JEJU: Weeks after the South Korean government denied refugee status to hundreds of Yemenis who arrived in the East Asian country last year to flee catastrophe back home, classical musician Ha Min-kyung knew she had to do something to help.
First, she offered more than a hundred Yemenis shelter at her music studio in her hometown of Jeju, a tourist island off the southern coast of South Korea which a no-visa entry policy has turned into a safe haven for asylum seekers fleeing civil-war in Yemen.
Next, Min-Kyung decided to give Yemenis a taste of home by opening a halal food restaurant serving the dishes they were accustomed to eating in their ravaged homeland. The Yemeni civil war, which the United Nations has described as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, has displaced about 2 million people and more than 8 million are on the brink of famine.
“I lent my studio in the basement to scores of Yemenis and decided to open a Yemeni restaurant with the help of a couple of Yemeni employees,” Min-Kyung told Arab News in the resort town of Jeju.
The restaurant is named Wardah after the nickname Min-Kyung’s Yemeni friends gave her, which means flower in Arabic. Wardah opened its doors to the public last November. Designed and built by her Yemeni friends, its cosy interior is made almost entirely of wood, with Yemeni ornaments hanging on the wall. The menu is entirely halal and comprises hot dishes of lamb and chicken kabsa, a mixed rice dish, meat soups, agdah chicken with flat bread and Middle Eastern appetizers such as hummus.
The sudden influx of asylum seekers in 2018 spawned anti-migrant and anti-Muslim sentiment across South Korea and only two of the more than 480 Yemenis there were granted refugee status in December. The central government has also since changed its policy and now requires Yemenis to get visas to enter Jeju.
But Min-Kyung’s new restaurant promises to be a cultural bridge. Every day the five-table restaurant opens at noon and both South Koreans and Yemenis arrive to eat and chat together.
“One of the reasons for opening Wardah was to help more Koreans understand Yemen and its people better,” Min-Kyung said. “Korean travelers as well as local residents are coming here to enjoy a taste of Yemeni food, and they can develop more positive views about Yemeni people.”
Indeed, if Korean guests arrive with Yemeni friends, they get a discount, Min-Kyung said, chuckling. Customers can also buy tiny brooches made by Yemeni children, and all proceeds go to the community.
Lee Hye-rim, 39, said he ate at Wardah during a recent trip to the island. He had arrived on the island with feelings of “some prejudice” against Yemenis but left with a better understanding of their culture.
“I was introduced to this restaurant by a friend living in Jeju,” Hye-rim said. “The taste is really good and I think this kind of place is a good way to get to know each other and make cultural exchanges.”
Lee Dong-hyung, 25, who works at a street market near the restaurant, said many locals “talk bad” about Yemenis but she had learnt that much of the anti-refugee, Islamophobic rhetoric was not true.
“Most of (the Yemenis) I’ve met here in the restaurant are very friendly to Koreans and are peaceful people,” she said.
The chef at Wardah is Mohammed Ameen Almaamari, 35, who has worked in the food industry in Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as back home in Yemen, for the past 12 years. “I cook food for both Yemenis and Koreans here,” said Almaamari, who fled Yemen to escape being recruited by a rebel force. “There were many Yemenis here but many of them went to Seoul.”
Immigration authorities last year barred the refugees from traveling to mainland South Korea, though many have since left Jeju. Employment has been restricted to fishing, fish farms and restaurant work but many remain unemployed.
Najla, 35, arrived in Jeju by plane last April. She is one of a handful of Yemenis with a humanitarian residence permit that allows her to travel to other regions of the country. In September, she flew to Gwangju, a southwestern region of South Korea, to work as a painter but lost her job and returned to Jeju.
“It’s a great atmosphere here. It’s like a piece of my country,” she said as she ate at Wardah. “Everything, the people working here, the atmosphere, food, the tea, is as I remember it.”
Sami Al-Baadni, a waiter of the restaurant, called Wardah a “home for Yemenis.” “When you eat this food, you remember your country and the days when you were a child,” said the 23-year-old Yemeni who studied computer data-processing at a university in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. “So it’s like a home for Yemenis.”
Restaurant promises refugees in South Korea a taste of Yemen
Restaurant promises refugees in South Korea a taste of Yemen
- Hundreds of asylum seekers have fled to Jeju Island to escape war
- Restaurant owner hopes the cafe will bridge cultural differences
Vice President-elect JD Vance resigns from the Senate
Vance made his intentions known in a letter Thursday to Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who will choose his successor.
“To the people of Ohio, I extend my heartfelt gratitude for the privilege of representing you in the United States Senate. When I was elected to this office, I promised to never forget where I came from, and I’ve made sure to live by that promise every single day,” Vance wrote.
“As I prepare to assume my duties as Vice President of the United States, I would like to express that it has been a tremendous honor and privilege to serve the people of Ohio in the Senate over the past two years,” Vance said.
DeWine has said he would make the appointment once Vance vacates the seat. DeWine’s spokesperson said DeWine was at a governors’ event with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday evening, making it unlikely he would announce any appointment before Friday.
