fire

Indian PM calls deadly Delhi blast 'conspiracy'

music

Humans can no longer tell AI music from the real thing: survey

  • "Ninety-seven percent could not distinguish between music entirely generated by AI and human-created music," said Deezer in a statement.
  • It has become nearly impossible for people to tell the difference between music generated by artificial intelligence and that created by humans, according to a survey released Wednesday.
  • "Ninety-seven percent could not distinguish between music entirely generated by AI and human-created music," said Deezer in a statement.
It has become nearly impossible for people to tell the difference between music generated by artificial intelligence and that created by humans, according to a survey released Wednesday.
The polling firm Ipsos asked 9,000 people to listen to two clips of AI-generated music and one of human-made music in a survey conducted for France-based streaming platform Deezer.
"Ninety-seven percent could not distinguish between music entirely generated by AI and human-created music," said Deezer in a statement.
The survey was conducted between October 6 and 10 in eight countries: Brazil, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the United States.
Deezer said more than half of the respondents felt uncomfortable at not being able to tell the difference.
Pollsters also asked broader questions about the impact of AI, with 51 percent saying the technology would lead to more low-quality music on streaming platforms and almost two-thirds believing it will lead to a loss of creativity.
"The survey results clearly show that people care about music and want to know if they're listening to AI or human made tracks or not," Deezer CEO Alexis Lanternier said in a statement.
Deezer said there has not only been a surge in AI-generated content being uploaded to its platform, but it is finding listeners as well. 
In January, one in 10 of the tracks streamed each day were completely AI-generated. Ten months later, that percentage has climbed to over one in three, or nearly 40,000 per day.
Eighty percent of survey respondents wanted fully AI-generated music clearly labelled for listeners.
Deezer is the only major music-streaming platform that systematically labels completely AI-generated content for users.
The issue gained prominence in June when a band called The Velvet Sundown suddenly went viral on Spotify, and only confirmed the following month that it was in fact AI-generated content.
The AI group's most popular song has been streamed more than three million times.
In response, Spotify said it would encourage artists and publishers to sign up to a voluntary industry code to disclose AI use in music production.
fan/vg/rl/jxb

budget

House vote likely Wednesday on ending US government shutdown

BY DANNY KEMP

  • - Democratic rift - The deal has split Democrats, with many senior figures saying they should have held out for the extension of health insurance subsidies at the heart of the shutdown battle.
  • The effort to end the longest-ever US government shutdown heads Wednesday toward a final vote, as President Donald Trump declared victory in the political face-off and rival Democrats tore themselves apart over the deal.
  • - Democratic rift - The deal has split Democrats, with many senior figures saying they should have held out for the extension of health insurance subsidies at the heart of the shutdown battle.
The effort to end the longest-ever US government shutdown heads Wednesday toward a final vote, as President Donald Trump declared victory in the political face-off and rival Democrats tore themselves apart over the deal.
The House of Representatives appeared likely to vote Wednesday on a spending bill to solve the six-week standoff, after eight Democrats broke ranks in the Senate on Monday to side with Trump's Republicans.
During a Veterans Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery, Trump broke off to praise Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
"Congratulations to you and to John and to everybody on a very big victory," Trump said as he spotted Johnson in the audience.
"We're opening up our country -- it should have never been closed," added Trump, bucking US presidential tradition by using a ceremonial event to score political points.
Trump said later he expected the Republican-controlled House to approve the bill to fund the government through January. "Only people that hate our country want to see it not open," he told ESPN.

'Serious calculations'

Top Democrats have vowed to oppose the government-funding bill, in large part because it does not directly address the extension of health insurance subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of this year.
But it is likely to pass the House as it only needs a simple majority, which Republicans narrowly have.
From the start, Trump had piled pressure on Democrats by letting the shutdown be as punishing as possible and refusing to negotiate on their demands on health insurance.
A million federal workers went unpaid, food benefits for low-income Americans came under threat and air travelers faced thousands of cancelations and delays ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Tuesday that the chaos could get worse by the weekend if the shutdown persists, with air traffic controllers unable to be paid and authorities ordering further slowdowns in flight traffic.
"You're going to have airlines that make serious calculations about whether they continue to fly, full stop," Duffy told reporters at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. 
Polls have shown that voters increasingly blamed Trump's party as the shutdown dragged on past its 40th day.
But it was the Democrats who caved and gave Republicans the extra votes they needed Monday under Senate rules, without securing the key concessions they wanted.
"Health care of people all across this country is on the brink of becoming unaffordable," top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries told reporters Tuesday as he vowed to maintain the fight for lower costs.

Democratic rift

The deal has split Democrats, with many senior figures saying they should have held out for the extension of health insurance subsidies at the heart of the shutdown battle.
"Pathetic," California Governor Gavin Newsom, widely seen as a 2028 Democratic presidential frontrunner, posted on X.
Despite opposing the bill vocally and voting against it, Democratic Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer has faced calls from some lawmakers in his party to step down for failing to corral his senators.
For Democrats, the wavering was especially galling as it came just days after election wins that put Trump on the back foot for the first time since his White House return.
Democratic wins in New York City, New Jersey and Virginia in particular highlighted the issue of affordability, a weak spot for billionaire Trump and the Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
But Senate Republicans have promised Democrats a vote on health insurance, with millions of Americans set to see their "Obamacare" costs double without an extension of the subsidies.
The health care issue has itself threatened to cause a rift in Trump's "Make America Great Again" coalition.
On Monday, Trump said one-time ally Marjorie Taylor Greene had "lost her way" after the congresswoman made critical comments, including that she was "disgusted" that premiums could double for her own grown-up children.
dk/mlm/sla

diplomacy

Russia loses legal bid to build embassy next to Australian parliament

  • On Wednesday, the High Court upheld the law as valid.
  • Russia's government lost on Wednesday a legal bid at Australia's High Court to build a new embassy less than a kilometre from the country's parliament.
  • On Wednesday, the High Court upheld the law as valid.
Russia's government lost on Wednesday a legal bid at Australia's High Court to build a new embassy less than a kilometre from the country's parliament.
Russia was granted a 99-year lease in 2008 after paying nearly Aus$3 million ($2 million) for the site, which sat about 400 metres (yards) from the parliamentary precinct.
But the lease was revoked in 2023 after parliament passed a law preventing the project from going ahead.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the time said the government had received "very clear security advice" from Canberra's spy agency on "the risk presented by a new Russian presence so close to Parliament House".
That move sparked a years-long legal row between the two countries, with lawyers representing Moscow arguing the law was unconstitutional.
On Wednesday, the High Court upheld the law as valid.
But it also found that the Australian government was required to pay compensation to Russia.
Following the 2023 law change, Australia's attempts to seize the land quickly were thwarted by a middle-aged Russian diplomat who squatted inside a small security shed on the site.
He faced frigid temperatures during his brief occupation, entertaining himself with television, snacking on vegetable chips and sporadically stepping out into the cold to smoke cigarettes.
The squatter was forced out just days later, after a preliminary High Court decision backed the government's attempts to evict Russia from the site.
lec/oho/mtp

