Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 892
As thw war enters its 892nd day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Monday, August 5, 2024. Fighting Ukraine announced the mandatory evacuation of children and their guardians from areas in the eastern region of Donetsk, where Russia has been claiming advances. Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin said 744 children and their families would leave Novohrodivka, about 20km (12 miles) from the village of Novoselivka Persha, which Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it had captured just hours before the announcement. Ukrainian pilots have started flying F-16s on operations within the country, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said as he visited an airbase under tight security at an undisclosed location. Two of the jets were behind him on the ground as he spoke and two more flew overhead. Ukraine’s military said it sunk a Russian Kilo-class submarine and struck an anti-missile system established to protect the strategic Kerch bridge in the Moscow-occupied Crimean Peninsula over the weekend. Politics and diplomacy Mali said it was immediately cutting diplomatic ties with Ukraine after Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR), said that Mali’s northern separatist Tuareg rebels had received the “necessary” information to conduct an attack last month on Malian soldiers and mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group, which killed 131 fighters. Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba is on his fourth diplomatic tour of Africa in two years, trying to rally support for Kyiv’s efforts to push Russian forces out of its territory. Kuleba will be in Africa until August 8 and will visit Malawi, Zambia and Mauritius. Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh won the country’s first individual gold medal at the Paris Olympics when she won the high jump, clearing 2 metres in front of an adoring crowd at the Stade de France. Ukraine also took bronze in the event with Iryna Gerashchenko sharing the medal with Australia’s Eleanor Patterson. Adblock test (Why?)
Will eating insects save the planet?
EXPLAINER Eating insects may be healthier, cheaper and better for the environment than consuming meat – what’s not to like? The Singapore Food Agency announced last month that it has approved 16 insect species as fit for human consumption. The agency has permitted some species of beetle, locusts, grasshoppers and mealworms to be sold as food. These insects cannot simply be harvested from the wild. They must be “farmed in premises regulated by the Competent Authority”, according to the agency. While entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, in many parts of the world remains gastronomic esotericism, Singapore is one of several countries that have begun to welcome it. Indeed, in some parts of the world, insects are served up as popular street food. But do we all need to be switching our diets to include insects? Why should we eat insects? Some of the arguments for eating insects include: They are environmentally more sustainable and cheaper to produce than beef. They are higher in protein and other nutrients than meat. They can be farmed without hormones. They may be a solution to a food-insecure, overharvested, overfished world. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), 60 percent of fish stocks worldwide are overfished. Climate change is shifting our relationship with food and many believe insects are a viable, environmentally sustainable protein alternative to meat, given the high carbon footprint of livestock farming, which some peer-reviewed journals estimate produces 14.5 percent to 19.6 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2022, the World Economic Forum published a report incentivising eating bugs, citing climate change and the high protein content of insects as reasons. But already in 2013, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization had proposed entomophagy as a solution to food insecurity. Is eating insects healthy? It might bug you to know this, but, yes, in certain circumstances. Different types of insects contain different amounts of nutrients, but they tend to be dense in protein, iron and calcium among other nutrients. MightyCricket, a US-based website that sells cricket powder, says crickets contain 10 times more vitamin B12 than beef. The Canada-based sports nutrition business Naak says 100g (3.5oz) of chopped beef steak contains about 20g of protein compared with 60g of protein that 100 grams of cricket steak contains. Is eating insects good for the environment? A big reason for the rise in sentiment in favour of eating insects is down to the significantly low environmental footprint insects have. The production of meat and dairy products accounts for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to an FAO report. MightyCricket’s website says crickets use 50 to 90 percent less land per kilogramme of protein than conventional livestock. According to the 2013 FAO report, producing 100g of beef steak creates 750g of greenhouse gases emissions. To produce 100g of crickets, the amount of emissions is estimated to be 100 times less. Crispy fried grasshopper is already a popular dish in several parts of the world, including Nagaland, on the border of India and Myanmar [Shutterstock] Where in the world are insects commonly eaten? The FAO data published in 2013 estimated two billion people consume insects globally. While this number is often cited, an editorial in the Journal of Insects as Food and Feed said in 2021 that the number is an overstatement. Regardless, insects are an important part of a number of cuisines around the world: Silkworms are considered a delicacy in some northeastern states of India. In Nagaland, a state on the Myanmar border, silkworms are available at every market. Known as “eri puka” in Nagamese, the silkworms are fried, tossed together with spices, vegetables and bamboo shoots. Crispy fried grasshopper is also a common snack in the