Qatar at AFC Asian Cup 2023: Hosts, defending champions but not favourites
Lusail Stadium, which played host as Lionel Messi’s Argentina lifted their third FIFA World Cup crown, will light up in gold once again as Qatar begin their AFC Asian Cup title defence in the tournament’s opening match against Lebanon on Friday evening. The Al Annabi (the Maroons) may enjoy the support of a partisan crowd as they step on the pitch as defending champions, but their journey from lifting the trophy in 2019 to hosting the current edition has been turbulent. Qatar go into the tournament on the back of big wins in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, but their outings against higher-ranked teams have resulted in heavy losses in recent months. Paired with the sacking of the vastly experienced former Portugal and Real Madrid manager Carlos Queiroz a month before the Asian Cup and only 10 months into the job, they have left question marks over Qatar’s preparations. Queiroz took over from Felix Sanchez – a popular Spanish coach who worked his way up in Qatar’s football setup and led Qatar to the Asian Cup triumph in the United Arab Emirates four years ago. However, Sanchez’s contract was not renewed at the end of 2022, as he saw Qatar lose all three of their group stage matches as hosts of the 2022 World Cup. Another Spanish coach, Marquez Lopez, who was previously in charge of Qatar Stars League club Al Wakrah, was quickly appointed Quieroz’s successor. It is far from the preparations and build-up the team that shocked Japan in the final four years ago would have liked. The first match for #AlAnnabi 🇶🇦 in #AsianCup2023 🏆:⚽ Qatar 🆚 Lebanon 🗓️ Friday, January 12, 2024🎬 Opening Ceremony: 17:00⏰ Kick-off: 19:00🏟️ Lusail Stadium#LetsWin 💪 pic.twitter.com/aD7cujUBLX — Qatar Football Association (@QFA_EN) January 10, 2024 Qatar to use pressure ‘in a positive way’ Nonetheless, Qatar are expected to make a strong defence of a trophy they fought so hard to lift for the first time and defender Tarek Salman says the pressure is not the same as it was going into the World Cup. “Normally you have pressure,” he said, insisting that being the current Asian champions would affect the team “in a positive way, not in a negative way”. The 26-year-old, who plays for Qatari club Al Sadd, did admit that the change of management meant the players have been required to adapt to a Spanish style. Publicly the players have welcomed the appointment and Salman says it is a late change of direction that he believes the team can navigate. “I think it’s going to fit us and we hope to achieve good things with the coach,” he added. Former national team player Raed Yaqoub, who represented his country between 1993 and 2001, says that despite the upheaval, Qatar should easily get out of a group that also contains China and Tajikistan, and that the semifinals should be possible. The 49-year-old player-turned-pundit, who made 23 appearances for the national team, has sympathy for the task the lies before Lopez after the events of December. “I think that holding him responsible only a month before the tournament is a mistake,” he said, adding that he sees Japan, as the strongest team, while also fancying Roberto Mancini’s Saudi Arabia. Japan ‘looking for revenge’ Another former Qatar international, Mohamed Mubarak al-Mohannadi said the switch so close to the Asian Cup would make it difficult “for any coach to make the required transformation within a month’s period”. Al-Mohannadi, who played 17 times in midfield for his nation in the 1980s, warned that Qatar will have a target on their backs as holders, particularly in the eyes of Japan, who he said would be “looking for revenge”. “Japan is a developed team and its level has risen greatly since then,” he said, “unlike the Qatari team, whose level has declined significantly.” Qatar won plaudits for its organisation of the World Cup in 2022 but the team lost to Netherlands, Senegal and Ecuador to exit at the group stage. It was the worst performance by any World Cup host. 🇳🇱 Netherlands 2 – 0 Qatar 🇶🇦 FULL-TIME: With the final blow of the whistle, Qatar’s World Cup run comes to an end as the Netherlands win 2-0 at Al Bayt Stadium. ⚽ LIVE #NEDQAT match blog: https://t.co/BS6R9iDxMR pic.twitter.com/nQOOGqF1Qi — AJE Sport (@AJE_Sport) November 29, 2022 The Asian Cup, transferred to Qatar from China due to the latter’s “zero-COVID” policy, was hoped to be a fresh start. Quieroz won five, lost five and drew two matches in his aborted four-year contract while Lopez’s first game in charge, at the end of December, was a 3-0 win over Cambodia, a team which failed to qualify for the regional championship. Lopez, who played for Espanyol in his native Spain, said it was “important” that he knew Qatari football, having managed Al-Wakrah for six years. “I know the players, I know my mentality and I know … my idea for playing,” he said, explaining he was not “arriving new”. The 62-year-old said following his appointment that “in football, there is pressure all the time,” and downplayed the idea that his side was under pressure to make up for their World Cup disappointment. “More important for the players is enjoying the match,” he said. Ultimately when the words stop and the whistle blows at the 88,000-capacity Lusail Stadium, the expectation will be that the time has come for the performance of the defending champions to match the occasion. [embedded content] Adblock test (Why?)
