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Texas governor signs law allowing arrest of suspected illegal migrants

Texas governor signs law allowing arrest of suspected illegal migrants

Republican Greg Abbott claims US President Joe Biden has left state to ‘fend for itself’ as he signs controversial bill. The governor of Texas has signed a law allowing state authorities to arrest and deport people suspected of illegally crossing the border between the United States and Mexico. Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s endorsement of Senate Bill 4 on Monday set up a potential legal battle with the federal government, which is usually tasked with enforcing immigration laws. Abbott, who signed the bill in a ceremony in the border town of Brownsville, accused President Joe Biden of doing nothing to stop a “tidal wave of illegal entry” into Texas and claimed the measure would cut unauthorised arrivals by 50-75 percent. “Biden’s deliberate inaction has left Texas to fend for itself,” Abbott said, describing the consequences of unauthorised entry under the measure as “so extreme that the people being smuggled by the cartels, they will not want to be coming into the state of Texas”. Under the new law, Texas state police will be able to arrest anyone suspected of crossing the border illegally and local judges will be authorised to order them to leave the country. Critics have cast the law as the most extreme attempt by state authorities to regulate immigration since a 2010 Arizona law that was largely struck down by the US Supreme Court. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas said on Monday it would challenge the measure in court, arguing it “overrides federal immigration law” and “fuels racial profiling”. More than 20 congressional Democrats also signed a letter urging the US Justice Department to take legal action to block the measure. Record numbers of migrants have been picked for unauthorised entry from Mexico since Biden took office in 2021, with more than half of the 5.8 million arrests taking place in Texas and neighbouring New Mexico. Former President Donald Trump, who Abbot has backed to be the Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential election, has made immigration a key plank of his bid to retake the White House. During a visit to Edinburg, Texas near the US-Mexico border last month, Trump claimed that the US had the most unsecure border in the history of the world and that the country was being “invaded”. On Saturday, Trump said immigrants coming to the US were “poisoning the blood of our country,” drawing a sharp rebuke from the White House. “Echoing the grotesque rhetoric of fascists and violent white supremacists and threatening to oppress those who disagree with the government are dangerous attacks on the dignity and rights of all Americans, on our democracy, and on public safety,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said. Adblock test (Why?)

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 664

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 664

As the war enters its 664th day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Tuesday, December 19, 2023. Fighting Ukraine’s Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said the situation on the front line was not at a stalemate, after suggesting last month that it was a possibility. He declined to comment on the coming counteroffensive operations. “This is a war. I can’t say what I plan, what we should do. Otherwise, it will be a show, not a war,” Ukraine’s RBC media quoted him as saying. Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, a senior army general who has led counteroffensives against the Russians, told the Reuters news agency that front-line troops faced shortages of artillery shells – particularly Soviet-era 122mm and 152mm ammunition – and had scaled back some military operations because of a shortfall of foreign assistance. Zaluzhnyi criticised the president’s decision to fire regional military draft office chiefs. “These were professionals, they knew how to do this, and they are gone,” Interfax Ukraine cited him as saying. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired the country’s regional military recruitment heads in August in a corruption crackdown. Politics and diplomacy Zelenskyy said new sanctions imposed on Moscow by the European Union would “truly reduce” Russia’s ability to finance its invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s diplomatic mission to the EU said the latest action showed previous efforts had failed. The 12th package of sanctions includes a ban on Russian-origin diamonds, additional import and export bans, and a tightening of the rules to close loopholes and combat sanctions circumvention, the EU said. The Russian government added the prominent writer Grigory Chkhartishvili – known by his pen name Boris Akunin – to a register of “terrorists and extremists” after he criticised the invasion of Ukraine. The 67-year-old is known for his historical detective novels and his longstanding criticism of President Vladimir Putin. Weapons United States President Joe Biden said he was planning one more military aid package for Ukraine this month and that further assistance would require agreement in Congress. The Alphen Group, made up of more than 40 former top US and NATO diplomats and defence officials, urged the US Congress to approve new aid for Ukraine, warning that if Ukraine failed to win, it would not only be disastrous for Ukraine but also threaten the security of the US and its allies. Republicans earlier this month blocked an emergency spending bill including billions of dollars of aid for Ukraine, demanding tougher steps to control immigration at the US-Mexico border. Denmark set aside 1.8 billion Danish crowns ($264m) to help finance a Swedish initiative to donate CV90 armoured combat vehicles to Ukraine, the Danish Defence Ministry said in a statement. Adblock test (Why?)

