It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Sunday, October 06, 2024
British leader Starmer’s chief of staff quits over reports about salary
SHE MADE MORE THAN THE PM
This photo from Sept. 4, 2023 shows Sue Gray, who has resigned from her position as Downing Street chief of staff and will take on a new Government role, Number 10 has announced on Sunday Oct. 6, 2024.
(Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/PA via AP)
October 6, 2024
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer ‘s chief of staff quit on Sunday, citing concerns that growing news reports about her role “risked becoming a distraction to the government.”
Sue Gray’s resignation came after recent reports about tensions between her and Starmer’s chief adviser Morgan McSweeney, and that she was earning more than the prime minister. The BBC has reported that Gray’s annual salary was 170,000 pounds ($223,000), about 3,000 pounds more than Starmer is paid.
Gray said she accepted a new role as Starmer’s envoy for the regions and nations. McSweeney will replace her as chief of staff at Downing Street.
“Throughout my career, my first interest has always been public service,” Gray said in a statement. “However, in recent weeks it has become clear to me that intense commentary around my position risked becoming a distraction to the government’s vital work of change.”
Gray, a former senior civil servant, became a household name in Britain in 2022, when she led investigations into “Partygate” — allegations that former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his staff attended parties on government property despite the country’s strict COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Her findings helped topple Johnson, who resigned last year.
Gray stepped down from civil service last year before joining Labour as Starmer’s chief of staff.
Officials also announced other changes to the Downing Street operation, including the setting up of a new strategic communications team.
Starmer became Britain’s first Labour prime minister in 14 years after he won a landslide election victory in July.
An explosion outside the Karachi, Pakistan, airport kills 2 workers from China and injures others
A massive blast outside Karachi Airport on Sunday injured at least four people and destroyed several vehicles, officials said. Police and the provincial government said a tanker exploded outside the airport, which is Pakistan’s biggest.
Security officials examine the site of an explosion that caused injures and destroyed vehicles outside Karachi airport, Pakistan, early Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) A vehicle is seen on fire at the site of an explosion that caused injures and destroyed vehicles at outside the Karachi airport, Pakistan, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Farooq) Paramilitary soldiers stand guard close to the site of an explosion that caused injuries and destroyed vehicles at outside the Karachi airport, Pakistan, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammad Farooq)
BY ADIL JAWAD October 6, 2024
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — A massive blast outside the Karachi airport in southern Pakistan killed two workers from China on Sunday and injured at least eight others in the latest deadly attack on Chinese in the country.
Police and the provincial government said a tanker exploded near what is Pakistan’s largest airport. Video showed flames engulfing cars and a thick column of smoke rising from the scene. There was a heavy military deployment at the site, which was cordoned off.
A Chinese Embassy statement said that a convoy carrying Chinese staff of the Port Qasim Electric Power Company (Private) Limited had been attacked around 11 p.m., killing two Chinese and injuring one other. It said there were Pakistani casualties as well.
Thousands of Chinese workers are in Pakistan, most of them involved in Beijing’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, which is building major infrastructure projects to improve trade routes with the rest of the world.
Rahat Hussain, who works in the civil aviation department, said Sunday’s blast in Karachi was so big that it shook the airport’s buildings.
The provincial home minister, Zia Ul Hassan, told local TV station Geo that the explosion was an attack targeting foreigners.
The Chinese Embassy statement called the explosion a “terrorist attack” and said that China is working with Pakistan to handle the aftermath. It called for a thorough investigation to punish the perpetrators and reminded Chinese citizens in the country to take safety precautions.
“The Chinese Embassy and Consulates General in Pakistan strongly condemn this terrorist attack (and) express deep condolences to the innocent victims of both countries,” the statement said.
Deputy Inspector General East Azfar Mahesar told media that it seemed like it was an oil tanker explosion.
“We are determining the nature and reasons for the blast. It takes time.” Police officers were among the injured, he added.
The home minister and inspector general also visited the blast site, but they did not talk to the media.
Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report.
Elon Musk's mother appears to encourage X users to commit voter fraud Maye Musk arrives on the red carpet at "The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power" New York Screening at Lincoln Center on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 in New York City. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Maye Musk, the mother of billionaire Elon Musk, seemingly prompted pro-Donald Trump voter fraud on her son's social media platform X.
Maye Musk quoted a post from her son urging his followers to "get all your friends and family to register to vote" but encouraged them to go further. She claimed the Democrats have given them the option to take steps that amount to illegal voter fraud. Advertisement
"You don't have to register to vote," she said in the Saturday post. "On Election Day, have 10 fake names, go to 10 polling booths and vote 10 times. That's 100 votes, and it's not illegal. Maybe we should work the system too."
A note added to the post included context from readers, simply stating, "This is, in fact, illegal," with a link to the exact text of the related voting law as listed on the U.S. House of Representatives website.
"hoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of an examiner or hearing officer knowingly and willfully falsifies or conceals a material fact, or makes any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations, or makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both," the law reads.
THE GREAT LEADER AND MR. BORING
Elon Musk appeared on stage during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania for former president Donald Trump on Saturday and had made the post that his mother commented on to encourage citizens to get registered.
Maye Musk then retracted her original comment.
"In Butler, Pennsylvania, we just heard that the Republicans will make sure no illegals vote," she said. "Ignore my previous post."
Trump and other members of the GOP have made unsubstantiated claims that undocumented immigrants have been allowed to vote and that those votes have turned elections.
Elon Musk portrayed Trump as a champion of free speech during the Saturday rally in Pennsylvania, where at one point he jumped up and down on the stage behind the former president at one point.
Elon Musk also criticized a California effort to outlaw voter ID requirements.
He said in 2022 when he bought Twitter, which he would rebrand as X, that the company must stay out of politics.
"For Twitter to deserve public trust, it must be politically neutral, which effectively means upsetting the far right and the far left equally," Musk, who also owns Tesla and SpaceX, announced.
Not all Republicans support Musk. Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger called the entrepreneur a "weird dork [who] is the largest contractor to the U.S. military despite his repeated conspiracies and anti-American rhetoric. We must STOP that."
Germany reckons with another recession in 2024
The German government expects the economy to shrink for a second year running and has slashed its forecasts, a leading daily says. An industrial slowdown, lower exports and rising energy costs are seen as the culprits.
German manufacturers are suffering under low demand at home and abroad
Image: Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert/dpa/picture alliance
The German Economy Ministry expects the economy to shrink in 2024 for the second year in a row, now forecasting a 0.2% contraction instead of its prior estimate of 0.3% growth, a major newspaper reported on Sunday.
"Instead of gaining momentum, the economy continues to be characterized by a general reluctance by consumers to spend," the Süddeutsche Zeitung said.
But the government had a more optimistic outlook for the coming years, the daily said, with the ministry to announce on Wednesday that it expects 1.1% growth next year, up from 1% in the previous forecast.
By 2026, the economy is expected to expand 1.6%, the paper said.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck is to announce the latest forecasts on WednesdayImage: Sina Schuldt/dpa/picture alliance
Sluggish recovery
In 2023, Germany was the only major advanced economy to contract as it reeled under the effects of an industrial slowdown, fewer export orders and soaring energy prices as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The government's pessimistic outlook is shared by Germany's leading economic institutes, which have also recently lowered their forecasts and predict either stagnation or a 0.1% contraction this year.
They are even more cautious in their forecasts for the next two years, reducing their growth estimate for 2025 to 0.8% from a previous 1.4%, and predicting growth of just 1.3% in 2026.
Compounding Germany's economic woes, the country is also facing challenges such as growing competition from China, a skilled-worker shortage and problems associated with the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energries.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that the government's proposed "growth initiative" would play a major role in bringing about an economic recovery.
The measures foreseen by Berlin include tax relief, the reduction of energy prices for industry, slimmed-down bureaucracy, incentives to older people to continue working and more attractive conditions for foreign skilled workers.
"The German economy can grow significantly stronger in the next two years if the measures are fully implemented," Habeck was quoted as saying.
tj/RM (AFP, Reuters)
FBI ACTS AS MOSSAD U$A
FBI is allegedly investigating anti-Israel comments on social media
Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The FBI is seemingly investigating anti-Israel comments made by Americans on social media, the Council on American-Islamic Relations has alleged. In response, the FBI said it does not investigate activities protected by the First Amendment.
The civil rights group said it documented at least one high-profile case in which the FBI had sought to interrogate Asad Khan, a celebrated retired lieutenant colonel who served in the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan
"Two agents came to my house on July 29 and my daughter answered the door," Khan said in a video interview with UPI. Khan was out of the country at the time. "They were very professional, and they said I had not done anything wrong or illegal, but they want to discuss with me some comments that I allegedly posted online that were anti-American."
The agents told his daughter to tell him to report to a nearby embassy to talk to the legal attaché there. Instead, he reached out to CAIR for advice on what he should do.
On his behalf, CAIR sent a letter to the FBI declining their interrogation request. Neither CAIR nor Khan have heard anything further from the FBI. "We don't know what's going on at this point. But we're just kind of just in limbo," Khan said.
Khan has had a storied career, celebrated as far back as 2002 in the Los Angeles Times. Born in Pakistan, Khan first traversed the Khyber Pass leading into Afghanistan as an 11-year-old refugee and returned 31 years later to hunt for Osama Bin Laden as a U.S. Marine.
He became a leading asset in America's Global War on Terror. Much of his time as a Marine remains classified, but he is known to have served in Special Forces missions in Afghanistan, among other critical roles.
