Magazine

#Costa Rica
Costa Rica closed out 2017 with its highest ever murder rate. According to preliminary data, the Central American nation of five million people saw about 603 homicides last year, up from 578 in 2016. Authorities blame drug trafficking and score-settling between gangs.

''In recent years we do not remember a situation similar to what we are experiencing now,'' said Walter Espinoza, director of the Costa Rican Judicial Investigative Unit --- Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ).

Costa Rica’s murder rate works out to 12.1 murders per 100,000 inhabitants. The World Health Organization considers a murder rate of more than 10 per 100,000 to be an "epidemic." Al Jazeera’s Andy Gallacher is in the capital San Jose covering the story and speaking to people on the ground.

#West Bank
So far this year, Israel has approved the construction of more than 1,000 settlement units in the occupied West Bank, according to Peace Now, an NGO that tracks and analyses developments in the settlements. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Maliki criticised the plan, blaming the United States for "giving the green light" to Israel to do "whatever it wants with Palestinian land". In December US president Donald Trump announced the US would recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that caused international outcry and condemnation from the United Nations.

Settlements are illegal under Resolution 242 and international law and are considered to be an obstacle to the resumption of negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis. Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan is reporting on the story.

#JusticeForZainab
Zainab was just seven-years-old when she was kidnapped, raped and murdered, her body dumped in a garbage heap in her hometown of Kasur, in northeastern Pakistan. Her parents had reported her missing a few days earlier, and her family believes police had failed to act adequately. The city has faced a spate of abduction, sexual assault and murders. There have been several protests across Pakistan and online Zainab’s death has caught the attention of thousands and the hashtag #JusticeForZainab is trending.

We speak to aljazeera's correspondent Asad Hashim and political activist and lawyer Mohammad Jibran Nasir.

The Palestinian President has called Donald Trump's peace efforts the 'slap of the century' - and Mahmoud Abbas promised to slap back.

Now the Palestinian Liberation Organisation has outlined its strategy to face the U.S. president's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The core demands are to suspend Palestinian recognition of Israel and to no longer regard the U.S. as a partner for peace.

But do Palestinians have alternative options?

Tens of thousands of US residents could be soon affected by changes to immigration policy. From the potential end of a programme that protects young people brought to the country illegally, to President Donald Trump's opposition to so-called "chain migration", many risk having to leave.

In this episode, The Stream speaks to just some of them to learn about what they're doing to fight the proposals and prepare for an uncertain future. Here are the three topics we will cover:

Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans

About 200,000 Salvadorans could face deportation after the Trump administration announced a plan to revoke legal status they had under the Temporary Protected Status humanitarian programme (TPS).

TPS was designed as a temporary fix for immigrants already in the United States who don’t have legal status but cannot return to their home countries due to natural disaster, conflict or other extraordinary conditions.

Salvadorans were awarded TPS protection in 2001 after a pair of earthquakes killed more than 1,500 people. The US government, though, says El Salvador is now capable of reabsorbing those citizens. These TPS recipients now have until September 2019 to secure legal residency or leave.

After 20 years in the US, how are some of these Salvadorans responding to the the decision and the possibility that they may have to leave?

The future of DACA ''dreamers''

The lives of thousands of young people are under scrutiny as officials scramble to craft legislation that would allow them to continue living in the US.

DACA - or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals - is a Barack Obama-era programme that awarded a renewable, two-year deferment on deportation to people brought illegally to the US as children. In September 2017, President Trump announced that he would rescind the programme, giving lawmakers six months to find a legislative solution for the DACA beneficiaries.

So, how are DACA recipients responding? And what is the likely outcome?

President Trump vows to end "chain migration"

The US president has frequently voiced his opposition to family-based migration, which allows US citizens and green card holders to sponsor relatives for permanent residence. Although the process is intensive, subject to annual quotas, and sometimes costly, critics of the current system say petitions should be limited only to the "nuclear family" - parents and their children.

The Trump administration has now endorsed legislation that restricts family-based immigration by introducing a points-based system, which would prioritise English-speakers. Trump says the new system would benefit the US economy.

But pro-immigration groups say the proposed reforms are less about the economy or national security, and more about the government being able to pick and choose what sort of immigrants can come to the US. The Migration Policy Institute estimates that cuts to family-based migration would mostly affect US residents sponsoring relatives from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, China, India, and Vietnam.

So, what does the future of immigration look like for people hoping to build new lives - and communities - in the US?

