Will South Korea's election result save the country?
After one assassination attempt, two impeachments, and several presidents in less than six months, South Korea has elected a new leader. The Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung — who called the election "judgment day" — is tasked with bringing stability back to the country. Andrew Chang explains the chaos that led up to this pivotal moment, and the challenges that lie ahead. Images provided by Getty Images, The Canadian Press and Reuters.
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Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump's travel ban fuels despair and disgust with politics among Arab Americans in Michigan
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — The ban on travel from certain countries that took effect Monday — reminiscent of President Donald Trump's first-term restrictions that became known to many as the ' Muslim ban ' — is once again souring relationships among Arab American voters in the key battleground state of Michigan, a group that Trump sought to make inroads with during the 2024 election. It came as a particular shock to many Yemeni Americans in the Dearborn area, who were surprised to find their country on Trump's new list banning travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 different countries, mostly in Africa and the Middle East. 'This is the reward to the community that defied everybody else?' asked Wali Altahif, a local activist who advocates for Yemeni and other immigrant communities. 'That said, 'No, we're going to support you, we going to vote for you'?' The new proclamation, which Trump signed last week, applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. While it may not elicit the same protests as 2017, many Yemeni and Arab Americans in the all important battleground state see it as yet another offense contributing to enormous dissatisfaction with both major political parties in the U.S. The aim of the new ban, the Trump administration said, is to 'protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.' Altahif described it as 'selective discrimination' and 'collective punishment.' Michigan is home to one of the largest Arab American populations in the U.S., largely concentrated in the Detroit metropolitan area. The state was an epicenter of anger at President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the administration's support of Israel's offensive in Gaza, which has resulted in a worsening humanitarian crisis and sparked a historic shift away from the Democratic Party. With Trump's history of policy and rhetoric, including the restriction on travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries during his first term, the new restrictions and anger over the toll on Gaza from the Israel-Hamas war have left many Arab American voters feeling that both major political parties have failed to deliver for them. A dramatic change in Dearborn In the November election, Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Dearborn, America's largest Arab-majority city, since 2000. Harris lost 15,000 of Democratic votes compared to Biden's 2020 win after Trump visited the area days before the election, campaigned in a local cafe and said he'd bring peace to the Middle East. The shift was muted but real. Trump picked up 3,000 votes in the city and third-party candidate votes swelled to 20% of the overall vote. Many did not vote for a candidate at all. Trump won Michigan — and the presidency — for the second time in three attempts. In Dearborn, nearly half of its 110,000 residents are of Arab descent and the largest Arab nationalities represented are from Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. Many Yemeni Americans in the metro Detroit area voted for Trump in the 2024 election after his vows for peace, which came at a time of widespread conflict and instability in the Middle East, Altahif said. In Yemen, a near decade-long civil war has pushed its population to the brink of famine. In Trump's first months in office, the U.S. bombed Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen in a two-month long campaign that ended with a ceasefire agreement in May. 'Every single family of Yemeni descendant is affected by the war in Yemen,' Altahif said. 'And we were hopeful based on Trump's promise that he was going to end the war.' Rasheed Alnozili, publisher of the Dearborn-based online and print news services the Yemeni American News, said the travel ban will only stigmatize Yemeni and Arab communities in America and fuel Islamophobia, not counter terrorism. 'They are part of the society, they are raising their kids,' he said of Yemeni communities. There are exceptions to the ban. They include green-card holders and people with U.S. family members who apply for visas in connection to their spouses, children or parents. Altahif expects the ban to make it much harder for families separated by the distance to reunite. He said it took his wife from Yemen five years to get a visa approved before coming to live in the U.S. in 2024. Widespread unease Many in the community are reluctant to talk openly about the new travel restrictions for fear of retaliation, even if they are U.S. citizens or green-card holders. Others are reluctant to leave the country for fear of being held up by border agents when returning home, something Arab and Muslim Americans already report dealing with at airports. Amir Makled, a Dearborn-based civil rights attorney, said the restrictions have been 'similarly chilling' for Muslim travelers compared to the 2017 policy. He's received several calls from people worried about being detained when traveling back to the U.S., even if they are citizens or lawful residents. One person of Yemeni descent ultimately canceled travel for the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, a pillar of Islamic faith, Makled said. 