Thousands march on Peru’s capital as unrest spreads, building set ablaze

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Protesters seeking the release from prison of ousted President Pedro Castillo clash with police in Lima on Jan. 19, 2023. (AP)

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A protester is detained and thrown on the back of police vehicle during clashes in Lima on Jan. 19, 2023. (AP)

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Riot police officers take cover behind their shields during the 'Take over Lima' march against Peru's President Dina Boluarte on January 19, 2023. (REUTERS)

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A house fire is seen during a protest against the government of President Dina Boluarte in Lima on January 19, 2023. (AFP)

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Updated 20 January 2023

Reuters

January 20, 2023 05:49

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Thousands march on Peru’s capital as unrest spreads, building set ablaze

At least 45 have died in violence sparked by the December 7 ouster of leftist former President Pedro Castillo after he tried to illegally shutter Congress and consolidate power

Updated 20 January 2023

Reuters

January 20, 2023 05:49

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LIMA: Thousands of protesters in Peru, many from the country’s heavily indigenous south, descended on Lima, the capital, on Thursday, angered by a mounting death toll since unrest erupted last month and calling for sweeping change.
Police estimated the march at around 3,500, but others speculated it attracted more than double that.
Rows of police in riot gear faced off against rock-hurling protesters on some streets, and one historic building in the city’s historic center caught on fire late on Thursday.
The building, on San Martin Plaza, was empty when the massive blaze ignited from unknown causes, a firefighter commander told local radio.
Over the past month, raucous and sometimes deadly protests have led to the worst violence Peru has seen in over two decades as many in poorer, rural regions vent anger at the Lima establishment over inequality and rising prices, testing the copper-rich Andean nation’s democratic institutions.
Protesters are demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, snap elections and a new constitution to replace the market-friendly one dating back to right-wing strongman Alberto Fujimori in the 1990s.
“We want the usurper Dina Boluarte to step down and call for new elections,” said protester Jose De la Rosa, predicting the street protests will only continue.
The protests have been sparked by the dramatic Dec. 7 ouster of leftist former President Pedro Castillo after he tried to illegally shutter Congress and consolidate power.
In buses and on foot, thousands journeyed to Lima on Thursday, carrying flags and banners blasting the government and police for deadly clashes in the southern cities of Ayacucho and Juliaca.
The unrest spread far beyond the capital.
In southern Arequipa, police fired tear gas at hundreds of protesters who tried to take over the airport, local television showed, leading officials to announce the suspension of operations at the Arequipa and Cusco airports.
The mounting death toll stands at 45, according to the government ombudsman, with the latest victim on Thursday coming from southern Puno region, a woman who succumbed to injuries from a day earlier. Another nine deaths are attributed to accidents related to protest blockades.
Across the nation, roadway blockades were seen in 18 of the country’s 25 regions, according to transport officials, underscoring the reach of the protests.
Police had increased surveillance of roads entering Lima and political leaders called for calm.
Last week, the embattled Boluarte government extended a state of emergency in Lima and the southern regions of Puno and Cusco, curtailing some civil rights.
“We do not want more deaths, we do not want more injuries, enough blood, enough mourning for the families of Peru,” Interior Minister Vicente Romero told reporters.
Boluarte has asked for “forgiveness” for the protest deaths, even as protester banners label her a “murderer” and call the killings by security forces “massacres.” She has dismissed calls to resign.
Human rights groups have accused the police and army of using deadly firearms in the protests. The police say the protesters have used weapons and homemade explosives.
“We won’t forget the pain the police have caused in the town of Juliaca,” said one protester traveling to Lima, who did not give her name. She referred to the city where an especially deadly protest took place earlier this month. “We women, men, children have to fight.”
Other protesters pointed to strategic reasons for targeting the coastal capital.
“We want to centralize our movement here in Lima, which is the heart of Peru, to see if they are moved,” said protester Domingo Cueva, who had traveled from Cusco.
“We have observed an increase in repressions everywhere,” he added.

