conflict

Zelensky hopes for security guarantees plan in looming US talks

Global Edition

Iran protest movement subsides in face of 'brutal' crackdown

BY STUART WILLIAMS

  • People started pouring into the streets in big cities from January 8 but authorities immediately enforced a shutdown of the internet that has lasted over a week and activists say is aimed at masking the scale of the crackdown.
  • Protests in Iran have subsided after a crackdown that has killed thousands under an internet blackout, monitors said Friday, a week after the start of the largest demonstrations in years challenging the country's theocratic system.
  • People started pouring into the streets in big cities from January 8 but authorities immediately enforced a shutdown of the internet that has lasted over a week and activists say is aimed at masking the scale of the crackdown.
Protests in Iran have subsided after a crackdown that has killed thousands under an internet blackout, monitors said Friday, a week after the start of the largest demonstrations in years challenging the country's theocratic system.
The son of Iran's late shah, however, said he was confident the Islamic republic would fall and called for intervention, though the threat of new military action by the United States against Iran has appeared to have receded for the time being.
Protests sparked by economic grievances started with a shutdown in the Tehran bazaar on December 28 but turned into a mass movement demanding the removal of the clerical system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 revolution.
People started pouring into the streets in big cities from January 8 but authorities immediately enforced a shutdown of the internet that has lasted over a week and activists say is aimed at masking the scale of the crackdown.
The "brutal" repression has "likely suppressed the protest movement for now", said the US-based Institute for the Study of War, which has monitored the protest activity.
But it added: "The regime's widespread mobilisation of security forces is unsustainable, however, which makes it possible that protests could resume."
Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's late shah, told a news conference in Washington that "The Islamic republic will fall -- not if, but when." 
"I will return to Iran," he said.
Norway-based rights group Iran Human Rights (IHR) says 3,428 protesters have been verified to have been killed by security forces, but warns the actual toll could be several times higher.
Other estimates place the death toll at more than 5,000 -- and possibly as high as 20,000 -- with the internet blackout severely hampering independent verification, IHR said.
The opposition Iran International channel based outside the country has said at least 12,000 people were killed during the protests, citing senior government and security sources.  
IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam cited "horrifying eyewitness accounts" received by IHR of "protesters being shot dead while trying to flee, the use of military-grade weapons and the street execution of wounded protesters".

'Give Iran a chance'

Monitor Netblocks said that the "total internet blackout" in Iran had now lasted over 180 hours, longer than a similar measure that was imposed during 2019 protests.
Amnesty International said this was being backed up by the use of heavily armed patrols and checkpoints to crush "the nationwide popular uprising in Iran" with security forces visible in the streets.
Trump, who backed and joined Israel's 12-day war against Iran in June, had not ruled out new military action against Tehran and made clear he was keeping a close eye on if any protesters were executed.
But a senior Saudi official told AFP on Thursday that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led "a long, frantic, diplomatic last-minute effort to convince President Trump to give Iran a chance to show good intention".
While Washington appeared to have stepped back, the White House said Thursday that "all options remain on the table for the president".
Attention had focused on the fate of a single protester, Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old who rights activists and Washington said was set to be executed as early as Wednesday.
The Iranian judiciary confirmed Soltani was under arrest but said he had not been sentenced to death and his charges meant he did not risk capital punishment. 
Rights groups have estimated up to 20,000 people have been arrested. Security officials cited by the Tasnim news agency on Friday said around 3,000 people were arrested.

'All Iranians united'

The US Treasury on Thursday announced new sanctions targeting Iranian officials including Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme Council for National Security.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meanwhile held telephone talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in what the Kremlin described as "efforts to facilitate de-escalation".
Despite the internet shutdown, new videos from the height of the protests, with locations verified by AFP, showed bodies lined up in the Kahrizak morgue south of Tehran, as distraught relatives searched for loved ones.
At the UN Security Council in New York, Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad, invited to address the body by Washington, said "all Iranians are united" against the clerical system in Iran. 
Iran's representative at the meeting Gholamhossein Darzi accused Washington of "exploitation of peaceful protests for geopolitical purposes."
sjw/jsa/amj

conflict

Former Ukraine PM Tymoshenko released on bail in graft probe

  • Prosecutors claimed Tymoshenko divulged details of a cash-for-votes scheme to another member of parliament and that payments were $10,000 a month.
  • A court in Kyiv released former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on bail on Friday pending a trial to determine whether she paid members of Ukraine's parliament to sway their voting.
  • Prosecutors claimed Tymoshenko divulged details of a cash-for-votes scheme to another member of parliament and that payments were $10,000 a month.
A court in Kyiv released former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on bail on Friday pending a trial to determine whether she paid members of Ukraine's parliament to sway their voting.
The 65-year-old stalwart of Ukrainian politics, who has denied the charges and said the case is politically motivated, served as prime minister twice after 2005.
After losing the 2010 presidential election to pro-Russian figure Viktor Yanukovych, she was jailed for abuse of office -- a case her backers, rights groups and Western governments said was political retribution.
The anti-corruption court on Friday set bail at around $762,000, an AFP journalist reported from the session, barred Tymoshenko from leaving the capital without permission and ordered her to hand over her passport. 
Prosecutors claimed Tymoshenko divulged details of a cash-for-votes scheme to another member of parliament and that payments were $10,000 a month.
Tymoshenko appeared in court in her trademark crown braid and described the allegations as a "provocation".
NABU "was carrying out a political order specifically to discredit me," she said.
In court, Tymoshenko said she was unable to post bail herself because her bank accounts had been frozen. Local media reported she was given five days to pay.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago, political campaigning has been largely on hold as Ukraine banned elections under martial law and the country rallied behind the war effort.
But a string of sweeping corruption scandals has rocked the war-torn country in the past months, forcing government ministers as well as President Volodymyr Zelensky's top aide, Andriy Yermak, out of office.
Ukraine has long been plagued by corruption and cracking down on graft is seen as a key requirement of its bid to join the European Union.
bur-jbr/mmp/cw

conflict

Zelensky hopes for security guarantees plan in looming US talks

BY DARIA ANDRIIEVSKA

  • He urged both European allies and the United States to increase deliveries. 
  • President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that he hopes Ukraine will sign agreements with the United States next week on a plan to end Russia's invasion but lashed out at slow ammunition deliveries from abroad. 
  • He urged both European allies and the United States to increase deliveries. 
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that he hopes Ukraine will sign agreements with the United States next week on a plan to end Russia's invasion but lashed out at slow ammunition deliveries from abroad. 
US President Donald Trump has been pushing for a halt to the war and has pressured Ukraine to accept peace terms that Kyiv has likened to capitulation to Russia. 
Key sticking points remain between Kyiv and Washington, and Ukraine has been seeking clarity from allies about what security guarantees it will receive as part of the plan, which it believes are vital to deter Russia from invading again.
Zelensky told reporters, including AFP, that Ukrainian negotiators were on their way to the US for more talks. 
He spoke as Russian strikes have left thousands without heating in Kyiv for days in temperatures as low as -15C. The capital's mayor Vitaliy Klitschko ordered schools to be shut until February for the "safety of children". 
The Ukrainian president said he expected "clarity both regarding the documents we have already effectively prepared with the American side and regarding Russia's response to all the diplomatic work that is underway."
"If everything is finalised and if there is agreement from the American side -- because on our side, in principle, I believe we're done -- then signing during Davos will be possible," he added, referring to The World Economic Forum next week.

Air defence depleted

Zelensky also conceded problems with Ukrainian air defence systems at a critical moment in the war.    
Some air defence systems supplied to Ukraine by Western allies had run out of ammunition amid a wave of Russian attacks that have devastated his country's energy infrastructure, he said.
Kyiv says more than 15,000 energy workers are racing in sub-zero temperatures to restore power plants and substations battered over recent days by hundreds of Russian drones and missiles.
Zelensky has repeatedly called on allies to beef up Ukraine's air defence systems to shield vital civilian infrastructure facilities from daily Russian bombardments.
"Until this morning we had several systems without missiles. Today I can say this openly because today I have those missiles," Zelensky told a press conference in Kyiv. 
The attacks have spurred urgent humanitarian concerns, with millions of Ukrainians suffering long periods without electricity and heating during a cold snap where temperatures have dropped to -20C in some parts of the country.   
The Kremlin claims its forces only target military facilities. 
When it has bombed Ukrainian power plants in previous years, it has blamed civilians' hardships on Kyiv and its refusal to accept Russian peace demands.  
AFP journalists in Kyiv -- one of the worst hit cities -- have seen chaos at intersections where traffic lights are off, shops and restaurants closed, and residents warming up and charging phones in emergency tents set up by the state. 
Ukraine relies on its Western partners for several vital advanced air defence systems -- including US-made Patriot batteries.  
But Zelensky said during a press conference with Czech President Petr Pavel that all of those units "require constant supplies of missiles". 
He urged both European allies and the United States to increase deliveries. 
"We received a substantial package in the morning. It's in Ukraine now and we can talk about it," Zelensky said. 
"But it comes at such cost -- through effort, blood, people's lives," the Ukrainian leader added.

