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Self-defence classes empower women amid UK’s far-right violence

Self-defence classes empower women amid UK’s far-right violence

At a London sports ground, Maya Hassan looks on with pride as about 30 women, nearly all Muslims and from ethnic minorities, join a self-defence class that she organised in response to a wave of riots that saw violent, racist attacks on Muslims and ethnic minorities. The 28-year-old martial arts expert said she wanted to help women of colour to learn how to deal with abuse and build connections and confidence after more than a week of unrest aimed at mosques, asylum seeker hotels and the police. “It gives you a little bit more confidence,” she said. “You kind of know what to look for, how to be socially aware, how to spot things and how to get out of a really bad situation.” Muslim and ethnic minority communities have expressed shock over the disorder, which was sparked by false information online that the suspected killer of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England, was a Muslim migrant. Martial arts instructor Stewart McGill said he had seen more women signing up for classes since the unrest started. He told them how to defend themselves with tactics including kicks and impromptu weapons such as belts. One attendee, Elza Annan, 24, said she felt more confident. “I obviously do not want to have to use these techniques, but it is useful and beneficial to have them … especially because of recent events of far-right racists coming out and targeting people of colour,” she said. Martial arts instructor Stewart McGill (centre) said he had seen more women signing up for classes since the unrest started [Maja Smiejkowska/Reuters] Islamophobia on the rise The riots have largely targeted migrants, Muslims, and Asian people, spreading fear through ethnic minority communities and casting a light on the United Kingdom’s record of integration. Tell MAMA UK, a group that monitors anti-Muslim incidents, said hate directed at Muslims had been growing in the UK for some time, and especially since October 7 last year, the start of Israel’s war on Gaza. Since the riots began, it had received more than 500 calls and online reports of anti-Muslim behaviour across the UK. Sunder Katwala, director of the think-tank British Future, which focuses on migration and identity, said at its best, the UK is a “confident multiethnic democracy”. But he said successive governments had lacked a strategy for integrating different communities. While those arriving recently from Ukraine and Hong Kong were given government support, that did not happen to all. The asylum system faced particular pressures, with a huge backlog of applications and some Britons concerned about pressure on housing, healthcare and education. “With asylum you’ve got a visible lack of control, and that can feed into fear,” Katwala said. The riots have largely stopped since thousands of anti-racism protesters turned out to protect potential targets such as immigration advice centres, mosques, and hotels housing asylum seekers. Hassan, who wears a hijab and is a Swiss national of Somali origin, moved to the UK in 2008, partly because she felt it was more welcoming to ethnic minorities than many parts of Europe. She is considering organising more classes. A similar event was planned for Manchester, in northern England, and a campaign group, the Three Hijabis, held a large online conference call with Muslim women this week to discuss the psychological impact of Islamophobic violence. Participants learn how to defend themselves with tactics including kicks and impromptu weapons such as belts [Maja Smiejkowska/Reuters] Shaista Aziz, the group’s director, said some women feared that the violence could unleash confrontations or abuse, prompting many to stay close to home. “Today I advised a sister I dearly love to consider removing her hijab to stay safe as she travels through the northeast …” she said on X during the riots. “Across the country British Muslims are having these same conversations.” Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has ordered extra protection for the Muslim community, described rioters as “far-right thugs”. Nearly 800 people have been arrested, with some fast-tracked through the courts and jailed. The anti-racism protests are likely to continue. For Maki Omori, 23, who identifies as non-binary, Saturday’s class would help prepare for counterprotests. “I found it really intimidating, thinking about how I would defend myself,” Omori said. “I want to make sure that if something happens, I feel ready.” Adblock test (Why?)

