Green Valley, Arizona – Shura Wallin shuffles through a stack of drawings given to her by migrant children. She finds the one she is looking for and lifts it up. It depicts a Border Patrol vehicle chasing three stick figures, their arms raised as they flee.
Each week, Wallin and other humanitarian volunteers set out for some of the most dangerous corridors in the southern Arizona desert, leave out water jugs for migrants and refugees and search for the remains of those who died along the way.
Wallin, a 77-year-old retiree, co-founded The Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritans along with Pastor Randy Mayer in 2005 in response to the dire humanitarian conditions migrants and refugees face crossing the United States-Mexico border.
Today, the group has around 350 volunteers. And for the last 15 years, the volunteers have provided medical aid, humanitarian supplies and medicines for desperate people fleeing violence and economic catastrophe.
Since she started working on the border in 2000, Wallin has found severely dehydrated people, others with thrashed feet – having worn through their shoes during the journey – and recently deceased bodies.
Throughout her nearly two decades on the border, undocumented migrants and others crossing the border have been pushed into desperate situations.
“When we first got started, we found an awful lot of people out in the desert,” Wallin tells Al Jazeera. “The routes have changed dramatically; the routes are more dangerous now. It’s much, much more dangerous than it was in the past.”
But now, as US President Donald Trump escalates his crackdown on asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants, she says that humanitarian workers and volunteers are struggling to work in an increasingly hostile political climate.
“There are more challenges for not only people who those of us who are trying to save the lives of people, but definitely [there are increased] challenges for people who are trying to come across,” she says.
“When I listen to the rhetoric that spews forth from so many people, I think they don’t have a clue of why people are having to flee.”
The number of people who died on both sides of the US-Mexico border increased from 398 in 2016 to 412 in 2017, according to UN data [Patrick Strickland/Al Jazeera]
Last month, key parts of the US government shut down after Trump refused to back down over his demand for more than $5bn in funding for a wall on the US-Mexico border. Three weeks later, Trump stands firm on his demand, threatening to declare a national emergency to get the wall built.
In mid-October, as a US-bound caravan of mostly Central Americans made its way towards the southern border, Trump falsely claimed that the US was facing an impending “invasion”. That same month, he deployed thousands of US troops to border areas.
Facing a swell of criticism, the Trump administration has lashed out at Democrats and pro-migrant groups. “Our system has been pushed to a breaking point by those who seek open borders,” Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen said last month.
“Smugglers, traffickers and their own parents put these minors at risk by embarking on the dangerous and arduous journey north.”
‘Obama did the same evil things. Trump relishes it.’
Joel Smith, the operations manager at the Tucson-based Humane Borders nonprofit, started working on the border in 2009. In the last decade, he has witnessed migration routes change “drastically”.
As Border Patrol set up shop in safer corridors along the frontier, migrants and refugees were pushed into more challenging pathways into the US, he tells Al Jazeera. “Obama did the same evil things, but Trump just relishes in it.”
According to the United Nations migration agency, the number of people who died on both sides of the US-Mexico border increased from 398 in 2016 to 412 in 2017, even as border crossings decreased.
“The risk now is more than ever,” Smith says.
But as Trump turns the border into a keystone of his administration’s agenda and risks for border-crossers soar, Smith has observed a larger number of people reaching out to help in humanitarian operations.
Humanitarians say migration routes have changed significantly over the last decade [Patrick Strickland/Al Jazeera]
About 95km south of Tuscon, in Arivaca, Arizona, Dan Kelly stands on his back porch. He can see the mountains straddling the US-Mexico border only 19km away. By car, he can reach the frontier in half an hour.
But for migrants and refugees passing through that corridor, the risks are plenty: inhospitable terrain, Border Patrol agents on the lookout, and surveillance drones watching from above.
“You can’t live here and not see human suffering,” Kelly, 73, tells Al Jazeera, estimating that nearly every week residents stumble upon travel-worn people who have crossed into the US.
Inspired by the work of humanitarian groups and activists across the region, Kelly plans to assemble a group of military veterans and cowboys to carry out water drops and other migrant relief efforts in the desert.
The 19km-stretch from the border to Arivaca is studded with cacti, wild animals, cavernous valleys and a wall of mountains.
“We know that it is physically impossible, say, to cross that 12 miles [19km] while carrying enough water to survive,” Justine, an activist with No More Deaths, tells Al Jazeera, explaining that water drops could amount to the difference between life and death in the desert. Citing privacy, Justine declined to provide a surname.
Established as a coalition of faith and community groups in 2004, No More Deaths seeks to alleviate the suffering endured by people crossing the border and the desert.
Like other humanitarian groups, its volunteers leave out water jugs in many of the least hospitable corridors of Southern Arizona’s desert, search for those who go missing along the way, and document human rights violations by Border Patrol and other authorities.
‘Suffering, death and disappearance’
In January 2018, No More Deaths released a video of Border Patrol agents dumping out water jugs left behind by humanitarian groups. In a report that accompanied the clip, which included footage from as early as 2011, the group accused authorities “condemn[ing] border crossers to suffering, death and disappearance”.
In a statement at the time, Border Patrol said it was aware of the video and that its agents “have been instructed not to remove or destroy water stations, food or other resources left along trials in the desert”.
Immigration authorities have charged several activists for their work on the border [Patrick Strickland/Al Jazeera]
In December 2017 and January 2018, authorities dealt criminal charges to nine activists in relation to their humanitarian work in the borderlands.
Among those charged was Scott Warren, a 36-year-old No More Deaths volunteer, who is accused of harbouring undocumented immigrants last January as part of a human smuggling operation.
Authorities have also charged Warren with misdemeanours over his leaving behind water, food crates and humanitarian supplies on the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in June 2017.
Eight other No More Deaths activists were charged with entering a wildlife refuge without a permit after they carried out humanitarian operations on the territory in July and August of 2017.