Since his retirement, Khan has become an author and entrepreneur -- and maintains social media presences on LinkedIn and YouTube, where he shares his expertise on geopolitics and national security. In the past year, his posts have largely commented on the ramifications of Israel's war in Gaza. He retains top-level security clearances.
"So, it makes no sense, right? ... I don't know what anti-American is, nor have I ever said anything anti-American," Khan said, showing a copy of the U.S. Constitution on his desk. "My posts are all online. You can go on LinkedIn and YouTube and see what I've said."
He added that he has been "critical of our government officials and our military officials of our policies that I don't agree with" as he insisted it's his Constitutional right under the First Amendment to do so. He challenged any potential critics to search through his posts.
"Between you and me, I don't care about Hezbollah, or Hamas, or Islamic Jihad or Taliban, and all that stuff. Just because I'm a Muslim doesn't mean I support them," he said. "I wouldn't even know where to go and look up their accounts. Nor do I care."
He said his biggest issue right now is the killing of children in Gaza. "Killing children is just immoral. It's wrong," he said. He warned the United States of "going off on these misadventures."
"Like, 'Hey? Let's go to Iraq.' You know, I risked my life over there, in Afghanistan, and it was a misadventure. I don't want to get too far deep into it. But there were no [weapons of mass destruction]. We got lied to," he said. "Now there's thousands of Americans traumatized and homeless veterans living on the street, and nobody seems to care about them."
Khan noted his son also served in the Marines overseas. He doesn't want his grandchildren to have to do the same. "I'm speaking out against it because I believe I fundamentally believe it's wrong," he said. "My son also fought for our nation based on lies."
The former battalion commander added that he has "never advocated for violence of any sort" nor has he ever advocated hate of any sort. And though he expressed support for people's right to protest Israel, he said he has never attended a demonstration. And he condemned protesters who have advocated for violence.
"The message is, we're all Americans. Whatever your skin color is, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what your religion is. It matters if you believe in this document, the Constitution," Khan said. "I don't support any other country except for the United States. None."
Khan said that, now, he doesn't even agree with the United States giving money to any other country when "we have people in North Carolina and Tennessee flooded out, and they don't have enough resources."
After the FBI visited his home, Khan filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the bureau to see if there was a file on him and there was nothing. Still, "obviously some feathers got ruffled in the government, or maybe in the military," he said.
And he said the FBI agents who visited his home acknowledged his record of service to the United States when his children answered the door. During their conversation, the FBI agents admitted an "allegation" didn't come from their office but from another office in the government.
"I myself feel singled out. And was it because of my religion? Was it because of my ethnicity? Was it because of my funny name?" he said.
Khan said his dispute with the FBI could have been avoided if the bureau had tried contacting him first before visiting his home "with guns and badges," which he blasted as "uncalled for."
When asked why he believed the FBI had visited his home and wanted to question him despite insisting he did nothing wrong, Gadeir Abbas, a lawyer for CAIR who sat in on the interview, interjected.
"The only conclusion that's reasonable here is that the FBI is approaching people in the Muslim community speaking out on these atrocities that are fueled by our missiles and bombs, and they don't like it. And so they're trying to stop it," Abbas said.
"If you're sending two FBI agents to visit Assad Khan with the kind of background he has, it does suggest that a combination of speech and religion and ethnicity is enough in this context for the FBI to send agents on this wild goose chase."
Abbas said that CAIR had "fully anticipated" that the FBI would eventually "perceive routine, common criticisms of foreign countries as a reason to investigate people."
"If they're doing it to retired Lieutenant Colonel Asad Khan, who else are they doing it to?" he added.
When asked for comment about the report and to inquire about how FBI policies may differ in responding to different ethnic or religious groups, a spokesperson for the bureau suggested it doesn't investigate simply for expressing support for one group or another.
"Every day, the FBI engages with members of the public in furtherance of our mission, which is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States," the spokesperson said.
"We can never open an investigation based solely on First Amendment-protected activity. The FBI is committed to ensuring our activities are conducted with a valid law enforcement or national security purpose and uphold the constitutional rights of all Americans."
Abbas noted that the rights group has documented an incident in Oklahoma where agents interacted with a Muslim woman and were caught on camera saying, "We're doing this all day every day."
And last month, CAIR filed a lawsuit on behalf of two people: an organizer of a routine pro-Palestine protest in California who found himself on the no-fly list and the leader of an organization called American Muslims for Palestine who's regularly stopped at the border when he crosses it to talk about his travels.
Palestinian prisoners face rape, death in Israeli prisons, commission alleges
A shocking number of Palestinian prisoners taken captive by Israel have died in Israeli prisons since last October as Israeli soldiers and guards continue to be accused of rape and other violent acts, Palestinian officials said Sunday.
