MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin stuck with his long-serving prime minister in his first act after being sworn in for a new term on Monday, signalling that he would keep faith with a policy direction that has brought Russia into conflict with the West.
Standing in the ornately-decorated Andreyevsky Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace, with his hand on a gold-embossed copy of the constitution, Putin, 65, swore to serve the Russian people, to safeguard rights and freedoms, and protect Russian sovereignty.
Putin secured a new six-year term after more than 70 percent of voters backed him in a March 18 presidential election. His most dangerous challenger, Alexei Navalny, was not allowed to take part and on Saturday was detained at a protest called under the slogan: "Putin is not our tsar."
Soon after the inauguration ceremony, the Kremlin issued a statement saying that Putin had nominated Dmitry Medvedev again to be prime minister in his new term. Medvedev, a loyal Putin lieutenant, has held the job since 2012.
Some Kremlin-watchers had speculated Putin might bring in a fresh face as prime minister to kick-start reforms of the sluggish economy and revive foreign investment curtailed by stand-offs with the West.
By choosing Medvedev - seen by people close to the Russian elite as a safe pair of hands whose chief quality is loyalty to his boss - Putin indicated he favoured continuity.
The choice is also likely to be parsed by Kremlin-watchers for any clues about what happens after Putin's current term ends in 2024. The constitution bars him from seeking a third consecutive term.
When Putin came up against the same term limits in 2008, he got around the problem by anointing Medvedev as president, before taking back the job after one term.
Some observers believe Putin, who has not anointed any heir apparent, could attempt the same manoeuvre a second time.
FAMILIAR FACES
Unveiling his nominees for the top posts in the new cabinet, Medvedev stuck mostly with familiar faces, including retaining Anton Siluanov as finance minister.
However, deputy prime ministers Arkady Dvorkovich and Igor Shuvalov did not keep their jobs. They had positioned themselves as champions of private business, though with limited success in an economy dominated by the state.
Vitaly Mutko, who oversaw sport at a time when Russia was accused of a state-sponsored programme of doping, lost his sports brief, but kept his deputy prime minister's post and will oversee construction.
Putin embarks on his new term, his fourth in total, buoyed by widespread popular support but also weighed down by the costly confrontation with the West, low economic growth, and uncertainty about what happens when his terms ends.
In a speech after the swearing-in ceremony, Putin said that in the next six years Russia would prove a strong, muscular player on the world stage, backed by a powerful military, while pushing hard to improve life for its citizens at home.
"Taking up this post, I feel a colossal sense of responsibility," Putin told his audience of Russian officials and foreign dignitaries, among them former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
For the short journey from his office to the inauguration ceremony, Putin travelled in a new Russian-made limousine. From now on, the limousine will replace the fleet of imported vehicles Putin uses, state television reported.
The choice of transport chimes with a message, often repeated by Putin, that Russia must stand on its own feet and shake off its dependence on the West.
Foreign diplomats see little prospect that Russia's standoffs with the West that have dominated the past four years will ease during Putin's new term.
Clashes in the past few weeks over U.S. sanctions on Russia, the conflict in Syria, and the poisoning in England of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal have left some diplomats worried that the confrontation could spiral out of control.
TROUBLES AHEAD
Opinion polls show Putin has high levels of support among Russian citizens, and Navalny has not been able to inspire a nationwide upsurge of protests.
But the Russian economy is a potential weakness for Putin.
Buffeted by lower oil prices, falls in the rouble, inflation and the impact of sanctions, average monthly wages have fallen from the equivalent of $867 in 2013 to $553 last year.
Russia's economy, the world's eleventh largest, returned to growth of 1.5 percent last year, helped by a recovery in oil prices. But that fell far short of the growth Russians grew accustomed to earlier in Putin's rule.
Putin, first elected president in 2000, will soon have ruled longer than Soviet Communist leader Leonid Brezhnev, whose 18-year rule from 1964 to 1982 is primarily associated with stagnation. By the time his term ends, Putin will be 71.
