weather

Spain, Portugal face fresh storms, torrential rain

diplomacy

Iran FM looks to more nuclear talks, but warns US

  • Araghchi meanwhile warned that Tehran would target US bases in the region if the US attacked Iranian territory.
  • Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday he hoped talks with the United States would resume soon, while reiterating Tehran's red lines and warning against any American attack.
  • Araghchi meanwhile warned that Tehran would target US bases in the region if the US attacked Iranian territory.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday he hoped talks with the United States would resume soon, while reiterating Tehran's red lines and warning against any American attack.
According to excerpts published on his official Telegram channel during an interview with the Al Jazeera network, Araghchi said that Iran's missile programme was "never negotiable" in Friday's talks in Oman.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to raise the ballistic missiles programme in a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington next week.
Araghchi meanwhile warned that Tehran would target US bases in the region if the US attacked Iranian territory.
It came as lead Iran negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, signalling the persistent threat of US military action.
The US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said the two top officials visited the nuclear-powered vessel in a post on social media.
In his own social media post, Witkoff said the aircraft carrier and its strike group was "keeping us safe and upholding President Trump's message of peace through strength". 

'Good start'

Araghchi on Saturday said that despite the talks in Muscat being indirect, "an opportunity arose to shake hands with the American delegation".
He called the talks "a good start", but insisted "there is a long way to go to build trust". He said the talks would resume "soon".
Trump on Friday called the talks "very good", and pledged another round of negotiations next week.
Despite this, he signed an executive order effective from Saturday that called for the "imposition of tariffs" on countries still doing business with Iran.
The United States also announced new sanctions against numerous shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran's oil exports.
More than a quarter of Iran's trade is with China, with $18 billion in imports and $14.5 billion in exports in 2024, according to World Trade Organization data.

'Defence issue'

Araghchi told Al Jazeera that nuclear enrichment was Iran's "inalienable right and must continue".
"We are ready to reach a reassuring agreement on enrichment," he said.
"The Iranian nuclear case will only be resolved through negotiations."
He also said Iran's missile programme was "never negotiable" because it relates to a "defence issue".
Washington has sought to address Iran's ballistic missile programme and its support for militant groups in the region -- issues which Israel has pushed to include in the talks, according to media reports.
Tehran has repeatedly rejected expanding the scope of the negotiations beyond the nuclear issue.
Netanyahu is set to meet Trump on Wednesday to discuss the Iran talks, the premier's office said in a statement Saturday.
Netanyahu "believes any negotiations must include limitations on ballistic missiles and a halting of the support for the Iranian axis", it said, referring to Iran's allies in the region.
On Saturday, Araghchi criticised what he labelled a "doctrine of domination" that allows Israel to expand its military arsenal while pressuring other states in the region to disarm.
Friday's negotiations were the first since nuclear talks between Iran and the United States collapsed last year following Israel's unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, which triggered a 12-day war.
During the war US warplanes bombed Iranian nuclear sites.
Araghchi told Al Jazeera that if attacked again, "we will attack their bases in the region", referring to the United States.

Protests toll

Friday's talks between the two arch enemies came amid a major US military buildup in the region in the wake of Iran's crackdown on protests that began in late December, driven by economic grievances.
The authorities in Iran have acknowledged that 3,117 people were killed in the recent protests, publishing on Sunday a list of 2,986 names, most of whom they say were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders.
International organisations have put the toll far higher.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which has kept a running toll since the onset of the protests, says it has verified 6,872 deaths, mainly of protesters, and has another 11,280 cases under investigation. It has also counted more than 50,000 arrests.
bur/jsa/amj

weather

Spain, Portugal face fresh storms, torrential rain

BY JORGE GUERRERO

  • Both Spain and Portugal have issued fresh flood alerts.
  • Spain and Portugal endured fresh storms and torrential rain that claimed another life Saturday, just days after the deadly flooding and major damage caused by Storm Leonardo.
  • Both Spain and Portugal have issued fresh flood alerts.
Spain and Portugal endured fresh storms and torrential rain that claimed another life Saturday, just days after the deadly flooding and major damage caused by Storm Leonardo.
In Portugal, the latest depression -- christened Storm Marta -- led to the deployment of more than 26,500 rescue workers.
It was a 46-year-old volunteer member of the emergency services who died Saturday trying to cross a flooded zone, according to local media reports -- the first victim of Storm Marta.
The extreme weather also led three municipalities to postpone by a week a presidential vote meant to be held on Sunday.
Storm Kristin killed five people when it swept across Portugal last week, and Storm Leonardo claimed another victim on Wednesday.
The Iberian Peninsula is on the front lines of climate change in Europe. It has been experiencing increasingly prolonged heat waves and more frequent, intense episodes of heavy rainfall for several years.
Both Spain and Portugal have issued fresh flood alerts. The storms have already blocked hundreds of roads, disrupted trains and forced thousands to evacuate from the rising waters.

Thousands evacuated

In Spain, much of the country's south, particularly the region of Andalusia, was placed on orange alert on Saturday, as was the north-west, which was facing heavy rain and violent storms.
"We have never seen such a series of storms," said Andalusia's regional president, Juan Manuel Moreno, describing the situation as "complex" with dozens of roads cut off, rail traffic largely suspended, and "more than 11,000 people" evacuated.
The farming sector had been badly hit and it would cost over 500 million euros ($590 million) to repair roads, he added.
The famous pedestrian-only Roman bridge across the Guadalquivir river in Cordoba was blocked off for safety reasons.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez held a crisis meeting on Saturday, a day after visiting flood-affected areas.
Evacuated from Grazalema, one of the hardest-hit municipalities in Andalusia, residents were taken in at a gymnasium in the city of Ronda.
"Yesterday, I was told this would last a long time," said Jesus Ramirez, a 37-year-old resident. "It won’t be a week or two -- it could be longer."
"There are a lot of children who are suffering," added Nieves de los Santos, a 67-year-old pensioner.
Sevilla Football Club announced that its home match against Girona, scheduled for Saturday evening, had been postponed by the authorities to ensure spectator safety.

Deadly series of storms

Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro meanwhile said 2026 had been a "particularly unusual year" with "exceptionally violent" climatic conditions.
Several landslides were reported in Portugal but there were no casualties, authorities said.
The risk of flooding from the Tagus river in the country's central Santarem region remained at its highest level, the authorities said.
Further south, in Alcacer do Sal, the waters of the Sado river had receded to the banks, they added.
According to meteorologists, Storm Marta was expected to move north and start pulling away from Portugal by the end of the day, on the eve of the second round of the presidential election.
Portugal was still recovering from the effects of Storm Kristin, which killed five people, injured hundreds of others and left tens of thousands without power, when Leonardo hit earlier this week.
One person died during the passage of Storm Leonardo earlier this week and 1,100 people were evacuated across the country, according to the authorities.
A succession of atmospheric depressions saw Portugal's dams release "a volume of water equivalent to the country's annual consumption" in just three days, Jose Pimenta Machado, president of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), said Friday.
Several hundred kilometres further south, Morocco has also been hit by a series of violent storms that have displaced 150,000 people in the northwest of the country in recent days.
rbj-tsc-anr/gv/jj

