വിന്നിപെഗ്: കാനഡയിലെ മാനിറ്റോബ പ്രവിശ്യയിൽ വർക്ക് പെർമിറ്റ് കാലാവധി കഴിഞ്ഞതോ ഉടൻ അവസാനിക്കാനിരിക്കുന്നതോ ആയ ചില വിദേശ തൊഴിലാളികൾക്ക് വലിയ ആശ്വാസമായി പുതിയ തൊഴിൽ അനുമതി പദ്ധതി പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ചു. അർഹരായ തൊഴിലാളികൾക്ക് രണ്ടുവർഷത്തേക്ക് മാനിറ്റോബ-നിർദ്ദിഷ്ട വർക്ക് പെർമിറ്റ് നീട്ടാൻ അവസരം ലഭിക്കും. ഇതിലൂടെ സ്ഥിരതാമസ (PR) നടപടികൾ പൂർത്തിയാകുന്നതുവരെ അവർക്ക് ജോലി തുടരാനാകും.

മാനിറ്റോബ പ്രൊവിൻഷ്യൽ നോമിനി പ്രോഗ്രാം (MPNP) വഴി സ്ഥിരതാമസത്തിനായി ശ്രമിക്കുന്നവരാണ് ഈ ഇളവിന്റെ പ്രധാന ഗുണഭോക്താക്കൾ. തൊഴിൽ ക്ഷാമം നേരിടുന്ന മേഖലകളിലെ പരിചയസമ്പന്നരായ തൊഴിലാളികളെ പ്രവിശ്യയിൽ നിലനിർത്തുകയും തൊഴിലുടമകൾക്ക് ആവശ്യമായ തൊഴിൽശക്തി ഉറപ്പാക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുക എന്നതാണ് സർക്കാരിന്റെ ലക്ഷ്യം.

അർഹതയുള്ളവർക്ക് മാനിറ്റോബ സർക്കാരിൽ നിന്ന് Support Letter ലഭിച്ച ശേഷം പുതിയ വർക്ക് പെർമിറ്റിനായി അപേക്ഷിക്കാം. എന്നാൽ ഈ ഇളവ് എല്ലാവർക്കും ബാധകമല്ല. നിശ്ചിത മാനദണ്ഡങ്ങൾ പാലിക്കുന്നതും MPNP നടപടികളിലുള്ളതുമായ തൊഴിലാളികൾക്കാണ് ഈ അവസരം ലഭിക്കുക.

കുടിയേറ്റ നിയമങ്ങളിലെ മാറ്റങ്ങൾ കാരണം ജോലി നഷ്ടപ്പെടുമെന്ന ആശങ്കയിലായിരുന്ന ആയിരക്കണക്കിന് താൽക്കാലിക വിദേശ തൊഴിലാളികൾക്ക് ഈ തീരുമാനം വലിയ ആശ്വാസമായാണ് വിലയിരുത്തപ്പെടുന്നത്. ഇതിനൊപ്പം, സ്ഥിരതാമസത്തിനായുള്ള അപേക്ഷകൾ വേഗത്തിൽ പരിഗണിക്കാനുള്ള നടപടികളും മാനിറ്റോബ സർക്കാർ തുടരുകയാണ്.
Sources:expressherald

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Labour and Immigration Minister, Malaya Marcelino, announced earlier this week that, starting April 22, MPNP candidates whose work permits expired in 2024 or will expire this year can apply for the extension under a temporary public policy with the support of their employers.

The policy will apply to those temporary foreign workers who:

Had a valid MPNP Expression of Interest profile on January 15, 2025;
Have a valid MPNP Expression of Interest at the time of applying under this program;
Are currently employed in the province; and
Intend to establish themselves as a permanent resident in Manitoba.
Those who meet the criteria can apply for a work permit support letter from the province after completing an online submission form, available as of April 22.

Manitoba employers who have employees on expiring or expired work permits should take note of this announcement, which may serve as an avenue to keep their employees in Canada. However, this announcement does not necessarily mean employees who qualify for this program will have a pathway for permanent residency. Rather, this is a way to extend employees’ work permits without having to go through other immigration processes such as the advertising and recruitment processes of the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process.

Currently, the LMIA process takes more than 70 business days to complete and costs $1,000 in filing fees. The process that Manitoba has introduced can be initiated immediately on obtaining a work permit support letter and costs employers $230 in filing fees.

