NOUMEA: Separatists in French Pacific territory New Caledonia pressed Paris Monday to drop a planned voting reform that triggered weeks of deadly unrest.
The Socialist Kanak National Liberation Front (FLNKS) — named for the indigenous people who fear being marginalized by the changes — said President Emmanuel Macron should “be clear in his words by stating clearly he will... abandon the constitutional reform,” which has yet to be approved by both houses of parliament.
“Such an announcement would permit... the calming of the current tensions so as to resume discussions on the future of New Caledonia,” the FLNKS’ political committee told Macron in a letter seen by AFP.
The government plans to open up the archipelago’s electoral roll — frozen since 1998 — to more recent arrivals who have lived there for at least 10 years.
Kanaks fear the change will crush their ambitions for independence by leaving them in a permanent minority in the territory of 270,000 people.
Anger over the plans spilled into two weeks of riots and erection of barricades that cut off many neighborhoods and blocked major roads.
Clashes cost the lives of seven people and left hundreds more injured, as well as causing around one billion euros ($1.1 billion) in damage.
Macron said during a brief visit to New Caledonia on May 23 that he did not want to “pass the reform by force” — while vowing he would not “turn back.”
“On the ground, these remarks regrettably continue not to be understood,” the FLNKS said.
“This incomprehension poses a real difficulty and prevents our activists from hearing the call for calm and easing tensions,” it added.
French authorities insist capital Noumea is back under their control, although barricades endure and pro-independence demonstrators are determined to stay in the streets.
Noumea’s international airport remains closed, while an overnight curfew is in force across New Caledonia until at least June 10.
New Caledonia separatists urge Paris to drop voting reform
https://arab.news/68932
New Caledonia separatists urge Paris to drop voting reform
- Kanaks fear their ambitions for independence will be crushed by leaving them in a permanent minority in the territory of 270,000 people
Denmark not excluding recognizing Palestinian state: PM
“We’re not saying no to recognizing Palestine as a state,” she told reporters.
“We’re in favor of it. We have been for a long time. It’s what we want. But of course we have to be sure that it will be a democratic state,” she added.
On Sunday, more than 10,000 people marched in a protest in central Copenhagen calling for an end to the war in Gaza and urging Denmark to recognize Palestinian statehood.
In an interview with the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten on August 16, Frederiksen said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “now a problem in himself,” and that his Israeli government was going “too far.”
“Netanyahu’s continued and very violent actions in Gaza are unacceptable,” she wrote on Facebook the same day, adding that she has, since Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack, supported Israel’s right to eliminate the “threat posed by Hamas.”
Recognition of a Palestinian state must serve “the right goal,” she stressed on Tuesday.
“It must come at a time when it genuinely benefits a two-state solution. And where a lasting and democratic Palestinian state can be guaranteed,” she said.
“And it must of course be done with (Hamas’s) mutual recognition of Israel.”
In the meantime, Denmark plans to use its current EU presidency to increase pressure on Israel.
“It will be difficult to rally the necessary support but we will do everything we can,” she said.
The October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas militants resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 62,744 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.
Hundreds of Afghan patients get eye surgery in KSrelief-funded campaign
- 400 patients to get surgery and 4,000 to be screened during 5-day campaign
- Afghanistan, country of 43 million, has fewer than 200 eye specialists
KABUL: Hundreds of the most vulnerable Afghan patients are set to receive free eye treatment, including surgery, in Kabul this week under a medical intervention program funded by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center.
The program is organized by the Afghan Red Crescent Society at the ARCS Central Hospital in Kabul from Aug. 24 to 28.
It is funded by KSrelief and Al-Basar International Foundation, a Saudi-based nongovernmental organization providing eye healthcare and visual rehabilitation to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities around the world.
“The five-day campaign will provide treatment and surgery services for 400 patients and screening services for around 4,000 others. Patients receive screening services, medicine, glasses and surgery free of charge,” Dr. Abdul Wali Utmanza, director of the ARCS Central Hospital, told Arab News. “Soon, an additional 400 patients in Nangarhar and 400 more in Kandahar will also undergo eye surgery.”
Al-Basar Foundation has been treating eye patients in Afghanistan with KSrelief support since 2023.
“Since then, thousands of patients have received care, and we remain committed to expanding these vital services even further,” said Rizwan Baloch, the foundation’s representative. “These services are crucial for restoring vision, improving lives, and reaching those without access to proper eye care.”
Of Afghanistan’s 43 million population, more than 400,000 are blind, according to the World Health Organization.
Dr. Shamsulhaq Salim, ophthalmologist from Herat, estimates that another 2 million are visually impaired and many of them can lose sight due to cataracts.
“Cataracts remain the leading cause of blindness in Afghanistan, yet a simple surgery can completely restore vision. However, a severe shortage of eye specialists and relevant modern facilities are major barriers,” he told Arab News.
“Afghanistan has an estimated 150 to 200 eye specialists nationwide, most of whom are based in major cities and provincial centers.”
There are only nine public eye hospitals in the country and a handful of private clinics.
For Mir Hamidullah, who arrived for treatment in Kabul from Surobi district, some 100 km away, the Saudi initiative offered a rare chance to restore his vision.
