SEOUL: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte apologized to Kuwait on Sunday for his “harsh” words at the height of a months-long diplomatic row over the treatment of domestic workers.
The spat began in February when a murdered Filipino maid was found in her employer’s freezer in the Gulf state, prompting Duterte to lash out at the “inhuman” treatment of migrant workers and ban workers from traveling to Kuwait.
“For the first time I would say that I was harsh in my language maybe because that was a result of an emotional outburst. But I’d like to apologize now,” Duterte said, addressing Kuwait directly in a speech before expatriate Filipinos living in South Korea.
“I’m sorry for the language that I was using but I’m very satisfied with... how you responded to the problems of my country.”
Authorities in Manila say around 262,000 Filipinos worked in Kuwait before February, with many employed as household maids.
They are among over two million Filipinos employed in the region, whose remittances are a lifeline to the Philippine economy.
Kuwaiti authorities expelled Manila’s envoy in April over footage showing embassy staff helping Filipino workers flee allegedly abusive bosses in Kuwait.
Tensions cooled last month after the two nations sealed an agreement on workplace safety guarantees for Filipinos working in Kuwait, prompting Duterte to lift the employment ban.
On Sunday, Duterte said he hoped to visit Kuwait to express his gratitude.
“I’d like to thank the Kuwaiti government for understanding us and keeping their faith (in) us and practically (giving in) to all of my demands,” Duterte said.
His demands included giving Filipino workers a day off and seven hours of sleep each night, as well as allowing them to keep their passports and phones — often confiscated by employers, Duterte said.
Philippines’ Duterte apologizes to Kuwait for ‘harsh’ words
Philippines’ Duterte apologizes to Kuwait for ‘harsh’ words
Trump says ‘Golden Dome’ free for Canada — if it joins US
- “I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Canada could join his proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system for free — but only if it becomes part of the United States.
Otherwise it would cost Canada $61 billion to be part of the system, said Trump, who has repeatedly called for the United States’ northern neighbor to become the 51st state.
Canada has expressed interest in joining the missile system — plans for which Trump unveiled last week to defend against a wide array of enemy weapons — but has firmly rejected any loss of sovereignty.
“I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network.
“But (it) will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State. They are considering the offer!“
There was no immediate response from Canada to Trump’s claims.
Trump announced plans for the “Golden Dome” system a week ago, saying it would eventually cost around $175 billion and would be operational by the end of his term in 2029.
Experts say the scheme faces huge technical and political challenges, and could cost far more than he has estimated to achieve its goals.
Trump also said at the time that Canada was interested in joining the missile system. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney then confirmed that his country had held “high level” talks on the issue.
NATO members Canada and the United States are partners in continental defense through the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
But the scheme now seems set to add to the tensions that Trump has sparked with Canada.
Carney politely but firmly dismissed Trump’s calls for Canada to become part of the United States when he visited the White House earlier this month, saying his country was “never for sale.”
The Canadian premier and Trump did however appear to smooth over some of the strains over the tariffs that the US president has slapped on Ottawa.
US suspends student visa processing as Trump ramps up social media vetting
- The most visible targets have been students involved in activism over Gaza
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday ordered a suspension of student visa processing as President Donald Trump’s administration ramps up vetting of their social media, according to an internal cable.
It is the latest move that takes aim at international students, a major source of revenue for US universities, after Rubio rescinded hundreds of visas and the Trump administration moved to bar Harvard University from admitting any non-Americans.
A cable signed by Rubio and seen by AFP orders embassies and consulates not to allow “any additional student or exchange visa... appointment capacity until further guidance is issued.”
It said the State Department “plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting for all such applications.”
The cable suggested that the suspension could be brief, telling embassies to receive new guidance in the “coming days,” although US missions already frequently see major backlogs in processing applications.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce did not comment directly on the cable but said that “we take very seriously the process of vetting who it is that comes into the country.”
“It’s a goal, as stated by the president and Secretary Rubio, to make sure that people who are here understand what the law is, that they don’t have any criminal intent, that they are going to be contributors to the experience here, however short or long their status,” she said.