Earlier in the year, US Fish and Wildlife Service introduced new regulations on permits that bar individuals or groups from leaving out food, water, blankets and medical supplies.
The barrier is seen in Sasabe, Arizona [Patrick Strickland/Al Jazeera]
Back in her home, Shura Wallin lifts a photo showing a migrant’s battered and bloody feet. While walking through the desert, he had worn through the soles of his shoes.
“What percentage of people do you know who want to leave their families and their countries? I don’t know anybody,” she says.
When Wallin hears the rhetoric coming from the White House and opponents of immigration, she poses a question.
“Why don’t you come and look into the faces of the people we are demonising and then tell me we’re doing the right thing?” she asks.
“Because [as a country] we are not acting in a humanitarian way at all, other than the groups trying desperately to save the lives of people.”
A painting given to Shura Wallin by a migrant child at the border [Patrick Strickland/Al Jazeera]
House Judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler has questioned President Donald Trump’s appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting Attorney General. | M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO
Trump Hotel, taxes, cabinet members are all targets.
Democrats want to investigate the Trump Hotel deal and President Donald Trump’s taxes. They want to haul up conflicted Cabinet officials and dig into controversial changes to the census and food stamps. They want to put Education Secretary Betsy DeVos under oath and investigate child detentions at the border.
The threat of subpoenas, investigations and oversight hearings will dominate the new House Democratic majority agenda, targeting the White House’s most controversial policies and personnel, spanning immigration, the environment, trade and of course, the biggest question of them all: Russian collusion.
Story Continued Below
“Over the last two years President Trump set the tone from the top in his administration that behaving ethically and complying with the law is optional,” House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings said. “We’re better than that.”
But for House Democrats in control for the first time in nearly a decade, it’s also a role full of pitfalls. Trump has already tried to brand the prospect of congressional oversight as nothing more than “harassment,” and Democrats will also have to show they can legislate, govern and investigate all at the same time in the House.
“I joked for a while — but it’s not funny anymore — I said we’re going to have to build an air traffic control tower to keep track of all the subpoenas flying from here to the White House,” said Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), chairman of the House Budget Committee. “So yeah, it could be brutal.”
But over the coming year, there will be more action in House committees than there was in the first two years of the Trump administration.
Here are some of the biggest targets for House Democrats so far:
Mueller and the Justice Department
Democrats stress they’ll need to tread carefully when it comes to Russia-related investigations, for fear of interfering with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing probe. But that’s not likely to stop the party from taking a deep look at the Justice Department and acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker — who assumed oversight of Mueller’s activities after Trump forced out Jeff Sessions.
Critics have warned that Whitaker’s installation could be aimed at interfering with the investigation, with Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) questioning at one point whether his appointment without Senate confirmation was even legal.
Scandal-ridden Cabinet officials
Cummings has singled out two former Trump officials who will be in his crosshairs early on: Former Interior Department head Ryan Zinke and former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.
“We’re seeing gross abuses from agency heads,” Cummings said about them soon after Democrats took charge of the chamber.
The DOJ is reportedly also looking into allegations that Zinke committed a crime by lying to IG investigators, which Zinke denies. One of his first stops could be in front of the House Natural Resources Committee, where Chairman Raúl Grijalva says he wants a hearing even after Zinke resigned from the Trump administration.
The EPA, meanwhile, may face subpoenas for Pruitt-related records it failed to produce for the previous investigation run by then-Chairman Trey Gowdy. The agency’s inspector general is also still looking into a range of Pruitt’s activities, including his travel, use of special hiring authorities to bring political officials on board and granting of raises to close aides.
But the first Cabinet official Cummings wants to talk to is Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. His committee will press Ross over allegations he misled Congress about a decision to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 census. Ross also has been dogged by ethical questions and reporting that exposed numerous conflicts of interests involving his personal financial interests.
And another Cabinet member, Betsy DeVos
As many as five House committees could take on DeVos over her rollback of for-profit college regulations, stalled student loan forgiveness processing and a rewrite of campus sexual assault policies.
Veterans Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (D-Calif.) is expected to scrutinize for-profit college issues, where DeVos has scaled back Obama-era rules aimed at curbing abuses for institutions that enroll tens of thousands of veterans each year.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), chairwoman of the Appropriations subcommittee overseeing education funding, is also a top critic of the Education Department over DeVos’ record on student debt issues.
Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has accused DeVos of a “full-on attack on civil rights protections for students — particularly students of color, students with disabilities, transgender students, and survivors of sexual assault.” She’s also criticized the Trump administration’s moves to ease regulations on for-profit colleges, while Cummings is similarly looking at the collapse of a for-profit college chain.
And this past year, he and Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.) expressed concern over DeVos’ treatment of the union that represents her agency’s employees, and pledged to scrutinize civil rights concerns tied to K-12 state plans.
Trump’s taxes
Democrats are eager to get their hands on Trump’s tax returns, a task that would fall to the House Ways and Means Committee. But newly minted Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) doesn’t plan to rush into anything. Neal wants to first build a public case that presidents should voluntarily release their returns, his spokesperson told POLITICO.
That approach won’t sit well with other Democratic lawmakers and liberal activists, who have been clamoring to get a look at Trump’s tax filings since the 2016 presidential campaign. Just two days after Democrats won the House in the midterm elections, more than 50 groups, including unions and government transparency advocates, signed on to a full-page ad in The New York Times urging Democrats to make Trumps tax returns a Day 1 priority.
Whenever Democrats make their move, it is likely to spark a legal battle with Trump, who has zealously guarded the secrecy of his tax practices.
Neal is also planning to use his oversight power to delve into the massive tax overhaul Republicans pushed through Congress in 2017, especially provisions that Democrats believe advantaged the wealthy and punished blue state taxpayers.
