Kurds

Syria's Kurdish fighters agree to leave Aleppo after deadly clashes

Global Edition

Myanmar votes in second phase of junta-run election

  • Polls opened on Sunday morning in dozens of constituencies, including Suu Kyi's former seat of Kawhmu south of commercial hub Yangon.
  • Myanmar's junta held the second phase of elections on Sunday that democracy watchdogs warn will let the military prolong its rule, opening polling in the constituency of deposed democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
  • Polls opened on Sunday morning in dozens of constituencies, including Suu Kyi's former seat of Kawhmu south of commercial hub Yangon.
Myanmar's junta held the second phase of elections on Sunday that democracy watchdogs warn will let the military prolong its rule, opening polling in the constituency of deposed democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The armed forces have ruled Myanmar for most of its post-independence history, snatching back power in a 2021 coup after a decade-long democratic thaw, nullifying the previous poll, detaining Suu Kyi and plunging the country into civil war.
With Suu Kyi sidelined and her massively popular party dissolved, democracy advocates say the vote has been rigged by a crackdown on dissent and a ballot stacked with military allies.
Polls opened on Sunday morning in dozens of constituencies, including Suu Kyi's former seat of Kawhmu south of commercial hub Yangon.
Farmer Than Than Sint acknowledged Myanmar's "many problems" but told AFP she voted in pursuit of peace.
"We know it will not come right away. But we need to go step-by-step for our future generations," the 54-year-old said after voting.
The junta has pledged the three-phase election will return power to the people after it ends on January 25.
The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), described by many analysts as the military's prime proxy, won nearly 90 percent of lower house seats in the first phase late last month.
"I think the results lie only in the mouth of the military," a 50-year-old resident of Yangon, where voting also took place, told AFP.
"This election has absolutely nothing to do with escaping this suffering," said the resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

'Engineered' polls

The first phase had a turnout of around 50 percent, far below the roughly 70 percent of the 2020 election when most voters backed Suu Kyi's party.
A truck blasted loudspeaker messages along the main road in Kawhmu, urging voters to come out.
Kyaw Than, a 72-year-old farmer, said it was better to vote. "It would be weird to sit by and do nothing," he said.
There is no polling in large enclaves carved out by rebel factions, who the military accused of staging drone, rocket and bomb attacks during the first phase of voting that killed five people.
Analysts say the junta is attempting to launder its image, aiming to improve diplomatic relations, increase foreign investment and sap momentum from rebels.
"The junta engineered the polls to ensure victory for its proxy, entrench military domination in Myanmar, and manufacture a facade of legitimacy while violence and repression continue unabated," UN rights expert Tom Andrews said in a statement on Thursday.
The military justified its coup by alleging that Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide over pro-military parties in 2020 through massive voter fraud.
Election monitors say those claims were unfounded.
Parties that won 90 percent of seats in 2020 -- including the NLD -- have been dissolved, according to the Asian Network for Free Elections.
Regardless of the vote, a quarter of parliamentary seats will be reserved for the armed forces under a constitution drafted during a previous period of military rule.

 Limited electorate

More than 330 people are being pursued under junta-enacted laws, including clauses that punish protest or criticism of the poll with up to 10 years in prison.
There are more than 22,000 political prisoners in junta jails, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group.
Security forces put down pro-democracy protests since the coup but activists formed ragtag guerrilla units, often fighting alongside ethnic minority armies long opposed to central rule.
Voting has been cancelled in dozens of constituencies, many of them battlegrounds or regions where rebels run parallel administrations beyond the junta's reach.
The military waged offensives, which witnesses said included air strikes targeting civilian sites, in an attempt to claw back ground before the voting.
There is no official toll for Myanmar's civil war but monitoring group ACLED, which tallies media reports of violence, estimates that 90,000 people have been killed on all sides.
bur-jts/sco/pbt

rights

New protests hit Iran as alarm grows over crackdown 'massacre'

BY STUART WILLIAMS

  • The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said it had received "eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed across Iran during the current internet shutdown". 
  • Iranians took to the streets in new protests against the clerical authorities overnight despite an internet shutdown, as rights groups warned on Sunday that authorities were committing a "massacre" to quell the demonstrations.
  • The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said it had received "eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed across Iran during the current internet shutdown". 
Iranians took to the streets in new protests against the clerical authorities overnight despite an internet shutdown, as rights groups warned on Sunday that authorities were committing a "massacre" to quell the demonstrations.
The protests, initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, have now become a movement against the theocratic government that has ruled Iran since the 1979 revolution and have already lasted two weeks.
The mass rallies are one of the biggest challenges to the rule of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, coming in the wake of Israel's 12-day war against the Islamic republic in June, which was backed by the United States.
Videos posted to social media showed large crowds taking to the streets in new protests in several Iranian cities including the capital Tehran and Mashhad in the east, where images showed vehicles set on fire. 
The videos filtered out despite a total shutdown of the internet in Iran that has rendered impossible normal communication with the outside world via messaging apps or even phone lines.
The internet blackout "is now past the 60 hour mark... The censorship measure presents a direct threat to the safety and wellbeing of Iranians at a key moment for the country's future", monitor Netblocks said early Sunday.
Several circulating videos, which have not been verified by AFP, allegedly showed relatives in a Tehran morgue identifying bodies of protesters killed in the crackdown.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had confirmed the deaths of 116 people in connection with the protests, including 37 members of the security forces or other officials.
But activists warned that the shutdown was limiting the flow of information and the actual toll risks being far higher.
The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said it had received "eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed across Iran during the current internet shutdown". 
"A massacre is unfolding in Iran. The world must act now to prevent further loss of life," it said. 
It said hospitals were "overwhelmed", blood supplies were running low and that many protesters had been shot in the eyes in a deliberate tactic. 

'Significant arrests'

In comments to state TV late Saturday, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni insisted that acts of "vandalism" were decreasing and warned that "those who lead the protest towards destruction, chaos and terrorist acts do not let the people's voices be heard". 
National police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said authorities made "significant" arrests of protest figures on Saturday night, without giving details on the number or identities of those arrested, according to state TV. 
Iran's security chief Ali Larijani drew a line between protests over economic hardship, which he called "completely understandable", and "riots", accusing them of actions "very similar to the methods of terrorist groups", Tasnim news agency reported.
In Tehran, an AFP journalist described a city in a state of near paralysis. 
The price of meat has nearly doubled since the start of the protests, and while some shops are open, many others are not.
Those that do open must close at around 4:00 or 5:00 pm, when security forces deploy in force.
On Saturday, mobile phone lines appeared to have gone down as well, rendering nearly all communication impossible.
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the ousted shah, who has played a prominent role in calling for the protests, called for new actions later Sunday.
"Do not abandon the streets. My heart is with you. I know that I will soon be by your side," he said. 
US President Donald Trump has spoken out in support of the protests and threatened military action against Iranian authorities "if they start killing people".
On Sunday, Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran would hit back if the US launched military action. 
"In the event of a military attack by the United States, both the occupied territory and centres of the US military and shipping will be our legitimate targets," he said in comments broadcast by state TV. 
He was apparently also referring to Israel, which the Islamic republic does not recognise and considers occupied Palestinian territory.
sjw-sw/ser

conflict

In Gaza hospital, patients cling to MSF as Israel orders it out

  • - 'We will continue working' - AFP spoke with patients and relatives at Nasser Hospital, all of whom expressed the same fear: that without MSF, there would be nowhere left to turn.
  • At a hospital in Gaza, wards are filled with patients fearing they will be left without care if Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is forced out under an Israeli ban due to take effect in March.
  • - 'We will continue working' - AFP spoke with patients and relatives at Nasser Hospital, all of whom expressed the same fear: that without MSF, there would be nowhere left to turn.
At a hospital in Gaza, wards are filled with patients fearing they will be left without care if Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is forced out under an Israeli ban due to take effect in March.
Last month, Israel announced it would prevent 37 aid organisations, including MSF, from operating in Gaza from March 1 for failing to provide detailed information on their Palestinian staff.
"They stood by us throughout the war," said 10-year-old Adam Asfour, his left arm pinned with metal rods after he was wounded by shrapnel in a bombing in September.
"When I heard it was possible they would stop providing services, it made me very sad," he added from his bed at Gaza's Nasser Hospital.
Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, which oversees NGO registrations, has accused two MSF employees of links to Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, allegations MSF vehemently denies.
The ministry's decision triggered international condemnation, with aid groups warning it would severely disrupt food and medical supplies to Gaza, where relief items are already scarce after more than two years of war.
Inside the packed Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, one of the few medical facilities still functioning in the territory, MSF staff were still tending to children with burns, shrapnel wounds and chronic illnesses, an AFP journalist reported.
But their presence may end soon.
The prospect was unthinkable for Fayrouz Barhoum, whose grandson is being treated at the facility.
"Say bye to the lady, blow her a kiss," she told her 18-month-old grandson, Joud, as MSF official Claire Nicolet left the room.
Joud's head was wrapped in bandages covering burns on his cheek after boiling water spilled on him when strong winds battered the family's makeshift shelter.
"At first his condition was very serious, but then it improved considerably," Barhoum said.
"The scarring on his face has largely diminished. We need continuity of care," she said.

