Pro-Duterte rallies as former Philippine leader marks 80th birthday in jail

MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and European Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera on Friday urged the United States to reconsider new tariffs on goods from Europe and open a dialogue with Brussels to stop what Sanchez described as “nonsense.”
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States will charge a 25 percent import tariff on all cars. On Thursday, the Commission said the European Union was preparing a “robust, calibrated” response.
“Today, from here, I’d like to make a call again to the US administration to reconsider and open dialogue with the European Commission and stop this nonsense,” Sanchez told an economic event in Madrid.
Speaking at the same event, Ribera — who served as energy minister under Sanchez and is now the bloc’s antitrust chief — said the EU “misses the relationship of solidarity with the United States and we hope we can return to it,” adding there was always space to talk and find solutions.
She likened Trump’s trade policy to the behavior of a “schoolyard bully.”
“Europe cannot remain silent in the face of such aggression,” she added. “We’re reaching our limit and the next steps will require more Europe, and more unity in terms of security.”

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian backpackers who traveled through seven countries to reach Saudi Arabia for Umrah have completed their 30-day Ramadan journey, fasting with Muslim communities they visited along the way.

Farhan Mokhali, 28, and Ainaa Fakhira, 27, started their journey from Padang Besar, a town bordering Thailand in the northern part of the Malaysian state of Perlis.

“The inspiration and idea solely came from Ainaa. She is the one who has always dreamed of being a backpacker and traveling around the world since she was a teenager,” Mokhali told Arab News.

“After several years of postponing the dream, in 2025 she decided to pursue it because she didn’t want to wait any longer.”

From Hatyai on the other side of the border, they reached Bangkok and traveled to Vientiane in Laos, from where they crossed to Kunming in China and traveled to Xi’an and further to Khorgos, where they entered Kazakhstan.

There the land journey had to end when they faced problems in obtaining visas to Turkmenistan and Syria.

Within 30 days, they visited seven countries, taking 10 trains, three buses and two aeroplanes.

Self-employed and running a media startup, they kept on working during their travel, which they estimate cost them about $4,300 in total.

While the journey took place during Ramadan, both kept on fasting as they experienced the cultures of various Muslim communities that they met on their way.

“We camped in the snow in negative temperatures and hiked 15 km during snowfall just to experience the Altyn Arashan hot springs while fasting in Kyrgyzstan. We loved every part of this journey since it gave us the chance to spend more quality time together and learn a lot of new things,” Mokhali said.

“We are also thankful to have had the opportunity to experience the beauty of Ramadan in other countries. We experienced different cultures, like iftar with the locals, Taraweeh at different mosques in several countries, and many more Ramadan traditions.”

Last week they reached Madinah, from where they traveled to Makkah to complete their pilgrimage.

It was the best part of their journey because they could experience Umrah together, Mokhali said, as they packed to return home on Saturday, right before the end of the fasting month.

“We are going to celebrate Eid in Malaysia,” he added. “We are going back to Malaysia tomorrow. We haven’t experienced Ramadan in our country this year yet.”