China, Maldives upgrade ties with infrastructure deals in pivot from India
Maldives’ new president makes first state visit to Beijing as China and India vie for influence in Indian Ocean nation. China and the Maldives have upgraded their relationship during newly elected President Mohamed Muizzu’s first state visit to Beijing, following a campaign in which he cast China’s regional rival India as a threat to its sovereignty. The Maldives signed several new agreements with China – its largest external creditor – on Wednesday, including ones on climate, agriculture and infrastructure, Muizzu’s office said on Thursday. No details about the value of the deals were shared by either side. Chinese President Xi Jinping, speaking at the Great Hall of the People, called Muizzu “an old friend” as the Asian giant set the stage for further investment in the Indian Ocean archipelago by agreeing to a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership”. In talks with Xi, Muizzu “expressed gratitude for China’s significant role in the Maldives’ economic success … and infrastructure development,” read a statement from his office. “Under the new circumstances, China-Maldives relations face a historic opportunity to build on past achievements and forge ahead,” Xi told Muizzu, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua. Maldives’ President Mohamed Muizzu (2nd L), his wife Sajidha Mohamed (L), Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd R) and his wife Peng Liyuan at a welcome ceremony in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on January 10, 2024 [CNS via AFP] The Chinese president said he “respects and supports the Maldives in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions”, it said. But the World Bank, in a report in October, warned further cosying up to China could spell trouble in the Maldives, since the $1.37bn it already owes Beijing represents about 20 percent of its public debt. China is the Maldives’ biggest bilateral creditor, ahead of Saudi Arabia and India, to which it owes $124m and $123m, respectively. India’s relations with the Maldives have been strained, especially since Muizzu, who campaigned on an “India Out” platform, took office. He promised to remove a unit of Indian security personnel, deployed to operate three aircraft gifted to the Maldives to patrol its vast maritime territory. Sri Lanka, another neighbour of India, has also been gravitating towards China. India and China’s relations soured in 2020 after clashes between soldiers in the western Himalayas resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops. Last month, Muizzu said he had secured the withdrawal of Indian soldiers, but did not give a timeframe. He has denied seeking to redraw the regional balance by bringing in Chinese forces instead. Tensions between the two nations continued to flare last week, following disparaging social media posts made by three of Muizzu’s junior ministers, who reportedly called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “clown”, ” a terrorist” and “puppet of Israel”, in response to a video of him promoting tourism in Lakshadweep, an Indian territory in the Arabian Sea. The posts on X have since been deleted. In the Maldives, some viewed Modi’s visit as trying to draw tourists away from the globally popular destination, whose 1,192 islands in the Indian Ocean are dotted with luxury resorts. Adblock test (Why?)
