PARIS: Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in France Sunday on a state visit hosted by Emmanuel Macron where the French leader will seek to warn his counterpart against backing Russia in the conflict over Ukraine.
Xi’s arrival for the visit marking 60 years of diplomatic relations between France and China heralded the start of his first trip to Europe since 2019, which will also see him visit Serbia and Hungary.
But Xi’s choice of France as the sole major European power to visit indicates the relative warmth in Sino-French relations since Macron made his own state visit to China in April 2023 and acknowledges the French leader’s stature as an EU powerbroker.
The leader of the one-party Communist state of more than 1.4 billion people, accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, was welcomed under umbrellas at a drizzly Paris Orly airport by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
Xi is to hold a day of talks in Paris on Monday — also including EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen — followed by a state banquet hosted by Macron at the Elysee.
Tuesday will see Macron take Xi to the Pyrenees mountains to an area he used to visit as a boy for a day of less public talks.
In an op-ed for Le Figaro daily, Xi said that he wanted to work with the international community to find ways to solve the conflict sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while emphasising that China was “neither a party nor a participant” in the conflict.
“We hope that peace and stability will return quickly to Europe and intend to work with France and the entire international community to find good paths to resolve the crisis,” he wrote.
A key priority of Macron will be to warn Xi of the danger of backing Russia, with Western officials concerned Moscow is already using Chinese machine tools in arms production.
Beijing’s ties with Moscow have, if anything, warmed after the invasion and the West wants China above all not to supply weapons to Russia and risk tipping the balance in the conflict.
“It is in our interest to get China to weigh in on the stability of the international order,” said Macron in an interview with The Economist published on Thursday.
Macron also said in the interview that Europe must defend its “strategic interests” in its economic relations with China, accusing Beijing of not respecting the rules on international trade.
But he acknowledged in an interview with the La Tribune Dimanche newspaper that Europeans are “not unanimous” on the strategy to adopt as “certain actors still see China essentially as a market of opportunities” while it “exports massively” to Europe.
The French president had gladdened Chinese state media and troubled some EU allies after his 2023 visit by declaring that Europe should not be drawn into a “bloc versus bloc” standoff between China and the United States, particularly over democratic, self-ruled Taiwan.
China views the island as part of its territory and has vowed to take it one day, by force if necessary.
Rights groups are urging Macron to bring up human rights in the talks, accusing China of failing to respect the rights of the Uyghur Muslim minority and of keeping dozens of journalists behind bars.
“President Macron should make it clear to Xi Jinping that Beijing’s crimes against humanity come with consequences for China’s relations with France,” said Maya Wang, acting China director at Human Rights Watch.
The group said human rights in China had “severely deteriorated” under Xi’s rule.
A crowd of protesters on Sunday unfurled a Tibetan flag at a demonstration in Paris, accusing Xi of being a “dictator” and wanting to erase local culture in the Tibet region, an AFP reporter said. Paris police put the number of protesters at two thousand.
However analysts are skeptical that Macron will be able to exercise much sway over the Chinese leader, even with the lavish red carpet welcome and a trip to the bracing mountain airs of the Col du Tourmalet over 2,000 meters (6,560 feet) above sea level on Tuesday.
The other two countries chosen by Xi for his tour, Serbia and Hungary, are seen as among the most sympathetic to Moscow in Europe.
“The two core messages from Macron will be on Chinese support to Russia’s military capabilities and Chinese market-distorting practices,” said Janka Oertel, director of the Asia program at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
“However, both messages are unlikely to have a significant impact on Chinese behavior: Xi is not on a mission to repair ties, because from his point of view all is well.”
China’s Xi in France for Macron talks on Ukraine
https://arab.news/4jse5
China’s Xi in France for Macron talks on Ukraine
- Tuesday will see Macron take Xi to the Pyrenees mountains to an area he used to visit as a boy for a day of less public talks
UK announces £1m fund to help track anti-Muslim hate crimes
- Money available to organizations that will monitor incidents of Islamophobic hate
- Religious hate crimes have risen to record levels since the Gaza war started
LONDON: The UK government on Wednesday announced £1 million in annual funding for a new service to monitor incidents of anti-Muslim hate and help victims.
The Combatting Hatred Against Muslims Fund will help counter Islamophobia and ensure Muslim communities feel safe, the government said.
The announcement comes as Muslims in Britain face a record number of Islamophobic incidents this year, according to police figures.
Last month it emerged that the UK was withdrawing funding for the Islamophobia reporting service Tell Mama. A report in the Byline Times last year said the organization had heavily underreported anti-Muslim hate crimes.
The new fund will be open from next week to applications from a single organization or a group of organizations working together to deliver an accurate record of hate incidents across England.
“Putting an end to the shocking rise of targeted attacks against Muslims requires a thorough understanding of the nature and scale of the hatred our Muslim communities face,” Lord Khan, the faith minister said. “That’s why we’re taking a crucial step forward this week to open this fund, seek new ideas and solutions, and tackle this hatred head on.”
