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US Senate border security bill: What you need to know

Democratic leaders in the US Senate have unveiled a $118bn bill that would boost border security and provide wartime aid for Israel and Ukraine. But the fate of the new proposal, backed by some Republican senators, looks uncertain after House Speaker Mike Johnson denounced it, saying it’s not tough enough on migrants. Here is more to know: What is the border security bill? After months of negotiations, United States senators have finally produced a 370-page bill, which would give the government emergency powers to refuse entry to migrants crossing the border or to quickly expel those who had already entered the US. Those powers would not restrict the entry of US citizens or others with a legal basis to come to the country. The new bill has introduced the concept of a trigger, which will be tripped when the number of migrants encountering border officials crosses an average of 5,000 over the course of a week. The bill also gives the president the power to shut the southern border with Mexico if more than 4,000 migrants attempt to cross the border in a week. The bill would require the government to process at least 1,400 migrants per day at border crossings, and would maintain some protections for people who fear torture or persecution after being deported. And it caps the number of days the emergency powers can be used each year. Some provisions of the proposed bill aim “to make border security tighter, to make immigration checks much stricter,” reported Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, from Washington DC. What do we know about the aid proposal in the Senate bill? The bill would direct about $20bn to additional enforcement on the US border with Mexico and to combat drug trafficking. About $60bn in additional aid has been earmarked for Ukraine. A large part of this would come in the form of weapons and military equipment. Around $20bn of this is to replenish US stockpiles of equipment transferred to Ukraine and another $13.8bn is to allow Kyiv to buy more munitions from US suppliers. The Senate plan directs $14.1bn to Israel. Around $5.2bn of this funding is allocated to missile defence systems. It also strips US funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) after Israel accused 12 of its Palestinian employees of being involved in Hamas’s October 7 attack. The UNRWA chief has told the Financial Times newspaper that Israel has yet to present evidence in support of its accusations. The bill allocates $2.4bn for operations around the Red Sea, where US forces have sought to combat attacks on shipping by Houthi rebels in Yemen. The bill would spend almost $2.6bn on efforts to deter China. Most of the money, about $1.9bn, would be to replace US munitions provided to Taiwan. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, from the Democratic Party, has said an initial vote on the bill would take place no later than Wednesday, but faces opposition from both Republicans and Democrats. What do Democrats want out of the bill? Prior to the introduction of this bill, Democrats were pushing for a White House funding request that pairs tens of billions of dollars for Ukraine and Israel. They have also proposed to allocate nearly $14bn for US border security. That money would pay for 1,300 additional US Border Patrol agents, 1,600 new asylum officers and 375 new judge teams. US President Joe Biden is pushing for the bill to be voted on, saying this makes the border more secure than it has been in decades. “Now we’ve reached an agreement on a bipartisan national security deal that includes the toughest and fairest set of border reforms in decades. I strongly support it,” Biden said in a statement. Fisher said Biden is essentially saying “It’s time for Republicans to stop playing politics with the border and get this to him so he can sign the bill as quickly as possible.” However, this is not easy for Biden to achieve. Republican Steve Scalise – the majority leader of the House of Representatives, who decides essentially when the House votes – has already said that he is not going to bring this to the floor of the House. Additionally, House Speaker Johnson has said that if the bill ever did make it to the floor of the House, it would be dead on arrival. I’ve seen enough. This bill is even worse than we expected, and won’t come close to ending the border catastrophe the President has created. As the lead Democrat negotiator proclaimed: Under this legislation, “the border never closes.” If this bill reaches the House, it will be… — Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) February 5, 2024 “Joe Biden says there’s still a lot of work to be done to get this over the line. This bill is struggling just hours after its birth,” said Al Jazeera’s Fisher. What do Republicans want out of the bill? Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican, has been supportive of the negotiations over the bill. But his colleagues in the Senate have said that they’re against the bill before even seeing the details, Al Jazeera’s Fisher said. Republicans say Biden has encouraged migrants by loosening restrictions that date from the era of former President Donald Trump and that require migrants and asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims are processed. They also oppose new Biden “parole” policies that allow certain migrants to enter legally for humanitarian reasons, saying they circumvent standard immigration channels. Immigration is a top concern for conservative voters ahead of the 2024 presidential elections that will decide control of the White House and Congress. Biden, a Democrat, is seeking a second term, and Trump is the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination. Al Jazeera’s Fisher said that some Republicans opposing the bill said they were not going to vote for it because it could give Biden a bipartisan victory in an election. House Speaker Johnson has called on the Democratic-led Senate to approve a bill