Photo courtesy of the Palestinian Commission of Detainees' Affairs
Oct. 6 (UPI) -- A number of Palestinian prisoners taken captive by Israel have died in Israeli prisons since last October as Israeli soldiers and guards continue to be accused of rape and other violent acts, a commission alleges.
The Palestinian Commission of Detainees' Affairs, a governmental body of the Palestinian Authority, has previously documented the abuses of Palestinian captives by their Israeli guards, including having their bones broken and being stripped naked for torture.
The commission asserted that Israelis have "targeted" Palestinian captives over the decades of conflict between militant Israelis and Palestinians. Hundreds of Palestinians have died in Israeli captivity over the years of Israeli occupation.
But specifically since Oct. 7, 2023, at least 24 named Palestinians died in Israeli captivity, according to a list published Sunday by the commission. Another 20 or so prisoners have also been confirmed to have died in captivity, but their names are not known.
The first of the named deaths was revealed to have occurred on Oct. 15, 2023, about a week after the war began. The bloodiest months for prisoners appear to have been February and March of this year, with five prisoner deaths each.
"Over the past months, several human rights groups have followed this case, which was accompanied by torture, medical crimes, rape, and sexual assaults, reflected in the testimonies of released detainees," the commission said.
The human rights group Amnesty International said in November that after the war broke out, Israeli authorities "dramatically increased their use of administrative detention" without charges.
Amnesty International has documented cases of Israeli soldiers torturing Palestinian detainees, including "severe beatings" and "humiliation." The human rights group said that such torture had been occurring "for decades" before Hamas' attack Oct. 7.
And, Israeli forces have detained journalists and more than a dozen healthcare workers in Gaza.
Previously, human rights experts with the United Nations expressed alarm about the treatment of women and girls in Gaza who were subject to extrajudicial executions by the Israeli military.
Sexual violence by Israeli soldiers against Palestinian women has been documented since before the war began. Since the war, several Palestinian detainees have said they were raped while others were threatened with rape and sexual violence.
And throughout the war, videos and pictures purporting to show Israeli soldiers going through Palestinian women's underwear in Gaza have gone viral.
Bereaved and destitute: Gazans a year on from October 7
Issued on: 06/10/2024 -
Video by: Juliette MONTILLY
In a year of war between Israel and Hamas, the people of Gaza have lost nearly everything: their loved ones, their homes, their careers and their dreams. AFP spoke to a student, a paramedic and a former civil servant in Gaza to hear how the conflict has destroyed their lives. Here are their stories.
'We are engaged in a brutal war that has to be ended as soon as possible'
"Certainly when you read about a peace plan, naturally you may think,'what the hell does it have to do with reality?'", said Ehud Olmert, former prime minister of Israel, referring to the plan he recently proposed with Nasser al-Kidwa, a former foreign affairs minister of the Palestinian National Authority. "I think, and Mr. al-Kidwa thinks, there is no better time to raise these ideas than now, because of the fact that we are engaged in a brutal war that has to be ended as soon as possible."
'German voice from Gaza' adjusts to new reality in Berlin
Sarah Judith Hofmann
DW
6/10/24 Unable to leave the Gaza Strip at the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, Abed Hassan became the "German voice from Gaza," documenting the war on social media. Now in Berlin, he wonders if the war will ever end.
In Berlin's Kreuzberg neighborhood, everything feels like business as usual. It's typical September weather with a bit of sunshine and some scattered clouds. "Free Gaza" is spray painted on the wall of some buildings in Viktoria Park, but most people just walk by without paying much mind to it.
For Abed Hassan, the war in Gaza is always present.
There had just been reports of Israeli airstrikes hitting a so-called "safe zone" at the Al-Mawasi refugee camp. According to Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), it was a targeted attack on "Hamas terrorists." News agencies report dozens of casualties, and videos on social media show people digging to find their possessions.
Abed Hassan doesn't know yet if anyone he knows has been affected, whether it's friends, acquaintances or family members. Two of his cousins send him updates from Gaza whenever their cell phones have enough power and have service.
"I feel paralyzed," he tells DW. "Death, death, death every day. Now and then, your friend, someone you know. And everything destroyed. This does something to you," he adds.
Abed Hassan posted this photo on his Instagram account and received 25,000 likesImage: Privat
In Berlin, Hassan is safe but also helpless. Others are still where Abed Hassan was a year ago: in the middle of the war in Gaza, triggered by the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel began striking the coastal enclave the same day of the incursion by Hamas, which the United States, the EU, Germany and other countries have designated a terrorist organization. A ground offensive from Israel's military soon followed. According to the United Nations, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, and a large part of the Gaza Strip lies in ruins.
Hassan was there. He saw the bombardment with his own eyes, pulled people from the rubble and ran for his life.
