REVANCHIST  KULAKS

With blaring horns rumbling engines, farmers in tractors block Brussels to protest EU policies

Associated Press
Tue, March 26, 2024 





A woman on a bike rides between two tractors near the European Quarter, during a demonstration of farmers outside of a meeting of EU agriculture ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Tuesday marks the third time this year that farmers will take to the streets of Brussels with their tractors. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

BRUSSELS (AP) — Dozens of tractors on Tuesday sealed off streets close to European Union headquarters where the 27 EU agriculture ministers were planning to discuss the crisis in the sector that has led to months of protests across the bloc.

The farmers were protesting anything from what they see as excessive red tape to increased environmental measures, cheap imports and unfair trading practices. “Let us make a living from our profession,” read one billboard on a huge tractor blocking a main thoroughfare.

Even if smaller than previous demonstrations, the impact on the Belgian capital was sizable during the morning rush hour, and authorities asked commuters to stay out of Brussels and work from home as much as possible.


With protests taking place from Finland to Greece, Poland, and Ireland, the farmers have already won a slew of concessions from EU and national authorities, from a loosening of controls on farms to a weakening of pesticide and environmental rules.

Earlier this month, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, proposed weakening or cutting rules in areas like crop rotation, soil cover protection and tillage methods. Small farmers, representing some two-thirds of the workforce and the most active within the continent-wide protest movement, will be exempt from some controls and penalties under the new rules.

Environmentalists and climate activists say the change in EU policies under the duress of protesting farmers is regrettable. They say the short-term concessions will come to haunt the bloc in a generation when climate change will hit the continent even harder.

Politically, the bloc has moved to the right over the past year. The plight of farmers has become a rallying cry for populists and conservatives who claim EU climate and farm policies are little more than bureaucratic bungling from elitist politicians who have lost any feeling for soil and land.

EU agricultural ministers to try and get farmers back to their fields

DPA
Tue, March 26, 2024 

Farmers with tractors demonstrate through the streets of Granada during a protest. Álex Cámara/EUROPA PRESS/dpa


Farmers are bringing their tractors back to Brussels on Tuesday to protest EU regulations and falling profits while agricultural ministers meet to find a way to appease them.

For weeks, angry farmers have been blockading roads and protesting in front of government offices across Europe, including the EU's Brussels headquarters.

Their actions are already having an effect, with the European Commission shelving a controversial fertilizer ban and proposing to loosen conditions to access subsidies from the bloc's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Farmers rely on CAP subsidies to stay afloat but payments are conditional on strict environmental protection rules. The commission proposed to ease rules for land use and crop rotation on March 15.

There is a lengthy process ahead before the proposed changes can be added to EU law, as the European Parliament and EU member states need to agree amendments together.

Another matter to be discussed at Tuesday's meeting is the reintroduction of EU tariffs on certain agricultural imports from Ukraine like eggs, poultry, maize and honey.

The EU lifted tariffs on Ukrainian agricultural imports in 2022 to support the Ukrainian economy after Russia's full-scale invasion of the country in February of that year.

But farmers in the EU complained about the sharp rise in imports. They say they want protection from unfair competition, as Ukrainian farmers can produce food at lower costs - not least because they don't have to comply with EU regulations.


EU countries split over nature law in latest blow to green agenda

Kate Abnett
Updated Mon, March 25, 2024 

By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's flagship policy to restore damaged nature is hanging in the balance, with a vote to pass the law on Monday cancelled after Hungary unexpectedly withdrew its support for the bill.

The vote, scheduled to take place at a meeting of EU countries' environment ministers in Brussels, was called off after Hungary said it would no longer back the policy - wiping out the already-slim majority of countries in favour and leaving ministers struggling to decide their next steps.

The nature law is the latest EU environmental policy to come under fire as policymakers try to respond to months of angry farmers' protests over complaints including strict green EU regulations. The EU has already weakened numerous green rules to attempt to quell the protests.

"The agricultural sector is a very important sector, not only in Hungary, but everywhere in Europe," Hungary's state secretary for environment Aniko Raisz told reporters. She said Hungary's concerns included the costs.

Alain Maron, the Belgian environment minister who chaired Monday's talks, said negotiations would continue but it was not clear what changes to the law could win over opponents.

"We don't know exactly what are some reasons to be against this law for certain countries... it's possible that they change their mind," he told a press conference.

The law would be among the EU's biggest environmental policies, requiring countries to introduce measures restoring nature on a fifth of their land and sea by 2030. Cancelling a policy at this late stage of EU lawmaking is highly unusual.

Some EU diplomats said countries had already watered down the law during negotiations, and suggested Budapest's opposition was purely political, rather than over a specific policy issue.

EU environment commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius said shelving the law would send a "disastrous signal" about the EU's credibility, especially after the bloc pushed other countries in U.N. negotiations to back stronger targets to protect nature.

"We are fooling ourselves if we pretend that we can win our fight against climate change without nature," Sinkevicius said.

Opposed to it are Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. Austria, Belgium, Finland and Poland intend to abstain in the vote.

Any one of those eight countries changing position could allow the law to pass. The rest of the EU's 27 member states support the policy.

Spanish climate minister Teresa Ribera said it would be a "huge irresponsibility" to reduce efforts to tackle worsening nature loss and climate change.

The law's aim is to turn around the 81% of Europe's natural habitats that are classed as in poor condition. But the policy has faced a backlash from some governments and lawmakers concerned it would impose burdensome rules on farmers, or clash with other industries.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett; additional reporting by Inti Landauro, Bart Meijer; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Ros Russell)

A major European nature protection plan stumbles at the final hurdle. 'How could we give that up?'

RAF CASERT
Updated Mon, March 25, 2024 





Tractors are parked in market square during "a food march" in Kuopio, central Finland, on Friday March 22, 2024 as farmers protest against perceived inequalities in food production profits. (Akseli Muraja/Lehtikuva via AP)

BRUSSELS (AP) — A major European Union plan to better protect nature in the 27-nation bloc and fight climate change was indefinitely postponed Monday, underscoring how farmers' protests sweeping the continent have had a deep influence on politics.

The deadlock on the bill, which could undermine the EU's global stature on the issue, came less than three months before the European Parliament election in June.

The member states were supposed to give final approval to the biodiversity bill on Monday following months of proceedings through the EU’s institutional maze. But what was supposed to be a mere rubber stamp has now turned into its possible perpetual shelving.

“How could we give that up? How could we say ‘We decided not to restore nature,’" a disappointed Irish Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said. “Not deliver on the protection of biodiversity is a shocking statement to the rest of the world,” he added, urging diplomatic pressure so that the bill could belatedly still be approved.

The chances of that happening weren't looking good.

"It is clear to everyone that there is this huge deadlock. And it is not going to be easy to get out of this considering the upcoming elections,” Dutch Climate Minister Rob Jetten said.

The Nature Restoration plan is a part of the EU’s European Green Deal that seeks to establish the world’s most ambitious climate and biodiversity targets, and make the bloc the global point of reference on all climate issues.

The bill is part of an overall project that aims for Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, demanding short and medium-term changes and sacrifices from all parts of society to reap the benefits in a generation.

“If you want to reach climate neutrality, you also have to look in the broader perspective of protecting biodiversity, strengthening the nature in Europe,” Jetten said, stressing that such initiatives were necessary.

Ryan agreed.

“It's all connected," he said. "You cannot put climate change to one side and forget nature restoration.”

Even if the plan had a rough ride through the EU’s approval process, the watered-down version was supposed to sail through the final vote.

Under the complicated voting rules, a qualified majority representing 15 of the 27 member states and 65% of the population was needed. It was thought that threshold was safe, until Monday.

“It seems that we don't have a qualified majority anymore because ... Hungary has changed its vote. We have to understand why they do that,” said Alain Maron, a Belgian regional climate minister who chaired the meeting of the EU environment ministers.

The change of heart follows weeks of relentless protests from farmers across the bloc who have argued that reams of environmental laws governing the way they work are driving them toward bankruptcy at a time when food security and self-sufficiency are becoming essential again as Russia's war on Ukraine rages on.

“It is very important to keep flexibility for member states,” said Aniko Raisz, Hungary's environmental minister. When asked if her country could change its position again, Raisz said she “can't promise anything,” while stressing the importance of the agricultural sector across Europe.

"We have to be realistic, and we have to keep in mind all these sectors,” she said.

Monday’s postponement was the EU’s latest concession in reaction to protests that have affected the daily lives of tens of millions of EU citizens and cost businesses tens of millions of euros because of transportation delays. Others have included shelving legislation on tighter pesticide rules, loosening checks and controls on farms, and requirements to let some land lie fallow.

Under the plan, member states would have to meet restoration targets for specific habitats and species, to cover at least 20% of the region’s land and sea areas by 2030. But quarrels over exemptions and flexibility clauses allowing members to skirt the rules plagued negotiations.

