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  • ‘Will do everything in my power to end war in Gaza’: Harris appeals to Arab Americans, Christians


‘Will do everything in my power to end war in Gaza’: Harris appeals to Arab Americans, Christians

Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, US, on November 3, 2024. (REUTERS)
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Updated 04 November 2024
Reuters
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‘Will do everything in my power to end war in Gaza’: Harris appeals to Arab Americans, Christians

  • Harris addresses Michigan’s 200,000 Arab Americans, starting speech with a nod to civilian victims of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon
  • Trump visited Dearborn, Michigan, the heart of the Arab American community, on Friday and vowed to end the conflict in the Middle East 
Updated 04 November 2024
Reuters

DETROIT/KINSTON, North Carolina: Democrat Kamala Harris made her closing pitch for the US presidency at a historically Black church and to Arab Americans in battleground Michigan on Sunday, while her Republican rival Donald Trump embraced violent rhetoric at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Opinion polls show the pair locked in a tight race, with Vice President Harris, 60, bolstered by strong support among female voters while former President Trump, 78, gains ground with Hispanic voters, especially men.

Voters overall view both candidates unfavorably, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling, but that has not dissuaded them from casting ballots.

More than 78 million Americans have already done so ahead of Tuesday’s Election Day, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab, approaching half the total 160 million votes cast in 2020, in which US voter turnout was the highest in more than a century.

Control of Congress is also up for grabs on Tuesday, with Republicans favored to capture a majority in the Senate while Democrats are seen as having an even chance of flipping Republicans’ narrow majority in the House of Representatives. Presidents whose parties fail to control both chambers have struggled to pass major legislation.

“In just two days we have the power to decide the fate of our nation for generations to come,” Harris told parishioners at Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in Detroit. “We must act. It’s not enough to only pray; not enough to just talk.”

Later in a rally in East Lansing, Michigan, she addressed the state’s 200,000 Arab Americans, starting her speech with a nod to civilian victims of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

“This year has been difficult, given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon, it is devastating. And as president, I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza,” Harris said to applause.

Many Arab and Muslim Americans as well as anti-war activist groups have condemned US support for Israel amid the tens of thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza and Lebanon, and the displacement of millions. Israel says it is targeting militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

Trump visited Dearborn, Michigan, the heart of the Arab American community, on Friday and vowed to end the conflict in the Middle East without saying how.

Instead of mentioning Trump by name, Harris chose to highlight her opponent’s record during her last Sunday on the campaign trail.

TRUMP GOES OFF SCRIPT

Trump, at his first of three rallies on Sunday, frequently abandoned his teleprompter with off-the-cuff remarks in which he denounced opinion polls showing movement for Harris. He called Democrats a “demonic party,” ridiculed Democratic President Joe Biden and talked about the high price of apples.

Trump, who survived an assassination attempt in July when a gunman’s bullet grazed his ear in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday complained to supporters about gaps in the bulletproof glass surrounding him as he spoke and mused that an assassin would have to shoot through the news media to get him.

“To get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news and I don’t mind that so much,” said Trump, who has long criticized the media and sought to rile public sentiment against them.

Last week he suggested prominent Republican critic, former congresswoman Liz Cheney, should face gunfire in combat over her hawkish foreign policy, leading an Arizona prosecutor to open an investigation.

Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung issued a statement saying Trump’s comment was not directed toward the media but rather, “It was about threats against him that were spurred on by dangerous rhetoric from Democrats.”

Trump later spoke in Kinston, North Carolina, and in Macon, Georgia, where he seized on last week’s jobs report that showed the US economy only produced 12,000 jobs last month.

He told a large crowd gathered in an amphitheater that the report showed that the United States was a “nation in decline” and he warned darkly without evidence of a potentially looming repeat of the 1929 Great Depression with “people jumping off buildings.”

Senior Harris campaign officials have said her closing argument is designed to reach a narrow slice of undecided voters. That stood in contrast to Trump, who varied little from his standard speech aimed at inspiring his loyal supporters.

“Kamala’s campaign is run on hate and demonization,” Trump said.

Near the end of his Pennsylvania speech, Trump — whose false claims that his 2020 loss was the result of fraud inspired his supporters’ Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol — mused that he would have preferred not to have handed over power.

