Has Pakistan’s top court cleared former PM Sharif’s way back to power?
Islamabad, Pakistan — Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appears poised to compete in the country’s February 8 legislative elections that could see him return to power, after the nation’s Supreme Court reversed its six-year-old verdict disqualifying politicians found to not be “honest and righteous”. But while some analysts said that the top court’s Monday verdict helps balance the power scales between the political class and Pakistan’s dominant military establishment, others questioned its timing. The majority 6-1 decision by a bench led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa overturned the Supreme Court’s own earlier judgment banning people from political participation for life if they are found guilty of a constitutional provision that demands that lawmakers have an upright moral character. The earlier judgment, the court said this week, “abridges the fundamental right of citizens to contest elections and vote for a candidate of their choice”. Raza Ahmad Rumi, a political analyst, journalist and author, said that the verdict was “not only a reversal of miscarriage of justice, but more importantly, it is a clear acknowledgement of the mistake that was made in the past under the pressure of the then-military establishment leadership.” Rumi, who is also the director at the Park Center for Independent Media (PCIM) at Ithaca College in the United States, added that the decision should not be only seen in the context of Sharif getting relief. “This is a welcome development for the entire political class,” he told Al Jazeera. “Historically, we have seen that disqualification of politicians is used as a cudgel by Pakistan’s civil and military bureaucracy since the inception of this country in 1947, and it is one of the easiest methods to eliminate them from the political arena via misuse of disqualification laws,” he said. Usama Khawar, a Lahore-based constitutional lawyer, also said that the Monday ruling would “remove the sword of Damocles” hanging over politicians who fall out of favour with the military establishment. Yet the biggest immediate beneficiary is Sharif. The then-prime minister was disqualified from office in July 2017 for violating the constitutional requirement for parliamentarians to be “honest and righteous”, after he was shown to have hidden his assets. Subsequently, in April 2018, a five-member bench of the Supreme Court led by then-Chief Justice Saqib Nisar ruled in a separate case that disqualifications like the one imposed on Sharif stand for life. Sharif, who served as prime minister twice in the 1990s, and was in the midst of a third term starting in 2013 when he was disqualified, was arrested and sent to jail days before the 2018 elections. His archrival Imran Khan, who led multiple demonstrations against Sharif on allegations of corruption, emerged victorious in those elections. Khan’s critics said the victory was made possible by help from the country’s powerful military establishment, which allegedly worked towards removing Sharif. Now those roles — and the allegations — have been reversed. Sharif’s critics say he is the beneficiary of the military’s support. No Pakistani PM has ever managed to complete their tenure, while the military has directly ruled the country for more than three decades. Khan, the former cricketer-turned-politician, was himself ousted in April 2022 through a parliamentary vote of no confidence. He is currently imprisoned on charges of corruption and leaking official state secrets. Khan blames a US-led conspiracy, in collusion with the Pakistani military, for his ouster and legal troubles. Meanwhile, Sharif, who was in jail till November 2019 before he was allowed to fly to the United Kingdom on account of his ill health, stayed there for four years, before returning in November last year. Aasiya Riaz, joint director of the independent political think-tank the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT), said that it did appear that Sharif’s return was conditioned on a commitment from the military that legal cases against him would be dropped — as has happened. But she pointed out that Sharif himself had been the victim of the army’s ire previously. Asad Rahim Khan, a constitutional lawyer, said the judgement would have been “the reversal of a historical wrong if an empowered parliament had amended the Constitution.” The country’s political history, she said, showed that Pakistani politicians needed to band together in order to truly strengthen the country’s democracy. “The right to an opposition, the centrality of parliament, and the need for governments serving out their complete, five-year tenures are points to unite on,” the Lahore-based lawyer said. “If they don’t, they will continue being picked off one by one via the deep state.” Adblock test (Why?)
How did India’s Supreme Court send Bilkis Bano’s rapists back to jail?
