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Brazil judge threatens to suspend X within 24 hours

Brazil judge threatens to suspend X within 24 hours
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Updated 29 August 2024
AFP
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Brazil judge threatens to suspend X within 24 hours

Brazil judge threatens to suspend X within 24 hours
  • The decision escalates a months-long feud between Musk and Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes
  • In April, Moraes ordered an investigation of Musk, accusing him of reactivating some banned accounts
Updated 29 August 2024
AFP
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Brasília: Brazil’s Supreme Court threatened on Wednesday to suspend social media platform X unless billionaire owner Elon Musk names a new legal representative for the company within 24 hours.
The decision escalates a months-long feud between Musk and Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who has previously ordered the suspension of dozens of accounts on X for allegedly spreading disinformation.
In April, Moraes ordered an investigation of Musk, accusing him of reactivating some banned accounts.
Musk and other critics accuse Moraes of stifling free speech.
In an order made public Wednesday, Moraes ordered Musk “to appoint the company’s new legal representative in Brazil within 24 hours.”
“In the event of non-compliance with the order, the decision provides for the suspension of the social network’s activities in Brazil,” it said.
In response, Musk posted on X that “this ‘judge’ has repeatedly broken the laws he has sworn to uphold.”
Musk shut X’s business operations in Brazil this month, claiming the judge had threatened the company’s previous legal representative with arrest to force compliance with “censorship orders.”
Brazilian users have meanwhile continued to be able to access the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
Moraes, who also presides over Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal, has spearheaded a battle against disinformation in South America’s largest nation, clashing with Musk along the way.
Several of the X accounts he ordered suspended belonged to supporters of Brazil’s former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who tried to discredit the voting system in the 2022 election, which he lost.
Musk previously said that if X had complied with Moraes’s orders, “there was no way we could explain our actions without being ashamed.”
Musk is also the subject of a separate judicial investigation into an alleged scheme where public money was used to orchestrate disinformation campaigns in favor of Bolsonaro and those close to him.

Thousands in Israel protest sacking of defense minister

Thousands in Israel protest sacking of defense minister
Updated 11 min 28 sec ago
AFP
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Thousands in Israel protest sacking of defense minister

Thousands in Israel protest sacking of defense minister
Updated 11 min 28 sec ago
AFP

JERUSALEM: Thousands of Israelis protested against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dismissal of his defense minister, demanding the government do everything in its power to bring home hostages held in Gaza.
The demonstration erupted soon after Netanyahu’s office announced the sacking of Yoav Gallant on Tuesday following public differences over the war with Hamas.
The removal of Gallant — a hawk on the war Hezbollah in Lebanon who also pushed for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza — coincided with the presidential election in the United States, Israel’s top military backer.
Netanyahu and Gallant have frequently clashed over Israel’s retaliatory military offensive against Hamas following the Palestinian militant group’s deadly attack on Israel on October 7 last year.
“Over the past few months... trust has eroded. In light of this, I decided today to end the term of the defense minister,” Netanyahu’s office said, adding that foreign minister Israel Katz would take his place.
Shortly afterwards, thousands of people took to the streets of commercial hub Tel Aviv, chanting slogans against Netanyahu and demanding the return of 97 hostages held in Gaza.
Protesters blocked traffic and lit fires, with some wearing “Bring them home now!” T-shirts referring to the hostages.
They held up signs with slogans such as “We deserve better leaders” and “Leaving no one behind!,” and one protester wore handcuffs and a face mask with Netanyahu’s likeness.
The reshuffle’s timing comes at a critical juncture in the Gaza and Lebanon wars, with both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon massively weakened.
Jonathan Rynhold of the political studies department at Bar-Ilan University said Netanyahu was feeling “emboldened because he is improving in the polls.”
“He is also taking advantage of the fact that the US election is happening today... everyone’s focus is elsewhere,” he told AFP.
After his appointment, Katz vowed “victory over our enemies and to achieve the goals of the war,” including “the destruction of Hamas in Gaza, the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon” and the return of hostages.
Gideon Saar, a minister without portfolio, was appointed to replace Katz as foreign minister.
After being fired, Gallant posted on X that Israel’s security would remain his life’s “mission.”
He called on the government to bring home the hostages in Gaza while they were “still alive” and insisted all Israelis of draft age must serve in the military — a key issue that he and Netanyahu had disagreed on.
The sacked minister had been a key advocate for ultra-Orthodox Jews to be called up, but Netanyahu wanted their exemption to continue, fearing their conscription could break up his far-right coalition government.
Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 43,391 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to Gaza health ministry figures which the United Nations considers to be reliable.
Hamas also seized 251 hostages in their attack, of whom Israel believes 63 people including two children are still alive in Gaza.
After Gallant’s dismissal, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group urged Katz “to prioritize a hostage deal... to secure the immediate release of all hostages.”
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri welcomed the sacking of Gallant, who especially in the early months of the war was seen as a key architect of the fight against the militant group.
“Netanyahu dismissed Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, who was bragging that he would eliminate Hamas. Today, we say to them that Gallant is gone, but Hamas remains, and will remain, God willing,” Abu Zuhri said.


