Despite the closure of Erada Square, security forces allowed the demonstration called by former MP Saleh Al-Mulla to be held for a one hour in a “cool” atmosphere secured by the air conditioners that the Ministry of Interior deployed at the site, reports Al-Rai daily. Dozens of citizens participated in the demonstration, during which they expressed their anger about the disruption caused to the progress of the country due to the differences between the executive and legislative authorities, according to the letter sent by Al-Mulla to the Ministry of Interior to request for authorizing the demonstration. The protesters raised banners and called for reform led by the general amnesty law and the abolition of the laws that restrict freedom of expression. Some among them also raised banners calling for the naturalization of the Bedoun residents.

GAZA CITY, Palestine 

Thirty-nine women, mostly mothers, who were killed in the latest Israeli attacks on Gaza, left their loved ones and some painful stories behind.

254 Palestinians, including 39 women, 66 children, were killed in the Israeli attacks on Gaza, while also leaving 1,948 people injured.

Here are the women who were killed during the latest attacks by Israel between 11-20 May, 2021.

May 11, 2021

1) Layali Abu al-Khair

Layali Abu al-Khair, 40, a biology graduate, was the mother of 7 children. She lost her life with her husband and 3 children in the Israeli attacks.

2) Amira Abdel Fattah Sobh

Amira Abdel Fattah Sobh, 58, died with her disabled son, Abdurrahman, as Israeli air strikes targeted their homes.

3) Manar Baraka

Manar Baraka, 18, was also the target of Israeli attacks in Deir el-Balah, Gaza while she was on the field, where her family's chicken farm is located.

12 May, 2021

4) Reem Saad El-Telbani

7-month-pregnant Rim Saad et-Telbani, 31, a graduate of "information technology", died during the attacks with her two children and her unborn baby.

5) Miami Arafa

Miami Arafa, 48, mother of four children, also died in the Israeli attacks. She was dreaming to attend her children's wedding ceremony.

6) Hadeel Arafa

Arafa, 28, was getting ready for her wedding, which was going to be held two weeks after Eid al-Fitr (Ramadan feast).

7) Maysoon Zaki Al-Hato

Al-Hato, 55, lost her life with her husband as the car they were traveling in was hit by Israel.

May 13, 2021

8) Rawya al-Tanani

Tanani, 35, who was pregnant, died with her husband and four children. The family's dream was to buy a house.

9) Walaa Amen

Walaa, 25 was pregnant with her first baby, whom she would name Meryem, lost her life in the Israeli attacks with her daughter.

10) Warda Amen

Warda, 24, the sister of Walaa, was known a successful student. She studied Commerce in English at the university, were planning to start working to support her family.

11) Hadeel Amen

Hadeel, 21, the sister of Walaa, was a student at the nursery school. Two weeks before she died in the attacks, she had sold her gold earrings to buy school equipments such as a white coat, blood pressure monitor and stethoscope.

12) Kholoud Al-Zamili

Mother of two children, Zamili was 7 months pregnant. She and her daughter and her unborn baby died in the attacks by Israel.

13) Halima Al-Madhoun

Halima Al-Madhoun, 66, also died in the Israeli attacks with her husband Abdurrahman.

14) Siham Yousef Al-Rantisi

Siham Rantisi, 66, was among the civilians targeted in the Israeli attacks with her son, daughter-in-law and 2-year-old grandson.

15) Shaima Diab Al-Rantisi

Seyma, the daughter-in-law of Siham Rantisi, died in the attacks along with her 2-year-old son and husband.

16) Manar Issa Salama

Menar, 39, and her daughter Lina were among those killed in the attacks.

17) Nima Saleh Ayyash

Nimet Salih, 47, who was taking care of his disabled mother in the village of Ummu Nasr in the north of Gaza, was killed in the Israeli bombardment.

18) Sabreen Abu Dayya

Sabrin, 28, mother of five, was killed by Israel with her 10-month-old son and two sisters.

