Oneness or Hindu supremacy? RSS chief Bhagwat’s secretive New York hosts

 The report below from Al Jazeera is 3 days old. - HS

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A visit by India’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat to the United States this week is being opposed by many activists, politicians and human rights groups in New York.

Bhagwat is scheduled to speak on Saturday at an event called the “Universal Oneness Celebration” at Madison Square Garden in New York, and is expected to draw more than 5,000 attendees, including multifaith leaders.

But while the event is being billed as an event for unity, the RSS – a Hindu majoritarian front that is the parent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party – has repeatedly faced accusations back in India of contributing to the persecution of religious minorities, including Muslims and Christians.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told local media on Tuesday that he does not support the upcoming event and called the RSS’s ideology “exclusionary.” Many human rights groups in the US, such as Hindus for Human Rights, have said in a statement that “Mohan Bhagwat does not represent Hindus.”

The principal organiser of Saturday’s event is a US-based non-profit group called American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD) Forum, which argues on its website that it seeks to promote intercultural understanding. But the website itself offers no details of those behind the group.

A deeper look at the group’s founding and registration documents, however, sheds light on its leaders – and their deep links to the RSS, which has long advocated for a Hindu-first vision for India, a country that has otherwise, through its millennia-long history, been home to people from many faiths.

So what is AHEAD Forum and who are the organisers of Bhagwat’s New York event?

What is the event about?

The event, organised by AHEAD Forum, will take place from on Saturday 2:00pm to 15:30pm local time (19:00-21:30 GMT) in Madison Square Garden in New York.

According to AHEAD’s social media platforms, the event called “Universal Oneness Celebration” seeks to celebrate “diversity, dialogue, and the timeless Indian philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.”

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is a Sanskrit phrase which translates to “the world is one family.”

India’s RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has been invited as the event’s keynote speaker and comes more than a year after the RSS celebrated 100 years since its founding in 1925. Leaders from other faiths are also expected to attend.

But Apoorvanand, a Hindi professor at the University of Delhi who writes literary and cultural criticism, told Al Jazeera that the “unity” advertisements for the event refer to “Hindu unity”.

“The objective is to establish Hindu unity, which the RSS works for. It’s also about Hindu unity against Muslims and Christians,” he said.

What is the RSS and who is Bhagwat?

The RSS is a right-wing Hindu volunteer organisation founded in 1925 by physician and Hindu nationalist Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in Nagpur, modern-day Maharashtra.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, sometimes called the Sangh for short, is Hindi for National Volunteer Organisation.

The RSS works across society, operating schools, hospitals, magazines and publishing houses, to advocate for the idea of Hindutva, a Hindu supremacist idea that aims to turn India from a constitutionally secular state into a Hindu one.

It describes itself as a “Hindu-centric civilisational, cultural movement” that aims to “carry the nation to the pinnacle of glory” and is often described as the ideological mothership of India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

But the RSS has also been banned in India several times, including in 1948 after a former member assassinated independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.

Currently, the RSS leads a network of more than 2,500 right-wing Hindu organisations called the Sangh Parivar, Hindi for “RSS family”.

Bhagwat, who was born in Chandrapur in the Indian state of Maharashtra, grew up in a family that supported RSS values and officially became the organisation’s member in 1975. He was appointed as the organisation’s chief in March 2009.

What is the controversy over the New York event?

Indian human rights groups, activists and also New York’s Mayor Mamdani have opposed the event.

When asked by local media on Tuesday about stopping the event, Mamdani said that as the first Indian-American mayor of New York, it has “been incredibly troubling to see the rise of a movement that is predicated on an exclusionary vision”.

He acknowledged that he grew up in India, which he said was “a pluralistic society of a secular Republic that believed in the belonging of each and every person who was from India.”

He, however, added that he was not sure if, as mayor of New York, he could stop a private organisation’s event.

In a statement published on August 19, Sravya Tadepalli, deputy executive director of Hindus for Human Rights, said, “Mohan Bhagwat does not represent Hindus. He represents the fringe, extremist Hindu nationalist movement, which has engaged in hate and violence against religious minority communities for a century.”

“In 1939, Madison Square Garden hosted a Nazi rally, which any of us can look back on and feel shock and shame. Madison Square Garden should not make the same mistake by holding a rally celebrating the leader of a hate movement like Hindu nationalism,” Tadepalli added.

