Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who sought Scotland’s independence from UK, dies at 69

Scotland's former leader and figurehead of the independence movement Alex Salmond has died at the age of 69, members of the Scottish National Party (SNP) that he led for 10 years said Oct. 12, 2024. (AFP)
Scotland's former leader and figurehead of the independence movement Alex Salmond has died at the age of 69, members of the Scottish National Party (SNP) that he led for 10 years said Oct. 12, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 12 October 2024
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Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who sought Scotland’s independence from UK, dies at 69

Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who sought Scotland’s independence from UK, dies at 69
  • Died in North Macedonia lake-resort town of Ohrid where he was delivering speech at conference, local media reported

LONDON: Alex Salmond, the former first minister of Scotland who for decades championed Scotland’s independence from the UK, has died. He was 69.
Salmond, who was a divisive figure in British politics and who as the then leader of the Scottish National Party took Scotland to the brink of independence in a 2014 referendum, died in the North Macedonia lake-resort town of Ohrid, local media reported.
“Unfortunately, Alex Salmond, the former first minister of Scotland who was one of the panellists at yesterday’s cultural diplomacy forum that was held in Ohrid, died suddenly today,” according to a statement from the office of former North Macedonia President Gjorgje Ivanov.
Tributes poured in from across the political spectrum, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the Labour Party calling him a “monumental figure” of both Scottish and British politics.
“He leaves behind a lasting legacy,” Starmer said. “As first minister of Scotland, he cared deeply about Scotland’s heritage, history and culture, as well as the communities he represented.”
Salmond served as first minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014, and was leader of the Scottish National Party on two occasions, from 1990 to 2000, and from 2004 to 2014. Salmond, as then leader of the Scottish National Party, led the independence campaign in the referendum in 2014, but lost, gaining 45 percent of the vote. Salmond resigned from the SNP in 2018 in the wake of sexual harassment allegations.
He subsequently formed a new party called Alba — the Scottish Gaelic word for Scotland — and was acquitted of the charges.
The current SNP first minister, John Swinney, said that he was “deeply shocked and saddened at the untimely death” of Salmond.
“Over many years, Alex made an enormous contribution to political life, not just within Scotland, but across the UK and beyond,” he said. “He took the Scottish National Party from the fringes of Scottish politics into government and led Scotland so close to becoming an independent country.”
Former UK Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that Salmond was a “huge figure in our politics.”
Salmond said that he learned to dream of a better Scotland at his grandfather’s knee, and chose to join the SNP at university in 1973 when his English girlfriend poked too much fun at his separatist sentiments.
Salmond’s academic and professional background prepared him to become Scotland’s most economically optimistic and visionary politician. At St. Andrew’s University. he double-majored in medieval history, reflecting his love of a Caledonia lost, and economics. In his 20s, he worked as an economist first for Britain’s regional government in Scotland and then at the Royal Bank of Scotland, where he analyzed the country’s most dynamic industry, North Sea oil.
He won a seat in the UK Parliament in 1987, and within three years was party leader. He supported Tony Blair’s Labour government in the late 1990s to create a devolved Scottish parliament in Edinburgh, a reform that stopped short of independence, but gave his homeland a taste of self-government for the first time since its 1707 union with England.
Salmond then had a very public forum to push his dream of full independence forward — his government had an array of powers especially on social issues — and managed to convince the government of Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron to call a referendum. Up until the results were known, it had been considered a close call.
Though the independence campaign lost, Salmond’s SNP managed to capitalize its support and has dominated Scottish politics since. The SNP has been the Edinburgh-based government since, though it suffered a huge setback in this year’s UK-wide general election, when it lost a vast majority of the seats it held in the House of Commons to Labour. The next Scottish election is due to take place in 2026.


Air defense units trying to repel Russian air attack on Kyiv, mayor says

Air defense units trying to repel Russian air attack on Kyiv, mayor says
Updated 6 sec ago
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Air defense units trying to repel Russian air attack on Kyiv, mayor says

Air defense units trying to repel Russian air attack on Kyiv, mayor says

Ukraine’s air defense units were trying to repel a Russian air attack on Kyiv late on Saturday, Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on his Telegram messaging channel.
“There was an explosion in the suburbs of Kyiv,” Klitschko said. “Air defense forces operating in the capital and its region. Stay in shelters!”


