BRUSSELS: Belgian authorities have banned a planned gathering Sunday of far-right figures including the French comic Dieudonne, after it was slammed by Jewish groups as an “anti-Semitic hatefest.”
Citing security risks, the mayor of the Brussels district of Anderlecht banned both the meeting and any street protests connected to it, the Belga news agency reported.
Organizers of the so-called “European Dissidents’ Congress” — a Brussels bookshop and a group called “Debout les Belges!” (Belgians, Rise up!) — had kept its venue secret until the last moment to prevent it from being banned.
It was to bring together a string of controversial far-right figures, including the comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala, who has faced repeated accusations of anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial and incitement to racial hatred.
The Belgian League against anti-Semitism, LBCA, Friday filed a complaint before the Brussels prosecutor against what it called “a day of hate, that would serve as a platform for the worst gathering of anti-Semite authors, theorists and propagandists that our country has seen since the end of World War II.”
The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center rallied behind the calls for a ban, dubbing the event an “anti-Semitic Hatefest.”
“The fact that this hatefest is to be held in Brussels, the capital of Europe, the seat of its Parliament... is a threat to democracy reminiscent of the 1920s Weimar Republic, which brought Europe to the Nazi abyss,” the center’s director for international relations Shimon Samuels warned in a statement.
The leader of “Debout Les Belges!,” far-right lawmaker Laurent Louis, upheld the invitation to the event in spite of the ban.
“Our guests have confirmed they will be coming, and in any event — ban or no ban — you can meet them and spend an unforgettable day,” Louis wrote on his Facebook page.
“Do not give in to pressure and come with your families, in calm and good spirits.”
Belgium bans ‘anti-Semitic hatefest’
Belgium bans ‘anti-Semitic hatefest’
US destroys 4 Houthi drones in Yemen
- CENTCOM: These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition, and merchant vessels
- Prime minister accuses militia of trying to bankrupt the government by attacking oil terminals
AL-MUKALLA: The US Central Command said on Thursday morning, Yemen time, that its forces had destroyed four drones in an area controlled by the Houthi militia, thwarting a strike on ships in international commercial waterways.
“These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition, and merchant vessels,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
This is the latest round of US military operations against sites in Yemen under Houthi control to pre-emptively destroy drones and missiles before they can be used against commercial and navy ships in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden.
The CENTCOM announcement came as Houthi officials reaffirmed their warnings to expand their assaults on ships if Israel did not halt its war in the Gaza Strip.
Mahdi Al-Mashat, leader of the militia’s Supreme Political Council, said that they will launch attacks on ships during the fourth phase of their campaign in support of Palestine, which involves targeting ships in the Mediterranean until Israel ends the war and the blockade of Gaza.
“We have decisive, bold, and difficult choices if the aggression against our people in Gaza continues,” Al-Mashat said, according to the Houthi-run Saba news agency.
The militia’s leader, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, said on Thursday that his forces had fired 211 missiles at Israel and carried out more than 100 attacks on US warships in the Red Sea since the start of their campaign in November.
He urged Iraqis to join them in their operations to support the Palestinian people.
“Companies that transport goods to the Israeli enemy will have their ships attacked anywhere within reach of the Yemeni army's capabilities,” Al-Houthi said.
Since November, the Houthis have destroyed one commercial ship, captured another, and launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at commercial ships and warships along international shipping lanes near Yemen, mostly in the Red Sea.
The Houthis say the attacks are intended to compel Israel to halt its blockade of Gaza, and have targeted US and UK ships because both countries attacked Yemen.
Yemeni government officials accuse the Houthis of leveraging Yemen’s widespread anger over Israel’s war in Gaza to shore up their dwindling popular support, recruit new fighters, and justify continuing military operations throughout Yemen.
Speaking to leaders at the Arab summit in Bahrain on Thursday, Rashad Al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council, branded the Houthis as a “rogue” force that poses a significant danger to regional and international security.
He accused the Houthis of killing more than 500,000 Yemenis, displacing four million more, torching hundreds of homes and mosques, besieging towns, seizing Yemeni property, and generating the world’s greatest humanitarian catastrophe.
“The Yemen war, which was instigated a decade ago by Iran-backed militia, will continue to be one of the biggest challenges to Arab nations and their people’s interests,” Al-Alimi said.
At the same time, Yemen’s Prime Minister Ahmed Awadh bin Mubarak accused the Houthis of attempting to bankrupt his government by attacking oil terminals in the government-controlled provinces of Hadramout and Shabwa, preventing traders from importing goods through Aden ports, while banning the import of gas from the central city of Marib.
He said that the Houthis’ efforts, which he described as an economic war, had cost the Yemeni government 3.3 trillion Yemeni riyals ($13.2 billion) in lost income since October 2022.
“The Houthis are using all of their cards, including the economic war, to accomplish political goals,” bin Mubarak said in an interview with the national TV on Wednesday.
Biden makes new outreach to Black voters as support slips
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden is trying to shore up his support among vital Black voters with a days-long series of events starting Thursday, including a visit to the former university of civil rights icon Martin Luther King.
Democrat Biden relied on African-American voters to help him beat Donald Trump in 2020, but some polls show they are increasingly deserting him ahead of November’s rematch with the Republican.
On Thursday Biden, 81, marked the 70th anniversary of a famous US Supreme Court ruling that overturned racial segregation in schools by meeting with key figures in the case in the Oval Office.
They included Adrienne Jennings Bennett, one of the plaintiffs in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case that proved a milestone for the US civil rights movement, and Cheryl Brown Henderson, a daughter of plaintiff Oliver Brown.