state. Fried silk worms are eaten in India [Shutterstock] Sago grubs, also called butod, are a traditional delicacy on the island of Borneo. They are eaten as appetisers, such as satay, or can be stir-fried. Known as ‘butod’ locally, sago grubs, or sago worms, are high in protein and fibre and are eaten in the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo [Shutterstock] Nsenene, long-horned grasshoppers, are a popular snack in Uganda and are sold by street vendors or cooked at home. These insects are usually fried with chilli, onion and spices. Because they secrete their own oil, there is no need for cooking oil. In Uganda, nsenene – grasshoppers – are a popular snack [Shutterstock] Tacoma worms are a delicacy among the Indigenous Arawak community in Pakuri, Guyana. They can be eaten raw, sauteed, or skewered and roasted and are described as “buttery” and highly nutritious. They are enjoyed at special events. In Marondera, Zimbabwe, villagers have been eating insects and worms foraged in the forest or collected during crop harvests for generations. Now, the village boasts its own edible-insect farm. Who in the West is eating insects? While insects are already widely eaten in some countries around the world, they have never been a favourite among gourmets in the West. Despite this, some upscale restaurants are featuring insects on the menu: French chef Laurent Yenet plates an intricately crafted seven-course gourmet meal at his Paris restaurant Inoveat. He pairs insect meat with zesty citrus and herby, floral garnishes. Superfoods such as spirulina and pollen also feature. Grub Kitchen in Wales, the United Kingdom’s first insect restaurant, focuses on sustainability and is the vision of chef Andy Holcroft. The menu ranges from minced insect Bolognese to mealworm hummus and mixed insect pakoras fried with vegetables and served with mango chutney. Grub Kitchen largely has good reviews on TripAdvisor, but one reviewer was sceptical of eating insects, writing: “If this is the future, kill me now.” Why don’t we eat insects more widely? The question of why people are put off by the idea of feasting on bugs opens several cans of worms: The “yuck” factor: For some, the aversion to eating insects simply comes from being conditioned to seeing insects are creepy, dirt-lurking creatures and definitely not food.
IBA gender tests on two Olympic boxers flawed and illegitimate, says IOC
The International Olympic Committee stands with the two Olympic boxers in gender test debate, cites flawed IBA testing. The gender tests conducted by the International Boxing Association (IBA) on two female fighters at last year’s world championships that led to their disqualification were illegitimate and lacked credibility, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s double world champion Lin Yu-ting were cleared to compete at the Paris Olympics despite having been disqualified during the 2023 World Championships after the IBA said they had failed a gender eligibility test. The IOC said the testing process at that event, which only came towards the end of the competition after the boxers had already fought several bouts, was completely arbitrary. “Those tests are not legitimate tests. The tests themselves, the process of the tests, the ad hoc nature of the tests are not legitimate,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams told a press conference on Sunday. “The testing, the method of the testing, the idea of the testing which happened kind of overnight. None of it is legitimate and this does not deserve any response,” Adams said. The IOC last year stripped the IBA of its status as boxing’s governing body over management and finance issues, and took charge of the Paris Games boxing competition, applying eligibility rules from the 2016 and the 2021 Olympics. Khelif’s dominance in Thursday’s round-of-16 welterweight fight against Italy’s Angela Carini, who withdrew after 46 seconds following a barrage of punches from the Algerian, triggered a furore that swept social media and saw people such as author JK Rowling and billionaire Elon Musk voice their opposition to Khelif competing in the Olympic Games. The IBA on Friday promised to pay Italy’s Carini $50,000 in prize money, further fanning the ongoing dispute with the IOC. Semifinal runs Both Khelif and Lin have now reached the semifinals in their weight categories in Paris. “Yu-ting is great!” Taiwan President Lai Ching-te wrote on his Facebook page after the boxer’s victory on Saturday that sent her into the last four of her featherweight division at the Paris Games. “In recent days, Taiwan’s people have been indignant at the slander against her. Facing the challenge, Yu-ting is fearless and uses her strength to crush the rumours. Let us continue to cheer for her!” The two athletes at the centre of the IBA gender-testing row at the Paris Olympic Games are Taiwan’s double world champion Lin Yu-ting (left) and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, both competing in Paris [Mohd Rasfan/AFP] The IOC has accused the IBA of a defamation campaign against the Olympic body, with IBA President Umar Kremlev posting inflammatory comments on social media about the decision to allow the pair to compete. Khelif’s father Amar told Reuters he was proud of his daughter and backed her to win a medal for Algeria. Meanwhile, Adams of the IOC reiterated that the IBA’s “tests were taken arbitrarily” and said “The very fact that the decision to do the testing on the spot there [at the world championships]… I am not quite sure what the foundation for the testing was.” Asked whether the boxers had been targeted, Adams said: “We believe so.” “Two athletes tested in the middle of the world championships and carted off and tested,” he said. “There were suspicions against them… if we start acting on suspicion against every athlete, we go down a very bad route. How are they targeted for this to come about? And is it fair and right that two individuals are targeted in this way…. by a federation that is completely discredited?” Adblock test (Why?)
