Rival sectarian groups agree to seven-day ceasefire in Pakistan
Local Sunni and Shia armed groups have clashed for decades, but the most recent fighting has killed more than 30 people. Pakistani officials have announced a seven-day truce between rival sectarian groups after days of clashes killed dozens of people in the northwest of the country. The violence between the groups began on Thursday after gunmen attacked civilian convoys, killing at least 40 people, who mainly were Shia Muslims. In retaliation, residents in the area of Kurram targeted Sunni Muslims. Local Shia and Sunni Muslims have engaged in sectarian rivalry for decades over a land dispute in the Kurram district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the border with Afghanistan. Following the violence, Muhammad Ali Saif, spokesperson for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government and a member of the mediation team, said on Sunday that both sides had agreed to a seven-day ceasefire. “They will also exchange prisoners and return bodies to one another,” Saif said. He added that the ceasefire announcement should stop more minor clashes reported in the district’s remote areas. The mediation team flew into Parachinar, Kurram’s main city, on Saturday and met with Shia and Sunni leaders while the district was under a virtual curfew with armed groups roaming the streets in many villages. Akhtar Hayat Gandpur, the police chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and another member of the mediation team said Shia leaders were calling for the immediate arrest of those involved in attacking civilian vehicles as well as compensation for the victims. The Pakistani government has yet to name who the attackers were publicly, and no one has claimed responsibility. Earlier on Sunday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi said that once a truce is agreed upon, “we can begin addressing the underlying issues”. Sectarian violence Last month, at least 16 people were killed in Kurram, including three women and two children, due to clashes between the two armed groups. Police have struggled to control the violence in the area, which was part of the semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas until it was merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018. But the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said 79 people were killed between July and October in sectarian violence. Fighting in July and September only ended following a tribal council calling for a ceasefire. On Friday, several hundred people demonstrated against the violence in Karachi and Lahore. Adblock test (Why?)
Israel sanctions Haaretz due to articles that ‘hurt’ Israeli state
The Haaretz newspaper called the decision ‘another step in Netanyahu’s journey to dismantle Israeli democracy’. Israel has approved a resolution to cut ties with the Israeli news outlet Haaretz and ban government funding bodies from communicating or placing advertisements with the newspaper. The government said its decision was due to “many articles that have hurt the legitimacy of the state of Israel and its right to self-defence, and particularly the remarks made in London by Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken that support terrorism and call for imposing sanctions on the government,” Haaretz reported on Sunday. The left-leaning news outlet added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the decision, which did not appear on the government’s agenda for the weekly cabinet meeting. In response to the decision, Haaretz said it was an “opportunist resolution to boycott Haaretz, which passed in today’s government meeting without any legal review … [and] another step in Netanyahu’s journey to dismantle Israeli democracy”. “Like his friends [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, and [Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor] Orban, Netanyahu is trying to silence a critical, independent newspaper. Haaretz will not balk and will not morph into a government pamphlet that publishes messages approved by the government and its leader,” the outlet added. Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy told Al Jazeera that the government sanctions on the outlet “send a very bad message, both politically and morally”. “Many view it [Haaretz] as the only newspaper in Israel because, especially [in] this war, almost all the media outlets totally recruited themselves to the narrative of the government and the army,” and did not show Israelis what was happening in Gaza, he said. The government’s dispute with the organisation intensified last month at a conference in London, where publisher Schocken said Netanyahu’s government did not care about “imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population”. “It dismisses the costs of both sides for defending the settlements while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters that Israel calls ‘terrorists’,” he added. Following an Israeli public outcry over the comments, Schocken said that his mention of Palestinian freedom fighters did not mean Hamas. However, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who proposed the sanctioning of the news outlet, launched a renewed campaign against Haaretz, calling for a boycott of the newspaper. Last year, Karhi approached the Israeli cabinet secretary with a draft resolution to halt all subscriptions to Haaretz by state employees, including the army. Israel has clamped down on the media as the war continues, and has killed dozens of Palestinian journalists in Gaza, including Al Jazeera’s Ismail al-Ghoul, Rami al-Rifi, Samir Abudaqa, and Hamza Dahdouh. Several other Al Jazeera journalists have been threatened by Israel, and the network has been forced to shut its bureaus in Israel and the occupied West Bank. Adblock test (Why?)
