‘Used to be a festival’: Why Pakistan is seeing a subdued election campaign
Rawalpindi, Pakistan – Muhammed Iqrar stands outside his small shop in Muslim Town, a commercial area in Rawalpindi. Something is amiss, he says. “We have general elections in less than a month, but I don’t recall our area being so dead before,” the 46-year-old says. “We used to have buntings, banners, flags, music blaring from the speakers put up by different candidates. … It used to be a festival. Now, it’s just so quiet.” Pakistan, a country of 241 million people, is scheduled to hold its delayed national elections on February 8. But the vote has been tainted by allegations of rigging made by the main opposition party, headed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Khan, by many accounts the country’s most popular politician, has been behind bars since August under various charges. He is also barred from standing in the elections due to his conviction in cases he says are part of a military-backed crackdown on him and his party. Last week, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was stripped of its election symbol, a cricket bat, through a Supreme Court order, leaving its leaders with no choice but to fight as independents with their own individual symbols. In a country with a literacy rate of 60 percent, election symbols are necessary to help voters identify the parties they support on the ballots. Two days after the top court’s decision, Maryam Nawaz, daughter of three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, kickstarted her party’s campaign on Monday with a rally in the city of Okara in Punjab province, the deciding region in the polls. ‘People are not interested’ But the absence of any real opposition has turned the run-up to the election into a lukewarm affair – something Iqrar says he never experienced in the past. A supporter of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) party, he recalls participating in campaigning, going door to door to distribute flags and inviting people to street meetings. “We used to get into the swing of things some two or three months before the elections. We put flags of our leaders and tried to engage people. But now it appears as if people are not interested at all,” he says. Muhammed Iqrar says he used to be active in past election campaigns [Abid Hussain/Al Jazeera] Maqbool Sharif Toor, a retired government employee, agrees. A resident of Babu Mohalla, a densely populated neighbourhood in central Rawalpindi, Toor says he is uncertain if the elections would be held as scheduled. Earlier this week, Iran fired missiles at Pakistan, allegedly targeting ‘terrorist’ bases, and prompting retaliatory strikes from Pakistan. Those tensions have further injected uncertainty over whether the elections will indeed proceed as planned on February 8. “One party has been completely sidelined, ruining the competition. We loved the ‘halla gulla’ [cacophony] during the campaigning, but now there is hardly anything here,” he says. The 12th general election in Pakistan is being held under a cloud of political and economic instability and a deteriorating security situation. The vote was originally scheduled in November, but the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said it needed more time to redraw constituencies based on the population census conducted last year. Political instability in Pakistan began in April 2022 when Khan was removed from power through a no confidence vote in parliament. The former cricketing icon accused the “establishment” – a euphemism for the country’s powerful military – for orchestrating his removal. Since his ouster, Khan has been in the crosshairs of the military, once considered his patron and architect of his rise to power in 2018. Chaudhry Mussadiq Ghumman, a PTI candidate in Rawalpindi, says the state’s cases against his party has disenchanted a large number of voters. “The court cases against us meant we never knew if we will be allowed to contest or not, and now our leader is in jail and our symbol has been taken away. In such an environment, it’s difficult to prepare for an election campaign,” he says. Ghumman also claims the rallies and public meetings being held by PTI opponents have met with a muted response from the people. Workers preparing party flags as Pakistan prepares to vote on February 8 [Shahzaib Akber/EPA] Analysts say that despite clear directions by the Supreme Court and repeated assurances by the ECP, the prevalent sentiment among voters is of “uncertainty” over whether the vote will take place or will be further delayed. “There is so much scepticism among people. It appears that a deliberate tactic has been deployed to keep the electoral temperature down,” says political commentator Zaigham Khan. While the PTI had been dealing with legal hurdles and cancellations of candidate nominations, candidates for the two other major parties, the PMLN and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), were finalised only last week. Ahsan Iqbal, a PMLN candidate from Narowal city in Punjab, says the delay was due to an “exhausting process of scrutinising the names to be nominated”. “We wanted to ensure transparency in our selection process,” he says. “In the coming days, our campaign will pick up more speed.” Rawalpindi is unusually quiet three weeks before the polls [Abid Hussain/Al Jazeera] Waleed Ashfaq, who runs a printing business in Lahore’s Anarkali Market, says his constituency used to have so many banners and posters hanging on the streets that the municipal authorities would have to remove them every week, only for new banners to appear the next day. “People used to book us out two, three months in advance. This time, we even placed advertisements on the road, but nobody has come,” he says. “Political parties, their candidates and workers would print flags, shirts, keychains and other memorabilia, but there is hardly any order in the market this year. It appears that the people are just bored and uninterested.” ‘Imagine if Imran Khan was not in jail’ Muhammad Meeran Mohmand, a furniture shop owner in Tarnol, a suburb of Islamabad, says his neighbourhood always saw a spirited contest during the elections but no political activity has started
