Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s prime minister, accused Elon Musk of being the “international reactionary movement” and warned that the far-right might experience a resurgence in European politics.
Musk, who is set for a role as an adviser in United States President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, has provoked fury across Europe in recent weeks with a string of attacks on the continent’s leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Musk also made a splash in Spanish culture on Sunday by making a comment about a report that claimed foreigners were primarily responsible for rape convictions in Spain’s Catalonian region.
Sanchez, who presided over an event in Madrid on Wednesday to mark the 50th anniversary of Francisco Franco’s death, accused Musk of leading an “international reactionary” movement that “openly attacks our institutions, stirs up hatred, and openly calls for the support of the heirs of Nazism in Germany’s upcoming elections.”
Sanchez warned that “the fascism we thought we had left behind is now the third political force in Europe” and that Musk, who he did not name, was in favor of the far right. Musk also mentioned that “the richest man on the planet.”
Musk made the comments ahead of the country’s February 23 snap elections by backing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
The billionaire has also urged the release of Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist in the UK who is serving an 18-month sentence for contempt of court, from jail. Starmer is also currently serving an 18-month term for contempt of court.
EU weighs response
The European Union is grappling with how to respond to Musk’s perceived interference. The European Commission is being pressured by some European governments to use its legal arsenal.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter-radio earlier on Wednesday that the European Commission should consider whether to grant EU member states the ability to do so in accordance with the laws that already exist.
The issue is putting the EU’s willingness to confront Musk head-on and risk provoking the incoming Trump administration as well as the effectiveness of the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which regulates the operations of social media platforms in the EU.
A Commission representative stated this week that the DSA had previously proven to be a successful tool for reducing risks posed by popular social media platforms and that it had been made as a political decision to “fuel the debate” rather than directly respond to Musk’s tweets.
After a deadly car-ramming attack in Germany, Musk called German Chancellor Olaf Scholz an “incompetent fool” who ought to step down. Musk will speak with Alice Weidel, the head of AfD, on Thursday while using his platform.
Scholz has reacted by calling for cool. “Don’t feed the troll”, he told German weekly Stern on January 4.
Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron criticised Musk.
Who would have believed it ten years ago if been informed that the owner of one of the biggest social networks in the world, including in Germany, directly intervened in elections? he said.
Additionally, Musk has consistently criticized Starmer and his government in the UK, most recently for a child sex abuse scandal ten years ago.
As wildfires that started on Tuesday ripped through the city of Los Angeles, causing evacuations and power outages, have been declared in California as a state of emergency and two people have been reported dead.
The third-largest state in the United States, California has frequently been swept by wildfires, especially in the south.
What we know about the fires, their effects, and the most recent news from the ground are listed below.
When and where did the Los Angeles wildfires start?
At 10: 30am (18: 30GMT) on Tuesday, the first wildfire began , in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
This affluent neighbourhood, which lies between the Santa Monica mountains and the Pacific Ocean, is about 32 kilometres (20 miles) west of downtown Los Angeles.
]Al Jazeera]
What areas of Los Angeles are affected by wildfires, and how much of them have burned?
Nearly 1, 200 hectares (3, 000 acres) of land had been burned in that first Pacific Palisades fire by Tuesday evening, according to Cal Fire.
Around 6pm (02: 00 GMT) on Tuesday, a second blaze, called the Eaton Fire, broke out some 50km (30 miles) inland near Pasadena, and doubled in size to 162 hectares (400 acres) in just a few hours.
In Sylmar, in the San Fernando Valley northwest of Los Angeles, a third blaze known as the Hurst Fire started.
Together, the three fires have burned through 2, 285 hectares (5, 648 acres).
How many people have been killed in the LA wildfires?
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Maroney stated on Wednesday morning that the Eaton fire had resulted in two fatalities and that there had been “a significant number of serious injuries to residents” in the Palisades blaze.
One female firefighter was inflicted with a head injury in the Palisades fire, according to a fire official who was speaking to a local television station, KTLA.
The Palisades blaze has caused no injuries.
Are wildfires in LA spreading farther away?
Yes, it appears so. According to US media reports, homes close to Malibu have already been torn up as the fires have already spread north.
On Tuesday afternoon, Santa Monica went out issuing evacuation orders, and Malibu went out on Tuesday evening.
Have any buildings been damaged?
The Getty Villa Museum, one of the world’s richest art museums, which houses ancient Greece and Rome, was destroyed by the Palisades fire, which also destroyed some trees and vegetation.
The museum stated in a post on social media platform X that “staff and the collection remain safe” and that no structures had caught fire.