The West, the ICC, and ‘mtu wetu’ in Israel
The arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), have brought back not-so-fond memories to many Kenyans. More than a decade ago, then Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy – current President William Ruto – became the first incumbent heads of state or government to actually face an ICC trial, having been indicted before they got into office. However, while both Kenyatta and Ruto chose to cooperate with the court – at least on the face of it – and attended their trials, thus obviating the need for an arrest warrant, it is unlikely that Netanyahu and Gallant will be taking a trip to The Hague any time soon. Kenyatta and Ruto were accused of being responsible for the violence that followed the country’s disputed 2007 election, in which more than 1,300 people lost their lives. The two had been on opposing sides of the conflict and were alleged to have organised and funded “tribal” militia to carry out killings. To date, only a handful of people have ever been prosecuted for the murders, rapes and mutilation that led to the forcible displacement of 660,000 people, and it was only after the Kenyan state proved unwilling to act that the ICC stepped in. Similarly, when he applied for warrants for the Israeli leaders in May, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan – who coincidentally headed Ruto’s defence team – also indicated he would be happy to defer prosecution if Israel’s justice system shows any willingness to take action against Netanyahu and Gallant and “engage in independent and impartial judicial processes that do not shield suspects and are not a sham”. The ICC judges have now agreed that there are reasonable grounds to believe the two bear criminal responsibility for the many crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinians during its ongoing genocidal assault on Gaza. With an official death toll of more than 44,000, Gaza has witnessed murders, rapes and displacement on a vast scale, as well as mass starvation, and the deliberate targeting of schools, hospitals and places of worship. Many have complained about the seven-month-long delay in the ICC judges issuing the arrest warrants, but Kenyans had to wait for two years to have the ICC prosecutor send a request for an investigation and then another five months for the court to approve it. It then took another 12 months for the actual indictment of specific individuals – six of them – to be handed down. Thus, by comparison, the Palestine cases have moved much faster. Among the reasons for the delay in the Palestine case were the numerous briefs challenging the court’s jurisdiction and the admissibility of the allegations. There was also a lot of pressure put on the ICC by Israel and its Western friends. There were Israeli attempts to intimidate the court even before the war started last year, with Khan’s predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, facing threats by the Mossad not to launch an investigation into Israel’s war crimes of 2021. Khan now himself faces accusations of sexual misconduct. It is notable that few Western nations came to Kenyatta’s and Ruto’s aid. On the contrary, there was more than a subtle hint given to Kenyans that electing Kenyatta and Ruto would be a bad idea – that “choices have consequences”. I am not saying they should have opposed the duo’s arraignment, but there is more than a whiff of double standards here. It does seem that there is more of an interest in seeing justice done when those in the dock are Africans, and not just anti-Western. That point is driven home when one considers how the indictments of Israeli officials have been framed in the Western press. The Guardian, for example, described it as “the first time a western ally from a modern democracy has been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global judicial body”. This account comes as a surprise to Kenya, which for well over six decades has considered itself a “Western ally” and which – having held regular elections throughout that time – can be described as something of a “modern democracy”, whatever that means. Unless, of course, these are euphemistic descriptors of more problematic relationships. Kenyans have a name for this sort of thing: the “mtu wetu [our guy] syndrome”. Whenever our politicians find themselves being investigated or – God forbid! – charged with crimes, they try to rally their ethnic kinsmen around the idea that it is the “tribe” being targeted. The mobilisation of an imagined identity is a political tactic that is very effective in scaring off prosecutors and intimidating judges both locally