The maps that help explain the Israel-Hezbollah conflict
NewsFeed Israel is once again fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, nearly two decades after a UN resolution that was meant to bring peace to the area. Al Jazeera’s Virginia Pietromarchi looks at some of the history that’s shaping the conflict today. Published On 3 Oct 20243 Oct 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Video: Israel bombs Lebanon escape route after issuing evacuation orders
NewsFeed Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan reports on how Israel has repeatedly attacked a main escape route for people in south Lebanon after issuing evacuation orders for dozens of towns and villages, forcibly displacing those who had not already left due to attacks against Hezbollah. Published On 3 Oct 20243 Oct 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
UK agrees to give sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius
BREAKINGBREAKING, The deal includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, which is used by the United States as a military base. The United Kingdom says it is giving up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, in a deal that ends decades of negotiations over the remote but strategically important Indian Ocean archipelago. The announcement over one of the last British overseas territories, made in a joint statement by the British and Mauritian Prime Ministers on Thursday, includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, which is used by the United States as a military base for naval ships and long-range bomber aircraft. More to come… Adblock test (Why?)
‘Deadly cycle of tit for tat must stop’ says Guterres
NewsFeed ‘It’s high time to stop the sickening cycle of escalation after escalation that is leading the people of the Middle East straight over the cliff,’ warned Antonio Guterres at a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East on Wednesday. Published On 2 Oct 20242 Oct 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Is the Middle East inching closer to full-blown war?
Israel’s Netanyahu says Iran will pay for missile attack, as Tehran threatens a crushing response if Israel hits back. Iran has carried out a major missile attack on Israel – in retaliation, it says, to the killing of the leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as a senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Israel says it intercepted most of the approximately 200 missiles, with the help of the United States. World leaders are urging both sides to step back from the brink of a regional war. But Israel has promised to respond, warning Iran will pay for its “big mistake”. So, what would that response look like? And after nearly a year of war on Gaza and a campaign of air raids in Lebanon, is Israel able to fight on a third front? Presenter: Nick Clark Guests: Dan Perry – Journalist and author of the book, Israel and the Quest for Permanence Roxane Farmanfarmaian – Professor of modern Middle East politics at the University of Cambridge Julien Barnes-Dacey – Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the European Council for Foreign Relations Adblock test (Why?)
US dockworkers press on with second day of strike, with no deal in sight
US President Biden urged for a quick deal to end the standoff, which threatens to drain billions from the US economy. Tens of thousands of United States dockworkers have continued to strike for a second day, keeping shipments at major eastern dockyards at a standstill. Containers at 36 ports stretching from Maine to Texas piled up on Wednesday, as the dockworkers appeared no closer to a deal with their employers’ group, the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). The stoppage is aimed at securing higher wages and better protections for the 45,000 workers in the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), but experts fear it could spur stinging economic losses and higher inflation in the month before presidential elections. The market forecaster Oxford Economics projects the standoff could drain between $4.5bn and $7.5bn from the US economy for every week that passes. ‘Time for them to sit down’ White House officials, fearing an economic dip, urged USMX to engage more with the port workers’ demands, which include a 77 percent wage hike over six years and a ban on automation. “It’s time for them to sit at the table and get this strike done,” Biden told reporters on Wednesday. He said ocean carriers had raked in huge profits during the COVID-19 pandemic and should fairly compensate the workers who kept their businesses booming. “They made incredible profits, over 800 percent profit since the pandemic, and the owners are making tens of millions of dollars from this,” Biden said. The president’s transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, also urged the port employers to make more concessions. “The companies need to put forward an offer that’s going to get the workers to the table,” Buttigieg said. “We actually think the parties economically are not as far apart from each other as they may think.” In its final offer, before negotiations collapsed, USMX offered to raise wages by 50 percent and keep current automation checks in place. ‘The longer the strike, the deeper the damage’ While a short-term stoppage is expected to have minimal effects on US consumers, a prolonged strike could spell trouble, analysts say. “The longer the strike action goes on and the longer it takes the US government to intervene, the deeper the damage will be to the economy and the longer it will take for ocean supply chains to recover,” said Peter Sand, chief analyst at shipping data company Xeneta. Biden has the authority under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act to order the union members back to work, but he has avoided taking such action. The Democrat has long touted his ambition to be “the most pro-union president leading the most pro-union administration in American history”, and he made history in September 2023 by becoming the first sitting president to join a picket line. In the midst of the current standoff, Biden has directed his team to watch out for potential price gouging that benefits foreign ocean carriers, according to the White House. Adblock test (Why?)
