Latest news with #revolt
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Syria's Druze count the toll of another deadly episode in long struggle for survival
The once invincible Sweida in southern Syria, the epicentre of a revolt against French colonial rule, was counting its dead on Monday after a week of fighting that left its mostly Druze inhabitants bowed, but not defeated. A ceasefire appeared to hold as Monday was the first day without clashes in a week. Authorities were moving Bedouin civilians out, but aid convoys were still to enter. Local branches of the Health Ministry sent teams to count the dead and take bodies to hospitals, where mortuaries were full after three waves of incursions by government forces and auxiliaries in the past week. Last year, Sweida was a centre of a non-violent uprising against the Assad regime when peaceful protest in Syria had long been crushed. The Druze are an offshoot of Islam, whose history is defined by struggles for survival. US diplomatic pressure on Syrian authorities, and Israeli raids, halted the offensive on Sunday. However the area, comprising the heartland of the ancient sect, remains under siege by the central authorities. Damascus said Druze militias killed hundreds of Sunnis in Sweida during the clashes in the provincial capital, which were sparked by sectarian abductions. Khaldoun, a Druze surgeon at the main Sweida National Hospital, told The National Syrian military and Interior Ministry forces who arrived in the city last week 'supposedly to stop clashes and spread security, turned out to be monsters.' Women were among dead, felled by snipers and other government triggermen. Dr Khaldoun said 'medical teams were shot dead while trying to save people.' He said at least the bodies of 500 people have been brought to the hospital or died while receiving treatment there since government attacks on Sweida began. Jiryes al Ishaq, a Christian who lived on a farmland on the western outskirts of Sweida, said he fled the government advance to the Greek Orthodox parish in the centre of the city. 'Pillage has been widespread but I don't know what happened to my land,' he said. 'We are provided for at the parish, because the authorities have vowed not to harm [the compound], but the rest of the city is devastated,' he said, pointing out unconfirmed reports that government militants had killed a Christian family of a dozen members in Sweida. The government had said during the offensive that killings would result in prosecutions. Fighting in Sweida - in pictures Sweida, with its basalt rock landscape, is home to 270,000 Druze who comprise most members of the sect left in Syria after waves of migration, particularly during the 2011 to 2024 civil war. There are an estimated one million Druze worldwide, mainly in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and a diaspora in Latin America. From 1925 to 1927, the Druze, led by Sultan Basha Al Atrash, mounted a revolt against French rule. The revolt failed but it was instrumental in projecting the image of the Druze as being Syrians first in a predominantly Sunni country. Sultan Al Atrash became a figure in the narrative of Arab nationalists across the Middle East. Bedouin tribes, some of whom have been attacking Sweida, had joined him in the revolt. Sunni merchants in Damascus, who later supported former leader Bashar Al Assad and the post Assad order, financed the Druze armed struggle against the French as thousands of Druze fighters were killed with superior French firepower. Sultan Al Atrash died in 1982. However, one of his daughters, Muntaha, led peaceful resistance in Sweida when the March 2011 protest movement broke out. In the last 15 months of Mr Al Assad's rule, Sweida renewed the civil disobedience movement demanding the removal of the regime. Among its leaders was Sheikh Hikmat Al Hijri, the most senior of a triumvirate comprising the Druze spiritual leadership. Suhail Tebian, a prominent Druze civil figure who had opposed an increased arming of the Druze under Mr Al Hijri since the regime fell, said the community has had no choice but to resist government forces comprising religious extremists, although the cost has been high. 'Sweida has become a disaster zone,' Mr Thebian said. There is nothing more I can tell you. I have survived, for now'. Mr Al Hijri resisted attempts by the new authorities – formerly Hayat Tahrir Al Sham – to control Sweida, saying that new security forces should be drawn from residents of the province. He labelled the government as extremists and undemocratic, pointing out the lack of any independent branches in the new political system. So, when clashes began in Sweida last week between Druze and Sunni residents of Bedouin origins, Mr Al Hijri refused government security forces in the city. This set the scene for a week of incursions in which the government recruited rural Sunnis on its side, from Sweida and nearby Deraa. The authorities also taken by bus in more Sunnis, this time Bedouin, from the province of Deir Ezzor, in the eastern fringes of Syria, and from the governorate of Aleppo. But even Druze who have been critical of Mr Al Hijri's handling of the crisis said the blood shed by the government forces and its auxiliaries have robbed it of credibility. 'They have cut the internet to make it difficult to know and document the size of the atrocities they committed,' said Nawaf, another Druze doctor. An engineer in Sweida said the city and nearby villages 'have been devastated'. 'We can't even reach them,' he said. 'Bodies are still lying in open fields. There is no [transport] vehicles. No gasoline. I went to see the [main] hospital, it can't receive anyone. It is out of service.'