'Energy terror'

After nearly four years of fighting, Russian forces are both pummelling Ukrainian cities and steadily advancing across the sprawling front line. 
On Friday, Moscow said its forces captured two more villages in the eastern Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Russian bombardments meanwhile killed two people in the central industrial city of Nikopol, local Ukrainian officials announced.
In Kyiv, the government is still scrambling to respond to one of the worst and most prolonged energy outages since Russia invaded.
"Russia is betting that it can break us through energy terror," Ukraine's new energy minister, Denys Shmygal, told parliament on Friday. 
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced that the government had fuel reserves for 20 days.
Meanwhile Kyiv is easing strict curfew rules that were put in place at the beginning of Russia's invasion in February 2022 to allow Ukrainians to access emergency hubs providing heating and electricity.
Shmygal earlier on Friday ordered state companies to ratchet up their own electricity imports from abroad to help ease the load on consumers. 
bur-jbr-oc/asy/rh

diplomacy

Machado vows to be Venezuela president 'when the right time comes'

BY BEN SHEPPARD

  • "I believe I will be elected when the right time comes as president of Venezuela, the first woman president," Machado told Fox News's Fox & Friends show broadcast Friday after she met with Trump in Washington.
  • Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has insisted she will be elected president "when the right time comes" despite the United States sidelining her after overthrowing Nicolas Maduro.
  • "I believe I will be elected when the right time comes as president of Venezuela, the first woman president," Machado told Fox News's Fox & Friends show broadcast Friday after she met with Trump in Washington.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has insisted she will be elected president "when the right time comes" despite the United States sidelining her after overthrowing Nicolas Maduro.
President Donald Trump has backed Maduro's former vice president Delcy Rodriguez as interim leader of the oil-rich country following the January 3 US military operation to seize Maduro.
"I believe I will be elected when the right time comes as president of Venezuela, the first woman president," Machado told Fox News's Fox & Friends show broadcast Friday after she met with Trump in Washington.
Machado's party has presented evidence that Maduro stole the 2024 election -- claims supported by Washington and much of the international community.
But Trump has said that Machado does not have enough support among Venezuelans, and opted to stick with Rodriguez, so long as she toes the line on US access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
"I want to serve my country where I am more useful. I got a mandate, and I have that mandate," Machado told Fox.

Nobel medal

Machado, 58, on Thursday presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump in a bid to win over the US president.
"He deserves it," she said. "And it was a very emotional moment, I decided to present the Nobel Peace Prize medal on behalf of the people of Venezuela."
It was not immediately clear if Trump kept the award following their White House lunch. The Norwegian Nobel committee says its prizes cannot be transferred.
Trump had campaigned hard to win last year's Nobel Peace Prize for what he says are his efforts to stop eight wars.
Instead it went to Machado, who appeared in Oslo last month to collect her prize -- following a daring escape from Venezuela by boat.
Trump and Rodriguez had their first telephone call on Wednesday and the White House said he "likes what he's seeing" from her.
Rodriguez said however that her government will stand up to Washington.
"We know they are very powerful... we are not afraid to confront them diplomatically, through political dialogue," she said Thursday.
Rodriguez was delivering Maduro's state of the nation address to parliament while the long-time authoritarian leader is in a New York jail facing drug trafficking charges.
By contrast Machado, who campaigned for years to end leftist Maduro's rule, was greeted by jubilant supporters in Washington.
The New York Times reported that CIA director John Ratcliffe met with Rodriguez on Thursday, a further sign that Washington sees her as its favored leader in the short-term.
burs-bgs/md

US

US congress members visit Denmark to support Greenland

BY WITH JONATHAN KLEIN IN NUUK

  • Military personnel were more visible in Nuuk on Friday, according to an AFP journalist, days after Denmark said it was beefing up its defence on the island. 
  • A bipartisan US Congress delegation began a visit to Copenhagen on Friday to voice support for Denmark and Greenland after US President Donald Trump threatened to take over the Arctic island, an autonomous Danish territory.
  • Military personnel were more visible in Nuuk on Friday, according to an AFP journalist, days after Denmark said it was beefing up its defence on the island. 
A bipartisan US Congress delegation began a visit to Copenhagen on Friday to voice support for Denmark and Greenland after US President Donald Trump threatened to take over the Arctic island, an autonomous Danish territory.
The two-day visit comes alongside a European show of support in the form of a military reconnaissance mission to Greenland.
The 11 congressmen and women were to hold talks with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
The group arrived at the Danish employers' association Dansk Industri around midday for discussions with business leaders.
They were due later to meet members of the Danish parliament, over which the Greenlandic flag was raised on Friday in a show of unity.
"We are showing bipartisan solidarity with the people of this country and with Greenland. They've been our friends and allies for decades," Democratic Senator Dick Durbin told reporters.
"We want them to know we appreciate that very much. And the statements being made by the president do not reflect what the American people feel," he added of Trump.
An AFP reporter in Copenhagen saw a large black van leave Frederiksen's office shortly before noon (1100 GMT) on Friday but her office declined to confirm whether the meeting had taken place.
The delegation's visit follows a meeting in Washington on Wednesday at which Danish representatives said Copenhagen and Washington were in "fundamental disagreement" over the future of Greenland.
In Greenland's capital Nuuk, residents welcomed the show of support.
"(US) Congress would never approve of a military action in Greenland. It's just one idiot speaking," a 39-year-old union representative told AFP.
"If he does it, he'll get impeached or kicked out. If people in Congress want to save their own democracy, they have to step up," said the union rep, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Demonstrations

Trump claims the United States needs mineral-rich Greenland and has criticised Denmark for, he says, not doing enough to ensure its security.
The US president has pursued that argument, despite strategically located Greenland -- as part of Denmark -- being covered by NATO's security umbrella.
Military personnel were more visible in Nuuk on Friday, according to an AFP journalist, days after Denmark said it was beefing up its defence on the island. 
"I don't think troops in Europe impact the president's decision-making process, nor does it impact his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen retorted that a US acquisition of Greenland was "out of the question".
The European troop deployment in Greenland for a military exercise is aimed at "sending a signal" to "everyone", including the United States, that European countries are determined to "defend (their) sovereignty", French armed forces minister Alice Rufo said.
Britain, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have announced the deployment of small numbers of military personnel to prepare for future exercises in the Arctic. 
"A first team of French service members is already on site and will be reinforced in the coming days with land, air and maritime assets," French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.
Large demonstrations are planned across Denmark and Greenland on Saturday to protest against Trump's territorial ambitions.
Thousands of people have taken to social networks to say they intend to take part in the protests organised by Greenlandic associations in Nuuk and Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense.
In addition to Durbin, the US delegation included Democratic senators Chris Coons, Jeanne Shaheen and Peter Welch, as well as Republicans Lisa Murkowski and Thom Tillis.
Democrats from the House of Representatives in the delegation are Madeleine Dean, Steny Hoyer, Sara Jacobs, Sarah McBride and Gregory Meeks.
jll-ef-phy/po/gil