In order to qualify for this public policy, temporary foreign workers must either:

Hold a valid work permit that will expire in 2025, or
Have held a work permit valid on May 7, 2024, that has since expired as long as they have submitted an application for a new work permit under section 200 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, or
Have held a work permit valid on May 7, 2024, that has since expired and have submitted an application for an extension of the authorization to remain in Canada as a temporary resident under section 181 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, or
Have held a work permit valid on May 7, 2024, that has since expired and have submitted an application for restoration of temporary resident status under section 182 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, or
Were authorized to work pursuant to paragraph 186 (u) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations on May 7, 2024, and the work permit extension application remains pending or was approved, and have submitted an application for a new work permit under section 200 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, or
Were authorized to work pursuant to paragraph 186 (u) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations on May 7, 2024, and the work permit extension application remains pending or was approved, and have submitted an application for an extension of the authorization to remain in Canada as a temporary resident under section 181 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.
Since 1998, the MPNP has invited skilled workers to Manitoba to fill labour gaps. Last September, Manitoba extended temporary work permits to retain skilled labour as well as pave a path toward citizenship for those workers. At the time, the provincial government identified 6,700 temporary workers eligible for that extension. While Ottawa has been reducing the number of foreign workers at a federal level, Manitoba welcomed a record 9,540 through the provincial nominee program in 2024.

Employers who require guidance through the application process or have questions about this MPNP announcement should contact the MLT Aikins immigration team.
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Indonesia – A Christian pastor has been sentenced to prison for two years for violating Indonesia’s law against blasphemy and hate speech in a case that has drawn scrutiny over the speed of his arrest and trial.

A panel of judges at Banda Aceh Court on July 10 handed down the sentence to Dedi Saputra, 31, a former Muslim from Aceh Province who was serving as a pastor in West Kalimantan Province. The court ruled that Saputra had “convincingly” committed a criminal offense under laws against blasphemy and hate speech, Article 301 of Indonesia’s Criminal Code, paragraph (1) of Law No. 1 of 2023, in conjunction with Law No. 1 of 2026 on Penal Adjustments.

The two-year sentence includes time spent in detention; he has been detained since his arrest in February. Prosecutors had demanded four years of prison, leaving them undecided on whether to accept the ruling or pursue further legal action.

TikTok Video

The case began when Mohd Rendi Febriansyah, chair of the Aceh regional board of the Indonesian Islamic Student (PII), filed a police report on Nov. 5 in coordination with several government agencies and Islamic organizations in Aceh, including the Islamic Sharia Office, the Aceh Civil Service Police Unit, aceh.tribunnews.com. reported.

In a now deleted TikTok video posted by Pastor Saputra’s account, @tersadarkan5758, in the course of responding to a question about his conversion he stated, “Muhammad, before becoming a prophet, had only one wife, but when he became a prophet, he had dozens of wives.”

The clip was later edited and re-uploaded by Kenzie De Jann Weringkukly. Weringkukly added to Pastor Saputra’s statement by displaying an article from Suara Muhammadiyah magazine, which stated, “Before his prophethood (between ages 25 and 40), Prophet Muhammad SAW had only one wife, Siti Khadijah binti Khuwaylid. During this period, he never practiced polygamy, and Khadijah was his only wife until her death. Several years after his prophethood, he had 11 to 13 wives, known as the Ummahatul Mukminin (Mothers of the Believers). Most of these marriages took place in Medina for social and humanitarian reasons, and to strengthen inter-tribal ties, while Khadijah (his first wife) was his only wife in Mecca. At the time of his death, he left behind nine wives.”

Pastor Saputra, who was ministering to a small Christian congregation in Suka Maju village, Sungai Betung District, Bengkayang Regency, was arrested on Feb. 18 as he returned home with his wife after purchasing personal items and supplies for his church.

He was initially detained at the Bengkayang Police Resort and the West Kalimantan Regional Police headquarters before being flown to the Aceh Regional Police headquarters on Feb. 20.

The entire legal process, from arrest to sentencing, spanned just 142 days. The swiftness of the proceedings has been noted by multiple parties, with some observers suggesting it reflects a hardline attitude toward blasphemy in Aceh, the only province granted special autonomy to implement sharia (Islamic law).

