Goodwill Caravan raises thousands during London’s Ramadan iftar to help Sudan, Palestine

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Goodwill Caravan charity has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years for emergency food and aid campaigns in countries affected by armed conflicts. (Courtesy: @goodwillcaravan)
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Goodwill Caravan charity has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years for emergency food and aid campaigns in countries affected by armed conflicts. (Courtesy: @goodwillcaravan)
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Updated 17 March 2025
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Goodwill Caravan raises thousands during London’s Ramadan iftar to help Sudan, Palestine

  • Donations will support Sallam Center in Cairo, which provides emergency assistance to displaced people
  • Palestinian envoy to UK says event is ‘a testament to the depth of support (Palestinians) have in the British public’

LONDON: Goodwill Caravan, a UK-based humanitarian charity, raised thousands of dollars during a Ramadan iftar event in London to support refugees from Palestine and Sudan living in Egypt.

The charity has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years for emergency food and aid campaigns in countries affected by armed conflicts.

Hanan Ashegh, founder and CEO of Goodwill Caravan, told Arab News that the charity hopes to raise £150,000 ($194,000) by the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which concludes in March.




Husam Zomlot, Palestinian ambassador to the UK. Supplied

Donations will support the Sallam Center in Cairo, which provides emergency assistance to displaced people from war-torn regions, including Sudan and the Gaza Strip, offering food, shelter, legal support, and medical aid.

Ashegh said that an auction and iftar event raised £55,000 this week. Last year, the charity raised £120,000 during a single Ramadan iftar to help Palestinians in Gaza by sending 16 trucks loaded with aid to the coastal enclave.

The charity is planning to open the Sallam Center in Libya to help those in need and support sub-Saharan refugees and trafficking survivors in the North African country that has experienced over a decade of political schism and instability.

Ashegh said that the charity employs a “holistic model” to address the issues faced by refugees, helping with food, shelter, and integration into a country “that may not readily accept them.”

Event is a testament to the depth of support Palestinians have in the British public

Husam Zomlot, Palestinian ambassador to the UK

Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, told Arab News that such fundraising events are “a testament to the depth of support (Palestinians) have in the British public, and particularly among those who really want to support the Palestinian cause not only by words but by deeds.”

Between October 2023 and the summer of 2024, around 110,000 Palestinians were forced to flee to Egypt as Israel bombed Gaza, killing tens of thousands of people.

Zomlot added that it was essential to support displaced Palestinians in Egypt and in other countries, and to ensure that “until they return back to their home, rebuild their lives, they also have lives wherever they are.”




Myriam Francois, British journalist, filmmaker, and writer. Supplied

Goodwill Caravan, founded in 2015, manages refugee and anti-trafficking projects in Greece and the UK, and has helped hundreds of Palestinian families from Gaza at its Sallam Center in Egypt.

Myriam Francois, a British journalist, filmmaker, and writer, said that refugees are frequently demonized not only by British and US tabloids but also worldwide.

“Refugees are represented as some sort of existential threat to our societies,” she told Arab News.




Hanan Ashegh, founder and CEO of Goodwill Caravan. Supplied

Francois said charitable acts are vital to provide refugees with “the tools to be able to get back on their feet.”

She added that Ramadan is a special time to “recalibrate ourselves in the rhythm of our faith” and help those in need.


Polio outbreak declared in Papua New Guinea

Updated 3 sec ago
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Polio outbreak declared in Papua New Guinea

