Voices from Gaza: Protests demand an end to war and suffering
Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza – For the third consecutive day, Hassan Saad, 38, and hundreds of others took to the streets in Beit Lahiya, demanding an end to their suffering and a halt to the war on Gaza. Saad is one of the protest coordinators, working with 14 others who he says came together spontaneously to organise the demonstrations. The main trigger, Saad explains, was a Facebook discussion after new Israeli eviction orders were issued last Monday. “The nightmare of displacement once again was the primary reason that pushed us to do something to demand an end to the war on Gaza,” Saad told Al Jazeera by phone from Beit Lahiya on Thursday. “The idea of taking to the streets in protests, holding signs calling for an immediate end to the war, was born.” Saad was forced to flee Beit Lahiya two months into Israel’s war on Gaza. On January 27, when hundreds of thousands of displaced residents were allowed back to northern Gaza, he returned to the rubble of his home. Going back to bombings and eviction notices from the Israeli army was more than the Facebook group’s members could bear, Saad added. Advertisement He attributes the response to the sense of abandonment felt by Palestinians, as the world, in his words, has left them to face displacement, starvation, killing, bombardment, and arrests alone. On Tuesday, videos began to appear on social media of hundreds of people in Gaza, particularly in Beit Lahiya, chanting against the war and calling for Hamas to step down. ‘We raise our children, only to lose them’ The demand for Hamas to relinquish power was not an official goal, Saad clarified, rather, the call came spontaneously from protesters. “It’s difficult to control people’s opinions during protests, especially when they are exhausted and deeply frustrated,” Saad added. “The people’s demands stem from an unbearable reality … If ending the war requires Hamas to step aside, then so be it.” However, Saad added, he rejects any political exploitation of the protests to attack Hamas and the Palestinian resistance. “Whether we agree or disagree with Hamas, they’re ultimately part of our people … They’re not from another planet,” he added. Commenting on the protests, Hamas Political Bureau member Basem Naim said on Facebook: “Everyone has the right to cry out in pain and raise their voice against the aggression against our people and the betrayal of our nation. “Whether our people have taken to the streets or not, we are part of them and they are part of us,” he continued, denouncing any exploitation of the situation, “whether to advance dubious political agendas or to deflect responsibility from the criminal aggressor, the occupation and its army.” Hisham al-Barawi protested in Beit Lahiya, Gaza, on March 26, 2025 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash, Al Jazeera] As images of the demonstrations in Beit Lahiya circulated, commentators inside and outside Gaza offered differing interpretations. Advertisement Some see them as a natural expression of the majority’s demands – an end to Israel’s war of extermination against Gaza. Others focused on the call for Hamas to relinquish control of the Strip and allow a restructuring to facilitate an end to the war. Munthir al-Hayek, Gaza spokesperson for Fatah – Hamas’s political rival that dominates the Palestinian Authority (PA) – wrote on Facebook, urging Hamas to “heed the people’s voice” and step down, enabling the PA and the Palestine Liberation Organization to assume responsibility. On the Israeli side, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee expressed support for the protests, framing them as wholly anti-Hamas. In Gaza, these varying framings have sown confusion about the demonstrations’ motivations, but organisers – and al-Barawi – insist that the core demand is ending the war. Hisham al-Barawi, 52, a protest participant, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that, contrary to media claims, they were not “led” into the streets by any external forces. “We’re here to say: ‘enough oppression and death.’ Every two years, we go through wars. We raise our children for years, only to lose them. “We build our homes, only for them to be bombed in seconds. We’re exhausted … we’re only human!” al-Barawi shouted. “Hamas … we do not hate them. But I call on them to step down. Their 18 years of rule were filled with wars and escalations. We want to live in peace.” Mahmoud Jihad Al-Haj Ahmed, 34, a doctor at Kamal Adwan Hospital, joins the protest calls for an end to the war on March 26, 2025 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash, Al Jazeera] ‘We just want to live’ Marching near al-Barawi was Mahmoud Jihad al-Haj Ahmed, 34, a doctor at Kamal Adwan Hospital. Advertisement “Our protests are independent. We want the war to stop. We refuse to have our lives gambled with any further,” he said. “We need humanitarian aid. We need border crossings to open. We need a dignified life.” Al-Haj Ahmed recounted Israel killing his parents and sister, but he did not have time to grieve as his work at