Benedict Spence
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and
Gentleman columnist. Occasionally on your screen. Now, for instance. Mostly microplastic. My views are of terraced houses.
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Articles by Benedict Spence
Somalia reaffirms support for Palestinian statehood at UN General Assembly Original
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud warns of effects of climate change, Hormuz closure on developing nations He calls for reform of UN working relationship with Somalia, permanent African representation on Security Council LONDON: Somalia called for a resolution to the plight of the Palestinian people on Thursday, while saying the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz poses a threat not only to itself but the rest of the region.
EU must ban trade with Israeli settlements: Amnesty International Original
Rights group slams commission president for inaction since 2025 proposal for restrictions, sanctions ‘For Palestinians and so many others in the region, it’s a matter of life and death’ EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen must announce a trade ban on illegal Israeli settlements, Amnesty International has said.
How the 7/7 bombings impacted British society and why it remains relevant 20 years on
LONDON: On July 7, 2005, four men joined millions of commuters during London’s morning rush hour, making their way into the UK capital’s labyrinthine public transport network. At around 8:49 a.m., Shehzad Tanweer, from Leeds in the north of England, detonated a home-made bomb on a Circle Line train between Liverpool Street Station and Aldgate.
Rubio to make first visit to Indo-Pacific region for ASEAN meeting
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Malaysia later this week to attend a meeting of Southeast Asian Nations in his first visit to the Indo-Pacific region as America’s top diplomat, the State Department said in a statement. Rubio will travel July 8-12 and will take part in meetings in Kuala Lumpur with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whose ministers are gathering there, the State Department said.
Diogo Jota’s death is unspeakably tragic
Diogo Jota’s death at the age of 28 is unbearably tragic and has prompted an outpouring of grief in the football world and beyond. The Liverpool forward lost his life in the early hours of this morning when his Lamborghini careered off a road in Spain and caught fire. Jota had married his childhood sweetheart, Rute, a few days earlier in their home city of Porto. His brother, Andre Silva, 26, also died in the crash.
Diogo Jota's death is unspeakably tragic
Text size Small Medium Large Line Spacing Compact Normal Spacious Comments Diogo Jota’s death at the age of 28 is unbearably tragic and has prompted an outpouring of grief in the football world and beyond. The Liverpool forward lost his life in the early hours of this morning when his Lamborghini careered off a road in Spain and caught fire. Jota had married his childhood sweetheart, Rute, a few days earlier in their home city of Porto. His brother, Andre Silva, 26, also died in the crash.
There’s no such thing as the 'global majority' Original
We can now add another, somewhat more hefty majority to the list most people wish to avoid being a part of: the so-called global majority. For some time now, activists in Western countries have been pushing the term ‘global majority’ as a replacement for the term ‘ethnic minority’. The reasoning is simple enough if you are a simple person: there are far more non-white people in the world than white people. It is clearly meant as an attempt to further the pursuit of social justice.
The great migration
What will Twitter do without its smuggest inhabitants? And so we come to it again. It is that time of year when we put on our David Attenborough voices, and talk in low, slightly wistful tones about the great migration that is about to unfold. Everywuh you look, creatures great and small are beginning their treacherous juhneys across a vast and inhospitable wilduhness to happiuh hunting grounds and more pleasant pastures under the clear blue skies.
UN says strikes on Lebanon killing children ‘at a frightening rate’
Failure to implement UN resolutions has ‘emboldened’ Israel: Pakistani PM /node/2573024/middle-east September 27, 2024 21:07 Failure to implement UN resolutions has ‘emboldened’ Israel: Pakistani PM Addressing UN General Assembly, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif slams suffering in Palestine, Lebanon Heightened risk of regional war with potentially ‘unimaginable’ consequences LONDON: The failure to implement UN resolutions has “emboldened” Israel and heightened the risk of a regional war with...
Seven-year-old Indian boy killed in ritual sacrifice for school’s ‘good fortune’
LUCKNOW, India: Five people were arrested in India for the killing of a seven-year-old boy in an alleged ritual sacrifice aimed at bringing good fortune to a public school, police said Friday. The victim was found dead in his bed on Sunday night at the hostel where he lived in the city of Hathras, not far from the country’s famed Taj Mahal. Instead of alerting authorities, police said that school director Dinesh Baghel hid the body in the trunk of his car.
World must do more against ‘Houthi oppression’: Yemeni leader
Special President of Yemen Rashad Al-Alimi addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, at UN headquarters, in New York, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024.
