UK treats far-right attacks less harshly than Islamist violence, think tank says

A protester holding a piece of concrete walks towards riot police as clashes erupt in Bristol on Aug. 3, 2024 during a demonstration held in reaction to the fatal stabbings in Southport on July 29. (AFP)
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Updated 11 August 2024
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UK treats far-right attacks less harshly than Islamist violence, think tank says

  • Body raises concerns that far-right acts are often dismissed as ‘mere thuggery’

LONDON: The UK’s approach to tackling extremism has been criticized for being “two-tiered,” with far-right attacks not being treated as seriously as Islamist ones, according to a leading think tank.

The Royal United Services Institute has raised concerns that right-wing violence is often dismissed as “mere thuggery” by politicians, prosecutors, and security services, The Observer reported on Sunday.

In contrast, similar acts by Islamist extremists would likely be swiftly classified as terrorism, the think tank argued in an article published by the newspaper.

The criticism comes in the wake of week-long riots across England and Northern Ireland, during which asylum hotels and mosques were targeted.

The violence has been linked to neo-Nazi and far-right activity, highlighting what RUSI described as “double standards” in how different forms of extremism are addressed.

RUSI, which was established in 1831 by the Duke of Wellington and is often cited as the world’s oldest think tank, said this double standard had allowed far-right extremism to flourish in the UK.

Dr. Jessica White, acting director of RUSI’s terrorism and conflict research group, research fellow Claudia Wallner, and Emily Winterbotham, director of terrorism and conflict studies, co-authored the article.

They wrote: “RUSI’s research suggests that the nature of far-right violence, which is often seen as low impact and disjointed, coupled with institutional bias and racism, means that far-right violence has historically not triggered the same responses from politicians, security services and the media as jihadist violent extremism.

“There exists a clear double standard, or two-tier approach, in how different forms of extremism are addressed, particularly when comparing security and legal responses to far-right and Islamist violent extremism.

“Far-right-motivated violence is often classified as mere ‘thuggery’ or hooliganism, while similar acts motivated by Islamist extremism would likely be swiftly labeled as terrorism. This inconsistency undermines the perceived severity of far-right threats and hinders the political will and the necessary legal precedent to take equivalent action.”

The article criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for his recent description of an attack on a hotel housing asylum-seekers as “far-right thuggery,” The Observer reported.

While acknowledging the ideological roots of the violence, the authors argued that the term “thuggery” minimized the organized, ideological nature of the riots and the groups behind them.

RUSI advocated for treating severe incidents of far-right violence as terrorism. Recognizing severe cases of far-right violence as terrorism would “align with a more equitable legal strategy, ensuring that all forms of extremism are prosecuted with the seriousness they warrant,” it said.

It argued that the recent riots should be viewed as part of a broader “pattern of violence” across Europe that had been largely overlooked by both politicians and the public.

It added: “Similar far-right riots have occurred in Dublin in 2023 and in Chemnitz in Germany in 2018, both in reaction to stabbings that sparked widespread anti-immigrant sentiment, with far-right groups exploiting the incidents to incite violence against migrants and refugees.”

The RUSI’s findings followed recent allegations of bias within the UK’s legal and political systems, particularly in the context of pro-Palestinian protests that have taken place since Oct. 7.


Clashes in Mozambique after opposition leader calls for protest

Updated 10 sec ago
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Clashes in Mozambique after opposition leader calls for protest