US

US congress members in Denmark in support of Greenland

  • Their visit came two days after a meeting in Washington where Copenhagen said Denmark and the United States were in  "fundamental disagreement" over the future of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark. 
  • A US bipartisan congressional delegation kicked off a visit to Copenhagen on Friday to express support for Denmark and Greenland after President Donald Trump's threats to take over the Arctic island.
  • Their visit came two days after a meeting in Washington where Copenhagen said Denmark and the United States were in  "fundamental disagreement" over the future of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark. 
A US bipartisan congressional delegation kicked off a visit to Copenhagen on Friday to express support for Denmark and Greenland after President Donald Trump's threats to take over the Arctic island.
The 11 congressmen and women were to hold talks with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen, among others.
Their visit came two days after a meeting in Washington where Copenhagen said Denmark and the United States were in  "fundamental disagreement" over the future of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark. 
An AFP reporter in Copenhagen saw a large black van leave Frederiksen's office shortly before noon (1100 GMT) on Friday, but her office would not confirm whether the meeting had taken place.
The US delegation was also due to meet with Danish members of parliament.
The group arrived at the offices of the Danish employers' association Dansk Industri around midday for a meeting with business leaders.
"We are showing bipartisan solidarity with the people of this country and with Greenland. They've been our friends and allies for decades,"  Democratic Senator Dick Durbin told reporters.
"We want them to know we appreciate that very much. And the statements being made by the president do not reflect what the American people feel," he added.
Trump has insisted the US needs strategically-located Greenland and has criticised Denmark for not doing enough to ensure its security.
The US president has pursued that argument, despite Greenland -- as part of Denmark -- being covered by NATO's security umbrella.
In addition to Durbin, the US delegation is made up of Democratic senators Chris Coons, Peter Welch and Jeanne Shaheen, as well as Republicans Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski.
Democrats from the House of Representatives in the delegation are Steny Hoyer, Gregory Meeks, Madeleine Dean, Sara Jacobs and Sarah McBride.  
The group will be in Copenhagen on Friday and Saturday, before heading to the World Economic Forum in Davos. 
jll-ef/po

music

Spanish singer Julio Iglesias says abuse allegations 'absolutely false'

BY MARTIN DE MONTVALON

  • Two women -- a domestic worker and a physiotherapist -- allege they suffered sexual and other forms of abuse while working at Iglesias's properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021.
  • Spain's veteran singer and cultural icon Julio Iglesias on Friday rejected allegations of sexual abuse lodged against him by two women ex-employees, in a case that has dominated headlines.
  • Two women -- a domestic worker and a physiotherapist -- allege they suffered sexual and other forms of abuse while working at Iglesias's properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021.
Spain's veteran singer and cultural icon Julio Iglesias on Friday rejected allegations of sexual abuse lodged against him by two women ex-employees, in a case that has dominated headlines.
"I deny having abused, coerced, or disrespected any woman. These accusations are absolutely false and deeply sadden me," the 82-year-old wrote on his Instagram account.
Iglesias, one of the most successful Latin artists of all time, is a Grammy winner with more than 300 million records sold in a career spanning decades.
Two women -- a domestic worker and a physiotherapist -- allege they suffered sexual and other forms of abuse while working at Iglesias's properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021.
Advocacy groups Women's Link Worldwide and Amnesty International said a complaint filed with Spanish prosecutors on January 5 outlined alleged acts that could be considered "a crime of human trafficking for the purpose of forced labour" and "crimes against sexual freedom".
Iglesias subjected them to "sexual harassment, regularly checked their mobile phones, restricted their ability to leave the home where they worked, and required them to work up to 16 hours a day without days off", according to testimony collected by the two groups.
In his Instagram message, Iglesias wrote: "It is with profound sadness that I respond to the accusations made by two people who previously worked for me."
"I have never felt such malice, but I still have the strength to let people know the whole truth and to defend my dignity against such a serious accusation," he said, thanking the "so many dear people" who have sent him messages of support.

Strong reactions

The allegations against the beloved crooner have sparked strong reactions in Spain after being aired on Tuesday in a joint investigation by Spanish newspaper elDiario.es and US television network Univision.
Members of the leftist government have backed the complainants and demanded an investigation to establish the truth.
The head of the conservative opposition Popular Party, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who is friends with Iglesias, told Telecinco television on Wednesday he was "very, very, very surprised" but urged against "speculating".
Iglesias has publicly embraced a "Latin lover" image, especially in older interviews where he openly discussed his sexual appetite and romantic exploits.
Iglesias's former manager Fernan Martinez told Telecinco that he was "very affectionate" and enjoyed "physical contact" but stressed he never saw the music icon "behave aggressively".
Women's Link Worldwide has said the complainants will testify at an unspecified date before Spanish prosecutors, who have up to a year to perform a preliminary investigation.
The complaint was submitted in Spain and not the Caribbean countries where the crimes allegedly took place because of Spanish legislation on gender-based violence and trafficking, the organisation added.
Advocates say the wave of claims against high-profile entertainment and music figures in recent years, driven by the #MeToo movement that rose to prominence in 2017, has exposed systemic abuse.
mdm/imm/yad

genocide

Myanmar tells ICJ Rohingya genocide claims 'unsubstantiated'

BY RICHARD CARTER

  • "These attacks were the reasons for the clearance operations, which is a military term referring to counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism operations," added Hlaing.
  • Myanmar on Friday dismissed as "unsubstantiated" allegations that it committed genocide against its Rohingya minority, telling the International Court of Justice that its brutal crackdown was a "counter-terrorism operation."
  • "These attacks were the reasons for the clearance operations, which is a military term referring to counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism operations," added Hlaing.
Myanmar on Friday dismissed as "unsubstantiated" allegations that it committed genocide against its Rohingya minority, telling the International Court of Justice that its brutal crackdown was a "counter-terrorism operation."
Myanmar is defending itself at the United Nations top court from accusations brought by The Gambia that its actions against the Rohingya breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
"This case will be decided on the basis of proven facts, not unsubstantiated allegations. Emotional language and blurry factual pictures are not a substitute for a rigorous presentation of facts," Ko Ko Hlaing, a minister in the president's office, told the court.
Myanmar has always maintained the 2017 crackdown by its armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, was justified to root out Rohingya insurgents after a series of attacks left a dozen security personnel dead.
"Myanmar was not obliged to remain idle and allow terrorists to have free reign of northern Rakhine states," Hlaing told the judges.
"These attacks were the reasons for the clearance operations, which is a military term referring to counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism operations," added Hlaing.
Judges are hearing three weeks of evidence before deciding whether Myanmar was in breach of the Genocide Convention with its violent actions against the Rohingya.
Under this convention, any state can drag any other before the ICJ, which settles disputes between countries, if it believes a breach has occurred.
A final decision could take months or even years, and while the ICJ has no means of enforcing its decisions, a ruling in favour of The Gambia would heap more political pressure on Myanmar.
"A finding of genocide would place an indelible stain on my country and its people," said Hlaing.
"These proceedings are of the fundamental importance for my country's reputation and future."
- 'Genocidal intent' 
Before Myanmar took the stand, representatives from The Gambia laid bare days of harrowing evidence about the crackdown, including mass rape, indiscriminate murder, and torture.
The Rohingya were "targeted for destruction", The Gambia's justice minister told the judges.
"When the court considers... all of the evidence taken together, the only reasonable conclusion to reach is that a genocidal intent permeated and informed Myanmar's myriad of state-led actions against the Rohingya," said Philippe Sands, arguing for The Gambia.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled violence by the Myanmar army and Buddhist militias, escaping to neighbouring Bangladesh and bringing harrowing accounts of mass atrocities.
Today, 1.17 million Rohingya live crammed into dilapidated camps spread over 8,000 acres in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh.
"Let me also clear that Myanmar is committed to achieving the repatriation to Myanmar of persons from Rakhine State currently living in camps in Bangladesh," said Hlaing.
Legal experts are watching proceedings closely as it may give clues for how the court will handle similar accusations against Israel over its military campaign in Gaza, in a case brought to the ICJ by South Africa.
The ICJ hearings wrap up on January 29. Judges will hear evidence from victims in a closed session before both sides make final statements.
The ICJ is not the only court looking into possible genocide against the Rohingya -- other cases are underway at the International Criminal Court and in Argentina under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
ric/st

politics

Experts cast doubt on Burkina Faso's 'foiled coup'

