Rescue ship captain's conviction overturned by Malta court

Claus-Peter Reisch did not enter Maltese waters with criminal intent after rescuing 234 migrants, a court ruled.

7 Jan 2020

Claus-Peter Reisch's 10,000 euros fine has been revoked [File: May 2019/Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters]

The German captain of a migrant rescue ship operating in the Mediterranean Sea has had his conviction overturned by a Maltese appeals court.

Claus-Peter Reisch had been found guilty in May of not having his ship registration in order and entering Maltese waters without a permit.
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But the Court of Criminal Appeal on Tuesday ruled that Reisch did not have the specific criminal intent to break the law and overturned the original judgement - revoking the 10,000 euros ($11,200) fine.

The Mission Lifeline vessel had been carrying 234 migrants in June 2018 when it entered Maltese waters.

The rescue, one of many involving private ships belonging to or chartered by aid groups, had caused an international dispute as European countries dithered over what to do with the would-be refugees.

READ MOREDesperate journeys to Europe: Italy and Malta demand support

Eventually, the vessel was allowed to dock in Malta and the migrants were distributed among EU states.

The ship, however, was impounded, but Mission Lifeline spokesman Axel Steier said now the case was over, the aid group could get it back.

"We are very relieved and happy. Now we know that we did everything right," Steier said in a statement.

For his part, Reisch tweeted: "Wow, incredible ... I won."

Mission Lifeline has acquired a new vessel that is being outfitted in Germany and plans to resume its rescues in the spring, Steier said. He said the group could no longer use the original ship because no country would offer its flag for its registration under "acceptable conditions".

Steier told The Associated Press news agency the verdict sent a message that rescuing migrants is "not a criminal thing, it's a duty".


SOURCE: AP NEWS AGENCY

Spanish deadlock breaks as Sanchez wins confidence vote by two

Spain now has a government, breaking nearly a year of deadlock.
by Alasdair Fotheringham
7 Jan 2020

Pedro Sanchez won a confidence vote by the narrowest of margins [Reuters]

MORE ON SPAINThe emptying of Spain's interiorCatalan separatists move to break Spain's political deadlockbelgian judge suspends extradition of Catalonia's Puigdemont
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Madrid, Spain - Spanish politics tentatively teetered into a new era of coalition-based governments on Tuesday, as Socialist Party leader Pedro Sanchez won a parliamentary vote of confidence by an historic two-vote margin.

Thanks to support from seven parties and, crucially, the abstention of the Catalan nationalist ERC party, the vote in favour of Sanchez's new government ended a period of prolonged political deadlock which had culminated in nearly 10 months of a caretaker government, along with two elections last year and a budget that remains broadly unchanged since 2016.

The Socialists are currently the largest political party in Spain's parliament, but in both recent elections, they fell far short of an absolute majority.
More:

The emptying of Spain's interior
Catalan separatists move to break Spain's political deadlock
Catalan independence protests kick off at El Clasico match

Instead, Sanchez's new minority government of the Socialists and the left-wing Podemos grouping, itself an alliance of parties, is the first coalition in Spain at a national level since the return of democracy in the late 1970s.

The vote of confidence in Sanchez also marks the first time in Spain's recent history that a political formation to the left of the Socialists will form part of Madrid's government.

"This coalition is testament to the ongoing plurality of Spanish society," Manuel Lopez, professor of history at Spain's Open University, told Al Jazeera. "Politically, Spain can no longer be channelled into the two-party system that dominated this country's public institutions in the 1980s and 1990s.

"It's also a reflection of what's increasingly happening across Europe, where there are more and more coalitions in power who try to reflect the plurality of their societies as well."

The coalition government also ends what Lopez describes as "five years of political deadlock, since the European elections of 2014" - when a number of new parties, including Podemos, emerged on the Spanish political scene.

"Since then certain de facto power groups have been trying to put the genie back in the bottle," said Lopez. "This new coalition government shows that in fact, they can't."

VIDEOCatalan leader Quim Torra: 'Independence of Catalonia will come'

As a minority government with just 155 seats in a 350-seat parliament, and with Catalonia's ERC conditioning their neutrality on the creation of a new permanent commission to decide a road-map for their region's political future, the left-wing coalition looks set for a tumultuous time in office.

"It will be an unstable government, at least at first," Jaime Aja, professor of sociology at the University of Cordoba, told Al Jazeera. "Had the Socialists formed this alliance with Podemos before November's elections, they would have had much more room for manoeuvre.

"It'll now depend on the goodwill of left-leaning nationalist parties, as well as more conservative formations like the Basque Nationalist Party. If the current predictions of a looming economic crisis prove correct, I don't think this government will last very long."

As for the ground-breaking coalition between two left-wing groups, "it's new at a national level", Aja says, "but these kinds of alliances have often happened in regional governments or in city councils".

"The main practical effect is, arguably, to provide the most left-leaning part of the Socialist Party with a real boost. But for all that Spain's right have been sounding the alarm, the government isn't aiming at earth-shattering political changes."

READ MORESpain seeks temporary release for jailed Catalan MEP

Podemos is tipped to secure four ministerial positions, with party leader Pablo Iglesias set to be one of three deputy prime ministers.

Top economic priorities for the new government include raising the minimum wage and pensions as part of labour reforms and heavier taxes on Spain's super-rich. A long-awaited climate change law is also a target.

But such is the fragility of Sanchez's majority, most legislation will likely require negotiation on a case-by-case basis with other parties.

OPINION
Catalan crisis and Franco's legacy to shape the future of Spain

by Santiago Zabala

As for how much effect the Socialists' deal with Catalan nationalists will have; "It will certainly be important for questions like getting the budget through parliament", Germa Capdevila, a political analyst with naciodigital.cat told Al Jazeera.

"But a vote of no-confidence, like the one that saw [former PM] Mariano Rajoy lose power a few years back, is not feasible - it would need [hard-right] Vox to ally with [hard-line Basque Nationalist] Bildu, and that's not going to happen."

