Namibia set for first female president as disputed election count advances
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is leading the presidential race but could be forced into a run-off vote if she falls short of the 50 percent threshold. Namibia appears set to get its first female president, with Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah holding a healthy lead as the count from last week’s disputed election proceeds. With 65.57 percent of votes counted, results released early on Tuesday on the election commission’s portal showed governing party candidate Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, leading the race with 54.82 percent of the vote. Results were initially expected a few days after the November 27 poll, but voting was extended by three days at several polling stations following technical difficulties and ballot paper shortages. The main opposition Independent Patriots for Change, whose candidate Panduleni Itula trails with 28 percent, has already rejected the election as a sham. The votes counted so far are for 79 of 121 constituencies, including all but two in the capital, Windhoek. Of the nearly 1.5 million registered voters, 73 percent cast ballots, the electoral commission said. Currently vice president, Nandi-Ndaitwah of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), could be forced into a second-round run-off vote if she does not claim more than 50 percent of votes when all results are in later this week. Advertisement Namibians vote separately for members of the National Assembly, and with 66.4 percent of the votes tallied, SWAPO led the ballot with 56.38 percent. Independent Patriots for Change was running at 19.23 percent. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah casts her ballot at the Emma Hoogenhout Primary School polling station in Hochland Park, Windhoek [Simon Maina/AFP] Results were initially expected a few days after the November 27 poll, but voting was extended to November 29 and November 30 at several polling stations after some voters were unable to cast their ballots on election day due to technical difficulties. Logistical and technical problems, including a shortage of ballot papers, led to long queues that meant some voters gave up on the first day of voting after waiting for up to 12 hours. The opposition claimed the extension was illegal, undermining the vote in the Southern African country, which has a largely smooth history of elections and is praised as one of the region’s more stable democracies. SWAPO has led the mineral-rich country of about three million people since leading it to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990, but high youth unemployment and enduring inequalities have disenchanted younger voters. Opposition parties have promised to challenge the validity of the election in court. Opposition leader Itula said there were a “multitude of irregularities” and no matter the result, “the IPC shall not recognise the outcome of that election”. “The rule of law has been grossly violated and we cannot call these elections by any means or measure as free, fair and legitimate,” he said on Saturday, the last day of the vote. Other opposition parties said they will join the case. “It is about our country, it’s about our democratic credentials, it’s about the country that must work for everybody, the poor and the rich. It cannot only work for those who want to remain in power by hook or [by] crook,” said McHenry Venaani, the leader of the opposition Popular Democratic Movement and a candidate in the presidential election. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
Israel continues to pound Gaza, issue new evacuation orders
Israeli military has ordered areas of Khan Younis cleared while at least 14 people were killed in strikes in northern Gaza. Israel has continued to pound Gaza, killing dozens and issuing new evacuation orders. The Israeli military launched strikes overnight that killed at least 14 people in the north of the enclave, according to reports on Tuesday. Meanwhile, new evacuation orders were issued, calling on people to leave areas in the southern city of Khan Younis. Medics reported that eight people were killed in a series of overnight strikes in Beit Lahiya, while four others were killed in Gaza City. A further two people were killed in attacks in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza’s eight historic refugee camps in the northern part of the Strip. Later, the Israeli army ordered residents in the districts of Khan Younis to flee, prompting a westward exodus in the early morning hours. “For your own safety, you must evacuate the area immediately and move to the humanitarian zone,” the army said a statement on X, citing rocket launches by Palestinian groups. Research states that there are no “humanitarian zones” in which people can find safety, and that evacuation orders do not help those fleeing to find safety or shelter from harm. Advertisement The use of these terms by Israel is aimed at bestowing legitimacy on forced displacement and creating the illusion of adherence to humanitarian law, the Action For Humanity nongovernment organisation stated. Palestinian and United Nations officials also say that there are no safe areas in the enclave. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been internally displaced, some as many as 10 times since the war began last year. Palestinian groups have accused Israel’s army of trying to drive people from the northern edge of Gaza with forced evacuations and bombardments to create a buffer zone. The army denies this and says it has returned there to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping in an area it had previously cleared. The Palestinian Civil Defence said its operations in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoon have been halted for nearly four weeks due to Israeli attacks on their teams and fuel shortages. On Tuesday, it said that 88 of its members had been killed, 304 wounded, and 21 detained by Israel since the war started, while 13 of 27 vehicles in the central and southern Gaza Strip were out of operation due to fuel shortages. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,013
These were the key developments on the 1,013th day of the Russia-Ukraine war. Here is the situation on Tuesday, December 3: Fighting Ukraine’s Air Force said that Russia launched 110 drones to attack the country overnight. Of 110 drones, the Air Force shot down 52, while at least 50 were “lost”, it said. Russia’s air defence systems destroyed 15 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions overnight, state news reported, citing the country’s Ministry of Defence. A Russian contract soldier undergoes training in a T-72 tank during military drills held at a firing range in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region on December 2 [Sergey Pivovarov/Reuters] Military aid and diplomacy Ukraine needs more air defence systems to protect its important facilities from Russian missile attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Ukraine will need tens of thousands of uncrewed robotic ground vehicles next year to shuttle ammunition and supplies to infantry in the trenches and evacuate wounded soldiers, Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov told the Reuters news agency. Norway’s Ministry of Defence said it would deploy F-35 fighter jets and NASAMS (short to medium-range) air defence systems to a logistics hub in Poland that coordinates military aid for Ukraine. From early December, Norway will safeguard the airspace above the Rzeszow airport and will send approximately 100 soldiers in addition to the air defence systems and fighter jets. German military aid to be delivered to Ukraine in December includes IRIS-T air defence systems, Leopard 1 tanks and armed drones, a Defence Ministry spokesperson said, just hours after Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the deliveries during Monday’s surprise visit to Kyiv. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a wave of pro-European Union protests in Georgia resembled an attempted Ukraine-style Orange Revolution – mass protests in 2004 that removed a pro-Russian government in Kyiv – and local authorities were trying to stabilise the situation, but Russia would not interfere. Advertisement NATO is highly unlikely to heed Ukraine’s call for a membership invitation at a meeting of the bloc set to be held on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing senior NATO diplomats. In a letter to his NATO counterparts ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said an invitation would remove one of Russia’s main arguments for waging its war – preventing Ukraine from joining the alliance. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, held a meeting in which they discussed Russia’s use of new ballistic missiles, preparations for the next meeting of arms donors and plans for Washington’s military aid next year. The United States will send Ukraine $725m of missiles, ammunition, antipersonnel mines and other weapons, Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed, as President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration seeks to bolster Kyiv before leaving office in January. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that stepping up support for Ukraine is essential to put Kyiv in a strong position for peace talks with Russia, as he conceded there could be a negotiated end to the war. A group of Bulgarian nationals accused of spying for Russia targeted an investigative journalist with the Bellingcat news outlet and tried to lure him into a “honey trap” via Facebook, prosecutors have told a London court. Katrin Ivanova, Vanya Gaberova and Tihomir Ivanchev, along with Orlin Roussev and Bizer Dzhambazov, also carried out surveillance on a US military base in Germany where Ukrainian forces were being trained. President Judge of the International Criminal Court Tomoko Akane said threats facing the institution, including possible US sanctions and Russian warrants for staff members, “jeopardise its very existence“. Russia issued an arrest warrant for the ICC’s Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan two months after the court in The Hague issued a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin is dragging Asia into the war in Ukraine with the use of Chinese-made drones and North Korean troops, German Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock said during a visit to Beijing. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
