Latest news with #Sahar
Scientific American
12-07-2025
- General
- Scientific American
Math Puzzle: How Many Handshakes?
Leila and Sahar are attending a dinner party with four other couples. Each attendee knows their partner, but they may or may not know anyone else there. Before the five couples sit down to eat, anyone who doesn't know each other shakes hands. After everyone sits, Leila makes an observation to the table: 'I just noticed that no two of you shook hands the same number of times.' How many hands did Leila and Sahar each shake? (Martin Gardner previously included a variation of this puzzle, attributed to mathematician Lars Bertil Owe, in his Mathematical Games column in the May 1973 issue of Scientific American.)
Daily Express
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Express
PAS ready to field non-Muslim candidates in Sabah polls
Published on: Wednesday, July 09, 2025 Published on: Wed, Jul 09, 2025 By: Faiz Zainudin, FMT Text Size: PAS had earlier confirmed it would contest at least six of the 73 Sabah state assembly seats. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA: Sabah PAS is open to fielding non-Muslim candidates in the upcoming state election, expected to be held later this year. Its secretary Sahar Abdul Majid said such nominations would depend on the need and suitability of the constituencies PAS planned to contest under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) banner. He said this openness aligned with the party's long-standing 'PAS for All' principle and was not a new move, noting that the party had fielded non-Muslim candidates in the 14th general election (GE14). 'Our non-Muslim supporters' wing (DHPP) in the Sabah chapter is active, particularly among the Dusun and Chinese communities, with over 1,000 members to date,' he told FMT. 'In 2018, PAS fielded a non-Muslim candidate. This shows that Sabah DHPP plays an important role in garnering support from non-Muslim communities.' Non-Muslims fielded by PAS in GE14 included farmer Satail Mojungkat for the Kadamaian state seat in Sabah and the late R Kumutha for the Johor Jaya state seat in Johor. Satail lost to Upko's Ewon Benedick, who had contested under the Barisan Nasional banner, while Kumutha lost to Pakatan Harapan's Liow Cai Tung. Sahar said PAS was confident it could deliver a surprise outcome in the upcoming state election with more structured and strategic preparations, including nominating credible and capable candidates. 'The people of Sabah are showing a growing desire for change and better leadership,' he added. As for which seats PAS would contest, Sahar said the final decision would be made collectively with other PN component parties. Previously, PAS confirmed it would contest at least six out of the 73 Sabah state assembly seats. Sabah PAS commissioner Aliakbar Gulasan is currently one of six assemblymen appointed by the state government after the 2020 state election. PAS did not contest any seat in that election. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘They threw us out like garbage': Iran rushes deportation of 4 million Afghans before deadline
Women forced back to living under the Taliban's increasingly repressive regime have spoken of their desperation as Iran accelerates the deportation of an estimated 4 million Afghans who had fled to the country. In the past month alone, more than 250,000 people, including thousands of lone women, have returned to Afghanistan from Iran, according to the UN's migration agency. The numbers accelerated before Sunday's deadline set by the Iranian regime for all undocumented Afghans to leave the country. The Taliban, who returned to power in 2021, have been accused of enforcing a system of gender apartheid in Afghanistan. Women returning to the country must live with oppressive laws that ban them from showing their faces, speaking or appearing in public, as well as being excluded from most jobs and education. Anyone caught breaking these rules faces public flogging. Speaking to the Guardian and Zan Times, an Afghan news agency, at a border crossing in southern Afghanistan, Sahar*, 40, is travelling with five children and says she has no idea where she will live now. A widow originally from Baghlan, a city in northern Afghanistan, she had been living in Iran for more than a decade. She ran a small tailoring workshop and had recently put down a deposit on a home. Last week, she says she was detained, taken with her children from a refugee camp near the southern city of Shiraz, and deported. 'I didn't even get to pack their clothes. They came in the middle of the night. I begged them to give me just two days to collect my things. But they didn't listen. They threw us out like garbage.' Until recently, women were rarely forcibly returned from Iran. Men, often undocumented labourers, were more likely to face arrest and deportation. But Afghan border officials say there has been a recent shift, with at least 100 unaccompanied women deported through a single border point in Nimroz province, in the south of the country, between March and May this year. Returning to Afghanistan without a male guardian puts women in direct conflict with Taliban law, which prohibits women from travelling alone. Many of those returned from Iran find themselves stranded at the border, unable to continue their journey. With temperatures now reaching 52C, local officials say that a number of people have died during the forced crossings. Border officials say at least 13 bodies have arrived in the past two weeks, but it was not clear whether they had died of heat and thirst or were killed during Israel's airstrikes in Iran. Those arriving at border crossings in southern Afghanistan say they are thirsty, hungry and exhausted, having walked for hours under the sun. Most have no belongings, documentation or plan about where to live. 'From Shiraz to Zahedan [close to the Afghan border], they took everything from us. My bank card had 15 million tomans (£110). They charged 50,000 tomans for a bottle of water, 100,000 for a cold sandwich. And if you didn't have it, your child went without,' says Sahar. The Taliban says it offers short-term shelter and transport assistance to women deported without a mahram (an adult male who can accompany her on a journey). But many returnees say they received no such help. Under Taliban policy, most single women are barred from receiving land, travelling alone to their home province, or accessing employment. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion Sahar says her options in Afghanistan are bleak. She has an elderly mother in Baghlan, but no home, no job and no husband, meaning, under Taliban rules, she cannot travel alone or work legally. 'I asked for land [from the Taliban], anything to start again. They said, 'You're a woman, you have no mahram. You don't qualify.'' Many end up relying on extended family or informal networks. One woman, recently returned with a newborn, says she was denied food and shelter. 'They told me: 'You're not eligible. You don't have a man with you.' But my baby is just four days old. Where am I supposed to go?' The UN agency, the International Organization for Migration, and other groups provide temporary aid at border crossings, but they do not have the mandate or resources for long-term support. In the buses taking deportees from detention to the Afghanistan borders, women also say they are subjected to verbal abuse, bribes demanded for basic services and no air conditioning in extreme heat. 'They said it's a waste for you Afghans. My child cried from the heat, but the driver laughed and mocked us,' says Zahra*. * Names have been changed Kreshma Fakhri contributed to this report.
