South Sudan postpones December election by two years
Government says it needs more time to complete a census, draft a permanent constitution and register political parties. South Sudan’s government has announced it is postponing long-delayed general elections until December 2026, citing a lack of preparedness. This is the second time the country, which gained independence in 2011, is postponing elections and extending a transitional period that started in February 2020. President Salva Kiir and his former rival turned deputy, Riek Machar, signed a peace agreement in 2018 that ended a five-year civil war which killed an estimated 400,000 people, triggered a famine and led to a massive refugee crisis. “The presidency, under the chairmanship of President Salva Kiir Mayardit, has announced an extension of the country’s transitional period by two years as well as postponing elections, which were initially scheduled for December 2024 to December 22nd, 2026,” Kiir’s office said on Friday. The government said it needed more time to complete processes such as a census, the drafting of a permanent constitution and the registration of political parties before an election could be held, according to the presidential adviser on national security, Tut Gatluak. Cabinet Affairs Minister Martin Elia Lomuro said the extension followed recommendations from both electoral institutions and the security sector. “There is a need for additional time to complete essential tasks before the polls,” Kiir’s office said. The country is going through an economic crisis that has seen civil servants go unpaid for almost one year, after its oil exports were affected by a damaged pipeline amid the civil war in neighbouring Sudan through which it exports. Andrea Mach Mabior, an independent political analyst, warned that any sham elections may result in a waste of resources and chaos. “Going for elections that do not meet international standards will be a waste of money,” Mabior told The Associated Press news agency. A new security act that allows for warrantless detentions became law in August despite concerns from human rights groups that it would create a climate of fear in the run-up to the elections. An estimated 9 million people – 73 percent of the country’s population – are in need of humanitarian assistance this year, according to the United Nations. Adblock test (Why?)
The optics and strategy of the Harris-Trump debate
With both candidates averse to media scrutiny, the presidential debate took on huge significance. This week marked the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. With both candidates giving legacy media the cold shoulder, was it enough to convince voters of their vision for America? Contributors: Shana Gadarian – Professor of Political Science, Syracuse UniversityNatasha Lennard – Contributing Writer, The InterceptJohn Nichols – National Affairs Correspondent, The NationMitchell Robertson – Lecturer in US History, UCL On our radar: US authorities say they are conducting a coordinated operation against Russian foreign influence in this election. Meenakshi Ravi looks at the right-wing online influencers who are accused of taking money from Moscow. Cobalt mining in the DRC: Big Tech’s dark secret Cobalt is one of the most in-demand minerals in the world today. It’s used in the batteries of smartphones, laptops and electric cars. And most of it comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, covering cobalt extraction in the DRC is notoriously difficult which makes it hard to know what conditions the miners are working under. In the first of a two-part report, the Listening Post’s Nic Muirhead went to the DRC to try and gain access to the mines – to see for himself – what the story is. Featuring: Franck Fwamba – Editor, Mining News MagazineSiddharth Kara – Author, Cobalt RedSylvie Manda – JournalistCandy Ofime – Researcher on Climate Justice, Amnesty International Adblock test (Why?)
The Hague to ban fossil fuel ads from January
City council in third largest city in Netherlands approves the new rules, which will apply from January. The Hague will ban street advertising for fossil fuels, according to a notice published on the Dutch city’s website, as a number of cities worldwide crack down on publicity for fossil fuels and high-emissions sectors. The Municipal Council in the third largest city in the Netherlands voted on Thursday to approve the new rules for outdoor advertising, which will apply from January to billboards and freestanding advertising screens. “The city council of The Hague adopted two proposals to ban fossil advertising in outdoor spaces,” council spokesman Jordy Kruse told the AFP news agency on Friday. The first proposal informs advertising agencies that fossil fuel advertising is not permitted while the second bans all fossil fuel advertising in public spaces, Kruse said. “We believe that adopting binding laws to ban fossil fuel advertising through local legislation is a world first,” Leonie Gerritsen, a Hague council member for the Party for Animals. “We hope that this law will also give a signal to other cities to do the same to fight climate change,” Gerritsen, one of the main drivers of the legislation, told AFP. Other cities in the world have moved against fossil fuel advertising, but The Hague is the first to enact binding legislation. In June, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged every country to enact bans on ads for fossil fuel companies, which he called “the godfathers of climate chaos”. Oil, gas and coal are the biggest contributors to climate change, accounting for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2022, the Dutch city of Haarlem agreed to outlaw ads for intensively farmed meat on public places like buses, shelters and screens. Many countries have banned advertising for products that have proven harmful to human health, such as tobacco. The Hague, the country’s administrative centre and the hub of international law, is seeking to be climate neutral by 2030 Adblock test (Why?)
