Harris, Trump go toe to toe in frenzied final campaign weekend

Harris, Trump go toe to toe in frenzied final campaign weekend
Election Day is Tuesday but Americans have been voting early for weeks, with more than 70 million ballots already cast. (AFP)
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Updated 02 November 2024
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Harris, Trump go toe to toe in frenzied final campaign weekend

Harris, Trump go toe to toe in frenzied final campaign weekend
  • Kamala Harris is bidding to become the country’s first woman president
  • Opinion polls continue to show a tied race, particularly in the seven battleground states

WASHINGTON: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump enter the final weekend of the most tense US presidential campaign of modern times with a flurry of swing-state rallies that will test their stamina — and ability to persuade the country’s last undecided voters.
Harris, bidding to become the country’s first woman president, will use rallies in Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan to drive home her message that Trump is a threat to US democracy.
Trump — seeking a sensational return to the White House after losing in 2020 and then becoming the first presidential nominee to have been convicted of crimes — promises a radical right-wing makeover of the government and aggressive trade wars to promote his policy of “America first.”
The 78-year-old, who rallied in Milwaukee, Wisconsin late Friday just miles from Harris’s event there, will all but cross paths with her again as Trump makes whistle-stops in North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
Their frenetic schedule will run right into Monday, culminating with late-night rallies — in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Trump and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for Harris.
Election Day is Tuesday but Americans have been voting early for weeks, with more than 70 million ballots already cast — including a record four million in Georgia, where Democrats seek to pull out all the stops to keep the state in their column.
Opinion polls continue to show a tied race, particularly in the seven battleground states likely to determine the result in the US electoral college system, leaving the Republican businessman and his 60-year-old Democratic rival fighting hard to peel off even slivers of support from one another’s camps.
Harris, currently President Joe Biden’s vice president, is doing that by appealing to centrist voters and propelling her base to the polls with a robust ground game and get-out-the-vote effort.
And by painting Trump as a toxic authoritarian, she is also encouraging voters to “finally turn the page” on the former president.
“He is someone who is increasingly unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance — and the man is out for unchecked power,” she told supporters in Little Chute, Wisconsin.
Trump, meanwhile, has doubled down on his already extreme rhetoric in hopes of firing up his loyal base to turn out in massive numbers.
“Kamala’s closing message to America is that she hates you,” Trump fumed on Friday night in Warren, Michigan, where he trashed the economy under Biden and Harris as a disaster — which economists say it clearly is not — and warned that “a 1929-style economic depression” would ensue if Harris were elected.
Citing her hawkish foreign policy views, Trump earlier had conjured the image of former Republican representative turned Harris supporter Liz Cheney being shot.
“She’s a radical war hawk. Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let’s see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face,” Trump said.
Despite the rhetoric, Trump waxed nostalgic on Friday about how his experience campaigning over the past nine years has been “the thrill of a lifetime.”
“And now we want to take that thrill and turn it into ‘let’s do business,’ right?“
Harris, the nation’s first Black and first Asian-American vice president, meanwhile has sought to harness celebrity star power like Beyonce and Bruce Springsteen in the campaign’s waning days.
Jennifer Lopez, a pop icon of Puerto Rican heritage, joined Harris onstage Thursday, amid a firestorm triggered by a Trump rally warm-up speaker branding the US territory a “floating island of garbage.”
Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B appeared with the candidate Friday night, asking the crowd in Milwaukee, “Are we ready to make history?“
With the election just days away — and Trump refusing to say whether he would accept its results if he loses — businesses in the capital Washington have begun boarding up shop fronts as city authorities warn of a “fluid, unpredictable security environment” in the days after the polls close.
Trump is already alleging fraud and cheating in swing states such as Pennsylvania, laying the groundwork for what many fear will be more unrest, following the violence that erupted at the US Capitol in the wake of the 2020 vote.


