Carey and Marsh lead Australia to 2-0 Test series win over New Zealand
Carey shared 140-run partnership with Marsh as Australia won the second Test by three wickets in a tense finish. Alex Carey scored an unbeaten 98 and shared a 140-run partnership with Mitch Marsh to drive Australia to a three-wicket win in the second Test and a 2-0 sweep of the series over New Zealand in Christchurch. The contest played out on a relatively mild fourth-day pitch on Monday and both sides had moments when they took control. But it was Marsh’s innings of 80 and Carey’s steady hand which guided Australia to victory. Wicketkeeper Carey then teamed up with captain Pat Cummins as Australia chased down their 279-run victory target before tea on day four. “It was pretty tense,” said Cummins, who scored 32 not out and hit the winning runs with a four to the point boundary. “I think the story of this series was in key moments, someone stood up and made themselves a match-winner so yeah, [we] keep finding ways to win. It’s a pretty awesome squad.” New Zealand, chasing a first home Test win over their neighbours in 31 years, had put the tourists on the back foot with four wickets in the last 90 minutes of play on day three. After rain delayed the start of day four for an hour, skipper Tim Southee struck with the eighth delivery to dismiss Travis Head for 18 and reduce the tourists to 80-5. In retrospect, however, Rachin Ravindra fumbling a straightforward catch that would have sent back Marsh for 28 off the previous delivery was perhaps the more significant moment. “I think whenever you’ve finished a close game you always look back on a number of things,” said Southee, who with fellow stalwart Kane Williamson was playing his 100th Test. “This morning was always going to be a crucial period with the ball still reasonably new, and we were able to beat the bat a few times but they were able to weather that storm.” The defeat left the Black Caps with just one Test win in 24 attempts against their closest rivals this century, while Australia will now move above them into second place in the World Test Championships standings behind India. Here’s a look at the updated WTC standings 🪜 #WTC25 pic.twitter.com/RdHvM4PTYp — cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) March 11, 2024 Carey was denied his second Test century but cared little as he and his captain steered their side to their target 281-7 and a sixth win in seven Tests over the Australasian summer. “I was happy with that,” Carey said. “I didn’t want to be on strike again. It was a great series and this match ebbed and flowed. We had our backs against the wall this morning, they came out and put us under the pump so it’s nice to chase those runs down.” Carey, who also took 10 catches over New Zealand’s two innings to match Adam Gilchrist’s Australian record, said Australia “stayed resilient” despite the early pressure. “Everyone’s had their moments and it’s a really special team we’re playing in.” New Zealand seamer Matt Henry was named Player of the Series for his 17 wickets over the two matches, the first of which finished with Australian victors by 172 runs in Wellington. Adblock test (Why?)
UK pledges additional funds to protect Muslim communities
The announcement comes amid a sharp rise in anti-Muslim incidents since the start of the war in Gaza in October. The United Kingdom will pump an additional 117 million pounds ($150m) into protecting Muslim communities, the government said. The new funding, announced on Monday as the Muslim month of Ramadan began, will be used to install security cameras, alarms, and fences in mosques, Muslim faith schools, and other community centres. The move comes amid a rise in hate attacks since the start of the war in Gaza in October. “Anti-Muslim hatred has absolutely no place in our society. We will not let events in the Middle East be used as an excuse to justify abuse against British Muslims,” Home Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement. An estimated four million Muslims live in the UK. Tell MAMA, a group monitoring Muslim hate, found that online attacks, physical assaults, and other forms of targeting, grew 335 percent last month compared with the same time in the previous year. “The prime minister has made clear that we stand with Muslims in the UK,” Cleverly continued. “That is exactly why we have committed to this funding, giving reassurance and confidence to UK Muslims at a time when it is crucially needed.” Under fire Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has come under fire in recent weeks for failing to condemn inciting statements coming from his fellow Conservatives. His government is now planning to unveil a new official definition of extremism to ensure groups that promote unacceptable views do not receive state funding or support. Communities minister, Michael Gove, who will set out the new definition, said some recent pro-Palestinian marches in central London had been organised by “extremist organisations”. Conservative lawmaker Lee Anderson said in February that London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Labour leader Keir Starmer were “controlled by Islamists”. Although Sunak called the comments “unacceptable” and suspended Anderson, many critics point out that the prime minister did not specifically condemn the comments as Islamophobic. In the same vein, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman wrote in a February opinion piece that “Islamists are bullying Britain into submission”. Last week, a group of “terror attack” survivors penned an open letter to British politicians, warning them to stop equating Muslims with “extremism” and calling such action the “height of irresponsibility”. The additional fund allocation for the Muslim community is in addition to an already-budgeted 29.4 million pounds ($37.7m) for 2023 through 2024. The funding will be disbursed over the next four years. The UK announced in February 54 million pounds ($68m) of new funding to protect Jewish communities, which have also suffered a sharp rise in hate incidents. A total of 4,103 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded in 2023, almost double the number the previous year and the highest in decades. Two-thirds of these attacks took place after October 7, according to the Jewish advisory body Community Security Trust (CST). Adblock test (Why?)