trial

Ousted Gabon leader's wife and son sentenced to 20 years for graft

  • The deposed leader is not facing prosecution.
  • A Gabon court on Wednesday sentenced the former first lady and son of the oil-rich country's deposed leader Ali Bongo to 20 years in prison following a two-day graft trial.
  • The deposed leader is not facing prosecution.
A Gabon court on Wednesday sentenced the former first lady and son of the oil-rich country's deposed leader Ali Bongo to 20 years in prison following a two-day graft trial.
Sylvia Bongo, 62, and Noureddin Bongo, 33, both tried in absentia, were found guilty of embezzlement of public funds, among other charges.
The wife of Ali Bongo, whose family ruled the central African country with an iron fist for 55 years, had been accused of manipulating her husband to embezzle taxpayers' money.
She denied all charges.
Her son and co-defendant, Noureddin, criticised the trial as a "legal farce" in an interview with AFP last week.
Ex-president Ali Bongo was toppled in a coup on August 30, 2023, which brought General Brice Oligui Nguema to power.
The deposed leader is not facing prosecution.
Bongo ruled for 14 years and was overthrown moments after being proclaimed the winner in a presidential election the army and opposition declared fraudulent.
He had succeeded his father Omar Bongo Ondimba, who ruled with an iron fist for nearly 42 years until his death in 2009.
Bongo's wife and son, who both hold French citizenship, were accused of exploiting the former leader, who suffered a serious stroke in 2018, to effectively run Gabon for their own personal profit.
Arrested after the coup, they were detained in the country for 20 months before being released in May and allowed to leave the country for London, officially on medical grounds.
Both allege they suffered torture during their detention.
Ten former allies of the Bongos are also on trial, accused of complicity in the embezzlement of public funds. Proceedings are expected to continue until Friday.
Prosecutor Eddy Minang said that statements by the co-accused and witnesses during the trial revealed a system of diverting public funds "for the benefit of private interests".
In May last year, Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo filed a lawsuit in France alleging that they were "repeatedly and violently tortured" by Oligui's closest army allies while in detention.
"We know full well that if we go back, we will suffer things far worse than we have already suffered," Noureddin Bongo told AFP ahead of the trial. 
He said his Gabonese lawyer would also not attend the hearing to avoid "justifying... a legal farce". 
"We are not opposed to the idea of being held accountable for so-called acts we may have committed," Bongo insisted.
"But only if it is before an independent and genuine court of law, not one that is clearly under the orders of the executive branch in Gabon," he told AFP.
The family also claims the new authorities have leant on the courts to find them guilty.
Oligui was officially sworn in as president in April after handing in his general's uniform.
He has denied there was any form of torture and promised that both would have a "fair trial".
hpn/kjm/mtp

drugs

Arrival of US aircraft carrier fuels Venezuelan fears of attack

  • - 'Unacceptable' - Venezuela announced Tuesday what it called a major, nationwide military deployment to counter the US naval presence off its coast.
  • A US aircraft carrier strike group arrived in Latin America Tuesday, escalating a military buildup Venezuela has warned could trigger a full-blown conflict as it announced its own "massive" deployment.
  • - 'Unacceptable' - Venezuela announced Tuesday what it called a major, nationwide military deployment to counter the US naval presence off its coast.
A US aircraft carrier strike group arrived in Latin America Tuesday, escalating a military buildup Venezuela has warned could trigger a full-blown conflict as it announced its own "massive" deployment.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, entered an area under control of the US Naval Forces Southern Command, which encompasses Latin America and the Caribbean, the command said in a statement.
The vessel's deployment was ordered nearly three weeks ago, with the stated goal of helping to counter drug trafficking in the region.
Its presence "will bolster US capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said.
President Donald Trump's administration is conducting a military campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, deploying naval and air forces for an anti-drugs offensive.
Caracas fears the deployment, which also includes F-35 stealth warplanes sent to Puerto Rico and six US Navy ships in the Caribbean, is a regime change plot in disguise.
President Nicolas Maduro, whose last two reelections were dismissed as fraudulent by Washington and dozens of other countries, has accused the Trump administration of "fabricating a war."
"If we as a republic, as a people, go into an armed struggle in order to defend the sacred legacy of the liberators, we're ready to win," Maduro said Tuesday.
On November 2, Trump played down the prospect of going to war with Venezuela but said the days of Maduro -- whom he accuses of being a drug lord -- were numbered.
US forces have carried out strikes on about 20 vessels in international waters in the region since early September, killing at least 76 people, according to US figures.
In response to these strikes, Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered the suspension of his country's intel exchange with Washington on Tuesday, a pause which "will remain in force as long as the missile attacks on boats continue," he said in a post on X.
The Trump administration says the United States is engaged in "armed conflict" with Latin American drug cartels, which it describes as "terrorist" groups.
Washington has not provided any evidence the stricken vessels were used to smuggle drugs, and human rights experts say the attacks amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers.

'Unacceptable'

Venezuela announced Tuesday what it called a major, nationwide military deployment to counter the US naval presence off its coast.
The defense ministry in Caracas spoke in a statement of a "massive deployment" of land, sea, air, river and missile forces as well as civilian militia to counter "imperial threats." 
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said 200,000 troops participated in an exercise, though no military activity was observed in the capital Caracas.
Padrino sought to assure Venezuelans the country was "safeguarded, protected, defended."
"They are murdering defenseless people, whether or not they are drug traffickers, executing them without due process," the minister added of the US operation.
Experts have told AFP that Venezuela, with an ill-disciplined fighting force and outdated arsenal, would be at a serious disadvantage in a military standoff with the United States.
On Tuesday, Russia denounced US strikes on boats from Venezuela -- an ally of Moscow -- as "unacceptable."
"This is how, in general, lawless countries act, as well as those who consider themselves above the law," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in televised remarks, questioning what he described as a "pretext of fighting drugs."
Maduro relies heavily on the Kremlin for political and economic support. 
US-Russia relations have soured in recent weeks as Trump has voiced frustration with Moscow over the lack of a resolution to the Ukraine war.
The United Kingdom, meanwhile, would not comment Tuesday on a CNN report that it had stopped sharing intelligence with the United States about suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters in London: "We don't comment on security or intelligence matters."
He underlined that "the US is our closest partner on defense, security, intelligence," and would not be drawn on reported UK concerns about the strikes.
"Decisions on this are a matter for the US," the spokesman said.
burs-mlr/jgc/sla

justice

Nepal's war victims watch political changes with fragile hope

BY ANUP OJHA

  • Gita Rasaili, who heads the Conflict Victim Women National Network, said she hoped they could find common cause with the new generation demanding government action.
  • When families of those killed in Nepal's deadly September protests that toppled the government demanded justice, the anguish felt painfully familiar to Sunamati Chaudhari.
  • Gita Rasaili, who heads the Conflict Victim Women National Network, said she hoped they could find common cause with the new generation demanding government action.
When families of those killed in Nepal's deadly September protests that toppled the government demanded justice, the anguish felt painfully familiar to Sunamati Chaudhari.
Her husband, an English teacher, was taken by security forces 22 years ago at the height of a decade-long civil war. He never returned.
Chaudhari, 62, has been searching for the truth about her husband's disappearance ever since.
"We left no stone unturned in search of my husband. We went to court, sought help of many organisations -- and even reached Geneva," she told AFP, referring to her bid to seek help from the United Nations. "But nothing happened."
She is among the thousands of relatives waiting for closure since a 2006 peace deal ended a conflict in which more than 16,000 people were killed and 1,400 remain missing.
Abuses were committed by both Maoist rebels and state forces.
"I would dream of him every night," Chaudhari said.
Justice has been glacial in the Himalayan nation.
Nepal's authorities have long been criticised for failing to adequately probe wartime abuses.
Two transitional justice commissions set up in 2015 have yet to resolve a single case, despite receiving more than 65,000 complaints of rape, murder and enforced disappearances.

