Latest news with #Shafi
India.com
22-07-2025
- General
- India.com
Meet Village Of Twins! THIS Indian Village Has Over 450 Pair Of Twins, Boasts Of Highest Rate Of Twins In The World...Its Name Is
photoDetails english 2934737 Updated:Jul 22, 2025, 07:00 AM IST THIS Indian Village Has Over 450 Pair Of Twins 1 / 7 Famously called the 'Twin Town' or 'Village of Twins', this small Indian village boasts of over 450 pair of twins and is home to around 2000 families as per 2008 data available. Today, let's find out which is this place which is also said to have the 'Highest Rate Of Twins In The World'. Meet Village Of Twins 2 / 7 Kodinhi is a village in Malappuram district in Kerala, India. The village is situated close to the town of Tirurangadi and, as of 2008, is home to around 2,000 families. The village came to international attention for the unusually large number of multiple births in the region, especially twins, although India has one of the lowest twinning rates in the world, as per Wikipedia. Who Live In Kodinhi? 3 / 7 A majority of the residents are Sunni Muslim, and follow the Shafi school of thought.[4] A significant Salafi Muslim and Hindu minorities also resides here. The village is surrounded by backwaters on all sides but one, which connects it to the town of Tirurangadi. Highest Rate Of Twins In The World 4 / 7 According to History India, Kodinhi is famous as village of twins, because more than 550 twins live here. 42 twins are born for every 1000 deliveries in this village while the average record in the rest of the world is 6 twins per 1000 deliveries. Why Mostly Twins Are Delivered Here? 5 / 7 Despite several studies being conducted, the exact cause of this phenomenon is yet to be ascertained. Women from Kodinhi married off too far away places are also known to give birth to twins. According to doctors this phenomenon is due to chemicals present in water in the Kodinhi area. According to Times Of India, Kodinhi villagers believe that high twin births is due to blesings of the local deity while some are of the opinion that the water of the area has mystical properties. Other Countries Where Twins Are Born 6 / 7 This phenomenon of a large number of twin births is not unique to Kodinhi, and has also been observed in the town of Igbo-Ora in Nigeria. A similar phenomenon of a large number of twin births within a small isolated community has been observed in Cândido Godói, Brazil. Association of Twins 7 / 7 The first association of twins in the country, The Twins and Kins Association, was also founded in the village.
The Irish Sun
19-07-2025
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
Taliban ‘already murdering Afghans linked to foreign military' days after chilling warning over MoD ‘kill list' leak
THE TALIBAN are reportedly already murdering Afghans linked to foreign militaries - days after a huge MoD data leak. Fears have been growing over the safety of more than 18,000 Afghans whose details were included on the secret list. Advertisement 3 The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021 Credit: Getty 3 Details of almost 20,000 refugees fleeing the Taliban were leaked after a top secret email was sent to the wrong person Credit: AP 3 A number of named individuals have already been assassinated Credit: AFP A number of named individuals have been assassinated since the leak with one man shot four times in the chest at close range on Monday one of three assassinations in the past week according to the It comes after the Taliban sent a fleeing the Taliban were leaked after a Royal Marine mistakenly sent a top secret email to the wrong people. Since then panic has been spreading as up to 100,000 could face deadly repercussions from ruthless Taliban rulers who hunt down and kill anyone who helped the UK forces. Advertisement Read more News But sources have insisted it was impossible to prove conclusively whether it was a direct result of the data breach. Afghans were informed on Tuesday that their personal details had been lost including names, phone numbers and their family's details as well as other details that could help the Taliban hunt them down. It is not yet known whether the Taliban is in possession of the database. It includes names of Afghans as well as the names of their individual UK sponsors including Major General. Advertisement Most read in The Sun Breaking Exclusive One Afghan soldier who fled to Britain in fear of retribution, believes his brother was shot in the street this week because the Taliban believed he was affiliated to the UK. "If or when the Taliban have this list, then killings will increase – and it will be Britain's fault," he said. Taliban warns thousands of Afghans secretly airlifted to UK 'we will HUNT you down' "There will be many more executions like the one on Monday." He is convinced his sibling was executed because of his own association with