Thousands worldwide assembled to commemorate International Women’s Day with Protest
New Delhi, INDIA (REUTERS/DT) – Tens of thousands of women marched in demonstrations across Spain on Friday to protest against gender inequality and to mark International Women’s Day.
To mark the occasion, Spain’s Equality Minister Ana Redondo announced on Friday the government would revive a human trafficking law which was proposed last year but was not passed because of July’s general election.
The new legislation will mean that, among other things, victims will not be obliged to make an official report which can sometimes deter them from making claims about alleged traffickers.
In Madrid, the Plaza Cibeles fountain was turned purple with lights to mark the colour of the feminist movement while protesters wearing white masks and disguises took to the streets.
“We women, we haven’t been heard for a long time and we are so tired of not having the same benefits and having to struggle to the basic needs,” Natalia Hofmann, 34, a psychologist, said in an interview in Barcelona. Protests were held by thousands of feminist groups in 40 Spanish cities.
On the other hand, in India, women participating in the farmer protests gathered at the Shambhu border on Women’s Day. These women are actively involved in the ongoing farmer demonstrations along the interstate borders of Punjab and Haryana, as well as within Punjab itself. Their aim on International Women’s Day was to advocate for various demands, including debt relief and the legal assurance of minimum support prices for all crops based on the C2+50% formula.
Women farmers during their ongoing protest at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border, in Patiala district | Photo: PTI.
In significant numbers, they assembled at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders in response to the call from the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (a non-political farmer forum) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. Additionally, they gathered at Barnala’s grain market following the invitation from BKU (Ekta Ugrahan).
The day’s events were coordinated at all three locations. Despite facing multiple barricades erected by the Haryana Police since February 13 to impede the farmers’ progress towards Delhi, women from various villages in Haryana also joined the protests at the Shambhu border.
Sukhwinder Kaur and Samita Kaur, who led the Women’s Day demonstrations, reminded the BJP of its decade-old pledge made during the 2014 elections to provide farmers with MSP based on the Swaminathan formula.
They urged the government to clear the passage to Delhi. Harinder Kaur Bindu, representing the women’s wing of the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), accused both the central and Haryana governments of suppressing the farmers to thwart the Delhi march.
Indian agency CBI busts human trafficking network sending Indians to Russia-Ukraine war zone
New Delhi, INDIA (EFE/DT) – India’s main probe agency carried out raids in several cities on Friday after dismantling a major network involved in the trafficking of Indian citizens to fight for Russia against Ukraine.
“The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation)is conducting simultaneous searches at around 13 locations” in seven cities, including New Delhi and Mumbai, the agency said in a statement.
The raids came after the agency said it dismantled “a major human trafficking network running across the country targeting gullible youths on the promise of offering lucrative jobs abroad.”
The Indian Authorities have disclosed that the CBI has lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against several visa consultancy firms and agents implicated in the trafficking scheme. Following the raids, numerous individuals have been apprehended, and a sum of Rs 50 lakh has been confiscated.
The CBI explained that the traffickers attracted Indian citizens through social media channels and local contacts for highly paid jobs in Russia.
Hemil Mangukiya, middle, poses for a photograph with two other men in military uniform, in this undated picture. Mangukiya, who was hired as a security helper by the Russian Army, was killed in a Ukrainian air strike on February 21, 2024 in the Donetsk region on the Russia-Ukraine border. Photo: Hemil Mangukiya Family via Reuters
Once recruited, “they were trained in combat roles and deployed at front bases in Russia-Ukraine war zone against their wishes, thus putting their lives in grave danger,” the CBI said.
The agency has so far identified 35 cases of victims sent abroad through these networks.
The FIR filed by the CBI lists 17 agents and companies. However, investigations conducted by NDTV have uncovered the involvement of Dubai-based Faizan Khan, also known as Baba, who operated a popular YouTube channel named ‘Baba Vlogs’. Khan, implicated in the case, was identified as a key figure by families of trafficked individuals.
In one of his videos filmed in St. Petersburg, Russia, Khan highlights the proximity of the city to Finland and Estonia, both less than 150 km away. Speaking in Hindi, he suggests the opportunities available in the region, subtly implying the ease of undertaking certain activities given the proximity to conflict zones.
Watch the video where Baba entices Indian job seekers with promises related to Finland and Estonia
Throughout the video, Khan showcases the beauty of St. Petersburg while discussing job prospects, including positions as delivery personnel and aides to the Russian military.