India’s Supreme Court on Monday restored life prison sentences for 11 men who had raped a Muslim woman, Bilkis Bano, during the communal riots in Gujarat in 2002. The decision came after Bano and other petitioners challenged a decision by the Gujarat government, backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, to set the convicted rapists free two years ago. Bano’s fight for justice over more than two decades had, for many Indians, become emblematic of the struggle of survivors of the 2002 violence to ensure that the guilty are punished. Yet, when a Supreme Court bench gathered on Monday to declare its verdict in the case, it was unclear to the wider nation what it had decided — and what its rationale would be, months before India’s national elections in which religious polarisation is expected to play a central part. So how did India’s top court decide to send the convicts back to jail? It starts with a woman’s struggle that has played out before all of India, through multiple twists and turns since a day of horror in the spring of 2002. Who is Bilkis Bano? Bano, now in her 40s, was five months pregnant in March 2002 when she fled her Randhikpur village in eastern Gujarat, alongside her relatives and other Muslims, as violence against the community broke out across the state. Bano and her family had reached a district in the west of the state when a mob of several men attacked their group. She was gang-raped during the violence. Seven of her family members were killed, including her three-year-old daughter, whose head was smashed on the ground by the perpetrators in Gujarat’s Dahod district. During the killings in Gujarat, nearly 2000 people, mostly Muslims were murdered. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat during this time and has faced allegations since then that his government facilitated the violence. Modi has repeatedly denied having any role and the Supreme Court has said it found no evidence to prosecute him. In December 2003, the Indian Supreme Court ordered a federal investigation into the Bilkis Bano rape case by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In 2004, the accused were arrested as the Supreme Court ordered the trial to be transferred from Gujarat to the neighbouring state of Maharashtra after Bano alleged death threats from the accused. A court convicted 11 accused in 2008, sentencing them to life imprisonment on the charge of gang rape and murder. In 2019, after a 17-year legal battle, it seemed like Bano had finally secured justice when the Supreme Court directed the Gujarat government to pay $71,000 to Bano as compensation, along with a job and accommodation of her choice. But only three years later, on India’s Independence Day, the government approved the release of the 11 men who were arrested. When they were freed, they were garlanded. Why were the convicts released? The convicts were released as ordered by Gujarat’s state government on the basis of its remission policy that has existed since 1992. At the time of their release, officials in Gujarat, where Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds power, had said the convicts were granted remission because they had completed over 14 years in jail. Lawyer Vrinda Grover told Al Jazeera that a new policy that came into effect in 2014 prohibits the remission of those convicted for certain crimes, including rape and murder. This policy “looking into the gravity of certain offences makes convicts ineligible for remission”, she said. More specifically, “it specifies that persons convicted for the murder of two or more persons, or murder with gang rape were ineligible for grant of remission”, said Grover. However, Grover said, because the 11 men were convicted in 2008, the 1992 policy would apply rather than the 2014 one because the latter had not come into effect during the time of their conviction. The decision shook Bano’s faith in justice. “How can justice for a woman end like this? I trusted the highest courts in our land,” she said in a statement in 2022, adding that no authorities reached out to her before making the decision. “Please undo this harm. Give me back my right to live without fear and in peace.” Indeed, the Supreme Court found that authorities had violated another rule in setting the convicts free in its January 8 order, in which it ordered them to surrender to prison officials in Gujarat within two weeks. Why did the Supreme Court rule against the convicts’ freedom? Grover explained that the remission was overruled because the Indian top court had transferred the case from the state of Gujarat to Maharashtra. Section 432 of India’s Code of Criminal Procedure empowers the “appropriate government” — which is the government of the state where the convicts were sentenced — “to remit the sentence by passing well-reasoned and speaking orders”. Because the conviction happened in Maharashtra, the government of Gujarat acted beyond its powers in setting the men free. In theory, that also means that the state government of Maharashtra — also ruled by the BJP — could release the convicts. But for now, Bano and her family are relieved. Bano’s uncle and a witness in her case, Abdul Razzak Mansuri, told Al Jazeera the top court quashing the remission was a step towards justice for her. “We are glad,” he said. “The Gujarat government released them [convicts] and it was very hurtful for us.” Adblock test (Why?)
