bees

Bees help tackle elephant-human conflict in Kenya

technology

US govt calls for breakup of Google and Chrome

BY ALEX PIGMAN

  • From this position, Google expanded its tech and data-gathering empire to include the Chrome browser, Maps and the Android smartphone operating system.
  • The US government late Wednesday asked a judge to order the dismantling of Google by selling its widely used Chrome browser in a major antitrust crackdown on the internet giant.
  • From this position, Google expanded its tech and data-gathering empire to include the Chrome browser, Maps and the Android smartphone operating system.
The US government late Wednesday asked a judge to order the dismantling of Google by selling its widely used Chrome browser in a major antitrust crackdown on the internet giant.
In a court filing, the US Department of Justice urged a shake-up of Google's business that includes banning deals for Google to be the default search engine on smartphones and preventing it from exploiting its Android mobile operating system.
Antitrust officials said in the filing that Google should also be made to sell Android if proposed remedies don't prevent the tech company from using its control of the mobile operating system to its advantage.
Calling for the breakup of Google marks a profound change by the US government's regulators, which have largely left tech giants alone since failing to break up Microsoft two decades ago.
Google is expected to make its recommendations in a filing next month and both sides will make their case at a hearing in April before US District Court Judge Amit Mehta.
Regardless of Judge Mehta's eventual decision, Google is expected to appeal the ruling, prolonging the process for years and potentially leaving the final say to the US Supreme Court.
The case could also be upended by the arrival of President-elect Donald Trump to the White House in January.
His administration will likely replace the current team in charge of the DOJ's antitrust division.
The newcomers could choose to carry on with the case, ask for a settlement with Google, or abandon the case altogether.
Trump has blown hot and cold in how to handle Google and the dominance of big tech companies. 
He has accused the search engine of bias against conservative content, but has also signaled that a forced break up of the company would be too large a demand by the US government. 

Too extreme?

Determining how to address Google's wrongs is the next stage of the landmark antitrust trial that saw the company in August ruled a monopoly by Judge Mehta.
Google has dismissed the idea of a breakup as "radical."
Adam Kovacevich, chief executive of industry trade group Chamber of Progress, said the government's demands were "fantastical" and defied legal standards, instead calling for narrowly tailored remedies.
The trial, which concluded last year, scrutinized Google's confidential agreements with smartphone manufacturers, including Apple. 
These deals involve substantial payments to secure Google's search engine as the default option on browsers, iPhones and other devices.
The judge determined that this arrangement provided Google with unparalleled access to user data, enabling it to develop its search engine into a globally dominant platform. 
From this position, Google expanded its tech and data-gathering empire to include the Chrome browser, Maps and the Android smartphone operating system.
According to the judgment, Google controlled 90 percent of the US online search market in 2020, with an even higher share, 95 percent, on mobile devices.
The US government currently has five cases pending against big tech over antitrust concerns after the Biden administration adopted a tough stance on reining in the dominance of the companies.
If carried through by the Trump administration, the cases against Amazon, Meta, and Apple, as well as two against Google, could take years to litigate.
gc-arp/jgc

Global Edition

Banana taped to a wall sells for $6.2 mn in New York

BY ANDRéA BAMBINO

  • It represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community," Sun was quoted as saying in the Sotheby's statement. 
  • A fresh banana taped to a wall -- a provocative work of conceptual art by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan -- was bought for $6.2 million on Wednesday by a cryptocurrency entrepreneur at a New York auction, Sotheby's announced in a statement.
  • It represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community," Sun was quoted as saying in the Sotheby's statement. 
A fresh banana taped to a wall -- a provocative work of conceptual art by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan -- was bought for $6.2 million on Wednesday by a cryptocurrency entrepreneur at a New York auction, Sotheby's announced in a statement.
The debut of the edible creation entitled "Comedian" at the Art Basel show in Miami Beach in 2019 sparked controversy and raised questions about whether it should be considered art -- Cattelan's stated aim. 
Chinese-born crypto founder Justin Sun on Wednesday forked over more than six million for the fruit and its single strip of silver duct tape, which went on sale for 120,000 dollars five years ago. 
"This is not just an artwork. It represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community," Sun was quoted as saying in the Sotheby's statement. 
"I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history."
The sale featured seven potential buyers and smashed expectations, with the auction house issuing a guide price of $1-1.5 million before the bidding. 
Given the shelf life of a banana, Sun is essentially buying a certificate of authenticity that the work was created by Cattelan as well as instructions about how to replace the fruit when it goes bad.
The installation auctioned on Wednesday was the third iteration -- with the first one eaten by performance artist David Datuna, who said he felt "hungry" while inspecting it at the Miami show.
Sun, who founded cryptomoney exchange Tron, said that he intended to eat his investment too.
"In the coming days, I will personally eat the banana as part of this unique artistic experience, honoring its place in both art history and popular culture," he said.

'Gone mad'

As well as his banana work, Cattelan is also known for producing an 18-carat, fully functioning gold toilet called "America" that was offered to Donald Trump during his first term in the White House.
His work is often humourous and deliberately provocative, with a 1999 sculpture of the pope stuck by a meteor titled "The Ninth Hour."
He has explained the banana work as a critical commentary on the art market, which he has criticized in the past for being speculative and failing to help artists. 
The asking price of $120,000 for "Comedian" in 2019 was seen at the time as evidence that the market was "bananas" and the art world had "gone mad," as The New York Post said in a front-page article.
The banana sold on Wednesday was bought for 35 cents from a Bangladeshi fruit seller on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, according to The New York Times. 
Sun has hit headlines in the past as an art collector and as a major player in the murky cryptocurrency world. 
He was charged last year by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged market manipulation and unregistered sales of crypto assets, which he promoted with celebrity endorsements, including from Lindsay Lohan. 
In 2021, he bought Alberto Giacometti's "Le Nez" for $78.4 million, which was hailed by Sotheby's at the time as signaling "an influx of younger, tech-savvy collectors."
Global art markets have been dropping in value in recent years due to higher interest rates, as well as concern about geopolitical instability, experts say.
"Empire of Light" ("L'Empire des lumieres"), a painting by Rene Magritte, shattered an auction record for the surrealist artist on Tuesday, however, selling for more than $121 million at Christie's in New York.
arb-adp/jgc

tourism

Screen to reality: South Korea targets K-pop, K-drama tourism boom

BY HIEUN SHIN AND CAT BARTON

  • Preserved from the set of popular 2018 historical series "Mr Sunshine", the location in Nonsan, 170 kilometres (106 miles) from Seoul, is replete with painstaking replicas of everything from a turn-of-the-century tram to South Korea's most famous Buddhist bell.
  • Deep in South Korea's hinterlands lies a perfect replica of 1900s Seoul: welcome to Sunshine Land, the latest K-drama theme park to cash in on booming K-culture tourism.
  • Preserved from the set of popular 2018 historical series "Mr Sunshine", the location in Nonsan, 170 kilometres (106 miles) from Seoul, is replete with painstaking replicas of everything from a turn-of-the-century tram to South Korea's most famous Buddhist bell.
Deep in South Korea's hinterlands lies a perfect replica of 1900s Seoul: welcome to Sunshine Land, the latest K-drama theme park to cash in on booming K-culture tourism.
Fans of K-pop mega group BTS have long flocked to the South to see sites associated with the boy band, from the dorms where they slept as trainees to recent music video shoot locations.
But as the popularity of South Korean drama has soared overseas -- it is the most-viewed non-English content on Netflix, the platform's data shows -- more and more tourists are planning trips around their favourite shows.
The idea that foreign tourists would pay good money and drive hundreds of miles out of the capital Seoul to see a K-drama set seemed "crazy" to tour guide Sophy Yoon -- until she saw one of her guests break down in tears at Sunshine Land.
"At that moment, it hit me: For me, it was just a studio, but for them, it was something much more," she said.
Preserved from the set of popular 2018 historical series "Mr Sunshine", the location in Nonsan, 170 kilometres (106 miles) from Seoul, is replete with painstaking replicas of everything from a turn-of-the-century tram to South Korea's most famous Buddhist bell.
"It's like when we go to the Spanish steps in Rome where Audrey Hepburn had ice cream," Yoon said, referring to the 1953 classic movie "Roman Holiday".
For South Korea's growing number of K-drama tourists, "every door, every wall has a meaning from a drama that impacted their lives".
"I get a lot more requests for specific 'K-drama tours' now," she said.

