Sheikh Qassem: Negotiations Eye Full Ceasefire, Cementing Sovereignty

By Al Mayadeen English

20 Nov 2024 17:55

Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem reaffirms Hezbollah’s commitment to both national defense and political cooperation to build and protect the country.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem in an address on November 20, 2024 (Al Mayadeen)

When the capital is under the attack of the Israeli enemy, "the response has to be in the heart of Tel Aviv," said Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem.

In a speech today, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem addressed multiple points about the ongoing Israeli occupation war on Lebanon.

Sheikh Qassem asserted that the Resistance will continue its operations against the Israeli occupation forces breaching Lebanese sovereignty while also discussing the the Islamic Resistance's position on the ongoing negotiations.

Victory through the battlefield

Sheikh Qassem emphasized that the failure of "Israel" to meet its military objectives is a clear indicator of Hezbollah’s victory.

He explained, "When the enemy fails to achieve its [set] goals, this means we have achieved victory." He also reflected on the importance of battlefield outcomes, noting that "the battlefield has the final say, from which results are derived."

Furthermore, he made it clear that Hezbollah will not tolerate attacks on Lebanon's capital, Beirut, asserting, "When the [Lebanese] capital comes under attack by the Israeli enemy, the response must be in the heart of Tel Aviv."

Reiterating the Tel Aviv for Beirut equation, established previously by the former Secretary-General, martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, he vowed, "We can never leave the capital under the strikes of the Israeli enemy, and it will surely pay the price from the center of Tel Aviv."

"The enemy must understand that matters will not be left hanging when it attacks the capital Beirut," Sheikh Qassem added.

On the frontlines, the Secretary-General discussed the ongoing operations carried out by Hezbollah across the southern Lebanese border, stating, "We expected the operations on the villages on the forward edge [against the Israeli occupation forces] to last 15 days, but it has lasted a lot longer due to the resistance and resilience of the people of might."

He then gave a brief explanation that would be evident for any military analyst, saying, "The Resistance does not operate the same way as an army does," emphasizing that "its task is not to prevent the enemy’s advance, but to resist it wherever it advances."

Sheikh Qassem further underlined, "It is not important to say the enemy entered this or that village, but how many of them were killed today and where the fighters engaged in confrontations with them."

He added, "In the end, the land is ours and the fighters are our youth, and the enemy will pay the price in the places it has been lured into."

Hezbollah between battlefield and negotiations

While Hezbollah remains committed to resistance on the battlefield, Sheikh Qassem outlined Hezbollah's approach to negotiations, underscoring that they operate in parallel to military actions.

He explained, "We are operating along two paths: the battlefield and negotiations, and we shall not suspend the battlefield awaiting the negotiations' results."

He also highlighted that the negotiations do not come under pressure from "Israel’s" military actions, stating, "Our negotiations are not held under [Israeli] fire, because Israel is under fire as well."

Sheikh Qassem clarified the conditions for any negotiations, adding, "Let it be known that our negotiations are under the umbrella of a complete cessation of aggression and preserving Lebanese sovereignty."

'Israel' can't achieve diplomatically what it fails to secure militarily

The Hezbollah Secretary-General further expressed confidence in the Resistance’s strength, rejecting any attempts by "Israel" to use diplomacy to bypass battlefield failure.

Sheikh Qassem confirmed that the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon "received the proposal that is undergoing negotiations," affirming that the Resistance "studied it" and expressed its "observations and remarks on it," without going into any further details.

He remarked, "The occupation expected that it could achieve through the agreement what it failed to achieve on the battlefield, and this is not possible."

"Israel cannot defeat us and impose its conditions on us," he asserted.

Support for Gaza amid global silence honorable

Sheikh Qassem reiterated Hezbollah’s unwavering support for Gaza, a sentiment shared with other regional allies while criticizing the international community's indifference and deafening silence.

He said, "We are honored to be among the few who support Gaza, alongside Iraq, Yemen, and Iran, while the entire world is just watching."

Significantly, Sheikh Qassem also reminded that Hezbollah "had previously agreed to Biden-Macron’s proposal on the basis that it was possible to end the war, but then they assassinated the Secretary-General," making reference to the assassination of martyred leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah.

Martyrdom at the heart of resilience

Finally, Sheikh Qassem honored Hezbollah's martyrs, particularly Hezbollah Media Relations chief martyr Mohammad Afif al-Nabulsi, who was assassinated by an Israeli airstrike targeting Beirut.

He remarked, "The Israeli enemy attacked the capital Beirut to assassinate the martyr Mohammad Afif while in civilian clothes."

He also spoke about the resilience of Hezbollah's fighters, stressing, "It is true that the blows received are painful, but our fighters are people of might."

Sheikh Qassem also addressed the displaced Lebanese, saying, "We appreciate your sacrifices, and we are doing our duty to the best of our abilities. We call on you to be patient."

He reassured them, "We have not changed or altered our honorable national and resistance positions."

Sheikh Qassem then addressed the internal Lebanese situation and the issue of electing a president, which has been stalled for more than two years.

"We will contribute effectively to the election of a president for the country, and our political steps will be under the framework of the Taif Agreement, in cooperation with other political forces," he affirmed, reassuring everyone, "We will be present in the political arena for the benefit of the nation, to build and protect it at the same time."

He also reiterated the golden Lebanese army, people, and Resistance equation, saying, "We believe in the unity of the army, the people, and the Resistance," adding, "Together, we will build, in cooperation with the state and all honorable individuals, once the aggression stops," reaffirming the importance of the unity of the army, the people, and the Resistance, "which is the remaining resource in our possession to build our country."

Senior Golani Commander Injured in Hezbollah Ambush

By Al Mayadeen English

The chief-of-staff of the infamous Golani Brigade, a company commander, and a "researcher" fell casualty to a Hezbollah ambush in an archeological site.

Senior Golani commander injured in Hezbollah ambush

A Hezbollah elite fighter steps on a flag of the Israeli occupation forces' Golani Brigade during a drill simulating a raid on an Israeli military site. (Islamic Resistance in Lebanon)

The chief-of-staff of the 1st Infantry Golani Brigade, of the Israeli occupation forces, was wounded after being confronted by Hezbollah Resistance fighters in a village in South Lebanon, on Wednesday morning. 

The Israeli military command said that Colonel Yoav Yarom was injured in a close-quarters gun battle in a Lebanese village. Yarom had entered an archeological site in a Lebanese village alongside a former officer and geological researcher in southern Lebanon. 

According to Israeli media outlets, the researcher, Zeev Erlich, 71, had requested to visit an unnamed archaeological site in an area in southern Lebanon. However, Yarom, Erlich, and a number of Golani troops were ambushed by two Hezbollah fighters inside the archeological site. 

Erlich's entry into southern Lebanon had not been authorized by the Israeli military command and the wounded senior officer is currently under investigation for accompanying Erlich into the site. 

Hezbollah fighters who ambushed the Israeli convoy were able to kill Erlich, who was in full military attire, alongside a soldier from the Golani Brigade whose identity has not been revealed. The village was said to be in the Western Axis of confrontation, however, the Israeli military command has not revealed the exact location of the ambush. 

Moreover, a company commander from the Golani Brigade's 13th Battalion was seriously injured in the same incident. Although the incident remains under investigation, the Israeli military command has recognized Erlich as a fallen soldier, naming him Major Zeev Erlich in an official statement. 

Builing's mysterious collapse kills elite Israeli soldier

In another incident, the Israeli military command admitted to the death of an Israeli soldier who served in the elite Magalan Unit. The soldier was killed after a house in eastern southern Lebanon collapsed over him and other troops. 

Earlier, Israeli media reported that 5 soldiers were killed and 6 others were injured after a building with occupation forces inside was blown up in South Lebanon. According to Israeli media, a force from the Israeli army's Maglan unit fell into an ambush by Hezbollah in South Lebanon, with the evacuation operation was carried out with difficulty.

The Israeli Ministry of Health confirmed that 84 new casualties have been reported since its last update on Tuesday, with 38 cases in the northern region over the past 24 hours. The Ministry also noted that the total number of troops hospitalized in "Israel" since October 10, 2023, has reached 22,482.