A child dies every two hours in Sudan camp for displaced people: MSF

Medical group warns of catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Zamzam camp in Sudan’s North Darfur state. At least one child dies every two hours in a camp for displaced people in Sudan’s North Darfur state during a nine-month war that has caused the collapse of humanitarian services, a medical charity says. Before the war began in mid-April, the health system in North Darfur was supported by UN agencies. “This aid has now come to an abrupt halt,” read a report published on Monday by Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF). “What we are seeing in Zamzam camp is an absolutely catastrophic situation,” said Claire Nicolet, head of MSF’s emergency response in Sudan. The charity estimated about 13 children die each day. “Those with severe malnutrition who have not yet died are at high risk of dying within three to six weeks if they do not get treatment. Their condition is treatable if they can get to a health facility. But many cannot,” Nicolet added. MSF is the only operational health provider in Zamzam camp, one of the largest and oldest camps for displaced people in the country. “Staff no longer receive salaries, equipment and medicines are in short supply, as are fuel for generators, water and other supplies that are needed to keep health facilities running,” the report said. “Malnutrition programmes that were once present in El Fasher – the state capital – are non-existent,” it added. Last year, a simmering rivalry between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army erupted into all-out war. The fighting has caused about 10.7 million people to flee their homes while 17.7 million are now facing acute hunger, United Nations agencies said. January is usually a month when malnutrition is at its lowest because stocks of food are filled up after December’s harvest, but because of the war, people have been unable to tend to their crops, MSF said. On top of the war, rainfall has been lower than usual, exacerbating the already dire humanitarian crisis in the region. Adblock test (Why?)

House Freedom Caucus lashes out at Senate border deal: ‘Dumpster fire’

FIRST ON FOX: House Freedom Caucus members are urging their conservative Senate colleagues to reject the recently unveiled border security compromise, claiming it does not go far enough to curb the migrant crisis. “It’s clear why Democrats waited until the last minute to drop this dumpster fire of a bill, it’s far worse than we could have expected,” former Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital on Sunday night after the legislation was released. “The Senate must reject this American sellout.” The proposal is aimed at tightening current immigration and asylum laws while also fast-tracking eligible asylum claims. It also would give President Biden and the Department of Homeland Security authorities to temporarily shut down the border when it is overwhelmed. However, a majority of House Republicans have insisted on border reform that goes even further, pointing to their H.R.2 border security bill passed last year. SENATE RELEASES LONG-AWAITED BORDER LEGISLATION, MAJOR ASYLUM CHANGES Others, like Freedom Caucus member Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., are still critical of its attachment to Democrats’ supplemental aid proposal that would also allocate $60 billion toward Ukraine and additional funding for Israel and elsewhere. “Instead of fighting for a serious bill that combats the invasion we face, weak-kneed Senate Republicans got rolled by Democrats, letting their obsession with Ukraine get in the way of their duty to America,” Crane told Fox News Digital. “This pathetic excuse for [a] border security deal gives Ukraine three times as much as it allocates to the U.S. border.” JOHNSON SAYS TRUMP IS ‘NOT CALLING THE SHOTS’ FOR HOUSE ON BORDER DEAL Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital, “At first glance, this ‘deal’ is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. This is a Ukraine border deal, not a U.S. border deal.”  A big sticking point for critics even before the bill was released was the rumored authority to allow 5,000 migrants into the country per day before enforcing a Title 42-like expulsion authority.  What the bill text does is create a new “border emergency authority” to turn people away, which may be used if the average number of migrants encountered reaches an average 4,000 per day across a seven-day period. The authority would be mandatory if that number hits 5,000.  Those powers can be used for up to 270 days in the first year of implementation, a number that gradually decreases before the authority sunsets altogether in three years. SOUTH DAKOTA GOV NOEM SEEKS TO BOLSTER TEXAS SECURITY EFFORTS AT US-MEXICO BORDER “The acceptable number of illegal aliens allows into the U.S. should be zero. The proposal is an absolute slap in the face to Americans and no Republican (or Democrat, for that matter) should support it,” Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital.  Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., Senate Republicans’ lead negotiator of the deal, called the notion that 5,000 people were “coming into the country” each day “absurd and untrue.” “The emergency authority is not designed to let 5,000 people in, it is designed to close the border and turn 5,000 people around,” he said on X. However, it is not just GOP hardliners who are pumping the breaks on the bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called it a “nonstarter” and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., vowed it would not get a House vote. GOP Conference Policy Chair Gary Palmer, R-Ala., wrote on X, “I cannot believe the Senate actually thinks this bill will secure our border. This poor excuse for a border security bill will continue to incentivize illegal crossings and will not have my support.”