19) Nisreen Abu Dayya

The mother of three children, Nesrin, 26, lived under difficult economic and social conditions. She was looking forward to reuniting with her husband as he had gone to Europe to work 3 years ago.

May 14, 2021

20) Lamia Al-Attar

Lamia, 27, the mother of three children, where killed by Israel attacks with her two sons.

21) Fayza Salama

Fayize, 43, mother of three and grandmother of six, was expecting her seventh grandchild.

22) Yasmin Abu Hatab

Israeli bombardment took the life of Yasemin, 30, and her 4 children. She was educated as a primary school teacher but she devoted her life to raise her children.

23) Maha Abu Hatab “Al Hadidi”

The Israeli army killed Meha, 35, with her 4 children.

May 16, 2021

24) Abeer Eshkontna

Abir, 29, was a mother of 5, she died with four of her children in the Israeli attacks.

7 women from the "Abu Al-Owf" family:

25) Majeda Abu Al-Owf

Mecdiyya Abu al-Avf, 78, was a grandmother of 13 grandchildren ( 3 boys and one girl).

26) Sobhia Abu Al-Owf

Sobhia, 72, lost her eyesight 11 years ago due to health problems.

27) Raja Abu Al-Owf

Raja, 41, was one of the volunteers working for psychological support in Gaza. She was preparing to defend her doctoral thesis in psychology at the Islamic University in 3 months. She and her four children were killed in the Israeli attacks.

28) Raja Abu Al-Owf (Al-Efrangi)

Raja Al-Efrangi, 41, who was killed in the Israeli attacks with her four children, completed his master's degree in sociology 3 days before her death.

29) Reem Ahmed Abu Al-Owf

Reem, 40, mother of four children, lost her life with her husband Eymen and 3 children in the Israeli attacks. Only his son Omar remained from his family.

Two sisters:

30) Shaima Abu Al- Owf

Shaima, 21, was getting ready for her wedding in June. She was a student at the dentistry faculty and was a successful reciter of the Holy Quran.

31) Rawan Alaa Abu Al- Owf

Ravan, 18, was a university student studying computer engineering.

5 women from the Kolak family:

32) Saadia Yousef Al-Kolak

The attacks by the Israeli took the lives of Sadiyya, 84, and her daughter.

33) Bahaa Amin Al-Kolak

Bahaa, 49, was a single woman who was taking care of her elderly parents. She died with her mother in Gaza’s Al-Wehda street.

34) Reham Fawaz Al-Kolak

Reham, 33, was working as an engineer in a Palestine Telecommunications company. She was a firm follower of the Spanish football league.

35) Ayat Ibrahim Al-Kolak

Israeli bombs killed 19-year-old Ayat along with her husband and 6-month-old son on Al-Wahde Street.

36) Amal Jamil “Al-Tatar” Al-Kolak

Amal, 42, died along with her three sons.

May 19, 2021

37) Amani Saleha

Mother of a girl, Emani, 38, was also 8-months-pregnant when she died in Israeli attacks along with her entire family.

38) Fida’a al-Qudra

Fida’a, 35, was the mother of two boys and three girls.

May 20, 2021

39) Huda Salah al-Khaznadar

Huda, 36, were killed when Israeli bombs hit their home in Khan Yunis. Her husband and children were injured in the same attack./aa

The Canadian government released its plan Thursday to address the tragedy of as many as 4,000 missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG).

The government promised a CAN$2.2 billion fund to reach goals suggested by the National Inquiry into the (MMIWG).

The inquiry compiled a 1,200-page report given to the government two years ago that contained 213 recommendations.

The country is still reeling from the discovery last week of 215 children's bodies in unmarked graves at a former Indian residential school and the document released Thursday allocated $27 million to Indigenous communities to help in the search for graves at 138 other residential schools. The United Nations called for a full probe into the discovery.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a televised address Thursday that the missing women were a "national tragedy" and vowed to "end violence against Indigenous women and girls."

In regards to the MMIWG report and the children's bodies at the British Columbia residential school, Trudeau said Canada is "no longer trying to hide" the truth.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police reported in 2014 that more than 1,000 Indigenous women and girls were killed or went missing between 1980 and 2012.

