Italy welcomes upcoming Brussels conference on Syria
Brussels: Italy views the conference on Syria taking place in Brussels on April 24-25 as a chance to highlight "the terrible humanitarian and security situation" in the war-wracked country, Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said on Monday.
"Italy welcomes the forthcoming conference on Syria as an opportunity to attract attention to the terrible humanitarian and security situation," Alfano told reporters on the sidelines of a summit of European foreign ministers in Brussels.
European Union nations must neither rebuild nor stabilise areas of Syria under government control until the country's political transition was "well underway", he said.
Alfano said Italy "shared all the same feelings of frustration over the brutal assault on Syria's Eastern Ghouta area".
The agricultural area outside Damascus has been under bombardment by the Syrian government and its allies since February 18 despite a unanimous United Nations Security Council resolution adopted ten days later that urged a 30-day cease-fire in Syria and the immediate lifting of the siege that began in eastern Ghouta in April 2013.
"We must not stop pushing for the implementation of the ceasefire and for humanitarian access... we need to keep backing all initiatives to ensure those responsible for crimes committed in eastern Ghouta and elsewhere are brought to justice.
"We are also concerned about the increased violence in other areas of Syria," Alfano said.
Over 1,250 people have been killed in the bombardment of eastern Ghouta in the past two months and tens of thousands of people have fled the fighting, according to the UN.
Government forces have retaken about 80 percent of the Damascus suburb, the last major rebel enclave near the capital, where around 340,000 remaining residents are suffering from acute food shortages and a lack of medical supplies.
The UN office for humanitarian affairs (OCHA) said in a statement on Thursday conditions for those remaining in eastern Ghouta were "dire".
In Syria's northwest Idlib province, thousands are facing constant airstrikes, chronic shortages of food and medicine, and widespread unemployment, according to international humanitarian organisations.
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AIMIM wins Malegaon Central seat by 162 votes
Malegaon (Maharashtra), Nov 23: In a closely contested election, Mohammad Ismail Abdul Khalique of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has retained the Malegaon Central assembly seat, winning by a razor-thin margin of 162 votes.
This victory in the north Maharashtra constituency marks a significant turnaround for Khalique, who previously enjoyed a commanding lead in the 2019 elections, winning by over one lakh votes.
Khalique, an Islamic scholar, received a total of 1,09,653 votes this time, narrowly defeating his nearest rival, Asif Shaikh Rasheed of the Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra party, who got 1,09,491 votes.
There were a total of 13 candidates contesting in this Muslim dominated constituency. Barring Khalique and Rasheed, two other candidates -- Shaan-e-Hind Nihal Ahmed of Samajwadi Party and Ejaz Baig Aziz Baig managed below 10,000 votes. Other remaining candidates were below 1,000 votes.
This election marks Khalique's third term as an MLA. He initially represented the Malegaon Central seat in 2009 as a member of the Jan Surajya Shakti party.
However, Khalique faced a setback in the 2014 elections when he contested under the banner of the Nationalist Congress Party and lost.
His return to the assembly in 2019 under the AIMIM banner solidified his political presence, and despite the significantly reduced margin this year, he has once again emerged victorious.
The results highlight the competitive nature of the Malegaon Central constituency and underscore Khalique's resilience in maintaining his position amidst changing political dynamics.
