Obliterating Gaza

Mahir Ali 

Published December 27, 2023 





IT took several days of diplomatic negotiations for the Security Council to come up with a sufficiently bland Gaza resolution that the US would not feel obliged to veto. Even after it had been diluted to a meaningless plea for unspecified measures that “create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities” — which Israel would interpret as a green light to persist with its genocidal military campaign — the wretched Biden administration could only bring itself to abstain.

The resolution also called on all parties to “facilitate and enable the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale” to the Palestinians in Gaza — almost 90pc of whom have been displaced, pushed into ever-diminishing ‘safe zones’ that are often promptly targeted by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

Even if by some miracle the Security Council had managed to clearly demand a ceasefire, Israel would have ignored it, as it has routinely done since 1948, without facing consequences. The protection of its American godfather is paramount. Western media outlets have lately been promoting the impression that the US is striving to persuade Israel to reduce the intensity of its onslaught.

That’s the equivalent of requesting a serial killer to be less indiscriminate, while supplying him with weapons to accomplish his aims. Had the US seriously wished to halt the slaughter in which entire branches of Palestinian family trees are being hacked off, it could have done so by cutting off the military, diplomatic and financial supply chains crucial to sustaining Israel’s capacity for monstrousness. But don’t hold your breath.

After all, it took decades, plus the relentless efforts of activists, for the US to recognise the horrors of South African apartheid (propped up with surreptitious Israeli bac­k­ing) and endorse sanctions against Preto­ria. Going further back, the Nazi regime enjoyed the sympathy of key components of Western elites, from the British royal family to American captains of industry.

Long before that, the US King-Crane commission was dispatched to the Levant in 1919 to solicit popular opinion about the region’s future following World War I. It found vast support for a united Syria encompassing latter-day Lebanon and Palestine. Facts on the ground shifted the erudite commissioners’ views from backing the Zionist project endorsed by the Balfour Declaration to pointing out that it would entail “a practically complete dispossession of the present-day inhabitants of Palestine” and “the gravest trespass upon the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine”.

It presciently reminded the then US president, Woodrow Wilson, that “if the American government decided to support the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, they are committing the American people to the use of force in that area, since only by force can a Jewish state in Palestine be established or maintained”.

By then, the US Congress had effectively endorsed the Balfour Declaration, and the State Department decided that publishing the report “would not be compatible with the public interest”. It had little effect when eventually published by Editor & Publisher magazine in 1922, and continued to be disregarded when US backing for Israel went into high gear following the 1967 “pre-emptive” Israeli assault against its neighbours. A Palestine Liberation Organisation pamphlet noted that the population density “jumped in a few weeks from 208 to more than 6,000 persons per square kilometre”.

Gaza’s population has more than quadrupled since then, and the conditions have deteriorated. The IDF has lately been renewing the status of long-standing refugees — often from territories adjacent to the Gaza Strip, the areas violated by Hamas and its associates on Oct 7 — by casting them into the wilderness. The atrocities committed in the kibbutzim cannot be denied, while acknowledging that some of the deaths and damage can be attributed to the manner in which the IDF response unfolded.

The precise details may never emerge, but the century-long context of repression and dispossession in occupied Palestinian territories cannot be ignored in contemplating today’s dire realities as the seeds of hatred are sowed anew. Benjamin Netan­yahu’s response to the UN resolution was to visit his troops in Gaza on Christmas Day and declare that his war would be intensified, even as Bethlehem marked the occasion with a rubble-strewn Nativity scene.

Reading about a Children’s Happiness Centre levelled by the IDF in its scorched earth campaign alongside hospitals, homes and schools, I was reminded of Northern Irish freedom fighter Bobby Sands’ prison diary entry shortly before he succumbed to the privations of a hunger strike: “Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.”

mahir.dawn@gmail.com

The writer is a journalist.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2023

Remembering Benazir

SIXTEEN years ago this day, Benazir Bhutto became the highest-profile victim of terrorism. The wound inflicted by the assassination of one of Pakistan’s most charismatic leaders has not yet healed.

Zahid Hussain 

DAWN

Published December 27, 2023

With the country facing what is perhaps the most difficult and testing time in its history, the loss of Benazir Bhutto is felt more than ever. The long shadow of despotism is hanging over the country yet again.

Benazir galvanised a people wary of a long period of authoritarian rule and gave voice to the dispossessed and disenfranchised masses. Even her bitterest political opponents gave her credit for her courage and defiance, which may have ultimately cost her her life.

The controversy over how Benazir was killed exposed the chasm of trust between the Pakistani state and its people. It is still not known who plotted her assassination.

