AIDS

Alarm over high rate of HIV infections among young women, girls

conflict

Trump's vows of quick peace fall flat on Ukraine frontlines

BY FLORENT VERGNES

  • He is 23, but looks much older after months of gruelling fighting.
  • Months of fighting on the Ukrainian front have not taken away Kostya's sense of humour -- even when it comes to the topic of Donald Trump.
  • He is 23, but looks much older after months of gruelling fighting.
Months of fighting on the Ukrainian front have not taken away Kostya's sense of humour -- even when it comes to the topic of Donald Trump.
Fears are high across Ukraine that the US president-elect, who claimed he would secure a ceasefire within 24 hours of coming to office, will push Kyiv into accepting peace on Russia's terms.
Soldiers like Kostya, fighting a slow but relentless Russian advance in the eastern Donbas region, are sceptical of a quick deal between Kyiv and Moscow.
"January 20 is Trump's inauguration. January 21 is the end of the war. On January 22, I plan to celebrate my birthday at home," Kostya said, sarcastically.
The 23-year-old was enjoying some respite with a few comrades -- eating a kebab he called "disgusting" -- a few kilometres from the city of Kurakhove under attack from Russian forces.
"A quick peace is possible," Kostya continued, more seriously.
"But only at our expense," interjected Valerya, a 22-year-old who serves with him.
Trump has not provided any details on how he might bring the warring sides to the negotiating table, let alone strike a deal that both would accept.
And in contrast to President Joe Biden, he has not called for Ukrainian victory and has repeatedly criticised American military aid to Kyiv.
Fears over the approach he will take in office have only increased after he named as his Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg, a retired generalwho has called on Kyiv to make concessions to end the war.

'We are being abandoned'

The promise of a quick end to the fighting has not brought reassurance to Ukrainian soldiers, exhausted by nearly three years of combat against Russian troops.
Kostya said even a hypothetical truce would not stop Russia.
"We would get only a short-term peace, the war will continue," he said.
He already felt that Western allies were leaving Ukraine to fend for itself against a much more powerful enemy.
"We are being abandoned now. It doesn't matter if Trump is president or not. They will make a deal with Russia again. We will be absorbed," he said.
Russia's offensive accelerated in November, when its troops advanced over 725 square kilometres (280 square miles) of Ukrainian territory, mainly in the eastern Donetsk region, according to an AFP analysis of data from the US Institute for the Study of War.
That was the largest monthly gain for Moscow since March 2022, with its forces pushing in multiple directions, including near the logistics hub of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.
"We are losing," said Volodymyr, posted near the coal-mining city.
He is 23, but looks much older after months of gruelling fighting.
"Soldiers have had enough. Everyone has families, relatives... Everyone wants to go home," he said in a sombre voice.
But he also agreed that the prospects for a quick peace were bleak.
"Russia will attack again, whatever happens."

'Till the end'

Many shared that opinion, including a former history teacher turned soldier who goes by the call-sign of French author Alexandre Dumas.
The 44-year-old said he did not care much about Trump's election and did not believe "in sweet dreams of peace in 24 hours".
"As soon as they declare a ceasefire, I'm leaving this country. Because they'll come to us, rearmed, in five to 10 years," he said.
"Of course everyone is exhausted, but we have to keep fighting," he said, adding that civilians were the ones pushing for an agreement.
But Yuri, a civilian who had just fled the city of Toretsk, was also firmly against a truce.
Sitting in an evacuation bus with his cat, the 56-year-old former miner was staring into space.
His house was recently bombed and he recalled having to "dig, dig and dig some more" to try, in vain, to retrieve the body of his son.
He took calls for a quick peace as an insult.
"I don't believe it. Putin will go right to the end of Ukraine," he said.
bur-brw/jc/jhb

politics

Philippines says China Coast Guard fired water cannon, 'sideswiped' govt vessel

BY PAM CASTRO, WITH MATTHEW WALSH IN BEIJING

  • Tensions flared again on Wednesday, with Manila releasing a video appearing to show a Chinese coast guard ship firing a torrent of water at the Philippines fisheries department vessel BRP Datu Pagbuaya. 
  • The Philippines said the China Coast Guard fired water cannon and "sideswiped" a government vessel Wednesday during a maritime patrol near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, after Beijing said it had "exercised control" over the ship. 
  • Tensions flared again on Wednesday, with Manila releasing a video appearing to show a Chinese coast guard ship firing a torrent of water at the Philippines fisheries department vessel BRP Datu Pagbuaya. 
The Philippines said the China Coast Guard fired water cannon and "sideswiped" a government vessel Wednesday during a maritime patrol near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, after Beijing said it had "exercised control" over the ship. 
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims from other countries -- including the Philippines -- and an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
Vessels from the two sides have clashed frequently in the past year, resulting in injuries and damages.
Tensions flared again on Wednesday, with Manila releasing a video appearing to show a Chinese coast guard ship firing a torrent of water at the Philippines fisheries department vessel BRP Datu Pagbuaya. 
Other footage apparently taken from the Philippine ship showed its crew shouting "Collision! Collision!" as the much larger Chinese vessel approaches its right-hand side before crashing into it. 
The water cannon was aimed "directly at the vessel's navigational antennas", the Philippine coast guard and fisheries ministry said in a joint statement.
The Chinese vessel "intentionally sideswiped" the ship before launching a second water cannon attack, the statement said.
China's coast guard said in an initial statement that Philippine ships "came dangerously close" and that its crew's actions had been "in accordance with the law". 
But in a later statement, it accused Manila of making "bogus accusations in an attempt to mislead international understanding". 
It said the Philippine ship had
"turned at a great angle and reversed, deliberately colliding" with the Chinese ship. 
Video released by Manila said to be drone footage of the collision does not show the Philippine ship reversing. 
AFP has not independently verified the videos. 

Growing tensions

Scarborough Shoal -- a triangular chain of reefs and rocks -- has been a flashpoint between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012.
Since then, Beijing has deployed patrol boats that Manila says harass Philippine vessels and prevent Filipino fishermen from accessing a fish-rich lagoon there.
The shoal lies 240 kilometres (150 miles) west of the Philippines' main island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometres from the nearest major Chinese land mass of Hainan.
Tensions between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea escalated last month when Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos signed two laws defining the country's sea waters and imposing fixed lanes for foreign ships, prompting China to summon the Philippine ambassador.
And ties frayed further when the Philippines and the United States signed a security deal allowing both sides to share classified information.
In a separate incident, Beijing said Monday it had taken "control measures" against Philippine ships it accused of "illegally gathering" near Iroquois Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands.
On that occasion, Beijing warned Manila to "immediately stop its infringements and provocations".
Manila said a Chinese navy helicopter had "harassed" Philippine fishing vessels in the area, and shared video footage that purported to show the aircraft hovering low over a Philippine boat.
The Philippine coast guard said it had deployed two vessels in the area "to ensure the safety and security of Filipino fishermen exercising their right to fish freely" there.
burs-mjw/reb/dhc

conflict

Soldiers vs office chairs: South Korea's martial law standoff

BY KANG JIN-KYU

  • Shortly after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday -- the first time it had been imposed in the South in over four decades -- helicopters ferried the heavily-armed troops into the compound of South Korea's parliament, the footage showed.
  • Parliamentary staffers used sofas and fire extinguishers to block soldiers armed with assault rifles and night-vision goggles from entering South Korea's National Assembly to maintain martial law, CCTV footage released Wednesday showed.
  • Shortly after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday -- the first time it had been imposed in the South in over four decades -- helicopters ferried the heavily-armed troops into the compound of South Korea's parliament, the footage showed.
Parliamentary staffers used sofas and fire extinguishers to block soldiers armed with assault rifles and night-vision goggles from entering South Korea's National Assembly to maintain martial law, CCTV footage released Wednesday showed.
Shortly after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late Tuesday -- the first time it had been imposed in the South in over four decades -- helicopters ferried the heavily-armed troops into the compound of South Korea's parliament, the footage showed.
Other soldiers climbed over perimeter fences after midnight, Kim Min-ki, secretary general of the assembly, told reporters at a briefing, adding that they then smashed windows to enter the building in what he called an "unconstitutional and illegal" invasion.
"We will identify the physical damages and losses caused by the declaration of martial law and hold those responsible accountable through legal action," he said.
About 280 soldiers entered the parliament building, he said, but quickly encountered resistance from staffers, who grabbed anything on hand to barricade entrance ways and prevent the troops from reaching lawmakers in the debating chamber.
Footage showed dozens of soldiers attempting to enter the building, only to be pulled away by protesters.
"We are currently assessing the injuries sustained by several individuals, including parliamentary staff, during clashes with the martial law troops," Kim said.
The soldiers "illegally sealed off the National Assembly after declaring martial law, violating the Constitution and the law by barring lawmakers from entering," he said.
"They also trampled on the parliament building using military force, inflicting deep wounds on the hearts of the people," he added.