Amid these remarks, the RSS has defended Bhagwat’s goals at the upcoming event.

On Thursday, senior RSS functionary Sunil Ambekar said, “The Universal Oneness Celebration in New York exemplifies an interfaith gathering.”

He said that Bhagwat would “communicate with a diverse, multicultural and multi-faith audience”.

What is AHEAD Forum?

AHEAD Forum describes itself as an organisation that “builds bridges between communities worldwide through understanding and mutual respect”.

According to its website, the group has chapters across major US cities including New York, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Washington, DC an Houston, among others.

AHEAD Forum was registered as a nonprofit organisation in May 2025. According to the Internal Revenue Service (the US tax agency), the Forum filed for tax exemption in September 2025.

At the end of 2025, the tax filing shows that AHEAD had generated revenue of $61,409 – all of it from contributions. AHEAD also had assets worth $61,124 in the last fiscal year.

Who are the key individuals at AHEAD?

While US IRS data shows that AHEAD’s current directors are Sudesh Agrawal, Naresh Rajanna and Rasita Vishnuram, a report published by Savera, a coalition of US-based groups trying to combat the rise of Hindu nationalism, suggests direct links between the nonprofit and the RSS.

Al Jazeera has also independently verified a series of documents filed by AHEAD with US agencies that show these links.

The group listed an individual named Harish Kandpal as its bookkeeper in its filing with the IRS under its tax-exempt status in 2025.

But California’s listing of registered nonprofits and businesses shows that AHEAD Forum was, until earlier this year, listing Khanderao Kand, a long-time US-based leader of the RSS and its overseas wing, the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), as its bookkeeper. The organisation, in fact, was originally registered to Kand’s address. The California database shows the registration was changed to Kandpal’s address in March 2026.

That, Savera said in its report, happened after Kand’s RSS links and his efforts to lobby in the US on behalf of the Hindu supremacist group were “exposed by investigative reporting”.

However, Kandpal and Kand have previously been colleagues at the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies, another US-based group founded by Kand.

Meanwhile, Savera found that other leaders of the AHEAD Forum also have links to the RSS or to organisations close to the Modi government. Sudesh Agarwal, one of the directors of the nonprofit, heads the Cleveland chapter of the HSS, for instance.

Al Jazeera has reached out to AHEAD Forum for its response to the findings in Savera’s report, and accusations that it is attempting to mask the Hindu majoritarian leanings of its leaders, but is yet to receive a response.

Why is all this significant?

Since 2015, several Muslims in India have been lynched by mobs during disputes about herding cattle or over allegations of eating beef. They have also fallen victim to targeted attacks.

Besides hate crimes against Indian Muslims, there has been a marked spike in hate crimes against Christians in India recently. According to a report published at the start of the year by India Hate Lab, a group that tracks hate crimes and speech in India, hate speech events targeting Christians rose from 115 in 2024 to 162 in 2025, a 41 percent increase.

Many instances of hate speech against Muslims and Christians have involved leaders of the BJP or other organisations in the broad RSS ecosystem.

However, in recent months, the RSS has been organising visits to the US and other Western countries to bolster its public image globally and dispel claims it is involved in violence against religious minority groups in India.

Saturday’s event is one such effort by the RSS and the event’s hosts, according to experts.

“The RSS is spreading its tentacles to collaborate with other right-wing organisations,” Apoorvanand said.

“They have expressed this intent very clearly in recent times that they want to establish a right reactionary network and be part of it. So they are looking for allies at events in the West with groups close to [US President Donald] Trump and his allies,” he said.

“I’m very sad that people who are enjoying American hospitality and freedom of speech and expression in the US, want to practice Hinduism in this way, where they use their resources to support an organisation which is responsible for marginalisation of Muslim, Christian and other minority communities within India.

“There could not be a more deceptive thing than this.”

Masked Israeli settlers attack NBC News crew and Palestinian family in West Bank

 An NBC News crew was attacked by masked Israeli settlers on Saturday in the West Bank, an incident that has been condemned by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

NBC News reported that three crew members were interviewing Palestinian woman Aida Ahmed Abdullah and her family when a gray car with Israeli license plates approached the group. 

According to video released by the network, a group of masked men holding sticks jumped out of the car and began attacking Abdullah and the NBC News crew. 

"They smashed our car windshield, hit our crew with clubs and beat Aida unconscious," international correspondent Matt Bradley told "Sunday Today."