CNN
7 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Markets could freak out if Trump tries to fire Powell
There could be a revolt in global markets, including a possible collapse in the dollar and US bonds, if President Donald Trump were to take the unprecedented step of removing Federal Reserve Chair Powell from the helm of the central bank, as the president has suggested he could do. The US dollar index, which measures the dollar's strength against six major foreign currencies, dropped as much as 0.8% Wednesday morning after reports that Trump was moving closer to removing the Fed chair. CBS News first reported the news. Trump later Wednesday told reporters at the White House it is unlikely he would fire Powell, pushing back on media reports. 'We're not planning on doing anything,' Trump said. 'I don't rule out anything, but I think it's highly unlikely, unless he has to leave for fraud.' The dollar index pared its losses after Trump's remarks and was down just 0.3% as of midday. The Fed's independence is a cornerstone of US financial markets, and perceptions of an erosion of that independence could spark a sharp sell-off in the dollar and US government bonds that could have lasting damage for America's markets and its economy — along with its international reputation. US markets have been volatile this year as Trump has ramped up his criticisms of Powell, demanding the central bank lower interest rates. But Wall Street has maintained that the likelihood of the president actually moving to oust the Fed chair remains low, due to legal uncertainties and awareness of officials like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that markets would reject the move. 'Trump wants lower interest rates: He thinks ousting Powell will make a difference, but most market analysts think it would send a signal that the Fed has lost its independence,' Greg Valliere, chief US policy strategist at AGF Investments, said in a note. The Fed's independence is paramount. Financial markets favor independent central banks that can focus on inflation and the labor market without concerns of political interference. Investors perceive the United States as a great place to invest specifically because of the nation's strong institutions. A breakdown in the perception of Fed independence is the equivalent of enormous reputation damage that could be almost impossible to repair. Markets in recent days have not been 'pricing in' the possibility of Powell's removal, analysts say, which leaves room for a severe reaction in markets if Trump catches investors off-guard and goes forward with a legally contentious move to assert control over the Fed. George Saravelos, global head of FX strategy at Deutsche Bank, said in a Friday note that the removal of Powell is 'one of the largest under-priced event risks' for markets. 'It is stating the obvious that investors would likely interpret such an event as a direct affront to Fed independence, putting the central bank under extreme institutional duress,' Saravelos said. 'With the Fed sitting at the pinnacle of the global dollar monetary system it is also stating the obvious that the consequences would reverberate far beyond US borders.' Saravelos said he expects the dollar would drop 3% to 4% in 24 hours if Powell were fired, which is an enormous move in currency markets. 'The empirical and academic evidence on the impact of a loss of central bank independence is fairly clear: In extreme cases, both the currency and the bond market can collapse as inflation expectations move higher, real yields drop and broader risk premia increase on the back of institutional erosion,' Saravelos said. Bets on Polymarket on Wednesday showed traders expect a 24% chance Trump will fire Powell this year, which is the highest percentage since the bet was created at the end of last year. An assault on the Fed's independence could cause a flight from American assets. The US dollar's strength and premier status could be jeopardized if investors lose the perception that the Fed is independent, according to Francesco Pesole, an FX strategist at ING. 'An independent Fed is a key foundation of the dollar's reserve currency appeal,' Pesole said. 'Markets hold a currency as reserve when they have long-term expectations that inflation will be under control and the bond market will work smoothly. In the case of the dollar this is fundamentally guaranteed by the Fed being independent from politics.' 