Harris and Trump seek Arab American votes in Michigan in effort to shore up battleground states

Harris and Trump seek Arab American votes in Michigan in effort to shore up battleground states
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at the Oakland Expo Center in Waterford Township, Michigan, on October 18, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 19 October 2024
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Harris and Trump seek Arab American votes in Michigan in effort to shore up battleground states

Harris and Trump seek Arab American votes in Michigan in effort to shore up battleground states
  • Michigan is one of three “blue wall” states that, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, will help decide the election on Nov. 5
  • Diverse voting blocs are key to winning virtually any swing state, but Michigan is unique with its significant Arab American population

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan: Kamala Harris insisted it was time to “end the suffering” in the Middle East while Donald Trump visited one of the nation’s only Muslim-majority cities on Friday as the dueling presidential contenders fought for a small but pivotal bloc of Arab American voters in swing-state Michigan.
In a rare reference to Israel’s fight against Hamas and Hezbollah, Harris said, “This year has been very difficult, given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon.” She said the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “can and must be a turning point.”
“Everyone must seize this opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza, bring the hostages home and end the suffering once and for all,” she said.
Trump, meanwhile, avoided any specifics about his plans for the Middle East, but he said he didn’t think the Arab American community would vote for Harris “because she doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
Later, he fought through technical glitches that silenced his microphone for almost 20 minutes at a rally in Detroit.
Michigan is one of three “blue wall” states that, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, will help decide the election on Nov. 5. Diverse voting blocs are key to winning virtually any swing state, but Michigan is unique with its significant Arab American population, which has been deeply frustrated by the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Trump, who instituted a travel ban targeting Muslim countries while in office and has vowed to expand the ban to include refugees from Gaza if elected again, is trying to capitalize on the community’s frustration with the Democratic administration, despite his well-documented history of hostile rhetoric and policies.
There were modest signs Friday that he may be making progress.
The Republican nominee visited a new campaign office in Hamtramck, one of the nation’s only Muslim-majority cities, and was joined there by Mayor Amer Ghalib, a Democrat who has endorsed Trump. Meanwhile, three city council members in the same town have endorsed Harris.
“His visit today is to show respect and appreciation to our community,” said Ghalib, who presented Trump with a framed certificate of appreciation.




Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump attends a rally at Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan, on Oct. 18, 2024. (REUTERS)

