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Trump and Republicans closer than Democrats to Muslims, head of pro-Trump Arab group claims

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Updated 22 August 2024

Trump and Republicans closer than Democrats to Muslims, head of pro-Trump Arab group claims

Trump and Republicans closer than Democrats to Muslims, head of pro-Trump Arab group claims
  • Chair of Arab Americans for Trump argues Biden-Harris administration helped fund and fuel Israeli military campaign in Gaza but Trump would bring conflict to an end
  • Arabs and Muslims need to look past the political rhetoric and previous differences and engage with Trump, rather than boycott him, to achieve their goals, he says

CHICAGO: Despite some “differences” and “misunderstandings” in the past, Donald Trump and the Republican Party are much more closely aligned than the Democrats with the Arab and Muslim community in the US, in terms of understanding its values and needs, a leading pro-Trump Arab American advocate claimed.

During a recording of “The Ray Hanania Radio Show,” Bishara Bahbah, chairperson of Arab Americans for Trump, said the community must overcome its anger and emotion about Trump’s previous rhetoric to “take their place at the table” and recognize that the Biden-Harris administration, and Democrats in general, have “funded and fueled” the killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces in Gaza.

Bahbah said his organization — leading members of which include Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump’s youngest daughter, Tiffany; Richard Grenell, a former acting director of national intelligence in the Trump administration; and Alina Habba, Trump’s attorney — believes Arabs and Muslims should not only support the Republican Party but “engage” with Trump to help bring an end the carnage in Gaza and achieve peace in the Middle East that includes a two-state solution.

“They (the Democrats) have been the ones who have incessantly provided arms to Israel,” he said during the taping of the show, which will broadcast on Thursday, Aug. 22, and Monday, Aug. 26, in Michigan on radio station WNZK 690 AM. “Those arms, whether they are a bullet or a 2,000-pound bomb have killed Palestinians in Gaza, over 40,000.

“That is a crime against humanity and the United States, and primarily the Biden-Harris administration, have been complicit in that. Without those arms being provided to Israel, the war would have ended a long time ago.”

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have “broken their promises” to the Arab and Muslim community but, despite “misunderstandings,” Trump has always been “upfront and honest,” Bahbah argued. The former president “supports an end to the conflict in Gaza, an end to all violence and the achieving of a two-state solution through peaceful means,” he added.

Trump, Bahbah claimed, was moved by a letter he received from Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on July 14, the day after an attempt by a gunman to kill Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, in which the Palestinian leader expressed outrage at the attempted assassination, writing: “Acts of violence must not have a place in a world of law and order.”

Bahbah said that the fact the Palestinian president sent Trump a letter wishing him well was important because it showed that the Palestinian leadership would be willing to reengage with a Trump administration.

“It shows that going forward they will not leave a void,” he said. “They will not allow a clown like (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu to be toying around with what he thought was his playing field in the Trump administration.

“I think that is a very important point, not just for the Palestinian government but also for Arab Americans. We cannot pout at what politicians say. We have to accept the realities on the ground.

“The message has been all along, be engaged. If you are engaged and your voices are heard and your support is shown, then you will get a seat at the table and your voice will be heard. That is the message we have been conveying to the Arab and Muslim American community.”

Bahbah acknowledged that Trump’s approach to some issues had proved to be controversial but said they had been “misunderstood outside of the context of the political circumstances in which they have been made.”

He argued that criticism of Trump’s rhetoric is different from that of the genocide that has taken place in Gaza under the Biden-Harris administration’s watch.

“On one hand you’ve got Arab and Muslim Americans enraged at the Biden-Harris administration over the complicity and killing of 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, and the injuring of over 105,000 thus far. On one hand, they are enraged,” he said.

“On the other hand, we are trying to tell them President Trump wants to see an end to the hostilities. President Trump wants to see an end to the killing of civilians. And he wants to see a peace process that leads to a two-state solution.”

You can hear the full interview with Bishara Bahbah on Thursday, Aug. 22 at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on WNZK AM 690 radio in Michigan, or online at ArabNews.com/RayRadioShow.


Trump says Mexico, EU to face 30% tariff from August 1

Trump says Mexico, EU to face 30% tariff from August 1
Updated 2 sec ago

Trump says Mexico, EU to face 30% tariff from August 1

Trump says Mexico, EU to face 30% tariff from August 1
  • Cites Mexico’s role in illicit drugs flowing into the United States and a trade imbalance with the EU respectively
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 30 percent tariff on key US trading partners Mexico and the European Union, ramping up pressure for deals in his trade wars.
Both sets of duties would take effect August 1, Trump said in separate letters posted to his Truth Social platform, citing Mexico’s role in illicit drugs flowing into the United States and a trade imbalance with the EU respectively.