Pope Francis tells US Catholics to choose ‘lesser evil’ in coming election
Without naming the two main US presidential candidates, the pontiff decried abortion and restrictions on immigration. Pope Francis has encouraged Catholics in the United States to vote in the November elections, saying they should “choose the lesser evil” while criticising both of the leading candidates. In remarks on Friday while flying to Rome from Singapore, the pope named neither the Republican nor Democratic presidential nominees: former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, respectively. But he offered pointed criticisms of their platforms, saying refusing to welcome immigrants is a “grave” sin and abortion is akin to an “assassination”. “Not voting is ugly,” Francis said. “It is not good. You must vote.” “You must choose the lesser evil,” he added. “Who is the lesser evil? That lady or that gentleman? I don’t know. Everyone, in conscience, [has to] think and do this.” The 87-year-old pontiff made the comments as the US presidential election is entering its final weeks, with voting scheduled for November 5. While conservative on social issues like abortion, Francis has been one of the foremost critics of rich countries embracing increasingly restrictive immigration policies. “Whether it is the one who is chasing away migrants or the one who kills children,” the pope said, “both are against life.” The US is home to about 52 million Catholics, a conservative-leaning constituency that is well-represented in several key swing states, such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Polling by the Pew Research Center indicated that about 52 percent of US Catholics identify with or lean towards the Republican Party, compared with about 44 percent for the Democratic Party. But the centre noted that the Catholics, in the past, have been “closely divided”. In his comments on Friday, which came after a 12-day tour across Southeast Asia and Oceania, Francis also lamented the lack of progress towards a peace deal to bring Israel’s war in Gaza to a close. “Forgive me for saying so, but I don’t see any progress being made towards peace,” he told reporters on board the papal plane, adding that an Israeli strike on a school this week that killed Palestinian children was “ugly”. Adblock test (Why?)
US accuses RT of ‘covert’ intelligence activities, issues fresh sanctions
The US State Department says Russia’s RT network has ‘moved beyond being a media outlet’ and has cyber-capabilities. The United States has issued new sanctions against Russia’s state media outlet RT, accusing the television network of taking part in covert “influence and intelligence operations” around the world and weapons procurement for the Russian military. In a statement on Friday, the US State Department said RT — previously known as Russia Today — had “moved beyond being simply a media outlet and has been an entity with cyber capabilities”. “It is also engaged in information operations, covert influence, and military procurement. These operations are targeting countries around the world, including in Europe, Africa, and North and South America.” Washington also alleged that an online crowdfunding platform operating within RT and on social media provided “material support and weaponry” to Russian military units in Ukraine. The arms include sniper rifles, body armour, drones and other equipment, the State Department said. Friday’s announcement comes amid years of strained relations between the US and Russia over the latter’s invasion of Ukraine. The administration of US President Joe Biden — a staunch critic of his Russia counterpart, Vladimir Putin — has issued waves of sanctions against Russian individuals and companies since the war began in 2022. American officials also have accused Russia of interfering in elections. Last week, the US Justice Department announced a range of actions to counter Russian efforts to meddle in November’s vote, including criminal charges against two RT employees it accused of taking part in a Moscow-directed influence operation. Speaking to reporters about Friday’s sanctions, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Russian state media outlet “wants its new covert intelligence capabilities, like its longstanding propaganda disinformation efforts, to remain hidden”. “Our most powerful antidote to Russia’s lies is the truth,” Blinken said. “It’s shining a bright light on what the Kremlin is trying to do under the cover of darkness.” RT has created websites posing as legitimate news sites to spread disinformation and propaganda in Europe, Africa, South America and elsewhere, officials said. They alleged the outlet also expanded its use of cyber-operations with a new unit with ties to Russian intelligence created last year. Russia’s embassy in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Reuters news agency. Asked for comment by CNN, the US news outlet said RT “responded with a mocking email that read in part: ‘We’ve been broadcasting straight out of the KGB headquarters all this time.’” Adblock test (Why?)