Global Edition

Takaichi tipped for big win as Japan votes

  • "Now she doesn't have to worry about any elections until 2028, when the next upper house elections will take place," Estevez-Abe told AFP. "So the best scenario for Japan is that Takaichi kind of takes a deep breath and focuses on amending the relationship with China." bur-stu/ami
  • Japan votes in snap elections Sunday with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hoping to turn a honeymoon start into a resounding ballot box victory that could rile China and rattle financial markets.
  • "Now she doesn't have to worry about any elections until 2028, when the next upper house elections will take place," Estevez-Abe told AFP. "So the best scenario for Japan is that Takaichi kind of takes a deep breath and focuses on amending the relationship with China." bur-stu/ami
Japan votes in snap elections Sunday with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hoping to turn a honeymoon start into a resounding ballot box victory that could rile China and rattle financial markets.
Opinion polls suggest that Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed almost non-stop for decades, will easily win more than the 233 seats needed to regain a majority in the powerful 465-member lower house.
Pollsters even suggest with some caution due to undecided voters and wintry weather that the LDP and its coalition partner could secure 310 seats needed for a handy two-thirds majority.
This would be the best result for the LDP since 2017 when Takaichi's mentor, the late ex-premier Shinzo Abe, achieved a similar result.
"The future is something you have to build with your own hands," Japan's first woman premier said in a campaign video on YouTube that, like her others, has gone viral.
"The LDP will lead the way," she said.
Takaichi was a heavy metal drummer in her youth, an admirer of Britain's "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher, and on the ultra-conservative fringe of the LDP when she became leader in October.
She has defied pessimists to be a hit with voters, especially young ones, with fans lapping up everything from her handbag to her jamming to a K-pop song with South Korea's president.
"I came just to have a look at her. I think she is amazing," Yuka Ando, 17, a high-school student who went with her mother to hear Takaichi speak on a cold Saturday in Tokyo, told AFP.
Takaichi has sounded tough on immigration, helping for now to slow the sharp rise of the populist "Japanese first" Sanseito party.
Immigration screening "has already become a little stricter, so that terrorists, and also industrial spies, cannot enter easily", Takaichi said Saturday.
"We must properly examine whether (foreigners) are paying taxes, whether they are paying their health insurance premiums," she added.

Pandas and public debt

Takaichi has however not had everything her own way, in particular with regard to worries about her stewardship of the public finances of Asia's number-two economy.
She followed up a $135-billion stimulus package aimed at easing the pain of inflation -- a big cause of voter discontent -- with a campaign promise to suspend a consumption tax on food.
Japan's debts are more than twice the size of the entire economy, and in recent weeks yields on long-dated bonds have hit record highs while the yen has seesawed.
Barely two weeks in office, Takaichi -- seen before assuming the premiership as a China hawk -- suggested that Japan could intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take self-ruled Taiwan by force.
China regards the democratic island as part of its territory and has not ruled out force to annex it.
With Takaichi having days earlier pulled out all the stops to welcome US President Donald Trump, Bejing's reaction to her unscripted remarks was furious.
It summoned Tokyo's ambassador, warned its citizens against visiting Japan and conducted joint air drills with Russia. Last month, Japan's two last pandas were even returned to China.
Trump has not publicly weighed in on the spat but last week endorsed Takaichi as a "strong, powerful, and wise Leader, and one that truly loves her Country".
Margarita Estevez-Abe, associate professor of political science at Syracuse University, said that the China episode raised Takaichi's popularity even more.
"Now she doesn't have to worry about any elections until 2028, when the next upper house elections will take place," Estevez-Abe told AFP.
"So the best scenario for Japan is that Takaichi kind of takes a deep breath and focuses on amending the relationship with China."
bur-stu/ami

Germany

Demonstrators in Berlin call for fall of Iran's Islamic republic

  • The demonstrations followed protests in Iran that began at the end of December.
  • Several thousand demonstrators rallied in Berlin on Saturday calling for an end to Iran's clerical-led government and its bloody repression of protests.
  • The demonstrations followed protests in Iran that began at the end of December.
Several thousand demonstrators rallied in Berlin on Saturday calling for an end to Iran's clerical-led government and its bloody repression of protests.
Police said 10,000 people had attended one protest at the city's Brandenburg Gate organised by the MEK, an exiled opposition group considered "terrorist" by Tehran.
Another demonstration, this one organised by supporters of Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of the last shah of Iran, attracted 1,600 people, said police. They marched along a major avenue, carrying shah-era Iranian flags as well as US, German and Israeli ones.
The demonstrations followed protests in Iran that began at the end of December. Triggered by economic malaise in the sanctions-hit country, they spiralled into anti-government street demonstrations in January.
They were countered by a crackdown by the security forces, which rights groups say killed thousands of people.
Iran is currently engaged in talks with the United States to stave off threatened military action. US President Donald Trump has deployed a naval battle group and wants Tehran to end nuclear enrichment, curb the range of its ballistic missiles, and ease its repression.

Rival opposition groups

The Berlin rally by the MEK featured Charles Michel, the former president of the EU's European Council, and Peter Altmaier, former German economy minister. Mike Pompeo, the United States' former secretary of state, also addressed the crowd by video.
The opposition group seeks to portray itself as a leading Iranian opposition force. But it is reviled by many Iranians for having fought on Iraq's side against Iran in a war in the 1980s. 
Reza Pahlavi, whose name and photos have featured in Iranian protests, is also vying to be seen as an opposition figurehead, distinct from the MEK. He has, in interviews in the United States and on social media, urged Iranians to "be ready" for more protests.
At the MEK-organised demonstration at the Brandenburg Gate one participant, Samin Sabet, a 40-year-old hotel employee, said Iran should have free and fair elections.
"We don't want a dictatorships, nor a monarchy," she told AFP.
Another demonstrator, Iraj Abedini, a 61-year-old psychologist who left Iran four decades ago, said he was there "to support the Iranian people" after "having lost two nephews in the January protests" in the Iranian city of Isfahan.
He predicted that the Iran-US talks, hosted by Oman, "will go nowhere".
"The Iranian regime is trying to use the negotiations to stay in power. And the US government, which has other plans, doesn't support the Iranian people," he said.
clp/rmb/jj

conflict

Over 2,200 IS detainees transferred to Iraq from Syria: Iraqi official

  • A Kurdish military source confirmed to AFP the "continued transfer of ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq under the protection of the international coalition", using another name for IS. On Saturday, an AFP photographer near the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria saw a US military convoy and 11 buses with tinted windows.
  • Iraq has so far received 2,225 Islamic State group detainees, whom the US military began transferring from Syria last month, an Iraqi official told AFP on Saturday.
  • A Kurdish military source confirmed to AFP the "continued transfer of ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq under the protection of the international coalition", using another name for IS. On Saturday, an AFP photographer near the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria saw a US military convoy and 11 buses with tinted windows.
Iraq has so far received 2,225 Islamic State group detainees, whom the US military began transferring from Syria last month, an Iraqi official told AFP on Saturday.
They are among up to 7,000 IS detainees whose transfer from Syria to Iraq the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced last month, in a move it said was aimed at "ensuring that the terrorists remain in secure detention facilities".
Previously, they had been held in prisons and camps administered by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria.
The announcement of the transfer plan last month came after US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack declared that the SDF's role in confronting IS had come to an end.
Saad Maan, head of the security information cell attached to the Iraqi prime minister's office, told AFP on Saturday that "Iraq has received 2,225 terrorists from the Syrian side by land and air, in coordination with the international coalition", which Washington has led since 2014 to fight IS.
He said they are being held in "strict, regular detention centres".
A Kurdish military source confirmed to AFP the "continued transfer of ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq under the protection of the international coalition", using another name for IS.
On Saturday, an AFP photographer near the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria saw a US military convoy and 11 buses with tinted windows.