Is the US headed for a recession?
The unexpected rise in the unemployment rate in the United States has left economists divided: Is the US on the brink of a recession or not? The unemployment rate jumped to a nearly three-year high of 4.3 percent in July, as per data released Friday. The increase – up from 4.1 percent in June, and up from a five-decade low of 3.4 percent in April last year – sets the stage, more than ever, for a cut in interest rates in the next Federal Reserve meeting in September. Which raises the question: Is it too late? The jump in the unemployment rate “points to a recession in 2025”, Gary Clyde Hufbauer, nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told Al Jazeera. “I’m expecting the [US] Fed to start cutting the policy rate in September, and to continue cutting in subsequent meetings. That response will probably ensure a shallow recession,” he added. The equity markets, too, reacted in fear of a recession. The Dow Jones average tumbled more than 700 points – almost 2 percent – in afternoon trading Friday, and the broader S&P 500 fell 2 percent, with Wall Street banks calling for bigger and more rate cuts than had been expected so far. Economists at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, among others, revamped their expectations to a half-point rate cut in September as well as in November, and a quarter-point rate cut in December. All of this falls on the back of a week of weak data, including a slowdown in manufacturing and negative employment sentiments, which points towards an economic downtrend. ‘Doesn’t signal a recession’ But not everyone agrees with this scenario. “We don’t see a recession even though the stock market today is behaving like it anticipates a recession,” Nancy Vanden Houten, lead economist at Oxford Economics, told Al Jazeera. “The jobs report was definitely weaker than most economists were expecting and we’re not dismissing the signs of a softer labour market, but there are things going on beneath the surface” that need to be accounted for while looking at the Friday data, Vanden Houten said. Economists say the data shows the Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow down the economy are kicking in [File: Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images] For one, there are a lot more people looking for jobs – about 420,000 people entered the labour force last month. These are new immigrants joining the workforce, and “that is a good thing”, Vanden Houten pointed out. Also, in the jobs survey, there was a big jump in the number of people who claimed to be on a temporary layoff or not working because of bad weather, referring to the slowdown in work in Texas because of Hurricane Beryl last month. “The number of people reporting to have not worked in July because of bad weather was higher than any non-winter month since September 2017, when the effects of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria were battering the Southeastern US,” said Matt Colyar, assistant director at Moody’s Analytics. “This is just evidence that what the federal reserve wanted to do – slow down the economy, slowing jobs so people don’t keep switching jobs and getting high 8-10 percent raises – is happening. This doesn’t signal a recession,” Colyar told Al Jazeera. Moreover, the last pre-pandemic recession had other catalysts for a downturn, including very high household debt and mortgages that home owners couldn’t keep up with, a situation that currently doesn’t exist, explained Vanden Houten. The data has, however, kicked off chatter about the so-called “Sahm rule”. Former Federal Reserve economist Claudia Sahm invented a measure that examines how fast the unemployment rate is rising to determine if it is an indication of a recession. But Sahm herself has doubted that a recession is “imminent’’ even though the Sahm rule was close to triggering. For now, both Vanden Houten and Colyar are sticking with earlier predictions of rate cuts: one quarter-point cut in September and one in December. “It’ll take more than one bad jobs report for me to say that the recession they’ve been waiting for every day is finally here,” said Colyar. All eyes for now are on next month’s jobs report for a clearer picture of the job market and the US economy. Until then, economists like Colyar will be tracking the weekly unemployment claims to get a sense of things on the ground, he said. Nevertheless, the latest data will play into the upcoming presidential elections. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign on Friday said the jobs report is “more evidence that the Biden-Harris economy is failing Americans”, The Associated Press news agency reported. Any weakening in the economy will go against the incumbent, Vanden Houten said. Even though President Joe Biden is no longer in the running, Vice President Kamala Harris is part of Team Biden and this can impact her negatively, Vanden Houten pointed out. Adblock test (Why?)