Bradley said that he got hit twice on the arm but is "recovering well." 

Abdullah was hospitalized after the attack with non-life-threatening injuries, while a pair of NBC News staffers were also injured and treated following the ordeal, the network reported. 

"The settlers had sticks. I saw a gun, but they didn’t use the gun," producer Lawahez Jabari told NBC News Digital. 

Cameraman Khaldoon Eid, who resides in the area, was left stunned after the attack. 

"We were in the middle of a Palestinian area next to Palestinian houses," Eid said.

Netanyahu said the attack, along with other violence in the area, was the work of a "handful of rioters" and "harms Israel's standing in the world," according to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper. 

"Settlers began encircling homes in Qusra on Aug. 9, in what human rights groups referred to as an attempt to seize privately owned Palestinian land. They have since been documented roaming freely in full view of soldiers, who have failed to enforce the order barring Israelis from entering the area," Haaretz reported. 

Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for Netanyahu’s office, also condemned the attack, calling it a "grave injustice." 

"Their actions violate the law, they endanger both Jews and Arabs, and they interfere with the Israel Defense Forces as they carry out vital security missions, and, of course, they harm Israel’s international legitimacy," Spielman said in a video posted to social media before promising those responsible would be brought to justice. 

"We will not tolerate vigilantism of any kind," Spielman said. 

India must uphold Indus Waters Treaty, court rules. What was Pakistan’s case?

 The Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague has ruled that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) between India and Pakistan remains fully in force, and asked India to continue to “observe its obligations under the Treaty”.

It interpreted India’s decision to hold the Treaty in “abeyance” as a move to “suspend or terminate” the Treaty and ruled that the Treaty did not provide for any one party to “terminate or suspend” the operation of the Treaty, or for “abeyance”.

The Court also directed India to temporarily restrict some construction work on the Ratle hydro-electric plant in Jammu and Kashmir.

India, however, does not recognise this Court of Arbitration, formalised in 2023 on Pakistan’s request. It has never participated in its proceedings, and has repeatedly rejected its pronouncements as null and void.

So what does all this mean, and what happens now?

The second decision concerns the Ratle Hydro-Electric Plant, a run-of-the-river (following the natural flow of river water) project on the Chenab.

Pakistan has challenged certain design features of Ratle and the Kishenganga Hydro-Electric Plant, arguing that they do not comply with the treaty. These technical questions were also put before a Neutral Expert appointed by the World Bank on India’s request. That process was separate from the Court of Arbitration proceedings. After India’s decision to put the Treaty in “abeyance” last year, the process under the Neutral Expert was also discontinued.

Pakistan had asked the Court to impose interim measures.

The Court has now ordered India not to concrete the Ratle dam wall and power intake structure above specified levels. It has also ordered India to report any changes to the Ratle construction schedule.

Why does India reject the ruling?

India has consistently argued that the Court of Arbitration is illegally constituted and that its proceedings run parallel to the treaty-consistent Neutral Expert process.

In July 2023, the government said the treaty did not provide for parallel proceedings on the same issues and maintained that the Neutral Expert process was the appropriate mechanism.

India reiterated this position in May 2026, after the Court issued an award concerning maximum pondage (the maximum volume of water a reservoir can hold). The government said it had never recognised the Court and that its proceedings, awards and decisions were “null and void”. It also said its decision to keep the treaty in abeyance remained in force.

So what happens now?

India’s decision to scrap the treaty has rattled Pakistan, which depends on India for adherence to the treaty and regular information sharing for its water security. Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issues on international fora, from the UN to other bodies, in an attempt to paint India as the aggressor that is taking unfair advantage of its upper riparian position.

Parallelly, Pakistani authorities have been sabre-rattling about the “national security” dimensions of the Indus Waters Treaty being “violated”.

What has the arbitration court ruled on Indus Waters Treaty?

On August 31, the Court issued two decisions in proceedings initiated by Pakistan.

The first dealt with the status of the Indus Waters Treaty. India announced on April 23, 2025, following the Pahalgam terror attack, that the treaty would be held in abeyance until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ended its support for cross-border terrorism.

The Court examined whether this could amount to a suspension or termination of the treaty. It concluded that it could not.

Among other things, it said the treaty itself does not provide for one country to unilaterally suspend or terminate it. As per provisions of the treaty, it remains in force unless India and Pakistan together modify or terminate it through a further treaty.