Iraq calls for repatriation

IS seized swathes of northern and western Iraq starting in 2014, until Iraqi forces, backed by the international coalition, managed to defeat it in 2017.
Iraq is still recovering from the severe abuses committed by the jihadists.
In recent years, Iraqi courts have issued death and life sentences against those convicted of terrorism offences.
Thousands of Iraqis and foreign nationals convicted of membership in the group are incarcerated in Iraqi prisons.
On Monday, the Iraqi judiciary announced it had begun investigative procedures involving 1,387 detainees it received as part of the US military's operation.
In a statement to the Iraqi News Agency on Saturday, Maan said "the established principle is to try all those involved in crimes against Iraqis and those belonging to the terrorist ISIS organisation before the competent Iraqi courts".
Among the detainees being transferred to Iraq are Syrians, Iraqis, Europeans and holders of other nationalities, according to Iraqi security sources.
Iraq is calling on the concerned countries to repatriate their citizens and ensure their prosecution.
Maan noted that "the process of handing over the terrorists to their countries will begin once the legal requirements are completed".
ak-cbg/ris/amj

environment

Spain, Portugal brace for fresh storm after flood deaths

BY JORGE GUERRERO

  • Fresh rainfall Saturday in Andalusia comes on top of downpours which caused mass flooding, landslides and the evacuation of more than 10,000 people from their homes.
  • Spain and Portugal on Saturday braced for another storm heading for the Iberian peninsula, just days after the floods caused by Storm Leonardo proved fatal in both countries. 
  • Fresh rainfall Saturday in Andalusia comes on top of downpours which caused mass flooding, landslides and the evacuation of more than 10,000 people from their homes.
Spain and Portugal on Saturday braced for another storm heading for the Iberian peninsula, just days after the floods caused by Storm Leonardo proved fatal in both countries. 
The latest depression, christened Storm Marta, has prompted the deployment of more than 26,500 rescuers in Portugal, where the foul weather has led three municipalities to postpone Sunday's presidential vote till next week.
Both countries have issued warnings over the potential fresh floods, after inundations blocked hundreds of roads, disrupted trains and forced thousands to evacuate from the rising waters. 
In Spain, much of the country's south, particularly Andalusia, was placed on orange alert on Saturday, as was the north-west facing heavy rain and violent storms, said national meteorological agency Aemet. 
But Aemet added it expected the rainfall to be less "exceptional" than seen in recent days during the Leonardo depression, which authorities say claimed two lives, including a woman swept away by a river in Andalusia and whose body was found on Friday.
Fresh rainfall Saturday in Andalusia comes on top of downpours which caused mass flooding, landslides and the evacuation of more than 10,000 people from their homes.
"The rivers have hit their limit," warned Juan Manuel Moreno, president of the Andalusia region, on X.
Many roads remained closed as a precaution and rail traffic is largely suspended, according to the authorities, who have called on the population to limit their travel as much as possible.
Mario Silvestre, commander in Portugal's civil protection agency, warned that the forecast was "extremely worrying", as quoted by the Lusa press agency.
His organisation fears gusts of wind reaching 110 kilometres (68 miles) per hour after Marta reaches the Portuguese coastline, along with landslides and flash floods. 
"All the furniture is completely destroyed, the water broke the window, forced the doors open and then burst through the window from the other side," Francisco Marques, a municipal employee in the central village of Constancia, told AFP.
After flying over flood-hit areas in southern Spain near Cadiz on Friday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that "difficult days" lay ahead for the region as a result of the "very dangerous" weather forecast.
Sanchez added he was "bowled over at seeing the endless rain." 
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro warned the damage exceeded four billion euros ($4.7 billion). 
Portugal was already reeling from the effects of Storm Kristin, which led to the deaths of five people, injured hundreds and left tens of thousands without power, when Leonardo hit earlier this week.
Portugal's National Meteorological Institute (IPMA) has placed the entire coastline on orange alert due to heavy sea conditions, with waves reaching up to 13 metres high.
Eight of the 18 districts on the mainland, located in the centre and south of the country, are also on orange alert.
"All river basins remain under severe pressure," particularly the Tagus River in the Lisbon region and the Sado River further south, a spokesperson for the National Civil Protection Authority told AFP.
One person died during the passage of Storm Leonardo earlier this week and 1,100 people were evacuated across the country, according to the authorities.
A succession of atmospheric depressions saw Portugal's dams release "a volume of water equivalent to the country's annual consumption" in just three days, said Jose Pimenta Machado, president of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), on Friday.
Several hundred kilometres (miles) further south, Morocco has also also been hit by a series of violent storms, which have displaced 150,000 people in the north-west of the country in recent days.
Scientists say human-driven climate change is increasing the length, intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, such as the floods and heatwaves that have struck both countries in recent years.
rbj-rs-tsc-lf-mig/sbk/cw/ach 

Global Edition

Crypto firm accidentally sends $40 bn in bitcoin to users

  • Bithumb said it accidentally sent 620,000 bitcoins, currently worth more than $40 billion, and blocked trading and withdrawals for the 695 affected users within 35 minutes after the error occurred on Friday.
  • A South Korean cryptocurrency exchange apologised on Saturday after mistakenly transferring more than $40 billion worth of bitcoin to users, which briefly prompted a selloff on the platform.
  • Bithumb said it accidentally sent 620,000 bitcoins, currently worth more than $40 billion, and blocked trading and withdrawals for the 695 affected users within 35 minutes after the error occurred on Friday.
A South Korean cryptocurrency exchange apologised on Saturday after mistakenly transferring more than $40 billion worth of bitcoin to users, which briefly prompted a selloff on the platform.
Bithumb said it accidentally sent 620,000 bitcoins, currently worth more than $40 billion, and blocked trading and withdrawals for the 695 affected users within 35 minutes after the error occurred on Friday.
According to local reports, Bithumb was meant to send about 2,000 won ($1.37) to each customer as part of a promotion, but mistakenly transferred roughly 2,000 bitcoins per user.
"We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to our customers due to the confusion that occurred during the distribution process of this (promotional) event," Bithumb said in a statement.
The platform said it had recovered 99.7 percent of the mistakenly sent bitcoins, and that it would use its own assets to fully cover the amount that was lost in the incident.
It admitted the error briefly caused "sharp volatility" in bitcoin prices on the platform as some recipients sold the tokens, adding that it brought the situation under control within five minutes.
Its charts showed the token's prices briefly went down 17 percent to 81.1 million won on the platform late Friday.
In a separate statement released later on Saturday, Bithumb said some trades were executed at unfavourable prices for users due to a price drop during the incident Friday, including "panic selling".
The platform said it would compensate affected customers, covering the full price difference as well as a 10-percent bonus.
It estimated losses at about 1 billion won.
The platform earlier stressed that the incident was "unrelated to external hacking or security breaches".
Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, sank this week, wiping out gains sparked by US President Donald Trump's presidential election victory in November 2024.
cdl/ami

mosque

Thousands gather as Pakistan buries victims of mosque suicide attack

BY SHROUQ TARIQ

  • City officials said 31 people were killed and another 169 were wounded in the explosion at the Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra mosque on the city's outskirts.
  • Thousands gathered on Saturday for the funerals of victims of a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque that killed 31 people and wounded 169 others in Pakistan's capital. 
  • City officials said 31 people were killed and another 169 were wounded in the explosion at the Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra mosque on the city's outskirts.
Thousands gathered on Saturday for the funerals of victims of a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque that killed 31 people and wounded 169 others in Pakistan's capital. 
Friday's attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State group, was the deadliest in Islamabad since the 2008 Marriott hotel bombing.
City officials said 31 people were killed and another 169 were wounded in the explosion at the Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra mosque on the city's outskirts. The death toll was expected to rise.
Tearful mourners gathered at locations across Islamabad to bury the dead.
"What happened yesterday has left us extremely angry and deeply hurt," Bushra Rahmani, whose brother was among the wounded, said at one funeral.
Syed Jamil Hussain Shah, a 45-year-old resident of the capital, said: "Whatever happened was completely wrong and against humanity."
Officials including a senior police officer in Pakistan's northwest said on Saturday that some of the bomber's relatives had been arrested.
The officer, who did not give his name, said the attacker was from Peshawar, the capital of the violence-racked western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and that some of his relatives had been living in Nowshera on the road to the capital for several years.
A security official told AFP on the condition of anonymity that the attacker's mother was taken into custody in an upmarket neighbourhood of Islamabad, and that his brother and others were also arrested in different parts of the country.
Officials did not specify on what charges they had been arrested or how many people had been taken into custody.