North Korea touts ‘underwater nuclear weapon system’, blasts US drills
Pyongyang promises to deter ‘hostile military manoeuvres’ after naval exercises between US, South Korea and Japan. North Korea has tested a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone in response to joint naval exercises involving South Korea, the United States and Japan, state media has said. Pyongyang tested the “Haeil-5-23″ in waters off the east coast as the US and its allies were “seriously threatening the security” of the country “destabilising the regional situation”, North Korea’s defence ministry said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday. “Our army’s underwater nuke-based countering posture is being further rounded off and its various maritime and underwater responsive actions will continue to deter the hostile military manoeuvres of the navies of the US and its allies,” the statement said, warning of “catastrophic consequences” for the US and its “followers.” North Korea last year claimed to have tested the drone twice, touting its ability to carry out sneak attacks and destroy enemies with a “radioactive tsunami” generated by an underwater explosion. The weapon’s operation has not been independently verified and South Korean officials have said its capabilities are exaggerated. Washington, Seoul and Tokyo earlier this week conducted joint naval drills involving nine warships, including the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, off South Korea’s south coast. The allies announced the drills after Pyongyang said on Sunday it had tested a new solid-fuel missile fitted with a hypersonic warhead. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been elevated in recent months amid Pyongyang’s repeated weapons tests and moves by authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un to roll back efforts towards reconciliation with South Korea. On Tuesday, state media reported that Kim had ordered the closure of several government bodies dedicated to inter-Korean rapprochement after determining that reunification was no longer possible. On Thursday, the nuclear envoys of the US, South Korea and Japan gathered in Seoul to condemn Pyongyang’s weapons tests and its trade in armaments with Russia. Adblock test (Why?)
Netanyahu rejects Palestinian statehood
NewsFeed During a press conference Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he objects to Palestinian statehood that does not guarantee Israel’s security after the Gaza war. Published On 19 Jan 202419 Jan 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
US says ‘not at war’ with Houthis; Biden admits strikes not halting attacks
Remarks after US conducted its fifth round of strikes against targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. United States President Joe Biden has pledged to continue strikes against Yemen’s Houthis even as he admitted that military action against the rebel group has failed to halt attacks on commercial shipping. Biden made his remarks on Thursday after the US conducted its fifth round of strikes against targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that it had destroyed two anti-ship missiles after determining they were an “imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region”. Asked by reporters if strikes against the rebel group were working, Biden acknowledged they had not stopped attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea. “Well, when you say working, are they stopping the Houthis? No,” Biden said. “Are they gonna continue? Yes.” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said in a later briefing that the Houthis would have to make the decision to stop the attacks. “We never said that the Houthis would immediately stop,” Singh said, adding that it was in the group’s “best interests” to halt the attacks. “You’ve seen that we’ve been able to degrade and severely disrupt and destroy a significant number of their capabilities since Thursday. But it’s really on them when they decide that they want to stop interrupting commercial shipping, innocent mariners that are transiting the Red Sea.” Singh also said that the US did not consider itself to be at war with the Houthis and that its actions are in self-defence. “We don’t think that we are at war. We don’t want to see a regional war,” Singh said. “The Houthis are the ones that continue to launch cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles at innocent mariners, at commercial vessels that are just transiting an area that sees, you know, 10 to 15 percent of world’s commerce.” The Houthis in a statement later on Thursday said it had carried out a missile attack on the US ship Chem Ranger in the Gulf of Aden, resulting in “direct hits”. CENTCOM said the rebel group had launched two missiles at the US-owned tanker, but they missed their target. The Iran-backed Houthis have carried out repeated attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea, a major conduit for global trade, in a show of support for Palestinians under Israeli bombardment in Gaza. More than two dozen vessels have been attacked by the group since they seized the Israeli-linked Galaxy Leader vessel in November. The attacks have forced some of the world’s largest shipping operators to redirect their vessels around the southern tip of Africa, severely disrupting global trade. The US and its partners last month launched a multinational force, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to protect commercial vessels from drone and missile attacks in the waterway. Adblock test (Why?)