'So should markets interpret any changes at the helm of the Fed as a loss of that independence, the incentive to hold dollars will be diminished,' Pesole said. The dollar in May hit a three-year low after Trump levied a flurry of criticisms against Powell. Bond markets could also be rocked by an erosion of Fed independence. The 30-year Treasury yield on Tuesday rose above 5% for the first time since June. A sustained, continued rise in yields could send a signal that markets are pushing back on the Trump administration's attacks on Powell. Bond prices and yields trade in opposite direction. A rise in yields could signal investors are selling or refusing to buy US bonds and demanding higher rates to compensate for the perceived added risk of holding US debt. 'At a minimum, we would expect a sustained and persistent risk premium to be subsequently embedded in both the US dollar and the Treasury market, with exceptionally high sensitivity to both the mix of data and the conduct of monetary policy in the subsequent months,' Deutsche Bank's Saravelos said. Damage to the Fed's credibility could make inflation a more persistent issue. A Fed that is perceived to lower rates prematurely to meet political demands could ignite concerns about inflation and cause bond holders to demand higher yields. Trump, who favors lower rates and has even proposed a rate cut of three points — which would be an unprecedented step and in itself a market-moving event — has long talked about removing Powell for not lowering borrowing costs quickly enough. But legal safeguards protect the Fed chair from an attempt by the president to fire him. Investors think members of Trump's own Cabinet would even advise against such a move. 'We doubt that Trump will actually try to fire Powell on this basis with Bessent likely warning of the mayhem this would cause in markets, and serious doubts the Supreme Court would uphold the decision,' Krishna Guha, vice chairman at Evercore ISI, said in a note. The Supreme Court thus far has signaled it would uphold the Fed chair's position other than a 'for cause' removal, 'which is interpreted in legal terms as narrowly related to misconduct,' and not 'policy disagreements,' according to Guha. The White House in recent days has been ramping up its criticisms of the Fed's ongoing construction project to renovate the central bank's headquarters in Washington, DC, effectively building a potential 'for cause' case for firing Powell. Senior Trump administration officials Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought and Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte have turned up the heat on criticizing the Fed's building renovation. A reporter on Tuesday asked Trump if Powell's handling of the renovation was a fireable offense. 'I think it sort of is,' Trump said. Powell has asked the central bank's inspector general to conduct an additional review of the ongoing renovation, CNN previously reported. The Fed also published a lengthy FAQ on its website, detailing the minutiae of the renovations and clarifying that cost overruns were due to factors including 'more asbestos than anticipated' and 'a higher-than-expected water table,' along with rising costs due to inflation and necessary changes to the building designs. 'We have not the slightest doubt that Powell will resist this line of attack as firmly as he has resisted others to date,' Guha said. While it remains to be seen whether Trump would fire Powell, the very suggestion that he might could send jitters through markets. The Fed is a unique institution. Repeated affronts to the central bank's independence could cause short-term mayhem and continued turmoil in the long-term. It could create unnecessary distraction for other Fed officials as they debate monetary policy and undermine the credibility of the Fed — even after Powell is no longer Fed chair. 'The effort by Vought and Pulte to use the building project to undermine Powell is also unhelpful to those who might succeed him,' Guha said. Jamie Dimon, chief executive at JPMorgan Chase, told reporters in a Tuesday conference call that moving to fire the Fed chair could have unintended consequences. 'The independence of the Fed is absolutely critical, and not just for the current Fed chairman, who I respect, but for the next Fed chairman,' he said. 'Playing around with the Fed can often have adverse consequences, absolutely opposite of what you might be hoping for.'