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China, Philippines assess ties amid escalating sea disputes

Updated 23 March 2023

March 23, 2023 05:03

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China, Philippines assess ties amid escalating sea disputes

Discussions would focus on the long-seething territorial spats in the disputed South China Sea
Marcos administration has filed at least 77 of more than 200 diplomatic protests against China’s increasingly assertive actions

Updated 23 March 2023

March 23, 2023 05:03

MANILA: Senior Chinese and Filipino diplomats were meeting in Manila on Thursday to review their relations amid thorny issues, including Beijing’s alarm over a Philippine decision to allow the US military to expand its presence to a northern region facing the Taiwan Strait and escalating spats in the disputed South China Sea.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong and Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Theresa Lazaro were leading the talks aimed at assessing overall relations on Thursday. The discussions would focus on the long-seething territorial spats in the disputed waterway on Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said.
The back-to-back meetings are the first under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office in June last year. He met Chinese President Xi Jinping in a state visit to Beijing in January where both agreed to expand ties, pursue talks on potential joint oil and gas explorations and manage territorial disputes amicably.
But the territorial conflicts have persisted as a major irritant in relations early in the six-year term of Marcos, whose administration has filed at least 77 of more than 200 diplomatic protests by the Philippines against China’s increasingly assertive actions in the disputed waters since last year alone.
That included a February 6 incident when a Chinese coast guard ship aimed a military-grade laser that briefly blinded some crew members of a Philippine patrol vessel off a disputed shoal. Marcos summoned the Chinese ambassador to Manila to express concern over the incident, but Beijing said the Philippine vessel intruded into Chinese territorial waters and its coast guard used a harmless laser gadget to monitor the vessel’s movement.
Early last month, the Marcos administration announced it would allow rotating batches of American forces to indefinitely station in four more Philippine military camps. Those are in addition to five local bases earlier designated under a 2014 defense pact between the longtime treaty allies.
Marcos said Wednesday the four new military sites would include areas in the northern Philippines. That location has infuriated Chinese officials because it would provide US forces a staging ground close to southern China and Taiwan.
The Americans would also have access to military areas on the western Philippine island province of Palawan, Marcos said, adding that the US military presence under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement was aimed at boosting coastal defense.
Palawan faces the South China Sea, a key passage for global trade that Beijing claims virtually in its entirety but a United Nations-backed arbitration tribunal ruled in 2016 that historical claim had no legal basis under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Seas.
China had dismissed the ruling, which Washington and other Western governments recognize, and continues to defy it.
When asked to react to the Philippine decision, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a news briefing in Beijing on Wednesday that defense cooperation between countries “needs to be conducive to regional peace and stability and not targeted at or harmful to the interests of any third party.”
Wang warned countries in the region “to remain vigilant and avoid being coerced or used by the US” without naming the Philippines.
A recent statement issued by the Chinese Embassy in Manila was more blunt and warned that the Manila government’s security cooperation with Washington “will drag the Philippines into the abyss of geopolitical strife and damage its economic development at the end of the day.”
The Biden administration has been strengthening an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China, including in any future confrontation over Taiwan. The US moves dovetail with Philippine efforts to shore up its territorial defense amid its disputes with China in the South China Sea.
Two senior Filipino officials said that the Philippine government would extend the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which allows the temporary presence of US forces and their defense equipment in the country. The Philippine Constitution prohibits the permanent basing of foreign troops in the country and their involvement in local combat.
The agreement, signed in 2014, would initially be effective for 10 years and would remain in force automatically unless terminated by either side with a one-year advance written notice.
The two officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they lack authority to discuss the issue publicly.

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Thai police shoot gunman dead after 15-hour standoff

Updated 23 March 2023

AFP

March 23, 2023 05:55

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Thai police shoot gunman dead after 15-hour standoff

Thailand has high rates of gun ownership and there has been a steady number of violent incidents in the past 12 months
In one of the deadliest attacks in recent history, a gunman massacred 36 people, including 24 children

Updated 23 March 2023

AFP

March 23, 2023 05:55

BANGKOK: Thai police shot dead a gunman who killed three people and wounded three others, a senior officer said Thursday, after a 15-hour standoff.
The shooter started firing in Phetchaburi, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Bangkok, at around 3 p.m. (0800 GMT) on Wednesday, before police surrounded a house he was in.
The standoff ended early Thursday when armed police stormed the building and killed the gunman, who has not been named but was reported by local media to be a 29-year-old former national park official.
“We proceeded step by step, starting with negotiation but he kept fighting back and shot others,” Police Lt. Gen. Thanawut Wutijarasthamrong said.
“He ran into his room (on the second floor). If we did not have shields, my men would have been shot.”
Police found a Glock pistol and two magazines at the scene, but believe the man had more weapons.
Thailand has high rates of gun ownership and there has been a steady number of violent incidents in the past 12 months, including one of the deadliest attacks in recent history: the massacre of 36 people, including 24 children, in northeastern Nong Bua Lam Phu province.