The Court also considered several grounds that India had referred to publicly — including sovereignty, Pakistan’s alleged material breach of the treaty, terrorism, demographic and technological changes, climate change and armed conflict. It found that none justified suspending or terminating the treaty.

It therefore concluded that the treaty has neither been terminated nor suspended and remains fully in force, meaning India remains bound by its obligations concerning the design and operation of hydro-electric projects on the Western Rivers, as well as the treaty’s dispute-settlement mechanisms.

Why is the Ratle dam part of this?

India, however, has held firm in face of the pressure, insisting that blood and water cannot flow together. New Delhi has also pointed out that India had repeatedly asked for renegotiation of the treaty even before Pahalgam, as ground realities have changed substantially since it was negotiated in the 1950s, but Pakistan had not responded to those demands.

Bangladesh's Missed Strategy on the Rohingya Crisis And the Opportunity That Still Exists

 Here is the link, https://www.islamicity.org/107067/bangladeshs-missed-strategy-on-the-rohingya-crisis-and-the-opportunity-that-still-exists/

The Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague has ruled that the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) between India and Pakistan remains fully in force, and asked India to continue to “observe its obligations under the Treaty”.

It interpreted India’s decision to hold the Treaty in “abeyance” as a move to “suspend or terminate” the Treaty and ruled that the Treaty did not provide for any one party to “terminate or suspend” the operation of the Treaty, or for “abeyance”.

The Court also directed India to temporarily restrict some construction work on the Ratle hydro-electric plant in Jammu and Kashmir.

India, however, does not recognise this Court of Arbitration, formalised in 2023 on Pakistan’s request. It has never participated in its proceedings, and has repeatedly rejected its pronouncements as null and void.

So what does all this mean, and what happens now?

What has the arbitration court ruled on Indus Waters Treaty?

On August 31, the Court issued two decisions in proceedings initiated by Pakistan.

The first dealt with the status of the Indus Waters Treaty. India announced on April 23, 2025, following the Pahalgam terror attack, that the treaty would be held in abeyance until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ended its support for cross-border terrorism.

The Court examined whether this could amount to a suspension or termination of the treaty. It concluded that it could not.

Among other things, it said the treaty itself does not provide for one country to unilaterally suspend or terminate it. As per provisions of the treaty, it remains in force unless India and Pakistan together modify or terminate it through a further treaty.

The Court also considered several grounds that India had referred to publicly — including sovereignty, Pakistan’s alleged material breach of the treaty, terrorism, demographic and technological changes, climate change and armed conflict. It found that none justified suspending or terminating the treaty.

It therefore concluded that the treaty has neither been terminated nor suspended and remains fully in force, meaning India remains bound by its obligations concerning the design and operation of hydro-electric projects on the Western Rivers, as well as the treaty’s dispute-settlement mechanisms.

Why is the Ratle dam part of this?

The second decision concerns the Ratle Hydro-Electric Plant, a run-of-the-river (following the natural flow of river water) project on the Chenab.

Pakistan has challenged certain design features of Ratle and the Kishenganga Hydro-Electric Plant, arguing that they do not comply with the treaty. These technical questions were also put before a Neutral Expert appointed by the World Bank on India’s request. That process was separate from the Court of Arbitration proceedings. After India’s decision to put the Treaty in “abeyance” last year, the process under the Neutral Expert was also discontinued.

Pakistan had asked the Court to impose interim measures.

The Court has now ordered India not to concrete the Ratle dam wall and power intake structure above specified levels. It has also ordered India to report any changes to the Ratle construction schedule.

Why does India reject the ruling?

India has consistently argued that the Court of Arbitration is illegally constituted and that its proceedings run parallel to the treaty-consistent Neutral Expert process.

In July 2023, the government said the treaty did not provide for parallel proceedings on the same issues and maintained that the Neutral Expert process was the appropriate mechanism.

India reiterated this position in May 2026, after the Court issued an award concerning maximum pondage (the maximum volume of water a reservoir can hold). The government said it had never recognised the Court and that its proceedings, awards and decisions were “null and void”. It also said its decision to keep the treaty in abeyance remained in force.

So what happens now?

India’s decision to scrap the treaty has rattled Pakistan, which depends on India for adherence to the treaty and regular information sharing for its water security. Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issues on international fora, from the UN to other bodies, in an attempt to paint India as the aggressor that is taking unfair advantage of its upper riparian position.