In early October 2023, he and his mother traveled to Gaza to visit Palestinian family members. His father had bought an apartment in Gaza City. While Hassan was renovating it, he suddenly found himself stuck in the middle of the war.
Israel, and to an extent Egypt, had sealed off the narrow coastal strip. Hassan was trapped in Gaza for five weeks.
He captured what he experienced with the camera on his mobile phone and shared the clips on Instagram. Before long, he had more than 80,000 followers and had become popular as the "German voice from Gaza."
The blockade of Gaza also meant that foreign journalists were unable to enter the war zone. This remains the case to this day.
However, Hassan was there and spoke German in his videos, unlike other Palestinians who posted videos on social media.
"No matter where you went, the bombs follow you like a curse," he said in a video from October 8, 2023. He was crying, and the shock and utter despair was clear in his eyes.
"I just pulled a woman out myself. She was breathing. She was breathing!" he said.
He kept posting photos of Gaza City in shambles and wondered when his house will be hit.
"I actually expected it almost every day," he tells DW. "When I went to bed, I quietly said goodbye to everyone and thought it could happen at any moment."
Back to Berlin, but trapped in Gaza
Thanks to his German passport, he and his mother got out of Gaza after 34 days. In November 2023, he was on a list of Germany's Federal Foreign Office and was allowed to leave for Egypt through the Rafah border crossing. After arriving back in Berlin, he felt his body had returned to Germany, but his thoughts were still in Gaza.
He still feels guilty. What would his relatives think if they saw how "normal" his life in Berlin was? What if he didn't try everything he could to end this terrible war?
He started to give interviews and appeared on German talk shows and news programs. He also shared a stage with a survivor of the massacre at Israel's Supernova music festival on October 7, 2023.
"It is extremely important to me," he says, "to talk to people who were on the opposite side as I have no racist thoughts or hatred in me."
Abed Hassan used cycling as therapy and a way to raise money for a hospital in Gaza
Image: Privat
Cycling from Germany to the Middle East
Cycling became his form of therapy, where he can just pedal and focus on the road ahead. In April, he embarked on a cycling tour to Gaza, riding through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and eventually reaching Bosnia.
There, he spoke with survivors of the Srebrenica massacre, a genocidal killing of 8,000 people during the Bosnian War. He felt a camaraderie with the people in Bosnia, who were Muslim like him and, as he sees it, survived a genocide like him.
The term genocide is contentions concerning the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. South Africa submitted a case against Israel to the International Court of Justice, saying it had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has rejected the accusations.
From Bosnia, he rode on toward Turkey and finally flew to Jordan. On his cycling tour, he documented himself for his followers on Instagram, collecting donations for a field hospital in Gaza.
But his trip ended at the border to the occupied West Bank. Hassan, who holds a Palestinian passport along with his German one, was turned away by Israeli soldiers.
"Although I have a German passport, Israel denies us entry," he tells DW. That makes him angry and sad.
He recorded a video that was meant to explain the situation of Palestinians under Israeli occupation. Afterward, he simply cried.
"Jerusalem, the Al-Aksa Mosque, a historic, an important place that I long for all my life, remains a place that I may not be able to enter before I die," he says in the Video.
UN estimates suggest more than half of buildings and infrastructure in Gaza are damaged
Image: Mahmoud Issa/REUTERS
Palestinians in Germany
Abed Hassan's family history is characterized by fleeing. His grandparents came from villages that became part of Israel when the state was founded in 1948. His parents grew up in refugee camps in Gaza.
He was born and raised in Berlin but only received the German citizenship at the age of 16. Germany, like the US, does not recognize Palestinian statehood, unlike the majority of UN member states.
"If I had to state my nationality somehow and I'd say Palestine, they'd say: 'Palestine doesn't exist. You are stateless.' This makes you wonder who I am, where I belong, and where my roots are."
When he was 14, his parents took him to Gaza for the first time. "It was a shock," he remembers. "It's very, very crowded there. When I opened the tap, the water was salty, and there was no electricity to charge my phone."
But then he started meeting friends and neighbors of his parents, who prepared a feast for the family from Germany as a welcome dinner. Some had to go into debt for it. They were more warm-hearted than all the people he knew in Berlin.
After the six-week summer vacation, he felt more at home in Gaza than in Germany.
"I'm a Berliner like every other Berliner. Nevertheless, there is always a feeling of some kind of latent racism: you don't belong here," he said. Today, he feels this more than ever.
According to the UN, 90% of people in Gaza are displaced due to the Israel-Hamas conflict
Image: Mohammed Salem/REUTERS
The war in Gaza has been going on for a year, but Hassan believes "you can't fight violence with violence."
Germany continues to stand by Israel, largely without criticism. Germany continues to supply weapons to Israel and indiscriminately calls pro-Palestinian demonstrators antisemitic. At least that's how Hassan perceives the country in which he was born.