'Culture of impunity'

Nepal is now reeling from fresh political upheaval.
Youth-led demonstrations against a social media ban, worsening economic woes and corruption erupted nationwide in September, leaving at least 76 people dead in a violent crackdown.
Parliament, courts and civil service buildings were torched, and the government collapsed.
Former chief justice Sushila Karki, 73, was named interim prime minister to steer Nepal until elections in March 2026.
For many families still haunted by the civil war, the political shake-up has stirred a fragile mix of hope and anxiety.
Preeti Tharu, 22, whose father was abducted by rebels before she was born, fears history will repeat itself.
"The previous government only showed assurances," she said. "And I know, with this changing situation, the state's priority might be something else."
Gita Rasaili, who heads the Conflict Victim Women National Network, said she hoped they could find common cause with the new generation demanding government action.
"We worried that our agenda was over, because there are now new victims' families and new martyrs," she told AFP.
"But we are all fighting against a culture of impunity."

'Volatile'

In August, before the uprising, families gathered to mark the International Day of the Disappeared at a new memorial park in western Nepal's Bardiya district.
Families of some of the 258 missing people from the district planted trees and lit candles.
Park coordinator Niranjan Kumar Chaudhari, whose father was taken away by the army, said the new crop of politicians in the interim government were among the few who had taken action to support their cause.
"The current prime minister and home minister are both advocates for victims of war crimes," Chaudhari said.
"But the political situation is volatile."
It was under Karki's watch as chief justice that a court in 2017 sentenced three soldiers to 20 years in jail for the murder of a teenage girl.
At the time, it was only the second conviction for crimes committed during the war.
The Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons says its work will continue regardless of the political situation.
"We have received 2,610 complaints so far," said commission chief Lila Devi Gadtaula, who aims to complete investigations within four years, with progress slowed by limited forensic resources.
But for families like Chaudhari's, time has already run out.
In July, she and her two sons performed her husband's death rites.
"It's already too late," she said. "Many prime ministers have come and gone, but nobody addressed our problem."
str/pm/abh/pjm/mtp

conflict

Russia jails teen musician over anti-war street songs for third time

  • The performances went viral, capturing attention at a time when public opposition to the Kremlin and the war in Ukraine is virtually non-existent.
  • A Russian court on Tuesday sent an 18-year-old street musician who performed anti-war songs to jail for a third time as the Kremlin mounts a no-limits crackdown on any signs of dissent or opposition.
  • The performances went viral, capturing attention at a time when public opposition to the Kremlin and the war in Ukraine is virtually non-existent.
A Russian court on Tuesday sent an 18-year-old street musician who performed anti-war songs to jail for a third time as the Kremlin mounts a no-limits crackdown on any signs of dissent or opposition.
All public criticism of Moscow's military offensive on Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin or the army is outlawed under sweeping censorship laws that rights groups have compared to those of the Soviet Union.
Diana Loginova, a music student known by the stage name Naoko, was arrested last month after staging pop-up street concerts reciting songs by exiled Russian artists Monetochka and Noize MC in Saint Petersburg.
The performances went viral, capturing attention at a time when public opposition to the Kremlin and the war in Ukraine is virtually non-existent.
She has already been served two 13-day sentences, being re-arrested and re-charged with new offences immediately after both releases.
Rights lawyers have said the singer is now caught up in jail "carousel", a practice whereby prosecutors lob a string of minor charges against defendants to keep them in constant custody.
In the latest case, she was found guilty of organising the mass gathering of people and sentenced to another 13 days in prison, an AFP correspondent reported from the Saint Petersburg court.
Since Loginova's arrest, a flurry of videos in support of her and her band Stoptime have flooded TikTok, while other young street performers have expressed solidarity with her in public, risking fines or jail sentences themselves.
The band's guitarist, Alexander Orlov, was also jailed for another 13 days.
In court, he sat between his lawyer and a masked police officer.
Street singers in other Russian cities who performed in support of Loginova have also faced arrests. 
A day earlier, independent media reported that a court in the city of Perm, more than 1,500 kilometres (900 miles) east of Saint Petersburg, handed 20-year-old performer Yekaterina Romanova 15 days in jail. 
Romanova, also known as Yekaterina Ostasheva, had performed in support of Loginova in Perm and had already been given seven days in jail earlier this month. 
Thousands have been detained since Russia banned criticism of the army shortly after launching its full-scale military offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.
bur/cc

Canada

France warns over Caribbean 'instability' as G7 talks open

BY BEN SIMON

  • "We have observed, with concern, military operations in the Caribbean region because they disregard international law," Barrot said, without citing specific US actions.
  • France's foreign minister criticized "military operations" in the Caribbean at a G7 meeting on Tuesday, as the deployment of a US aircraft carrier strike group escalated an arms buildup in the region.
  • "We have observed, with concern, military operations in the Caribbean region because they disregard international law," Barrot said, without citing specific US actions.
France's foreign minister criticized "military operations" in the Caribbean at a G7 meeting on Tuesday, as the deployment of a US aircraft carrier strike group escalated an arms buildup in the region.
Speaking to reporters at the start of a Group of Seven gathering in Canada, top French diplomat Jean-Noel Barrot said it was crucial to avoid "instability caused by potential escalations," after Venezuela warned the US deployments could trigger a full-blown conflict.
"We have observed, with concern, military operations in the Caribbean region because they disregard international law," Barrot said, without citing specific US actions.
But the comments at the meet near Niagara Falls came after the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, entered an area under control of the US Naval Forces Southern Command, which encompasses Latin America and the Caribbean.
President Donald Trump's administration is conducting a military campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, deploying naval and air forces for an anti-drugs offensive.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused the Trump administration of "fabricating a war" while pursuing a regime change plot in disguise.
Barrot said it was essential for the G7 club of industrialized democracies to "work in concert" to confront the global narcotics trade, noting that more than a million French citizens live in the Caribbean and could be impacted by any potential unrest. 

Ukraine, Sudan

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, the meeting host, said bolstering Ukraine would feature prominently at the talks, but has stopped short of promising concrete G7 action to support Kyiv's efforts against invasion by Russia.
As the meeting began, the UK announced £13 million ($17.1 million) of funding to help repair Ukraine's energy sector, which has sustained massive Russian attacks in recent days.
Britain also announced a maritime services ban on Russian liquid natural gas.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Russian President Vladimir Putin "is trying to plunge Ukraine into darkness and the cold as winter approaches."
At the G7, Cooper plans "to galvanise (Britain's) closest partners to continue to stand up for Ukraine in the face of Putin's mindless aggression," the foreign office said.
Anand told reporters that Sudan's escalating crisis will be addressed Tuesday at a working dinner on global security.
She said Canada was "absolutely horrified" by the conflict that has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, and that the G7 would work "to support those who are suffering and dying needlessly in Sudan."
Anand is set for a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio before the G7 meeting closes on Wednesday. 
But she said she did not expect to press the issue of Trump's trade war, which has forced Canadian job losses and squeezed economic growth.
"We will have a meeting and have many topics to discuss concerning global affairs," Anand told AFP.
"The trade issue is being dealt with by other ministers."
Trump abruptly ended trade talks with Canada last month -- just after an apparently cordial White House meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The president has voiced fury over an ad, produced by Ontario's provincial government, which quoted former US president Ronald Reagan on the harm caused by tariffs.
bur/bs/mlm