'We will continue working'

AFP spoke with patients and relatives at Nasser Hospital, all of whom expressed the same fear: that without MSF, there would be nowhere left to turn.
MSF says it currently provides at least 20 percent of hospital beds in Gaza and operates around 20 health centres.
In 2025 alone, it carried out more than 800,000 medical consultations and over 10,000 deliveries.
"It's almost impossible to find an organisation that will come here and be able to replace all what we are doing currently in Gaza," Nicolet told AFP, noting that MSF not only provides medical care but also distributes drinking water to a population worn down by a prolonged war.
"So this is not really realistic."
Since the start of the war in October 2023, triggered by Hamas's deadly attack on southern Israel, Israeli officials and the military have repeatedly accused Hamas of using Gaza's medical facilities as command centres.
Many have been damaged by two years of bombardments or overcrowded by casualties, while electricity, water and fuel supplies remain unreliable.
Aid groups warn that without international support, critical services such as emergency care, maternal health, and paediatric treatment could collapse entirely, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without basic medical care.
Humanitarian sources say at least three international NGO employees whose files were rejected by Israeli authorities have already been prevented from entering Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
"For now, we will continue working as long as we can," said Kelsie Meaden, an MSF logistics manager at Nasser Hospital, adding that constraints were already mounting.
"We can't have any more international staff enter into Gaza, as well as supplies... we will run into shortages."
vid-crb-jd/dcp/amj

weather

Scores of homes razed, one dead in Australian bushfires

  • A day earlier, authorities had declared a state of disaster.
  • Bushfires have razed hundreds of buildings across southeast Australia, authorities said Sunday, as they confirmed the first death from the disaster. 
  • A day earlier, authorities had declared a state of disaster.
Bushfires have razed hundreds of buildings across southeast Australia, authorities said Sunday, as they confirmed the first death from the disaster. 
Temperatures soared past 40C as a heatwave blanketed the state of Victoria, sparking dozens of blazes that ripped through more than 300,000 hectares (740,000 acres) combined. 
Fire crews tallied the damage as conditions eased on Sunday. A day earlier, authorities had declared a state of disaster.
Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said over 300 buildings had burned to the ground, a figure that includes sheds and other structures on rural properties.
More than 70 houses had been destroyed, he said, alongside huge swathes of farming land and native forest.  
"We're starting to see some of our conditions ease," he told reporters. 
"And that means firefighters are able to start getting on top of some of the fires that we still have in our landscape."
Police said one person had died in a bushfire near the town of Longwood, about two hours' drive north of state capital Melbourne. 
"This really takes all the wind out of our sails," said Chris Hardman from Forest Fire Management Victoria.
"We really feel for the local community there and the family, friends and loved ones of the person that is deceased," he told national broadcaster ABC.  
Photos taken this week showed the night sky glowing orange as the fire near Longwood tore through bushland. 
"There were embers falling everywhere. It was terrifying," cattle farmer Scott Purcell told ABC. 
Another bushfire near the small town of Walwa crackled with lightning as it radiated enough heat to form a localised thunderstorm.
Hundreds of firefighters from across Australia have been called in to help. 
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was talking with Canada and the United States for possible extra assistance.
Millions have this week sweltered through a heatwave blanketing much of Australia. 
High temperatures and dry winds combined to form some of the most dangerous bushfire conditions since the "Black Summer" blazes. 
The Black Summer bushfires raged across Australia's eastern seaboard from late 2019 to early 2020, razing millions of hectares, destroying thousands of homes and blanketing cities in noxious smoke. 
Australia's climate has warmed by an average of 1.51C since 1910, researchers have found, fuelling increasingly frequent extreme weather patterns over both land and sea. 
Australia remains one of the world's largest producers and exporters of gas and coal, two key fossil fuels blamed for global heating.
sft/abs

vote

Ugandan opposition turns national flag into protest symbol

BY SOPHIE NIEMAN

  • I believe the opposition is politicising it," said Israel Kyarisiima, a national youth co-ordinator for Museveni's National Resistance Movement party.
  • Hundreds screamed with excitement as Uganda's opposition leader passed by a recent rally, with the crowd waving a sea of national flags -- a dangerously politicised symbol in the run-up to this week's election.
  • I believe the opposition is politicising it," said Israel Kyarisiima, a national youth co-ordinator for Museveni's National Resistance Movement party.
Hundreds screamed with excitement as Uganda's opposition leader passed by a recent rally, with the crowd waving a sea of national flags -- a dangerously politicised symbol in the run-up to this week's election.
Analysts say it is almost a foregone conclusion that President Yoweri Museveni, 81, will win a seventh term in Thursday's vote, given his near-total control over the state apparatus in the east African country.
But his opponent, 43-year-old Robert Kyagulanyi, better known as Bobi Wine, has framed the election as a protest vote and cannily turned the national flag into a symbol of resistance. 
Police last month warned against using the flag "casually and inappropriately".
Wine's supporters have faced frequent intimidation by the security forces during the campaign, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office and other observers.
But the flag is "the only weapon we have," said woodworker Conrad Olwenyi, 31, at a Wine rally this week. 
"We cannot fight the security, because they have a gun. We only have the flag," he said. But "if they shoot you when you have the flag, they are shooting the country."

'Reclaiming patriotism'

Uganda's flag -- created when the country achieved independence from Britain in 1962 -- has stripes of black to represent Africa, yellow for its sunshine, and red to represent African brotherhood, with a grey crowned crane overlaid.
In the 2021 elections, Wine's National Unity Platform (NUP) adopted red berets as a symbol, but the government ruled that was illegal since they were part of the military uniform, and used that ruling to justify raids on the party's offices.
The flag is a clever alternative and a way of "reclaiming patriotism," said Uganda expert Kristof Titeca.
"It's kind of taken the government by surprise, and so that's why they started this clampdown," he told AFP.
Like many countries in east Africa, there are laws governing how the national flag may be used, though these were rarely enforced in Uganda in the past. 
"It shows the panic," prominent cartoonist Jimmy Spire Ssentongo told AFP.
"I don't think they are threatened by misuse of the flag. They are threatened by the visibility of the support towards NUP," said Ssentongo, adding that as Museveni ages and nears 40 years in power, "the space for freedom of expression also shrinks".
"Everyone has a right to use the national flag, but it depends on in what context they're using it for. I believe the opposition is politicising it," said Israel Kyarisiima, a national youth co-ordinator for Museveni's National Resistance Movement party.
Security services have repeatedly been accused by Wine's supporters of targeting those carrying the flag at rallies, with the leader urging followers in his Christmas address to "come to the defence of anyone assaulted for carrying the flag".
And the threats from police have not stopped Wine's supporters brandishing the flag at rallies. 
"Now we've got something that can really show our unity as Ugandans, and they are trying to make it criminal," said one attendee this week, Ruth Excellent Mirembe, 25, waving a flag.
Trying to stop its use is "oppression in the highest form," she told AFP. "This represents us as Ugandans."
str-rbu/er/gv