Bodies, bloodied clothing

The blast occurred during Friday prayers, when mosques are packed with worshippers. A security source told AFP that the attacker blew himself up after he was stopped at the mosque's gate.
A worshipper, Imran Mahmood, told AFP that there was a gunfight between the bomber and volunteer security personnel.
"He then detonated the explosives", Mahmood said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the blast and vowed that those responsible would be found and brought to justice.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar branded it "a heinous crime against humanity and a blatant violation of Islamic principles".
AFP journalists at a major hospital on Friday afternoon saw several people, including children, being carried in on stretchers or by their arms and legs.
Medics and bystanders helped unload victims with blood-soaked clothes from the back of ambulances and vehicles as friends and relatives of the wounded wept and screamed.
Heavily armed security forces guarded the mosque, where pools of blood were visible on the ground.
Videos shared on social media, which AFP was not able to verify immediately, showed several bodies lying near the mosque's front gate, with people and debris also strewn across the red-carpeted prayer hall.

Growing insurgencies

The attack comes as Pakistan's security forces battle intensifying insurgencies in southern and northern provinces that border Afghanistan.
Pakistan is a Sunni-majority nation, but Shiites make up between 10 and 15 percent of the population and have been targeted in attacks throughout the region in the past.
The last major attack in Islamabad was in November, when a suicide blast outside a court killed 12 people and wounded dozens, the first such incident to hit the capital in nearly three years.
In Balochistan in the southwest, attacks claimed by separatist insurgents last week killed 36 civilians and 22 security personnel, prompting a wave of counter-operations in which authorities said almost 200 militants were killed.
Friday's attack was the deadliest in Islamabad since September 2008, when 60 people were killed in a suicide truck bomb blast that destroyed part of the five-star Marriott hotel.
bur-stm/pbt

Global Edition

Takaichi talks tough on immigration on eve of vote

BY KYOKO HASEGAWA

  • Immigration screening "has already become a little stricter, so that terrorists, and also industrial spies, cannot enter easily," Takaichi said Saturday.
  • Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged Saturday to make Japan "more prosperous and safer", including through tougher immigration screening, in a final appeal to voters on the eve of snap elections.
  • Immigration screening "has already become a little stricter, so that terrorists, and also industrial spies, cannot enter easily," Takaichi said Saturday.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged Saturday to make Japan "more prosperous and safer", including through tougher immigration screening, in a final appeal to voters on the eve of snap elections.
Opinion polls suggest that Takaichi's ruling bloc, led by the Liberal Democratic Party, could romp home in Sunday's vote and secure a two-thirds majority in the powerful lower house.
"Pushing the button for growth is the Takaichi cabinet's job. Japan will become more and more prosperous and safer," Takaichi, 64, told a campaign rally attended by thousands in Tokyo.
"This is the year in which we want to turn the anxieties people feel about their lives today and about the future into hope," she said.
The arch-conservative Takaichi, a heavy metal drummer in her youth and an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, became Japan's fifth premier in as many years in October.
This followed a string of calamitous elections for the once-mighty Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), leaving it short of a majority in both houses of parliament.
With ordinary Japanese, especially younger ones, Takaichi has enjoyed sky-high popularity ratings, becoming something of a fashion icon and a hit on social media.
Her tough talk on immigration appears, for now, to have slowed the sharp rise of the populist "Japanese first" Sanseito party, which did well in upper house elections last year.
Immigration screening "has already become a little stricter, so that terrorists, and also industrial spies, cannot enter easily," Takaichi said Saturday.
"We must properly examine whether (foreigners) are paying taxes, whether they are paying their health insurance premiums," Takaichi said.
She added that she wanted "a Japanese archipelago where, no matter where you live, you can live safely, where you can receive the medical care and welfare support you need, where you can receive high-quality education, and where proper workplaces and jobs exist."
"But in order to do that, we have to make the economy stronger. Healthcare costs money. Welfare costs money. Education also requires investment. So we must build a strong economy," she said.

'Strong mandate'

Surveys ahead of the election indicate -- with some caution due to undecided voters -- that the LDP will easily win more than the 233 seats needed to regain a majority.
Together with the LDP's coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), Takaichi's ruling bloc could even win a two-thirds majority.
The last time this happened was in 2017 under assasisinated ex-premier Shinzo Abe -- Takaichi's mentor.
The new Centrist Reform Alliance of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) and the LDP's previous partner Komeito could shed half of their 167 seats.
"I came just to have a look at her. I think she is amazing," said Yuka Ando, 17, a high-school student who came with her mother to the rally despite the cold weather that has dumped heavy snow across northern Japan.
"As she is the first woman PM, it makes her look special, too. Thanks to her, I became interested in politics," Ando told AFP.
Jeff Kingston, professor of history at Temple University Japan, told AFP he expects Takaichi's gamble of calling elections to pay off.
"She will gain a strong mandate and probably a standalone majority that will help her enact an ambitious array of economic and security reforms," he said. 

China watching

China though, will be watching.
When she was barely two weeks in office, Takaichi suggested that Japan would intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take self-ruled Taiwan by force.
China has never ruled democratic Taiwan, but Beijing claims the island as part of its territory and has not ruled out force to annex it.
China summoned Tokyo's ambassador, warned its citizens against visiting Japan and conducted joint air drills with Russia around the archipelago. 
Takaichi's economic policies, including a $135-billion stimulus package, have also worried investors.
Last month, yields on long-term Japanese bonds hit record highs after Takaichi pledged temporarily to exempt food from a consumption tax to ease the pain of inflation on households.
kh-stu/lb

diplomacy

Trump says US talks with Iran 'very good', more negotiations expected

BY BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI WITH AYA ISKANDARANI IN MUSCAT AND STUART WILLIAMS IN PARIS

  • "We likewise had very good talks on Iran," Trump told reporters on board Air Force One en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. 
  • US President Donald Trump said that Washington had "very good talks" on Iran after the two sides held an indirect dialogue in Oman, pledging another round of negotiations next week.
  • "We likewise had very good talks on Iran," Trump told reporters on board Air Force One en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. 
US President Donald Trump said that Washington had "very good talks" on Iran after the two sides held an indirect dialogue in Oman, pledging another round of negotiations next week.
Iran for its part said it expected to hold more negotiations with the United States, hailing a "positive atmosphere" during a day of talks in the Gulf sultanate.
With an American naval group led by an aircraft carrier in Middle Eastern waters, US and Iranian delegations held talks in Muscat on Friday mediated by Oman without publicly meeting face-to-face.
"We likewise had very good talks on Iran," Trump told reporters on board Air Force One en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. 
"We're going to meet again early next week," he added.
Shortly after the talks concluded, the US announced new sanctions against shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran's oil exports.
Trump also signed an executive order Friday enabling his administration to impose tariffs on goods from countries doing business with Iran, with any potential levies threatening trade with countries including China, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. 
It was not clear if the moves were linked to the talks, which were the first between the two foes since the United States joined Israel's war with Iran in June with strikes on its nuclear sites. 
While Iran warned against further threats after Washington raised the spectre of new military action, Trump said: "If they don't make a deal, the consequences are very steep."
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led Iran's delegation in Muscat, said talks "focused exclusively" on the Iranian nuclear program, which the West believes is aimed at making an atomic bomb but Tehran insists is peaceful.
The US delegation, led by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's influential son-in-law Jared Kushner, had also wanted Tehran's backing for militant groups, its ballistic missile program and treatment of protesters on the agenda.
"In a very positive atmosphere, our arguments were exchanged and the views of the other side were shared with us," Araghchi told Iranian state TV, adding that the two sides had "agreed to continue negotiations."
Speaking to the official IRNA news agency, Araghchi expressed hope that Washington would refrain from "threats and pressure" so that "the talks can continue."

'Destabilising power'

Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of US Central Command, was present at the talks, according to images published by the Oman News Agency.
Multiple sessions of talks in the morning and afternoon involved both sides shuttling to and from the residence of Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi.
The foreign ministry of US ally Qatar expressed hope the talks would "lead to a comprehensive agreement that serves the interests of both parties and enhances security and stability in the region."
The White House has made clear it wants the talks to rein in Tehran's ability to make a nuclear weapon, an ambition the Islamic republic has always denied.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Friday that Iran should stop being a "destabilising power," citing its nuclear program and support for "terrorist" groups.
Barrot also called on "groups supported by Iran" to exert "the utmost restraint" in the event of any military escalation involving the Islamic republic.
Tehran provides support for numerous groups in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen and various armed groups in Iraq.

