NEW YORK –  Time Magazine has named Donald Trump as their person of the year for the second time. “For marshaling a comeback of historic proportions, for driving a once-in-a- generation political realignment, for reshaping the American presidency and altering America’s role in the world, Donald Trump is TIME’S 2024 Person of the Year,” TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs said in a letter to readers. The Republican president-elect is set to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday to commemorate the honour alongside several of his family members.

Trump was first named person of the year in 2016 after winning the US presidential election. The magazine’s tradition – which started in 1927 as “Man of the Year” – recognises a person or movement that “for better or for worse… has done the most to influence the events of the year”. Other previous winners include climate change activist Greta Thunberg, former President Barack Obama, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Pope Francis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Time Magazine editors ultimately decide who wins the award. The outlet was considering 10 people for the person of the year award, including Vice-President Kamala Harris, the Princess of Wales and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, now a close confidante of Trump set to lead an advisory board called the Department of Government Efficiency.

In a description of Trump for the list of finalists, Time said he had won the 2024 election “in a stunning political comeback”. “He has reshaped the American electorate, activating young male voters who propelled him to a decisive victory that saw him win the popular vote for the first time and turn every swing state red,” the outlet said. “His 2024 win is history-making in multiple ways: he will be the oldest President in U.S. history, and he was convicted earlier this year by a New York jury of 34 counts of fraud, making him the first convicted felon to be elected President.”

Trump sat for interviews with the magazine in April this year during the campaign season. During the wide-ranging discussions, Trump talked about his plans for a second term, including his goals of reforming the US immigration system and deporting millions of people. Trump complained in 2015 when he was not chosen for the magazine cover during his first run for office, when the award went to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

But after he was named person of the year following his election win, he called it a “great honor”. “It means a lot, especially me growing up reading Time magazine. And, you know, it’s a very important magazine,” he said at the time. He has, however, continued to criticise the magazine’s choices since winning, including the selection of Taylor Swift as Time’s person of the year in 2024. (BBC)

Photo: Donald Trump. (LBCI Lebanon)

SYDNEY –  The Australian state of Queensland has passed laws which will see children as young as 10 subject to the same penalties as adults if convicted of crimes such as murder, serious assault and break-ins. The government says the harsher sentencing rules are in response to “community outrage over crimes being perpetrated by young offenders” and will act as a deterrent. But many experts have pointed to research showing that tougher penalties do not reduce youth offending, and can in fact exacerbate it. The United Nations has also criticised the reforms, arguing they disregard conventions on the human rights of children and violate international law.

The Liberal National Party – which won the state election in October – made the rules a hallmark of its campaign, saying they put the “rights of victims” ahead of “the rights of criminals”. “These laws are for every Queenslander who has ever felt unsafe and been a victim of youth crime across our state,” Premier David Crisafulli said after parliament passed the bill on Thursday. Leading up to the vote, both sides of politics had claimed that Queensland was in the grips of a youth crime wave, and that a more punitive approach was necessary to combat the issue. But data from the Australian bureau of statistics, shows that youth crime has halved in Queensland across the past 14 years, that it hit its lowest rate in recorded history in 2022, and has remained relatively steady since. Figures from the Queensland Police Service and the Australian Institute of Criminology also demonstrate a clear downward trend.

Dubbed by the government as “adult crime, adult time”, the new laws list 13 offences which will now be subject to harsher prison sentences when committed by youths, including mandatory life detention for murder, with a non-parole period of 20 years. Previously, the maximum penalty for young offenders convicted of murder was 10 years in jail, with life imprisonment only considered if the crime was “particularly heinous”.

The laws also remove “detention as a last resort” provisions – which favour non-custodial orders, such as fines or community service, for children rather than incarceration – and will make it possible for judges to consider a child’s full criminal history when sentencing. The Queensland Police Union has called the changes “a leap forward in the right direction”, while Queensland’s new Attorney-General Deb Frecklington says it will give courts the ability to “better address patterns of offending” and “hold people accountable for their actions”. (BBC/ Getty Images)

ADDIS ABABA  –  Ethiopia and Somalia have agreed to end their bitter dispute over Addis Ababa’s plans to build a port in the breakaway republic of Somaliland following talks in Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the “historic agreement”, which he said would eventually ensure landlocked Ethiopia’s access to the sea. At the press conference he held hands with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who both agreed to respect one another’s “sovereignty”. The two neighbours have been at loggerheads since January when Ethiopia signed a maritime deal with Somaliland – which Somalia considers as part of its territory.

It prompted fears of a wider regional conflict as Egypt has been backing Somalia – largely due to its anger with Ethiopia for building a dam on the River Nile. Turkey has in recent years become an important geopolitical player in the Horn of Africa as it has close economic ties with Addis Ababa and security deals with Mogadishu. Erdogan said the agreement – announced last Wednesday night in the Turkish capital, Ankara – was “the first step towards a new beginning”. “I congratulate both my brothers for reaching to this historic reconciliation with devotion and thank them for their constructive attitude,” he said. President Mohamud said his country was “ready to work with the Ethiopian leadership and the Ethiopian people”.

While Prime Minister Abiy insisted Ethiopia’s efforts to secure and reliable access to the sea did not threaten Somalia and the two had “addressed the misunderstandings that have occurred over the past year”. The feud began on New Year’s Day, when Abiy signed a controversial deal with Somaliland to lease a 20km (12-mile) section of its coastline for 50 years to set up a naval base. In exchange, Ethiopia – the world’s most-populous landlocked nation – was to reportedly recognise Somaliland as an independent country, although Addis Ababa never explicitly confirmed this.

Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia more than 30 years ago, has long been pushing for recognition – but Mogadishu described the move as an act of “aggression”. According to the Ankara joint declaration, the two Horn of Africa neighbours are to reconvene in February to hold “technical talks”.

In the interim they will strive to reach “mutually beneficial commercial arrangements” to ensure Ethiopia gains access to the sea “under Somalia’s sovereignty”. It is not clear if Ethiopia has discarded the deal it signed with Somaliland – something demanded by Somalia at earlier mediation efforts. Last month, Somaliland elected a new president – former opposition leader Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi – who promised to “review” the maritime deal. During his inauguration speech on Thursday morning, he made no mention of it. Somaliland is located in a strategic part of the world, and is seen as a gateway to the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. (BBC)

Photo: Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud shakes hands with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (AFP)