Biden calls for end to Gaza war during final UN address
Biden calls for end to Gaza war during final UN address Short Url: 25 Sep 2024 12:09:04 GMT9 President calls for 2-state solution, warns against escalation on Israeli-Lebanese border Biden demands end to Sudan’s civil war, discusses ending US occupations of Iraq, Afghanistan LONDON: US President Joe Biden called for an end to the war in Gaza in his keynote speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, adding that the world is at “another inflection point in history.” Addressing...
Biden calls for end to Gaza war during final UN address
LONDON: US President Joe Biden called for an end to the war in Gaza in his keynote speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, adding that the world is at “another inflection point in history.” Addressing the annual meeting of world leaders and dignitaries for the fourth and final time, the outgoing president called for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, warned against an escalation in violence on the Lebanese border, touched upon the need for conflict...
Reform of UN can ‘give Africa a voice,’ Mauritanian president says
NEW YORK CITY: Stagnating progress in efforts to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals is holding back African nations and the wider world, Mauritania’s president told the UN as he appealed for reforms of the international system to “give Africa a voice.” Speaking on Monday at the organization’s headquarters in New York City, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani said that despite setbacks, the African Union and its member states have “made tremendous efforts to achieve Agenda 2063,” a blueprint...
Algerian FM calls for UN reform to meet ‘dangers lurking all over the world’
Special Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria Ahmed Attaf addresses the ‘Summit of the Future’ in the General Assembly hall at United Nations headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 23, 2024.
Why ‘powerhouse’ private sector must step up to help UN achieve its Sustainable Development Goals
LONDON: The private sector must move from the “periphery” to become a “powerhouse” in supporting and funding international bodies and their programs if the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals are to be met by 2030, according to Carla Haddad Mardini, UNICEF’s director of private fundraising and partnerships.
Why ‘powerhouse’ private sector must step up to help UN achieve its Sustainable Development Goals
Benedict Spence 23 September 2024 (AFP) Short Url https://arab.news/c8vng UNICEF fundraising chief Carla Haddad Mardini tells Arab News that flexible funding is key to achieving SDGs by 2030 Says 1.2 billion children face ‘multidimensional poverty,’ with those in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, and Yemen among most at risk LONDON: The private sector must move from the “periphery” to become a “powerhouse” in supporting and funding international bodies and their programs if the UN’s 17 sustainable...
Family and friends recall dedication of World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in Gaza
Polling stations open for Kuwait’s National Assembly elections /node/2487971/middle-east April 04, 2024 12:55 Polling stations open for Kuwait’s National Assembly elections KUWAIT: Polling areas opened Thursday in Kuwait’s first election since Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah assumed power late last year, as voters choose representatives from five electoral constituencies for the National Assembly’s 18th legislative term.
‘Reckless’ Houthi Red Sea campaign harming Yemenis, Palestinians: US special envoy
Special US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking said, on Wednesday, that the purpose of the strikes was to destroy the Houthis’ ability to attack ships.
The problem with football pundits
Why are we so often stuck with inarticulate ex-pros? You’d be hard pressed to find a football fan who doesn’t fancy themselves something of an authority — indeed, who believes they couldn’t hack it as England manager. For a simple game, football prompts more than its fair share of opinions, which makes sense given the money involved. Where else could three men sit and watch the same footage on repeat and each arrive at wildly different conclusions?
Gulf opportunities abound for economy-focused Sunak
LONDON: The UK witnessed a temporary respite from its ongoing political crisis on Monday as Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor of the exchequer, was declared winner of the ruling Conservative Party’s latest leadership contest. The new prime minister is already a history maker as the first Asian and Hindu to assume the role, but he enters office with an economy in the doldrums, crumbling infrastructure, war rumbling on in Ukraine and a fractured party.
Cancel Africa’s debts as global crises worsen, Mauritanian FM tells UNGA
LONDON: Mauritania’s foreign minister on Monday urged the international community to cancel foreign debt for African nations amid the intensifying global financial crisis. In a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug also asked for support for the Sahel region in countering terrorism.
Prague by design
Prague has a graffiti problem. This becomes apparent as the train pulls towards the nineteenth-century Masarykovo Nadrazi station, through the old industrial east of the city. Huge derelict warehouses, some from the communist era, others much older, are covered top to bottom in scrawls and daubs amidst collapsed roofs and glassless windows.
Prague by design
Prague has a graffiti problem. This becomes apparent as the train pulls towards the 19th-century Masarykovo Nadrazi station, through the old industrial east of the city. Huge derelict warehouses, some from the communist era, others much older, are covered top to bottom in scrawls and daubs amidst collapsed roofs and glassless windows.
UK’s Conservatives urged to do more to stop Islamophobia
MANILA: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday cited the Philippine’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, rejecting claims of public reluctance to get inoculated against the disease. “Right now, we don’t see a lot of (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy in the Philippines. Actually, the issue is that the vaccine supply cannot meet the demand,” Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO representative to the Philippines, said during a virtual press briefing on Monday.