What is fuelling protests and a violent crackdown in Nigeria?
Demonstrators killed by police and millions put under curfew. In Nigeria, people have been shot dead by police and hundreds arrested for protesting against the government’s economic policies. President Bola Tinubu says the reforms are vital. Critics say they are too extreme. So why are people so angry? And could the unrest spread? Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom Guests: Isa Sanusi – Director of Amnesty International Nigeria Ayisha Osori – Director of Open Society Foundations Ideas and Fellowship Collaborative Kabir Adamu – Managing director of Beacon Security and Intelligence, a consultancy in Abuja Mohammed Idris – Minister of information and national orientation in Nigeria Adblock test (Why?)
Ledecky seals GOAT status, USA break world record in Olympic swimming pool
Already rated one of swimming’s all-time greats coming into the Paris Olympics, Katie Ledecky made it official by storming to victory in her signature event, the 800-metre freestyle, to end her work in the French capital in great style. French torpedo Leon Marchand may be the prince of Paris, electrifying the home nation with four spectacular gold medals, but it is Ledecky writing her name in the record books after she claimed her ninth gold, equalling Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina for the most by any woman in any Olympic sport. In sharp contrast to Ledecky’s runaway win in the 1,500-metre, the 800-metre freestyle on Saturday was a thriller from start to finish, with Ariarne Titmus matching her stroke-for-stroke for almost the entire distance. But with the American setting a relentless, grinding pace, her great Australian rival would never get her nose in front, settling for silver as Ledecky got to the wall first in a time of 8 minutes, 11.04 seconds. Paige Madden took bronze for the United States. It is the fourth time Ledecky has won the 800-metre freestyle and she joins compatriot Michael Phelps as the only swimmer to win gold in four different Olympics. The 800-metre was the final event on Ledecky’s Paris card and she returns home having added two golds, a silver and a bronze, bringing her Olympic stockpile to 14 medals in all – with more possible. The 27-year-old has hinted that a home Olympics in Los Angeles in four years is on her mind. Katie Ledecky had plenty of support in the stands [Manan Vatsyayana/AFP] And in a passing of the baton moment, Canada’s Summer McIntosh enhanced her status as the rising star of women’s swimming by winning her third gold medal of the games in the 200-metre individual medley. The 17-year-old produced a brilliant late surge to win in a time of 2min 06.56sec, the third-fastest time in history. Kate Douglass of the USA finished second to take silver while Australian Kaylee McKeown took the bronze after American Alex Walsh, who had finished third, was disqualified. McIntosh had already claimed gold in the 400-metre individual medley and the 200-metre butterfly, as well as a silver in the 400-metre freestyle. “It’s pretty surreal. I’m just so proud of myself, how I’ve been able to recover and manage the events because it is a lot,” said the teenager, who also won silver in the 400-metre freestyle during what has been an intense games for her. “The reason I’m able to do this just because of all the hard work and dedication I’ve given to this moment along with all my family and my teammates and my coaches, and I’ve also worked so hard for me to be here today,” she said. The Canadian said she knew that she had to pull out all the stops to secure her latest win. Canada’s Summer Mcintosh celebrates her second gold medal of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games [Manan Vatsyayana/AFP] Earlier, Hungarian powerhouse Kristof Milak stormed to a second Olympic gold with victory in a thrilling men’s 100-metre butterfly final, while adding to the silver medal he won in the 200-metre event at the Paris Games. Three years after claiming the 200-metre gold at Tokyo, the 24-year-old secured the shorter of the two Olympic butterfly titles by touching the wall in 49.90, 0.09 seconds ahead of Canadian runner-up Josh Liendo. Ilya Kharun grabbed a second bronze for Canada, having also taken one in the 200-metre butterfly in Paris. Now boasting four Olympic medals, Milak gave Hungary a second gold in the Paris meet following Hubert Kos’s 200-metre backstroke title. Hungary’s Kristof Milak celebrates during the podium ceremony of the men’s 100-metre butterfly event [Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP] In the final race of the night in the pool, the United States broke the world record in winning the 4×100-metre mixed medley relay gold, outgunning China and Australia. Their team of Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske touched in 3min 37.43sec to narrowly better the mark set by Britain at the Tokyo Games, when the event was first added to the Olympic programme. China’s Zhang Yufei took silver in 3:37.55, with Australia filling the podium in 3:38.76. It is only the second world record in the pool in Paris after China’s Pan Zhanle smashed the men’s 100-metre freestyle best. Teams in the mixed medley comprise two women and two men, with each of the four swimmers allocated to one of the four traditional medley strokes – backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle. The United States chose to lead off with Murphy up against China’s Xu Jiayu, while Australia opted for Kaylee McKeown. Both Fink and Walsh then swam storming legs before Huske brought it home with China’s Yang Junxuan and Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan in hot pursuit. USA won the mixed 4×100-metre medley relay final ahead of China and Australia [Sebastian Bozon/AFP] Adblock test (Why?)
