Most Arab Americans hold conservative views on illegal immigration, abortion: Poll

Special Most Arab Americans hold conservative views on illegal immigration, abortion: Poll
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Some 56 percent of Arab Americans surveyed think US border controls should be tightened, a surprising twist for a population of immigrants or descendants of immigrants. (AFP photo)
Special Most Arab Americans hold conservative views on illegal immigration, abortion: Poll
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Thirty-eight percent of Arab Americans surveyed 38 percent are in favor of abortion being allowed up to the ninth week of pregnancy, 40 percent agree to allowing abortion only under certain circumstances, including rape and threat to life; and only 14 percent believe abortion should be completely banned. (AFP photos)
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Updated 24 October 2024
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Most Arab Americans hold conservative views on illegal immigration, abortion: Poll

Most Arab Americans hold conservative views on illegal immigration, abortion: Poll
  • An Arab News-YouGov survey found that a majority would like to see US border controls and rules around abortion tightened
  • Immigration policy and abortion rights are among the key fault line issues between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

LONDON: A survey conducted for Arab News by YouGov reveals that although 62 percent of Arab Americans describe themselves as politically moderate (35 percent), liberal (13 percent) or very liberal (13 percent), a majority express conservative views on two key domestic issues: illegal immigration and abortion.

Perhaps most surprisingly for a population of immigrants or descendants of immigrants, 56 percent of respondents think US border controls should be tightened.

However, 24 percent think border controls should be relaxed — a liberal viewpoint that chimes with the position of neither the Democratic nor Republican candidate. Just 5 percent of over-55s want to see controls relaxed.

Fifty-one percent of respondents believe there are too many illegal immigrants in the US. This view is most common among those over 55 (61 percent) and those with the least education (66 percent).

“Interestingly, immigration seems to rank very highly in the minds of Arab Americans and honestly, as an immigrant myself, I wasn’t completely surprised by this,” Firas Maksad, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, told the Arab News podcast “Frankly Speaking.”

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He added: “Those who immigrated here legally and went through the process and paid their taxes tend to feel pretty strongly about those who are cutting in line and not paying their fair share.”

This, he said, could partly explain the large percentage of support for Republican candidate Donald Trump among Arab Americans.

As an issue, “illegal immigration often plays in favor of Trump rather than (Democratic candidate Kamala) Harris,” Maksad added.

However, one in three respondents rejected the suggestion that the US has too many illegal immigrants, while 16 percent said they do not know. 

On abortion, one of the key fault lines between pro-choice Harris and Trump, who is seen as responsible for the Supreme Court overturning the landmark Roe v Wade decision — which since 1973 had guaranteed the right to pregnancy termination in the US — Arab Americans emerge as broadly conservative in their outlook.

Although only 14 percent (17 percent of men and 11 percent of women) believe abortion should be completely banned, 40 percent agree with the proposition: “Abortion should be allowed only under certain circumstances, including rape and threat to life.” Again, more men (44 percent) than women (37 percent) hold this position.

Read our full coverage here: US Elections 2024: What Arab Americans want

However, almost as many (38 percent) are in favor of abortion being allowed up to the ninth week of pregnancy, which is officially when an embryo turns into a fetus. Women (44 percent) are more supportive of this than men (33 percent).

One issue of concern to many Arab Americans is their experience of racism, harassment or hate attacks related to their ethnicity, religion or origins — 46 percent said they had experienced this and 50 percent said they had not. 

Intriguingly, given the support for Trump revealed by the survey (45 percent said they will vote for him, against 43 percent for Harris), 46 percent of respondents said they expect racism and hate attacks against Arab Americans to increase during a Trump presidency, compared with 23 percent if Harris becomes president.

For 39 percent of respondents, Harris is also seen as being more sensitive to the national needs of Arab Americans than Trump (31 percent). 

 

 


Bangladesh court acquits ex-PM Khaleda Zia’s son in 2004 deadly grenade attack

Bangladesh court acquits ex-PM Khaleda Zia’s son in 2004 deadly grenade attack
Updated 20 sec ago
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Bangladesh court acquits ex-PM Khaleda Zia’s son in 2004 deadly grenade attack

Bangladesh court acquits ex-PM Khaleda Zia’s son in 2004 deadly grenade attack
  • Tarique Rahman, others were found guilty in 2018 of targeting a rally held by supporters of PM Sheikh Hasina, who led opposition at the time
  • The ruling comes as the country suffers political tension after Hasina fled to India in August following a mass uprising that killed hundreds