'Maximum pressure'

Trump initially threatened military action against Tehran over its crackdown on protesters last month, which rights groups say killed thousands, and even told demonstrators "help is on its way".
Regional powers including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar urged the United States not to intervene, calling on Washington and Tehran to instead return to talks.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said Friday it has confirmed 6,505 protesters were killed, as well as 214 members of the security forces and 61 bystanders.
Those numbers are expected to climb because the magnitude of the crackdown has been masked by the blanket internet shutdown imposed by the authorities for more than a fortnight, rights groups say. 
At 51,000 people have been arrested amid "the growing use of forced confessions," according to HRANA.
Trump's rhetoric in recent days, however, has focused on reining in the Iranian nuclear program and the US has moved a naval group led by aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln into the region.
Iran has repeatedly vowed it will hit back at US bases in the region if attacked.
The new sanctions to curb Iran's oil exports come with Trump "committed to driving down the Iranian regime's illicit oil and petrochemical exports under the administration's maximum pressure campaign," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
sjw/nro/jfx/dcp

crime

China overturns death sentence for Canadian in drug case

  • The Canadian official requested anonymity in confirming the decision by China's highest court to overturn Schellenberg's death sentence.
  • China has overturned the death sentence of Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, a Canadian official told AFP Friday, in a possible sign of a diplomatic thaw as Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to boost trade ties with Beijing.
  • The Canadian official requested anonymity in confirming the decision by China's highest court to overturn Schellenberg's death sentence.
China has overturned the death sentence of Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, a Canadian official told AFP Friday, in a possible sign of a diplomatic thaw as Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to boost trade ties with Beijing.
Schellenberg's lawyer Zhang Dongshuo, reached by AFP over the phone in Beijing on Saturday, confirmed the decision was announced Friday by China's highest court.
Schellenberg was detained on drug charges in 2014 before China–Canada ties nosedived following the 2018 arrest in Vancouver of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.
That arrest infuriated Beijing, which detained two Canadians -- Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig -- on espionage charges that Ottawa condemned as retaliatory.
Then, in January 2019, a court in northeast China retried Schellenberg, who was 36 at the time, sentencing him to death while declaring that his 15‑year prison term for drug trafficking had been too lenient.
The court said he had been a central player in a scheme to ship narcotics to Australia, in a one-day retrial that Amnesty International called "a flagrant violation of international law."
Schellenberg has denied wrongdoing.
The Canadian official requested anonymity in confirming the decision by China's highest court to overturn Schellenberg's death sentence.
Schellenberg, who has been held in northeastern Dalian since 2014, will be retried by the Liaoning High People's Court, his lawyer Zhang said. The timing for the retrial has not yet been set.
Zhang said he met with Schellenberg in Dalian on Friday, and said the Canadian appeared relatively relaxed.
Carney, who took office last year, visited China in January as part of his global effort to broaden Canada's export markets to reduce trade reliance on the United States.
"Global Affairs Canada (GAC) is aware of a decision issued by the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China in Mr. Robert Schellenberg's case," foreign ministry spokesperson Thida Ith said in a statement sent to AFP.
Ith said the ministry "will continue to provide consular services to Mr. Schellenberg and to his family," adding: "Canada has advocated for clemency in this case, as it does for all Canadians who are sentenced to the death penalty."

New partners

Key sectors of the Canadian economy have been hammered by US President Donald Trump's tariffs, and Carney has said Canada can no longer count on the United States as a reliable trading partner.
Carney says that despite ongoing tensions, including allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian elections, Ottawa needs a functioning relationship with Beijing to safeguard its economic future.
When in Beijing last month, Carney met Chinese President Xi Jinping and heralded an improved era in relations -- saying the two countries had struck a "new strategic partnership" and a preliminary trade deal.
Global Affairs Canada did not comment on whether diplomacy during Carney's visit related to Schellenberg's case impacted the Chinese court decision.
"Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be provided," Ith said.
Schellenberg's lawyer Zhang said Carney's visit raised his hopes that the Chinese court would announce a relatively positive outcome for his client.
Meng, who had initially been charged with scheming to evade US sanctions on Iran, was freed in September 2021.
Spavor and Kovrig were released the same month.
bs/nro/mya/abs

conflict

A tale of two villages: Cambodians lament Thailand's border gains

BY SUY SE AND MONTIRA RUNGJIRAJITTRANON

  • Phnom Penh says Thai forces captured several areas in border provinces and has demanded their withdrawal, while Bangkok insists it has merely reclaimed land that was part of Thailand and had been occupied by Cambodians for years.
  • A sign hanging from a rusty ice-green shipping container installed by Thai forces on what they say is the border with Cambodia proclaims: "Cambodian citizens are strictly prohibited from entering this area."
  • Phnom Penh says Thai forces captured several areas in border provinces and has demanded their withdrawal, while Bangkok insists it has merely reclaimed land that was part of Thailand and had been occupied by Cambodians for years.
A sign hanging from a rusty ice-green shipping container installed by Thai forces on what they say is the border with Cambodia proclaims: "Cambodian citizens are strictly prohibited from entering this area."
On opposite sides of the makeshift barricade, fronted by coils of barbed wire, Cambodians lamented their lost homes and livelihoods as Thailand's military showed off its gains.
Thai forces took control of several patches of disputed land along the border during fighting last year, which could amount to several square kilometres (square miles) in total.
Cambodian Kim Ren said her house in Chouk Chey used to stand on what is now the Thai side of the barricade, and was bulldozed by Bangkok's forces after a ceasefire agreement in December.
"The Thais reset us to zero. We don't have any more hope," she told AFP this week.
Just to the north, where the village is known as Ban Nong Chan, Thai soldiers stood guard in front of an excavator filling a truck with debris during a military-organised media tour.
Kim Ren is among more than 1,200 families from her village and Prey Chan, another contested location, who have been staying at a temple shelter for weeks, according to local authorities.
Blue tents donated by China are packed into the grounds of the pagoda 20 kilometres (12 miles) to the south, where residents manage as best they can with the meagre goods they have managed to salvage.
"Now the Thai thieves have seized everything," said Kim Ren -- her land, $30,000 worth of grocery inventory and the $50,000 house she built after moving to the area and buying a plot of land for $40 in 1993.

'People still live here'

The neighbouring countries' century-old border conflict stems from a dispute over the French colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometre (500-mile) frontier.
The dispute erupted into several rounds of clashes last year, killing dozens of people, including soldiers and civilians, and displacing more than a million in July and December.
Phnom Penh says Thai forces captured several areas in border provinces and has demanded their withdrawal, while Bangkok insists it has merely reclaimed land that was part of Thailand and had been occupied by Cambodians for years.
Thai flags flapped in the breeze and barbed wire lay scattered in Klong Paeng, another border village on the Thai military trip.
Army spokesman Winthai Suvaree said Thai forces had "reclaimed" around 64 hectares in the village in December.
The operation "required careful action because people still live here", he added.
Farmer Pongsri Rapan, 60, said she lost all her belongings except a wardrobe when her house was destroyed by shelling, but told reporters: "I'm not scared because the army is around me."
She had "many good Cambodian friends", she added, and was "sorry our armies are fighting".
Thai farmers were expected to benefit from the land newly brought under the military's control once its allocation was finalised, a senior officer told AFP.

