Latest news with #Isis
Spectator
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Spectator
No, British trans people aren't at risk of ‘genocide'
The Supreme Court judgment on the definition of a woman on 16 April restored a degree of sanity to a world that was in danger of going mad. Even Keir Starmer now knows that a woman is a matter of biology rather than ideology. Can somebody please tell the Americans? Or, more precisely, those progressive types over the pond who like to concern themselves with other people's business. The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security is an American non-profit organisation that started out to address concerns about the situation in Iraq in the wake of Isis. The institute claims to connect 'the global grassroots with the tools of genocide prevention', and generally to do a bit of good in the world. How effective their campaigns might be in a world where aggression remains rife is for others to judge. Their latest red flag alert, however, homed in on the United Kingdom and, in particular, the experiences of transgender and intersex people. They saw 'evidence of genocidal intent and actions targeting these communities'. According to them, 'this hostile environment is a subtle, pernicious and clear attempt to eradicate transgender and intersex people from British life.' The hyperbole is so far from my experiences as a trans person that it is ridiculous, and such deluded campaigners from afar should merit no further discussion. What bothers me more are people closer to home who ought to know better. Last week, Victoria McCloud – a former judge, who also happens to be trans – announced: I now see it as my sad duty to make an evidence-based report to Genocide Watch and The Lemkin Institute requesting investigation into the systematic oppression of the trans community of the UK. Perhaps we now know why the Americans suddenly poked their noses in? And that wasn't a one-off. The BBC recently reported McCloud's fear that 'someone's going to get killed' because of the Supreme Court ruling. My view of the situation is rather more mundane. Could it be that some people don't like the judgment and fear being called to account for their actions? It was never right for male transitioners to assume that they could co-opt themselves into the rights of women simply by uttering the magic words 'I identify as a woman'. We now live in a saner – and better – world where everybody knows that other people's rights matter too. McCloud needs to get over it. My fear is the genuinely vulnerable will be put at risk, not from some genocidal mob but from fear itself. As trans people, we are told regularly about that 'systematic oppression'. When there is power in being a victim, claims of persecution can attract benefits and rewards. For over a decade, the trans community has drawn in vulnerable youngsters with promises that can never be delivered. Now I sense that the carnival is moving on: the Cass Review put the brakes on the chemical castration of children; the Supreme Court gave women the confidence to object to people they perceived to be men in their spaces; and Pride has lost its grip on our public institutions – at least in councils run by Reform UK. But while society moves on, some youngsters risk being left to flounder. Some never experienced puberty, others were led to believe that they were the opposite sex at unknown cost to their psychological development. Rather more were told that they had a gender identity that set them apart from mere muggles. Life might be far more complicated for them in the coming years and decades. They need to be helped to focus on the things that really matter – building committed relationships, finding productive employment, and taking up their place in society. It helps nobody to ruminate on the fiction that they are hated for claiming a transgender identity. The reality is that few people even care. The world of their future will have its challenges, but genocidal mobs trying to eradicate trans people from the UK are hardly likely to feature – whatever a former judge might like to believe.
