MELBOURNE: Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko extended his 31-year rule with a massive win in a presidential election that Western governments have rejected as a sham, according to preliminary results on Monday.
“You can congratulate the Republic of Belarus, we have elected a president,” the head of the country’s Central Election Commission of the Republic Igor Karpenko told a press conference in the early hours of Monday, according to Russian state media.
According to results published on the Central Election Commission’s Telegram account, Lukashenko took 86.8 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election.
European politicians said the vote was neither free nor fair because independent media are banned in the former Soviet state and all leading opposition figures have been sent to penal colonies or forced to flee abroad.
“The people of Belarus had no choice. It is a bitter day for all those who long for freedom & democracy,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock posted on X.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski expressed mock surprise that “only” 87.6 percent of the electorate appeared to have backed Lukashenko.
“Will the rest fit inside the prisons?” he wrote on X.
Asked about the jailing of his opponents, Lukashenko said they had “chosen” their fate.
“Some chose prison, some chose ‘exile’, as you say. We didn’t kick anyone out of the country,” he told a rambling press conference on Sunday that lasted more than four hours and 20 minutes.
The close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier defended his jailing of dissidents and declared: “I don’t give a damn about the West.”
Lukashenko pockets massive win in Belarus election scorned by the West
https://arab.news/j2w5h
Lukashenko pockets massive win in Belarus election scorned by the West
- Alexander Lukashenko took 86.8 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election
- European politicians have said the vote was neither free nor fair
Philippines records surge in tourists from Middle East
- Philippines has been recognized as an emerging Muslim-friendly destination in recent years
- Last year, it launched a beach for Muslim women travelers in top resort island Boracay
MANILA: The Philippines has recorded significant growth in tourists from the Middle East, the Department of Tourism said on Sunday, following various campaigns to attract more travelers from the region.
Tourism is a key sector for the Philippines, and its government has lately been trying to attract more visitors from the Middle East by creating Muslim-friendly destinations and ensuring that they have access to halal products and services.
Those efforts, part of the Philippines’ move to diversify its economy away from dependency in the declining Chinese market, have led to a surge in international tourism arrivals from countries in the Middle East and the Gulf Cooperation Council, Philippine Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said.
“We are targeting markets such as the Middle East and the GCC, as well as India,” she said in a statement.
“Because of our efforts to diversify, we are seeing, for example, from the Middle East and the GCC, an average of no less than 500 to 800 percent growth rate in terms of international tourism arrivals.”
The Philippines’ tourism sector has been recovering since the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced most tourism destinations in the country to shut down and resulted in a decline of foreign arrivals by more than 80 percent compared to 2019 numbers.
As tourism started to rebound, the Middle Eastern market was among the ones showing “promising signs of recovery” last year, a Department of Tourism report said.
The UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain are among the countries showing a positive recovery rate, “signifying a steady return of visitors from the Gulf region,” according to the report.
In 2024, the Philippines was recognized as an Emerging Muslim-friendly non-Organization of Islamic Cooperation Destination by the Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index.
The index is an annual report benchmarking destinations in the Muslim travel market.
The archipelagic country known for its white-sand beaches, diving spots and rich culture, also won the award in 2023 and has since boosted efforts to attract visitors from the Middle East.
Last year, it launched a beach for Muslim women travelers in Boracay, the country’s top resort island and one of the world’s most popular.
The Department of Tourism also partnered with Emirates Airlines in April to jointly promote the Philippines, targeting the Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and European markets.
“The beauty of coming to the Philippines is that it is a very diversified destination. We are able to cater to any type of traveler, whether you are a solo traveler, a couple, (or) a family,” Frasco said.
“With the number of islands that we have and the readiness of these destinations, then we are excited to welcome people of all nationalities.”
British politician urges UK to act on Israel as Gaza faces ‘cruel destitution’
- Liberal Democrat Layla Moran, of Palestinian descent, said a critical tone had yet to translate into meaningful policy change
LONDON: A British politician of Palestinian descent has called on the UK government to back its tougher rhetoric on Israel with tangible action, warning that people in Gaza are facing “unbearably cruel levels of destitution.”
Liberal Democrat Layla Moran said that although ministers had recently adopted a more critical tone, this had yet to translate into meaningful policy change, The Guardian reported on Sunday.
“I remain frustrated that while the government’s words and tone have changed, in terms of concrete actions, not much has changed,” she said.
Her comments come amid growing international pressure over Israel’s expanded military campaign in Gaza and its restriction of humanitarian aid.
On Wednesday, Hamish Falconer, minister for the Middle East, described Israel’s aid blockade as “appalling,” “cruel,” and “indefensible.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy also confirmed that the UK was in discussions with France and Saudi Arabia about recognizing a Palestinian state, ahead of a planned international conference in Paris in June.
Moran urged the UK to move forward with recognition, arguing it would “safeguard Palestinian interests and also send a very clear signal to Israel that there are consequences to their actions.”
She also criticized the government for continuing to allow trade from illegal Israeli settlements and for supplying arms to Israel, adding: “They’re still arming Israel when they shouldn’t be.”
Mogadishu suicide bomber kills at least 10 at army recruitment drive
- Dozens of abandoned shoes and the remains of the suicide bomber were visible at the scene
- Medical staff at military hospital said they received 30 injured people from the blast and 6 of them died immediately
MOGADISHU: At least 10 people were killed on Sunday after a suicide bomber targeted a queue of young recruits registering at the Damanyo military base in the Somali capital Mogadishu, witnesses told Reuters.