“In the video, he emphasized the main advantage of obtaining a government official card. He highlighted that individuals would reside in comfortable accommodations, receive decent food, and enjoy priority treatment. With this card, they could obtain Schengen visas, travel to other countries, or secure a PR visa.
He suggested that by supporting the government, individuals could potentially receive long-term benefits like a PR visa,” he stated in the video.
“You will not be stationed on the border; your role will primarily involve assisting the Army,” Baba Khan assured his viewers.
India reported last Wednesday the death of a citizen allegedly tricked into fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
In recent weeks, about a dozen Indian citizens have insisted that they traveled to Moscow to support the Russian army in secondary tasks but were forced to fight on the front.
Since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022, India has called on its citizens to stay out of the conflict.
New Delhi has maintained a neutral stance in the conflict, avoiding condemning the Russian invasion.
Indian law prohibits its citizens from participating in armed conflicts in other territories or countries with which New Delhi is at peace.
According to the Indian Penal Code, those who violate this rule shall be punished with imprisonment of any kind for a period that may extend to seven years.
PM Modi visits Kashmir for the first time since revoking region’s semi-autonomy
New Delhi, INDIA (AP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday made his first official visit to Kashmir since New Delhi stripped the disputed region of its semi-autonomy and took direct control of it in 2019.
Addressing a crowd in a soccer stadium in Srinagar, Modi announced development projects and said previous governments had misled people over the region’s now-scrapped special status.
“The success story of Jammu and Kashmir will be the center of attraction for the world,” he told the crowd, saying that the region has prospered since the 2019 move. “I have always said that the hard work I am doing is to win your hearts. I will work towards winning your hearts further.”
Modi and his party have accused Kashmir’s pro-India parties of being corrupt, misleading Kashmiris and promoting separatism in the region. Kashmiri politicians, who say their special status was a constitutional guarantee, have called Modi divisive and anti-minority.
Thousands of armed paramilitary troops and police in flak jackets maintained extra vigilance across the Kashmir Valley, the heartland of the ongoing rebellion against Indian rule in the majority-Muslim territory, where many residents strongly favor independence or a merger with Pakistan. Modi’s two previous visits to Kashmir after its status was changed were to the Hindu-dominated city of Jammu.
Modi did not mention plans to hold elections in the region or to restore its statehood, both demanded by Kashmir’s pro-India political parties. The last election for the regional legislature were held in 2014, but the government elected then was dismissed in 2018.
In 2019, Modi’s Hindu-nationalist-led government revoked the region’s semi-autonomous status, annulled its separate constitution, split the area into two federal territories — Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir — and removed inherited protections on land and jobs. The Muslim-majority region is now run by unelected government officials and bureaucrats.
ASEAN, Australia call for peace after tensions in the South China Sea
Sydney, AUSTRALIA (DT) – Leaders of the ASEAN bloc and Australia made a joint statement calling for peace and stability in the region. China claims the entire South China sea and has been aggressive towards ships from other nations.
Leaders from the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia issued a joint statement on Wednesday, expressing concerns over actions that could threaten peace in the South China Sea. This statement follows recent tensions between Beijing and the Philippines in disputed waters.
“We affirm the importance of maintaining the South China Sea as a region of peace, stability, and prosperity. We urge all parties to refrain from unilateral actions that may undermine peace, security, and stability in the area,” the nations emphasized in their collective statement, advocating for a “rules-based” order in the Indo-Pacific region.
In response, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry stated, “We are committed to properly managing differences with relevant countries and fully implementing agreements with ASEAN nations.”
ASEAN member states participated in special discussions in Melbourne commemorating 50 years of ties with Australia. In a joint declaration issued at the end of the summit, leaders underscored the importance of “avoiding actions that could escalate the risk of accidents, misunderstandings, and miscalculations.”
Escalating tensions in the South China Sea
This declaration follows a recent clash between Chinese and Philippine vessels in disputed waters. According to Philippine authorities, two China Coast Guard vessels sprayed water cannons at a Philippine Navy-chartered boat, causing damage and minor injuries to four personnel on board.
According to authorities, one of the two Chinese coast guard vessels also collided with a Philippine Coast Guard ship, as reported on Tuesday.
The coordinated patrols occur amidst increasing confrontations between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea. Photo: Joeal Calupitan/AP
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed the media in Melbourne following the summit, expressing Canberra’s concern over the “unsafe and destabilizing behavior.” He characterized the actions as “dangerous,” highlighting the risk of “miscalculation, which can then lead to escalations.”
Among ASEAN members, there are varying opinions regarding China’s assertive behavior and expanding presence in the broader region. This diversity arises due to Beijing’s significant economic influence there.