UN

Ethiopia set to host UN's 2027 climate summit, 2026 undecided

BY NICK PERRY AND THOMAS MORFIN

  • Australia wants to host it in Adelaide and has more support, but Turkey refuses to concede and abandon its bid for Antalya. 
  • Uncertainty still surrounds which country will host next year's UN climate conference: Australia or Turkey.
  • Australia wants to host it in Adelaide and has more support, but Turkey refuses to concede and abandon its bid for Antalya. 
Uncertainty still surrounds which country will host next year's UN climate conference: Australia or Turkey. But for 2027, there's little mystery: it will almost certainly be Ethiopia, an African diplomatic powerhouse.
The news broke on the second day of COP30, the 30th UN climate change conference held in Belem, in the Brazilian Amazon.
Richard Muyungi, chair of the Africa Group of Negotiators told AFP the group "has endorsed Ethiopia." The Brazilian presidency of COP30 confirmed the African countries' choice to AFP.
It's not yet official -- the decision still needs to be officially adopted by all participating nations during the conference, which ends on November 21 -- but that should be a formality.
"We welcome the announcement of COP32 in Ethiopia and look forward to elevating Africa's climate priorities and leadership," said Rukiya Khamis, Africa senior organiser at the nonprofit 350.org. 
UN climate conferences are organized in rotation among five regional blocs, which must select the host country by consensus within their group. The process can lead to power struggles. 
This year, Brazil was chosen to host COP30 on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean states. Africa's turn is scheduled for 2027, and Ethiopia was selected as the host country over Nigeria, another African giant.
"We look forward to welcoming all of you to Addis Ababa for COP32," Ethiopian Ambassador to Brazil Leulseged Tadese Abebe said in response, during a plenary session, adding his country had begun initial preparations.
As the headquarters of the African Union (AU), the Ethiopian capital is well-versed in hosting major global events -- from AU annual meetings to numerous international conferences.

COP31 deadlock

Located in the Horn of Africa, the continent's second most populous country, with some 130 million inhabitants, faces intense periods of drought. 
At the same time, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed likes to showcase his environmental commitment: his country was the first in the world to ban the import of internal combustion engine vehicles, and the government has pledged to plant billions of trees.
While Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, a year after coming to power, for his rapprochement with neighboring Eritrea, Ethiopia continues to face serious security challenges. 
The war in Tigray, a region in northern Ethiopia, claimed at least 600,000 lives between 2020 and 2022, according to the African Union, and spilled over into the neighboring Afar region. 
In recent days, tensions between Tigray and Afar have flared up again, and Ethiopian-Eritrean relations have deteriorated once more.
While the decision regarding the 2027 COP32 is awaiting official ratification, obstacles remain for COP31 next year.
Australia wants to host it in Adelaide and has more support, but Turkey refuses to concede and abandon its bid for Antalya. 
Both countries belong to the "Western Europe and Other States" group. 
Negotiations are ongoing, and a decision must be reached in Belem, otherwise COP31 will be held by default at the UN Climate Change headquarters in Bonn, Germany. 
Such a deadlock would be unprecedented in the history of UN climate conferences.
np-ico/ia/jgc/mlm

UN

Brazil tries to avoid climate bust up at COP30 summit

  • The United Nations summit narrowly avoided a so-called "agenda fight" at its Monday opening in Belem only because Brazil promised to hear these demands informally and broker an amenable solution.
  • COP30 hosts Brazil will seek to land a compromise on Wednesday as some nations seek to put ambitious climate action and financial obligations on the summit agenda -- flashpoints that have stalled past negotiations.
  • The United Nations summit narrowly avoided a so-called "agenda fight" at its Monday opening in Belem only because Brazil promised to hear these demands informally and broker an amenable solution.
COP30 hosts Brazil will seek to land a compromise on Wednesday as some nations seek to put ambitious climate action and financial obligations on the summit agenda -- flashpoints that have stalled past negotiations.
The United Nations summit narrowly avoided a so-called "agenda fight" at its Monday opening in Belem only because Brazil promised to hear these demands informally and broker an amenable solution.
Four divisive issues are being considered: trade, transparency and reporting measures, climate finance obligations, and efforts to slash heat-trapping pollution.
The latter two are the most sensitive, with rich countries unenthusiastic about reopening bitter fights over financial aid, and oil-producing giants against any focus on the role of fossil fuels in climate change.
Brazil is expected to reveal Wednesday whether it has been successful in finding a middle ground when it wraps up two days of backroom consultations in Belem.
The rotating hosts of these annual Conference of the Parties do not have decision-making power, but still play a crucial role in forging compromise.
Any decision at the COP summits must be reached by consensus among the 197 countries and the European Union that are members of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
One close observer of the consultations told AFP that a few countries were "still not on board" but the dialogue had been "clearly constructive."
There is a growing sense that Brazil could be warming to the idea of a "cover decision" -- an overarching text, delivered at the COP's close, that provides space for articulating a compromised stance.
One diplomat attending Belem's closed-door discussions expects a "slightly more innovative" format where the specific proposals in question are considered on their own.

Flashpoints

The most incendiary of the four comes from the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), which wants countries attending Belem to acknowledge their collective failure to keep global warming to safer levels.
Scientists say a temporary breach of 1.5 Celsius -- the lower limit of the Paris Climate Agreement's goal on global temperature rise -- is inevitable because nations have not cut planet-heating emissions fast enough to meet this target.
Other country blocs -- including the European Union and Latin American states -- support the push by AOSIS, whose members are some of the most threatened by rising seas. 
Brazil's presidency had "finally found the courage to tackle this issue head-on," the diplomat told AFP.
This has agitated the Arab Group -- a collection of 22 nations including major petrostates -- which has criticised Brazil for opening this discussion, observers say. 
The other major bone of contention is the provision by richer nations of financial support to help poorer ones cope with climate change.
The third issue concerns "unilateral" trade measures -- notably Europe's carbon border tax, which is fiercely opposed by China and India.
A fourth relates to an EU demand for greater transparency around how countries report key climate data.
jmi/np/mlm

Global Edition

Iraqi voters turn out in numbers as region watches on

BY ROBA EL HUSSEINI

  • - Delicate balance - On the ground however, Iraqis said they cast their votes hoping for a change. 
  • Iraqis voted for a new parliament Tuesday, with an unexpectedly high turnout of more than 55 percent, at a pivotal time for the country and the wider region.
  • - Delicate balance - On the ground however, Iraqis said they cast their votes hoping for a change. 
Iraqis voted for a new parliament Tuesday, with an unexpectedly high turnout of more than 55 percent, at a pivotal time for the country and the wider region.
Iraq, which has long been vulnerable to proxy wars and is closely watched by Iran and the United States, has recently regained a sense of stability.
But, even as it tries to move past two decades of war since a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, the country of 46 million suffers from poor infrastructure and public services, mismanagement and corruption.
Iraq's electoral commission said more than 12 million people took part out of 21 million eligible voters, despite influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr calling on his supporters to boycott the vote.
The unexpected turnout is a sharp jump from the record low of 41 percent in 2021, belying a sense of apathy and scepticism.
Preliminary results are expected within 24 hours of polls closing, but Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who hopes for a second term, is expected to secure a large bloc but fall short of a majority.
Many boycotters told reporters the elections wouldn't bring meaningful change to their daily lives and said that the vote was a sham that only benefits political elites and regional powers.
No new leadership contenders have recently emerged, with the same Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish politicians remaining at the forefront.