Benazir undoubtedly had her weak points but her sincerity to the cause of democracy was beyond doubt. I was a witness to the era that marked her epic struggle. As a journalist, I was privileged to be with her at various stages of her political struggle.

During that period, I had numerous on- and off-the-record conversations with her, giving me a rare insight into her political evolution. She was a fighter all the way.

She began her political career as the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto but turned out to be a leader in her own right. She had the intellectual capacity to engage with even her strongest critics, a quality rarely found in our political leaders. Her loss is more than that of a political leader. She came to symbolise the unity of an uneasy federation. Her death exacerbated political divisions and polarisation.

Benazir served twice as prime minister but both her terms were short-lived. Her first stint came after the PPP swept the polls in 1988 following the death of Gen Zia in an air crash. It was apparent that the generals conceded reluctantly to the people’s verdict. The handing over of power to the PPP was not unconditional.

Sixteen years after the death of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan once again finds itself at a crossroads.

It was fairly obvious that the powerful generals had never reconciled with the idea of a Bhutto government. But she accepted the challenge. “I am a fighter and fighters don’t give up,” she told me in her first interview as prime minister. And that she was.

The generals waited for an opportune moment to strike. After just one and a half years in power, the PPP government was removed in August 1990 in what was described as a constitutional coup.

Benazir was implicated in a number of cases. Every effort was made to rig the elections. Against this backdrop, the 1990 election results did not come as much of a surprise. “Elections have been stolen,” a shocked Benazir said as the elections results were being announced on television. She was in tears.

That was darkest period for Benazir. She spent her time going from one court to another. It was, perhaps, the most testing of times for the former prime minister with demoralisation gripping her party. There was also a move to disqualify her and force her to leave the country. However, all that failed to break her determination.

Her triumphant return to power in November 1993 marked the culmination of another period of struggle. With a majority in the National Assembly and a president from her own party, she felt comfortable. She also seemed to have learnt from her past mistakes and was much more chastened. She wanted to move forward and leave behind the treatment meted out to her.

There was a much better environment for her new government to function in. She was more familiar with the system of government. But the challenges were no less. Despite an extremely favourable political situation, the second Benazir government started floundering midway through her term.

The fate of her fledgling government was sealed when her brother Murtaza Bhutto was killed in September 1996 at a police shootout outside his house. The tragedy shook Benazir. She believed that her brother’s murder was the result of a larger conspiracy to destabilise her government.

It summarily brought to an end the three-year-long second Benazir Bhutto government. There was a sense of déjà vu as an elected prime minister was sent packing yet again. She was implicated once more in multiple cases and she left the country to escape persecution.

Benazir finally returned to Pakistan on Oct 18, 2007. As her procession proceeded, suddenly, in quick succession, two huge blasts struck her truck. Mayhem ensued, with mutilated bodies littering the street. It was the worst terrorist attack in the nation’s history. Benazir survived. But the assassins pursued her. On Dec 27, 2007, a second attack on Benazir in Rawalpindi succeeded. She became a victim of the same terrorism she had vowed to fight.

Pakistan is once again standing at a crossroads as it observes the 16th anniversary of her death today. It is a nation maimed, its very existence threatened by growing internal fissures and rising extremism. Social and cultural divides have become more pronounced, with growing economic disparity, and increasing discontent in the ranks of the new underclass.

A major question before us now is whether the country can continue on a democratic path or whether it will be ruled by the forces of authoritarianism. The country needs political reconciliation. It needs another charter of democracy on the lines of the 2006 document that Benazir Bhutto signed with her arch-rival and another former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. There has to be a charter of economy to take the country out of the present crisis as well as a new social contract recognising the democratic rights of all nationalities in order to keep the country united under a federal system.

But the main question is whether such reconciliation is possible with the widening political divide. The security establishment is now far more deeply entrenched in all aspects of the country’s power structure, turning Pakistan into a quasi-military dispensation. The challenge to democracy today is no less than what it was when Benazir was alive.