During a joint press conference with Albanese on Monday, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stated that “if other nations have issues with China, they should not impose them on us.” This remark alluded to claims of “China-phobia” in the West.
Australia maintains longstanding ties with ASEAN, whose member states collectively represent Canberra’s second-largest two-way trading partner.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Myanmar, which has been under military rule since a coup in February 2021, was notably absent from the summit’s primary meeting. East Timor participated as an observer, engaging in discussions focused on trade, clean energy, and maritime security.
During the summit, Australia unveiled plans for a AU$64 million ($41 million) investment to enhance maritime cooperation with ASEAN nations. Additionally, Australia committed AU$2 billion to a fund aimed at supporting regional projects, particularly in infrastructure and transitioning to clean energy.
In response to the summit’s declaration, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stated in Beijing that China will “continue to properly handle differences with relevant parties through dialogue and consultation.” China reiterated its commitment to collaborating with ASEAN countries to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea.
The disputes over the contested waters involve not only China and the Philippines but also Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Taiwan.
Nikki Haley ends White House bid, clearing path for a Trump-Biden rematch
CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) – Nikki Haley ended her long-shot challenge to Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump on Wednesday, ensuring the former president will be the party’s candidate in a rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden in November’s election. Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, bowed out a day after Super Tuesday, opens new tab, when Trump beat her soundly in 14 of 15 Republican nominating contests.
“The time has now come to suspend my campaign,” Haley told supporters during a speech in Charleston. “I have no regrets.” She said it was likely Trump – who repeatedly belittled her candidacy – would be the Republican nominee but did not endorse him. “It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him,” she said. “And I hope he does that.” Drawing on her foreign policy experience at the U.N., Haley said it was important to continue U.S. global leadership.
Throughout her campaign, Haley said the United States must help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression, a position at odds with Trump.
“If we retreat further, there will be more war, not less,” she said. Trump did capture the endorsement on Wednesday of Mitch McConnell, the longtime Senate Republican leader who some party hardliners considered insufficiently allied with the former president.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley hosts a campaign event in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. March 4, 2024. REUTERS/Shelby Tauber/File Photo
“It should come as no surprise that as nominee, he will have my support,” said McConnell, who is stepping down as leader. There was no indication Trump would moderate his message.
Just as Haley was conceding the race, he criticized her before inviting her supporters to join him. “Nikki Haley got TROUNCED last night, in record setting fashion,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social media platform. In contrast, Biden praised Haley for daring to “speak the truth” about Trump and extended his own invitation to her supporters. “Donald Trump made it clear he doesn’t want Nikki Haley’s supporters. I want to be clear: There is a place for them in my campaign,” Biden said in a statement. Haley lasted longer than any other Republican challenger to Trump but never posed a serious threat to the former president, whose iron grip on the party’s base remains firm despite multiple criminal indictments.
The rematch between Trump, 77, and Biden, 81 – the first repeat U.S. presidential contest since 1956 – is one that few Americans want. Opinion polls show both Biden and Trump have low approval ratings among voters. The election promises to be deeply divisive in a country already riven by political polarization. Biden has cast Trump as an existential danger to democratic principles, while Trump has sought to re-litigate his false claims that he won in 2020.
Haley, 52, drew support from deep-pocketed donors intent on stopping Trump from winning a third consecutive Republican presidential nomination, particularly after she notched a series of strong performances at debates that Trump opted to skip. She ultimately failed to pry loose enough conservative voters. But her stronger showing among moderate Republicans and independents highlighted how Trump’s scorched-earth style of politics could make him vulnerable in the Nov. 5 election against Biden.
KEY ISSUES
As in 2020, the race is likely to come down to a handful of swing states, thanks to the winner-take-all, state-by-state Electoral College system that determines the presidential election. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are all expected to be closely contested in November. The central issues of the campaign have already come into focus. Despite low unemployment, a red-hot stock market and easing inflation, voters experiencing post-pandemic inflation have voiced dissatisfaction with Biden on the economy. Biden’s other major weakness is the state of the U.S.-Mexico border, where a surge of migrants overwhelmed the system after Biden eased some Trump-era policies. Trump’s hawkish stance on immigration – including a promise to initiate the largest deportation effort in history – is at the core of his campaign, just as it was in 2016.