Niger military tribunal grants son of deposed president provisional release
Salem Bazoum had been in detention at the presidential residence with his parents since the coup in Niger in July 2023. Salem Bazoum, the son of Niger President Mohamed Bazoum who was toppled in a coup last year, was provisionally released on Monday, according to a statement by the Niamey military tribunal. The 22-year-old had been in detention at the presidential residence with his parents since the coup in July. The tribunal did not provide details on the fate of Salem’s parents. The coup, one of eight in West and Central Africa since 2020, was widely condemned, led to sanctions from the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), and prompted widespread calls for Bazoum’s release and a return to democratic rule. Niger has been ruled by military leaders since the overthrow of elected president Bazoum, which prompted international condemnation. Military ruler General Abdourahamane Tchiani has said his regime wants up to three years for a transition back to a civilian government. A source close to the removed president told the AFP news agency that Salem Bazoum had left Niamey for Lome, the capital of Togo, where he arrived on Monday evening. A statement by the Togolese government confirmed a deal for the younger Bazoum’s release after mediation from Togo and Sierra Leone, but gave no details about his whereabouts. Niger is currently suspended from the ECOWAS, which has said the release of Bazoum and his return to power are among the conditions for easing sanctions. But Togo is among several West African states that have been involved in mediation with the Nigerien military regime after the bloc softened its stance on a possible forceful intervention. On Monday, Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey was in Niamey, where he met with Niger’s military-appointed prime minister, according to Nigerien public television. This followed a trip by Dussey in mid-December when he said he had reached an agreement “on the content and timing of the transition” with the prime minister. The new military government has distanced itself from Niger’s hitherto close European partners – notably France – and has drawn closer to two of its neighbours, Mali and Burkina Faso, which after recent coups are also run by militaries. The last French troops withdrew from Niger in December. Like Burkina Faso and Mali, Niger has faced persistent rebel violence, particularly in the so-called tri-border area where the three Sahel countries meet. Adblock test (Why?)
South Korea takes dog meat off the menu
The bill will provide compensation so that businesses can move out of the trade, though its dog meat consumption is now rare. South Korea’s parliament has passed a bill to outlaw the trade in dog meat. The bill, passed on Tuesday, aims to shutter a centuries-old practice. In recent years, Koreans have shunned the meat as concern over animal rights has grown. The bill was passed in a near-unanimous vote. Overall, there were 208 votes in favour and just two abstentions in the vote in the single-chamber parliament, which came after the bipartisan agriculture committee had approved it on Monday. The legislation, which will ban the breeding, selling and slaughtering of dogs for their meat from 2027, will go into effect once endorsed by the Cabinet Council and signed by President Yoon Suk-yeol, moves that are considered formalities. Following the three-year grace period, the breeding and slaughtering of dogs to produce meat for human consumption will be punishable by up to three years in prison or up to 30 million won ($22,800) in fines. The bill does not stipulate any penalties for consuming dog meat. Falling consumption The bill reflects a sharp drop in consumption amid changing trends in South Korea, although representatives of the trade have sought for years to block a ban. Animal welfare activists say dogs are electrocuted or hanged when slaughtered, though breeders and traders say slaughtering has become more humane in recent years. “We have reached a pivotal point to spare millions of dogs from this cruel industry,” said Borami Seo of Humane Society International Korea, an animal protection group. Support for the ban has blossomed under President Yoon, who has adopted six dogs and eight cats, and been public about his opposition to dog meat consumption. First lady Kim Keon-hee has also been a vocal critic. While dog meat was once viewed as a way to improve stamina in the humid Korean summer, it has grown increasingly rare and is now mostly just eaten by older people. In a survey released Monday by Animal Welfare Awareness, Research and Education (AWARE), a Seoul-based think tank, 94 percent of respondents said they had not eaten dog meat for the past year and 93 percent said they do not plan to in the future. Still, past attempts to pass such legislation have failed due to industry protests. The Korean Association of Edible Dogs, a coalition of breeders and sellers, said the ban will affect 3,500 farms raising 1.5 million dogs, as well as 3,000 restaurants. The bill, therefore, seeks to provide compensation so that businesses can move out of the trade. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, as of April 2022, some 1,100 farms were breeding 570,000 dogs to be served at around 1,600 restaurants. Adblock test (Why?)
