2011, there have been more than 4,000 attacks on schools.

Impact of Brexit on future of three million British Muslims

Posted by مؤسسة الوطن العربى الإعلامية - لندن ، المملكة المتحدة . WA MEDIA FOUNDATION - LONDON, UK | | Posted in reports and studies

ARAB GAZETTE - London ..

It is obviously a legitimate question to ask how the U.K.’s leaving the European Union (EU) will affect three million British Muslims when the population of Muslims in Europe is relatively insignificant.
According to a research by the Pew Research Centre (PRC), even with a steady increase, there will be only 8 percent Muslims in Europe by 2030. Therefore, on the surface Brexit should have very little impact on Muslims.
Brexit debates hardly mentioned the EU as a “Muslim” issue and there was no overt mention of the words “Islam” and “Muslims” by Brexit campaigners. However, if we look deep into the matter, we will find three important factors emerging that bring Muslims at the forefront of the problem.
The first thing to look at is the statistics of abuse, insults and attacks British Muslims are facing after Brexit. The level of Islamophobic attacks rose sharply after the referendum results, with the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) reporting a hundred anti-Muslim hate crimes during the weekend after the referendum alone.
There has been a sharp increase of verbal and physical abuse against Muslims online and on the streets, including prominent politicians and journalists being asked to “go home”. A large number of the abused are Muslim women, particularly those who wear the hijab. According to a report by Tell MAMA, an organization that measures anti-Muslim attacks, “Women were more likely to be attacked or abused while travelling on public transport to town and city centers or when shopping.”
It is true that there have been several attacks on eastern Europeans with Polish centers vandalized and even a Polish individual was killed in a racist incident, yet the number of abuses Muslims have received is much higher compared to eastern Europeans.
Secondly, the debate over immigration often ends with bringing up the “Muslim problem”. Nigel Farage’s poster of refugees with the heading “breaking point” just before the referendum is an illustration of how the Brexit campaign covertly attacked Muslims. As much as the Tory Brexit leaders distanced themselves from the charismatic former UKIP leader, it has no doubt influenced a large number of people to unleash their hatred towards Muslims.
The third reason to believe that Brexit is likely to exacerbate attacks on an already alienated British Muslim community is the bizarre fear mongering of the likelihood of Turkey joining the EU by all sections of the Brexit campaigners.
Brexit has divided the nation, but its immediate aftermath has already shown signs of a worrying future for the ethnic minorities. While it will be hugely unfair to suggest that 52 percent of the population who voted to leave are racists, there is a genuine cause for concern due to the political direction of post-Brexit Britain.
Compared to many countries in the West, Britain is still one of the best countries for Muslims to practice their religion and manifest their faith in public. How long they will be able to maintain this freedom remains uncertain, as the country has entered into unchartered territories after the Brexit vote.
Early signs are not too encouraging and the political situation also gives a bleak picture of what is to come. The only encouraging sign so far is that politicians from all sides, including UKIP have strongly condemned racist attacks on ethnic minorities after the referendum.

U.N. appoints Wonder Woman as honorary ambassador amid outcry

Posted by مؤسسة الوطن العربى الإعلامية - لندن ، المملكة المتحدة . WA MEDIA FOUNDATION - LONDON, UK | | Posted in world news

ARAB GAZETTE - United Nations ..

The United Nations named comic-book superhero Wonder Woman as an honorary ambassador to fight for gender equality on Friday, amid criticism that the scantily clad fictional character was an inappropriate choice.

U.N. officials at a ceremony formalizing the appointment said Wonder Woman is known for her commitment to justice, peace and equality.

"Wonder Woman is an icon," said U.N. Under-Secretary-General Cristina Gallach. "We are very pleased that this character will help us reach new audiences with essential messages of our empowerment and equality."

U.N. officials have said they hoped the selection of a comic-book hero and movie character would appeal to younger women in its campaign for womens empowerment, and the slogan of the campaign says: "Think of all the wonders we can do."

Wonder Woman, a DC Comics Inc. heroine, first appeared in 1942, fighting villains, rescuing victims and unearthing diabolical plots.

On hand was actress Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman in a television series in the 1970s, and actress Gal Gadot, who will play Wonder Woman in a movie to be released next year.

"I couldnt think of a more perfect role for her," said Carter, saying the character shows women can be "smart and beautiful and strong and wise and kind and brave."

But the selection has been met with opposition, and nearly 1,000 people signed an online petition asking U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to reconsider the choice.

"Although the original creators may have intended Wonder Woman to represent a strong and independent warrior woman with a feminist message, the reality is that the characters current iteration is that of a large breasted, white woman of impossible proportions, scantily clad in a shimmery, thigh-baring body suit," the petition reads.

Several dozen U.N. employees, one holding a sign saying "Women deserve a real ambassador," staged a silent protest in the U.N.s visitors lobby as the ceremony was held.

"Why do we need to use a sexualized cartoon character?" said employee Elizabeth Leff.

MINSK, October 25. /TASS/. Minsk is prepared to host a meeting of the Contact Group on the settlement in eastern Ukraine and its three working subgroups, Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Dmitry Mironchik, told TASS on Tuesday.
"We are getting ready for the meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group on the settlement in Ukraine and its three working subgroups - on political, economic and security issues - scheduled for Wednesday," the diplomat said.

More:
http://tass.com/world/908493

Honoring distinguished coverage of Latin America

Posted by مؤسسة الوطن العربى الإعلامية - لندن ، المملكة المتحدة . WA MEDIA FOUNDATION - LONDON, UK | | Posted in world news

Humberto Cova Mendoza, who works skinning fish, poses for a portrait at the port of El Callao, Peru, Nov. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

ARAB GAZETTE - Columbia..

AP photographer Rodrigo Abd received a Cabot Prize from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism on Tuesday, in recognition of his outstanding work documenting life in Latin America.

The Maria Moors Cabot Prizes are awarded for distinguished reporting on the Americas and coverage of the Western Hemisphere that furthers inter-American understanding.

At a dinner at Columbia University in New York, Abd received a gold medal and an honorarium. He addressed the guests, saying: “But here is the main point: we care, we love this continent (Latin America) and we want to tell stories in depth in our home countries.”

In honoring Abd, the judges cited his “untiring commitment and uncommon empathy” in addressing urgent social issues.

Abd is one of four Cabot Prize winners. The others are Rosental C. Alves of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas; Margarita Martinez, a Colombian filmmaker; and Oscar Martinez of the digital newspaper El Faro in El Salvador. A special citation was also awarded to Marina Walker Guevara at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists for reporting on the Panama Papers.

Winners of 20th Corsican Circuit 2016 to face World Champions

Posted by مؤسسة الوطن العربى الإعلامية - لندن ، المملكة المتحدة . WA MEDIA FOUNDATION - LONDON, UK | | Posted in sport

ARAB GAZETTE - Baku ..

The 20th Corsican Circuit 2016 international chess tournament will start in Bastia, France on October 22.
The nine-round “Open Corsica Maestri” tournament will bring together 61 players, including 19 grandmasters.
Some 12 contestants will be determined as a result of the tournament to play at the rapid tournament’s round of 16 which will be attended by Azerbaijani GM Teymur Rajabov, former World Champion Viswanathan Anand, etc.
The final will be played on October 30.