US

Europe hits back at Trump tariff threat over Greenland

Kurds

Syria's leader agrees truce with Kurds after govt troops advance

BY MAHER AL-MOUNES WITH BAKR ALKASEM IN RAQA

  • The SDF suddenly withdrew "from all areas under its control in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, including the Al-Omar and Tanak oil fields", Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. He said the movements in Deir Ezzor and Raqa provinces came as "fighters from local tribes, including Arab fighters who are part of the SDF, advanced in coordination with government troops".
  • Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country's north and east.
  • The SDF suddenly withdrew "from all areas under its control in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, including the Al-Omar and Tanak oil fields", Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. He said the movements in Deir Ezzor and Raqa provinces came as "fighters from local tribes, including Arab fighters who are part of the SDF, advanced in coordination with government troops".
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country's north and east.
Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war.
He made the decision after deadly clashes in the Syrian city of Raqa Sunday between Kurdish-led forces and local fighters loyal to Damascus, and fighting this month between the Kurds and government forces.
The agreement will also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations on the issue.
But it marks a blow for the minority, which has long held ambitions of preserving the de facto autonomy they had exercised over areas they held for over a decade.
Sharaa announced the agreement to reporters on Sunday.
He said had had been scheduled to meet Abdi, who heads the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), but that it had been postponed until Monday due to poor weather.
"In order to calm the situation, we decided to sign the agreement," Sharaa said.
Abdi said in a statement broadcast by Kurdish television channel Ronahi that "in order for this war not to turn into civil war... we accepted to withdraw from the Deir Ezzor and Raqa regions to Hasakeh".
He said he would explain the deal's details to Syria's Kurds after returning from Damascus.

'Pivotal'

Government forces this weekend captured the strategic city of Tabqa in the Raqa region as well as the Euphrates Dam. They also advanced into parts of Deir Ezzor province, including the Al-Omar oil field, the country's largest, having earlier made advances in Aleppo province.
Syrian state media reported celebrations in some areas after the deal's announcement, including in Raqa city where state media had earlier said SDF gunfire had killed two civilians.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor had reported fighting between the SDF and "local Arab tribal fighters" in the city.
Sharaa on Sunday met US envoy Tom Barrack, who called the deal with the Kurds a "pivotal inflection point".
The envoy, whose country has long supported the Kurdish forces but also backs Syria's new Islamist authorities, had met Abdi in Erbil on Saturday.
The Syrian presidency published the text of the 14-point agreement, which includes integrating the SDF and Kurdish security forces into the state and the immediate handover of Kurdish-run Deir Ezzor and Raqa provinces.
It will also see Damascus take responsibility for Islamic State group prisoners and their families held in Kurdish-run jails and camps. 
Alexander McKeever, researcher and author of the This Week in Northern Syria newsletter, said the deal "falls significantly short of what the SDF had established over the years in the northeast, as well as the decentralised scenario it had been pushing for in negotiations".
Sharaa had on Friday issued a decree granting the Kurds official recognition, but the Kurds said the announcement fell short of their expectations.
Earlier Sunday, an AFP correspondent on Raqa's outskirts reported hearing gunfire and said government forces had brought reinforcements and were combing parts of the city.
The SDF suddenly withdrew "from all areas under its control in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, including the Al-Omar and Tanak oil fields", Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
He said the movements in Deir Ezzor and Raqa provinces came as "fighters from local tribes, including Arab fighters who are part of the SDF, advanced in coordination with government troops".
Deir Ezzor province said all public institutions were closed Sunday and urged people to stay home.

'Opening door wide'

The government push captured Arab-majority areas that came under Kurdish control during the fight against IS.
Damascus also said it retook the Safyan and Al-Tharwa oil fields in Raqa province.
Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir said the return of the area's resources to state control "means opening the door wide for reconstruction, revitalising agriculture, energy and trade". 
The army also announced its control of the Euphrates Dam near Tabqa, a key water and energy facility that includes one of Syria's largest hydroelectric power stations.
An AFP correspondent had seen armoured vehicles and tanks around Tabqa, with security personnel patrolling the streets.
Shops were closed, but some residents milled outside their homes, lighting fires to keep warm.
Resident Ahmad Hussein told AFP: "We have suffered a lot, and I hope that the situation will improve with the arrival of the Syrian army."
Near the dam, an AFP photographer saw residents destroying a statue honouring a woman who fought with Kurdish forces and who was killed by IS during the battle for Raqa city.
burs-lar/lg/jj

US

Europe hits back at Trump tariff threat over Greenland

  • "Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral," Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden warned in a joint statement.
  • European leaders on Sunday slammed US President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs over their opposition to his designs on Greenland, warning transatlantic ties were at risk.
  • "Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral," Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden warned in a joint statement.
European leaders on Sunday slammed US President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs over their opposition to his designs on Greenland, warning transatlantic ties were at risk.
European countries including Denmark, of which Greenland is an autonomous territory, said they "stand united" against Trump's vow on Saturday to hit them with tariffs of up to 25 percent unless Greenland is ceded to the United States.
"Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral," Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden warned in a joint statement.
Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Trump's ultimatum threatened the world order "as we know it" and the future of the NATO military alliance.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he had spoken to Trump about "the security situation in Greenland and the Arctic" and hoped to talk again at this week's Davos summit. He did not elaborate on their conversation.
The European Council said it was calling a summit of EU leaders in the coming days, following a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels on Sunday.

Trade deal threatened

The bloc clinched a deal with Washington in July for most EU exports to face a 15-percent US levy. It was unclear how Trump's threatened tariffs would work against that deal.
"I don't believe that this agreement is possible in the current situation," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told ARD television.
Aides to French President Emmanuel Macron said he would ask the EU to activate a never-before-used "anti-coercion instrument" against Washington if Trump makes good on his additional tariffs.
This measure allows for curbing imports of goods and services into the EU, a market of 27 countries with a combined population of 450 million.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to seize Greenland since returning to the White House for a second term.
His rhetoric towards that goal has hardened since he ordered a military operation against Venezuela early this month to capture its leader, Nicolas Maduro.

'Blackmail'

Trump and his administration have argued that Greenland coming under US rule would serve American "national security". 
He and his aides have also argued that Denmark, a fellow NATO member, would be unable to defend Greenland should Russia or China ever seek to invade.
Denmark and several of its European NATO allies responded by recently sending small numbers of military personnel to Greenland for an exercise, to which the US was also invited.
And on Saturday, thousands of people in Greenland and Denmark protested against the US push to control the Arctic island.
"Make America Go Away" read the wording on caps worn by many demonstrators, riffing on Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan.
Trump responded Saturday with his threat to slap goods coming into the US from Britain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland with 10-percent tariffs starting February 1.
They would rise to 25 percent from June 1 "until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland", Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Even Italy's far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of Trump's closest European allies, baulked at the threat.
"I believe that imposing new sanctions today would be a mistake," she told journalists during a trip to Seoul.
"I spoke to Donald Trump a few hours ago and told him what I think," she added.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it "completely wrong", and said he planned to discuss the situation with Trump "at the earliest opportunity". 
Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel denounced Trump's threat as an "inexplicable" form of "blackmail".