rights

Fresh protests in Iran as internet blackout persists

BY STUART WILLIAMS

  • On Friday in Tehran's Saadatabad district, protesters chanted anti-government slogans including "death to Khamenei" as cars honked in support, a video verified by AFP showed. 
  • Anti-government chants filled the streets of Iran's capital on Saturday night, as protesters pressed the biggest movement against the Islamic republic in more than three years despite a deadly crackdown under cover of an internet blackout.
  • On Friday in Tehran's Saadatabad district, protesters chanted anti-government slogans including "death to Khamenei" as cars honked in support, a video verified by AFP showed. 
Anti-government chants filled the streets of Iran's capital on Saturday night, as protesters pressed the biggest movement against the Islamic republic in more than three years
despite a deadly crackdown under cover of an internet blackout.
Iran has blamed the United States for the demonstrations, which ignited in Tehran two weeks ago over economic hardship and have since fanned nationwide with calls for ousting the clerical authorities. 
Rights groups have reported dozens of deaths and expressed alarm on Saturday that authorities were intensifying the crackdown.
Little information is filtering out after an internet shutdown, with monitor NetBlocks showing virtually no connectivity since Thursday.
US President Donald Trump said his country was "ready to help" the movement, after warning Iran was in "big trouble" over its efforts to suppress the protests. 
"Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!" Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday. 
According to the New York Times, Trump was recently briefed on options for possible military strikes.
US officials, speaking to the Times anonymously, said Trump has not yet made a final decision about another intervention, after Washington joined Israel's 12-day war against the Islamic republic in June. 
Crowds gathered again on Saturday in the north of the Iranian capital, setting off fireworks and banging pots as they shouted slogans in support of the ousted monarchy, according to video verified by AFP. 
Other videos, that AFP could not immediately verify, showed demonstrations in other parts of the capital where protesters shouted anti-government slogans.
Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran's deposed shah, urged Iranians to stage more targeted protests over the weekend.
"Our goal is no longer just to take to the streets. The goal is to prepare to seize and hold city centres," Pahlavi said in a video on social media.
The demonstrations have posed one of the biggest challenges to the theocratic authorities who have ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
After initially calling for "restraint" and acknowledging economic grievances, they have since hardened their stance. 
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a defiant speech on Friday, lashed out at "vandals" doing Trump's bidding.

'Not safe'

Amnesty International said it was analysing "distressing reports that security forces have intensified their unlawful use of lethal force against protesters" since Thursday.
Norway-based Iran Human Rights group has said at least 51 people have been killed in the crackdown so far, warning the actual toll could be higher.
It posted images it said were of bodies of people shot dead in the protests on the floor of Alghadir hospital in eastern Tehran. 
"These images provide further evidence of the excessive and lethal use of force against protesters," IHR said. 
On Friday in Tehran's Saadatabad district, protesters chanted anti-government slogans including "death to Khamenei" as cars honked in support, a video verified by AFP showed. 
Other images disseminated on social media and by Persian-language television channels outside Iran showed similarly large protests elsewhere in the capital, as well as in the eastern city of Mashhad, Tabriz in the north and the holy city of Qom.
In the western city of Hamedan, a man was shown waving a shah-era Iranian flag featuring the lion and the sun. 
The same flag briefly flew over the country's embassy in London after protesters reached the building's balcony, witnesses told AFP. 
On Thursday and Friday, an AFP journalist in Tehran saw streets deserted and plunged into darkness. 
"The area is not safe," said a cafe manager as he prepared to close the shop around 4:00 pm. 

'Price to pay'

Authorities say several members of the security forces have been killed, and state television aired images on Saturday of funerals for several members of the security forces killed in the protests, including a large gathering in the southern city of Shiraz.
It also aired images of buildings, including a mosque, on fire.
Iran's army said in a statement that it would "vigorously protect and safeguard national interests" against an "enemy seeking to disrupt order and peace".
Global leaders have urged restraint from Iranian authorities, with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen saying Europe backed Iranians' mass protests and condemned the "violent repression" against the demonstrators.
On Saturday, the start of the working week in Iran, one man in Tehran said he was unable to check his work email.
"This is the price to pay before the victory of the people," he said.
sjw-sw/lb/tc

music

Grateful Dead co-founder and guitarist Bob Weir dies aged 78

  • In 2024, the final year of Joe Biden's presidency, Weir and other living Grateful Dead members were given Kennedy Center Honors, among the highest American arts awards.
  • American guitarist and songwriter Bob Weir, a founding member of the revolutionary, psychedelic jam band Grateful Dead, has died aged 78, his family announced Saturday.
  • In 2024, the final year of Joe Biden's presidency, Weir and other living Grateful Dead members were given Kennedy Center Honors, among the highest American arts awards.
American guitarist and songwriter Bob Weir, a founding member of the revolutionary, psychedelic jam band Grateful Dead, has died aged 78, his family announced Saturday.
Weir was diagnosed with cancer in July and had beaten the disease, but "succumbed to underlying lung issues," his family said in a statement on his personal website, without specifying where or when he died.
"For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road," the statement said. "Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music."
"His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them."
Founded in San Francisco by Weir, Jerry Garcia, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Phil Lesh, and Bill Kreutzmann, the Grateful Dead became one of the leading music groups to emerge from the 1960s counterculture movement.
With its trademark improvisational, genre-blending style, the band became known for never performing the same show twice, winning an avid and diverse legion of fans, and selling millions of records.
The group revolutionized fan engagement, as followers -- famously known as "Deadheads" -- recorded and swapped bootleg tapes of the concerts in a communal, drug-addled camp environment that traveled from stadium to stadium, a trend later copied by other bands' fandoms.
The rockers disbanded in 1995, a few months after lead guitarist Garcia's death at the age of 53, and a year after the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Weir would however continue to perform intermittently with other living bandmembers, more recently in the group Dead & Company, which also included guitarist and singer John Mayer.
"As we remember Bobby, it's hard not to feel the echo of the way he lived," the family said.
"A man driftin' and dreamin', never worrying if the road would lead him home. A child of countless trees. A child of boundless seas," the family said, quoting the songs "Cassidy" and "Lost Sailor," written by Weir and the late John Perry Barlow.
Following Weir's death, 79-year-old drummer Kreutzmann became the last living co-founder of the Grateful Dead.
Bassist Lesh died in October 2024 at the age of 84, while keyboardist McKernan died aged 27 in 1973.
Drummer Mickey Hart, 82, joined the group in 1967.
In 2024, the final year of Joe Biden's presidency, Weir and other living Grateful Dead members were given Kennedy Center Honors, among the highest American arts awards.
"The Grateful Dead has always been about community, creativity, and exploration in music and presentation," Weir, Hart, Lesh and Kreutzmann said at the time.
"Our music belongs as much to our fans, the Dead Heads, as it does to us. This honor, then, is as much theirs as ours."
bur-des/abs

trade

India eyes new markets with US trade deal limbo

BY ANUJ SRIVAS

  • And while a free trade agreement (FTA) with New Zealand added little to Indian export growth, it secured $20 billion in foreign investment, increased visa access and showed Washington that New Delhi is willing to compromise.
  • India is aggressively seeking trade deals to open markets for exporters and soften the blow of steep US tariffs, as efforts to secure an agreement with Washington remain elusive.
  • And while a free trade agreement (FTA) with New Zealand added little to Indian export growth, it secured $20 billion in foreign investment, increased visa access and showed Washington that New Delhi is willing to compromise.
India is aggressively seeking trade deals to open markets for exporters and soften the blow of steep US tariffs, as efforts to secure an agreement with Washington remain elusive.
Relations between Washington and New Delhi plummeted in August after President Donald Trump raised tariffs to 50 percent, a blow that threatens job losses and hurts India's ambition of becoming a manufacturing and export powerhouse.
That pressure, experts say, has pushed New Delhi into a rapid diversification drive beyond its biggest market.
India signed or operationalised four trade agreements last year, including a major pact with Britain -- the fastest pace of dealmaking it has seen in years -- and is now eyeing fresh deals.
Negotiations are underway with the European Union, the Eurasian Economic Union, Mexico, Chile and the South American Mercosur trade bloc, either for new deals or to expand existing agreements.
If successful, India would have trade arrangements with "almost every major economy", said Ajay Srivastava, from the New Delhi-based Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).
Srivastava said 2025 was "one of the most active years" for trade agreements, which he said aimed to "spread risk" rather than to pivot from Washington.

