CARACAS: Hugo Chavez pledged to become a “better president” and work with the opposition after winning a tough re-election battle that betrayed simmering discontent at his socialist revolution.
The leftist president’s victory was a relief to like-minded allies in the region, with Cuban leader Raul Castro hailing his friend’s “historic triumph,” while the United States urged him to listen to the opposition.
After almost 14 years in power, Chavez survived cancer and the most formidable opponent of his presidency, youthful business leader and former state governor Henrique Capriles, to win another six-year term.
The anti-US firebrand vowed to deepen his oil-funded socialist revolution after hailing his “perfect” victory.
But he also reached out to disenchanted voters by pledging to work with the opposition, a tacit acceptance that this was a narrower victory than in the past and that Venezuela is a country very much divided.
“I want to include everybody, including sectors of the opposition,” Chavez, wearing his trademark red shirt, told thousands of cheering supporters from the balcony of his Miraflores presidential residence.
“I commit to being a better president than I’ve been these past few years,” the 58-year-old leader said. Alluding to his cancer battle, he said: “I thank God and ask him for life and health to keep serving the Venezuelan people.”
The political veteran also held his hand out directly to his opponent. “Believe me: I had a friendly phone chat with Henrique Capriles! I invited him to work for national unity, respecting our differences!” he wrote on Twitter.
A short time later, a less effusive Capriles wrote: “I received a phone call from President Chavez. In the name of more than 6,500,000 Venezuelans I made a call for national unity and respect for everyone,” he wrote.
Picked by the once divided opposition in an unprecedented primary, Capriles, 40, was able to woo voters from Chavez with promises to curb rising crime, reform the oil-dependent economy and unite the polarized nation.
After a massive 81 percent turnout, Chavez won 55 percent, or nearly eight million votes, while Capriles gave the opposition its best score against the president, 44.39 percent, or 6.4 million ballots.
In 2006, Chavez thrashed opposition candidate Manuel Rosales, taking 62 percent of the vote and winning by a thundering 25-point margin.
“The opposition is strengthened, with a clear leadership and many options for the future,” Luis Vicente Leon, president of the Datanalisis polling firm, told AFP after Sunday’s result.
“Chavez won without a doubt, I’m not minimizing it, he’s a political monster. But it’s not the same elections as 2006. Now the opposition has a leader who can seize on its unity,” he said.
Chavez can still count on a devout following among the country’s long-neglected poor, who adore him for the social “missions” that give them free health care, subsidized food and sometimes housing.
“Venezuela will continue its march toward the democratic socialism of the 21st century,” Chavez said in his victory speech.
But Capriles attracted huge crowds at rallies, and his picture could be seen on some homes in Chavez slum bastions after the sports-mad candidate visited 300 towns in a high-octane campaign across the nation.
While accepting defeat with grace, Capriles vowed to continue fighting for the 6.4 million people who voted for him.
“The people contributed to opening a new path and the path is here,” said Capriles. “I am also on this path and I won’t leave almost half the country alone.”
Capriles supporters, many in tears and disbelief, massed outside his campaign headquarters. “I’m disappointed but not defeated,” said Rosana Gonzalez, a 25-year-old student.
The United States and the European Union urged Chavez to extend a hand to the opposition.
“We have our differences with President Chavez,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told journalists. “But we congratulate the Venezuelan people” on the peaceful manner in which the election was carried out, he added.
“We believe that the views of the more than six million people who voted for the opposition should be taken into account going forward,” said William Ostick, a US State Department spokesman.
The fate of Chavez, a fierce US critic and the leading voice of Latin America’s left, was closely watched by communist ally Cuba, which heavily depends on Venezuela’s oil, and other regional partners.
Castro pledged Cuba’s “solidarity and unbreakable support,” while Bolivian President Evo Morales called his fellow leftist’s triumph “a victory for the Bolivarian alliance and all of Latin America.”
