British royal left tearful after visit to Sudanese refugees in Chad

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, was brought to tears during a visit to survivors of the ongoing Sudanese genocide on the border with Chad. (AFP/File Photo)
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, was brought to tears during a visit to survivors of the ongoing Sudanese genocide on the border with Chad. (AFP/File Photo)
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Updated 14 October 2024
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British royal left tearful after visit to Sudanese refugees in Chad

British royal left tearful after visit to Sudanese refugees in Chad
  • Duchess of Edinburgh hears stories of mass slaughter, sexual violence
  • ‘What they do to the children is … I can’t even use the words,’ she tells The Times

LONDON: Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, was brought to tears during a visit to survivors of the ongoing Sudanese genocide on the border with Chad.

The duchess told The Times that she had private audiences with female survivors of the violence, which included stories of rape in return for safety and food for their families.

“What they do to the children is … I can’t even use the words,” she told the newspaper. “These women have no option but to leave.”

The duchess spoke to one refugee, Hadidah Abdullah, in the town of Adre on the Chadian border with the war-torn Darfur region.

Abdullah, cradling her 9-month-old baby Bayena, said they had traveled for 60 km to reach safety.

Around 230,000 refugees are in Adre, with many comparing the situation to that of the previous genocide in Darfur over 20 years ago, which killed 300,000 people.

The region, which is being fought over by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, is also experiencing famine, with millions at risk of starvation. 

One woman who arrived at the camp in Adre during the duchess’s visit with five children in tow said she had not seen her husband since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023.

Others talk of the RSF forcing young men and boys into service, and killing people who refuse to cooperate.

The duchess has traveled to numerous conflict zones, including Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as part of her work helping victims of sexual violence in war.

After meeting five women at a hospital in Adre, one of them told The Times that she and her family had been trapped in the city of Geneina where they witnessed RSF atrocities, including rape and looting.

She said: “If you tried to go out … some can kill you or threaten sexual violence. More than 10 people were killed at a time and they took whatever from the houses.”

She added that her teenage son was taken by the RSF alongside her brothers to fight, and that when she and her remaining relatives escaped, they saw bodies stacked “like a wall” in the streets.

The duchess told The Times that the experience of talking to the women about their ordeals had left her feeling “quite wobbly.”

She said the international community’s attention is “focused very much on other conflicts around the world,” and she wants to “shine the light” on the crisis in Sudan which, The Times said, “aid organisations rank as the world’s gravest” humanitarian crisis.

“This is a human catastrophe that is vast and Chad is having to pick up the pieces when it can ill afford to do,” Sophie said.

“The organisations are saying they are seeing budgets being pulled back and things like that because the money is being siphoned to go elsewhere.

“And, again, whose need is greater? Everybody’s need is great but this is pretty desperate. We’ve got to keep the attention on this.”


Asian contribution to Britain’s war campaigns deserves greater recognition: Campaigners

Asian contribution to Britain’s war campaigns deserves greater recognition: Campaigners
Updated 22 sec ago
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Asian contribution to Britain’s war campaigns deserves greater recognition: Campaigners

Asian contribution to Britain’s war campaigns deserves greater recognition: Campaigners
  • Politicians, Muslim community leaders highlight heroism of Victoria Cross recipient Khudadad Khan
  • They are calling for new historical education in schools as part of anti-racism, anti-Islamophobia push

LONDON: Politicians and Muslim community leaders in the UK are calling for greater recognition in schools of Asian soldiers who fought for Britain during the two world wars, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.

The appeal comes on the 110th anniversary of the first Muslim recipient of the Victoria Cross medal.

Campaigners say greater awareness of the sacrifice of Commonwealth soldiers could help tackle racism and Islamophobia in the UK.

The story of Khudadad Khan is at the center of the appeal. The machine-gunner was injured in 1914 as he tried to prevent German troops from capturing vital territory in France and Belgium, holding off an enemy advance long enough for reinforcements to arrive despite being wounded and outnumbered.

He was the only survivor of the battle, and was presented with the Victoria Cross by King George V in 1915.

After the war Khan returned to Pakistan, which was then part of pre-partition India. The Imperial War Museum in London displays his Victoria Cross.

Khan’s heroism is being highlighted by Leeds Imam Qari Asim, chair of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board; Labour MP Calvin Bailey; and House of Lords member Sayeeda Warsi, whose two grandfathers fought in the Second World War.

They say Khan’s story should feature prominently during the 80th anniversary commemorations of VE Day next year as part of a larger campaign to combat racism and Islamophobia in Britain.

Asim highlighted his alarm over the nationwide rioting that took place earlier this year. “It was frightening this summer to see a toxic minority attacking mosques and threatening Muslims in their community,” he said.

“If they knew this country’s history — what Khudadad Khan and thousands of other Muslim soldiers did for Britain in the world wars — perhaps they would think differently.

“We should do more to raise awareness, among Muslims and non-Muslims alike, of this service and sacrifice. We are all part of Britain’s history and that’s something we can commemorate together.”