And the ERC? "To borrow a term from boxing... they're in a clinch position," said Capdevila. "Which means hugging your adversary briefly, to have a break and regain strength. But eventually the struggle will resume - the ERC and Socialists might be close now, but politically, their positions remain far apart."


SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWSTop Manta: Spain's street sellers taking on the fashion world

Madrid, Spain - Spanish politics tentatively teetered into a new era of coalition-based governments on Tuesday, as Socialist Party leader Pedro Sanchez won a parliamentary vote of confidence by an historic two-vote margin.

Thanks to support from seven parties and, crucially, the abstention of the Catalan nationalist ERC party, the vote in favour of Sanchez's new government ended a period of prolonged political deadlock which had culminated in nearly 10 months of a caretaker government, along with two elections last year and a budget that remains broadly unchanged since 2016.

The Socialists are currently the largest political party in Spain's parliament, but in both recent elections, they fell far short of an absolute majority.
More:

The emptying of Spain's interior

Catalan separatists move to break Spain's political deadlock

Catalan independence protests kick off at El Clasico match

Instead, Sanchez's new minority government of the Socialists and the left-wing Podemos grouping, itself an alliance of parties, is the first coalition in Spain at a national level since the return of democracy in the late 1970s.

The vote of confidence in Sanchez also marks the first time in Spain's recent history that a political formation to the left of the Socialists will form part of Madrid's government.

"This coalition is testament to the ongoing plurality of Spanish society," Manuel Lopez, professor of history at Spain's Open University, told Al Jazeera. "Politically, Spain can no longer be channelled into the two-party system that dominated this country's public institutions in the 1980s and 1990s.

"It's also a reflection of what's increasingly happening across Europe, where there are more and more coalitions in power who try to reflect the plurality of their societies as well."

The coalition government also ends what Lopez describes as "five years of political deadlock, since the European elections of 2014" - when a number of new parties, including Podemos, emerged on the Spanish political scene.

"Since then certain de facto power groups have been trying to put the genie back in the bottle," said Lopez. "This new coalition government shows that in fact, they can't."

VIDEOCatalan leader Quim Torra: 'Independence of Catalonia will come'

As a minority government with just 155 seats in a 350-seat parliament, and with Catalonia's ERC conditioning their neutrality on the creation of a new permanent commission to decide a road-map for their region's political future, the left-wing coalition looks set for a tumultuous time in office.

"It will be an unstable government, at least at first," Jaime Aja, professor of sociology at the University of Cordoba, told Al Jazeera. "Had the Socialists formed this alliance with Podemos before November's elections, they would have had much more room for manoeuvre.

"It'll now depend on the goodwill of left-leaning nationalist parties, as well as more conservative formations like the Basque Nationalist Party. If the current predictions of a looming economic crisis prove correct, I don't think this government will last very long."

As for the ground-breaking coalition between two left-wing groups, "it's new at a national level", Aja says, "but these kinds of alliances have often happened in regional governments or in city councils".

"The main practical effect is, arguably, to provide the most left-leaning part of the Socialist Party with a real boost. But for all that Spain's right have been sounding the alarm, the government isn't aiming at earth-shattering political changes."

READ MORESpain seeks temporary release for jailed Catalan MEP

Podemos is tipped to secure four ministerial positions, with party leader Pablo Iglesias set to be one of three deputy prime ministers.

Top economic priorities for the new government include raising the minimum wage and pensions as part of labour reforms and heavier taxes on Spain's super-rich. A long-awaited climate change law is also a target.

But such is the fragility of Sanchez's majority, most legislation will likely require negotiation on a case-by-case basis with other parties.

OPINION
Catalan crisis and Franco's legacy to shape the future of Spain

by Santiago Zabala

As for how much effect the Socialists' deal with Catalan nationalists will have; "It will certainly be important for questions like getting the budget through parliament", Germa Capdevila, a political analyst with naciodigital.cat told Al Jazeera.

"But a vote of no-confidence, like the one that saw [former PM] Mariano Rajoy lose power a few years back, is not feasible - it would need [hard-right] Vox to ally with [hard-line Basque Nationalist] Bildu, and that's not going to happen."

And the ERC? "To borrow a term from boxing... they're in a clinch position," said Capdevila. "Which means hugging your adversary briefly, to have a break and regain strength. But eventually the struggle will resume - the ERC and Socialists might be close now, but politically, their positions remain far apart."


SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS

Bollywood actress visits India's JNU where students were attacked

Deepika Padukone is the biggest Indian star to back the protesting students who on Sunday faced a brutal assault.
Deepika Padukone looks on as she attends the trailer launch of her upcoming Hindi film Chhapaak in Mumbai [File: Sujit Jaiswal/AFP]

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A top Bollywood actress is being praised for visiting an elite Indian university where students were protesting against an attack on them by masked suspects with alleged links to a student group backed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Deepika Padukone, 34, on Tuesday visited New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), where alleged members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) brutally assaulted dozens of students and teachers with sticks, sledgehammers and rocks on Sunday.

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The violence in JNU followed a public meeting organised by the university's teachers association in connection with a rise in hostel charges for students announced weeks ago.

READ MORENew Delhi: Students, teachers attacked inside JNU campus

Aishe Ghosh, president of the JNU students' union who was seriously wounded in the attack, was present among the students when Padukone joined their protest.

Indian media reports said Padukone hugged Ghosh and stayed with the JNU students for about 15 minutes, but only had a brief chat with the student leader and did not address the crowd.

Ghosh, who was attacked by masked assailants on Sunday night, is among 20 students named in the first information report (FIR or police complaint) of the Delhi police on Tuesday.

'You should speak up'

Photos and videos on social media showed Padukone wearing a black outfit and standing behind a makeshift stage, while former JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar addressed the gathering.