'Robbed us'

Thailand welcomed Cambodian war refugees to the border area after the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime fell in 1979.
Some Cambodian families remained long after.
At the temple shelter, 67-year-old farmer Sok Chork said he settled in Prey Chan in 1980, when the area was landmine-infested and undeveloped.
"When it was forest, it was not theirs. But after Cambodians built concrete homes, they said it was their land," he told AFP.
The Thais "just robbed us of everything", he said, adding his home had been bulldozed.
Prey Chan saw a stand-off in September between several hundred Cambodians who tried to pull down barbed wire as Thai forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas.
The Thai flag flies on the other side of the barricades, where the village is called Ban Ya Nong Kaew.
Thai Anupong Kannongha said his house was nearly levelled by shelling, with only its charred roof and cement structure remaining.
Cambodia "did this to us", he said. 
"It really hurts my feelings."
suy-tak-sco/slb/ami/abs

child

Police identify suspect in disappearance of Australian boy

  • The mystery of the missing boy grabbed headlines across the country but police now say they are treating it as a "major crime", not a missing person case.
  • The baffling disappearance of a fair-haired, little boy from a remote Australian farm has been declared a major crime, with detectives pointing the finger at a suspect in his home.
  • The mystery of the missing boy grabbed headlines across the country but police now say they are treating it as a "major crime", not a missing person case.
The baffling disappearance of a fair-haired, little boy from a remote Australian farm has been declared a major crime, with detectives pointing the finger at a suspect in his home.
Police say they launched the largest search in the history of South Australia when four-year-old Gus Lamont was reported missing in late September from his family's Oak Park Station in the outback north of Adelaide.
The mystery of the missing boy grabbed headlines across the country but police now say they are treating it as a "major crime", not a missing person case.
"Every police officer and civilian was invested in the search and had only one focus -- to find Gus and return him to his parents," Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke said Thursday.
Despite hundreds of people, including police, emergency services, army, Indigenous trackers and volunteers searching for the boy, he has not been found.
"We don't believe now that Gus is alive," Fielke said.
Police said there was "no evidence, physical or otherwise" to suggest Gus had wandered off. They found no evidence, either, that he may have been abducted.
Investigators were focused on the possibility that someone who knew Gus may be involved in his disappearance.
After reviewing evidence from family members, police said they had found "a number of inconsistencies and discrepancies" in relation to the timelines and versions of events.
"As a result of these inconsistencies and investigations into them, a person who resides at Oak Park Station has withdrawn their support for the police and is no longer cooperating with us," Fielke said.
That person "is now considered a suspect in the disappearance".
The detective stressed that Gus's parents are not suspects.
The day after the police's announcement, lawyers for the boy's grandparents, Josie and Shannon Murray, released a statement to Australian media saying they were "absolutely devastated" by the development.
"The family has cooperated fully with the investigation and want nothing more than to find Gus and reunite him with his mum and dad," the grandparents said Friday, according to local media.
djw/lb

diplomacy

Cuba adopts urgent measures to address energy crisis: minister

  • Among the new measures are the reduction of the working week in state-owned companies to four days, from Monday to Thursday; restrictions on fuel sales; a reduction in bus and train services between provinces; and the closure of certain tourist establishments. 
  • The Cuban government on Friday announced emergency measures to address a crippling energy crisis worsened by US sanctions, including the adoption of a four-day work week for state-owned companies and fuel sale restrictions.
  • Among the new measures are the reduction of the working week in state-owned companies to four days, from Monday to Thursday; restrictions on fuel sales; a reduction in bus and train services between provinces; and the closure of certain tourist establishments. 
The Cuban government on Friday announced emergency measures to address a crippling energy crisis worsened by US sanctions, including the adoption of a four-day work week for state-owned companies and fuel sale restrictions.
Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga blamed Washington for the crisis, telling Cuban television the government would "implement a series of decisions, first and foremost to guarantee the vitality of our country and essential services, without giving up on development."
"Fuel will be used to protect essential services for the population and indispensable economic activities," he said.
Among the new measures are the reduction of the working week in state-owned companies to four days, from Monday to Thursday; restrictions on fuel sales; a reduction in bus and train services between provinces; and the closure of certain tourist establishments. 
School days will also be made shorter and universities will reduce the requirement of in-person attendance.
These measures are intended to save fuel in order to promote "food and electricity production" and enable "the preservation of fundamental activities that generate foreign currency," said Perez-Oliva Fraga.
The island of 9.6 million inhabitants, under US economic embargo since 1962, has been mired in a severe economic crisis for six years. 
Washington has increased pressure on its communist government in recent weeks. 
The United States cut off oil deliveries from Havana's key ally Venezuela following its ouster of President Nicolas Maduro in early January. 
US President Donald Trump also signed an executive order last week allowing his country to impose tariffs on countries selling oil to Havana. 
Trump said that Mexico, which has been supplying Cuba with oil since 2023, would stop doing so -- under threat of US tariffs. 
The oil shortages have threatened to plunge Cuba into complete darkness, with power plants struggling to keep the lights on. 
Washington has long sought to overthrow or weaken the communist-led Cuban government.
Havana accuses Trump of wanting to "strangle" the island's economy, where power cuts and fuel shortages, already recurrent in recent years, have become even more acute. 
This week, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said his country was willing to hold talks with the United States, but not under pressure.
He said any talks must take place "from a position of equals, with respect for our sovereignty, our independence and our self-determination" and without "interference in our internal affairs."
rd/jb/lgo/aha/sla

Bondi

Police warn Sydney protesters ahead of Israeli president's visit

  • Critics have accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's centre-left government of moving too slowly to protect Jewish Australians ahead of the Bondi Beach shooting despite a rise in antisemitic attacks since 2023.
  • Australian authorities warned protesters to avoid violence in Sydney's streets when Israeli President Isaac Herzog visits on Monday to honour victims of the Bondi Beach mass shooting.
  • Critics have accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's centre-left government of moving too slowly to protect Jewish Australians ahead of the Bondi Beach shooting despite a rise in antisemitic attacks since 2023.
Australian authorities warned protesters to avoid violence in Sydney's streets when Israeli President Isaac Herzog visits on Monday to honour victims of the Bondi Beach mass shooting.
Police say they will deploy in large numbers for the Israeli head of state's visit following the December 14 attack on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration that killed 15 people.
"It's really important that there's no clashes or violence on the streets in Sydney," New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told reporters on Saturday.
"Our clear message is in an unambiguous way that we're hoping that people can remain calm and respectful during that presidential visit."
The state premier promised a "massive policing presence" in Sydney on Monday afternoon.
State police declared the Sydney visit to be a "major event", a designation that allows them to separate different groups to reduce the risk of confrontation.
Herzog has said he will "express solidarity and offer strength" to the Jewish community in Australia during his four-day visit, which starts Monday.
The trip has been welcomed by many Jewish Australians.
"His visit will lift the spirits of a pained community," said Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the community's peak body.
Pro-Palestinian activists have called for protests nationwide, however, including in parts of central Sydney where police have refused to authorise demonstrations under new powers granted after the Bondi Beach attack.

'Full immunity'

Amnesty International Australia has also urged supporters to rally for an end to "genocide" against Palestinians, and urged Herzog be investigated for alleged war crimes.
High-profile Australian human rights lawyer Chris Sidoti -- a member of a UN-established inquiry into rights abuses in Israel and the Palestinian territories -- called this week for Herzog's invitation to be withdrawn, or for his arrest on arrival.
The UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry found in 2025 that Herzog "incited the commission of genocide" by saying all Palestinians -- "an entire nation" -- were responsible for the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
Australia's federal police have ruled out an arrest, with senior officials telling lawmakers this week that they received legal advice Herzog had "full immunity" covering civil and criminal matters, including genocide.
Critics have accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's centre-left government of moving too slowly to protect Jewish Australians ahead of the Bondi Beach shooting despite a rise in antisemitic attacks since 2023.
Alleged Bondi Beach gunman Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack.
An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.
His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen who remains in prison, has been charged with terrorism and 15 murders.
djw/abs