Research conducted earlier this year by Focaldata for British Future found that 77 percent of the UK public believe that it is important for integration that school students are taught “shared history.”

A further 85 percent agreed that the history of all Commonwealth soldiers who fought for Britain should be taught in school.

Warsi said: “We saw the very worst of Britain this summer, as an angry few turned their anger first on ethnic and faith minorities, and then on the police doing their job to protect people.

“Next month we will remember the men and women whose service and sacrifice helped defend our freedoms.

“Those armies in the world wars included men like Khudadad Khan and soldiers from Africa and the Caribbean; they included both my grandfathers, too. Then, as now, Britain is at its best when we stand together.”


UK’s Labour government hikes taxes in first budget

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves poses with the red budget box outside her office on Downing Street in London
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves poses with the red budget box outside her office on Downing Street in London
Updated 30 October 2024
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UK’s Labour government hikes taxes in first budget

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves poses with the red budget box outside her office on Downing Street in London
  • Reeves said £25 billion would come from hiking employers’ national insurance — a payrolls tax used to help pay for social care
  • Changes to inheritance tax will raise more than £2 billion while the government is also hiking taxation on capital gains and property purchases

LONDON: Britain’s new Labour government on Wednesday announced major tax hikes and higher borrowing to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s aim of investing for long-term growth.
In the highly-anticipated fiscal update — the first under the center-left government after 14 years of Conservative rule — finance minister Rachel Reeves said tax increases would raise an additional £40 billion ($52 million).
Addressing parliament in a speech lasting more than one hour, Reeves also confirmed changes to fiscal rules that will allow the government to invest billions more in public services.
“This government was given a mandate,” Reeves told MPs.
“To restore stability to our country and to begin a decade of national renewal. The only way to drive economic growth is to invest, invest, invest,” she insisted.
Labour won a landslide general election in July and had already announced a raft of economic measures, including improved workers’ rights and minimum wages, a vast green-energy plan and plans for mass building of homes.
Ahead of the budget, it also drew strong criticism for scrapping a winter-fuel benefit scheme for millions of pensioners, hurting Starmer’s approval rating in polls.
“I am restoring stability to our public finances and rebuilding our public services,” Reeves said Wednesday.
Reeves said £25 billion would come from hiking employers’ national insurance — a payrolls tax used to help pay for social care.
Changes to inheritance tax will raise more than £2 billion while the government is also hiking taxation on capital gains and property purchases as part of its plans to claw back money.
The pound won back ground as Reeves spoke, while London’s stock market was little changed.
“At this stage, massive tax rises have not spooked financial markets,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at traders XTB.
The government kept its pledge not to raise income taxes, employee national insurance charges, or value added tax.
Outgoing Tory leader Rishi Sunak, Britain’s former prime minister, said the budget contains “broken promise after broken promise.”
Ahead of her tax and spend plans, Reeves made a technical change to the way UK debt is measured to allow her to borrow more, even though the country’s public sector borrowing is now at levels last seen in the 1960s.
To boost investment, the chancellor will use a wider measure of debt that takes into account the future returns on investment.
Reeves on Wednesday said the extra investment in capital infrastructure projects would start to “repair the fabric of our nation.”
The government will invest billions of pounds to rebuild schools, hire teachers and fund childcare.
In a surprise move, she extended the freeze on fuel duty until next year.
The cash-strapped National Health Service will receive a substantial boost, with the day-to-day health budget receiving an increase of nearly £23 billion.
Alongside the budget, Reeves said Britain’s economy was set to grow faster than forecast this year and next.
The nation’s gross domestic product will expand 1.1 percent in 2024 and by 2.0 percent next year — above estimates given in March by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), Britain’s fiscal watchdog.
Britain is benefiting from its annual inflation rate dropping to under the Bank of England’s 2.0-percent target, easing a cost-of-living crisis.
The International Monetary Fund this month also estimated that Britain’s economy would grow 1.1 percent in 2024.
Looking beyond next year, the OBR on Wednesday downgraded Britain’s growth forecasts for the 2026-2028 period.


Bangladesh cuts Hajj package fee by 20% to accommodate more pilgrims

Bangladesh cuts Hajj package fee by 20% to accommodate more pilgrims
Updated 30 October 2024
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Bangladesh cuts Hajj package fee by 20% to accommodate more pilgrims

Bangladesh cuts Hajj package fee by 20% to accommodate more pilgrims
  • Bangladeshis will pay $920 less than this year for the 2025 pilgrimage package
  • Hajj quota for Bangladesh was 127,000 in 2024 but only 85,000 pilgrims traveled

DHAKA: The Bangladeshi government cut the cost of Hajj packages on Wednesday to make the spiritual journey more accessible in next year’s pilgrimage season.

Last year, Saudi Arabia granted Bangladesh a quota of 127,000 pilgrims, but high inflation and the cost of flights to the Middle East meant only 85,000 were able to embark on the spiritual journey.

