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Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters rally in Madrid

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters rally in Madrid
People demonstrate in support of the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip, in Madrid on May 11, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 12 May 2024
AFP
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Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters rally in Madrid

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters rally in Madrid
  • Spain is one of Israel’s harshest critics in Europe and leading efforts to recognize a Palestinian state
Updated 12 May 2024
AFP
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MADRID: Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through Madrid on Saturday to demand a ceasefire in war-torn Gaza and a severing of ties between Spain and Israel.
Numbering around 4,000 according to the authorities, protesters held up banners and signs condemning a “genocide” in Gaza and lauding the “resistance” of the Palestinian people.
Palestinians have been “crammed” in southern Gaza and “now they are displaced again from one place to another while there are no more safe places,” said 57-year-old Jaldia Abubakra, referring to Israeli evacuation orders in the city of Rafah.
Around 30 organizations called for the rally before the 76th anniversary of what Palestinians call the “Nakba” (“catastrophe“), when 760,000 people fled their homes during the 1948 war that accompanied Israel’s creation.
Spanish students have set up peaceful sit-ins and camps at universities in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia in recent days, mirroring similar pro-Palestinian campus movements across the United States and Europe.
Earlier this week, Spanish universities expressed willingness to suspend ties with any Israeli educational institution that failed to express “a clear commitment to peace.”
Spain is one of Israel’s harshest critics in Europe and leading efforts to recognize a Palestinian state.
The Gaza war started with Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized hostages, of whom Israel estimates 128 remain in Gaza, at least 36 of whom the military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,971 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Topics: War on Gaza pro-Palestinian Spain Israel

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Biden heads to Germany to discuss Ukraine, Middle East

Updated 5 sec ago
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Biden heads to Germany to discuss Ukraine, Middle East

Biden heads to Germany to discuss Ukraine, Middle East
Updated 5 sec ago
Biden was also expected to discuss the escalating crisis in the Middle East
During a flying 24-hour visit to Berlin, the US leader will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden took off Thursday on a swift farewell trip to Germany, for talks with allies to shore up Ukraine’s increasingly desperate fight against Russia.
Biden was also expected to discuss the escalating crisis in the Middle East, as Israel said it was investigating whether Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar had been killed in a military operation in Gaza.
During a flying 24-hour visit to Berlin, the US leader will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, before they are both joined for talks by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Biden was originally due in Germany last week for a multi-day visit that would have included a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a major summit of Kyiv’s allies, but he postponed it as Hurricane Milton barrelled toward Florida.
The White House said the shorter, rescheduled visit to the key NATO ally would “further strengthen the close bond the United States and Germany share as allies and friends and coordinate on geopolitical priorities, including Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression and events in the Middle East.”
Biden was also keen to make the visit to thank Scholz for facilitating a prisoner exchange deal with Russia earlier this year that freed US reporter Evan Gershkovich, US officials said.
But the focus will be on Ukraine, with Biden, who dropped out of the 2024 White House race in July, keen to consolidate Western military aid for Kyiv in his final three months in office.
Allies are nervously watching the November 5 US presidential election to see if it brings a return of Donald Trump, who has opposed the current level of US support for Ukraine.
Trump has also repeatedly pledged to push through a peace deal if elected — even before taking office — that Kyiv fears would involve it giving up chunks of land to Moscow.
Zelensky told allies in Brussels on Thursday that Ukraine must be in a position of strength before any peace talks with Russia, as he explained his “victory plan” to EU leaders and NATO defense chiefs.
More than two and a half years into the war, Kyiv is slowly but steadily losing territory in its eastern Donbas region and under mounting pressure to forge an exit strategy — which it says must start with ramped-up Western support.
Biden announced a fresh $425 million arms package including air defense and armored vehicles for Ukraine in a call with Zelensky on Wednesday.
The United States is by far the biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine’s battle against the 2022 Russian invasion, followed by Germany.