'Felt right'

The rise of South Korea as a global cultural powerhouse "has contributed to the appeal of Korean tourism," said Kwak Jae-yeon, the Hallyu content team director at the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO).
South Korea welcomed 1.4 million tourists in September, up 33 percent year-on-year and the highest since the pandemic, with more than a third saying they had decided to come "after being exposed to Korean Wave content", according to a 2023 KTO poll.
In Seoul's central Jongno district, tourists like Sookariyapa Kakij are typical. Wearing a hanbok, traditional Korean dress, the 40-year-old had travelled from Thailand specifically to see where her favourite dramas were filmed. 
"I want to find locations where 'Itaewon Class' was shot," she told AFP, referring to the popular 2020 drama, filmed largely on location in its namesake district of Seoul.
Jennifer Zelinski told AFP she had never left the United States before, but after she discovered K-drama -- through the 2019 series "Crash Landing on You" -- while stuck at home during the pandemic, she decided to visit South Korea.
"I binged the whole show in a week. I barely slept and went through two whole boxes of tissues," she said. 
This "snowballed" into her watching more and more K-drama, Korean variety shows and listening to K-pop, she said, until finally she "felt like I really wanted to see it in person".
"My family and friends were shocked when I said I was travelling to Korea and on my own," said Zelinski, but for her "it just felt right."

Beyond Seoul

The travel industry is racing to catch up: one South Korean tour company on the travel platform Klook said interest in its BTS day tour has "skyrocketed" recently, and they were "completely booked until next February." 
"We are planning to add additional tours for other K-pop idol groups, including Seventeen and NCT 127," they said.
But most of this new type of tourism is concentrated in Seoul, Jeong Ji-youn, a Kyungpook National University professor, told AFP.
Tourism in rural areas has tended to focus on more traditional Korean experiences, which is not interesting to younger travellers eager to explore the land of K-pop and K-drama.
"There is a need to develop more tourism resources related to contemporary culture that allow people to experience hallyu outside of Seoul," she said.
The port city of Pohang is better known for shipbuilding and steel plants than tourism, but Emma Brown, 30, from Scotland, travelled more than 8,800 kilometres (5,468 miles) to see it because of "When the Camellia Blooms".
The 2019 romance series "changed my life", she told AFP, adding that she felt she "had to feel the drama in person."
"I just couldn't miss the opportunity to visit Pohang when I was already in South Korea," she added.
hs/ceb/sn/lb

Global Edition

Australian eyes $30m fine for social media flouting under-16s ban

BY LAURA CHUNG

  • Failing to do so would mean fines of up to Aus$50 million (US$32.5 million).
  • Social media companies could be fined more than US$30 million if they fail to keep children off their platforms, under new laws tabled before Australia's parliament Thursday. 
  • Failing to do so would mean fines of up to Aus$50 million (US$32.5 million).
Social media companies could be fined more than US$30 million if they fail to keep children off their platforms, under new laws tabled before Australia's parliament Thursday. 
The legislation would force social media firms to take steps to prevent those under 16 years of age from accessing platforms such as X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
Failing to do so would mean fines of up to Aus$50 million (US$32.5 million).
Australia is among the vanguard of nations trying to clean up social media, and the proposed age limit would be among the world's strictest measures aimed at children. 
Details about how social media companies are expected to enforce the ban remain unclear. 
The proposed laws would also include robust privacy provisions that require tech platforms to delete any age-verification information collected. 
Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland said Thursday that social media companies had a responsibility for the "safety and mental health" of Australians.  
"The legislation places the onus on social media platforms, not parents or children, to ensure protections are in place," she said. 
Some companies will be granted exemptions from the ban, such as YouTube, which teenagers may need to use for school work or other reasons. 
Rowland said that messaging services -- such as WhatsApp -- and online gaming would also be exempt.
Once celebrated as a means of staying connected and informed, social media platforms have been tarnished by cyberbullying, the spread of illegal content, and election-meddling claims. 
If the proposed law passes, tech platforms would be given a one-year grace period to figure out how to implement and enforce the ban. 
Social media companies have said they will adhere to new legislation but have cautioned the government against acting too quickly and without adequate consultation.
Analysts have also expressed doubt it would be technically feasible to enforce a strict age ban. 
Katie Maskiell from UNICEF Australia said Thursday the proposed legislation would not be a "solve-all" for protecting children and much more needed to be done. 
She added the laws risked pushing young people onto "covert and unregulated online spaces".
Several other countries have been tightening children's access to social media platforms.
Spain passed a law in June banning social media access to under-16s.
And in the US state of Florida, children under 14 will be banned from opening social media accounts under a new law due to come into force in January.
In both cases, the age verification method has yet to be determined.
lec/arb/cwl

conflict

Civil war economy hits Myanmar garment workers

  • It is a rare bright spot in an economy crippled by the military's 2021 coup and subsequent slide into civil war.
  • As civil war pounds Myanmar's economy and drives up prices, garment worker Wai Wai often starts her shift making clothes for international brands on an empty stomach.
  • It is a rare bright spot in an economy crippled by the military's 2021 coup and subsequent slide into civil war.
As civil war pounds Myanmar's economy and drives up prices, garment worker Wai Wai often starts her shift making clothes for international brands on an empty stomach.
The orders she and thousands of others churn out for big names including Adidas, H&M and others bring in billions of dollars in export earnings for Myanmar.
It is a rare bright spot in an economy crippled by the military's 2021 coup and subsequent slide into civil war.
But for 12 hours of sewing clothes for export to China and Europe in a bleak industrial suburb of Yangon, Wai Wai earns just over $3 a day, which has to cover rent, food and clothes. 
It must also stretch to supporting her parents in Rakhine state at the other end of the country, where conflict between the military and ethnic rebels has wrecked the economy and driven food prices up.
With times so hard, Wai Wai "decided to mostly skip breakfast" to save extra money, she told AFP, asking to use a pseudonym.
"Sometimes we just have leftover rice from the night before and save money, because if we use money for breakfast, there will be less money to transfer to our family."
In a nearby factory, Thin Thin Khine and her two sisters work 12 hours a day sewing uniforms for a Myanmar company and earn a monthly salary of around 350,000 Myanmar kyat.
That's about $165 according to the official exchange rate set by the junta of just over 2,000 kyat to the dollar.
On the open market, a greenback can fetch around 4,500 kyat.
"All my sisters are working, but there is no extra money at all," she said.
"In the past, we could buy two or three new items of clothing every month, but now we can't afford to buy new clothes, cosmetics or things for our personal care." 

Lights out

Since the coup, Zara owner Inditex, Marks and Spencer and others have left Myanmar, citing the difficulties of operating amid the turmoil.
Others such as Adidas, H&M and Danish company Bestseller have stayed, for now. 
Adidas told AFP it worked closely with its suppliers in Myanmar to safeguard workers' rights, while H&M said it was gradually phasing out its operations in the country.
Estimates of the apparel industry's export earnings vary.
Myanmar's commerce ministry said exports were worth more than $3 billion in the past financial year.
But the European Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar said export earnings were higher, surging from $5.7 billion in 2019 to $7.6 billion in 2022 -- with more than half of exports going to the bloc.
The European body said the rise in Myanmar exports was helped by low labour costs compared to Cambodia and China, along with trade preferences granted by the EU and United States.
Keeping the factories running is a challenge.
In May, the junta said the national electricity grid was meeting about half of the country's daily electricity needs.
To keep the lights on and the machines spinning, factory owners rely on expensive generators -- themselves vulnerable to the regular diesel shortages that plague Yangon. 
"The working situation right now is like we invest more money and get less profits," said small factory owner Khin Khin Wai.
Cotton spindles have more than doubled in price from 18 cents to 50 cents, she said.
"Our lives here are not progressing year by year, they are falling apart," she said. 
Wai Wai's factory supplies Danish clothing brand Bestseller.
A Bestseller spokesman told AFP that sourcing from Myanmar was "complex" and the company "continuously assessed" the situation, publishing regular reports on its operations in the country.
According to its September report, "on average" workers at Myanmar factories supplying it were paid a daily wage of 10,000-13,000 kyat ($5-6.50 at the official rate), including bonuses and overtime.