Hamas urges return to existing Gaza ceasefire proposal

Hamas urges return to existing Gaza ceasefire proposal

The group has said it wants a truce plan based on US President Joe Biden’s May 31 ceasefire proposal. Hamas has asked mediators to present a plan based upon previous truce talks instead of attempting to find a new Gaza ceasefire deal, days ahead of talks proposed by the United States, Egypt and Qatar. In a statement on its official Telegram channel, the group said that it wants a plan “based on [US President Joe] Biden’s May 31 ceasefire proposal, the framework laid out by mediators Qatar and Egypt on May 6, and UN Security Council Resolution 2735“. The May 6 proposal, which Hamas previously agreed to and Israel rejected, also ensures the release of Israeli captives in Gaza as well as an unspecified number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Sunday’s Hamas statement added that “the mediators should enforce this [May 6 proposal] on the occupation [Israel] instead of pursuing further rounds of negotiations or new proposals that would provide cover for the occupation’s aggression and grant it more time to continue its genocide against our people”. Reporting from Amman, Jordan, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said that Israeli media outlets are interpreting the Hamas statement as a rejection of the ceasefire talks altogether. “But their [Hamas] statement did not say that. They’re merely calling on mediators to put the original proposal that they had agreed to, on the table,” she said. August 15 talks Last week, leaders of the US, Egypt and Qatar called on Israel and Hamas to meet for negotiations on August 15 in either Cairo or Doha to finalise a Gaza ceasefire and captive release deal. Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha had said on Saturday that the group’s leadership is “studying” the invitation for these ceasefire talks. Taha said that “the one obstructing the success of the last proposal is the Israeli occupation” and stressed that “closing the remaining gaps in the ceasefire agreement comes through exerting real pressure on the Israeli side, which was, and still is, practising a policy of placing obstacles in the way of the success of any efforts and endeavours leading to ending the aggression”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously said that he would not agree to any deal that stipulated an end to Israel’s war on Gaza without the full defeat of Hamas. But Israel has said it would send negotiators to take part in the ceasefire meeting on August 15. If the talks take place, it would also mark the first time that Hamas will head into talks with Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar at the helm, following Israel’s assassination of Ismail Haniyeh. Meanwhile, Israel’s strikes on Gaza continue to rage. An Israeli air strike on the al-Tabin School compound in Gaza City housing displaced Palestinian families killed approximately 100 people on Saturday. “Every time there is some sort of movement in these [ceasefire] negotiations, there is a large-scale attack in Gaza and it derails the talks all altogether,” Al Jazeera’s Salhut pointed out. Hamas said that Israel carrying out the “al-Tabin school massacre” is further “proof that it only wants to escalate its aggression”. But the group added that despite this attack, it will continue to adhere to the proposal laid out by the mediators that it had already agreed to previously. Adblock test (Why?)

Biden to hit campaign trail for Harris in Pennsylvania

Biden to hit campaign trail for Harris in Pennsylvania

President Biden said he plans to campaign for Democrat presidential candidate Vice President Harris in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in the November election. Biden spoke with CBS’s Robert Costa on “Sunday Morning,” making it the first interview since he announced in late July that he was bowing out of the presidential race against former President Trump. During the interview, Costa asked the president if the public would see him out on the campaign trail for Harris. “Yes, you will,” Biden said, adding that he talks to Harris all the time. PRESIDENT BIDEN ADMITS PRESSURE FROM DEMOCRATS CONTRIBUTED TO DECISION TO DROP OUT Biden then spoke about her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, calling him a “great guy” who, had they grown up in the same neighborhood, would have been his friend. “He’s my kind of guy. Yeah, he’s real. He’s smart,” Biden said. “I’ve known him for several decades.” Costa asked what the president would say to those who have expressed skepticism about his health, the rest of his term and being out on the campaign trail for Harris. “All I can say is watch,” Biden said. “That’s all. Look, I had a really, really bad day in that debate because I was sick. But I have no serious problem.” PELOSI ADMITS BIDEN CAMPAIGN WASN’T ON ‘PATH TO VICTORY,’ DENIES SHE PRESSED HIM TO LEAVE RACE The 81-year-old incumbent’s halting delivery and stumbling answers during the CNN-hosted presidential debate in Atlanta on June 27 sparked widespread panic among Democrats and spurred calls from pundits, editorial writers and some party donors for Biden to step aside in favor of a younger, more able standard-bearer. Biden told Costa he has been in contact with his “friend,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, about winning the president’s original home state. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “He and I are putting together a campaign tour in Pennsylvania,” Biden said. “I’m going to be campaigning in other states as well. I’m going to do whatever Kamala thinks I can do to help most.” Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

Secret Service hints it wasn’t behind salon break-in during Kamala Harris campaign event

Secret Service hints it wasn’t behind salon break-in during Kamala Harris campaign event

