Police and protesters clash after Senegal election postponed
Police made arrests and fired tear gas as opposition supporters protested President Macky Sall’s decision to postpone elections in Senegal. Clashes erupted on Sunday as federal lawmakers prepared to debate a bill to formalise the delay of the February 25 vote. Demonstrators rallied in the capital Dakar after leading opposition figures and candidates in the presidential election rejected Saturday’s announcement and called on citizens to defend democracy. Meanwhile, ECOWAS, West Africa’s regional bloc, called for dialogue. Among those arrested as the protests spread was former Prime Minister Aminata Toure, as well as Anta Babacar Ngom, one of the candidates in the postponed vote. The government cut the signal of private television channel Walf as it broadcast the protest live. The New York-based non-profit Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the move in a post on social media platform X, urging Senegalese authorities to ensure that “journalists can work without hindrance”. Ahead of the postponement, Senegal had already been embroiled in political tension as the disqualification of two opposition candidates had triggered deadly clashes. Sall’s call to delay the vote cited a dispute between the judiciary and parliament over the final list of candidates. At least two of the 20 candidates said they would proceed with their campaign scheduled to kick off on Sunday. Sall’s tenure is scheduled to end on April 2. However, Senegal’s electoral code requires 80 days’ notice for a ballot, suggesting that the earliest that a vote could now take place is the last week of April. Repealing the decree that had set the electoral process in motion, Sall cited the dispute between the judiciary and federal lawmakers over the disqualification process and the reported dual nationality of some of the qualified candidates. Opposition leaders argue that the Senegalese leader lacks the power to delay the vote. Sall’s announcement followed a request to postpone the vote by the opposition Senegalese Democratic Party, whose candidate Karim Wade had been disqualified. Wade has accused two judges of corruption in the disqualification process and said that postponing the vote would “make it possible to repair the damage suffered”. The constitution empowers the Constitutional Council, Senegal’s highest election authority, to reschedule the election in certain circumstances including in the case of “the death, permanent incapacity or withdrawal” of candidates. Adblock test (Why?)
Armed group kills 10 in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region
Violence is mounting in the northern province and across the country as national elections approach. At least 10 policemen have been killed in an attack in northern Pakistan as violence mounts in the run-up to national elections. Police reported on Monday that attackers had targeted a police station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail district with heavy weapons. Alongside the 10 people killed, at least six others were injured. Police said that they have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to hunt down the attackers. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TPJ) issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. The armed group is believed to be an offshoot of the outlawed Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which, seeking to overthrow the government and establish strict religious law, has targeted the state and its institutions for years. Dera Ismail Khan is a former TTP stronghold. The remote northwestern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has witnessed a rise in violence as Pakistan’s 128 million voters prepare for February 8 elections. Rehan Zaib Khan, an independent candidate, and four aides were shot dead in the province’s Bajur district on January 31. In December, the TPJ claimed responsibility for an attack in Tehsil Daraban during which a suicide bomber detonated an explosive-laden vehicle outside a police station. The attack killed at least 23 troops and wounded 32. Last month, at least 101 people were killed when a suicide bomber targeted a mosque in the regional capital Peshawar. Two fronts Violence has been mounting across Pakistan as the vote approaches. Security threats are also rife in the southwestern region of Balochistan, where the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) – the most prominent of several separatist groups – have stepped up attacks. Last week, at least 15 people were killed when the BLA targeted military and security installations in the city of Mach, 65km (40 miles) south of Balochistan’s capital, Quetta Fearing violence during the February 8 ballot, Balochistan’s Information Minister Jan Achakzai announced on Sunday night that the internet service will remain temporarily restricted on election day. “Ensuring the safety and security of ordinary citizens is of utmost importance, as there is a concern that terrorists may exploit social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and other similar channels for communication purposes,” he wrote in a post on X. Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is strategically important because of its rich copper, zinc and natural gas reserves. Cities in the province are a constant target of armed groups. Baloch nationalists initially wanted a share of provincial resources, but later initiated a movement for complete independence. Abid Hussain in Islamabad contributed to this report. Adblock test (Why?)