Crackdown

Abuses in the sector have spiked since the military took power, rights groups say.
This month, Swiss-based union federation IndustriALL Global Union said the junta had banned unions and arrested union leaders.
"There are widespread, comprehensive reports on the extensive violations of workers' rights," IndustriALL general secretary Atle Hoie said in a statement.
AFP has sought comment from the junta about conditions in the industry.
The latest concern is a conscription law enforced from February to shore up the military's depleted ranks.
In its most recent report on Myanmar, Bestseller said two workers at factories that supply it had been drafted between March and September of this year.
Women are included in the draft, although the junta has said it will not recruit them for now.
For migrant workers like Wai Wai who do not have the means to pay bribes to avoid any draft, it is a huge worry.
"I am full of fear about how I will face it if I am called up for conscription," Wai Wai said.
bur-rma/pdw/djw/cwl

business

Indian magnate Gautam Adani charged in US over massive bribery scheme

BY GREGORY WALTON

  • "This indictment alleges schemes to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials, to lie to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and to obstruct justice," said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Miller.
  • Billionaire Indian industrialist Gautam Adani has been charged with paying hundreds of millions of dollars of bribes and hiding the payments from investors, US prosecutors said on Wednesday.
  • "This indictment alleges schemes to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials, to lie to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and to obstruct justice," said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Miller.
Billionaire Indian industrialist Gautam Adani has been charged with paying hundreds of millions of dollars of bribes and hiding the payments from investors, US prosecutors said on Wednesday.
With a business empire spanning coal, airports, cement and media, the chairman of Adani Group has been rocked in recent years by corporate fraud allegations and a stock crash.
The close acolyte of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a fellow Gujarat native, is alleged to have agreed to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian officials for lucrative solar energy supply contracts.
The deals were projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits after tax, over roughly 20 years.
None of the multiple defendants in the case, including Adani, are in custody, the prosecutor's office told AFP.
Prosecutors say one of Adani's alleged accomplices meticulously tracked bribe payments, using his phone to log the bungs offered to officials.
"This indictment alleges schemes to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials, to lie to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and to obstruct justice," said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Miller.

'Fear of reprisal'

"Gautam Adani and seven other business executives allegedly bribed the Indian government to finance lucrative contracts designed to benefit their businesses... while still other defendants allegedly attempted to conceal the bribery conspiracy by obstructing the government's investigation," said the FBI's James Dennehy.
A self-described introvert, Adani keeps a low profile and rarely speaks to the media, often sending lieutenants to front corporate events.
Adani was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat state, to a middle-class family but dropped out of school at 16 and moved to financial capital Mumbai to find work in the city's lucrative gem trade. 
After a short stint in his brother's plastics business, he launched the flagship family conglomerate that bears his name in 1988 by branching out into the export trade. 
His big break came seven years later with a contract to build and operate a commercial shipping port in Gujarat.
Adani Group's rapid expansion into capital-intensive businesses previously raised alarms, with Fitch subsidiary and market researcher CreditSights warning in 2022 it was "deeply over-leveraged."
In 2023 a bombshell report from US investment firm Hindenburg Research claimed the conglomerate had engaged in a "brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades."
Hindenburg said a pattern of "government leniency towards the group" stretching back decades had left investors, journalists, citizens and politicians unwilling to challenge its conduct "for fear of reprisal."
gw/nro

rights

US House speaker backs bathroom ban for first openly trans member

  • Earlier this week, Representative Nancy Mace, an ally of President-elect Donald Trump, introduced a resolution that would ban transgender women from using female restrooms in the Capitol.
  • The Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives voiced support Wednesday for banning a newly elected transgender woman from using women's restrooms in the legislature.
  • Earlier this week, Representative Nancy Mace, an ally of President-elect Donald Trump, introduced a resolution that would ban transgender women from using female restrooms in the Capitol.
The Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives voiced support Wednesday for banning a newly elected transgender woman from using women's restrooms in the legislature.
"All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings -- such as restrooms, changing rooms and locker rooms -- are reserved for individuals of that biological sex," Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement.
Johnson's remarks come after Democrat Sarah McBride's election as the first openly transgender member of Congress this month. 
She has received a cold welcome from her Republican colleagues, who retained control of the lower chamber in the November election.
Earlier this week, Representative Nancy Mace, an ally of President-elect Donald Trump, introduced a resolution that would ban transgender women from using female restrooms in the Capitol.
The fiery South Carolina congresswoman said "biological men do not belong in private women's spaces. Period. Full stop. End of story," in a post on X.
On Wednesday, Mace doubled down, introducing legislation that would apply the rule to all federal property.
Transgender rights are a hot-button issue in the United States -- with the participation of trans people in competitive sports and the subject of access to gender-affirming care for minors triggering fiery debate.
Democrats and LGBTQ advocates largely denounced Mace's effort, categorizing it as an attack on the dignity of trans people.

McBride to comply

Wednesday was also Transgender Day of Remembrance, held each year on November 20 to honor transgender people murdered on account of their gender identity.
"Too many transgender Americans, including young people, are cruelly targeted and face harassment simply for being themselves," outgoing US President Joe Biden said in a statement, which did not mention the controversy on Capitol Hill.
McBride, who takes office in January, said Wednesday she would comply with the rules set out by Johnson, "even if I disagree with them."
"Each of us were sent here because voters saw something in us that they value," she said on social media. 
"I look forward to seeing those qualities in every member come January. I hope all my colleagues will seek to do the same with me."
Asked earlier this week about Mace's original proposal, Johnson had initially deflected, telling reporters: "This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before, and we're going to do that in deliberate fashion with member consensus."
Johnson suggested in his Wednesday statement that McBride would be limited to using the Capitol's unisex bathrooms or the bathroom in her office.
cjc/nro/des

conflict

Hezbollah says Israel 'cannot impose conditions' for truce

BY LISA GOLDEN WITH PIERRE-HENRY DESHAYES IN JERUSALEM

  • "Israel cannot defeat us and cannot impose its conditions on us," Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said in an address broadcast shortly after Hochstein announced his travel plans.
  • Hezbollah's leader delivered a defiant speech on Wednesday, saying Israel cannot impose conditions for a truce in Lebanon, as visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein headed to Israel to try to negotiate an end to the war.
  • "Israel cannot defeat us and cannot impose its conditions on us," Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said in an address broadcast shortly after Hochstein announced his travel plans.
Hezbollah's leader delivered a defiant speech on Wednesday, saying Israel cannot impose conditions for a truce in Lebanon, as visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein headed to Israel to try to negotiate an end to the war.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, in a near-simultaneous statement, said any ceasefire deal must ensure Israel still has the "freedom to act" against Hezbollah.
Hochstein said in Beirut that he would head to Israel on Wednesday to try to seal a ceasefire agreement in the war in Lebanon, which escalated in late September after nearly a year of deadly exchanges of fire across Israel's northern border.
Israel has vowed to secure the north and allow tens of thousands of people displaced by the cross-border hostilities to return home.
Israel has also sent ground troops into southern Lebanon, where it said Wednesday three soldiers had been killed -- bringing the total fallen to 52 since the start of ground operations.
The army announced two soldiers were killed in the same incident including 70-year-old reservist Ze'ev 'Jabo' Hanoch Erlich, after it had said earlier Wednesday that a 22-year-old soldier from Jerusalem "fell during combat in southern Lebanon".
"Israel cannot defeat us and cannot impose its conditions on us," Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said in an address broadcast shortly after Hochstein announced his travel plans.
Qassem added that his armed group sought a "complete and comprehensive end to the aggression" and "the preservation of Lebanon's sovereignty".
He also vowed that the response to recent deadly Israeli strikes on Beirut would be on "central Tel Aviv", Israel's densely populated commercial hub.
Before heading to Israel, Hochstein met for a second time with Lebanon's Hezbollah-allied parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who has led mediation efforts on behalf of the Iran-backed group.
Wednesday's meeting "made additional progress, so I will travel from here in a couple hours to Israel to try to bring this to a close if we can", Hochstein told reporters in the Lebanese capital.
Hochstein had said on Tuesday that an end to the war was "within our grasp".
Ahead of his arrival, Israel's top diplomat Saar said: "In any agreement we will reach, we will need to keep the freedom to act if there will be violations."