Foreign diplomats and analysts say uncertainty over what happens after 2024 is likely to destabilise the ruling elite and spark infighting among rival Kremlin clans.
Russia's Putin begins new presidential term, keeps Medvedev as PM
Russia's Putin begins new presidential term, keeps Medvedev as PM
- President Vladimir Putin is officially sworn in for new six-year term
- Putin nominated Dmitry Medvedev again to be prime minister in his new term
New US Census will have category ‘MENA’ for some citizens of Middle East, North Africa heritage
- Most Arab Americans still have to write in nationality
- Activists want ‘Arab’ category but this is ‘step forward’
CHICAGO: The US Census announced Thursday that upcoming forms will include the category “MENA,” meaning Middle Eastern or North African, but most Arab Americans will still be required to write in their nationalities.
Arab-American activists have been fighting for the inclusion of an “Arab” category on census forms for more than 50 years, and accepted a compromise to be included in the broader term “MENA.”
The MENA category identifies only four Arab nationalities — Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi and Egyptian.
This announcement comes in the wake of Arab-American voters protesting what they believe has been President Joe Biden’s betrayal in ignoring their concerns over Israel’s war on Gaza.
In addition to the four Arab nationalities being identified with specific “Check Boxes,” the MENA category will also include check boxes for “Israeli” and “Iranian.”
All other Arab Americans, including citizens from Palestine and Jordan, who are among the largest of the Arab-American communities, will still be required to write in their nationalities on a blank line underneath.
Many Arab Americans believe the exclusion of the word “Arab” is a slight, and meant to satisfy the pro-Israel community.
‘I am very disappointed that they are not including all of the Arab countries. There are many Arab nationalities that are growing significantly including the Yemeni community which is among the fastest growing,” said Anna Mustafa, who began formally lobbying in 1980 for the inclusion of the Arab category in the US Census. Mustafa worked officially with the census as a partnership specialist in the 1990s and the 2000s.
“We were working on it in the political boundaries through the 1990s and 2000s but it got blocked and some group put a hold on everything. If Israel is being included, the Palestinian and Jordanian community should be included in that census form too,” she told Arab News.
Mustafa conceded that it is a “step forward.” But added: “It’s not what we wanted. But it is better than what we have.”
Mustafa said the community should not stop their advocacy for “full inclusion” of all 22 Arab nationalities.
Arab American Institute Executive Director Maya Berry, who has been advocating for the inclusion of the MENA category, praised the change as a “major accomplishment” and credited the Biden administration.
“For the first time, Arab Americans will be made visible — not just on the decennial census, but in all federal data that collects race and ethnicity and that is historic,” Berry said.“However, it is unfortunate that instead of celebrating what should have been this momentous victory for improved data collection and our community, we are concerned about the erasure of a key segment of our community and the very real possibility of continued undercounts.”
Abed Ayoub, the national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said: “This is a long-awaited day. We have a lot of work ahead of us, particularly as the federal government begins to apply this revision. From programming designed to uplift our businesses to addressing health disparities and beyond. This is a good first step, however we are aware that more work needs to be done to ensure there is full and accurate representation of the Arab-American community.”
Inclusion in the census has a major impact on ethnic and national communities and helps them qualify for federal funding to support their needs. In addition, it gives them special status to prevent politicians from dividing their vote, especially in congressional districts.
In 2021 the Biden administration worked with Democrats to redraw several congressional districts. They targeted the former 3rd Congressional District in Illinois which was identified as having the largest concentration of Palestinian-American voters of any congressional district. The district was divided into five different congressional districts, diluting the ability of Palestinian-American voters to elect one of their own to Congress.
In the 1980s, Hispanics were included in the census and the state was forced to create a congressional district that would increase the chances of the election of one of its members. In the 1990s that district elected Luis Gutierrez, and has had a Hispanic member of Congress ever since. The district is now represented by US Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.