'Expand its destinations'

Washington's punishing tariffs aimed at stopping India's purchases of Russian oil -- which it says finances Moscow's invasion of Ukraine -- have driven New Delhi's desire to grow other markets.
"The strategy was a reaction, as I read it, to what Trump did," trade economist Biswajit Dhar told AFP. "This has now become an imperative for India to actually expand its destinations."
Major deals will help labour-intensive sectors hurt by tariffs.
India's apparel export promotion council projects that the UK trade deal could help double garment exports to Britain over the next three years.
The gains from a potential EU agreement could be even bigger.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, expected to visit New Delhi later in January, has said it would be the "largest deal of this kind anywhere in the world".
Although the two sides missed a deadline to conclude talks by the end of 2025 -- reportedly over disputes related to steel and auto exports -- Indian negotiators remain optimistic.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will visit India and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, holding talks on "intensifying cooperation in trade and investment", Modi's office said in a statement.
Smaller agreements also matter.
Trade between Oman and India totalled less than $11 billion last financial year, but a December deal with Muscat offers "a gateway to the broader Middle East and Africa markets", and a template for a wider "Gulf engagement strategy", analysts at Nomura suggested.
And while a free trade agreement (FTA) with New Zealand added little to Indian export growth, it secured $20 billion in foreign investment, increased visa access and showed Washington that New Delhi is willing to compromise.
"The New Zealand FTA makes concessions on agricultural produce like apples, even though farmers here may have concerns," said an Indian commerce ministry official, who declined to be identified. 
"Who says we can't be flexible?" 

'Eggs in one basket'

India's goods exports rose a surprising 19 percent in November 2025, reversing an October decline.
While the surge was helped by electronics shipments -- still exempt from US tariffs -- marine product exports also posted gains.
"Diversification has certainly happened," KN Raghavan, of the Seafood Exporter Association of India said.
"We have increased exports to the EU and China," he said, adding they were the top markets after the United States.
But exporters caution that alternative markets cannot fully replace the United States, with Raghavan saying a US deal is "paramount".
That remains in limbo.
India's imports of Russian oil fell sharply in December to 1.2 million barrels per day from 1.8 million per day in November, according to Kpler trade data.
It is unclear if that will be enough for Trump.
Pankaj Chadha, chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council, said diversification had become a necessity to lessen dependence on the "biggest and the most lucrative" market.
"It's better not to put all your eggs in one basket," he said.
asv/pjm/ceg/abs

Kurds

Syria's Kurdish fighters agree to leave Aleppo after deadly clashes

BY OMAR HAJ KADOUR

  • Kurdish forces had controlled pockets of Syria's second city Aleppo and operate a de facto autonomous administration across swathes of the north and northeast, much of it captured during the 14-year civil war.
  • Syria's Kurdish fighters said Sunday that they agreed under a ceasefire to withdraw from Aleppo after days of fighting government forces in the city. 
  • Kurdish forces had controlled pockets of Syria's second city Aleppo and operate a de facto autonomous administration across swathes of the north and northeast, much of it captured during the 14-year civil war.
Syria's Kurdish fighters said Sunday that they agreed under a ceasefire to withdraw from Aleppo after days of fighting government forces in the city. 
Hours earlier, Syria's military said it had finished operations in the Kurdish-held Sheikh Maqsud neighbourhood with state television reporting that Kurdish fighters who surrendered were being bused to the north. 
The military had already announced its seizure of Aleppo's other Kurdish-held neighbourhood, Ashrafiyeh.
Kurdish forces had controlled pockets of Syria's second city Aleppo and operate a de facto autonomous administration across swathes of the north and northeast, much of it captured during the 14-year civil war.
The latest clashes erupted after negotiations to integrate the Kurds into the country's new government stalled.
"We reached an understanding that led to a ceasefire and secured the evacuation of the martyrs, the wounded, the trapped civilians and the fighters from Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsud neighbourhoods to northern and eastern Syria," the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) wrote in a statement.
Syria's official SANA news agency reported that "buses carrying the last batch of members of the SDF organisation have left the Sheikh Maqsud neighbourhood in Aleppo, heading towards northeastern Syria".
The SDF initially denied its fighters were leaving, describing the bus transfers as forced displacement of civilians. 
An AFP correspondent saw at least five buses on Saturday carrying men out of Sheikh Maqsud, but could not independently verify their identities.
According to the SDF statement, the ceasefire was reached "through the mediation of international parties to stop the attacks and violations against our people in Aleppo". 
The United States and European Union both called for the Syrian government and Kurdish authorities to return to political dialogue.
The fighting, some of the most intense since the ousting of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, has killed at least 21 civilians, according to figures from both sides, while Aleppo's governor said 155,000 people fled their homes.
Both sides blamed the other for starting the clashes on Tuesday.

Children 'still inside'

On the outskirts of Sheikh Maqsud, families who had been trapped by the fighting were leaving, accompanied by Syrian security forces.
An AFP correspondent saw men carrying children on their backs board buses headed to shelters.
Dozens of young men in civilian clothing were separated from the crowd, with security forces making them sit on the ground before transporting them to an unknown destination, according to the correspondent.
A Syrian security official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the young men were "fighters" being "transferred to Syrian detention centres".
At the entrance to the district, 60-year-old Imad al-Ahmad was heading in the opposite direction, trying to seek permission to return home.
"I left four days ago...I took refuge at my sister's house," he told AFP. "I don't know if we'll be able to return today."
Nahed Mohammad Qassab, a 40-year-old widow also waiting to return, said she left before the fighting to attend a funeral.
"My three children are still inside, at my neighbour's house. I want to get them out," she said. 
A flight suspension at Aleppo airport was extended until further notice.

'Return to dialogue'

US envoy Tom Barrack met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Saturday, and afterwards called for a "return to dialogue" with the Kurds in accordance with the integration framework agreed in March. 
The deal was meant to be implemented last year, but differences, including Kurdish demands for decentralised rule, stymied progress as Damascus repeatedly rejected the idea.
The fighting in Aleppo raised fears of a regional escalation, with neighbouring Turkey, a close ally of Syria's new Islamist authorities, saying it was ready to intervene. Israel has sided with the Kurdish forces. 
The clashes have also tested the Syrian authorities' ability to reunify the country after the brutal civil war and commitment to protecting minorities, after sectarian bloodshed rocked the country's Alawite and Druze communities last year.
bur-lb/tc

conflict

Maduro loyalists stage modest rally as Venezuelan govt courts US

BY JAVIER TOVAR

  • - Diplomatic maneuvers - Maduro claimed he was "doing well" in jail, his son Nicolas Maduro Guerra said in a video released Saturday by his party.
  • Several hundred supporters of deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro staged protests in the capital Saturday, a week after his capture by US forces, as the interim government moved to revive ties with Washington and slowly released some prisoners.
  • - Diplomatic maneuvers - Maduro claimed he was "doing well" in jail, his son Nicolas Maduro Guerra said in a video released Saturday by his party.
Several hundred supporters of deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro staged protests in the capital Saturday, a week after his capture by US forces, as the interim government moved to revive ties with Washington and slowly released some prisoners.
Waving flags and placards with the face of the mustachioed ex-leader and his wife Cilia, around 1,000 protesters rallied in the west of Caracas and a few hundred in the eastern Petare district -- far smaller than demonstrations Maduro's camp has mustered in the past.
"I'll march as often as I have to until Nicolas and Cilia come back," demonstrator Soledad Rodriguez, 69, said of the presidential couple who were taken by US forces to New York to face trial on drug-trafficking charges.
"I trust blindly that they will come back -- they have been kidnapped."
Notably absent from the rallies were top figures from the government, which has said it is reviving diplomatic contact with Washington and discussing possible cooperation on US President Donald Trump's oil demands.
Interim president Delcy Rodriguez instead attended an agricultural fair, where she vowed in televised comments she would "not rest for a minute until we have our president back."
The other two hardline powers in the government, Interior Minister and street enforcer Diosdado Cabello, and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, were also not seen at the demos.

Diplomatic maneuvers

Maduro claimed he was "doing well" in jail, his son Nicolas Maduro Guerra said in a video released Saturday by his party.
Despite the shock of his capture during deadly nighttime raids on January 3, signs emerged Friday of cooperation with Washington after Trump's claim to be "in charge" of the South American country.
Rodriguez said Venezuela would deal with the United States through "the diplomatic route," and Washington said US envoys visited Caracas on Friday to discuss reopening their embassy.
The Venezuelan government did not respond when asked by AFP whether the US officials had met with Rodriguez.
She has pledged to cooperate with Trump over his demands for access to Venezuela's huge oil reserves.
But she also moved to placate the powerful pro-Maduro base by insisting Venezuela is not "subordinate" to Washington.
The US embassy in Colombia warned Saturday that "the security situation in Venezuela remains fluid" and advised Americans to leave the country "immediately" as commercial flights become available.