Putin warns Ukraine use of long-range arms will put NATO at war with Russia
President Vladimir Putin has warned that if Western nations allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons to strike inside Russia then it will mean NATO would be “at war” with his country. “This would in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict. It would mean that NATO countries, the US, European countries, are at war with Russia,” Putin told Russian state TV on Thursday. “And if this is so, then, bearing in mind the change in the very essence of this conflict, we will make appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be created for us,” he said. His comments come ahead of a meeting in Washington, DC, on Friday between British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden, who are expected to discuss giving Ukraine the go-ahead to strike targets inside Russia amid mounting concerns over its losses on the battlefield. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for restrictions on Western-supplied, long-range weapons to be lifted so his forces can target airfields, ammunition depots and command centres deep inside Russia, also increasing the costs of the invasion for Moscow. Speaking to reporters en route to the US, Starmer said, “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict straight away. Ukraine has the right to self-defence”, according to British media reports. It will likely be the last meeting between the US and British leaders before Biden leaves office and ahead of the US presidential election in November that will pit Democrat Kamala Harris against Republican Donald Trump. Trump repeatedly refused to take sides on the war, which started with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, during a debate with Harris this week, saying only: “I want the war to stop.” Biden said he was “working” on Ukraine’s request as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy made a rare joint visit to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, where they announced $1.5bn in additional aid. Blinken wrapped up a three-nation, Ukraine-focused European tour in Poland on Thursday after hearing repeated appeals from Ukrainian officials to use Western-supplied weaponry for long-range strikes inside Russia. “As what Russia’s doing has changed, as the battlefield has changed, we’ve adapted,” Blinken said at a news conference in Warsaw. Biden has allowed Ukraine to fire US-provided missiles across the border into Russia in self-defence but has largely limited the distance they can be fired. One of the key requests from Ukraine is to strike with US-produced Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS). But the Pentagon has said they wouldn’t be the answer to the main threat Ukraine faces from long-range Russian glide bombs, which are being fired from more than 300km (186 miles) away, beyond the ATACMS reach. On Friday, Donald Tusk, the prime minister of NATO member Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine, said he was not worried by Putin’s comments. “It is necessary to take all events in Ukraine and on the Ukrainian-Russian front very seriously, but I would not attach excessive importance to the latest statements from President Putin,” Tusk told a news conference. “They rather show the difficult situation the Russians have on the front.” Polish Foreign Minister Radowslaw Sikorski had previously said Kyiv should be allowed to use Western weapons in self-defence because “Russia is committing war crimes by attacking civilian targets”. “Missiles that hit these civilian targets are fired from bomber aircraft from over the territory of Russia. These bombers take off from airfields on Russia’s territory,” Sikorski said. Russian forces have ramped up pressure on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region and increased air attacks across the country. Ukraine was pressing on with attacks in western Russia’s Kursk region following its surprise cross-border incursion on August 6, but Zelenskyy confirmed on Thursday that Moscow’s troops were mounting a counteroffensive. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump says no more debates against Kamala Harris
NewsFeed US Presidential candidate Donald Trump says he will not debate Kamala Harris again before November’s election, calling the Vice President a liar and lashing out against ABC’s debate moderators. Published On 13 Sep 202413 Sep 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
India’s top court grants bail to opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal
Supreme Court says while Delhi chief minister’s arrest was lawful he should be freed while contesting the charges. India’s highest court has granted bail to opposition leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a corruption case, paving the way for his release almost six months after he was arrested. Kejriwal, a key leader in an alliance against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in elections this year, was first detained in March over a long-running corruption probe, which his colleagues described as a “political conspiracy” orchestrated by the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In a ruling issued on Friday, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court said that while Kejriwal’s arrest was lawful, he should be released from custody while contesting the charges against him. “Prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty,” Justice Surya Kant said in a verdict granting bail. Kejriwal’s release is expected to boost the morale of his decade-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as it will allow him to campaign in regional elections next month in the northern state of Haryana, where AAP is trying to make inroads. The allegations against him stem from his administration’s decision to implement a policy liberalising the sale of liquor in 2021 and giving up a lucrative government stake in the sector. The Directorate of Enforcement, the federal financial crimes investigating agency, accused Kejriwal’s party and ministers of accepting 1 billion rupees ($12m) in kickbacks from liquor contractors. Kejriwal was first taken into custody in March, weeks before the general elections. In May, the same court granted him temporary release on bail to allow him to campaign but he returned to custody once voting concluded. Kejriwal, 55, and the AAP deny the allegations and say the cases are “politically motivated”. In its decision on Friday, the two-judge bench, however, was split on Kejriwal’s appeal challenging his arrest, with Justice Kant holding it lawful, while Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said the timing raised serious questions. The federal police “must not only be above board but must also be seen to remain so … in a functional democracy governed by the rule of law, perception matters,” Bhuyan said. Outside the Supreme Court, AAP party members and allies of Kejriwal were seen celebrating, as they welcomed the court’s decision, according to posts on social media. Manish Sisodia, an AAP member of the Delhi legislature, told reporters that the “truth has prevailed and lies have been exposed”. Opposition parties have been demanding Kejriwal’s release, saying his arrest was an attempt by Modi’s BJP to deny them a level playing field in the polls, charges denied by Modi and the BJP. Many countries, including the United States, had urged a “fair” and impartial trial. The BJP said on Friday that bail for Kejriwal did not mean he was innocent. Adblock test (Why?)
