Allahabad High Court reserves order on mosque survey in Krishna Janmabhoomi case
The Shahi Idgah mosque is present adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple complex in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura.
COVID-19 surge in India: Karnataka on alert as cases rise in Kerala, mask advisory issued for senior citizens
Karnataka has initiated precautionary measures to tackle any surge in the cases, health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said on Sunday
CCP-tied group is quietly fueling US-based climate initiatives: tax filings
FIRST ON FOX: A climate-focused nonprofit with significant operations in Beijing has wired millions of dollars to fund climate initiatives and environmental groups in the U.S., according to tax filings first obtained by Fox News Digital. While the Energy Foundation’s financial filings indicate that the group is technically headquartered in San Francisco, a Fox News Digital review determined that the majority of its operations are conducted in China with a staff that boasts extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its recently filed tax form show the group, which refers to itself as “Energy Foundation China,” contributed $3.8 million to initiatives in the U.S. like phasing out coal and electrifying the transportation sector. “The Energy Foundation’s ties to China are both extremely disturbing and reprehensible,” Tom Pyle, the president of the Institute for Energy Research, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “These environmental organizations, the recipients of this money, are, in essence, sacrificing our national security and empowering China.” “We are the richest energy nation in the world with respect to coal, oil and natural gas,” he continued. “And yet the Biden administration and the environmentalists fueled by China are promoting policies that would increase our dependence on China, which controls all the minerals and materials needed for batteries and wind and solar, and curtail our production of oil and gas here at home.” REPUBLICANS ACCELERATE INVESTIGATION INTO FOREIGN INFLUENCE OF US CLIMATE GROUPS, ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY According to its financial filings, the Energy Foundation’s grant revenue declined 30% year over year to $56.7 million in 2022, but its grant contributions to outside groups and initiatives worldwide increased to $52.1 million, up 27% compared to last year. Among its more than a dozen grants in the U.S. last year, the group wired $900,000 to the Rocky Mountain Institute, a Colorado-based think tank that has engaged the White House on climate policy and advocates phasing down fossil fuel reliance and net-zero policies. The group also funded a study in 2022 highlighting the dangers of natural gas-powered stovetops, which ultimately led to calls for bans on the appliance. US MILITARY BASE’S GREEN ENERGY PROJECT WITH CCP TIES DISCONNECTED OVER NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS The Energy Foundation sent another $480,000 to the Washington, D.C.-based International Council on Clean Transportation, which advocates for widespread EV adoption and policies decarbonizing the transportation sector broadly. It also wired grants — one to the University of Maryland and another to the Jackson Hole Center for Global Affairs — worth a total of $450,000 and earmarked for projects to phase out coal power reliance. It further sent $375,000 to the Natural Resources Defense Council, a group founded as “America’s first litigation-focused nonprofit dedicated to making dirty industries clean up their pollution” and which has filed dozens of legal challenges pushing far-left green measures. Through its legal efforts, the NRDC has opposed domestic fossil fuel drilling, coal plants, the Keystone XL oil pipeline and critical mineral mining projects. And the Energy Foundation contributed $350,000 to Harvard University, a grant earmarked for “outreach to build a clean energy future.” JOE MANCHIN GOES SCORCHED-EARTH ON BIDEN ADMIN OVER EV ACTIONS BOOSTING CHINA “The Energy Foundation’s grant-making is almost exclusively focused on making it hard to produce energy and move it around here at home,” Pyle told Fox News Digital. “These organizations have little to do with the environment and everything, almost everything, to do with advancing this redistribution agenda.” “If they’re successful, they’ll make America weaker and China stronger,” he said. The group — which, according to its 2022 financial statement, leases two office facilities in China under operating leases that have terms through April 2024 — has significant ties to the CCP. For example, Energy Foundation CEO and President Ji Zou previously served as the deputy director general of China’s National Center for Climate Change Strategy, an agency within the Chinese government’s National Development and Reform Commission. Liu Xin, who heads the group’s environmental management division, previously served in a high-ranking role at the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau. And Ping He, the program director of the group’s industry program, worked for eight years at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a leading state-run research institution. DARK MONEY GROUP PUSHING GAS STOVE CRACKDOWN HAS SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL STAKE IN GREEN ENERGY The revelation of the Energy Foundation’s extensive funding for U.S.