Trade war fear

France's Agricultural Minister Annie Genevard warned that tariffs would hurt Washington too.
"In this escalation of tariffs, (Trump) has a lot to lose as well, as do his own farmers and industrialists," she told broadcasters Europe 1 and CNews.
Norway, also targeted by Trump's tariffs threat but like Britain not an EU member, said it was not currently looking at retaliation against US goods.
"I think one needs to stop and think so that a trade war can be averted that would lead to a downward spiral," Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told NRK television. "Nobody would win."
burs/jxb/jj

environment

Chile declares emergency as wildfires kill at least 18

  • President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency in Nuble and Biobio as nearly 4,000 firefighters battled the wildfires -- raging during the high temperatures of the southern hemisphere summer.
  • Uncontrolled wildfires tore through communities in southern Chile, leaving charred ruins in their wake and at least 18 dead, authorities said Sunday.
  • President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency in Nuble and Biobio as nearly 4,000 firefighters battled the wildfires -- raging during the high temperatures of the southern hemisphere summer.
Uncontrolled wildfires tore through communities in southern Chile, leaving charred ruins in their wake and at least 18 dead, authorities said Sunday.
More than 50,000 people have been displaced by blazes burning for two days now in the Nuble and Biobio regions about 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Santiago, fanned by strong winds and hot weather.
"We had to leave with the shirts on our back. If we had stayed another 20 minutes we would have burned to death," Matias Cid, a 25-year-old student in the city of Penco, told AFP.
He described fast-moving flames burning through the night and devouring homes. 
Video of the aftermath shows a bleak, empty cityscape of charred homes and burned-out pick-up trucks and cars.
Most of the fatalities from the wildfires in the region have so far been in Penco, Mayor Rodrigo Vera said.
President Gabriel Boric declared a state of emergency in Nuble and Biobio as nearly 4,000 firefighters battled the wildfires -- raging during the high temperatures of the southern hemisphere summer. The order allows for the deployment of the armed forces to assist.
"All resources are available," Boric wrote on X.
The president traveled to the badly impacted city of Concepcion to oversee the firefighting efforts.
"We have a confirmed number of 18 deaths today, but we are certain that this number will increase," he said.
Alicia Cebrian, the director of the National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response, said most of the evacuations were in the Biobio towns of Penco and Lirquen, which have a combined population of around 60,000 people.
Lirquen, a small port town, was also hit hard, with many people saving themselves by rushing to the beach, said resident Alejandro Arredondo, 57.
"There is nothing left standing," he said as he surveyed a burning landscape of metal and wood that used to be people's homes.
The weather forecast Sunday was bad for firefighters -- high temperatures and strong winds, said Esteban Krause, the head of a forest preservation agency in Biobio.
Wildfires have severely impacted south-central Chile in recent years amid growing signs of the impact of climate change in the South American country, including extreme weather, droughts and floods.
In February 2024, several fires broke out simultaneously near the city of Vina del Mar, northwest of Santiago, resulting in 138 deaths, according to the public prosecutor's office.
About 16,000 people were affected by those fires, authorities said.
pa/mr/msp/aha

Global Edition

Limited internet briefly returns in Iran after protest blackout

  • The rallies subsided after the crackdown that rights groups have called a "massacre" carried out by security forces under the cover of a communications blackout that started on January 8.
  • Limited internet access briefly returned in Iran before dropping again, a monitor said Sunday, 10 days into a communications blackout that rights groups said aimed to mask a protest crackdown that killed thousands.
  • The rallies subsided after the crackdown that rights groups have called a "massacre" carried out by security forces under the cover of a communications blackout that started on January 8.
Limited internet access briefly returned in Iran before dropping again, a monitor said Sunday, 10 days into a communications blackout that rights groups said aimed to mask a protest crackdown that killed thousands.
Iran's president warned that an attack on the country's supreme leader would be a declaration of war -- an apparent response to US counterpart Donald Trump saying it was time to look for new leadership in Iran.
Demonstrations sparked in late December by anger over economic hardship exploded into protests widely seen as the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years.
The rallies subsided after the crackdown that rights groups have called a "massacre" carried out by security forces under the cover of a communications blackout that started on January 8.
Monitor Netblocks said late Sunday that "traffic levels have fallen after a brief, heavily filtered restoration of select Google and messaging services in Iran".
Iranian officials have said the demonstrations were peaceful before turning into "riots" and blamed foreign influence from Iran's arch-foes the United States and Israel. 
Trump, who joined Israel's 12-day war against Iran in June, had repeatedly threatened new military action against Tehran if protesters were killed.
While Washington appeared to have stepped back, Trump hit out at supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an interview with Politico on Saturday, saying it was "time to look for new leadership in Iran". 
"The man is a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people," Trump said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday warned on X: "An attack on the great leader of our country is tantamount to a full-scale war with the Iranian nation."
As leaders in Washington and Tehran have exchanged barbs, Iranian officials have said calm has been restored in the streets. 
Security forces with armoured vehicles and motorcycles were seen in central Tehran, according to AFP correspondents.

'Cannot just stay silent'

Schools reopened on Sunday after a week of closure.
Pezeshkian meanwhile told a cabinet meeting that he "recommended to the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council that internet restrictions be lifted as soon as possible".
Some users reported access to WhatsApp, while outgoing international calls had resumed since Tuesday, and text messaging was restored Saturday. 
Fars news agency on Sunday reported that the chief executive of Irancell, Iran's second-largest mobile phone operator, was dismissed for failing to comply with the government's decision to shut down the internet.
Solidarity demonstrations have continued in multiple cities in recent days, including in Berlin, London and Paris.
Despite the restrictions, information had still filtered out, with reports of atrocities emerging, according to rights groups.
Amnesty International said it had verified dozens of videos and accounts in recent days showing a "massacre of protesters" by security forces.
Norway-based Iran Human Rights says it has verified the deaths of 3,428 protesters killed by security forces, confirming cases through sources within the Islamic republic's health and medical system, witnesses and independent sources.
However, the NGO warns the true toll is likely far higher. Media cannot independently confirm the figure and Iranian officials have not given an exact death toll for the protests.
Other estimates place the death toll at more than 5,000 -- and possibly as high as 20,000 -- though the internet blackout has severely hampered independent verification, IHR says.
The overseas-based opposition Iran International channel has said at least 12,000 people were killed during the protests, citing senior government and security sources.
Iran's judiciary has rejected that figure.

'Not be spared'

On Saturday, Khamenei said "a few thousand" people had been killed by what he called "agents" of the United States and Israel, and Iranian local media has reported multiple deaths among security forces.
Khamenei said authorities "must break the back of the seditionists", as local media have reported thousands of arrests and rights groups have estimated up to 20,000 people have been detained. 
On Sunday, judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir reiterated that swift trials would be held, warning that some acts warranted the capital offence of "moharebeh", or "waging war against God". 
"All those who played a decisive role in these calls for violence, which led to bloodshed and significant damage to public finances, will not be spared," he said.
Alarm has grown over the threat of capital punishment against arrested protesters, even as Trump said Iran had called off hundreds of executions.
Analyst Arif Keskin cast doubt on Trump's claim, saying "the Iranian leadership sees executions... as an effective tool to end protests, prevent them and suppress them".
burs-sw/jsa/jxb

Global Edition

South Africa declares national disaster as floods batter region

  • "I classify the disaster as a national disaster," the head of South Africa's National Disaster Management Centre Elias Sithole said in a statement Sunday.
  • South Africa on Sunday declared a national disaster after widespread flooding that destroyed homes and killed dozens, while thousands sought shelter in neighbouring Mozambique.
  • "I classify the disaster as a national disaster," the head of South Africa's National Disaster Management Centre Elias Sithole said in a statement Sunday.
South Africa on Sunday declared a national disaster after widespread flooding that destroyed homes and killed dozens, while thousands sought shelter in neighbouring Mozambique.
Heavy rains and storms have battered the two southern African countries for weeks, claiming more than 30 lives in South Africa's northeastern Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.
Rivers burst their banks and swallowed entire neighbourhoods in several regions of Mozambique, displacing thousands including a woman who was forced to give birth on a roof as she sheltered from flood waters.
"I classify the disaster as a national disaster," the head of South Africa's National Disaster Management Centre Elias Sithole said in a statement Sunday.
Authorities continued to search for survivors and recover bodies at the weekend, but flooding had started receding in some areas, including the famed Kruger National Park, which had been forced to close and evacuate guests Thursday.
"Day visitation to the park will resume as of tomorrow," South African National Parks announced on social media, still urging visitors to "exercise caution".