India’s Manisha Kalyan: From a village in Punjab to European football

India’s Manisha Kalyan: From a village in Punjab to European football

Mumbai, India – In the quiet embrace of a small Indian village, where dreams are often whispered against the backdrop of simplicity, emerged a football prodigy destined for greatness. Meet Manisha Kalyan, the young Indian football sensation whose long journey from the narrow lanes of Muggowal in Punjab to the illustrious stage of the UEFA Women’s Champions League is nothing short of a remarkable odyssey. Kalyan participated in athletics and basketball during her school days before football captured her heart. Daring to dream beyond the confines of her rural beginnings, she made the cut for India in 2019, at the age of 17. Last year, Kalyan received the golden opportunity to sign with the Cypriot club Apollon Ladies. A rare chance for Indian footballers, given the country’s ranking of 65 in women’s FIFA rankings and 102 in men’s. “I made the right decision to join Apollon because I am improving and learning new things here,” Kalyan told Al Jazeera from Limassol. “Even before I was called up for India, I dreamt of playing abroad because when you begin playing abroad at an early age, you can improve and contribute more to the national team.” Kalyan signed for Apollon after playing for three Indian clubs, including Gokulam Kerala, with whom she won the top-tier Indian Women’s League twice. Known for her speed and ability to adapt to several positions, Kalyan has been recognised as one of the best Indian players in recent times. The All India Football Federation named her the Women’s Player of the Year in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and she was also part of the India team that won gold at the South Asian Games in 2019. Kalyan shot to fame in 2021 after she became the first Indian to score a goal against Brazil in a friendly match, which India lost 6-1. She rates it as the most special goal of her career. 𝐀𝐈𝐅𝐅 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐-𝟐𝟑 🏆 ꜱʀ. ᴘʟᴀʏᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʏᴇᴀʀ 🥇 Lallianzuala Chhangte (Men)Manisha Kalyan (Women)#IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/9oIIiCn1Mj — Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) July 4, 2023 ‘If you’re quiet, you won’t get the ball’ The offer from Apollon did not come as a surprise for Kalyan, who revealed she had been attracting interest from foreign clubs since that goal against Brazil. Even though Kalyan was over the moon to receive interest from Apollon, she had very little knowledge about what she was signing up for. “When I decided to sign for Apollon, I did not know much about Cyprus. I did a bit of research about the club and the country and felt it would be a good call. I had seen some of the matches from the Cypriot First Division and knew Apollon had played in the Women’s Champions League, where I wanted to participate,” she said. A language barrier and some cultural differences made Kalyan’s start to life in Cyprus difficult but she slowly found her way. “At the time I joined, I didn’t understand English as much as I do now and couldn’t talk much with my teammates, which was difficult,” Kalyan recalled. “Now that I can speak a bit of English, I have built a connection with them. I think communication is important both on and off the field because if you’re quiet during games, you won’t get the ball. Once I started to communicate during the games, things improved.” Kalyan’s dream to play in the Women’s Champions League came true last August when she featured against Latvia’s SFK Riga in the qualifying round. Then in September, she added another feather to her cap by becoming the first Indian to score in the Women’s Champions League when she found the net against Georgia’s FC Samegrelo in the qualifiers. Coming on as a second-half substitute in that game, Kalyan scored a stunning left-footed goal from inside the box. “Having the chance to play and score in the Women’s Champions League has been the best part of my life,” Kalyan said. “I was quite happy at the time, but now I have bigger goals. I want to improve individually in the next year and perform better for India.” #IndianFootballersAbroad#ManishaKalyan Watch Manisha Kalyan’s historic UEFA Champions League goal from another angle, in Greek commentary This goal made her the first Indian Footballer to score in UEFA Women’s Champions League with a 3-0 win over Samegrelo 🇬🇪 ©️- CYTA Sports pic.twitter.com/HF9n0sXixI — Indian Football Fan (@FootbalIndiaFan) September 17, 2023 ‘Modern left-back’ Since joining Apollon, Kalyan has transitioned from an attacker to a defender. In India, while playing for Sethu or Gokulam Kerala, Kalyan would feature on the wings or as a striker, but she has been deployed as a left-back at Apollon. “She is a very good modern left-back, someone who likes to attack,” said Apollon coach Andreas Matthaiou. “In my opinion, good players can play everywhere. “She is very fast and fires very good crosses from the left. She can run throughout for 90 minutes and technically she is good, too.” Having taken over the team earlier this month, Matthaiou described Kalyan as a “hard worker” and a “quick learner”. “I am very happy with her,” he said. Indian women’s football expert Anirudh Menon believes Kalyan’s journey is already a “success story” for the country, which has seen very few women play in top-tier leagues overseas, especially in Europe. India’s all-time top-scorer Bala Devi is the highest profile player to play in Europe, having represented top-tier Scottish club Rangers, while others have played in the lower leagues in Europe or top divisions in small Asian countries such as Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal. “Bala Devi is arguably the best women’s player India has produced, and she got the opportunity only when she turned 30. So if she couldn’t play abroad in her prime, it was quite unlikely that anybody else could have,” Menon said. Poor game time for women The Indian women’s national team is ranked higher than their male counterparts, but they still receive fewer opportunities. The Indian Women’s League (IWL) usually lasts for