Aid to Gaza

Hezbollah began its cross-border attacks in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group's assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.
Hamas's attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll from the resulting war has reached 43,985 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
The war has also created a grinding humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with residents suffering shortages of everything from food to fuel to medicine.
The Jordanian army said Wednesday that it had dispatched eight helicopters loaded with more than seven tonnes of food, medicine and supplies for children to Gaza, where it would be handed over to the World Food Programme near the southern city of Khan Yunis.
It was the first time Jordanian aircraft would land in Gaza to deliver aid in more than a year of fighting.
Since expanding its operations from Gaza to Lebanon in September, Israel has conducted extensive bombing primarily targeting Hezbollah strongholds.
More than 3,544 people in Lebanon have been killed since the clashes began, authorities have said, most since late September. Among them were more than 200 children, according to the United Nations.
Israel has also recently intensified strikes on neighbouring Syria, a key conduit of weapons for Hezbollah from its backer Iran.
In the latest reported attack, the Syrian defence ministry said 36 people were killed and more than 50 wounded in Israeli strikes on the oasis city of Palmyra.

Fighting in south Lebanon

While Hochstein was in Beirut, the situation in the capital was relatively calm Tuesday and Wednesday, but south Lebanon, where Hezbollah holds sway, saw battles and strikes.
On Wednesday, the Lebanese army said Israeli fire killed one of its soldiers in the area, a day after it announced the deaths of three other personnel in a strike.
While not engaged in the ongoing war, the Lebanese army has reported 18 losses since September 23.
The Israeli military later said, without mentioning the deaths, that it was looking into reports of Lebanese soldiers wounded by a strike on Tuesday.
"We emphasise that the (Israeli army) is operating precisely against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation and is not operating against the Lebanon Armed Forces," the military told AFP in a statement.
Hezbollah said Wednesday that it had twice targeted Israeli troops near the flashpoint southern town of Khiam.
The state-run National News Agency said that Israeli forces were "attempting to advance from the Kfarshuba hills... to open up a new front".
"Violent clashes are taking place" between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, it added.
Israel said it hit 100 "terror targets" around Lebanon in the past day.
Hezbollah said it had launched drones at two military bases in northern Israel and fired rockets at the town of Safed.
bur-ser/smw/kir/des

conflict

US cites new Russian tactics for decision to supply landmines to Ukraine

  • The decision was immediately slammed by rights groups.
  • The US decision to send anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine -- a major policy shift slammed by rights groups -- was triggered by a change in Russian battlefield tactics favoring infantry over mechanized units, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday.
  • The decision was immediately slammed by rights groups.
The US decision to send anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine -- a major policy shift slammed by rights groups -- was triggered by a change in Russian battlefield tactics favoring infantry over mechanized units, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday.
"They don't lead with their mechanized forces anymore," Austin told reporters while on a visit to Laos. "They lead with dismounted forces who are able to close and do things to kind of pave the way for mechanized forces."
The Ukrainians "have a need for things that can help slow down that effort on the part of the Russians." 
President Joe Biden's reversal of his previous curbs on US landmines comes just days after Washington gave Ukraine the green light to use US-made long-range missiles on targets within Russia, a longstanding ask from Kyiv.
The outgoing US administration is aiming to give Ukraine an upper hand before President-elect Donald Trump enters office.
Trump has repeatedly criticized US assistance for Ukraine, claiming he could secure a ceasefire within hours, without explaining details.
His comments have triggered fears in Kyiv and Europe about Ukraine's ability to withstand Russian attacks without US support.
In 2022, Biden said the United States would mostly ban its use of landmines, at the time specifically drawing a contrast with Russia's use of the weapons in Ukraine.
Both Russia and the United States -- neither of which are signatories to the UN Mine Ban Treaty -- have been criticized for their past use of anti-personnel mines. 
Ukraine is a signatory of the treaty. A report from the International Campaign to Ban Landmines on Wednesday said Kyiv was investigating the reported use of anti-personnel mines by its soldiers in 2022, in violation of the treaty.

'Threat to civilians'

The United States said Ukraine would be supplied with so-called "non-persistent" mines that can self-destruct or render themselves inactive after losing battery charge -- in theory limiting the risk to civilians.
"Within two weeks, if they have not been detonated, they become inert," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. 
He said that Ukraine would need to conduct missions to get rid of unexploded ordnance at the end of the conflict regardless of the new weapons authorization.
The decision was immediately slammed by rights groups.
Mary Wareham, a deputy director at Human Rights Watch, said Ukraine's use of the mines would contravene the Mine Ban Treaty, and questioned the safety of the aging stocks Washington would be supplying.
"From a clearance perspective, de-miners have to approach any type of explosive object with the knowledge that it may explode," Wareham told AFP, adding that the self-deactivation feature is "not enough."
Amnesty International called Washington's decision "a deeply disappointing setback," saying "even the 'non-persistent' mines are a threat to civilians."
The Biden administration was similarly criticized last year for supplying Ukraine with cluster munitions.
The landmines will be provided as part of a larger tranche of aid being supplied to Ukraine valued at $275 million, which also includes HIMARS rocket ammunition, TOW missiles and small arms.

Battlefield escalation

Both Moscow and Kyiv are jockeying to secure battlefield advantage before Trump assumes office in January.
This week Kyiv fired long-range, US-supplied ATACMS missiles at Russian territory for the first time.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree lowering the threshold for when Russia could use nuclear weapons.
Laos, where Austin made his comments, is still recovering from heavy US bombing during the Vietnam War.
More than 20,000 people have been killed or injured from unexploded ordnance in the half-century since, according to The Halo Trust, a de-mining group.
bur-nro/bjt

assault

Arrested son of Norwegian princess suspected of second rape

  • Born of a relationship before Mette-Marit's marriage to heir Prince Haakon, Marius Borg Hoiby was arrested on Monday evening on suspicion of rape. 
  • The eldest son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit is suspected of a second rape, police said Wednesday, two days after his arrest over another allegation of sexual assault.
  • Born of a relationship before Mette-Marit's marriage to heir Prince Haakon, Marius Borg Hoiby was arrested on Monday evening on suspicion of rape. 
The eldest son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit is suspected of a second rape, police said Wednesday, two days after his arrest over another allegation of sexual assault.
Born of a relationship before Mette-Marit's marriage to heir Prince Haakon, Marius Borg Hoiby was arrested on Monday evening on suspicion of rape. 
Since the investigation unearthed a second allegation, a lawyer for the force said, police requested the 27-year-old be remanded in custody, which a judge on Wednesday ordered for one week, according to media reports.
"Marius is facing serious accusations, which the police and the judiciary will deal with... I am convinced they will do a good job," Prince Haakon told public broadcaster NRK before the detention order.
Borg Hoiby's lawyer, Oyvind Bratlien, said he would appeal the detention ruling, but welcomed the fact that judges had not granted the police request for a two-week detention.
"We consider that promising," he said in a written statement to NRK.
Police lawyer Andreas Kruszewski had said on the sidelines of the hearing that the second allegation "involves sexual intercourse without consent with a woman incapable of resisting the act".
Investigators searched and seized items from the Borg Hoiby's home.
The rape charge comes after he was accused of bodily harm following a late-night row on August 4 at the Oslo apartment of a woman he was having a relationship with, police said.
Norwegian media reported that police found a knife stuck in one of the woman's bedroom walls at the time.
Borg Hoiby was arrested again in September for breaching a restraining order.
When he was detained on Monday he was in a car with the alleged victim of the August incident, according to police.
Borg Hoiby was raised by the royal couple alongside his step-siblings Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 20, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 18. 
Unlike them however he has no official public role.
nzg/ef/sbk/js