The Star
2 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Waldorf Astoria to start cruising on the Nile in 2026
When Marriott dipped into cruising with its introduction of the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection brand in 2022, it was the first hotel company to head to the ocean. Then came Four Seasons, Orient Express and Aman – all with plans to launch ocean yachts in the next two years. And now, as of May, Hilton Worldwide has decided to quietly join the fray with its flagship luxury brand Waldorf Astoria, which is set to introduce a Nile River cruiser in late 2026. The Waldorf Astoria Nile River Experience will bear some of the hallmarks of the hotels that share its name: a Peacock Alley Bar, a monumental lobby clock and art deco design flourishes. (Yes, there will be plenty of Champagne, perhaps even enough to fill the Nile.) But Hilton's head of luxury brands Dino Michael says the decision to expand into cruising has more to do with the company's heritage than keeping up with the competition. Hilton, after all, has a long history in Egypt, stretching from the 1958 opening of the Nile Hilton to the 589-room Waldorf Astoria Cairo Heliopolis, which opened in 2023, and the months-old Hilton Cairo Nile Maadi. It also operated two "floating hotels' there in the 1960s, long before the phrase was trendy. The Isis and Orisis, two 184-passenger vessels launched in 1965 and 1966, each sailed for about 25 years up and down the Nile. Rediscovering that history in the lead-up to the Cairo hotel opening made executives feel nostalgic, Michael says. "The conversation led from one thing to another.' Before long, he says, the team had concluded, "you know, we should do it again'. With that in mind, Michael says the Nile River Experience won't be part of a broader entrance by Hilton into the luxury cruise market, but rather "a distinctive offering that reimagines Nile River cruising through the lens of the Waldorf Astoria brand.' Egypt's tourism moment The Nile is a crowded market for luxury cruising, with a broad range of companies sailing along similar routes. But it's also thriving: Viking will have 10 ships sailing the Nile by 2026, and this fall will see the debut of two butler-serviced dahabeyahs – wind-powered boats associated with Egyptian royalty – from lauded Indian hotelier Oberoi. So is tourism in Egypt, generally. Despite the turmoil enveloping the broader Middle East, the country's tourism ministry has seen record arrivals in the first months of 2025, with visitor numbers up almost 24% in April compared with the year before. That trend is expected to continue with the late 2025 opening of the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum and a newly unveiled, US$30mil refurbishment to the tourism infrastructure around the famed pyramids of Giza. To that booming backdrop, Hilton will add a five-deck vessel with a lavish rooftop deck and 29 river-view suites, each with personal concierges able to arrange "tailored programming' off the ship. "There was an existing vessel that was in need of a full renovation, which is great for us because you get to create from the ground up,' Michael says. He declines, however, to name the ship or the price of the project. The company's local partner for the endeavor is Middle East for Nile Cruises and Hotels, owned by the Egyptian plastics manufacturer Al-Ahram Group, whose assets include a 21-year-old ship called The Nile Story. The reimagined Hilton cruiser will sail a tried-and-true route. Departures will set sail from Luxor toward the Valley of the Kings and the intriguing market town of Aswan; other stops will include private docks at Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo, to see temples dedicated to the gods of crocodiles and falcons. Other experiences, such as helicopter rides and wellness-oriented excursions, are under discussion, though Michael says it's too early to talk specifics; the goal, he says, is to avoid "touristy and overcrowded' spots and to seek "unique' opportunities to explore along the river. Points hounds welcome One distinguishing factor is that guests will be able to earn and burn: Hilton Honors points on the Waldorf Astoria Nile River Experience's cruises. While prices have yet to be decided, Michael says bookings are expected to open for sale around the second quarter of 2026, and trips will range from four to six nights. The only other Nile cruises that can be paid for with loyalty points are much longer itineraries – nine- to 13-day trips with AmaWaterways, Viking and Uniworld River Cruises – which are bookable via Marriott Bonvoy's Cruise With Points programme. And while travellers can also book the Waldorf Astoria in Cairo on points to extend their trips on either end, Hilton doesn't plan to replicate that strategy for now. Where other brands such as Orient Express and Four Seasons are deliberately planning diverse rail and sea itineraries that can easily get combined with stays at nearby hotels, Hilton plans for now to stick to the Nile. "Right now, it's just something we felt was unique,' Michael says. "Given the popularity of Nile cruising and the huge opportunity that exists at that premium level, we thought Waldorf Astoria was the right fit.' A Nile cruise, Michael says, is "on a lot of bucket lists-and when done well, it's extraordinary'. – Bloomberg
