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Straits Times
2 hours ago
- General
- Straits Times
Seven migrant women and children died metres from shore in Canary Islands
A member of the Red Cross prays next to the coffins of migrants who were on a migrant boat that capsized as it neared La Restinga harbor on the island of El Hierro, in El Pinar, Spain, May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Borja Suarez The coffin of a migrant girl, who was on a boat that capsized as it neared La Restinga harbor on the island of El Hierro, sits before its entombment in El Pinar, Spain, May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Borja Suarez MADRID - Seven migrant women and children who died when their boat capsized just metres from shore in Spain's Canary Islands were buried on Friday at the La Restringa harbour where they had hoped to find safety. Two five-year-old girls and a 16-year-old were among the dead, emergency services said. The migrant boat capsized as rescuers were escorting it to port at La Restringa on the El Hierro island on Wednesday, the services said. "I heard the screams and didn't hesitate. Like any citizen faced with an emergency or an accident, I got in my car, rushed to where the boat was, and helped however I could," Javier Iglesias, a La Restringa resident, said at the funeral of the seven, which was also attended by surviving migrants. "What really moves you and leaves an impression is when you see the faces, the expressions of those people who didn't reach their dream, just five metres from the shore." The number of migrants reaching the Canary Islands from West Africa hit an all-time high in 2024, but the number of arrivals has fallen this year, Interior Ministry data shows. In the first five months of 2024, 4,808 people died on the perilous Atlantic voyage to the Canaries after leaving Africa, according to migrant rights group Walking Borders. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
LeMonde
20 hours ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
Sweden takes notice of French report on Muslim Brotherhood infiltration
A French Interior Ministry report on the Muslim Brotherhood organization's influence in the country has continued to make waves – this time, however, in Sweden, where its publication attracted particular attention. The report repeatedly mentioned the Scandinavian country, and this was widely covered by local media outlets. Sweden's right-wing government and its far-right allies immediately seized on it and accused the Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP) of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Published on May 21, the report, entitled "Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islamism in France," names Sweden – alongside the United Kingdom, Germany, and Austria – as a country where "the need for an assessment of the [Muslim] Brotherhood movement is being felt." According to its authors, "evidence gathered attests to [the organization's] active presence" in Sweden, as well as in the Netherlands and Denmark. The report asserts that the Swedish branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, "though small in size, is characterized by its influence over the movement's European structures." This influence, the report states, "is explained by the supply of funding from Qatar, the great tolerance of Sweden's multiculturalist policies, and the good relations between the movement and local political parties, particularly the Swedish Social Democratic Party."
The National
a day ago
- General
- The National
French imam receives suspended jail term over October 7 social media post
A French court on Friday sentenced an imam to a six-month suspended prison term for 'terrorism apology' after he re-posted a social media post saying the Hamas-led attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023 were justified. The Marseille criminal court also fined Smain Bendjilali €2,000 ($2,265) and imposed a five-year civil rights ban, which prevents him from voting or standing for public office. His name was added to a terrorist offences register. Bendjilali made headlines last year after the Interior Ministry tried to shut the mosque, Les Bleuets, where he preached due to his social media posts. Its closure was suspended after the imam agreed to withdraw temporarily and to take a degree in 'laicite' – a French concept that enshrines the separation between religion and state. National media reported that he was convicted of reposting a video on his account in July 2024, followed by 10,800 people, with a comment describing the October 7 attacks as 'self-defence'. However, he was acquitted for reposting a video accusing Israeli soldiers of torturing a Palestinian and adding that ISIS were 'choirboys' by comparison. The court followed the prosecution's demands, with the exception of a request for a six-month ban from social network X and a permanent ban from working at the Bleuets mosque. After the verdict, Bendjilali said he would resume his religious activities 'with pride', starting with Friday's sermon. 'I did not adhere to those remarks,' he said in a reference to the social media posts that triggered the court case, as he did during the hearing in March. 'Obviously, as soon as you defend Palestinians, you are anti-Semitic or terrorist. That will not silence us.' In a recently published report on the Muslim Brotherhood's activities in France ordered by the Interior Ministry, Bendjilali was described as having 'Salafist leanings' while also using 'Muslim Brotherhood codes.' The report said: 'He enjoys great popularity among young Muslims, notably due to his mastery of social networks.' The association that manages Les Bleuets mosque also oversees a Quranic school that offers Arabic language lessons and academic support to 500 students. Bendjilali headed the association until September 2024. Reacting to the Muslim Brotherhood report, Bendjilali told AFP that the French state was unfairly targeting Muslims. 'Now, even when you want to do good, it is considered entryism,' he said. Entryism is defined by senior state officials as an attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood to change the nature of the state via grassroots movements and to lobby for rules in line with Sharia. Bendjilali was also ordered to cover the legal fees of the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (Licra), a French association that was a civil party in his trial. His lawyer, Sefen Guez Guez, said they had not decided whether to appeal against the terrorism conviction. 'This decision, in any case, allows the imam to continue his future activities. In this file, there is a political context and pressure, a desire on the part of the Ministry of the Interior to close this mosque,' he said.