Struggle over a gun

In one dramatic scene, An Gwi-ryeong, a spokeswoman for the opposition Democratic Party, scuffled with a soldier, attempting to seize his rifle.
The struggle lasted more than 10 seconds. After she released the weapon, the soldier briefly pointed it at her.
Undeterred, An, a former news anchor, shouted: "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" footage of the incident showed.
"I had no choice but to stop them from entering the main building because a resolution was being submitted to block the martial law," An told AFP Wednesday.
Under South Korea's constitution, if parliament requests martial law be lifted, the president is obliged to comply, and experts have speculated the soldiers were sent in a bid to stop the vote from taking place.
"I did fear for my life," she said of the confrontation. 
"But I felt I had to stop them no matter what... because I could not comprehend the presence of fully armed soldiers inside the parliament."
While the soldiers in the compound attempted to breach the building, police were sealing off the assembly gates, attempting to bar MPs from entering.
"Some MPs had to climb over the fence to get inside to vote on the resolution," opposition MP Shin Chang-sik told AFP.
Not all MPs managed to enter the assembly. Lee Jun-seok, another opposition lawmaker, was stopped by rows of police guarding the gates.
"You are now obstructing the official duties of a lawmaker," Lee can be heard shouting in the footage -- but he was still not allowed in.

'Go home, you bastards!'

Once soldiers had made it into parliament, they found the doorways to the main chamber barricaded with piles of furniture erected by parliamentary staff, CCTV footage showed.
The video shows soldiers rushing towards the barricaded gate with guns pointed at the unarmed staffers, who continued to pile office chairs and desks in their path.
"Go home, you bastards!" shouted one staff member, as another protester unleashed a fire extinguisher in the direction of the soldiers,.
Behind the throngs of staff were scores of flashing cameras, capturing the surreal moment.
It was not until after the resolution calling for the withdrawal of martial law passed at around 1 am (1600 GMT) that the soldiers began to retreat. 
They completed their withdrawal by 2 am, leaving behind shattered windows and broken furniture, but without a single shot fired.
"I was so incensed I couldn't sleep a wink last night, I came out to make sure we push out Yoon once and for all," 50-year-old Kim Min-ho told AFP at a protest at the assembly Wednesday.
"How can something like this happen in the 21st century?" Park Su-hyung, 39, said. 
"I'm here out of fear our democracy will be trampled if we keep Yoon in office a moment longer"
kjk-sks/ceb/cwl

diplomacy

Taiwan's Lai arrives in Tuvalu to shore up Pacific allies

BY AKIO WANG

  • Earlier, he was in the Marshall Islands where President Hilda Heine expressed her government's commitment to "remain a staunch ally" of Taiwan.
  • Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te arrived in the tiny Pacific nation of Tuvalu on Wednesday, as part of a trip aimed at shoring up international support for Taiwan as China seeks to poach its few remaining allies.
  • Earlier, he was in the Marshall Islands where President Hilda Heine expressed her government's commitment to "remain a staunch ally" of Taiwan.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te arrived in the tiny Pacific nation of Tuvalu on Wednesday, as part of a trip aimed at shoring up international support for Taiwan as China seeks to poach its few remaining allies.
Taiwan calls itself a sovereign nation, but Beijing insists the democratic island of 23 million people is part of its territory and opposes any official exchanges with it.
Lai's day trip to Tuvalu came just ahead of a stopover in the US territory of Guam.
Earlier, he was in the Marshall Islands where President Hilda Heine expressed her government's commitment to "remain a staunch ally" of Taiwan.
Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands are among 12 nations that still recognise Taiwan diplomatically, after China convinced others to dump Taipei in favour of Beijing. 
Lai smiled and waved as he stepped off the plane in low-lying Tuvalu where he was greeted by Prime Minister Feleti Teo, Governor General Tofiga Vaevalu Falani, school children, an honour guard and a traditional song and dance performance. 
"When I disembarked and saw Tuvaluan students waving the national flags of our two countries, I strongly felt the people's firm commitment to our diplomatic alliance," Lai said through a translator.
Looking relaxed in a colourful shirt and a garland of pink and yellow flowers around his neck, Lai said he hoped Taiwan and Tuvalu can "expand our cooperation to even more areas, thereby further strengthening our diplomatic partnership."
Taiwan has a long history of providing development aid in the Pacific.
In a speech, Teo expressed "Tuvalu's thanks for Taiwan's contribution" to a pool of funds used by the government to buy a submarine internet cable, as well as its financial support for climate action. 
Teo was named prime minister in February, a month after an election that put the nation's recognition of Taiwan in question.
During the election campaign, senior lawmaker Seve Paeniu had floated the idea that Tuvalu's new government could review its Taiwan ties.
That set off frenzied speculation about a looming shift in policy, but the new government has vowed to keep up its "special" relationship with Taiwan.

China fumes

China has dramatically ramped up its efforts to gain influence across the Pacific islands in recent years, lavishing small nation states with loans, investment, security aid and other enticements.
Beijing has already poached some of Taiwan's Pacific allies, convincing Solomon Islands and Kiribati to switch recognition in 2019.
Neighbouring Nauru severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in January this year, just days after Lai won Taiwan's presidential elections.
Lai's first overseas trip since taking office in May began with a two-day visit to the United States, where he discussed "China's military threats" towards Taiwan during a call with former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
He also met with US government officials and members of Congress -- drawing a fresh barrage of criticism from Beijing.
China rejects any international recognition of Taiwan and especially bristles at official contact between the island and Washington, Taiwan's most important security backer.
China on Tuesday vowed to defend its "national sovereignty" and "territorial integrity" as Lai visited the Marshall Islands.
"The Taiwan issue is the core of China's core interests," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, when asked whether Beijing could launch another round of war games around the self-ruled island in response to the Pacific tour.
Lai will wrap up his week-long trip on Friday with a visit to ally Palau.
bur-amj/rsc

coup

Second major Myanmar rebel group calls for talks with junta

  • China is a major ally and arms supplier of the junta but also maintains ties with ethnic rebel groups that hold territory near its border.
  • A second major Myanmar ethnic rebel group has said it is ready for Beijing-mediated talks with the junta to end more than a year of renewed fighting that has ravaged areas along the Chinese border. 
  • China is a major ally and arms supplier of the junta but also maintains ties with ethnic rebel groups that hold territory near its border.
A second major Myanmar ethnic rebel group has said it is ready for Beijing-mediated talks with the junta to end more than a year of renewed fighting that has ravaged areas along the Chinese border. 
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), with about 8,000 available fighters, has fought the Myanmar military for over a decade for autonomy for the Kokang ethnic minority in northern Shan state.
Last year, it and two other allied rebel groups launched an offensive against the military and seized swathes of Shan state, including ruby mines and a lucrative trade highway to China.
Last week, MNDAA ally the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) said it was ready for talks with the military. 
"From today onwards we will cease fire immediately, and will not actively attack the Myanmar army," the MNDAA said in a statement released late Tuesday.
"Under the mediation of China, we are willing to engage in peace talks with the Myanmar army on issues such as Lashio," it said, referring to the city its fighters captured in August in a huge blow to the junta.
The MNDAA was "willing to send a high-level delegation to engage in dialogue and consult with the Myanmar military and resolve conflicts and differences through political means," it said.
A junta spokesman did not respond when contacted for comment on the MNDAA statement.
AFP has contacted China's embassy in Myanmar for comment.
The junta has not publicly responded to the TNLA offer, and local media outlets have reported continued air strikes on TNLA-held territory.
The Arakan Army (AA), the third group in the rebel alliance, is still fighting the military in coastal Rakhine state in Myanmar's west, home to China and India-backed port projects.  
AFP has contacted an AA spokesman for comment. 
China is a major ally and arms supplier of the junta but also maintains ties with ethnic rebel groups that hold territory near its border.
It has repeatedly called for fighting to stop in Shan state, a key link in its trillion-dollar Belt and Road initiative.
Earlier this month, Beijing said the head of the MNDAA had come to China for "medical care" after news reports in Myanmar said he had been arrested on China's orders. 
Myanmar is home to about a dozen ethnic rebel groups that have battled the military for decades for autonomy and control of lucrative resources including jade, timber and opium.
Some, including the TNLA, have given shelter and training to newer "People's Defence Forces" that sprang up to battle the military after it seized power in a 2021 coup.  
sjc-rma/cwl

conflict

South Korean president pressed to step down over martial law bid

BY KANG JIN-KYU AND CLAIRE LEE

  • Demonstrators who had been waving South Korean flags and chanting "Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol" outside the National Assembly erupted in cheers. 
  • South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol faced demands to resign on Wednesday after his short-lived attempt to impose martial law was voted down by lawmakers and brought thousands of protesters to the streets.
  • Demonstrators who had been waving South Korean flags and chanting "Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol" outside the National Assembly erupted in cheers. 
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol faced demands to resign on Wednesday after his short-lived attempt to impose martial law was voted down by lawmakers and brought thousands of protesters to the streets.
Yoon's shock bid to impose martial law on South Korea for the first time in over four decades plunged the country into the deepest turmoil in its modern democratic history and caught its close allies around the world off guard.
The United States, which stations nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea to protect it from the nuclear-armed North, initially voiced deep concern at the declaration, then relief that martial law was over.
The dramatic developments have left the future of Yoon -- a conservative politician and former star public prosecutor who was elected president in 2022 -- in jeopardy.
South Korea's main opposition party -- whose lawmakers jumped fences and tussled with security forces so they could vote to overturn the law -- demanded Yoon's immediate resignation.
"We will file charges of insurrection," against Yoon, his defence and interior ministers and "key military and police figures involved, such as the martial law commander and the police chief", the Democratic Party said in a statement.
It added that it would also push for impeachment.
The nation's largest umbrella labour union called an "indefinite general strike" until Yoon resigned.
And the leader of Yoon's own ruling party described the attempt as "tragic" while calling for those involved to be held accountable.