Busts of Israel’s first president ‘abducted’ in UK university burglary by pro-Palestine activists

Busts of Israel’s first president ‘abducted’ in UK university burglary by pro-Palestine activists
Updated 02 November 2024
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Busts of Israel’s first president ‘abducted’ in UK university burglary by pro-Palestine activists

Busts of Israel’s first president ‘abducted’ in UK university burglary by pro-Palestine activists
  • The Palestine Action group has claimed responsibility for the theft

LONDON: Police in the British city of Manchester are investigating the theft of two busts of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, from the city’s university chemistry building.

The busts were stolen in a late-night burglary on Friday, reportedly captured on a video that has been circulating online, where two masked individuals are seen smashing a glass case and removing the statues.

The Palestine Action group has claimed responsibility for the theft, saying it “abducted” the busts to mark the anniversary of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which the British government expressed support for a “national home for the Jewish people.”

The group alleged that Weizmann played a pivotal role in securing the declaration, which they view as a historic step in the displacement of Palestinians.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed receiving a report of a burglary shortly before midnight, though no arrests have been made.

The University of Manchester, where Weizmann taught in the early 1900s before becoming Israel’s first president in 1948, acknowledged the incident and has cooperated with police in the investigation.

This theft coincides with a series of coordinated protests by Palestine Action across the UK, which included the targeting of offices in London and spray-painting University of Cambridge buildings.


Why both Harris and Trump have Michigan’s Arab and Muslim endorsements

Why both Harris and Trump have Michigan’s Arab and Muslim endorsements
Updated 02 November 2024
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Why both Harris and Trump have Michigan’s Arab and Muslim endorsements

Why both Harris and Trump have Michigan’s Arab and Muslim endorsements
  • The swing state could very well determine the outcome of the fierce battle to capture the White House and Congress
  • Many blame Biden administration for failing to use US influence to secure ceasefire in Gaza, end the war in Lebanon

CHICAGO: Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the two major political party candidates, have secured endorsements from prominent Arab and Muslim community leaders in Michigan, a key battleground state that could determine the outcome of the upcoming US presidential election.

A recent Arab News/YouGov poll has shown Trump and Harris in a tight race among Arab American voters, while third-party Green candidate Dr. Jill Stein has also drawn significant support, largely due to her stance on the Gaza conflict, in a bid to capture 5 percent of the vote, enough to qualify the Green Party as a major political party in future elections.

Arab and Muslim Americans endorsed Trump at a rally in Novi, Michigan, on Oct. 25, while Harris received the community’s support in Dearborn on Oct. 26.

Appearing on “The Ray Hanania Radio Show” on Thursday, representatives of both camps argued that their candidate was better equipped to end conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, which the Arab News/YouGov poll identified as critical issues for Arab Americans in the Nov. 5 election.

“People have said, well, (former) President Trump talked about a Muslim ban. President Trump is no longer talking about a Muslim ban. President Trump moved the (US) Embassy to Jerusalem. It’s a plaque that was moved; it was not the 43,000 Palestinians who have been killed at the hands of Israel with arms provided by the US,” said Dr. Bishara Bahbah, a former Democrat who helped organize pro-Trump rallies in swing states like Michigan.

Criticizing the Biden administration’s policies, Bahbah argued that the current support for Israel would continue under Harris, suggesting that her presidency would lead to more civilian deaths and destruction in Gaza and Lebanon.

“That is unacceptable. The Biden administration’s policies will continue, and we will see Israel doing whatever the hell it wants to do against our people,” Bahbah added.

The Biden administration has faced mounting criticism from Arab Americans and the international community over its military and financial support for Israel, which critics argue has fueled escalating violence that has left close to 50,000 dead across Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon, along with widespread displacement and injury. Washington has also been accused of failing to effectively leverage its diplomatic influence to secure a much-needed ceasefire.

Reflecting this perceived policy gap, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that “good progress” had been made toward a ceasefire deal in Israel’s offensive against Lebanon. However, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati cautioned on Friday that Israel’s “renewed expansion” of attacks could derail any potential truce efforts, indicating resistance to a diplomatic resolution despite over a month of war.

Bahbah believes the Gaza and Lebanon conflicts reflect weak leadership on the part of President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris, who assumed the Democratic nomination in August.