Religious hate crimes have risen sharply in the UK since the Gaza war started in October 2023.
Last year, almost two in five of all religious hate crimes in England and Wales targeted Muslims, police figures showed, a 13 percent increase on the previous year.
The recipient of the grant will monitor and report Islamophobic incidents, raise awareness of hate crime, encourage victims to report incidents, and facilitate support for victims.
Up to £650,000 will be available in the 2025/26 financial year, and up to £1 million in the following years, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said.
Earlier this year, the UK set up a working group to provide the government with a working definition of anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia.
Trump tells Cabinet, others that Musk will leave soon, Politico reports
- Trump has tasked the Tesla and SpaceX CEO to lead efforts to cut government funding
- Shares of Tesla rebounded Wednesday following Politico's report
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has told members of his Cabinet and other close contacts that his billionaire ally Elon Musk will soon step back from his government role, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing three people close to Trump.
Trump has tasked the Tesla and SpaceX CEO to lead efforts to cut government funding and dismantle various US agencies as a special government employee.
Politico reported that both Trump and Musk decided in recent days that Musk will soon return to his businesses.
Representatives for the White House and the Musk-led task force could not be immediately reached to confirm the report.
Meanwhile, shares of Tesla rebounded Wednesday following the report Musk would soon retreat from his work for Trump’s administration, a role that has weighed on his electric car brand.
Shares jumped 3.8 percent shortly after midday following a Politico report that Musk would soon leave or sharply reduce his work for Trump. Shares had fallen more than six percent earlier Wednesday following weak first-quarter auto sales.
Modi government tables bill to take over centuries-old waqf management from Indian Muslims
- India has one of the largest number of waqf assets in the world, valued at around $14.2bn
- Waqf tradition in India can be traced back to the Delhi Sultanate period in the 13th century
NEW DELHI: The Indian government tabled on Wednesday a bill in parliament aimed at making sweeping changes to the decades-old Waqf Act, which governs vast tracts of properties run and managed by Muslims in the country.
With over 200 million Indians professing Islam, Hindu-majority India has the world’s largest Muslim-minority population.
The country has one of the largest numbers of waqf assets in the world, including over 870,000 properties spanning more than 900,000 hectares, with an estimated value of about $14.2 billion. Domestically, only the military and railways control more land.
In Islamic tradition, a waqf is a charitable or religious donation made by Muslims for the benefit of the community. Properties categorized as waqf, which typically involve mosques, schools, orphanages or hospitals, cannot be sold or used for other purposes.
In India, where the tradition of waqf can be traced back to the Delhi Sultanate period in the early 13th century, such properties are currently managed by about 30 government-established waqf boards, whose members are all Muslims.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, proposes more than 40 changes to the 1995 Waqf Act aimed at shifting the management of waqf properties from the boards to state governments, including the inclusion of non-Muslim members.
“The government is not interfering in any religious practice or institution. There is no provision in this to interfere in the management of any mosque. This is simply an issue of management of a property,” Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who tabled the bill, said during a parliament session on Wednesday.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, which works to safeguard Islamic law in the country, said the bill could weaken waqf properties and their management.
“I think this bill has been brought with an intention to destroy the waqf board, not to improve it. The new law is very weak and aimed at attacking waqf properties,” board member Malik Mohtasim Khan told Arab News.
“They want to make a waqf law which is free from the influence of Muslims. I feel that their main aim is to make Muslims a second-class citizen.”
Indian Muslims have faced increasing discrimination and challenges in the past decade, accompanied by tensions and riots ignited by majoritarian policies of the Hindu right-wing BJP since it rose to power in 2014.
“They want to weaken Muslims’ rights in India,” Khan said. “The existing government has created such an atmosphere that there is no respect for parliamentary values and judicial values are also getting diluted. Today the Muslim community is being pushed to the margins. This is a lived reality.”
The bill’s fate will be decided with a vote by the ruling alliance and opposition lawmakers in the lower house, before it moves to the upper house for another debate and voting. If approved by both houses of parliament, it will be sent to President Droupadi Murmu for her assent before becoming law.
Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a New Delhi-based author and political analyst who has focused on Hindu nationalist politics, described the bill as an “unfortunate development,” referring to the way it was prepared without proper consultations with Indian Muslims.
“I’m deeply disturbed by the manner in which this government is going about enacting the waqf bill in complete disregard of the sentiment of the Muslim community and their representatives,” he told Arab News.
“The only message which this government is repeatedly making — because that is the only thing which is going to continue to keep its electoral support — is that ‘we are tightening the screws on the Muslims; we are forcing them to act as the majority community wants.’”
Hungary must arrest Netanyahu during visit, HRW says
- Israeli leader expected to travel to country today at invitation of PM Viktor Orban
- Netanyahu is subject of an ICC arrest warrant relating to war crimes in Gaza
LONDON: Hungary must deny entry to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or arrest him during his planned visit to the country today, Human Rights Watch has said.
