UK Conservative MP slammed after calling for arrests over ‘Allahu Akbar’ chants
UK Conservative MP slammed after calling for arrests over ‘Allahu Akbar’ chants/node/2564481/world
UK Conservative MP slammed after calling for arrests over ‘Allahu Akbar’ chants
A Conservative Party leadership candidate in the UK has faced condemnation for suggesting police should arrest protesters chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is great), The Guardian reported on Wednesday. (AFP/File)
UK Conservative MP slammed after calling for arrests over ‘Allahu Akbar’ chants
Party leadership candidate Robert Jenrick made the remarks on Sky News
Deputy PM condemns MP for ‘stirring up’ nationwide rioting
Updated 07 August 2024
Arab News
LONDON: A Conservative Party leadership candidate in the UK has faced condemnation for suggesting police should arrest protesters chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is great), The Guardian reported on Wednesday.
Robert Jenrick’s comments follow week-long nationwide riots by far-right groups, which have been met by counter-protesters, including many from the Muslim community.
The Conservative MP, a favorite in the party’s leadership race, made the remarks on Sky News in a discussion on the concept of “two-tier” policing.
Some commentators in the UK have claimed that police have reacted more harshly toward certain groups of protesters in light of pro-Palestine rallies that have taken place across Britain since last year.
“I have been very critical of police in the past, particularly around the attitude of some police forces to the protests we saw since Oct. 7,” Jenrick said.
“I thought it was quite wrong that somebody could shout Allahu Akbar on the streets of London and not be immediately arrested, project genocidal chants on to Big Ben and not be immediately arrested. That attitude is wrong and I’ll always call out the police for it.”
The leadership hopeful was widely criticized for his comments, including by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who accused Jenrick of “stirring up” rioting across the UK.
Mel Stride, a fellow Conservative who is also running in the leadership campaign, broke party ranks to accuse Jenrick of being “unwise and insensitive.”
He added: “Any threat in the use of these words can only ever be implied in the very rarest of circumstances. Context clearly matters hugely here.”
Conservative peer Sayeeda Warsi and Labour MP Naz Shah, who are both Muslim, also criticized Jenrick.
Warsi said on X: “Every day before we start parliamentary business in the Commons and Lords we say a prayer and praise God — we say our parliamentary version of Allahu Akbars at the heart of democracy — a process Robert Jenrick is a part of.”
Shah said: “This is complete ignorance and textbook Islamophobia from Robert Jenrick. It literally equates every Muslim in the world with extremism … it’s a basic Islamic saying that every Muslim in the world says in prayer.”
Jenrick later defended his comments in an interview on Times Radio. “I fundamentally disagree with Sayeeda Warsi … if a politician like myself, a political leader who aspires to be leader of the opposition of our country, cannot speak out about the undoubted problem we have as a country with Islamist extremism for fear of being falsely labeled as a racist by an individual such as Sayeeda Warsi, then that is a very troubling situation.”
He also posted a video on X showing masked Muslim protesters in Bolton chanting “Allahu Akbar,” accusing the group of being “intimidatory and threatening.”
Jenrick said in the caption: “Allahu Akbar is spoken peacefully and spiritually by millions of British Muslims in their daily lives. But the aggressive chanting below is intimidatory and threatening. And it’s an offence under section four and five of the Public Order Act.
“Extremists routinely abuse common expressions for their own shameful ends. All violence must end. All violence must be called out.”
The Muslim Council of Britain said in a statement: “We are shocked at Robert Jenrick’s claim on Sky News this morning that those who proclaim ‘God is great’ (or Allahu Akbar) in public should be arrested.
“As a prospective leader, Mr. Jenrick should be showing leadership, reassuring our communities when fear is palpable.
“Instead, by calling for a well-worn religious phrase to warrant arrest, which is the kind of divisive language we would come to expect peddled by sections of the media and politicians, he has emboldened the far-right thugs we see on our streets today.
“He should apologise, fully retract his comments and speak to ordinary Muslims to understand why his remarks are so outrageous. Rather than inflaming tensions, he should focus on ways to bring communities together.”
