Category World News

Police in Turkiye have detained four people over a cartoon published by the satirical magazine LeMan, which critics say appeared to depict Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Moses shaking hands in the sky as missiles fell below in a war-like scene – a claim the magazine denies.

The cartoon, published last week, triggered a backlash from government officials and religious groups in Turkiye. On Tuesday, the Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office announced a formal investigation under charges of “openly insulting religious values”.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at the magazine, describing it as “a vile provocation”.

“It is a clear provocation disguised as humour, a vile provocation,” he said, also denouncing it as a “hate crime”, confirming authorities had taken over LeMan magazine and were taking legal action against it.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya posted a video on X showing the arrest of cartoonist Dogan Pehlevan on Monday.

“I strongly condemn the shameless caricaturing of our Prophet,” Yerlikaya said. “This is not press freedom. This is not freedom of expression. These provocative acts, which insult our sacred values and deeply hurt Muslim consciences, will not go unpunished. ”

He added that a total of six detention orders had been issued. Two people who were overseas have yet to be arrested.

Yerlikaya also said the magazine’s graphic designer and two other senior staffers were detained, along with the cartoonist.

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said the investigation is proceeding under Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalises “incitement to hatred and enmity”.

In a statement posted on X, LeMan apologised to readers who were offended but insisted the cartoon had been misinterpreted. The magazine said Pehlevan aimed to highlight “the suffering of a Muslim man killed in Israeli attacks” and denied any attempt to mock Islam.

“The name Muhammad is among the most common in the Muslim world in honour of the Prophet. The cartoon does not portray him, nor was it intended to disrespect religious beliefs,” the magazine said, accusing critics of wilfully distorting its message.

LeMan urged authorities to investigate what it described as a targeted smear campaign and called for stronger protection of press freedom.

Later in the evening, videos surfaced online of crowds of protesters marching to LeMan’s office in Istanbul, kicking the building’s doors and chanting slogans.

The United Kingdom’s Labour government hopes to limit a rebellion over welfare reform from its own politicians in a key vote in Parliament, just days after attempting to win them over with concessions.

Almost a year after his party won a landslide election victory, Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces one of the toughest tests of his premiership on Tuesday, when MPs vote on his government’s welfare plans.

Angered by proposals to change the eligibility criteria of the country’s main disability benefit and to reduce health-related support received by those on low incomes, more than 120 Labour politicians signalled last week that they would be voting against the bill.

In a bid to appease them, Downing Street announced a set of concessions on Friday, including a pledge that current claimants of the disability benefit, which is known as the personal independence payment (Pip), would not be affected by the cuts.

The government also promised to launch a review into Pip, led by Disability Minister Stephen Timms.

Speaking on Friday, senior Labour backbencher Meg Hillier, one of the rebels, described the U-turn as a “workable compromise”.

However, shortly ahead of Tuesday’s vote, it appeared that dozens of Labour politicians still opposed the bill, with British media reporting that at least 35 were planning to go against the government.

The vote comes after 86 disability and human rights groups issued a joint statement on Monday urging politicians to vote against the welfare reform bill.

Rachael Maskell, a Labour MP and critic of the proposal, wrote on X on Monday evening that disabled people “have yet to have agency in this process”.

“It is time their voices were heard,” she added.

The disputes around the government’s welfare reform bill have led to questions being asked once more about Starmer, who has a working majority of 165 in the House of Commons.

“It’s a failure of leadership for a prime minister with such a big majority to not be able to get their agenda through,” said Rob Ford, a politics professor at the University of Manchester.

“I can’t think of many examples of a prime minister in post-war politics suffering such a big setback when presiding over such a strong position in the Commons,” Ford noted.

Friday’s concessions were not the only time Starmer had made a U-turn in recent weeks. On June 9, his government announced that it was reversing a policy to scrap a winter heating benefit for millions of pensioners.

The court said in a statement that it had accepted a petition from 36 senators, which accuses Paetongtarn of dishonesty and breaching ethical standards, in violation of the constitution, over a leaked&nbsp, telephone conversation with Cambodia’s influential former leader, Hun Sen.

Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will assume a caretaker role while the court decides the case against Paetongtarn, who has 15 days to respond.