GOP senator announces endorsement in key battleground Senate race: ‘We need more conservative fighters’

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is throwing his support behind Trump-backed Republican Bernie Moreno for the Ohio Senate. Tuberville made the endorsement ahead of the state’s heated March primary race, where Moreno is challenging GOP candidates Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan for the Republican nomination. “I’m endorsing Bernie Moreno for U.S. Senate because we need more Conservative fighters in Washington,” Tuberville said in a press release obtained first by Fox News Digital. “A successful businessman, proven leader, and political outsider, Bernie will join our fight against the Washington swamp.” Republicans are putting an emphasis on red state Ohio as one of the GOP’s best Senate pickup opportunities of the 2024 cycle – a state won by former President Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. OHIO SENATE CANDIDATE SAYS GOP IMPEACHING ‘TRAITOR’ MAYORKAS A ‘NO BRAINER’: ‘GROTESQUELY UNQUALIFIED’ Moreno, who is running to unseat vulnerable Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, expressed gratitude for the support from “a relentless fighter against the Washington establishment.” TRUMP ALLY MORENO PICKS UP NOEM ENDORSEMENT, RISES TO TOP OHIO REPUBLICAN VYING TO BOOT DEMOCRAT SHERROD BROWN “I am honored to have the endorsement of Senator Tuberville, a relentless fighter against the Washington establishment,” Moreno said. “I look forward to standing strong for our conservative values in the Senate alongside Senator Tuberville, and I am grateful for his support.” Tuberville’s backing followed endorsements from former President Trump, Gov. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., and Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. Tuberville has made several recent endorsements in prominent Senate races of the 2024 cycle, including backing Montana Senate candidate Tim Sheehy.

Oregon lawmakers focus on affordable housing, drug penalties, summer school

Oregon lawmakers are set to convene Monday for the start of a short legislative session that is expected to be dominated by homelessness, a housing shortage and plans to overhaul the state’s pioneering drug decriminalization law as overdose deaths surge. Lawmakers will have just 35 days to pass bills. For now, legislative leaders have indicated that bipartisan lines of communication are open as they overcome any partisan tensions still lingering from last year’s Republican walkout over measures related to abortion, transgender care and gun rights, which ground the Legislature to a halt for a record six weeks and disqualified 10 GOP state senators from reelection. Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek urged lawmakers to concentrate on the state’s most pressing issues. FEDS SEIZE 1.4 METRIC TONS OF LIQUID HEROIN IN OREGON, ARREST 4 LINKED TO MEXICO-BASED DRUG TRAFFICKING RING “My number-one focus for the legislative session is to put as much as possible into the effort to improve housing production in the state,” Kotek said. “That is the ultimate solution to our housing and homelessness crisis.” The sole bill introduced by Kotek this session is a sweeping housing measure that would make changes to Oregon’s hallmark land-use law to facilitate the construction of homes, among other things. In place since the 1970s, the law placed growth boundaries on cities in a bid to prevent urban sprawl and preserve farmland and forests. Kotek’s measure would grant cities a one-time exemption to the rule, allowing the addition of new land for housing in a so-called “urban growth boundary.” It would require 30% of new units in expansion areas to be affordable housing. The proposal would build on changes made to the land-use law last year, when lawmakers passed a bill to increase available land for semiconductor development. The bill allowed Kotek to designate up to eight sites for urban growth boundary expansion to be used for such purposes. Kotek’s roughly $500 million housing package this session also would include $20 million in grants she described as “climate-friendly” incentives. The grants would be available for housing projects where cooking appliances, heating and water heaters are powered by electricity instead of natural gas. Another top priority for the governor is expanding and increasing funding for summer learning programs in a bid to help students overcome learning losses largely stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The more heated debates this session are expected to revolve around proposed changes to the state’s first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law. Facing growing public and political pressure and one of the largest national spikes in overdose deaths, Democrats have unveiled a bill that would undo a key part of the law by once again making the possession of small amounts of drugs a low-level misdemeanor. The move would enable police to confiscate drugs and crack down on public use, its authors said. Measure 110, approved by voters in 2020, directed the state’s cannabis tax revenue toward drug addiction treatment while decriminalizing “personal use” amounts of illicit drugs. Possession of under a gram of heroin, for example, is only subject to a ticket and a maximum fine of $100. Republicans say Democrats’ proposal doesn’t go far enough. They want “personal use” possession to be a higher-level misdemeanor and treatment to be mandatory. House leaders from both parties acknowledged there will be policy disagreements and said they were focused on building relationships and adopting a “no surprises approach” to avoid the communication breakdowns that contributed to last year’s GOP walkout in the Senate. “We have an agenda in front of us that we need to focus on,” said House Minority Leader Jeff Helfrich, a Republican. “If the system breaks down and we don’t produce for Oregonians, that’s a problem.” While Senate leaders did not tout their working relationships to the same extent, minority leader Tim Knopp, who led last year’s walkout, said he has had “positive” meetings with the chamber’s Democratic president, Rob Wagner. Wagner said he spent the interim period between sessions traveling across the state to visit Republican senators in their home districts and described having “good and open conversations” with Knopp. Knopp is among the 10 GOP senators who have been disqualified from seeking reelection after last year’s lengthy walkout. Under a voter-approved constitutional amendment aimed at stopping such boycotts, lawmakers with more than 10 unexcused absences cannot run for reelection. A group of GOP senators, including Knopp, had challenged their disqualification in a lawsuit that was rejected by the Oregon Supreme Court. The high court ruling upheld an administrative rule implemented by the secretary of state’s office last year stating that lawmakers with at least 10 unexcused absences could not seek office for the immediately following term. Taking another step to prevent walkouts, Democrats this session have introduced a joint resolution requiring a majority of lawmakers to be present for a quorum, rather than two-thirds. Republicans’ walkout strategy has been based on denying the two-thirds quorum needed for the House or Senate to conduct legislative business. If passed, the proposed constitutional amendment would be put to voters. Kotek said she has been in contact with Republican leaders and isn’t concerned about policy differences erupting as they did last session. “Let’s focus on housing, let’s focus on behavioral health, let’s focus on summer learning,” Kotek said. “This isn’t a fancy session. Let’s stick to the basics.”