Palestine boost Asian Cup knockout hopes after draw with UAE
Al Wakrah, Qatar – It was a night to remember at Al Janoub Stadium – a night that belonged to Palestine irrespective of the result on the pitch. The crowd’s noise, flags and numbers all were in the favour of the team that came into the match with an AFC Asian Cup 2023 loss to its name and a relentless war on its people. The unrestrained show of love and support for the war-struck nation began before kickoff, increased as the night wore on and quietened down only when the last set of fans had left the stadium at the end of Palestine’s Group C match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Al Wakrah on Thursday night. Chants of “Free, free Palestine” went up in a crescendo when the players walked out of the tunnel and onto the pitch. The Palestinian players acknowledged the crowd with waves and applause before gathering in a huddle. “The players will feel a sense of responsibility tonight – they must be aware that they are carrying the hopes of a nation under war,” Mariana al-Hindi, a Palestinian resident of Qatar, told Al Jazeera ahead of kickoff. “They will want to put a smile on everyone’s face by doing well tonight,” she said as she approached the turnstiles with her husband and daughter. “As Palestinians, we are happy to see our country represented and recognised at a big event, but at the same time, we are heartbroken about the situation in Gaza,” Abdullah, her husband, said. Mariana al-Hindi, Abdullah and their daughter outside the stadium [Hafsa Adil/Al Jazeera] Once the match kicked off, the men in red were willed on by a roaring crowd. Every touch of the ball by a Palestinian player was cheered and every time the UAE held possession the unabashedly partisan crowd loudly booed. Palestine enjoyed some early possession, but the UAE soon settled into a rhythm and began attacking the Palestinian goal. Their efforts bore fruit in the 23rd minute when Sultan Adil scored from a free header. The stadium fell silent for a moment until a small contingent of Emirati fans began singing. Sultan Adil celebrates scoring for the UAE [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera] Not to be deterred, the rest of the crowd picked up again and urged the Palestinian team to push for a goal and when Oday Dabbagh was hauled down in UAE’s box 12 minutes later, the crowd jumped up and pointed to the penalty spot. The referee’s dismissal of the appeals was not taken well by the crowd, who willed him on to run a VAR check. When a penalty was subsequently awarded to Palestine and Khalifa al-Hammadi was shown a red card, the stadium stood up to applaud the decision. Tamer Sayem failed to convert from the spot and the first half ended with UAE still in the lead. There was no let up in cheering during half-time, especially when the intro to the song Dammi Filastini (My Blood is Palestinian) blared from the PA. The crowd was up on its dancing feet and singing along to the chorus – they were all Palestinian for one night. Palestine fans at Al Janoub Stadium [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera] When play resumed, Palestine looked to take control of the proceedings with early pressure and it bore fruit as the UAE scored an own goal in the 48th minute. Palestine didn’t care how the goal came – they ran around the pitch in delight. In the stands, it was pandemonium. Children jumped on the seats, women hugged each other and men let the tears flow when the ball went in. “These players have been through a lot, all Palestinians have been through a lot, so this was a very special moment,” Yassine Abdullah, a Palestinian student, said moments after the goal. “Everyone saw what hard work, inspiration and support did for Morocco at the World Cup. We are hoping this match can do the same for our team,” he said as Palestine pressed for a second goal. “We could be the Morocco of this tournament.” Palestine equalise through an own goal [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera] Despite their relentless attacks, the 10-man UAE team kept Palestine at bay and held on for a 1-1 draw. At the full-time whistle, the Palestinian players walked around the pitch to applaud their supporters for the electric atmosphere that kept them going all the way until the end. Assad Qusais, who watched the match with his family, said the men in red may have done just enough to keep some hope alive. “It depends on they play against Hong Kong [in the last group match] but we could still make it as one of the best third-placed teams,” he said with a shrug. Abdullah, who compared the support enjoyed by Palestine to the backing Morocco enjoyed at the World Cup, said he would love it if his team replicated a similar run. The continental tournament and the match may not carry the weight of a World Cup, but the night meant the world to the passionate Palestinian supporters. Adblock test (Why?)