  • "We have a foiled plot around every four to six months," said another Burkinabe analyst.
  • Burkina Faso said this month it had foiled an assassination attempt on military leader Captain Ibrahim Traore, but analysts -- sceptical after a long series of increasingly unbelievable plots -- wondered if the junta has cried wolf too many times. 
  • "We have a foiled plot around every four to six months," said another Burkinabe analyst.
Burkina Faso said this month it had foiled an assassination attempt on military leader Captain Ibrahim Traore, but analysts -- sceptical after a long series of increasingly unbelievable plots -- wondered if the junta has cried wolf too many times. 
If the supposed plot, which the military said was to take place on January 3, had succeeded, it would have been the chronically unstable west African country's third coup in four years.
State TV spent the next four days airing nightly "confessions" by the alleged conspirators, as the junta called it the "umpteenth time" its enemies have attempted to destabilise the country.
But some analysts remain unconvinced.
"It's the same every time: they announce they've foiled a coup d'etat, and each scenario is more unbelievable than the last," said a Burkinabe journalist and political analyst.
But "there have been zero trials, zero convictions," he added, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, in a country where those critical of the junta risk its repressive wrath.
"This time, they're saying it was a discount coup, financed for just 70 million CFA francs ($120,000)... Previously, they've talked about financing of more than five billion."
It would not be the first time the junta has resorted to peculiar means of self-promotion.
Last year, their supporters spread videos that had gone viral on social media of world-famous figures -- the pope, Beyonce, Justin Bieber, disgraced R&B star R. Kelly -- praising Traore as a fantastic leader.
It turned out the videos had been generated by artificial intelligence.

The plot

According to the junta, the mastermind behind the alleged assassination plot was former lieutenant-colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who is in exile in Togo.
Damiba ousted president Roch Marc Christian Kabore in a January 2022 coup, but was himself deposed eight months later in the coup that brought Traore to power.
Burkina Faso's security minister said Damiba and his co-conspirators had planned a series of "targeted assassinations" of civilian and military authorities on January 3, "starting with the neutralisation of comrade Ibrahim Traore".
He accused neighbouring Ivory Coast, which has strained relations with Burkina Faso's military government, of financing the plot.
A series of alleged conspirators were paraded before state television's cameras to make "confessions".
Alleged "key player" Mady Sakande, presented as a businessman, said he had travelled to Ivory Coast to collect the money for the plan.
Army Captain Prosper Couldiati said he had been assigned to decapitate the commander of the Sapone drone base outside the capital, Ouagadougou, to prevent an aerial response.
And Sergeant First Class Salfo Yalweogo of the Republican Guard said Damiba had contacted him to "mobilise men" for a coup.

'Crying wolf'

The junta has repeatedly pointed the finger at Ivory Coast, which has denied the accusations.
"We have a foiled plot around every four to six months," said another Burkinabe analyst.
"Each time, it's an occasion for mobilising and revitalising support for the head of state. But be careful: cry wolf too many times, and people end up not believing you."
The effect may be wearing thin in Burkina Faso, which has other problems, including a long-running jihadist insurgency.
"When this destabilisation attempt was announced, support for the junta rallied. But not with the same fervour as before," said one Ouagadougou resident.
Nina Wilen, head of the Africa programme at the Brussels-based Egmont research institute, called the junta's latest coup allegation "very improbable".
"Disinformation is omnipresent in Burkina Faso, and Captain Traore's team is particularly good at spreading rumours and fake news," she said.
bur-bdi/pid/jhb/rh/st

politics

Trump threatens to invoke Insurrection Act over Minnesota protests

BY ROBERTO SCHMIDT

  • Noem told reporters at a White House press briefing Thursday that it's up to Trump if he decides to invoke the law. 
  • US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an emergency law that allows the domestic deployment of the military, after federal agents killed one person and injured another in Minnesota, sparking mass protests.
  • Noem told reporters at a White House press briefing Thursday that it's up to Trump if he decides to invoke the law. 
US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an emergency law that allows the domestic deployment of the military, after federal agents killed one person and injured another in Minnesota, sparking mass protests.
Protesters have denounced the aggressive tactics of Trump's broad-reaching immigration raids in rallies in the Midwestern city, which is a Democratic stronghold.
Federal agents fired their weapons in two separate incidents, wounding a man from Venezuela Wednesday and killing an American woman last week.
The Insurrection Act allows a president sidestep the Posse Comitatus Act to suppress "armed rebellion" or "domestic violence" and use the armed forces "as he considers necessary" to enforce the 19th century law.
"If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don't obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of ICE, who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT," Trump warned on Truth Social.
Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz accused federal agents of waging "a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota," in a video posted to X Wednesday night. 
In the short clip, Walz noted a number of violent incidents, including "breaking windows, dragging pregnant women down the street," and the January 7 killing of 37-year-old Renee Good as examples.
"We must protest loudly, urgently, but also peacefully," Walz said, calling on Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to "end this occupation."
Walz also urged people to record any interaction they may have with ICE for future prosecution. 
Noem told reporters at a White House press briefing Thursday that it's up to Trump if he decides to invoke the law. 
Demonstrations against ICE in Minneapolis have stretched into the night in recent days and protesters have clashed with federal agents, who have deployed pepper spray and tear gas to disperse crowds.

Shots fired

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said the shooting late Wednesday resulted from a struggle between an ICE agent and a man he was trying to apprehend.
"During the struggle, the federal agent discharged his weapon, striking one adult male," O'Hara told a press conference.
Amid the tussle, two people emerged from a nearby residence and attacked the federal agent with a snow shovel and a broom handle, the Department of Homeland Security said, identifying the wounded man as an illegal immigrant from Venezuela.
The man suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his leg and was taken to hospital, while the two others were taken into custody, officials said.
The Insurrection Act was last invoked in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush at the request of the Republican governor of California, who was facing unprecedented riots in Los Angeles following the acquittal of police officers who had beaten Rodney King, a Black motorist, the previous year.
Senior White House official Stephen Miller on Thursday accused Minnesota officials of "deliberately, willfully and purposefully" inciting a "violent insurrection."
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt also lashed out at journalists, saying "media is absolutely complicit in this violence."
But concerns about the tactics used by ICE are not limited to incidents of violent street enforcement and have raised questions about inadequate training and oversight of agents.
Mexican authorities said Thursday they were also seeking details about the death of one of their citizens at an ICE facility in the southern state of Georgia this week.
ICE broke its record for people dying in detention in 2025 with 30 deaths, according to data released by the agency. 
The number of people detained in recent years has similarly increased.
dw/lga/ane/jm

unrest

South Korean ex-leader jailed for 5 years in first martial law verdict

BY CLAIRE LEE AND HIEUN SHIN

  • On Friday, Judge Baek Dae-hyun at Seoul's Central District Court said he found Yoon guilty of obstruction of justice by blocking investigators from detaining him.
  • A South Korean judge sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday to five years in prison for obstructing justice and other crimes linked to his disastrous martial law declaration and in its chaotic aftermath.
  • On Friday, Judge Baek Dae-hyun at Seoul's Central District Court said he found Yoon guilty of obstruction of justice by blocking investigators from detaining him.
A South Korean judge sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday to five years in prison for obstructing justice and other crimes linked to his disastrous martial law declaration and in its chaotic aftermath.
It is the first in a series of verdicts for the disgraced ex-leader, whose brief suspension of civilian rule in South Korea on December 3, 2024 prompted massive protests and a showdown in parliament.
Now ousted from power, he faces multiple trials for actions taken during that debacle and in the turmoil that followed.
On Friday, Judge Baek Dae-hyun at Seoul's Central District Court said he found Yoon guilty of obstruction of justice by blocking investigators from detaining him.
Baek said that Yoon abused his power by turning officials of the Presidential Security Service against the state and used them as his "personal guards" serving his "own safety and private interests".
Yoon was also found guilty of excluding cabinet members from a martial law planning meeting.
"Despite having a duty, above all others, to uphold the Constitution and observe the rule of law as president, the defendant instead displayed an attitude that disregarded the... Constitution," Baek said.
"The defendant's culpability is extremely grave," he said.
But Yoon was not guilty of forging official documents due to lack of evidence, the judge said.
Yoon has seven days to appeal, he added.
Prosecutors had called for a 10-year prison term, while Yoon had insisted no law was broken.
After the verdict was announced, his supporters outside the court fell silent for several minutes before breaking into chants of "Yoon again!"
Yoon's lawyers said the verdict "simplifies the boundary between the exercise of a president's constitutional authority and criminal liability".
"If this reasoning is allowed to stand, no future president will be able to act decisively in times of crisis," lawyer Yu Jeong-hwa told reporters.