Now is the time to make the case for a small state and personal freedom
Just eighteen months have passed since the last general election, yet the Overton Window has swung further than anyone could’ve imagined in December 2019. Covid-19 has forced the government to make difficult, costly decisions – and the increase in public spending will be hard to pay back.
DEBATE: Should the government intervene to stop the European Super League?
Benedict Spence, freelance journalist and political commentator, argues YES Football is not a normal business. To those emotionally uninvested it may appear to be, but then so might the Catholic Church. To such people, selling a cathedral or dissolving a monastery might make financial sense (if you assume there’s no chance the faithful break down your door afterwards, at which point it begins to look rather expensive).
What should go in the Brexit museum
Have you ever wondered what happened to Boris Johnson’s Brexit bus? One might think such a large, controversial item would be too conspicuous to vanish into the ether, but for the life of me, I have no idea where it is. Yes, I know, red buses aren’t exactly a novelty in the UK, being the favoured mode of transport of Liverpool footballers, the loud actor fellow who was in Lewis, and most of the city of London.
Children will ‘bear brunt’ of UK’s Syria aid cuts: Charity
Saudi fuel grant to Yemen will address power cuts, save millions of dollars, officials say AL-MUKALLA: The $422 million Saudi fuel donation for power stations in Yemen would save millions of dollars and help reduce long power cuts that have been blamed for fueling unrest in hot and humid Yemeni cities, officials and analysts said on Wednesday.
Batley school protests: If we want a free and tolerant society, we must stop pandering to the mob
Being a lazy and feckless boy, I didn’t enjoy school, and have found myself unable to empathise with the nation’s children so desperate to get back into the classroom these past months. But having struggled through years of being force fed things I had no interest in, I am happy to hear that times have changed for my feckless brethren.
The art of the public apology
If your genetic code survived the Pleistocene epoch, and prospered sufficiently that you find yourself reading this, I feel I ought to warn you that you are in great danger. For though the woolly marmoset and sabre-toothed sloth may be extinct, a new apex predator has emerged: human beings, or more specifically, other human beings.
Italian police bust migrant-smuggling cell
YANGON: Protests erupted in several cities across Myanmar on Sunday, with several more planned for today, after an official from the party of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi died overnight after “fainting” in police custody. The family of Khin Maung Latt, a 58-year-old Muslim man from Yangon, however, rejected the claims saying that he was healthy “with no injuries at all” when police detained him on Saturday night.
Faith communities urged to work together to protect women
LONDON: The former director-general of UNESCO on Monday urged the world to do more to alleviate the plight of female refugees suffering as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking at the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity’s Women’s 2021 Forum, attended by Arab News, Irina Bokova said: “Women are facing increasing social economic and safety challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic — from vulnerable refugees to working mothers.
Hungary closes stores, schools to curb surge due to variants
Hungary closes stores, schools to curb surge due to variants /node/1822271/world Short Url https://arab.news/82h8z Hungary closes stores, schools to curb surge due to variants The number of patients on ventilators in Hungarian hospitals has more than doubled in the last two weeks Updated 52 sec ago AP March 09, 2021 03:25 BUDAPEST: Hungarians on Monday awoke to a new round of strict lockdown measures aimed at slowing a record-breaking wave of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths that are...
Faith communities urged to work together to protect women
KABUL: Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh on Monday took on a defiant tone as he reacted to a letter from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to President Ashraf Ghani, which included an urgent proposal to help restart stalled peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban. “There are those who say a letter has reached you. Yes.
Hungary closes stores, schools to curb surge due to variants
Hungary closes stores, schools to curb surge due to variants /node/1822271/world Short Url https://arab.news/m6nv8 Topics: Hungary COVID-19 Faith communities urged to work together to protect women /node/1822251/world UK politicians highlight Iran’s ‘appalling’ treatment of women /node/1822131/world Updated 08 March 2021 Christopher Hamill-Stewart March 08, 2021 22:32 Topics: UK politicians Iranian women Tehran International Women’s Day 2021 International Women's Day Forum calls for action on...
The sad decline of The Simpsons
In the latest episode of ‘Americans Do the Funniest Things,’ it has emerged that The Simpsons is to replace the white voice actor for the character of Dr. Julius Hibbert with a black actor. Hibbert, for those who don’t know him, is a mainstay of the show — a family doctor recognised by his white lab coat, gentle manner and signature chuckle.