Voters expect Trump would do a better job on both the economy and immigration, according to opinion polls. Trump may be dogged by criminal charges throughout the year. The federal case charging him with trying to overturn the 2020 election, perhaps the weightiest he faces, has been paused while Trump pursues a long-shot argument that he is immune from prosecution. Biden has said Trump poses a threat to democracy, citing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters seeking to reverse Biden’s 2020 victory. Abortion, too, will play a role after the nine-member U.S. Supreme Court, buoyed by three Trump appointees, eliminated a nationwide right to terminate pregnancies in 2022. The subject has become a political liability for Republicans, helping Democrats exceed expectations in the 2022 midterm elections.
HALEY THWARTED
Haley had been among the first Republican contenders to enter the race in February 2023, but she only garnered attention after her standout debate performances later in the year. Through it all, she was reluctant to completely disavow her former boss. Trump showed no such reticence, frequently insulting her intelligence and Indian heritage.
Only in the last months of her campaign did Haley begin to forcefully hit back at Trump, questioning his mental acuity, calling him a liar and saying he was too afraid to debate her. Still, she said that as president she would pardon Trump if he were convicted in any of the criminal cases he faces, a position she never abandoned. Reporting by Gram Slattery in Charleston and Joseph Ax; Additional reporting by Nathan Layne in Palm Beach, Florida, Jyoti Narayan and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru, and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Howard Goller and Lisa Shumaker.
The hallmark of Putin’s 24 years in power: A crackdown on dissent
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — When charismatic opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down on a bridge near the Kremlin in February 2015, more than 50,000 Muscovites expressed their shock and outrage the next day at the brazen assassination. Police stood aside as they rallied and chanted anti-government slogans.
Nine years later, stunned and angry Russians streamed into the streets on the night of Feb. 16, when they heard that popular opposition politician Alexei Navalny had died in prison. But this time, those laying flowers at impromptu memorials in major cities were met by riot police, who arrested and dragged hundreds of them away.
In those intervening years, Vladimir Putin’s Russia evolved from a country that tolerated some dissent to one that ruthlessly suppresses it. Arrests, trials and long prison terms — once rare — are commonplace, especially after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
Alongside its political opponents, the Kremlin now also targets rights groups, independent media and other members of civil-society organizations, LGBTQ+ activists and certain religious affiliations.
“Russia is no longer an authoritarian state -– it is a totalitarian state,” said Oleg Orlov, co-chair of Memorial, the Russian human rights group that tracks political prisoners. “All these repressions are aimed at suppressing any independent expression about Russia’s political system, about the actions of the authorities, or any independent civil activists.”
A month after making that comment to The Associated Press, the 70-year-old Orlov became one of his group’s own statistics: He was handcuffed and hauled out of a courtroom after being convicted of criticizing the military over Ukraine and sentenced to 2½ years in prison.
Memorial estimates there are nearly 680 political prisoners in Russia. Another group, OVD-Info, said in November that 1,141 people are behind bars on politically motivated charges, with over 400 others receiving other punishment and nearly 300 more under investigation.
THE USSR VANISHES BUT REPRESSION RETURNS
There was a time after the collapse of the Soviet Union when it seemed Russia had turned a page and widespread repression was a thing of the past, said Orlov, a human rights advocate since the 1980s.
While there were isolated cases in the 1990s under President Boris Yeltsin, Orlov said major crackdowns began slowly after Putin came to power in 2000.
Exiled oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who spent 10 years in prison after challenging Putin, told AP in a recent interview the Kremlin began stifling dissent even before his 2003 arrest. It purged independent TV channel NTV and went after other defiant oligarchs like Vladimir Gusinsky or Boris Berezovsky.
Asked if he thought back then whether the crackdown would reach today’s scale of hundreds of political prisoners and prosecutions, Khodorkovsky said: “I rather thought he (Putin) would snap earlier.”
When Nadya Tolokonnikova and her fellow members of Pussy Riot were arrested in 2012 for performing an anti-Putin song in a main Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, their two-year prison sentence came as a shock, she recalled in an interview.
“Back then, it seemed an incredibly (long prison) term. I couldn’t even imagine that I would ever get out,” she said.
A RISING INTOLERANCE FOR DISSENT
When Putin regained the presidency in 2012 after evading term limits by serving four years as prime minister, he was greeted by mass protests. He saw these as Western-inspired and wanted to nip them in the bud, said Tatiana Stanovaya of Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.
Many were arrested, and over a dozen received up to four years in prison after those protests. But mostly, Stanovaya said, authorities were “creating conditions in which the opposition could not thrive,” rather than dismantling it.
A flurry of laws followed that tightened regulations on protests, gave broad powers to authorities to block websites and surveil users online. They slapped the restrictive label of “foreign agent” on groups to weed out what the Kremlin saw as harmful outside influence fueling dissent.