Parallelly, Pakistani authorities have been sabre-rattling about the “national security” dimensions of the Indus Waters Treaty being “violated”.

India, however, has held firm in face of the pressure, insisting that blood and water cannot flow together. New Delhi has also pointed out that India had repeatedly asked for renegotiation of the treaty even before Pahalgam, as ground realities have changed substantially since it was negotiated in the 1950s, but Pakistan had not responded to those demands.

Glacier Time Bombs by Robert Hunziker

 Global warming is becoming a self-advertised nuisance with the recent Nepal disaster bringing renewed attention: Is global warming fueled by fossil fuel CO2 emissions behind the Nepal catastrophe?

In High Mountain Asia, there are thousands of glaciers at some stage of transforming into large lakes that may burst, barreling down mountainsides. The recent Nepal incident is but a warning, according to Jason Gulley, professor of geology, University of South Florida, who focuses on glacier hydrology. (The Melting Glacier in Nepal Was a Time Bomb. There are More to Come, The New York Times, August 28, 2026)

Professor Gulley understands the dynamics of cascading glaciers. Since 2005, he’s made six expeditions to the Khumbu region to study how glaciers disintegrate into hazardous lakes.

So far, here’s what’s known: “What’s clear at this point is that a giant hunk of glacier peeled off the side of the mountain, tumbled down 4,000 vertical feet and slammed into a tributary of the Bhote Koshi River in China. Originally misidentified as an earthquake, the mountain-shaking event registered as a 5.2 magnitude seismic event. Moments later, a wall of rocks and water blasted through the Gyriong Port building as the flood barreled down the valley,” Ibid.

Stop CO2 Emissions or Suffer More Glaciers Barreling Down Mountainsides

“Unless the carbon dioxide emissions that are heating the planet are curbed, scientists project warming across High Mountain Asia, a broad region encompassing the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir, Hindu Kush and Tien Shan, will erase as much as 75 percent of the remaining glaciers by 2100… Meltwater pooling behind moraines and in depressions exposed by the ice will transform thousands of glaciers into large lakes, each one a potential ticking time bomb for vulnerable communities downstream,” Ibid.

Over millennia, Nepal’s glaciers formed and grew until they filled valleys in mountains and in the process “bulldozed” piles of rocky debris up to hundreds of feet in height down mountainsides, thus forming what glaciologists call “moraines.” Essentially, these moraines serve as nature-made dams that are now containing the water of the Great 21^st Century Glacial Meltdown, forming large lakes in mountainous terrain. Eventually, the unrelenting pressure of additional meltwater overwhelms the moraines, breaking loose, cascading down mountainsides. Voilà, the Nepal incident!

Mystery of the Nepal Incident

“While Wednesday’s flood had a massive landslide, there didn’t appear to be any glacier lakes below it, making it a bit of an anomaly, certain to be studied intensely in the coming years. Some scientists have speculated that the impact of a piece of glacier falling 4,000 feet could have pulverized the ice into water… But we know that there will be more floods — and some may be far worse than this week’s catastrophe,” Ibid.

International Scientist Shaken by World Glacier Meltdown

A 20-yr. international study of glacier meltdowns, involving 35 research teams, was published in SciTechDaily d/d February 22, 2025: “The Great Glacier Meltdown Uncovered 273 Billion Tonnes of Ice Lost Annually”

That headline is bad enough, but it gets worse. Over the second decade of the 20-year study, the massive meltdown accelerated by 36%.

“The rate of ice loss has escalated over time. While the average annual loss stands at 273 billion tonnes, this figure increased by 36% in the second half of the study period (2012–2023) compared to the first half (2000–2011) … The rate of glacier ice loss has increased significantly from 231 billion tonnes per year in the first half of the study period to 314 billion tonnes per year in the second half.” Ibid.

Additionally, sea level projections by the IPCC and others are likely too low by not factoring terrestrial glaciers: “Over the full study period, glacier ice loss was 18% greater than that of the Greenland Ice Sheet and more than twice the loss from Antarctica’s Ice Sheet, underscoring the critical role glaciers play in global sea-level rise.”

Meanwhile, Glacial Lake Outburst Floods endanger populated areas of mountainous regions, according to Carbon Brief, 22-25% of the global population, roughly 2 billion people, live downstream from snowpacks and glaciers. About 10% of the world’s land surface is covered by 200,000 glaciers.