‘Lost courage to contest polls’: PM Modi’s sharp attack on opposition

Modi accused the Opposition of lacking the courage to contest elections and claimed that many are seeking to change seats and move to the Rajya Sabha instead of the Lok Sabha.

Squad members Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman outraised by moderate Democrat challengers, as primary threats mount

Squad members Reps. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., have both so far been out-raised by their more moderate Democrat challengers, as primary threats mount.  Bush, a defund the police advocate under Justice Department investigation for shelling out tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash to a security firm, was just narrowly outraised by her primary challenger, attorney Wesley Bell.  Bell earned $492,149 in donations, compared to the $487,000 Bush raised during the last quarter of 2023, according to the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission.  “Missouri’s 1st District deserves a representative who shows up, does the work and gets things done,” Bell said in a statement to The Hill. “I’m honored by our fast-growing list of endorsements from community members and local officials, and energized by the incredible momentum of support driving our campaign.” CORI BUSH BLAMES ‘RIGHT-WING’ WATCHDOG GROUPS FOR DOJ PROBE Bowman, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after pulling an office fire alarm in the House – allegedly to pause a vote during the government shutdown debate – raked in about $724,000 in the last quarter of 2023, according to the latest FEC filings. That compares to the $1.4 million raised by his opponent in New York’s 14th Congressional District, George Latimer.  “There is a fundamental weakness to Latimer’s fundraising,” Bill Neidhardt, a spokesperson for Bowman’s re-election push, told The Hill. “His connection to Republican Trump mega donors.” “His money won’t go as far in a Democratic primary where the electorate wants to hold Donald Trump accountable,” Neidhardt added.  A Westchester County Executive who entered the race in early December, Latimer traveled to Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks to show support for the Jewish state and earned the endorsement from AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.  Meanwhile, Bowman, who represents what is considered a safe blue seat, recently lost the endorsement of the progressive group J Street.  CORI BUSH’S CAMPAIGN PAYS $17,500 MORE TO HER HUSBAND, BRINGING HIS TOTAL TO $120K, NEW FILINGS SHOW An organization that claims to be pro-Israel but has faced criticism because of its support for positions that allegedly favor Iran’s regime and the Palestinians, J Street rescinded its endorsement of Bowman on Jan. 30, arguing that the progressive congressman “crossed a line” in calling for a cease-fire and describing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as a “genocide.”  Other Squad members, Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., continue to rake in donations.  Despite their fundraising setbacks and controversial anti-Israel remarks, Bush and Bowman are still considered tough – and likely costly – to beat as progressive incumbents. Their defeat, however, would signal a shift more toward the center of the Democratic Party in Congress.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “It’s a very small group to begin with,” Mark Mellman, a veteran Democratic pollster and leader of the Democratic Majority for Israel, told The Hill of members of Congress considered part of the progressive Squad. “It would be good for the party and good for the country if it got smaller.”