the hospital consumed him until the day the Israeli army forced everyone inside to leave. “We have so many children and youngsters who are amputees … so many wounded people who need to travel for treatment, but they’re blocked from leaving,” he said. “It’s dire.” Regarding the calls for Hamas to relinquish power, al-Haj Ahmed said that if Hamas stepping down would alleviate people’s suffering, he would support that without hesitation. “This requires prioritising the greater public interest. The suffering is unbearable,” he said. Saed Falafel, 60, a resident of Beit Lahiya, takes part in the protest on March 26, 2025 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera] “I believe the solution is a completely independent local administration with no political affiliations to govern Gaza and lead us out of this crisis. “I urge our brothers in Hamas to give others a chance to govern Gaza. The next leadership does not have to be against Hamas, we have many competent national figures who can manage the Strip.” Saed Falafel, 60, has also been protesting,
Spanish court overturns ex-footballer Dani Alves’ rape conviction on appeal
Alves had been found guilty in February 2024 of raping a women in a Spanish nightclub in December 2022. Former Barcelona player Dani Alves won his appeal against a sexual assault conviction as a Spanish court overturned the ruling. Alves was found guilty in February 2024 of raping a woman in a nightclub in December 2022 and sentenced to four years, six months in prison. The former Brazil and Barcelona defender denied wrongdoing during the three-day trial. That court ruled Friday that there was “insufficient evidence” to rule out Alves’s presumption of innocence. The Alves trial was the first high-profile case since Spain overhauled its laws in 2022 to make consent central to defining a sex crime, in response to an upswell of protests after a gang-rape case during the San Fermin bull-running festival in Pamplona in 2016. The legislation popularly known as the “only yes means yes” law defines consent as an explicit expression of a person’s will, making it clear that silence or passivity do not equal consent. But the four judges of a Barcelona-based appeals court ruled unanimously to overturn the conviction. In their ruling, they wrote that the testimony of the plaintiff “differed notably” from evidence of video footage taken before the woman and Alves entered the toilet where she said he forced her to have sex without her consent. Former Brazilian footballer Dani Alves leaving the Brians 2 prison on bail in March 2024 while he appealed his rape conviction [Bruna Casas/Reuters] Alves, now 41, was kept in jail from January 20, 2023 until March 2024 when he was released after paying $1.2m for bail while awaiting his appeal. He also handed over his passports, with prosecutors having argued against releasing him on bail because of a possible flight risk. Advertisement Prosecutors wanted his prison sentence increased to nine years while the victim’s lawyer wanted him to stay behind bars for 12 years. This decision could be appealed to the Spanish Supreme Court in Madrid. Alves was one of the most successful players of his generation and won dozens of titles with elite clubs including Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain. He also helped Brazil win two Copa Americas and an Olympic gold medal at age 38. He played at his third World Cup, the only major title he hasn’t won, in 2022. He played for Barcelona from 2008-16, helping the team win three Champions Leagues and six Spanish leagues, and briefly rejoined the club in 2022. He still has a residence near the city. He was with Mexican club Pumas when he was arrested. Pumas terminated his contract immediately. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia suffers ‘heavy losses’ in east Ukraine amid shaky limited ceasefire
Russia and Ukraine appeared to have stopped targeting each other’s energy infrastructure this week, although the details of an agreement reached on Sunday were still being worked out. “I can confirm that since this date, March 25 … there have been no attacks on energy objects. Neither Russian attacks on our energy objects, or our attacks on Russian energy objects,” Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi told the Kyiv Independent on Thursday. In reaching the partial ceasefire agreement, the United States appeared to abandon the comprehensive ceasefire proposal it agreed with Ukraine on March 11. Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected it a week later during a phone call with US President Donald Trump, and negotiated a vaguely defined ceasefire on energy and infrastructure instead, to which Ukraine was not a party. (Al Jazeera) The US brought Ukraine on board with the smaller agreement in Jeddah after shuttling between Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams. Advertisement Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said on Sunday evening that “a ceasefire in our energy sector can begin today”. Russia earlier accused Ukraine of violating the ceasefire. “Despite Zelensky’s public statement … the [Kyiv] regime continued to strike at the energy infrastructure of the Russian Federation,” said Russia’s Ministry of Defence. It accused Ukraine of launching two attack drones over Crimea on Wednesday night targeting an underground gas storage facility, and of launching another drone against a high-tension power line in the Russian regions of Bryansk and Kursk, causing a cascade of blackouts. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces denied those attacks. “The military department of the aggressor country spreads false and groundless accusations in order to prolong the war,” they said. The governors of Crimea, Kursk and Bryansk did not report Ukrainian UAVs in their airspace, as they usually do. Russia has been on a diplomatic messaging offensive over the past 10 days, accusing Ukraine of violating ceasefires it had not agreed to. On Friday it accused Ukraine of blowing up a gas measuring station in Sudzha, in Russia’s Kursk region. (Al Jazeera) Ukraine’s General Staff said Sudzha was “shelled by the Russians themselves” in a “campaign to discredit Ukraine”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov fired back. Ukraine’s denial “shows how much one can trust the Kyiv regime”, he said. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova piled on, too. Ukraine has “already violated the truce proposed by the United States with an attack on the Russian power facility. Now the question is how Washington will continue to be managed with the ‘mad terrorist scum’.” Advertisement Sudzha is the point where a major Russian gas pipeline crosses into Ukraine. The pipeline was essentially defunct after Russia drastically reduced gas flows to Europe in 2022, and was completely shut down on December 31, when a transit contract between Russia and Ukraine expired. Ukraine had abundant opportunity to destroy or shut down Russian gas pipelines crossing its territory throughout three years of war but has not done so. Russia says Ukraine wants to ‘thwart’ peace plans Russia’s messaging on the unreliability of Ukraine has been a consistent theme during the war, and has intensified in recent days in an apparent effort to undermine Ukraine’s negotiating position. For example, after Putin rejected the comprehensive ceasefire in favour of a partial one on March 18, the Kremlin announced unilaterally that the ceasefire was immediately taking effect for 30 days, without Ukrainian agreement. Two days later, Zakharova accused Kyiv of violating the ceasefire by attacking the Engels air force base in Russia. “[Kyiv] wants to thwart peace initiatives, including those put forward by Trump, by attacking Russian energy facilities,” Zakharova said. Zelenskyy’s government “showed a complete lack of political will for peace”, she said. That attack targeted ammunition, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Thursday. It resulted in the destruction of 96 air-launched cruise missiles from secondary detonations. The missiles were to have been used in three air raids against Ukraine in March and April, the staff said. Russia’s Defence Ministry, on the other hand, admitted to striking Ukrainian energy facilities on the first night of Putin’s unilateral ceasefire, and on the following night. (Al Jazeera) One aspect of the March 18 phone call did demonstrably work – Russia and Ukraine exchanged 175 prisoners of war each, and Russia returned to Ukraine an additional 22 hospitalised soldiers. Advertisement But Russia kept up its messaging even on Sunday. As the agreement was announced, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denounced Zelenskyy in an interview with Russia’s Channel One, saying, “We cannot take this man at his word.” That same day, Russia attacked Ukraine with an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 139 Shahed drones. Ukraine shot down 78 of them and disoriented 34 electronically. But other Russian attacks were deadly. Three people were killed in a drone strike in Kyiv on Saturday, including a father and his five-year-old daughter. A family of three were killed in a drone strike in Zaporizhia on Friday. The White House did not respond to Russian assertions, spending the week in a defensive crouch after its top national security officials were revealed to have discussed operational defence plans against Yemeni Houthis on a commercial platform, and inadvertently included a journalist in that discussion. EU and US far apart on ceasefire terms Ukrainian and Russian technical teams were reportedly ironing out aspects of Sunday’s agreement, after separate Russian, Ukrainian and US statements that did not align. In addition to banning strikes on energy infrastructure, the White House said, the agreement aimed to secure safe navigation in the Black Sea and “help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertiliser exports”. Russia went further, saying the agreement could only come into force if sanctions were lifted against Russian shipping and agricultural machinery. Advertisement Zelenskyy denied the US and Ukrainian teams had agreed on Russian access to grain and fertiliser markets. “We believe that this is a weakening of positions and a relaxation of sanctions,” Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv on Tuesday. “This was not on our