A year on from Turkey’s quake disaster, the trauma haunts survivors
Gaziantep, Turkey – When Elmas Abdulghani has a flashback, her body still shakes like the floor of her apartment on that early February morning a year ago. She was woken up by the screams of her husband, crying: “Elmas, wake up! Save your life!” “I just remember fear and confusion,” 35-year-old Abdulghani says, almost tearing up as her mind travels back in time. Abdulghani’s husband did not survive the first magnitude 7.8 earthquake, followed by a second magnitude 7.6 one later in the day and hundreds of aftershocks, that killed more than 50,000 people in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6 last year. But Abdulghani did and, since that day, she has had to deal with the restlessness of mind that came from losing the love of her life and her home in Gaziantep, an important city in the southeast a few kilometres from the epicentre. Primitive defence mechanisms The earthquakes created unimaginable psychological stressors for survivors like Abdulghani, from injuries and lasting fear of aftershocks to experiencing the destruction, displacement and deaths around them. A few weeks after the physical emergency needs were met, groups of volunteer therapists and mental health NGO workers were deployed across the region to support victims and help them process their trauma. The volunteer therapists worked to provide a safe environment for people to share their trauma [Courtesy of Hayal Demirci] “I’ve worked on other earthquakes and natural disasters in our country, such as the 1999 earthquake in Izmir, but this was different from any other,” says Hayal Demirci, a psychotherapist from the EMDR Trauma Recovery Group, which has deployed teams of mental health workers in tented settlements, container cities, hotels and temporary dormitories since early March last year. In the first few weeks of their deployment, Demirci and more than 1,000 volunteer therapists worked to provide a physically safe environment to reduce people’s acute reactions and, after a while, to establish a safe therapeutic bond and work with these reactions. Demirci explains that when the normal bonds between people disappear, the mind triggers the most primitive defence mechanisms to face a harsh reality. “There have been way too many losses of family members, friends, limbs, homes, cities and hope for the future. “When these defence mechanisms are active, the sympathetic nervous system is on duty and … the person [feels] like they are in danger all the time. It’s not possible for people who don’t feel safe anywhere, at any time, to eat, sleep or meet their basic needs properly,” she says. Most people, even after the aftershocks eventually disappeared, felt restless for months. [embedded content] “Even though my family house was declared safe one week after the earthquake, I still didn’t feel safe staying inside,” says Mert Ozyurtkan, a 22-year-old engineering student at Gaziantep University. “I would constantly stare at water bottles to see if the water was moving or at ceiling lamps to check if they were swinging slightly. It increased my anxiety levels, and affected my grades.” While most mental health support in crises focuses on a short-term, emergency approach, Demirci underlines the importance of continuing to work with victims online to address triggers and control flashbacks to reduce any symptoms. For some, the earthquake changed entire lifestyles. Neslihan Hicdonmez and her husband Ali Ozaslan started living in a camper van and kept their camping sleeping bags at hand because they no longer felt safe in their own home. “The earthquake totally impacted our way of living. We had never thought of abandoning our newly bought house, but we constantly live with the fear that something of that magnitude may happen again.” The effect on children If adults find the effects catastrophic, for children in their early development the disaster left an indelible mark. Sare Bitir, a fourth-grader at Ilkokulu Elementary School in Gaziantep, still brings her doll to school for comfort. A child getting his face painted at an event to entertain and support the mental health of children affected by the deadly earthquake in Osmaniye, Turkey, February 16, 2023 [Suhaib Salem/TPX Images of the Day/Reuters] “It’s the first object I brought with me when we ran out of the house,” she says. “It kept me company for three days while we were sleeping in our car because our house didn’t make us feel safe. It gives me confidence.” Children are among the most exposed group, says clinical psychologist Zeynep Bahadir, who has expertise