and internationally. “Mtu wetu” is how Kenyatta and Ruto were able to avoid prosecution at home and then instrumentalise their control of the Kenyan state to undermine their cases at the ICC. It is why the ICC found itself accused of “race hunting” – of focusing on prosecuting Black Africans, an allegation that conveniently ignored the fact that most of the situations the court was pursuing had been referred to it by African governments. “Mtu wetu” is why Netanyahu today accuses the court of anti-Semitism, suggesting his prosecution is an attack on all Jews. “Mtu wetu” is why suddenly Germany seems less keen on upholding its obligations under international law, and why US politicians are threatening all and sundry, even those in Canada and Europe who perhaps mistakenly thought they would be always part of the tribe. It is sadly ironic that on the 140th anniversary of the Berlin West Africa Conference – which set the stage for European colonisation of Africa and which subsequently introduced the scourge of tribalism to the continent – that the same irrational and totalising conception of identity is being weaponised in the West to defend people accused of some of the worst categories of crimes imaginable. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s
Israeli attacks kill six across Gaza, army issues new ‘evacuation order’
At least six people have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza amid a new so-called evacuation order issued by Israeli forces in a Gaza City suburb. On Sunday, Israeli attacks have so far killed one person in Nuseirat and two in Maghazi, both in central Gaza, as well as three people in Rafah, southern Gaza. In northern Gaza, which Israeli forces have besieged since early October, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said the Kamal Adwan Hospital was attacked, injuring its director, Hussam Abu Safia. In a video circulated by the ministry on Sunday, Abu Safia said the Israeli drone attack would “not stop us from completing our humanitarian mission and we will continue to do this job at any cost”. “We are being targeted daily. They targeted me a while ago but this will not deter us,” he said from his hospital bed. Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal told the AFP news agency that Abu Safia suffered an injury to his back and left thigh due to metal fragments but that he was now in a “stable” condition in hospital. Kamal Adwan Hospital is one of the three hospitals that are barely operating in northern Gaza after Israeli forces detained and expelled medical staff and prevented emergency medical equipment from reaching. Reporting from Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said the attack on Abu Safia was typical of Israeli attacks on Palestinians in intensive care units in northern Gaza, unable to receive medical aid due to a blockade. “In the northern Gaza Strip, there are no civil defence teams, ambulances or paramedics. This is also adding more misery because even if you can get the chance for anyone to help rescue you, there are no teams to help you or save your life,” Khoudary said. In the past few weeks, Israel has said it facilitated the delivery of medical and fuel supplies to northern Gaza, but the amount of aid going in is still below the needs of the residents. In Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoon, towns in northern Gaza that are being heavily attacked, residents told the Reuters news agency that Israeli forces had blown up hundreds of houses in the latest attacks. Palestinians in Gaza say Israeli tactics seem to be directed at depopulating the area completely and creating a buffer zone, a claim denied by Israel. Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Sunday that at least 44,211 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, and 104,567 others have been wounded. Forced displacement Meanwhile, the Israeli army issued evacuation orders in the Shejaia suburb of eastern Gaza City on Sunday. “For your safety, you must evacuate immediately to the south,” army spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on X. Adraee’s address came after Hamas claimed a rocket volley on Saturday, which it said had targeted an Israeli army base over the border. On social media, footage showed Palestinians leaving Shejaia on donkey carts and rickshaws moving to southern Gaza. Since the war began 13 months ago, Israel has issued several evacuation orders, each time forcing Palestinians to move from places previously designated as “safe zones”. The orders have been criticised as effectively being tantamount to the forced displacement of Palestinians. Adblock test (Why?)