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Topics: Thailand Phetchaburi

Across globe, women battle ‘gendered disinformation’

Updated 23 March 2023

AFP

March 23, 2023 04:48

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Across globe, women battle ‘gendered disinformation’

Researchers say “gendered disinformation” has relentlessly targeted women around the world, tarnishing their reputations, undermining their credibility and, in many cases, upending their careers
Facebook has acknowledged that online abuse of women was a “serious problem” and pledged to work with policymakers on their concerns

Updated 23 March 2023

AFP

March 23, 2023 04:48

WASHINGTON: Fake photos showing Ukraine’s first lady sunbathing topless, incorrect video subtitles defaming Pakistani feminists for “blasphemy,” slow-motion clips falsely depicting “drunk” female politicians — a barrage of disinformation targets women in the public eye.
Researchers say “gendered disinformation” — when sexism and misogyny intersect with online falsehoods — has relentlessly targeted women around the world, tarnishing their reputations, undermining their credibility and, in many cases, upending their careers.
AFP’s global fact-checkers have debunked falsehoods targeting politically active women, or those linked to prominent politicians, exposing online campaigns that feature fake information or manipulated images that are often sexually charged.
Last year, a fake image of Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska lying topless on a beach in Israel was shared widely on Facebook, triggering criticism that she was having fun while her war-torn country was suffering.
A reverse image search by AFP showed the woman in the photo was, in fact, a Russian television presenter.
Former American first lady Michelle Obama and current French first lady Brigitte Macron have also been targeted in false online posts that claimed they were born as men. The disinformation sparked an avalanche of mockery and transphobic remarks.
New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, who announced her resignation as prime minister in January, is another prominent figure that faced a torrent of disinformation about her sex.
“Women — especially those in positions of power and visibility — are unduly targeted by online disinformation,” Maria Giovanna Sessa, a senior researcher at the nonprofit EU DisinfoLab, wrote in a report last year.

In another tactic that raised alarm in 2020, a slowed-down version of a video of Nancy Pelosi, the then US House Speaker, went viral. The effect made her speech slurred and gave the false impression that she was drunk.
“Building on sexist stereotypes and disseminated with malign intent, gendered disinformation campaigns have a chilling effect on the women they target,” Lucina Di Meco, a gender equality expert wrote in a study published last month.
The disinformation often leads to “political violence, hate and the deterring of young women from considering a political career,” said the study titled “monetizing misogyny.”
In disinformation tactics typically deployed by political opponents, female politicians are sometimes framed as inherently undependable, too emotional or promiscuous to hold office.
When Germany’s current foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, was running for chancellor in 2021, she was the subject of frequent disinformation campaigns which raised questions about whether she was fit for the job.
One of them featured images of a nude model purporting to be of her, alongside suggestions that she had engaged in sex work.
Gendered disinformation represents a national security threat as it can be exploited by autocratic states such as Russia to exercise foreign influence, according to multiple researchers.
It can also be used to subdue the opposition.
“When autocratic leaders are in power, gendered disinformation is often used by state-aligned actors to undermine women opposition leaders, as well as women’s rights,” Di Meco’s report warned.