Last month, the bill was adopted in European Parliament by a 329-275 vote with 24 abstentions after the center-right Christian Democratic European People’s Party decided to vote against it. Environmentalists and the Greens group were in rapture, thinking it was the last stumbling block.

Despite the long droughts, big floods and heat waves that have swept through many areas in Europe, the postponement of any vote signals a possible pause on such environmental actions to protect economic competitiveness.

Farmers ride tractors into central London in major protest over trade deals

Alexander Butler
Mon, March 25, 2024


Tractor-riding farmers have descended on Westminster to protest against trading arrangments they claim will “decimate” British farming and jeapordise UK food security.

Campaign groups Save British Farming and Fairness for Farmers of Kent have assembled a “go-slow” convoy around parliament with organisers expecting 50 to 100 tractors as well as other farm vehicles.

A few hundred people and six tractors sounding their horns were seen by The Independent at College Green at around 6.30pm on Monday.

One tractor could be seen in front of Big Ben with a banner reading “Save UK food security” draped over its front, as farmers stoodby holding placards.

Another could be seen with a banner reading: “Stop substandard imports” as protesters held placards saying “Beep for freedom”.

Farmers are protesting at Westminster over trading arrangements they claim will ‘decimate’ British farming (AFP/Getty)

Wiltshire beef and arable farmer Liz Webster said: “In 2019, this government was elected with a mandate to uphold our standards and deliver a ready-made deal with the EU which would see British agriculture boom. It is now entirely obvious that they have totally betrayed us all.

“Polling shows that the public back British farming and food and want to maintain our high food standards and support local producers.

“We need a radical change of policy and an urgent exit from these appalling trade deals which will decimate British food.”

Farmers loop around Parliament Square in Westminster (Getty)

Organisers have also criticised labelling that allows products to bear a union flag when they have not been grown or reared in Britain.

Ms Webster claimed the current situation was “like going out with the English football team to the World Cup and saying ‘off you go, you’ve got chains on your legs and chains on your hands’. We are completely and utterly disadvantaged”.

Trade deals with New Zealand, Australia, and 11 other countries after entry to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, an Asia-Pacific trade bloc, along with a lack of import checks, were allowing lower standard foods into the country, she added.

Organisers claim British farmers are ‘utterly’ disadvantaged within current trade deals (Getty)

Jeff Gibson, founder of Kent Fairness for Farmers, said: “It’s so important that our message about substandard imports, dishonest labelling and concerns for food security is heard.

“With an election looming, we want to ensure the next incoming government takes up our cause.”

Geoffrey Philpott, a cauliflower farmer in east Kent, who is bringing three tractors to the rally, said: “I hope to be farming for many years to come, but if things don’t change, I won’t be and I won’t be employing the 14 people who work for me.

“Then we will be reliant on foreign produce that will not have the high standard of UK production. Once that happens, we could be held to ransom over supply and pricing.”

Farmers take part in a tractor ‘go-slow’ through Parliament Square (PA)

It comes after similar demonstrations in Kent saw dozens of tractors clog roads around the port of Dover in a protest against cheap imports in February.

French farmers also moved tractors to block routes in Paris earlier this year, urging the government to do more to protect the country’s agricultural sector from foreign competition, rising costs and low pay.

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs was approached for comment.

Tractors bring rush-hour chaos to London as farmers stage protest

Albert Tait
Mon, March 25, 2024 

Farmers protest at Westminster - Vuk Valcic/Shutterstock


Farmers brought rush-hour chaos to Westminster on Monday as dozens of tractors descended on central London streets.

Tractors carrying Union flags or towing haybales displaying the message “Back British Farmers” caused tailbacks as they took part in a “go-slow” convoy to protest over risks to food security.

Amid growing fury from the farming industry at what it says are “substandard imports and dishonest labelling”, around 70 tractors carrying signs reading “no farmers, no food, no future” filtered past Downing Street and Parliament Square from around 6pm.

Amid a series of demands for an end to new trade deals, which farmers claim have hurt their interests, Downing Street made it clear on Monday night that it would be willing to pause trade talks if UK interests were not being furthered.

The campaign groups Save British Farming and Fairness for Farmers of Kent launched the protests over concerns about increasing difficulties faced by the farming industry, which they say are leaving the nation’s food security at risk.

They called for an end to trade deals they say are allowing imports of food produced to standards that would be illegal in the UK and are undercutting British farmers.

Organisers also criticised labelling that allows products to bear a Union flag when they have not been grown or reared in Britain.

The French ambassador's car is caught in central London traffic as the farmers protest - Leon Neal/Getty Images

Protesters gathered at the A20 in Wrotham, Kent, before travelling 25 miles into London, where they met at New Covent Garden Market in Nine Elms, south west London, before making the journey towards Westminster, where they continued to drive around the area into the evening.

At one point the farmers were greeted by Nigel Farage, the former Brexit Party leader, who gave them a thumbs up and spoke to a driver.

Around 70 tractors drove around Westminster, carrying signs with messages including “we need your support”, “fairness to British farmers” and “stop killing farming”.

They were conveyed by police on motorbikes while officers on foot directed traffic. Long queues of cars formed as the protest, combined with rush hour traffic, caused delays.

As they reached Westminster and slowly moved down Victoria Embankment at speeds of 15mph, the tractors were cheered and applauded by pedestrians.

Lines of tractors pass the Cenotaph in central London on Monday - Paul Grover for The Telegraph

Farmers had travelled from around the UK and as far as Northern Ireland to take part in the rally. Among them was Chris, 54, who shouted to The Telegraph from his tractor that he was “fed up with politicians” and said: “We’re showing them that we’ve had enough.”

Another farmer said: “It was very important for me to come and show the Government the outrage they are causing farming communities.”

Those cheering on the tractors included Kate Bastable, 53, who had travelled from Tunbridge Wells, in Kent, with two of her children.

Her husband, oldest son and brother-in-law had left in their tractors earlier in the day and were part of the convoy, which Mrs Bastable said was the first time the vehicles had ever left the farm. “This is for our children and their future,” she said. “We have been farmers all our lives. We just want to be treated fairly.”

She was joined at the protest by her sister, Ruth Pierson, 46, and four of their children, Andrew, 14, Verity, 13, Anna, 11, and nine-year-old Jenny. When asked whether they wanted to be farmers, all four children shouted: “Yes!”

Some of those gathered on the pavement were holding signs protesting against Sadiq Khan’s ultra low emission zone. As specialist agricultural vehicles, tractors are exempt from the charge, but Sue, a 60-year-old protester, claimed: “It’s all linked. It’s a whole agenda.”

The protest in central London came after similar demonstrations in Kent, the latest of which saw 240 tractors rally in Canterbury earlier this month.

Farmers and their supporters gather near the Houses of Parliament - Leon Neal/Getty Images

Liz Webster, the Save British Farming founder, said farmers had been 'totally betrayed' by the Government - Henry Nicholls/AFP

Liz Webster, a Wiltshire beef and arable farmer and the Save British Farming founder, said the situation risked food security and the nation’s health and farmers had been “totally betrayed” by the Government.

Trade deals with New Zealand, Australia, and another deal with 11 countries including Canada, Japan and Mexico, along with a lack of import checks, were allowing lower standard foods into the country, she said.

British producers had also lost the level playing field with EU farmers and within the UK, she added, saying European farmers were still receiving subsidies, had freedom of movement for labour and had continued to have access to British markets, enabling them to undercut UK farmers.

Ms Webster said the current situation was “like going with the English football team to the World Cup and saying ‘off you go, you’ve got chains on your legs and chains on your hands”, adding: “We are completely and utterly disadvantaged.”

She said that at the same time the new English agricultural policy of paying farmers for environmental measures such as habitat creation was taking land out of food production.

“In 2019, this Government was elected with a mandate to uphold our standards and deliver a ready-made deal with the EU which would see British agriculture boom,” she said. “It is now entirely obvious that they have totally betrayed us all.

“Polling shows that the public back British farming and food and want to maintain our high food standards and support local producers. We need a radical change of policy and an urgent exit from these appalling trade deals, which will decimate British food.”

Rishi Sunak's official spokesman insisted British farmers would be at the 'forefront' of future trade deal talks - Gareth Fuller/PA

Jeff Gibson, the founder of Kent Fairness for Farmers, said: “It’s so important that our message about substandard imports, dishonest labelling and concerns for food security is heard. With an election looming, we want to ensure the next incoming government takes up our cause.”

At a briefing with political reporters, Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman insisted British farmers would be at the “forefront” of future trade deal talks.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We’re always looking at ways in which we can continue to support our farmers and they will continue to have the Government’s backing.

“We’ve said that agriculture will be at the forefront of these trade deals. We reserve the right to pause negotiations with any country if progress isn’t being made, as we did recently with Canada, which I believe the president of the NFU welcomed as a relief for farmers.”