Defiance

Yoon stunned the world with a late-night television announcement that he was declaring martial law because of the threat of North Korea and "anti-state forces". 
More than 280 troops backed by 24 helicopters arrived at parliament to lock down the site after the extraordinary declaration.
But 190 lawmakers defied the rifle-carrying soldiers to force their way into parliament to vote against the move, leaving Yoon with no choice but to retract.
Under the constitution, martial law must be lifted when a majority in parliament demands it.
"Just a moment ago, there was a demand from the National Assembly to lift the state of emergency, and we have withdrawn the military that was deployed for martial law operations," Yoon said in a televised address around 4:30 am (1930 GMT Tuesday).
"We will accept the National Assembly's request and lift the martial law through the Cabinet meeting."
Senior aides working for Yoon offered Wednesday to resign en masse over the martial law declaration.
By midday, Yoon had yet to reappear publicly.

'Impeachment'

The U-turn prompted jubilation among protesters outside parliament who had braved freezing temperatures to keep vigil through the night in defiance of Yoon's martial law order.
Demonstrators who had been waving South Korean flags and chanting "Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol" outside the National Assembly erupted in cheers. 
Lim Myeong-pan, 55, told AFP that Yoon's decision to rescind martial law did not absolve him of wrongdoing.
"Yoon's act of imposing it in the first place without legitimate cause is a serious crime in itself," Lim told AFP.
"He has paved his own path to impeachment with this."
With more protests expected, large numbers of police were patrolling key avenues Wednesday morning.

'Anti-state' elements

Yoon had given a range of reasons to justify his action. 
"To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea's communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people's freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law," Yoon said in a televised address.
Yoon did not give details about the North's threats, but the South remains technically at war with nuclear-armed Pyongyang.
"Our National Assembly has become a haven for criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyse the judicial and administrative systems and overturn our liberal democratic order," Yoon said.
The president labelled the main opposition Democratic Party, which holds a majority in the 300-member parliament, "anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime".
Yoon and his People Power Party are also bitterly at odds with the opposition over next year's budget.
Opposition MPs last week approved a significantly downsized budget plan through a parliamentary committee.
Yoon's move came after his approval rating dropped to 19 percent in the latest Gallup poll last week, with many expressing dissatisfaction over his handling of the economy and controversies involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee.

Concern, relief

Democratic South Korea is a major ally of the United States in Asia, but Washington said it was not given advance notice of Yoon's plan to impose martial law.
"We welcome President Yoon's statement that he would rescind the order declaring emergency martial law," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
"We continue to expect political disagreements to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law."
China, a key ally of North Korea, urged its nationals in the South to stay calm and exercise caution, while Tokyo said it was monitoring the situation with "exceptional and serious concerns".
Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korea studies at the University of Oslo, said Yoon's move to impose martial law was "an attempt to wind history back".
"I don't think South Korea's civil society can recognise Yoon as a legitimate president any longer," he told AFP.
bur-oho-kma-hmn/ceb/cwl

fraud

Huge Vietnam fraud case raises questions over banking system

BY ALICE PHILIPSON AND TRAN THI MINH HA

  • Even so, he said the revelations from the case meant Vietnam "will have to take exceptional steps to audit the banking system effectively".
  • A multi-billion-dollar fraud scandal involving one of Vietnam's most prominent tycoons exposed systemic weaknesses in the country's banking sector, say analysts who warn other such cases could yet emerge. 
  • Even so, he said the revelations from the case meant Vietnam "will have to take exceptional steps to audit the banking system effectively".
A multi-billion-dollar fraud scandal involving one of Vietnam's most prominent tycoons exposed systemic weaknesses in the country's banking sector, say analysts who warn other such cases could yet emerge. 
Judges on Tuesday upheld the death sentence of property developer Truong My Lan, who was convicted this year of embezzling vast sums from the Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), which she controlled, having borrowed from tens of thousands of small investors.
Corruption is extensive in Vietnam, which ranked 83rd out of 180 in Transparency International's most recent Corruption Perception Index.
But the monumental scale of Lan's crime was unprecedented, with the $27 billion in losses prosecutors said she caused equivalent to Bosnia's entire annual gross domestic product.
Banking experts fear other damaging allegations are lurking in hidden recesses of the financial sector of the fast-growing economy, which is seen as a favoured destination for foreign investors looking for an alternative to China.
"SCB is not a single problem, it is an illness of the whole economy," banking expert Bui Kien Thanh told AFP.
The Vietnamese financial system was "characterised by a lack of tight state management", he said.
"Similar issues are rampant in society, so (Vietnam) needs to study and fix the problem before others arise."
Experts say a key systemic weakness is in the regulation of the corporate bond market, where companies borrow money from investors.

Contemplating suicide

In most developed markets, bonds are issued through independently regulated brokers on the basis of a full prospectus, graded by ratings agencies, and traded on stock exchanges.
But SCB, through its branches, misleadingly sold its bonds directly to retail customers, with staff trained for weeks on how to falsely reassure them their money was secure and the investment carried little risk.
Tens of thousands of people invested their savings in the bonds and lost everything when the bank collapsed and had to be bailed out by authorities, some of them contemplating suicide.
Most Vietnamese company debt is not rated for creditworthiness at all, with local ratings agency FiinRatings saying there were no corporate bonds with credit ratings in the country in the years before Lan's arrest.
That compared with an average of around 50 percent across the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
According to state media, a judge at Lan's original trial asked police to look into the role played by staff at three of the world's biggest accounting firms that audited SCB's books -- Ernst & Young, Deloitte and KPMG.
None of the three responded to requests for comment by AFP.
At every level of the Vietnamese financial sector -- from employees on the ground to regulatory authorities -- there is a lack of training on financial markets, the risks involved and regulatory obligations, Thanh said.
On paper, Lan owned just five percent of shares in SCB, but at her trial, the court concluded that she effectively controlled more than 90 percent through family, friends and staff who were asked to hold stocks on her behalf. 

'Can of worms'

She then used her position to direct SCB management staff to withdraw money from the bank, over time transporting the equivalent of $4.4 billion in cash in trucks to her home and the offices of her Van Thinh Phat property firm.
"They don't question the paperwork... they just say, how are we going to do it? How fast can we do it?" said Khuong Huu Loc, an economist based in the United States. 
"The whole system is a game based on collusion," he added. "The problem is, it gets so bad, (but) people let her continue on because you don't want to open the can of worms."
That comes on top of the corruption that is deeply embedded in the system -- one former chief inspector at the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) was found guilty of accepting a $5 million bribe to overlook financial problems at SCB.
Since the scandal emerged, Vietnam has stepped up an anti-corruption drive.
But Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor at The University of New South Wales, warned foreign investors were concerned anti-graft efforts had "led to a chilling effect on the state bureaucracy and a slowing of procedures", with officials fearing taking any decision could lead to their motives being questioned.
Even so, he said the revelations from the case meant Vietnam "will have to take exceptional steps to audit the banking system effectively".
Even if there was nothing on the gargantuan scale of SCB waiting to be found, Loc said that "there could be a smaller version out there".
"The question is how many?"
tmh-aph/slb/dan/cwl

economy

Ghana thrusts economy into limelight in tight race for president

BY KENT MENSAH

  • Bawumia is also the first northern Muslim candidate to lead the NPP, which is an ethnic Akan and southern-dominated party by tradition.
  • When Ghana's Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia announced last year he would run for president, his ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) was certain he would lead them to an unprecedented third term.
  • Bawumia is also the first northern Muslim candidate to lead the NPP, which is an ethnic Akan and southern-dominated party by tradition.
When Ghana's Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia announced last year he would run for president, his ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) was certain he would lead them to an unprecedented third term.
Even their slogan dared to say they would be "Breaking the eight" -- a reference to going beyond President Nana Akufo-Addo's two terms of four years to reach a third mandate.
Just days before the December 7 election though, Bawumia faces a very tight contest against former president John Mahama who hopes to tap into the frustration of many Ghanaians over the country's economic management.
"The new government that is coming, whether A or B or C. Anybody who is coming, they should wake up with the economy," Richard Norte, a boutique owner in Accra, told AFP.
"They should work out the economy for us."
Results from Saturday's election to decide the successor to Akufo-Addo, who must step down after two terms, and for the new parliament, are expected a few days after the ballot. 
A gold, cocoa and oil exporter, Ghana has a history of political stability in a region where recent coups and jihadist insurgencies have other tested democracies.
Since the country emerged from its own military rule in 1992, political power in Ghana has alternated peacefully between the NPP and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
But this year, the country's economic situation has dominated the campaign, with Ghana slowly pulling out of a crisis that prompted a $3 billion bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund.
Inflation has steadily slowed, but it is still at around 23 percent, with the cost of living triggering scattered protests in the capital Accra this year.
Several analysts and pollsters have forecast Mahama may win the election because of lingering frustration over what many see as the government's mismanagement of the economy.

