Kuwait elects opposition-led parliament featuring one woman

Issued on: 07/06/2023 - 

Kuwait City (AFP) – Opposition lawmakers won a majority in Kuwait's parliament in the Gulf state's seventh general election in just over a decade, with only one woman voted into office, according to results announced on Wednesday.

The vote on Tuesday came after Kuwait's constitutional court in March annulled the results of last year's election -- in which the opposition made significant gains -- and reinstated the previous parliament elected in 2020.

Opposition lawmakers won 29 of the legislature's 50 seats, according to results published by the official Kuwait News Agency. Only one woman was elected -- opposition candidate Janan Bushehri.

The make-up of the new parliament is very similar to the one elected last year and later annulled, with all but 12 of its 50 members retaining their seats.

Longtime speaker Marzouq al-Ghanim and Ahmed al-Saadoun, who replaced him last year, both return to parliament. Saadoun is expected to run again for the post of speaker.

"We are celebrating today the (victory of the) reformist approach," opposition lawmaker Adel Al-Damkhi told reporters after the results were announced.

"The election results are an indication of the awareness of the Kuwaiti people."

Turnout reached 50 percent one hour before polls closed, according to the Kuwait Transparency Society, an NGO. Last year's election saw turnout of 63 percent.

Since Kuwait adopted a parliamentary system in 1962, the legislature has been dissolved around a dozen times.

While lawmakers are elected, Kuwait's cabinet ministers are installed by the ruling Al-Sabah family, which maintains a strong grip over political life.

Continual standoffs between the branches of government have prevented lawmakers from passing economic reforms, while repeated budget deficits and low foreign investment have added to an air of gloom.

Speaking to AFP on Tuesday, Bushehri, the new parliament's only female member, said she expected it "to seek stability and move ahead on outstanding issues, whether political or economic".

RIP

Francoise Gilot, the woman who dumped Picasso, dies aged 101

Gilot was 21 and a budding painter when she first met Picasso

 French painter Francoise Gilot poses 06 April 2004 in her atelier in Paris. Gilot who was Pablo Picasso's partner between 1943 and 1954 tells abut their relationship in a book of interviews "In Picasso's arena", published 22 March 2004.

 AFP PHOTO JEAN-PIERRE MULLER

AFP

Staff Writer, Agence France-Presse (AFP)

June 6, 2023

France's Francoise Gilot, who died Tuesday aged 101, survived what she called the "hell" of being Spanish artist Pablo Picasso's mistress and muse to become a renowned artist in her own right.

The Picasso Museum in Paris confirmed her death to AFP, after the New York Times reported Gilot had passed away following recent heart and lung ailments.

While two of the other women in Picasso's life died by suicide, and two others had mental breakdowns, Gilot stood up to the giant of modern art, and was the only woman to leave him of her own accord.

"Pablo was the greatest love of my life, but you had to take steps to protect yourself. I did, I left before I was destroyed," she confided in Janet Hawley's 2021 book "Artists and Conversation".

"The others didn't, they clung on to the mighty Minotaur and paid a heavy price," she said, referring to Picasso's first wife, dancer Olga Khokhlova, who lapsed into depression after he left her; his former teen lover, Marie-Therese Walter, who hanged herself; his second wife Jacqueline Roque, who shot herself; and his best-known muse, artist Dora Maar, who had a nervous breakdown.

The painter of "Guernica" was, she said, "astonishingly creative, a magician, so intelligent and seductive... But he was also very cruel, sadistic and merciless to others, as well as to himself."

1943

- Bowl of cherries -

Gilot was 21 and a budding painter when she first met Picasso, who was 40 years her senior and married to Russian dancer Khokhlova, in occupied France during World War II. At the time of the meeting he was also the lover of French photographer, painter and poet Maar.

The meeting took place in a Paris restaurant in the spring of 1943 when he brought a bowl of cherries to her table and an invitation to visit his studio.

Lovers for 10 years, they never married but had two children, a son, Claude, born in 1947, and a daughter, Paloma, in 1949.

He often painted her, portraying her as the radiant and haughty "Woman-Flower" in 1946. In "Femme assise" (1949), which sold for £8.5 million ($9.6 million) at auction in London in 2012, he depicted her while heavily pregnant with Paloma.

In 1948, photographer Robert Capa captured the couple on a beach, with Picasso playing in the sand with his son, dutifully carrying a shade over Gilot's head.

When she decided to walk out on him in 1953 and resume painting he took it badly.

He told her she was headed "straight for the desert". From then on his entourage snubbed her and her work.

"In France things had got rather difficult for me... leaving Picasso was seen as a big crime and I was no longer welcome," she was quoted as saying by Sotheby's in 2021.