Women around the globe battle falsehoods that reinforce stereotypes that they are unintelligent or inefficient.
In 2021, Egyptian sports shooter Al-Zahraa Shaaban faced false social media posts that she had been excluded from the Tokyo Olympics because she had shot the referee.
That sparked a wave of comments that ridiculed women and questioned their ability to pursue such sporting activities.
Similar questions were raised about their ability to take on military jobs following last year’s crash of an F-35 fighter jet on the deck of a US aircraft carrier in the South China Sea.
False social media posts held the world’s first woman to fly an F-35 responsible for the crash. The pilot, in fact, was a man.
Such humiliating falsehoods, researchers say, can have a silencing effect on women, who are drawn to disengage, censor themselves and even avoid male-dominated professions, including politics.
That was a concern raised in a letter by dozens of US and international lawmakers in 2020 to Facebook, which along with other platforms has been blamed for the algorithmic amplification of false and hateful content targeting women.
In a statement to US media at the time, Facebook acknowledged that online abuse of women was a “serious problem” and pledged to work with policymakers on their concerns.
“Make no mistake, these tactics, which are used on your platform for malicious intent, are meant to silence women, and ultimately undermine our democracies,” the letter said.
“It is no wonder women frequently cite the threat of rapid, widespread, public attacks on personal dignity as a factor deterring them from entering politics.”

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Topics: women empowerment Olena Zelenska fake news gendered disinformation online bullying

US senate votes to keep 2001 authorization for war on terror

Updated 23 March 2023

March 23, 2023 04:30

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US senate votes to keep 2001 authorization for war on terror

Passed in October 2001, the congressional authorization s still used to this day to justify US military action against terror groups that are deemed to be a threat against America

Updated 23 March 2023

March 23, 2023 04:30

WASHINGTON: The US Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to continue congressional authorization for the use of military force in the global fight against terror, turning back an effort by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul to repeal the 2001 measure.
Senators rejected the amendment 86-9 as they are debating a separate repeal of two authorizations of military force in Iraq. There is broad bipartisan support to withdraw that congressional approval granted in 1991 and 2002 for military strikes against Saddam Hussein’s regime.
While those two authorizations are rarely used and focused on just one country, Iraq, the 2001 measure gave President George W. Bush broad authority for the invasion of Afghanistan and the fight against terrorism, approving force “against those nations, organizations, or persons” that planned or aided the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Passed in October 2001, it is still used to this day to justify US military action against terror groups — including Al-Qaeda and its affiliates, such as Daesh and Al-Shabab — that are deemed to be a threat against America.
The 2002 measure that launched the invasion of Iraq 20 years ago this week has been used much less frequently, and supporters of repealing it say it is vulnerable to abuse. President Joe Biden has said he supports that repeal.
Senators in both parties said they might be open to eventually replacing the 2001 authorization for the war on terror and narrowing its authority, but they argued that it should not be fully repealed. “We have not yet had that substantive discussion,” said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, D-N.J., ahead of the amendment vote.
Paul said that by repealing only the Iraq authorizations, Congress is “missing the point” since Hussein’s regime no longer exists. By leaving the 2001 measure in place, Congress is keeping the authorization that approves “war everywhere, all the time,” he said.
The Senate is expected to vote next week to repeal the two Iraq measures. In a test vote this week, 19 Republicans voted with Democrats to move forward on the legislation.
It’s unclear whether leaders in the Republican-controlled House will bring the bill up for a vote, even if it passes the Senate. Forty-nine House Republicans supported the legislation repealing the Iraq authorities when then-majority Democrats held a vote two years ago, but current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., opposed it then.
McCarthy signaled this week that he is open to supporting the measure, but it’s unclear whether House Republicans will move the Senate bill without any changes. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said he is interested in replacing the two Iraq authorizations instead of just repealing them, a move that is unlikely to have support in the Senate.
McCaul met with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Wednesday on the authorizations of military force and other issues.
“I’m going to be for replacement,” he said coming out of that meeting. “I’ll see what the leadership does.”
Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, the lead Democratic author of the Senate bill to repeal the Iraq authorizations, said he believes bipartisan support in the House could move votes. Noting McCarthy’s new openness, he said he views the House as “getting better and better every day” on the issue.
Kaine and Indiana Sen. Todd Young, the Indiana Republican who is also leading the push, have argued that repeal will help the United States’ strategic partnership with Iraq.
“That relationship I think is not lost on some of the members who were now willing to vote for repeal,” Kaine said.