In some cases, investigations were incomplete because of racist and lackadaisical attitudes.

But the Native Women's Association of Canada said the number is actually nearer to 4,000 but incomplete data makes the number hard to determine.

The MMIWG report contained a number of short-term goals set by the government.

They included a public campaign to explain the issues experienced by Indigenous people, a national task force to look at unresolved cases of the missing and murdered women and girls and a structure put in place to represent families and survivors of residential schools. About 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their parents and put into the schools beginning in the 1820s. The idea was to cancel out native culture.

But the MMIWG plan does not contain all the government hopes to achieve.

"The national action plan is not intended to be a final plan but one that is evergreen (continually evolving) and requires monitoring and reporting on progress, as well as further co-development (with Indigenous peoples) and course correction as required," the report states.

However, critics said the plan lacks specific actions, as well as financial commitments for families of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Ahead of the report's release on Wednesday, members of the Native Women's Association of Canada walked away from what they termed a "fundamentally flawed" process, CTV News reported./aa

A multi-hazard emergency looms large following the recent volcanic eruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warned on Thursday.

Mt. Nyiragongo, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, erupted on May 22 and spewed out a river of lava that eventually flowed east toward neighboring Rwanda, killing more than 30 people and causing enormous damage along the way.

According to the IFRC, some 80,000 people have been displaced in the DRC and Rwanda, and it has launched an emergency appeal for 11.6 million Swiss francs (over $12.2 million).

“The danger is not over, and more work lies ahead. While volcanic activity seems to have subsided, the recent eruption has left a trail of immense humanitarian needs,” Mohammed Omer Mukhier, IFRC regional director for Africa, said in a statement.

“Hundreds have lost their homes and they urgently need shelter, food, clean water, and healthcare. Families have also been separated amid the chaos that followed the eruption.”

Karamaga Apollinaire, the secretary-general of the Rwanda Red Cross, said the organization has “had to manage the influx and the destruction of property caused by the continuous earthquakes” in the town of Rubavu, where many Congolese sought refuge after the eruption.

“Schools, homes, markets, and water lines have been destroyed, and residents are being evacuated to safer grounds,” he said.

UNICEF said on Wednesday that more than 1,300 children were separated from their parents in the chaos that followed the eruption of Mt. Nyiragongo.

To date, 858 children have been reunited with their families, the UN body said on Twitter./aa

The number of mosques continues to grow at a steady pace across the US, according to a report that identified 2,769 mosques in 2020.

"This represents a 31% increase from the 2010 count of 2,106," said the report, "The American Mosque 2020: Growing and Evolving," released Wednesday.

"Undoubtedly, the primary driving force for the increase of mosques is the steady expansion of the population of Muslims in America due to immigration and birth rate," it added.

The primary sponsors of the survey include the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Center on Muslim Philanthropy, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) and the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB).

The number of mosque participants also grew, according to the report.

Weekly Friday prayer averaged 410 attendees in 2020, as compared to 353 in 2010 -- a 16% increase.

"Almost three-fourths (72%) of mosques recorded a 10% or more increase in Jum’ah attendance," said the report.

But conversions to Islam in mosques declined "dramatically."

"From 15.3 converts per mosque in 2010, the average number of converts in 2020 is 11.3," it said. "The primary reason is the decline in African American converts, especially in African American mosques."

In addition, mosques are becoming more suburban, according to the report that cites major declines that occurred in the number of mosques located in towns or small cities and downtown areas of large cities.

Mosques in towns and small cities declined from 20% in 2010 to 6% in 2020.

"The apparent cause is the dwindling population of Muslims in these towns/small cities due to the drying up of jobs in these areas and the moves of young adults, children of mosque founders, and activists to large cities for education and jobs," said the report.

"In 2010, 17% of mosques were found in downtown areas, but in 2020 that figure is down to 6%. This decrease is most probably tied to the decrease of African American mosques and the general move of mosques to suburban locations," said the report./aa