US candidate Jill Stein considering vocal Palestine advocates for VP spot
United States Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is considering three Palestinian rights advocates, including two Arab Americans, to be her running mate in the elections, her campaign has confirmed. The vice president announcement will be made during a livestream rally on Thursday, the Stein campaign told Al Jazeera. The candidates are Abed Ayoub, executive director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC); Amer Zahr, a Palestinian American activist; and Jacqueline Luqman, a journalist and activist. All three have been vocal critics of Israel and the US’s unflinching support for the war on Gaza. Stein, a physician and activist, herself is a longtime supporter of Palestinian rights. Having one of the three on the ballot could boost Stein’s chances of tapping into the mass of disaffected voters who have grown angry with the mainstream Democratic Party’s stance on Israel. While Stein’s campaign is a long-shot bid, with US politics dominated by the Republican and Democrat parties, if she wins a significant share of the votes, her campaign may affect the result of the election. Moreover, Stein’s supporters say they hope that her candidacy could broaden the conversation around Gaza and amplify voters’ concerns with US policy. With a Palestine advocate on the ticket, Stein’s candidacy could also force Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, to further contend with the growing frustration with President Joe Biden’s unconditional backing of Israel. Even with a small percentage of the votes, Stein’s campaign could make a major impression on the election in places like the swing state of Michigan – home to large Arab- and Muslim-American communities. Both Ayoub and Zahr are from Michigan. ‘Honoured’ Luqman, Zahr and Ayoub all confirmed to Al Jazeera that they were approached by the campaign and said they were “honoured” to be considered for the position. Ayoub said it is “important” that Stein is considering Palestinian rights advocates to be her running mate. “This is a critical time. This is a time where the genocide is in front of everybody’s eyes. There’s no hiding from it. And it’s a time where most of the world and many Americans see how complicit and active both parties are in the genocide.” Zahr also said selecting a vocal supporter of Palestinian rights as Stein’s running mate was a “smart choice” by the campaign. “It’s clear that the genocide in Gaza has dominated the entire presidential campaign,” Zahr told Al Jazeera. While Biden dropped out after growing concerns over his age following a disastrous debate performance in May, Zahr said the Democratic president’s coalition “was falling apart” because of the war on Gaza. Luqman said opposing the war on Gaza should not be a campaign issue, but a human issue. “There’s no such thing as lesser evil. Evil is evil, and genocide is evil,” she told Al Jazeera. The US-backed Israeli offensive in Gaza has killed at least 39,550 people, levelled large parts of the territory and brought its more than two million inhabitants to the verge of starvation. Gaza and the elections While foreign policy is not usually a major factor in US elections, the war on Gaza has increasingly become a decisive issue in the presidential race. Arabs, Muslims, young people and progressives have expressed anger at Biden’s support for the war. And while it remains unclear how the issue will play out following the US president’s withdrawal from the race and endorsement of Harris, some communities have shown willingness to break with Democrats over Gaza. Predominantly Arab neighbourhoods in places like the Detroit suburb of Dearborn voted overwhelmingly for Biden against former President Donald Trump in 2020, helping him win Michigan. But with the war in Gaza, support for Biden dropped sharply in Arab-American communities, according to public opinion polls. The US administration has signed off on at least $14bn in additional military aid to Israel and vetoed three United Nations Security Council proposals that would have called for a ceasefire in Gaza. The White House has said that Harris has been a “full partner” in shaping Gaza policy. Still, the vice president has expressed greater empathy for Palestinian suffering while still pledging “unwavering commitment” to Israel. Harris, who is set to become the Democratic candidate to take on Trump in November after securing enough delegates to win the nomination, has