The diminutive and slender brunette became a US citizen and did not go to his funeral in 1973.

IN HER STUDIO 1953

- Tyrannical -

Born on November 26, 1921, at Neuilly-sur-Seine to the west of Paris to a well-to-do family, she followed in her mother's footsteps starting out as a watercolour artist, before moving on to drawing and painting.

Her parents wanted her to become a lawyer, but she abandoned her studies at the age of 19. By 21 she was already one of the most respected artists of the emerging School of Paris, which grouped French and emigre artists in the capital during the first half of the 20th century.

As she developed, she increasingly produced minimalist, colourful works and over her career signed at least 1,600 canvasses and 3,600 works on paper.

In her 1964 book "Life with Picasso" she portrayed him as a tyrant. Picasso failed in a legal bid to get the book banned, and retaliated by refusing to see her and their children.

She also wrote a book in 1991 on Picasso's complicated love-hate relationship with the other giant of modern art, Matisse, with whom she was friends.

The two other men in her life were painter Luc Simon, with whom she had a daughter Aurelia, and American virologist Jonas Salk, inventor of the first polio vaccine, whom she married in 1970 and lived with in California until his death in 1995.

Gilot spent the last years of her life in New York, where she continued painting into her nineties.

In 2021 her painting "Paloma a la Guitare", a 1965 portrait of her daughter, sold for $1.3 million at Sotheby's in London.

Her work graced the walls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as well as the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Artist Francois Gilot poses with her work at a personal art exhibition in Milan, Dec. 21, 1965. Gilot, a prolific and acclaimed painter who produced art for well more than a half-century but was nonetheless more famous for her turbulent relationship with Pablo Picasso — and for leaving him — died Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in New York, where she had lived for decades. She was 101. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Dr. Jonas Salk, right, developer of the polio vaccine, and artist Francoise Gilot appear following their civil wedding at Paris Neuilly Town Hall on June 30, 1970. Gilot, a prolific and acclaimed painter who produced art for well more than a half-century but was nonetheless more famous for her turbulent relationship with Pablo Picasso — and for leaving him — died Tuesday in New York, where she had lived for decades. She was 101. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours, File)



FILE - Artist Francoise Gilot appears during an interview with Reginald Bosanquet in London on March 3, 1965, in connection with the publication of her book, "My Life With Picasso." Gilot, a prolific and acclaimed painter who produced art for well more than a half-century but was nonetheless more famous for her turbulent relationship with Pablo Picasso — and for leaving him — died Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in New York, where she had lived for decades. She was 101. (AP Photo/Bob Dear, File)

10 billion global population 'unsustainable': US climate envoy Kerry

Issued on: 07/06/2023

Oslo (AFP) – US special climate envoy John Kerry told AFP that the world's population will not be tenable in 2050, when it is projected to hit nearly 10 billion, but refrained from asking Americans to give up steaks.

Since November, the global population has officially crossed eight billion, more than three times the figure in 1950.

This has already stretched food and energy needs and supplies. UN projections say the figure will balloon to 9.7 billion in the middle of the century.

"I don't think it's sustainable personally," he said in an interview on Tuesday.

"We need to figure out how we're going to deal with the issue of sustainability and the numbers of people we're trying to take care of on the planet."

Global warming is exacerbating the problem. The landmark 2015 Paris Agreement calls for capping global warming at "well below" two degrees Celsius and 1.5C if possible.

Producing food for eight billion mouths accounts for over a fourth of greenhouse gas emissions.

Cattle rearing for human consumption, food waste and deforestation further contribute to warming, which in turn is responsible for droughts, flooding and extreme weather conditions.

"I've been to a number of African countries where they're very proud of their increased birth rate but the fact is, it's unsustainable for life today, let alone when you add the future numbers," Kerry said.

"I'm not recommending the population go down," the 79-year-old added. "I think we have the life we have on the planet. And we have to respect life and we could do it in so many better ways than we're doing now."

Experts say Africa is one of the regions worst affected by climate change, with devastating droughts and flooding, although its citizens have had barely any impact on global warming compared to Western nations.

Changing habits

Avoiding air travel, consuming less meat and improving insulation of homes are all changes that can help protect the environment.

According to a report published by Norway's environment agency Friday, the country could reduce an equivalent of 4.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions between 2024-2030 if its population of 5.5 million followed nutrition guidance by health authorities.

That guidance would see the biggest meat eaters reduce their intake to under 500 grams of red meat per week.

But Kerry wasn't about to make an appeal for people to give up their hamburgers.

"I think that those choices are up to people on their own, what they want to do, how they want to do it," he said.

