Chad main opposition figures barred as leaders cleared for election
The central African country’s presidential election is set to take place in May. Authorities in Chad have cleared 10 candidates for this year’s long-awaited presidential election, barring two fierce opponents of the military government from standing. Chad’s Constitutional Council announced on Sunday that outspoken opposition figures Nassour Ibrahim Neguy Koursami and Rakhis Ahmat Saleh would be barred. It said their applications had been rejected because they included “irregularities”. The council said that the nominations of interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby and the country’s recently-appointed Prime Minister Succes Masra had been accepted. The central African nation is scheduled to hold the first round of a presidential election on May 6 and the second round on June 22, with provisional results on July 7. The elections are part of a transition back to democracy from rule by Chad’s military government, which is one of several currently in power in West and Central Africa. There have been eight coups in the region since 2020, sparking concerns of a democratic backslide. It is the first time in Chad’s history that a president and a prime minister will face each other in a presidential poll. Deby initially promised an 18-month transition to elections after he seized power in 2021, when his long-ruling father was killed in clashes with rebels. But his government later adopted resolutions that postponed elections until 2024 and allowed him to run for president, triggering protests that were violently quelled by security forces. In December, Chadians voted in favour of a new constitution that critics said could help cement Deby’s grip on power as it allowed him to run for the presidency. Deby confirmed his intention to run earlier this month. Masra, previously a staunch opponent of Chad’s military rulers, had fled the country after dozens were killed when security forces cracked down on demonstrations in the capital N’Djamena in October 2022. He returned in November after a reconciliation agreement was signed that guaranteed him the ability to participate in political activities. Several opposition parties have since distanced themselves from Masra. Call for boycott Wakit Tamma, another of the main opposition platforms in Chad, on Saturday called for a boycott of the presidential vote, denouncing it as a “masquerade” aimed at upholding a “dynastic dictatorship”. The barring of the opposition candidates comes less than a month after General Deby’s main rival Yaya Dillo Djerou was shot dead in an army assault on his PSF party headquarters. In early March, Human Rights Watch called for an independent investigation into the murder of Dillo, arguing that the army assault “raises serious concerns about the environment for elections scheduled for May”. Prime Minister Masra subsequently promised that his government would hold an international inquiry to determine responsibility for the death of the military government’s main opponent. [embedded content] Adblock test (Why?)
Pro-West candidate beats Slovakia PM’s ally to set up presidential run-off
Ex-Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok and current parliament Speaker Peter Pellegrini to face off in April’s vote dominated by the Ukraine war. Slovakia’s former pro-West Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok and current parliament Speaker Peter Pellegrini will face off in April’s presidential election run-off, according to the final results. The liberal Korcok led with 42.44 percent backing with 99.9 percent of the vote counted, while former Prime Minister Pellegrini earned 37.07 percent, the Slovak Statistical Office said late on Saturday. The result was expected by analysts as the 48-year-old Pellegrini and 59-year-old Korcok topped the opinion polls before the vote marked by deep divisions on the war in neighbouring Ukraine. The presidential election is a chance for Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose views on Ukraine have angered critics for veering too close to Russia, to strengthen his grip on power. President Zuzana Caputova, 50, who has been a fierce opponent of Fico, did not seek a new term. But the opposition forces want a counterbalance to Fico’s rule. Korcok, a career diplomat who was a minister in a past government, will advance to a run-off on April 6 against Pellegrini, who heads the Hlas (Voice) party. A Russian-leaning former Supreme Court chief, Stefan Harabin, gained the third most votes at just 11.75 percent, after getting support from a nationalist party that is also in the government coalition. His voters could help Pellegrini. “I certainly have to speak to the tens of thousands of voters of the ruling coalition who disagree with where the government is pulling Slovakia,” Korcok told his supporters. Fico and his ruling leftist Smer party won a parliamentary election last September with pledges to halt military aid to Ukraine and maintain support for people hit by price surges. Pellegrini, a former member of Smer, was key in forming a coalition and said the first-round results showed a majority did not want a “liberal-right-progressive” president who would only be in conflict with the government. “The majority in Slovakia expressed an interest in having a president who will defend the national state interests,” he said. Presidents do not wield many executive powers but have a role in government and judicial appointments, can veto laws and shape public debate as the liberal Caputova often did. Voters in the past have rejected giving ruling parties both the government and presidential offices, including Caputova’s win in 2019 when anticorruption sentiment hurt Fico’s party, which was in government then. “This election will show whether mass protests that have taken place in Bratislava and other major cities in recent weeks are also supported by people who usually express their disapproval at the polling stations,” said Radoslav Stefancik, political analyst at the University of Economics in Bratislava. Adblock test (Why?)