Failed boycott?

Analyst Hamzeh Hadad said the higher turnout, even if still lower than the scores of 62 percent in 2010 and 2014, "is a positive step for Iraq" and shows Sadr's "influence is really limited to his followers".
"It means no political leader can hold back democratic elections in Iraq," he added. 
The ballot this year was marked by the absence of Sadr who retains a devoted following of millions among Iraq's majority Shiite population.
In 2021, Sadr secured the largest bloc before withdrawing from parliament following a dispute with Shiite parties which culminated in deadly fighting in Baghdad.
IN the years since US-led forces ousted Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, Iraq's long-oppressed Shiite majority has dominated, with most parties retaining ties to neighbouring Iran.
By convention in post-invasion Iraq, a Shiite Arab  holds the powerful post of prime minister and a Sunni Arab that of parliament speaker, while the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd. 
Sudani is likely to win but, with no single party or list expected to achieve an outright majority, must win over a coalition that can secure enough allies to become the largest bloc.
Sudani rose to power in 2022 with the backing of the Coordination Framework, a ruling alliance of Shiite parties and factions all linked to Iran.
Although they run separately, Shiite parties within the Coordination Framework are expected to reunite after elections and likely pick the next premier.
Sudani has touted his success in keeping Iraq relatively unscathed by the turmoil engulfing the Middle East.
Sunni parties contested separately, with the former speaker Mohammed al-Halbussi expected to do well.
In the autonomous Kurdistan region, the rivalry between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan remains.

Delicate balance 

On the ground however, Iraqis said they cast their votes hoping for a change. 
"We have unemployment and people are tired, we need progress," said Ali Abed, 57, in the northern city of Mosul.
But the next prime minister has also another difficult task. 
He will have to maintain the delicate balance between Iraq's allies, Iran and the US, even more so now that the Middle East is undergoing seismic changes, with new alliances forming and old powers weakening.
Even as its influence wanes elsewhere, Iran hopes to preserve its power in Iraq -- the only close ally that stayed out of Israel's crosshairs after the heavy losses Iran's other allies have incurred in Lebanon, Yemen and Gaza since 2023.
Tehran has meanwhile focused on other interests in Iraq -- challenging the US with powerful Tehran-backed armed groups, and keeping the Iraqi market open to products from its crippled economy.
Washington, which still wields influence in Iraq and has forces deployed there, conversely hopes to break Iran's grip, and has been pressuring Baghdad to disarm the pro-Iran groups.
rh/dc

UN

UN aid chief hails talks with Sudan army leader

  • "I very much welcome the constructive conversations I had with President Burhan... aimed at ensuring that we can continue to operate everywhere across Sudan to deliver in a neutral, independent and impartial way for all those who are in such dire need of international support," Fletcher said, in a video released by Sudan's Transitional Sovereignty Council.
  • UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher held Tuesday what he called "constructive" talks with Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to ensure life-saving aid reaches all corners of the war-ravaged country.
  • "I very much welcome the constructive conversations I had with President Burhan... aimed at ensuring that we can continue to operate everywhere across Sudan to deliver in a neutral, independent and impartial way for all those who are in such dire need of international support," Fletcher said, in a video released by Sudan's Transitional Sovereignty Council.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher held Tuesday what he called "constructive" talks with Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to ensure life-saving aid reaches all corners of the war-ravaged country.
Since April 2023, the war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly 12 million, creating one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.
"I very much welcome the constructive conversations I had with President Burhan... aimed at ensuring that we can continue to operate everywhere across Sudan to deliver in a neutral, independent and impartial way for all those who are in such dire need of international support," Fletcher said, in a video released by Sudan's Transitional Sovereignty Council.
The UN official's comments came after he met with Burhan in Port Sudan, the de facto capital since the war began.
Fletcher arrived in Sudan on Tuesday for a week-long mission, pledging to "back peace efforts, uphold the UN charter, and push for our teams to get the access and funding they need to save lives across the battle lines." 
During the meeting, according to thae army-backed council, Burhan "stressed the need for UN agencies to respect Sudan's sovereignty and national interests, in light of what happened in the city of El-Fasher".
Fletcher also met Egyptian diplomats to discuss ways of scaling up aid, according to a statement from Cairo's foreign ministry. 
Burhan also met World Food Programme deputy executive director Carl Skau, who praised their "honest and constructive discussion". 
Sudan's army-aligned government expelled two senior WFP officials last month, declaring them "persona non grata", despite the agency warning that 24 million Sudanese face acute food insecurity.
- Fighting persists -  
The talks come two weeks after the RSF captured El-Fasher, the last army stronghold in western Darfur.
Reports of mass killings, sexual violence, abductions and looting have since emerged.
Burhan had previously vowed his forces would "take revenge" and fight "until this land is purified".
Last Thursday, the RSF said it had agreed to a truce proposal put forward by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. 
But attacks have persisted.
On the day the paramilitaries backed the truce, they shelled a hospital in the besieged city of Dilling in South Kordofan, killing five. 
Explosions were heard in the army-controlled capital Khartoum the following day.
The UN migration agency said nearly 39,000 people have fled fighting in several towns across the oil-rich Kordofan region since El-Fasher fell. 
On Monday, the RSF deployed forces to the strategic city of Babanusa in West Kordofan, threatening to "fight until the last moment."
In North Kordofan, residents told AFP they fear an imminent assault on El-Obeid, a key cross roads between Darfur and the national capital Khartoum.
Sudan's army-aligned government has yet to respond to the truce proposal.

'Grinding to a halt'

Since El-Fasher's fall, nearly 90,000 people have fled, while tens of thousands remain trapped in "famine-like conditions as hospitals, markets and water systems collapse," according to the UN migration agency. 
Last week, the Rome-based Integrated Food Security Phase Classification declared famine in the city.
Famine has also been confirmed in Kadugli, South Kordofan, with 20 more areas across Darfur and Kordofan at risk. Last year, the IPC declared famine in three displacement camps near El-Fasher.
Amy Pope, director general of the International Organisation for Migration, warned that without safe access humanitarian operations "risk grinding to a halt at the very moment communities need support the most".
UN Women's Anna Mutavati said on Tuesday that women fleeing El-Fasher "have endured starvation... displacement, rape and bombardment", with pregnant women giving birth "in the streets as the last remaining maternity hospitals were looted and destroyed".
Analysts say Sudan is now effectively divided with the RSF dominating all of Darfur and parts of the south while the army holds most of Sudan's north, east and centre.
bur-maf/dc

conflict

Macron warns any planned West Bank annexation a 'red line'

  • "Plans for partial or total annexation, whether legal or de facto, constitute a red line to which we will respond strongly with our European partners," Macron said at a joint press conference with Abbas.
  • French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Tuesday that any Israeli plans for annexation in the West Bank would be a "red line" and would provoke a European reaction.
  • "Plans for partial or total annexation, whether legal or de facto, constitute a red line to which we will respond strongly with our European partners," Macron said at a joint press conference with Abbas.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Tuesday that any Israeli plans for annexation in the West Bank would be a "red line" and would provoke a European reaction.
He spoke as Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas visited Paris one month into a fragile truce between Hamas and Israel, following two years of war triggered by the militant group's October 7, 2023 attack against Israel.
Abbas, 89, is the longtime head of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited control over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and is being considered to possibly assume governance in Gaza under the deal.
Macron, whose country in September recognised a Palestinian state, warned against any Israeli plans for annexation in the West Bank following an uptick in violence in the Palestinian territory.
"Plans for partial or total annexation, whether legal or de facto, constitute a red line to which we will respond strongly with our European partners," Macron said at a joint press conference with Abbas.
"The violence of the settlers and the acceleration of settlement projects are reaching new heights, threatening the stability of the West Bank and constitute violations of international law," the French president said.
Violence in the West Bank has soared since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023.
At least 1,002 Palestinians, including militants, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the start of the war in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
During the same period, 43 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks in the West Bank, according to official Israeli figures.