Spectator
3 days ago
- Politics
- Spectator
On the Israel-Syria border, death is always close
Syria's new president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, is desperate to stay on the sidelines of the Iran-Israel war. Most middle eastern states have strongly condemned Israel for its surprise attack on Iran, but the Syrian government has been conspicuously silent. Since coming to power in December 2024, Al-Sharaa's forces have confronted Iran-backed militias in many regions of Syria, and moved to curtail Tehran's soft power by expelling Iranian clerics and closing Shia religious centres. The rag-tag collection of Sunni-Islamists, who now form a large part of the Syrian army, have a long list of scores to settle with the Shiites and their main patron. But, simultaneously, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes on Syria and significantly expanded its occupation, far beyond the Golan Heights. Damascus has adopted an astoundingly conciliatory stance to Israel in response. Al Sharaa is a highly pragmatic man – he wants to be remembered as the leader who unified Syria and ended its civil war – and so he can't afford to accept Israel's challenge to a fight. Having refused to resist Israeli aggression in any meaningful way, and Israel having made it impossible for Al-Sharaa to establish control south of Damascus, new Iran-backed forces are seizing the opportunity to fill a power vacuum. I recently travelled to the Golan Heights to see for myself. As we drove along the Bravo Line, one of the de-facto borders between Israel and Syria, a local Israeli-Druze man named Yousef directed my attention towards a Syrian village in the buffer zone. 'That's Hader. In 2014, we watched the fighting between [Syrian forces] and Isis there. We used to go near the border with snacks and just watch. That's how safe it was, they wouldn't dare turn their weapons towards Israel,' he said. Majdal Shams sits in the northeastern corner of the Golan Heights – sandwiched between Lebanon and Syria. It was frequently targeted by Hezbollah during the war last year – the site of a horrific rocket attack that killed 8 Druze children on a football pitch. But it hadn't been since October 2023 that rockets were fired from the Syrian side of the border. On the evening of 2 June, for the first time since the fall of the Assad regime, Syrian militants fired two rockets at northern Israel, which landed in an unpopulated area of the southern Golan Heights. A few hours later, an Iran-backed militia named Uli al-Bass (UAB), part of a broader militia network in southern Syria known as The Islamic Resistance Front in Syria (IRFS), claimed responsibility for the attack. In return, the Israeli air force struck weapons facilities and other targets across Syria in the following days. 'We hold the Syrian president directly responsible for every threat and firing at the state of Israel, and the full response will come as soon as possible. We will not allow a return to the reality of 7 October,' said Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a statement on the evening of 2 June. As an Iran-backed militia, UAB is a common enemy of the Syrian and Israeli states. But Israel has forbidden the Syrian government from exercising security control in southern Syria, where Israel has been launching frequent airstrikes, allowing the group to recruit fighters. 'You can't hold Ahmed al-Sharaa 'personally responsible' for the development of new security challenges while simultaneously seeking to weaken Syria & demand its security forces vacate the south entirely. It makes no sense,' Charles Lister, a Syria expert at the Middle East Institute, wrote on X. According to Rob Geist Pinfold, a lecturer in Defence Studies at King's College London, IRFS has been regularly attacking Israeli troops inside Syria since the fall of the Assad regime to galvanise local support. 'This is a tried-and-tested strategy. It was Israel's prolonged occupation of southern Lebanon that gave Hezbollah, with Iranian support, the legitimacy and ability to entrench itself within that country,' he wrote in a May report. He continued: 'A weak Syria government would further allow Iran to re-establish its long-standing networks in that country. Yet Israel is working tirelessly to deliver exactly this scenario.' IDF drone unit seen Kibbutz Merom Golan, on the Syrian border in the northern Golan Heights (Getty Images) There are now five separate lines that separate Israel and Syria, together constituting something approximating a border. People can quibble about which are now relevant or valid. But each line separates a different zone of control or legal status. Only on the opposite side of all five lines do the Israeli and Syrian states both have full security control and internationally-recognised sovereignty. Driving towards Syria from the Israeli side, the first line is easiest to cross. Any Israeli citizen or foreigner