Musk’s $101bn Tesla pay package again rejected by US judge
Judge says Tesla’s ‘unprecedented theories’ do not support argument to reverse previous ruling scrapping pay deal. A judge in the United States has upheld a decision to deny Tesla CEO Elon Musk a multibillion-dollar pay package despite shareholders voting to restore the compensation deal. The decision by a Delaware judge on Monday reaffirmed an earlier ruling to void the pay deal on the basis that Tesla’s board was too close to Musk and had not sufficiently protected shareholders’ interests. Chancellor Kathaleen St Jude McCormick of Delaware’s Court of Chancery found that there was no legal precedent to reverse her earlier ruling and that if courts condoned “the practice of allowing defeated parties to create new facts for the purpose of revising judgments, lawsuits would become interminable”. “The large and talented group of defense firms got creative with the ratification argument, but their unprecedented theories go against multiple strains of settled law,” McCormick wrote in a 103-page opinion. McCormick also found that Tesla had made “material misstatements” to shareholders about the effect of their vote to reinstate Musk’s pay deal. Advertisement Tesla shares dropped 1.4 percent in after-hours trading following the ruling. McCormick also rejected a request for $5bn in fees sought by the lawyers of plaintiff Richard Tornetta, a Tesla shareholder who brought the original lawsuit accusing Tesla’s board of not acting independently of Musk, instead granting the amount of $345m. After McCormick’s decision to block the deal earlier this year, Tesla shareholders in June overwhelmingly voted to reinstate the package. Tesla on Monday said the court’s decision was “wrong” and that it would appeal the decision. “This ruling, if not overturned, means that judges and plaintiffs’ lawyers run Delaware companies rather than their rightful owners – the shareholders,”’ the electric car company said on X. Musk on X said that “shareholders should control company votes, not judges,” and described McCormick as an “activist posing as a judge”. Under the terms of his 2018 pay deal, Musk agreed to be paid in Tesla stock options each time the company reached certain goals instead of receiving a salary. Musk hit all of the targets, which focused on metrics including market capitalisation, earnings and sales, helping make him the world’s richest man. Musk’s compensation package was initially worth $56bn but is now valued at more than $101bn after Tesla’s stock price surged more than 40 percent following Donald Trump’s US presidential election win on November 5. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump to attend Notre Dame reopening in first overseas trip since election
US president-elect says he will visit Paris for ‘very special day’ celebrating restoration of fire-damaged cathedral. Donald Trump has announced he will attend the reopening of Notre-Dame, the Paris landmark gutted by fire five years ago, in his first overseas trip since winning the United States presidential election. The 12th-century Gothic masterpiece, which was badly damaged by fire in 2019, is set to reopen its doors to visitors and the Catholic faithful on Saturday and Sunday. Dozens of world leaders are expected to attend the unveiling of the restoration, which French President Emmanuel Macron has likened to the healing of a “national wound”. “It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the magnificent and historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday. “President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!” Advertisement During his first term in office, Trump weighed in on the fire at Notre Dame as pictures of the blaze were broadcast live worldwide, suggesting that “flying water tankers” could be deployed to put out the flames. “Must act quickly!” Trump said on Twitter, the former name for X. French authorities dismissed the suggestion, saying that using water-bombing aircraft could result in the collapse of the “entire structure of the cathedral”. Trump and Macron have had a complicated relationship. Macron was among the first world leaders to congratulate Trump on his re-election and was the guest of honour at the former president’s first state dinner. But the two leaders also clashed over Trump’s scepticism of NATO and France’s moves to hike taxes on US tech giants. Notre-Dame’s restoration was made possible with 846 million euros ($887.4m) in donations provided by some 340,000 donors from 150 countries. The five-year effort, involving some 250 companies and hundreds of experts, had an estimated cost of nearly 700 million euros ($734.3m). Restoration chief Philippe Jost last month told a news conference that surplus donations of about 140 million euros ($147m) would be used for future preservation efforts. Adblock test (Why?)