Baby born on a roof

In Mozambique, rescue efforts were slow to reach survivors who sheltered on roofs and in trees.
At least eight people had died in the country since December 21, according to official data, but numbers were expected to rise as more people were declared missing.
A resident of Gaza province north of Maputo, Chauna Macuacua, told AFP that her sister-in-law had given birth on a roof where the family was waiting to be rescued since Thursday.
"We've been here for 4 days. My nephew was born yesterday around 11 PM (2100 GMT), and we still haven't had any rescue or assistance for the baby and mother," she said.
Wilker Dias, the director of a civil society group called Plataforma Decide, said he had received reports of several people missing.
"I think the numbers of dead will increase in the next hours," he told AFP.
South Africa also dispatched rescue teams to southern Mozambique Sunday after a car carrying five members of a South African mayoral delegation was swept away by floodwaters in Chokwe, 200 kilometres (124 miles) north of Maputo.
According to the latest figures released by the Mozambican government on Friday, more than 173,000 people had been affected by the floods across the country.
str-jcb/cc

prison

Gang members in Guatemala kill seven police after prison crackdown: minister

  • Since Saturday morning, the inmates had been holding 45 guards and a psychiatrist hostage to protest the transfer of gang leaders to a maximum-security prison. 
  • Guatemala's interior minister accused gangs of killing seven police on Sunday in retaliation for the government's refusal to transfer gang leaders to a lower-security prison. 
  • Since Saturday morning, the inmates had been holding 45 guards and a psychiatrist hostage to protest the transfer of gang leaders to a maximum-security prison. 
Guatemala's interior minister accused gangs of killing seven police on Sunday in retaliation for the government's refusal to transfer gang leaders to a lower-security prison. 
The killings occurred a day after gang-affiliated inmates took 46 people hostage in three prisons across the country. Police regained control of one of the prisons on Sunday.
"I am deeply saddened by the deaths of seven National Civil Police officers who were cowardly attacked by these terrorists in response to the actions the Guatemalan state is taking against them," Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda told a press conference.
Ten other police officers were wounded in the retaliatory attacks, and one suspected gang member was killed, he said.
At dawn on Sunday, police supported by the army entered the Renovacion I maximum-security prison in Escuintla, about 75 kilometers (45 miles) south of Guatemala City, using armored vehicles and tear gas.
After 15 minutes, they managed to regain control of the prison and free guards being held hostage, an AFP photographer witnessed.
"It was an operation that unfolded without casualties on either side, and we managed to rescue the nine hostages that these terrorists had in their power," Villeda said. 
Earlier, the prison posted on X that the leader of the Mara 18 gang, alias 'Lobo,' or wolf, has been "neutralized" in the operation.
The Barrio 18 gang, also known as Mara 18, and the rival Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang are blamed for much of the drug trafficking and criminal violence that plagues the Central American country. Washington has declared both groups to be terrorist organizations.
Since Saturday morning, the inmates had been holding 45 guards and a psychiatrist hostage to protest the transfer of gang leaders to a maximum-security prison. 
The gang members are still holding hostages at the two other prisons: 28 at Fraijanes II located east of the Guatemalan capital, and nine at the Preventivo prison on the outskirts of city.
"I am not willing to negotiate, nor to restore their privileges, nor to grant any kind of concession to stop this situation from continuing," Villeda said.
Since mid-2025, gang members have staged uprisings at prisons to demand their leaders be held in less-restricted conditions. 
In October, Guatemalan authorities reported that 20 leaders of the Barrio 18 gang had escaped from a prison. Only six have been recaptured, while another was shot and killed.
Guatemala ended last year with a homicide rate of 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, more than double the global average.
jjr/mr/msp/dw 

Global Edition

Uganda president says opposition 'terrorists' in victory speech

  • Official results showed Museveni winning a landslide with 72 percent from Thursday's election, but the poll was criticised by African election observers and rights groups due to the heavy repression of the opposition and an internet blackout. 
  • Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, fresh from winning a seventh term at age 81, said Sunday that the opposition were "terrorists" who had tried to use violence to overturn results.
  • Official results showed Museveni winning a landslide with 72 percent from Thursday's election, but the poll was criticised by African election observers and rights groups due to the heavy repression of the opposition and an internet blackout. 
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, fresh from winning a seventh term at age 81, said Sunday that the opposition were "terrorists" who had tried to use violence to overturn results.
Official results showed Museveni winning a landslide with 72 percent from Thursday's election, but the poll was criticised by African election observers and rights groups due to the heavy repression of the opposition and an internet blackout. 
The whereabouts of opposition leader Bobi Wine, real name Robert Kyagulanyi, who won 25 percent, were still uncertain after he said on Saturday that he had escaped a police raid on his home and was in hiding. 
Police denied the raid and said Wine was still at home, but blocked journalists from approaching the residence. 
Wine has not posted on X since Saturday when he denounced the "blatant theft of the presidential election".

'We know what you are doing'

In his victory speech on Sunday, Museveni said Wine's party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), had planned to attack polling stations in areas where they were losing. 
"Some of the opposition are wrong and also terrorists," said Museveni, who has ruled the east African country since 1986, when he seized power at the head of an rebel army. 
"They are working with some foreigners and some homosexual groups," he said.
He added: "All the traitors -- this is free advice from me -- stop everything, because we know what you are doing and you will not do it."
Although some internet was restored late Saturday, the government said it would maintain a ban on social media platforms until further notice.
The government blocked the internet two days before the vote, saying it was necessary to prevent "misinformation" and "incitement to violence". 
Uganda has remained largely peaceful since the results, though there were small-scale protests late Saturday, with AFP journalists saying tear gas was fired in parts of the capital Kampala.
The security presence was significantly reduced on Sunday, with people out on the streets and shops open. 

Attacks planned 'everywhere'

Analysts say the election was a formality, given Museveni's total control over the state and security apparatus, though many Ugandans still praise him for bring relative peace and prosperity.
He has taken no chances in trying to prevent the violent unrest that rocked neighbouring Tanzania during polls in October.
The most serious reports of violence on election day came from the Butambala area of central Uganda, where an opposition lawmaker told AFP that security forces had killed at least 10 people at his home.  
Museveni echoed the police account, that the deaths resulted from a planned attack on a ballot-tallying centre and police station in the area. 
He claimed the NUP had planned similar attacks "everywhere". 
Human Rights Watch accused the government of "brutal repression" of the opposition ahead of the vote. 
Another key opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, who ran four times against Museveni, was abducted in Kenya in 2024 and brought back to a military court in Uganda for a treason trial that is ongoing.
African election observers, including a team from the African Union, said Saturday that "reports of intimidation, arrest and abductions" had "instilled fear and eroded public trust in the electoral process".
rbu-er/rmb

Global Edition

Portugal votes for president with far-right surge expected

BY THOMAS CABRAL

  • This election could be the first time in four decades that no candidate wins outright in the first round by securing more than 50 percent of the vote.
  • Portugal was voting Sunday in the first round of a presidential election in which a far-right candidate is expected it get to the run-off for the first time.
  • This election could be the first time in four decades that no candidate wins outright in the first round by securing more than 50 percent of the vote.
Portugal was voting Sunday in the first round of a presidential election in which a far-right candidate is expected it get to the run-off for the first time.
Andre Ventura, leader of the far-right Chega (Enough) party, is favourite to win the first round but polls predict he would lose round two regardless of who he is up against.
The role of president is largely ceremonial but in times of crisis the incumbent can dissolve parliament, call elections or dismiss a prime minister.
This election could be the first time in four decades that no candidate wins outright in the first round by securing more than 50 percent of the vote.
Ventura said he felt "very confident" after casting his vote in the sunny capital.
"We cannot spend our time criticising things and then sit on the couch on the day we are called to make a decision," he said.
Only five of 11 candidates are thought to have a realistic chance of making it to the decisive vote on February 8 to succeed conservative incumbent Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
One of them, Socialist Antonio Jose Seguro, said he was the only one capable of defeating Ventura's "extremism" and  urged "all democrats" to unite behind him.
"I believe in the good sense of the Portuguese," he said after voting in his home city of Caldas da Rainha.
By noon, turnout stood at 21.18 percent, up from the 2021 presidential election, which took place during the Covid-19 pandemic and saw record abstention.
Exit polls will be announced at 8:00 pm (2000 GMT).