The census is taken every 10 years. Previously, Arab Americans were included in the “White” category and were only given the opportunity to write in their national identity. As a result, the Arab community did not qualify for federal grants or for political voting continuity in the redrawing of congressional districts, Mustafa noted.
Census officials acknowledge that the MENA category is “a minimum reporting category, separate and distinct from the White category.”
The census is managed by the Office of Management and Budget, which is a part of the US government. The full report on the revision is available for viewing here.
Marathon singing, vigils and pre-dawn processions as Filipinos celebrate Holy Week
- Bulk of religious traditions begin on Holy Thursday, commemorating the Last Supper of Jesus
- Many traditions are a blend of folk customs and Spanish colonial influences
MANILA: As Christians around the world celebrate Holy Week, Filipinos are observing their unique traditions, which will culminate on Sunday with Easter — the joyous commemoration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead.
In the largest Christian-majority nation in Asia, where over 85 million people identify as Catholic, folk traditions have blended with more than 300 years of Spanish colonial influences, leading to unique expressions and observances of faith.
One of the most enduring yet extreme examples is senakulo, a street drama that depicts Jesus’ passion and death, where men flagellate and, in some cases, nail themselves to the cross as an act of penance.
But not all Filipino Catholics adhere to these practices, instead engaging in other traditions.
They began the observance of Holy Week with Palm Sunday last week, when churchgoers brought palm branches to be blessed by priests.
The palm branch symbolizes victory, peace and eternal life and once they receive blessing, Filipinos put them up at home either as decor or by windows or doorways to ward off bad spirits.
They represent the branches that according to the Gospel crowds laid down as Jesus entered Jerusalem a few days before his crucifixion.
“The Holy Week allows me to impart the importance of this occasion to my children, now that they’re a little bit older,” said Edgie Ruiz for whom the annual holiday is an opportunity to reconnect with loved ones.
“This is also the time when our relatives who live far away come to spend time with us, which is something I always look forward to.”
The bulk of religious traditions begin on Holy Thursday, the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus. It is observed with a custom during which the priest washes the feet of 12 people — imitating the humility of Jesus, who washed the feet of his apostles on the night before his crucifixion.
Ruiz was one of those chosen to take part in the ritual at his local parish in Hermosa, Bataan province.
“My grandfather used to participate in this tradition as one of the chosen ‘apostles,’” he said. “The priest chooses common, everyday people to take part.”
Another tradition on Holy Thursday is the Visita Iglesia — visiting at least seven different churches to pray.
Gerald Gloton, who resides in Pampanga province 83 km north of Manila, has been practicing the Visita Iglesia tradition since childhood.
“The Visita Iglesia is very important for me because it unites our family. We visit various churches that depict the importance of faith, heritage, and culture,” he said.
Pampanga is known for its strong Catholic traditions, including several historical churches dating back to the Spanish colonial period — another aspect that Gloton looks forward to in this annual ritual.
“Aside from the spiritual reflection and family bonding, I also look forward to the intricate details and architecture of our churches which are regarded as structural treasures,” he said.
Another centuries-old tradition that continues to be practiced is the pabasa — a marathon reading of the passion of Christ, sung by volunteers, usually women, in their parishes. In urban places like Manila, the pabasa can run for more than a day, but in rural areas and places with intact traditions like Pampanga, it can go on for nearly a week.
While some Filipino communities have adopted Western practices such as hunting Easter eggs on Sunday morning, one of the most anticipated rituals is the salubong, or welcoming, a pre-dawn Easter ritual in which a solemn procession of the images of the mourning Virgin Mary and a risen Christ meet from opposite ends in front of a church.
A chorus of children, sometimes singing from hanging platforms to give the illusion of flying in mid-air, sing to herald the occasion. A child is assigned to lift the black veil off Virgin Mary, signifying the end of her mourning.
For Crystal Arcega from Batangas, south of Manila, the ritual’s atmosphere is the most joyous of all.
“It’s when the baby angels throw confetti and wave their wands, and the choir sings. That’s when the Easter Mass starts, and the church lights are turned on,” she said.