New York Times
13-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
South African President Opens Corruption Inquiry of Police Leader
Facing a revolt from within his governing coalition, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa announced on Sunday that he was suspending the country's police minister and forming a commission to investigate allegations that the minister had protected allies within the country's criminal underworld. The allegations against the minister, Senzo Mchunu, were leveled a week ago by Lt. Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the top police commander in the southern province of KwaZulu-Natal. General Mkhwanazi said Mr. Mchunu had shut down a unit that investigated political killings in order to shield from scrutiny politicians, prosecutors, police officials and members of the judiciary with ties to a criminal syndicate. The syndicate was behind several high-profile murders, General Mkhwanazi said. Mr. Mchunu, a close ally of Mr. Ramaphosa, has denied the allegations against him. But the president was forced to act quickly as his administration became engulfed by weeks of growing political turmoil that threatened to cause the implosion of a fragile governing coalition formed with great hope and fanfare last year. The commission will investigate whether law enforcement, intelligence and other criminal justice institutions have been infiltrated by criminal syndicates, Mr. Ramaphosa said. The inquiry will also explore whether senior justice system officials aided criminal activity or benefited from it, he said. 'We are affirming our commitment to the rule of law, to transparency and to accountability,' Mr. Ramaphosa said. 'And we are also enhancing the work that is underway to build a South Africa in which all of our people are safe and secure.' The allegations against Mr. Mchunu have presented the stiffest test of Mr. Ramaphosa's ability to keep his government together amid growing anger from the Democratic Alliance, the second largest party in the coalition. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
The least patriotic man EVER to hold high office? Even worse, Lord Hermer of Chagos, who's just grabbed unprecedented new powers, isn't even elected – but was appointed Attorney General by his Leftie lawyer chum Starmer, writes MATT GOODWIN
Thirty years ago, a largely unknown US academic named Christopher Lasch made a bold prediction: that the next revolt in Western politics would not be the people rising up against the elites, but the elites rising up against the people. Three decades on and that prophecy seems to be coming true. Running Britain today is a vast bureaucratic, political and legal cabal that thinks it is not of the people, but above them. Nobody embodies that arrogant elite more perfectly than Lord (Richard) Hermer, the Government's Attorney General and most senior legal adviser. Since July last year, when the former barrister stepped into this historic role, his official remit has been to safeguard our country and its citizens. Yet, all too often, Hermer's words and deeds suggest the opposite. Now it has emerged that the Attorney General has handed himself an 'effective veto' over state policy, by ordering civil servants to tell him if they suspect ministers' decisions could break the law. Hermer has inserted this so-called 'snitch clause' in new guidance to Government lawyers – deemed a 'power grab' by critics. Worse, he has watered down instructions which were originally designed by his Tory predecessor Suella Braverman to prevent lawyers from blocking Government policy. Former Tory attorney general Sir Michael Ellis has fittingly accused Hermer of 'empire building'. Quite so. Remember, this is an unelected Cabinet figure, hand-picked by fellow human rights lawyer Sir Keir Starmer, who has now effectively given himself the power to act as deputy prime minister in all but name. Indeed, we have already seen the scale of his interference in reports that Hermer advised the Government not to join the US and Israel in striking Iran's nuclear facilities last month. What was his reasoning for not joining our allies in obliterating these potentially apocalyptic stockpiles, enhancing global security and the safety of the British people? Apparently, it could have breached 'international law'. If you need any further proof that we live under the rule of lawyers rather than the rule of law, here it is. The slightest glance at Hermer's CV shows a carousel of wrong-headed decisions hostile to British interests – attitudes that clearly now prevail in the Government. Let's start with his previous work in private practice at the ultra Left-wing chambers Doughty Street, where he met