Luis Montenegro claims victory for Portugal’s centre-right in snap polls
Democratic Alliance edged ahead of incumbent Socialists in nail-biting count that saw far-right surge. Luis Montenegro, the leader of Portugal’s opposition centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) party, has claimed victory in the country’s snap general election after a close-run race against the incumbent Socialists. Montenegro declared victory early on Monday morning, shortly after the Socialist Party (PS)’s leader Pedro Nuno Santos conceded defeat, but it was unclear whether he would be able to govern without the support of the far-right Chega party, with whom he again refused to negotiate. The AD and its conservative allies in Madeira won at least 79 seats in the 230-seat parliament, ahead of the PS’s 77. Chega’s parliamentary representation more than quadrupled to at least 48 lawmakers, giving the combined right a majority. Four seats remained to be attributed after the final count of ballots from abroad. “It seems inescapable that the AD won the elections and that the Socialists lost,” Montenegro told excited supporters who had gathered in the capital, Lisbon. It was crucial for political parties in the new parliament to act responsibly and “comply with the wish of the Portuguese people”, he added. Sunday’s snap election, triggered by Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s sudden resignation amid a corruption investigation, was marked by a surge in support for Chega, which positioned itself as an alternative to the two parties that have long dominated Portuguese politics, promising to crack down on corruption and expressing hostility to what it sees as “excessive” immigration. Chega’s leader Andre Ventura was in a celebratory mood. The party quadrupled its number of lawmakers to at least 48 following Sunday’s election [Andre Dias Nobre/AFP] It took place against a backdrop of low wages and a high cost of living – worsened last year by surges in inflation and interest rates – coupled with a housing crisis and failings in public healthcare. Portugal is the latest country in Europe to shift towards the far right. The country returned to democracy 50 years ago after the fall of the fascist dictatorship of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. “We have a society with no memory,” 21-year-old law student and PS member Alexandra Ferreira told the Reuters news agency, adding that the far-right’s growth made her “very sad”. Chega leader Andre Ventura, a former law professor and television football pundit, has said he is prepared to drop some of his party’s most controversial proposals – including chemical castration for some sex offenders and the introduction of life prison sentences – if that enables his party to be included in a governing alliance with other right-of-centre parties. Adblock test (Why?)
Media agencies pull photo of Kate Middleton over manipulation concerns
AP, Reuters, AFP and Getty withdraw first official image of the Princess of Wales released since her surgery. The first official photo of Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, released since she underwent abdominal surgery has been pulled by multiple media agencies amid concerns the image was manipulated. The Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Getty Images and Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Sunday issued notices not to use the image of Kate and her three children, which was released by Kensington Palace. The AP said the photo had been withdrawn because upon “closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image” and the photo showed an “inconsistency in the alignment” of the left hand of Kate’s daughter, Princess Charlotte. The AFP said the image could not be used as it had been “altered” without elaborating. Reuters said it had deleted the image “following a post-publication review”. When contacted for comment, the AP directed Al Jazeera to an AP article about the withdrawal decision. Reuters, AFP and Getty Images did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Kensington Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C 📸 The Prince of Wales, 2024 pic.twitter.com/6DywGBpLLQ — The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 10, 2024 The photo was posted on The Prince and Princess of Wales’s official X account on Sunday accompanied by a caption thanking the public for their “kind wishes and continued support over the last two months” and wishing the public a Happy Mother’s Day. The image was purportedly taken by Kate’s husband, Prince William, during the past week on the grounds of Windsor Castle just outside of London. The release of the image, which remained online on Sunday night despite the withdrawal notices, came after Kensington Palace announced in January that Kate, 42, had been hospitalised for surgery and would take a break from official royal duties until after Easter. The lack of details about the reasons for the queen-in-waiting’s surgery and her prolonged absence from the public has prompted a flurry of speculation and conspiracy theories about her condition. Kate last appeared in public on Christmas Day while attending a church service at the royal family’s Sandringham estate. Adblock test (Why?)
