Britain's first Yemeni MP, Abtisam Mohamed, hit back at tech billionaire Elon Musk's comments on social media over the far right threat, which saw him claim “civil war is inevitable” in the UK.
Ms Mohamed, who was born in Yemen and came to the UK as a child, represents the South Yorkshire constituency of Sheffield, which is just kilometres away from riots which broke out in Rotherham at the weekend, and has seen first-hand the destruction being caused.
Mr Musk had hit out at Prime Minster Keir Starmer on his social media platform X saying: “Shouldn’t you be concerned about attacks on *all* communities?” in response to Mr Starmer's address to the nation that he would not tolerate attacks on mosques or on Muslim communities.
It has led Ms Mohamed to defend the government's stance and she responded to him on X saying: “We are rightly concerned about the current *actual* attacks on mosques and Muslims.”
An immigration centre in her constituency has been identified by far right activists as a target, where a source told The National staff were “very concerned and worried” about the situation.
On Sunday, Mr Musk wrote that a British “civil war” was inevitable.
“Use of language such as a 'civil war' is in no way acceptable,” said justice minister Heidi Alexander, branding Mr Musk's comments “deeply irresponsible”.
“We are seeing police officers being seriously injured, buildings set alight, and so I really do think that everyone who has a platform should be exercising their power responsibly,” she told Times Radio.
On Tuesday, Mr Musk continued to goad Mr Starmer and posted a cartoon clip of a person being executed in an electric chair alongside the comment: “In 2030 for making a Facebook comment that the UK government didn’t like.”
He then badgered him with images of grooming gangs asking if this was still taking place and then commenting on the first riot arrests over a social media post encouraging members of the public to protest outside a hotel.
“Arrested for making comments on Facebook! Is this Britain or the Soviet Union?,” Mr Musk wrote.
Director of think tank the Counter Extremism Project, Hans-Jakob Schindler told The National Mr Musk was being irresponsible.
“The statement of Elon Musk that 'civil war is inevitable' is a perfect example of the complete lack of responsibility of the owner of one of the key [social media] platforms,” he said.
“Rather than trying to minimise the damage that his platform is currently inflicting on British society, Mr Musk seems to prefer pushing his personal political agenda.
“The damaging effects of the dissemination and amplification of mis- and disinformation and violence-orientated extremist narratives by social media platforms and messenger services, including X, currently on display in the UK must lead to a fundamental re-evaluation of the regulatory approach towards this industry.”
Riots by anti-immigrant demonstrators have spread across England following the murder of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in Southport, north-west England, on Monday last week.
They have been fuelled by online disinformation that the stabbing suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker. He is 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, who was born in Britain.
The rioters have attacked mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers, forcing the government to provide emergency security to Islamic places of worship.
A senior Labour MP told The National that Mr Musk’s tweets on the “civil war” gripping Britain were “disgraceful” and irresponsible coming from a person of his global influence.
“He is someone in a position of power with a huge following yet he lacks total responsibility saying things like that,” said Afzal Khan, who is a Muslim.
“It just doesn't help anyone and is nowhere near the truth as well,” said the Manchester MP. “The truth is that the overwhelming number of people, of whatever background, race or creed, are good British citizens and very decent people.”
He added that it was the responsibility of social media companies to ensure that “they specifically put a stop to the false information which is being pedalled” adding “you can't just simply make profits”.
Mr Starmer's representative said Monday there was “no justification” for the comment.
Technology Minister Peter Kyle met representatives from TikTok, Meta, Google and X on Monday and warned that social media users spreading misinformation will have “nowhere to hide”.
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEdinburgh%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20November%204%20%3Cem%3E(unchanged)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBahrain%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20November%2015%20%3Cem%3E(from%20September%2015)%3C%2Fem%3E%3B%20second%20daily%20service%20from%20January%201%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EKuwait%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20November%2015%20%3Cem%3E(from%20September%2016)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMumbai%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20October%2027)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAhmedabad%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20October%2027)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EColombo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202%20%3Cem%3E(from%20January%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMuscat%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cem%3E%20%3C%2Fem%3EMarch%201%3Cem%3E%20(from%20December%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ELyon%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20March%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20December%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBologna%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20March%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20December%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3ESource%3A%20Emirates%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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