not selected a running mate. But Palestinian rights advocates are pushing against a rumoured frontrunner for the position – Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who earlier this year compared Gaza solidarity protesters on college campuses to the Ku Klux Klan. In 2021, Shapiro – as Pennsylvania’s attorney general – also backed sanctions against Ben & Jerry’s after the ice cream company decided to stop doing business in the Israeli-occupied West Bank over ethical concerns. Opposition to Shapiro grew this week after The Philadelphia Inquirer unearthed a 1993 college newspaper op-ed, in which Shapiro played down the prospect of solving the conflict after White House talks between then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. “Palestinians will not coexist peacefully,” Shapiro wrote in the article. “They do not have the capabilities to establish their own homeland and make it successful even with the aid of Israel and the United States. They are too battle-minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own.” Why run? As Democrats rally around Harris, they have portrayed Trump as an existential threat to US democracy. Democratic officials have also accused Stein of helping the former president by taking progressive votes despite not having a realistic chance of winning. Stein ran for president in 2012, 2016 and 2020 but never mounted a competitive campaign. Luqman, Ayoub and Zahr all said Stein’s bid was about giving the voters a choice and challenging the monopoly of the two major parties on US politics. “We don’t engage in the franchise of voting … only to vote for candidates who are guaranteed to win,” Luqman told Al Jazeera. “We are supposed to exercise that right however we choose. And if the two major parties offered nothing
Students renew Bangladesh protests, call for nationwide civil disobedience
Crowds hit the streets in large numbers as student leaders press the government for more concessions. Protesters in Bangladesh have taken to the streets to demand justice for the more than 200 people killed in last month’s student-led demonstrations over quotas in government jobs. The large protests on Saturday came as student leaders called for a nationwide civil disobedience campaign, heaping further pressure on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government. “She must resign and she must face trial,” Nahid Islam, the group’s leader, told a crowd of thousands at a monument to national heroes in the capital Dhaka to roars of approval. Reporting from Dhaka, Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury said that the student movement had turned “into a public movement“, noting that people from all walks of life had joined Saturday’s protests calling for the government to resign. He added that clashes also took place between protesters and police in the Gazipur and Comilla districts in the capital’s outskirts. Hasina on Saturday called upon protest leaders to meet her at her official residence Ganabhaban, saying the “door is open”. “I want to sit with the agitating students of the movement and listen to them. I want no conflict,” she said, according to local media. The prime minister has also appointed three senior officials to negotiate with the protesters, Chowdhury reported. However, Students Against Discrimination, the group that organised the initial demonstrations in early July, has called for an all-out non-cooperation movement from Sunday. “This includes non-payment of taxes and utility bills, strikes by government workers and a halt to overseas remittance payments through banks,” the group’s Asif Mahmud told AFP. The demonstrations began over the reintroduction of a quota scheme – since scaled back by Bangladesh’s top court – that reserved more than half of all government jobs for certain groups. With some 18 million young Bangladeshis out of work, according to government figures, the move upset graduates facing an acute unemployment crisis. The protests had remained largely peaceful until attacks on demonstrators by police and pro-government student groups. Hasina’s government eventually imposed a nationwide curfew, deployed troops and shut down the nation’s mobile internet network for 11 days to restore order. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters that security forces had operated with restraint but were “forced to open fire” to defend government buildings. The government has been weathering a worsening backlash over the deadly police crackdown that resulted in deaths of at least 200 people including 32 children, as well as hundreds of pellet gun injuries. UN experts have called for an immediate end to the violent crackdown against protesters as well as accountability for human rights violations. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk today called on the government to disclose full details about its crackdown on protests and to provide the details of those killed, injured or detained for the benefit of their families. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also called for an international probe into the “excessive and lethal force against protesters”. Adblock test (Why?)