Anxiety over prisoners

Anxious relatives meanwhile camped outside jails, awaiting the promised release of political prisoners.
Rodriguez's camp on Thursday began freeing prisoners jailed under Maduro, saying a "large" number would be released in a gesture of appeasement that Washington took credit for.
"Venezuela has started the process, in a BIG WAY, of releasing their political prisoners. Thank you! I hope those prisoners will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done," Trump posted Saturday night on his Truth Social platform.
However, prisoners' rights groups and the opposition said only 21 people had been released by Saturday evening, including several prominent opposition figures. Rights groups estimate there are 800 to 1,200 political prisoners in Venezuela.
Families held candlelight vigils outside El Rodeo prison east of Caracas, and El Helicoide, a notorious prison run by the intelligence services, displaying signs with the names of their imprisoned relatives.
"I am tired and angry," Nebraska Rivas, 57, told AFP, as she waited for her son to be released from El Rodeo.
"But I have faith that they will hand him over to us soon," she said, after sleeping on the pavement outside the prison for two nights.

Oil talks

Following Maduro's capture, Trump vowed to secure US access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
The White House said Trump has signed an emergency order protecting US-held revenues derived from sales of Venezuelan oil, preventing them from being seized by courts or creditors.
Chevron is currently the only US firm licensed to operate in Venezuela, through a sanctions exemption.
At a White House meeting on Friday, he pressed top oil executives to invest in Venezuela's reserves, but was met with a cautious reception.
Experts say Venezuela's oil infrastructure is creaky after years of mismanagement and sanctions.
bur-rlp/des/acb/des

music

Grateful Dead co-founder and guitarist Bob Weir dies aged 78

  • Lesh died in October 2024 at the age of 84, while McKernan died aged 27 in 1973.
  • American guitarist and songwriter Bob Weir, a founding member of the revolutionary, psychedelic jam band Grateful Dead, has died aged 78, his family announced Saturday.
  • Lesh died in October 2024 at the age of 84, while McKernan died aged 27 in 1973.
American guitarist and songwriter Bob Weir, a founding member of the revolutionary, psychedelic jam band Grateful Dead, has died aged 78, his family announced Saturday.
Weir was diagnosed with cancer in July and had beaten the disease, but "succumbed to underlying lung issues," his family said in a statement on his personal website, without specifying where or when he died.
"For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road," the statement said. "Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music." 
"His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them."
Founded in San Francisco by Weir, Jerry Garcia, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Phil Lesh, and Bill Kreutzmann, the Grateful Dead was one of the leading music groups to emerge from the 1960s counterculture movement.
Known for never performing the same show twice, the group revolutionized fan engagement, as followers -- known as "Deadheads" -- recorded and swapped bootleg tapes of the concerts in a communal, drug-addled camp environment.
The rockers disbanded in 1995, a few months after Garcia's death, but Weir went on to perform in recent years with the group Dead & Company.
Following Weir's death, 79-year-old Kreutzmann became the last living member of the Grateful Dead founders.
Lesh died in October 2024 at the age of 84, while McKernan died aged 27 in 1973.
Weir was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Hame in 1994 as part of the Grateful Dead, and received Kennedy Center Honors with the group in 2024, in the final year of Joe Biden's presidency.
"As we remember Bobby, it's hard not to feel the echo of the way he lived," the family said.
"A man driftin' and dreamin', never worrying if the road would lead him home. A child of countless trees. A child of boundless seas," the family said, quoting the songs "Cassidy" and "Lost Sailor," written by Weir and the late John Perry Barlow.
bur-des/acb

film

'One Battle After Another' heads into Golden Globes as favorite

BY ROMAIN FONSEGRIVES

  • "Sinners," Ryan Coogler's period horror film about the segregated South of the 1930s, is expected to be the toughest competition for "One Battle" at the Oscars. 
  • Hollywood's A-listers are set to hit the red carpet on Sunday for the Golden Globes, with the politically charged "One Battle After Another" expected to solidify its status as the film to beat this awards season.
  • "Sinners," Ryan Coogler's period horror film about the segregated South of the 1930s, is expected to be the toughest competition for "One Battle" at the Oscars. 
Hollywood's A-listers are set to hit the red carpet on Sunday for the Golden Globes, with the politically charged "One Battle After Another" expected to solidify its status as the film to beat this awards season.
With nine nominations, "One Battle" appears a lock to take home the prize for best comedy/musical film.
"We're seeing a real sweep and a juggernaut in that movie," Deadline's awards columnist and chief critic Pete Hammond told AFP, two months ahead of the Oscars.
Paul Thomas Anderson's screwball thriller, which centers on an aging revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his teenage daughter (Chase Infiniti), is a rollicking ride featuring violent leftist radicals, immigration raids and white supremacists.
At a time when the United States is deeply polarized, many critics and pundits have hailed the film as capturing the moment.
DiCaprio will vie for best actor at the Globes -- a sometimes eccentric bellwether for the Academy Awards -- with Timothee Chalamet, who stars in "Marty Supreme" as an ambitious 1950s table tennis player.
"Leonardo DiCaprio would be tremendously helped by actually winning at the Globes. That's the ideal moment to stop Timothee Chalamet's momentum before the Oscars," Hammond said.
Teyana Taylor, who plays an unapologetically bold leftist revolutionary, could fuel a sweep for "One Battle" if she can pick up the prize for best supporting actress.
But in her way are Amy Madigan for her wacky villainous turn in "Weapons" and Ariana Grande for her portrayal of Glinda in the blockbuster "Wicked: For Good."

'Sinners' versus 'Hamnet'

The Golden Globes offer separate awards for dramas and comedies/musicals -- widening the field of stars in attendance, and fueling the suspense. 
"Sinners," Ryan Coogler's period horror film about the segregated South of the 1930s, is expected to be the toughest competition for "One Battle" at the Oscars. 
But at the Globes, they are in separate categories.
"Sinners" surprised moviegoers with its eclectic mix of vampires, politics, race relations and blues music.
It is the frontrunner for the best drama film Globe, against rival "Hamnet," which stars Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare and Jessie Buckley as his grief-stricken wife, as the two cope with the death of their young son.
"Sentimental Value," the Norwegian family dramedy starring Stellan Skarsgard, earned a strong eight nominations and is also in the running.
A "Sinners" victory "would be an indication of a real change," Hammond says, noting that in the past, voters "were never actually that drawn to Black stories."
Buckley is the favorite for best drama actress honors.
The Golden Globes went through a crisis period, following a Los Angeles Times expose in 2021 that showed that the awards' voting body -- the Hollywood Foreign Press Association -- had no Black members.
Now under new ownership, and with the HFPA disbanded, a wider net of overseas critics has been brought in to pick the winners.
"These new voters are less keen on movies that make a lot of money at the box office, and more interested in international movies that are highly praised in Cannes and Venice," Hammond explained.

Prize for Iran's Panahi?

One of those movies is Brazilian thriller "The Secret Agent," and lead actor Wagner Moura is favored to win best drama actor honors over "Sinners" star Michael B. Jordan, according to awards prediction site Gold Derby. 
Skarsgard, a Hollywood stalwart, is poised to take home the award for best supporting actor. 
"The Secret Agent" and "Sentimental Value" will vie for the Globe for best non-English language film with "It Was Just An Accident" from Iranian dissident director Jafar Panahi. 
"The Globes may want to make a statement and give him this prize," Hammond said of Panahi.
The Globes also honor the best in television, with HBO's black comedy anthology "The White Lotus," sci-fi office thriller "Severance" and searing teen murder saga "Adolescence" leading the contenders.
Comedian Nikki Glaser will return as host of the gala in Beverly Hills.
rfo/sst/msp

Greenland

'American? No!' says Greenland after latest Trump threat

BY CAMILLE BAS-WOHLERT

  • "We don't want to be Americans, we don't want to be Danish, we want to be Greenlanders," the leaders of five parties in Greenland's parliament said in a joint statement.
  • Greenland's political parties said they did not want to be under Washington as US President Donald Trump again suggested using force to seize the mineral-rich Danish autonomous territory, raising concern worldwide.
  • "We don't want to be Americans, we don't want to be Danish, we want to be Greenlanders," the leaders of five parties in Greenland's parliament said in a joint statement.
Greenland's political parties said they did not want to be under Washington as US President Donald Trump again suggested using force to seize the mineral-rich Danish autonomous territory, raising concern worldwide.
The statement late Friday came after Trump repeated that Washington was "going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not".
European capitals have been scrambling to come up with a coordinated response after the White House said this week that Trump wanted to buy Greenland and refused to rule out military action.
"We don't want to be Americans, we don't want to be Danish, we want to be Greenlanders," the leaders of five parties in Greenland's parliament said in a joint statement.
"The future of Greenland must be decided by Greenlanders," they added.
"No other country can meddle in this. We must decide our country's future ourselves -- without pressure to make a hasty decision, without procrastination, and without interference from other countries."
France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview published Saturday that Trump's "blackmail must stop".
But he also said he did not believe a US military intervention would happen.
"Greenland is a European territory, placed under the protection of NATO. I would add that the Europeans have very powerful means to defend their interests," he said.