-based climate initiatives comes amid an ongoing congressional probe led by House Natural Resources Committee Republicans over the CCP’s growing influence on the American environmental activist movement. The panel has probed a series of nonprofits with ties to China. “For years, the CCP has used U.S. nonprofits to influence American public opinion and policy decisions,” a Natural Resources Committee aide told Fox News Digital. “The vast and well-funded CCP nonprofit influence machine is particularly focused on promoting Chinese energy interests and weakening America’s competitiveness.” “Sadly, radical eco-activists in America do more to advance the interests of the CCP than promoting commonsense energy and environmental policies in the United States,” the aide added. Overall, while the U.S. is the largest global producer of oil and gas, which still drives every major industry from transportation and power to manufacturing and construction, Chinese companies have established a major foothold in green energy markets. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), for example, China produces about 75% of all lithium-ion batteries, a key component of EVs, worldwide. The nation also boasts 70% of production capacity for cathodes and 85% for anodes, two key parts of such batteries. In addition, more than 50% of lithium, cobalt and graphite processing and refining capacity is located in China, the IEA data showed. Those three critical minerals, in addition to copper and nickel, are vital for EV batteries and other green energy technologies. Chinese investment firms have also been aggressive in purchasing stakes in African mines in recent years to ensure a firm control over mineral production. China also continues to dominate the global solar supply chain even as Western nations attempt to increase domestic manufacturing capabilities. According to
Gavin Newsom’s 10-year plan to end San Francisco homelessness marks 20-year anniversary
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, commands a Golden State that has turned into a deep blue “Sapphire State.” As Newsom took over following the 2003 San Francisco mayoral election, the then-mayor-elect said that December he intended to “aggressively” make ending homelessness in his city his administration’s top priority. The plan involved a 10-year strategy to end chronic homelessness with “tens of millions” of federal dollars in funding to create 550 “supportive housing” units for the troubled homeless, SFGate reported at the time. CALIFORNIA CITY REMOVES HOMELESS IN BEAUTIFICATION BEFORE BIDEN’S SUMMIT WITH CHINESE PRESIDENT XI Fast-forward to December of this year and the announcement of that strategy is now two decades old. San Francisco, along with the rest of California, is far from solving the problem. In fact, the growing homeless population has become a central issue in California’s political debate. “Twenty years ago, then-Mayor Newsom laid out his 10-year plan to end homelessness in San Francisco,” California GOP chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson told Fox News Digital. “Not only does the problem remain unsolved today, but in the time since, he has taken his failures statewide, where communities across California are grappling with the devastating homeless crisis.” “Instead of focusing on bashing red states or hitting the late-night talk show circuit while foolishly eyeing a promotion to the White House, Gov. Newsom should pay attention to the actual job he was elected to do and work with Republicans to find real solutions for the Golden State,” Patterson continued. The nonpartisan think tank Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) found that, as of 2022, 30% of homeless Americans lived in the Golden State, “including half of all unsheltered people (115,491 in California; 233,832 in the US).” “Since 2020, California’s overall homeless population has increased about 6%, compared to just 0.4% in the rest of the country,” PPIC wrote in February. “A 17% increase in the homeless but sheltered population accounts for almost all of California’s change, while the more visible unsheltered population increased 2%.” “The rest of the country’s unsheltered population grew faster than California’s (4%), while its sheltered population actually shrank (-2%),” they added. During Newsom’s successful 2017 run for governor, the California Democrat pledged that he would “lead the effort to develop the 3.5 million new housing units we need by 2025 because our solutions must be as bold as the problem is big.” “I realize building 3.5 million new housing units is an audacious goal – but it’s achievable,” Newsom said. “There is no silver bullet to solve this crisis.” “We need to attack the problem on multiple fronts by generating more funding for affordable housing, implementing regulatory reform and creating new financial incentives for local jurisdictions that produce housing while penalizing those that fall short,” he continued. A 2022 Department of Housing and Urban Development report found that 67% of California’s homeless population is unsheltered. Additionally, a 2023 report found that California has spent $20 billion fighting homelessness over the last five years. Newsom was elected governor in 2018 and re-elected in 2022, with 2023 marking his fifth year in office. Newsom took some heat earlier this year after San Francisco cleared out its homeless encampments ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s summit with President Biden in the city. “I know folks are saying, ‘Oh they’re just cleaning up this place because all those fancy leaders are coming to town,’” Newsom said at that time. “That’s true, because it’s true – but it’s also true for months and months and months before APEC [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit], we’ve been having conversations.” During an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Newsom expressed his pride in his 10-year plan to address homelessness in San Francisco while also calling the crisis “disgraceful.” Newsom’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Biden’s daughter owes thousands in income taxes, lien documents show