Israeli attacks kill two people in Lebanon; Hezbollah responds
Israel has killed two people, including a State Security officer, in separate attacks in Lebanon as it continues its assaults on the country since the ceasefire with Hezbollah came into effect last week. For its part, the Lebanese group said on Monday that it carried out a “preliminary defensive response” to the “repeated violations” of the ceasefire by attacking an Israeli military base in the hills of Kfar Chouba, a disputed area that Lebanon claims as its own. Hezbollah said Israeli breaches of the truce that went into effect on Wednesday include deadly air raids across Lebanon, shooting at civilians in the south, and flying drones and jets in Lebanese airspace, including over the capital, Beirut. The group said it launched its “warning” attack because “appeals by the relevant authorities to stop these violations did not succeed”. The renewed violence highlights the fragility of the ceasefire, which ended a devastating war that killed nearly 4,000 people in Lebanon and saw Hezbollah fire rockets daily at Israel. Advertisement Earlier on Monday, Lebanon’s State Security agency said an Israeli rocket killed officer Mahdi Khreis in the southern district of Nabatieh, calling the incident a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire and a dangerous escalation. Israeli bombardment in neighbouring Marjayoun killed another person, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said. A drone attack in the northeast of the country also injured a Lebanese soldier. Although the ceasefire calls on all parties to hold their fire, Israel has been launching near-daily attacks against Lebanon. Lebanese media have also reported that the Israeli military is using the truce to advance into new neighbourhoods in towns that it had entered during the war. Reporting from Beirut, Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem said life in Lebanon “started resuming” after the ceasefire was reached with hundreds of thousands of displaced people returning to their homes. “Now, it seems with Israel’s insistence on violating the ceasefire, Hezbollah found it necessary to say … that these violations must stop or things might get out of control,” Hashem said. After months of low-level hostilities, Israel launched an all-out war on Lebanon on September 23 with the stated aim of defeating Hezbollah. The Lebanese group had been targeting Israeli military bases in northern Israel for months in an effort that it said was aimed at pressuring Israel to end its war on Gaza. Israel assassinated top Hezbollah military and political leaders early in the war, including the group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah. Advertisement It also levelled thousands of buildings and homes across Lebanon with its focus on southern and eastern Lebanon and the Beirut suburbs of Dahiyeh – areas where Hezbollah is popular. Still, Hezbollah continued to fire rockets at northern and central Israel. The group also said it inflicted heavy losses on invading Israeli troops that crossed into the country. The truce, which was brokered by the United States and France, stipulates that the Israeli military must withdraw from Lebanon within 60 days and Hezbollah must move away from the border with Israel until it is north of the Litani River. During those two months, the Lebanese army is to deploy to southern Lebanon to be the only armed force there. Although Israel said its recent attacks are to “enforce” the truce, the agreement prohibits attacks by all sides. Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who was Lebanon’s chief negotiator in the ceasefire talks, stressed on Monday that Israel has violated the truce more than 54 times, including by carrying out air raids and demolishing homes near the border. “All these activities represent flagrant violations of the ceasefire agreement,” he said in a statement. On Monday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz suggested the country is ready for further escalation, promising a “harsh response” to the Hezbollah attack. “We promised to act against any violation of the ceasefire by Hezbollah – and that is exactly what we will do,” he said in a social media post. Advertisement But the US voiced confidence in the truce agreement on Monday. “Broadly speaking, it has been successful in stopping the fighting and getting us on a path where we are not seeing the daily loss of life that we had seen for two months prior,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters. He said the US administration will work through a monitoring mechanism established by the agreement to address potential violations to the ceasefire. Adblock test (Why?)