“You (Arabs and Muslims) have a choice between a Harris administration that’s going to continue killing our people, or you have a choice to vote for Trump, who has told us, me personally as well, that he wants to stop the wars immediately,” Bahbah said adding that the former president is committed “to lay the groundwork for lasting peace agreements in the Middle East that are satisfactory to all parties in the region.”

Arab and Muslim mayors, including Amer Ghalib of Hamtramck and Bill Bazzi of Dearborn Heights, joined Trump’s endorsement in Novi, Michigan, on Saturday, highlighting Trump’s outreach to these communities and his potential impact in the swing state.

Trump greeted his Arab and Muslim supporters at the rally, expressing confidence that they could “turn the election one way or the other.” At the same event, Imam Belal Alzuhairi endorsed Trump as a “peacemaker,” echoing Bahbah’s view that Trump is better positioned than Harris to “bring peace to the Middle East.”

This sentiment aligns with Arab News/YouGov poll findings that indicate many Arab Americans see the former president as more capable of addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Meanwhile, in Dearborn, Michigan, on Sunday, a dozen Arab and Muslim community leaders held a press conference to endorse Harris, including Ismael Ahmed, a co-founder and former director of the influential Michigan-based social services organization ACCESS.

Ahmed cited the ongoing violence in Gaza and Lebanon as key to their support for Harris, noting her recent hints at diverging from the current administration’s approach and supporting a shift in US policy toward implementing a two-state solution.

“The horror is true for all of us, all Americans. And we want it to end. We want to cease fire. We want equity for the Palestinians, a Palestinian state. And we want to live side by side with Jews and Israelis in particular,” said Ahmed who was joined by Arab American Institute President Jim Zogby and Deputy Wayne County Executive Assad I. Turfe on the show.

“They’ve suffered loss, too. And our heart goes out to them as well. We need peace,” he said, adding that “all of us, no matter who we are supporting for the elections, have been working hard to make that happen” and that the uncommitted movement has been a reaction to bring more attention and to force more movement on the issue.

Many prominent Arab American Democrats have refused to endorse the Democratic ticket this year, pressing Harris and Biden to adopt a more assertive stance toward Israel, including a ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas conflict and an arms embargo.

The Uncommitted National Movement, a group of disenchanted Arab American Democrats, said it will not endorse Harris, citing disappointment with her response to community requests for a meeting with Palestinian families in Michigan. Reflecting the ambivalence many Arab Americans feel about their options, the Uncommitted National Movement also warned against a Trump presidency, which it claims would intensify military action in Gaza and increase suppression of anti-war efforts.

“Frankly speaking, Kamala Harris has been more sympathetic. We believe that’s real, but there’s been very little put on the table,” Ahmed said. “But when you match that to what Donald Trump is saying, he’s called for a Muslim ban, which he says he will reinstate the very first day he is in office. He’s called for internment camps. And none of us can have doubts that we’re one of the groups that will end up in those internment camps.”

Ahmed, an associate provost at the University of Michigan at Dearborn and former director for the Michigan Department of Human Services, warned that Trump’s stance on immigration and close alliance with Israel would pose significant risks to the community.

“(Trump) has called for the arrest and deportation by the military of 11 million immigrants. Some of them are our families. They’re mostly hardworking and contributing to the economy. In fact, our economy wouldn’t function without them. And on Palestine, Donald Trump opposes a Palestinian state, (he) has called for Netanyahu to continue his bloody approach to the war until victory, whatever that is. And I can go on.”

Until then, the Harris campaign had been unsuccessful in winning public endorsements from the Arab and Muslim leaders because of community criticism of her failure to stop Israel’s concurrent military operations in Gaza and Lebanon.

Michigan, a swing state that Trump won in 2016 and Biden narrowly captured in 2020, could once again play a decisive role in the election. Of more than 5.5 million votes cast in Michigan in 2020, Biden led by fewer than 155,000 votes. With more than 200,000 Arab Americans living in the state, their vote could be pivotal this November.

“The Ray Hanania Radio Show” airs every Thursday at 5 PM on Michigan’s WNZK AM 690 radio and rebroadcasts Mondays at 5 PM on the US Arab Radio network, sponsored by Arab News. For more information on the show or to listen to the podcast, visit ArabNews.com/rayradioshow.