Russian bomb hits residential building in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, 17 injured, major damage
Updated 6 min 7 sec ago
Reuters
A Russian guided bomb struck a high-rise apartment block on Wednesday evening in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, injuring at least 17 people, including three trapped under rubble, and badly damaging the building, officials said.
Kharkiv region governor Oleh Syniehubov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the impact triggered a fire and destroyed most of one entrance to the building.
He said 17 people were injured, included three trapped under rubble. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov put the injury toll at 18.
Pictures posted online showed firefighters tackling a blaze outside the building, with entire sections of the nine-story structure collapsed into rubble.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack underscored the need for more military aid from Ukraine’s Western allies.
“Our partners can see what is happening every day,” he wrote on Telegram. “And in these conditions, every decision that is put off means, at the very least, dozens of lives and hundreds of Russian bombs used against Ukraine.”
Kharkiv remained in Ukrainian hands through the initial failed advance of Russian forces on the capital Kyiv in the early days of the February 2022 invasion. It has since become a frequent target of Russian air attacks.
SEDAVI, Spain: Spain braced for a heavier human toll on Wednesday after 95 people died in flash floods that launched muddy waters through towns, tossed cars and wreaked transport havoc.
Rescuers were expected to find more bodies in the European country’s deadliest flood in more than 50 years and three days of official mourning were due to start on Thursday.
Heavy downpours and fierce winds have lashed Spain since the beginning of the week after a storm formed over the Mediterranean Sea, with up to a year’s worth of rain falling in just hours in some areas.
The body coordinating emergency services in the eastern Valencia region announced a provisional death toll of 92, adding that bodies were still being recovered and identified.
Two people died in neighboring Castilla-La Mancha and another victim was reported in Andalusia in the south, both regions’ leaders told journalists.
The toll is likely to rise because “there are many missing people,” government minister Angel Victor Torres told public broadcaster TVE.
The head of the Valencia region, Carlos Mazon, told reporters there were no longer people to save from roofs or terraces through aerial means.
Emergency services carried out 200 rescues on the ground and 70 aerial evacuations throughout the day, he said.
A sea of piled-up cars and mud swamped streets in Sedavi, a suburb of the Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia, AFP journalists saw.
Stunned residents attempted to clean the sludge and grabbed buckets to bail out water from their homes ahead of a long night without water or electricity.
In Ribarroja del Turia on the outskirts of Valencia city, town councillor Esther Gomez said workers were stuck overnight in an industrial estate “without a chance of rescuing them” as streams overflowed.
“It had been a long time since this happened and we’re scared,” she told AFP.
According to Spain’s weather service AEMET, the town of Chiva, west of Valencia, recorded 491 mm of rain in just eight hours on Tuesday — almost equalling a year’s worth.
“All of Spain weeps with all of you... We won’t abandon you,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told victims and their families in a televised address.
The disaster could not be considered over and “we will deploy all the necessary resources for as long as necessary so that we can recover from this tragedy,” he added.
King Felipe VI said he was “devastated” by the news on X and offered “heartfelt condolences” to families of the victims, thanking emergency services for their “titanic” response.
Damage to telephone networks and flooded roads were hampering efforts to reach stricken communities in the Valencia region, but rescuers’ access to all urban hubs was restored by Wednesday evening, Mazon said.
Some 155,000 homes were without electricity in Valencia region due to the storm, energy company Iberdrola said, adding that it had dispatched 500 workers to restore power there.
Defense Minister Margarita Robles told reporters more than 1,000 troops backed by helicopters were being deployed in the face of “an unprecedented phenomenon.”
The European Union activated its Copernicus satellite system to help coordinate Spanish rescue teams, commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference in Brussels.
The bloc has also offered to use its civil protection mechanism to send further reinforcements, she said.
Officials in the Valencia region announced survivors were being sheltered in temporary accommodation such as fire stations.
Rail and air transport remained severely disrupted. The high-speed line between Valencia and Madrid will be suspended over the next four days at least, rail infrastructure authority Adif announced.
Some downpours are expected to continue, but AEMET removed all remaining red alerts in the evening.
The flood toll is Spain’s deadliest since 1973 when at least 150 people were estimated to have died in the southeastern provinces of Granada, Murcia and Almeria.