Navalny in 2013-14 was convicted twice of embezzlement and fraud, but received suspended sentences. His brother was imprisoned in what was seen as a move to pressure the opposition leader.
Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 from Ukraine created a surge of patriotism and boosted Putin’s popularity, emboldening the Kremlin. Authorities restricted foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations and rights groups, outlawing some as “undesirable,” and targeted online critics with prosecutions, fines and occasionally jail.
FILE : Oil tycoon and Kremlin political opponent Mikhail Khodorkovsky, centre, is seen in a defendants cage in court in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec.30,2010 during a trail on finacial crimes. Photo : AP fil
In the meantime, the tolerance for protests grew thinner. Demonstrations spearheaded by Navalny in 2016-17 brought hundreds of arrests; mass rallies in summer 2019 saw another handful of demonstrators convicted and imprisoned.
The Kremlin used the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 as an excuse to ban protests. To this day, authorities often refuse to allow rallies, citing “coronavirus restrictions.
After Navalny’s poisoning, recuperation in Germany and arrest upon his return to Russia in 2021, repressions intensified. His entire political infrastructure was outlawed as extremist, exposing his allies and supporters to prosecution.
Open Russia, an opposition group backed from abroad by Khodorkovsky, also had to shut down, and its leader, Andrei Pivovarov, was arrested.
Orlov’s group Memorial was shut down by the Supreme Court in 2021, the year before it won the Nobel Peace Prize as the hopeful symbol of a post-Soviet Russia. He recalled the disbelief about the court’s ruling.
“We couldn’t imagine all these next stages of the spiral, that the war would erupt, and all those laws about discrediting the army will be adopted,” he said.
WAR AND REPRESSIVE NEW LAWS
With the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia enacted those repressive new laws that stifled any anti-war protests and criticism of the military. The number of arrests, criminal cases and trials mushroomed.
Charges varied — from donating money to rights groups helping Ukraine to involvement with Navalny’s now “extremist” group.
Kremlin critics were imprisoned, and their prominence didn’t seem to matter. Navalny eventually got 19 years, while another opposition foe, Vladimir Kara-Murza, got the harshest sentence of 25 years for treason.
Among those also swept up was a St. Petersburg artist got seven years for replacing supermarket price tags with anti-war slogans; two Moscow poets got five and seven years for reciting antiwar verses in public; and a 72-year-old woman got 5½ years for two social media posts against the war.
Activists say prison sentences have gotten longer, compared with those before the war. Increasingly, authorities have appealed convictions that resulted in lighter punishment. In Orlov’s case, prosecutors sought a retrial of his earlier conviction that initially drew only a fine; he later was sentenced to prison.
Another trend is an increase in trials in absentia, said Damir Gainutdinov, head of the Net Freedoms rights group. It counted 243 criminal cases on charges of “spreading false information” about the military, and 88 of them were against people outside Russia — including 20 who were convicted in absentia.
Independent news sites were largely blocked. Many moved their newsrooms abroad, like the independent TV channel Dozhd or Novaya Gazeta, with their work available to Russians via VPNs.
At the same time, the Kremlin expanded a decade-long crackdown against Russia’s LGBTQ+ community in what officials said was a fight for “traditional values” espoused by the Russian Orthodox Church in the face of the West’s “degrading” influence. Last year, declared the LGBTQ+ “movement” extremist and banned gender transitioning.
Pressure on religious groups continued, too, with hundreds of Jehovah’s Witnesses being prosecuted across Russia since 2017, when the denomination was declared extremist.
The system of oppression is designed “to keep people in fear,” said Nikolay Petrov, visiting researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
It doesn’t always work. Last week, thousands of people defied scores of riot police to mourn Navalny at his funeral in southeastern Moscow, chanting “No to war!” and “Russia without Putin!” — slogans that normally would result in arrests.
This time, police uncharacteristically did not interfere.
Venezuela sets its presidential election for July 28 as the opposition candidate remains barred
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s highly anticipated presidential election will take place July 28 – the birthday of the country’s late fiery leader Hugo Chávez – officials announced Tuesday, plowing ahead with a tight campaign season that deepens doubts over the participation of the opposition’s leading candidate as well as of international observers.
President Nicolás Maduro is widely expected to run for reelection. His government initially negotiated details of the election with a faction of the opposition backed by the United States government, but differences between the sides have grown over the past two months.
The date announced by National Electoral Council President Elvis Amoroso did, however, meet at least one opposition demand that the election be held in the second half of the year.
