upset

The Trump administration is calling its new immigration sweep in North Carolina’s largest city “Operation Charlotte’s Web.”

But the granddaughter of E.B. White, the author of the classic 1952 children’s tale “Charlotte’s Web,” said the wave of immigration arrests goes against what her grandfather and his beloved book stood for.

“He believed in the rule of law and due process,” Martha White said in a statement. “He certainly didn’t believe in masked men, in unmarked cars, raiding people’s homes and workplaces without IDs or summons.”

White, whose grandfather died in 1985, works as his literary executor. She pointed out that in “Charlotte’s Web,” the spider who is the main character devoted her life on the farm to securing the freedom of a pig named Wilbur.

The Trump administration and Republican leaders have seized on a number of catchy phrases while carrying out mass deportation efforts — naming their holding facilities Alligator Alcatraz in Florida, Speedway Slammer in Indiana and Cornhusker Clink in Nebraska.

Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol official now on the ground in Charlotte, was the face of the “Operation At Large” in Los Angeles and “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago, two enforcement surges earlier this year. As the Charlotte operation got underway, Bovino quoted from “Charlotte’s Web” in a social media post: “We take to the breeze, we go as we please.”

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan has codified the most ambitious restructure of its military and judiciary in decades after President Asif Ali Zardari signed his assent to ratify the country’s 27th Constitutional Amendment on Thursday.

The amendment, which passed in both houses of parliament earlier in the week amid opposition protests and criticism from a range of civil society activists and sitting judges, makes major changes to Pakistan’s higher judiciary.

But many analysts believe that its most consequential feature is a sweeping overhaul of Article 243, the constitutional clause defining the relationship between Pakistan’s civilian government and the military.

The changes grant lifetime immunity from criminal prosecution to the country’s top military leaders, significantly reshape the military’s command structure, and further tilt the balance of the tri-services – the army, navy and air force – heavily in the army’s favour.

Analysts warn that this contentious reform risks colliding with entrenched institutional cultures and could rock the country’s fragile civilian–military equilibrium.

Al Jazeera has sought comment from the military’s media wing on the changes and the debate over them, but has received no response.

A new command structure

The revised Article 243 establishes a new post, the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), to be held concurrently by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). This effectively gives the army chief command authority over the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and Pakistan Navy (PN).

The incumbent COAS is Field Marshal Asim Munir, who assumed command in November 2022 and was elevated to a five-star rank on May 20 this year, just 10 days after Pakistan ended its four-day conflict with India.

Munir became only the second Pakistani military officer – after Field Marshal Ayub Khan in the 1960s – to receive the five-star designation. The air force and navy have never had a five-star official so far.

The amendment also abolishes the office of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) at the end of this month. The role is currently held by four-star General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, who retires on November 27. Another major change is the creation of the Commander of the National Strategic Command (CNSC), a post overseeing Pakistan’s nuclear command. The position will be limited to only an army officer, appointed in consultation with the CDF, with a three-year term extendable by another three years.

The amendment effectively transforms five-star titles from what were honorary recognitions into constitutionally recognised offices with expansive privileges.

Under the new arrangement, five-star officers will enjoy lifetime immunity from criminal prosecution and will “retain rank, privileges and remain in uniform for life.”

Removing a five-star officer will require a two-thirds parliamentary majority, whereas an elected government can be dismissed by a simple majority.

“While government spokespersons refer to these titles as ‘honorary’, given to ‘national heroes’ to celebrate their services,” Reema Omer, a constitutional law expert, said, the amendment “implies actual power, not just honorary significance”.

Omer told Al Jazeera that lifelong immunity from criminal proceedings was “concerning from a rule of law perspective”.

A former three-star general, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that the changes appeared to be “meant to consolidate” the army chief’s power.

Hours after the president’s ratification on Thursday evening, Pakistan’s government brought amendments to the laws governing the three services.

Under the revised Army Act, the clock on the tenure of the army chief will now restart from the date of his notification as CDF.

Last year, parliament had increased the tenure of the service chiefs from three to five years, which meant Munir’s term would run until 2027. Following the new changes, it will now extend even further. Once the revised rules take effect at the end of this month, Munir will hold both posts – COAS and CDF – at least until November 2030.

Military dominance – and the role of the India conflict

Since independence in 1947, Pakistan’s military, especially the army, has been the most powerful institution in national life.

Four coups and decades of direct rule have been accompanied by significant influence, even when civilian governments have been in power. The army chief has long been widely viewed as the country’s most powerful figure.

No prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term, while three of four military rulers have governed for more than nine years each.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Munir’s predecessor, acknowledged this history in his farewell address in November 2022, conceding that the military had interfered in politics for decades, and promising to break with that legacy.

But three years later, rights groups and opposition parties allege that little has changed, and some claim that the military has further strengthened its grip over state institutions.

The military restructure under the 27th Amendment also comes six months after Pakistan’s brief conflict with India in May, raising questions over whether the reforms were linked to that fight.

Aqil Shah, professor of international affairs at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, argued that the confrontation with India created the opening for this “unprecedented role expansion” for the army chief.

The changes “formalise the army’s de facto hegemony over the other two wings of armed forces in the guise of the ‘unity of command’ as a necessity for war fighting,” Shah told Al Jazeera.

But supporters of the amendment disagree. Aqeel Malik, state minister for law and justice, said that the amendment aims to “plug holes” in Pakistan’s national security architecture.

“The amendment granted constitutional cover to defence integration and improved coordination. We have also provided a constitutional cover to the honour bestowed upon our national heroes and have addressed a long overdue cohesive and better coordination within the forces for a swift response,” Malik said.

Ahmed Saeed, a former vice admiral, similarly described the reform as a “forward-looking institutional change”.

He said the conflict with India exposed that Pakistan’s command model was rooted in a 1970s framework, unsuitable for “multi-domain, hybrid warfare of the 21st century”.

“The amendment is not about ‘fixing what is broken’ but about modernising what is functioning to ensure sustained effectiveness in future contingencies,” Saeed told Al Jazeera.

Fears of imbalance

Other critics, including former senior officials and security analysts, believe the amendment is less about modernisation and more about institutional consolidation.

They argue that creating the CDF post cements the army’s dominance over the other branches.

Many question why the command structure should be overhauled when, by the government’s own narrative, the existing system delivered what Pakistan claims was an “outright victory” against India.

A retired three-star general who served in senior roles before retiring in 2019 said the abolished CJCSC role, despite being largely symbolic, provided a mechanism for balancing perspectives across the army, navy and air force.

“The PAF and PN may lose autonomy in strategic planning and most probably senior promotions, which has the potential to breed resentment,” he said.

“These risks institutional imbalance, undermining the very cohesion the amendment claims to enhance,” the former general added.

The CJCSC – a four-star post and the principal military adviser to the prime minister – can theoretically be filled by any service, but the last non-army officer to hold the position was Air Chief Marshal Feroz Khan in 1997.

Security analyst Majid Nizami said that while the amendment aims to codify five-star ranks, it may create challenges for “cohesion and synergy” among the services.

If the goal was to modernise warfare strategy, he argued, there should have been a dedicated officer focused solely on integration, not the army chief assuming dual authority.

“There is a lack of clarity on rules and terms of reference for the CDF,” Nizami said.

Shah, the Georgetown academic and author of The Army and Democracy, said the amendment “formalises the de facto power” of the COAS over the other branches.

Saeed, the former navy official who retired in 2022, however, disagreed with critics, arguing that the amendment simply clarifies the CDF’s strategic coordination role.

“The amendment retains the PAF and PN’s distinct command structures within their domains of responsibility, and the CDF’s function is limited to integration at the strategic level, not administrative control or operational interference,” he said.

He added that claims of “army dominance” stem from “legacy perceptions, not from constitutional reality.”

Control of nuclear command

The amendment also codifies the army’s control of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, including research, development and deployment, responsibilities that fall under the strategic command structure.

The former three-star general who spoke to Al Jazeera said the new system’s operational details remain unclear. Under the current model, the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) manages Pakistan’s ballistic and cruise missile programmes and nuclear assets.

Nizami said that although the CJCSC nominally oversaw the SPD, operational authority has long rested with the army. The amendment now formalises this reality.

Saeed, however, countered by arguing that in effect, even with the changes, “the entire nuclear enterprise operates under civilian-led oversight with constitutional clarity”.

Political fallout

Critics have described the amendment as a “constitutional surrender” by political parties to the military, and an attempt to institutionalise the “supremacy of the uniform over the ballot”.

It also comes at a time when Field Marshal Munir’s public profile has risen significantly. He has undertaken multiple foreign trips, including several to the United States, and has been described by President Donald Trump as his “favourite field marshal”.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, jailed for the past two years, accuses Munir of orchestrating the crackdown on him and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), since their ouster in 2022 through a no-confidence vote – a charge that the military has rejected outright.

In Pakistan’s February 2024 election, the PTI was barred from contesting as a party. But its candidates, contesting independently, secured the most seats even though they failed to secure a majority. Instead, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed the government with allies. The government and military rejected widespread accusations of election rigging.