Far right in strong position as Romania votes in presidential election
Social Democrat Marcel Ciolacu and far-right George Simion are the most likely to move on to a run-off on December 8. The first round of presidential elections has begun in Romania, with voters choosing a replacement for the outgoing President Klaus Iohannis. Romanians are choosing between 13 candidates on Sunday, with the top two moving on to a second round of voting on December 8 if no single candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round. That second presidential vote may be between current Social Democratic Party (PSD) Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and the far-right leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), George Simion. Social Democratic Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu casts his ballot in the Romanian presidential election on November 24, 2024 [Daniel Mihailescu/AFP] By 12:00 GMT, Romania’s central election bureau said the voter turnout was 27 percent. Romanians have until 19:00 GMT to cast their votes. Ciolacu has been leading in the polls with 25 percent compared with Simion, who according to opinion polls holds the support of 15 to 19 percent of the country. Romanian political analyst Cristian Pirvulescu said that the AUR party could get a boost in the parliamentary election slated for December 1 if Simion performs well in the presidential vote, and other right-leaning voters could coalesce around Simion if he reaches the run-off. “Romanian democracy is in danger for the first time since the fall of communism in 1989,” Pirvulescu told the news agency AFP. Ciolacu’s PSD has shaped the country’s politics since 1990, but this election comes at a tumultuous time in the European Union member state amid rising inflation and the ongoing war in neighbouring Ukraine. Simion has been able to tap into an affordability crisis in the country. While inflation is trending downwards from a record 10 percent last year, the far-right candidate has tapped into voter frustrations about economic issues. Presidential candidate and leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians, George Simion, greets the press outside a polling station in Bucharest, Romania, November 24, 2024 [Andrei Pungovschi /AFP] Inflation is expected to be 5.5 percent by the end of 2024. Simion opposes sending military aid to Ukraine – a country with which Romania shares a 650-kilometre (400-mile) border. Simion, who has repeatedly praised United States President-elect Donald Trump, has tapped into a hard right message that appears to be growing in popularity in both the US and Europe. Borrowing from the Trump playbook, Simion has warned of possible electoral fraud, and has also opposed sending military aid to Ukraine. Simion has also campaigned for unification with Moldova, which has renewed a five-year ban on him entering the country. “We are at a point where Romania can easily divert or slip towards a populist regime because [voter] dissatisfaction is pretty large among a lot of people from all social strata,” Cristian Andrei, a political consultant, told The Associated Press news agency. “And the temptation for any regime, any leader, will be to go on a populist road.” Adblock test (Why?)
What does the use of more powerful weapons mean for Ukraine?
Russia uses hypersonic missile for first time in the war after Ukraine uses Western weapons to hit Russian territory. Russia has attacked Ukraine with a new hypersonic missile. Western leaders say it marks a dangerous new phase in the war. The Kremlin says it follows a decision by the White House to let Ukraine fire US missiles into Russian territory. So, what could happen next? Presenter: Bernard Smith Guests: Michael Bociurkiw – Global affairs analyst Pavel Felgenhauer – Russian defence and military analyst Steven Erlanger – Chief diplomatic correspondent (Europe), The New York Times Adblock test (Why?)