Meteorologists have said the latest storm was caused by cold air moving over Mediterranean’s warm waters, which produced intense rain clouds, a phenomenon common for the time of year.
Scientists warn extreme weather events such as storms are becoming more intense, last longer and occur more frequently as a result of human-induced climate change.
Such extremes “can overwhelm the ability of existing defenses and contingency plans to cope, even in a relatively wealthy country like Spain,” said Leslie Mabon, senior lecturer in environmental systems at Britain’s Open University.
The heavy death toll came after warnings for extreme rainfall, suggesting Valencia’s flood alert system failed, said Hannah Cloke, hydrology professor at the University of Reading.
Reports on N.Korean troops ‘barefaced lies’: Russian UN envoy
Updated 31 October 2024
AFP
UNITED NATIONS: Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday denied reports that North Korean troops were present at its front lines in the war against Ukraine, calling them “barefaced lies.”
Vassily Nebenzia accused Washington and London of “disinformation” and insisted that Moscow’s interaction with North Korea has followed international law.
“These statements about the North Korean soldiers in our front should not surprise no one, because they’re all barefaced lies,” he told the Security Council.
Nebenzia spoke after the United States alleged that up to 10,000 North Korean soldiers had been deployed to Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, for possible action against Ukrainian forces.
On Tuesday the Pentagon said it had indications that a “small number” of North Korean troops had been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, on the border with Ukraine.
Russia and North Korea have deepened their political and military alliance as the Ukraine war has dragged on, but sending Pyongyang’s troops into combat against Kyiv’s forces would mark a significant escalation that has sparked widespread international concern.
Even if the US allegations were true, Nebenzia said, “why is it that the United States and allies are trying to impose on everyone the flawed logic that they have the right to help the Zelensky regime... and Russian allies have no right” to do the same.
Nebenzia said Russia’s interaction with North Korea “in the military and other areas is in line with international law and is not a violation of it.”
However, other members of the Security Council expressed concern.
British ambassador Barbara Woodward warned of the benefits Pyongyang could derive from Moscow, in particular military assistance, which “risks further raising tensions on the Korean peninsula” and undermining security in the Indo-Pacific region.
If North Korean troops are indeed deployed in Russia, it would be seen as “a hostile act with direct consequences for European security, international peace and security, and would only increase the suffering of the Ukrainian people,” French ambassador Nicolas de Riviere said.
The United Nations said it had followed the allegations with “serious concern.”
“The United Nations does not have any additional details on these developments and is not in a position to verify or confirm claims or reports made,” said Miroslav Jenca, UN Under-Secretary-General for Europe.
How the US election works, from how ballots are counted to when we will know the result
With its electoral college system, staggered results, and early voting options, understanding how the election functions can be daunting
To cut through the jargon and complexities of the democratic process, here is a breakdown of all you need to know to survive election day
Updated 31 October 2024
GABRIELE MALVISI
LONDON: Early voting has already begun in the US to decide who will form the next administration in what many believe is among the most consequential — and hotly contested — elections in a generation.
Almost every poll published over the past week has placed the two main contenders, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris, neck and neck in the race for the White House.
Analysts predict the result could come down to just a handful of votes. The outcome could have huge implications not only for domestic policy, but also for the international order.
With extensive media coverage, election jargon, and an overwhelming volume of information, understanding the process can feel daunting. Here is a breakdown of all you need to know to survive election day.
The polls
Polls are often excellent indicators of general voter sentiment. However, recent US elections have shown they are far from foolproof.
In 2016, almost every major polling firm predicted Hillary Clinton would defeat Donald Trump. However, pollsters failed to capture Trump’s unexpected support, leading to a surprise victory that confounded many.
In 2020, polls correctly tipped Joe Biden as the likely winner, but underestimated the actual vote share Trump would receive. In the week before the election, polls gave Biden a seven-point lead, yet Trump managed to close the gap by several points on Election Day.
With most polls indicating a close race on Tuesday, many are wondering whether the pollsters have got it right this time around.
Electoral college
About 244 million Americans are eligible to vote in this year’s election. If the turnout matches 2020’s record 67 percent, about 162 million ballots will be cast across 50 states.