A quick guide to South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel
The two-day public hearing in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) begins on Thursday. The South African government brought the case against Israel on December 29, accusing it of “genocidal acts” in its assaults on Gaza. Palestinians and pro-Palestine campaigners around the world are hoping the ICJ might halt Israel’s devastating military campaign in Gaza, which has seen more than 23,000 people killed – nearly 10,000 of them children. Here’s the ICJ case, simplified: What is the International Court of Justice? The ICJ, also called the World Court, is the highest United Nations legal body that can adjudicate on issues between member states. It is separate from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which tries individuals in criminal cases. The ICJ comprises 15 judges appointed for nine-year terms through elections at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and the Security Council (UNSC). The court’s rulings are binding and cannot be appealed by member states, but it depends on the UNSC to enforce the decisions. What are South Africa’s accusations against Israel? South Africa has accused Israel of committing the crime of genocide in Gaza in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention, which both countries are party to. The killing of Palestinians in Gaza in large numbers, especially children; destruction of their homes; their expulsion and displacement; blockade on food, water and medical assistance to the strip; the imposition of measures preventing Palestinian births by destroying essential health services crucial for the survival of pregnant women and babies, are all listed as genocidal actions in the suit. South Africa is requesting that the ICJ move urgently to prevent Israel from committing further crimes in the strip using “provisional measures” – essentially an emergency order that can be applied even before the main case begins. It argues that provisional measures are necessary “to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention, which continue to be violated with impunity”. What has Israel said? Israel, which has lambasted South Africa for bringing the case, has promised to defend itself at the court. Senior Israeli officials, including President Isaac Herzog, have called the case “preposterous” and say it constitutes a “blood libel”. Israel is likely to argue that its killing of more than 23,000 people in Gaza is in self-defence. Herzog, speaking to visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, said Israel “will present proudly our case of using self-defense under our most inherent right under international humanitarian law”. How long will the trial go on? The initial proceedings will likely last only a few weeks, so we should expect a sentencing from the court, in favour of or against South Africa’s urgent request, in a few weeks. The main case though, could take much longer – years. The ICJ’s deliberations are a painstaking process, involving detailed written submissions followed by oral arguments and counter-arguments by the team of top legal counsels representing each state. Experts say a sentence in this case could take three to four years. How does the ICJ decide cases? After the initial proceedings this week on provisional measures, and later on in the main case, ICJ judges will take a vote to decide on a sentence. Judges ought to be impartial but in the past, some have voted in line with their countries’ politics. When the bench voted in favour of a decision to provisionally order Russia out of Ukraine in March 2022, judges from Russia and China voted against the decision. Several countries and organisations have backed South Africa’s suit. Malaysia, Turkey, Jordan, Bolivia, the Maldives, Namibia, Pakistan, Columbia, and members of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) are among them. The European Union has been silent, but Israel has seen support from its number one backer and weapons supplier, the United States. Department of State spokesperson Matt Miller said in a statement the “allegations that Israel is committing genocide are unfounded”, but he added that Israel must “prevent civilian harm” and investigate allegations of humanitarian crimes. A Palestinian man sits near the rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike in Rafah on January 9, 2024. [Mohammed Salem/Reuters] Adblock test (Why?)
Taiwan hits back at China for ‘repeated interference’ in upcoming elections
Taipei responds to Beijing calling frontrunner candidate Lai ‘dangerous’ and towards ‘evil path’ of independence. Taiwan has condemned China for what it called intimidation of its citizenry and attempts to influence the island’s elections on Saturday. On Thursday, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu criticised China’s “repeated interference” in the upcoming polls, lambasting Beijing for “once again blatantly intimidating the Taiwanese people and the international community”. The elections “are in the international spotlight & PRC’s repeated interference steals the focus. Frankly, Beijing should stop messing with other countries’ elections & hold their own,” he posted on X, using the acronym for China’s official name. #Taiwan’s upcoming elections are in the international spotlight & the #PRC’s repeated interference steals the focus. Frankly, #Beijing should stop messing with other countries’ elections & hold their own. Let the #Chinese people freely choose their leaders. JW https://t.co/Wcamt885QM pic.twitter.com/TdTghS82sr — 外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MOFA_Taiwan) January 11, 2024 The statement was in response to China and Taiwan’s