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh increasingly at risk as aid nears collapse

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh increasingly at risk as aid nears collapse
Updated 31 min 36 sec ago

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh increasingly at risk as aid nears collapse

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh increasingly at risk as aid nears collapse
  • Nearly 150,000 new Rohingya refugees have arrived in Cox’s Bazar over the past 18 months
  • Without additional funding, critical food assistance will stop by December, UNHCR says

DHAKA: Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are at heightened risk of losing access to essential services, the UN refugee agency has warned as it struggles to secure adequate funding.

Bangladesh hosts more than 1.3 million Rohingya on its southeast coast, who are cramped inside 33 camps in Cox’s Bazar — the world’s largest refugee settlement.

Nearly 150,000 of them have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine State over the past 18 months in what has become the largest influx since 2017, when some 750,000 Rohingya crossed to neighboring Bangladesh to escape a deadly crackdown by Myanmar’s military, which the UN has been referring to as a textbook case of ethnic cleansing.

“With the acute global funding crisis, the critical needs of both newly arrived refugees and those already present will be unmet, and essential services for the whole Rohingya refugee population are at risk of collapsing,” the UNHCR said in a statement issued on Friday.

Only 35 percent of UNHCR’s $255 million appeal for the Rohingya has been funded.

Unless the agency secures additional funds, health services for the Rohingya population in Bangladesh will be “severely disrupted by September and essential cooking fuel, or LPG, will run out. By December, food assistance will stop.”

Severe aid cuts from major donors, such as the US under President Donald Trump and other Western countries, have had a major impact on the humanitarian sector.

The education of Rohingya children has already been impacted, as the UN’s children agency UNICEF was forced to suspend thousands of learning centers in Cox’s Bazar last month, worsening an education crisis for about 437,000 school-age children in the camps.

“The funding crisis for the Rohingyas is in a very dire state now. The health sector is next, as it is hit hard by the fund crunch. Many of the health centers have suspended their services that severely impacted thousands of pregnant women, lactating mothers, newborn babies and children,” Mizanur Rahman, refugee relief and repatriation commissioner in Cox’s Bazar, told Arab News on Saturday.

Bangladesh has not been able to arrange new shelters for the newly arrived Rohingya, with most of them now living with relatives who arrived earlier, he added.

“Site management, which covers the water and sanitation issues, is also reeling. Shelter management is facing a bad situation,” Rahman said.

“The ongoing crisis may force the Rohingyas to complete desperation.”


Russia’s Lavrov meets North Korea’s Kim, praises ties as ‘invincible brotherhood’

Russia’s Lavrov meets North Korea’s Kim, praises ties as ‘invincible brotherhood’
Updated 12 July 2025

Russia’s Lavrov meets North Korea’s Kim, praises ties as ‘invincible brotherhood’

Russia’s Lavrov meets North Korea’s Kim, praises ties as ‘invincible brotherhood’
  • Relations between the two countries deepened during the conflict in Ukraine
  • North Korea has agreed to dispatch 6,000 military engineers and builders for reconstruction in Russia’s Kursk region

SEOUL: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the coastal city of Wonsan on Saturday, where he described the two nations’ relations as “an invincible fighting brotherhood,” Russia’s foreign ministry said. The ministry quoted Lavrov as saying that the visit represented the continuation of “strategic dialogue” between the two sides inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea last year.

In a message passed on by Lavrov, Putin said that he hoped for more direct contacts in future, TASS news agency reported.

Lavrov, the ministry said, also thanked North Korea for the troops it had sent to Russia.

Relations between the two countries deepened during the conflict in Ukraine. Thousands of North Korean troops were deployed during the months-long campaign to oust Ukrainian forces from Russia’s Kursk region, while Pyongyang has also supplied Russia with munitions. Lavrov also met with his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son Hui, TASS reported.

Lavrov arrived in Wonsan on Friday from Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur following the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting. Home to a newly opened seaside resort, Wonsan is also known for its missile and naval facilities.

Lavrov’s visit is the latest high-level meeting between the two countries as they upgrade their strategic cooperation to now include a mutual defense pact.

“We exchanged views on the situation surrounding the Ukrainian crisis ... Our Korean friends confirmed their firm support for all the objectives of the special military operation, as well as for the actions of the Russian leadership and armed forces,” TASS quoted Lavrov as saying.

It also quoted his deputy Andrei Rudenko as saying more high-level delegations would visit North Korea later this year.

The South Korean intelligence service has said North Korea may be preparing to deploy more troops in July or August, after sending more than 10,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russia in the war against Ukraine.

North Korea has agreed to dispatch 6,000 military engineers and builders for reconstruction in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched a mass cross-border incursion nearly a year ago.