Duterte supporters mark ex-Philippine leader’s 80th birthday with rallies
Thousands gather in the southern city of Davao for one of 200 rallies held across the Philippines and The Hague. Family and supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte have held rallies across the Philippines to mark his 80th birthday and to protest his detention in The Hague where he faces a charge of crimes against humanity over his deadly war on drugs. Police on Friday told the AFP news agency that they blocked a convoy of at least 100 motorcycle riders near the Philippine presidential palace, in the capital city Manila, brandishing posters that read “Bring Him Home”. In the southern city of Davao, thousands of the ex-president’s supporters massed for a candle-lit rally, one of more than 200 birthday gatherings demanding his release. “Almost all Filipinos love him and are very sad for him now,” 44-year-old supporter Darbie Bula told AFP. Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, his eldest daughter, who has been in The Hague since shortly after his arrest on March 11, said the support “makes the challenges he is facing today more bearable”. Outside the detention centre in The Hague, hundreds gathered with a sound system blasting music, punctuated by calls for Duterte’s release. Advertisement “We hope that he will be back in the Philippines as soon as possible,” organiser Aldwin Villarta said. “I don’t think that he has a case to answer. I think it’s very unfair for him to be here.” Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s lead defence lawyer, told AFP his client had been made aware of the events in Davao and The Hague. “He was touched by the huge presence of supporters on this milestone birthday and we will work to ensure that he will celebrate future birthdays in their company,” he said via email. Duterte faces a six-month wait inside the United Nations Scheveningen prison before his next scheduled court appearance on September 23. The court session will confirm the charges against him and allow him to contest the allegations. Duterte stands accused of a crime against humanity over his years-long campaign against drug users and dealers that rights groups said killed as many as 30,000 people. Chief ICC prosecutor Karim Khan has disclosed 181 unspecified items of evidence to the defence. Adblock test (Why?)
Barcelona beat Osasuna to move three points clear in LaLiga
The LaLiga leaders move three points clear at the top of the table after sweeping to a 3-0 win against Osasuna. Barcelona eased to a 3-0 home win against Osasuna to move three points clear of defending champions Real Madrid in LaLiga. Despite resting key forwards Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, the Catalan club raced into a two-goal lead through a Ferran Torres tap-in and a Dani Olmo penalty – after a retake. Second-half substitute Lewandowski headed home the third in the 77th minute to wrap up a sixth-straight win for Barca. In truth, it could and should have been a lot more for the home side, whose unbeaten run in all competitions has extended to 19 games. “Every match is a final from now on and today wasn’t different. We solved it quickly and soundly and that’s the important thing. Three points and move on,” first-goal scorer Torres told reporters. Ferran Torres of Barcelona scores his team’s first goal [Clive Brunskill/Getty Images] Torres opened the scoring for the home side in the 11th minute with a first-time finish from inside the six-yard box as he met with Alejandro Balde’s cross in a terrific team goal. Advertisement Olmo extended the lead 10 minutes later from the penalty spot after he was fouled while attempting to round the Osasuna keeper. It took two efforts to find the goal for Olmo, whose first kick was saved but had to be retaken after an Osasuna player was found to have encroached in the area. Barcelona boss the stats against Osasuna Osasuna failed to register an effort on goal in the first period while conceding 78 percent of the possession at the same time. Lewandowski’s close-range header wrapped up the win as the Polish striker netted his 23rd goal of the season only seven minutes after coming on. Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski scores their third goal [Albert Gea/Reuters] Undefeated since late December, Barca are the only team in Europe’s top-five league who have yet to lose in 2025. They have 63 points from 28 games with champions Real Madrid in second with 60 and Atletico third with 56. Osasuna are 14th in the standings. In a match originally postponed on March 8 due to the death of the Catalan club’s doctor Carles Minarro Garcia, Barca manager Hansi Flick fielded a much-changed team due to absences caused by injuries and fitness of players returning from international duty. The win will also come as a relief to Flick, who, along with the club, wanted the match rearranged for a later date given many of his team had only just returned from their exploits with their countries. The fixture also marks the start of a 20-day run in which Barca play seven matches across LaLiga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. +3 – Only three teams in the 21st century have claimed @LaLiga Champions with a +3-points over the leader with 10 games remaining: Atlético de Madrid in 2014 (three points), Real Madrid in 2007 (five), and Valencia in 2004 (four). Challenge#LaLigaEASports pic.twitter.com/LU5hQPLdu6 — OptaJose (@OptaJose) March 27, 2025 Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