The writer is an author and journalist.

zhussain100@yahoo.com

X:@hidhussain

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2023

PPP’s path

Editorial 

DAWN

Published December 27, 2023 


ON this day in 2007, Benazir Bhutto was killed at a time when her party needed her most. For the PPP, as it gears up for general elections next February, the trajectory it has taken since Ms Bhutto’s untimely death should be of particular concern. Arguably, even in 2008, its popularity was not at its zenith — the kind witnessed under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and during the Zia era when the party, then led by Ms Bhutto, was directly targeted. There were reasons for this, not least among them the corruption alleged during the 1990s when the party was in and out of power and the rise of political rivals. However, it remained a national party. Today, while its ethos still draws supporters from across the country, this has not translated into the numbers needed for a government at the centre. The memory of Ms Bhutto’s populist appeal has not been enough to cancel out the unpopularity of the present leadership: without her charisma and knack for populist politics, the party’s top tier under Asif Ali Zardari has grown disconnected from both party workers and ordinary people. The PPP was nearly wiped out in Punjab after the 2013 elections, and has since found itself limited to its stronghold of Sindh.

Yet, the PPP did pull off some major achievements after Ms Bhutto. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution, the renaming of NWFP, the creation of a legislative assembly in Gilgit-Baltistan, and the introduction of the Balochistan Package were all laudatory moves — though implementation was scant. In provincial politics too, the PPP government in Sindh garnered plaudits for progressive pro-women, children and minority policies and legislation, the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act and the Sindh Protection of Communal Properties of Minorities Act amongst others — but again, poorly enforced. Moreover, as the ruling party in Sindh, the PPP has been shying away from empowering local bodies, resulting in strengthening the provincial government’s hold on civic bodies. It is no surprise then that Sindh has become unlivable. There is rampant street crime, a corrupt police force, unemployment, illegal contracts, unscrupulous land dealings, poor sanitation and healthcare, broken roads, abysmal schooling, shoddy building control, encroachments and the like. Today, the party faces a moment of truth: it must either rectify its mistakes or resign itself to a diminishing role in national politics.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2023

Unprepared for pandemics

Rafia Zakaria 

DAWN

Published December 27, 2023

ONE of the most terrifying things about the Covid-19 pandemic was that the world was very unprepared for a global pandemic of its nature and scale.

Until it struck, it seemed unfathomable that a country like the United States would run out of things such as masks and basic protective equipment.

Or that all the warnings that doctors in Italy — that, along with the medics, was hit relatively early by the pandemic — would not be heeded by a large part of the world. In those early days, ventilators were in short supply but sometimes when one country tried to help another, half the things with half the parts would be sent and the body bags would continue to pile up.

It was because of the alarming lack of preparedness of the world to deal with the pandemic that, in 2020, the United Nations decreed Dec 27 as the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness.

The idea behind the annual commemoration is for countries to take stock of their level of preparedness for epidemics and pandemics.

Every year, the day can serve as an assessment point that make institutions and governments see where they stand in terms of preparedness before the next epidemic strikes, whether on a large or limited scale.

While it is easy to scoff at such things, it bears mentioning that in the US, the National Security Council unit that oversaw this sort of preparedness was disbanded by then president Donald Trump.

There was no international check point that could spur decision-makers to consider what would happen if the world suddenly had to be shut down for months on end.

In the Global South, the terror of the Covid-19 pandemic did not end even when a vaccine had been developed. The mRNA vaccines, including Pfizer and Moderna, that led the charge were developed in the Global North where cash-and resource-rich governments had been funding such vaccine research for many years.

Once the pandemic began and scores of people were dying in places such as London and New York, governments began to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the exercise of speeding up vaccine development and then after that ensuring that their laboratories had the capacity to produce vaccines as fast as possible.

This was the reason that people in the US were some of the first to receive the new vaccine. For many months, this was the status quo with no real plan of how the best vaccines could be procured by the Global South.

One of the big problems was that the drug companies and governments that had funded the development of the mRNA vaccines were not particularly eager to share the data that would have allowed the same vaccine to be developed at a much cheaper cost and made available for the publics of the poorer countries.

This is why India, itself a major producer of vaccines, saw the large number of casualties that it did. The low availability of the vaccine in that country meant that the vast majority of the population had not been able to get vaccinated against Covid-19 because the government had not been able to procure enough supplies for the population.

The consequence, with thousands dying daily so that even the crematoriums could not keep up with the pace of death, is imprinted as an indelible catastrophe on the nation’s psyche.

Countries in the Global South had to rely on the goodwill of wealthier countries to obtain the most effective vaccines against Covid-19.

While Pakistan was relatively more fortunate in that there was never a mega surge of the same proportions, it is also true that the country relied for quite a while on supplies of Covid vaccines from wealthier countries.

Indeed, it was through the US that Pakistan was able to get the first Pfizer vaccine while China provided the first shipment of the (non-mRNA) vaccine. Other countries also sent vaccines to Pakistan.

The point of this is that most countries in the Global South had to rely on the goodwill of wealthier countries to obtain the most effective vaccines.