Russian news agencies said after North Korea, Lavrov was due to travel to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

TASS said the new Wonsan coastal resort could boost Russian tourism to North Korea, citing the resumption of direct trains from Moscow to Pyongyang and a project to build a bridge across the Tumen River forming part of the boundary between North Korea, China and Russia.


Sand and dust storms affect about 330 million people in over 150 countries, UN agency says

Sand and dust storms affect about 330 million people in over 150 countries, UN agency says
Updated 12 July 2025

Sand and dust storms affect about 330 million people in over 150 countries, UN agency says

Sand and dust storms affect about 330 million people in over 150 countries, UN agency says
  • More than 80 percent of the world’s dust comes from the deserts in North Africa and the Middle East
  • About 2 billion tons of dust are emitted yearly, equivalent to 300 Great Pyramids of Giza

UNITED NATIONS: Sand and dust storms affect about 330 million people in over 150 countries and are taking an increasing toll on health, economies and the environment, the UN World Meteorological Organization says.

“About 2 billion tons of dust are emitted yearly, equivalent to 300 Great Pyramids of Giza” in Egypt, the organization’s UN representative, Laura Paterson, told the General Assembly.

More than 80 percent of the world’s dust comes from the deserts in North Africa and the Middle East, she said, but it has a global impact because the particles can travel hundreds and even thousands of kilometers (miles) across continents and oceans.

The General Assembly was marking the International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms on Saturday and its designation of 2025 to 2034 as the UN decade on combating sand and dust storms.

Assembly President Philemon Yang said the storms “are fast becoming one of the most overlooked yet far-reaching global challenges of our time.”

“They are driven by climate change, land degradation and unsustainable practices,” he said.

Yang, in a speech Thursday that was read by an assembly vice president, said airborne particles from sand and dust storms contribute to 7 million premature deaths every year. He said they trigger respiratory and cardiovascular disease, and reduce crop yields by up to 25 percent, causing hunger and migration.

Undersecretary-General Rola Dashti, head of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, told the assembly the storms’ economic costs are “staggering.”

In the Middle East and North Africa, the annual cost of dealing with dust and sandstorms is $150 billion, roughly 2.5 percent of GDP, she said.

“This spring alone, the Arab region experienced acute disruption,” Dashti said, citing severe storms in Iraq that overwhelmed hospitals with respiratory cases and storms in Kuwait and Iran that forced schools and offices to close.

Dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa has reached as far as the Caribbean and Florida, she said.

Dashti, who also co-chairs the UN Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms, said over 20 UN and international agencies are working to unite efforts on early warning systems for storms and to deal with other issues, including health and financing.

She urged all countries to put sand and dust storms into global and national agendas.

“From land restoration and sustainable agriculture to integrated early warning systems, we have the tools to act,” Dashti said. “What we need now is collective determination and financing to bring these solutions to scale.”


More than 20 civilians killed in Myanmar air strike on monastery: witnesses

More than 20 civilians killed in Myanmar air strike on monastery: witnesses
Updated 12 July 2025

More than 20 civilians killed in Myanmar air strike on monastery: witnesses

More than 20 civilians killed in Myanmar air strike on monastery: witnesses
  • Myanmar has been consumed by civil war since the military ousted a democratic government in 2021
  • A local resident confirmed that the Buddhist monastery hall was ‘completely destroyed’

BANGKOK: More than 20 civilians, including children, were killed after a recent air strike on a monastery in central Myanmar, an anti-junta fighter and a resident said Saturday.

Myanmar has been consumed by civil war since the military ousted a democratic government in 2021, and central Sagaing region has been particularly hard-hit, with the junta pummeling villages with air strikes targeting armed groups.

The most recent occurred around 1:00 am Friday in Lin Ta Lu village when “the monastery hall where internally displaced people were staying” was hit with an air strike, said an anti-junta fighter, who requested anonymity for safety reasons.

He said that 22 people were killed, including three children, while two were wounded and remained in critical condition at the hospital.

“They had thought it was safe to stay at a Buddhist monastery,” the anti-junta fighter said. “But they were bombed anyway.”

Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.

A local resident confirmed that the monastery hall was “completely destroyed,” adding that he saw some bodies loaded into a car and transported to a cemetery at dawn on Friday after the air strike.

He said when he went to the cemetery to take photos to help with identifying the dead, he counted 22 bodies.

“Many of the bodies had head wounds or were torn apart. It was sad to see,” said the resident, who also asked to remain anonymous.

Sagaing region was the epicenter of a devastating magnitude-7.7 quake in March, which left nearly 3,800 people dead and tens of thousands homeless.

After the quake, there was a purported truce between the junta and armed groups, but air strikes and fighting have continued, according to conflict monitors.

In May, an air strike on a school in the village of Oe Htein Kwin in Sagaing killed 20 students and two teachers.