Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 702
As the war enters its 702nd day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Friday, January 26, 2024. Ilyushin-76 plane crash Russia and Ukraine traded accusations on the circumstances surrounding the crash of a Russian military transport plane over the southern region of Belgorod. Russia claimed Ukraine shot down the Ilyushin-76, which it said was carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) as well as nine Russians, and Kyiv had been given 15 minutes’ notice of the flight. Russia’s Investigative Committee, which opened a “terrorism” investigation, said it had recovered the plane’s flight recorders and released a 39-second video of the scene that mainly showed aerial shots of a large blackened stretch in a snow-covered field with some damaged trees. The video also showed one block of twisted metal and wires, a hand and an arm. Ukraine said there had been no Russian request for secure airspace in the area where the plane crashed. Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said that a list of the supposed POWs on board being circulated in Russian media included discrepancies and soldiers who returned home in earlier exchanges. He demanded that international experts from the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) be given access to the site. Kyiv opened a criminal investigation into the crash. The crash site of the Russian Ilyushin-76 military transport plane near the village of Yablonovo in Russia’s Belgorod region [Russian Investigative Committee/Handout via Reuters] The UN Security Council met at Russia’s request to discuss the crash. UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the council the UN was not in a position to verify the circumstances of what had happened. “What is clear is that the incident took place in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ongoing war,” she said. “To avoid further escalation, we urge all concerned to refrain from actions, rhetoric or allegations that could further fuel the already dangerous conflict.” Fighting Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 14 attack drones and five missiles on the southern Black Sea regions with air defence systems destroying 11 of the drones. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine said six people were injured in the historic city of Odesa and residential buildings and a warehouse were damaged. Ukrainian security sources said they orchestrated a drone attack on an oil refinery in the southern Russian town of Tuapse, about 240 kilometres (150 miles) southeast of the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula. The attack caused a major fire, but there were no reports of casualties. Nepal’s Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud told the Associated Press news agency that Nepal had asked Russia to send back hundreds of Nepali nationals who had been recruited to fight against Ukraine and repatriate the bodies of those who had died in the conflict. The Russian army is estimated to have recruited more than 200 Nepali nationals to fight in Ukraine and at least 14 have died there, Saud said. Ukraine’s National Resistance Centre said it had seen “mercenaries from Malaysia, accompanied by a translator” at Russian military training camps in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region. It warned that anyone fighting alongside the Russians against Ukraine was a “military target”. Malaysia did not respond to requests for more information on the alleged presence of Malaysian nationals. Several major Ukrainian state organisations, including the state-run energy firm Naftogaz, the post office and transport safety agency, reported major cyber attacks that a source close to the government blamed on Russian intelligence. Politics and diplomacy A court in St Petersburg jailed antiwar activist Darya Trepova for 27 years after finding her guilty of “terrorism” in the killing of a prominent ultra-nationalist blogger Vladlen Tatarsky last year that Russia said was orchestrated by Ukraine. Trepova told the court she thought the package she gave Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, contained a covert listening device and did not realise it was rigged with explosives. A Moscow court jailed prominent nationalist and former rebel commander Igor Girkin for four years for “inciting extremism”. Girkin, also known as Igor Strelkov, has repeatedly criticised the Kremlin for its war strategy in Ukraine. Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it was concerned that Ukrainian journalists investigating corruption were coming under increasing pressure, noting recent acts of intimidation against Yuriy Nikolov, Iryna Hryb and the staff of Bihus.info. Weapons The White House urged senators in the United States to reach a deal linking vital military assistance for Ukraine to US border security, after reports that former President Donald Trump, who is seeking reelection, was trying to torpedo any agreement in an attempt to deprive US President Joe Biden, who is seeking a second term, of a political victory. Adblock test (Why?)