"I feel that the Palestinian perspective doesn't exist in Germany, that no matter what I say, what I suffer, what happens to us, I am told 'but Israel is a democracy, but Israel is a constitutional state.' Not to us. What happens to us Palestinians is neither just nor democratic. And if I say that alone, I must fear being excluded from society."
Hassan still wants to enter into dialog with people and explain the Palestinian perspective. He hopes for an end to the war in Gaza and a more peaceful future. But he is finding it increasingly difficult.
"You get to a state where a person can no longer feel, where the heart grows hard."
This article was originally published in German.
'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
Maputo (AFP) – Mozambique's Frelimo party gathered around 4,000 people for a final rally ahead of elections Wednesday when it is likely to maintain a firm grip on power, although with a change of president.
Sunday's rally outside the capital Maputo was a sea of red, the colours of the socialist party that has governed the impoverished Indian Ocean country since independence from Portugal in 1975.
"We have no doubt, we are going to win!" declared outgoing president Filipe Nyusi, who has reached the end of a two-term limit, standing alongside his designated successor, Daniel Chapo.
"I trust Chapo," he said of the previously low-profile provincial governor who was Frelimo's surprise choice of candidate. "He will do things that I didn't manage to do," the 65-year-old said.
"He will build schools and roads and other infrastructure that the other candidates would not do."
More than 17 million people are registered to vote for the president, parliament and provincial governors, all currently headed by Frelimo, the group that led the war for independence. End 'terrorism'
Addressing one of the major concerns of Mozambique today, Chapo said Frelimo was determined to end the jihadist attacks that have been plaguing the northernmost gas-rich Cabo Delgado province since 2017.
"We will continue to work so Mozambique stays a country of peace, including in Cabo Delgado," he said. "We want to continue fighting against terrorism."
Violence from armed jihadist groups affiliated to the Islamic State group has paralysed a natural gas project in the area since 2021, stalling an economic boost that the impoverished country of 33 million people craves.
Among the Frelimo crowd was Filipe Cossa, 27, who said he had been brought in on a party bus from an area about 15 kilometres (nine miles) away.
"They were handing out the shirts and asking people to get in the bus to go to the rally," he told AFP. "I am hoping for many different things, for change," he said.
"With this new president we are going to see good, new changes," said Ana Sumbani, 60, who has been a party supporter her whole life.
"Frelimo is the liberation party of our country," she said.
"We are appealing for a fair and clear election so that we don't have conflict afterwards," Ossufo Momade told his supporters dressed in the party's blue and carrying brooms to symbolise the intention to sweep away corruption.
Tunis (AFP) – Polls closed Sunday night in Tunisia after voting in a presidential election expected to see incumbent Kais Saied secure another five years in office while his main critics -- including one contender -- are behind bars.
Three years after Saied staged a sweeping power grab, rights group fear re-election will only further entrench his rule in the country which became the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring uprisings.
With the ouster of longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, Tunisia prided itself on being the birthplace of those regional revolts against authoritarianism.
But the north African country's path changed dramatically soon after Saied's democratic election in 2019.
The power grab by Saied, 66, saw him rewrite the constitution and crack down on dissent, sparking criticism at home and abroad.
In a speech on Thursday, Saied called for a "massive turnout to vote" and usher in what he called an era of "reconstruction".
The Tunisian electoral board, ISIE, has said about 9.7 million people were eligible to vote, in a country whose population is around 12 million.
By 1:00 pm -- five hours before the 5,000 polling station closed -- only 14 percent of voters had cast ballots, ISIE said.
The board's spokesman Mohamed Tlili Mansri later said it was expecting around 30 percent turnout. That is roughly the same proportion of people who turned out in 2022 for a widely boycotted referendum on the new constitution. 'Support Kais Saied'
"I came to support Kais Saied," 69-year-old Nouri Masmoudi said in the morning. "My whole family is going to vote for him."
"I don't want people to choose for me," he said. "I want to check the box for my candidate myself."
Tunisia's electoral board said ahead of the ballot that it would not allow two local independent watchdogs to monitor the vote.
By midday in Bab Jedid, a working-class neighbourhood, there were few voters, and most were elderly men.
Saied cast his vote alongside his wife in the affluent Ennasr neighbourhood, north of Tunis, in the morning.
New York-based Human Rights Watch has said more than "170 people are detained in Tunisia on political grounds or for exercising their fundamental rights".
Jailed opposition figures include Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Islamist-inspired opposition party Ennahdha, which dominated political life after the revolution.
Also detained is Abir Moussi, head of the Free Destourian Party, which critics accuse of wanting to bring back the regime that was ousted in 2011. 'Least bad candidate'
Heavily indebted Tunisia is grappling with weak economic growth, high inflation and unemployment that has led many Tunisians to join mostly sub-Saharan African migrants that use the country as a jumping-off point to Europe.