Farmers stage tractor blockades across Germany
Furious farmers, opposed to Berlin’s plans to cut tax breaks for agriculture, used tractors to block roads across Germany on Monday, kicking off a series of crippling strikes that are set to plunge the country deeper into a winter of discontent. In Berlin, dozens of tractors and lorries stationed in the city centre blasted their horns to signal anger at the start of a planned week of action. Workers in sectors across Germany, from metallurgy and transport to education, have turned to industrial action in recent weeks. Wage negotiations have taken a bitter turn as Europe’s biggest economy struggles with weak growth and households contend with sharply increased prices. Rail workers will be next to walk out as they launch a three-day strike on Wednesday. Unions seek a pay rise to compensate for months of painfully high inflation. Farmers began gathering on Sunday evening at the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of the government quarter in Berlin. The agricultural sector is up in arms over government plans to withdraw tax breaks. Farm vehicles blocked the centres of cities including Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Bremen, with up to 2,000 tractors registered for each protest. Outside cities, demonstrators targeted motorway access ramps, snarling traffic in a coordinated nationwide show of discontent. The protest also caused disruption at Germany’s borders with France, Poland and the Czech Republic, backing up traffic at crossing points. Thousands of protestors had already descended on Berlin to protest against the planned subsidy cuts in December, blocking roads and dumping manure on the street. The rallies prompted the government to partially walk back the reductions on January 4. A discount on vehicle tax for agriculture is now planned to remain in place, while a diesel subsidy would be phased out over several years instead of being abolished immediately, the government said. The farmers, however, have said that the move does not go far enough and urged Berlin to completely reverse the plans, which were announced after a shock court ruling forced the government to find savings in the budget for 2024. Adblock test (Why?)
Protesters heckle Biden with calls for ceasefire in Gaza
NewsFeed Watch the moment protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza heckled US President Joe Biden during a speech in South Carolina, as he begins to ramp up his re-election campaign for 2024. Published On 9 Jan 20249 Jan 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
United, Alaska find ‘loose hardware’ in checks of Boeing 737 Max 9 planes
Airlines are inspecting the controversial aircraft after a midair blowout forced an Alaska jet to make an emergency landing. United Airlines and Alaska Airlines have said they found loose parts on multiple grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, raising new concerns among industry experts about the manufacturing process for the passenger planes. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which regulates the industry in the United States, grounded 171 Max 9 planes worldwide after a cabin panel blew off an Alaska-operated plane in midair on Friday, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing. United said on Monday that it “found bolts that needed additional tightening,” in its initial inspections. Alaska said early reports from its technicians indicated some “loose hardware” was visible on some aircraft when it conducted checks of its fleet. The carriers are focusing on an area known as the door plug, a cover panel used to fill an unneeded emergency exit in aircraft that have been configured with fewer seats. The panel that blew out on Friday’s Alaskan flight was a door plug and the FAA ordered operators to ground all aircraft with the same configuration. With 79 Max 9 planes, United has the largest fleet of the aircraft in question. Alaska has 65 of the planes, while the remainder are operated by Turkish Airlines, Panama’s Copa Airlines and Aeromexico. The midair incident has raised concerns about the production process and quality control for the Max 9. The model is used by relatively few airlines but the 737 Max family of aircraft has been dogged by controversy since the entire global fleet was grounded in March 2019 after two crashes in the space of six months killed 346 people. Boeing said it was staying in close contact with Max 9 operators and would help customers address any findings during the latest inspections. “We are committed to ensuring every Boeing airplane meets design specifications and the highest safety and quality standards,” the US plane maker said. “We regret the impact this has had on our customers and their passengers.” On Monday, the FAA announced that it approved a roadmap for carriers to complete inspections that include both left and right door plugs, components and fasteners. It said planes would remain grounded until operators complete the “enhanced inspections”. US investigators are continuing to investigate Friday’s incident. None of the 174 passengers or six crew on the aircraft suffered serious injuries in the incident even as oxygen masks were deployed and personal items were sucked out of the plane in the sudden depressurisation. The panel was recovered on Sunday by a Portland teacher who found it in his backyard, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said. The NTSB said the recovery of the fuselage would enable them to determine whether the plug was properly bolted in place or whether the bolts existed. Adblock test (Why?)