More power to you @deepikapadukone and thank you for your solidarity and support. You might be abused or trolled today, but history will remember you for your courage and standing by the idea of India. pic.twitter.com/q9WkXODchL— Kanhaiya Kumar (@kanhaiyakumar) January 7, 2020

According to The Wire website, after Padukone left, Ghosh in her address to the crowd said: "When you are in a position, you should speak up."

Padukone, who was in New Delhi for the promotion of her next film, Chhapaak, scheduled to release this Friday, is the biggest Bollywood star to express her solidarity with the JNU students.

On Monday night, nearly a dozen filmmakers and actors demonstrated along with hundreds of people in Mumbai against the attack on the university.

"I feel proud that we are not scared. I think to be able to express ourselves, I think the fact we are thinking about this and about the future of our country," Padukone told NDTV news channel on Monday.

"It is nice to see people are coming out on the streets to voice this and express [themselves]. Because if we want to see change, this is very important."

This picture speaks a thousand words! #DeepikaPadukone at the JNU protests in Delhi. #JNUUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/VJFnnOLAd2— Filmfare (@filmfare) January 7, 2020

Padukone's solidarity with the JNU students triggered #ISupportDeepika and #boycottchhapaak as the top two trends on Indian Twitter on Tuesday evening.

As part of a film industry where its top stars have been slammed for their silence on contentious political issues, many lauded the 34-year-old actress.

READ MOREDirector urges Bollywood Khans to speak up on India's new law

"Thank you @deepikapadukone for standing up for students and youth against fascist bullies. The times they are a changing!" tweeted former JNU student Umar Khalid as he urged India's top Muslim actors to speak out.

Bollywood's top Muslim stars - Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan - have been questioned for their silence on the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act passed by India's parliament last month.

Critics say the law violates India's secular constitution and is anti-Muslim. At least 27 people have been killed in nationwide protests against the law.

RT if you will Boycott Movies of @deepikapadukone for her Support to #TukdeTukdeGang and Afzal Gang pic.twitter.com/LN5rpwjDmT— Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) January 7, 2020

But the supporters of the BJP have called for a boycott of Padukone's next film, accusing her of supporting the "anti-national" students of JNU.

In 2017, Padukone was attacked for starring in a historical drama, Padmaavat, with a BJP leader putting a bounty of $1.5m on the heads of the actress and the film's director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali.


SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS

Women film directors set a record in 2019: New study

Of the top 100 movies released in 2019, women took just under 11 percent of the directing roles, despite hitting record.

by Kelly Gilblom • Bloomberg
2 Jan 2020

A study published by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative

 at the University of Southern California showed an increase

 in women at the helm in film directing, but not one was 

nominated for a Golden Globe in the directing or writing 

categories for the ceremony which will be held on Sunday, 

January 5, 2020, in Los Angeles 

[File/Chris Pizzello/The Associated Press]

FAST FACTS

Of the top 100 movies released in 2019, women took just under 11 percent of the directing roles.

The number of women directing major movies more than doubled to the highest mark ever last year, though they still only accounted for a sliver of those coveted jobs.

Women got almost 11% of the directing roles for the top 100 movies released in 2019, according to a study released Thursday by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative at the University of Southern California.






Improving diversity has became a major rallying cry across Hollywood, where women routinely have fewer opportunities than men. For example, there are no women nominated for their writing or directing at the Golden Globe Awards, scheduled to take place Sunday in Beverly Hills, California.

The USC Annenberg study showed that far fewer women get to compete for the biggest prizes, though films that have a female director garner slightly better critical reviews than those directed by men.

"The playing field in film is clearly gendered, with male directors gaining far more access and opportunity," the authors wrote.

A total of 113 people were attached as directors to those 100 movies, and 12 were women, the study showed. That's more than double last year's total.






Data are slightly better for racial diversity. Of the top 100 films last year, 19 had a person of color attached as a director, but that was a decline from 24 in 2018. Most of those were men.

Larger movie distributors tend to hire more female directors, with Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. accounting for the highest number since the study began with 2007 films. Still, even at the most diverse studio, Universal, only 15 of its 220 directors over 13 years were women, the study showed.

Rights groups call for federal inquiry into Mississippi prisons

The move comes after five inmates were killed in 10 days of violence in a prison system long dogged by understaffing.
Prisoner advocates are calling for a federal investigation into the Mississippi state prison system, following the most recent spate of violence. [File: Rogelio V Solis/The Associated Press]

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Prisoner advocates in the United States are calling for a federal investigation into the state of Mississippi's beleaguered prison system for possible civil rights violations, saying a recent spate of violence highlights deliberate violations of inmates' constitutional right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.

Advocacy groups and media reports have detailed alleged abuses, including inhumane conditions, woefully understaffed facilities and neglect that have allowed gang violence to flourish in Mississippi prisons for years, but the most recent incidents, which include widespread rioting and five deaths at three facilities in 10 days, have again put the state's prison system under the spotlight.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Mississippi, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), as well as other rights groups, sent a letter Tuesday requesting the investigation to the US Department of Justice.
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The letter warns that "it is no exaggeration to say more lives will be lost absent immediate intervention."

"The Mississippi prison system is in a state of acute and undeniable crises, with five deaths in just the last 10 days, and a history of preventable deaths and injuries stretching back years," the 18-page complaint states. "Mississippi has acknowledged the danger presented by severe understaffing and horrific conditions, but has repeatedly failed to take appropriate action."

The letter was also signed by US Representative Bennie Thompson, Mississippi's only Democrat in Congress.

Mississippi prison officials, who were forced to call in state troopers and a special team of prison guards from Tennessee to help regain control during the most recent wave of violence, have said four of the five deaths are related to fighting between gangs.

The letter accuses outgoing Governor Phil Bryant and incoming Governor Reeves of" trying to shift blame" to prisoners by focusing on gangs instead of accepting that officials are to blame for the violence.