These Filipinos paid thousands for a job in Poland. Now they feel cheated
This is the first article in a two-part series about alleged exploitation of Filipino domestic workers. Hong Kong, China – The sizzling of chicken adobo – a sweet and savoury Filipino dish – fills the air of a high-rise apartment in Doha. It is Sunday, Andrea’s only day off, and she is preparing dinner before another long work week begins. After more than five years in the Qatari capital, Andrea* has long been tired of her sales job and living conditions in the city, where she shares a flat with three fellow Filipinos. So when a friend moved to Poland for work last year, Andrea seized the chance to apply with a recruitment agency that promotes mostly factory jobs in the European country. But after transferring about 2,500 euros (US$2,700) to agents, she is yet to receive her plane ticket. “I am so stressed because of the big amount of money I already paid,” she told Al Jazeera. “I keep thinking how I can get [it] back.” Andrea is not alone. Al Jazeera interviewed 10 Filipino workers and saw written statements from 20 others who claim they were promised jobs in Poland that never materialised, after falling prey to a network of agencies and individual agents working together across multiple countries. Despite having paid thousands of dollars in fees, they fear they won’t ever reach the European country. Andrea said she was told her application would be completed in about six months and cost 3,500 euros ($3,820). But the last she heard from her Poland-based agency was that she needed to pay an additional 500 euros ($550) because her work permit had expired while she was waiting for a visa appointment with the Polish embassy. “They are asking [for] just money and not processing the applications properly,” Andrea said. Stronger rights, higher salaries Filipino workers, both in the Philippines and in popular migrant worker destinations such as Qatar and Hong Kong, are being drawn to Poland through a mixture of word of mouth and social media accounts promoting jobs. For many, the prospect of living and working in Europe seems like a dream come true. In the Philippines, millions have struggled with soaring inflation and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, while many migrant workers in Gulf countries and elsewhere in Asia face low salaries, poor conditions and meagre protections. “Here in Qatar, even if I work for 50 years, I won’t be able to become a permanent resident,” Andrea said. Andrea doesn’t believe she would ever be allowed to bring her family from the Philippines to Qatar, which in 2018 became the first Gulf country to start granting foreign residents permanent residency, no matter how hard she works or how long she stays. Instead, she sees a factory job in Poland as a ticket to greater opportunities for her and her family. Filipino workers in three different locations – Qatar, the Philippines and Hong Kong – told Al Jazeera they were led to believe they would find higher salaries in Poland, although they were rarely informed would also face significantly higher taxes. Other touted perks include the chance to bring one’s family to Poland, despite that not being a straightforward process for low-income workers, and access to other European countries. The number of Filipino workers in Poland has grown rapidly in recent years. Poland issued 22,557 work visas to Filipinos in 2022, compared to just 2,057 in 2018, according to data from the Polish Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy. Between 2015 and 2022, Filipinos were among the top five fastest-growing groups to enrol in the country’s social insurance program. A spokesman for Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “the need for Filipino workers in Poland is a combination of a number of factors related to the dynamic growth of the Polish economy in recent years as well as demographic challenges”. Filipino migrant workers are being drawn to Poland through a mixture of word of mouth and social media accounts promoting jobs [Dan Archer/Al Jazeera] According to migrant workers and labour experts, unscrupulous agents are taking advantage of the country’s growing allure. Most workers said they were asked to make payments in three instalments. The total amounts varied from about $3,500 to $5,000, well above the legal maximum amount in the Philippines. Poland prohibits employment agencies from charging placement fees outright. Workers also reported hidden charges, a lack of regular updates, and sometimes even verbal intimidation from agents. Victoria* has lost all hope of a future in Europe. After her food business went bankrupt in the Philippines, she felt she had no option but to leave her home country. Then, last year, Victoria found the Facebook page of an agency that posted videos and photos of Filipino workers who had taken jobs in Poland. “They encouraged me to work there,” she told Al Jazeera, recalling the first online exchanges with agents. Victoria said that Poland’s lack of language restrictions and the prospect of becoming a permanent resident were major draws. “I want [my son] to be a doctor. That’s why I want to go to Poland,” she said. Victoria said she sent about 162,000 Philippine pesos ($2,880) via Western Union to recruiters with a Poland-based agency. But then they requested an additional 1,500 euros ($1,635) as an “assurance fee” – a payment supposedly intended to dissuade workers from abandoning their job in Poland, which is often solicited on the understanding it will be refunded after six months to a year. Victoria, a single mother who remortgaged her house and borrowed money from an acquaintance to cover her application, couldn’t afford the payment. She said she was mocked by the recruitment firm after sharing her dire financial situation and told there were no refunds. “Every day, I cannot sleep,” Victoria said, calling for workers to be compensated and agents “to be punished”. Victoria filed complaints with Filipino authorities against the Polish agency. To date, no one has been punished and she has not received a refund
Why is Canada asking Palestinians to list scars on Gaza visa applications?