Although the Israeli military command says that 45 Israeli troops have been killed in southern Lebanon during the ground invasion, Hezbollah says that it confirmed the death of 110 Israeli troops in direct confrontations. 

Mali Leader Fires Prime Minister Days After He Criticizes the Military

FILE - Mali’s Prime Minister Choguel Maiga addresses the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, Sept. 25, 2021. (Kena Betancur/Pool Photo via AP, File)

By BABA AHMED

4:29 PM EST, November 20, 2024

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali’s junta leader fired Prime Minister Choguel Maïga and the government on Wednesday, days after Maïga criticized the military regime.

The move was announced in a presidential decree issued by Gen. Assimi Goita, Mali’s leader, and read on state television channel ORTM.

Mali has been ruled by military leaders since a junta seized power in 2020 and staged another coup the following year.

In June 2022, the junta promised a return to civilian rule by March 2024, but later postponed elections. No date has been set yet for the presidential election. A new prime minister has not been announced yet.

Maïga, who was appointed by the military two years ago, accused the junta of postponing the elections without informing him and said confusion around an end to the transition could pose “serious challenges and the risk of going backwards,” at a rally of his supporters on Saturday. In response to Maiga’s statement, the junta organized demonstrations against him.

The sacking comes a week after Mali’s junta arrested one of the country’s top politicians for criticizing the military rulers of neighboring Burkina Faso.

In June, Malian authorities also arrested eleven opposition politicians and several activists.

Over the last decade, Mali, along with its neighbors Niger and Burkina Faso, has been shaken by extremist uprisings and military coups. The three Sahelian nations are now ruled by military leaders who have taken power by force on pledges of providing more security to citizens. They have cut ties with the traditional Western allies, ousting French and American military forces, and instead sought new security ties with Russia.

But the security situation in Sahel has worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with a record number of attacks and a record number of civilians killed both by Islamic fighters and government forces.

Health Advocates in Africa Worry Trump Will Reimpose Abortion ‘Gag Rule’ Governing US Aid

By FARAI MUTSAKA

11:59 PM EST, November 19, 2024

EPWORTH, Zimbabwe (AP) — Carrying her infant daughter, 19-year-old Sithulisiwe Moyo waited two hours to get birth-control pills from a tent pitched in a poor settlement on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare.

The outreach clinic in Epworth provides Moyo with her best shot at achieving her dream of returning to school. “I am too young to be a baby-making machine,” she said. “At least this clinic helps me avoid another pregnancy.”

But the free service funded by the U.S. government, the world’s largest health donor, might soon be unavailable.

As he did in his first term, U.S President-elect Donald Trump is likely in January to invoke the so-called global gag rule, a policy that bars U.S. foreign aid from being used to perform abortions or provide abortion information. The policy cuts off American government funding for services that women around the world rely on to avoid pregnancy or to space out their children, as well as for heath care unrelated to abortion.

The gag rule has a 40-year history of being applied by Republican presidents and rescinded by Democratic presidents. Every GOP president since the mid-1980s has invoked the rule, which is known as the Mexico City Policy for the city where it was first announced.

As one of his first acts as president in 2017, Trump expanded the rule to the extent that foreign NGOs were cut off from about $600 million in U.S. family planning funds and more than $11 billion in U.S. global health aid between 2017 and 2018 alone, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

The money — much of it intended for Africa — covered efforts such as preventing malaria and tuberculosis, providing water and sanitation, and distributing health information and contraception, which might also have repercussions for HIV prevention.

Women’s health advocates are “uneasy” following Trump’s victory, said Pester Siraha, director of Population Services Zimbabwe, an affiliate of MSI Reproductive Choices, an NGO that supports abortion rights in 36 countries.

The policy stipulates that foreign NGOs that receive U.S government funding must agree to stop abortion-related activities, including discussing it as a family planning option — even when they are using non-U.S. government funds for such activities. During Trump’s first term, MSI did not agree to those conditions, effectively making it ineligible for U.S government funding.

Siraha said that a blueprint offered to Trump by the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation in its plan known as Project 2025 indicates that the new administration could enact “a more comprehensive global gag rule.”

Even NGOs in countries that outlaw abortion, such as Zimbabwe, are affected. Population Services Zimbabwe, for instance, closed its outreach clinics during Trump’s first term after losing funding due to its association with MSI Reproductive Choices. Such outreach clinics are often the only health care option for rural people with limited access to hospitals due to poverty or distance.

“It leaves women with no place to turn for help, even for information,” said Whitney Chinogwenya, global marketing manager at MSI Reproductive Choices.

Some NGOs in other African countries such as Uganda, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa rolled back services, including clinics, contraception, training and support for government and community health workers, as well as programs for young people, sex workers and LGBTIQ+ communities.

Other services shut down entirely. The risk of unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortions and related deaths increased in many of the affected countries, according to the U.S.-based Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights.

Chinogwenya, the MSI Reproductive Choices marketing manager, said her organization’s donor income dropped by $120 million during Trump’s first term. The money would have provided 8 million women globally with family planning help, preventing 6 million unintended pregnancies, 1.8 million unsafe abortions and 20,000 pregnancy-related deaths, she said.

The gag-rule policy “leads to more unintended, unwanted, unsupportable pregnancies and therefore an increase in abortion,” said Catriona Macleod, a professor of psychology at South Africa’s Rhodes University.

“This legislation does not protect life … it’s been called America’s deadly export,” said Macleod, who heads the university’s studies in sexuality and reproduction.

Trump’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Damage isn’t always easy to repair

President Joe Biden rescinded the gag-rule policy in 2021, resulting in Population Services Zimbabwe receiving $9 million, about 50% of its donor funding, from USAID in 2023. “But we haven’t regained all the loss we suffered,” said Siraha, the organization’s director.

“You need a minimum of five years to have an impact. If we then have another gap of five years, it means we are reversing all the gains,” she said.

Her organization estimates that 1.3 million women could lose out on the care they need in Zimbabwe, leading to an additional 461,000 unintended pregnancies and 1,400 maternal deaths if the gag rule is reinstated.

Overseas aid budget cuts by other Western governments will make it harder to find alternative funding, Siraha said.

Forced into difficult choices

MSI Reproductive Choices is lobbying world leaders and alternative donors to fight for abortion rights.

“Trump’s reelection may embolden the anti-choice movement, but the fight for women’s reproductive rights is nonnegotiable,” Chinogwenya said.

However, agencies that rely heavily or entirely on U.S funding might have little choice but “to quiet their guidelines on access to abortion” to qualify for funding, said Denise Horn, an international relations and civil society expert at Bryant University in Rhode Island.

In South Africa, where abortion is mostly legal, some NGOs, especially those without alternative funding, stopped openly discussing abortion as an option or changed their guidelines and the information they share publicly, according to an assessment by South Africa’s Rhodes University and the International Women’s Health Coalition, a New York-based NGO.

“Organizations thus have to evaluate what is most important: the non-abortion work they will still be able to do or the principle of pro-choice,” read part of the 2019 assessment report. “Ultimately, these organizations will have to make this difficult decision.”

The long lines of women at the outreach clinic in Zimbabwe’s Epworth settlement underline the dire need for family planning services in impoverished communities.

Engeline Mukanya, 30, said she is already struggling to support her three children with the $100 she earns monthly from plaiting women’s hair. Nurses inserted a birth-control implant in her left arm to protect her from pregnancy for the next five years.

Like many here, she cannot afford private providers who charge $20 to $60.

“It’s unfortunate that we are so far away from America yet we are being caught in the crossfire of its politics,” she said. “All we want is the freedom to space our births.”

UN Authorizes First Mpox Vaccine for Children in an Attempt to Control Congo Outbreak

9:32 AM EST, November 20, 2024

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization has authorized the first mpox vaccine for children, a decision experts hope will help make immunizations more widely available to one of the hardest-hit populations during the ongoing outbreaks of the disease in Congo and elsewhere in Africa.