MAPUTO: Police in Mozambique fired tear gas and deployed dogs to disperse protesters in the capital Maputo on Thursday, after the opposition called a demonstration against the contested election results.
The southern African nation has been rocked by violence since the Oct. 9 vote won by the Frelimo party, which has been in power for almost 50 years.
Leading opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who says the results were false and that he won, called for a mass protest on Thursday, saying in an interview that it was a “crucial moment” for the country.
“I feel that there is a revolutionary atmosphere ... that shows that we are on the verge of a unique historical and political transition in the country,” said Mondlane, speaking from an undisclosed location.
The 50-year-old former radio presenter said he could not reveal his whereabouts other than to say he was not in Africa.
Several thousand people took to the streets on Thursday to protest the election result, some throwing rocks and setting up barricades using burning tires and bins. “This is not so much about Venancio (as Mondlane is popularly known). It’s more about change,” said Richard, a protester who asked to be identified only by his first name.
The uprising was to reflect “the voice of the people,” he added.
“Either they change and think about the people, or the country doesn’t move forward.”
Heavily armed riot police and soldiers flanked by tanks dispersed the crowds with tear gas, according to reporters at the scene.
“It’s scary ... we’re all here shaking from time to time, we run away, but it’s going to be worth it,” said Vadi, a woman who also only gave her first name. “We want change, that’s all.”
Shops, banks, schools, and universities were closed in the coastal city, which had around 1 million people.
“Our first objective ... is certainly the restoration of electoral truth,” Mondlane said.
“We want the popular will expressed at the polls on Oct. 9 to be restored.”
He was “waging a struggle” with “national” and “historical purpose,” he added.
“People have realized that it wasn’t possible to bring profound change in Mozambique without taking risks,” he said.
“Now they have to free themselves.”
Mondlane has used social media to rally supporters onto the streets on several occasions for demonstrations that have led to clashes with police.
At least 18 people have been killed in the post-electoral violence, according to Human Rights Watch.
One local NGO, the Center for Democracy and Human Rights, has put the toll at 24.
A police officer was also killed in a protest at the weekend, Defense Minister Cristovao Chume said on Tuesday, warning the army could intervene “to protect the interests of the state.”
“There is an intention to change the democratically established power,” he added.
President Filipe Nyusi is expected to step down early next year at the end of his two-term limit, handing over to Frelimo’s Daniel Chapo, who won the presidential election with 71 percent of the vote, according to the electoral commission.
Mondlane, who has lodged a case at the Constitutional Council to request a ballot recount, said that he was “open to a government of national unity.”
The authorities have restricted access to the internet across the country, which HRW said was an apparent effort to “suppress peaceful protests and public criticism of the government.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has warned against “unnecessary or disproportionate force.”
Police should “ensure that they manage protests in line with Mozambique’s international human rights obligations,” he said.
The Southern African Development Community has called for an extraordinary summit between Nov. 16 and 20 in part to discuss developments in Mozambique.
Mondlane left the country last month following the unrest.
He initially said he would be at Thursday’s march but on Wednesday told AFP he wouldn’t return after all due to safety concerns.
“I wanted so much to be in Maputo with my people. But unfortunately, I received more than 5,000 messages ... Ninety-nine percent discouraged me from going to Maputo,” he said.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to be there.”

Russian attack on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia kills four, wounds 40

Updated 3 min 27 sec ago
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Russian attack on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia kills four, wounds 40

  • Russian forces have stepped up their attacks in Zaporizhzhia in recent days
  • “The death toll as a result of Russia’s strikes on Zaporizhzhia has risen to four,” the emergency services said

KYIV: Russian aerial attacks on the frontline city of Zaporizhzhia on Thursday killed at least four people and wounded another 40, including children, officials said.
Another two were killed in a separate attack on the eastern Donetsk region, strikes that followed a wave of overnight drone attacks, including on the capital Kyiv.
Russian forces have stepped up their attacks in Zaporizhzhia in recent days and are making rapid advances in the industrial territory of Donetsk, both of which the Kremlin says are Russian territory.
“The death toll as a result of Russia’s strikes on Zaporizhzhia has risen to four,” the emergency services said in a statement on social media.
“Forty were wounded, including four children,” governor Ivan Fedorov said in a separate statement.
Officials said earlier that a hospital had been damaged in Zaporizhzhia, which had a pre-war population of more than 700,000 people and lies around 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the nearest Russian positions.
A four-month old girl and boys aged one, five and 15 were wounded in the attacks, Fedorov said.
Officials posted images showing rescue workers pulling victims from the rubble and holding back distressed locals from getting to the destroyed buildings.
The strikes later in the Donetsk region killed two people and wounded five more in the village of Mykolaivka, the region’s governor Vadym Filashkin announced on social media.
“One of the shells hit a five-story building and four buildings nearby were damaged,” he wrote on social media.
He posted a photo of a Soviet-era residential building on fire, dozens of its windows blown out with debris littering the ground beneath it.