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Topics: Iraq Rand Paul US War authorization George W. Bush US invasion of Iraq US war on terror

UK police link attacks where men set on fire after leaving mosques

Updated 22 March 2023

Arab News

March 22, 2023 23:02

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UK police link attacks where men set on fire after leaving mosques

Rayaz’s family told the Daily Mail that he is being treated in hospital for serious burns to his chest, face and arms
The attacks have caused panic in Birmingham, prompting officers to ramp up patrols

Updated 22 March 2023

Arab News

March 22, 2023 23:02

LONDON: British police on Wednesday said a man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a man was set on fire on his way home from a mosque in central England had also been arrested for a similar incident in London last month.

In the first incident, an 82-year-old victim was engaged in conversation by a man as they both left the West London Islamic Centre before he was doused in a liquid, believed to be petrol, and set alight. Police said the injured man suffered burns to his face and arms.

The second victim, 70-year-old Mohammed Rayaz, was walking home from a mosque in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham on Monday evening when he was approached by a man who sprayed him with a substance and then set his jacket alight. He remains in hospital with severe injuries.

“At this stage we cannot speculate around the motive for the attacks, this is a live investigation and our main aim is to make sure communities are safe and that we bring justice for the victims,” West Midlands Police said in a statement.

On Tuesday, West Midlands Police said counterterrorism officers were supporting their investigation.

Rayaz’s family told the Daily Mail that he is being treated in hospital for serious burns to his chest, face and arms, and is in “extreme pain.”

His nephew told the Mail: “I’ve been to visit him and he looks in a very bad way. He’s not able to speak much and can’t see anything at all.”

The 27-year-old added: “He’s wrapped up in a lot of bandages and we are just praying that he recovers and that there (are) no long-lasting effects from this horrible attack.

“We don’t want to reveal the name of the hospital where he’s being treated but my uncle is in the intensive care unit and is being well looked after. We’re all praying for him.”

Sources told the Mail that the attacker had approached Rayaz and asked him: “Do you speak Arabic?” The pensioner replied: “I only speak Punjabi.”

Seconds later, Rayaz was sprayed with an unknown substance and set alight.

“We are all very upset and angry by what’s happened but it’s positive that the police took immediate action and responded to this attack very seriously,” Shahbo Hussain, a lawyer acting as a spokesman on behalf of the Rayaz family, told the Mail.

“This attack was dealt with by the UK’s counterterrorism unit and we’ve been meeting with them on a regular basis.

“The whole community is united in their condemnation of what happened. Our priority at this time is to support Mr. Rayaz and his family.”

Shabana Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Ladywood, on Wednesday said she had spoken to Rayaz on a video call.

“The victim and his family have been known to me for many years,” she said. “He is such a well-known, well-loved member of our community and it is very upsetting to see him bandaged up, unable to use or move his hands.

“He can’t see anything at the moment because his eyes are very badly swollen. As we know he does have very serious injuries to his face.

“He was able to speak and the first thing he said was thank you to the community for helping him and helping the police with their inquiries and getting an arrest so quickly.

“It was a real testament to his character and wasn’t thinking about himself even though he was in immense pain.

“The family are very touched with how everyone helped and got the evidence together for the police and we were able to chase minute by minute the movements of the attacker which must be of immense use to the police as they continue their investigation.”

The attacks have caused panic in the area, prompting officers to ramp up patrols. Meanwhile, Muslim leaders told the Mail that they fear copycat attacks.

Mohammed Khalil, a 68-year-old living near the Birmingham mosque, told the Mail: “I didn’t know the victim well but when we passed in the street, he was always a lovely guy.

“I have lived on this road for 46 years with my wife and nothing bad has happened here before.

“Since the incident everyone is living in fear. How do we know there aren’t more people going to do it or another attack is planned?”

Another resident echoed Khalil’s comments, adding: “There is a genuine fear amongst people about copycats doing this. In a video I have seen, it appears the attacker looked like he held up a phone and took a picture of the man on fire.

“If that is the case then I am frightened about this starting a horrible online craze. You already have people kicking doors for TikTok videos, what is next? Setting Muslims on fire and filming them as they burn?”

(With Reuters)

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Topics: Islamophobia

Thousands march on Peru’s capital as unrest spreads, building set ablaze

Thousands march on Peru’s capital as unrest spreads, building set ablaze

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Thousands march on Peru’s capital as unrest spreads, building set ablaze

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