WASHINGTON/LONDON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday posted anti-Islam videos on Twitter that had originally been published by a leader of a fringe, far-right British party who was convicted earlier this month of abusing a Muslim woman.
Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of the anti-immigration Britain First group, posted the videos on Wednesday which she said showed a group of people who were Muslims beating a teenage boy to death, battering a boy on crutches and destroying a Christian statue.
Trump’s decision to re-tweet the videos prompted criticism from both sides of the Atlantic.
“I hope our government will condemn far-right retweets by Donald Trump,” Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, wrote on Twitter. “They are abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our society.”
Reuters was unable to immediately verify the videos and Fransen herself said they had come from various online sources which had been posted on her social media pages.
“I’m delighted,” Fransen, who has 53,000 Twitter followers, told Reuters, saying it showed the US president shared her aim of raising awareness of “issues such as Islam.”
As a candidate, Trump called for “a Muslim ban” and, as president, has issued executive orders banning entry from some citizens of multiple countries, although courts have partially blocked them from taking effect.
Britain First is a peripheral political party which wants to end all immigration and to bring in a comprehensive ban on Islam, with anyone found to be promoting the religion’s ideology to be deported or imprisoned.
The group, which attracts a few hundred protesters to its regular street demonstrations, states on its website it is a “loyalist movement” but critics say it is simply racist.
Fransen was fined earlier this month after being found guilty of religiously aggravated harassment for shouting abuse at a Muslim woman wearing a hijab.
Last week, she was charged by the police in Northern Ireland with using threatening, abusive or insulting words in a speech at a rally in Belfast in August.
Along with the group’s leader, she was also charged in September with causing religiously aggravated harassment over the distribution of leaflets and posting online videos during a court trial involving a number of Muslim men accused and later convicted of rape.
Politicians in Britain called on Prime Minister Theresa May’s government to condemn Trump while the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest US Muslim civil rights organization, said it was an incitement to violence.
“These are actions one would expect to see on virulent anti-Muslim hate sites, not on the Twitter feed of the president of the United States,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.
David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, praised Trump for his posts.
“He’s condemned for showing us what the fake news media won’t,” Duke wrote on Twitter. “Thank God for Trump! That’s why we love him!“
There was no immediate response from May’s office, and Fransen said Trump’s re-tweets showed his outrage at her treatment by the media and the authorities.
“The important message here is Donald Trump has been made aware of the persecution and prosecution of a political leader in Britain for giving what has been said by police to be an anti-Islamic speech,” she said.
“He (Trump) stands for free speech and he won’t be deterred by any petty left-leaning journalist in Britain saying he shouldn’t be re-tweeting any individual.”
UK lawmakers condemn Trump for retweeting anti-Muslim videos from far-right party
UK lawmakers condemn Trump for retweeting anti-Muslim videos from far-right party
Romanians vote in a presidential redo after voided election sparked deep political crisis
- The election redo is a crossroads moment for Romania as it seeks to restore its democracy and retain its geopolitical alliances
- The decision to annul the election and the ban on Georgescu’s candidacy drew criticism from US Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and Russia, which publicly supported his candidacy in the rerun
BUCHAREST, Romania: Romanians are casting ballots Sunday in a critical presidential election redo after last year’s annulled vote plunged the European Union and NATO member country into its worst political crisis in decades.
Eleven candidates are vying for the presidency and a May 18 runoff is expected. Polls opened at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) and will close at 9 p.m. (1800 GMT). Romanians abroad have been able to vote since Friday.
Romania’s political landscape was shaken last year when a top court voided the previous election in which the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped first-round, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow has denied.
Like many countries in the EU, anti-establishment sentiment is running high in Romania, fueled by high inflation and cost of living, a large budget deficit and a sluggish economy. Observers say the malaise has bolstered support for nationalist and far-right figures like Georgescu, who is under investigation and barred from the rerun.
While data from local surveys should be taken with caution, a median of polls suggests that hard-right nationalist George Simion will enter the runoff, likely pitting him against Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, or the governing coalition’s candidate, Crin Antonescu.
Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and former anti-corruption activist who founded the Save Romania Union party (USR) in 2016, is running on a pro-EU “Honest Romania” ticket. He says Romania needs a president “who has the will and the ability to reform the system.”
Veteran centrist Antonescu, 65, has campaigned on retaining Romania’s pro-Western orientation, while Victor Ponta, a former prime minister between 2012 and 2015, has also pushed a MAGA-style “Romania First” campaign and boasts of having close ties to the Trump administration.
Another hopeful, Elena Lasconi, came second in last year’s first round ballot and is participating in the rerun. She has positioned herself as a staunchly pro-Western, anti-system candidate, railing against what she describes as a corrupt political class.
Distrust in the authorities remains widespread, especially for those who voted for Georgescu, a sizeable electorate that Simion has sought to tap into.
“The anti-establishment sentiment is not like an anarchic movement, but is against the people who destroyed this country,” Simion, who came fourth in last year’s race and later backed Georgescu, told The Associated Press. “We are not a democratic state anymore.”
Simion said that his hard-right nationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians party is “perfectly aligned with the MAGA movement,” capitalizing on a growing wave of populism in Europe after US President Donald Trump’s political comeback. AUR rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election, proclaims to stand for “family, nation, faith, and freedom,” and has since doubled its support.
The election redo is a crossroads moment for Romania as it seeks to restore its democracy and retain its geopolitical alliances, which have become strained since the canceled election fiasco.
The decision to annul the election and the ban on Georgescu’s candidacy drew criticism from US Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk and Russia, which publicly supported his candidacy in the rerun.
The presidential role carries a five-year term and significant decision-making powers in national security and foreign policy.
Japan protests China’s airspace ‘violation’ near disputed islands
- The Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement released late Saturday that its vice minister lodged “a strong protest” with the Chinese ambassador to Japan
- On the same day, China’s coast guard announced it had used a helicopter to “expel” a Japanese airplane from airspace around the disputed islands
TOKYO: Tokyo has lodged a protest against Beijing after a Chinese helicopter “violated” Japan’s airspace and four vessles entered its territorial waters around disputed islands.
The islands in the East China Sea — known as the Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan — are claimed by Beijing but administered by Tokyo and are a frequent hotspot in bilateral tensions.
The Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement released late Saturday that its vice minister lodged “a strong protest” with the Chinese ambassador to Japan “over the intrusion of four China Coast Guard vessels into Japan’s territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands” on the same day.
The vice minister also protested “the violation of Japan’s territorial airspace by a helicopter launched from one of the China Coast Guard vessels, strongly urging (China) to ensure that similar acts do not recur.”
Japan’s defense ministry said the helicopter flew within Japanese airspace for about 15 minutes on Saturday near the Senkaku islands.
“The Self-Defense Forces responded by scrambling fighter jets,” the ministry said.
Public broadcaster NHK and other local media reported that this is the first time a Chinese government helicopter violated the Japanese airspace off the disputed islands.
On the same day, China’s coast guard announced it had used a helicopter to “expel” a Japanese airplane from airspace around the disputed islands.
Liu Dejun, spokesman for China’s coast guard, said a Japanese civilian aircraft “illegally entered” the airspace of the islands at 11:19 am (GMT 0219) and left five minutes later.
Beijing frequently announces it has driven Japanese vessels and aircraft away from the islands, but Japanese officials have told AFP that Chinese authorities sometimes announce expulsions when none have occurred.
Unnamed Japanese officials told local media that Beijing was possibly reacting to a small Japanese civilian aircraft flying near the islands.
Chinese and Japanese patrol vessels in the East China Sea have routinely staged dangerous face-offs around disputed islands.
Tensions between China and other claimants to parts of the East and South China Seas has driven Japan to deepen ties with the Philippines and United States.
Pakistan to hold key national security briefing for political parties today amid India tensions
- Pakistan has been preparing for possible military confrontation with India ever since Apr. 22 Kashmir attack
- Parties to be informed about preparation of armed forces and Islamabad’s diplomatic initiatives, says state media
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information minister and military spokesperson will hold an important national security briefing today, Sunday, for representatives of various political parties amid Islamabad’s surging tensions with Delhi, according to state-run media.