"What I would recommend is that we change our practices of how we feed livestock and what we feed them and how we use farming," he said referring to new technologies in farming that reduce the negative impacts to the environment.

The former secretary of state under Barack Obama, who lost the 2004 presidential election to George W. Bush, rejected the notion of prescribed, top-down changes to everyday life as a solution to the world's challenges.

"I don't think you have to ask for a sacrifice of lifestyle in order to accomplish what we need to do," Kerry said.

"I think you can have a better lifestyle, and you can eat better food and we can feed more people if we stop wasting as much food as we waste."

WAR IS RAPE
'No Woman Feels Safe': Sexual Violence Rampant In Sudan War

By Bahira Amin

June 6, 2023
AFP

Dozens of Sudanese women have reported sexual assault -- in their homes,

 by the roadside and in commandeered hotels -- since the war erupted-


CONTAINS reports of extreme sexual violence

Zeinab was fleeing war-torn Sudan's capital to seek safety when she found herself pinned to the ground, a rifle to her chest, as a paramilitary fighter raped her.

"I was sure we were about to die," she told AFP, recounting how she, her younger sister and two other women, one with an infant daughter, were all sexually violated.

Dozens of women have reported similar attacks -- in their homes, by the roadside and in commandeered hotels -- since the war erupted in mid-April between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

A month into the war, said Zeinab, the women were fleeing Khartoum when their minibus was stopped at an RSF checkpoint.

Terrified, they were marched into a warehouse where a man "in civilian clothes who seemed to be their commander" ordered Zeinab to the ground, she said.

"I was pinned down by one man while the other raped me," she told AFP. "When he was done, they switched.

"They wanted to keep my sister with them. I begged them on my hands and knees to let her go."

The women were eventually allowed to leave and escaped to Madani, 200 kilometres (120 miles) away, where they reported the attack to police and went to a hospital.

When Zeinab later recounted their ordeal, she had found refuge in another country.

"We're not the first people this has happened to, or the last," she said.


The horrors of Sudan's conflict have been compounded by a wave of sexual violence, say survivors, medics and activists-

Sudan's war has claimed at least 1,800 lives and displaced over 1.5 million people.

The horrors of the conflict have been compounded by a wave of sexual violence, say survivors, medics and activists who spoke to AFP.

Most have requested anonymity or, like Zeinab, used a pseudonym for fear of reprisals against them and others.

Both Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, have accused their enemies of such attacks.

And human rights lawyer Jehanne Henry said that indeed both sides have committed "notorious acts of sexual violence" in the past.

The governmental Combating Violence Against Women and Children Unit has documented 49 assaults in the first two weeks of the war.

In all but six cases, survivors identified perpetrators "in RSF uniform", said unit chief Sulaima Ishaq al-Khalifa, adding that there are "new reports night and day".

"There is not a single woman in Khartoum now who feels safe, not even in her own home."

The worst fighting has raged in Khartoum and the Darfur region, where former dictator Omar al-Bashir once unleashed the notorious Janjaweed militia from which the RSF emerged.

In their scorched-earth campaign since 2003, they committed genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape, according to the International Criminal Court.


With hospitals ransacked or destroyed, Sudanese volunteers set up a makeshift emergency room in a school building in Omdurman-

Now "mass rapes" are again being reported in Darfur, said Adjaratou Ndiaye, the UN Women representative in Sudan.

In one case, 12 women were stopped by gunmen in late April and ordered to join in looting a warehouse, said Amna, a local human rights defender.

Once they were inside, they heard the doors lock.

"They were all raped," said Amna. "They had men with them, whom fighters in RSF uniforms forced to rape the women."

Amna said she and other defenders have recorded more cases in Darfur, with the youngest victim aged 14.

"Women and girls are being abducted to a hotel the RSF has commandeered, where they're kept for two or three days, raped repeatedly."

Documented cases, like wider casualty counts, are likely "the tip of the iceberg", said a Sudanese Women Rights Action (SUWRA) group researcher.

Medics say many victims receive no care as hospitals have been ransacked or destroyed.


Many cases have been reported by civil society groups known as resistance committees, which long campaigned for democracy.

In one attack in May, reported by one group and corroborated by multiple sources, RSF fighters raped a 15-year-old girl on a northern Khartoum street.


Sudan conflict: over 1,800 victims

Sophie RAMIS, Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA, Laurence SAUBADU

In another case, a woman in her 30s in eastern Khartoum "was at home alone with her kids when she heard her downstairs neighbours screaming," said the SUWRA researcher.

Three women there were gang-raped before the fighters made their way upstairs, the survivor told SUWRA.