The ‘zero tolerance’ border policy
The deaths of two migrant children held in detention — Jakelin Call, 7, and Felipe Gomez Alonzo, 8 — has only heightened Democrats’ urgency to investigate Trump’s immigration decisions.
Three committees have ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection to preserve evidence related to their deaths, and yet another is prepping a hearing later this month on the family separations that resulted from the Department of Justice’s “zero tolerance” policy. That Energy and Commerce Committee session could renew the focus on the role the administration’s health department is playing in housing and caring for migrants detained at the border.
DeLauro and Scott will play big roles in this space too, with DeLauro focusing on wage theft and the Labor Department’s PAID program — a safe harbor created by the Trump administration for companies that may owe workers back pay. Scott told POLITICO in November he may hold hearings to investigate the limiting of businesses classified as “joint employers,” jointly liable for labor violations committed by their franchisees or contractors.
Obamacare ‘sabotage’
Health care is likely to be an overriding focus for Democrats early on, though, after rising voter support for Obamacare helped catapult them into the House majority.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has vowed to make protecting Americans with pre-existing conditions a top priority — a mission that gained even more prominence after a Texas court sided with a GOP-led lawsuit in ruling the entire health law should be thrown out.
Democrats are planning to dig into the Justice Department’s unusual decision not to defend Obamacare against that suit, as well as press Trump health officials over their roles in the legal battle and various other policy actions they suspect have depressed Obamacare enrollment and threatened the law’s stability.
depressed Obamacare enrollment and the *threatened the* law’s stability
Controversial regulatory overhauls
Health care-focused Democrats are targeting Trump’s regulatory reforms, too, planning to go after policies freeing red states to tie employment to health benefits for the poor and creating skimpy alternatives to Obamacare coverage. Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone is likely to lead the inquiry into those moves, arguing that they’re motivated by a desire to undermine the 2010 health law.
House Agriculture Democrats led by Collin Peterson could review a proposed rule that would more strictly enforce existing work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. The proposal, which Democrats fiercely oppose, would drop more than 750,000 people from the program over three years.
Rules Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), a leading food stamps defender on Capitol Hill, also promised he’d give the administration “one hell of a fight” if it proceeds with the proposed rule.
Agency conduct
Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson told POLITICO he wants to hear directly from Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen about her agency’s operations, and who exactly is making policy decisions. He’s also identified staffing issues at FEMA, which is under scrutiny over its response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
The Pentagon is in for some tough questions as well about its budget and big-ticket programs from Rep. Adam Smith — a longtime critic of Trump’s military buildup. Democrats have blasted the lengthy list of far-flung U.S. military engagements aimed at fighting global terrorism, including U.S. involvement in Africa and Yemen.
“We need an overall strategy that better reflects the budget and not just this notion [that] somehow the more money we spend at the Pentagon, the safer we are,” Smith told POLITICO.
His Armed Services Committee may also probe Trump’s decision to deploy active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border and ban on transgender individuals from serving in the military. Recent administration proposals to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria and shrink the military footprint in Afghanistan — and their rationale — could also come under close scrutiny from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, meanwhile, has caught Democrats’ eye with his efforts to move two USDA agencies out of the Washington area.
Friendly fire over tariffs
Trump’s trade agenda could face pushback in both congressional chambers and on both sides of the aisle. Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has promised to revive legislation that would challenge Trump’s authority to impose tariffs for national security reasons.
“I strongly disagree with the notion that imports of steel and aluminum, automobiles and auto parts somehow could pose a national security threat,” he said in December.
A Democrat-controlled House will also likely play a major rule in scrutinizing the administration’s new North American trade deal. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has begun quiet negotiations to win support from key Democrats in both the House and Senate, who are calling for the NAFTA replacement’s provisions on labor enforcement to be strengthened.
Adam Behsudi, Helena Bottemiller Evich, Toby Eckert, Caitlin Emma, Alex Guillén, Kimberly Hefling, Nick Juliano, Ian Kullgren, John Lauinger, Connor O’Brien, Rebecca Rainey, Jennifer Scholtes, Michael Stratford and Zachary Warmbrodt contributed to this report.
The Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) system was working overtime in December, banning a record number of players who were using cheats and hacks in various games on the Steam platform, but mostly effecting Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
More than 600,000 Steam accounts were banned by VAC in December according to CS:GO expert Nors3, who shared a graph of VAC bans over the years on Twitter. Nors3 explains that the vast majority of players were banned for cheating in CS:GO, which could stem from the fact that CS:GO went free-to-play on Dec. 6.
609,373 VAC bans on December, biggest number in a month ever. There were like 5 VAC waves in the month.
Vast majority of this VAC bans are for CS:GO, it’s more difficult to know the origin of the Game bans. pic.twitter.com/BhDTOrITkg
One of the most popular and iconic first-person shooter games of all time, CS:GO has been around since 2012. Like almost all competitive online games, CS:GO attracts cheaters who alter the game’s code to give themselves certain advantages. Some cheaters are able to see enemy players through walls, some have aim assists that laser onto enemies’ heads, and some are able to move at higher speeds.
VAC automatically detects most cheats and bans players in waves. Most months there are only a couple waves of bans, but in December there were five waves.
The big increase in cheaters is possibly due to the fact that players were able to create throw-away Steam accounts and download CS:GO for free to try cheats risk-free. Previously, players who wanted to try cheating but didn’t want to lose their account would have to buy the game. CS:GO has been just a few dollars for a while, but that can be enough of a deterrent to people who aren’t adamant cheaters.
It can be extremely frustrating to play against players with unfair advantages, so it’s pretty satisfying to see such a large number of cheaters get banned.
Vince Young became a college football legend when he led the Texas Longhorns to a thrilling national championship victory over the USC Trojans, and he cemented his status as one of the best in the sport’s history Monday when he headlined the 2019 College Football Hall of Fame class.