In a statement late Tuesday, the U.N. health agency said it had approved the mpox vaccine made by Japanese company KM Biologics for use in children over 1 year of age as a single dose.

Earlier this month, the charity Save the Children said that cases among children younger than 18 had increased by more than 130% in Congo, noting there were now more than 25,000 suspect cases.

The charity said that children were almost four times more likely than adults to die from the newest form of mpox first detected in eastern Congo earlier this year. Mpox, related to smallpox, mostly causes symptoms including fever, rash, lesions and fatigue.

“Children are especially vulnerable to mpox,” Save The Children’s Dr. Katia Vieira de Moraes LaCasse said in a statement. “They explore by touch and taste, don’t always understand health guidance and have weaker immune systems than adults.”

Scientists have previously noted that mpox appears to be disproportionately affecting children in Congo and Burundi, which account for more than 90% of all mpox cases in Africa’s current outbreak.

WHO had previously approved the mpox vaccine made by Bavarian Nordic for people 18 and over, but said that the shot could be used in younger populations, if doctors thought the benefits might outweigh potential risks, given the lack of data in children and other groups including pregnant women.

Last week, WHO said cases of mpox in the Congolese region where the new, more infectious form was first identified appeared to be “plateauing,” even as cases were rising elsewhere, including Burundi and Uganda.

So far, about 50,000 people in Congo have been immunized against mpox with the vaccine made by Bavarian Nordic.

WHO said Japan had announced it would donate about 3 million doses of the shot made by KM Biologics to Congo. It wasn’t clear whether any of the doses had arrived.

On Friday, WHO is convening its expert committee to determine whether the outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa is still a global emergency, a declaration that the U.N. agency first made in August.

To date, Africa has reported more than 46,000 suspected mpox cases in the current outbreak, including 1,081 deaths.

What to Know About a Standoff Between Police and Illegal Miners at a South Africa Mine

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME

11:02 AM EST, November 20, 2024

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African authorities are embroiled in a standoff with an unconfirmed number of illegal miners who remain underground at an abandoned mine, apparently fearing arrest by police officers deployed at the site.

The miners in Stilfontein, in the country’s North West province, have been entering the mine, which is no longer in operation, searching for gold deposits. Such illegal mining has long been going on across South Africa.

The standoff in Stilfontein — now in its third week — has highlighted the extent of illegal mining in the country.

Police initially prevented basic supplies from getting to the miners but are now sending them packets of instant porridge and trying to get them to come up to the surface.

Here’s what to know about the standoff:

The problem of illegal mining in South Africa

Illegal mining has been underway for decades, on the back of the country’s once booming mining industry.

The illegal miners — known as zama-zamas or “hustlers” in the Zulu language — search for gold and other precious metal deposits at old and abandoned mines that have been closed or where mining has been halted.

Police consider the illegal miners dangerous because they are usually armed and are known to fight violent turf battles among themselves. The trade is believed to be dominated by migrants who enter the country illegally from neighboring Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Police have at times announced successes in arresting the illegal miners but they say they cannot combat the practice unless powerful kingpins who run lucrative syndicates from the trade are apprehended.

The government estimates that there are about 6,000 unused or abandoned mines in South Africa and that close to $1 billion is lost annually in revenue due to illegal mining.

Police and military join forces in operation “Close the Hole”

Since last December, police, government agencies and the military have joined forces in an operation dubbed “Close the Hole” or “Vala Umgodi” in Zulu — basically trying to starve the illegal miners underground by denying them basic supplies.

Working in groups, zama-zamas typically remain in the mines for extended periods of time, relying on those on the surface to provide them with food, water, cigarettes and other items.

But since the operation began, police have arrested the on-the-ground accomplices and those trying to take supplies to the illegal miners. They have also closed entrances on the ground for taking supplies down. The tactic seems to be trying to force the miners to the surface as their supplies run out.

Police say that so far, 14,000 illegal miners have been arrested and that $277 000 in cash and $1.8 million worth of uncut diamonds have been seized.

Earlier this month, 565 illegal miners were arrested at an abandoned mine in Orkney, in the same North West province as Stilfontein, when they resurfaced after running out of supplies.

What has happened so far at Stilfontein?

Members of the Stilfontein local community first tried to bring the illegal miners out but then authorities took over.

The mine is 2,500 meters (8,000 feet) deep and getting the zama-zamas, many of them likely armed, out by force would be risky.

Three illegal miners have reportedly come out and last Thursday, a decomposed body believed to be of one of the miners was brought to the surface. Police said they are still trying to determine the person’s identity and cause of death.

Initial estimates, based on information from community members who tried to mediate, say there are about 4,500 illegal miners underground but police have since suggested the number is more likely between 350 and 400.

Provincial authorities this week said plans include sending a “cage” down the mine to lift the miners — a few at a time — to the surface, but the safety of such an operation would need to be assessed first.

The government team is also considering sending a camera down to have a visual idea of the situation underground.

A civil society group has gone to court to try and force authorities to allow that supplies be sent to the miners. The government argues they are not trapped but refusing to come out to avoid arrest.

Zimbabwe Revival of Cotton Farming Needs More Support

19 November 2024

The Herald (Harare)

By Ray Bande

Cotton is a vital source of livelihood for thousands of rural families, mostly those living in low-rainfall regions and the lowveld area of Chipinge.

Even those in the Ruwangwe area of Nyanga North Constituency, let alone some parts of Makoni District will attest that cotton production is a viable source of livelihood.

To place matters into context, a livelihood is a means of securing the necessities of life.

Simply because this crop is resilient and can thrive even in arid conditions, access to necessities of life is made easier with the white gold production.

Loved for its drought resistant nature, cotton is a cash crop which can help livelihoods of most smallholder farmers.

For the 2024/2025 farming season, Manicaland is targeting to put about 25 000 hectares under cotton, up from a paltry 11 411 hectares planted during the 2023/24 season.

Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS) provincial director, Mr Nhamo Mudada, confirmed the numbers, adding that the crop thrives well in Chipinge, Makoni, Buhera, Mutare and Nyanga.

"We are looking forward, as a province, to produce cotton in Buhera, Chimanimani, Chipinge, Makoni, Mutare, Mutasa and Nyanga districts.

"We are targeting Chipinge to produce the bulk of the crop at about 60 percent of the provincial target. Roughly, Chimanimani is expected to contribute one percent of the provincial target, while Nyanga is expected to produce 7 percent," he said.

Mr Mudada said mechanisms had been put in place to augment production, including the Presidential Cotton Scheme.

"We have the Presidential Cotton Scheme that is available to support cotton production. Cotton merchants also support cotton production through contract farming initiatives. All these mechanisms are expected to ensure the targets are met or surpassed," he said.

He said mobilisation of farmers to revert to cotton production have been underway, especially in the Chisumbanje area of Chipinge South constituency.

"Our agronomists and extension officers are mobilising farmers, especially in cotton growing areas such as Chisumbanje to revert to growing the white gold, and restore production and productivity to yesteryears standards," said Mr Mudada.

The material and monetary value of cotton cannot be underestimated, no wonder the moniker -- white gold.

Cotton is a major agricultural export commodity that benefits various sectors, including the textile industry, stock feed and edible oil production.

At its peak, Zimbabwe produced 351 000 tonnes during the 2010/11 season.

Cotton producing areas in Zimbabwe include the central and north-western part of the country in the Midlands, covering areas in Gokwe South and Gokwe North.

It is also grown in the northern part of the country in Mashonaland Central Province in areas that include Muzarabani, Mahuwe and Mushumbi while in Masvingo Province it is grown in Mwenezi and Chiredzi Districts.

Farmers also grow it in Binga in Matabeleland North.

Cotton is a major source of income for rural communities in these areas.

It is usually grown under contract farming arrangements where contractors supply production inputs like seed, fertiliser and chemicals to farmers on loan.

On harvest, the contractor buys back the contracted crop, deducts costs of the inputs and pays the farmer the balance, making it one of the major cash crops contributing significantly to economic growth and improved livelihoods among growers.