The Eaton fire engulfed a McDonald’s branch and the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Centre, but staff at the latter safely evacuated with their holy books, including Torahs, Melissa Levy, the temple’s executive director told The New York Times.
James Woods, an American actor, reported property damage at his Pacific Palisades residence.
Our house’s smoke detectors are all on, and they are sending data to our iPhones.
Our lovely, cozy little home in the hills endured this long. Losing a loved one feels familiar.
The California wildfire is being caused by the winds from Santa Ana.
The cause of these fires has not been determined by authorities. However, winter-time wildfires are not unusual in California because of the region’s “Santa Ana” winds, which dry out vegetation and make them more susceptible to fire.
Due to atmospheric pressure changes and the season’s cooler temperatures, these are frequently associated with Southern California’s dry, warm, and strong winds.
When the Great Basin, a large, dry region in western US, is pushed by high pressure, the Great Basin creates Santa Ana winds that push the air further away from the coast. As the air sinks through mountain ranges and valleys, it loses moisture, compresses and accelerates, becoming warmer and faster.
The region’s geography, including the orientation of the mountains and valleys, directs the winds towards Southern California and the Pacific Ocean coast.
Experts say this winter has been particularly threatening.
On a livestream on Monday, Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, stated that “we really haven’t seen a season as dry as this one follow a season as wet as the previous one.”
The intense Santa Ana winds have been linked to some of Southern California’s worst wildfires, including the Franklin fire in December 2024 which burned more than 1, 600 hectares (4, 000 acres) of the Malibu area, and damaged or destroyed almost 50 homes.
The National Weather Service issued its highest alert for severe fires covering the entirety of Los Angeles County on Saturday, which ran through Friday through Tuesday.
A Fire Weather Watch is in effect Tuesday-Friday for portions of LA/Ventura Counties. There is the potential for damaging north to northeast winds, that are likely to peak Tuesday-Wednesday.
Fire season will continue into the new year with no significant rainfall already. #CAwx pic. twitter.com/fahxe7RIpI
When will the fires stop?
The fires won’t be contained quickly, according to experts and government officials.
Forecasters said the seasonal winds could develop into the worst windstorm in a decade, with gusts of up to 160km/h (100mph) expected. Typically, wind gusts above 64km/h (40mph) can begin to cause damage to trees and infrastructure and become concerning.
“It’s going to be, I think, a rough night. And what is happening right now is only the start because the weather will start to get worse, according to meteorologist Daniel Swain.
In a post on X early on Wednesday, LA Mayor Karen Bass warned that “the windstorm is expected to worsen through the morning.”
Because of the persistent winds, Cal Fire reported on Wednesday morning that none of the three fires in Los Angeles had been contained. Firefighters have been attempting to cut back vegetation and create breaks in the blaze in the Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica hills  through the steep terrain.
What will happen next?
A “Particularly Dangerous Situation” red flag warning has been issued for 19 million people in parts of Southern California. This warning is usually issued only “in rare situations when long-lived, strong and violent tornadoes are possible”, according to the National Weather Service. It was last issued during the December 2024 Franklin Fire which scorched approximately 1, 633 hectares (4, 037 acres), damaged or destroyed 48 structures, and was fully contained by December 18.
Amid all this, power outages have also hit the city. CBS News reported that as of 12: 30am local time (08: 30 GMT) on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power had reported about 127, 000 customers as being without power. Data from PowerOutage. Late on Tuesday, US data revealed that more than 220 000 homes and businesses in Los Angeles County were without power.
Elderly patients are quickly evacuated into emergency vehicles]Josh Edelson/AFP]
What action is being taken?
Schools have been closed, and tens of thousands of people have been forced to leave the affected areas. Some Hollywood events have been cancelled.
More than 30, 000 people have been evacuated, with many fleeing on foot after traffic crawled to a halt. Evacuees from the Palisades and Hurst fires have received emergency shelters, and pets from Palisades and Eaton fires have also been provided with shelter.
Angelenos who have been forced to flee these devastating fires can find emergency shelters. #PalisadesFire Shelter: Westwood Recreation Center – 1350 S Sepulveda Blvd#HurstFire Shelter: Ritchie Valens Recreation Center – 10736 Laurel Canyon Blvd
The Los Angeles Zoo announced that it would remain closed on Wednesday, while 18 other school districts reported closures, according to the Los Angeles County Office of Education. On Wednesday, the Screen Actors Guild Awards’ in-person nomination event was called.
According to a 2017 report by a coalition of environmental and civil rights groups, Femsa pays 2, 600 pesos or $155 for each water permit in Mexico.
The report’s authors call that amount “absolutely ridiculous” when compared with the profits the companies make off the water.
