UK backs Palestinian statehood as prime ministers meet in London

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Updated 29 April 2025
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UK backs Palestinian statehood as prime ministers meet in London

UK backs Palestinian statehood as prime ministers meet in London
  • Keir Starmer passes on to Mohammed Mustafa his ‘sincere condolences for the appalling loss of life in Gaza’ since 2023
  • UK announces $135 million aid package for Palestinians in support of humanitarian relief, economic development and reforms

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met his Palestinian counterpart, Mohammed Mustafa, in London on Monday as part of the UK government’s efforts to advance the cause of Palestinian statehood.

During their meeting, Starmer expressed his “sincere condolences for the appalling loss of life in Gaza,” where Israeli military actions since late 2023 has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians.

He said the UK will continue to press for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, and oppose the resumption of war in Gaza following the collapse of a previous truce in mid-March.

Mustafa, the first Palestinian Authority leader to visit Downing Street since 2021, also met Foreign Secretary David Lammy. They signed a memorandum of understanding “enshrining their commitment to advancing Palestinian statehood as part of a two-state solution,” the British Foreign Office said. The document confirmed the view that the PA is the “only legitimate governing entity” in the occupied Palestinian territories, which include Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

I reaffirm the UK’s commitment to recognizing a Palestinian state as a contribution to that process

Foreign Secretary David Lammy

It also stresses the need to reunify Gaza and the West Bank under the authority of the Ramallah-based PA, which is in turn required to commit to political and financial reforms.

Additionally, the UK announced a £101 million ($135 million) aid package for Palestinians to support humanitarian relief operations, economic development and reforms.

Lammy said Mustafa’s visit “marks a significant step in strengthening our relationship with the Palestinian Authority, a key partner for peace in the Middle East, at a critical moment.

“We will not give up on the two-state solution, with a Palestinian state and Israel living side-by-side in peace, dignity and security. I reaffirm the UK’s commitment to recognizing a Palestinian state as a contribution to that process.”

Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and launched a deadly attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, will have “no role” in the future of the Palestinian coastal enclave, he added.

The Foreign Office said: “Hamas must immediately release the (Israeli) hostages and relinquish control of Gaza,” and added that it will work with the PA on a joint plan for the future of Gaza, building on initiatives led by Arab countries.

France and Saudi Arabia will co-chair a meeting at the UN in June to garner support for recognition of Palestinian statehood. British MPs from the ruling Labour Party recently urged the Foreign Office to officially recognize a Palestinian state, and said the French-Saudi initiative presents an opportunity for the UK.

The Israeli government remains firm in its opposition to any recognition of a Palestinian state, and in June 2024 formalized this position with a parliamentary resolution. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government has taken steps to weaken the Western-supported PA, including the withholding of millions of dollars of Palestinian taxes collected by Israel on behalf of the authority.

Netanyahu, who rejects any role for the PA in the future of Gaza, criticized French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan for the Palestinian statehood conference. Of 193 UN members, 147 have officially recognized Palestinian statehood, including Spain, Ireland and Norway. France, Canada, the UK, Italy and Germany are among those yet to do so.

Mohammad Shtayyeh, a former prime minister, was the last Palestinian Prime Minister to visit the UK, when he traveled to the Scottish city of Glasgow in 2021 to participate in the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26.


Spain probes deaths of thousands of Spaniards in Nazi camps

Spain probes deaths of thousands of Spaniards in Nazi camps
Updated 3 sec ago
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Spain probes deaths of thousands of Spaniards in Nazi camps

Spain probes deaths of thousands of Spaniards in Nazi camps
  • Thousands of Spaniards fled to France after Franco’s Fascist-backed nationalists overthrew a republic in the 1936-1939 civil war
  • They found themselves under Nazi occupation in France from 1940

MADRID: Spanish prosecutors on Monday said they were investigating whether General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II to send thousands of exiled Spaniards in France to death camps.
Thousands of Spaniards fled to France after Franco’s Fascist-backed nationalists overthrew a republic in the 1936-1939 civil war, only to find themselves under Nazi occupation in France from 1940.
The investigation will “clarify the relevant responsibilities and the existence of a possible joint strategy” between Franco’s dictatorship and Nazi Germany “in the detention and subsequent transfer of thousands of Spaniards exiled in France to different extermination camps,” the public prosecutor’s office said.
The Mauthausen camp in Austria was among the sites where the republican exiles “were subjected to forced labor, torture, disappearance and murder,” the prosecutor’s office added.
The human rights and democratic memory section of the office will lead the inquiry into the 4,435 recorded dead.
The prosecutors’ office said the probe coincided with the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Mauthausen and was launched in accordance with a divisive 2022 democratic memory law.
The left-wing government passed the legislation in a bid to tackle the legacy of the civil war and honor victims of violence and persecution under Franco, who ruled with an iron fist until his death in 1975.
The right-wing opposition says the left is trying to reopen the wounds of the past with the law and has vowed to repeal it if they return to power.