‘We won’t back down’: Global leaders threaten backlash to Trump auto tariff
World leaders have denounced United States President Donald Trump for unveiling a new tariff measure, this time aimed at the automobile industry. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney offered one of the most frank assessments, saying it signalled an end to the tight bonds his country and the US once enjoyed. “The old relationship we had with the United States – based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation – is over,” Carney said. “We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States. We will need to pivot our trade relationships elsewhere. And we will need to do things previously thought impossible, at speeds we haven’t seen in generations.” Carney’s remarks arrived on the heels of a new executive proclamation from the Trump administration, placing a 25-percent tariff on all foreign-made automobiles imported into the US, starting on April 2. Officials in both Canada and Mexico have decried Trump’s tariff campaign as a violation of the free-trade agreement the three countries signed in 2019, during the US president’s first term. Advertisement But the United Auto Workers (UAW) – one of the most influential labour unions in the US – praised Trump’s decision as a win for domestic workers. “We applaud the Trump administration for stepping up to end the free trade disaster that has devastated working-class communities for decades,” UAW President Shawn Fain wrote in a statement. He blamed free-trade accords for sending US manufacturing jobs to cheaper markets abroad. “These tariffs are a major step in the right direction for autoworkers and blue-collar communities across the country, and it is now on the automakers, from the Big Three to Volkswagen and beyond, to bring back good union jobs to the US,” Fain said. But critics warn that the tariffs will not have an immediate effect on job creation for Americans, as it will take time to build new production lines in the US. “Donald Trump says that this will help regenerate the car-building process in the United States,” explained Al Jazeera correspondent Alan Fisher. “But, of course, if anyone is going to build a plant, it is going to take two, three, maybe four years – beyond Trump’s time in office.” Some industry experts even predicted that the burden of tariffs could grind car manufacturing to a halt. Flavio Volpe, the president of Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturing Association, explained that nearly two million automobiles constructed in Canada are made for US car companies. Those Canadian factories, meanwhile, source half of their car parts and raw materials from the US. Advertisement Volpe said that serves as an illustration of how deeply intertwined the international car industry is. “Anything that the White House is trying to do to Canadians is going to [be done] directly to the three biggest automotive enterprises that are based in the US,” Volpe told Al Jazeera. “The industry is likely to shut down on both sides of the border within a week,” he added. Since the 25-percent tariffs were announced, US automaker General Motors has seen a sharp drop in its shares. It is considered one of the “Big Three” car manufacturers in the US, alongside Ford and Stellantis. Trump has been teasing tariffs on automobile imports since the start of his second term as president. In February, for instance, he told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida that the tariffs would “be in the neighbourhood of 25 percent”, but he would unveil them at a later date, to give manufacturers “a little bit of a chance” to adjust. Media reports indicated that US carmakers were worried such tariffs would disrupt their business. At an investor conference in February, Ford CEO Jim Farley said cross-border tariffs threatened to “blow a hole in the US industry” over the long term. Already, US trading partners have been preparing to retaliate against the tariffs, heightening a spiralling trade war. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for instance, said, “The US has chosen a path at whose end lie only losers, since tariffs and isolation hurt prosperity for everyone.” Carney likewise hinted at negative outcomes for the global economy – and a firm response from Canada. Advertisement “We will fight the US tariffs with retaliatory trade actions of our own that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impacts here in Canada,” Carney said. Let’s be clear. We’re all on the same page. We won’t back down. We will respond forcefully. Nothing is off the table to defend our workers and our country.” Adblock test (Why?)