There was no agreement in place that would allow the vaccines developed in the West to be easily and cheaply mass-produced and be made available to the Global South, despite the fact that their absence was causing tens of thousands of casualties in many countries.

Because of this ongoing impasse, many middle-income countries in Latin America and Africa have started to expand their own research and development capacity to produce vaccines.

Beyond this, it is worthy to note that the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association based in Geneva has opposed any effort to relax intellectual property rights during pandemics because they insist that this will actually hamper the fast and effective production of vaccines.

Instead, it has signed on to the Berlin Declaration, which is a non-binding document that promises to try and allocate ef­­fective vaccines for priority populations located in the Global South. The Berlin Declaration does not get away from the problem of leaving availability to the goodwill of the richer countries.

Whether it is individually or through multilateral efforts, Pakistan must make it a priority to develop and publicise epidemic preparedness so that it has a better plan in place than relying on the goodwill of rich countries.

On the national level, an assessment needs to be carried out of the plans that are already in place both in public and private institutions. It is important to remember that some of the economic morass in which the country finds itself can be attributed to the unpredictability of closures, such as during the Covid-19 period.

Planning ahead to minimise the effects of any large-scale disease could ensure that Pakistan is better prepared and less vulnerable to a human and economic catastrophe when the next epidemic strikes.

The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy.

rafia.zakaria@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2023

Russia, India closer to joint military equipment production: Russian FM

Reuters 

Published December 27, 2023 

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar during a joint press conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia December 27. — 

Russia and India have made tangible progress in talks on plans to jointly produce military equipment, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday, after talks with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Moscow.

Speaking at a news conference, Lavrov said such cooperation was of a strategic nature and was in both countries’ interests and would help ensure security on the Eurasian continent.

He said Moscow respected India’s desire to diversify its military hardware suppliers and was ready too to support New Delhi’s desire to manufacture things needed by India in India.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet Jaishankar later on Wednesday.

Jaishankar said he expected Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to meet next year.

Jaishankar said he and Lavrov had discussed the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as bilateral trade and investment.

India has become one of Russia’s core economic partners since the West in 2022 imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

Russia has diverted much of its oil exports to India and stepped up diplomacy within the BRICS group of nations, a grouping of which both countries are founding members.

According to Jaishankar, Indian-Russian trade is expected to top $50 billion this year.

He said New Delhi was keen to sign a bilateral investment treaty with Russia as well as a free trade agreement with the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union.

Winter smog blankets capitals of Dhaka, New Delhi

Reuters

Published December 27, 2023

Traffic moves along a highway shrouded in heavy smog in New Delhi, India, December 26. 

— Reuters.
LISTEN TO ARTICLE1x1.2x1.5x


A thick layer of toxic smog wreathed Bangladesh’s capital of Dhaka on Wednesday as the air quality index plummeted into the “hazardous” category, while similar conditions prevailed in New Delhi, the capital of neighbouring India.

The air quality in Dhaka, one of the world’s most crowded cities with more than 20 million people, has deteriorated as large projects spring up and fossil fuels get overused, bringing health problems for many.

“We often suffer from asthma, fever and allergies while operating rickshaws on the streets,” said Rafiq Mondal, who pulls the traditional two-wheeled vehicles to earn his living.

“It is often very painful,” he said.

Images from drones equipped with cameras showed smog at 9am that put Dhaka in top spot among the world’s most polluted cities, with a “hazardous” index level of 325, Swiss group IQAir said.

But conditions improved slightly, with the index dropping to 177, in the “unhealthy” range, by 1.35pm.

City authorities spray the streets with water to help the dust settle, but residents called for greater efforts.

“The air pollution is taking its toll,” said one of them, Wasim Akhter.

“With all the mega projects like the metro rail overhead, there is a lot of construction material everywhere […] Measures must be taken more seriously,” he said.

In a year when smog briefly put Sydney on par with New Delhi, the World Bank has urged Bangladesh to coordinate more closely with neighbours in South Asia to clean up the air.

Air pollution, often a mix of solid particles, liquid droplets and gases, takes a toll of about a fifth of the country’s premature deaths each year, it said in a report.



Some areas of Dhaka had levels of fine particulate matter as much as 20 times in excess of World Health Organisation standards, the report added.

In New Delhi, pollution was also high, with an index reading of 378, according to the Central Pollution Control Board, for a rating of “very poor”.

More than 100 flights were delayed and rail services disrupted by an enveloping fog amid temperatures of 11 degrees Celsius, said news agency ANI, in which Reuters has a minority stake.