Rwanda in ‘initial’ talks with US over migration deal

Rwanda in ‘initial’ talks with US over migration deal
Updated 30 min 52 sec ago
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Rwanda in ‘initial’ talks with US over migration deal

Rwanda in ‘initial’ talks with US over migration deal
  • Great Lakes nation — often viewed as an island of stability in a turbulent region — previously made a similar multi-million deal with Britain to receive deported illegal migrants
  • FM Olivier Nduhungirehe: ‘Those reports are true, we are engaged in discussions with the Government of the United States of America’

KIGALI: Rwanda and Washington are in the early stages of talks to receive immigrants from the United States, the Rwandan foreign minister told state media.
Washington has been pushing a mass deportation drive, with President Donald Trump’s administration negotiating highly controversial arrangements to send migrants to third countries.
The Great Lakes nation — often viewed as an island of stability in a turbulent region — previously made a similar multi-million deal with Britain to receive deported illegal migrants. However, it was scrapped immediately after a new government was elected last year.
Foreign minister Olivier Nduhungirehe confirmed earlier reports that Rwanda was among countries talking to Washington over a migrant deal, following a question on state TV on Sunday.
“Those reports are true, we are engaged in discussions with the Government of the United States of America,” he said.
Noting the similar agreement with the British, Nduhungirehe said such a deal “is not something new to us.”
However, while he confirmed that the two nations were engaged in “ongoing” talks, he said “they are not yet conclusive to determine the direction this will take.”
“I would say the discussions are in their initial stages, but we continue to talk about this problem of migrants,” he said, without giving further details.
When contacted by AFP about the talks he said: “You will be informed when the discussions will be finalized.”
Washington’s deal with El Salvador has created a furor, notably after a US official acknowledged that authorities mistakenly expelled one Salvadoran man but that the United States could not bring him back.
The Kigali-London deal was also controversial, with the UK’s Supreme Court ruling that sending migrants to Rwanda through the agreement would be illegal because it “would expose them to a real risk of ill-treatment.”
The tiny nation of roughly 13 million people has been criticized by rights groups over its human rights record and increasingly diminished freedom of speech.
Rwanda has also faced mounting pressure over its involvement in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the east of which has been re-engulfed in conflict after a lightning strike by a Rwandan-backed military group.


Thousands of people gather near Buckingham Palace to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day

Thousands of people gather near Buckingham Palace to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day
Updated 52 min 51 sec ago
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Thousands of people gather near Buckingham Palace to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day

Thousands of people gather near Buckingham Palace to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day
  • Britain started its commemorations of V-E Day three days early, because Monday is a public holiday in the UK

LONDON: Thousands of people lined the roads around the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace on Monday as British and allied troops paraded past at the start of four days of pageantry to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
After Big Ben tolled at the stroke of noon, actor Timothy Spall recited the victory speech that Winston Churchill delivered to a roaring crowd in central London on May 8, 1945. Britain started its commemorations of V-E Day three days early, because Monday is a public holiday in the UK.
The Cenotaph, the nation’s war memorial, was covered with Union Jack flags. It was the first time that the memorial had been draped in the flags since it was unveiled by King George V in 1920, two years after the end of World War I.
About 1,300 members of the British armed forces are being joined by troops from the United Kingdom’s NATO allies and Ukraine — a nod to the present war in Europe. The procession started in Parliament Square and swept past Buckingham Palace, where King Charles III took the salute.
Maria Crook, 69, who wore a hat with red, white and blue ribbons, traveled from Devon to London to watch the procession.
“I think it’s extremely important to pay our respects and honor those who have died for us,” she said.


In Dhaka, Makkah Route facility eases Bangladeshi pilgrims’ Hajj journey

In Dhaka, Makkah Route facility eases Bangladeshi pilgrims’ Hajj journey
Updated 05 May 2025
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In Dhaka, Makkah Route facility eases Bangladeshi pilgrims’ Hajj journey

In Dhaka, Makkah Route facility eases Bangladeshi pilgrims’ Hajj journey
  • Around 87,000 Bangladeshis will be going for Hajj in 2025
  • Special pilgrimage flights from Dhaka began on April 29

Dhaka: Bangladeshi pilgrims have welcomed the Hajj immigration procedures under the Makkah Route initiative, which are easing the process for tens of thousands of pilgrims departing for Saudi Arabia from the nation’s main international airport.

Most of the pilgrims are departing from Dhaka under the flagship pre-travel program.

The Kingdom launched the initiative in 2019 to help pilgrims meet all the visa, customs and health requirements at the airport of origin and save them long hours of waiting before and upon arrival in Saudi Arabia.