his good friend Starmer. The 'cab-rank principle' supposedly requires barristers to accept any case within their competence, however repellent the client or cause. Yet it is interesting how our Attorney General has managed to represent quite so many figures one might describe as 'enemies of the state' – some of whom he has been accused of representing on a voluntary 'pro bono' basis when the cab-rank rule doesn't apply. They make for a grisly roll call of terrorists and mercenaries. Among them is Abid Naseer, the ringleader of an Al-Qaeda terror cell in north-east England, who was just days from bombing a Manchester shopping centre in 2009. Defending this loathsome creature from deportation, Hermer described MI5's case against the Pakistani student as 'pitiful' and 'far-fetched'. Naseer was later found guilty in America of plotting to detonate a car bomb outside Manchester's Arndale Centre and further killing hundreds of Easter shoppers by placing suicide bombers at the exits. He is now in a maximum-security prison in the US. So I'm not sure how 'far-fetched' it was to argue he was a terrorist. Then there's Rangzieb Ahmed, an Al-Qaeda chief linked to the July 7 terror attacks whose grim 20th anniversary the nation has just marked. Representing this bearded fanatic in 2020, Hermer even argued that the British Government should 'compensate' Ahmed for his alleged torture – in Pakistan. The list goes on. That same year, it was Hermer who argued in favour of reinstating the British citizenship of dim-witted jihadi bride Shamima Begum, who left the UK aged 15 to join Islamic State in Syria. Or take the former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, whom Hermer represented in 2023 against victims of three IRA bomb attacks who were suing him for damages. Hermer later had a key role in Labour's amendment of the 2023 Legacy Act, which means Adams and up to 1,500 other former suspected terrorists are now in line for compensation from the British taxpayer. A brazen and shameful conflict of interest? Hermer won't say: When asked whether he had a 'conditional fee agreement' with the Irishman – meaning he would be paid only if Adams won his case – Hermer replied that he couldn't 'recall'. This ugly record has rung alarm bells among people who truly believe in British interests. These concerns have continued since Hermer took his seat in the Attorney General's office. Yet Sir Keir appears delighted with his work. Yesterday Downing Street said Hermer's 'frank legal advice' is in the 'interests of everyone for the system to work properly'. How farcical. Remember, it was Hermer who signed off the Government's despicable surrender of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius – with Britain now set to spend as much as £30 billion to lease our own military base on the island of Diego Garcia, funding tax cuts for Mauritians. It was Hermer, too, who signed off the controversial prosecution of childminder Lucy Connolly, sentenced to nearly three years in prison for an offensive social media post during the riots following the Southport atrocity last summer. Was Connolly's incarceration really in the public interest at a time when Labour was struggling to tackle prison overcrowding? Many thousands of British people profoundly believe it was not. And it was Hermer who was forced to apologise in May after comparing those who support leaving the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) to Nazis. In a lecture at the Royal United Services Institute think-tank, Hermer said calls to leave the convention were a 'siren song' that had been heard before – including in 1930s Germany. In other words, those who would like to see our country have some control over its borders – control suppressed by judges' expansive interpretation of ECHR laws – are akin in their world-view to members of the Third Reich. Apology or not, Hermer's choice of words afforded a compelling glimpse into the boundless arrogance of this over-promoted bureaucrat – who has now, it seems, seized the power to veto decisions of national interest. In the face of such controversy, the clamour grows more deafening every day: Hermer has to go. The Attorney General is, of course, entitled to his perfectly woke opinions. What is intolerable is the extent to which he and his fellow Government stooges appear to believe their views are the only ones that count. As that forgotten academic Christopher Lasch forecast all those years ago, the revolt is now under way. And Richard Hermer epitomises the elite willing to ride roughshod over the views of the British people. MATT GOODWIN is Senior Visiting Professor at the University of Buckingham. You can read more of his analysis at