Trump’s allies have held meetings for months with community leaders in the state, which Biden carried by less than 3 points in 2020. Asked about the Hamtramck mayor’s endorsement, Trump said: “I mean, frankly, it’s an honor. I’ve got a lot of endorsements, Arab Americans, from a lot of people.”
Trump has held 15 separate events in Michigan dating back to April, when Biden was still the presumed Democratic nominee. Including a scheduled Saturday event in Detroit, Harris will have visited Michigan 11 times since she became the nominee, according to AP tracking of the campaigns’ public events.
And while foreign policy rarely sways US elections, the war in the Middle East is a critical concern for many of Michigan’s Arab American voters.
Trump said Sinwar “was not a good person” when asked about the Hamas leader’s death. Sinwar, one of the architects of the Oct. 7 attack, was killed Wednesday by Israelis.
“That’s my reaction. That’s sometimes what happens,” Trump told reporters at the airport in Detroit.
Even as he reached out to disillusioned Arab American voters, Trump suggested he would end efforts to encourage Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to restrain military operations that have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Even though Biden “is trying to hold him back ... he probably should be doing the opposite, actually,” Trump said.
Harris highlighted her support from the Arab American community as well.
On Friday, 52 Lebanese Americans endorsed Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, saying in a letter that the voice of their community “will be heard” under the ticket’s leadership.
The letter reiterated calls for a ceasefire, and it cited a recent decision by the Department of Homeland Security to extend temporary legal status to Lebanese citizens in the US Such status is made available to people from certain countries marred by war, turmoil or natural disasters.
But Harris has also faced demonstrators protesting US support of Israel in the conflict. During a closed-door meeting Thursday with students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she was confronted by a protester, according to a video posted by a pro-Palestinian student group on social media.
According to the video, as Harris was telling students she was invested in them, a protester interrupted her, asking, “And in genocide, right? Billions of dollars in genocide?”
A phalanx of Democratic governors — Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Wes Moore of Maryland, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Kathy Hochul of New York — campaigned with Harris earlier Friday.
Longtime Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat, emphasized that the army of top Democrats descending on the state was not a sign of panic, stating, “We have to run like we’re behind.”
“A lot of people have always said we’re a blue state. She knows we’re not. And she’s not taking us for granted,” Stabenow told the AP ahead of a rally for Harris in Oakland County.
Both Trump and Harris also made a push for union workers and Black voters as they worked every angle for support.
At an appearance at the United Auto Workers Local 652 hall in Lansing, Harris offered a direct message to union members: “I will always have your back.”
She warned that Trump would undermine collective bargaining and worker protections.
“We’ve got to get the word out to all the brothers and sisters in labor to remind them what this dude does,” she said before the campaign played a clip of Trump saying it’s not hard to build a car. “We could have our child doing it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trump talked up his own support among labor unions and criticized the rise of electric cars during a rival event in Oakland County ahead of his evening rally in Detroit.
While visiting a campaign office, Trump said the head of the United Auto Workers — who has endorsed Harris — doesn’t have a clue.
“I’ve saved Michigan,” he said, telling the crowds he would bring back more manufacturing. “We’ll end up having those plants built over here instead of in other countries.”
Later, he called Teamsters President Sean O’Brien “a great guy.” O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention, and his union decided not to endorse Harris, which was viewed as a victory for Trump, given the union’s past support for Democrats.
“I think it’s been many decades before they endorsed a Republican. I think they’ll start very soon,” Trump said.
Trump’s Detroit event was his first there since insulting the city last week. While warning what will happen if Harris is elected, he said that “our whole country will end up being like Detroit.” The city spent years hemorrhaging residents and businesses, plunging into deep financial problems, before rebounding in recent years.
“We love Detroit,” Trump said Friday night as the crowd erupted. “We’re going to make Detroit great again.”


India police detain second suspect in Saif Ali Khan stabbing incident

India police detain second suspect in Saif Ali Khan stabbing incident
Updated 18 sec ago
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India police detain second suspect in Saif Ali Khan stabbing incident

India police detain second suspect in Saif Ali Khan stabbing incident
  • The Bollywood star was stabbed six times by an intruder during a burglary attempt
  • Doctors say he out of danger after undergoing surgery in the wake of the incident

MUMBAI: Police in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh on Saturday detained a second person suspected of involvement in a knife attack in which Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan was wounded.
Khan, 54, was stabbed six times by an intruder during a burglary attempt at his home in Mumbai early on Thursday. He had surgery after sustaining stab wounds to his spine, neck and hands, and is out of danger, doctors said.
“We got information from Mumbai Police that a suspect is traveling by Jnaneswari Express train,” Sanjeev Sinha, a represenatative of the Railway Protection Force, told ANI news agency, in which Reuters holds a minority stake.
“...Mumbai Police officials were contacted through video call and the suspect’s identity was confirmed. He has been detained,” Sinha said.
Police in India’s financial capital of Mumbai had on Friday detained another key suspect in the knife attack.
The attack on Khan, one of Bollywood’s most bankable and well-known actors, shocked the film industry and Mumbai residents, with many calling for better policing and security.


Melania Trump hosts Queen Rania of Jordan in Florida

Melania Trump hosted Queen Rania in Palm Beach during her visit to the US. (Office of Queen Rania)
Melania Trump hosted Queen Rania in Palm Beach during her visit to the US. (Office of Queen Rania)
Updated 53 min 21 sec ago
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Melania Trump hosts Queen Rania of Jordan in Florida

Melania Trump hosted Queen Rania in Palm Beach during her visit to the US. (Office of Queen Rania)
  • Monarch speaks of pleasure at reconnecting with returning first lady

LONDON: Jordan’s Queen Rania met incoming US First Lady Melania Trump in Florida on Thursday.