“We had the safest border in the history of our country the day that I left. I shouldn’t have left. I mean, honestly, because we did so, we did so well,” Trump said.

Trump said during his remarks that election results should be announced on Election Night, despite warnings by officials in multiple states that it could take days to ascertain the final outcome.

Democrats say they have plans in place should Trump try to prematurely claim victory this time.

Topics: Gaza Kamala Harris Donald Trump Arab Americans US elections Arab News Pakistan

Heartbroken father pays tribute to Kareem Badawi, the Palestinian-American university student killed in New Orleans attack

Updated 39 min 56 sec ago
Ray Hanania and Jonathan Lessware
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Heartbroken father pays tribute to Kareem Badawi, the Palestinian-American university student killed in New Orleans attack

  • Belal Badawi tells Arab News that the death of his smart, friendly and athletic son has left his family in shock
  • Belal describes the attacker as evil ‘who did not follow the religion of our people’
Updated 39 min 56 sec ago
Ray Hanania and Jonathan Lessware

CHICAGO/LONDON: The father of a Palestinian-American university student killed in the New Orleans terror attack has described how the death of his “smart, polite and athletic” son has left his family heartbroken.

Kareem Badawi, 18, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was celebrating New Year with his friend Parker Vidrine when a US Army veteran plowed his truck into the crowd in the city’s French Quarter, killing 15 people.

Kareem’s father Belal told Arab News that his son was in his first year at the University of Alabama studying mechanical engineering.

“He was a smart little kid, an ‘A’ student,” he said. “He was full of life. Very responsible. 

“He also just loved his friends. He had a lot of friends here and at school. He enjoyed his social life, a good person always treating people with respect. He loved people and loved to build relationships and friends.”

At 6 feet 5 inches tall, Belal said that his son loved athletics and sport and excelled at sport, including football.

“It’s so awful for our family for him to be killed that way,” Belal said. “It just shocked the whole family. He was an honest, smart kid, good-looking.

“He just wanted to enjoy his life.”

Belal said that his son had traveled to New Orleans for New Year “where everybody goes like Dubai for the holiday break.”

His friend Parker, who attended the same high school as Kareem, is in a critical condition.

“We are praying for Parker and his recovery,” Belal said. “They said he is stable and we pray for him to get better.”

Belal, a Muslim, described Kareem’s killer as evil and not representative of the Muslim faith.

“Kareem did no harm to anyone,” he said. “This evil came and did what it did. I don’t think this is Islam. It is not the religion of our people. It is wrong. What kind of people would hurt or harm civilians, innocent people and others?”

The FBI said the attacker, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, had posted videos on social media on the morning of the attack saying he supported Daesh.

Belal said that the FBI were still holding Kareem’s body and that all the family could do was pray for their son and all the other victims of the attack.

“They are not releasing anything yet so we are mourning and suffering and praying,” he said. “We pray for all the people who died and were injured including our son.

“We can’t sleep, for two days. It is very hard. It hurt us. This terrible thing has broken my heart.”

Kareem had joined the Sigma Chi fraternity at the University of Alabama.

The university’s President Stuart Bell described Badawi’s death as “heartbreaking.”

“I learned today that Kareem Badawi, one of our students at the University of Alabama, was killed in the terrorist attack in New Orleans,” Bell said in a statement. “I grieve alongside family and friends of Kareem in their heartbreaking loss.”

He urged people to take a moment to pray for those impacted by the tragedy.

Badawi graduated from the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge in May 2024 along with Parker.

The school said that it was “deeply saddened’ to learn of Badawi’s death in the attack and that Parker had been critically injured.

“It is with a profound sense of sorrow and grief that we share difficult news involving members of our Episcopal family,” the statement said. “Earlier today, we learned of a horrific attack in New Orleans that has tragically impacted our school community.”

The statement added: “Please keep the Vidrine and Badawi families in your thoughts and prayers.”

The school has scheduled an evening prayer service for the victims.

An Instagram post by the Palestinian Youth Movement described Badawi as a Palestinian-American who was a star athlete in high school, excelling in both basketball and football. 

“He was beloved to all in his community in Baton Rouge,” it said. 

The other victims identified in the media so far include: Nicole Perez, a 28-year old mother; Tiger Bech, 27, a Princeton University graduate; Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, an aspiring nurse from Mississippi; Reggie Hunter, 37, a father of two from Baton Rouge; Matthew Tenedorio, 25, an audiovisual technician, and Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, a graduate from the Archbishop Shaw High School in New Orleans.