What’s Real Madrid star Mbappe’s pay dispute with his former club PSG?
The French football star and his ex-club are at loggerheads over $60m in ‘unpaid’ wages. Al Jazeera explains why. Two of football’s biggest names are locking horns in a pay dispute that could be about to turn into a courtroom drama. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and their former striker Kylian Mbappe, now with Real Madrid, are at loggerheads over unpaid wages prior to the France captain’s departure for the Spanish capital in July. Al Jazeera Sport looks at how the relationship between the French champions and their all-time leading scorer has turned so sour and led to a standoff just shy of a court hearing. Why are Mbappe and PSG locked in a dispute? Mbappe claims PSG owes him $60.6m in wages which the Parisians say the striker agreed to waive in August 2023. Why are the sums outstanding from Mbappe’s time in Paris? The striker alleges he is owed the total sum following an unpaid signing bonus he was expecting to receive in February, the three final months of his salary, as well as an “ethical bonus” covering the period. Paris Saint-Germain’s forward Kylian Mbappe celebrates with the championship trophy during a ceremony following the French Ligue 1 football match against Toulouse on May 12, 2024 at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris [Franck Fife/Reuters] When did the dispute between PSG and Mbappe begin? PSG and Mbappe first fell out last year when the forward refused to sign a contract extension and was frozen out of the team. He was later reinstated into the first-team squad after the parties arrived at an apparent resolution. Media reports last year said Mbappe had agreed to forego loyalty bonuses if he left PSG on a free transfer. Then, in January, Mbappe said he made an agreement with PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi which would “protect all parties and preserve the club’s serenity for the challenges ahead”. The striker, as expected, left the club at the end of the 2023-24 season for Madrid as a free agent. What is the latest in the saga? Lawyers representing the two parties met early on Wednesday after Mbappe, who joined Madrid this summer, had referred his case to the French Football League’s (LFP) legal committee, which then offered to mediate. What is Mbappe’s side saying? Mbappe’s entourage said on Wednesday that they had refused the league’s offer to act as a mediator between the parties. “The eventuality of a mediation was mentioned,” Mbappe’s entourage said in a statement. “This possibility was rejected during the meeting by the player’s representative. A mediation would be useless to establish a lack of payment that can be seen from a simple analysis of the player’s payslip.” Kylian Mbappe, right, has scored 48 goals in 86 games for France [Claudio Villa/Getty Images] What are PSG saying? PSG had welcomed the proposition of mediation. “Paris Saint-Germain is very pleased with today’s two-hour hearing before the commission,” the French club said. “The club recalled that the player has made clear repeated public and private commitments that must be respected, having been afforded unprecedented benefits by the club over seven fantastic years in Paris. “In the light of the club’s oral and documented arguments, the commission insisted on mediation between the parties, which Paris Saint-Germain has been seeking for many months. “The Commission has now invited the player to consider the mediation process.” What is Mbappe’s history with PSG? Mbappe, who was born in Paris, started his professional career with Monaco where he moved through the ranks from youth-team level. The forward joined PSG from Monaco for $132.5m in 2018 following a season-long loan the year before – the same year that he made his international debut for France, for whom he has since scored 48 goals in 86 appearances. Mbappe won six French championships in his seven seasons with PSG, and was the league’s leading scorer with 27 goals – eight clear of his nearest rival – in the last campaign. Adblock test (Why?)
What is the purpose of Israel’s repeated attacks on UNRWA?
Six staff at UN agency for Palestinian refugees killed in an air strike on a school in Gaza. An Israeli air strike on a school in Gaza kills six people working for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. That is the most the organisation has lost in a single incident in the war. Attacking schools and places of shelter is a war crime. But UNRWA has been repeatedly attacked by Israel during its war. Why is the agency so important to Palestinians – and why does Israel want to destroy it? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Riham Jafari – communication and advocacy coordinator at ActionAid Palestine Chris Gunness – former UNRWA spokesman Tamara Alrifai – UNRWA spokesperson Adblock test (Why?)