At least 10 civilians dead in suspected Jordanian air raids in Syria
An estimated 10 civilians have been killed in air strikes targeting the neighbouring towns of Arman and Malh in the southeast Syrian province of Sweida, according to local media. Jordanian forces are believed to be behind Thursday’s attacks, though its government has yet to confirm any involvement. Sweida 24, a news platform based in its namesake city, said warplanes carried out simultaneous strikes on residential neighbourhoods after midnight local time (21:00 GMT). The attack in Malh caused material damage to some houses. The second strike in Arman, however, collapsed two houses and killed at least 10 civilians, including four women and two girls, both under the age of five. Jordan is thought to have carried out previous raids in Syria, mostly near the countries’ shared border, in an effort to disrupt weapons smuggling and drug-trafficking operations. The news outlet Suwayda shared this image on social media of the wreckage following a suspected Jordanian air raid on January 18 [Suwayda 24 via Reuters] But inhabitants of the towns struck on Thursday questioned the choice of targets. “What happened was a massacre against children and women,” Murad al-Abdullah, a resident of Arman, told Al Jazeera. “The air strikes that targeted the villages are far from being identified as fighting drug traffickers.” Al-Abdullah said the bombing was not limited to houses of people suspected to be involved in drug trafficking. He noted other homes were damaged as well, terrorising villagers while they were asleep and causing needless civilian deaths. “It is unreasonable for two girls who are no more than five years old to be involved in drug trafficking,” al-Abdullah said. Tribes and residents of the villages near the Jordanian border issued separate statements this week disavowing any involvement in drug smuggling. The statements also pledged to lend a hand to Jordan to eliminate criminal networks trafficking narcotics and other drugs across the border. In turn, they asked Jordan to suspend its bombings of civilian sites. The spiritual leader of the Druze religious group in Syria, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, appealed to Jordan to prevent further civilian bloodshed. “The attacks should be heavily focused towards the smugglers and their supporters exclusively,” al-Hajri said in a public statement. Al-Abdullah, the Arman resident, also called on Jordan to collaborate with Syrian locals to stop the trafficking operations. “We are a society that does not accept the manufacture or trade of drugs, and the Jordanian government should have communicated with our elders to cooperate in combating drug traffickers, instead of bombing residential neighbourhoods,” al-Abdullah said. Suspected attacks aimed at drug-trafficking operations Thursday’s attack is believed to be the third time this year that Jordanian planes have carried out air raids on Syrian territory. A previous attack occurred on January 9, resulting in the deaths of three people in the countryside of Sweida, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based rights monitor. The Observatory said that five smugglers were also killed in a border attack on January 7. Fighting that day took place sporadically over 10 hours. By the end of the raid, Jordanian forces had arrested 15 suspects. They also claimed to have recovered 627,000 pills of Captagon, an illicitly manufactured amphetamine, and 3.4kg of cannabis. “What Jordan is doing can certainly delay drug-smuggling operations but unfortunately, cannot stop them completely. The border with Syria is 375km (233 miles) long, and smuggling operations are carried out by professional groups, not some random individuals carrying out bags of drugs to cross the border,” said Essam al-Zoubi, a lawyer and human rights activist. Drug enforcement officials in the United States and other Western countries have said that war-torn Syria has become a major hub in the Middle East for the drug trade. The country, for instance, has become the primary manufacturer for Captagon, a multibillion-dollar business. Experts have said smugglers are using Jordan as a route through which Syrian drugs can reach the oil-rich Gulf states. A Syrian soldier arranges packets of Captagon pills in Damascus, Syria, on November 30, 2021 [File: SANA via AP Photo] Al-Zoubi and other human rights advocates have warned the Syrian government itself is involved in the drug trade, in an effort to shore up its war-drained finances. Reports indicated that the Fourth Armoured Division of the Syrian Army has played a role in overseeing the country’s drug operations, alongside the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, an ally of the Syrian government. “The officials responsible for drug smuggling in Syria are Hezbollah of Lebanon, the Fourth Division, and the security apparatuses of the Syrian regime that control southern Syria,” al-Zoubi said. Jordan and its allies have also taken other approaches to stopping the drug trade. In March last year, for instance, the US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on six people, including two relatives of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, for their role in producing and trafficking Captagon. Some of those sanctioned had ties to Hezbollah as well. But al-Zoubi warns that even targeted attacks on Syrian drug dealers will not be enough to stop the trade. “It does not matter to the drug officials from Hezbollah or the Fourth Division if traders are killed, as the trades themselves will continue regardless of the people,” al-Zoubi said, pointing to an example in May 2023. Jordanian soldiers patrol the Jordan-Syria border in 2022, as the country seeks to crack down on drug smuggling [File: Raad Adayleh/AP Photo] Jordanian planes, at the time, had carried out air raids in the Sweida countryside, targeting the house of one of the most famous drug traffickers in Syria, Marai al-Ramthan. He was ultimately killed in the attack. But, al-Zoubi said, his death “did not limit drug trafficking but, in fact, increased it”. Other smugglers used his demise as an opportunity to expand their trade in his absence. Omar Idlibi, director of the Doha office at the Harmoon Center for Contemporary Studies, said that geopolitical turmoil in the region has also allowed trafficking to flourish. “Drug-smuggling operations to Jordan did not exist before 2018, that is, before