More than 200 killed: What caused the devastating floods in Nepal?
Nepalese capital Kathmandu was inundated by floodwaters last week after record-breaking rains caused the Bagmati river to breach its banks. More than 200 people have been killed and thousands of houses damaged in the worst flooding and landslides in the Kathmandu valley in years. So what caused the flooding and landslides? Was it climate change or unchecked urban encroachment of the river that passes through Kathmandu valley? We speak to experts to understand the deadly flooding in the Himalayan region. How much did it rain in Kathmandu? From Thursday to Sunday, the Kathmandu valley recorded about 240mm (9.4 inches) of rain – the biggest deluge since 2002, according to a monitoring station at the Kathmandu airport. Some parts of Kathmandu reported rain up to 322.2mm (12.7 inches). The intense downpour was mostly seen in Kathmandu and surrounding regions. Popular tourist destination, the mountainous Pokhara which is more than 200km (124 miles) from Kathmandu, was also hit by flooding. How many people died in the Nepal flood? On Wednesday morning, the Nepal Police Headquarters reported that the death toll from the floods and resulting landslides had risen to 228. At least 25 other people are missing and 158 injured, according to the police report cited in local news outlet, The Kathmandu Post. What is the status of flood recovery efforts in Nepal? Recovery work by the police, paramilitary forces and the army was ramped up on Monday. Nepal’s army reported that more than 4,000 people were rescued using helicopters, ziplines and rafts. However, damaged infrastructure and blocked roads are hindering rescue operations, local media reported. Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli called an emergency meeting after returning on Monday from the United Nations General Assembly session in New York. He was criticised for not cutting short his trip in the wake of the disaster. What caused the worst flooding in years? The last time an intense flood was reported in Nepal was in 2002. Relief Web cited the country’s Home Ministry as saying that 198 people were killed and 105 were injured. The Nepal-based think tank, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, said the flood was worsened by unplanned urban encroachment around the Bagmati river. Pawan Bhattarai, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Tribhuvan University, says man-made factors contributed to the severity of the flooding caused by record rainfall. “Natural flood events turn into a severe disaster due to the lack of preparedness or early warning, unscientific land-use practices and haphazard development activities among others,” said Bhattarai. Urban planner Neeraj Dangol said multiple factors were behind the latest disaster. The Bagmati river, he says, was narrowed due to haphazard planning and urban development that took place after a drastic population boom in Kathmandu in the early 1990s. “In the past 40-50 years, houses and roads have been built on areas that used to be part of the river system,” Dangol explained. He added that before the chaotic development, the ground was made of porous, absorbent, agricultural land. Now, the concrete material of roads and pavements causes water to run off, “adding load to drainage”. Urban development has also led to deforestation. Forested land helps hold water and also prevents runoff. Hence, deforestation makes land more vulnerable to flooding. He added that the drainage system has not been updated to cater to Nepal’s growing population. Between 1991 and 2001, the population grew from 18 million to 23 million. As of 2021 when the last census was published, the population was 29 million, according to Nepal’s Central Bureau of Statistics. Did climate change make the flood worse? Experts say climate change has indeed made floods in Nepal more frequent and intense in recent years. “Extreme weather events are occurring more frequently and the rainfall pattern is becoming increasingly unpredictable which can be attributed to climate change,” said Bhattarai. However, “we cannot blame climate change to hide our ill management of rivers,” he added. Who suffers most from Nepal’s flooding? Communities living in informal squatter settlements on riverbanks have been hit hardest by floods, Dangol, the urban planner, said. These communities comprise working-class families and daily wage workers. “Not only are they directly affected by floods, they also suffer loss of belongings, loss of jobs and lack of clean water for many days,” he said. He added they have to spend money and energy on rebuilding their houses in the aftermath of floods without a safety net to fall back on. Local media cited the Ministry of Urban Development, saying that 10 percent of Nepal’s urban population lives in informal settlements. The daily wage is fixed at 668 Nepali rupees ($5) per day, according to an August 2023 update on local media. “Also, the women and children are highly vulnerable to such extreme weather events in Nepal,” Bhattarai added. How can floods be prevented? Dangol, the urban planner, says: “It’s better to be prepared than just react after [flooding] takes place.” He added that in the long term, urban planning needs to be improved and efforts should be made not to disrupt the original course of the river. The use of porous material in construction and infrastructure upgrades to handle a growing population are other measures needed to mitigate future disasters, Dangol said. Bhattarai, from Tribhuvan University, added that water resources projects like hydro-power and irrigation systems should be designed to withstand extreme floods and landslides. Additionally, “dissemination of warning information should be made effective and awareness should be raised about the safety measures during floods and other water induced disasters,” he said. He added that government agencies should collaborate with research institutions on developing research-based solutions to flood and water-related problems. “We should not forget that this is not happening for the first time. It happens every year but this time the scale is huge,” Dangol said. Adblock test (Why?)