Fears of mass migration from Myanmar as military plans to draft thousands
Ko Naing* is just the sort of young man Myanmar’s military is looking for. Hoping to make up for recruitment shortfalls and battlefield losses against armed groups fighting to reverse its 2021 coup, Myanmar’s military last month announced plans to enforce a years-old conscription law. Starting in April, the military says, all men aged 18 to 35 years and women from 18 to 27 years must serve at least two years in the armed forces. Doctors and other professionals in especially short supply in the military’s ranks may be drafted until they are 45 years old. The country’s military rulers hope to call up approximately 60,000 recruits by the end of the year. As a doctor, and at a healthy 33 years old, Ko Naing fits the bill for conscription. Like many of Myanmar’s young men and women, Ko Naing said he had no intention of answering the call and would instead do whatever it takes to avoid the draft. “The one sure thing is I won’t serve. If I’m drafted by the military, I will try to move to the remote areas or to another country,” Ko Naing told Al Jazeera from Myanmar. “Not only me, I think everyone in Myanmar is not willing to serve in the military under the conscription law,” he said. “The people believe it is not legal because the people believe the military is not their government.” The 2021 coup that removed the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi has plunged Myanmar into a brutal civil war pitting the military against a patchwork of deep-rooted, well-armed ethnic minority armies and a new crop of local armed groups set up to remove the military regime from power. Having already stretched the military thin across the country, these ethnic armies have forced the military to retreat from dozens of towns and bases since October, mainly in the east. The six-month-old campaign, dubbed Operation 1027, has handed the ruling generals their worst string of defeats of the war. “The timing of the activation of the conscription law indicates its desperation,” said Ye Myo Hein, an adviser to the US Institute of Peace and fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC. “Following Operation 1027, the junta has faced continuous and significant military losses, resulting in a substantial depletion of its human resources and a serious shortage of manpower. In response to this situation, the military has opted to activate the conscription law to replenish its declining manpower,” Ye Myo Hein said. He also doubts the draft will do the military much good. The intake of recruits may help boost the morale of commanders on the front lines running short of soldiers, Ye Myo Hein said, but is unlikely to stem the military’s losses. “The new recruits may not be effective fighters in the short term. If deployed on the battlefronts, they could end up as cannon fodder,” he said. Ye Myo Hein said the draft could also backfire on the military by filling its ranks with resentful soldiers who could pose a threat from within, and by driving more young people into the arms of the resistance. Members of the People’s Defence Forces, who became rebel fighters after protests against the military coup in Myanmar were met with extreme violence [File: Reuters] ‘No one … is safe’ The military says the draft will start next month with an initial batch of 5,000 conscripts. Unofficially, though, it may have started already. In a recent statement, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, relayed reports of young men being effectively “kidnapped” off the streets by the military and forced to the front lines. The New Myanmar Foundation, a charity based in Thailand helping those fleeing the war, says it has also heard of soldiers and police raiding teashops across the country in recent weeks in search of young men and women to press them into service. “They are now losing, so they need the youth to fight for them,” the foundation’s executive director, Sann Aung, told Al Jazeera from the Thai border town of Mae Sot. A camp for internally displaced people in Myanmar as seen across the Moei River from Mae Sot in western Thailand [Jintamas Saksornchai/AP Photo] Activists, journalists and others in the military’s crosshairs have been fleeing the country – many of them by irregular means – amid a crackdown on critics and dissidents since the coup in February 2021. Now it is feared that the new conscription drive will turn a stream of political migrants into a flood. In his statement, UN rapporteur Andrews warned that the numbers leaving Myanmar would “surely skyrocket” because of the draft. Ye Myo Hein also warned of a “mass exodus”. “People living in urban areas have been attempting to normalise their lives amidst the post-coup abnormality to some extent. However, the conscription law unequivocally gives the signal that no one, even those outside conflict zones, is exempt from the repercussions of the military coup and is safe,” he said. Sann Aung said he has already seen the numbers fleeing to the Thai border swell and echoed the forecasts of a growing surge. He said many travel