Tag: InternationalNews

{Canadian prime minister decries shooting at mosque that killed at least six as two suspects are arrested.}

At least six people were killed in a shooting at a mosque in Quebec City during evening prayers, police said.

Gunmen fired on about 50 people inside the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre on Sunday at 8pm local time (01:00 GMT).

“Six people are confirmed dead – they range in age from 35 to about 70,” Quebec provincial police spokeswoman Christine Coulombe told reporters, adding that eight people were wounded and 39 were unharmed.

Police said two suspects had been arrested, but gave no details about them or what prompted the attack.

The mosque’s president, Mohamed Yangui, was not inside the mosque at the time of the shooting. He received frantic calls from worshippers.

He said: “Why is this happening here? This is barbaric.”

Speaking to Al Jazeera by phone, he said: “One of the administrators called me and said there was a shooting at the mosque. I am still in shock. I ran to the mosque … I was told that one attacker was arrested at the scene while another one was arrested nearby.”

{{‘A terrorist attack on Muslims’}}

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the shooting as a “terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge”.

“Muslim Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country,” he said in a statement.

The shooting came on the weekend that Trudeau said Canada would welcome refugees, after US President Donald Trump suspended the US refugee programme and temporarily barred citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the country.

Philippe Couillard, premier of Quebec, said on Twitter that Sunday’s attack “is a terrorist act”, and called for “solidarity with Quebecers of the Muslim faith”.

The mosque leader Yangui added that the centre had not received any threats immediately before the attack.

“The neighbourhood is very peaceful. We have a good relationship with the government, the mayor of Quebec. We have no problem whatsoever,” he said.

Writing on its Facebook page after the attack, the centre said: “All of our thoughts are with the children to whom we must announce the death of their father”.

The mosque was previously targeted in an Islamophobic attack. In June 2016, during Ramadan, a pig’s head was left on the mosque’s doorstep along with a note that said “bon appetit”. Pork is forbidden in Islam.

“We are not safe here,” said Mohammed Oudghiri, who normally attends prayers at the mosque in the middle-class residential area, but did not on Sunday.

Speaking to Reuters, Oudghiri said he had lived in Quebec for 42 years but was now “very worried” and thinking of moving back to Morocco.

Basem Boshra, managing editor of the Montreal Gazette, told Al Jazeera that the centre is the city’s biggest mosque of six, with some 5,000 members.

“There’s a pretty strong Muslim community in Quebec City,” he said, adding that there were plans to lower flags at the national assembly as a mark of respect for the victims

Ralph Goodale, Canada’s public safety minister, said on Twitter that he was “deeply saddened” by the loss of life and injuries.

Greg Fergus, an MP in Quebec, described on Twitter the attack as “a terrorist act – the result of years of demonizing Muslims”.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said police were providing additional protection for mosques in that city following the Quebec shooting. “All New Yorkers should be vigilant. If you see something, say something,” he tweeted.

{{Islamophobia in Quebec}}

Incidents of Islamophobia have increased in Quebec in recent years.

The full-face covering became a big issue in the 2015 Canadian federal election, especially in Quebec, where the majority of the population supported a ban on it at citizenship ceremonies.

In 2013, police investigated an incident in which a mosque in the Saguenay region of the province was splattered with what was believed to be pig blood.

In the neighbouring province of Ontario, a mosque was set on fire in 2015, a day after an attack by gunmen and suicide bombers in Paris.

“It’s a sad day for all Quebecers and Canadians to see a terrorist attack happen in peaceful Quebec City,” said Mohamed Yacoub, co-chairman of an Islamic community centre in a Montreal suburb. “I hope it’s an isolated incident.”

{Though it is unclear how the mosque caught fire, an online fundraiser seeks to raise $850,000 to rebuild Islamic centre.}

A Texas community has rallied behind its Muslim residents after their mosque burned to the ground shortly after President Donald Trump signed into effect a “Muslim ban” on refugees and others from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Following the news that their house of worship in southeast Texas was completely destroyed early on Saturday, the Islamic Centre of Victoria set up an online donation drive via GoFundMe to rebuild. It has raised more than $600,000 of its $850,000 goal in 24 hours.