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s High Court on Sunday acquitted former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman, and overturned a verdict against him over a deadly 2004 grenade attack on a political rally.
The ruling comes at a critical time as the South Asian country suffers political tension after long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country to India in August following a mass uprising that left hundreds dead. Rahman serves as the acting chairperson of Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party while in self-exile in London, and he could become Bangladesh’s next leader if his party is voted into power.
Rahman and 48 others were found guilty in 2018 in the attack targeting a rally held by supporters of Sheikh Hasina, who led the opposition at the time, leaving two dozen people dead and wounding about 300 others. A court sentenced 19 of them to death while Rahman got life in prison, with Zia’s party accusing the ruling of being politically motivated.
A two-member judge panel scrapped Sunday the entire 2018 ruling for all 49 men, following an appeal lodged by the defendants. Shishir Monir, a defense lawyer, told reporters the court declared the trial and verdict “illegal”.
“As a result, all defendants have been acquitted,” he said.
Zia, who ruled the country as prime minister between 2001-2006, and Hasina are the country’s most powerful politicians and long-time rivals.
Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus has been chosen as the country’s interim leader since Hasina’s escape, but authorities have been struggling to enforce order amid mob justice, chaos and claims of systematic targeting of minority groups, particularly Hindus, which Yunus said are “exaggerated.”
Hasina’s Awami League party blasted the court ruling in a Facebook post on Sunday, saying it wasn’t “Yunus’ Kangaroo court” and that the people of Bangladesh would be the ones trying those responsible for the attacks.
Zia’s party welcomed Sunday’s ruling.
The attorney general’s office can appeal the ruling in the country’s Supreme Court.
The Yunus-led government has not declared any timeframe for the next election, but Rahman and his party want the new election sometime soon. Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami party, which shared power with Zia’s party in 2001-2006 with important portfolios in the Cabinet, said it wants to allow the Yunus-led government to stay in power to bring in reforms in various sectors before a new election.
Hasina faces charges of crimes against humanity for deaths during the summer’s student-led uprising. The interim government has sought help from Interpol to arrest Hasina. It is not clear if India will respond to any request from Bangladesh for Hasina’s extradition under a mutual treaty.


Australian police arrest 13 people and seize a record 2.3 tonnes of cocaine from a fishing boat

Australian police arrest 13 people and seize a record 2.3 tonnes of cocaine from a fishing boat
Updated 22 min 1 sec ago
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Australian police arrest 13 people and seize a record 2.3 tonnes of cocaine from a fishing boat

Australian police arrest 13 people and seize a record 2.3 tonnes of cocaine from a fishing boat
  • The drugs had a sale value of $494 million and equaled as many as 11.7 million street deals if they had reached the country of 28 million people
  • The smugglers made two attempts to transport the drugs to Australia by sea from a mothership floating hundreds of kilometers offshore

WELLINGTON: Australian police seized a record 2.3 tonnes of cocaine and arrested 13 people in raids after the suspects’ boat broke down off the coast of Queensland, authorities said Monday.
The drugs had a sale value of 760 million Australian dollars ($494 million) and equaled as many as 11.7 million street deals if they had reached the country of 28 million people, federal police said in a statement.
Investigators told reporters in Brisbane that the drugs were transported from an unidentified South American country.
The arrests on Saturday and Sunday followed a monthlong investigation after a tipoff that the Comancheros motorcycle gang was planning a multi-ton smuggling operation, Australian Federal Police Commander Stephen Jay said.
The smugglers made two attempts to transport the drugs to Australia by sea from a mothership floating hundreds of kilometers (miles) offshore, Jay said. Their first boat broke down, and the second vessel foundered on Saturday, leaving the suspects stranded at sea for several hours until police raided the fishing boat and seized the drugs, he said.
The mothership was in international waters and was not apprehended, Jay said.
Authorities have seized more than one ton of cocaine before, Jay said, but the weekend’s haul was the biggest ever recorded in Australia.
Those charged are accused of conspiring to import the drug into Australia by sea and were due to appear in various courts on Monday. The maximum penalty under the charge is life in prison.
Some were arrested on the boat while others were waiting on shore to collect the cocaine, police said. Two were under age 18 and all were Australian citizens, they said.
“Australia is a very attractive market for organized criminal groups to send drugs such as cocaine,” Jay said.