When that broad timeframe was agreed upon by Maduro and his adversaries in October, the intervening months were meant to allow campaigns to mobilize, officials to update voter rolls, and international electoral observers to plan and deploy a mission.
Crucially, the October agreement, signed in the Caribbean island of Barbados and focused on conditions meant to level the playing field for the 2024 election, also called on both sides to “promote the authorization of all presidential candidates and political parties” to participate in the election as long as they comply with the law.
But in January, the country’s top court ratified an administrative decision banning Maduro’s strongest adversary this year, Maria Corina Machado, from running for office.
Amoroso, under his previous capacity as the country’s comptroller, signed the announcement of Machado’s ban from office last summer. He did not address her candidacy during his nationally televised announcement Tuesday, just four days after lawmakers proposed to the ruling party-loyal National Electoral Council more than 20 possible options, ranging from as soon as mid-April to as late as December.
Last month, the opposition’s chief negotiator, Gerardo Blyde, said the group favored a December vote.
National Electoral Council (CNE) President Elvis Hidrobo Amoroso, waves to the press at the National Electoral Council headquarters, Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Amoroso announced that Venezuela’s presidential election will take place on July 28. Behind is a portrait of independence hero Simon Bolivar. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
David Smilde, an expert on Venezuelan politics at Tulane University, said Maduro’s government seeks to thread the needle with the July 28 date, fulfilling enough the Barbados agreement to keep it alive “while pushing on the opposition to try to get it to split or abstain.”
“An ideal outcome for Chavismo would be for the opposition to split or abstain, allowing Maduro to win on a relatively clean Election Day,” he said, referring to the political movement started by Chávez, Maduro’s mentor and predecessor. “And with less than five months, this also puts international observation in a tight spot.”
International electoral observers typically need several months to prepare for an election.
Amoroso said campaigning will be allowed from July 4-25.
The Unitary Platform and Maduro’s government agreed in October during talks in Barbados that the election should be held in the second half of the year while not specifying which month. The agreement earned Maduro relief from some economic sanctions imposed by the U.S.
Machado has insisted throughout her campaign that voters, not ruling-party loyalists, are the rightful decision-makers of her candidacy. On Tuesday, she asked supporters gathered for a rally in western Venezuela for “calm and firmness” in the coming days, but she did not offer any explanations on how she intends to overcome the ban against her.
Machado won an independently run primary held last year by the Unitary Platform, the U.S.-backed opposition faction. She won more than 90% of the vote, with more than 2 million voters turning out for the primary including in strongholds of Maduro’s ruling party.
Tuesday was the 11th anniversary of Chávez death. Smylde said the ruling party will use his birthday to mobilize voters.
While the opposition’s candidate remains in doubt, Maduro will be seeking six more years in office. His entire decade-long presidency has been marked by political, social and economic crisis. Under his watch, millions of Venezuelans have fallen into poverty and more than 7.4 million have migrated.
Benigno Alarcón, political science professor at the Andrés Bello Catholic University of Caracas, said the tight schedule “promises to be full of big questions” but the ruling party is betting on the criticism to eventually subside and not bring major consequences like in the last election cycle, which led to crippling economic sanctions and the recognition of an opposition leader as the country’s legitimate leader.
“Evidently, the government’s main concern is to get the opposition candidate who was elected in the primary, María Corina Machado, out of the way and reduce any time to continue the debate on her qualification or anything else,” he said. “That is basically what is behind this decision.”
Indian police arrest 5 more after Spanish tourist gang raped in Dumka
Dumka, INDIA (AFP/EFE) – Indian police have arrested five more men in connection with the gang rape of a Spanish tourist, taking the total detained to eight, local media reported on Tuesday.
A woman walks past a drawining painted by artists from Gurukul School of Art to demand action in connection with the gang-rape of a Spanish tourist in Dumka district, in Mumbai, India, 04 March 2024. EFE-EPA/DIVYAKANT SOLANKI
The attack on the woman, who was on a motorbike trip with her husband, took place last week in Dumka district in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand where the couple was camping.
The Press Trust of India news agency broadcasted footage of five suspects, handcuffed and tied to each other in a line by a rope, in front of seated police officers.
VIDEO | Eight arrests have been made so far in connection with the alleged gang-rape of a Spanish woman in Jharkhand's Dumka district last week. pic.twitter.com/fShWVbT6P2
On Monday, three other men appeared in court — also with sacks on their heads — and were later remanded in custody.
“Eight arrests have been made so far in connection with the alleged gang rape of a Spanish woman”, PTI said, citing police officers.