“It’s a beautiful moment and worth waking up early for.”
After Easter Mass, Filipino families will gather over celebratory meals and delicacies.
The rice cakes sold in front of churches, such as the suman and tamales — delicacies wrapped in banana leaves — are a must-have after the mass.
At home, they are followed by fried chicken, braised meat dishes in a tangy-sweet sauce, and kare-kare — a rich oxtail peanut stew.
The most sacred period in the liturgical year in Christianity, which is filled with mourning, prayers and fasting to culminate in togetherness and feast, is for many a time that strengthens their faith.
For Arcega, it is a “way to remind us how much sacrifice Jesus has made, and how despite being in the form of man, is able to show us God’s unconditional love,” she said.
“It really becomes the time for me to reflect and be thankful.”
Ukraine says Russian drone, missile attacks damage power facilities
- Regional officials said Russian forces had attacked infrastructure in the Kamianske district near the city of Dnipro
KYIV0: Russian missile and drone attacks hit thermal and hydro power plants in central and western Ukraine, power grid operator Ukrenergo said on Friday, the latest assault on the already damaged power infrastructure.
“During the night, the Russians struck again at energy facilities in a massive and combined attack,” Ukrenergo said on the Telegram messaging app.
“Thermal and hydroelectric power plants in the central and western regions were damaged,” it said.
Regional officials said Russian forces had attacked infrastructure in the Kamianske district near the city of Dnipro. At least one person was wounded, they added.
Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko also said power facilities in Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Cherkasy regions were attacked this morning.
“Electricity generation facilities were targeted by drones and missiles,” Gelushchenko said on Facebook.
Ukrainian television reported that explosions were heard in Ivano-Frankivsk and Khmelnytskyi regions and the city of Dnipro as Russian cruise missiles were spotted in Ukrainian air space.
The largest private power firm DTEK said its three thermal power plants were attacked.
“The equipment was severely damaged. After the attack ended, the power engineers promptly started to repair the damage,” the company said on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukrainian power distributor Yasno said this week DTEK lost about 50 percent of its capacity after being hit by Russian missile and drone attacks.
‘A unique place’: Foreigners visit post-war Afghanistan
- Decades of conflict made tourism extremely rare in Afghanistan, but most violence has now abated
- Yet visitors are confronted with extreme poverty, dilapidated cultural sites and scant infrastructure
MAZAR-I-SHARIF: His soldier son toured Afghanistan with insurgents in his crosshairs, but American traveler Oscar Wells has a different objective — sight-seeing promoted by the Taliban’s fledgling tourism sector.
“It is a unique place, it touches my heart,” the 65-year-old Indiana farmer told AFP, praising “its magnificent mountains” with “people living in the old way.”
Marvelling at the 15th century Blue Mosque in northern Mazar-i-Sharif, Wells is among a small but rising number of travelers coming to Afghanistan since the war’s end.
Decades of conflict made tourism extremely rare, and while most violence has now abated, visitors are confronted with extreme poverty, dilapidated cultural sites and scant hospitality infrastructure.
They holiday under the austere control of Taliban authorities, without consular support after most embassies were evacuated following the fall of the Western-backed government in 2021.
They must register with officials on arrival in each province, comply with a strict dress code and submit to searches at checkpoints by men armed with Kalashnikovs.
Islamic State attacks also still pose a potential threat in the country.
“The first thing your loved ones say is: ‘You’re crazy to go there!’” said French tourist Didier Goudant, a 57-year-old lawyer, of a country that Western governments warn against visiting.
Security concerns worried Nayuree Chainton, the 45-year-old Thai owner of a travel agency in Bangkok, who made a trip for six days recently with a group to test the waters.
“I feel safe despite the checkpoints in the cities,” she said, during a visit to a shrine in the capital Kabul.
The number of foreign tourists visiting Afghanistan rose 120 percent year-on-year in 2023, reaching nearly 5,200, according to official figures.
The Taliban government has yet to be officially recognized by any country — in part because of its heavy restrictions on women — but it has welcomed foreign tourism.