largest opposition party warning that Vice President and presidential hopeful Lai Ching-te, from the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), would be a threat to peace in the region if he wins. “I sincerely hope the majority of Taiwan compatriots recognise the extreme harm of the DPP’s ‘Taiwan independence’ line and the extreme danger of Lai Ching-te’s triggering of cross-Strait confrontation and conflict, and to make the right choice at the crossroads of cross-Strait relations,” said China’s Taiwan Affairs Office in a statement. If elected, Lai would further promote separatist activities towards the “evil path” of independence, the statement said. The China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) opposition party also denounced Lai for his independence stance. The KMT’s vice presidential candidate, Jaw Shaw-kong, said if Lai wins, then tensions would surge before May 20, when President Tsai Ing-wen hands over power. “Tsai Ing-wen is more low key, not shouting every day about ‘I’m for Taiwan independence’ and the Taiwan Strait is already so tense. If Lai Ching-te wins, do you think the cross-strait situation will be better than it is now,” said Jaw. Taiwan is holding presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday, an event that is being closely watched globally due to geopolitical tensions. China has not publicly referred to a preferred candidate but has called the election a choice between war and peace. It has long claimed Taiwan as its own territory, viewing the island as a renegade province. It has not given up on the idea of using force to take Taiwan, ramping up military activity around the island in recent years. On Thursday, China called on the United States to “refrain from intervening” in the elections, saying it “firmly opposed” official visits between the island and the US after Washington said it would send a delegation there following this week’s polls. This would serve to cause “serious damage to China-US relations”, said China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning. Lai has said he is committed to peace in the region and open to conditional engagement with Beijing. The frontrunner said on Tuesday that he has no intention of changing Taiwan’s formal name, the Republic of China, which was established in 1949 after a civil war involving Mao Zedong’s Communists, who established the People’s Republic of China. The DPP has portrayed the KMT and its presidential candidate, Hou Yu-ih, as pro-Beijing. Hou, however, has rejected the allegation that he is “pro-China and a sell-out of Taiwan”. He said he would not touch the issue of “unification” if elected. Instead, he would encourage communication with China. He has also said he is opposed to the “one country, two systems” autonomy model Beijing has offered to Taiwan. Lai has also opposed China’s autonomy model. “We cannot have illusions about peace. Accepting China’s ‘one-China’ principle is not true peace,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Who is Israeli MP Ofer Cassif, why is he backing South Africa at the ICJ?
A firebrand Israeli parliamentarian provoked a political and social media storm earlier this week when he signed a petition supporting South Africa’s case of genocide against Israel, which is to be heard at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. Ofer Cassif, who declared his backing for South Africa on social media, will support the country’s legal bid when it comes before the ICJ on Thursday and Friday this week. “My constitutional duty is to Israeli society and all its residents,” he wrote on X on January 7. “Not to a government whose members and its coalition are calling for ethnic cleansing and even actual genocide. They are the ones who harm the country and the people, they are the ones who led to South Africa’s appeal to The Hague, not me and my friends.” The Palestinian death toll from Israel’s near-100-day bombardment of the Gaza Strip has crossed 23,000 people, including nearly 10,000 children. Who is Ofer Cassif? Cassif is a politician from the left-wing, Arab-majority Hadash-Ta’al party, Hadash being the Hebrew acronym for the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality. Born in Rishon LeZion near Tel Aviv in 1964, he has been a member of the Israeli parliament for nearly five years. Cassif has a doctorate in political philosophy from the London School of Economics and he was an academic at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem before he entered parliament. His penchant for going against the grain of Israeli society is not new. In the late 1980s, the pro-Palestinian Israeli, who is also a proud communist, spent time in jail for refusing to serve as a soldier in the occupied territories. In 2021, he claimed police beat him while he participated in a protest against an illegal Jewish settlement in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem. Police scuffle with Ofer Cassif, the only Jewish member of the Joint List, an alliance of Arab parties in Israel’s Knesset, during a protest against planned evictions in East Jerusalem, April 9, 2021 [Mahmoud Illean/AP] His pre-parliamentarian attacks on the Israeli state – for instance, calling one-time Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked “neo-Nazi scum” – led the Central Elections Committee to keep him off the ballot for the 2019 elections. That decision was overturned by the Supreme Court, however, and he was elected that year, with Hadash-Ta’al receiving just below 4.5 percent of the national vote and six seats in the Knesset. This compares with more than 26 percent of the vote and 35 seats for each of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and Kahol Lavan, the opposition political alliance led by former Defence Minister Benny Gantz, who is also a member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet. Yossi Mekelberg, an associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, called Cassif “an anomaly in Israeli politics”. “The vast majority of Israeli members of the Knesset are serving in Zionist parties – and this is not the case with Cassif,” said Mekelberg of the anti-Zionist politician. He angered some by refusing to take a supportive stance towards Ukraine in its war with Russia. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Knesset via Zoom in March 2022, a month after the Russian invasion, Cassif declined to attend. “I don’t take sides in a needless war that harms innocent civilians, strengthens people in power and enriches the lords of war,” said Cassif in a tweet. “I do not support nationalists and persecutors of the communists in Ukraine, and no, neither do I support Putin and the Russian communist-hating nationalists. No to war – yes to peace.” What is his vision for Palestine? Cassif is a staunch supporter of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. In December 2023, during a conversation which was transcribed on the website of the Communist Party of Israel, he said, “The Palestinians, as a people, are entitled to have their own independent state. “The compromise is by dividing the land alongside the state of Israel, an independent, sovereign, Palestinian state, which would exist in the old territories that Israel occupied in June ’67. That means the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank. There is no other way.” He is strongly opposed to Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories and has protested against them. In February 2022, he joined protesters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, where families were being evicted from their homes so that settlers could be moved in. Cassif speaks to reporters during a demonstration in support of Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in Jerusalem on February 18, 2022 [Enes Canli/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images] How has Cassif’s stance gone down with the Israeli people? Not well. Cassif is one of just 400 Israelis, in a population of nearly 9.5 million, to sign a petition supporting South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel. As a member of the Knesset, his public act of defiance has gone down like a red rag to a bull. In the wake of the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, which prompted the country to unleash its campaign of aerial bombardments against Gaza, Cassif was suspended from the Knesset for 45 days for criticising the war. Fellow Israeli parliamentarian Oded Forer called Cassif’s decision to stand against the country of his birth “treasonous”, adding that his “words can no longer be heard while the blood of our soldiers and citizens screams from the ground”. Forer is currently collecting lawmakers’ signatures in a bid to have Cassif thrown out of the Knesset. Under Knesset rules, Forer needs to convince 70 members of parliament to support his bid and then gain approval from the Knesset House Committee, before parliament can vote on Cassif’s expulsion. But Cassif appears to enjoy the rough and tumble of Israel’s volatile political scene. “He is, in many ways, more of an activist than a parliamentarian,” said Mekelberg of Cassif. “And what you see is what you get.” Cassif lost friends in the Hamas assault, which killed some 1,139 people. Indeed, in an October 19,
Top 10 players to watch at the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 in Ivory Coast
The CAF Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in Ivory Coast when the hosts face Guinea-Bissau on January 13 at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan. Senegal are the defending champions as they beat Egypt on penalties at the last edition in Cameroon. Here’s a look at our top 10 players whose performances are likely to be decisive if their side is to lift the trophy on February 11: 1. Mohamed Salah: Egypt The hopes and dreams of a nation rest on one man’s shoulders. If Egypt are to add to their record seven continental titles, then Mohamed Salah will have to bear the brunt of the work for the Pharaohs. Egypt have not won an AFCON title since 2010, and Salah has been left on the losing side in the final in both 2017 and 2021. This edition of AFCON may not be the 31-year-old’s last, but it will be the last one where Egypt can truly boast that the king is still at the peak of his powers. How many international goals Salah will add to the 53 he has already netted, in only 93 appearances, is likely to be the decisive stat for Egypt’s hopes for erasing the memory of defeat in the final of the last AFCON by Senegal. The last 🔟 #TotalEnergiesAFCON Player of the Tournament winners. 🏅 Who wins the next one in Côte d’Ivoire? 