trade

Xi urges peace in Ukraine, ceasefire in Gaza during Brazil visit

BY RAMON SAHMKOW

  • He also called for "a ceasefire and an end to the war at an early date" in Gaza, the agency said.
  • Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged "more voices" to end the Ukraine war and a ceasefire in Gaza, as he conducted a state visit to Brazil's capital, Chinese state media said.
  • He also called for "a ceasefire and an end to the war at an early date" in Gaza, the agency said.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged "more voices" to end the Ukraine war and a ceasefire in Gaza, as he conducted a state visit to Brazil's capital, Chinese state media said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva echoed those points as he met with Xi in a red-carpet welcome in Brasilia, and stressed a joint roadmap for peace in Ukraine that they are proposing.
"In a world plagued by armed conflicts and political strife, China and Brazil put peace, diplomacy and dialogue first," Lula said.
Xi said he wanted to see "more voices committed to peace to pave the way for a political solution to the Ukraine crisis," the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.
He also called for "a ceasefire and an end to the war at an early date" in Gaza, the agency said.
On Ukraine, the China-Brazil roadmap for mediating peace has been endorsed by Russia -- which is China's ally -- but rejected by Kyiv and its Western backers.
The Chinese president's appeal for a halt to fighting in Gaza -- where Israel is pressing an offensive against Hamas -- echoed one he and the other G20 leaders made during a summit held Monday and Tuesday in Rio.
That summit's joint statement called for a "comprehensive" ceasefire in both Gaza and Lebanon, where Israel is also waging an offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council held a vote on a resolution calling for "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" in Gaza, but it was vetoed by Israel's ally the United States.

China filling 'vacuum'

Xi's state visit to Brasilia showcased closer relations between the biggest economies in Asia and Latin America, which analysts said also reflected shrinking US influence.
The two leaders signed 35 cooperation accords on areas including agriculture, trade, technology and environmental protection.
Xi said China-Brazil relations "are at their best in history" and the two countries are now "reliable friends," according to Xinhua.
Lula said he believed the growing Brazil-China ties "will exceed all expectations and pave the way for a new phase of bilateral relations."
He added that he looked forward to welcoming Xi to Brazil again next July for a BRICS summit.
The Chinese leader figured prominently at the G20 summit, and at an APEC one held last week in Peru -- in contrast with outgoing US President Joe Biden, who cut a spectral figure.
Fellow leaders looked past Biden, politically, to the coming US presidency of Donald Trump, which starts January 20.
"Xi Jinping is clearly looking to fill the vacuum that will come following the election of Trump, who does not value multilateralism," Oliver Stuenkel, an international relations expert at Brazil's Getulio Vargas Foundation think tank, told AFP.

'Synergies'

China is Brazil's biggest trading partner, with two-way commerce exceeding $160 billion last year.
The South American agricultural power sends mainly soybeans and other primary commodities to China, while the Asian giant sells Brazil semiconductors, telephones, vehicles and medicines.
Since returning to power in early 2023, Lula has sought to balance efforts to improve ties with both China and the United States.
A visit to Beijing this year by Vice President Geraldo Alckmin was seen as paving the way for Brazil to potentially join China's Belt and Road Initiative to stimulate trade -- a central pillar of Xi's bid to expand China's clout overseas.
But there was no announcement in that direction during Xi's visit. Instead both leaders spoke of finding "synergies" between that Chinese program and Brazil's own infrastructure development program.
South American nations that have signed up to Beijing's initiative include Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
One of the accords signed Wednesday was on Brazil opening its market to a Chinese satellite company, SpaceSail, that competes with Starlink, founded and run by South African-born US billionaire Elon Musk, which already covers remote Brazilian regions.
Musk has a turbulent history with Brazil, whose courts forced his social media platform X to comply with national laws against disinformation.
bur/rmb/dw

efficiency

Musk outlines plans for mass cuts as Trump 'efficiency' czar

  • However Musk and Ramaswamy voiced confidence that recent rulings by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court would allow them to push through the ambitious agenda.
  • Elon Musk outlined plans Wednesday for his new role as "efficiency" czar -- signaling an assault on federal spending and staffing that would be backed by President-elect Donald Trump's executive powers and a conservative Supreme Court.
  • However Musk and Ramaswamy voiced confidence that recent rulings by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court would allow them to push through the ambitious agenda.
Elon Musk outlined plans Wednesday for his new role as "efficiency" czar -- signaling an assault on federal spending and staffing that would be backed by President-elect Donald Trump's executive powers and a conservative Supreme Court.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, the world's richest man said he was taking aim at hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending -- including funding for public broadcasting and international aid -- as well as at bureaucracy that represents, according to him, an "existential threat" to US democracy.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who also owns the X social media platform, said that he and Vivek Ramaswamy, a fellow businessman and Trump loyalist, would work to slash federal regulations and make major administrative changes.
"We are entrepreneurs, not politicians. We will serve as outside volunteers, not federal officials or employees," Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in their most detailed remarks since Trump named them heads of a new so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
They said DOGE -- expected to function more as an advisory group rather than a formal department -- will prepare a list of regulations which Trump could invalidate unilaterally.
"When the president nullifies thousands of such regulations, critics will allege executive overreach. In fact, it will be correcting the executive overreach of thousands of regulations promulgated by administrative fiat that were never authorized by Congress," they said.
Musk and Ramaswamy added that a reduction in regulations would pave the way for "mass head-count reductions across the federal bureaucracy," and said DOGE would aim to cut more than $500 billion in government expenditures.
"With a decisive electoral mandate and a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, DOGE has a historic opportunity for structural reductions in the federal government," they said.

Supreme Court allies

Moves to gut programs will almost certainly face political pushback, even from Republicans, and prompt legal challenges.
However Musk and Ramaswamy voiced confidence that recent rulings by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court would allow them to push through the ambitious agenda.
"With a decisive electoral mandate and a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, DOGE has a historic opportunity for structural reductions in the federal government," they said.
They said that DOGE's top goal was to not be needed by July 4, 2026, which was described as an expiration date for the project.
Musk become a close ally to Trump during his campaign, reportedly spending over $100 million to boost his presidential bid and joining him at rallies.
However, with Musk's businesses all having varying degrees of interactions with US and foreign governments, his new position also raises concerns about conflict of interest.
The South African-born billionaire invited Trump to watch a test flight of his SpaceX company on Tuesday in a sign of ever closer ties between the pair.
But their relationship -- defined by combustible personalities and some past policy differences -- could be subject to friction once the reality of political life sets in.
bjt/des

Venezuela

Italy joins US in recognizing Venezuelan opposition candidate as 'president-elect'

