DETROIT, Michigan: US Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday repeated her call for a ceasefire in Israel’s war in Gaza and said it was important to seize the opportunity provided by the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a mastermind of the Oct. 7 attack.
Harris acknowledged challenges ahead but told reporters she would continue to push for an end to the conflict.
“This creates an opening that I believe we must take full advantage of — to dedicate ourselves to ending this war and bringing the hostages home,” she said.
“As it relates to the issues in the Middle East and in particular in that region, it has never been easy. But that doesn’t mean we give up. It’s always going to be difficult. We can’t give up.”
Harris dodged a question on whether Arab American and Muslim anger over US support for Israel’s continued bombardment of Gaza and more recently in Lebanon could cost her the election in the battleground state of Michigan, but said she would continue speaking out about the tragic loss of innocent lives.
“I speak publicly all the time about the fact that there are so many tragic stories coming from Gaza,” Harris said, also referencing the initial Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“What’s critically important as we look at this moment, is ... acknowledging the tragedy of what has happened in Gaza, in terms of the extraordinary number of innocent Palestinians that have been killed, and taking that seriously and speaking truth about that,” she said.
Harris and Trump are essentially tied in the most competitive states like Michigan, with just 17 days until the Nov. 5 election.
Harris will need strong results in the majority non-white cities of Detroit and Atlanta and their surrounding suburbs — both of which have large Arab American and Muslim populations — to repeat US President Joe Biden’s 2020 wins in Michigan and Georgia. Trump won Michigan by 11,000 votes in 2016. In 2020, Biden beat Trump by 155,000 votes.
Harris on Friday won the endorsements of 50 prominent Lebanese-Americans, who said the US had been “unrelenting” in its support for Lebanon under the Biden administration and that they expect additional backing if Harris wins in November.
The endorsement came amid ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon that have killed at least 2,350 people over the last year, according to the Lebanese health ministry, with more than 1.2 million people displaced. Hezbollah attacks have killed 50 Israeli soldiers and civilians, according to Israel.
The death toll has mounted in Gaza after the Oct. 7 attack that killed around 1,200 people, with another 253 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s military response in Gaza has killed more than 42,500 people, Palestinian officials say.
Kamala Harris says she won’t give up pushing for end to Israel-Gaza war
https://arab.news/94n2b
Kamala Harris says she won’t give up pushing for end to Israel-Gaza war
- Harris acknowledged challenges ahead but told reporters she would continue to push for an end to the conflict
- Harris on Friday won the endorsements of 50 prominent Lebanese-Americans, who said the US had been “unrelenting” in its support for Lebanon under the Biden administration
Julio Iglesias accused of sexual assault in Caribbean as Spanish prosecutors study the allegations
- The allegations were related to media reports from earlier this week that alleged Iglesias had sexually and physically assaulted two women
- Women’s Link Worldwide said it was representing the two women who had presented the complaint to the Spanish court
BARCELONA: Spanish prosecutors are studying allegations that Grammy-winning singer Julio Iglesias sexually assaulted two former employees at his residences in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.
The Spanish prosecutors’ office told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the allegations were related to media reports from earlier this week that alleged Iglesias had sexually and physically assaulted two women who worked in his Caribbean residences between January and October 2021.
Iglesias has yet to speak publicly regarding the allegations. Russell L. King, a Miami-based entertainment lawyer who lists Iglesias as a client on his website, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by the AP.
The Spanish prosecutors’ office that handles cases for Spain’s National Court said that it had received formal allegations against Iglesias by an unnamed party on Jan. 5. Iglesias could potentially be taken in front of the Madrid-based court, which can try alleged crimes by Spanish citizens while they are abroad, according to the court’s press office.
Women’s Link Worldwide, a nongovernmental organization, said in a statement that it was representing the two women who had presented the complaint to the Spanish court. The group said that the women were accusing Iglesias of “crimes against sexual freedom and indemnity such as sexual harassment” and of “human trafficking for the purpose of forced labor and servitude.”
Spanish online newspaper elDiario.es and Spanish-language television channel Univision Noticias published the joint investigation into Iglesias’ alleged misconduct.
Spanish government spokeswoman Elma Saiz said that the media reports regarding Iglesias “demanded respect.”
“Once again I can reaffirm this government’s firm and complete commitment to take on any act of violence, harassment or aggression against women,” Saiz said Tuesday after the media reports were published.
Panky Corcino, spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office in the Dominican Republic, declined to comment, saying he couldn’t confirm or deny an investigation.
By law, any case in the Caribbean country that involves sexual aggression or violence must be investigated by prosecutors, even if no one has filed a complaint.
The 82-year-old Iglesias is one of the world’s most successful musical artists after having sold more than 300 million records in more than a dozen languages. After making his start in Spain, he won immense popularity in the United States and wider world in the 1970s and ‘80s. He’s the father of pop singer Enrique Iglesias.
Julio Iglesias won a 1988 Grammy for Best Latin Pop Performance for his album “Un Hombre Solo.” He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys in 2019.
Spain’s culture minister said Wednesday that its left-wing government, which holds women’s rights and equality among its priorities, will also consider stripping Iglesias of the state’s Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts that he was awarded in 2010.
“It is something we are studying and evaluating, because evidently we feel obliged to do so when faced by such a serious case,” Culture Minister Ernest Urtusan said.
