WASHINGTON, July 12 : Billionaire Elon Musk, who has been ramping up criticism of US President Joe Biden, has donated to a political group working to elect rival presidential candidate Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing sources.
The report did not indicate how much Musk donated but added it was “a sizable amount” given to a group called America PAC.
Bloomberg reported that the PAC — a group that can receive unlimited contributions for political activity — is next required to disclose its list of donors on July 15.
In March, Trump, a former US President who is expected to be formally nominated next week as the Republican Party’s candidate for the Nov. 5 election, met with Musk and other wealthy donors.
In response to reports of the meeting, South Africa-born Musk posted on X: “Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President.” In May, he also denied media reports that there had been talks over a potential advisory role for him in any Trump presidency.
Musk, the world’s richest person who runs electric car maker Tesla, rocket maker SpaceX, social media company X and other companies, did not respond to Reuters’ request for comments.
Musk in recent years has more fully embraced the Republican Party, which has weighed on the reputation and sales of Tesla, the biggest source of his wealth.
Trump last month reiterated his pledge to immediately abandon the Biden administration’s “mandate” to support the electric vehicle industry. But he added: “I’m a big fan of electric cars. I’m a fan of Elon.”
“He does an incredible job with Tesla.”
Musk said they had “some conversations” and Trump is a “huge fan of the Cybertrucks,” referring to Tesla’s electric pickup trucks.
While he has publicly criticized Biden’s policies on immigration and electric vehicles and even his age, Musk has not made any formal endorsement in November’s contest and Trump has said he did not know if he has Musk’s support.
He has also endorsed antisemitic comments on X, though Musk has denied being antisemitic.
Musk’s views have hurt his standing among some consumers, according to a CivicScience survey shown exclusively to Reuters.
Musk donates to group working to elect Trump, Bloomberg reports
https://arab.news/jzfj2
Musk donates to group working to elect Trump, Bloomberg reports
Anti-racism, pro-Palestinian protesters unite at London rally
- There was no sign of the anti-migrant mobs that have rampaged through more than a dozen English towns and cities since early last week
WALTHAMSTOW, Britain: As the advertised evening meet-up time for a rumored far-right rally approached in northeast London, a crowd of several thousand anti-racism and pro-Palestinian protesters let out a cheer and clapped.
There was no sign of the mobs that have rampaged through more than a dozen English towns and cities since early last week, clashing with police and targeting mosques and asylum-seeker accommodation.
Instead, with dozens of officers looking on, the crowd of “Stand Up To Racism” demonstrators were joined by hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters in a noisy, carnival-like rally opposed to the far right.
“I live in the borough and we don’t want these people on our streets... they don’t represent us,” Sara Tresilian, 58, told AFP as she joined the throngs in Walthamstow early Wednesday evening.
“You have to turn out to give that message... I think it’s important that you show up for your friends and neighbors.”
Maz, 40, who declined to give his last name, had come down with his Palestinian flag along with hundreds of other Muslims from the surrounding area.
“We’re local, we’re here for each other because these racists declared they were going to destroy our community,” he said. “So we’re here to keep the peace.”
Following postings on far-right social media channels to target an immigration support office in the ethnically diverse, working-class district, police had also flooded the area since early afternoon.
The same happened at several dozen other similar sites across the country where the far right had been expected, with counter-protesters also turning out there.
In Walthamstow, the crowds chanted “whose streets? Our streets!” and other slogans, holding banners saying “smash fascism & racism” and “racists not welcome here.”
Several pro-Palestinian attendees held the Palestinian flag aloft, climbing atop bus stops and other vantage points.
“It’s good to see,” local restaurant owner Assad, who declined to give his last name, said of the collective turnout, from behind the counter of his Asian street food outlet.
“There was some concern,” he admitted regarding whether far-right agitators would show up.
“It’s one of those things you don’t expect in London.
“We’re a restaurant run by immigrants, Muslims as well. The silver lining is the community here is very strong,” he added.
Hours earlier, around the corner, a bakery store owner was closing early in case trouble erupted.
“It’s crazy,” he said of the recent riots, which followed a knife attack in Southport, northwest England, that killed three young girls.
Disinformation spread online wrongly blamed the stabbing spree on a Muslim asylum-seeker.
“I understand why they’re mad but this ain’t the way,” he said of protesters, who turned violent in the aftermath of the tragedy.
“Blaming a whole culture for the actions of one man — what they’re doing is wrong.
“What I just want is for them to do protests without attacking.”
Muhammed Noman, an immigrant from Pakistan to the UK 13 years ago and who now owns several cafes in northeast London, was handing out bottled water from outside one on Wednesday.
He was not planning to board up his store, as several neighboring businesses had done ahead of that evening’s gatherings.