Young was joined by players such as Joe Thomas, Troy Polamalu and Patrick Willis in the class that was announced on SportsCenter.
Here is a look at the 13 players and two coaches who were selected as Hall of Famers from a ballot that included 76 players and six coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 100 players and 32 coaches from other divisions.
Vince Young, QB, Texas
Joe Thomas, OL, Wisconsin
Troy Polamalu, S, USC
Raghib Ismail, WR/RB, Notre Dame
Terrell Buckley, DB, Florida State
Rickey Dixon, DB, Oklahoma
London Fletcher, LB, John Carroll
Jacob Green, DL, Texas A&M
Torry Holt, WR, North Carolina State
Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
Jake Plummer, QB, Arizona State
Lorenzo White, RB, Michigan State
Patrick Willis, LB, Ole Miss
Dennis Erickson, Coach; Wyoming, Washington State, Miami, Oregon State, Idaho and Arizona State
Joe Taylor, Coach; Hampton, Florida A&M, Virginia Union and Howard
Young will always be remembered among college football fans for his brilliant 2005 season that saw him win the Maxwell Award as the nation’s player of the year, the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s best quarterback and the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
He capped off the effort by leading the Longhorns to a dramatic 41-38 victory over the Trojans in the BCS National Championship.
He tallied 267 passing yards and 200 rushing yards while scoring three times on the ground, including the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds.
Elsewhere, Thomas anchored Wisconsin’s offensive line as an Outland Trophy winner as the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman and parlayed his talent into 10 Pro Bowl appearances and six First Team All-Pro nods during an 11-year NFL career with the Cleveland Browns after he was selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2007 draft.
NFL fans will surely recognize the likes of Polamalu, Darren McFadden, Willis and Torry Holt, among others, but they made their names at the collegiate level before their professional success.
Polamalu was an All-American at USC and helped anchor the Trojans’ secondary for three years, including in 2002 when they won the Orange Bowl.
It wasn’t just players who made the cut this year, as the Goodyear Blimp was recognized as an honorary member of the class:
Football Foundation @NFFNetwork
Please join us in welcoming one of college football’s biggest icons and innovators as an honorary member of the 2019 College Football Hall of Fame Class. The @GoodyearBlimp! #GoodyearBlimp
The National Football Foundation explained the eligibility rules, which are among the strictest in all of sports.
Players must be between 10 and 50 seasons removed from their final collegiate year, although those who have been out of the game for more than 50 years are eligible through the Football Bowl Subdivision and Divisional Veterans Committees.
Players must also have been recognized as a First-Team All-American, and one’s “post-football record as a citizen” is also considered.
Coaches are eligible immediately after retirement if they are at least 70 years old, while active coaches must be at least 75. Those who aren’t are eligible three years after retirement.
Coaches must also boast a winning percentage of .600 or better throughout a career that spans at least 10 years and 100 games.
“It’s an enormous honor to just be on the ballot when you think that more than 5.26 million people have played college football and only 997 players have been inducted,” NFF President and CEO Steve Hatchell said in a June press release.
“The Hall’s requirement of being a First-Team All-American creates a much smaller pool of about 1,500 individuals who are even eligible. Being in today’s elite group means an individual is truly among the greatest to have ever played the game, and those actually elected to the Class will be part of a momentous year as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of college football in 2019.”
Some of the inductees in the class of 2019 will be present at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, to be honored prior to Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship Game between Alabama and Clemson.
The class will officially be enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta in December.
Thailand’s immigration police chief has announced that the young Saudi woman seeking passage to asylum in Australia will be temporarily admitted to the country for evaluation by the UN refugee agency.
Surachate Hakparn told reporters on Monday that 18-year-old Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun would be granted entry under the protection of the office of the UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR).
He said the UN agency would take at least five to seven days to evaluate her case.
Surachate’s announcement came after Thai authorities allowed a UN team to meet Alqunun.
Photos published by the Associated Press news agency showed Alqunun and several Thai officials leaving the Bangkok hotel on Monday evening, but her exact destination was not made public.
Alqunun later posted on social media saying that her father had arrived in Bangkok, and that she is “worried and scared”. She also posted a photo of her passport, which was reportedly confiscated by Thai authorities earlier.
An immigration official later said she would not be forced to leave Thailand because of concerns for her well-being.
UNHCR also said on Monday that it was assessing Alqunun’s “need for international refugee protection.”
It said that “for reasons of confidentiality and protection” it would not release details of their meeting.
Alqunun said she fled Kuwait while her family was visiting the Gulf country and had planned to travel on from Thailand to Australia to seek asylum.
She said she was detained after leaving her plane in Bangkok and told she would be sent back to Kuwait.
Alqunun shared photos of herself on Twitter in the room where she had been held since her arrival the previous day, as officials and police gathered outside the door to take her to a plane to return her to Kuwait.
A Thai court rejected an attempt to block her deportation, but hours later the country’s immigration chief reversed plans to expel Alqunun citing concerns for her safety.
Hey I’m Rahaf. My father just arrived as I heard witch worried and scared me a lot and I want to go to another country that I seek asylum in But at least I feel save now under UNHCR protection with the agreement of Thailand authorities. And I finally got my passport backpic.twitter.com/pQER7HDVi7
— Rahaf Mohammed رهف محمد القنون (@rahaf84427714) January 7, 2019
“The flight this morning was via Kuwait Airlines to send her back to Saudi Arabia. If she does not want to leave, we will not force her,” chief of immigration police Surachate Hakparn told reporters.
Surachate also said he would meet officials from the UN’s refugee agency later in the day to discuss her asylum plans.
Passport seized
Rights group Amnesty International released a statement on Monday saying the arbitrary confiscation of a passport “violates the right to freedom of movement”.
