Arab American voters in Michigan worried about Gaza, economy

Clockwise, from top left: Samra’a Luqman, Osama Siblani, Soujoud Hamade and Merwan Beydoun. (AFP photos)
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Updated 25 August 2024
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Arab American voters in Michigan worried about Gaza, economy

DEARBORN, Michigan: As the United States hurtles toward a presidential election this November between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump, AFP has been taking the temperature in key counties of seven battleground states.
Wayne County, Michigan is steeped in history and influence — it is home to Detroit, the “Motor City” and the birthplace of Motown. It also boasts a significant Arab American population that could play a key role in the election.
Voters were asked two key questions: “What matters most to you in casting your vote?” and “What are your biggest fears for the country?“
Here’s what five people in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn had to say:

• Samra’a Luqman, a progressive activist and member of the Abandon Biden campaign in Michigan, said what matters most to her in this election is “holding a politician accountable for a genocide.”
“My biggest fear is that we fail to hold Biden accountable for aiding, abetting and committing this genocide, and that future politicians and presidents know that there is no red line when it comes to genocide. That’s my biggest fear,” she said.

• Hamzah Nasser moved to the United States from Yemen as a young child and is now CEO of the Haraz Coffee House chain.
“What matters to me the most is a president who wants to rebuild the economy in the United States and create more jobs, just like us as entrepreneurs,” Nasser told AFP.
“The best thing about what I do is creating jobs and giving back to the community and to the economy and this country overall,” he said.
“My biggest fear is a war that expands and where more terrorists are born out of it — and when I say terrorists, it could be homegrown terrorists or abroad,” Nasser added.
“The US has so much concern about other countries and what happens in other countries. And they don’t pay attention to this country, and a lot of the school shootings and crimes and domestic terrorists that are here in this country.”




For Hamzah Nasser, what matters most is "a president who wants to rebuild the economy in the United States and create more jobs." (AFP)

• Merwan Beydoun works at the Cleveland-Cliffs steel mill and is a member of the United Auto Workers union.
When asked what was most important in the upcoming election, Beydoun said: “I don’t think I have one thing. I think I have a multiple of equal things that will matter to me. And I believe the Middle East conflict is one of them. And I believe that the support for the union is another one.”
As for his biggest fear, Beydoun said it would be “if the elected officials in Congress or the president or vice president don’t see the concerns of the American people and act on them.”

• Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News newspaper said foremost on his mind for the election was “Gaza, killing Palestinians, killing children, murdering people.”
“My biggest fear is my country is going downhill very fast — ethically, morally, economically, socially. Divided. It’s very scary,” he told AFP.

• Soujoud Hamade is an attorney and founding partner at HNH Law Group.
“What will matter the most to me in the presidential election when I vote in November is the candidates’ stance on international policy and whether or not they have a humanitarian stance toward what is happening in Gaza, and in the West Bank, and in Lebanon and Syria,” she said.
“My biggest fear for my country is that we will go down in history as a country that supported a genocide against innocent civilians, and that we will become the social pariahs of the world for not standing up against this genocide.”
 


Renowned Kenyan human rights activist arrested

Updated 19 July 2025
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Renowned Kenyan human rights activist arrested

  • “The police have come to our home and are taking my husband, talking of terrorism and arson!” his wife said
  • Hussein Khalid, director of rights group Vocal Africa, confirmed the arrest on X

NAIROBI: Kenyan human rights campaigner Boniface Mwangi was arrested at his home in the east African country, the latest in a long series of arrests, his wife and an NGO said on Saturday.

The prominent activist and former photojournalist has been detained on many occasions, including in May when he was abducted in Tanzania and allegedly tortured by security forces over several days.

“The police have come to our home and are taking my husband, talking of terrorism and arson! They’ve taken his gadgets and said they are taking him to DCI HQ,” said his wife Njeri Mwangi on X, referring to the headquarters of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.


The announcement of the arrest, with no clear accusations so far, quickly sparked a wave of condemnation on social media.

Hussein Khalid, director of rights group Vocal Africa, confirmed the arrest on X and said he was following the case “to understand the reasons” for the detention.

The hashtag #FreeBonifaceMwangi was circulating widely on social media.