Ethnic conflict in India’s Manipur has ‘completely ruined’ businesses
Kolkata, India – Helena Kshetri has seen her fruit sales wiped out since an ethnic conflict engulfed the northeast Indian state of Manipur in early May. “We are often forced to shut shops due to curfews and shutdowns even after months of violence,” said the 50-year-old vendor, who works at Ima Keithel, or the Mother’s Market, in the state’s capital Imphal. Her sales have crashed from 30,000-40,000 rupees ($360-$480) per day to barely 4,000 rupees ($48). “I deal in fruits and cannot hold them for long in case they rot, and I’m forced to sell even in losses. The government should bring the situation under control so that we can run our businesses,” Kshetri said. Businesses and entrepreneurs, both small and large on both sides of the divide, are hurting on account of the violence that broke out on May 3 and has continued to engulf the state in an ethnic conflict. So far, about 180 people, including women and children have been killed, and several homes, businesses and places of worship have been torched with thousands left homeless, many of whom have fled to other states to seek refuge. Retail inflation is through the roof at 11.63 percent and the internet has been shut down for vast periods, affecting businesses and residents. “We are passing through a very difficult phase and the situation is even worse than insurgency, demonetisation [of currency] and COVID,” said Haorokcham Anil, the secretary of the Manipur Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “The business has been completely ruined and it’s very hard to predict when the situation would be even close to normal.” Violence begins Manipur is home to several communities and tribal groups including the Meitei, Nagas and Kuki. The dominant Meitei community is largely Hindu and lives in the Imphal Valley, while the Naga and Kuki tribes, who are predominantly Christians, mostly reside in the hills. The Meiteis comprise 51 percent of Manipur’s population of 2.3 million but are concentrated in the plains, holding only 10 percent of the land. Kukis and Nagas, who comprise 40 percent of the population, occupy 90 percent of the land as they are mostly based in the hills that dominate the state’s landscape. Due to their larger numbers, Meiteis have a larger share of representation in the politics and state assembly. While tension between the Meitei community and the Kuki tribes had been brewing for a while, it came to the forefront in the first week of May after the Manipur High Court, acting on a writ petition on April 14, directed the state government to send a recommendation to the federal government to grant tribal status to the Meiteis. The court’s order was strongly opposed by the Kukis who argued that it would further strengthen the already dominant Meitei community. Members of a community with tribal status get reservations in government jobs and educational institutions. On May 3, the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur rallied across all hill districts of the state to protest the court order. The demonstrations turned violent and the next day, the violence spread to the capital Imphal with clashes breaking out between the two groups. The situation is still tense and this journalist was held briefly by members of one of the groups for nearly two hours while conducting interviews in the state last month. Shops in Imphal are frequently forced to close because of curfews [Gurvinder Singh/Al Jazeera] ‘Forced to completely shut’ The violence has almost paralysed the state economy, leaving the business community in severe distress with no signs of recovery in the near future. Several entrepreneurs said their businesses have been hit by more than 70 percent in losses and it has become difficult to even maintain daily expenses, forcing them to retrench their employees and adopt other cost-cutting measures. Thangjam Joy Kumar Singh, the managing director of Likla, one of the biggest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands in the state selling fruit juices, pickles, bakery and packaged drinking water, conceded that he has been forced to lay off 200 of his 900 employees. “Initially, I didn’t take the situation seriously and thought that things would turn normal within a week, but I was wrong. It was something that we had never witnessed before. We were forced to completely shut our factories for the first 15 days before we started producing packaged water as it was a necessary commodity,” he said. Singh shut his bakery