with a valid visa can pass between Israel's internationally recognised borders and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. There isn't even a checkpoint. It's been 58 years since Israel occupied the Golan Heights in the Six Day War and 44 years since Israel officially annexed the territory. In 2019, the United States became the first and only country to recognise the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory. The second line is where almost everyone has to stop. This is the Bravo Line – the eastern limit of Israeli forces, decided upon in a 1974 delimitation agreement. Past the Bravo Line, there's a buffer zone where UN peacekeepers are stationed, which averages about six to seven kilometres in width. After that comes the Alpha Line, which the 1974 agreement stipulated as the western limit of Syrian forces. On 8 December 2024, the Assad regime collapsed and Syrian border troops fled their posts. That same day, Israeli forces marched across an entirely unprotected border. Since then, Israel has occupied an additional 220 square kilometres of Syrian territory, for a total occupied territory in Syria of 460 square kilometres. That's an area 26 per cent larger than the Gaza strip. The fourth line is the forward operating position of Israeli forces – which stretches from the peak of Mount Hermon in the north, through the towns of Khan Arnabah and Madinat al-Salam – reaching as far as the outskirts of Qatana District near Damascus. On 27 January, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz visited the newly-occupied side of Mount Hermon and said that Israeli forces would remain at its summit, and in the 'security zone', indefinitely. The final line creates a buffer zone beyond the new Israeli front line 'Take note: we will not allow HTS forces or the new Syrian Army to enter the area south of Damascus,' Netanyahu declared at a military ceremony on 23 February. The Prime Minister demanded a demilitarised area in the Quneitra, Daraa and Suwayda provinces, for the stated reason of protecting the local Druze population, a splinter sect of Islam with large populations in Syria, Israel and Lebanon. A few days later, gun battles broke out between Druze fighters and gunmen connected to the Syrian transitional government in a suburb of Damascus, killing dozens. The clashes quickly spread to the Druze stronghold of Suwayda and other nearby areas. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 89 Druze fighters, 32 Syrian government personnel, and 18 civilians were killed in the fighting between February and May. The five lines separating Israel and Syria create three buffer zones The Syrian Druze are divided on whether to integrate into the new Islamist Syrian state or fight for autonomy with Israeli assistance. 'Aside from a handful of militias with links to the former Assad regime, all of Syria's main Druze leaders, militias and interest groups have condemned Israel's recent actions,' Pinfold, the defence studies lecturer, argues in his report. Wherever Syrian-Druze public opinion lies on the question of Israeli intervention, protecting them has been the primary justification for Israel's campaign in Syria. 'When the Druze were attacked in Syria during the civil war, Israel didn't intervene, despite the Assad regime being part of an anti-Israel axis. So intervening now, when the current regime in Damascus is doing everything it can to reach out to Jerusalem, seems like a crime of opportunity,' said Shaiel Ben-Ephraim, a former Israeli diplomat and political commentator. But Israel has also justified its expanded presence in Syria as a necessary measure to prevent jihadist groups from entrenching near its northern border and staging cross-border attacks. 'We're definitely worried about having another 7 October attack from Syria,' said Yousef, the Druze man in Majdal Shams. 'The iron dome can detect where rockets might land, so if it's going to be in an open area, they just let it fall. But my main worry is artillery. The iron dome can't catch that,' he said. Ephraim says that Israel's policy in Syria can best be understood as a mania for security, not necessarily as an imperial conquest. 'People will look at this and think it's another Israeli land grab – and it's partly that – but the army genuinely thinks they need this land for security,' he said. The five lines separating Israel and Syria create three buffer zones: one is a zone of full control, another is a zone of partial control, and one is a 'zone of intervention', as Ephraim calls it. Despite the expanded occupation and the hundreds of airstrikes that Israel has launched against Syria, including one on 2 May just around the corner from Al-Sharaa's presidential palace, the Syrian government has been conciliatory at every turn. 'The Syrians have been incredibly patient. I think they're going to settle for whatever Israel does, hoping that a new government will give them something more favourable,' Ephraim said. That new government, he expects, will be led by former prime minister Naftali Bennett. 