LONDON: The UK’s pro-Palestinian opposition leader has refused to attend a dinner to mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration, according to reports.
The event is due to be attended by Prime Minister Theresa May and her Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.
Jeremy Corbyn rejected an invitation to attend the dinner, which is being held to mark 100 years since the declaration that helped paved the way for the creation of a Jewish state.
Corbyn has asked Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, to attend the dinner in his place, The Sunday Times reported.
A spokesman for Corbyn confirmed to Arab News that he would not attend but that Thornberry would go in his place.
The Balfour Declaration, signed on Nov. 2, 1917, pledged the UK government’s support for a Jewish “national home” in Palestine.
Mark Regev, Israel’s ambassador to London, told The Sunday Times that those who oppose the declaration are “extremists” who reject Israel’s right to exist and could be viewed on a par with terrorist groups such as Hamas.
Regev said a “vocal minority” of British students and academics are intent upon the destruction of Israel.
Yet an Arab News/YouGov poll conducted in August found that only a minority of Brits believe the Balfour Declaration is something to be proud of, with the majority in favor of the UK recognizing Palestine as a state.
The UK government has refused to apologize for the Balfour Declaration, reaffirming instead that it was “proud of its role” in creating the State of Israel.
The Palestinian ambassador to the UK vehemently disagrees with that stance, telling Arab News this month that “the displacement of the Palestinians is a result of that document.”
Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, questioned why government ministers are celebrating Balfour but “are doing nothing to acknowledge the devastating impact it has had on Palestinians.”
He told Arab News that the celebrations over the declaration will “inflame and anger.”
Doyle added: “Jeremy Corbyn is missing the Balfour event but he should be clear about why and not be silent. It should be a strong message that Balfour cannot be celebrated until Palestinian aspirations and rights are met as well.”
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UK opposition leader refuses to attend Balfour dinner
UK opposition leader refuses to attend Balfour dinner
China executes 11 linked to Myanmar scam compounds
- Fraud compounds where scammers lure Internet users have flourished across Southeast Asia
- The 11 people executed Thursday were sentenced to death in September by a court in Wenzhou
BEIJING: China executed 11 people linked telecom scam operations, on Thursday, state media reported, as Beijing toughens its response to the sprawling, transnational industry.
Fraud compounds where scammers lure Internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in the lawless borderlands of Myanmar.
Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world.
Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work.
In recent years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation with regional governments to crack down on the compounds, and thousands of people have been repatriated to face trial in China’s opaque justice system.
The 11 people executed Thursday were sentenced to death in September by a court in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, state news agency Xinhua said, adding that the court also carried out the executions.
Crimes of those executed included “intentional homicide, intentional injury, unlawful detention, fraud and casino establishment,” Xinhua said.
The death sentences were approved by the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing, which found that the evidence produced of crimes committed since 2015 was “conclusive and sufficient,” the report said.
Among the executed were “key members” of the notorious “Ming family criminal group,” whose activities had contributed to the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to “many others,” Xinhua added.
Fighting fraud ‘cancer’
Fraud operations centered in Myanmar’s border regions have extracted billions of dollars from around the world through phone and Internet scams.
Experts say most of the centers are run by Chinese-led crime syndicates working with Myanmar militias.
The fraud activities — and crackdowns by Beijing — are closely followed in China.
Asked about the latest executions, a spokesman for Beijing’s foreign ministry said that “for a while, China has worked with Myanmar and other countries to combat cross-border telecom and Internet fraud.”
“China will continue to deepen international law enforcement cooperation” against “the cancer of gambling and fraud,” spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular press conference.
The September rulings that resulted in Thursday’s executions also included death sentences with two-year reprieves to five other individuals.
Another 23 suspects were given prison sentences ranging from five years to life.
In November, Chinese authorities sentenced five people to death for their involvement in scam operations in Myanmar’s Kokang region.
Their crimes had led to the deaths of six Chinese nationals, according to state media reports.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime warned in April that the cyberscam industry was spreading across the world, including to South America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and some Pacific Islands.
The UN has estimated that hundreds of thousands of people are working in scam centers globally.
Fraud compounds where scammers lure Internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in the lawless borderlands of Myanmar.
Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world.
Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work.
In recent years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation with regional governments to crack down on the compounds, and thousands of people have been repatriated to face trial in China’s opaque justice system.
The 11 people executed Thursday were sentenced to death in September by a court in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, state news agency Xinhua said, adding that the court also carried out the executions.
Crimes of those executed included “intentional homicide, intentional injury, unlawful detention, fraud and casino establishment,” Xinhua said.
The death sentences were approved by the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing, which found that the evidence produced of crimes committed since 2015 was “conclusive and sufficient,” the report said.
Among the executed were “key members” of the notorious “Ming family criminal group,” whose activities had contributed to the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to “many others,” Xinhua added.
Fighting fraud ‘cancer’
Fraud operations centered in Myanmar’s border regions have extracted billions of dollars from around the world through phone and Internet scams.
Experts say most of the centers are run by Chinese-led crime syndicates working with Myanmar militias.
The fraud activities — and crackdowns by Beijing — are closely followed in China.
Asked about the latest executions, a spokesman for Beijing’s foreign ministry said that “for a while, China has worked with Myanmar and other countries to combat cross-border telecom and Internet fraud.”
“China will continue to deepen international law enforcement cooperation” against “the cancer of gambling and fraud,” spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular press conference.
The September rulings that resulted in Thursday’s executions also included death sentences with two-year reprieves to five other individuals.
Another 23 suspects were given prison sentences ranging from five years to life.
In November, Chinese authorities sentenced five people to death for their involvement in scam operations in Myanmar’s Kokang region.
Their crimes had led to the deaths of six Chinese nationals, according to state media reports.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime warned in April that the cyberscam industry was spreading across the world, including to South America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and some Pacific Islands.
The UN has estimated that hundreds of thousands of people are working in scam centers globally.
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