The favorable deals were attributed to “the ease with which industry leaders have access to congressional and bureaucratic institutions,” according to Eduardo Gomez, a professor who wrote a study about Coca-Cola’s political influence in Mexico.
He pointed out, for example, that Vicente Fox was head of Coca-Cola Femsa before being elected Mexican president in 2000.
Mexico’s National Water Commission (CONAGUA), which is responsible for granting water concessions, did not respond to requests for comment about criticisms of the permit-granting process, how long the permits last and the extent of its deals with Coca-Cola across the country.
In Mexico, Coca-Cola currently accounts for 70% of the country’s soda production and sales.
The Femsa-led operation runs more than 20, 000 convenience stores nationwide, according to Marcos Arana, director of a nonprofit focused on improving healthcare for Indigenous communities in Chiapas. It even provides refrigerators for small, stocked shops.
“They’re like narcomenudistas”, said Arana, likening the strategy to Mexican drug cartels who create large networks of small-time dealers. “That’s how Coca-Cola’s business model works. You can’t escape it”.
Femsa did not respond to requests for comment on its business practices in Mexico, particularly those involving San Cristóbal, including how it would respond to Arana’s allegations and what it is doing to reduce water shortages.
Daniela Puerta, a spokesperson for Coca-Cola Mexico, declined a request for an interview but said in an email, “We always abide by local laws and regulations”.
“We recognize the water access challenges in San Cristóbal, and, for nearly a decade, we have been working with local communities and NGOs to help improve water access”, she added.
San Cristobal resident Manuela Dias told Al Jazeera she has no intention of quitting Coca-Cola products]Peter Yeung/Al Jazeera]
Other factors such as poor infrastructure and rapid urbanisation have also played a role in the water shortages, according to Raúl Rodríguez, president of Mexico’s Water Advisory Council.
He argued that “the state and municipal governments must invest more economic resources to ensure the supply of water to the population.”
But despite the concerns about water access, Coca-Cola is proving hard for some people in San Cristóbal to quit.
Manuela Dias, a Tzotzil woman from her five-generation family, grows corn and vegetables in the hills above San Cristóbal, said, “I don’t understand why we should stop drinking it.”
Donald Trump, the president-elect of the United States, has requested that the Supreme Court halt the prosecution of his New York criminal case involving hush-money payments to an adult film star.
Just two days before Trump’s scheduled sentencing in the case, the court filing from Wednesday was released.
In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records on 34 felony counts in May, according to prosecutors.
Last week, Judge Juan Merchan ordered the sentencing to take place on Friday, just 10 days before Trump takes office.
Trump’s attorneys requested a quick stay of the sentencing in a Supreme Court filing to stop “grave injustice and harm to the institution of the presidency and the federal government’s operations.”
A stay in this case would allow Trump to continue his ongoing legal challenge. Prosecutors were required to respond to the request by Thursday, according to the Supreme Court.
According to Trump’s attorneys, some of the evidence in the case should not have been presented because of the Supreme Court’s ruling last year, which granted presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution.
They have pushed for the expungement of the conviction.
Following two lower courts’ rejection of Trump’s request for a stay, the Supreme Court, the top court in the US, has filed the appeal.
Historic conviction
Trump became the first former US president to be charged in New York as a result of the case. He will re-elect as the first person to hold a criminal conviction for the first time.
In addition, Trump has been charged with three other criminal counts, including one federal one involving the investigation of efforts to overturn the 2020 election, one federal case involving the concealment and hoarding of classified White House documents, and one other case involving attempts to overturn the election results in Georgia.
Trump’s victory in the election was, in part, the federal court case’s death knell because the department of justice’s longstanding policy prevents presidents from prosecuting themselves while in office.
Following Trump’s victory, US Special Counsel Jack Smith requested that both cases be dropped.
The case’s future in Georgia is also uncertain because the top prosecutor was recently removed by a state appeals court. While Trump is in office, it is thought that the state case is unlikely to progress despite the state case’s restrictions.
Trump’s victory in the 2024 election also sparked controversies about how his New York sentencing would be affected.
After Israeli football fans went on a rampage in Amsterdam and sparked violence against local residents in November, the Dutch political elite overwhelmingly sided with them. The twisted narrative that Dutch politicians chose did not stop injustice.
The conflicted incidents provided a convenient excuse for the ruling Dutch right-wing coalition to propose a number of measures that clearly target the country’s Muslim population. These proposals included removing dual nationals from their passports and removing migrants from their temporary residence permits if they were deemed “anti-Semitic” despite the caveat that, in today’s political climate, almost all statements criticizing Israel’s genocide in Gaza are being labeled as anti-Semitic or terrorist.