'Bennett won't want to be totally hostile to Syria, but he won't want to chicken out either. Until we get a new government, we're likely to see a holding pattern, where Israel will make as few concessions to Syria as it possibly can,' he said. Al-Sharaa's forces have pacified most of the Iran-backed militias in Syria. But Israel's demilitarised zone south of Damascus has created a new breeding ground for UAB and its allies in the IRFS. 'The Syrian security forces have been helpful in terms of seizing shipments of drones, weapons and other illegal contraband likely meant for Lebanese Hezbollah in Lebanon, but have not been able to effectively deal with UAB,' said Sary Mumayiz, a researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The potential for the Iran-Israel war to destabilise Syria and the broader region is immense. Since Israel started striking Iran, it has conducted three ground incursions into south-west Syria, according to Lister, the Syria analyst. Meanwhile, Iran-backed forces in western Iraq have been firing on Syrian government positions across the border. As this conflict metastasizes, Al-Sharaa and his forces are simply holding the line – hoping to avoid setting off a tripwire that would invite even more punishment from the titans going to war over their heads.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Home Office staff concerned about ‘absurd' Palestine Action ban, says senior civil servant
Home Office staff are concerned about the 'absurd' decision to ban Palestine Action under UK anti-terrorism laws, a senior civil servant has said. On Monday the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, announced plans to ban the group, which would make membership of it, or inviting support for it, a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. It would be the first time a direct action protest group has been classified as a terrorist organisation, joining the likes of Islamic State, al-Qaida and National Action. The move has been condemned as draconian by many other protest groups, civil society organisations and politicians of different stripes. A senior Home Office official, who requested anonymity as they are not allowed to speak to the press, said concerns about proscribing Palestine Action extended into the home secretary's own department. 'My colleagues and I were shocked by the announcement,' they said. 'All week, the office has been a very tense atmosphere, charged with concern about treating a non-violent protest group the same as actual terrorist organisations like Isis, and the dangerous precedent this sets. 'From desk to desk, colleagues are exchanging concerned and bemused conversations about how absurd this is and how impossible it will be to enforce. Are they really going to prosecute as terrorists everyone who expresses support for Palestine Action's work to disrupt the flow of arms to Israel as it commits war crimes? 'It's ridiculous and it's being widely condemned in anxious conversations internally as a blatant misuse of anti-terror laws for political purposes to clamp down on protests which are affecting the profits of arms companies.' In September last year, the UK announced it was suspending some arms export licences to Israel because of a 'clear risk' they may be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law. But critics have said it does not go far enough. A court case in which the UK is accused of selling F-35 parts that could be used by Israel to attack Gaza is awaiting judgment. After Palestine Action claimed it had broken into RAF Brize Norton a week ago and sprayed paint on two military aircraft, it said Britain continued to 'send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US and Israeli fighter jets'. On Friday, counter-terrorism policing south-east said it had arrested four people in connection with the protest. Cooper said the protest was part of a 'long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action'. Palestine Action said the arrests of three of the four on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism showed that 'proscription is not about enabling prosecutions under terrorism laws – it's about cracking down on non-violent protests which disrupt the flow of arms to Israel during its genocide in Palestine'. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The Home Office is not the only government department where there has been discontent among staff recently. This month, more than 300 Foreign Office staff were told to consider resigning after they signed a letter raising fears that the government had become complicit in Israel's alleged war crimes in Gaza. The reply to the letter, sent by the permanent under-secretary, Oliver Robbins, and Nick Dyer, the second most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office, said: 'If your disagreement with any aspect of government policy or action is profound, your ultimate recourse is to resign from the civil service. This is an honourable course.' The proscription order will be laid before parliament on Monday and, if passed by MPs, is likely to come into effect on Friday. When approached for comment, the Home Office referred the Guardian to Cooper's statement from Monday.