Canadian firm launches AI-powered ETF targeting AI investments


Mon, March 25, 2024
By Suzanne McGee

(Reuters) - A Canadian asset manager on Monday launched an exchange-traded fund (ETF) using artificial intelligence (AI) rather than human beings to build a portfolio dedicated specifically to AI.

"We'd been looking at the AI space for two years or so, and had investors asking us to put together an AI-themed product," said Raj Lala, president and CEO of Evolve Funds Group Inc. "This, surprisingly, seemed to be a space in the market that hadn't been filled."

AI has been a white-hot investment theme for the last year or more, and ETF issuers have eagerly rolled out new AI-focused funds to meet investor demand. Some also have used AI's large language model technology to construct portfolios, but have had less success in attracting investor interest or generating compelling returns.

None of those AI-generated portfolios target AI investments specifically, and many of the funds don't include Nvidia or other AI stalwarts among their top holdings, noted Todd Sohn, ETF analyst at Strategas.

The Evolve Artificial Intelligence Fund will end up owning megacap technology stocks like Nvidia or Microsoft, Lala said. But as much as half of the portfolio will be invested in lesser-known players like UiPath Inc., a company that makes AI software for robotics, or CorVel Corp., which develops AI solutions to address healthcare costs.

The biggest challenge, said Lala, was identifying those companies. "It was like trying to figure out who'd benefit from the Internet back in the 1990s."

Evolve uses a model developed by Boosted.ai, an AI consulting firm serving the financial industry, to winnow through publicly traded North American stocks in search of those with the right kind and amount of AI exposure.

The fund will rebalance quarterly, and Lala said he doesn't expect its largest positions will change much. That, Lala added, should help the new ETF avoid high, costly turnover that analysts say make other AI-powered ETFs less appealing.

(Reporting by Suzanne McGee; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Strippers' bill of rights bill signed into law in Washington state

Associated Press
Mon, March 25, 2024 

 Andrea, no last name given, who works as a stripper in Seattle area clubs, poses for a portrait at her apartment, Feb. 1, 2024, in Seattle. Legislation in Washington state known as the strippers’ bill of rights, which advocates say includes the most comprehensive statewide protections in the nation, was signed into law on Monday, March 25

 (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Legislation in Washington state known as the strippers’ bill of rights, which advocates say includes the most comprehensive statewide protections in the nation, was signed into law on Monday.

Gov. Jay Inslee signed the measure, which creates safer working conditions for people in the adult entertainment industry and makes it possible for the clubs to sell alcohol.

“Strippers are workers, and they should be given the same rights and protections as any other labor force,” bill sponsor Sen. Rebecca Saldaña of Seattle, said in a news release. “If they are employed at a legal establishment in Washington, they deserve the safeguards that every worker is entitled to, including protection from exploitation, trafficking, and abuse.”

The new law requires training for employees in establishments to prevent sexual harassment, identify and report human trafficking, de-escalate conflict and provide first aid. It also mandates security workers on site, keypad codes on dressing rooms and panic buttons in places where entertainers may be alone with customers.

Most dancers in the state are independent contractors who are paid by customers and then must pay club fees every shift, Zack-Wu said. The new law limits the fees owners can charge, capping them at $150 or 30% of the amount dancers make during their shift — whichever is less. It also prohibits late fees and other charges related to unpaid balances.

The state Department of Labor and Industries will draft the new rules and guidelines for making the changes to workplace safety standards included in the law by early next year.

The new law also makes it possible for adult entertainment businesses to obtain liquor licenses. The law ties the liquor licenses to compliance with the new safety regulations.

Strippers Are Workers, a dancer-led organization in the state since 2018, advocated for the regulations — and alcohol sales.

The organization's efforts began in response to wide regulation gaps for people performing at the 11 adult entertainment clubs across the state, according to Madison Zack-Wu, the group's campaign manager.

But there were also concerns that adding the protections without adding revenue from alcohol sales could lead some clubs to close.

“We don’t want clubs to shut down now or in the future because that will just put everyone out of work and then put them in even riskier or more dire situations,” she said previously.

State Liquor and Cannabis Board spokesperson Brian Smith told The News Tribune in Tacoma that it could take over a year to get the liquor license process in place for the clubs.

Only one other state has added worker protections for adult entertainers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In 2019, Illinois started requiring that adult entertainment establishments, along with other businesses, have a written sexual harassment policy.

There have also been other efforts — including at a bar in Los Angeles and a strip club in Portland, Oregon, where dancers voted to unionize. And, the Nevada Supreme Court in 2014 ruled that dancers at one Las Vegas club are employees, and are entitled to minimum wage and other protections.

“It is crucial that we confront the stigma surrounding adult entertainment and recognize the humanity of those involved in the industry,” Saldaña said.

Israel isolated as UN security council demands immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Julian Borger in Washington and Lorenzo Tondo in Jerusalem
Mon, March 25, 2024 


The UN security council has voted to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the first time since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, after the US dropped a threat to veto, bringing Israel to near total isolation on the world stage.

The vote result sets up the strongest public clash between US president Joe Biden and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the war began.

The US abstained and the 14 other council members all voted in favour of the security council ceasefire resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members who voiced their frustration with more than five months of deadlock between the major powers. Applause broke out in the chamber after the vote.

The text demanded “an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan leading to a lasting sustainable ceasefire”. It also demanded the release of hostages but did not make a truce dependent on them being freed, as Washington had previously demanded.

Netanyahu alleged the US had “abandoned its policy in the UN” with Monday’s abstention, giving hope to Hamas of a truce without giving up its hostages, and therefore “harming both the war effort and the effort to release the hostages”.

Netanyahu’s office cancelled a visit to Washington by two of his ministers, intended to discuss a planned Israeli offensive on the southernmost Gazan city of Rafah, which the US opposes. The White House said it was “very disappointed” by the decision. However, a previously arranged visit by the Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, went ahead.

US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, underscored in the meeting with Gallant that alternatives existed to a ground invasion of Rafah that would both better ensure Israel’s security and protect Palestinian civilians, the state department said.

White House spokesperson John Kirby said the UN vote did not represent a shift in US policy, but the resolution signaled a significant break between the Biden administration and the Israeli government – and represented a long-delayed show of international unity on Gaza after more than 32,000 Gazans have been reported dead, thousands more are missing, and UN agencies are warning that a major famine is imminent.

The Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, called the security council vote a belated “vote for humanity to prevail”.

“This must be a turning point. This must lead to saving lives on the ground,” Mansour told the council. “Apologies to those who the world has failed, to those that could have been saved but were not.”

The isolation of the Israeli government was underlined even further on Monday, when the Israel Hayom newspaper published an interview with Donald Trump, a close political ally of Netanyahu, who said: “You have to finish up your war.

“Israel has to be very careful, because you’re losing a lot of the world, you’re losing a lot of support,” Trump said.

Hamas welcomed the resolution and said it stood ready for an immediate exchange of prisoners with Israel, raising hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations under way in Doha, where intelligence chiefs and other officials from the US, Egypt and Qatar are seeking to broker a deal that would involve the release of at least 40 of the estimated 130 hostages held by Hamas for several hundred Palestinian detainees and prisoners, and a truce that would last an initial six weeks.

Related: The US must stop facilitating mass killing in Gaza | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

On Tuesday, a UN human rights expert will deliver a report calling for Israel to be placed under an arms embargo, on the grounds that it has carried out acts of “genocide” in Gaza.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said in her report, which has been seen by the Guardian, there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israel was carrying out three of the five acts defined as genocide.

In Washington, Gallant insisted Israel would go on fighting until the hostages were released.

“We have no moral right to stop the war while there are still hostages held in Gaza,” Gallant said before his first meeting, with the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. “The lack of a decisive victory in Gaza may bring us closer to a war in the north.”

The “war in the north” appeared to a reference to a looming conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and a suggestion that Hezbollah would see the lack of victory in Gaza as a sign of weakness.

The US abstention followed three vetoes of earlier ceasefire resolutions, in October, December and February. It marks the significant widening of a rift with the Netanyahu government, reflecting mounting frustration in Washington at the prime minister’s defiant insistence Israeli forces will go ahead with the Rafah attack, and at persistent Israeli hindrance of humanitarian aid deliveries.

Minutes before the vote on Monday morning, the US asked for an amendment adding a condemnation of Hamas for its attack on Israel on 7 October, leading to urgent huddles of diplomats on the chamber floor, but dropped that demand when it became clear the amendment would be resisted. The US did however prevail over the weekend in replacing the word “permanent” with “lasting” in describing the ceasefire that was the ultimate goal of the resolution.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US envoy to the UN, said: “Certain key edits were ignored, including our requests to add a condemnation of Hamas, and we did not agree with everything in the resolution. For that reason we were unfortunately not able to vote yes. However, as I’ve said before, we fully support some of the critical objectives in this non-binding resolution.”