Constitutional committee

Following their meeting to discuss the next steps after the Gaza ceasefire, Macron and Abbas announced the creation of a joint committee "for the consolidation of the state of Palestine", the French leader said.
It "will contribute to the drafting of a new constitution, a draft of which President Abbas presented to me".
Abbas renewed his commitment to "reforms", including "holding presidential and parliamentary elections after the end of the war".
"We are nearing completion of a draft of the provisional constitution of the state of Palestine and the laws on elections and political parties," he added.
Under US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan, an international security force drawn from Arab and Muslim allies would stabilise Gaza as Israeli troops withdraw, while a transitional authority would take over the territory's administration from Hamas until the Palestinian Authority has carried out reforms.
Trump said last week he expected an International Stabilisation Force tasked with monitoring the ceasefire to be in Gaza "very soon".
Last month's ceasefire has been tested by fresh Israeli strikes and claims of Palestinian attacks on Israeli soldiers.
Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
The Israeli military's retaliatory campaign has since killed more than 69,000 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to Gaza's health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
bur-ekf-ah/rlp

BBC

BBC must fight, says outgoing chief as Trump threatens to sue

BY AKSHATA KAPOOR

  • I think we've got to fight for our journalism," outgoing director-general Davie reportedly told staff two days after he and BBC News CEO Deborah Turness resigned over the furore.
  • The BBC's outgoing boss urged staff to "fight" for its journalism Tuesday as the British broadcaster grappled with how to respond to US President Donald Trump's threat to sue over a misleading edit.
  • I think we've got to fight for our journalism," outgoing director-general Davie reportedly told staff two days after he and BBC News CEO Deborah Turness resigned over the furore.
The BBC's outgoing boss urged staff to "fight" for its journalism Tuesday as the British broadcaster grappled with how to respond to US President Donald Trump's threat to sue over a misleading edit.
Tim Davie's rallying cry came after Trump threatened the BBC with a $1 billion lawsuit in a row that has renewed pressure on an organisation that is regularly used as a political football and often caught up in culture wars.
The controversy also lifted the lid on tensions at the top of the renowned institution over the coverage of issues including the war in Gaza, and put the British government in a tricky spot with its closest ally.
"I see the free press under pressure, I see the weaponisation. I think we've got to fight for our journalism," outgoing director-general Davie reportedly told staff two days after he and BBC News CEO Deborah Turness resigned over the furore.
On Monday, the BBC apologised for giving the impression that Trump had directly urged "violent action" just before the assault on the US Capitol by his supporters in 2021 in a documentary that aired in October last year. 
Trump's lawyers wrote a letter to the BBC, giving it until Friday to "appropriately compensate" the president for "harm caused" by the edit, or face a $1 billion legal case.
In his address to staff, Davie admitted the broadcaster had made "some mistakes that have cost us" and conceded that times were "difficult", the BBC reported.
The publicly funded BBC has faced growing accusations of bias from different ideological camps.

Board divisions

The latest crisis, which spiralled after the Daily Telegraph last week leaked a memo by former BBC adviser Michael Prescott, has also laid bare some of the divisions within the BBC and its board.
In his report, Prescott raised concerns about issues including anti-Israel bias in the BBC's Arabic service, coverage of Gaza, and its reporting on trans issues.
In a public apology for the Trump speech edit, BBC chair Samir Shah said Monday the broadcaster had taken steps to address other issues in Prescott's memo, vowing to reform oversight within the organisation.
Some current and former BBC journalists have blamed right-wing board members for leading the charge that the BBC is "institutionally biased" -- an allegation that Turness denied.
However, Mark Urban, a former BBC editor and presenter, suggested in a blog that "culture wars" and liberal voices were also at fault for the lapses.
The row comes at a politically sensitive time for the BBC, which is due to renegotiate the Royal Charter that outlines the corporation's governance. Its current charter will end in 2027.
Davie said that despite recent controversies -- which have prompted calls for changing the licence-fee funding model that the BBC depends on -- the broadcaster was in a "really good position to get a good charter".
Culture minister Lisa Nandy confirmed Tuesday that the review would start before the end of the year.
She told parliament that the BBC must "uphold the highest standards" but warned against "a sustained attack" on what she called the country's "most widely used and trusted source of news".
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government is performing a tightrope act between backing the public service broadcaster's independence without seeming to take its side against Trump.
The US leader has been accused of waging a campaign to stifle US news and media organisations since returning to power in January.
His lawyers are threatening to sue the BBC in Florida -- they would be too late to file a lawsuit in the UK, where there is generally a one-year time limit for bringing libel claims.
But Trump would face other challenges. Media and defamation lawyer Matthew Gill told AFP the "Panorama" documentary would probably have had a "very small audience" in the US, making it harder to prove harm caused to Trump.
pdh/mp/jxb

diplomacy

For many Syrians, Sharaa's US visit marks new beginning

BY BAKR KASSEM

  • The war killed more than half a million people, displaced or forced millions of Syrians into exile, and brought the economy to its knees.
  • On the streets of Damascus on Tuesday, Syrians viewed their leader's visit to Washington as a shift towards the West that could pave the way to reviving the country's war-battered economy.
  • The war killed more than half a million people, displaced or forced millions of Syrians into exile, and brought the economy to its knees.
On the streets of Damascus on Tuesday, Syrians viewed their leader's visit to Washington as a shift towards the West that could pave the way to reviving the country's war-battered economy.
On Monday, Donald Trump received Ahmed al-Sharaa, a first for a Syrian head of state since independence in 1946 and a crowning achievement for the former jihadist, whom Washington once sought to arrest in return for a $10 million bounty.
"God willing, this visit will be a new beginning for Syria and an opening to the world after years of isolation," law student Boushra Abdel Bari said.
"We hope that this visit... will facilitate the reconstruction of Syria with the United States and the rest of the world."
As Sharaa made his historic visit to Washington, the State Department announced a pause of US sanctions under the Caesar Act, pending their possible permanent lifting by Congress.
The law imposed wide-ranging sanctions on investment in Syria in an effort to ensure accountability over abuses under Assad, banning the country from the global banking system.
Historically, Syria has been in the orbit of first the Soviet Union then Russia, which was autocratic leader Bashar al-Assad's main ally during more than 13 years of civil war.
But since overthrowing Assad in December 2024, the interim Syrian president has made numerous overtures to the West and to wealthy Gulf monarchies, while being careful not to burn his bridges with Moscow.
For Abdel Bari, Assad's ally Russia "has brought us nothing but ruin and destruction."
Omar Nassar, a 36-year-old printer, also welcomed Syria's move towards the Western camp.
"Syria paid the price for aligning itself with the socialist camp in the past... and was isolated from its Arab and international environment," he said. 
"We are very optimistic after this visit. We expect positive repercussions in the economic and diplomatic spheres."