Oxford Academic

Scientists’ Warning on Fossil Fuels, Oxford Open Climate Change d/d March 31, 2025:

“The evidence is clear that fossil fuels—and the fossil fuel industry and its enablers—are driving a multitude of interlinked crises that jeopardize the breadth and stability of life on Earth. Every stage of the fossil fuel life cycle—extraction, processing, transport, and combustion or conversion to petrochemical products—emits planet-heating greenhouse gases and health-harming pollutants, in addition to causing widespread environmental degradation. We review the vast scientific evidence showing that fossil fuels and the fossil fuel industry are the root cause of the climate crisis, harm public health, worsen environmental injustice, accelerate biodiversity extinction, and fuel the petrochemical pollution crisis. Fossil fuels are responsible for millions of premature deaths, trillions of dollars in damages, and the escalating disruption of ecosystems, threatening people, wildlife, and a livable future. The fossil fuel industry has obscured and concealed this evidence through a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar disinformation campaign aimed at blocking action to phase out fossil fuels.”

Robert Hunziker lives in Los Angeles and can be reached at rlhunziker@gmail.com.

Iraq sentences US-sanctioned oil official to prison: anti-graft body

 

• Iraq sentences Deputy Oil Minister for Distribution Affairs Ali Al-Bahadli to 7 years in prison on illicit-gains charges
• He is among dozens of officials detained in June during anti-corruption raids

BAGHDAD: Iraq sentenced a US-sanctioned oil official to seven years in prison after he was arrested as part of a government-led anti-corruption campaign, the country’s anti-graft body said on Sunday.

Deputy oil minister for distribution affairs Ali Al-Bahadli is among dozens of officials who were detained in June during anti-graft raids that took place in several areas, mostly in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone.

The Commission of Integrity said in a statement that an anti-corruption court sentenced Bahadli to seven years in prison for “illicit gains.”

The ruling requires Bahadli to return to the state an amount equivalent to more than $20 million in ill-gotten gains, in addition to paying a fine of the same amount.

The United States imposed sanctions on Bahadli in May, accusing him of fraudulently mixing Iraqi and Iranian oil as part of a scheme to help Iran avoid sanctions.

At the time, Iraq’s oil ministry denied the accusations against Bahadli, who was then arrested during the anti-graft raids.

Iraqi authorities said that the raids were part of new Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s campaign to fight the corruption that has plagued Iraq for decades.

But several Iraqi officials told AFP that the raids were also part of Zaidi’s campaign against funding for pro-Iran armed groups and the smuggling of Iranian oil.

Iraq has been under mounting pressure from the United States to curb Tehran’s influence and rein in Iran-backed armed factions, which Washington designates as terrorist groups.

Zaidi, who took office this year with the blessing of the United States, has pledged to ensure the armed factions that emerged after the US-led invasion hand over their weapons to the state.

In Iraq, corruption is especially rampant across public institutions, but convictions typically target mid-level officials or minor players and rarely those at the top of the power hierarchy.

Iran’s Khamenei calls for Gulf unity as Hormuz tensions persist

 Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has urged Gulf leaders to identify their “real enemy” and confront it, as Tehran maintains its hard line over the Strait of Hormuz, while regional mediators push for renewed diplomacy.

“My emphatic and repeated recommendation to the rulers of Islamic countries, especially the countries of West Asia and the Gulf, is to identify your real enemy, understand his plan and confront it,” Khamenei said in a message published on Sunday to mark the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.

Click here to read more: Iran’s Khamenei calls for Gulf unity as Hormuz tensions persist | US-Israel war on Iran News | Al Jazeera

Israeli police renew raid on UNRWA training center in occupied East Jerusalem

 Israeli police renewed a raid on the Qalandiya Training Center of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, Palestinian authorities said.

The Jerusalem Governorate reported the raid in a brief statement, without giving further details.

The raid came after Israeli forces withdrew from the site two days ago after a four-day incursion, triggering a widespread wave of criticism from Arab nations and the United Nations.

Israeli forces evacuated and seized the center on Tuesday and raised the Israeli flag in its courtyard before withdrawing on Friday. Israeli authorities also installed surveillance cameras inside the center and left figures depicting soldiers in some of its facilities, while municipal work continued, he added.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir took part in the Aug. 25 raid and said there was “no place” for UNRWA in Jerusalem or Israel.

Established in 1952, the center provides vocational and technical training to hundreds of Palestinian refugees annually.