Nigerian army rescues 17 students abducted from Sokoto state
NewsFeed Children who were kidnapped in two separate abductions in northern Nigeria have been freed. On Friday the army rescued one group taken from Sokoto, while more than 130 students from Kaduna were released early on Sunday. Published On 24 Mar 202424 Mar 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Only effective way to ramp up Gaza aid is by land, UN chief Guterres says
During a visit to Egypt, Antonio Guterres warns of the impact Israel’s months-long war on Gaza is having around the globe. The only effective and efficient way to deliver heavy goods to meet Gaza’s humanitarian needs is by road and includes an exponential increase in commercial deliveries, says the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Speaking during a visit to Egypt on Sunday, Guterres also warned of the impact Israel’s months-long war on Gaza was having around the globe. “The daily assault on the human dignity of Palestinians is creating a crisis of credibility for the international community,” he said in remarks following a visit to the gates of the besieged Palestinian territory at the Rafah border crossing on Saturday. Guterres repeated his call for an immediate ceasefire to alleviate “the plight of Palestinian children, women and men struggling to survive the nightmare” in famine-threatened Gaza. “Looking at Gaza, it almost appears that the four horsemen of war, famine, conquest and death are galloping across it,” he said. “The whole world recognises that it’s past time to silence the guns and ensure an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.” The UN has repeatedly warned of famine in the Palestinian territory, particularly in the north, which has been largely cut off from aid deliveries. Guterres said Palestinians in Gaza “desperately need what has been promised – a flood of aid”. “Not trickles. Not drops,” he added. The Israeli government is under growing international pressure to ease its bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza, which the territory’s Ministry of Health says has killed at least 32,226 people in less than six months, most of them women and children. The bombings began on October 7 after the Palestinian armed group, Hamas, led an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials. Israel has pledged to pursue its military campaign all the way to Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where 1.5 million Palestinians have sought shelter, penned in by the Egyptian border. Guterres, who also met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, called the Rafah border crossing and Egypt’s El Arish airport where assistance is sent “essential arteries for life-saving aid into Gaza”. “But those arteries are clogged,” he said, with massive lines of trucks piled up on the Egyptian side, only trickling in as the humanitarian situation worsens. Adblock test (Why?)