🤔#TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/Zgll6qWAab — CAF (@CAF_Online) January 7, 2024 2. Sadio Mane: Senegal Although not set to be as defining a role in the Senegal team as his former Liverpool teammate Salah is to Egypt, Sadio Mane is still the main man for his nation. His loss to the Senegal team at the Qatar 2022 World Cup cannot be overstated. As reigning AFCON champions, the Lions of Teranga were thought to be the African team that could break through to the semifinal stage in the global event for the first time. Without Mane, the Lions lost their bite and could not repeat their previous best of a quarterfinal appearance as they were well beaten in the group by the Netherlands and in the round of 16 by England. The 31-year-old’s 39 goals in 100 appearances for his country simply could not be replicated. It’s hard to see how Senegal defend their crown if Mane fails to fire. 3. Victor Osimhen: Nigeria Victor Osimhen became the hottest property in world football last season when he finished as leading scorer in Serie A, helping Napoli to their first league title since 1990. Denied a crack at the 2022 Qatar World Cup by Nigeria’s playoff defeat by Ghana, AFCON 2023 marks Osimhen’s first chance to shine on the international stage. If Nigeria are to lift their fourth crown, and only their second in 30 years, then it is likely that Osimhen will be very close to securing the tournament’s leading scorer accolade. The 25-year-old already has 20 goals in 27 appearances. There is no shortage of riches for Nigeria in their attacking options, but the 2023 African Player of the Year will need to carry either the goalscoring for his team or the workload to keep the focus of the defences on him and, in doing so, free up space for others. pic.twitter.com/trkhIRb8RT — Victor Osimhen (@victorosimhen9) December 17, 2023 4. Mohammed Kudus: Ghana Kudus has taken the Premier League by storm with West Ham this season – something a player transferring to England rarely does in their first year. The midfielder is 12th on the list in the English top flight for goals per minute – not bad for a midfielder in a team where even the strikers are demanded to work back first and foremost. The 23-year-old, who has scored 10 goals in 24 matches in all competitions for the Hammers, first caught the attention of European clubs when Danish side FC Nordsjaelland brought him from Ghana at the age of 17 – a relative latecomer in the modern football world. His rise from there has known no bounds as, two years later, he was snapped up by Ajax where he impressed greatly in his three seasons in Amsterdam, as well as at the 2022 World Cup. Ghana will relish the impact he could have in providing extra quality behind a forward line of the Ayew brothers and Inaki Williams. 5. Youssef En-Nesyri: Morocco On a far different note to that of Salah, Mane and Osimhen, Youssef En-Nesyri’s performance in front of goal is likely to hold the key to Morocco’s ambitions. The historic achievement of reaching the World Cup semifinal in Qatar left their manager Walid Regragui with a clear mission ahead: to win the 2023 AFCON. To do so, Morocco need to find goals. Their defence is their rock and is securely guarded by Sofyan Amrabat, but their attack needs to find the net more regularly and criticism has been planted at the feet of En-Nesyri. The 26-year-old’s return of 17 goals in 61 matches is not exactly an embarrassment at the international level and Regragui has highlighted the Seville striker’s work rate for the team as a key element of their success. France famously won the 1998 World Cup without a recognised goalscorer, so perhaps Morocco do not need to panic. There are, however, some incredible goal scorers at the tournament who might just pinch a tight game for their side and leave the Atlas Lions licking their wounds. The Atlas Lions are practicing their celebrations already 😉🇲🇦@EnMaroc | #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/rk1UDarPng — CAF (@CAF_Online) January 10, 2024 6. Andre Onana: Cameroon Onana’s return from international retirement in goal for Cameroon could be as problematic for the coach as it is, no doubt, welcome for the fans and his teammates. His dismissal from the World Cup squad during the tournament and subsequent retirement appeared to spell the end of this international career – at least while Rigobert Song was in charge of the team anyway. The 27-year-old’s recall to the squad in September for the AFCON qualifiers was
Ecuador ‘in state of war’ against drug cartels’ terror campaign
With city streets largely deserted apart from a massive military deployment, Ecuador found itself in a “state of war” as drug cartels waged a brutal campaign of kidnappings and attacks in response to a government crackdown. Hundreds of soldiers patrolled the capital, Quito, where residents were gripped by fear over a surge in violence that has also prompted alarm abroad. The small South American country has been plunged into crisis after years of increasing control by transnational cartels that use its ports to ship cocaine to the United States and Europe. The latest outburst of violence was sparked by the discovery on Sunday of the prison escape of one of the country’s most powerful narco bosses, Jose Adolfo Macias, known by the alias “Fito”. On Monday, President Daniel Noboa imposed a state of emergency and nighttime curfew, but the gangs hit back with a declaration of “war” – threatening to execute civilians and security forces. They also instigated numerous prison riots, set off explosions in public places and waged attacks in which at least 14 people have been killed. More than 100 prison guards and administrative staff have been taken hostage, the prisons authority said. In the port city of Guayaquil, attackers wearing balaclavas stormed a state-owned TV station on Tuesday, briefly taking several journalists and staff members hostage and firing shots in dramatic scenes broadcast live before police arrived. Local media reported some of the attackers were as young as 16. This attack, in particular, spread panic among the general population, many of whom left work and closed shops to return to the safety of their homes. “Today we are not safe, anything can happen,” said Luis Chiligano, a 53-year-old security guard in Quito who explained he was opting to hide rather than confront “the criminals, who are better armed”. Noboa said on Wednesday that the country was now in a “state of war,” as he promised not to yield to the gangs. Adblock test (Why?)