Chavez reaches out to opposition after victory
Chavez reaches out to opposition after victory
Reform UK chief slams MP’s calls for burqa ban as ‘dumb’
- Question prompts public criticism from party’s chairman
LONDON: A row has erupted within the right-wing British party Reform UK after its newest member of Parliament, Sarah Pochin, used her maiden question during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday to call for a nationwide ban on the burqa, it was reported on Thursday.
The question prompted public criticism from Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s chairman, who rebuked the move, calling it a “dumb” question.
Pochin, who recently won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer whether the UK would follow European nations such as France, Belgium, and Denmark in banning the burqa “in the interests of public safety.”
Her remarks were met with audible disapproval from some MPs, with cries of “shame” heard in the chamber of the House of Commons.
Lee Anderson, Reform UK’s chief whip, expressed support for Pochin’s suggestion, saying: “Ban the burqa? Yes we should. No one should be allowed to hide their identity in public.”
However, Yusuf was less than supportive, writing on X: “Nothing to do with me. Had no idea about the question, nor that it wasn’t policy. I do think it’s dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn’t do.”
A Reform spokesperson later clarified that Yusuf had not been criticizing Pochin personally, but highlighting the inconsistency of raising a proposal not endorsed by the party.
The spokesperson reiterated that a burqa ban was not official Reform UK policy but acknowledged it was an issue that “deserves national debate.”
Nigel Farage, Reform UK’s leader, speaking on GB News, was more cautious and distanced himself from an outright endorsement, but suggested public discomfort around face coverings warranted discussion.
He said: “I don’t think face coverings in public places make sense, and I think we do deserve a debate about that, of which I see the burqa as being a part.”
Pochin, a former Conservative councillor, later suggested her question had been sourced from public suggestions submitted online. “Thank you to everyone who sent in questions for the prime minister,” she posted.
The incident has reignited concerns about internal divisions within Reform UK. It comes just months after former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe was expelled from the party following a falling out with both Yusuf and Farage.
Lowe, who has expressed hardline views on immigration and has backed calls to ban the burqa, now sits as an independent.
Reform has also been plagued by tension at the grassroots level. Following the recent local elections, Donna Edmunds, a Shropshire councillor, resigned from the party in protest, describing Farage as a “terrible leader” and warning that he “must never be prime minister.”
Amid the latest fallout, a Labour spokesperson said: “Nigel Farage could fit all of his MPs in the back of a cab, yet he can’t stop them fighting among themselves.”
Reform UK and Sarah Pochin were approached by the BBC, The Guardian, and The Independent for further comment.
Ailing Baltic Sea in need of urgent attention
- Unveiling its road map to protect Europe’s seas, the European Ocean Pact, Brussels announced a summit on the state of the Baltic Sea in late September
- The Baltic Sea is home to some of the world’s largest dead marine zones, mainly due to excess nutrient runoff into the sea from human activities on land
HELSINKI: Decades of pollution and climate change have caused fish to disappear from the Baltic Sea at an alarming rate, with the European Union on Thursday vowing to make the sea an “urgent priority.”
Unveiling its road map to protect Europe’s seas, the European Ocean Pact, Brussels announced a summit on the state of the Baltic Sea in late September.
The semi-enclosed sea is surrounded by industrial and agricultural nations Germany, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the three Baltic states.
Connected to the Atlantic only by the narrow waters of the Danish straits, the Baltic is known for its shallow, low-salinity waters, which are highly sensitive to the climate and environmental changes that have accumulated over the years.
“Today, the once massive Baltic cod stocks have collapsed, herring stocks in several sub-basins are balancing on critical levels, sprat recruitment is at a record low and wild salmon stocks are in decline,” Swedish European MP Isabella Lovin, rapporteur for the EU Committee of Fishing, warned in a report, calling the situation “critical.”
The Baltic Sea is home to some of the world’s largest dead marine zones, mainly due to excess nutrient runoff into the sea from human activities on land — a challenge the sea has long grappled with.
