What we know so far about the assassination attempt on Trump
NewsFeed A gunman shot at former US President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Trump was injured in the ear in what the FBI is investigating as an assassination attempt. One spectator was killed and two others were critically injured. Published On 14 Jul 202414 Jul 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Is enough being done to end the conflict in the DRC?
UN warns of dire humanitarian crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo. For years, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been trapped in a cycle of conflict, with devastating consequences for its people. The latest escalation in violence between the military and the M23 armed group has forced 7.4 million people from their homes in two years. The United Nations says more than 25 million people are in desperate need of aid. And it’s warned the latest M23 activity in the east carries the very real risk of provoking a wider regional conflict. What will it take to bring peace to the DRC? And is there a role its neighbours can play to prevent the violence from spreading? Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom Guests: Emilie Katondolo – Peace activist who advocates for the rights of women Greg Ramm – DRC country director for Save the Children Crystal Orderson – Journalist for The Africa Report Adblock test (Why?)
Israeli attack on al-Mawasi kills at least 90 people: What we know so far
Israeli air strikes on the al-Mawasi camp in southern Gaza have killed at least 90 people and wounded 300 others, according to Palestinian health officials. The attack on Saturday on the Israeli-designated “safe zone”, located west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, involved fighter jets and drones, according to witnesses. Israeli officials have said the attack targeted two senior members of Hamas’s military wing, claiming they were hiding among civilians. Hamas has dismissed this claim as “false”, saying it is a way of covering up the “horrific massacre” at a location where displaced Palestinians were urged to seek shelter after receiving orders to evacuate their homes elsewhere in the Strip. Here’s everything you need to know about the attack and its aftermath: What’s the situation on the ground? The attack killed at least 90 civilians in a densely populated area sheltering about 80,000 people, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Israeli warplanes hit tents housing displaced Palestinians and a water distillation unit. Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said the area was hit by “five bombs and five missiles”. Displaced people sheltering in the area said their tents were torn down by the force of the strikes and have described bodies and body parts strewn on the ground. “I couldn’t even tell where I was or what was happening,” said Sheikh Youssef, a resident of Gaza City who is displaced in the al-Mawasi area. “I left the tent and looked around. All the tents were knocked down, body parts, bodies everywhere, elderly women thrown on the floor, young children in pieces,” he told the Reuters news agency. The injured were taken to the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, which is severely understaffed and lacks critical equipment. Rescue workers say the Israeli army attacked crews who were on their way to help victims. An official at Nasser Hospital told Al Jazeera that medical teams did not have the capacity to receive any more wounded patients as civil defence teams continued to work on search and rescue operations at the site of the attack. Mohammad Subeh, an emergency doctor working at one of the field hospitals near al-Mawasi, told Al Jazeera that rescuers were “digging people out of the ground”. The al-Mawasi area has been repeatedly attacked by the Israeli military, with a strike in late May that hit tents housing displaced families killing at least 21 people. What are Israeli officials saying? The Israeli military claimed in a statement that it acted based on “precise intelligence” to hit an area where “two senior Hamas terrorists” and additional fighters hid among civilians. It described the location of the strike as “an open area surrounded by trees, several buildings, and sheds”. The figures targeted were Rafa’a Salameh, commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, and Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas’s military wing – both accused of masterminding the Hamas-led October 7 attack on southern Israel. Speaking at the Ministry of Defence headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was “not absolutely certain” that the Hamas officials were killed in the attack but maintained that it had nonetheless been beneficial to Israel. “Just the attempt to assassinate Hamas commanders delivers a message to the world, a message that Hamas’s days are numbered,” he said. “And this is what I will be doing next week at the US Congress. I will deliver Israel’s message to the United States and the entire world.” Netanyahu said he approved the strike after receiving satisfactory information on collateral damage and the type of ammunition to be used. He added that the Israeli military would “one way or another” kill all Hamas leaders. Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, Jordan, said Netanyahu’s directive to “target and kill Hamas officials wherever they are”, claiming that it was carrying out precise and targeted attacks, had repeatedly been used as a justification to strike civilians in densely populated Gaza. What are Palestinian leaders saying? Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s deputy head in Gaza, claimed that Netanyahu had wished to declare a “fake victory” and that claims about targeting the Hamas leaders were false. “Mohammad Deif is listening to you now and mocking your false, empty statements,” he told Al Jazeera Arabic. Hamas had earlier issued a statement on Telegram calling on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem to “mobilise” in response to the attack. “We call on all resistance brigades to mobilise for Gaza and in loyalty to the blood of the martyrs,” the statement read. The armed group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) said in a statement that Israel was “continuing the war of extermination against our people”. “This crime confirms that the occupation has disregarded all international norms and covenants,” the PIJ said. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa condemned Israel’s “genocidal crimes” in Gaza, saying that Palestinians were “going through a very difficult stage”. Mustafa said Israel’s actions were more broadly targeting the Palestinian project as a whole and included Israel’s goal of establishing an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. Hanan Ashrawi, a scholar and activist, said the attack on al-Mawasi had “turned all of Gaza into one massive death zone”. “American bombs and shells rain down on Gaza while the Israeli government and thugs succeed in preventing any form of medical, food, or fuel supplies from reaching the devastated population,” she said in a post on X. Today’s horrific massacre & savage bombing of displaced Palestinians in Israeli designated “safe” zones of Muassi, Khan Younis is the latest in an escalation that has turned all of Gaza into one massive death zone. American bombs & shells rain down on Gaza while the Israeli… — Hanan Ashrawi (@DrHananAshrawi) July 13, 2024 What’s the situation under international law? Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, told Al Jazeera the attacks may have breached international law. “People in a safe area are protected under international law. If there
‘Everybody must condemn it’: Biden after Trump rally shooting
NewsFeed US President Joe Biden offered his first remarks after a shooting at a Donald Trump rally in the state of Pennsylvania. “The idea that there’s political violence or violence in America like this is just unheard of. It’s just not appropriate. And everybody, everybody must condemn it.” Published On 14 Jul 202414 Jul 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Despite UN appeal, US and UK don’t fund ‘critical lifeline’ to Palestinians
Israel has tried for years to dismantle the UNRWA, which helps Palestinian refugees in Gaza and elsewhere. The United Nations chief has led an internationally backed effort to support its agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) but has yet to persuade its biggest Western donors. The United States and the United Kingdom, key allies of Israel, have continued to financially block the main organisation delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and elsewhere. Fourteen of the 16 donor nations resumed funding after suspending it in January, when Israel accused members of the organisation of having taken part in the October 7 Hamas-led attacks that killed more than 1,100 people in southern Israel. The US was the UNRWA’s biggest donor, but Congress has banned any payments to the agency until March 25, 2025. An independent review in April found that Israel has not presented credible evidence for its claims. There is a separate investigation into the October attack itself, by the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a pledge conference in New York on Friday that the UNRWA faces “a profound funding gap” and that without financial support to the organisation “Palestinian refugees will lose a critical lifeline and the last ray of hope for a better future”. “Let me be clear – there is no alternative to UNRWA,” he said, also warning that Israeli evacuation orders are forcing Palestinians “to move like human pinballs across a landscape of destruction and death”. Without the necessary support and financing for @UNRWA, Palestine Refugees will lose a critical lifeline and the last ray of hope for a better future. My appeal to the international community: Protect UNRWA, its mandate and its funding. — António Guterres (@antonioguterres) July 13, 2024 UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini thanked the 118 countries that signed on to a shared commitment to support and bolster financial and political support for the agency as it “undergoes unprecedented attacks and systematic attempts to dismantle it”. Lazzarini said he was hopeful the UK – which elected a new Labour government last week – would soon resume its financial support. He said the organisation has currently secured funding from donor countries until September, but the total amount in pledges won’t be known until next week. According to Lazzarini, there are now 600,000 Palestinian “girls and boys of the age of primary and secondary school living in the rubble, deeply traumatised”, who need the UNRWA’s help to restart their education. The initiative to support the organisation at the UN was spearheaded by Slovenia, Jordan and Kuwait and was signed by all 15 members of the UN Security Council. ‘Kill the refugee file’ Hassan Barari, professor of international affairs