JAKARTA: The Indonesian government is looking to boost the country’s image as a halal tourism destination for Muslims from around the world.
The drive is part of the government’s efforts to boost state coffers and meet its 5.2 percent growth target this year. President Joko Widodo promised 7 percent economic growth rate on the campaign trail in 2014. The tourism sector contributed 4.23 percent of the country’s GDP in 2016.
The Muslim travel market is one of the fastest-growing segments in the global travel industry, according to the MasterCard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2017, which was released in May.
The GMTI predicted that the Muslim travel market will be worth $220 billion by 2020 and $300 billion by 2026, spurred by Muslim-friendly amenities and easy access to travel information.
Around 121 million Muslims traveled internationally during 2016 — an increase of 4 million from the previous year. It is estimated that figure will reach 156 million by 2020 — accounting for 10 percent of the global travel market.
According to the GMTI, Indonesia ranks third — after Malaysia and the UAE — out of member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
“We aim to be in the No. 1 spot by 2019,” Hafizuddin Ahmad, a member of the halal tourism acceleration team at the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, told Arab News.
The government has assigned 10 destinations across the country for halal tourism, with Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara province, West Sumatra and Aceh as the Top 3.
“We assigned those destinations in accordance with the local culture and their readiness to adapt to the concept,” said Ahmad, who is part of a Shariah supervisory body for Sofyan Hotels, a local hotel chain that follows Shariah principles in its management.
Lombok Island has already made a name for itself as a halal destination, picking up World’s Best Halal Destination and World’s Best Halal Honeymoon Destination at the World Halal Travel Awards in 2015.
But Taufan Rahmadi, who oversees projects to accelerate the growth of the island’s Mandalika area as a tourism destination, stressed that it is not just Muslim tourists that Lombok wishes to attract.
“We do not apply special zones for halal or conventional tourism. Halal tourism should not override existing, conventional tourism,” he told Arab News. “We don’t want to scare the conventional tourists away.
“Our branding is in line with the culture and our local custom, as our competitive edge, compared to Bali,” Rahmadi continued, referring to Lombok’s more famous and popular neighbor, while pointing out that Muslims account for 95 percent of Lombok’s population. He also claimed to have “often heard” complaints from tourists who could not find halal services in Bali.
Lombok saw an increase in visitors from Middle Eastern countries last year, up to 240,989 from 182,143 the previous year. But Arista Atmadjati — a tourism lecturer from Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta — said the island is hindered in its quest to attract further Muslim tourists by the fact there are still no direct flights from the GCC to Lombok.
“We are working on it. We are also working to have the runway in Lombok airport extended so that wide-body aircrafts can land,” Ahmadi said.
“Improved connectivity is a must so that Lombok can be a primary tourism destination instead of getting spillover from Bali where the tourists may have spent their money,” Atmadjati said.
Indonesia seeks bigger share of global halal tourism
Indonesia seeks bigger share of global halal tourism
British police launch new investigation into people linked to late Harrods boss Al-Fayed
- The BBC documentary said Harrods failed to intervene and helped cover up abuse allegations during his ownership
LONDON: British police said they had launched an investigation into whether people linked to the late Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed helped enable his alleged rape and other sexual abuse of female staff at his London department store Harrods and elsewhere.
A BBC documentary reported in September that Al-Fayed, who died last year aged 94, had sexually abused female staff, forced them to have medical screenings and threatened consequences if they tried to complain.
Al-Fayed always denied similar accusations before his death.
“This investigation is about giving survivors a voice, despite the fact that Mohamed Al-Fayed is no longer alive to face prosecution,” Commander Stephen Clayman from London’s Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement on Wednesday.
“However, we are now pursuing any individuals suspected to have been complicit in his offending, and we are committed to seeking justice.”
He did not say how many people were under investigation.
Lawyers representing victims have said the abuse took place not just at Harrods but also in other locations linked to Al-Fayed’s business empire, such as Fulham Football Club, the Ritz Paris hotel and his estate in Surrey, saying more than 400 people had come forward.
The BBC documentary said Harrods failed to intervene and helped cover up abuse allegations during his ownership.
Harrods has apologized and said it is “appalled” by the allegations. It has launched a process for any current or former Harrods employees who wished to claim compensation, although the plan has been criticized by victims’ lawyers.
The MPS said 90 victims had come forward over the last two months.
Earlier this month, the MPS referred itself to the police watchdog over its handling of two complaints against Al-Fayed in 2008 and 2013. The MPS said it would review all historical reports made against Al-Fayed.
US sanctions Venezuela security chiefs for crackdown
WASHINGTON: The United States slapped sanctions on 21 top Venezuelan security and cabinet officials Wednesday, accusing them of a campaign of repression after President Nicolas Maduro’s bitterly contested July reelection.
