WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s outgoing administration on Monday returned Cuba to the US blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism, erecting a last-minute roadlock to expected efforts by President-elect Joe Biden to ease tensions.
The terror designation severely hampers foreign investment and can only be removed after a formal review by the Biden administration, meaning it may remain in force for months.
With nine days left in office, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cited Cuba’s ties with Colombian rebels, alliance with leftist Venezuela and sanctuary to several US fugitives in justifying the blacklisting.
“With this action, we will once again hold Cuba’s government accountable and send a clear message: the Castro regime must end its support for international terrorism and subversion of US justice,” Pompeo said in a statement, referring to former leaders Fidel and Raul Castro.
“The United States will continue to support the Cuban people in their desire for a democratic government and respect for human rights, including freedom of religion, expression and association,” he said.
Then-president Barack Obama in 2015 delisted Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism as he moved to normalize relations and declared the half-century US effort to isolate the communist island to be a failure.
Trump has reversed many of Obama’s overtures to Cuba and also imposed sanctions on Venezuela, winning him support among immigrant communities in Florida, a crucial state in US elections.
Biden has indicated he wants to return at least to some engagement started under Obama and blocked by Trump, including allowing Cuban-Americans to visit family and send money.
Lawmakers from Biden’s Democratic Party had been outraged by signs that Pompeo would move ahead with the designation, saying he should be assisting the transition instead.
Representative Gregory Meeks, the Democrat who heads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, had warned that the decision “would clearly be another stunt by President Trump and Pompeo, trying to tie the hands of the incoming Biden administration on their way out the door.”
“President Obama’s rapprochement with Cuba reversed decades of failed foreign policy which neither advanced our goals or helped the Cuban people,” Meeks said in December.
To remove Cuba from the terror list, Antony Blinken — Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, who the Republican-led Senate is not expected to be confirm in time for the January 20 inauguration — would need to initiate a review that shows that Havana did not engage in terrorism over the previous six months.
The designation is the latest in a blitz of decisions by Pompeo in his final days in office, with most of Washington focused on whether to remove Trump for inciting a deadly riot at the US Capitol of supporters who sought to stop the ceremonial certification of Biden’s victory.
Since Saturday, Pompeo has also designated Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a terrorist group, defying warnings from aid groups, and relaxed rules on US engagement with Taiwan.
John S. Kavulich, president of the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council that looks at commercial ties between the countries, said the immediate effects of Pompeo’s move would include discouraging financial institutions from dealing with Cuba.
Insurance companies could also suspend coverage or jack up rates for operators of ships and aircrafts to Cuba, he said.
“Transactions with the Republic of Cuba would have an increase in scrutiny, resulting in fewer governments and companies wanting to engage with it,” he said.
But he doubted the move would ultimately change Cuba’s policies, including its staunch support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the Trump administration is seeking to topple.
Before Obama’s delisting, the legal grounds for Cuba’s terror designation had come under frequent question.
Providing a legal justification, Pompeo pointed to Cuba’s refusal to extradite commanders from Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) over a January 2019 car bombing at a Bogota police academy that killed 22 people.
Cuba has said it will not hand them over due to its role mediating between the ELN and government.
Pompeo also pointed to Cuba’s sanctuary of Americans including Assata Shakur, a Black Power militant who fled to the island after escaping prison following a conviction over the killing of a New Jersey state trooper.
Only three other countries are on the blacklist — Iran, North Korea and Syria. Trump late last year removed Sudan after its democratic transition, compensation for past attacks and agreement to recognize Israel.
Days before Trump exit, US rebrands Cuba state sponsor of terror
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Days before Trump exit, US rebrands Cuba state sponsor of terror
- The terror designation severely hampers foreign investment
- Pompeo cited Cuba’s ties with Colombian rebels and alliance with Venezuela
UK and Ukraine agree to deepen ties as Zelensky meets Starmer
- Zelensky met with Starmer at his Downing Street home, after earlier visiting King Charles III at Windsor Castle
- The trip comes on the eve of a NATO summit in The Hague, which Zelensky is due to attend
LONDON: Seeking to shore up support more than three years into Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a surprise visit to London on Monday, cementing a military co-production deal.
Zelensky met with Starmer at his Downing Street home, after earlier visiting King Charles III at Windsor Castle.
The trip comes on the eve of a NATO summit in The Hague, which Zelensky is due to attend.
Addressing Ukrainian military personnel undergoing training in the UK, Starmer said the pair had had “an excellent bilateral meeting” and agreed on an “industrial military co-production agreement,” which he called “a massive step forward in the contribution that we can continue to make.”
Zelensky, speaking beside Starmer, insisted the deal “will be very strong and will transform both nations,” although no details were released.
After the meeting, Starmer said it was “really a privilege, a pleasure” to welcome Zelensky, calling him “a regular now at Downing Street.”
Starmer told the Ukrainian troops it was “really humbling” to see their “level of professionalism, commitment and bravery.”