“I wouldn’t have been able to go to a private hospital to treat my eyes. That’s why I and so many others are here today, receiving free eye care,” he said.
“I sincerely hope other international organizations also step forward to support the Afghan people and recognize the difficult conditions we are living in.”
Indonesia creates new ministry to oversee Hajj, Umrah pilgrimages
- World’s largest Muslim-majority nation sends biggest Hajj contingent every year
- Pilgrimage services were previously organized by religious affairs ministry
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s parliament on Tuesday approved the establishment of a new ministry dedicated solely to Hajj and Umrah which will oversee pilgrimage services for millions of Indonesians traveling to Saudi Arabia each year.
The world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia sends the largest contingent of Hajj pilgrims every year, while more than a million travel annually for Umrah.
Indonesian lawmakers unanimously passed revisions to the country’s 2019 Hajj and Umrah Law during a plenary session on Tuesday, effectively creating the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
“This ministry will provide a one-stop service (and) coordinate all matters related to organizing Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages, whether in terms of infrastructure, human resources or services for the pilgrims,” said lawmaker Marwan Dasopang.
The changes were initially proposed to improve overall services for pilgrims and adjust to policy and technological developments in Saudi Arabia, he added.
Pilgrimage services in Indonesia were previously organized by the Directorate General for Hajj and Umrah Management, which operated under the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Earlier this year, 221,000 Indonesian Hajj pilgrims were among more than 1.6 million Muslims who traveled to Makkah to perform the pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam.
“This is a new breakthrough, because (especially) when it comes to Hajj we’re not talking about managing just a few people, but a huge ecosystem,” Deputy Speaker Cucun Ahmad Syamsurijal told reporters in Jakarta.
“We hope that with this new ministry, services for pilgrimages will be further improved, more measured and continuously evaluated. The House of Representatives will be supervising closely.”
President Prabowo Subianto is expected to appoint a minister to head the new ministry soon.
The Indonesian government has stepped up services for pilgrims this year, including the opening of a dedicated terminal for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims in May at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
UK to allow students to travel from Gaza to attend university
- Around 40 students will receive scholarships for upcoming academic year for first time since outbreak of war
- But they require Israel’s approval to leave Palestinian enclave
LONDON: The UK will allow around 40 students to travel from Gaza to attend British universities, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
The plan will see the students awarded scholarships, with nine receiving government-backed Chevening scheme funding for one-year master’s degrees, and the rest securing funds from private programs.
The students will be allowed to leave Gaza once they receive permission to travel from Israeli authorities.
They will become the first to leave the Palestinian enclave to study in the UK since the outbreak of the war in October 2023.
However, relations between the UK and Israel have become frosty since Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans to potentially recognize a Palestinian state earlier this year.
The students will need to travel to a third country in order to complete biometric visa applications before being allowed to head to the UK.
Britain will join other European nations — including France, Italy and Ireland — in approving evacuation routes for students with places to study at universities in each country.
A UK Home Office source told the BBC that the plan for the students is “complex and challenging.”
Several of the students told the corporation that they fear for their safety in Gaza while awaiting approval to travel.
British politicians have campaigned for months to allow around 80 Gazan students with offers from universities to study in the UK. It is unclear if the remaining students with places to study will be able to attend their courses.
There is also a movement to allow critically ill Gazan children to head to the UK for vital medical treatment.
Israel has killed at least 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023.
UK’s Farage unveils plan to repeal rights laws and deport asylum seekers
- Nigel Farage said his party, which is leading in national opinion polls, would remove Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights
LONDON: The leader of Britain’s anti-migration Reform UK party, Nigel Farage, announced a plan on Tuesday to repeal human rights laws to allow for mass deportations of asylum seekers and reverse what he called an “invasion” that threatened national security.
Farage said his party, which is leading in national opinion polls, would remove Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights, repeal the Human Rights Act and disapply other international treaties that have been used to block the forced deportation of asylum seekers.
“The mood in the country around this issue is a mix between total despair and rising anger,” Farage said at a press conference. “It is an invasion, as these young men illegally break into our country.”
The announcement comes against the backdrop of sustained, small-scale protests in recent weeks outside hotels housing asylum seekers, in response to concerns about public safety after some individuals were charged with sexual assault.
Opinion polls show that immigration has overtaken the economy as British voters’ biggest concern. Reform UK – which has just four members of parliament but is ahead in every survey of voting intentions – is putting Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer under growing pressure to tackle the issue.
In 2024, Britain received a record 108,100 asylum applicants, almost 20 percent more than a year earlier. Individuals from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Bangladesh made up the largest number of applicants for asylum last year.
Much of the focus has been on those who arrive on small boats across the Channel, with record numbers arriving this year.
Starmer’s government and its predecessors have been wrestling for years with how to deal with undocumented migrants entering the country.
The plans by Reform are the most radical yet and would involve signing deals with Afghanistan, Eritrea and other countries to repatriate their nationals who arrived in Britain illegally.
Without action, Farage said “anger will grow, in fact I think there is now, as a result of this, a genuine threat to public order, and that is the very last thing we want.”
Starmer’s government has a plan to “smash” the gangs which smuggle people to Britain by reforming the asylum appeals process and hiring more enforcement officials.
The previous Conservative government planned to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, but the policy was ruled unlawful by Britain’s top court.