IMF and blackouts

For Mahama, who was president from 2012-2017 but unsuccessful in 2016 and 2020 bids, that is an opportunity to paint Akufo-Addo's government as a failure.
He has touted his presidential experience as what is needed to guide Ghana. Analysts say many, though, will remember the power blackouts that marked his presidency.
"If we go to war, and we encounter difficulties, we go back to call the retired general to come back and lead us," Mahama said during the campaign. 
"I am a retired general and I went to rest, but it is time to come back for we are in a difficult period."
A former central bank official and UK-educated economist, Bawumia has tried to distance himself from criticism over the economic leadership of Akufo-Addo.
He says the economy is recovering from the crisis and is performing better than under Mahama's own administration, attacking the power cuts, known locally as dumsor, Ghana suffered then. 
"He said we are a failed government. I want to tell him that we have rather failed to do 4 years of dumsor," he told supporters.
"Ghanaians rejected Mahama in 2016 and 2020. What is he coming to do again?"
Bawumia is also the first northern Muslim candidate to lead the NPP, which is an ethnic Akan and southern-dominated party by tradition.
Bawumia's selection of a vice presidential running mate from the southern Ashanti region aims to bolster his support in the party's stronghold there.
But with both top candidates -- Bawumia and Mahama -- coming from the north, which was traditionally an NDC stronghold, the region is set to be a key battleground.
"The appearance of, particularly, Vice-President Bawumia, seemed to be helping the NPP with gaining ground in the North," Fred Oduro, a governance expert, told AFP.
Insecurity may also be a major worry for Ghana which like its neighbours Ivory Coast, Togo and Benin, faces violent spillover across its northern border from jihadist insurgencies in Burkina Faso and Niger.
Illegal gold mining that has polluted rivers and damaged land used for cocoa production has also been a concern for some Ghanaians.
But those worries appear far from the minds of most voters.
"The economy is too hard, so if he can do something about it," said Accra cloth trader Rita Obaapa, talking about the next president. 
"He will release more money and jobs for we the youths, we will appreciate it."
kme/pma/ju/tym

politics

Philippines says China Coast Guard fired water cannon, 'sideswiped' govt vessel

  • The Philippine ships "came dangerously close to regular law enforcement patrol vessels of the China Coast Guard", Liu said, without giving more information on the manoeuvres used by Beijing.
  • The Philippines said the China Coast Guard fired water cannon and "sideswiped" a government vessel Wednesday during a maritime patrol near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, after Beijing said it had "exercised control" over the ship.
  • The Philippine ships "came dangerously close to regular law enforcement patrol vessels of the China Coast Guard", Liu said, without giving more information on the manoeuvres used by Beijing.
The Philippines said the China Coast Guard fired water cannon and "sideswiped" a government vessel Wednesday during a maritime patrol near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, after Beijing said it had "exercised control" over the ship.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims from other countries -- including the Philippines -- and an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
Video released by Manila on Wednesday appeared to show a China coast guard ship hitting the right side of the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, a fisheries department vessel, with the crew shouting, "Collision! Collision!".
The Chinese ship "fired a water cannon... aiming directly at the vessel's navigational antennas", Philippine coast guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a statement.
The Chinese vessel then "intentionally sideswiped" the ship before launching a second water cannon attack, Tarriela added.
China's coast guard said in a statement that Philippine ships "came dangerously close" and that its actions had been "in accordance with the law", without giving further details.
"On December 4, Philippine Coast Guard ships... attempted to intrude into China's territorial waters around Huangyan Island," coast guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said, using the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal.
The Philippine ships "came dangerously close to regular law enforcement patrol vessels of the China Coast Guard", Liu said, without giving more information on the manoeuvres used by Beijing.
Scarborough Shoal -- a triangular chain of reefs and rocks -- has been a flashpoint between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012.
Since then, Beijing has deployed patrol boats that Manila says harass Philippine vessels and prevent Filipino fishermen from accessing a fish-rich lagoon there.
The shoal lies 240 kilometres (150 miles) west of the Philippines' main island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometres from the nearest major Chinese land mass of Hainan.
pam-mya-mjw/reb/cwl

Global Edition

French government risks falling in no-confidence vote

BY STUART WILLIAMS

  • The lifespan of Barnier's government would also be the shortest of any administration of France's Fifth Republic which began in 1958.
  • France's government on Wednesday faces no confidence votes that could spell the end of the short-lived administration of Prime Minister Michel Barnier, plunging the country into uncharted waters of political chaos.
  • The lifespan of Barnier's government would also be the shortest of any administration of France's Fifth Republic which began in 1958.
France's government on Wednesday faces no confidence votes that could spell the end of the short-lived administration of Prime Minister Michel Barnier, plunging the country into uncharted waters of political chaos.
The toppling of the Barnier government after just three months in office would present President Emmanuel Macron with an unenviable dilemma over how to go forwards and who to appoint in his place.
The National Assembly is due to debate two motions brought by the hard-left and far-right in a standoff with Barnier over the budget, which saw the premier force through the social security budget without a vote.
The far-right National Rally (RN) of three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is expected to vote for the motion put forwards by the left, giving it enough numbers to pass.
Asked on French television if there was a chance his government could survive Wednesday's vote, Barnier replied: "I want this and it is possible. It depends on the MPs... 
"I think it is possible that there is this reflex of responsibility where -- beyond political differences, divergences, the normal contradictions in a democracy -- we tell ourselves that there is a higher interest," he said.
But most analysts believe the government is doomed with the far-right teaming up with the left in an unholy alliance.

'Political fiction'

The turmoil follows snap elections called by Macron in the summer which aimed, without success, to halt the march of the far right, and left no party or faction in parliament with a majority.
Barnier took office with the far right under Le Pen holding a sword of Damocles over its head, with the ability to topple the administration.
No new elections can be called for a year after the previous legislative polls, narrowing Macron's options. Some have even suggested the president, who is on a state visit to Saudi Arabia, could resign.
But Macron rejected calls to resign to break the political impasse, saying such a scenario amounted to "political fiction".
"It doesn't make sense... it's frankly not up to scratch to say these things," Macron told reporters on the sidelines of the visit to Saudi Arabia.
"It so happens that if I am before you, it is because I was elected twice by the French people. I am extremely proud of this and I will honour this trust with all the energy that is mine until the last second to be useful to the country," added Macron, who is due to serve until 2027.
Several prominent opposition figures and even some voices closer to the presidential faction have suggestion resignation could be Macron's only viable option.

'Unbearable cynicism'

Macron also accused Le Pen's RN of "unbearable cynicism" in backing the motion which threatens to topple the government of Barnier.
"We must not scare people with these things, we have a strong economy," he added.
While most commentators predict that the left and far right will team up to bring down the government, Macron appeared to hold out some hope saying he could "not believe" that the no-confidence motion would we passed against the government.
Candidates for the hot seat as premier are few and far between, with loyalist Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Macron's centrist ally Francois Bayrou possible contenders.
If the government falls, it would be the first successful no-confidence vote since a defeat for Georges Pompidou's government in 1962, when Charles de Gaulle was president.
The lifespan of Barnier's government would also be the shortest of any administration of France's Fifth Republic which began in 1958.
Some observers have suggested that Le Pen, 56, is playing a high-risk game and seeking to bring down Macron before his term ends by ousting Barnier.
Le Pen is embroiled in a high-profile embezzlement trial. If found guilty in March, she could be blocked from participating in France's next presidential election, scheduled for 2027.
She has insisted, however, that the party's hardline stance was entirely due to a budget that would make the French poorer.
By following the "catastrophic continuity of Emmanuel Macron" the prime minister "could only fail", she wrote on social media.
ab-far-bur-as-sjw/giv/tym

record

Seeking a new way of life under the sea - and a world record

BY JUAN JOSé RODRíGUEZ

  • But Koch, a 59-year-old aerospace engineer from Germany, has grander plans than simply notching a record.
  • There are probably easier ways to set a world record, but Rudiger Koch has found his method 11 meters (36 feet) under the sea.
  • But Koch, a 59-year-old aerospace engineer from Germany, has grander plans than simply notching a record.
There are probably easier ways to set a world record, but Rudiger Koch has found his method 11 meters (36 feet) under the sea.
He's been living in a submerged capsule off the coast of Panama for two months -- which means, he told a visiting AFP journalist, he has about two more to go.
"The last time I checked, I was still married," he joked, as fish swim through bright blue Caribbean waters outside the portholes.
But Koch, a 59-year-old aerospace engineer from Germany, has grander plans than simply notching a record. His stunt, he says, could change the way we think about human life -- and where we can settle, even permanently.
"Moving out to the ocean is something we should do as a species," he told AFP.
"What we are trying to do here is prove that the seas are actually a viable environment for human expansion."
Koch's 30-square-meter (320-square-foot) capsule has most of the trappings of modern life: a bed, toilet, TV, computer and internet -- even an exercise bike.
The only thing missing? A shower.
His home under the sea is attached through a vertical tube to another chamber perched above the waves, housing other members of his team -- and providing a way for food and curious journalists to be sent down.
The underwater chamber, meanwhile, provides a shelter for fish and acts as an artificial reef -- providing an environmental benefit.
"In the night, you can hear all the crustaceans," he said. "There's the fish out there, and there's all that stuff, and that wasn't here before we came."