Rights groups, including the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, have urged the Indonesian government to amend or eliminate blasphemy legislation, arguing that such laws are incompatible with international human rights standards and disproportionately harm minority groups, voaindonesia.com reported.

In July 2023, Setara Institute called on the Indonesian National Police to “stop or at least implement a moratorium on the use of religious blasphemy articles,” citing data showing these provisions were frequently used to “arbitrarily criminalize certain parties.”

The deputy chairman of the Setara Institute, Bonar Tigor Naipospos, told Morning Star News that there is “undeniable discrimination in law enforcement in a number of cases alleged to involve religious defamation.”

“If the perpetrators are non-Muslims and the incidents occur in predominantly non-Muslim areas, the government quickly steps in to mediate,” Naipospos said. “The government is very concerned about cases that have the potential to offend and provoke the anger of the majority.”

Naipospos said police in nearly all blasphemy cases base their charges on fatwas issued by Islamic organizations such as the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), though such religious rulings are not supposed to be a formal legal basis for state action. From 2007 to 2022, Setara Institute found that blasphemy articles were “often used to arbitrarily criminalize certain parties” and amounted to little more than a “trial by mob.”

Saputra’s case has drawn attention from international religious freedom advocates. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) lists him among those imprisoned for religious activity, noting his arrest in February by Aceh Regional Police over social media content deemed blasphemous. Voice of the Martyrs and other groups have also reported on the case, highlighting concerns over the use of blasphemy laws to target religious minorities and converts.

Aceh’s Special Autonomy

Aceh, located at the northern tip of Sumatra near Singapore and Malaysia, is the only province in Indonesia with special autonomy rights to implement sharia. Even outside Aceh, however, numerous provinces and regencies have enacted local regulations with sharia nuances.

According to the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), now the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), 24 provinces, or 72.72 percent of regions in Indonesia, issued sharia-inspired local regulations between 1999 and 2009.

Michael Buehler, a researcher at the University of London, noted in his book “Politics of Shari’a Law” that 443 sharia-based local regulations were enacted across Indonesia from 1999 to 2014. The number of such regulations often increases after legislative and regional head elections, as local lawmakers seek to attract voters and boost their electoral prospects.

The sentencing of Pastor Saputra underscores the ongoing tension between Indonesia’s commitment to religious pluralism and the reality of its blasphemy laws, which critics say are vague, discriminatory, and prone to abuse. As the country continues to grapple with issues of religious intolerance, the case is likely to fuel further debate over the future of blasphemy legislation and the protection of religious minorities in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.
Sources:christiannews

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ഒടുക്പോ: നൈജീരിയയിലെ ഒടുക്പോ രൂപതയിലെ മെത്രാസന മന്ദിരത്തില്‍ നിന്നു സായുധധാരികള്‍ തട്ടിക്കൊണ്ടുപോയ സെമിനാരി വിദ്യാർത്ഥി മോചിതനായി. ജൂലൈ 29-ന് തട്ടിക്കൊണ്ടുപോകപ്പെട്ട കെൽവിൻ ഒച്ചായ് എന്ന സെമിനാരി വിദ്യാർത്ഥിയാണ് തട്ടിക്കൊണ്ടുപോയവരുടെ പിടിയിൽ നിന്ന് രക്ഷപ്പെട്ട് സുരക്ഷിതനായി വീട്ടിലെത്തിയതെന്ന് രൂപതയുടെ ചാൻസലറായ ഫാ. ജോസഫ് അബോയി ആഫ്രിക്കയിലെ ഇ‌ഡബ്ല്യു‌ടി‌എന്‍ ന്യൂസിന്റെ ആഫ്രിക്കന്‍ വിഭാഗത്തിന് പങ്കുവെച്ച പ്രസ്താവനയിൽ പറയുന്നു.