FIRST ON FOX: Ashley Biden, President Biden’s daughter, owes $5,000 in income taxes beginning in 2015, according to a recent tax lien docket first obtained by Fox News Digital. Liens are legal claims imposed by the government on a property or assets to secure unpaid taxes after repeated attempts to collect. On Dec. 1, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue in Philadelphia County notified Biden that the “amount of such unpaid tax, interest, additions or penalties is a lien in favor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania upon the taxpayer’s property – real, personal, or both – as the case may be,” according to the notice. The period start date listed on the lien begins Jan. 1, 2015 – when Joe Biden was vice president in the Obama administration – and ends Jan. 1, 2021, days before he was sworn in as president. MAN, WOMAN PLEAD GUILTY TO STEALING ASHLEY BIDEN DIARY, SELLING IT TO PROJECT VERITAS Ashley Biden and her attorney did not respond to multiple requests for comment. “The scale is not anything like Hunter, but… Joe is constantly talking about how wealthy and connected people do not pay their fair share and can’t afford to pay more, and it just so happens that both of his living children did not pay their taxes,” Garrett Ziegler, the founder of nonprofit Marco Polo and former President Trump aide, told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday. “This is just another example of the Bidens being careless,” he said. “Like, you’d think that they would show a little bit more prudence when you’re the first when you’re the American first family to make sure you don’t have any tax liens on you, especially going into an election year.” Ziegler founded the website BidenLaptopMedia.com, which contains nearly 10,000 photos from Hunter’s infamous laptop between 2008 and 2019. Ziegler said his team found Ashley’s lien while conducting a routine search in the Philadelphia County courthouse system. When Ziegler published the findings on the laptop, he told Fox Digital at the time, “We’re not Republican activists.” “None of us are registered Republicans,” he continued. “In fact, I loved and still love Trump precisely because he wasn’t a standard Republican. So this is not a hit job. We’re going to keep all the photos that paint the Bidens in a good light and keep all the photos that paint the Bidens in a bad light. The American people can judge for themselves what they think about their first family through this.” TOP WHITE HOUSE AIDE WORKED AT LAW FIRM HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH CORPORATE ENTITIES TIED TO HUNTER, BIDEN FAMILY Born on June 8, 1981, Ashley Biden is the youngest of Joe Biden’s children and the only child with Jill Biden. Ashley has primarily focused on social work, activism and philanthropy throughout her career. She works for the Delaware Center for Justice, focusing on criminal justice reform, according to her Linkedin. Ashley worked as a social worker in the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families from 2007 to 2012. She received her master’s degree in social work from University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice in 2010. In 2017, while working at the Delaware Center for Justice – a nonprofit criminal justice reform organization – she launched a charitable fashion brand Livelihood. In 2019, she left her job at the Delaware Center for Justice to help her dad’s presidential campaign. HUNTER BIDEN FACES BACKLASH AFTER DEFYING SUBPOENA WITH PRESS CONFERENCE ‘STUNT’: ‘HOLD HIM IN CONTEMPT!’ In March, she was reportedly applying for a doctorate in clinical social work at the University of Pennsylvania to study the neurobiology of trauma and plans to develop her own curriculum. Last summer, two Florida residents pleaded guilty in federal court in New York City to stealing the diary and other possessions of Ashley and selling them to the conservative watchdog group Project Veritas during the final weeks of the 2020 presidential election. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
Top Republican talks AI arms race: ‘You’ll have machines competing with each other’