Ghanaians see presidential vote as a way out of hardship

Supporters of the former Ghana President and presidential candidate for the National Democratic Congress, John Mahama, in Accra.
Supporters of the former Ghana President and presidential candidate for the National Democratic Congress, John Mahama, in Accra.
Updated 13 sec ago
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Ghanaians see presidential vote as a way out of hardship

Supporters of the former Ghana President and presidential candidate for the National Democratic Congress, John Mahama, in Accra.
  • Ghana’s presidential elections have historically been two-horse races

ACCRA: Joseph Antwi knows what he wants as a young person in Ghana casting his vote for the first time on Saturday when the West African nation elects its next president.
What he is not sure of, though, is whether the election’s outcome would improve the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation in Ghana, one of the region’s economic powerhouses which has struggled in recent years with high public debt, a weakened local currency and high inflation.
“I want to vote to kick out the current government because they have not been kind to young people,” said Antwi, a trader in the capital of Accra, accusing the outgoing government of President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo of breaking its electoral promises since it was first elected eight years ago.
But the options for a candidate that will bring change are limited, he said, echoing the concerns of some of the 18.7 million people registered to vote for both president and members of parliament.
Ghana’s presidential elections have historically been two-horse races. This time is no different.
Although 12 candidates are running to become Ghana’s next president, it is seen as a tight race between Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia of the ruling New Patriotic Party government that has struggled to resolve the economic crisis, and immediate past President John Mahama, the leader of the main opposition National Democratic Congress.
In their final campaign rallies on Thursday, both candidates made a last push to pitch their political parties as the answer to Ghana’s economic woes.
Bawumia, a former deputy governor of the central bank, promised to build on the outgoing administration’s efforts and stabilize the economy. “I know what I want to do from day one in the presidency,” Bawumia, 61, told cheering supporters in Accra.
Mahama, on the other hand, restated his promise to “reset” the country on various fronts. “We need to reset our democracy, governance, economy, finances, agriculture, infrastructure, environment, health sector, and all that we hold dear as a people,” the 65-year-old former president said.
Across the city, the election mood has been high-spirited with political rallies, while election jingles and songs blast from public speakers.
In addition to the economic hardship, illegal gold mining — known locally as galamsey — has also been a major source of concern, triggering protests in recent weeks.
Ghana is Africa’s top gold producer and the world’s sixth largest, but illegal gold mining, which pollutes rivers and the environment, has spiked as people become more desperate for a better life.
Voters will be looking at whoever will promise to solve the problem of unemployment and hardship, said Lord Mawuko-Yevugah, a professor of political economy at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.
Ghana’s opposition parties have also alleged plans by the election commission to rig the vote in favor of the ruling party, although without providing any evidence. The claims raised fears for a country seen as a beacon of democratic values at a time when democracy in West Africa is threatened by coups.
“We view transparency, responsiveness, and inclusiveness as critical to ensuring, credible and fair processes,” said Jean Mensa, head of the Ghanaian electoral commission. “And we have demonstrated these three elements in all aspects of our work.”

 


Dozens arrested across Britain in people-smuggling crackdown

Police officers stand near a cordon at Manchester Victoria Station, in Manchester. (AFP file photo)
Police officers stand near a cordon at Manchester Victoria Station, in Manchester. (AFP file photo)
Updated 3 min 53 sec ago
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Dozens arrested across Britain in people-smuggling crackdown

Police officers stand near a cordon at Manchester Victoria Station, in Manchester. (AFP file photo)
  • The CTA allows British and Irish citizens only to travel without passports between the islands of Ireland, Great Britain, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands

LONDON: Police have arrested dozens of people in a cross-border crackdown against people-smuggling gangs exploiting free movement between the UK and Ireland, Britain’s Interior Ministry said.
The crackdown “has led to the arrest of 35 people in multiple locations across the UK and Ireland,” the UK Home Office said in a statement.
Immigration staff and police raided locations in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland as part of the three-day operation, it said.
It targeted criminal groups exploiting the Common Travel Area and abusing UK borders on all fronts, said the statement.

SPEEDREAD

• Earlier this year, after a surge in people applying f or asylum in the republic, Dublin said most had come over the land border with Northern Ireland.

• The Home Office said that checks at major ports, airports, road networks and private addresses across the country had detected the gangs’ activities.

• Operating in the UK and internationally, they exploit vulnerable migrants.