in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and volunteered for six weeks with the Turkish Red Crescent as an emergency online psychologist for families with young children. She adds that whether children have been directly affected or experienced secondary trauma, “they can be at the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, including nightmares and avoidance behaviour”. Separation anxiety specifically has shown up in school settings. When she returned to school in September, Sare did not want to enter the class, too afraid to say goodbye to her parents. It took a very patient teacher and friendly classmates to bring her inside, although, for the first few weeks, she couldn’t focus. Some children avoided school for several weeks in a row. According to Bahadir, fear can persist in children long after the earthquake has passed, which “sometimes can be temporary, but can also adapt into their lives forever”. A boy looks at drawings made by children during an event to entertain and support the mental health of children affected by the deadly earthquake, in Adiyaman, Turkey, February 17, 2023 [Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters] Reliving the trauma of death and loss The situation has been worse for Syrian refugees in Turkey who fled there during Syria’s war, says Yara al-Atrash, a mental health worker at INARA NGO. Al-Atrash has been in charge of psychological assistance to Syrians living in container camps and assisted many who have lost homes and children, just like they did during the war back home. “Having to live again the trauma of death, loss and displacement, as well as realising that the new place that
Grammys 2024: Here’s a list of top winners at the music awards
The Grammy Awards, the highest honours in the music industry, were handed out at a ceremony in the United States city of Los Angeles on Sunday. Here is a list of winners: ALBUM OF THE YEARMidnights, Taylor Swift RECORD OF THE YEARFlowers, Miley Cyrus SONG OF THE YEARWhat Was I Made For?, Billie Eilish (from the motion picture Barbie); Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell, songwriters BEST NEW ARTISTVictoria Monet BEST POP VOCAL ALBUMMidnights, Taylor Swift BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCEFlowers, Miley Cyrus BEST MUSICA URBANA ALBUMManana Sera Bonito, Karol G BEST COUNTRY ALBUMBell Bottom Country, Lainey Wilson BEST R&B SONGSnooze, by SZA; Kenny B Edmonds, Blair Ferguson, Khris Riddick-Tynes, Solana Rowe and Leon Thomas, songwriters THE DR DRE GLOBAL IMPACT AWARDJay-Z BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCEGhost in the Machine, SZA featuring Phoebe Bridgers BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUMThe Record, Boygenius SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR, NON-CLASSICALTheron Thomas PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, NON-CLASSICALJack Antonoff BEST R&B ALBUMJaguar II, Victoria Monet BEST PROGRESSIVE R&B ALBUMSOS, SZA BEST AUDIO BOOK, NARRATION AND STORYTELLING RECORDINGThe Light We Carry: Overcoming In Uncertain Times, Michelle Obama BEST REGGAE ALBUMColors of Royal, Julian Marley and Antaeus BEST LATIN ROCK OR ALTERNATIVE ALBUM (tie)Vida Cotidiana, Juanes and De Todas Las Flores, Natalia Lafourcade BEST LATIN POP ALBUMX Mi (Vol 1), Gaby Moreno BEST RAP ALBUMMichael, Killer Mike BEST RAP SONGScientists & Engineers, Killer Mike ft Andre 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane BEST COUNTRY SOLO PERFORMANCEWhite Horse, Chris Stapleton BEST COUNTRY SONGWhite Horse, Chris Stapleton BEST FOLK ALBUMJoni Mitchell at Newport (Live), Joni Mitchell BEST POP DANCE RECORDINGPadam Padam, Kylie Minogue BEST ROCK ALBUMThis Is Why, Paramore BEST ROCK PERFORMANCENot Strong Enough, Boygenius BEST ROCK SONGNot Strong Enough, Boygenius BEST AMERICANA ALBUMWeathervanes, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit BEST METAL PERFORMANCE72 Seasons, Metallica BEST JAZZ INSTRUMENTAL ALBUMThe Winds of Change, Billy Childs BEST JAZZ VOCAL ALBUMHow Love Begins, Nicole Zuraitis BEST COMEDY ALBUMWhat’s in a Name?, Dave Chappelle BEST COMPILATION SOUNDTRACK FOR VISUAL MEDIABarbie The Album, various artists BEST SONG WRITTEN FOR VISUAL MEDIAWhat Was I Made For?, Billie Eilish BEST SCORE SOUNDTRACK FOR VISUAL MEDIAOppenheimer, Ludwig Goransson BEST MUSIC VIDEOI’m Only Sleeping, The Beatles BEST MUSIC FILMMoonage Daydream BEST MUSICAL THEATER ALBUMSome Like It Hot BEST GOSPEL ALBUMAll Things New: Live in Orlando, Tye Tribbett BEST CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC ALBUMChurch Clothes 4, Lecrae BEST AFRICAN MUSIC PERFORMANCEWater, Tyla Adblock test (Why?)