After slumping to a two-decade low of 28 000 tonnes in 2015, cotton production has since rebounded due to Government intervention through the Presidential Cotton Support Scheme, which provides free inputs.

Poor prices had triggered loss of appetite for cotton farming.

Some farmers found themselves stuck with huge debts as their earnings from selling their crop to contractors was not enough to repay loans, thus relegating them to mere labourers.

The Government subsequently came up with the Presidential Cotton Support Scheme meant to support farmers with free inputs such as seed, fertilisers and chemicals.

The scheme is different from those previously run by private merchants where farmers were given inputs on commercial basis, meaning they needed to repay after selling their crop.

The State-assisted programme has brought renewed hope for farmers.

Resultantly, output rebounded, reaching 144 000 tonnes in the 2017/2018 season before declined the following two seasons due to back-to-back droughts that swept across many parts of the region.

For cotton farmers in the Chipinge South, sesame farming was making more financial sense than cotton.

During that period, the national organising secretary for the Cotton Council of Zimbabwe, Mr Thulani Thondlana, said: "Cotton production is fast deteriorating due to cost of production versus profit. It is no longer viable to grow cotton as the price does not allow one to go back to the field.

"Secondly, it is taking time for farmers to get paid after delivering their cotton at the various buying points. Most farmers have now switched to sesame farming as it is fetching higher prices as compared to cotton. This past season it was going for between US$1 and US$1,25, while cotton was at 46 US cents (per kg)."

According to Mr Thondlana, more than 50 percent of the farmers in the Lowveld had reduced cotton hectarage to accommodate sesame seed.

"It is a fact that more than 50 percent of the farmers in the Lowveld have cut the hectarage to accommodate sesame, which is fetching higher prices, especially for local farmers that sell their produce in the neighbouring Mozambican markets," he said.

Read the original article on The Herald.

Peace, Security in SADC Key to Integration - Prof Murwira

19 November 2024

The Herald (Harare)

By Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter

The attainment of peace and security in the Sadc region is a key component in the bloc's integration agenda and allows citizens to explore their full potential, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Professor Amon Murwira, said yesterday.

He was delivering his opening remarks on the second day of the Sadc Council of Ministers meeting at Parliament Building in Mt Hampden yesterday.

The Ministers are meeting to prepare for the Sadc Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government which begins tomorrow.

The Extraordinary Summit was convened to deal with the security situation in eastern DRC that has caused the displacement of over 6,4 million people with women, girls and children suffering the most.

"Our meeting is an affirmation of our enduring commitment to a stable and secure Sadc," said Prof Murwira.

"You will agree with me that peace and security remain an essential prerequisite to the attainment of our regional development agenda.

"Not only does it play a crucial role in regional cooperation and integration, but also creates a safe environment for our people to thrive."

Prof Murwira said yesterday's meeting was meant to consider the security situation in eastern DRC as informed by the Field Assessment Mission Report, and should provide recommendations on the future of the mandate of Sadc Mission in DRC (SAMIDRC) to the Heads of State and Government.

"We are concerned with the security and humanitarian situation in the DRC. Our hearts go out to our brothers and sisters who have been internally displaced.

"It is, therefore, important that we take urgent and decisive measures to bring lasting peace and stability to the lives of the people in the eastern DRC.

"Our fellow member States who have deployed troops in DRC deserve immense credit for their unwavering support in combating terrorism and other atrocities that have been disrupting peace and security in the region," he said.

Experts in the Organ Troika on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, under the leadership of Mr Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, Tanzania's Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation who is also the Chairperson of the Organ, were commended for the technical preparatory efforts work they conducted ahead of the summit.

Prof Murwira said everyone has a duty to ensure peace, security, and stability in all member States.

"I am confident that our deliberations will be fruitful and will yield positive outcomes for the benefit of our people," said Prof Murwira.

In his remarks, Sadc Executive Secretary, Mr Elias Magosi, said since the deployment of the SAMIDRC in December last year, the security situation in the mission's area of operation remains relatively calm as a result of a series of political and diplomatic initiatives undertaken over the past four months, including the two-week humanitarian truce reached in July this year, and a ceasefire deal reached between the governments of Rwanda and DRC on August 4.

"However, the security situation in the eastern part of the DRC remains a source of regional concern requiring constant monitoring," Mr Magosi said.

Read the original article on The Herald.

 All Set for SADC Extraordinary Summit...Bloc's Industrialization On Agenda

19 November 2024

The Herald (Harare)

By Joseph Madzimure Senior Reporter

President Mnangagwa will tomorrow chair the SADC Extraordinary Summit that will look into regional peace and also discuss the bloc's industrialisation agenda.

Yesterday, SADC Executive Secretary Mr Elias Magosi paid a courtesy call on the President at State House in Harare where he briefed him on preparations for the summit, which began on Sunday and will culminate in the meeting of the region's Heads of State and Government tomorrow.

In an interview, Mr Magosi said everything was in place for the successful hosting of the Summit.

"Preparations are going on very well, the committees are meeting and the documents are being prepared accordingly. These are our normal meetings," he said.

Mr Magosi said the Organ on Politics Defence and Security (Organ Troika) committee is the one that prepares the agenda of peace and security for the main summit.

"There are meetings before that, the ministerial committee of the organ which prepares the agenda for peace and security and then the Council of Ministers that is meeting this afternoon, (yesterday) chaired by Honourable Minister (of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Professor Amon Murwira), looks at the matters of finance and matters of policy. Those are all leading to the summit of Heads of States, so the preparations are going on very well," he said.

Turning to the agenda of his meeting with President Mnangagwa, Mr Magosi said besides discussing preparations for the summit, they also deliberated on the President's expected visit to the SADC headquarters in Gaborone, Botswana.

"We discussed issues related to the main summit itself, what would be covered and that he would be chairing the Extraordinary Summit. These are a few items we discussed.

"As the SADC chair, President Mnangagwa is supposed to visit the SADC secretariat in Botswana, so we are working on the dates so that he can come. When the dates are in place, he will be coming to Botswana to appreciate the work of SADC," he said.

Apart from that, Mr Magosi said they also discussed the role that Zimbabwe can play in the region's industrialisation agenda.

"We do recognise what Zimbabwe is doing in the industrialisation process, really making sure that a lot of things are happening in the country. They are developing products and goods and not shipping them in raw form. Zimbabwe is a good example, so we wanted him to actually lead his colleagues to make sure that they also come here to learn and benefit from that".

Also on the table was the issue of the regional development fund, focusing on the ratification of relevant instruments so that it can be operationalised.

On his part, Prof Murwira, who accompanied Mr Magosi to meet the President, said everything is in place for the Heads of State and Government Extraordinary Summit.

"We are very pleased with how the preparations are going on, we are working with the Secretariat, everything is in order, and we are looking forward to a successful Summit," said Prof Murwira.

Among other issues, the Summit will focus on emerging issues of regional significance including the recent elections in Mozambique, Botswana and upcoming polls in Namibia.

Namibians vote on November 27.

Read the original article on The Herald

Southern African Leaders Resolve to Keep Troops in Conflict-torn Eastern Congo for Another Year

By FARAI MUTSAKA

4:14 PM EST, November 20, 2024

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Southern African leaders resolved Wednesday to extend for another year the presence of regional troops deployed to fight rebels in conflict-torn eastern Congo, and also pledged to work toward peace in Mozambique, where disputed elections stoked unrest.

The leaders were meeting in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, for an extraordinary summit under the umbrella of the Southern African Development Community, or SADC, a bloc of 16 countries that includes the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Regional powerhouse South Africa committed close to 3,000 troops for the SADC mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which were deployed last December. Just over 2,000 more are from Tanzania and Malawi.

The mission is part of a myriad of forces operating in the mineral-rich region plagued by decades of armed violence. They include Congolese government soldiers, foreign mercenaries, a United Nations peacekeeping force and more than 100 groups that are fighting for power, land and valuable mineral resources. Others try to defend their communities. Some armed groups have been accused of mass killings and ethnic cleansing.