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
James Argent ditches lawyers who kept him out of jail after attack on ex
James Argent has ditched the lawyer who kept him out of jail after he attacked his ex Nicoline Artursson at a rented Costa del Sol home James Argent has ditched the lawyer who kept him out of jail after he assaulted his former Miss Sweden girlfriend as he prepares for the start of the rehabilitation course he must do as part of his conviction. Court officials confirmed yesterday the process of ensuring the sentence imposed on the former TOWIE star is carried out began on Monday. Well-placed sources also said he had appointed a new legal team as the details of the resocialization programme are ironed out. Civil servants employed by Spain's Interior Ministry are expected to contact Argent's lawyer in the next few days to start discussions on where and when the 37-year-old will undertake his rehabilitation. Argent agreed to do the course on May 5 when he struck a plea bargain deal with public prosecutors and accepted a six-month suspended prison sentence for the assault earlier the same day on ex Nicoline Artursson at a rented Costa del Sol home. He was also given a restraining order preventing him from approaching the 32-year-old model or contacting her for the next two years. Argent's new lawyer is known to be based in Malaga but he has not yet been named. A Spanish court official said yesterday: 'The executory phase of the sentence has now been initiated. It was initiated on May 26.' A well-placed legal source added: 'The individual who was convicted has appointed a new barrister and solicitor. 'They haven't presented any special requests relating to the course their client has to do but that doesn't mean they can't or won't end up doing so. Normally it's a local social insertion centre, which is part of the Spanish penitentiary system and aims to help individuals transition back into society after a period of incarceration, which contacts the convicted person to establish the way they're going to do the course and address issues like the timetable." A source close to the former reality TV star-turned singer, who was told to pay just £250 compensation to Nicoline after pushing her down stairs during a row, claimed today he was now on his third Spanish lawyer following the insider said: 'Since the court case he's changed briefs twice.' Shamed Argent was filmed dancing with fans last week during his first gigs in Spain since the May 5 assault including one at pal Elliott Wright's trendy eatery Olivia's La Cala near the house in La Cala de Mijas between Fuengirola and Marbella where he attacked Nicoline. She suffered several injuries to her neck, arms, hand and leg which took seven days to heal. James was hauled to Fuengirola's Court of Violence Against Women later the same day and admitted a crime of 'mistreatment' as part of his plea bargain deal. Public prosecutors were intending to push for a nine-month prison sentence for the ex-TOWIE star before he agreed to admit to his crime. Experts have said they expect Argent to be obliged to attend ten once-a-week workshops where educators will try to make him see what he did was wrong and help him ensure he doesn't reoffend in the future as part of the resocialization course requirement linked to the sentence. The possibility he can do it in the UK has been downplayed in Spain because of Brexit. James confirmed his relationship with Nicoline last September. The pair told OK! magazine in their first interview together last November they were living together after Nicoline moved into her then-boyfriend's home in Essex and were already looking ahead to starting a family together.
The National
2 days ago
- General
- The National
Saudi Arabia arrests 26 people for transporting illegal Hajj pilgrims
Authorities in Saudi Arabia have arrested 26 people for taking more than 80 pilgrims to Makkah to perform the Hajj without a permit, state media reported on Thursday. The kingdom has announced several tough penalties for illegal pilgrims this year as Riyadh attempts to ensure a safe and orderly Hajj. Worshippers began arriving in Saudi Arabia early this month for the pilgrimage, one of the largest mass gatherings in the world. The Saudi Press Agency reported that security troops apprehended 10 Saudi residents and 16 citizens for transporting 83 pilgrims who did not possess a Hajj permit, citing an Interior Ministry announcement. Penalties had already been issued, including imprisonment, fines of up to 100,000 Saudi riyals ($26,600), deportation for the non-citizens and a 10-year ban on re-entry to the kingdom, SPA said. It did not specify how many people received which penalties. The vehicles used for taking the pilgrims were confiscated, SPA added. The ministry reissued a warning that anyone attempting to perform the Hajj without a permit risks a fine of up to 20,000 riyals, saying the regulations are designed to ensure safety and security. Those enabling illegal pilgrims face even higher fines. One Iranian pilgrim suffered a heart attack while attempting to perform Hajj rituals, SPA reported on Wednesday. He was forced to undergo emergency heart surgery at King Abdullah Medical City in Makkah, but has since recovered and was able to complete his pilgrimage, the news agency said. Saudi Arabia has been intensifying efforts to ensure an orderly and safe Hajj. Crushes, tent fires and other accidents have caused hundreds of deaths over the past 30 years during the pilgrimage. The Saudi government has responded by building new infrastructure. A quota system for visitors to Makkah was introduced in 1987, agreed by member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation, to limit the number of pilgrims allowed by each nation to 0.1 per cent of its population. Millions of Muslims are making their way to Makkah with the intention of performing religious rites next week as taught by the Prophet Mohammed to his followers 14 centuries ago. Six airports across Saudi Arabia have been designated by the government to serve Hajj pilgrims – Jeddah, Madinah, Yanbu, Taif, Riyadh and Dammam. This year's Hajj is expected to take place between June 4 and June 9. The fifth pillar of Islam, the Hajj is mandatory once in a lifetime for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it and is the most significant manifestation of Islamic faith and unity.