More than 50,000 troops have now been trained as part of the international partnership.
Zelensky said the scheme had helped “strengthen our army” and enabled Ukraine to “survive and fight.”
The UK has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters since Russia invaded in early 2022, levelling rounds of sanctions against Moscow and supplying multiple packages of military aid.
Starmer promised the support would continue “for the rest of the conflict” and help put Ukraine in “the strongest possible position” to negotiate a ceasefire.
Zelensky said his country was “very thankful to the UK... for such big support of Ukraine from the very beginning of this war.”
The Ukrainian leader earlier traveled to Windsor Castle, where he “visited The King... and remained to luncheon,” Buckingham Palace said.
Zelensky is expected at the NATO summit in The Hague on Tuesday and Wednesday, where Ukraine’s allies will work “to ensure that Ukraine is in the best possible position as we go into the next stage of this conflict,” according to Starmer.
NATO allies are poised to take a “quantum leap” by hiking defense spending to counter the threat of Russia, Secretary General Mark Rutte said on the eve of the two-day summit.
The alliance’s 32 members will pledge to boost defense expenditure to five percent of gross domestic product, a key demand of President Donald Trump, who has long grumbled that the US pays too much for NATO.
NATO’s members have thrashed out a compromise deal to dedicate at least 3.5 percent of GDP to core military needs by 2035, and 1.5 percent to broader security-related items like cyber-security and infrastructure.
“The defense investment plan that allies will agree in The Hague introduces a new baseline, five percent of GDP to be invested in defense,” Rutte told reporters at a pre-summit news conference.
“This is a quantum leap that is ambitious, historic and fundamental to securing our future.”
What to know about the Islamic New Year and how Muslims observe it
- Muharram is one of four sacred months during which Islam forbids warfare, a condition that encourages increased prayer, charity and reflection throughout the month
CAIRO: Muslims will soon welcome a new year in the Islamic lunar calendar, known as the Hijri calendar.
The Hijri New Year, beginning on the first day of the month of Muharram, signals a chance for spiritual reflection and religious resolutions, set in the month following the annual Hajj in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Here’s what to know about the holiday and how Muslims observe it:
The Hijri New Year will begin around Thursday
This Hijri New Year is expected to fall on or around June 26, ushering in the year 1447 A.H. (which stands for “anno hegirae” or “the year of the Hijrah” in Latin).
The exact date can vary depending on when regional Islamic authorities see the crescent moon.
Because the Hijri calendar is lunar, the dates of Islamic months and holidays — such as Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr — change annually. The new year corresponds with the first sighting of the crescent moon during Muharram, the first of 12 months in the Hijri calendar.
The calendar began in year 622
The Hijri calendar begins counting from 622 C.E., the year the Prophet Muhammad emigrated from Makkah to Medina, fleeing persecution.
This journey, known as the Hijrah or migration in Arabic, led to the religious, social and political consolidation of the then-nascent Muslim community.
The day is more solemn than festive
Muharram is one of four sacred months during which Islam forbids warfare, a condition that encourages increased prayer, charity and reflection throughout the month. More than 20 countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Syria, have designated the Hijri New Year a national holiday.
While the passage of the Islamic New Year is generally more solemn and introspective than festive, Muslims may observe the holiday differently, according to their school of thought.
For Shiite Muslims especially, the first 10 days of Muharram mark a significant period of mourning: On the 10th of Muharram in 680 C.E., the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein was killed in battle.
Ten days into the new year on Ashoura, waves of Shiite mourners walk the streets dressed in black, beating their chests or self-flagellating in public grief.
Sunni Muslims commemorate Ashoura through voluntary fasting, as the day for them marks Moses’ parting of the Red Sea.
The wars in Iran and Gaza will impact observations of the new year
Mass demonstrations of mourning on Ashoura are known to unfold in Tehran and other cities in the Shiite-majority Iran.
But more than a week into a campaign of strikes by Israel, the streets of Tehran have been largely deserted, businesses are closed, and with no bomb shelters open, many shelter on the floor of metro stations. Thousands have fled the city.
Israel launched a major attack on Iran on June 13, striking the heart of Iran’s nuclear and military structure in Tehran and triggering a war between the two longtime foes.
Ashoura demonstrations in Pakistan, Lebanon and Iraq have also been a site of tributes to Palestinians.
This Hijri New Year is the second to pass since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023. Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has since killed more than 55,000 Palestinians in the predominantly Muslim area, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but has said most of the dead are women and children.
Bangladesh probe into Hasina-era abuses warns ‘impunity’ remains
- Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina’s government was accused of widespread human rights abuses
- That includes extrajudicial killing of political opponents, abduction and disappearances
DHAKA: A Bangladesh government-appointed commission investigating hundreds of disappearances by the security forces under ousted premier Sheikh Hasina on Monday warned that the same “culture of impunity” continues.