EXCLUSIVE: A top House Republican is warning that the U.S. needs to stay ahead of China, Russia and other adversaries in the race to dominate the artificial intelligence (AI) space, particularly with regard to the military. “We’ve got to develop it. It’s got to be managed,” Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, told Fox News Digital when asked how the U.S. military could lead the AI sphere. Palmer suggested the integration of AI with quantum computing would be a significant part of military development going forward. “What that does just by itself – the ability to analyze a situation on the ground or in the air and have an almost instantaneous countermeasure or attack. That’s what quantum computing does,” Palmer said. EUROPE SEALS WORLD’S FIRST SET OF RULES REGULATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE “If you combine that with AI, you’re basically – you will have machines competing with each other, making decisions in nanoseconds.” Asked if that kind of future concerned him, Palmer said, “Well yeah, that’s what our enemies are trying to develop.” “Just a couple of decades ago, we didn’t think artificial intelligence was on the horizon like it is now. It’s not only a concept now, it is being implemented,” he continued. “I don’t want to start trying to figure out what to do after it’s done. I’d rather be thinking about it before it’s actually a reality.” WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)? He raised those same concerns at an Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on AI last week, stating, “Whoever controls artificial intelligence and quantum computing will control the battlefield.” Palmer criticized President Biden for declaring at a September U.N. meeting that countries must work together to use AI as “tools of opportunity,” arguing that China would “only be more aggressive” on AI as time went on. AI DEVELOPMENT BOOM COULD PIT US VS CHINA WITH ANOTHER CHIP SHORTAGE: EXPERTS Biden said at the time, “We will push back on aggression and intimidation and defend the rules of the road, from freedom of navigation to overflight to a level economic playing field that have helped safeguard security and prosperity for decades. But we also stand ready to work together with China on issues where progress hinges on our common efforts.” “I think most Americans are coming to the realization that China is more than just an adversary, they’re the enemy,” Palmer said at the hearing. “China’s already utilizing artificial intelligence on some of their unmanned surface vessels… intended for patrols in the disputed South China Sea.” “I think China’s only going to be more aggressive in that regard. And I hope at some point we can get a briefing, maybe in a classified setting.” The White House has made AI a cornerstone of its policy goals this year, rolling out proposed guardrails for its safe and ethical use this fall.
China Committee Chair Gallagher proposes Taiwan deterrence strategy, demands Pentagon classified briefing
EXCLUSIVE: House China Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher is requesting a classified briefing from the Pentagon to discuss ways the United States can work to aid Taiwan in deterrence efforts amid heightened aggression in the region. Gallagher, R-Wis., penned a letter to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, in which he says the United States needs to build an “arsenal of deterrence.” TOP REPUBLICAN SOUNDS ALARM ON US TERRITORY BEING ‘HIGHLY VULNERABLE’ TO CHINESE MISSILES “In December 1940, while we were still at peace, President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously called on the United States to be the ‘great arsenal of democracy,’” he writes. “He said it was the ‘purpose of the nation’ to build ‘with all possible speed, every machine, every arsenal, every factory that we need to manufacture our defense material.’” Gallagher said Roosevelt’s call to provide a “lifeline” to allies also helped to “arm our own military in advance of and through the years of heavy conflict and ultimately win the war.” “Today, the United States finds itself needing to rebuild a different kind of arsenal – an arsenal of deterrence,” he wrote. Gallagher warns that Chinese President Xi Jinping has “ordered the Chinese military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027.” Now, Gallagher is warning that in order to “prevent war,” the United States must “quickly remake an arsenal of deterrence that can arm Taiwan as well as our own forces to allow us to prevail in any conflict in the Indo-Pacific.” Gallagher, however, said the United States’ current “struggles” to meet the significant demand for U.S. munitions in Ukraine, and now even in Israel, have revealed “the fragility of our munitions industrial base.” REPUBLICANS DEMAND ANSWERS AFTER TOP BIDEN OFFICIAL INVITED CCP LEADERS TO SENSITIVE NATIONAL SECURITY SITE The committee has engaged in war games simulating a conflict with China over Taiwan, which revealed that the United States “would run out of long-range, precision-guided munitions in less than one week.” Gallagher warned that the simulation also revealed that the United States would need to fight closer to Chinese defensive fire, and would increase the risk to air and naval assets – as well as the service members who would operate them. “With no guarantees that a war in the Indo-Pacific would be limited to weeks or even months, the possibility that we may have to fight for an extended period without the most effective assets in our arsenal is deeply alarming,” he writes. “In addition, significant delays in the deliveries of critical missiles to Taiwan, including anti-ship Harpoon missiles, make it unclear whether Taiwan itself will have sufficient weapons to defend itself and repel a Chinese invasion.” Gallagher added that “rearming Taiwan after hostilities have commenced, as we did with Ukraine, would be significantly more difficult, if not infeasible.” “Today’s challenges must force us to adapt and think outside the box. If delays are preventing vital weapons from