Some Republican-led states refuse to let Justice Department monitors into polling places

Some Republican-led states refuse to let Justice Department monitors into polling places
The logo for the Justice Department is seen before a news conference at the Department of Justice, in Washington. (AP/File)
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Updated 05 November 2024
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Some Republican-led states refuse to let Justice Department monitors into polling places

Some Republican-led states refuse to let Justice Department monitors into polling places
  • Officials in Florida and Texas have said they won’t allow federal election monitors into polling sites on Tuesday

WASHINGTON: Some Republican-led states say they will block the Justice Department’s election monitors from going inside polling places on Election Day, pushing back on federal authorities’ decades-long practice of watching for violations of federal voting laws.
Officials in Florida and Texas have said they won’t allow federal election monitors into polling sites on Tuesday. And on Monday, Missouri filed a federal lawsuit seeking a court order to block federal officials from observing inside polling places.
The Justice Department announced last week that it’s deploying election monitors in 86 jurisdictions across 27 states on Election Day. The Justice Department declined to comment on Monday on the Missouri lawsuit and the moves by other Republican-led states.
The race between Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump is a dead heat, and both sides are bracing for potential legal challenges to vote tallies. The Justice Department’s election monitoring effort, a long practice under both Democratic and Republican administrations, is meant to ensure that federal voting rights are being followed.
Here’s a look at election monitors and the states’ actions:

Who are the election monitors?
Election monitors are lawyers who work for the Justice Department, including in the civil rights division and US attorney’s offices across the country. They are not law enforcement officers or federal agents.
For decades, the Justice Department’s civil rights division has sent attorneys and staff members to monitor polling places across the country in both federal and non-federal elections. The monitors are tasked with ensuring the compliance of federal voting rights laws.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division enforces a number of statutes protecting the right to vote. That includes Voting Rights Act, which prohibits intimidation and threats against those who are casting ballots or counting votes. And it includes the Americans with Disabilities Act, which mandates that election officials ensure people with disabilities have the full and equal opportunity to vote.
Where are election monitors being sent?
The 86 jurisdictions that the Justice Department will send monitors to on Tuesday include Maricopa County, Arizona and Fulton County, Georgia, which in 2020 became the center of election conspiracy theories spread by Trump and other Republicans. Another place on the list is Portage County, Ohio, where a sheriff came under fire for a social media post in which he said people with Harris yard signs should have their addresses recorded so that immigrants can be sent to live with them if the Democrat wins the presidency
Other areas where federal monitors will be sent include Detroit, Michigan; Queens, New York; Providence, Rhode Island; Jackson County, South Dakota; Salem, Massachusetts; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Manassas, Virginia; Cuyahoga County, Ohio and Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska. The Justice Department’s monitors will be in St. Louis, Missouri; four jurisdictions in Florida and eight jurisdictions in Texas.
What’s happening in Missouri?
In filing the lawsuit on Monday, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said state law “clearly and specifically limits who may be in polling places.” He also accused the federal government of “attempting to illegally interfere in Missouri’s elections.”
The lawsuit states that Missouri law “permits only certain categories of persons to be present in voting locations, including voters, minor children accompanying voters, poll workers, election judges, etc.,” and not federal officials.
The Justice Department also sought to monitor polling places in Missouri in 2022. The agency planned to have officials at Cole County, which includes Jefferson City, the state capital. County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer had said he wouldn’t let them in if they show up.
The federal agency backed down after Ashcroft showed Justice Department officials the state law, Ashcroft said. He says the Justice Department is now “trying to go through the back door” by contacting local election officials for access.
Messages were left Monday with the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners.
The St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners reached a settlement in 2021 with the Justice Department aimed at ensuring people with mobility and vision impairments can access to polling places after federal officials found problems, such as ramps that were too steep and inaccessible parking, according to the court papers. The settlement, which expires next year, says the board must “cooperate fully” with Justice Department’s efforts to monitor compliance, “including but not limited to providing the United States with timely access to polling places (including on Election Day).”
What are the other states saying?
In a letter to the Justice Department on Friday, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson said wrote that “Texas law is clear: Justice Department monitors are not permitted inside polling places where ballots are being cast or a central counting station where ballots are being counted.”
“Texas has a robust processes and procedures in place to ensure that eligible voters may participate in a free and fair election,” Nelson wrote.
In a similar letter Friday, Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd told the Justice Department that Florida law lists who is allowed inside the state’s polling places and that Justice Department officials are not included. Byrd said that Florida is sending its own monitors to the four jurisdictions the Justice Department plans to send staff to and they will “ensure there is no interference with the voting process.”