Young 'not happy'

Voting in Lisbon, Alexandre Leitao, a 50-year-old biologist, said he had voted left wing to stave off the "very negative shift toward the far right".
"We young people are not happy with the country we have," said 33-year-old Irina Ferestreoaru.
She said public approval of Ventura was "a warning sign for the country, because people are desperate to see change".
Experts say Ventura has his sights set on eventually running the country as prime minister.
"Andre Ventura is running to keep his voter base," said Antonio Costa Pinto, a political scientist at Lisbon University.
Chega's party emerged as the biggest opposition party in parliament after a general election last May, overtaking the Socialists.
A stronger far right would add pressure on the minority government of right-winger Luis Montenegro, which relies on Chega for support to implement some of its policies.
"Another solid result for the far right would confirm its domination over the political landscape," consulting firm Teneo said in a note.
EU and eurozone member Portugal accounts for around 1.6 percent of the bloc's economic output.
tsc/cc/jxb

environment

Chile declares emergency as wildfires kill at least 15

  • Wildfires have severely impacted south-central Chile in recent years.
  • Wildfires raging in southern Chile have killed at least 15 people and forced more than 50,000 to evacuate, the government said Sunday.
  • Wildfires have severely impacted south-central Chile in recent years.
Wildfires raging in southern Chile have killed at least 15 people and forced more than 50,000 to evacuate, the government said Sunday.
Security Minister Luis Cordero gave the tolls for the blazes burning for two days now in the Nuble and Biobio regions about 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Santiago.
President Gabriel Boric earlier declared a state of emergency as crews battled flames fueled by gusting winds and hot weather in the southern hemisphere summer.
Nearly two dozen blazes are burning across the country, many of them in Nuble and Biobio.
"We face a complicated situation," Interior Minister Alvaro Elizalde said.
The president announced the state of emergency in Nuble and Biobio in a post on the social media platform X. 
"All resources are available," Boric wrote. Among other things the declaration means the armed forces will now get involved.
Alicia Cebrian, the director of the National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response, said most of the evacuations were in the Biobio cities of Penco and Lirquen, which have a combined population of around 60,000 people.
Images broadcast by local television showed the flames in both cities, with charred cars in the streets.
Wildfires have severely impacted south-central Chile in recent years.
In February 2024, several fires broke out simultaneously near the city of Vina del Mar, northwest of Santiago, resulting in 138 deaths, according to the public prosecutor's office.
About 16,000 people were affected by those fires, authorities said.
pa/mr/dw/msp

aviation

Indonesia rescuers find body from plane crash

  • Among the debris, the joint search and rescue team found what is believed to be "the fuselage, the tail section, and the windows", local official Muhammad Arif Anwar told a press briefing.
  • Rescuers found debris and one body on Sunday from a small plane that crashed in eastern Indonesia with 10 people on board, officials said.
  • Among the debris, the joint search and rescue team found what is believed to be "the fuselage, the tail section, and the windows", local official Muhammad Arif Anwar told a press briefing.
Rescuers found debris and one body on Sunday from a small plane that crashed in eastern Indonesia with 10 people on board, officials said.
The Indonesian Air Transport turboprop plane lost contact with the air traffic controller on Saturday afternoon while en route from Yogyakarta to the city of Makassar on Sulawesi island.
Among the debris, the joint search and rescue team found what is believed to be "the fuselage, the tail section, and the windows", local official Muhammad Arif Anwar told a press briefing.
The body of one victim was found on a steep mountain slope in the same area, said Arif, head of the Makassar search and rescue agency.
"One male victim was found... at a depth of roughly 200 meters (656 feet) in the ravine and near aircraft debris," he said.
Another local rescue official, Andi Sultan, confirmed a body had been recovered, saying the remains would be evacuated on Monday due to poor weather conditions.
A unit was also deployed by air to search for the missing passengers, according to Arif.
The plane crashed into Mount Bulusaraung in Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park, which borders the city of Makassar, Arif said.
Three government workers from the ministry of marine affairs and fisheries were on board the plane along with seven crew members.
Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said the employees were on a mission to conduct aerial monitoring of resources in the area.
The search on land and by air involved more than 1,000 people including members of the air force, police and volunteers. 
Local military chief Bangun Nawoko told reporters that the search was hindered by harsh terrain and fog.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago in Southeast Asia, relies heavily on air transport to connect its thousands of islands. The country has a poor aviation safety record, with several fatal crashes in recent years.
In September, a helicopter carrying six passengers and two crew members crashed shortly after taking off from South Kalimantan province, killing everybody on board.
Less than two weeks after the September crash, four people were killed when their helicopter crashed in the remote Papua district of Ilaga.
str-dsa/ami

politics

'Bring it on': UK's Labour readies for EU reset fight

BY PETER HUTCHISON AND MARIE HEUCLIN

  • Three years of bitter parliamentary wrangling about what Britain's relationship with the EU should look like post-departure followed the vote, ultimately leading to the resignation of Theresa May as prime minister.
  • Britain's so-called Brexit wars dominated parliament for years.
  • Three years of bitter parliamentary wrangling about what Britain's relationship with the EU should look like post-departure followed the vote, ultimately leading to the resignation of Theresa May as prime minister.
Britain's so-called Brexit wars dominated parliament for years. Now the Labour government is bracing for new battles as it eyes legislation to move closer to the European Union.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer immediately set about repairing and rebuilding relations with the 27-member bloc after winning the July 2024 election that ousted the Conservatives after 14 years in power.
He hopes a deeper relationship with European neighbours can help fire up Britain's insipid economy and inject life into a premiership that has so far been deeply unpopular with the public.
His Labour government is preparing to introduce a bill that would provide a legal framework for his much-touted "reset" of relations with the EU.
Despite Labour's crushing majority in parliament, the move is expected to be fiercely opposed by the right-wing opposition parties -- the Conservatives, who took Britain out of the EU, and hard-right Reform UK, which leads opinion polls.
"Bring it on," a UK government official told AFP, referring to likely "Brexit betrayal" claims from the Tories and Reform's leader, arch-Eurosceptic Nigel Farage.
The move also risks splitting open divisions within Labour, including over whether the party should breach a manifesto promise not to rejoin the EU customs union.
Last year, Starmer struck an economic agreement with EU leaders that aims to boost trade by easing red tape on food and plant exports.
They also agreed to work on a new electricity deal that would integrate the UK into the EU's internal electricity market, with the intention of lowering energy costs.

 'Brexit damage'

The agreements form part of Britain aligning itself with EU rules in certain areas.
The bill has not been published yet but the government official, who asked not to be named, said it would provide a "mechanism" for an alignment.
"The bill will provide the powers to adopt the rules and set out the role parliament will play in that," the official said.
The government hopes to introduce the legislation in the spring or summer, meaning it could coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum, which was held in June 2016.
Three years of bitter parliamentary wrangling about what Britain's relationship with the EU should look like post-departure followed the vote, ultimately leading to the resignation of Theresa May as prime minister.
The deadlock was broken when her successor, Boris Johnson, won a landslide general election victory in December 2019 to force through the exit.
Opinion polls regularly now show that most Britons regret the razor-thin vote to leave the EU and view the Brexit project as a failure, something Starmer hopes can work in his favour.
"Labour members are almost wholly united in wanting to see some of the damage done by the Tory-Farage Brexit exposed and fixed," said one supportive Labour MP.
"Closer alignment helps our economic message, has the backing of members and most MPs, and will provide a boost to British business," the lawmaker, who asked not to be named, told AFP.
But not all Labour MPs are in agreement.
Thirteen of them recently voted in favour of a bill by the pro-EU centrist Liberal Democrat party that called for the UK to begin negotiations to rejoin a customs union with the EU.