Taiwan’s Gen Z voters want something new in Saturday’s election
Kaohsiung, Taiwan – On ‘Super Sunday’ as Taiwan’s three leading political parties converged on the southern city of Kaohsiung, 28-year-old Vivian and her nervous dog Kimmy stood together on the fringes of a rally for presidential candidate Ko Wen-je. Ko was once a mayor of Taipei, but he and his small Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has never held national office. That is no concern for his supporters. “I think that although Ko is a brand-new choice, judging from his policies and the debate, you can understand his logic,” Vivian told Al Jazeera, standing in a spill-over section at the crowded rally on January 7. “It makes it easy for me to understand what he wants to do.” Four years ago in the 2020 presidential election, Vivian, who did not want to share her full name, says she voted for the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). So did many other young people, who turned out in their droves and helped President Tsai Ing-wen win a second term in a landslide. But this time it is different. Vivian wants a change from the usual two-party competition between the DPP and Kuomintang (KMT), and that could be a worrying sign for this year’s DPP presidential candidate William Lai Ching-te. Some young people see the DPP and its candidate William Lai as part of the establishment [Daniel Ceng/EPA] Its appeal to young people – voters must be 20 or over in Taiwan – is the latest challenge for a political party that previously had to contend with problems like martial law, the once powerful KMT, which headed Taiwan from the 1940s until the year 2000, and several years in the political wilderness following the 2008 arrest of its first president, Chen Shui-bian on corruption charges. The DPP’s fortunes were revived by 2014’s Sunflower Movement, a pivotal student protest against a controversial trade deal that would have given Beijing more leverage over Taiwan. When the DPP absorbed many Sunflower activists and policy platforms, the party earned itself lasting popularity with many Millennials and eight years in the presidential palace. The party also learned a thing or two about marketing from its young supporters, rebranding technocrat Tsai into an “iron cat lady”, standing up to China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, while flanked by her various photogenic pets. Now a decade later, Taiwan’s next generation of Gen Z and younger Millennial voters born in the late 1990s and early 2000s are emerging as a political force, and they see the DPP not as the party of outsiders who can bring change, but as part of the establishment. The next generation steps up Some DPP members even have a name for this group of young voters: the mingzhu fuerdai or “second generation democracy”. The term is a play on fuerdai, a Mandarin Chinese word for people who grew up with inherited wealth – often the children or grandchildren of a hardworking entrepreneur. Ko Wen-je was once the mayor of Taipei, but some worry about his lack of political experience and leadership at a national level [Ann Wang/Reuters] In Taiwan, mingzhu fuerdai grew up long after the end of martial law in 1987 or the 1990 White Lily student movement that led to the island’s first democratic elections. These voters, from the minimum age of 20 to 29, make up more than 14 percent of the electorate, according to the Central Election Commission, with 2.8 million eligible voters out of the total of 19.5 million. They are followed by voters aged 30 to 39, who make up a slightly larger 16.5 percent, born shortly before Taiwan’s first democratic elections in 1996 or earlier, according to government data. Voters over 40 make up nearly 70 percent of the electorate. “Younger people don’t have experience fighting for democracy. The history of democracy in Taiwan is just in the textbook; they learn from it, but they don’t know how people like our president and actually many [others] fought for this,” 30-year-old DPP legislative candidate Huang Jie told Al Jazeera from her campaign office in Kaohsiung. Huang wondered whether this slight feeling of apathy might also be a sign of the success of Taiwan’s democracy; that people no longer have to fight for their political and civic freedoms. “Maybe it’s a good thing for the younger generation because they can enjoy freedom and democracy and they don’t need to think about it,” she said. This year’s campaign is being fought on mostly domestic issues, says Huang, while the regional and global events that shaped the 2020 election, such as Hong Kong’s democracy protests, have retreated into the background. The protests gave Taiwanese voters, however briefly, a glimpse of what a future could look like under Chinese rule, with images of young protesters battling riot police or being arrested afterwards. Many were fearful about what they saw. Supporters of Ko Wen-je, the Taiwan People’s Party presidential candidate, say he represents a change to the established two-party system [Ann Wang/Reuters] Daily life concerns trump others Many of the concerns of young Taiwanese are similar to the problems faced by young people elsewhere in the world, like the rising cost of living in major cities and a housing market that favours the older generation over first-time buyers. Al Jazeera interviewed six people under 40 attending last Sunday’s political rallies in Kaohsiung, and all named affordable housing as a key concern – something the DPP has failed to resolve over the past eight years. Others may yearn for something different to Taiwan’s longstanding two-party system. “Many young people are tired of the old political culture based on the blue and green party culture,” said 31-year-old Huang Ching-in, a prominent member of the TPP and a Taipei City councillor, using common nicknames for the “blue” KMT and “green” DPP. “With the TPP, they see a different political model,” she said. Ko’s supporters on Sunday spoke of how they liked his direct communication style and his use of social media, particularly sites like YouTube that