Why many Pakistanis are indifferent to upcoming polls

Shamil Shams in Karachi
DW

December 26, 2023

Could the ongoing economic crisis and general distrust and dissatisfaction with the country's politics be to blame?

Pakistan's inflation rose to a record 31.4% in September, and many people are struggling to make ends meet

 Rafat Saeed/DW


There is hardly any pre-election hustle-bustle in Karachi, Pakistan's financial hub, although it is now almost certain that polls scheduled for February 8 won't be delayed.

There are multiple reasons behind a lack of interest in the upcoming general elections among the public; the foremost being an ongoing crackdown on ex-PM Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

Khan and many of his aides are behind bars in several cases, and it is unlikely that they will be released before the elections. These measures have made the upcoming vote quite controversial.

Also, Pakistan has been in a state of economic turmoil for almost two years. The skyrocketing inflation has rendered the masses incapable of buying even basic food items and paying electricity bills, among other problems. As most citizens struggle to make ends meet, they are less bothered about who will form the next government.

Can Pakistan's ex-PM Nawaz Sharif make a political comeback?  02:36

Security concerns

The country's security issues remain a big concern for its military leadership, with a spike in the number of militant attacks in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces bordering Afghanistan.

Additionally, the generals are still reeling from the May 9 protests by Imran Khan's supporters that saw some rioters attacking military installations and residential areas.

The mistrust between state institutions is so high that the upcoming polls are no longer about which party wins most seats in the next parliament; they are about Pakistan's survival as a modern state, many people say.
Khan, the disruptor

The imminent elections are all about one man: the former cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan. He is currently incarcerated over charges related to corruption and leaking state secrets.

After he was removed from power last year in a parliamentary no-confidence vote, Khan accused the US and some military generals of orchestrating his ouster. The former premier, who according to many polls remains the most popular politician in the country, raised the stakes so high that at one point earlier this year, state institutions came into clash with each other, and some sections of the masses in direct confrontation with the military — something the country had never witnessed in the past.

Imran Khan's jail sentence: What are Pakistanis saying?   03:04

For some, Khan's disruptive politics is necessary to weaken the generals' grip on power; for others, it is a dangerous scenario for a country that has an economy on the verge of collapse and is facing many geopolitical challenges.

"Politics of polarization by any popular leader is harmful in any country as it detracts from attending to key reforms and development," Adnan Rehmat, an Islamabad-based journalist and analyst, told DW. "Sadly, Imran Khan excels at politics of hate and incendiary rhetoric. In a politically and socially plural country such as Pakistan, political polarization stifles engagement and collaboration needed for solving lingering problems."

Rehmat is of the view that Khan has become a victim of "his own politics of hate," and now nobody wants to defend his rights.

Economic quagmire

Pakistan's economy is possibly the biggest casualty of the protracted political instability. Even though the economic indicators weren't very positive during Khan's tenure (2018-2022), they nosedived since Khan's removal from power.

"Those on low incomes have been hit the hardest by economic difficulties, with many experiencing job losses and reduced earnings. As a result, they have had to cut back on the amount and quality of food they can afford, seek out less expensive transportation options, and work multiple jobs to make ends meet," The Lancet journal underlined in September, adding that "financial mismanagement and political instability, stemming from military interventions, have further worsened the economic crisis."

DW has seen long queues outside bread shops and supermarkets, and scores of homeless people sleeping along roadsides in Karachi.

Pakistan's inflation rose to a record 31.4% in September, with particularly high energy prices.

Some people here are of the view that only an elected government with a popular mandate can remedy these economic woes, but Akhter Mohammadi, a tea seller in Karachi's Tariq Road area, says the country needs to be put on the right track first.

"I will definitely vote (in upcoming elections). I will vote for Maulana Fazal-ur-Rahman (an Islamic cleric) because the economy can only be fixed if Pakistan is politically stable," Mohammadi told DW.

Climate change: Floods fuel growing hunger in Pakistan   03:09

A comeback for Khan?

"There is little doubt that the PTI will win big if the elections were held in a fair manner. This is why the powers-that-be are denying it a level playing field. However, ultimately, it is not votes won but seats secured in the legislature that determine who will come to power. In this sense, the deck is stacked against the PTI," analyst Rehmat underlined.

Experts believe the voter turnout would be low — possibly the lowest in Pakistan's election history.

"The critical factor for the turnout will be whether Khan's supporters come out to vote on election day or not," Rehmat said.

Right now, that looks very unlikely.

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru

African nations forge new paths in global diplomacy

Martina Schwikowski
DW

African countries are assuming an increasingly individualistic approach to foreign policy that are sometimes at odds with those of international powers.