‘We’re being starved’: Dispatch from Gaza City as Israeli assault continues

For us in Gaza City, enduring the daily struggles like staying safe, fighting hunger and protecting ourselves against the biting cold is a war in and of itself as Israel’s assault on Gaza grinds on past 120 days. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their homes at a time when that was all they had. Then after that came the loss of a simple place to shelter as Israel bombed them all: hospitals, schools, clinics, and any open space where civilians gathered. The entire population of Gaza has been displaced. The entire population. What does ‘home’ mean? After our house was bombed, I was no longer just a witness to the thousands of people fleeing their homes to find safety wherever they could. We went to the United Nations shelter in the north of Gaza, my family and I gathering whatever would help us survive and becoming displaced like our countrypeople. There are about 600,000 people in north Gaza grappling with loss amid deprivation, starvation and disease because they do not want to leave their land. It breaks my heart, but I have to admit we’ve lost the sense of what “home” means. Just finding the bare minimum space and shelter from the elements we need to rest has become a journey of heartache and pain, our miserable daily routine of looking around to see where we can possibly sleep. [embedded content] My family – father, mother, sister, wife, and two-year-old son – and I are seeking relative refuge in the parking garage of a destroyed apartment building. We dread looking at the weather in these winter conditions. All day, we’re trying to find the forecast, breathless, worried that rain would be expected that night. On rainy nights, I take off my coat and wrap it around my baby, making it both a blanket and protection for him against the cold, with hope and prayer that it will be enough for his small body. Survival rations Beyond shelter is the struggle for food. I cannot recall the last proper meal my son had. Wheat is nowhere to be found so we have been using animal feed-grade barley and corn to grind into flour for bread. Even these alternatives are scarce, but they are our only means to get through the day. It’s not like there is the space and security to grow your own food either, with the bombs and intentional choking off of supplies, even water. The aid entering this besieged enclave is very limited and cannot cover our basic daily needs. So we have had to try to survive for these past four months, with no incomes or livelihoods as the prices of essentials skyrocket, if you can find them at all. Palestinians receive food rations at a donation point at a camp for displaced people in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 2, 2024. The situation in the north is far more dire [Said Khatib/AFP] As a result, starvation is beyond widespread in the north of Gaza. Babies, children, adults and the elderly all are suffering from the lack of food. An ounce of coffee used to be 10 shekels (about $2.75) and now it costs 120 shekels ($33); a litre of drinking water that cost a shekel (less than $0.30) is now 15 shekels ($4). If you secure food, you still have to cook it and, with no cooking gas, people are combing the ruins to find anything they can burn for a cooking fire, exposing themselves to bombing at any time. And so, when every hour of the day is spent either looking for food or a means to make it, we cannot always worry about staying safe. Unrecorded deaths Medical services in north Gaza have been nearly inoperable since the beginning of the ground invasion, and now there is little more than first aid services for the injured or those in need of intensive medical care. Israel has arrested and killed hundreds of medical personnel, bombed hundreds of medical facilities of various sizes out of service or depleted their capacity with cuts of fuel and water. For the little that remains functional, how would the wounded get there when at least 122 ambulances have been targeted and bombed? Then comes the danger of the streets: air strikes, soldiers kidnapping Palestinians or shooting them dead, and the mountains of rubble across Gaza. [embedded content] Even basic medications like antibiotics and painkillers have been scarce for the thousands suffering injuries from Israeli attacks, and so they get infections and respiratory diseases. People need to understand that the number of Palestinians killed in this aggression is much higher than what is being reported. Palestinians dying from kidney failure, from cancer, from disease, from a lack of prenatal care – all of these are not being recorded. People could have been helped had there been enough equipment and medicine. People can be saved, but there seems to be little intent to save them. I report through my phone when I manage battery and access to the internet or phone service – an endeavour more difficult than ever in north Gaza. Banks, post offices, transportation and telecommunications all do not work. The list is endless. How can I capture or explain to the world, the ones that even read our words, that what is being endured is not only painful but avoidable? Our calls for support are not for abstract words of diplomatic solidarity, but for urgent action that helps us feel human in the eyes of the world. With every passing hour, fewer and fewer Palestinians in Gaza can appeal to the world. Every day brings more death, and the rest of us remain, trying to fight off death. ‘Even basic medications like antibiotics and painkillers have been scarce for the thousands suffering injuries from Israeli attacks,’ Mohammed Mhawish writes [File: Mohammed Dahman/AP Photo] In closing I do not write of the struggle we are living to engender sorrow. Had sorrow moved people, we wouldn’t