at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera that Israel has been trying for years to defund the UNRWA because they believe that the organisation has been effective in helping Palestinian refugees. “They think that if they defund UNRWA then the Palestinians would be in their own societies and forgotten in the years to come,” he said. “This is the continuation of the Israeli attempt to defund UNRWA in order to kill the refugee file from any future negotiations.” Lex Takkenberg, former chief of UNRWA’s ethics office, told Al Jazeera that the agency is the only international body with an elaborate neutrality framework that includes staff training, financial checks and inspections of its installations. “It can never be ruled out that there are abuses, as in any other organisation, but it is doing an amazing job in providing support to Palestinians in the direst circumstances,” he said, adding that the agency was going above and beyond to operate according to humanitarian principles. Takkenberg said Israel did not present credible evidence to support its claims that UNRWA staff took part in the October 7 attacks. These claims instead served to normalise raids against the UNRWA and its facilities, which have become “an integral part of the onslaught in Gaza”, he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Pakistan court acquits former PM Imran Khan, wife in unlawful marriage case
Acquittal comes after another appeals court upheld the couple’s conviction, but Khan’s lawyer says he won’t be released. A court in Pakistan has acquitted former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife on charges of unlawful marriage, according to his party and lawyer. Khan and his wife Bushra Khan, also known as Bushra Bibi, were sentenced to seven years in prison, days before Pakistan’s election in February, a court ruling at the time that their marriage in 2018 violated Islamic law. In June a court rejected their plea to have the February ruling suspended. But on Saturday, an Islamabad court said the “appeals of both Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi are accepted”. Zulfi Bukhari, a senior official in Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party told Al Jazeera that the charges had been “dismissed”, while Khan’s lawyer, Naeem Panjutha, posted on X, that the couple “are acquitted”. Khan remains behind bars as a court this week cancelled his bail over accusations he incited riots by his supporters in May 2023. Lawyer Intazar Hussain Panjutha told Al Jazeera that Khan “will not be released despite acquittal today [Saturday]”. An anti-terrorism court in Lahore this week approved Khan’s arrest in a case related to last year’s riots, his party’s legal team said. The court refused to grant him bail on Tuesday as the investigation into his alleged role in the unrest continues, despite the fact he was behind bars at the time. Bukhari told Al Jazeera that “at this moment, there is not one case on which Khan can be kept in jail any more”. And as for his wife, “this unlawful marriage case was the only one keeping her behind bars and with this acquittal, she should be immediately released today, not tomorrow”, Bukhari said. Earlier this month a United Nations panel of experts found Khan’s detention arbitrary and said it “had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for political office”. “Thus, from the outset, that prosecution was not grounded in law and was reportedly instrumentalised for a political purpose,” it said, calling for his immediate release after nearly a year in jail. Candidates loyal to Khan won the most seats in the general election, but were kept from government by an alliance of military-backed rival parties. The PTI secured a major legal victory on Friday when the Supreme Court declared it eligible for a share of reserved seats in national and provincial assemblies, a significant setback to the coalition government. Khan served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, when he was removed by a no-confidence vote after falling out with the military establishment, which wields huge influence over civilian politics. In opposition, he waged a campaign of defiance against the top generals, even accusing them of an assassination attempt that wounded him. But the former cricket star’s comeback campaign was hobbled by scores of legal cases, which analysts say were likely brought at the behest of the military establishment. Khan was first briefly arrested in May 2023, sparking nationwide unrest from PTI supporters, some of which targeted military facilities. The government and military cited the attacks as justification for a sweeping crackdown on the PTI, which saw its senior leadership decimated by arrests and defections. Surviving the crackdown PTI candidates were forced to stand as independents in the February 8 elections, which had been repeatedly delayed amid political chaos. Khan’s arrest and conviction for corruption back in August 2023 – on charges that he denies – meant he was barred from standing for office himself, confined to a cell in Adiala Jail south of the capital, Islamabad. Despite that, candidates loyal to PTI secured more seats than any other party. They were blocked from power by a broad coalition of parties considered more pliable to the influence of the military. Supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan protest outside the court in Islamabad in June to demand his release and that of his wife, Bushra Bibi [File: Farooq Naeem] Adblock test (Why?)