US President Joe Biden took off Thursday on a swift farewell trip to Germany, for talks with allies to shore up Ukraine’s increasingly desperate fight against Russia. (AP/File)

France places six departments on red alert for flooding due to heavy rains

France places six departments on red alert for flooding due to heavy rains
Updated 29 min 5 sec ago
Reuters
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France places six departments on red alert for flooding due to heavy rains

France places six departments on red alert for flooding due to heavy rains
  • Departments in France are administrative regions similar to British or American counties
  • There have been no reports of deaths or injuries
Updated 29 min 5 sec ago
Reuters

PARIS: Six French departments were placed on red alert for flooding amid “exceptional rain” that the French weather agency said was as much as 630 mm (24.8 inches) in 48 hours in one area.
Departments in France are administrative regions similar to British or American counties.
The areas covered by the red alert include Lyon, the third-largest city in the country, as well as Cannes, famed for its film festival.
Authorities said they had closed roads, evacuated neighborhoods and asked residents to avoid placing themselves in danger by taking photos and videos.
There have been no reports of deaths or injuries and it is not yet clear what the level of damage is from the floodwaters.
The flooding in the southern part of France comes a week after remnants of Hurricane Kirk churned across western Europe and nearly a month after Cannes was hit by flash flooding.
Earlier in September, central Europe was battered by the worst floods in that area in at least two decades.

Topics: France Paris flooding

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Bangladeshi tribunal issues arrest warrant for former PM Hasina

Bangladeshi tribunal issues arrest warrant for former PM Hasina
Updated 42 min 21 sec ago
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Bangladeshi tribunal issues arrest warrant for former PM Hasina

Bangladeshi tribunal issues arrest warrant for former PM Hasina
  • International Crimes Tribunal begins trial over recent student protest killings
  • Chief prosecutor says arrest warrants issued for 46 people, including Hasina’s ministers
Updated 42 min 21 sec ago
SHEHAB SUMON

DHAKA: A special tribunal in Dhaka issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and began trial procedures in cases related to the killings of hundreds of people during recent student protests that forced her to step down and flee.

Initially peaceful student demonstrations started in Bangladesh in early July, triggered by the reinstatement of a quota system for the allocation of civil service positions.

Two weeks later, they were met with a violent crackdown by security forces, which according to UN estimates left more than 600 people dead. The deaths led to a nationwide uprising, which in early August forced Hasina to resign and leave for neighboring India, ending her 15 years in power.

The names of 46 people linked to the protest killings were in the arrest warrant issued by the International Crimes Tribunal, its chief prosecutor, Tajul Islam, told reporters in Dhaka.

Besides Hasina, he mentioned the names of her Awami League secretary general Obaidul Quader, former law minister Anisul Huq, former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former foreign minister Hasan Mahmud.

The tribunal, he said, will hear 70 cases related to the July-August violence.

“Most of the main perpetrators are fugitives now, so we can’t disclose their names until they are arrested. But it’s confirmed that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and those who were at the topmost level are accused in many of the cases,” Islam told Arab News.

“We are trying to complete the trial process of the most important crimes related to the prime accused as quickly as possible.”

Established in 2010 during Hasina’s rule, the International Crimes Tribunal is a domestic court responsible for investigating and prosecuting suspects of the 1971 genocide committed by the Pakistan Army and its local collaborators during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It also has jurisdiction over other war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“The crimes Hasina has been charged with will fall under the purview of crimes against humanity according to the ICT Act 1973, and that’s why these cases are being tried in the International Crimes Court instead of as simple murder cases in regular courts,” said Jyotirmoy Barua, advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.

“I think that is why the authorities considered that this is the best court to try her for the crimes that took place during the student-led protests ... If proven guilty, this court may award capital punishment to the accused.”

Topics: Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina

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UK foreign minister to visit China to rebuild damaged ties

British foreign secretary David Lammy will visit China on a two-day visit starting on Friday in a bid to improve relations.
British foreign secretary David Lammy will visit China on a two-day visit starting on Friday in a bid to improve relations.
Updated 17 October 2024
Reuters
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UK foreign minister to visit China to rebuild damaged ties

British foreign secretary David Lammy will visit China on a two-day visit starting on Friday in a bid to improve relations.
  • Lammy will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing before visiting Shanghai to meet British businesses operating in China
  • Mao Ning, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said the talks would focus on improving cooperation in various fields
Updated 17 October 2024
Reuters