“We were very shocked Saturday morning when we saw the mosque burning,” Shahid Hashmi, president of the Islamic Centre, told Al Jazeera.

According to local reports, the building caught fire shortly after 2am local time.

Now, the outpouring of monetary and moral support has shocked Hashmi again: “It’s incredible. We are very grateful.”

Hashmi had just come from a meeting with representatives from the local synagogue and churches, as well as laypeople. “Muslims came from Houston, Dallas, which is four hours away … It was really heartwarming, everything has been good.”

But the mosque’s destruction has sent ripples throughout the community. The Victoria police and fire department are working with the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to determine the fire’s cause.

“I hope it wasn’t a hate crime,” Hashmi continued. The doctor has lived in the so-called “Bible Belt,” one of the most conservative parts of the United States, for 40 years. The mosque was constructed in 2000, just a year before the September 11 attacks.

READ MORE: US protests grow against Trump’s immigrant ban order

When asked how the political climate after President Trump signed the “Muslim ban” compared to the times after September 11, which saw a massive spike in hate crimes, Hashmi said it’s “about the same”.

He added: “Nothing hateful has been expressed locally. Nationally, obviously, there are many more voices that are anti-Muslim.”

The Victoria Fire Department told Al Jazeera an investigation is ongoing.

Although it remains unclear if the mosque was burned down deliberately, John Esposito of the Bridge Initiative, a research project that connects the academic study of Islamophobia with the public square, explained that hate crimes have risen since Trump’s inauguration.

Some of the hate crimes targeting Muslims seemed to be inspired by the new president, Esposito told Al Jazeera. “We see with the number of hate crimes – not all [of them] – people are saying lines that Mr Trump has used,” he said.

‘No community should lose its home’

Saturday evening, a federal judge in New York blocked deportations stemming from the order.

Commenters on the GoFundMe page are speaking out against a perceived national wave of discrimination and the Trump administration.

Benjamin Tamber-Rosenau, who donated $100, wrote that his ancestors fled to the US from Europe due to persecution of Jewish communities.

“Now we are watching another community become victims of baseless hatred here in the United States, with the complicity (at minimum) of a depressingly large part of our government, including our president … whatever the cause of this fire, no community should lose its home,” he wrote.

Martin Wagner, another donator, had one of the highest-rated comments: “I’m an atheist and I am deeply saddened and disgusted by what was done to you. Religious freedom and freedom from persecution are fundamental rights!”

With so many donations coming in, Hashmi happily commented there might be enough funds to rebuild by the end of the weekend. He is in contact with the original builder of the mosque who is ready to help, and the next step is to clear the debris and attain building permits.

“God willing, we will celebrate Ramadan in the new mosque,” Hashmi concluded.

{Animal-rights activists take to the streets after the Colombian capital hosts its first bullfight in four years.}

Hundreds of people have taken to the streets of the Colombian capital for the second successive week, protesting against the return of bullfighting to the city.

Bogota hosted its first bullfight in four years last Sunday, with animal-rights protests ending in violence.

Some 3,000 policemen have now been deployed and barricades set up outside the bullring to separate protesters from spectators.

“We are talking about peace in the country and in the meantime, there are people who get together to slowly kill an animal as if we are still in the 18th century,” Natalia Parra, a protester, told Al Jazeera, referring to reconciliation efforts between the government and the country’s FARC rebels.

Bogota’s previous mayor outlawed bullfighting in 2012. But the constitutional court later overturned the ban, ruling that it was part of Colombia’s cultural heritage and could not be blocked.

The current Mayor Enrique Penalosa has said that while he sides with animal-rights activists, he has no choice but to enforce the High Court’s ruling.

A new case is expected to be heard in court that could see the sport banned nationwide.

Al Jazeera’s Alessandro Rampietti, reporting from Bogota, said that the court battle could continue for months as it has become a political as well as a class struggle between mostly young leftist people protesting against the sport, and what is seen as a rich elite that supports the old tradition.

Every year, approximately 250,000 bulls are killed in bullfights worldwide, according to US-based Humane Society International.

{Daphne Matziaraki’s powerful short documentary follows a Greek captain and his crew as they save refugees off Lesbos.}

It’s dark outside and Kyriakos Papadopoulos fills out his boat’s log inside a small, dimly-lit cabin.