Hong Kong’s new security law comes into force amid human rights concerns
A new national security law has come into force in Hong Kong despite growing international criticism that it could erode freedoms in the China-ruled city and damage its international financial hub credentials. The law, also known as Article 23, came into at midnight on Saturday, days after Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing lawmakers passed it unanimously, fast-tracking legislation to plug what authorities called national security loopholes. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said the law “accomplished a historic mission, living up to the trust placed in us by the Central [Chinese] Authorities”. He has often cited Hong Kong’s “constitutional responsibility” to create the new legislation as required by the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution since its handover from the United Kingdom to China in 1997. Lee also said the law was necessary to “prevent black-clad violence”, a reference to Hong Kong’s massive and at times violent pro-democracy protests in 2019, which brought hundreds of thousands to the streets demanding greater autonomy from Beijing’s grip. A previous attempt to pass Article 23 was scrapped in 2003 after 500,000 people protested. This time around, public criticism has been muted amid the security crackdown. What does the new law entail? Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee that its high degree of autonomy and freedoms would be protected under a “one country, two systems” formula. Currently, the new Article 23 law has expanded the British colonial-era offence of “sedition” to include inciting hatred against China’s Communist Party leadership, with an aggravated sentence of up to 10 years in jail. Under the security law, penalties can run up to life in prison for sabotage endangering national security, treason and insurrection; 20 years for espionage and sabotage; and 14 years for external interference. City leader Lee is also now empowered to create new offences carrying jail terms of up to seven years through subsidiary legislation, while the security minister can impose punitive measures on activists who are overseas, including cancelling their passports. Moreover, police powers have also been expanded to permit detaining people for up to 16 days without charge – a jump from the current 48 hours – and to restrict a suspect from meeting lawyers and communicating with others. International condemnation The United States, the European Union, Japan and the UK have been among the law’s strongest critics, with UK Foreign Minister David Cameron saying it would “further damage the rights and freedoms” of those in the city. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday expressed “deep concern” that the law could be used to undermine rights and curb dissent, adding it could damage Hong Kong’s reputation as an international finance hub. Meanwhile, Australia, the UK and Taiwan have updated their travel advisories for Hong Kong, urging citizens to exercise caution. “You could break the laws without intending to and be detained without charge and denied access to a lawyer,” the Australian government said. People hold up placards at a demonstration outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office in London to protest the introduction of the Article 23 National Security Law in Hong Kong [Justin Tallis/AFP] In a joint statement led by the overseas-based Hong Kong Democracy Council, 145 community and advocacy groups have also condemned the law and called for sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials involved its passage, as well as review the status of Hong Kong’s Economic & Trade Offices worldwide. “It’s time for the United States to step up for political prisoners and freedom in Hong Kong. Every time we let authoritarians get away with atrocities, we risk other bad actors attempting to do the same,” wanted Hong Kong activist Frances Hui said in Washington, during a news conference with the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), which advises Congress. Protests have also taken place in Taipei’s fashionable Ximending shopping district, where more than a dozen Hong Kong, Taiwan and Tibet activists gathered to protest the law and shout their denunciations. Other protests are planned in Australia, the UK, Canada, Japan and the US. But authorities in Hong Kong have “strongly condemned such political manoeuvres with skewed, fact-twisting, scaremongering and panic-spreading remarks”. What is China’s stance? China has defended Hong Kong’s security crackdown as essential to restoring order after months of sometimes violent antigovernment and pro-democracy protests in 2019. About 291 people have been arrested for national security offences, with 174 people and five companies charged so far. Chinese authorities insist all are equal before the security laws that have restored stability, but while individual rights are respected no freedoms are absolute. Adblock test (Why?)
At least 19 reported killed as Israeli forces fire on Gaza aid seekers