 'Do more'

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, widely seen as the favourite to succeed Starmer as Labour's next leader, has indicated his support for such an agreement.
Starmer has come out against a customs union, however, insisting that he favours closer realignment with the EU's single market.
"I want us to do more," one Labour MP who feels Starmer is not being bold enough told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Other Labour lawmakers would rather he left the issue alone.
"We said we wouldn't re-open the Brexit debate and now we are doing exactly that," MP Jonathan Hinder told AFP.
"We can create a fairer, socialist Britain while outside the EU and that is what we should be focused on doing."
A UK government spokesperson said in a statement that the reset was "improving our diplomatic, economic and security cooperation and will be worth £9.0 billion ($12 billion) to the UK economy by 2040".
"We will legislate to deliver on this and further details of the bill will be announced in due course."
The deputy director for the Centre for European Reform think tank, Ian Bond, said that whether the bill is "a game changer will depend on exactly how much latitude the British government gives itself".
"If it holds its nerve, it really doesn't need to pay any attention to these noises," he said.
But he added he felt ministers were "all terrified that if they do anything too bold, Reform will criticise them for it".
pdh-mhc/jkb/gil/jhb

Kurds

Syrian army extends hold over north Syria, Kurds report clashes

BY BAKR ALKASEM AND OMAR HAJ KADOUR

  • The SDF controls swathes of Syria's oil‑rich north and northeast, areas captured during the civil war and the fight against the Islamic State group over the past decade. 
  • Syria's army has seized swathes of the country's north, dislodging Kurdish forces from territory over which they held effective autonomy for more than a decade.
  • The SDF controls swathes of Syria's oil‑rich north and northeast, areas captured during the civil war and the fight against the Islamic State group over the past decade. 
Syria's army has seized swathes of the country's north, dislodging Kurdish forces from territory over which they held effective autonomy for more than a decade.
The government appeared to be extending its grip on Kurdish-run areas after President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree declaring Kurdish a "national language" and granting the minority group official recognition.
The Kurds have said Friday's announcement fell short of their aspirations, while the implementation of a March deal -- intended to see Kurdish forces integrated into the state -- has stalled.
Government troops drove Kurdish forces from two Aleppo neighbourhoods last week and on Saturday took control of an area east of the city.
On Sunday, the government announced the capture of Tabqa, about 55 kilometres (34 miles) west of Raqa.
"The Syrian army controls the strategic city of Tabqa in the Raqqa countryside, including the Euphrates Dam, which is the largest dam in Syria," said Information Minister Hamza Almustafa, according to the official SANA news agency.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), however, said they had "taken the necessary measures to restore security and stability" in Tabqa.
In Deir Hafer, some 50 kilometres east of Aleppo city, an AFP correspondent saw several SDF fighters leaving the town and residents returning under heavy army presence.
Syria's army said four soldiers had been killed, while Kurdish forces reported several fighters dead. Both sides traded blame for violating a withdrawal deal.
Kurdish authorities ordered a curfew in the Raqa region after the army designated a swathe of territory southwest of the Euphrates River a "closed military zone", warning it would target what it said were several military sites.
The SANA news agency reported Sunday that the SDF destroyed two bridges over the Euphrates in Raqa city, which lies on the eastern bank of the river.
Raqa's media directorate separately accused the SDF of cutting off Raqa city's water supply by blowing up the main water pipes.
Deir Ezzor governor Ghassan Alsayed Ahmed said on social media that the SDF fired "rocket projectiles" at neighbourhoods in government-controlled territories in the city centre of Deir Ezzor, Al-Mayadin, and other areas.
The SDF said "factions affiliated with the Damascus government attacked our forces' positions" and caused clashes in several towns on the east bank of the Euphrates, opposite Al-Mayadin and which lie between Deir Ezzor and the Iraqi border.

'Betrayed'

On Friday, Syrian Kurdish leader and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi had committed to redeploying his forces from outside Aleppo to east of the Euphrates. 
But the SDF said Saturday that Damascus had "violated the recent agreements and betrayed our forces", with clashes erupting with troops south of Tabqa. 
The army urged the SDF to "immediately fulfil its announced commitments and fully withdraw" east of the river.
The SDF controls swathes of Syria's oil‑rich north and northeast, areas captured during the civil war and the fight against the Islamic State group over the past decade. 
US envoy Tom Barrack met Abdi in Erbil on Saturday, the presidency of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region said.
While Washington has long supported Kurdish forces, it has also backed Syria's new authorities. 
US Central Command on Saturday urged Syrian government forces "to cease any offensive actions in the areas between Aleppo and al‑Tabqa".
France's President Emmanuel Macron and the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani, also called for de-escalation and a ceasefire.

Presidential decree

Sharaa's announcement on Friday marked the first formal recognition of Kurdish rights since Syria's independence in 1946.
The decree stated that Kurds are "an essential and integral part" of Syria, where they have suffered decades of marginalisation. 
It made Kurdish a "national language" and granted nationality to all Kurds -- around 20 percent of whom were stripped of it under a controversial 1962 census.
The Kurdish administration in Syria's northeast said the decree was "a first step" but "does not satisfy the aspirations and hopes of the Syrian people.
In Qamishli, the main Kurdish city in the country's northeast, Shebal Ali, 35, told AFP that "we want constitutional recognition of the Kurdish people's rights". 
Nanar Hawach, senior Syria analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the decree "offers cultural concessions while consolidating military control". 
"It does not address the northeast's calls for self-governance," he said. 
Also Saturday, the US military said a strike in northwest Syria had killed a militant linked to a deadly attack on three Americans last month.
burs-jj/acb/abs/jfx

Denmark

Trump threatens Europe with tariffs over Greenland as protesters rally

BY ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS WITH PIERRE-HENRY DESHAYES IN NUUK

  • It was not immediately clear what authority the US president would invoke to impose the threatened tariffs of up to 25 percent. 
  • US President Donald Trump on Saturday escalated his quest to acquire Greenland, threatening multiple European nations with tariffs of up to 25 percent until he achieves his goal of controlling the Danish territory.
  • It was not immediately clear what authority the US president would invoke to impose the threatened tariffs of up to 25 percent. 
US President Donald Trump on Saturday escalated his quest to acquire Greenland, threatening multiple European nations with tariffs of up to 25 percent until he achieves his goal of controlling the Danish territory.
Trump's threats came as thousands of people protested in the capital of Greenland against his wish to acquire the mineral-rich island at the gateway to the Arctic.
Thousands more protested in Copenhagen and other Danish cities.
The US president aimed his ire at Denmark, a fellow NATO member, as well as several other European countries that have deployed troops in recent days to the vast autonomous territory with a population of 57,000.
If realized, Trump's threats against Washington's NATO partners would create unprecedented tension within the alliance.
From February 1, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland would be subject to a 10-percent tariff on all goods sent to the United States, Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
"On June 1st, 2026, the Tariff will be increased to 25%. This Tariff will be due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland," he wrote.
"These Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable," Trump said.
"Therefore, it is imperative that, in order to protect Global Peace and Security, strong measures be taken so that this potentially perilous situation end quickly, and without question."
Trump added that he was "immediately open to negotiation with Denmark and/or any of these Countries."
Denmark called Trump's announcement a "surprise," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was "completely wrong," and French President Emmanuel Macron added: "Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context."
"We won't let ourselves be intimidated," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told AFP, adding that the governments involved were working on a joint response.
In a statement, European Union leaders said the bloc "stands in full solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland." 
An extraordinary meeting of EU ambassadors has been called in Brussels for Sunday afternoon.
Greenlandic minister Naaja Nathanielsen on Saturday praised the reaction of European countries, saying she was "thankful and hopeful for diplomacy and allieship (sic) to prevail."

'Make America Go Away'

In Nuuk, thousands of people, including the territory's prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, waved Greenlandic flags, chanted slogans and sang traditional Inuit songs under light rain. 
Many wore caps with the words "Make America Go Away" -- a riff on Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan.
"We don't want Trump invading Greenland, that is the message," 44-year-old nurse Paarniq Larsen Strum said at the Nuuk rally, calling the situation "nerve-wracking."
"We demand respect for our country's right to self-determination and for us as a people," added protest organizer Avijaja Rosing-Olsen. 
In Copenhagen, charity worker Kirsten Hjoernholm, 52, said it was important to show unity with Greenlanders.
"You cannot be bullied by an ally. It's about international law," she said.
Around her, demonstrators waved the flags of Denmark and Greenland while chanting "Kalaallit Nunaat!" -- the vast Arctic island's name in Greenlandic.
Some also held placards saying "USA already has too much ICE," referring to Trump's deployment of federal immigration officers in US cities, while others chanted "Greenland is not for sale."