diplomacy

Bolivia wants closer US ties, without alienating China: minister

BY JOSé ARTURO CáRDENAS

  • Aramayo ruled out having to choose between close ties with Washington or Beijing, saying that the Andean nation needed to engage in dialogue "with everyone."
  • Bolivia's new government plans to restore full diplomatic ties with Washington "as soon as possible," after a nearly two-decade rupture, Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo told AFP. Relations between Washington and the Andean nation were frosty during the rule of the country's longtime socialist leader Evo Morales.
  • Aramayo ruled out having to choose between close ties with Washington or Beijing, saying that the Andean nation needed to engage in dialogue "with everyone."
Bolivia's new government plans to restore full diplomatic ties with Washington "as soon as possible," after a nearly two-decade rupture, Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo told AFP.
Relations between Washington and the Andean nation were frosty during the rule of the country's longtime socialist leader Evo Morales.
In 2008, Morales expelled the US ambassador, after accusing him of conspiring against his government.
Washington responded in kind.
Eighteen years later, the country's new center-right President Rodrigo Paz is on a mission to redraw his country's alliances.
On Wednesday, Aramayo met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington to discuss reinstating ambassadors.
"The idea is to finalize this as soon as possible," Aramayo told AFP in a video interview Thursday evening from the US capital.
As part of the rapprochement, Bolivia has said it supports the return of the US Drug Enforcement Administration to help fight cocaine production in the world's third-biggest producer of the drug.
The challenge for Paz's government is to warm ties with Washington without sacrificing relations with Bolivia's biggest bilateral creditor, China.
Beijing has ploughed over $1.2 billion into building roads and mining infrastructure in lithium-rich Bolivia.
Aramayo ruled out having to choose between close ties with Washington or Beijing, saying that the Andean nation needed to engage in dialogue "with everyone."
That includes arch-foe Chile, to which Bolivia lost its entire Pacific coastline in a 19th century war.
Aramayo said that while Bolivia would not renounce its claim over its sea access, it "had every desire" to restore full ties with its neighbor.
Morales looms large over Bolivia's new government, which has vowed a radical break with the statist policies of the socialists.
He is wanted for human trafficking over his alleged sexual relationship with a minor -- an accusation he denies.
The coca growers' leader, who served three terms between 2006 and 2019, has been in hiding in his central Bolivian stronghold of Chapare since late 2024.
His supporters fear he could be arrested and extradited to the United States on drug trafficking charges, following in the footsteps of ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
Aramayo said that establishing Morales' whereabouts was "not a priority" for the government.
"Our priority is to govern, restore confidence and consolidate economic stability," he said.
jac/sf/cb/ksb

Sports

Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics open with dazzling ceremony

BY TERRY DALEY IN CORTINA D'AMPEZZO

  • - Remarkable Vonn - Earlier Friday, Lindsey Vonn, the biggest star at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, passed a crucial test of her injured knee. 
  • The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics opened on Friday with a glittering ceremony at the San Siro stadium echoed by festivities at Games venues across the snow-capped Italian Alps.
  • - Remarkable Vonn - Earlier Friday, Lindsey Vonn, the biggest star at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, passed a crucial test of her injured knee. 
The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics opened on Friday with a glittering ceremony at the San Siro stadium echoed by festivities at Games venues across the snow-capped Italian Alps.
The extravaganza reflected the most geographically widespread Olympics in history.
It culminated in the lighting of two cauldrons, one at Milan's Arch of Peace and one in Cortina d'Ampezzo, the chic resort 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Milan that is hosting the women's alpine skiing.
Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni, two Italian skiing Olympic champions of the past, lit an intricate cauldron inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's knot patterns at Milan's Arch of Peace.
In the freezing mountain air of Cortina, the task fell to Sofia Goggia -- an Italian former gold medallist who had earlier taken part in a training run for the women's downhill event.
The ceremony in Milan showcased Italy's rich cultural heritage, with a nod to late fashion giant Giorgio Armani.
An otherwise harmonious event was punctuated by loud boos from the crowd when US Vice President JD Vance appeared on the big screen at the San Siro stadium.
But the US team received loud applause from spectators as they began their parade.
There has been anger in Italy over the presence of agents from the US immigration enforcement agency ICE as part of security for the American delegation, even though the Italian government has said the agents will not have any operational role on its soil.
Performers at the San Siro show wore outsized heads of the three great masters of Italian opera -- Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini and Gioachino Rossini while American diva Mariah Carey, in a white sequined dress with feathers, sang "Volare" in Italian and "Nothing is Impossible".
Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli got a rapturous reception after performing "Nessun Dorma" and dozens of models honoured Armani by streaming across the stage wearing red, green, and white trouser suits.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella declared the Games open after International Olympic Committee chief Kirsty Coventry told the competitors: "You remind us that we can be brave, that we can be kind, that we can get back up, no matter how hard we fall."
In a first, 2,900 athletes paraded in the venues closest to where they will compete in the February 6-22 Games, in a bid to minimise travel.

Remarkable Vonn

Earlier Friday, Lindsey Vonn, the biggest star at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, passed a crucial test of her injured knee. 
The American skier successfully completed her first training run for the women's downhill event, despite competing with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
It kept alive the 41-year-old's hopes of medal glory in Italy. 
Vonn won her only Olympic gold at the Vancouver Games, 16 years ago, but also has two bronze medals.
A top-three placing in Sunday's final would cap a remarkable comeback from retirement that has been elevated to extraordinary by the injury she suffered in a pre-Olympics race.
Wearing a knee brace, Vonn completed the run at Cortina without apparent difficulty.
Before skiing she posted on Instagram: "Nothing makes me happier! No one would have believed I would be here... but I made it!!... I'm not going to waste this chance."
Asked by reporters after the race if everything was "all good", Vonn responded simply "yeah".
Competitive action in the figure skating began, with defending champions the United States taking an early lead in the team event thanks to world champion ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates.
The men's downhill race, one of the prestige events, kicks off the first full day of action on Saturday.
China's freestyle skier Eileen Gu, one of the faces of the 2022 Games in Beijing, launches her bid for triple gold as the women's slopestyle gets underway at Livigno Snow Park. 
ea-gj/jw

rights

A French yoga teacher's 'hell' in a Venezuelan jail

BY PATRICK FORT

  • The middle of the night brought interrogation and torture sessions, he said, describing the various ways in which prison guards tried "to break us."
  • A French yoga teacher who was held in a blood and feces-stained Venezuelan jail on suspicion of being a US spy described how guards put him "through hell" in an attempt to break him.
  • The middle of the night brought interrogation and torture sessions, he said, describing the various ways in which prison guards tried "to break us."
A French yoga teacher who was held in a blood and feces-stained Venezuelan jail on suspicion of being a US spy described how guards put him "through hell" in an attempt to break him.
Camilo Castro, who has Chilean origins, was detained on June 26, 2025 after crossing into Venezuela from neighboring Colombia, where he lived.
His plan was to renew his Colombian visa by exiting and immediately re-entering the South American country.
But he was pounced upon by masked agents from Venezuela's intelligence services, who whisked him away to an underground prison in the oil city of Maracaibo.
His ordeal there provides an insight into conditions suffered by hundreds of dissidents over three decades of repression under ousted leader Nicolas Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez.
"They left me there all night, with damp walls, toilets in a deplorable state with hundreds of cockroaches and fecal matter that has built up over months," Castro recounted. 
Scanning the cell, he saw "several traces of blood on the walls" and a table "with different torture instruments."
The following day he was interrogated by a military intelligence agent, who told him he "didn't buy my story of a yoga teacher building a life for himself in Colombia. 
"He told me I was a spy and would spend several years in prison and that he had ways of 'opening me up' -- that that was his job," the 41-year-old said in a video interview from Paris. 

Propaganda on loop

From Maracaibo, the tall, soft-spoken Frenchman was transferred to Caracas, first to a military intelligence detention center and then to the Rodeo 1 prison east of Caracas, where dozens of political prisoners, including several foreigners, were held.
The Toulouse native said he was initially relieved to be separated from common-law prisoners, but that his conditions in detention remained grim.
Food was scarce and the prisoners kept getting sick.
"We had constant diarrhea, throat and lung infections. We had no real toilets and got water just twice a day," he said.
Propaganda blared from loudspeakers for up to five hours.
At other times, the soundtrack was "extremely loud" folk music.
The middle of the night brought interrogation and torture sessions, he said, describing the various ways in which prison guards tried "to break us."
"They made us come out in a line, hooded and cuffed, and insulted us," he said.
The prisoners were interrogated and subjected to mock trials.
Castro was accused of being an agent of the CIA or of the US Drug Enforcement Agency and subjected to polygraph tests, during which the same set of questions was put to him for hours.
All lived in fear of being punished, which entailed being sent to a torture cell, where prisoners were beaten, "suffocated with teargas" or had a plastic bag sprayed with insecticide tied around their heads.