Asked if students seeking to study at US universities should expect visas to be ready before terms begin in the autumn, Bruce said only: “If you’re going to be applying for a visa, follow the normal process, the normal steps, (and) expect to be looked at.”
Rubio last week told a Senate hearing that he has revoked “thousands” of visas since Trump took office on January 20.
Rubio has used an obscure law that allows the secretary of state to remove foreigners for activities deemed counter to US foreign policy interests.
The most visible targets have been students involved in activism over Gaza. Trump administration officials accused students of anti-Semitism, charges strenuously denied by a number of the people targeted.
Israeli troops fire warning shots as Palestinians overwhelm new Gaza food center
- The UN and other humanitarian organizations have rejected the new system, saying it won’t be able to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people
MUWASI, Gaza Strip: Chaos erupted on the second day of aid operations by a new US-backed group in Gaza as desperate Palestinians overwhelmed a center distributing food on Tuesday, breaking through fences. Nearby Israeli troops fired warning shots, sending people fleeing in panic.
An AP journalist heard Israeli tank and gunfire and saw a military helicopter firing flares. The Israeli military said its troops fired the warning shots in the area outside the center and that “control over the situation was established.”
At least three injured Palestinians were seen by The Associated Press being brought from the scene, one of them bleeding from his leg.
The distribution hub outside Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah had been opened the day before by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been slated by Israel to take over aid operations. The UN and other humanitarian organizations have rejected the new system, saying it won’t be able to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and allows Israel to use food as a weapon to control the population. They have also warned of the risk of friction between Israeli troops and people seeking supplies.
Palestinians have become desperate for food after nearly three months of Israeli blockade pushed Gaza to the brink of famine.
Palestinians walk miles for food, finding chaos
Palestinians at the scene told AP that small numbers of people made their way to the GHF center Tuesday morning and received food boxes. As word spread, large numbers of men, women and children walked for several miles from the sprawling tent camps along Gaza’s Mediterranean coast. To reach the hub, they had to pass through nearby Israeli military positions.
By the afternoon, hundreds of thousands were massed at the hub. Videos show the crowds funneled in long lines through chain-link fence passages. Two people said each person was searched and had their faces scanned for identification before being allowed to receive the boxes. Crowds swelled and turmoil erupted, with people tearing down fences and grabbing boxes. The staff at the site were forced to flee, they said.
The AP journalist positioned some distance away heard gunfire and rounds of tank fire. Smoke could be seen rising from where one round impacted. He saw a military helicopter overhead firing flares.
“There was no order, the people rushed to take, there was shooting, and we fled,” said Hosni Abu Amra, who had been waiting to receive aid. “We fled without taking anything that would help us get through this hunger.”
“It was chaos,” said Ahmed Abu Taha, who said he heard gunfire and saw Israeli military aircraft overhead. “People were panicked.”
Crowds were seen running from the site. A few managed to secure aid boxes — containing basic items like sugar, flour, pasta and tahini — but the vast majority left empty-handed.
US-backed group says they ‘fell back’ to ensure safety
In a statement, GHF said that because of the large number of Palestinians seeking aid, staff at the hub followed the group’s safety protocols and “fell back” to allow them to dissipate, then later resumed operations.
A spokesperson for the group told the AP that no shots were fired from GHF. Speaking on condition of anonymity in line with the group’s rules, the spokesperson said the protocols aim at “avoiding loss of life, which is exactly what happened.”
GHF uses armed private contractors to guard the hubs and the transportation of supplies. The hub is also close to Israeli military positions in the Morag Corridor, a band of territory across the breadth of Gaza that divides Rafah from the rest of the territory.
GHF has set up four hubs around Gaza to distribute food, two of which began operating on Monday — both of them in the Rafah area.
The UN and other humanitarian groups have refused to participate in GHF’s system, saying it violates humanitarian principles. They say it can be used by Israel to forcibly displace the population by requiring them to move near the few distribution hubs or else face starvation – a violation of international law. They have also opposed the use of facial recognition to vet recipients.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday commented on the turmoil at the Rafah center, saying, “There was some loss of control momentarily … happily we brought it under control.”
He repeated that Israel plans to move Gaza’s entire population to a “sterile zone” at the southern end of the territory while troops fight Hamas elsewhere.