Bangladesh resumes direct trade with Pakistan after over 50 years

Bangladesh resumes direct trade with Pakistan after over 50 years
Updated 23 February 2025
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Bangladesh resumes direct trade with Pakistan after over 50 years

Bangladesh resumes direct trade with Pakistan after over 50 years
  • Bilateral ties have started to grow since the ouster of ex-PM Sheikh Hasina last August
  • Rice import may increase other opportunities for Bangladesh-Pakistan trade, expert says

DHAKA: Bangladesh will receive a delivery of 25,000 tonnes of rice from Pakistan next month, its food ministry said on Sunday, confirming the resumption of direct bilateral trade between the two governments after more than five decades.

Following decades of acrimonious ties, Bangladesh-Pakistan relations have started to grow after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last August.

Bangladesh’s interim government has had more bilateral exchanges with Pakistan since, with the chief adviser, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, having met twice with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Earlier this month, Dhaka finalized a deal to import rice from Pakistan, the food ministry said.

“The first consignment of 25,000 tonnes will arrive in Bangladesh on March 3,” Zia Uddin Ahmed, an additional secretary at the ministry, told Arab News.

“Since 1971, this is the first time Bangladesh initiated rice import at (the government-to-government) level from Pakistan.”

Their growing trade ties followed the two South Asian nations’ direct maritime contact in November, when a Pakistani cargo ship docked in Bangladesh for the first time since 1971 with imports and exports organized by private businesses.

Amena Mohsin, an international relations expert and lecturer at the North South University, said resuming trade with Pakistan is an important move for Bangladesh.

“We want that bilateral relationship with Pakistan to move forward. We always diversify our relationships (but) most importantly, at the moment, we are experiencing a low point row with India … In this context, this latest decision to import rice from Pakistan is very significant,” she told Arab News.

In her 15 years of uninterrupted rule, Hasina’s government was hostile toward Pakistan but closely allied with India, where she fled last year following a student-led popular uprising and remains exiled. Her removal from office was followed by the cooling of relations between Dhaka and New Delhi.

“But (as we move) forward to strengthen the bilateral ties with Pakistan, the issue of 1971 should be resolved at the same time,” Mohsin added, referring to the 1971 war of independence, which he said still weighs heavy on the minds of the people of Bangladesh.

Dhaka’s decision to import rice from Pakistan has significance in addressing an ongoing crisis of the staple due to floods and economic instability, which has led the government to import large quantities from India to avoid shortage.

“At the moment, there is a rice crisis in the Bangladesh market, and we are in need of sourcing rice from different sources at a competitive price,” Dr. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka, told Arab News.

“From that perspective, finding a new source (for importing rice) is a positive thing for us.”

Now that trade has resumed, Bangladesh and Pakistan have the potential to increase commerce ties in different areas, he added.

“Our businessmen can explore the Pakistan markets and consider the feasibility in terms of costs. With this latest rice import, opportunities to import other goods have increased here,” Moazzem said.

“It’s a new addition to the market, especially considering Bangladesh’s ongoing trade diversification efforts.”


Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station to resume broadcasts after Taliban suspension 

Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station to resume broadcasts after Taliban suspension 
Updated 23 February 2025
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Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station to resume broadcasts after Taliban suspension 

Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station to resume broadcasts after Taliban suspension 
  • Radio Begum launched in March 2021, with programs aimed at educating girls
  • In the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, Afghanistan ranked 178 out of 180 countries 

Kabul: Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station will resume broadcasts, the Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture announced after it suspended the outlet’s operations this month over its cooperation with foreign media outlets. 

On Feb. 4, Taliban officials raided Kabul-based Radio Begum — a station run by women with programs aimed at educating girls and supporting Afghan women — and seized staff’s computers, hard drives and phones, and took into custody two male employees “who do not hold any senior management position,” the outlet said in a statement. 