“Afghanistan’s enemies don’t present the country in a good light,” said information and culture minister Khairullah Khairkhwa.
“But if these people come and see what it’s really like... they will definitely share a good image of it,” he said.
But Wells and Goudant — on a trip with firm Untamed Borders, which also offers tours of Syria and Somalia — describe their visit as a way to connect with Afghanistan’s people.
Tourists “like us are curious and want to be in contact with the population, to try to help them a little” said Goudant, on his second trip, which included skiing in central Bamiyan province.
He said part of his visits is making donations to local groups, something he describes as “small-scale humanitarian work” in a country that has seen foreign aid drastically shrink since the Taliban takeover.
For Wells, there is a “sense of guilt for the departure” of US troops.
“I really felt we had a horrible exit, it created such a vacuum and disaster,” he said. “It’s good to help these people and keep relations.”
Untamed Borders brought around 100 tourists to Afghanistan last year, with a nine-day package starting in neighboring Pakistan costing $2,850.
The end of the fighting means tourists “can do more things,” said founder James Willcox.
“But on the other hand it is disruptive,” he added, noting a woman tour guide with the company fled to Italy after the Taliban return.
While the Taliban government has shut girls and women out of education, and much of public life, foreign women are granted greater freedoms.
For solo traveler Stefanie Meier, a 53-year-old American, who spent a month traveling from Kabul to Kandahar via Bamiyan and Herat in the west, it was a “bittersweet experience.”
“I have been able to meet people I never thought I would meet, who told me about their life,” she said, adding that she didn’t face any issues as a woman on her own.
She experienced “disbelief that people have to live like this,” she added. “The poverty, there are no jobs, women not being able to go to school, no future for them.”
With little by way of official information, tourists band together on social media and messaging apps to trade tips.
While two airlines serve Afghanistan’s major cities, backpackers prefer the bus, and don’t shy away from the 20-hour journey from Kabul to Herat.
An active WhatsApp group named Afghanistan Travel Experience brings together over 600 people from places as far flung as Mexico, India and Italy who are already in the country or on their way out.
They pepper the group with questions, such as one from user Alberto asking if it is “haram” (not allowed) to travel with a dog, or if it’s a problem to have visible tattoos.
Another, Soo, asked: “Is there a co-working space in Mazar?”
Bus plunges off a bridge in South Africa, killing 45 people; 8-year-old child is lone survivor
- Authorities said the bus carrying worshippers was traveling from the neighboring country of Botswana to the town of Moria, which hosts a popular Easter pilgrimage
CAPE TOWN, South Africa: A bus carrying worshippers headed to an Easter festival plunged off a bridge on a mountain pass and burst into flames in South Africa on Thursday, killing at least 45 people, authorities said.
The only survivor of the crash was an 8-year-old child, who was receiving medical attention, according to authorities in the northern province of Limpopo. They said the child was seriously injured.
The Limpopo provincial government said the bus veered off the Mmamatlakala bridge and plunged 50 meters (164 feet) into a ravine before busting into flames.
Search operations were ongoing, the provincial government said, but many bodies were burned beyond recognition and still trapped inside the vehicle.
Authorities said they believe the bus was traveling from the neighboring country of Botswana to the town of Moria, which hosts a popular Easter pilgrimage. They said it appeared that the driver lost control and was one of the dead.
Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga was in Limpopo province for a road safety campaign and changed plans to visit the crash scene, the national Department of Transport said. She said there was an investigation underway into the cause of the crash and offered her condolences to the families of the victims.
The South African government often warns of the danger of road accidents during the Easter holidays, which is a particularly busy and dangerous time for road travel. More than 200 people died in road crashes during the Easter weekend last year.
The Zionist Christian Church has its headquarters in Moria and its Easter pilgrimage attracts hundreds of thousands of people from across South Africa and neighboring countries. This year is the first time the Easter pilgrimage to Moria is set to go ahead since the COVID-19 pandemic.