Bryant said on Monday he would welcome a federal investigation into prisons, but said federal officials should also investigate criminals and gangs in the state's crime-challenged capital city of Jackson and across the state.
Renewed attention on Mississippi's prisons

The most recent rioting and deaths have focused attention on a prison system that, by its own record-keeping, fills only about half its guard posts.

A series of investigations by Pro Publica and the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting published last year found that a 2014 sentencing reform law aimed at reducing the prison population in the state had done little to fix the issues of underfunding and neglect.

Prison leaders are currently seeking tens of millions in additional funding to hire another 800 guards, but legislators have instead recommended a cut in operating funds for the three state-operated prisons, according to The Associated Press news agency.

The legislators also recommended spending the same amount as last year on three private prisons and 15 county-run facilities that hold state inmates.



WATCH25:52


Sick Inside: Death and Neglect in US Jails

Prison officials are also seeking money to renovate a decrepit maximum-security cell block at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman that was shuttered in 2010 as part of a settlement after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the prison system, according to the Clarion-Ledger.

In response to the most recent violence, prison officials have reopened that unit, the newspaper reported, prompting further allegations of inhumane conditions.

Photos and videos posted on social media purport to show mould on the walls, non-working plumbing, and standing water on the floors, the newspaper reported. Another photo allegedly shows six inmates sleeping in a small cell with a single bed - five on the floor.

The letter that will be delivered to the Department of Justice on Tuesday cites the increasing number of deaths in state prisons in recent years, jumping from an average of 51 deaths a year from 2001 through 2014 to 85 deaths in the fiscal year 2018 and 80 deaths the following fiscal year. Those numbers include all, not just violent, deaths in custody.

The most recent violence is "directly linked to acute understaffing" and that funding has declined, the letter charged.

"The state has functionally divested from its correctional system, with deadly consequences for the individuals who live and work within that system," the letter said.
Alabama as example

The Justice Department had previously censured Alabama for" egregious" and"dangerous" understaffing at a time when Alabama had more prison guards per prisoner than Mississippi, the letter notes. A three-year federal investigation of Alabama's prisons concluded in April with a damning federal report and the threat of a federal lawsuit.



WATCH09:26


America's jailhouse journalists

The low number of staff in Mississippi prisons makes it impossible for guards to manage, the letter continues, noting that gang control and inmate-on-inmate violence "is the predictable and preventable result of abdication of control of the facility".

In sworn statements to the SPLC, inmates at South Mississippi Correctional Institution in Leakesville said that gangs assign inmates to cells and beds, control access to phones, determine where and when people may eat and shower, fine people who break gang-written rules and even conduct their own strip searches to locate stolen contraband, the letter said.

The letter also claims extended lockdowns may violate inmates' constitutional rights by leaving inmates "in conditions amounting to solitary confinement without access to basic privileges including recreation, showers, and visitation". The prison in Leakesville was on lockdown for almost all of 2019, citing a "severe shortage of correctional officers", with Corrections Commissioner Pelicia Hall saying in a January 2019 release that "we are operating in a pressure cooker type situation right now."

A year after RCMP's violent raid, Wet'suwet'en people fear repeat

Tensions rise as Wet'suwet'en leaders evict pipeline company from traditional territories in northern British Columbia.
by Jillian Kestler-D'Amours

Last week, a Canadian court granted an injunction to allow 

construction on the Coastal GasLink pipeline, prompting 

renewed fears of another violent raid by the country's RCMP

 [File: Michael Toledano/Al Jazeera]

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Montreal, Canada - It has happened, it will happen again and Wet'suwet'en land defenders say it could be worse than before.

Canada's federal police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), enforced an interim injunction in January 2019 against Wet'suwet'en group that had set up checkpoints and encampments on their traditional territories in northern British Columbia (BC) to block the construction of the contentious Coastal GasLink pipeline. That raid drew widespread criticism when it was recently revealed that the RCMP had authorised the use of lethal force to disperse the site.

"They're clearly willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that this pipeline gets built," Wet'suwet'en land defender Sleydo' (Molly Wickham) told Al Jazeera via phone.

Last week, a Canadian court granted an injunction to allow construction on the Coastal GasLink pipeline, prompting renewed fears of another violent raid.

The court's ruling instructs those Wet'suwet'en land defenders to allow Coastal GasLink to have undeterred access to build on their ancestral lands.

Sleydo' was there when heavily armed RCMP officers descended on the Gidimt'en Access Point, a checkpoint and encampment over 1,000km (621 miles) north of Vancouver, on January 7, 2019.

"It's new to the rest of the world, but it's definitely an ongoing experience and reality for us," said Sleydo', about the RCMP's tactics.

Heavily armed RCMP officers descended on the 

Gidimt'en Access Point in January 2019, according to 

Wet'suwet'en land defenders [Michael Toledano/Al Jazeera]

The Guardian, citing RCMP strategy notes, reported last month that the federal police officers were instructed to "use as much violence toward the gate as you want" during the dispersal, and an RCMP officer said arrests would be needed for "sterilising the site".

Sleydo', the spokeswoman for the Gidimt'en checkpoint, said she saw RCMP officers move in with a chainsaw to try to tear down the gate.

"We were screaming and yelling for them to stop," she told Al Jazeera. "You could just hear people screaming and yelling out in pain because their arms were about to be broken."
Land rights

The 670km (416 mile) Coastal GasLink pipeline will cut across vast swaths of traditional Wet'suwet'en territory, transporting natural gas from northeast BC to a terminal near the town of Kitimat, where it will be prepared for export overseas.

The company behind Coastal GasLink, TC Energy (formerly TransCanada Corp), has reached agreements with 20 elected First Nation bands along the pipeline's route, and the project has provincial permits to build. Construction activities began in early 2019.

But the pipeline has been met with staunch opposition from some members of the Wet'suwet'en Nation, including the hereditary chiefs who represent the community's various clans.