Grenade attack targeted Israeli embassy in Denmark: report

Copenhagen Police investigated two explosions near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen last month. (AP)
Updated 36 sec ago
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Grenade attack targeted Israeli embassy in Denmark: report

  • The grenades landed on the terrace of a house adjacent to the embassy
  • Two Swedes aged 17 and 19 have been detained

COPENHAGEN: Israel’s embassy in Denmark was likely the target of grenades thrown nearby last month, Danish media reported Thursday, citing the pre-indictment of two teenage suspects detained in the case.
Two Swedes aged 17 and 19 went before a judge in Copenhagen who remanded them for another 20 days.
Their pre-indictment, citing investigations, said they were suspected of violating terrorism laws by “throwing hand grenades at the Israeli embassy in Denmark on October 2,” the Ritzau news agency reported.
The grenades landed on the terrace of a house adjacent to the embassy, where they exploded, causing no injuries.
The two suspects were arrested at a Copenhagen railway station hours later initially on suspicion of violating gun laws.
They have since been accused of a terror offense and police, who have arrested a man in his fifties in connection with the incident, are also looking for other accomplices.
“It makes no sense to imagine this is an act they committed alone. There must be accomplices,” Ritzau quoted prosecutor Soren Harbo as saying at the start of the hearing.
The teens deny the accusations.
The case comes against a backdrop of severe tensions in the Middle East, with conflict in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as increasing gang violence with Danish criminal gangs suspected of recruiting underage Swedes to settle scores.


Renowned Indian scholar, philanthropist Dr. Syed Shah Khusro Hussaini dies aged 80

Updated 23 min ago
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Renowned Indian scholar, philanthropist Dr. Syed Shah Khusro Hussaini dies aged 80

KALABURAGI, India: Dr. Syed Shah Khusro Hussaini, a prominent scholar, educationalist, philanthropist and chancellor of Khaja Banda Nawaz University in India’s Karnataka state, died on Wednesday evening aged 80.

Funeral prayers were held on Thursday evening at the Sharif Mosque. He is survived by his wife, two sons and three daughters.

He completed a Master of Arts in Islamic Studies at McGill University in Canada and was awarded a Ph.D. from Belford University, US, for his research work.

Since 2007 he brought significant changes to the Khaja Education Society on the organizational, administrative and functional levels. He also expanded existing institutions and was instrumental in establishing Khaja Bandanawaz Institute of Medical Sciences at Kalaburagi in 2000.

Through perseverance, he established Khaja Bandanawaz University in August 2018. As vice-president of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board and chancellor of Khaja Banda Nawaz University, he played a vital role in promoting modern and Islamic education in India.

In addition to his administrative skills, Hussaini was known for his deep and scholarly understanding of Sufism. He was awarded the prestigious Karnataka Rajyotsava Award for excellence in education by the government of Karnataka in 2017.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and other political leaders expressed their condolences over his death.

Putin congratulates Donald Trump on his election victory in first public comments on US vote

Updated 53 min 12 sec ago
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Putin congratulates Donald Trump on his election victory in first public comments on US vote

  • The Kremlin earlier welcomed Trump’s claim that he could negotiate an end to the conflict in Ukraine
  • ″I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate him on his election as president,” Putin said

SOCHI, Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Donald Trump on winning this week’s US presidential election and said on Thursday he was ready to speak to Trump, as any ideas on facilitating an end to the Ukraine crisis merited attention.
Putin said he was impressed with how Trump, who decisively defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to secure his return to the White House, handled himself in the moments after an assassination attempt in July, describing Trump as a brave man.