The authorities have handed a cheque of $12,000 to the couple as compensation under a “victim compensation scheme”, broadcaster NDTV reported.
Indian police and forensic team investigate and collect samples at the site where a Spanish tourist was gangraped, near Kurmahaat, Dumka, Jharkhand state, India, 04 March 2024. EFE-EPA/Rajesh Kumar
An average of nearly 90 rapes a day were reported in India in 2022, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau. However, large numbers go unreported due to prevailing stigmas around victims and a lack of faith in police investigations.
Convictions remain rare, with cases getting stuck for years in India’s clogged-up criminal justice system.
The notorious gang rape and murder of an Indian student made global headlines in 2012. Jyoti Singh, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student, was raped, assaulted and left for dead by five men and a teenager on a bus in New Delhi in December that year.
The horrific crime shone an international spotlight on India’s high levels of sexual violence and sparked weeks of protests, and eventually a change in the law to introduce the death penalty for rape.
Before departing for their onward journey, the traumatized yet resilient couple provided fresh statements to officers on Tuesday, an official source told EFE.
The source said the victims spent at least two hours speaking with the police before embarking on a two-day journey to Nepal, the Himalayan country to India’s east.
Authorities offered the couple a police escort to accompany them to the Jharkhand state border, the source added.
China to raise defense budget by 7.2 percent this year
Beijing, CHINA (EFE).- China in its draft budget presented to the annual National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s top legislature, announced on Tuesday that it would raise its annual defense by 7.2 percent this year to 1,665 trillion yuan ($231.352 billion).
Delegates leave the stage after the opening ceremony of the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 05 March 2024. EFE-EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES
The defense budget, which was also increased by 7.2 percent in 2023, has been announced amid tensions in the South China Sea and the focus on Taiwan, an island that Beijing claims as its own.
Tensions have been especially significant with the Philippines, which strengthened its military alliance with Washington to curb China’s expansionist ambitions.
It led to clashes between ships from both countries in recent months, raising concerns about potential armed conflict in the region.
Beijing accuses Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (PDP) of adding fuel to the fire “lit by the separatists” by also increasing its allocation for defense and signing agreements to receive US weapons.
PDF has governed Taiwan for the last eight years and will continue to do so after the win of its candidate in the recent presidential elections.
Chinese premier Li Qiang, while reading the government action report, indicated on Tuesday that China would “resolutely oppose” all ”separatist activities aimed at ‘Taiwan independence’” as well as “external interference” on the island, which has been self-governed since 1949.
“We will promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, be firm in advancing the cause of China’s reunification, and uphold the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation,” he said.
“We will improve the wellbeing of Chinese people on both sides so that together, we can realize the glorious cause of national rejuvenation,” added the Chinese premier.
Chinese military band members sit with their instruments during the opening ceremony of the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 05 March 2024. EFE-EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES
On the sidelines, Li asserted that China would carry out an “independent” foreign policy and would bet on “peaceful development” based on openness and cooperation.
“We call for an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and we are committed to promoting a new type of international relations,” he said.
Li added that the country would “fight” against what it considered “hegemonic, high-handed, and bullying acts” and that it would work with the international community to launch its Global Development Initiative aimed at accelerating the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.
Li also indicated that the Asian country would try to promote the Global Security Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers march on outside the the Great Hall of the People after the opening ceremony of the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress of China in Beijing, China, 05 March 2024. EFE-EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARE
The initiative opposes the use of sanctions on the international stage.
According to experts cited by the pro-government newspaper Global Times, the defense budget sought to cover the needs of the country in a challenging security environment. EFE
Gangs in Haiti try to seize control of main airport in newest attack on key government sites
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Heavily armed gangs tried to seize control of Haiti’s main international airport on Monday, exchanging gunfire with police and soldiers in the latest attack on key government sites in an explosion of violence that includes a mass escape from the country’s two biggest prisons.
The Toussaint Louverture International Airport was closed when the attack occurred, with no planes operating and no passengers on site.
Associated Press journalists saw an armored truck on the tarmac shooting at gangs to try and prevent them from entering airport grounds as scores of employees and other workers fled from whizzing bullets.
It wasn’t immediately clear as of late Monday whether the attack, which was the biggest one in Haiti’s history involving the airport, was successful.
Soldiers guard the entrance of the international airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, March 4, 2024. Authorities ordered a 72-hour state of emergency starting Sunday night following violence in which armed gang members overran the two biggest prisons and freed thousands of inmates over the weekend. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Last week, the airport was struck briefly by bullets amid ongoing gang attacks, but gangs did not enter the airport nor seize control of it.