The hereditary chiefs have issued an eviction order to

 Coastal GasLink to vacate the area 

[File: Michael Toledano/Al Jazeera]

The hereditary chiefs - who under Wet'suwet'en law hold decision-making power over the nation's traditional territories - say that Coastal GasLink doesn't have their "free, prior and informed" consent, a principle set out in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

In a landmark 1997 case that involved the Wet'suwet'en Nation, the Supreme Court of Canada also found that indigenous claims to their traditional territories had not been extinguished in the area.

On Saturday, the hereditary chiefs issued an eviction order to Coastal GasLink to vacate the area. "Over the past year, Coastal GasLink has operated on our territories despite our opposition to the project," they said in a letter to the company.

"We must re-assert our jurisdiction over these lands, our right to determine access and prevent trespass under Wet'suwet'en law, and the right to Free Prior and Informed Consent … The denial of these rights has resulted in irreparable harm to the land and our people."

The Wet'suwet'en lay claim to 22,000 square kilometres of land, an area roughly the size of the US state of New Jersey.

Another encampment set up to reclaim and defend traditional Wet'suwet'en lands in the area slated for pipeline construction is the Unist'ot'en Camp, which was established in 2009.

The camp sits about 20km (12 miles) from the Gidimt'en checkpoint, and it counts a healing lodge and bunkhouse, among other structures, said Freda Huson, the camp's spokeswoman.

Huson said Wet'suwet'en law has largely been ignored in the ongoing dispute.

"They've pushed us off a majority of our 22,000 square kilometres as Wet'suwet'en people and the last two remaining territories my clan has left is the one we're protecting right now," said Huson about the camp.

"We're not protesters and this is not a blockade," she added. "It's a reoccupation of our traditional lands."
The raid

In its report, The Guardian said the RCMP during its January 2019 raid was prepared to use "lethal overwatch" - a term the newspaper said, citing an internal RCMP incident assessment, referred to an officer prepared to use lethal force - to dismantle the checkpoint in January of last year.

Sleydo' told Al Jazeera she saw at least three police snipers during the raid; the officers were holding what she described as "heavy duty", long-range weapons and they were watching everything through binoculars. Fourteen people were arrested that day.

"Knowing that they were watching every move and that they had these huge weapons to use on our people - it was traumatic," she said.

Another RCMP document stated that with "no exception, everyone will be arrested in the injunction area", The Guardian reported.
The threat of their extreme use of violence and force … hasn't gone away since the day of the raid. We're constantly under that threat and that pressure.

SLEYDO', WET'SUWET'EN LAND DEFENDER

Shortly after the checkpoint was cleared, then-Coastal GasLink President Rick Gateman said the company was "thankful that a peaceful resolution has been achieved" that would allow it to begin construction on the project.

While the Gidimt'en checkpoint has since been re-established, Sleydo' said RCMP officers regularly carry out surveillance activities and intimidate indigenous land defenders in the area.

"The threat of their extreme use of violence and force … hasn't gone away since the day of the raid. We're constantly under that threat and that pressure," she said.

"The RCMP I believe have no problem doing exactly what they did on January 7 again," Sleydo' added. "Any time that injunction order comes down, we could be facing the exact same situation that we did – or worse."
RCMP responds

The RCMP has faced a barrage of criticism since The Guardian's report was published, with New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament Charlie Angus calling for an investigation into the allegations and indigenous leaders urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to condemn the "planned violence".

When contacted for comment, Indigenous Services Canada referred Al Jazeera to the RCMP.

In an email on December 23, RCMP Spokeswoman Janelle Shoihet said the RCMP requested but was denied access to the documents The Guardian based its report on, and it has been unable to verify the claims.

"Whatever the source, the assertions made in the article do not in any respect reflect the spirit and intent of the direction of the RCMP commanders charged with planning and carrying out the court's direction, nor does it reflect what actually occurred," she told Al Jazeera.

"The RCMP will make every effort to facilitate protests and demonstrations that are peaceful, lawful and safe," Shoihet said.

A spokesman for Canada's Ministry of Public Safety told Al Jazeera in an email that it has raised the matter with the RCMP.

"We are committed to protecting the constitutional right to peaceful protest and are concerned by the unacceptable words and phrases that the Guardian reported were used," said the spokesman, Scott Bardsley.
The RCMP will make every effort to facilitate protests and demonstrations that are peaceful, lawful and safe.

JANELLE SHOIHET, RCMP SPOKESWOMAN

Bardsley added that under Canadian law police officers "are only allowed to use as much force as reasonable and necessary to enforce the law" and the use of force is subjected to internal and external reviews.

In its December 31 decision, the BC Supreme Court authorised the RCMP to enforce the latest Coastal GasLink injunction order, a measure Justice Marguerite Church said aimed in part "to inform the public of the consequences of non-compliance".

"The plaintiff acquired the permits and authorisations to conduct the work that it seeks to undertake," Church said in her ruling, referring to Coastal GasLink.

"The defendants may genuinely believe in their rights under indigenous law to prevent the plaintiff from entering Dark House [Unist'ot'en] territory, but the law does not recognise any right to blockade and obstruct the plaintiff from pursuing lawfully authorised activities."

The company said in a statement on January 5 that the court's decision "made clear that it is unlawful to obstruct or blockade Coastal GasLink from pursuing its permitted and authorised activities".

A day later, on January 6, Coastal GasLink said it anticipated that work on the pipeline right-of-way would resume and ramp up later this week.
'So much to lose'

For Huson at the Unist'ot'en Camp, the issue comes down to a need to protect the nation's traditional territories.

"RCMP ... has always been used to oppress our people and remove us off our land, and [so that] government can access the resources and do what their plans are, even if it means destroying our water, destroying our lands, destroying our way of life," she said.
If this is destroyed, we will be destroyed. We won't have places to go to practise who we are, to live as Wet'suwet'en people. We talk about genocide and coming at us with guns, but you destroy our land and our water, and we're as good as dead as Wet'suwet'en people.