"Four armed men broke the door down, and then one of them locked himself in a room with her."

Most survivors say they were assaulted by fighters of the RSF, who are embedded in residential neighbourhoods.

Khalifa said the unit had also received news "of assaults by perpetrators in army uniform" but had "not yet been able to confirm" these.

A resistance committee member said in another attack last month three army soldiers stormed a northern Khartoum home, "beat the son and raped both mother and daughter".

"Their neighbours heard them screaming for hours."

A lawyer who has long documented sexual assaults by security forces, said the scourge now impacts "every segment of Sudanese society".

"We have seen the rape of young girls and old women, mothers with their children," she said, adding that to the perpetrators "it doesn't matter".

Amid dire shortages, health workers have struggled to provide HIV medication or emergency contraceptives.


An abandoned hospital in Sudan's West Darfur state, one the areas that have seen the worst fighting-

"The situation is catastrophic," said a member of the Central Committee of Sudanese Pharmacists.

Activists and medics are trying to document every attack. The aim, said the lawyer, is "to ensure there is no impunity".

But the task is dangerous.

"Every time you walk down the street, you could be stopped and accused of being an informant for either side," said one activist.

After several colleagues were violently interrogated, Amna said that "they know what we're doing, and now the activists themselves are in danger."

Zeinab hopes the rapists will one day face justice, but voices resignation.

"I shared my testimony to try and stop this happening to others, to tell them the road isn't safe," she said.

"But even when I filed the police report, I knew nothing would come of it. They're never going to get the men who did this."

© Agence France-Presse

Colombia Wiretapping Scandal Deepens With AG In Crosshairs

By AFP - Agence France Presse

June 6, 2023

An illegal wiretapping scandal that has engulfed members of President Gustavo Petro's entourage deepened Tuesday with the country's top prosecutor accused of colluding with government detractors.

The South American country's ruling Historic Pact coalition announced it would ask Congress to investigate Attorney General Francisco Barbosa for allegedly instigating acts of "insubordination and disobedience."

Barbosa last week announced an investigation into claims of wrongdoing against Petro's chief of staff Laura Sarabia and ambassador to Venezuela Armando Benedetti, both since forced to step down.

"Rather than acting as head of the prosecutor’s office, (Barbosa) has decided to intervene openly in politics and... sadly become a spokesman for the opposition," senator Maria Jose Pizarro told reporters.

David Racero, leader of the House of Representatives, added Barbosa "may be using his power... against this government."

Sarabia and Benedetti came under scrutiny after Sarabia's nanny -- who previously also worked for Benedetti -- allegedly fell victim to illegal surveillance.

Benedetti had said he fired the nanny, Marelbys Meza, in June last year on suspicion of stealing thousands of dollars and after she failed a polygraph test.

Sarabia hired Meza last August.

In January this year, the nanny was allegedly made to take another polygraph test, this time on suspicion of stealing $7,000 from Sarabia's house.

To gain access to her calls, a false police report was allegedly used to link the nanny to organized crime, according to Barbosa, who was appointed in 2020 under Petro's rightwing predecessor Ivan Duque.

Meza has also claimed she was subjected to illegal interrogation and a lie detector test in January at a building annexed to the presidential palace in Bogota.

Petro's former top aides have since accused one another of all kinds of misdemeanors.

Sarabia claimed Benedetti, her former boss, had set her up by introducing her to Meza and then blackmailed her into supporting his bid for a ministerial post in exchange for making the nanny's claims disappear.

Benedetti, in turn, accused Sarabia -- whom he had introduced to Petro -- of "abuse of power, kidnapping (of Meza) and intimidation."

On Sunday, the newspaper La Revista Semana published an expletive-riddled recording of Benedetti threatening Sarabia with his knowledge of alleged illegal campaign funding to the tune of $3.5 million.

Benedetti, a key aide to Petro's successful 2022 election campaign, was reported saying they would all go to jail if he is pushed into spilling the beans.

Colombia's national electoral council (CNE) has opened an investigation into Benedetti's claims.

He later said the recordings had been "manipulated" and offered an apology to Petro.

Late Monday, Benedetti took to Twitter to explain that "in an act of weakness and sadness" about his declining political fortunes, "I let myself be carried away by rage and drink."

Petro has denied any impropriety, and denounced, in response to Benedetti's tweet, "an attempt to stop the fight against impunity."

lv/llu/mlr/caw

US weighs in on Roger Waters antisemitism debate, says artist has long history of denigrating Jews

SLANDER; HE IS ANTI-ZIONIST, 

PRO-PALESTINE

By Matthew Lee | AP

June 6, 2023 

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is weighing in on the controversy over Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, saying his recent performances in Germany were antisemitic, an assessment shared by many in Israel and the pro-Israel community.