Her claim that it was non-binding was quickly challenged by UN scholars. Resolutions passed by the UN security council are generally considered legally binding, particularly when the text demands action, reflecting the unequivocal will of the international community. In its own defeated resolution last week, the US had avoided the word “demands”, but rather called it “imperative” to have a ceasefire and a hostage release.

The UK abstained on the three earlier ceasefire resolutions but voted in favour of Monday’s text. In explaining the vote, the British ambassador, Barbara Woodward, did not make clear what had allowed the change in the UK’s vote. British officials, however, have said that Downing Street policy was not to adopt positions at the UN that were directly at odds with Washington.

“This resolution needs to be implemented immediately,” Woodward said, on being asked if the text was binding. “It sends a clear council message, a united council message, and we expect all council resolutions to be implemented.”

Thomas-Greenfield had also insisted that the wording of the resolution “means a ceasefire of any duration must come with the release of hostages”. But the wording of the resolution, intensely debated over the weekend, demands a ceasefire and a hostage release in parallel. It does not make one conditional on the other.

The security council resolution also “emphasises the urgent need” for the expansion of the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and for civilians to be protected, in acknowledgment of the huge civilian death toll and the UN warnings of famine.

UN Security Council demands ceasefire amid Israeli airstrikes

Nidal al-Mughrabi
Updated Mon, March 25, 2024


By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council demanded an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Monday as Israeli forces carried out new airstrikes in Gaza and laid siege to two hospitals.

After vetoing three earlier draft council resolutions on the war in the Gaza Strip, Israel's main ally, the United States, abstained in the vote following global pressure for a ceasefire to ease fears of famine after nearly six months of war.

Hamas welcomed the resolution, which also demanded the unconditional release of all hostages seized by the militant group in its deadly Oct. 7 raid on southern Israel.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel could not stop its war on Hamas while there were still hostages in Gaza.

"We will operate against Hamas everywhere - including in places where we have not yet been," his ministry quoted him as saying ahead of talks in the U.S. "We have no moral right to stop the war while there are still hostages held in Gaza."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose relationship with Washington has been strained by the ferocity of the offensive, said the U.S. failure to veto the proposal was a "clear retreat" from its previous position.

He said he would not now follow through on plans to send a delegation to Washington to discuss a planned Israeli military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The White House said Netanyahu's decision was "disappointing".

The other 14 council members voted for the resolution demanding a ceasefire for the rest of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ends in two weeks.

"The Palestinian people have suffered greatly. This bloodbath has continued for far too long. It is our obligation to put an end to this bloodbath, before it is too late," Algeria's U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama told the Security Council after the vote.

There has been one truce to date, lasting a week at the end of November.

At least 32,333 Palestinians have been killed and 74,694 injured in Israel's offensive, including 107 Palestinians killed in the past 24 hours, the Gaza health ministry said on Monday.

Israel said 1,200 people were killed and 253 abducted in the Hamas-led raid on Oct. 7.

AIRSTRIKES AND SIEGES

The Security Council resolution was approved as Israel continued to besiege two Gaza hospitals where it says Hamas cells are hiding and following a new wave of Israeli airstrikes.

Rafah, the last refuge for about half of Gaza's 2.3 million population following the arrival of many people displaced by fighting elsewhere, came under heavy fire in the latest Israeli attacks, witnesses said.

Palestinian medics said 30 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours in Rafah, where Israel is planning a ground assault to eliminate what it says are militant cells there.

"The past 24 hours were one of the worst days since we moved in to Rafah," said Abu Khaled, a father of seven, who declined to give his full name for fear of reprisals.

Gaza medics said an Israeli airstrike had killed 18 Palestinians in one house in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, and the victims were buried on Monday.

Israeli forces were also besieging Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in the southern city of Khan Younis on Monday, Palestinian witnesses said, a week after entering Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, the main hospital in the Strip.

Israel says hospitals in Gaza are used by the Palestinian militant group Hamas as bases. Hamas and medical staff deny this.

The Israeli military said it had detained 500 people affiliated with Hamas and the allied Islamic Jihad and located weapons in the Al Shifa area. Israeli forces also said 20 militants had been "eliminated" in fighting and airstrikes around Al Amal Hospital over the previous 24 hours.

Reuters has been unable to access Gaza's contested hospital areas and verify accounts by either side.

CEASEFIRE EFFORTS

U.S.-backed mediation by Qatar and Egypt has so far failed to secure agreement on a ceasefire and prisoner-hostage swap between Israel and Hamas.

As these efforts have stalled, international concern has mounted about the lack of aid reaching civilians in Gaza.

Concerns grew again on Monday after the Israeli government said it would stop working in Gaza with the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, which it said was perpetuating conflict.

"UNRWA are part of the problem, and we will now stop working with them. We are actively phasing out the use of UNRWA because they perpetuate the conflict rather than try and alleviate the conflict," spokesperson David Mencer told reporters.

He made his comments after UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said Israel had informed the U.N. that it will no longer approve UNRWA food convoys to the north of Gaza.

Expressing his alarm about the humanitarian situation, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres told reporters while visiting Jordan: "It is absolutely essential to have a massive supply of humanitarian aid now."

Israel denies blocking aid to Gaza, and says delivery of aid once inside the territory is the responsibility of the U.N. and humanitarian agencies. Israel has also accused Hamas of stealing aid, a charge the group denies.

Aid organisations say security checks and the difficulty of moving through a war zone have hindered their operations in Gaza.

(Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem and Suleiman Al-Khalidi in Amman, Writing by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Timothy Heritage, Editing by Sharon Singleton and Ros Russell)

Lebanon PM calls for pressure on Israel to stop attacking south after UN vote
Reuters
Mon, March 25, 2024 

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati attends an interview with Reuters at the government headquarters in downtown Beirut

CAIRO (Reuters) - Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, said on Monday that countries should pressure Israel to stop attacking Lebanon following a U.N. Security Council decision calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The Israeli military and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah have been trading fire across the southern Lebanese border in parallel with the Gaza war. Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the U.N. vote.

In a statement shared by his office, Mikati welcomed the move, saying it was "a first step on the path to stopping the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip".


"When it comes to Lebanon, we renew our call to concerned countries to pressure the Israeli enemy to stop its continued aggression on southern Lebanon," the statement said.

Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel could not stop its war on Hamas while there were still hostages in Gaza.

Mikati told Reuters in February that a ceasefire in Gaza would trigger indirect talks between Lebanon and Israel to reach a halt to hostilities on the southern border and to delineate the disputed border between the two countries.

Hezbollah has also said it would halt its fire into Israel if a Gaza ceasefire was reached. Israeli and U.S. officials, however, have said a ceasefire in Gaza would not automatically extend to Lebanon.

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Michael Georgy and Alison Williams)
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Lebanon's Hezbollah says 2 fighters killed in Israeli attacks

AFP
Sun, March 24, 2024 

Lebanese soldiers cordon off the site of a strike in Suwairi, eastern Lebanon -- a security source blamed the strike on 'Israeli aircraft' and said the Syrian driver was killed (Hassan JARRAH)


Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement on Sunday announced the death of two of its fighters in attacks by Israel, accusing the country of trying to expand its strikes.

The accusation came after security sources reported two Israeli air raids deep inside Lebanon, in the country's east.

Israel and Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group allied to Hamas, have been exchanging cross-border fire almost daily since the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas militants began last October.

But fears have surged of an all-out conflict in recent weeks with Israel launching air strikes deeper into eastern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah strongholds in the Bekaa Valley area several times.

"Today the enemy is trying to expand its attacks against civilians in Baalbek, in the western Bekaa or elsewhere," Hezbollah's deputy chief Naim Qassem said Sunday.

"There will be responses to each of them."

Hezbollah did not say where its two fighters died or give other details but said they "died as martyrs" in Israeli attacks.

Earlier Sunday an Israeli strike on a car near the Syrian border killed a man, a security source said, after overnight fire also in Lebanon's east wounded four people, a second security official said.

"Israeli aircraft targeted a vehicle in... Suwairi, killing its Syrian driver," the security source told AFP, requesting anonymity because of security concerns.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said the driver killed by the strike had been delivering food in a car that belonged to a supermarket owner.

Images from the scene showed a blue vehicle shredded and burned, with a streak of blood on the ground nearby.

Overnight Saturday, Israeli jets struck a Hezbollah centre that had been deserted for some time in the Baalbek area, the second security source told AFP, adding four people were wounded.

- Dozens of rockets -

The strike at al-Osseira, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the Israel-Lebanon border, ended a period of relative calm that had lasted around 10 days.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its fighter jets "struck a Hezbollah manufacturing site containing weapons in the area of Baalbek", the main city in the Bekaa Valley.

Later, Hezbollah said it fired "more than 60 Katyusha-type rockets" at two Israeli military positions in the occupied Golan Heights in response to the Israeli strikes.