The runoff has primarily been phosphorus and nitrogen from waste water and fertilizers used in agriculture, as well as other activities such as forestry.
It causes vast algae blooms in summer, a process known as eutrophication that removes oxygen from the water, leaving behind dead seabeds and marine habitats and threatening species living in the Baltic.
Today, agriculture is the biggest source of nutrient pollution.
Marine biodiversity in the relatively small sea has also deteriorated due to pollution from hazardous substances, land use, extraction of resources and climate change, according to the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM).
“The state of the Baltic Sea is not good,” Maria Laamanen, a senior adviser at the Finnish environment ministry, told AFP.
Climate change poses “a massive additional challenge” for the marine environment, she said.
Of the world’s coastal seas, the Baltic Sea is warming the fastest.
A 2024 study said sea surface and sea floor temperatures have increased by 1.8 and 1.3 degrees Celsius respectively in the Finnish archipelago in the northern Baltic Sea, in the period from 1927 to 2020.
The consequences of rising temperatures already affect species, while increased rainfall has led to more runoff from land to sea.
Better waste water treatment and gypsum treatment of agricultural soil, as well as an expansion of protected marine areas in Finland, have had a positive effect on the maritime environment, according to Laamanen, who said environmental engagement had grown in recent years.
“The situation would be much worse without the measures already implemented,” she said.
In her report, Lovin called for an ambitious reform of fisheries, with stronger attention paid to environmental and climate change impacts.
The report also questioned whether the Baltic could continue to sustain industrial-scale trawling, and suggested giving “priority access to low-impact fisheries and fishing for human consumption.”
The head of the Finnish Fishermen’s Association (SAKL) Kim Jordas said eutrophication was to blame for the declining fish stocks in the Baltic Sea, not overfishing.
“Looking at cod for example, it is entirely due to the state of the Baltic Sea and the poor oxygen situation,” Jordas told AFP.
In Finland, the number of commercial fishermen has been declining, with a total of around 400 active today.
Afghan women UN staff forced to work from home after threats
- UNAMA confirmed that UN staff had been threatened
- “Several United Nations female national staff members in the Afghan capital Kabul have been subjected to threats,” it said
KABUL: Afghan women working for the United Nations in Kabul have been threatened by unidentified men because of their jobs, the organization and several women told AFP on Thursday.
Multiple women working for various UN agencies told AFP on condition of anonymity they had been threatened on the street and over the phone by men warning them to “stay home.”
UN staffer Huda — not her real name — said that for weeks she has been bombarded with messages abusing her for “working with foreigners.”
“The messages keep coming and they are always harassing us... saying, ‘Don’t let me see you again, or else’,” the young woman told AFP.
She said her office had advised her to work from home until further notice.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed that UN staff had been threatened.
“Several United Nations female national staff members in the Afghan capital Kabul have been subjected to threats by unidentified individuals related to their work with the UN,” it said in a statement.
Considering the threats “extremely serious,” the UN has taken “interim” measures “to ensure the safety and security of staff members,” it added.
The Taliban government, accused by the UN of imposing a “gender apartheid” against women since returning to power in 2021, has denied any involvement.
Interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said such threats were a “crime” and that police would take action.
UNAMA said the authorities had opened an investigation.
Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban authorities have severely restricted Afghan women from working and it is the only country in the world where women are banned from education beyond primary school.
The government in 2022 banned women from working for domestic and international NGOs, which was extended to include the UN’s offices in the country the following year.
The policy has some exceptions including for women working in health care and education, and has not been consistently enforced.
The UN has previously called the policy “deeply discriminatory.”
Selsela, in her 30s, said while returning from the office last week she was approached by unknown men who told her she should be “ashamed” and that she must “stay home.”
“They said, ‘We told you nicely this time, but next time you’ll have another thing coming’,” she told AFP.
“I was very scared,” she said, explaining how she struggles to work efficiently from home in a country where electricity and Internet are unreliable.