The attack occurred just hours after authorities in Haiti ordered a nighttime curfew following violence in which armed gang members overran the two biggest prisons and freed thousands of inmates over the weekend.
“The secretary-general is deeply concerned by the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Port-au-Prince, where armed gangs have intensified their attacks on critical infrastructure over the weekend,” said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
A 72-hour state of emergency began Sunday night. The government said it would try to track down the escaped inmates, including from a penitentiary were the vast majority were in pre-trial detention, with some accused of slayings, kidnappings and other crimes.
“The police were ordered to use all legal means at their disposal to enforce the curfew and apprehend all offenders,” said a statement from Finance Minister Patrick Boivert, the acting prime minister.
Gangs already were estimated to control up to 80% of Port-au-Prince, the capital. They are increasingly coordinating their actions and choosing once unthinkable targets like the Central Bank.
Gangs plague Haitian capital
Violent street gangs affiliated with the G9 and G-Pep criminal gangs have expanded their control over areas around Port-au-Prince, attacking government infrastructure including police stations and the main international airport.
Data as of July 2023. Sources: United Nations; Mapcreator.io/OSM
Prime Minister Ariel Henry traveled to Kenya last week to try to salvage support for a United Nations-backed security force to help stabilize Haiti in its conflict with the increasingly powerful crime groups.
Dujarric said the secretary-general stressed the need for urgent action, especially in providing financial support for the mission, “to address the pressing security requirements of the Haitian people and prevent the country from plunging further into chaos.”
Haiti’s National Police has roughly 9,000 officers to provide security for more than 11 million people, according to the U.N. They are routinely overwhelmed and outgunned.
The deadly weekend marked a new low in Haiti’s downward spiral of violence. At least nine people had been killed since Thursday — four of them police officers — as gangs stepped up coordinated attacks on state institutions in Port-au-Prince, including the international airport and national soccer stadium.
ADDS NAME – Former Colombian soldier Carlos Guerrero, accused of participating in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, speaks with journalists inside the National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, March 3, 2024. Hundreds of inmates have fled Haiti’s main prison after armed gangs stormed the facility overnight. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
But the attack on the National Penitentiary late Saturday shocked Haitians. All but 98 of the 3,798 inmates being held at the penitentiary escaped, according to the Office of Citizen Protection. Meanwhile, at the Croix-des-Bouquets prison, 1,033 escaped, including 298 convicts.
The office said late Monday that it was seriously concerned about the safety of judges, prosecutors, victims, attorneys and others following the mass escape.
It added that it “deplored and condemned the policy of nonchalance” demonstrated by government officials amid the attacks.
Following the raid at the penitentiary, three bodies with gunshot wounds lay at the prison entrance Sunday.
In another neighborhood, the bloodied corpses of two men with their hands tied behind the backs lay face down as residents walked past roadblocks set up with burning tires.
Among the few dozen people who chose to stay in prison are 18 former Colombian soldiers accused of working as mercenaries in the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.
“Please, please help us,” one of the men, Francisco Uribe, said in a message widely shared on social media. “They are massacring people indiscriminately inside the cells.”
Colombia’s foreign ministry has called on Haiti to provide “special protection” for the men.
A second Port-au-Prince prison containing around 1,400 inmates also was overrun.
Gunfire was reported in several neighborhoods in the capital. Internet service for many residents was down on Sunday as Haiti’s top mobile network said a fiber optic cable connection was slashed during the rampage.
After gangs opened fire at Haiti’s international airport last week, the U.S. Embassy said it was halting all official travel to the country. On Sunday night, it urged all American citizens to depart as soon as possible.
The Biden administration, which has refused to commit troops to any multinational force for Haiti while offering money and logistical support, said it was monitoring the rapidly deteriorating security situation with grave concern.
The surge in attacks follows violent protests that turned deadlier in recent days as the prime minister went to Kenya seeking to move ahead on the proposed U.N.-backed security mission to be led by that East African country.
Henry took over as prime minister following Moise’s assassination and has postponed plans to hold parliamentary and presidential elections, which haven’t happened in almost a decade.
Jimmy Chérizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue who now runs a gang federation, has claimed responsibility for the surge in attacks. He said the goal is to capture Haiti’s police chief and government ministers and prevent Henry’s return.
The prime minister has shrugged off calls for him to resign and didn’t comment when asked if he felt it was safe to come home.
Associated Press writers Joshua Goodman in Miami and Dánica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed to this report.