Thousands protest against sexual violence in France
Thousands of people have taken to the streets across France to protest against sexual violence. The protests on Saturday come two days before the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. In the capital, Paris, large crowds of women and men marched waving purple placards that denounced gender-based violence and defended women’s reproductive rights. Demonstrators voiced concerns about a possible rollback on women’s rights in the United States when President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in January. Vice President-elect JD Vance said he would like a national abortion ban in a podcast interview in 2022, but has since emphasised that individual states should determine their policies. Demonstrators march against violence against women two days before the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in Paris, France on November 23, 2024 [Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu] The French newspaper Le Monde reported that roughly 80,000 protesters took to the streets in Paris, with 400 different organisations taking part in demonstrations. It said thousands of people also took to the streets in smaller cities across the nation, including 1,500 in Renne outside Lyon in the southeastern part of France. France enshrined abortion rights in the constitution in March — a move largely seen as a response to the US move to roll back key reproductive rights protections in 2022 when the Supreme Court overturned decades-old laws protecting abortion rights nationally. While abortion has been legal since 1975 in France, the constitutional change explicitly guaranteed abortion access. France was the first country in the world to do so. Protesters also voiced solidarity with Gisele Pelicot, whose ex-husband Dominique Pelicot and 50 other co-defendants are on trial over allegations that the men drugged and raped her while she was unconscious over a decade. In September, Dominique accepted the charges. “Unfortunately, anybody can be a perpetrator of violence. It can be our brothers. It can be our fathers. It can be our colleagues. It can be our bosses. I think that’s the big shock for people,” said Maelle Noir, representing the feminist collective Nous Toutes, which translates as All of Us, told The Associated Press news agency at the Paris protest. Demonstrators hold signs in sexual violence protests in Paris, France, on November 23, 2024 [Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu] Protesters in Paris [Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu] Adblock test (Why?)
Trump backs staunchly anti-Muslim Florida lawmaker to run for US Congress
United States President-elect Donald Trump is encouraging a Florida legislator who celebrated the killing of an American citizen by the Israeli military to run for Congress. Trump said in a social media post on Sunday that if State Senator Randy Fine decides to seek a congressional seat in Florida, the state lawmaker would have his “Complete and Total Endorsement”. Fine, who has a long history of anti-Muslim statements, sparked outrage earlier this year when he appeared to praise the killing of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a US activist who was fatally shot by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank. “Throw rocks, get shot. One less #MuslimTerror ist. #FireAway,” Fine wrote in a social media post in September. Eygi was taking part in a peaceful protest when she was shot. Both Israel and the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden have dismissed her killing as an accident. Fine’s post – which X (formerly Twitter) found to be in violation of its violent speech policy – is part of a long list of inflammatory, anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic comments by the state legislator. “Fine is a friend to no one except fascism,” Rasha Mubarak, a Palestinian-American activist from Florida, told Al Jazeera. “Trump’s endorsement signals a deepening alignment with the violent, fascist elements within the capitalist class, whose interests are served by sowing division and perpetuating the dominance of imperialism.” Fine often proclaims that the US has a “Muslim problem”. In 2021, when told by a social media user that Palestinians were being forced out of their homes by Israel, he responded with: “#BlowThemUp”. According to the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), he also sent a private message to a Florida resident saying: “Go blow yourself up!” Two years earlier, Fine referred to Jews who support Palestinian rights as “Judenrat” – Nazi collaborators. Last year, Fine argued that fear of Muslims is justified. “While many Muslims are not terrorists, they are the radicals, not the mainstream,” he wrote in a post on X. “Now is the time to speak truth, not bathe in political correctness that will kill us.” Fine’s office did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s response for comment. Over the years, CAIR has called on Florida lawmakers to censure and penalise Fine, including over his recent comments on Eygi’s killing. “We struggle to think of another time in modern American history when an elected official openly celebrated the murder of an American by a foreign government and encouraged more such killing,” CAIR’s deputy executive director, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, said in May. “Randy Fine has made it clear where his priorities lie, and it is not with the American people. We urge the Florida House of Representatives to censure him for this hateful, un-American rant.” Despite celebrating the killing of an American woman by a foreign military, Trump described Fine as an “America First Patriot”. He called on him to run for the seat of Congressman Mike Waltz, who will leave his seat to serve in the White House as national security adviser. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will call for a special election to fill the vacancy next year. Fine, who previously served in Florida’s House of Representatives and was recently elected to the state’s Senate, has not announced his candidacy, but he welcomed Trump’s statement. “It would be the honor of my life to be one of your footsoldiers,” he wrote, addressing the incoming president. “Your confidence is overwhelming and I will have news to share soon!” Trump himself has regularly spread anti-Muslim rhetoric, including saying that the Quran, Islam’s holy book, teaches a “very negative vibe” and proclaiming that “Islam hates us”. He also imposed a travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries during his first term as president. But this year, the former president softened his tone as he courted Arab and Muslim voters, promising to bring “peace” to the Middle East. Trump’s endorsement of Fine as well as some of his staunchly pro-Israel cabinet picks highlights the depth of his alliance with far-right forces. Adblock test (Why?)