‘So sad and scared’: Asylum fears mount as White House hints at border deal
Washington, DC – The White House has upped pressure on members of the United States Congress as it seeks a deal that could see aid for Ukraine approved in exchange for possible asylum restrictions. Ornela Medom, a 28-year-old who fled war-torn Cameroon, is among those currently seeking asylum in the US. At a “Save Asylum” demonstration outside the Capitol, she told Al Jazeera she is horrified by what a new immigration deal could bring. “I’m so sad and I’m so scared,” Medom said on Thursday, only a day after Republican and Democratic senators said a vote on a deal could be imminent. Also on Wednesday, Speaker Mike Johnson suggested Republicans in the House of Representatives may take an even harder line on access at the US-Mexico border. “Our lives depend on these secret negotiations that are ongoing,” said Medom, who arrived in the US through the southern border in April. “I am pleading for them to think about us”. A slate of progressive and Hispanic legislators also attended Thursday’s news conference, appealing to Democrats not to accept major changes to US border law as part of any deal. Ornela Medom, an asylum seeker from Cameroon, addresses a news conference at the US Capitol [Joseph Stepansky/Al Jazeera] For months, the White House has sought continued aid to Ukraine, pushing for a $110bn package which would also include military funds for Israel and Taiwan, as well as other security spending. But Republicans have premised further Ukraine aid on changes to stem the flow of migrants and asylum seekers at the southern border. Democratic leaders like President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have signalled a willingness to compromise. Biden “wants to make really significant change on the border”, Schumer said on Wednesday. Asylum rights advocates, however, have described a potential deal as “extortion” and “hostage-taking”. “Republicans are holding foreign aid hostage to extract extreme immigration measures that will not solve the problem,” Representative Nanette Diaz Barragan, a Democrat and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, told reporters on Thursday. The terms of the deal have not yet been made public. But Diaz Barragan said they are expected to include “expanded enforcement, deportations, changes to make it harder to get asylum, and possibly limits to the president’s parole authority”. “It’s gutting asylum, and it’s going to terrorise our communities.” Negotiations ongoing On Wednesday, Biden summoned a group of Democratic and Republican members of Congress to the White House in hopes of bringing negotiations closer to a conclusion. He told those assembled that they needed to “send a strong signal of US resolve” on Ukraine, the White House said in a statement. “He was clear: Congress’s continued failure to act endangers the United States’ national security, the NATO alliance and the rest of the free world,” the statement said. Schumer told reporters afterwards, “I am more optimistic than ever before that we come to an agreement.” Referencing the anticipated deal, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said he was “anticipating that it’ll be before us next week”. Meanwhile, Speaker Johnson underscored that House Republicans, who have a majority in the lower chamber, would not support any deal unless it included “meaningful” new border restrictions. He pointed to a hardline immigration bill passed by the House in May, which included a ban on claiming asylum for those who cross the border irregularly and the resumption of a policy that required asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their claims to be processed. “I told the president what I had been saying for many months, and that is that we must have change at the border, substantive policy change,” Johnson told reporters. “We must insist — must insist — that the border be the top priority.” Speaking on Thursday, Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said the entire premise of the deal must be rejected. She warned that the bipartisan efforts could herald historically “cruel, unworkable and permanent policy changes on immigration”. “It’s imperative that my Senate colleagues and the White House understand what is on the table are policies that are so extreme that, if enacted, they would be the most exclusionary, restrictive immigration legislation since the racial quota laws of the 1920s, literally turning back the clock 100 years,” she said, referencing laws that had set immigration quotas based on nationality, excluding some altogether. ‘What will Republicans ask for the next time?’ Immigration legislation is rarely passed on the federal level in the US, where matters of migration and asylum remain a political third rail. Instead, most recent immigration policy has been set by presidential administrations through executive actions and rules. Those are more vulnerable to court challenges than measures passed as law. That makes the stakes of a congressional deal high. US media has reported that Senate and White House negotiators have broadly agreed in closed-door meetings to several policies reminiscent of those enacted under former President Donald Trump. Those include making eligibility standards higher for people claiming asylum after crossing into the US irregularly, expanding the categories of arrivals who can be detained and monitored, and making it easier to expel migrants and asylum seekers. The Associated Press also reported that one proposal under discussion would have simplified the process for deporting migrants across the country who have been in the US for fewer than two years. It is unclear whether that measure is still on the table, though. Meanwhile, a key sticking point has been attempts to limit the White House’s ability to issue humanitarian parole, which can be used to grant access to migrants on an emergency basis. That power has been a cornerstone of the Biden administration’s most recent border strategy, which limits the ability to claim asylum at the southern border while broadening some legal pathways. “Parole has a really long and bipartisan history of being used to provide safety to Vietnamese allies who worked with the US government, to Soviet Jewish refugees, to Cambodians fleeing the Khmer Rouge, to Cuban political
Israeli arrests of Palestinian journalists soared in 2023: CPJ
More than a dozen Palestinian journalists held in Israeli jails since the start of the Gaza war on October 7. Israel emerged as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists in 2023, according to a report by a press freedom watchdog, with the number of reporters behind bars soaring after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. In its annual snapshot of jailed journalists published on Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found that Israel was the joint sixth biggest jailer of journalists in 2023, alongside Iran. There were 17 Palestinian reporters held in Israeli jails as of December 1, the CPJ said. By comparison, the previous year one Palestinian reporter was held in an Israeli prison, according to the New York-based non-profit group. “Israel has appeared several times on CPJ’s annual census, but this is the highest number of arrests of Palestinian journalists since CPJ began documenting arrests in 1992 and the first time Israel has ranked among the top six offenders,” read the report. All those held in Israeli prisons were detained in the occupied West Bank after the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, when Hamas fighters launched a surprise assault into southern Israel, killing at least 1,139 people, mostly civilians, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on official statistics. Around 240 others were taken captive, according to Israeli authorities. Israel responded with a devasting bombardment and ground offensive on Gaza. More than 24,600 people have been killed in the Israeli assault, according to Palestinian officials. In the more than three months since the Gaza war started, violence has soared in towns and cities across the West Bank, with Israeli forces conducting near-daily raids and mass arrests. According to the new report, most of the journalists arrested were held under administrative detention – a practice where Israeli authorities hold detainees without charge or trial for up to six months. The detention can be extended based on “secret evidence” that neither the detainees nor their lawyers are allowed to see. Due to the lack of information on the reason behind the jailing, the CPJ said it has been difficult to establish why the 17 journalists had been arrested. Several of the reporters’ families said they believe they were jailed for messages posted on social media, the report said. The CPJ’s list is a snapshot of people incarcerated on December 1, and it does not include those imprisoned or released throughout the year. As of January 17, at least 19 reporters were still in jail, the CPJ said. Al Jazeera journalist Wael Dahdouh reacts as he attends the funeral of his son, Palestinian journalist Hamza Dahdouh, after Hamza was killed in an Israeli strike, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters] The Gaza war has also seen a spike in the number of journalists killed in the region. As of mid-January, 83 reporters have been killed since the start of the conflict. At least 67 were Palestinians, four were Israeli and three were Lebanese, according to the CPJ. Since the start of 2024, the committee recorded that at least six journalists were killed, including Hamza Dahdouh, the eldest son of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh. He was the fourth member of Dahdouh’s close family to have been killed in the war. Hundreds held worldwide The report found that 320 journalists were in prison worldwide on December 1 of last year, the second-highest number recorded since the committee began documenting arrests in 1992. The total marks a fall from a record global high in 2022 when more than 360 reporters were behind bars. This represents “a disturbing barometer of entrenched authoritarianism and the vitriol of governments determined to smother independent voices”, read the report. “Some governments go a step further, using transnational repression to threaten and harass reporters beyond their own borders,” it added. China is the worst offender, with 44 journalists in jail, followed by Myanmar (43) and Belarus (28). More than 65 percent of those listed in the census are accused of spreading false information and of “terrorism in retaliation for their critical coverage”. In 66 cases, those held have not yet been told of the charges they are facing, read the report. Adblock test (Why?)
How much will the US Supreme Court shape the 2024 presidential election?