Ukraine says it targeted Russian airfield, fuel depots in three regions
Russia says air defence systems ‘intercepted and destroyed’ 75 drones over a number of regions. Ukraine says it has carried out attacks on a number of military targets in Russia, including an airfield and oil depots, as Russian authorities reported intercepting dozens of drones over several regions. In a post on Facebook, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Saturday its forces overnight had struck an airfield in Morozovsk, hitting ammunition depots with guided air bombs, as well as fuel storage facilities in the Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov regions. In Russia, local officials reported that tanks at a fuel storage depot in the Kamensky district of the Rostov region caught fire as a result of a drone attack. The regional governor of Belgorod also said Ukraine-launched drones caused a fire at an oil storage depot there, adding that the fire was extinguished and no one was injured. Russian officials did not address claims regarding the airfield, but Rostov Governor Vasily Golubev said authorities introduced a state of emergency in the district of Morozovsk. Golubev said the region was attacked by 55 drones, without specifying how many of these were intercepted and how many hit targets. “At the moment we have recorded damage to the windows in several social facilities, including schools and kindergartens, as well as in residential houses and industrial premises,” Golubev said on Telegram. For its part, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement that 36 drones were destroyed over the Rostov region. Overall, the ministry added its air defence systems “intercepted and destroyed” 75 drones over a number of regions that lie on the border with Ukraine or not far from it, including Belgorod, Krasnodar, Kursk, Oryol, Rostov, Voronezh, and the Ryazan region deeper inside Russia. One of those drones was also shot down over the Azov sea, the statement said. A ‘security decision’ Ukraine has stepped up aerial attacks in recent months on Russian territory, saying it carries out the strikes on sites fuelling Russia’s forces and economy in retaliation to the bombardments it has faced since President Vladimir Putin sent his troops into the neighbouring country in February 2022. Ukrainian officials have also repeatedly called on Western allies for permission to use their weapons for long-range attacks on Russia, in addition to striking military targets close to the border. “Russian combat aviation must be destroyed wherever it is, by all effective means. It is also quite fair to strike at Russian airfields. We need this joint decision with our partners – a security decision,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media on Saturday. “This is the only way to ensure the protection of our people,” he said, adding that Russian forces had used more than 600 guided aerial bombs to attack Ukraine in the past week. Amid a blistering Russian air campaign in recent months, Zelenskyy has placed Ukraine’s need for improved air defences at the top of his agenda at meetings with allies. Several NATO countries have pledged to supply F-16 fighter jets and have been training Ukrainian pilots and crews for months. Adblock test (Why?)