Montreal, Canada – Abdallah Alhamadni knows the clock is ticking. Every day, the 51-year-old Palestinian father of three checks to see whether his efforts to bring his relatives in Gaza to safety have advanced. But Alhamadni, a Canadian permanent resident who lives in Milton, Ontario, says he is stuck in a dangerous waiting game, as Israel continues to wage war on the Gaza Strip. “We feel paralysed, depressed, frustrated, crying,” he told Al Jazeera. “Sometimes we feel we need to be strong to support them because we are the only hope for them. It’s a lot of things coming together, and we are alone.” Originally from the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Alhamadni is trying to bring 61 relatives, including 27 children, to Canada through a new temporary visa programme for Palestinians affected by Israel’s military offensive. Unveiled last month, the scheme allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to apply to bring extended family members from Gaza to the country, where they will be granted a temporary residency visa for up to three years. But the process has prompted criticism from applicants and human rights advocates. Alhamadni called it confusing and time-consuming. Gaza remains under heavy Israeli fire and faces regular electricity and internet outages, so Alhamadni has struggled to reach his relatives and obtain the information necessary to complete the applications. The amount of personal details Palestinians are being asked to provide has also come under scrutiny, with Canadian immigration lawyers saying the process goes beyond what is typically required. Alhamadni’s brother, Suhail Alhamadni, and Suhail’s daughter Miral stand amid bombing wreckage in Gaza in October [Courtesy Abdallah Alhamadni] One form (PDF) asks people to provide a detailed employment history going back to age 16, as well as links to social media accounts and a list of all their in-laws. It also asks applicants to detail any scars or injuries that required medical attention, including how they sustained them. “They are putting all [these] impossible conditions on top of our heads,” said Alhamadni, who told Al Jazeera that his relatives have been displaced multiple times since the war in Gaza began. “I’m trying [to do] whatever I can.” The programme Marc Miller, Canada’s minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, announced the opening of the temporary resident visa programme on January 9, three months after the war in Gaza began. The move came amid public calls for the Canadian government to do more to help residents of the besieged enclave. At least 25,900 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza since the start of the war on October 7. Top United Nations officials have repeatedly called for a ceasefire as the territory reels from the mass displacement of its residents, a crippled healthcare system, and a lack of water, food and other humanitarian supplies. “The situation on the ground in Gaza is challenging and volatile,” Miller said in a statement announcing the Canadian visa programme. “These new measures provide a humanitarian pathway to safety and recognize the importance of keeping families together given the ongoing crisis.” But Ottawa faced immediate criticism when it revealed it only planned to issue up to 1,000 temporary visas to Palestinians from Gaza — a cap that rights advocates said was too low. Miller later said there was no strict limit on the number of applications that would be accepted. In an email to Al Jazeera, a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said the programme “expires once 1,000 applications have been accepted into processing or one year after the public policy comes into effect, whichever comes first”. “IRCC continues to be flexible as we assess the situation, including the volumes of applications received and the ability to facilitate eligible family members to leave Gaza and reach a safe third country,” the spokesman said. As of January 16, Canada was processing 144 applications, though none had been finalised, the spokesman added. The government also said there is no guarantee that applicants will be able to leave Gaza, which is under a strict Israeli siege. Egypt has also limited departures through the Rafah crossing at Gaza’s southern border, as part of a long-running blockade. “If people are able to leave Gaza, the security assessment will be completed in the third county where IRCC will be able to collect biometrics,” the IRCC spokesperson said. “IRCC will then finalize the [temporary resident visa] application and render a decision on whether [the] individual is approved to come to Canada.” Bureaucratic ‘cruelty’ According to Naseem Mithoowani, an immigration lawyer in