The State Department said Tuesday that Waters has “a long track record of using antisemitic tropes” and a concert he gave late last month in Germany “contained imagery that is deeply offensive to Jewish people and minimized the Holocaust.”

The comments came in a written response to a question posed at Monday’s State Department press briefing about whether the administration agreed with criticism of Rogers from the U.S. special envoy to combat antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt.

“Special Envoy Lipstadt’s quote-tweet speaks for itself,” the department said.

“The concert in question, which took place in Berlin, contained imagery that is deeply offensive to Jewish people and minimized the Holocaust,” the department said. “The artist in question has a long track record of using antisemitic tropes to denigrate Jewish people.”

In a May 24 tweet after the concert in Berlin, during which Waters appeared on stage in a costume reminiscent of Nazi-era Germany, Lipstadt denounced the musician by echoing comments from EU antisemitism envoy Katharina von Schnurbein, who is German.

“I wholeheartedly concur with @EUAntisemitism ’s condemnation of Roger Waters and his despicable Holocaust distortion,” Lipstadt wrote in reply to a tweet from von Schnurbein.

Von Schnurbein had taken issue with Waters’ performance in Berlin as well as his previous comments related to Israel and the Holocaust.

“I am sick & disgusted by Roger Waters’ obsession to belittle and trivialize the Shoah & the sarcastic way in which he delights in trampling on the victims, systematically murdered by the Nazis,” von Schnurbein wrote. “In Germany. Enough is enough.”

Shortly after the concert, police in Berlin said they had opened an investigation of Waters on suspicion of incitement over the costume he wore.

Images on social media showed Waters firing an imitation machine gun while dressed in a long black coat with a red armband. Police confirmed that the costume could constitute a glorification, justification or approval of Nazi rule and therefore a disturbance of the public peace.

Waters rejected those accusations in a statement on Facebook and Instagram, saying “the elements of my performance that have been questioned are quite clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice, and bigotry in all its forms.”

He claimed that ”attempts to portray those elements as something else are disingenuous and politically motivated.” Waters has also drawn the ire of the pro-Israel community for his outspoken support of the BDS movement, which calls for boycotts and sanctions against Israel.

China's Liang and Li given lifetime snooker bans for match-fixing

AFP
Tue, June 6, 2023 

Yan Bingtao is among 10 Chinese players handed bans of varying lengths for match fixing and betting

Chinese pair Liang Wenbo and Li Hang were given lifetime bans from snooker on Tuesday for match-fixing after a "heart-breaking" corruption scandal rocked the sport.

In total, 10 Chinese players were handed bans of varying lengths by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) on Tuesday.

Lu Ning, Zhao Xintong, Yan Bingtao, Chen Zifan, Zhang Jiankang, Bai Langning, Zhao Jianbo and Chang Bingyu were the other players suspended.

Yan, the 2021 Masters champion, has been banned for five years until December 2027 after his initial seven and a half-year suspension was reduced following his early admissions and guilty plea.

Former UK Championship winner Zhao Xintong will serve a 20-month suspension, reduced from two-and-a-half years after his early admissions and guilty plea, that ends in September 2024.

The charges included manipulating games, approaching players to cheat, betting on snooker and fixing a match.

"It has been heart-breaking to see some young, talented players fall foul of the WPBSA conduct regulations through pressure exerted by two senior players (Liang and Li)," WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson said.

"This behaviour has been recognised as wholly unacceptable by the imposition of two lifetime bans from participating in recognised snooker in any way.

"This outcome must be taken as a lesson to those who think they can avoid detection. If any player is involved in fixing a snooker match, they will be caught and will face severe penalties."

World number 72 Liang, who won the 2016 English Open, and world number 71 Li must also pay £43,000 ($53,000) in costs.

The International Betting Integrity Association became aware of wrongdoing in August 2022 and a detailed investigation was carried out by the WPBSA Integrity Unit and Sportradar.

Liang was found to have "fixed or been a party to fix five snooker matches" between July 24 and September 28, 2022.

- Threats and a cover-up -

The panel determined that the 36-year-old "solicited, induced, enticed, persuaded, encouraged or facilitated players to fix nine matches" between July 24 and December 13, 2022.

Liang was accused of behaving "in conduct that was corrupt by threatening another player and making him delete his messages on his phone".

He was also found to have threatened another player to seek to persuade him not to assist the WPBSA enquiry.

When aware of the WPBSA enquiry, Liang was also found to have covered up or attempted to cover up his involvement in match-fixing by deleting messages on his phone and by requesting other players deleted messages.