The Commission of Inquiry into Enforced Disappearances is probing abuses during the rule of Hasina, whose government was accused of widespread human rights abuses.
That includes the extrajudicial killing of hundreds of political opponents and the unlawful abduction and disappearance of hundreds more.
The commission was established by interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, 84, who is facing intense political pressure as parties jostle for power ahead of elections expected early next year.
Bangladesh has a long history of military coups and the army retains a powerful role.
“Enforced disappearances in Bangladesh were not isolated acts of wrongdoing, but the result of a politicized institutional machinery that condoned, normalized, and often rewarded such crimes,” the commission said, in a section of a report released by the interim government on Monday.
“Alarmingly, this culture of impunity continues even after the regime change on August 5, 2024.”
The commission has verified more than 250 cases of enforced disappearances spanning the 15 years that Hasina’s Awami League was in power.
Commission chief Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury said earlier this month that responsibility lay with individual officers, who were “involved in conducting enforced disappearances,” but not the armed forces as an institution.
Earlier this month, a joint statement by rights groups — including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch — called on the security forces to “fully cooperate with the commission by guaranteeing unfettered and ongoing access to all detention centers... and providing free access to records regarding those seized or detained.”
Hasina,77, remains in self-imposed exile in India, where she fled after she was ousted last year.
She has defied orders to return to Dhaka to face charges amounting to crimes against humanity. Her trial in absentia continues.
US citizens in Qatar told to ‘shelter in place’ as Iran mulls reprisals
- Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said warnings by foreign embassies ‘do not necessarily reflect the existence of specific or credible threats’
DOHA: The United States embassy in Qatar advised Americans there to “shelter in place” Monday, with other Western embassies echoing the warning after Tehran threatened to retaliate for US strikes on its nuclear sites.
Qatar, which lies 190 kilometers (120 miles) south of Iran across the Gulf, is home to the US’s largest military base in the region, Al-Udeid.
“Out of an abundance of caution we recommend American citizens shelter in place until further notice,” the US embassy said on its website.
Britain and Canada later cited the US security alert in their own recommendations to nationals.
“Following a US security alert for US nationals in Qatar, out of an abundance of caution, we recommend that British nationals in Qatar shelter in place until further notice,” the UK Foreign Office said on Monday.
Iran’s armed forces threatened on Monday to inflict “serious, unpredictable consequences” on the US after its heavy strikes on three nuclear sites.
In Bahrain, a close neighbor of Qatar that hosts the US Fifth Fleet, the American embassy “temporarily shifted a portion of its employees to local telework,” it said on X.
Bahraini authorities had already told most government employees to work from home until further notice, citing “regional circumstances.”
Following the US warning in Doha, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said warnings by foreign embassies “do not necessarily reflect the existence of specific or credible threats.”
“We would like to reassure the public that the security situation in the state remains stable,” he wrote on X. “Qatar continues to exert intensive diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region.”
On Sunday, the US State Department advised Americans worldwide to “exercise increased caution” because of the war between Israel and Iran.
After Israel’s first strikes on Iran on June 13, the US embassy in Qatar had told its staff and other Americans to “exercise increased caution” and “limit non-essential travel to Al Udeid Air Base.”
Bangladesh probe into Hasina-era abuses warns ‘impunity’ remains
- The Commission of Inquiry into Enforced Disappearances is probing abuses during the rule of Hasina, whose government was accused of widespread human rights abuses
DHAKA: A Bangladesh government-appointed commission investigating hundreds of disappearances by the security forces under ousted premier Sheikh Hasina on Monday warned that the same “culture of impunity” continues.
The Commission of Inquiry into Enforced Disappearances is probing abuses during the rule of Hasina, whose government was accused of widespread human rights abuses.
That includes the extrajudicial killing of hundreds of political opponents and the unlawful abduction and disappearance of hundreds more.
The commission was established by interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, 84, who is facing intense political pressure as parties jostle for power ahead of elections expected early next year.
Bangladesh has a long history of military coups and the army retains a powerful role.
“Enforced disappearances in Bangladesh were not isolated acts of wrongdoing, but the result of a politicized institutional machinery that condoned, normalized, and often rewarded such crimes,” the commission said, in a section of a report released by the interim government on Monday.
“Alarmingly, this culture of impunity continues even after the regime change on August 5, 2024.”
The commission has verified more than 250 cases of enforced disappearances spanning the 15 years that Hasina’s Awami League was in power.
Commission chief Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury said earlier this month that responsibility lay with individual officers, who were “involved in conducting enforced disappearances,” but not the armed forces as an institution.
Earlier this month, a joint statement by rights groups — including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch — called on the security forces to “fully cooperate with the commission by guaranteeing unfettered and ongoing access to all detention centers... and providing free access to records regarding those seized or detained.”
Hasina,77, remains in self-imposed exile in India, where she fled after she was ousted last year.
She has defied orders to return to Dhaka to face charges amounting to crimes against humanity. Her trial in absentia continues.