SYDNEY: A polio outbreak has been declared in Papua New Guinea, sparking concern about the disease's spread in a country with low vaccination rates, health officials said.
Poliovirus, most often spread through sewage and contaminated water, is highly infectious and potentially fatal.
It can cause deformities and paralysis and mainly affects children under five years old.
The virus was detected in wastewater and environmental samples in the Pacific nation's capital Port Moresby and second largest city Lae, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
In subsequent testing, two children in Lae were found to have the poliovirus type 2 strain, according to the WHO representative in Papua New Guinea, Sevil Huseynova.
The confirmation of community transmission in the children "constitutes a polio outbreak", Huseynova said in briefing notes provided to AFP on Friday.
The health agency "expresses deep concern over the confirmed outbreak", she said.
Genetic testing showed the polio strain detected in Papua New Guinea was linked to one circulating in Indonesia.
Papua New Guinea was certified as polio-free in 2000, but immunisation rates among children are low -- less than 50 percent, according to the WHO.
"Polio is a highly infectious disease, and in communities with low polio immunisation rates, the virus quickly spreads from one person to another," Huseynova said.
Papua New Guinea Health Minister Elias Kapavore said the situation was "serious but manageable".
"We've dealt with this before and know what works," he told reporters on Thursday.
"Vaccination is safe and effective, and we're acting quickly to keep children protected."

Thai monk arrested over $9 million temple embezzlement

Updated 24 min 53 sec ago
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Thai monk arrested over $9 million temple embezzlement

  • Temples in Buddhist-majority Thailand rely heavily on income from “merit-making” ceremonies where worshippers make donations in hopes of gaining good fortune and better reincarnation
  • The arrest from one of the Bangkok suburb’s most prominent temples has triggered significant backlash on social media

BANGKOK: Thai police have arrested a Buddhist monk over allegations he embezzled more than $9 million from the prominent temple he ran which was funded by donations from devotees.
Investigators from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) accuse Abbot Phra Thammachiranuwat from Wat Rai Khing of siphoning more than 300 million baht ($9.05 million) from the temple’s bank account into his own.
Investigators traced funds from the temple on Bangkok’s western outskirts to an illegal online gambling network running baccarat card games, local media said.
Temples in Buddhist-majority Thailand rely heavily on income from “merit-making” ceremonies where worshippers make donations in hopes of gaining good fortune and better reincarnation.
Police charged Phra Thammachiranuwat with corruption and malfeasance, CIB deputy commissioner Jaroonkiat Pankaew told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.
“This (arrest) is to help purify our religion,” Jaroonkiat said.
Authorities have arrested a second suspect and are investigating whether others were involved, while local media reported the abbot has now left the monkhood.
Wat Rai Khing, believed to have been founded in 1851, houses a replica of the Buddha’s footprint.
The arrest from one of the Bangkok suburb’s most prominent temples has triggered significant backlash on social media.
“Next time I will donate to a hospital or school for good causes, not a temple,” one user posted on social media platform X.
Others cautioned their fellow Buddhists to remain firm in their faith.
“Not all monks are bad. Don’t generalize,” another X user wrote.


France sues Iran at top UN court over detained citizens

Updated 25 min 44 sec ago
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France sues Iran at top UN court over detained citizens

  • The announcement comes as Iranian negotiators are set to meet with their counterparts from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany

PARIS: Paris has filed a case against Tehran at the top UN court over two French citizens who have been held in Iran for three years, the French foreign minister said on Friday.
The announcement comes as Iranian negotiators are set to meet with their counterparts from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany in Turkiye on Friday for talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
Cecile Kohler, a 40-year-old literature teacher from eastern France and her partner Jacques Paris, in his 70s, were arrested on May 7, 2022, on the last day of a tourist trip to Iran.
They have been held on spying charges, which they have vehemently denied.
In its case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), France accuses Iran “of violating its obligation to provide consular protection” to the pair, who “have been held hostage... detained in appaling conditions that amount to torture,” Jean-Noel Barrot told France 2 television.
They are among a number of Europeans still held by Iran in what some European countries, including France, regard as a deliberate strategy of hostage-taking to extract concessions from the West at a time of tension over the Islamic republic’s nuclear program.
Kohler and Paris are the last known French detainees in Iran after some recent releases and are regarded as “state hostages” by the French government.
The two are jailed in extremely tough conditions, according to their families.