SLEYDO', WET'SUWET'EN LAND DEFENDER

Huson said she was especially concerned by how the pipeline could affect the waterways that flow through the area and that help sustain the community as well as local wildlife, including salmon.

"We protect the headwaters that hit all the other Wet'suwet'en territory so that's what we've always been known for and we're still doing that today … We have so much to lose," she said.

"If this is destroyed, we will be destroyed," added Sleydo'. "We won't have places to go to practise who we are, to live as Wet'suwet'en people. We talk about genocide and coming at us with guns, but you destroy our land and our water, and we're as good as dead as Wet'suwet'en people."


SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS

MALAYSIA 1MDB SCANDAL

CRIMINAL CAPITALISM IS PRIMITIVE ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL
Malaysian graft buster: Voice clips prove Najib Razak cover-up

Former prime minister caught on audio recording seeking help purportedly from Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed.

Najib also allegedly asked Abu Dhabi's crown prince to forge

 a loan agreement to help his stepson and Hollywood producer 

Riza Aziz, who was named in a US lawsuit

 [File: Shamshahrin Shamsudin/EPA]

MORE ON NAJIB RAZAKFugitive Malaysian financier downplays role in 1MDB scandal

Malaysia's Najib takes witness stand in 1MDB-linked graft case 

1MDB: Third trial of Najib Razak starts in Kuala Lumpur

'Overarching influence': Najib must enter defence in 1MDB trial

Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission has released a series of audio recordings allegedly revealing former Prime Minister Najib Razak seeking help from Abu Dhabi's crown prince and colluding with a former prosecutor to conceal wrongdoings linked to a massive corruption scandal.

The voice clips, released on Wednesday, marked a new blow to Najib, who has denied any misdeeds in the multimillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB state fund and is on trial for corruption after losing office in elections held in May 2018.
More:

Court orders Najib to enter defence in SRC International case

Cleaning up corruption goes beyond Najib

Malaysia: Najib Speaks

Commission chief Latheefa Koya said the nine phone conversations, recorded between January and July 2016, revealed a "clear cover-up and criminal conspiracy" by Najib to stifle investigations, fabricate false evidence and obstruct justice in the 1MDB scandal.

The agency has verified that the clips were genuine but she declined to say how it obtained them. She said the clips will be given to the police for further action.

In a July 26, 2016, conversation, Najib purportedly called Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed to seek an urgent meeting to resolve an "impasse" over payment between 1MDB and Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co.

That came just days after the US Department of Justice said at least $3.5bn had been misappropriated from the fund by people close to Najib and filed lawsuits to seize allegedly ill-gotten assets linked to 1MDB.

VIDEO
101 EAST | Malaysia: Power and Corruption (26:01)


Najib also allegedly asked bin Zayed to forge a loan agreement to help his stepson and Hollywood producer Riza Aziz, who was named in the US lawsuit.

Najib said a loan agreement would show the 1MDB money to Riza's production firm Red Granite came from a legitimate source.

"I don't want him to be a victim when he was totally unaware of the source of money," Najib told the prince, according to the phone recordings.

Red Granite later paid $60m to drop the US lawsuit but Riza was charged in Malaysia last year for money-laundering.

"We can confirm their absolute authenticity. The contents are shocking; it's a cover-up and subversion of justice," Latheefa said. Najib could not be immediately reached for comment.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak faces dozens

 of charges over 1MDB, trials are continuing 

[File: Lim Huey Teng/Reuters]

Najib set up 1MDB shortly after taking power in 2009 as a way to boost economic development, but it accumulated billions in debts and sparked investigations in the US and other countries.

In another recording on January 5, 2016, then-Public Prosecutor Dzulkifli Ahmad allegedly told Najib that the 1MDB investigation outcome was detrimental but that he and then-Attorney General Apandi Ali could handle the matter on the legal side.

On January 26 that year, Apandi held a news conference to clear Najib of any wrongdoing. Dzulkifli was promoted to anti-graft agency chief in August 2016.

Another conversation between Rosmah and Najib revolved around plans to invite representatives from the UAE to settle a financial dispute between 1MDB and IPIC without arbitration.

Latheefa said the agency decided to make the clips public as they were of national interest. She said the release would not be prejudicial to Najib's ongoing trials.

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THAT OTHER FELLA THE AMERICAN'S ASSASSINATED
Hashd deputy leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis buried in Iraq's Najaf

Mourners gathered in the holy city to pay their respects before the armed group leader was buried at Salam Cemetery.
by Arwa Ibrahim

Al-Muhandis was killed alongside Soleimani, the commander

 of Iran's Quds Force near Baghdad airport on Friday [File: Aziz Taher/Reuters]

MORE ON IRAQWhat's behind the Qassem Soleimani assassination? | Start Here How the Trump administration saved the Islamic Republic Boris Johnson: Soleimani had blood of British troops on his handsIran fires missiles at US targets in Iraq: All the latest updates

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a leader of Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi), has been buried at the Salam Cemetery in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf.

Al-Muhandis was killed alongside Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and several others in a US air raid outside Baghdad airport on Friday.

His body was taken to Iran for the DNA test and was returned on Tuesday.

"The DNA testing was completed successfully and he was flown to Basra, his hometown, for mourners to pay their respects," said PMF media representative Mohannad Hussein.

"We were meant to bury him tonight [Tuesday], but because of the huge crowd that gathered at the funeral procession in Basra, things took longer than expected," said Hussein.

Al-Muhandis, whose real name was Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi, was the top Iraqi adviser to Soleimani and founder of the Kataib Hezbollah armed group. He was also the de facto leader of the PMF, an umbrella group of mostly Iranian-backed Shia armed groups.

Hundreds of people gathered on the streets of Najaf on Tuesday night to pay their final respects. Earlier, thousands of mourners had gathered in his hometown of Basra. Many raised flags of the paramilitary group and chanted "Death to America".

Funeral processions were also held in several Iraqi cities earlier this week, including Baghdad and Karbala, where funeral prayers were held.