US 'security' claims

Trump has repeatedly claimed that the United States needs Greenland for US "national security," while alleging without evidence that China and Russia are trying to control it.
Those two countries have increased their security presence in the Arctic, but have not made any claims over its sovereignty.
France said the European military exercise in Greenland was designed to show the world that it will defend the territory.
Denmark said the US had been invited to join the drill.
It was not immediately clear what authority the US president would invoke to impose the threatened tariffs of up to 25 percent. 
Since returning to the presidency, Trump has unleashed sweeping tariffs on goods from virtually all trading partners, to address what Washington says are unfair trade practices and as a tool to press governments.
Washington and the European Union struck a deal last summer to lower US tariffs on key European goods, with the deal currently being implemented.
Also on Saturday, US lawmakers were wrapping up a visit to Copenhagen for talks with Greenlandic and Danish politicians.
The group, led by Democratic Senator Chris Coons, told reporters that Trump's stance was not backed by the majority of Americans.
It is also roundly rejected by Greenlanders, 85 percent of whom -- according to the latest poll published in January 2025 -- oppose the territory joining the United States. Only six percent were in favor.
bur/rmb-sst/aha/acb

security

Haiti security forces commence major anti-gang operation

  • Haitian police carry out daily operations in downtown Port-au-Prince, with the support of an international anti-gang security force and a private security company.
  • Haitian security forces are conducting a large-scale operation in gang-controlled areas, with a strike targeting the home of a major gang kingpin, the Haitian National Police told AFP on Saturday.
  • Haitian police carry out daily operations in downtown Port-au-Prince, with the support of an international anti-gang security force and a private security company.
Haitian security forces are conducting a large-scale operation in gang-controlled areas, with a strike targeting the home of a major gang kingpin, the Haitian National Police told AFP on Saturday.
A drone attack in the capital Port-au-Prince targeted one of the homes of Jimmy Cherizier, known as "Barbecue," who is leader of the Viv Ansanm criminal gang coalition, the communications officer for the national police said. 
"The targeted operation allowed us to destroy his house and minimize any possibility of his group returning to the area," Frantz Lerebours told AFP. 
Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has not held elections in nine years, and is plagued by political instability and rampant gang violence. 
Gangs, which frequently commit murders, rapes, robberies and kidnappings, control around 90 percent of Port-au-Prince, according to UN estimates.
Haitian police carry out daily operations in downtown Port-au-Prince, with the support of an international anti-gang security force and a private security company.
Drone explosions could be heard throughout the day, an AFP journalist on the scene reported. 
Haitian police say they hope to "regain control of the capital in the short term" thanks to a series of "intensive operations" carried out since the end of December. 
"We are working to restore public order," said Lerebours. "We are conducting security patrols in these areas. This has not been possible for several years." 

1.4 million displaced

Haiti's security situation has worsened since early 2024, when then-prime minister Ariel Henry was forced out of power by armed criminal groups.
Eighteen countries have pledged to provide security forces to the anti-gang unit that is replacing a UN multinational mission. 
It will consist of up to 5,500 soldiers, Albert Ramdin, the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), confirmed in mid-December. 
If all goes to plan, the first half of the new multinational force should be deployed by April 1, the date when a UN support office will be established, Ramdin said.
According to a recent report by Unicef, approximately 1.4 million people have been displaced within the country due to violence in the capital, representing more than 10 percent of the population.
That number includes more than 740,000 children. 
An estimated 5.7 million people face acute food insecurity, including 1.2 million children under the age of five. 
Haiti is currently ruled by transitional authorities, who have announced that legislative and presidential elections will be held in the summer of 2026. 
str-pno/aha/iv

Global Edition

Iran leader demands crackdown on 'seditionists' after protests

  • "By God's grace, the Iranian nation must break the back of the seditionists just as it broke the back of the sedition," supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told supporters during a televised address.
  • Iran's supreme leader said Saturday that authorities "must break the back of the seditionists", whom he accused of killing thousands during the wave of protests that were brutally repressed in the country.
  • "By God's grace, the Iranian nation must break the back of the seditionists just as it broke the back of the sedition," supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told supporters during a televised address.
Iran's supreme leader said Saturday that authorities "must break the back of the seditionists", whom he accused of killing thousands during the wave of protests that were brutally repressed in the country.
The demonstrations were sparked by anger over economic hardship that exploded into the biggest protests against the Islamic republic in more than three years.
But demonstrations have subsided after the crackdown that rights groups say left thousands of people dead under an internet blackout that has lasted more than a week.
Schools were set to resume Sunday, the ISNA news agency said, following a one-week closure, with postponed university exams set to be held in a week.
Authorities have said demonstrations they condemn as "riots" had been controlled and calm returned, with state-aligned media reporting thousands of arrests.
"By God's grace, the Iranian nation must break the back of the seditionists just as it broke the back of the sedition," supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told supporters during a televised address.
"We do not intend to lead the country to war, but we will not spare domestic criminals," he added, saying "international criminals" were "worse". 
He added that "agents... murdered a few thousand people. They murdered some with the utmost inhumanity, meaning pure savagery" -- seemingly his first admission that thousands had died.
Iranian authorities have blamed the latest wave of demonstrations on arch-foes the United States and Israel, saying they fuelled a "terrorist operation" that hijacked peaceful protests over the economy. 
Trump, who backed and joined Israel's 12-day war against Iran in June, had repeatedly threatened new military action against Tehran if protesters were killed. 

'American conspiracy'

Khamenei on Saturday lashed out at Trump, accusing him of being "guilty for the casualties, damages and accusations he has levelled against the Iranian nation".
"This was an American conspiracy," he said, adding that "America's goal is to swallow Iran... the goal is to put Iran back under military, political and economic domination". 
While Washington has appeared to have stepped back, the US president has said he has not ruled out military options and made clear he was keeping a close eye on whether any protesters were executed. 
Trump wrote on Friday on his Truth Social platform that Iran had called off the executions of hundreds of protesters and said to the clerical state: "Thank you!"
Asked on state TV about Trump's comment, Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi said the US president "always talks a lot of nonsense" and that the government's response had been "firm, dissuasive and swift" with many cases leading to indictments and sent to court. 
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. 
Iranian authorities said on Saturday that "a 32-member network of the Bahai espionage cult who were active in the riots and acts of vandalism were identified and 12 main agents were arrested and 13 were summoned," according to Tasnim.
Alarm has mounted over the reported death toll during the crackdown, as verifying cases remains difficult under severe internet restrictions. 
Eyewitnesses who left Iran after the protests told AFP of coming under fire and hearing numerous gunshots during protests. 
Kiarash, who gave only his first name for security reasons, was fired on during protests on January 10 and said he saw thousands of bodies at a mortuary in Tehran. 
"I saw the blood... Thousands of people and thousands of dead bodies" of people "asking for their rights", he told AFP from Germany. 