A window into the sea

On a small bedside table lies Jules Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," a 19th century sci-fi classic.
An admirer of the novel's Captain Nemo, Koch, who went down on September 26, is hoping to come up for air on January 24, surpassing by 20 days the record held by American Joseph Dituri, who spent 100 days submerged in a Florida lake.
Two clocks show how much time has passed -- and how much remains.
A narrow spiral staircase leads to the chamber above, the entire contraption located some 15 minutes by boat from the Puerto Lindo coast, off northern Panama.
Four cameras film his moves in the capsule -- capturing his daily life, monitoring his mental health and to provide proof that he's never come up to the surface.
Eial Berja, an Israeli, operates them from the section above, while minding the electricity and back-up generator.
It's not all easy going, he told AFP, noting that a heavy storm almost put an end to the project.
Outside of the media, Koch's only visitors have been his doctor, his children and his wife.
Supporting the project is Grant Romundt, from Canada. Both he and Koch have grander visions linked to the libertarian -- and at-times controversial --  "seasteading" movement that envisions ocean-based communities outside government control.
Though he still has a long way to go to resurface, Koch knows exactly what he'll do first once he's back on land: "a shower, a real shower."
jjr/mis/lab/liu/nro/bjt

facts

What we know about South Korea's martial law

  • - In a dramatic, late-night emergency television address to the nation, Yoon announced that he was imposing martial law, as he accused the opposition of paralysing the government with "anti-state activities".
  • South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday said he would lift martial law just hours after he imposed it, in a brief and confusing episode in which he blasted the opposition as "anti-state forces" threatening the country's democracy.
  • - In a dramatic, late-night emergency television address to the nation, Yoon announced that he was imposing martial law, as he accused the opposition of paralysing the government with "anti-state activities".
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday said he would lift martial law just hours after he imposed it, in a brief and confusing episode in which he blasted the opposition as "anti-state forces" threatening the country's democracy.
The unexpected move from Yoon -- the first time martial law had been declared in South Korea in more than four decades -- alarmed the United States and the country's other allies. 
What do we know about the imposition, its lifting and what might come next? 

What was the declaration?

In a dramatic, late-night emergency television address to the nation, Yoon announced that he was imposing martial law, as he accused the opposition of paralysing the government with "anti-state activities".
A six-point decree from the new martial law commander, army chief General Park An-su swiftly followed, banning political activities and parties, "false propaganda", strikes and "gatherings that incite social unrest".
The order also brought all media outlets under the authority of martial law and directed all medical staff, including striking doctors, to return to work within 48 hours.

What happened at parliament?

Security forces sealed the National Assembly, helicopters landed on the roof and troops entered the building for a short time, seemingly in a bid to prevent lawmakers from getting inside.
But 190 lawmakers managed to enter and voted unanimously to reject Yoon's declaration and call for martial law to be lifted.
Outside, hundreds of protesters gathered, many raising chants calling for Yoon to be arrested.

What happened next?

Following the lawmakers' vote, Yoon backed down. His cabinet additionally approved the motion to lift the order, Yonhap news agency reported.
"Just a moment ago, there was a demand from the National Assembly to lift the state of emergency, and we have withdrawn the military that was deployed for martial law operations," Yoon said in a televised address around 4:30 am (1930 GMT Tuesday).
Under South Korea's constitution, the parliamentary vote to lift martial law has to be respected.

Why did Yoon do this?

Yoon said he was acting to safeguard his country's liberal democracy from "anti-state elements" and "threats posed by North Korea" -- but gave little detail.
While unexpected, the announcement came in the context of a festering budget row between Yoon and the opposition Democratic Party.
The opposition has slashed around 4.1 trillion won ($2.8 billion) from Yoon's proposed 677 trillion won budget for next year, prompting the president to complain that "all key budgets essential to the nation's core functions" were being cut.
"What is clear is that Yoon has been a deeply unpopular, ineffectual leader and he is having a hard time getting any kind of public support for anything he's trying to do," said Alan Yu, a former US diplomat in Asia now at the Center for American Progress.
"The use of martial law feels almost like a desperation move to try to break out, both in a political and policy sense, but it is really poorly played on both fronts."

What is next for Yoon?

Domestically, pressure has only grown further on Yoon after his late-night bombshell. 
South Korea's main opposition party has demanded that Yoon step down, accusing him of "insurrection".
The country's main labour union group has also called an "indefinite general strike" until he resigns over the "irrational and anti-democratic measure".
Yoon's own People Power Party described his attempt at imposing martial law as "tragic" and demanded that those involved be held accountable.

What has the reaction been abroad?

South Korea is a key Western ally in Asia, seen as an important democratic bulwark in a region dominated by authoritarian regimes, and the drama is being watched with concern.
Washington said it was "relieved President Yoon has reversed course" on his martial law order.
Earlier, Britain and Germany both said they were closely following developments.
China, a key ally of nuclear-armed North Korea, urged its citizens to exercise caution, while Russia -- itself increasingly close to Pyongyang -- called the situation "alarming".
burs-pdw-bfm-hmn/cwl

conflict

S.Korea political upheaval shows global democracy's fragility - and resilience

BY SHAUN TANDON

  • She said that martial law showed "some cracks in democracy" but that the quick reversal "gives me hope in the health and strength and vibrancy of democracy in South Korea."
  • South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law marks a new warning for the worldwide fragility of democracy, even in a country hailed as a model of political transformation.
  • She said that martial law showed "some cracks in democracy" but that the quick reversal "gives me hope in the health and strength and vibrancy of democracy in South Korea."
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law marks a new warning for the worldwide fragility of democracy, even in a country hailed as a model of political transformation.
Yoon's overnight attempt to shut down political activity, censor media and lock out opposition lawmakers stunned South Korea's longtime ally, the United States, which said it had no advance warning and issued a statement of concern.
South Korea's transition to elected rule since a mass uprising in 1987 had been seen as so thorough that the United States increasingly spoke of its ally as a global partner. Meanwhile, Seoul billed itself as a new, ideal hub for international media as China clamped down on Hong Kong.
President Joe Biden had even chosen Yoon as the host in March of his final Summit for Democracy -- a signature initiative of the outgoing US leader, who sought to champion liberal values globally, in an unstated repudiation of Donald Trump, who returns to the White House next month.
But observers, while stunned by Yoon, said there were warning signs. 
Danny Russel, a top US diplomat for Asia under former president Barack Obama and who earlier served in South Korea, pointed to the deadlock in parliament where the opposition repeatedly sought impeachments against Yoon's administration.
Yoon's move "was a complete surprise to me (but) yes, there were very obvious structural forces at work," he said.
"There is a radically polarized political scene in Korea. The opposition has been pursuing scorched-earth political obstruction tactics," he said.
But he pointed to the quick, large-scale protests that erupted after Yoon's declaration as a sign of a vibrant civil society ready to defend democracy.
"One certainly would hope that this would serve as a wake-up call to both the ruling conservative party and the progressive opposition that both sides have gone too far and that there needs to be some process of reconciliation, of dealing with legitimate differences and grievances."

Authoritarian tendencies

Yoon himself had earlier shown signs of authoritarianism.
In a national address last year, Yoon raged against supposed communists who have "disguised themselves as democracy activists, human rights advocates or progressive activists."
A prosecutor, Yoon narrowly won the 2022 election on a platform of economic reform and advocated close ties with the United States as well as historic rival Japan. But his popularity swiftly slid and the opposition won the National Assembly.
Celeste Arrington, a Korea expert at George Washington University, noted that Yoon had never held elected office before and had become increasingly frustrated.
"This is really an extreme move that may signal, I think, the president's lack of political experience," she said.
She said that martial law showed "some cracks in democracy" but that the quick reversal "gives me hope in the health and strength and vibrancy of democracy in South Korea."
Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, expected Yoon's career to be over after attempting martial law, which constitutionally can only be imposed for wars or other emergencies. 
"Yoon's action is a damning reversal to decades of South Korean efforts to put its authoritarian past behind it," he said.

Democracy stronger?