African countries are divided over their stance on the Israel-Gaza war

Image: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

The war in Gaza is dividing African countries far more than their differences over Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine.

"Contrary to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, we saw an effort from the African leadership to respond as a bloc," Fredson Guilengue, a Johannesburg-based analyst with the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, which is affiliated with Germany's socialist Left party, told DW.

Support by African countries for the UN General Assembly's March 2 resolution demanding Russia's withdrawal from Ukraine was relatively weak. Just 28 of Africa's 54 member states voted in favor, while 17 abstained and eight didn't vote. Eritrea, a dictatorship, voted against the resolution.

Yet many African countries have emphatically and consistently called for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, said Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at the Chatham House policy institute in London. "There have been very few countries in the African continent that have taken a pro Israeli stance," he said.

The African Union was quick to side with the Palestinians, with AU Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat appealing to both sides to cease hostilities. "The Chairperson wishes to recall that denial of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, particularly that of an independent and sovereign State, is the main cause of the permanent Israeli-Palestinian tension," he said in a statement on October 7, the same day that Hamas, which is classified as a terror group by the US, EU and other governments, attacked communities within Israel. Later it became clear that Hamas had killed nearly 1,200 people and taken about 240 hostages.

Support for Israel

Some African countries have expressed support for Israel, Guilengue said. Kenya, Ghana, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo have shown solidarity with Israel and explicitly condemned Hamas. In Kenya, for example, President William Ruto spoke out strongly against terrorism and attacks on innocent civilians, despite criticism from opposition politicians, who called for relations with Israel to be severed.

South Africa's parliament voted to close the Israeli embassy in South Africa

Image: Nardus Engelbrecht/AP/picture alliance

Other countries, South Africa in particular, have taken a pro-Palestinian position, Guilengue said. The country did not openly condemn Hamas and blames Israel for the escalation of the conflict. In November, South African parliamentarians voted to break off diplomatic relations, though the decision is not binding for the government, which itself has called on the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate whether Israel had committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip, repeatedly comparing the country's military response to the Hamas attacks to genocide.

Guilengue said these reactions had to do with South Africa's history of apartheid, which many there compare to conditions and events in Gaza. Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor has repeatedly stated that South Africa will not be drawn into taking sides, but has criticized the West for selectively condemning Russia while ignoring other acts of aggression such as the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Protecting Africa's interests

People across Africa have long shown solidarity with Palestinians, said Gilles Yabi, the head of Wathi, a think tank in Senegal that is focused on West Africa. A sense of a shared history of colonialism plays a major role in that stance. Many governments across Africa support establishing a Palestinian state that could exist alongside Israel, Yabi said recently in his podcast for the International Crisis Group.

The countries that have allied themselves with Israel are motivated by other factors, such as military and economic support from the country and its allies, Guilengue said.

"They actually don't want to show a position that will go against the interest of Israel," he said, "because it might also mean going against the interest of the United States and the West."

Though Russia does not have a presence in Africa on par with that of the most powerful European countries and the United States, it is still valued as a partner by many countries.

Germany is keen to foster ties with Africa

Markus Schreiber/Pool AP/dpa/picture alliance

Stance on Ukraine

Some African governments consider Russia's war against Ukraine to be a matter of European security interests. Over the course of 2023, African countries have increasingly decided that they don't want to be pigeonholed in their response to global crises: "They don't want to be pro-Western, pro-Chinese or pro-Russian," Chatham House expert Vines said.

As such, the number of votes for Russia in the UN General Assembly has fallen significantly. "Many African countries are increasingly voting a la carte on these issues," Vines said.

African countries have stood strong against diplomatic pressure over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Guilengue said. Despite visits by high-ranking representatives of Russia and Western nations, governments across Africa have insisted on a largely impartial position, relying on peace mediators. The AU, including South Africa, sent delegations to Russia and Ukraine after the outbreak of the war to propose ways to settle the conflict.

This is in keeping with African governments' attempting to take a more active role in global diplomacy, while at the same time consolidating the economic importance of players such as China, which offer alternatives for aid and investment.

This article was originally written in German.

Germany: 2023 set to be warmest year on record

This year is expected to be the warmest on record in Germany, with an annual temperature of 10.6 degrees forecast by the German Meteorological Office. The announcement follows weeks of flooding across the country.

Six German states have battled rising water levels over the Christmas period

.Image: Ina Fassbender/AFP/Getty Images

According to the German Meteorological Office (DWD), 2023 is on course to be the warmest year since records began in 1881.