The Israeli military said "approximately 50 launches were identified from Lebanon toward northern Israel", but it did not indicate any victims or damage.

Hezbollah began near-daily attacks against Israel on October 8 in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas, whose attack on Israel triggered the war in Gaza. Both groups are backed by Israel's arch enemy Iran.

Hezbollah says it will only end its attacks on Israel if there is a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned in February that a possible truce in Gaza would not affect Israel's "objective" of pushing Hezbollah back from its northern border, by force or diplomacy.

At least 326 people have been killed in Lebanon, most of them Hezbollah fighters but including more than 50 civilians, according to an AFP count.

At least 10 soldiers and seven civilians have been killed in northern Israel, according to the military.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.

aya-jos/it/jxb

German Foreign Ministry condemns illegal Israeli settlements

Adam Schrader
Sun, March 24, 2024 

Palestinians search the rubble of a house that was hit by Israeli bombardment late the previous night in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.

Photo by Ismael Mohamad/UPI.


March 24 (UPI) -- The German Foreign Ministry condemned illegal Israeli settlements on Sunday after Israel confiscated 800 hectares, or about three square miles, of Palestinian land.

"We strongly condemn the announcement to confiscate over 800 hectares of land in the Palestinian Territories as Israeli state land,'" the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"This would be the largest appropriation in over 30 years. The settlements violate international law and fuel further tensions in this extremely fragile situation."

Before the war broke out in October, 199 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank throughout 2023 -- largely at the hands of illegal Israeli settlers, data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs shows.

The situation has gotten worse throughout the war, with Israeli citizens seizing groves of pomegranate trees and fig trees from Palestinian farmers as Israeli settlers force hundreds of Palestinians from their homes.

Still, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock emphasized support for Israel's security in a statement on Sunday.

"In the hell of Gaza, more than a million children, women and men are threatened by hunger. This must not go on for a single day. Together with our partners, we are leaving no stone unturned. The Israeli government must finally open the border crossings for much more aid," she said.

"We stand by our responsibility for Israel's security: Hamas must lay down its arms and must never again bring terror to Israel. But the goal cannot be achieved purely militarily. And military action has its limits in international humanitarian law."

She added that "only an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" that leads to a permanent ceasefire will keep the hope for peace alive as she gears up for talks in the region this week in which she said she will discuss "what a political horizon can look like."

Since the Palestinian militia Hamas attacked on October 7, Israel's allies such as Germany have repeatedly upheld that Israel has a right to defend itself, without stating whether that same right is extended to Palestine.

Some have pushed for a demilitarized Palestinian state led by the government of the Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank. So far, calls for a two-state solution to the conflict hinge on borders for Israel and Palestine established in 1967, which would not bridge the enclave of Gaza to the West Bank.

And, they are dependent on Hamas being defeated in Gaza or handing over power. The same would be said of Israel, which would effectively have to admit that it has sanctioned illegal settlements in Palestinian territories in violation of international law.

Meanwhile, experts including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken are increasingly warning Israel that its strategy in Gaza could lead to insurgency from a population that has suffered from Israel's aggression.

Citigroup to end sweeping overhaul this week after 5,000 layoffs

BOSSES GAVE THEMSELVES BONUSES

Updated Mon, March 25, 2024 



By Tatiana Bautzer, Lananh Nguyen and Manya Saini

(Reuters) -Citigroup is in the last phase of a sweeping overhaul to simplify its structure and improve performance, the bank said, after shrinking its workforce by 5,000 employees since September.

The largest round of staffing moves, including reassignments and departures, will be communicated to employees from Monday to Thursday, CEO Jane Fraser told employees in a memo seen by Reuters.

"These past months have not been easy," Fraser wrote. "Far from it. The changes we've made are the biggest that most of us have experienced at Citi ..., putting us on the front foot and improving our competitiveness."

Citi declined to comment beyond an earlier statement on Monday.

The reorganization, announced in September, reduced management layers to eight from 13. The latest reshuffle finalizes Citi's new structure and is part of a broader goal to trim its global workforce of 239,000 by 20,000 over the next two years.

Citi eliminated 1,500 managerial roles comprising 13% of its worldwide leaders, Fraser said as the company released its fourth-quarter results in January. The changes would create annual savings of about $1 billion, she said at the time.

"This meets a major Citi milestone," wrote Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo, who reiterated Citi's stock was his top pick.

"The organization simplification, which took 7 months to complete, should provide more evidence that Citi can meet its targets and do so methodically," Mayo wrote in a note earlier Monday.

(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer and Lananh Nguyen in New York, Manya Saini in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Richard Chang)

Regimes, rebels and social change: Interview with Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad

Clara Preve
Mon, March 25, 2024 


After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini began a harsh assault on women's rights.

Today, Iranian women are subject to strict dress codes, including the mandatory hijab, and face legal and political discrimination.

Violations of the rules are frequently met with intense and sometimes fatal brutality.

Speaking exclusively to Euronews, Iranian women's rights activist Masih Alinejad has called on Western leaders to unite in favour of democracy and challenge dictatorships across the world.

Persecuted by Iran's government herself, the journalist-author recently launched a campaign United Against Gender Apartheid, which aims to share the stories of women living under the shadow of oppressive regimes.

Here is what she said.

Euronews: Let's start by speaking about your latest initiative, United Against Gender Apartheid. What inspired you to start the campaign, and what is the aim?

Masih Alinejad: I launched this campaign because I believe in the power of storytelling. If every single woman takes her camera and talks about how it feels to be a second-class citizen in Afghanistan, how it feels to get kicked out of schools, how it feels to get lashes, to get beaten up in the streets in Iran for the crime of showing their hair – they can bring all women together.

FILE - ranians protests the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the morality police, in Tehran, Oct. 1, 2022. - AP/Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved.

It’s not just women in Iran and Afghanistan. Their stories have encouraged the women of Africa to join us. I think this campaign gives a picture of all women from all authoritarian regimes.

You see women from Nicaragua, women from Venezuela, women from Sudan, from Africa, joining women from Iran and Afghanistan and calling for an end to the gender apartheid regime. And this unity is the key.

Euronews: What assistance have you received from the international community?

Alinejad: So far, some Western countries are trying to understand how the women of Iran and Afghanistan are suffering under gender apartheid, and how they can help to have gender apartheid classified in all international laws.

There are meetings with groups of women from Iran and Afghanistan, member states, and politicians and policymakers everywhere in European countries. But I think this is not sufficient.

We need a global rally, a global movement to unite all women across the globe, to call on their leaders, to get united to end gender apartheid.


Euronews: Dictators are uniting and seeking assistance to avoid sanctions and punishment from Western countries. At the same time, we see how Western leaders are scared to fully punish these regimes. How do you see regimes being held accountable by the new initiative?

Alinejad: This initiative is just one of the tools in our hands, the hands of dissidents, to bring the democratic countries together. Our struggle is important, but it’s not sufficient. The international community must hear the call from the World Liberty Congress.

We had our first general assembly where we united dissidents from 60 authoritarian regimes, the leaders of the movement in every authoritarian country from Africa to Latin America, to many regions in the Middle East, to Eastern Europe, to Asia, and people from Hong Kong. There are pro-democracy movements in each region. But at the same time, all the dictators from these regions are helping each other.

Two-thirds of the global population is living under authoritarian regimes. It is shocking, but it is true. It is a fact that 70% of the global population is living under autocrats. Democracy is in recession. I believe that only sanctions are not sufficient. It is a tool, but it’s not sufficient. We need to see all the democratic countries as united as authoritarian regimes to isolate dictatorships and terrorists.

A woman is painted on a her face during a protest against the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died while in police custody in Iran, during a rally in central Rome, Oct. 2022 - Gregorio Borgia/Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved

Euronews: You’re asking women across the world who are under authoritarian regimes to record a video of themselves, exposing the atrocities that they’re facing every day. Yet, we’ve also seen how many of these regimes have condemned and arrested people for speaking out. Have you seen a change in the mentality of people in their willingness to speak up against these regimes?

Alinejad: In my country, the regime created a new law saying that if anyone sent videos to Masih Alinejad would be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. I remember I felt guilty. I felt the burden on my shoulders. I wanted to shut down my campaign. But guess what happened? I was bombarded by women sending videos.

Now mothers who lost their beloved ones in the protests, in the uprising, are sending videos to me in the same street where their children got killed, saying: “Masih, you should be our voice because we don't have anything to lose. They killed our children, and now are telling us to stop being our storytellers? They want us to stop even crying for justice?”

Explained: Why the Islamic headscarf is crucial in Iranian society

Women in my country, women in authoritarian regimes, are fearless. They have nothing to lose. They had enough. But at the same time, they have agency. I'm not putting their lives in danger. These are the authoritarian regimes putting their lives in danger. And that’s why they believe they are like the women of suffrage. They have to risk their lives because they believe freedom is not free.