Shah argued that the political class supported the amendment out of necessity.

“Lacking democratic legitimacy and faced with the political challenge posed by the PTI and Khan, the ruling PML-N government sees Munir as the key guarantor of their power and political interests,” he said.

Nizami, the Lahore-based analyst, meanwhile, said that separate appointments to the posts of the CDF and the army chief would have made more sense if the intent was to strengthen the military structure and balance. The amendment, he warned, could lead to “institutional imbalance instead of institutional synergy”.

Speaking of the Patriots, they’re one of three 8-2 teams in the NFL, all AFC sides, but are they the best?

You can pick holes in New England, Denver and Indianapolis really for feasting on the lesser sides, with only five of their combined 24 victories coming against teams with a winning record – and one of those was the Colts beating the Broncos.

Denver beat the champion Eagles in Philadelphia and are kings of the fourth-quarter while Indy can ride Jonathan Taylor, but the Patriots adding Sunday’s win in Tampa Bay to their primtime success in Buffalo seems like a statement.

Their two defeats came in new head coach Mike Vrabel’s first three games, with seven straight wins, just like Denver, since then – but taking down Baker Mayfield after the Bucs had a bye to prepare was huge.

Drake Maye’s MVP claims won’t go away, and he certainly deserves point for bravery after taking some savage hits in Tampa Bay but hanging in there to steer his side to victory.

The defence is solid and rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson exploded on Sunday with 147 yards and two exhilerating touchdowns of 55 and 69 yards – becoming just the fifth ball carrier to break 22mph this season on his first score.

While you can argue who ‘the best’ is technically, the Pats should be favourites to finish with the best record thanks to their schedule – which includes just one game against a winning team, albeit a huge one against Buffalo.

Visiting Baltimore is also tough, but Denver have it even tougher in the AFC West with the Chiefs to play twice, the Chargers (who could also challenge for top seed but face the same problem) and also the Packers on the schedule.

The Colts also face the Chiefs, and have the Seahawks, 49ers and two games with the 5-4 Jaguars to contend with. There’s a long way to go but the door is open for a shock top seed in the AFC.

Dan, who documents his travel with wife Natalia on Youtube and Instagram, spent Christmas Day on the Canary Islands hotspot of Tenerife with his two scaffolder friends

A scaffolder who ditched the UK for Christmas Day in Tenerife has explained why he left his wife behind for the festive break.

Traditionally, Christmas is a time when families come together to pull crackers, exchange presents, and watch Doctor Who.

Not so for Dan, a construction worker who spent a week in Tenerife with two of his mates while his wife stayed behind in the UK. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Natalie wasn’t thrilled. However, Dan was not tempted to the Canary Islands by the promise of sun, sand, and sea alone.

“She actually did mind me going. She didn’t want me to go. But my mate’s house had been flooded and he was in temporary accommodation in a hotel room, his family had all gone away for Christmas and he had nobody left, so I said I’d go to Tenerife with him and another guy from work – as they wouldn’t go just those two,” Dan told the Mirror, when asked about his decision to fly out.

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Dan, who travels the world with Natalie and offers “nothing but honest opinions” as two “working class travellers from England” on YouTube and Instagram, broke down the logistics of the break.

“We travelled to Tenerife as a group of three friends, our return flights, from Christmas Eve, to New Year’s Eve cost us just £261 each. Our accommodation was on the north side of the island, where it’s much quieter and a little less expensive,” he explained.

“We stayed in a house in Los Realejos, which cost us £1,118.40 for three people, for six nights, and as three scaffolders from Essex – this side of the island helped us stick to a nice budget. To reach the tourist hotspots (Playa de Las Américas, Los Cristianos, Costa Adeje), we had hired out a car for £271.80 (for seven days). As I’m not a big drinker anymore, I was always able to act as designated driver.”

On the big day itself, the three lads enjoyed 23°C, sunshine, and “not a cloud in the sky” as they basked on Playa de Las Américas.

“We had a pint at a restaurant and spent the day relaxing in the sun, surrounded by a sea of fellow Brits, drinking and relaxing on the beach. Later on, we tried to find somewhere to have a traditional Christmas dinner, a roast, or anything resembling one,” Dan continued.

“Our efforts were futile. Everywhere was completely fully booked, we even decided to walk a couple of miles out of the hotspot area to find one, but when we arrived, it was closed. On our way back to Playa de Las Américas, we stumbled upon an Asian restaurant with little to no customers inside, the menu was substantially cheaper than most other places we had tried. As three hungry guys who absolutely love Asian food and Asia, we happily settled for that. A Thai red curry with a spectacular view of the sunset over the ocean. That was to be our Christmas dinner.”