“I came myself to look after the store,” he said, adding friends and family had told him to shutter the place temporarily.
Welcoming the heavy police presence, Noman added he wanted “peace” — in Walthamstow and across England.
EU, France, UK slam Israel minister for Gaza starvation comment
JERUSALEM: The European Union, France and the UK on Wednesday condemned a far-right Israeli minister for suggesting it would be “justified and moral” to starve two million Gazans to free scores of captives held in the Palestinian territory.
“No one in the world will allow us to starve two million people, even though it might be justified and moral in order to free the hostages,” Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said at a conference earlier this week.
“We are bringing in humanitarian aid because we have no choice. We are in a situation that requires international legitimacy to conduct this war.”
Smotrich’s remarks sparked outrage in the international community, with the European Union saying the deliberate starvation of civilians was a “war crime.”
“It demonstrates, once again, his contempt for international law and for basic principles of humanity,” the EU said in a statement.
“We expect the Israeli government to unequivocally distance itself from the words of Minister Smotrich,” the EU said, as it called for access to cover the humanitarian needs of Gazans, including hundreds of thousands of children.
The EU reiterated its call for an “immediate ceasefire” to secure the release of all hostages and also to increase the distribution of aid across the Gaza Strip.
France also criticized Smotrich, expressing its “deep dismay at the scandalous remarks.”
Providing humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza is an “obligation under international humanitarian law” for Israel as it controls all access to the territory, it added.
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy said on X that there “can be no justification for Minister Smotrich’s remarks,” and called on “the wider Israeli government to retract and condemn them.”
Since the war in Gaza broke out on October 7, the humanitarian situation in the besieged Palestinian territory remains dire, with almost all of its 2.4 million population displaced and suffering from food shortages.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 people, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,677 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which does not provide details on civilian and militant deaths.
US urges Kosovo to cooperate as Serb tensions rise
WASHINGTON: : The United States on Wednesday urged Kosovo to heed the advice of its longstanding Western supporters to ease tensions that have again risen with Serbs.
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has called for the opening of a flashpoint bridge, prompting protests, and authorities this week raided post offices long used by residents who maintain funds in Serbia.
“We are concerned by continuing uncoordinated decisions by the leadership of Kosovo,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Noting longstanding US support for Kosovo’s integration into the international community, Miller told reporters: “We believe they put at risk the opportunities that we have helped Kosovo create.”
“What we would encourage the government of Kosovo to do is to return to close and constructive engagement with the United States, with the EU, with NATO.”
The United States led a NATO bombing campaign in 1999 that brought self-rule to Albanian-majority Kosovo from Serbia after a war that left 13,000 dead.
Kosovo declared independence in 2008, a move never acknowledged by Serbia but recognized by most, although not all, Western nations including the United States.
A series of recent steps by Kurti’s government have increased tensions, including making the euro the only legal currency in Kosovo, effectively outlawing use of the Serbian dinar.
The NATO-led peacekeeping force KFOR warned Tuesday it would intervene if Kosovo sought to reopen the bridge separating communities in divided Mitrovica, the scene of frequent clashes.
Macron tells Netanyahu to ‘avoid cycle of reprisals’
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to “avoid a cycle of reprisals” in the Middle East, his office said, as fears of a regional war soar.
After earlier telling his Iranian counterpart to “avoid a cycle of reprisals that would put the populations and stability of the region at risk,” Macron urged Netanyahu in a telephone call to adopt the same reasoning, the French presidency said in a statement.
Already high amid the war in Gaza, tensions in the Middle East have soared following the assassinations of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut last week.
The former has been blamed on Israel, which claimed responsibility for the latter.
Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran have vowed reprisals, raising fears of wider conflict in a region already on tenterhooks since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
The French presidency said it was imperative to prevent all-out war between Israel and the powerful Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which have been trading near-daily cross-border fire since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
“Faced with rising tensions on the border between Israel and Lebanon, every effort must be made... to avoid a regional conflagration,” said the French presidency, stressing that “a war between Israel and Lebanon would have destructive consequences for the entire region.”
Macron also reminded Netanyahu that “the absolute priority” for France remained “the immediate achievement of a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages... and the massive and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to the people there.”
Biden says ‘not confident’ of peaceful transfer if Trump loses
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden said an interview with CBS he is “not confident at all” there will be a peaceful transfer of power to Kamala Harris if Donald Trump loses November’s election, according to an extract broadcast Wednesday.
“If Trump loses, I’m not confident at all,” Biden told the US network in the interview, which was due to air fully on Sunday. “He means what he says. We don’t take him seriously. He means it — all the stuff about ‘if we lose there’ll be a bloodbath.’“