UNRWA on Saturday condemned the Israeli measures targeting the Qalandiya Training Center, including the raid and what the agency described as unlawful activities inside its buildings.

The agency also reaffirmed its commitment to fully resuming educational activities at the center.

The new raid comes amid mounting Israeli pressure on UNRWA. In October 2024, the Israeli Knesset passed two laws restricting the agency’s operations, including one banning its activities inside Israel, which took effect in early 2025.

In October 2025, the International Court of Justice affirmed Israel’s obligation to respect the inviolability of UN premises, including UNRWA facilities, and not interfere with the agency’s property and assets.

Despite the pressure, the UN General Assembly renewed UNRWA’s mandate for another three years in December 2025, allowing it to continue operating until June 2029.

UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 to provide assistance and protection to Palestinian refugees across its five areas of operation: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israel's Expulsion Doctrine by Gideon Levy

 The United Kingdom is on tenterhooks. Following the expulsion of the Netherlands and Spain from the international coordination center for postwar Gaza in Kiryat Gat, Israel is now deliberating whether to expel Britain's representatives as well.

Britain's Nakba is on its way, and this could have been funny to the point of tears were it not for the fact that the underlying reality is patently unfunny. Israel is imposing sanctions on the world. Yes, you heard right.

Instead of the other way round. A country of almost universally acknowledged genocide and apartheid, a state on which almost no meaningful sanctions have been imposed to date, is punishing the world. The defendant is serving as the prosecutor.

This is perfectly congruent with the Israeli mindset. The world is to blame (for antisemitism), so the world will pay. It's all because of those Muslim migrants – that's what the media and the politicians keep telling us. All the megalomania and blindness are at play here.

The international coordination center for Gaza is a body with no great significance. It is located in the industrial zone of Kiryat Gat. Almost a year after it was set up, Gaza is mired in its ruins just as it was beforehand. Israel continues to kill there almost as much as it did before the cease-fire. The expulsion of His Majesty's delegates will not change a thing in Gaza. The issue is Israel's arrogance and chutzpah.

While Europe endlessly deliberates the proposed construction in area E1, which will split the West Bank into two parts, Israel is already punishing it. The illegal construction in E1 is not the issue. The hundreds of thousands of acres the settlers have taken over in the last two years didn't bother Europe, but Europe has now constructed a scarecrow for the sake of which it is ready to man the barricades.

But the West Bank has long been split, and annexed de facto for even longer. Europe is threatening to impose sanctions on produce originating in Jewish settlements in the West Bank as a punitive measure, and the enterprise is facing collapse.

In the face of this hollow and embarrassing European lip service, Israel stands arrogantly, displaying its detachment from the outside world's reality.

"Israel is sending a message to Europe – Britain may pay a price," said one grotesque headline, worth a thousand witnesses to the extent of disconnect and arrogance.

Israel believes it can expel the British, humiliate the Spanish and punish the entire world without retribution. Up to now, it was right. But the day is drawing near when Israel will have to open its eyes and discover that, actually, there's an outside world it has broken away from, as it has from it, and that it faces a new, unfamiliar reality.

The days of being the West's darling, in which Israel was allowed anything, are over. Expelling Britain from Kiryat Gat to please Likud voters is nice, and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar is probably bursting with pride, but the bill will arrive, even if it tarries for some unfathomable reason.

Israel and the world are growing apart. Israel boasts about committing war crimes; it's an electoral asset. But the idea that Israel can continue displaying arrogance toward the entire world while it continues as is its wont is the most dangerous idea for its future – much more than the money sent to Hamas or the Iranian nuclear program.

Disconnecting from the world will carry a price every Israeli will have to pay. Most governments around the world don't really want to sever ties with Israel, and they are pinning their hopes on the expected change of government as an (imaginary) way out of this mess. But Israel will not change, certainly not sufficiently, and the world will have to change its attitude toward it.

A country which for decades has been ignoring every resolution passed by the international community, as well as expelling Europe from Kiryat Gat, will not be absolved.

One day, the world will finally be able to enter the Gaza Strip. Having viewed its horrors, it'll no longer be possible to continue being silent in relation to Israel. The "expulsion" from Kiryat Gat will also be remembered in London.

America is changing, and Europe is just waiting for a green light from the other side of the Atlantic to settle scores with Israel, which for decades has been running wild, doing as it pleases in a way that no country that is not a global superpower allows itself to.