Yoon defiant

It comes days after prosecutors in a separate case demanded Yoon be sentenced to death for his role as the "ringleader of an insurrection" in orchestrating the imposition of martial law.
They argued Yoon deserved the severest possible punishment as he had shown "no remorse" for actions that threatened "constitutional order and democracy".
If he is found guilty it is highly unlikely the sentence will actually be carried out, as South Korea has had an unofficial moratorium on executions since 1997.
Yoon was seen smiling in court as the prosecutors demanded the punishment.
And the former leader and top prosecutor has remained defiant, saying his martial law declaration was a lawful exercise of his presidential authority.
In closing remarks on Tuesday, he insisted the "exercise of a president's constitutional emergency powers to protect the nation and uphold the constitutional order cannot be deemed an act of insurrection".
He accused the then-opposition party of having imposed an "unconstitutional dictatorship" through their control of the legislature.
"There was no other option but to awaken the people, who are the sovereign."
The court is scheduled to rule on the insurrection charges on February 19.
Yoon also faces a separate trial on charges of aiding the enemy, over allegations he ordered drone flights over North Korea to bolster his case for declaring martial law.
hs-cdl/oho/mjw

music

Spanish singer Julio Iglesias says abuse allegations 'absolutely false'

  • Two women -- a domestic worker and a physiotherapist -- alleged they suffered sexual and other forms of abuse while working at Iglesias's properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021.
  • Spain's veteran singer and cultural icon Julio Iglesias on Friday rejected allegations of abuse lodged against him by two women ex-employees, in a case that has dominated headlines.
  • Two women -- a domestic worker and a physiotherapist -- alleged they suffered sexual and other forms of abuse while working at Iglesias's properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021.
Spain's veteran singer and cultural icon Julio Iglesias on Friday rejected allegations of abuse lodged against him by two women ex-employees, in a case that has dominated headlines.
"I deny having abused, coerced, or disrespected any woman. These accusations are absolutely false and deeply sadden me," the 82-year-old wrote on his Instagram account.
Iglesias, one of the most successful Latin artists of all time, is a Grammy winner with more than 300 million records sold in a career spanning decades.
Two women -- a domestic worker and a physiotherapist -- alleged they suffered sexual and other forms of abuse while working at Iglesias's properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021.
Advocacy groups Women's Link Worldwide and Amnesty International said a complaint filed with Spanish prosecutors on January 5 outlined alleged acts that could be considered "a crime of human trafficking for the purpose of forced labour" and "crimes against sexual freedom".
Iglesias subjected them to "sexual harassment, regularly checked their mobile phones, restricted their ability to leave the home where they worked, and required them to work up to 16 hours a day without days off", according to testimony collected by the two groups.
In the message posted on Instagram, Iglesias wrote: "It is with profound sadness that I respond to the accusations made by two people who previously worked for me."
"I have never felt such malice, but I still have the strength to let people know the whole truth and to defend my dignity against such a serious accusation," he said, thanking the "so many dear people" who have sent him messages of support.
The allegations against the beloved crooner have sparked strong reactions in Spain, with members of the leftist government backing the complainants and demanding that an investigation establishes the truth.
The head of the conservative opposition Popular Party, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who is friends with Iglesias, told Telecinco television on Wednesday he was "very, very, very surprised" but urged against "speculating".
Iglesias's former manager Fernan Martinez told Telecinco that he was "very affectionate" and enjoyed "physical contact" but stressed he never saw the music icon "behave aggressively".
mdm/yad/jm

cybercrime

Fraudsters flee Cambodia's 'scam city' after accused boss taken down

BY SALLY JENSEN

  • Cambodia's anti-scam commission says it has raided 118 scam locations and arrested around 5,000 people in the last six months.
  • Hundreds of people dragged away suitcases, computer monitors, pets and furniture as they fled a suspected Cambodian cyberfraud centre, after the country's most wanted alleged scam kingpin was arrested and deported.
  • Cambodia's anti-scam commission says it has raided 118 scam locations and arrested around 5,000 people in the last six months.
Hundreds of people dragged away suitcases, computer monitors, pets and furniture as they fled a suspected Cambodian cyberfraud centre, after the country's most wanted alleged scam kingpin was arrested and deported.
Boarding tuk-tuks, Lexus SUVs and tourist coaches, an exodus departed Amber Casino in the coastal city of Sihanoukville, one of the illicit trade's most notorious hubs.
"Cambodia is in upheaval," one Chinese man told AFP. "Nowhere is safe to work anymore," he said Thursday.
Similar scenes played out at alleged scam compounds across Cambodia this week as the government said it was cracking down on the multibillion-dollar industry.
But residents said many of the people working inside the tightly secured buildings moved out several days before the arrival of authorities, and an analyst dubbed it "anti-crime theatre".
From hubs across Southeast Asia, scammers lure internet users globally into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments.
Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, transnational crime groups have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal tens of billions annually from victims around the world.
Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, sometimes trafficked foreign nationals who have been trapped and forced to work under threat of violence.
AFP journalists visited several alleged internet scam sites in Sihanoukville, in the wake of the high-profile arrest in Cambodia and extradition to China of internationally sanctioned accused scam boss Chen Zhi.
Few of those departing the casinos, hotels and other facilities were willing to speak with AFP, and none were willing to be identified due to concerns for their safety.
"Our Chinese company just told us to leave straight away," said a Bangladeshi man outside Amber Casino.
"But we'll be fine. There are plenty of other job offers," he added.
Studded with casinos and unfinished high-rises, the glitzy resort of Sihanoukville has become a cyberscam hotbed, where thousands of people involved in the black market are believed to operate cons from fortified compounds.
Before Chen was indicted last year by US authorities who said his firm Prince Group was a front for a transnational cybercrime network, the Chinese-born businessman ran multiple gambling hotels in Sihanoukville.
A 2025 Amnesty International report identified 22 scam locations in the coastal resort, out of a total of 53 in the country.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimates global losses to online scams reached up to $37 billion in 2023, and that at least 100,000 people work in the industry in Cambodia alone. 

Tipped off

But the Cambodian government claims the lawless era has come to an end, with Prime Minister Hun Manet pledging on Facebook to "eliminate... all the problems related to the crime of cyber scams".
Cambodia's anti-scam commission says it has raided 118 scam locations and arrested around 5,000 people in the last six months.
Following Chen's deportation to China, the Cambodian government has tightened the screws on some Prince Group affiliates, ordering Prince Bank into liquidation and freezing home sales at several of its luxury properties.
In recent months, China has stepped up its pursuit of the scam industry, sweeping up Chen and other key figures from across Southeast Asia to try them on its own soil.
But while Cambodia says it is "cracking down", there are suspicions over the timing.
A tuk-tuk driver in Sihanoukville told AFP hundreds of Chinese people left one compound this week before police arrived.
"Looks like they were tipped off," said the 42-year-old, declining to give his name.
Mark Taylor, former head of a Cambodia-based anti-trafficking NGO, said the "preemptive shifting of scam centre resources", including workers, equipment and managers, had been seen ahead of law enforcement sweeps.
It was "seemingly the product of collusion", he added, in a strategy with "dual ends" of boosting the government's anti-crime credentials while preserving the scamming industry's ability to survive and adapt.
Amnesty has accused the Cambodian government of "deliberately ignoring" rights abuses by cybercrime gangs, which sometimes lure workers with offers of high-paying jobs before holding them against their will.
AFP journalists saw several coachloads of Mandarin speakers leaving Sihanoukville on the main highway to the capital Phnom Penh.
Multiple people said they "didn't know" where they were going or what their plans were, but appeared anxious as they anticipated law enforcement closing in.
Outside the Amber Casino, holding a fake designer hold-all, the Bangladeshi man fell in with the crowd, saying: "This is about survival now."
suy-sjc/sco/slb/abs