“It’s a nightmare, this agony …” he sighs, his voice worn out and distant.

“Everywhere we went, there were people in the water. The only thing I’m hoping is that there is no one missing,” he continues, his gaze darkening as the memories of yet another grim day flood back to him.

These closing sequences are as powerful as every other scene in Daphne Matziaraki’s film 4.1 Miles, nominated this week for an Oscar in the Best Documentary Short category.

Over 21 minutes, Matziaraki captures the efforts of Papadopoulos, a Greek coastguard captain, as he and his small crew rescue men, women and children in the waters surrounding the island of Lesbos – just 4.1 miles from the Turkish coast – in late 2015.

{{Dramatic footage}}

The footage is captivating and hard-hitting, often unnerving. In one particularly poignant scene, Papadopoulos’ boat is gradually filled with frightened, wailing children as a handful of crew members frantically tries to pull to safety dozens of refugees, one-by-one.

But not everyone makes it.

“Oh my God, she has two children with them,” a panicked voice is heard screaming, as a mother falls back into the rough sea with her son and daughter.

Instantly, there is chaos, tears and desperation.

The crew eventually manages to rescue the family, but the children are unconscious. The camera pointedly stays away, capturing from afar the frenzied efforts of Papadopoulos and his crew as they pump the small bodies in a bid to bring them back to life.

“I had never seen so many people, so many children, so many families being so scared,” Matziaraki tells Al Jazeera.

The Greek filmmaker, who made her debut with award-winning 4.1 Miles, joined Papadopoulos and his team on their boat for three weeks, but all the rescue scenes included the film are from October 28, 2015 – her first day on the ship.

“That day wasn’t very different to every other day that followed,” she recalls, “but I was so shocked by what I witnessed in that first time.

“I think this is really conveyed in the footage, and I really wanted the audience to have this experience in the same way that I had it.”

{{‘Alone and abandoned’}}

Matziaraki was in the United States when her country – already struggling after years of a deepening recession – was confronted with a worsening refugee crisis, the worst since World War II. During 2015, some 600,000 people made the crossing from Turkey to Lesbos; across Greece, the figure topped 820,000.

California-based Matziaraki, who was also worked as a journalist in East Africa and Europe, decided to return home to shoot a documentary that would “bridge this gap between our everyday lives, where we are in a safe comfort zone, and what is actually happening out there in the real world”, she says.

Yet upon arriving in Lesbos, she encountered a situation far worse than what she had imagined.

“There were just four Greek coastguard boats, with four-five crew on them, and one helicopter from the European border patrol – and that was it,” the young director says.

“The scale of the emergency was so big that I would expect tonnes of helicopters and ambulances and big boats rescuing these people – but there was no help. I just couldn’t believe that nobody in the world was providing a safe passage for these people and they were just letting them drown.”

Instead, it was people like Papadopoulos – whose jobs up until that point simply involved routine border patrols around Lesbos – who were charged with responding to the massive crisis.

“You cannot even begin to compare the numbers,” the captain says in the film. “Every hour that goes by, 10 of us are asked to rescue an influx of 200 people [from Turkey].”

Moreover, most of the coastguard crew did not have CPR training, while their boats lacked basic equipment to deal with such emergencies, according to Athens-born Matziaraki.

“The Greek coastguard was not prepared or equipped to undertake this,” she says. “They felt alone and abandoned; the captain thought that the entire world is turning their backs to this crisis, and they are leaving this overwhelming burden to be carried by them.”

{{‘Honourable man’}}

At one moment in the film, Papadopoulos recalls the arrival of 20 Afghani refugees to Lesbos in 2001, describing it as the biggest news of that year.

Back then, things used to be easy, he says, “under control”, but today everything has changed – including his own life.

“It’s an overwhelming and a haunting nightmare that the captain is going through,” says Matziaraki of Papadopoulos, whose daily rescue operations – sometimes more than five a day – have saved the lives of thousands of refugees.

“The burden is more than he can handle, and that comes not from the intensity, but from a feeling of duty.