Fears of invasion

According to a poll published Saturday by Danish agency Ritzau, more than 38 percent of Danes think the United States will launch an invasion of Greenland under the Trump administration. 
A Danish colony until 1953, Greenland gained home rule 26 years later and is contemplating eventually loosening its ties with Denmark.
Many Greenlanders remain cautious about making this a reality.
Julius Nielsen, a 48-year-old fisherman in the capital Nuuk, told AFP: "American? No! We were a colony for so many years. We're not ready to be a colony again, to be colonised".
"I really like the idea of us being independent, but I think we should wait. Not for now. Not today," Pitsi Mari, who works in telecoms, told AFP.
"I feel like the United States' interference disrupts all relationships and trust" between Denmark and Greenland, said Inaluk Pedersen, a 21-year-old shop assistant. 
The coalition currently in power is not in favour of a hasty independence.
The only opposition party, Naleraq, which won 24.5 percent of the vote in the 2025 legislative elections, wants to cut ties as quickly as possible but it is also a signatory of the joint declaration.
"It's time for us to start preparing for the independence we have fought for over so many years," said MP Juno Berthelsen in a Facebook post.

Vast natural resources

Denmark and other European allies have voiced shock at Trump's threats on Greenland, a strategic island between North America and the Arctic where the United States has had a military base since World War II.
Trump says controlling the island is crucial for US national security given the rising military activity of Russia and China in the Arctic.
"We're not going to have Russia or China occupy Greenland. That's what they're going to do if we don't," the US president said Friday.
"So we're going to be doing something with Greenland, either the nice way or the more difficult way," he added.
Both Russia and China have increased military activity in the region in recent years, but neither has laid any claim to the vast icy island.
Greenland has also attracted international attention in recent years for its vast natural resources including rare earth minerals and estimates that it could possess huge oil and gas reserves.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that an invasion of Greenland would end "everything", meaning the transatlantic NATO defence pact and the post-World War II security structure.

Flurry of diplomacy

"I'm a fan of Denmark, too, I have to tell you. And you know, they've been very nice to me," Trump said.
"But you know, the fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn't mean that they own the land."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to meet next week with Denmark's foreign minister and representatives from Greenland.
A flurry of diplomacy is under way as Europeans try to head off a crisis while at the same time avoiding the wrath of Trump, who is nearing the end of his first year back in power.
Trump had offered to buy Greenland in 2019 during his first presidential term but was rebuffed.
burs-gv/jj

Global Edition

Argentina wildfire burns over 5,500 hectares: governor

  • The governor of the surrounding Chubut province, Ignacio Torres, said on social media that 5,500 hectares had already burned and warned the next 48 hours would be critical due to adverse weather.
  • A major forest fire in southern Argentina has burned more than 5,500 hectares, authorities said Saturday, as hundreds of firefighters and volunteers battled to contain the blaze threatening small communities.
  • The governor of the surrounding Chubut province, Ignacio Torres, said on social media that 5,500 hectares had already burned and warned the next 48 hours would be critical due to adverse weather.
A major forest fire in southern Argentina has burned more than 5,500 hectares, authorities said Saturday, as hundreds of firefighters and volunteers battled to contain the blaze threatening small communities.
The fire broke out Monday at Puerto Patriada, about 1,700 km (1,050 miles) southwest of Buenos Aires in the Patagonia region, and has since surrounded Epuyen, a town of 2,000 residents.
"There's no way to describe what we're living through. Every five minutes a new fire starts. It's hell," said local resident Flavia Broffoni on Instagram.
The governor of the surrounding Chubut province, Ignacio Torres, said on social media that 5,500 hectares had already burned and warned the next 48 hours would be critical due to adverse weather.
About 3,000 tourists and 15 families have been evacuated and more than 10 homes destroyed.
Nearly 500 personnel are deployed, with reinforcements expected from Cordoba and Chile.
Firefighters in Argentina face growing challenges from climate change, which brings higher temperatures and lower humidity, while having to accept low wages following government spending cuts.
Fires are active in other Patagonian provinces, including Neuquen, Rio Negro and Santa Cruz. The region lost 32,000 hectares to wildfires in early 2025.
nb/rlp/acb

conflict

Venezuelan prisoners smile to hear of Maduro's fall

BY PAULA RAMON

  • "I discreetly told him: 'The one who had to be jailed is now in jail,'" she said, referring to Maduro, who was captured in a deadly US raid a week ago and taken to New York to face trial on drug-trafficking and weapons charges.
  • The prisoner's face lit up when his wife visited and told him that the man responsible for his detention was himself behind bars: Venezuela's deposed leader Nicolas Maduro.
  • "I discreetly told him: 'The one who had to be jailed is now in jail,'" she said, referring to Maduro, who was captured in a deadly US raid a week ago and taken to New York to face trial on drug-trafficking and weapons charges.
The prisoner's face lit up when his wife visited and told him that the man responsible for his detention was himself behind bars: Venezuela's deposed leader Nicolas Maduro.
Like scores of other prisoners' relatives, the wife -- who asked to be identified only as M. out of fear for her husband's safety -- had slept on the ground near the Rodeo I prison, after the interim government promised to release jailed opponents following Maduro's capture by US forces.
Since that announcement on Thursday, fewer than 20 have been freed -- but Friday was a regular visiting day, so M. was able to get inside to see her husband.
"I discreetly told him: 'The one who had to be jailed is now in jail,'" she said, referring to Maduro, who was captured in a deadly US raid a week ago and taken to New York to face trial on drug-trafficking and weapons charges.
On the other side of the glass that separates inmates from visitors, M. said, her husband "smiled happily."
"Don't be afraid, my love, the worst is over," he dared to tell her, despite armed guards looking on.
M. was more cautious -- Venezuela's authoritarian leftist leadership has reneged on prisoner releases in the past.
"I told him to stay calm because you never know," she said.
"We're so close, yet so far."

Joy at Maduro's fall

For years, political detainees and their families avoided discussing the news during the brief weekly visits, strictly monitored by armed guards.
That code was broken this weekend after the government announced it would release "a large number" of prisoners in an apparent gesture to placate Washington.
On Friday, the first visiting day since Maduro's removal, families shared the news as best they could -- some using coded language and metaphors -- about the ousted leader's departure and the promise of prisoner releases.
Prisoners rejoiced upon hearing the news, but outside their relatives were tense on Saturday morning, fearing guards might punish inmates for celebrating.
"You never know if they were beaten or thrown into the time machine," said the sister of another detainee, referring to a punishment cell used in the jail.
"There they lock them up naked, handcuffed, hooded for days or weeks, with very little food, in darkness and without ventilation," she said.
Like other relatives outside the jail, she asked not to be identified out of fear.
A man whose brother-in-law has been jailed for more than five years cautioned: "You have to stay calm and patient" while waiting for the prisoners to be released.
"They will get out, but not like people think. It's not as if they're going to fling the doors open like a bull run."