Paetongtarn will remain in the cabinet as the new culture minister following a cabinet reshuffle.

The controversy stems from a June 15 phone call with Cambodia’s influential former leader Hun Sen that was intended to defuse escalating border tensions between the neighbours.

During the call, Paetongtarn, 38, referred to Hun Sen as “uncle” and criticised a Thai army commander, a red line in a country where the military has significant clout. She has apologised and said her remarks were a negotiating tactic.

The leaked call led to domestic outrage and has left Paetongtarn’s coalition with a razor-thin majority, with a key party abandoning the alliance and expected to soon seek a no-confidence vote in parliament, as protest groups demand the premier resign.

Legal perils

Paetongtarn’s battles after only 10 months in power underline the declining strength of the Pheu Thai Party, the populist juggernaut of the billionaire Shinawatra dynasty, which has dominated Thai elections since 2001, enduring military coups and court rulings that have toppled multiple governments and prime ministers.

Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, reporting from Bangkok, said that this case “raises questions about the impact of the Constitutional Court on democracy”.

“Since the last election, two years ago, it has disqualified the party that won the election and their leader, and it’s now taken out two prime ministers from the ruling coalition that stepped in”, he said.

“Thailand is running out of options… if they decide to suspend Paetongtarn permanently and remove her from her post, it’s very unclear what kind of political crisis Thailand will be in once again”, Cheng said.

It has been a baptism of fire for political novice Paetongtarn, who was thrust into power as Thailand’s youngest premier and replacement for Srettha Thavisin, who the Constitutional Court dismissed for violating ethics by appointing a minister who had once been jailed.

Paetongtarn’s government has also been struggling to revive a stuttering economy, and her popularity has declined sharply, with a June 19-25 opinion poll released at the weekend showing her approval rating sinking to 9.2 percent from 30.9 percent in March.

Paetongtarn’s father, Thaksin, the 75-year-old family patriarch and billionaire who was twice elected leader in the early 2000s, is also facing legal hurdles.

Divisive tycoon Thaksin, according to his lawyer, appeared at his first hearing at Bangkok’s Criminal Court on Tuesday on charges that he insulted Thailand’s powerful monarchy, a serious offence punishable by up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.

Thaksin denies the allegations and has repeatedly pledged allegiance to the crown.

Thaksin spent 15 years abroad serving a prison sentence for conflicts of interest and abuse of power after giving a 2015 media interview while he was on self-imposed exile.

Before being released on parole in February of last year, Thaksin avoided jail and spent six months in a hospital setting up for medical reasons.

At least 36 people have been confirmed dead after a powerful explosion triggered a fire at a pharmaceutical factory in the southern Indian state of Telangana.

“The condition of the bodies is such that we’ve had to deploy a specialised medical team to carry out DNA tests”, said Health and Medical Cabinet Minister of Telangana Damodar Raja Narasimha on Tuesday.

A government panel has been formed to investigate the cause of the disaster.

The blast, which erupted on Monday afternoon at a facility run by Sigachi Industries, took place in the plant’s spray dryer unit – a section used to convert raw materials into powder for drug manufacturing. The factory is located roughly 50km (31 miles) from Hyderabad, the state capital.

Authorities recovered 34 bodies from the debris, while two more workers succumbed to injuries in hospital, according to Telangana’s fire services director, GV Narayana Rao.

“The entire structure has collapsed. The fire is under control and we’re continuing to clear the rubble in case more people are trapped”, he told the Associated Press news agency.

Twenty-five of the deceased are yet to be identified, a district administrative official, P Pravinya, said.

About 36 workers remain in hospital with burns and other injuries. Police officials said that more than 140 people were working in the plant when the incident occurred.

Local residents reported hearing the blast from several kilometres away.

The incident has raised new concerns about industrial safety in India’s booming pharmaceutical sector. Despite the country’s reputation as a global supplier of low-cost medicines and vaccines, fatal accidents at drug manufacturing units are not rare, particularly in facilities handling chemicals or solvents.

Sigachi Industries, which has its headquarters in India, produces active pharmaceutical ingredients and nutrient blends, and operates manufacturing plants across the country. It also runs subsidiaries in the United Arab Emirates and the United States, according to its website.