“He is a truly honourable man who has a real sense of responsibility that he cannot afford to lose one person – and the people and the children that he does lose really haunt him.”

{{‘Timely and relevant’}}

In the months after Matziaraki shot 4.1 Miles, arrivals in Lesbos and other Greek islands sharply decreased, mainly due to a series of Balkan border closures and a controversial EU-Turkey deal aimed at stopping the flow of refugees into Europe – an agreement that has been widely criticised both by aid groups and United Nations agencies.

Yet, more than 62,000 people still remain stranded across Greece, often living in appalling conditions.

“It may be that some time has passed since I shot that film, but it couldn’t be more timely and relevant,” Matziaraki says, citing the collapse of the EU-Turkey treaty and actions such as US President Donald Trump’s executive order banning refugees from entering the country.

“At the moment, I feel we are in a very dark place in the world, so it’s very hard to be optimistic because of the developments in the US and Europe.

“But it’s very optimistic that the Academy chose to honour the film because it means that at least in the world of cinema, art and journalism there is a huge recognition that this is a really important story that is affecting all of us,” she says.

“Its choice echoes the message of the film that we are really interconnected and that we are all the same.”

4.1 Miles was already won several accolades, including a Student Academy Award Gold Medal last year.

The Academy Awards’ ceremony will be held in the US city of Los Angeles on February 26.

{British leader condemned for refusal to denounce US ban on visitors, refugees, and migrants from seven Muslim states.}

British Prime Minister Theresa May has received heavy criticism for her refusal to condemn US President Donald Trump’s ban on citizens of seven Muslim states.

May said the ban, which affects refugees, migrants, and visitors, was a “matter for the US” but later issued a statement that she disagreed with it.

The ban means a number of British citizens with dual nationality will not be allowed to enter the US, including Somalia-born Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah and Iraqi-born MP Nadhim Zahawi, a member of May’s Conservative Party.

Citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen are banned from entering the US, even if they hold permanent residency or valid visas.

Leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, said the government’s lack of response was a “disgrace” and called for Donald Trump to be banned from the UK in response.

“[Trump] should not be welcomed to Britain while he abuses our shared values with shameful #MuslimBan and attacks on refugees and women.” Corbyn wrote on his Twitter account.

“[May] would be failing the British people if she does not postpone the state visit and condemn Trump’s actions in the clearest terms,” he added.

The opposition leader called on Britons to sign a parliamentary petition demanding that Trump be barred from the UK, which has picked up hundreds of thousands of signatures so far.

The response means parliament must consider debating a ban.

May met Trump at the White House on Friday, in a cordial meeting in which the pair held hands and promised stronger trade and security ties between their two countries.

The British prime minister used the meeting to invite Trump to visit the UK on a formal state visit.

Tim Farron, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, echoed calls for Trump to be banned, telling broadcaster Sky News that an invitation should “never have been made” .

Senior Scottish National Party politician Alex Salmond said May’s conduct was a “shameful moment of cowardice” .

Despite stopping short of condemning May, Conservative MPs joined criticism of Trump’s ban.

“President Trump’s immigration and Syrian refugee ban is indefensible, unworkable and almost certainly unconstitutional,” wrote Conservative MP James Cleverly on

Trump’s latest histrionic plan is nuts, unsustainable and counter-productive-all power to the courts and Congress to overturn it

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the country would defend the rights of British citizens abroad, in a tweet aimed at the US measures.

“We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad. Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality,” he wrote.

Religious groups also condemned May’s stance on Trump; the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said May should have used her time with the US president to remind him of the countries’ shared values.

“In front of Mr Trump, the Prime Minister said that the point of the ‘Special Relationship’ was to have a frank dialogue. Well, this is one area where we need to be frank about where we stand,” said Harun Khan, the MCB’s secretary general.

Many users compared May’s behaviour to former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s during the run-up to World War II.

Anti-Fascist groups have organised several protests against Trump, with one due to be held outside Downing Street Monday evening.

{Protests planned at several more US airports as authorities block entry of migrants, including green card holders.}

Protests have broken out at the John F Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York City as immigrants, including US green card holders, are detained following right-wing President Donald Trump’s executive order placing harsh restrictions on travellers from several Muslim-majority countries.