The appeal came a day after Amnesty International urged Hungary to arrest the Israeli leader, the subject of an International Criminal Court warrant.
Netanyahu is traveling to the EU country at the invitation of Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister.
The ICC’s warrant for his arrest, which was issued on Nov. 21 last year, relates to allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip, including starving civilians, murder and persecution.
HRW has documented a litany of abuses and war crimes carried out by the Israeli military in Gaza.
Liz Evenson, the organization’s international justice director, said: “Orban’s invitation to Netanyahu is an affront to victims of serious crimes.
“Hungary should comply with its legal obligations as a party to the ICC and arrest Netanyahu if he sets foot in the country.”
The EU state is a member country of the ICC, and therefore obligated to secure the arrest of any suspects on its territory.
The ICC lacks a police force or enforcement protocol, and relies on member states to enact its mandate.
Several EU member states have said they will refuse to enforce the arrest warrant against Netanyahu, in what HRW described as “regrettable” decisions.
These include France, Poland, Italy and Germany.
All ICC members must uphold their obligations to the court’s treaty, the Rome Statute, HRW said, urging the EU’s leadership to call on Hungary to arrest Netanyahu.
When the Israeli leader’s arrest warrant was issued, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto described the decision as “shameful, absurd and unacceptable.”
The country also announced a “review” of its relations with the ICC following US President Donald Trump’s decision to authorize the use of sanctions against the court’s officials in the wake of the Netanyahu warrant.
Evenson said: “Allowing Netanyahu’s visit in breach of Hungary’s ICC obligations would be Orban’s latest assault on the rule of law, adding to the country’s dismal record on rights.
“All ICC member countries need to make clear they expect Hungary to abide by its obligations to the court, and that they will do the same.”
Indian government tables bill to take over centuries-old waqf management from Muslims
- India has one of the largest numbers of waqf assets in the world, valued at around $14.2bn
- Waqf tradition in India can be traced back to the Delhi Sultanate period in the 13th century
NEW DELHI: The Indian government tabled on Wednesday a bill in parliament aimed at making sweeping changes to the decades-old Waqf Act, which governs vast tracts of properties run and managed by Muslims in the country.
With over 200 million Indians professing Islam, Hindu-majority India has the world’s largest Muslim-minority population.
The country has one of the largest numbers of waqf assets in the world, including over 870,000 properties spanning more than 900,000 hectares, with an estimated value of about $14.2 billion. Domestically, only the military and railways control more land.
In Islamic tradition, a waqf is a charitable or religious donation made by Muslims for the benefit of the community. Properties categorized as waqf, which typically involve mosques, schools, orphanages or hospitals, cannot be sold or used for other purposes.
In India, where the tradition of waqf can be traced back to the Delhi Sultanate period in the early 13th century, such properties are currently managed by about 30 government-established waqf boards, whose members are all Muslims.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, proposes more than 40 changes to the 1995 Waqf Act aimed at shifting the management of waqf properties from the boards to state governments, including the inclusion of non-Muslim members.
“The government is not interfering in any religious practice or institution. There is no provision in this to interfere in the management of any mosque. This is simply an issue of management of a property,” Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who tabled the bill, said during a parliament session on Wednesday.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, which works to safeguard Islamic law in the country, said the bill could weaken waqf properties and their management.
“I think this bill has been brought with an intention to destroy the waqf board, not to improve it. The new law is very weak and aimed at attacking waqf properties,” board member Malik Mohtasim Khan told Arab News.
“They want to make a waqf law which is free from the influence of Muslims. I feel that their main aim is to make Muslims a second-class citizen.”
Indian Muslims have faced increasing discrimination and challenges in the past decade, accompanied by tensions and riots ignited by majoritarian policies of the Hindu right-wing BJP since it rose to power in 2014.
“They want to weaken Muslims’ rights in India,” Khan said. “The existing government has created such an atmosphere that there is no respect for parliamentary values and judicial values are also getting diluted. Today the Muslim community is being pushed to the margins. This is a lived reality.”
The bill’s fate will be decided with a vote by the ruling alliance and opposition lawmakers in the lower house, before it moves to the upper house for another debate and voting. If approved by both houses of parliament, it will be sent to President Droupadi Murmu for her assent before becoming law.
Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a New Delhi-based author and political analyst who has focused on Hindu nationalist politics, described the bill as an “unfortunate development,” referring to the way it was prepared without proper consultations with Indian Muslims.
“I’m deeply disturbed by the manner in which this government is going about enacting the waqf bill in complete disregard of the sentiment of the Muslim community and their representatives,” he told Arab News.
“The only message which this government is repeatedly making — because that is the only thing which is going to continue to keep its electoral support — is that ‘we are tightening the screws on the Muslims; we are forcing them to act as the majority community wants.’”