The number of democracies worldwide soared starting in the late 1980s as the Soviet Union collapsed and student-led uprisings brought reforms elsewhere.
But globally, democracy has been in retreat for the last 18 straight years, according to the Washington-based group Freedom House, which promotes political liberty.
Democratically elected leaders have taken increasingly authoritarian steps in countries as diverse as India, Turkey and Hungary.
V-Dem, another closely watched democracy index, had most recently ranked South Korea third in Asia after Taiwan and Japan.
In the United States, Trump has rejected long-held norms, refusing to accept he lost to Biden four years ago -- culminating in his supporters violently rampaging through the US Capitol.
Trump's rejection of democracy ultimately worked out for him: campaigning on the rage of 2020, he won last month's election. 
But experts said Yoon's power play -- and its reversal -- could in fact show a victory for democratic values.
"Yoon is a deeply unpopular and ineffectual leader, but there was nothing I saw of people being dissatisfied with the way government runs," Alan Yu, a senior vice president at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, said after a recent trip to Seoul.
Darcie Draudt-Vejares of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that with the swift response to Yoon, "this crisis may ultimately strengthen Korean democracy by reaffirming civilian control and demonstrating institutional resilience."
sct/nro

demonstration

Georgia's ombudsman accuses police of torturing pro-EU protesters

BY LéA DAUPLE, IRAKLI METREVELI

  • Police on Tuesday evening used water cannon and tear gas on the sixth night of pro-EU protests in Tbilisi after the prime minister threatened demonstrators with reprisals amid a deepening crisis in the Black Sea nation.
  • Georgia's rights ombudsman on Tuesday accused police of torturing pro-European Union protesters rallying for six consecutive days against the government's decision to shelve EU accession talks amid a post-election crisis. 
  • Police on Tuesday evening used water cannon and tear gas on the sixth night of pro-EU protests in Tbilisi after the prime minister threatened demonstrators with reprisals amid a deepening crisis in the Black Sea nation.
Georgia's rights ombudsman on Tuesday accused police of torturing pro-European Union protesters rallying for six consecutive days against the government's decision to shelve EU accession talks amid a post-election crisis. 
The country of some 3.7 million has been rocked by demonstrations since the ruling Georgian Dream party announced last week it would halt EU accession talks.
Police on Tuesday evening used water cannon and tear gas on the sixth night of pro-EU protests in Tbilisi after the prime minister threatened demonstrators with reprisals amid a deepening crisis in the Black Sea nation.
Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has refused to back down and threatened Tuesday to punish political opponents, accusing them of being behind violence at mass protests.
Protesters gathered outside parliament for a sixth straight night but the crowd appeared slightly smaller than on recent nights, an AFP journalist saw.
Draped in EU and Georgian flags, protesters booed riot police officers and threw fireworks. Police responded by directing hoses at the protesters, with some dancing in the jets and others sheltering under umbrellas.
The police ordered demonstrators to leave through loud hailers and used water cannon to push the crowd away from the parliament. 
Then they deployed tear gas against the crowd in a nearby street, causing protesters to cough, with some using saline solution to wash out their eyes.
Police roughly detained some demonstrators, Georgian independent television showed.
Ombudsman Levan Ioseliani said in a statement that most injuries sustained by detained protesters "are concentrated on the face, eyes, and head", adding that "the location, nature, and severity of these injuries strongly suggest that police are using violence against citizens as a punitive measure", which "constitutes an act of torture."
Tensions were already high after October parliamentary elections that saw Georgian Dream return to power amid accusations that it rigged the vote.
But Kobakhidze's decision that Georgia would not hold EU membership talks until 2028 triggered uproar, although he insisted the country is still heading towards membership.
The mostly young protesters accuse Georgian Dream of acting on Russian orders and fear the ex-Soviet country will end up back under Russian influence. 
Demonstrators projected a message Tuesday that read "thank you for not being tired" onto the parliament building, an AFP reporter saw.
During the latest wave of protests, 293 people have been detained, the interior ministry said Tuesday evening, while 143 police have been injured. 
The health ministry said that on Monday evening 23 protesters were injured.
"We want freedom and we do not want to find ourselves in Russia," 21-year-old protester Nika Maghradze told AFP.
Demonstrators accuse the government of betraying Georgia's bid for EU membership, which is enshrined in its constitution and supported by around 80 percent of the population.
Nugo Chigvinadze, 41, who works in logistics, told AFP at Tuesday's protest that he did not believe the prime minister's claim that the country is still aiming for EU membership.
"Whatever our government is saying is a lie. No one believed it. No one," he said.
"They are not intending to enter the European Union."

Court challenge rejected

Pro-EU President Salome Zurabishvili -- at loggerheads with the government -- has backed the protest and demanded a re-run of the disputed parliamentary vote.
But Tbilisi's top court on Tuesday rejected a lawsuit filed by Zurabishvili and opposition parties to overturn the election result.  
That announcement came shortly after Kobakhidze -- who has ruled out talks with the opposition -- vowed to punish his opponents.  
"Opposition politicians who have orchestrated the violence in recent days while hiding in their offices will not escape responsibility," he told a press conference. 
International criticism of Georgia's handling of the protests has grown, with several Western countries saying Tbilisi had used excessive force.  

Kremlin-style language

Kobakhidze threatened to punish civil servants who join the protests, after several ambassadors and a deputy foreign minister resigned. 
"We are closely monitoring everyone's actions, and they will not go without a response," he said. 
Using Kremlin-style language, Kobakhidze alleged the protest movement was "funded from abroad". 
He also accused non-government groups -- attacked in a repressive pre-election campaign by authorities -- of being behind the protests. 
At Tuesday's demonstration, Tsotne, 28, who works in IT, defied the threats of reprisals, saying: "It's a peaceful protest, of course but I guess as an individual, I'm ready to defend my country here."
Georgia this year adopted Russian-style legislation designed to restrict the activity of NGOs as well measures that the EU says curb LGBTQ rights.
The laws prompted the United States to slap sanctions on Georgian officials. 
But Kobakhidze said his government hoped that the "US attitudes towards us will change after January 20" -- when Donald Trump takes office. 
Meanwhile, NATO chief Mark Rutte on Tuesday slammed the situation as "deeply concerning", condemning "unequivocally" the reports of violence.
led-jc-am-im/giv

Global Edition

Syria rebels 'at gates' of central city Hama

BY AYA ISKANDARANI

  • The Britain-based Observatory, which has a network of sources in Syria, said Hama was witnessing "a large wave of displacement" due to fighting around the city.
  • Syrian rebel forces arrived at the gates of the key city of Hama on Tuesday, as their fighting with the military sparked "a large wave of displacement", a war monitor said.
  • The Britain-based Observatory, which has a network of sources in Syria, said Hama was witnessing "a large wave of displacement" due to fighting around the city.
Syrian rebel forces arrived at the gates of the key city of Hama on Tuesday, as their fighting with the military sparked "a large wave of displacement", a war monitor said.
The Islamist-led rebels were advancing on Syria's fourth-largest city, buoyed by their lightning capture of swathes of the north in an offensive that ended four years of relative calm.
The sudden flare-up in the more than decade-old civil war in Syria drew appeals for de-escalation from across the international community.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Tuesday evening said the rebels were "now at the gates of Hama city" and that fighters had shelled some neighbourhoods.
The Britain-based Observatory, which has a network of sources in Syria, said Hama was witnessing "a large wave of displacement" due to fighting around the city.
It also reported people being displaced from villages in parts of Hama province's north and west.
AFP images showed people fleeing the town of Suran, between Aleppo and Hama, many of them carrying whatever they could take aboard their vehicles.
"Large military reinforcements have arrived to the city of Hama to bolster the forces on the front lines and confront any attempted attack," state news agency SANA reported, citing a Syrian military source.
A statement from Syria's army command said its forces were striking "terrorist organisations" in north Hama and Idlib provinces, with Russian air support.
Russia is a key ally of President Bashar al-Assad. Its 2015 intervention in the Syrian civil war turned the tide in his government's favour but since 2022 the Ukraine war has tied down much of its military resources.

'Threat' to popular base

Hama was a bastion of opposition to the Assad government early in the civil war. 
Its capture by the rebels would "pose a threat to the regime's popular base", Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.
The countryside west of the city is home to many Alawites, followers of the same offshoot of Shiite Islam as the president and his security chiefs.
An AFP journalist in the northern Hama countryside saw dozens of Syrian army tanks and military vehicles abandoned by the side of the road leading to Hama.
"We want to advance on Hama after combing" towns that have been captured, a rebel fighter who identified himself as Abu al-Huda al-Sourani told AFP.
AFPTV footage showed rebel fighters clashing with the Syrian military in Halfaya, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) northwest of Hama.
The United Nations says nearly 50,000 people have been displaced by the fighting since it began last Wednesday. 
At least 602 people have been killed, mostly combatants but also including 104 civilians, according to the Observatory.

