A Thai passenger train was crushed by falling construction cranes that slammed onto carriages, ripping roofs off and killing at least 29 people. Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng reports from the scene of the wreckage.
United States President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East has announced the launch of the second phase of a US-brokered plan to end Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Steve Witkoff said in a social media post on Wednesday that Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan is “moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction”.
The second phase will establish a transitional administration to govern over the bombarded Palestinian territory and the “full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza”, Witkoff said.
“The US expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage. Failure to do so will bring serious consequences,” he said.
Israel has violated the US-brokered ceasefire nearly 1,200 times since it came into effect in October, killing more than 400 Palestinians and blocking critical humanitarian aid from entering the enclave.
Uganda is facing mounting calls to lift a nationwide internet blackout before a contentious election, with the United Nations saying the government-imposed restrictions are “deeply worrying”.
In a social media post on Wednesday, the UN Human Rights Office stressed that “open access to communication & information is key to free & genuine elections”.
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“All Ugandans must be able to take part in shaping their future & the future of their country,” it said.
The call comes a day after a Ugandan government regulatory body instructed mobile network operators to block public internet access, starting on Tuesday evening, as the East African country readied for a January 15 general election.
Internet monitor NetBlocks said in its latest update on Wednesday that Uganda was “in the midst of a widespread internet shutdown”.
“Far from halting misinformation, the measure is likely to limit transparency and increase the risk of vote fraud,” the group warned.
The government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, 81, has been accused of overseeing a years-long crackdown on its critics, arresting political opposition leaders and their supporters.
Museveni is being challenged in Thursday’s vote by pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, whose campaign rallies have been routinely disrupted by the Ugandan authorities.
The UN Human Rights Office last week warned that Ugandans would be heading to the polls amid “widespread repression and intimidation against the political opposition, human rights defenders, journalists and those with dissenting views”.
The Uganda Communications Commission defended the internet shutdown as necessary to curb “misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks”.
But Tigere Chagutah, the East and Southern Africa regional director at Amnesty International, condemned the restrictions as “a brazen attack on the right to freedom of expression”.
“It is especially alarming coming as it does just before a crucial election already marred by massive repression and an unprecedented crackdown on opposition parties and dissenting voices,” Chagutah said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Blanket shutdowns disrupt people’s mobility, livelihoods and their ability to access vital information. They are inherently disproportionate under international human rights law and must never be imposed.”
Western leaders are condemning Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests, but many of those same nations are accused of suppressing their own citizens’ protest rights. Al Jazeera’s Nada Qaddourah looks at the allegations of double standards.
After years of being at the forefront of developments in Yemen – and the wider region – the Houthis have been watching recent events from the sidelines.
The Yemeni rebel group, which is backed and funded by Iran, has controlled the capital Sanaa and much of the country’s northwest since 2014. Many see it as being in part successful for the past decade because its opponents have been so divided.
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The Yemeni government has been weak, unable to rule all of the areas that were nominally under its control, let alone retake territory from the Houthis.
But an ongoing Saudi-backed campaign against the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) now sees the government claiming control of all territory not under Houthi domination.
For the first time in years, the government, led by President Rashad al-Alimi, is exuding confidence. Al-Alimi has announced the formation of a Supreme Military Committee (SMC) that will integrate all the disparate anti-Houthi forces into the Yemeni military.
In a speech on Saturday, al-Alimi said that the SMC would “prepare for the next phase if the militias refuse peaceful solutions”, in a clear threat to the Houthis.
The Houthis appear to have recognised the threat, with several high-ranking officials expressing the need to be prepared to fight.
The Houthis currently feel emboldened in their ability to withstand attacks, having become an influential regional player with their strikes on shipping in the Red Sea and Israel.
They have also held out against attacks from the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel since 2023, and prior to that, the Saudi-led coalition that backs the Yemeni government.
The Houthis see their very survival as a victory. Emerging from the mountains of Yemen’s far north, they have come back from near total defeat against the Yemeni military in the late 2000s to their current position as the de facto authority in Yemen’s most populous regions.
Fired by religious zeal and devotion to a leader, Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, who they believe to be divinely appointed, the group still thinks they are in a strong position, even if the Yemeni government is showing signs of life.
The central issue that prevented a peace deal in Yemen – the belief on both sides that total victory is achievable – remains.
For the Houthis, the Yemeni government is a mere puppet in the hands of Saudi Arabia and the West, and not worth talking to.
Instead, they are of the opinion that real negotiations can only be had with Riyadh, and are firm that the end result will be their continued presence in Sanaa.
The Houthis also think that previous attacks against Saudi Arabia have eventually led to negotiations, with missile attacks on targets like an oil storage facility in Jeddah in 2022 damaging the kingdom’s image as a safe and business-friendly country.
The Houthis, therefore, know that they retain a threat towards Saudi Arabia and the Gulf – a threat that may prevent a full-throated campaign to retake Sanaa. That means the Houthis have no need to make any rash moves, and are instead able to wait and observe the fallout from events in southern and eastern Yemen.
And yet, Saudi Arabia’s willingness in December to openly militarily confront the allies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Yemen may indicate a change of mentality in Riyadh.
The STC launched an offensive against Saudi-backed government troops in December, seeking an independent state in the south.
Their advance aimed to control broad swaths of southern Yemen, including the Hadramout and Mahra provinces, in defiance of warnings from Riyadh. Hadramout borders Saudi Arabia, while Mahra is close to the border.
The conflict between the Houthis and their opponents has been largely frozen since a ceasefire in 2022. During that time, negotiations between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia have taken place periodically, indicating an openness from the latter to close the chapter of its involvement in Yemen’s war.
Do the Houthis now think they are at risk of renewed attack from the Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia? Or do they feel confident that they are strong enough to deter any such attack?
A reorganised and united anti-Houthi force would be a much greater threat than the Houthis have faced since at least 2018. Then, the Houthis almost lost their most important port – Hodeidah on the Red Sea coast – before international pressure stopped the anti-Houthi advance.
Hodeidah seems to be the most obvious choice for the Yemeni government if it does decide to move militarily against the Houthis. It is easier to fight the Houthis on the coastal plain than it is in the mountains, and the international community may be less willing to step in to stop an attack after the Houthis’ conduct in the Red Sea.
Losing the port city would also be a vital blow to the Houthis economically, particularly with the group’s main backer, Iran, going through its own economic problems, and likely unable to provide the same level of support as it has previously.
The Houthis face a dilemma. Do they attack first, or do they hope that they have established enough of a deterrence to stop any Saudi-backed moves against them?