Afghan special forces, known as the Triples. Advertisement He believes that the Taliban sought revenge on his family instead as news of his brother's murder reached him in Britain within an hour of the execution. A day later, Taliban fighters dragged a woman from her home and beat her in the street. A former British military interpreter who witnessed the attack claimed it was because the woman's husband "worked for the West" and is now hiding in Iran. Taliban officials have claimed the details of all the refugees have been known to them since 2022, after they allegedly sourced the information from the internet. Advertisement A dossier listing more than 300 murders includes those who worked with the UK and some who had applied for the UK's Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme. This includes senior Afghan intelligence officer, Colonel Shafiq Ahmad Khan, a 61-year-old grandfather who had worked alongside British forces. He was shot in the heart on his doorstep in May 2022. There has been fury this week over the data breach's deadly implications with one angry former interpreter saying: "We risked our lives for the UK standing beside them day after day, now they are risking our lives again." Advertisement The epic MoD blunder was kept Top Secret for almost three years by a legal super injunction. And the government is still battling the courts to keep details behind the Afghan data leak secret. Thousands of the refugees had to be secretly relocated to the UK and it is set to cost Britain up to £7 billion. A total of 18,714 Afghans were included on the secret list, many of whom arrived via unmarked planes which landed at airport. Advertisement Many of the Afghans who were flown into the country as part of Operation Rubific were initially housed at MoD homes or hotels until permanent accommodation was found. Only around 10 to 15 per cent of the individuals on the list would have qualified for relocation under the emergency Afghan Relocation and Assistance Programme, known as ARAP, opened as Kabul fell to the But the leak means many more now have a valid claim for assistance and relocation.
The Wire
04-07-2025
- The Wire
In Karnataka, Compensation for Victims of Communal Hate Crimes Is Beholden to Party Politics
Dakshina Kannada: After spending over 10 days in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Mangaluru, 30-year-old Kalandar Shafi says he shudders at the thought of returning to his village, Koltamajalu. There, the people who Shafi grew up with and worked with are now baying for his blood. Shafi is a survivor of a communal hate crime that occurred on May 27 in Koltamajalu. Since the incident, he has moved with in his sister, 20 kilometres away, to another village Addur. Shafi says his co-worker and childhood friend, Abdul Rehman, was hacked to death before his eyes by men he had known since childhood. 'The incident keeps flashing before my eyes,' he says. 'I still can't believe that Deepak (Pujari, one of the assailants) could attack us. We had known him forever; he and I had worked together as masons for many years,' Shafi adds. Abdul Rehman was secretary of Koltamajalu Jumma Masjid and drove a pick-up truck that ferried raw material for construction work. On May 27, according to Shafi and the first information report lodged at the Bantwal police station based on his statement, Deepak Pujari had called on Rehman to carry out construction work at his house on the outskirts of the village. Rehman had asked Shafi to join, and the two travelled to the location with sand for construction. 'We even found Deepak's mother on the way and offered to drop her home,' Shafi says. Abdul Rehman was killed in Koltamajalu village on May 27. Upon reaching Pujari's place, the two saw that a group of men had gathered there. They would prove to be their assailants. They quickly picked a fight with Rehman and in no time, hacked him to death. Shafi suffered multiple sword injuries to his arm, chest, abdomen, and lower back. 'I knew they were going to kill me next. I ran more than three kilometres in that injured condition,' he says. Pujari, the prime accused in the case, comes from a marginalised labourer's family and lives in a rented house. Pujari and the other accused men belong to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and according to Shafi, are affiliated with the militant right-wing group Bajrang Dal. Doctors have said that it will be at least two years before Shafi, who has had to have rods fitted into his arms, can return to the labour work he did to support his family. He no longer feels confident about returning to his village. In Addur village where Shafi lives now, he says, it 'feels safer', as the majority of the households there belong to Muslims. 