to the relative safety of Myanmar’s rugged and remote borderlands, where some of the country’s strongest ethnic armies have over the decades carved out enclaves largely independent of the central government. Some go to join the fight against the military, others just to hide. “This is the cheapest and the most convenient way for them,” Sann Aung said. “But some people who [may] have more … money and cash, they move to the neighbouring areas, neighbouring countries, including Thailand and India and maybe China.” He and other close observers say that most of those fleeing are heading to Thailand, drawn by a large diaspora from Myanmar from before the coup, as well as better job prospects and a government in Bangkok that has kept Myanmar’s military at a distance — at least compared with China and India,
Ancient find reveals new evidence of Malaysia’s multicultural past
Kedah, Malaysia – Until six months ago, none of the inhabitants of the village of Bukit Choras, set amid rice fields near the steep and lush hill of the same name in northwestern Malaysia, had any idea they had been living next to an archaeological wonder all their lives. It was only after a team of 11 researchers cleared the thick bushes and secondary jungle from the top of the hill, and gently scraped away at the soil that a missing piece of Southeast Asian history was revealed. The 1,200-year-old Buddhist stupa of Bukit Choras was discovered last August in Malaysia’s Bujang Valley – a river basin scattered with several clusters of protohistoric sites in the country’s northwestern Kedah state. The stupa is the best preserved in the country and experts say it could hold the key to Malaysia’s long history of multiculturalism. “This site is an anomaly because it stands all by itself,” Nasha Rodziadi Khaw told Al Jazeera. Nasha is the chief researcher of the team from the University of Science Malaysia’s Global Archaeology Research Centre (CGAR) in the northwestern island of Penang, who supervised the excavation between August 28 and September 12 last year. Bukit Choras is situated near the small town of Yan on Kedah’s southern coast about 370km north of the capital, Kuala Lumpur. Nasha Rodziadi Khaw led the team of scientists who unearthed Bukit Choras’s stupa [Kit Yeng Chan/Al Jazeera] Unlike the 184 archaeological sites previously identified in the Bujang Valley, which lie to the south, the stupa is isolated on the northern side of Mount Jerai, which was once a cape and a pivotal navigation point for seafaring traders who ventured to this part of the world from as far as the Arabian peninsula. “We are still not sure of Bukit Choras’s function. It may have been a military garrison or coastal trade outpost, but we need to do further excavation [to assess]. Based on our preliminary findings, it shows plenty of similarities with other sites found in Java and Sumatra, Indonesia,” said Nasha, whose team will continue to work at the site throughout the first half of 2024. A forlorn discovery According to Nasha, Bukit Choras was first reported in 1850 by a British officer looking for treasures, and then, in 1937, briefly studied by another British scholar, HG Quaritch Wales. Wales undertook some minor excavations, but only reported finding a squarish Buddhist stupa, taking note of its measurements. He never provided any illustration or plate for the site. Nearly 50 years later, in 1984, the then-director of the Bujang Valley Archaeological Museum returned to Bukit Choras to do some site cleaning and documentation, but the site remained largely undisturbed. “I realised that nobody had done proper investigation [since then] and managed to get a fund to survey the site in 2017,” Nasha told Al Jazeera. “We used electronic waves to do physical detection of what was hidden underground and found there were some big structures underneath.” Nasha received more funding from Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education to conduct proper excavations in 2022, and his team was stunned to discover how well-preserved the site was compared with those unearthed in the Bujang Valley between the 1930s and 1950s – some of which had deteriorated because of erosion, human activities and even accidental destruction. “At first we only excavated 40 percent of the whole Bukit Choras site, finding a stupa about nine metres long,” said Nasha. “But the most important discovery was two stucco statues of Buddha in good condition that have never been found in the area before.” Stucco, Nasha explained, was thought to only be found in Java and Sumatra in neighbouring Indonesia, as well as in India, at the time. Ancient ties Placed in two niches together with an inscription in Pallava (the language of the Pallava Dynasty that ruled in South India between the 3rd and 8th century CE), Bukit Choras’s two Buddha statues have architectural features resembling those of other ancient artefacts from the Srivijaya kingdom that prospered between the 7th and 11th centuries CE, in an area from southern Thailand, through the Malay peninsula and into Java. The statues are now being studied and restored at CGAR