division for nearly three months and closed the bakery outlets in Kuki-dominated areas fearing violence. “At present, we are operating at just 50 percent of our capacity and somehow managing to run the show,” he said. The ethnic tension has split the two communities into separate zones. As a result, neither side can enter the other’s territory to do business or any activity for fear of being attacked or even killed. Keisham Ranjan Singh, a Meitei who had a modular furniture showroom in the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur District about 60km (37 miles) from Imphal, rued that he had lost approximately 8 million rupees ($96,000) in the mayhem after his shop there was set on fire on May 16. “We had Kuki workers also but they have lost their livelihood due to the turmoil,” he said. Businesses in Imphal have not been spared. FMCG brand Likla has laid off 200 of its 900 employees as sales have crashed [Gurvinder Singh/Al Jazeera] Dinesh Kapoor, 59, a sound engineer who runs a sound system shop in the state capital has seen his sales crash as he used to get a lot of customers from the hills. Compared with the 1 million rupees ($12,029) that Kapoor would typically make per day in the holiday season from sales of sound systems, his revenue from the shop has crashed to a mere 15,000 rupees ($180) a day. “The months starting from November to March [are] good for business because Christmas, New Year, Holi and even Thabal Chongba, the biggest festival of the state, is held. But the violence has destroyed all.
Ecuador declares state of emergency, curfew after druglord escapes prison
Ecuador has declared a state of emergency after an “extremely dangerous” druglord escaped from maximum-security detention and unrest broke out at several prisons in the violence-plagued country. President Daniel Noboa, in office since November, announced a 60-day mobilisation of soldiers in Ecuador’s streets and prisons as authorities searched for Jose Adolfo Macias, alias Fito. There would also be a curfew from 11pm (04:00 GMT) to 5am (10:00 GMT) daily, the president said. The state of emergency, Noboa said in a video on Instagram, would give members of the armed forces “all the political and legal support” they need to carry out their duties in a battle against what he described as “narcoterrorists”. “We will not negotiate with terrorists nor rest until we return peace to all Ecuadorans,” Noboa said. On Sunday, Fito, the leader of the powerful Los Choneros gang, was found missing by police conducting an inspection of a prison in the port city of Guayaquil. The 44-year-old, who is said to have instilled terror in his fellow inmates, is believed to have escaped just hours before police arrived, according to presidency spokesperson Roberto Izurieta. He was apparently tipped off. “The full force of the state is being deployed to find this extremely dangerous individual,” Izurieta told domestic television on Monday. He said the prison system had failed and bemoaned “the level of infiltration” by criminal groups. The prosecutor’s office, meanwhile, said it had opened an investigation and filed charges against two prison officials “allegedly involved in the escape” of Fito. ‘He must be found’ Fito had been serving a 34-year sentence for organised crime, drug trafficking and murder since 2011. This is his second prison escape – the last was in 2013 when he was recaptured after three months. In an operation involving thousands of security forces, Fito was transferred to a maximum-security prison last August following the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. A week before his death, anti-cartel candidate Villavicencio said he had received threats from Fito. Long a peaceful haven between top cocaine exporters Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has seen violence explode in recent years as rival gangs with links to Mexican and Colombian cartels vie for control. Gang wars largely play out in the country’s prisons, where criminal leaders such as Fito wield immense control. Some 460 inmates have been killed in these battles since 2021, and their bodies are often found dismembered, decapitated or incinerated. Izurieta said Fito, who studied law in prison, was a “criminal with extremely dangerous characteristics, whose activities have characteristics of terrorism”. “The search continues … He will be found, he must be found,” said the spokesperson. After Fito’s escape, unrest broke out at penitentiaries in six of Ecuador’s 24 provinces on Monday, according to the SNAI prison