Li has been found to be in breach of the regulations as he fixed or was a party to fix five snooker matches between July 24 and September 29, 2022.

The WPBSA also found he "solicited, induced, enticed, persuaded, encouraged or facilitated" players to fix seven matches between July 24 and December 13, 2022.

He was also found to have bet on snooker matches on or after September 1, 2022 when aware of the WPBSA enquiry, while covering up or attempting to cover up his involvement in match-fixing.

Yan, ranked 23, admitted he fixed four matches he played in and also bet on snooker matches.

The other players all accepted fixing matches except for world number 11 Zhao Xintong, who accepted he was a party to another player fixing two matches and that he had bet on snooker.

smg/kca/ea

TENNIS

'I Don't Support The War, I Don't Support Lukashenko': Sabalenka


By Dave JAMES

June 6, 2023

Belarus tennis star Aryna Sabalenka outrightly condemned her country's role in the war in Ukraine on Tuesday and insisted she is not a supporter of president Alexander Lukashenko.

"I'm not supporting the war, meaning I don't support Lukashenko right now," the world number two said after reaching the French Open semi-finals by defeating Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

The 25-year-old had come under increasing pressure to distance herself from her close relationship with Lukashenko, a key military ally of Moscow in the ongoing conflict.

"We played a lot of Fed Cups in Belarus. He (Lukashenko) was in our matches taking pictures with us after the match. But nothing bad was happening that time in Belarus or in Ukraine or in Russia," she told reporters.

Sabalenka had cancelled two previous press conferences at Roland Garros, claiming she didn't feel "safe" after facing a barrage of questions over her links to her country's strongman leader.

As Australian Open champion and potential world number one after the French Open, she was urged by Ukraine rivals to use her platform to individually stand up against the war.

"I don't want my country to be involved in any conflict. I said it many times. You have my position. You have my answer," she said.

"I don't want sport to be involved in politics, because I'm just a 25-year-old tennis player."

Sabalenka has had close associations with Lukashenko in the past.

In 2018, she requested a one-to-one meeting with him, according to Belarusian state news agency Belta.

The following year, in an interview with the country's largest independent news site Tut.by -- since shuttered following a brutal crackdown after historic demonstrations against Lukashenko -- she spoke glowingly of the Belarusian leader.

On December 31, 2020, after a year marked by the crushing of pro-democracy demonstrations, Sabalenka toasted the new year with Lukashenko in Minsk.

At the end of Tuesday's match, Svitolina chose not to shake the hand of Sabalenka, a common practice now in the sport when a Ukrainian player meets a Russian or Belarusian opponent.

Svitolina was booed by the crowd while Sabalenka stood in vain waiting at the net.

"It just was an instinct like I always do after all my matches," said Sabalenka of her decision to make the traditional approach to the net, insisting she had "big respect" for her opponent.

When asked if Sabalenka had inflamed the situation by staring her down, Svitolina replied: "Yeah, I think so, unfortunately."

"I don't know why she was waiting, because my statements were clear enough about the handshake," added Svitolina, 28, who said she was not shocked by being jeered by a Paris crowd that had taken her to their hearts following her marriage to French player Gael Monfils.

"I was expecting that. Whoever in this situation loses, I guess, gets booed. It was not a surprise for me."

Sabalenka had defeated another Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the first round. Kostyuk also refused to shake hands and she too was booed.

"Maybe she's (Sabalenka) not on social media during the tournament, but it is pretty clear. She played Marta. So is quite simple," said Svitolina.

Svitolina said she and her compatriots will continue their stance in the grass court season which culminates at Wimbledon next month.

"I won't sell my country for the likes of people," she said.

Svitolina also demanded Sabalenka be fined for refusing to attend press conferences following her third and fourth round matches in Paris.

Two years ago, former world number one Naomi Osaka was fined $15,000 for not honouring French Open media commitments.

"It should be equal for everyone. I faced difficulties, I faced difficulty also with the question about Novak (Djokovic), about his statement about Kosovo. So I'm not escaping."

She added: "I have my strong position, and I'm vocal about that. I'm not going try to win likeness of the people by betraying my strong belief and strongest position for my country."


Sabalenka justified boycotting media briefings, claiming she "felt really disrespected", likening her opening appearances to "a political TV show".

Her decision to return to the press room was taken partly to avoid reporters "putting words in my mouth".


dj/mw

Fallout from Senegal unrest hits economy

Laurent LOZANO
Tue, June 6, 2023 

Destruction: People walk past a burnt-out car in Dakar

As Senegalese struggle with the aftermath of deadly protests sparked by the conviction of an opposition leader, attention is shifting to the impact on the nation's economy.