Toronto, the Canadian government has failed to provide adequate information and clear communication about the visa programme, fuelling confusion in the Palestinian community. “People are anxious about the cap and whether that’s going to be expanded; how applications are being assessed in terms of their place in the queue; [and] why some people getting further ahead than others despite applying at the same time,” Mithoowani told Al Jazeera. “There’s a lack of transparency around the process itself.” She said Palestinian Canadians have also expressed concern about some of the programme requirements, including being able to provide financial support for their relatives from Gaza. They also have asked who will see the information provided in the applications and whether it will be shared with other countries. “The Palestinian community has lost a lot of trust in our government, and so that’s part of, I think, the increased anxiety levels or the increased need for communication in this particular case,” Mithoowani said. Yameena Ansari, an immigration and refugee lawyer in Calgary, also said that, while the programme initially provided a “ray of hope” for many Palestinians in Canada, “their hopes were quickly dashed” when they understood its limited scope and requirements. “We have been informed that these very invasive questions that are being asked are coming from Canada. They’re not coming from Israel or Egypt,” she told Al Jazeera. Security checks are an ordinary part of the immigration process, Ansari explained. But “the idea of throwing that many
Former Trump aide Navarro sentenced to four months for contempt of Congress
Peter Navarro is the second Trump aide convicted of contempt of Congress charges. Former US President Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro has been sentenced to four months in prison for contempt of Congress after refusing to cooperate with an investigation into the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Navarro was found guilty of defying a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House January 6 committee. He pledged to appeal Thursday’s verdict and said he could not cooperate with the committee because Trump had invoked executive privilege. A judge banned him from making that argument during trial, finding that he did not show that Trump had invoked it. Navarro said in court before his sentencing that the House committee investigating the January 6 attack had led him to believe that it accepted his invocation of executive privilege, which shields some presidential records and communications from disclosure. “Nobody in my position should be put in conflict between the legislative branch and the executive branch,” he told the judge. He added that there was “no reason for the harsh punishment” prosecutors were seeking. But US District Judge Amit Mehta refuted his claim and said, “You are not a victim. You are not the object of a political prosecution”. “These are circumstances of your own making,” he added. Former President Donald Trump speaks at a primary election night party in Nashua, NH, as Vivek Ramaswamy, Senator Tim Scott and Eric Trump laugh [Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP] Federal prosecutors in Washington had asked Judge Mehta to give Navarro a six-month sentence and a $200,000 fine, arguing that he chose to be loyal to Trump over the rule of law. “The defendant brazenly defied Congress,” prosecutor John Crabb said. Prosecutors also said that Navarro tried to “hide behind claims of privilege” even before he knew what the committee wanted, showing a “disdain” for the committee. His sentencing came after a judge rejected his bid for a new trial after his lawyers argued that jurors might have been influenced by protesters outside the courtroom when they took a break from deliberations. Navarro, 74, advised Trump on trade issues during his presidency and became a vocal supporter of Trump’s false claims of widespread voting fraud in the 2020 election. Trump backers looked to prevent Congress from certifying President Biden’s victory during a clash with police and rampaging through the Capitol. Navarro is the second Trump aide convicted of contempt of Congress charges, after former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who also got a four-month sentence but is free pending appeal. The judge presiding over Thursday’s sentencing also criticised Navarro for his past statements that Biden and other prominent Democrats are behind his conviction. “Joe Biden is not responsible for your prosecution,” the judge told Navarro. “It’s those kinds of statements from somebody who knows better than that contributes to why our politics are so corrosive.” Adblock test (Why?)
