Known as France's first environmentally friendly mosque, the Great Mosque of Massy stands out with its energy savings and effective use of natural resources.

The mosque, which was built in Massy, a southern suburb of Paris, draws attention with its glass dome, mostly glass minaret, and floor-to-ceiling windows.

With double-wall insulation, an underfloor heating system, and LED lights, it ensures efficient use of resources.

The mosque, which was inaugurated in 2019, uses the rainwater stored in the mosque for the cleaning and watering of the surrounding green area.

The roof of the mosque has a vegetative coating that prevents energy and heat loss and produces oxygen.

The mosque cost €4.5 million ($4.74 million) in total and it was built with the donations of Muslims in Massy and France.

Mahmoud Ismail, the chairman of the Council of Muslims in Massy, told Anadolu Agency that they built the mosque based on the teachings of Prophet Muhammad 1,400 years ago and the principles of ecology in the Quran.

"Prophet Muhammad encouraged the protection of plants and animals, and to prevent waste," Ismail said, adding that Islam made "great contributions" to world civilization in terms of ecology.

Calling on Muslims in Europe, he said: "We need well-respected places of worship in Europe."/aa

Bulgaria will not support European Union's new set of sanctions against Russia if the Balkan country does not get a derogation from the proposed ban on buying Russian oil, Deputy Prime Minister Assen Vassilev said late on Sunday.

European Union governments moved closer on Sunday to agreeing to tough sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, but scheduled more talks for Monday to work out how to ensure countries most dependent on Russian energy can cope. 

"The talks will continue tomorrow, on Tuesday too, a meeting of the leaders may be needed to conclude them. Our position is very clear. If there be a derogation for some of the countries, we want to get a derogation too," Vassilev told national BNT television.

"If not, we will not support the sanctions. But I do not expect to get to that, based on the talks at the moment," he said.

Landlocked Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which all depend heavily on Russian crude delivered via Soviet-era pipelines face a challenge to secure alternative sources and have asked for a derogation from the ban. Bulgaria has also requested a derogation.

The European Commission proposed changes on Friday to its initial planned embargo on Russian oil to give the three countries more time to shift their energy supplies, while Bulgaria was not offered concessions, EU sources said.

Vassilev said Bulgaria also needs to get a derogation, as its only refinery at the Black Sea port of Burgas needed time to upgrade its de-sulphurization facilities necessary to switch to processing only non-Russian crude.

Neftochim Burgas refinery, owned by Russia's LUKOIL (LKOH.MM), is the dominant fuel provider in the Balkan country, the poorest in the 27-member bloc. At present, half of the oil it processes comes from Russia.

Lack of an exemption would either pose serious environmental risks to the region of Burgas or force the oil refinery to decrease processing, which would create a deficit and further increase fuel prices, he said./Reuters

• OIC called upon the international community, especially the UN and Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, to take necessary measures in this regard

JEDDAH: The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has expressed deep concern over recent public calls for the genocide of Muslims in Haridwar in India’s Uttarakhand state. It also condemned reported incidents of harassment of Muslim women on social media, as well as the banning of female Muslim students wearing the hijab in Karnataka.

The continued attacks on Muslims and their places of worship, the recent trend of anti-Muslim legislation in different states and rising incidents of violence against Muslims are indicative of the growing trend of Islamophobia, the OIC said.

It called upon the international community, especially the UN and Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, to take necessary measures in this regard.

The OIC urged India to ensure the safety, security and wellbeing of the Muslim community, protect the way of life of its citizens, and bring perpetrators of acts of violence to justice./Arab News

Kuwait’s Customs department has announced the seizure of a yacht of a famous social media celebrity who tried to smuggle different brands of alcohol.

On inspection, 693 liquor bottles were found inside the yacht that had a Kuwaiti citizen and a Filipino expat.

The Customs department referred the persons aboard the yacht to competent authorities to take legal action.

Following the bust, Yaqoub Boushehri, a Kuwait social media celebrity, confirmed that the yacht belongs to him and asked his followers and fans to wait for the outcome of the investigation. He said he is ready to fly back from London if he was asked to.

Following preliminary investigation, Kuwait authorities have issued an order to arrest Boushehri and issued a circular to all air and land ports to refer him to the public prosecution once he is back in the country.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are the only two states with an absolute ban on alcohol, although access to liquor is restricted to hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners in much of the region.

Kuwait prohibits the import of intoxicating substances in compliance with Article 206 of Law 46 of 1964. According to the article concerned with alcohol, every person who imports or manufactures with the intent to trade alcohol or intoxicating drink shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years./ Gulf News 

Algeria's desperate bid to replay its World Cup playoff with Cameroon was rejected by FIFA, who said Saturday the dossier is "considered closed."

Algeria won the first leg of the play-off 1-0 in March but lost the return leg 2-1 at home after extra time to miss out on one of the five berths at the finals for African nations.

"FIFA can confirm that the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) submitted a complaint to FIFA's Disciplinary Committee in relation to the FIFA World Cup qualifier Algeria vs. Cameroon played on 29 March 2022, and subsequently FAF also requested to have FIFA's Referee Committee feedback," a FIFA spokesperson told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Saturday.

The committee itself said in a report that "all the incidents that occurred during the match were carefully examined by the two video referees, in accordance with the Laws of the Game and the protocol of video assistance to the referee."

After 90 minutes in Blida, Cameroon led 1-0. In the 28th minute of extra time, Ahmed Touba scored a goal that would have put Algeria through, but Karl Toko Ekambi replied in the fourth minute of added time at the end of extra time.

The Algerian federation said the refereeing of the second leg by Gambian Bakary Gassama was "scandalous."

Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi repeatedly blasted the refereeing in the match and in Africa in general.

Algerian fans have demonstrated outside FIFA's headquarters in Zurich./AFP