Hostile reception 

On Saturday, family visits also proceeded as usual, but in smaller groups.
At 7:00 am, relatives brought packages: deodorant, toothpaste, soap and shampoo in labeled plastic bags, plus disinfectant and bleach -- provisions essential for maintaining hygiene in the latrines of tiny cells.
Visiting relatives, who are required to wear white, took turns to walk to the entrance of the prison complex in Guatire, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Caracas.
"They hooded us as always and searched us," said the mother of two detainees.
"I felt they were more hostile today. They must be angry," added the wife of another prisoner.
Some inmates told visitors they could hear the national anthem and hymns sung by families who have held vigils nearby for the past two nights.
"We have to keep going. It gives them strength," said a young woman who arrived Thursday afternoon.
Another woman said her husband looked emaciated when she saw him inside. 
"He had diarrhea for two days. We think they're putting something in the food," she said.
"Who knows? They could poison them."
Another relative interrupted her. "You have to have faith," she said. "It is only a matter of hours."
pr/rlp/msp

trade

Thousands of Irish, French farmers protest EU-Mercosur trade deal

BY PETER MURPHY

  • Farmers on Friday also marched in Poland and blocked roads in France and Belgium as the EU gave the green light to the trade deal.
  • Thousands of farmers in Ireland and France protested Saturday against the European Union's trade deal with the South American bloc Mercosur, a day after EU states approved the treaty despite opposition from some members.
  • Farmers on Friday also marched in Poland and blocked roads in France and Belgium as the EU gave the green light to the trade deal.
Thousands of farmers in Ireland and France protested Saturday against the European Union's trade deal with the South American bloc Mercosur, a day after EU states approved the treaty despite opposition from some members.
In central Ireland, tractors streamed into the roads of Athlone for a demonstration, displaying signs including "Stop EU-Mercosur" and with the European Union flag emblazoned with the words "sell out".
"We have good quality Irish beef and and good standards here, and they don't have the same standards in South American countries," said Trisha Chatterton, a 50-year-old farmer. "There is not a lot of traceability on their beef."
The agreement is widely opposed by farmers for fear it will result in an influx of an extra 99,000 tonnes of cheap beef from South America, disrupting European agriculture.
The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA), Ireland's main farmers' lobby group, called the result "very disappointing".
It said it would "renew" focus on securing a majority against the deal in the European Parliament.
"We expect Irish MEPs to stand behind the farming community and reject the Mercosur deal," said IFA president Francie Gorman in a statement.

Roads blocked in France

In France, police on Saturday ejected farmers occupying a fuel depot near Bordeaux in the south-west.
Later in the day other farmers tried to block road traffic to the port of Le Havre in the north-west. 
Two highways remained blocked Saturday in the south-west of France, farmer unions said.
Farmers on Friday also marched in Poland and blocked roads in France and Belgium as the EU gave the green light to the trade deal.
While the accord has been welcomed by business groups, European farmers have bitterly criticised it.
The deal, more than 25 years in the making, would create one of the world's largest free-trade areas, boosting commerce between the 27-nation EU and the Mercosur bloc comprising Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.
Major Mercosur exports to the EU include agricultural products and minerals, while the EU would export machinery, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals with lowered tariffs applied.
Many European farmers fear their livelihoods will be undercut by a flow of cheaper goods from agricultural giant Brazil and its neighbours.
Such concerns prompted Ireland, France, Poland, Hungary and Austria to vote against the accord.
Earlier this week Irish prime minister Micheal Martin expressed concern that Mercosur beef may not be produced to the EU's strict environmental standards. 
At the Saturday protest, farmers carried signs calling for an "Irexit" and accusing the Latin American bloc's beef exports of not following the same standards.
But wine makers across Europe are generally in favour of the accord, as it promises to enlarge their access to South American markets.
The Mercosur deal still has to be approved by a majority of MEPs in the European Parliament in the coming months, where voting coalitions have become more volatile and unpredictable.
burs-gv/jj

Iran

South Africa defends naval drills with Iran, Russia as 'essential'

  • South Africa drew criticism for hosting naval drills with Russia and China in 2023, coinciding with the first anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
  • South Africa on Saturday began naval drills with Russia, Iran and China, describing the manoeuvres off its coast as not merely a show of force but a vital response to rising maritime tensions. 
  • South Africa drew criticism for hosting naval drills with Russia and China in 2023, coinciding with the first anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
South Africa on Saturday began naval drills with Russia, Iran and China, describing the manoeuvres off its coast as not merely a show of force but a vital response to rising maritime tensions. 
The week‑long 'Will for Peace 2026' exercises come just days after the United States seized a Russian‑flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic, saying it carried crude bound for Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of Western sanctions. 
The seizure followed an American raid that toppled Moscow's ally Nicolas Maduro in Caracas.
The drills -- led by China -- were more than a military exercise and a statement of intent among the BRICS group of emerging nations, Captain Nndwakhulu Thomas Thamaha, South Africa's joint taskforce commander, told the opening Ceremony.  
"It is a demonstration of our collective resolve to work together," he said.
BRICS, originally made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and, more recently, Indonesia. 
China and Iran deployed destroyer warships, while Russia and the United Arab Emirates sent corvette vessels. Host South Africa dispatched a frigate.
Indonesia, Ethiopia and Brazil joined as observers.
"In an increasingly complex maritime environment, cooperation such as this is not an option, it is essential," said Thamaha. 
The exercises were to "ensure the safety of shipping lanes and maritime economic activities," he said. 
Previously known as Exercise Mosi, the drills were initially scheduled for last November but postponed due to a clash with the G20 summit in Johannesburg, boycotted by the United States. 
Washington has accused South Africa and the BRICS bloc of 'anti‑American' policies and warned members they could face an additional 10 percent tariff on top of existing duties already applied worldwide.
South Africa has also drawn US criticism for its close ties with Russia and a range of other policies, including its decision to bring a genocide case against Washington ally Israel at the International Court of Justice over the Gaza war.
South Africa drew criticism for hosting naval drills with Russia and China in 2023, coinciding with the first anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The three nations first conducted joint naval drills in 2019.
ho/cw/cw

drones

North Korea accuses South of another drone incursion

BY HIEUN SHIN

  • Located northwest of Seoul, Ganghwa County is one of the closest South Korean territories to North Korea.
  • North Korea accused the South on Saturday of flying another spy drone over its territory this month, a claim that Seoul denied.
  • Located northwest of Seoul, Ganghwa County is one of the closest South Korean territories to North Korea.
North Korea accused the South on Saturday of flying another spy drone over its territory this month, a claim that Seoul denied.
The North Korean military tracked a drone "moving northwards" over the South Korean border county of Ganghwa in early January before shooting it down near the North Korean city of Kaesong, a spokesperson said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
"Surveillance equipment was installed" on the drone and analysis of the wreckage showed it had stored footage of the North's "important targets" including border areas, the spokesperson said.
Photos of the alleged drone released by KCNA showed the wreckage of a winged craft lying on the ground next to a collection of grey and blue components it said included cameras.
South Korea said it had no record of the flight, and Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said the drone in the photos was "not a model operated by our military".
The office of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said a national security meeting would be held on Saturday to discuss the matter.
Lee had ordered a "swift and rigorous investigation" by a joint military-police investigative team, his office said in a later statement. 
On the possibility that civilians operated the drone, Lee said: "if true, it is a serious crime that threatens peace on the Korean Peninsula and national security".
Located northwest of Seoul, Ganghwa County is one of the closest South Korean territories to North Korea.
KCNA also released aerial images of Kaesong that it said were taken by the drone.
They were "clear evidence" that the aircraft had "intruded into (our) airspace for the purpose of surveillance and reconnaissance", Pyongyang's military spokesperson said.
They added that the incursion was similar to one in September when the South flew drones near its border city of Paju.
Seoul would be forced to "pay a dear price for their unpardonable hysteria" if such flights continued, the spokesperson said.
South Korea is already investigating alleged drone flights over the North in late 2024 ordered by then-President Yoon Suk Yeol. Seoul's military has not confirmed those flights.
Prosecutors have indicted Yoon on charges that he acted illegally in ordering them, hoping to provoke a response from Pyongyang and use it as a pretext for his short-lived bid to impose martial law.