Aviv Bushinsky, a political commentator and former Netanyahu chief of staff, said Gallant’s dismissal was just “a matter of time.”
“I cannot recall an incident when Israel Katz was in opposition to Netanyahu,” he said.
“Besides, Netanyahu thinks he can run the show himself.”
Meanwhile, on the ground, the wars in Gaza and Lebanon showed no sign of abating.
Authorities in Lebanon reported raids across the country, and the toll from a strike on Tuesday in the town of Barja, south of Beirut, rose to 20.
Hezbollah on Tuesday claimed it had fired rockets and drones into northern Israel, and also targeted Israeli troops near the border inside Lebanon.
Tuesday’s fighting came more than a month into the Hezbollah-Israel war which has left at least 1,990 dead in Lebanon since September 23, according to an AFP tally of health ministry figures.
Palestinians in Gaza told AFP that whoever wins the US presidential election must end the conflict in the territory.
“We are hanging by a thread, and like every other people in the world, we are looking for someone who can stop the war,” said Ayman Al-Omreiti, 45, in Gaza City.

Topics: War on Gaza Battlefield Lebanon Israel Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant

Saudi films in the spotlight as RSIFF announces Arab Spectacular selection

Saudi films in the spotlight as RSIFF announces Arab Spectacular selection
Updated 30 min 53 sec ago
Arab News
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Saudi films in the spotlight as RSIFF announces Arab Spectacular selection

Saudi films in the spotlight as RSIFF announces Arab Spectacular selection
Updated 30 min 53 sec ago
Arab News

DUBAI: The Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) unveiled a five-film collection for its Arab Spectacular section, which features world premieres of three Saudi titles exploring societal changes in the Kingdom.

Antoine Khalife, director of Arab Programs & Film Classics for the RSIFF, said in a statement: “We know that our stories and the quality of the way we tell them deserve a place alongside other international films, which is why we are working hard to support and nurture our region’s filmmakers, providing them with a prestigious platform to present their work to international audiences, and facilitating networking opportunities with industry leaders.”

Among the Saudi films is “My Driver and I,” the directorial debut of Saudi creative Ahd Kamel. Set in 1980s and 90s Jeddah, the film follows a rebellious Saudi girl and her Sudanese driver as they form a friendship which is tested when she starts to take the wheel.

“Hobal,” by Saudi director Abdulaziz Alshlahei, follows a Bedouin family whose members are forced by its patriarch to live in isolation in the desert due to fear of an infectious disease during the 1990s.

The third Saudi film to screen in the section is the much-anticipated “Lail Nahar,” directed by filmmaker Abdulaziz Almuzaini, who is behind popular Saudi TV series and movie “Masameer.” When a renowned opera singer faces backlash after a viral accusation of racism, he stuns the public by announcing plans to marry a black woman — only to scramble for a bride and find an unexpected connection with Layl, a wedding singer.

Rounding off RSIFF‘s Arab Spectacular selection is renowned Algerian filmmaker Merzak Allouache’s dramedy “Front Row,” about a feud that breaks out between matriarchs who are vying for the best spot at the beach; and Egyptian director Omar Bakry’s “Abdo & Saneya,” a silent, black-and-white film about an Egyptian couple who immigrates to New York City in search of a cure for infertility without having any notion of modern American life.