on Penang island. “The discovery of two still intact, human size statues and the inscription is very significant for further studies,” Mohd Azmi, the commissioner of Malaysia’s National Heritage Department, told Al Jazeera. “This shows that the site has not been disturbed and has the potential to give new evidence on Ancient Kedah’s history.” Excavation trenches at the Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex [Kit Yeng Chan/Al Jazeera] The discoveries in the Bujang Valley testify to an ancient civilisation that archaeologists refer to as the “Ancient Kedah Kingdom”. It prospered between the 2nd and the 14th century CE, stretching across the northwestern coast of the Malay peninsula and into Thailand predating the arrival of Islam in the region. Ancient Kedah grew rich on international trade as well as the production of iron and glass beads, prospering as a multiethnic and multireligious ancient Southeast Asian polity where residents and foreign traders lived together. Nasha points out that findings in the area suggest that for centuries, traders from China, India and even the Middle East came to the area to do business – and were often forced to spend long spells in Kedah when the harsh monsoon seasons made sailing back home impossible. Temples and artefacts were built by local labourers mixing foreign architectural motifs and knowledge with two main influences. “First is Buddhism, classified in areas such as Sungai Mas, Kuala Muda, and Sungai Batu in Semeling, plus the most recent being the temple site at Bukit Choras,” explained Asyaari Muhamad, a senior archaeologist and the director of the Institute of the Malay World & Civilisation at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, referring to some of the Bujang Valley sites. “The rest, such as the archaeological site in the Pengkalan Bujang complex [near the village of] Merbok, received Hindu influences. This classification is
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 747
As the war enters its 747th day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Monday, March 11, 2024. Fighting Three people were killed in Russian shelling and drone attacks on towns in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, while at least a dozen people were injured in a Russian missile attack in the early hours of Sunday morning on the town of Myrnohrad, about 40km (25 miles) from the front line in Donetsk. Kyiv said Russia launched 39 Iranian-made Shahed attack drones across central and southern regions, including the Kyiv region. The Air Force said 35 were shot down over 10 regions. It did not say whether there was any damage. St Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport was closed briefly after a Ukrainian drone was detected in the neighbouring Leningrad region. The Russian Defence Ministry said the drone was shot down. There were no reports of damage or casualties. Politics and diplomacy Ukraine rejected Pope Francis’s call to “raise the white flag” and hold negotiations with Russia saying that Kyiv will “never” surrender. “Our flag is a yellow and blue one. This is the flag by which we live, die, and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on social media. Ukraine’s chief prosecutor Andriy Kostin told the AFP news agency that his office had logged about 123,000 alleged war crimes by Russia since it began its invasion in February 2022, and identified 511 suspects. Kostin said Russia must answer the accusations in court. “Russia must be defeated on the battlefield and in the courtroom,” he said. A Moscow court sentenced a Moscow State University student to 10 days in prison after he renamed his WiFi network “Slava Ukraini” (Glory to Ukraine). The court found him guilty of a “public demonstration of Nazi symbolics… or symbols of extremist organisations,” Ria-Novosti reported. Weapons European states imported almost double the amount of arms in 2019 to 2023 compared with 2014 to 2018, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a leading conflict think tank, as Ukraine emerged as Europe’s largest arms importer. SPRI said European imports grew by 94 percent between 2019 and 2023 compared with 2014 to 2018, while Ukraine became the fourth largest importer in the world between 2019 to 2023. Adblock test (Why?)
Are US and EU plans to send supplies to Gaza credible?
Famine looms in parts of Gaza as Israel’s war on the beseiged territory enters its sixth month. As many Palestinians in Gaza face starvation from Israel’s war and siege, the United States and European Union have revealed plans to send aid supplies. The US and some EU members have also supplied weapons to Israel. Will their new initiatives help Gaza? Or are they just a PR exercise for US President Joe Biden and his European allies? Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra Guests: Mansour Shouman – Aid activist who was in Gaza from October until February Dr Mads Gilbert – Professor of emergency medicine at the University of Tromso, with extensive experience of working in Gaza Marwan Bishara – Al Jazeera senior political analyst Adblock test (Why?)