Panama approves embattled ex-President Martinelli’s passage to Nicaragua
Ricardo Martinelli has been convicted of money laundering in his native Panama and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Panama’s government has approved safe passage for embattled former President Ricardo Martinelli to leave the country for Nicaragua, after facing prison for money laundering. Foreign Affairs Minister Javier Martinez-Acha Vasquez announced on Thursday that Martinelli would be allowed to leave, citing concerns about the former president’s health. Martinelli had previously been granted asylum by Nicaragua, and he has been avoiding arrest by sheltering in the country’s embassy in Panama City. Panama’s foreign minister declined to mention specifics about the health concerns Martinelli faces. “Given that justice’s timeline does not always coincide with health’s timeline, the Foreign Relations Ministry has decided to recognise the asylum granted to Mr Martinelli Berrocal by the Nicaraguan government,” Martinez-Acha Vasquez said. “This asylum is recognised and the safe conduct is granted for strictly humanitarian reasons.” Panama’s former President Ricardo Martinelli waves to supporters during a campaign rally in Panama City in February 2024 [Agustin Herrera/AP Photo] Martinelli, 73, has exhausted all appeals in his case after being sentenced in 2023 to 10 years in prison for money laundering. He also received a $19m fine in the case. Advertisement The conviction led to an end to Martinelli’s political career. Last year, Panama’s Electoral Tribunal ruled he could not run in that year’s presidential race Panama’s constitution bars anyone with a criminal sentence of five years or more from holding elected office. Prior to the ruling, however, Martinelli was considered a frontrunner in the race. Martinelli has always maintained his innocence. But prosecutors successfully argued that he used his influence as president, from 2009 to 2014, to award government contracts to companies that then funnelled money to an organisation called “New Business”. That company was a front, prosecutors alleged. And they said Martinelli leveraged it to buy a publishing business that controlled national newspapers. The “New Business” scandal was one of several controversies Martinelli faced after leaving office. He and his two sons – Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares and Ricardo Martinelli Linares – have also been accused of involvement in the Odebrecht scandal, an international corruption case that ensnared leaders from several Latin American countries. A former supermarket entrepreneur and popular right-wing figure, Martinelli has remained in the Nicaraguan embassy since February 2024, where he has used social media to communicate with his supporters. Panama has, until Thursday, refused his request to leave the country. But in the lead-up to the Panamanian foreign minister’s announcement that he will now be allowed to leave, Martinelli expressed concern he might be intercepted by the country’s police. Advertisement “They must be plotting against me by having Alpha Units of the National Police outside the Nicaraguan Embassy,” he wrote on the social media platform X on Thursday. Martinelli has until midnight on March 31 to leave. Adblock test (Why?)
French-Algerian author Boualem Sansal sentenced to five years in prison
Algeria’s jailing of writer for remarks on border with regional rival Morocco inflames tensions with France. Algeria has sentenced French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal to five years in prison on charges of “undermining national unity”. A court in Dar El Beida, near Algiers, sentenced the author on Thursday under “anti-terrorism” laws after he gave an interview to far-right French media outlet Frontieres, in which he questioned the borders dividing Algeria from regional rival Morocco. In the interview, published last October, Sansal argued that France had redrawn Algeria’s borders in the latter’s favour during the colonial period to include lands that once belonged to Morocco. The following month, he was arrested upon arriving in Algiers. The case has soured relations between Algeria and France, which nosedived last summer when France shifted its position to recognise Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara territory, and which were further aggravated when Algeria rejected French attempts to return Algerians slated for deportation. French President Emmanuel Macron appealed on Thursday to the Algerian authorities’ “good sense and humanity”, saying he hoped they would “give him [Sansal] back his freedom and allow him to be treated for the disease he is fighting”. Advertisement French media have reported the author has cancer. France-Algeria tensions Sansal, winner of the 2011 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, has long been a critic of Algerian authorities, but he has regularly visited the country, and his books have been sold there without restrictions. The author, who rejected court-appointed lawyers and chose to defend himself, denied the remarks violated laws or were meant to harm Algeria, according to Hociane Amine, a lawyer who was in the courtroom. “Obviously, he has a possibility to appeal. And now that he’s been sentenced, the president is within his rights to grant him a pardon because it’s a political card in the current crisis with France,” Amine said. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has previously criticised Sansal, who was living in France, calling him an “imposter”. But some observers have suggested the author might be granted a presidential pardon during upcoming Muslim or national holidays. Sansal’s five-year sentence is half of what prosecutors requested and less than the recommended for those charged under Article 87 of Algeria’s penal code, the controversial “anti-terrorism” statute implemented after mass protests convulsed the country last decade. Human rights advocates in Algeria claim the laws have long been used to quash anti-government voices. The author also was fined 500,000 Algerian dinar ($3,735). Adblock test (Why?)