Over 40 people hospitalized in Georgia during protests over the suspension of EU talks

Over 40 people hospitalized in Georgia during protests over the suspension of EU talks
Updated 44 min 13 sec ago
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Over 40 people hospitalized in Georgia during protests over the suspension of EU talks

Over 40 people hospitalized in Georgia during protests over the suspension of EU talks
  • Georgia’s Interior Ministry said Sunday that 27 protesters, 16 police and one media worker were hospitalized
  • Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze warned that ‘any violation of the law will be met with the full rigor of the law’

TBILISI: A third night of protests in the Georgian capital against the government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union left 44 people hospitalized, officials said Sunday.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the parliament Saturday night, throwing stones and setting off fireworks, while police deployed water cannons and tear gas. An effigy of the founder of the governing Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili — a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — was burned in front of the legislature.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry said Sunday that 27 protesters, 16 police and one media worker were hospitalized.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze warned that “any violation of the law will be met with the full rigor of the law.”
“Neither will those politicians who hide in their offices and sacrifice members of their violent groups to severe punishment escape responsibility,” he said at a briefing Sunday.
He insisted it wasn’t true that Georgia’s European integration had been halted. “The only thing we have rejected is the shameful and offensive blackmail, which was, in fact, a significant obstacle to our country’s European integration.” The government’s announcement came hours after the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing last month’s general election in Georgia as neither free nor fair.
Kobakhidze also dismissed the US State Department’s statement Saturday that it was suspending its strategic partnership with Georgia. The statement condemned Georgia’s decision to halt its efforts toward EU accession.
“You can see that the outgoing administration is trying to leave the new administration with as difficult a legacy as possible. They are doing this regarding Ukraine, and now also concerning Georgia,” Kobakhidze said. “This will not have any fundamental significance. We will wait for the new administration and discuss everything with them.”
Kobakhidze also confirmed that Georgia’s ambassador to the US, David Zalkaliani, had become the latest of a number of diplomats to stand down since the protests started.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and enlargement commissioner Marta Kos released a joint statement Sunday on the Georgian government’s decision to suspend negotiations.
“We note that this announcement marks a shift from the policies of all previous Georgian governments and the European aspirations of the vast majority of the Georgian people, as enshrined in the Constitution of Georgia,” the statement said.
It reiterated the EU’s “serious concerns about the continuous democratic backsliding of the country” and urged Georgian authorities to “respect the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, and refrain from using force against peaceful protesters, politicians and media representatives.”
The ruling Georgian Dream party’s disputed victory in the Oct. 26 parliamentary election, which was widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s aspirations to join the EU, has sparked major demonstrations and led to an opposition boycott of parliament.
The opposition has said that the vote was rigged with the help of Russia, Georgia’s former imperial master, with Moscow hoping to keep Tbilisi in its orbit.
Speaking to The Associated Press on Saturday, Georgia’s pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili said that her country was becoming a “quasi-Russian” state and that Georgian Dream controlled the major institutions.
“We are not demanding a revolution. We are asking for new elections, but in conditions that will ensure that the will of the people will not be misrepresented or stolen again,” Zourabichvili said.
The EU granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that it meet the bloc’s recommendations, but put its accession on hold and cut financial support earlier this year after the passage of a “foreign influence” law widely seen as a blow to democratic freedoms.


Russia’s air units destroy 15 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russian agencies report

Russia’s air units destroy 15 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russian agencies report
Updated 56 min 50 sec ago
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Russia’s air units destroy 15 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russian agencies report

Russia’s air units destroy 15 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russian agencies report

Russia’s air defense systems destroyed 15 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions overnight, RIA state news agency reported on Monday, citing Russia’s defense ministry.


Philippines’ Marcos says reported presence of Russian submarine ‘very worrisome’

Philippines’ Marcos says reported presence of Russian submarine ‘very worrisome’
Updated 02 December 2024
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Philippines’ Marcos says reported presence of Russian submarine ‘very worrisome’

Philippines’ Marcos says reported presence of Russian submarine ‘very worrisome’
  • A newspaper earlier reported that a Russian attack submarine surfaced inside Manila’s EEZ last week, citing security sources

MANILA: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday the reported presence of a Russian submarine in the Philippine’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea was “very worrisome.”
The Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper reported on Monday that a Russian attack submarine surfaced inside Manila’s EEZ last week, citing security sources.
“That’s very concerning. Any intrusion into the West Philippine Sea, of our EEZ, of our baselines, is very worrisome,” Marcos told reporters.
Marcos did not elaborate on the submarine’s reported presence, saying he would let the military discuss the matter.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. A Philippine Navy spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Russia’s embassy in Manila could not immediately be reach for comment.
China and Russia declared a “no limits” partnership when President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing in 2022, just days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two countries carried out live-fire naval exercises in the South China Sea in July.
Tensions between Manila and Beijing have escalated over the past year due to overlapping claims in the South China Sea. A 2016 arbitral tribunal ruled China’s historical claims to the disputed waterway had no basis, a decision Beijing rejects.