  • Far-right Meloni has twice received Edmundo Gonzalez in Italy, and self-declared "anarcho-capitalist" Milei has also recognized him as the election victor.
  • Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as the president-elect of the country, a day after the United States officially did the same.
  • Far-right Meloni has twice received Edmundo Gonzalez in Italy, and self-declared "anarcho-capitalist" Milei has also recognized him as the election victor.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as the president-elect of the country, a day after the United States officially did the same.
Meloni spoke after a meeting with Argentina's President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires.
"Together with the European Union, we are working for a peaceful and democratic transition in Venezuela so that the preference expressed by the Venezuelan people for president-elect Gonzalez Urrutia, and their legitimate aspirations of freedom and democracy, can finally become reality," said Meloni.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken prompted a furious reaction from Caracas Tuesday when he, too, used the term "president-elect" for the first time to refer to Gonzalez Urrutia.
Venezuela's incumbent President Nicolas Maduro insists he had won July elections despite the opposition saying it can provide proof of its victory in the form of a vote breakdown. 
Election authorities have declined to release their own detailed vote count despite domestic and international pressure.
Only a handful of countries, including Venezuela ally Russia, have recognized Maduro's victory claim.
He is accused of leading a harshly repressive leftist regime, with a systematic crackdown on the opposition.
Far-right Meloni has twice received Edmundo Gonzalez in Italy, and self-declared "anarcho-capitalist" Milei has also recognized him as the election victor.
The Italian and Argentine leaders -- both fans of US President-elect Donald Trump -- met after this week's G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, and vowed to build "a special relationship."
Milei, for his part, reiterated his call for the creation of an "alliance of free nations" including the United States, Argentina, Italy and Israel.
Last week, he had said the members of such an alliance would be the "custodians of the Western legacy," threatened by "the cultural hegemony of the left."
tev/lm/nn/mlr/nro

unrest

Mali junta chief sacks PM and government

  • "The duties of the prime minister and the members of the government are terminated," according to a decree issued by Colonel Assimi Goita that was read out by the secretary general of the presidency, Alfousseyni Diawara, on state television ORTM. Some key junta figures such as Defence Minister General Sadio Camara and Minister of Reconciliation General Ismael Wague are members of the government.
  • Mali's junta chief on Wednesday sacked civilian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga and the government, days after Maiga issued a rare criticism of the military rulers.
  • "The duties of the prime minister and the members of the government are terminated," according to a decree issued by Colonel Assimi Goita that was read out by the secretary general of the presidency, Alfousseyni Diawara, on state television ORTM. Some key junta figures such as Defence Minister General Sadio Camara and Minister of Reconciliation General Ismael Wague are members of the government.
Mali's junta chief on Wednesday sacked civilian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga and the government, days after Maiga issued a rare criticism of the military rulers.
The West African country, plagued by jihadist and separatist violence, has been led by the military since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.
Maiga, who was appointed by the military after the second coup, had been seen as isolated in his position as prime minister, with little room for manoeuvre.
His dismissal creates further uncertainty in an already troubled context.
"The duties of the prime minister and the members of the government are terminated," according to a decree issued by Colonel Assimi Goita that was read out by the secretary general of the presidency, Alfousseyni Diawara, on state television ORTM.
Some key junta figures such as Defence Minister General Sadio Camara and Minister of Reconciliation General Ismael Wague are members of the government.
In June 2022, the junta promised to organise elections and hand over power to civilians by the end of March 2024, but later postponed elections indefinitely.
Maiga on Saturday publicly condemned the lack of clarity regarding the end of the transition to civilian rule.
He said the confusion could pose "serious challenges and the risk of going backwards".
Maiga, 66, previously served as a minister on several occasions and ran three times as a presidential candidate.
He was the civilian face of the junta's strategic pivot away from former colonial ruler France and toward closer political and military ties with Russia.
At the United Nations in September 2021, Maiga denounced what he called the "abandonment in mid-air" regarding the announced withdrawal of the French anti-jihadist force deployed in the country.
He said the withdrawal forced Mali to explore new avenues with other partners, at a time when the presence of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner loomed. 

Increasingly untenable

Maiga is a key figure in the M5-RFP political movement that took part in protests against Mali's former civilian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was toppled by the military in August 2020.
But Maiga began to distance himself from the junta, prompting speculation for months that he would be sacked.
In May, the M5-RFP movement published a statement openly criticising the military rulers after they failed to meet their deadline to hand back power to civilians.
A close ally of Maiga, who signed the statement, was sentenced to a year in prison in July before being released in September after his sentence was commuted.
Maiga endorsed the statement but had until now kept his position at the head of the government.
After his criticism of the junta on Saturday, Maiga's position became increasingly untenable. 
An influential group supporting the military rulers, the Collective for the Defence of the Military (CDM), had called for him to step down within 72 hours.
Limited demonstrations took place on Tuesday in support of the military and calling for the prime minister's resignation.
Maiga's comments gave rise to speculation as to whether he was positioning himself for a possible future presidential election.
bur-acc/js

music

One Direction stars attend Liam Payne's funeral in UK

BY AKSHATA KAPOOR

  • He died from "multiple traumas" and "internal and external haemorrhaging" after the fall from the hotel room, a post-mortem examination found.
  • Family and friends of One Direction star Liam Payne, who died last month after falling from a Buenos Aires hotel room, gathered for his funeral in Britain on Wednesday.
  • He died from "multiple traumas" and "internal and external haemorrhaging" after the fall from the hotel room, a post-mortem examination found.
Family and friends of One Direction star Liam Payne, who died last month after falling from a Buenos Aires hotel room, gathered for his funeral in Britain on Wednesday.
Payne's former bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson were among the dozens of mourners at the private service at St Mary's Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, just outside London. 
Payne's tearful parents were joined by his two sisters, his girlfriend Kate Cassidy and former partner Cheryl Tweedy, with whom he has a son.
Around a dozen fans watched from behind a nearby cordon as guests hugged each other before walking past floral tributes into the 12th-century church to pay their final respects.
"Because his death was such a public death, to have the funeral in a private way... I think it was very nice," said onlooker Sheila Morris, a 65-year-old from Amersham. 
"It's a beautiful church... it's a very beautiful place for a funeral," she said.
Payne's coffin arrived in a white horse-drawn hearse topped with floral tributes spelling the words "Son" and "Daddy", followed by his parents.
Payne was found dead on October 16 after falling from the balcony of his third-floor room at the Casa Sur Hotel in the Argentinian capital.
His death, at 31, prompted a global outpouring of grief from family, former bandmates and fans, with thousands gathering in cities around the world to offer condolences.

'Completely devastated'

Payne shot to stardom as a teenager alongside Styles, Horan, Tomlinson and Malik after their appearance on the UK talent show "The X Factor" 14 years ago.
He died from "multiple traumas" and "internal and external haemorrhaging" after the fall from the hotel room, a post-mortem examination found.
The balcony attached to his room overlooked a rear patio that was about 14 meters (45 feet) high. 
Hotel staff had called emergency services twice to report a guest "overwhelmed by drugs and alcohol" who was "destroying" a hotel room.
Investigators have said he was alone at the time and appeared to have been "going through an episode of substance abuse".
In a short statement following his death, Payne's family said: "We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we'll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul."
One Direction said they had been "completely devastated" by his death.
After forming in 2010, the band went on to release an album of radio-ready songs each year in time for the holiday shopping season and became one of the highest-grossing live acts in the world.
In 2016, after Malik left, the group said it was on an indefinite hiatus but not splitting up.
Payne's first solo single "Strip That Down" peaked at number three on the UK charts and number 10 on the US Billboard top songs list.
But in recent years he had spoken publicly about struggles with substance abuse and coping with fame from an early age.
His last solo work, the single "Teardrops", was released in March, with a second album announced at the time.
Payne was born and raised in Wolverhampton, central England.
aks-pdh/jwp/js