Muslim countries announce start of Ramadan in shadow of Gaza war
This year’s observance, for many, is marred by Israel’s war on Gaza. Saudi officials have spotted the crescent moon and declared the the holy fasting month of Ramadan for many of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims. The officials saw the moon Sunday night, making Monday the first day of the fasting month, Saudi state television reported. The month consists of Muslims abstaining from food and water from sunrise to sunset as they reflect more deeply on their faith and hold family gatherings. This year’s observance, for many, is marred by Israel’s war on Gaza. After officials in Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia spotted the moon, many Gulf Arab nations, as well as Iraq, Syria and Egypt, followed the announcement to confirm they as well would start fasting on Monday. Some Asia-Pacific countries, however, like Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, said they will begin Ramadan on Tuesday after failing to see the crescent moon. Oman, on the easternmost edge of the Arabian Peninsula, similarly announced Ramadan would begin on Tuesday. Jordan will also begin Ramadan on Tuesday. Ramadan works on a lunar calendar. and moon-sighting methodologies often vary between countries, meaning some nations declare the start of the month earlier or later. Saudi King Salman specifically made reference to the war in Gaza in comments following the Ramadan announcement. “As it pains us that the month of Ramadan falls this year, in light of the attacks our brothers in Palestine are suffering from, we stress the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities, to stop these brutal crimes, and provide safe humanitarian and relief corridors,” the king said. Saudi Arabia had been urging its public to watch the skies from Sunday night in preparation for the sighting of the crescent moon. In Iran, which views itself as the worldwide leader of Shia Muslims, authorities typically begin Ramadan a day after Sunnis start. The office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced Ramadan will start on Tuesday there, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. Palestinian women in Gaza are seen volunteering to prepare food to distribute to families who fled Israeli attacks and took refuge in Rafah city, March 10, 2024 [Jehad Alshrafi/Anadolu Agency] During Ramadan, those observing have a pre-dawn meal, or “suhoor,” to sustain themselves during the daylight hours, and later break their fast with “iftar,” often a large meal. During the month, Muslims try to avoid conflict and focus on acts of charity. However, Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip is looming large for many Muslims. There were hopes that a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas could be reached before Ramadan began. More than 31,000 people have been killed in the Israeli assault on Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities in the besieged territory, and aid agencies have warned of a looming famine in parts of the Gaza Strip. Hassuna Tabib Hassnan, a dentist displaced from Gaza City in the north of the besieged Gaza Strip, told the AFP news agency: “We had hoped that for Ramadan [we] would be in our homes, but unfortunately it is clear that we will live in displacement, pain and oppression.” Meanwhile, Israeli restrictions on Muslims praying at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest site, may further also ramp up tensions in the region. Palestinians walk past stalls set up in a street in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on March 10, 2024, as Muslims prepare for the holy fasting month of Ramadan [Mohammed Abed/AFP] Adblock test (Why?)
Centre-right party ahead in Portugal election, exit polls show
Three exit polls show the right-leaning parties combined, including far-right Chega, could secure an outright majority. Portugal’s centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) is poised to win the most votes in the country’s parliamentary election but fall well short of an outright majority, three exit polls showed. The polls, published after voting closed at 8pm (20:00 GMT) on Sunday by the three main television channels SIC, RTP and TVI, showed the AD alliance in the 27.6-33 percent range, just ahead of the incumbent Socialists. The polls projected that all right-leaning parties combined, including the far-right Chega, were likely to secure an outright majority. Chega was likely to win 14 to 21.6 percent, a large jump from its 7.2 percent in the last election in January 2022. However, the AD has so far ruled out any agreement with Chega, which could make for an unstable government. The polls put the Socialist Party in the 24.2 percent to 29.5 percent range. Far-right party Chega’s leader Andre Ventura gestures as he queues at a polling station during the general election in Lisbon, Portugal, March 10, 2024 [Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters] Far-right could help form a coalition The issues that have dominated the election campaign have included a crippling housing crisis, low wages, sagging healthcare and corruption. The Social Democrats and Socialists have alternated in power for decades but have never faced such a strong challenge from a far-right party. Social Democrat leader Luis Montenegro, who is also at the helm of the AD alliance of right-leaning parties and would likely become prime minister if it wins, ruled out the possibility of teaming up with Chega during campaigning. But if Montenegro is unable to assemble a majority government, his hand could be forced, leaving Chega as a kingmaker. Luis Montenegro, the leader of the centre-right Democratic Alliance coalition, casts his ballot at a polling station in Espinho, northern Portugal, Sunday, March 10, 2024 [Luis Vieira/AP] Far-right party could drop controversial proposals Chega leader Andre Ventura, a former law professor and television football pundit, has said he is prepared to drop some of his party’s most controversial proposals – including chemical castration for some sex offenders and the introduction of life prison sentences – if that enables his party to be included in a possible governing alliance with other right-of-centre parties. However, his insistence on national sovereignty instead of closer European Union integration and his plan to grant police the right to strike are other issues that could thwart his ambitions to enter a government coalition. The Chega party has looked to capitalise on corruption allegations that have dogged the two main parties. The general elections were triggered by Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s sudden resignation amid a corruption investigation. That episode appeared to have hurt the Socialists at the ballot box. Low wages and a high cost of living – worsened last year by surges in inflation and interest rates – coupled with a housing crisis and failings in public healthcare have further contributed to public disgruntlement. The discontent has been further stirred up by Chega, which potentially could gain the most from the current public mood. Adblock test (Why?)