Hamas blasts Israel’s plan to create buffer zone in Gaza as a ‘crime’
Israel’s efforts to create a buffer zone along its border with Gaza constitute a “crime” and act of “blatant aggression” against the Palestinian people, Hamas official Osama Hamdan has said, following media reports suggesting such a plan is under way. Hamdan, who is based in Lebanon, told reporters on Thursday that Israel was “looking to establish a security belt along the borders of the Strip by levelling entire residential blocks and by bulldozing farms and civilian infrastructure”. “This is a crime and a blatant aggression against our land and our holy places,” he said, adding that “our people and our resistance will foil these attempts.” Hamdan called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “delusional” and said Gaza would become the “cemetery” of his plans. He also blasted the United States for “feeding” the Israeli military machine and for its complicity in crimes against Gaza. Israel’s media on Wednesday reported that its military was aiming to create an informal buffer zone about a kilometre (half a mile) wide to prevent attackers from reaching Israeli communities near Gaza. Two TV channels ran footage showing what appeared to be a controlled demolition of several structures on the Gaza side of the border, which the broadcasters said was done in the area of an attack that killed 24 Israeli soldiers on Monday, inflicting the military’s biggest loss of life in a single attack since October 7. Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC taken last Saturday, a day before the attack, appeared to show the uniform destruction of buildings and agricultural fields in the area. Military spokespeople have not used the term “buffer zone”, but say troops are uprooting infrastructure near the border to provide security for Israeli communities on the other side. The general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative party, Mustafa Barghouti, said the real intention behind such a move is to diminish Gaza’s size. If executed, Barghouti told Al Jazeera, it could only be perceived as an act of “ethnic cleansing” while also signalling a recognition of the failure of Israel’s military goals in Gaza. ‘Unjustified’ under international law Geoffrey Nice, a former United Nations war crimes prosecutor, told Al Jazeera Israel has no grounds legally to create a “buffer zone” in Gaza by destroying Palestinian homes and confiscating agricultural land. “If you want to a demilitarised zone that you’re going to fill with landmines, why not have it on the Israeli side and stop people crossing it?” he asked. “What they’re proposing, effectively and in anyone’s interpretation, is occupation.” He noted the fertile farmland Israel is eyeing to take over is “crucial to Gaza’s economy”. “But the process has already started. A large number of buildings have already been flattened. It is unjustified, by any view, under international law,” said Nice, proposing sanctions by powerful nations against Israel to stop the landgrab. The US, which has staunchly supported what it says is Israel’s right to self-defence, said it is opposed to any attempt by Israel to shrink Gaza’s territory or to occupy it militarily. The US and much of the international community have proposed a post-war plan that includes the creation of a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution to the conflict, a possibility that Netanyahu rejected. Barghouti said that if the US was serious about its opposition to the buffer zone, it would tell Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza. “The United States is a participant, unfortunately, in this war, and as long as they don’t support a ceasefire, they become the participant in the war crimes that are happening in Gaza,” he said. Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington DC, said Israeli plans to create a buffer zone in Gaza are not going down well at the White House. “This is just another example of a growing rift between the [US President Joe] Biden administration and the Israeli government,” she said. “There is some scope for a transitional arrangement on a buffer zone, but the worry… is that historically, transitional arrangements have become permanent.” Adblock test (Why?)
What’s nitrogen hypoxia? Alabama prepares for Kenneth Smith’s US execution
Alabama, a US state with 165 people on death row, is on Thursday night expected to attempt the first-ever execution by an untested method known as nitrogen hypoxia. Only two years after a botched execution attempt on him, Kenneth Eugene Smith will once again be made to face death, this time through an experimental technique that pumps pure nitrogen gas into a person’s lungs instead of the regular air that has the oxygen humans need to breathe. Smith’s execution in the United States is moving forward despite criticism from rights groups, some doctors and the jury for the case itself voting against the death penalty. What’s the case about, how does the nitrogen hypoxia method work, and what are lawyers and rights groups saying about it? Who is Kenneth Eugene Smith and what did he do? Smith, 58, is one of two men convicted for the murder of Elizabeth Sennett, 45, on March 18, 1988. Smith and John Forrest Parker were each paid $1,000 to kill Sennett on behalf of her pastor husband, Charles Sennett Sr, who was in debt and wanted to collect insurance money from her death. Parker was executed by lethal injection in 2010 while Sennett Sr committed suicide after he became a prime suspect in the case, according to court records. Smith claims that while he was present