In my country, you see that the clerics are attacking women in the streets. Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, asked the police to put cameras everywhere to identify unveiled women. What happened? You see women showing their middle fingers to the cameras. You see women using their cameras as weapons to expose the violence of those who carry weapons, to expose the Islamic Republic, expose the Taliban, and African dictators.

Euronews: During the recent parliamentary elections in Iran, we saw the lowest voter turnout since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. We are also witnessing government top officials voicing their discomfort with some of the conservatives’ policies. People in the streets are rebelling against the establishment. Do you think that a possibility of change might be looming in Iran?

Alinejad: I think the main change that the Iranian people want is regime change. They want to have a secular democracy. And they deserve to have it. There’s a huge gap between the young generation and the rulers. All the criminals, they’re ruling my country. So for that, I have to say that the Islamic Republic is not reformable.

Even those moderate boys who now boycotted the election concluded that they must get rid of the Islamic Republic and have a secular democracy. And believe me, a secular democracy not only benefits the people of Iran, but also the people in the region and the people in the West. So an Iran without an Islamic Republic will benefit the rest of the world.

A woman cuts her hair in solidarity with Iranian women during a protest in Tel Aviv, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. - Ariel Schalit/Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved.

We, the people of Iran, we’re not risking our lives to just save ourselves. We want to save the rest of the world from one of the most dangerous viruses, which is called the Islamic Republic. They are infecting the rest of the world.

There's a famous saying in America: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” – but I believe what happened in the Middle East is not going to stay in the Middle East. They will expand their ideology in Europe. Extremism everywhere.

I believe that change will come in my country sooner or later, but history will judge those who could be a voice for the women of Iran, but they decided to ignore them, instead shaking the hands of the killers of my women.

This transcript has been edited for clarity and length.

Senegal election result: Bassirou Diomaye Faye to become Africa's youngest elected president

Natasha Booty - BBC News
Tue, March 26, 2024

"Politics never crossed my mind," says the tax collector and husband to two wives

Few had heard of him a year ago, and now he is set to become president.

Bassirou Diomaye Faye's extraordinary rise caps a rollercoaster period in Senegalese politics that caught many off-guard.

Months in jail alongside ally and kingmaker Ousmane Sonko ended suddenly, with the pair released the week before the presidential election.

Now Mr Clean, as he's nicknamed, must get to work on the sweeping reforms he has promised.

"Methodical" and "modest" are words often used to describe the tax collector, who celebrates his 44th birthday on Monday.

Mr Faye fondly recalls his rural upbringing in Ndiaganiao, where he says he returns every Sunday to work the land.

His love and respect for village life is matched by his deep distrust of Senegal's elites and establishment politics.

"He's never been a minister and wasn't a statesman so critics question his lack of experience," analyst Alioune Tine tells the BBC.

"But, from Faye's point of view, the insiders who've run the country since 1960 have made some catastrophic failures."

Fighting poverty, injustice and corruption are top of Mr Faye's agenda. While working at the Treasury, he and Mr Sonko created a union taskforce to tackle graft.

Gas, oil, fishing and defence deals must all be renegotiated to better serve the Senegalese people, says Mr Faye.

He is ushering in an era of "sovereignty" and "rupture" as opposed to more of the same, he told voters, and that is especially true of ties to France.

Senegal's president-elect says he will drop the much-criticised CFA franc currency, which is pegged to the euro and backed by former colonial power France.

Mr Faye wants to replace it with a new Senegalese, or regional West African, currency, although this will not be easy.

"He will have to deal with the reality of the budget to begin with... But I see that he has a lot of ambition," former Prime Minister Aminata Touré, who served under outgoing President Macky Sall, tells the BBC.

Strengthening judicial independence and creating jobs for Senegal's large young population are also key priorities for Mr Faye - neither of which "President Sall paid much attention to and it caught up with him", Ms Touré adds.

She is not the only political heavyweight to have thrown her support behind the 44-year-old - former President Abdoulaye Wade did the same just two days before Sunday's vote.

It is a remarkable turnaround for Mr Faye who spent the last 11 months in prison on charges of insurrection, and many more years before that in his ally's shadow.
'Bassirou is me'

Bassirou Diomaye Faye was announced in February as the so-called "Plan B" candidate, replacing the charismatic opposition firebrand Ousmane Sonko. "I would even say that he has more integrity than me," Mr Sonko said proudly.

Both men founded the now-disbanded Pastef party, both men are tax collectors, and both men found themselves jailed last year on charges they said were politically motivated.

Mr Sonko ended up being convicted of two offences, which meant he was barred from the election, so Mr Faye stepped in.

"Bassirou is me," Mr Sonko told supporters recently. "They are two sides of the same coin," Pastef colleague Moustapha Sarré agrees.

This has led to criticism that Mr Faye is merely "president by default".

Not so, says analyst Mr Tine. But the pair's relationship could usher in a new style of leadership.

"Maybe they will establish a tandem and break away from the hyper-presidential model of having an all-powerful head of state.

"Sonko is of course the uncontested leader of Pastef - an icon, even... [But] the two have had a [dynamic of] complicity and collusion."

Once upon a time, Mr Faye wanted nothing to do with politics. "It never crossed my mind," he said in 2019 while recalling his childhood.

One of Mr Faye's heroes is the late Senegalese historian Cheikh Anta Diop - whose work is seen as a precursor to Afrocentrism. Both are seen as left-wing cheerleaders for pan-Africanism.

As early results came in on Monday showing Mr Faye was set for victory, people in the capital, Dakar, celebrated by honking car horns and singing to loud music.

The reaction from international markets was less jubilant, with Senegal's dollar bonds falling to their lowest level in five months. Reuters news agency reports that investors are concerned Mr Faye's presidency may wind down the country's business-friendly policies.

The election was originally due last month but Mr Sall postponed it just hours before campaigning was set to begin, triggering deadly opposition protests and a democratic crisis.

Most candidates had very little time to prepare once the new election date was set - but Mr Faye had just over a week after being freed from jail.

Despite the shortened campaign period, Senegal's citizens were adamant they would turn out and use their vote, Christopher Fomunyoh - of the National Democratic Institute for international affairs - told BBC Newsday.

"Senegal is in the process of confirming that democracies can self-correct and come out stronger and more resilient."

And the true test for Senegal's clean-up guy has only just begun.

Senegal’s Faye Pledges to Tackle Rising Cost of Living, Corruption

Katarina Höije
Tue, March 26, 2024 


(Bloomberg) -- Senegal’s new president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, pledged to tackle corruption and use the West African nation’s resources to improve the living conditions of its citizens.

The 44-year-old former tax inspector, who was freed from prison less than two weeks ago, said he’ll devote himself to strengthening state institutions and maintaining friendly relations with Senegal’s partners, while using its natural resources to deliver on the aspirations of its people.

“I commit myself to govern with humility, transparency, and to fight corruption at all levels,” Faye said in a speech late Monday, hours after former Prime Minister Amadou Ba conceded defeat to him in Sunday’s presidential election. Senegal will remain an ally to anyone that commits to “respectful and mutually productive cooperation,” he said in the capital, Dakar.

Read More: Senegal Opposition’s Faye Set to Go From Prison to Presidency

Results released by Senegal’s electoral commission late on Monday showed that with ballots from 90% of polling stations counted, Faye had 54% of the vote, compared with 36% for Ba. The outcome gives Faye “a very strong mandate,” said Tochi Eni-Kalu, Africa analyst at Eurasia Group.

Faye is the hand-picked candidate of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who’s been repeatedly jailed in recent years, like many of outgoing President Macky Sall’s political rivals. The pair captured the energy of Senegal’s large youth population — the median age is 18 — fed up with a political elite that’s done little to raise their living standards. Many took to the streets on Monday to celebrate Faye’s impending victory, singing “Happy Birthday” to mark his 44th birthday.

Investors had been nervous about Faye winning the election because of concerns he’ll change policies implemented by Sall that generated average economic growth of more than 5% over the past decade. Senegal is on the cusp of becoming a major oil and gas producer that may result in growth accelerating to 8% this year — one of the fastest rates in Africa.

Faye has pledged to review deals signed with international investors including BP Plc, Endeavour Mining Plc and Kosmos Energy Ltd. He’s also questioned whether Senegal should continue using the CFA franc — a euro-pegged regional currency — and pledged to review the nation’s business and economic ties with former colonial ruler France.

Initial apprehension about a Faye presidency has eased, after he toned down his plans for the CFA franc, and bonds rallied on Monday after Ba conceded the election. The yield on Senegal’s 2033 dollar debt fell 29 basis points to 8.88%.

Investors will now be looking for more details on Faye’s economic policies, as well as the team he assembles around him to implement his plans.