Los Angeles, California – As the United States’ presidential primary season kicks off, the Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on several high-profile cases that could influence the election results. But experts say that puts the court in a precarious position. With Republican frontrunner and former president Donald Trump embroiled in multiple legal proceedings, the court may be forced to confront the limits of its impartiality. Some justices may even have to publicly evaluate the conduct of the former president who nominated them to the role. Trump, after all, is credited with giving the court its current conservative supermajority, after appointing three justices during his term in office. The Trump cases will be “a test for whether or not the court can somehow put aside their political preferences and biases”, said Michael Gerhardt, a professor of jurisprudence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Former President Donald Trump is the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race [File: Alex Brandon/AP Photo] Testing the limits of presidential immunity One of the cases likely headed to the Supreme Court has to do with Trump’s broad claims to immunity for actions he took while president. Federal prosecutors, led by special counsel Jack Smith, have argued Trump conspired to overturn the 2020 election results during his final days in office. But Trump’s legal team has called on the court system to throw out the charges, on the premise that, as president, he was immune to criminal prosecution. An appeals court heard arguments in the case this month. If Trump loses there, he will likely turn to the Supreme Court with another appeal. Gerhardt said Trump’s immunity case will be a tough sell, though. “Trump’s immunity argument is incredibly weak. In fact, it’s just bad. And I have a hard time imagining that any court would agree with his argument.” But Gerhardt added the Supreme Court may not take the case at all, leaving the federal appeal court’s decision as the last word. “They’re probably not eager to get involved at all. The immunity case probably presents a great opportunity for the court to just stay out of it.” A courtroom sketch on January 9 depicts former President Donald Trump and his legal team at an appeals court hearing over presidential immunity claims [File: Bill Hennessy/Reuters] ‘Insurrection clause’ on the docket The Supreme Court has already been asked to intervene in another case, over whether states can remove Trump from their primary ballots. Colorado and Maine maintain that Trump is not qualified to be on their ballots due to his actions on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the US Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying 2020 election results. Both states cited the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which includes a section that bars individuals from holding public office if they swear an oath of allegiance and then aid in an insurrection. Trump had spoken to the rioters before the 2021 attack on the Capitol, repeating false claims that the election was stolen and calling on the crowd to “fight like hell”. Experts told Al Jazeera that, of all the cases the Supreme Court may take in 2024, its decision on whether Trump can be removed from state ballots could have the greatest impact on the election. Never before has the Supreme Court ruled on the so-called “insurrection clause”. The states’ actions also mark the first time in history that the clause has been used against a presidential candidate. For their part, Trump’s lawyers argue it is unclear whether the law applies to the president’s office, and they have framed Trump’s remarks as falling within the limits of free speech. Colorado lawyer Eric Olson argues before the state Supreme Court on December 6 that Donald Trump should not appear on the state’s primary ballots [File: David Zalubowski/Pool via AP Photo] A likely win for Trump The court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case starting on February 8, ahead of the Maine and Colorado primaries on March 5. Each primary vote helps decide which candidates receive major party nominations. Mark Graber, a law professor at the University of Maryland School of Law, said the Supreme Court justices will want to have the case wrapped up swiftly to prevent voter confusion. “They’re likely to weigh in fairly quickly, in the sense that they’ll realise that this is something that ought not to be left hanging,” Graber said of the justices. “So far, he [Trump] has not been kicked off any ballot where there is a primary that looks immediate.” The primary season is set to start on January 23 with a vote in New Hampshire. Barbara Perry, professor of presidential studies at the University of Virginia, expects the conservative-stacked Supreme Court to ultimately decide in Trump’s favour. “I think it’s highly likely that they will,” she told Al Jazeera. “Typically, political scientists have found across the board that justices tend to follow the ideology of their appointing president 70 to 80 percent of the time.” Graber called the case “very challenging” for the court’s justices, particularly given their political leanings. “It’s going to be very hard to avoid the appearance of bias, given the nature of the case,” he explained. “Like abortion, everyone believes their position is the neutral position, and anyone who decides differently is obviously biased.” The Supreme Court is composed of nine members, including six justices who lean conservative and three liberal votes [File: J Scott Applewhite/AP Photo] Bias on the bench The question of judicial bias is a growing concern for the Supreme Court. Historically, the high court has been framed as a body that stands above politics, answerable only to the law. But that image has been shaken, as the court finds itself facing credibility questions. Public opinion of the Supreme Court recently dropped to a historic low. In 2023, the Pew Research Center found that only 44 percent of Americans perceived the court favourably — marking the first time since 1987 that the