Mourners gather during a funeral procession for Abu Mahdi 

al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias 

in Basra [The Associated Press]

'Strong retaliation'

Mourners in Najaf told Al Jazeera that al-Muhandis's death was a great loss to Iraq. Others called for a strong response and an end to the US presence in Iraq.

"We gathered in Najaf to pay our final respects to Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a symbol of bravery and sacrifice," Falah Abdel Hassan, 45, told Al Jazeera. "Muhandis was a real hero in our eyes. He did a great deal to protect Iraq and fight ISIL."

The PMF, which was founded as a loose network of Shia-majority factions fighting the ISIL (ISIS) group in Iraq, was formally absorbed into Iraq's security forces. Critics say that some of the factions, including Kataib Hezbollah, still operate independent of government forces.

READ MOREHashd deputy Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis: Iran's man in Baghdad

Abu Bakir al-Janabi, a 35-year-old mourner, told Al Jazeera he attended the funeral procession to condemn the US for killing al-Muhandis and Soleimani.

"We are here to pay our respects to this great leader and to condemn his killing. He was a symbol of resistance against the US," said al-Janabi.

"We want revenge. We call on the PMF and the government to retaliate strongly. The US troops' presence in Iraq must end immediately," he added.

Al-Muhandis fought alongside Soleimani and other prominent Iraqi armed group leaders, including Badr Organisation chief Hadi al-Amiri, who is now set to succeed al-Muhandis.

"He was Soleimani's man in Iraq. He was instrumental in the rise of the PMF and in its normalisation, centralisation and institutionalisation," Fanar al-Haddad, a research fellow at the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore, told Al Jazeera.

"Admirers see him through the prism of the fight against ISIL. Critics see him as the face of Iran in Iraq," he added.

In a recorded video of his will that was shared after his death, al-Muhandis called on his supporters to continue resistance.

"I pray, I spend the afterlife with ... those I fought with, from Kuwait, to Iran, to Iraq. The Badr youth, and later the resistance against the occupation, and now the PMF youth. I command you to take care of the Shia in the region and in the world," he told his followers.
Additional reporting by Ahmed al-Okaishi in Najaf

VIDEO
Thousands attend Soleimani and al-Muhandis's funeral in Baghdad (7:40)

Indian woman faces arrest for carrying 'Free Kashmir' placard
#KASHMIR IS #INDIA'S #GAZA

Activists criticise police move to file case against Mumbai woman for raising 'Free Kashmir' poster at a protest rally.
by Parth MN

Agitations in Mumbai have hit the headlines, with Bollywood 
celebrities also joining protests [Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo]

MORE ON INDIAWhat's going on in Kashmir? | Start Here 

Bollywood actress visits India's JNU where students were attacked today

Mumbai, India - Activists and political analysts in India have criticised Mumbai police for launching an investigation against a woman for holding a "Free Kashmir" poster during a protest against mob violence inside New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

The woman has since apologised for carrying the placard during the 24-hour sit-in staged at the iconic Gateway of India located in the financial hub of Mumbai along with similar solidarity protests across many Indian cities.

More:
What's going on in Kashmir?
In letter to UN, Pakistan says India placing missiles in Kashmir Indian-administered Kashmir broken up: All you need to know

The protesters chanted slogans, recited poetry, sang songs, and carried posters but a senior leader from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raised an objection to the "Free Kashmir" poster.

Modi's Hindu nationalist government stripped the Indian-administered Kashmir's special status and imposed a lockdown in the region on August 5. Since then, the Muslim-majority region has largely been without internet access and thousands of people, including pro-India politicians, have been thrown into jail.

#WATCH Mumbai: Poster reading, 'Free Kashmir' seen at Gateway of India, during protest against yesterday's violence at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/i7SeImYxCE— ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2020

The Mumbai police spokesman, Deputy Commissioner of Police Pranay Ashok, said a complaint has been filed under section 153(B) of the Indian Penal Code against the woman for displaying the poster.

If found guilty, she faces up to three years of imprisonment or fine or both.

"We will look into whether the incident is true, and what was her motive behind it," Ashok told Al Jazeera.
'Serious infringement of individual rights'

In a video message on Facebook, Mehek Mirza Prabhu, the woman with the poster, said the incident has been "blown out of proportion".
Students have realised that this regime is not doing much for them. And the minorities have realised they need to fight back.

SUHAS PALSHIKAR, POLITICAL SCIENTIST

"The placard meant freedom to express themselves, freedom from the internet lockdown which many people have been voicing for," she said. "I was voicing my solidarity for basic constitutional right. This situation is scary for a woman like me. If by being naive in understanding the impact it would have, and in the process create this stir. I apologise."

Suhas Palshikar, a political scientist based in Pune city, called the police complaint a "serious infringement of individual rights".

"Everyone these days is worried of being branded as anti-national," he said, explaining why Kashmir is a no go for most Indians.

"There is a misconception among people that even talking about autonomy to Kashmir, which was part of the Indian constitution, is seen as tantamount to anti-national activity."

The ruling BJP has long campaigned against Article 370 of the Indian constitution that granted Kashmir a measure of autonomy. After Modi won re-election in a landslide victory in May, his government moved to scrap Kashmir's autonomy.

While the authorities in Mumbai have been quick to file a complaint against Prabhu over the poster, the Delhi police have not made a single arrest in connection with the assault on the students of JNU two days ago.

In an FIR, the police have admitted to being witness to a mob attacking students, but did not do anything to protect them. Several videos and reports have pointed towards the involvement of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the parent organisation of the BJP.

Instead, Delhi police filed a complaint against the JNU student's union president, Aishe Ghosh, for allegedly vandalising on-campus property a day before the mob attack on Sunday. Ghosh has endured head injuries during the Sunday's attack.
Protest against citizenship law

The protests following the attack in JNU come as a series of organic agitations going on across the country since the Modi government pushed through a legislation on citizenship last month.