French government faces no-confidence vote amid budget dispute
The government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier is likely to collapse with parties from the right and left rallying against it. The government of French Prime Minister Michel Barnier is facing collapse after right- and left-wing parties have promised to put forward a no-confidence vote against it amid a budget dispute. France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen said on Monday that her party, the National Rally (RN), tabled a no-confidence motion against Barnier after he moved to force through budget measures without parliamentary approval. Left-wing politicians have also said they will introduce a similar motion. The left-wing coalition and RN have enough votes to topple the prime minister. Early on Monday, Barnier said he would scrap electricity price hikes and reduce healthcare coverage for undocumented migrants, caving in to demands from the far right. The budget vote had been scheduled in the lower house of France’s Parliament, the National Assembly, later in the day. The prime minister’s minority government, backed by a fragile coalition of conservative and centrist lawmakers, did not have the votes needed to pass its legislation outright without the RN’s support. Advertisement His concession was a last-ditch effort to keep the government’s financial plan on track and remain in office. But Le Pen said her party’s “demands on the budget were not met” and accused Barnier of failing to listen to political groups opposed to the bill. Barnier then activated a provision of the French Constitution – Article 49.3 – to push his budget through the National Assembly without a vote. He defended his decision and called on French lawmakers not to plunge the country into crisis. “We have arrived at a moment of truth. … [We must] decide if our country gets a responsible, indispensable budget or if we step into uncharted territory,” he said. A vote of no confidence is now expected as early as Wednesday. If Barnier’s government is voted out, it would be the first time French lawmakers have taken such a step since 1958. It would also make him the shortest-serving prime minister during that period. Barnier was hand-picked by President Emmanuel Macron in September to try to forge a consensus in France’s fractured political landscape. His appointment was an attempt to end two months of limbo after snap legislative elections delivered a hung parliament. New Popular Front, a coalition of left-wing parties, emerged as the largest party in the parliament after the elections. The left had partnered with Macron to prevent Le Pen’s RN from winning, but it was incensed at the appointment of Barnier, a right-wing politician. Macron, whose term runs until the spring of 2027, will remain as president even if Barnier and his cabinet fall. But Macron, whose powers were weakened after July’s snap general elections, will need to appoint a new prime minister. Advertisement Macron could ask political parties to seek a new coalition government or appoint a technocratic government until new legislative elections can be held this summer. No general election can take place within 12 months of the previous vote. In recent weeks, brinkmanship over budget measures has roiled French markets, briefly pushing Paris’s borrowing costs above Greece’s and denting France’s stock market. Last week, Barnier warned of a “storm” in financial markets if he is dismissed from power. Adblock test (Why?)
Hamas says 33 captives killed in Gaza as Palestinian factions hold talks
Hamas’s announcement comes as the group and Fatah discuss the Palestinian Authority’s management of post-war Gaza. Hamas says 33 captives held by the group in Gaza have been killed since the start of Israel’s nearly 14-month-old war in the besieged enclave. The group issued a video statement on Monday saying the captives were killed “because of the stubbornness of the war criminal” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “his ongoing aggression”. Hamas made the announcement as key mediators, including Egypt, Qatar and the United States, launch another effort to reach a ceasefire that would see the release of Israeli captives. The push comes after a recent truce in Lebanon raised hope for a diplomatic breakthrough. Hamas’s video lists and dates the incidents in which the group said captives were killed. Most of them were air strikes. However, some were rescue attempts by the Israeli military gone wrong. According to the Hamas, the first incident was an Israeli air strike that killed four captives on October 9, 2023. The latest was the killing of a captive during the Israeli military operation in northern Gaza last month. Advertisement “By continuing your mad war, you may lose your captives forever. Do what needs to be done before it’s too late,” the video concluded. Separately on Monday, the White House issued a statement grieving the death of Omer Neutra, a US citizen who was serving in the Israeli military. Neutra was killed by Hamas during its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, while serving as a tank commander for the army, according to the White House. Incoming US President Donald Trump issued his own statement on the captives later on Monday, warning in a social media post that where would be “ALL HELL TO PAY” if they are not released by January 20, the day he takes office. Meanwhile, delegations from the Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas met in Cairo to “reach a mutual understanding” on the Palestinian Authority’s management of the Gaza Strip after the end of Israel’s war, Egypt’s foreign minister said on Monday. “There are indeed two delegations from the Fatah and Hamas movements in Cairo consulting and deliberating to quickly reach a mutual understanding regarding the management of daily affairs in the Gaza Strip under the full control of the Palestinian Authority,” Badr Abdelatty told a news conference in Cairo. Netanyahu previously voiced opposition to allowing the Palestinian Authority (PA) to take over Gaza. However, the US says it wants a “reformed” PA to be in charge of the Palestinian enclave. As the talks continued, Israeli forces have pressed on with the bombardment of Gaza, attacking Jabalia in the north and Abasan al-Kabira in the south. Advertisement Northern Gaza has been particularly battered after Israel began besieging it 60 days ago. Gaza’s Government Media Office said at least 3,700 people have been killed or are missing since then. Israel’s offensive in Gaza – which United Nations experts have described as a genocide – has killed at least 44,466 Palestinians and wounded 105,358 since October 7, 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day, and more than 200 were taken captive. Adblock test (Why?)