How Beijing is changing the way it involves itself in Taiwan’s election

How Beijing is changing the way it involves itself in Taiwan’s election

A few months after Taiwanese NGO worker Cynthia Iunn bought a book titled If China Attacks from a Taiwanese bookstore in February, she started to get calls from strange numbers. In the middle of May, she decided to answer one of them. “I ended up talking to three different people and although they pretended to be from Taiwan, they were very clearly Chinese,” Iunn told Al Jazeera. Initially, she thought it was a scam and expected the conversation to eventually turn to her credit card information or bank details. Instead, Iunn was surprised when the person on the other end revealed that they knew her full name, the name of the book she had ordered in February and where she had ordered it from. According to Iunn, they were curious about what she thought of If China Attacks and why she had bought the book in the first place. “They also wanted me to know that the book contained inappropriate and sensitive content and was a piece of propaganda,” she recalled. The person also told her that in the event of a war between China and Taiwan, Taiwanese forces would be no match for the Chinese military. At that point, Iunn realised that she was being subjected to Chinese cognitive warfare. Beijing considers Taiwan to be part of China and has not ruled out using force to achieve its goal of bringing the self-ruled democratic island under its control. The best way to avoid a war, Iunn was told, would be for her to vote for the opposition party, Kuomintang (KMT), rather than the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the presidential and legislative elections that will take place on January 13. The KMT wants friendlier relations between Taiwan and China while Beijing has refused to engage in dialogue with the DPP, which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims is “separatist”. The DPP rejects such accusations and says it is up to the people of Taiwan to choose their leaders and their future. Beijing portrays Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen as a “separatist”. She was first elected in 2016 and returned in a landslide four years later. She says it’s up to the people of Taiwan to decide their future [File: Sam Yeh/AFP] Iunn found the call itself ridiculous but it also left her concerned that the callers had been able to collect so much personal information about her. “It felt like a message to people like me from the CCP, saying that we know who you are and we know you are against China,” Iunn said. “And that is quite frightening.” Making the ‘right choice’ Beijing has made it no secret that it is taking an active stance regarding the Taiwanese election. Chinese officials have called the election a “choice between peace and war”, a slogan used by the KMT, and urged the people of Taiwan to make the “right choice”. During a sit-down in February in China between the head of Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Song Tao, and KMT deputy chairman, Hsia Li-yan, Tao told Hsia that China was willing to forge closer relations with the party. Meanwhile, the CCP has refused to engage in dialogue with the DPP administration of incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen since she was first elected in 2016. Instead, Beijing has bypassed the Taiwanese government to engage directly with local Taiwanese leaders and officials. Earlier this year, the Chinese authorities exempted a southeastern Taiwanese county from an import ban on Taiwanese custard apples. The exemption came through after a KMT commissioner from the county visited China twice. More than a thousand local Taiwanese leaders have headed to China lately – many more than in the lead-up to the last national election. Recently, district prosecutors’ offices across Taiwan have opened investigations into hundreds of these cases as evidence suggests that Beijing has either partly or fully covered the expenses of these trips. Prominent public figures have also been the targets of alleged Chinese activities leading up to the election. In October, China’s state-run Global Times reported that Chinese authorities had launched a tax probe into the activities of Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn which generates about 70 percent of its revenue from products made in China. The announcement came two months after billionaire founder and former Foxconn CEO Terry Gou had declared his own independent run for president – a move that the Global Times suggested would split the opposition camp and favour of the “secessionist ruling DPP”. After the tax probe became public, Terry Gou cancelled several campaign events and a few weeks later, dropped out of the race. Also in October, the Chinese authorities extended an investigation into “Taiwan’s trade barriers against China” until January 12 – the day before the election. William Lai, Taiwan’s vice president, is the ruling DPP’s presidential candidate in the election and leading the polls [File: Ann Wang/Reuters] According to Fang-Yu Chen, an assistant professor at Soochow University in Taipei who researches political relations between China and Taiwan, such decisions so close to the election are no coincidence. “This is part of an organised Chinese effort to create chaos, stoke distrust and spread dissatisfaction with the current DPP government,” Chen said. Online campaigns This is not the first time there have been reports of increasing activity directed at Taiwan in the run-up to an election. Interference efforts were also reported in the local elections in 2018 and the presidential election in 2020. As in previous polls, this time’s efforts involve cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns. Google warned in early December of a huge increase in Chinese cyberattacks over the past six months directed at Taiwan’s defence sector, private industries and government. In August, Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, cracked down on a Chinese influence campaign involving more than 7,500 accounts across different platforms in the company’s largest such operation to date. Many of the accounts were targeting Taiwan. There have also been cases of TikTok being used to spread disinformation among Taiwanese users while also monitoring their