Alqunun was detained after she got off her flight in Bangkok. She said she had originally planned to spend a few days in Thailand, a popular destination for medical treatment, so her actions would not create suspicion when she left Kuwait.
“When I landed at the airport, someone came and said he would process the [Thai] visa but he took my passport. He came back with what seemed to be airport security and said that my parents objected and said I must return to Saudi Arabia via Kuwait Airways,” she told the Reuters news agency.
Her claim her passport had been seized was backed by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Alqunun told the AFP news agency on Sunday that her male guardian had reported her for travelling “without his permission”.
Abdulilah al-Shouaibi, charge d’affaires at the Saudi embassy in Bangkok, told Saudi-owned TV channel Khalijia that the woman’s father, a senior regional government official, had contacted the diplomatic mission for “help” bringing her back.
But he denied that her passport had been seized and that embassy officials were present inside the airport.
A Twitter statement from the Saudi embassy in Bangkok said Alqunun was stopped by Thai authorities for “violating the law”.
‘Losing hope’
Alqunun said she was trying to flee her family, whom she accused of subjecting her to physical and psychological abuse, and that she was certain she would be jailed if she were sent back.
“My family is strict and locked me in a room for six months just for cutting my hair,” she said.
“I’m sure 100 percent they will kill me as soon as I get out of the Saudi jail,” she said, adding she was “scared” and “losing hope”.
The UNHCR said according to the principle of non-refoulement, asylum seekers cannot be returned to their country of origin if they fear their life is under threat.
Another Saudi woman, Dina Ali Lasloom, was stopped in transit in the Philippines in April 2017 when she attempted to flee her family.
An airline security official told activists that Lasloom was heard “screaming and begging for help” as men carried her “with duct tape on her mouth, feet and hands” at the airport.
Congratulations, whiners of the world. Your voices have been heard.
The best possible matchup for the College Football Playoff National Championship has arrived, and you can’t complain enough.
You’re sick of Alabama and Clemson.
You’re sick of Nick Saban‘s dominance and Dabo Swinney’s syrupy Southern accent.
You’re sick of the same ol’, same ol’ when the games matter most, even though this time around—the fourth straight game between the Crimson Tide and Tigers in the CFP, and the third national title game between the two—might just be the best in the modern era.
“What? Are we supposed to apologize for playing in this game again?” Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams asked.
He is told the world is tired of Alabama and Clemson sucking the drama out of the playoff. There’s Tide-Tigers title game fatigue, you know.
A smile creeps across Williams’ face, and Alabama’s brash All-American—the very guy who a week earlier in a viral video nearly acknowledged he wasn’t so impressed with Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray before stopping mid-sentence because that’s the last thing Saban wants to hear—just can’t help himself.
“Yeah, well, we ain’t tired of being here,” he said.
Deal with it, America.
It’s not boring; it’s beautiful. It’s not inevitable; it’s indisputable.
The two best teams in college football, with the two best rosters in college football, with the two best coaches in college football, with 14-0 records, playing for the whole damn thing.
That’s not too much Alabama vs. Clemson. That’s a dream matchup.
It’s as good as any faceoff we can imagine: the Steph-KD Warriors vs. the Showtime Lakers or Brady’s Patriots vs. the ’85 Bears. It’s Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona vs. Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid or, heaven help us, Michael vs. LeBron.
Clemson’s Christian WilkinsStreeter Lecka/Getty Images
“I feel like [Alabama] is part of our schedule,” Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins said.
And what—in this age of fans constantly asking, “Who has your team played?”—could be wrong with that?
Two of the three previous playoff games between the teams produced two of the best championship games since the beginning of the BCS era in 1998, when the sport first changed its postseason to get the best possible matchup in the national championship game.
Alabama won the 2015 title despite a remarkable effort by Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson and only after Saban decided mid-game that his vaunted defense couldn’t stop Watson and that he should risk an onside kick to change momentum.
Then in the 2016 season, Watson delivered a performance for the ages, driving the Tigers 68 yards in two minutes and completing the game-winning touchdown pass with one second to play. A series earlier, Alabama freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts engineered an unforgettable go-ahead drive that, but for Watson’s heroics, would’ve been the stuff of legends.
Yet suddenly the nation is fatigued by all this thrilling history. Even last year’s bland semifinal win by Alabama over Clemson can’t stain what the Tide and Tigers have brought to the playoff.
Tua TagovailoaBrynn Anderson/Associated Press
Fast-forward to 2018, and there’s a new dynamic: Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the Heisman Trophy runner-up and the player who changed the way Saban thinks about offense taking on Clemson freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the player who (like Tagovailoa) beat out a previous starter (Kelly Bryant) who had led his team to the CFP and one day could become the best NFL draft prospect ever.
That’s right, ever.
“I don’t think that’s hyperbole at all,” one NFL scout told Bleacher Report. “With what he now knows, his physical ability at 19 years old, how he wants to be coached and wants to be great, his ceiling is limitless. He makes throws now that guys in our league can’t make.”
But go ahead and complain about Alabama vs. Clemson. You’re bored with great and want intrigue or the unexpected or even an upset.
There won’t be an upset. Alabama is favored to win its second straight national championship and fifth in eight years, but almost no one in the coaching fraternity will be shocked if Clemson beats the Tide again for its second national title in three seasons.
“Clemson is as complete a team as you will see in college football,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “That quarterback has changed everything.”
Or as one Power Five coach said: “Everyone else thinks they can beat Alabama. Clemson has a lot of dudes on that team that know they can beat Alabama. That’s a big deal. They can trade punches with Alabama on the lines of scrimmage, and they’ll kill you with the skill guys.”
Who would want to watch that, Mr. Fatigue?
Forget about sagging ticket sales or the reality that this might be the first CFP National Championship to not sell out. According to TickPick.com, prices for tickets are down 65 percent from last season, and many tickets likely will go for less than face value. And maybe, just maybe, there will be empty seats at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California (that has more to do with geography than interest).