‘I’m scared, but I’ll carry on’: Venezuelans caught between hope and fear
Caracas, Venezuela – As dark clouds hung above an unusually empty street in the neighbourhood of Petare, Eglle Camacho started to hear a dull, rhythmic clanging. The noise soon crescendoed. From their windows and doorways, people stood armed with kitchen utensils, banging spoons against pans. They started to spill onto the street. Camacho decided to join them. Their impromptu march cascaded towards the centre of Venezuela’s capital of Caracas on Monday, scooping up thousands of people on foot and motorbikes. What brought them all together was outrage over what they saw as fraudulent election results announced in favour of President Nicolas Maduro. Camacho took lots of photos that day – the smiles, the flags and even the violence – but she told Al Jazeera she has since deleted all of them. She fears what Maduro’s government may do to the protesters who support the opposition’s claims to victory. “There is so much persecution,” Camacho said from her home in Petare. “They’re coming into neighbourhoods to look for people.” That fear has been widespread in the days following July 28’s presidential election. Protesters spray-paint graffiti on a Caracas wall that says, ‘We want freedom’ [Catherine Ellis/Al Jazeera] For weeks, opinion polls ahead of the vote had suggested Maduro would lose to retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez, provided that elections were free and fair. Maduro’s rival had a sizeable lead – about 30 points. Exit polls reflected a similar trend. But when Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) announced the outcome of the vote early on Monday morning, it told a different story. The government agency claimed Maduro had won with more than 51 percent of the vote, a comfortable seven points ahead of Gonzalez. Demonstrations began, and clashes between opposition supporters and security forces ensued. Some have led to detentions, injuries and even death. After days of turbulence, many opposition supporters are in no man’s land, navigating a narrow path between hope and fear over what comes next. Jorge Fermin, 86, has been protesting for years against the socialist regime in Venezuela, first under the late Hugo Chavez and then under his hand-picked successor, Maduro. At a gathering in central Caracas, the former Ministry of Education worker waves a homemade poster in the air. The poster offers an optical illusion: Seen from one side, it shows Gonzalez’s face. Look at it from another angle, though, and it shows Maria Corina Machado, the candidate who was meant to run against Maduro, only to be banned from public office. “This is the biggest lie in the world,” Fermin said of the CNE’s results. “The government knows the true result but they don’t want to show it.” Protester Jorge Fermin shows off a handmade poster that displays the faces of two opposition leaders: Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez [Catherine Ellis/Al Jazeera] Maduro’s government has so far failed to publish the voting tallies from individual polling stations, as has been the tradition in the past. All the CNE has offered is the overall percentage. However, tallies collected by poll monitors – and handed to the opposition – appear to show Gonzalez won with a landslide, securing 67 percent of the vote. Despite calls from the opposition, as well as the international community, the government has not yet shown any proof that Maduro officially won. Maduro has pledged to reveal the voting tallies, but a timeline has not yet been set. “This government has caused so much pain, misery, and now they have tried to rob us of our last remaining hope,” Fermin told Al Jazeera. As a retiree in Venezuela, his pension is equivalent to just $3.50 a month. “It doesn’t even allow me to top up my phone,” he explained. The pro-Maduro posters that once decorated almost every lamp post in Caracas have now vanished, torn down and thrown onto rubbish heaps or fires. A number of statues representing the late Chavez, seen as the father of Venezuela’s socialist project, have also been toppled. Margarita Lopez, a Venezuelan historian who has studied the country’s protest movement and Chavez’s socialist government, told Al Jazeera that today’s demonstrations share the hallmarks of past mobilisations: the ripping down of statues, the banging of pots and pans in a style of protest called “cacerolazo”. But this time, she said, there is one key difference. “The polarisation has gone,” she explained. Previous protests, Lopez pointed out, were largely made up of middle- and upper-class voters. But with Venezuela’s economy in continued decline, a more diverse cross-section of society has poured out on the streets to demonstrate. “Everyone is struggling with work,” Lopez said. “They’ve gotten poorer. They don’t have full access to public services. The political discourse of polarisation isn’t valid any more for Venezuelans.” A crumpled-up poster of Nicolas Maduro lies in a rubbish heap in Caracas, Venezuela [Catherine Ellis/Al Jazeera] Traditionally, many residents in working-class areas of Venezuela were followers of Chavismo – the ideology named after Chavez, which promotes income redistribution and resistance against “imperial” forces, represented by countries like the United States. But for many, Chavismo has not lived up to its expectations. After Chavez’s death in 2013, Maduro took over the government, and the country tumbled into an economic abyss. Part of the problem was the global fall in oil prices in 2014, but the crisis was also due to poor economic mismanagement, embezzlement of state funds and international sanctions. “I’ve come from Petare. I’m here for the freedom of my county, for the future of my daughter, for my sister, for my niece,” a shirtless man cried at one recent protest, as he raised one hand in the air. He used the other to point towards the tattoo on his chest: a colourful map of Venezuela. According to Lopez, low-income areas like Petare were once bastions of Chavismo. But for residents there today, the socialist rhetoric feels no longer relevant. “Maduro can say imperialism and the ‘fascist’ right-wing opposition haven’t yet been stopped, but in reality, people aren’t interested any more,” Lopez explained. The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) has contracted by 80