UAE minister hails progress in clean energy sector
LONDON: Emirati-British ties, and the UAE’s new relationship with Israel, will help forge a global path toward a more environmentally friendly future, the UAE’s Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed Al-Mazrouei said on Wednesday. Speaking at a virtual panel hosted by the Emirates Society and attended by Arab News, he was joined by his UK counterpart Kwasi Kwarteng and Mohammed Jameel Al-Ramahi, CEO of Abu Dhabi-based Masdar, a global leader in renewable energy and sustainable urban development.
US sanctions target Khamenei-linked foundation
LONDON: The Abraham Accords, signed recently between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain, could serve as a blueprint for resolving other conflicts in the Middle East, according to panelists at a discussion hosted by the Emirates Society and attended by Arab News.
Hezbollah ally Gebran Bassil says not scared by US sanctions
LONDON: Hezbollah and Iran are preventing Lebanon from enacting badly needed reforms to emerge from political, social and financial crises, Ziad Majed, associate professor and program coordinator for Middle East pluralities at the American University of Paris, said on Friday.
Hezbollah, Iran preventing Lebanese recovery: Expert
BEIRUT: The US Treasury on Friday imposed sanctions on Christian politician Gebran Bassil, Lebanon’s former foreign minister and an ally of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, accusing him of corruption. Bassil, the son-in-law of President Michel Aoun, has been a major target of Lebanese protesters since they took to the streets last year to demonstrate against widespread state corruption and mismanagement.
‘Maximum pressure’ only way to oppose Iran: Experts
LONDON: Iran might be the world’s greatest threat to international security, and should have maximum pressure applied to it in a bid to force “regime collapse,” according to a panel of experts convened to discuss the efficacy of sanctions on Tehran. The event, titled “An Effective Iran Policy: Sanctions or No Sanctions?” and attended by Arab News, was hosted by the US branch of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
Right-wing UK media figure apologizes to London mosque
MANILA: Classes for more than 24 million elementary and high-school students across the Philippines resumed on Monday, with Education Secretary Leonor Briones hailing the move as a government “victory” over the coronavirus pandemic. “Today, we open our schools,” Briones declared in a speech, signalling the official start of the new academic year. “Today, we claim victory over the destroyer (COVID 19).
US court orders Iran to pay $1.4 bln in damages to missing former FBI agent’s family
LONDON: London’s Finsbury Park Mosque has told Arab News that it welcomes the apology of British media provocateur Katie Hopkins for falsely suggesting on Twitter that members of its congregation had been involved in a violent altercation with police in May. Hopkins, who has since been banned by the platform for breaching its “hateful conduct” policy, tweeted video footage of five men attacking officers from the Metropolitan Police, linking them to the mosque.
UK advocacy group takes Tories to task on Islamophobia
PATNA: Cinema halls and open-air theaters in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal will be back in business from Thursday in defiance of a national lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. The directive, which flouts the lockdown imposed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in March, was issued by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Her decision “to return to normalcy” will be extended to include music, dance, and magic shows from next month.
US sanctions target Syrian president’s son, Syrian army unit
LONDON: A triptych by British artist Banksy of the Mediterranean Sea depicting the European refugee crisis has sold for more than £2.2 million ($2.9 million) at auction in London. The three-paneled work, “Mediterranean Sea View 2017,” was put up for sale at Sotheby’s auction house on July 29, where it was initially expected to fetch £1.2 million for a children’s hospital in the West Bank, the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation.
Saudi envoy hails G20 presidency as chance for fresh approach
LONDON: The Saudi ambassador to the UK on Wednesday praised the opportunities now open to his country as a result of its presidency of the G20. Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud was speaking at a roundtable attended by Arab News and organized by the Arab British Chamber of Commerce (ABCC).
Rebecca Long Bailey was sacked — but she wasn't the real culprit | TheArticle
Ask yourself, and try to be honest: how often do you read an entire article before engaging with it on Twitter, or retweeting it? It is something I have been guilty of, and judging by a lot of the interaction I get below my own pieces, rather a lot of you are guilty of it too. It’s understandable — Twitter is a feast of options, and the ever-refreshing feed waits for no man.
Jenrick should go. He knows it. The PM knows it
The Westferry affair would have ended in Robert Jenrick’s resignation — but it almost certainly will not. And, if we’re honest with ourselves, there are many reasons why a government such as this would feel there was no reason to type up a letter thanking the prime minister for the opportunity to serve, while easing Mr Jenrick towards an open window. Practically, it makes little sense, whatever the moral certainty over what should be done.
Senior British Jews condemn Israel’s ‘alarming’ West Bank annexation plan
LONDON: Some of the most respected members of the UK’s Jewish community have written to Israel’s ambassador in London to condemn “alarming” plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank and Jordan Valley.
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