You’re wasting oxygen focusing on that nonsense. Instead, bathe in the glory of a national title game that will feature two teams that rank in the top five in the nation in scoring offense, scoring defense, plays of 30 yards or more and sacks—basically every key stat in the book.
But here’s the best thing about the same matchup over and over again: watching the best players over and over again.
Years from now, we’ll look back at this championship game and marvel at the sheer number of NFL players who played. It’s not just the potential first-round picks (of which there will be many) but the mid-draft players who could make NFL rosters. Another NFL scout told Bleacher Report the combined figure might be as high as 30 to 40.
“Great players win big games,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. “That’s the easiest way to explain it.”
So when you recruit and develop players better than anyone in college football, you’re going to have the best players and you’re going to play in a lot of big games. Alabama has won 55 of its last 58 games, Clemson 57 of 61. Take away their losses to each other, and each team has been defeated just twice over those spans.
This doesn’t happen often in college football, especially in an era when big-money television deals have given every Power Five school an opportunity to build a winner. Instead of complaining about fatigue, maybe it’s time to embrace a college football rarity: two monster programs peaking at the same time.
“It’s the two best teams for the last I-don’t-know-how-many years. I would think that would make everyone want to turn on the TV,” Alabama wideout Jerry Jeudy said. “As a player, you want the best team possible on the other side of the ball. You want to prove yourself. They have a great program; we have a great program. It’s the heavyweight title, and we’re both coming out swinging.”
Gerald Herbert/Associated Press
It’s no coincidence these programs mirror each other, with dynamic coaches fueling recruiting powerhouses and driven by an underlying philosophy of “best player plays.” Not the oldest or the previous season’s starter.
The best player. Period.
That’s why Lawrence was named the starter in Week 5 despite Bryant’s experience and seniority. Or why Tagovailoa overtook Hurts and a group of true freshmen—Tagovailoa, tailback Najee Harris, wideouts Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III and DeVonta Smith and offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood—became the stars of last year’s national championship game despite limited action in previous critical games.
In fact, Tagovailoa hadn’t done enough to supplant Hurts throughout the regular season, but he practiced so well during preparation for last year’s semifinal against Clemson that the staff had a series of plays designed for him. Hurts struggled against Clemson’s stout defense, but Saban never made the switch.
Then last year’s national championship game came around—and the scope and feel of a Saban-coached Alabama team changed.
“Tua allowed us to do some different things offensively,” Saban said.
Which is the same sort of understatement as saying Alabama has been decent in Saban’s 12 seasons. Or that Lawrence has played well for a freshmen, when the reality is Swinney has somehow recruited and developed two generational quarterbacks in the last five seasons.
“Things don’t just magically happen. There’s a lot of hard work, across the board, that goes into winning,” Swinney said. “If it were easy, everybody would be doing it.”
Then what would the whiners of the world complain about?
Hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails, detention facilities, and interrogation centres are preparing to launch a mass hunger strike once Israel implements new measures that will worsen conditions for prisoners.
In a joint statement, prisoners, including administrative detainees who are held without charge, said their decision was in response to a “new level of oppression”.
“These measures are a declaration of war that marks a new phase of our struggle,” the statement read.
They also called on Palestinian factions and activists to stand in solidarity with them and demanded nationwide rallies.
Israel holds 5,500 Palestinian prisoners, including nearly 500 administrative detainees, according to the Jerusalem-based Palestinian prisoners’ rights group, Addameer.
The call to action is in response to Israel’s plans to worsen what are already poor conditions for Palestinians held in its jails. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan announced the measures last week and the Israeli government is expected to enforce the measures in the coming weeks.
One of the more “serious” changes pending approval by the Israeli cabinet, is ending the policy of separating Hamas prisoners from those affiliated with rival Palestinian faction Fatah, according to Amjad al-Najjar, spokesperson for Hebron-based Palestinian Prisoners Club.
“This has worried prisoners the most,” al-Najjar told Al Jazeera from the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.
“This may cause fights to break out which could even lead to killings inside the prisons – especially in light of the current political climate,” he said.
Other measures include rationing water supplies, blocking funds to the Palestinian Authority, reducing the number of family visits, and preventing access to jail canteens.
For the past 12 years, detainees have mostly lived off food they pay for from the prison canteen.
There, they would buy things like chicken, meat, and canned goods as an alternative to prison meals that are not enough to “sustain detainees throughout the day”, al-Najjar explained.
“If they (Israeli Prison Service) take that away, the alternative is simply not an option,” he added.
‘Diseases’ among prisoners
During the first Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, al-Najjar was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but spent six years in detention before being released as part of a prisoner swap deal in 1995.
At the time, prison canteens did not exist, and prisoners had to rely on meals distributed by the Israeli Prison Service (IPS).
Najjar said portions were small, and often infested with bugs.
“It would cause cases of food poisoning and all sorts of chronic diseases among prisoners,” he recalled.
“For lunch, each serving wouldn’t be enough for a child, let alone a grown man,” he said.
Israel has for years held Palestinians in overcrowded prisons with poor hygiene standards which each prisoner confined to a 2.9sq-metre cell, according to Addameer.
Some of the most severe policies Palestinians are subject to include the use of isolation for punishment and medical negligence.
Every year, dozens of Palestinian prisoners are held in isolation under the pretext of “security”, Lana Ramadan, Addameer’s international advocacy officer, told Al Jazeera.
“The length of time in isolation that prison officials can order extends from 12 hours … to longer periods of six months to one year,” Ramadan said.
Another major issue is medical negligence, where doctors employed by the IPS have minimal medical qualifications and are not under the authority of the Israeli Ministry of Health.
Ramadan noted that medical issues among Palestinian prisoners are widespread and range in severity from chest infections and diarrhoea to heart problems and kidney failure.