Neighboring Rwanda has rejected charges, including by the Congolese government and U.N experts, that it backs M23, the main rebel group operating in eastern Congo, now one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises with more than 7 million people displaced.

The U.N peacekeepers were meant to leave Congo next month, but soaring violence in the east by Rwanda-backed rebels has meant they are staying, with the country’s communication minister, Patrick Muyaya, stating there would be a new timeline for the force’s departure, although he didn’t give details.

Regarding Mozambique, the SADC leaders, without providing details, expressed “unwavering commitment” to push for peaceful resolution to an election dispute that resulted in weeks of protests, leaving at least 30 people dead.

Mozambique’s electoral agency declared the ruling Frelimo party and its presidential candidate as winners of a general election held on Oct. 9. Frelimo has ruled Mozambique since independence from Portugal in 1975.

Venancio Mondlane, the independent candidate who came second with 20% of the national vote, has challenged the result in court and called for nationwide protests.

The country’s highest court is yet to rule on the opposition challenge. The Attorney General’s Office this week filed a case against Mondlane and the Optimistic People for the Development of Mozambique, or Podemos, the party backing him demanding compensation for the damage to state property during the unrest.

Outgoing Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has said he is willing to meet presidential candidates to defuse the political tensions. Mondlane has gone into exile in an undisclosed location, claiming a plot to kill him.

Hezbollah's 3-stage Ambush Kills Invading Israeli Force, Rescue Forces

By Al Mayadeen English

Source: Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Military Media

Late on Tuesday night, invading Israeli soldiers on the Eastern Axis where dealt heavy casualties in a well-worked Hezbollah ambush.

On the eastern outskirts of the border town of Markaba, in South Lebanon, Hezbollah fighters ambushed an invading Israeli infantry force, dealing confirmed casualties. 

The attack was conducted at exactly 10:00 pm on Tuesday night when Resistance fighters fired an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) at Israeli troops. 

The Israeli military command dispatched a rescue force to pull out the killed and wounded from the ambush point half an hour after the incident. Then, Hezbollah fighters fired another ATGM targeting the rescue force, which was also dealt casualties. 

At 11:10 pm, a second rescue force was dispatched to the area. Again, Resistance fighters fired a third ATGM, killing and injuring members of the rescue force. 

In continuation of the ongoing confrontations near the town of Markaba, Hezbollah said that its fighters fired a salvo of rocket artillery shells at Israeli occupation forces to the east of the town. 

The rocket attack was launched at 12:15 and targeted an assembly point of Israeli occupation forces in the al-Marj military site, in the Hunin Valley, in occupied Palestine. 

The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon continues to defend against the intense Israeli ground aggression on southern Lebanon, defending their positions in multiple towns, such as Khiam, Markava, and Chamaa.

Somaliland Opposition Leader Defeats Incumbent to Win Presidential Election

By OMAR FARUK

10:16 AM EST, November 19, 2024

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The opposition leader in Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland was declared winner on Tuesday in last week’s election that gave a boost for the region’s push for international recognition.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 amid a descent into conflict and has since sustained its own government, currency and security structures despite not being recognized by any country in the world.

Over the years, it built a stable political environment, contrasting sharply with Somalia’s ongoing struggles with insecurity.

Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi of the main opposition Waddani Party received more than 50% of the votes, defeating President Muse Bihi Abdi who sought a second term after seven years in office, the electoral commission said.

Abdullahi, 69, had served as Somaliland’s parliament speaker in 2005 and hinged his campaign on democratic and economic reforms in the region whose development has been stifled by the lack of global recognition.

The election was delayed twice since 2022 for lack of funding.

“This result and especially the credible electoral process resulting in a peaceful transfer of power will consolidate Somaliland’s reputation as one of the more stable democracies in the Horn of Africa,” said Murithi Mutiga, program director for Africa at the Crisis Group.

Abdullahi’s win will see to the end of the tenure of Abdi, who pushed for Somaliland to be recognized by countries around the world but secured just over 30% of the votes cast.

Somaliland’s “impressive record of elections and peaceful transfers of power is a model for the region and beyond,” the United States Embassy in Somalia said Tuesday on X, lauding the election.

Somaliland’s latest agreement with neighboring Ethiopia — granting Addis Ababa access to the Indian Ocean in exchange for recognition — has caused political tension with Somalia, which accuses Ethiopia of undermining its territorial integrity.

The opposition has been urging more economic benefits to Somaliland from the agreement and criticized how it was hurriedly and secretly negotiated.

The main opposition party has raised concerns about how much benefit the controversial agreement with Ethiopia holds for Somaliland, Mohamed Husein Gaas, the director of the Raad Peace Research Institute in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, told The Associated Press.

Leaders in Somalia expressed hope for better relations between the country and the breakaway region, including former Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, who hoped the president-elect would “take a leading role in strengthening the brotherhood and unity of the Somali people.”

The president of neighboring Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, also congratulated Abdullahi on his election victory.

DR Congo Says Mausoleum Holding Independence Hero Lumumba’s Gold-capped Tooth is Vandalized

FILE - Workers stand by a memorial for Democratic Republic of the Congo independence hero Patrice Lumumba, in Kinshasa, Congo, June 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi, File)

By JEAN-YVES KAMALE and MARK BANCHEREAU

11:00 AM EST, November 19, 2024

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s government says the mausoleum of assassinated independence leader Patrice Lumumba in the capital, Kinshasa, has been vandalized. It’s not immediately clear whether Lumumba’s remains — a single gold-capped tooth — were damaged or stolen.

A mausoleum curator told the national press agency that the coffin containing the tooth was broken Monday.

The glass doors were smashed and four suspects were arrested, the deputy mayor of the neighborhood where the mausoleum is located told the country’s main radio channel. He added that he couldn’t confirm whether the tooth was stolen or not.

It’s not clear who was responsible for the act of vandalism, Congo’s ministry of culture said in a statement Tuesday.

The return of Lumumba’s tooth from former colonizer Belgium in 2022 had been celebrated around Congo, with the tooth taken around the vast country so people could pay their respects.

Lumumba is widely hailed as the nationalist activist who helped to end colonial rule. He became Congo’s first prime minister and was seen as one of Africa’s most promising new leaders, but he was assassinated within a year in 1961. His body was dismembered and dissolved with acid in an apparent effort to keep any grave from becoming a pilgrimage site.

For many in Congo, Lumumba is a symbol of the positive developments the country could have achieved after its independence. Instead, it became mired in decades of dictatorship that drained its vast mineral riches.

Historians say Lumumba was a victim of the Cold War. He promoted leftist policies, and when he reached out to the Soviet Union for help in putting down a secessionist movement in the mineral-rich Katanga region, he fell out of favor with Belgium and the United States.

A military coup toppled Lumumba, and he was arrested, jailed and later killed. His assassination, blamed on separatists, cleared the way for the rise of Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled the country he later renamed Zaire for decades with support from Western powers until his death in 1997.

Even though Lumumba’s killers were Congolese, questions have persisted over the complicity of Belgium and the United States because of his perceived Communist ties.

His one remaining tooth was kept by the Belgian police commissioner who oversaw the destruction of his body. In 2016, the tooth was seized by Belgian officials from the police commissioner’s daughter.

The tooth was returned to Congo after the visit of Belgium’s King Philippe, who expressed regrets for his nation’s abuses in Congo when it was a Belgian colony.

Biden’s Crazed Gambit Allowing Ukraine to Strike Russian Territory Brings World Closer to Superpower Conflict

IT SCARCELY gets more dangerous than this. The semi-senile President of the United States has determined to use his remaining months in office to dramatically ratchet up the war in Ukraine.

Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to fire US-supplied missiles deep into Russia, permission it has hitherto withheld, is a major step towards extending the conflict into an actual face-off between the world’s two major nuclear-armed powers.

Since the missiles concerned cannot easily be operated without full US logistical, intelligence and targeting support, this takes the prolonged proxy war much closer to a direct clash.

Biden’s move looks likely to be echoed, as ever, by Keir Starmer, who has been prevented by Washington from allowing Ukraine to use British Storm Shadow missiles to hit targets inside Russia. Those restrictions may now be cast aside.