Two days of violence last week have cost "billions of CFA francs" -- tens of millions of dollars -- and political risk is threatening this year's growth targets, said consultant economist Mansour Sambe.

The West African state has long surfed on its reputation for stability in a region plagued by coups.

But that cosy image has been dented by clashes between the security forces and supporters of firebrand presidential candidate Ousmane Sonko.


Sixteen people died and hundreds were injured or arrested after Sonko on Thursday was sentenced to two years on charges of "corrupting" a young woman.

That verdict was the outcome of a two-year case for rape charges that transfixed the country, triggering sporadic unrest that had already claimed a dozen lives.

In a country that has only a meagre social safety net, many Senegalese live in precarity and eye disruption with dread.

- 'If you work, you eat' -

Magaye Gaye, a 19-year-old toiletries seller at the Sandaga market in Dakar, said he had closed his stall on the eve of the trial's outcome.

Several days without business had left him with almost nothing.

"I have spent all my savings just to survive," he told AFP.

Clothing seller Modou Gueye, 46, was in a similar predicament.

"Clients have stayed away because they are afraid," he said Monday. "We live from one day to the next. If you have work, you eat, if you have no work, you go hungry."

For many poor Senegalese, the coming Muslim festival of Tabaski is a daunting moment, as it requires the purchase of lamb for the traditional family feast.

Some have been badly hit by the government move at the weekend to suspend mobile internet access after it blocked access to social media, since millions use mobile phones to transfer money.

"The banks have been closed since Wednesday," Ady Thiam, a 45-year-old accountant, said while waiting in line on Monday.

"You can't get your wages or your pension. Daily workers aren't being paid. People can't get medical treatment," he said.

"People have so little anyway -- this is what causes them to revolt."

- 'Political risks' -

Further tension seems almost inevitable.

The next flashpoint could be when Sonko -- believed to be at his home in Dakar, surrounded by police -- is taken into custody to serve his sentence.

Then there are the potentially stormy waters of next year's presidential elections, for which Sonko now appears to be ineligible.

"The biggest danger for investors are political risks," Sambe said.

Before the unrest, economists had been expecting growth of nine to 10 percent for 2023, he said.

But with uncertainty hanging over the 2024 election, "the entire second half (of 2023) could be lost", he said.

Sambe urged President Macky Sall to intervene, saying, "He has to reassure the public".

- Spotlight on Sall -

But Sall's own credibility is on the line.

Sonko's supporters say their champion, like other Sall rivals before him, is being persecuted by a manipulated judicial system -- a charge the president denies.

But Sall himself has stoked uncertainty, refusing to say clearly whether he will bid for a third presidential term, a move critics say would breach the constitution.

Of all the crises that modern Senegal has faced, the present one "is the easiest to resolve," three leading intellectuals said in an open letter on Monday.

"All it would need is for one man to say, 'I am not going to seek a third term, which would dishonour my word, my country and its constitution'."

The letter was penned by award-winning writers Mohamed Mbougar Sarr and Boubacar Boris Diop, and Felwine Sarr, who co-wrote a landmark report on the restitution of African cultural artefacts.

Sall on Monday paid a surprise late-night visit to Serigne Bassirou Mountakha Mbacke, the spiritual leader of an influential Muslim fraternity, the daily Soleil reported on Tuesday.

"The wisdom of his advice in some situations can help restore peace and stability," it said.

Meanwhile, Dakar announced it was closing several foreign consulates -- notably in Paris, Bordeaux, Milan and New York -- which have come under attack amid the unrest.

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Senegal temporarily shuts consulates abroad following attacks in several cities
mw/kb 06.06.2023,

Senegalese protest in New York City. June 5, 2023. Photo: @afrokingstyle

Senegal has temporarily closed its consulates abroad following attacks on diplomatic missions in Bordeaux, Milan, Paris, and New York among others, the foreign affairs ministry said on Tuesday.

The closures were announced in the wake of deadly unrest that broke out after a leading opposition figure, Ousmane Sonko, was handed a two-year jail sentence last week that is likely to prevent him from running for president in elections next year.

At least 16 people were killed and hundreds injured as protesters clashed with security forces on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, making it the worst unrest to hit the West African country in decades.

Private and public structures and businesses were looted and destroyed during the riots, including university buildings, petrol stations, banks, supermarkets, administrative buildings, and bus stops.

Senegalese gov’t cuts mobile internet access amid deadly rioting

Access to mobile internet services, which the government restricted over the weekend, was restored on Tuesday following three days of calm.

The foreign affairs ministry did not link the attacks that justified provisionally closing Senegal’s consulates to Sonko’s sentence or the ensuing violence.