UN alarm

The exodus of civilians just as winter takes hold has triggered international concern.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was "alarmed" by the violence and called for an immediate halt.
The European Union and the United States called on all sides to de-escalate.
Assad is no longer the pariah in the Arab world that he was at the height of the civil war.
At a summit in Cairo last year, Arab leaders agreed to reinstate Syria's membership of the Arab League, marking the start of a slow rehabilitation.
Turkish ally Qatar has been the main exception, refusing to normalise relations with Assad's government. 
Its foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari denied any military role in the rebel offensive but said a negotiated settlement between the warring parties was the only way to end the conflict.

Civilian exodus

One anxious resident of Syria's second city Aleppo, who declined to be identified, spoke of panic as the rebels overran it on Friday and Saturday.
"There were terrible traffic jams," he said.
But others remained trapped inside the rebel-controlled city.
HTS has its origins in Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch and has faced accusations of human rights abuses including torture.
Nazih Yristian, 60, who lives in Aleppo's Armenian neighbourhood, said he and his wife had tried to flee but the main road out had been cut. Since then, the couple have cloistered themselves at home, he said.
"No one attacked us so far, but we want to leave until things calm down. We have been displaced a lot and we will be displaced again."
The Norwegian Refugee Council warned that the rebel offensive "threatens to drag the country back into the darkest days of this near 14-year conflict". 
"In Aleppo, NRC teams report food shortages as bakeries and shops shut down. Damage to water networks has also reduced domestic water supplies," its Middle East and North Africa director Angelita Caredda said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian pledged "unconditional support" for their ally, according to the Kremlin.
Putin later urged a "speedy" end to the offensive during a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkish forces and their proxies have controlled swathes of territory in northern Syria since 2016.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi meanwhile said: "If the Syrian government asks us to send forces to Syria, we will study their request."
Neighbouring Iraq too has expressed support, and on Tuesday a pro-Iran group within the security forces called on the government to go further and send combat troops.
A spokesman for Kataeb Hezbollah, part of the Iran-backed "axis of resistance", said the group had not yet decided to deploy its own fighters but urged Baghdad to act.
burs/kir/jsa/dcp

Global Edition

Namibia elects its first woman president

  • Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, becomes the first woman to rule the mineral-rich southern African country that has been governed by the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) since independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.
  • Namibia's ruling SWAPO party was declared winner Tuesday of last week's disputed elections, ushering in the southern African country's first woman president after a disputed vote that the main opposition has already said it does not recognise.
  • Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, becomes the first woman to rule the mineral-rich southern African country that has been governed by the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) since independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.
Namibia's ruling SWAPO party was declared winner Tuesday of last week's disputed elections, ushering in the southern African country's first woman president after a disputed vote that the main opposition has already said it does not recognise.
Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah took just over 57 percent of ballots followed by the candidate for the main opposition Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) with 25.5 percent, the election authority announced. 
Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, becomes the first woman to rule the mineral-rich southern African country that has been governed by the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) since independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.
The November 27 election was a test of SWAPO's 34-year grip on power, with the IPC attracting some support from younger generations more concerned by unemployment and inequality than loyalty to liberation-era parties.
Voting was extended to November 30 after logistical and technical problems, including a shortage of ballot papers, led to long queues. Some voters gave up on the first day of voting after waiting for up to 12 hours.
The IPC said this was a deliberate attempt to frustrate voters and it would not accept the results.
Its presidential candidate Panduleni Itula, 67, said last week there were a "multitude of irregularities".
The "IPC shall not recognise the outcome of that election", he said on Saturday, the last day of the extended vote. The party would "fight... to nullify the elections through the processes that are established within our electoral process", he said.
In reaction to Tuesday's announcement of the SWAPO victory, IPC spokesperson Imms Nashinge said the party maintained this position.
Itula last week called on his party's supporters to be calm but also "stand firm to ensure that we shall not be robbed neither denied our democratic right to choose our leaders."
An organisation of southern African human rights lawyers serving as election monitors also said the delays at the ballot box were intentional and widespread.

Failures

The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) admitted to failures in the organisation of the vote, including a shortage of ballot papers and the overheating of electronic tablets used to register voters.
Of the nearly 1.5 million registered voters in the sparsely populated country, nearly 77 percent had cast ballots in the presidential vote, it said Tuesday.
"Fellow Namibians, elections are competitive by nature, but democracy calls upon us to unite once the votes have been counted. I urge all Namibians to embrace the results with the spirit of unity, diversity, understanding and reconciliation," said ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua after announcing the results.
SWAPO also had a clean sweep of the concurrent national assembly election, taking 51 seats compared to 20 for the IPC. SWAPO's tally was down from its 63 seats in the previous assembly.
The election was seen as a key test for SWAPO after other liberation-era movements in the region have lost favour with young voters including with the Botswana Democratic Party being ousted from power of that country last month after almost six decades. 
Namibia is a major uranium and diamond exporter but analysts say not many of its nearly three million people have benefited from that wealth in terms of improved infrastructure and job opportunities.
Unemployment among 15- to 34-year-olds is estimated at 46 percent, according to the latest official figures from 2018, which is almost triple the national average.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, a SWAPO stalwart known by her initials NNN, will be among the few women leaders on the continent.
The conservative daughter of an Anglican pastor, she became vice president in February this year.
Recognisable by her gold-framed glasses, she has tried to vaunt the wisdom of her years during the campaign where she was often wearing blue, red and green, the colours of her party and of the national flag. 
Among her election promises, NNN said she intends to "create jobs by attracting investments using economic diplomacy."
str-br/giv

Yoon

S. Korea's President Yoon, embattled conservative

  • In declaring martial law the South Korean leader accused the opposition of being "anti-state forces" and said he was acting to protect the country from "threats" posed by the North.
  • South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who declared martial law on Tuesday, was elected in 2022 as a conservative political novice promising a tougher line on North Korea.
  • In declaring martial law the South Korean leader accused the opposition of being "anti-state forces" and said he was acting to protect the country from "threats" posed by the North.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who declared martial law on Tuesday, was elected in 2022 as a conservative political novice promising a tougher line on North Korea.
He has not had an easy ride, taking office with some of the lowest approval ratings of any democratically elected South Korean president.
Those ratings dropped even further to 19 percent in the latest Gallup poll last week, with many expressing dissatisfaction over his handling of the economy and controversies involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee.
In declaring martial law the South Korean leader accused the opposition of being "anti-state forces" and said he was acting to protect the country from "threats" posed by the North.
Observers and allies have been left scrambling to make sense of the sudden move.

Top prosecutor

Born in Seoul in 1960, Yoon studied law and went on to become a star public prosecutor and anti-corruption crusader, playing an instrumental role in former president Park Geun-hye being convicted of abuse of power.
As the country's top prosecutor in 2019, he also indicted a top aide of outgoing president Moon Jae-in in a fraud and bribery case that tarnished that administration's image.
The conservative People Power Party (PPP), in opposition at the time, liked what they saw and convinced Yoon to become their presidential candidate.
He duly won in March 2022, beating Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, but by the narrowest margin in South Korean history.
Yoon was never much loved, and a series of scandals -- including his administration's handling of a deadly Halloween crush of 2022 -- have further eroded his popularity.
Critics have blamed Yoon's administration for food inflation, a lagging economy, and increasing constraints on freedom of speech.
He was also accused of abusing presidential vetoes, notably to strike down a bill that would have paved the way for a special investigation into his wife's alleged involvement in stock manipulation.
Yoon suffered further reputational damage last year when his wife was secretly filmed accepting a designer handbag worth $2,000 as a gift. Yoon insisted it would have been rude to refuse.
His mother-in-law, Choi Eun-soon, is serving a one-year prison sentence for forging financial documents in a real estate deal. She is due to be released in July.
Yoon was earlier this year the subject of a petition calling for his impeachment, which proved so popular the parliamentary website hosting it experienced delays and crashes.
Local media have reported that Yoon is particularly inspired by British wartime prime minister Winston Churchill.
As president, Yoon has maintained a tough stance against Pyongyang and bolstered ties with Seoul's traditional ally, the United States.
Last year, he famously sang Don McLean's "American Pie" during his visit to the White House, to which US President Joe Biden responded, "I had no damn idea you could sing."
But his efforts to restore ties with South Korea's former colonial ruler, Japan, did not sit well with many at home, as the issue remains sensitive in the country.
The return of former US president Donald Trump -- who had historic but ultimately failed summits with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un while in office -- may create another layer of tension, experts say.
cdl/bfm/pdw