UN says it has been struggling to transport aid
Israel has said the new system is necessary because it claims Hamas has been siphoning off supplies that reach Gaza. The UN has denied that any significant diversion takes place.
Throughout the war, the UN and other aid groups have conducted a massive operation distributing food, medicine and other supplies to wherever Palestinians are located. Israel says GHF will replace that network, but the past week has allowed a trickle of aid to enter Gaza for the UN to distribute.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency in charge of coordinating aid, said on Tuesday that 400 trucks of supplies, mainly food, was waiting on the Gaza side of the main crossing from Israel, but that the UN had not collected them. It said Israel has extended the times for collection and expanded the routes that the UN can use inside Gaza.
Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office OCHA, told reporters in Geneva that agencies have struggled to pick up the supplies “because of the insecure routes that are being assigned to us by the Israeli authorities to use.” He said the amount of aid allowed the past week was “vastly insufficient.”
Ireland moves to ban trade with Israeli-occupied territories
- FM Spokesperson: ‘The government has agreed to advance legislation prohibiting trade in goods with illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory’
- FM Simon Harris: ‘When this small country in Europe makes the decision, I do hope it inspires other European countries to join us’
DUBLIN: The Irish government approved Tuesday the drafting of a bill to ban the import of goods from Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law, an unprecedented move for a European Union member.
The move comes after the International Court of Justice last year said Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip was illegal under international law, in an advisory opinion the Irish government said guided its decision.
“The government has agreed to advance legislation prohibiting trade in goods with illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory,” a foreign ministry spokesperson told AFP.
“It is the government’s view that this is an obligation under international law.”
The settlements include residential, agricultural and business interests that lie outside Israel’s internationally recognized borders.
Before the cabinet decision, Foreign Minister Simon Harris told reporters he hoped other EU countries would follow Ireland’s lead.
“What I hope today is when this small country in Europe makes the decision and becomes one of the first countries, and probably the first country, in the Western world to consider legislation in this space, I do hope it inspires other European countries to join us,” said Harris — also Irish deputy prime minister.
Last May, Ireland — along with Spain, Norway and, a month later, Slovenia — recognized the Palestinian state, drawing retaliatory moves from Israel.
Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris might move to recognize a Palestinian state as early as June.
Tuesday’s move by Dublin comes a week after the EU ordered a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a cooperation deal signed in 1995 that forms the basis for trade ties with Israel.
EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said “a strong majority” of the 27 member states at a foreign ministers’ meeting backed the move in a bid to pressure Israel.
An Irish import ban would be symbolic and of minimal economic impact, as trade volumes with the territories — limited to goods such as fruit, vegetables and timber — were worth less than one million euros ($1.1 million) between 2020 and 2024.
It “breaks a decades-long, failed deadlock at EU level of criticizing the settlements as illegal and a barrier to peace on the one hand, while providing them with crucial economic support on the other,” said Conor O’Neill, head of advocacy and policy at Christian Aid Ireland, who helped draft a previous version of the Irish legislation in 2018.
“After decades of saying and repeating that illegal settlements are totally illegal and that the EU is opposed to them, this is the first time that words are being matched with action,” O’Neill told AFP.
The foreign ministry spokesperson said an update on the draft legislation would be brought to the government “in the coming weeks.”
The bill is not expected to pass into law before autumn.
Israeli strike on south Lebanon kills one: ministry
- The ministry said an “Israeli enemy strike” on a motorcycle killed one man in Yater
- The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike on south Lebanon killed one man on Tuesday, the latest attack despite a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
In a statement, the ministry said an “Israeli enemy strike” on a motorcycle killed one man in Yater, in south Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil district.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack, which came after it said it killed a Hezbollah member in south Lebanon’s Majdal Zoun on Monday.
Israel has continued to launch strikes on its northern neighbor despite the November truce that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of full-blown war.
Under the terms of the ceasefire deal, only UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army should be deployed in southern Lebanon, though Israel has kept its forces in five areas it has declared strategic.
Lebanon has called on the international community to pressure Israel to end its attacks and withdraw all its troops.