The fresh measures — which Venezuela rejected as a “desperate act” against “patriots” — come after Washington and the G7 said they recognized opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as president-elect, amid accusations of fraud against Maduro.
“Maduro and his representatives’ repressive actions in the wake of the Venezuelan presidential election are a desperate attempt to silence the voices of its citizens,” Bradley Smith, the acting under secretary of the Treasury Department, said in a statement.
Fifteen leaders of the Venezuelan security apparatus are among those hit by an asset freeze, including the heads of the intelligence service, military counterintelligence service, the national guard and the police.
The sanctions also target the Venezuelan communications minister and the head of the prison service.
“All of these entities are part of Maduro’s security apparatus and are responsible for violently repressing peaceful protesters and carrying out arbitrary detention,” a senior US administration official told reporters.
A Venezuelan foreign ministry statement said the country “rejects with the utmost firmness” the latest sanctions of the “outgoing US government against the Venezuelan people and, in particular, a group of patriots who have dedicated themselves to safeguarding peace, stability, economic recovery and national unity in the face of fascist violence.”
The US Treasury said Venezuelan security forces had also issued an “unjustified arrest warrant” for Urrutia, forcing him to flee to Spain.
At the same time, the US State Department said it was expanding visa restrictions on Maduro’s allies.
“Maduro’s security apparatus has engaged in widespread abuses, including killings, repression, and mass detention of protesters,” the State Department said in a statement.
In September, the United States announced sanctions against 16 Venezuelan officials over alleged election fraud.
They included senior figures in the Venezuelan electoral council and Supreme Court, with the US Treasury saying at the time that they “impeded a transparent electoral process and the release of accurate election results.”
Maduro claimed victory in the election and defied intense domestic and international pressure to release detailed polling numbers to back up the assertion.
Amid an outcry at home and abroad, the former bus driver handpicked by the late authoritarian strongman Hugo Chavez is now serving his third term.
But the oil-rich country’s economy is in shambles, as Venezuelans endure acute shortages of food, medicine and other basic goods.
Maduro is accused of leading a harshly repressive leftist regime, with a systematic crackdown on the opposition.
Canada is already examining tariffs on certain US items following Trump’s tariff threat
TORONTO: Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the United States should President-elect Donald Trump follow through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products, a senior official said Wednesday.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if the countries don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across southern and northern borders. He said he would impose a 25 percent tax on all products entering the US from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders.
A Canadian government official said Canada is preparing for every eventuality and has started thinking about what items to target with tariffs in retaliation. The official stressed no decision has been made. The person spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly.
When Trump imposed higher tariffs during his first term in office, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canada, for instance, announced billions of new duties in 2018 against the US in a tit-for-tat response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Many of the US products were chosen for their political rather than economic impact. For example, Canada imports $3 million worth of yogurt from the US annually and most comes from one plant in Wisconsin, home state of then-House Speaker Paul Ryan. That product was hit with a 10 percent duty.
Another product on the list was whiskey, which comes from Tennessee and Kentucky, the latter of which is the home state of then-Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell.
Trump made the threat Monday while railing against an influx of illegal migrants, even though the numbers at Canadian border pale in comparison to the southern border.
The US Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests at the Mexican border in October alone — and 23,721 arrests at the Canadian one between October 2023 and September 2024.
Canadian officials say lumping Canada in with Mexico is unfair but say they are happy to work with the Trump administration to lower the numbers from Canada. The Canadians are also worried about a influx north of migrants if Trump follows through with his plan for mass deportations.
Trump also railed about fentanyl from Mexico and Canada, even though seizures from the Canadian border pale in comparison to the Mexican border. US customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border.
Canadian officials argue their country is not the problem and that tariffs will have severe implications for both countries.
Canada is the top export destination for 36 US states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian ($2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60 percent of US crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85 percent of US electricity imports are from Canada. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.
“Canada is essential to the United States’ domestic energy supply,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said.
Trump has pledged to cut American energy bills in half within 18 months, something that could be made harder if a 25 percent premium is added to Canadian oil imports. In 2023, Canadian oil accounted for almost two-thirds of total US oil imports and about one-fifth of the US oil supply.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is holding a emergency virtual meeting on Wednesday with the leaders of Canada’s provinces, who want Trudeau to negotiate a bilateral trade deal with the United States that excludes Mexico.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday that her administration is already working up a list of possible retaliatory tariffs “if the situation comes to that.”
Musk calls for abolishing consumer finance watchdog targeted by Republicans
The comment on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) follows Musk’s recent appointment to a government efficiency role, further amplifying the influence of the world’s richest man, who donated millions of dollars to helping Trump get elected.
“Delete CFPB. There are too many duplicative regulatory agencies,” Musk said in a post on social media platform X.
The CFPB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will co-lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency, an entity Trump indicated will operate outside the confines of government.