 


Microsoft ‘crumbled under pressure’ over Palestinian vigil, fired employee says

Microsoft ‘crumbled under pressure’ over Palestinian vigil, fired employee says
Updated 02 November 2024
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Microsoft ‘crumbled under pressure’ over Palestinian vigil, fired employee says

Microsoft ‘crumbled under pressure’ over Palestinian vigil, fired employee says
  • Hossam Nasr says he and Abdo Mohamed were targeted for ‘daring to humanize Palestinians’
  • Israel-linked lobby group broke news of Nasr’s firing before he was informed

LONDON: Two recently fired Microsoft employees claim that the tech giant targeted them over their pro-Palestinian activism.

Data scientist Abdo Mohamed and software engineer Hossam Nasr, both of whom are Egyptian, had their employment terminated on Oct. 24, the same day they held a vigil outside Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, for Palestinians killed in Gaza, The Guardian reported.

They were both members of No Azure for Apartheid, a pressure group of Microsoft employees who campaigned against the company’s sale of its Azure cloud services to Israel, including the Israel Defense Forces.

After his firing, Nasr said that Microsoft had targeted him and Mohamed for “daring to humanize Palestinians.”

The pressure group has demanded that Microsoft end all Azure links to Israel, disclose all ties with the country, call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and uphold employee free speech.

“Microsoft really crumbled under pressure, internally and externally, to fire me and to shut down and retaliate against our event, not because of policy violations, simply because we were daring to humanize Palestinians, and daring to say that Microsoft should not be complicit with an army that is plausibly accused of genocide,” Nasr said.

In a statement, Microsoft said that Nasr and Mohamed were fired for “disrupting the work of their colleagues” and hosting the vigil on company property.

But the pair reject both claims, saying that the event followed the same procedures as other company employee groups, with more than 200 Microsoft workers attending on the ground or virtually.

Nasr and Mohamed said that they communicated with Microsoft ahead of the vigil, and that police, who were called to the event, observed the vigil without taking action.

“(Microsoft) never, at any point, said that termination was on the table or even that disciplinary consequences were on the table,” Nasr told The Guardian.

Another controversy surrounding the firing involves an Israel-linked lobby group, Stop Antisemitism, publicizing Nasr’s dismissal before the employee himself had been informed.

Nasr showed The Guardian a phone log, showing that he was informed of his firing at 9 p.m. that day — 90 minutes after Stop Antisemitism had posted the news of his termination on social media.

He also claimed that he was the subject of repeated investigations for his pro-Palestinian comments in employee groups, while comments accusing him and Mohamed of being “members of Hamas” were ignored by HR.

Workers at Microsoft have reported widespread internal discontent over the firings.

One Palestinian employee told The Guardian: “It was unjust and very intentional as a message to the community to silence the loudest voice in our community.”

Microsoft is not the only tech giant to suffer employee discontent over its ties to the Israeli military. In April, Google fired more than 50 employees who protested against its links to the Israel Defense Forces.

-ENDS-


India condemns Canada for linking home minister to plots against Sikh separatists

India condemns Canada for linking home minister to plots against Sikh separatists
Updated 02 November 2024
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India condemns Canada for linking home minister to plots against Sikh separatists

India condemns Canada for linking home minister to plots against Sikh separatists
  • A row broke out between the two states after a Sikh separatist’s murder on Canadian soil last year
  • India denies any role in the incident, though both countries have expelled each other’s diplomats

NEW DELHI: India’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it had lodged a protest with Canada for linking its home minister to alleged plots against Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.
The ministry also accused Ottawa of surveillance of some Indian consular staff.
Canada’s global affairs department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, made outside usual work hours.
The Washington Post newspaper first reported in October that Canadian officials alleged Amit Shah, considered the number two in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, was behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.
Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison told a parliamentary panel on Tuesday that he had told The Washington Post that Shah was behind the plots.
“It was conveyed in a note that the government of India protests in the strongest terms to the absurd and baseless references made to the Union Home Minister of India,” foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a press conference in New Delhi on Saturday.
Jaiswal said what he called Canada’s “unfounded insinuations” would have serious consequences for bilateral ties between the two nations.
Jaiswal also said Canada has informed India’s consular officials that they have been under audio and video surveillance, and that India viewed this as “harassment and intimidation.” He did not say when Canada informed Indian officials about this.
India has previously denied any role in the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and the alleged targeting of other dissidents there. The dispute has led to expulsions of diplomats in both countries.