Topics: Red Sea International Film Festival 2024 Arab Spectacular

Gigi, Bella Hadid make a stylish splash in Seoul and Dubai for fashion and jewelry launches

Gigi, Bella Hadid make a stylish splash in Seoul and Dubai for fashion and jewelry launches
Updated 49 min 40 sec ago
Arab News
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Gigi, Bella Hadid make a stylish splash in Seoul and Dubai for fashion and jewelry launches

Gigi, Bella Hadid make a stylish splash in Seoul and Dubai for fashion and jewelry launches
Updated 49 min 40 sec ago
Arab News

DUBAI: US Dutch Palestinian model Gigi Hadid spent time in Seoul this week to launch her fashion brand Guest in Residence at a pop-up event in the city, while her sister Bella Hadid was in Dubai for the opening of Chopard’s new boutique in Dubai Mall.

For the event, Gigi wore a piece from her own collection—a chic brown cashmere coat called the Grizzly Coat—styled with straight-leg jeans, black loafers and a gold necklace. She wore her blonde hair in a sleek bob, complemented by winged eyeliner and a mauve lip.

Caption

The supermodel also shared glimpses of her time in Seoul on Instagram. She hosted a dinner for her guests, which included notable names from the music and fashion world, such as CL, leader of the K-pop girl group 2NE1.

CL posted a clip with Hadid on her Instagram welcoming her to Seoul and shared a look at the dinner’s star-studded guest list. Attendees included NewJeans members Hanni, Danielle, and Minji, “Squid Game” star Jung Ho-yeon and Korean American rapper Jay Park.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by (@dailyfashion_news)

The Guest in Residence pop-up is located in Seoul’s trendy Gangnam district and will run through Nov. 24.

Meanwhile, Bella surprised fans in Dubai on Tuesday with a visit to Dubai Mall. She joined Chopard’s creative director Caroline Scheufele for the ribbon-cutting ceremony before entering the boutique to meet with industry insiders and clients.

Bella Hadid touched down in the UAE this week. (Instagram) 

Later, she made a glamorous appearance at an after-party held at Jaipur Rugs in Alserkal Avenue. Wearing a flowing gold gown from Elie Saab’s Fall/ Winter 2004 Haute Couture collection, she smiled and waved to fans while mingling with guests and clients at the event.

Among the event's attendees was US Iraqi beauty mogul Huda Kattan, who posed for a photo with Bella and Scheufele.

Bella was named the new face and global ambassador for the luxury Swiss jewelry house in September.

Hadid first showed off Chopard creations at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and has been spotted wearing jewelry by the maison on various red carpets as of late, including multiple sightings at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. 

Bella has also been making waves in the beauty industry with her own fragrance brand, Orabella, which launched in May.

Topics: Gigi Hadid Bella Hadid Dubai Seoul

Pakistan files terrorism charges against guard for attacking Chinese nationals in Karachi

Pakistan files terrorism charges against guard for attacking Chinese nationals in Karachi
Updated 59 min 21 sec ago
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Pakistan files terrorism charges against guard for attacking Chinese nationals in Karachi

Pakistan files terrorism charges against guard for attacking Chinese nationals in Karachi
  • The incident followed last month’s suicide bombing in the city that killed two Chinese workers
  • Pakistan’s foreign ministry says it is ‘resolute’ in bringing the perpetrator of the crime to justice
Updated 59 min 21 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Pakistani police have filed terrorism charges against a security guard accused of opening fire on four Chinese nationals at a textile mill in Karachi, injuring two on Tuesday.
The attack took place at Liberty Textile Mill in the SITE Industrial Area, according to a police report.
The Chinese nationals — identified as Wang Xing Zhong, Zheng Luwen, Zhou Baolin and Wei Sixian — were at the mill to install new machinery. They reportedly arrived daily in a bulletproof vehicle with security provided by a private firm and the Special Protection Unit (SPU) of Sindh Police.
According to the report, filed on the request of the factory’s security head Najib-ur-Rab, the Chinese nationals had just started working on machinery installation in the knitting department on the first floor when the attack occurred.
“At around 8:15 a.m., a security guard named Sharifullah, employed by Executive Security Company and stationed at Liberty Mill for four to five months, went to the first floor and, for unknown reasons, began firing indiscriminately at the Chinese nationals with a 9mm pistol, intending to kill,” the police report said.
Two of the Chinese nationals, Wang Xing Zhong and Zheng Luwen, were seriously injured and were rushed to the hospital in the factory’s ambulance. The guard fled the scene.
Police recovered 16 used 9mm shell casings at the site.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry condemned the attack, saying the country “remains resolute in bringing the responsible individual to justice.”
It added that it was working closely with the interior ministry and the Chinese embassy in Islamabad to ensure a thorough investigation.
China, breaking with tradition, recently spoke out publicly against security threats to its workers and nationals in Pakistan, where hundreds work on Beijing-funded projects linked to the over $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Last month, two Chinese nationals were killed in a suicide bombing near the international airport in Karachi. In March this year, a suicide bombing killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in northwestern Pakistan as they headed to the Dasu Dam, the largest hydropower project in the country.
In 2022, three Chinese educators and their Pakistani driver were killed when an explosion tore through a van at the University of Karachi. A bus blast in northern Pakistan in 2021 killed 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals.
Pakistan announced in a joint statement with China last month it had agreed to increase security for Chinese citizens and projects in the South Asian nation, as Beijing called for urgent security measures following a surge in militant threats.
Sindh Home Minister Zia Ul Hassan Lanjar has directed police to conduct a “thorough investigation,” his office said soon after the recent shooting incident.
According to a statement, the minister also directed an audit of security companies providing protection to Chinese nationals and other foreigners.
“The physical and mental fitness tests of guards assigned to important duties like security should be done,” the statement quoted Lanjar as saying.