conflict

Ukraine reportedly fires UK Storm Shadow missiles into Russia

  • The reported strikes came as Moscow looks to retaliate against Ukraine for firing US-supplied long-range missiles on Russian territory for the first time and with the Kremlin accusing outgoing US President Joe Biden of dragging out the war.
  • Ukraine has fired UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles into Russia for the first time, British media reported Wednesday, after being given the green light from London.
  • The reported strikes came as Moscow looks to retaliate against Ukraine for firing US-supplied long-range missiles on Russian territory for the first time and with the Kremlin accusing outgoing US President Joe Biden of dragging out the war.
Ukraine has fired UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles into Russia for the first time, British media reported Wednesday, after being given the green light from London.
Several missiles were launched against at least one Russian military target, The Financial Times said, citing an unidentified Western official.
The Times said government sources had confirmed the use of the long-range missiles for the first time.
The Guardian said Britain had given Ukraine permission to use the missiles in Russia in response to Moscow's deployment of North Korean troops on the border.
Russian pro-Kremlin military bloggers wrote that around a dozen Storm Shadow missiles were fired on a target in the Kursk border region, which is partially held by Ukrainian forces.
Ukrainian media posted aerial video footage from a drone showing a series of explosions at what appears to be a country estate, naming the location as Maryino, where the presidential administration has a sanatorium. 
Ukrainian media reported the strikes could have targeted an underground military command centre.
Neither Moscow nor Kyiv have officially confirmed the missile attack or the use of Storm Shadows. 
The reported attack came after Washington this week said it had cleared Ukraine to use its ATACMS against military targets inside Russia -- a long-standing Ukrainian request.
Russia said Tuesday that the missiles had been used to target a military facility in the Bryansk border region.
The reported strikes came as Moscow looks to retaliate against Ukraine for firing US-supplied long-range missiles on Russian territory for the first time and with the Kremlin accusing outgoing US President Joe Biden of dragging out the war.
Russia has ramped up deadly missile strikes in recent days, targeting residential areas and Ukraine's energy grid. Air alerts blare out across the country daily.
The United States said Wednesday morning that it was shutting its Kyiv office to the public after having received "specific information of a potential significant air attack".
Canada, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Spain -- all NATO members -- followed suit.
The US Embassy said Wednesday evening that it would reopen Thursday, after having "temporarily modified operations" due to a warning of a "potential imminent air attack".

Strikes a 'daily reality'

Ukrainian officials criticised the rare move and called on its allies not to spread yet more fear among Ukrainian society.
"We remind you that the threat of strikes by the aggressor state has unfortunately been a daily reality for Ukrainians for over 1,000 days," Ukraine's foreign ministry posted on social media.
Air alert sirens sounded in Kyiv on Wednesday and authorities said falling debris from an intercepted drone attack in the morning caused minor damage.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address that the "panic messages that were reposted" on social media "only helps Russia". 
Nerves are already frayed in Kyiv after almost three years of war, and Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election has injected fresh uncertainty.
The Republican has repeatedly criticised US support for Ukraine and claimed he could broker a ceasefire within hours -- comments that have triggered fears in Kyiv and Europe about Ukraine's ability to withstand the Russian attacks without American support.
Both Ukraine and Russia are jockeying for upper hand on the battlefield before Trump re-enters the White House in January.
Russia on Wednesday accused Biden of prolonging the war by stepping up weapons deliveries to Kyiv in his final weeks in office.
"If you look at the trends of the outgoing US administration, they are fully committed to continuing the war in Ukraine and are doing everything they can to do so," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Peskov was responding to the US saying it would soon provide Ukraine with antipersonnel land mines.
This decision has prompted criticism from charities over the long-term risk to civilians, but Zelensky said in his evening address that landmines were "very important... to stop Russian assaults".
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that Russian forces "lead with dismounted forces" rather than tanks, and landmines "can help slow down that effort".

'Big mistake'

World leaders have taken note of the stepped-up American support for Kyiv.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a NATO ally of the US, said Wednesday that the decision to allow Kyiv to use the powerful long-range missiles was a "big mistake".
"This step by Biden will not only escalate the conflict, but will lead to a greater reaction from Russia," Erdogan, who sees himself as a possible mediator, told journalists.
Moscow has struck a defiant tone, pledging retribution and continuing its advance on the front lines.
Its forces claimed Wednesday to have captured the village of Illinka, close to the strategic hub of Kurakhove in the eastern Donetsk region.
The Kremlin also rejected as "absurd" and "laughable" suggestions it was involved in the cutting of two telecommunications cables running under the Baltic Sea.
European officials have said they suspect "sabotage" and "hybrid warfare" linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Despite increased speculation of possible talks to end the conflict, there is no sign of Zelensky or Russian President Vladimir Putin being anywhere close to converging on a possible deal.
bur-jc-oc-am/js

rights

At least 150 people killed in violence in Haitian capital in past week: UN

  • Last year, in a gruesome chapter of the vigilante reprisals, a dozen alleged gang members were stoned and burned alive by residents in Port-au-Prince.
  • Soaring violence in Port-au-Prince since last week has left at least 150 people dead, bringing the number of deaths in Haiti this year to over 4,500, the United Nations said Wednesday.
  • Last year, in a gruesome chapter of the vigilante reprisals, a dozen alleged gang members were stoned and burned alive by residents in Port-au-Prince.
Soaring violence in Port-au-Prince since last week has left at least 150 people dead, bringing the number of deaths in Haiti this year to over 4,500, the United Nations said Wednesday.
"The latest upsurge in violence in Haiti's capital is a harbinger of worse to come," UN rights chief Volker Turk warned in a statement.
"The gang violence must be promptly halted. Haiti must not be allowed to descend further into chaos."
Violence has intensified dramatically in Port-au-Prince since November 11, as a coalition of gangs pushes for full control of the Haitian capital.
Well-armed gangs control some 80 percent of the city, routinely targeting civilians despite a Kenyan-led international force that has been deployed to help the outgunned police restore some government order.
"At least 150 people have been killed, 92 injured and about 20,000 forced to flee their homes over the past week," Turk's statement said.
In addition, "Port-au-Prince's estimated four million people are practically being held hostage as gangs now control all the main roads in and out of the capital".
The Haitian capital has seen renewed fighting in the last week from Viv Ansanm, an alliance of gangs that in February helped oust former prime minister Ariel Henry.
Turk said that at least 55 percent of the deaths from simultaneous and apparently coordinated attacks in the capital resulted from exchanges of fire between gang members and police.
He also highlighted reports of a rise in mob lynchings. 
Authorities said Tuesday that police and civilian self-defence groups had killed 28 gang members in Port-au-Prince after an overnight operation as the government seeks to regain some control.
Last year, in a gruesome chapter of the vigilante reprisals, a dozen alleged gang members were stoned and burned alive by residents in Port-au-Prince.
The UN rights office said the latest violence brought "the verified casualty toll of the gang violence so far this year to a shocking 4,544 dead and 2,060 injured". 
The real toll, it stressed, "is likely higher still". 
In addition, an estimated 700,000 people are now internally displaced across the country, half of them children, it said.
Turk warned that "the endless gang violence and widespread insecurity are deepening the dire humanitarian crisis in the country, including the impacts of severe food and water shortages and the spread of infectious diseases".
This was happening "at a time when the health system is already on the brink of collapse", he said, adding that "threats and attacks on humanitarian workers are also deeply worrying".
"Gang violence must not prevail over the institutions of the State," he said, demanding "concrete steps ... to protect the population and to restore effective rule of law".
nl/sbk

politics

Under-fire Spain minister defends agencies' role in floods

BY IMRAN MARASHLI

  • The European Parliament had blocked Teresa Ribera's appointment to an influential commission role encompassing the environment and competition, with opponents accusing her of neglecting her duties during the floods.
  • Spain's under-fire ecological transition minister, a candidate for a top European Commission post, said Wednesday that questioning the role of state agencies during the country's devastating floods was "dangerous".
  • The European Parliament had blocked Teresa Ribera's appointment to an influential commission role encompassing the environment and competition, with opponents accusing her of neglecting her duties during the floods.
Spain's under-fire ecological transition minister, a candidate for a top European Commission post, said Wednesday that questioning the role of state agencies during the country's devastating floods was "dangerous".
The state weather and environment services have faced intense scrutiny over their response to the October 29 disaster that killed 227 people and wreaked widespread destruction.
The European Parliament had blocked Teresa Ribera's appointment to an influential commission role encompassing the environment and competition, with opponents accusing her of neglecting her duties during the floods.
But feuding political groups reached a deal to back the bloc's new executive on Wednesday, clearing the way for Ribera's confirmation next week.
Regions are in charge of disaster management in Spain's decentralised political system, but the hardest-hit Valencia region's leader Carlos Mazon has said he received "insufficient, inaccurate and late" information.
Doubting state agencies was "deeply unfair and deeply dangerous", Ribera told parliament in a veiled retort to the conservative opposition.
"I would like to thank the work and dedication of the public servants who issued the information as was their duty," she added.
Mazon defended his handling of the catastrophe last week, citing an "information blackout" and criticising a government agency responsible for monitoring river levels.
Ribera said "there was never an information blackout" and enumerated a lengthy list of warnings issued by public bodies to the regional authorities.
Although the national weather agency issued the highest red alert in the morning of October 29, Valencia residents in many cases received telephone warnings only when water was already gushing through towns.
The socialist-led central government has said the conservative Mazon bore responsibility for the late issuing of the emergency alert.
"Having all the necessary information is of little use if the one who must respond does not know how," Ribera said.

Political polarisation

The right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP) has accused the government of abandoning the Valencia region for political gain.
The polarisation spilt over at EU level after the conservative EPP parliamentary group to which the PP belongs refused to approve Spain's commission nominee until she reported to the Spanish parliament.
"The European Commission does not deserve to come into existence with a candidate under suspicion," PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo wrote on X.
But officials from the EPP, Socialists and Democrats and centrist Renew groups said they had clinched an agreement on Wednesday to renew Ursula von der Leyen's 27-member commission, in a snub to the PP.
Ribera and her fellow candidates are due to have a parliament confirmation next week before starting the job in December.
"We have to be cautious, and until things are announced officially we have to wait calmly," Ribera told journalists before an evening appearance in the Senate.
imm/sbk

Ryanair

Ryanair threatens to drop 10 French airports over tax hike

  • Ryanair said the tax increase would fall most heavily on passengers using regional airports, which are primarily served by low-cost airlines and the tax hike would have a larger impact.
  • Low-cost airline Ryanair threatened Wednesday to stop serving 10 French regional airports if the government goes forward with a proposed tax hike. 
  • Ryanair said the tax increase would fall most heavily on passengers using regional airports, which are primarily served by low-cost airlines and the tax hike would have a larger impact.
Low-cost airline Ryanair threatened Wednesday to stop serving 10 French regional airports if the government goes forward with a proposed tax hike. 
The French government is scrambling to plug a larger-than-expected budget deficit, and a tripling of a tax on airline tickets, as well as private jets, is one of the measures currently under consideration.
"Ryanair is now reviewing its French schedules and expects to cut capacity to/from regional French airports by up to 50 percent from January 2025 if the French government proceeds with its short-sighted plan to triple passenger taxes," Ryanair's chief commercial officer Jason McGuinness said in a statement.
Ryanair currently operates flights at 22 smaller French regional airports. The two closest to Paris are not among those where Ryanair might cut services, but the airline did not indicate which are threatened. 
The Irish budget airline hopes to transport 5.7 million people along its French routes this year, an increase of 19 percent from 2023. 
Ryanair said the tax increase would fall most heavily on passengers using regional airports, which are primarily served by low-cost airlines and the tax hike would have a larger impact.
"The impact of increased passenger taxes will be most damaging for regional France which depends on competitive access costs," McGuinness said.
He added that there was fierce competition between regional airports and Ryanair would shift operations to airports that would help it reduce costs.
tq/rl/js

entertainment

'Rust' premieres three years after on-set shooting death

BY ANNA MARIA JAKUBEK

  • The "Rust" premiere is not the only controversy at the festival, whose jury head this year is Oscar winner Cate Blanchett.
  • The Western "Rust" got its world premiere on Wednesday at a Polish film festival, three years after its cinematographer was killed in an on-set shooting.
  • The "Rust" premiere is not the only controversy at the festival, whose jury head this year is Oscar winner Cate Blanchett.
The Western "Rust" got its world premiere on Wednesday at a Polish film festival, three years after its cinematographer was killed in an on-set shooting.
Hollywood star Alec Baldwin was accused of violating gun safety rules in the 2021 death of Halyna Hutchins, but his involuntary manslaughter trial collapsed earlier this year.
Hutchins's mother refused to attend the premiere "when there is still no justice for my daughter".
"Baldwin continues to increase my pain with his refusal to apologise to me and take responsibility for her death," Olga Solovey said Tuesday. 
Director Joel Souza, who was wounded in the shooting, introduced the movie at the Camerimage film festival -- known for celebrating cinematography -- in Torun, northern Poland.
He told AFP the "massive devastation" of the shooting had left him an emotional wreck.
"'Rust' just became this sort of insane hurricane," he said. "You're just left to sort of pick up the pieces." 
The filmmaker had been "on the fence" about completing the movie.
"There was a time when I thought I just didn't want to make movies anymore," he said.
But what convinced him to finish it was learning that Hutchins's husband wanted her final work to be seen.
Camerimage said it was Hutchins's "dream" to have her work shown at the festival. 
The premiere was preceded by a minute of silence for Hutchins, whom Souza described as "a real joy to know" and "someone who spoke Westerns very well".

'Unsettling' parallel

Baldwin, 66, did not attend the festival.
The Emmy-winning actor was holding a revolver during a rehearsal on set in New Mexico when a live round was fired, fatally wounding 42-year-old Hutchins.
In a tragic irony, the film centres on an accidental killing -- a parallel that Souza called "unsettling". 
"It's a strange one to unpack. When people hear about it, they generally fall silent for a few moments because they can't believe" it, he said. 
Souza and Baldwin developed the script from Souza's research on the youngest person ever to be hanged in the Old West.
"Rust" tells the story of an outlaw who rides to rescue his 13-year-old grandson from execution for an accident being treated as murder.
The film's armourer, Hannah Gutierrez, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter for accidentally loading Baldwin's prop gun with a live round.
Baldwin's trial collapsed in July when it emerged that prosecutors had not turned over a batch of bullets that detectives had found during their investigation.
Filming was completed last year in Montana.
Cinematographer Bianca Cline, who took over from Hutchins, said her job involved just "copying what she did", including by using the same lenses and matching the lighting. 
She said they tried to retain as many of Hutchins's frames as possible.

'Authentic'

Visually dark, the movie frequently shows characters in silhouette or with their faces partly in shadow. The shaky camera gives the Western a rough feel. 
In addition to violence of all kinds -- gunfights, beatings, brawls in the mud -- another motif is the grandson's longing for his late mother.
When his younger brother asks what she looked like, he says: "I can't remember". 
Film school student Michal Wozny, who attended the screening, said he thought of Hutchins and her now motherless son during those scenes. 
"Not only do you watch a movie and feel for the characters, but you're also aware of what happened in real life and all the feelings there," the 24-year-old told AFP.
He called the movie "beautiful and authentic". 
Hutchins, a former journalist from Ukraine who grew up on a Soviet military base, had been named one of the industry's rising stars in 2019 by American Cinematographer magazine.
While the tragedy prompted some calls for banning firearms from sets altogether, new Hollywood guidelines now specify that only an armourer can hand a weapon to an actor.
Prosecutors said Baldwin was handed the gun on set by the film's first assistant director, who later pleaded guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon.
Souza said "the safety bulletin doesn't go quite far enough. I think they should mandate that no real weapons be used". 
The "Rust" premiere is not the only controversy at the festival, whose jury head this year is Oscar winner Cate Blanchett.
French director Coralie Fargeat pulled her movie starring Demi Moore, "The Substance" -- which won best screenplay at Cannes --  "after discovering the highly misogynistic and offensive words" of festival founder Marek Zydowicz.
Zydowicz appeared to suggest that including more women cinematographers might lead to "mediocre film production" in the line-up. He later apologised.
amj/mmp/sbk