“We’ll probably see some action towards renegotiating oil and gas contracts,” said Eni-Kalu. “He’s likely to introduce a greater focus on revenue based fiscal policy and get rid of energy subsides but try to balance those through other measures.”

Senegal's president-elect Faye vows to govern with humility

Updated Mon, March 25, 2024 

.
By Portia Crowe and Diadie Ba

DAKAR (Reuters) -Senegal opposition presidential candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a political newcomer popular among disaffected youth, promised on Monday to govern with humility and transparency.

Faye, set to be declared the next president after his main rival called him to concede defeat, thanked President Macky Sall and other candidates for respecting Senegal's democratic tradition by recognising his victory well before official results.

"In electing me, the Senegalese people have decided on a break with a past," Faye told journalists in his first public appearance since the election. "I promise to govern with humility and transparency."

Provisional results showed Faye with about 53.7% and Amadou Ba - from the current ruling coalition - with 36.2% based on tallies from 90% of polling stations in the first-round vote, the electoral commission said.

Ba and Sall both congratulated Faye, who turned 44 on Monday. They hailed the outcome as a win for Senegal, whose reputation as one of West Africa's most stable democracies took a hit when Sall postponed the vote.

"The Senegalese people have reinforced the good health of our democracy.. I wish him (Faye) success at the head of our country," Ba said.

A peaceful transition of power in Senegal would mark a boost for democracy in West Africa, where there have been eight military coups since 2020.

Some of the juntas that seized power have cut ties with traditional regional power-brokers such as France and the U.S., turning instead to Russia for help in their fight against a jihadist insurgency spreading through countries that neighbour Senegal.

Senegal's international bonds rose on reports that Faye was close to being declared a winner, reversing sharp falls from earlier in the day.

Many hope the vote will bring stability and an economic boost after three years of unprecedented political turbulence and several waves of deadly anti-government protests.

"I am happy to see there is a wind of change," said an opposition supporter named Tall, who joined revellers during the night as street celebrations broke out in anticipation of Faye's victory.

"It is wonderful because democracy has won. Many thought it would not happen," he said, giving only his first name.

Full, official results are expected to be announced by the Dakar appeals court on Friday.

YOUNG VOTERS

Faye owes much of his success to the backing of firebrand opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who was barred from running due to a defamation conviction.

The two former tax inspectors, who were both released from jail this month, campaigned together under the slogan "Diomaye is Sonko", promising to fight corruption and prioritise national economic interests.

They are particularly popular among young voters in a country where more than 60% of people are under 25 and struggle to find jobs. Faye promised to dedicate more state resources to help the youths.

Police crackdowns on protests buoyed the opposition, as did rising living costs and concerns Sall would seek to extend his mandate beyond constitutional limits.

Anger around Sonko's prosecution grew when authorities sought to postpone by 10 months the vote, initially scheduled for February.

Investors were wary about whether a new government would be less business friendly than Sall's government, which attracted investments into infrastructure.

Senegal is set to start producing oil and gas this year, and Faye has promised a raft of changes including plans to renegotiate oil and gas contracts. Still, he sought to reassure investors last week the country would respect its commitments.

(Reporting by Portia Crowe, Diadie Ba and Bate Felix; Additional reporting by Ngouda Dione and Rachel Savage;Writing by Sofia Christensen and Nellie Peyton; Editing by Silvia Aloisi, Bernadette Baum, Angus MacSwan, William Maclean, Andrew Heavens and David Gregorio)


Former Senegalese PM concedes defeat to opposition candidate day after presidential vote

Niamh Kennedy, Larry Madowo, Xiaofei Xu and Nimi Princewill, CNN
Mon, March 25, 2024 


Former Senegalese Prime Minister Amadou Ba has conceded defeat to leading opposition figure Bassirou Diomaye Faye in the western African country’s presidential elections.

“With regard to the provisional results and awaiting the official proclamation, I congratulate President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye for his victory in the first round,” Ba, 62, said in a statement.

“I wish him lots of success and success for the well-being of the Senegalese people,” he added.

Outgoing President Macky Sall also congratulated Faye, describing the “smooth running” of the election as a “victory of Senegalese democracy.”

Early unofficial results showed Faye with a clear lead of 57% of votes while Ba came second with 31% of the votes, independent Senegalese radio station, Futurs Médias reported Monday.

Several opposition candidates in Sunday’s election conceded defeat to Faye earlier.

One of Senegal’s main opposition presidential candidates, Anta Babacar Ngom, conceded defeat to Faye on Sunday, writing on X: “I wish Mr. Faye every success at the helm of Senegal.”

Dethie Fall, one of 19 candidates in the election, also congratulated Faye “for his beautiful victory clearly achieved in view of the very strong trends that have emerged” in a statement Sunday.

Faye was also congratulated early Monday by another presidential candidate, Khalifa Sall.

Ba of the ruling coalition, who left his role as prime minister earlier in March to kickstart his campaign for the Senegalese top job called on people to “remain calm” while waiting for official results, saying celebrations were premature.

Official results will be announced by Saturday at the latest, according to an official from Senegal’s Autonomous National Electoral Commission.
From prisoner to president

Faye, 44, a former tax inspector and political detainee who had been imprisoned since April last year until his release on March 14, was chosen as a backup candidate for popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. Sonko was barred from the polls after the Senegalese Supreme Court upheld his conviction over a defamation case in early January. Both men were released 11 days ago after President Sall granted amnesty to political prisoners.

Despite a shortened campaign period, Faye and Sonko, who enjoys widespread support among Senegalese youth who account for over 60% of the country’s population, sparked fierce support and debates across the country.

President Sall, whose second and final term expires on April 2, has promised to peacefully hand over to his elected successor after the country’s top court blocked his attempts to delay the election – originally scheduled for February 24 – for 10 months.

Senegal election: opposition's Faye set to become president

Reuters Videos
Updated Mon, March 25, 2024 

STORY: Opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye has won Senegal's presidential election, according to provisional results released on Monday (March 25).

That confirms what many of Faye's supporters had already been celebrating as results began trickling in on Sunday (March 24) evening.

On Monday, the electoral commission announced Faye had secured 53.68% of the vote, based on tallies from 90% of polling stations, compared to 36.2% for the ruling Benno Bokk Yakaar coalition's candidate Amadou Ba.

Ba had earlier conceded defeat.

He'd been backed by incumbent President Macky Sall who is stepping down amid a drop in popularity after two terms marred by economic hardship and violent anti-government protests.

It's hoped that the vote will bring stability and an economic boost after three years of unprecedented political turmoil.

As for Faye, he owes much of his success to the backing of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who was barred from running due to a defamation conviction.

The two had campaigned together under the slogan "Diomaye is Sonko" and have promised to tackle corruption and prioritize national economic interests.

They are particularly popular among young voters in a country where more than 60% of people are under 25 and struggle to find jobs.

Sonko and Faye's campaign was also buoyed by police crackdowns on protests, the government's failure to cushion rising living costs, and the authorities' failed attempt to postpone the election by 10 months.

Senegal's international bonds rose on reports that Faye was close to being declared a winner, reversing sharp falls from earlier in the day.

However, investors are also wary about a change in leadership to an anti-establishment government.

Sonko and Faye have said they will introduce a new currency and renegotiate mining and energy contracts, in a country that is set to start producing oil and gas later this year.


Senegal Opposition’s Faye Set to Go From Prison to Presidency

Katarina Höije and Momar Niang
Mon, March 25, 2024 


(Bloomberg) -- Senegalese opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye is set to win the nation’s presidential election, a seismic shift in the political landscape of one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies.

The ruling coalition’s candidate, Amadou Ba, conceded defeat on Monday, handing an unexpected first-round victory to Faye — a political novice and former tax inspector who just 10 days ago was in prison on what supporters said were politically motivated charges. The outcome has yet to be confirmed by the Autonomous National Electoral Commission, which hasn’t released any official results yet.

Faye is the hand-picked candidate of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who’s been repeatedly jailed in recent years, like many of outgoing President Macky Sall’s political rivals. The pair captured the energy of Senegal’s large youth population — the median age is 18 — fed up with a political elite that’s done little to raise their living standards. Many took to the streets on Monday to celebrate Faye’s impending victory, singing “Happy Birthday” to mark his 44th birthday.

Ba was the chosen successor of Sall, who sparked chaos in what was long considered one of Africa’s most stable democracies when he postponed the election originally scheduled for February and floated holding onto power for an extra year. Senegalese staged mass protests, forcing Sall to back down and publicly state that he would leave office on April 2 — the move doomed what could have been an easy win for the ruling party.

“In view of the trends in the results of the presidential election and while awaiting the official proclamation, I congratulate President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye on his victory in the first round,” Ba said in a statement on Monday in the capital, Dakar.

At 44, Faye is set to become one of Africa’s youngest leaders. Until March 14, he’d been detained in a prison in Dakar after being charged with defamation and contempt of court. He was never convicted, and was freed under a government amnesty program.