DeWine has the sole duty of appointing a successor to Vance, who was elected to a six-year term in 2022. A long list of elected Republicans in the state has expressed interest in the seat, including Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Treasurer Robert Sprague, US Rep. Mike Carey, state Sen. Matt Dolan, former Republican state chair Jane Timken and GOP attorney and strategist Mehek Cooke.
However, speculation has most recently zeroed in on Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who accompanied DeWine on a recent trip to Mar-a-Lago to speak with President-elect Donald Trump.
DeWine declined to even hint as to the subject of those discussions when asked by reporters during a Wednesday bill-signing at the Statehouse.
“I’m not ready to make an announcement yet, but the announcement will be coming soon,” he said.
Husted, who was also present, said merely, “We’re considering all the options, and just, that’s really all I have to say.”
Husted has been considered a front-runner to run for governor in 2026, after spending years positioning for the job. He is a former Ohio House speaker, state senator and two-term secretary of state.
Whomever DeWine appoints will serve until December 2026. They would need to run again for the remainder of the term in November 2026.
Elon Musk promotes German far-right leader in latest European intervention
- “Only AfD can save Germany, end of story,” the Tesla and SpaceX boss and ally of US President-elect Donald Trump said during the discussion with Weidel
- Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, has provoked fury across Europe with a string of attacks on the continent’s leaders
WASHINGTON: US tech billionaire Elon Musk doubled down Thursday on his full-throated support for the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), promoting its leader Alice Weidel during a livestream on X in his latest intervention in European politics.
“Only AfD can save Germany, end of story,” the Tesla and SpaceX boss and ally of US President-elect Donald Trump said during the discussion with Weidel.
“People really need to get behind AfD, otherwise things are going to get very, very much worse in Germany.”
Musk, who last year used his influence and vast wealth to propel Trump to victory in the White House race, has been vocal in his support for the AfD ahead of snap elections in Germany on February 23.
In the wide-ranging conversation, both Musk and Weidel heaped praise on Trump and voiced their shared disdain for “woke” politicians and traditional media, whom they blamed for what they called criminal immigrants and online censorship.
READ MORE:
• German leader is more worried about Musk’s backing of a far-right party than his insults
• Norway PM worried by Musk involvement in politics outside US
Addressing German voters, Musk said, “I’m really strongly recommending that people vote for AfD,” as he called Weidel a “very reasonable person.”
The AfD, founded in 2013 and especially popular in the formerly communist eastern Germany, is polling at around 20 percent ahead of the elections, but has been shunned as a coalition partner by all other parties.
Chapters of the AfD are considered right-wing “extremist” groups by Germany’s domestic intelligence service.
Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, has provoked fury across Europe with a string of attacks on the continent’s leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned on Wednesday that fascism could return as Musk “openly attacks our institutions” and “stirs up hatred.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot earlier on Wednesday urged the European Commission to protect its member states with “the greatest firmness” against political interference by Musk, telling France Inter radio: “We have to wake up.”
Four dead in shelling incidents in Ukraine, officials say
KYIV: Four people were killed on Thursday in instances of shelling in Ukraine, one blamed on Russia’s military, the other on Ukrainian forces, regional officials said.
In Donetsk region, the focal point of Russia’s slow advance westward along the front line, regional governor Vadym Filaskhin said on Telegram that two people were killed when Russian forces shelled the town of Siversk.
Further south, in a Russian-controlled area of Zaporizhzhia region, two people were killed when the town of Kamyanka-Dniprovska came under Ukrainian fire, the Russia-appointed governor, Yevgeny Belitsky wrote on Telegram.
The town is located on a large reservoir along the Dnipro River, which bisects Ukraine, not far from the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.
Reuters could not independently confirm battlefield accounts from either side.
Jimmy Carter briefly unites US as presidents attend funeral
WASHINGTON: Jimmy Carter brought a fleeting moment of national unity to a divided America Thursday as all five living US presidents gathered for their predecessor’s moving state funeral in Washington’s National Cathedral.
At the rare gathering just days before Donald Trump’s return to the White House, sitting President Joe Biden gave a eulogy describing “character” as fellow Democrat Carter’s main attribute.
Trump shook hands with former president Barack Obama on the country’s day of mourning, while Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were also there to pay their respects.
But Biden, 82, also appeared to deliver a veiled swipe at Trump, the Republican whose racially charged rhetoric and efforts to overturn the 2020 election he has often criticized as threats to democracy.
“We have an obligation to give hate no safe harbor,” said Biden, also stressing the importance standing up against “the greatest sin of all, the abuse of power.”
After the speech Biden briefly tapped the flag-draped coffin of Carter, America’s 39th commander-in-chief, who died on December 29 at the age of 100 in his native Georgia.
Carter was widely perceived as naive and weak during his single term from 1977 to 1981, but a more nuanced view has emerged as the years passed, focusing on his decency and foreign policy achievements.