“This precautionary measure was taken following a series of aggressions ... that caused serious damage,” it said in a statement.

The general consulate in Milan was hit particularly hard, with passport-making machines and identity cards destroyed, the ministry said.

Services will resume once working materials and security are restored, it added.

Italy’s public broadcaster Rai News reported an assault on Milan’s consulate on Monday during which it said around 40 Sonko supporters gathered outside the building with flags and anti-government signs.

They broke in and ransacked the premises, attacked the consul general, and started a fire before police intervened.

Videos on social media on Friday showed a small group of protesters in Paris throwing flour at a Senegal embassy car and its passengers. Reuters did not verify the footage.
However other footage has shown that throughout most of the protest, the crowd appeared to be peaceful.

Protesters appeared in front of the embassy again on Tuesday, this time spraypainting messages denouncing the ruling President of Senegal, Macky Sall.

Sonko’s Pastef party has repeatedly urged supporters to take to the streets in strongly worded statements that have also called on the diaspora to join the “resistance”.

Political unrest in Senegal


Senegal opposition party rejects Court’s ruling, calls it ‘politically motivated’

The party of Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko on Tuesday rejected a court ruling that could preclude him from running in next year’s...see more

The legal issues embroiling Sonko first triggered protests in 2021, when he was briefly detained on rape charges he and his supporters denounce as a political ploy to prevent him from running. The government and justice system deny this.

Judges cleared him of rape last week but found him guilty of “corrupting youth” as the accusations involved a woman who was 20 at the time.

Sonko, who has become the face of growing frustration against President Macky Sall, is appealing the outcome of a separate libel case that could also hinder his political intentions.

Rights groups have accused security forces of using excessive force and firing live ammunition rounds at demonstrators, which they deny.

Professional league football matches were suspended until further notice on Tuesday due to the security situation, the national football federation said.
source: 

REUTERS

  

Senegal shuts overseas consulates after attacks in several cities including Paris and Bordeaux

Senegal has temporarily closed its consulates abroad following attacks on diplomatic missions in Bordeaux, Milan, Paris and New York among others, the foreign affairs ministry said on Tuesday.


Issued on: 06/06/2023 -

A woman walks past a burned out and ransacked supermarket in the popular Yoff Neighbourhood of Dakar, on June 5, 2023, as protest calmed down four days after a court in Senegal sentenced opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, to two years in prison on charges of "corrupting youth" but acquitted him of rape and issuing death threats. © John Wessels, AFP

The closures were announced in the wake of deadly unrest that broke out after a leading opposition figure, Ousmane Sonko, was handed a two-year jail sentence last week that is likely to prevent him from running for president in elections next year.

At least 16 people were killed and hundreds injured as protesters clashed with security forces on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, making it the worst unrest to hit the West African country in decades.

Private and public structures and businesses were looted and destroyed during the riots, including university buildings, petrol stations, banks, supermarkets, administrative buildings and bus stops.

The ministry did not link the attacks that justified provisionally closing Senegal's consulates to Sonko's sentence or the ensuing violence.

"This precautionary measure was taken following a series of aggressions... that caused serious damage," it said in a statement.

The general consulate in Milan was particularly hard-hit, with passport making machines and identity cards destroyed, the ministry said.

Services will resume once working materials and security are restored, it added.

Italy's public broadcaster Rai News reported an assault on Milan's consulate on Monday during which it said around 40 Sonko supporters gathered outside the building with flags and anti-government signs.

They broke in and ransacked the premises, attacked the consul general and started a fire before police intervened.

On Friday, videos on social media showed a small group of protesters in Paris throwing flour at a Senegal embassy car and its passengers. Reuters did not verify the footage.

Sonko's Pastef party has repeatedly urged supporters to take to the streets in strongly-worded statements that have also called on the diaspora to join the "resistance".

The legal issues embroiling Sonko first triggered protests in 2021, when he was briefly detained on rape charges he and his supporters denounce as a political ploy to prevent him from running. The government and justice system deny this.

Judges cleared him of rape last week but found him guilty of "corrupting youth" as the accusations involved a woman who was 20 at the time.

Sonko, who has become the face of growing frustration against President Macky Sall, is appealing the outcome of a separate libel case that could also hinder his political intentions.

Rights groups have accused security forces of using excessive force and firing live ammunition rounds at demonstrators, which they deny.

Meanwhile the Senegalese government has restored access to mobile internet across the country on Tuesday, two days after it was cut in certain areas due to deadly rioting, the Communications Ministry said in a statement.

Access to several social media and messaging platforms had been restricted since Thursday, when the sentencing of Sonko sparked unrest.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)