US support for Kurds in Syria is leading to threats of retaliation from Turkey. A coalition of countries led by the US is planning a thirty thousand-strong force in Syria, just across the border with Turkey.

Turkey's President thinks the Kurdish-led force is a threat and is vowing to attack the city of Afrin in northern Syria.

Afrin is a a major stronghold of YPG Kurdish fighters. Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist group linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party. Its PKK fighters have waged a long war against Turkish dominance.

How much volatility will be added to the war zone?

South Africa's governing ANC is one of the oldest political movements in Africa.

It was founded in 1912 and has been the dominant party since the end of apartheid in 1994.
 
But the party that promised to bring prosperity to millions of South Africans - has been accused of corruption and mismanagement.
Its new leader Cyril Ramaphosa says he wants to change that.
He's promised to restore credibility to an organisation that was once led by Nelson Mandela.

But is he up to the task?

On The Listening Post this week: Michael Wolff's fly-on-the-wall expose sets the White House scrambling and divides US media. Plus, the Egyptian talk show hosts humming Sisi's tune.

The book that shook the White House.

As copies of Fire and Fury: Inside The Trump White House are flying off the shelves, we look at author Michael Wolff's approach to sourcing and the facts, as well as the American mainstream media's continued obsession with a spectacle they did much to create.

This is a last chance. That is the message US President Donald Trump has sent out after extending sanctions relief to Iran.

He has aggressively warned European allies he would withdraw from the 2015 nuclear agreement altogether, if his demands to change it are not met.

Trump has publicly branded the deal before and during his presidency as the 'worst ever'.

Iran says his announcement is a 'desperate attempt to undermine a solid multilateral agreement' that is not 'renegotiable'.

In the middle of all of this are European leaders who have essentially said to Trump: either back the deal or come up with a better one.

But can this deal be re-negotiated?

When US-backed Syrian fighters took full control of the city of Raqqa, it ended three years of rule there by so-called Islamic State.

But now the BBC has uncovered details of a secret deal that let several hundred IS fighters escape. IS made Raqqa in northern Syria its headquarters in early 2014.

Last month Raqqa fell, but this programme has learnt that in exchange for a deal to save lives and bring peace to the city, a convoy carrying several hundred IS fighters, their families and weapons and ammunition were able to leave the city freely. The question now is, where are they now? BBC Middle East Correspondent, Quentin Sommerville, has this exclusive report.

Lebanon has long been known for being the sex tourism capital of the Middle East. For years people from around the region have flocked to its 'super night clubs' in the hope of meeting and sleeping with women.

But the influx of Syrian refugees has pushed more people into the sex industry, with many Syrians turning to prostitution to survive.

Benjamin Zand from BBC Pop Up meets Syrian refugees who say they had no other choice but to become prostitutes, and finds out how European women in 'super night clubs' are being locked up, by law, everyday.

In India, a Standing Committee of Parliament asked Indian Railways why luxury trains are being run with only 30% passengers. The parliamentary standing committee on Indian Railways presented its report on tourism promotion and pilgrimage circuit in Parliament on Thursday.

This report says that the Ministry should take measures to improve the situation. According to the committee, the number of vacant seats in Maharaja Express, Golden Chariot, Royal Rajasthan On Wheels, Deccan Odyssey and Palace On Wheels trains between 2012 and 2017 has been 62.7 percent, 57.76 percent, 45.46 percent and 45.81 percent respectively.

The committee led by Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said that the most shocking case is of Maharaja Express. This train is fully run by Indian Railways. In 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17, the average number of passengers in this train was 29.86 percent, 32.33 percent, 41.8 percent, 41.58 percent and 36.03 percent respectively.

This report has come at a time when Ashwini Lohani, chairman of Railway Board, has organized the first debate session with shareholders on business and travel. The purpose of this initiative of Indian Railways is to promote tourism through railways.

It has been said in the report that the committee has criticized the Ministry of Railways for not taking seriously the issue of lack of passengers in luxury trains. The committee has said that after reviewing the ministry in a proper manner, it should be told why such trains are being run with only 30 percent passengers. On the other hand, Shatabdi trains are being rejuvenated under the Dream Project 'Golden Project' of Indian Railways. There is a lot of work being done to provide the best facilities to travelers traveling in these trains. On Saturday, 25 newly renovated and fully equipped coaches have been launched for the Shatabdi train that runs between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The texture of all these coaches is very special, it has given considerable attention to cleanliness and beauty.