"Many fear that a new mandate for Saied will only deepen the country's socio-economic woes, as well as hasten the regime's authoritarian drift," the International Crisis Group think tank said.
Yet, voters were presented with almost no alternative to Saied. ISIE barred 14 hopefuls from standing in the race, citing technicalities.
Wajd Harrar, a 22-year-old student, said that in 2019, while she was too young to vote, "people had chosen a bad president".
This time, she said, "I have the right to vote and I will give my vote to the least bad candidate."
Mohamed Aziz, 21, said he was "motivated by the elections because choosing the right person for the next five years is important".
On Friday, hundreds of people protested in the capital, some holding signs denouncing Saied as a "Pharaoh manipulating the law".
Standing against him Sunday were former lawmaker Zouhair Maghzaoui, 59, who backed Saied's power grab in 2021, and Ayachi Zammel, 47, a little-known businessman who has been in jail since his bid was approved by ISIE last month.
Zammel currently faces more than 14 years in prison on accusations of having forged endorsement signatures to enable him to stand in the election.
Voting in Marsa, north of Tunis, Maghzaoui called on Tunisians to "vote in large numbers".
On Thursday Saied cited "a long war against conspiratorial forces linked to foreign circles", accusing them of "infiltrating many public services and disrupting hundreds of projects" under his tenure.
Crisis Group said that while Saied "enjoys significant support among the working classes, he has been criticised for failing to resolve the country's deep economic crisis".
The electoral board has said preliminary results should come no later than Wednesday.
For nearly a year, Loran Beck believed he did not belong in an Oregon state prison – even though Oregon’s governor sent him there.
On Sept. 19, a Multnomah County District Court judge found that Beck, not the governor, was correct. After Judge Michael Greenlick heard the case, he ordered Beck’s immediate release.
“I don’t want to spend another day drafting an opinion if it’s going to delay his release by another day because I do believe he has served approximately eight months longer than was legal – legally allowable,” Greenlick said, according to a court transcript of the hearing.
Beck, 46, is among a growing group of Oregonians who have successfully sued Gov. Tina Kotek while incarcerated and earned court orders that secured their immediate release. For four people, judges from four different courts have found Kotek’s orders to revoke their commuted prison sentences illegally extended their sentences. Another case is pending.
The growing number troubles advocates for the incarcerated in Oregon and raises questions about how many other similarly-situated people are sitting in state prisons illegally. During the pandemic, then-Gov. Kate Brown commuted the sentences of more than 1,000 people.
Since Kotek took office in 2023, she revoked the commutations of at least 122 of these people, sending them back to prison, court records show. But in cases like Beck’s and the three others, attorneys have successfully argued that Kotek’s orders unconstitutionally extended sentences.
“We now have several court orders stating that Oregonians have been illegally imprisoned as a result of the governor’s actions, and it’s extremely disturbing that it took the intervention of the courts to right these wrongs,” said Malori Maloney, Beck’s attorney and associate director of the Oregon Justice Resource Center’s FA:IR Law Project that works to address systemic failures in the justice system. “The governor should have corrected her error as soon as it became clear that their imprisonment was unlawful.”
Governor’s office says little
Roxy Mayer, a spokesperson for the governor, would not answer a detailed list of questions about the case, including whether the four rulings have changed how the governor handles commutation recovations or whether she has concerns about future court cases or the legality of her orders in other cases that involve incarcerated people.
Instead, Mayer sent a vague four-sentence statement that said the governor reviews each case individually as requested by district attorneys.
“The governor respects the court’s decision and will take this ruling under advisement,” Mayer said, adding that the governor is “committed to a transparent and consistent process.”
Public court records and interviews show how the process unfolded – and how the governor’s order illegally kept Beck in prison.
“I think a huge issue that we’re seeing across the board with the governor’s commutation revocations is the lack of transparency,” Maloney said. “We don’t know for certain why the governor revoked his commutation because the revocation order just says that she has found that he violated a condition of the commutation. It doesn’t say what the condition is, when the violation happened, what she’s relying on to make her decision.”
The governor should have corrected her error as soon as it became clear that their imprisonment was unlawful.
– Malori Maloney, attorney with Oregon Justice Resource Center
Yanked back to prison
Beck’s trip to prison – and back again illegally – started in August 2019, when he was convicted in a felony aggravated theft case in Clackamas County.
He was sentenced to 36 months in prison and 24 months of post-prison supervision – five years total.
In February 2021, Brown commuted the last 11 months of his prison sentence and converted that portion to supervision. That meant Beck had 35 months of supervision after prison and he was scheduled to complete that in January 2024.