being delivered to Taiwan, we must be creative in putting together capabilities – using weapons and assets already in our inventory – that we can promptly deliver to Taiwan,” he said. Gallagher said if cost and production times are limiting U.S. supplies, he would propose cheaper alternatives that could, instead, be produced quickly, and would complement the more expensive missiles. JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN SAYS ‘WE ALL SHOULD BE’ WORRIED ABOUT CHINA POSSIBLY INVADING TAIWAN “Two innovative ideas – the ‘MacGyver’ Harpoons and Powered JDAMs – may offer potential solutions to our problems and help strengthen the arsenal of deterrence at this urgent moment,” Gallagher proposed. The Harpoon missiles, which Gallagher calls “inventive,” have been used in Ukraine’s fight against Russia. Gallagher said a “MacGyver” solution, which is using existing components and older Harpoon missiles already in our inventory, may help get much-needed weapons to Taiwan at a “significantly lower cost per round.” “The United States currently has hundreds of Harpoon missiles that are being considered for demilitarization, destruction, or long-term stowage. Taiwan may be able to use these missiles with a land-based launch system with only minor modifications,” Gallagher proposed. “Missile launch support structures and Harpoon Ship Command-Launch Control Systems could be taken off decommissioned Navy ships. Communications systems and data links could come from existing Taiwanese systems. Power generators and ground platforms, such as steel plates or Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks, could come from either American or Taiwanese stocks,” he explained. Gallagher also pointed to Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMs, which he said were used extensively by the United States in both Iraq and Afghanistan. “The ‘Powered’ JDAM – an innovative concept that would allow a standard 500-pound bomb to travel several hundred miles as a cruise missile – could provide a cheaper, near-term solution to complement the more expensive PGMs that take years to build,” he said, adding that they may be able to attack targets at both land and sea. Gallagher stressed that “reviving and rebuilding an arsenal of deterrence will require a generational investment and mobilization.” “At the same time, we must be realistic about how quickly the munitions industrial base will be able to produce our most essential weapons. We must be creative and think outside the box to come up with solutions,” he said. “The urgency of the moment requires nothing less.” Gallagher requested a classified briefing from the Pentagon next month regarding the agency’s plans it has to pursue the weapons systems he has proposed.
Israel-Hamas war: List of key events, day 73
Efforts to combat Houthi attacks and de-escalate the Gaza war are under way – here’s the latest updates. Here’s how things stand on Monday, December 18, 2023: Latest developments Oil prices rose nearly 1 percent in Asian trade as Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea and lower exports from Russia stoke supply fears. The Israeli army has been detaining Ahmed Muhanna, the director of Gaza’s al-Awda Hospital, in an unknown location, Gaza’s Ministry of Health spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said on Sunday night. The Freedom Theatre in Jenin continues to demand the immediate release of its director, Mustafa Sheta, and acting teacher Jamal Abu Joas. On Sunday, Israel’s military rejected claims that its forces “murdered” two women who were sheltering in a Catholic church in Gaza. Israel’s military said on Sunday that it had discovered the largest Hamas tunnel near what was once a busy crossing into Israel, reported The Associated Press news agency. Human impact and fighting Israeli air attacks on Jabalia refugee camp killed at least 90 people and wounded more than 100 others, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported on Sunday. An Israeli attack on Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza overnight Sunday killed 25 people, with 10 being from the same family, reported Al Jazeera Arabic. Palestinian journalist Haneen Ali al-Qutshan was killed in an Israeli attack on Nuseirat, according to the Palestinian media office. She was the 95th Palestinian journalist or media worker to be killed since the October 7 conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out. As Palestinians in the enclave face hunger and increased cold, they rummaged through aid trucks in large crowds on Sunday. Israeli forces raided at least six areas across the occupied West Bank overnight, including near Ramallah and Bethlehem, according to Wafa and Al Jazeera Arabic. A young Palestinian in Nablus and two young men in Qalqilya were injured in firing. Diplomacy United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will arrive in Israel today where he is expected to discuss de-escalating the Israel-Gaza war and announce an initiative for security in the Red Sea. French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs condemned on Sunday the Israeli bombing of a residential building in Rafah that killed one of its staff. In a statement released on Sunday, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry called the visit by the “racist extremist” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to the Psagot settlement an “act of organised state terrorism”. Adblock test (Why?)