The CFPB was created as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law to police and regulate consumer financial products following the 2008 crisis and only Congress has the power to eliminate it.
Separately, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing sources, that the consumer finance watchdog is moving ahead with rulemaking in the final weeks of Joe Biden’s Democratic administration, in a bid to advance consumer protections before Trump overhauls the agency.
Republicans have sought to curtail or eliminate the agency from the outset, but legislative efforts to either scrap it altogether, or place stricter limits on its funding and leadership structure, have failed to gain traction in the years since its creation.
Banking industry executives and lawyers also anticipate the incoming Trump administration will likely place significant limits on the CFPB.
Trump turns to outsider to shake up Navy, but his lack of military experience raises concerns
- The appointment comes at a critical moment for the Navy, which has been stretched thin with deployments around the world
WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, has not served in the military or had a civilian leadership role in the service. While officials and defense experts said the Navy is in sore need of a disruptor, they cautioned that Phelan’s lack of experience could make it more difficult for him to realize Trump’s goals.
Trump late Tuesday nominated Phelan, a major donor to his campaign who founded the private investment firm Rugger Management LLC. The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment on his qualifications. According to his biography, Phelan’s primary exposure to the military comes from an advisory position he holds on the Spirit of America, a non-profit that supports the defense of Ukraine and the defense of Taiwan.
Not all service secretaries come into the office with prior military experience, but he’d be the first in the Navy since 2006. Current Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth similarly does not have prior military service. She, however, has spent her career in a host of defense civilian positions.
The appointment comes at a critical moment for the Navy, which has been stretched thin with deployments around the world and must contend with a shrinking fleet even as the naval forces of its main rival, China, are growing. Trump has campaigned on expanding the Navy and would need to fight bureaucratic inertia to do so. But it’s uncertain whether a secretary with no military experience — either in uniform or as a defense civilian — would be well-positioned to lead that effort.
“It will be difficult for anyone without experience in the Pentagon to take over the leadership of a service and do a good job,” said Stacie Pettyjohn, a senior fellow and director of the defense program at the Center for a New American Security. “Services are sprawling organizations with distinct cultures, subcultures and bureaucratic interests, and where decisions are made through many formal processes. To change a service’s plans, one must understand this Byzantine landscape.”
Experts said Phelan’s nomination reflects that Trump is seeking service branch heads who will not push back on his ideas — but that Phelan’s lack of experience is likely to create issues and delays of its own, They say the Navy can’t afford to lose time. One of the Navy’s biggest challenges is preparing for a potential military confrontation with China over Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China claims as its own.
“The stakes are high,” said Brad Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “The success or failure in addressing key problems in the US Navy over the next couple years may have a decisive effect on war and peace in the Taiwan Strait and elsewhere.”
Trump has called for a 350-ship Navy since his 2016 presidential campaign, but he experienced first-hand the difficulty in realizing that goal, given the challenges to shipbuilding and the erratic and often delayed congressional budget process.
There are just under 300 battle force ships in the fleet — vessels that have a direct role in conducting combat operations.
“The Navy is stretched covering Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific. Strategists have wanted to pull back from Europe and the Middle East, but recent conflicts have prevented that,” said Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “So the next secretary will have a shrinking fleet, expanded overseas commitments, and an uncertain budget environment.”
The Marine Corps has called for 31 amphibious warships to help it maintain a close-to-shore presence around the globe. The Navy regularly has had to extend the deployments of its aircraft carriers and escorting destroyers, for example, to respond to the unstable security situation in the Middle East.
Each extension can create rippling effects: Ships don’t get maintained on schedule, and forces get tired of the lack of predictability for their families and leave the service.
Service branch chiefs spend vast amounts of time not only responding to the White House but also appeasing members of Congress in frequent hearings on Capitol Hill, shaping budget requests, holding constant meetings on service member issues, attending industry conferences and filling speakers requests. That all requires a nuanced understanding of the service that a secretary is leading, because major change in any of the branches often involves a lengthy process to review directives and past policy. Any changes to the many weapons systems the Navy and Marine Corps need and pursue are subject to lengthy contract award challenges.
“The Navy’s problem here is money,” Cancian said. “Even if the defense budget goes up, there will only be a relatively small increase available for shipbuilding. (If) the budget stays steady or goes down, then the Navy will have a major problem. The fleet will continue to shrink.”
Trump has signaled through multiple appointments, such as his selection of SpaceX founder Elon Musk to co-lead a nongovernmental Department of Government Efficiency, that he seeks to cut through red tape. But the service secretary can’t do that without moving through Congress, which has produced many of those regulations and processes the military must follow.
“It might help that he has a personal relationship with the president. However, his lack of experience in defense and the Pentagon will hurt the Navy,” Cancian said. “It will take him a while to learn the levers of power.”