Biden “recognized that back in the 40s and 50s ... the folks that you see here were taking a risk when they signed up to be part of this case,” Henderson said after the meeting.
On Friday Biden visits the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington to give remarks to celebrate the anniversary of the Brown decision.
Later on Friday Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris — the first Black, South Asian and female “veep” in US history — will meet leaders from nine historically Black sororities and fraternities.
Biden is honoring “the legacy of those who paved the way for progress and hard-fought rights for Black Americans,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“He will also highlight his vision for how we must continue to build on these freedoms,” added Jean-Pierre, who is the first Black person to serve in the role.
Then on Sunday Biden will address students at the historically Black Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, whose most famous former student is civil rights leader King.
Biden has a bust of King in the Oval Office in a sign of his support for racial equality, which he frequently contrasts with what he says is racially insensitive and anti-immigrant language by his rival Trump.
His visit to Morehouse is politically sensitive, however, as US campuses and graduation ceremonies have recently been disrupted by widespread protests against Biden’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
A senior White House official recently met students and faculty members at Morehouse to discuss objections to Biden delivering the commencement address, NBC News reported.
Biden’s outreach to Black voters comes days after a New York Times/Siena poll showed that in addition to trailing Trump in several key battleground states, he is also losing ground with African Americans.
Trump is winning more than 20 percent of Black voters in the poll — which would be the highest level of Black support for a Republican presidential candidate since the Civil Rights Act was enacted in 1964, The New York Times said.
Several other polls have also shown Biden’s support lagging among Black voters.
But a participant in Thursday’s White House gathering, Derrick Johnson, president of the country’s major civil rights organization NAACP, disputed the narrative that there has been “an erosion” of support among Black voters, and said polls have been wrong in several recent elections.
“I hope that the American public recognizes in order for us to remain a leading democracy we must participate at the highest level,” he said.
In 2020, Black voters were overwhelmingly loyal to the Democratic Party, with 92 percent voting for Biden and only eight percent for Trump, according to the Pew Research Center.
Israel army says two Thai hostages held in Gaza are dead
- There are now six Thai hostages being held in Gaza
JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said Thursday that two Thai hostages earlier believed to be alive in Gaza were killed in the October 7 attack and their bodies are being held in the Palestinian territory.
“We informed the families of two kidnapped Thai citizens, who worked in agriculture in the plantations near Kibbutz Beeri, that they were murdered in the terrorist attack on October 7 and their bodies are being held by Hamas,” said army spokesman Daniel Hagari.
There are now six Thai hostages being held in Gaza, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Thailand has about 30,000 citizens in Israel, most of whom work in the agricultural sector.
Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s military retaliation has killed at least 35,272 people, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
Deputy PM Dar invites Chinese entrepreneurs to set up labor-intensive industries in Pakistan
- Deputy PM Dar delivers keynote address at Pakistan-China Roundtable Conference in Beijing
- Dar says Pakistan offers “attractive incentives” in exchange for setting up industrial units in country
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday invited Chinese entrepreneurs to establish labor-intensive industries in Pakistan, state-run Radio Pakistan reported, as Islamabad seeks foreign investment to bolster its fragile $350 billion economy.
Dar arrived in Beijing on May 13 to co-chair the fifth round of the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue with his counterpart Wang Yi.
The deputy prime minister undertook the visit to bolster relations with China, assure Beijing that Pakistan would enhance the security of Chinese nationals and hold key meetings with business officials and entrepreneurs there.
“Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has invited Chinese entrepreneurs to take advantage of the investment-friendly policies and set up labor-intensive industry in Pakistan,” Radio Pakistan reported.
Dar made these comments during his keynote address at the Pakistan-China Roundtable Conference in Beijing. The deputy prime minister said Islamabad had expedited the construction of special economic zones in the country and offers “attractive incentives” to establish different industrial units in the country.
“He said the government has worked out 13 key areas having great potential for Chinese and Pakistani entrepreneurs to establish industry on ownership basis or through joint venture with Pakistani business people,” the state-run media said.
Separately, the minister met Wu Fulin, chairman of China’s EXIM bank to discuss its long-standing cooperation with Pakistan and the bank’s interest in conducting future investments in the South Asian country.
“Ishaq Dar particularly noted the stellar performance of the Pakistan Stock Exchange and renewed confidence of international investors in Pakistan’s economy,” Radio Pakistan said.
Dar invited the bank to explore new financing projects in Pakistan in renewable energy, agriculture, industrialization, and industrial sectors.
Beijing has been one of Islamabad’s most reliable foreign partners in recent years, readily providing financial assistance to bail out its often-struggling neighbor. In July last year, China granted Pakistan a two-year rollover on a $2.4 billion loan, giving the debt-saddled nation much-needed breathing space as it tackled a balance-of-payments crisis.
China has invested over $65 billion in energy and infrastructure projects as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The project is part of President Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. CPEC is designed to provide China with a shorter and safer trading route to the Middle East and beyond through Pakistan.
Dar’s visit comes amid Pakistan’s recent push for foreign investment, with Islamabad seeing a flurry of high-level exchanges from diplomats and business delegations in recent weeks from Saudi Arabia, Japan, Azerbaijan, Qatar and other countries.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has vowed to rid the country of its chronic macroeconomic crisis through foreign investment and efficient handling of the economy.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Chinese Espresso’ by Grazia Ting Deng
Italians regard espresso as a quintessentially Italian cultural product—so much so that Italy has applied to add Italian espresso to UNESCO’s official list of intangible heritages of humanity. In this book, Grazia Ting Deng explores the paradox of “Chinese Espresso”— the fact that this most distinctive Italian social and cultural tradition is being preserved by Chinese immigrants and their racially diverse clientele.