Pakistan elections 2024: By the numbers
EXPLAINER As 128 million voters prepare for the February 8 elections, Al Jazeera decodes the key numbers shaping Pakistan. On February 8, as Pakistan votes in national elections, the country’s democracy will face its latest test. It is an election that will decide the next government of the world’s fifth-most populous nation. Befittingly, it is also an election of large numbers – very large numbers. From voters and parties to the economy and more, here’s a guide to Pakistan’s election and to the nation itself, in those numbers. What’s the election about? In all, 128 million people registered to vote in the elections to pick 266 representatives on February 8, forming the 16th parliament in a first-past-the-post system. (Al Jazeera) Pakistan is a country with 241 million people, of whom two-thirds are under the age of 30. A citizen becomes eligible to vote at the age of 18. It is also a vast country, spanning mountainous terrain in its north, multiple deserts and a 990km (615 miles) coastline. On February 8, 90,582 polling stations will service voters who want to cast their ballots. In the contest are 5,121 candidates. They belong either to Pakistan’s 167 registered political parties or are independents. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been barred from using its election symbol, the cricket bat, so its candidates will also be contesting as independents this time. Only a little more than half of Pakistan’s electorate voted in the 2018 elections. With a crackdown against Khan’s party ongoing, it is unclear whether the February 8 elections will see a lower turnout, or a surge in the form of a silent protest vote in favour of PTI-aligned candidates. How is the country doing? (Al Jazeera) The elections are taking place amid an ongoing economic crisis, with inflation running at almost 30 percent and a weakening currency, which has shed more than 50 percent of its value against the United States dollar in the last two years. Meanwhile, the county entered into a nine-month $3bn bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund in July last year, which is set to expire around the same time as a new government will take oath. In addition to these economic woes, attacks from armed factions have increased in past months adding to the instability of the country. The struggling economy has allocated 243.6 million rupees ($850,000) for the cost of the elections, which many critics believe has effectively been engineered to keep Khan out of power and instead usher in a leader the military is comfortable with. Pakistan’s powerful military establishment has ruled the country directly for more than three decades of its independent history. It is the most powerful institute in the country: 12.5 percent of the government budget goes towards military spending, according to government documents. The run-up to the poll has seen Khan sentenced to jail in at least three different cases, and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif – who was previously jailed and then in exile – return and emerge as a leading contender again. While the economy is teetering, Pakistan is also on edge on the security front, amid heightened tensions with three out of its four neighbours. Internally, there has been a dramatic surge in violence, while marginalised communities, geographically as well as religiously, have accused the state of mounting persecution. With a deeply polarised society and uncertainty about the future, many see this election as a referendum on the military’s involvement in politics. Who are Pakistan’s voters and candidates? Of the 128 million voters, the largest number – 44 percent – are below the age of 35, making the youth vote critical in these elections. The second largest group of voters are between the ages of 36 and 45, constituting 22.3 percent of the electorate. Women form 46 percent (59.3 million) and men 54 percent (69.2 million) of the registered voters. More than 5,000 candidates are contesting for 266 seats, and among them are 4,806 men, 312 women and two transgender people. Adblock test (Why?)
US rapper Killer Mike taken away by police at Grammy Awards
Police spokesperson says hip hop artist was arrested following an altercation at the awards show. US rapper and activist Killer Mike has been detained and escorted by police out of the Grammy Awards. A video posted on social media by The Hollywood Reporter’s Chris Gardner showed Los Angeles police escorting the rapper in handcuffs on Sunday after he had earlier picked up three of the music industry’s biggest prizes for hip hop. A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman was quoted telling the Associated Press that the hip hop artist had been arrested following an altercation inside the Crypto.com Arena in LA, where the awards show was being held, at about 4pm. Breaking: Rapper Killer Mike has been taken away in handcuffs in https://t.co/aF2yiyTHol arena after winning 3 #Grammys during telecast (Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance for “Scientists & Engineers,” Best Rap Album for Michael) “Free Mike” someone shouts as he walks past. pic.twitter.com/4epfmzqMt8 — Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) February 5, 2024 At the 66th edition of the annual awards show on Sunday, Killer Mike, whose real name is Michael Santiago Render, and collaborators won the Grammy for best rap song and best rap performance for Scientists & Engineers and best rap album for Michael. The awards were Killer Mike’s first Grammy wins since he was honoured for best rap performance by a duo or group in 2003 for his work on hip hop duo OutKast’s The Whole World. Killer Mike, who made his recording debut on OutKast’s 2000 album Stankonia, is known for his outspoken views on social justice issues, including race relations and the treatment of Black people in the United States. In 2019, he hosted Netflix’s Trigger Warning with Killer Mike, a documentary series examining issues affecting the Black community. Adblock test (Why?)