Forest fires rage on in central Chile

Firefighters have been wrestling with massive forest fires in central Chile. Officials on Sunday extended curfews in the cities heavily affected by the blazes. They reported that at least 112 people have been killed since the fires began raging two days earlier. The flames are burning with the highest intensity around the city of Vina del Mar, where a famous botanical garden founded in 1931 was destroyed by the flames. At least 1,600 people were left homeless. Several neighbourhoods on the eastern edge of Vina del Mar were devoured by flames and smoke, trapping people in their houses. Officials said 200 people were reported missing in the city and surrounding area. A popular beach resort, the city of 300,000 hosts a well-known music festival during the summer. On Sunday morning, Chilean President Gabriel Boric visited the town of Quilpe, which was also heavily affected by the fires. At that point, he reported that 64 people had been killed, and declared two days of national mourning. Late on Sunday, Chile’s Forensic Medicine Service updated the confirmed death toll to 112. Boric warned that the number of casualties could rise as rescue workers search through collapsed homes. Some of those arriving at hospitals were in critical condition. Rodrigo Mundaca, the governor of the Valparaiso region, said he believed some of the fires could have been intentionally caused, echoing a theory that the president has also mentioned. The fires began in hard-to-reach mountainous and forested areas but moved into densely populated neighbourhoods despite the efforts of authorities to slow down the flames. Officials asked people in areas affected by the fires to evacuate. Those farther from the fires were told to stay at home to facilitate the transit of fire engines and ambulances. Curfews were declared in Vina del Mar, Quilpe and also the city of Villa Alemana, as part of an effort to prevent looting. The fires broke out during a week of record-high temperatures in central Chile. Over the past two months, the El Nino weather pattern has caused droughts and high temperatures in Western South America. Adblock test (Why?)

Police and protesters clash after Senegal election postponed

Police made arrests and fired tear gas as opposition supporters protested President Macky Sall’s decision to postpone elections in Senegal. Clashes erupted on Sunday as federal lawmakers prepared to debate a bill to formalise the delay of the February 25 vote. Demonstrators rallied in the capital Dakar after leading opposition figures and candidates in the presidential election rejected Saturday’s announcement and called on citizens to defend democracy. Meanwhile, ECOWAS, West Africa’s regional bloc, called for dialogue. Among those arrested as the protests spread was former Prime Minister Aminata Toure, as well as Anta Babacar Ngom, one of the candidates in the postponed vote. The government cut the signal of private television channel Walf as it broadcast the protest live. The New York-based non-profit Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the move in a post on social media platform X, urging Senegalese authorities to ensure that “journalists can work without hindrance”. Ahead of the postponement, Senegal had already been embroiled in political tension as the disqualification of two opposition candidates had triggered deadly clashes. Sall’s call to delay the vote cited a dispute between the judiciary and parliament over the final list of candidates. At least two of the 20 candidates said they would proceed with their campaign scheduled to kick off on Sunday. Sall’s tenure is scheduled to end on April 2. However, Senegal’s electoral code requires 80 days’ notice for a ballot, suggesting that the earliest that a vote could now take place is the last week of April. Repealing the decree that had set the electoral process in motion, Sall cited the dispute between the judiciary and federal lawmakers over the disqualification process and the reported dual nationality of some of the qualified candidates. Opposition leaders argue that the Senegalese leader lacks the power to delay the vote. Sall’s announcement followed a request to postpone the vote by the opposition Senegalese Democratic Party, whose candidate Karim Wade had been disqualified. Wade has accused two judges of corruption in the disqualification process and said that postponing the vote would “make it possible to repair the damage suffered”. The constitution empowers the Constitutional Council, Senegal’s highest election authority, to reschedule the election in certain circumstances including in the case of “the death, permanent incapacity or withdrawal” of candidates. Adblock test (Why?)