Rice battle heats up as India, Pakistan lift export curbs
Islamabad, Pakistan – The global prices for different varieties of rice dropped on Monday after India and Pakistan made tit-for-tat moves to eliminate price caps and resume rice exports. On Saturday, the Indian government lifted a ban on the export of non-Basmati white rice more than a year after it blocked overseas sales, with a larger crop yield in 2024 bolstering state warehouse reserves for domestic needs. This decision followed Pakistan’s announcement a day earlier to withdraw the minimum export price (MEP) for all rice varieties, a measure that had been in place since 2023 and set at $1,300 per metric tonne for Basmati rice, and $550 for non-Basmati rice. Pakistan’s decision was influenced by India’s earlier removal of the MEP of $950 per metric tonne for Basmati rice in September. India and Pakistan are the only countries that produce Basmati rice, known as “scented pearl”, for its unique flavour and aroma. In a notification issued on September 28, Jam Kamal Khan, Pakistan’s commerce minister, said the government acted on a request from the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) to eliminate the MEP. Khan said the price floor was introduced last year in response to rising global rice prices and India’s export ban on non-Basmati rice, which was followed by New Delhi imposing some restrictions on the export of Basmati rice in August 2023. With those bans, Pakistan in effect became the only exporter of Basmati rice – allowing it to charge top dollar through the MEP. “However, with the recent decline in international rice prices and India lifting its export ban, the MEP has become an obstacle for Pakistani rice exporters to remain competitive in global markets,” the minister said. Khan projected that the move could boost Pakistan’s rice exports, potentially reaching $5bn in revenue this financial year. That will not be easy, however – because unlike last year, point out analysts, Pakistani rice will once again face off against its Indian competitor. And the Pakistani government’s decision to lift the minimum price on exports has upset many rice growers. The battle for the rice market India is the world’s largest rice exporter, accounting for nearly 40 percent of global rice trade and holding a 65 percent market share in the Basmati sector. Pakistan, the fourth-largest rice exporter after Thailand and Vietnam, retains the remaining 35 percent of the Basmati market. In the 2022-23 fiscal year, India earned more than $11bn from rice sales, with more than 4.5 million metric tonnes of Basmati rice alone generating more than $4.7bn. But in July 2023, high inflation, rising food prices, and concerns about potential production shortages caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon made the Indian government impose an export ban on non-Basmati rice, less than a year before national elections. This variety of rice is what India’s public distribution system relies on to fulfil domestic demand. A month later, India also imposed curbs on Basmati exports. An unintended beneficiary? Pakistani rice exports. As Indian rice became scarce, Pakistan emerged as one of the alternative suppliers for many countries, including those in the Gulf, Africa, and Southeast Asia. From July 2023 to June 2024, Pakistan experienced more than 60 percent growth in its rice export volume and a 78 percent increase in value, generating nearly $3.9bn from the export of almost six million metric tonnes of rice, including about 750,000 metric tonnes of Basmati rice. However, Chela Ram Kewlani, a former chairman of REAP, says now with Indian rice coming back to the international market in large volume, imposing a MEP would hurt Pakistani rice exports. “International market demand and supply is what regulates the rice price and now with India back in the business, our exports could have been impacted if we still had a MEP in place,” he told Al Jazeera. Haseeb Khan, senior vice chairperson of REAP, also praised the government’s decision to lift the price cap, stating it would help Pakistani exporters strengthen their presence in new markets. “We have found buyers in Indonesia and the Philippines, and this decision will help us provide rice to these markets, along with our existing buyers in different regions,” he told Al Jazeera. Khan, a Lahore-based exporter, acknowledged that Pakistani exporters will face competition from Indian peers, but said he was confident this challenge could be offset by sustained export levels. “We cannot compete with India in volume, but our bumper harvest means we expect to have larger quantities to export this year,” he added. Rice production in Pakistan has steadily increased over the years, except in 2022 when catastrophic floods damaged crops in Sindh province. Last fiscal year, Pakistan’s rice output rose to nearly 9.8 million metric tonnes, with experts forecasting an increase to more than 10 million metric tonnes this year, potentially leading to higher exports. Domestically, Pakistanis