The U.S. Secret Service has hinted it was not involved in the break-in of a hair salon during a Kamala Harris campaign event in Massachusetts late last month.  The allegations of Secret Service involvement arose after the salon’s owner, Alicia Powers, alleged that agents put duct tape over her security cameras and broke into her building by picking the lock.  Security camera footage shows an individual dressed like a Secret Service agent approaching the door with a roll of tape and observing the locked door and camera before grabbing a nearby chair to put tape over the camera.  “The U.S. Secret Service works closely with our partners in the business community to carry out our protective and investigative missions,” USSS spokeswoman Melissa McKenzie said in a statement.  McKenzie said the Secret Service has been in contact with Powers since the July 27 incident.   SECRET SERVICE FAILURE AT TRUMP RALLY EXPOSES CULTURE ROT, STAFFING WOES “We hold these relationships in the highest regard and our personnel would not enter, or instruct our partners to enter, a business without the owner’s permission,” McKenzie said, stopping short of saying who was responsible.  Powers told Business Insider that “several people” who were “in and out for about an hour-and-a-half – just using my bathroom, the alarms going off, using my counter, with no permission.”  “And then when they were done using the bathroom for two hours, they left, and left my building completely unlocked, and did not take the tape off the camera,” she added. Powers later said that a USSS representative contacted her after Business Insider sought comment from the agency for comment on the incident.  Fox News Digital has reached out to Powers for a response to the Secret Service’s latest comment.  MINNESOTA MURDER STATS ROSE UNDER WALZ’S LEADERSHIP AS HE TRIES TO TIE VIOLENT CRIME TREND TO TRUMP: DATA The incident comes less than a month after the assassination attempt on former President Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.  The shooting put heavy scrutiny on the Secret Service, which was ultimately responsible for coordinating security with local law enforcement.  The scrutiny only intensified after it was revealed that law enforcement officers had observed the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, and identified him as suspicious more than an hour before the shooting, but lost track of him.  Crooks was able to scale the roof of a building owned by AGR International Inc., a supplier of automation equipment for the glass and plastic packaging industry, and fire an estimated eight shots with an AR-15 style rifle.  After mounting pressure, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned, following heated testimony before the House Oversight Committee.  Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. 

Navy warship production hits 25-year low, falls behind China: report

Navy warship production hits 25-year low, falls behind China: report

Navy shipbuilding has had its worst production in 25 years, putting the U.S. behind rival China in production pace. “I don’t see a fast, easy way to get out of this problem. It’s taken us a long time to get into it,” Eric Labs, a longtime naval analyst at the Congressional Budget Office, told ABC News, adding that the Navy’s shipbuilding was now in “a terrible state. The comments come as last-minute design changes, cost overruns, and an inability to recruit and retain employees to build ships has slowed production at the same time the U.S. faces expanding global threats at sea. CHINESE SHIPBUILDING CAPACITY OVER 200 TIMES GREATER THAN US, NAVY INTELLIGENCE SAYS The ABC News report cites a Marinette Marine contract as just one of the many examples of the struggles of the Navy to meet production. According to the report, the shipmaker is under contract to build six guided-missile frigates with an option to build four more, but with its current workforce can only produce one ship per year. Issues such as the one faced by Marinette Marine have been widespread throughout the country, with shipyards turning to creative solutions such as offering training academies or partnering with technical colleges to get more workers the skills they need to build the Navy’s high-tech vessels. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro has touted such programs, the report notes, even speaking during the commencement for recent graduates at a community college that partnered with Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to teach students to repair nuclear submarines. “It is incumbent upon all of us to consider how we can best lend our talents and, in the case of the graduates, their newly developed skills, to build up our great nation for all Americans, and defend against the threats and challenges of today,” he said at the ceremony. CCP-TIED EV COMPANY BACKED BY DEMS BUYS UP MICHIGAN LAND MILES FROM US MILITARY BASES Part of the $100 million in Navy funding provided to Marinette Marine is being used for retention bonuses, underscoring the importance of retaining a shipbuilding workforce. The report also notes that much of the blame is with the Navy itself, which frequently changes the design requirements of ships after companies have begun construction. Yet despite vows to learn from those mistakes, the Navy redesigned 85% of the ships being built by Marinette Marine, resulting in cost increases and delays. The report comes after a  U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) slide leaked online showed last year that the rapidly expanding Chinese Navy has the capacity to produce ships at 200 times the rate of the United States. “The Chinese see this decade as a strategic opportunity,” Brent Sadler, senior research fellow for naval warfare and advanced technology in the Center for National Defense at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital at the time. “I don’t see any near-term bending of the curve where we actually start closing the gap with the Chinese.” But the Navy said it is taking the problem seriously, with a spokesperson for Del Toro telling ABC News that the service is looking for more “creative solutions” to the problem. “The Navy’s role in defending our nation and promoting peace has never been more expansive or mattered more,” said Lt. Kyle Hanton. “We continue to work with our industry partners to identify creative solutions to solving our common challenges.” The Navy did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.