Nearly 800,000 Afghans expelled from Pakistan year after deportation drive launched

Nearly 800,000 Afghans expelled from Pakistan year after deportation drive launched
Updated 06 November 2024
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Nearly 800,000 Afghans expelled from Pakistan year after deportation drive launched

Nearly 800,000 Afghans expelled from Pakistan year after deportation drive launched
  • Islamabad blames Afghans for being behind militant violence, smuggling, other crimes in Pakistan
  • Taliban government in Kabul says Pakistan’s security and other challenges are a domestic issue
Updated 06 November 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has repatriated nearly 800,000 Afghan nationals that were residing in the country ‘illegally,’ according to government figures released on Wednesday, a year after the launch of a deportation drive that has drawn widespread criticism from international governments and rights organizations.

Authorities began expelling foreigners living in the country illegally from Nov. 1, 2023, following a spike in suicide bombings which the Pakistan government says were carried out by Afghan nationals or by militants who cross over into Pakistan from neighboring Afghanistan. Islamabad has also blamed illegal Afghan immigrants and refugees for involvement in smuggling and other crimes. The Taliban government in Kabul says Pakistan’s security and other challenges are a domestic issue and cannot be blamed on the neighbor. 

A cash-strapped Pakistan that was navigating record inflation, alongside a tough International Monetary Fund bailout program last year, had also said at the time it announced the deportation drive that undocumented migrants had drained its resources for decades and it could no longer afford to house them.

“Repatriation of Afghans residing illegally in Pakistan is continuing,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday as it shared latest figures of the deportation drive. “The total figure of returnees has reached 799,208.”

Until the government initiated the expulsion drive last year, Pakistan was home to over four million Afghan migrants and refugees out of which around 1.7 million were undocumented. 

Afghans make up the largest portion of migrants, many of whom came after the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, but a large number have been present since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Islamabad insists the deportation drive is not aimed at any particular nationality but at all ‘illegal aliens’ but the drive has disproportionately hit Afghans. 

Last July, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced an extension for expired UNHCR-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards given to almost 1.5 million Afghans for a year after the UN refugee commissioner asked for a pause in the country’s plan to repatriate refugees. The cards, which the UN describes as a “critical” identity document, would now be valid until June 30, 2025.

In October 2023, when Pakistan announced phase one of the “Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan,” it gave a 30-day deadline for “undocumented” aliens to leave the country or be subject to deportation, putting 1.4 million Afghan refugees at risk.

In phase two of the “repatriation plan,” around 600,00 Afghans who hold Pakistan-issued Afghan citizenship cards (ACCs) will be expelled while phase three will target those with Proof of Registration cards.

The deportation drive has also effected trade and the flow of people between Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

Before the repatriation plan, Pashtun tribes straddling both sides of the British-era border’s Durand Line historically moved freely for businesses and communal life. But since last year, for the first time since the border was drawn over a century ago, Pakistani authorities are requiring residents to show a passport and visa before crossing over, paperwork virtually none of them possess. Previously, residents living in border towns could pass through using only their Pakistan national identity cards.

The deportation drive and border restrictions have also led to a spike in tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan. The Taliban deny militants are using Afghan soil to launch attacks or that Afghans are involved in militancy in Pakistan.

Topics: Afghan Pakistan deportation drive

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