primarily consume wheat – more than 120 kg per person annually, among the highest in the world. Rice consumption is much lower at less than 20 kg per person annually. Most parts of India, by contrast, consume rice far more than wheat. Farmer fears While Pakistani exporters are celebrating the removal of the floor price, local farmers aren’t happy. Mehmood Nawaz Shah, president of the Sindh Abadgar Board, a farmers’ organisation in the southern province of Sindh, argued that the removal of the MEP would prove detrimental to the interests of growers. “Exporters will benefit, but for us as farmers, this could lead to lower prices and reduced revenues,” he told Al Jazeera. “Volume-wise, we cannot compete with India, so we should have maintained some price floor instead of removing it entirely. Now anyone can sell at any price, which could perhaps increase sales volume but drive prices down,” he added. Zahid Khwaja, a founder of REAP and a farmer from Lahore, echoed these concerns, noting the differing dynamics and strategies of the two countries. “India’s domestic issues led to their price floor and export ban, creating a market shortage. Now that they’ve lifted these restrictions, buyers will likely
Risk of long-feared regional war rises as Israel and Iran swap threats
Israel and Iran have issued threats of retaliation against one another, pushing longstanding concerns over escalation towards a regional war to new heights. Israel, with backing from its United States ally, has promised to respond to the huge missile attack that Iran launched late on Tuesday. Iran has said any such retaliation will be met with an even “tougher” backlash. Meanwhile, Israel on Wednesday resumed its attacks on Lebanon and announced it is sending additional troops to carry out the ground offensive that it launched on Tuesday. Iran said the close to 200 missiles it fired at Israel were a response to the recent killings of Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leaders. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran late on Tuesday that it had “made a big mistake”. Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, said the Israeli military and political echelon have insisted that the attack “simply will not go unanswered”. US President Joe Biden’s administration has warned Iran of “serious consequences”. US Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said “the world needs America to return to a maximum pressure campaign against Iran”. The threats were met with defiance. Iran’s armed forces joint chief of staff General Mohammad Bagheri threatened to repeat its missile attack with “multiplied intensity” if Israel retaliates against Iran’s territory. Tehran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, called European counterparts overnight, telling them that if Israel “takes retaliatory action, our response will be even tougher”. On Wednesday, he said Tehran has warned the US against any intervention. The rising tension only raises longstanding fears that Israel’s war on Gaza will eventually lead to an all-out war across the region. Amid global calls for restraint and a step back from escalation, the United Nations Security Council has called an emergency meeting for Wednesday to address the spiralling conflict. However, the violence shows no sign of abating. In Lebanon, the Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group said on Wednesday that its fighters have directly clashed with Israeli forces for the first time since 2006. Reporting that Israeli soldiers had tried to infiltrate the country near the village of Odaisseh, Hezbollah claimed to have “inflicted losses on them and forced them to retreat”. Reporting from Hasbaiyyah in Lebanon, Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan said this was the first report of face-to-face fighting since Israel announced its ongoing air campaign against Hezbollah would now be accompanied by ground operations. “When this ground invasion was announced by Israel, there was a long and intense artillery shelling concentrated on three areas – Odaisseh was one of them. It is one of the chokepoints where Israeli soldiers are going to try to come into,” Khan said. Air raids persist Israeli air raids, which have been battering southern Lebanon and Beirut, continued to pummel the capital on Wednesday. Beirut’s southern suburbs were hit, with the Israeli military saying they had targeted Hezbollah. Large plumes of smoke were seen rising. Israel issued new evacuation orders for the area, which has largely emptied after days of heavy attacks. Lebanon’s Disaster Risk Management Unit on Tuesday announced that 1,873 people have been killed and 9,134 wounded as a result of Israeli attacks in the country since October 8 last year, when Hezbollah began launching rockets at Israel due to its war in Gaza. “The number of displaced persons from areas exposed to Israeli aggression has exceeded one million, including 155,600 registered in shelters,” the report said. Adblock test (Why?)