'In Koltamajalu, we Muslims are fewer in number, and my house is surrounded by those belonging to the Hindu community,' he explains. Victims being forced to leave their place of habitation is not uncommon, a pattern seen following riots, communal violence, and even caste-based attacks. Since the incident, Shafi has had no job, no home to return to, and no support from the state government either. Although the police have arrested eight persons, including Pujari, there has been no further communication from the police or the Congress-led state government, he shares. 'My family has been appealing to Congress leaders for compensation,' he says, 'but there has been no response from the government so far'. A government and party failure Between April and May, three people were murdered, and one person – Shafi – was seriously injured in three separate incidents of hate crimes. Among those killed were Mohammed Ashraf, a mentally unstable Muslim man from the Wayanad region in Kerala, who worked as a ragpicker in Mangaluru city, Suhas Shetty, a Hindutva activist who has multiple cases of hate crimes against his name, including the 2022 murder of Mohammad Fazil, and Abdul Rehman who was killed in Koltamajalu village. The Congress government has not announced compensation for any of these murders, despite these being clear cases of violence. Abdul Rehman's brother, Mohammed Hanif, says that the state government has not sent any representative to meet the family. 'The police have come a few times to record statements, that is all. No MLA, no collector has come to see how the family is surviving,' Hanif, who also works as a driver of a pick-up van, told The Wire. The Congress's failure to act promptly to the incident led to unrest among the Muslim community. Soon after the incident, close to 200 Congress workers from the Muslim community, including former mayor K. Ashraf, had submitted their resignation as a sign of collective protest. Ashraf, talking to The Wire, soon after the incident had said, 'The Congress came to power because the Muslims of the region and across the state had unanimously voted for the party. It was a conscious decision that the community had taken to ensure that right wing forces don't return to power in the state and cause more havoc. But see what is happening under the Congress regime too?' Ashraf had said. A history of communal crimes The Dakshina Kannada region has always been communally tense. Activist Shabeer Ahamed, who has been closely documenting cases of violence and hate crimes in the region reiterates what Ashraf shared. 'The resentment,' he says, 'is not just within the party but also in the community.' Shabeer was a part of a fact-finding team that recently published a detailed report into Mohammed Ashraf's killing. Ashraf, a 30-year-old man from Kerala, was lynched by a mob of over 30 men at the temple village of Kudupu that falls under the jurisdiction of the Wamanjur Mangalore Rural Police Station. Soon after he was killed on April 27, the media claimed that Ashraf had shouted 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogan, thus almost attempting to justify the mob lynching. These unverified media reports were lapped up even by the Congress leaders, including state home minister G. Parameshwar and chief minister Siddaramiah. 'If the 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogan was shouted, it was wrong, whoever it is. Inquiry is still going on, a case has been registered. Let the report come, it will be clear as to what action should be taken against whom. If anyone speaks in favour of Pakistan, it is wrong, it is treason,' Siddaramiah had said, soon after the incident. The fact-finding exercise, carried out by the Karnataka unit of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), the Association of Protection for Civil Rights (APCR) and the All India Lawyers Association for Justice (AILAJ), however, found that no such sloganeering ever happened. Congress leaders had repeated the media's unverified claims without checking their veracity. In reality, the accused men were all playing cricket at the ground next to the Bhatra Kallurti Temple, when they saw Ashraf drink water around the temple and attacked him unprovoked. The Mangaluru police, who the activists accuse of being highly communalised, had first filed an 'Untimely Death Report' in the case and a concrete FIR came days later following pressure. After the incident, the commissioner of Mangaluru police Anupam Aggarwal was transferred out for his alleged complicity in the case. Activists claim that investigation is only one part of the issue. 