People cast their ballots during early in-person voting on Oct. 30, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee. (AP)
A recent Arab News-YouGov poll indicated that Arab Americans are likely to vote in record numbers, with more than 80 percent of eligible voters saying they intend to participate — potentially swinging the outcome in several key states.
When voters cast their ballots, they do not vote directly for their preferred presidential candidate. Rather, they vote for a slate of “electors” who formally choose the president — a process known as the electoral college system.
Due to the quirks of this system, the candidate with the most votes nationally may not necessarily win the presidency. This was the case with Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Al Gore in 2000, both of whom won the popular vote but lost the election.
Former US Vice President Al Gore (left) won the popular vote in 2000 and so did former US first lady and senator Hilary Clinton in the 2016 election. But both lost the race because their rivals won more electoral votes. (AFP/File photos)l
The electoral college creates what could be defined as 51 mini elections — one in each state and another for Washington, D.C. In 48 states and D.C., the candidate with the majority vote takes all the electors from that state.
However, Maine and Nebraska have a different system, allocating electors by district, meaning their electoral votes may be split between candidates.
In total, 538 electors are distributed among the states. A candidate must secure at least 270 of these to win the presidency.
In the unlikely case that no candidate has the required 270 electoral college votes, then a contingent election takes place. This means the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the US Congress, votes for the president.
How votes are counted
When the polls close on election day, the count begins. In most cases, in-person votes are counted first, followed by early and mail-in ballots.
Results from smaller or less contested states often come in early, while larger, key battleground states like Pennsylvania or Georgia may take hours — or days — to finalize due to stringent verification steps, including signature checks and ballot preparation for electronic scanning.
Jessica Garofolo (L), administrative services director for Allegheny County, demonstrates how the high-speed ballot scanner for mail-in ballots works during a media tour of the Allegheny County election warehouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 30, 2024. (AFP)
States like Florida, where mail-in ballots are processed in advance, may report results relatively quickly. Other states, particularly those with late processing times for absentee ballots, might not finalize their tallies until days later.
State and local poll officials collect, verify, and certify the popular vote in each jurisdiction, following procedures for accuracy before final certification by governors and designated officials.
In response to unprecedented threats in 2020, many polling stations have now installed panic buttons, bulletproof glass and armed security to ensure safety across the more than 90,000 polling sites nationwide.
This combination image shows smoke pouring out of a ballot box on Oct. 28, 2024, in Vancouver, Washington (left) and a damaged ballot drop box displayed at the Multnomah County Elections Division office on Oct. 28, 2024, in Portland, Oregon. (KGW8 via AP/AP)
Mail-in and early votes
Although election day is held on the first Tuesday after Nov. 1, many Americans vote early. Early voting allows citizens to cast ballots in person, while others opt for mail-in ballots.
This year, early and mail-in voting are once again expected to play a crucial role, with millions of ballots already cast. President Biden voted early on Monday in his home state of Delaware.
US President Joe Biden casts his early-voting ballot in the 2024 general election in New Castle, Delaware, on October 28, 2024. (AFP)
States vary in how they handle mail-in ballots, with some processing them before election day and others waiting until polls close. In closely contested states, the volume of mail-in ballots could be a decisive factor, potentially delaying results.
Voting by mail has grown in popularity. According to ABC News, as of Tuesday, more than 25.6 million Americans have already returned mail ballots, and more than 65 million — including military personnel serving overseas — have requested absentee ballots.
In 2020, a comparable number voted by mail, though the COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased reliance on this option.
A voter casts her ballot during the early voting period on October 29, 2024 in the city of Dearborn in Michigan state. (Getty Images via AFP)
Despite its growing popularity, the mail-in voting system has faced accusations of fraud. During the last election, authorities and the postal service were strained by millions of extra ballots.
At the time, Trump said that mail-in voting was a “disaster” and “a whole big scam,” claiming that the Democrats had exploited the system to “steal” the election. The Democrats claim those allegations contributed to the Capitol Hill attack of Jan. 6, 2021.
This election cycle, some states, including Michigan and Nevada, have passed laws permitting early counting of mail-in ballots, which should lead to faster results. However, most states’ absentee voting policies have seen minimal changes, leaving tensions high.