Starmer is talking of “doubling down” on the war at the precise moment when hopes for an end to a bloody and unnecessary conflict should be rising.

It has been clear to every sober observer that, since the failure of Ukraine’s 2023 summer offensive, the chances of Nato achieving its maximum war aims of forcing the Russian army back to the borders of 2022, let alone 2014, were evaporating.

Since then, Russia has moved onto the front foot across most of the battlefront and is gradually gaining territory. To set against this, there has only been Zelensky’s Kursk offensive, which more than ever looks like a futile diversion.

President-elect Donald Trump represents those sections of the Washington elite who, with considerable mass support, accept the military realities, resent the vast sums US taxpayers are spending on the conflict and prefer to focus on the “Chinese threat” in any case.

He has pledged to end the conflict “within a day” once in office. Given that, Biden’s move looks more than usually cynical.

This should be a moment when every effort is focused on securing a peace that meets both Ukrainian and Russian security concerns and addresses borders and the status of minorities in Ukraine.

Of course, this is a war with two sides. Russia continues to launch massive attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure and kill civilians on a daily basis.

Nor is it clear that it would accept a peace based on existing military dispositions since its territorial claims are more ambitious and made without much reference to the populations concerned.

But it is the Nato powers which appear bent on escalation to try and tip the military scales back in Kiev’s favour before Trump enters the White House.

However, few believe that extended missile strikes within Russia will be sufficient to turn the tables, at least in proportion to the dangers involved, which include provoking asymmetric Russian attacks across Europe.

Starmer appears oblivious to all this and even intoxicated by his warrior posturing. No-one on the left will take his protestations of principle seriously.

Labour’s continuing political and practical support for Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon and insultingly bland denial that this amounts to a genocide against the Palestinians reveals that the only principle he adheres to is fealty to Washington.

It is vital that the peace and labour movements make their voices heard more forcefully in Ukraine now. Whatever may happen once Trump takes over, the next two months are a time of maximum danger while the imbecilic “Genocide Joe” sees out his term of office.

The people must press for peace in Ukraine as a matter of urgency, on the basis of stable security for all. That is already the demand of most of the world’s nations, and it must be imposed on Labour’s warlords.

Reprinted from the Morning Star, UK

UK Women Will Effectively Work for Free for the Rest of the Year from Today

Models of men and women on a pile of coins and bank notes

WOMEN will effectively work for free for the rest of the year from today.

The calculation, based on mean full-time pay, was published in a report by the Fawcett Society to mark Equal Pay Day.

It estimates that the current full-time pay gap stands at 11.3 per cent — up by 0.6 per cent on last year.

Researchers suggest that the increase could be attributed to changes in the government’s methodology for recording hours and earnings, which now includes data from the highest earners.

According to the latest numbers, women take home on average £7,572 a year less than men, compared with £6,888 in 2023.

Fawcett Society chief executive Jemima Olchawski said that this Equal Pay Day marks a reminder that gender pay inequality is “not only persistent, but risks deepening” and that the government’s new methodology indicates that the situation “could be worse than previously understood.”

One key contributor to the pay gap is that women are more likely to take on part-time, low-paid or insecure work to balance caregiving responsibilities.

In 2023’s report, the charity found that women were almost twice as likely to be working part-time (27 per cent) than men (14 per cent).

This year’s data also showed a significant “motherhood penalty,” with differences in occupation and industry accounting for 45 per cent of the gap.

Pay gaps for women of Bangladeshi (28.4 per cent), Pakistani (25.9 per cent), and mixed white and black Caribbean (25 per cent) heritage were also larger than those for white British men, exacerbating the financial inequalities they already experience.

Overall, a large portion of the gap remains unexplained, with data finding that nearly two-thirds of the gender pay gap would still exist even if men and women worked the same hours, in the same jobs, and were of the same age, ethnicity, and background.

Rachel Reeves has vowed to use her position as the first female Chancellor to close the pay gap and “improve life for women,” strengthening workers’ rights, investing in childcare, and encouraging “female-powered” businesses.

Ms Olchawski said: “To truly achieve equality, we need a comprehensive, cross-departmental strategy that tackles the root causes of the gap, including the undervaluing of women’s work, a lack of affordable childcare and the systemic barriers that prevent women, particularly mothers, from reaching their full potential in the workforce.

“If we are to see meaningful change, flexible work must be the default across all sectors, and discrimination in pay must be eradicated.”

The Fawcett Society has created a gender pay gap calculator where users can compare wage discrepancies in different industries.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said that Labour’s Employment Rights Bill, which was introduced to Parliament in October, is “vital” for women’s pay and equality, as it will require large employers to set out clear action plans on how they will close gender pay gaps.

“And we know women still take on the lion share of caring responsibilities — a key driver of the gender pay gap — so fixing care is critical to raising their pay.”

He highlighted that it will also introduce a fair agreement in social care to “stop the race to the bottom” on pay and conditions.

“This will help recruit and retain staff,” he added.

According to a TUC analysis, women aged between 50 and 59 have the highest pay gap at 19.7 per cent and work the equivalent of 72 days for free.

Equality Trust co-executive director Jo Wittams said: “A report in 2020 estimated that, at the then rate of progress, it could take almost 200 years to eliminate the gender pay gap.

“Today, with the gender pay gap wider than it was last year, even that could be optimistic.

“We can’t even estimate when ethnicity or disability pay gaps will be closed because employers are not required to report them; one report found it could be 50 years before we even find out what the ethnicity pay gap is.”

UNISON head of equality Josie Irwin said: “It’s not enough for organisations simply to report their gender pay gaps. The government must change the law so that every UK organisation and company is required to take action to do something about them.

“But until society stops seeing caring roles, which tend to be done by women, as of less value than other jobs, any pay progress will continue to be slow.”

Angry Farmers Challenge Labour on Tax

Farmers protest in central London over the changes to inheritance tax (IHT) rules in the recent budget which introduce new taxes on farms worth more than £1 million, November 19, 2024

ANGRY farmers laid siege to Westminster today as they protested against the Budget’s introduction of inheritance tax on farms.

Shouts of “kick Starmer out” resonated across Parliament Square and outside Downing Street as more than 10,000 farmers rallied to hear speeches demanding a Labour U-turn on the tax.

Celebrity farmer and right-wing TV personality Jeremy Clarkson, unabashed by an admission earlier in his rustic career that he had bought a farm to avoid inheritance tax, said: “I beg the government to accept that this was rushed through.

“It wasn’t thought out, and it’s a mistake. That’s the big thing to do — admit it and back down.”

There was little sign of that happening, although some Labour MPs from rural seats are becoming anxious at what looks like another political blunder by a government all too prone to them.

Andy MacNae, MP for Rossendale and Darwen, told lobbying farmers that he would take their concerns back to the Treasury and hoped that the policy could be tweaked to protect family farms.

Montgomery MP Steve Witherden said the Treasury needed to reveal its modelling on the impact on family farms.

The protest, organised by the National Farmers Union (NFU), was backed by a range of other groups.

Greenpeace UK head of politics Ami McCarthy said: “Whilst it is right that the richest landowners pay their fair share of tax, the government must look again at their wider offer to support UK farmers.

“Supermarkets and industrial farming corporations have been making huge profits, while driving down standards.”

The Greens’ agricultural spokesperson Emily O’Brien said that while “it is right to clamp down on those who buy farmland to avoid tax ... we also need the government to take action to ensure that hard working farmers can earn a decent income.”

Speaking from Rio PM Sir Keir Starmer pledged that he was not waging a “class war” on landowners and added that only farmers with assets over £3 million would pay the new tax, leaving most unaffected.

One of the farmers at the rally, Philip Greenhill from North Wiltshire, pointed out that “you could have £5 million of assets, but make £50,000 a year profit. You are looking at maybe £600,000 inheritance tax off a £50,000 income.”