Joe Biden pardons son Hunter: What it means and why it matters
US President Joe Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, who was facing sentencing for two criminal cases related to tax evasion and the purchase of a firearm. Here is what we know about the case and the pardon: Who is Hunter Biden and what are the charges against him? Hunter Biden is Joe Biden’s 54-year-old middle child. He is also his only surviving son and the first child of a sitting US president to face criminal trial. In a 2021 memoir, Hunter admitted to crack cocaine use and alcoholism, although he said he received treatment and recovered from his addictions. Hunter faced the possibility of years in federal prison due to multiple charges related to gun possession and tax fraud. In June, he was convicted by a jury for illegally purchasing and possessing a gun while being a drug user. Hunter had the .38 calibre Colt Cobra Special for approximately 11 days and never fired it, according to his lawyers. Months later, in September, he pleaded guilty to charges of a scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4m in taxes. Advertisement For the tax case, he faced up to 17 years in prison, and the gun charges were punishable by up to 25 years. Still, Hunter was expected to receive a shorter sentence, and it was possible he could have avoided prison time entirely. Hunter Biden was supposed to be sentenced on December 12 on the gun-related charges in Delaware and on December 16 on the tax charges in California. But didn’t Joe Biden say he wouldn’t pardon Hunter? Indeed. In June, Biden ruled out a pardon or commutation for his son. “I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him,” Biden said as his son was facing trial in the Delaware gun case. Separately, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at least seven times – over more than a year – that Biden would not pardon his son. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answers questions during the news briefing at the White House [File: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters] As Biden faced off against former President Donald Trump in this year’s presidential election, he tried to draw a distinction with the realtor-turned-politician – who has been charged in multiple cases. “No one is above the law,” he wrote on X in early July, in seeming protest against the US Supreme Court verdict granting broad immunity to Trump for any legal violations he committed while president. No one is above the law. — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 31, 2024 So how did Biden justify the change in his stance? In a statement by the White House on Sunday, Biden announced his decision to grant executive clemency to his son, Hunter Biden. Advertisement Biden explained that this decision was made in response to what he described as a politically motivated attack orchestrated by his opponents, to damage his reputation. “The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden said in the statement. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong.” Biden also emphasised, “I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice. … I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.” Statement from President Biden “Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter…” Full statement: https://t.co/InKuzm3vMF pic.twitter.com/vhxIjr1xIe — CSPAN (@cspan) December 2, 2024 How did Hunter react? Hunter said in a statement he would never take the reprieve “for granted”. “I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction – mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport,” he said in a statement. “I will never take the clemency I have been given today for granted and will devote the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering.” What does a pardon do? The US Constitution says a president has the power to grant clemency, which includes pardons, amnesty, commutation and reprieve. A pardon absolves individuals of federal criminal offences and restores all civil liberties and rights, while a commutation lessens penalties without completely removing them. An amnesty is the same as a pardon but it’s extended to a group of individuals. Advertisement This power originates from English law, where the king could show mercy to anyone, and it later travelled across the Atlantic Ocean to the American colonies. US presidents often use this authority. How common is it for presidents to pardon family members? It’s not uncommon for US presidents to use this power to pardon or commute the sentence of a family member. In his final weeks in office in 2021, Donald Trump issued about 100 pardons and commutations. Among the people he pardoned were Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. In 2005, Kushner was sentenced to two years for tax evasion, illegal campaign donations, and witness tampering. Fast forward to 2024, and Charles Kushner has just been nominated by Trump to serve as US ambassador to France in the incoming administration. Former President Bill Clinton, before the end of his second term, pardoned his half-brother Roger. In 1985, Roger Clinton Jr. was convicted on a cocaine-related charge and sentenced to more than a year in prison after admitting guilt to conspiracy to distribute. Is this significant? According to analysts, this pardon could undermine the credibility of the US democratic system – and the notion that the law is indeed the same for everyone. “Now that an election is over and Joe Biden has no more races to run, I think that what we’re seeing now is