Analysis: India’s 2024 interim budget shows a changing economy
India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s interim budget last week marked nearly 10 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Sitharaman showcased the government’s achievements over the past decade, rather than shower freebies, ahead of national polls due in a couple of months. A careful analysis shows the changing patterns in the Indian economy. Sitharaman reduced the food subsidy by 3.3 percent to 2.12 trillion rupees ($25.5bn) in 2025 from 2.05 trillion rupees ($24.6bn) in the current fiscal year. The fertiliser subsidy was also reduced while keeping up capital expenditure at 1.3 trillion rupees ($15.6bn). Keeping such spending in check allowed her to announce that the fiscal deficit would be 5.1 percent for the year ending March 2025, lower than market expectations of about 5.3 to 5.4 percent. The “fiscal deficit was one of the most surprising things in the budget”, said Suman Bannerjee, the chief investment officer at Hedonova, a global hedge fund. “This was lower than we had expected.” The reduced subsidy also indicates India’s “move away from agriculture towards manufacturing”, Bannerjee said. The government had earlier announced free food supplies to India’s poorest, shielding them from potential food price rises. In her speech, Sitharaman said the average real income has risen by 50 percent, more than 250 million people have been lifted from poverty while the economy has catapulted to the world’s fifth-largest from the 10th in the last decade. These numbers were disputed by the opposition Congress party. “COVID and this government’s GST [goods and services tax] have dealt a double blow to the country’s poor and small businesses, which this government has not addressed,” said Manickam Tagore, a Congress member of parliament and party whip. Demand for the country’s Food for Work programme had grown just in the last year, indicating distress among the country’s poorest, he said. In her speech, Sitharaman said the lower fiscal deficit was also enabled by growing private investment. “We had looked at whether private sector capital expenditure is reviving and some green shoots are being seen,” said Sunil Sinha, the principal economist at Fitch Ratings. “There is not yet a broad-based corporate investment revival but investment in steel, cement, renewables and other sectors are growing due to increased government investment in infrastructure.” The government’s improved tax collection may also have helped reduce the fiscal deficit, Bannerjee said. Higher tax realisation had come by increasing the ambit of luxury tax, such as including restaurant spending. While India’s economy is expected to grow at a robust 7.3 percent in the year ended March 2024, there is concern that it is urban-centric [Manish Swarup/AP] All of this allowed the finance minister to keep to her capital expenditure allocations while keeping the fiscal deficit in check. India has been building public infrastructure such as roads, metros and ports at a record pace, driving economic growth. “She has not diluted her capex focus,” Fitch Ratings’s Sinha said. Rural India The finance minister also announced several schemes aimed at shoring up the rural economy such as for building rural housing, free food for the poor and boosting aquaculture. While India’s economy is expected to grow at a robust 7.3 percent in the year ending March 2024, there is concern that it is urban-centric. “She lives in an ivory tower. She doesn’t know the pain of the people,” the Congress Party’s Tagore said. “Across small towns, I see medium and small enterprises have closed due to the implementation of GST.” Thursday’s budget measures could help bring the benefits of urban growth to boost the rural economy. “Some of these are like an indirect income transfer,” said Fitch’s Sinha. “So far, the benefits of growth are accruing to the top 50 percent in urban India. Some investment had to be done so benefits could reach rural areas.” Gender focus The finance minister also announced several initiatives to boost women’s skill-building and entrepreneurship, including the expansion of a scheme to train rural women on skills such as bulb-making and plumbing. Female participation in the rural workforce has been growing, although it is largely in agriculture. This is often marked by low wages and seasonal work. Acquiring such skills could help transition women to manufacturing jobs. “Data shows that while [the] unemployment subsidy has fallen, female unemployment is down and male unemployment is up,” Hedonova’s Bannerjee said. India has had low female participation in the workforce, with only 37 percent of women in formal employment in 2023. The finance minister said women’s enrolment in higher education, as well as STEM [science, technology, engineering and maths] courses, had risen sharply in the last decade. India has been building public infrastructure such as roads, metros and ports at a record pace, driving economic growth [Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo] However, Raghuram Rajan, India’s former central bank governor, recently told the BBC that not enough attention had been paid to creating “human capital” in India. Sinha and Bannerjee underscored that detailed employment data had not been collected in the last decade. “We are flying blind without credible data on jobs,” Rajan had told the BBC. Renewable energy The finance minister announced a household rooftop solar energy scheme that will allow 10 million households to claim 300 units of free energy a month. These households could also sell back the surplus energy they generate. She also announced an expansion in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and viability gap funding for wind power projects. India has announced a target of getting to net zero by 2070 and these schemes lay out a roadmap towards that. “The southern states are largely self-sufficient; this will help the northern states where there is a deficit. It will also help develop wind energy, which has lagged other renewable energy,” Hedonova’s Bannerjee said. Sitharaman also set off the poll season by announcing a white paper to be tabled in parliament, which will look at where the country was until 2014, during the previous government, and where it is now, to draw lessons from the “mismanagement of those years”. The careful spending