Vancouver Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Hilton breaks into cruising with a Waldorf Astoria Nile ship
When Marriott dipped into cruising with its introduction of the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection brand in 2022, it was the first hotel company to head to the ocean. Then came Four Seasons, Orient Express and Aman — all with plans to launch ocean yachts in the next two years. And now, as of May, Hilton Worldwide Holdings has decided to quietly join the fray with its flagship luxury brand Waldorf Astoria, which is set to introduce a Nile River cruiser in late 2026. The Waldorf Astoria Nile River Experience will bear some of the hallmarks of the hotels that share its name: a Peacock Alley Bar, a monumental lobby clock and art deco design flourishes. (Yes, there will be plenty of Champagne, perhaps even enough to fill the Nile.) But Hilton's head of luxury brands Dino Michael says the decision to expand into cruising has more to do with the company's heritage than keeping up with the competition. Plan your next getaway with Travel Time, featuring travel deals, destinations and gear. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Travel Time will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Hilton, after all, has a long history in Egypt, stretching from the 1958 opening of the Nile Hilton to the 589-room Waldorf Astoria Cairo Heliopolis, which opened in 2023, and the months-old Hilton Cairo Nile Maadi. It also operated two 'floating hotels' there in the 1960s, long before the phrase was trendy. The Isis and Orisis, two 184-passenger vessels launched in 1965 and 1966, each sailed for about 25 years up and down the Nile. Rediscovering that history in the lead-up to the Cairo hotel opening made executives feel nostalgic, Michael says. 'The conversation led from one thing to another.' Before long, he says, the team had concluded, 'you know, we should do it again.' With that in mind, Michael says the Nile River Experience won't be part of a broader entrance by Hilton into the luxury cruise market, but rather 'a distinctive offering that reimagines Nile River cruising through the lens of the Waldorf Astoria brand.' The Nile is a crowded market for luxury cruising, with a broad range of companies sailing along similar routes. But it's also thriving: Viking will have 10 ships sailing the Nile by 2026, and this fall will see the debut of two butler-serviced dahabeyahs — wind-powered boats associated with Egyptian royalty — from lauded Indian hotelier Oberoi. So is tourism in Egypt, generally. Despite the turmoil enveloping the broader Middle East, the country's tourism ministry has seen record arrivals in the first months of 2025, with visitor numbers up almost 24% in April compared with the year before. That trend is expected to continue with the late 2025 opening of the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum and a newly unveiled, $30 million refurbishment to the tourism infrastructure around the famed pyramids of Giza. To that booming backdrop, Hilton will add a five-deck vessel with a lavish rooftop deck and 29 river-view suites, each with personal concierges able to arrange 'tailored programming' off the ship. 'There was an existing vessel that was in need of a full renovation, which is great for us because you get to create from the ground up,' Michael says. He declines, however, to name the ship or the price of the project. The company's local partner for the endeavor is Middle East for Nile Cruises and Hotels, owned by the Egyptian plastics manufacturer Al-Ahram Group, whose assets include a 21-year-old ship called The Nile Story. The reimagined Hilton cruiser will sail a tried-and-true route. Departures will set sail from Luxor toward the Valley of the Kings and the intriguing market town of Aswan; other stops will include private docks at Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo, to see temples dedicated to the gods of crocodiles and falcons. Other experiences, such as helicopter rides and wellness-oriented excursions, are under discussion, though Michael says it's too early to talk specifics; the goal, he says, is to avoid 'touristy and overcrowded' spots and to seek 'unique' opportunities to explore along the river. One distinguishing factor is that guests will be able to earn and burn Hilton Honors points on the Waldorf Astoria Nile River Experience's cruises. While prices have yet to be decided, Michael says bookings are expected to open for sale around the second quarter of 2026, and trips will range from four to six nights. The only other Nile cruises that can be paid for with loyalty points are much longer itineraries — nine- to 13-day trips with AmaWaterways, Viking and Uniworld River Cruises—which are bookable via Marriott Bonvoy's Cruise With Points program. And while travelers can also book the Waldorf Astoria in Cairo on points to extend their trips on either end, Hilton doesn't plan to replicate that strategy for now. Where other brands such as Orient Express and Four Seasons are deliberately planning diverse rail and sea itineraries that can easily get combined with stays at nearby hotels, Hilton plans for now to stick to the Nile. 'Right now, it's just something we felt was unique,' Michael says. 'Given the popularity of Nile cruising and the huge opportunity that exists at that premium level, we thought Waldorf Astoria was the right fit.' A Nile cruise, Michael says, is 'on a lot of bucket lists — and when done well, it's extraordinary.'