Philippines VP Sara Duterte threatens Marcos assassination if she is killed
The president’s security has been boosted after his deputy’s ‘active threat’ that were ‘made so brazenly in public’. Security agencies in the Philippines have stepped up safety protocols after Vice President Sara Duterte threatened to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr assassinated if she was killed. Duterte, an ally of Marcos until recent months, made the threat on Saturday, as a rift between the two most powerful political families in the county widens. “This country is going to hell because we are led by a person who doesn’t know how to be a president and who is a liar,” she said in the profanity-laced briefing broadcast on her Facebook page. “Don’t worry about my safety. I have talked to a person and I said, if I get killed, go kill BBM [Marcos], [First Lady] Liza Araneta, and [Speaker] Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke,” she said. “I said, do not stop until you kill them and he said yes.” Duterte made the statement in response to comments urging her to stay safe while she was in the House of Representatives, where her chief of staff was detained for failing to reply to questions on the alleged misuse of funds at the vice president’s office. The vice president did not cite any threat against her. The presidential communications office said Duterte’s remarks were being taken as a serious threat against Marcos. “Acting on the vice president’s clear and unequivocal statement that she had contracted an assassin to kill the president if an alleged plot against her succeeds, the executive secretary has referred this active threat to the Presidential Security Command for immediate proper action,” it said in a statement. “Any threat to the life of the president must always be taken seriously, more so that this threat has been publicly revealed in clear and certain terms,” it added. Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin referred the “active threat” against Marcos to an elite presidential guards force, which said it considered the Duterte’s threat, which was “made so brazenly in public”, a national security issue. Duterte is the daughter of Marcos’s predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who is notorious for his crude language and a controversial war on drugs that is under investigation by the International Criminal Court. She remained Marcos’s deputy after resigning from her post as education secretary in the cabinet in June, indicating a crack in their political alliance that propelled them to a landslide victory in 2022. In October, Vice President Duterte told reporters that her relationship with Marcos had become so “toxic” that she sometimes imagines beheading him. She also confessed that she felt “used” after teaming up with Marcos. She threatened to dig up the remains of Marcos’s father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr, from the national cemetery and dump them in the sea. The political rift comes before mid-term elections in May, when Filipinos are to vote for new members of the House of Representatives, half of the Senate and thousands of local officials. It will be a litmus test of Marcos’s popularity and an opportunity for him and his political allies to consolidate power. Even though Duterte resigned from the cabinet, she remains the constitutional successor to the 67-year-old president. Adblock test (Why?)
1000 days of war and the toll on Ukraine’s media
President Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to fire US missiles into Russia has brought the world’s two leading nuclear powers to a head. Western media overlooks the broader implications of this move. Inside Ukraine, journalists face the dual threats of restricted press freedoms and Russian aggression. Contributors:Branko Marcetic – Writer, Jacobin MagazineLeonid Ragozin – Journalist & authorPauline Maufrais – Ukraine program manager, Reporters Without BordersSevgil Musaieva – Editor-in-chief, Ukrainska Pravda On our radar Israel’s media and political class have united in their fury over the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for Israeli leaders. Tariq Nafi looks at the media coverage. Silenced voices: Afghan journalism in the shadow of Taliban rule Since the Taliban regained power, Afghanistan’s media landscape has faced severe restrictions. We sat down with the former head of Tolo News to discuss working in exile and keeping the spirit of Afghan journalism alive. Featuring:Lotfullah Najafizada – Former director of news, Tolo TV Adblock test (Why?)