Investor Nerves

Investors have been nervous about Faye winning the election. Senegal is on the cusp of becoming a major oil and gas producer, and Faye has pledged to review deals signed with international investors including BP Plc, Endeavour Mining Plc and Kosmos Energy Ltd. He’s also questioned whether Senegal should continue using the CFA franc — a euro-pegged regional currency — and pledged to review the nation’s business and economic ties with former colonial ruler France.

“Faye will be looking at renegotiating oil and gas contracts,” said Babacar Ndiaye, a political analyst with Dakar-based think tank Wathi. “He will be looking to get the most possible out of the deals.”

The yield on Senegalese eurobonds due in 2033 fell 24 basis points to 8.93% by 3:36 p.m. in London, while the rate on its 2037 debt dropped 22 basis points to 9.21%. Ba’s concession was risk positive as it removed the risk of tensions that have built up had the vote gone to a runoff, Oxford Economics said in a note.

“The key thing to watch will be his economic team appointments as the market is worried about” his stance on the CFA franc and the energy contracts, said Thys Louw, a portfolio manager at Ninety One Plc. “If they appoint a team with strong technocratic credentials, that will allay fears on those issues as well as signal willingness to continue with IMF program.”

Stabilizing debt — currently about 80% of gross domestic product — was a key focus of the outgoing administration, which is implementing an International Monetary Fund-endorsed fiscal consolidation strategy.

Currency Reform

Faye’s campaign has shown signs of toning down its ambitions for currency reform, because Senegal is too small to go it alone by abandoning the CFA franc and creating its own currency, Ndiaye said. More pressing issues include the high cost of living and unemployment in Senegal, that the government will need to attend to urgently, he said.

Despite his association with Sall’s democratic overreach, Ba offered investors the prospect of policy continuity. Under Sall, gross domestic product expanded more than 5% annually over the past decade, and his administration invested heavily in new roads, hospitals and electricity infrastructure, even as it cracked down on opposition, jailed critics and periodically shut down the internet.

Faye’s anti-establishment Pastef party benefited both from the backlash against Sall’s attempt to postpone the election and his crackdown on more established opposition parties have been weakened over his two terms in office.

Sonko criss-crossed the country with Faye after their release from prison. He also won support from the Senegalese Democratic Party, PDS, founded by Sall’s predecessor, Abdoulaye Wade.

Faye hails from a family of farmers. After being educated at the prestigious École Nationale de l’Administration in Dakar, he rose to prominence as a labor-union leader before joining Pastef — the party founded by Sonko that was dissolved by the government last year.

Faye has no experience working in government. He previously worked under Ba as a tax inspector, and unsuccessfully ran for mayor of his hometown — Ndiaganiao — in 2022.

--With assistance from Yinka Ibukun and Colleen Goko.


Senegal election: Voters choose new president after political crisis

Thomas Naadi in Ndiaganiao & Natasha Booty in London - BBC News
Sun, March 24, 2024

Seven million people, some seen here queuing in Ndiaganiao, are eligible to vote

People in Senegal have been voting for a new president in a delayed election after weeks of political unrest.

Long queues of voters were witnessed across the country as they flocked to choose from 17 presidential candidates.

After he voted, outgoing President Macky Sall warned candidates against making premature claims of victory.

The election had been due to take place last month but Mr Sall postponed it, triggering deadly opposition protests and a democratic crisis.

Seven million people were eligible to vote in the mainly Muslim West African nation, which had until then been praised as a bastion of democracy in the region.

Polling stations are now closing after a largely calm day of voting as most people are returning home to prepare to break their fast, which happens at sunset during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Freed prisoner takes on Senegal's heir apparent


Africa Daily podcast: Can there be a peaceful transition in Senegal?

Among those in the running for Senegal's top job is the governing BBY coalition's candidate, former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, 62. After casting his ballot in the capital, Dakar, he said he was "very confident" of a first-round election victory.

His main challenger, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, expressed similar confidence after voting, along with his two wives, in his hometown of Ndiaganiao, which is about 100km (62 miles) from Dakar.

"This election is the election of the youth. If I had one advice for other young people, it would be to come and vote. That’s the only way we can help ourselves"", Source: Mbissine, 25, Source description: Voter in Ndiaganiao, Image: Mbissine, a voter in Ndiaganiao

The 44-year-old was released from jail just 10 days ago, after being detained since April 2023 on charges of insurrection, which he said were politically motivated.

His ally, opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, was also freed from prison following an amnesty intended to calm tensions. He voted in his southern stronghold of Ziguinchor, saying they expected a "dazzling victory".

"I came to vote because today is an important day for our nation. There is a lot at stake and that’s why we should care"", Source: Diégane Gueye, 84, Source description: Voter in Ndiaganiao, Image: Diégane Gueye, 84, voter in Senegal

Popular with young people, he is not allowed to stand because of a series of charges he says are trumped up. He and his now-disbanded Pastef party are backing Mr Faye.

A 25-year-old voter in Ndiaganiao, who only gave her first name, Mbissine, told the BBC: "This election is the election of the youth. If I had one [piece of] advice for other young people, it would be to come and vote. That's the only way we can help ourselves."

At the same polling station, 84-year-old Diégane Gueye, who walked with the assistance of a cane, said: "I came to vote because today is an important day for our nation. There is a lot at stake and that's why we should care."

There have been complaints from a polling centre in the town of Keur Massar, about 20km north-east of Dakar, because some people were not been able to vote as they had old ID cards, even though their names were on the voters' roll. The new cards note that Keur Massa is now its own voting district and not part of Pikine as it was until 2021.

A BBC team in Keur Massar says the military police have been deployed as tension has risen outside the polling station at a school in the town. The electoral commission has now said it will try to resolve the situation.

On Friday, former President Abdoulaye Wade and his PDS party threw their support behind Mr Faye, after his own son, Karim Wade, was forced to withdraw over his dual French-Senegalese citizenship.

For the first time in more than a decade, a female candidate is in the race. Anta Babacar Ngom, 40, leads the ARC party.

Results are expected within days and a second round is likely, because of the large number of contestants. A candidate needs more than 50% of the vote to be declared the winner.

The world will be watching to see if the election process goes some way to restoring Senegal's now-bruised reputation.

Speaking to the BBC earlier this week, President Sall said that he had "no apology to make" for postponing the election, which was originally due to be held on 25 February.

"I have done nothing wrong," he said, adding that the decision to delay the vote was not taken unilaterally, but was because of electoral concerns raised by members of parliament.

"All the actions that have been taken have been within the framework of the law and regulations."

Senegal Bonds Rally as Investors Warm Up to Faye’s Presidency

Colleen Goko
Mon, March 25, 2024 



(Bloomberg) -- Senegal’s sovereign dollar bonds rallied, posting some of the best gains in emerging markets, as investors bet on the western African country getting a stable government and Bassirou Diomaye Faye toning down some of the extreme policy measures he had outlined during the campaign.

Initial apprehension of an opposition win had sent markets weaker in early trade, which gradually reversed as the market favorite, Amadou Ba, conceded Sunday’s election to Faye. The yield on debt due 2048 fell 22 basis points to 9.60% by 3:21 p.m. in London, with its price rising to 73.99 cents on the dollar. The rate on the 2033 note declined 23 basis points to 8.94%.

Faye was named the main opposition’s presidential candidate after its firebrand leader Ousmane Sonko was disqualified from running since he was convicted of libel. A former tax inspector, Faye has never held public office. His key campaign pledges include renegotiating mining and energy contracts with private firms; pushing for reform on how the regional currency, the CFA franc, is managed; and renegotiating public debt and canceling private debt.

Initial market apprehension over Faye’s potential presidency was easing, said Sam Singh-Jami, Africa strategist at Rand Merchant Bank.

“Sonko/Faye have toned down on some of the economic changes initially proposed,” he said. “The selloff in the bonds was overdone in the first place.”

Investor Unknown

Before Ba conceded, 14 of the 19 candidates in the election had congratulated Faye on being on course to become the next president.

“The Faye/Sonko camp is largely an unknown quantity for the investor community meaning that whatever comments they make on economic policy could move the market,” said Mark Bohlund, senior credit research analyst at REDD Intelligence.

Bohlund said while Faye would likely row back on the more radical proposals, uncertainty about economic policy was likely to remain in the near term until the new president’s economic team had been announced. This would keep eurobond yields elevated.

“I still see a high likelihood that new parliamentary elections will be called in order to increase the new president’s policy leeway. I still expect Senegal to market a new Eurobond in the second half of the year,” he said.

For Danske Bank, a democratic vote was reason to stay bullish on Senegal.

“Elections went very peacefully, and confirmed Senegal is still a peaceful democracy. We are looking to increase risk on any dip,” said Soeren Moerch, a portfolio manager at the bank.

(Updates market moves, adds Ba concession)

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