Pakistan has been preparing for the possibility of a military confrontation with India ever since its tensions with its nuclear-armed neighbor skyrocketed last month. Delhi blamed Islamabad for being involved in a militant attack on Apr. 22 at a tourist resort in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists.
Pakistan denied involvement and as India vowed to go after backers of the Kashmir attack, Islamabad vowed it would give a “strong” response to any military action by India.
“Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar and Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry will hold an important background briefing on the national security for representatives of all political parties on Sunday,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Saturday.
It said the briefing would primarily focus on the prevailing national security landscape, particularly concerning relations between Pakistan and India, and its broader implications.
Political parties will be informed about the preparedness of Pakistan’s armed forces while information about ongoing diplomatic initiatives and Islamabad’s official stance on the situation will also be shared, it added.
“The statement said that the briefing, in the current situation, is a prime example of national unity and consensus among all the parties,” APP said.
As tensions surge between the two neighbors, their forces have traded fire over the Line of Control frontier in Kashmir while diplomats have exchanged barbs, expelled citizens and ordered their land border shut.
Pakistani opposition parties have in recent times become more openly critical of the military, which has been accused of being heavily involved in politics and the economy. The military denies the allegations.
However, recent tensions with India have turned bitter political foes into temporary allies.
When the Senate voted on an anti-India resolution last month, jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party voted in favor, ensuring it passed unanimously.
5 arrested in UK for ‘terrorism offenses’: police
- The men aged between 29 and 46 were arrested on suspicion of “preparation of a terrorist act”
LONDON: British police on Sunday said they had arrested five men on suspicion of “terrorism offenses.”
The arrests were carried out in London, Swindon and the Greater Manchester area and were related to “a suspected plot to target specific premises,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
The men aged between 29 and 46 were arrested on suspicion of “preparation of a terrorist act” and remain in custody, the police said.
“This is a fast-moving investigation and we are working closely with those at the affected site to keep them updated,” said Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism chief Dominic Murphy.
“The investigation is still in its early stages and we are exploring various lines of enquiry to establish any potential motivation as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public linked to this matter,” he said.
Qatar rejects Netanyahu’s ‘inflammatory’ Gaza comments: foreign ministry
- Netanyahu's office earlier urged Qatar to stop its "double game" and "decide if it’s on the side of civilization or if it’s on the side of Hamas”
- Qatar ministry spokesman said the statement "fall far short of the most basic standards of political and moral responsibility”
DOHA: Gaza mediator Qatar on Sunday rejected comments from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it needed to “stop playing both sides” in truce negotiations.
A statement released by Netanyahu's office on Saturday said Qatar needs to “decide if it’s on the side of civilization or if it’s on the side of Hamas.”
Qatar “firmly rejects the inflammatory statements... which fall far short of the most basic standards of political and moral responsibility,” foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari responded in a post on X.
Despite efforts by Egyptian and Qatari mediators to restore a ceasefire, neither Israel nor Hamas has shown willingness to back down on core demands, with each side blaming the other for the failure to reach a deal.
Israel, which wants the return of 59 hostages still held in Gaza, has insisted Hamas must disarm and be excluded from any role in the future governance of the enclave, a condition that Hamas rejects.
It has insisted on agreeing a lasting end to the fighting and withdrawal of Israeli forces as a condition for a deal that would see a release of the hostages.
Al-Ansari criticized the portrayal of the Gaza conflict as a defense of civilization, likening it to historical regimes that used “false narratives to justify crimes against civilians.”
In his post, Al-Ansari questioned whether the release of 138 hostages was achieved through military operations or mediation efforts, which he said are being unjustly criticized and undermined.
He also cited the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza represented by what he called a suffocating blockade, systematic starvation, denial of medicine and shelter, and the use of humanitarian aid as a tool of political coercion. On Friday, Israel’s security cabinet approved plans for an expanded operation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported on Friday, adding to signs that attempts to stop the fighting and return hostages held by Hamas have made no progress.
Israel’s campaign was triggered by the devastating Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw 251 taken hostage. It has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and devastated Gaza where aid groups have warned the Israeli blockade risks a humanitarian disaster.