children

Afghan mothers seek hospital help for malnourished children

BY ISABELLE WESSELINGH AND QUBAD WALI

  • They are now "watching their children succumb to hunger in their arms", he said.
  • Najiba, 24, keeps a constant watch over her baby, Artiya, one of around four million children at risk of dying from malnutrition this year in Afghanistan.
  • They are now "watching their children succumb to hunger in their arms", he said.
Najiba, 24, keeps a constant watch over her baby, Artiya, one of around four million children at risk of dying from malnutrition this year in Afghanistan.
After suffering a bout of pneumonia at three months old, Artiya's condition deteriorated and his parents went from hospital to hospital trying to find help.
"I did not get proper rest or good food," affecting her ability to produce breast milk, Najiba said at Herat Regional Hospital in western Afghanistan.
"These days, I do not have enough milk for my baby."
The distressed mother, who chose not to give her surname for privacy reasons, said the family earns a living from an electric supplies store run by her husband.
Najiba and her husband spent their meagre savings trying to get care for Artiya, before learning that he has a congenital heart defect.
To her, "no one can understand what I'm going through. No one knows how I feel every day, here with my child in this condition."
"The only thing I have left is to pray that my child gets better," she said.
John Aylieff, Afghanistan director at the World Food Programme (WFP), said women are "sacrificing their own health and their own nutrition to feed their children".
Artiya has gained weight after several weeks at the therapeutic nutrition centre in the Herat hospital, where colourful drawings of balloons and flowers adorn the walls.
Mothers such as Najiba, who are grappling with the reality of not being able to feed their children, receive psychological support.
Meanwhile, Artiya's father is "knocking on every door just to borrow money" which could fund an expensive heart operation on another ward, Najiba said.

'Staggering' scale

On average, 315 to 320 malnourished children are admitted each month to the centre, which is supported by medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
The number of cases has steadily increased over the past five years, according to Hamayoun Hemat, MSF's deputy coordinator in Herat.
Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, low-income families have been hit hard by cuts to international aid, as well as drought and the economic fallout of five million Afghans forced across the border from Iran and Pakistan.
"In 2025, we'd already seen the highest surge in child malnutrition recorded in Afghanistan since the beginning of the 21st century," Aylieff said in Kabul.
The crisis is only set to worsen this year, he told AFP: "A staggering four million children in this country will be malnourished and will require treatment."
"These children will die if they're not treated."
WFP is seeking $390 million to feed six million Afghans over the next six months, but Aylieff said the chance of getting such funds is "so bleak".
Pledges of solidarity from around the globe, made after the Taliban government imposed its strict interpretation of Islamic law, have done little to help Afghan women, the WFP director said.
They are now "watching their children succumb to hunger in their arms", he said.

'No hope'

In the country of more than 40 million people, there are relatively few medical centres that can help treat malnutrition.
Some families travel hundreds of kilometres (miles) to reach Herat hospital as they lack healthcare facilities in their home provinces.
Wranga Niamaty, a nurse team supervisor, said they often receive patients in the "last stage" where there is "no hope" for their survival.
Still, she feels "proud" for those she can rescue from starvation.
In addition to treating the children, the nursing team advises women on breastfeeding, which is a key factor in combating malnutrition.
Single mothers who have to work as cleaners or in agriculture are sometimes unable to produce enough milk, often due to dehydration, nurse Fawzia Azizi said.
The clinic has been a lifesaver for Jamila, a 25-year-old mother who requested her surname not be used out of privacy concerns.
Jamila's eight-month-old daughter has Down's syndrome and is also suffering from malnutrition, despite her husband sending money back from Iran where he works.
Wrapped in a floral veil, Jamila said she fears for the future: "If my husband is expelled from Iran, we will die of hunger."
qb-iw/rsc/ami/abs

diplomacy

Japan and US agree to expand cooperation on missiles, military drills

  • They agreed to further advance joint production of air-to-air missiles and surface-to-air interceptors.
  • Tokyo and Washington agreed Friday to boost joint production of defence equipment including missiles, and expand their military presence in waters southwest of mainland Japan, as China ramps up pressure on its Asian neighbour.
  • They agreed to further advance joint production of air-to-air missiles and surface-to-air interceptors.
Tokyo and Washington agreed Friday to boost joint production of defence equipment including missiles, and expand their military presence in waters southwest of mainland Japan, as China ramps up pressure on its Asian neighbour.
The agreement came after Japanese defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi met Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth in Washington, where they also pledged to further cooperation on supply chains including critical minerals.
Japan is embroiled in a heated diplomatic spat with China, triggered by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's suggestion in November that Japan could intervene militarily if China attacks Taiwan.
China, which regards Taiwan as its own territory, reacted angrily, blocking exports to Japan of "dual-use" items with potential military applications, fuelling worries in Tokyo that Beijing could choke supplies of much-needed rare earths.
As the "security environment is rapidly growing severe" in Asia, "the two ministers confirmed the Japan-US alliance remains absolutely unwavering", the statement released by Tokyo's defence ministry said. 
They agreed to further advance joint production of air-to-air missiles and surface-to-air interceptors.
The allies also agreed to work on the expansion of "more sophisticated and practical joint drills in various locations including the Southwest region", the statement said. 
Beefing up defence around the so-called "Southwest" region, which includes areas such as the subtropical island of Okinawa, is one of Japan's top priorities.
Okinawa, home to the vast majority of American military bases in Japan, serves as a key US outpost to monitor China, the Taiwan Strait and the Korean peninsula, with both Tokyo and Washington stressing its strategic importance.
Tokyo has also been steadily increasing its military budget, including in December when the right-leaning government of Takaichi approved a record nine trillion yen in defence spending for the upcoming fiscal year.
At the top of his meeting with Koizumi, Hegseth praised Japan for this effort, calling it "hard-nosed realism; practical, common-sense approach that puts both of our vital national interests together", according to the US Department of War, recently re-branded from the Department of Defense.
Their meeting was preceded by a joint morning workout session at a military gym. 
"The American military-style training was very tough," Koizumi wrote on X.
"But I did my best to labour my way through it, telling myself: 'this is all for the sake of strengthening the Japan-US alliance.'"  
tmo/aph/abs 

migration

Surveillance, harassment and bribes: everyday life for migrants in Russia

BY VICTORIA LOGUINOVA-YAKOVLEVA

  • "A migrant's life in Russia is difficult.
  • Facing digital surveillance, bribes, humiliation and street harassment, Kyrgyz taxi driver Alym never has an easy life in Russia.
  • "A migrant's life in Russia is difficult.
Facing digital surveillance, bribes, humiliation and street harassment, Kyrgyz taxi driver Alym never has an easy life in Russia.
"We have to pay, pay, pay for everything," the 38-year-old father of two told AFP near Moscow.
"The police are constantly demanding bribes for every document, every stamp: registration, a patent, a work permit," he said, adding some documents can cost as much as $300 off-the-books.
Pressure on the estimated 6.5 million foreign citizens in Russia -- mostly labour migrants from Central Asia who work in low-skilled jobs and send wages to family back home -- is ramping up from all sides.
Officials try to block their access to work and schools with tighter immigration rules, while xenophobia in the country -- always high -- is rising further still.
Every day Alym must send his location to authorities via the state-run Amina surveillance app, which he has to keep installed on his phone. 
"If you don't do it for three days in a row, you're put on a blacklist that's hard to get off," he explained. 
Being added to what is officially called the "register of monitored persons" means having bank accounts frozen and raises the risk of losing a job, being expelled from university or even deportation.