‘Reputational damage’: Singapore’s ruling party grapples with scandal
Singapore – Hamilton in the West End, Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. This might sound like the itinerary for a fun weekend in London but in Singapore, they are part of a rare corruption case involving a senior politician. Former cabinet minister S Iswaran is alleged to have received more than 380,000 Singapore dollars ($283,000) worth of gifts from Malaysian billionaire Ong Beng Seng, including tickets for West End shows and football matches, some of them in exchange for advancing Ong’s business interests. Ong was the driving force in bringing the Singapore Grand Prix to the city-state in 2008 and owns the rights to the night race. Tickets to the Grand Prix were listed on the charge sheet as gifts that Iswaran allegedly received. Appearing in court last month, Iswaran denied all 27 charges against him and later quit the government. In a resignation letter to Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Iswaran said he would “focus on clearing my name” and return all salary and allowances he had received since the investigation into his alleged corruption began last July. While Lee has promised to uphold Singapore’s “reputation for honesty and incorruptibility”, the case has rocked the tiny Southeast Asian nation, renowned for its political stability. S Iswaran leaving court last month. He denied all charges against him and resigned [Kelvin Chng/The Straits Times via Reuters] With an election looming and a much-anticipated leadership transition scheduled for November, the People’s Action Party (PAP), which has dominated the country’s politics since independence, is keen to reassure voters that it can weather the storm. “There is no doubt that the government has taken a hit. It has suffered reputational damage, to say the least,” said Eugene Tan, an associate professor of law at Singapore’s Management University. “The full impact remains to be determined,” Tan added. Hefty pay packets Singapore’s political system has maintained a squeaky-clean reputation throughout the PAP’s nearly 65-year rule. Just last week, the country was ranked as the fifth-least corrupt in the world, according to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. The city-state’s ministers are paid handsomely, with a starting salary set at just more than 45,000 Singapore dollars ($33,500) a month at the last pay adjustment in 2012. The government argues such enormous pay cheques, among the highest in the world, are necessary to stave off the risk of corruption. But according to Singapore-based political scientist Ian Chong, the country needs to find new ways to tackle this issue. “Singapore is still taking the approach of punishment [towards corruption] which, in some respects, is a bit like playing whack-a-mole, because of the large amounts of money now going around. “It isn’t, in my opinion, getting to the root of the issue with more public declaration of assets and income by political appointees,” said Chong, noting that declarations need only be made to the state. The case against Iswaran first came to light following his arrest last July. He was suspended while under investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and his monthly pay was reduced to 8,500 Singapore dollars ($6,300). It was just one of a number of scandals that hit the PAP last year in a surprisingly dramatic 12 months of Singapore politics. Iswaran is accused of receiving gifts worth more than 380,000 Singapore dollars ($283,000) from tycoon Ong Beng Seng. Ong (left) and Iswaran (second left) at a groundbreaking ceremony for the F1 pit building, in 2008 [Vivek Prakash/Reuters] In July, two lawmakers were forced to resign after having an affair. One of them, Tan Chuan-Jin, was the speaker of the parliament at the time. Lee described the relationship as “inappropriate”. That saga came just months after two senior government ministers were publicly scrutinised for their rental of state-owned colonial-era bungalows. An investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing, but prompted some to question how the ministers were able to rent the properties, given that contracts are awarded through a bidding process. “It’s creating a sense that there needs to be more transparency and restraint on authority, especially on people who hold political authority,” Chong told Al Jazeera. The scandals are in stark contrast to the image that the PAP has tried to project throughout its years of governance, with stable and trustworthy leadership portrayed as a hallmark of the ruling party. “I think the PAP is becoming a normal political party,” said Bilveer Singh, the deputy head of political science at the National University of Singapore. “Under [former Prime Minister] Lee Kuan Yew, regardless of incidents of corruption and scandals, people still held it [the PAP] in very, very