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘They threw us out like garbage': Iran rushes deportation of 4 million Afghans before deadline
Women forced back to living under the Taliban's increasingly repressive regime have spoken of their desperation as Iran accelerates the deportation of an estimated 4 million Afghans who had fled to the country. In the past month alone, more than 250,000 people, including thousands of lone women, have returned to Afghanistan from Iran, according to the UN's migration agency. The numbers accelerated before Sunday's deadline set by the Iranian regime for all undocumented Afghans to leave the country. The Taliban, who returned to power in 2021, have been accused of enforcing a system of gender apartheid in Afghanistan. Women returning to the country must live with oppressive laws that ban them from showing their faces, speaking or appearing in public, as well as being excluded from most jobs and education. Anyone caught breaking these rules faces public flogging. Speaking to the Guardian and Zan Times, an Afghan news agency, at a border crossing in southern Afghanistan, Sahar*, 40, is travelling with five children and says she has no idea where she will live now. A widow originally from Baghlan, a city in northern Afghanistan, she had been living in Iran for more than a decade. She ran a small tailoring workshop and had recently put down a deposit on a home. Last week, she says she was detained, taken with her children from a refugee camp near the southern city of Shiraz, and deported. 'I didn't even get to pack their clothes. They came in the middle of the night. I begged them to give me just two days to collect my things. But they didn't listen. They threw us out like garbage.' Until recently, women were rarely forcibly returned from Iran. Men, often undocumented labourers, were more likely to face arrest and deportation. But Afghan border officials say there has been a recent shift, with at least 100 unaccompanied women deported through a single border point in Nimroz province, in the south of the country, between March and May this year. Returning to Afghanistan without a male guardian puts women in direct conflict with Taliban law, which prohibits women from travelling alone. Many of those returned from Iran find themselves stranded at the border, unable to continue their journey. With temperatures now reaching 52C, local officials say that a number of people have died during the forced crossings. Border officials say at least 13 bodies have arrived in the past two weeks, but it was not clear whether they had died of heat and thirst or were killed during Israel's airstrikes in Iran. Those arriving at border crossings in southern Afghanistan say they are thirsty, hungry and exhausted, having walked for hours under the sun. Most have no belongings, documentation or plan about where to live. 'From Shiraz to Zahedan [close to the Afghan border], they took everything from us. My bank card had 15 million tomans (£110). They charged 50,000 tomans for a bottle of water, 100,000 for a cold sandwich. And if you didn't have it, your child went without,' says Sahar. The Taliban says it offers short-term shelter and transport assistance to women deported without a mahram (an adult male who can accompany her on a journey). But many returnees say they received no such help. Under Taliban policy, most single women are barred from receiving land, travelling alone to their home province, or accessing employment. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion Sahar says her options in Afghanistan are bleak. She has an elderly mother in Baghlan, but no home, no job and no husband, meaning, under Taliban rules, she cannot travel alone or work legally. 'I asked for land [from the Taliban], anything to start again. They said, 'You're a woman, you have no mahram. You don't qualify.'' Many end up relying on extended family or informal networks. One woman, recently returned with a newborn, says she was denied food and shelter. 'They told me: 'You're not eligible. You don't have a man with you.' But my baby is just four days old. Where am I supposed to go?' The UN agency, the International Organization for Migration, and other groups provide temporary aid at border crossings, but they do not have the mandate or resources for long-term support. In the buses taking deportees from detention to the Afghanistan borders, women also say they are subjected to verbal abuse, bribes demanded for basic services and no air conditioning in extreme heat. 'They said it's a waste for you Afghans. My child cried from the heat, but the driver laughed and mocked us,' says Zahra*. * Names have been changed Kreshma Fakhri contributed to this report.