The figure eclipses 2022's annual temperature of 10.5 degrees, which was the previous warmest year and on par with 2018, making the past two years the two warmest on record.

While releasing the average annual temperature five days before the end of the year, the DWD will publish its official figures on December 29, including further details such as exact rainfall and sunshine levels.

Germany data mirrors global temperature rise

According to the EU climate change service Copernicus, 2023 was also globally the hottest year since records began.

According to Copernicus, global average temperatures were 1.46 degrees above the pre-industrial reference period from 1850 to 1900.

So far, 2023 has been 0.13 degrees warmer than the first 11 months of 2016, the previous record year.

To keep global warming below 1.5 degrees in the long term, as agreed in Paris in 2015, emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases must be reduced by 43% by 2030.

Germany hit by major floods

The new data comes as much of Germany remains underwater following weeks of downpours and persistent wet weather.

The DWD had issued flood warnings for six states in Germany ahead of the Christmas holidays, with parts of Lower Saxony in the northwest, Bavaria in the south, and Hesse, North-Rhine Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in the west most affected.

The final days of the year are set to remain largely dry, the DWD said.

Germany also experienced major flooding in June, with Lower Saxony, North-Rhine Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate the worst-affected states.

In 2021, 184 people died in Germany's worst floods in decades, with the majority of the deaths in Rhineland-Palatinate.

This report was written in part with material from the German Press Agency (DPA).

Japan allows world's biggest nuclear plant to restart

The safety ban on TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant has been lifted, allowing it to become operational once again. However, the facility still needs permission from local government bodies.

Operations had been suspended since 2012

Kohei Choji/The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP Images/picture alliance

Japan's nuclear regulator announced Wednesday that it has lifted its safety ban on Tokyo Electric Power's (TEPCO) Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the largest in the world in terms of capacity.

TEPCO has been looking to restart the plant due to high operating costs. It must now seek permission from local bodies in the Niigata prefecture, Kashiwazaki city, and Kariwa village.

Why was the ban imposed?

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant has a capacity of 8,212 megawatts (MW) and was TEPCO's only operable atomic power station. It has been offline since 2012, after the Fukushima disaster in March 2011 led to the shutdown of all nuclear power plants in Japan.

The Japanese Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) said TEPCO's preparedness had improved and decided to lift the de facto ban. The body has carried out more than 4,000 hours of inspection of its facilities.

Previously in 2021, the NRA had barred the plant from operating due to safety breaches and insufficient antiterrorism measures. This included a failure to protect nuclear materials and an incident that involved an unauthorized staff member accessing sensitive areas of the plant.

It had then issued an order that prevented TEPCO from transporting new uranium fuel to the plant or loading fuel rods into its reactors.

"The government will seek the understanding and cooperation of Niigata prefecture and local communities, emphasizing 'safety-first'," Yoshimasa Hayashi, the government's top spokesperson, said.

After the decision, TEPCO said it would continue to work towards gaining the trust of the local community and society at large. On Tuesday, a Tokyo court ruled that TEPCO, the only operator of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, had to pay damages to dozens of evacuees.

Japan has been trying to reactivate all domestic nuclear power plants that comply with the safety network, to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels which need to be imported. But in some cases, there is opposition from locals or other regulatory bodies.

Japan: Anti-nuclear protesters invest in renewables

 CHINA HISTORY

A Chinese Christmas Message: It’s Not Santa Bringing Peace, but the People’s Liberation Army 

On social media, Chinese official channels are not celebrating a Merry Christmas but instead focus on a Military Christmas.

 December 26, 2023

By Manya Koetse

 It is not Santa bringing you peace and joy, it is the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

 Chinese state media and other influential social media accounts have been pushing an alternative Christmas narrative this year, which makes it very clear that this ‘Merry Christmas’ is brought by China’s military forces, not by a Western legendary figure. 

On December 24, Party newspaper People’s Daily published a video on Weibo featuring various young PLA soldiers, writing: “Thank you for your hard work! Thanks to their protection, we have a peaceful Christmas Eve. They come from all over the country, steadfastly guarding the front lines day and night. “With our youth, we defend our prosperous China!” Thank you, and salute!” People’s Daily post on Weibo, December 24 2023. 

The main argument that is propagated, is that this time in China should not be about Christmas and Santa Claus, but about remembering the end of the Korean War and paying tribute to China’s soldiers.

 This narrative is not just promoted on social media by Chinese official media channels, it is also propagated in various other ways. One Weibo user shared a photo of a mall in Binzhou where big banners were hanging reminding people of the 73rd anniversary of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War: “December 24 is not about Christmas Eve, but about the victory at Chosin Reservoir.” 