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 687
As the war enters its 687th day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Thursday, January 11, 2024. Fighting Two Russian S-300 missiles struck a hotel in the centre of northeastern Kharkiv injuring 11 people, including journalists, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov. Several other buildings, including two apartment blocks, were also damaged. At least one person was killed in a Russian-guided bomb attack on the village of Olkhovatka in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region, according to Oleg Sinegubov, the head of the regional military administration. At least 10 private homes, a shop and a school were damaged, he added. Authorities in Belgorod evacuated some 392 children from the Russian border city after weeks of shelling from Ukrainian forces. Some 300 residents have already left the city, one of the biggest civilian evacuations on Russian soil since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia and Ukraine reported intense battles along the front line in the south and east around Avdiivka, Mariinsky, Kupiansk and Kherson. Russia claimed Ukraine had lost at least 450 soldiers in the confrontations, while Ukraine claimed it had killed 800 Russian troops. Ukraine announced a new online service which will allow Russians whose relatives are soldiers missing in Ukraine to find out whether they have been confirmed killed or are being held as POWs. Politics and diplomacy Speaking in Lithuania, at the start of an unannounced visit to the three Baltic states, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Western hesitation on aid was emboldening Russia and that Ukraine needed to strengthen its air defences and replenish its supplies of ammunition. “He [Russian President Vladimir Putin] won’t finish this [war] until we all finish him together,” Zelenskyy said after talks with his Lithuanian counterpart Gitanas Nauseda. “Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova may be next.” United Nations agencies will next week ask for $3.1bn to finance humanitarian assistance for Ukraine in 2024. Edem Wosornu, director of the Operations and Advocacy Division for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told the UN Security Council that the war had driven “high levels of humanitarian need” and that financial support had to be sustained. Pope Francis expressed concern that international attention was shifting away from Ukraine. In a letter to the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Francis said he was sorry that “in an increasingly tragic international situation, the war in Ukraine risks becoming a forgotten one”. Weapons NATO allies said they would continue to provide Ukraine with major military, economic and humanitarian aid and outlined plans to provide “billions of euros of further capabilities” in 2024 to Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance strongly condemned Russia’s attacks and would boost Ukraine’s air defences. Authorities in Russia’s Belgorod said they had sent 392 children away from the city following alleged Ukrainian shelling attacks [Olga Maltseva /AFP] The UN Security Council discussed Russia’s alleged use of North Korean weapons in Ukraine. Russia’s UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said Western states had called the session an exercise in “anti-Russian propaganda” but stopped short of making an unequivocal denial that Moscow had fired North Korean missiles at Ukraine. South Korea’s UN envoy Hwang Joon-kook said Russia’s use of North Korean missiles gave Pyongyang “valuable technical and military insights” and enabled North Korea to use Ukraine as a “test site of its nuclear-capable missiles”. Lithuania approved a package of long-term military assistance to Ukraine, totalling 200 million euros (nearly $220m). President Nauseda said the country would send ammunition, generators and detonation systems this month, and M577 armoured personnel carriers in February. NATO members Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania are expected to sign on Thursday a preliminary agreement on demining the Black Sea, the AFP news agency reported, citing officials. The Russian navy mined Ukraine’s Black Sea coast in the early stages of its invasion. The UK’s Sky News, citing security sources, said Iran had developed a new attack drone for Russia to use in Ukraine and appears close to providing Moscow with surface-to-surface missiles. Adblock test (Why?)
South Africa takes Israel to the ICJ claiming genocide in Gaza
NewsFeed South Africa is taking Israel to the International Court of Justice accusing it of crimes of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Al Jazeera’s Nabila Bana explains what’s behind South Africa’s case against Israel. Published On 10 Jan 202410 Jan 2024 Adblock test (Why?)