high regard. I think the party has started to decline over the years. “We are seeing evidence of that in terms of scandals of this nature and integrity issues surfacing,” said Singh. While Lee and incoming Prime Minister Lawrence Wong have looked to react swiftly and strongly to the Iswaran scandal, the turbulence of the last year will provide an unwelcome backdrop to a momentous new chapter in Singapore politics. Late last year, Lee said he would hand over to Wong by the PAP’s 70th anniversary in November. But only if “all goes well”. Looming election The transition will be closely watched, with Singapore’s top job handed to somebody from outside the Lee family for only the second time in history. “For the public, there is some degree of worry about the next generation of leaders. While they look impressive on paper, there is no real sense of who they are and how they will perform when tested,” said Chong. Given the challenges facing Lee and Wong, both at home and abroad, some are even questioning if Lee’s stint in charge may be extended. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong votes at the last election in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has said he plans to step down [Singapore Ministry of Communications and Information via AFP] “We’re going to have a new president in
‘Nothing left’: Indonesia’s tourism industry fears wipeout under tax hike
Jakarta, Indonesia – After spa therapist Murniyati survived COVID-19 on a sparse salary, she thought the worst was over. But after the Indonesian government’s announcement of a steep rise in taxes on entertainment services, she fears the salon where she works could be forced to close, leaving her unemployed. “My husband is just a taxi driver so our combined income is low. Our life, my life, depends on him and me,” she told Al Jazeera. Murniyati is just one of the countless workers across Indonesia who could be affected by the plans to apply a 40-75 percent tax rate to entertainment services such as spas, bars, nightclubs and karaoke joints. The proposed hike has sparked a fierce backlash from businesses, including a court challenge by spa owners in Bali. Hariyadi Sukamdani, the chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association, said in a press conference last month that the changes would lead to job losses in an “industry that absorbs a significant amount of labour and does not require higher education, making it essential for the general population”. Amid the blowback, the government announced it would delay the hike pending an evaluation. “We will collectively assess what the impact [of a higher entertainment tax] would be, especially for small business owners,” Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar said last month. Sofie Sulaiman, 55, left, said the spa worked hard to keep all of their staff during the pandemic, but they are not sure if they could get through a tax hike [Madeline Croad/Al Jazeera] Still, Sofie Sulaiman, Murniyati’s manager at Jamu Body Treatments in Jakarta, is angry. The spa provides jobs for many women, all of whom are from less well-off backgrounds. Many of them are widows and single mothers, and most have been working at the spa for more than 20 years. Sulaiman said her business would need to cover the cost of the tax hike, as it is too high to pass on to customers. “Our market is teachers. It’s not businessmen, it’s not tourists, it’s not honeymooners who spend money when they travel. They are just teachers, they are just housewives,” Sulaiman told Al Jazeera. Sulaiman said it would be impossible to make a profit under the new tax regime. “We will sacrifice ourselves,” Sulaiman said, adding that she might have to close down. “There is nothing left after that.” Revenue and incentives Bhima Yudhistira, an economist from the Center of Economic and Law Studies, said the tax hike could boost revenue for local governments and provide greater autonomy to communities, but the lack of consultation had left officials divided. “Some local governments which have huge tourism spots such as Bali see this as not a potential for revenue, they see this as a new tax burden after COVID-19,” Yudhistira told Al Jazeera. “They will lose because the number of tourists will drop and businesses will be affected.” COVID-19 had a devastating effect on Indonesian businesses and workers, with 2.67 million jobs lost in 2020 and more than 30 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) forced to close during the pandemic, according to the national statistics office. Other countries such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia could be new options for tourists, Yudhistira thinks, which could be another attack on Indonesia’s entertainment industry post-Covid [Madeline Croad/Al Jazeera] Under the planned tax revision, the rate is set by each local government, making November’s local elections especially important, said Yudhistira, who is sceptical about the government’s promise to provide relief measures and incentives to affected businesses. He believes businesses could be “cherry-picked” depending on their political connections. “We see that many of the local government incentives previously didn’t work well … The industry owners or business owners that have strong connections to the local government leaders, to the governors, they have incentives.” Indonesia has made a name for itself as an affordable destination, but some government officials have expressed their hope that higher costs will drive away visitors on a budget in favour of high-spending tourists. Gabby Walters, an associate professor of tourism and business at the University