ഓഗസ്റ്റ് 16-നാണ് വൈദിക വിദ്യാര്‍ത്ഥിയുടെ മോചന വിവരം നൈജീരിയന്‍ രൂപത സ്ഥിരീകരിച്ചത്. കെൽവിൻ ഒച്ചായ് തട്ടിക്കൊണ്ടുപോയവരുടെ പിടിയിൽ നിന്ന് രക്ഷപ്പെട്ട് ഗ്വെർ ഈസ്റ്റ് ലോക്കൽ ഗവൺമെന്റ് ഏരിയയിലെ അലിയാഡെയിൽ എത്തിച്ചേരുകയും, അവിടെ നിന്നു സുരക്ഷിതമായി വീട്ടിലെത്തിക്കുകയുമായിരിന്നുവെന്ന് ഫാ. ജോസഫ് അബോയി വ്യക്തമാക്കി. രക്ഷപ്പെട്ടെത്തിയ സെമിനാരി വിദ്യാർത്ഥിയെ സംരക്ഷിക്കുകയും രാത്രി താമസിപ്പിക്കുകയും പരിചരിക്കുകയും ചെയ്ത ‘സെന്റ് പീറ്റർ ആൻഡ് പോൾ’ വികാരിയോടും ഇടവകാംഗങ്ങളോടും രൂപത നന്ദി അറിയിച്ചു.

വൈദിക വിദ്യാര്‍ത്ഥിയുടെ സുരക്ഷിതമായ തിരിച്ചുവരവിന് ദൈവത്തിന് നന്ദി അര്‍പ്പിക്കുന്നതിനൊപ്പം, നൈജീരിയയുടെ വിവിധ ഭാഗങ്ങളിൽ ക്രിമിനൽ സംഘങ്ങളുടെ പിടിയിലായിരിക്കുന്ന നിരവധി ആളുകൾക്ക് വേണ്ടി തുടർന്നും പ്രാർത്ഥിക്കണമെന്ന് ചാൻസലർ അഭ്യർത്ഥിച്ചു. പടിഞ്ഞാറൻ ആഫ്രിക്കൻ മേഖലയിലെ ജനങ്ങളുടെ അരക്ഷിതാവസ്ഥയ്ക്ക് അറുതി വരുത്തുന്നതിനും സമാധാനവും സ്ഥിരതയും പുനഃസ്ഥാപിക്കുന്നതിനും വേണ്ടിയുള്ള പ്രാർത്ഥനകൾ തുടരാന്‍ അദ്ദേഹം ആഹ്വാനം ചെയ്തു. കൊലപാതകങ്ങളും മോചനദ്രവ്യം ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ടുള്ള തട്ടിക്കൊണ്ടുപോകലുകളും ഉള്‍പ്പെടെയുള്ള ആക്രമണങ്ങളും സായുധ സംഘങ്ങളുടെ ഭീഷണിയും കൊണ്ട് കുപ്രസിദ്ധിയാര്‍ജ്ജിച്ച രാജ്യമാണ് നൈജീരിയ.
കടപ്പാട് :പ്രവാചക ശബ്ദം

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A seminarian who was abducted from the bishop’s residence in Nigeria’s Diocese of Otukpo on July 29 has escaped from his captors and returned home unharmed.

In a statement shared with ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on Aug. 16, the chancellor of the diocese, Father Joseph Aboyi Itodo, said Kelvin Ochai “managed to escape from his abductors and made his way to Aliade in Gwer East Local Government Area, where he was found and later safely taken home.”

According to the chancellor, Bishop Michael Ekwoyi Apochi, who leads the diocese, expressed gratitude to the people of God “for their show of solidarity and earnest prayers which led to the speedy and safe return of our brother.”

Apochi also thanked the priest and parishioners of Sts. Peter and Paul Aliade Parish, who received Ochai as a seminarian following his escape and provided him with accommodation for the night.

Itodo also expressed the diocese’s appreciation to the Nigeria police for attending to the seminarian after he escaped.

While giving thanks for Ochai’s safe return, the chancellor appealed for continued prayers for the many people being held by criminal groups in different parts of Nigeria, asking God to bring them safely out of captivity.

He also called for prayers for an end to insecurity and the restoration of peace and stability in the West African nation.

“May the good Lord reward you all beyond measure,” Itodo said, appealing for continued prayers that God would protect the people from violence and “restore sanity to our country Nigeria.”

The West African nation has continued to experience attacks by armed groups involved in killings and kidnappings for ransom.

The Boko Haram insurgency has posed a major security challenge in the country since 2009. The group reportedly seeks to turn Africa’s most populous nation into an Islamic state.

Insecurity in other parts of Nigeria has also been linked to attacks involving predominantly Muslim Fulani herders, sometimes referred to as the Fulani militia.
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