Trump hosted the queen in Palm Beach during her visit to the US.

The queen said on Instagram that “it was a pleasure reconnecting” with Melania, who will return for a second term as first lady when her husband Donald is sworn in as president on Monday.

The two women “discussed various issues of mutual interest, including children’s welfare, as well as improving their education,” the queen’s office said.

The meeting, which was followed by a lunch, is the third to take place between the two in the US.

In 2018, Trump welcomed Queen Rania and her husband King Abdullah II to the White House ahead of meetings with the president.

The royals also visited the White House in 2017 and toured an all-girls school in Washington.


Ski lift accident leaves 30 injured at Spanish resort in the Pyrenees

Ski lift accident leaves 30 injured at Spanish resort in the Pyrenees
Updated 44 min 19 sec ago
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Ski lift accident leaves 30 injured at Spanish resort in the Pyrenees

Ski lift accident leaves 30 injured at Spanish resort in the Pyrenees
  • Regional emergency services said that 10 people needed to be treated in hospitals
  • State TV channel TVE reported that around 80 people were trapped on the chairlifts

BARCELONA: At least 30 people have been injured in a ski lift accident at the Spanish resort of Astún, in the Pyrenees mountain range, emergency services for Spain’s northern Aragon region said Saturday.
Regional emergency services said that 10 people needed to be treated in hospitals, including two who were seriously injured.
State TV channel TVE reported that around 80 people were trapped on the chairlifts in the immediate aftermath.
“It’s like a cable has come off, the chairs have bounced and people have been thrown off,” one witness told TVE.

Fernando Beltrán, a representative of Spain’s government in Aragon, later posted on X that “all the skiers affected by the accident” have been evacuated and those who were injured were receiving medical treatment.
The cause of the incident is unknown.
Several helicopters were deployed to the area to rescue those trapped and transfer the injured to nearby hospitals.
Social media images and video appeared to show a number of people lying on the snow beneath the ski lift.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was “shocked” by the news of the accident, expressing his closeness to the injured and their families.
The ski resort said on X that it was “working with emergency services” and that its management expressed “consternation and support for those affected” by the incident.


AlUla is top destination as Saudi tourism gains appeal in India

AlUla is top destination as Saudi tourism gains appeal in India
Updated 18 January 2025
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AlUla is top destination as Saudi tourism gains appeal in India

AlUla is top destination as Saudi tourism gains appeal in India
  • India’s outbound tourism is expected to reach 45 million travelers by 2030
  • Destinations in Saudi Arabia especially popular among Gen Z tourists

New Delhi: India is seeing an increase in travelers heading to Saudi Arabia, according to a top Indian tourism body, which also said there is growing interest in the Kingdom’s heritage, especially among Gen Z Indians.

Tourism is booming in Saudi Arabia under the Vision 2030 transformation plan. In the past few years there has been significant investment in the development of destinations including its eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites, eco-friendly and luxury resorts on the Red Sea coastline, and entertainment and sports complexes.

The promotion for these developments has also included Bollywood stars, and more and more Indians are looking to visit Riyadh, Jeddah and AlUla, rather than Dubai — traditionally the most popular destination in the GCC for Indian travelers.

“Earlier it was only Dubai ... but now that trend is changing,” Himanshu Kesari Patil, president of the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India, an organization representing over 800 travel companies and agents, told Arab News. “There are lots of inquiries for Saudi Arabia, a lot of people are going. The top-selling destination for Saudi Arabia is AlUla,”

AlUla, in northwestern Saudi Arabia, is often described as an “open-air museum.” One of its most famous areas is Hegra, a UNESCO World Heritage site that features tombs and monuments from the Nabatean civilization dating back to the 1st century BCE.

Another is Elephant Rock, a natural rock formation in the AlUla desert, which has become one of the region’s most photographed natural landmarks.

