UN Honors MWL’s Mohammad Al-Issa for Global Diplomacy and Combating Hate

Leader of the Muslim World League Dr. Mohammad Al-Issa receives his honorary doctorate from the UN - SPA
Leader of the Muslim World League Dr. Mohammad Al-Issa receives his honorary doctorate from the UN - SPA
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UN Honors MWL’s Mohammad Al-Issa for Global Diplomacy and Combating Hate

Leader of the Muslim World League Dr. Mohammad Al-Issa receives his honorary doctorate from the UN - SPA
Leader of the Muslim World League Dr. Mohammad Al-Issa receives his honorary doctorate from the UN - SPA

Leader of the Muslim World League ((MWL) Dr. Mohammad Al-Issa was awarded an honorary doctorate by the United Nations on Monday in recognition of his groundbreaking work as a global peacemaker.

“It is the sacred duty of all of us to promote peace and harmony in this world,” Dr. Al-Issa said at the event.

“I’m greatly appreciative to receive this honor, and we must all continue striving with all our effort to build coexistence and true partnerships among the peoples of this world, for today and the next generations.”

In honoring Dr. Al-Issa, the UN’s University for Peace cited the MWL secretary general’s “outstanding efforts in supporting international diplomacy, promoting friendship and cooperation among people, and effective endeavors in combating hate.”

For his part, Francisco Rojas, Rector of the UN's University for Peace, hailed Dr. Al-Issa for his commitment to "bringing global awareness to Islam's true message of empathy, understanding and cooperation among all people."

Rojas said Dr. Al-Issa has “been a trailblazer in building new partnerships among different communities, faiths and nations" and noted that his institution cooperates with MWL to promote interreligious dialogue with leaders in the global Jewish and Christian communities.”

The University for Peace is an academic institution within the UN system, whose honorary president is the UN secretary-general.



Whale Dies after Collision with Small Boat off New Jersey Shore

A humpback whale breaches the surface off the southern Japanese island of Okinawa February 13, 2007. REUTERS/Issei Kato
A humpback whale breaches the surface off the southern Japanese island of Okinawa February 13, 2007. REUTERS/Issei Kato
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Whale Dies after Collision with Small Boat off New Jersey Shore

A humpback whale breaches the surface off the southern Japanese island of Okinawa February 13, 2007. REUTERS/Issei Kato
A humpback whale breaches the surface off the southern Japanese island of Okinawa February 13, 2007. REUTERS/Issei Kato

A minke whale died off the New Jersey shore after a collision that nearly tipped over a small boat and threw a person overboard.

Social media video of the collision in Barnegat Bay on Saturday afternoon shows the motor boat rocking after the impact and the 20-foot (6-meter) whale splashing near the craft before swimming away. The person thrown overboard manages to tread water next to the boat, The AP news reported.

The whale was found dead after it came to rest on a sandbar in shallow water. Marine authorities were not able to get close to the whale due to tidal conditions, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, a not-for-profit rescue, rehabilitation and release organization.

“At this point, we really don’t have much to go on,” Jay Pagel, stranding coordinator at the center, said Sunday. “The side of the animal that we were able to observe had no obvious marks on it that we could see. But again, our visibility was very limited.”

Pagel said there were reports the whale had injuries prior to the collision captured on video. He noted there was a second video posted online that appears to show the whale making contact with a pontoon boat after the initial collision.

The animal will be towed to a state park on Monday morning for a necropsy to determine the cause of death.