'New Middle East'

Saddam Hajjar, who runs a coffee kiosk in the Syrian capital, also believed that "things are getting better". 
"We hope to be part of the new Middle East in the future," he said. "The Syrian people deserve a better life after making so many sacrifices."
Assad's fall ended a civil war that lasted more than 13 years, which broke out after the government cracked down on a peaceful uprising in 2011.
The war killed more than half a million people, displaced or forced millions of Syrians into exile, and brought the economy to its knees.
Layal Kaddour, a 25-year-old NGO worker, thought the visit to Washington was "a bold political move" that broke years of isolation.
"The possible repercussions are an easing of sanctions and the opening up of economic prospects," she said.
But she wondered if her country will now be "subject to international pressure that would influence independent political decision-making," alluding to concerns about US pressure on Syria to make peace with Israel, which has long been an enemy.
str-mam-lk/at/jfx/dc

fire

Indian PM calls deadly Delhi blast 'conspiracy'

BY ASMA HAFIZ AND JALEES ANDRABI

  • On Tuesday, after a suicide bomber in Islamabad killed at least 12 people, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif blamed "terrorist proxies backed by India".
  • Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called a deadly car explosion in the heart of the capital a "conspiracy", vowing those responsible will face justice.
  • On Tuesday, after a suicide bomber in Islamabad killed at least 12 people, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif blamed "terrorist proxies backed by India".
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called a deadly car explosion in the heart of the capital a "conspiracy", vowing those responsible will face justice.
Police are yet to give exact details of what caused Monday's incident near the historic Red Fort, one of India's most well-known landmarks, and the site of the prime minister's annual Independence Day speech.
The blast killed at least eight people, and 19 others were injured when flames ripped through several vehicles.
It was the first significant security incident since a shooting attack in late April left 26 people, mainly Hindus, dead at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, triggering clashes with Pakistan.
"I assure everyone that the agencies will get to the bottom of the entire conspiracy," Modi said in a speech during a state visit to neighbouring Bhutan, without giving further details.
"All those involved will be brought to justice," he said.
Indian authorities have stopped short of calling the blast an attack, saying they were awaiting forensic analysis.
But on Tuesday, the home affairs ministry said that India's anti-terrorism force, the National Investigation Agency, are leading the probe.
Monday's explosion came hours after Indian police said they had arrested a gang and seized explosive materials and assault rifles.
Police said the men were linked with Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based Islamist group, and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a Kashmir offshoot of jihadist group Al-Qaeda.
Both groups are listed as terrorist organisations in India.
Home Minister Amit Shah, after chairing security talks following the blast, said he had instructed officials "to hunt down each and every culprit behind this incident".
"Everyone involved in this act will face the full wrath of our agencies," he added in a statement.

'People were burning'

New Delhi's deputy chief fire officer AK Malik told AFP shortly after the explosion that eight people had been killed.
The Press Trust of India news agency reported on Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 12, although that figure has not been confirmed.
Witnesses described to AFP how the car exploded in traffic and how people caught up in the surge of flames were set on fire.
"People were on fire and we tried to save them... Cars and people were burning -- people inside the cars were burning," said Dharmindra Dhaga, 27.
"I was telling the public to save them, rescue them, and get them out. The public was busy making videos and taking photos."
The emergency ward at Delhi's LNJP hospital was chaotic after the explosion as wounded people streamed in and doctors rushed to treat them.
In the attack in April in Pahalgam, Indian authorities were swift to accuse Pakistan of backing the gunmen -- claims denied by Islamabad.
That attack sparked clashes between the nuclear-armed arch rivals in May, when more than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery exchanges before a ceasefire was struck.
On Tuesday, after a suicide bomber in Islamabad killed at least 12 people, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif blamed "terrorist proxies backed by India".
He did not provide any evidence.
India on Tuesday night said it rejected the "baseless and unfounded" allegations made by an "obviously delirious Pakistani leadership".
Without directly referencing the Islamabad incident, foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement that "it is a predictable tactic by Pakistan to concoct false narratives against India in order to deflect the attention" from its internal issues.
bur/des

bitcoin

UK court jails Chinese bitcoin fraudster for over 11 years

BY LUCIE LEQUIER

  • The court heard that she evaded UK authorities for around six years.
  • A Chinese woman who masterminded a multibillion-dollar bitcoin scam and evaded authorities for years was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in jail by a UK court Tuesday.
  • The court heard that she evaded UK authorities for around six years.
A Chinese woman who masterminded a multibillion-dollar bitcoin scam and evaded authorities for years was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in jail by a UK court Tuesday.
Nicknamed the "goddess of wealth", 47-year-old Zhimin Qian orchestrated a Ponzi scheme that promised investors returns of up to 300 percent, defrauding around 128,000 people in China between 2014 and 2017.
It raised billions of dollars, much of which was converted to bitcoin.
After she came to the UK as a fugitive and during a multiyear investigation where she evaded capture, British police seized 61,000 bitcoin worth more than £5 billion ($6.6 billion), which the force called the largest single cryptocurrency seizure in the world.
She was arrested in the northern English city of York in 2024.
Qian, who pleaded guilty to possessing and transfering criminal property in September, appeared emotional as she received the sentence at London's Southwark Crown Court.
Her crimes were highly sophisticated and required careful planning, Judge Sally-Ann Hales told the court on Tuesday.
"Your motive was one of pure greed," Hales told Qian.
Qian "accepts" her conviction, her lawyer Roger Sahota said in a statement after the sentencing.
"She never set out to commit fraud but recognises her investment schemes were fraudulent and misled those who trusted her," the statement said.
"She is deeply sorry for the distress suffered by investors and hopes some good endures from the wealth her work created."
A Malaysian accomplice, Seng Hok Ling, also 47, was jailed at the same court for four years and 11 months after he pleaded guilty to one count of transferring criminal property.
After the sentencing, the Metropolitan Police's head of economic and cybercrime command, Will Lyne, said the seven-year investigation was one of the "largest and most complex" the force had ever undertaken and required collaboration with multiple sides, including Chinese law enforcement.

Lavish living

Following scrutiny from Chinese authorities, Qian -- also known as Yadi Zhang -- fled her home country in 2017 and came to Britain. The court heard that she evaded UK authorities for around six years.
She travelled across Europe, staying in upscale hotels and buying jewellery including two watches worth nearly £120,000 ($160,000), the court heard. 
With the help of an accomplice, Jian Wen, she rented a lavish London property for around £17,000 a month and claimed to run a successful jewellery business.
Police surveillance of Qian's co-defendant Ling eventually led to her arrest in April 2024.
Wen was jailed last year for six years and eight months over her role in the scheme.
Details of a compensation scheme for victims proposed by British authorities are still being thrashed out in London's High Court in civil proceedings, where more than 1,300 alleged victims have come forward, according to sources close to the case.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told AFP that Chinese and British law enforcement agencies were "cooperating on cross-border fugitive and asset recovery" in the case.
lul-mp/rlp