'These families are all poor and were dependent on the income that these men brought home,' Shabeer says. Politics of compensation Three years ago, when the BJP government was in power, the region had witnessed similar mob killings. The BJP had arbitrarily paid compensation only to the family of Praveen Netharu, a BJP Yuva Morcha member, who was killed in 2022 by alleged members of the now banned Popular Front of India (PFI). The state BJP government then had ignored the demands for compensation of the rest and only after the Congress came to power in May 2023 were the families of those killed given Rs 25 lakh each as compensation. Among them, three were Muslim youth and one was a Hindu man associated with the Bajrang Dal. Compensations in mob violence and hate crime cases are an outcome of the Supreme Court's order in the Tehseen Poonawalla case where the apex court had directed that every state, along with taking a serious note of the issue of mob violence, should also disburse compensation to the families of the victims. Activists allege that since Suhas Shetty, a Bajrang Dal member, was also killed in the hate crimes, the Congress government is hesitant to provide compensation. The BJP has already paid Rs 25 lakh to Shetty's family on behalf of the party and the case has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The killings of the Muslim men are all being handled by the state police. 'They (the Congress) don't want to be seen giving compensation to a Hindutva man accused of mob violence himself,' said a senior activist. But amid the party politics, it is the victims' families which are suffering, Shabeer says. Several calls and messages were sent to state legislative assembly Speaker and Mangaluru MLA U.T. Khader for his comment on the allegations elicited no response. The story will be updated if Khader responds.
The Hindu
01-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
LDF govt. more concerned about PR campaigns than attending to Health sector: Shafi Parambil
Shafi Parambil, Congress MP, has alleged that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government is ignoring government medical college hospitals in the State because they are 'addicted to public relations campaigns'. He was opening a protest meeting outside the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, against the various problems affecting the healthcare sector in the State. Mr. Shafi alleged that the government was also helping the 'private hospital lobby' by neglecting medical college hospitals. He claimed that the rights of patients for medical care were being curtailed. Mr. Shafi demanded that the government cut down its expenditure on PR campaigns and use the funds for patients' welfare. Highlighting the recent social media post by C.S. Haris, Head of the Department of Urology at the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, about the lack of availability of surgical devices and equipment, Mr. Shafi alleged that even a Left sympathiser like him could not hide his disappointment over the state of affairs at the facility. Meanwhile, members of the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers' Association (KGMCTA) organised a protest meeting on National Doctors' Day on Tuesday (July 1), raising various demands. Opening the protest, C.S. Aravind, KGMCTA State secretary, said that the doctors in government medical colleges were disappointed with the current situation and called for urgent reforms in the sector. The doctors raised demands such as the creation of more posts of medical teachers in view of the rising number of patients, a clear definition of their working hours, and a halt to the temporary transfers of doctors, citing inspections by the National Medical Commission and the Kerala University of Health Sciences.
Express Tribune
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
MPA apologises over unproved allegation
PML-N Member of Punjab Assembly Muhammad Bilal Yamin apologised to opposition lawmaker Mian Ijaz Shafi on Tuesday after his allegation of his wristwatch having been stolen on the budget day was not proved. Amid the opposition's protest during the budget speech, the treasury lawmakers resisted them from moving ahead. Since the day, the allegation of the watch theft had been surfacing during the budget debate. Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan had made it clear that Yamin would be required to apologise to Shafi if he failed to prove his allegation. "After examining CCTV footages, I could not get any proof against Shafi. I tender apology to Mr Shafi if he is hurt," Yamin said in the House. Ijaz Shafi asked the speaker to train the treasury lawmakers to avoid making such accusations against others merely to appease their leadership. Lawmakers from the treasury benches continued praising the provincial budget for 2025-26, while the opposition criticised it on the fifth day of the general discussion. Challenging the government's claim of lack of corruption, opposition member Rana Aftab asked if anyone could declare on oath that "we are living in a corruption-free society". PML-N's Sardar Sher Ali Gorchani responded that he could swear that 90 per cent corruption had been eliminated from mines and minerals department since PTI's rule.