authority, with guards taken hostage at some of the facilities. Heavily armed police and soldiers entered the prisons of El Oro, Loja, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Azuay and Pichincha, after which the military distributed images of half-naked inmates rounded up in courtyards. The SNAI said there had been no injuries due to the “incidents”. Other videos on social media, not verified by the authorities, purported to show hooded inmates threatening officials with knives as they pleaded for their lives. Noboa came to power with promises to clamp down on gangs and insecurity. On the campaign trail, he proposed creating a separate judicial system for the most serious crimes, militarising the borders with Colombia and Peru, and jailing the most violent offenders on barges offshore. Last week, he announced the construction of two new maximum-security prisons similar to those built by El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who has led a controversial crackdown on gangs credited with drastically reducing his country’s murder rate. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 685
As the war enters ifs 685th day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. Fighting Four people were killed and at least 45 injured as Russia continued its barrage of drone and missile attacks on Ukraine. One person was killed after missiles hit a shopping centre and residential buildings in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih in the southeast, while two people were killed in a separate missile attack on the western region of Khmelnytsky. At least one person was also killed in northeastern Kharkiv after four missiles hit the city. Kherson regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Russian troops carried out 131 artillery attacks on the southern region, killing two people and injuring five. Ukraine’s military said Russia had launched “a large number of ballistic missiles” and it was able to bring down 18 of the 51 that were fired. Air Force spokesman Yuri Ignat said air defences achieved “a good result”, with all eight drones destroyed and some Russian missiles missing their targets. The Russian Defence Ministry said in its daily briefing it had used sea and air-launched long-range missiles, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, to strike what it called “facilities of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex”. Belgorod regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said 300 people had been evacuated from Russia’s Belgorod because of Ukrainian attacks. Russian forces destroyed 10 Ukrainian rockets over the region in the evening, Moscow’s Defence Ministry said. Two drones were also destroyed over the Russian border region of Bryansk, it added. A missile launched from Russia’s Belgorod region flying towards Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine [Vadym Bielikov/AFP] The Ukrainian military said Russian forces made unsuccessful efforts to advance in several areas along the front line, including around Lyman in the Kharkiv region as well as in the Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions. Leonid Pasechnik, the Moscow-installed head of Ukraine’s occupied Luhansk region, said a Russian warplane accidentally released a bomb, an FAB-250 which carries a high-explosive warhead, on the occupied Ukrainian town of Rubizhne. No one was injured, he said. Politics and diplomacy A Ukrainian lawmaker said controversial new draft legislation on military mobilisation will not conscript women or introduce a lottery. “There will be no unconstitutional positions,” Yehor Chernev, the deputy chairman of the parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence, told Ukraine’s public broadcaster. Pope Francis, addressing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine in his yearly address to diplomats, said “indiscriminately striking” civilians was a war crime because it breached international humanitarian law. Weapons German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged European Union countries to provide more military assistance to Ukraine, saying most countries were not doing enough to give Ukraine the weapons it needed to battle the Russian invasion. United States White House officials met about a dozen executives from the technology and defence industries as part of an effort to support Ukraine’s access to cutting-edge US equipment. Companies like Palantir Technologies and Skydio joined the talks that focused on drones and demining. Adblock test (Why?)