In June 2023, Beck was charged with assault in Marion County. A judge allowed him to remain free while that case proceeded, and he checked in regularly with his probation officer. By then, Beck was working full-time as a recreational vehicle mechanic in Dallas.
With the case pending and a notification from the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office, Kotek revoked his commutation. She ordered him back to prison in November 2023.
Beck said he could tell something was off when he checked in with his parole and probation office for his routine monthly visit. First, his supervising officer asked him to verify his contact information.
“After he verified everything, another parole officer bombarded into the office, slammed me against the desk, and they just started telling me, ‘Don’t resist,’” Beck said in an interview with the Capital Chronicle.
Officials told him his commuted sentence was revoked but had little to share beyond that.
“He said, ‘I don’t have any further information. It’s out of my hands,’” Beck said.
At the time, Beck was about two months away from completing his post-prison supervision – and the entirety of his five-year sentence. For about two weeks, Beck sat in the Polk County jail, struggling to get answers from anyone.
“Finally on day 14, they just came and rolled me up and said, ‘You’re going back to prison,’” Beck said. “I was dumbfounded.”
At the time, Beck had not been convicted in the Marion County case. In December, while in prison, Beck pleaded to the assault charge in Marion County, a misdemeanor that required just 17 days in jail with credit for time served.
But for Beck, the stay in prison would last much longer. First, he went to Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, a women’s prison and intake center for new inmates.
For several months, he stayed in Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem before he was transferred to Columbia River Correctional Institution, a minimum-security prison in Portland.
Beck persisted in his quest for answers.
“I never stopped trying to get information,” he said. “I asked every counselor I had interactions with why I was being returned to prison, what was going on.”
Beck said he was unsatisfied with vague answers.
In January, his original five-year sentence was due to end. But with Kotek’s order, he was expected to spend 11 months in prison. That pushed his projected release to October, effectively extending his original sentence.
By July, attorneys with the Oregon Justice Resource Center took on his case, filing a petition with the Oregon Supreme Court that alleged Kotek illegally revoked his commutation and denied him due process without a hearing, all while extending his original sentence.
The Oregon Supreme Court declined to take on the case, though two justices dissented. The center filed another petition in the Multnomah County Circuit Court, securing his release. Greenlick, in his ruling, also found that Beck should not serve any supervised release after prison.
Nobody thought I was gonna win. They were making fun of me for how hard I was trying.
– Loran Beck, formerly incarcerated Oregonian Life in prison
Beck’s return to prison was overwhelming as he was yanked from the new life he started.
“My life was completely rebuilt,” he said. “I had completely reinvented myself when it comes to my profession. I came out, I wanted to start a new life for myself and I became an RV technician. And I finally found work that I really love to do.”
As the months wore on, he persisted through uncertainty about his incarceration and the Oregon Supreme Court turning down his first petition.
His fellow inmates doubted his case.
“Nobody thought I was gonna win,” he said. “They were making fun of me for how hard I was trying.”
They would later cheer him on as he packed up to leave.
Beck got his good news while seated in a viewing area of the prison’s law library, as he watched a Zoom connection of the legal proceedings. He had to fight back tears after he heard the judge’s decision.
“I would say it moderately restored my faith in the justice system that, you know, there’s at least somebody willing to look at it, and I’m very grateful for that,” Beck said.
Beck left the law library and told his friends that he won. They gathered around him to shake his hand and congratulate him. Meanwhile, a corrections officer told him to pack up.
“It was like it was a scene straight out of the movies,” he said. “The entire unit erupted into a deafening applause and just yelling. It was amazing. At that moment I realized we really won. Justice was actually served.” Picking up the pieces
Within four hours, Beck left the prison, wearing a sweatsuit and holding a plastic bag of his belongings.
“They opened the door and said, ‘Have a nice day’ and that was kind of it,’” he said.
And then, just like that, he was walking down the road. Beck said he walked for about 45 minutes before a stranger lent him a cell phone. He called his girlfriend and she picked him up.
Beck is thankful for justice – and the recognition from the courts that he was unfairly treated.
Even so, life in the weeks since his release is not always easy. He lost thousands of dollars worth of tools when he went to prison. His motorcycle was stolen.
He works only part-time and is uncertain what the future holds.
“I just came out to everything being in shambles,” he said.
These days, Beck contemplates whether he should move away from Oregon, the state where he was born, raised and illegally confined in prison.
“I just don’t want to be in the state anymore – just my experiences that they can pull my freedom at any time,” he said. “I just don’t feel safe here. I feel pretty paranoid about it, and I honestly would like to relocate to Arizona or somewhere very, very far away.” Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lynne Terry for questions: info@oregoncapitalchronicle.com. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on Facebook and X.
Tunisia's President Kais Saied waves outside a polling station in Tunis after casting his vote in the affluent Ennasr neighbourhood © FETHI BELAID / AFP