Austerity and immigration no longer explain the far right’s rise in Europe
The results of Sunday’s general elections in France have brought some relief to Europeans anxious about another far-right government being formed within the European Union. But this is by far not the end of the story. As debates rage about what the response should be to the far-right surge in Europe, it is important to explore why it is happening in the first place. Beyond the usual explanations, the deeper reasons for the rise of the far right are to be found in the rise of China, India and the Global South. Let us start by addressing some of the traditional explanations for this phenomenon. A decade ago, “populism” became a buzzword in the Western media. So-called populist parties were booming – from the Five Star Movement in Italy to Podemos in Spain. The Brexit populists pulled the United Kingdom out of the EU in 2016. One of the most widespread explanations for the rise of left and right-wing populism centred on the economy: Europe was in the middle of a debt crisis accompanied by self-defeating austerity measures. Budgets were cut, economies were in recession, and unemployment was skyrocketing. No wonder voters were turning to the extremes, many argued. This thesis has much less explanatory power today. While inflation has certainly reduced purchasing power, Europe is currently experiencing record-high employment. The European economy is surely not booming, but neither is it contracting. And there is little austerity: on the contrary, European countries have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine with significant public investment. A twist to this answer is to point to the greenlash – or the reaction from some quarters to Europe’s climate policies. Think taxes on petrol, reduction of agriculture subsidies, or higher energy costs. True, farmers’ protests played a key role in propelling far-right leader Geert Wilders to first place in the Dutch parliamentary elections. At the same time, however, the transition to renewable energy is bringing tangible benefits in the form of a reduction of energy costs. Italians went on a house improvement spree thanks to 200 billion euros ($218bn) of government-sponsored subsidies for energy efficiency – if there is a greenlash in Italy, it has solar panels on its roofs. Many analysts also turn to the issue of migration when trying to explain the far right. Voters, they argue, are reacting to the continuous influx of migrants into Europe and to the loss of a homogeneous culture. There is certainly racism in Europe, and building a multicultural society doesn’t come cost-free. And yet, this is an equally insufficient explanation. The locations where migrants represent a truly significant part of the population –cosmopolitan cities like London, Paris, or Milan – are those where the far-right scores the lowest in elections. It is where migrants are barely seen – the countryside and provincial towns, and most of Eastern Europe – that it does well. It is true that migrants compete with locals for access to scarce public services, and yet, with unemployment near record lows, the narrative of “migrants stealing jobs” is nowhere to be heard. Instead, faced with demographic decline, even right-wing governments are listening to industry’s demands for more migrants. For example, Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s right-wing prime minister, recently increased the number of work visas for foreign workers. Each of these three explanations has some truth to it. And yet none goes to the heart of the matter. To understand what is going on we must change our language and approach. We are not witnessing the rise of the far-right, but the rise of nationalism. This comes at a time when Europe is hit by relative decline compared with the rest of the world. As celebrated philosopher and analyst of European fascism Hannah Arendt pointed out in her writings, Europe’s imperial projection served to reconcile inequalities at home. Put simply, pauperised French workers and decadent industrialists had one thing in common: they were French and not from the colonies. They considered themselves to be superior to the peoples their country ruled over. Even in more recent times, well after the supposed end of colonialism, an insurmountable psychological gap separated the “first” and the “third” world. A European, however poor, had access to opportunities, technologies and freedoms that few from other parts of the world could aspire to. The sense of privilege provided a powerful tool for social cohesion. The material reality of that privilege provided governments with enough wealth to co-opt the population with rising welfare expenditure. But today Europe is increasingly marginalised. It is technologically backwards in key sectors of the global economy – think Chinese electrical vehicles replacing German ones. It is geopolitically disoriented and militarily weak – think Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Its small nation states, too proud and short-sighted to truly unite, see their global rankings drop year after year. This has profound, if understudied, psychological effects. It is this sense of decline and disorientation that the nationalist right thrives on. The proud “nation” is brandished as the place of refuge, where cohesion, unity, familiarity and a sense of shared purpose can be rebuilt. Europe’s contemporary nationalism is not the expansionist, juvenile kind of 20th-century fascism. It is the nationalism of the provincialised, the demoted, and the exhausted. If migrants and minorities are the preferred target of the far right this is not for any reason other than the old strategy of constructing a community through the identification of those who do not belong to it. By defining as “not-migrant”, “not-gay”, or “not-woke”, a sense of unity is forged. Europe, in its quest for internal social cohesion, has swapped the colonial wars for the culture wars. Reading this from outside of Europe, one may be excused to feel a sense of schadenfreude, that feeling of pleasure when something bad happens to someone else. And yet, before celebrating this as an instance of postcolonial justice, we must be aware that nationalism is on the rise across the globe: in India and China in the east, all the