Claudia Sheinbaum sworn in as Mexico’s first female president
Sheinbaum begins six year term, taking over from Morena party ally Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Claudia Sheinbaum has been sworn in as Mexico’s first female president. Sheinbaum took over from outgoing president – and close Morena party ally – Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at an inauguration ceremony in the country’s Congress on Tuesday. The 62-year-old climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City is set to serve a six-year term, ending in 2030. Sheinbaum took the oath of office in front of parliamentarians, as her supporters chanted “President! President!” and “Long live Mexico!” “Now is the time of transformation, now is the time of women,” Sheinbaum said. She enters office with her party holding supermajority control in the legislature’s lower house, and nearly the same in the Senate, and immediately sought to reassure investors, saying that investments will be safe in Mexico. Sheinbaum will need to contend with some last-minute moves by Lopez Obrador, namely a controversial judicial overhaul that will see federal judges – including those on the Supreme Court – elected by popular vote. The constitutional change has roiled both advocates of judicial independence and investors. The incoming president will also be navigating a US election on November 5 that could shift relations with Mexico’s top trading partner. Later in November, she will deliver her government’s first budget, which will likely give clues as to whether Sheinbaum can make good on commitments to reduce the country’s widening fiscal deficit while maintaining popular welfare spending and costly crime-fighting initiatives. That task comes at a time when Mexico’s economy, the second-largest in Latin America, is forecasted to have only modest growth. Former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and President Claudia Sheinbaum embrace on the day of her swearing-in ceremony at the Congress, in Mexico City, Mexico, October 1, 2024 [Raquel Cunha/Reuters] Historic presidency Sheinbaum’s inauguration is the culmination of a four-decade rise in Mexican politics, punctuated by her history-making election as the first woman to lead Mexico City. Sheinbaum, the daughter of academic activists, has also leaned into the history-making nature of her presidency. In a social media post on Monday, she unveiled a logo showing a young woman in profile hoisting a Mexican flag, her hair pulled back into a ponytail. The hairstyle has become a sort of signature for Sheinbaum. “A young Mexican woman will be the emblem of Mexico’s government,” Sheinbaum wrote. Mexico remains one of the most conservative countries in Latin America, with its 65 presidents since independence from Spain all men. As Mexico City mayor, Sheinbaum built a reputation for a data-driven approach to leadership, winning praise for reducing the city’s murder rate by half. Her policies sought to boost security spending on an expanded police force with higher salaries. She has pledged to replicate the approach across Mexico, which continues to be plagued by high rates of crime and the outsized influence of powerful drug cartels. Critics have questioned how realistic those pledges will prove to be. At the same time, Sheinbaum has promised to continue policies of generous social spending pensions and youth scholarships championed by her populist predecessor Lopez Obrador. Having studied energy engineering, and later being tapped for the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Sheinbaum has sought to strike a more careful balance on environmental initiatives. She has said she will protect the industrial dominance of Mexico’s state-owned oil and power companies, while expressing interest in shifting towards renewable energy projects. Sheinbaum shared a Nobel Peace Prize with former US Vice President Al Gore in 2007 for her climate work. Prior to that, she had been Lopez Obrador’s environmental chief when he served as the mayor of Mexico City. She had previously served as the chief spokesperson for Lopez Orador’s failed 2006 campaign. Adblock test (Why?)