Topics: New Orleans terror attack Kareem Badawi

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Sri Lanka launches nationwide program to become ‘cleanest country in Asia’

Updated 02 January 2025
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Sri Lanka launches nationwide program to become ‘cleanest country in Asia’

  • ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ initiative aims to help ‘lift the nation,’ along with digitalization, poverty eradication
  • New government wants to usher in ‘transformative change’ for the country in 2025, president says
Updated 02 January 2025
Mohammed Rasooldeen

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's new government has launched a nationwide project aiming to make it the cleanest country in Asia and enforce the principles of environmental justice.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake kicked off the “Clean Sri Lanka” initiative on New Year’s Day, saying it would be focused on restoring the island nation’s environmental system.

Dissanayake, during a launching ceremony at the presidential secretariat in Colombo on Wednesday, said: “This endeavor goes beyond merely cleaning up the environment.

“It aspires to restore the deeply eroded and deteriorated social and environmental fabric of our motherland. We aim to create cleanliness and rejuvenation across all sectors of society.”

He added: “Every citizen must take responsibility for fulfilling their respective duties to ensure the success of this collective vision.”

The program is one of the main priorities of his administration, alongside poverty eradication and digital transformation.

Dissanayake assumed the top job in September and further consolidated his grip on power after his National People’s Power alliance won a majority in the legislature in November.

He is leading Sri Lanka as the nation continues to reel from the 2022 economic crisis — its worst since independence in 1948.

“Our firm resolution is to usher in transformative change for our country this year,” he said. “This year marks the start of a new political culture in our country, as we lay the necessary foundations for its development.”

The “Clean Sri Lanka” program is a part of efforts that will be overseen by an 18-member task force.

When Dissanayake announced the initiative last month, he said it aimed “to make Sri Lanka the cleanest country in the Asian region.”

The “Clean Sri Lanka” official website says it aims to engage communities to keep public spaces safe and clean, streamline waste disposal across the country and ensure that its world-famous beaches are clean.

It also seeks to fight corruption, promote accessible infrastructure for people with disabilities, improve air and water quality, and reduce the nation’s carbon footprint.

“If we do not make ours a cleaner country, our roads to be safer, how can we expect to develop tourism? Unless we make our public spaces disabled-friendly, how can we get them involved in the economy,” it stated, adding that the initiative was crucial to help Sri Lanka rebuild its battered economy.

Sri Lanka’s poor waste management was under global spotlight in 2022 when several elephants — which are endangered in the country — were found dead after consuming plastic in an open landfill in the eastern village of Pallakkadu.

The nation of 22 million people generates more than 1.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually but recycles only 3 percent, compared to the world average of 7.2 percent.

Topics: Sri Lanka

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NGOs in Afghanistan face closure for employing women

Updated 02 January 2025
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NGOs in Afghanistan face closure for employing women

  • New measure enforces a 2022 decree restricting women’s work at NGOs
  • UN warns removing women workers will affect availability of humanitarian aid
Updated 02 January 2025
MODASER ISLAMI

KABUL: National and foreign nongovernmental organizations in Afghanistan are facing closure for employing women following new rules enforcing a 2-year-old decree that restricted the work of female NGO staff.

In an official letter addressed to the organizations, the Taliban-run Ministry of Economy said on Dec. 29 that failure to implement the measures would mean that “all activities of the offending organization will be suspended and the work license they received from this ministry will be revoked.”

The order enforces a decree from December 2022 that barred national and international NGOs in Afghanistan from employing women. This is part of a series of curbs that, in the three years since the Taliban took power, have restricted women’s access to education, the workplace, and public spaces.

“This letter is a follow-up of the original letter from 2022 ... Some NGOs have reached an understanding with the officials at the local level to allow female employees to attend to their work in these organizations and at the community level, while others were stopped,” an official at a women-led international NGO told Arab News.

“A complete ban on female employees will adversely affect the operations of NGOs and will further marginalize the women of Afghanistan ... Donors will not fund men-only organizations. In addition, it’s difficult to work with women in the community without female staff.”

Two years after the Taliban government ordered NGOs to suspend the employment of Afghan women, it is not only the organizations’ work and the women themselves that have been affected, but also entire families.