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 869
As the war enters its 869th day, these are the main developments. Here is where the war stands on Saturday, July 13, 2024: Fighting Russian attacks killed at least six people and injured 13 in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, regional prosecutors said. Three civilians were injured by a mine in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, a few kilometres from the Russian border. The regional administration has warned of mine clearances taking place in other areas along the Russian border. Ukraine’s domestic security service said it has documented the deaths of nearly 300 civilians from mines left by Russia and is collecting evidence for the International Criminal Court (ICC). Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed an allegation by a Russian official that Kyiv was planning to stage attacks on its own power dams to blame Russia for the assault, describing it as a new intimidation tactic. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog, condemned a missile strike on a children’s hospital in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, earlier this week and blamed Russia, which has denied attacking civilian targets. Ukraine asked the IAEA’s governing board to consider the matter because the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital had received support from the agency for cancer diagnostics and treatment. Andriy Kostin, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, called on the ICC to prosecute Russia over the attack on the children’s hospital. Diplomacy Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia does not rule out any scenarios regarding the possible resumption of the now-defunct Black Sea grain deal. Russia accused Australia of inciting “anti-Russian paranoia” for charging a Russian-born couple – an army private and her husband who are Australian citizens – with espionage. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected Russian criticism over the arrest of the Brisbane-based couple, telling the Kremlin to “back off”. Albanese said Russia had “no credibility”, accusing Moscow of engaging in “espionage here and around the world”. United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov spoke for a second time in just over two weeks and discussed lowering tensions, the Pentagon said. “The issue of preventing security threats and reducing the risk of possible escalation was discussed,” Russia’s Ministry of Defence said of the talks. The two sides have held occasional phone calls despite tensions over the Ukraine war, including one in June where Moscow criticised Washington’s arms supplies to Ukraine. Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow was not planning to attack NATO, and the military alliance was aggravating tensions. The Russian Foreign Ministry accused South Korea of blackmail and threats over potential weapons supplies to Ukraine. China said it was conducting joint military drills with Russia along its southern coast after the NATO meeting in Washington warned of a growing threat from Beijing’s strong ties with Moscow. Politics A Russian-installed court in Ukraine’s Donetsk region sentenced an Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) official to 14 years in prison on charges of spying, Russia’s prosecutor general said. Adblock test (Why?)
‘I’m not going anywhere,’ Biden tells Michigan voters amid Gaza protests
United States President Joe Biden has renewed his commitment to see his struggling re-election campaign through, telling voters in the key battleground state of Michigan that he is the better choice, despite growing calls for him to quit the race. “I am running and we’re going to win,” he told a crowd holding placards in his support during a rally in Detroit. “I’m the nominee,” he said on Friday. “I’m not going anywhere.” The 81-year-old Biden continues to face challenges over his mental sharpness and calls to step down after a disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump on June 27. Reporting from Detroit, Al Jazeera’s John Hendren pointed out that there is a large Arab and Muslim American population in Michigan, who are centred in Dearborn, just south of Detroit. “To put it in perspective, in the primary, Biden got about 600,000 votes in Michigan, easily winning over any other rivals, but about 100,000 voters voted ‘uncommitted’. Those were largely Arab and Muslim Americans and young Americans who are upset about his handling of the war in Gaza,” he said. “So, Biden’s got to turn those voters around. But Biden’s also underwater with Black voters, young voters, Hispanic voters. He’s down from where he was in polling last time around, so it’s really a problem across the board for him. He’s just not drawing the numbers he was four years ago.” President Joe Biden pumps his fist while delivering remarks at the Renaissance High School In Detroit during a campaign event, on July 12, 2024 [Carlos Osorio/AP Photo] During the tour of Michigan, Biden stuck with his rhetoric that a second Trump presidency would pose a threat to the country. “Do you really want to go back to the chaos of Donald Trump as president? Back when the United States lost three million jobs,” he said. Biden also said he intends to codify abortion rights, sign the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, raise the minimum wage and move towards a ban on assault weapons during the first 100 days of his second term – something that would require Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer and its Democratic senators, Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, did not attend the Biden rally, but a number of union and religious leaders did. They included Union Auto Workers president Shawn Fain, who praised the president for standing “with the working class”. But a group of lawmakers, political donors, activist groups, news outlets and Hollywood stars have called on the president to step aside and allow another nominee to lead the party. ‘Save Palestinian lives’ A group of