The CTA allows British and Irish citizens only to travel without passports between the islands of Ireland, Great Britain, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
But it has sparked unease in Ireland amid allegations that migrants are using Belfast as a backdoor to the republic, and in the other direction into Britain.
Earlier this year, after a surge in people applying for asylum in the republic, Dublin said most had come over the land border with Northern Ireland.
The Home Office said that checks at major ports, airports, road networks and private addresses across the country had detected the gangs’ activities.
Operating in the UK and internationally, they exploit vulnerable migrants, charging them thousands of pounds to enter the UK illegally, it added.

 


Hague court lays fresh charges against ex-Kosovo leader Thaci

Hague court lays fresh charges against ex-Kosovo leader Thaci
Updated 06 December 2024
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Hague court lays fresh charges against ex-Kosovo leader Thaci

Hague court lays fresh charges against ex-Kosovo leader Thaci
  • Thaci “has been charged with three counts of obstruction of official persons in performing official duties,” said a statement released by prosecutors
  • Thaci resigned from the presidency in late 2020

PRISTINA: Prosecutors with a special international court in The Hague on Friday charged Kosovo’s former president Hashim Thaci, who is on trial for war crimes, with obstruction and contempt of court.
Thaci “has been charged with three counts of obstruction of official persons in performing official duties, four counts of violating secrecy of proceedings and four counts of contempt of court,” said a statement released by prosecutors.
A separate statement by the Kosovo Specialists Chambers (KSC) in The Hague said “the indictment charges the accused with offenses related to alleged unlawful efforts to influence witness testimonies in the Thaci et al war crimes trial.”
The KSC is a court located in The Hague to prosecute mainly former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) fighters for war crimes.
Among them is former KLA commander Thaci, who dominated Kosovo’s politics after it declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and rose to become president of the tiny country.
Thaci resigned from the presidency in late 2020 to face war crimes and crimes against humanity charges, and has pleaded not guilty.


‘We love our food’: Malaysians cheer as breakfast culture joins UNESCO list

‘We love our food’: Malaysians cheer as breakfast culture joins UNESCO list
Updated 06 December 2024
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‘We love our food’: Malaysians cheer as breakfast culture joins UNESCO list

‘We love our food’: Malaysians cheer as breakfast culture joins UNESCO list
  • Malaysia’s breakfast traditions recognized on Intangible Cultural Heritage list
  • This is the first time Malaysia has received UN recognition related to gastronomy

KUALA LUMPUR: For many Malaysians, breakfast has always been the highlight of the day — and now, it is also a source of pride after gaining a place on UNESCO’s cultural heritage list.

The UN body voted on Thursday to include Malaysia’s breakfast culture, “a living heritage related to the traditional dietary practices,” on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The recognition was immediately welcomed by the Ministry of Culture as a “historic milestone” as it was Malaysia’s first UNESCO entry related to food and gastronomy. It also drew delighted responses from all those from whom breakfast is an integral part of family and social life.

Heng Wei Boon, a 47-year-old engineer, still remembers the food his mother used to prepare when he was growing up in Penang. The usual menu was half-boiled eggs with toast, porridge, or noodle soup. All three dishes until now remain his breakfast favorites until now.

“It did not matter if it was a school day. If it is, breakfast is at 6.30 a.m. If not, it’s around 7:45 or 8 a.m,” he said.

“It is a meal to start the day and here in Malaysia, we take it very seriously.”

From home kitchens to kopitiams — traditional coffee houses — to roadside stalls and office cafeterias, the first meal of the day is like a ritual in all of Malaysia’s multi-ethnic communities.

“I grew up in a kampung (village) neighborhood, in the city, and back then, sometimes, some of the moms took turns making breakfast for the kids ... It was such a fun time, and it is a memory so many of us cherish and still talk about,” Nur Natasha Siraj, a 35-year old pharmacist in the Klang Valley told Arab News.

“Now, as a working adult, taking that time for breakfast — to sit and share a meal to start my day — is an important part of my routine, as it is for many Malaysians. The boomers in my hospital would never not go for breakfast and even give us a scolding for missing breakfast. Not so much because they care about our health, but because it is our time to check in with one another and bond before the rush of the day begins.”

A screengrab from a 2023 clip by Malaysia's Department of National Heritage shows a food vendor serving nasi lemak. (UNESCO)

Her favorite breakfast item was nasi lemak — fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and with pandan leaves, accompanied by sambal chili sauce and various garnishes like fresh cucumber slices, fried anchovies, roasted peanuts, and boiled or fried eggs.