Mall banners reminding Chinese that December 24 is about commemorating the end of the Second Phase Offensive (photo taken at 滨州吾悦广场/posted by 武汉潘唯杰). 

Another blogger posted a video showing LED signs on taxis, allegedly in the Hinggan League in Inner Mongolia, with the words: “December 24 is NOT Christmas Eve, it is the military victory of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir” (“12.24不是平安夜，是长津湖战役胜利日”). 

One social media video showed a teacher at a middle school in Chongqing also emphasizing to her students that “it’s not Father Christmas who brings us a happy and peaceful life, but our young soldiers!” In the context of the Korean War (1950-1953), December 24 marks the conclusion of the Second Phase Offensive (1950), which was launched by the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army against the United Nations Command forces–primarily U.S. and South Korean troops. The Chinese divisions’ surprise attack countered the ‘Home-by-Christmas’ campaign. This name stemmed from the UN forces’ belief that they would soon prevail, end the conflict, and be home well in time to celebrate Christmas. Instead, they were forced into retreat and the Chinese reclaimed most of North Korea by December 24, 1950. 

The Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, also known as the the Battle at Lake Changjin, is part of this history. The battle began on November 27 of 1950, five months after the start of the Korean War. 

The 2021 movie Changjin Lake (长津湖/The Battle at Lake Changjin) provides a Chinese perspective on the lead-up and unfolding of this massive ground attack of the Chinese 9th Army Group, in which thousands of soldiers died. Especially in recent years and in light of the launch of the blockbuster movie, there is an increased focus on the Chinese attack at Chosin as a glorious victory and strategic success for turning around the war situation in Korea and defending its own borders, underscoring the military strength of the People’s Republic of China as a new force to be reckoned with (read more here). 

This Chinese Christmas narrative of honoring the PLA coincides with a series of popular social media posts from bloggers facing criticism for celebrating Christmas in China. One of them is Liu Xiaoguang (刘晓光 @_恶魔奶爸_, 1.7 million followers), who wrote on December 25: “Some people are criticizing me for celebrating Christmas Eve, because, by celebrating a foreign festival, I would be unpatriotic and forgetful of our martyrs. What can I say, in our family Christmas must be a big deal, even if I don’t come home it must be celebrated, because my mom is a Christian, and she’s very devout (..) So you see, on one hand I should promote traditional Chinese virtues, and show filial piety, on the other hand I should be patriotic and not celebrate foreign festivals.” 

Meanwhile, other popular bloggers stress the importance of remembering China’s military heroes during this time. Influential media blogger Zhang Xiaolei (@晓磊) posted: “It’s not Santa Claus who gives you peace, it’s the Chinese soldiers! #ChristmasEve” (“给你平安的不是圣诞老人，而是中国军人！🙏#平安夜#”). With his post, he added various pictures showing Chinese soldiers frozen in the snow as also depicted in the Battle at Lake Changjin movie. 

Throughout the years, Christmas has become more popular in China, but as a predominantly atheist country with a small proportion of Christians, the festival is more about the commercial side of the holiday season including shopping and promotions, decorations, entertainment, etc. Nevertheless, Christmas in China is generally perceived as “a foreign” or “Western” festival, and there have been consistent concerns that the festivities associated with Christmas clash with traditional Chinese culture. In the past, these concerns have led to actual bans on Christmas celebrations. For instance, in 2017, officials in Hengyang were instructed not to partake in Christmas festivities and several universities throughout China have previously cautioned students against engaging in Christmas-related activities. 

Chinese political and social commentator Hu Xijin (@胡锡进) also weighed in on the issue. In his December 24 social media column, the former Global Times editor-in-chief wrote that there is no problem with Christmas Eve and the Second Phase Offensive victory day both receiving attention on the same day. Even if the younger generations in China view Christmas more as a commercial event rather than a religious one, it’s understandable for businesses to capitalize on this period for additional revenue. He wrote: “In this era of globalization, holiday cultures inevitably influence each other. The Chinese government does not actively promote the rise of “Western holidays” for its own reasons, but they also have no intention to “suppress foreign holidays.” Some Chinese celebrate “Western holidays” and it is their right to do, they should not face criticism for it.” Although many Chinese netizens post different viewpoints on this year’s Christmas debate, there are some who just don’t understand what all the fuss is about. “December 24 can be both Christmas Eve, and it can be Victory Day. It’s not like we need to pick one over the other. We are free to choose whatever.” 

Copyright (C)  Manya Koetse

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