“Although all prisons include a medical clinic, physicians are on duty irregularly and specialised medical healthcare is generally unavailable,” she said, adding that most prisoners are usually prescribed painkillers instead of being given treatment for their condition.
In the past, such conditions have forced prisoners to start open-ended hunger strikes in order to secure basic rights. At times, prison authorities would resort to force-feeding, a practice that sometimes led to the death of Palestinians.
The most recent hunger strike, called for by Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, lasted 40 days in 2017. It called for the installation of public telephones, resuming bi-monthly family visits, and ending the policy of solitary confinement, among other demands.
The strikes succeeded in forcing some changes, such as the installation of pay phones.
‘Not the first time’
This is not the first time Israel has tried to limit the rights of detained Palestinians, most of whom are held in jails inside Israel, in contravention of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which requires that an occupying power hold prisoners from an occupied land within that area.
Palestinian leaders condemn existing conditions and say the new measures are another escalation of human rights violations. Rights groups say a lot of the proposed measures are de facto in place already.
In June, Gilad Erdan announced the formation of a special committee with members drawn from the Israeli government.
According to Ramadan, the committee was meant to “to determine ways in which conditions can be reduced to a bare minimum”, and then publish recommendations within 90 days of its formation.
Ramadan said the committee began enforcing some of the recommendations before gaining the Israeli government’s approval, including restrictions on access to food, education, and installing security cameras that infringe on privacy.
By October 2018, a ministerial committee also passed a bill completely denying Hamas prisoners family visitation rights.
Measures as a political tool
According to Nadia Hijab, director of the Palestinian policy network, Al Shabaka, the measures are a political tool for Israeli politicians who are looking to garner support in the run-up to elections.
“As [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party heads into the election, they are no doubt seeking to show they are even tougher on Palestinians,” Hijab told Al Jazeera.
Netanyahu’s government announced elections for April 9, after the ruling coalition came up short of the votes needed to pass a contentious piece of court-ordered legislation.
Hijab believes that the government’s aim is to drive prisoners into another hunger strike in an attempt to detract attention from Netanyahu‘s problems.
That is a view shared by al-Najjar.
“They worsen conditions in order to win over the Israeli right with the hopes of securing votes,” he said.
“They want to win elections off of the suffering of Palestinian prisoners.”
Ankara, Turkey – US National Security Adviser John Bolton arrives in Turkey on Monday to try to hammer out a deal for Syria’s Kurds as the United States prepares a military withdrawal from the country.
Bolton will touch down in the Turkish capital, Ankara, where he will be joined by US Joint Chief of Staff General Joseph Dunford, having stated that the US pullout is conditional on defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), as well as Turkish assurances on the security of the US’s Kurdish militia allies.
President Donald Trump‘s December 19 announcement of the withdrawal of 2,000 troops from Syria has heightened expectations that Turkey could launch a military operation targeting the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which has spearheaded the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against ISIL.
“We don’t think the Turks ought to undertake military action that’s not fully coordinated with and agreed to by the United States,” Bolton told reporters in Jerusalem on Sunday.
He added Turkey must “meet the president’s requirement that the Syrian opposition forces that have fought with us are not endangered.”
Syria pullout tied to Kurd protection, ISIL defeat (4:54)
The US alliance with the YPG, which it has helped arm and train, has been one of the main stumbling blocks in relations with Ankara because of YPG’s ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Since 1984 the PKK has waged a war against Turkey that has led to more than 40,000 deaths.
Ankara regards both the Kurdish groups as “terrorist” organisations.
Turkey-YPG tensions
Responding to Bolton’s remarks, Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin maintained Turkey’s opposition to the YPG, which he described as oppressing Syrian Kurds.
“That a terror organisation cannot be allied with the US is self-evident,” he said in a statement carried by Turkey’s Anadolu news agency.
Ziya Meral, director of the London and Beirut-based Centre on Religion and Global Affairs, said it would be “naive” for the US to expect Turkey not to “interfere” in Syria while the YPG remained in control across the border.
“At best, the Trump administration can achieve an orderly pullout process and prevent a short-term military intervention against YPG,” Meral said. “Turkey would not want to be a single actor advancing deep into Syrian territory to defeat Islamic State, but would want US and coalition support.”
Turkey has launched two military operations in northern Syria since 2015 that have targeted the YPG. Even before the US withdrawal announcement, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to attack YPG-controlled territory east of the Euphrates River.
Last month the US set up observation posts along the Turkish border after Turkey shelled YPG positions.
Washington claimed the deployment was to safeguard Turkey’s security while Erdogan said it was to protect the YPG.
Over the course of the war, the group has gained control of the northeastern quarter of Syria that borders Turkey and Iraq.
In recent weeks, Turkish troops and tanks have been deployed to the border and have reinforced Turkey-backed militias around Manbij, a town to the west of the Euphrates that the YPG captured from ISIL in 2016.
The YPG has turned to the Syrian regime as a counter to the threat from Turkey in the event of a US retreat. The YPG withdrew from Manbij last Wednesday as part of a deal with President Bashar al-Assad‘s government, the official Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
American assurances
Bolton said Jim Jeffrey, the US special representative for Syria and the anti-ISIL coalition, will travel to Syria this week to reassure Kurdish fighters of continued US support.
He called on the YPG to refrain from seeking Russian or Syrian government protection. “I think they know who their friends are,” Bolton said, referring to the Kurds.
The US visit comes amid anger in Turkey over comments by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in which he said the US wanted to prevent Turkey “slaughtering” Kurds in Syria.
His remarks to online outlet Newsmax led to a sharp rebuke from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, which issued a statement on Friday accusing Pompeo of showing “a worrying lack of information” in equating the YPG to all Syrian Kurds.