Pahlavi calls for protests

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, 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. 
Monitor Netblocks said on Saturday "internet connectivity continues to flatline in Iran despite a minor short-lived bump in access earlier today, when new reports of atrocities emerged". 
People in Iran were reportedly again able to send text messages within the country and to outside numbers but were still often unable to receive texts from those abroad. 
Rights groups say there have been no verifiable reports of protests in recent days and videos circulating on social media have shown a heavy security presence in some areas. 
But Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of the shah ousted in the 1979 Islamic revolution, took to social media on Friday to call for Iranians to protest again on Saturday and Sunday evening. 
sw/jsa/amj

conflict

Israel objects to line-up of Trump panel for post-war Gaza

  • On Saturday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza Executive Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy."
  • Israel said on Saturday it objected to the line-up of a Gaza panel that will operate under US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, which oversees post-war governance in the Palestinian territory.
  • On Saturday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza Executive Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy."
Israel said on Saturday it objected to the line-up of a Gaza panel that will operate under US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, which oversees post-war governance in the Palestinian territory.
The panel, known as the Gaza executive board, notably includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and a Qatari official and was announced by the White House on Friday.
The Board of Peace began to take shape on Saturday as the leaders of Egypt, Turkey, Argentina and Canada were asked to join. 
Trump had already declared himself the chair of the body, as he promotes a controversial vision of economic development in the Palestinian territory, much of which was reduced to rubble during two years of relentless Israeli bombardment.
The US president also named to the Board of Peace his Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British prime minister Tony Blair, and senior negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff -- most of whom are also on the Gaza executive board. 
On Saturday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza Executive Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy."
"The Prime Minister has instructed the Foreign Affairs Minister to contact the US Secretary of State on this matter."
The moves came after the Palestinian committee of technocrats tasked with governing Gaza under the oversight of the Board of Peace began held its first meeting in Cairo, attended by Kushner.
- Worldwide invites - 
In Canada, a senior aide to Prime Minister Mark Carney said he intended to accept Trump's invitation, while in Turkey, a spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had been asked to become a "founding member" of the board.
Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Cairo was "studying" a request for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to join.
Sharing an image of the invitation letter, Argentine President Javier Milei wrote on X that it would be "an honor" to participate in the initiative.
In a statement sent to AFP, Blair said: "I thank President Trump for his leadership in establishing the Board of Peace and am honored to be appointed to its Executive Board."
Blair is a controversial figure in the Middle East because of his role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Trump himself said last year that he wanted to make sure Blair was an "acceptable choice to everybody".
Blair spent years focused on the Israeli-Palestinian issue as representative of the "Middle East Quartet" -- the United Nations, European Union, United States and Russia -- after leaving Downing Street in 2007.
The White House said the Board of Peace will take on issues such as "governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding and capital mobilization".
The other members of the board so far are World Bank President Ajay Banga, an Indian-born American businessman; billionaire US financier Marc Rowan; and Robert Gabriel, a loyal Trump aide who serves on the US National Security Council.
On Saturday, the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad criticised the composition of the Board of Peace, saying it served Israel's interests.
The board "came in accordance with Israeli criteria and to serve the interests of the occupation", the group said in a statement.

Israeli strikes

Washington has said the Gaza plan had gone on to a second phase -- from implementing the ceasefire to disarming Hamas, whose October 2023 attack on Israel prompted the massive Israeli offensive.
On Friday, Trump named US Major General Jasper Jeffers to head the International Stabilization Force, which will be tasked with providing security in Gaza and training a new police force to succeed Hamas.
Jeffers, from special operations in US Central Command, in late 2024 was put in charge of monitoring a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, which has continued periodic strikes aimed at Hezbollah militants.
Gaza native and former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath was earlier tapped to head the governing committee.
Trump, a real estate developer, has previously mused about turning devastated Gaza into a Riviera-style area of resorts, although he has backed away from calls to forcibly displace the population.
burs-mib/amj/jsa

diplomacy

Hundreds in London protest against Beijing 'mega embassy'

BY HELEN ROWE

  • The latest protest came ahead of an expected decision this week.
  • Hundreds of people on Saturday rallied in London against Beijing's controversial new "mega" embassy, days ahead of a decision on the plan.
  • The latest protest came ahead of an expected decision this week.
Hundreds of people on Saturday rallied in London against Beijing's controversial new "mega" embassy, days ahead of a decision on the plan.
Protesters, their faces mostly covered with scarves or masks, chanted "No to Chinese embassy" and waved flags reading "Free Hong Kong. Revolution now".
Others held up placards with slogans such as "MI5 warned. Labour kneeled", referring to the UK's domestic intelligence agency and Prime Minister Keir Starmer's ruling party.
Others read: "CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is watching you. Stop the mega embassy."
China has for several years been trying to relocate its embassy, currently in the British capital's upmarket Marylebone district, to the sprawling historic site in the shadow of the Tower of London.
The move has sparked fierce opposition from nearby residents, rights groups and critics of China's ruling Communist Party.
The latest protest came ahead of an expected decision this week.
Benedict Rogers, head of the human rights group Hong Kong Watch said if it got the go-ahead it was "highly likely" that the site "will be used for espionage", citing the sensitive underground communications cables close to the site.
He said China had already been "carrying out a campaign of transnational repression against different diaspora communities" and other critics and predicted that that would "increase and intensify".
Beijing 'operations base' -
A protester who gave his name only as Brandon, for fear of reprisals, said the plans raised a "lot of concerns".
The 23-year-old bank employee, originally from Hong Kong but now living near Manchester in northwestern England, said many Hong Kongers had moved to the UK "to avoid authoritarian rule in China".
But they now found there could be an embassy in London serving as an "operations base" for Beijing.
"I don't think it's good for anyone except the Chinese government," he said.
Another demonstrator, who did not to give her name, called on Starmer to "step back and stop it (the plan) because there is a a high risk to the national security of the UK, not only Hong Kongers".
The 60-year-old warehouse worker, also originally from Hong Kong and now living in Manchester, said the embassy would be a "spy centre not only to watch the UK but the whole of Europe".
Speakers at the rally throwing their weight behind the campaign to stop the embassy included Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party.
British MPs voiced major security concerns earlier this week after a leading daily reported the site would house 208 secret rooms, including a "hidden chamber". 
The Daily Telegraph said it had obtained unredacted plans for the vast new building which would stand on the historical site of the former Royal Mint.
It showed that Beijing reportedly plans to construct a single "concealed chamber" among "secret rooms" underneath the embassy which would be placed alongside the underground communications cables.
har-adm/jj

France

Thousands march in France to back Iranian protesters

BY MATHIEU RABECHAULT WITH AFP BUREAUS

  • - Connection 'coming back' - In the eastern city of Strasbourg, Ali Rastegar, a 43-year-old Franco-Iranian, said he was at a rally to send a "message of support" to people back home.
  • Thousands of people rallied in France on Saturday in a show of support for demonstrators in Iran risking their lives to demand an end to theocratic rule.
  • - Connection 'coming back' - In the eastern city of Strasbourg, Ali Rastegar, a 43-year-old Franco-Iranian, said he was at a rally to send a "message of support" to people back home.
Thousands of people rallied in France on Saturday in a show of support for demonstrators in Iran risking their lives to demand an end to theocratic rule.
The protests in Iran over past weeks are the largest since the "Woman, Life, Freedom" street movement in 2022-2023, sparked by the death in custody of an Iranian Kurdish woman arrested for allegedly not following a required dress code. 
"Woman, Life, Freedom," chanted marchers in the French capital, some holding portraits of deceased Iranian protesters.
"Death to Khamenei," cried some, in reference to 86-year-old supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Galia, a 36-year-old woman who did not give her surname to protect her family, said she felt hopeful -- despite "the repression, the torture, the fear, the upcoming executions" in Iran.
"Each time, I tell myself, 'this is it, people will be free.' Maybe not now, but the time will come," she said among the crowd, which also included French protesters.

'Repression can't prevail'

In Iran, internet connectivity rose "very" slightly on Saturday, more than a week into an internet shutdown, the Netblock monitor said.
Activists said the blackout has acted as a cover for the killing of protesters.
Norway-based rights group Iran Human Rights (IHR) says it has verified that Iranian security forces have killed 3,428 protesters, 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, 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. 
In Paris, Amir -- a 23-year-old Iranian student who did not want to give his surname -- said he wanted freedom.
"The fall of the regime is unavoidable, we can't live like this," he said.
"Repression can't prevail, eventually freedom will win."
But Nasser Razi, a member of the National Council of Resistance in Iran opposition group, said patience was needed.
"This regime will not fall in one or two days. It's a process," he said.