Hundreds of demonstrators chanted “No ban, no wall, sanctuary for all!” and “no hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!” while gathering outside the airport’s Terminal Four arrivals section.

Other protests were held at airports in Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, DC, among other US cities.

The protests came in response to passport holders from Arab countries being blocked on Saturday from passing through customs at US airports, while others were prevented from boarding US-bound planes.

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order to curb immigration and the entry of people from some Muslim-majority countries. He separately said he wanted the US to give priority to Syrian Christians fleeing the civil war there.

Trump placed a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the country and temporarily barred travellers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries.

The protest was attended by several New York-based organisations, including Make the Road New York, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), Black Latino Asian Caucus members and The New York Immigration Coalition, among others.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Julia Carmel, an organiser with JFREJ, decried Trump’s executive order.

“The purpose of our protest at JFK airport is two-fold. First, we are demanding the safe release of refugees and other visa-holders, all of whom cooperated with a long and gruelling vetting process in order to get here,” she said.

“Additionally, the central message of our protest is that we are all immigrants or children of immigrants and refugees. The executive order is not only inhumane; it is absurd and hypocritical,” she added, pointing out that the ban came into effect on Holocaust Remembrance Day (Friday).

Tara Raghuveer, a 24-year-old national immigrant rights organiser with Make the Road New York, described the executive orders as “deeply un-American”.

“They go against everything our country aspires to stand for,” she told Al Jazeera at the protest.

Kazi Fouzia, a 48-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant and activist with Desis Rising Up and Moving, said she came to the protest to say: “Banning one of us is banning all of us. Terrorising one of us is terrorising all of us.”

Fouzia, who has lived in New York City for ten years, added: “We are here to make sure every single held in JFK will be released… we have to take down the policy.”

Lawsuits

Trump administration officials have defended the executive order. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, a senior US administration official confirmed that the restrictions will impact legal permanent residents, known as green card holders, on a case-by-base basis.

For at least 90 days, citizens of Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan and Libya are barred from entering the country. Syrians have been banned from entering the US indefinitely.

Immigrants from the seven countries have been blocked from bordering US-bound planes in Lebanon, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and elsewhere.

Legal representatives for two Iraqi men filed lawsuits against Trump and the US government on Saturday, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a rights group.

Both men had ties to the US military and were had visas. They were detained on Friday night in JFK Airport.

“President Trump’s war on equality is already taking a terrible human toll. This ban cannot be allowed to continue,” said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, in a statement .

{Ruling temporarily ends detention of travellers with valid visas and prohibits their removal from the US.}

A federal judge has blocked part of President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration, ruling that travellers who have already landed in the US with valid visas should not be sent back to their home countries.

Lawyers had filed a legal case in response to the order that includes a 90-day entry ban on citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations.

US District Judge Ann Donnelly’s ruling late on Saturday concerns dozens of people who were detained at US airports following Trump’s actions.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which had filed a class action lawsuit against the ban, hailed the temporary stay of execution as a victory.

“This ruling preserves the status quo and ensures that people who have been granted permission to be in this country are not illegally removed off US soil,” Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said.

ACLU said it would help 100 to 200 people with valid visas or refugee status, who found themselves detained in transit or at US airports after Trump signed the order late on Friday.

The legal case was raised after two Iraqis were held by law enforcement officials at John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) while trying to legally enter the country.

At least 12 travellers have been detained at JFK, prompting mass protests at the airport.

Less than 24 hours into the ban, Homeland Security said that at least 109 travellers had been denied entry into the US in total.

Trump signed an executive order that effectively denies entry to refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including those with green cards, who otherwise have permanent residence in the US.

Signing the order at the Pentagon, Trump said the move would help protect Americans from “terrorist” attacks.

“It’s been absolute chaos at airports across the country,” Abed Ayoub, legal and policy director of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, told Al Jazeera. “It’s definitely not making America safe again, it’s just making America hate again.”

He added that the order “doesn’t only concern American Muslims, it concerns Americans. [Trump’s] hate rhetoric is turning into destructive policies.”

In the case of war-torn Syria, Trump qualified the order’s scope by saying he would prioritise Syrian Christians entering as refugees.