Sodomized with tubes

Some prisoners were forcibly intubated, others sodomized with tubes, he said, adding that "soldiers and (prison) directors took part in these torture sessions with a certain relish."
Castro himself escaped such methods.
He said that he had considered mutinying over lack of access to books made available by French consular services but was advised against doing so by a fellow inmate who had spent over 20 years behind bars.
"He told me: 'They will torture you. Within a minute they will have destroyed your body and within five they will have destroyed your life. Forget the books, you'll read them some day in the future'."
Castro was freed in late November after strenuous diplomatic efforts by France and flown home to Paris, where his mother had been frantically awaiting news of his fate.
Paris said Brazil and Mexico assisted in the negotiations.
Castro wants to be officially recognized as a victim by the French state.
He began telling his story last month to shine a light on the hundreds of political prisoners still behind bars in Venezuela.
Despite all his "bad memories" he said he hopes to return one day to a country to which he now feels "inextricably tied."
pgf/esp/cb/md

diplomacy

In show of support, Canada, France open consulates in Greenland

BY WITH CAMILLE BAS-WOHLERT IN COPENHAGEN

  • Canada and France formally opened the new consulates in Nuuk, the island's capital.
  • Canada and France, which both oppose US President Donald Trump's claim to Greenland, opened consulates in the Danish autonomous territory's capital on Friday, in a show of support for the local government.
  • Canada and France formally opened the new consulates in Nuuk, the island's capital.
Canada and France, which both oppose US President Donald Trump's claim to Greenland, opened consulates in the Danish autonomous territory's capital on Friday, in a show of support for the local government.
Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has insisted that Washington needs to control the strategic, mineral-rich Arctic island for security reasons.
He last month backed off threats to seize Greenland after striking a "framework" deal with NATO chief Mark Rutte to ensure greater US influence.
A US-Denmark-Greenland working group has been established to discuss Washington's security concerns in the Arctic, but details have not been made public.
While Denmark and Greenland have said they share Trump's security concerns, they have insisted that sovereignty and territorial integrity are a "red line" in the discussions.
Canada and France formally opened the new consulates in Nuuk, the island's capital.
"This is a very important day for us as a country, because we're opening our consulate here in Nuuk, Greenland," said Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand at the inauguration ceremony, before hoisting her country's flag over the consulate building to applause from a 76-person Inuit delegation.

'Victory for Greenlanders'

"It's a victory for Greenlanders to see two allies opening diplomatic representations in Nuuk," said Jeppe Strandsbjerg, a political scientist at the University of Greenland.
"There is great appreciation for the support against what Trump has said."
French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to open a consulate during a visit to Nuuk in June, where he expressed Europe's "solidarity" with Greenland and criticised Trump's ambitions.
The newly appointed French consul, Jean-Noel Poirier, had previously served as ambassador to Vietnam.
"The first item on the agenda will be to listen to Greenlanders, to hear them, to let them explain in detail their position, and from our side to confirm to them our support, as much as they and the Danish side want," Poirier told AFP before leaving Copenhagen for Nuuk.
Poirier arrived in the Greenlandic capital on Friday, but does not yet have an office.
Canada announced in late 2024 that it would open a consulate in Greenland to boost cooperation.
That decision "came as Canada was choosing to strengthen its Arctic strategy when Trump's return was expected", French researcher and Arctic expert Mikaa Blugeon-Mered told AFP.
The opening of the consulates is "a way of telling Donald Trump that his aggression against Greenland and Denmark is not a question for Greenland and Denmark alone, it's also a question for European allies and also for Canada", Ulrik Pram Gad, Arctic expert at the Danish Institute of International Studies, told AFP.
"The consequences are obviously not just Danish. It's European and global," said Christine Nissen, security and defence analyst at the Europa think tank.
At the beginning of the week, Canadian icebreaker Jean Goodwill docked at the port of Nuuk, where it has since conducted a joint exercise with a Danish inspection vessel.

Recognition

According to Strandsbjerg, the two consulates -- which will report to the French and Canadian embassies in Copenhagen -- will give Greenland an opportunity to "practice" independence, as the island has long dreamt of cutting its ties to Denmark.
The decision to open diplomatic missions is also a recognition of Greenland's growing autonomy, Nissen said.
"In terms of their own quest for sovereignty, the Greenlandic people will think to have more direct contact with other European countries," she said.
That would make it possible to reduce Denmark's role "by diversifying Greenland's dependence on the outside world, so that it is not solely dependent on Denmark and can have more ties for its economy, trade, investments, politics and so on", echoed Pram Gad.
Greenland has had diplomatic ties with the European Union since 1992, with Washington since 2014 and with Iceland since 2017.
Iceland opened a consulate in Nuuk in 2013, while the United States, which had a consulate in the Greenlandic capital from 1940 to 1953, reopened its mission in 2020.
The European Commission opened an office in 2024.
nzg/jj/cc/jhb

politics

UK police search properties in Mandelson probe

BY MARTIN POLLARD

  • The searches came as Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces intense scrutiny over his decision to appoint Mandelson as the country's envoy to the United States despite his association with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
  • UK police probing Britain's former ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson searched two properties on Friday, authorities said, following fresh revelations in the Epstein files.
  • The searches came as Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces intense scrutiny over his decision to appoint Mandelson as the country's envoy to the United States despite his association with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
UK police probing Britain's former ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson searched two properties on Friday, authorities said, following fresh revelations in the Epstein files.
The searches came as Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces intense scrutiny over his decision to appoint Mandelson as the country's envoy to the United States despite his association with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Earlier this week, London's Metropolitan Police confirmed it was investigating Mandelson, 72, over allegations of misconduct in a public office.
It came after newly released documents appeared to show him sharing confidential government information with Epstein when Mandelson was a UK government minister, including during the 2008 financial crisis.
On Friday, officers from the Met's specialist crime team were deployed at two addresses, one in the western English county of Wiltshire and another in London, according to Deputy Assistant Commissioner Hayley Sewart.
"The searches are related to an ongoing investigation into misconduct in public office offences, involving a 72-year-old man," she said.
"He has not been arrested and enquiries are ongoing."
Several people believed to be police officers arrived outside Mandelson's house in central London on Friday afternoon.
Mandelson, a pivotal figure for decades in British politics, stood down from parliament's unelected upper chamber, the House of Lords, earlier this week following the release of the latest batch of files.
He also faces being formally stripped of the title that allowed him to sit in parliament.

PM under pressure

Meanwhile Global Counsel, the lobbying firm Mandelson co-founded, announced in a statement Friday it had cut all ties with him, saying he no longer had a stake in or any influence over the business "in any capacity".
A day earlier, Starmer had apologised to Epstein's victims for appointing Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, but indicated he himself would not resign over the scandal.
Starmer fired the former UK minister and EU trade commissioner in September after Mandelson spending only seven months as ambassador in Washington, following an earlier release of Epstein documents.
The ex-envoy was one of numerous prominent figures again embarrassed by last week's latest revelations of ties to the late US financier, who died in jail in 2019 while facing charges of alleged sex trafficking. US officials ruled Epstein's death a suicide.
Email exchanges between Mandelson and Epstein showed an intimate friendship, financial dealings, private photos as well as evidence that Mandelson passed confidential and potentially market-sensitive information to Epstein nearly two decades ago.
Starmer reiterated on Thursday that Mandelson repeatedly lied to secure the post and that he had not previously known about the "depth and darkness" of his friendship with Epstein.
Documents relating to Mandelson's appointment are set to be published after MPs earlier this week voted for their release, though it remains unclear when that will begin.
Starmer, in a letter to the parliamentary committee examining which documents could be released, asked them to treat the matter "with the urgency and transparency it deserves".
mp/jj/jhb