Many notable Bollywood celebrities, including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, and Priyanka Chopra, have visited AlUla, while others, such as up-and-comers Janhvi Kapoor and Ali Fazal, have partnered with the local authorities to promote it, increasing the site’s appeal among Gen Z travelers, which data portal Statista refers to as the “most travel-hungry” generation.

“Gen Z, they are more tech-savvy, they are always on social media and they want to explore unexplored places. (They) are not going to the routine places where everyone else is going, they want to do something different,” Patil said.

India’s outbound tourism market is growing, and the Pacific Asia Travel Association estimates that the number of Indians traveling abroad annually will reach 45 million in the next five years.

By then, the Kingdom expects to welcome 7.5 million Indian travelers a year, according to the Saudi Tourism Authority.

“Saudi Arabia is investing a lot of money in the Indian market and I’m sure, soon, Saudi Arabia will get more numbers out of India,” Patil said.

“They are friendly, have great multicultural cuisine … for the tourists it’s amazing,” he continued. “I think, soon, with the new developments and new cities they are building, the new luxury hotels they are building, there is a bright future for Saudi Arabia on the tourism side.”
 


ASEAN and China must start tackling thorny issues of South China Sea code, Philippines says 

ASEAN and China must start tackling thorny issues of South China Sea code, Philippines says 
Updated 45 min 58 sec ago
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ASEAN and China must start tackling thorny issues of South China Sea code, Philippines says 

ASEAN and China must start tackling thorny issues of South China Sea code, Philippines says 
  • The South China Sea remains a source of tension between China and its ASEAN neighbors
  • ASEAN and China pledged in 2002 to create a code of conduct, but took 15 years to start discussions and progress has been slow

LANGKAWI, Malaysia: The regional bloc ASEAN and China should make headway on a protracted code of conduct for the South China Sea by tackling thorny “milestone issues,” including its scope and if it can be legally binding, the Philippines’ top diplomat said on Saturday.
The South China Sea remains a source of tension between China and neighbors the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia, with ties between Beijing and US ally Manila at their worst in years amid frequent confrontations that have sparked concerns they could spiral into conflict.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China pledged in 2002 to create a code of conduct, but took 15 years to start discussions and progress has been slow.
In an interview ahead of Sunday’s meeting with his ASEAN counterparts on the Malaysian island of Langkawi, Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo said discussions on a code were well underway, but it was time to start thrashing out the meatier, trickier aspects.
“It’s time that we try to look at issues which are, in our view, essential, which have not really been discussed in a thorough way or even much less negotiated. These are the so-called milestone issues,” Manalo told Reuters.
Those would include the code’s scope, whether it is legally binding and its impact on third-party countries, he said, adding the aim was to make it effective and substantive.
“We have to begin addressing these important issues,” Manalo added. “This might be the best way to at least move the negotiation forward.”
Beijing claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, which it asserts through a fleet of coast guard and fishing militia that some neighbors accuse of aggression and of disrupting fishing and energy activities in their exclusive economic zones.
China insists it operates lawfully in its territory and does not recognize a 2016 arbitration ruling that said its claim has no basis under international law.
‘US interests are still there’
Manalo also said that as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, there was no sign the United States would reassess its engagement in Southeast Asia.
“We haven’t heard any or seen any indication of scaling down or any kind of particular change,” he said.
“We have to wait until the administration actually takes over. But from what we’ve seen so far, US interests are still there.”
Manalo said the civil war in military-ruled Myanmar remains a big challenge for ASEAN, which has barred the generals from meetings for failing to implement the bloc’s peace plan.
The junta plans to hold an election this year in which its opponents either cannot run, or refuse to contest.
Manalo said it was premature to discuss if ASEAN would make preconditions for recognizing the election, which he said must involve as much of the population as possible.
“If elections are held without being seen as inclusive, not transparent, I believe it would be very difficult for those elections to create more legitimacy,” he said.