The 1660 Restoration and the Lessons of Defeat

KEITH FLETT considers how the return of the monarchy after Cromwell offers lessons for a left facing the return of Donald Trump, showing that radical traditions endure despite reactionary victories

HISTORIC DEFEAT: Charles II landing in Dover in 1660 Photo: Wellcome Images/Creative Commons

ROSA LUXEMBURG saw the future as a choice between socialism and barbarism.

In that respect, the presidential landslide for Donald Trump is not good news for the left. Of course, Trump does not lead directly to barbarism, but there is a clear direction of travel, although whether he or his Democratic opponent would be the more likely to start a world war is a moot point.

In the US, abortion rights, civil liberties and much else may be under question and threat. No doubt, organisations from the community and from the labour movement will fight to defend them.

It is an experience of defeat — but on a historical scale much worse has happened.

Perhaps the original one in the modern era was the restoration of the monarchy in England and Wales in 1660 after the Commonwealth period from 1649.

The restoration saw numbers of those who had signed the death warrant for Charles I — regicides — executed. Oliver Cromwell, who had died in 1658, was dug up and executed in his absence, as it were. Censorship of radical ideas was reinstated and those who held such ideas were persecuted.

After the death of Cromwell, those disparate factions who did not want the return of the monarchy were unable to find a way forward. Well-off urban and landed interests saw the return of King Charles II.

The events of 1649 and 1660 remain a touchstone in English history, not least for the current King and Queen.

The Marxist historian Christopher Hill noted in his book The Experience of Defeat: “We know something of the practical consequences of defeat. After 1660, nearly one in five of the beneficed ministers lost their livings without even the meagre compensation which the ejected of the 1640s and 1650s had received. Lay dissenters had to endure nearly 30 years (until 1688) of sporadic but often very damaging persecution.”

Hill was interested in the radicals that had supported the revolution and how they came to terms with events after 1660, in particular the poet and radical activist and thinker John Milton.

He noted, and here one must suspect a parallel with Trump 450 years on, that the problem for radicals after 1660 was, of course, the suppression of ideas and publication and the possibility of arrest, but even more so the unpredictability of the matter. Some were able to protect themselves in local communities; others were not so fortunate.

Two groups were able to survive. The Quakers adapted to a degree to the new royalist regime, while the Muggletonians — a far more radical grouping — disappeared from public view and carried on privately.

Their ideas influenced William Blake, and there were a few surviving adherents even in recent times. The socialist historian EP Thompson described himself as a Muggletonian Marxist.

The survival of the radical ideas and traditions, which became easier after the “glorious revolution” of 1688, which constrained the authority of absolute monarchy, was important.

In the 1790s, the London Corresponding Society declared that it would have “members unlimited” — that is, that political activity and representation would not be tied to property. It was exactly the same principle that had been central to the debate at Putney in 1647 between Cromwell’s supporters and army agitators.

It’s a reminder that defeats, often very serious ones, happen, but ideas and radical organisations can and do survive even in the most difficult of times.

Beyond the defeat of 1660 and that in the US in 2024, we can look at the experience of the 1930s, a much more serious matter still, but one that still saw resistance and eventually the defeat of reaction. Socialism or barbarism is a perpetual process of struggle.

Keith Flett is a socialist historian. Follow him on X @kmflett.

Vicious Attempt to Silence Musicians

BEN LUNN draws attention to the way cultural expressions of solidarity with Palestinians in the UK are being censored by Israeli-sponsored lawfare

INSPIRATIONAL: (L) Musicians take part in a Nakba 76 pro-Palestine demonstration and march in London, May 2024, to mark the mass displacement of Palestinians in 1948, referred to as the Nakba; (R) Composer Cornelius Cardew in People's Liberation Music supporting the Grunwick march, July 1977 Photo: AndyScott/CC

ON NOVEMBER 15 the Cornelius Cardew Concerts Trust (CCCT), an organisation dedicated to the music and ethos of Cornelius Cardew, a communist and experimental music composer, were due to host a solidarity concert in Morley College’s Holst Room. However, on the 14th one of the organisers announced on their personal Facebook that their event The World Stands with Palestine had been cancelled.

The organiser in question emphasised that the Trust had not chosen to cancel the concert. However, it came to light the organisation UK Lawyers for Israel (who offer services like “basic training for lawyers on international law and Israel” or “to contribute generally as lawyers to creating a supportive climate of opinion in the United Kingdom towards Israel”) had contacted both the CCCT and Morley College alleging that “holding the concert would be in breach of the law”. This led Morley College to cancel the concert. The CCCT have stated that “this is an outrageous allegation” and that the CCCT were determined not to be “intimidated by the browbeating of UK Lawyers for Israel.”

UKLFI was founded initially by Jonathan Turner and others as a counter to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign in 2011.

This manoeuvring is extremely troubling. However it does demonstrate how important cultural, and ideological, battles are. As was witnessed shortly after invasion of Russia into Ukraine in 2022, culture became a battleground of ideas where the very question of the performing Russian music came to the forefront. But what makes this development more concerning is it is being pushed predominantly from above, through organisations which we cannot verify as legitimate organisations, and not just PR fronts to divert from the atrocities committed by the Netanyahu government and his stooges.

Thankfully organisations like PalMusic UK have managed to host events promoting Palestinian culture, but other big institutions like the Barbican have been threatened by UKLFI suggesting they are in breach of 1986 Public Order Act.

One question readers may be asking is: if this organisation and supporters are so against the concert, why do they not just picket/protest against the performance? What is cannily done by UKLFI is exploit the fact that many venues are often charitable organisations.

This means that part of the duty of being a charitable organisation is to be “apolitical,” in addition to many other conditions which organisations need to follow to be eligible for funding. A statement released by UKFLI on November 18 argued that “Morley College, a registered charity, could also be in danger of breaching its charitable objectives.”

What can be seen from this development is artists, and organisations who support them or hire them in Britain, are not free to speak their minds. Though many have been aware of this for a long period of time, given the previous history of blacklisting suspected communist artists, it has not been this naked and clear to see.

The UKFLI statement on this issue details their accusations against the concert, which suggest: “The CCCT concert and its publicity appears to be a political campaign for the government of Gaza, Hamas.” Similarly, Caroline Turner, the director of UKFLI, included in her statement the words: “It is a shame that the Cornelius Cardew Concert Trust appears to have been hijacked by anti-Israel activists.” The Cornelius Cardew Concert Trust, have yet to make a public statement, though they are seeking legal advice on how to proceed.

The conflation between solidarity with Palestinians and sympathies with terrorism has been a longstanding argument of many critics of the pro-Palestinian movement in Britain (and internationally) and, as already mentioned, the precarious circumstances venues find themselves in makes it very easy to silence any art that is made in solidarity with Palestine and the Palestinians.

Much as with artists supporting Vietnam in the ’60s, fighting apartheid in South Africa in the ’80s and earlier, or artists condemning the atrocities of the invasion of Iraq in the early 2000s, artists need the freedom to speak on such issues. Ultimately, artists should be free to speak on any issue they desire – as at the end of the day, the quality of the art and the strength of the idea will give it the longevity it deserves. Good art challenges.

Similarly, the simple act of performing works by Palestinians or performers dedicating a concert to victims of war in Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen, or any people in conflict is not criminal.

We should send our solidarity to the Cornelius Cardew Concerts Trust, and other organisations fighting the good fight. And to quote the great Leonard Bernstein:

“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”

Ban the Polls: UK Election Strategists Slam ‘Inaccurate’ Voter Surveys

Tory Isaac Levido and Labour’s Morgan McSweeney both see the case for a black-out on publishing polls ahead of election day, according to a new book. 

Lagging more than 20 points behind in most polls demoralized Tory troops and made it harder for the party bosses to enforce discipline among elected politicians. | Leon Neal/Getty Images

November 20, 2024 4:01 am CET

By Tim Ross

LONDON — Opinion polls are inaccurate, distort political debate and should be banned during the final weeks of an election campaign. That’s the view of the strategist who led the British Conservative Party’s operations in 2024 and 2019.  

In an interview for a new book on this year’s U.K. general election, Tory campaign director Isaac Levido slammed the “unhealthy” dominance of polling in the media coverage of the campaign, which his side lost to Keir Starmer’s Labour Party in July.

Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who directed Labour’s successful election bid, also sees the argument for a moratorium on publishing polls in the run-up to voting, according to Landslide: The Inside Story of the 2024 Election. 

Some industry professionals agree that political polling is broken, and needs to be given a reality check. In this month’s U.S. presidential election, for example, pollsters underestimated the pro-Donald Trump vote — as they did in both 2016 and 2020. 

The forthcoming book describes widespread unease and deep anger within former Tory Leader Rishi Sunak’s inner circle at the way polling dominated the national debate before the U.K. election. 

Getting it wrong

For one thing, the polls got the headline vote-share result significantly wrong, an error masked by the fact that the overall result — a Labour victory — was clear. Instead of a 20-point lead for Labour over the Tories, as the polls had consistently suggested, the election delivered a winning margin of half that size, with Labour securing 34 percent of the vote to the Tories’ 24 percent. 

Levido, the Australian strategist who ran the Conservatives’ campaign this year and Boris Johnson’s successful run in 2019, said it was time for reform. 

“I’m not arguing that we would not have lost,” Levido said in an interview published in the book. “But the inaccuracy of the polls and the reporting of them by the media increasingly play an outsized role in election campaigns. The polls are frankly given far too much attention relative to a proper policy debate, and it significantly influences how voters behave. 

“I’m not sure it’s realistic to ban polls for the whole campaign period, but I certainly think some sort of blackout in the final couple of weeks, as some other countries have, would be healthy. Other countries have blackouts on TV advertising in the final two or three days of the campaign, too.”

Some senior Tories said they believed their own party colleagues would have behaved better if the polls had not given Labour a lead which turned out to be twice as big as the reality, which then dominated coverage in newspapers and on broadcasts, according to the book. 

Lagging more than 20 points behind in most polls demoralized Tory troops and made it harder for the party bosses to enforce discipline among elected politicians who were fighting for their own skins, party officials told the authors. 

Time for a ban?

Even the winners see the problem, according to the book. McSweeney, who is now Starmer’s chief of staff, ran the Labour election campaign which delivered a devastatingly efficient result. According to one Labour official, also granted anonymity, privately McSweeney agrees that polling dominated the campaign and distorted the debate. 

Instead of focusing on the competing policy offers from rival parties or assessing which candidate would make the better prime minister, media reporting obsessed with the size of Labour’s likely majority. The Labour government is not likely to change the law on polling, however, the official said.

European countries including Cyprus and Spain have rules banning the publication of polls in the final days before voting, while in Italy, publishing poll results is banned for two weeks before election day.

Martin Boon, from the British polling company Deltapoll, warned well before the U.S. results came in that the polls were at risk of underplaying support for the Republicans.

As for the British election, he said the polling industry’s predictions were the worst for a generation. “This is either the very worst or the second worst polling performance since 1979,” Boon said in an interview for the book. “There is something fundamentally wrong with the data we collect.”  

For Levido, one answer would be to beef up the regulator by giving the British Polling Council genuine teeth and the power to impose sanctions on polling companies that fail or break the rules. “If some of these polling organizations are sanctioned by a governing body, that would help,” he said.

“Landslide: The Inside Story of the 2024 Election,” by Tim Ross and Rachel Wearmouth, is published by Biteback Thursday.

Government Workers Who Want a New Job Amid Elon Musk's Efficiency Plans May Have to Tap the 'Hidden Job Market'

Tim Paradis Nov 19, 2024, 1:55 PM EST

With the threat of cutbacks, some government workers might look to shift to the private sector.

Career coaches told BI they're hearing from federal workers who want to beef up their résumés.

Experts advise networking and making résumé adjustments for transitioning to private sector roles.

When Donald Trump won the White House for a second time, Ayanna Jackson texted a colleague who revamps résumés to prepare for a possible surge in demand from government workers.

Jackson, who founded and runs AEJ Consulting, an executive coaching and career-development firm in metro Washington, DC, wasn't overprepared. She said she's already seen an uptick in inquiries from federal workers looking to beef up their résumés and explore life in the private sector.

"That rush is definitely coming," she told Business Insider.

Jackson said the increased demand is, at least in part, because some government workers are concerned about the Department of Government Efficiency. That's the quasi-government entity Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are setting up to slash public spending. That, with a cooperative Congress, could augur poorly for entire agencies.

For government workers trying to dodge the DOGE — or who might just have philosophical differences with the incoming administration — landing a job in the private sector might require a different tack than getting ahead in government, career experts told BI.

Laura Labovich, CEO of The Career Strategy Group, an outplacement firm in the Washington, DC, area, told BI that she has been hearing from workers ready to leave the government.

She said that, unlike in the past, these employees aren't saying they're frustrated by difficulties in getting a promotion or pay.

"They just say, 'I want to leave,'" Labovich said.

The 'hidden job market'

To get started, Labovich said, workers should try to talk to people at employers where they might want to work and put the focus on finding people and companies — instead of open jobs. So, for someone who wants to work in a marketing department, making contact through LinkedIn or being introduced by professional contacts with people who work in that unit might help someone stand out. Job seekers might ask to set up a brief call to learn more about the department, she said.

Gen Z fell in love with government jobs. Elon Musk's budget cuts might upend them.

I've worked at Google, Amazon, and Uber. These are 3 common mistakes I see when people apply for tech jobs.

Labovich said that's important because of what's referred to as the "hidden job market." Unlike in government, where the race for a job often starts once a role is posted, it's better to be on a hiring manager's radar before a posting goes up in the private sector, she said.

Beyond going big on networking, Labovich said, one of the biggest changes in looking for a private sector job will be the length of the résumé. She said that, unlike federal résumés that might run four to six pages, someone looking for a private sector job should typically keep the document to two pages unless it's for a C-suite position.

Jackson offered similar advice about what corporate recruiters want: "They're going to give you six to nine seconds, tops, to scroll two pages max," she said.

Don't just rely on AI

Jackson advised against solely relying on artificial intelligence tools to compress a résumé that was a half-dozen pages long into two. AI, she said, can introduce errors and leave a résumé bloated with empty phrases and inaccurate metrics.

"You've got to articulate your specific results," Jackson said.

For those remaking résumés for work outside the government, Jackson said, it's important to avoid relying on acronyms or namechecking obscure agencies that hiring managers and recruiters might not know.

She recommended that those looking for work focus on soft skills that many employers say they want. This includes the ability to influence, communicate ideas, and solve problems.

Jackson also said getting coaching before an interview is a good idea, especially for candidates who haven't gone through the interview process in a long time. She said workers must be ready to tell their stories without rambling and be able to demonstrate how they achieved goals and overcame obstacles.

Both Jackson and Labovich recommended that job seekers use the STAR method for answering questions. This involves describing the situation or task the worker faced, the action they took, and the results of that effort.

Consider other factors

Richard Poulson, a partner at the law firm Willig, Williams & Davidson in Philadelphia, told BI there could be unique factors that government workers might have to consider.

Poulson, who specializes in issues involving public safety workers, said that when public sector workers move to the private sector — in effect from being a regulator to the one being regulated — it might not be possible to work in the same field, with the same client, or on the same projects for some time.

"There may be restrictions in effect there," he said. "People need to make sure that they've got their eyes wide open before they make those decisions."

A strong private sector can be a draw

Lisa Simon, chief economist at Revelio Labs, which examines employment data, told BI that demand for public-sector jobs tends to wane as hiring heats up in the private sector.

However, she said she expects private sector hiring to recover "fairly well" over the next six months or so, which could attract workers from the government willing to give up what can be attractive benefits.

Simon said it's too soon to say how many public sector workers might choose to leave under the new administration — or be forced to — though she noted that there wasn't a major exodus of workers during the first Trump term.

Stepped-up job growth in the private sector could worsen problems that some government agencies have had in attracting people, according to Poulson, the attorney.

He said he would advise public sector workers who have a choice to consider how careers in government often span many power shifts in politics. Poulson also suggested that government workers focus on the importance of what they do.