Connection 'coming back'

In the eastern city of Strasbourg, Ali Rastegar, a 43-year-old Franco-Iranian, said he was at a rally to send a "message of support" to people back home.
"They're protesting and being shot at. It's unacceptable," he said.
In the western city of Rennes, organiser Zahra Bodin said marchers wanted "to shout as loud as our compatriots" in Iran.
In Lyon, a city in the southeast, protesters included many who were loyal to Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran's late shah.
A 30-year-old Iranian, who wished to remain anonymous, was taking part.
"We're here to encourage the protesters" in Iran, he said, despite the difficulty in communicating with loved ones.
He said recently connection had been "coming back".
"They can call us for a minute, but everything's being recorded over there. When they want to tell us what's been happening, they're cut off."
A young man in his twenties said he had been told you could "smell blood on the roads" of the central city of Isfahan.
Suddenly his phone rang.
"It's my family," he said, and walked away to take the call.
burs-mra/ah/jh

trade

EU, Mercosur bloc ink major trade deal, reject 'tariffs' and 'isolation'

BY MARTíN RASCHINSKY

  • The deal will favor European exports of cars, wine and cheese, while making it easier for South American beef, poultry, sugar, rice, honey and soybeans to enter Europe.
  • South American and European Union officials on Saturday signed a major trade deal, which they hailed as sending a powerful message at a time of tariff threats, global uncertainty and protectionism.
  • The deal will favor European exports of cars, wine and cheese, while making it easier for South American beef, poultry, sugar, rice, honey and soybeans to enter Europe.
South American and European Union officials on Saturday signed a major trade deal, which they hailed as sending a powerful message at a time of tariff threats, global uncertainty and protectionism.
The deal between the 27-nation European Union and Mercosur bloc members Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay creates one of the world's largest free trade areas after 25 years of tricky negotiations.
It was given fresh impetus amid the sweeping use of tariffs and trade threats by US President Donald Trump's administration, which has sent countries scrambling for new partnerships.
Trump on Saturday threatened multiple European nations with tariffs of up to 25 percent until he manages to gain control of the Danish territory Greenland.
"We choose fair trade over tariffs, we choose a productive long-term partnership over isolation," EU chief Ursula Von der Leyen said at the signing ceremony in Asuncion, Paraguay.
Paraguay's President Santiago Pena also praised the treaty as sending "a clear signal in favor of international trade" in "a global scenario marked by tensions."
European Council head Antonio Costa said the deal stood in contrast to "the use of trade as a geopolitical weapon."
And Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said the deal was a "bulwark ... in the face of a world battered by unpredictability, protectionism, and coercion."
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva -- a key architect of the accord -- was unable to attend the ceremony due to scheduling conflicts, and met with Von der Leyen in Rio de Janeiro on Friday where he praised it as a victory for multilateralism.
In Paraguay, leaders said the treaty would bring jobs, prosperity, and opportunities to people on both sides of the Atlantic.

'It's not fair'

Together, the EU and Mercosur account for 30 percent of global GDP and more than 700 million consumers.
The treaty -- which still needs to be approved by the EU parliament and ratified by each Mercosur nation -- eliminates tariffs on more than 90 percent of bilateral trade.
It is expected to come into force by the end of 2026.
The deal will favor European exports of cars, wine and cheese, while making it easier for South American beef, poultry, sugar, rice, honey and soybeans to enter Europe.
This has angered European farmers, who have rolled tractors into cities like Paris, Brussels and Warsaw to protest a feared influx of cheaper goods produced with lower standards and banned pesticides.
"We have good quality Irish beef and good standards here, and they don't have the same standards in South American countries," said Trisha Chatterton, a 50-year-old farmer at a protest in Ireland earlier this month.
"It's not fair," said Luis, a 24-year-old Belgian cattle farmer who took part in a December protest that turned ugly, as demonstrators set piles of tires on fire and hurled potatoes at police.
Key power Germany, as well as Spain and the Nordic countries, strongly support the pact, eager to boost exports as Europe grapples with Chinese competition and a tariff-happy administration in the White House.
Some in South America are also wary about the impact of the treaty.
In Argentina, it is estimated that there could be a loss of 200,000 jobs just from the dismantling of the local automotive industry, trade and investment researcher Luciana Ghiotto told AFP.

Safeguard and quotas

In a bid to allay fears, the European Commission announced a crisis fund and safeguards allowing for the suspension of preferential tariffs in case of a damaging surge in imports.
However Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei warned against quotas and safeguard which "will significantly reduce the economic impact of the agreement and will go against its essential objective."
According to EU estimates, European exports to Mercosur are expected to rise by 39 percent, while Mercosur exports to the EU could increase by 17 percent.
By 2040, the agreement is projected to boost EU GDP by 77.6 billion euros and Mercosur GDP by 9.4 billion euros.
mry-fb/md

conflict

Ukraine team arrives in US for Miami talks with Witkoff, Kushner

  • Kyiv is seeking clarity from its allies on post-war security guarantees, which it sees as key to deter Moscow from invading again.  
  • Ukrainians negotiators arrived in the US Saturday for talks with Donald Trump's administration on how to end four years of war with Russia, expected to focus on security guarantees and post-war recovery.   
  • Kyiv is seeking clarity from its allies on post-war security guarantees, which it sees as key to deter Moscow from invading again.  
Ukrainians negotiators arrived in the US Saturday for talks with Donald Trump's administration on how to end four years of war with Russia, expected to focus on security guarantees and post-war recovery.   
The team -- headed by President Volodymyr Zelensky's new chief-of-staff Kyrylo Budanov -- will meet with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, envoy Steve Witkoff and US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll in Miami. 
The talks come as the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion looms and as Moscow has pounded Ukraine's energy facilities during a freezing winter. 
The war is Europe's worst conflict since World War Two. 
Kyiv is seeking clarity from its allies on post-war security guarantees, which it sees as key to deter Moscow from invading again.  
Sticking points between Kyiv and Washington on the guarantees remain, but Zelensky hopes to sign documents on them with the US next week.  
Ahead of the talks, the wartime leader said his delegation was tasked to "provide all the real information about what is happening". Thousands have braved freezing temperatures as low as -19C without heating in Kyiv due to Russian strikes. 
"One of the consequences of this terror is the discrediting of the diplomatic process, people are losing faith in diplomacy," Zelensky warned.  
Ukraine's security chief Rustem Umerov and negotiator David Arakhamia will join Budanov for the Miami talks. 
Trump has pushed for an end to the war and expressed frustration with both sides, with no breakthrough on the horizon. 
He has also pressured Ukraine to accept peace terms that Kyiv says amount to capitulation. 
Russia's advance in east Ukraine gathered pace since autumn, with the Kremlin insisting it will seize the rest of Ukrainian land it claims as Russian by force if diplomacy fails. 
The Kremlin has so far rejected Western peace proposals and not dropped its maximalist demands.    

Thousands without power

Territory and security guarantees have been at the forefront of remaining questions on a plan to end the war. 
The UK and France have signed a declaration of intent to deploy troops to Ukraine if there is a ceasefire -- but Moscow objects to that plan, warning any foreign forces would be "legitimate targets" for its forces. 
Zelensky said 400,000 people were experiencing "difficulties with electricity" in Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv after night-time Russian strikes. 
Authorities also said 56,000 families in the Bucha area -- outside Kyiv where Russian forces committed atrocities in 2022 -- were without power after the attacks. 
Schools in the Ukrainian capital will be shut until February over health concerns due to the power outage, authorities have said. 
Ukraine's energy ministry said most regions of Ukraine had power restrictions. 
"Due to constant massive attacks by the Russian Federation, a state of emergency has been declared in the Ukrainian energy sector," the ministry said. 
Russia occupies large swathes of southern and eastern Ukraine. 
It said Saturday that its forces had captured two more Ukrainian villages, in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. 
The US has held talks with both Moscow and Kyiv on ending the war, but relations between Europe and the Kremlin largely frozen since Russia launched its full-scale offensive in 2022. 
France and Italy have said in recent weeks that Europe should re-engage with Moscow to end the conflict, while Britain has said it has no plans to talk to the Kremlin. 
bur-oc/rmb