On May 19, Mwangi was arrested along with award-winning Ugandan journalist and activist Agather Atuhaire in Tanzania’s economic capital, Dar es Salaam.

They were in the country to offer support to Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu, facing a potential death sentence in a treason trial, ahead of elections in October.

They were detained for several days and both accused police officers of acts of torture and sexual assault, and this week filed a case with the East African Court of Justice (EACJ).

Since the beginning of a large protest movement in Kenya in June 2024, President William Ruto has faced sharp criticism over a series of abductions and police violence.

Human rights organization allege that more than 100 people have been killed since the beginning of last year’s anti-government rallies, which were harshly suppressed.

Protests on July 7 were the deadliest in a year, with at least 38 deaths, including a 12-year-old girl.


UK govt facing legal action over refusal to evacuate sick children from Gaza

Updated 19 July 2025
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UK govt facing legal action over refusal to evacuate sick children from Gaza

  • Lawsuit against Foreign Office, Home Office revolves around three children requiring treatment 
  • UK govt says that it already contributes significant sums to aid children in Gaza

LONDON: The UK government is facing a legal challenge over its decision not to medically evacuate critically ill Palestinian children from Gaza, amid mounting pressure from campaigners and humanitarian groups, it was reported on Saturday.

According to a report by The Guardian, the legal action, which has been brought by law firm Leigh Day on behalf of three young children, will argue that British ministers have failed to account for the dire lack of medical options in Gaza, where thousands remain in urgent need of life-saving treatment.

The UK government has already supported healthcare for over half a million people in the Palestinian territories, including through field hospitals and medical supplies, and has facilitated access to the UK for some children through privately funded initiatives.

However, the claimants argue that current arrangements fall short of addressing the humanitarian emergency.

“The UK government has explained its failure to facilitate medical evacuations from Gaza on the basis that it supports treatment options in Gaza and the surrounding region and that there are visas available for privately funded medical treatment in the UK. However, these mechanisms are profoundly inadequate to meet the urgent needs of children in Gaza,” said Carolin Ott, the Leigh Day lawyer leading the legal action.

The case has been filed against both the Foreign Office and the Home Office, and revolves around three children, one aged two, and two siblings aged five, who require urgent medical attention unavailable in Gaza.

The two-year-old, referred to as Child Y, suffers from an arteriovenous malformation in his cheek, which causes daily bleeding and has left him in critical condition.

The other two children, both known as Child S, have the chronic kidney condition cystinosis nephropathy that has already led to kidney failure. One of the siblings can no longer walk, according to The Guardian report.

Campaigners say the UK’s current approach contrasts strongly with its actions in other conflicts, notably its evacuation of children during the Bosnian war and, more recently, from Ukraine.

The government, however, points to its ongoing humanitarian contributions, including a £7.5 million ($10 million) medical support package announced in May, as well as its support for Project Pure Hope, a UK-based initiative that successfully arranged for two children from Gaza to receive treatment in Britain earlier this year.

“We have helped several children with complex paediatric conditions access privately funded medical care in the UK, supporting an initiative by Project Pure Hope,” a government spokesperson said.

Legal documents submitted as part of the action reportedly indicate that Project Pure Hope requested the establishment of a UK-funded evacuation route from Gaza for medical cases, but that request was declined.

A spokesperson for the government added: “We have been clear the situation in Gaza is intolerable and that there must be an immediate ceasefire. We urge Israel to let vital humanitarian aid in and allow Gazans to receive urgent healthcare, including allowing the sick and wounded to temporarily leave the Gaza Strip to receive treatment.”

According to health officials in Gaza, more than 17,000 of the 58,000 Palestinians killed since Oct. 7, 2023, have been children.

The World Health Organization estimates that up to 12,500 patients in Gaza require evacuation for treatment.

As of April 10, over 7,200 patients had been moved out of the territory to destinations including Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, the EU, and the US. Nearly 5,000 of those evacuated were children.

Dr. Hani Isleem, project coordinator for Medecins Sans Frontieres, which has helped evacuate 22 patients, said that international reluctance to do more remained a serious obstacle.

“Some countries are reluctant to take in patients, fearing they might be perceived as facilitating ‘forced migration’ or as taking on the burden of the patients’ extended stay,” he said.