After dinner, Dan spent some time reflecting on his festive Tenerife jaunt. As fun as it was, it lacked a certain cosiness and family feel.

“Christmas Day in the sunshine, surrounded by a sea of strangers was just not the same as being at home in the UK; where it’s cold, dark and miserable outside, but you’re in your warm home, surrounded by your loved ones, who are all in the same situation together, with seemingly endless amounts of good food available – there is something special about that,” Dan explained.

“Spending the day in the sun abroad just wasn’t really giving me that same Christmassy feeling. And that’s all coming from a scaffolder who spends six months of every year travelling vlogging abroad, without so much as a second of it being spent feeling ‘homesick’. Although the two older lads I went with would disagree with my feelings and both much prefer it in the sun, relaxing on the beach with a beer in their hand.”

In total, light-drinking Dan spent £1,200 on the trip, which included flights, accommodation, car hire, fuel, food and some drink. His two friends spent closer to £2,500 each “whilst drinking and smoking”.

“I would recommend Tenerife for Christmas if you don’t have anyone to spend Christmas with at home, or if you don’t want to spend the day with anybody at home. I would also recommend it if your family would go with you,” he continued.

“There were a lot of families there, but that’s likely going to be an expensive trip at Christmas. If however, like me, your family is all at home enjoying the day in the cosiness of a family home, I would recommend you join them and enjoy the day with them, as you might find that in your older years, you can spend the day of Christmas abroad, on the beach, without any family to miss.”

In terms of how Natalie feels about Dan’s decision now, he said: “She’s cool man. She was upset when I left, but we’ve been together for 10 years now. She knows what I’m like.”

Bayern Munich remain top of the league standings after staging a road win over reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Bayern Munich have made it 16 wins from 16 games this season to underline their credentials as early UEFA Champions League favourites, beating holders Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 away as Luis Diaz scored two goals and was shown a red card.

The Colombian winger struck twice on Tuesday before being sent off for a violent tackle on Achraf Hakimi on the stroke of half-time.

PSG, who reduced the arrears through Joao Neves, dominated possession after the break but failed to make it fully count and slipped to their first defeat in the competition since last season’s quarterfinal second leg against Aston Villa.

The result kept Bayern top of the 36-team league on a maximum 12 points with PSG in third, three points adrift and with more injury concerns after Hakimi and Ousmane Dembele were replaced early.

“Most importantly I hope that it’s not too bad for Hakimi. We went through this in the US [at the Club World Cup against PSG] with [Jamal] Musiala,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said at a news conference.

“What I tell players is that when there’s some hype, don’t believe it. We’ve won 16, but from tomorrow onwards, it’s back to zero. Nobody has won the Champions League today.”

His PSG counterpart, Luis Enrique, echoed that point of view, saying: “Today’s standings mean nothing. What matters is February, March, April, May.”

“It’s always hard to lose at home. We need to assert ourselves and play better. We faced a well-organised team, especially physically. We couldn’t get our game going,” PSG captain Marquinhos said.

“There are still some positives to take from this match. The team remain ambitious, but we have to do better. They were superior to us. In the second half, we were on top, but it was after the red card.”

Ten-man Bayern hold on for dramatic victory

Dembele made his first Champions League start of the season, but his night was short-lived, the France forward being replaced by Lee Kang-in after 25 minutes.

PSG, who had beaten Bayern 2-0 in the Club World Cup quarterfinals in July, came out flying with their trademark high pressing but were caught cold in the fourth minute when Diaz smashed home after Lucas Chevalier had parried Michael Olise’s effort.

Dembele thought he had levelled midway through the half, only for his goal to be ruled out for offside as PSG pressed but looked unusually fragile at the back.

Moments later, Manuel Neuer pulled off a spectacular save to deny Bradley Barcola, who had raced to a pinpoint long ball from Fabian Ruiz.

Bayern stayed a step ahead, and after Serge Gnabry struck the post, Diaz pounced on a sleepy Marquinhos to steal the ball and slot home a second in the 32nd minute.

Diaz’s evening ended abruptly just before half-time when he was shown a straight red card for a brutal lunge on Hakimi, who limped off in tears with a suspected ankle injury.

Long possession spells ensued for PSG in the second half, but the hosts lacked a cutting edge until the 74th minute when substitute Neves reduced the arrears with a spectacular scissor kick from Lee’s cross.

Neves came close to levelling a few minutes later with a header as PSG further increased the pressure. Despite the hosts’ late flurry, Bayern held firm.