Huge fire after explosion at Guinea fuel depot
NewsFeed A huge fire has broken out in Guinea’s capital Conakry after an explosion at a fuel depot. There are reports that dozens of injured people have been taken to two of the city’s main hospitals. Published On 18 Dec 202318 Dec 2023 Adblock test (Why?)
Iraq heads to the polls to vote for powerful provincial councils
The first council elections in a decade are expected to strengthen the grip of pro-Iran groups. Iraqis are headed to the polls to elect provincial councils for the first time in 10 years, with thousands vying for seats in the powerful assemblies. Ballots will be cast in 15 of Iraq’s 18 provinces on Monday. The elections are a prelude to a parliamentary vote in 2025, which will test the strength of pro-Iran groups that have been raising their profile in recent years. Overall, 285 candidates will be elected to the councils, whose duties include appointing regional governors and allocating health, transport and education budgets. Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, which includes three provinces, will decide their provincial councils next year. Turnout the ‘ultimate gage’ Monday’s vote is seen as a key test for the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who rose to power a year ago on the back of a parliamentary coalition of pro-Tehran parties. Since taking office, al-Sudani has struggled to develop public services and infrastructure ravaged by decades of conflict. He is hoping for a high turnout, which would give his administration a boost. “Turnout is the ultimate gage of satisfaction,” said Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at Chatham House. It will show, he said, “whether the Sudani government’s economic populism – the policy of giving out [public sector] jobs – can be successful and can capture the young population”. Voting started at 7am (04:00 GMT) on Monday under tight security and was set to continue until 6pm (15:00 GMT). Some 17 million of Iraq’s 43 million people are eligible to vote, with 6,000 candidates in the race. However, voter apathy has been on the rise among a mostly young population who feel that they have not seen the benefits of Iraq’s massive oil wealth, much of which is misdirected or stolen in a country ranked among the world’s most corrupt. Hassan Qabas, a member of Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), told Al Jazeera that around 1,800 international observers had been invited to participate. Boycott The vote is expected to consolidate the position of the ruling Coordination Framework coalition. The Iran-aligned bloc features Shia Islamist parties with factions of Hashed al-Shaabi, a network of former paramilitary units integrated into the regular army. However, critics say the councils are sure to be nests of corruption and enable clientelism. Influential Shia scholar and political kingmaker Muqtada al-Sadr, whose rivals blocked his bid to form a government after he emerged as a winner in the 2021 parliamentary polls, is boycotting the election. Manaf Almusawi, a member of his Sadrist movement, told Al Jazeera the boycott is intended to “voice rejection of the government’s policies” and “deprive the government of legitimacy”. A supporter of Shia scholar Muqtada al-Sadr marches with an Iraqi national flag with others during a protest calling for a boycott of provincial council elections, Najaf, Iraq, December 14 [Qassem al-Kaabi/AFP] Iraq’s provincial councils were established after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein. The councils were initially abolished in late 2019 as a concession to massive antigovernment protests, but al-Sudani’s government later re-established them. To reflect Iraq’s multi-confessional and multiethnic population, 10 seats are reserved for minorities, namely Christians, Yazidis and Sabians. A 25 percent quota also ensures that 1,600 of the candidates are female. Adblock test (Why?)