The presidential funeral was the first since George H.W. Bush died in 2018 — and provided a series of unique and sometimes awkward moments as former leaders met.
Obama shook hands, laughed and chatted with his successor Trump, despite the fact that the billionaire built his political movement on questioning whether Obama is really a US citizen.
In the row in front of Trump sat Vice President Kamala Harris, his defeated rival in the 2024 election.
There was also a brief moment of reconciliation for Trump and his former vice president Mike Pence.
The pair met and shook hands for what is believed to be the first time since the 2021 US Capitol riots when Pence refused to back Trump’s false claims to have won the 2020 election.
During the service, family members and former political adversaries alike paid emotional tributes to Carter, the oldest ever former US president and the only one to make it to three figures.
One of his grandsons, Jason Carter, described his love of nature, saying the devout Baptist and former peanut farmer “celebrated the majesty of every living thing.”
“He led this nation with love and respect,” Jason Carter said.
There was even a tribute from Carter’s Republican predecessor Gerald Ford. Ford died in 2006 but left a eulogy for his political rival-turned-friend that was read out by his son Steven.
A second posthumous tribute, from Carter’s vice president Walter Mondale, was delivered by his son Ted.
Carter’s coffin was earlier transported by an honor guard from the US Capitol, where thousands of mourners had paid their respects as the former president lay in state.
Thursday has been designated a national day of mourning in the United States with federal offices closed.
His carefully choreographed six-day farewell began on Saturday with US flags flying at half-staff around the country and a black hearse bearing his remains from his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
It was to Georgia that Carter’s remains returned on Thursday for burial, making their final journey home on the US presidential jet that is normally reserved for the sitting commander-in-chief.
Carter’s funeral was a brief respite from an already tumultuous run-up to Trump’s inauguration on January 20, and a reminder of a very different style of president.
Carter, who served a single term before a crushing election loss to Ronald Reagan in 1980, suffered in the dog-eat-dog world of Washington politics and a hostage crisis involving Americans held in Tehran after Iran’s Islamic revolution finally sealed his fate.
But history has led to a reassessment, focusing on his brokering of a peace deal between Israel and Egypt. He also received high praise for his post-presidential humanitarian efforts, and a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
Carter had been in hospice care since February 2023 in Plains, where he died. He will be buried next to his late wife Rosalynn, who died in November 2023.
UK Jewish charity given official warning over Israeli soldier fundraising
- Chabad Lubavitch Centres raised nearly £2,300 for IDF member based in northern Israel
- Charity Commission says it is illegal for charities to raise money for foreign militaries
LONDON: A Jewish charity in London has been given an official warning after it campaigned to raise money for an Israeli soldier.
The Charity Commission, which regulates charities in England and Wales, said the Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex acted “outside of its purposes” by fundraising for a member of the Israel Defense Forces.
The commission said it was illegal for charities to provide aid or military supplies to any foreign armed force.
The charity raised nearly £2,300 after it set up a fundraising webpage in October 2023 for a soldier stationed in northern Israel.
More than £900 of the money was sent directly to the soldier but trustees were unable to say how that money had been spent.
The remaining funds were spent on “non-lethal military equipment” purchased by the charity and sent to the soldier.
The commission received 180 complaints about the campaign and opened a regulatory compliance case into the charity in December 2023. The campaign page was taken down in January last year.
“The fundraising activity was outside the charity’s purposes — and not capable of being charitable,” the commission said on Thursday announcing the outcome of the case.
The commission said the trustees had failed to act in the best interests of the charity and its reputation.
“This was misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of charity, as well as a breach of trust,” it added.
The charity’s stated purpose is to advance the orthodox Jewish religion, advance orthodox Jewish education and to relieve poverty and sickness.
It is part of a network of 2,500 Chabad Lubavitch centers around the world aimed at fostering Jewish family life, according to its website.
The official warning imposes a number of requirements on the charity’s trustees to correct the misconduct.
“It is not lawful, or acceptable, for a charity to raise funds to support a soldier of a foreign military,” Helen Earner, director for regulatory services at the Charity Commission, said.
“Our official warning requires the charity to set things right and is a clear message to other charities to stay true to their established purposes.”
In a statement published by Jewish News, the charity’s trustees said they accepted the commission’s findings.
The statement said that in the aftermath of Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, there was concern among the community served by the charity that there was not enough winter clothing and protective gear for the number of IDF reservists being called up.
“We acknowledge that in facilitating a campaign to provide warm clothing and the like, however briefly and however modest its results, the charity exceeded its purposes and we are grateful for the guidance provided by the Charity Commission to ensure that this won’t happen again,” the statement said.
The Charity Commission has seen a surge in complaints about organizations since the war in Gaza started.
The watchdog’s chairperson Orlando Fraser said in November that the commission had opened 200 regulatory cases related to the conflict and referred 40 cases to the police.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians and wounded at least 100,000. Hamas and other militants killed at least 1,200 people and seized about 250 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack.