RFK to slash 10,000 jobs in major overhaul of US health agencies
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will lay off 10,000 workers and shut down entire agencies, including ones that oversee billions of dollars in funds for addiction services and community health centres across the United States. HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr (RFK) criticised the department he oversees as an inefficient “sprawling bureaucracy” in a video announcing the restructuring on Thursday. He faulted the department’s 82,000 workers for a decline in Americans’ health. “I want to promise you now that we’re going to do more with less,” Kennedy said in the video, posted to social media. The restructuring plan caps weeks of tumult at the nation’s top health department, which has been embroiled in rumours of mass firings, the revocation of $11bn in public health funding for cities and counties, a tepid response to a measles outbreak, and controversial remarks about vaccines from its new leader. Still, Kennedy said a “painful period” lies ahead for HHS, which is responsible for monitoring infectious diseases, inspecting foods and hospitals and overseeing health insurance programmes for nearly half the country. Advertisement ‘Make Americans healthy again’ Overall, the department will downsize to 62,000 positions, losing nearly a quarter of its staff – 10,000 jobs through layoffs and another 10,000 through workers taking early retirement and voluntary separation offers encouraged by US President Donald Trump’s administration. Public health experts, doctors, current and former HHS workers and congressional Democrats quickly panned Kennedy’s plans, warning they could have untold consequences for millions of people across the country. “These staff cuts endanger public health and food safety,” said Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, in a statement. “They raise serious concerns that the administration’s pledge to make Americans healthy again could become nothing more than an empty promise.” But Kennedy, in announcing the restructuring, blasted HHS for failing to improve Americans’ lifespans and not doing enough to drive down chronic disease and cancer rates. “All of that money,” Kennedy said of the department’s $1.7 trillion yearly budget, “has failed to improve the health of Americans.” Federal health workers – stationed across the country at agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), both in Maryland – described shock, fear and anxiety rippling through their offices on Thursday. Workers were not given advance notice of the cuts, several told The Associated Press, and many remained uncertain about whether their jobs were on the chopping block. Advertisement “It’s incredibly difficult and frustrating and upsetting to not really know where we stand while we’re trying to keep doing the work,” said an FDA staffer who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. “We’re being villainised and handicapped and have this guillotine just hanging over our necks.” ‘Drastically scale back’ The planned FDA job cuts would not affect inspectors or reviewers of drugs, medical devices, or food, HHS said. The terminations are likely to delay drug and medical device application reviews or cause missed deadlines, said Eva Temkin, a lawyer at Arnold & Porter who advises clients on drug and medical device applications. “There’s a real risk that this results in delayed patient access to treatments,” she said. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, currently an independent HHS agency with 1,000 employees, will be folded into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The NIH will see staff reductions across its 27 institutes and centres. “The only way to cut that high of a percentage of our staff, along with the 35 percent contracting cuts that are being directed, is to drastically scale back what NIH does across the board,” said Nate Brought, the recently departed director of NIH’s Executive Secretariat. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was comparatively spared, with a reduction of only about 300 employees. It was not immediately clear from which HHS divisions or offices the remaining 2,600 cuts would come. Advertisement As part of the restructuring, the department’s 10 regional offices will be cut to five and its 28 divisions consolidated into 15, including a new Administration for a Healthy America, or AHA, which will combine offices that address addiction, toxic substances and occupational safety into one central office. AHA will include the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. It will be divided into divisions of primary care, maternal and child health, mental health, environmental health, HIV/AIDS, and workforce, the department said. The changes centralise functions such as communications, human resources, IT, and policy planning that currently spread out across several health agencies, including the FDA, CDC, and NIH. Agencies report to the health secretary but have traditionally operated somewhat independently of HHS and the White House. HHS said it would also combine the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality into a new Office of Strategy that will conduct research that informs Kennedy’s policies. There are no additional cuts currently planned, the department said. ‘Pretty devastated’ The cuts and consolidation go far deeper than anyone expected, an NIH employee said. “We’re all pretty devastated,” said the staff member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. “We don’t know what this means for public health.” Advertisement Union leaders for CDC workers in Atlanta said they received notice from HHS on Thursday morning that reductions will primarily focus on administrative positions including human resources, finance, procurement and information technology. Adblock test (Why?)
Families say loved ones wrongly deported from US based on tattoos
NewsFeed Arturo Suarez’s partner Nathali is raising their six-month-old daughter alone after, she says, US authorities wrongly deported him to a mega-prison in El Salvador. Critics say innocent tattoos like his are being used as the basis for accusations of Venezuelan gang membership. Published On 27 Mar 202527 Mar 2025 Adblock test (Why?)