of Queensland, said that such an approach would be a mistake. More than one million Australians visited Bali last year, most of them looking for a cheap, fun holiday. They made up a quarter of all tourist arrivals, making them the largest visitor group, according to official statistics. “[Australian] Bali tourists want alcohol, they want to party, so you’ve seen a rise of beach clubs, nightclubs and that’s not what the high-yielding tourists are after,” Walters told Al Jazeera. “The way that the Bali tourism industry is structured, it’s set up to encourage and cater for that market.” It is a market that could be put off by higher prices, at a time when tourism numbers are only just over half of what they were before the pandemic, Walters said. “If there’s going to be a 40-75 percent increase to buy a drink in a bar or go to a nightclub or have a massage, then people are definitely going to look elsewhere,” Walters said, noting that other destinations in the region have been cutting taxes. Thailand dropped a related tax to five percent to attract tourists and has seen a boom in arrivals. More than 28 million tourists visited the country last year, while Indonesia attracted just over nine million. Moving forward, Sulaiman is unsure about the future of her spa, but she knows that shutting up shop and leaving her staff unemployed is a possibility. She is confused, like many others in the industry, about the lack of consultation. “I don’t think in any other country, you would find this kind of hike in tax,” she said. “They have never invited us to have a discussion.” Yudhistira said the tax revisions were made too quickly, with those most affected left out of the conversation. He thinks there are other ways to increase local government revenue without damaging the entertainment industry. “The burden for the entertainment industry
US presidential hopeful Nikki Haley uses SNL cameo to mock Trump
Republican presidential candidate Haley made jibes about Trump’s age and mental competency on the TV show Saturday Night Live. United States Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley made a surprise appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live and took a swipe at former President Donald Trump over his age, his mental fitness and his refusal to debate her. Haley appeared in a segment set in a fake CNN town hall meeting in Columbia, South Carolina, where a fake Trump – played by cast member James Austin Johnson – was being asked questions by an audience. The former South Carolina governor has been campaigning ahead of her home state’s Republican primary on February 24 as she attempts to close the polling gap with Trump. Last month, Trump secured a decisive victory in the New Hampshire primary, beating rival Haley by a substantial margin. In the sketch, Haley was introduced as “someone who describes herself as a concerned South Carolina voter” when called on to question the candidate. “My question is why won’t you debate Nikki Haley?” she asked. Trump, the frontrunner for the nomination, has avoided all debates so far in the campaign. “Oh my God, it’s her, the woman who was in charge of security on January 6. It’s Nancy Pelosi,” the actor playing Trump responded, referring to the day in 2021 when Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol. During a campaign speech in New Hampshire in January, Trump repeatedly seemed to confuse Haley, who was his ambassador to the United Nations, with Democratic former House speaker Nancy Pelosi. Trump has accused Pelosi of turning down security he says his administration offered, but a special House committee that investigated the siege found no evidence to support that claim. After the town hall moderators corrected the stand-in Trump, Haley asked, “Are you doing OK Donald? You might need a mental competency test.” The Trump actor responded to Haley: “You know what I did. I took the test and I aced it, OK? Perfect score. They said I’m 100 percent mental.” The former president has boasted in the past that he has “aced” cognitive tests. A later joke about the movie The Sixth Sense prompted the actor playing Trump to say: “I see dead people.” Haley replied: “That’s what voters will say if they see you and Joe [Biden] on the ballot.” She later posted on X: “Had a blast tonight on SNL! Know it was past Donald’s bedtime so looking forward to the stream of unhinged tweets in the a.m.” “I see dead people.” That’s exactly what voters will think if this race is between Trump and Biden in the fall. Had a blast tonight on SNL! Know it was past Donald’s bedtime so looking forward to the stream of unhinged tweets in the a.m. pic.twitter.com/W43LlPOoi2 — Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 4, 2024 Haley has positioned herself as a younger, more capable alternative to Trump and the Democratic frontrunner, President Joe Biden, as well as the only anti-Trump Republican left in the race. But if Trump wins in South Carolina, where Haley served two terms as governor, she will likely face mounting pressure to quit the race. The final question in the skit came from SNL host Ayo Edebiri, who questioned Haley, now referred to as ambassador, about the root cause of the US Civil War. The candidate, during a town hall in December in New Hampshire, was asked about the reason for the war, and she did not mention slavery in her response. She walked back her comments hours later. “I was just curious, what would you say was the main cause of the Civil War?” Edebiri asked. “Do you think it starts with an ‘S’ and ends with a ‘lavery’?” Haley replied: “Yep, I probably should have said that the first time.” Adblock test (Why?)