'People overall are opting not to travel, even when they have a legal right to do so,' he said. Both major political parties will have to appeal to the Arab and Muslim communities in the Detroit area in key upcoming races in 2026. With open races for the governor's office and a U.S. Senate seat, a few thousand votes could tip the balance of power in Lansing and in Congress. 'Where these voters land is going to, I think, make a difference in terms of who ends up in those seats,' said Peter Trumbore, chair of the department of political science at Oakland University. The war in Gaza drove Yemeni Americans away from the Democratic Party, Altahif said, and Trump has not made good on his promise to quickly bring an end to the Israel-Hamas war which has resulted in the deaths of more than 55,000 Palestinians. Altahif noted state Democrats who have vocally opposed the travel ban, but said he has not seen Republicans do the same. Osama Siblani, publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab American News, said candidates from both parties who are running for governor and the U.S. Senate have met with him in recent months as the 2026 midterm races start. He also met with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a longtime Democrat who is running as an independent for the governor's office. Siblani called the travel ban a 'racist' executive action that does nothing to help people in war-torn Yemen and Sudan, nations where many metro Detroit residents have relatives. But their disappointment in both Democrats and Republicans may leave them looking for a third option. 'I can see that there is an appetite in our community or a need in our communities to vote for an independent,' Siblani said. ___ Associated Press video journalist Mike Housholder contributed to this report.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
CTV National News: Expanded G7 invitation list prompting criticisms
Watch PM Mark Carney's G7 invites to the leaders of Saudi Arabia and India is dividing members of the Liberal caucus. Judy Trinh on the the reasons for concern.
Globe and Mail
3 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Asian shares are mixed as markets shrug at latest China-US trade deal
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed early Thursday after Wall Street's rally stalled as investors appeared not to react much to the results of the latest round of China-U.S. trade talks. U.S. futures slipped while oil prices rose. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.7% to 38,160.80. Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 0.7% to 24,206.69, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower to 3,400.30. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.4% to 2,919.67, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher to 8,604.70. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 6,022.24 for its first loss in four days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged at 42,865.77 after edging down by 1 point. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.5% to 3,400.30. All told, the S&P 500 fell 16.57 points to 6,022.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.10 to 42,865.77, and the Nasdaq composite sank 99.11 to 19,615.88. Several Big Tech stocks led the way lower, and a 1.9% drop for Apple was the heaviest weight on the market. It's been listless this week after unveiling several modest upcoming changes to the software that runs its devices. The action was stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields eased after a report suggested President Donald Trump's tariffs are not pushing inflation much higher, at least not yet. U.S. consumers had to pay prices for food, gasoline and other costs of living that were 2.4% higher overall in May than a year earlier. That was up from April's 2.3% inflation rate, but it wasn't as bad as the 2.5% that Wall Street was expecting. A fear has been that Trump's wide-ranging tariffs could ignite an acceleration in inflation, just when it had seemed to get nearly all the way back to the Federal Reserve's 2% target from more than 9% three summers ago. It hasn't happened, though economists warn it may take months more to feel the full effect of Trump's tariffs. Trump said Wednesday that China will supply rare-earth minerals and magnets to the United States, while his government will allow Chinese students into U.S. universities in a deal that still needs an agreement by him and by China's leader. Trump also said that 'President XI and I are going to work closely together to open up China to American Trade. This would be a great WIN for both countries!!!' Investors are still hoping for a more sweeping trade deal that would ease tensions between the world's two largest economies. Hopes for such deals between the United States and countries around the world have been one of the main reasons the S&P 500 has charged nearly all the way back to its all-time high after dropping roughly 20% below a couple months ago. Without them, the fear is that Trump's high tariffs could drive the economy into a recession while pushing inflation higher. The S&P 500 is now sitting 2% below its record. Tesla swung between gains and losses before finishing with a rise of 0.1% to continue its shaky run. It's been recovering much of its big losses taken last week after Elon Musk's relationship with Trump imploded, which in turn raised fears about a loss of business for the electric-vehicle company. Musk on Wednesday backed away from some of his earlier comments and said they went 'too far.' In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.41% from 4.47% late Tuesday. Shorter-term yields, which more closely track expectations for what the Fed will do with overnight interest rates, fell more. Wednesday's better-than-expected reading on inflation raised expectations along Wall Street that the Fed could cut its main interest rate at least twice by the end of the year. In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 13 cents to $68.28 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 10 cents to $69.87 per barrel. The U.S. dollar slipped to 144.05 Japanese yen from 144.60 yen. The euro rose to $1.1521 from $1.1487.