Syria, Russia forces step up air raids in a bid to slow opposition advance
Syrian and Russian jets have intensified air attacks in Idlib city and positions in Aleppo as the government of President Bashar al-Assad tries to slow the advance of opposition fighters. The raids on Monday followed big gains by the opposition over the past few days that has greatly shifted the front line in Syria’s long-running war. The dramatic advance by a coalition of Syrian opposition groups, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has somewhat slowed in the past 24 hours, according to Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from the Turkish-Syrian border. “The advances by the Syrian opposition continue on the battlefront, but not as fast as before. The acceleration is down as the diplomatic efforts to discuss the crisis have risen within the last two days,” Koseoglu said. However, opposition fighters are still on the outskirts of Hama, south of Aleppo. Elsewhere, they have seized most of the city of Tel Rifaat, where Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are calling for a humanitarian corridor to allow Kurds to safely evacuate. Advertisement Meanwhile, a member of Syria’s opposition has pledged to continue the fight until the government agrees to a political transition. Speaking at a news conference on Monday, the sixth day of a blistering rebel offensive that forced Syrian government forces out of the city of Aleppo, Istanbul-based opposition leader Hadi al-Bahri stated: “We are ready to negotiate starting tomorrow.” To counter the rebels’ momentum, dozens of Iran-backed militias from Iraq crossed into Syria overnight to beef up the Syrian military’s defences, according to reports. “These are fresh reinforcements being sent to aid our comrades on the front lines in the north,” a senior Syrian military source told Reuters news agancy, adding the fighters had crossed in small groups to avoid air attacks. Iran also plans to keep up military advisers in Syria, according to Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. Al-Assad’s main backers Russia and Iran have thrown their weight behind Syria’s government, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian pledging to provide “all the support needed” to push back the rebels in a phone call with the Syrian leader. He echoed comments from Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi, who visited al-Assad on Sunday before travelling to Ankara, Turkiye, which backs a faction of Syria’s opposition. “Given the consensus in most areas and differences of opinion with Turkiye in some cases, we hope to reach a common understanding that will bring stability to the region and prevent Syria from becoming the centre of terrorist groups again,” Araghchi was quoted by Iranian state media as saying. Advertisement In a joint news conference following a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara continues to support Syria’s territorial integrity, adding that there is a “need for compromise between the Syrian government and opposition”. Turkiye, which has supported opposition factions in Syria, on Monday rejected any suggestion that “foreign interference” was behind the offensive launched by the fighters in the country’s north. “It would be a mistake at this time to try to explain the events in Syria by any foreign interference,” the Turkish foreign minister said, blaming instead an absence of dialogue between opposition groups and the government of al-Assad. But the Syrian president says the opposition offensive was a bid to redraw the map of the region in line with the US interests. “The terrorist escalation reflects the far-reaching goals of dividing the region and fragmenting the countries in it and redraw the map in line with the objectives of the United States and the West,” al-Assad said in a statement from his office after phone calls with Iranian President Pezeshkian. The latest fighting marks the most significant turn in years in Syria’s war, which began with popular uprisings across the country in 2011. Since 2020, the front lines have largely been stagnant with an array of opposition groups largely contained to a small portion of Idlib province. But in just a matter of days, that changed abruptly, as HTS and its allies pressed into Aleppo and beyond, initially meeting little resistance. Advertisement “This is a major change,” Jean-Marc Rickli, head of global and emerging risks at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, told Al Jazeera. The opposition was “very well prepared”, facing an army that was “not very motivated or equipped”. Ultimately, how successful the rebel operation turns out to be, Rickli said, will hinge on how far Russia, which provides Syria’s government with crucial air support, and Iran, whose militias are now in the fray, dig their heels in. “To what extent these actors [Russia and Iran] will be willing to commit enough force to stop these different [opposition] factions, that’s a different story,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)