In a statement issued on Saturday evening, the ministry said Radio Begum had been suspended “due to the improper use of their licenses and cooperation with foreign sanctioned media outlets.” 

Radio Begum has now been “granted permission to resume their activities,” the ministry said, after they made repeated requests and following a “pledge with the Broadcasting Directorate to operate in line with the principles of journalism and in accordance with the policies of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”

It did not provide details on what those principles and policies were nor the status of the radio station’s employees who were allegedly detained.

Launched on International Women’s Day in March 2021, Radio Begum has been broadcasting hours of lessons daily, along with health, psychology and spiritual programs for women across most of Afghanistan. 

Its sister satellite channel, Begum TV, operates from France and televises classes that cover the Afghan school curriculum from seventh to 12th grade, providing education for many after the Taliban banned education for women and girls after the sixth grade. 

“It’s one of the few channels that discussed issues related to women and girls,” said Najiba, 28, a Kabul resident and listener of Radio Begum. 

“I particularly listened to their programs on health and women entrepreneurs. I was happy to be able to receive some information about women-related health issues from the radio. The other program that featured businesswomen was also encouraging. It inspired other women and gave us hope to learn skills and work for ourselves.” 

While the resumption of Radio Begum’s operations was welcomed, the initial suspension was still concerning for Meena Akbari, an Afghan women’s rights activist. 

“It was a concerning move. The few media outlets that are left in the country should be supported instead of being contained and closed,” Akbari told Arab News.

Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, the country’s media landscape has been “decimated,” according to Reporters without Borders, which cited the disappearance of 43 percent of Afghan media outlets in the past four years and ranked the country 178 out of 180 in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index. 

“With Afghan women and girls already facing increasing restrictions since the Taliban takeover, platforms such as these are vital for women to get information from and continue learning about different topics,” Akbari said. 

“It’s a good decision that the government allowed the station to resume broadcasts. Hopefully, it continues to benefit Afghan women and Afghans in general.”


Afghan women’s radio station Radio Begum to resume broadcasts after Taliban lifts suspension

Afghan women’s radio station Radio Begum to resume broadcasts after Taliban lifts suspension
Updated 23 February 2025
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Afghan women’s radio station Radio Begum to resume broadcasts after Taliban lifts suspension

Afghan women’s radio station Radio Begum to resume broadcasts after Taliban lifts suspension
  • Radio Begum was launched on International Women’s Day in March 2021 months before Taliban takeover
  • Taliban information ministry says suspension lifted after station made commitments to Afghan authorities

An Afghan women’s radio station will resume broadcasts after the Taliban suspended its operations, citing “unauthorized provision” of content to an overseas TV channel and improperly using its license.
Radio Begum launched on International Women’s Day in March 2021, five months before the Taliban seized power amid the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO troops.
The station’s content is produced entirely by Afghan women. Its sister satellite channel, Begum TV, operates from France and broadcasts programs that cover the Afghan school curriculum from seventh to 12th grade. The Taliban have banned education for women and girls in the country beyond grade six.
In a statement issued Saturday night, the Taliban’s Information and Culture Ministry said Radio Begum had “repeatedly requested” to restart operations and that the suspension was lifted after the station made commitments to authorities.
The station pledged to conduct broadcasts “in accordance with the principles of journalism and the regulations of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and to avoid any violations in the future,” it added.
The ministry did not elaborate what those principles and regulations were. Radio Begum was not immediately available for comment.
Since their takeover, the Taliban have excluded women from education, many kinds of work, and public spaces. Journalists, especially women, have lost their jobs as the Taliban tighten their grip on the media.
In the 2024 press freedom index from Reporters without Borders, Afghanistan ranks 178 out of 180 countries. The year before that it ranked 152.
The Information Ministry did not initially identify the TV channel it alleged Radio Begum had been working with. But the Saturday statement mentioned collaboration with “foreign sanctioned media outlets.”