More than 100 people killed in earthquake in northwest China

More than 100 people killed in earthquake in northwest China

The shallow 6.2 magnitude quake struck during the night near the border of Gansu and Qinghai provinces, sending people rushing out onto the street. More than 100 people have been killed after an earthquake hit northwestern China while many people were asleep. The earthquake, measured at 6.2 according to state news agency Xinhua, struck in Gansu Province near the border with Qinghai, causing significant damage, state media reported on Tuesday. Residents rushed out onto the street as buildings collapsed and dozens of people were injured, the state broadcaster CCTV said, citing the provincial earthquake relief headquarters. According to CCTV, at least 100 people were killed in Gansu and 11 people in the city of Haidong in Qinghai. Haidong is situated close to the epicentre about 100km (60 miles) southwest of Gansu Province’s capital, Lanzhou. Rescue work was under way with Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for “all-out efforts” in the search and relief work. Power and water supplies were disrupted in some villages, Xinhua said. The US Geological Survey reported the quake was a magnitude 5.9, while the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said it was a magnitude 6.1. The earthquake struck at a depth of 10km (6 miles) at 11:59 pm local time on Monday (15:59 GMT), according to the USGS, which initially reported the magnitude at 6.0. Gansu has a population of about 26 million people and includes part of the Gobi Desert. Earthquakes are not uncommon in China. In September 2022, a 6.6-magnitude quake hit Sichuan Province leaving almost 100 dead. A 7.9-magnitude quake in Sichuan in 2008 left more than 87,000 people dead or missing, including 5,335 children who were in school at the time it happened. At least 242,000 people were killed in 1976 after an earthquake struck Tangshan in the worst natural disaster in Chinese history. Adblock test (Why?)

Iceland volcano erupts weeks after thousands evacuated from nearby town

Iceland volcano erupts weeks after thousands evacuated from nearby town

Iceland has been on high alert for an eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula after weeks of intense seismic activity. A volcano in southwest Iceland has erupted, spewing lava and smoke across a wide area weeks after nearly 4,000 residents of a nearby town were evacuated amid intense seismic activity. “At 22:17 this evening, a volcanic eruption began north of Grindavik on the Reykjanes peninsula,” Iceland’s Meteorological Office said on Monday. The livestreamed footage of the eruption showed glowing orange lava rising into the night sky, surrounded by billowing red smoke. “A Coast Guard helicopter will take off shortly to confirm the exact location and size of the eruption,” the IMO said. Iceland has been on high alert for a potential eruption after thousands of small earthquakes rattled the region about 40km (25 miles) south of the capital Reykjavik prompting the evacuation of the fishing town of Grindavik and the closure of the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa. The crack in the earth’s surface was about 3.5km (2.1 miles) long and had grown rapidly, the Met Office said. Some 100 to 200 cubic metres (3,530 to 7,060 cubic feet) of lava emerged per second, several times more than in previous eruptions in the area, Icelandic seismologist Kristin Jonsdottir told the public broadcaster RUV. Local police said they had raised their alert level as a result of the outbreak and the country’s civil defence warned the public not to approach the area while emergency personnel assessed the situation. Reykjanes is a volcanic and seismic hotspot southwest of Iceland’s capital Reykjavik. In March 2021, lava fountains erupted from a 500-750-metre-long (1,640-2,460-foot-long) fissure in the ground in the Fagradalsfjall volcanic system. After Monday’s eruption, the Keflavik International Airport remained open, albeit with numerous delays listed for arrivals and departures. Iceland is home to 33 active volcano systems, the highest number in Europe. It straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack in the ocean floor separating the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. Adblock test (Why?)