'Nuts'

The toughening of rules was codified last year when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new policy designed to "limit the presence of migrants' family members in Russia." 
According to the document, the new measures should "reduce the burden on the social and healthcare services."
Among some of the requirements rolled out are ultra-tough language tests for the children of migrants looking to enter Russian schools.
Anna Orlova, a Russian language teacher at the Migratory Children project, has criticised both the tests and the overall policy.
"We should, on the contrary, be glad that migrants come to us. It means the Russian economy is growing," she said.  
The complicated tests, combined with other bureaucratic hurdles, led to 87 percent of migrant children being blocked from entering school in 2025, according to a federal regulator. 
"The education ministry has set the goal of no longer accepting non-Russian pupils in schools. It's nuts," said Orlova. 
Alym's daughter, now in kindergarten, will soon have to take the test. 
There are signs that high levels of societal xenophobia are seeping into the classroom.
Alym's son, already in school, was recently beaten up by his Russian classmates.
In December, a teenager with neo-Nazi views stabbed a 10-year-old Tajik boy to death at a school near Moscow. 
"A migrant's life in Russia is difficult. The migrant becomes an enemy on whom the discontent in society is funnelled," said Svetlana Gannushkina from Civic Assistance, a migrant rights group, which has been labelled a "foreign agent" by the authorities. 
"We're being told that they steal our jobs and undercut wages," she added.
Those kinds of anti-immigration narratives -- prevalent in many countries -- have taken on an extra edge in Russia, where inflation is high and the Kremlin has hiked taxes to fund its military as the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year.
- Draft fears - 
Gannushkina said the policy response has been "full of fear," ushered in following a March 2024 massacre at a concert hall near Moscow, which killed 149 people.
The four alleged assailants, currently on trial, are from Tajikistan.
The anti-migrant sentiment has also boosted the popularity of some political groups, like the LDPR, an ultra-nationalist party allied with the Kremlin.  
"I'm constantly travelling around the regions, and illegal immigration is often the top issue raised by our fellow citizens. We're fed up with this situation," party leader Leonid Slutsky said in a YouTube broadcast. 
Slutsky accused migrants of "undermining the principles and traditions" of Russian society. 
He declined to comment when contacted by AFP. 
Alym wants to leave Russia by 2030, when he expects to have paid off his mortgage in Kyrgyzstan. 
"Many of my compatriots have already returned, because their children weren't admitted to school," he said. 
After four years in Russia, Alym no longer wants a Russian passport, as he once did, because of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine.
"I don't want to be drafted," he said. 
vvl/asy/jc/jh/ceg

cinema

Libyan filmmaker fights for cinema revival

BY MOHAMED RAHOMA

  • Before a 1969 coup that brought Moamer Kadhafi to power, Libya's capital Tripoli was home to more than 20 movie theatres.
  • Mouayed Zabtia shoots most scenes for his latest movie in a studio he built at his Tripoli home.
  • Before a 1969 coup that brought Moamer Kadhafi to power, Libya's capital Tripoli was home to more than 20 movie theatres.
Mouayed Zabtia shoots most scenes for his latest movie in a studio he built at his Tripoli home. For the filmmaker, it is one way to overcome the obstacles he faces in a country where cinema once nearly vanished.
Before a 1969 coup that brought Moamer Kadhafi to power, Libya's capital Tripoli was home to more than 20 movie theatres.
"Today we have none," Zabtia told AFP.
Kadhafi was overthrown and killed in 2011, and though the censorship of his era has declined, its effects are still deeply felt through underinvestment and public disinterest.
"You have to go abroad to see films in a movie theatre," said Mohammed Rizk, an actor in Zabtia's current project, which is set in 1980s Libya when a younger generation yearned for freedom under Kadhafi.
Under the longtime ruler, cinema was viewed as a tool of foreign cultural invasion, and only movies aligned with the state were funded and promoted.
Movie theatres were seen as spaces for gatherings that were difficult to control.

'Disinterest'

Many like 47-year-old Zabtia believed that after Kadhafi's fall, cinema would be resurrected, but the instability that ensued has delayed any revival.
"The problem is disinterest from all governments since 2011," Zabtia said. "We were expecting that they would help."
The filmmaker said he had funded all his productions from his own pocket, mainly with revenue from a production company he founded in 2001 to create television series and wedding videos.
It was only after the 2011 revolution that he decided to take on cinema, a goal since childhood.
In his dim-lit studio, Zabtia oversees everything -- from lighting and sound to costumes -- as a small crew bustles about making his latest picture, "1986".
Zabtia said the film is inspired by true events, including the estrangement from Libya of pioneering singer Ahmed Fakroun after Kadhafi cracked down on Western-influenced music.
Today, Zabtia said, it is no longer censorship that stifles filmmaking in Libya, but an array of other challenges compounded by a lack of public support.
Authorities have in recent years attempted to revive the artform through festivals and the creation of the Libyan Film Institute in 2021.

No story without women

Zabtia said most of his work is filmed in the studio as "filming outside in Libya is very tiring".
"We lack logistic support. You need big crews, food, drinks, help with the police for outdoor sets."
"We don't have that experience, and people are not used to seeing these kinds of cameras in the street."
Added to that, some Libyans feel cinema clashes with their moral values, he added.
Portraying women on screen is particularly difficult, Zabtia said, although he insisted it was "impossible to make a film without women when it comes to telling a story."
"We have many hidden female talents who are afraid to come forward."
Yet the director believes one solution to these social obstacles is cinema itself: "The role of cinema -- our role -- is to pinpoint issues and try to address them."
Despite the obstacles, a handful of Libyan films have crossed borders.
"Freedom Fields", a documentary by Libyan-British director Naziha Arebi about three women footballers, was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018.
In 2023, "Donga", a film by Muhannad Lamin about the 2011 uprising, was shown at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.
While "cinema doesn't really have a market in Libya", Zabtia hopes the lack of interest will translate into an opportunity to stand out and establish a niche -- particularly with platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. 
"We want to develop and highlight Libyan work, talent and skills," he said. 
"And we want to reach audiences overseas. It's important that they hear about Libyan stories and culture, and get to know us as a people."
bur-bou/axn/ceg

conflict

Venezuela's Machado says she 'presented' Trump with Nobel medal

BY DANNY KEMP

  • "I presented the president of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize," Machado told reporters outside the US capitol, where she met with lawmakers after having lunch with Trump at the White House.
  • Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said Thursday she "presented" her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump, in a bid to win over the US president who had sidelined her since overthrowing Nicolas Maduro.
  • "I presented the president of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize," Machado told reporters outside the US capitol, where she met with lawmakers after having lunch with Trump at the White House.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said Thursday she "presented" her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump, in a bid to win over the US president who had sidelined her since overthrowing Nicolas Maduro.
Her "wonderful gesture of mutual respect," as Trump called it Thursday, comes after the Republican said the award should have gone to him instead -- and after he refused to back Machado following the January 3 US military operation to capture Maduro.
"He deserves it, and it was a very emotional moment," Machado later told broadcaster Fox News in an interview.
Despite the gesture, Trump has backed Maduro's vice president Delcy Rodriguez over Machado -- so long as she toes Washington's line, particularly on access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
"I presented the president of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize," Machado told reporters outside the US capitol, where she met with lawmakers after having lunch with Trump at the White House.
Machado, 58, said it was "recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom."
It was not immediately clear if Trump actually kept the award following the closed-door meeting.
The Norwegian Nobel committee says its prizes cannot be transferred.
- 'Not afraid' - 
Trump had campaigned hard to win last year's Nobel Peace Prize for what he says are his efforts to stop eight wars.
Instead it went to Machado, who appeared in Oslo last month to collect her prize -- following a daring escape from Venezuela by boat -- and then dedicated it to Trump.
Venezuela's opposition has argued and presented evidence that Maduro stole the 2024 election from the candidate of Machado's party, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia -- claims supported by Washington.
But Trump has said that Machado does not have enough support among Venezuelans, and opted to stick with former Maduro loyalist Rodriguez.
Trump and Rodriguez had their first telephone call on Wednesday and the White House said Thursday he "likes what he's seeing" with Venezuela's interim leaders.
Rodriguez said however that Thursday her government was "not afraid" of a diplomatic clash with Washington.
"We know they are very powerful. We know they are a lethal nuclear power...we are not afraid to confront them diplomatically, through political dialogue," said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez was delivering Maduro's state of the nation address to parliament while the toppled Venezuelan leader is in a New York jail facing drug trafficking charges.
By contrast Machado, who campaigned for years to end leftist Maduro's rule, was greeted by jubilant supporters as she left the White House.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said as the lunch started that Machado was a "remarkable and brave voice for many of the people of Venezuela."
But while Leavitt said Trump was "committed to hopefully seeing elections in Venezuela one day," she would not give a timeline.