archaeology

UK museum in talks with Greece over 'long-term' deal for Parthenon Marbles

BY PETER HUTCHISON WITH YANNICK PASQUET IN ATHENS

  • A spokesman for Starmer later indicated that the UK government would not stand in the way of any agreement between Greece and the British Museum to end the centuries-old saga.
  • UK officials hinted Tuesday that a deal was in the works with Greece to end a decades-long dispute over the highly contested and priceless Parthenon Marbles.
  • A spokesman for Starmer later indicated that the UK government would not stand in the way of any agreement between Greece and the British Museum to end the centuries-old saga.
UK officials hinted Tuesday that a deal was in the works with Greece to end a decades-long dispute over the highly contested and priceless Parthenon Marbles.
The British Museum said it was holding "constructive" talks with Athens over "sharing" the ancient sculptures, raising the likelihood that the friezes will be loaned back to Greece.
The comments came as Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis, amid media reports that he is open to seeing the masterpieces return to their country of origin.
A spokesman for Starmer later indicated that the UK government would not stand in the way of any agreement between Greece and the British Museum to end the centuries-old saga.
"Discussions with Greece about a Parthenon partnership are on-going and constructive," said a British Museum spokesperson.
"We believe that this kind of long-term partnership would strike the right balance between sharing our greatest objects with audiences around the world, and maintaining the integrity of the incredible collection we hold at the museum."
The Parthenon Marbles, also called the Elgin Marbles, have been a source of contention between Britain and Greece for over two centuries.
Greek authorities maintain that the sculptures were looted in 1802 by Lord Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. 
But London claims that the sculptures were "legally acquired" by Elgin, and then sold to the British Museum. 
The Marbles overshadowed Mitsotakis' last official visit to Britain, when Starmer's predecessor Rishi Sunak cancelled a meeting at the last minute after the Greek leader's public comments on the contentious issue reportedly irked the UK side.
Starmer and Mitsotakis's talks Tuesday focused on illegal migration and supporting Ukraine but Downing Street refused to deny that the Marbles were also discussed.
"Understandably, the Greek prime minister will have raised many issues," Starmer's spokesman said, adding that the Marbles' future is "entirely" in the hands of the British Museum.
Sky News reported Monday that Mitsotakis and his foreign minister had held at least two "private meetings" with museum officials, including chairman George Osborne, this year.  
The Guardian newspaper said the talks were moving towards "an agreement in principle". 
A 1963 UK law prevents the British museum from giving away treasures, but it has about 1,400 objects on long-term loan at other museums every year, meaning a similar agreement for the Marbles is likely.
"We have no plans to change the law that would permit a permanent move" of the sculptures back to Greece, added Starmer's spokesman.

'Lost his marbles'

Ahead of the meeting, Mitsotakis said he was "firmly convinced" the sculptures will return to Athens.
"Discussions with the British Museum are continuing," he told ANT1 TV on Saturday.
Sunak axing the meeting a year ago was seen as a diplomatic slap in the face to Mitsotakis, and the latest example of the dispute poisoning bilateral relations.
The Greek leader, an ardent campaigner for the Marbles' return, had told the BBC at the time that keeping part of the Parthenon friezes outside Greece was tantamount to "cut(ting) the Mona Lisa in half". 
Starmer, then head of the opposition, later told the House of Commons that Sunak had "obviously lost his marbles" in cancelling the meeting. 
Athens's campaign for the return of the 75-metre (250 feet) long friezes was revived in the 1980s by Greek singer and actress Melina Mercouri when she was culture minister. 
In the UK, where according to a YouGov poll in 2023 a majority of Britons back restitution, opponents fear a domino effect, amid claims from several countries. 
A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens is a temple built in the fifth century BC in homage to the goddess Athena. 
The new Acropolis Museum, inaugurated in 2009, has reserved a space for the Parthenon friezes on the first floor of the building, where the four sides of the temple have been faithfully recreated to scale. 
The missing friezes have been replaced by casts. 
Founded in 1753, the British Museum collection of eight million objects also includes the Rosetta Stone. 
bur-pdh/jkb/giv

diplomacy

Europe-loving Blinken on last trip to NATO before Trump handover

BY LéON BRUNEAU

  • Ukraine had hoped that it might convince the United States to finally back its push for an invite to join NATO -- something that Biden has long opposed.
  • Antony Blinken, America's French-speaking, Europhile top diplomat, paid his last visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels Tuesday on a bittersweet trip ahead of Donald Trump taking over in the United States. 
  • Ukraine had hoped that it might convince the United States to finally back its push for an invite to join NATO -- something that Biden has long opposed.
Antony Blinken, America's French-speaking, Europhile top diplomat, paid his last visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels Tuesday on a bittersweet trip ahead of Donald Trump taking over in the United States. 
The US secretary of state can look back on a tenure spent strengthening Washington's transatlantic bond as Russia launched the largest conflict in Europe since World War II with its invasion of Ukraine.
But even as Blinken received a warm reception from his NATO counterparts the spectre of Trump and the isolationist policies that may come after his inauguration next month hung over the two-day meeting. 
"You have been a staunch ally and people like you very much," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Blinken. 
"We wish you the best after January, but we need you until the 20th of January, every day, and we know we can count on you."
Blinken insisted that President Joe Biden's administration would keep seeking to funnel arms to Ukraine in the little time it has left in power. 
"This is a vital moment for the alliance to make sure we're level set for the year ahead," Blinken said.
"Like it or not, you've got me and you've got us until the 20th of January, every minute, every day."
And in a potential shot across Trump's bows he insisted that being in NATO is the "best guarantee against war" thanks to the alliance's pledge to protect each member.
That came after the volatile Republican warned on the campaign trail he'd let the Russians "do whatever the hell they want" with NATO allies not spending enough on defence.
The end of the Biden administration comes at a perilous time for Ukraine as its forces buckle in the face of Russia's grinding offensive.
Blinken -- like his boss -- has been a staunch supporter of Kyiv and on the eve of his visit to NATO unveiled a new $725-million package of military aid.
Since the election of Donald Trump, the Biden administration has been stepping up the tempo and drawing on its stocks to try to get Kyiv into a position of strength the day it decides to enter into negotiations with Russia.
Trump has cast doubt on maintaining US support and vowed to cut a quick deal to end the war.
The Biden administration belatedly eased up by authorising Ukraine to use American missiles to strike deeper into Russian territory, and decided to supply anti-personnel mines. 

Forward-leaning

During the many deliberations within the administration, Blinken was typically one of the most forward-leaning on taking the gloves off Ukraine. 
That ranged from subjects such as giving permission to shoot missiles at Russia, to allowing deliveries of tanks and F-16 jets, issues where the Pentagon was often reticent.
But as Trump gears up for office, Blinken and the lame duck administration he represents only have so much clout.
Ukraine had hoped that it might convince the United States to finally back its push for an invite to join NATO -- something that Biden has long opposed.
Fearful that Trump would just rescind any offer made now, Washington backed away from making any moves.
Trump has said he could end the war in a day but has given no details on his plans. 
He has appointed retired general Keith Kellogg as his envoy on the conflict and Senator Mark Rubio as his choice to succeed Blinken. 
Kellogg suggested that the West could shelve Ukraine's NATO ambitions as a sop to the Kremlin in any peace plan. 
Much of their "America First" ideas conflict with the central tenets of Blinken's worldview -- one built around reaching out to allies, cooperation and consensus-building.
lb/del/ec/giv

prison

Colombian police raid 11 prisons to combat extortion rackets

  • Eight people have been arrested so far in Colombia's prison raids, including six guards accused of acting as accomplices of convicts accused of racketeering from a prison in the central town of Girardot.
  • Over 2,000 Colombian police officers backed by helicopters and sniffer dogs raided prisons nationwide on Tuesday in an operation to combat extortion rackets run out of penitentiaries.
  • Eight people have been arrested so far in Colombia's prison raids, including six guards accused of acting as accomplices of convicts accused of racketeering from a prison in the central town of Girardot.
Over 2,000 Colombian police officers backed by helicopters and sniffer dogs raided prisons nationwide on Tuesday in an operation to combat extortion rackets run out of penitentiaries.
The operation, which targeted 11 prisons, began in the early hours at detention centers in the capital Bogota, the northwestern city of Medellin and western city of Ibague, the prison service said in a statement.
Police chief William Salamanca said that the aim of the operation was to deal a blow to people "who are disrupting the peace and coexistence" in Colombia from behind bars.
Extortion is one of the main sources of income for organized crime gangs in South America.
Troops have been deployed for the past two months in neighboring Peru's capital Lima to combat a wave of racketeering by criminal gangs targeting bus drivers, shopkeepers, restaurant owners and even schoolteachers.
Eight people have been arrested so far in Colombia's prison raids, including six guards accused of acting as accomplices of convicts accused of racketeering from a prison in the central town of Girardot.
More than 300 cell phones have been seized.
Gang members are accused of holding people to ransom from their jail cells with threatening text messages and phone calls.
On the outside, criminal gangs threaten businesspeople and traders with punishment, including even death, if they do not pay protection money.
In Bogota, the authorities say extortion is mainly the work of gangs originating across the border in Venezuela, such as the infamous Tren de Aragua gang which is also active in the United States.
In rural and small-town Colombia, left-wing guerrillas such as the National Liberation Army (ELN), dissidents from the defunct FARC group and drug cartels such as the Gulf Clan also engage in extortion.
In 2023, at least 9,800 people reported being victims of protection rackets, according to data collected by the Ombudsman's Office.
The office, which oversees the protection of human rights, asked the government to use technology to block mobile phone signals in prison.  
das/cb/bgs