Authorities in Gaza said 23 people were also injured while waiting for bags of flour and aid near Kuwait Roundabout. At least 19 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli attack targeting civilians who were waiting for aid southeast of Gaza City, Gaza’s Ministry of Health and its Media Office said. “The Israeli occupation commits a massacre, killing 19 and injuring 23 civilians while thousands of citizens were waiting for flour and aid near Al-Kuwait roundabout,” Gaza’s media office said in a statement on Saturday. It said that the Israeli army and tanks opened fire with machine guns “towards the hungry people who were waiting for bags of flour and aid in a place far from posing any danger to the occupation”. Mahmud Basal, the spokesman for the Civil Defence Department in Gaza, said there had been “heavy shooting at civilians” and victims had been transported to a nearby Ahli Arab Hospital. But with Gaza’s healthcare system at near collapse, many were treated outside in the open air. “There were very serious injuries, some of whom were injured by shrapnel. The reality is tragic, difficult and challenging,” he said. Alaa al-Khudary, a witness at the scene, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli forces shot at the crowd, leaving “many dead” and leaving others injured while they tried to get “a bite to eat” for their children. Palestinians wounded in the attack were taken to Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City [Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu Agency] Looming famine Half of Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing “catastrophic” hunger, with famine projected to hit the north of the territory by May unless there is urgent intervention, a United Nations-backed food assessment warned on Monday. But aid distribution has become increasingly dangerous and sometimes lethal. Last Tuesday, 23 Palestinians were killed, and several others were injured by Israeli bombing that targeted Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid in the northern Gaza Strip. On February 29, Israeli forces opened fire on hundreds of Palestinians as they gathered south of Gaza City waiting to receive humanitarian aid in what is known as the “flour massacre”, leaving 118 dead and 760 wounded, according to the Health Ministry in the enclave. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday during a visit to the Rafah crossing that the line of blocked aid trucks stuck on Egypt’s side of the border with the Gaza Strip while Palestinians face starvation on the other side is a “moral outrage”. Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Rafah, said the latest shooting is part of a “clear, systematic policy that Israel has been using in the course of the past few months”. He said the Israeli forces have been imposing restrictions on aid deliveries to the north of the enclave while also attacking people who attempt to reach humanitarian aid convoys. He said that people in Gaza, despite the risks, continue to wait for the convoys as they are “hungry, dehydrated, and they want to return back to their families with something to break the fast“. Volunteers distribute rations of red lentil soup to displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2024 [Said Khatib/AFP] Reports of shooting ‘are incorrect’: Israel The Israeli army denied it had fired on the crowd. “The reports claiming that the [Israeli military] attacked dozens of Gazans at an aid convoy are incorrect,” an army statement said. “Preliminary findings have determined that there was no aerial strike against the convoy, nor were there incidents found of [Israeli] forces firing at the people at the aid convoy.” Adblock test (Why?)
Can the UN Security Council agree on a ceasefire resolution for Gaza?
Members reject text drafted by the US in advance of another vote. The United Nations Security Council has failed to pass a United States-drafted resolution recognising the need for a ceasefire in Gaza. It was the first time the Americans had used such strong language, but it was not enough for Russia, China and Algeria. They rejected the text because it did not demand an immediate ceasefire and because it tied any pause in hostilities to the release of all Israeli captives. Another draft is due to be tabled on Monday, this time with stronger language. But can Council members overcome their entrenched positions and internal politics to reach an agreement? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Francis J Riccardione – Former US ambassador to Egypt and Turkey. Hussein Haridi – Former Egyptian assistant foreign minister and a former ambassador. Hanan Ashrawi – Member of the Palestine Legislative Council. Adblock test (Why?)
US Senate passes $1.2 trillion budget, averting government shutdown
Bill passes after hours of gridlock over funding for three-quarters of the government for the next six months. Lawmakers in the United States Senate have passed a $1.2 trillion spending bill, narrowly averting a partial government shutdown. The lower house on Saturday approved the measure by a 74-24 vote after funding had expired for three-quarters of the government at midnight. But the White House sent out a notice shortly after the deadline announcing that the Office of Management and Budget had ceased shutdown preparations because there was a high degree of confidence that Congress would pass the legislation and the president would sign it on Saturday. Key federal agencies including the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, State and Treasury, which houses the Internal Revenue Service, will remain funded through September 30 after the bill was passed in the Democratic-majority Senate. But the measure did not include funding for mostly military aid to Ukraine, Taiwan or Israel, which are included in a different Senate-passed bill that the Republican-led House of Representatives has ignored. The bill also eliminates US funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) – which provides vital services on the ground to Palestinians in Gaza and across the Middle East – until March 2025. The agency lost millions of dollars in international support, led by the US, following allegations by Israel that some of its staff in the Gaza Strip were involved in the October 7 Hamas-led attacks. The House on Friday voted 286-134, narrowly gaining the two-thirds majority needed for approval of the six-bill package which represents the largest and most contentious section of federal funding. More than 70 percent of the money is set for defence spending, with the bills also covering the military, homeland security, healthcare and other services. Funding for those programmes was set to expire on March 22. Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said it was “a very long and difficult day, but we have just reached an agreement to complete the job of funding the government”. “It is good for the country that we have reached this bipartisan deal. It wasn’t easy, but tonight our persistence has been worth it,” he added. We have just reached an agreement to complete the job of funding the government tonight. It wasn’t easy, but tonight our persistence has been worth it. It is good for the American people that we have reached this bipartisan deal. — Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 23, 2024 It took legislators six months into the current fiscal year to get near the finish line on government funding, the process slowed by conservatives who pushed for more policy mandates and steeper spending cuts than the Democratic-led Senate or White House would consider. The impasse required several short-term, stopgap spending bills to keep agencies funded. The first package of full-year spending bills, which funded the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture and the Interior, among others, cleared Congress two weeks ago with just hours to spare before funding expired for those agencies. The vote tally in the House reflected anger among Republicans over the content of the package and the speed with which it was brought to a vote. House Speaker Mike Johnson brought the measure to the floor even though a majority of Republicans ended up voting against it. To win over support from Republicans, Johnson touted some of the spending increases secured for about 8,000 more detention beds for migrants awaiting their immigration proceedings or removal from the country – or about a 24 percent increase from current levels. Republican leadership highlighted more money to hire about 2,000 border patrol agents. Democrats, meanwhile, boasted of a $1bn increase for Head Start, an early childhood development programme, and new childcare centres for military families. They also played up a $120m increase in funding for cancer research and a $100m increase for Alzheimer’s research. Adblock test (Why?)
Moscow concert hall attack: Death toll rises to 115 with scores injured
Camouflage-clad gunmen with automatic weapons burst into a packed concert hall near Moscow, where the veteran rock band Picnic was to perform, shooting into the crowd and detonating explosives, setting the building on fire. The attack on the Crocus City Hall on Friday killed at least 115 people and injured more than 187. Russian authorities expected the number of casualties to rise. The blaze ripped through the venue, with smoke filling the building and screaming visitors rushing to emergency exits. The concert hall, one of the most popular in Moscow, can hold some 6,200 people. Graphic videos posted on social media showed the gunmen firing repeated rounds as they entered the building, shooting at screaming people at point-blank range. Helicopters were brought in to douse the flames from the air, as firefighters battled the blaze from the ground. The fire was eventually brought under control early on Saturday. The Emergency Situations Ministry said firefighters helped about 100 people escape through the building’s basement, while rescue operations were also launched for people trapped on the roof. ISIS-K, an offshoot of ISIL (ISIS), the hardline group that once sought control over Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack on its Telegram channel, saying the gunmen had escaped. Russian investigators said on Saturday that 11 people had been detained so far. Adblock test (Why?)
Dissecting the ‘TikTok problem’
What’s the US’s issue with TikTok? Is it data security, secret Chinese influence or pro-Palestinian content? The threat to ban TikTok in the United States has prompted an online backlash. Critics question the premise that Chinese ownership poses a security risk and suggest the real reason may be the surge in pro-Palestinian content since October 7. Contributors:Julia Angwin – Tech Policy Writer, New York Times; Founder, Proof NewsRussel Brandom – Tech Editor, Rest Of The WorldMarwa Fatafta – MENA Policy and Advocacy Director, Access NowEvan Greer – Director, Fight for the Future On our radar: In yet another deadly raid on Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital, Israel abducted Palestinian journalists covering the story – including one of Al Jazeera’s own. Producer Nicholas Muirhead reports. Why Russia has looted Ukraine’s art Following Vladimir Putin’s expected re-election this week, we’re revisiting a story about the Russian military’s targeting of Ukraine’s heritage. Producer Tariq Nafi explores how Russia’s war on Ukrainian culture is designed to rewrite history and weaken the country’s resistance. Featuring:Milena Chorna – Head of International Exhibitions, War Museum in UkraineAlina Dotsenko – Director, Kherson Regional Art MuseumIhor Poshyvailo – General Director, Maidan Museum Adblock test (Why?)