Traditionally served in banana leaves, it is one of the most popular staples.

Mahalakshmi Sundarasekaran, a Kuala Lumpur vendor who sells nasi lemak and idli — savory Indian rice cakes — runs out of her menu items within two hours from opening her stall in the morning.

“People are always in a good mood when having breakfast. I enjoy seeing that. I am glad Malaysia got recognized for this,” she said.

“We, Malaysians, love our food, give it to us three times a day, five times a day, we will eat. But there’s something about breakfast. A good breakfast to start your day ... This recognition is so appropriate.”

Other iconic breakfast items include roti canai — a flaky, crispy South Indian flatbread served with lentil or meat curry — and mi soto, a soup dish that combines broth spiced with turmeric, ginger and lemongrass, and thick yellow noodles.

Sulaiman Ramly, who owns a mi soto stall in Kota Bharu in the northern state of Kelantan, told Arab News that breakfast was a “reset time” for Malaysians.

“It is when they set their bearings for the day. For someone like me who sells breakfast for a living, I know that a good meal to start your day sets the tone for the whole day,” he said.

“In Malaysia, there is no shortage of good food and especially not of good breakfast.”


Israeli troops force Indonesian medical team to leave north Gaza

Israeli troops force Indonesian medical team to leave north Gaza
Updated 06 December 2024
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Israeli troops force Indonesian medical team to leave north Gaza

Israeli troops force Indonesian medical team to leave north Gaza
  • Indonesians were the only surgeons left at Kamal Adwan Hospital
  • Heavy casualties reported as Israeli forces stormed the hospital

DUBAI: Indonesian medics volunteering at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza said they were forced by Israeli troops to leave the area on Friday, days after arriving with emergency assistance.

Like the rest of Gaza’s north, the Kamal Adwan Hospital has been cut from any supplies since early October, enduring multiple Israeli strikes and a siege and running out of fuel, among other essentials.

Five volunteers from the Indonesian nongovernmental organization Medical Emergency Rescue Committee, or MER-C, arrived in the facility on Dec. 1 and were the first emergency medical team to reach it in 60 days.

They were forced to leave on Friday morning following two warnings, Dr. Faradina Sulistiyani, a surgeon from the MER-C, said in a video clip upon arrival in Gaza City.

“We walked from Kamal Adwan until Salah Al-Din Street,” she said. “They are bombing the hospital now.”

Most of the hospital’s doctors have been detained by Israeli soldiers in raids since late October.

The Indonesian team, comprising Sulistiyani, another surgeon, an obstetrician, and two nurses, were the only ones able to perform surgeries in the past days, the hospital’s director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, said in a statement after their departure.

“No surgeons are left,” he said, as he reported scores of casualties from Friday’s attacks.

“Medical supplies are running out, and there are hundreds of victims.”

From the Kamal Adwan Hospital, the Indonesian team walked to the nearby Indonesia Hospital — a facility that was funded and opened by MER-C in 2016. Heavily damaged by Israeli strikes last year, the hospital partly reopened in June. It has been targeted again since October.

Video footage shared by MER-C shows the Indonesian medics sheltering in the facility, amid strikes hitting the building.

“We have evacuated from the Kamal Adwan Hospital, now at Indonesia Hospital. God willing, we’ll walk to Salah Al-Din,” one of the volunteers said in the clip. “Dr. Hussam and other local medical staff remained in Kamal Adwan.”

When they reached Salah Al-Din Road, the main highway of the Gaza Strip, they were picked up by a Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulance.

“There were still people walking some 300 meters behind us,” Kamal Putra Pratama, a nurse from the team, said in a video from the car. “Hopefully the people who were in Kamal Adwan, the sick people, can be evacuated.”

One of the last functioning health centers in north Gaza, the Kamal Adwan Hospital has been hit multiple times since the start of Israel’s war on the Palestinian enclave in October last year.

The hospital’s intensive care unit director Ahmad Al-Kahlut was killed in an air strike late last month.

The Israeli military has killed at least 44,600 people and injured more than 105,000. The real death toll is believed to be much higher, with estimates published by medical journal The Lancet indicating that, as of July, it could be more than 186,000.