‘Libya is hell’ 126 refugees rescued in the Mediterranean say
Mediterranean Sea – In the pitch-black hours of early Thursday morning, the Humanity 1 rescue ship approached a sky-blue wooden boat in distress in the central Mediterranean Sea. On board were at least 126 people who were suffering from hypothermia, dehydration and exhaustion from clinging to the boat for hours as it struggled to stay upright amid waves as high as two metres (six feet). Cries for help in Arabic echoed off the waves in the pre-sunrise. “‘We were ready for death, we were dying,’” a 30-year-old Syrian survivor told Al Jazeera as he clung to the orange rescue RIB (rigid inflatable boat) shuttling the refugees to the mothership while fighting against the high waves. Among the survivors were one newborn and 30 minors, most of whom had embarked on the treacherous Mediterranean crossing on their own without an adult to accompany them. “The newborn was completely covered in blankets, it was not easy to recognise that there was a baby inside. “We also had very old people this time, some of them weren’t even able to walk by themselves due to dehydration and exhaustion,” Viviana di Bartolo, Humanity 1’s search and rescue coordinator, said. According to the survivors, they had departed from the Libyan coast two days ago and were in distress due to rough weather conditions and high waves when they were intercepted by Humanity 1 while drifting in Maltese waters. Many of the survivors were afraid they would be taken back to Libya [Nora Adin Fares/Al Jazeera] They boarded the Humanity 1 barefoot, completely soaked in saltwater and obviously suffering from the cold and severe dehydration. Many were disoriented and afraid they would be taken back to Libya. ‘Not even treated as humans’ The survivors spoke to Al Jazeera about the horrific ordeals they had suffered to make it across the Mediterranean, especially human rights violations on the Libyan side. A young Syrian survivor in his early 20s, suffering from severe hypothermia, said he had tried to make the crossing from Tripoli to the south of Italy three times and that every time he had been intercepted by the Libyan coastguard. “It has been hell. Libya is hell. I tried leaving for eight months now without success, over and over again, we were forced back,” he said. Another survivor on board Humanity 1 testified to the inhumane conditions in Libyan prisons over the past year, after he had been forced back in a failed attempt to leave the North African coast in early 2023. “You don’t understand, we were not even treated as humans”, he said. The Humanity 1 was assigned a port of safety in Genova, north of Italy – but will request a closer port to disembark the suffering survivors sooner. Viviana di Bartolo, Humanity 1’s search and rescue coordinator [Nora Adin Fares/Al Jazeera] “We’ll ask for a closer port of safety because of the rough weather conditions and the fact that we have several vulnerable cases on board and people that require medical attention,” Lukas Kaldenhoff, Humanity 1’s press officer, says. ‘Boats in distress’ The desperate people who make these dangerous crossings have usually paid every last penny they have to human smugglers who put them on board rickety boats with no concern for their safety. As the boats flounder on the high seas, often the only hope these refugees have of survival is that their plea for help is picked up by a vessel that is willing to come help. “They [the survivors] were not only in distress because of the water conditions, but because of the boat,” di Bartolo said, exhausted after shuttling refugees between the wooden boat and the mothership for more than two hours. “It was very poorly structured, had no safety equipment at all or people that could navigate. The people on board had no life jackets or even basic stuff such as water, food or even a toilet. This kind of boat is not meant to sail in a safe way, not at all,” she continued. According to international law, vessels have a clear duty to help boats in distress. That definition is determined on a case-by-case basis but, according to di Bartolo, the term “boat in distress” is applicable to nearly every departure from Tunisia and Libya that aims to cross the central Mediterranean route. The small, overloaded boat had no safety precautions on board when the Humanity 1 intercepted it [Nora Adin Fares/Al Jazeera] On Wednesday night, Humanity 1’s crew had received two different Mayday calls about boats in distress, and they desperately tried to clarify whether there was another boat nearby. The first Mayday came from Frontex, the European border control, regarding a wooden boat carrying 40 people and the other from Alarm Phone, [a hotline for people in distress] regarding 90 people. “We’re now sure that both calls were regarding the boat we rescued this morning”, Kaldenhoff said. Humanity 1 is operated by the German NGO SOS Humanity and has been undertaking risky search-and-rescue missions across the Mediterranean Sea since 2022. At least 2,498 refugees, migrants and asylum seekers are known to have drowned in 2023 while crossing the central Mediterranean according to the International Organization for Migration, making it the deadliest year since 2017. But the real number is believed to be far higher. The Central Mediterranean is the deadliest known migration route in the world, with more than 17,000 deaths and disappearances recorded by the Missing Migrants Project since 2014. Most of the departures are from Libya and Tunisia – but the refugees and migrants have often travelled far from countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Turkey or Egypt, fleeing violence, discrimination, and a loss of livelihood. [embedded content] Adblock test (Why?)