When Wahida Zahir, a 26-year-old social worker in Kabul, had to leave her job at an NGO, her closest family members lost their main support.

“I was the only one in my family who had a job and with the ban on female work two years ago, my family lost the main source of income. My brothers are still studying and my father is ill,” she said.

“I live with stress and tension every moment of every day. We are literally living like prisoners. There’s a new restriction every other day. It is as if there is no other work that the government does.”

The UN has warned that removing women from NGO work “will directly impact the ability of the population to receive humanitarian aid,” with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights calling on the Taliban to revoke the decree.

“The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan remains dire, with more than half the population living in poverty,” it said. “NGOs play a vital role in providing critical life-saving assistance — to Afghan women, men, girls and boys.”

In the wake of the humanitarian crisis that Afghanistan has been facing for years, it needs more women engaged in social work, not less, say activists.

“The country needs more female aid workers, educators and health professionals to reach to the most vulnerable groups of the population, including women and children,” said Fazila Muruwat, an activist in the eastern Nangarhar province.

“Afghanistan is a traditional society. Communities in Afghanistan are more accepting of humanitarian and other forms of support when aid workers include women. Otherwise, it will be all men’s show and women will remain vulnerable in all aspects of their life.”

 

Topics: Taliban Afghanistan

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Indonesia court says vote threshold for presidential candidates not legally binding

Updated 02 January 2025
Reuters
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Indonesia court says vote threshold for presidential candidates not legally binding

Updated 02 January 2025
Reuters

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Constitutional Court on Thursday said a law setting a minimum vote level before political parties could nominate a presidential candidate was not legally binding, which could potentially lead to a wider slate of nominees running in 2029.
The current law requires parties to win 20 percent of the vote, whether individually or through a coalition, at a legislative election to put forward a presidential candidate. It was challenged by a group of university students who argued it limited the rights of voters and smaller parties.
Chief Justice Suhartoyo granted the petition, saying the threshold “had no binding legal power,” but the ruling did not specify if the requirement should be abolished or lowered.
All political parties should be allowed to nominate a candidate, judge Saldi Isra said.
Rifqi Nizamy Karsayuda, the head of the parliamentary commission overseeing elections, told local media that lawmakers would take action following the ruling, calling it “final and binding.”
Indonesia’s law minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.
Arya Fernandes, political analyst at Center for Strategic and International Studies, welcomed the ruling as it allowed smaller parties to nominate a candidate and lessened their dependence on bigger parties.
Arya said lawmakers could still make revisions to the law that would limit the ruling’s impact as the court did not abolish the vote threshold.
Indonesia’s presidential elections are held every five years. The most recent was held last year and won convincingly by President Prabowo Subianto, who took office in October.
Thursday’s ruling comes after the same court lowered a similar threshold for regional positions such as governor and mayor to under 10 percent of the vote from 20 percent in August last year.
After parties supporting Prabowo and outgoing president Joko Widodo sought to reverse changes to the ruling, thousands took to the streets to protest against what they said was a government effort to stifle opposition.
In a separate ruling on Thursday, the court limited the use of artificial intelligence to “overly manipulate” images of election candidates, saying manipulated images “can compromise the voter’s ability to make an informed decision.”

Topics: Indonesia

Russian bomb attack kills one in southern Ukraine

Updated 02 January 2025
AFP
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Russian bomb attack kills one in southern Ukraine

  • A Russian bomb attack on Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region has killed one person, local authorities said Thursday
Updated 02 January 2025
AFP

KYIV: A Russian bomb attack on Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region has killed one person, local authorities said Thursday.
Moscow’s forces are trying to seize full control of the frontline region, which it claimed to have annexed in 2022, months after invading.
Russia fired 11 guided aerial bombs on the village of Stepnogorsk, just a few kilometers from the front line, late on Wednesday.
“A five-story building was destroyed. A man was killed. Rescuers removed his body from under the rubble,” Zaporizhzhia’s Ukrainian governor Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.
The strike comes amid an escalation in aerial attacks, including Russian drone strikes on the center of Kyiv that killed two people in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
Ukraine is fearing a possible renewed Russian offensive toward the regional capital of Zaporizhzhia, around 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the front line and still under Ukrainian control.

Topics: Russia Ukraine

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