LONDON/BEIJING: British foreign secretary David Lammy will visit China on a two-day visit starting on Friday in a bid to improve relations between the two countries after years of tensions over security concerns and alleged human rights abuses.
Lammy will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing before visiting Shanghai to meet British businesses operating in China, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday.
“It’s all about bringing a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing the UK’s position on China,” the spokesperson told reporters, adding that Britain was prepared to challenge China where needed but also identify areas for co-operation.
Mao Ning, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said the talks would focus on improving cooperation in various fields.
It will be only the second visit by a British foreign minister in six years after Lammy’s Conservative predecessor James Cleverly’s trip last year. Before that, there had been a five-year gap in a visit to China by a British foreign minister.
Labour, who won a landslide election victory in July, is seeking to stabilize relations with Beijing after clashes over human rights, Hong Kong, and allegations of Chinese espionage.
Starmer told President Xi Jinping in the first conversation between the two in August that he wanted Britain and China to pursue closer economic ties while being free to talk frankly about their disagreements.
China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng and British finance minister Rachel Reeves last month discussed how they can work together to boost economic growth.
Following the exchange, Beijing said it was willing to resume the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue — an annual forum for talks on trade, investment and other economic issues, which had not taken place since 2019.
Under the previous Conservative government, Britain expressed concern about China’s curbing of civil freedoms in Hong Kong, which was under British control until 1997, and its treatment of people in its western Xinjiang region.
Britain and China also traded accusations over perceived spying.
China is Britain’s sixth-largest trading partner, accounting for 5 percent of total trade, British government figures show.

Topics: David Lammy UK China

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Pakistani police fire tear gas at protesting students as anger spreads over alleged on-campus rape

Students carry placards as they march during a demonstration to condemn the alleged rape of a female student in Lahore.
Students carry placards as they march during a demonstration to condemn the alleged rape of a female student in Lahore.
Updated 17 October 2024
AP
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Pakistani police fire tear gas at protesting students as anger spreads over alleged on-campus rape

Students carry placards as they march during a demonstration to condemn the alleged rape of a female student in Lahore.
  • Sexual violence against women is common in Pakistan, but it is underreported because of the stigma attached to it in the conservative country
Updated 17 October 2024
AP

LAHORE: Pakistani police fired tear gas and charged at student protesters who ransacked a college building Thursday, as anger spread over an alleged on-campus rape.
Tensions have been high on college campuses since reports about the alleged rape in the eastern city of Lahore went viral on social media, and protests have broken out in four cities so far.
Sexual violence against women is common in Pakistan, but it is underreported because of the stigma attached to it in the conservative country, and protests about the issue have been rare.
Thursday’s violence started when hundreds of students demonstrated outside a campus in the city of Rawalpindi in Punjab province. They burned furniture and blocked a key road in the city, disrupting traffic, before ransacking a college building. Police responded by swinging batons and firing tear gas to disperse them, police official Mohammad Afzal said.
In a statement, police said they arrested 250 people, mostly students, on charges of disrupting the peace.
In Gujrat, also in Punjab province, a security guard died in clashes between student protesters and police on Wednesday. The police have arrested someone in connection with the death.
They also arrested a man who is accused of spreading misinformation on social media about the alleged rape and inciting students to violence.
Earlier this week, more than two dozen college students were injured in clashes with police in Lahore after they rallied to demand justice for the victim, who they alleged was raped on campus at the Punjab Group of Colleges.
Authorities, including the province’s chief minister and the college administration, denied there was an assault, as did the young woman’s parents.
The ongoing protests appear to have begun spontaneously. Student unions have been banned in Pakistan since 1984. The youth wings of several opposition parties have since expressed support.
On Thursday, Usman Ghani, the head of youth wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami opposition party, demanded an end to the ban on student unions, saying they might have helped resolve the matter without violence.
He said cases of sexual abuse at educational institutions are common.
“But the main thing is how you respond to make it sure that the attackers don’t get away without getting arrested.”
Hasna Cheema, from the rights group Aurat Foundation, said neither Pakistani police nor the media were trained to handle such sensitive matters.
“They turn things from bad to worse instead of solving them,” Cheema said.
The Sustainable Social Development Organization said last month that there were 7,010 rape cases reported in Pakistan in 2023, almost 95 percent of them in Punjab.
“However, due to social stigmas in Pakistan that discourage women from getting help, there is a high chance that due to underreporting the actual number of cases may be even higher,” it said.
This week’s protests come less than a month after a woman said she was gang-raped while on duty during a polio vaccination drive in southern Sindh province.
Police arrested three men. Her husband threw her out of the house after the reported assault, saying she had tarnished the family name.

Topics: Pakistan rape Lahore

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