Teenagers were lining up at the base’s gate when the attacker detonated their explosives, they said.
A military captain who gave his name as Suleiman described the attack as he had seen it unfold.
“I was on the other side of the road. A speeding tuk-tuk stopped, a man alighted, ran into the queue, and then blew himself up. I saw 10 people dead, including recruits and passers-by. The death toll may rise,” he said.
Dozens of abandoned shoes and the remains of the suicide bomber were visible at the scene.
Another witness, Abdisalan Mohamed, said he had seen “hundreds of teenagers at the gate as we passed by in a bus.”
“Abruptly, a deafening blast occurred, and the area was covered by dense smoke. We could not see the details of casualties,” he said.
Medical staff at the military hospital told Reuters they had received 30 injured people from the blast and that six of them had died immediately.
Government forces quickly cordoned off the entire area.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
The attack echoed a similar incident in 2023 when a suicide bomber killed 25 soldiers at the Jale Siyad base, located opposite the Damanyo facility.
Sunday’s attack followed the assassination on Saturday of Col. Abdirahmaan Hujaale, commander of battalion 26, in the Hiiran region, amid local reports of Al-Shabab militant infiltration into government and security forces.
Building fire kills 17, injures others in southern India
- Fires are common in India, where building laws and safety norms are often flouted by builders and residents
HYDERABAD, India: At least 17 people were killed and several injured in a fire that broke out at a building near the historic Charminar monument in southern Hyderabad city, officials said Sunday.
Several people were found unconscious and rushed to various hospitals, according to local media. They said the building housed a jewelry store at ground level and residential space above.
“The accident happened due to a short circuit and many people have died,” federal minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader G Kishan Reddy told reporters at the site of the accident.
Director general of Telangana fire services Y Nagi Reddy told reporters that 21 people were in the three-story building when the fire started on the ground floor early on Sunday.
“17 people, who were shifted to the hospital in an unconscious state, could not survive. The staircase was very narrow, which made escape difficult. There was only one exit, and the fire had blocked it,” he said.
The fire was brought under control.
Prime minister Narendra Modi announced financial compensation for the victims’ families and said in a post on X that he was “deeply anguished by the loss of lives.”
Fires are common in India, where building laws and safety norms are often flouted by builders and residents.
PM seeks election win as Portugal campaigning ends
LISBON: Portugal’s general election campaign ends on Friday for a vote that Prime Minister Luis Montenegro is expected to win, but with no guarantee he can form a more stable government.
Montenegro’s center-right Democratic Alliance (AD) coalition is tipped to win 34 percent of the ballot, ahead of the Socialist Party (PS) on 26 percent, according to a poll by the Portuguese Catholic University published by local media on Friday.
The upstart far-right Chega (“Enough“) party could take 19 percent of the vote — almost the same as it did in March 2024 elections — to consolidate its position as Portugal’s third political force and kingmaker.
Montenegro, as a result, risks finding himself again at the head of a minority government, caught between the PS, in power from 2015 to 2024, and Chega, with which he has refused to govern.
“People are fed up with elections, people want stability,” the premier, a 52-year-old lawyer, said during a final rally in Lisbon as he urged voters to give him a stronger mandate this time around.
Sunday’s early election will be Portugal’s third in just over three years.
It was called in March after Montenegro lost a confidence vote in parliament following accusations against him of conflicts of interest stemming from his consulting firm’s business.
As such, “staying in power would already be a good result” for the prime minister, who took a “calculated risk” in the hope of strengthening his parliamentary seat, political commentator Paula Espirito Santo told AFP.
Opinion polls appear to indicate an AD majority is unlikely but Montenegro could win the support of the Liberal Initiative party, which is predicted to secure 6.4 percent of the vote.
The PS candidate, Pedro Nuno Santos, a 48-year-old economist, has accused Montenegro of having engineered the elections “to avoid explaining himself” about his consultancy firm to a parliamentary inquiry.
“We need a change, a prudent one that will guarantee the political stability which Luis Montenegro can no longer provide,” the Socialist candidate said at a final Lisbon rally on Friday.
Faced with the risk of persistent instability, analysts and voters criticized a political class out of touch with voters who are unenthused by the prospect of another ballot.
“I’ve really had enough of all these political games. They don’t do anything for us,” said Maria Pereira, a 53-year-old saleswoman in a working-class district of Lisbon.
“Normally I vote for the small parties but this time I’m not going to waste my time going to vote.”
But Paula Tomas, a 52-year-old dentist, said Montenegro had won her confidence.
“He has the ability to get things done, but he needs time,” she said at an AD rally, waving a white-and-orange ruling party flag.
Under the Socialist Party, Portugal became one of Europe’s most open countries, but Montenegro’s government has since strengthened immigration policy.
Between 2017 and 2024, the number of foreigners living in Portugal quadrupled, reaching about 15 percent of the total population.
Immigration and suspicions about the prime minister might be fertile ground for the far right.
But Chega has also faced embarrassment, including claims that one of its lawmakers in the Azores stole luggage from airport carousels.
Its campaign was interrupted on Tuesday and Thursday when its president, 42-year-old former football commentator Andre Ventura, fell ill while campaigning and was rushed to hospital both times.
He was resting and will not longer appear at the party’s final rally. Instead he released a video message where he once again called for “an end to corruption and uncontrolled immigration.”
All political campaigning has to stop at midnight (2300 GMT Friday) before Sunday’s poll.