France makes arrests after deadly ‘Islamist’ knife attack

France makes arrests after deadly ‘Islamist’ knife attack
Updated 23 February 2025
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France makes arrests after deadly ‘Islamist’ knife attack

France makes arrests after deadly ‘Islamist’ knife attack

MULHOUSE, France: French police have made several arrests since a man went on a stabbing rampage, killing one and wounding several others in what President Emmanuel Macron called an “Islamist terrorist act,” anti-terror prosecutors told AFP Sunday.
The knife-wielding suspect, identified by prosecutors as a 37-year-old Algerian-born man, was arrested at the site of Saturday’s attack in the eastern city of Mulhouse.
He was on a terrorism watchlist and subject to deportation orders.
A further three people were in custody in connection with the case Sunday, the PNAT prosecutors unit said, without giving details.
Local prosecutor Nicolas Heitz said the suspect, who he did not name, was registered on France’s terrorist watchlist.
Speaking at the police station late Saturday, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the man had “a schizophrenic profile” and his act had “a psychiatric dimension.”
Retailleau said France had repeatedly attempted to expel him from the country, but Algeria refused to cooperate.
The rampage occurred around 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) near a busy market in Mulhouse, a city of around 110,000 people near the German border. At the time, demonstrators were rallying in support of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A 69-year-old Portuguese man was fatally wounded while parking attendants and police were also hurt.
Two officers were seriously wounded, with one sustaining an injury to a carotid artery, and the other to the upper body, prosecutor Heitz told AFP, adding that the latter officer was able to leave hospital.
Three other officers suffered minor injuries, prosecutors said.
During the attack, the suspect was heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest), according to the national anti-terror prosecutors unit (PNAT).
Witnesses also told AFP they heard the suspect shouting the words several times.
Macron later said there was “no doubt” that the incident was “a terrorist act,” specifically “an Islamist terrorist act.”
The government was determined to continue doing “everything to eradicate terrorism on our soil,” he added.
Speaking during a visit to France’s agriculture fair Saturday, Macron offered condolences to the family of the victim and said the “solidarity of the nation” was behind them.
PNAT said it was investigating the attack for murder and attempted murder “in connection with a terrorist enterprise.”

TERROR ATTACKS
The terrorist watchlist, called FSPRT, compiles data from various authorities on individuals with the aim of preventing “terrorist” radicalization.
It was launched in 2015 following deadly attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s offices and on a Jewish supermarket.
Retailleau told French broadcaster TF1 that France had tried to expel him 10 times, with Algeria refusing each time to accept him.
“Once again, it is Islamist terrorism that has struck,” he said. And, once again, he added, problems of migration were “at the origin of this terrorist act.”
There was no immediate comment from Algeria’s presidency or foreign ministry.
Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said that “fanaticism has struck again, and we are in mourning.”
Mulhouse Mayor Michele Lutz wrote on Facebook that “horror has just seized our city.”
France’s foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said there would be a meeting of the government’s immigration control council on Wednesday to discuss the implications of the case.
“We must do more, and we must do better,” he told the Europe 1 broadcaster.
France has recently experienced a string of stabbings deemed acts of terror.
In January, a 32-year-old knife-wielding man wounded a person in a supermarket in Apt, in the south of France. He was charged and jailed for attempted murder in connection with a terrorist undertaking.
In December 2023, a man suspected of stabbing a German tourist to death near the Eiffel Tower was charged with carrying out a terror attack.


14 die in central Nigeria road crash: official

14 die in central Nigeria road crash: official
Updated 23 February 2025
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14 die in central Nigeria road crash: official

14 die in central Nigeria road crash: official

KANO: Fourteen people were killed on Saturday when a bus collided with a petrol tanker in central Nigerian Niger state, a road safety official told AFP Sunday.
The passenger bus rammed into the on-coming petrol tanker as the driver tried to overtake another bus outside Kusobogi village, 80 km from the state capital Minna, Kumar Tsukwan, head of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Niger state, said.
“Fourteen people died in the head-on collision while six others were injured and taken to hospital for medical attention,” Tsukwan said.
He blamed “speeding and wrongful overtaking” by the bus driver for the accident.
The bus was heading to the northern city of Kaduna from the Nigerian economic capital Lagos, Tsukwan said.
Road accidents are common on Nigeria’s poorly maintained roads due largely to speeding and disregard to traffic rules.
Last week 23 people died when a truck laden with goods and passengers overturned in northern city of Kano.
Last year Nigeria recorded 9,570 road accidents which resulted in 5,421 deaths, according FRSC data.