Time of India
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Iranians in Germany struggle with war back home
Representative Image The conflict between Israel and Iran has deeply affected the Iranian diaspora community in Germany. As a shaky ceasefire already threatens to quickly unravel, those who spoke with DW said they feel helpless, watching events unfold with anxiety and fear for friends and family. More than 970 people in Iran have been killed with over 3,400 injured in Israeli strikes since June 13, according to the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists. Iranian strikes on Israel have killed at least 24 people and injured over 1,000. As the conflict continues, daily life in Iran is being severely disrupted. Authorities in Iran have cut off internet connectivity, which makes it harder for families to stay in touch, while stifling information about what is happening in the country. A crowd in Tehran waves flags at a protestA crowd in Tehran waves flags at a protest Some Iranians in Germany said they feel guilty, torn between the safety of their adopted home and the chaos engulfing their homeland. Germany is home to one of Europe's largest Iranian diaspora communities. In Munich, Cologne, Berlin and Stuttgart, thousands of kilometers away from the chaos of war, they grapple with powerlessness, often unable to contact loved ones, and left only with hope. Interviewees have not shared their full names for security reasons. 'The guilt is unbearable' Sahar, 35, has lived in Germany's southern city of Munich for eight years. She said she had never imagined waking up to news of war in Iran. "For years, the regime told us: yes, there are sanctions against us, yes, we lack freedoms, but at least we have security," she said. "Where is that security now?" Sahar said it's hard to convey the emotional weight of the conflict to her German friends and colleagues. "How do you describe the feeling of knowing your people are suffering day and night, and then suddenly a missile hits their home in the middle of the night?" Sahar said she is even contemplating returning to Iran. "If this war drags on, I want to be with my family. The guilt is unbearable. At least if something happens, I'll be there with them." A mother alone in Tehran In the western city of Cologne, Omid said he worries about his 86-year-old mother who lives alone in Tehran. Her caregiver fled the city in fear two days ago. "I was planning to visit her next month," Omid said. "Now, I can't even reach her. The internet is down. Her landline doesn't work. I've never felt this helpless." "My mother's hearing is weak. Maybe she can't hear the explosions," he said. Omid has turned to neighbors, requesting them to check on her. But with communication cut off, he said it sometimes feels like shouting into a void. Suffering in silence Mastaneh, an engineer in the southern city of Stuttgart, avoids talking about Iran at work. "If someone asks, I'll cry," she said. "So, I start talking about projects and deadlines before anyone can bring it up." One day, while lost in thought at the office coffee machine, her Syrian colleague gently squeezed her hand and said: "I understand how you feel." That simple gesture broke her. "I hugged her and whispered, 'Poor people of the Middle East.'" A baby in danger Ali, a musician in the small western city of Aachen, said he worries about his baby niece in Iran who was born with a heart condition. "She needs constant medical care," he said. "My sister spent 14 hours trying to reach a safer city. I was losing my mind," he said, adding that his sister now cannot access the usual medical treatment needed for her baby. "If something happens to her, who do we blame?" Ali said. "Iran is as responsible as Israel. Netanyahu and Khamenei are equally guilty," he said, referring to the prime minister of Israel and Iran's Supreme Leader. Communication cut off Many Iranians abroad are clinging to any thread of connection back home. As soon as someone finds a working phone line or internet access in Iran, others are quickly informed. In the German capital, Berlin, Payam and a few others have created a WhatsApp group. Whenever someone in Iran is able to get online, the group asks them to check on multiple families. "The psychological pressure of the internet blackout is worse than the war itself. Not knowing anything about my family is the scariest part," Payam said. "If the government truly believes cutting the internet makes things safer, I can live with that. But if this blackout drags on and the war becomes drawn out, it'll be a nightmare," he added. "Actually, we're already living in one … will I hear from my family again?" Solmaz, who came to Germany as a refugee many years ago, hasn't returned to Iran in over two decades. "Will I hear their voices again?" she said, wondering about her friends and family still in Iran. She lost her mother three years ago, and last year, she met with her siblings in Turkey for a rare reunion. "It was the first time I saw my nieces and nephews," she said. "Even though I had never met them before, I realized how deeply I love them." These days, Solmaz finds herself constantly thinking about her teenage nieces and nephews. "I worry about their future. Is there any hope for them in this situation?" she said. She said her 16-year-old niece, Nasim, used to call her daily before the internet was cut off in Iran. "With her unique humor, she'd say, 'Auntie, another explosion happened here!' and then laugh loudly. She'd walk around the house with her phone, giving me a full report on everyone. She once joked, 'Auntie, are our dads braver than us? There are explosions everywhere, and my dad is just debating whether the watermelon he bought is sweet enough.'" Now, with days of complete silence from her family, Solmaz said she can't stop crying when she thinks of Nasim's jokes. "I don't know if I'll ever hear their voices again — those who had no choice but to stay in Tehran," Solmaz said. 'Listen to the people inside Iran' Negar, recently divorced and battling depression, said the war has sapped her of every ounce of strength. "I feel numb. I follow the news, I see the images, but I feel nothing. Maybe I'm in shock," she said. "What difference does it make if you write about me and a few others here? Who cares? Go listen to the people inside Iran!" she said Journalist Gilda Sahebi describes 'mixed feelings' in Iran.