at the site of the killing, he did not take part in the attack. He has been on death row since 1996. The 58-year-old is the first-ever person to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia [File: Alabama Department of Corrections via AP Photo] Why is this the second time Smith is facing a death sentence? Smith suffered a failed execution attempt via lethal injection in 2022. The attempt was called off at the last minute because authorities struggled to insert an intravenous line that would have transmitted deadly drugs through his veins. Smith’s lawyers have argued that a second execution attempt would exacerbate the psychological trauma he has been experiencing since the first attempt. When is Kenneth Eugene Smith’s execution? His execution is set to take place within a 30-hour time frame beginning at 12am local time (06:00 GMT) on Thursday and expiring at 6am (12:00 GMT) the following day. Human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, who has argued against the death penalty in several countries including the US, points out that executions are commonly held only in the middle of the night. “And that’s because we’re basically ashamed of what we do,” he told Al Jazeera. Stafford Smith has had to watch the executions of six of his clients in the US. “And each time I’ve come out of the execution chamber, I look up at the stars and say to myself, honestly, can we say that this makes the world the most civilised place?” What is nitrogen hypoxia and how does it work? Nitrogen hypoxia is a method of execution where a respirator mask is placed over the inmate’s face, and their breathing air is replaced with pure nitrogen gas. This deprives the individual of oxygen, leading to unconsciousness in a few seconds, and ultimately causing death in several minutes. Smith’s lawyers have raised concerns over the untested nature of the method that could go awry. For instance, the mask may not be airtight enough and cause Smith to choke on his own vomit. Alabama Solicitor General Edmund LaCour said that such claims are speculative, and suggested that he could opt “to have his last meal earlier in the day, or the day before the planned execution”, to minimise such a risk. LaCour also told federal judges that nitrogen hypoxia is “the most painless and humane method of execution known to man.” According to Stafford Smith, the lawyer, nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method originated from a television programme 15 years ago, featuring former British Member of Parliament Michael Portillo seeking alternatives to US execution methods. Portillo discovered that the Royal Netherlands Air Force was experimenting with low nitrogen in the air for its pilots. He claimed it was a more humane way to execute people than lethal injection — he described a sort of euphoria before he drifted into unconsciousness when he tried breathing in nitrogen himself. An industrial mask will be used to pump nitrogen gas into Smith’s breathing air [File: Eraldo Peres/AP Photo] How does lethal injection work? Protocol suggests that inmates must go through a “three-drug procedure” where they are first given an anaesthetic to make them unconscious. Most states use “barbiturate” for this step, which has become difficult to obtain in the US. Next, a substance is given to paralyse muscles, and then a final drug is given in a dose that stops the heart. Several US states, including Alabama since 2013, have switched over to a “one-drug procedure” where only barbiturate or its alternative is given in a lethal dose. In either case, the entire process up until death can last up to five minutes. However, botched lethal injections have sometimes taken more than two hours before death. The procedure also requires the inmate to be strapped to a gurney. Smith suffered a botched execution attempt in 2022, after 26 years on death row [File: Dave Martin/Photo] Does Smith get to choose how he is executed? After Smith suffered the botched execution attempt by lethal injection in 2022, he appealed against a repeat. Enter the US judicial system. Two US Supreme Court judgements have determined that if convicts on death row claim that a particular method of execution is unacceptable to them because it is too cruel, they are required to choose another method that is available in that state. Alabama, along with Oklahoma and Mississippi, has also approved the use of nitrogen hypoxia as an alternative to the lethal injection. That meant that when Smith said he did not want a second stab with a lethal injection, he was in effect also forced to accept nitrogen hypoxia as the method of his execution. California, Texas, Florida and Alabama are
US, UK sanction senior Houthis as rebels say Red Sea attacks will continue
The Yemeni group says it will continue targeting Israel-linked commercial vessels until aid reaches Palestinians in Gaza. The United States and United Kingdom have issued new sanctions on leaders of Yemen’s Houthis, as the group pledges to continue its attacks on Israel-linked commercial vessels until aid reaches Palestinians in Gaza. The sanctions, announced on Thursday, target four key Houthi officials over their roles supporting or directing attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the US and UK said. “The Houthis’ persistent terrorist attacks on merchant vessels and their civilian crews … threaten to disrupt international supply chains and the freedom of navigation, which is critical to global security, stability, and prosperity,” Brian Nelson, the US Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. “Today’s joint action with the United Kingdom demonstrates our collective action to leverage all authorities to stop these attacks.” Those sanctioned were Houthi Defence Minister Mohamed Nasser al-Atifi; commander of Houthi naval forces Muhammad Fadl Abd al-Nabi; coastal defence forces chief Muhammad Ali al-Qadiri; and Muhammed Ahmad al-Talibi, who the two governments described as the Houthi forces’ director of procurement. The UK said the four men were involved in acts which “threaten the peace, security and stability of Yemen”. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement that the restrictions “reinforce our clear message to the Houthis in recent weeks”, promising to target those behind the “unacceptable and illegal actions” against shipping. War on Gaza The sanctions have come as Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi promised to continue the attacks that have disrupted international commerce in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. “Our country will continue its operations until food and medicine reach the people of Gaza,” al-Houthi said in a televised speech on Thursday. Since November, the Houthis have carried out dozens of attacks on commercial vessels they have said were linked to Israel. They said the operations were meant to pressure Israel into stopping its war on Gaza. The group’s leader added that US and British military action in Yemen conducted in response to the Houthi attacks would not affect their “will and determination”. On Monday, a new round of attacks targeted a Houthi underground storage site as well as missile and surveillance capabilities used by the Iran-aligned group against Red Sea shipping. The Houthi attacks have disrupted international commerce along a route that accounts for about 15 percent of the world’s shipping traffic. Several shipping companies have redirected their vessels around the southern tip of Africa, delaying delivery times and adding a further 3,000-3,500 nautical miles (6,000km) to their route. The US also re-designated the Houthis as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists” (SDGTs) earlier this month, a designation attributed to those who are considered to “threaten the security of the US”. In response to the designation and the US and British attacks against targets in Yemen, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Yemen’s capital Sanaa and other cities to protest and to show support for Palestinians in Gaza. Adblock test (Why?)
Top French court rejects large parts of controversial immigration bill
The court rejected measures that toughen access to social benefits, family reunification, and immigration quotas. More than a third of articles in a controversial immigration bill must be scrapped, France’s Constitutional Council has said. The council, a body that validates the constitutionality of laws, rejected measures in the bill on Thursday that call for the toughening of access to social benefits, family reunification, and the introduction of immigration quotas set by parliament. It upheld much of the bill initially presented by President Emmanuel Macron’s government but criticised the contentious additions made under pressure from the political right and far right. The bill includes migration quotas, obstacles to family reunification and delays to migrants’ access to welfare benefits, as well as articles cancelling automatic birthright citizenship and making it easier to deport non-French nationals. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin welcomed the ruling, saying it had validated the government’s initial proposals. “Never has a text provided so many means for expelling delinquents,” he wrote on X. “The Government takes note, as I was able to indicate during the debates, of the censorship of numerous articles added to Parliament for non-compliance with parliamentary procedure,” Darmanin wrote in French. People attend a demonstration against the immigration law, called the ‘Darmanin law’, with one protester holding a placard that reads ‘Withdrawal of the Darmanin law’ in Paris, France [Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters] Jordan Bardella, the president of the far-right National Rally party, slammed the ruling, which he described as a “coup by the judges, with the backing of the president”. He called for a referendum on immigration as the “only solution”. The council dismissed 32 out of 86 amendments because they were unrelated to the law’s subject. But they could be accepted later as part of a different bill. The council also criticised three more amendments partially – or in total – over their essence, and partially rejected the setting of immigration quotas by parliament. Earlier this week, the United Nations special rapporteur on racism said the bill violates France’s constitutional commitment to equality and liberty. “When we look at the French Constitution or the way in which the head of state or many in positions of power speak, it’s equality, but that is in strong contradiction to these policies,” Ashwini KP, UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, told the Reuters news agency. Ashwini KP also raised concerns over the proposed restrictions to social welfare for migrants and said they would greatly “impact marginalised communities”. Macron has made the bill a key plank of his second term in office and defended its passing through parliament. But the president has faced criticism over the bill, which drew support from the far-right National Rally party. Macron referred the legislation to France’s Constitutional Council to check if it complies with the Constitution. Adblock test (Why?)