This year, Hajj is expected to start on June 4, and special pilgrimage flights from the Bangladeshi capital began on April 29.

“The Makkah Route initiative … It’s very pleasant for the pilgrims of Bangladesh. It is, of course, time-saving and being done comfortably,” Hajj director Mohammad Lokman Hossain told Arab News over the weekend.

“They didn’t have to wait in a long queue and it’s very beneficial to the pilgrims.”

Bangladesh is among seven Muslim-majority countries — including Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco, Turkiye and Cote d’Ivoire — where Saudi Arabia is operating its Makkah Route initiative.

One of the most populous Muslim-majority countries, Bangladesh was granted a quota of 127,000 pilgrims in 2025. But only about 87,000 will be going this year due to high inflation and rising cost of airfares to the Middle East.

The pilgrims appreciated the way the Saudi facility was organized at the airport as they prepared to board their flights to the Kingdom.

“We have completed the immigration formalities very easily. There was no delay, no waiting. It’s like we came and everything was done,” Mohammad Ruhul Kuddus, a businessman from Dhaka, told Arab News.

For Oaliur Reza, the immigration process took only a minute.

“I had no idea about these services. I just found out about it for the first time and I had a very good experience,” Reza said.

“Just within a minute, I passed the immigration, and I liked this service the most.”

Abdul Awal, a businessman from the city of Feni, recalled how different it had been the first time he performed Hajj, when the Makkah Route initiative was not yet introduced.

“I like the current system a lot. It made things easier. The difficulties of the pilgrims have been reduced now significantly compared to the years before (the Makkah Route initiative),” Awal said.

“There were plenty of computerized service counters here for the pilgrims. Praise be to God, it’s very good.”


Europe launches a drive to attract scientists and researchers after Trump freezes US funding

Europe launches a drive to attract scientists and researchers after Trump freezes US funding
Updated 05 May 2025
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Europe launches a drive to attract scientists and researchers after Trump freezes US funding

Europe launches a drive to attract scientists and researchers after Trump freezes US funding
  • The European Union is launching a drive to attract scientists and researchers with offers of grants and new policy plans
  • It comes after the Trump administration froze US government funding linked to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives

PARIS:The European Union launched a drive on Monday to attract scientists and researchers to Europe with offers of grants and new policy plans, after the Trump administration froze US government funding linked to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
“A few years ago, no one would have imagined that one of the biggest democracies in the world would cancel research programs under the pretext that the word diversity was in this program,” French President Emmanuel Macron said at the “Choose Europe for Science” event in Paris.
“No one would have thought that one of the biggest democracies in the world would delete with a stroke the ability of one researcher or another to obtain visas,” Macron said. “But here we are.”
Taking the same stage at the Sorbonne University, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU’s executive branch would set up a “super grant” program aimed at offering “a longer-term perspective to the very best” in the field.
She said that 500 million euros ($566 million) will be put forward in 2025-2027 “to make Europe a magnet for researchers.” It would be injected into the European Research Council, which already has a budget of more than 16 billion euros ($18 billion) for 2021-2027.
Von der Leyen said that the 27-nation EU intends “to enshrine freedom of scientific research into law” with a new legal act. As “the threats rise across the world, Europe will not compromise on its principles,” she said.
Macron said that the French government would also soon make new proposals to beef up investment in science and research.
Last month, hundreds of university researchers in the United States had National Science Foundation funding canceled to comply with US President Donald Trump’s order to end support to research on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as the study of misinformation.
More than 380 grant projects have been cut so far, including work to combat Internet censorship in China and Iran and a project consulting with Indigenous communities to understand environmental changes in Alaska’s Arctic region.
Some terminated grants that sought to broaden the diversity of people studying science, technology and engineering. Scientists, researchers and doctors have taken to the streets in protest.
While not mentioning the Trump administration by name, von der Leyen said that it was “a gigantic miscalculation” to undermine free and open research.
“We can all agree that science has no passport, no gender, no ethnicity, no political party,” she said. “We believe that diversity is an asset of humanity and the lifeblood of science. It is one of the most valuable global assets and it must be protected.”
Von der Leyen’s drive to promote opportunities in Europe in the field of science and take advantage of US policy shifts dovetails with the way that she has played up the potential for trade deals with other countries since Trump took office in January and sparked a tariff war last month.
The former German defense minister, and trained doctor, vowed that the EU would also address some of the roadblocks that scientists and researchers face, notably excessive red tape and access to businesses.
Macron said that science and research must not “be based on the diktats of the few.”
Macron said that Europe “must become a refuge” for scientists and researchers, and he said to those who feel under threat elsewhere: “The message is simple. If you like freedom, come and help us to remain free, to do research here, to help us become better, to invest in our future.”