Jihadists in Nigeria turn to TikTok to spread propaganda

Updated 31 min 16 sec ago
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Jihadists in Nigeria turn to TikTok to spread propaganda

LAGOS: Jihadists in northeastern Nigeria are surging -- and using social media to spread the word of their campaigns and recruit fighters.
At least 100 people were killed in the new wave of jihadist attacks in April alone, as the governor of Borno, the epicentre of the violence which has raged since 2009, said the state is losing ground to armed groups.
At the same time, apparent jihadists and their boosters on TikTok were flaunting rifles, grenades and stacks of cash, according to easily accessible videos reviewed by AFP that same month.
They broadcast live in joint videos with accounts run by men preaching anti-Western ideologies in a style reminiscent of the videos released by deceased Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in the early days of the 15-year-old insurgency.
Criminal gangs that carry out raids on villages and kidnap for ransom in the northwest of the country have used TikTok in the past.
"It started with bandits," Bulama Bukarti, a vice president at Texas-based Bridgeway Foundation wrote on X. "Now, Boko Haram members are hosting live TikTok shows -- spreading propaganda, justifying their violence and threatening anyone who dares speak against them."
A Boko Haram fighter threatened Bukarti himself in a now-deleted TikTok video for speaking against the group, he said.
While many of the accounts on the video sharing app have been flagged and taken down, the capability of broadcasting live streams on the platform adds another layer of difficulty to monitoring the content they put out.
A TikTok spokesperson said it was difficult to quantify the number of accounts linked to terrorist organisations that have been taken down.
While some of these accounts have been deleted, several others remain active, according to accounts viewed by AFP at the time of publication.
"Terrorist groups and content related to these groups have no place on TikTok, and we take an uncompromising stance against enabling violent extremism on or off our platform," a spokesperson for the company told AFP in an emailed statement.


Among the 19 accounts reviewed by AFP were men dressed as clerics, their faces revealed to the camera even as they called for violence against the government and teamed up with accounts that showed off weapons hauls.
Accounts also post old footage of the original Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf, and those of Isah Garo Assalafy, who was banned from preaching in public places in Niger state for using violent rhetoric against democracy and Western civilisation.
These accounts frequently go live, interacting with followers, answering questions and receiving digital gifts that can be converted into cash.
Nigeria's jihadist conflict, which over the years has expanded to include a rival Islamic State group, has killed more than 40,000 and displaced some two million people in Africa's most populous country.
Saddiku Muhammad, a former jihadist who has since defected, told AFP that armed groups are turning to TikTok in part because security forces cracked down on the encrypted messaging app Telegram.
They also know TikTok is popular with young people.
"Jihadists realised that to capture the minds of young people, they need to speak to them in the language they understand -- instead of the traditional didactic and demagogic styles that are boring and unattractive to them," Muhammad said.
"From all indications, it is paying off. They are reaching out to young potential recruits."


Analysts told AFP that the use of TikTok by members of armed groups is a direct challenge to the government.
Malik Samuel, a security analyst at Abuja-based think tank Good Governance Africa, said it is a common Boko Haram tactic to use the group's young members to spread propaganda.
"I believe showing their faces is strategic -- to show that they aren't afraid and to let their target know that they are engaging with real people," Samuel said.
Islamic State West Africa Province, however, still appears to follow a more polished, top-down communication strategy than the apparent Boko Haram jihadists posting on TikTok, he said.
TikTok said it has partnered with UN-backed Tech Against Terrorism to improve the detection and removal of violent extremist content.
"Our community guidelines clearly state that we do not allow the presence of violent and hateful organisations or individuals on our platform," it said.
"We will always take action on content found to violate these policies."
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Israeli strikes kill at least 20 people in Gaza as Trump wraps up his Middle East visit

Updated 46 min 46 sec ago
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Israeli strikes kill at least 20 people in Gaza as Trump wraps up his Middle East visit

GAZA: Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza on Friday morning, as U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up his Middle East visit.
An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, where they were brought. Survivors said many people were still under the rubble.
The widespread attacks across northern Gaza come as Trump finishes his visit to Gulf states but not Israel.
There had been widespread hope that Trump’s regional visit could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes.