accident

Spain mourns after latest train tragedy kills 68

politics

Hello Kitty firm apologises, scraps Japan TV tie-up after China anger

  • In one episode of the TV drama, a Chinese-affiliated organisation had been depicted torturing a member of the Japanese military's unofficial spy unit.
  • Sanrio, the Japanese company that owns the popular Hello Kitty character, apologised Thursday over its tie-up with a TV spy drama criticised as anti-China, cancelling a merchandise collaboration with the show.
  • In one episode of the TV drama, a Chinese-affiliated organisation had been depicted torturing a member of the Japanese military's unofficial spy unit.
Sanrio, the Japanese company that owns the popular Hello Kitty character, apologised Thursday over its tie-up with a TV spy drama criticised as anti-China, cancelling a merchandise collaboration with the show.
It comes after Chinese sponsors dropped football superstar Kylian Mbappe over comments calling communist leader Mao Zedong a "dictator", which the Real Madrid forward later apologised for.
"We have recently received feedback from various quarters regarding the collaborative merchandise with the Japanese television drama VIVANT," Sanrio's Chinese unit said on social media platform Weibo.
"We sincerely apologise for any concern this may have caused," the post said.
The project "contains expressions that are inconsistent with the Sanrio Group's corporate philosophy", it said.
Sanrio said it had "decided to cease this collaboration, as well as all subsequent projects and promotional campaigns".
In one episode of the TV drama, a Chinese-affiliated organisation had been depicted torturing a member of the Japanese military's unofficial spy unit.
Chinese state media outlet The Global Times had called the show "notorious for smearing China", saying it had sparked shock and fierce backlash on social media".
The series reflects the "anti-China narrative of the current conservative Japanese right-wing administration, catering to the trend of right-wing extremism in Japanese society", it said.
Contacted by AFP, private broadcaster TBS, which created the drama Vivant, could not immediately comment.
The network's president told Japanese media that the drama is "a fictional entertainment work" and that TBS "does not in any way take a position that foments conflict between nations or condones the use of force or violence".
kh-kaf/fox

China

Taiwan says Pakistan briefly closed airspace to Taiwanese flights

BY ALLISON JACKSON AND JOY CHIANG

  • "We suspect definitely China was behind this," Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi told AFP after confirming that Pakistan had closed and reopened its airspace to Taiwanese airlines.
  • Pakistan briefly closed its airspace to Taiwanese cargo and passenger flights, Taiwan said on Thursday, suspecting China of being behind the unprecedented move.
  • "We suspect definitely China was behind this," Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi told AFP after confirming that Pakistan had closed and reopened its airspace to Taiwanese airlines.
Pakistan briefly closed its airspace to Taiwanese cargo and passenger flights, Taiwan said on Thursday, suspecting China of being behind the unprecedented move.
"We suspect definitely China was behind this," Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi told AFP after confirming that Pakistan had closed and reopened its airspace to Taiwanese airlines.
China Airlines and EVA Air, which are both based in Taiwan, normally fly over Pakistan on their Asia-Europe route.
Last weekend, however, they began rerouting their Europe-bound flights further south over the Gulf or further north over Russia, AFP analysis of flight tracking data shows.
Some Taiwanese flights have resumed flying over Pakistan, according to the latest data. 
"China Airlines and EVA received a notice from the Pakistan authorities that they will lift the ban, but only temporarily... till the end of the winter," Chen said.
Neither airline would confirm that Pakistan had closed or reopened its airspace when contacted by AFP. 
"We condemn Pakistan, and if China is behind this, I think that is a very bad practice to use its leverage over the countries in the Global South to do that," Chen said.
"I think that gets in the way of the safety of the passengers and the smooth operation of the global supply chain."
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told Bloomberg News on Wednesday that the airspace was closed in adherence with Beijing's "One China policy".
China's foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters on Thursday that "as far as we are aware, there are no obstacles for residents of the Taiwan region to travel internationally".

'Isolate Taiwan'

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and opposes the self-governed island's participation in international organisations and exchanges with other countries.
Chen said it was the first time a country had closed its airspace to Taiwanese commercial flights. 
In April, the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar revoked overflight permits for Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's flight to Eswatini, Taipei's only African ally, forcing him to postpone the trip. 
At the time, Taiwan blamed "intense pressure" from China for the revocation. 
"China now learned that this could be an effective way to block our airspace access and therefore sort of further isolate Taiwan," Chen said.
"We see this is the discovery that they can weaponise the airspace assets."
Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic ties with Pakistan, which has close relations with China. 
Chen said "many like-minded" countries had assisted Taiwan over the airspace closure. 
"We are afraid that this might be a practice that spreads to other Global South countries," Chen said. 
"I think that is a major concern for not only for Taiwan, but also for other countries in the region and beyond."
Pakistan and China have maintained close diplomatic and strategic relations for decades, often describing their partnership as an "all-weather friendship" that is "higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the oceans, sweeter than honey and stronger than steel".
China is Pakistan's largest trading partner and a major investor, particularly through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and has poured tens of billions of dollars into funding massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects.
burs-amj/lga

accident

Spain mourns after latest train tragedy kills 68

BY DIEGO URDANETA

  • In January, two high-speed trains collided in the southern region of Andalusia after one of them derailed and crossed onto the adjacent track, killing 46 people. 
  • Spain began three days of mourning on Thursday after its second high-speed rail collision this year killed 68 people and injured scores, with relatives desperately seeking news about their loved ones.
  • In January, two high-speed trains collided in the southern region of Andalusia after one of them derailed and crossed onto the adjacent track, killing 46 people. 
Spain began three days of mourning on Thursday after its second high-speed rail collision this year killed 68 people and injured scores, with relatives desperately seeking news about their loved ones.
One of Europe's deadliest train disasters this century has raised fresh questions about safety on Spain's rail network after the transport minister reported an "error" and "inexplicable circumstances" that led to the crash.
The collision happened in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha on Wednesday morning when a service by state operator Renfe ploughed into the back of a stationary train belonging to private Spanish company Iryo.
Emergency services combed through the wreckage at night to find further victims on the key line linking Madrid with the southern city of Seville, hoisting pieces of mangled metal with cranes, AFP reporters saw.
At daybreak, police drones were once again flying over the crash site a few kilometres from the small village of Urda
Josimar Medina, a 31-year-old Peruvian who was holidaying in Spain with his girlfriend, said he was sleeping on the Renfe train when "I woke up and I was in the air."
Pablo Mejia, 42, escaped with injuries to his head, telling AFP that a last-minute change of seat saved his life.
Wearing a bloodstained grey jumper and holding his tattered suitcase, he recounted "a very strong hit... a lot of people on the floor, on top of each other, seats ripped out, suitcases, a lot of chaos".
"I think I've been born again," he said.

'Final moment'

A school in Urda, around 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of Madrid, is being used to allow relatives to enquire about their loved ones.
Teams of Red Cross workers offered support to groups of people who arrived, some of them in tears, amid crowds of police and journalists from around the world.
Red Cross psychologist Carmen Garcia said "long and hard hours" were in store because "every person will manage it in their own way.
"We have people who are in shock, who haven't taken on board what has happened, angry people, sad, worried people. The grieving will be complicated," Garcia said.
The Civil Guard has set up four offices in the cities of Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba and Seville to enable relatives of the victims to provide DNA samples and help identify the missing.
Blood donation points have also been set up in Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid.
Jose Miguel Fernandez, a parish priest in Urda, joined the emergency services in offering support to the victims' families.
"It is important for relatives to find their loved ones, even if they have died, because the grieving process is quicker when you have been able to say goodbye at that final moment," he told radio Onda Cero.

Safety questions

Flags flew at half-mast on public buildings as the country observed a day of mourning, with official ceremonies and public events cancelled or scaled back as a mark of respect for the victims.
Transport Minister Oscar Puente said on Wednesday that an automatic control system went down on 69 kilometres (43 miles) of track, causing all trains there to be stopped.
But the control centre decided to "resume traffic in circumstances that, from our point of view, are inexplicable," Puente said, with the Renfe train travelling 25 kilometres before striking the Iryo.
The control centre "had more than enough time to verify the error, and they did not fix it", he added.
In January, two high-speed trains collided in the southern region of Andalusia after one of them derailed and crossed onto the adjacent track, killing 46 people. 
The investigation into that accident is ongoing, but the left-wing government faced heavy criticism over its management of Spain's railways.
The latest disaster comes one month before Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez seeks to overturn unfavourable polls and extend his eight-year premiership in an early general election on November 29.
bur-imm-ds/jxb

music

Key of seethe: I.Coast row with Sahel juntas spills into concert halls

  •   - 'Rasta Bambi' -   Blondy's fellow Ivorian reggae singer Tiken Jah Fakoly also found himself mired in the squabble after criticising the clampdown on free speech in Ivory Coast's neighbours.
  • Ivorian reggae star Alpha Blondy abruptly interrupted his concert's chilled-out vibes to wade into a far less laid-back subject -- the coups in his country's unrest-riven Sahel neighbours.
  •   - 'Rasta Bambi' -   Blondy's fellow Ivorian reggae singer Tiken Jah Fakoly also found himself mired in the squabble after criticising the clampdown on free speech in Ivory Coast's neighbours.
Ivorian reggae star Alpha Blondy abruptly interrupted his concert's chilled-out vibes to wade into a far less laid-back subject -- the coups in his country's unrest-riven Sahel neighbours.
His comments swiftly went viral on social media, in a sign of how Ivory Coast's poor relations with the military-led governments in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have spilt over into popular culture, with artists caught in the crossfire.
"To my Sahel brothers... no more coups d'etat. That's enough!," the singer, known for his political bent, told the crowd in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan at the end of October.
The past few years' toppling of democratic governments in west Africa is "destabilising the region", Blondy continued, leg propped up against a loudspeaker. "Africa has no time to waste!"
Since the coups, all three have turned their backs on France -- and therefore on Ivory Coast, which the juntas consider far too close to their shared former colonial ruler for comfort.
Several internet commentators from the Sahel countries accused Blondy of attacking their leaders while turning a blind eye to his own President Alassane Ouattara's largely uncontested romp to a fourth term -- a criticism echoed by some Ivorians. 
With the climate tense, musicians and promoters have found themselves ensnared in controversies that have led to dozens of cancelled concerts or boycott calls. 
In the latest example, Burkinabe singer Issouf Manem-Yam was forced to apologise for past remarks seen as insulting towards Ivorians after his Abidjan concert planned mid-October was axed.
"He's an artist; he shouldn't take sides, even if his remarks were made out of patriotism," a Burkinabe cultural figure told AFP.
 

Dozens of Malians targeted

 
The tipping point can be traced back to 2022 at least, when Mali detained 49 Ivorian soldiers for six months. 
With social media awash with calls to target the other country's artists, Malian singer Mariam Ba had her Abidjan concert cancelled, weeks before the same happened to Ivorian rapper Didi B's planned gig in the Malian capital Bamako. 
These tit-for-tat cancellations have only become more frequent, with Malian artists targeted in Abidjan while Ivorian musicians have received at-times frosty welcomes in the Sahel capitals. 
"We've documented a dozen cases of Malian artists who have fallen victim," a Malian culture ministry official told AFP, adding that the subject was on the agenda when Ivory Coast's security chief visited in mid-October. 
Every political remark is under scrutiny.
For backing Ouattara during Ivory Coast's 2025 presidential campaign, Malian artist Sidiki Diabate has been slated within his home country.
On the other side of the border, Ivorian diva Aicha Kone has frequently raised hackles in Abidjan for backing the Sahel juntas. 
 

'Rasta Bambi'

 
Blondy's fellow Ivorian reggae singer Tiken Jah Fakoly also found himself mired in the squabble after criticising the clampdown on free speech in Ivory Coast's neighbours.
Under criticism by supporters of the three juntas, he replied in 2024 that the Sahel states "thought I was going to be their minstrel".
Several months later, the affair took a bizarre turn after his beloved "Rasta Bambi", a doe he had lovingly raised on his farm in Mali, went missing. 
Supporters of the juntas on the internet swiftly seized on Rasta Bambi's disappearance to mock the singer, with one commenting ironically that the deer "is demanding democracy from you" and had "just broken the chains of slavery".
Despite the tensions, Ivorian and Sahel artists have continued to criss-cross the border to play gigs in each other's countries, with cultural ties proving stronger than diplomatic ones. 
"Artists are truly above taking sides in politics," the president of a cultural association in Abidjan insisted. 
Instead of the Ivory Coast-Sahel row, the official blamed the political situation in the Sahel countries -- which are all wracked by a long-running and bloody jihadist insurgency -- for "reducing the mobility of artists".
One Ivorian musician who has managed to keep the music playing on in the junta-run nations is Serge Beynaud, who performed near the Burkinabe capital Ouagadougou at the end of September. 
Sole hitch of the evening: with the bouncers clearly intent on making sure no disorder disrupted the gig, one of his dancers was whipped by an over-zealous security guard.
bur-lar-bdi/sbk/cw

politics

'My blood was spilled here': a year on, Tanzania unable to mourn election violence

BY MARY KULUNDU

  • Over the past week, senior opposition official John Pambalu was charged with treason, while a Tanzanian dissident, Twaha Mwaipaya, was abducted in Kenya and remains missing.
  • A year after Tanzania's bloody election, many remain traumatised by the violence, while government critics live in fear of abduction and arbitrary arrest, or facing treason and terrorism charges.
  • Over the past week, senior opposition official John Pambalu was charged with treason, while a Tanzanian dissident, Twaha Mwaipaya, was abducted in Kenya and remains missing.
A year after Tanzania's bloody election, many remain traumatised by the violence, while government critics live in fear of abduction and arbitrary arrest, or facing treason and terrorism charges.
The October 29 election, in which President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared the winner with 98 percent of the vote after opposition figures were barred from running, triggered days of protests that security forces brutally suppressed.
Rights groups and the opposition say thousands were killed, while a government-appointed commission put the death toll at 518.
For 61-year-old Twaha Bomeza, life changed on election day when shrapnel lodged in his eye during a shootout to disperse protesters, leaving him in need of surgery he cannot afford.
"I tried to save myself, but I was shot. I fell down here and lost four front teeth," Bomeza told AFP on the streets of the economic capital, Dar es Salaam, displaying his dentures.
"I am still nursing an internal wound in my eyes," he said, adding that he now experiences shortness of breath and constant headaches.
"My blood was spilled here, but a year has passed, and there is no more blood here," he added.
As the anniversary approaches, the Catholic Church has called for nationwide masses to honour the victims, while the main opposition party, Chadema, has announced a seven-day mourning period.
But the police have warned against any plans for "criminal" mobilisation, despite a presidential commission recommending a memorial.
Tanzania is "tense", multiple analysts told AFP, with arbitrary arrests on the rise.
"The country is not only in a mourning mood but also in a state of terror. We live in paranoia," rights defender Tito Magoti said.
Over the past week, senior opposition official John Pambalu was charged with treason, while a Tanzanian dissident, Twaha Mwaipaya, was abducted in Kenya and remains missing.
"The state is very nervous and they're ready to use a heavy-handed approach to contain anything that might be planned around the one-year anniversary," Anna Bwana, director of civil society group Twaweza East Africa, told AFP.
"If you commemorate, then you're acknowledging what happened and you're acknowledging the numbers of those who lost their lives. And how can you commemorate when you're still kidnapping others," she said, adding that many had still not been able to bury their loved ones.

'Silence'

Another potential flashpoint is the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, whose verdict is due on November 6.
Lissu, who staged a hunger strike this week to demand access to his lawyer, was arrested ahead of the election for championing a "no reform, no election" campaign.
"They are trying to silence all critics and opposition figures to make sure nothing much will happen around the two events," said Fulgence Masawe, director of advocacy and reforms at the Legal and Human Rights Centre.
Masawe told AFP his organisation is representing around 56 people facing terrorism-related charges.
Tanzania formed a presidential commission to investigate last year's deadly violence, but little progress has been made. Critics say it was established in "bad faith" to help the government "clean Tanzania's image" internationally.
"The state is trying to deny and delete the history of their complicity in the massacre that they conducted last year," Magoti said.
Amnesty International has criticised Tanzania for failing to hold those responsible to account, saying it has instead been "weaponising counterterrorism laws to silence critics and instil fear."
Even if the state is suppressing the commemorations, many carry visible reminders. 
Joseph Zakayo, 37, shows off a huge scar in his thigh where he was shot during the unrest. He can no longer operate his motorcycle taxi business.
"My life has taken a major step backwards," he said.
mnk/er/cw

conflict

North Korea fires 'around a dozen' ballistic missiles into East Sea

BY HIEUN SHIN

  • South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said its military detected "around a dozen short-range ballistic missiles fired from the Wonsan area of North Korea towards the East Sea", the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.
  • North Korea fired "around a dozen" short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Thursday, Seoul's defence ministry said, less than a week after South Korea proposed talks over a growing border row.
  • South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said its military detected "around a dozen short-range ballistic missiles fired from the Wonsan area of North Korea towards the East Sea", the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.
North Korea fired "around a dozen" short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Thursday, Seoul's defence ministry said, less than a week after South Korea proposed talks over a growing border row.
The launches follow a slew of recent weapons tests by Pyongyang, including a new precision-guided torpedo system and an intermediate-range hypersonic missile, both of which were said to employ AI technology.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said its military detected "around a dozen short-range ballistic missiles fired from the Wonsan area of North Korea towards the East Sea", the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.
The missiles flew about 250 kilometres, and "South Korea and the United States are conducting a detailed analysis of their exact specifications", Seoul's military said, adding it had stepped up surveillance of possible additional launches.
The Japan Coast Guard had earlier urged ships in the area to be vigilant.
Seoul's National Security Office, meanwhile, said the launches violated UN Security Council resolutions, labelling them "serious acts that do nothing to help manage the current situation".
Thursday's missile flurry comes against the backdrop of growing tensions over a landmine explosion along the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas that saw three South Korean soldiers wounded.
A joint Seoul-UN investigation earlier this month concluded that North Korea planted the landmines over a year ago.
Seoul accused Pyongyang of "a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement" and demanded an apology, something the North has mockingly dismissed.

'Show of force'

"This should be seen as a fairly high-level show of force," Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University, told AFP.
"North Korea is demonstrating that it has the capability to completely destroy major South Korean and US military facilities," he said.
Pyongyang was also sending a political message, Lim added, by "showing off its overwhelming military power and warning Seoul not to interfere with its efforts to fortify the border".
Last week, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said the North would place loudspeakers on standby along the border "within days" and had put unspecified "new counter means" on alert.
Both countries have occasionally turned to loudspeakers blaring propaganda across their shared border and other psychological warfare methods.
South Korea days later proposed military talks with the North to "mutually confirm the precise location" of their border and discuss restoring communication channels, but Pyongyang has yet to respond.
The DMZ is one of the world's most heavily fortified frontiers, and landmine incidents have previously heightened tensions between the two countries.
Seoul and Pyongyang remain technically at war, as the Korean conflict ended in 1953 with a truce rather than a peace treaty.
The ratcheting tensions come as US President Donald Trump's recent overtures to North Korea have raised concerns that Seoul -- an ally of Washington -- could be sidelined in potential nuclear talks involving Pyongyang.
In his most recent comments, Trump seemingly downplayed the possibility of a summit while insisting his relationship with Kim Jong Un was "very good".
In October, North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles a day after Trump suggested the two might meet this year.
hs/cwl/fox

advertising

Mbappe, Real Madrid and La Liga face long road to redemption in China

BY PETER STEBBINGS WITH LUNA LIN IN BEIJING

  • "Viewed from a calm, objective and emotion-free standpoint, this is clearly a very damaging incident," Yan Qiang, a veteran sports commentator, told AFP. "It causes serious damage to the image of La Liga and Real Madrid in China.
  • Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid and La Liga have apologised for the superstar striker's comments about Mao Zedong, but the damage to their reputation in China won't be easily or quickly repaired, experts say.
  • "Viewed from a calm, objective and emotion-free standpoint, this is clearly a very damaging incident," Yan Qiang, a veteran sports commentator, told AFP. "It causes serious damage to the image of La Liga and Real Madrid in China.
Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid and La Liga have apologised for the superstar striker's comments about Mao Zedong, but the damage to their reputation in China won't be easily or quickly repaired, experts say.
The France captain, one of the best footballers on the planet, is at the centre of a major row after a video emerged this week of him appearing to make fun of former leader Mao.
Mbappe talked about being amused by an internet meme of his face photoshopped onto "some guy, think he's a Chinese dictator".
Mao remains officially revered as the hero of the communist revolution and founder of the People's Republic of China.
He is blamed by historians for millions of deaths, but publicly mocking him is taboo, and Mbappe's remarks saw him become the latest foreign sports figure or entity to infuriate Beijing.
Major Chinese brands cut ties with the 27-year-old, and Spanish top-flight matches will be pulled from state television broadcaster CCTV.
Chinese state media and social media users lined up to lambast Mbappe, although they were left in the dark about what exactly he said.
China has the world's second-biggest economy and can be hugely lucrative, and within two days the striker, his club Real Madrid, and La Liga all apologised.
A spokesman for China's foreign ministry said the Beijing government took Mbappe's apology "seriously".

'Serious damage'

So is that the end of the matter?
"Viewed from a calm, objective and emotion-free standpoint, this is clearly a very damaging incident," Yan Qiang, a veteran sports commentator, told AFP.
"It causes serious damage to the image of La Liga and Real Madrid in China.
"In the age of the mobile internet things blow up on social media quickly and emotions run high.
"An apology does not necessarily mean the end of the story. 
"It's better to have an apology than no apology at all, but it's definitely not the end of the story."
The Mbappe furore and fallout is not an unfamiliar tale.
Various overseas sports leagues or players have found themselves in hot water for comments on topics that are politically sensitive to China.
China effectively cut ties with the NBA in 2019 after then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted his support for Hong Kong protesters.
NBA executives said Morey had the right to freedom of expression. In contrast, La Liga immediately distanced itself from what Mbappe said.
The NBA, which along with football is the most popular sport in China, was wiped from CCTV for more than a year.
NBA pre-season matches only returned to China last year.
Australian National University lecturer Debby Chan called the NBA case -- and now Mbappe -- an illustration of China's consumer nationalism, where online sentiment and state media converge into "a spiral of outrage".
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league lost "hundreds of millions of dollars" over the split.

No way back?

Spanish football also has a lot to lose.
A source within La Liga told AFP that China and the United States alone finance the "majority" of international broadcasting rights, which were valued at 748 million euros ($834 million) for the 2024-25 season.
According to the Real Madrid-affiliated newspaper Marca, the Madrid club generates between 10 and 15 percent of its sales of jerseys and merchandise in China. 
Real Madrid also counts Chinese companies among its main sponsors, with Hisense, sports betting firm Kaiyun Sports, and Linglong Tire all featuring prominently.
Adam Zhang, founder of the Beijing-based Key-Solution Sports Consulting, said showing fast and heartfelt remorse was the first step.
"This will influence the decision on whether to continue the broadcast ban and, if so, for how long," he told AFP.
Sports commentator Yan cast doubt on whether the reputation of Mbappe, whose face has adorned drinks bottles and advertising campaigns in China, can ever fully recover.
"Judging by commercial sponsorships and big ad campaigns he appeared in during the World Cup, he has a huge influence in China," he said. 
"If that influence can't be sustained there can be no talk of commercial interests, and La Liga and Real Madrid will definitely be badly affected."
Yan said it was "genuinely hard to predict" what happens next.
"In the short term, I'm certainly not optimistic," he added.
"If they want to repair their image and the relationship, their future actions and behaviour will be key."
bur-pst/fox

agriculture

Afghanistan opium poppy cultivation surges despite Taliban govt ban: UN

  • The Taliban government acknowledged that the ban was not a "sustainable and long-term solution" without alternative livelihoods and economic support for farmers.
  • Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan more than quadrupled in 2026 despite a Taliban government ban, the United Nations said Thursday, urging that impoverished farmers needed alternatives to the lucrative crop.
  • The Taliban government acknowledged that the ban was not a "sustainable and long-term solution" without alternative livelihoods and economic support for farmers.
Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan more than quadrupled in 2026 despite a Taliban government ban, the United Nations said Thursday, urging that impoverished farmers needed alternatives to the lucrative crop.
Cultivated areas reached 43,000 hectares (around 106,200 acres), up from 10,000 hectares in 2025, while estimated opium production jumped fivefold from 300 tonnes to 1,500 tonnes, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report.
Long the world's leading producer of poppies, Afghanistan was overtaken by Myanmar after a 2022 Taliban government ban crushed the trade in the country. But rampant poverty has driven some farmers to return to the trade.
"Without opium, we cannot even afford basic food," Mohammad, a 22-year-old farmer in Afghanistan's northeast, told AFP. 
Afghanistan's 2022 crackdown drove cultivated areas down from more than 200,000 hectares to 10,000 hectares in 2025.
Myanmar cultivated 53,000 hectares in 2025, with no 2026 figures available.
The Taliban authorities claim to have destroyed more than 22,000 hectares.
But UNODC said many poppy plots were concealed among cereal crops or behind walls, making them difficult to detect.
Mohammad lives with his parents in Badakhshan which has become Afghanistan's main opium poppy-growing province.
"The Taliban threaten us and do not allow us to grow opium. We cultivate it with a great deal of fear," he said, asking only to be identified by his first name. 
"I want to buy a car, build a house and get married. Without opium, I cannot achieve these things," he further explained.

'The only way'

In May, two people were killed in clashes that erupted as Afghan security forces moved to destroy opium poppy fields in Badakhshan.
Another 35-year-old farmer named Mohammad, who ploughs his poppy field with an ox, said: "If we grow wheat, it is not enough to sustain our lives. We are forced to grow poppies to earn a good income."
Mohammad said that he is threatened by the authorities and sometimes his crops are destroyed but he will continue.
"It is the only way to cover living expenses," he said.
One hectare of wheat generated just over $770 in 2023, compared with $10,000 for a hectare of poppy, according to UNODC.
"Opium prices slightly decreased from US$ 570 per kilogramme in 2025 to US$ 500 per kilogramme in 2026, remaining well above pre-ban levels of less than $100 per kilogramme," UNODC said in a press release.
"The fourfold increase in opium poppy cultivation shows the difficulty in sustaining decreases in illicit opium cultivation when poor farmers have no alternatives to feed their families," said UNODC Executive Director Monica Juma.
The Taliban government acknowledged that the ban was not a "sustainable and long-term solution" without alternative livelihoods and economic support for farmers.
The challenge comes as Afghanistan faces the return of 6.6 million Afghans since 2023, climate disasters, dwindling aid and banking isolation since the Taliban movement returned to power in 2021.
With support from Japan and the European Union, UNODC has funded programmes to help farmers find alternatives. 

'International problem'

Through the NGO Afghan Aid, Zikrullah, 35, who supports an extended family of 12 in Badakhshan, received improved wheat seeds and fertiliser.
"We're satisfied, it takes less effort than opium and we're more at ease," he told AFP, also asking to be identified only by his first name.  
A third farmer named Mohammad, 30, who has converted 80 percent of his land to wheat, told AFP, that the lack of water in recent years has affected crops other than poppy.
To curb opium production sustainably, alternative crops alone are insufficient, UNODC Country Representative for Afghanistan Polleak Ok Serei told AFP in an interview in Kabul.
"Sustainable alternative livelihood requires more than thinking in terms of alternative crops," he said.
Farmers "need access to markets, including international markets through trades. They need infrastructure, roads, irrigation, storage".
UNODC estimated in 2025 that approach would require approximately $500 million, but "only 10 percent" had been funded by donors and the Taliban authorities, according to Ok Serei.
The strategy also takes time, he said.
"Thailand spent 15 years investing in alternative livelihood before starting eradicating," Ok Serei said.
The problem extends far beyond Afghanistan, he said.
"It truly is an international problem," Ok Serei added, explaining that Afghan drugs were consumed across other continents.
Afghan opium is the main source of heroin in the European Union, where approximately 850,000 people used opioids in 2024, according to the European Union Drugs Agency.
Addressing the problem requires international cooperation, the UN representative said.
Ok Serei called for a "drug demand reduction strategy, not only in Afghanistan but also outside of Afghanistan".
str-ash-iw/csp/abs

earnings

Samsung logs record quarterly profits despite investor AI jitters

BY HIEUN SHIN, WITH KATIE FORSTER IN TOKYO

  • Record profits driven by booming demand for AI memory chips have fuelled calls for greater shareholder returns, particularly after shares in tech giants such as Samsung tumbled from their June record highs amid concerns over US tech firms' AI spending.
  • Massive demand for AI chips delivered record quarterly profits to South Korea's Samsung Electronics on Thursday, but shares fell as investors questioned the resilience of the global tech boom.
  • Record profits driven by booming demand for AI memory chips have fuelled calls for greater shareholder returns, particularly after shares in tech giants such as Samsung tumbled from their June record highs amid concerns over US tech firms' AI spending.
Massive demand for AI chips delivered record quarterly profits to South Korea's Samsung Electronics on Thursday, but shares fell as investors questioned the resilience of the global tech boom.
Samsung is the world's largest maker of memory chips -- components in short supply as advanced types are snapped up for use in data centres powering artificial intelligence.
The company posted July-September operating profit at 107.4 trillion won ($80.5 billion) -- up more than 780 percent on-year.
It marked the first time any technology company had reported quarterly operating profit over 100 trillion won, Samsung said.
Net profit jumped more than 510 percent from last year to 75.1 trillion won, while sales reached 195.3 trillion won.
The global race to build data centres to train and run chatbots, image generators and other AI tools has turbocharged the fortunes of Samsung and other chipmakers, despite concerns that the sector may be overvalued.
Samsung shares fell more than five percent on Thursday morning.
Investors were disappointed by a miss of market expectations for operating profit by the semiconductor division, according to Bloomberg News.
The company's memory business achieved "another record-breaking quarter by managing its product mix, with a focus on AI products, amid capacity constraints," Samsung said in a statement.
"Strong demand momentum for servers led to higher market prices across all applications."

'Unprecedented growth'

Demand-driven shortages of advanced memory chips known as HBM, used in AI systems alongside other data-crunching semiconductors, has caused their price to spike.
Dilin Wu, research strategist at Pepperstone, said strong earnings from Samsung and South Korean industry rival SK hynix were "a reminder that the AI memory boom is still very real, despite all the concerns we've seen around the broader AI trade".
"Chipmakers are benefiting directly from the AI investment boom, while the companies buying their chips are still trying to prove they can earn a decent return on all that spending," she told AFP earlier this week.
With sky-high expectations for stellar results, record profits may not be enough to reassure market players.
"Ultimately, investors want to know whether there's still another leg to this memory upcycle, or whether we're getting close to peak earnings," Wu said.
Samsung predicted Thursday that it would continue to feel the benefits of the AI boom.
Chief financial officer Park Soon-cheol told an earnings call the company expects "unprecedented growth in memory demand in 2027, driven by accelerating competition to build AI infrastructure and the expansion of personal AI agents".
"On the supply side, however, we expect difficulties in expanding... output in a short period of time through new capacity additions," he said.
Chip companies focusing their efforts on profitable HBM has also fuelled shortages of the less glamorous computer memory components used in everyday consumer electronics -- driving up the price of smartphones and laptops.

Shareholder returns 

Samsung on Thursday detailed plans to return up to 110 trillion won to shareholders this year, including 30 trillion won in cash dividends, following an August announcement.
Record profits driven by booming demand for AI memory chips have fuelled calls for greater shareholder returns, particularly after shares in tech giants such as Samsung tumbled from their June record highs amid concerns over US tech firms' AI spending.
The announcement comes a day after SK hynix also announced plans to return 60 trillion won to shareholders, following the completion of a 40 trillion-won shareholder return programme.
Such shareholder returns "would allow the benefits of earnings growth to translate into greater shareholder returns," said Kim Dong-won, head of KB Securities' research center.
"With record profits and undervaluation coexisting, the largest-ever expansion of shareholder returns would be a decisive opportunity to address the company's undervaluation and serve as a key driver of a reassessment of its market value," said Kim.
hs/kaf

vote

Trump accuses Alaska Democrats of fraud over same-name scandal

BY FRANKIE TAGGART

  • He accused Democrats of committing perjury by making false statements under oath in federal court, and demanded that the incumbent be allowed to run without either Peltola or the "FAKE Dan Sullivan" on the ballot.
  • US President Donald Trump demanded Wednesday that Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola and a rival sharing the name of Alaska's Republican incumbent be removed from next week's election ballot, accusing Democrats of an illegal scheme to confuse voters.
  • He accused Democrats of committing perjury by making false statements under oath in federal court, and demanded that the incumbent be allowed to run without either Peltola or the "FAKE Dan Sullivan" on the ballot.
US President Donald Trump demanded Wednesday that Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola and a rival sharing the name of Alaska's Republican incumbent be removed from next week's election ballot, accusing Democrats of an illegal scheme to confuse voters.
His call followed a New York Times investigation reporting that Democratic operatives seeking to defeat Republican Senator Dan Sullivan had secretly recruited so-called "spoiler" candidates, including one also named Dan Sullivan, in an effort to draw votes away from the sitting senator.
"It has just been determined that the Democrats in Alaska illegally searched for, and recruited, a man named Dan Sullivan," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He accused Democrats of committing perjury by making false statements under oath in federal court, and demanded that the incumbent be allowed to run without either Peltola or the "FAKE Dan Sullivan" on the ballot.
He told reporters later that Peltola and any other alleged accomplices should be prosecuted. "To me, that's voter fraud at the highest level," he said.
Senator Sullivan expressed outrage at the confusion, which mushroomed into a major campaign headache for Peltola six days before the November 3 election.
"The candidate I'm running against had a scheme for over a year to try to trick Alaskans that shows total contempt for the people of the state," the senator told Fox News host Sean Hannity. 
"She's been cheating and lying to Alaskans."
The Times noted that recruiting candidates to split an opponent's vote -- a practice known as ballot stacking -- is generally legal and has been used by both parties in Alaska.
As recently as 2024, little-known former Republican Anthony Frascone beat Democrat Mondaire Jones in a low-turnout Working Families Party primary in New York state. 
Jones's campaign and the leftist WFP accused Frascone of being a Republican spoiler. Local Democratic leaders and a group of voters sued to remove him, but a Westchester judge kept him on the ballot.
The Times investigation did not establish criminal wrongdoing in the Alaska case or substantiate Trump's allegation of perjury.
The effort involved senior aides and lawyers for Peltola, as well as officials at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), according to the newspaper, which cited interviews, dozens of text messages and documents prepared for a potential lawsuit against the campaign.

Peltola 'definitely aware'

Among those it said were recruited was Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from a remote Alaskan fishing community. He has said he entered the race of his own volition.
The newspaper identified Democratic operative Jerid Kurtz as a central figure, reporting that he traveled around Alaska under an assumed name to court potential candidates.
The Times said Kurtz also urged a Democrat to quit the race after the August primary, opening a place on the four-candidate ranked-choice ballot for Republican Gerald Heikes, also a recruit.
Heikes told the paper he was recruited by a Midwesterner who he did not think resembled a photo of Kurtz. Kurtz did not respond to requests for comment from the Times.
Peltola's former campaign manager Elisa Rios told the paper the candidate was "definitely aware" of the project but not directly involved, and that DSCC aides had introduced Kurtz to the campaign.
Rios, who was fired in August and had been planning a wrongful termination lawsuit, later sought to retract her statements. The Times said her account was consistent with its other reporting.
Peltola's campaign and the DSCC have denied recruiting any candidates.
The revelations come days after Trump ordered the Justice Department to sue Alaska over the presence of the second Sullivan on the ballot.
The lawsuit seeks to delay certification if Peltola narrowly defeats the incumbent and votes cast for his namesake could have changed the outcome.
In June Alaska's Supreme Court upheld the retired teacher's right to run, rejecting Republican efforts to remove him from the ballot.
The state has asked a federal judge to dismiss the Justice Department's lawsuit, arguing it has no legal basis.
ft/mlm/jgc

politics

EU, Canada to build 'new chapter' in alliance at Montreal summit

BY MATHIEU GORSE

  • In response, Canada and the European Union are building on each other's strengths," Carney said ahead of the summit, promising "a new, ambitious alliance."
  • Canada and the European Union will craft "a new chapter" in their alliance at a Montreal summit that opens Thursday, the EU chief said, as they navigate uncertain relations with the United States.
  • In response, Canada and the European Union are building on each other's strengths," Carney said ahead of the summit, promising "a new, ambitious alliance."
Canada and the European Union will craft "a new chapter" in their alliance at a Montreal summit that opens Thursday, the EU chief said, as they navigate uncertain relations with the United States.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen raised the prospect of Canada becoming the 27-nation bloc's first "associate member" last month.
The title doesn't exist in EU treaties, and some members successfully pushed to drop the term from a joint summit statement.
But von der Leyen used the term after landing in Montreal on Wednesday, saying the sides will "start discussing how to make Canada the first associate member of the EU."
"Our ambition is to build the closest partnership we have ever had with a non-European country," she added.
"A new chapter in our shared history starts in Montreal."
Canada and the EU have both been rattled by US President Donald Trump's second term.
Trump's tariffs have hammered key sectors of the Canadian economy, while the president's repeated threats to annex the US's northern neighbor have caused outrage.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said the Trump administration sometimes signs deals "in pencil" and cannot be trusted to honor its commitments, telling Canadians that reducing dependence on the United States is an urgent priority.
"The world is more dangerous and divided. In response, Canada and the European Union are building on each other's strengths," Carney said ahead of the summit, promising "a new, ambitious alliance."
The EU has also faced US tariffs, and Trump and his top allies have piled criticism on European political leaders.
Von der Leyen said that in a time of growing geopolitical rivalry, the EU wants to deepen ties with "trusted partners."
"It feels only natural to start with Canada," she said.
- What could be agreed? - 
The EU and Canada already share a free-trade pact, but it has not been fully implemented, and Canadian officials have said businesses are pursuing new opportunities in Europe to offset US tariff-related losses. 
An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new Canadian partnership would align policies in areas such as climate, energy and artificial intelligence, allowing Ottawa to participate in some EU programs and creating a common governance structure.
That would build on the invitations Canada recently received to take part in EU summits and ministerial meetings.
Canada has huge stocks of the critical minerals needed for green technologies such as batteries and wind turbines that Europe currently sources mostly from China.
But Canada needs massive infrastructure investment to jump-start its mining industry. The summit could lead to an agreement allowing the European Investment Bank to back Canadian critical mineral projects.
A digital trade deal allowing faster and cheaper online transactions is expected to be unveiled in Montreal. An early draft joint statement envisaged deeper cooperation on both AI infrastructure and regulation.
Ottawa and Brussels are also understood to be working to have Canada participate in the EU's Erasmus youth program, which allows university students to spend a semester abroad, among other things.
Carney said this week he wasn't concerned about associate-member status, or "specific names or nomenclature" used to characterize the new alliance.
"What matters is the difference that it will make to the lives of Canadians," Carney said.
ub-mg/bs/msp

border

Trump's border: quiet, but few people are happy

BY ROMAIN FONSEGRIVES

  • In the sector around San Luis, the Border Patrol now apprehends fewer than 10 people per day -- a sharp decline from the up to 2,000 per day under the last administration.
  • Between the hundreds of migrants arriving every day to seek asylum,  chases of those fleeing, and the encounters with drug traffickers, Jason Mercado was overwhelmed during his time working for the US Border Patrol under Joe Biden.
  • In the sector around San Luis, the Border Patrol now apprehends fewer than 10 people per day -- a sharp decline from the up to 2,000 per day under the last administration.
Between the hundreds of migrants arriving every day to seek asylum,  chases of those fleeing, and the encounters with drug traffickers, Jason Mercado was overwhelmed during his time working for the US Border Patrol under Joe Biden.
"It's peaceful now," the retired agent says as he stands in front of the enormous wall that separates the United States from Mexico, near the town of San Luis, Arizona.
On the eve of the midterm elections, this arid region in the Southwest serves as proof that Donald Trump kept his central campaign promise: to restore order at the border.
In the sector around San Luis, the Border Patrol now apprehends fewer than 10 people per day -- a sharp decline from the up to 2,000 per day under the last administration.
This drop, which began during the final months of the Biden presidency, accelerated under the Republican billionaire's aggressive anti-immigration offensive.
Now filing an asylum claim at the border has become extremely difficult; migrants apprehended near the wall are almost never released while awaiting a hearing; and high-profile, forceful operations targeting undocumented immigrants across the United States have served as a deterrent. 
Mercado's former colleagues tell him that during their patrols, things are "very quiet." 
"One or two of them said the word 'boring,'" says the 56-year-old, a Republican voter, with a smile.
 
 - Relief -
 
In the small town of San Luis, the sense of relief is palpable, even among Democrats, who sometimes struggled with the scope of the humanitarian crisis.
Churches and community organizations provided food and shelter for thousands of people in transit, while the hospital in Yuma, the county seat, was completely overwhelmed, and the federal government still owes it millions. 
"Our tax dollars were going toward all of that," says Georgina Escamilla, speaking in Spanish in her Mexican restaurant. 
"They were giving money to people coming from other countries, while those who live here receive no help," adds the 63-year-old, who leans to the left politically.
Yet, the return of calm masks a new sense of unease among the residents of this agricultural region -- one of the country’s primary producers of lettuce and other vegetables.
"With Trump, we've shot ourselves in the foot," complains Ricardo Vasquez.
The 58-year-old farmworker is frustrated that he now has to pay more than 20 percent more for diesel, a cost he attributes to the conflict in Iran initiated by the president. 
"The country wasn't doing so badly before he arrived, and now, with fuel prices, it feels like we're being slapped in the face, because everything is going up," he grumbles. 
In his fields of lettuce and broccoli, Mike Pasquinelli no longer has to worry about the destruction caused by migrants fleeing the police -- incidents that previously wiped out portions of his harvest. 
However, the surge in the cost of diesel and fertilizers, driven by the conflict in the Middle East, is eating into his bottom line.
 

'Uncertainty'

 
"We're probably gonna have about a 20 percent reduction in profits... compared to last year," sighs the farmer, who serves as president of the Yuma Fresh Vegetables Association.
He has also had to contend with a drop in orders, stemming from tensions linked to the trade war with Canada, a major destination for his vegetable exports. 
"There's been a lot of uncertainty on the foreign market, especially with the tariffs and retaliation between countries," he says.
"Most of the market has stabilized, but we've had some ups and downs."
This instability has also taken a toll on the logistics sector, another key employer in the region. 
In his refrigerated warehouses, located right up against the border wall -- in an area through which dozens of trucks pass -- Mario Jauregui is fed up with "always playing the guessing game."
Tariffs, which have been repeatedly imposed and then lifted, have cut the volume of fruit his clients ship between Mexico and the United States by a fifth.
His industry is also facing setbacks because the Trump administration has stopped issuing commercial vehicle permits to certain foreign drivers.
"It's become so uncertain... nowadays that when we wake up the first thing that we do is look at the news," the conservative business owner grumbles.
"I don't think that that's a way to manage a country."
At 66, he has always voted Republican.
But with the November 3 election approaching, he finds himself hoping that Trump's Republican Party loses its congressional majority.
"I would much rather have a Democratic Congress and a Republican president," he says with a sigh. "We need to learn our lesson."
rfo/hg/pnb

ASEAN

Australian defence chief says China military buildup creating 'pressure' in SE Asia

  • "We're obviously seeing the biggest conventional military build-up that the world has seen since the end of the Second World War from China," Marles told reporters Thursday on the sidelines of a meeting of Southeast Asian defence ministers in the Philippines.
  • Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said Thursday that China's military build-up was creating a "condition of pressure" in Southeast Asia, and urged allies and partners to deepen cooperation.
  • "We're obviously seeing the biggest conventional military build-up that the world has seen since the end of the Second World War from China," Marles told reporters Thursday on the sidelines of a meeting of Southeast Asian defence ministers in the Philippines.
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said Thursday that China's military build-up was creating a "condition of pressure" in Southeast Asia, and urged allies and partners to deepen cooperation.
Beijing deploys hundreds of coast guard, navy and other vessels to patrol disputed areas of the South China Sea, which it claims almost entirely despite an international ruling that its position has no legal basis.
In July, Australia protested China's test of a nuclear-capable missile in the South Pacific, calling the launch "destabilising".
"We're obviously seeing the biggest conventional military build-up that the world has seen since the end of the Second World War from China," Marles told reporters Thursday on the sidelines of a meeting of Southeast Asian defence ministers in the Philippines.
"There's not an explanation from China as to why it's doing this, and all of that is creating the condition of pressure."
Beijing's growing assertiveness was "providing challenges" for Canberra, he added, saying Australia relied on maintaining the existing rules-based order.
"We need to be ensuring that how we understand the rules of the road continue to apply, because for a middle power like Australia, it is actually the rules which give us agency," he said.
China's growing assertiveness and militarisation of artificial islands in the South China Sea have spurred Canberra, as well as Washington, to deepen defence cooperation with some Southeast Asian countries.
Marles said Thursday that he met with the "Squad", an informal defence and security group composed of Australia, Japan, the United States and the Philippines, where they committed to greater defence policy coordination.
"I think the challenges that are being faced in this part of the world and the pressures that are being experienced are well understood by all four countries," he said.
"Now is a time to double down on friends and to double down on neighbours and to be working more closely together to provide for our collective security," he added.
The Philippines, a close security partner of Australia, has been engaged in years of confrontations with China in the South China Sea.
China's military and coast guard presence in contested areas of the critical waterway nearly doubled in September, Manila said earlier this month.
pam/cwl/abs

Bolsonaro

Bolsonaro claims he is Brazil's true leader after fleeing to US

BY YUSSEL GONZALEZ WITH FRAN BLANDY IN RIO DE JANEIRO

  • Rogerio Marinho, the leader of Bolsonaro's Liberal Party in the Senate, told reporters in Brasilia that he was in "solidarity" with the former candidate, describing him as a "political exile." 
  • Brazil's defeated right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro insisted Wednesday he is his country's rightful leader, after fleeing to the United States to start a self-imposed exile.
  • Rogerio Marinho, the leader of Bolsonaro's Liberal Party in the Senate, told reporters in Brasilia that he was in "solidarity" with the former candidate, describing him as a "political exile." 
Brazil's defeated right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro insisted Wednesday he is his country's rightful leader, after fleeing to the United States to start a self-imposed exile.
Bolsonaro's defiance on arrival in Florida signaled continued upheaval for Brazil, where leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a dramatic runoff election Sunday.
"I am the elected president, and the criminals who stole Brazil's election are part of a criminal organization that has established a tyranny," Bolsonaro said in the statement published on his X account, slamming "electoral fraud."
"I will lead the opposition from here," he said. In a subsequent statement, he revised his claim, saying he is the "leader," rather than "president."
Bolsonaro, 45, touched down earlier Wednesday in a private jet at Opa-Locka Executive Airport near Miami.
Rogerio Marinho, the leader of Bolsonaro's Liberal Party in the Senate, told reporters in Brasilia that he was in "solidarity" with the former candidate, describing him as a "political exile." 
However, he distanced himself from Bolsonaro's statement, and refused to back up Bolsonaro's claims of electoral fraud. 
"The Liberal Party cannot make that claim," he said. "There is no evidence of that."
Flavio Bolsonaro "is an expression of the right in Brazil today...he calls himself a leader and it's true: he's a leader," Marinho told reporters.
US President Donald Trump's hard-right administration has strong links to Bolsonaro and his father Jair Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest in Brazil after attempting to overturn his own electoral loss to Lula in 2022.
Trump reiterated his stand that Brazil's election was "very strange" but told reporters he "won't get involved" in Flavio Bolsonaro's claim to the presidency.
Details of how Bolsonaro, accompanied by his wife and daughters, made it to US soil are still emerging.
He is under investigation in his home country over alleged corruption and money laundering. With his current parliamentary immunity about to expire, he was ordered to surrender his passports but left anyway, reaching the United States via Argentina and Ecuador.
A police source told AFP that Bolsonaro's Brazilian and diplomatic passports had been canceled, but the senator has also held Italian nationality since 2023, according to Italian documents seen by AFP.
The US Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the Bolsonaro family members were inspected and cleared "with applicable immigration laws and procedures."
The travel ban was issued by powerful Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who led the case against Bolsonaro's father and is a controversial figure hated by the Brazilian right.

'Shameful' act

Lula, who won Sunday's election with 51.8 percent of the vote, called Bolsonaro's departure a "shameful" act.
"A person who sneaks out of their country must have something to hide," he said in Brasilia during his 81st birthday celebration on Tuesday.
But Brazil police issued a statement Wednesday saying that he was not considered a fugitive.
There was controversy in neighboring Argentina, where opposition lawmakers demanded to know how Bolsonaro had managed to transit through the country.
While Argentinian authorities said he was carrying valid travel documents, officials have requested chief of cabinet Diego Santilli to provide details to parliament, according to opposition lawmaker Agustin Rossi.

Fraud cases

The most high-profile fraud case against Bolsonaro in Brazil centers on the unreleased biopic "Dark Horse" starring US actor Jim Caviezel as Flavio's father Jair.
In May, the outlet Intercept Brasil revealed audio recordings in which Flavio Bolsonaro negotiated approximately $24 million to finance the film with banker Daniel Vorcaro, who is jailed over one of Brazil's biggest-ever fraud cases.
Before the leak, Flavio Bolsonaro had denied knowing Vorcaro, or that he had financed the movie.
In July, the Supreme Court ordered a probe into the film's financing, and whether it involved corruption, money laundering or the illegal movement of currency.
Bolsonaro acknowledged Vorcaro had funded the film, but insisted it was a private business deal that was "completely legal."
burs-sms/jgc/mlm

conflict

Putin hails Elon Musk as 'truly a genius'

  • Putin's comments come amid a spat between Ukraine and the United States over access to Starshield, a military-grade satellite network powered by Musk's SpaceX. "Elon Musk is a genius, truly a genius," Putin said while touring an exhibition on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit in Moscow.
  • US tech tycoon Elon Musk is "truly a genius" for deploying thousands of satellites into orbit, President Vladimir Putin said  Wednesday, as Moscow seeks to develop its own satellite internet network.
  • Putin's comments come amid a spat between Ukraine and the United States over access to Starshield, a military-grade satellite network powered by Musk's SpaceX. "Elon Musk is a genius, truly a genius," Putin said while touring an exhibition on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit in Moscow.
US tech tycoon Elon Musk is "truly a genius" for deploying thousands of satellites into orbit, President Vladimir Putin said  Wednesday, as Moscow seeks to develop its own satellite internet network.
The American tech titan is the owner of SpaceX, that launches rockets for NASA and runs the Starlink communications network.
Russia, a spacefaring power, has long sought to develop its own satellite internet constellation for both civilian and military use.
Putin's comments come amid a spat between Ukraine and the United States over access to Starshield, a military-grade satellite network powered by Musk's SpaceX.
"Elon Musk is a genius, truly a genius," Putin said while touring an exhibition on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit in Moscow.
"He has how many units in orbit...? More than 5,000. And we're taking our first steps," he added.
"We are in close contact with our American partners, including Mr. Musk, because it is crucial in orbit not to interfere with one another."
Ukraine began reporting problems using Starshield this month, following a row between Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump over a US-Russia diesel deal.
Both Trump and Musk denied being responsible for the outages, although Musk later accused Ukraine of misusing SpaceX's Starlink internet service for military purposes.
Ukraine says the outages have frustrated its efforts to intercept Russian drones and has slowed its logistics on the front line, as the Ukraine-Russia conflict grinds through its fifth year.
bur/tw

conflict

92-year-old US judge handling Maduro case dies

  • As one of the oldest US federal judges, questions had been raised about whether he was the right justice to preside over what could be a prolonged trial for Maduro on drug trafficking charges.
  • Alvin Hellerstein, the US judge overseeing the case against deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, has died aged 92, an official said Wednesday. 
  • As one of the oldest US federal judges, questions had been raised about whether he was the right justice to preside over what could be a prolonged trial for Maduro on drug trafficking charges.
Alvin Hellerstein, the US judge overseeing the case against deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, has died aged 92, an official said Wednesday. 
As one of the oldest US federal judges, questions had been raised about whether he was the right justice to preside over what could be a prolonged trial for Maduro on drug trafficking charges.
Hellerstein's lengthy career included overseeing the civil cases arising from Al-Qaeda's September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, often rejecting deals he saw as unfair to complainants. 
His death was confirmed by the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, where he presided. A court filing showed the case has been reassigned to Analisa Torres, born in 1959.
Hellerstein also tangled with Donald Trump, rejecting a request by the US president to have his New York hush money case moved to federal court.
Last year, he blocked the Trump administration from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members without a court hearing.
In a noteworthy 2015 ruling, Hellerstein ordered the US government to release a trove of photos depicting abuse of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He also presided over a trial last year in which a jury found French banking giant BNP Paribas's work in Sudan had helped prop up the regime of former ruler Omar al-Bashir, awarding $20.75 million in damages to three plaintiffs from Sudan.
Hellerstein handled the sprawling drug trafficking case linked to Maduro for over a decade, which has already seen the conviction of Venezuela's former intelligence chief, Hugo Armando Carvajal.
Maduro was seized by US forces in January in a military raid on his compound in Venezuela.
A graduate of Columbia University law school, Hellerstein served as a lawyer in the US Army from 1957 to 1960 before entering private practice.
He was nominated by then-president Bill Clinton in 1998 to be a district court judge for the Southern District of New York.
bjt-bur/mjf

summit

Rwanda cannot be blamed for what happens in DR Congo, FM says

BY MARIA PANINA

  • "Rwanda must not be held as a scapegoat for what is happening in Congo forever," he added.
  • Rwanda should not be a "scapegoat" for events in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda's foreign minister said Wednesday, as the neighbours battle over responsibility for fighting in eastern DR Congo.
  • "Rwanda must not be held as a scapegoat for what is happening in Congo forever," he added.
Rwanda should not be a "scapegoat" for events in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda's foreign minister said Wednesday, as the neighbours battle over responsibility for fighting in eastern DR Congo.
DR Congo has been beset by conflict for three decades, most recently an armed insurgency by the M23 armed group that the DR Congo government and UN experts say is backed by Rwanda.
An offensive by M23 and the Rwandan army captured large swathes of eastern DR Congo in 2025, and clashes have continued despite a US-brokered peace agreement between Rwanda and the DR Congo last December. The region is also grappling with an Ebola epidemic that has killed nearly 5,000 people.
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on the Rwandan defence ministry and a Rwandan financial institution over their alleged support for M23.
"The situation in the DRC, the political situation, the security situation, is mainly a Congolese issue," Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe told AFP on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit in Moscow, before the US sanctions were imposed.
"Rwanda must not be held as a scapegoat for what is happening in Congo forever," he added.
Nduhungirehe also pushed back at Kinshasa's allegations that former DR Congo president Joseph Kabila was a Rwandan "proxy", after he joined forces with M23 this month.
"It is a political issue that must be settled politically between the Congolese," Nduhungirehe said.
UN experts say Rwanda exercises significant control over M23 and continues to deploy thousands of troops in its neighbour, an accusation Rwanda has repeatedly denied.
Rwanda says that it faces an existential threat from Congolese militias in eastern DR Congo east that were founded by ethnic Hutus involved in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda.
 

'Return hub'

 
Nduhungirehe also confirmed that discussions were under way on the creation of a so-called "return hub" in Rwanda for migrants expelled from the European Union countries.
Denmark, Austria, Greece, Germany and the Netherlands have sought to create such a centre, but have not yet said where.
An agreement between Rwanda and the five European countries could be signed as early as next month, according to three people in Europe briefed on the negotiations.
"Since the discussions are still ongoing, I cannot of course dwell on them," Nduhungirehe said.
"This is a very sensitive issue for us, since we want to give dignity to human beings, to migrants, to refugees," he added.
mp-cad/tw

UN

Cuba wins UN vote against US embargo with weakest backing in 30 years

  • It was the lowest level of support since 1995.
  • The UN General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a new resolution calling for an end to the US embargo against Cuba, although support for the communist-ruled island fell to its lowest level in three decades.
  • It was the lowest level of support since 1995.
The UN General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a new resolution calling for an end to the US embargo against Cuba, although support for the communist-ruled island fell to its lowest level in three decades.
Nearly every year since 1992 similar resolutions have been put to a vote and passed, but support for the measure this year was markedly lower.
The resolution, which has called for lifting the economic, trade and financial embargo against the island, received 130 votes in favor, with 17 against and 25 abstentions. It was the lowest level of support since 1995.
The debate this year, however, is taking place amid a major new pressure campaign by Washington against Cuba, including an oil blockade and broad sanctions that have severely crippled Cuba's economy.

'Gangster coercion'

In recent weeks, Havana accused Washington of mounting a diplomatic offensive to pressure countries into withdrawing their support for the Cuban resolution.
"The world has once again spoken out overwhelmingly against the blockade, even despite the most blatant pressure and blackmail from the US to change the course of this vote," Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a celebratory post on X Wednesday, later adding that the US engages in "gangster-like coercion."
Speaking in New York, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez accused Washington of seeking to "determine the nation's destiny" and "seize" its wealth.
In the minutes before the vote, US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz denied that Cuba was under a blockade and said "the plight of the Cuban people is exclusively the fault of this corrupt communist regime."
"The reality is, today as we speak, there is no ring of US Navy warships around Cuba. Their ports are open. In recent months, data shows that shipments have arrived," from around the world, he added.

Shouting match

The vote came a day after a dramatic shouting match on the floor of the UN General Assembly that at one point saw Rodriguez approach Waltz and shout, "You are a liar!" as Waltz shouted for him to back away.
Amid the interruptions, the chair briefly suspended the session and instructed both countries' representatives to return to their places.
In his speech arguing against the resolution on Tuesday, Waltz held up pictures of Cuban leaders past and present, including Diaz-Canel, wearing luxury watches, prompting the Cuban delegation to repeatedly smack their desk in protest and interrupt.
Waltz later held up a satellite images and detailed luxury estates, boats and vacations that he claimed the Castro family and Cuban officials enjoy.
"The regime can never find enough fuel for Cuban ambulances. They can never find enough fuel for Cuban busses. But when the Castro family, the elites that are sitting at that table, want to go yachting, suddenly, it’s no problem." Waltz said.
Speaking on Fox News on Wednesday after the vote, Waltz said that the previous day's debate, "got a little spicy."
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Bolsonaro

Bolsonaro's escape to the US: How it happened

BY DAVID SALAZAR

  • - Hopping borders - It turns out that while the world had been speculating on his whereabouts, Bolsonaro is still in Brazil.
  • Flavio Bolsonaro's clandestine escape to the United States bewildered Brazil and triggered a frantic search for his whereabouts.
  • - Hopping borders - It turns out that while the world had been speculating on his whereabouts, Bolsonaro is still in Brazil.
Flavio Bolsonaro's clandestine escape to the United States bewildered Brazil and triggered a frantic search for his whereabouts.
The Supreme Court had ordered the son of jailed ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro to forfeit his passports after his electoral loss on Sunday, amid fears he would leave the country due to ongoing investigations against him.
But the defeated right-wing presidential candidate failed to hand them in, choosing instead to flee to the US via Argentina and Ecuador.
AFP takes a look at the frenzied 24-hours that left the world scratching its head as Bolsonaro went off the grid.

Refuses to concede

Bolsonaro makes a brief, stone-faced speech from Brasilia on Sunday night following his electoral defeat to leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
He refuses to recognize the result and promises to seek an annulment of the election.

Exit blocked

The next day, the 45-year-old posts a video on Instagram, speaking outdoors in front of a bare wall.
He tells his followers that the Supreme Court has banned him from leaving the country in "a clear attempt to intimidate me."
"I never had any intention of leaving the country. I will surrender my passports and defend myself against this travesty," he said.
The ban on his travel is linked to one of several ongoing investigations against him.

Vacant vehicle

On Tuesday, the Argentine outlet Infobae reports that Bolsonaro plans to board a flight in the northeastern city of Puerto Iguazu.
Journalists including AFP witness Bolsonaro's official motorcade leaving his Brasilia residence.
It is initially impossible to know whether one of the three black cars is carrying him.
Local media reports the dispersal of the motorcade soon afterward, while the driver of the middle vehicle -- usually transporting the politician -- rolls down the window and shows that no one is on board.

Going dark

As speculation runs rampant, a police source confirms the cancellation of Bolsonaro's Brazilian and diplomatic passports to AFP.
American media meanwhile reports that the defeated candidate is en route to the US.
Back in Brazil, confusion reigns, and Bolsonaro's campaign manager says he has no idea where his boss is.
"I received a text message from him this morning, where he said he would let some time pass today and then would talk with us, and that was it," a dumbfounded Rogerio Marinho tells the press in Brasilia.

Hopping borders

It turns out that while the world had been speculating on his whereabouts, Bolsonaro is still in Brazil.
He only crosses the border into Argentina at 0150 GMT on Wednesday, the neighboring country's immigration authorities announce -- over 12 hours after the first reports emerge that he has left. 
The senator enters Argentina "with valid travel documents and no legal impediment" via the Tancredo Neves International Bridge linking the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguacu with Puerto Iguazu, Argentine authorities say.
Flavio also holds an Italian passport.
It remains unknown how he got to Argentina from Brasilia, more than 1,500 kilometers away.
Brazilian police say there is no official record of his departure from the country.
They say they are investigating his failure to hand over his passports, but this does not classify him as a fugitive.

Flight

A private jet then whisks Bolsonaro and his family to Ecuador's port city of Guayaquil, Argentine immigration authorities say.
The plane makes a brief refueling stop at the virtually empty airport.
AFP reporters witness the aircraft taking off again, and the FlightAware website shows that it is heading to Miami. 
Some 927,000 people track its course via the website Flightradar.

Arrival

Around 12 hours after their departure from Argentina, the Bolsonaro family hits the tarmac at Florida's Opa-Locka airport.
He enters the United States with his cancelled diplomatic passport, according to the Department of Homeland Security website that tracks border controls.
Flavio Bolsonaro wears a black shirt and shoulders a backpack as he disembarks the plane alongside his wife and two daughters, AFP observes.
Minutes later, a vehicle drives away from the airport.
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politics

Italian PM slams 'shameful' release of alleged protest organiser

  • In a video on X, Meloni said: "I'll say it bluntly: I consider shameful the decision by the preliminary investigations judge in Milan not to validate the arrest."
  • Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday slammed a "shameful" decision by a judge dismissing accusations against a campaigner arrested on terrorism charges for allegedly seeking to organise violent protests.
  • In a video on X, Meloni said: "I'll say it bluntly: I consider shameful the decision by the preliminary investigations judge in Milan not to validate the arrest."
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday slammed a "shameful" decision by a judge dismissing accusations against a campaigner arrested on terrorism charges for allegedly seeking to organise violent protests.
The man, 30-year-old Youssef Siher, was arrested on October 24 and accused by prosecutors of being behind the social media accounts of the anti-government "October 17 Movement".
That was a reference to protests by young people in Milan on October 17 and 18 that turned violent. Several shops in the city were vandalised and looted by protesters.
Siher had been charged by prosecutors with "incitement to commit offences with the aggravating circumstance of terrorism and organised violence during a demonstration".
But judge Tiziana Landoni on Wednesday dismissed the prosecutors' case against Siher, saying he had never instigated violence and ordered his immediate release, Italian media reported.
In a video on X, Meloni said: "I'll say it bluntly: I consider shameful the decision by the preliminary investigations judge in Milan not to validate the arrest."
She called the decision a "humiliation" for "all those who strive to protect decent people from the risk of seeing their cities and their businesses destroyed".
 

A 'humiliation'

 
Hard-right leader Meloni, who faces elections next year and is under pressure from far-right challengers National Future, frequently accuses the judiciary of having a liberal bias.
But a constitutional referendum organised by the government this year that would have reduced the autonomy of the judiciary failed to pass.
There were calls by the "October 17 Movement" for similar protests on October 24 but, following Siher's arrest, demonstrations that day were smaller and generally peaceful.
Contacted by AFP, Siher's lawyer declined to comment.
Questioned Wednesday evening after a cabinet meeting, Meloni said: "I do not consider what I said to be an attack, I see it as a defence, as a defence of the work I know, of all the servants of the state who have worked with enormous dedication to prevent what we saw on October 17 from happening again, and it has not happened again."
After the first demonstrations, and ahead of a general strike planned for Friday, the Italian government carried out numerous arrests of activists and deployed the army in central Milan.
The "October 17 Movement" page says it draws inspiration from the 2011 Egyptian revolution and the Occupy movement. 
"The state pisses on us and the media make us believe it's raining, Meloni declares war on this country’s future, we declare war on this vile present," could still be read there on Wednesday.
According to the Milan public prosecutor’s office, "this public incitement to demonstrate violently and repeatedly carried a strongly symbolic message, capable of destabilising and of spreading fear among the population."
 

Scapegoat

 
But according to the judge's decision, circulated by the AGI news agency, "the person under investigation never refers to the use of violent actions nor to the adoption of other behaviors constituting criminal offenses".
After studying in Milan, Youssef Siher did a research internship in geopolitics and collaborated with left-wing newspapers such as Il Fatto Quotidiano, according to his LinkedIn page.
Several supporters of the activist, such as the Italian movement Young Palestinians, have accused the Italian government of trying to create a scapegoat in response to the ongoing protest movement. 
The main centre-left parties have called for the Italian prime minister to address parliament on the issue of security.
"You had found the perfect culprit, the Osama bin Laden of Brescia ... And now you say it's the judges' fault?" Riccardo Ricciardi of the Five Star Movement declared on the parliamentary floor on Wednesday.
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