“The situation for women is getting worse every day.”
Another woman, Rahila, said she and two other women colleagues were stopped by men while traveling home in a UN vehicle and told not to go to the office anymore.
“They said, ‘Don’t you know that you are not allowed?’,” Rahila said, adding that she has also received threatening messages from unknown numbers.
“I am very worried, I need my job and my salary,” she said.
Three-quarters of Afghanistan’s population of some 45 million people struggle to meet their daily needs, according to the UN, with the country facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
New Trump ban puts thousands of Afghans in US resettlement limbo
- Ban hits nationals of 12 countries, including Iran, Libya, Sudan and Yemen
- 25,000 Afghans approved for relocation to the US are stranded in Pakistan
KABUL: A new US travel ban, which lists Afghans among nationals of 12 affected countries, has put on hold the lives of thousands of refugees who fled Afghanistan after the withdrawal of American-led troops in 2021.
US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday banning nationals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the country — part of a broader immigration crackdown launched by his administration earlier this year at the start of his second term.
The move has placed in a state of indefinite waiting some 25,000 Afghans who have been approved for relocation to the US and are awaiting departure in Pakistan.
One of them, Mohammad Iqbal, a 35-year-old former government employee, told Arab News that his refugee resettlement application has been active for the past two years. Having completed two interviews with the UN refugee agency and the necessary medical check-ups, he was waiting for his final visa appointment.
He is not allowed to work in Pakistan, and he also cannot go back to Afghanistan — both for safety reasons and since that would halt the refugee process.
“I am running out of money and there is no work for Afghans here in Pakistan. We are also facing an increasing risk of deportation. My passport will expire if I don’t make it to the US in a few months. It will be very difficult to go back to Afghanistan. I won’t be safe there,” Iqbal said.
“I have done my master’s degree abroad and worked in some highly technical positions before 2021 ... The current decision by the US president is very unfair and is against the promises made to us by the US government.”
Besides those in Pakistan, thousands more Afghans are in the same situation stranded in Qatar and in the UAE, and another few hundred have been kept waiting at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo — the largest US military base in the Balkans.
The US travel ban will be in effect from June 9, according to a presidential proclamation released by the White House, which said that it was needed to protect the US from “from terrorist attacks and other national security or public-safety threats.”
Justifying the decision on Afghanistan, Trump cited its lack of a “competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents” and screening and vetting capabilities. Another reason was that the Taliban, “a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group,” controls Afghanistan.
The Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, when its Western-backed administration collapsed as American-led international forces withdrew after two decades of occupation that started with the US invasion of the country in 2001.
The troop withdrawal was followed by an exodus of hundreds of thousands of Afghans — many of whom had worked as translators or local staff for foreign governments, organizations or for the previous administration, and feared potential retribution by the Taliban.
“The US played a direct role in creating this situation. As a result of the 20-year US occupation, Afghan society was divided into hostile groups that turned against each other,” said Nasir Ahmad Nawidy, political science professor at Salam University in Kabul.
“Because of the improper policy of the US — without an agreement and peace being reached — the country collapsed, and the systems and order were destroyed. As a result, many people who were prominent figures or experts in the previous regime, or other people who had held important positions in this country, were forced to leave Afghanistan.”
He was still hopeful that the US justice system would challenge Trump’s decision.
“The US has a commitment to these people,” he said. “They have been promised it, and their visas are in process. Ignoring these commitments and halting or delaying ongoing processes is against all humanitarian laws.”
German foreign minister tells Israeli counterpart to allow more aid into Gaza
- Germany would continue to deliver weapons to Israel
BERLIN: German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul criticized Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip at a press conference with his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar in Berlin on Thursday, again calling for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into the enclave.
Wadephul also decried the Israeli government’s announcement that it would allow 22 more settlements in the West Bank.
Germany would continue to deliver weapons to Israel, he added, saying the country needed to defend itself.