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) gives nationality to persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, but it singles out Muslims from seeking refuge in India, drawing parallels with Myanmar's refugee and citizenship policy.

Critics say that the CAA is part of Modi government's Hindu supremacist agenda and runs against the spirit of India's secular constitution.

Government's decision to implement nationwide counting of citizenship (National Register of Citizens) has caused alarm among India's largest minority, Muslims, who have held mass protests in the past several weeks. More than 20 people have been killed in police action.

Indians have protested against police brutality on students at the Jamia Millia Islamia university, Aligarh Muslim University and the JNU.

Teesta Setalvad, an activist based in Mumbai, said, "Muslims have realised they are a political target."

"But non-Muslims, because they believe in constitutional principle of parity, have also taken to the streets, which is heartening," she told Al Jazeera.

"People have realised that having documentary proof is only a privilege of the elite. The poor and marginalised would be queueing up to prove their existence."

Agitations in Mumbai have hit headlines, including the one where Bollywood celebrities took to streets, and sang songs, recited poems. Top Bollywood star Deepika Padukone visited the JNU campus on Tuesday to show her solidarity with students.

Palshikar said the protests are a result of a combination of factors along with the NRC and the CAA.

"Students have realised that this regime is not doing much for them," he said. "And the minorities have realised they need to fight back."

WHAT CAUSED THE WILDFIRES IN AUSTRALIA? AMID WORST BLAZES FOR A DECADE, 24 PEOPLE ARE CHARGED WITH ARSON
BY BRENDAN COLE ON 1/7/20 

VIDEO
Australia Bushfires Continue To Burn: NSW Rural Fire Service Footages Shows Currowan, Voyagers Point Fires


Police in Australia have arrested and charged two dozen people they say deliberately lit blazes during the wildfire season that has so far killed at least 18 people, destroyed thousands of homes and ravaged over 10 million acres of land.

New South Wales police said that since the beginning of November, 24 people have been charged over allegedly deliberately lighting fires as officers continue to investigate the role that arson has played in the devastation. Starting a wildfire can result in a jail sentence of up to 21 years.

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"Investigations into the cause, origin and overall impact of fires are continuing and since the latest State of Emergency was declared...Strike Force Tronto has provided expertise to six police area commands and eight police districts," NSW police said in a statement.

"As inquiries continue, police are appealing to the community to provide footage and/or images from phones, dashcam, or other devices, that show any of the fires in their infancy, even if only from a distance."

Police in the state have also taken legal action against a further 159 people. Among them are 53 people who allegedly failed to comply with a total fire ban and 47 people who allegedly discarded a lit cigarette or match on land.
What Caused the Wildfires in Australia?

There has been much debate about the links between climate change and the fires. Australian National University climate scientist Imran Ahmed told the BBC there was a direct link "because what climate change does is exacerbate the conditions in which the bushfires happen."

Glenda Wardle, an ecologist from the University of Sydney, told the BBC: "It's not every weather event that is the direct result of climate change. But when you see trends…it becomes undeniably linked to global climate change."

Unseasonably high temperatures and drought over the last three months have contributed to the conditions that have allowed the fires to proliferate.

Residents defend a property from a bushfire at Hillsville near

 Taree, 350 kilometers north of Sydney on November 12, 2019. 

Two dozen people have been arrested on suspicion of 

starting fires during the wildfire season.

PETER PARKS/GETTY IMAGES

"One of the key drivers of fire intensity, fire spread rates and fire area is temperature. And in Australia we've just experienced record high temperatures," Mark Howden, director of the Climate Change Institute at Australian National University, told Reuters.

A report by the Australian Government's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said that last Spring, there was the highest fire weather danger with record high values right across the country.

"The dangerous fire weather conditions during spring 2019 is consistent with the increasingly severe fire weather seen in many areas of the country, owing to increasing temperatures and reduced cool season rainfall," the report said.

Meanwhile, dry lightning was to blame for sparking a number of fires in December in Victoria's East Gippsland region, according to Victoria Emergency, and the unusually hot weather has accelerated the flames.

Arson has been cited as making matters worse. In December, NSW Rural Fire Service Inspector Ben Shepherd told The Australian that most of the fires had been lit and the flames had been exacerbated by people flouting total fire bans.

"This kind of activity is dangerous and stupid…and the real issue is the severity of the risk when the environment is so dry and windy, and conducive to fires spreading extraordinarily quickly," he said.

Firemen prepare as a bushfire approaches homes on the

 outskirts of the town of Bargo on December 21, 2019 in 

Sydney, Australia. Debate centres around the link between 

the fires and climate change.DAVID GRAY/GETTY IMAGES

The wildfires are among the worst to hit Australia since the so-called Black Saturday fires in 2009 which killed 173 people, according to news.com.au. In 1974, 117 million hectares of land was burnt in wildfires in central Australia.

Meanwhile, police have also warned that those who exploit the devastation of the fire will face the full force of the law, as three people were charged over alleged looting in bushfire-affected areas on the South Coast.

In a press conference, NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said: "It's disgusting behavior. It's behavior we won't tolerate simply because the community will not tolerate it either. People's homes are their castles and particularly in these times of devastation it really does go against the grain of Australian people…we will take action."

Australian Army Burying Thousands of Dead Animals Killed by Bushfires
READ MORE

Newsweek has contacted New South Wales Police for further comment.

The impact on wildlife continues to be felt, with with the University of Sydney estimating that as many as half a billion mammals, birds and reptiles have perished.

The group Wildlife Rescue (WIRES) said that the flames have devastated numbers of koalas, possums, kangaroos and wallabies. "We have lost countless precious lives in these fires and many more are likely to die of their injuries and starvation. The fire affected areas are vast and remote.

"Our beautiful and diverse World Heritage listed National Parks which provide our native wildlife with their best protections have been devastated," Vickii Lett, WIRES NSW Koala coordinator told Newsweek in a statement.

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