Other measures include barring so-called anti-Semitic organisations from public funding, labelling them as terrorist entities, and placing them on sanctions lists, banning the Palestinian prisoner support network Samidoun, and criminalising the “glorification of terrorism”.
The establishment of a “taskforce for the fight against anti-Semitism” is the government’s only prior action to implement one of these proposals. If and when the others are put into practice, it is still up for grabs.
The Dutch government’s rhetoric and actions may come across as familiar to those who have closely followed what Germany has done over the past 15 months. The German government has gone to great lengths to support Israel, as well as to criminalize and scapegoat its Muslim, refugee, and immigrant communities. In doing so, it established a precedent for other European nations to come after.
A new citizenship law mandates an “anti-Semitism check” for applicants and forbids granting citizenship to anyone found to be “anti-Semitic” or not committed to Germany’s d’etat for its unconditional support for the Israeli state, according to a new citizenship law passed in the German parliament in June. The problematic IHRA definition, which conflates anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, serves as the basis for the criteria.
Applications for citizenship may be denied for submitting a social media post with the hashtags “From the river to the sea” or “From the sea to the sea” as well. German law allows authorities to revoke citizenship up to ten years after it was granted, but the threshold is still high and largely untested, making dual citizens not safe either.
In October, German lawmakers also approved new immigration policies, allowing the state to revoke the refugee status of individuals who are deemed to espouse “anti-Semitism”.
A resolution that targeted Israel-favorable individuals and groups was passed by the German parliament in November. Anyone who is found to be “anti-Semitic” under the IHRA definition or who supports the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement is exempt from all public funding initiatives, even if their work is entirely unrelated to Palestine.
The resolution also calls for “utilising repressive options” and using “criminal, residence, asylum and nationality law” against those perceived to be “anti-Semitic”.
The resolution is non-binding, but it can also be challenged legally, which will likely have a significant chilling impact on a civil society that is heavily reliant on government funding, and normalize encroachment on asylum seekers and migrants’ rights. As Nadija Samour, senior legal adviser for the European Legal Support Centre, warns, the resolution “is going to cement the use of migration law as a form of persecution”.
A German foundation referenced the resolution in its decision to revoke an architectural award given to an artist who had signed a letter demonizing Israel less than two weeks after it was approved.
Organizations and groups that promote Palestinian solidarity in Germany are familiar with the threat of “repressive measures.” Since October 7, 2023, they have been facing massive repression, police violence and surveillance, have had their bank accounts frozen and demonstrations and events cancelled, or been outright banned, like Samidoun.
Rights groups have sounded the alarm about Germany’s authoritarian trajectory. They have warned that freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of the arts and academic freedoms are being violated. Major civil society organizations criticized the resolution for allowing “serious violations of fundamental and human rights and considerable legal uncertainty,” according to a statement.
In asylum policy, we have witnessed how one country’s most devastating antimigration measures are initially criticised, then normalised, and eventually adopted by others. The Netherlands appears to be following Germany’s descent into authoritarianism as a pattern appears to be forming with the repression of protests against Israel. And it is not the only one.
In December, France passed a bill that, if approved by the Senate, would deny citizenship, naturalisation, or residency to foreigners convicted of discriminatory acts based on race, religion or national origin. This follows a proposed law from October that would make “terrorist apologism”, denying Israel’s existence, and the comparison of Jews or Israel to the Holocaust illegal.
The UK introduced a new extremism definition in March of last year, which prevents “extremist” organizations from meeting with government officials in what has been called an attempt to silence pro-Palestinian activists.
Worryingly, there has not been enough public reaction against these authoritarian tendencies. Racist remarks made by Dutch officials in the wake of the violence sparked public outcry in the Netherlands.
The Dutch parliament issued a request to collect information on the “norms and values” of Dutch citizens with a background in migration, which at the end of November provoked some opposition. These data were supposed to “offer insights into]their] cultural integration” and help “address problems in a targeted manner”. The Dutch prime minister promised not to take action on the motion after the widespread outcry on social media about the blatantly discriminatory proposal.
However, there hasn’t been a larger mobilization to protest or stop the implementation of any other repressive measures. This is the case elsewhere in Europe, as well.
Palestinians and those who show their solidarity with them are also concerned about defending freedom of speech, according to Europeans. There are many instances in European history where repression against one group spreads to include others as well.
We must demand that our governments defend people’s freedoms to speak out and take action against both European complicity in and against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. If the problem was left unresolved, authoritarianism would continue to spread throughout Europe.
If Israeli prisoners in Gaza aren’t released, according to Donald Trump, the new US president, “all hell will break out” in the Middle East. Additionally, he resisted allowing military action to take place in Greenland and the Panama Canal.