Authorities are closely monitoring the process. In a sign of just how tense the situation has become, officials announced on Tuesday that they were searching for suspects after hundreds of votes deposited in two ballot drop boxes in the Pacific Northwest were destroyed by fire.
When will a winner be declared?
Indiana and Kentucky will be the first states to close their polls at 6 pm ET, followed by seven more states an hour later, including the battleground state of Georgia, which in 2020 voted for Biden. North Carolina, another critical swing state which picked Trump last time around, closes at 7:30 pm ET.
Supporters of US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris cheer during a Get Out the Vote rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Oct. 30, 2024. (AFP)
By around 8 p.m. ET, many states will have reported results, most of which are expected to follow traditional patterns. However, early results in solid Republican states like South Carolina could hint at trends in neighboring battlegrounds like Georgia.
By 9 p.m. ET, polls in key swing states such as Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan close, with results trickling in soon after. By midnight ET, most of the nation will have reported, with Hawaii and Alaska closing shortly after, likely providing a clearer picture.
Pennsylvania, which is seen as a bellwether of the overall election outcome, aims to announce its results by early morning on Nov. 6.
The timing of a winner declaration ultimately depends on how close the race is in these key states. If one candidate establishes a clear lead in pivotal swing states early, a winner could be projected by major networks, as Fox News controversially did in 2020, calling Arizona for Biden hours ahead of other broadcasters.
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump dances as he leaves a campaign rally in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, on Oct. 30, 2024. (AFP)
If the race remains tight in crucial states like Pennsylvania, Arizona, or Michigan — all won by Biden last time around — the results may be delayed, possibly into the next day or later.
In 2020, it took four days to project Biden’s win due to a high volume of mail-in ballots. Experts caution that similarly close results this year could lead to a comparable delay.
Possible controversy
As in previous years, the outcome of the election will likely be contested. Delays in ballot counting, especially from mail-in votes, could fuel disputes in states where margins are tight.
Mail-in ballots are secured inside a cage before election day, as officials host a media tour of the Allegheny County election warehouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 30, 2024. (AFP)
Both parties have prepared legal teams to challenge issues surrounding ballot validity, recounts, or other contested results.
Concerns over voter intimidation, misinformation and unsubstantiated allegations of fraud may further stoke tensions, despite the rigorous safeguards put in place.
In its latest assessment, the International Crisis Group noted that while conditions differ from 2020, political divisions remain sharp and risks of unrest remain high, especially if results are contested or take days to finalize.
As the world watches Tuesday’s election closely, there is widespread hope for a fair and peaceful process, marking a fitting conclusion to this tense political season.
French court overturns ban of Israeli companies at defense trade fair
Decision came amid rising tensions between Israel and France, after Emmanuel Macron criticized the civilian casualties in Gaza and Lebanon
French leader had insisted that stopping the export of weapons used by Israel in both operations was the only way to halt the two conflicts
Updated 30 October 2024
AFP
PARIS: A Paris commercial court on Wednesday threw out a French government decision to ban Israeli companies from setting up stands or exhibiting hardware at the Euronaval defense trade fair, according to a decision seen by AFP.
The court ordered the organizers “to suspend the execution of the measures adopted against the Israeli exhibiting companies whose stands were prohibited at the Euronaval 2024 exhibition until the closing date of the exhibition,” the judgment said.
In mid October, the French government told Euronaval organizers that Israeli delegations taking part in the trade fair this year, from November 4-7, would not be permitted to set up a stand of exhibit hardware, sparking outrage from Israel.
The decision came amid rising tensions between Israel and France, after President Emmanuel Macron criticized the civilian casualties in the Israeli campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The French leader had insisted that stopping the export of weapons used by Israel in both operations was the only way to halt the two conflicts.
A lawyer who represented the Israeli companies after they appealed the ban, Patrick Klugman, hailed Wednesday’s decision as “a victory for the rule of law.”
“Whatever the stated intention, from the highest level of the State to the organizing company, the action which we had to take note of here was manifestly ill-founded and illegal,” he said.
Euronaval is a biennial event that attracts naval defense exhibitors from around the world.
At the end of May, the presence of Israeli defense manufacturers at the Eurosatory land defense and security exhibition was banned by the government, before finally being authorized by the French courts.