Sixth tanker seizure

Since Maduro's capture, Trump has said the United States will "run" Venezuela -- exerting pressure through a naval blockade and threats of further attacks -- but has appeared content to let Rodriguez remain in power so long as oil keeps flowing.
US forces on Thursday seized a sixth oil tanker in its campaign to control the South American country's critical fossil fuel sector.
Separately, the first US-brokered sale of Venezuelan oil, worth around $500 million, has been finalized, a US official told AFP on Thursday without identifying the buyer.
Rodriguez in her speech also announced plans for legal reforms to Venezuela's oil sector -- which currently limit the involvement of foreign entities -- but did not give specific details.
Washington has also hailed the release of dozens of political prisoners in the past week, though hundreds remain behind bars.
Meanwhile the shockwaves from the lightning US raid that toppled Maduro continue to reverberate.
Cuba paid tribute on Thursday to 32 soldiers killed in the operation, some of whom had been assigned to Maduro's protection team, in a ceremony attended by revolutionary leader Raul Castro.
burs-dk/sla/jgc

Global Edition

Vietnam leader seeks more power at party congress

BY TY MCCORMICK

  • An internal Communist party position was added as a fifth pillar last year.
  • Vietnam's leaders convene next week for a once-every-five-years congress, where General Secretary To Lam is looking to cement control over the Communist Party ruling one of Asia's fastest-growing economies.
  • An internal Communist party position was added as a fifth pillar last year.
Vietnam's leaders convene next week for a once-every-five-years congress, where General Secretary To Lam is looking to cement control over the Communist Party ruling one of Asia's fastest-growing economies.
The nation of 100 million people is both a repressive one-party state and a regional economic bright spot, with the party seeking to deliver rapid expansion to underpin its claim to legitimacy.
But its leaders face challenges from tensions between its main trading partners the United States and China, along with mounting environmental and social pressures domestically.
Since he ascended to the top role just 17 months ago, Lam has enthusiastically pursued an anti-corruption drive, thinned and streamlined bureaucracy, and accelerated infrastructure investment in reforms officials describe as a "revolution".
Lam will remain the party's top leader, according to sources briefed on key internal deliberations.
But he is seeking the presidency as well -- a dual role similar to Xi Jinping in neighbouring China -- and experts say clinching it will signal the supremacy of his security-dominated faction.
"If he manages to claim both positions, Vietnam's leadership model will shift from consensus decision-making or collective leadership towards more authoritarian rule," said Le Hong Hiep, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
Lam's reach will depend on who else secures top posts and politburo positions during the January 19-25 conclave, particularly from the more conservative military faction that opposes Lam and his changes.
One source briefed on last month's party deliberations told AFP Lam's bid for expanded powers was provisionally approved.
But some reports suggest he had to shelve his presidential ambitions to secure support for his reform agenda.
- Ministries abolished - 
Lam rose rapidly to the pinnacle of Vietnamese power after a long career with the secretive public security ministry.
He was named president -- considered the second-most important job in Vietnamese politics -- in May 2024, after his predecessor was sacked for corruption.
Less than two months later the incumbent general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong died and Lam succeeded him in turn -- later relinquishing the post of president.
In his short tenure as party chief, he has eliminated whole layers of government -- abolishing eight ministries or agencies and cutting nearly 150,000 jobs from the state payroll, while pushing ambitious rail and power projects.
Experts say he will focus on spurring private sector, digital and technological growth as the manufacturing hub seeks to break into the club of upper middle-income countries by the end of the decade. 
That would mean raising GDP per capita by 70 percent from today's $5,000.
Vietnam has proved surprisingly resilient in the face of new 20 percent tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, clocking eight-percent growth last year.
But the balancing act between the United States and China has grown tougher, while the expectations of millions of young people are rising.
Housing affordability has become a major issue, as has pollution that blankets major cities in toxic smog.
"Buying a house has never really been part of my plan because I never thought it was something I could afford," said Kim, 23, a researcher in Ho Chi Minh City who still lives with her parents. 
She hoped the leadership "will pay more attention to inequality", asking to be identified only by her first name for fear of retribution. 

'More like China'

The ruling party tolerates little dissent and regularly jails its critics, more than 160 of whom are behind bars, according to Human Rights Watch.
But unlike in present-day China or the Kim dynasty's North Korea, political power in Vietnam has not traditionally been concentrated in one paramount leader.
Its collective system of government rests on four pillars: the party chief, president, prime minister and the chairman of the National Assembly. An internal Communist party position was added as a fifth pillar last year.
Lam would be the first person to be named to both the top two jobs simultaneously by a party congress, rather than stepping in following a holder's death.
If he is, said Derek Grossman of the University of Southern California, "Vietnam will become more like China and North Korea rather than maintaining a separation of powers".
bur-tym/slb/mjw/abs

Trump

As Trump turns screws, how long can Europe play nice?

BY EMMA CHARLTON AND CAMILLE CAMDESSUS

  • One headspinning year down, three more to go. 
One headspinning year down, three more to go. 
Buffeted by a US superpower turned hostile under Donald Trump, Europe is struggling to set red lines as its once-close ally attacks its laws, eggs on the far-right -- and threatens its sovereignty in Greenland.
Any lingering doubts over the shifting winds in Washington were laid to rest with the release of last month's US security strategy taking most virulent aim not at China or Russia, but at the European Union.
Europe had barely absorbed that shock when it was blindsided by the US president's vow to wrest mineral-rich Greenland from EU and NATO member Denmark -- by force if need be.
European nations scrambled a military mission to Greenland to try to defuse Trump's threat -- but pushing back at the US president is easier said than done.
"Telling Trump 'You can't do that,' is not language that he understands," summed up one EU diplomat, granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
"We must appease Trump, not poke the beast."
The bottom line is that Europe's hands are tied: the continent is surging defence spending to break its security reliance on the United States -- but for now, it still needs US help to end the Ukraine war, and deter the looming Russian threat to its east.
In that spirit leaders have stopped well short of calling out Trump's threats -- levied right as the Europeans held crunch talks with US envoys on locking in post-war security guarantees for Ukraine.  
Instead they have reached for their now-familiar Trump playbook: avoid escalation at all costs, and work to mollify the US president -- until the next time.
The half-dozen Europeans with a direct line to Trump, from France's Emmanuel Macron and Italy's Giorgia Meloni to NATO chief Mark Rutte, can claim some successes with this strategy, namely in clawing back a seat at the table of talks to end the Ukraine war.
But as Denmark's leader Mette Frederiksen warned this week, with three quarters of Trump's presidency left to run, there is reason to expect "the most challenging part" is yet to come.
And Europe may not be able to play nice forever.

Election tests loom

Trump's threats to Greenland are just one part of the picture.
Last year's trade standoff with Washington saw Europe strong-armed into what was widely seen as a lopsided deal.
Since then Team Trump has pressed an all-out assault branding Europe's civilisation moribund, imposing sanctions over digital rules it calls censorship, and vowing to boost political forces aligned with the president's MAGA ideology.
Strongman Viktor Orban can expect the weight of US foreign policy behind him in Hungary's April elections, with Elon Musk's X acting as a force multiplier for hard-right narratives.
And France's 2027 election looms as a key test.
Trump's camp has "formulated quite clearly" it would welcome a far-right win in the nuclear-armed EU heavyweight, said Tara Varma, European policy expert at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
"We have to take them at their word," she warned, saying Europe needs to rethink tools designed to counter political meddling from regimes like Russia -- to meet the new US threat.

A 'bazooka' for Greenland?

The spectre of MAGA-fuelled interference feeds into the critical issue of whether the EU has the mettle to keep US tech giants in check.
So far the EU has stared down threats of US retaliation to keep enforcing its laws against online abuses and disinformation, with fines on X and others.
But even penalties in the hundreds of millions are seen as small fry for the likes of Musk -- who pours expletive-laden scorn on the EU and its rules.
So what more can Europe do to try to turn the tables?
Simple, say advocates of tougher action: play the economic card, as America's biggest bilateral trade partner.
When it comes to Greenland, European law professor Alberto Alemanno says the bloc's "most tangible threat" to deter Trump is freezing the US trade deal -- an idea gaining ground in the EU parliament.
The tough question is where to draw the line.
"Do we need the territorial integrity of the European Union to be breached? Do we need to see boots on the ground, to see the Americans entering into Greenland, in order to justify this?" asked Alemanno.
Beyond that, the bloc has a powerful weapon called the anti-coercion instrument -- never used before -- that allows for curbing imports of goods and services and has been invoked as a way to push back over tech and trade, and now Greenland.
Deploying the trade "bazooka," as it is dubbed, is one idea being brainstormed in Brussels but still seen as a long shot.
"Europe has a number of cards up its sleeve -- and it's chosen consciously or unconsciously not to use them," said the German Marshall Fund's Varma.
But at some point, she warned, "it might have to."
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