protesters gathered for the Biden rally in Detroit, trying to voice their concerns about the mounting death toll in Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. Speaking to Al Jazeera, activist Lexis Zeidan said the protesters had a unifying purpose – “to save Palestinian lives”. Zeidan was among the organisers of the “uncommitted” movement, which saw hundreds of thousands of voters across the country cast ballots in protest against Biden’s policy towards Israel during the primaries. “The goal was to get him to understand that if he did not listen to the demands of the people, which is to ensure a permanent ceasefire … then he’s going to lose the White House,” she said. Tens of thousands have voted ‘uncommitted’ in Michigan in protest against Biden and the Democratic Party’s policies, especially their unwavering support for Israel [Adam J Dewey/Anadolu] Zeidan added that there is still a chance that Biden could win back some voters in the key battleground state but only if he shows an abrupt change. The US remains Israel’s staunchest political and military backer. In a post on X on Friday, Biden hinted at progress in continuing diplomatic efforts to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza, saying both Israel and Hamas had agreed to a “framework” he laid out six weeks ago. But recent ceasefire negotiations in Egypt and then Qatar with international mediators have yet to achieve an agreement. Suehaila Amen, a community advocate, said Arab and Muslim Americans in the Detroit area feel “disenfranchised and disrespected” over his unconditional support for Israel’s war on Gaza. “He is a warmonger and genocide supporter. He continues to aid and abet a genocide on the innocent civilians of Gaza,” Amen told Al Jazeera. “Biden continues to show the greater global community that the only thing he cares about is ensuring his allies have carte blanche to slaughter as they wish with our tax dollars funding the murder of innocent men, women and children. He is a disgrace to the nation as a leader.” Adblock test (Why?)
Meta lifts restrictions on Trump’s Facebook, Instagram accounts
Meta has said it is rolling back restrictions on former US President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, as the presumptive Republican nominee seeks to regain the White House in November. The social media company headed by Mark Zuckerberg had indefinitely suspended Trump’s accounts following his praise of people who joined the deadly storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. He had also repeatedly spread misinformation about the election results, repeating the falsehood that the vote had been marred by fraud. The company then reinstated his accounts in early 2023, but with heightened restrictions, saying it would monitor Trump’s posts for further violations that could result in another suspension of between one month and two years. Trump, who will face off against US President Joe Biden, will no longer be subject to the additional monitoring, Meta said on Friday. “In assessing our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe that the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for president on the same basis,” Meta said in its announcement. “With the party conventions taking place shortly, including the Republican convention next week, the candidates for President of the United States will soon be formally nominated,” Meta’s global affairs president Nick Clegg said in a statement. The company said the presidential candidates remain subject to the same community standards as all Facebook and Instagram users, “including those policies designed to prevent hate speech and incitement to violence”. Some social media experts have long criticised Meta and other platforms for failing to moderate political content, including from political candidates. Ahead of the 2020 US presidential election, Zuckerberg appeared to support Trump, despite his inflammatory posts, dismissing complaints by Facebook staff, who staged a rare public protest. Facebook employees had complained that the company should have acted against Trump’s posts about protests containing the phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts”. Reporting from Los Angeles, Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds said that social media platforms face pressure to reinstate Trump’s accounts. “It’s interesting that [the decision] comes just a few days after Trump said on his own social media platform, Truth Social, that he intended to put Zuckerberg behind bars,” he said. “It’s an inescapable conclusion that these two events are linked in some ways, and that Zuckerberg is seeking not to be in the bad graces of Donald Trump, whose chances of becoming president again were heightened, analysts say.” Trump launched Truth Social in 2022. The Biden campaign criticised Meta’s decision. “Putting Donald Trump back on Facebook is like handing your car keys to someone you know will drive your car into a crowd and off a cliff,” said campaign spokesperson Charles Kretchmer Lutvak. Trump’s Facebook profile has 34 million followers. His campaign regularly reposts messages originally published on Truth Social, as well as invitations to rallies and videos from his campaign. Trump has yet to issue a statement on Facebook regarding Meta’s move. His latest Facebook posts assailed Biden and questioned the president’s capacity to run for re-election. Trump was also banned from Twitter, now called X, in 2021. Billionaire Elon Musk restored Trump’s account on X, formerly Twitter, shortly after buying the company in 2022, although the former president has only posted once since then. Musk himself signalled support for Trump, donating to a political committee working to help the former president defeat Biden, according to a Bloomberg report on Friday. It is unclear how much Musk donated to the group supporting Trump, but Bloomberg quoted anonymous sources as saying that the amount was “sizeable”. The donation highlights the “growing influence of a technology mogul” on the US political scene, Bloomberg reported, with his conspicuous shift from being independent to being critical of the Democratic Party. Adblock test (Why?)