nuclear

Russia offers US nuclear talks in bid to ease tensions

  • Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov offered on Tuesday to speak to Washington about its concerns.
  • Russia on Tuesday offered to discuss with the United States allegations from Washington that it had carried out secret underground nuclear tests, in a bid to ease tensions between the world's top two nuclear superpowers.
  • Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov offered on Tuesday to speak to Washington about its concerns.
Russia on Tuesday offered to discuss with the United States allegations from Washington that it had carried out secret underground nuclear tests, in a bid to ease tensions between the world's top two nuclear superpowers.
Russia has tested its nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable weapons systems in recent weeks, but rejects the accusation by US President Donald Trump that it had secretly detonated a nuclear device.
Trump caused concern and confusion last month when he said he was ordering the United States to test its atomic weapons in retaliation for drills carried out by Russia and China -- accusations rejected by both Moscow and Beijing.
None of the three countries has publicly tested a nuclear warhead since the 1990s, and all three have signed -- but not ratified -- the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) that bans all atomic test blasts, whether for military or civilian purposes. 
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov offered on Tuesday to speak to Washington about its concerns.
"We are ready to discuss the suspicions raised by our American colleagues regarding the possibility that we might be secretly doing something deep underground," he told state media in a televised interview.
Trump had levelled the accusations that both Russia and China had secretly tested nuclear weapons in an interview with US broadcaster CBS News earlier this month, after abruptly shelving a proposed summit with Putin on Ukraine.
Like all armed states, Russia regularly tests its delivery systems, but has rejected the accusation it has carried out unannounced weapons tests.
Lavrov said the United States could check whether Russia had tested a nuclear warhead via the global seismic monitoring system. 
"Other tests, both subcritical, or those without a chain nuclear reaction, and carrier tests, have never been prohibited," Lavrov added. 
Russia said it had not received any clarification from Washington as to the specifics of its allegations.
"So far, no explanations have been provided by our American counterparts," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, including AFP, during a telephone briefing. 
Russia and the United States hold a combined 8,000 deployed and stored warheads, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) -- around 85 percent of the world's total.

Spat with Putin?

Lavrov's interview was his first televised appearance in almost two weeks, with his absence prompting media speculation that he might have fallen out with Putin, something that the Kremlin repeatedly denied.
Press reports suggested that a planned summit between Putin and Trump in Budapest was cancelled after Lavrov had a tense phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 
He addressed those claims directly, saying: "We spoke well, politely, without any breakdown." 
Since the pair spoke, Lavrov said, there had been "no further steps from the Americans", who he said had initially proposed the summit. 
Trump shelved the plans and slapped Moscow with new sanctions after saying Putin was not serious about ending the conflict in Ukraine.
Lavrov said the recent nuclear tensions had nothing to do with the cancelled summit.
"I would not mix the topic of nuclear tests with the topic of the Budapest summit," he said.
He said Moscow was still open to a possible meeting between Putin and Trump.
bur/cc

court

Turkey seeks more than 2,000 years behind bars for Erdogan rival

BY FULYA OZERKAN

  • State news agency Anadolu said the charges would carry a prison sentence of up to 2,430 years.
  • Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday charged Istanbul's jailed mayor Ekrem Imamoglu with 142 offences in a massive legal case that could carry a penalty of more than 2,000 years in jail, court documents showed.
  • State news agency Anadolu said the charges would carry a prison sentence of up to 2,430 years.
Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday charged Istanbul's jailed mayor Ekrem Imamoglu with 142 offences in a massive legal case that could carry a penalty of more than 2,000 years in jail, court documents showed.
Imamoglu is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival and seen as the only politician capable of beating him at the ballot box, with his arrest in March sparking Turkey's worst bout of street unrest since 2013. 
The nearly 4,000-page indictment charged the popular opposition mayor with a long string of offences, including running a criminal organisation, bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, extortion and tender rigging.
State news agency Anadolu said the charges would carry a prison sentence of up to 2,430 years.
The head of Turkey's main opposition CHP lashed out at the indictment as a clear case of "judicial interference" aimed at blocking Imamoglu from running as their candidate for the 2028 presidential election. 
"This case is not legal, it is entirely political. Its purpose is to stop the CHP, which came first in the last (local) elections, and to block its presidential candidate," Ozgur Ozel wrote on X. 
The indictment was filed on Tuesday, with a court date to be set later.
Mayor of Turkey's largest and richest city until his arrest, Imamoglu is facing a slew of allegations -- including espionage and faking his university degree -- which could see him banned from running in the 2028 presidential race. 
According to the indictment, which names 402 suspects, Imamoglu allegedly headed a sprawling crime network over which he exerted his influence "like an octopus". 

'Electoral fraudster?'

Before the indictment was published, Ozel had denounced the scope of the allegations. 
"Can someone be both an electoral fraudster, hold a forged decree, and be a thief, a terrorist, and a spy all at the same time?" he asked. 
"If you accused an innocent person of just one of these crimes, it would be a great injustice. But when you put all of them on one person, it's a major crime... But his only crime is running for the presidency of this country!" 
Prosecutors also said they had filed papers with Turkey's top appeals court against the CHP in what observers said could pave the way for the party's closure. 
In a separate statement, the prosecutor's office confirmed it had informed the court about certain irregularities but denied reports it was seeking to have the party shut down. 
The CHP has been under increasing pressure since it won control of Turkey's largest cities during local elections in March 2024. 
Since then, 16 of its mayors have been jailed. 
In October, an Ankara court dismissed a case challenging the legitimacy of the outcome of the party's 2023 leadership primary, saying there was no legal basis to remove the current leadership from office.
The move could have unseated Ozel, who is himself facing a number of lawsuits, including one for insulting the president.
fo/hmw/rh

Global Edition

Shock follows carnage after suicide bombing in Islamabad

BY ZAIN ZAMAN JANJUA

  • - 'Complete chaos' - The complex, home to several courts, is usually one of the busiest areas in Islamabad during the day.
  • Charred vehicles and a mangled motorcycle lay outside Islamabad's district court Tuesday, their metal frames still warm as investigators sealed off the area where a suicide bomber had killed at least 12 people.
  • - 'Complete chaos' - The complex, home to several courts, is usually one of the busiest areas in Islamabad during the day.
Charred vehicles and a mangled motorcycle lay outside Islamabad's district court Tuesday, their metal frames still warm as investigators sealed off the area where a suicide bomber had killed at least 12 people.
It was a rare assault at the heart of Pakistan's capital where blood stained a two-way street, and shattered glass glimmered among the debris.
"It was a very strong and terrifying explosion," said Khalid Mandokhel, a 24-year-old lawyer.
"Many of the victims were bystanders," he told AFP at the scene.
The blue police van hit in the blast stood crippled at the entrance, its metal pierced by shrapnel and tyres shredded, as investigators documented every mark on the vehicle.
More than 25 people were wounded in the attack.
Rustam Malik, another lawyer, said he "heard a loud bang at the gate" as he entered the complex, where daily, hundreds of people arrive to sort out legal matters. 
They did not expect to leave with their lives hanging by a thread. "There was thick smoke," Malik told AFP.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told journalists outside the court that the attacker had lingered outside the building for several minutes before striking.
"He could not go inside (the complex); he blew himself up near the police vehicle," Naqvi said.

'Complete chaos'

The complex, home to several courts, is usually one of the busiest areas in Islamabad during the day. Nearby offices of senior administration and police officials add to the dense crowds.
Outside the government-run hospital where most of the victims were taken, people were milling about as rescue workers wheeled people with head and leg injuries into the emergency room. Security guards, on alert, prevented the media from entering.
Back at the blast site, cordoned off at several points, investigators gathered evidence until late afternoon.
A heavy presence of police and paramilitary soldiers combed through the wreckage as a stray dog rummaged through the remains, sniffing at the scattered debris.
Malik recalled "complete chaos" --  lawyers and visitors running in panic after the explosion thundered through the compound. 
As investigators processed the scene, the lawyer waited patiently for police clearance so he could collect his vehicle which was damaged in the attack.
"I saw two dead bodies lying at the gate and several cars were on fire," he said.
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