In 2024, the minimum government rate for Hajj was nearly $5,000; for 2025, it will be about 20 percent lower.

“We have announced two Hajj packages today for next year’s Hajj. It’s good news for our pilgrims that costs have been reduced significantly this time, compared with last year. In one package, it has been reduced by $920, and in another one, the cost is reduced by around $100,” Matiul Islam, additional secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, told Arab News.

“This huge reduction in the Hajj expense was mainly possible due to the reduction in plane fare and accommodation facilities.”

Under the cheaper package, pilgrims will stay in accommodation some 3 km from the Great Mosque of Makkah, while hotels will be located within 1.5 km of the sacred site under the more expensive one.

Bangladesh, one of the most populous Muslim-majority countries, also struggled to meet its Hajj quota in 2023, as few people were able to afford it.

The government is hopeful this will not be the case in 2025.

“We hope that the Hajj quota will be fulfilled as Hajj expenses have been reduced significantly. As of today, around 9,000 pilgrims (are) registered for next year,” Islam said.

“I think the prospective pilgrims will register for Hajj in huge numbers in the next weeks, as many of them were waiting for the announcement of the new package.”

Next year’s Hajj is expected to begin on June 4. The deadline for Bangladeshi pilgrims to register is Nov. 30.


Philippines braces for new typhoon with regions still under water after deadly storm

Philippines braces for new typhoon with regions still under water after deadly storm
Updated 30 October 2024
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Philippines braces for new typhoon with regions still under water after deadly storm

Philippines braces for new typhoon with regions still under water after deadly storm
  • More than 300,000 people remained in emergency shelters after Tropical Storm Trami
  • Kong-Rey is skirting northern Philippines before slamming into Taiwan on Thursday

MANILA: The Philippines braced on Wednesday for the possible impact of another powerful typhoon sweeping the country’s north, days after a storm wreaked havoc on its most populous island, leaving at least 139 people dead and dozens missing.

Kong-rey — locally known as Leon — reached super-typhoon strength on Wednesday and was expected to bring strong winds and heavy rainfall as it skirted the northernmost province of Batanes, said the weather bureau, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

The PAGASA also warned of a moderate-to-high risk of “life-threatening coastal flooding due to storm surge with peak heights exceeding 3.0 meters.”

This could be triggered by Kong-rey in low-lying coasts of Batanes and the nearby Babuyan cluster of islands, home to some combined 20,000 people.

Batanes was placed under Signal No. 4, which means that “the situation is potentially very destructive to the community.”

“Forced and mandatory evacuations in areas identified with high risk (are) enforced as the country prepares for the anticipated adverse weather condition brought by ‘Leon,’” the Department of Defense said in a statement.

The super-typhoon is passing near the Philippines before making landfall along Taiwan’s eastern coast on Thursday.

The 12th cyclone to hit the Philippines this year was approaching days after Tropical Storm Trami swept across the country’s northeast, inundating entire towns with severe flooding and triggering landslides.

Most of the damage was recorded in Luzon, the Philippines’ largest and most populous island.

Towns and cities in the Bicol region, southern Luzon, were still under water on Wednesday, as over 300,000 people displaced last week remained in emergency shelters, authorities said.

It was the deadliest tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines in 2024.

The Southeast Asian nation is the country most at risk from natural disasters, according to the 2024 World Risk Report.

Millions of Filipinos are affected by storms and typhoons every year, which are increasingly more unpredictable and extreme due to climate change.


US running low on interceptor missiles amid Middle East, Ukraine wars: WSJ

US running low on interceptor missiles amid Middle East, Ukraine wars: WSJ
Updated 30 October 2024
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US running low on interceptor missiles amid Middle East, Ukraine wars: WSJ

US running low on interceptor missiles amid Middle East, Ukraine wars: WSJ
  • Pentagon officials reportedly ‘concerned’ over American readiness levels
  • Analyst: ‘Both of those wars are extended conflicts, which was not part of US defense planning’

LONDON: US stockpiles of air-defense missiles are running low amid surging demand in Israel and Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Pentagon officials and analysts are reportedly “concerned” over US readiness due to an inability to produce new missiles faster than they are being used.

More than 100 Standard Missiles have been launched since the Hamas attack against Israel last October.

The interceptors were used to counter the two Iranian missile and drone attacks on Israel, as well as strikes from Yemen’s Houthi militia.

“The US has not developed a defense industrial base intended for a large-scale war of attrition in both Europe and the Middle East, while meeting its own readiness standards,” Elias Yousif, deputy director of the Conventional Defense Program at the Stimson Center, told the WSJ. “And both of those wars are extended conflicts, which was not part of US defense planning.”

Washington cannot publicly disclose its stockpile strength due to security concerns. Pentagon officials said there are no plans to increase production of Standard Missiles.

“Over the course of the last year, the Department of Defense has augmented our force posture in the region to protect US forces and support the defense of Israel, while always taking into account US readiness and stockpiles,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told the WSJ.