Cheap, commercial drone

Flight-path data showed the latest drone was flying in square patterns over Kaesong before it was shot down, KCNA said.
But experts said the cheap, commercially available model was unlikely to have come from Seoul's armed forces.
"The South Korean military already has drones capable of transmitting high-resolution live feeds," said Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification.
"Using an outdated drone that requires physical retrieval of a memory card, simply to film factory rooftops clearly visible on satellite imagery, does not hold up from a military planning perspective."
hs/mjw/ceg

conflict

Venezuela says in talks with US to restore diplomatic ties

BY JAVIER TOVAR WITH SHAUN TANDON IN WASHINGTON

  • The US president had suggested he might use force again to get his way in Venezuela, which has the world's largest proven oil reserves.
  • Venezuela was set to hold talks on Saturday with US envoys in Caracas on restoring diplomatic ties, days after US forces deposed Nicolas Maduro as its president.
  • The US president had suggested he might use force again to get his way in Venezuela, which has the world's largest proven oil reserves.
Venezuela was set to hold talks on Saturday with US envoys in Caracas on restoring diplomatic ties, days after US forces deposed Nicolas Maduro as its president.
Venezuela said Friday it had launched discussions with US diplomats in the capital, the latest sign of cooperation following the leftist leader's capture and US President Donald Trump's claim to be "in charge" of the South American country.
Officials said the US envoys were in Caracas to discuss reopening the country's embassy, while in Washington Trump met with oil companies over his plans to access Venezuela's huge crude reserves.
The government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez "has decided to initiate an exploratory diplomatic process with the government of the United States of America, aimed at re-establishing diplomatic missions in both countries," Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said in a statement.
John McNamara, the top US diplomat in neighboring Colombia, and other personnel "traveled to Caracas to conduct an initial assessment for a potential phased resumption of operations," a US official said on customary condition of anonymity.
Venezuela said it would be reciprocating by sending a delegation to Washington.
Rodriguez in a statement condemned "the serious, criminal, illegal and illegitimate attack" by the United States and vowed: "Venezuela will continue to confront this aggression through the diplomatic route."

Trump vows oil investments 

Trump said earlier Friday that he had called off a second wave of attacks on Venezuela due in part to the release of political prisoners.
The US president had suggested he might use force again to get his way in Venezuela, which has the world's largest proven oil reserves.
At a White House meeting on Friday, he pressed top oil executives to invest in Venezuela's reserves, but was met with a cautious reception -- with ExxonMobil chief executive Darren Woods dismissing the country as "uninvestable" without sweeping reforms.
Trump said foreign firms had enjoyed no meaningful protections under Maduro, "but now you have total security. It's a whole different Venezuela".
He also stressed that the companies would deal only with Washington, not Caracas, when exploiting Venezuela's oil resources.
Trump earlier said that oil companies promised to invest $100 billion in Venezuela, whose oil infrastructure is creaky after years of mismanagement and sanctions.
He had earlier announced a plan for the United States to sell between 30 million and 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, with the money to be used at his discretion. 
He promised any funds sent to Caracas would be used to buy only US-made products.
In the meanwhile, Washington has maintained maritime pressure on oil tankers in the Caribbean, where it seized a fifth tanker carrying Venezuelan crude -- oil that would be sold, Trump said.
State-owned oil company PDVSA confirmed in a statement that one vessel was returning to Venezuelan waters, describing it as the "first successful joint operation" with Washington.

Prisoners' release

Anxious relatives waited outside Venezuelan jails for a glimpse of their loved ones as the authorities began releasing political prisoners -- a move Washington claimed credit for.
"When I heard the news, I broke down," said Dilsia Caro, 50, waiting for the release of her husband Noel Flores, who was jailed for criticizing Maduro.
Venezuela began releasing prisoners on Thursday in the first such gesture since US forces removed and detained Maduro in the deadly January 3 raid.
Some relatives still gathered outside the prison had waited more than 36 hours to see their family members.
"We've been living with this uncertainty for several days now... We are worried, we are very distressed, filled with anxiety," said one woman, awaiting the release of her brother.
In Nicaragua, meanwhile, authorities have arrested at least 60 people for reportedly expressing support for Maduro's capture, according to a local human rights group. 
Trump told Fox News he would meet next week with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, whom he earlier brushed aside as lacking the "respect" to lead Venezuela.
Exiled Venezuelan opposition figurehead Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia said that any democratic transition in the country must recognize his claim to victory in 2024 presidential elections.
Maduro was proclaimed the winner of the vote, but his re-election was widely seen as fraudulent.
Gonzalez was hoping Friday for the release of his son-in-law, who was detained a year ago in Caracas.

Protests in Caracas 

Maduro was seized in a US special forces raid accompanied by airstrikes, operations that left 100 people dead, according to Caracas.
US forces took Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores to New York to face trial on drug-trafficking and other charges.
Rodriguez insisted Thursday her country was "not subordinate or subjugated" despite her pledge to cooperate with Trump.
Angry protesters rallied in the streets of Caracas on Friday demanding Maduro's release in the latest of a daily series of demonstrations.
"We don't have to give one little drop of oil to Trump after all that he has done to us," said one protester, Josefina Castro, 70, a member of a civil activists' group.
"Our Venezuelan brothers died (in the attack), and that hurts."
bur-rlp/sla/jgc/lga/ceg

landslide

'Racing against time': Death toll rises after Philippines trash site collapse

BY PAM CASTRO

  • "Every now and then, when it rains, there are landslides happening around the city of Cebu ... how much more (dangerous is that) for a landfill or a mountain that is made of garbage?"
  • Hard hat-wearing rescue workers and backhoes dug through rubble in search of survivors on Saturday in the shadow of a mountain of garbage that buried dozens of landfill employees in the central Philippines, killing at least six.
  • "Every now and then, when it rains, there are landslides happening around the city of Cebu ... how much more (dangerous is that) for a landfill or a mountain that is made of garbage?"
Hard hat-wearing rescue workers and backhoes dug through rubble in search of survivors on Saturday in the shadow of a mountain of garbage that buried dozens of landfill employees in the central Philippines, killing at least six.
About 50 sanitation workers were buried when refuse toppled onto them Thursday from what a city councillor estimated was a height of 20 storeys at the Binaliw Landfill, a privately operated facility in Cebu City.
Rescuers were now facing the danger of further collapse as they navigated the still-shifting wreckage, Cebu rescuer Jo Reyes told AFP on Saturday.
"Operations are ongoing as of the moment. It is continuous. (But) from time to time, the landfill is moving, and that will temporarily stop the operation," she said. 
Cebu City councillor Dave Tumulak, chairman of the city's disaster council, told AFP another two bodies had been uncovered Saturday by crews working in 24-hour shifts.
The discovery brings the death toll to six, while 32 people remain missing.
"We found another two bodies, but we cannot retrieve the bodies because of the heavy metal beam that fell on them, so we are trying to cut the metal," he said.
To assist in the rescue operation, 20 trucks equipped with hydraulic cranes and specialised cutting attachments were being sent to help rescuers forced to crawl to reach areas blocked by debris.
"Our rescuers are struggling because the metal beams are big," he said. "With (the trucks), the metal can be lifted and our rescuers can navigate the site more efficiently.
"We are just hoping that we can get someone alive ... We are racing against time, that's why our deployment is 24/7."
Twelve employees have so far been pulled alive from the garbage and hospitalised.

'Praying for miracles'

Numerous families were on site awaiting word on the fate of their relatives, Joel Garganera, another Cebu City council member, told AFP on Saturday.
"We are hoping against hope here and praying for miracles," he said.
The city councillor described the height from which the trash fell as "alarming", estimating the top of the pile had stood 20 storeys above the area struck.
"Every now and then, when it rains, there are landslides happening around the city of Cebu ... how much more (dangerous is that) for a landfill or a mountain that is made of garbage?" Garganera said.
"The garbage is like a sponge, they really absorb water. It doesn't (take) a rocket scientist to say that eventually, the incident will happen."
Drivers had long complained about the dangers of navigating the steep road to the top, he added.
Photos released by police on Friday showed a massive mound of trash atop a hill directly behind buildings that a city information officer had told AFP contained administrative offices.
The facility also included staff housing "where most people who were buried stayed", Garganera said.
He noted that the disaster was a "double whammy" for the city, as the facility was the "lone service provider" for Cebu and adjacent communities.
The landfill "processes 1,000 tons of municipal solid waste daily", according to the website of its operator, Prime Integrated Waste Solutions.
Calls and emails to the company have so far gone unreturned.
Rita Cogay, who operates a compactor at the site, told AFP on Friday she had stepped outside to get a drink of water just moments before the building she had been in was crushed.
"I thought a helicopter had crashed. But when I turned, it was the garbage and the building coming down," the 49-year-old said. 
pam-cwl/mtp