The UK government has until July 28 to respond to the legal pre-action letter, The Guardian’s report added.


Ukraine proposes fresh peace talks with Russia next week

Updated 19 July 2025
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Ukraine proposes fresh peace talks with Russia next week

  • Zelensky said: “The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up”
  • “A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace — lasting peace”

KYIV: Kyiv has proposed to Moscow a new round of peace talks next week, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday, after negotiations stalled in early June.

Two rounds of talks in Istanbul between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to result in any progress toward a ceasefire, instead yielding large-scale prisoner exchanges and deals to return the bodies of killed soldiers.

“Security Council Secretary Umerov also reported that he had proposed the next meeting with the Russian side for next week,” Zelensky said in his evening address. “The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up,” he added.

Zelensky reiterated his readiness to have a face-to-face sitdown with Putin. “A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace — lasting peace,” he said.

At talks last month, Russia outlined a list of hard-line demands, including calls for Ukraine to cede more territory and to reject all forms of Western military support.

Kyiv dismissed them as unacceptable and at the time questioned the point of further negotiations if Moscow was not willing to make concessions.

The Kremlin said earlier this month it was ready to continue talks with Ukraine after US President Donald Trump gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal or face sanctions.

Trump also pledged to supply Kyiv with new military aid, sponsored by NATO allies, as its cities suffer ever-increasing Russian aerial attacks.

Russian strikes on Ukraine claimed another three lives Saturday.


Police arrest more than 50 Palestine Action demonstrators in London

Updated 19 July 2025
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Police arrest more than 50 Palestine Action demonstrators in London

  • Protests against ban on group held across the UK including in Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol
  • Hearing into legal challenge to the group’s terrorism designation to be held Monday

LONDON: More than 50 protesters have been arrested in central London supporting the banned group Palestine Action. 

Protests were held across the UK on Saturday, including in Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol after the group was outlawed as a terrorist organization.

The main demonstration was in Parliament Square in Westminster, where numerous people held up signs reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”

Supporting a proscribed group in the UK is illegal. The protesters in London were detained under Section 13 of the UK’s Terrorism Act, which carries a possible jail term of six years.

On X the Metropolitan Police stated: “55 people were arrested in Parliament Square for displaying placards in support of Palestine Action which is a proscribed group.”

Eight people were also arrested in Truro, Cornwall for a similar protest. Several others were detained in Manchester.

Defend Our Juries, the group behind the protests, said before the demonstrations that 120 people in the UK had been arrested for supporting Palestine Action so far.

The group was banned after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base at Brize Norton on June 20, causing an estimated £7 million ($9.38 million) of damage to military aircraft.

Membership of direct support for Palestine Action now carries a prison term of up to 14 years. Displaying the group’s name on clothing could lead to a six-month jail sentence.

A hearing into a permission to bring a judicial review into the ban will be held at the High Court in London on Monday.


Tourist boat capsizes during a thunderstorm in Vietnam, leaving 34 dead, 8 people remain missing

Updated 19 July 2025
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Tourist boat capsizes during a thunderstorm in Vietnam, leaving 34 dead, 8 people remain missing

  • The Wonder Sea boat was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members
  • Rescue workers saved 11 people, and recovered the dead near the site of the capsizing

HA LONG BAY, Vietnam: A boat carrying tourists capsized during a sudden thunderstorm in Vietnam on Saturday afternoon during a sightseeing excursion, killing 34 people, state media reported. Eight others remain missing.

The Wonder Sea boat was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members — all of them Vietnamese — during the tour of Ha Long Bay, a popular destination for visitors, according to the reports.

Rescue workers saved 11 people, and recovered the dead near the site of the capsizing, VNExpress newspaper said. Twenty-three people remain missing. Authorities had earlier reported that 12 people had been rescued, but later revised the figure to 11.

The boat turned upside down because of strong winds, the newspaper said. A 14-year-old boy was among the survivors, and he was rescued four hours after being trapped in the overturned hull.

The newspaper said that most of the passengers were tourists, including about 20 children, from Hanoi, the country’s capital.

A tropical storm is also moving toward the area. A national weather forecast said that Storm Wipha is expected to hit Vietnam’s northern region, including Ha Long Bay’s coast next week.