Bolton said his meetings with Turkish officials, including Erdogan, would seek to clarify uncertainty around Turkey’s “objectives and capabilities” in Syria.
Turkey has pledged to continue the fight against ISIL in Syria after the US withdraws, although Ankara has reportedly requested significant US military support to carry out the mission.
“The US finds itself in an unsustainable position, which was set to happen the moment it chose to arm the PKK’s Syria offshoot,” said Meral.
“For Ankara, talks with Russia, thus indirectly with the Assad regime, are as important as talks with the US. Ultimately Ankara too needs an exit strategy as it wants Syria to remain intact.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said she isn’t interested in gaining endorsements from her colleagues. “I believe in grassroots campaigns. That’s what this is about,” she said. “This isn’t about Washington.” | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo
Elizabeth Warren‘s colleagues aren’t rushing to endorse her presidential bid — but it isn’t personal.
Senate Democrats aren’t ready for Elizabeth Warren.
The Massachusetts Democrat electrified some in the liberal grassroots when she became the first senator to enter the race to take on President Donald Trump. But her colleagues aren’t leaping to support her — or anyone else in the Senate, for that matter.
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Even Sen. Ed Markey isn’t ready to endorse his fellow Massachusetts Democrat, at least not yet.
“When she is moving forward, we’re going to be talking,” Markey said as he prepared for Warren’s swearing in to another term in the Senate. “I’ve just got to get today done.”
Warren’s hard-edged brand of progressive politics has annoyed some of her colleagues at times, but the lack of support from her caucus isn’t personal. With a wide open Democratic primary, including perhaps a half-dozen of Warren’s own colleagues set to join the race, there’s no sense in getting out ahead of anyone, according to a dozen Democratic senators from across the ideological spectrum.
So even as Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Kamala Harris of California, Warren and others eye the 2020 gantlet, they might move forward with little to no support from the national politicians who know them best.
“It’ll be awhile before some of that is sorted out. Whether that means there will be a consensus around one or two or whether it’s more diffuse or whether there’s no endorsements, it’s hard to tell,” said Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), who is considering his own bid. “It’s still pretty early. But it moves fast.”
“We should let this process play out for some time and see how the voters respond,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
It’s a sharp contrast from the 2016 race. Hillary Clinton began receiving endorsements from Democratic senators years before she formally entered the presidential campaign, with 16 Senate Democratic women, including Warren, signing a letter in 2013 urging Clinton to run.
By the time the primary had started, Clinton had huge support among Senate Democrats. And even as Sanders caught fire with Democratic primary voters, only Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) endorsed him in the Senate. This time around, Merkley is considering a campaign of his own.
Many Democrats now say the lack of primary competition in 2016 was a mistake and that trying to anoint anyone to take on Trump could be a huge error for the party. While endorsements might not win primaries, they do help shape the field and could be a sign of strength used to scare off other competitors from running.
Warren said she isn’t interested in gaining endorsements from her colleagues anyway.
“I believe in grassroots campaigns. That’s what this is about,” she said. “This isn’t about Washington. This is about the rest of America.”
Still, Warren has done some work to increase her visibility on Capitol Hill. After years of shying away from impromptu interviews with reporters, she now engages on a daily basis and has continued to do so since announcing her presidential exploratory committee. She’s also a member of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) leadership team.
Some party elders are clearly fond of her: former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid promoted her for vice president in 2016 and encouraged her to run for president in 2020.
Each of the high-profile Senate Democrats considering a run has some knock on them within the Democratic caucus. The gruff Sanders is a loner, Gillibrand is known for having sharp elbows, Harris went rogue during an immigration debate last year and Booker is sometimes seen as too eager for the limelight. Others like Casey and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) began considering bids only after winning reelection.
But Warren’s feud with some of her colleagues over a bank deregulation measure last year was personal and could limit her appeal in the Senate.
She fundraised off centrist senators’ support for that bill and publicly lamented what happens “when some of our teammates don’t even show up for the fight.” Seventeen members of the caucus voted for the measure, though some lost reelection. Privately, senators and aides have said that Warren’s moves during that fight won’t be forgotten during the presidential race.
But publicly, they are diplomatic about the disagreement.
“I don’t know that it would get down to that level of granularity,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) of the banking feud. Tester supported the bill, which loosened rules under the Dodd-Frank law, and laughed heartily when asked when and if he will endorse Warren.
“She is who she is and she has an incredible number of people who love her. And she’s got some who don’t like her that much,” he added. “It’s way too early for me to say who I’ll be supporting.”
With so many Democratic senators mulling their own bids and others declining to boldly offer early endorsements, some have sought a safe haven with Joe Biden. The former vice president and senator recently won a surprise endorsement from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and also has the support of his two home state senators.
Biden is a safe pick for a senator hoping not to make enemies by picking one current colleague over another. And Delaware Democratic Sens. Chris Coons and Tom Carper say he’s stronger and more experienced than anyone else.
“If Donald Trump ends up being the Republican nominee, I think there are a lot of people who want Joe Biden to run for president. And I would be leading the parade,” Carper said.
Regardless of Biden’s popularity, Warren may end up prevailing on some Democrats to support her. She’s done the hard work of setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and knocking off an incumbent Republican senator when the GOP wouldn’t let her lead it. She easily won reelection last year while aiding her more endangered colleagues at the same time.
Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) said Warren is a “wonderful person” and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) said “she’s got some great ideas.” But it feels too early to them to endorse her presidential run.
“It’s going to be a long haul,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said she’s eager to bring the Democratic convention to her state in 2020 and introduce her colleagues to Wisconsin voters after being just awarded another term. But for now, it won’t be to back Warren — or anyone else.
“I want somebody who just ran for reelection in Wisconsin to serve a role in introducing the candidates for the Democratic nomination to all Wisconsinites,” she said. “I hope to do that from a neutral position in the early stages.”
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