Thirty people killed in latest herder violence in Nigeria’s Plateau State
Intercommunal violence is common in the state due to tensions over land between nomadic herders and indigenous farmers. At least 30 people have been killed in renewed violence in Nigeria’s central Plateau State, where clashes between Muslim herders and Christian farming communities have erupted for years, a community organisation and an aid group source said on Thursday. Despite a 24-hour curfew imposed on Tuesday in Plateau’s Mangu local district, schools, places of worship, and homes have been burned and ransacked in more attacks, community leaders said. The Mwaghavul Development Association, an organisation for ethnic Mwaghavul people who are mostly Christians, blamed Fulani Muslim herders for attacking Kwahaslalek village, killing approximately 30 people. “At the moment, our people are left at the mercy of God and the little they can do in self-defence,” the association said in a statement. That figure was confirmed by a local rescue official and a source at an aid group working on the ground, who spoke to the news agency AFP on condition of anonymity. The aid source said more than 100 people had been wounded. Security personnel are yet to comment on the death toll from the most recent attacks. Two camps for the displaced have been set up in Mangu town, for about 1,500 people, local chairman of Nigeria Red Cross Nurudeen Husaini Magaji told AFP. Plateau’s governor announced the curfew on Tuesday after another clash that officials blamed on a dispute between a herder moving his cattle and other residents using the road. [embedded content] A history of communal conflict The state lies in the Middle Belt, a region seen as the dividing line between Nigeria’s mostly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south. Intercommunal violence has been common in the region, which is home to dozens of ethnic minorities like the Mwaghavul. Clashes in the region and the northwest are rooted in community tensions over land between nomadic herders and indigenous farmers, but exacerbated by the effects of climate change and population rise in the region. Multiple local reports have attributed the farmers as saying they have had to organise into self-defence vigilante groups to fend off attacks by the herders. The situation has been worsened by reprisal attacks and a web of broader criminality. Heavily armed gangs, known locally as bandits, raid villages especially in the northwest states, looting and kidnapping for ransom. The conflict has also seeped into parts of southwest and southeast Nigeria. In recent times, tensions have soared since nearly 200 people were killed over Christmas in raids on mostly Christian villages. The Jama’atu Nasril Islam, a Muslim community organisation, also said that clashes erupted between Tuesday and Wednesday in Mangu town, with places of worship and faith-based schools attacked. “We call on the government and security agencies to intensify their efforts in securing the lives and properties of the inhabitants of Mangu and other flash points,” JNI’s state director Salim Musa Umar said. “All concerned should also do everything possible to prevent any possible escalation.” [embedded content] Adblock test (Why?)
Swedish PM Kristersson agrees to meet Hungary’s Orban for talks on NATO bid
After ratification by Turkey, Hungary is the only country left effectively holding up Sweden’s NATO membership. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has agreed to meet his counterpart from Hungary, the only NATO member yet to ratify his country’s membership in the military alliance. Swedish public television on Thursday published a letter Kristersson penned to Prime Minister Viktor Orban in which he said he accepted an invitation received this week to meet in Budapest “at a time convenient for both of us”. “The completion of the ratification process of Sweden’s NATO membership in the Hungarian parliament will create a solid foundation to move ahead in our bilateral relationship, and to reinforce mutual understanding and trust,” Kristersson said in the letter. He added that “a more intensive dialogue between our countries would be beneficial”, noting they would also have the opportunity to speak in Brussels on February 1 at a meeting of the European Council. The publication of the letter comes a day after Turkey’s parliament approved Sweden’s NATO membership. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to add his signature in the coming days. Kristersson said after the vote in Ankara that Sweden was “one step closer” to joining the alliance. In a post on X on the same day, Orban wrote that his country supports Sweden’s membership and said he would urge lawmakers to approve its accession quickly. Just finished a phone call with @NATO Secretary General @jensstoltenberg. I reaffirmed that the Hungarian government supports the NATO-membership of #Sweden. I also stressed that we will continue to urge the Hungarian National Assembly to vote in favor of Sweden’s accession and… — Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) January 24, 2024 But on Thursday, Hungary’s parliamentary speaker, Laszlo Kover, said there was no urgency in backing Sweden’s NATO membership bid. “I do not feel any particular urgency. Moreover, I do not think there is an extraordinary situation,” Kover said. Finland became the 31st member of the alliance in April, which doubled the length of NATO’s border with Russia. It also strengthened the defences of three small Baltic countries that joined the bloc after the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago. Sweden and Finland both had a lengthy history of military non-alignment harkening back to the Cold War. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rocked ties on the continent and changed their policy. Both Orban and Erdogan maintain relatively friendly relations with Russia. Adblock test (Why?)