Extremism must be defeated, prince tells New Zealand mosque survivors
Christchurch: In an emotional meeting with survivors of the New Zealand mosques massacre, Britain's Prince William appealed Friday for "extremism in all forms" to be defeated.
About 160 people gathered at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch to meet the prince who had earlier told first responders to the March 15 carnage that when "a good friend" is in need "you travel to their place and you put your arms around them."
Six weeks to the day from when a self-styled white supremacist killed 50 people and wounded just as many in two Christchurch mosques, the prince said he stood with the people of New Zealand, the people of Christchurch and the Muslim community.
"An act of violence was designed to change New Zealand, but instead, the grief of a nation revealed just how deep your wells of empathy, compassion, warmth and love truly run," the prince said after arriving at the mosque from a meeting with hospital staff who had tended to the wounded.
"In a moment of acute pain, you stood up, and you stood together. In reaction to tragedy, you showed something remarkable.
"I stand with you in gratitude to what you have taught the world in these past weeks. I stand with you in optimism... I stand with you in grief. I will support those who survive.
"May the forces of love always prevail over the forces of hate... Extremism in all forms must be defeated." As armed police stood guard outside the mosque and a police helicopter circled overhead, the prince was welcomed to the mosque by the Imam Gamel Fouda, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and attack survivor Fahid Ahmed whose wife was among those killed.
Ahmed, who became the face of the Muslim community when he said he loved and forgave the gunman, told the prince: "We have to keep up hope and not surrender to hatred".
When William arrived in the country on Thursday he made an unannounced visit to the Starship Children's Hospital in Auckland where he met with five-year-old Alen Alsati and her father, Wasseim, who were both injured in the March 15 attack.
In a touching video released by Kensington Palace, Alen, who only woke from a coma early this week, asked William: "Do you have a daughter?," "Do I have a daughter? Yes, she's called Charlotte... she's about the same age as you," William replied.
He flew to Christchurch later in the day to meet with police and medical officers who were first to the scene of the carnage, telling them they did "an incredible job on a very bad day." William -- who also visited Christchurch just weeks after the devastating February 2011 earthquake which claimed 185 lives -- will end his brief visit later Friday when he lays a wreath at the earthquake memorial site.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Airlines got 999 hoax bomb threats till Nov 14 this year; 256 FIRs filed: Govt
New Delhi, Nov 28: Airlines received 999 hoax bomb threats this year till November 14 and as many as 256 FIRs have been filed while guidelines have been issued by aviation security regulator BCAS for objective assessment of threats, the government said on Thursday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said a total of 1,148 hoax bomb threat messages/calls have been received since August 2022 till November 14, 2024 threatening the operations of international and domestic air travel.
While 999 threats were received by airlines during the period from January to November 14, 2024, the count stood at 122 last year and at 27 for the August-December 2022 period.
"256 FIRs have been filed since January 2024 till 14 November 2024, out of which 163 FIRs have been filed during 14 October- 14 November 2024. 12 arrests have been made in view of hoax bomb threat since January 2024 till 14 November 2024," the minister said.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued guidelines for objective assessment of threats. The indicative factor has been useful in reducing time taken by the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) during the decision-making process.
"Also, to reduce the overall time taken for convening BTAC to less than 5 minutes, virtual assembly of BTAC through pre-generated video link has been set up. Further, advisories for compulsory 10 per cent of secondary ladder point check-in for all flights, strict monitoring of non-scheduled flight operations, enhanced security measures and surveillance at cargo terminals were issued," Mohol said.
Further, the minister said the government is considering amending the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 to put hoax threat messenger in the no-fly list.
"It is also being considered to amend Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation for covering Aircraft in flight as well as on ground, airport etc," he added.
